Trouble in the Ambani Clan

Several months later the mystery for the Mehta family was solved. Gourav discovered his wife investment banker had been working her talents, so funds flowed into her own secret bank accounts he’d previously had no knowledge of until he happened to note some documents, she’d carelessly left unattended in her office. There was a huge fight in their apartment when she returned home that evening and neighbours called the police as they heard him beating her.

Radha made a police complaint against her husband for the substantial beatings she’d received and, in her rage, contacted her father and confessed the two of them were the owners of that mysterious offshore company the Mehta’s had been so curious about. She agreed to bring all those stolen companies under Mehta holding company if her father and uncles would include her as one of the vice presidents and have her husband thrown out of the country. He was a green card holder, so the powerful Mehta family pulled strings and Gourav was detained and shipped out of the country after a period of detention as a criminal.

He arrived back in India even angrier than before and sought to make amends with the Ambani family learning for the first time his own father had been sent packing overseas because of Gourav’s lies. The family then learned in quizzing Gourav there’d been no reason to send their brother away and sought to bring Chandrakant back into the family as he was a seasoned administrator they were already missing. But Chandrakant had no wish to return to that place where there’d been so many disappointments for him with his family and particularly so now, he learned his eldest son was back in India having reverted to his original name Gourav Ambani shedding the Mehta surname.

Gourav not having any support now in India learned his father was now established in Australia and running a successful business having been helped by Thomas Martin and his associates to negotiate migration with investment. Jay had now graduated along with Anthony with high honours. Jay had decided to commence his CPA and Thomas worked with another accounting firm to take Jay as an intern with the promise when a place became available in his own firm, he’d transfer his internship there. Thomas was disappointed his son had not chosen to follow in his father’s footsteps and take his CPA exams too.

Anthony was meeting Brinda secretly now that Jay had chosen to stay with his parents in their new home. Brinda now had Hetvi sharing the apartment with her and was becoming impatient with this secrecy about her relationship with Anthony and wanted to bring their relationship out in the open to her family. Anthony advised her against that and urged her to wait until her university studies were complete. He was fearful that disclosure would get her withdrawn from university. He found a temporary job in the Client Services Department of the University while he waited for Brinda to finish so he could be close to her when she had time between classes each day.

Thomas Martin was disappointed with this choice of occupation as he’d hoped Anthony would after graduation put his studies to better use. Hetvi was aware of the relationship between her sister and this man she called Hanuman and sworn to secrecy by Brinda.

Hetvi was now commencing university studies and Brinda finishing off her chosen course of studies expecting to graduate at the end of the year. Both girls now occupied the apartment but with Brinda finishing her studies at the end of the year Chandrakant was looking at bringing Hetvi to their home overlooking Sydney Harbour and selling the apartment. He was also beginning to think about finding a suitable match for his daughter once she graduated now that there was no need for her services in the Ambani hotel business in India. He wanted her to be happy with an Indian husband to care for her and produce grandsons for him.

Chandrakant was surprised when his eldest son Gaurav suddenly showed up at their home overlooking the harbour and begged to have his father pull strings to have the right of residence in Australia. Chandrakant did not know how to deal with this prodigal son. He knew from the information he had to fill in for his own residence in Australia those with a criminal record would not be accepted and the record of Gaurav’s crimes in the US was part of the Interpol data base now so would be known to Australian authorities. This could raise questions about his own citizenship. His eldest son would have to return to India as that was his only option, but Gaurav wouldn’t listen and continued to pester his father and brother Jay who was well appreciated in his employment. He then tried to move into the apartment occupied by Brinda and Hetvi, but they phoned their father and demanded their elder brother be removed. So, Chandrakant came and removed him to their home and sat with him to try and talk sense into him. He was on a tourist visa with duration of three months but stated he intended to stay and demanded his father fix his status. Chandrakant visited the Martin home one evening and poured his heart out to Thomas. The whole sordid story of his falling out with the family over Gaurav’s antics and his criminal activities in the US. He asked for Thomas to help him find a solution as he wanted to be an acceptable citizen of his new country, and he knew association with his son would once again cause him ruin. Thomas listened carefully and assured Chandrakant he’d deal with it privately.

Two days later immigration officials showed up at the Ambani residence and asked to see one Gaurav Mehta also known as Ambani. He was removed protesting in handcuffs and taken into detention based on Interpol reports and soon shipped back to India not to be heard of again for a long time. Chandrakant again visited the Martin home with his wife to thank them for that intervention and stated that anything at all Thomas requested he’d do all in his power to accomplish as a return favour.

That evening Thomas shared with his family the problem he’d fixed to accommodate the Ambani family and stated he had the greatest admiration for Chandrakant and was glad to have made acquaintance with the family through their children a few years previous. So, this was Anthony’s chance, and he blurted out his love for Brinda and wish to marry her. But the approach in Indian culture had to be from parents. Would his father make that request on Anthony’s behalf. June Martin jumped up from her seat and rushed to hug her son.

“She’s a lovely girl and I’d love to have her as part of our family Anthony. I’m so happy at your choice.”

Thomas phoned Chandrakant and asked if they could meet in town sometime as he did have a request to make. Chandrakant immediately agreed happy to be able to return the many favours he’d received from the Martin’s.

But when the two parents did meet and Thomas disclosed his request Chandrakant’s heart sank as he thought this could ruin a friendship, he’d been happy to make. It was not appropriate for a Hindu girl to be married to a foreigner. How would he handle this. He asked for time to think this over. He knew Anthony was a respectable and responsible person who’d been of great help to the family, but it was not just his approval to be given to such a marriage. It had to be acceptable to his community, and they were so culturally different. He regretted this may not be possible, but he’d do anything else within his power in other ways to respond to other requests from the Martins.

Thomas went away disappointed. He couldn’t understand that reasoning and knew Anthony would be heartbroken and June disappointed. Perhaps it was too complicated being friends with these people, so he’d keep a distance from then on. He called the family together and gave his report. Anthony sped to his room to report to Brinda he’d tried and failed to get approval from her father, and he was heartbroken at the outcome of his father’s meeting.

They were all asleep around midnight when Anthony’s phone gave a loud urgent call. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the screen. It was Hetvi who informed him Brinda had been distraught and gone to the bathroom for such a long time Hetvi checked on her and found her on the floor bleeding from cut wrists and near to death. She’d called the ambulance, and they were at the hospital with her parents. Anthony rushed to his parent’s room and woke them up to tell them the news then sped off in his Suzuki to the hospital reported to be where Brinda was being treated. He rushed in and was prevented from entering where she was being treated and directed to a waiting room where he’d be contacted if there were any news. He was surprised to see the Ambani’s gathered there as a family with Hetvi and her mother in tears. Jay looked up in surprise as Anthony entered the waiting room then looked at his sister Hetvi who nodded at his unspoken question. They sat there for hours in silence and eventually a doctor appeared. She looked at the assembled people in the waiting room.

“Is there someone here by the name of Hanuman?”

Chandrakant and his wife looked at each other in confusion, Anthony stood.

“I’m the one you’re looking for.”

The doctor studied him dubiously then indicated he should follow her. She whispered as they entered the room.

“She’s been calling for you constantly and normally we’d want to stabilize her before taking visitors, but she says she wants to die and just let her die if she can’t see you, so we relented. Don’t talk just hold her hand so she knows you are there as she’d very weak and we don’t want her to talk.”

Anthony sat and held the hand of the one he loved. She looked so sick, and his eyes filled with tears to think she’d have attempted suicide after receiving the news of her father’s refusal. She opened her eyes and looked at him then closed them again weakly squeezing his hand. The doctor checked her vital signs and nodded her head. It had been a wise decision to let him in. She’d recover now. She left the room in charge of the nurse who hovered by regularly checking for vital signs as the life-giving blood flowed into Brinda’s body. Anthony eventually went to sleep with his head on the side of the bed still holding onto Brinda’s hand. Occasionally she’d awake and check to see he was there before going back to sleep. In the morning, she woke and smiled at her Hanuman asleep. The nurse exited the room and contacted her family, and they came in to see their daughter with Anthony asleep with his head resting on the bed but still holding Brinda’s hand. Alpana and Hetvi wept as they viewed the touching scene and even Chandrakant felt compassion for the two of them. Brinda was awake now. Anthony woke suddenly with the noise of people entering the room. He leapt to his feet and offered the chair to Alpana who took his place. Anthony yawned.

“I need to freshen up before going to work. It’s going to be hard to stay awake today on the job.”

Chandrakant sighed and stopped Anthony as he was proceeding to the door to drive home.

“You have my permission to meet with my daughter young man. I think you saved her life by coming to the hospital according to the nurse and I’m very grateful. Indian women are very emotional and make for a happy marriage when they give their heart to someone they love and would even give their life for those they love. We should talk some more about the love both of you obviously have for each other and see how we can work this out. Thank you again for saving my daughters live. She is very precious to our family.”

There would prove to be some hurdles to get through in planning for this cultural mix in marriage practices. Anthony was not comfortable with the idea of circling the shrine of Agni the fire god with his bride attached in a traditional Hindu wedding or consulting a priest to judge their combability or the most auspicious time for a wedding to be conducted between the two of them which proved to be a great disappointment to Brinda but her love for Anthony was too strong for her to resist though she vetoed a traditional western marriage. Anthony agreed to being married in the traditional garb of an Indian bridegroom and Brinda wore her traditional bride’s attire with many of the other ceremonies in preparation of them getting that final knot tied performed. A celebrant performed a secular wedding to make it legal, and the ceremony was attended by relatives and their university friends. The wedding took place immediately following Brinda’s graduation. Chandrakant gifted the apartment to the young couple to commence their life together and the Martins paid for them to honeymoon in Thailand.

Brinda had been quite at ease in Australia viewing herself as just another student in a foreign country and therefor tolerating the cultural differences in expectation to returning to her own culture and leading what she viewed as a normal life. Falling in love with Anthony and deciding to adopt his country as her own now was an entirely different thing. Her idea of marriage was the traditional Hindu home with its idols in place and customs observed but here was the reality check. It had been OK to walk around the apartment in shoes as a student in a foreign country as this was not sacred home. But now she was married, and her husband was her god through whom she’d progress through endless incarnations to eventually be released into Brahma himself.

So, to the surprise of Anthony there were new rules to be observed, and it almost caused their first fight. Anthony could not accept idols in the home so Brinda secreted them in a place where her husband would not find them and performed her puja there each day when Anthony was absorbed in other things. Shoes must be removed when entering the home now and the kitchen was a most sacred place to be honoured. This was not a problem for Anthony if he could not see gods in the home. He loved Brinda deeply and showered his affection on her in ways it would not be appropriate for an Indian man to show his affection, and she blossomed under this publicly demonstrated love. They were deliriously happy despite the emerging cultural differences. June was startled at the attention and love Brinda showered on her now and the two women bonded closely. June was delighted with her daughter in law and so was Thomas who was constantly giving little gifts of appreciation to Brinda as he saw how much she loved his family.

Anthony had surprised his father and chosen a career in the health care industry. During his time working for the university, he’d encountered academics who taught in the health area, and they encouraged him to take units of study to enter that profession which added to his existing MBA, and this qualified him for hospital administration. He was now employed in one of the major hospitals in Sydney working in their systems area and enjoying this work with his calling card now proudly showing Anthony Martin MBA, ACHSM. Brinda had found a job at the Hilton hotel in downtown Sydney and was enjoying her work there too.

The wedding of Anthony and Brinda had been attended by representatives of the Ambani clan from India who were shocked at the way it was conducted but impressed with the Martins and took note of the way Thomas had guided Chandrakant into his new life of prosperity. Technically Brinda would have lost her place in the caste system by marrying a foreigner who traditionalist Indians would consider to be of the lower castes despite their extensive trading with them in the developed world. It was a dichotomy upper class Indians were struggling to deal with in this modern world and those prejudices were slowly disappearing with the younger generation.

Chandrakant had been a major contributor to the financial prosperity of the clan when in India and they were sorry for the way he’d been driven out now that the clan’s prosperity had reduced without his management. His elder brother pled with him to return to India and help with the recovery of their fortunes and Chandrakant had to think carefully as he was loyal to the clan despite the way he’d been treated. He knew his wife Alpana missed the fellowship of her family there and all those servants in the home for her to manage and called a family conference to discuss his brother’s request. The Ambani children were adamant they wanted to make their future in Australia as they’d made friends and saw possibilities of a prosperous future here under much less stringent cultural practices. But his fortune was now invested in Australia and his business prospering. What would happen to that. They’d been assured they were on track for eventual Australian citizenship and his children wanted that. Finally, Jay spoke. He bent to touch his father’s feet in respect as he approached.

To be continued.

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