"Ishani! What took you so long?" Meera hugged her friend, welcoming her friend into the exhibition. The couple along with Sidharth had arrived for some time now.
"Traffic!" Ishani shook her head, meeting all of them one by one.
"Hi Sidharth!" She smiled, walking towards him in the art exhibition the other day.
"Hey!" Sidharth smiled, extending his hand out when she hugged him shortly.
"I'm sorry I'm late. Aisa lagta hai, mere bahar nikalte hi traffic jam ho jata hai." She sheepishly smiled.
"That's just Mumbai." He shrugged, as they began to look around and tailed behind Meera and Vardhan.
He fished his phone out when it buzzed with a text, he had asked Shehnaaz how her father was doing today. To which, she had replied that his condition was the same. Jagjit's decreased blood pressure wasn't helping the treatment lately. Sidharth didn't know how to help her in this, everybody knew how difficult the situation was becoming day by day.
They met a few of Meera's friends who had organised the event. There were striking large-scale paintings that overlapped formal elements and diverse media to prompt a closer look. It presented new works that continued her exploration of the liminal space between landscape and body. Using overlapping elements and mediums, Khimji encourages viewers to look beyond categories.
Intricate compositions emerge as a result, as seen in Make of me a steeple, a house-shaped painting on birch plywood, made of oil and gesso on photo transfer. An abstracted, monochromatic landscape is painted over with triangles and circles of varying densities, allowing a partial view of the underlying image.
"It's so beautiful." Ishani mumbled, walking around in awe of those paintings.
"These.. shapes! Kaise bolu mai. It's simply amazing." She added, turning to look at Sidharth.
"Yeah, the geometrics. Thematic monochrome, bohot sahi hai." He nodded, complementing the work.
Through her works, Khimji encourages viewers to think through shapes, geometries, and the body. Different temporalities appear to emerge from the combination of photographic medium's rapid capture and the slower mark-making of hand-painted surfaces.
"Are you planning to pick one? Mai office ke liye soch raha hu." Vardhan suggested his friend.
"Hm. We can pick one." Sidharth replied, he was glad to have made it to this exhibition today. It was a wonderful experience in itself, indeed it gave him some inspiration for his upcoming projects.
"Good choice." Ishani complimented, when they chose one of those.
"I know right, meri choice." Vardhan boasted, hinting towards the painting and then his wife. The rest of them chuckled in response to that.
"Come everybody, let's get clicked." Meera suggested, gesturing to them to get behind her for a picture.
"How about some coffee?" She offered.
"Coffee kon piyega abhi shaam hone ko hai, drinks pilao!"Vardhan commented.
"I'll bounce guys, I've some articles pending. Tumlog jao, next time Mai pakka aungi." Ishani said, wanting to excuse herself since she had plans to work.
"Tum nahi rahogi toh kya faida?" Meera replied, calling off the plan. She had especially called her to see if Ishani could get along with Sidharth but since she was busy, what was the point now?
"No, you guys should go." Ishani insisted, not feeling good that they were dropping the idea for her.
"Oh come on, hum kahi nahi jane Wale the. It was just her." Vardhan told her.
"Okay." She chuckled, walked out with them towards the parking lot and then parted their ways.
"Talk to him." Meera whispered to her slowly.
"I tried." Ishani replied. All she could do was look at him and smile while making a small talk, even though he had been nothing but sweet, she couldn't bring herself to ask him out for a coffee.
The ladies turned to look at Sidharth who was over a phone call with someone now, he had a smile on his face.
"I'm coming home. Ha chalunga na tere sath shopping." He was replying to someone.
"Abhi kya udd ke aau? Aa raha hu bola na. Wait kar mera, chupchap!" He snapped at the other person.
"Pakka Adi hoga. His nephew, get along really well." It made Meera laugh as she told Ishani about his family briefly.
"Hm." Ishani had a face that looked all smitten by the guy, she looked down and then back again at him before they took off.
Sidharth on the other hand was actually on a call with Advait, his nephew made plans to go on to shop for a blazer for the upcoming farewell function in his college and that's where he needed his uncle's help.
"Papa kehte hain unka ya aapka koi blazer le lu. But mujhe mera khud ka suit chahiye! What was that place you usually get yours from?" Advait asked his uncle.
"Peter England, kal chalenge. Okay." Sidharth replied.
"Abhi leke chalo Mama, next week hi hai mera farewell! Aur mujhe hair gel bhi lena hai, also socks." Advait insisted, listing out items he had to buy.
"I'm coming home. Ha chalunga na tere sath shopping." Sidharth replied, getting into his car.
"Jaldi aao. Kaha ho aap? Mai ready hu ghar pe, Mama aaj hi sab kuch lele na chahiye mujhe varna late ho jayega. Jaldi se aao." Advait mentioned hurriedly.
"Abhi kya udd ke aau? Aa raha hu bola na. Wait kar mera, chupchap!" Sidharth replied a little louder because the boy just wouldn't stop. Of course he was going to take his nephew around for anything he wanted, only if he had the patience.
"Ok ok." Advait mumbled before he hung up.
Shehnaaz on the other hand sat comfortably and watched her mother feed her father some soup.
She was texting Sidharth, telling him that the movie he recommended a few days ago was boring. She wasn't into Hollywood mass action, only the desi heroes kept her entertained.
'So wassup with u?' she asked him, enough of having the same conversation.
'Kuch nhi.. wahi office wagera.. weekends me friends ke sath bahar gaya..' his response arrived.
'Badhiya.. kal Adi ka friend request aaya tha.. his college looks fancy..' she told him.
'Yeah.. saal bhar events, campaigns, fests aur sab karta hai wo.. padhai chhod ke..' he replied.
'I don't blame him😂' she typed. Most of the colleges in Mumbai were just like that, she had been there.
'Yeah..' he replied.
'I still cannot believe tu mere college me thi.. I literally never saw u..' he mentioned as it came to his mind.
'Yeah? Teri gf thi uss time.. shayad isliye' she replied. She didn't know, she didn't remember if he was dating anybody back and who was her. She wrote what could possibly be the reason.
'Had eyes on me since then 😏' his text arrived and she didn't know what to say to this.
'U wish! Mujhe Mickey batate rehti thi sare gossips.' she replied and kept her phone aside. It felt weird to hear from him in that matter, she didn't want to get involved with him again.
"Idhar aa. Ek baat bataunga." Jagjit told his daughter, gesturing her to occupy some space in his bed next to him.
"Maine ek sapna dekha." He added and Shehnaaz smiled, taking the little space and resting her head on his shoulders lightly.
"Kya dekha? Kaha ghumne gaye the iss sapne me?" She wiggled her brows at him and kept her hand around his torso, her father was fond of travelling.
"Teri Maa ko dekha." Jagjit chuckled as he shook his head.
"Huh! Isme kya nayi baat hai? Mummy jitna bhi aapke sath reh le, aap jab dekho tab unko miss karte rehte ho." She shook her head and it made Madhu laugh a little.
"Mai Harjot ki baat kar raha hu." He replied, caressing her head.
Shehnaaz looked at Madhu to check if she was uncomfortable and then she got back to her father, confused why he was smiling about it.
"Kya bol rahi thi wo?" Madhu asked about Harjot while Shehnaaz gulped awkwardly, she didn't understand how Madhu was fine talking about her husband's first wife.
"Kuch nahi boli. Lagbhag 20 saal, ya shayad usse bhi zyada ho gaye ke mere sapne me Harjot aayi. Sohni lag rahi si." He told them.
"Shaant thi, smile kar rahi thi." He added and had a content face, even though there was a lot of pain, tough situation and few chances of him battling this phase, he just wanted to face everything devoid of it's consequences and not fear dying.
Madhu looked at her husband, he had a tint of tears in his eyes. He smiled at her and gestured to her to relax because he was fine. But she was afraid because when we see the people who have passed away in our dreams during our extreme sickness, it mostly means that they have come to take us with them. She couldn't control her tears and excused herself to wash her hands after feeding him.
"Mummy ko bura laga?" Shehnaaz asked her father.
"Nahi." He replied, patting his daughter's head.
Later in the evening, Shehnaaz and Gurjot were going through the hospital bills, she had applied for a medical loan that had already been processed while her father was undergoing treatment. A hospital like Fortis and its ICU weren't very pocket friendly hence the loan. Even though Gurjot had insisted he could arrange some amount of money for her, she didn't want his help.
"Kya status hai abhi?" He asked.
"Abhi account me 3 lakhs the. 1,40 something bacha hai." She replied.
"Ek toh ye daily ka ICU bohot mehenga hai yaar!" He commented, going through the bills along with her.
"Hmm." She nodded, her attention was taken away by a couple of nurses walking in and out of her father's room.
"Bahar chaliye room se. Mam, please." The nurse asked Madhu to step out instead when she led the doctor in.
"Mummy?" Shehnaaz asked her mother.
"Saans nahi le pa rahe the, seene me dard ho raha bole toh maine nurse ko bulaya. Hey waheguru." Madhu replied, her heart palpitated with various mishaps that could be happening to her husband. She was a nurse herself, she could figure out the symptoms and connect the dots herself and she was afraid to say what was happening.
"Aunty, calm down. Doctor gaye hain na andar." Gurjot held Madhu and assured her.
"Kya hua?" They asked the nurse who walked out.
"Cardiac arrest aaya hai. Hum koshish kar rahe hain." The lady replied hurriedly.
Shehnaaz took a deep breath, slowly walking out of the corridor to get some fresh air. She could feel her pulses picking up, she needed to calm down and walk around a little.
"Mai aati hu. Tu yahi rehna." She told her friend, asking him to look after her mother for a while and walking out.
"Sana?" Gurjot was confused, still he let her be. Understanding that she must be feeling terrible and deciding to call Sheena and her family over for some support.
She strolled around the lawn, thinking about her father and the time spent with him. Their outings. Their conversations.
Before boarding their train for Delhi, the family had taken a short trip to the Golden temple in Amritsar. Even though Shehnaaz wanted to take her father to the hospital as soon as possible, she still agreed to this so that she could pray for his better health. But she wasn't talking to him properly because he had transferred all his properties in her name.
"Baat nahi karegi?" Jagjit asked her, as they sat down after the temple visit near the fish pond and watched the waves dance on the water surface.
"Acha mai sach batau, teri Mummy ke liye bhi maine kuch paise alag rakhe hain. Kuch properties uski bhi hain, jo meri Maa ka tha wohi tujhe diya." He told her.
"Jo bhi kiya aapne, mujhe usse problem nahi hai. Lekin abhi kyu Papa? Treatment zyada zaruri hai ke yeh property wagera?" She asked him.
"Mere liye toh sabse zaruri tum dono ho. Mujhe bas yaad aaya toh maine paperwork karwa liya." He shrugged.
"Sachi sachi bolo Papa, waheguru ke samne toh jhoot nahi bolo!" She warned him.
"Rab di sau putt, maine yeh sab abhi jaan ke nahi karwaya. Mar jane ka dar nahi hai mujhe. Mere bacche, kal ko mai chala bhi gaya toh mujhe pata hai ke meri beti itni samjhdar hai, wo apni Mummy ke sath ache se reh legi." He told her and she glared at him even more.
"Papa yaar!" She made a grumpy face in disapproval.
"Sach yeh hai ke, teri Mummy humesha se guilt me rehti hai. Ke uske karan mai apni family se dur ho gaya. She suggested I talk to them and resolve our issues. Lekin mai unlogo se baat nahi kar sakta jo meri family ki izzat nahi kar sake." He told her and she held his hand to make him feel better, giving in.
True that, Jagjit's family wasn't fond of a member outside their caste and culture who was a mere nurse. They didn't accept her and it made Jagjit move out along with his new wife and daughter. Madhu had always felt guilty about it, she would have done anything and everything in her power to make the family reconcile and hence, he transferred his properties to his daughter to let her protect her mother in case the situation arises.
"Thik hai. Lekin ab hum sirf aapke treatment pe dhyan denge." She told her father.
"Ha, pakka." He nodded with his smile.
She stared at the empty sky, not knowing how to process everything now. She didn't want to lose hope but at the other end she knew that things weren't going to improve magically. She looked at her phone, there were some texts from her workplace, she didn't want to answer them at the moment. Realizing that it had been a while, she slowly made her way back in to find her mother silently weeping.
"Sana." Madhu hugged her daughter.
"Sab thik ho jayega Mummy." She replied, copying what she had been hearing from the people around her.
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Hello hello hello all! Sorry for the delay and previous inconvenience.. here's the fresh chapter!
How about Ishani taking interest in Sidharth but not him doing the same? Tumlog to mujhe Marne hi aa jate..
Anyways, Sidharth and Shehnaaz indulge in texts, beginning with it again. Where will this go this time?
Shehnaaz's family background?
And oh no, Jagjit is not in a good condition at all. Any thoughts?