Hi guys, thanks for keeping up with me and since someone wanted to read my prevous chapters here are the links-
E01- Here
E02- Here
E03- Here
E04- Here
E05- Here
E06&E07- Here
Hope you are liking the story…. Girls, whoever claim to have read this please don’t read or comment. Let the people who have ‘not’ actually read this read this….
So guys, lets start with our flash back sequence…….Another Maha Episode for you guys!!!
Chapter – 8
FLASHBACK-Back in Sanskar’s University days!
“Howzat!”, Adarsh shouted as the ball kissed Suresh’s leg pads. It was an important wicket for Adarsh’s team.
Umpire slowly raised his hand signaling the Loss of Wicket for the mechanical team. They were 9 down for 78 runs. ECE Team had put up a mammoth target of 165 on the board in ten overs. The mechanical supporters hung their head as their opening batsman Suresh, who was their captain and Star performer walked back to the pavilion.
Suresh , through the corner of his eyes saw Sanskar, his best friend from childhood, running towards Adarsh and hugging him , celebrating his dismissal.
“Hey, that’s ok da”, one of his team mates consoled, as Suresh removed his gloves.
“Hey, I am not feeling bad about getting dismissed. It’s a part of the game. Getting Dismissed in Adarsh’s spell was the last thing I expected. “, growled Suresh.
Suresh and Sanskar had been the thickest friends since childhood. Suresh’s father was a chief mechanic in Sanskar’s dad’s company. He died while operating a huge machine. Sanskar’s dad felt very bad for the loss. He assured to Suresh’s mom that he will aid their living and completely take care of Suresh’s studies. He made sure his wife and son treated Suresh and his Mom well. Sanskar’s mom always took special care for Suresh. Sanskar and Suresh studied, played and slept together. They turned out to be best friends. As Suresh grew, more than the friendship, he was drawn towards the benefits of befriending Sanskar. He took his father’s stream. He chose mechanical, while Sanskar chose ECE in merit.
Adarsh and Sanskar knew each other only for the past one and half year in the college. Suresh was not sure what in Adarsh attracted Sanskar so much. Sanskar became much fond of Adarsh. He strongly felt that Sanskar’s attention slowly shifted towards Adarsh. His friendship for Suresh did not degrade, but Suresh loathed a third person intervention. He strongly registered in his mind that Adarsh was the reason why Sanskar did not spend much time as it was in the beginning.
Suresh’s chain of thoughts was disturbed by the roar of the crowd. Yes, the tenth wicket had fell. Mechanical had lost the match. Sanskar and Adarsh celebrated their victory. Once the presentation was over, Sanskar handed over the trophy and came running to Suresh.
“Hey, dude, he called out.
“Oh.. you could even see me amidst your celebrations?”, Suresh mocked.
For the past one year Sanskar felt strange change in Suresh’s Attitude. He knew the reason. He tried to make it clear to Suresh. He was not ready to understand.
“Come on man. Don’t do this. I was just with my team. “
“Yes. Your team. Your victory. You could have continued. Why are you here.”
“Hey, Sorry da.” Sanskar tried to calm him down.
“Sanskar…” Bharath, one of his team mate shouted.
“Just a sec. Coming “, Sanskar replied.
“Hey, Suresh. I will see you tonight. I will come home. Got to go now da. Bye”
Suresh did not bother to look at his face.
“Bye”, he just replied.
As Bharath and Sanskar approached, Sanskar saw a cute girl talking to Adarsh.
“Hey, Sanskar, this is my sister, Swara”. Adarsh introduced.”Swara this is Sanskar, my dept. In today’s match my captain”, he continued.
She flashed her beautiful smile. “Congratulations. That was a wonderful batting performance. Heard from Adu(She calls Adarsh Adu) that you scored 87 smashing so many boundaries and sixes”, she spoke as she adjusted the fringe of hair that fell on her face.
She was cute. As Sanskar watched her speak, her big round brown eyes showed so many expressions.
She urged Adarsh to hold the energy drink which she had bought for her brother.
She removed the clip from her hair, held it tight in between her lips. Her lips were thin and pink. Her lower lip was a little thicker than her upper, making it breathe taking. She adjusted her hair and pinned it back with the clip.
“Sanskar….”, Adarsh shook him hard now.
“Hey, hey, yes”, Sanskar managed.
“I am going home. You coming?” Adarsh asked.
Sanskar wanted to tell a yes, for he might get some more time to see Swara, but he told Suresh that he would meet him.
“Hey no da. Had a plan of meeting Suresh’s mom. “, Sanskar replied.
“Oh. OK. Sure. See you in college on Monday da”. Adarsh and Swara bade a bye and left.
Sanskar and Aravind stayed very close to each other. They were put up just 5 kilometers apart. They travelled in the same bus to college. That’s how they became great friends.
“Hey!!” Lakshh , Sanskar’s loving brother exclaimed as he saw the trophy in his brother’s hand. Lakshh was in his twelfth standard. He came running to his brother. As he grabbed the trophy from Sanskar, Sanskar lifted him and balanced him on his shoulders.
Sanskar and Lakshh were twins. Sanskar was tall and strong, while Lakshh’s built was puny. This made Sanskar to lift him everytime he was happy.
His mom, who approached fast, demanded Sanskar to be careful with Lakshh. Lakshh was now literally several feet above ground.
“So, you cannot congratulate your winning son?”, Sanskar demanded.
“Of course, yes. But before that, be careful with him”, she pointed to Lakshh.
Being the younger son of a rich family, Lakshh was pampered by all the three. Though he was 18 years old now, they still thought him to be a kid. They took care of him the same way. Sanskar, His mom and dad, everyone treated Lakshh as an Apple of their eyes.
As Sanskar slowly placed his feet back on the floor , “Awesome da”, Lakshh exclaimed.
He handed over the trophy to him for some admiration. They both sat and Sanskar started sharing all the important happenings of the game.
It was 9 when Sanskar reached Suresh’s home. Suresh was not yet home.
“Hi Aunty”, smiled Sanskar.
“Come in Son. Suresh is not yet home.”, she said worriedly.
“We had a match today. We won. Suresh’s team lost. He did not speak to me properly after that. “, Sanskar ‘s tone saddened.
“Suresh and I should be extremely grateful for what your family is doing to us. I am really not sure why he is doing this to you. Don’t worry, I will talk to him”, she consoled.
Suresh arrived the next moment. He was happy that Sanskar kept up his word. Sanskar and Suresh left for a walk and a talk.
Sanskar felt contended after spending quality time with him. He headed home with a light heart. It was just a 5 minutes’ drive back home.
Chapter -9
Sanskar usually played cricket in a club organized by his area residents. Due to insufficient funds, it was shifted to the nearby park. It was the first day on the park. Sanskar enthusiastically picked up his kit and started his car. Being a son of an entrepreneur, he was allowed to handle cars once he entered his college.
Sanskar reached the park and saw his friends waiting there. He waved them a ‘hi’ and the match began. As he was playing, his eyes shifted to the pavement of the park in which people were walking. He saw someone in ponytails, frequently adjusting the hair that fell on her face , walking swiftly. That gesture was registered strongly in him, he thought hard. “Yes, it is Adarsh’s sister, Swara”, he said to himself. As he was excited about seeing her now, he hit the ball with full force, his hands lost the grip due to the force and his bat flew and hit Swara at her Ankles hard. She fell down, wriggling in pain. Sanskar ran to her. People surrounded her. She kept telling them that she was ok. As Sanskar reached there, he saw her Ankles slightly swelled up. He panicked.
“Swara, come come”, he pushed away few people who were standing there.
“I know her, she is my friend. I will take care”, he assured to disperse the crowd.
“Hey, Sanskar. Good morning”, she greeted him even in pain. ”Someone did not like me. See what they have done”, she showed her aching ankles. Sanskar helped her to get up. She was not able to walk. He held her hand across his shoulders and gave her grip to hop.
“Not really. I know. They did not hate you”. Sanskar assured.
“How come so sure”, Swara winked. “Because it was me, I am so sorry for hurting you”, Sanskar replied in a sad tone.
“That’s ok. It happens”, Swara smiled. By the time they spoke, they had reached Sanskar ‘s car. He made her sit comfortably and drove the car to nearby hospital.
They waited for few minutes. Doctor diagnosed her ankles and confirmed that it was just sprain. The doctor rolled up her tracks up to her knees and wrapped her ankles with a cloth. Through her corner of her eyes, Swara noticed Sanskar who was worriedly watching the doctor treating her. Swara felt a sudden sense of the blood rushing to her face. The rush of blood- only because of that do they call it blush? Swara thought. She carefully tried to pull her tracks down. Sanskar sensed Swara’s thoughts and turned his head towards the hospital window, suppressing a smile.
Sanskar dropped Swara at her home. Her parents panicked to see her ankles. Sanskar explained them in detail and made sure Swara took a day’s off at school that day. He left for his home, to leave for the college.
Sanskar made sure he constantly checked on Swara. He texted during the lunch break. He called her once from college.
It was in the night, when Adarsh was about to come to Swara’s room, he saw Swara smiling at her mobile. It was a text from Sanskar. He had been sending all kinds of feel good and comical texts that day, to keep her mind light and distracted from the pain.
“Hey, I thought you were hurt in ankles. Are you hurt in your temple and gone nuts?”, Adarsh pulled her legs.
“What?”, Swara asked in irritated tone.
“What are you smiling at?”, he asked.
“Nothing. My friend, he.. err.. she sent me a joke”, as she spoke, she deleted Sanskar’s thread completely, in fear of being scrutinized by her brother.
Swara lied to Adarsh about it. If she had treated Sanskar just like any other friend of hers she would have opened up. His comforting behavior when she was hurt, his caring attitudes to check on her health throughout the day, made her feel special. She thought Sanskar was treating her special.
Swara and Sanskar started sharing many special moments together. They spoke to each other at least once a day. They both could sense that they were in verge of building a strong relationship.
It was one cold evening, Adarsh was busy watching television. His father, who was working with a client from home, was annoyed by the television sound. He came out from his room just to see his son lazily lying on the sofa and switching channels.
“Can you please take life a bit more serious?”, he shouted at his son.
“What dad?”, Adarsh gave a wry smile.
“Enough . You don’t have to mock at me. Your sister would be joining college the coming year. Being two years senior, please try to complete engineering at least before her. Try to study and clear your arrears.”
Adarsh broke into laughter.
“Your daughter? Is she going to pursue engineering?”, he continued to laugh.
“Stop it. I know she has some other dream. Those are practically impossible. Swara will obey me. She will do engineering”, his father spoke in haste and left the living room.
Adarsh looked at Swara who was standing near her room entrance, stuck to door in grief. She wanted to become an interior designer. She did not expect her father to stop her dream. She was worried. Suddenly her mobile rang. It was a call from Sanskar.
“Hello”, she answered in a sad tone.
“What happened, Swara? You sound dull”, Sanskar’s tone saddened too.
Swara narrated her dream to become an interior designer and how her father was against it.
“Hey Swara. How serious are you with this? I mean have you decided where to join for the course. Are you aware of their admission procedures?”
“Of course. I am aiming in joining at IIAD, Indian institute of Arts and Design, where I would study interior decoration for two years. The Admission procedures are pretty simple. But once I complete the course, I have to do a certification only after which I will be recognized better”, she spoke in single breathe.
“Don’t worry. We will convince your dad.”
“But… How?”
“Wait and watch”, Sanskar ended the call.
It was after a couple of weeks, upon constant reminder and insists, Adarsh invited Sanskar’s family home for a dinner. Sanskar, Lakshh, their mom and dad had come. Adarsh’s parents liked Lakshh very much, right in the first meet. Swara and Sanskar did not miss to exchange glances every now and then. While they were casually talking post dinner, Sanskar’s father got a call.
“Oh, really”, he was all smiles.
“Convey my best wishes and regards to him. It feels great that you had shared this news.”
“Sure, Sure will convey to my family”, he cut the call.
“It was a call from my brother. Her daughter has become a recognized Interior designer. He wanted to share the good news with me”, he spoke as he placed his mobile on the table.
“An interior designer?”, Adarsh’s mom asked in excitement.
“Yes, Madam. It is a highly growing profession now. “, added Sanskar’s dad.
“I remember she did her college in II …. “, Sanskar’s mom spoke as she fumbled for words. She had forgotten the college name.
“IIT?”, asked Adarsh’s dad.
“No. IIAD”, Sanskar’s dad completed.
“Oh my god. I cannot believe this. Is that a good college? My daughter wants to study there. I really do not see big scope in that field. Hence was asking her to pursue engineering.”, Adarsh’s dad exclaimed.
“Sir, please do not think I am poking my nose into your daughter’s career. Interior designing is the fast growing field. Basically being an owner of a company, I can really see how people want their dream houses and offices. Right from hospitals to hotels, interior design has become a must, to attract customers”, Sanskar’s dad spoke in true emotion.
Adarsh’s dad thought for a while.
As Sanskar’s parents boarded their car, Sanskar Thanked his dad.
“Thank you Dad. Thank you for cooking up stories about the non-existing brother and his daughter. We had to cook up stories, so that Swara is allowed to pursue her dream.”
“Son, listen. If it had been anything else, I would not have co-operated. But I strongly believe children must be allowed to choose what they excel in, rather than forcing them into what we like. Being a Master degree holder in Mechanical engineering from IIT and a Management degree holder from IIM, I did not force you to take Mechanical. When I asked you, you told ECE was your choice. I thought you would at least aim for joining IIT. But you did not choose it. Now your brother, he is also following your footsteps. But I am not at all disappointed with this. I am happy I Gave my children their freedom.” Sanskar’s dad spoke in true emotion.
Later that night, Sanskar received a call from Swara.
“Gee… Sanskar…. Thank you”, he could sense the excitement in her voice.
“Why thanking me?”, Sanskar suppressed a smile.
“Come on. Don’t be modest. It was just because of you my Dad is re-considering his decision. Also convey my special wishes to your cousin.”
Sanskar laughed. ”Such a cousin does not exist. That was a story to make your dad re-consider his decision.”
“You did so much for me? To make my dream come true? “, Swara was emotional.
“Anything for you, Swara. I would love to carry your dreams on my shoulders and brighten your future. I wish I could walk in the direction where your eyesight points to.”
There was a long pause. Swara was not sure how to react. She was overwhelmed by how Sanskar had been trying to make her successful. Sanskar broke the silence.
“Good night, Swara. Sleep well.”
“Good night Sanskar, Bye.”
As they ended the call, Swara edited Sanskar’s name in her mobile. She renamed it as ‘MyLife’. Sanskar had already renamed her contact as ‘MyLove’.
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