Dhanyawaad ( An Anidita Story )

Ch.1 Anirudh is provoked!

*LONDON*
The room is full of young bachelors, enjoying the night, after their graduation ceremony. The men dressed in tuxedos and women in pretty gowns and dresses making it look almost like a prom. Amidst the hustle, someone makes entry on the stage dancing to the music full of joy and energy. His moves attracted the attention of everybody present there. But soon the attention was diverted, of the ladies especially, to his face. Sharp features, a high nose, jawline like a knife, jet black hair, A very handsome man.

The pretty ladies there were mesmerised by the beauty of this tall young Indian man and joined him for the dance.

After the dance, he excuses himself and takes a seat on one of the tables when someone approaches him.

"Aur Anirudh babu, aap to pura luft utha rahe hain iss party ka.Thoda dhyaan humpe bhi de dijiye gold medalist Barrister babu."

"Arey Salim, kaisi baat kr rhe ho. Mein tumhe kaise bhul sakta hu mere dost."

" Janaab, samne itni sundar haseenaye khadi ho to, dost kaha yaad rehta h aur vaise bhi yaha pe maujood har ek ladki to aaj fida ho hi chuki hain ap par. Lekin in sab ko kya pata ki humare Anirudh Babu to apna dil meelon door hindustan m chhod aaye hain."

Anirudh gets shy and smiles.

"Par anirudh kamse kam apni mohabbat ke baare m kuch to bata do. Ye to jaanta hu main ki tum apne purse m uski photo liye ghoom rahe ho. Beech beech me photo dekh ke muskuraate rehte ho. Aisa kya khaas h uss ladki m jo hamare barrister babu ko itna deewana bana diya?"

Anirudh smiles and takes his purse out of his pocket. He opens it and looks at the picture.

"Subah ki pehli dhoop hain, jo na dekha ho kabhi aisa roop hain, aankhon se dekhe to phool khil jaate hain, baal bikhere to moti bikhar jaate hain, nasha aise jaise koi mehangi sharaab hain, meri aadat jo vo kharaab hain.

Sardiyon ki thandi hawa hain, mere dil ki dua hain, saahil se har baal takrati lehar hain, meri zindagi ki saanjh, zindagi ki seher hain. Bas itna samajh lo ki mere jeevan ke rango ka indradhanush hain, Saudamini.",he says while smiling widely, ears red and cheeks flushing.

"Mashallah! Itni mohabbat to tum krte ho in motarma se, lekin itne saal se hindustan nhi gaye. Agar inhone kisi se shaadi kr li hogi to? Itni door se pyaar ka izhaar krne se kuch nhi hoga Anirudh babu."

"Janta hu Salim aur isiliye, Bharat ja raha hu main, Soudamini ko yaha London laane ke liye."

While both the friends are having a chat, Anirudh notices a man misbehaving with a lady at the back, touching her unappropriately. His blood boils at the scene and he gets up from his seat and approaches the man.

"Hey, dance with me young lady!", the man was trying to force the girl , holding her wrist tightly. She is trying to get his hands off but he is stronger than her. Anirudh grabs the man from the back of his collar, pulling him towards his own self. "I see you are so eager to dance. Dance with me. Main sikhata hu tumhe dance kaise hota hain." He yells angrily. He tackles the man around the room and then throws him at the victim's feet." Apologise", he says. The man looks shocked. "English samajh mein nhi aati kya. Maafi maango inse." In the heat of the moment, the foreigner apologises to the woman and leaves the crowd.

As Anirudh is leaving the party, the foreigner calls him." Hey! Stop you Indian man. How dare you disrespect me in my own country?"

Anirudh turns around and looking straight in his eyes says,"maangne pe bheek milti hain samman nhi. Aur main bharateey hu,  isliye mujhe doosro ko samman dena aur samman kaise dia jaata h ye sikhana , dono bohot ache se aate h."

The foreigner fumes with anger and raises his hand to hit Anirudh but is stopped midway.

"Ek aur baat yaad rakhna ham bharteeyon ki. Bhale hi humne duniya ko zero diya hain par agar hume ek doge to hum samman mein dugna lautate hein, kyuki hum auraton ki izzat karte hein unke saath zabardasti nahi."

The foreigner laughs and replies," He is teaching me about auraton ki izzat. Mera father East India Company mein Officer hain. Mein apna poora childhood India mein raha hain. Mein bohot ache se jaanta hain uss gulam desh ko. Waha pe auraton aur animals mein koi difference nhi hein. Infact hum jitna pyaar se apne pets ko rakhta hein, vaha auraton ko to utna respect bhi nahi milta. Mr. Barrister, jis desh ke mahaanta ka tum baat kar raha ho vaha roz auraton ke saath sirf zabardasti hi hota hein. Zabardasti rape hota hein , zabardasti jalai jaati hein. Infact, tum log aurat banne se pehle hi choti bachiyo aur teens ka marriage kar dete ho.
Yaha iss room mein dekho. Ye saari auratein padhi likhi h. They know their rights aur unhe use bhi kar sakti hein par tumhare desh mein women ke paas basic human rights bhi nahi hein. Aur tumne sahi kaha ki tumne world ko zero diya par sabse bada zero tumne diya hain apne hi desh mein women ko. To Mr. Anirudh Roy Chowdhary yaha London mein apne desh ki mahaanta k baare mein badi badi baatein krne se acha hein ki waapas apna desh jaao aur women ke liye kuch karo. Unke rakshak bano , unhe unke rights dilao. Par ye Mr. Anirudh Roy Chowdhary se nahi hoga kyuki ye bhi ek Indian hein and Indians are bloody cowards. Kyun kya kuch galat kaha mene mr.Coward?"

Anirudh stands in his place, shocked and hurt, not by the taunts and mocking of the man but after realising the situation of women in his country. He indeed spent his childhood in India till he was 10 years old but at that time he was too young to understand.

Anirudh left the party and went to his dorm. The man's words were ringing in his ears. He felt helpless as he had no response for the accusations raised by the man on his country. After fighting his inner turmoil, Anirudh made a decision. He will return to India, not to bring Soudamini back to London. No, he will go back to bring change, a revolution. To improve the condition of women in his country. To abolish the nonsensual beliefs of the orthodox society. To help women fight for their rights.

Without knowing, the foreigner had provoked in him a flame, a determination to bring change for good.

P.s: Sorry everybody! My exams were going on due to which I was not able to upload. 🥺🙂
In this chapter you might find many things in common with ep 1 of the show.
As I said, I will try to keep the essence of the story the same- them teaching and supporting each other and growing together. But I have also done changes in the storyline which will interest you.

Look forward to chapter 2 .✨️