MaNan: Breaking Free

A Peek Into The Future (2)

"Are you busy?"

"No, just got out of a meeting. You?"

"Just finished a recording."

"Recording? Today?"

"Yeah, I preponed a recording session. Anyway Manik, I need to ask you something."

There's a brief pause on the line, after which he answers, "I need to ask you something too."

"Manik, I-"

"Nandini, it's important actually. And I don't want to do this over the phone." He's talking very fast. "Listen, can you come here today?"

"Today?" I ask incredulously.

"Yeah, I'll wrap up everything and we can have dinner together. What say?"

"Manik, is something wrong?"

"No, relax. I just need to discuss a few things with you. It can't wait. Please? Just come."

"Okay. I'll take the first flight and be there. But everything's okay, right?"

"Yes, madam. Everything's fine. Just come, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll see you."

With that, I hang up the phone and quickly find the earliest flight to Delhi. It's about two hours from now, so if I leave right away, I could make it. Grabbing all my things, I go down to find my car parked in the front, with the driver seated inside and Kamlesh, my new bodyguard leaning on the side.
I quickly get inside and we set off for the airport.

"Ma'am, kitne din ka plan hai?" Kamlesh asks from the front seat.

"Pata nahi, bhaiya. Dekhte hain." I tell him and quickly send a text to Akriti, my manager, telling her that I'm going to Delhi for the day.

As we amble through the roads, the driver takes a shortcut to surpass the traffic and it brings me to an area I try to avoid with a burning passion.

Another sharp turn and I'm right in front of the one building I absolutely loathe- Singhania Mansion.

The last time I came to this area was very long ago and the sight of the building surprises me for a moment. Its thoroughly dilapidated and dirty- paint peeling off the walls, the wrought iron gates rusted and the once immaculate garden all slimy and wild now. There's fungus and weeds growing out of the walls, the glass in the windows is broken and the building looks like it could crumble any minute. Completely stripped of all its former glory.

I heard that the mansion was auctioned off after Singhania's arrest and all his other properties were sealed as well. I have no idea what shape the rest of them are in or where all his blood money went, and I don't care either, but there's definitely something oddly satisfying about seeing the mansion in such a horrible state. For the first time since morning, I find myself smiling genuinely. Rotten, just like it deserves to be. Seeing the roads empty, the driver speeds up and soon enough, the mansion is left behind me.

When I came back to Mumbai, nearly five years ago, for a singing competition, I didn't think I would stay here for long. The plan was to wind up the competition and go back to Bangalore. But the competition had turned out to be something I never expected; it gave me a taste of what it could be like to be a singer for real. The instant popularity I gained was too overwhelming and I had been flooded with offers the minute I won the show. In the end, I had stayed back and decided to test my talent in the Hindi music industry.

It wasn't easy by any means, to come back to this city. It had taken a lot of effort and solid willpower on my part to stay put here. But I had managed somehow. Manik was with me throughout, reminding me that if this city held bad memories, it was also the place where I met Navya and Cabir. If this city had taken a lot from me, it had also given me the love of my life- him. This was the place where I embraced my love for music for the first time and also, hadn't it given me an amazing opportunity to touch people's lives through my music?