DADDI
Part 1
Arohi turned a little in her sleep. She had slept late last night and so didnt hear Arjun leaving the room.
A voice rang in the silence of the room, disturbing Arohi's sleep.
'Good Morning... Wake up Arohi..'
'Arjun..', she mumbled in her sleep.
'Good Morning... Wake up Arohi..'
'Shut up Arjun..'
'Good Morning... Wake up Arohi..'
By this time, she had had enough.
'Arjun..will you shut up or-...', she broke off in mid-sentence. 'Arjun?' She looked all around the room, but found him nowhere.
Then she remembered; she herself had put Arjun's recorded voice as alarm tone on her mobile. She silenced the alarm and switched the mobile on.
'Oh God! It is 7. Dadi would be about to wake-up.'
She freshened-up and rushed to the kitchen.
Arjun's Dadi was a complete sweet-heart. She was old but her talks always reflected youth. She was closer to Arjuhi even more than their own parents.
Two years back, when Arohi's family had finally decided to marry her to Arjun (remember when arohi's dad comes to give the wedding-card of arjuhi to arjun's dad?), Arjun's Dadi was so happy. That time, Arjun had told her that he'll marry Arohi only when he finds some job to feed him and arohi, and a place for them to live; he had left his Dad's house. Though, Dadi had tried to explain to Arjun that arjuhi can live at his dad's house or any of the property she owned for the time being, but Arjun was adamant that he'll build a place for himself n arohi from his own hard-work. Then only he'd marry. Dadi had honoured his decision and had decided that the time was perfect for her to go on a Teerth-yatra to fulfill her mannat of seeing Arjuhi married. But when she came back, she had received a complete shock on hearing what all miseries arjuhi had to undergo because of their families and at that very moment she had decided that she could no longer live in her son, Rudra Pratap Singhania's house. Even though her son had pleaded her to not leave, she had left his house saying that he'd completely forgotten the difference between wrong and right, and that she cant live there longer.
Arohi put the tea-pan on the stove. Simultaneously she tossed some poha on a frying pan. She put some spices and salts in it.
'Arohi puttar', came a voice from behind Arohi.
'dadi aap?', Arohi turned to see Dadi standing in the doorway. 'Main aa to rahi thi, aap yaha kyu ayi? Aapki tabiyat kharab hai na.'
'oye puttar, kuch nahi hua hai mujhe. Waise bhi waha pure din bhar baithe-baithe main bore ho jaati hu. Meri chor, tu bata. Kal raat ko der se soi thi na, mere liye jaldi uthne ki kya zaroorat thi?'
'Oho Dadi, phir wahi baat? Maine kitni baar bola hai aapse ki aapke liye subah jaldi uthne mein mujhe koi problem nahi hai. Phir bhi aap har subah mujhe lecture dene aa jati hai. Chaliye ab jaldi se baithiye, main abhi deti hu naashta. Phir aapko dawai bhi to khaani hai na?'
'theek hai Arohi puttar', saying this Dadi sat on the dining table.