"Maa, Mahi ka khayal rakhna. Mujhe lag raha hai ki ab jab Mahi ki story poore desh ke saamne aa chuki hai, to pata nahi kahan kahan se log aayenge uske interview ke liye. Zyada logo ko confront karegi to pata nahi kitna sehna padega use. Pehle se hi kitni weak hai..." Ananya informed her mother on the phone as she stood in the KKN office. Her friend Richa was working on her computer in the meantime. It was a normal day in her office. However, only one thing was bothering her. Someone was still upset about her decision with Mahi's story.
"Abhi tak to koi badi khabar nahi mili hai Khalid. Aaj normal news hi hogi..." Kabir Sharma informed his boss casually in the main office where all the reporters were onto their work. His boss Khalid was about to respond to him when a known voice greeted their ears from far away.
"Where's my partner Ananya?!" It was Manav. Manav Gupta. Looking happier than usual, he was heading straight for Ananya who was talking to Richa while standing in front of her cubicle. The rare pleased expression that his face wore wasn't the factor that was arising curiosity in Kabir's mind, it was that out of all the others, he had chosen to go to Ananya and that too, with such a loud greeting in front of the whole office.
Manav made his way straight to Ananya and wrapped his arms around her without any permission or talk. This made jealousy shoot up inside Kabir's heart.
Ananya was taken aback. She didn't know how to react to Manav sir. That too in front of Kabir sir. What was he doing?
"Ananya! Congratulations! Hamari story poore desh me hit ho gayi hai," Manav informed Ananya with a grin.
"Thank you sir," Ananya said nervously, "Vo to aapne ise achche se present kiya, tabhi to logo ke dil ko chhu payi hai. Nahi to kaun interest leta," Ananya said sadly, eyeing Kabir from the corner of her eyes.
"Arre! Tum story nahi laati to me present bhi kya karta. Ham dono ki mehnat hai. We make a great team together!" And Manav hugged her yet again.
Ananya gave a fake smile and looked away from Manav. This was getting more awkward with the moment. More than anything, she was concerned about what Kabir would be thinking, but Manav was keeping her engaged constantly, she was unable to do anything.
Kabir watched all this silently. Nobody could read the fire blazing in his eyes to shun Manav a hundred miles away from the place. Had he not been there, then Ananya would have done this story with him. And also, that brat wasn't worth doing such a beautiful story. Ananya always brought original and exciting stories to the channel, and this Manav was taking all the credit for her work. Hiding his dumbness by her brilliance. Kabir was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even hear Khalid calling him.
"Well, isi baat pe dinner to banta hai, haina partner?" Manav nudged Ananya. Ananya's eyes widened with shock and horror. How should she say no? She was not in the least interested.
Tareef bhi kar di iski, phir bhi apni harkaton se baaz nahi aayega. Chahta kya hai ye? Ms. Kashyap ki story ka success flaunt karna ya phir Ms. Kashyap ke saath apni partnership? ' Kabir thought in disgusted envy.
"Nahi sir. Aaj ki dinner treat, meri taraf se!" came Richa's voice from her chair. Ananya breathed a sigh of relief.
"Chalo koi baat nahi, some other time."
Kabir was breathing anger with air. This was going beyond limit. And moreover, Ananya wasn't even opposing.
Why would she?' he thought. After all, Manav ne hi to uski story run ki hai. Ab to poore office me, including Ananya Kashyap ki aankhon me, Manav sir hero ban chuke hain. Dikhana hi padega in sabko aaina'. It was only when Khalid tapped his shoulder that he came out of his thoughts.
"Kya baat hai Kabir," Khalid said in a mocking way, "Jealous ho rahe ho? Tumne Ananya ki story reject ki, to Manav ne run kar di..."
Before he could complete, Kabir shot him a dangerous look that blazed down all his jokes. For the first time in his life, Kabir was regretting something, regretting that he had rejected Ananya's story under the influence of his ego. Kabir headed to his cabin straightaway.
The hubbub cleared soon after Kabir's departure. All the reporters had just settled on their desks and Ananya had just started expressing her bewilderness to Richa when the intercom rang. Richa received it.
"Richa, mere cabin me aao abhi," came Kabir's voice from the other side.
"Yes sir," Richa replied and swiftly headed to Kabir's cabin.
Ananya's eyes followed Richa's sudden movement to Kabir's cabin. A hint of jealousy and disappointment arose in her chest.
Inside the cabin, a casual conversation was on between Kabir and Richa.
"Richa, I want you to start working on stories. Jo bhi lead gather kar sakti ho, jo information, vo karo. KKN bina breaking news ke apni No.1 position nahi maintain kar sakta," Kabir commanded urgently.
"Par sir," Richa protested softly, "Ham abhi aaj hi to no.1 positon pe aaye hain. Cheezon ko itna rush karne ki zaroorat kya hai? Abhi thode time tak to Ananya ki story ka effect rahega audience pe. Aur Manav sir ne bhi achche se present ki thi. Jab iska effect thanda ho jayega, tab ham breaking news denge to audience pe dono stories ka impact rahega."
Kabir swiftly responded, "Lagta hai tum Miss Kashyap ke influence me kaafi zyada aa gayi ho."
"Nahi, nahi sir," Richa immediately tried to keep herself in Kabir's good books, "Aisa kuch nahi hai. Vo to bas..."
"Bas kya?" Kabir questioned.
"Sir, me to bas ye hi keh rahi thi ki itne short notice pe ek breaking news story lana kafi mushkil hai. Vo to sir, Ananya me pata nahi kaise ye talent hai. Vo to chalte chalte kisi bhi cheez ko dekh kar usme story dhoond leti hai. But anyways, I'll try my best sir to get a new story tomorrow."
Kabir gave a small smile in reply which flared up Ananya's jealousy outside the cabin. She looked away to suppress her feelings. Kabir sir has teamed up with Richa now. And he's behaving as I don't even exist. This is wrong. Meri galati kya hai jo Kabir sir mujhe aise ignore kar rahe hain?' Ananya thought to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing intercom. She received it.
"Hello, Ananya?" came the familiar voice.
"Yes Manav sir," Ananya replied with an irritated sigh.
"As soon as possible, mere cabin me aao."
"Okay sir." Ananya replied with frustration and slammed the receiver in its place. "Chahte kya hain Manav sir?" Ananya said to herself and stamped her feet as she headed to complete the orders.
Richa left Kabir's cabin with a satisfied grin. Finally, she would be in limelight! But she'll have to do something to stand up to Kabir's order. Finding a lead, investigating it, and making its story in one day was a hectic job. However, she won't let this golden chance slip. She would definitely enter Kabir's trustworthy books. She might even become his favourite. Dreamy thoughts started brewing in her mind and she was lost in ecstasies.
Ananya sat cautiously in Manav's cabin.
"So Ananya! Tum dekh hi rahi ho ki hamari partnership kitni fantastic hai. Now, me chahta hu ki tum apni aisi hi original stories mere pass lati raho. Dekhna, bahut jald phir aath ki baat KKN ka best show ban jayega. Nahi to tum jaanti hi ho, office me log tumhari leads ki value hi nahi karte. But I don't want your talent to be wasted. Isiliye keep up your good work and mujhe regular reports deti rehna," Manav commanded.
Ananya watched with a horrified expression. Why should she give her all her stories to Manav sir? And how had he just, on his own, made up this partnership thing? Reluctantly, she gave a fake yes and was about to leave her seat when Manav reached out for her hand and spoke. Ananya frowned at his action.
"Dekho Ananya, tum Kabir ka to attitude dekh hi chuki ho. Zyada bhagogi uske peeche to kahi ki nahi rahogi. But have faith in me, jab tak tum mere saath kaam karogi, tumhe tumahara deserved credit milta rahega. And dekhna, ek din ham us Kabir Sharma ko dikha denge ki hamari news uske ego se badi hai," Manav said confidently and Ananya was even more horrified.
"Sir aap ye kya keh rahe hain? I thought ki ham news KKN ki position maintain karne ke liye kar rahe hain, Kabir sir se compete karne ke liye nahi. Bhala aap Kabir sir ko kyu target kar rahe hain? Unhone to khud aapko sabke saamne congratulate kiya tha. Phir aisi ill feelings kyu sir?" Ananya boldly asked.
"Ananya, Ananya!" Manav laughed it away. "Tum bahut innocent ho. Is office ki politics me to mat hi pado, nahi to log tumhara fayda uthana chodenge nahi. Me to bas tumhe safe option de raha hu. Kyuki tum to jaanti ho ki mai khud saara credit nahi leta..." Manav went on.
Ananya sat there without paying much attention to what Manav was saying. Her dislike for him was growing with each passing second. She was only waiting to get out of there. When she got the opportunity, she didn't hesitate for a single moment and stepped out of his cabin.
On the way to her chair, she started blabbering to the air to vent out her frustration. In her mindlessness, she collided hard with someone. She paused her bullet train of thoughts for a second to see that exactly who had run into her. She was frozen to find herself staring into Kabir sir's face. She forgot everything for a moment. Both Kabir and Ananya were staring into each other's eyes, frozen at their spots. They took some time to recover. When Kabir did, he just looked at her as Manav Gupta's new partner and chose to ignore her and move on. As he proceeded, he heard a little voice behind him.
"Sorry Kabir sir," Ananya said timidly. At her words, Kabir abandoned his work for a moment and walked right up close to her.
"Aapki growth dikh rahi hai Miss Kashyap. Aapke us naye partner ke saath. Aap to aage dekhkar chalna bhi bhool gayi hain," Kabir remarked coldly.
Ananya was dumbstruck at the comment. Before she could figure out what to say, Kabir gave a cold worthless expression and went on. Ananya screwed up her face in irritation.
"Kyu nahi sir?" Ananya responded straightforward. She wasn't going to give in to Kabir Sharma this time. Kabir paused in his tracks and turned to face her.
"Manav sir ne story present kar di to kaam badiya ho gaya. Aur jab mai vo hi story lai thi, tab to vo entertainment channel bhejne layak lag rahi thi. Haina Kabir sir?" Ananya Kashyap replied with Kabir's behaviour. "Koi aur kaam kare to brilliant, aur me mehnat karu to pointless. Sir mujhe samajh nahi aata. Aapko problem meri khabaron se hai ya mujhse?" Ananya bursted. Kabir could do nothing but stare back with a poker face. Frowning, Ananya went back to her desk when he did not reply. Stuck between the unneeded affection from Manav sir and the undeserved coldness from Kabir sir, she couldn't concentrate on her work anymore and decided to head home early.
Hello everyone. This is Aru. A regular visitor at this forum, but never visible. I actually wrote this story (and two more) a long time back (look at the story I'm discussing), but since Reporters is coming to an end, I wanted to share my stories before all the interested people fled away. Will wait for the feedback. Will try to post something new soon and update it's second part. I do hope that you enjoy this long update. :)
Index:
Part 1- Page 1
Part 2- Coming soon
Kumkum Bhagya
Tum Se Tum Tak
Sampoorna
Jhanak
