Kashish ~ A MeeraSim Prequel TS~

~The Arrival~

I sighed as I looked at the spectacular gates of pearl white and golden before us.

We'd finally reached the 'Khan Haveli' in the outskirts of Hyderabad. Its sprawling area and sophisticated architecture was designed to impress any and all who passed by or visited. I, however, had different sentiments about the mansion. I'd always found it to be so overwrought with ostentation that it suffocated me. Besides, the feudal traditions and ideals that all its inhabitants propagated and followed were something I was always staunchly in opposition to.

The head of the family-Shahnawaz Khan was an authoritarian of the highest order. Despite the fact that my philosophies did not match with his at all, I did have a certain amount of respect and admiration for him. After all, my father, Waqas Ahmed, and him had been close friends since before I was born. Thus, he'd always been incredibly warm towards me. However, I couldn't condone the fact that women had always been disrespected in his household, be it the Khan family's daughter Maryam or even their adopted daughter Haya. There'd always been an unreasonable number of restrictions on them- their education, their attire, their behaviour and so on.

Perhaps the biggest reason for this unfairness meted out to the female members of the Khan family was another woman herself- the 'Khanum' of the clan and wife to Shahnawaz Khan, Salma Begum. Despite being a woman herself, she was the biggest upholder of the feudal conservative mindset, which had always hindered women from progressing and outshining the men in their family. She hated rebellion in any form, and had to have the last word in nearly all matters of the household. I harboured a strong loathing towards her, and I had a feeling it was mutual.

However, the individual who exasperated me the most in the Khan household was their oldest offspring- Murtasim Khan. He was just a little older to me, but we were both more or less of the same generation. Even though we'd always been at loggerheads since we were children, I assumed that being a well-educated individual in today's day and age, he'd try and change things around his household and try to abandon the senseless archaic customs that'd been followed in his family for several generations. Sadly, it'd turned out that he'd embraced the ideals of his family willingly and genuinely believed in their principles. Consequently, my contempt for him had only intensified over the years, and once again- the sentiment was definitely not one-sided.

There was also another individual in the household who I could never quite figure out- Anwar Khan, Shahnawaz Chacha's younger brother and Murtasim's uncle. He'd always remained rather distant throughout most of my visits but would randomly be overly friendly during a few, puzzling me a great deal.

All in all, stepping foot in the Khan household had never been a pleasant experience for me. However, my Baba had always made it clear that it meant a lot to him for me to accompany him on his visits to the Khan Haveli. So, I put up a brave face and tagged along each time only to find a new reason to despise the place even more- and its people.

This house is nothing but a grotesquely flamboyant cage. I pity those who are trapped in it.

The thought entered my mind involuntarily as the heavy gates opened, letting our car inside the mansion. Usually, we'd always visit on a special occasion, such as Eid, but today we'd come to bid farewell to Murtasim as he prepared to go abroad for his undergraduate studies. I'd heard that he was the first one in his family to do so. I was rather surprised at his decision to leave Pakistan because it always seemed to me like he'd follow in his father's footsteps and complete his education here.

What's the use of studying so much if you're still going to have such a regressive outlook?

My father parked the car in his designated spot and said. "Chalo Bete..."

I shrugged and stepped out of the car, my body language clearly expressing my displeasure at having been forced to visit the Khan home.

A househelp escorted us through the large ornate doors of the mansion, until we reached the drawing room.