Coming Around (Part 7.1)

Posted 4 CommentsPosted in English, Original, Subrato-Paridhi

“Enough of my sob story,” she said after they had driven out of the campus towards the city, “What do you plan to do?”

“Meaning?”

“Doesn’t your family pressurize you to get married?”

“They have given up on me. In the four months I was in India before joining the institute, they had gone crazy. Somehow I managed to evade though.”

“Don’t you want to get married.”

He sighed, “I wished I knew.”

“And my experience can’t be helpful,” she laughed sadly.

“You already have too much burden on your shoulders. Don’t start holding yourself responsible for my actions.”

She sighed, “But you know… it’s much better for men.”
“Really?”

“Yes. If the boy wants to meet his potential wife a few times before deciding, he is independent and forward-looking. If the girl wants to do it, she is too modern, distrustful of family, shameless and even characterless. If the boy says ‘no’, the girl is not good enough for him. If the girl says ‘no’, she in increasing the trouble of her family. And in all likelihood, her ‘no’ won’t matter at all. And it’s the boys who get all the free dowry money. Worth making a bit of compromise for!” her tone became bitter.

“Thankfully the dowry system is not prevalent in my community. But…”

“You know what! If you can’t decide for yourself in next couple of years, you should go for arranged marriage. You will have the choice anyway. And the girl you choose will be lucky enough to at least have a sensitive husband.”

“I am flattered,” Subrato sounded amused at that.

“And I am being ridiculous, of course. I am too self-absorbed in my problems. Forget it. Tell me something about the artists we are going to hear today.”

“Ah! Okay. Some of them are fairly young. But others…” She listened with fascination as he talked about various artists and what their strengths and weaknesses were.

To be continued

Relations

Posted Leave a commentPosted in Fan Fiction, Hinglish, Maneet (GHSP)

 

She hadn’t dwelt on it. It was just a moment, when she said, “Abhi Maa hoti to main unse poochh leti.” She was sifting through jewelry samples Dadi Ma had ordered and had asked her to choose from. For their wedding

But it struck him as he overheard her. Did she often have these moments, which she did not share with him? Because she did not want him to worry? He didn’t have any respect for her family members given the way they had treated her. And he knew that she was strong and believed in living her life, even when her dear ones betrayed her. She had moved on and lived without the protection of her family. But at the end of the day, she was still an eighteen year old. Wouldn’t it be too harsh to expect her not to crave for the company of her family, at least her parents, her mother? Especially on such an important occasion of her life, her wedding?

But all these were merely his speculations. He wasn’t sure what he should do. He could try and contact her parents. Possibly on hearing the news of her marriage, they would feel good for her and agree to come. But would that be the right thing to do? Would it bring back good memories for her or the bad ones? It was too risky a decision. He would never want to kill her happiness, definitely not due to something that he was trying to make her smile.

There was only one option. Talk to her. But not immediately. It was a sensitive issue and he wanted to think through his words. He wasn’t good with words. He should not hurt her even by mistake.

For now, he would just pull his usual tricks and make her smile.

“Geet.”

“Aap? Aap yahan kya kar rahe hain?” She startled as if caught in an act.

“Ek client se meeting karne ke liye aaya hoon,” he mocked her.

“Client se meeting? Yahan? Lekin neeche office mein to sab shaadi ka samaan pada hai. Aap mujhe pahle nahin bata sakte the? Ab itni jaldi main office kaise theek karoongi?”

His smile broadened as he heard her blabbering. She suddenly noticed him smile.

“Aap mujhe buddhu bana rahe hain?”

“Banane ki kya zaroorat hai Geet?”

“Kya?” Her eyes widened at the insult, “Aap apne aap ko samajhte kya hain? Vikram aur Betal ke Vikram? Yahan kya karne aaye hain aap?”

“To mujhe tumhein ye batane ki zaroorat padegi ki main apni hone waali biwi ke kamre mein kya kar raha hoon. Haan Geet? Ye bewkoofi nahin to aur kya hai?”

He started moving towards her with his seductive look in his eyes and she started moving backwards, until she hit the bed and ended up sitting on it. He leaned, bringing his face close to hers and placed his hands on her sides on the bed. He picked up the necklace lying on her left, while he continued to look into her eyes. She did not notice the necklace, until he started putting it on her over her head. She became confused, while his hands moved to the back of her neck. She closed her eyes as his touch affected her. He pulled the strings and the necklace fitted on her neck. He ran his hands around her neck to bring them in front and caressed the necklace, “Ye perfect lag raha hai.”

She opened her eyes. Confusion still reigned on her face and in her voice, “Aap…”

“… apni mishti ke liye gahne select karne aaya tha. Kaisi lagi meri pasand?”

He cupped her face and she stood up when he gestured her to.

“Bahut achchhi hai.”

“Tumne to dekha bhi nahin hai ki maine kya chuna hai. Tab se mujhe hi nihar rahi ho.”

“Aapne chuna hai to phir mujhe dekhne aur sochne ki kya zaroorat hai?”

He smiled and just as he was moving to kiss her, they heard footsteps outside and separated awkwardly. Dadi Ma had come.

She noticed the necklace Geet was wearing and remarked, “Are wah Geet! Ye necklace to aap par bahut janch raha hai. Badi achchhi pasand hai aapki.”

Maan and Geet exchanged a quick, stealth smile and they proceeded to discuss the mandap designs with Dadi Ma.

They had sneaked out on the terrace after dinner. Geet was sitting on the swing, blabbering away about something or the other, when Maan suddenly interrupted her, “Geet mujhe tumse kuchh baat karni thi.”

“To boliye na..”

“Geet – kuchh serious baat hai, aur…”

He appeared to be struggling to choose his words and Geet got worried. The last time she had seen him hesitate so much was when he was trying to ask her about Dev, whether he should look for her culprit and bring him to justice. What was it this time?

“Aap itna hichak kyon rahe hain? Aisi kya baat hai. Please mujhe jaldi bataiye.”

“Geet tum gussa mat hona, bas mere dimaag mein baat aayi, isliye poochh raha hoon.”

“Aap please paheliyan bujha kar mujhe pareshaan mat kijiye. Aisi koi baat nahin ho sakti jo aap mujhse nahin kah sakte Maan. Please bataiye.”

“Geet, kya tum apne parents ko miss kar rahi ho? Kya tum chahti ho ki woh hamari shaadi attend karein?”

Geet was too shocked to react for few moments.

Even after she recovered, she wasn’t sure why he asked that question.

“Aap ye kyon poochh rahe hain? Kya aapko lagta hai ki log mere ghar waalon ke baare mein sawaal poochhenge?”

“Nahin, nahin Geet. Tum achchhi tarah se jaanti ho ki logon ki mujhe koi parwah nahin hai. Main to bas tumhari khushi ke liye jaanna chahta tha Geet. Agar apni shaadi par tum apne parents ka saath chahti ho, to main kuchh bhi kar ke unhein launga. Lekin agar ismein tumhari khushi hogi, tabhi.”

Geet was overwhelmed once again at her man’s concern for her happiness. She knew how much he detested her family. And how unfair they had been not only to her, but to him as well. He was still willing to go after them for her happiness.

“Maan! Rishte khoon se nahin bante, nibhane se bante hain. Aapne ek pita ki tarah meri hamesha raksha ki hai. Jab bhi main pareshaan aur udaas hui, ek maa ke tarah aapne mujhe shaant karaya hai, mujhe bharosa diya hai. Bhai-bahnon ki tarah aap mere saath hanste-khelte hain, jhagadte hain, mujhe chhedte hain, mujhe hansate hain. Aur ek sachche jeevan-saathi ki tarah har kadam par mere saath rahte hain. Mere saare rishte aap par shuru hote hain, aur aap par hi khatam hote hain Maan. Mujhe kissi aur ki zaroorat nahin hai. Mujhe apni khushiyan kissi aur ke saath nahin baantni hain.”

It was Maan’s turn to be overwhelmed.

“Geet!” He could not say anything else.

Geet nodded her head slightly, as if to confirm all that she had said just now. Then she got up from the swing and Maan pulled her into a hug.

He decided to lighten the mood, “Waise Geet. Tum itni badi badi baatein karna kaise seekh gayi. Tum meri nakal kar ke practice to nahin karti rahti?”

Geet broke the embrace slightly, pretended to be angry and hit him on his shoulder. They started smiling and hugged again.

 

Note on the OS

I am aware that some people may not agree to the viewpoint presented in this story. The most common argument being that ‘parents are parents and how can she not wish to see her parents on her wedding day?’ But I have a strong opinion to the contrary.

To illustrate my idea, let me present an example from the serial itself. Do we think of Dev as the father of Geet’s child? Almost everyone in love with the serial does not. Most of us accept Maan as the father. Why? Dev is the one biologically responsible for the baby. But he did not carry out his responsibilities of protecting and loving the baby. Maan did. He protected the baby and loved it as his own. So, its Maan and not Dev who is the father of the baby.

To me, Geet’s parents and Dev are similar. Both have been spineless for their child. Both of them could not protect their child. The only difference is the Geet has lived with her parents for 18 years and of course, there have been moments of love and affection. But even during those years they had not been able to do anything to protect her from the ridicilous rules and punishments decided by Daarji. Those who have seen the initial episodes would know how torturous all of that was.

Given that they have royally failed in their basic duty as the parents, I have no sympathy for any affection between them and Geet. Check out Stockholm Syndrome. Even the captives end up developing positive feelings for their captors. It may sound harsh, but I treat this affection as closer to Stockhold Syndrome. She has been with them for 18 years, but that’s it. After that they left her to die and could do nothing for her. They might as well have killed her, when she was born.

So, I never accepted Geet’s family or parents returning to share her happiness in the wedding. (Especially not Daarju, who according to me is the biggest villain in the show.) They have no rights over Geet’s happiness. Only Maan has that right. He is the only family she has.

 

Regaining Trust (Part 4)

Posted 11 CommentsPosted in Ashni (KTLK), Fan Fiction, Hinglish

“Meri class mein sabke paas ipad hai. They keep doing FaceTime all the time,” Siddhi said on the breakfast table.

“You can do Facebook from my laptop, Siddhi.”

“Facebook nahin Di. FaceTime. It’s a video calling feature only on Apple products.”

“But we have a webcam. Aur school mein itna time bitane ke baad, tu phir unhi logon ke saath video chat karna chahti hai?” Nidhi tried to make a joke about her demand.

“Offo Di. You don’t understand. It’s… It’s not the webcam. FaceTime is… Well… iPad is cool. And everyone has it.”

“Okay. I will find out about it,” Nidhi said meekly because she did not want Siddhi to flare up again. This happened too often these days. Last time it was about some branded nail polish she wanted to buy. Before that about the different running and walking shoes from Nike that she needed. Each costed her above 7000 bucks. And now this iPad. Nidhi already knew the prices. She was only postponing the inevitable. She’d buy it for her eventually. And then try to compensate for it by taking buses instead of autos herself. Not that this kind of money could be saved by that. She hated digging into the savings. It was for Siddhi’s education. Nidhi had hoped that she’d run the house with her internship stipend and not spend any more savings on their daily needs after her MBBS was over. But Siddhi was growing, her needs were growing. The stipend was meagerly. Nidhi made some mental calculations. For iPad she will have to break another FD. Each FD was of one lac Rs. Around 40-45 thousands will be left after she bought the iPad. She would leave that in her savings account, instead of putting back in FD or any other investment. Some demand or the other will come up from Siddhi again. It was better to have some cash at hand. May be she should stop worrying about savings so much. After the internship was over, she’d be able to earn a decent salary. And it was only a year away. By the time Siddhi finished her 10th board exams, Nidhi should be settled well enough to support her further studies. But… But what if something went wrong… Saving were needed…. And yet an FD will have to be broken.

“Bye Di. Main ja rahi hoon. Aur aaj Natasha ke ghar party hai. So, don’t come to pick me up. I will be back later.” Oh yes! She had forgotten the 2000 Rs. spent on a gift for Natasha’s birthday. “She is my best friend Di. Uske liye mujhe kuchh to dhang ka khreedna padega. Kuchh uske standard ka,” Siddhi had argued.

But why was she grudging? It was her responsibility to make sure that Siddhi had everything she needed to be happy. She should not feel like an orphan. But the car… She wanted to be driven to her school in a car like other children. Not go in buses. But that was something Nidhi really couldn’t afford right now. After internship, with a better income she might be able to get a loan. But right now… May be she should not have disposed off that ill-fated car all those years ago… But a ten year old Maruti 800 would hardly have been Siddhi’s idea of a car that would match the tastes of her friends. Nidhi smiled despite her worries. Siddhi! How status-conscious she was! How naive and gullible. But she was only thirteen. She had the right to be gullible. She had the right to be pampered. That right won’t be snatched away from her. Never! She would not have to grow up sooner than needed.

“Dr. Nidhi? Aap abhi yahan hain? School nahin gayin, Siddhi ko pick karne?” Ashutosh was surprised to find Nidhi on the terrace during the lunch hour.

Nidhi was facing away from the door that connected the terrace to the hospital corridor and was startled by Ashutosh’ voice.

“Sorry. Maine aapko phir dara diya lagta hai,” Ashutosh said sheepishly seeing her turn with a start.

She smiled weakly, “Nahin. Main theek hoon. Siddhi ki friend ke yahan party hai. To aaj main nahin ja rahi hoon.”

“Lunch kar liya aapne.”

“Nahin. Thodee der baad karoongi.”

“Are jaiye. Abhi hi to sab log canteen mein honge.”

“Haan. Woh bahut crowded hai. Isliye…”

“Dr. Nidhi. Aap kabhi apne colleagues ke saath lunch nahin kar paati hain. This is the time…”

“Isliye to awkward hai, Sir…” she bit her lips as she realized that she had revealed something she did not want to. She had earned the reputation of aloofnes amongst her colleagues and now she was not comfortable having lunch with them in the canteen. She would have felt like an outsider. But what will Ashutosh think now. “I’m sorry, Sir. Mera woh matlab nahin tha…”

“Chaliye mere saath,” Ashutosh said thoughtfully.

Nidhi resignedly walked behind him expecting to be led to the canteen, but was surprised when he walked towards his cabin instead. What was this about? A private lecture on the need to socialize with colleages?

But she was in for another surprise.

“Hiraman Kaka dher saara khana bana dete hain roz. Hamesha wapas le jaana padta hai. I should have another plate somewhere… Ye rahi. Dekhiye. Aapki pasand ka kuchh hai ya nahin is dabbe mein…”

“Dr. Ashutosh. Isko zaroorat nahin hai. Aap… Main canteen mein kha loongi. Aap iske liye mujhe yahan laye the? Maine socha…”

“Sit down Dr. Nidhi. Ye chhoti-moti baatein kissi ki maan lene se koi farq nahin padega aapki independence par, trust me.”

Nidhi gave in and served herself some food. Ashutosh also got some for himself and they started eating.

“Waise aapne kya socha tha?” Ashutosh restarted the conversation.

“Ji?”

“Aap kah rahi thi na ki jab main aapko yahan laya to aapne socha… Kya socha?”

“Kuchh nahin.”

“Ye chhoti-moti baatein bata dena se bhi koi farq nahin padega Nidhi.”

Nidhi sighed, “Mujhe laga tha ki aap mujhe samjhane ki koshish karenge ki mujhe apne colleagues ke saath socialize karna chahiye and all that.”

Ashutosh smiled, “Dr. Nidhi. Hum sab apni job mein kuchh assumptions ke saath kaam karte hain. The twenty-two year olds, who walk in through the hospital gates every year, to start their professional careers… Unke baare mein bhi mere kuchh assumptions hote hain. Normally woh sahi bhi hote hain. Woh log mostly achchhe aur studious students rahe hote hain, but duniya nahin dekhi hoti, responsibilities nahin li hoti, real life ka idea nahin hota unhein. Un assumptions ke hisaab se main unhein train karne ko koshish karta hoon. Sirf medicine mein hi nahin, balki overall professional life mein. Lekin…”

“Lekin?” Ashutosh had Nidhi’s attention.

“Lekin jitna maine aapko jaana hai, itni chhoti si umra mein hi aapne itni responsibilities nibhayi hain ki mujhe pata nahin aapke oopar normal rules apply karna fair hai ya nahin? Balki woh aap par apply hote bhi hain ki nahin? Aapko already itne important faisle lene ki aadat hai khud ke liye ki main aapko decision-making nahin sikha sakta. Aapne apne faisle khud liye hain. Aur galtiyan nahin ki hain. Aur itna kuchh karne ke baad agar aap kabhi koi galti kar bhi dein, to woh aapka haq hai.”

Nidhi was staring at him in disbelief by the time he finished.She felt a lump in her throat. She could not swallow her food any longer. And if she tried to do anything at all, she was sure she’d cry. She kept her plate on the table and walked out, not heeding Ashutosh asking her to stop.

Ashutosh was confused about what to do for a minute. Then he decided to look for her. He found her on the terrace. Even though she was facing away from him and he was at a distance, it wasn’t difficult to make out that she was crying. He debated with himself about what to do. Go to her or leave her alone. He decided on the latter. She had run away from him to cry. He shouldn’t impose himself on her. He came back.

Knock came on his door about fifteen minutes later.

“Yes Dr. Nidhi?” Ashutosh spoke as if nothing had happened earlier.

She looked uncomfortable and flustered, “I am sorry, Sir. Woh meri joothi plate yahan padi thi.”

“Don’t worry. Clean karwa di hai maine.”

She nodded and made to leave.

“Nidhi,” he stopped her, got up from his chair and walked to her, “Do baatein. Pahli ye ki tumhari duty abhi mere saath hai. Ward no. 2 mein. Jaldbaazi ki koi zaroorat nahin hai. You didn’t have your lunch properly. Aaraam se canteen mein kuchh kha kar aa jao.”

She nodded.

“Aur doosri ye ki sharing and getting support is not a sign of weakness. Agar tum mujhse share karna chaho to I would be very happy. Lekin mujh par nahin to kissi par to bharosa karo. Kissi se to share karo, support lo. Agar main kissi se tumhari jaan pahchaan karwa sakta hoon, ya kissi professional se hi baat karna chaho…”

“Agar share karna hoga,” she interrupted, “To aapse hi kar loongi.” She didn’t know why she said that. But it sounded right.

“I will wait for the day then.”

She nodded and went away.

To be continued

Regaining Trust (Part 3)

Posted 11 CommentsPosted in Ashni (KTLK), Fan Fiction, Hinglish

 

“Sir. Main Siddhi ko… I mean apni sister ko pick karne ja rahi thi. Rahul ko bhi pick kar loon?”

“No. Thanks Dr. Nidhi. Uski maid wapas aa gayi hai. Woh use ghar le jayegi.”

“Okay Sir.”

“Dr. Nidhi?” She noticed that he had started using her first name instead of his usual practice of using the last name.

“Yes Sir?”

“Aap roz apni sister ko pick karti hain?”

“Ji.”

“But she is old enough to go home on her own.”

“Hum log saath mein lunch karte hain, Sir.”

“Isliye aap hospital canteen mein lunch nahin karti.”

“Ji,” she nodded looking apprehensive as if he would mind that. But he did not say anything. So, she left feeling relieved.

Ashutosh parked his car in the parking lot and walked towards the main building of Rahul’s school. It was the annual school picnic and the school authorities had asked parents to volunteer to accompany the kids to the picnic venue. Having a few parents around would be helpful for the teachers, as the kids on the picnic grounds could become a handful for them. Ashutosh had the day off; so he had decided to volunteer.

“Dr. Ashutosh?” he heard the familiar voice.

“Dr. Nidhi? Aaj to aapki duty thi.”

“Maine exchange kar li.”

“Yahan aane ke liye?”

“Ji.”

“That’s great,” Ashutosh said, but eyed her curiously. Why was she acting like a parent to her fairly grown up sister?

But he did not get a chance to continue the conversation. All the parents and teachers got busy in seating the kids on the buses, counting and recounting, giving instructions. Nidhi and Ashutosh were assigned to different buses; so they could not talk during the bus ride. Only after they disembarked at the venue and the kids got engaged in various activities, did he get a chance to talk to her again.

“Aap apni sister ki full-time guardian ki tarah hain,” he said cautiously, though he tried to appear casual.

“Guardian ki tarah nahin hoon, main uski guardian hoon.”

“Excuse me?”

“Woh aath saal ki thi jab hamare parents ki death ho gayi thi. Tab se main hi uski guardian hoon.” She said it as factually as if reporting a patient’s blood pressure to him.

Ashutosh was visibly startled. “I… I am sorry Dr. Nidhi.”

“It’s okay. Old story. She is doing fine.”

“I’m sure, she is. I’m sorry because I had no idea. And I could have said some things that hurt you…”

“No. You couldn’t have. I don’t give people power to hurt me,” her curt and stiff self was back.

Ashutosh’ mind was filled with a whirlwind of thoughts and he was hardly in a position to chat with her further. He tried to guess what Siddhi’s age was and if they were orphaned when she was eight, it must have been four to six years ago. Nidhi herself would have been a teenager then, herself in the need of love and care of parents. And she has been parenting her kid sister since then? Even at his age, when Rahul’s birth was a planned event of his life, he sometimes found it difficult to deal with a child as a single parent and this girl…. Is that what makes her so bitter? He stole a glance at her. She was looking fondly in the direction of her sister. Siddhi was playing volleyball with her friends. It was impossible not to notice the affectionate smile on Nidhi’s face, which was usually so devoid of anything resembling a smile. She definitely didn’t resent her sister’s responsibility. What was it then?

“Aap log wapas ghar kaise jayenge?” Ashutosh asked when they were back to the school from picnic. The parents who had not accompanied the kids on picnic had come to pick them up and the entire place was crowded again.

“Auto ya taxi mil jayegi, Sir.”

“Kaafi der ho gayi hai. Let me drop you. Car hai…”

“No. No Sir. That won’t be necessary. Aur phir Rahul ke sone ka time bhi ho raha hoga. Aap late ho jayenge.”

“It’s not a problem at all. Aur hamara hero abhi 11 baje se pahle nahin sone waala hai. Itni raat ko aap logon ka akele jaana theek nahin hai…”

“Sir. Hum hamesha jaate hain. Koi problem nahin hai. Right Siddhi?” Nidhi tried to get her sister to endorse her.

“Yeah Di. But you know… I am kind of tired…”

“Siddhi!” Nidhi was flustered.

“Dr. Nidhi. Please let me,” Ashutosh insisted.

He saw an expression of helplessness and regret on her face as she nodded. Obviously she was not happy at the situation. For a moment he felt bad about offering to drop them. It seemed to have hurt her self-respect. And yet… not making an offer would not have been like him. It would not have been like anyone with any sense of responsibility. It made no sense that they should be scouting for an auto this late, after a tiring day, when he could have dropped them easily.

“Sir. Aap please andar aaiye na,” Nidhi said when he pulled up the car in front of their house.

“Nahin Dr. Nidhi. Aap log thake hue honge. Aaraam kijiye. Main phir kissi din…”

“Sir. Chai to main bhi piyungi hi aur khana bhi banega hi. Agar aapko taqleef na ho to please andar chaliye aur hamare saath hi dinner kar lijiye. Abhi ghar wapas ja kar kahan dinner ka intezaam karenge?”

Hiraman Kaka would have taken care of dinner at his home. But he did not want to say it and make her feel small. At the same time he did not like the idea of her slogging away on dinner for four people.

“I have a better idea. Hum ander chalte hain. Aap hamare liye chai banaiye aur dinner ke liye hum pizza order kar dete hain,” he said.

“Pizza! Yes!” Rahul and Siddhi exclaimed in almost in chorus.

Nidhi looked unsure, but finally nodded.

Rahul happily followed Siddhi to her room. Ashutosh ordered pizza, while Nidhi made tea. The house was big for two people and Ashutosh guessed that it must have been built by their parents and was not rented.

“Rahul abhi aath saal ka hai and he gets a handful for me so often. It was very brave of you to take the responsibility of your sister at that age,” Ashutosh said while having tea.

“Main brave banne ki koshish nahin kar rahi thi. I just did what I had to.”

“That is still incredible. In fact, more so.”

Nidhi did not react to it and continued sipping her tea without meeting his eyes. Ashutosh fidgeted feeling uncomfortable at the silence, but the doorbell came to his resuce.

“Must be pizza delivery. I will get it,” Nidhi got up.

“No. Nidhi. Wait. I will pay for it,” Ashutosh stopped her.

“Sir. Aap bhool rahe hain ki aap mere ghar mein hain. I am the host.”

“Aur aap bhool rahi hain ki main aapka senior hoon.Sit down.”

“But…”

“No if’s and but’s,” he declared and went to the door.

Nidhi looked on feeling slightly annoyed with herself. What was happening to her today? She was losing control, giving in too much to Ashutosh. First revealing about her parent’s death, then the ride home, then the idea of pizza for dinner and now him paying for it. She didn’t like the idea of paying over 500 Rs. for a meal of pizza. Her father’s insurance and property had left her enough to pay for her own education and their normal upkeep. But she couldn’t afford to be reckless. She was saving for Siddhi’s education.

She came out of her thoughts when she saw Ashutosh struggling with several large boxes of pizza, garlic bread and cakes.

“Aapne kitna saara order kar diya hai?”

“Cold drinks darwaaze ke paas rakhi hain.”

“He bhagwan!” she exclaimed and rushed to the door so that Ashutosh didn’t have do all the work himself.

She stood with her hands on the hips and stared at the pizza boxes and accompaniments arranged on the dining table.

“Ye chaalish logon ka khana hai, Sir. Yahan sirf chaar log hain, poora hospital nahin.”

Ashutosh liked it that for once her words were not measured and calculated. She just spoke whatever came to her mind.

“I’m sorry. Lekin maine socha ki sab ki pasand alag alag hogi. To mujhe jo samajh mein aaya order kar diya. Jo bach jaye fridge mein rakh dijiyega.”

“Ek hafte tak mere ghar mein pizza festival chalega. Khair. I will call the kids.”

Her marvelled at her motherly expressions and language. It was cute coming from a twenty-two year old.

Nidhi tossed and turned in her bed till late that night. Something about the day was making her uncomfortable. Something about Ashutosh was making her uncomfortable. Siddhi was elated. At the ride in Mercedes. At the pizza dinner that Nidhi hardly indulged her in. And it bothered her that the source of her elation came from the pockets of someone else. From the pockets of Dr. Ashutosh. To make the matters worse, he came across as a dependable person. Of course, he did, Nidhi told herself. He was used to being a parent. All parents came across as dependable. It didn’t mean they were actually so.

To be continued