Dadisa sighed as she saw Vijayendra's name flash on her mobile screen.
"Khamma Ghani, Maa sa," Vijayendra greeted.
(Greetings, Mother.)
"Ghani Khamma, Beta. Kaise hai aap?" Maa sa enquired of her dear son.
(Many greetings, my child. How are you?)
"Hum toh thik hai par humari baat chodiye, aap bataye, Jeet kaise hai? Kya chal raha hai unki zindagi mein? Kahi shadi karke bacche toh nahi paida kar liye?" Vijayendra's tone suddenly turned sardonic.
(I am alright, but let's leave that aside. Tell me, how is my son, Jeet? What is going on in his life? Has he married and had children?)
Dadisa exhaled, "Kya hua Vijay? Aap aise kyu baat kar rahe hai?"
(What happened Vijay? Why are you talking like this?)
"Aise baat na kare toh kaise kare, Maa sa? Jab hume humare hi ghar ki baate bahar walon se pata chalne lage tab? Hume vo kya naam hai, uss ladki ka ha Roshni... uske pita se pata chalta hai ki unke beti ke sath humare bete ki rishte ki baat chal rahi hai. Rajpurohit ji se pata chalta hai ki humare bete ki jaan khatre me thi... Hum unke pita hai, Maa sa! Aapko ek bhi baar nahi laga ki hume humare bete ke baare mein ye saab pata ho? Aur fir aap hume kehti hai ki hum humare bete pe nazar nahi rakhe?" Vijayendra's pitch had risen by the end of the speech.
(How should I speak then, mother? When I receive news about my family from outsiders? I got to know what the name of that girl is... yes, Roshni... I got to know from her father that marriage alliance talks are going on between our families. I got to know from Rajpurohit ji that my son's life was in danger... And then you tell me that I should not keep an eye on my son?)
"Vijay, shadi ki baat sirf chal rahi thi, kuch tay nahi tha...aise toh kitne rishte aye aur gaye. aur vaise bhi, Indrajeet ne mana kar diya hai uss rishte ke liye."
(Vijay, marriage talks were just underway, nothing was finalized...Many such alliances has come and gone and besides, Indrajeet has rejected the proposal.)
"Aur voh attack?" Vijayendra asked.
(And that attack?)
"Indrajeet ab thik hai, Vijay. Aap toh jante hi hai Indrajeet ki aadat. Vo logo ko kitni madad karte hai. Par ab sab sahi hai. Vo bilkul thik hai. Jo log iske liye jimmedar the, vo bhi pakde gaye hai, hume Indra ne bataya. Hum mante hai ki aapko batana tha par hum bohot pareshan the, kuch samajh nahi aa raha tha uss waqt. Vo waqt hi aisa tha..."
(Indrajeet is okay now, Vijay. You know Indrajeet's habit of helping people. But now everything is alright. The people responsible for it also got arrested, Indra informed us. I agree I should have told you but I was very tensed. I couldn't understand anything. The time was like that...)
"Aapko pata hai kisne kiya ye sab?" Vijayendra asked carefully, already knowing the answer.
(Do you know who was involved in it?)
He had sent his men as soon as he finished his call with Rajpurohit ji. Sure he is not in India anymore but that doesn't mean he can't move things sitting here. The only problem was Jeet refused to take his help not that his son needed any. In the past few years Jeet has surpassed him in every aspect be it business, connections, influence, money, power. Vijayendra is damn proud of him...
Vijayendra knows about Nikita's involvement. He was not sure why Jeet was dragging her arrest? But he was satisfied with the recent news. A few days back, the attack on the Chauhan family and Nikita's involvement in that was out in the open. Now she is arrested and is behind bars. Good for her, or he would have made sure to kill that bitch. He never understood why his son just didn't kill her off. He is capable enough and has killed others...
"Voh toh aapne news mein dekha hi hoga," Dadisa affirmed.
(You must have already seen that in the news.)
"Accha hai ki Jeet ne uss ladki ko mana kar diya. Humare bete ko koi rishton ki kami nahi. Aur aap koi khandani rishte dhundhiye humare bete ke liye. Varna ye Nikita aur Maya jaise logo se rishta jodne ka anjam toh hum bhugat hi rahe hai. Pata nahi kya soch kar aapne Daksh ki shadi uss ghar me karayi. Unn logo ki toh hum se dur dur tak barabri nahi ho sakti," Vijayendra said, changing the subject.
(It's good that Jeet rejected that girl. My son has no shortage of alliances. And you should find a girl from a renowned family for my son. Otherwise, we have already seen the consequences of alliances with girls like Nikita and Maya. Who knows what Daksh was thinking when he married into that family? There is a vast difference in status between that family and ours.)
"Humne apni pasand logon pe thopna band kar diya hai, Vijay. Bacche jab Daksh aur Indrajeet jitne bade ho jaye, toh unhe apne faisle lene ka adhikar hona chahiye, aur agar faisale galat ho toh unka parinam bhugatne ki tayari bhi honi chahiye. Hum pehle se hi aapki aur Indrajeet ki shadi mein dakhalandazi karke pachta rahe hai."
(I have stopped imposing my choices on other people, Vijay. When children reach the age of Daksh and Indrajeet, we should give them the freedom to make their own choices, and if those choices do turn out to be wrong, then they should be ready to bear its results. I am already guilty of ruining your and Indrajeet's life.)
"Aapne humari zindagi barbad nahi ki, Maa sa. Aap humse kehti rahi ki Maya galat aurat hai, humne kabhi aapki baat nahi mani. Aur jo Jeet ke saath hua, vo bhi humari hi galati hai. Na toh uss chudail pe hum bharosa karte aur nahi jo aage sab hua vo hota," Vijay blamed himself.
(You didn't ruin my life, mother. You told me numerous times that Maya is not a good woman, but I never listened to you. And whatever happened with Jeet, that's also my fault. If I had trusted my son instead of that witch, then all that happened never would have happened)
"Jane dijiye, jo beet chuka uske baare mein baat karke dukh ke siwa aur kuch hasil nahi hoga," Savitri Devi's voice wobbled.
(Let it be. Talking about the past will bring nothing but sorrow.)
"Hum ghar lautna chahte hain, Maa sa. Hume humare bete ke saath rehna hai. Hum Suryakot chhodkar yaha bahar rehte hain is umeed se ki agar hum vaha na ho to kam se kam Jeet vaha pe jayenge aur apna haq jataye. Par nahi, vo vaha pe ja rahe hain aur nahi hume maaf kar rahe hain. Hume bhi ab apne bete ke saath rehna hai. Kya pata aur kitna waqt bacha hai humare pass? Kya marne se pehle humara beta hume ek baar fir se 'Baba sa' kehke bulaenge?" Vijayendra asked in despair.
(I want to return home, Mother. I want to stay with my son. I left Suryakot with the hope that if I am not there, Jeet will at least go there and claim his right. But no, he is not going there, nor is he forgiving me. I also want to stay with my son now. Who knows how much time I have left? Will my son call me 'father' once again before I die?)
"Aisi ashubh baate kyu kar rahe hai, Vijay? Kuch nahi hoga aapko," Dadisa sobbed. "Aap Indrajeet ka swabhav jante hai. Jab ek baar kuch tay kar lete hai toh unka maan badalna namumkin hai. Aur jo unke saath hua, uske ghav vo abhi tak sine mein leke jee rahe hai. Unko thoda aur waqt dijiye. 14 saal purane ghav hai..." Savitri Devi tried to make her son understand.
(Why are you speaking in such an ominous way, Vijay? Nothing will happen to you) (You know about Indrajeet's temperament. Once he decides something, then changing his mind is almost impossible. And whatever happened with him, he is still nursing those scars... Give him some more time. The scars are fourteen years old...")
"Aur kitna waqt, Maa sa? Pichle 8 salon se hum Jeet ki maafi ka hi intezar kar rahe hai..." Vijayendra asked, further losing hope.
(How much more time, Mother? I have been waiting for forgiveness from Jeet for the past eight years...)
Savitri Devi felt torn between her son and grandson. Her grandson had never given her a reason to get upset with him. He had always been someone who thought about others first and helped them, putting others before himself, whereas her son had made mistakes in his youth. Now, when he wanted to repent and reconcile, but Indrajeet was not ready to forgive.
Two years after Indrajeet's accident, Vijayendra got to know the true face of Maya. It didn't come as a surprise to Savitri Devi when the news broke out that Maya's crippled boy was not Vijayendra's child. She trusted Rajpurohit ji's predictions explicitly, so if he said there was a slim to none chance of having a child in Vijayendra's horoscope, then that was it for her. Savitri Devi never accepted that boy as a Chauhan.
Vijayendra ousted Maya and her son from the house. Realizing his mistakes, he returned to apologize to her and Indrajeet. Savitri Devi eventually forgave him, but not Indra. Indrajeet loathed his father's presence. Vijayendra was even ready to take back Indrajeet's disowning announcement and apologize publicly, but Indrajeet didn't let him do it. Then Vijayendra tried to keep an eye out for his son with his men. Once Indrajeet found out, he sent back his father's men packing to the hospital with severe beatings. Finally, Savitri Devi had to intervene and asked Vijay not to do this again.
Despondent, he left India and settled in Europe. Vijayendra still has many of his businesses, but the work is handled by his team.
At least she never has to hide the fact that she was in touch with Vijayendra. Indrajeet never stopped her from meeting or talking to Vijayendra on the phone, and she was grateful for his maturity...
*****
Today is Tarini Tai's birthday. Daksh has sent Tarini out for some spa treatment. She doesn't know about this party. Tarini will return after some time.
Vara was suddenly aware of her racing heartbeat as they approached Chauhan Bhawan. It had been four days since she last saw Indrajeet Singh Chauhan... after he proposed to her.
"Thandi vajat ahe bahuli?" Her father asked, looking at her shivering.
(Are you feeling cold, doll?)
"Nahi," she shook her head.
(No)
Vara was glad that her father would be with her for this party. The last four days had been some of the worst days of her life...
The day she returned home after his proposal, she was torn. Should she tell her family? Her sister? After careful consideration, she decided to keep quiet. She didn't want anything to affect her sister's married life, and from whatever Tarini Tai had told her, Vara knew Indrajeet held a very important position in that home... What if she tells Tarini Tai confronts him, making him angry...
She did receive his calls on Sunday. She picked up the call on the fifth time when she realized he was not going to stop calling.
The conversation which followed was more or less the same. "He asked her to rethink and her replying she is not interested." After that, she blocked his number.
Vara could not understand what the man of his stature saw in her. She was a simple, plain girl. Whereas he... nothing is common between them...
On Monday morning, she reached the gate of Chauhan Bhawan. She had taken a half day, still not ready to face him. Finally gathering some courage, she reached only to see her teammates standing outside of Chauhan Bhawan. Sarika informed her that they had been asked to leave...
Just as they reached the office, they got to know that Indrajeet Chauhan had backed out of the project. He didn't require their services anymore but made the payment in full as agreed.
To say that their boss was pissed would be an understatement. The moment the news goes out that their firm has been removed from the project by Indrajeet Singh Chauhan, their company's reputation was going to be severely affected.
That day, her boss sat in the cabin for hours, discussing with senior team members where they went wrong and making calls to Indrajeet's team for another meeting...
The next day, she was surprised when she was called into the senior boss's office. Kiara was present there with her boss, Madan, and their HR head...
Madan asked her if she knew anything about the project being taken back, as she was close with the family. Did she know the reason? Then the HR asked something serious.
"Miss Datar, we just want to confirm that nothing related to your personal life has affected this project, right?"
She paled. Surely, Indrajeet Singh Chauhan is a way older and mature man. He would never mix personal and professional life. Would he? She took maybe a minute to refuse. But her boss and office colleagues derived maybe the worst conclusion from her expressions and a long pause. As her sister says, her face is very easy to read...
Her boss informed her that they had hired one extra person to work on her previous project, so as of now, they do not have a project to assign her. Neel was back to working on his old project with Pushkar's team, and she was on the bench. This was humiliating. The only people who were on the bench were the ones who had been asked to leave the organization.
This was the first time she was facing such a problem, which Vara felt she could not share with her sister and her family. Her sister was already upset that suddenly the project got scrapped, reducing her time with Vara.
Tarini blamed Raina, as according to her, it was Raina who wanted this redesign and Raina is the one who scrapped it, now putting the blame on Indra Dada. Tarini had confronted Raina about suddenly scrapping the project. Tarini knew Vara didn't tell her, but lately, Vara has been avoiding speaking to her. Tarini just hoped Vara was not facing any problems in the office.
Raina had replied with, "It was Indrajeet's decision. He realized, and I agree with him, this project is unnecessary..."
Vara wanted to talk to someone. She had tried calling her Shikha didi, but Sourav Jiju didn't let them speak much. Her sister's tone also seemed down. If Shikha didi were here, it would have been easy to meet her, but since she shifted to Canada, they rarely spoke to each other, and that too hardly for a minute...
"Okay guys... Tarini is coming, keep quiet," Daksh told everyone and went out to bring Tarini...
"Daksh, why is it so dark?" Vara heard her sister ask.
Someone switched on the lights...
"Surprise!" Everyone screamed.
Tarini was beyond happy. She hugged Daksh, then moved towards her father and sister before greeting her friends.
Mostly, the party consisted of all the youngsters and their family members: Chauhan, Meghwal family, and Tarini's parents.
Vara and Tarini's father, Keshav Datar, never wanted to attend this party. In their home, birthdays are not celebrated in such a grand way after you become an adult. Since the news of Indrajeet's ex-wife circulated, he has heard some bad things about the man. According to Tarini, they are all rumors, but who knows...
During Tarini's wedding, when they had made some inquiries, he had received similar information on Indrajeet Singh Chauhan. He had heard all the bad things from Vasant's police friend in Delhi: wife-beater, child killer, and what not... They also got to know that he is relieved of those charges. This was one of the reasons why his family was apprehensive about marrying Tarini in this home. Well, it's been seven months, and his daughter looks happy...
He also wanted to make sure that Tarini was alright. She and Vara had kept quiet about this attack. Just a few days back, he got to know that his daughter was in danger...
*****
With the office, Vara also had another tension. She hoped Tarini's in-laws do not reveal that she was with them. So, half her attention was riveted on her parents, not exactly enjoying Tarini's party.
In some ways, it was a relief that Indrajeet is absent from this party. Raina had given her a cold shoulder when she went to greet their family with her parents...
Just as the thought occurred to her, there was a pin-drop silence before a slow murmuring filled the air. Vara turned to see Indrajeet Singh Chauhan standing with a beautiful girl in a mini dress.
"She is hot... sexy..." she could hear some words. Vara gulped as he passed her. He seemed to be in the mood to ignore her existence... it seemed to work for Vara as she relaxed a little...
Due to someone's mistake, some juice dropped on her white dress pants. Tarini dragged her upstairs. "I need to change into something suitable. I have a dress for you."
Informing her parents, Vara went up with her sister. She can't exactly stay the whole party like this...
Tarini had brought a dress for Vara during one of her shopping sprees. It was a beige-colored top and pant with a belt...
*****
Tarini cut the cake. Everyone was enjoying the party. People were dancing. Daksh, Tarini, their friends, once even Tarini dragged her to the stage. Snacks and drinks were getting served. To everyone's astonishment, even Indrajeet danced with the beautiful lady on a romantic number.
"Shit yaar... and here I thought I had a chance with him..." Her sister's friend Nithya complained.
She was not the only one Vara had heard many such comments from girls around her. Indrajeet and his girlfriend were the hot topic of the party...
Her father spent most of his time with Girish Uncle, whereas her Sayli Kaku stayed with Narmada aunty. Fortunately, they had not revealed the details of the attack... It was sometime into the party when her father gestured to her that they needed to leave. She informed her sister, only to be dragged back by Tarini's friends with a request to sing a song for the birthday girl.
Her sister's "Maza sathi ek gana please" request, and Vara could not refuse.
(One song for me please)
With a promise to her parents that they will leave immediately after the song, she stood in the middle. One of Daksh Jiju's friends offered to play guitar.
Nervous she stood in the centre. A crowd had formed a circle around her. Vara had learned the technique, since she has stage and crowd fear. She usually sings by looking at her closest people. In this case, it was her family.
Dil hai chhota sa, chhoti si asha
Masti bhare mann ki, bholi si asha
Chaand taaron ko, chhoone ki asha
Aasmaanon mein, udne ki asha
Dil hai chhota sa, chhoti si asha
Masti bhare mann ki, bholi si asha
Chaand taaron ko, chhoone ki asha
Aasmaanon mein, udne ki asha
Dil hai chhota sa, chhoti si asha
Mahek jaaoon main, aaj to aise
Phool bagiya mein, maheke hai jaise
Baadalon ki main, odhoon chunariya
Jhoom jaaoon main, banke baawariya
Apni choti mein, baandh loon duniya
Dil hai chhota sa, chhoti si asha
Masti bhare mann ki, bholi si asha
Chaand taaron ko, chhoone ki asha
Aasmaanon mein, udne ki asha
Dil hai chhota sa, chhoti si asha
Masti bhare mann ki, bholi si asha
Her parents clapped along with others. The guy who was playing the guitar shook her hand. Vara had already forgotten his name. Bidding goodbye to Tarini and her in-laws, they left.
*****
"Baba!" Vara exclaimed and slapped her forehead. "Maza phone Tai kade rahila." She had handed her phone to her sister when she went to sing the song.
(Dad) (I left my phone with sister)
Luckily, they weren't that far from Chauhan Bhawan. Their driver stopped the car, but he told them he can't wait in the middle of the driveway. He will drop her parents at the gates of Chauhan Bhawan. Vara assured her parents to wait at the gate, and she will take another car.
Vara hurried inside. Her sister and jiju were surrounded by their friends. They had opened champagne bottles, and glasses were getting passed around.
Vara somehow managed to make her way through the crowd. Her small stature came in handy. Finally, she reached her sister. Tarini handed Vara her phone. Just as Vara was about to leave, the same man approached her, the guitarist.
"Vara, right? I just want to say you look as beautiful as you sound. Please accept this beautiful rose for a pretty girl like you," he grinned at her.
"Oooo... kya baat hai..." Their friends teased.
(Ooo...what's the matter guys...)
Scared, Vara looked at Tarini who stood before her. "That's enough, Samar, let her leave."
"Come on, Tarini, I'm just giving her a rose," Samar winked at Vara.
Tarini snatched the rose from his hand and gave it to Vara. "Happy?"
Tarini dropped Vara off at the main door and turned back to join her friends.
Tarini dropped Vara off at the main door and turned back to join her friends.
Just as Vara was going down the steps, someone grabbed her shoulder. It was the lady who was with Indrajeet.
"Oh, I am so sorry. I just lost my balance," the lady apologized.
"It's alright," Vara gave her nod.
"Hey, you are the girl who sang the song, right? I must say you have a beautiful voice. Are you Tarini's friend or relative?" The lady asked.
Before Vara could answer another voice spoke. "Charity case, nothing else"
Rose in her hand fell as shocked and hurt Vara looked at Indrajeet who stood beside the lady, giving Vara a nasty sneer and gazing at her from top to bottom.
"Oh... umm..." The lady felt awkward as she stood there, gazing from Indrajeet to Vara and back again.
Towering over her, Indrajeet took one step near Vara, intentionally trampling the rose under his shoe.
"If you are done, please leave. You are standing in our way," Indrajeet told her rudely.
Vara didn't need telling twice. With watery eyes, she hurried down the steps and sat in the waiting car...
*****
Note:
Hope you like and enjoy the update.