Dehradun.
The last plot of one of the posh lanes of Dehradun city, was vibrantly buzzing with clamorous arrangements for tomorrow's grandeur celebration. The upmarket building painted in eye-catching pastels was decked up richly, showing off the surplus wealth of its residents.
There among all the cacophonous clutter sat Yash in the center of the Bedi-house garden, engrossed in a wholly different world.
Retd Lt. Colonel. Yash Bakshi was a proud soldier and had done as much as he could to be honest to his challenging profession. During the early days of his youth, his sole purpose of life was to follow the footsteps of his soldier father. He had intricately chalked out his entire life plan in those days when he was still enjoying the lively spring of his youth.
Life had been fortunately easy owing to his supportive parents, but that didn't mean he had no idea of the grueling world raging around.
Yash and Rudra belonged to that class of the society which was neither pompously affluent nor awfully impoverished. They could afford receiving boundless knowledge but weren't allowed the license to dream.
Yash not for once had second thoughts regarding his humble career plans. His father wanted him to join the forces and he was more than happy to comply. For in those days, kids blindly believed parents with their important life decisions. And till date Yash didn't regret the decision he had made under the honest influence of his loving old man.
However the same was not with Rudra. His father had ardently dreamt of seeing his son wear the white coat with a sheeny stethoscope dangling around his neck.
Not for once was he interested to ask his son of what he wished to do. He didn't have the stomach to ask Rudra what made his heart beat wildly with excitement? Or what made him lose sleep at long weary nights or what made him jump out of the bed to make a remarkable difference in the fast progressing world?
Never did he enquire about, "What were HIS dreams?"
And, how long could Rudra tolerate the sickening nuisance his life was being turned into? Eventually differences grew to such an extent from where there was no coming back.
Today, he didn't wish to look back at what had left him heartbroken and defenseless into the cunning world. He was better off without the namesake family.
Rudra articulately dreamed to pursue culinary as his profession till retirement. He had grown interest for flavors, by chance. Growing up he had seen the woman of his family being confined to the kitchen, day and night attentively filling every rumbling stomach not only with appetizing food but also insurmountable love. He had zealously wished to do the same.
The mystifying happiness on hearing flattering praises for cooking a tasty meal, getting obscure recognition for being bestowed with skills that were not everyone's cup of tea and the heart filling satisfaction after eating a delicious food. He wished to own all of them.
The happiness, recognition and satisfaction.
Although to own them he had to be first disowned by his own.
Apart from his father's macabrely dictatorship if there was something incessantly constant in Rudra's life, then it was his friendship with Yash. Being loyal to his friendship, Yash had supported him in all the ghastly nightmares and unfair downfalls.
When Yash was leaving for his military training the Bakshi's voluntarily took in Rudra as their son and looked after him better than his family ever could. Since then the Bakshi couple had three sons; Mehir, Yash and Rudra.
Once graduated Rudra set on to explore different choices. He had widespread options to choose among but he picked the most difficult and arduous one out there. Rather than interning at a prestigious name he decided to make a prestigious name of himself. It was risky yet the firm confidence he had in himself was copiously sufficient to take the plunge.
Fore mostly he decided to leave the city that housed and harbored the ones who didn't respect him and his dreams. Upon receiving a go ahead from Yash and his parents, he had taken his first step towards the new journey.
Moving out of Delhi, he stumbled upon the city of Dehradun.
A place with only strangers had pleasantly charmed him. Maybe he trusted the perilous secrets of a new place more than the familiar streets where his childhood breathed.
Yash had finished the training and received his first call of duty, so he had to leave Delhi too. His retired father received a huge sum of money at once, in place of long term pension on request. From very long he had yearned to build a beautiful house for his loving wife. The gigantic villa was an innocuous dream of the elderly couple which was built with only one vision. A vision to let the future generations breath in altruistic love and abundant freedom.
'Ghar', as Mrs. Gayatri Bakshi had named it, was going to fulfill its goal for many decades. Not for one or two generations, but for many more.
Among the absurd anomaly of the hills Rudra had found his earthly normal. Money was agonizingly tight while necessities surging to thousands. He had some savings and had conveniently presumed to be more than enough but in actual world they were scanter than scant. So he energetically started with working in shifts; mornings at a high-end restaurant and nights in a dhaba. He was making ample to singlehandedly support his livelihood along with saving for his big investment.
On one such bright morning he crossed paths with his now wife, Falguni Mehta. Despite he not sparing her a glance, she was smitten at the first sight. She was a regular at his place of work even before he had ventured into her city but after he had made a home for himself in this new place, her visits had increased. Thrice a day.
Rudra could not envision to afford the luxury of a partner but her continuous, forthright efforts to woo him had gradually worked.
Falguni was born and brought up in a well to do family of Dehradun. After completing her graduation she was employed by a well know Beverage company.
She was drawn to Rudra's implacable tenacity and stony resilience. It didn't take her much time to make his dream hers. Asking her family to help was not a task but she knew it wouldn't be appreciated by her companion. So she ultimately resorted on applying for a loan for him since she had a stable job while he was persistently juggling with part-times.
The loaned money was sufficient to start with his restaurant but insufficient to make ends meet. At that desperate time came Yash, once again to positively support his friend. Rudra was against the idea to accept any more financial help from him but he knew how to get things done. He said he was investing into Rudra's business and wanted equal shares once they started making profit. The trick magically worked.
And as a result, started a small single storied, 'B- square restaurant' in one of the busiest streets of Dehradun.
B square as in two B's. Bedi and Bakshi.
Life was not taxing much and Rudra was finally happy with the way everything turned out. When the never ending journey of life became less bumpy he decided to tie knot with the woman to whom he dedicated his every success, small or big.
Falguni had an idea about his irredeemably strained relation with his family so she never dared to mention them. Starting a new phase of her life with him was galvanizingly exciting. Turning their rented house to a home, hastening to work on empty stomachs in the mornings and taking care of each other had become their routine. She had also bonded well with Yash. Life was on track and they could not ask for more.
When Rudra saw life approaching with en-number of opportunities after lots of ups and downs, he decided to make the most of it. What had started with one restaurant had grown to four in merely three years. To make the food business successful, Rudra unfortunately gave up cooking. However when there was an urgent need to improvise some of the dishes he wore the bib apron, held a spatula and got down to work. Falguni believed, he was hands-down the best chef she had ever known.
Yash was doing fine with his life too. Standing at the frontline, protecting his country and its citizen gave him the satisfaction which he couldn't express in words. Risking life was his favorite gamble. During vacations he made sure to visit his parents, although clearly he had started spending most of his time in Dehradun with Rudra, Falguni and her friend Niharika.
Once the loan had settled, Falguni quit her desk job to help her husband full time. Occasionally she received help from Yash who had knowledge of business to certain extent. Another blessing in disguise was her neighbour Niharika Singh who happened to be a lawyer. All the legalities relating to work was handled by her. Considering the fact of working together, the four had formed a quick and strong rapport.
Yash had started growing interest in the light eyed Niharika who was exceptionally smart and visibly feisty. He was attracted to the way she embodied her profession with grace and honour. Having hardly few days left before returning to work, suppressing his newfound feelings was getting out of hand. Lastly on finding a chance he opened up about his humble interest to pursue her.
She was aware of them having an ease among them as friends but imagining her entire life with him was not on her mind. He didn't demand for an answer instantly. But as we he was leaving, he asked her to write him a letter if she was ready. And if she didn't wish to do anything with him, he promised to not appear in her life ever again.
Niharika was doing well with her day to day life although in the back of her mind she could feel a void. An absence which wasn't profoundly prominent but it was very much there, shrewdly pricking at her conscious with no mercy.
So, one day she sat down and wondered about all the encounters with a certain army man who had turned her sane, settled mind crazy. All she had felt with him was familiarity and comfort. He was a sweet spoken and well mannered guy. To her temperament his suave bearing was god matched.
Nevertheless there was one and only one aspect that every time stopped her from taking a step ahead. His profession. He could enjoy risking his life for all she cared but she was not ready to do anything with his tough job and its grave consequences.
Yash long-sufferingly waited for one particular letter for months. Sadly it didn't reach him even after one whole year. He had understood her message loud and clear, so as promised he didn't cross her paths nor did he wallow in his failed first love.
In all this, the two forgot about the other pair of eyes that were keeping a close watch on their moves. One day when Yash went to a blind date setup by his Bhabhi Falguni he happened to meet the very same light eyes that had left him restless for months.
The accidental meeting was pleasing but the revelation of Niharika setting up the whole blind date thing had surprised him out of his wits.
He had no idea about the grounds for her constant reluctance. So she valiantly opened up, about her bona-fide fears and also of her inability to push him out of her heart.
He could neither promise her normalcy like others couples do, nor did he sugarcoat the cruel facts for her. So at the end, the entire decision making was left to her. Although this time around he could feel it in is bones that he wouldn't back off without a fight if she flattered.
Fortunately the fight never ensued. She stood up to her feelings and ended up being loyal to them. And after the push and pull they married with everyone's blessings.
Niharika didn't have to wait long to be disappointed with Yash. One month into marriage and Mr. Bakshi was called to the border. He was out of her sight in minutes and from then on she couldn't stop worrying for his safety. Amidst the paranoia came, a good news.
Not one but two.
Niharika and Falguni were expecting. Coincidently their delivery dates fell close too but Niharika gave birth to a premature baby boy. Not long after, Falguni followed suit. A boy again.
Yash was neither present during his wife's sapping pregnancy nor was he there when she was in the labor room, battling for two lives. This upset her like anything so he wasn't aware of his infant's pre-mature birth until his mother called up three weeks later. He instantly flew to Dehradun to see his wife and newborn.
Thankfully he had sufficient holidays left unused so he waited till Rudra's son was born. He left only after both the healthy babies were named.
Viyaan was Niharika's ball of sunshine. In his alluring mavros eyes and delicate smile he held his mother's world safely captive. At nights when she couldn't sleep worrying for her husband, her son happened to be her solace and anchor.
Sahil was his father's energy booster and mother's mischievous little devil. That little hazel eyed baby was a riot who automatically brightened his surroundings with laughter and joy.
Viyaan and Sahil used to stick to each other as if attached by glue when their mothers went to work. They had grown under the care of their grandmothers but the two never needed a third party to entertain them since they did it for each other.
If they had one another then the world could go to heaven for all they cared.
Life came and went. Sometimes it had joyous warmth and at times it held unbridled sorrow. In all this, the four of them lived fully. After three years Rudra welcomed another baby, his princess Aahana.
Yash spent half of his life away from house so Niharika gave her everything to bring up her son, alone. One day after seven years she birthed her second son, Chirag.
The Bedi couple and Niharika were doing their utmost best to give the children a healthy atmosphere. Yash wasn't completely absent or completely present from his boys' lives. However, what had him shed tears of joy was his elder son's enigmatic attachment to him.
Viyaan enjoyed the company of his father for barely two months in a year but he loved him to bits. The little boy didn't waste time wondering on how his father was never present during his birthdays or when he was down with fever or why was his mother the only parent present in every school functions. Instead he fervidly tried to make most of the available minutes rather than pondering on the missed ones.
Today, thirty five years later many things had changed but some remained the very same. Rudra and Falguni were still very much in love like Yash and Niharika. The little ones had grown into responsible adults and were doing well with their lives. Their parents were over the moon when the subject circulated around them.
The predominant change was that for the last twenty years Niharika had not spent a day without Yash. When life demanded him to give up on something precious, he chose to give up his close-to-heart profession. Joining hands with Rudra, together they had built the business as the best hospitality industry of the state.
Now it was being reined by their precious daughters Urvi and Aahana.
Sahil had married his love interest three years ago. It was a new start to something strikingly beautiful but it had also brought an unexpected and inconceivable twist. Yash had a clear idea of what was running into his son's mind. He would be certainly shocked if he excepted anything different from his understanding child.
He could fathom Viyaan's attempt at keeping his loved one's safe but his negligence towards the woman he loved with every breath of his, was beyond Yash. There was something more than meeting the eye and reaching its bottom line was possible only if his elder child returned home.
Dealing with Viyaan wasn't Yash's concern, for the significant problem was Niharika. She was a Mother and was ought to be angry at her son who had been ghosting her for days. Yash had to make her understand few things but he knew it was going to be one hell of a ride. He would thank his stars if he could get out unscathed from the squabble with her.
"Yash, what are you doing here?" His reverie was gently broken by his beautiful wife who sat beside him with two mugs in her hand. "It is getting late, we should heed back home."
He took the demitasse from her and in a guarded voice started, "Tahir called." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Viyaan is not coming tomorrow."
"What?"
The volatile reaction was very much anticipated.
"Niharika, it's an emergency. He will surely come next week. Tahir promised to personally escort him out."
"Tell your son one thing if he call's. Ask him to even skip my funeral once I die."
Niharika obstinately ditched her refreshment and stormed out of there, leaving a very anxious and tired Yash behind.
I fully support Niharika which means Viyaan is in grave trouble.
P.S: The focal point of the future story is Delhi. So I needed to mention Dehradun in this chapter to be the foundation for a lot of upcoming nuances.
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Until next time, take care🖤