Chapter -1
Trehan Nivas was filled with the wails of Sumitra Devi- “ Aap kuch kijiye na…doondhiye na use…pata nahi kya kar raha hoga..kiss haal mein hoga”. These lines interspersed with pleas to various deities of the Hindu pantheon didn’t seem to evoke any pity in the man in front of whom these lines were spoken. Balwant Rai Trehan was a man of steely resolve. He had mentally disowned his first born Aditya almost ten years ago, when the boy fell prey to drugs.
“Let that disgrace be wherever he is. Khote sikke ki tarah laut aayega jab paise khatam ho jayenge…Bangalore bheja tha usse engineering karne…yeh socha tha ki mera rajnitik waris hoga..mera business sambhalega.. par yeh toh khud ko bhi sambhal nahi sakta.. kissi kaam ka nahi hai..bilkul apne maama pe gaya hai”
“Aap phir se usse rehab mein bharti kar dijiye..iss baar who nahi bhagega.. theek hoke hi niklega”
“Teekh…who teekh kab tha.. inter mein hi uske lakshan dikh gaye the ..woh bhi bilkul saaf saaf.. bhool gayi usne aur uske doston ne milke uss chowkidar ki beti ka kya haal banaya tha..kitni mushkil se maine uss baat ko dabaya tha woh main hi jaanta hoon… opposition walon ko iss baat ki bhanak bhi lagti toh mera rajnitik career hi khatam ho jaata.. ganimat hai ki woh 12 saal pehle tha.. yeh social activism tabh nahi tha…”
“Main aapke haath jodthi hoon…usse vapas lekar aayiye..sab teekh ho jayega”
“Vapas laoon… uski harkatein mujhe har jagah zaleel karthi hai…he portrays himself as my agent and takes bribe from people.. mein aapka kaam karva doonga..aap mujhe paise dijiye… nikamme ko ghoos lene ka dhang bhi nahi aata…he is useless…totally useless.. I thought it was better to disown him before the media does a sting operation on him and implicates me in his deeds.. Do you know the political repercussions each of his ill thought deeds have? That’s why I conducted his funeral rites and invited the media..Aditya is dead for me and I don’t want to have his ghost in this house.”
“ Aditya is our only son…how can you…”
Balwant cut her words short “ Mallika will be my heir… I am grooming her for that….she is smart..as smart as my mother… I feel as if my mother was reborn as her to give me a new lease of life… if only my mother was alive at the time of my wedding..she wouldn’t have let me marry a useless woman like you who produced a useless son… My father just didn’t look at how incompetent the menfolk in your family were…. Accha gharana hai..shareef log hai… ladki gaai jaisi hai…. Arre gaai thi toh tabele mein bandh dete..mere gale kyun baandh di….. Now my only hope is Mallika..she has already started her political career by winning the university’s student body elections..she will do even better.. I will make her my shadow in the coming elections..I will let people of Jagrampur know that she is their future leader.”
Mallika was listening to this with rapt attention from outside the door..she felt the time was right for her entry….She entered the room and walked straight to her father, ignoring her mother who was sitting on the floor..she shared her father’s contempt for her mother.. One can’t be sure about the source of such hate… was it something she learnt from her idol- her father..or was it the preferential treatment she saw her mother mete to her brother… She was sick of listening to her mom trying to instill womanly virtues in her while her elder brother was given a free pass…. Aditya would often order her around..”Mallika paani lao”..that was his favourite dialogue.. “dekh nahi rahi mein bahar se aaya hoon”…He used it to show her her place.. he was jealous of her academic brilliance and closeness to her father…His torture would be too much when her father would be away from home.. the fact that his father would tell him” Apni choti behen se kuch seekho” used to rankle him.. why should he learn anything from his younger sister..a lowly girl..huh….
Mallika had to leave whatever she was doing and attend to his whim… Stop studying in between and cut fruits for her “hungry” brother..even though there were so many servants in the house.. her mother didn’t seem anything wrong in him insisting on only her doing his chores---she is a girl..it is her duty to serve her family.
One day she had enough of this torture and complained to her father… Balwant Rai Trehan showered the choicest on expletives on both his son and wife.. The resentment simmered…Though Mallika was ambitious by nature, her hatred for her brother made her desire for power ever stronger…fate colluded with her and Aditya got into all sorts of trouble and finally got addicted to drugs…further earning his father’s scorn… The last straw however was Aditya’s much publicized fight with Bhupendra Chaubey over who would sleep with Pinky- a call girl that night.. bullets were fired..but mercifully no one was killed.. Videos of a drunk Aditya, who could barely stand straight did rounds on the social media with captions taunting the Trehan family.. Such deeds are common among the boys of the political class, but all of them took care not to be captured by the camera…but not this fool.. Balwant wanted to do something before the voters saw him as a man who can’t control his own son…
Mallika rushed towards her father and touched his feet.. “Papa …I have cleared the exams with distinction..result abhi abhi aaya hai”
“Arre waah… meri beti M.Tech ho gayi… I am so proud of you beta…. “
“Thank you Papa.. it is all because of your encouragement”
“Encourage usse hi kiya jaata hai jisme potential ho” Mr.Trehan cast a glance at his wife…”And I know you have loads of it… “
Mallika couldn’t help smiling…”
Aur haan beta…. Woh Charandas college se lab equipments ke liya aaye quotation leke aayega..usse zara dekh lena”// Balwant Trehan ran a group of educational institutions //
“Jee Papa”
Mallika pulled out her bright yellow salwar kameez and started getting ready for a day of work. She knew that she had to maintain a good image in the eyes of the public. She had to dress modestly and ooze power at the same time. Her clothes were crisp and conservatively designed. She looked every bit like an emerging leader. Her style of walking betrayed a no nonsense attitude that scared her father’s stooges. They would stammer didi twice or thrice before getting to the point. Ever since she came back home after writing her M.Tech papers, her father had started devolving her work. He planned to get her ready for a stellar career in a phased manner.
Balwant Trehan rested a while before dialing his nephew Lalit Trehan- a noted criminal lawyer. Always ready to do his uncle’s bidding, he rushed to his house in no time.
“Lalit aaj kaam kuch personal sa hai…phone pe teekh sai baath nahi ho payegi, isliye tumhe yahaan bulaya.”
“Arre Chachaji.. aap se milna meri kushkismati hai…you made me what I am today”
“Tu bhi mere liye koi bete se kum nahi hai..isiliye tumhe yahaan bulaya hai… yeh kaam toh Aditya ko karna chahiye tha, par woh toh sadak ke kutte se bhi gaya guzra hai… khair chodo inn baaton ko.. shubh kaam ke liye tumhe yahaan bhulaya hai aur mai uss manhoos ki baat karne laga….
Bete, baat Mallika ki shaadi ki hai…I am searching for a groom for her but can’t find anyone meeting my criteria..I don’t want to marry her to a boy from a prosperous family, someone who will try to dominate her in the future. I want a well educated boy from a decent family…someone willing to stay with me in my house… most importantly, the boy’s character must be good. I don’t want someone hurting my Mallika… you have contacts Lalit, please find such a boy for your sister”
“Ek ladka toh hai meri nazar mein..he meets all the criteria..character ki guarantee mein de sakta hoon”
“Kaun hai who?”
“Leela ka bhai – Ashutosh… Doctor hai, videsh se padke aaya hai… chaal chalan accha hai…maa-baap toh hai nahin na uske, usse aur Leela ko unke dada-dadi ne paala tha… aur ab toh who bhi nahin rahe… He will stay with you , in your house , as a family member…. “
And just to please his Chacha, Lalit added “ Dikhne mein bhi teekh-taak hai…Mallika ke takkar ka nahin hai.. but he doesn’t look bad like his sister, Leela takes after her father and he after the mother..that is what I have heard..”…here, have a look …Lalit showed Ashutosh’s DP to his chacha…
“oh..why did I not think of this before..perfect...The alliance is acceptable to me Lalit…I want Mallika to meet him and decide…when can we schedule that..Mallika is free tomorrow.. can you get Ashutosh her in the evening?”
“Sure Chacha…agar uski koi surgery hogi bhi toh bhi usse lekar aaonga..jeeja hoon uska”
Edited by Veni-Vidi-Vici - 3 years ago
