chapter 3

SerendipityEpisode-3Megha entered the elevator of her complex...impatiently waiting for the elevator to reach the 20th floor. The elevator stopped at several floors ... a few familiar faces got on and got off ... curiously looking at the trophy in her hand ...Giving a faint smile to her aquaintances, it seemed like she was in the elevator for hours. ‘How much longer will it take?’ She stood unconfortably amongst some unknown faces. Finally, the elevator reached the 20th floor and the door opened.'She' was standing in front of Megha ... with her arms outstretched ... and with a 1000 watt smile on her face, happiness overflowing in her eyes ... she ran and hugged Megha tightly ... kissing her cheek gently ... and screamed ...“Mamma, I'm proud of you” she entered the house with the trophy in her hand at the speed of an arrow... The shouts of ‘hip hip hurray’ and mamma's name echoed through the house.Megha stood in the doorway looking at her bundle of joy... that had now, grown much bigger... her 10-year-old daughter, 'Arya'.Arya was running in all the three bedrooms, kitchen, balcony and living room of the house bursting with happiness.. with the trophy in her hand, she kept chanting 'hip hip hurray'.. celebrating her momma's success to the fullest..Megha entered the house and seeing Baba in front of her, immediately bowed down. Baba blessed her with glassy eyes, "Megha, I am very proud to be your father today.. Now I will proudly announce to everyone that I am the father of ‘Vice President of The Year’, Megha Joshi.”Tears welled up in her eyes on hearing these words ... Her father, who had now retired from the post of General Manager in the National Bank, was overwhelmed by her success today.Every parent's dream is to be known by their children's name...Nitin Joshi's dream had come true today...Humans are strange creatures.. they cry in times of sorrow but happiness too, is celebrated with tears“Are Deva! What are you doing Mr. joshi... she has achieved so much success... and you are making her cry... enough with the tears now", scolded her mother, as she came from the Devghar with a plate of aarti. However, as she uttered those words, her eyes too, turned watery.“Megha, What is this? ... It was such a big ceremony... you got such a prestigious award and you wore a saree! ... You are the Vice President... you should have atleast worn a business suit... you would have looked splendid in it”, said her mother casting a dissaproving glance in her direction.‘Maa pronounces the title 'Vice President' as if it is the Vice President of India or America.’Megha burst out laughing...Why does every mother strive to make her child look beautiful?Irregardless of the fact that she was a successful professional, a mother would always be a mother.“Maa! I am the vice president of a consultancy firm ,SWC & Co, not of a country for god’s sake.” she smiled sweetly looking at her mother.“Whatever it is, you got the award... So, you are the best... No one gets such big industry awards, so why don't you want to dress up for that occasion? The reflection of that post should be there in the way you dress" Her mother explained.“Maa...we will decide that later...right now, I am very hungry...I left the party and ran home for all of you..so please, let's eat” Megha insisted.It was necessary to divert her attention before her mother began her patented never-ending lecture on Megha’s inexistent dressing sense.“Yes! Yes! I wasn’t born yesterday, Megha ... I know very well how you avoid the topic"Megha bit her tongue and looked towards her father with a pleading look as if saying with her eyes, 'Please, baba, let me out of maa's clutches'.Baba was sitting on the sofa looking at their incessant arguments... This was nothing new...'Megha's dress... Megha's untimely eating habits... Megha's office work... Megha's hectic life... Megha doesn't listen to me at all'. The list for the topic of srguments was perpetual."Baba, look at the photos... Maa, you too" Saying this, Megha forwarded the ceremony’s photos on WhatsApp to Baba, in a desperate attempt to keep her mother occupied for alteast 10 minutes ... But she realized that by doing so, she had just invited another lecture on how her peculiar saree stood out among the numerous fashionable suits.Arya was now busy watching videos and photos of the ceremony on their mobile phones as Maa also joined them. Megha busied herself in answering the congratulatory messages and calls on her office phone."Mumma, everyone is so cool!... What a big banquet hall!... there are so many people... Mumma, I will also come with you next time... I want to meet everyone and talk to Gupta Aajo and Akshay uncle too,” Arya pleaded.Hearing that Gupta sir had been bestowed the title ‘Aajo’ by Arya, Megha giggled.... ‘That 'Purab' is not ready for marriage and Aarya has directly declared Gupta sir as Aajo but after all, if I am Gupta sir's daughter, then why not?"Ok Baccha, next time, I will take you too... My office colleagues want to meet you too. In fact, now that the exams are over and the holidays have started, come to my office one day, to see how Mumma works." said Megha, planned a tiny vacation for her little angel."Mumma, I know that you are a very strict boss. I have heard you on calls, scolding everyone ,’Finish the presentation quickly’ .... ‘No silly mistakes in the report , please’ just like our science teacher ,Miss Malini” Arya mimicked Megha, a wide smile glowing on her face."Just like you school stduents, we have a few lazy members who I have to shout at. I am their Miss Megha mam, just like your teacher" She patted Arya gently causing her to giggle.“Megha, look at the beautiful evening gown the girl who gave you the prize is wearing and you just had to wear this silk saree.”Megha's mother was mostly busy observing the attire of everyone in the photo...In the entire banquet hall, there were only five or six women including Megha and the host and as she was the only one wearing a saree, the ‘Sari or Suit’, mother – daughter debate competition was bound to begin.However, what surprised Megha the most was that her mother, a retired mathematics professor, who had always worn a saree in her 30-year-old career, was now teaching Megha the importance of western clothing.“Maa ... I'm quite happy with my sarees ... If you want to wear a business suit for your maths lessons, you should ... Baba won't say anything ... What do you say, Baba?” Megha gently massaged her mother’s hand and secretly winked at Baba.“Oh, god! ... I was just a poor commoner... Who am I to stop her ?... How dare we go against the wishes of the Home Minister!” Saying this, Baba hid his head behind his book in order to avoid the enlarged eyes and raised eyebrows of his wife.Arya laughed out loud, probably picturing how her grandmother would look in a business suit.“By the way, Megha, the girl who gave you the prizes look very young as if she has just finished college. Why did she give you the prize? Shouldn’t they have called some famous person to present such a prestigious award?”As soon as her Maa’s words reached her ears, Rajiv Mehra's face floated in front of Megha's eyes. The gray suit, the white shirt and the gray tie. His striking face. However, his faint smile and dark brown eyes were what remained deeply ingrained in Megha’s mind.They may have seemed sable black from a distance, as if devoid of all colour, but she had seen them closely, very closely, gazing deeply into her own.The haphazard look in his eyes while picking up his fallen mobile phone. The same eyes which shone with surprise while looking at her gracing the stage with her presence.That peculiar shade of cedar brown that stood out amongst the dense blackness.. Perhaps that’s why his eyes always appeared so calm and intense at the same time like a profound soul castiing a attractive and engrossing gaze.As the realisation hit her that she remembered each and every tint of his eyes, she closed her eyes tightly in annoyance and sighed angrily.To be continued....© ®️ Meghna_Yadav 2021Special thanks to friend Gayatri....and Loving Daughter Rutu....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...