#Fun Fact - Iceland grows 5 centimetres per year because of its moving tectonic plates. Another Iceland fun fact: More than 60% of the country's population lives in its capital city.

Amid raging controversy over her social media posts, and handling the state affairs, Arundhati Pawar on Friday quit as Chief Minister to Maharashtra, Congress Committee President. Pawar posted her resignation on her Twitter page.

In her resignation on Friday, Pawar levelled allegations against Educational Minister Amar Sikka, SADCM leaders Bikramjit Singh and Sukhbir Vadal, and said if any physical harm is done to her then these leaders will be responsible. Also, much to their amusement she declared that she won't be a member of the party and wouldn't participate respectively from now on.

She said Maharashtra has been yearning for a change and is looking for someone to fight for the rights of minorities, human rights, and democratic rights. But the current politics in the state is suffering from intellectual poverty that does not tolerate any change in the ruling dispensation.

"I will still so everything that's in my hand. Rajneeti was and is nonetheless my dream, my passion, now that I am done portions with it I wanted to focus on my daughter and son-in-law along with Harsh. I have spent years fighting for the rights of others now it's my time. Now on I strive to become a better person with new responsibilities and roles. I want to spend my time with my grandchild as much as possible since I didn't with my daughter. Thank you all for your support and trust me." She folded her hands into a perfect namaste and walked away from the platform, hinting about her to-be-born grandchild.

[Trans Rajneeti - a composite that indicates the notion of rule of law to govern a polity, in simple terms politics]

Sources indicate that her mother's abrupt death lead her to this point, also wanting to stay away from the spotlight and enjoy her retirement age with her daughter and son-in-law in Mississippi. Annika Gaikwad is rumoured to be pregnant with her first child with her husband, Shivaay Oberoi. However, the news of the same isn't confirmed nor the family have released any other announcement.

Several Bollywood, politicians, and sports celebs poured in thanking notes, wishing a happy retirement for Ex-Chief Minister in the comments section, as soon as the news stretched.

The demise of Vaidehi Pawar had been a game-changer. All we could hope for is the betterment of the state along with happy life ahead for Arundhati Ji.

•••

The woods turned into ashes.

The sky into a twilight embodied with stars and the moon invisible.

Alas, Vaidehi was laid off, she was burnt. She didn't have an opportunity to say goodbye to her family or herself. She was unknown to her destiny, unknown to upheavals after she dies.

Arundhati was the most affected, by all means, her only parent and blood relative other than her daughter was gone. Her heart thumped with her tears threatening to fall over, her ex-husband cried, and she couldn't do anything about it, but stay silent. She stood strong, for her daughter and beloved man. For God's sake, her daughter was carrying a child and during the course of the funeral pyre, she had many times blacked out worrying shit of people. And Arundhati wouldn't dare to lose another dear one.

So she was strong enough to make others believe that she was okay, she was unaffected.

It has been seventeen days since then. Since the unexpected demise of the elder of the family.

Hopefully, she maintains that.

"Sonu eat something naa? Shall ask Mala to prepare your favourite saag?" Harsh literally pleaded with his daughter who did cut her social interaction these days. Seeing this Shivaay sighed and grabbed his phone and extended the screen to her view.

[Trans- basically a spiced mustard greens curry, spinach or others. It is a winter recipe when leaves are in season and found in abundance in North India.]

"Aren't you happy to enter Forbes magazine in 30 businesswomen under 30?" He asked sliding the screen, her picture in the office attire caught her attention.

She noticed.

"I'm happy with that but I wanted to celebrate with Ajji. I wanted to inform her about our baby first. I wish she was alive, my baby would have been lucky enough to have such a great-grandmother. She always wanted to play with our baby." Annika rubbed her dull abdomen and told with saddened emotion.

"You have all of us, Sonu. I'm here, your baba is here, Shiv is sticky to you. Your Ajji is in better shape and place. She wouldn't like you to cry, okay? Did you understand?" Arundhati wiped Annika's fresh tears which rolled out hearing her mother's warmth. Pulling her lips between her teeth, Annika snuggled into her mother and cried.

Harsh smiled being genuinely happy with this. His daughter was deprived of her mother's love and he also thought that he could fill the empty shoes, could balance the relationship however he realised a mother was indeed a mother. Squeezing all the tenderness, affection and love from her mother, Annika relaxed and rested on her shoulders.

"Shall I ask Mala to prepare saag?" Shivaay asked watching her relaxed

"Puran Poli." Annika sweet whispered against her mother's shoulders.

[Trans- an Indian sweet flat bread that originates from Southern India. Bobbattu, obbattu, holige, ubbatti, vedmi, poli, puranachi poli, god poli, pappu bakshalu, bakshalu, oliga, abatulu, are other names used.]

"Huh?" Harsh knitted his brows. His daughter never had been a devotee of sweet dishes but today it was startling to him.

"Mala pahije!" Shivaay smiled at her fluctuation of mood. It was exactly similar to what his bade papa told. "I don't want Mala di to make it. I want baba to make. You will do it right baba?"

[Trans- I want it!]

It was very hard to say no to his daughter, especially with her wide innocent eyes and pulled-out lips. Harsh had always been a happy-go and jolly father who never said no. But today he wanted to deny that, however, his heart betrayed him even after knowing his inability to cook or even boil water.

"I will go help him." Shivaay straightened his back reaching out to help his father-in-law, who seems to have been impressed with him in the immediate action to save him.

"No! I'm fed up eating your gibberish food. Either you make too good to be thrown away or I want to lick my fingers and that results in kissing. No thank you." Tej faked coughed diverting his eyes from his lad, who had his jaw-dropping at the ground level.

"I- I thought you liked it." Shivaay pouted.

"I did. Not now." She untangled herself from her mother and looked at her father. "Baba will you? My bill is asking for it."

"Bill?" Rudra asked squatting closer to her.

"My baby. Mr Bill." Everyone hearing her pursed their lips and shuffle their laughs, excluding her husband, who search for a solid surface to bang his head. "Baba I'm hungry."

"I'm. Going." Harsh least thought that his estranged wife would help him out but it was on his shoulders to save himself and his grandchild from his daughter's wrath. "Sonu?"

"Haan Ji?"

"Tej kah raha tha ki use Mr Bill ke lie khaana banaana bahut pasand hai, can he join beta?"

[Trans - Tej was saying that he too likes to cook for Mr bill.]

"I? When did I say?" Tej half yelled, however, stopped when Jhanvi stomped his feet and warned not to shout near Annika, it could possibly threaten Annika's pregnancy.

"Of course, I would love it." Annika clasped her hands and gave a dreamy look to the family members.

"Even Shakthi said he liked cooking but Pinky had never been supportive enough. Bechara mera Bhai-" Tej winked at Shakthi. Whereas Shakthi passed a nervous smile before running past them to the kitchen.

[Trans- my poor brother-]

His brother had dragged him to the mess, and now Pinky would murder him by night this he need to avoid her by all means.

Shivaay licked his lips, and slowly rubbed his dampened checks discreetly. He was touched by the kindness and compassion of his family, they were trying hard to cheer his wife.

"Come on Annika, stops crying." Pinky patted Annika's shoulder as she cried watching the men who got ready to prepare her Puran Poli for me. Mood swings. "Will you see Shiv's baby pictures? We did a lot cross-dress him."

Annika enthusiastically nodded. Shivaay wanted to stop them from his childhood embarrassing photos nevertheless, ceased watching her glowing face.

•••

"Mom!" Shivaay shrieked and hid beside his wife, as the ladies gang teamed up against him and laughed.

"This was when Shiv was eight." Jhanvi pointed at the picture, there stood little Shivaay almost naked with puffy eyes. "That day he wore a Shakthimaan costume for fancy dress and his then bench mate hated it, so he was throwing tantrums."

"A girl?" Annika asked.

"Of course, Vahini I remember her name was Nitya and bhaiya ran days behind her." Rudra giggled.

"Is it Shivi?" Annika enquired with tight lips and Shivaay didn't know whether to nod or shake his head. Confused similar to his birth essence he circled his head and earned a pinch on his waist from his wife.

"Don't ever see other women other than me." She warned. "Leaving Aai, mom, dadi, and mummy. If you do I will kick you out."

"Definitely. That was in childhood." Shivaay mumbled however nodded at her and kissed her forehead earning many awes from elder women and yuck from his brother.

Arundhati looked at them.

They were living the life she missed. Her son-in-law was a gem like her husband, whom she failed to unearth. Her daughter was blessed to get such in-laws and a husband.

Would she and Harsh have been the same if she had compromised and sacrificed a few things for him and his daughter? She speculated.

"Shiv would you adopt me?" Suddenly Harsh began watching Shivaay help his daughter to lay down after the funeral. Soon his daughter was exhausted and fainted, in the process.

"Adopt? Are you joking Uncle?" Shivaay asked passing a glass of water, which rested on the bedside table.

"Not joking." Harsh eyed him. "I have no one forbidding my daughter. And now she is married and has her own life before I had my maa now I don't know if I can survive this loneliness. Would you allow me to stay with you guys? I want to be part of my grandchild's growth. Please." His plea was too much for Shivaay.

Arundhati who had been passing the room to remind her daughter about the meds cried heeding his confession. His voice was no longer taunting or being sarcastic but all truth. His loneliness spoke much more than his words.

"You are my wife's father so mine. Please don't ask such things." He kneeled below him and clasped Harsh's hands asking him to stop his cries.

"I had a wife. She was true to herself, I loved her, she loved me, and we had a daughter. Our baby daughter was just beautiful as her mother, days later my wife handed our few weeks old daughter to maa to take part in the rally. It was maa who helped me raise my daughter, it was maa who stood as her mother when her mother, my wife was busy with social work. I never said anything about this, nor did I want her to stop all those but I want a time for me and our daughter. However, she thought I was green-eyed about her professional career when mine drowned. I was never!"

"I'm so done trying to mend things. It's my time to play with my grandchild. Can I stay forever with you guy? With my daughter? I'm independent in the matter of financial services, also there are few properties in my name."

"Uncle no. Please stop saying that again and again. You are like my father, you are my father-in-law. If you want to stay you can but please do not plead. You have all the rights. Those properties, money and all don't matter, only the relationship does. I would have done it for my father too."

Touched by his words, Harsh pulled him and hugged him tightly, crying his heart out. On the other hand, Arundhati breathed heavily and her decision was made.

Enough was her ambitions, already she was reaching her late fifties, and now being ambitious wouldn't change the fact that she had ruined her life.

"Arundhati." She jerked out of her thoughts hearing Harsh call her. It was odd, he always called her 'Aru' not by using her full name. It seems like she has a rocky path until she reaches his heart, once again.

"Here." He passed a plate of Puran Poli with a small smile. Enacting in the same way, Arundhati accepted it and began tasting it. To her surprise, it was better, at least to taste.

"Are you okay?" She swirled her head to watch Shiv asking her daughter if she was okay or not? Annika nodded slowly and placed a small piece of the dish in her mouth. And within no seconds her morning breakfast along with the fruits pushed her oesophagus and then the stomach containing was out, once again like yesterday.

Arundhati placed the plate aside and immediately rushed to her daughter and patted her back as Annika gulped the water Shivaay had passed, and her eyes rolled back in exhaustion and she leaned her head towards her mother while still holding her husband closer to her.

"I'm so sorry. I ruined the carpet." Annika mumbled with her still closed eyes.

"Nonsense!" Tej chided.

"Don't worry Sonu, I will ask someone to wash it," Shakti assured while the women nodded as their husbands for the first time talked sense.

"Was it that bad?" Harsh pouted seeing his daughter's plate untouched. "I worked hard."

"I'm sorry I couldn't eat more. It was better than your famous Maggie." Arundhati suppressed her laughed watching her beloved sulking.

"It's her pregnancy Harsh. Don't act stupid, it's her puking." Arundhati told.

***

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