Rajiv woke up with a jolt of fear in that cottage of two bedroom hall kitchen at Mt. Abu, ‘Nitya..! Where’s my Nitya?!! Why is she still not here?’ He thought, ‘Every morning, she is used to wake me up. Oh, just a four year old baby and so full of love! Ever since she learned speaking, she hasn’t missed her morning routine. She would rub her eyes with her tiny hands, and in her sweet gibberish language, she will chant to me the mantra I taught her – “kalaagle vachhate lakhchhmi, kalamule chhalachhvati” and I would open my eyes. I would take her in my arms, shower kisses on her chicks, would let her sleep in my lap and caress her hairs. Her giggles, her smile, her lovely face! What a lovely way to start the day! Sometimes, I would act as if I am asleep, even if I have already woke up when she would come to my room. But isn’t it very late today?!’ Rajiv checked his wrist watch, it was 8.30am. The sun had already reached upto his face. He could feel his sweat, though it was a chilled December morning on the hills. ‘No, she never wakes up this late!’

‘She was very tired yesterday evening.’ He remembered, “Daddy, ghal chalo na ab. I mean, loom pe. chhubaah chhe tlekking kal lahe hain! Aul ab main chalungi nahin, haan. Mele ko peethi peethi kal ke le jaaoge? Yaa phil wo chacha museum vaali gaadi mein?” (Papa, please let’s go home now. I mean, at our room. We are trekking since morning. I am so tired. And now I won’t walk. Will you carry me on your back? Or should we ride that push car of Chacha Museum?) May be that’s why she would be asleep until now? But then why have I this ominous feeling?’ Rajiv threw his blanket on the side and hastened towards Nitya’s room. His knees were paining like hell. ‘If yesterday’s rock climbing sessions had affected me so badly, she’s just a toddler. Must be asleep, my baby.’ He tried to comfort his fears and rushed to her bedroom, but Nitya was not in the bed!!

“Gayatri..! Gayatri..!! Where’s Nitya? She is not in her bed.” He ran towards the kitchen and yelled frightfully. On not finding his wife in the kitchen, he rushed out of the cottage. Few kids were playing in the lawn and few in pool area, but there were no signs of Nitya.

The cottage of Arbuda Vacation Resort near Polo ground was always booked on Rajiv’s name for the first week of December. To give a break to their fast paced city life, Rajiv and Gayatri loved to relax here in this cottage for a week every year. Though, this time, they were here after a gap of fifteen years. The beautiful pathway from cottage to reception, passing through the lawn, was paved with red bricks, which allowed green grass to grow from the joints in between them. Both the sides of the pathway were decorated with the series of gorgeous Gulmahor trees and flowered shrubs of Cineraria and Petunia in between. Though, right now, Rajiv was in no mood to notice the natural beauty of the pathway, he was pacing on.

He was panting heavily when he reached at reception. The receptionist, who was just a young boy seemed to be joined as a fresher, hurriedly lowered the volume of the song which was playing on his phone app.

“Yes, how may I help you, sir?” He asked politely.

“My daughter! She is missing..! Have you seen her? She is just four years old. And yes, my wife.” Rajiv’s intuitions were making him more concerned about Nitya being missing, compared to his wife’s absence.

“Sir, your wife was going towards the Nakki lake. She asked for the ride to Raghunath temple. But nobody else was with her.”

‘Oh, so when Gayatri went to the temple and I was asleep, did somebody abduct my…?! No no..I guess she herself must have gone out to play or something. But alone?! Come on! My sweet li’l child is so fragile! I must search her. But, where to start?’ On seeing Rajiv in panic, the receptionist also got a bit worried, “Sir, do you need any assistance? Would you like me to hire a ride for the Nakki lake?”

“No. I will.. I will manage. Thanks.” Rajiv headed out of the resort hastily. The receptionist turned the volume of his phone up again and the revisited version of ‘Saki Saki’ was audible to Rajiv too who was pacing out to the main street. He remembered how naughtily Nitya stopped outside the famous Dairy King Parlour near Nakki market last night after hearing ‘Saki Saki’ song. She winked towards him and started imitating Sanjubaba’s style of moving particular kind of knife, with her empty hands. Moments later she was dancing and demanding to eat the softy. ‘Oh, cutie pie Nitya! Oh yes, she persisted to have a softy, which I refused. She might have slipped to the shop to grab it now.’

Rajiv hopefully started walking towards Nakki lake market in haste, as he didn’t find any cab or auto on the way. After walking for ten to twelve minutes, he reached Dairy King Parlour. To his disappointment, he found all the shops in the market still closed. ‘Off course, why on earth would the shops be open in such an early chilly morning?’ Though, Rajiv didn’t want to take chances. He searched the nearby magic shop, Chacha Museum, King’s Food, Toy’s Town, Bollywood Hollywood Restro and all the favourite places of hers, but in vain. All shutters were still down. ‘She loved Malai Rabdi! The shop is open too.’ But Nitya wasn’t there too.

As the time passed, Rajiv’s panic increased terribly. Shops had started opening. His eyes stopped at a mobile recharge shop and he thought, ‘I should have called Gayatri. But, she wouldn’t have taken her phone to the temple. Oh, but I should have tried, na!’ He searched his night track pockets, ‘Oh, I forgot my cell in the cottage. “Daddy ke phone ki ghanti baje, aur daddy office bhaagein..!! Daddy, hum jab Abu ghumne jaayein, tab aap aapka phone loom pe lakh ke hi chalna haan.” (Whenever daddy’s phone rings, daddy runs to the office. Daddy, please put your phone at room only, when we go to Abu.) He remembered Nitya making faces; trying to show him how angry she was with his phone. ‘See Nitya, I have kept my phone at room! I am obeying all your demands, baby. Please come back to Daddy!’ He felt the corners of his eyes getting moist.

“Boom!” A balloon blasted and Rajiv could also hear the sound of click after the balloon guy loaded the toy gun with the silvery grain bullet. Rajiv almost ran towards the balloon popping shop, ‘Yesterday morning, before taking her to rock climbing, I promised her to bring her here to aim and shoot the colourful balloons, but then did we came here last night, or skipped it?’ Rajiv’s memory had now given up. “Bhaiya, My daughter, Nitya, is a four year old. Today morning, did any pretty, fair girl with almost this much height came here insisting to pop some balloons?” Rajiv asked the balloon guy keeping the gap between his hands around three feet.

“No sir, no little girl came to shoot the balloons, but yeah, saw a beautiful doll to go towards the sunset point almost an hour ago, which fits your description.” a filthy young lady standing near that balloon guy informed with a hint of kindness in her voice.

A horseman might have heard his conversation, so he gestured Rajiv to hop on the horse by patting the back of his horse, “Saab, want to ride to the sunset point? Let’s take the horse. It would only cost you two hundred bucks.”

“Yes, bhaiya. Let’s go. My knees hurt like anything, and I am in hurry too!” Rajiv thanked his luck that he got the ride, but also murmured in slow voice, “Loot us tourists, buddy. The municipal body has fixed eighty rupees for the ride, but as you see me stuck in the situation, I won’t mind two hundred too. I am a regular over here. Well, almost every year since last eleven years. I am less an outsider, more a local over here, but.. alas, you have every right to loot me. I am in very much hurry.”

A shopkeeper heard this murmuring of Rajiv and frustrated by his comments, jumped in the conversation, “Uncle, what rubbish are you talking? He just wants to help you; he stated the exact same amount the authority has fixed. And how will he get the return journey from sunset point at this morning time? Have you thought of it?” Rajiv intentionally unheard his furious remarks, he didn’t mind anyways. Which father would worry about the money right now? He would be ready to tip him thousands instantly, if the horseman could take him to his Nitya. ‘Will she be gone to the sunset point? Was the girl, whom lady saw, Nitya? But she.. my Nitya.. she doesn’t like to watch the sun setting. She always felt the setting sun to be very sad. Why would have she gone to sunset point right now? Should I rush to sunset point immediately, or should I first go and fetch my mobile from the cottage? What if she is trying on my cell right now? Nine eight two five one, night eight seven one seven! She always recited my number like a piece of cake. How intelligent she is!  If I would be late from the office any day, she will surely give a couple of calls, and if she would be gone on vacation to her grandma’s place, she will at least call me ten times in a day. Couldn’t bear staying away from his daddy!!! And right now, she.. alone.. oh, my lonely child. Nitya..!!’ He couldn’t resist tears falling from his eyes now.

With moist hazy eyes, he could see Gayatri running towards him. He wiped his eyes with his shirt and was about to ask Gayatri the whereabouts of Nitya, but Gayatri gave him a tight hug.

Gayatri’s voice broke as she was crying, “Rajiv.., Rajiv.. I told you not to come at Mount again….!! Did you again try searching Nitya? I even can’t leave you for few minutes. I thought.. as you were sleeping.. I just went to the temple, Rajiv. You got the panic attack again, Rajiv..! You got the panic attack.”  Gayatri was trying to comfort him with her hands patting on his back, “Rajiv, it has been fifteen years! That evening.. that evening from the Toad Rock….”she left the sentence halfway, “Rajiv, while you both were climbing…., It wasn’t your fault, Rajiv…!! Nitya.., Nitya is dead, Rajiv. She’s already gone.”

-          Hardik Raychanda (18th September, 2020)