Union

The curtains opened welcoming the sun rays and instantly Raghav Rao shouted , " so ne do na saree ka dukaan! Kya hamesha subah subah utha deti ho ? "
As there was no response, he woke up with a jolt looking that the servant who said  " sorry sir , par aap hi ne kaha tha subah uthane ko aur meeting je baare mein yaad dilane ko ". He nodded and the servant left.

He brushed his hands into his hairs cursing why did he miss her so much.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••

At kitchen counter , she was preparing tea and parathas and she instantly shouted aloud involved in cooking , " Ghamandi Rao breakfast tayaar hein. Jaldi aao . Meeting hein aaj tumhari aur ye Farhad abhi tak nai aya , kaha gaye ye log .... Sun rahe ho ?"

Not getting any answer , she moved to dining table only to find her kaka and Nikhil looking at her confused while waiting for breakfast . She realised and closed her eyes in disbelief. She spoke , " sorry kaka , abhi breakfast laati hun " and moved away . She walked inside absent-mindedly and held the hot tea vessel with bare hands .

"Aah! " She shrieked and removed her fingers instantly to see them already burnt . A pair of hands held her and dragged her towards the wash basin opening the tap under her fingers .

" Ye kya karte rahte ho aap ? Dikhta nai hein  kya , garam tha voh aur kahan khoyi hui ho aap ?" To which she answered ," kahin nai Farhad " absent-mindedly.

The hands stopped their action. She sensed it and saw that it was Nikhil who was scolding her not Farhad.

She said , " sorry Nikhil , mein ne nai dekha .... Woh ...." She tried to reason out.

Nikhil answered  " koi baat nai didi .... Aajao aapko ointment laga deta hun..."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

" Ye kya bakwaas banaya hein ? " He scolded ramakrishna.

" Ji aap hi ka toh fav banaya hein .... Idly wada ... " He spoke with a sad face .

" Idly wada nai Paraathein ..... Mein paratha khata hun ramakrishna " raghav retorted

" Woh vadina nai hein na toh nai banaye Anna" he reasoned to which Raghav closed his eyes and asks him to go away .

Within a minute Farhad comes in and says , " Anna woh consignment mil gaya hein toh meeting ke liye nikle ?" To which Raghav said , " ha chalo " stood up and started moving , leaving behind his unfinished plate.

A voice from behind said ," par khana toh poora khake jaao " to which they both answered together , " aake kha lete hein , saree ka dukaan / vahini " and the voice replied , " kirti " making them turn around to see her glaring at them . They both looked at each other and said , " sorry kirti dekha nai tumhe " and she replied , " it's okay. Meeting ke liye All the best ." They faintly smiled at her and left.

While walking to the main door they saw an uninvited guest at the entrance. The person was sternly looking at them .

R : arey aap ? Aayiye na ... Andar ayiye

He invites the guest to come in and shouts in happiness , " aey ! Saree ka dukaan ! Dekho kaun aaya hein.... Bataunga toh bohot khush ho jayega tum ..... Jaldi aao " to which kirti came running out of the kitchen and stood in front of him glaring in disbelief spoke , " Anna! Pallavi nai hein ... aap fir se bhool gaye "

The person was standing in the centre of the hall watching him curiously

Raghav closed his eyes and turned around to that person saying , " baithiye na ....... Arey! Ramakrishna paani lekar aao " to which the person signalled to stop him by hand ✋

Person (p) : "acting achhi kar lete ho .... Kahan se seekha , " surprising everyone.

R : aisi koi baat nai hein

P1 : "toh fir ye sab kya hein Raghav ?" Raising the voice a bit louder.

Raghav widened his eyes and the person continued

P1 : " andhe ( blind ) ho gaye ho ya fir bhaire ( deaf ) ho gaye jo tum sach ko dekhna aur sunna bhool gaye ho ? "

R :  "kya bol rahe ho aap ?"

P1 : "Gaikwad ! Andar aao "

Then a lawyer by name Gaikwad comes in and hands over legal papers to them. RR was shocked to see them

P1 : " abhi bhi samajh mein nai aaya ?"

R : " mein ..... Ye .... Sab ...." He struggled.

P1 : " kaise Raghav ! Ye sab tum soch bhi
         kaise sakte ho ?"

R : " woh .... Mein .... Aai......."

Slap !

Yes ! A slap landed on the cheek turning the place into red and leaving a shock on everyone's face.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

" Pallavi " a voice roared in Deshmukh
house.

She ran to the entrance from her room only to find an uninvited guest at the entrance

P : " arey aap yahaan .... Aayiye na andar " by dragging the person inside the house .

At the centre of the hall  the person stopped and said , " chodo mera haat " in anger. Everyone at home surrounded them in the hall after they heard the voice.  Pallavi was stunned by the action and stood facing that person

Person (p2 )  : " ye kya hein pallavi ? Ye
                       Ummeed nai thi mujhe tumse!!"   angrily spoke showing her the legal documents.

She stood there silently with her head bent  down surrounded by  Milind kaka , baba , nikhil , Amrutha , Sulochana kaku.

When baba stepped forward to speak something , the person stopped him by showing a hand✋ instantly halting him in his place.

P2 : " mein apni bahu se baat kar rahi hun aapki beti se nahi "

Pallavi shot her head up and looked with her teary eyes.

P2 : " Prashanth , andar aao "

A lawyer comes in with some papers in hand and stands beside that person .

P2 : " sabko padhke sunao , Prashanth "

Prashanth : " Mam , aap donon ko 2 mahine baad court mein aana hoga aur uske baad aap dono alag ho jayinge hamesha ke liye , mutual consent ke basis pe divorce mil jayega . Ye raha court ka notice " shocking everyone in the house.

Pallavi's eyes hardly held back he tears and they gushed out of her huge black eyes.

P2 : " yehi chahti ho na tum ? Bolo ? Ab kya
        hua ? Ab kyun ro rahi ho ye sun ke ?"

P : " mein .... Woh .... Amma ..."

Slap !

Yes ! A slap landed on the cheek turning the place into red and leaving a shock on everyone's face

•••••••••••••••••••••••

[ Please imagine a parallel scene ]

Imagine these words said by P1 to RR &  P2 to P [ same dialogue to both of them ]

P1 & P2 : " sharam aani chahiye tumhe ... Aise karne se pehle socha nai , ki kya haal hoga uska tumhare bina .... Kya tum donon ka rishta itna kamzoor hein ? Kya ye kaagaz ke tukde tum logon ke rishtey ko naapengey ? ( Does these legal papers measure the depth of  your relationship)

R & P mumbled a 'sorry' , crying badly infront of them , fell to the ground on their knees closing their eyes with their palms .

Their families stood helpless witnessing their pain.

••••••••••••••••••••••

RR Mansion:

P1 went to Raghav , bend down to his level , held his cheeks and said , " itna pyaar dil mein bhar ke kis se jhoot bol rahe ho Raghav ? Duniya se ya apne aap se ? "

To which Raghav hugged the person tightly and cried his heart out as if unloading all the burden he had been carrying this whole week. The person was caressing Raghav as if consoling a son , rubbing his back to soothe his pain.
The sight was pleasing to everyone's eyes. Farhad and Kirti were shedding tears silently whereas the whole staff was emotional on looking at their boss.

P1: " bas karo Raghav . Ab shaant ho jao . Chalo ! Ab Dulhan Ko wapis bhi toh laana hein, to which Raghav chuckled through his  tears and stoop up.

They both walked away from RR Mansion only to reach their destination.

Kirit knew only half truth  and was standing there emotionally confused. She came forward and stopped Farhad by asking , " ye sab kya hein Farhad ? Tum kuch bolne ka kasht karoge ?" Being her own self. Farhad said , " abhi nahi Kirti , aake batata hun , abhi toh vahini ko lene jaana hein."
Kirti smiled at him & said ," mujhe saath nai le jaoge ?" to which he smiled & said,"chalo"

•••••••••••••••••

Deshmukh house :

P2 moved towards pallavi and kneeled to her level by lifting her head up asking ,

P2 : kya tumhe nai lagta ki usko uss halat mein chodke tumne apne aap se muh mod liya hein ? Kya reh paogi uske bina ?

To which pallavi hugged that person so tightly and cried out mumbling 'no' many times . The person caressed her hairs smoothly with hands as if calming her down while she was letting out everything at this moment.

P2 : "rona band karo pallavi. Mujhe patah tha ki tum uske bina nahi rahoge. Tumhari koi galti nai hein inn sab mein .... Mein jaanti hun na tumhe .... Ab bas karo aur utho."

Pallavi stands up looking confused at the person. All others were also confused on hearing that person.

P2 : "ye sab kuch pallavi ne nai kiya hein balki kisi ne usse zabardasti karwaya hein." Stunning everyone with the revelation.

Pallavi rooted to her ground dreading the break of her promise which made her take this huge step. She was about to speak when she heard ,

P1 : " Aaj nai pallavi " hearing which everyone turned their gaze to the entrance

There stood Raghav Rao & the person at the entrance. Pallavi's eyes beamed by looking at him. They walked into Deshmukh house .

Milind : " ye ho kya raha hein ? Koi mujhe batayega ?"

P1 : "kyun Sulochana .... Tumhe kuch kehna nai hein ya fir mein hi bol dun?"

Sulochana was horrified by everyone's gaze & especially the gaze of Raghav Rao. He was fuming in anger now. He moved forward only to be stopped by pallavi who said , " Nai Raghav " holding him by her tiny arms.

P2 : " isne pallavi ko blackmail kiya ki agar usne Raghav ko divorce nI degi toh voh Deshmukh house ko bech degi , isi liye ye sab kuch hua "

Sullu kaku (🙊) : par aap sab ko patah kaise
                                 chala ??? Zaroor pallavi ne
                                 kaha hoga...  Moving towards pallavi in anger . When Raghav was about to react , Farhad walked in front of his  Anna and vahini and spoke

Farhad : " agar vahini ko kuch kaha toh mujhse bura aur koi nai hoga ......" Shocking everyone in the house

Anger was bursting out his red eyes.

" Agar vahini ko kuch bolna hota toh wo Anna ko kabhi divorce papers nai deti, naa hi ghar chodke aati aur naa hi ek hafte tak wait karti . Khabar daar unpe aur ilzaam lagaya toh " warned kaku while pointing his fingers at her .

He turned towards his Anna and vahini and said , " sorry ! Der kardi mein ne , ek hafta lag gaya nai toh mein isse vahin pe ...." He moved forward towards sullu kaku only to be stopped by nikhil who said , " Nai Farhad bhai ! Aap apne haat gande mat karo ! " By taking him aside from kaku.

Sullu kaku : " han han sab mujhe hi galat teherao. Kisi ko meri aur meri betiyon ka dukh nai dikhta . Inn dono ne mere betiyon ki aur meri zindagi barbaad kar diya hein aur mein inhe chain se kaise jeene deti ? Mein toh kehti hun ki inn donon ko kabhi khushiyaan naseeb ..... " before she completed , she was stopped.

Slap !

Yes ! A slap landed on her cheek turning the place red shocking everyone

This time it was Milind kaka

M : " chup ! Ek dum chup !  Apni galtiyon ke waje se betiyon ki zindagi kharab hui hein , inn donon ke vaje se nai .Sharam nai aati tumhe inn dono ko blame karte hue ..... "

The sight which Raghav and Pallavi witnessed made them beyond happy. They were surprised how people were protecting them in all ways, Farhad , nikhil , kaka , They were overwhelmed. THEY REALISED THAT THEY HAD A FAMILY NOW.

Milind turns around to pallavi and says ," maaf kar do beti " holding his hands as if apologising.

Sullu kaku burnt in anger and said , " usse maafi mangne ki koi zaroorat nai " to which Milind shouted ," muh band karo ! Agar ek aur shabd nikla tumhare muh se toh Gaikwad se keh kar humari talaaq ki baat chala dunga " which horrified sullu kaku .

M : " iske Aur  mere taraf se maafi maangta hun pallu " to which pallavi moved forward nodding her head in 'no' and
said ," aap log mere apne ho aur aap logon ke liye kuch bhi kar sakti hun kaka "

Raghav held pallavi by her shoulders and said , " Kaan khol kar sunlo sab, mere biwi ko koi pareshaan kare toh ye mein bardaash nai karunga .... Raghav Rao ki ye dhamki apne zehen mein daal lo " to which kirti chuckled. He took her away from house after taking leave from everyone.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

P

2 to P1 : " ab mein chalti hun , bahu ki aane ki tayyari bhi toh karni hein "

P1 : " jee haan . Bohot khush naseeb hein hamari pallu "

P2 : " aur hum bhi "

They both smiled and hugged each other on successful completion of their task.

Yes guys ! They were none other than Pallavi's aai and  Raghav's amma , who were behind this masterplan including Farhad .

••••••••••••••••••••

He took her to a secluded place and stood their silently facing away from her. She knew that he was hurt and she moved forward to het close to him.

P : Raghav !

He didn't respond. Her tears flowed down.

P : mujhe maaf kardo. Please ! Tumhara wada todne ke liye mujhe jo saza dena chahte ho dedo par usse pehle mere baat suno . ........

He didn't budge.

P: patah hi nai chala kab tumse jud gayi aur ye soch hi nai payi ki ,
kya mein reh paungi tumhare bina ?
Jab samajh mein aya tab bohot der ho chuka tha .... Iss ek hafte mein mujhe ye ehsaas hua ki TUM MERE JEENE KE VAJE BAN GAYE HO RAGHAV .....

Before she could continue further  , she was taken into a bone crushing hug by Raghav .

R : TUJHE CHOD KAR REH NA PAUNGA MEIN ...... Please aage aise khayal bhi mat lana apne dil mein .... Seh nai paunga mein ek aur judaai ......

P : mein bhi

And that's how they promised each other of staying together till the eternity 💖

***************** THE END **************

That's it guys !

Phew 😪 Finally done and dusted !! ☺️

2000 + words  🙈

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Writer_Ak signing off !! ☺️❤️