Gowri’s gift to Eeshwar.
The next morning at the temple, Gowri approached him with something hidden behind her back, looking uncharacteristically shy.
“I made this for you,” she said simply, handing him a rolled-up paper. “Thought you might like it.”
He carefully unrolled it to reveal a detailed pencil sketch of the Ragigudda Temple, not just the hill or the actual temple, but the life around it. There were devotees on the temple steps, children playing in the grounds, elderly people sitting in the shade of the trees, volunteers arranging flowers, manning queues. In the center, the Hanuman deity’s face wore a subtle smile that seemed to encompass all the activity around it.
“Gowri, this is…” he stared at the drawing, amazed by the level of detail and the emotion it captured. “This is beautiful. You really drew this?”
“I’ve been working on it for a few weeks,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, making his heart jump a beat. “Every Saturday, I’d notice something new, some little detail I wanted to capture. I thought you might like to have it.”
“I’ll frame it,” he said softly, looking up from the sketch to meet her eyes. “This is going to have a place of honour in my house.”
The weeks that followed brought them closer in ways that felt both natural and profound. Their friendship deepened through shared experiences, weekend visits to different temples around Bangalore, photography expeditions at Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park, long conversations over filter coffee at their favourite café near the office. Eeshwar found himself opening up in ways he never had before, sharing thoughts and dreams he’d never voiced to anyone.