Pause
"Tu Lavanya se shadi kar le."
"Lekin Mom -"
"Kuch lekin vekin nahi, Rakshit. Tujhe pata hai, Sunny ne Lavanya ko divorce papers bhej diye hai. Wo bechari to jaise tut hi gayi hai. Wo tujhse bohot pyar karti hai, Rakshit. Aur tu bhi to usse pyar karta hai na... Kya hua, has kyu raha hai tu?"
He suppressed the smile, looking at his mother who finally gave a halt to her continuous chant of him getting married to Lavanya. "Kuch nahi. Bas kuch yaad aa gaya, to hasi aa gayi."
Mahima Shergill stood baffled to see her son standing all cool in a situation as complicated as it was. Sunny cheated on Lavanya. Lavanya was so upset. Moreover, the poor girl had revealed that she had married Sunny just to stay close to Rakshit and even destiny seemed to be playing its game to bring Lavanya and Rakshit together. Drishti... Drishti wasn't a right girl for Rakshit and finally when it was a chance to make every thing perfect that was wrong, her son... was finding it amusing. "Kya yaad aa gaya?"
"Yaad hai, party wali raat, jab ham baat kar rahe the... Aapne kaha tha mai Mrs. Shergill ko chahne laga hu. Aapne kaha tha aap jaanti hai mai Mrs. Shergill ko chahne laga hu. Aur abhi aapne kaha ke mai Lavanya se pyar karta hu to bas... hasi aa gayi."
"Rakshit tu -"
"Ham ek waqt pe do logo se pyar nahi kar sakte hai Mom. Ya to mai Mrs. Shergill se pyar karta hu. Ya fir Lavanya se. Ya fir kisi se bhi nahi. Lekin dono se? Nahi, Mom." He strolled towards the balcony in his room, gazing out at nothing particular, waiting for his mother to put up more questions for him that he knew she would.
"Rakshit, mujhe haan ya na me jawab chahiye. Kya tum Lavanya se pyar karte ho?" Mahima asked, rooted on her place.
"Nahi. Na kabhi kiya, na karta hu aur na hi kabhi kar paunga agar koshish bhi ki to." He did not take time to reply. His life was at such a point where he could not afford holding silence for anyone's sake. Enough was enough.
"Iska matlab tu kisi se bhi pyar nahi karta. To fir Lavanya se shadi karne me kya problem hai? At least wo to tujhse pyar karti hai aur itna pyar karti hai ke tere liye usne Sunny se tak shadi karli. Teri biwi ki tarah nahi, jise kisi ki koi parwah nahi hai." She slumped on the bed, her voice beginning to turn rough with the mention of Drishti.
He didn't react. He had grown so used to his mother's dislike towards his wife that he had already seen it coming. There was absolutely no point in getting shocked over the same. He turned around, walking back to where his mother sat and knelt on the floor in front of her. "Mom, ek baat puchu?"
She gave him a nod.
"Aap jab Mrs. Shergill se pehli baar mili thi, jab wo meri employee thi, aapko wo bohot pasand aayi thi na?"
She moved her head from him, to shift her gaze. "Haan aayi thi. Pasand bhi aayi thi aur maine uss par bohot bharosa bhi kiya tha jo usne tod diya. Dhokha diya."
"Mom," he held her hands in his, "Ham abhi bhi nahi jaante, shaadi wale din exactly hua kya tha. Ham nahi jaante meri shaadi Mrs. Shergill se aur Shikhar ki Divya se, kyu hui lekin Mom, sara blame Mrs. Shergill pe hi kyu? Aapne Shikhar ko to maaf kardiya. Fir Mrs. Shergill se itni narazgi kyu?"
He laid his head in her lap. "Mrs. Shergill ne mujhse kaha tha ke uske apne reasons the ye shadi karne ke liye aur agar usne kaha hai, to mai maanta hu ke uske reasons rahe honge. Aap mujhe Lavanya se shaadi karne ke liye ke rahi hai, uss ladki se jo mujhe mandap par chhod kar chali gayi, ye jaante hue ke agar shadi nahi hui to meri jaan ko khatra hoga. Isiliye shaadi kar raha tha na mai? Wo jaanti thi, fir bhi chali gayi aur Mrs. Shergill, bhale hi kisi bhi vajah se kyu na ho, usne mujhse shadi karke aap ke man ko to tasalli de di. Meri shadi ho gayi. Jab aap chahti to tabhi hui aur aap chahti hai mai uss ladki ko chhod du jiski vajah se meri zindagi chal rahi hai uske liye jiski vajah se wo khatam ho sakti thi?"
"Par wo meen rashi wali ladki nahi hai -"
"Meen rashi ki to Lavanya bhi nahi hai na, Mom?"
"Hmm." She ran her hand through his hair, caressing his head, sighing at the events that had taken place the way they weren't expected.
He continued further, taking advantage of the moment in which she was calmed down. "Aapko meen rashi ki tension hai na. Lavanya ki to pakka hi nahi hai lekin Mrs. Shergill ki to hame pata hi nahi. Kuch probability to hai ke uski meen raashi ho, nahi? And if I am not wrong, to uski meen rashi hi hai Mom."
"Tujhe kaise pata? Agar hai to usne bataya kyu nahi?"
"Pata nahi. Hogi uski apni vajah. Uski meen rashi ho na ho, Mom," he elevated his head to glance at her, "wo mere liye galat ladki nahi hai. Ho hi nahi sakti. Agar galat hoti to ab tak to mujhe kuch na kuch to ho hi jata aapke pandit ji ke according but look at me, I am absolutely fine. Kya matlab hua iska?" He didn't believe in anything that the priest said but his mother did and he had got a good chance to use that bit in helping his mother realize things that she wasn't getting right. Perhaps she was too overwhelmed, concerned for his life that she was refusing to accept the girl who came between him and the right girl aka his lifesaving one.
"Tum kya chahte ho mujhse?" She asked, seeing no matter what she said, her son was acting deaf to every word against his wife.
"Pause."
"What?"
"I want you to pause, recall the past and think, Mom. Aapko yaad hai aap Mrs. Shergill se pehli baar mili thi to aapne kya kaha tha? Bohot pyari bacchi hai. Wo abhi bhi wahi pyari bacchi hai, Mom. Bas aap dekh nahi paa rahi hai."
He rose on his feet, and walked towards the door, to allow his mother some quality time to ponder deeply over the things. He gave a last glance at her, halting his steps near the door. "Wo aapki bohot respect karti hai Mom aur kafi miss bhi karti hai... apni unn Mahima Ma'am ko jinhe uske khane se lekar safely ghar pohochne ki fiqr hua karti thi jab ki wo sirf unke bete ki P.A. thi. Sochna Mom. Wo abhi bhi wahi hai. Aur aap bhi wahi ho."
Mahima Shergill sat in absolute silence after he exited the room, shutting every other noise to hear the voices in the deepest corners of her heart.
• • •
Mahima Shergill was one of the nicest women in the initial episodes. You have butchered her character. That's really enough. Stop before you push her beyond redemption.
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