Durga Prasad, Ram and Shekar escort pandi-ji out thanking him hands joined on their chest again. They stay there, saluting their guests that join the family in this terrible ordeal leaving after the pray function the family has given.
Sitting around the still smoking extinguished fire, Sujatta is inconsolable; unaware of the world around her, she keeps repeating between her lips her lamentations about her unique son. Sharmista presses her hand in comfort without a word and gives a small smile to Bade ma who’s tired face was worrying the whole family… she was smoothing Uttara hair who was crying in her lap.
Ragini, a plate of water glasses in hands, serves every one trying to hide her own tears, she signs to her worried Ma that nothing has changed about Swara’s state… she has checked on her just after pooja.
She shivers recalling that night. After a feasting family diner, they have saluted her parents who enjoyed with them Laksh returning home before retire to their room. Laksh teased her playfully that his smarter brother preferred enjoying his wife’s company privately… some hours later, his phone rang
On the “accident” place, she found shocked Swara whose tears were her unique way to express anything, she tried to reassure her, to convince her going home and wait in vain, all she had for reaction is the endless flows of tears on her cheeks…
At the first lights of the day, she’s the first to notice Laksh’s reaction on the edge of the accident area, she tries to take her sister apart but Swara just doesn’t move keeping her sight focused on the rescue actions… sooner, a stretched is brought up and transported to the ambulance… she grips her sister’s arm stopping her from hurrying there… she tries to make her look to her, take her eyes off the terrible scene unsuccessfully.
Slowly, she feels all forces running from her, the resisting urge to go from her tight grip fades and at Laksh’s first words asking forgiveness with a broken crying voice, Swara’s eyes close and never opened again until now…
Her unanimated body has been transported in the same ambulance to hospital where all doctors efforts to wake her stayed vain. Helpless, doctors couldn’t give any explanation of her state, their advise was just to wait and pray… to maintain her vital functions safe, she’s fed with a saline perfusion in what medicines are administered punctually; the only sign of life in her was a resisting constant fever and the tears drowning her face endlessly till now.
Ragini wipes her face silently scolding herself for not being as strong as she has to be in such circumstances, Swara doesn’t need her tears or sadness, she needs her to take care about everyone in her absence… She would be angry to know about unfinished meals, forgotten medicines, suspended contracts… but what to do, what happened was unexpected even in everybody worst nightmares.
She closes her eyes taking a deep breath to compose herself, saluting back the last leaving guests, she looks back to Sanskar’s photo… but her eyes are filled with tears again seeing Laksh’s state.
Sobbing silently unable to take off his eyes from his smiling brother’s image, he’s surely the most affected by what happened in the house.
Firstly busy with the funeral office’ preparations, he handled the situation perfectly when everyone was shocked, incapable to take any decision.
It was him who gave orders about transporting Swara to their Mansion at hospital… informed their relatives and acquaintances… then media and business partners… contacted the priest for all the funeral preparations… he consoled his parents and cried in his aunty lap saying that if she’s saying that she lost her unique son, then he’s a stranger to him… if she’s his brother’s mother, how could he be a stranger?
But at the funeral service, he broke down at the moment of setting fire in the stake. Remembering the shradh rites he did months ago and their last fight wishing his dead… how could he be so blind? so heartless?… he cries badly thinking about his brother’s soft smile assuring him that everything will be fine, his unique way to call him Lucky, his shocked face knowing about Swara’s suicide attempt…
“- Stop punishing yourself, Laksh…”
Ragini kneels in front of him taking his hands in hers and making him look up to her, she looks back to other family’s members and wipes her nose trying to repress her own cries, cupping his face, she makes him look to them and says:
“- Please Laksh, who will wipe their tears if you’re so shattered… look to Ma and papa, illness and sadness are choking their hearts… and Shashi… tell me, what would Sanskar think if you’re not helping her, ha?”.
At his brother’s name, he’s cries more making her take him in her arms to console him like a child… suddenly, he whispers:
“- Swara…”
Ragini withdraws looking back, everyone’s eyes turned to the top of stairs getting up.
They look speechless to her standing there, looking all around in disbelieve then descending the stairs slowly with uncertain steps, gripping the railing to sustain her weak body… she doesn’t cross anyone’s look, searching in all direction with her wide reddened eyes. About falling, Ragini hurries to her taking her in her arms tightly and caressing her hair, Swara doesn’t hug her back, her unfocused eyes expressing nothing.
“- you’re finally back, Swara… thank God that you’re fine…”
Ragini’s voice is choked with unshed tears, she breaks contact with her and looks again to her face with a sad smile, a relieved feeling filling her heart for the first time since days.
Swara makes some steps more to the middle of the salon looking around, ignoring interrogative worried eyes of her family surrounding her, she looks back to Ragini and asks her with a small innocent voice:
“- Ragini, Sanskar kaha hai?”
All the present persons are shocked; Sharmita comes back with Ayush who she was feeding at that moment, she exclaims in disbelieve :
“- Shona!?”
Sujatta grips her sister in law’s arm saying:
“- Jiji… she lost her memory!?!?”
“- Sujatta! Bas!”
“- but jiji… look at her!…”
Swara was the unique colored touch in the whole place, graciously wrapped in a soft blue embroidered sari, her hair loosened on her shoulders, parted on her forehead top with too much sindoor… her neck ornamented with both her mangal sutra and the SS pendant necklace… her wrists decorated with the red and white bangels… if not her swollen reddened eyes, the blue circling them, her pale cheeks, she would be “Swara”…
“- Where is Sanskar, ma?”