Background info:
Hello guys! This OS only includes the part where Raavi is thrown out of the house because of the divorce paper and IVF kaand. In this version, she also professes her love for Shiva, just like she did in the show but she does not try to seduce him by staying at his house.
Yun Hi
Holding onto the hand of a coughing mother, Shiva Pandya sat on the hospital bench, awaiting their turn to see the doctor. The outlandish silence present in the waiting room, accompanied by the occasional sound of the nurse fervently typing into the computer, concocted the perfect atmosphere for him to once again dive into the land of his chaotic thoughts. His brain skipped past the present; away from the hospital; away from his so-called married life; far away from his family. His brain jumped right back to the beginning. Going to the start meant going back to his Chipkali. Shiva’s straight lips curved up into a smile as his brain played reels filled with memories of Raavi in a movie-like manner, instantly giving him a serotonin rush. His Chipkali. He frowned for a second at the thought of Raavi being his. How could he call her his after what happened between them all those years ago?
Suddenly the pleasant memories filled with Raavi came to a halt, instead, the dreadful recollection of his deeds flashed in front of his eyes. His brain conjured up the image of a helpless Raavi sitting on the hard ground, her suitcase wide open for the world to see, as she held onto his leg, asking him to trust her and accept her love. Clouded by pain and anger of being accused of domestic violence, as the divorce papers claimed, and his lingering doubt of Raavi being involved with Anita’s cruel plan, Shiva refused to believe her vows of love. Throwing her off his foot, he humiliated her in front of the whole town, begging her to get out of his life and never return to this house. The present-day Shiva still remembered the look she gave him. Back then his angry self couldn’t recognise the emotions passing through Raavi’s face but today, at the generous age of thirty-five, he knew something broke inside her. Maybe it was her will to fight for their relationship but something broke.
“Suman Pandya, app das minute ke baad andar jaa sakti hai. Doctor Mihir aapka intezaar kar rahe hai.” The nurse spoke, boredom evident from her clinical tone.
Shiva finally hit reality after being nudged by his mother multiple times. When he looked at her, he saw her give him a knowing look, almost as if she knew everything. This was true. She knew the reason behind Shiva’s grim expressions. How could she not know? She was a part of the reason why his forehead carried extra creases, his smiles that no longer felt genuine, rather burdensome, and his eyes that dripped of nothingness, the brightness wiped away forever. But she could say the same about herself, could she not? Suman Pandya, the woman who was once cheered for her fiery personality had also hit a slump. The sass was no longer present in her demeanour, instead, she had become rather ordinary, the charm rubbed away from her face.
Suman too fell into a whirlpool of thoughts, trying to keep afloat but her brain kept pushing her further into the depths of her sinful past. She remembered the shock that Shiva had gone through after the divorce papers arrived at their house. A part of her always hated Raavi since the day she hit her precious son, so her being involved with Anita and the divorce papers being sent to their house felt like a miracle for her. A good miracle that would help her son get rid of the nuisance that Markundi Gayi was forever and finally settle with her darling Disha. Of course, her hate for Raavi multiplied by ten-folds after the Anita incident and her accusing Shiva of domestic violence, but all in all, she was happy that Raavi was no longer a Pandya Bahu. Thus, she tried her best to maintain Shiva’s hate for Raavi by adding comments that further infuriated him and fueled the fire that brunt his love for her. However, what Suman failed to recognise was that she wasn’t burning his love for her, in actuality, she was setting her son on fire. She, later on, got Shiva married to Disha, making her heart filled with happiness. Although the joy of Disha becoming a Pandya Bahu was short-lived as Suman found out how toxic Disha was. She turned out to be a selfish narcissist who wanted everything for herself. She soon realised the value of Raavi. The girl who she had tossed over like garbage.
Gone were the days when the Pandya’s would sit together and bask in each other’s presence, the bahu’s of their house ended up demanding a batwara. At the age of eighty-two, when she should be enjoying her life with her grandchildren, visiting the Somnath mandir to ask for his blessings, she was in Delhi, being passed around her three son’s houses like an unwanted parcel. Of course, Shiva never made her feel like this but her bahu’s and other son’s left no stones unturned to make her feel unwanted. Suman sighed, knowing that she was being punished by the all mighty for treating Raavi as a literal animal, insulting her day and night, making her work like a slave, and separating two people who were on the brink of finding love. She wondered if God could ever forgive her.
“Maa chalo, nurse bula rahi hai.” Shiva got up. Once the two entered the room, a male who looked like he was also in his mid-thirties asked him to sit down.
“Namaste! Mein doctor Mihir hoon,” he gave a warm smile to both Shiva and Suman. “Mein aapki kaise madat kar sakta hoon aaj?”
“Ji Namaste, mein Shiva. Yeh meri maa hai,” Shiva tried to replicate the same smile Mihir gave him. “Maa ko aaj kal bahot pain hota hai aapne saar pe, aur bahot thakawat bhi hoti hai. So we just want to know if it's anything serious.”
The doctor asked a few questions about Suman’s lifestyle and examined her. After about ten minutes, Mihir concluded that Suman’s symptoms weren’t serious and they had nothing to worry about.
Suman felt relieved after hearing that her health was fine. Instinctively, her hands joined into a prayer form and she murmured, “Jai Somnath,” with her eyes closed.
Mihir suddenly looked up from his computer and stared at the mother and son. He narrowed his eyes, wondering if his thoughts were on the right track. Mihir gave a thorough examination of the two and decided to try his luck.
Mihir hesitantly asked, “Kya aapka pura naam, Shiva Pandya hai?” His eyes trained on Shiva to see any indicator of his guess being correct.
“Jee haan. Aapko kaise maalum?” Shiva slightly tilted his head, clearly confused about the situation. Meanwhile, Suman too straightened up after hearing Mihir.
“Mein Mihir hoon, Raavi ka pati.” Mihir didn’t know how to say it in a way that didn’t sound awkward. He felt suspicious of their identity right after hearing his name and seeing the older woman in a wheelchair but once he heard the word ‘Somnath’ leave Suman’s mouth, he put two and two together and figured it out.
Shiva felt as if the life that remained within him was being sucked out. He didn’t know how to respond, it was as if time had stopped and the only thing that remained in motion was his heart. His mouth opened up. He wanted to say something to the man who belonged to Raavi but alas, nothing came out. He quickly shut his mouth again.
Suman was completely shocked by the revelation. She finally looked at the man in front of her properly. Dark locks with a few silver strands here and there, a chiselled jaw, lips curved up into a smile; all in all a handsome face. Suman finally broke the silence in the room. “Accha, beta Raavi kaisi hai?” She had always wondered what happened to that child after she got remarried.
“Bahot sundaar,” Mihir gave a giddy smile. Shiva could tell that he was really happy in his marital life.
Mihir suddenly snapped out of his bubble and apologised, “sorry sorry! Mera matlab hai ki, woh theek hai. Aap khud hi dekh lijiye usse.”
Mihir then turned around the photo frame that was facing him to Suman and Shiva. An image of Mihir holding a smiling Raavi by one arm, while the other arm supported a little girl was in front of Shiva. Looking at the photo, the only thing he could think of was that, there was a time when he was in the place of Mihir. That fact itself broke him into pieces. He could’ve been Mihir. The woman next to him could’ve been his. He almost choked up at the thought of him carrying his and Raavi’s child in his arms.
A part of him laughed at his current state since he was the one who pushed away Raavi when she approached him for the final time, asking him to stop her marriage. She had rushed inside Pandya Niwas, calling out for him, and once he was in front of her, she again tried to clear her name. He wanted to believe her when she revealed that it was her Maasi who tricked her into signing the divorce papers and her declaration of her love. However, he shrugged off all of his ability to think straight and pelted more insults at her. She made a last attempt at melting him by mentioning her remarriage but he didn’t believe her, instead, he told her to get remarried as soon as possible. Only Shiva knew how much he regretted those words. The next thing Shiva knew was that Raavi had gotten married to someone. He frantically ran to her house but her vidhaai had already been done. He then committed another mistake, he agreed to marry Disha in anger.
After his wedding was done, Prafulla came to his house to give him their wedding gift. She gave an evil smile as she finally dropped the truth bomb about the divorce and the Anita incident. She laughed her head off at Shiva’s miserable position and strutted outside, knowing that he will regret everything for the rest of his life. Shiva on the other hand fell to the ground, his face blank, no visible emotion present on his face. The gravity of the situation sunk into him. It was as if someone had finally thrown cold water onto his fiery self. The anger that had been consuming his entire being was let out by the harsh reality. That day, he knew that he will regret everything for the rest of his life, just as Prafulla predicted.
“Shiva?” Suman called out for him.
“Ha…haan maa?” Shiva came out of his reverie.
Suman sighed at her son’s state. “Doctor Mihir tujhse kuch puch rahe hai.”
Shiva shifted his focus to Mihir, “jee kya puch rahe the?”
Mihir again gave a smile, “Jee mein puch raha tha ki, aap log Delhi mein kya kar rahe hai? Jaha tak mujhe pata hai, aap toh Somnath mein rehte hai na?”
“Jee hum log teen saal pehle yaha shift hue.” Shiva looked down. After Raavi left his life, it was as if everything good in his life also said goodbye to him. The family that he was so proud of became greedy for their rights over the family property, causing all of them to separate. Every time he remembered how he demeaned Raavi on multiple occasions for the sake of a family who wouldn’t even bat an eye if he died the very next day, his blood boiled.
“Aur aapki bacchi ka naam kya hai?” Shiva asked hesitantly.
“Arshiya.”
“Arshiya,” Shiva mumbled the name under his breath, almost in a whisper-like manner. Saying the name out loud made it even more clear that time had indeed done its course. Raavi had moved on while he remained in the same position. Nonetheless, he was happy for Raavi. She was finally getting the love that he was never able to give her.
“Bahot accha laga app se milkar Mr Pandya,” Mihir gave a meaningful look to Shiva. He didn’t know what to say to him. The only reason his life was so blissful was because of the man sitting in front of him. Mihir couldn't understand how Shiva, despite knowing her since childhood, wasn’t able to trust his dear Raavi and give her the love she deserved.
“Mujhe bhi.” Shiva indeed felt peace knowing that Raavi was happy in her life. She deserved a happy ending more than anyone.
“Doctor, the waiting cue is getting longer.” The nurse informed in a slightly stressed tone.
“Lagta hai humein chalna chaiye,” Shiva got up.
“Thank you for everything Mr Pandya,” Mihir admitted in a solemn tone.
Shiva gave a wistful smile. It was as if Shiva knew what Mihir was thanking him for.
Before Shiva left, he looked at the photo of Mihir and Raavi again. She’s happy and that’s enough, he thought to himself.
Mihir kept watching the retreating figure of Shiva and Suman. Unknown to him and Suman, Shiva was now entering the world as a man who accepted his reality.
The meeting has dispersed,
the moths bid farewell to the candlelight.
Departure’s hour is on the sky,
Only a few stars mark the night.
What has remained will not remain,
They too will quickly disappear
This is the world’s way,
Although we, lost to the world,
lie sleeping here.
English translation of the song "Mehfil Barkhast Hui" from A Suitable Boy
(I take no credit for the translation)
Author's note
I know some of you hated this story! Trust me, it was very difficult for me to write about their separation as well. However, I personally do not see Shiva as the hero anymore. The way he treated Raavi during the divorce track and their marriage track was horrible. He always sides with his family and never takes a stand for her! He never even confronted his babhi-maa for intoxicating Raavi!! Also, he only apologised once to Raavi after their wedding! Like he seriously gave the world's shortest sorry for everything he did! When I finally thought everything was going to be okay, he once again proved me wrong by undermining Raavi's opinions regarding Rishita's issue.
Please let me know your thoughts on this piece! ❤️
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