Chapter 1

Chapter - 01

“Naman!” Saavi was calling him on top of her voice. She had called him an hour ago to get ready as they had to go for some urgent work. But when she came to pick him up there was no trace of him. Only some old sketch books were lying around the table. Just when Saavi was about to open one of them Naman made his appearance. “Saavi Ji! You are here already!” “Yes. But why aren’t you ready yet?” “I am ready. I am just waiting for Piya. Once she arrives we can go.” “Why do you keep calling Di anyway?” Saavi was irritated. “There are professional baby sitters too.” “Yes. But I don’t think any of them has the experience of handling a kid with magical powers. Besides, she volunteered. When you called me she was talking with Amma on the landline and heard my conversation with you. She said she was free so she could look after Dafli while we were gone.” “Alright then.” Saavi stopped and looked at the clock. Considering the distance between Naman and Piya’s apartments, they still had 20-25 minutes in hand.

“What are these Naman?” “These are my old work.” Naman was grinning from ear to ear. “Considering the smile, I should prepare myself for something hideous.” Saavi thought to herself. “I used to be a cartoonist. Not a famous one but it was my part time job in Mumbai. I used to draw cartoon for a newspaper. Once I joined you guys, I had to quit that job but I drew our fight sequences here.” “And suddenly you need them because?” “I am thinking of modifying these a little bit and make story books for Dafli. I can’t buy normal fairy tale books for her now. Who knows? She might pop up in Disneyland tomorrow!” Naman shuddered a little thinking about the possibility. “But here I can insert my, yours or Sir Ji’s pictures; even Rathods’ pictures. So even if she gets excited, she will reach the people who know her. Later when she’ll grow up, I’ll buy proper books for her.”

Suddenly Saavi felt emotional. Naman noticed the change in her expression and got confused. “Saavi Ji!” “Yes?” “You haven’t yet made fun of my idea! Is everything alright?” “Yeah, absolutely. I believe it’s a wonderful idea.” Naman almost lost his balance and Saavi had to support him. “What’s this stupidity Naman?” She was annoyed. “It’s just, I couldn’t believe my ears when you said you liked my idea.” He almost had tears of joy. “I am praising your idea because you might be the biggest idiot in the history of Reevavanshis but you are an amazing father.” She smiled genuinely. “And I can relate to it because I too was raised by a single parent.” “Did Sir Ji also make such cartoons?” “No. Dad didn’t have to do this.” She started laughing. “With all fairness, I wasn’t a magical kid and Daayan Rahasya would do the work. As far as I can remember, sometimes Dad used to read his research papers with the hope that I might get bored and fall asleep.” Saavi tried to smile but Naman could sense the sadness in her voice. “Then what’s wrong? Why are you sad?” “Nothing. It’s just that....... I have never really realized how much Dad has suffered.” She paused for a second. “I am not belittling your situation but Dafli has never seen Dilruba. My parents got separated when I was 2 or 3 years old. So I was accustomed to mom. Dad had a really hard time managing me. And then with the news of mom and Di’s death, I don’t know how he could keep his sanity.”

Naman felt sad for Nishant. He was familiar with the strict side of Professor Nishant Sharma. A couple of times Nishant had assured him that everything would be fine as he had similar experience. But Saavi’s revelation made him realize his helplessness in true sense. He had his mother, Saavi, and Nishant. Even Piya and Ansh tried their best to help him with Dafli whenever they could. Still, he missed Dilruba and kept hoping for a miracle that one day he might wake up and find her beside him. On the contrary, Nishant was alone. He didn’t just lose his wife but two of his kids too. God knows how he had coped up with such grief!

“I have never really thought about Sir Ji.” He said in an apologetic tone. “Me neither.” Saavi heaved a sigh. “Honestly, after the initial years all I can remember is his serious face and speech about how we Reevavanshis should behave.” She chuckled at the thought. “I got to see his emotional side for the first time when we realized Di was alive. Truth to be told, I felt quite jealous too.” Saavi confessed sheepishly. “Tell me about it! Amma used to slap me on every occasion, sometimes without any reason just because she felt I might do something idiotic. But when it came to Piya, she had unwavering faith on her. At points I used to feel like an outsider seeing her love and care for Piya." Naman sighed.

“I don’t blame Guru Maa for that.” Saavi burst out laughing. “She is a wise lady and I am sure you would have done something stupid, if she hadn’t showered you with her blessing.” She winked at Naman. “But yes, I was definitely jealous thinking Dad preferred Di to me. Unfortunately, I could understand his point of view only when Di was pregnant with Pari.” “What do you mean?” “Di went into a really dark place after her separation with Jiju. She wouldn’t talk or smile. Losing Jiju and Adi was too much for her. When Pari was born, she decided to live for her. But still, she wasn't really herself. At that point I could understand why Dad had become so strict. I guess he was too afraid to lose me as well, and hence he decided to hide his emotions. I don’t blame him for that. I simply blame the situation that all of us had to suffer so much.” Suddenly Saavi realized she had revealed too much about her past and decided to change the topic. “How much longer before Di arrives?” “Ummm, I think 5-10 minutes more. You want to see my cartoons?” Naman tried to lift up her mood.

“As if I have an option?” Saavi rolled her eyes. “Come on! You’ll enjoy reading it. After all, it’s not Daayan Rahasya but has Naman The Kancha Reevavanshi’s touch.” Again Naman flashed all his teeth. “And that’s what I’m afraid of Naman.” “Just give it a try. Or we could talk.” Saavi didn’t reply and hurriedly took one of the sketch books in her hand. She was going through the pages randomly and realized Naman wasn’t bluffing. He was really good! Not only did he draw funny pictures but he added super funny descriptions too. She was about to put down the book when a particular title drew her attention - “The Tale of Ekayan and Daivik!!!”  

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