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Sun sun sun didi tere liye ek rishta aaya hai!

Preeti Agarwal's eyes shot wide open with excitement when she heard the song on radio. She raised the volume to extremely high levels and got up from the swing. She pulled her sister, Naina up from the sofa and made her waltz by force.

Eh! Sun sun sun didi tere liye ek rishta ek aaya hai

The year was 1995. The Agarwal sisters were just out of college and were being considered as the top catches in the market of arranged marriages.

Relatives used to knock at the door of Bela and Anand Agarwal with the pictures of prospective grooms. It was naturally assumed that the renouned CA would spend all that he could in the wedding of his two, darling daughters but every proposal was sent back with respect because Anand wanted his daughters to start earning before they got hitched. Ignoring all the "O bai" and "Ne Waah" he got in return, he wanted his daughters to stand on their own, two feet before thinking about their marriage.

"Preeti!! Bhagwan jhooth na bulaye iss ladki ko koi kaam bolo aur wo time pe ho jaaye to baat hi kya hai! Matar cheelne ko bole the na! Kaha gayi ye?" Bela Agarwal came out of the kitchen with a belan in her hand.

"Mummy!" Preeti called her mother and pulled her into a forceful dance, letting her sister go.

Tujhe dekha to ye jana sanam
Pyar hota hai deewana sanam

"Tune Naina ko bataya?" Bela asked her daughter in an anxious whisper.

"Kya?" Preeti asked. Bela slapped her arm in return. "Ouch!"

"Naina ke rishte ki baat, beta. Ab bhagwan jhooth na bulaye tujhe din me do kaam bole the ek matar cheelna aur dusra Naina ko ye baat batana par tu hai ki ... Mai kya karungi tera?" Bela said.

"Kuch nahi Mummy. Aap meri tension mat lo. Mar mar ke college pass to kar liya hai ab bas Aamir mil jaaye uske saath bhag jaungi, aapko ek rupay ka kharch nahi karna padega!" Preeti winked.

Oblivious to all the secret whispers between her mother and sister, Naina was scanning the newspaper for the result of her entrance to MBA. She hoped to make it to IIM Ahemdabad. She had dreams for her future, for her family's future. She wanted her parents to be known by her name. She had a vision to lead a company some day and then retire to writing. Her big eyes were brimming with dreams. All thanks to her father's upbringing, her hopes and aspirations were different than the other girls of her age.

Feeling frustrated, she crumpled the newspaper and threw it in the bin.

"Ye kya kiya Naina! Mai raddi me bech deti na usko." Bela scolded.

"Subah se madam ek hi newspaper me apna result khoj rahi hai." Preeti crossed her arms. "Agar subah tak result nahi tha toh dopahar ko apne aap prakat nahi hoga na, behen. Tu itni tension kyu leti hai? Tune to waise bhi top karna hai!"

"Itna aasan bhi nahi hai." Naina whined and decided to stay in her room for a while.

Preeti was grinning foolishly at the songs being played on the radio when her mother reminded her of the job to be done.

"Tere papa ke aane se pehle Naina ko batana hoga. " Bela sat on the swing.

"Hmmm... Thodi jeb khali karo aur aapka kaam ho jaayega." Preeti's grin grew wider. She casually blew air over her nails.

"Bhagwan jhooth na bulaye! Apni maa se rishwat legi tu?"

"Paise do kaam khatam karo." Preeti said in a sing song voice.

"Kaam karo paise lo!"

"Ok bye."

"Accha! Accha!" Bela stopped Preeti and handed her some money.

"That's like my good mom!"

____________________________________

Preeti, armed with the money her mother gave her took Naina out for a golgappa feast. Naina was busy musing over her awaited results while Preeti was indulging in some serious food love.

"Mmmm ... Bhaiya aur teekha... Thoda meetha pani bhi daal hi do." She said. "Naina chal na kuch cassettes lete hain. DDLJ ki laate hai na."

"Huh? Haa." Naina said absent mindedly.

"Behen, wo..." Preeti had tried a lot of tricks to lift Naina's spirits but all of them were seeming futile till now. She had no option but to break the news directly.

"Chup kyu ho gayi bol?"

"Naina... Wo... Papa ko tere liye ek rishta pasand aaya hai."

Naina laughed on Preeti's face.

"Papa ko? Mere liye rishta pasand aaya hai! Tere jokes ko kya ho gaya hai Preeti?"

"Behen mai serious hu." Preeti was growing scared because of Naina's reaction.

"Accha? Kaun hai ladka? Kaha kaam karta hai?" Naina asked Preeti while paying the golgappa vendor.

"Wo mujhe nahi pata." Preeti said.

"Sach me Preeti? Isse accha mazak toh humare college professor JBR karte the. BAD JOKE" Naina began walking back home, Preeti followed like a lost sheep.

All the way, Preeti was worried for what might happen back home. Naina was made from a different metal. She wanted to achieve everything possible under the sun. Her ambitions took her to limits way above what even an average 90s boy would imagine. She was stubborn and short tempered. Naina trusted her father and so did Preeti but she was afraid that Naina might take a drastic step if she was forced to do what she never wanted to.

The sisters came back home. They took their slippers off near the door and dumped themselves on the sofa. Bela welcomed the two of them back. She signalled Preeti if she had done her job and Preeti assured her that her task was over. Naina didn't believe her but that wasn't her problem!

Soon, Anand came back home with a box of sweets. Only Preeti saw that box as an atom bomb which would open and blast the peace at her home.

"Naina-Preeti, ye mithai lo." Anand said in his ususal calm tone.

"Mithai? Mithai kis baat ke liye?" Naina said.

"Bhagwan jhooth na bulaye Preeti, tune isse bataya nahi!" Bela slapped Preeti's hands away from the sweets.

"Bataya tha na Mummy par Naina ko lagta hai ki mai mazak kar rahi hu." Preeti tried to sneak a ladoo. Bela eyed her angrily and took the rest of the box away.

"Naina..." Anand put a caring arm around her. "Tumhara result aaya?"

"Nahi Papa." Naina said.

"Hmm... Aa jaayega. Mujhe pura bharosa hai ki tumhare marks bahut acche aayenge. Tumhara IIM A se padhne ka sapna zaroor poora hoga, beta par mujhe lagta hai ki tumhe ek baar iss ladke se mil lena chahiye..."

"Ladka?"

"Tumhe- Tumhe pata nahi?" Anand looked from Naina to Preeti and Bela.

The box of sweets opened and an explosion happened, just like Preeti had anticipated. Naina couldn't believe that Anand had actually said yes to a proposal for her. She was taken aback. She was shook beyond repair. Her father had taught her to fly and now he was ready to clip her wings! She wouldn't take it! No. She couldn't.

"Aapne ha kar di?" She was hurt. Her eyes were brimming with tears, she had a tough time fighting them back.

"Aakhri faisla tumhara hoga par maine aaj tak tum logon ke liye koi galat faisla nahi liya. Mujh par bharosa karo Naina, ye ladka bahut accha hai aur -"

"Aakhri faisla mera hoga? Pehla faisla bhi mera hona chahiye the Papa!" Naina lost control of her loudness.

"Naina, beta andar chal. Aise baat karte hain apne Papa se?" Bela scolded her.

"Papa mere liye rishta le aaye aur mai unse sawal bhi nahi pooch sakti? Aisa sirf isiliye kyuki hum ladkiyan hain, hai na? Agar hum aapke bete hote toh aap humein sar par baitha kar rakhte, nahin?" Naina said.

"Naina kaisi baatein kar rahi hai? Andar ja! Preeti isse andar leke jaa." Bela said.

Preeti dragged Naina into their room and locked the door behind them. She opened her mouth to speak but Naina shot an angry glare at her and her words evaporated from her mouth.

The entire night Naina was busy thinking. Her dreams, her vision of her future was burning in front of her eyes. She would not sit down and take it quietly like girls of her age did. She would have to do something but what?

The evening merged into a dark night and it wasn't before dinner that an idea crept into Naina's mind. She was going to take a drastic step! She had to do it. It was a question of her future and she would not settle down as a housewife at any cost.

___________________________________

In another corner of Ahemdabad stood the mansion of the Maheshwari's. The house was drenched in darkness. Jayprakash Maheshwari, the owner of the house had been off to sleep long back but his grandson, Sameer Maheshwari was having a restless and sleepless night.

Something wasn't letting him stay in peace. Something was disturbing him. Was it because his best friends Munna-Pandit had bailed on him for a movie earlier that day? Or because Devang Bhaiya and Poonam Bhabhi had left for a vacation and he was missing them? Or was it because how his life might change the next day? He couldn't pin point at the exact reason but he was restless.

He had changed into his night suit but he couldn't sleep at all. After tossing and turning for a while he decided to walk around for sometime. It didn't give him any peace.

With light footsteps, taking complete precaution not to wake up his Mama -Mami, he sneaked into his Nanu's room. He slowly opened the door of his room and took the car keys out of the key holder. He pinched his ears in front of his sleeping Nanu and sneaked out of the house. He ignited the car's engine and zoomed out of the house.
____________________________________

Naina finished writing her sorry note and kept it below a paper weight on her parent's bed side table.

Mummy-Papa,

Mai bas ek din ke liye ghar se bhaag rahi hu. Mujhe pata hai aap gussa honge, naaraz honge par mere paas aur koi raasta nahi tha. Papa, aap ko un logon ko bulana hi nahi chahiye tha. Aapne jo kiya so kiya par mai apna future barbaad nahi karungi chahe kuch bhi ho jaaye. Mai kal shaam tak wapas aa jaaungi. Mujhe dhundhe ki koshish mat kijiyega.

Aapki Baaghi Naina

Naina took some money out of Anand's pocket, pinched both her ears in front of her sleeping parents and left the house.

She felt free once she was out in the open, cool night. The road was dimly lit with the light of the lamp posts. Not a living soul walked on the streets. All the shops had closed. Naina had no place to go to. She would probably visit Swati's house and stay there for the day. She hadn't thought the plan out properly. She just wanted to run away from every circumstance that could hold her back.

"Woof! Woof!" Naina heard barks behind her. She looked back and faced a stray dog.

"Dekho aaj mera mood bahut kharab hai, tum mujhe darao mat aur mujh par chila kyu rahe ho? Jao yaha se!" Naina tried to shoo the dog away.

"Woof! Woof!" The dog barked and Naina shaked with fear.

In an instant, the dog began chasing Naina and she was running as fast as she could. She crossed all known shops and ran for her dear life.

She found some stray tables on the road and hid beneath one of them. The dog got confused and lost track of her. After what seemed like ages, Naina got out of the tables and began walking.

She had entered a distant colony from her house. Swati's house was even farther away. She was looking around and was walking backwards when her waist hit something very hard.

"Ouch!"

She turned around, she had hit a parked car's bonnet.

"Ruki gadi se takkar khane se koi marta nahi. Kaho to gadi start kar du fir iske aage kud jaana?" She heard an unfamiliar voice.

Fuming with anger, she turned to face the owner of the voice.

Nazar milne se shuru hoti thi
Kahani pyar ki
Din dopahar guzarte the jab
Gali me yaar ki

Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai
Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai.

To be continued....

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The first story is a two shot by the way.