chapter 4

SerendipityEpisode-4 'Famous person... the great Rajiv Mehra  ... rude ... arrogant and self-centred...' she thought to herself and briefly narrated the incident to everyone."Megha... what is this? You refused to accept an award from the CFO of Supreme Group... instead, you accepted an award from an anchor... you really are stupid” mother tapped her forehead.No matter how old is your daughter, if she makes some decisions that deviate from the accepted norms, then she is labelled as stupid by her mother...Today, one such norm had been broken by Megha by choosing Vishakha to present her an award, instead of an arrogant celebrity..'But was he really arrogant? I admit that it was my fault too... I should not have shouted at all... But later I said sorry and he thought that I was a hotel staff.. Why??? Just because I was wearing a saree... that was a judgemental opinion, so I got angry too...'Megha was engrossed in her own thoughts.“Kavita, I know my daughter well. She explained the reason for not accepting the award from Rajiv Mehra... It was entirely her decision... It is more important that her hard work has paid off... who presented her the trophy is irrelevant ..let’s not discuss it right now. Its dinner time and we all are hungry”Baba always stood firmly on her side..and even today he was happy knowing that Megha's self-respect was more important than the trophy. She was following his teachings well."Aajji... mamma says that no one is big or small... we should respect everyone, whether the person is a CFO or a Peon. That uncle should not have said that to my Mumma" Arya also sided with her ..Megha’s eyes welled up after listening to Aarya’s words.It felt like just yesterday when Aarya was handed over to her by the nurse wrapped tightly in a doublet. 10 years had gone by in a blink... Megha felt blessed to have Aarya as a daughter.Megha went to the balcony to take an important phone call, glancing at her parents and Aarya - The three pillars of her life...No matter how big or small the problem, Baba was always there to help her with simple solutions.Megha had a different tuning with him...No matter how much tension prevailed in the office...no matter how complicated the project was and no matter how much the client was irritating her, she could discuss anything and everything with himThen he would always recount some of his old experiences from his bank job... and would easily answer any difficult question.Her relation with her mother was sweet and sour... Her mother’s way of caring was unique... she was equally emotional and practical... And so, the saga of their sweet argument continued.And finally, her life’s greatest treasure - Arya... her source of endless joy ... fountain of enthusiasm .. ray of hope ... and the energy behind her fight to survive.All the memories of the last 10 years flooded through her mind... some unfortunate events, some bad turns, moments of vulnerability, some depressed times and some hopeless-desperate days.But whenever she felt as if her life was stuck in a whirlwind, these three pillars of her life would save her. So, for them, she stood firmly , fighting untiringly."Dinner is ready" Radha Tai's call brought Megha out of her reverie and she wiped her tears...The loving link that bonded everyone together was 'Radhatai'... not by blood but by a bond beyond blood...She has been Aarya's caretaker since birth... and now she was the caregiver for everyone in the house.Megha called everyone for a group photo. Trophy glistening proudly in Aarya's hand.. Megha, Radhatai, Maa and Baba... Perfect Moment for a Selfie...It was not just Megha's success .. it was the family's victory .. Megha was gratefully thanking the almighty profusely...Sweet Banter and jokes started while eating.. Laughter mingled with the sound of bowls and spoons.. And Maa's famous gulab jam ended the meal... After all, any success was incomplete without sweets... wasn’t it?*@*@*@*@*It was almost midnight...after chatting with Arya and putting her to sleep, Megha came out again and sat in her favourite place...she started looking at the sky trying to calm the noise in her mind...The sky felt a little more dark tonight...It was overcast ... cloudy ... the moon could not be seen and even the stars were not visible ...The stars do not have much importance in the sky of Mumbai city, which is constantly shining. Instead, it feels like all those stars have floated down to the ground and occupied each and every house.Somehow, the stars seemed to be resting in the flats of the towering apartments... Some bright and some dim... Some twinkling and some still... Some patiently hidden in the dark waiting for their oppourtunity to shine.Taking out her laptop from the bag, she started to work. Her eyes fell on the trophy placed on the corner table.. bathed in the yellow light of the overhead lamp..As she looked at the audience after accepting the award, her watery eyes searched for him, 'Sameer! wished you were here'Suddenly, a distant memory floated into her mind.*@*@*@*@*“Megha, this is such a great achievement, darling... you did it... I’m so proud of you”, he shouted.Sameer danced with joy carrying Megha in his hand in the he graduation ceremony of Indian Institute Of Management (IIM) – Bangalore. Her happiness knew no bounds either as she glanced at the MBA-Finance Certificate in her hand and the prestigious medal around her neck ... Her parents were sitting in the audience rejoicing this joyous moment.“Sameer, put me down, everyone is watching” Megha was happy but equally embarrassed...“Hey!... I can carry my wife.... ok” His usual mischievous voice entered her ears.“I would have liked it better if they called me Mrs. Megha Sameer Iyer ... but you insisted that, I should not change my professional name.” Her tone of displeasure clearly evident.Placing her down and gently holding her face in both his palms, he looked into her eyes lovingly and said, “Megha...your academic and professional success has nothing to do with the surname 'Iyer'...that success is yours alone... Its your hard work and your parents' struggle"...“Though you are married to Sameer Iyer, you should never forget your own existence ... Megha Joshi, your name is your identity. I may not be here with you but the name Megha Joshi will always be”, Her eyes welled up with tears as she hugged him tightly.“Madam ... is no one watching now?” he gently said... “and one more thing... only I have the right to call you Mrs. Iyer” he said, wiping her tears.“Ok Mr. Iyer ... shall we leave now? Let's celebrate ... maa and baba are waiting”' They left holding each other's hands.*@*@*@*@*The silence was broken by the shrill sound of the ambulance passing by on the road.Taking one last glance at the trophy, she said to herself,“Dear Sameer,... this award is for you ... you were standing somewhere ... at that ceremony ... somewhere in the corner ... looking at me lovingly ... smiling happily ... jumping out of joy ... only, I didn't see you .. I couldn’t hug you... or touch you.”She closed her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks..After looking out for the last time, she took a deep breath and opened her laptop...Work ..work .. and.. work. It was the best way to stop the mind from wandering in the past...Just keep working till the body gets tired and the eyes automatically close.Nights were the perfect time... there was absolute silence... desperately needed to complete important reports...This was what she had been doing for so many years, giving a secondary place to sleep and that work is everything.Nightmares clouded her mind occupying the room allocated for sleep...Nights had become unbearable with hardly any time to breathe.Past memories of his that pushed the present aside.And without him ,once again, she was lonely tonight...To be continued....© ®️ Meghna_Yadav 2021Special Thanks to friend Gayatri and my loving daughter, my buddy.Hello Readers,Illuminate the five stars of ratings with your gentle touch. Do let me know your thoughts via comments..Thanks and Regards,Meghana Yadav...