Happy birthday iananyakaushik 🍦
May the colors of happiness, joy and success paint your life with tremendous good memories. 🎂
Have a blissful year ahead. 😍
May this birthday bring lots of joy and positivity in the coming years of yours 🌟
❤❤❤
A smile crept on his bow-shaped lips that woke up every cell of his body, as Adhyayan came out from the Jolly Grant Airport. Hailing the cab, he took a deep breath feeling the crisp, fresh air early in the morning which promised new beginnings and smoothness in his life.
It was seven thirty in the morning and Adhyayan was enjoying the natural sensation of cool air that brought tingles in his body. A wave of sentimental memories hit him as he remembered the good old days when he would trek on the Old Mussoorie Road with his father and enjoyed his mother’s delicacies with the evening tea while watching the sun setting behind the Mussoorie Hills. With a smile plastered on his face, the celebrity chef was drowned in his own world as he yearned to relive those sweet memories he had with his family.
As a child, Adhyayan enjoyed the road trips to Delhi or Uttar Pradesh because of a dark tunnel on the outskirts of the city in Mohand forests wherein he could shout and hoot with his sister. As much as Adhyayan missed the rustic fragrance of the trees of Mohand forests now turned into Rajaji National Park, he could not hinder meeting his family after six long years so instead of a road trip of five hours, he had opted for a thirty five minute flight journey at six on Saturday morning.
His trance of thoughts were broken when the taxi driver, a stout man in mid-fifties said, “Sir, please sit. I have loaded the luggage in trunk”.
Adhyayan smiled warmly as he sat in the backseat of the car and the driver ignited the engine. The driver was accustomed to see people getting overwhelmed with the scenic picturesque of the farms when he picked the passengers early in the morning and passed through outskirts of the city but today, this old man could sense the emotion of longing as he noticed Adhyayan rolling down the windows of car and inhaling the soothing air early in the morning.
The old man could not stop himself and said, “Sir, the air is relaxing, right!”
Adhyayan smiled at the warm response from the person of his community which did not go unrecognized by the accent of the driver. He cleared his throat and said, “I have my family here. The air seems too familiar. Nothing seem to be changed.”
The old man smiled and said, “So, are you from Dehradun?” to which Adhyayan replied, “My mother belongs to here. My father was born and brought up in Mussoorie but his parents shifted here when he was began his college.”
The old man just smiled listening to the celebrity chef when Adhyayan took a deep breath and said, “Father was in army so during my childhood, we juggled from one posting to another but during my teenage we settled here and since then, this place is close to my heart.”
“It seems you are coming here after a long time”, the old man commented with a smile plastered on his face. He was truly touched by the sensible treatment he got from his passenger seated on the backseat. Being into the profession of driving taxis, he had seen many arrogant passengers but today, he was happy to get a humble passenger early in the morning.
Adhyayan smiled as he looked at the children going to their schools wearing school uniforms with their parents sitting pillion on the two wheelers along with hustle-bustle of the buses early in the morning.
Missing his memorable school days, Adhyayan smiled but his smile was short-lived as he remembered, Sarah, the forbidden history of his life. Regretting his time spent with Sarah, Adhyayan grimaced.
Trying to avoid those painful memories, Adhyayan tried to keep up a cheerful face and said, “I am coming after six years and things have changed.”
The driver who had stayed away from his family in his late twenties and early thirties could understand the emotion of coming back home. Relating with homesickness, the old man just smiled and said, “The population has increased since this city became the capital and these changes are a threat to beauty of the city”, to which Adhyayan added, “And environment too.”
Both of them chuckled as they complained how population explosion in the city had turned the spectacular city into a polluted one. They discussed about the orchards of Mangoes as well as Lychees which were converted into cut down and transformed into apartments, malls and other infrastructural entities to keep up with the development of the city.
Adhyayan was surprised to know that his driver had two brilliant daughters who studied in one of the best schools of the city. He smiled as he remembered the old notion that even a betel-leaf seller of Dehradun strived to get his kids educated at the best educational institutions. No wonders, this is why Dehradun is considered to be the education hub of the country, Adhyayan thought and beamed with pride. The duo chit-chatted as the driver drove to the destination, the bungalow of Mr. Hariprakash Joshi at Rajpur Road.
The early morning ride seemed to be a long one for two reasons, firstly Adhyayan wanted to reach early as he was dying to meet his parents and secondly the early morning school traffic as it was a Saturday. Adhyayan truly missed his schooldays when he used to ride his bike to the school with his little sister sitting on the pillion seat clutching his shirt tightly.
With a smile plastered on his face and bittersweet symphonies running in his mind, Adhyayan sat contended in the cab without even noticing he had reached his home. The cab driver just smiled as he said, “Sir, we are here”, bringing Adhyayan out of his trance.
He got down with his luggage and paid the driver appreciating him for focusing on the education of his kids as he crossed the road and stood in front of his house. Before he could enter his own house, the guard stopped him and asked, “Whom do you want to meet early in the morning, sir?” maintaining a polite tone laced with suspicion and sense of duty.
Adhyayan scratched the back of his neck looking shocked at the new security guard as he clearly remembered it was Naveen uncle who stood by their house. He sighed as he realized it was six years ago. He despised the idea of giving a surprise to his parents. He took a deep breath as he said, “I am Adhyayan Joshi, son of the owner of this house”.
Making a fool of himself, Adhyayan said, “I guess you are new. As far as I remember it was Naveen uncle who used to be here.”
The young guard scanned Adhyayan from top to bottom as he replied in a monotone, “I am here since last four years and I never saw you. I will ask sir before letting you in”, as he moved inside his cubicle and made a phone call while Adhyayan stood clueless.
With all the old memories resurfacing all over again, the celebrity chef sighed as he realized his home had changed a lot. He wondered if Samar was still there or gone just like Naveen uncle. He doubted if their pet Charlie would recognize him, sniff him and jump on him with love or bark at him with an unfamiliar emotion.
A smile crept on his face as he remembered how he fought with his mother to let him keep Charlie, a small puppy eight years ago. Charlie would have surely grown up by now, he thought when the guard apologized to him profusely and ushered him inside where his parents were waiting for him.
With tears in his eyes and smile on his face, Adhyayan inhaled the cozy fragrance of his home which relaxed his veins.
A wave of nostalgia hit him as Adhyayan entered the premises of his own home, a place that told the tale of ups and downs of The Joshis; an abode that witnessed the joy and sorrows of the Joshi family and a string that held the broken family together.
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Hi everyone
Here's the new chapter of the story.😘😘😘😘
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Happy birthday dear iananyakaushik
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