Abhira had diligently covered her marks. She had taken a new SIM card on her phone. She did not want to be traced. The only luxury she had allowed herself was a flight ticket from Udaipur to Delhi. There, upon arrival she had connected with an old friend who had come to pick her up and take her to the working women’s hostel in which she had enrolled. She purposefully ignored the calls made by the youngsters in the Poddar family including Ruhi. Yes, Ruhi, Armaan’s chitwali girl. For Abhira, once again the awkward scenes where Ruhi seemed possessive about Armaan played in her mind. She once again analyzed Armaan’s flippant behavior in such matters. The pain was raw. He was in cahoots all this time with his girlfriend, and ensured that Abhira had no idea about them. What disgusted Abhira was how could Ruhi get married to Rohit in the first place knowing that he was her boyfriend Armaan’s brother. What aggravated more was how Ruhi shamelessly continued pursuing Armaan despite them both being married. Perhaps, this is why Rohit left. Poor guy, he must have been heart broken. Armaan, you could not even protect the sanctity of marriage, even if it was a short termed one. You betrayed my trust. You know what, Mumma did the right thing Abhira by distancing from these Goenkas. This is their upbringing, shameless, immoral, and irresponsible.
Evening had set in Udaipur. The youngsters were talking amongst themselves, and Kiara decided to share her observations with Charu, Krish, and Aryan.
“Guys, I want to share something with you. It may be related to Abhira Bhabhi’s leaving.” Kiara spoke.
“Toh bol na idiot. What’s taking you so long?” Krish asked.
“Pehle yeh batao, Ruhi Bhabhi kahan hai?” Kiara spoke softly.
“Woh snacks banane gayi hain, Dadisa ke favorite bread rolls.” Aryan spoke.
“Ab bata bhi de Kiara, pehle ki koi aaye.” Charu impatiently nudged her younger cousin sister.
“Maine na, ek din Ruhi Bhabhi ko Armaan Bhaiya and Abhira Bhabhi ke room mein dekha tha. Uss time unka chehra eisa tha jaise ki koi chori pakadi gayi ho. Guys, tum log jaante ho ki Abhira Bhabhi hamesha crystal clear hain, par Ruhi Bhabhi apne ko bachane ke liye jhooth bolti hain. Mujhe uss din laga baad mein ki unhone mujhe jhooth bola ki woh Abhira Bhabhi ko dhoondne aayi thi. Woh kuch aur kar rahi thi unke kamre mein.” Kiara spoke.
“Kiara, yeh tum kaise keh sakti ho Ruhi Bhabhi ke baare mein? These are allegations.” Charu spoke in Ruhi’s defense.
“Because of past precedence Vakil Sahiba. Remember when I went to the Holi party where Abhira Bhabhi came to rescue me and Ruhi Bhabhi? Well, then Abhira Bhabhi told me to tell the truth to the family while Ruhi Bhabhi suggested to lie. When Dadisa was asking, Ruhi Bhabhi told a lie which I cut off by deciding to stick to the truth.” Kiara spoke.
“Well, she is always blaming Abhira Bhabhi whenever something happens. And did you guys realize Abhira Bhabhi wrote letters to everyone except Fufasa and Ruhi Bhabhi. Even Dadisa had a letter. Fufasa, I get, but excluding Ruhi Bhabhi? I think there’s definitely something going on.” Aryan piped up.
“And you know what’s weird..Abhira Bhabhi is elder to her in relation, but Ruhi Bhabhi completely ignores all that, and argues like Abhira Bhabhi is her sauten or something.” Kiara spoke absentmindedly.
“Kiara!” Manisha shouted as soon as she heard these words leave Kiara’s mouth. Manisha had long suspected Ruhi, and now Kiara’s observations were fortifying her fears.
“Chalo tum mere saath. Anab-shanab bakti rehti hai.” Manisha pulled Kiara by the arm, to have a direct mother-daughter talk with her in her room with closed doors. Manisha feared the ramifications if these kinds of loose talk were known to everyone in the house.
On the other hand, Kaveri Poddar was restless with her letter. She knew deep down she had been partial in her favoring Ruhi over Abhira. Haan yeh sach hai, humne Ruhi ki galtiyaan nazar andaaz ki hain. Par yeh galat hai ki humnein kabhi Abhira ki kadr nahin ki. Uske chalte hi toh woh aur Charu internship kar rahi hain. Main uspar sakht isliye hoon kyunki woh taqat rakhti iss ghar ki neev ko hilaane ki.
Kaveri Poddar was massaging her head with her palm, when Ruhi came in with tea and snacks for her.
“Dadisa, sar dabaa doon aapka?” Ruhi asked sweetly.
“Ah, no Ruhi. Thank you. I’d like to be alone for a while. Please close the door behind you.” Kaveri spoke with finality, not giving Ruhi an inch to protest.
“Alright Dadisa.” Ruhi left softly, closing the door behind.
Once Ruhi left, Kaveri flipped over the letter written to her.
Respected Dadisa,
Pranaam.
First, my apologies to you for not meeting the expectations you have for a Poddar family bahu. I know ki main thodi zyada hi atrangi hoon aapke taste ke hisaab se. Par Dadisa, bhagwaan ji jaante hain maine kabhi bhi aapko jaan bujh kar hurt nahin kiya hai. Situations hi kuch eisi hi ban jaati thi unfortunately mere saath.
Meri duniya mein bas main aur meri Mumma thi. Joint family mein rehne ka koyi idea nahin tha mujhe. Ghar ke bade ka guidance, unki daant aur discipline ki adat nahin thi. Maine kabhi bhi aapki daant ka bahut nahin mana. Shuru mein thoda kharab zaroor lagta tha, par baad mein main samajh gayi aapke point of view se.
Dadisa, once again I’m sorry that mujhe aapke against case fight karna pada tha. Mere paas koi choice nahin thi. I would have loved to know how you would have handled the situation if you were in my shoes.
Dadisa, please don’t be angry on Armaan. He loves you the most. Your indifference affects him a lot. He worships you. I understand that he and I were not meant to be. We have too much of a divide to overcome in terms of socio- economic barriers. I do not belong to an illustrious lineage, or am part of the nouveau rich. I get your hesitation in being associated with me. No worries, I completely understand your predicament.
Hope you will not hold any grudges against me.
Akhiri khat ke saath vida lete huye,
Abhira aka Affat ki tokari.
Kaveri closed her eyes once again. Had she been harshly prejudiced against Abhira? She had always wanted bahus who were authentic in their care for the family. Did Abhira’s letter not reek of honesty and genuineness on her behalf? She wholeheartedly accepted her mistakes and tried umptenth times to make up for it. Even in her final letter, the helplessness and request for forgiveness was clearly stated. Did Abhira not act like a role model Bhabhi for the family? Of course she did, the younger Poddars worshiped the grounds she walked on! She had even gotten everyone gifts from her first salary. Did she not gain the respect of the elders in the family? Well apart from Sanjay sa and herself, everyone gave her love. Vidya and Manisha doted on her, while Madhav and Manoj actually enjoyed talking to her. Abhira had proven multiple times that she would even stake her life to protect the family, be it Vidya, Krish, Charu, Kiara or Ruhi. Kaveri recalled how Abhira was lovingly placing the blanket on her sleeping form. She loves people regardless of whether they return her affection or not.
Kaveri looked at the photo frame of her husband on her writing desk, and caressed it as if asking Will you show me the way? How do I resolve the turmoils in my mind. How I wished you were here to help me navigate through these slippery turns in life.
Ruhi on the other hand was jubilant. Iski khushi chupaye nahin chhupti thi. While there was a solemn atmosphere at the Poddars, Ruhi could not help but dance in her room cheerfully. She had even spoken to ParNanu and there was an unusual twinkle in her voice that he had remarked on. She happily chatted away without divulging the news of what had happened at Poddar Mansion. Finally, Armaan and I can be together in front of society. With no Rohit or Abhira, we are to be paired together like we should have been initially. - thought Ruhi immersed in her own delusions.
Unaware of everything that was happening at Poddar Mansion was Armaan. The flight back from Munnar had been grounded due to technical difficulties. To top it off, ATC had received a bomb threat to Munnar airport. This meant the airport was on lockdown until the threat proved baseless.he had been unable to communicate his delay with his family till now. When he sent Abhira a text and did not receive a reply, Armaan started to feel anxious as if something bad would happen. His gut instinct was restless. Hulk ki mameri behan itni chup kabse ho gayi? Kahin phir se koi kaand toh nahin kar diya tumne Abhira Sharma? Oh God please help me. Pata nahin kya situation hai ghar par.
Armaan after debarking tried to call Krish to get an idea of why Abhira was silent, but he was instead met with a reluctant Krish who simply said, “Bhaiya, aao ghar aao, phir aaram se baatein karte hain.” Saying so, Krish cut the call.
Armaan tried calling Ruhi this time to see what information she would give. However, after speaking with Ruhi, Armaan was even more bewildered sensing a tone of merriment in her voice. She had been urging him to come home quickly in a very pleasing tone, but somehow Armaan felt a disconnect from Krish and Ruhi’s respective reactions. He silently prayed for things to be manageable.
comment:
p_commentcount