Happy Holi!
Holi ki bahut saari Shubh Kaamnayein!
Bahut ache se manana, is rangon se bhari khushiyon wali tyohaar ko. Saal mein ek hi baar aata hain, toh fikar saara chod do aur rang do. Khud ko bhi aur baki sab ko bhi. Rangon se bhi aur khushiyon se bhi!
Dil kholke Rang Lagao.....Befikar ho ke rang lagao!!
Kyunki bura na maano Holi hain!
Happy reading!
Best
Manisha Krishhna
In Abhir's Room:
"Sorry....Sorry....Sorry...Sorry...Sorry....Sor...."
Abhir was chanting and Abhimanyu shook his head fondly at his kid who managed to coax him in minutes.
He placed a chaste finger on Abhir's lips, making him stop with the sorry chant and then gently lowered Abhir's palms, freeing his ears.
"Maaf kiya?" He asked child likely, and Abhimanyu nodded.
Abhir smiled widely and hugged his father saying,
"Main kabhi aisa nahi karunga Papa. Promise. Agar mujhe gussa aya phir se, toh main help mangunga. Just one chance please." Abhir pleaded.
"Last chance Beta. Iske baad I don't think I will have it in me to forgive any sort of SELF HARM. One more lapse and I will enroll you in a self-help group who do group therapies for issues like this. I mean it Abhir!"
Abhimanyu sternly warned him, and Abhir nodded while still hugging his father. "Nautanki" Abhimanyu chided him and gently tapped his head.
"Ouch" Abhir screamed just for effect and Abhimanyu whacked him harder on principle, effectively shutting him up.
Abhimanyu fed Abhir his meal and left to have his. As soon as he left, Neil and Roohi who were snooping at the door barged in.
"Kya baat hain Champ! Itni asani se manaliya Bhai ko. Wah!" Neil praised him.
"Are Chachu! Poppy ne ise itne zor se thappad maara na, isliye jaldi jane diya hoga. Warna isne jo kiya, uskeliye toh main bhi isse naraaz hoon." Roohi said looking at Neil.
"Aur tu! Kya tha woh pagalpan? Kitna pareshan hogaye the hum sab? Aise kaise chot lagaliya? Akal nahi hain bilkul bhi?"
Roohi reprimanded him and Abhir listened like a good younger brother. He knew when to shut his mouth and cut his losses.
"Champ! Mat karo yaar aisa. Tere safety aur health se badh ke kuch nahi hain. No emotion is worth harming yourself. Hmmm!" Neil advised Abhir and gave him a tight hug.
"Aaram kar thodi der. Poppy ayenge tere hi paas tujhe pamper karne. Maze kar. Hum nahi disturb karenge. Sirf teri haalat dekhke taras khake yeh exclusive attention lene de rahe hain hum. You better be grateful"
Roohi showed some attitude and Abhir smiled at her pathetic attempt.
"I love you Di. Thank you.......Sorry for that. I promise phir se nahin karunga." Abhir earnestly promised. Roohi smiled and ruffled his hair.
"Sara pyaar Di keliye hain. Chachu keliye kuch nahi. Compromise main bhi kar raha hoon." Neil gloated.
"Thank you Chachu. Main Papa se bhi aise baat nahi karunga kabhi. I know aapko acha nahi laga tha." Abhir confessed.
"Woh mereliye bhi father hi hain aur tere bhi. You have all the right to have your own bond with him. It's just that main apne aapko rok nahi paya tujhe rokne se.
You have nothing to apologize to me for that. Kyunki agar tu line cross karega, Bhai khud samjhadenge. There is no place for anyone between you two. Hona bhi nahi chahiye. Yaad rakhna."
Neil shared his thought process. Abhir nodded gratefully for the understanding. Roohi observed a faint mark on Abhir's cheek and shrieked.
"Abhir! Tere gaal pe mark hain halka sa. Bahut zor se lagi?" Roohi asked him as she caressed the cheek.
"Yeh zone mein tha. Aur ise hosh hi nahi tha ki glass hain.... lag jayegi. Toh ye hi tareeka tha to make him snap out of it." Neil commented.
"Koi baat nahi Di. Mujhe dard nahi ho raha hai." Abhir responded.
Abhimanyu who came to spend time with Abhir heard the last piece of the conversation and felt guilty of slapping him so harshly. All three of them saw Abhimanyu at the door and palmed their faces.
"Poppy yaar! Aap guilt mein mat jao. Dekho ise toh dard bhi nahi ho raha hain." Roohi sulked.
She didn't want her father to drown in guilt for doing the right thing. She knew he would hate that he slapped so harshly.
"Bhai! Us waqt jo sahi tha aapne woh kiya. Don't..." Neil was cut by Abhir who claimed,
"Papa! Mujhe sach mein bura nahi laga aur dard bhi nahi ho raha hain. Aap sad mat ho na please." He requested.
Abhimanyu's heart was filled with warmth. His kids weren't letting him apologize for an unintentional mistake and instead justifying his action.
If someone just asked him who was the luckiest man on earth, he would name himself.
He was very, very, very fortunate to have such amazing kids who don't misunderstand his anger and always look for the concern behind his actions.
Here, he was wallowing in his own insecurities and guilt for a very stupid reason called Akshara. Now that his kids freed him from the complicated mess, he made for himself, he wanted to take a step in the direction of moving on.
He smiled at them and said, "Galti toh hain meri. Aapko itni harshly nahi maarna chahiye tha Bacha. I am sorry. It was very impulsive. Calculated hota toh itna kabhi nahi lagta." Abhimanyu offered an explanation to Abhir.
"I know Papa. Aur galti bhi toh meri thi. Kahin na kahi I deserved it for my behaviour. Aap na...aaj mujhe exclusive attention do aur main sab bhool jaunga. Yeh thappad bhi....But I will remember the lesson though"
Abhir spoke cheerfully and honestly. "Done" Abhimanyu agreed instantly earning glares from Roohi and Neil. He shrugged and said,
"What? Use chot lagi hain aur uper se maine itni zor se maara. He deserves all the pampering in the world."
"Sachi Poppy? Mujhe toh do do thappad pade the. Tab toh aapne aise nahi bola" Roohi passed a sarcastic remark.
"Are Princess! Tum bhi kya itni choti choti baatein kar rahi ho. Meri toh dhulayi hui thi proper phir bhi inki muh se uff tak nahi nikla. Sara laad bas Abhir keliye hi hain." Neil whined dramatically.
"Hogaya tum logon ka?" Abhimanyu asked being absolutely aware of their drama and they nodded in a no.
"Jaane ka kya loge?" Abhimanyu folded his arms to his chest and asked them.
"Hmmm!" They acted like they were thinking and were about to speak but Abhir beat them to it.
"Di ko show mein participate karne do aap." Abhir blurted out. All the other three looked at him in shock. There was silence for a brief moment.
"Tu pagal hogaya hain Birla Boy. Itna kuch hojane ke baad main kyun part lungi. Mujhe khud us aurat ko face nahi karna hain. I had enough of her for a lifetime." Roohi declared out of irritation.
"Oh! Come on Di. Aap bhi jaante ho ki aapko yeh show karna hain. You just want to back off now because she is a part of it. Otherwise, aapko yeh opportunity jane nahi dena tha."
Abhir exposed her feelings, and she didn't know how to deny it.
"Papa! Hum kyun unko apni life control karne dein? Hum kyun back out karein hamesha? Why should Di let go off such an opportunity just because of her?"
Abhir raised some valid questions which no one paid heed to earlier, and Abhimanyu could understand his point. He couldn't possibly ask Roohi to let go of the opportunity just because he was coward enough to not face her. But Neil differed.
"Abhir! Chup kar. Koi zarurat nahi hain unke aas paas bhi jane ki. 20 minute mein Roohi ka bura haal hogaya tha aur tu keh raha hain ki use 2 maheenein uske sangat mein rehne dein. Not happening." Neil argued strongly.
"Ru! Aap kya chahti hain? Dil se bolo. No pressure. Na Abhir ki baat suno, na apne Chachu ki. Sirf dil ki suno aur batao. Aapko yeh show waqai mein karna hain?
Are you that passionate for this or would you pass it off as something not so significant? What do you want?
What your heart says is of utmost importance to all of us Bacha."
Abhimanyu's gentle tone forced Roohi to delve deep and think while Neil and Abhir anxiously waited for her response. All of them were waiting with bated breath, unbeknownst to each other.
"Poppy! Mujhe yeh show karna hain. I want to win it. To be honest, main chahti hoon ki woh mujhe dekhein ki main kitni khush hoon aur successful hoon without her in my life. Jab se hosh aaya, tabse unka wait kiya maine jaane anjane main.
Ummeed toh bahut baar tuti meri per phir bhi main kyun unse itna affect hojati hoon, I never understood. May be because I didn't spend enough time with her, I keep giving her benefit of doubt. But main chahti hoon ki woh fascination mera khatam hojaye.
I want to test myself Poppy. As a performer and also as a daughter. I want to face her with my head held high. I don't want to crave for her attention anymore. I want to completely get over her. I want to prove her wrong and I want to show her how she has no bearing on my life."
Roohi explained her stance. Neil shook his head and spoke,
"Roohi! Yeh koi game nahi hain. Life hain. Aap jaanti ho na reality shows ki duniya kaisi hain? Agar Akshara ji involved hi nahi hoti, tab bhi uske bahut bure outcomes hain. We discussed them earlier. Ab toh sone pe suhaga, Akshara ji bhi cons ke list mein add ho chuki hain.
Mujhe nahi lagta Roohi...... that you should take so much pressure on you. If you were too passionate about this show, I would have understood but your reasons seam extremely stupid to me.
There is nothing you need to prove her or anyone. She is an absolute nobody to you till day. Don't give her so much importance."
Neil scowled at her, and Roohi cowered back. Abhimanyu glared at Neil.
"Ru! Aap Akshara keliye participate karna chahti hain toh main aapko allow nahi kar sakta. Iss bachpane keliye main aapka time, education, freedom aur privacy ke saath compromise karne keliye ready nahi hoon.
Main is show ke, aur reality TV ke saqt khilaf hoon and you know that. Agar aap mujhe sahi reasons nahi doge ki kyun aapko part lena hain, humara yeh discussion karna hi bekaar hain." Abhimanyu spoke firmly.
"Yeh badla, prove karna and all yeh sab films mein ache lagte hain. Real life mein bahut zyada taxing hain. Aap abhi bahut chote ho. Don't tap into all these negative emotions. Agar singing aapka goal hoga, one and only goal, tabhi baat karne ka koi matlab banta hain."
Abhimanyu's voice was very stern. Roohi stood silent but Abhir spoke,
"But agar Di unko galat prove karna chahti hain toh galat kya hain? If she will get rid of her fears by facing her, what's wrong in it?"
Abhimanyu looked at both his children and said, "Is she so important in our lives ki hum apni life ka itna keemti time un per kharch karein?
Rather than doing something productive, do you think we should toil around trying to prove her wrong? I am asking you the same question you asked me Abhir."
Abhimanyu asked Abhir and Abhir had to shut up. He had nothing to argue. Roohi who was contemplating till then spoke at once,
"Haan Poppy! Woh important hain mere liye."
She had their focus and Roohi knew that. What she says now is going to be the crucial factor that can determine course of action. She took a deep breath and started.
"I have too many complaints with her. Too many unresolved issues and too much hurt. If I want to have some time with her in whatever way possible, to know her better, so that I can handle my emotions better, what's wrong Poppy?
Jinko main apni Mom maanti aayi hoon, unhe jaan ne ka haq hain na mujhe? Aur unko jaan ne ka is se safe tareeka nahin hain.
Na mujhe unke close jaana padega na woh sabke saamne mujhe hurt kar payengi. Mujhe mauka bhi miljayega....... to form my own opinion of her...... jo situation ke saath na badale.
That's all I am asking. Aur aap sab ho na mere saath. Aap sambhal loge mujhe. I am confident. Per agar maine yeh opportunity jaane diya na, main bahut regret karungi Poppy.
PLEASE LET ME PARTICIPATE." Roohi pleaded and Abhimanyu was forced to rethink his stance.
What is your take on Abhir's deal?
Did Abhimanyu overreact?
Or was it important to explain Abhir?
What do you think about Abhir, Roohi and Neil's conversation?
Do you agree with Abhir's suggestion and his take on Akshara?
Do you second Neil's ideology?
Is Roohi right on her part to make such a request?
What will Abhimanyu decide?
Well! Let's wait and see.