This is a tale that begins with a shiny red Maruti 800 and ends with a bicycle, but at its heart, it is the story of a grandmother, her fading memory, and the quiet upheaval in a Delhi household. The narrator, an eleven-year-old boy, lived with his father, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), his fourteen-year-old sister Didi, and his Nani (maternal grandmother) after his mother's passing.
The Arrival of the Red Maruti and a Changing Household
The family shared a JNU-allotted duplex in Delhi with their neighbours, the Dhamijas. Their son, Lucky, a young man of about eighteen who ran a furniture shop in Munirka, soon became the proud owner of a brand-new, red Maruti 800. No one else in the colony had a car, making it an object of wonder and instant status symbol.
However, the car's presence quickly became a nuisance. Parked too close to the shared gate to avoid scratches, it forced the family to squeeze past it awkwardly. Lucky developed a habit of sitting in the driver's seat and blaring the horn for extended periods, at all hours, disturbing the peace. Nani, who already disapproved of Lucky's flashy style, grew to despise the car, especially its loud horn, which interrupted her prayers and readings of the Hanuman Chalisa.
Nani's Dementia and the Mysterious Cycle Baba
Around the time the Maruti arrived, Nani began showing signs of what the family later understood was dementia. She started giving away her possessions, stating she was "preparing for death." Initially, it was her own jewellery and trinkets, but soon she began distributing household items—pots, pans, even a gas stove—to neighbours and beggars. The family would then have to embark on "recovery missions" around the colony based on Nani's moments of clarity.
Into this scenario rode Cycle Baba, a sadhu smeared in ash who arrived on a bicycle, a trident in one hand and a kamandal in the other. He visited Nani daily to discuss the Bhagwat Puraan. On his first visit, he boldly claimed he could drive a car, a statement the children found hilarious. He also expressed disapproval of the Maruti parked at the gate. The family, particularly the children, grew suspicious of him, fearing Nani might gift him something valuable.
The Disappearance and a Quiet Confession
The crisis peaked just before Diwali. The narrator spotted Lucky's car keys on the dashboard of the unlocked Maruti while Lucky was away at his shop. He did not alert anyone. Hours later, Cycle Baba's bicycle was leaning against the gate, and the Maruti was gone.
When confronted, Nani seemed utterly confused, at one point pointing to the bicycle and calling it the Maruti. Lucky was furious but powerless; the police could not arrest an elderly woman with dementia. Cycle Baba was never seen again. Lucky eventually claimed insurance but was a subdued version of his former self. The family, meanwhile, felt a sense of liberation with the noisy car gone.
Nani's condition worsened over the next three years. On her deathbed, as the narrator gave her water, she mentioned the "red car." Assuring her it wasn't her fault, the narrator was stunned when Nani calmly stated, "I can tell a cycle from a car." In a fleeting moment of lucidity, she had confessed. But the fog descended again when she mistook the jhadu vali for her deceased daughter, Nirmala, and she passed away soon after, leaving her grandson forever wondering about the full truth.
The story is an excerpt from the work of author Sujit Saraf, whose latest novel is 'Every Room Has a View', published in 2025.
