The curious case of the Valentine’s bouquet

The well-dressed gentleman rang the bell on Valentine’s Day morning. He waited with a bunch of red roses, a cryptic card and two boxes of chocolates. Dad looked up from the newspaper and headed for the gate. A short conversation later, he returned with the pretty bunch and handed it over to mom. She blushed, a little surprised, as their teenaged grandson, who was busy preparing for his annual exams, came bounding, “Oh my God! Dada’s got a Valentine’s gift.”

Dad didn’t have the heart to break mom’s heart but said in a matter-of-fact tone, “The guy at the gate said it was for me.” “From whom?” was her immediate query. Before he could answer, the grandson teased, “A secret admirer?”

The card was not addressed to anyone but simply said the sender, Abhinav, missed us all. The last line was intriguing for it read, “SRK Zindabad!”

“This can’t be for you,” said mother but by then father was already checking his directory of friends. “It could be AK,” he concluded and even called up an old friend. As expected, AK was in for a pleasant surprise too! They exchanged Valentine’s greetings and hung up. “It’s not him,” he admitted sheepishly, “but he was happy I called after ages.”

Mom had a brainwave. “Could this be for our journalist daughter from Abhinav … umm Bindra?” I was summoned. “What! Why! How is that possible,” I burst out laughing, shaking my head in disbelief.

By now, my 16-year-old son had sneaked out of the room with a box of chocolates, while the bunch of roses stood tall at the centre of the dining table. “Do you know any other Abhinav?” mom persisted. Scatterbrained, I couldn’t recall any friend by the name. I was more intrigued about the “SRK (Shah Rukh Khan) Zindabad” slogan at the end. Not such a big fan of the Raees actor, I knew instinctively the bunch wasn’t for me. In fact, nobody at home is a fan of the actor.

So how did the person delivering the bouquet hand it over after asking my father’s name?

Just then it struck me that our newly married tenant was a big fan of SRK. But her husband’s name was Abhishek and he appeared a PhD scholar far removed from movies. “He has a younger brother, a techie based in Bangalore,” nudged my mother. So there I thought I’d solved the mystery of the bouquet and rushed to hand it over to its rightful owner.

But there were hurdles in store. First, I needed to convince my son to hand me back the box of chocolates that he had opened. “How will she know there were chocolates? She can keep the flowers,” he argued. “I’ll gift you double the chocolates,” I said. “But it won’t feel the same,” he grumbled before letting go of the box.

As I excitedly knocked on the door on the first floor, my tenant’s mother, who is visiting from Kolkata, peered out. “Oho

iski kya zaroorat thi (What was the need for this)?” she began but I interrupted her. “I’m giving you this bouquet… it’s not from me to you…but happy Valentine’s Day anyway,” I said, sounding silly. “It’s from Abhinav. Is he an SRK fan?” She looked puzzled and nodded a yes. “It’s for your daughter then,” I said before hurrying back.

So many heartbreaks before the bouquet found its rightful recipient.

THE CARD WAS NOT ADDRESSED TO ANYONE BUT SIMPLY SAID THE SENDER, ABHINAV, MISSED US ALL. THE LAST LINE WAS INTRIGUING FOR IT READ, “SRK ZINDABAD!”; MY MOTHER TOLD MY FATHER IT CAN’T BE FOR HIM, BUT BY THEN HE WAS ALREADY CHECKING HIS DIRECTORY OF FRIENDS