Purab Khanna
He was standing behind the curtain by the open door to his uncle and aunts bedroom. He was well hidden from their view and his eavesdropping wasn't intentional. He had come to them to ask for a toothbrush. He had moved into their house only that day. He was sharing a room with his cousin sister Mahek - she was ecstatic at the idea of Purab bhaiya moving in with them from that day. He was going to brush for the night when he realized he hadn't packed his toothbrush. Mahek was sure his aunt would have a spare new one, hence he came to ask for one. But when he was about to enter, he realized his aunt and uncle were in the middle of what sounded like an argument - about him. His childish curiosity got the better of him, and he hung around to hear it all.
"Yes Kalpana, I have enquired about all of bhaiya's accounts, there is not much money left anywhere. Most of his savings are frozen because bhabi was the beneficiary and she never had a proper will, and whatever else remained otherwise is mostly used up in paying for all their hospital bills. Now whatever is left, it will be used up in organizing bhaiya and bhabi's funeral. So, the boy is fully financially dependent on us."
"But Adhiraj, how will we manage? We aren't as well of as Bhaiya and Bhabi were. We stay in this rented apartment, and on that we have Mahek to take care of, how will we manage?"
"He is my brother's only child Kalpana, and he is just twelve years old. I can't abandon him, whatever we have we will share with him."
"I know Adhiraj, I am not asking you to abandon him, I am just worried. Well in that case the boy will have to adjust too. We can't afford the luxury he is used to. And we need to make him start school again, do you realize he has not been to school in the last two weeks?"
"Yes, I was hoping now that he has moved in, let him adjust this week and school he can rejoin next Monday, but yesterday I received a call from his school, they are saying his school fees are due, and honestly Kalpana, we can't afford his fees easily. So he has to wait until I can manage the money to pay"
His aunt looked at his uncle sternly for a few moment before responding, "Well then Adhiraj, we cant be groping for money every month to make him study in that school, we have to look after Mahek's needs too. We will have to pull him out of that school, and enrol him to a public school"
"But Kalpana, how will he ever adjust? He is from one of the most elite schools in the city, for him to adjust------"
"He doesn't have a choice Adhiraj, he has to understand that life has changed for him, he is an orphan now, and he is financially dependent on his uncle and aunt - who cannot afford to offer him the best life can offer"
His aunt had ended the conversation in such a note that his uncle didn't find it in him to argue further, or maybe he didn't find valid argument, Purab couldn't understand. All he understood was life was never going to be the same for him again without his parents by his side. He tiptoed back to his room to thankfully find Mahek already asleep. He was glad, he needed the time alone. He slowly changed to his pyjamas and laid down on the bed as silent tears escaped his eyes bringing back memories of happier times with his parents and friends. He knew he won't meet his friends again, not even to say a final goodbye. Soon he will be enrolled to a public school. He remembered seeing children from public schools on his way to school with his father, they would wear shabby clothes and their schools were in dark and dingy buildings. In a short time, he will join one such school, the thought scared him and he gulped unnecessarily on his bed, anxiously waiting for this new life.
However, till this date if there is one special thing Purab is thankful to his aunt for, that is her decision to send him to a public school. It was here he met his brother come friend Abhi and through him, Purab's true family - the Mehra's.
Purab's life with his aunt and uncle wasn't an easy one. They never made him feel unwanted, but their first priority was always Mahek. He understood it to a certain extent, but being a child, he couldn't always help himself, sometimes he felt disappointed to see the subtle difference in treatment. He remembered sometimes in the summers while returning from school, his aunt would indulge them by buying them a cup of ice cream that both the siblings were expected to share. However, his aunt would never ask him, what flavour they wanted, it was always Mahek's choice. He knew his aunt loved him too, she was a very practical woman and she ensured he studied well and took good care of him, but theirs weren't a plentiful household, and whatever little extra luxury they could afford, it would always be channelized towards Mahek. But as he grew up, he stopped holding them responsible for their actions. They weren't bad from the heart, and they never took up Purab's responsibility out of joy, it was dumped on them, yet they took him in and he was raised well, he felt thankful to them for that.
When Purab joined school, it was very difficult for him to adjust, most of the teaching happened in vernacular, and Purab was used to convent education. He was lagging behind, and he wasn't easily accepted by his peers, he was the convent boy they liked to jeer at and vent out their jealousy on. Purab was going through one of the toughest phase in life, life had turned upside down in a month. He had lost his parents in an car crash, lost his friends, taken in by his uncle and aunt who were having a tough time taking care of his costs, and he was in a new school where not only was he having trouble adjusting to the teaching and vernacular, but also he didn't have any friends. He was slowly becoming a recluse in school, he would sit quietly in his class and not talk to anyone, and at home he would help Mahek with her studies and later try working on his studies. The questions life posed at him was meant for a far mature kid to handle. He was too young for it, but as fate would have it, he was dealing with them. A month had passed and life was still the same. Purab was at the verge of breaking down, when one fine morning, the story changed.
He was standing in the long assembly line with his classmates, and there was a surprise disciplinary check announced. The prefects were pulling scores of students out of their lines for long nails, untidy hair, messy ties etc. Purab knew the trade, the caught students needed to pay a token money as fine. He knew he would be caught today, his sneakers were dirty. He had told chachi that it needed cleaning, but she had put it for another day, she usually did Mahek and Purab's shoes together, and Mahek's weren't dirty yet. But Purab was most reluctant to ask his uncle and aunt for money, even at this age, he had understood that would cause discomfort between his uncle and aunt - his uncle would smilingly pull out the money knowing Purab wouldn't ask for it unless it was absolutely necessary, but still his aunt wouldn't approve.
As he stood their panicking, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He anxiously turned around to see a girl standing behind him. She was in his class, he had seen her earlier, but they never interacted. She looked at him and enquired why he was fidgeting and what was bothering him. She said, she was noticing him for a long time and she couldn't understand how a disciplinary check could perturb him so much. Purab hesitated, in the whole month of his school joining, no one made an effort to talk to him, he was suspicious, could this be a joke they were pulling on him? But he noticed this was one of those rare people in class who never bullied him, neither came to his defence - he felt slightly less defensive. The girl was staring at him blankly, and then repeated her question. Purab finally decided to be honest with her, he told her his snickers were dirty and he couldn't afford to pay the fine (He thought it was best to not mention his family issues to this almost stranger at this point). The girl laughed hearing this and pulled him to the end of their queue. Then she pulled out something from her skirt pocket and handed it to Purab.
"Here rub your snickers with this, it will make your shoes white enough to pass for the time being!"
He looked down at his hands and saw a few pieces of chalk. He looked up uncertainly to see her giving a mischievous smile. Unsure of what to expect, he bent down and rubbed the chalk on the dirty parts of his shoe, and to his surprise it was all white. A smile escaped his lips, and he enthusiastically rubbed the chalk all where it was needed. Once satisfied, he got up and saw her smiling at him. He smiled at her warmly.
"Thank you so much! Hi, I am Purab by the way!"
"You're welcome Purab, I am Aaliya" she smiled.
Purab had finally found one acquaintance in school. They were in the same class and by the end of the day, they had become friends. During recess, when Aaliya was leaving the class, Purab accompanied her till the gate, and when he saw her stopping outside the gate, he had asked her why she wasn't going home. Aaliya had replied that she was waiting for her brother at the gate, he was a few classes senior so he would be out in another fifteen minutes. Then they would walk back home together. Purab decided to accompany her till her brother arrived. They were chatting outside the school gate for a little while when for the second time that day, Purab felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned around to see a tall and lanky boy, slightly older than him, looking down at him suspiciously. He eyed Purab carefully from head to toe and then he eyed Aaliya. Purab glanced at Aaliya and she looked intimidated by this boy. The boy suddenly advanced his hand and snatched the water bottle out of Aliyah's hand and started drinking the water without saying anything to her, as Aaliyah stood there helplessly watching him drink her water. Purab felt protective towards this new friend of his who stood by him in the morning. He placed himself in between the boy and Aaliyah and mustered all his courage.
"Stop intimidating my friend and return her bottle right now, or I will have you called to the headmistress's office." He charged at the older boy. Aaliyah instantly tried holding him back, but she was late, he had advanced towards this man. But to his amazement, the older boy suddenly had a twitched smile on his face. He eyed him for a long time, and then turned to Aaliyah.
"Aaliyah, I think he is a decent guy, you are allowed to befriend him!"
Purab was surprised to hear this and he uncertainly turned towards Aaliyah. "My older brother Abhi" she whispered. "I told you I was waiting for bhai nah!"
"Oh. Sorry. Bhai. I thought..never mind" stuttered Purab in dismay.
"Bhai..hmm..only Aaliyah calls me that. But I liked how you stood up for my sister, I guess you can call me that too from now!" then he clapped Purab's shoulder with one hand and Aaliyah's with another and walked ahead.
From that day onwards, Purab's life was so much better, Aaliyah and Abhi were his ray of sunshine that could brighten him up like no other. Though his friendship was first with Aaliyah, but he slowly became much closer to Abhi. Purab connected to him better. They were similar in a few ways, they both were orphans taken in by close relatives, they both were reluctant to be dependent for long and they both needed a brother to dream with and confide in. Purab felt, Abhi was a bit luckier in a few ways, he at least had a daadi and Aaliyah who were really his own, but soon he found out Abhi was more than happy to share both his sister and his daadi with Purab. Purab soon was a more than welcome visitor at the Mehra's. Purab saw that the Mehra's were a slight notch better off financially than his uncle and aunt. But their story was the same. Abhi and Aaliyah had lost their parents at a tender age and were financially dependent on their tayaji along with their daadi. Daadi worked all day and did all the household chores - whenever Abhi was free he would help daadi. Abhi's tayiji was a very cunning woman, since her husband was their only bread earner, she took advantage of the situation and did no work, she would just keep complaining about how lavish a life they could lead if the weren't burdened with "added" responsibilities. Abhi would get irritated hearing this, and daadi would sooth him, and ask him to ignore tayiji.
When Purab met the Mehra's, daadi liked the boy instantly. Later on when he became a regular visitor at theirs and he was considered family (even tayiji had eventually accepted him), Purab would also join hands with Abhi and help daadi in the household work in the evening. In daadi's presence, Purab found reassurance that if not a parent, but at least a parent like figure was still around him, who knew what he liked to eat, how he reacted when his mood was bad and how to bribe him with his favourite food when he is upset! His uncle and aunt were responsible guardians for Purab, but daadi was a parent.
His and Abhi's bond had strengthened so much over the years that, even Purab's uncle and aunt had started considering Purab as a Mehra. This thought found greater foundation when after graduation, Purab decided on an MBA. He was trying very hard for a scholarship, he didn't want his uncle and aunt to pay for him any longer. However, even though he received an MBA scholarship, it was a fifty percent scholarship. He knew he couldn't even afford to pay for the other fifty percent of his fees, so he was reluctantly decided to give up on MBA and take up a job. Abhi by then had started his struggle as a singer, and he had decided to come forward. Abhi and daadi had decided that they would break an age old fixed deposit daadi had made to save for Aaliyah's marriage to finance Purab's education (the other fifty percent) - Purab had refused on the face, he couldn't take such a great favour, but daadi and Abhi had emotionally blackmailed him into accepting it. Abhi had told him, once he became the rockstar of his dream and Purab became a corporate honcho, they would marry off Aaliyah very lavishly anyway, so Purab shouldn't worry.
Abhi- how much he meant to Purab, he couldn't explain that himself. He was the man who reintroduced him to family, he was the brother who taught Purab to hold on, he was the man who happily shared every morsel of his with him. He gave him daadi - who taught him to understand his uncle and aunt and understand their insecurities. And if there was one person he was more thankful to than he was to Abhi, it was Aaliyah. True, that over the years, they weren't at each others pockets anymore, she was sidelined by Abhi in his life, but she was the reason he met Abhi and daadi and hence if Aaliyah asked, he knew he wouldn't deny even giving his life for her.
Soon the scenarios changed, Abhi became the nation's rockstar and Purab was soon working his way up the corporate ladder in a stealthy pace. Their financial crises were over and they started living a life of luxury. Purab now supported his uncle aunt and Mahek. Abhi supported Aaliyah, daadi, tayaji, tayiji and their children. Both were responsible and both were still the best of friends. Things were perfect in Purab's world until one day daadi suggested that it was time to look for a groom for Aaliyah. Purab knew Abhi would be anxious, he knew what Aaliyah meant for Abhi and hence he wanted to ensure she got a perfect life partner - this Purab knew was difficult, considering the kind of woman Aaliyah had grown up to be. She was in the same space as Abhi and Purab in her childhood, but Purab and Abhi were so protective of her that she never felt the harshness that life imposed on them. Even in their budgeted life, Aaliyah lived a fairy-tale life. Purab understood this and he had spoken to Abhi about this - he had told him that Aaliyah needed someone who would understand her psyche - someone who would understand why she is so headstrong, how she has been raised without facing any harshness and how all her dreams were made to come true by her brother. Only someone who understood Aaliyah could be able to handle her and keep her happy. When he finished he looked at Abhi, he had a strange expression and then his face broke into a smile.
"No one can understand her as much as we do. In that case, perhaps we already know who we should marry her to - What say Purab? Read to be my brother-in-law now?" he grinned.
Purab had stared at Abhi for a long time after hearing that. In his memory he had a flashback of the time in school when he first met Aaliyah - every memory ever since then - he was always fiercely protective about Aaliyah his friend, but never had he thought about her on these lines. True he wasn't even sure if love really existed in the way Abhi sang about in his songs - he never felt it, but he hoped someday he would feel something close? But there was only a possibility he might feel that way for someone, it maynot be the case also he thought. On the other hand Aaliyah was a nice girl from her heart he knew, and with her came Abhi and daadi as real relatives. For a man who had starved for family for such a long time, it was indeed a lucrative option - true he didn't feel special about Aaliyah so far, but maybe that was because he never thought of her that way, now if he did, who knows thought Purab, maybe Aaliyah was the one? He gave a slight nod of agreement after sometime and he saw Abhi was the happiest he ever was in all his life - in that one moment.
Things were going great in his life when the most irritating, loud and overtly chirpy girl walked into his new business setup as hi assistant. She was childlike, impatient, judgemental, dramatic and most importantly LOUD. She had huge eyes which looked like tennis balls and she had a baby face - she looked like a pampered over grown child who was let lose in a work environment - she irritated the life out of Purab - she misunderstood him, scolded him (and he was the boss), threw tonnes of attitude at him and he hated her for all this, he hated her for as long as he could until he hopelessly fell in love with her for the same abovementioned qualities!
So, this was love? Pretty much what Abhi bragged about in his songs - it was actually true? There can be a person who can have such a strong hold on you that your entire world will revolve around that person - this girl - Bulbul was that person for Purab. How was he going to ever explain this to Abhi or his now fianc Aaliyah when she returned from Australia? As for Bulbul, what hopes did he have of explaining this rather complicated emotions he had for this brother sister duo to her? Childlike she already was - how would she ever fathom what they meant to him? How could he ever refuse that one girl who brought both friends and family back to his life - Aaliyah? How could he deny his feeling for this innocent bubbly girl who made his heart beat in a way it never had before - Bulbul?
He had made a clear choice between Bulbul and Aaliyah eventually, and it had come with it's own set of complications, but in the current day as he sat outside the hospital ward with Aaliyah under treatment after she attempted suicide for her unrequited love for him - he had made another choice, though reluctantly but he made the choice - Aaliyah even after whatever she did wasn't disposable for him - he owed her a lot, and if she was asking for his life today, he would give it to her as he had promised to his ownself oneday. The doctor's came out to inform Aaliyah was out of danger, now was the time - he would walk in and tell her about his decision - the choice would her's.
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
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