It's morning 7:00 AM in the capital city and the secretariat is bustling with people, and why won't it be ? Their Chief Minister, Shaurya Singh Shekhawat is an extremely punctual man, he will be in the office at exactly 9:00 AM, it's more than 4 years since he took office but not for once did he arrive late to work. He takes his job very seriously and wants everyone to do the same. He is the youngest person to take office in the whole country, many of his critics say it's his charisma that made him the youngest CM of the country, while his supporters and party activists alike boast of his academic qualifications, high intellect, Integrity, ethics, empathy and compassion for him achieving the feat at such a tender age. However, the national & global media reasons his Political Acumen, Visionary Leadership, Strategic thinking, Resilience, Adaptability, and excellent Oratory skills for his as well as the state's development.
The Social & Economic reforms he implemented changed the present and future of the state taking the employment rate to a record high. The development of the state in terms of economy before and after he took office could be clearly differentiated, with a significant increase in the State GDP. After he took office, the state the the flow of enormous investments and the performance of the state in intra-state Trade has also improved drastically. At every step, he kept proving to the people that choosing him was their best decision.
@ Chief Minister's residence
"Shaurya... Your breakfast is ready", an elderly lady in her early fifties said, seeing him walking down the stairs in his formals.
His father right from the first day he stepped into politics, advised him to wear traditional wear to attract people and their votes, he said wearing those clothes made the leaders close to the people but he never believed in putting on a facade to attract voters. Instead, he decided to attract the crowd by being himself. He always preferred wearing formals to his work.
"Thank you Mrs. Sudha... I'll be there in 10", he said with a polite smile before turning to his Chief Secretary, who serves as his Principal Advisor also.
"Good Morning Sir", Naveen greeted Shaurya with a smile filled with adoration and respect.
"Good Morning Mr. Sharma", Shaurya greeted with an affirmation nod.
"Need your signatures on these papers sir", he said handing the file to Shaurya...
"Was the issue settled or do we need more troops to get it under control ?", Shaurya asked mentioning the latest case of communal violence that erupted in the western part of the city.
"It subsided as you predicted Sir, your decision for Preemptive action helped a lot", Naveen said, Shaurya nodded.
Naveen knew Shaurya hardly slept for the past few days as he kept tabs every half hour on the developments in the sensitive areas and called for immediate action without delay, and thereby successfully handling the issue, though he didn't have much experience than most of his predecessors, with his deep sense of empathy and strategic thinking, he prevented major mishaps and not a single life was lost though the riot was a first of that level in many years.
"What about the draft I asked you to prepare ?", Shaurya asked
"It's ready sir, We can discuss it now before the cabinet meeting at 3:00 PM today", Naveen said
"Sure Mr. Sharma, arrange a meeting with the core administrative staff, preferably in the first half, I want to discuss this with them first", Shaurya said
"But sir... Disclosing this to the administrative staff without discussing with the cabinet ministers might not go well with them... You know how they are...", Naveen trailed, he is a senior bureaucrat with more than 2 decades of experience in Administration and Civil services. He knew how these things worked... Cabinet Ministers would create havoc if they got to know about this, so he decided to warn Shaurya though he knew Shaurya Singh Shekhawat didn't listen to anyone when it came to his duty and the welfare of the people and this was a draft that would benefit people, so he wants expert opinion before the draft is finalized and those experts are definitely not his cabinet ministers.
"Mr. Sharma, you very well know, I play politics only during elections, the rest 5 years, I only do duty", Shaurya said, proving Naveen's knowledge about him right again. "Arrange the meeting, I want every single head of the Administrative division to be present in the meeting", Shaurya said with authority.
"Yes sir... Will be done", Naveen said going from there...
Shaurya walked to the dining hall, he gave a small smile to Mrs. Sudha, his cook and caretaker of the CM's official residence since he took office.
"Thanks for the very tasty breakfast but I would have been happier if it's healthy too", Shaurya said and Sudha shook her head.
"Healthy breakfast is what you do every day, it's your cheat day today, so have this without any complaints", Sudha said making him smile...
"You know I can't afford to fall sick...", Shaurya said taking a morsel of Aloo Parantha filled with butter...
"You won't", Sudha said with a smile... Shaurya relished his breakfast, had his juice before walking back to his study, he had two more meetings with his Chief secretary, Media Advisor, Political Advisor & Legal Advisor.
After concluding his brief meetings, he started to the secretariat. As soon he stepped outside, his head bodyguard opened his car door, he settled in, Mr.Naveen got in from the other side, both of them discussed work on their way to Secretariat.
Everyone stood up greeting him on his way, he passed a polite smile while walking towards his office. He is one of the top most charismatic leaders in the country, its a known fact, and his positive aura and strong personality are his biggest strengths, but his physical traits only enhance his popularity. His sharp features, flawless skin-tone, attractive eyes, trimmed beard, and well-groomed hair, and his plain and crisp formal shirts and pants never fail to turn eyeballs.
Shaurya's attire
He entered his office and his eyes immediately went on his name plate that was placed on the mahogany table.
'Shaurya Singh Shekhawat' it read, which instantly triggered his fury, but he maintained his calm...
"What's this ? ", he asked turning towards his personal secretary Shweta Gupta pointing towards his replaced nameplate.
"Sorry sir, I gave your previous nameplate for polishing", she replied...
"I want it back in the next 3 hours Mrs. Gupta", he said dismissing her, who nodded and went from there.
Shweta didn't understand what's so important in that nameplate that he got angry which he barely does. Well, technically, that wasn't anger at all but if a calm and composed person like Shaurya even raises his tone a few decibels, it is considered as fury.
His meeting with the top administrative staff went well, and with their help, he got the bill re-drafted. As ordered by him, his personal secretary Shweta got his name board back within 3 hours but she couldn't place it in the office as back-to-back confidential meetings are scheduled in his office and she is not allowed in, so she kept it with herself deciding to replace it later. Now that she compared the two boards, she noticed there was a 'T' extra in his original sign board. But all the official documents don't have an extra 't', she wondered. Did a modern man like their Chief Minister believe in Numerology? She wondered, well she was partially right, not him but his better half believed in Numerology. His estranged and unknown wife to the world Mrs. Akansha Shaurya Shekhawat.
After the Cabinet meeting, Shaurya called all the top bureaucrats and District officials to a meeting. He knew the opposition wouldn't stay calm, and in order to maintain law & order, it was necessary to discuss all the probable scenarios before proposing the bill in the State Legislative Assembly or better known as Vidhan Sabha.
Shaurya mentioned his points & his requirements and gave them enough powers to control the situation. Everyone dispersed after the concluding points.
"Mr. Sharma... Ask Akash to meet me in my office", Shaurya said to his Principal Advisor who nodded at him and he himself went to do the job. By the tone Shaurya used, he understood that the meeting needs to be confidential.
In the next 15 minutes, Akash Dixit IAS entered the chief minister's office.
"Good Evening Sir...", Akash greeted the CM respectfully. Shuarya nodded at him and signed him to take the seat.
"Mr. Sharma... Kaafi raat hogyi hai (It's very late) Aap ghar jaa sakte hai (you can leave for the day)", Shaurya said, Naveen nodded and left from there, usually he wouldn't leave for home until Shaurya retired for the day or at least till he reached his official residence but today was an exception. He left for his place as he knew the discussion wouldn't end so soon and Shaurya wouldn't appreciate him staying up till late.
The first meet-up of his boss (Shaurya) and the young bureaucrat took place about 4 years ago. It had been just a week since Shuarya Shekhawat took charge as the Chief Minister of the state. Congratulations from all across the country and abroad didn't stop pouring in even after a week, being the youngest person in the country to held so much power and one of the very few successful global leaders at that age grabbed eyeballs. His charismatic personality quickly made him popular among people in and outside India but he hardly cared about the popularity. As soon as he took up the charge, he jumped into his responsibilities and his first job was to shuffle the bureaucrats, though inexperienced, being from a political family and a highly educated intellectual himself, he knew where to start from if he intended to implement powerful reforms.
He asked for a meeting with all the top officials in the state and that's when he spotted Akash for the first time. Well, that's what the CM's immediate staff thought including Mr. Naveen Sharma. From then on, their meetings became frequent, not too frequent for anyone to suspect them, but enough for the top secretariat staff to think Akash was one among the very few whose works Shaurya appreciated deeply.
"Where are you going Mrs. Gupta ?", Naveen asked Shweta who is walking towards the CM's office...
"It's very late, I need to leave, but before that, I have to replace Sir's signboard, he got pretty upset when he got to know that I gave this one for polishing", Shweta told Mr. Sharma
"Oh! I think you should leave Shweta, the meeting won't end any soon", Mr. Sharma suggested
"I'll wait for another 15 minutes sir", Shweta said and Naveen nodded.
"Take the Govt. vehicle while you leave", Naveen said and Shweta nodded.
She would have left for home since the issue was very petty and Shaurya was always considerate, he never got angry with any of the staff unless it was pure carelessness and it affected the public. But, seeing their beloved chief minister upset didn't go well with her, he hardly got upset, so she wanted to replace the signboard before she left for the day. So, she waited outside his office for the meeting to end.
---------------
"Any new information on it ?", Shaurya asked the man in front of him, Mr. Akash Dixit, AIR 7 in his batch in CSE (Civil Services Examination) by UPSC. He is a very knowledgeable man and one more example of how a person cannot be judged by his/her age or experience but caliber. At a very young age he became one of the top sort after bureaucrats in the state.
Considering his capabilities and love for the public services, Shaurya handed the responsibility of collecting some confidential data regarding a case to him. He knew it was a very sensitive issue and if not handled properly, it could topple the government despite having a record majority since his own party people may object to it.
"Yes sir... I'll be submitting a detailed report on it soon", Akash said sincerely...
"No, don't do that, any kind of documentation might cause harm to you, keep the data in the same format like you were doing till now", Shaurya said and Akash nodded.
"Okay sir, but I can detail you about my recent findings if not document it right ?", Akash asked politely
"Of course, please go ahead", Shaurya said and the next few hours went on discussing it and in what ways they can explore the data more to gain deeper insights. Both the men got involved in forming some strategies to go in-depth into the situation and know the ground reality even further.
"Okay sir, then I'll take your leave", Akash said and is about to get up when Shaurya said something that made him sit back...
"Any news about her ?", Shaurya asked
"I don't know what you are talking about sir", Akash answered putting a straight face...
Is it possible to love, adore, admire, hate, and disgust the same person ? He would have laughed at the one who asked this question before and gave a clear-cut answer 'No'. But now, he couldn't say the same, because he loved and hated Shaurya equally, he admired and disgusted him at the same time.
"Stop acting oblivious Akash, you knew what I'm asking about", Shaurya said in distress.
"Because of you, I lost her too... Why would you think I would let you know even if I knew her whereabouts ?", Akash said, gone was his calm facade...
"Please try...", Shaurya started but hearing the knock on his door he paused his words...
"Mrs. Gupta ? You are still in office ?", Shaurya asked his personal secretary with surprise.
"Um... Yes sir, I'm sorry to disturb you", she said hesitantly walking in...
"That's okay... But what are you doing this late ? You are supposed to leave hours before", Shaurya asked
"I was waiting for you to finish your meeting sir, so that I could replace the sign board", she said showing the sign board in her hand... Shaurya's eyes instantly held extreme pain and agony looking at it which he hid with a calm facade as always.
"Please put it here and wait for me outside", Shaurya said, she wondered why was he asking her to wait, nonetheless she did as told and left the room.
Shaurya replaced the signboard with the one his secretary just brought. He neatly wiped it with his handkerchief, his fingers caressing the extra 't' at the end of his name... Akash too noticed it, he felt extremely bad for Shaurya, all these years he saw the longing in his eyes for Akansha, but soon all the empathy flew out of the window when he was met with the reality.
"I'll take your leave now sir", Akash said and Shaurya nodded.
"Keep up the good work Akash", Shaurya's confident and appreciation-filled tone boomed in the room. Akash nodded with a polite 'thank you', and greeted him before walking out.
Shaurya's eyes are filled with agonizing pain and rue looking at the sign board which has 'Shaurya Singh Shekhawatt' written on it in bold letters.
"Do you really want me to add a letter in my name to get success ? Like are you serious Akansha ?", he asked
"Arre, trust me, Numerology actually works, please Shaurya... Please please please", she whined
"Akansha, you are pursuing a Ph.D and look at your beliefs", Shaurya teased and she glared at him...
"What does my education has to do with my belief system ha ? Trust me, this works very well... Please Shaurya...", she pleaded again...
"Fine... I still don't understand why I agree to you half of the times", he said with a frown
"You agree to me not just half but all the times", she said proudly
"That's true, but I don't have a reason for half of the times why I do it...", he argued
"Well, what's the reason for the other half of times ?", she asked curiously.
"Because I love you, simple", he said making her smile widely.
"I love you too Shaurya... a lot", she said rubbing her forehead with his... He is about to take her lips into his when she pulled away.
"Not so soon Mr. Leader... hold this", she said giving him a pen and he did as told frowning at her. She held his palm and made him write his name with an additional 'T' at the end.
"I have done your naming ceremony again", she said leaving his hand, he shook his head at her antics. "From now on, you will use only this wherever you have to write your name... I understand you can't change the official documents, so I'm exempting you from it", she added
"That's such a relief, you are so kind madam", he teased her...
"Shaurya...", she glared at him angrily but soon erupted into laughter when he started tickling her...
"Please don't punish me more... come back", he whispered to himself, wiping the unshed tears that were caused by the beautiful memory of him and his 'jaan', his wife, Akansha Singh Shekhawat. Life was better than a dream with her but he shattered hers as well as his dreams brutally for his retribution. Now only Rue remained every second killing his soul.
He walked out and saw Shweta waiting for him.
"I'll drop you Mrs. Gupta", Shaurya said, she was about to protest but he didn't give her a chance, he signed her to walk and he followed her behind and this respect he gives to the women is what impresses all the female staff that works with him or for him. No matter what the situation is, he never raises his tone while talking to a woman and his gentleness and chivalrous acts win the female population's support. He could have easily gotten her dropped by anyone but he didn't want to take even 0.1% chance when it came to a woman's safety, so he himself dropped her in his convoy before going to his residence.
And like every day, peaceful slumber is a far-fetched dream, he couldn't believe he was the same man who was a sound sleeper and not even an earthquake could wake him up, well that was in the literal sense. But then again, without peace, how will the peaceful slumber come to any individual ? Shaurya was no exception.
Precap - Akansha's life