Singhania House

The family of four sits for breakfast and Madhu begins to make braids out of Raina’s hair. Meanwhile, the doorbell rings. Viren who’s about to sit near his daughter moves to open the door. As he opens the door, he is shocked and raged to see the person in front of him. A rage is building inside him and he questions the person instead of inviting the person inside. 

“What are you doing here” He asks coldly. 

“I want to talk to you. Maine kal tumhare dad se baat ki thi!” The person replies. 

“I don’t want to talk to you. Didn’t I make it clear 5 years ago!! Kyun aaye ho tum??” Viren yells at the man. 

Yes! He’s no one but Vikrant Ahuja, the man mentioned by his father the other night. He’s the part of his past and he wants to forget him. But, he’s here yet again, and Viren feels that he’ll take his daughter away from her. 

“ Viren…we can talk….” Vikrant begins to say but Viren cuts him. 

“ I don’t want to talk to you, Vikrant!!! Jo kuch hua wo kaafi nahi tha kya jo tum ab laut ke aaye ho!!! Just leave my house isse pehle ki main tumhe dhakke maar ke nikalun!” Viren rages and grabs the man’s collar. 

Vikrant is shocked and he didn’t know that Viren will get so much angry with his glimpse. Yes! He has come to him, he wants to talk about something but the guy is not ready. Well, his past has been painful and Vikrant has been a part of it. He hates this man and that lady from his past. He doesn’t want them around him and his daughter. 

“Aur ek baat apni behen se keh dena, she won’t get anything from me! Aur meri beti ki taraf agar usne aankh utha ke dekha na! Toh main bhi nahi jaanta ki main kya karunga uske sath. Now just leave.” Saying so, he pushes Vikrant and closes the door on his face. 

Madhu and Shrikant are shocked while little Raina is scared to see her father so angry. He has always been gentle to her and today he is angry. Out of fear, she begins to cry. Madhu lifts her in her arms, trying to comfort her. But the girl didn’t stop crying, instead frees herself from her grandma’s arms and runs to her room.  

“Kya zaroorat thi gussa karne ki? Tu shant kyun nahi reh sakta?” madhu scolds him. 

“Maa! Tumhe pata hain. Main Raina ko kisi keemat pe uske paas jaane nahi de sakta! Usne mujhse sab kuch chheen liya hain na! Toh ab kyun wo hamare paas aana chahte hain.”  Viren says angrily. 

“Lekin Viren….”Shrikant begins to speak but Viren looks at him firmly. 

“I’m sorry, dad! Main is baare mein aur baat nahi karna chahta. Aur Raina! Usko manana mujhe aata hain.”  Viren says and moves to his daughters’ room. 

*****

The girl is sitting gloomily on her bed. Viren enters in but the girl turns away her face. He knows, she’s angry and scared too. He sits beside her and calls her name. 

“Mujhe aapse baat nahi karni.” Raina says. 

“Par papa ko toh karni hain na. Idhar dekho.”  He tries to turn her face but she jerks her hand. 

“Noii! Aap mujhe bhi dantoge!” Raina looks at her dad. 

“Arey nai! Main apni guriya ko dantunga bhala! Papa aapse bahut pyar karte hain.” He says. 

“Toh aapne un uncle ko kyun danta?” Raina asks innocently. 

Viren sighs at the question. It’s the same question that she used to ask him. She claimed to love him, to care for him, to worry about him, and all that one would expect from a true relationship. Little did he know, that was just the part of the screenplay written by her. She just ditched him, didn’t care for the love that he gave her, and left him alone. Also, she didn’t care about the little one she birthed. That’s a long story. 

Viren sighs and his trance is broken by Raina’s babyish voice. He looks at her, the girl is standing in front of him, boring her big eyes in his. 

“Bolo na dadda! Aapne kyun danta un uncle ko?”  Raina questions. 

“Wo bad uncle they. Isliye maine unhe danta! Ab wo yahan nahi aayenge.”  Viren says. 

“Fir aap gussa bhi nahi karoge?” Raina looks at him while climbing in his lap. 

“Nahi!” he nods his head cutely with a light smile. 

“Pakka promise?”  She asks, she wants to confirm that he won’t scold anyone without any reason. 

“Han baba! Promise. Papa Raina se kiya hua promise kabhi todte hain kya?”  He asks at which the little girl nods her head negatively. 

“Toh fir! Ab chalo, shoes pehno fir papa aapko school drop kardenge. Lekin han! Jab tak dadu ya papa lene nahi aate, aap school se bahar nahi jaoge. Okay?” He instructs her, for, he fears that Vikrant might reach Raina at her school.

“Okay dadda! Chalo.” She raises her hands towards him and he lifts her in his arms and moves out of the room. 

His parents smile to see them together. Madhu keeps Raina’s lunchbox in her bag and Viren tells his dad that he’ll meet him in the afternoon as he has an urgent meeting to attend. The oldie couple smile at their children and watch them leaving the house. The day got a bad start but now it is better, as the father-daughter duo are together. 

*****

Bulbul leaves the house with her daughter and nephew and they drive to her school. Anamika is sitting in the front seat while Ritik is in the backseat. Bulbul notices that Ritik is silent. 

“Kya hua, champ! Itne shant kyun ho? Mumma ne danta?” Bulbul asks. 

“Nai Maasi!  Mumma ne kuch nahi kaha.” Ritik smiles at her mother figure. 

“ Toh chup chap kyun baithe ho? Roz ki tarah bolte kyun nahi?” Bulbul asks casually. 

“Bhaiya ne homework nahi kiya toh unko teacher se dant padegi,  isliye wo udaas hain!” Anamika giggles in order to tease her brother. 

“Aisa hai kya? Mumma ko bhi nahi bataya?” Bulbul narrows her eyes, looking at Ritik through the mirror. 

“Nooi! Maine sara homework kiya! Maasi, aajkal Anuu bahut shaitan ho gayi hain! Dekho kaise satati rehti hain.” Ritik makes a face while Anamika clicks her tongue at her brother. 

“ Main sataungi! Mumma se shikayat karoge toh bhi! Aur maasi se bhi. ” Anamika makes a face at Ritik.

The banter between the brother and sister makes Bulbul smile. She smiles at her two precious people – one is the token of her love, her daughter, while the other one is the love she asked for, her nephew and her crime partner. 

She’s looking at them lovingly, when she notices that they have arrived to the school. She stops the car and asks the sibling duo to move out of the car. She hugs them, kiss their heads and asks them to stay in the school premises until Ruhana comes to pick them in the afternoon. They nod their heads and run inside the school, after waving to her. Seeing them disappear in the school crowd, Bulbul sighs deeply and leaves for her meeting

Mehrotra House 

Bulbul leaves taking Anamika and Ritik with her. She assures Ruhana that she will call her when she will reach the meeting venue. As they leave, Ruhana takes a deep sigh and turns to move into the kitchen when Vineet holds her hands and makes her sit on the table. The housemaid hands him a tray and he sets it on the table. She is amused and he smiles at her, forwarding the cup of tea towards his wife. She is astonished at his gesture. She knows he must have made the tea, as he loves to pamper her. 

“Kabhi khud ka bhi dhyan rakh liya karo.” He says softly. 

“Kyun? Tum ho na mera dhyan rakhne ke liye! Main baaki sabka dhyan rakhungi, tum mera khayal rakho. Wo tum ache se kar sakte ho.” Ruhana says, as she sips her tea. 

“Ofcourse! Lekin tum….. Tum kyun itni pareshan ho? I mean, I know the reason, lekin….” He says, but she keeps her finger on his lips. 

“Shh! Tumhare hote hue main pareshan kaise ho sakti hoon, Vineet? Tumne hamesha mera hi nahi Bulbul ka bhi dhyan rakha. Tumne usey  ek dost, infact, ek father ki tarah guide kiya!  Aur ab tak kar rahe ho. Wo aaj jo kaam kar rahi hain, wo meri wajah se nahi, tumhari wajah se hain.” Ruhana says, boring her eyes into his. 

“ Aur mere pas pareshan hone ki koi wajah nahi hain, Vineet. Meri zindagi mein jo sabse khas log hain, wo toh mere sath hi hain. Tum ho, tum sath mein hote ho na, toh aisa lagta hain jaise main har mushkil paar kar lungi. You are my confidence. Aur Bulbul! Wo bhi toh mera hissa hain. Wo khush hoti hai na toh aisa lagta hain jaise duniya bhar ki khushiyan meri jholi mein aa gayi hain.” she continues to pour out her feelings. 

“ Aur tumhe main kya kahun? I mean tumne jo kiya hain wo toh koi nahi kar sakta. Thank you, Vineet. Agar tum nahi hote toh ye sab kuch possible na ho pata. Na main khud ko sambhaal paati, aur na hi Bulbul ko. So, thank you.”  She says, touching her forehead with his. 

“Jo maine kiya wo toh mera farz tha. Tumhari taraf hi nahi, Bulbul ki taraf bhi toh mere kuch farz hain. Isliye itna mat socho. And I promise, Bulbul aur Anamika ki zindagi mein bhi khushiyan zaroor aayengi. You know, I don’t forget my promises.”  He says and she smiles. 

She finally hugs him, resting her head on his chest while he kisses her head. Yes! She wanted him to say that things will get better for her sister, and she knows he would always find a way. 

To Be Continued.

Who is Vikrant?

Who's the lady from Viren's past?

Will things get fine as Vineet has said to Ruhana?

Stay tuned.