CHAPTER 5: Part 2 (CONFRONTATIONS)
~ AUTHOR (POV) ~
On the other side, both Anant Jaiswal and Vardhman Jaiswal were very tensed and didn't know what to do.
They didn't even dream in their darkest nightmare that something like this would happen, when they both decided to come and talk with Suryapratap Singh Rathore.
They knew he would be unreasonable and would definitely demand things that would be difficult to give. but this was outrageous to even think about.
Anant was driving the car, and Vardhman was in the passenger seat. "Baba Sa ab kya karein. (Baba Sa, what to do now?)" Anant asked his father.
"Mujhe toh khud samjh nahi aa raha hai, Ishika bitiya ki shaadi hukum ke sath. (Even I don't know what kind of situation this is. Ishika's marriage with Hukum.)" Vardhman was fighting an inner battle with himself.
"Shaadi toh usee ek din karna hi thi, ek colleague ka beta bhi tha mere dimag mein, main usse puchne bhi wala tha aaj kal main. (She had to marry someday anyway, I had a colleague's son in mind for her marriage, and I was about to ask her one of these days.)" Anant said, emotionally.
"Kya ye sahi hai? (Is this even right?)" asked Ishika's grandfather.
"Baba Sa, is problem ke baare main, ham usee ya kisiko kuch nahi batayeinge. Aagar vo haan kahegi toh hi ye shaadi hogi, Nahi toh nahi. (Baba Sa, we will not tell her or anyone else anything about this problem. This marriage will happen only if she says yes, if not, then marriage is out of the question.)" Ishika's father told her grandfather.
"Anant, jo ho raha hai, mujhe theek nahi lag raha hai. (Anant, I have a really bad feeling about all this.)" Grandfather was very agitated by everything that was going on.
"Mujhe lagta hai ek bar baat karne mein koi harz nahi hai, unhone kaha hai ki vo bitiya ki izzat kareinge aur ek rajput kabhi bhi apni jubaan se nahi mukarta. (I think there's no harm in talking about it. They said they would honor our daughter, and after all, a Rajput never goes back on their word.)" Anant said with faith in the words of the Bade Rana Sa.
"Beta, tum sahi keh rahe ho. (Anant, I agree.)" Vardhman Jaiswal said with a stone on his heart.
~ ISHIKA (POV) ~
It's very late at night, and Piya and I were in my room, having a heart-to-heart conversation with each other about everything and anything, recalling the past incidents and laughing about them.
"Jiji aapko yaad hai vo Raavi uss din kya bata rahi thi, aap nahi thi na waha, aree vo last April mein us shaadi mein ham gaye the, waha sab ladke wale keh rahe the ki kitni ghamandi ladkiyan hai ye Jaiswals ki. (Jiji, do you remember Raavi said? What was she saying about...? You weren't there, were you? Oh, it was at that wedding last April. We went, right? Everyone on the groom side there was saying how arrogant we Jaiswal girls are.)"Piya told me, and we laughed together.
"Ye sahi hai jo baat na kare vo arrogant. (That's right, if someone doesn't talk, they are arrogant.)" I said in disbelief.
"Wahi na baat karne ko kuch hona bhi toh chahiye? (Correct, if there is nothing to talk about, what should we talk about?)" Piya said.
"Chalna kitchen mein, Ice cream khate hai. (Let's go to the kitchen and have some ice cream.)" I said to Piya.
We were going to the kitchen. Piya entered the kitchen, and when I was about to enter, I heard Baba Sa's voice stopping me.
"Ishika beta, achchha hua tum jag rahi ho, hamein tumse kuch baat karna hai. (Ishika, my child, it's good that you're awake. We need to talk to you.)"I came to a halt in my path, and I signaled with my hand to Piya to go ahead.
"Ji Baba Sa, (Yes, Father.)" I turned around to find Dadu and Baba Sa standing there. It's not normal for both of them to be awake at this hour at night.
"Aao Sona, baitho, (Come dear, sit.)" Dadu instructed me to sit on the sofa, and I obliged.
"Kya baat hai? (What is it?)" I asked both of them, my eyes darting from Dadu to Baba Sa.
"Aagar aap taiyar hein, aap ek ladke ke parivar se milengi shaadi ke liye. (If you are ready, will you meet a boy's family for marriage)" Baba dropped the bomb on my head. My face twisted in confusion.
'Marriage so soon', my brain was trying to get some grasp of the situation.
"Baba Sa... shaadi... itni jaldi. (Baba Sa... marriage... so soon.)" I asked him.
My eyes scanned his face, searching for any clue that would reveal whether he was joking, but all I found was tension, as if he was struggling on the inside because of something.
"Bahut achchha pariwar hai unka, aur ladka toh usse bhi achchha hai. (Their family is very good, and the boy is even better than that.)" Baba Sa tried to convince me. I looked at Dadu to see what he was thinking.
Even his face looked older than usual because of the tension that was so clearly evident on his face.
"Sona, tumhe darne ki jarurat nahi hai, aagar tumhe nahi milna toh keh do, shaadi tumhari marzi se hi hogi. (Sona, you don't need to be scared, if you don't want to meet them say it, the marriage will happen only if you agree.)" Dadu seemed like he was saying all this with great difficulty.
"Baba Sa, Dadu, please not so soon." I said, shaking my head.
Looking at both of them, it felt like there was alot of weight on their shoulders.
"Jao tum aaram karlo, kal office bhi jaana hai. (You should go and rest now. You have office tomorrow.)" Baba Sa said to me, I nodded and stood up to go to the kitchen.
"Kya keh rahe the, Baba Sa. (What was Father saying?)" Piya asked me.
"Shaadi... (Marriage...)" I looked at her with wide eyes.
"Shaadi? Jiji apki, shaadi! (Marriage, your marriage, sister!)" Piya exclaimed.
"Apparently yes." I nodded. Piya was shocked, but her shock was short-lived as she started to dance happily.
"Kya news sunai hai jiji, ab saare ghar par mera raaj chalega, vese shaadi hai kab ki? (Such great news, sis. Now I will rule the whole house., by the way, when's the wedding?)" I hit her on the head, glaring at her.
"Baat pakki nhi hai abhi. (Nothing is confirmed yet.)" I told her angrily.
"Haan toh usme kya hai, baat hi toh hai, pakki bhi ho jayegi. (So what if that's the case? It's just a conversation, and it'll be finalized too.)" Piya teased me. I nodded my head mockingly.
"Ruk tu, teri baat main abhi pakki karti hu. (Stay right there, I'll finalize your negotiation right now.)" I chased Piya all over the kitchen to the main hall.
"Aree ye kya chal raha hai? (What is happening?)" Dadu asked both of us, as Piya hid behind him to protect herself.
"Why don't you come out? We have things to finalize." I told Piya, glaring at her intensely.
"Nahi, nahi jiji, mujhe koi baat nahi karna aapse. (No, no sis, I have nothing to talk about with you.)" she replied to me. shaking her head nervously.
"Jayegi kaha, rehna toh tujhe ghar mein hi hai. (Where will you go? You will have to stay in this house, right.)" I said, climbing the stairs.
"Dada Sa is daayan se bachaalo mujhe, nahin toh ye mujhe kachcha chabaajaegee. (Grandfather, please save me from this witch, otherwise, she will devour me alive.)" Piya begged Dada Sa to help her escape me, such a drama queen.
"Tum dono ki baat hai, aapas mein dekh lo. (It is between you both, sought it out yourself.)" Dada Sa told her.
"Main bhi kise bol rahi hu, aap hamesha apni Sona ki he side lete ho. Piya ka aakhir hai hi kaun yaha? (Who am I even asking? You always side with your Sona. Who is Piya's here anyway?)" Piya complained, being dramatic as always.
I shook my head as I witnessed the drama unfold in front of me.
Instead of retreating to mine room, I opted for the solitude of the terrace. The moon hung heavy in the night sky, its form almost full.
To Be Continued...