Ishq Sufiyana
Hey guys, so before you read this just know, I love Omkara the artist... but apparently he's flat broke... strange thing that he used to be a millionaire... Anyways...
Omkara strolled down the corridor towards his room leisurely. He had just finished a successful meeting with an art curator, all the while keeping in contact with his brothers about their new scheme and dodged Mr Raichand yet again. The old man had yet again offered him investment in a new hotel project, the only condition being that he sat at the helm of the project. Omkara was fine as far as sharing his creativity in the designing of the hotel, but business had always been Shivaay's forte. Of course he well knew that the upright and principle loving Mr Raichand did not approve of neither his brother's, nor his father's, way of handling business dealings as the Oberoi business men tended to be shrewd and calculative a characteristic that kept them at the top but did not appeal to the asool and adarsh' of men like Mr Raichand. Omkara did feel slightly guilty for sidestepping the old man, who he had a deep admiration for Mr Raichand was an old friend of Omkara's Nana, and he had known him from infancy.
After the deaths of both his grandfathers and Tej's indiscretions, Mr Raichand had been the father figure in Omkara's life whenever he was not away on business. Hailing from a royal family, Mr Raichand had extreme wealth at his disposal, even though his title meant little today and as he had never married he had no off-spring so in recent years he had made it his life's duty to try to make Omkara his heir. Unlike Tej, Mr Raichand had always valued Omkara's creativity and it was he that opened Jhanvi's businesswoman eyes to her son's talent, but he had recently become worried about Omakra's future. Without fail he always asked after Gauri, who he had never met but liked since he first discovered his bahu's existence, and kept advising Omkara that he needed security for his future family. Omkara knew he had a duty towards his wife, but Gauri was so happy-go-lucky that she did not need anything more from him. After all they had their family around them what better security was there?
Things had escalated after Shivaay's public announcement to give away Omkara and Rudra's shares of course that had all been a big drama, but when Omkara had tried to explain the same to Mr Raichand, he had gotten quite an earful about how vulnerable he was making himself. The truth was Omkara had never taken into account financial stability, often donating most of what he earned from his art and sculptures and living on the bare minimum, but when Mr Raichand questioned him as to what exactly he was providing for his wife if he could not even support himself, Omkara had felt a rush of shame until he realised that his family had never left a man down and Gauri had never asked for anything, so they must be providing for her. The Oberois had no shortage of money and as a son he also had a right to that fortune although he hardly indulged in it. This sense of assurance had of course taken quite a hit when he had stood powerless, watching his first painting of his wife be auctioned off, but even then he had declined Mr Raichand's offer of aid as he knew it would hurt his brother if the man that had always disapproved of him had saved his home. Little did Omkara know, that the painting had actually been acquired by Mr Raichand, who had stored it away after all how could he let a momento of his beta and bahu's happiness be parted from them?
Shaking off his melancholy and deciding to call up his Baba (the name he had adopted for Mr Raichand) sometime this week to reassure him and dissuade him from taking any measures for his sake, Omkara found himself at his door. Just as he moved to open it, he heard his wife's voice filtering through the open gap between the two doors. Wondering who she could be talking to, but not wanting to disturb her as her tone sounded distressed, he stood at the door and listened in, feeling as though his heart was being constrained
"Please MishraJi, hum aapke paise aap tak pohncha denge. Please, humme thoda sa waqt dedijye... Hamare paas ek badah order aiyya hai, uske poore hote hi, hum aapke paise laut denge... Thankoo, MishraJi ... Aap ka bohot, bohot dhanyavaad... Please Mr Mishra, I will get you your money. Please, just give me some time... I have received a big order, and as soon as that is completed, I shall return your money... Thank you Mr Mishra... Thank you so, so much..." Omkara pushed the door open a little and could see his wife was putting down her phone with a relieved smile on her face. Seeing she was finished her conversation, and still unsure as to what exactly he had walked into Omkara entered his room.
"Gauri, woh phone peh khon tha? Koi problem hai? Gauri, who was on the phone? Is there an issue?" He questioned tentatively. It was not in his nature to meddle in the matters of others, but he did not like the idea of secrets in his marriage.
Surprised at his entry, Gauri turned to him and closed the notebook in her hand.
"OmkaraJi, aap kab aai? Woh hum MishraJi se baat karahe the... sab theek hai... OmkaraJi, when did you come? Actually I was talking to Mr Mishra... everything is fine..." Gauri smiled at her husband. "Aap ke liye kuch lekar aaon? Khana ke liye abhi thoda waqt hai. Should I fetch you something to eat? There is still time until dinner."
She moved past him to replace her notebook in her cupboard, but he grasped her wraist as she passed him. Her words had felt like a brush off and he could not forget the tension he had heard in her voice.
"Yeh Mishra khon hai? Aur tum usse paise kyun deh rahi ho? Aur order? Kis cheez ka order? Who is this Mishra? And why are you giving him money? And order? Order of what?" Omkara gazed into her eyes, trying to discern her secrets. Why was she hiding things from him? Did she not trust him?
To his surprise Gauri simply smiled and placed her hands on his arms.
"Itne sawaal OmkaraJi? MishraJi hamare BabuJi ke dost the. Yaad hai Maa bhimaar hogayi thi Badhe Bhaiyya aur Bhojaiyyi ke shaadi ke waqt? Tab unse humne thoda sa udhar liya tha, Maa ke ilaaj ke liye. Woh bohot achche hain, unhone humein itni maulat joh dhi hai, paise lautane ke liye. So many questions OmkaraJi? Mr Mishra was my father's friend. Do you remember Maa got ill during Badhe Bhaiyya and Bhojaiyyi's wedding? I took a bit of a loan from him then, for Maa's treatment. He is very nice, he gave me so much time to pay him back."
Omkara's brow furrowed further.
"Toh order kis cheez ka hai? So what is that order about?"
"Sariyon ka order OmkaraJi. Hum order poora kar ke thoda se paise bachcha rahe the, par ab toh badah order aaya hai. Iske poora hone par, hum unke saare paise lauta denge. The order for sarees, OmkaraJi. By fulfilling orders I was saving money little by little, but now I have a big order. When this is completed, I can pay him back all his money." Gauri beamed as she informed her husband that she was close to settling her debts.
"Gauri, agar tumhe paise chahiye the, toh mujhse kyun nahin maange? Kaam karna achchi baat hai, aur tumhara haq bhi hai, lekin Oberoi khandaan mein auratein shok se kaam karti hain, majboori mein nahin. Gauri, if you needed money, why didn't you ask me? It is good to work, and it is also your right, but in the Oberoi family, women work out of desire not need." Omkara was a little upset that she had not confided her problems to him. He was her husband... they were meant to share things. A little voice in his head whispered... 'as if you are the most forth-coming with information these days...'
It was true, he had been keeping secrets lately but not because he didn't trust her (after all she had always resolved his problems despite her questionable methods) rather, because he thought she deserved only happiness. The issues that hampered over his family, should not darken her happiness after all the pain he had already given her. However, if she was hiding her issues from him, perhaps she had sensed that he was hiding his issues from her. Maybe it was time for a little talk. Even as he contemplated the thought, his phone rang no doubt one of his co-conspirators wanting another meeting... but the tension in her voice earlier... the fact she was hiding something... the fact that he hadn't been there to help her... he pressed the red to reject the call on his touchscreen and silenced his phone. As it was Anika Bhabhi who had called, he knew she would let up and even as Gauri was talking, he turned to lock his room door.
"OmkaraJi, hum toh bachpan se kaam karte aayein hai aur humme aadat hai. Waise bhi aapse hum kaise itne paise le sakte hain? Aur aap yeh darwaaza kyun bandh kar rahe hai? Humein jaana hai. Shaadi ka ghar hai, bohot saare kaam hai. OmkaraJi, I have been working since childhood and I am used to it. Anyways, how can I take so much money from you? And why are you closing the door. I need to go. There is a wedding happening in this house, there is a lot of work to do." Gauri attempted to get past her husband again, wondering what had gotten into him.
"Kyun? Mujhse paise kyun nahin le sakti tum? Hum pati-patni hai. Joh mera hai, wohi tumhara hai. Why? Why can't you take money off me? We are husband and wife. What is mine is also yours." Omkara stopped her from opening the door.
"Par aap ke paas khud itna paisa nahin hai. Aap joh kamaate hain, usse khud nahin rakhte, aur hum aapki aisse karne peh khush hain, kyunki hum samajhthe hai ke aap ki kalaah bikao nahin hai. Joh aap kamaate hai, humne dekha hai, ki aap usse kalaa ki khatir istimaal karte hain. Iss duniya mein bohot badsoorathi hai OmkaraJi, lekin humne dekha hai ke aap logon ki zindagi mein khubsoorati laani ki koshish karte hai. But you don't have that much money yourself. Whatever you earn, you do not keep for yourself, and I am happy you do that, because I understand that your talent is not for sale. In this world, there is a lot of ugliness OmkaraJi, but I have seen you try to fill peoples' lives with beauty." Gauri's eyes shone with pride as she gazed up at her husband. He was a rare specimen in this selfish world.
Warmth spread through Omkara's chest at her supportive words but overpowering it was a sense of shame. He had been acting like a bachelor with what he earned, not thinking to provide for his wife. But with the family they belonged to, surely money was of no importance?
"Par Gauri, hamari family bohot paise wali hai. Tumhe kabhi bhi kisi cheez ke liye rokh nahin hai. Tumhe jitney paise chahiye, tum mere trust fund se le sakthi ho. Oberoi khandaan ke paison par tumhara bhi haq hai. But Gauri, our family is very rich. You are not prohibited from anything. However much money you want, you can take from my trust fund. You also have a right on the money of the Oberoi family." Omkara mentally willed his wife to understand that they did not have any money issues.
"OmkaraJi, burah mat maanyega... lekin hum donoh ke parivaar bohot alag hain. Aur humne joh kuch BabuJi ke jaane ke baad se dekha hai... usne humein itna zaroor sikhaya hai, ke aapno se pyaar baleh hi karo, par kabhi unpe bohojh mat banna... kyunki har koi who bohojh nahin utha patha... OmkaraJi, please don't mind... but our families are very different. And from whatever I have seen since BabuJi's passing... it has certainly taught me that as much as you may love your relations, you should never become a burden on them... because not everyone can carry such a burden..." Gauri's lower lip had begun to tremble as she spoke and Omkara knew she was close to tears.
"Gauri... Humne kabhi tumhari family ke baare mein baat nahin ki... MaaJi ne kaha tha ki tum bohot choti thi jab tumhare dad... tumhari bakhi ki family kahan hai? Gauri... We have never talked about your family... MaaJi said you were very small when your dad... where are the rest of your family?" Omkara fumbled over his words. He didn't want to upset her, but this was a conversation they needed to have.
"Hamare parivaar mein bohot log nahin the... hum the... hamari Maa thi... hamare BabuJi... sab theek tha... bohot nahin tha hamare paas... BabuJi dukhaan sambhalte the... hamari liye roz sham koh mithaai laathe the... aapko patha hai, hamare best wala din konsa tha? There were not a lot of people in my family... there was me... there was my Maa... my BabuJi... everything was fine... we did not have a lot... BabuJi used to look after the shop... he used to bring me sweets every evening... do you know, what my most favourite day is?" A teardrop fell from Gauri's eye as she grinned wildly, her face completely pale. Before Omkara could confess he had no clue, she continued, as if she were talking to herself and he were not really there. Omkara wondered if she'd ever discussed all this before... "Shukravaar... kyunki Shukravaar koh woh hamesha yaad se jalebi hi lekar aate the... unhe pata tha ki jalebi humme sabse achchi lagti thi... phir woh chalege... Friday... because on Friday he would always bring jalebi... he knew that jalebi was my favourite... then he went away..." Her smile died on her lips... tears rolling downher cheeks in cascades now... "Shukravaar ke din jalebi nahin aayi... aur woh chalege... On Friday, no jalebi came... and he went away..."
Gauri seemed to crumble into herself, her gaze focused in the distance as if she could see the little girl eagerly awaiting her jalebies but left mourning her father. Omkara felt a tear slide down his own cheek at her state and he pulled her towards him wanting to take away all her pain. With shaking steps he led her towards the bed and sat her down. Kneeling before her, he grasped her hands but she began to speak again... her monotone voice close to robotic...
"Phir ChachaJi aur ChachiJi ghar aaye... sab badal gaya... unhe hum pasand nahin the... anaath joh the hum... Then ChachaJi and ChachiJi came home... everything changed... they didn't like me... I was an orphan..." Omkara stopped her by grabbing her face and turning it towards himself.
"Tum anaath nahin ho Gauri... tumhari Maa abhi zinda hai...You are not an orphan Gauri... your Maa is still alive..." He tried to convey his sincerity with his eyes. He hated to see her so broken.
"Yehi toh hum kehte the unse... sabse... par woh hum par hasthe the... Maa ne humme godh joh liya tha... anaath asharam se laaye the humme BabuJi... sadak ka koorah hai hum... Isiliye toh ChachaJi aur Chachi humse nafrat karte the... hamari kismat hi kharab hai... hamare Amma-BabuJi pehle guzhar gaaye... phir Jiji se alag hogaye... aur phir hamare BabuJi bhi chalege... That's what I would tell them... all of them... but they would all laugh at me... Maa adopted me, that's why... BabuJi brought me from the orphanage... I am garbage from the road... That's why ChachJi and ChachiJi hate me... my fate is rotten... first my Amma-BabuJi passed away... then I got separated from my Jiji... and then my BabuJi went away..." Omkara reeled in shock. He had never known that Gauri was an orphan... he had witnessed her bond with her mother... could she really a woman who had not given birth to her so much? Of course she could. His Gauri had always proven she was capable of unimaginable measures of love. He searched for the right words to soothe her... to dispel this horrific fable from her mind that she had somehow caused those events...
"Om! Om, darwaaza khol! Kam hai tumse! Om! Om, open the door! I need you for something!" Shivaay's knocks and voice trailed through the know silenced room where tears rolled down both husband and wife's eyes.
Wiping his tears clean, Omkara rose to his feet and strode to the door purposefully. Opening it he faced his elder brother.
"Om, itni der kohi laata hai kya? Chal, tujhse kaam hai. Om, who takes so long? Come, I have something important to discuss with you." Shivaay turned to lead the way, but Omkara grabbed his elbow.
"Abhi main busy hoon Shivaay. Gauri koh meri zaroorat hai. Tumse baad mein aake baat karunga. Right now I am busy Shivaay. Gauri needs me. I will come speak to you later." Omkara's tone was firm and he was already moving to close the door before he had finished speaking.
Standing before the closed door to his younger brother's room, Shivaay felt oddly like something had shifted. A change was coming and he could only hope it would bring good fortune...
Omkara returned the his wife's side, his face softening. She was once again staring of into the unknown, reliving memories he knew nothing of... Unwilling to change the subject, but wanting to bring her back to him, Omkara probed further. "Tab tum kitne saal ki thi Gauri? Jab tumhare dad... How old were you then? When your dad..."
Jumping as if just realising she had company, Gauri turned her eyes to him again. "Humne panchvi class tabhi pass ki thi... BabuJi bohot khush the... Hum first joh aaye the... I had just finished class 5... BabuJi was very happy... As I had come First in the year..."
Class 5? She would have been no more than 11 years old. A kid still.
"Aur phir? And then?" Omkara wanted her to talk more... to get it all out...
"Phir humne school chodiya... Dukaan par behetgaye... Then I left school... Managed the store..." Gauri was almost emotionless at this point, her tears have no stopped, and this worried Omkara more than if she had been weeping because she seemed to have embraced the unfairness of the situation as if she deserved it.
"Par tum toh bachchi thi tab... MaaJi, ya Chacha-Chachi nahin behetsakthe the dukaan par? But you were a kid... Couldn't MaaJi or Chacha-Chachi manage the shop?" Omkara could not understand how it had all fallen on a little girl.
"Maa bhimaar par gayi thi, BabuJi ke jaane ke baad... ChachaJi kehte the ke agar kaam nahin hota toh ghar se nikaaldenge... Woh bohot maarthe the... Agar paise kaam aatha toh Maa ki dawayaan aur hamaara khaana rokh dete the... Maa got ill, after BabuJi passed away... ChachaJi said that if I could not work they would kick us out of our home... He used to hit me a lot... if we did not earn enough some days then they would stop Maa's medication and our food..."
Omkara felt sick to his stomach, the idea of these vile people... If he ever came across this Chacha he would happily beat him to a pulp regardless of his age. Unaware as to how pale her husband had gotten, Gauri continued her tale.
"Phir ek din ChachaJi ne jueh mein hamari dukaan ghumaadi... Phir humne PanditJi ki madat se apni bagwaano ke kapron wala business shuru kiya... pehle-pehle mein bohot mushkil hui, par dheere-dheere sab teekh hone laga... par phir hum bhees saal ke hogaye... Then one day Chachji lost our shop while gambling... then I started my Idol's clothes business with PanditJi's help... at first it was difficult, but slowly everything started to become fine... then I turned twenty..." Gauri paused and Omkara clenched his fist could things get any worse?
"Tum bhees saal ki hui, aur phir? You turned 20, and then?" Omkara asked. At twenty he himself had been finding his inner artist still. He wondered what his Gauri had been experiencing at the same age.
"Chacha-Chachi ne humme... Chacha-Chachi did to me..." Gauri struggled for a minute and Omkara waited with bated breath. "Humme b-bhech diya unhone... Kali Thakur koh... They s-sold me... to Kali Thakur..."
Omkara swore out loud. A filthy word with such venom it could be felt in the air. He swore not at the scum that were her Chacha-Chachi, and not even at that despicable Kali Thakur... No Omkara's curse was to himself. Swallowing he reigned in his temper and asked another question.
"Yeh kitne saal pehle ki baat hai? How many years ago was this?" How many years had she endured as the property of the monster. She was still in her twenties so hopefully not long.
"Pichle hi saal ki baat hai OmkaraJi. Jis din hum pehli baar mile the. Ussi din yeh sab hua tha... Last year OmkaraJi. The day we first met. This all happened on that day..." Gauri looked confused this was the part of the story he should now be familiar with, at least in terms of when the events happened.
"Par tumne kaha tha, jab tum bhees saal ki hui... iska matlab... tum kitne saal ki ho Gauri? But you said, when you turned twenty... that means... how old are you Gauri?" Omkara was perplexed. Was she really implying...?
"Ikees ke hai hum... kyun kya hua? I am twenty-one... why what happened?" Gauri was completely perplexed at his question.
Omkara was surprised... she was so young... of course it didn't mean anything in terms of their relationship they were both consenting adults, but a lot of her child-like behaviour made a lot more sense to him. He really needed to be more patient when it came to his wife. However, the atrocities she had faced at his own hands seemed even worse after this revelation of her age. What had he been thinking. The eight year age gap did not bother him as he knew they were soul-mates, but it did make him even more desperate to take care of her. It seemed that his Gauri had spent her whole life caring for others and not herself. Suddenly, he did not need to hear more. There would be time to discuss the nightmare of Kali later. Now he had to fulfil his duty as a husband and assure her that they would be just fine. After hearing her family history, he knew he needed to provide her with stability that she needed but would never ask of him. Just because she was selfish, it did not give him a license to be selfish that was not the kind of man Omkara Singh Oberoi was.
Omkara rose from the floor and taking her hands in his own, helped his emotionally exhausted wife up.
"In baton ke liye poori zindagi hai humare paas... aaj ke liye itna zaroori hai ke main woh nikamma pati hoon joh apni patni ka janam din nahin jaanta... mujhe bataogi nahin? We have our whole lives for these talks... for today it is most important that I am the useless husband who does not know his wife's birthday... won't you tell me?" Omkara gazed at his Gauri trying to pour a fraction of the love he had in his heart for her into the look.
"Nikamma toh aap kabhi ho hi nahin sakthe. Hum jaante hai ke aap mein kitni khunar aur kabiliat hai... You can never be useless. I know how much talent and capability you have within you..." Gauri forgot her own grief in order to reassure him just like she always did. "Aur hamaara janam din pichle hafte tha... 12th Feb koh... agle saal ke liye yaad rakhna... And my birthday was last week... on the 12trh of Feb... make sure to remember for next year..."
"Tab ka agle saal dekhenge... abhi ke liye mein tumhe tumhara tofah toh dun...We'll see about next year when it comes... for now let me give your present." Omkara smiled and pulled out his phone. He sent a quick text to Baba. Yes he would love to head that project so long as he could have the hotel under his wife's name. "Maine humare future ki planning shuru kardi hai Gauri. Hum kisi ke upar depend nahin karenge. Haan art mera passion hai, aur rahega, par humaari security ke liye main sab kuch karunga. Kal koh jab humare bachche honge, mein unko sab kuch khud dehna chahta hoon. I have begun planning for our future Gauri. We will not be dependent on anyone. Yes my art is my passion and will forever remain so, but for our security I will do anything. Tomorrow, when we have our own kids, I want to be able to provide them with everything myself."
"Par OmkaraJi... But OmkaraJi..." Gauri tried to understand what was going on in his head, but he instead pulled her in to himself.
"Shhh Gauri... mere saath please ek dance karogi? Shhh Gauri... please give me once with you?" He hit play on his phone and moved even closer to her.
There was still much to happen... many conversations to be had... the hotel would be built on the other side of the city and Omkara was already planning to reserve a penthouse for his own little family, who would hopefully soon begin to make an appearance... he'd never contemplated moving out... but his Gauri deserved to be prioritised first and foremost... The only way that was possible is if he could focus his whole attention on her... His brothers would not be happy... but they would adapt... Gauri had compromised a lot in life... but no more...
Tere waste mera ishq sufiyana... mera ishq sufiyana...
Farri's AMAZING VM:
[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0gb6gLGgMs[/YOUTUBE]
Edited by kashishsr - 7 years ago
Ganesh Kartikeya
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