chapter 5

SerendipityEpisode-5“Aarya, wake up dear... get ready for school... today is your last paper”Megha pulled Aarya's quilt and woke her up... She had shouted twice before from the kitchen, but Aarya had ignored her shouts... So, pulling the quilt was Megha's last resort...Pushing Aarya into the bathroom, Megha started packing her tiffin. While keeping the tiffin in the school bag lying on the sofa, she looked towards dinning table spotting the pen-pencil pouch which was still lying there...Yesterday, both of them were sitting there doing the last revision for today’s exam and Aarya had forgotten to keep the pouch in the bag as usual..‘Deva!!! when will Aarya listen to me... How can I discipline her??... One angry look of mine in the office is enough to manage such a big team and at home this girl still drives me crazy...Whatever I say.. shout... scream...There is no effectAll the time, she is busy playing football... Thank god the lights and LCD TV in the house are intact!Anyways, I have stopped keeping artifacts and vases in the living room...She plays carefully most of the time but sometimes Aajjo gets excited and joins her and in the fight to get the ball, poor artifacts get in the way and  have to lose their innocent life...Then Aajji’s cannon would be fired at Aajjo and Aarya but nevertheless, their enthusiasm to play never diminishes.Eventually, Maa shifted all the remaining beautiful artifacts to her room and Baba and Aarya got free ground to play...“Mamma, today is the last day of school... it's a party... sharing day....” Just as Aarya was about to finish her sentence, Megha showed her the two extra tiffins that she had packed for her..Along with the compliment “Mamma, you are the best...”, Megha also received a sweet peck from Aarya.Yes, indeed how can I forget Sharing Day?... After being reminded by Aarya ten times a day, every day for the past week. Today's paper is not important for Aarya, she firmly believes that 'We are born to eat'. So, sharing day is the most important thing’Slurping milk from the cup, Aarya took a  quick round of the kitchen to try and see what Mumma had packed in the tiffin.“Aarya...today is maths paper...please, no silly mistakes...don't rush... check every answer at-least twice...there are marks for each and every step...solve the paper neatly”Megha was showering the usual instructions on Aarya who was engrossed in smelling the tiffin.Aarya’s mouth watered after coming to know that the tiffin contained her favourite ,bread rolls.... She had already forgotten the maths revision done a day before."Mamma, don't worry... I won't make mistakes... and as you say... We should learn from our mistakes... Even if a person makes mistakes, we learn something from it and then we should not make the same mistakes again" Aarya said , mimicking Megha.Aarya was restating the doses of knowledge that her mother had once given her...It was hard for Megha to take care of this little philosopher... Looking at Aarya, Megha tapped her forehead with a smile...Similarly, Megha did not care much about Aarya's reports.With Aajjo's loving guidance... Aajji’s disciplined teachings and Mumma's support, Aarya was doing well in her studies.But still, like any normal mother, Megha exercised her maternal right to instruct till the last moment.While getting into the school bus at the main entrance of their complex... Megha tapped Aarya’s head and reminded her, "That dose of knowledge is fine but I don't want mistakes in the maths paper"After saying bye to Aarya, she turned around to come face to face with the gang of gossip moms...After pushing their kids into the school bus, the group was sitting on slab near a tree, having a deep discussion...This deep discussion did not pertain to India's political or economic situation, economic reforms, GST, foreign policy etc.The more important topics were, ‘How ordinary was the saree someone wore to a kitty party’... ‘So-and-so's daughter was seen in the mall with someone's son’... ‘In so-and-so's house and a husband and wife had a fierce fight yesterday’...‘There is a sale in the shop of such and such a dress and there is a discount of 5%’... or ‘How come our vacation tour package is cheaper than your package’ etc...Of course, Megha did not have any objection to their discussion.After saying good morning to them from a distance, Megha turned towards the spacious garden located in the centre of the complex.She couldn't afford to join the gang of gossip moms... She had neither the free time nor the passion for gossiping.So, Megha conveniently stepped aside to allow the gang to freely discuss their favourite gossip topic...and that favourite topic was 'Megha'.Megha is a bit grumpy... Megha is selective, Megha has so much attitude...Why is she always in a hurry? Can't she wait even for 5 minutes?Where exactly does she work? ….She comes home late so often...Why does she insist on taking care of Aarya alone?Why doesn't she get married again?Is there anyone in her life?How does she maintain such long hair?How can she keep such a beautiful, petite figure?They had hundreds of questions about Megha's life... so many that a huge thesis could have been prepared.Megha would have liked to answer all these questions if they had stopped their gossip and prepared to exercise with her. However, gossip was definitely not Megha's domain.Glancing at her pedometer watch, she put ear-pods in her ears and started her daily routine of 5 km jogging accompanied by her favourite songs playing on it...The pleasant atmosphere of the morning... the dew in the garden and the rustling leaves of the trees... It was quite cool even though it was March mostly because of the influence of these trees...The garden that the builder had created around the complex without cutting down these trees was a natural treasure in the cement jungle of Mumbai.The nature was adding to her excitement in this fantastic start to a crazy day...When she bought the house, she fell in love with three things, the spacious green garden, the balcony, and the sea view from the living room window.The house on the 20th floor of Zircon Complex where there was a signboard saying 'Megha Joshi and Family'...Baba had lovingly refused her request to write his and maa’s name.'You have worked hard... you have invested your income here... the nameplate on the house will bear your name... and I am proud of it' A sweet solution in simple words - Baba’s speciality.In the garden, the usual group of senior citizens waved her good morning... Various joggers greeted each other. Some usual smiling faces cast warm grins in her direction while some screening eyes gazed keenly towards her....She was surprised when a group of young girls personally met her and congratulated her for the award...‘How did they know?... My award is from the finance field... definitely not from the film industry’... She thought as she came home after jogging.To be continued....© ®️ Meghana_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...