Madhav Rao came to visit Madhusudan at his house, as he was wont to do once in a while. The two were more than just relatives—they shared a deep, time-worn friendship. Madhusudan’s face lit up the moment he saw Madhav.

“It’s been ages, Madhav! You have crossed my mind so many times recently,” said Madhusudan, his voice warm with excitement.

“You and your wife went to America, right? When did you return?” asked Madhav Rao, sitting on the sofa next to Madhusudan.

“We returned two months ago. Every time I tried calling you, it said either the number was busy or switched off,” replied Madhusudan.

“That’s a lie. When did you ever call me? How could you have the time? Never mind that, tell me about your America tour. What did you see? Where all did you go?”

“How much do you want me to tell you? How long do you want me to talk? It’s a wonderful world, Madhav. Like heaven on earth. We were there for six months, and those six months felt like six moments.”

“Really? I’ve heard some people say they felt like prisoners, stuck at home and bored to death after visiting America.”

“Those who return without going anywhere or seeing anything will say so. But we didn’t face such a situation. Our daughter and son-in-law took excellent care of us. They took us to so many wonderful places. My wife and I enjoyed ourselves so much. It was such a great experience. It felt like we enjoyed enough to last a lifetime!”

“Wow! You enjoyed that much? Let me share in some of that enjoyment too.”

“Absolutely. We took so many photos and captured so many scenes on video at the places we visited. If you have the patience, I’ll show them all to you.”

“We can see all that later, but first, tell me what you saw and where all you went?”

“You know that our daughter and son-in-law live in Boston. They say you shouldn’t call it BOston, but Boston. We kept calling it BOston. Every time we said BOston, our son-in-law would correct us, insisting it’s not BOston but Boston,” Madhusudan said, laughing heartily.

“Everyone here calls it BOston,” said Madhav Rao.

“Never mind that... Let me tell you from the beginning. They booked our tickets through British Airways and sent the tickets via the internet. Do you know what British Airways is like? They are not just airplanes—they are like heavenly abodes. Do you think those planes are like our humble Air India planes? They are marvelous... absolutely magnificent. The seats, the atmosphere, the air hostesses, the snacks, drinks, and food they provide... everything is top-class. As soon as we stepped onto that plane, it felt like stepping into a magical palace. The plane had a two-hour layover in London... from there to Boston... a total journey of 16 hours. As soon as we landed in Boston, our daughter and son-in-law received us at the luggage counter. Their house is 20 miles from the airport. In America, everyone talks in miles, not kilometers. We reached our daughter’s house in half an hour in our son-in-law’s car. The roads in America have four lanes on each side. How beautiful they are! Do you remember what N.T. Rama Rao said once he returned from America? He said their roads are cleaner than our bedrooms. Traveling on those roads in a car is such a comfortable experience that you can’t even imagine.

Now, about their house—what can I say? It’s like a palace, with a beautiful garden in both the front and back. There’s a lush, green lawn as well. Every house in America has to have a lawn in front. Everywhere you look in America, you see green trees and lawns. The garden around their house is filled with various flowering plants. The environment there feels like a paradise. As soon as we entered the house, we felt so comfortable. The spacious rooms, the carpets, the LCD screens, the restrooms, the lights, the kitchen, the gadgets in the kitchen... everything is great. Our son-in-law works there as a software engineer. Our daughter, Anita, did some small job initially when she went there, but she left it after their son was born. Sujith, our son-in-law, earns enough for them to live comfortably. They each have a car. When our son-in-law went to the office, our daughter would drive us around in the car. Boston is one of the most beautiful cities in America... The Atlantic Ocean is next to Boston city. Seeing the ocean, boating on it... visiting the place where the ‘Boston Tea Party’ happened... The ‘Boston Tea Party’ refers to the incident during the American Revolution when American workers threw chests of tea from British ships into the ocean to protest British rule. You must have read that the British ruled America for some time, and the Americans fought against them and sent them back to England. This event in history is called the American Revolution.”

“I might have read about it, but I don’t remember any of it,” said Madhav Rao.

“In Boston, there’s a prestigious institution called MIT—Massachusetts Institute of Technology—a world-renowned university. Great research has been done there, and many Nobel Prizes have been awarded to those who worked there. We visited MIT, as well as several museums, parks, and shopping malls. From there, our daughter and son-in-law took us to New York by car. You know New York, right? It’s a city of skyscrapers. Seeing those tall buildings is mind-blowing. They seem to touch the sky, and you can’t imagine how they were built. We spent two- or three-days touring New York. We visited the UN building and the site where the World Trade Center towers once stood. One day, we took a large boat to see the Statue of Liberty. It was the most memorable trip. That statue, a symbol of freedom and liberty, was made in France and installed on Manhattan Island in New York. Surrounded by the sea, the entire New York City is built on many small islands. We stayed in a five-star hotel for the three days we were in New York. From New York, we went to New Jersey. It’s another wonderful place. We stayed with our relatives in New Jersey. From there, we drove to Niagara Falls. Seeing Niagara Falls was a thrilling experience... something we can never forget. There is no other waterfall in the world as magnificent. Niagara Falls is located in two places—one on the American side and one on the Canadian side. The falls form the border between Canada and the United States. On the other side of the Niagara River, you can see the city of Toronto in Canada. Watching the falls is mesmerizing... the power of the cascading water... the roar... the mist that looks like white clouds... the rainbows that form when the sun’s rays hit the mist... They take you to two places called ‘Cave of the Winds’ and ‘Maid of the Mist’ where you can see the falls up close... so close that you feel the water is falling on you. They provide nylon covers to keep you from getting wet and special shoes to prevent slipping. At ‘Maid of the Mist,’ they take you near the falls on the Canadian side... you get completely drenched under the falls. Seeing Niagara Falls at night is an amazing experience... they light up the falls with colorful electric lights, showing them in Technicolor. Seeing those sights makes you think there is so much beauty in the world,” said Madhusudan.

“Wow, Madhu... listening to you makes me want to go and see Niagara Falls right now,” said Madhav Rao.

“You should see it... somehow you must go and see it,” said Madhusudan.

“How can I manage that, Madhu? You have a daughter and son-in-law who adore you and take care of you. Who do I have? Never mind. Each person’s luck is different. Tell me more about what you saw.”

Meanwhile, Madhusudan’s wife, Sharada, brought them tea. They continued talking while sipping their tea.

“We also went to Washington... saw the White House where the President lives. That’s it. It took us two months to see all these places.”

“Didn’t you visit Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles?”

“Those are on the west coast of America. We only saw cities on the east coast. We didn’t go to the west coast.”

“I’ve heard it’s very cold in America.”

“Yes, it’s true. We went in February. Summer starts in March in America. It’s not cold. April, May, June, July, and August—there’s no cold during these months. It’s like how it is here in India. But November, December, and January are extremely cold. We returned to India in June, long before the cold season started. Our daughter planned everything—when to come to America, when to return to India, which cities to visit... I can’t express how lovingly our daughter and son-in-law took care of us during our stay. They didn’t leave us alone for a moment and were always by our side, ensuring we had everything we needed.”

“Your son-in-law works, doesn’t he? How did he manage to stay with you? Did he take six months’ leave?”

“Taking six months’ leave in America is not possible. He only took leave when we went out. Do you know one of the conveniences for those working in America? They can work from home using their computers. Our son-in-law often worked from home. He only took leave when we had to travel to another city. Whenever he couldn’t take leave, our daughter would say, ‘Just this once, please... Nothing would happen. My parents have come from so far... Will they come again? If we don’t do this much for them, how can we…?’ Our son-in-law never goes against her wishes, you know? Another thing... our Anita took such loving care of her mother. Whenever Sharada tried to do some work, Anita would stop her. Sharada spent all her time with our grandson. When we were leaving for India, our grandson held onto his grandmother tightly and didn’t let go for an hour, insisting that she shouldn’t leave,” said Madhusudan.

“I heard that after you returned, your daughter’s father-in-law and his wife also went to America. How was their experience there?” asked Madhav Rao.

“Yes, after we came back, they went. They must’ve had a good time too,” said Madhusudan.

“If they had a good time, why did they return in two months when they originally planned to stay for six months?” asked Madhav Rao.

“Did they come back? I don’t know that. Anita called me just yesterday. She didn’t mention that they had returned. She didn’t bring up the topic at all. It’s very surprising!”

“Didn’t your daughter’s father-in-law Purushottam Rao tell you they had come back? They’ve been back for a week now.”

“He didn’t tell us. They don’t call us often. If there’s any calling to be done, it’s usually us who have to call them. They have a lot of pride because they are the groom’s family. They think we are inferior to them,” said Madhusudan.

“I know your Purushottam Rao very well. He is my uncle. He’s not that kind of person... Everyone says he’s a gentleman.”

“On the surface, everyone seems like a gentleman.”

“Never mind, Madhu. Everyone has their own opinions. I should be going now.”

“You’re leaving already? Without seeing the photos and CDs? I’ll show you the Niagara Falls video that my son-in-law shot. Let’s watch it over lunch.”

“We can see it another time. My wife sent me to get vegetables. I wanted to see you, so I came here and got delayed. Who knows what kind of fuss she will make when I get home,” said Madhav Rao as he stood up.

“You must come another time. I need to see them all.”

“Of course,” said Madhav Rao, starting his motorcycle parked outside their house.

*~*

Five days later, Madhava Rao dropped by Purushottam Rao’s home. They were distant relatives, and Madhav always called him ‘Babai,’ a term of respect and affection. He had been itching to hear about their time in America and couldn’t wait any longer. His curiosity had finally brought him to Purushottam’s door. 

“Well, Madhav, how are you? It’s been quite some time since I last saw you,” said Purushottam.

“Yes, Babai. I heard you recently returned from America. You went with plans to stay for six months, right? Why did you come back so soon?” asked Madhav Rao, sitting on the sofa in their living room.

“What could we do other than come back, son. We are regretting even staying for those two months. Now I wish we had come back the very next day.”

“Why is that, Babai? Madhusudan said that America is like heaven on earth and that six months passed like six moments.”

“Of course he would say that... why wouldn’t he? His daughter is there, after all!”

“But your son is there too...”

“These days, it’s not the sons’ reign—it’s the daughters’ reign.”

“What happened, Babai?”

“What can I say, Madhav? They say when the stomach bursts, everything falls at your feet. That’s how our situation was. We went there only because our son sent us the tickets. He asked, ‘Which flight should I book, Daddy?’ I said any flight would do. But our daughter-in-law said, ‘Come by Air India, father-in-law. It’s our national airline, after all. Why take another airline?’ So, we agreed and went by Air India. Since we already had our passports and visas, it was easy to go. We planned to stay for six months, but we couldn’t even stay for two months.”

“Why couldn’t you stay? Was it winter there when you went? I heard that the winters there are severe.”

“No, it wasn’t winter. We went in July. Madhusudan and his family returned in June. We went in July. The weather in July and August is quite pleasant there. When we landed at Boston airport, both Sujith and Anita came to receive us. On the way home in the car, our daughter-in-law wouldn’t let my son speak a word, constantly bickering with him. ‘This is missing at home, that is missing... When will you bring them? You never care about the house... you’re always busy with office work,’ she kept arguing. When he tried to ask us about our journey, she interrupted, assuring, ‘The journey is always fine. You don’t need to ask that. Listen to what I’m saying. I’ve been asking you to replace this car for a long time, yet you’re still using this old car. Wherever we go in this old car, it’s a problem. Now you’ve brought your parents here. Wherever you take them in this car, it will be a problem.’ My son replied, ‘Your car is fine, isn’t it? We can take them in that,’ to which she said, ‘I need my car. I have to take Rohit—our grandson—to school and bring him back every day. I can’t spend a moment without my car. Get your car repaired and take them, or buy a new car at least for their sake.’

“Our troubles increased as soon as we entered their house. Our daughter-in-law was very indifferent to us, constantly arguing with Sujith over something. As soon as we were dropped off at the house—it was a Saturday, and Sujith had a holiday—she insisted on going to someone’s birthday party. When Sujith suggested canceling the plan since we had just arrived, she flared up at him. ‘Cancel it? What will they think? They always come to our functions... How can we cancel just because they arrived now? I’ve prepared everything. They can rest after freshening up and eating. We’ll be back by then,’ she said. Sujith, perhaps to avoid arguing with her, immediately took her and Rohit to the party. They locked the house and left. It took us a long time just to figure out where everything was in that big house. We were starving but couldn’t find anything to eat. She mentioned that everything was ready, but when we opened the fridge after freshening up, we couldn’t find anything suitable for us to eat. They said they would be back in an hour but returned three hours later. Since they had locked the house from outside, we didn’t even know when they arrived. By the time they returned, we had fallen asleep on the sofas—we couldn’t sleep at all on the flight.”

When Sujith arrived, he said, “Mom! Dad! Did you already fall asleep? Did you have a bath? Did you eat anything at all?”

“We took a bath, but we didn’t eat anything. We couldn’t sleep on the flight. By the time we bathed with hot water, sleep overtook us,” I replied.

“So, you didn’t eat anything?” Sujith asked.

“No, we didn’t,” I said.

“How would we know where anything is to eat?” your aunt added.

“Everything is in the fridge. If you had just opened the fridge, you would have found everything,” our daughter-in-law said coldly.

“We don’t even know how to open your fridge!” your aunt said.

“There’s no such thing as your fridge and our fridge. Fridges here are the same as fridges there. You talk as if you’ve never seen a fridge before! Did you come all this way just to scold me for not serving you food?” our daughter-in-law said even more coldly.

“Anita! What kind of talk is that? They have just arrived, and you’ve already started with this?” Sujith tried to interject.

“Why are you getting so angry? What did I say now? What did I start? Did they or did I start it? I arranged everything in the fridge. They could have just taken it out and eaten comfortably from the dining table!” our daughter-in-law said.

“Did we show them what’s in the fridge and how to open it?” Sujith asked.

“Maybe I didn’t show them in the rush to leave, but you could have shown them,” she said dismissively, taking our grandson and going to their bedroom.

“Okay, okay... you all come and eat, Mom... Dad, you too,” said my son as he opened the fridge, took everything out, and placed it on the dining table. He separated the items we could eat and served us himself.

We felt as if we had eaten a meal of bland, cold food.

That was how the first day went, and, to put it in one word, every day went the same way, Madhav.

Every day, there would be some argument between her and my son... he would get angry and leave for the office. Whenever he came to the room where we were staying to talk to us, it would be just a moment before she would call out, “Sujith! Rohit is being naughty. He listens to you... he doesn’t listen to me... come here at once.” Even if we tried to pick up Rohit or if he tried to come to us, she would immediately say, “He’s not feeling well, mother-in-law! He needs to take his cough syrup now,” or “He’s watching Cartoon Network on TV. Don’t disturb him while he’s watching TV.” She always had some excuse to keep him from coming to us. During the two months we were there, not once did our grandson call us Grandpa or Grandma and come to us. Our daughter-in-law took strict measures to prevent it. We realized that she thought he might get some infection from us.

Whenever my son suggested taking us out on Saturdays and Sundays, our daughter-in-law would say, “We need to clean the house tomorrow... how will it be possible? Let’s go next Sunday.” That’s it! My son would argue with her for a while but would eventually agree with her.

Gradually, our daughter-in-law started calling out, “Mother-in-law! Mother-in-law!” and assigning household chores. She would tell her how to clean the house with the vacuum cleaner and ask her to do it. Or she would say that a particular dish was her specialty and request her to make it that day. She would even say, “Make coffee for Father-in-law yourself. He likes it better when you make it. Your son also loves your cooking,” making your aunt do all the cooking.

One day, Sujith said, “I can’t seem to take you anywhere on Sundays. I’ll take four days off, Dad. I’ll show you some nice places in Boston. Then we can go to New York... and also visit Niagara Falls.”

Immediately, our daughter-in-law retorted, “Take leave? Where do you have leave days? If you start taking leave like this, you’ll lose your job. We’ll end up on the streets. Just put them on a tourist bus. They’ll show them everything and bring them back.”

“No, I will take them myself. Did you forget how many days of leave you made me take when your parents visited? One rule for your family and another for mine?” Sujith said, a bit angrily.

That was it. She flew into a rage. She threw everything she could find on the floor. “Did I ask you to take leave for my parents? Those were all paid leaves. After you’ve blamed me like this, do you think I can stay alive? I’ll hang myself right now,” she screamed and ran into the bedroom. Sujith went after her and pleaded with her for an hour. We also went and pleaded with her and told our son, “Don’t take leave for us. We don’t need to go anywhere. We’re comfortable at home. We don’t even have the energy to go out. It seems like we’ve caused trouble between you two by coming here. We just want to see you both happy.”

From that point on, my son stopped arguing with her. He began to follow her commands. As soon as he came near us, she would call out, “Sujith... Sujith... come here. The AC in this room isn’t working. I want to chat with a friend online, but the internet isn’t connecting,” and he would run to her immediately.

Once, when they were going out, our daughter-in-law handed some chicken pieces to your aunt and said, “Mother-in-law, please cook this chicken before we return.”

“I have a terrible headache, dear. Cook it when you come back,” your aunt replied.

“Please stop asking my mom to do things. If you need something, tell me... I’ll cook the chicken,” Sujith said.

“Sorry, Sujith. Sorry, I made a mistake. Please forgive me,” she said, tearing up and went to the bedroom.

“It seems we’ve only caused trouble between you two by coming here. Sujith, please change our return ticket dates. We’ll leave in the next two or three days,” your aunt told Sujith.

“Go ahead and leave. Then your son will blame me for driving you away. Did you come here just to make me cry?” our daughter-in-law said coldly, emerging from the bedroom.

That night itself, your aunt and I firmly decided to leave for our country immediately. When our daughter-in-law went to the bathroom to take a bath, we told our son to change our return ticket dates. He understood our situation as well.

“That’s very dangerous, Mom. If I say anything strongly, she might complain to the police here that her husband and in-laws are harassing her at home. If something like that happens, the police will immediately come and arrest me and you both and put us in jail. It’s best to send you back as soon as possible,” he said and left for the office.

After hearing those words from him, we didn’t want to stay there for even a moment longer. We felt as if we were sitting on a bed of hot coals. Our daughter-in-law completely stopped talking to us. She began to look at us as if we were enemies. She also made our grandson believe that we were his enemies.

Our son quickly changed our return ticket dates. On the day we were supposed to leave, when he was coming to drop us off at the airport, our daughter-in-law insisted on coming along, reasoning, “If I don’t come to the airport and say goodbye when my in-laws are leaving, won’t people blame me?” She sat next to our son in the car. Even when taking us to the airport, we thought we could share our grief and story with our son for a while, but our daughter-in-law didn’t give us that chance. All the way to the airport, she kept talking to our son about their friends there, political developments in India, and their relatives in India. She didn’t let us talk to him at all. Our son also only spoke with her and didn’t even try to talk to us.

When we were booking our luggage and getting our boarding passes, our daughter-in-law not only said goodbye to us but also made our grandson say goodbye. As we said goodbye and were heading towards the departure gate, we couldn’t hold back the tears welling up in our eyes. Our Sujith didn’t even look at us... he didn’t say goodbye. I could imagine the emotional turmoil he was going through at that moment. When we reached the gate and sat in the lounge, your aunt burst into tears. That’s how our trip to America ended, Madhav,” concluded Purushottam Rao.

Our People - Their People (titled ‘Asmadeeyulu - Tasmadeeyulu’ in Telugu) by Ampasayya Naveen was first published in Navya Weekly and later featured as the lead story in the collection Asmadeeyulu - Tasmadeeyulu in December 2011. – Translated into English by Rajeshwar Mittapalli.

Ampasayya Naveen is an accomplished author and Sahitya Akademi laureate who has to his credit more than 30 novels and 100 short stories in Telugu. The most well-known of his novels are Ampasayya, Antasravanti, Kalarekhalu, and Premaku Aavali Teeram. He is a pioneer of the stream-of-consciousness mode of writing in Telugu. His fictional works have been widely translated, including into English. In recognition of his contribution to Telugu fiction, apart from the Sahitya Akademi Award, he was conferred at least two honorary doctorates by universities.