The Dusk Lamp - chapter 1

 The smell of freshly crushed ginger wafted through the air. Aaratrika took a whiff of the tea she held lovingly in her hand and smiled. Avinash, her husband, had prepared tea for her as he always did on rainy days and had disappeared into the kitchen to make some pakodas to accompany the tea. She gazed outside from the balcony of her 9th floor apartment at the wonderful sight of the melodious drizzle of the Mumbai rains. 

There was something magical about the rains of Mumbai that always brought a smile to her lips. Vehicles were whizzing past, as if there was no tomorrow. After all Mumbai never sleeps, does it? People were out in droves, in raincoats, carrying colorful umbrellas, or simply scurrying by, as if the rain just didn`t exist. A handful of children were splashing in the rain, enjoying what seemed like their privilege. 

A newly wed girl in the wing opposite her apartment was giggling, her husband bent at her ear, whispering, possibly sharing a joke. 'What is it with these crazy young newly weds?' she thought. They seem so oblivious to everything around them. They reminded her of her own times, when she had just married Rishab and other than him ,the world seemed non-existent to her.

As she took a sip, her mind went racing back to the day she had just landed in Mumbai.

                                                          **************

 It was a lovely rainy day, just like this one and she had carefully stepped out of the taxi gingerly holding Rishab`s hand, trying not to skid. As they stood at the door of their penthouse, Rishab asked her to wait and went inside. After what seemed like eternity, Rishab came out holding a thaali- a beautifully decorated silver plate. In it was a kalash- a small holy copper pot filled with rice, a small ghee lamp, and a little cup containing vermillion. He placed the kalash on the threshold of the door and asked Aaratrika to tip over the kalash filled with rice with her right feet. According to tradition, when the bride enters into her new home for the first time, she is given a warm welcome by the groom's parents. This tradition is known as Graha Pravesh-entering the home. As there was no one else to welcome her, Rishab took the onus on him to welcome Aaratrika into their new home.Aaratrika was overwhelmed by his gesture,

"That’s so wonderful of you to have thought of this".

She tipped the kalash and stepped in. 

"Hey love, hold on, there’s more to come". 

"Oh? There is?" she giggled.

He then applied kumkum- the scared vermillion powder to her forehead and performed an aarti - encircling her face thrice with a ghee lamp kept on the thaali. She giggled.

"What’s so funny love?''  

She giggled again. "You are a sweetheart, I love you, Rishab."

As she stepped into the plush penthouse, he swept her off her feet literally, and held her in his arms,

"Welcome to your new home, my love".

                                                     *************

  "Hey how’s the tea ?"

She was startled by the voice,soon realising it was Avinash. The mesmerizing rains had carried her back light years away to those happy times with Rishab. 

 "Amazing as always dear. Ooo..yummy  pakodas..You should seriously consider starting your own cafeteria."

 "Aaru, do you remember, our anniversary is coming up next week?"

Aaratrika smiled" Of course, how can I forget?"

"Well, let’s go shopping then. I’ll buy you that emerald ring that I promised."

 Aaratrika`s face lit up with a glow of a thousand lamps, and her husband couldn’t help commenting between smiles that she looked very much like a little girl about to go shopping for her birthday! 

"Listen I have an idea. Lets take the local, its a long time since I’ve traveled in one."

 “Aaru, don’t be crazy, at least not in these rains."

“No, please lets, please, please.." she begged.

“You know how to have your way, don’t you, my dear? Ok so lets go".

The Mumbai locals are an effortless way to travel. You don’t even have to try too hard to get in one. Just stand where you are, the crowd will push you in and the crowd will push you out too, when you have to alight, Rishab would say.

 Their jeweler, Motilal Jewelers, was in Bandra West, and they lived in Thane. This meant they would have to first go to Dadar, taking the central line and then take the harbour line from Dadar to Bandra. It was a long journey but she enjoyed traveling in the Mumbai locals. As they got into the local at Thane station, she found an empty seat, which was unusual, and they settled into it. Her eyes fell on a flower vendor, making gajras-a string of flowers.

She drifted back to the time when Rishab had first taken her in a local train. 

                                                        **************

They had gone to Shoppers stop in Andheri East. Just like today, she had spotted a gajrawali- the flower vendor, making a fragrant jasmine gajra. She looked lovingly at Rishab, not saying a word. He knew that glance at once and got her not one, but two gajras and neatly pinned it on her hair, in between Aaratrika`s shy giggles. They had both loved traveling by locals, every time they shopped. 

At one such outing, they had been bargaining for a pair of sandals at Fashion street, when Rishab gave out a sharp cry of pain and fell down on the pavement. Aaratrika was scared beyond words and called out for help. As much as Mumbai is a fun place to be, it is also very cold hearted. Aaratrika learned this the hard way, when no help came forth for quite some time. 

She hailed a cab and tried to gather Rishab with the help of the cabbie and took him to the Jawahar hospital, nearby. The doctors attending to him suggested that he should be taken to a bigger hospital with better facilities so that further tests could be conducted. It was just two years into her marriage and she was still a young girl, just 23 years of age, she didn`t know what to do. Gathering herself amid tears she picked up her phone and called Rishab`s brother, Saurabh, in Noida.

 "Bhaiyya" she said, sobbing uncontrollably, "Rishab just collapsed in pain while we were shopping, I have got him to a hospital, but they are suspecting something and they 

have asked him to be shifted to a bigger hospital for other tests. I am so scared, bhaiyya, can you please come down to Mumbai?"

 " Don’t worry Aartatrika, I’ll be there by the next flight I can board. Meanwhile just hang on, and stay calm, ok?"

Those were difficult times and even thinking about them was painful . But she had never been able to completely let go of that phase of her life. painful as they were, they also had a lot of happy memories.

                                                                   *****************

 Her thoughts were broken by a loud announcement outside.

"Your attention please" it was blaring in the public announcement system outside ," due to very heavy rains, the service for the  local from Thane to CST will be terminated here, we apologise for inconvenience caused to the passengers"

 "Sweetheart, enjoyed your sleep?"

 Avinash was ruffling her hair, smiling . She let out a faint smile. 

“I guess that’s the end to our joyride, lets run out and take a cab to Bandra"

 Where are we?” she asked. 

"Dadar " he replied.

There was a lot of crowd outside and no cabs in sight. The rains got heavier and both of them got drenched completely.

 "There’s a temple of Ganapti Bappa nearby, lets take shelter there " , said Aaratrika.

"Oh, there is?" asked her husband surprised by her knowledge of the area.

"Hmmm,I have been there a lot of times before." 

They walked to the temple and took shelter inside. The familiar idol of Bappa seemed to smile at her. 'Hi god', she whispered silently. It was peaceful inside, against the maddening noise outside. They sat in silence, head bowed in prayer. 

                                                                 **********

She remembered coming here for the very first time with Saurabh . Saurabh had taken a flight the same day and was with her and Rishab by evening. They shifted Rishab to the Rajmata Memorial cancer hospital in Parel. Rishab was wheeled in for a battery of tests, while she waited outside with Saurabh. Looking at her tensed face, Saurabh suggested that they go out for a quick bite. She wanted to go to a temple instead and a nurse suggested that they go to the Ganapati Bappa temple in Dadar nearby. That was the first time she had come there, and felt strangely at peace. She had prayed for Rishab, asking the elephant head god to ensure that his reports were ok and there was nothing to worry. But when they went back to the hospital, hell broke loose when the doctor announced that they had detected a pea size tumor in Rishab`s spine.

 "But there’s still hope, we are doing a biopsy to find out if the tumour is malignant or benign."

 She stared blankly at the doctor, not understanding one word of what he said. What’s malignant?

 Benign? What was he saying? The only words echoing through her mind was..

" I am sorry to tell you that we have detected a pea sized tumor in your husbands spine..."

 Tumor? Oh god, why Rishab? What has he ever done? he has never hurt a fly, why are you putting him through this ordeal ? Let this be a bad dream. Wake up Aaratrika, wake up. It’s a dream, its not true, its not true.

 "....the result will take a day or two, I will let you know, Mr.Saurabh" the doctor was droning on…

Read part 2 here

                                                         

My naughty little monkey

It was almost five years since Harshvardhan arrived and we had decided he would be the one and only center of our small world. So it was a surprise when I realised I was carrying again. The emotions were a mixed bag of happiness and disbelief. It was scary too as the previous experience started to haunt again. A whole new bag of what ifs started to weigh on my shoulders.

We anyway decided to bring this little bundle of joy into our life and family . I was very careful not to do anything that may harm me or the baby this time. No sweets,no running around, maintaining  food timings and taking good nourishing food. Then as destiny would have it,my days of agony began.

Around the seventh month of gestation,my water broke and I lost about 90% of the amniotic fluid. I had to be admitted and the doctor decided that the baby will have to be delivered. But the huge risk that underlay bringing the baby to the outside world would be the development of its lungs would be incomplete.That would mean the baby would be prone to lung infections the moment it came out. But with no other option in sight,the baby was delivered. No sooner than he came out,he was put in the intensive care and put on drips.

I couldn`t believe I was going through all this once again.

This fellow was even tinier and I wondered how the nurse got hold of any vein at all. The condition of the baby kept deteriorating and he was diagonsed with pulmonary pneumonia. He needed a ventilator and all round observation and so in the best interest of the baby,he was shifted to a bigger facility. He was put on oxygen and drips,and it was so agonising to see his hand and feet strapped to the little NICU bed so that he wouldn`t keep removing his oxygen mask or drip set.

He was so naughty even at that tender age of 10 days!!

Gradually he started improving and he was given to us after almost 15days. But the joy of having him with us was short lived.He developed severe bronchopneumonia within a month and had to be re-admitted to the hospital. I was scared beyond words and cried my heart out.

If I was still sane,it would have to be because of the moral support  from my parents and hubby and  divine grace from the almighty. After what seemed like a lifetime,my baby was finally in my arms. I was determined to take such good care of him that he would never have to be sick ever again.

We named him Shubham-the auspicious one. As he grows older and stronger,he has also become naughtier and full of attitude. He is my little naughty monkey,very mischievous and yet very adorable.

My little bundle of joy

How immensely gratifying is the experience of being a mother!! When I  learnt that my first little bundle of joy was to arrive,I couldn`t stop jumping with joy. I was ecstatic with happiness!

 We shared our news with our family and friends and with every congratulatory message that came to us my joy just doubled and tripled. But the joy soon turned to agony as the complications started setting in. I was advised complete bed rest. Soon I was also diagonsed with gestational diabetes. I had to make my daily trip to the hospital every morning to be pricked with insulin for the rest of my gestational period. I had a huge craving for sweets but was strictly told to keep off it.

The months of waiting  were agonising. I was told that babies of diabetic mothers are unusually large and have to be taken care of in an NICU setup for sometime after birth. I was very scared. The day finally arrived and I went to the hospital with my hubby in tow. By some miracle or by some divine intervention, the baby was normal in size but had very low blood sugar levels. He was placed in the incubator with a glucose drip running down his tiny hand. Every day the drip site would be changed and he would have a prick in a different hand or feet every day.It was heart wrenching to see my little one bandaged and lying in the incubator.

 It was even more painful not to be able to pick up my baby in my arms,not to be able to kiss his tiny forehead and not to be able to feed him. After eight painful days,my little fighter was ready to go home with us. It was such a relief to touch him and hold him for the first time ever! All the pain and agony of the past nine months was forgiven and forgotten.

We decided to name this tiny bundle joy -Harshvardhan-the one who increases happiness. 

The irony of fate....

The air of sadness around me is terrifying.Happiness is so short lived that I feel scared to be happy anymore.    I met my best friend of several years after a long hiatus.The joy of meeting was insurmountable. As the day of the meeting approached,I wondered if that old connect would still be there or would we feel awkward to even talk to each other.Nevertheless, I had a hundred things to say to her,tell her about all the happenings in these years of being away and listen to her story in turn.

Surprisingly,when we met,it felt like we had just met yesterday.As if these long years had never existed. As if we had never really been that far away! The feeling of giving her a tight hug was so reassuring,so comforting and so nostalgic,that it brought a lump to my throat.

We settled in an ambient restaurent for a small bite and a long session of soul talk.I narrated how I had been doing all these years,how I had married the person of my liking and had now settled down at home looking after my children.I knew she had got married,so I inquired about how she was doing.What she narrated,jolted me out of my seat and made me numb with pain.She had lost her husband to cancer a few years after her marriage and was living all by herself.Listening to the trauma she had undergone all these years made my heart ache and looking at how bravely she had faced a calamity of this nature and was living life so courageously and maturely brought tears to my eyes.I felt sad at the very thought of not being there for her when she would have needed my support.She spoke about how life had come to a grinding halt for her,whereas it was moving on for all others she knew.The difficulties she faced everyday,the emptiness surrounding her,the void she felt back home after a long day at work.I had a terrible feeling of helplessness.I wanted to say something to make her feel better,but did not know what to say.It was so difficult to even fathom the loss,the loneliness,the grief that she was feeling,that nothing I said would seem enough or even appropriate.

Later when my mind ran through her words,I realised how tough it must be for her each day. I was amazed at how much she had, to teach me ,in terms of her experience,how she was taking life in the right spirit,and how  mature she had become.

(Pic courtesy: Google images)

The first crush.........the unrequited love!!

The date was 9th of october 1993....It was her first cousin,Karthik`s wedding!! Shalini was eager to be a part of the celebrations. She had got a lovely green ghagra choli stiched for the occasion. When she looked at herself in the mirror,she blushed,"Shalini,you are looking amazing today",she said to herself,"as always" ,she added as an after thought and smiled.

She was Karthik`s favorite sister and he had always pampered and loved her the most.There was never a dull moment with her cousin. He was always so cheerful,so full of fun and most of all,he gave her whatever she asked for.He treated her like her own brother would have,never making her feel that it was their dad`s who were siblings,and they were first cousins..

 His wedding was surely the big moment she  had been waiting for!She was impatiently waiting to see her bhabhi, Nivedita,the one who would be sharing her  brother`s life.The whole place was abuzz with a lot of people and activities. The decorations were beautiful ,there were flower torans everywhere,the shenais were being played melodiously.And then, she saw him....

Since the first time  their eyes met, she couldn`t take her eyes off him! He was talking animatedly to her parents who seemed to be happy in his company. She walked towards her parents and her mom introduced her to him.

"Vishal,meet my daughter ,Shalini. And beta Shalini he is your bhabhi`s brother."

He had just taken her parents out for an ice cream treat as it was Shalini`s mom`s birthday.

There was a magical feel,as if their meeting was intended to be!!All through the wedding Shalini found herself secretly gazing at this stranger who seemed to have swept her off her feet, the very first time she saw him!..She had never experienced this feeling before.Though she had several male friends,she had never set her eyes on anyone before..Was this a crush?If it was, then this was a first of sorts...

The wedding was a great affair,the food was delicious,and the bride and groom looked happy together.The time came for the bidai and Shalini`s family took their new bride home. Before they left, Shalini had managed to befriend Vishal and he promised to stay in touch. Shalini didn't want to seem too eager ,so she kept  a safe distance,measuring every word she said or wrote. The letters started pouring in ,each letter not more than a page long.

 "Vishal must be the most discreet guy in the world",she thought,"he seems to drop no hint which way his feelings are headed.. He seems friendly but definitely not in love with me".

But of course this did not deter her from dreaming about him ! With each passing day,the feeling became deeper and deeper to the extent of madness.

Her dearest friend Avantika, guessed the truth and confronted her,

"Shalu, are you in love with this guy?",she asked one day.

Shalini smiled,"I don`t really know Avi."

She would even write Mrs.Vishal Agasthya in her book and look at it for hours....She`d imagine the both of them together,and blush at the thought!! She could only think about him at day or at night!! Oh! the years of madness....

 Could all this be a result of  the hoards of Mills & Boons and romanticized Sidney Sheldons  that she must have read before she met this man?

One day she had a visitor.Vishal`s cousin, Pradyumna,who stayed in the same town as Shalini`s came with an unexpected proposal.

"Uncle,I think Vishal and Shalini would make a handsome pair. Why not give your daughter`s hand in marriage to the most eligible bachelor in the family",he asked.

He later told Shalini, "You have stolen my cousin`s heart but he doesn`t know how you feel.What do you want me tell him?" .

 A shy Shalini was taken aback, "Bhaiyya, I will go with whatever my parents decide is good for me.".

Her parents liked Vishal, "He is a fine young man but our Shalu has to finish her graduation, lets wait for a couple of years.",said her mother .

Shalini was still studying and in her second year of graduation. Shalini ,ofcourse,was on cloud nine!! "Could this be true? Was this really happening? How many people could even think of such a nice ending to a lovely dream?" She continued communicating with Vishal and still acting coy as if she didn`t know a thing!

One day,Shalini was making tea for her parents ,when they received a phone call .It was from Vishal`s father.

"Hello,this is Virendra, It is quite shameful that I have to make this call to you Mr.Kaushik.Your younger daughter Shalini has been writing love letters to my son.What kind of a father would give his daughter so much freedom?We live in a conservative society, Mr.Kaushik,and I suggest that you put reins on your daughter, unless you are prepared for some surprise from her."

Shalini`s father was sure that his daughter would never do something to bring disrepute to him ,

" Mr.Virendra,I am sure there`s been some misunderstanding.As for my daughter,I am very sure that she knows her limits and would never mis-utilise the freedom that she enjoys.On the other hand ,I doubt your son`s intentions , Mr.Virendra,especially when he has the guts to send a marriage proposal through his cousin rather than through his family.Why not ask him what`s on his mind?" and retaliated by quoting the proposal sent by Vishal through his cousin Pradyumna.

There was a war of words and the phone was a weary soul when it was put down.....this was followed by a fierce round of questioning and Shalini vehemently denied the allegations.She did accept that she was communicating with Vishal though she had never written anything that could be misconstrued as a love letter.

Her bubble of happiness burst when her father told her without mincing words that he would never accept a proposal from Vishal`s father in the future.

"Look at the nerve of that fellow Virendra. Who does he think he is? I will marry off Shalu to any one but his son."

Shalini knew that this would be the end of a relationship that never really took off..

But there was more to come.Sometime later , Karthik`s mother passed away due to a prolonged illness and Shalini attended her funeral.Karthik was inconsolable and so Shalini and her parents decided to spend some time with Karthik`s  family.

Nivedita and Shalini had become great friends  and during the stay Shalini found that Nivedita would often tease her,"Hey Shalu,whom have you dressed up so beautifully for? Vishal is arriving tomorrow" and "Be sure to wear your pink salwar.Vishal loves pink," or "I am making Vishal`s favorite vegetable,care to learn?"

"Oh! this was confusing!! Does bhabhi know about my feelings? or is she trying to convey her brother`s feelings for me?",thought Shalini.

 But whatever it was,she could feel a flicker of hope ignite in her."Would she help me in any way? Should I confide in her? What if I am wrong? What if I misread everything? No...I couldn`t take that chance.I would be a laughing stock,how embarrassing it would be for my dad!"

It was time to get back and her family and Vishal started out from Karthik`s home on the same evening.Her father was surprisingly calm and happy chatting with Vishal.At the railway station,they parted ways without speaking much as their trains were on different platforms.

As there was some time, Shalini was standing outside the compartment and chatting with her uncle when she saw him come.Her heart missed a beat and everyone could sense her feelings(or so it seemed to her). Her uncle disappeared inside on the pretext of talking to her father. Everyone left them alone to talk as if it was the expected thing to do!

She could only remember feeling numb with the joy of having some time to spend with him,with pain of not being able to convey her feelings for him,with the sadness of knowing that all she had was just a few minutes which she will in all probability not utilise at all....She could not even recollect what he spoke because she just stood there like a deaf and dumb person and stared at him,not understanding one word of what he said...not knowing what she should do or say....It was soon time to leave ,the train blew its painful whistle and she was stuck to the window,trying to catch one last glimpse of this person who had stirred these difficult  feelings inside of her....and then she cried..tears poured down her cheeks like they wouldn`t stop till they burned her whole face down....She tried to pretend to be asleep so that no one could see  her swollen face and red eyes. 

Then something happened that would change her life forever...Her brother and bhabhi couldn`t get along and all this created a rift that could never be mended.This gave way for heated family discussions and one day they decided to part ways.Shalini prayed that Karthik and Nivedita should never part because she loved them both dearly,she loved her little nephew, Anirudh even more and Vishal was another reason as well,any strain on their relationship would signal an end to their relationship too....But everything happened for the worse and their relationship ended on a rather bitter note.

By this time Shalini had decided to forget this entire episode and moved to a new place with Avantika.But she never could forget the first love of her life. She didn`t really know if she was happy or sad when she learnt that Vishal was living in the same city too. She still hoped Karthik and Nivedita would reconcile at some stage ,but that was not to be.She got enough reasons to meet Vishal again .Over a period of time his family and Nivedita moved in with him and when she met his family she was happy that they did not harbor any animosity towards her.She continued to be good friends with Nivedita.Once again a plethora of feelings started erupting and she hoped against hope that all would be well....

On one such visit Nivedita invited her to a little picnic that she had planned for Anirudh. As they got into the car,"Champ",she called out to Anirudh,"let`s sit in the rear seat,that way mummy and you can have lots of fun,ok?"
"Shalu,why dont you sit with Vishal in the front seat,anyway",she continued"some day that seat`s meant for you."

Throughout the trip Nivedita found a lot to tease Shalu about, and it made Shalini very happy to think that things could be fine still.

It always bothered her though  that Vishal never spoke to her about his feelings for her, so she never really knew if they existed at all......

Time passed swiftly and Shalini tried dragging her mind into other things,made other friends,got involved with her work and tried to get over her madness..But soon she received an invitation for Vishal`s engagement!

"Engagement? to someone else? what do I do now?This was my last chance...I have to convey my feelings to him or else he would be lost to me forever.."

A whirlpool of thoughts ran through her mind..this somehow didnt seem right at all! On one hand she did not even know what Vishal had in his mind...
"did he ever reciprocate?No I don`t remember him saying anything remotely related to me..what repercussions would my confessions have on our families? my brother would be very upset,after all that he and bhabhi have been through,this was probably the last thing he expected me to say,maybe even our families would be aghast,shocked or even angry at how I could even think up something like this...all these were my feelings...,they had no beginning....,no end...,no future...., no basis.... ,no bearing on anyone`s life....it matted to me and me alone!! What a pathetic situation to be in!"

She debated with herself ; "if I did confess my feelings would everybody understand? Will my brother and bhabhi still stand by me irrespective of their differences? Will the families forget their hatred and give us their blessings? will it  in any way  pave way for the two dearest people in my life,my brother and bhabhi to be united once again? why shouldn`t I give my feelings a chance?" But the whole problem was that Vishal had never said a word about his feelings to her...and she would never know if any existed or they were just a figment of her imagination...

She went to the engagement with all these thoughts clouding her mind and emotions overpowering her heart...

"Come on Vishal, put the ring on Sunidhi`s finger now", his mother was saying.

Her heart broke into a million pieces when she saw him slip that ring into Sunidhi`s finger ..She knew it was time to say a silent goodbye...She walked away with a heavy heart and eyes brimming with tears....For days after that she hardly spoke to anyone nor ate properly nor slept peacefully....Her closest friend Avantika, cajoled her out of her grief out over several hot cups of coffee...

" Avantika do you think there would be some miracle,some divine intervention that would change everything..?"

Alas ! that was not to be. The date for his wedding approached and she made a firm resolve not to be a part of it...The stress was killing her,it was unbearable...

 "I think you should go and attend his wedding ,Shalu, stop living in a make believe world anymore.",Avantika insisted.

Viren uncle had arranged for a bus to take his family and relatives to the bride`s place.Shalini reached his home and saw cheery faces everywhere....people were singing,dancing and packing.She was the only gloomy one around! Finally the stress was too much to bear and she had not eaten in two days, Shalini felt nauseous and told Viren uncle she wanted to go home and he happily permitted her to leave.

She had a stress induced gastritis attack, her stomach burned and she threw up. She thought it was a good reason to go home and skip the wedding.

Shalini called up Avantika , "Avi,pick me up,I think I am dying".

Avantika picked her up ,"you drama queen, you will be well in few hours time, let`s go to Dr.Trivedi".

After a few hours rest,some medicines and a filling paratha that Avantika had made for her, Shalini felt better.

"You better get going Shalu, or the marriage party will leave without you.You don`t plan to go there all by yourself,do you?"

 " No,Avi,I am not going anywhere,I don`t want to go through the rigours of seeing Vishal get married."

 " Shalini  go...just go and face the truth" .

As always,Avantika won the argument and Shalini went back to Vishal`s home and saw faces with exclamation writ on them .No one really cared about Shalini being a part of the wedding entourage.The journey to the bride`s place seemed to be the longest she had ever undertaken..Every minute was painful and she just wanted to run away...she just couldn`t smile and pretended it was because of the gastritis.

The bus took a short break to refuel and everyone got out for a quick bite.Shalini walked by Vishal one last time..She wanted to hold his hand and tell him,please run away with me,don't get married now....but did nothing and instead smiled at what a stupid thought that was!! He seemed happy to be getting married anyway,so what was the big deal? She saw him take his wedding vows and said a silent prayer,may he be happy always.....

Avantika had been right after all, Shalini did feel lighter on her way back home. Over a period of time, she didn`t dream of him anymore, didnt want him anymore...because with facing the truth came a bigger strength to bear it and overcome it...

The dream that began with a wedding had ended with a wedding!! Life had come a full circle!

(Pic courtesy: Google images)