Hey all. This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend ANDY. Happy birthday Dear ... hope u enjoy your gift😃. CHAPTER : 3
Veer sat up on his bed. He looked around the room ... it was exactly the same since the last 20 times he looked, yet still - nothing seemed familiar. Photographs of himself adorned the walls. There was a picture of him with his mom; 1 with a guy - who his mother says, is his best friend Ajay; 1 with a girl kissing him on the cheek ... the girl is suppossedly his girlfriend; 1 with probably the entirte Indian army & finally 1 with his squad.
All pictures had 1 thing in common : he (Major Mallik) was wearing a uniform, & he sported a huge smile in every photo. It was obvious ... that he was extremely proud to serve in the Indian army.
Veer shook his head ... but if only I could remember! ,he mumbled. He walked into the bathroom. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE VEER MALLIK ... he spoke to himself. With a pair of scissors ... he began to trim his beard. He cut it as close to his skin as possible , because in the photos , Veer had a stubble. But still , he did not resemble the guy in the picture.
In a fit of frustration, he grabbed the razor-blade & shaved off his remaining facial hair. He wiped his face in a towel. He stared at the image before him. Unknowingly , he smirked at himself ... before complimenting : Ekdum rapchik rapchundus lag rahe ho ... HAAN NAI TOH!!!
Suddenly he heard someone laugh behind him. It was Roopa Aunty - his mother. Beta ... when are u going to drop that habit? What habit , Mom? ,asked a confused Veer. Talking in that lingo. He frowned at her in a questioning manner. She carressed his face. Beta - u don't remember, but I do. Your colleague ; Major Bhushan Dixit , who was shot and killed at the border - he used to talk like that. Because u were constantly stationed with him ... u picked up his way of talking. Veer nodded gratefully at her reply.
It was a month since Manyata's suicide attempt. The bandages were now off. Scars of the long, knife slashes were still very visible ... but it didn't bother her much. She made herself comfortable on a rocking chair in the balcony. In the distance; she could see tiny, colourful objects flying in the sky. The objects were kites and the day was Makar Sankranti. Her lips curved into a smile. She placed her hand over her stomach : When u grow up , my baby ... Papa & I will teach u how to fly a kite!
Soon Unnati joined her. Am I interrupting? ,she asked Manyata ; who answered : Interrupting what? The Maa-Beti conversation , of-course! Both laughed at her comment. Unnati presented Manyata with an envelop which had an invitation inside. What have u decided about this Bhabhisa'? Manyata stared at the piece of paper for a while , before answering : It's Uday's award - I will go to the function tonight! We'll ALL go , Beta ! ,came Giriraj's response from behind.
Manyata & Unnati ended up sitting in the same positions where she & Uday sat at the last "awards night" . That night , Uday was so proud to get the "POLO - player of the year Award" yet again, and he was so happy that Manyata was with him - sharing in the joyous moment.
She closed her eyes as a tear escaped. I was so stupid , so foolish , she thought ... I ruined that night for you Uday; WHY? ... so that I could give Akash - a birthday party; 1 he'd NEVER FORGET. Why am I ALWAYS the LAST 1 to understand things? I must be the only woman in the world , who threw a surprise party for her husband's murderer. She wiped away the fresh tears that were welling up in her eyes. NO - he's NOT my husband's murderer ... because my husband IS NOT DEAD! She was disturbed from her thoughts when Unnati nudged her. The announcement had been made that the late Yuvraaj UdayVeer Singh was the recipient of the award for POLO PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2012!
Manyata walked slowly, but with pride and grace ; towards the presentation area. She clutched onto the cuffs of her long-sleeve , lime-coloured salwar-suit ... making sure that her recent scars were carefully hidden. As the golden statuette was placed in her hand , the entire crowd present - stood up in respect & applauded for the logest time. Manyata nervously took the mike in her hand. She saw Giriraj turn his head away , obviously to hide his tears; but a reassuring smile from Unnati ... gave her the strength to talk.
Thank u for this award. Thank u for honouring ... she suddenly stopped. She took a moment before restarting. With a breaking voice , she continued : This is yet another award to add to Uday's already over-flowing cabinet. BEST POLO PLAYER - Yes he was! But I have 1 regret ... I never got to see him play. He was always BRILLIANT at whatever he did - he deserves every honour & accolade in this world. For me Uday - u will always be ... THE BEST HUMAN-BEING IN THIS WORLD. I love you Uday ... I love u so much! With brisk strides, she walked out of the venue ... seated herself in her car and cried her heart out.
The next day, Manyata got an unexpected visitor ... it was Mr Wong. He offered her his condolences and then presented her with the cheque which she returned to him. Mrs Singh - I cannot take this back. I had given it to your husband because I wanted to be a part of his dream. He was a very wealthy man, he didn't need this (the cheque), but I wanted my name to be attached to such a worthy cause. Please accept this , he left the cheque on the table & before walking out , he said : Turn your husband's dream into a reality! Manyata immediately swung into action. She made a few calls & within no time ; steps were underway towards Uday's dream project. All assured her that in a years time - the school for illiterate adults , will be up & running.
Meanwhile , back at the Devgarh palace, Brijraj was filling in his mother; on his latest talk with Giriraj. MaaSaheb , Giriraj ne humse khud kaha ke UdayVeer ki itsha the ke Manyata doosri shaadi kare. DS smiled. Her job had suddenly become so much easier. Komal was still very much against DS's plan. She took Vijay into her confidence. She told him that DS , together with the King of Ranagarh & his son, the Prince ... were going to "see" Manyata today in the hope of forming an alliance. He also , was dissappointed ... with what his grand-mother was doing. Maamisa' - Naanisa' HAMARI baath nai sunenge. There's only 1 persons stubbornness that can match Naanisahibs. And that is Manyata Bhai. Both decided to forewarn her.
Manyata was very busy attending to "business matters" , which got Unnati worried. Bhabhisa' - why are u doing all this? So much stress is not good for the baby. She took Unnati's hand in hers & spoke : Unnati - there is nothing stressful about making a couple calls. Relax Chotti! Theek hain Princess! Both laughed at their failed attempts at imitating Uday.
Bhabhisa'- how long are u going to keep this pregnancy a secret? In 2 months time - your stomach will start showing. I know Unnati - but by then ... YOUR BROTHER WILL BE BACK! Their conversation was interrupted when Manyata's cell buzzed. Vijay called to tell her about DS's intentions. She was livid. Her eyes grew wide and her face grew red in anger.
That evening ; DS, Brijraj, Komal, Vijay, Maharaj PrithviRaj Singh & Yuvraaj Arjun Singh of Ranagarh came to "speak" to Giriraj, Unnati & Manyata. Giriraj & unnati welcomed them ... but was unsure about the reason for their visit. Manyata had kept it to herself.
DS, then explained to Giriraj that she wanted Manyata to remarry and Yuvraaj Arjun was still accepting her despite her being a widow. Giriraj was in constant communication with the MahaSabha ... he knew exactly whyDS was rushing this "punar-vivah" ; and he was not happy about it. But before, he could voice his objections - he wanted to see how Manyata would react to all this. He sent a servant to call her.
She politely greeted the visitors. Yuvraaj Arjun was mesmerised seeing her ... he immediately stood up, he joined his hands & greeted her : Kham Gani Yuvraani Manyata ... hum aapse mil ke bohot khushi hui. Manyata gave him the broadest smile - even though it was fake. She also joined her hands & greeted : Namaste Bhaiyya. Unnati , Giriraj & Komal suppressed their smiles ... unfortunately , Vijay ; who had his mouth filled with tea - ended up spraying it on the King of Ranagarh.
Maharaj PrithiRaj stood up with such fury - all thought he would literally bash Vijay. Manyata sat comfortably on her chair ... watching the humungous drama she created. Vijay was apologising continually , the King was repeatedly saying : Hamare aur hamare bete ki apmaan! , Yuvraaj Arjun was silent but very embarassed about Manyata calling him "brother" and DS was trying her best to calm the situation.
The King & Prince eventually left, leaving behind the Devgarh family with the Jaigarh family. DS knew that someone warned Manyata about the proposal. She tried talking rationally to Manyata : Beta ... aap ne acha nahi kiya. Manyata, however , was beyond angry ... DS - kya aapne acha kiya? Uday is only gone for 2 months ... & u do THIS TO ME!!!
DS : Lekin Beta - UdayVeer bhi yahi chahte the.
Manyata realised that Giriraj must've told them about Uday's last wishes.
M : Haan ... Uday wanted me to remarry but there is a huge difference in why HE wanted it & why YOU want it. You (DS) want this ... because u want an heir from me. Uday wanted it because he wanted me to find happiness again.
She took Uday's photo-frame in her hand & hugged it. This is my joy ... MY HAPPINESS! I still don't know if he really is dead OR NOT ... but I do know , that the rest of my life ... I'll be living with HIS memories & I'll be MORE THAN HAPPY WITH THAT! Aap log ja sakte hain , she kicked her own family out of her house. DS & Brijraj walked out without looking at her. Vijay hugged her before leaving & Komal paced her right-hand over Manyata's head - blessing her, before kissing her on the fore-head and walking out.
Manyata walked up to Giriraj : Baba - what do u want for me? Beta - I'm a selfish, old man ... I had never shown my son any love or affection. He learnt about love from you. If he were to return - he'd return for you! ... & that's the only way , I'll get my child back. I want u to stay with me forever, so that Uday ... he broke down crying. Manyata & Unnati consoled him.
He composed himself. Beta - Devgarh is in danger of being thrown out of the mahaSabha if an heir is not produced. MaaSaheb will fight to the end to save her state. You know that you & UdayVeer got married because because of a contract I signed with her ... I just fear ; what if she signs a similar contract - THEN? Dad - can she do that? To save Devgarh - YES , SHE CAN!
Manyata Beta ... hamara baath manoge ? She nodded. Leave India. Go , settle down in some other country. Aur Baba - aap? I'll stay here. I'll continue taking care of Jaigarh for as long as I can. You can manage Uday's business from wherever you'll be in this world ... by just a CLICK OF A BUTTON. All smiled and hugged.
Manyata left for Texas , the next day. Giriraj insisted that she NOT tell him where she was going as he feared telling Brijraj in his drunken stupor. Unnati & Rajjat accompanied her ... just till she gets settled & adjusted in her new life.
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Thanks for reading. Please "like" & comment before u go. Andy - I hope it was worth the wait! For anyone that has been eyeing Veer ... this is a note to say that he has been taken. (Hope u are happy now Saira!!!) Next update will be 3 weeks time - SORRY ABOUT THAT!
😊😊😊NAVINA😊😊😊
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It was an amazing update navi, at first why M hid her pregnancy from evryone , especially her Devgadh family was looking quite odd to me, but now everything is clear, and I'm so disappointed in DS and Komal most of all as a mother (she was one spineless character in teh serial, I so wanted her to fight and be with her daughter here but sigh..) that I feel its right that M kept them away from their heir. Komal will NOT EXACTLY fight for Manyata ... but she will INDIRECTLY help Manyata get out of the second marriage😉.
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