||CHAPTER 17||
《¤》

Late evening, Daadi was watching her T.V. serial in her room, clueless about the fact that I was about to play Dadaji's favourite Kishore Kumar's song that he used to dedicate to her when he was still alive, on her ivory stereo.

And so, she was startled when suddenly, Kishore Kumar belched out the lyrics to her all time favourite.

"Roop tera, mastana,
Pyaar mera, deewana,
Bhool koi hamse na, ho jaye..."

The saxophone part was my most favourite part, and the delight in Daadi's eyes when she turned around to search for the source of the music, was the most pleasant thing I had seen.

The verse started again, and I rushed into her room, her eyes trained on the stereo when I placed it on the bedside table.

"Ye... ye theek ho gaya?!" She stood up, and I took her hands to start dancing.

"Nahi daadi," I rolled my eyes playfully, "mere voice box se Kishore Kumar ki awaz nikal rahi hai."

I twirled her around, and just to prove her point, I started singing along, "Raath nasheeli, mast sama hai... Aaj nashe mein, sara jahaan hai..."

She broke out into a heart warming smile and literally squealed, taking my hands and grooving her hips to match the rhythm. "Kab theek kiya ise?!"

"Tab, jab aapko pata nahi tha," I winked. She shook her head, letting go of the matter, and swaying to the music. Her T.V. serial was now a forgotten background.

And as I danced along, walls crumbled down, and I realised that these were the moments I missed the most. My goofball island.

The clearing of throat halted our grooving, and I turned around to find Dad standing near the door, his hands in his pocket.

"Arvika, mere office me aajao," he said, walking back. "Let's have the postponed talk."

Daadi smiled meekly, releasing my arms. With a nod her way, and getting a reassuring smile in return, I followed my Dad.

His office was just the same as it was last time, intimidating and yet, boring.

But Dad's expression wasn't boring, just intimidating.

"I'm disappointed."

You always are. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Didn't mean to what, Arvika? Didn't mean to fail again? Didn't mean to cheat?!"

"I wasn't cheating for myself!" I finally snapped.

"BUT YOU WERE CHEATING, GODDAMMIT!"

I bit my lip, looking away.

"What the hell do you want from your life, Arvika? Look at your brother, he is getting good grades without having to give retests. I don't understand what your problem is!"

I swallowed. "My problem is that I am not Arnav! I can never be your user-friendly kid! We might be twins, but we aren't identical in every sense."

"I am not asking you to be like your brother, because honestly?" He drawled, "You can never be."

My nails were digging into my palms, and I knew that a little more pressure would make them pierce the skin. But it was either that, or letting open my tear gates, and I wasn't doing the latter in front of my father, ever.

"I have a reputation, Arvika," he said in a calm tone. "And you and Arnav have the power to handle it."

I didn't like where the conversation was going.

"I won't expect you to be the best student out there, but I do expect you to at least be a decent one. Arnav is your brother, you shouldn't harbour hatred for him. At least not now."

His statement made me look up. He was being a hypocrite and was playing a nasty manipulation.

"If you have confidence that you wouldn't need his help to pass the Mid term exams, do what you like. But if you fail your Mid terms..."

"Then what?"

"Then I'm afraid you wouldn't get to have what you like. In future."

"I don't have an appetite for your company, Daddy." I followed his gaze to the certificate wall. It was a lie, even I knew it, but I wasn't thirsty for it either.

He ignored my reply and I excused myself.

¿¤?

From across the dinner table, Arnav was trying desperately to catch my attention; I sensed it. But me being the ignorant person I am, completely overlooked his attempts to kick my feet (I sat with my legs tucked under each other in the chair tonight, clumsy, I know) and passed him the salt that was already beside his plate.

"Puttar, theek tho hai na tu?" Daadi responded to his unusual non-existing fly swatting dance.

"Bilkul changa hu, Daadi, mujhe kya hua?!" He tried to bring some normalcy in his voice.

Daadi nodded, finishing her food.

I returned my, excuse the irony, unwavering attention back to the prawns that Ratan Kaka had made for dinner. Daadi was humming a tune under her breath. And Arnav was back at trying out different dance routines.

"I'm done," I chirped, getting up. "Prawns bohot achhe the, Ratan Kaka."

I was going to leave the dining table but Daadi's stare fixed me to place. Huffing out a breath, I picked my plate and bowl and carried them to the dishwasher. Daadi had started taking my mannerism classes. Quite strictly, if you ask me.

And it was Arnav's opportunity to catch me alone.

"Are you okay?" He took my face in his hands, turning and twisting my neck to check for damage.

I scrunched my face, "Ew! Haath tho dho pehele!" I swatted his hands away.

"Aaj tu peheli baar us lower middle-class side me gayi thi. Maine suna hai waha kai underworld ke log rehte hai... Did anyone try to hurt you?"

I blinked at him, and he blinked back. I couldn't believe our Dad was comparing me to this chauvinistic idiot.

I placed a glass beneath the water purifier, turning around. "I'm so done with the brotherly love and protection you are smothering me with. Honestly, stop suffocating me!"

"Can't," he grinned cheekily, grabbing the glass of water that was supposed to be mine. "I've got only one cute sister to annoy."

"Out of the whole Merriam-Webster, is cute the candid adjective to describe me? No wonder Mrs. Negi hates the Deewan community."

He gulped down the water in one go. "I don't want you to hate me though... I eavesdropped the conversation Dad was having with you."

I tried to keep my expression neutral. "So?"

"He's just trying to do what's best for the company and us."

"The priority order bedazzles me," I said, chewing the insides of my cheek.

"He will soon realise who is the better heir of the industry, Vika. You don't need to compete with me and waste your efforts. We both know the end result." He smiled, shrugging.

His cockiness made my blood boil. He wasn't even being modest this time. "Don't sound so confident. You never know when I might step my game up."

His smile dropped instantly,"Shit, wait, that hit you the wrong way. I meant about you, not me."

That confused me, but I didn't want to take my words back, so I just stood beside him, placing the dishes into the dish washer.

"Don't give up on Dad's hopes Arnav, I don't want you to leave the battle because you pity me."

"I'm not; I'm just a pawn in that game. A pawn that is totally disinterested in whatever job the kingdom has planned for me."

"Please don't smother me with your intense metaphorical talks; I had a long day, and Ms. Negi just makes sure they are horrible in her class."

He smirked at my embarrassment, nudging the right side of his hips to my left side. I almost fell at the sudden contact, and narrowed my eyes at him.

And I don't know what came over me when I tried to imitate his kiddish action, which resulted in both of us giggling like small kids.

It was strange, one moment I was livid at the thought of being compared to him, and the other moment, I was slowly accepting him back into my life.

¿¤?

The next day, when Arnav and I returned from school, the stereo was blasting music from the, according to me and Arnav, prehistoric era. Don't get me wrong, I loved them old songs, but since they were from before the historical event of my birth, they were basically prehistoric now.

What really caught our attention was the epic solo performance Daadi was delivering, which we saw while searching for her.

"Ye stereo kab theek hua?" Arnav asked, frowning at the ivory box.

Daadi was too busy dancing to Hawa-Hawai, and I wasn't going to voluntarily answer him so his question hung in the air. Dropping my bag near the door, I started imitating Daadi's dance moves.

Dumbfounded, Arnav just waited for the song to end. And unfortunately, it immediately did. We just had bad timings.

"Arvika karwake layi thi kal," Daadi replied to his curiosity, nonchalantly. "Kisiko tho apne Daadi ki fikr hai," she taunted.

"Papa woh naya wala stereo bhi tho laye the," he scratched his neck.

"Par woh Daadaji ne nahi diya tha na," I winked at him.

He smiled knowingly before scurrying off.

"Aap dinbhar sirf naachogi kya abhi?"

She nodded vehemently, childishly.

"Daadi chill," I laughed, "koi aapka stereo nahi lekar bhaag raha."

She smiled, sitting on the bed, pulling me to her. "Arvika, beta, everyone in this world wants to get over with stuff, to live and let live. Jaldbaazi mein Binoy ne bhi wahi kiya, he tried to ease the loss of that repairable gift with something... fancier. But you did something that people rarely do now-a-days: you put in efforts to make me happy. You put in efforts."

In spite of the low-lying anxiety that had been revoked due to recent circumstances, I felt happy too. There wasn't anyone else in the world whose opinions mattered to me the way Daadi's did. Cold hearted, maybe I was. But spoilt? I doubt I could be when Daadi was around.

She totally was my spirit-animal.

_____

Namoshtaii!!

So what's your favourite old Hindi song? I think I dedicate this chapter to our childhood when we used to be sick of our parents playing R.D. Burman and Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhonsle and Lata Mangeshkar in the car rides or radio, because now, those are exactly the songs we keep listening to.

And WE CROSSED 1K READS OMFGGGGGGG THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS!!! I know the reading rate has decreased a bit too much, but lets hope this book attracts better. For that, I need your help. I know many of you are silent readers, so I request you to comment if not vote, for atleast one chapter. Idk, I just get like 6 votes per chapter and 40 reads as soon as I publish a chapter, and I wanna thank those six voters from the bottom of my heart. But it's alright eitherways, i'm gonna keep publishing. Even I was a silent reader a few yrs ago, so I know both sides of the story.

Anyways, I've encountered a huge writer's block, but don't worry. M working on it. Just stay tuned, and keep asking for #diljannachahega just because u can.

Haha, so read, vote, comment and promote.

~emcee.