Posted:
10 years ago
PART 1:
The story starts when Riddhima 5, Muskaan 5, Rahul 7 and Armaan 9 years old are playing in the Mallik's backyard.
"Riddhima! Muskaan! Udhar dekho…..bagal waale ghar mein us pedh par amrood aa rahe hain! Chal Rahul…..thod kar laate hain," Armaan, the leader of the gang runs ahead as the other three follow him. Armaan quietly opened the gate to the neighbor's backyard and tip toed towards the guava tree. He was an expert climber, and within a few minutes was up at the top. He plucked a bunch of guavas as the three younger kids watched him in awe. Armaan looked down and yelled, "main itne saare amrood neeche nahin laa sakta…..tum log bhi oopar aa jao."
A frail little Muskaan, hid behind Rahul, "nahin main nahin chadoongi….mujhey darr lagta hai!"
Rahul, himself not very athletic, looked away, "jaa Riddhima tu chali jaa….Armaan ka kehna maan…jaa!"
Riddhima, a petite little five year old, but very agile, loved the challenge. It would also give her a chance to impress Armaan. Armaan, being four years older, was a little bossy and loved to order her around. Riddhima did not mind, as long as she received his attention. Riddhima climbed the tiny branches carefully and within a few minutes was half way up the tree.
"Riddhima…wahin theher jao…..main neeche amrood laata hoon," Armaan got a little worried as the top half of the tree was a little tricky to climb. He gently climbed down to her level, "chal yeh pakad le….apne frock mein rakh le," he put the guavas in her little frock 'basket.'
"ARMAAN! Bagal waali aunty aa rahi hain! Jaldi neeche aa jao!" Rahul screamed as he saw the owner of the house, Mrs Pathak walking towards them with a big broom.
"Arre…baap re baap!" Armaan was frightened too, as Pathak aunty was not the friendliest of ladies and particularly disliked naughty kids. He stuffed his pockets with a few guavas and started climbing down, ignoring Riddhima's protests from behind, "Armaan mujhey bhi neeche le chalo!"
Armaan was down within seconds; he held Rahul's hand and sprinted back to his house. Muskaan ran as fast as she could with her tiny feet, leaving poor little Riddhima perched on the tree holding the guavas in her dress.
The fierce lady looked up and saw a frightened girl on the tree, "ACCHA! NEECHE THO AA……ABHI TERI MAA KO BATAATI HOON! SHAITAAN KAHIN KI!"
A tearful Riddhima came down trembling and shivering.
"AMROOD CHURAA RAHI THI BADMAASH! YAHI SIKHAAYA HAI TERE MAA-BAAP NE…..CHORNI KAHIN KI!" Mrs Pathak snatched the guavas and yelled at her.
Riddhima started bawling, "main tho sirf badhe bacchon ke saath aayi thi….main chorni nahin hoon kaaki!"
"KHABARDAAR MUJHEY KAAKI KAHA THO! CHAL MERE SAATH!" the lady grabbed Riddhima by her arm and walked her to the Gupta's.
"Padma! Yeh sambhaal le apni beti ko…..5 saal ki umar mein hi chori karne lagi hai!" Mrs Pathak yelled from outside.
Padma ran out, wiping dough off her hands, "kya hua behenji? Kya kiya Riddhima ne?" she was shocked to see Riddhima in tears, her hair all disheveled, scratches on her skin from the branches of the tree.
"Poonch lo chorni se….hamare baagh ke amrood pedh par chadkar chura rahi thi!" the lady sneered.
"Maaf karna behenji….main Riddhima se baat karoongi…..ab aage se aisa kabhie nahin hoga," Padma apologized to her neighbor and looked at Riddhima sternly.
Mrs Pathak made a dirty face and walked away, chomping on the guavas on her way back, "chalo iss bahaane amrood neeche tho aaye, warna Ramu ka bachha itna aalsi hai ki kabhie thod ta hi nahin….pedh par hi sadh jaate saare amrood."
Padma took Riddhima inside; she was obviously upset at her daughter being called a 'chorni,' but she knew her 5 year old was probably incited by the older Mallik boys, "Armaan aur Rahul bhi the tere saath?" she asked angrily. Riddhima nodded, "Armaan tho jaldi se bhaag gaya tha….par mere haath mein itne amrood the, kaise neeche aati mummyji?"
Padma sighed, "beti…..tu abhi bahut choti hai…..badhe bachhon ki baaton mat aaya kar…..aur waise bhi kisi aur ki cheez lena paap hai…..aaj ke baad phir teri shikaayat aayi tho daddyji ko bataa doongi."
"Nahin mummyji! Daddyji ko mat bataana!" Riddhima was scared of her dad's temper. An ex-principal, he was a strict disciplinarian. Even though he doted on his only daughter, he would never be able to tolerate dishonesty, lies or theft of any kind.
Padma cleaned Riddhima's scratches and gave her some milk, "yeh le haldi ka doodh pee le….saare ghaav bhar jaayenge jaldi." Riddhima had a disgusting look on her face, "nahin mummyji….main haldi ka doodh nahin peeungi," she started crying again.
"Kaaki…..main pee lunga," Armaan walked in through the front door, "laao…..mujhey doodh pasand hai," he snatched the glass of milk from Padma and gulped it down in a few seconds and let out a big burp.
Padma smiled, "beta….tujhey haldi ka doodh pasand hai?"
Armaan made a face; he hated anything added in his milk, but lied, "haan kaaki bahut pasand hai." Somewhere, his conscience had pricked him as he had seen how the neighbor had yelled at Riddhima and called her names. That is why he had followed them back to Riddhima's house.
Riddhima frowned at him, "main katti hoon tumsey!"
"Katti? Ho ja katti….jaise teri katti se mujhey koi farak padhta hai?…..Chidiya si tho hai…..dekhne mein bhi aur dimaag bi chidiya jaisa hai tera…….jaldi se neeche kyun nahin aayi? Galti teri hai….aur katti mujh se ho rahi hai!" Armaan snubbed her.
"Tho mujhey akela kyun chhod gaye us gandi aunty ke paas?" she complained.
Armaan stuck out his tongue, "meri marzi!"
"Beta! Aise nahin kehte….Riddhima tujh se choti hai…..iska dhyaan rakhaa kar…..bechari pedh se gir jaati tho?" Padma defended her daughter.
"Kaaki! Main isse girney thode hi deta….main tho mazaak kar raha tha," Armaan laughed as he realized that Padma Kaaki was a little upset.
"Accha….tum dono yahin raho….kuch khaane ke liye laati hoon….Rahul aur Muskaan kahan hai?" Padma asked
"Hum yahan hain Kaaki," Rahul announced as he walked in hand in hand with Muskaan.
"Chalo baith jao chaaron…..main aaloo ke paraanthe banaati hoon," Padma smiled and went to the kitchen.
"AALOO KE PARAANTHE? ARRE WAH! MAZAA AA GAYA PHIR THO!" Armaan exclaimed as his mouth watered at the thought of Padma Kaaki's juicy paranthas.
Riddhima's sobs had still not died down; she had been badly shaken up by the guava tree incident.
Armaan looked at her and felt a little uncomfortable' "ab ladkiyon ki tarah rona bandh kar! Chal amrood khaate hain," he grabbed Riddhima's hand and ran out to the front porch.
Armaan sat down on the steps and took out the guavas from his pocket. He wiped them with his shirt and offered it to Riddhima, "le…yeh sab se pakaa hua tere liye." Riddhima's sobs soon turned to a big smile, "sach? Mere liye?"
Rahul and Muskaan ran out, "nahin hum bhi khaayenge…yeh cheating hai!"
"Abey hath!" Armaan said authoritatively, "sirf Riddhima aur main hi khaayenge….tum tho darr pok ki tarah bhaag liye the," he put a protective arm around Riddhima and refused to share the guavas with his brother. A dejected Rahul was about to leave with Muskaan, when Riddhima offered her half eaten guava, "yeh le lo Rahul…..main aur nahin khaa sakti." Rahul and Muskaan looked at Armaan for permission, but he could care less. He chomped on his own fruit and went inside, "aa haa… kaaki…..paranthon ki khushboo aa rahi hai!" Armaan grabbed a plate from the kitchen cabinet and served himself a stack of paranthas.
Riddhima walked in with sticky hands; she was all smiles now as Armaan had given her the first preference on the guavas. She stepped on her toes and looked at Armaan's plate, "mujhey bhi chaahiye parantha." Riddhima wiped her fingers on Armaan's shirt and took a bite from his plate, "mummyji…thoda masala zyaada daalo na….bilkul pheekha hai."
"Beti….tere liye masaale waala baad mein banaaoongi…Armaan ko aisa hi pasand hai," Padma said.
Riddhima made a face and ran away as Armaan polished parantha after parantha.
After Rahul and Muskaan had eaten their share of paranthas, Padma made an extra spicy one for Riddhima, "yeh le…tera teekha waala!"
"Nahin mujhey ab bhookh nahin hai!" Riddhima rubbed her eyes, "mujhey neend aa rahi hai mummyji."
"Aise bhookhe pait nahin sotey….thoda sa khaa le beta," Padma said affectionately.
Armaan got up from the kitchen table and laughed, "arre kaaki…chidiya ke pait mein jagah kahan hogi ab?"
Shashank walked in and heard the last statement; he lifted Riddhima in his arms, "meri nanhi pari hai yeh….chidiya nahin hai," he kissed her cheeks.
"Uncle jee….pari nahin chidiya hai!" Armaan laughed again and held Rahul's hand, "chal Rahul….andhera hone lagaa hai…Muskaan ko bhi ghar chhod na hai."
Shashank smiled and hugged Riddhima, "yeh ladke tujhey sirf chidhaa te hain…..agli dafaa kehna ki chidiya hi aasmaan mein udh jaati hai…..zameen waale dekhte reh jaate hain."
Armaan came back after he heard what Shashank had just said, "uncle jee…..aasmaan mein tho main udhoonga……hawai jahaaz mein udhkar saat samundar paar jaaoonga aur bahut badhaa aadmi banoonga……yeh tho Patialawaali hai….aur yahin Patiala mein hi rahegi!" he chuckled arrogantly and ran after Rahul and Muskaan.
Shashank shook his head, "Armaan bahut ghamandi ladka bantaa jaa raha hai…..kahin Naina bhabhi jaisa na ban jaaye."
"Ghamandi hai…..par Riddhima ka dhyaan wo hi rakhta hai…..dil ka achha ladka hai….chal aa Riddhima….meri godh mein baith kar kuch khaa le," Padma lifted Riddhima from Shashank's arms.