Hello all!
Not so new to the forum but yeah this is my very first attempt in writing something ( specially for an ITV couple)
Those who know me ( my friends from twitter), they know I have a thing for poetry, so writing this was a bit difficult. Also, this was something I wrote almost 6 months back but did not had enough courage to post. Now since I got a prompt for a pre- wedding ShiVi OS, thought of giving it a try.
Please do read and let me know how it is.
Also if you like Dhara in the show, it's better to stay away from reading this.
Love,
Sham
..............................
Raavi came back home from the Somnath market, panting ,catching for breath, murmuring and cursing the shopkeeper for not giving her 20 rupees rebate. She was still engrossed in her cute antics when she remembered the purpose for her visit. Oh! what a Gadheri I am. "Ye phool wale bhaiya se larte larte main to bhool hi gyi ki mujhe bahut saara kaam karna hai!! Hey bholenath, mere Bhootnath ka garam dimaag please aaj shaant rakhna."
A bunch of roses, two sets of fairy lights, decorative frills & a heart shaped I LOVE YOU card, was all that comprised her shopping list that afternoon. Yes, she was preparing to propose her Bhootnath, her very own sara hua karela, her childhood enemy, her tel masale ki dukaan. Never in her wildest dream had she thought that one day she would fall in love with Shiva. The same Shiva who never missed a chance to pick up a fight with her. The very same Shiva Pandya, who never made an effort to talk less rudely with her, leave alone being polite. But, Shiva was a different man now. The very same Shiva who never missed a chance to tease her & annoy the hell out of her had planned a romantic date night for his chipkali two days back.
* Flashback*
That same angry young man, Shiva Pandya, who was an aag ka gola, the entire Somnath needs no introduction to it,was standing with a beautiful rose in his hand, trying to calm down an otherwise angry Raavi who was hurling accusations at him last night. Coming to Raavi, she was hurt , not only because her Dhara Di did not include her in their paper heist, but also because of the fact that her husband agreed to it. She wanted to win his trust. She wanted THEM to be a team .No, she was not jealous of Dhara, she never wanted to replace her. All that she wished for was Shiva to trust her equally.She was trying to figure out why Shiva's anger last night was troubling her so much & why she wanted to be so important in Shiva's life, when suddenly she heard someone.
"Abey Gadheri!!soch kya rhi hai, banda propose karna wala tha tujhe ,idiot!! Tera Amitabh Bachchan, SRK banne ki koshish kar rha tha aur tune...tune kya kiya Aruna Irani ban kar uski saari mehnat par Paani phek diya!!! *making a pout* Ab ja sab kuchh bhul kar use mana. Arey aise ghoor kya rhi hai, pyaar karti hai tu usse, PYAAR. Ab ye shock emoji wala expression mat de, DDLJ ki Simran ban aur jakar I LOVE YOU bolkar hug kar apne Bhootnath ko, isse pehle ki uske dil ki train ,pyaar wale station se nikal jaye!! Ja Raavi ja, jeet le apne Bhootnath ka dil."
*
And here she was, following the advice of her alter ego & planning a romantic date night.She decided to keep everything aside & spend the day just with her Bhootnath. She kept I LOVE YOU card under the pillow after caressing it multiple times and decorated the entire room with rose petals, fairy lights and frills. Switching off the lights, she was making her way to the aagan when suddenly she remembered it was 11 th Jan today!!
"How can I forget it?? Today is the day of final procedure of Dhara Di's IVF. Oh again! What a Gadheri I am!" No matter how much angry she was with her Dhara Di, she wanted to be by her side on her big day. Afterall she was Raavi , the goodness in her heart always outshined all her qualities & overtook her emotions."Chahe kitni bhi gussa rahoon main Dhara Di se, pan unke itne important din main unhe akela nhi chhor sakti. Mera Bhootnath I LOVE YOU ka wait aaj raat tak ko kar hi lega. Abhi mujhe dhara di ke sath hospital jana chahiye."she took out the lock and key & locked the door. She did not wish anyone in the house to discover about this setup, especially Krrish. He just couldn't digest any information and "Raavi proposing Shiva" would become his new hot topic for gossiping, everyone in the Pandya niwas & the entire Somnath will come to know about it before Shiva. She couldn't take the risk.
"Dhara Di main bhi aapke saath chaloongi". Dhara was surprised & hugged her with a fake smile. "Par iska matlab ye nhi hai ki maine aapko maaf kar diya" ,Raavi said sternly. she was clear with her decisions. She wasn't doing this to please Dhara , not at all. She was doing this to fulfill the responsibilities of a sister in law. Moreover , she was doing this for Shiva.
................
Raavi and Dhara sat in the waiting room near the general ward. Gaumbi was running here and there with Dhara's file & filling up all the required entries. Dhara was about to be taken to the OT when they heard the fire alarm rung aloud. The entire room was filled with smoke & the smell of burning fire made it difficult for Raavi and Dhara to breathe. They coughed and struggled to breathe. Raavi ran towards Dhara, holding her hand, said "Dhara di *coughs* aap...aap thik to hai na?" Dhara was coughing incessantly. She was about to collapse. Although Raavi was finding it difficult to breathe herself, she started taking Dhara near the bed with all her might.
Dev and Shiva reached the hospital in the meantime. Why? Dev was there because Rishita refused to take a day off and Shiva, Shiva was there because he loved his bhabhi more than anyone else in the world. He never wanted her to feel alone. Both of them had decided to finish the important dealings, leave the responsibilities of shop on Kaka and be there with Gautam and Dhara. However, the sight before them was something they had never imagined. Dev & Shiva ran in different directions amongst the panicked crowd to look out for Gautam and Dhara. Dev found Gautam and started helping him to come out of the trap. Shiva caught hold of this sight and ran to help them out. "Gaumbi aap thik hai? Ye sab ..ye sab kaise hua?? Aur bhabhi...bhabhi kahan hai, Gaumbi?"
" Dhara ...aur R..Raavi general ward ke ...paas wale waiting room me hai. Jaldi ja Shiva aur ja kar unki help kar... Mera saath Dev hai.. Tu , tu ja jaldi!!"
This was enough for Shiva to run amidst all the smoke ,fire and crowd to help his Dhara bhabhi and his chipkali. He stormed into the room full of dust and smoke. Dhara was lying unconscious on the hospital bed and Raavi was sitting on the floor, almost unconscious, holding Dhara's hand tightly and rubbing head every now & then.The fire was spreading too quickly & was about to catch the curtains. Shiva ran towards Dhara immediately. "Bhabhi, bhabhi aap thik hain!! Bhabhi aankhon kholo bhabhi!! Ay chipkali, uth!!Raavi , Raavi aankon khol!! "He struggled hard but all his efforts were going in vain. He took hold of both of them, resting both of them on his shoulders, lifting them both simultaneously. Just when he was about to reach the door, he realised it was too late!! The entire gateway was burnt & the entrance to the room was ablaze with fire. Taking both of them out at the same time would be extremely risky. He had to choose one!
After giving it a thought, he decided to take Dhara first . Afterall she was DHARA BHABHI, the same woman who was next to God for him, the most important person in his life. He lifted Dhara in his arms and jumped among the blazing fire to approach Gaumbi and Dev & placed her near Gaumbi.
"Dev, tu bhabhi aur Gaumbi ki sambhal ,main Raavi ko lekar aata hoon." Shiva ran in the same direction only to find it was too late now. The curtains were burnt already and the entry into the room became even more difficult. "Raavi...Raavi", Shiva shouted. He loved Raavi, there was no lie in it. He just couldn't see her like that. He was literally loosing his breath seeing her in such a pathetic state. She was half awake, panting heavily, trying to make a move to reach Shiva. Just then the spreading fire reached up to the syringe stand ,next to her & the burnt syringe stand fell straight on Raavi's back.
"RAAAAVVIII!!!"
Shiva felt his heartbeat stop. Forgetting about everything else, he jumped into the room, half burning his hands in the process. He removed the burning stand with his hands, completely burning his hands now. He took off his shirt & wrapped it around Raavi. "Raavi ....Raavi aankhein khol tu ...tu thik hai na. Ay chipkali, please ek baar apne Bhootnath ki taraf to dekh!!"
Shiva was horrified, the girl whom he loved so much was , here, lying in his arms, unconscious & badly burnt. A crying Shiva took her in his arma and rushed out, protecting and holding her close to his heart.
.................................
..................................
~2 months later~
Shiva was sitting on the branch of his favourite tree, his only buddy & the escape source from his inner turmoil. He was completely lost in his thoughts, remembering the most haunting days of his life.
*Flashback*
His Mami Ki behan Ki beti, his very own chipkali was fighting for her life in the ICU, struggling with her wounds. He couldn't bear with it , he just couldn't see her in that terrible state. His entire family was present with him , but nobody's words could comfort him .On seeing her in that terrible state, he was dying with each passing second. Deep down , somewhere in his heart, he held himself responsible for her state. On finding it suffocating to be there anymore, he left for Pandya Niwas. His mind was tossing upon a troubling thought:
What if, I would have saved Raavi first??
"Hey bholenath!! ek to waise hi chipkali ki aisi haalat dekh kar mere dimaag ki wiring hil chuki hai, ab ye room ke baahar taala kisne lagaya??"* looking at the lock*
"Bholenath please, meri Raavi ko thik kar do please. Aaj kal ye Gadheri din bhar mujhse larti rehti hai, Dhara bhabhi se seedhe mooh baat tak nhi karti ,ek plan me shamil nhi kiya to itni nautanki macha di, mera saara plan bhi kharab kar diya, par pakka bholenath ek baar vo thik ho jaayegi na to mai usse kuchh nhi bolunga, laroonga to bilkul bhi nhi. Bas aap ek baar meri Raavi ko pehle jaisi kar do , please!"
He was disappointed with Raavi, not only because she was being rude to his Bhabhi ,but also she she overlooked the efforts he took that day. He was disappointed because his angry wifey was more interested in hurling accusations at him and his Dhara bhabhi than pondering over the fact that he, SHIVA PANDYA, her Bhoothnath did all those preparations for his Chipkali, his Mami Ki behen hi beti. Moreover, he was angry that why can't his bhabhi come foremost for him.
The same thoughts were troubling him now. Bhabhi is so important for me, then when am I feeling so restless!! Why do I feel now that I should have saved Raavi first?
"Nhi . Nhi, Shiva. Sochna bandh kar, tune jo kiya shi kiya. Bhabhi ki jaan bachana sabse zarrori tha . Unhone itne saalo tak tujhe paala hai aaj tu jo bhi hai unki wajah se hai, bas."
This was Shiva, 22 years old Shiva Pandya raised by Dhara, who had been , unknowingly implanting these words in his mind since he was 12. "Itne saalo tak tujhe apni bache ki tarah pala hai" were her constant words. She had been feeding this program in his little CPU for the past 10 years. No wonder why he placed her next to God. He was made to think of her as a God. He was literally indebted to her for his upbringing.
Angrily he broke the lock with a stone and stormed into the store room , only to find it dark and empty. He switched on the lights and the scene before him annoyed him even more. " Ye sab taam jhaam kya laga rakha hai , kisne kiya hai ye sab, poore kamre ka kabara kar rakha hai." He threw the petals off the bed & noticed something under his pillow. Removing the pillow, he found a pink coloured, heart- shaped ILY card.
So this chipkali was planning to propose him. He was moved to tears, "main itne dino se isse lar rha tha aur ye Gadheri yahan mujhe propose karne wali thi" He felt his heart skip a beat. He clutched the card close to his heart & murmured sobbingly . "Gadheri, chipkali, Mami ki behan ki beti, jab propose karna hi tha to itne dino se mere sar pan tandav kyon kar rhi thi? "
* Flashback ends*
"Ae Shiva!! Tu yahan kya kar rha hai?? ghar chal, raavi bhabhi ko hospital Se laane nahi Jana?? Jaldi chal dhara bhabhi ke IVF ka last procedure bhi hai aaj. Sab tera wait kar rhe hai!! Tu chalega ki main Gaumbi ko bulaoon?"
"Abe gadhere!! Makhhi marne ki aukaat nhi hai teri aur soopari deni ki soch rha hai. Chal bhaag yahan se !! Aa rha hoon niche, batata hoon tujhe!!"
Krish hurriedly headed towards Pandya niwas murmuring "mujhe kya jo karna hai karo, meri to koi value hi nhi hai ghar me, jisko dekho bas yahan se wahan bhagate rehta hai"
Shiva was a changed man now. Past two months, he had been trying to be the perfect husband to Raavi. He had been visiting the hospital regularly to check on Raavi from time to time, making sure that she took her medicines on time, feeding her himself especially when it was khichdi because he knew she wouldn't eat it herself. She would simply give a smile, a fake one, he could make it out . She wasn't happy from within. Something was still troubling her. He was still avoiding that dreadful question: What if , I would have saved Raavi first?
"Abey dhakkan ye itne dino se kya bakwaas soch rha hai?? Abey bilkul thik kiya tha tune uss din Dhara bhabhi ko bacha kar!! Tu Ma maanta hai na unhe aise marne deta kya??"
"Ma maanta hai iska matlab ye nhi ki unke aage kisi ke baare me soche bhi na Shiva, ABEY RAAVI BIWI HAI TERI, PYAAR KARTA HAI TU USSE , WO TERI SABSE PEHLI PRIORITY HONI CHAHIYE, DHARA BHABHI NHI."
"Abey Dhara bhabhi ko uss MKBKB se compare kar rha, vo Dhara bhabhi hai Dhara bhabhi , jisne itne saalo tak tujhe paala hai, unke aage kuchh bhi nhi Shiva , Raavi bhi nhi!!!"
"Itne saalo tak paala hai to kya jeevan bhar bas unke baare me hi sochega?? Ye mat bhool Shiva ki tere talaak dene ke baad bhi Raavi apna self respect side me rakh kar ghar waapas aayi thi, kiske liye??? TERI BHABHI ke liye!! Uss din bhi tujhse itni naraaz thi phir bhi hospital chali gyi, kyu?? TERI BHABHI ke liye!! Are sab kuchh bhool kar bhabhi ke saath chali gyi taaki tujhe boora na lage. Abey gadhere ek baar apne dil par haath rakh kar pooch kya tujhe uss din Raavi ko pehle nhi bachana chahiye tha??"
"Dekh Shiva, ye mat bhool bhabhi ne tujhe paala hai, black colour kaala hai!!!
Bhabhi ki ......"
"Abey chup, chup ho jao dono mera dimaag doodh ki tarah ubaal diya hai!!"
He had enough listening to the two contrasting versions of himself, bhabhi ka devar Shiva & Raavi Pandya ka pati, Shiva Pandya. Shouting these words, he came down and started going towards the city hospital of Somnath.
"Chal Raavi, ab tu bilkul thik ho gyi hai to main sukoon se apna IVF karwa sakti hoon. Tujhe pata bhi hai mai kitna pareshaan ho gyi thi?? Ab tu Krish ke saath ghar jaa , tujhe yahan mere saath rukne ki koi zaroorat nhi hai, yahan mere saath Gaumbi , Rishita, Dev aur Shiva hai na, main apna khayal rakh loongi"
Raavi gave a faint smile. She agreed to Dhara's suggestion but somewhat wanted Shiva, & not Krish ,to be with her. Of course why would that gadhera leave his bhabhi alone on such an important day and be with her. She was somewhat unhappy about the fact that Shiva still prioritised Dhara over her. Nevertheless, she had accepted this fact by now.
"Sorry bhabhi , par vo ..vo main aapke saath nhi rook paaunga. Aapke saath to yahan sab hai na , mera Raavi ke saath jaana zyada important hai. Ye Gadheri jab poori fit rehti hai to yahan wahan geerti rehti hai, aisi haalat mein main koi risk nhi le sakta. BIWI HAI MERI USKA KHAYAL RAKHNA MERI ZIMMEDARI HAI."
Shiva said these words in a flow, without any stammer, looking straight into Dhara 's eyes. Raavi!!! Raavi was taken aback for a second, she never in her wildest dreams had imagined Shiva to counter Dhara one day. She looked into Shiva 's deep hazel eyes filled with love and assurance, with a little smile creeping on her face & a look of ...disbelief, the exact same look she had on her face when Shiva had taken a stand for her ,on their wedding day, in front of Rishita.
"Shiva.. tu, tu ye kya bol raha hai? Tera yahan pe ....."
" Ay chipkali, apna ye radio na abhi bandh rakh, ghar jaakar kholna , pta chala teri battery yhi low ho gyi!! Chup chap ghar chal, fir jo bolna hai bolti rehna!!"
Shiva took Raavi 's wheelchair from Krish 's hold and straightaway headed out of the hospital without even waiting to hear Dhara 's reply.
And Dhara?? Dhara was surprised, kind of shocked, looking at the brand new version of Shiva Pandya, her devar, her "mera bachha" who had just transformed into Oh so caring, husband!! Shiva Pandya. She gave a complete fake smile.
"Gaumbi, Kitna badal gya hai na mera Shiva, Raavi ka kitna khayal rakhne laga hai. Bas mere bachho ko ab kisi ki bhi buri nazar na lage, " said Dhara with her sugar-coated , high calorie words, in order to please everyone. But deep down, she had realised something. She was now no more the most important person of Shiva's life. SHIVA HAD NOW UNKNOWINGLY CHANGED HIS PRIORITIES. HE WAS "RAAVI PANDYA KA PATI, SHIVA PANDYA" now & this was just the start.
~Adieu~
P. S. This user loves long comments.
