Randhir took Devaki out for dinner. They were going to Barbeque Nation in Worli.
He wanted Devaki to forget about all her worries and just concentrate on being happy and content.

On the other hand, Bandana and Samridh were also at BBQ Nation. It was one of their usual dates after work. Bandana and Samridh were talking and enjoying when Samridh saw Devaki and Randhir enter the restaurant. He quickly got up to greet them. Bandana followed the suit.

"Randhir Mahajan! What a privilege to witness your holy presence!" Samridh extended his hand out to Randhir. Randhir smiled.

"And you too, Mr. Patwardhan." Then he looked at Bandana. "And to-be Mrs. Patwardhan."

Bandana beamed. She looked at Devaki and hugged her. Devaki was happy to see Bandana.

"Kaisi ho?" Bandana asked Devaki.

"Mast ekdum. Tumhari kripa se." Devaki laughed. Bandana chuckled.

"Chalo, saath mein hi dinner karte hai." Samridh suggested. Randhir bit his lower lip and looked at Devaki.

"Kya?" Devaki asked Randhir.

"Is it okay?" Randhir mouthed.

"Ofcourse! Neki aur pooch pooch? Bandana hai toh ofcourse!" Devaki said. Everyone chuckled. They all went and sat in one corner of the restaurant so that they didn't get spotted by the general public. After some time, the sizzlers began sizzling on the table in front of them. The heat from the heater embedded in the table was making the environment very cozy.

Devaki picked up the Paneer Tikka and put it in her mouth. She closed her eyes in pleasure.

"This is heaven...." Devaki mumbled. Everyone laughed.

"A pregnant woman's hormones..." Bandana playfully rolled her eyes.

All four of them dug into their food. They cracked jokes and discussed the current affairs. Suddenly, the topic of Amit's party winning the elections came up. Samridh stiffened. Bandana could sense his tension but she decided to question him later when they were alone.

"Mujhe toh samjh mein hi nahi aa raha ki  woh log jeete kaise? Bahumat humare haathon mein thi...hum dono ki party ek saath thi...We were so strong...pata nahi kya hua..." Randhir despaired. Samridh picked up his glass of water and took a sip.

"Par mujhe pata hai woh kaise jeete." He said taking another sip of water. Everyone looked at him shocked.

"Kaise?" Devaki asked. She was also surprised by Samridh's declaration. Samridh sighed.

"Bachpan mein baba mujhe ek kahani sunaya karte the...mein tumhe woh kahani sunata hun...tum log khud samjh jaoge ki asal mein majra kya hai." Samridh said. Bandana shifted a little so that she sat directly facing Samridh. She loved listening to stories. Samridh gave her a funny look.

"Ek baar ek jungle mein aisa ek sthar aaya ki jungle me saare praniyo ne socha ki ab unhe ek shashan vyavastha apna leni chahiye. Toh eksaath ek mathh se unhone nirnaye liya ki ve ek jantantra staapith karenge. Ab jungle mein bhedo, matlab sheep, ki sankhya adhik thi. Bhede atyant udaar, bholi, nirmal, vinamra aur nirdosh prani the jo ghaas ko bhi phuk phuk kar khate the. Unhe pata tha ki unka bahumat hai aur chunaav ke samay ve hi jeetengi. Yadi ve jeetengi toh ve aisa kanoon banayengi ki jungle mein koi kisi ko pareshaan na kare...kisi ko maare nahi. Sab jeeye aur sabko jeene de.

"Dusri aur bhediye the. Unpar koi vishwaas nahi karta tha. Ve kapati the. Dal badloo. Bhedo ki nirdayta se hatya karkar apna pet bharte the. Unki jungle mein sankhya bahut kam thi. Ve chintit ho gaye. Unhe bhi pata tha ki agar bhede jeet gayi toh unka vinaash ho jayega. Ve janwaro ko maarkar nahi kha payenge. Ve ghaas charne par majboor ho jayenge. Bhediye bahut udaas ho gaye. Ek din ek siyaar (jackal) aaya. Usne bhediye se unki udaasi ka kaaran poocha. Bhediye ne usse bata diya. Siyaar bhi bhediyo ki tarah kapatti hote hai. Har bhediye ke aas paas do-teen siyaar ghumte hi rehte hai. Uss siyaar ne bhediye se kaha ki aap chinta mat karo. Mujhe ek din ka afsar do...mein kuch karta hun. Ab bechara laachaar bhediya uski baat maan gaya. Uske paas aur koi chaara tha hi nahi." Samridh took a pause. Bandana was listening very closely. Devaki and Randhir couldn't relate to the present situation. They seemed in daze.

"So...agle din woh siyaar bhediye ke paas aur teen range (coloured) hue siyaar lekar aaya. Ek siyaar nile (blue) rang ka tha, ek pile (yellow) rang ka tha aur ek hare (green) rang ka tha. Bhediye ko samjh nahi aaya ki siyaar aise range hue siyaaro ko kyun apne saath lekar aaya hai. Usne usse poocha ki yeh sab kya hai. Tab uss boodhe (old) siyaar ne Bhedhiye ko bataya ki yeh teen range hue siyaar chunav ke dauraan unka prachaar karenge. Bhedhiya vyaakul ho utha. Usne kaha ki siyaar bhi toh unki tarah badnaam hai...unpar bharosa kaun karega? Tab siyaar ne usse kaha ki nila siyaar ek neta aur patrakaar hai. Swarg ka neta aur patrakaar. Pila siyaar swarg vicharak aur kavi (poet) hai. Aur aakhir mein hara siyaar swarg ka dharmguru hai.

"Guys, take a note. Yeh teeno characters-neta, kavi aur dharmguru, inka samjh mein bahut aadar hai. Sab log inki har kahi baat par vishwas karte. I hope tum log ab relate kar paa rahe ho." Samridh said looking at Devaki and Randhir. A wave of realisation hit them. They opened their mouths in an 'O' formation.

"So as I was saying, tab bhediye ne boodhe siyaar se poocha...yeh siyaar toh range hue hai...sabko pata chal jayega ki inhe ranga gaya hai...yeh swarg ke nivaasi nahi hai...tab siyaar ne uttar dete hue kaha ki 'hey maalik!
Suna hai roop badalne se toh insaan bhi pehchaan mein nahi aate...toh yeh siyaar kya hai.' Siyaar ne bhediye ka bhi roop badal diya. Uske mastak par tilak lagaya, uski kanthi (throat or neck) par ek ghanti taang di aur uske muh mein ek ghaas ka tinka (twig) ghusedh diya. Siyaar ne Bhedhiye ko do baat samjhayi- ek, woh har dum apni ankhen zameen par rakhe. Udhar bahut saari bhede aayengi. Toh apni nazar unpar daalkar unpar hamla karna mat. Dusri, apne muh se ek shabd tak na nikalna. Bilkul chup rehna. Bhediye ne uski baat maan li.  Is tarah ve sab bhedo ke beech gaye prachaar karne. Jab bhedo ne unhe dekha toh ve sab bhaagne lagi." Samridh paused again. All three of them were listening intently.

Devaki was very inquisitive. She got restless with Samridh's break. She moved uncomfortably in her seat. She had now begun to relate to what actually happened during the elections which they had lost.

"Phir kya hua?" Bandana asked. Samridh smirked.

"Phir..."

                            *************

Sameeksha and Yudhveer got their 20 day old daughter home. As soon as they reached the main gate they were flooded with all their friends shoving each other away to get a better look at the newborn.

"Guys, chill. Andar toh chalo." Yudhveer ushered them inside the house. He was carrying huge amounts of baby supplies in his hands. Diapers,  milk bottles, gripe water, toys, wet wipes....you name it and he just had it. Yudhveer had waited for this moment for so long. Finally, he and Sameeksha were going to start a new life again. This time as parents, ofcourse.

"Haan yaar. Kaash Nivi aur Rohan bhi hote....unka bhi bahut mann tha iss nanhi si jaan ko dekhne ke liye..." Vedanti smiled. Aarushi snorted.

"Woh kab wapas aa rahe hai waise?" She asked. She had been feeding on Sour-Punk cola flavour for the past one hour.

"Ek- do din mein aa jayenge." Siddharth answered. "Aur isse khana band karo. Waise hi bahut weight gain kar liya hai. Kitna sugar consume kar rahi ho. Aaram se 3K-4K calories le rahi ho tum." He tried to grab the packet from her hands.

"Go away, monster!" She swatted his hand away. Everyone chuckled and entered the house. It was decorated with pink balloons and streamers. There was a cake in the middle of the room with 'Welcome home, angel!'.

Sam and Yudhveer gasped.

"Awwww....tum logo ne yeh sab itni jaldi kaise kiya????" Sameeksha asked with an open mouth.

"Magic!" Mugdha exclaimed. Amit smiled looking at Mugdha.

"Baby you want Sour Punk?" Aarushi swung a strand infront of the small girl. Sameeksha gasped again. This time in horror.

"Tum pagal ho gayi ho kya?! 20 din ki bacchi ko Sour Punk khilaogi?! Isne abhi tak doodh ke alava aur kuch nahi consume kiya hai. Oh god. Tumhare andar dimaag hai yaa nahi?" Aarushi looked at her dumbstricken.

"Chill out, mate. Mein mazak kar rahi thi. Mujhe pata hai itne chote bache ko aisa kuch nahi khilate. Isne toh abhi ann grahan bhi nahi kiya hai. Meine bahut research kiya tha jab mein-" She stopped when she realised what she was going to say. Siddharth grabbed her hand. She shook her head. "Well yeah, never mind."

Everyone became awkward.

"Umm... lets cut the cake!" Aarushi tried to break the ice. Everyone nodded quietly. They headed towards the table. Yudhveer and Sameeksha were about to cut the cake when suddenly Sumedh stopped them.

"Arrey, Arrey! Iska naam toh rakho! Tum log toh iski naamkaran ki pooja karne se rahe. Kam se kam abhi toh naam rakh do." Sumedh said. Sameeksha was about to say something when Vedanti cut in.

"Bacche ka naam uski bua rakhti hai!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Then mein naam dungi isko!" Mugdha exclaimed. Aarushi playfully hit her arm.

"Aur mein kya idhar popcorn khate hue tumhe dekhungi? Mein dungi isko naam." Aarushi argued.

"Arrey tumne toh Arjun ko bhi naam diya tha!" Vedanti's breath hitched in her throat. Sumedh gulped down the lump that had formed in his throat. He silently put his arms around Vedanti. The atmosphere again became intense.

"Yeh ho kya raha hai?! Sab itne serious kyu ho jaa rahe hai baar baar? Chalo jaldi! Naam do isse!" Aarushi interjected.

Before they could argue again, Sameeksha raised her hand in the air to shut everyone up. Everyone became quiet immediately.

"Forget Bua and all. Meine aur Yudhveer ne humari baby ka naam sochkar rakha hai." Sameeksha declared.  Everyone stared at them wide-eyed.

"Yeh baby meri aankhon ka taara hai...she is very dear to me...the apple of my eye...choti si angel jaisi jo ghumte ghamte humari godh mein aa bethi..." Yudhveer smiled looking admiringly at his daughter in Sameeksha's arms. Everyone 'awed' hearing this.

"And...meri bestfriend ka naam Tara tha...she was very dear to me...I lost her two years ago to Cancer. Usne har mushkil ghadi mein mera saath diya tha. Infact iss idiot se shaadi karne ke liye bhi ussi ne mujhe convince kiya tha. Iss buddhu ne kuch efforts nahi liye the...." Sameeksha said looking at Yudhveer. Everyone chuckled.

"So.." Yudhveer started saying.

"Humne decide kiya hai hum apni beti ka naam Nayantara rakhenge." They said together in perfect sync.

Everyone smiled brightly. They hugged both Yudhveer and Sameeksha with a shit load of Congratulations!

Yudhveer and Sameeksha cut the cake. Everyone had fun and enjoyed the evening talking and playing with the infant who hardly slept at all. She would end up crying every fifteen minutes and Sam would have to always yell at Yudhveer to be quiet.

No one realised the time pass by. It was 11:59 p.m.

As soon as it struck 12, the bag in which Yudhveer had brought the toys began to stir. No one noticed it. A while later, a small clown doll crept out. It started crawling towards the baby which was lying in a pram nearby. Everyone was busy talking and messing around.

Suddenly, Sameeksha's eyes fell on the  toy. Her heart skipped fifteen beats. Her eyes widened in shock and she screeched.

"YUDHVEER!!!" She yelled at the top of her voice. Everyone looked at her.

The entire chapter to be continued....