Chapter 30: Dushman
Fire And Ice.The metaphor could be applied to Barkha Doshi and Ira Vardhan with precision albeit reversely. Both in looks, deportment, upbringing,behavior and most appropriately in the relationship they shared with Manthan Virani. If Barkha was his best friend, Ira was his worst foe.
Ira and Jai were childhood playmates of Lakshya and Nakul Virani by the virtue of being the children of Tripti Virani's friend, Urvashi Vardhan. Their not infrequent visits to Shantiniketan always ended in angry and often violent brawls between Ira and Manthan where she gave back as much as she got. Most of the fights were because the rather tomboyish Ira had no patience with people who came into easy money, archetype
Manthan. Though the origin of the animosity had been petty childhood tiffs, Incidental accidents lead it to a volatile high point.
Since Pratap Vardhan had come up the hard way, he believed his children should do the same. He encouraged both Jai and Ira to do small chores in and outside the house instead of giving them pocket money for sundries. When she was sixteen, Ira had slogged as an apprentice in her father's garage for over four months so that she would buy her mom a Fine Bone China Tea Set, a Collector's Item, for her fifieth birthday. Though she reserved the set well in advance, she had a verbal face off with Manthan at the time of delivery as he wanted to buy it for Tanya, who passionately loved collecting such vintage sets. Manthan had made a polite argument, "Your mother never uses them.........I'll pay you three times as much .....Please Ira.......My mom really wants this one......" Ira never relented for the simple reason that Manthan wanted it so much and told him so bluntly as she walked off with the tea set. Seething with rage, Manthan waited for the precise moment Ira was outside her house and hit her with his car, causing her and the gift to be pitched into a ditch. The only significant casulties were Ira's white jeans, stained muddy and the fine bone tea set, smashed to smithereens. Adding fuel to the fire, Manthan came out of the car a casual "Sorry" making no effort to mask the lack of feeling for the said word.
The next day when he came out of Shantiniketan, Manthan saw his car butchered. The windshield and the side windows were shattered, the bonnet beaten in. The tyres punctured. And on the boot was the offending hockey stick with which the damage was inflicted. With a note attached saying "Sorry."
Being in the same college and the same year gave Ira and Manthan ample opportunities to even out 'issues' which they had practically everyday. Like on the Traditional Day when Ira's dupatta was caught in Manthan's jacket and rather than letting her disengage it, he had instantly sliced it into half with his pocket knife. "That was a gift from my mom on my birthday " Ira had caught his shirt collar. Shrugging her hands off easily, Manthan replied, "You can surely afford another." The next day in the Chemistry lab, Ira set fire to Manthan's jacket pleading accident. "That was Bhumi di's present to me" Manthan ground out, holding Ira's arm. "Don't tell me you can't afford another." she shot back wrenching it free from his grasp.
Ira's lack of suitable condemning action to her brother Jai Vardhan's misconduct was another reason Manthan and Ira were at loggerheads. Rather than chastise him for the same, Ira often ganged up with her brother and 'took care' of anyone with enough audacity to complain against him. Till he was not involved, Manthan never interposed. But when Jai misbehaved with his cousin Archita, Manthan lost it. The college crowd, which were tired of Jai's bullying tactics, cheered on as Manthan thrashed Jai soundly. Ira, who had just finished a class, came running up to witness the event. Jai was doubled up in a corner, breathless with blood pouring out of his nose and mouth. Ira swore, caught hold of Manthan's collar and raised her hand to strike him. Only to find her hand caught midway and twisted behind her back with Manthan's cutting remark, "Agli baar apna haath tab uthana jab tumhara apna koi galti kar ho raha ho....Tab nahi jab koi uski galti sudhaar raha ho."
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Ok....I'm assuming that Manthan and others took up science first ......for junior college......
Also ....If you've liked the potrait of Ira so far, please help me put a face to the character since I'm kinda clueless here
Edited by anut - 18 years ago
Anupamaa
