A Bad Penny Always Turns Up

Anirudh Sethi prided himself on being a good father. A great father, actually. He was the annoying type, you know? He was an average man. Average looking. He was slim but had a slight paunch that showed. At 5바카라�7바카라� he was just shy of being called a 바카라�tall man for an Indian.바카라� He had the coveted 바카라�fair skin바카라� but it was marred by a few pock marks 바카라� remnants of a childhood ravaged by acne. He was someone that people stared at for a second because they thought they remembered him from 바카라�somewhere바카라� but then shook their heads and moved on. 

Anirudh Sethi might바카라�ve been an average man but he was an exceptional father. He was the kind that showed up for all of his kids바카라� soccer practices at the newly constructed Jogger바카라�s Park, stood on the sidelines, yelled at the referees at all the bad calls they made against his kids and their teams, carried flavored water, coconut water, and unsweetened milk and apples and oranges and almond flax chewy granola bars, grape, and mango fruit bars 바카라� all of which resulted in a collective sigh from the deeply impressed aunties, uncles, nanas and nanis and the married women 바카라� Mrs. Karwe, Mrs. Patil, Mrs. Mathur, Mrs. Singh and more - who would then pile onto their about-to-be-hit-by-a-tornado husbands and say, 바카라�Look at Anirudh! He searches all around Koregaon Park and Viman Nagar and gets all the tasteless but healthy snacks for the kids!바카라�

Meanwhile, Anirudh would quietly sneak the kids to the tiny walkway behind the seesaws and swings and distribute fresh bhakar wadi and chakli from Chitle Bandhu, 5-Star and Oreo cookies, and Coke and Pepsi and modestly shrug off chants of 바카라�Anirudh uncle is the best!바카라� and hi-five the kids.

Anirudh was also obnoxious enough to show up 바카라� not with his iPhone 14 or 15 바카라� but with his old-fashioned Sony camcorder to Bollywood dance and music concerts and Bharatnatyam and Bollywood dance performances that his children were in. During his children바카라�s convent school바카라�s annual Christmas celebration, it was a common sight to see Anirudh as he recorded the 바카라�two trees that did not speak바카라� as they stood at the edge of the stage in the nativity play. He would show footage of those 바카라�trees바카라� to anyone and everyone and give a running commentary on how well his kids didn바카라�t try and 바카라�act like trees바카라� but that 바카라�they lived their roles바카라� and 바카라�became those trees.바카라� To hear him talk his kids as 바카라�trees that didn바카라�t talk바카라� had the charisma of Amitabh Bachchan (he was an 80s kid and worshipped on the altar of Bachchan Saab), the commitment to his art like Kamalahasan, and Ganpati Bappa바카라�s God-given talent of Vikram Gokhale.

He was also an easygoing father with his children바카라�s school. He sent his children to an ISCE school and never demanded that his kids should be class toppers. 바카라�Just do your best,바카라� he바카라�d tell them. And when their best was a solid B average during a good semester, he was proud AF. On the rare occasions that they made a 90% in their jazz dance or a pottery class 바카라� he showed off their misshapen pots to everyone and claimed that they were imperfect for a reason. The imperfection was designed to be that way, he바카라�d claim. The one time his daughter got a 100/100 in her creative writing essay when she was in her 4th grade 바카라� the kids had to make up a story using all 10 words that the teacher gave them 바카라� he put it up on their fridge door where it still stayed.

Anirudh was a hard worker in every aspect of his life. He did not have a fancy job. He was just a manager at their local Kotak Mahindra bank. But he worked long and hard and saved his money. He also took on weekend jobs tutoring kids in Math and Physics. He was lucky to be working during the 90s and early aughts when India was just becoming a global player. It was when everyone talked about globalization and borderless worlds and the Indian economy had started to thrive. His hard work and his rupee went far. He바카라�d paid off the house loan that he took from his father-in-law by the time he바카라�d turned 45. He바카라�d opened college accounts for his children. And when his in-laws gave them money for Diwali every year, he used it to take his family for comfortable vacays to Bangkok and Nepal and Bhutan and the Andamans.

By the time Anirudh바카라�s children graduated from college (his son from Dr. DIY Patil Institute of Technology, Pune, and daughter from Symbiosis Institute of Design, Pune) and got jobs from their campus placement, the Sethis belonged to a solidly upwardly mobile middle class with the future looking bright for all of them. 

Anirudh Sethi was truly the best dad. So said everyone on 5th Avenue, Koregaon Park, Pune, where the Sethis had lived the past two decades. 

*****  
That day started like any other.

It was the 4th of November and the entire building had gathered in Anirudh바카라�s terrace apartment for their annual Diwali teen patti celebrations. The terrace groaned with the rows and rows of potluck food everyone in the building brought with them. From chaat to jalebis, medu wada and sambhar to kaande pohe, from rasmalai to puran poli 바카라� like their building, the entire country was represented in the food on display. The 40-something inhabitants of Senhorita Building on 5th Avenue were gorging and overeating on the smorgasbord array of delectable food in front of them and chilling and waiting for the teen patti card games and fireworks to begin.

Anirudh was on barbecue duty that evening as fiddled around with the kababs with his tongs and then applied a secret family recipe rub on them and took a deeply satisfying slurp of his cold Kingfisher beer바카라�  
바카라�and sensed her the second she walked in.

After living in the same apartment, the same street, with the same friends for over 20 years now 바카라� Anirudh knew every sigh, every smile, every laugh, every groan, every tear, and everything else from those around him without even turning around. She was different. He sensed anger. He sensed confusion. He sensed edgy energy that was out of sync with the happiness surrounding the Diwali celebrations of that evening.

A bad penny always turns up, he thought.

He turned around and saw her. 

And sighed.

A bad penny always turns up!

All those years later바카라�he could still recognize her immediately. He바카라�d gone out of town on a conference for bankers. As a clerk, he wasn바카라�t required to go to those mid-management out-of-town conferences. But Anirudh바카라�s fame had spread beyond the nativity plays and soccer games to his work. 

He바카라�s so social! 

He바카라�s so friendly! 

He바카라�ll be perfect to represent us at these events! 

Despite never wanting a promotion (I don바카라�t want a fancy job that바카라�ll take me away from my family he said) Anirudh attended these conferences. While he hated being away from his children and their myriad soccer and Kathak practices and swimming practices 바카라� a few days away from it all every year rejuvenated him. Each time he went away he came back with a renewed sense of purpose and more love for his family 바카라� if that was even possible. 
And that year 바카라� when he바카라�d met her 바카라� he was actually bummed he had to go away and miss his son바카라�s soccer game. They바카라�d made the quarterfinals of their little league that year. 

But needs must. 

So, he바카라�d gone. And schmoozed around the conference floor as he always did. 

And that바카라�s when he saw her.

She was one of the waitresses that evening. There was something about her. Her perky face. The red lips. The red mehndi streaks in her hair. Her tight yellow blouse. The sequins in her yellow and black saree that was draped around her body. Every click of her black stilettos as she swayed around offering drinks and tiny samosas and meat cutlets and a hint of 바카라�come-get-me바카라� looks to everyone gathered at the conference.  One look at her and Anirudh knew 바카라� she ticked all the 바카라�too desperate바카라� and 바카라�trying too hard바카라� boxes. 

He could tell she was one of those who바카라�d like it rough. They all did, actually. He could always pick them from a crowd. The ones who lived hard. And drank hard. And played hard. He knew he바카라�d have her. He always had them. 

He바카라�d had so many over the years. While there was always someone during his work trips 바카라� he had them even during trips he took with his family. Like, there was that one when he바카라�d gone to Chennai for a weekend when his father was hospitalized. Then there was the other one he바카라�d had when he went with his son바카라�s soccer team to Ranchi. 

There바카라�d been so many over the years. From Indore to Dehradun and Cochin to Guwahati. There had been so many over the years. 

He liked them young. Always young. But he was always careful. And never too greedy. And always did his business only in India. Do it where you know your way around. Do it just right and you바카라�ll never get caught, he always told himself. And he바카라�d been right. So far. 

He always picked ones that had no one who바카라�d miss them. The runaways. The one who바카라�d been abused by her mummy바카라�s new husband. The beautiful one who바카라�d been tossed onto the streets by her own mother because daddy liked the daughter more now. Oh, yes. He knew how to pick them. And he picked them only once every year. Don바카라�t be greedy, he바카라�d warn himself when he wanted more. And he always picked them in completely different cities that were far, far, far away from the previous ones. 
He used condoms. And used gloves when he finished with them.

He thought he never missed.

But apparently, he did. He바카라�d missed this one by a mile. And this one was different. Not just because she was actually in his living room.

A bad penny always turns up. Too bad it had to be this way, he thought. Really too bad. He sighed. And asked his friend Ramesh to take over Kabab duties and started to make his way toward her. 

And said hello to his daughter.