Chapter Three
Sanskaar walked around the dinner party going on around him. The hotel he was staying at was holding a party for the end of the renovations that had been going on. Hotel staff, contractors and their builders and financiers of the project were all present. And of course, Sanskaar Maheshwari.
After having met most of the people who he knew and not having the appetite to eat anything from the large menu, he decided to leave for his room. However, a few steps down the corridor and he stopped abruptly.
"Lal meri pat, rakiyo bala jhoole laalan, singhri da sehvan da..."
Turning on his heels once more, he returned to the hall. His eyes travelled to the performance area and sure enough, there sat Ragini on a raised stool and mic in her hand, performing a classic flawlessly.
"...Ho laal meri...haan...lal meri..."
Ragini stood up to acknowledge the applause of her audience and then walked off the raised platform where had been performing. Taking a plate from the buffet ring, she looked around at the dishes being served.
"Hi."
She turned around and saw her new student, Sanskaar Maheshwari.
"Mr Maheshwari, aap yahan?"
"I was invited to the party. Enjoying myself. Some really nice people here."
"Oh. I was invited to perform here." Ragini looked at him and smiled.
He had joined her classes three weeks ago. She had been sceptical of teaching someone outside the academy but she had to give in once he had sought written permission from Malhotra ma'am. And her scepticism had been right - Mr Maheshwari was a very slow learner. Three weeks had passed but he was still to learn the difference in the strings of a sitar. His playing...not worthy of mention yet. However, despite all of this, he was a very nice man. Calm and composed, very kind and comforting, especially to the teens in her class that were much younger than him. Other than this, there was a very strange feeling of familiarity around him. But she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Chutney?"Sanskaar, who had also been thinking about her, looked to see her holding out a plate for him as well. He took it and started serving for himself alongside her. They sat down at a table to eat.
He looked at her as she wiped her knife and fork with a napkin before eating, poured water into glasses for the two and said a little prayer before taking her first bite. EXACTLY something Ragini would do.
"So, Ragini aren't your family worried that you're here this late?" He asked nonchalantly as if though in normal conversation. Her fork had stopped halfway to her mouth. She looked ahead but nowhere in particular before shaking her head and smiling at him.
"Really? Your family must be really cool then." He carried on, trying to gauge some more reaction. She simply gave a non committal "hmmm" in response and now seemed to be fully concentrating on her food. Now he was getting impatient.
"Ragini, tell me some more about your family." Any fear that it might be very abrupt had left his mind. She swallowed her food and took a gulp of water.
"It's just me."
"Oh. I didn't know. Sorry."
"It's okay."
Looking at her carefully, he realised he might not get this opportunity again and decided to make the most of it.
"How come? I mean, your family? What happened?"
She looked at him blankly. If there was any surprise at his interrogation, she hid it well.
"I've never met them...I mean, I don't remember them at all."
"But Ragini, how can you not remember them? That's not possible." She shook her head.
"I don't. Nothing. It's been like this always."
Sanskaar kept quiet. It was not appropriate to pester her more.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have said all that."
"No, don't be. It's normal for people to ask about family. In fact tell me about yours. About your life."
Ragini took interest into his family instead now. Turning his fork between his fingers, he looked at her as if though giving her a warning. He had a lot to say to her and knew that most of it she would be unresponsive to...but still, may be try his luck.
"My family? Pretty big, Marwari. My dad and uncle are two brothers, there's my mum and aunt and the rest are siblings. Me, my sister Uttara, cousin brothers Adarsh and...Lakshya."
Sanskaar observed her closely as he mentioned his brother's name. But to no avail. She simply nodded her head, listening to him as he spoke. Almost frustrated now, he quickly started thinking of something else. Gadodias.
"And you know, Lakshya's wife is Bengali. Swara, her name is. Swara Gadodia."She raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Bengali? I thought you guys were really taboo about non veg people?"
"Yeah, but this family, Lakshya's in laws, are a different story altogether. They are amazing people. There's Shekhar uncle and his parents - they're Marwari, Sharmishta kaki who's Bengali and got married into that family. And they have two daughters. Swara and...Ragini."
Ragini looked up smiling.
"I already like her."He let out a small laugh.
"I thought you would."
She simply gave a smirk and looked at him as she finished eating.
"Mr Maheshwari, what's Kolkata like?"
"It's nice. Home, after all."
"Hmm...I would love to go one day."
"You should. Especially with your music, you'd be surprised at how much you'll be appreciated."
"Well thank you for the compliment."
"Serious. I was leaving the party. I came back to see who was performing so beautifully."
Ragini's cheeks were now covered by a small tinge of pink. She looked back at him to change the conversation. However, she didn't need to say anything further.
"Ragini, do you know your music institute has a sister academy in Kolkata? You could try to ask for a placement there...you know, from your Malhotra ma'am."
She narrowed her eyebrows in thought as he spoke. She could try. However, persuading the principal wouldn't be an easy task.
"She wouldn't agree. Not right now anyway, may be another time."
"There's no harm in asking. You do just that."And I'll do the rest, he thought.
He had subconsciously leaned forward in anticipation of her answer. Ragini nodded her head slowly in agreement. Suddenly, her phone rang which she picked up to answer.
"Hello...Shikhar."
A sudden lurch in the pit of his stomach had Sanskaar looking up at the mention of the name while she spoke animatedly to the person on the other side.
He didn't know when, he didn't know how and he didn't know why, but he sure knew that a big obstacle would be creeping up on him very soon. An obstacle in the form of a young lad named Shikhar.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
