Sanskaar Chronicles Reloaded. (Note: pg. 6) - Page 2

Swara pursed her lips and tapped her forehead with her fist.

Who are you Sanskaar Maheshwari and what do you want?

And then she smiled remembering his Kala bhoot moment. Well that was hilarious. But to give him credit; faced with utter collapse of his plans and no way out he still gave a good fight. No matter how silly it looked.

She grinned.

And then paused.

Get a grip Swara Bose Gadodia. If what she is sensing is right then that guy is responsible somehow for the MMS scandal and thereby is a direct culprit of hers for trying to drag her reputation through mud and causing her misery. So instead of spitting fire, lime and brimstone at him.. She is grinning like an idiot thinking about him. Get over it Swara no matter how adorable he looked pulling that silly Kala bhoot stunt.

He is a nemesis. A very dangerous one at that.

And instead of treating him like one you are not only hearing his voices but also feeling him around you.

In love with one brother and spends half and more time thinking about the other one.

You really should get a grip.

Swara set her lips in grim determination.

Yesterday was a rare occasion when the enigma called Sanskaar Maheshwari slipped. That proves he is not infallible. There are chinks in the armour. She can unravel the mystery behind it and rip off that armour. Maybe then she could see the real man behind that mask and understand what exactly makes him tick.

Maybe that should set her free from the weird cosmic connection she is establishing with him

Sanskaar Maheshwari I am gonna decipher you now.

She shared his misgivings about Sanskaar with Ragini, her mom and Laksh. But everyone dismissed her. But swara being swara managed to give her benefit of doubt and they agreed to her plan albeit reluctantly.

"So what do you want me to do?" Laksh asked Swara.

"Oh! Nothing brother. Ragini wants to meet you. Been a long time right!" Laksh tried to give him a winning smile.

Swara! Got to be Swara!

Sanskaar deduced correctly.

What is she up to now? Definitely not something that would bode well for him.

He got tempted to reject the invitation.

He is better off here. With Swara around he is just about floundering around. That girl never failed to knock him out of the loop.

Mighty Sanskaar Maheshwari scared of a petite young girl? A snide voice remarked.

Shaddup! He pulled himself up to his full height.

Alright Swara Bose! Let's see what you got. Bring it on!

But what exactly are you going to do? A voice inside him asked timidly.

Well! He drawled that a good question. Maybe he will just roll with the punches that would come in his way.

That's absolutely terrific Sanskaar Maheshwari.

The guy who was a compulsive obsessive analyst; the guy who planned for decades altogether if not few years; the guy's whose to-the-minute-detail-strategies were legendary in business circle> is now planning to whing it as it comes.

This got to be the first.

He shook his head ruefully.

When it comes to Swara there seems to be lot of firsts happening in Sanskaar's life.

*************

They entered the Gadodia house and Swara gave them; especially Sanskaar a beaming smile.

That effectively confirmed all his suspicions.

Trouble ahoy!

She could be blessed with a sharp thinking mind but those guileless eyes and that innocent face are dead giveaway. They just mirror her inner feelings.

She is up to something alright!

Coincidentally (pfff!) Laksh and Momma Bose had to leave the room for some reason and thereby leaving him; Sanskaar in the very capable hands of Swara Bose. Ragini was hovering in the background but looking at her confused expressions he had doubts if Swara shared her plans with her sister at all.

Looks like she is the lone ranger here.

Watch it Sanskaar. Keep your eyes open. Wide open!

Swara brought him a kheer almost dancing on the tips of her toes in excitement.

"Here Kheer for you Sanskaar. You love it don't you?" she beamed.

He looked at the kheer and then looked at the her.

Is this what he thinks it is?

He took the bowl and slowly brought the spoon near his mouth.

Swara was watching him with almost painful intensity. So intently was she watching the progress of the spoon near his lips that she failed to notice his eyes observing the expressions on her face with almost amused intensity.

Her face is indeed the mirror of her heart!

He smiled.

So the kheer is indeed spiked. Gotcha Swara Bose.

"You taste it first" he pushed the bowl towards her and she suddenly jumped out of her skin hearing his voice.

"Errr. That's for you Sanskaar." She gave him her most winning smile. "You first!"

Nice try lady!

"No! You first!" He smiled back at her.

"Alright!" She gave a resigned smile and reached for the bowl. But he slowly held the spoon in his hand and brought the spoon near her lips.

She looked at him with unfathomable expressions and gently took a mouthful.

He stared at her for a long moment. She gave a sweet smile.

Well she looks alright! Does that mean the kheer is alright? Then why are his instincts telling him otherwise.

He looked at her again and saw a speck of kheer deliciously sticking on her lips.

"You got something there!" He pointed at her lips.

"Hu!" She looked at him in confusion.

And then before he could stop himself and rationalize his thoughts his fingers reached for her lips and gently wiped away the speck. Almost sensually his thumb caressing her lower lip.

That moment felt surreal.

THAT WAS STUPID SANSKAAR! A voice inside him yelled.

I know! A diabolical part of him replied "But that felt So good. And that startled look in her eyes. Now that was immensely satisfying.

He almost gave a lop-sided smile.

WHAT WAS THAT!

Swara looked dazed for a moment. She could almost feel his fingers on her lips. Still caressing. Being oh so gentle.

Had it been any other guy she would have socked him. And here she is; analyzing and wondering and feeling dazed.

Swara! You really are losing it.

With a supreme effort she brought herself back to reality.

"Eat Sanskaar!" She stared him down.

Uhu!

Left with no exit points he started eating the kheer despite his misgivings.

Humm! Tastes good!

He dug in with manly pleasure. And totally missed the gesture of Swara where she spat out the mouthful of kheer sneakily. Ragini looked appalled. She tried to warn Sanskaar through gestures but it was too late.

He felt lethargy creeping over him. His senses getting dimmed and world slowly started to swim around.

Bloody hell! The kheer was indeed spiked.

You sneaky, devious, sly little devil.

He tried to glare at Swara. But felt his legs giving up on him.

He was about to collapse when he felt soft, gentle hands holding him close.

Ouch! He is heavy!

Swara nearly stumbled herself trying to balance Sanskaar. He was almost collapsing on her.

She could feel his lanky body leaning over hers, those strong hands holding on to her for support and that musky woody smell of his invading her senses.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and gently deposited him on the sofa. Her hand pinned behind his head. Her face very close to his.

He looked at her almost drowsily.

There! He can see the halo and the wings now.

He smiled.

She looks so innocent. So beautiful. So unattainable.

She looked at him. Her eyes struck into the deep dark eyes of his. Those eyes were sleepy but so deep. Mysterious. Transcendental!

Move Swara!

She almost ripped her hand with a violent jerk from the pinned position and stood at a safe distance from Sanskaar. And took a deep breath.

Focus!

"Alright Ragini!" she gave a camcorder to Ragini "Start recording!"

Laksh, Dida and mom joined as spectators but from a distance. Ragini went into the kitchen standing in a strategic position.

"Ok sanskaar! Who are you?" She asked staring down at the man in front of her and despite his senseless state he gave a diabolical smile.

Focus Sanskaar.

He tried to shake off the lethargy creeping into his brain. That heavenly sandal, rosemary smell of that girl, her touch, her face so close to his a moment back, or the fact that she felt so good draping her arms around him> didn't help.

He was losing himself to the sensation he couldn't understand.

For Godsakes! Focus Sanskaar!

Then he heard a musical voice chiming at him.

"Ok sanskaar! Who are you?"

"Me!" He gave a fiendish smile.

"I am Sanskaar Maheshwari!"

And then everything went berserk.

Ragini got herself electrocuted. Swara, Laksh and rest of the family ran to attend her leaving Sanskaar all alone with his thoughts.

And those thoughts kept pouring out unrestrained.

And he spilled out everything.

Luckily for him; No one heard.

Swara came back to him after attending Ragini but it was too late. He could salvage his remaining senses and with great effort put back his crazy mask on. Yet there was a sinking sensation in his stomach.

What just happened?

Swara felt immensely disappointed at the turn of events. Sanskaar indeed looked and acted crazy. And the family totally believed him. And counseled her to let go of her suspicions which she reluctantly did.

Yet there was a niggling feeling she couldn't shake off.

There is something about Sanskaar Maheshwari... Her thoughts trailed off.

"That's it Ragini! From now on you will no longer be part of my plans or agenda. And a word of wise. Give up on your agenda too. I can walk on this path of destruction. I am built that way. You are not. Our partnership ends here." He declared on the phone.

"Sanskaar you can't abandon me like this. I can do this. I want to be a part of this. Please!" Ragini pleaded from the other end.

He took a deep breath and sighed.

"Ragini! I am already bearing a cross of death of an innocent on my soul. Trust me! It is too much of a burden to bear. I can't take the loss of another innocent too. You are that innocent. You could have died thanks that electrocution stunt of yours."

"But I was trying to protect you." Ragini cut in desperately.

"I know that. And I am thankful to you. Really I am. You are a friend. A true friend. The foundation of our friendship may be that of deceit and agendas but this is a friendship I would honour. And in the name of that friendship I am asking you to back off. Let me play this game in my own way. On my own terms. You go back to your world of innocence. I am sure that purity and innocence is still there somewhere inside you. Hold on to it and let go of the rest. Bye Ragini. Get out of my way and stay out."

His tone was gentle but firm.

"You can't do this me Sanskaar." Her tone changed. From pleading and desperation she is now getting angry and unreasonable. "You can't. I will not accept this."

"Ragini! Listen to me..." He tried to reason with her but she disconnected the call and threw the phone.

"Bloody hell!" He gritted his teeth and with suppressed rage dialed her number again. And let it rip when that call was received from the other end.

"Don't you dare to disconnect the call on me ever again Partner. And for the last time... Go back to your world. You don't belong in mine. I am thankful for your help in that MMS fiasco, saving my hide and all but that is it. I shouldn't have introduced you to the dark world. Too late. But I can darn well will try to stop your further journey down this path. So back off."

And he disconnected the call without waiting for the person on the other end to speak. He should have waited. He would have known then that it was not Ragini but Dida who picked that call.

And heard every word that he said. And understood every diabolical thing.

"Damn you to hell Swara Bose!" He swore with feeling. "Damn you and damn it! You drugged me. You actually drugged Sanskaar Maheshwari. That's some nerve lady. And some real stupidity on display. You just don't mess with Sanskaar. You just don't."

He prowled all over his room like a caged predator.

He got fooled by a wisp of a girl. A girl he first thought of as an innocent Angel and then dismissed as a mere pawn in his game of chess.

He; Sanskaar Maheshwari; who never underestimated an opponent made such a huge error of judgement when it came to a girl called Swara Bose Gadodia.

"You are a blithering Idiot Sanskaar Maheshwari!" He cursed himself. "A frigging fool."

And he thought he is smartest player in this game. He even made her eat the first morsel to be sure. And she did eat that. Or did she? She must have spat it out when he was not looking. And despite his gut instincts telling him otherwise he went ahead and had that drug laced Kheer made by her.

Bloody fool!

Well the kheer was pretty yumm though! A voice inside him primly claimed.

Never mind the kheer. He snarled. Drugs! Talk about drugs. Swara Bose drugged me. The nerve. And I thought she is an innocent untouched sweet little Angelic girl. Criminal! That girl has got mind of a criminal.

Not as big a criminal mind as you though! The voice again.

Yeah! Thank you for making me feel better. But that's not the point. The girl with butter wont melt in your mouth demeanour not only drugged me but systematically demolished all my best laid plans since day one. My plan was so simple.

Get Ragini in Laksh's life and thereby making Swara unattainable for him... Swara happens.

MMS kaand to get Swara out of Laksh's life forever... Swara happens.

Swara and Laksh will never be together... Swara happens again. She even made Durga Prasad Maheshwari happen. How on the earth she managed to charm that old dragon head?

And yes.. she even manage to light fire under the tail of yours truly Sanskaar Maheshwari. She almost got him in that MMS fiasco his kaala bhoot stunt notwithstanding. Poor Nakul had to take blame for that and got himself arrested.

And yes when Sanskaar went to check up the proceedings personally albeit incognito with holi colours, drums and jazz to evade recognition... Ding ding ding... Swara Bose happened again. She almost caught him again. He had to channel Milkha Singh to get out of that sticky spot.

And she did it again. This time directly took on him. One on one. Right in the middle of the battlefield. And she almost nailed him again. But for Ragini.

He prowled on the rich carpet almost wearing it down with furious energy.

And then he paused.

Drugs! Seriously? He suddenly grinned. Who would have thought a girl with that face and that charm and that innocence could dabble in something like this. Intriguing. And yes: Ballsy! Well played Swara Bose. Very well played indeed.

Sanskaar! The voice drawled. Don't you think you are thinking a tad too much about that girl?

He felt flustered.

I am not thinking about that girl. Atleast not thinking' in thinking' kind of way.

And what is this not thinking' in thinking' kind of way? The voice persisted.

You never mind. He snapped.

The point is what is he going to do about certain Swara Bose. He would call her Swara Bose only. It suits her. Gadodias are way beneath her league. Barring Ragini. That girl is on her own league. Hope she heeds his advice and backs off. He can't take on both the girls at same time. One is enough. And that is Swara. He must deal with her first.

He was calmly without any confusions or interruptions waging his own battle against Durga Prasad Maheshwari and Laksh Maheshwari. No fuss. No mess. Calm and clinical precision. Deadly results.

And then came Swara Bose and turned this battle into a full on war. From a mere pawn she promoted herself into white queen protecting her weak king.

How can this black knight back off?

He never left a battlefield midway. He is not going to start now. So what if for the first time in his life he will take on a girl. But then again she is no ordinary girl. She is the white queen on the opposite side of his chess board field.

He must knock down her king. If that means knocking her down first. So bet it.

Sujata entered the room and saw her son pacing the room like man possessed.

"Sanskaar?" She asked gently. "What happened? You alright?"

He looked at his mother and gave a dry smile.

"Top of the world mom. After all my plans going up in smoke, nearly getting my hide on fire and now getting drugged and roasted on nice warm grill and mind you all this by one wisp of girl how should I feel? I say I am feeling terrific."

He sat on the bed feeling disgust and fury.

Sujata sat next to him.

"Swara?" She hazarded the guess.

"The one and only! And this time she broke all the barriers. She directly waged attack on me mom. And now it is my turn."

He took a deep breath calming all his senses.

Focus Sanskaar! Don't let your emotions get better off you. What's your mantra?

Emotions are for fools.

Smart ones go for action.

Time for never seen before action. On seconds thoughts how about seen about actions?

He felt a slow fiendish smile spreading on his face.

Thank you for the idea Swara Bose. Let's see how you handle your own style of attack.

Sujata saw that smile and for a moment felt a flash of fear in her heart. She is truly happy to have her son back in her life. But times like this she barely recognizes him.

He was always a head strong one with a strong willed mind of his own and a steely nerve and resolve. But he was a gentleman.

Now after five years of self imposed exile he looks... like a dark warrior. A man with an agenda. A man seeking vengeance on those who wronged him. A man who wants to win at any cost. A man who will stop at nothing in this war path of his. And a man who will destroy anyone who dared to challenge him in this battle ground of his.

Sanskaar Maheshwari.. The dark Knight.

"What are you going to do now Sanskaar?" She asked him not sure if she could handle the answer.

A glint entered his deep intense eyes.

"When I want something; really want something I go and get it. And if I find a wall blocking my way I go over it. Or go around it. And if nothing works.. I go through it. Vengeance against Durga Prasad and Laksh Maheshwari is something I want. I really want. But there is this girl called Swara who plonked herself right in the middle of that path of vengeance of mine blocking me and my path. So what do I do now? I tried going over her. Didn't work. Tried going around her. Didn't work either. And now .." He paused and his voice dropped to a deadly whisper.

At that moment his phone rang.

Ragini!

He felt a flash of irritation.

He just told her off. Why won't she see what's good for her and back the hell off. Both sisters have decided that they are going to drive a certain Sanskaar Maheshwari insane.

One with her constant interference in his plans, thwarting those plans and then launching a direct attack on him. And still channelling the angelic vibes. His nemesis. Swara!

And the other. A former innocent Angel now embracing dark world with full gusto and abandon. His friend. Ragini!

And they call themselves Swaragini.

What a horrid tune!

"Yes Ragini!" He spoke wearily.

What is she upto now. He honestly doesn't need more complications in life. His life is in a mess as it is. And no thanks to that sister of hers.

"Did I or Did I not tell you to back the hell off Ragini?" He exploded.

They were meeting in the storage room of the hospital where her Dida was admitted in comatose stage as he came to know.

"Too late Sanskaar." Ragini responded calmly through tear stained eyes. "I tried. But it is beyond me now. I want Laksh and I want him at any cost. I am ready to pay any price."

"And what if that price is too high for you to pay?" Sanskaar asked in a calm tone.

"I will pay." She replied in the same tone.

"What if that price is your very soul Ragini?" He asked gently.

"I already parted with my soul Sanskaar. The day I went against my own sister and family. Now I have nothing to lose. And everything to gain. And my victory lies with Laksh. I want him back in my life. At any cost. And you are going to help me. Or I will give your game away."

He arched his eyebrows.

"You are blackmailing me Ragini? That approach never bode well when it comes to Sanskaar. My opponents could tell you about that in colourful details. The opponents I razed for daring to use that approach."

"I am sorry Sanskaar. But you left me with no choice. I want your help in this battle Sanskaar. As a friend I beseech you. Please help me. Either you are in. Or I will out you." Ragini's voice was strained but her eyes were glazed with dark determination.

Sanskaar crossed his arms and looked at his friend for a long moment.

And felt a pang in his heart.

His innocent duppatte wali dost.

The one who showed him overwhelming kindness when he was acting crazy.

The one who was kind, pure and innocent. And untouched with the dark ways of world.

And now she is here. Selling her soul to Satan. Surrendering herself to dark world completely.

He is dark himself. But he could clearly see the line demarcating the rights and wrongs. The moral and the immoral. The light and the dark.

And will put his toe out of the line once a while to suit his purposes. No justifications. No excuses.

But Ragini.. she is not like him. She won't be able to see that line. She will think that she is doing right whatever wrong thing that she might be doing. Because she is weak.

It takes a strong person to see what is wrong.

And give no excuses or justifications if he/she still go ahead and do that wrong.

Ragini is not that strong.

And that makes her doubly dangerous.

The fascinating, mysterious, strong and supremely deadly charm of dark world has captured her.

And he is responsible for this state of her.

Partly may be. But responsible.. Yes!

He introduced her to this dark world. Though the analytical and practical mind of his would say that he merely unleashed what is already inside the deep recesses of her mind.

He merely unclipped the wings that were tied. The wings of dark to take flight into the world of wrong, immoral, unethical and everything that does not fall into the realms of humanity.

He fueled the dark fire inside her. Yes.

But he would have failed in this mission of his if there were no amber to begin with.

So yes! He is responsible for being her first step in this world of darkness but walking down this path and continuing this morbid journey.. That is a choice that SHE made.

And it is too late. He cannot save her from herself. For she doesn't want to be saved.

But he can try to help her to hurt herself a little less.

He came to a decision.

"Alright! You are in! Not because of your blackmailing stunt but because you are a friend."

Ragini's face broke into a victorious smile tinged with sadness.

"So you have a plan?"

He drawled slowly piercing the fragmented pieces of the plan in a diabolical picture.

"That I do. And is it ugly."

"How ugly?" She asked.

"Very ugly. And ironically we should thank your sister for giving us the idea for this plan."

"Hu!" Ragini looked confused. "Swara?"

"Never mind that!" He rubbed his jaw with his fingers still pondering over the dangerous and fiendish plan of his and came to a final decision.

"So what do you know about drugs?"