After being neck deep in completing her presentation for 32hours without a wink, Riddhi decided to head straight to Nook; a nearby Restobar. She definitely needed a stiff one, before hitting the sack.
Meandering through the packed restaurant to her usual bar stool, her eye caught a couple of familiar faces.
It was a mother- daughter duo from her building, probably waiting for the man of the house to join them for dinner.
As soon as Riddhi waved across to them, the young mother distracted her little daughter to look away in another direction.
Riddhi was fully aware that within the conservative walls of her building compound, her care a damn lifestyle and reckless ways were frowned upon.
Not being rattled at all, she ordered her Taslisker double on the rocks and munched away on the accompanying soya chips and almonds. Deciding to forgo dinner, she called for an Uber and moved into the open patio for a quick smoke.
Vandana and her very sleepy six year old were looking for a rickshaw to get back home. Riddhi offered them a lift in the Uber.
A rather reluctant Vandana acquiesced as there was no better option at that time.
By the time the Indigo rolled into the Sudarshan Society, the child was fast asleep on her Mum’s lap. Vandana hushed her quick thank you and headed straight to her apartment on the second floor with her daughter in her arms.
At about 10pm, when hunger molecules had started pirouetting in Riddhi’s stomach and sleep was playing truant, her doorbell rang. To her utter surprise it was Vandana who had dropped by to ask for her contribution towards the Uber ride.Riddhi broke into a laughter and told her it was alright. When Vandana insisted, Riddhi confessed that she was starving and she could repay her with food, incase she had leftovers in her fridge.
It softened Vandana in an unknown way. She asked Riddhi to wait and within no time, she was back with a plate full of steaming hot bhindi, chapatis, dal, chawal, raita.
One bite of that homemade goodness triggered an emotional ride in Riddhi.
Afterall, it had been two long years away from home for her.
A lot changed for the the two women in the course of that night.
Exactly a year from that date Vandana was giving an interview on the success of “Crossing Over” her venture of daily meal packages. When asked about the unique name of the venture, she mentioned
“We create imaginary glass walls around ourselves based on our preconceived notions. These mental barriers prevent us from opening our heart. Only when our heart truly opens can our purpose align with our path. Exactly a year ago, when this realisation dawned on me, I decided to shatter the glass wall and Cross over, Crossing over was born.”