'Oye' 'Oye'
If Knowledge is Power, Knowing What You Don't Know is Wisdom. Aarohi's always been intelligent. As a child, she was an academic prodigy, consistently winning awards for her school at competitions. As a student, she excelled. Was she wise? Not until this Christmas.
The Birla Hospital's Christmas party for children was vivacious and magical. Vansh, as Santa Claus, amused the children while the elders merrily chatted amongst themselves, and the dance floor was in full swing. Abhimanyu's attention was locked on Akshara the moment she entered, in her moss green ball gown. Merry Christmas, he thought to himself as he watched giggle and play with the kids.
Before he could approach her, Haider stole her away for a dance (https://pin.it/6nxklup).
Ye yahan kya kar raha hai (what is he doing here)?
"You invited him when you invited the Goenka family," Neil said, spooking Abhimanyu with his mysterious appearance. "And yes, you said that out loud."
Abhimanyu slipped onto the dance floor with Aarohi on his arm before Neil could start his lecture.
Too can play that game, Abhimanyu thought as he seethed.
Aarohi was excited when Abhimanyu offered to dance with her without any prompting from their families. She thought their relationship was moving forward. She thought he was interested in her. But he wasn't. His grip on her waist was loose and indifferent. The veins in his neck were poking out. His blazing eyes wandered everywhere except her face until they stopped. She peeked over her shoulder to find the object of his fixation. Akshara. No. Not just Akshara. He was staring at Akshara and Haider.
It dawned on her. He was bitter because Akshara was dancing in Haider's arms. "You're still in love with her," she concluded.
"What?"
"You're still in love with her," she repeated as she stepped away from him and blocked his view of Akshara and Haider. "She's smiling and dancing because of Haider, and that bothers you because you don't have that right anymore," she continued.
"What rubbish"
"It's not rubbish. It's jealousy. You're jealous because you still have feelings for her. How?" She asked.
"What do you mean how?"
"She rejected you multiple times and humiliated you in front of your family." Aarohi bit her lip before continuing. With everything happening, everything she knows about Akshara's feelings, it's becoming harder and harder for her to lie. "I'm the one who brought you home after the fire, and yet you're still in love with her. How?"
"Loving her reminds me I'm alive. She can hurt me, and she does, but I gave her that right, that power. And I don't know how to take that privilege back."
I don't want to take it back; she read between the lines.
Aarohi let out a small chuckle as tears started brimming. She felt like Sisyphus when he was laughing at the absurdity of his existence. He's never going to let me in, she thought.
"Aarohi, I told you this marriage would be a compromise-"
"Dr. Aarohi, Mahima Ma'am wants to see you in her office." Abhimanyu was interrupted by a junior doctor (yes, that junior doctor).
"Can't you see we're in the middle of something," Abhimanyu tried to scare him off. Usually, one look from Abhimanyu would send him the opposite direction, but today he just lowered his head and waited for Aarohi's response. Aaj Akshara beech mein nahi hai to Abhimanyu ka gussa kaam hai aur junior doctor ki jaan ko khatra nahi hai (Today, the matter doesn't involve Akshara, so Abhimamyu isn't as daunting or murderous).
"Thanks, I'll be there shortly," she said before excusing herself.
"Ab tum mujhe kyun dekh rahe ho" (Why are you oogling me?) Abhimanyu reprimanded before getting himself a mocktail.
...
Aarohi took a deep breath before knocking on the dragon-urf- Mahima Ma'am's door.
"Come in," Mahima ordered. Mahima's office was huge, adorned with her degrees, medals, and pictures of her Padma Shri ceremony. Mahima sat behind her desk with her face to Aarohi's back.
"Ma'am, you called for me?"
Aarohi grew uneasy as she watched Mahima stand up and walk towards her. The two stood face to face, with the former shifting her foot to release tension.
"Tum party mein kya kar rahi thi?"
"What?"
"Tum party mein kya kar rahi thi, Dr. Aarohi? Maine kaha tha operation ke baad, mujhe patient ke case se related five international references chahiye apne desk par(What were you doing at the party, Dr. Goenka? Why aren't the five international references pertaining to the case after the surgery on my desk?)."
"Ma'am woh-"
"Dr. Aarohi, tum short cut se ek bade dr ki biwi zaroor ban sakti ho, par ek excellent surgeon nahi (By marrying Abhimanyu, you can become the wife of a renowned surgeon, not an excellent surgeon yourself). To be an incredible surgeon, you have to work, not dance at the party."
"Ma'am, I attended the party because Harsh Sir invited me."
Mahima wouldn't listen to Aarohi's explanation. "You could have said no. Just leave Aarohi. I'll have a more competent doctor do your work." Mahima pivoted to return to her seat when Aarohi's voice (and self-respect) returned.
"Unbelievable," Aarohi hissed under her breath. This woman was driving her insane.
"Did you say something?" Mahima provoked. Mahima turned back and stormed into Aarohi's personal space.
Haider's words ran through her head. Birla's ke samne tum ek billi ban jaati ho, Sirat aunty ki tarah sherni nahi. Aarohi resolved that she would no longer let the Birla's pierce through her dignity without resistance.
"Aapko mujhse problem hai ya mere ambition se? (Do you have a problem with my work or my ambition)." Aarohi wasn't going to back down this time.
"Tumhare kehne ka matlab kya hai? (What are you trying to say)."
"Are you threatened by me, Mrs. Mahima Anand Birla? Are you threatened by the prospect of me surpassing your legacy? Because if you are, it's unfortunate. We're in the 21st century, and yet, we have women putting other women down for their ambitions when there is enough room at the table." Aarohi thought she'd won when Mahima didn't give her a quick retort, but Mahima broke into a sardonic laugh.
"That's rich coming from you. You're so insecure you can't even share the limelight with your sister. Forget the spotlight; you can't even share your family, so you sent her away."
Aarohi was gobsmacked. How did she know? "That is my family's matter. You have no right to bring it up here!"
"And you have no right to accuse your senior of having an inferiority complex," Mahima retorted. "Get out!"
"My pleasure," Aarohi left the door open. It isn't my responsibility to close their doors or listen to their taunts.
...
"Haider, I'm going to take a break from dancing, but you have fun, okay?" Akshara winked, leaving Haider confused. What's she up to? He wondered.
Before she could exit the dance floor entirely, Abhimanyu grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his hard chest. Her hands fell to his shoulders to stabilize herself.
"Where are you going?" He wrapped his hands possessively around her waist. "Ek dance mere saath bhi share kar lo, yah tumhari attention sirf Haider ke liya hi hai? (Share a dance with me too? Or do you only dance with Haider now?)" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Abhimanyu," Akshara hissed.
"Kya?"
"We said we'd be normal. This. Us." Their proximity, his warm breath was travelling down her shoulder, his fierce eye contact; it all got her heart racing. "This is not normal."
(Start at 0:15 - ) The dialogues and dance movements are the same, except the location is the Christmas party this time. Instead of letting Akshara twirl out of his reach at the end, he pulls her back.
...
It's ridiculous how oblivious the Goenka's and Birla's can be to Abhimanyu and Akshara's feelings. While Abhimanyu's outburst continued on the dance floor, everyone's attention was captivated by Vansh's dancing and the vast circle of kids around him.
But from where she stood, Aarohi didn't have the luxury to hide from the truth of her sister's feelings as she saw Akshara's heart break a thousand times because of Abhimanyu's disdain towards her. Akshara could've easily escaped Abhimanyu's grasp, and he would've let her, but she didn't. Despite the risk of scandal if caught, Akshara succumbed to his helplessness and let him express his bottled-up emotions.
Rage and envy propelled Aarohi into a spiral of betrayal and hatred against her sister during the Tilak fiasco. Her conscience, Haider's advice, and Mahima's remarks took the blinders off. Today, she felt like she was the thief.
A tornado of emotions whirled through her as she watched Akshara's plight. Guilt. Pity. Shame. Confusion. But no jealousy. She thought back to her earlier conversation with Abhimanyu. You're jealous cause you're in love with her.
She felt the ground beneath her feet quake as she came to the epiphany that she wasn't in love with him. What have I done? To myself? To Abhimanyu? To Akshara? Aarohi's thoughts spiralled as she hid behind a column.
...
"Akshu!" Haider's voice echoed through the dance floor. Abhimanyu rolled his eyes when he heard Haider's cheerful voice radiate through the room.
"Can't he leave you alone for two minutes?" Abhimanyu muttered in that low husky voice of his that sent shivers through Akshara's open back.
Akshara peaked over Abhimanyu's shoulders to see Haider and gestured what?
"Thank you," Haider paused, "for tonight."
A slow eye blink and soft smiles were exchanged between the two while Abhimanyu seethed.
"What a loser, yaar. Thanking you for a dance. Probably never danced with a girl before tonight," Abhimanyu scoffed.
"Peeche muro (turn around)," Akshara ordered as she removed his hands from her waist and put an arm's distance between them.
"What?"
"Hindi samaj mai nahi ayi? Thik hai, English mein keh deti hoon. Turn around, duffer (Don't understand Hindi? Fine, I'll repeat myself in English)."
Abhimanyu was stumped. Haider and a young lady slow danced underneath the mistletoe in a warm embrace. She rested her head on his shoulder while he beamed at Akshara.
"That's Maya, Haider's fiance. Because of the lockdown and travel restrictions, they've spent six months apart. I flew her in from London as a Christmas surprise. That's why he was thanking me," Akshara explained with her arms crossed against her chest.
"Oh," Abhimanyu let out a slow sotto voce remark.
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry."
"Yeh achi baat hai. Pehle kisi ki insult karo aur phir sorry bol do, jaise kuch hua hi nahi. Tum ladko ko kisi aur ki feelings ki parwah hi nahi hai."
"Oye!"
"Oye!"
Os Ki Boondein Jaise Pighle
Dil Yeh Pighalta Hai
Dekhe Tumhe Jab Ek Na Maane
Tujh Mein Hi Kho Tha Hai
Palkein Jhuke Saansein Ruke
Jab Tu Kareeb Aa Jaye
Jaaniye Dil Tune Chua Hai
Sau Martabaaa….
"Thank you all for joining us this Christmas. We hope you had a wonderful time. Before further adieu, the last song of the evening." Neil's announcement broke their trance, and Abhimanyu and Akshara sprung apart.
"Sorry bol raha hoon na. Maan jao. (I'm saying sorry, so accept my apology)" Abhimanyu muttered.
"Agar maana hi hota toh pehle hi maan jaati (If I were accept something, I would've accepted earlier)," she said, thinking back to his first proposal.
"Kya kaha? (What did you say?)"
"Nothing" Akshara scurried off to find her family.
...
"Hello," Aarohi whispered from behind a Greek column. The party was still in the midst, so she had to be discreet. "This is Aarohi Goenka. Can I speak to Randeep Guleria? Yes, thank you, I'll hold."
Aarohi steadied her voice to speak to the current director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Surgeons don't have holidays, but that doesn't excuse the situation's awkwardness. It was almost midnight.
"Dr. Aarohi, how can I help you on Christmas?" a gruff voice sounded through her phone.
"Sir, I'm sorry to bother you at this hour, but I wanted to know if the internship offer is still available?"
"Uh.. give me a moment to check" she could hear papers ruffling. Her chest tightened each second that she didn't hear back. "There's one slot open." She let out a sigh of relief. "If I remember correctly, you said you couldn't accept the offer because you wanted to focus on your marriage. Then, why are you inquiring?"
"I did say that, Sir. But the situation's changed. I'm calling off the wedding. I'd appreciate it if you'd let me join your institution to further my career."
"Are you sure?" He asked hesitantly. "Marrying into the Birla opens doors of its' own in the medical field."
Was she sure? She crossed so many lines to get to where she is. Could she really drop it all? But one glance at Abhimanyu's fallen face and Akshara's wilting eyes solidified her decision. Akshara and Abhimanyu pretended to be engaged in their respective conversations, but their thoughts were elsewhere as their eyes drifted to each other.
"Yes. I'll be there by the first Monday of 2022." Then she added, "if you'll have me."
We're nearing the end! I'm excited that this is ending cause my school's about to reopen so I won't have time to continue this.
Also huge thanks to @sidk86 on Twitter for posting the clip! You're a rockstar.
I love reading your comments and thoughts so please do share!
Edited by RinSimGur - 3 years ago
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