Shalini Gupta has just ordered the pizza thats lying on her dining table. On the wall adjacent to the longest sofa in the room are two photographs. One is of a woman in a white sari with chandelier earrings,a distant look on her face. The other is that of her parents together. My parents were rich. Look at my mothers earrings. Doesnt it seem so? she asks. Shalini betrays no emotions. At least nothing to suggest she has been living with the body of her 80-year-old woman mother,Vinode Gupta,who passed away at least six months back at their D-58 residence in Saket. Strangely,Shalini,who had been living with her for the past 15 years,had no idea that her mother was dead. On the left is another bedroom which Shalini doesnt allow entry into. Its too messy. The maid hasnt come in a long while, she explains. Shalinis mothers room is dimly lit. The corridor light is enough to reveal what lies inside. The room has a strange stench; musty and gloomy. In the room is a sofa-cum-bed on which the body was found. Beneath it lie a pair of cream-coloured slippers. Clad in a pair of black pyjamas,a dark grey shirt and a pair of red and black bathroom slippers,Shalini appears disillusioned. This was where my mother slept. My father died last December. But she does not show any sign of remorse. My mother died because she was ill. She was too old and had lived a very traumatic life. Shalini,the only child of her parents,has been taking care of her mother for the past 15 years. Ask her about her father Purshottam Lal Guptas profession and she says,I dont know. He never told me. I never wanted to know either. She says her daughter Rehana was born on December 13,1983 and has just returned from Bangalore. I have been fighting a divorce case with my husband and have just got custody of my child. But is she her only child? I dont know how many children I have. I have Rehana and the rest of them are with Nischit,my husband. Nischit works for Taj Hotels. Shalini,too,was working with the New Zealand High Commission until she quit her job. But,Im scared. There are people trying to get their hands on my property. Suddenly,she says,I need to take a shower and shuts the door. Outside,guard Harnat Singh says he has seen Shalini go out to buy basic commodities. I even saw her husband and daughter the other day. But when I asked her where they went,memsahib said she didnt know. Vinodes skeltal remains were discovered after a DJB officer found something amiss when he went to the house to repair a meter on Saturday evening. He informed the neighbours,who rang the police. The body has now been sent for post mortem. The police dont suspect any foulplay and have started inquest proceedings.
