Day 3 Dev Anand and tasty pasta
Song: Right by your side (Ra-One)
Hello,
It has been three days since I have entered the Pandya Niwas and honestly, things have been both messy and fast paced. Here, time flies here faster than it did for me previously. No, honestly, at my house, which was just a small house in comparison to this one but I liked it there, a little space for me and a little for mota-bhai, and freedom to its fullest. My days were filled with studying, a little accounting work and loads of vella time to write.
Now, if I could get a single minute to myself, I'd consider myself lucky.
My day started at 4:30, per usual, with cold water baths, Gaumbi's shoulder to sleep, and his adrak wali chai which I can never imitate to perfection. It continued with Suman Kaki's taunts, and hot glares every time I breathe, then with the kids always being behind my back, be it Dev's homework and need to study always, or Shiva's not doing his homework at all and fighting with Raavi (Prafulla maami's niece), or Krish with his weird questions which are not valid more than half of the time.
All in all, being here was frustrating as it was rewarding. This was too much for me to gather all at once, since I was used to being alone.
That being said, today's day was not very eventful, because neither did I make lunch today and nor did Kaki insult me. She was in bed the whole day, and instructed Gautam to not let the kids or that bhagodi ki beti in the room and I may have flinched at the name, I loved the idea of having no Suman Kaki around. The kids went to school per usual, (Krish was home early and now at the store) Gaumbi went to the store and after I was done with the day's accounts, I had nothing to do post noon.
And since I was free, I thought to surprise the kids and Gaumbi with this pasta recipe I always wanted to try since last year. Never liked cooking so much and hence I kept delaying it, plus there was no one to cook for because mota-bhai always came later in the night and left early, and never ate at home, eating whatever Gautam brought for him and I could not argue, Gaumbi was a very good cook.
Tena haathno bahu saras swaad che
But, I could try to match it.
And hence, that evening, I cooked some pasta for the lot, and I was determined to not undercook this time. So I emptied all the pasta packets I had bought from the nearest store and to my astonishment, I had finally prepared food enough six people.
Actually more than that, I sighed looking at the amount of pasta I had made which brimmed upto the huge vessel, because I had cooked pasta for the entire lane.
"Kai vando nathi," I assured myself, taking a bite of the hot pasta, "pack karke 2-4 dinn main kha lungi,"
Wow. The taste! This was the best pasta I ever had in my life.
Being proud of myself, I was about to take another bite from the vessel when I heard loud clattering and chatter from the front door and my smile widened into a grin.
My kids were home!
"DHARA!!!" Krish ran in my arms and gave me a hug, "Bohot bhook lag rahi hai, the rats are jumping inside."
"Rats nathi, monkey," Shiva pointed as he hit Krish playfully on his head, "Dhara, isse mat dena, ye dukaan pe thoos ke aaya hai, mujhe aur Dev ko de..."
"Ek samosa se kuch nahi hota,"
"Chup kar, kha kha ke mota-saand ho jayega."
"Tu chup kar."
While they both fought back and forth, I looked at Dev, the ten year old who was walking slowly towards us, his shoulders slumped and gaze lowered. I let these two carry their harmless bickering as I made my way to Dev Pandya, the eldest of the vanar sena and second brother to Gaumbi.
Of course, there is an introduction and a back story.
How else are you going to connect to these tots then?
Dev Pandya, aged ten, nine and a half to be precise, was born after a long gap of 15 years to Darshan-my sweetheart-Pandya and Suman-Killer Kaki- Pandya. Gaumbi was 15, and I was merely 12, and was still coping with the parentless life. But I remember Gaumbi ran upto our house, panting and smiling, a box of sweets in his hands as he stuffed mota-bhai's mouth with it.
When I asked him what happened, he said, "I am going to be brother," He was the only teenager who would be happy to have a sibling, because as soon as I heard it, I sighed sadly.
That meant Darshan Kaka would no longer pay visits to our house, sit and eat dinner with us, or tell me some of his beautiful travelling stories.
Don't blame me, I was a kid who longed for a family.
Still do.
But, nothing as that happened, infact, Darshan Kaka kept us two siblings involved just as much as he did to his own family and with him, and although Killer Kaki would not let me around her during her pregnancy, Darshan Kaka would sit with me and keep giving me updates so as to not let me suffer from loneliness.
"Dhara, maari deekri," He once told me, when kaki was in her the last days of her pregnancy, "I want to have a girl, someone as cute and sweet like you." He smiled at me and I smiled back.
"Naam shu rakhsho Kaka?"
"Tara Pandya," His eyes gleamed in delight, "Dhara maaney dharti, aur Tara maaney sitaara," Darshan Kaka said caressing my hair, "jaise tu yaha dharti par reh ke sabka dhyaan rakhti hai, waise woh sabko ek taare ki tarah sambhalegi."
I had giggled that time, "Tara Pandya," I liked the name, but I had another question. "Pan Kaka? Ladka hua toh?"
Kaka laughed, "ek naam socha hai maine," He winked, as he asked me to come closer and I did, "Dev kaise rahega?" He asked.
"Dev Anand jaisa?"
"Taari Kaki ko Dev Anand bahu saras laage," He said smiling, "ladka hua toh Dev."
Dev Pandya
Since the age of two, Dev was more into books and stories than kids his age were. While kids ate mud and threw a tantrum to get their favourite things, he would pick a corner, listen to some old Dev Anand songs playing on the radio and read all the picture books Kaka would bring him from the library. Ever since his brothers were born, Dev always found his friends in his books.
And I love sitting with him and helping him read. He would always hang out with mota-bhai and me, more so because Suman Kaki was busy with an infant and a toddler already and Dev did not cause chaos anyways. He was always the silent, mature for his age boy, and while Shiva got a lot of my attention, Dev was the child I'd pick if I want a peaceful life.
But that evening, I saw a different, dejected Dev walk in through the door and not the kid I practically brought up. "Hi Dev?" I said but he walked past me, head lowered and what seemed like tears. "Dev?" I said a little louder but he ignored me and walked away.
"Dev, tere kanpur main hadtal hai kya," Shiva stopped him, his hand on Dev's shoulder. "Dhara tujhe bula rahi hai, jawaab de."
And Dev did something none of us thought he would.
He pushed Shiva roughly that made him hit his back and fall off while Krish and I stood in utmost shock. And before I could even do anything, Shiva stood back, his anger now taking the best of him and he threw himself on Dev, punching him and it took me a minute to separating them.
Everything after that was a fast paced movie.
Why is... I am sorry, it is precisely 4:30 am in the morning and I really trying to keep my eyes open while I write this. Am I even making sense while I write this? Why is writing so easy and hard at the same time.
What am I doing being up at 4 am? Is that the next question in your head?
Well, if it wasn't then it should be.
Yes, it is 4:30 am, and yes, I am actually awake for 24 hours but yes, I am that stubborn to finish this series.
Else how are you going to be entertained?
Am I off topic again? But this time, do not blame it on my wandering thoughts, blame it on my sleeplessness.
Yes, we were at the huge brawl Dev and Shiva had. Shiva had punched Dev on his face, a little bruise on his cheek and but Dev had punched Shiva back too, almost broke his nose. After that Gautam had been called home and he was so angry at the kids that even I flinched a bit at the rant. With Shiva, this was a constant, the little boy carried a lot of anger and all of us were used to the shouting he got, but Dev, he was the quietest of the lot, for him to raise his hand on Shiva was a new thing.
"Aur tu," Gaumbi pointed his finger at Dev, after being done with Shiva, "tu inn sab ka bada bhai hai. You should have understood, you should have Dev. You are the nicer one, aren't you? Bada bhai aise nahi karta..."
And then, Dev burst out aloud, hands in the air and tears in his eyes as he yelled at Gautam, "thak gaya hu main bada bhai banke," He said, irritated and breathing heavily, "Gaumbi main nahi banna chahta bada, har baar mujhe kyu bhul jaate hai sab?"
And then he cried.
Everyone backed off, Gaumbi's anger melted, Kaki's eyes watered, even Shiva and Krish looked at Dev, surprised and my heart broke.
It just broke.
Dev then opened his bags and showed us all his test papers, "aur main fail ho gaya Gaumbi, last week ke science project main, pata hai kyu?" He was really angry and hurt, "kyuki iss ghar main mere liye kisiko bhi time hi nahi hai. Maa sirf Krish ko puchkarti hai, Dhara sirf Shiva Shiva karti hai," He looked at me and for the first time I lowered my gaze in guilt, "aur aap Gaumbi, aap hamesha busy hote hai, dukaan pe, ya toh Dhara ke saath, ya toh Maa ke saath. Iss ghar main mere liye kisiko bhi time nahi hai." His big fat tears dropped on the floor.
You know, I was always proud of myself, and considered to be a fair and just person. But Dev made me realise that I was anything but fair, and really biased. Shiva and my relationship was a little too personal, but in all this I forgot about Dev, who was sidelined by everyone.
"Dev..." Gaumbi offered to speak to him but Dev shook his head, wiping his tears and he rushed off to the terrace, before anyone could stop him.
He needed space to cool off.
"Gaumbi, jaa dekh na,"
"Nahi maa," Gautam shook his head, clearly hurt, "koi nahi jayega, Dev ko thoda time do."
The calm before the storm is nothing compared to the destructing calm after the storm. Dev was given time to cool off but the words he spoke were not of malice or chaotic, they were plainly his words buried in his mind, words he always wanted to express but could not and everything bottled inside him burst like a volcano.
And I felt ashamed of myself for calling myself the vanar sena as my kids, as my monkeys.
Dev was clearly not happy, and I could not even see it, but for now, I let this thought slide. This was not about me, this was about Dev, and more than that, about Gaumbi who probably felt worse than I did. I mean, I was just their namesake Dhara dii, but Gaumbi was their actual older brother and if my heart broke, his soul must have shattered.
So, while Dev was up on the terrace, Krish and Shiva sitting on the floor, hands around their knees and napping on each other, tired of both hunger and waiting for their brother to come down, and Kaki was shedding silent tears, I tip-toed outside, where Gaumbi sat on the cot in the verandah.
"Coffee?" I asked, offering him the coffee I had made.
He took the mug from my hand and muttered a small thanks, and I sat besides him, sipping coffee and watching the dark night take over our happy light. "Gaumbi, kab tak yaha baith kar apne aap ko koste rahoge. Please, you know that your brothers need you right now."
"Dhara, I should have been more attentive towards Dev," He said, staring into my eyes and I could see shattered heart through those teary reddish eyes, "and I made him a big brother without realising that he is just a kid. Kitna bada gadheda hu main."
"Ey," He looked at me when I snapped at him, "Maaro Gautam gadhedo nathi," I said, and he held my gaze. "Kai?"
"Saaru," He held his ears and we chuckled, "Pan Dhara..."
"Gaumbi, stop cursing and blaming yourself and go hug your brother, shaam se kuch nahi khaya ussne aur na hi Shiva aur Krish ne." I pouted, as Gautam frowned, "maine itne chaav se pasta banaya tha, sab waste..."
"Tune pasta banaya hai?"
I nodded, my smile widening, "haan, pan saare saath main hi khayenge. Aur main khud khilaungi apne vanar sena ko."
"Khane layak hoga toh..." Gaumbi muttered under his breath and I heard that, but he coughed it to cover it up.
I let him be, and he walked upstairs, with a sigh of determination and I sat next to the other two who were sleepily holding me.
"Dev humse naraz hai kya, Dhara?" Krish asked me as he lay on my lap, Shiva holding me from the other side, "kya woh kabhi humse baat nahi karega?"
"Tujhse nahi, Krish, Dev mujhse naraz hai." Shiva sighed from the other side, "Maine uspe haath nahi uthana chahiye tha."
Smiling, I held them, "Dev kabhi apne chote bhaiyon se naraz nahi ho sakta," I assured them, "bas woh bada hai na, aur bade bhai gussa kar sakte hai." I told them, as Suman Kaki who was also in the courtyard, looked at us, this time silently.
"Hardik bhai bhi aap pe gussa karte hai?" Krish asked, turning to face me, Shiva interested in my answer.
"Of course," I nodded, shrugging, "haq hai unka, kabhi kabhi toh mujhse itne naraaz hote hai ki baat hi nahi karte..."
"Phir?" Shiva asked cutely, his eyes were the brightest when he was not angry.
"Phir main unko zor se hug karti hu," I hugged Krish tightly, "aise," he giggled as I kept my head on his little shoulder, "and he forgets everything after that, melts in my arms. Aise hote hai bade bhai, thode gusse wale, thode khatte par bohot pyaare." They heard me, moist eyes making me teary eyed too, "Krish aur Shiva, Dev tum dono ka bada bhai hai, waise hi jaise Gaumbi hai aur zindagi main kuch bhi ho, kabhi bhi apne bhai ko mat bhulna." I wiped Shiva's messy hair from his forehead, as Krish hugged me, "bhai bohot khaas hote hai, aur main chahti hu ki tum chaar Pandya bhai hamesha saath rahe," I smiled and they hugged me, Shiva nodding, "hamesha."
While they buried their crying faces in my arms, I smiled, holding them and my eyes glanced across to Suman Kaki who was looking at me with other than her mean glare, and something about those eyes seemed to soften her stare at me.
Was Suman kaki actually being soft towards me or was I in a delusion?
I don't know, you tell me, because killer kaki would never look at me like that, like she wanted a hug from me.
But before I could analyze any further, Dev and Gaumbi walked down from the stairs, hand in hand and they both looked much better. The moment Dev stepped into the courtyard, Krish and Shiva jumped on him and while Dev fell on the floor, they did too, but this time not to fight.
But to hug.
Gaumbi and Kaki both smiled amidst their tears as they saw Dev struggling but Krish and Shiva were not letting him go, choking him until he hugged them back and he did.
"Gadehdo," Dev said, more like an elder brother, "ro kyu rahe ho?"
"Main nahi, Krish gadheda," Shiva replied, breaking the hug, "aur tu bhi."
"Main nahi," Krish shook his head, "Shiva hai,"
"Bas bas," Dev smiled, extending his hands to both his little brothers, "bohot bhook lag rahi hai,"
"Arrey, ye sab ki chakkar main Kanta ko maine bulaya nahi," Suman kaki said from her end, "abh khana?"
And I smiled.
Looks like they all had no choice but to eat my pasta.
Well, what do I say to that, except ignore their scared faces and serve them my pasta.
Oh- Gautam is asking what I am doing, should I tell him that I am writing about his family and my experience here?
No, he might flip.
"Give me a minute," I replied, and he left to throw the trash outside, shaking his head.
Yes, so why were we up till 4 am?
That question still remained unanswered.
So after they ate my pasta, everyone taking 2-3 extra servings, kids licking the plate clean and Gautam had to be stopped from eating more (I swear I even saw kaki licking the spoon), we decided that we'd get Dev his grade from the science project and for the entire night we spent making the baking soda volcano as his project for tomorrow. Taking everything we had at home and using YouTube to guide us and making a mess all the time.
All the time we tried to erupt the volcano, it either failed or burst open, once making Shiva drown in soda and we all laughed.
By the end of it, Krish was asleep already, the kitchen was a mess, and Shiva was more dirtier than all of us combined. As I helped (more like threatened) Shiva for a bath, Gautam and Dev finally completed the project, and it was 3 am by the end of it and Dev was the happiest of the lot as he hugged Gautam and I smiled, seeing the brothers hugging and happy.
Then, we cleaned the kitchen, tidied everything so killer kaki does not kill us, and tucked the kids to sleep and then I sat here to write this because I did not want to miss anything about this day.
A roller-coaster of emotions this day was, and honestly, this weird dramatic family was growing on me.
What do you think about this day? I think, I need to shut this laptop before Gautam comes and asks me to sleep again.
Not that I mind, I never had anyone care so much for me before.
Sigh, what a day.
Yours sleep-deprived and ,
Dhara
10th February, 2022
_
A/N
Thank you for those gine-chune people who appreciate this story! I owe you guys and I hope you had fun with this chapter too.
Send in your inputs <3
yeah that's exactly what I felt after reading this.
Seher Hone Ko Hai
