part-4
Abhishek nudged Radhika as they switched on her laptop. She was no tech freak...her baba had bought the laptop for Abhishek to play games and for her to watch movies. ..now the laptop is going to be put to a new use...to find out more about Dr.Ashutosh Tripathi...
"Didi...yeh dekhiye...yeh rahe jeejaji" Abhishek winked at his elder sister as he showed her Ashutosh's FB page...saare photos toh hum dekh nahin payenge kyunki hum unke friend nahin hai...buss inhi photo se apna man bhar lijiye...do hi hafton ki baat hai na..uske baad to doctor saab poore ke poore apke ho jayenge na"
Radhika punched her 15 year old brother..."apni didi se koi aise baat karta hai"
Radhika couldn't suppress her smile as she looked at the picture of her husband to be ...her baba had selected a gentleman' for her..she knew that her baba loved her and that though he was autocratic,he could never make a wrong decision for her..but his choice surpassed all her expectations.
Radhika knew that she would be married off at an early age...She was conditioned to accept an arranged marriage...she wasn't put off by the idea that she would have to marry a virtual stranger and spend the rest of her life with him...it all seemed normal to her. Her friends had gotten married that way and so did her cousins...The age gap didn't deter her from dreaming, even that was normal in Radhika's world...her parents had an age gap of 20 years (though the age gap between Kaushalya and Lallan was smaller)...her cousins had all married men who were 10 years their senior... plus she was never interested in studies in the first place...cooking, painting and music were all that interested her...so she received the news of her impending marriage with interest. The fact that she was to be married to a foreign educated doctor pleased her...It would be just like how they show in the movies...A charming guy comes from abroad and sweeps the desi lass off her feet...She had always dreamt of marrying an educated guy (though no one else in the family had married a doctor)..and now that she had seen his pic...all she could do was to dream about her future with him...
"Baba...aap kitne acche hai" she said..though her father wasn't in the room...she wouldn't have said it in as many words in front of her father.
Time flew by...Radhika bought jewellery and sarees with enthusiasm...Lallan and Kaushalya were happy with what they had bought...it was commensurate with their status.
Sumitra's apprehension died down after Abhishek showed her Ashutosh's picture- he seemed to be a decent guy..someone whom she could trust her daughter with. He was an educated man, so she hoped that he would turn out to be a good husband...better than her husband at least...and Radhika looked happy- that was all that mattered to her.
The news of Ashutosh's impending marriage to Radhika was announced in style in KGH..not by Ashu but by Lallan's actions.
One day when Ashutosh was walking out of OT after a particularly complicated surgery, he found the staff staring at him. Puzzled, walked uneasily to his cabin and found Dr.Ranganath waiting for him there.
"Congratulations Sir"
"Kiss baat ke liye?"
"Ek to apke shaadi fix hone ke liye...aur dusra M.D banne ke liye"
Ashutosh opened his eyes wide...
so Lallanji's influence had started working already...Ashu was pleased...wondering how Dr.Mohan would react to the news..
More was to come..Ashu learnt that Lallan had apparently bought 51% stake in KGH and would transfer it to Ashu's name on the wedding day...as Dahej!...Lallan was too proud a man to let his son in law work under someone else.
Ashu had never imagined that he would look forward to accepting Dahej...but now he did..all his principles were now forgotten...he looked forward to the wedding now, as it would make him a powerful man in KGH...a force to reckon with...he was already superior to all the doctors at KGH as far as skills were concerned...but now he would have power too...he would grow and make KGH grow too...people from all over U.P would throng to KGH for treatment..such would be its name...it was now Ashutosh's turn to dream.
Kajri and Bhola were now dismissed...Kajri was more of a nuisance now...it was too dangerous to play with her...she could do anything for money...what if their deeds get reported to Lallan..with evidence in tow?