Chapter 6

The vehicle carrying Avanti and her mother, arrived at the wedding venue, the other guests were arranged on a bus and her uncle was overseeing the arrangements. However strained her past relationship she had with her uncle, today he was a blessing especially for her mother… it was a huge relief to have someone by their side to manage everything when she couldn’t.  Avanti glanced outside the car and saw the décor had gone through some rushed changes. Through the basic floral arrangements using marigold garlands and mogras along with roses were just as planned by her, the huge plaque welcoming the guests with the floral design stating ‘Arpita weds Keshav’ was conspicuous by its absence. Keshav must have got it removed she thought… Her mother held her hand as she got off the car and a pensive Rahul drove away to park it in a designated slot. She walked towards the conical pandal where the floral arrangements hung giving it a festive hue. The breeze blowing around her brought with it the combination of the fragrances involving the floral scents mingled with the artificial perfume drops sprayed around by a rotating wheel at the entrance. As soon as she stepped inside the main carpeted area it hit her why she was here…instead of her sister and her heart began to race. Was she really a substitute bride…? Would Keshav keep his promise once they got married…? Would her baba have approved of her stepping in instead of Arpita…?

 Her mother held her hand as she drew strength from the remarkably strong woman who had put everything aside to support her daughter’s decision. Avanti knew, her mother who always thought about the world and their reactions to her decisions and their outcomes, was showing stupendous poise at the moment and she couldn’t help but respect and love her more than she already did. Her mother led her to the central area where the pandit had already started with the rituals on the microphone… amidst the soft wedding music playing in the background. Avanti had herself chosen the music and the irony was it was being played for her wedding instead of her sister’s. Avanti looked around and saw the gathering of her relatives… what…? only from the bride’s side…? She recognised Kamya, his step mother Rohini Jaiswal and the twins. There were some of the employees from Vedshastra whom she recognised… but there was no one else from his family. Whatever….

She joined her mother and close family members for the Ganesh pujan. The beautiful silver Ganesha idol belonged to her father and he had specifically got it for this event as soon as the marriage had been fixed. Her eyes filled and she prayed to the elephant God and also her father with all her heart, to give her the strength to face any obstacle that came her way. She also prayed that she made the right decisions which would be conducive enough to save her family’s reputation… Keshav was yet to arrive… where was he? Her mother and uncle then took her around amidst the family elders for their blessings even as she heard hushed whispers about the bridal replacement. She ignored the buzz around her as she plastered a smile on her face and went about her mother’s instructed order. She knew, irrespective of her opinion every ritual meant a lot to her mother. Finally, as they approached the main location, she glanced up to the wedding pyre straight into Keshav’s mesmerising eyes as he stared at her with some kind of a strange emotion. He had worn the same Sherwani that she had selected and the pretied red turban only enhanced his appeal… NO… she thought with disdain. She wasn’t supposed to like him anymore… Her mother tugged her to the centre stage.

The antarpat ritual began where a cloth was held as a barrier so that the groom couldn’t see the bride. Suddenly she felt a tug on her shalu and looked behind to see Rahul standing with a grim expression. What the hell had gotten into him…? She raised her eyebrows and he came closer. “Don’t do this Avanti…” He whispered to a degree of hoarseness to cover the background music playing. “…He isn’t who you think he is…just stop here… we will manage…”

“…What the hell are you saying Rahul…?” She spoke clenching her teeth… agitated. Her best friend wasn’t helping her stress levels to reduce, with his behaviour.

“…I found out a few things about him in last couple of days… he is…I mean…”

“…Come on Rahul… what is it…?” she blinked away tears as her heart sank. What had he found out? She knew Rahul had a way with computers

“…He….” Rahul had just begun when the Pandit started the Mangalashtak on the microphone drowning Rahul’s voice. She only heard the last word.  “…dangerous…”

Her uncle held her hand and took her closer in the mandap… the Antarpat was removed and she saw Keshav closely and irrespective of what Rahul said or didn’t say… irrespective of her foul mood or her impending fears… irrespective of her mother’s opinion of Keshav, Avanti knew that no matter what, she was hopelessly in love with him. Something about him appealed to her and it was beyond physical… He stood smiling looking into her eyes and she could feel calm seep into her heart as it settled. He always did that to her… even when they met during the arranged dates. As the Mangalashtak ended, they exchanged garlands and the couple was showered with unbroken rice… the akshatas.

It was time for the Kanyadaan and Avanti couldn’t help but let her father’s fond memories flow down her cheeks, as she remembered her beloved baba… He had dreamed of giving away his daughters with all pomp and splendour. But today as her uncle performed the ritual, her throat clogged as she reminisced her life with her father as they flashed before her eyes. Oh, how she missed him…. As her uncle placed her palms on Keshav’s, he gently gave her a squeeze and as she looked up she saw a blurry vision of Keshav nodding his head telling her…all was OK… as if. She sniffled as the Pandit said the mantras. They were then made to sit on the chairs placed there, as her uncle and aunt performed the traditional couple worship. They then performed the Kankan Bandhane ritual where Avanti tied a piece of turmeric on Keshav’s hand and he in turn repeated it with her. Keshav then sealed the ritual by placing the mangalsutra around her neck and applied the vermillion on her centre parting. She in turn applied a sandalwood tilak on Keshav’s forehead. She didn’t bother anymore to stop the unyielding tears as they flew uninhibited as they bonded in holy matrimony…even while the musicians played the famous song from the movie Dhadkan…Dulhe ka sehra…

Finally, they stood for the saptapadhi ritual where they circumambulated around the sacred fire seven times as Keshav gripped her hand protectively. She felt protected and cherished at that very moment as her hand as engulfed in his warmth. She didn’t know if he was putting up a show for the gathering as there were some people from the media as well… but at that moment she wanted to keep all her apprehensions aside and focus on the present. As the pandit reiterated the vows all she could realise was… that she was living in the moment where she was actually serious about the vows. She didn’t know if Keshav took any of them seriously… but in those instants of the rituals, the world had faded away and it was only the two of them on the stage…. She could only feel the fragrance of the garland adorning their necks and his eyes on her every move and expression….

The rituals ended and the newly married couple was led by her uncle to the family elders for their blessings. Starting with her mother and other long-lost elders, they circled a huge group. Later they moved towards his family where a beautiful Kamya stood clad in a silk saree, beaming ear to ear. She hugged her brother and Avanti. “Welcome to family Avanti Bhabhi…” Avanti blushed…Kamya was older to her but still addressed her as Bhabhi. The twins too hugged their brother and nodded at Avanti hesitatingly. She smiled, instantly liking his siblings. She knew they wouldn’t be staying together but it was better to have good relations to make her yearlong marital life bearable. Her father always said, “you don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you… just cherish them…after all…family is family…”

His step mother was young and very pretty and today especially clad in a designer silk saree she radiated elegance. However, she was stiff and barely smiled at Avanti. She could sense cold vibes between Keshav and the woman and his grip on her hand had tightened for a few seconds. The man was mystification personified and his step mother an entirely different entity…Avanti wondered what else was in store. They all had lunch and though there was her favourite masale bhaat and aluvadi on the menu which she herself had painstakingly selected for the wedding, Avanti was on tender hooks and could barely eat. After a photo session they had the varat ritual where Avanti bid a tearful goodbye to her mother and other close relatives. Most of all she was laden with guilt for having lied to her mother about the truth behind the wedding.

They were to have a small press meet but Avanti was not upto it. Keshav asked her to relax for a while in the adjoining room provided by the wedding venue while he addressed the press. She knew how important it was to make the world believe in their alliance…especially for their sneakily unpredictable investors. She smiled for the few photo ops along with Keshav and walked into the room. Her entire body was aching and her head was splitting given the day’s excitement and she longed to put her legs up for a while. As she settled in the room there was a knock and Rahul entered the room. “Hey… Rahul…what’s up…? Why didn’t you leave…? Who is driving Aai…”

“…Don’t worry Avanti… I am going … they are all waiting… I had to talk to you first…”

“…Oh God… Rahul…what is it…? I am exhausted as it is…”

“…Avanti… just… come home with us… we will give some excuse to everyone… but just come along…”

“…What the fu… Rahul…what are you saying…? You just don’t make sense…” Her head threatened to splinter into a million pieces.

“…Avanti… this man is dangerous… This Keshav… he is the most opportunistic person on earth… he eventually will take over Vedshastra…”

“…Cut the crap Rahul… Vedshastra is sinking anyway…Keshav is the one who is trying to save it…” She didn’t know why she was so defensive but the world didn’t have to know the reality of the marriage that had just taken place.

“…Avanti… he is the once who put the company into the back burner in the first place. That research… that formula that Rane kaka was working on which eventually led to this mess… it was on the insistence of Keshav Goyal… kaka neglected every other project for it and look where it got us…”

“…Rahul…you are insulting baba now… he was a genius… he relied on his own instincts and not others’…”

“…I wish I was wrong Aavnti… but just look at the timing… How conveniently the alliance was fixed with the Rane family’s daughter when Rane kaka made some headway with the formula… how easily one daughter disappears on the wedding morning only to be replaced by the other smarter and younger daughter without battling an eyelid…”

“…Rahul…just shut up…”

“…Avanti you can lie to the world… but I know you… you have got into this mess only for your family… you are too altruistic in that regard…And don’t deny it… please…”

Avanti sighed. “…look Rahul…I can’t help what you think of everything… but the truth is… I am now Avanti Rane-Goyal and that won’t change… so please leave…” Tears threatened to spill and she didn’t want to look weak before Rahul.

“…ok fine…one last thing Avanti. Do you remember the discussion we had… about Rane Kaka… whether it was an accident or a sabotage…?”

Now that got her alert. “…What do you mean Rahul…?” She had always believed the police findings on the accident.

“…Avanti… I always felt it wasn’t an accident… just think about it… it was a private plane… the pilot was ex- air force with an enviable number of hours under his belt… there was no investigation as such and it was declared an accident… the bodies were charred beyond recognition and there was no post mortem… can’t you see here…?”

Avanti wiped away her tears. “…Rahul… it was an accident… there was no proof otherwise… I thought we had agreed to it…”

“…I couldn’t come to terms Avanti… so I kept digging…” Rahul was flustered and rubbed his face.

Suddenly the door to the room sprang open and an annoyed looking Keshav entered hands on his hips. “…What on earth are you doing here…? Weren’t you supposed to drive the car back home…? They are waiting out there… I think you should leave…” though he wasn’t loud the lethal tone of his voice was enough to fluster Rahul. He just nodded and left the room.

Keshav looked at Avanti. “… we should get going now… your stuff has been transferred from your vehicle to mine… and the rest you can bring later from your maternal home… let me know whenever you want to do it… I will arrange it…”

Avanti was still reeling with the information overload she had received from Rahul. She decided to look into it eventually and nodded as she moved alongside Keshav to their waiting car. All through the long drive she kept to one corner of the passenger seat while he was at the other. In spite of convincing herself over and again that she was doing the right thing, her tears refused to stop. What was Rahul trying to tell her…? The car dropped them to a five storeyed building in a locality which looked pretty secluded…He lived in a posh locality in Deonar… overlooking the only open space in the area which her dad often mentioned to as the gas chamber due to its vicinity to Chembur. However, the air around seemed fresh enough and she was glad to see greenery in the otherwise concrete jungle they had passed through on their way inside the lane. He held her hand as they moved towards the lift that took them to the fifth floor… it was the only house on the entire floor… really…? He rang the doorbell and a smiling Kamya opened it. “…wait bhaiyya…bhabhi… wait a moment… Nirvi…? Are you ready…? then come over…” She giggled like a school girl as Avanti watched Nirvi bringing the Aarti thaal. Kamya performed the aarti as she welcomed the couple. Nirvi then placed a kalash filled with rice which Avanti toppled as she entered the house.  Kamya held her hand and took her to a massive living room. Even before she could recover from the shock of the room size, Avanti was made to sit on a huge sofa. Keshav was made to sit next to her and Kamya and Nirvi arranged a plate of rice on the centre table as Naman and his mother looked on. Kamya handed over a silver idol of Goddess Parvati to Keshav and asked him to place it on the rice plate. He then wrote Avanti’s name on it. Avanti was in tears… how did they know about the customs…? She definitely hadn’t expected it and was further touched when Kamya sat between them and picked up a tiny mirror where she saw Avanti’s face in it… oh God Soonmukh baghne…Only thing was instead of the mother-in-law Kamya was doing it. “…So, Bhabhi… officially welcome to our home… I hope I did the rituals well… actually your mother had given me the instructions when I had spoken to her earlier… I wanted to do it well… did I…?”

Avanti hugged Kamya. “…Thank you so much Kamya di… this means a lot to me… it was more than perfect… and please call me Avanti…”

The family soon left and they were alone at home… Keshav showed her, her room. It was a huge bedroom with an attached bath and a changing corner, with a four-poster bed, and a walk-in closet. Her bags were already placed in there. “This…is your room…this other door here leads to a study and across that is my room. Uh… in case someone from family visits us… which is rare…but it would be better if you emerge from my bedroom instead of yours… I have a cook and a maid who are very discreet and they only come in the morning for a while. You don’t have to worry about them… And… anything you need just let me know…”

Avanti nodded watching Keshav leave the room shutting the door behind him… suddenly she felt the void in her room and in her heart as well. Where had she gotten herself…? She took in a deep breath… she had to find Arpita… to check if she was safe… She texted Rahul to keep looking for her and promised to connect with him soon. Just as she freshened and lay on the soft bed, her phone buzzed with an incoming text. It was Keshav… why was he texting…?

‘Dinner at 8PM…see you later…’

She shook her head and picking up the remote switched on the TV… one of her favourite movie played on RomedyOne… ‘Mr and Mrs. Smith’…As she watched she couldn’t wonder…just like the protagonists in the movie was Keshav too… putting up charade…? Was the care and concern just a facade like what Rahul told her…? What was it about him that had scarred Arpita off…? In fact, this arrangement was perfect for her sister. Then what was it…? She didn’t know when sleep took over and she jolted up suddenly when she heard a knock. “Avanti…? All OK…? Come one lets have dinner…” Keshav called out and she sat up looking down at her loose track-pant and faded t shirt. This was her go-to attire on a tiring day which always comforted her. She tied up her hair in a messy knot and looked at her plain self in the mirror… what would Keshav think about her appearance…? As she let her hands fall along her sides she heard the trinkling of her bangles… she loved the sound of the green glass bangles and had always yearned to put them on… She sighed and walked towards the door. As she opened it, she saw Keshav standing in a grey t shirt with a pensive look in eyes…holding a water cup.

“…Are you Ok…? You took a while to answer the door…” He said in a tentative voice.

Irrespective of what she had heard or others thought about Keshav, she was always touched by his simple words of concern. She shook her head as a traitorous lock of hair fell over her face. Before she could move it, he raised his hands and held it taking his time to feel it in his fingers before tucking it away behind her ears. She didn’t know she had held her breath till his warm fingers left their touch on her skin. He cleared his throat and gestured her to the dining hall… attached to the living room on one end and the kitchen on the other. “ So… Avanti… lets have dinner and post that I will give you a tour of the house… in case you aren’t tired of course…otherwise we can do it tomorrow…And  you can tell the cook Mrs. Sinha, whatever you wish to have… she will make it for you…uh…and…if you need…”

“…Keshav… I am fine… So please relax and let’s have dinner…” She smiled as she spoke.

She heard him sigh and smile widely as he rubbed his face, his eyes lighting up in the bright dining room lights right above him, his dimple embedded in his beard, making her heart flutter…. She had to control herself she mentally reprimanded herself. As they had a lovely dinner of roti sabji, daal rice, she felt the time pass slowly with each lingering bite that she chewed, and a year in this house looked real long indeed…

Copyright Disclaimer: All content posted here is a work of fiction and original work based on the author’s imagination. There is no intention to disrespect any person or faith. Any resemblance to any person living or dead or any community is purely coincidental. No part of the content can be copied, reproduced or posted anywhere else either entirely or in parts, without the consent of the author.

Chapter 5

This marriage is for the best…

Keshav’s words ricocheted off her ears continuously as Avanti looked at him with expressionless eyes. She hoped she was in a bad dream and would wake up soon… but alas…this was reality. She sighed and with trembling hands, picked up the pen. She grasped the cold metal as if it was her lifeboat in the current tumulus ocean of her life. But her rational mind also knew she had to do this else her family would suffer. Arpita may not have cared but her father was a prophetic visionary and he would have definitely seen the benefit of the alliance between the two families. She blindly trusted her father and his decisions and signed across the dotted line. And it was then the dread set in…

“…Um…Keshav… I have a… question…” Her voice was hoarse with crying.

“…What is it…?” The man had zero expressions on his face. Avanti wondered if she ever knew him.

“…Um… in this marriage…um…” She waved her hand to and fro between them. “…um…Will we be…sha…sha…sharing a room…?”

Keshav sighed and shook his head. “Look Avanti, I am a virile man so I wouldn’t lie and say I am not in for physical relationship with my wife… my legally wedded wife… but having said that, I am not the one to exert conjugal rights… or any kind of power on a woman. I will be ready whenever you are…” She thought she saw a hint of a smile on his face. Was he finding this funny? “… And don’t worry Avanti…you will have your own room…you will be free to live your separate life, but there are a couple of conditions…not exactly put down in the contract but I expect you to adhere to them….”

“…Wh…what conditions…?”

“…first… neither of us will have a relationship outside of this marriage so long as we are married to each other…” He halted looking at her.

She nodded slowly. “…and the second…?”

“…neither of us are going to reveal the reality of our marriage to any living soul… I don’t want the media or public to get wind of this…As of now only my lawyer is aware of it…” She nodded once and after a moment he spoke again. “Avanti…?” She looked up at him still shuddering and sniffling post her crying bout. “…do you… do you have a boyfriend…?”

She frowned… was he nuts…? Didn’t he realise the fact by now…? She shook her head and looked away. Wait… she had a right to ask him too. “…Keshav… do you…? Have a girlfriend…? Was that why my sister…”

“…NO… Avanti…do you know what your father’s biggest lesson to me was…? It was honouring one’s commitments and promises…He always said, ‘commitment is an act not a word…’ and I know to keep my end of bargains, come what may… So, no… I don’t have a girlfriend. And your sister… I don’t want to insult your father’s memories by talking about her…” he rubbed his face which was showing signs of fatigue now that she saw intently. Somehow, she felt reassured about the fact that he didn’t have anyone in his life, that about his opinion about her sister.

She nodded and pushed her chair behind as she stood. He followed suit and rolled up the agreement. “Avanti take this…” He handed over the home agreement to her. “…Hand it over to your mother. Consider this… as a wedding gift…”

Avanti teared up as she took the paper roll and began to walk towards the gates.

“Avanti…” He called out to her as she was about to walk outside towards her car the aroma of freshly prepared coffee in the café breezing through her nostrils. “…Be there on time today… you only have two and half hours …” She didn’t react and just kept walking. As she started the car her tears began to flow yet again. What would she tell everyone…? That she was replacing her sister at the wedding? That she was a substitute bride…? This wasn’t how she had envisioned her own wedding… She turned out to be a poor judge of people and had probably misjudged Keshav. Initially she had thought he was like those rich men who thought they owned the world based on his appeal. But she knew her father better and he would never closely associate himself with shallow people so she had given Keshav the benefit of doubt. Even as she had gradually got to know him, she had realised he wasn’t the run of the mill handsome rich guy but an extremely down to earth, polite gentleman and someone who valued relationships. She often hated Arpita for the way she had treated Keshav but today as she drove towards her home she wondered if her sister had to face something like this. What had happened three days earlier…? Her sister had been upset and silent throughout. Did he offer her the contract as well…? but as far as she knew Arpita, her sister would have loved the arrangement and her freedom. But she had disappeared and instead of knowing about her whereabouts or looking for her, Avanti had to prepare for her own wedding… Oh God…baba what should I do…?

Avanti got back home and relayed the edited version of the proposal from Keshav to her mother and uncle. Before that she saw her relatives were having a field day enjoying all the delicacies doled their way without a care in the world and she realised even more how important this wedding was. None of them would come to their rescue, that was a given. In fact, the sadistic pleasure they would eventually derive from her family’s situation would increase in multiples. Even now, they suspected something amiss with Arpita missing and no one even bothered to go and look for her. No one bothered to ask her or her mother how they were holding up… these were the same relatives whom her father had helped multiple times both in cash and kind without battling an eyelid. Whenever her mother had objected, he always said, no one has ever become poor by giving… Avanti wondered otherwise watching them finish of the medu wadas in record time as if they would soon be struck by famine. But her father always believed in soul connect and told her, never feel afraid to dive into yourself…your soul will catch you… it will never let you down… soul is everything Avu…

Avanti was worried about her mother’s health and as expected she was furious. Aai hadn’t approved of Keshav even earlier but had kept her silence respecting her father’s decision. “…What the hell Avanti…? Why did you accept it…?” Her mother wailed in the closed confines of the room while her uncle sat silently in a corner. He was a henpecked husband who had never bothered about his sister or her family when they had struggled but had frequently visited them after they had made it big. But Avanti knew his presence was important to her mother…

“…Aai… relax… its… not what you are thinking…Keshav is a good guy…”

“…maybe Avu… he may be a good guy… your baba liked him… but he doesn’t give out good vibes… he is hiding something… I don’t like him and definitely not that step-mother of his…she is a vixen…” They had only met once as a family few days back and her mother obviously didn’t like the lady.

“…Aai…please calm down…”

“…NO…DON’T ASK ME TO CALM DOWN…” her mother screamed throwing away the paper roll of the agreement and Avanti was tensed about her rising blood pressure. “…I lost my husband and now God knows where Arpita is…I can’t lose you too Avanti…”

“…I am right here in Mumbai aai…I will visit you regularly…daily if you want me to…And I promise I will find tai…” She tried to convince her mother.

“…Look Avu bala I don’t care what happens to the company and the house… You are more important… We can move elsewhere on rent…I have savings…jewelry…”

Her mother was oblivious to the real soup they were in. “…Aai…Aai… please stop… no one has forced me…I am willingly doing this…please aai…I can’t let go of baba’s legacy…”

“…To hell with a legacy which is only piling up grief…it was the same legacy which drove your baba away… He had become a workaholic and it was eating away his life… And for what…? just mounting up debts…? Look Avu…just throw this agreement on Keshav’s face and break it off…” She said picking up and handing over the home agreement back to Avanti.

She had to reveal the reality softly. “…Aai…please listen to me carefully… Everything…just everything…. Will be gone… We will literally come on the roads… My salary… if my job stays after the fiasco, isn’t enough to get a good rented apartment in Panvel and God knows what is tai upto…Look aai… everything will be alright…please trust me…”

He mother turned around in a huff. “Avu… bala… we… we will go to our village… you can start something there… and I will help out…”

“…Aai…please be reasonable now… you know its not possible… and baba…”

“…Baba is not here now Avu… and I can’t see you destroy your life…” Her mother was shaking in annoyance.

Avanti lost steam as she looked at her uncle who nodded slowly. “Savita…” Her uncle finally spoke. “…Avanti is right… we have to save the situation… not just for your futures but the entire reputation of our family…”

“…No dada…I feel horrible sacrificing my daughter at the altar for the sake of living a luxurious life… I don’t wan’t material stuff… I just want my family safe…” her mother spoke softly … in tears. “…That man… he is so much older to Avanti… She deserves a lot better than him…”

“…Aai… please we don’t have much time now… I am happy aai…don’t worry about me… now please help me dress… I will call Rahul to drive us to the venue….” Her mother had sent back the makeup lady and the hair dresser, not that she was upto it…

Her mother sobbed and hugged her and in the next forty-five minutes she was all dressed in whatever they could arrange given the limitations even as the shocked relatives whispered and commented. After her mother left the room Avanti glanced around her favourite place in the world… this was her own space… she had her life built up here. every molecule around her had been just hers… She saw her special possessions, her shelf full of books, boxes of pen drives, CDs… mostly related to her favourite music albums and her own concerts, which she would miss the most. She saw a framed picture of hers with Arpita on the day of Arpita’s engagement. Her sister looked so radiant and beautiful… No wonder Keshav had fallen for Arpita… many men did. Since she was a model, she was well groomed and fit… had an enviable hour glass figure looking a lot younger than her age. In contrast Avanti was a simpleton…she wasn’t much into vanity and preferred the company of little children to men. Was this why she had failed to recognize Keshav…? The way he was ready with the papers today… it was as if he knew this would happen. Did he plan it…? Her heart stopped… No… she had to believe in her father… Her father knew Keshav for a long time and he wasn’t someone who would call a man home if he wasn’t… a good man. The thought calmed her racing heart and she felt relieved.

Her gaze then moved towards the wall covered with her most prized possessions, her instruments. There was the harmonium placed on a stand in the corner, a veena that filled the crevice on the wall, two varieties of the tanpura and finally her eyes fell on the most beautiful of them all a stone studded designer veena commissioned specially by her baba when he had been to Germany once. It had cost him a bomb but he said it reminded him of her and he had to get it after paying heavy duty for it. She smiled as she looked at the fiber glass case holding it. She hadn’t liked the tonal quality of the instrument and hadn’t gotten to restring it as per her requirement, but it had sentimental value now that her baba was no more. When he had gifted it to her three years ago, he had said, “Avu bala… when you sing plucking at the strings of the veena it connects to the soul… it brings out the purity of your heart… so if you have to reflect and look into your soul…just string the veena…” She still hadn’t completely understood what he had meant then… but that was her father.

He was the most intelligent person she had ever known and he was cryptic in his own way. As a child he loved playing treasure hunt with her. Every second day he would leave clues in steps, for her to find her gift… which usually would be a chocolate box or a favourite doll or toy… even when they couldn’t afford them. She would usually take a whole evening to do so but it gave her a strange thrill… more so because she felt she made her father proud. Her father had wanted her to follow in his footsteps and take up chemistry but she didn’t have the aptitude for science. She had been upset to hurt him because Arpita had disappointed him in every way and she had wanted to be the perfect daughter. He had then smiled and told her, “…Avu bala… follow your heart, else you will spend rest of your life regretting it… your heart is your best guide…” And she had done just that. She loved being a teacher and she loved singing.

She realised Keshav’s house was far from her school… She had to do something about it. Even by road it would be time consuming. She loved the children and not to mention her existing commitments. There was a charity fundraiser organised by the music school she attended and she had committed to that as well. It was a two-day event to be held in Hyderabad next month. Then following that she had to visit Kolhapur where her father hailed from. He had studied there and a couple of years ago when a major fire had gutted the chemistry wing of the university where he had passed out from, her father had donated a huge sum for the renovation. They were to honour him and unfortunately given the circumstances she had agreed to go…

Avanti swallowed her grief…how she missed her baba… he would have known exactly how to handle the situation. His will was the last communication and a copy of the same was kept with Keshav on her father’s demand for safe keeping. Keshav had accompanied the lawyer during the reading of the will which had bequeathed the entire wealth…whatever was left… equally to her aai, tai and herself. Keshav had been so supportive then and it was difficult to believe he was the same man she now had to face… for a complete year. If only they had found the black book…she didn’t have to get into this loveless, contractual and conditional commitment.  She wished her father had left her clues, like in her childhood. But then she was no longer a child to be entertained and her father obviously didn’t know he would be gone so soon. Avanti blotted her eyes with her handkerchief as she shut the Veena’s case. She wasn’t taking much with her but she would definitely take her instruments… they gave her solace. She would now string this Veena as well and use it…. She somehow felt it connected her with her baba…. And God knew she needed him now more than anytime. As she sat into the car waiting for a grim looking Rahul to start it, she had one last look at her home… would things ever be the same…? She only hoped her family would be happy and Arpita would return home safely.

But in the poignant silence engulfing the vehicle as she looked down at her mehendi clad palms, the trinkling of green glass bangles adorning her wrists breaking the stillness….as she held her shalu close in comfort there was only one thought that crossed her mind continuously….

She was just jumping from the frying pan into the fire…

Copyright Disclaimer: All content posted here is a work of fiction and original work based on the author’s imagination. There is no intention to disrespect any person or faith. Any resemblance to any person living or dead or any community is purely coincidental. No part of the content can be copied, reproduced or posted anywhere else either entirely or in parts, without the consent of the author.

Chapter 4

He was an asshole… One of the greatest order for making Avanti cry and it broke his heart. Keshav stared at the pretty docile woman sitting across him in the café. While most of the time he sat putting on a charade of being an epitome of serenity and calm, he was suffering too. He hated himself for what he was doing to her but Arpita…the idiot had left him no choice. She knew right from the beginning what she was getting into. He needed her for securing his business deal and she needed him to quench the wanderlust in her. He knew she was anything but a devoted wife… she was a vagabond, a commitment phobic, self-centred woman who didn’t care anything beyond her own personal gratification. Her myopic views on life angered him very often even when he had dated her in the past but that was brief and years ago but even today nothing had changed. He had always wondered how someone like Dnyaneshwar Rane could sire an offspring like Arpita. Dnyaneshwar Rane had been a father figure to him when he was the new director of his company. He had just taken over the command of the sinking ship and if not for the trust induced by Dnyaneshwar Rane in his abilities and the constant guidance in setting him afloat, he would have lost the company years ago.

His late father had just left him a bankrupt company founded by his grandfather and to add to it the mounting debt. He had student loans to pay off too. His father always bled the company dry because of his alcoholism and womanising demeanours. One such encounter got him a step- mother Rohini Jaiswal and eventually twin half siblings whom he didn’t know about till his father passed when he was barely seventeen and still in junior college.  Their names had only popped out in his father’s will where he had left the only untouched family heirloom, the family home in Hisar in his name. His father had saved a few infrastructure bonds he had purchased before going bankrupt, probably when he was sober and that he had left for the twins who were barely a year old. Initially it had enraged the teenager in Keshav to know about the other woman in his father’s life who he felt betrayed his mother’s memory… He had gone on an angry rampage and had almost been taken into police custody if not for Dnyaneshwar Rane who was working in the R and D department in their company. He had rushed to Keshav’s rescue and had taken him for a drive around Mumbai. They had spent the entire night chatting on the simple nothings and for the first time in his life Keshav had felt wanted. He had even cried his lungs out as Dnyaneshwar Rane had held him… probably again a first since he hardly remembered his mother who was depressed till she committed suicide after overdosing and he always blamed his father’s wayward ways for her untimely demise. Kamya was only three years old then and he had grown up overnight at the tender age of Seven. He never ever remembered his father being there at home or having spoken to him or even lambasted him for mistakes… nothing. He had grown up with a stream of nannies who came and left like they changed clothes and he and Kamya never had any kind of stability except for the last nanny who stayed for a long time till she had to give time to her own family.

 That evening spent with Dnyaneshwar Rane changed him for good. Mr. Rane advised him to focus on his studies and build a career in the company which needed him in a couple of years. It was a family owned organization which was currently taken over by a board of directors and each of them was trying to take their piece of pie and jump the ship. On Dnyaneshwar Rane’s counsel he met them and promised to repay them for their hard work once he took over. Meanwhile Dnyaneshwar Rane sold his village plot and village home and also ran pillar to post to arrange fund to be pumped into the company and managed to keep it afloat as Keshav struggled through college in the next two years. Every evening he would visit the company and meet up with Dnyaneshwar Rane who explained the working and other functions… even the perils the company faced, without mincing words. Keshav had always known since the time he was a kid that he was expected to take over the company some day and was mentally prepared… he loved the pharmaceutical field and working too. He had hoped to study pharmacy and further do an MBA before he took over… however fate intervened and he had to quit his dreams. Kamya was inclined towards a career in Medicine since early days and he vowed to fulfil her dreams even if his remained…. Just dreams. Dnyaneshwar Rane coaxed him to do a diploma in Pharmacy and the last year of the diploma was the toughest as he had to join the company officially at the helm of things as well as study… here too Dnyaneshwar Rane came to his rescue. He helped him in the smooth functioning and solved every problem for him even before he knew he had one.

At times in melancholic secrecy he even wished Dnyaneshwar Rane was his father… the man had been his rock during the turmoil in his life… He never gave up and stuck to Keshav and most of all believed in him. Finally, five years after joining the company things started to stabilise and a couple of super products spearheaded by Dnyaneshwar Rane and their vigorous tie ups and marketing by Keshav himself at the driver’s seat brought up the company financials from the red zone… this attracted a lot of investors who were inquisitive about new research as well as the young dynamic Director of the company. The company stars were now favourable and profits had started to make their way onto its coffers.

The only blot in his happiness were the constant reminders of his half siblings and their mother. One day a few years after his father’s passing, a frail woman landed at his doorsteps holding a little twin in each of her hands. Rohini Jaiswal had sold the bonds and had nothing to fend for herself and her children. Though he was angry at the woman, he couldn’t let the little kids suffer for their parent’s mistakes and he took them under his wing. His only condition was she would be a mother to Kamya and take care of the household responsibilities while he worked his guts out. In turn he would take care of her and the twins financially. Dnyaneshwar Rane had been proud of him and had patted him on the shoulder with tears in his eyes. For a few years the arrangement had worked well and seeing Kamya well settled psychologically, he didn’t regret his decision and true to his word he encouraged the twins. The fact that they respected him and idolised him thrilled him to no end and he had come to love them too. But he never trusted their mother and true to her nature she had made a grave mistake three years ago. He was forced to intimidate her and put up clauses to banish her back to Hisar… He hated what he was forced to do but he had a legacy to protect for which he had given his life and sweat and blood… and he wouldn’t allow the woman to damage anything.

At a time when all his illustrious relatives had given up on him and turned the other way round, Dnyaneshwar Rane had stuck and pulled him out of quicksand. A few years later when Dnyaneshwar Rane decided to start his own company dedicated to prepare the formulae for rare medicines, Keshav had been his first investor and Novo Supreme had been Vedshastra’s first tie up for producing the medicines as well. It was a huge decision which brought in a lot of other investors.

Dnyaneshwar Rane and Keshav were not just bonded in humanity but also because Dnyaneshwar Rane was the only one who had an answer to a major predicament Keshav was facing and time was ticking. Dnyaneshwar Rane believed in soul talk and always told him, the soul welcomes the bluest nights always aware that the light will return. Ten months ago, Dnyaneshwar Rane had almost got the formula for the special miracle drug Keshav had desperately wanted and Novo Supremo had poured in special funds for its research. His life and the company’s growth surge depended on that miracle drug literally and ever since he had received the news of the special legacy from his father, he had become distraught… He had struggled all his life and lived for his sister an eventually the twins who had come to respect him. He was the father figure for them and he had thought he had got the company’s fortunes in order. But the Almighty was probably not yet satisfied by his turmoil and had dropped the time bomb a couple of years ago. As usual Dnyaneshwar Rane was the one he had turned to for advice and he had immediately got the wheels in motion. Kamya had been at the helm of things as well and as she was finishing her residency, she had got attached to the research wing of her medical college where she finished her post graduate studies in Neurology. He was glad to have her on his side but she had had a hard life too and he didn’t want her to be involved in their collective research more than what was needed. Dnyaneshwar Rane was the best in the field and if there was someone who had the remedy for his affliction it was him.

He had got hope ten months ago and then Dnyaneshwar Rane had run into murky waters. For the first time since he had known the man, Keshav had seen him panic. Initially he hadn’t known but then he found out about the threats Dnyaneshwar Rane had received over emails with regards to the new formula he was developing. The danger was multi-fold and suffocatingly scary… It was on his insistence that Dnyaneshwar Rane had speeded up the process… age notwithstanding the man had pulled an extra mile. He would visit the bungalow regularly to help his mentor out. Dnyaneshwar Rane was a perceptive man… he probably had an intuition about something being amiss and probably had some kind of a premonition about the end being close. He had requested Keshav to tie the knot with his older daughter. Given his situation Keshav had been hesitant and also, he knew the kind of woman Arpita was. Not that he wanted her to take care of the family or anything of the sort but she just wasn’t a wife material… he didn’t have a right though, to be wishful.

But all that had changed when he had got to know Avanti… Dnyaneshwar Rane’s pretty and coherent younger daughter. He couldn’t take his eyes of her when she had smiled coyly at him for the first time…. Not because she was extremely beautiful…in fact he had met and dated super models who were ready to give up everything to be with him… it wasn’t physical beauty… but she was extremely caring and the way looked at him with trust in those beautiful innocent eyes… he was fiercely attracted to her. For the first time in his life he had lamented about his situation and he couldn’t do the injustice of asking for her hand in marriage. He had accepted everything that had come into his life… the bright sunny skies along with the dark forlorn clouds and he had always been hopeful of that silver lining. Avanti, whenever she met him brought along with her a strange freshness that had lit up his life. He wasn’t a monk but in comparison to the select women he had dated Avanti was different…there was no pretence, she was an open book and straightforward. Her beautiful eyes the striking feature on her face, unblemished by any make up, they were a direct reflection of her pure heart.

And then Dnyaneshwar Rane had died…He felt he was orphaned all over again but seeing a courageous Avanti holding things from falling apart had given a grit to his dwindling spirit. It was as if she revived him as well…. He had got to know her and had gradually begun to fall for her… and when she had sung for him on his birthday, it was as if he was hit in the solar plexus. He had a pathetic day at work resembling his crappy life and Arpita not showing up or even texting him had only increased his loneliness… though he hadn’t expected her to do so. But then Avanti had arrived and she had remembered… No one ever had shown any kind of a special gesture towards him… without expecting anything in return and here was this woman with kohl adorned astoundingly alluring eyes, dressed in a simple cotton outfit… a total misfit in that resto bar…and the voice of an angel while the world had faded away and he had been mesmerised. He had often heard her sing and there was some kind of a strange melancholic touch in her voice which helped him get rid of his stress that only threatened to mount up with every passing day.

He had almost kissed her that night when she had taken care of him during one of his episodes. He had been guilt ridden especially when he had realised, she reciprocated his feelings. No…he had no right… So, he had avoided her from then on, though it killed him within. The marriage had to take place or else Vedshastra was gone for big time and the creditors would have a field day with these women. He couldn’t bear to see Avanti suffer more than she already had in her plate and he knew first-hand how it was when everything collapsed around like a pack of cards. He owed Dnyaneshwar Rane at least that much… So, he had paid the mortgage for the bungalow and had decided to hand it over to Avanti on the day of his wedding to Arpita. He yearned to see her smile and wanted to see her expressions first hand.

However, Arpita deserved to know the truth about him… the entire truth and he had done just that three days prior to the wedding. He had threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed it to anyone especially Avanti. He knew the righteous Avanti would never allow the wedding to take place … even though she knew about the aftermath of the fallout. So, he had to hold his cards close to his heart. He had a gut feeling that Arpita would pull some stunt out of her kitty, the woman had done just that. She had texted him in the vee hours today morning that she wasn’t interested in tying herself with someone like him and she valued her freedom too much, she had run away. Instead of being angry, he had laughed and had got on to his plan B. He hadn’t come that far in his line of work without back up plans… and here he was.

Today, as he sat across Avanti dressed in her simple full sleeved t shirt, starring blankly at the agreement, the uninhibited tears flowing from her sublime eyes, his heart broke. He was the reason she was at crossroads but he had no choice. She didn’t know the reality… He had recently got a detailed report from his investigator friend Akshat Chaudhury who specialised in corporate frauds and crimes and Avanti didn’t know how deep they were in…especially with the black bound notebook missing. He had to be a monster who broke her kind heart for he had to save her from the repercussions of not just bad loans and a falling apart business but also, possibly a greater threat looming over their heads which he was yet to find out. As he straightened up on his chair to play his role further, he looked up towards the sky and said a mental prayer for Dnyaneshwar Rane… He apologised but knew the man would eventually forgive him. After all he was his mentor and this was just an arrangement for a year…he didn’t have a right for anything beyond that…

He held a pen towards Avanti. “…Here… sign it… it’s for the best…”

Copyright Disclaimer: All content posted here is a work of fiction and original work based on the author’s imagination. There is no intention to disrespect any person or faith. Any resemblance to any person living or dead or any community is purely coincidental. No part of the content can be copied, reproduced or posted anywhere else either entirely or in parts, without the consent of the author.

Chapter 3

The black covered small book troubled her all next day… Avanti came home early from school and plunged herself into searching for the black book as she called it now… As she moved in her father’s study looking from cupboard to cupboard trying to locate the supposedly missing book, her eyes fell on the innumerable patents her beloved baba had obtained following his research. His sole aim in life was to develop something for the well-being of people. He would often get nostalgic talking about his past… his journey and off late he had been totally involved in the new project. She knew nothing about it and probably her father had his reasons for not sharing it with her. But she had once heard him slip and he had told her something to the tune of ‘wonder drug’. Was that the reason Keshav had heavily invested in Vedshastra…? Of course, he was a businessman and wouldn’t let any opportunity pass…besides it helped her father’s legacy to stay afloat so far given the circumstances. The man was even ready to settle down for the sake of the project…it must indeed be of great value.

As she kept looking through the innumerable files and folders, she saw her father’s neatly written notes on the post-its which he meticulously loved to place in neat order in his files. Tears flew down her cheeks as she hugged one of them and cried her heart out… she couldn’t grieve her father enough as she had to be the backbone of the family and take care of everything else…she just didn’t have the time. But today looking at the only remaining souvenirs of her father’s lifetime of research, she couldn’t contain it anymore… Her mother had gone to visit her brother in lieu of the upcoming wedding and Arpita was as usual away on a gig. Only their long-time cook was in the kitchen starting the preparations for their dinner… so no one would notice or hear her venting out. She cried for her father’s unfulfilled dreams wondering if it ever would… she cried for her sister’s apathetic attitude towards her husband -to-be and finally she cried for her unrequited love… Keshav never left her mind and she never even crossed his… 

She didn’t know how long she sat in that dark room curled up with her father’s folder in her arms… How she missed him, his comforting words, his appreciation of her music. She had stopped her classes after he passed, tentatively till the marriage was done with. Rahul was annoyed but he understood. Day before yesterday evening was the first time she had sung after her father’s demise…for Keshav. She walked towards a framed picture of her father remembering one of his favourite raagas Malkauns and soon she was singing a small bandhish…koyaliya bole ambuva… the one she had won her first state title at the tender age of 8 years… Her father had thrown a party for his friends and relatives. Her eyes teared up at the memory as she hummed the aaroh and avroh of the raaga but instead of the memory of her father’s elated face she saw the eyes that had captured her heart irrevocably. Why did that man have to intrude her thoughts day in and day out…it was so wrong to lust after her soon-to-be brother-in-law. She hated herself and her non-compliant heart.

There was a soft knock at the door and she jerked up from her stupor. Who was it…? It was 7PM and the cook must have long gone. Did her mother come back suddenly? She wasn’t expected before tomorrow evening… was it Arpita? But she never knocked and just barged inside and she hated the study. Avanti straightened up and switched on the lights as she moved amidst the clutter to answer the door. She opened the door with a creaking jerk only to stare at a wretchedly handsome Keshav in his trademark t-shirt jacket combination leaning against the door jamb. He looked at her and frowned…she was immediately self-conscious…oh God she must be a crying mess. She hadn’t even bothered to change from her simple outfit of black trousers and white cotton blouse from school and it must now be ruined and her face…oh no. She quickly turned around and went through the motions of picking up the strewn folders and files. “…Um… Keshav ji …what brings you here…? Um…I was just winding up… I searched for the black book as you had asked but nothing…”

“…Avanti…?” She heard him softly behind her.  She stopped and stood straight her back to him. “…Avanti please look here…” He whispered.

She turned around and saw he looked… sick. His eyes were red rimmed and now that she saw him clearly, he looked haggard. “…Um…Keshav ji are you OK…?”  she saw him drive a hand through his hair and it was… trembling… what was happening…? He sighed as he staggered behind and before she could realise, he swayed against the wall. She rushed and held him tightly around his abdomen before he could hit the wall but she was no match to his height and strength and they collapsed together on the floor. The clutter of files softened the blow and she held her hand protectively under his head before it hit the floor. He immediately moved away from her and groaned holding his head. She rushed to the kitchen and brought a glass of water along with a wet wash cloth. He was still lying on the floor and she crouched towards him, helping him to sit up against the table. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were shut. She pressed the wash cloth on his face and he groaned again…was he in pain…? Her heart was breaking seeing him so vulnerable. She touched the glass of water to his lips. “…Ke…keshavji…please have some water…” She whispered and he gulped a couple of sips.

He slowly opened his eyes and struggled to speak. “…Mo…mobile… call…Ka…Kamya…”

She nodded and searched his jacket pocket and found his phone…it was locked.  She held it up to him to unlock it. He squinted at her and whispered. “…p-o-w-e-r-o-f-m-e-d-i-c-i-n-e…”

She was surprised but typed in the letters and the phone unlocked immediately. She scrolled through his contact list but he touched her hand stopping her midway. “…Spee…eed Dial…2…” He struggled panting even finding it difficult to hold up his head.

She nodded, her hands now trembling in worry as she pressed 2 and the green dial button. She held the phone towards him but he said. “…Spea…eak…pl…please…” and his head fell back again on the table behind as if it didn’t have any muscle tone. She held the phone to her ear as she heard the ringing across.

“…Hello Bhaiyya… what’s up…?” A chirpy voice answered on the other end.

“…Um…hello…th…this is Avanti… Arpita’s sister… um Keshavji here is… unwell… he just collapsed… Hands… trem… trembling and he is breathing heavily…”

“…oh ok… relax Avanti… just ask him something to check if he remembers…like ask him…what he ate today morning…ask him what is the name of my hospital…” Kamya spoke strictly like a doctor. Avanti switched on the speaker mode and relayed the question to Keshav.

He lifted up his head and spoke. “…I didn’t …. Eat any…anything…other questions…shut up Kamya…”

“…Ok ok big brother… I knew you were up to no good… Ok…Avanti…?”

Avanti who was watching the banter wide-eyed was startled. “…Um…yea…?”

“…my idiot brother hasn’t eaten anything so can you handle that…? Immediately… so that the metabolism gets on track…?”

“…yes… of course…” She replied.

“…Ok and one more thing…Avanti…”

“…Yeah…?”

“…remind him to take his medicines after he eats something… that’s the most important aspect… got it…?”

“…yes… don’t worry…I will see to it…” Avanti spoke as she continued to look at Keshav who was now openly staring at her with drooping eyelids… Could the guy be sexier…? He looked hot even when sick…she was losing it.

“…Uh…and Avanti…?” The voice on the phone spoke and Avanti was back to the present.

“…Ye..yes..?”

“…Thank you…”

“…hey its cool…” she said and disconnected. She then turned to Keshav. “…Keshav ji… are you up to it to walk to the dining table or the living room…? I will help… or else I will get the food here…”

He didn’t answer, just rested his head back on the table. She didn’t waste any time and ran to the kitchen. Luckily dinner was ready and she quickly served him roti, mix vegetable sabji and varan bhaat. She took the plate back to the study and picked up the little table which her father had fancied during one of his trips abroad. Since it was kept away inside one of the cupboards it was clean and she kept it before him and the plate on it. “…Um…Keshav ji… please eat something… She patted his shoulder and he opened his eyes slightly. But he just looked at her with hooded eyes and shut them again as if he had no strength left in his body…what was happening…? she couldn’t understand but she knew it was important for him to ingest food. She realised she had forgotten to get a spoon along but she couldn’t waste any more time. She took some varan bhaat in her fingertips and took it close to his mouth. “…Um… Here Keshavji please have this…” To her surprise though his eyes were shut he opened his mouth and took in the food. She fed him some more and gradually even the roti sabji. She then helped him have water and went back to the kitchen to get him some hot milk. Back to the study, she helped him have a few sips of milk and reminded him to take the medicines. Why was he under medication…? She wondered. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.

“…Avan…Avanti… medicine…in car… dashboard… gre…green box…”

She again nodded and taking his keys from the jacket pocket made a quick trip to the car to get the medicine box. By now he was sitting better and colour had returned to his face. She finally was relieved and realised her breathing had settled too. He selected a strip and held it out to her as she removed the tablet for him. She again helped him take it and he rested back again putting the little box in his jacket. But this time he was breathing normally.

She went to the guest bedroom adjacent to the study and prepared the bed. She then got back to the study and sat next to him. “…Keshavji… you can’t go home like this…. Why don’t you stay back in the guest room…?”

Fortunately, he didn’t refuse and she helped him stand. As they shuffled towards the next room, he lost his balance and hugged her tightly sideways. She was walking along the wall for support and suddenly was between him and the wall as she faced him… Their bodies touched and he tried to stabilise himself pushing the wall behind her. Her heart stopped beating as she felt his warm breath on her face. She looked up and at that moment he opened his eyes. He stared at her unabashedly and then specifically at her mouth. His eyes narrowed as he focused through the slits as he lowered his head and her heart was in her mouth…there was a buzz… his phone couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate moment to buzz getting her out of her rivière.  He looked away and held up his hand to stop her, as she moved to help him stand. With a hand on the wall for support, he shuffled his way into the room and shut the door. It was then she actually let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding. What the hell was all that…?

She walked around the house checking the locks and the alarm and it was then it struck her… how did Keshav enter the house…? Did he have the alarm codes from her father…or had the cook left the door ajar…? No… the cook wasn’t careless… nonetheless, she had to ask Keshav the next day… and most important of all…she had to keep her distance. She was rapidly slipping into quick sand and she had to save herself before it got too late…

She waited up to 11PM before for Arpita to arrive but the excitement of the day had taken a toll and she got back to her room upstairs and fell asleep… she had the nightmare again. Her father calling out to her for help…  Somehow, she felt it wasn’t a cry to help him from the wreckage but to help him extricate the business from dire consequences… She just wished she knew how to. She went back to sleep with a determination to speak to Keshav about the company and see if there was anything she could do. He was slogging his guts out to the point of sickness and he needed a break as well. But the next day morning by the time she walked downstairs to his room to call him for breakfast, he was gone. She however received a text from him. ‘Hey Avanti…thank you for everything… owe you one!’

She smiled and went about her routine. Arpita hadn’t come home last night and she was worried. She texted her sister and finally after an hour Arpita replied.

 ‘Had to rush to Shimla for an ad shoot… good opportunity can’t let it go… please manage back at home Avu…’

Avanti was getting angrier by the day. How could Arpita be so irresponsible and throw everything away for some side tiny bit role in an ad film…They had discussed this umpteen time and Arpita often fought with her father over this. She argued that she didn’t have much time left in her profession given her age and her father insisted that she settle down. Avanti knew about Pramod, Arpita’s boyfriend with whom she broke up from time to time and they always got back again. She wondered if Arpita was still seeing him after their last break up a few days before Arpita’ engagement to Keshav. He sister had sworn she didn’t meet him but now Avanti had her doubts.

Avanti had applied for a leave of absence from school for two weeks considering the preparations for the wedding and a little time out for herself after the marriage. So, she had to work harder to complete the syllabus and prepare the question paper bank for the little ones. She barely got to speak to Rahul as well… rest of the time at home went in searching for the elusive black book and often wondered what was in it…? And what did Keshav mean by falling into wrong hands…? Was there something serious that she didn’t know…? But questions only gave rise to more diverse questions and no answers. Fortunately, Arpita was at home the next few days and she even went out with Keshav a few times. Avanti was happy for her sister…finally! She hadn’t seen Keshav after their rendezvous that evening at home and he hadn’t texted her either. Though her heart fell, she thought it was all for the best.

Three days before the wedding Avanti was at home in the evening and Arpita rushed in from a date with Keshav, all in tears. It was supposed to be their last meet before marriage. Fortunately, their mother was away with her brother for getting some last-minute things and the next two days were to be busy with mehandi and other rituals. Their relatives were expected to arrive tomorrow and Avanti was constantly on her toes. “…Tai…tai thaamb… (wait)… kai jhaale… (what happened)? Why are you crying…?” Arpita didn’t bother to reply and just rushed into her room banging the door behind her.

Avanti tried her best to talk her sister to open the door. She was worried if their mother saw Arpita like this she would have a nervous breakdown. It was with great difficulty she had stabilised after her husband’s death….and Avanti didn’t know why but her mother didn’t approve of Keshav for Arpita. She was going through the motions only to fulfil her husband’s last wish. Avanti did what she could think of at that time… she called Keshav.

“…Uh…yes Avanti…? All Ok…?”

“…You tell me Keshav ji… Arpita is crying her eyes out… what happened. Between you two… did you guys fight…?”

“…Why don’t you ask her Avanti…?”

“…if she would answer the door, I would have asked her… what is it Keshav ji…?”

“…Look Avanti… I respect you and your decision to stand for your sister…I know you care but there are limits you can’t cross… this is strictly personal…Ok…?”

She felt like she had just been subtly slapped. “…oh…ok…I get it… I am sorry to have bothered you Keshav ji…I won’t call you again…”

“…Avanti wait…”

“…what is it now…?”

“…did you find the black covered notebook…? We are running out of time…”

“…Sorry…Keshavji…I am really very sorry…I tried my best…everyplace I could check… actually baba wasn’t someone who concealed anything or hid from family… so… I don’t know anything…Maybe if you could tell me something about the project…”

“…leave it Avanti…thank you for trying…” He abruptly intervened and disconnected.

Her head was reeling with the mounting pressure… she felt the walls closing in on her from all sides…exactly the same feeling she got in her consistent nightmare. She held her head and walked into her room. The next day Arpita got her tea and breakfast as she was speaking to the caterer and once, she finished the call, she held her sister’s hands. “Tai…what is it… why are you so upset…do you want to share…?” She knew Keshav wouldn’t like it but she also knew her sister better than him. Arpita couldn’t keep turmoil inside her…she projected herself as very strongheaded and stubborn but Aavnti knew her sister…she was a weakling.  

“…Avu… what happens when you are told something… disastrous… I mean… possibility of a disaster actually… and you can’t do anything about it but still go for it…?”

“…Tai…you aren’t making sense…” She was starting to worry. Arpita wasn’t someone to mince words.

“…Avu…there is something… uh… Keshav…he has this… uh… leave it… just tell me… how important was this alliance for baba…?”

“…Look tai… I know this marriage was important to save the company…baba’s legacy…our legacy… but all said and done, you are more important. So, if you are…”

“…No…No…nothing of the sort Avu… I am definitely getting married… It’s just that… Avu…I am scared… of the future… you know me right…?”

Avanti couldn’t get it…what was her sister indicating…? there was definitely something she was hiding…did Keshav threaten her…? Arpita never kept anything that troubled her, from Avanti… it still struck her weird that her sister wasn’t talking as she saw Arpita stand up and go to her room lost in thought. Was anything wrong? Did anything happen between Keshav and Arpita…? Just then her mother got back from the temple and the relatives too started to trickle in.  The following two days passed in a jiffy with the beautiful bridal mehandi adorning Arpita’s hands as well as the other ceremonies being performed as per her father’s wishes. Avanti couldn’t help but notice the sombre look on her sister’s pretty face… and it irked her to no end when Keshav refused to answer her calls or reply to her texts… She saw her own little mehandi design… simple patterns yet intricate in their own way…just like her life right now. She hoped that just like eventually the colour of mehandi faded away, her sister’s troubles too would go away as she blended into her new life.

Today as she held Arpita’s crumpled letter in her hands her eyes filled watching her mother and uncle discuss the repercussions of the wedding not taking place…the biggest being they stood to lose everything they had… She had just found out a couple of days ago, her flat bought as an investment by her father wasn’t of much value and they couldn’t stay there as it was too far from city limits… What would they do now…?

“Avu bala…?” He mom called out.

“…hmm…?”

“…there is only one solution to this mess… we have to talk to Keshav… just…just make a phone call…I will talk to him…”

Avanti was terrified at the prospects of making Keshav angry. He was already upset with Arpita all these months and also with her for the last few days… how would he take this news…this betrayal…? However, she did as her mother said and handed over the phone to her.

“…hello Keshav beta… we have a problem…” Her mother moved towards the window and spoke to Keshav all that had transpired. After a while her mother moved towards the centre of the room still speaking on the phone. “…ok beta I will send her… you can hand over the parcel to Avanti….” She disconnected the call and said in a neutral voice. “…Avu you have an important task at hand… Keshav says he had a parcel for us that was to be given to us during his marriage to Arpita…but he… still wants us to have it… He insists he will hand it over to you alone. So, can you go and get it…? He will be… at hotel Radisson… at their café right outside our lane…in half an hour…”

What the hell was going on…? She had to meet Keshav especially now to do damage control… the onus was back on her now… she pinched herself just to check if she was living another nightmare. For once she wished she did…

She reached the café and found Keshav waiting at a table with a rolled-up paper tied with a ribbon. She apologetically looked at him. “…I… I am sorry Keshav ji…I don’t know what to say…”

He seemed calm but was it the lull before a storm…? She couldn’t tell… but something was brewing behind those eyes and it definitely wasn’t the coffee kept before them. He handed over the paper roll to her. “Open it up Avanti you have to see it before I say my piece…” He spoke in an uncaring voice.

She untied the ribbon and unscrolled it… it was a document… no an agreement… Oh God he had repaid the mortgage for their home. The title was all clear now… In her mother’s name. She looked up… her vision blurring with her tears. “…oh God Keshavji… this means so much… I don’t know how to repay you… given the circumstances, you still…Thanks… thank you so much…”

“…Don’t thank me yet Avanti…I am not at all surprised at Arpita’s behaviour… absolutely disgusting… but I respect your late father too much to humiliate you all or take any drastic measures… But at the end of the day I am a businessman and have to take care of my… finances. So… I intend to do just that… now how it will happen is in your hands…”

“…What… my hands…? What do you mean…” she had started to panic. Was he going to pull the rug… pull out his investment from Vedshastra…?

He took out another stamp paper agreement… and placed it before her. “… I suggest you read it carefully and think about the repercussions of the outfall and then sign it…”

She read the heading ‘CONTRACT’. What was he up to…? “…Um…Keshav ji what is it…?”

“…Well…it’s a contract… a marriage contract between the two of us…”

WHAT? “…What the hell… what is going on Keshav ji…?”

“… Do not act coy before me Avanti… I totally despise you sisters… One is a whirlwind of trouble and the other only knows to cover up for her after the damage… so do this damage control now…your sister has left behind a lot of damages as she played tyrant and now its your turn to do your job as always… cover up for the ramificactions…pay for her…”

Avanti felt as if he had slapped her. “…Go to hell Keshav… I am not going to sit here and take your crap…”

“…Let me tell you Avanti you don’t have a choice here… The company is going down if this doesn’t take place not to mention your family will be hounded by creditors, the moment I withdraw my support… so I give you ten minutes to think it over… The marriage will definitely take place today… only the bride will be different…”

 “…I am not doing this…” she raised her voice amidst her tears. Was this the same man she had thought she had fallen in love with…? “…how dare you even think of all this… You got an agreement ready so early in the morning…?”

“…I have my means…” He said calmly as if nothing had happened. “… Look Avanti… I am only asking you to stay married for a year… that’s the time I will need to complete the project and finish the first round of trial… or if we get that black bound notebook it will be even faster… After that you will be free to leave, with the company intact… you may sell your shares if you wish to… nonetheless you will be a wealthy woman and more so your mother can spend the rest of her life in peace… the decision is up to you… or you can leave without signing and call off the wedding publicly… tomorrow onward the creditors will line up outside your house…which by the way, I can initiate with ease by just withdrawing my investment…. So think Avanti and your time starts now….”

Avanti only stared at him with her mouth hanging open as tears flew freely… If she thought the last few months were filled with turmoil this took the icing on the cake. Her life. she realised… was no longer hers to keep…

Copyright Disclaimer: All content posted here is a work of fiction and original work based on the author’s imagination. There is no intention to disrespect any person or faith. Any resemblance to any person living or dead or any community is purely coincidental. No part of the content can be copied, reproduced or posted anywhere else either entirely or in parts, without the consent of the author.

Chapter 2

Keshav was all set to tie the knot with Arpita…

To say Avanti was devastated was an understatement. But she valued her father above everything and decided to help him in whatever way she could. However what also irked her was the partial conversation that she had heard in the study that day… it had shaken her to the core. Was the business that bad that her father had to apparently mortgage their house…? Her father had been a smart businessman and they never indulged in extravagance. Avanti especially was always frugal semi-consciously to make up for the splurge her sister indulged in. Her father had invested in two homes outside the city limits one in each of their names exclusively so Avanti knew her home wasn’t mortgaged or sold as she hadn’t signed any documents. She also knew the property fetched great value and hoped her father would ask her for it… she wished she could talk to her father but knew she would only increase his misery.

So, she did what she could do, with a heavy heart she played cupid for her sister and Keshav. At least that she hoped would bring down her father’s anxiety levels. Though they liked each other and Avanti was sure Keshav was in love with Arpita, she doubted Arpita’s feelings. Arpita had been through boyfriends like change of clothes and given that this marriage was too vital for the revival of Vedshastra, Avanti took it upon herself to bring them closer…though it killed her inside. She began with arranging dates for them and often landed up chaperoning Arpita to see that she didn’t escape in the sly. Very often she had to give Keshav company till Arpita arrived from a shoot or gig and then awkwardly slip away to give them privacy. A couple of times Arpita didn’t turn up and Avanti landed up spending time with Keshav. However, it helped her gain insight into Keshav’s life. After initial reservations they spoke to each other a lot and she soon realised they shared a lot of common interests especially their love for Indian classical music and the Bollywood classics from the black and white era.

Keshav shared her love for the raaga Vrundavani Saarang and that thrilled her to no end… she always liked men who could understand and appreciate music. Though he couldn’t sing to save his life, his knowledge on the topic and many other areas was impeccable… He was well read and a very disciplined man and that was probably what had driven her to him form the go. At the end of the first month after the alliance was fixed, Avanti knew he loved the cobalt blue shade and had a large number of similar shades of clothes. She knew he was allergic to mushrooms of certain variety and avoided them like plague. She also got to know he was extremely dedicated towards his workouts and never missed them at all and most of all, he was a great employer. He was hands on with every trivial matter at work irrespective of having a well-equipped team to manage the daily affairs of his company. From what she had known from her research online and from the man himself, Novo Supremo pharmaceuticals ltd.  was a family owned company passed on from his grandfather to his father and later to him… His father had died very young and Keshav had taken over the reins of the sinking ship in his hands when he was barely 19 years old. Though he didn’t mention anything, she knew he had probably struggled a lot in the last sixteen years to bring the company to heights where it basked the sunshine today… He was an epitome of hardwork and sincerity and most important of all he loved his family. He doted on his younger siblings. His younger sister Kamya was a brilliant neurosurgeon and he had twin half siblings from his step mother, Rohini Jaiswal. They were eighteen and the half-sister Nirvi was studying science aiming to become a doctor while half-brother Naman was all set to go pro in football… 

Avanti had seen the proud gleam in Keshav’s eyes when he spoke about all three of his siblings just like a father, for his off-springs. He had lost his mother when Kamya was barely two and had though he didn’t speak much about his step mother, he didn’t bad mouth her.  Avanti hadn’t met anyone of them as yet but had heard Rohini Jaiswal had been a beauty queen in her hey days who had given up everything for the senior Mr. Goyal. These days she stayed in their ancestral property near Hisar in Haryana while his twin half-siblings recently had moved to Mumbai to follow their dreams. He had got them a house close to his to keep an eye on them while Kamya stayed in a studio apartment close to the hospital she was working in. Avanti was in awe of this man who lived for his family selflessly. She didn’t know the exact relationship between him and her father but knew Keshav respected her father a lot more than what met the eye and was helping him out of the financial mess he was in.

The biggest show of strength from Keshav was, three months ago, when he had been there for the Ranes, when her baba had died… Right form the time they had received the news of the charter plane crash that her father had commissioned to visit Germany to discuss his ongoing project with his old friends in the industry… to managing the formalities involved Keshav had been there every step of the way. The cataclysmic crash had killed all five people on board and there had been no survivors… the bodies were charred beyond recognition and had to be cremated together. Her mother and Arpita had been inconsolable and Keshav had been her rock as she had run from pillar to post with various arrangements.

Her father’s death increased tension in the volatile stock market for Vedshastra and even today three months down the line the share value wasn’t rising… A lot of small-time investors in the company were getting the jitters but were hanging in there mainly because Keshav who was the largest investor was still with the company. Avanti was grateful but knew it wouldn’t be long before he got tired too and the only way to save the company and everything associated with it was Keshav taking control over the twenty-five percent of the shares in Arpita’s name by default after their wedding. She knew he was greatly invested mainly because of her father’s latest project. She hoped the marriage would help stabilise not just Arpita’s life but the company as well… the future of the existing employees and her family depended on that.

But the annihilating turmoil last three months were already taking a toll on Keshav and he seemed to have suddenly aged beyond his thirty-five years. The ever-smiling man frequently lost his cool especially when his half-siblings flouted curfews or when Arpita didn’t seem to mend her ways. Avanti on her part played the doting sister and always defended her. Right from finding venues to date so that Keshav didn’t have to travel very far and she too had to return to get to work the next day…. To helping decide of the date for the wedding Avanti was there everywhere. Avanti once heard him talk to his sister Kamya when she entered the restaurant unnoticed by Keshav, where he was convincing his siter he was just fine and promised to get the routine ‘scan’ done. She wondered what he was talking about but couldn’t ask him considering his roller-coaster mood swings these days.

She just wondered how her life had changed in the span of last few months ever since her father had planned the alliance. Her life was simple and boring in most people’s point of view but she was happy. She had quite a few friends, mostly those whom she had ‘helped’ settle. There was Brinda the school librarian who was a widow and struggled making ends meet with her meagre pay and Avanti sponsored her children’s education. She had set up a tiny fund from her salary and monthly income from the company, which footed the medical bills of the class four employees in her school. The school management had been grateful for her gesture but she had chosen to remain anonymous. Then there was her best friend and fellow singer Rahul Saxena whom she had ‘saved’ from overdosing and had helped him find a job in her father’s company as a clerk and also as a part time music teacher in the academy where she was attending. He always looked out for her and dropped her home whenever it got late. Through Arpita’s contacts she got him little filler gigs and after two years she was happy to see him less depressed. These instances gave her a great sense of pleasure and peace within. She had been avoiding most of them ever since she had to escort her sister, but made it a point to speak to Rahul regularly. He was a sane individual who gave her advice whenever she was in a fix and he had already guessed she was head over heels in love with Keshav. “What are you going to do about that, Avanti…? I think you should talk to him…” He had once advised.

“…no Rahul, I can’t do it…. I can’t ruin our existing relationship and the prospects for Vedshastra… I am not that self-centred…”

“…Avanti, I wish you were a little selfish… You are too benevolent for your own good… do you want me and Anuj to help out…?”

“…Arre no… just be there for me… I need shoulders to cry over… After the wedding I will drop by and the three of us can just… whatever… I can’t be alone that day Rahul…”

“…Yeah… don’t worry Avanti… Anuj and me are always there… you know that don’t you…?”

This was a month ago and just a day later Arpita had gone incognito. This was a date Keshav had apparently arranged specially for Arpita as a surprise and Avanti had no clue. She had paper correction in school and was a little delayed. She had barely stepped into her home when Keshav had called her frantically asking her to contact Arpita. Eventually unable to find Arpita she had personally gone to the restaurant to apologise.  Keshav had looked ravishing and she couldn’t take her eyes off him… he was oozing masculinity from each pore of his body, dressed in an immaculate white designer jacket with black collars and peak lapels. She had mostly seen him in his trademark blue shirt and black trousers whenever she met had him or an occasional Nehru jacket but today, she wondered how she could prevent her heart from galloping away into oblivion. It was then she suddenly remembered it was his birthday… how could she forget…? She hadn’t got anything for him… and just then watching him stare sombrely at the orchestra she got an idea. She rushed to the live band and spoke to the lead who instantly gave her centre stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen… today we have with us a young lady who has a song dedicated to a special friend in this room… here we go…” The lead announced as he gestured to her amidst the loud applause.

The lights dimmed and she couldn’t see the audience but there was the spotlight on her. In spite of her experience on stage her hands trembled. “Hell…. Hello… everyone… I dedicate this song to a very special friend and the soon to be addition to our family on his special day…”

She felt his eyes on her as she rendered the classic ‘tera mujhse hai pehle ka naata koi…’

Once she finished the song there was a thunderous applause and she saw him stand and clap for her. She acknowledged everyone with a slight bow and alighted from the stage. She walked upto him. “Happy birthday Keshav ji…” she wished him shaking his hand. He stared into her eyes smiling and she was thrilled to see those dimples after ages…

“…Do you know Avanti…? This was the best birthday gift I ever received… in fact even Kamya is away in Dehradoon for a conference with her senior team and she didn’t remember… or didn’t get the time. Nirvi and Naman… well we never had this concept of celebrating my birthday at all… but then this year…I don’t know Avanti…I was feeling low since morning and had called Arpita… this band was a surprise to her with her favourite playlist you gave me… but then… you surprised me… Thank you… thanks a ton…”

Her heart sored. “…hey…that’s what friends are for right…?”

“…So, then we are friends…?” He gave her a side smile making her weak in the knees and she hoped they didn’t give away right there.

“…yes… yes… of course… tai must be on her way… I am… I am sorry…she…”

“…stop apologising for Arpita… its time she acts like a responsible adult… I just… I just wished she had your brains and attitude…” He sighed as he looked back at the dismantling band.

Avanti had paradoxical feelings that night as he dropped her home. She was thrilled to make him happy but the very next moment her euphoria crashed when he had been unhappy about Arpita’s absence. What the hell was her sister thinking…? As she alighted outside her gate, he asked. “…uh… Avanti… may I ask something…?” He looked forlorn as he stared at the empty lane ahead.

“…yeah…Keshav ji what is it…?”

“…Does… Arpita have someone in her life…? I mean was she coerced into this marriage…?”

Her heart went out to him at that moment. “…Er… no nothing of the sort Keshav ji… actually she has these gigs she has to finish before the wedding… I mean the commitments…”

“…what about the commitment to me Avanti? I wanted to be there when she purchased the wedding saree and I wanted her opinion when I go to order my sherwani tomorrow… there is barely a month left for the wedding and she is…just not there…” he rubbed his hand over his fatigued face and she only wished she could iron out the creases highlighted on his forehead.

“.. I will bring her tomorrow… I promise you Keshav ji… she will be there… as for her saree selection… you know since baba passed… the home atmosphere… well, it’s been tough for her…”

“…what about you Avanti…? has it been easy…? you are younger than her for crying out aloud… you have been managing your career, your mother, the house and Arpita with her baggage… How do you manage…? What about your life…? Ever since we were engaged you have been around for us… what about your life Avanti…?”

She blinked away tears. NO one…not even her mother had asked her once how she was doing and Keshav always made it a point to enquire about her. He often texted her to ask about Arpita since the latter’s phone would be perennially switched off. But once she answered him, he would ask about her day and how she was holding up… a gesture that always touched her core. “…Keshavji… once you both get married… I will be free of the responsibilities… You will take over the company functions too and I will be free from worrying at that end as well… till then… I owe it to my baba to hold things together to the best of my abilities…”

She blinked away tears and turned to get off.

“Avanti…?”

She halted and turned back. “…yea…?”

“…Thank you…for everything… and especially for tonight…it meant a lot…”

She nodded and smiled, her throat too clogged to speak as she got out and walked fast towards the gate. She let the tears flow only when she heard the car reverse and leave the lane.

The next day Arpita had promised to be there for the Sherwani selection. Avanti had already reached the place a huge boutique in Dadar and it had taken her like forever to reach the place, not to mention… she was tired to the bone. It was well past 9PM when a shame faced Avanti teared up in the boutique’s washroom.  She was caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea… she was now hating her sister for the way she was treating Keshav. Didn’t she realise how lucky she was to have found someone who understood emotions so well…? She tried calling and texting Arpita again in the washroom but it was all futile and it was too late in the night for her to wait anymore. She emerged from the washroom and walked directly walked into Keshav stopping abruptly like a deer caught in headlights.

“…Um…Keshav ji… Arpita is…”

“…Stop it Avanti… that’s enough… She texted me… she got caught up in her… project…” He looked away disappointment clearly evident in his eyes. But at least her sister had the sense to let him know… The idiot could have at least texted her as well… she wouldn’t have worried so much.

“…sorry Keshav ji… very sorry…” she whispered.

“…hey its ok… why are you sorry…? And you now have another responsibility…” He spoke in an amused tone.

“…Um… what…?”

“…I don’t have a lot of time Avanti and half a day today is wasted… so since we are here… why don’t you select an outfit for me…?”

What ….? “…um …Keshavji… I don’t really know about all this…? Its Arpita’s forte…”

“…Nonsense… I don’t believe a word of that…come on…”

He held her hand and took her to the main area of the men’s section. For the next hour he tried on at least 6 sherwanis and she didn’t know she even had a choice before this. Though it was around 10.30PM, Keshav was very patient and heard her out as she commented. She finally selected the bandh gala purple outfit… as he modelled it for her, her heart leaped to her throat… she just hoped she wouldn’t collapse with the rise in her blood pressure. She didn’t speak anything but she looked into his eyes through the mirror a she stood before it, and he smiled, knowing her answer. She only nodded…

An hour and a half later as he dropped her home, he stopped the car and spoke. “Avanti… there is something I had been meaning to ask you….”

She was way too sleepy but still tried to keep her eyelids from shutting. “…What is it Keshav ji…?”

“…Uh… did your father give you any kind of a tiny notebook for safe keeping…?”

Now that woke her up completely. “…Um…no… actually if its anything linked with work…he never involved us… so…no idea… why…?”

“…Actually Avanti… uh… that book is very important… and shouldn’t fall into wrong hands… I didn’t find it anywhere when I picked up his research material last month from his study…. can you try searching it in his study…or anywhere else in your house…please…? It’s a tiny black bound book…”

She was too stunned to think and barely whispered in affirmative as she got off the car.

That night she couldn’t sleep a wink…

Copyright Disclaimer: All content posted here is a work of fiction and original work based on the author’s imagination. There is no intention to disrespect any person or faith. Any resemblance to any person living or dead or any community is purely coincidental. No part of the content can be copied, reproduced or posted anywhere else either entirely or in parts, without the consent of the author.

Chapter 1

Arpita ran away…??  What the hell…? When…? How…? And most important question… why…? Was it because of her long standing on and off boyfriend Pramod? But she had sworn she wouldn’t meet him and wasn’t serious about him ever since she was engaged few months ago. Now… Avanti looked up at her mother’s frail crying form. The lady had endured a lot in a short while. She was a simple woman who only lived for her husband and two daughters and recently widowed she looked forlorn as she wiped her tears with the stained napkin that Avanti recognised was from the kitchen. Her mother must have been personally looking into the breakfast preparation even though they had hired the cook. But that’s how her mother was… annapurna to the core. She loved to feed people and rarely did visitor to their home leave without a bite of her savories. The fragrance of the freshly prepared medu-vada glided through her nostrils causing her stomach to growl. A pang of guilt hit her hard and her head started to reel as the anxiety which was already touching the roof threatened to capsize her breathing totally. Oh God Arpita what have you done…?

Her uncle moved towards her mother. “Savita… we have to do damage control… all the preparations are in place and this girl… it’s all because of your leniency and pampering… I had told you Arpita was fickle minded. She wasn’t marriage material at all… all she did was look at other boys and now she must have run away with that good -for-nothing Pramod….”

Her mother nodded and began crying again and Avanti walked towards her on trembling legs, worried about her BP shooting up yet again. “…Aai…its ok… just calm down otherwise your health will be affected adversely… let’s think of something… shall we… ask the groom…?”

“…NO… ajibath naahi (absolutely not) … we can’t reveal anything outside now… Avanti…please try calling her… when I tried the phone was out of range…” Her mother began to ramble and Avanti stood rooted to the floor anticipating the worst…what would happen now…? Would Keshav be vengeful…? As she saw her mother speak to her uncle in soft whispers Avanti thought of the day five months ago when her life had subtly changed…

Her father Dnyaneshwar Shankar Rane was science genius in the field of organic chemistry and also a double postgraduate with the second one being molecular biology. He was a supplier of medicinal components and specially created formulae for leading pharmaceutical companies. He had strong work ethics and strictly resorted to working with select companies and valued relationships more than money. He had done very well for himself and his family especially considering he had come to Mumbai as a sixteen-year-old with barely any money in his pocket. He had begun working as an office boy in a bank and attended night school to complete his inter and then following his graduation he immediately took up a job in a chemical company and continued to study further. He finished his post-graduation studies with flying colours and had already patented 5 special dye combinations on par with German technology. He had offers from chemical and pharmaceutical companies all over the world but he chose to stay back in the country. He joined a pharmaceutical giant where he worked for fifteen years before calling it quits and launching his own company… Vedshastra in Khopoli. He had built a personal research lab for himself where he had prepared and developed indigenous formulae for the pharmaceutical companies. The dynamic young director of the company where he had earlier worked often supported him financially and also helped with business relations. Today the simple company had grown into a conglomerate in itself boasting of over 200 employees.

On the personal front too, God had been kind. They lived a beautiful bungalow in Panvel… which was yet another dream of her father, to give the best of everything to his family. He had barely any space to spread his legs during his growing up years in their village but he wanted his daughters to have all the vast space he could offer. Savita was a devoted wife who had stood by her husband’s side throughout and they were blessed with two daughters Arpita and Avanti. Avanti, eight years younger to her sister was always her baba’s darling and he doted on her. Dnyaneshwar Rane loved his daughters fiercely and always made time for them irrespective of his schedules. His only lament was neither of his daughters were interested in taking over the company reins. Arpita loved modelling and lived a flamboyant life styles, busy flaunting clothes on her hourglass figure and gracing every party in town. Even touching just short of thirty-three she didn’t look a day older than Avanti herself… she was blessed with the perfect figure and a beautiful face. She had only studied till twelfth and not bothered further. She modelled freelance besides her love for dance and often attended gigs to the utmost annoyance of their father. Avanti was a total contrast to her sister and was matured and thoroughly grounded. All of twenty-four, she was a teacher by profession and taught in a local school close-by in the primary section. She loved her work and often volunteered in a night school in rural Panvel. Avanti was also a trained singer with a versatile and harmonious voice. She attended the nearby Gandharva mahavidhyalaya branch and was not gearing up to give the 4^th exam in the series. She gave a few performances at the local Rotary club mainly to fund charities and had a music room in their bungalow where she went through her riyaaz daily. She hoped to teach music to children someday…  Her father who shared her passion for music loved to hear her render some of his favourite abhangvaani or natya sangeet mainly the one in todi raga…  She had lost count how many times her baba would have requested the song from her…which she did with great pleasure… He often requested her to sing before his visitors dropped in for meetings, “Avu bala…” as he always lovingly addressed her. “… your voice is dripping with character and your sincerity… your songs just drive away my stress…” She always felt those were the best words of accolades she received in spite of a cupboard full of trophies won at various competitions!

Last year Vedshastra was listed on the stock exchange and they had a dedicated team of handpicked employees to manage the smooth running as her father concentrated on his dream project in his lab. Every evening she would spend time in her father’s study discussing her future plans where she wanted to start a fully equipped mobile school unit exclusively for the children of construction labourers. Her father had approved but had insisted she first settle down before launching full-fledged into any project. Her father also often had visitors during which she would stay away from the study as bio-chemistry or pharmaceutical talks didn’t interest her. Her father often told her the gist of his projects like the utility of particular formula he was developing and she loved to listen as to how it would work wonders for a particular disease alongside bringing down the costs of the medicines close to generic ones.

About ten months ago he had excitedly told her about a wonder compound he had been developing which he said would change the face of the pharmaceutical industry. He had collaborated with his old company and they were to develop the final product and send for trials. She didn’t know much because after that declaration she barely got to tete-a-tete with her father, something she regretted today. His personality had changed drastically and he would be locked up for hours in his study with visitors mainly the director of the pharma giant. It was during one such visits she had met… Keshav Goyal, the director of Novo-Supreme pharmaceutical corporation.

 Her mother had been unwell and the cook was also down with the flu. So, Avanti had taken the tray laden with homemade Aluwadi and ginger tea and stood outside her father’s study knocking at the door tentatively. However instead of her father it was opened by the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life. Her eyelids refused to blink as she brazenly stared at the fine specimen before her. Clad in a prim Nehru jacket the tall lean built suave look did his toned body total justice. She had never thought a beard would look so hot on a guy…with a sun-kissed brown tanned skin, overall, he oozed sensuality and opulence dripped all over. He had cleared his throat to startle her out of her fantasies and she had embarrassingly looked away and walked into the study. As she had placed the tea and snacks on the table finding place among the host of files and folders and balance sheets her father had rubbed his fatigued eyes and smiled. “Hey Keshav… this is my daughter Avanti… and Avu this is Keshav Goyal…the director of Novo-Supreme pharmaceuticals…” She had looked up to see the hunk smile revealing a perfect set of teeth and God…the man had dimples… really…? How could someone look so good…? She was not the one to fall for superficial beauty but that day, her heart fluttered and soared…she looked downwards at her clothes. She was clad in lose fitting track pants and t-shirt marked with her creativity in the kitchen…i.e spices and a couple of spots where the tea had splashed as she had poured in the cups. Her unruly curls were bunched up together in a messy bun and a mind of their own as they haphazardly flew all over her crown. She wanted the ground to open up right there and swallow her whole…

“Hello Ms. Avanti…” His baritone had uttered her name and her entire being had trembled. “…you sing very well…” What? When had he heard her?

Her father must have seen her confused and spoke. “…Ah…Avu he heard you when you sang for me that natya sangeet… ‘soham hara damaru baje….’  Do you know Keshav loves music as well…don’t you Keshav…?” He had nodded and smiled yet again. She hadn’t believed in love at first sight but if there was any such concept existing then this was it… she had fallen for him. “…and by the way Avu… Keshav here used to be a part time model too…” Of course, he was!

In the next couple of months that passed, she often saw Keshav visit them…at least twice a week and she could hear his car whenever she stayed up late to complete her school preps… well after 1AM. There was barely any exchange of communication between them except for occasional greetings or a couple of etiquette laden questions. He always made it a point to compliment her singing which made her put greater efforts into her riyaaz. She often timed her singing just before he arrived which was usually clockwork every week and he was seldom late…

About six months ago she had heard arguments from her father’s study and had been worried. It was 11 PM and she was up waiting for Arpita to return form one of her gigs… when would her tai ever learn…. She strolled down stealthily and stood eves dropping outside the study. She couldn’t make out much but she finally heard her father say. “…this is not done Keshav… just not done… I can’t be cheated like this… I have put everything on line here… even this home…” Avanti had held her t shirt tightly near her chest as her breath caught in her throat and she felt sick to her stomach. What was her father talking about?

She heard Keshav speak something but couldn’t process it. Her father then spoke again his voice sounding as if in agony. “…Keshav… I stand to lose everything… no…no… you can’t do this no…” She couldn’t her anything later. All she wanted to do was barge in and shake up her father asking him to tell her everything. What the hell…? Was Keshav the reason why her father, who was an epitome of kindness, was reduced to a heap of agonising mess…?

From that day onwards her father had sunken further, being a mere shadow of his former chirpy self. She and her mother tried their best to cheer him up. He occasionally drank late into the night and barely heard her sing. Avanti was extremely perturbed and wondered if she had to speak with Keshav since he was the only one who had long conversations behind closed doors with her father. One day about four months ago, her father called her to his study. He seemed composed like earlier times and she was thrilled. Before she could ask what he had wanted to hear from her, he spoke. “…Uh…Avu bala there is something I want to tell you… I haven’t told your mother as yet…”

“…Um…baba is everything OK…?”

“…uh…yes…yes…all OK…Actually I have fixed Arpita’s marriage…”

“…what…?” She was stunned. “…with whom…?”

“…you know him bala… its Keshav…”

Avanti thought she would collapse right there as she gripped the edge of the mahogany table. “…But Arpita tai… she agreed…?” her sister had been commitment phobic from the go.

“…I spoke with her today morning when you were away at work… Its high time she settles in life… Keshav knows Arpita from their modelling background… He isn’t much older to her… just about a couple of years…he has dated her as well in the past… and most of all, he knows her well, Avu… but there is something more…”

Struggling to hold back her tears Avanti asked him. “…yes baba…?”

“…our finances are bad and everything depends on the success of this formula… but it’s going to be a while… the current profits will barely sustain the overheads in the company. So… marrying Keshav will make him a part of the company as well through Arpita’s shares and he will invest further indirectly… Since he is the one going on board with the finished product based on my formula, he will be having vested interests as well so he will be dedicated…”

“…But baba…isn’t this a wrong reason to get married…?”

“…Avu… Keshav really likes Arpita…a lot… she needs to be practical and grounded now…enough of her globe-trotting shenanigans…” Her father sounded furious but then immediately sighed and continued. “…Keshav can handle her theatrics with utmost panache of his own… Your sister needs someone like him to get her derailed life back on track… and the best part is… she has approved of him as well and for a change without any arguments…”

Avanti only nodded and walked out of the study leaving her father pondering in thought. She rushed to her room and threw herself on the bed sobbing into the pillow. For the first time in her life she had fallen in love… but with a man who liked and was all set to marry her sister…

Life was such a bitch…

(Glossary: natya sangeet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangeet_Natak

                 Abhangavani: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhang

                  bala: endearment in Marathi, for ‘child’)

Copyright Disclaimer: All content posted here is a work of fiction and original work based on the author’s imagination. There is no intention to disrespect any person or faith. Any resemblance to any person living or dead or any community is purely coincidental. No part of the content can be copied, reproduced or posted anywhere else either entirely or in parts, without the consent of the author.

 The stillness of the night catching up with her, the raw smell of the sleeping foliage engulfing the confines of the dark forest, Avanti ran… just ran…the crushing of dried leaves barging through the silent night, her silhouette cutting through the breeze as the cold air hit her face numbing her lips sealed tightly. Suddenly there was a loud noise and the cold replaced by heat gradually increasing its intensity. Was she falling into a furnace…? She halted and saw something burning, not very far from where she stood, the fire spread its vicious tentacles around as the acrid smell of the burning metal clogged her nostrils making her nauseous… and there was that other odour too… she didn’t know how but she was sure it was the smell of cremated bodies…the smouldering fire claiming everything in its wake. And then she heard…her baba… “…Avu…bala…” he was distressed. But she was stuck to the gravelled road and her lips still couldn’t move to make her scream… her arms flailing as she tried to make her move in a last-ditch attempt to save her father… no…no… there was a lot she had to discuss with him…he couldn’t leave her. Then there was a siren… siren?

Avanti Dnyaneshwar Rane jolted up awake as the shrill buzz of the alarm pierced the silence in her room. She wiped her brows and moved her night gown that was drenched in sweat away from her body as she glanced at the glowing numbers on her clock…4AM. She yawned as she touched her chest trying to calm down her racing heart. The nightmare had returned yet again…with the same feverish vengeance… exhausting her and numbing her to the core as she tried to stop the palpitations. She had been consistently having similar ones in the initial days following her father’s accident in the plane crash that claimed his life about three months ago. Her mother and older sister Arpita were a mess but she had tried to be the strong one… the warrior as her baba lovingly called her… and had held the pieces together. Suddenly she had grown up from being the baby in the family and had tried her best to get things on track. She looked around as her eyes settled on a framed picture of her baba with his dear daughters whom he loved the most. How she missed him… she blinked back tears.

Today was the D-day… her father’s final wish… Arpita’s wedding. Baba had personally fixed the alliance a little before he had… passed. It was an important amalgamation of not just two hearts but also two families and two business ventures which were the talk of the town. Avanti knew it too well to jeopardise anything with her feelings getting in the way. The pall of gloom that had descended upon the Rane household with her baba’s death had slightly cleared with the preparations involving the upcoming nuptials. Her mother had decided to honour her late husband’s wishes and had decided to go ahead with the marriage, to Avanti’s utmost relief. She knew she had other thigs to worry about with this one crossed off the list. The groom had agreed to keep the celebration to bare minimum. Everyone around was happy…except for Avanti. She should have been thrilled for her sister… but she wasn’t. Guilt enwrapped her completely as her throat clogged with emotions. She shut her eyes tightly to prevent her tears from escaping the boundaries of her already reddened eyes, but all she saw was a pair of dark brown piercing eyes adorning the wet rugged face, the bearded intensity of his facial expressions causing her heart to thud out of her chest. Why did it have to be him… of all the guys in the world? How could she lust after her soon-to-be brother-in-law? She had thought she had gotten over her infatuation…

She was a hypocrite of the greatest order. On one end she pushed her blissfully careless older sister towards taking stock of her responsibilities that lay in store post matrimony while on the other end she had her mind deep into an erotic rhapsody with the man Arpita was all set to marry. Avanti shook her head as if to drive away forbidden thoughts. Her soon to be brother-in-law was a thorough gentleman whose even minutest courtesies had charmed her to nauseating heights. She had silently been in love with him for months…and it had been difficult to finally accept the reality and move on. She wondered…as she rubbed her face to drive away sleep… if she would ever fall in love again.  

Avanti released an audible sigh… she had cried enough these months to last a lifetime and she would further wallow in self-pity later. For now, she had to get out of her dreamy enchantment and get on with the preparations in progress. The Rane household was filled with their close relatives and though she hated the chaos, she was glad her mother wasn’t alone. the poor woman was lonely as it is with her husband gone and daughters busy in their own world. In fact she was all set to go to their village for a few months and Avanti had personally seen to the arrangements. An equal number of relatives were put up in a hotel right beside the marriage hall and she had to call and check if they were comfortable. The bridal make-up woman and hairdresser would be arriving in an hour and she had to see to the other arrangements also before they left for the venue. Before everything though she needed that hot water shower to fire up her senses after a mere three-hour disturbed sleep.

She had just got into her loose cotton salwar kameez, post her bath to take over the kitchen supervision duties when she heard screaming and chaos. Wait… it was her mother screaming her lungs out right next door…Arpita’s room… Her breath caught thinking about the last time her mother had screamed …it was when they had received the news about her father’s demise… Wasting no more time she rushed out of her room wondering what had caused her mother distress at 4.45 AM in the morning. There was a gathering of her startled relatives outside her sister’s room, the marigold flower garland adorning the entrance now lying lifelessly, as the curious houseguests mercilessly trampled over them in their zeal to quench their curiosity…

She politely made way into the room and shut the door behind her, after shoving everyone outside. Only her sobbing mother’s frail hunched form stood bent over her sister’s table, and her maternal uncle faced the window outside moving a thin wrinkled trembling hand over his scanty hair. Arpita was nowhere in sight… Avanti glanced around the messy room littered by bedsheets and scanty clothes all around… but that was how her sister lived… in a room resembling a pigsty. She was sure the little children from her school had more discipline than her sister. The fragrance of the original Chanel coco perfume wafted through her nostrils. Her sister used only genuine toiletries and cosmetics…speaking of which Arpita’s dressing table usually cluttered with her countless little bottles of concealers, foundations and other make up paraphernalia was visibly empty. What the hell was going on…?

She walked towards her mother. “…Aai…kay jhale…?” (What happened, mother?)

Her mother glanced up startled from her stupor. “…Avu…bala…did Arpita tell you something… anything…?”

Avanti shook her head in the negative. Her sister forever averse to commitment was having cold feet last night… and she had probably been upset as well but Avanti had counselled her and all had seemed fine before she had gone to bed. However, her inner panic now touched the roof as her mother handed over a crumpled piece of paper to her. She opened it slowly as an anticipation of upcoming dread settled in her heart.

Dear Aai and Avanti,

I can’t do this… I am leaving…

Sorry for disappointing you all as always but I have my reasons… Don’t look for me.

Love you all.

Arpita.

Avanti sat on the chair with a thud. Her sister had always run away whenever the going got tough but this time she had screwed up royally. Not just her life but theirs as well. She had become the quintessential run-away bride…

Copyright Disclaimer: All content posted here is a work of fiction and original work based on the author’s imagination. There is no intention to disrespect any person or faith. Any resemblance to any person living or dead or any community is purely coincidental. No part of the content can be copied, reproduced or posted anywhere else either entirely or in parts, without the consent of the author.