C H A P T E R 1 M A
R J A W A
Chapter Edited by Dhara (@dsgirl)
"The world is
on fire and no one can save me but you."
"You
will meet someone today who will change your life forever, for whom you won't think twice before giving
up your life for, they say it's love at first
sight', today you fall in love..." was what her horoscope read the day
Ishita Iyer met her daughter Ruhi Bhalla. Ishita till date had lost alot in
life die to a simple medical report that read that she was infertile, 'baanj' was what she was tagged as - a
woman whose womb was forever to be barren - along with idle talks and insults
came free; she had lost a relationship worth twelve years due to a simple
fainting incident on the day of her engagement that ruined her life
forever.
"Oh, her! I heard she was forced
to marry a drunkard divorcee with two children due to her condition." She
could almost hear the auntiji's not so loud Chinese whispers and, how wrong
they were.
Rama Bhalla was Ruhi Bhalla's father.
A man scarred by love. He was a reject, just like she was. While she was
rejected by the society for being unable to conceive, Raman was rejected by his
ex-wife due to his lack of connections and power, the irony in the fact that
today he stood as the businessman of the decade - powerful, cold, insensitive
and angry at the world.
While Raman's daughter Ruhi stood
rejected by her father who was unable to love her freely because of a simple
mole at the top of her smile that reminded him of the woman who deceived
him.
Ishita's marriage to Raman was unconventional
yet conventional at the same time, they were arranged to marry by their fathers
who were next door neighbours but chose to marry for a simple clause "just
for Ruhi" - nothing more and nothing less.
And marry they did, people with two different ideologies and two
different mindsets coming from two opposite parts of the nation married because
either were madly in love - with their daughter.
And for the days that came by they
warred with each other verbally and emotionally - while Ishita was a volunteered "samaj
sevak" (social worker) butting into
anyone and everyone's life problems, Raman was an insensitive fool scarred by
his love for his first child, hatred for his ex-wife, the unexpected companionship
of his new wife and the undying love for his daughter, while Ruhi being the
mini Ishita that she was tuning out to be tasked herself to mend the bride
between her parents - running around
saying, "Uffo Papa, you fought with Ishima again, didn't you?"
And as days passed Ruhi was to be
known as Ishima ki chamchi or Mini Ishita, Raman as Raavan Kumar and Ishita as
Madrasan or Jhansi ki Rani.
Ishita smiled as she recollected the
moments she shared with her family. These days her mornings would start with
her daughter's "Ishima, five minutes more, please!" followed by her
husband's "Ishita yaar!" echoing throughout their apartment and end
with a goodnight peck from her daughter and an acknowledging nod from her
husband- the two people who gave her the joy of being a family - something that
the world had told her she'd never have.
For years Ishita has fantasized what
meeting Subbu would be like, would he look at the same way that he did all
those years ago? Would the guy she spent twelve years of her life on be gentile
enough to apologise to her? Would he have words other than the harsh words he
said to her upon receiving her report? And for the years of their separation
she had dreamt that he would come begging of his knees for her and when she did
meet him no words could explain how irrevocably foolish she had felt. The man
who once fought for women and their rights stood before her while his mother
flaunted his then pregnant wife, a grim smile adorned his face, almost
sadistic. She had half expected him to stop the drama and walk on, to take his
mother away, but he stood there almost enjoying the show. It was then that
Ishita has completely erased him from her past, present and even her future. It
was then she had come in terms with the fact that he was a worthless son of a
bit*h. It was then when she felt at peace.
"Subbu aa gaya!!"
"Chitti ka favourite bhai aa gaya!"
Ishita huffed as she placed the basket
of flowers on the table to make way for the horde of running girls.
"No, Amma. I won't be affected by
him. Yes, Amma.
He will be on the other side of the house. Why, Amma? You know na that Raman would feel stuffed up
in a small place like this filled with Madrasans'. Ruhi is in school. Mihika or
Vandita will get her along with them.
Yes, Amma. Come safely. "
Ishita had visited her ancestral house
on the occasion of her elder cousin's remarriage. Growing up Vishwa, her elder cousin brother
named after her father had been her favourite. He would beat up any guy who
messed around with he, buy her sweets when her parents refused to - blaming it
on her sugar rush and even play her doll games with her when her elder sister
Vandita claimed that she was too much of a "big girl" to play with her anymore. Ishita was the first person Vishwa introduced
his first wife to. Vishwa was the one
who punched Subbu's guts out (and had him hospitalized for weeks!) and as fate
would have it Vishwa was now marrying Subbu's sister-in-law.
"Vadakkam, Vadakkam!" Bala's
mother marched into the room like a netaji with fake promises, accompanied by her
son, daughter in law and grandson in tow. "Ishita, what are you doing
here? Were you invited or did you just decide to pop up like the busy bee that
you are? "
"Ishita is family, Vandita ki
saas. We do not need to invite
Ishita. She is afterall our
favourite." Ishita's chitti spoke
up.
Ishita's chitti has never failed to
notice the disapproving look Vandu's saas had whenever she saw Ishita with her
younger son. In her eyes Ishita was a vixen who had trapped her elder son in
her false innocence and had then proceeded to entrap her younger one with her
'love'. Subbu's decision to marry Ishita
had shattered all her hopes of marrying her good looking, well educated son into a higher society, but
Ishita's "shudh Brahman" status had been an elating fact if not for
the fact that the Iyers' were well of. Ishita's infertility report to Vandu ki
saas was a victory call with which she like a proper desi saas had brainwashed
her son into the thoughts of marriage and family life. Ishita's chitti had
enough of this vamp. She decided that she would take Maa Durga's avatar given
that it was the new TV show that had promoted the idea. So, here she stood with her eyes narrowed
into slits, a forced smile that could be nominated for the advertisement for
Colgate and teeth that almost sparked -
almost being the keyword.
Ishita, the docile being, smiled at
her aunts acceptance.
Subbu looked at Ishita's smile. He
loved it when she smiled. He remembered the first time that he met Ishita, he
had been barely thirteen when he saw a smiling seven year old and at that
moment he had fallen in love with her.
It was plain luck that their siblings
were dating and over the next two years he got to know her better and finally
on her birthday he had asked her out, well, he had just told her that he liked
her and that she was his and she had smiled and said that since her Akka liked
his brother, she would like him too. For the next twelve years to come they had
progressed from holding hands to pecks and at pecks they had remained. Ishita
coming from a traditional Tamil Brahman family never discussed moving ahead and
that and he did not want to test he miss. So they had smiled at the end of the
day as he picked her up on his way back from work and she in return gave him a
peck on his cheek when he dropped her home. And just like how he had claimed
her to be his he had dropped her like a hot potato. And he regretted that.
"Yeh phone
zara akka ko pass kar dena, woh kya hai
na, yaha crowd hai aur Akka dur hai
toh.."
"Kaun Akka?"
"Arreh Subbu bhaiya, Ishita akka!
"
"Ishita? "
Subbu looked at the recent model of a
popular cell phone he held in his hands. It must have cost a bomb, he
thought.
And on the screen set as the caller
identification picture of a certain "Raavan Kumar" was the picture of
Ishita and an unknown man as he wrapped Ishita in an embrace. He stood behind
her as his arms interlocked with hers and his elbows touched her bosom as he
reached out his cake filled hands towards her face while Ishita tried to prevent
him from smearing cake on her face, holding hands in the process. A dimple
adorned the stranger's face and an unseen smile lit Ishita's face up.
His ishita had a new man.
comment:
p_commentcount