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I could hear my heart, beating even louder than the rain drop falling on the window pane. I walked up and down the hospital corridor near the labour room.
"Sameer , if something happens to me , you will take care of our child . Promise me , you will not blame our child for my absence and you will not marry anyone else. I know its not right to ask you not to marry again , but I am doing this for our child. I don't want our child to go thru what you and I went thru during our childhood. Promise me ...please", Begged Naina.
I tried to calm her saying "Nothing will happen to you. We have the best doctors with us." She gave me a pleading look that broke my heart into million pieces
"I Promise Naina !!" I comforted her with my promise
With that , they had taken her to the labour room. I couldn't blame her . I knew her fear. She needn't have asked for that promise. Even with out that , I would have done the same thing. I gave her my word because I wanted her to be at peace when she gave birth to our child. Though, I told her nothing will happen to her , fear was churning a storm in me . I even cursed myself for agreeing to have a child . Not that I didn't want one , but fear of losing them or even one of them , was making my mind go crazy.
I kept looking at my watch thinking how long it would take . People had told me , that the first child always took longer to come out. Now all I could do was wait...and this wait seems so long and never ending. I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat on the bench.
My whole life was running thru my eyes and it stopped at the day when I returned from Delhi to ask for her hand in marriage . I still remember how she had kissed me and the way she fell asleep on my shoulder while watching "Meine Pyar Kiya ".
I would never forget that day , she was on my bed ,looking so beautiful even with her messed up hair , no makeup face ...in that simple churidhar. I didn't want to wake her up . I wanted her with me, but I knew, I had to wait for few more days. My idea was to speak to Arjun first and then to take my family to her place to ask for her hand.
With that , idea in mind, I convinced her and we both went to the Railway station to pick Arjun as he was returning home ,for his study leave. Shifali had also joined us and we managed to convince Arjun. He said he will speak to his family and set the stage for the marriage talks.
Next day evening around 8:30 PM, I got a call from Shefali and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. All the plans had come down crashing, but I was sure, no matter what, I am going to be with her . I wouldn't care, what the world thought of me . I knew, I had to be THE MAN that she wanted in her life . I had many a times given up on her for others sake, sometimes for my side of family , her side of family, my employees , my company but that day I felt, If I didn't stand by her side then there was no point in being A MAN!! My family was coming the next day , so I called up Nanu, mummy, Munna Pandith and informed them about my decision. I didn't feel the need to tell anyone else. All of them agreed with me and said they are by my side. I was happy. With the confidence of their approval , I took my car and reached her place. What I saw shook the life out of me.
There stood Naina alone at the gate and heap of things burning next to her . People were all watching as if her as if she was an artefact from the museum. She looked lost . Her eyes were red and puffy. There were red marks on her face and hands.
I rushed towards her and asked , "Naina , what happened ? "
Even before she could answer , I was pulled away from her by Tayiji. "Boluram don't talk to her. She has shamed our family. She is in love with some boy . She had the audacity to tell us about it and she wanted us to get her married to him."
I looked at Arjun but his expression spoke volumes and I understood, he didn't have the courage to stand by the promise. He stood there as if he has nothing to do her actions and acted as if himself was ashamed of his sister. I knew, I had to get the situation under control. The businessman in me popped out. I took a deep breath and asked "Cant we all go in and sort this out rather than making a scene in front of the society"
Chacha ji agreed to this but by then her father literally pounced on me , taking me by surprise.
"You don't interfere in our family matter. Who are you, to solve her problems . You came to Ahmedabad to expand your business rt ? so do that and leave!! "
Then he walked towards Naina and started yelling at her.
"All your clothes , books , certificates are burnt . You have no place to go. I want to see if that boy of yours will come and marry you. You know what happened to Megha behan rt ?? But I am not like her parents. I will never accept you back to my house and If any of the family members do that then I will leave the house along with Arjun."
One thing I understood at that point , she hadn't told who the boy was and I didn't know why. Was it because, they didn't allow her to speak or was it because she thought I might not turn up . The second part of my doubt was making much sense and at the same time making me uncomfortable. I needed this answer , not now , later when I am alone with her.
My thoughts were broken, when her father shouted at her again saying "You think he is going to come for you. No one will accept a girl like you with out dowry. No one will feed you for free. Keep waiting."
With that statement , all my resolution of staying calm went flying . I walked towards her and said "remove your jewelry and watch and, give it me. "
Next thing, I remember is me handing it to a surprised Tayiji . I walked back to Naina , held her hand , guided her to the car and drove away. Not even a single person from her family nor her friends had come to her support or stopped me. Neither did I think , there was a need for me to tell them who her man was. After what , they had done to her ,they had lost my respect. I promised myself that they will get to know about her marriage and her man , with the rest of the world. I knew Arjun and Shefali wouldn't say anything about it. My only doubt was Preethi.
"Naina , would Preethi tell them that I am the one you are in love with. ?"
"Don't worry Sameer , she wouldn't . She has promised me that she would not open her mouth on this . Knowing her , even if she is threatened to be killed , she will not let it out. I didn't want anyone to know who the person was, till ur parents came home. I feared if ur parents didn't agree , then this shouldn't defame you ."
I was overwhelmed at her thoughtfulness. Here again , she saw to that my image was intact. I said a silent prayer to god for her and thanked him for bringing her into my life.
We reached home around 9:30 PM. I asked her , if she wanted to eat anything. She refused and I didn't force her ,as I understood her state of mind. That night was a long one. She was on my bed trying to sleep . I ,on the other hand was walking around making phone calls so that nothing comes up next day , in the newspaper. I also had to fix the time for our marriage registration. That night ,I understood, even in personal life nothing comes easy.
My family , reached around 8:00 AM morning from Delhi. Mom had brought lot of cloths for Naina. Nanu was ecstatic to see her next to me . Around 9:30 AM we were officially Mrs and Mr Sameer Jayaprakash Maheshwari. The very same day's evening newspaper had our photos and love story printed. Thanks to Munna , Pandith and my PR team.
Mom and Nanu stayed with us for month , to help Naina get settled in her new role. After that it was just us. We were happy but somewhere deep down I knew her smile didn't reach her eyes. She hoped that her family would forgive her and call her at least once. She kept waiting and hoping. Two years passed . No one turned up except for Preethi. She would visit us with out letting anyone know .
Then one day like a miracle Arjun came to our house. Not that I liked the idea because I hadn't forgiven him for his selfish act. But for Naina's happiness I welcomed him. He handed us , his wedding card and I could see Naina going pale. She soon masked it and agreed to attend the wedding with me.
After he left , I asked her "Happy , ur Arjun Bhaiya came to ur house to give you his wedding card??"
She didn't respond. She took that wedding card to the kitchen and burned it.
"From today onwards my wait is over. I know what I am for my family. I am never going to trust anyone other than you , Sameer. They could accept Shefali as his wife. But not Sameer as my husband!! "
"And we are not going to attend that wedding . That's my decision!!"
Saying so she walked towards our bedroom, but even before she reached there , she fainted. Thankfully , I was just behind her and was able to hold her on time. I thought she fainted due to stress but when the reports came in , we had a good news. She was 8 weeks pregnant.
I was so happy when doctor told us that there was no complication and gave us all those dos and don'ts. I informed my mom and nanu. I was about to call her family when she stopped me and said "I thought I had told you , that you are my ONLY family and the only one I will trust. So NO!! you wont inform them. Once child is born , we will inform Preethi."
The next 5 months passed quickly. I saw my Naina slowly getting ready to embrace motherhood. She had started gaining weight, cheeks had gone chubbier and her hair became a lot more thicker and long. To sum it up , she was looking much more fuller and beautiful than her usual self. And every time she leaned on to me , giving enough access to run my palm on her tummy , made me feel like I was in some other world. If I was lucky , I could feel our lil bundle of joy cartwheeling inside her tummy.
We were now, mentally prepared to be parents. And everything was going right at least for the time being. She was 32 weeks and Mummy, had promised us she would come to help us 2 weeks before due date. But yesterday , late in the evening, around 7:30 PM, she said she was feeling uneasy and there was a piercing pain at her back. When we reached the hospital , doctor said , she was already in the early phase of labour.
Well ...I thought... when has life been so simple for us ?? Hmmm..And ...Here I am sitting alone , hoping that both my wife and child will be safe.
In the past 4 hours I had finished 6 cups of coffee. The night seemed still young and rain hadn't stopped. I had no clue how long it would take . All I could see is nurses moving in and out of the labour room. In between they had asked me to get some tea for her. I wanted to be with her but they said men were not allowed inside the labour room. So ,had no choice but to wait outside.
Another 2 hours passed with no results , now I got really impatient . To be honest I was scared. So, I decided to call Munna , but went against that thought as ,I didn't want to wake him in the middle of the night, after all its been only a month since he got married to Swathi. And Pandith was out of town.
It was 2:30 Am in the morning when I saw her gynecologist walk out of the labour room.
"Congratulations Sameer!! you are blessed with a baby girl. Both mom and baby are fine."
With that he handed me my lil Naina. She was just like her mom. Round face , dove shaped eyes, long lashes, chubby cheeks ...just perfect !! Another thing that captured my eyes were her fingers, that was like mine...long with oval shaped nails. I thought, well atleast her palm looks like mine...just then she yawned and my heart skipped a beat. My lil Naina was cute!! I slowly touched her tender pink cheeks and then her tiny hand. At that she curled her fingers. Suddenly I realized that we were not alone .
"I am sorry Dr. I got carried away. Thank you so much !!"
"Its ok Sameer , more than Thank you and the money we get , the best part is to see fathers with their new born. " With a parting smile , he went to attend his next patient.
I took her to our room. Doctor had told me that Naina would be shfted to the room in couple of hours. By 4 :20 am , Naina was brought to the room. She looked tired but I could sense her joy seeing me with our lil darling. Once nurses left the room, after guiding her how to feed the child. I sat on the chair next to the bed watching my two lovely ladies. Slowly both drifted away to sleep. I decided , to make use of this time to rest a lil. I might have just slept for 1 hour or so , when I heard our new addition to the family ,screaming at the top of her lungs.
I got up quickly and took her out from the cradle , placed her carefully next to Naina. Then sat on the bed and helped Naina to sit up , on the bed resting her back on my chest, so that she could hold the baby and feed her.
All I wanted to do was give our child all that affection which Naina and I had craved for, during our childhood. I promised with all my might that we will provide our lil girl lots of affection...a safe , secure , happy and peaceful environment to grow.
I couldn't have asked for more from god. Naina in my arms and our lil one in her arms being fed. I had tears gushing out my eyes. Naina understood what I was going thru. She slowly turned her head and kissed me.
"Papa happy ??"
"Yes mama , Papa is very happy ... Congrats Mama Bear!!!! "Saying so I kissed her forehead.
"Congrats Papa bear!!"
She then rested her head on my chest . We felt so blessed and the only sound that we could hear was that of our lil darling suckling away to glory. We sat that way till our lil lady finished her meal and had dozed off to lazy slumber.
I don't think , I could ever explain in words what I felt at that time ... I experienced a sense courage and peace that I had never experienced in my life. I know, as a father and head of the family , road ahead wont be easy but I was sure that I would protect and provide for my family, like the rising sun that was pushing itself above the horizon, indicating the onset of dawn by bringing in the much-needed warmth and light to nourish the world.
PS : Another OS from me...do read and let me know ur thoughts.
"Sameer , if something happens to me , you will take care of our child . Promise me , you will not blame our child for my absence and you will not marry anyone else. I know its not right to ask you not to marry again , but I am doing this for our child. I don't want our child to go thru what you and I went thru during our childhood. Promise me ...please", Begged Naina.
I tried to calm her saying "Nothing will happen to you. We have the best doctors with us." She gave me a pleading look that broke my heart into million pieces
"I Promise Naina !!" I comforted her with my promise
With that , they had taken her to the labour room. I couldn't blame her . I knew her fear. She needn't have asked for that promise. Even with out that , I would have done the same thing. I gave her my word because I wanted her to be at peace when she gave birth to our child. Though, I told her nothing will happen to her , fear was churning a storm in me . I even cursed myself for agreeing to have a child . Not that I didn't want one , but fear of losing them or even one of them , was making my mind go crazy.
I kept looking at my watch thinking how long it would take . People had told me , that the first child always took longer to come out. Now all I could do was wait...and this wait seems so long and never ending. I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat on the bench.
My whole life was running thru my eyes and it stopped at the day when I returned from Delhi to ask for her hand in marriage . I still remember how she had kissed me and the way she fell asleep on my shoulder while watching "Meine Pyar Kiya ".
I would never forget that day , she was on my bed ,looking so beautiful even with her messed up hair , no makeup face ...in that simple churidhar. I didn't want to wake her up . I wanted her with me, but I knew, I had to wait for few more days. My idea was to speak to Arjun first and then to take my family to her place to ask for her hand.
With that , idea in mind, I convinced her and we both went to the Railway station to pick Arjun as he was returning home ,for his study leave. Shifali had also joined us and we managed to convince Arjun. He said he will speak to his family and set the stage for the marriage talks.
Next day evening around 8:30 PM, I got a call from Shefali and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. All the plans had come down crashing, but I was sure, no matter what, I am going to be with her . I wouldn't care, what the world thought of me . I knew, I had to be THE MAN that she wanted in her life . I had many a times given up on her for others sake, sometimes for my side of family , her side of family, my employees , my company but that day I felt, If I didn't stand by her side then there was no point in being A MAN!! My family was coming the next day , so I called up Nanu, mummy, Munna Pandith and informed them about my decision. I didn't feel the need to tell anyone else. All of them agreed with me and said they are by my side. I was happy. With the confidence of their approval , I took my car and reached her place. What I saw shook the life out of me.
There stood Naina alone at the gate and heap of things burning next to her . People were all watching as if her as if she was an artefact from the museum. She looked lost . Her eyes were red and puffy. There were red marks on her face and hands.
I rushed towards her and asked , "Naina , what happened ? "
Even before she could answer , I was pulled away from her by Tayiji. "Boluram don't talk to her. She has shamed our family. She is in love with some boy . She had the audacity to tell us about it and she wanted us to get her married to him."
I looked at Arjun but his expression spoke volumes and I understood, he didn't have the courage to stand by the promise. He stood there as if he has nothing to do her actions and acted as if himself was ashamed of his sister. I knew, I had to get the situation under control. The businessman in me popped out. I took a deep breath and asked "Cant we all go in and sort this out rather than making a scene in front of the society"
Chacha ji agreed to this but by then her father literally pounced on me , taking me by surprise.
"You don't interfere in our family matter. Who are you, to solve her problems . You came to Ahmedabad to expand your business rt ? so do that and leave!! "
Then he walked towards Naina and started yelling at her.
"All your clothes , books , certificates are burnt . You have no place to go. I want to see if that boy of yours will come and marry you. You know what happened to Megha behan rt ?? But I am not like her parents. I will never accept you back to my house and If any of the family members do that then I will leave the house along with Arjun."
One thing I understood at that point , she hadn't told who the boy was and I didn't know why. Was it because, they didn't allow her to speak or was it because she thought I might not turn up . The second part of my doubt was making much sense and at the same time making me uncomfortable. I needed this answer , not now , later when I am alone with her.
My thoughts were broken, when her father shouted at her again saying "You think he is going to come for you. No one will accept a girl like you with out dowry. No one will feed you for free. Keep waiting."
With that statement , all my resolution of staying calm went flying . I walked towards her and said "remove your jewelry and watch and, give it me. "
Next thing, I remember is me handing it to a surprised Tayiji . I walked back to Naina , held her hand , guided her to the car and drove away. Not even a single person from her family nor her friends had come to her support or stopped me. Neither did I think , there was a need for me to tell them who her man was. After what , they had done to her ,they had lost my respect. I promised myself that they will get to know about her marriage and her man , with the rest of the world. I knew Arjun and Shefali wouldn't say anything about it. My only doubt was Preethi.
"Naina , would Preethi tell them that I am the one you are in love with. ?"
"Don't worry Sameer , she wouldn't . She has promised me that she would not open her mouth on this . Knowing her , even if she is threatened to be killed , she will not let it out. I didn't want anyone to know who the person was, till ur parents came home. I feared if ur parents didn't agree , then this shouldn't defame you ."
I was overwhelmed at her thoughtfulness. Here again , she saw to that my image was intact. I said a silent prayer to god for her and thanked him for bringing her into my life.
We reached home around 9:30 PM. I asked her , if she wanted to eat anything. She refused and I didn't force her ,as I understood her state of mind. That night was a long one. She was on my bed trying to sleep . I ,on the other hand was walking around making phone calls so that nothing comes up next day , in the newspaper. I also had to fix the time for our marriage registration. That night ,I understood, even in personal life nothing comes easy.
My family , reached around 8:00 AM morning from Delhi. Mom had brought lot of cloths for Naina. Nanu was ecstatic to see her next to me . Around 9:30 AM we were officially Mrs and Mr Sameer Jayaprakash Maheshwari. The very same day's evening newspaper had our photos and love story printed. Thanks to Munna , Pandith and my PR team.
Mom and Nanu stayed with us for month , to help Naina get settled in her new role. After that it was just us. We were happy but somewhere deep down I knew her smile didn't reach her eyes. She hoped that her family would forgive her and call her at least once. She kept waiting and hoping. Two years passed . No one turned up except for Preethi. She would visit us with out letting anyone know .
Then one day like a miracle Arjun came to our house. Not that I liked the idea because I hadn't forgiven him for his selfish act. But for Naina's happiness I welcomed him. He handed us , his wedding card and I could see Naina going pale. She soon masked it and agreed to attend the wedding with me.
After he left , I asked her "Happy , ur Arjun Bhaiya came to ur house to give you his wedding card??"
She didn't respond. She took that wedding card to the kitchen and burned it.
"From today onwards my wait is over. I know what I am for my family. I am never going to trust anyone other than you , Sameer. They could accept Shefali as his wife. But not Sameer as my husband!! "
"And we are not going to attend that wedding . That's my decision!!"
Saying so she walked towards our bedroom, but even before she reached there , she fainted. Thankfully , I was just behind her and was able to hold her on time. I thought she fainted due to stress but when the reports came in , we had a good news. She was 8 weeks pregnant.
I was so happy when doctor told us that there was no complication and gave us all those dos and don'ts. I informed my mom and nanu. I was about to call her family when she stopped me and said "I thought I had told you , that you are my ONLY family and the only one I will trust. So NO!! you wont inform them. Once child is born , we will inform Preethi."
The next 5 months passed quickly. I saw my Naina slowly getting ready to embrace motherhood. She had started gaining weight, cheeks had gone chubbier and her hair became a lot more thicker and long. To sum it up , she was looking much more fuller and beautiful than her usual self. And every time she leaned on to me , giving enough access to run my palm on her tummy , made me feel like I was in some other world. If I was lucky , I could feel our lil bundle of joy cartwheeling inside her tummy.
We were now, mentally prepared to be parents. And everything was going right at least for the time being. She was 32 weeks and Mummy, had promised us she would come to help us 2 weeks before due date. But yesterday , late in the evening, around 7:30 PM, she said she was feeling uneasy and there was a piercing pain at her back. When we reached the hospital , doctor said , she was already in the early phase of labour.
Well ...I thought... when has life been so simple for us ?? Hmmm..And ...Here I am sitting alone , hoping that both my wife and child will be safe.
In the past 4 hours I had finished 6 cups of coffee. The night seemed still young and rain hadn't stopped. I had no clue how long it would take . All I could see is nurses moving in and out of the labour room. In between they had asked me to get some tea for her. I wanted to be with her but they said men were not allowed inside the labour room. So ,had no choice but to wait outside.
Another 2 hours passed with no results , now I got really impatient . To be honest I was scared. So, I decided to call Munna , but went against that thought as ,I didn't want to wake him in the middle of the night, after all its been only a month since he got married to Swathi. And Pandith was out of town.
It was 2:30 Am in the morning when I saw her gynecologist walk out of the labour room.
"Congratulations Sameer!! you are blessed with a baby girl. Both mom and baby are fine."
With that he handed me my lil Naina. She was just like her mom. Round face , dove shaped eyes, long lashes, chubby cheeks ...just perfect !! Another thing that captured my eyes were her fingers, that was like mine...long with oval shaped nails. I thought, well atleast her palm looks like mine...just then she yawned and my heart skipped a beat. My lil Naina was cute!! I slowly touched her tender pink cheeks and then her tiny hand. At that she curled her fingers. Suddenly I realized that we were not alone .
"I am sorry Dr. I got carried away. Thank you so much !!"
"Its ok Sameer , more than Thank you and the money we get , the best part is to see fathers with their new born. " With a parting smile , he went to attend his next patient.
I took her to our room. Doctor had told me that Naina would be shfted to the room in couple of hours. By 4 :20 am , Naina was brought to the room. She looked tired but I could sense her joy seeing me with our lil darling. Once nurses left the room, after guiding her how to feed the child. I sat on the chair next to the bed watching my two lovely ladies. Slowly both drifted away to sleep. I decided , to make use of this time to rest a lil. I might have just slept for 1 hour or so , when I heard our new addition to the family ,screaming at the top of her lungs.
I got up quickly and took her out from the cradle , placed her carefully next to Naina. Then sat on the bed and helped Naina to sit up , on the bed resting her back on my chest, so that she could hold the baby and feed her.
All I wanted to do was give our child all that affection which Naina and I had craved for, during our childhood. I promised with all my might that we will provide our lil girl lots of affection...a safe , secure , happy and peaceful environment to grow.
I couldn't have asked for more from god. Naina in my arms and our lil one in her arms being fed. I had tears gushing out my eyes. Naina understood what I was going thru. She slowly turned her head and kissed me.
"Papa happy ??"
"Yes mama , Papa is very happy ... Congrats Mama Bear!!!! "Saying so I kissed her forehead.
"Congrats Papa bear!!"
She then rested her head on my chest . We felt so blessed and the only sound that we could hear was that of our lil darling suckling away to glory. We sat that way till our lil lady finished her meal and had dozed off to lazy slumber.
I don't think , I could ever explain in words what I felt at that time ... I experienced a sense courage and peace that I had never experienced in my life. I know, as a father and head of the family , road ahead wont be easy but I was sure that I would protect and provide for my family, like the rising sun that was pushing itself above the horizon, indicating the onset of dawn by bringing in the much-needed warmth and light to nourish the world.
PS : Another OS from me...do read and let me know ur thoughts.
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