PROLOGUE
Rishita was getting married soon, her father and aunt had finalised her rishta with the Pandya Family, one of the most respected families of Somnath, her family had of course looked at the benefit they would receive from sending one of their daughters to the Pandya Household, over the past 15 or so years the Pandya household had steadily risen among the ranks, not just in terms of how close-knit the family was with each other but also financially, The Pandyas had only grown with time, taking their single Kirana store to a very well known retail store across Ahmedabad, but the families roots remained strong as ever, they continued living in Somnath, in the very mohalla they used to live in. Today Rishita was supposed to visit the Pandya’s to get to know them better. Her marriage was fixed with Dev Pandya the 2nd Pandya Brother. The engagement was in 3 weeks and then the marriage was set for a good 4 months after the engagement, both the families wanted a memorable wedding and hence were leaving no stone unturned to assure that everything was perfect to the T.
Amongst all these wedding preparations, Rishita only wanted one thing, she wanted to get to know the man and family she was getting married to, after all, she had to be spending the rest of her life there. So far Dev had always stood up to her expectations, he gave her hope for a happy life and a happy family. Although she grew up in the lap of luxury, she had always felt a particular disconnect with her family, her father was always busy with work and running the more technical side to her aunts' political aspirations and her mother was almost always absent, forever busy with her kitty parties. She had everything she always wanted but she did not understand what family in a true sense, although she knew that her parents and aunt loved her and would always support her in times of her difficulty, she never had times where her mum would feed her, tell her stories or when her father would take her out to the local fair.
Her thoughts again took a different course, she thought of the Pandya Family next. The matriarch of the family Suman Pandya seemed arrogant at first sight, but was a kind-heart person, with extreme resilience she respected her a lot, then she thought of the brothers, she had never seen such a bond between people, where they could love selflessly and put their lives at stake for one another.
Gautam Pandya was someone who commanded immense respect his soft-spoken and humble nature immense patience and father like love for his siblings were what had caught Rishita’s attention, next came his wife Dhara Pandya, she was honestly one of the most charming and loving women Rishita had met in her entire life, the way she had become a mother for all of Gautam’s younger siblings was commendable, she had always thought of them and other before anyone else.
Then came her very own fiancé to be, Dev Pandya, he was an absolute gentleman and sweetheart and was just as soft-spoken and had a slightly non-confrontational streak about him, she noticed his fierce loyalty and undying love for his family, especially his Bhai and bhabhi.
Then came the ever mischievous Krish the youngest of the lot, always making merry and bringing a smile onto everyone's faces, ever the mischief-maker, he had great comic timing and an eye for aesthetics. She had been able to somewhat predict all the Pandyas, except for one.
Shiva Pandya. Her first devar was an enigma to her, since the 2 weeks she had known him, he seemed like a man of few words, always straight to the point, he seldom beat around the bush and never took nonsense from anyone, like all the Pandya brothers he loved fiercely, but rarely let the world see the extent of his love, his anger was explosive, just like his namesake, Lord Shiva. In the two weeks of knowing the Pandya family, one name stood out, Raavi Narayan, Shiva Pandya’s girlfriend. According to the family, Raavi was the only one apart from Dhara Bhabi that Shiva listened to, and as per her youngest devar Krish, Shiva loved Raavi immensely, this shocked Rishita, a guy so stoic, unstoppable and hot-headed, loved someone? And not just that he loved the foster daughter of the woman he hated the most on the face of the earth. As per Krish Shiva was mad in love with Raavi and the Pandya family also seemed to always dote on Raavi, over the past 2 weeks, the name Raavi was bought up constantly and whenever her name was taken, the family would launch into tales of her and the entire being of Shiva Pandya softened. Even if she had not bet her before Rishita had learnt a lot about her. She could not wait to meet her today, the girl who managed to soften Shiva Pandya, the ever-active volcanic part of the Pandya Family.
Book Talk
Cricket
317