Part 3

The Maheshwari mansion was decorated for the most awaited event, Sameer's 21st birthday. Maheshwariji had a barrage of instructions to Munshiji about the decorations, cake, food and music.

It was hardly 7:00 a.m yet but the shrill scream had stopped the flurry of activities around the household that Maheshwariji was trying to get ready for his dear grandchild to give him the surprise of his life and the best possible birthday ever. He directed Munshiji to continue the left-over decorations and draw the dark curtains to block-out any outside light though it was already grey indicating another rainy day of September with a cool morning.

The old man hurried to Sameer's room as he might need to be comforted after the petrifying nightmare. The nightmares had bothered Sameer since his infancy as he had started to speak immediately after he calmed down in the morning he had first opened his eyes. He looked like any normal infant, requiring the same care and concern but held some uncanny powers that were a part of his constitution, though abnormal for others. However, the frequency of these nightmares had increased over the past few months, indicating the signs and symptoms of his nearing youth.

Jaiprakashji threw open the door but the sight halted him in his tracks. Sameer was sitting in his bed but didn't have the usual haggard look. Rather, his eyes were closed and a serene smile adorned his visage. He seemed to be in deep meditation trying to inhale and breathe something in the air around him. In his bright yellow night suit, ke looked radiant as a part of the morning sunrays filtrating though the curtains.

Sensing someone around with gaze on him, Sameer opened his eyes and turned towards him. Long-gone was the haunting look in his eyes that usually bothered him for several waking hours, instead was replaced with an unmatched joy of gaining inner peace.

Sameer was delighted to first see the person he loved the most in the world, "Nanu!" He exclaimed happily and jumped out of bed to greet him. He touched his Nanu's feet and hugged him excitedly.

"Arre buss buss beta, jeeta reh, hazaaron saal jeeta reh aur bahut khush reh. Eeshwar kare teri har ichcha puri ho, tu jo chahe tujhe sab mile". Nanu blessed him with every single prayer he had in his quiver.

"Thanks you Nanu, aapka aashirwad mere liye best gift hai...par aapne promise kiya tha ki mujhe 21st birthday par mujhe Mummy se milaaoge! Toh bataaiye, kahan hai Mummy? Kab aayengi? Meri toh aankhein taras gayi hai unhe dekhne ke liye. Aapne unke naam ke alava kabhi kuch nahi bataya aur na hi Papa ke baare mein".

"Sab bataunga, abhi tu chal mere saath!" Nanu held Sameer's hand and started taking him towards the hall. Sameer was amused but allowed being taken wordlessly. When Sameer stood in the center of the dark hall, Nanu clapped twice and several lights and sconces lighted up immediately on the walls, curtains and ceilings. Happy Birthday Sameer in multicolours and golden sparkle adorned one of the largest walls of the hall. Flower arrangements were set up on all the flat surfaces and looked exuberant. They smelled heavenly when he breathed in deeply as his senses were very strong and he could smell a blooming bud miles away. But none of these flowers smelled like the fragrance he breathed in this morning. He longed to inhale the same scent but kept quiet as his Nanu had painstakingly done so much to brighten up his day.

He felt overwhelmed with Nanu's unconditional love and just hugged him, "thank you Nanu! Thank you so much!"

The emotional moment between Nanu and Sameer was pleasantly interrupted by a loud cacophony "happy birthday Sameer!"

Sameer disentangled from the hug and announced without looking, "Munna Pandit!" He ran to the boys and they hugged in their signature trio. "Happy birthday bhai!"
"Thank you yaaron! Par tum ab aa rahe ho? Raat ko kyon nahi aaye? Phone bhi nahi kiya!"

Pandit answered for both, "Arre woh Nanajib ne mana kiya tha. Kaha ki subah tujhe surprise dena chahte hai. Toh hum surprise kaise kharab karte!"

"Waise Nanaji, surprise toh bahut hi badhiya plan kiya hai aapne! Yeh saara taam-jaam dekhke lag raha hai ki aaj shaam ko badi wali party hogi", stated Munna.

Party hogi na, kyon nahi...par uske liye shaam tak intezaar karne ki kya zaroorat nahi hai....Ramdhari...." Nanu hollered.

And out came Ramdhari from the kitchen with a huge round pineapple cake with creamy white frosting placed on a trolley. The cake was covered with 21 slender multicoloured lighted candles on the outermost perimeter of the sweet. The flat surface was beautifully embossed with cherry red color jelly with 'Happy Birthday Dearest Sameer'.

A 1000watt smile broke out on Nanu's beloved child's face. Munshiji also appeared from hiding, from where he was operating the lights.

"Ab soch kya raha hai? Cake kaat!" Nanu recommended.

"Haan yaar jaldi kaat! Bina naashta kiye hi aa gaye the ki aaj toh tere saath subah ke naashte mein cake khayenge", a foodie Pandit exclaimed.

"Bhookadon, gift bhi laaye ho ya sirf cake khane aa gaye?" Sameer jibed his besties.

"Hamari dosti mein ek usool tha na! Na gift lena na dena! Sab kuch hum teenon ka!" Pandit declared.

"Nalayakon", Sameer teased them knowing that they never meant ill. He obliged and blew the candles amidst the chorus of the age-old birthday song sung by his loved ones in the highest asynchrony that would be painful to any set of ears but was melody to his. Yes, he was the happiest person alive celebrating his 21st birthday with the only family he ever knew. His Nanu, who his father mother friend philosopher teacher and guide. Munshiji was the saviour caretaker and his magician who resolved any issues and had saved his skin countless times from Nanu's wrath. Ramdhari was no less than a brother. They had almost grown up together. He had stayed in this house since birth and after his father Gangadhar passed away, he happily accepted his place as the cook and caretaker of the house. Nanu forced him to study until class 12 in a local hindi school, but seeing his love for cooking, he didn't force him further but encouraged to pursue his career as a cook. But the shy lad was just happy taking care of his Malik and Sameer Bhaiyya. Munna was a distant cousin but his best friend and brother for as long as he could remember. They had met Pandit in class 8 while studying in the best Convent school of Ahmedabad, St. Peters. While
Munna wasn't great in studies, Pandit hardly managed to score 35%, just enough to promote to the next standard. He was educated in Hindi medium, Pragati Vidya ka Mandir until class 7, but someone advised his father that English was the future of the competition and so his father had uprooted him from everything he knew so far and placed him amidst strangers. The curly hair lad was being mocked at on his first day for not being able to converse fluently in the deemed medium, when he was spotted by Sameer Munna. While Munna would have made fun of him too due to his playfulness, Sammer felt an unknown drawing towards him just like he felt for Munna. He felt like kin, like another lost brother and since then, the trio was a force to reckon with in school. The three were inseparable.

Nanu often joked that someday the boys' families would disown them and he would have to adopt two more sons. Though both were exceptionally weak in Maths, they studied Commerce as Sameer had to study the subject to be able to understand the basics and maths of business to take over someday and fulfil his Nanu's wish. He was yet unaware of his imminent fate that was just around the corner.

He was happily chatting away with his friends unaware of Nanu's emotions, who knew he had to give the letters and handover the booklet Vishakha had left him. That was all he had of his mother. The rest was destroyed according to Vishakha's explicit instructions to safeguard her child. Things would change in a few hours and Sameer's life might take an unexpected turn and Nanu only hoped and prayed that everything was for the best.

Sensing some tension in his heart, Sameer looked at Nanu and seeing a worried expression, he came to him, "kya hua Nanu? Aap pareshan ho?"

"Arre nahi toh, bilkul nahi!"

"Fir aapke chehre pe yeh chinta ki lakeerein kyon?"

"Mera Sameer bada jo ho gaya hai! Pataa nahi zindagi tujhe kahan le jayegi!" Buss itni prarthna hai ki tu jahan bhi rahe theek rahe, hamesha khush rahe!"

"Nanu, aisa kyon bol rahe ho? Main kabhi bhi aapko chodke kahi nahi janewala!"

Nanu gave a slight smile "aur agar main chala gaya toh!"

Sameer gasped, "Nanu!" He hugged him tight.

"Mummy Papa toh pataa nahi pehle hi kaha chale gaye. Ab aap mujhe chodke kabhi nahi ja sakte. Main allow hi nahi karoonga!" Sameer's eyes misted with the thought of parting from his Nanu.

"Arre, kahi nahi ja raha main! Ab tu ja apne doston ke saath maze kar."

"Aur mera gift?"

"Shaam ko wapas aayega toh mil jayega!"

Sameer was delighted. "Ab ja...ghum fir...aish kar...!"

"Theek hai Nanu! Thank you Nanu!" Sameer hurried to get dressed for a fun-filled day with his friends as Nanu looked on. Today was indeed going to be an exclusive day. It might be the last of Sameer's pleasant memories before he faced his harsh reality.

Some 500 km away in the city of Bombay, Naina didn't have a great start to her birthday. No one knew or cared about it except her Bela Chachi and Preeti. She had felt an uncanny presence in her mind as if someone was trying to reach out. While she was trying to decipher if it was a dream or reality, Preeti had barged in the small room that was fashioned with a curtain to separate the bedroom for the girls from the hall-cum-kitchen, that was Bela Chachi's forte. She almost jumped on her with a large motichoor laddoo lighted with a candle poked in deeply to stand it straight.

"Happy birthday behen!" Preeti exclaimed and Naina smiled forgetting all about the thoughts.

"Jaldi se blow kar aur wish maang!" Preeti instructed and without a moment's delay Naina followed the instructions as any delay and Preeti would cause a huge ruckus. She was the youngest in the family of three, and hence, was habituated to getting her way.

Bela Chachi popped in too after drawing open the curtains so that the room looked large and lighted. Naina got out of bed and touched her feet.

"Janamdin mubarak ho! Khush reh beta! Bhagwan tujhe har musibat se bachaye! Ab naha le aur mandir mein prasad rakha hai. Le lena! Aur sun tere dabbe mein aloo parathe daale hai, bhoolna mat aur haan..."

Before she could continue, Preeti intervened, "dhyaan se jaana aur time se wapas aana! Kisise baat nahi karna! Yahan wahan ghumne mat chali jaana! Kisi anjaan se kuch nahi lena! Aur apne janamdin ke baare mein kisiko nahi batana. Saade kapde pehenke jaana!"

Bela widened and rounded her eyes at her daughter's antics, but smiled and left for work.

"Yaar Naina, mummy roz tujhe yahi paath padhati hai...aur janamdin wale din dou line extra bhi daal deti hai. Mummy tujhe apna janamdin chupane ko kyon kehti rehti hai?"

"Pataa nahi Preeti! Par agar Chachi ne kaha hai toh koi wajah toh zaroor hogi. Jab unhe sahi lagega bataa degi."

"Haan haan... theek hai! Par yaar aaj tera eekisvaan janamdin hai... aaj toh party banti hai!"

"Nahi Preeti! Chachi ne mana kiya hai na!"

"Arre Mummy ko kuch pataa nahi chalega!" Preeti smiled at her sister and wiggled her brows, mentally patting herself of her genius plan.

Naina had no option but to give in coz no one could refuse Preeti!