PraNu OS ft.Reyansh – Farak Padta hai
Khurana House
Pranati walked in silently, her heart ached so much more now than ever before. She wondered why. It made absolutely no sense whatsoever. The pain would not stop. Someone said it right, you feel love when you have children and you experience heartbreak in the truest essence when your child breaks your heart.
Jugnu walked inside the house for the first time feeling the loneliest in days since she had started living with her “Nayi Ma” and “Bandar Papa”. She was uneasy and restless. She had not done anything out of ordinary from her old routine. But today the repercussions felt different. Jugnu was not able to put a finger on it.
At School
“Pranati Ji, Have a seat.” Principal Mam offered Pranati a seat in her cabin. Pranati found Jugnu standing right in the corner of the office not meeting her eyes. “Pranati Ji, we had a discussion before and at your insistence I had admitted Jugnu in the school provided she was going to perform well in the ongoing examination.”
“Yes Mam, I remember our discussion and Jugnu has been preparing sincerely for the examination.” Pranati replied sincerely.
“Pranati Ji, Jugnu has cheated in today’s examination. I had the supervising teacher on duty report it to me.” The principal replied gravely. Pranati was taken aback, she had dealt with Jugnu’ s naughtiness earlier. She had expected Jugnu to have created her usual troubles – burst crackers in the principal’s office, stuck a “kick me” note at the teacher’s back but this was dishonesty.
“Jugnu was caught trying to copy off answers from Arjun’s sheet. Jugnu, what do you have to say regarding this?” the principal motioned for Jugnu to come forward to answer.
“Jugnu, kuch bolo, Mam kuch puch rahi hai...” Pranati desperately pressed Jugnu hoping this was some misunderstanding.
Jugnu felt conflicted for the first time in her life as she looked into Pranati’s eyes. Pranati was not angry nor sad, she was desperate – but why? Before she could wonder off any further, the principal repeated the question again.
“Mam, maine Arjun ke paper se last 10 marks ka answer copy kiya tha but uske alawa sab kuch maine apna pada hua likha hai.” Jugnu confessed meekly.
Pranati felt shattered for the first time since she had taken the custody of Jugnu. Something inside her shook hearing Jugnu confess the truth. Her daughter could be crude, crass, rude and even be insensitive,but the idea of a liar attached to her daughter made Pranati’s toes curl.
“Mam, Jugnu has accepted cheating in the examination. I have nothing else to add to this. What are we expecting as further course of action?” Pranati asked in an even voice.
Jugnu felt a chill down her spine, in these three months,this was the first time where Pranati didn’t try to fight for Jugnu with the Principal. Jugnu had never thought of a scenario like this ever since she had stepped into this school.
The principal knew Pranati and the psychology of parents,she knew Pranati was disappointed. Despite Jugnu’s history of trouble, she had always supported the child as she knew she was in good set of hands. For the first time, she felt a strange sense of dilemma in deciding on the course of punishment for Jugnu. The girl had excelled in sports, consistently improved her performance in tests. However, she also confessed to cheating which she could not approve of in any situation.
The Principal cleared her throat before speaking, “Pranati Ji, Jugnu will be suspended for a week’s time and she will be retaking her examinations separately once her suspension is over. You can take Jugnu home now.”
Pranati nodded her head, as she proceeded to leave the cabin as Jugnu quietly walked behind her carrying her school bag. They walked in silence towards the car and Jugnu had by now gotten used to listening to Pranati incessantly scold her regarding her irresponsible behavior. Jugnu hated to admit but she was freaking out that her Nayi Ma didn’t have anything to say.
The ride back home was quieter than the walk till the car,this was driving Jugnu nuts. Pranati refused to talk to her, any attempt to start a conversation was futile because she was getting answers in monosyllables.
Khurana House
Reyansh was exercising and was surprised to see his Ninja so irritated or disturbed which was strange because she was the one usually causing mayhem in the house with her pranks and all those tricks up her sleeve. He had died laughing looking at Dadi scream in fear thinking there was some ghost in her room when it was just Jugnu being her usual naughty self.
As Reyansh sat with Jugnu and his brothers to eat their lunch, Pranati silently placed the junk food over the table as she motioned to sit and eat her usual parathas. Reyansh and his brothers jumped at the sight of all that tasty food but Jugnu’s eyes kept swinging between Pranati and the tasty food kept right before her.
“Oye Ninja, kha na, Kyun ruki hai?” Reyansh nudged Jugnu to eat. Jugnu silently served herself parathas and began eating leaving the boys in shock while Pranati continued to eat in silence without paying any heed to Jugnu. Reyansh smelled something was fishy – first Jugnu was home early from school and then she ate parathas instead of nachos and all her favourite junk food kept right in front of her. He knew something was up and Jugnu was trying to make up to Pranati. He was curious to see the matter unfold.
By the end of the day, Jugnu was so restless that she began pacing in her room. Her Nayi Ma had not spoken to her since they were back from school and now Jugnu was beginning to worry. Jugnu had been on her best behavior since she had come home. She ate her parathas properly, finished her homework on time, brushed her teeth, changed into her comfy pajama and made her bed too. But her Nayi Ma had ignored all her efforts. For the first time, Jugnu felt hurt with the lack of attention from Pranati, she was supposed to be in here now to put her to bed with her Bandar Papa. Pranati would be always with her whenever she was home to ensure she had everything she needed, checking up if Jugnu had done all the things which she was supposed to do for the day. The silence was pinchig her but Jugnu didn’t know what to do.
“Oye Ninja, kaunse race ki practice kar rahi hai? Itna tez kyun chal rahi hai?” Reyansh asked amused by Jugnu’s unusual behavior. “Bandar Papa” Jugnu jumped in shock realizing Reyansh’s presence in the room. She noted Pranati was silently standing alongside Reyansh.
“Kuch Nahi, bas aaj neendh nahi aa rahi hai. Ajeeb sa lagraha hai.” Jugnu admitted awkwardly. Pranati saw Reyansh talk to Jugnu animatedly making her laugh as he tickled her while they put their daughter to bed. Pranati loved seeing them together – they were the perfect pieces of each others’ heart.
“Mujhe thoda aur kaam hai toh main chalti hoon” Pranati motioned to leave. This was the last straw in Jugnu’s heart. She leapt from the bed to hug Pranati clutching on to her like a small monkey.
“Jugnu, Mujhe jaane do.” Pranati spoke softly as her voice cracked with emotion trying to take Jugnu’s arms off her neck. This was the first time her daughter initiated physical touch with her. It made her feel so vulnerable and emotional at the same time.
“Nahi, subah se baat tak nahi kar rahi ho. Sab kuch waise kiya maine aaj jaise tum bolti ho Nayi Ma.”
“Kyun Jugnu? Kya farak padta hai? Main toh hamesha kuch nakuch kehti rehti hoon. Ab tum free ho, jo bhi karna hai, karo”
“Chup” Jugnu snapped instantly.
“Pehle jab shanti chahiye thi tab nahi di, ab jab baat karna hai. Tab baat nahi kar rahi ho. Ajeeb gunda gardi hai” Jugnu spoke as she stepped down from the bed to face Pranati. Reyansh chuckled softly looking at them.
“I am sorry, mujhe nahi copy karna chahiye tha Arjun ke paper se. Mujhe bas saare papers mein ache number laana tha just like Arjun.”
“Arjun kya kare usse kya farak padta hai?” Pranati asked slightly annoyed.
“Kyunki tumhe woh smart lagta hai mujhse zyada.” Jugnu spoke equally annoyed. Reyansh couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as Pranati glared at him. Pranati realized what Jugnu was trying to do as she remembered the day she had mentioned to Jugnu that Arjun was a smart boy and she liked the child. She chuckled as she called out to Jugnu.
“Jugnu, idhar aao.” She pulled Jugnu towards her and took a pause before speaking again.
“Jugnu, I always yell at you, keep making note of things you like, you do and I don’t approve of things you do. I am always at the back of you to keep things tidy, study well, eat healthy, have your medicines on time.You know why? Because I missed the opportunity to do all of this for eight years. I missed eight years of our time together and I thought that there was no chance for all of this again.” Jugnu and Pranati cried as Pranati continued to speak.
“I would always cut a cake on your birthday thinking what you would be like if you were here and what not. Now that I have the chance, I want to give you the world. You know why because I love you not because of what you do or what you will do or what you did in the past. You are a part of me and Reyansh – a part so important that I cannot explain how much it means to me.” She pressed a kiss on Jugnu’s forehead.
“ I will always love you.” Reyansh’s eyes teared up as he heard Pranati speak to these words to their daughter. For the first time, he didn’t miss his mother maybe because he could feel a part of his mother’s presence in Pranati.
“Promise me, you will never do any kind of dishonesty ever again.”
“Promise Mumma”, Jugnu promised earnestly pulling Pranati into a hug.
Maybe love wasn’t such a bad thing? He had found Pranati and Jugnu because of their love. Pranati had managed to warm up Jugnu’s heart and Jugnu was growing up with her parents together. Was having a cold heart the only way to deal with life? There were so many questions in Reyansh’s head. Reyansh pushed aside his thoughts as he found himself pulled into the family hug by Jugnu. A warmth spread across his chest as he hugged Pranati and Jugnu, maybe family wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
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