Vani - Snippets

Lag Ja Gale (One Part Only)

Bani had enough. She could handle her sister bad mouthing her, but not her raising her voice to her parents. She opened the door wide and stared at her sister as she stood there with tears streaming down her cheeks. Bani...beta tum khab aayi? Her soft spoken mother asked. Bani looked over at her mom who was seated on the bed and her dad who was standing by the open window. She came up and hugged them both and placed a kiss on her mother's forehead. Bass abhi aayi. Aaj kaafi parikshaa karli...Nirali tumaari problem kya hai? Aggar babu ji ne kuch kahaa hai toh bhaat ko sunlo na? Aur vaise bi, Shivam kahi nahi bhaag jaaraha. Bachpan se voh tumse hi shaadi karna chaahta hai aur itne saalon ke liye tumne usko tukraaya. Voh tumaara intezaar karlega. Uss loser ko koi aur ladki toh nahi milne vaali... Bani mumbled the last sentence. Nirali screeched and sat down on the bed with a thud. Dekha ma? Kaisi bhaatein karr rahi hai? Shivam ko loser bulaarahi hai. Kham se kham muje koi toh chaahta hai. Tume kaun chaahta hai? Tum toh ek naagin bi nahi bann paarahi...tume abh kaun chunne ga? Bani looked down in embarrassment and felt her eyes stinging. Her not being able to become a naagin was a sensitive topic for her and Nirali knew how to use it against her.

Nirali! Bani's dad shouted. She looked up at her dad in fear and stood up right away like a soldier. She could tell that he was absolutely livid and would now surely ban her from going to any royal event for weeks until she apologizes to her sister.  Bholenaath Bani ko chunne ge. Tume kyun itni takleef horahi hai?! Apni behen ke bhaare mein itna burra sochti ho? Aur rahi bhaat shaadi ki, toh pehle Bani ki hi shaadi hogi. Bass! Aggar tume itni beychaini horahi hai uss ladke se shaadi karne ki toh kudh uske paas challi jaao! Lekin usse pehle hum tume apne parivaar se dakhal kardenge. Firr main dekhunga ke Shivam ke ma aur babu tume kaise apnaayenge! Nirali gulped and ran out of the room before her dad punished her even further. Now she had no choice but to wait for her sister to get married so she could marry Shivam and move on with her life. Bani looked over at the door and sighed.

Ma ji...babu ji...muje maaf kardijiye...aaj firse meri vajjah se Nirali ko gussa aagaya. Ma...Bani turned around and her mom stood up and cupped her cheeks. She looked lovingly at her daughter while she fought back her tears. Shayad Bholenaath kudh nahi chaahte ke main Naagin banu? Shayad main uske khaabil nahi hoon? Her mom hugged Bani tight and patted her back while she started to sob in her chest. Bani's dad came up to her as well and patted her head assuringly. Aisa nahi hai beta...tum bauhat taakatvar naagin banno gi...sabse zyaada. Yeh main kehraha hoon. Tume apne babu ji parr barosa hai na? Bani hiccuped and nodded her head, though with little confidence. Mahendra smiled at his daughter and then looked over at Aarti with a look in his eyes. She always knew how to talk Bani out of such emotional states. Main neeche jaake gaard se milta hoon. Aarti nodded and waited for Mahendra to leave and close the door behind him. She kissed Bani's cheek and told her to come with her to the water fountain on the terrace because she wanted to talk to her about something.

Moments later Aarti was steering her conversation towards the direction of getting Bani's consent on marrying Vikrant who was Mahendra's close friends son and a perfect match for Bani in their eyes. Mumma...muje kuch poochna tha. Bani said before Aarti could finally get to the topic at hand. Aarti frowned and nodded her head. She watched as Bani ran her fingers through the water of the fountain and scrunched her eyebrows, internally searching for the right words. Ma...hum cheelon se itni nafrat kyun karte hai? Bediyah vansh ne bi hum Naag lok ke saath kitna burra kiya lekin usse hume itni takleef kyun nahi hui? Sirf Cheel hi kyun Naag aur Naagin ke sabse badde dushman kyun hai? Aarti smiled at her daughter thinking this was just her way of learning more about her kind so she could be prepared for when she becomes a Naagin. It was an unwritten rule that Naags and Cheels hated each other, but nobody really talked about the history behind the relationship. Growing up Bani heard many rumours and theories and now finally had the courage to ask her mom the real reason. Bani maine bataaya toh tha na? Kayi saal pehle kuch Cheel ladko ne Naagin ladkiyaan ko fasaaya tha...jhoote pyaar ki jaal mein...aur firr voh bichaari ladkiya gharr chodke challi gayi Cheel kingdom mein rehne ke liye. Firr voh kabhi vaapas nahi aayi...aur naahi unn Cheel ladko ne usse milne diya. Tumaare babu ji bi gae the jang mein ladne ke liye lekin hum haar gaye...bauhat Naag aur Naagin maaregaye. Aur- Bani shook her head and looked at her mom with questions in her eyes.