Home Waters · The Cartographer's Daughter · Pulse Beat
She came home in the spring on the night train, and Commander Iyer met her at the station with a bunch of marigolds. "It is a ridiculous welcome for a surveyor," he said, handing them over. "Your…
She came home in the spring on the night train, and Commander Iyer met her at the station with a bunch of marigolds.
"It is a ridiculous welcome for a surveyor," he said, handing them over. "Your father would have laughed."
"He'd have said they were too bright."
"He would." The Commander smiled. "Come. There's a surprise."
It was at the harbour, at the end of the quay, where the Nandini lay at her moorings with a new coat of paint. Not blue. White, with a stripe of blue along the gunwale, and on the bow in hand-lettered capitals: NANDINI. VARMA & IYER. HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYORS. Bhaskar stood on the deck with his arms crossed, trying not to look moved.
"We took a commission," said the Commander. "The Dwarka coast. And a second from the Port Trust at Kolar, to resurvey the harbour approaches. They need someone honest."
"Who's the Varma?" said Isha, though she knew.
"Whoever is willing to go out in the morning," said Bhaskar gruffly, "and come back with the numbers right."