Papa kahtey hai

Seeing all these strangers at his own house made Ishan more nervous and angry than he already was.

Before he could even process the sheer chaos, his Ma walked toward him and Aryan, holding a puja thali in her hands, ready for the ritual. She smiled brightly, her eyes glistening with excitement as she began the welcome ceremony.

She held the thali in front of him, the flames from the diya flickering in the soft light. She performed the aarti with a flourish, her hands moving gracefully as she circled the thali around his face.

Ishan winced at the smoke and the overwhelming scent of incense, but Ma was too absorbed in the moment to notice. She applied the tilak to his forehead, the vermilion dot leaving a streak that felt like a mark of ownership.

"Radhika beti, Aryan Beta welcome home," she said, her voice full of warmth.

Ishan barely managed a polite smile as his mother completed the ritual with a final wave of the thali.

Her enthusiasm was practically infectious, but all Ishan could think about was how many people were watching him. He couldn’t even take a moment to breathe before being paraded like some grand spectacle.

As Ishan walked inside the house, the swarm of women descended upon him like moths to a flame. The young ones eyed him with a mix of jealousy and curiosity, whispering behind their hands as they tried to assess whether he was “real” or not.

Meanwhile, the older women watched with an almost cruel amusement, their eyes twinkling as they assessed every inch of his saree, his makeup, his posture—everything. Ishan could feel their gazes crawling over him, making him itch under his skin.

'I should have put ticket for this show, its almost like they are looking at some exotic animal in the zoo'

he thought. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the way they all circled around him, he was used to attention, but this... this was next level.

"Are you okay, dude?" Aryan asked, his eyes darting to Ishan, noticing the way his face was scrunching up as he took deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.

"No, I am not okay..." Ishan replied through gritted teeth, his nose flaring with anger. "It was supposed to be a family time, Aryan! I thought Ma just wanted to see me in a saree, maybe take a picture or two, and then I could finally be my male self for at least a few hours. But no! My own mother is parading me around like I'm some award, like I'm the latest trophy on display!"

"Hey, it’s not like that," Aryan tried to comfort him, but his tone was light, as if to downplay the situation. "It's a housewarming party. Middle-class people do this to celebrate new things, you know, with all the family and friends."

Ishan shot him a pointed look.

"First of all, these Mother fucker's aren't middle class!" He gestured to the crowd.

"We were the real middle class when we were in the chawl, living on rent. These people are super rich!" He almost hissed the words.

Aryan raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "I mean, for me, they’re still middle class."

"Yeah, yeah, mister billionaire," Ishan muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.

"I’m just angry that Ma didn’t tell me any of this was happening! I would’ve at least mentally prepared myself for all this drama. She could’ve warned me, or at least told her precious 'Damad ji' about it!"

Aryan wisely chose not to respond. He took a big gulp of his welcome drink, his eyes scanning the room and avoiding Ishan’s gaze. Ishan, however, was once again distracted by the women who kept complimenting him on his appearance, fawning over how well he pulled off the saree.

But as he looked around, he noticed his mother darting about, coordinating everything like the head of a small army, making sure everything went off without a hitch.

As he walked between women trying to get close to his mother, a hand on his shoulder made him turn. His father, Baba, smiled warmly, his presence a comforting respite.

"How are you doing, Baba?" Ishan asked, concern etched on his face. "You look good... still as strong as ever."

"Stronger than ever, son. Don't worry about me."

Baba chuckled, his eyes shining with pride and affection. "But are you happy, Beta?"

"Oh... Beside today's zoo treatement", Ishan joked "I am happy baba"

Baba's expression turned serious, and he felt a pang of guilt looking at his son dressed as a woman pretending to be someone's wife, All of this to pay for his surgery.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of this because of me," He added, his voice laced with regret.

Forcing a grin, Ishan joked, "Oh, come on, Baba... I didn't do it for you, I did it for the 80 crores, remember?"

Baba's eyes softened, and a small chuckle escaped his lips.

"I should've known you'd say something like that," Baba said with a smile, clearly relieved to see Ishan still able to joke despite everything., "Its good to have you back, I had been missing you beta"

"Me too Baba...."

They shared a brief laugh together, the bond between father and son momentarily easing the tension. But as the conversation came to an end, Ishan's eyes landed on his mother, and he knew he had to face the next round of chaos.

'You have a lot to answer Ma'

With a deep sigh, Ishan marched toward her, his frustration building with every step.