OS: An Inner Turmoil (Updated Pg 2) - Page 2

Part II

Alok frowned. The namunas of the family, Inder and Ilesh, were being rowdy and keeping up their hi-jinks in the living room as usual. It made him feel the urge to shoot out his arms and smack one of them at the back of their heads playfully like he always does. But he refrained from doing so as he'd rather do it to Ishaan whom he knew would glare at him and sport a wounded look. Alok chuckled inwardly. His son's reaction would never fail to amuse him and sometimes he would do it just for the sake of that funny expression. Call him a wily old man, but he was still a child at heart and truthfully, it was one of the ways he could communicate with his son as well. Too bad that good-for-nothing was still holed up in his office when he should have been home joining the general mayhem that occurs when everyone was gathered around in the living room for tea and general conversation.

Alok shook his head slightly while smiling gently to clear his head of thoughts of his son to focus on the conversation at hand. But before he could do so, his peripheral vision caught the sight of his bleary-eyed daughter-in-law making her appearance near the frame of the door. He was just about to greet her and welcome her in but Ilesh was quicker than he was. "Arre Suhana!" he exclaimed loudly over the other voices. "You finally woke up!"

Everyone else's attention was also directed towards the youngest most beloved daughter-in-law of the house. The elders, Badi Ma, Dadaji and Dadiji broke out into soft welcoming smiles while Inder and Ilesh beckoned her to join in and Meethi circled around her. Alok grinned….this family was truly too much. Even though everyone literally saw each other everyday, everyone still acted so happy to see the other as if they hadn't done so for ages.

Suhana walked towards them sporting her infectious grin and said, "Goood afternoon everybody! What's going on here? Everyone seems so excited."

"Arre Suhana," piped up Inder, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Ilesh and I were just showing off our dance moves that we did at your party last night but everyone's just too jealous of our skills that they are not even praising us."

Ilesh laughed. "Yeah Suhana! Why don't you praise us instead? If you say it, even everyone will be convinced of how good we were."

"Sorry Inder bhaiya and Ilesh bhaiya," said Suhana, crossing her arms. "But I can't praise you two because of how awful you both danced. Very shameful it was…I should seriously think about teaching the both of you how to dance."

"What a great idea!" said Ilesh, excited over the prospects of having dance lessons and not realizing that he didn't receive the praise he wanted.

Alok felt that urge again. This time he didn't deny his feelings and shot his arm forward to whack Ilesh on the back of his head. "What great idea?" he snapped in his usual playful manner. "You think even with dance lessons, you will still be able to dance like a celebrity? No matter what, your inner monkey-ness will never be gone and that's how you will also dance."

Everyone laughed while Ilesh pouted. "Hear, hear," said Dadaji. "Why don't we just put him in a cage in a zoo and have him dance there?"

The Kashyaps laughed again. Ilesh glared. "Kya Dadaji….even you doubt my capabilities?"

Badi Ma spoke up. "Arre nahi, Ilesh beta. They are just making fun of you. I'm sure if you put your heart into it, you can dance just as well any celebrity."

Inder snorted loudly and giggled. "Fat chance that will happen." Ilesh elbowed him in the ribs but smiled sweetly at Badi Ma. "Thanks Badi Ma. Only you find the good in me."

"Okay, okay, everyone," interrupted Suhana. "Everyone can talk about dance lessons later. Right now I'm very hungry. I want my coffee. Where is that Meena Kumari?"

Rajini, who was sitting next to Rano all this time got up and said, "Suhana, Meena went out to get some vegetables from the store. You sit down and I will make the coffee for you." Suhana smiled and just as Rajini was about to make her way towards the kitchen, Rano got up and said, "Rajini, you sit down."

Rajini looked back. "Arre, Chachiji, don't worry, I will make the coffee. You don't have to make it."

Rano stared back at Rajini coldly and in a tight, controlled manner said, "Did I say I was going to make the coffee?" Rajini looked confused. "I only told you sit back down. Why are you taking extra meaning from my words?"

Alok's eyebrows furrowed in confusion while Rajini seemed speechless. Everyone else also expressed both of these sentiments.

"Ch-chachiji," stuttered Rajini. "I-I just thought you probably meant that you will make the coffee."

"But I didn't say that, right?" retorted Rano. "So don't start making your own assumptions."

Alok could not believe this. What on earth just happened? A moment ago they were all laughing happily and now all of a sudden, the atmosphere of the room turned icy cold by his wife's strange behavior. Before Rajini could answer back, Alok spoke up in a sharp tone. "Rano! What are you doing? Why are you behaving like this with Rajini?"

"Behaving like what, Alok?" replied Rano in a rather eerily calm manner, her gaze steady on his. "I am merely making myself clear to Rajini that whatever she assumed from my words was wrong and that I only told her to sit down."

Alok was unnerved. Never had he seen his wife in such a state. It made him speechless and apparently it had the same effect on the others too. Silence completely reigned in the room and all eyes were directly on Rano who, instead of feeling pressured by this and being reduced to tears was in fact ignoring the glances. She continued to stare at Alok directly in an almost challenging manner and when seeing that he could not even formulate a reply for her, she coldly shifted her gaze until it landed on Suhana.

"So Madame Suhana, you woke up already?" asked Rano in an almost mocking tone. "Why didn't your highness sleep in a little more? That way, when you'd have woken up, dinner would have been ready-made and all you'd have to do was come down, eat quickly, and then leave so that I didn't have to see your face any longer than necessary."

"Rano!" shouted Badi Ma. She and Dadaji stood up from their seats, indignation and anger clear on their faces. Alok could not blame them. Rano had gone too far and had he not been so shocked to the point of being speechless, even he would have raised his voice as well. Meanwhile, tears were starting to well up in Suhana's eyes as she sported a mixed expression of shock and fear.

"What on earth you saying, Rano?" asked Badi Ma, her eyes flashing in anger. "Just what's with you all of a sudden? Why are you being like this?"

Rano turned to Badi Ma with an expressionless stony face. "Pardon me, Didi," she said in the same mocking tone she used on Suhana. "But why are you interfering between mine and Suhana's affairs? I am talking directly to my daughter-in-law, not with you. So please, if you don't want to cause any more troubles, than by all means, please stay out of it."

Something snapped inside of Alok. Just who was this woman he was staring at? This could not possibly be the Rano he has known for so many years, the bashful sweet woman who would immediately burst into tears even over the smallest trivial thing. No, this woman appeared malicious and hateful, hurting others for no reason. Alok clenched his fists. Anger was welling up inside of him and he could no longer tolerate what was happening. Within a millisecond, he took long strides towards his wife and gripped her arm to yank her until she was facing him.

"Rano!" he shouted loudly. "What nonsense are you spouting?? Have you lost your senses?? Come with me! Let's go to our room and talk." With that, Alok pulled her forcefully but before he could even take a second step, Rano grabbed on to his arm holding her and yanked it off of her with all her strength before recoiling back. Alok whirled around in surprise and what he saw made his heart stop cold.

There was Rano standing with the most hateful expression she could muster. Tears were already welled up and leaking from the corners of her eyes while her lower lip trembled in anger. Her entire body language screamed the intensity of her emotions and for once Rano had drawn her chest out to make it clear that this was something she was not going to back down from without a ferocious fight. Something had snapped inside Rano and she had changed.

"Don't touch me," she whispered in the silence, her gaze despite blurred by tears remaining steady as ever. "Don't you dare lay a finger on me. And don't even think of silencing me at this point. Because frankly, I've had enough. I've had enough of you and didi overriding and sidelining me. I've had enough of both of you taking my right away to discipline my daughter-in-law in the way I want to. I've had enough of seeing my son swallowing his pain while your little princess daughter-in-law acts frivolous and spoiled all day long! I am very much disgusted and now I'm putting an end to this!"

Rano turned around to face Badi Ma. "You wanted to know why I'm like this?" she asked defiantly. "Then listen. And make sure to listen well because next time, there won't be a repeat of this. Next time, I will simply do as I please and I won't even give anyone a chance to know for what reason I'm doing these things. So listen carefully and think carefully. Because the future of our relationship will also depend on what comes out of this."

Rano walked towards Badi Ma until she was directly in front of her. "I respect you a lot, didi. A whole lot. But I'll be frank. Lately, I don't accept what you have been doing nor do I respect it. Do you want to know what that is? It's you spoiling my daughter-in-law and letting her live a very frivolous life without even so much as telling her off for it and in fact encouraging it instead. She is my daughter-in-law. I have certain expectations of her and certain rules for her. When I don't want her to work late hours and she has issues with that, then that's for us to argue and compromise on, not for you to interfere, completely take my rights to do that, and then decide for me what my daughter-in-law should do!! When I want her to get involved in the housework because she had spent a whole two years like a bratty princess having Disha, Rajini, and Meena serve her hand and foot and she has issues with that, then it does not mean you can take my place and decide for me that she can still be spoiled unnecessarily while the others work hard day in and day out!!"

Rano drew a sharp breath in and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Just who does she think she is? While Rajini and Disha wake up bright and early to prepare breakfast for others and themselves, then take care of Meethi or go off to her job before returning to preparing the rest of the days' meals and household chores, your ladli Suhana has yet to get out of bed, can't even be bothered to prepare breakfast for Ishaan let alone make coffee for herself, and then causes mayhem elsewhere so the rest of us can pick up the broken pieces she has left over. A woman who can't even take care of herself, what expectations can I have of her taking care of my son and his family?"

Badi Ma remained in stoic silence. Meanwhile tears were pouring down Suhana's face silently. But Rano appeared unperturbed. She continued. "And now that you have made her completely free of any responsibility in the house, she is even shedding her responsibilities outside of it!! Do you want to know what this little princess has done last night? She spent her time dancing with other men while my son awkwardly and uncomfortably clutched onto her purse and was only capable of staring at her. Then he continued to remain silent while she was celebrating with others, even her on-screen husband, not even realizing when he returned home without her!! She has this much audacity to sideline my son! Do you think as a mother I will remain silent about it and turn a blind eye??"

Rano turned away from Badi Ma and looked at the rest of the family. "The saddest thing is that the root of all this is none other than me!! I curse this me who had never been able to make her own decisions, letting others decide how my own children should be raised that now I've reached the point where anything I say is simply ignored by everyone! All of you think I am simply mad and emotional. Yes, I'm emotional! Yes, I'm mad! I'm mad that I have to see my son hide his sorrows even from his mother because unfortunately he inherited this cursed weakness of mine to let others step over him and hide how he really feels about something! We have become beggars in our own homes! Until we don't scream like banshees begging for someone to see our inner turmoils, none of you will even come to us and ask us what is tearing into our hearts! What meaning do my son and I have in this family? Are we simply stepping stones for others to live their lives more easily?"

Rano took another deep breath in before releasing it out. In a slightly shaky voice, she said, "I'm done with this! I can't bear to see my son live in anguish while the rest of you spoil this princess so that she does as she pleases and make others miserable. There's a limit to everything. And right now, I want things to be corrected. I want these issues resolved in the proper way, not just swept under the carpet or into our closets. I want to make my own decisions and I want to be respected. So all of you think about it. Because right now, I'm at my breaking point. Think about it and then dare if you can to tell me I'm wrong."

To Be Continued...

Originally posted by: ice.maiden

Absolutely loved it Ekta, I could actually imagine this one shot being enacted. And the icing on the cake was the Alok bit:)

I am particularly interested in seeing Suhana's reaction, I truly hope she gets the point herself this time

Originally posted by: venture

I thought I was reading the actual episode update !!! Wah Wah Wah ...Your writing gave me an idea that SGP could be dubbed in English too !!! Ha ha ha...Ektah superb superb writing, it had all the Trp grabbing masala along with all the sensibilities , after this Rano would be murdered in seconds by Suhana, premis !!!

Originally posted by: Shwets1502

That was superb Ekta...👏 Thanks a lot for this...

loved Rano...i really want to see her like this...and i dont want her apologise after this to everyone for her behavior😆 cos that makes her wrong...she is totally right...

Thanks for including Alok...nice to see the scene from his point of view too...i really want to see how he reacts to Rano as well as Suhana...😊