Rudra Dev Maharishi was sitting in the lounge of Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Domestic Airport, after his case in Bombay High Court waiting for his Bengaluru flight. He had received a call from his sister-in law Chaitra regarding Vaishnavi's marriage. The boy she was supposed to get married had ditched her three days before her marriage. He was drifting into his thoughts but the call to board the flight pushed him back to his reality.
As he settled down in his business class seat, his thoughts again drifted towards his home.
Rudra's POV
Vaishnavi is my neighbor's daughter. Vaishnavi's mother and my mother Jayanthi are practically sisters. Vaishnavi is not just my neighbor but also an associate in my law firm Shah Prakshit and Maharishi associates. She works under my partner Ranil Prakshit, RP as he is popularly known as. She is a chirpy, full of life person.
When Vaishnavi was a baby, I had a calming effect on her. She would stop crying when I would hold her hand. When she was in her school, she would always call me Rudra, nobody dared to call me that. She would boss over me and would always bring a smile on my face with her antics. I am known in my professional circle as Dev Maharishi and most of them called me Dev including Ranil. Vaishnavi changed after I started working, probably, I don't remember. She became distant and started calling me Dev, just like everybody else. The only day she was herself with me was the day she got selected for Rashtriya Nyaya Mahavidyalaya (RNMV) Hyderabad, one of the premier law university of India. She had taken me for a treat as my parents were not in town and Raghav, my brother and Vaishnavi's best friend, was in Manipal studying his medicine. She was witty and smart. For the first time I felt she was too mature for her age, not some silly teenager. I remember her as a chubby teenager with glasses and braces, an inquisitive mind, and beautiful heart. I was proud of her achievements. By then, I had already joined a leading law firm in Mumbai but was in Bengaluru for some cases. I was already in a relationship with someone.
Yes, I became Rudra no not Rudra Radz for someone else, but I do not want to go there.
I shifted in my seat and just closed my eyes to control my drifting thoughts. I must have fallen asleep as I felt the flight's descent I came out of slumber. As I checked out at Bengaluru Airport, my thoughts were awry and frantic.
I rushed towards home. I am somehow relieved that Vaishnavi's marriage got stalled. I did not have a good feeling about this marriage. I was very much worried about Vaishnavi's situation. Her parents are God fearing people just like my folks. Vaishnavi's father Ramesh Uncle and my father, Sarang Maharishi were co-workers at a nationalized bank, and both retired as divisional heads of Bangalore Branch and Mumbai Branch respectively.
I reached my home and was welcomed by a morose sight. My parents were in our living room quite upset. My brother Raghav, his wife Chaitra, and their cutie pie Sarga, and I stayed at my parent's place as a joint family. Sarga was playing in her room oblivious of the situation. Raghav had to attend surgery and was not at home, Chaitra had come home from her hospital and had been to Vaishnavi's place since she returned home. Chaitra is a Gynecologist. Amma told me that Vaishnavi had locked herself in her room and was not coming out. I was tense about it. I am sure She will not take any extreme steps, she is a very brave girl, yet my heart was pounding. I wanted to see her to be sure that she is safe. So without any delay I wanted to be at her home.
What was Vaishu's mental state? Hopefully, she is safe? What would be Rudra's next step?
Write a comment ...