Gauri gathered up courage to visit the Oberoi mansion in the evening. Yesterday she had retreated from the scene, seeing Omkaraji upset, and not wanting to intrude, but today she thought was a good day to thank him for the portrait of his mother.
Gauri asked a staff member where he was, and upon being told he had gone out and will be back soon, Gauri nodded and said she will wait for him in his room.
It was strange to see the mansion so quiet, there was always something happening here, but Gauri guessed that she had come early and maybe everyone was still at work.
Gauri entered Omkaraji's room, and felt a sad sense of familiarity about the room which she should probably not feel.
She was about to sit on the couch, to wait for him, when she noticed a couple of old notebooks on Omkara's table. She was curious so she picked up one. It was an old sketchbook, containing plenty of drawings. It slipped from her hands, so she knelt on the floor to pick it up. She didn't realize when she sat down on the floor to go through them, but Gauri kept flicking through the sketches, mesmerized by how they captured the essence of human emotions.
"These are so beautiful. Surely, Omkaraji must've sketched them" said Gauri to herself. But she wasn't alone in the room, anymore.
"Yes, I made them" came Omkara's voice from the door.
Shankarji! Gauri almost yelled in her head, Omkaraji caught her.
"I...I just saw this on the table...and I got curious....I'm sorry I didn't mean to pry" Gauri mumbled, her words tripping over each other in anxiety.
"Relax. Its okay, you can look through anything you want" said Omkara smiling softly. He sat down next to her, and looked through his sketches.
"Kuch kwaab ladakpan ke hai in me, armaan hain kuch, aur muraadein bhi, tasveeron mein aksar lipti milti bachpan ki yaadein bhi" (There are some dreams in here, wishes and prayers too, wrapped in the pictures, there are some memories as well) said Omkara, glancing at his sketches fondly.
Gauri had rarely seen this side of him, and she was entranced by his words.
"Rudy...I made this when Rudra started walking" Omkara smiled as he recollected this memory. Gauri smiled slightly and also felt a little sad for the dreamy boy she could well imagine Omkaraji would be in his childhood.
"See this...this is the first time I sketched a bird...look at its wings, what do you see?" asked Omkara.
"The wings are too large" Gauri smiled.
Omkara nodded "You know why? Because I believe that even if the bird is small, its flight should be high."
At this point, Gauri started feeling a certain ache in her chest, a need to comfort him in his loss, because she was sure that he was mourning something.
"I've seen my mother suffering a lot. Seen her crying a lot, in pain, I used to get upset, really upset, feel a lot of anger. I didn't understand what should I do? Mom used to tell me, that anger should not come out as fire, but as talent. Thats what happened. My anger found an expression in art." Omkara realized that he had uttered the last sentence in English, and scrambled to explain Gauri, but she cut him off.
"I understood, yes, my English is weak, so maybe not all the words, but I understood the emotions behind your words" said Gauri, nodding sightly in solidarity and understanding.
Omkara smiled in acknowledgment and also wonder.
"You know whenever in our childhood Rudra would cry and Shivaay would make him stop and care for him, I would capture that moment in my drawings. Bachpan hum teeno bhaaiyon ne jiya hain, par usse sambhaalke sirf maine rakha hain (All three of us have lived our childhood, but I've have treasured it in my drawings and kept it safe)."
Omkara sighed "But now, its of no use thinking all this."
"Why would you say that?" said Gauri, surprised.
"Because my talent, my art, is upset with me. I can't create anything" said Omkara sadly.
"But..why not? You made that sketch of my mother, in fact, that's why I came here, to thank you, that sketch is so real. Why do you feel that your talent is angry with you?" said Gauri still puzzled.
Omkara smiled at her innocent question.
"That was a copy, Gauri, imitation. Art is making something new. You can't force art. An artist needs inspiration to create something new, inspiration. Thats why I was looking through my works earlier today, and even went out, meandering through the city to find something that inspires me. And until I find that inspiration, I won't be able to create anything" said Omkara in frustration, snapping shut his sketchbook.
Gauri, too wary of his mood swings, got up to leave, but Omkara held her hand, looking up at her. "You came just to thank for that sketch?" he asked.
"Yes, thank you Omkaraji" said Gauri, leaving the room hurriedly.
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Gauri was still stuck deep in her thoughts about the conversation, when she collided with Rudra.
"Chulbul bhaabhi? Take care, you here?" asked Rudra, surprised but happy.
Gauri wished he would stop calling her bhaabhi, she was not his sister-in-law, and yet at the same time she found Rudy bhaiyaa adorable and endearing.
"Yes, I just came to meet and thank Omkaraji for everything he did for my mother, bringing her here. What are you up to?" she asked.
"Nothing, I was waiting for Soumya to return, its getting a little boring at house, without college, and my brothers preoccupied with something. O looked weird today, did you also feel so?" asked Rudra.
Gauri nodded, and told Rudra about what transpired in Omkaraji's room.
"Rudy bhaiyaa? What is this p....pers...piration?" asked Gauri, not catching the word 'inspiration' as Omkaraji had spoken that word in English.
Rudra explained and when he Gauri told him that that's what Omkaraji is looking for, he was utterly perplexed.
"Are you sure Chulbul bhaabhi, that's what he said?" asked Rudra.
"Yes, that's what it sounded to me. Do you know where we can find it?" said Gauri.
"Yes, I do. We can't find it, but create it. Maybe we can do it today itself" said Rudra, pulling Gauri to his gym room.
A while later Rudra had cajoled Gauri to change into sweats and do cardio with him. Gauri however, still held onto her dupatta.
"Rudy bhaiyaa, as Chulbul I did dress up as a boy, but it feels weird dressing up like this as Gauri" she cribbed.
"We have to help O, you wanted to help him, right?" asked Rudra.
"Yes, but..." Gauri was still unsure.
"Hey, I think O's coming here, Chulbul bhaabhi lets start. Jumping Jacks!" said Rudra enthusiastically.
Omkara walked upon this really strange sight of Rudra and Gauri doing exercise. Never had he in his wildest imagination, thought he would witness this.
"O, look we are exercising" said Rudra.
"I can see that but why?" asked Omkara still not sure, this wasn't some bizarre dream.
"You said you need perspiration for your art problem right? We are sweating to create perspiration for you" said Rudra, while Gauri's breadth was catching from the jumping jacks and handling her dupatta both at the same time.
Omkara burst out laughing.
Rudra and Gauri stopped and looked at each other, thinking something is wrong.
"Rudra, I meant inspiration, not perspiration" said Omkara, still smiling broadly.
Rudra understood the confusion, and burst out laughing too.
"Gauri, thank you so much for thinking about me, but I meant, 'inspiration', which means 'prerna'. You are so cute" and saying so he pinched Gauri's cheeks.
Rudra chipped in too. "Chulbul bhaabhi you are so cute" he said, still smiling.
Feeling a little taken aback and very embarrassed, Gauri quickly made her way to Soumya's room to change.
On her way back home, Gauri wondered what would help Omkaraji, find inspiration, prerna, to make art again. She thought back to her error, and giggled a bit thinking how foolish it seemed now.
*******************************
Meanwhile Rudra narrated this incident to Soumya, who giggled as well, but she brought something to Rudra's notice.
"Rudy, you mean, you saw yourself, Bade Baal vaale bhaiyaa laughing to his heart's content?" she asked.
"Yes Sumo, it was a relief to see him happy and laughing like this after months. I want O to be happy, he's the one among us who has suffered for the longest time. Now Shivaay has Annika bhaabhi, I have found you..but O is still alone, I hope he..." Rudra stopped, realizing what he had said.
Soumya had frozen too. Rudra had just implied that Soumya was to him what Annika didi was to Shivaay bhaiyaa.
Though both of them were dating and had feelings for each other, were their feelings that deep like the older couple? A kind of embarrassed silence descended on them. Soumya broke the silence before it got too discomforting.
"Rudra, you want to know what happened at work today?" asked Soumya, excitedly.
Rudra was glad at the change of issue, and jumped in this line of conversation eagerly.
Though they both brushed their confused feelings under the carpet, how long were they going to carry on without addressing them?