Harmony Of Broken Souls (Complete)

Chapter 1

"This is another room. You can make it your office. It is actually spacious to make it your guest bedroom too.", a man in his 40's says as he shows the house to a couple. 

The husband, a strong medium height man with a nice moustache and receding hairline says,"No. This won't be my office or guest bedroom. This will be a music room for my daughter. What do you say Poonam?" His wife walks behind him. She wears a simple pink chiffon saree, her hair tied into a bun and a diamond studs in her ears. She looks elegant, graceful and young for her age.
"Yes Santosh. She will love this room. There is a balcony here too. Just put a swing for her. She will spend more time here than her own room." Santosh Singh nods his head with a smile on his face.

"This is a very good locality. All good and respectable families live in this area. You won't have any problem.", the real estate agent says. 
Poonam Singh asks,"I have heard some celebrities also live here somewhere. Is it true?"
He replies,"You are new in this city. Mumbai is the Entertainment city. All big celebrities live here. Many celebrities live around this neighbourhood too. Director Abhisek Dubey lives in an apartment two buildings away from here. Actor Shikandar Khan's bungalow is round the corner. And Singer Sidharth Srivastava lives in the bungalow just next to this one. He will be your neighbour if you buy this property. There that one is his house.", he points to a bungalow right across the boundary wall.

Poonam gets excited, "Santosh please buy this property. We will be living next door to a celebrity. Sidharth Srivastava is such a popular singer. He sings so well and he looks so handsome. You know he is single too."
Santosh says,"Poonam, stop it now. We are not here to discuss Sidharth or make him our son-in-law. Rajender ji get the papers ready. We will buy this bunglow."

"Sana! Where are you?", asks Poonam. She finds her in the music room, arranging the musical instruments. A mattress has been placed on the floor. On it lies the harmonium. A piano is placed on the side of the room. There are guitars on the rack of different sizes and styles and a violin. There is an open shelf where there are a number of trophies and framed certificates. And on the wall hangs various hand paintings.

Shehnaaz, lovingly called Sana is a 24 year old girl. She is short, fair and beautiful. In a simple white salwar suit and braided hair, she looks alluring. As the only daughter of Santosh Singh and Poonam Singh, she is the apple of their eyes.

Poonam goes inside and says,"Sana how many times will you arrange everything? Let's go and eat now."
A sweet smile is stuck on her face as she looks at her mother and nods her head. Coming closer, she holds her mother's arm and both go out to the dining room. 

The maid Kumudi puts the casserole on the dining table outside.
Poonam says,"Kumudi make chapatis."
She starts serving curry on her daughter's plate, as she keeps talking about random things. Kumudi comes back with hot chapatis.
She asks,"Should I serve them?" After getting a nod from Poonam, she serves her and goes near Sana and puts one chapati on her plate. She then asks,"Should I give another one didi?"
Sana shakes her head to say no.
Kumudi looks at her and after little inhibitions she asks,"Madam, if you don't mind, can I ask you something?"
Poonam waits for her question after saying,"What?"
"Why does Sana didi not say anything? I have seen her staying quiet. She only nods her head to say yes or no. Why?", she asks.

Sana stops eating and looks at her mother. Her mother too has stopped eating. She has tears in her eyes by now. Sana puts her hand on her mother's hand and smiles at her. 
Poonam wipes her eyes and says, "Sana can't talk. She has lost her voice."

Sidharth returns home around midnight. He opens the door of his bedroom and throws the bag on the floor and his jacket on the bed. He sits down there with his head on his hands. He closes his eyes and a lone tear escapes. He gets up and goes to the rack where his awards are kept. He runs his hand over them.

There is a photograph of his father on the wall. His father, once a well-known music director and singer, is not there today with him. His father was his teacher, his mentor who always guided him. Today he is alone making his own decisions after he left them for the heavenly abode, 3 years ago. He stands in front of it and stares at his face, looking for some answers. 

"I know Dad, you wanted me to sing quality songs. But to get popular I didn't care. I didn't care then..", he pauses.
"Am I doing alright now Dad? Are you proud of me? Dad, I am singing to bring happiness on people's faces. Just like you wanted. I can see the smiling faces, when I sing Dad. This is what you wanted. Right Dad? I sing my songs, the original songs only..I am doing everything that you wanted. Please say you are not angry with me anymore. Please say you are proud of me...please."
"Dad, I am scared now. What will happen when I won't be able to.. Will I survive? I don't know what I should do. I am trying to stay strong. Putting on a brave face, smiling all the time when I am around Mom. But from the inside, l am dying every second. Dad, I am scared. I am really scared."

Sidharth breaks down as tears flow out of his eyes. He kneels down covering his face with his palms. And then he hears a music. Someone is playing piano. The tune is new and so refreshing. The keystrokes are extraordinary. He had heard a similar tune a few days back. He remembers now. He wanted to find out who was the musician but he had left for Pune the very day for a show. 

The music is so soothing. He closes his eyes, trying to hear it, trying to feel it. Unknowingly he starts to swing his head slowly to the music. He gets up and starts moving towards the balcony. He opens the door and a soft breeze blows towards him, touching his cheek. He moves towards the railing, drawn to the source of the music. The music is coming from the bungalow next to theirs. All he sees is a balcony where there is a swing chair. The door to the balcony is closed but lights are switched on. 

Sidharth rushes inside and picks up his guitar. He takes it to the balcony and starts playing as per the tune. He starts humming too as he jams with the piano artist. The atmosphere of the area suddenly changes. Sidharth could feel as if he is talking to the other person through the music. He forgets his pain, his fear and gets lost in this exuberant feeling. They finally end the tune at a high note.

Sidharth is breathing heavily at the end of the jamming session. He tries to peek at the balcony on the other side of the boundary wall, in an attempt to see the pianists. But it is difficult for him to see. Then the light goes off. He takes a step back and puts the guitar on the side. 

This feeling of getting lost in the music is not new to him. He had felt it way back when he used to perform with his father. The shows he used to attend with his father were akways like this. But all these years, this feeling had got lost. He found it again today with an unknown person. He starts to laugh like a child. He has found his inspiration again, he has found his music again. It is speaking to him and he is now ready to put words into them. He rushes inside and takes out his song note and starts writing the lyrics to this tune, grinning from ear to ear.