Pranaam yatri,
Canada recently expelled an Indian diplomat.
India, in turn, expelled a senior Canadian diplomat.
While there are allegations that the Indian government is behind the assassination of a Khalistan supporter, no conclusive proof has been published yet.
The point is: we do things based on what we believe, not on what is true.
Today’s story is on similar lines.
It starts in a chawl in Mumbai, where a couple raises two kids facing many hardships.
Their daughter Rohini is quite intelligent.
Through hard work and scholarship support, she makes her way to an elite institution.
There she meets Manav, and the young hearts fall in love.
Although Manav is from a wealthy family, his parents approve of his choice of partner and they eventually marry, much to the delight of Rohini’s parents.
They are extremely happy that Rohini found a loving home where she will get the comforts they couldn’t provide her.
Rohini’s brother Vivek, though quite young, is elated for his sister.
Since their age gap was wide, he considered her a second mother.
She, too, adored her baby brother. They couldn’t afford much, but every chocolate, sweet or toy she got – she shared with Vivek.
Seeing him happy made her happy.
But no happiness lasts forever.
While Rohini was settling into her new home, her parents passed away in a horrible accident.
She was devastated. More importantly, she was worried for Vivek. He sobbed through the day and night, unable to accept that he would never see his parents again.
As fear and loneliness gripped him, he stopped eating.
He was just 10 years old, and she was the only family he had.
Rohini had stayed back in the chawl after the tragedy to be there for Vivek. She had to do something to help her brother.
She called her husband with a request, “Manav, Vivek won’t survive this grief. He needs love and care. Could we bring him home? Can he live with us?”
Manav was supportive. “Of course, you are the only living family he has. And how can we expect a 10-year-old to live by himself? Pack his bags and you both come home tomorrow. I will have a room set up for him.”
Rohini was overjoyed. Not only did Manav maturely deal with the situation, but her brother now had a loving, comfortable home to live in.
He would finally be away from the struggles of the chawl, where children are robbed of the joys of a worry-free childhood.
The next day, Manav welcomed them both home.
In a few weeks, even Vivek started to feel better. The tears stopped, and an occasional chuckle brought relief to Rohini.
He ate well, made new friends in the apartment complex, and soon put grief behind him.
Everyone was happy.
Then came Diwali celebrations. The day it all started.
Rohini got ready for the pooja. She had dressed up in a fine saree and jewellery, as they were expecting guests later in the day.
When Vivek saw her, he came closer.
He seemed to be staring at her necklace.
“Didi, isn’t this my necklace?”
Rohini laughed it off. “No, it is my necklace. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Vivek’s silence was a sign of trouble, but she ignored it.
Two days later, Vivek came to her.
“Didi, can I see that necklace again?”
“What happened Vivek? Why do you want to see it?”
“Didi, I know that necklace. Mummy had shown it to me. She’d told me that it is my necklace and that she’ll gift it to my wife when I grow up.”
“No, no – you seem to have been mistaken.”
“But…I’m sure. I remember it well! It was in Mummy’s cupboard. You don’t know…”
“Vivek, stop arguing!” Rohini shushed him.
He was forced to shut up, but that necklace remained on Vivek’s mind.
Rohini came back to her room and took the necklace out of the safe.
It indeed was her mother’s. A family heirloom that had to pass to Vivek and his bride.
Thought not expensive, the traditional karigiri was quite rare to find and almost impossible to replicate.
Hence after her parent’s passing, she decided to keep it with her.
She had no idea that Vivek knew it existed, let alone expected him to lay a claim on it.
She could not afford to come off as a thief of her own home, so decided to ignore Vivek’s remarks.
“He’s a child. He’ll forget about this very soon.”
But there was something about the necklace that Vivek couldn’t let go.
On his next birthday, he asked Rohini in the middle of the party, “Didi, you will give me my necklace today na?”
“Vivek, stop talking about the necklace. It is mine.”
“Jiju, please ask her to give me my necklace. Why is she lying to me?”
Manav was embarrassed to be dragged into this in front of his guests. He angrily asked Vivek to not talk about it right now.”
The matter was far from over. Vivek wouldn’t stop.
He kept demanding the necklace at random times. “Didi, why are you not giving me my necklace?”
Soon, he started requesting others to intervene.
When Lalita aunty, the lady next door was visiting, he urged her, “Masi, please ask didi and jiju to return my necklace.”
Even visitors weren’t spared. “Postman uncle, can you ask did to give me my necklace?”
“Watchman uncle, tell did to give me my necklace right now. She’s taken it. Please help me.”
Manav was furious.
He had been kind and patient, loving and caring. He had Vivek a new life. Yet this ungrateful boy was portraying them as thieves.
The neighbours started gossiping.
“Look at how the world is degrading!” Said Lalita aunty in her friend group. “The poor girl and her husband practically adopted him, saved him from poverty. And he is calling them thieves!
In today’s times, there is no gratitude. Everyone is selfish. Just see this – they have delayed starting a family so that he has their attention, and this is how he repays them? Very bad.”
Vivek’s cries didn’t stop. Rohini was worried. Manav was furious.
“Enough is enough. Rohini, I’ve tried to support you as much as I can. But I will not have him ruin our reputation any more.
I cannot tolerate him living under my roof and eating my food, while he continues calling us thieves.
Take him away. We’ve not yet sold your parents’ kholi in the chawl.
Go there today itself. He can live there as he likes and blabber away his mad statements.”
Rohini knew that there was nothing she could do.
She wanted the best for Vivek, but Manav’s anguish was natural, too.
She quickly packed her brother’s clothes and drove him to their old home.
What happens next?
Will Rohini and Vivek ever meet again?
Will Vivek stop asking for the necklace?
Will Manav have a change of heart?
What does the future hold?
Wait until next week to find out. Part 2 coming soon.
