S H A R M A M A N S I O N
THE EVENING SUN casted a long shadow on the ground, the slanting rays giving a warm orange tinge to the sky, the sky stood ablaze with the fire of the setting sun. A huge residence nestled amidst the bustling city of Anand Vihar in Delhi. The outro of the song, Ghar More Pardesiya from the movie Kalank resounded softly, mixing with the regular humdrum of the city.
"𝐆𝐚𝐲𝐢 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧
𝐛𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐢
𝐆𝐚𝐲𝐢 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧
𝐛𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐲𝐚"
"So, kids after these lines you all have to form a circle while twirling around. Is it clear?" A sweet jolly voice of a girl in her early twenties resounded on the terrace of the estate wherein a small gathering of kids around the age of 6-7 years old cluttered before two girls, way elder than them.
"Yes, Didi!" Chorused the group of cheerful kids in their exuberant voices.
"Good!" A girl, slightly younger than the former one, responded, to which the kids clapped in ecstasy.
"Now that the steps are clear, let's rock the stage!" The latter exclaimed while fist bumping with the other one, to which all the kids cheered excitedly.
The girls took their positions and the melody echoed yet again, a song expressing the grandeur of an age old story set in Awadh's lanes, Ramayana, an epic celebrating the examples set by Mariyada Purushottam Shree Ram and his better half Devi Sita.
"𝐑𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐮𝐤𝐮𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐚𝐲𝐢
𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐚𝐧 𝐣𝐚𝐚𝐲𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐚 𝐣𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐞"
The girls started moving their feet to the melodious tune, the chiming of their ghungroos resonating in the air. The kids observed the too with keen eyes, somewhere in their little hearts wishing to be able to match the grace of their mentors.
"𝐑𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐮𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢 𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐧𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧
𝐑𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐮𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢 𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐧𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧
𝐬𝐚𝐚𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐲𝐚"
Their bodies moved with a graceful ease in their movements, a testimony of their fervent love towards the art form. They started moving with a grace unmatched unless it came from within one's heart.
"𝐆𝐡𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐲𝐚
𝐚𝐚𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐩𝐢𝐲𝐚
𝐆𝐡𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐲𝐚
𝐚𝐚𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐩𝐢𝐲𝐚"
The two twirled in circles, their messily braided hair that reached till their waist flew as they moved, their hands covered their face as a part of their steps. With the change of the taal in the music, the hands of the first girl lowered a bit revealing her doe shaped eyes, then her face. Following similar movements like the former one, the other girl danced along the beats with the same grace and enthusiasm.
The room resonated with claps as soon as the girls finished their graceful performance. Surprised by the sudden noise, the girls glanced at the entrance of the garden.
A huge smile broke out on both of the girls' faces. Giggling, they ran to where the clapping sound came.
"Wonderful!" A middle aged man caressed their hair lovingly. "Thankyou Papa!" Both of them exclaimed happily.
"Now, if Mr. Sharma and his darling daughters are done exclaiming their happiness, may this poor woman get some attention too?" Came a dramatic voice of a middle aged woman, which caused the girls to turn around and run towards her screaming, "Maaaaaa!", before tackling her in a group hug.
"You girls performed well, keep it up!", the woman said while caressing their hairs affectionately, her lips lifted in a sweet smile. "Thankyou Maa!" The girls exclaimed cheerfully as they pecked her cheeks from both sides, beamingly.
They then turned towards the kids, with a beam reflecting on their tired visages. "So kids now, it's time to go home. We will meet you again on the next Sunday." Shriya told causing the kids to smile and nod enthusiastically.
"And yes don't forget to practice, byeee!" Anandi said while waving her hand. "Ok, Didi byee!" The kids exclaimed while waving their hands in the air as they rushed outside, excited to go to their respective homes.
After all the kids had left for their respective houses, Aadarshini Sharma eyed her daughters who were sweating after a two hour long dance session. "All the kids have gone home, now you two freshen up and come down for dinner quickly. Your Parul Chachi has prepared delicious food." Said Aadarshini, while moving out of the terrace with the sister's father, Saatvik.
"Ok, Maa!" They replied as they ran downside at the mention of food. "Girls don't race down the stairs!" Mrs. Sharma cautioned from behind but it went unheard by Shriya and Anandi. Sighing she turned to look at a painting of Lord Krishna hung on the hall of the space leading to the terrace.
"Hey Kanha, only you can take care of these careless girls."
After getting freshened up, the girls came downstairs for dinner. "Maa, what's for dinner today?" Anandi asked while rubbing both of her palms together, eyeing the casseroles kept on the dining table. "Yes, Mumma tell fast na! I'm so hungry." Shriya added to her sister's statement while forwarding her plate.
"Calm down monkeys! Calm down! Your food isn't running away." Said a man in his mid twenties with his voice filled with amusement. "We are not monkeys, Akshat Bhaiya!", Shriya pouted to which Akshat chuckled while shaking his head.
"Chachi, give me the food na." Anandi whined. "Aree wait Beta, I'm serving!" Parul responded quickly in her silken voice while chuckling at their antics.
"Yummy! There is pulao for dinner today." Shriya rubbed her palms while breathing in the aroma of the food. "Shall we start?" Anandi asked impatiently, almost banging her head on the table if not for Aadarshini's glare keeping her in her place.
"Yes dear, surely, you two can start. Afterall such a busy day might have caused your stomachs to go rumbling." Dadi replied in her aged voice while caressing her head.
"Waise...moti ho rahi ho dono!, you guys should take care of your diet." Aarush playfully commented in between, randomly to spite his cousin sisters. (By the way, you two are getting chubby!)
A well deserved glare from Anandi and Shriya responded to his comment causing him to double over his laughter.
"Aarush, beta don't you worry about my daughters' health, they are fit and fine, you look at yourself first, you monkey." Agnihotri replied with mirth dancing in his eyes as he took his bite, leaving Aarush look at him with wide eyes and open mouth.
"Close your mouth Bhaiya, or else a fly might go inside." Anandi winked. "You two!" Aarush exclaimed while shaking his head. "Are awesome, right?" Shriya replied while fist bumping with Anandi, at which everyone including Aarush chuckled.
Whole dinner was spent with laughter and enjoyment, after finishing the dinner all went to their respective bedrooms.
"Ah, Dii the day was so tiring." Anandi plopped on the bed spreading her arms wide. "Truly!" Shriya replied while falling on the other side of the bed.
Anandi rolled on the bed like a squirrel balancing her head in between her palms. "So.... Didi, have you written any new poem on Govind?" She asked winking mischievously at Shriya because of which she received a pillow on her face.
"Shut up! Nalayak" Red hues suffused through Shriya's cheeks as she turned her face towards the other side, hiding her face in a pillow. "Aww.. my Didu is blushing just at a single mention of her beloved's name." Anandi teased while smirking as she eyed her sister hiding inside the covers of their shared bed.
"Leave me aside, tell me about yours. Have you made any new painting of your Arjuna?" This time it was Shriya's turn to smirk as Anandi fell on the pillow loosing her balance as the former turned over her side, placing her elbow to support her head.
"Maybe..." Anandi mumbled, hiding her face in her pillow, suppressing the warmness flooding her heart at the mere mention of her beloved.
"Oh, so the new painting is already ready."Shriya whispered mischievously in her ear while holding her from behind.
"Dii, it's late. Let's sleep or we will be late for college tomorrow." Anandi whined while covering herself with the duvet.
"Hmmm..." Shriya hummed in agreement after a second of thought, dropping her mischievous act while covering herself with other half of the duvet.
After a few minutes Shriya felt a rustle beside her, definitely Anandi, who whispered in her ears, scaring her to death. "Good Night Di, Govind dreams to you!" Shriya jerked from her sleep just to find Anandi rolling on the bed laughing.
"You, Monkey!" Shriya exclaimed, throwing her pillow towards Anandi. "Ah ouch, sorry Di", Anandi said in between her laughter as Shriya glared sleepily at her sister.
"Ok, now sleep silently. No more shenanigans." ushered Shriya while lying on her side again with Anandi on the other side, drifting into a deep slumber.
There goes the first chapter of. Hope the chapter was up to your liking. Do share your views on the chapter.