Chandrabhan and Sadhana were over seventy. They lived in their house in the town. Their son, Siddhartha, completed his postgraduate degree, and was married to Utkarsha, who was a graduate. They were in different jobs, working in Delhi.

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Siddartha stays in the college Hostel for UG studies.

During his graduation, Siddhartha stayed in his college hostel and shared a room with two other students. Each student was provided with a single cot, bed, and pillow. Shared bathrooms and toilets were on each floor. Hot water geysers were kept outside the bathrooms. The students were to collect hot water and take it to the bath. Students were to get their bedsheets. Every student had a table, a chair, and an open cupboard to store belongings. There were no lockers to store valuables.

In the 1980s, students studying outside their homes stored their belongings in aluminium rectangular boxes. Siddhartha had one such box. It was painted light blue on the outside and dark blue on the inside. His name and roll number were painted on it. He used it throughout his undergraduate studies and passed with first-class honours. Siddhartha believed it was his lucky box.

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Chandrabhan purchases an Aluminium box for Siddartha

The box's top, bottom, and side sheets were pressed alternately to form bracings and to provide strength to the box, ensuring it would not bend when carrying weights. It was considered safe, as there would be sound with slight disturbance. Present-day polypropylene suitcases were not popular during that period. They were considered suitable for air travel. Chandrabhan purchased the aluminium box from a local shop for his son.

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Siddartha requests his mother to take care of Utkarsha during pregnancy.

Utkarsha was pregnant for the first time. Siddartha got her regular checkups with a gynaecologist at a hospital in Delhi. She was attending to her job. The doctor advised her not to strain during the last three months of pregnancy. Utkarsha applied for maternity leave and was staying at home. Therefore, Siddhartha wanted his mother to help her and take care of the house in Delhi.

When Siddhartha set up his family in Delhi after his marriage, he left the aluminium box with his parents. After his wedding, he was busy with post-marriage formalities, honeymoon and settling in Delhi. Hence, he couldn't find time to show the box to his wife. Now, he was eager to get the box and asked his parents to bring it on their journey to Delhi.

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Kadambari uses Siddartha's Box.

After Siddhartha left for his PG studies and job in Delhi, his maternal grandmother, Kadambari, used the box. She liked the box. She kept her old pure silk sarees and gold ornaments in it. After her demise, the pujari asked Sadhana to remove the gold and other ornaments from her body before the funeral. She removed the two gold rings on her right-hand fingers, earrings, and a chain on her body. Chandrabhan performed the funeral rites as Sadhana was the only daughter.

During the performance of the rituals for eleven days, Siddartha and his parents didn't remember the box as they were busy caring for relatives and performing the rites. Siddartha left for Delhi after the eleventh-day programme.

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Chandrabhan and Sadhana search for the box.

Chandrabhan and Sadhana had to search for the box at the request of their son. They located it in the loft.

Chandrabhan climbed a plastic chair to reach the loft and to remove the box. Sadhana stood on the floor to help him take the box down. She raised her hands to grab it, but it slipped from her hands and fell on her, hitting her right shoulder. It then fell onto the floor, making a loud noise. Sadhana started bleeding, and soon her blouse was covered in blood. Chandrabhan took her to a nearby hospital; the doctors took X-rays of the injured area, found no fractures, but a deep wound. They stitched the injured part, gave medication, and advised a week's bed rest. The hospital arranged for a female caregiver to be at home during the day.

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Sadhana recovers from the Injury.

After a week of bed rest, the doctors removed the stitches. The doctors said that Sadhana was regaining normal function and recommended exercises and physiotherapy for her shoulder for a month. Due to her injury and treatment, they were worried and didn't bother about the box.

After Sadhana's recovery, when they were planning their travel to Delhi, Chandrabhan remembered the box and tried to open it. It was locked. He searched for the key but couldn't find it. Therefore, he called a locksmith to open the lock.

It contained a few old pure silk sarees. Sadhana could not check the box thoroughly because of her shoulder injury.

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Chandrabhan and Sadhana go to Delhi by Train with the box.

Sadhana bought a dress for the would-be child and kept it in the box, along with some pure silk sarees from her mother. She wanted to give some sarees of her mother to her daughter-in-law. They locked the box. They travelled by train in the second AC compartment, on lower berths. As they boarded, other passengers watched the box eagerly. The aluminium box was heavy with sarees, and Chandrabhan struggled to carry it by its handle. It looked different from modern wheeled polypropylene hand luggage. He placed the box under Sadhana's berth and tied it with a chain. It was a twenty-four-hour journey. Siddhartha met them at the New Delhi railway station and took them home.

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Utkarsha Delivers a Baby Girl.

Utkarsha delivered a baby girl at the hospital. Sadhana was helpful to Utkarsha before and after the delivery. She helped with the infant's bath, dressing, and sleeping arrangements. She cared whenever the baby cried. She performed the eleventh day on Utkarsha with a head bath and Sambrani Dhoopam, and for the baby.

On the twenty-first day, Siddartha and Utkarsha planned to celebrate the baby's naming ceremony. They invited neighbours and friends on WhatsApp for that evening.

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Siddartha opens the box.

A day before the naming ceremony, Siddhartha and Utkarsha opened the box. Utkarsha took the baby's dress and some old pure silk sarees. Utkarsha's friends were fond of old pure silk sarees. Unlike the present pure silk sarees, they were of plain colours with big ornamental borders woven with pure gold or silver thread and were heavy to wear. Utkarsha liked the box.

She cleared everything out of the box and tried to determine if anything was left over. So, Utkarsha asked Siddartha to lift the box open upside down. Surprisingly, they found a small cloth bag that the old generation used to carry money. The cloth bag was small and got stuck in the small pocket of the inside cover of the box. They pulled it out.

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They find a 100 gm Gold Chain.

It was of Late Kadambari's. Older women used to carry cash and valuables in cloth bags. They inserted it at their waists, covered under the saree drape. Siddhartha, Utkarsha and Sadhana anxiously opened the bag, and to their surprise, they found a hundred-gram gold five-stringed long chain. They were all happy. It was a gift from Siddartha's Late grandmother to their newborn baby, sent through the box.

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Baby Named Kadambari

That evening, there was a big gathering of all the invitees to bless the baby. Sadhana decorated the infant with the new dress she bought and the gold chain from the box. Everyone liked the dress and the gold chain. They asked how they could get such a beautiful gold chain. Siddhartha happily shared with everyone present that it was a gift from his late grandmother, Kadambari. Siddhartha and Utkarsha named the baby "Kadambari." Sadhana was pleased with her mother's name for the child. All the family members believed that Sadhana's Mother, Kadambari, had been reborn.

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