Malignant Ardor

2. The Chaos of Gadodias

The alarms in the two most noisy rooms of Gadodia Mansion rang in a sing-song tune one after the other. While one was rock music, the other was pop and the mixture gave a splitting headache to the matriarch, Sharmistha Gadodia. "These kids will never grow up Shekhar!" She complained to her husband, Shekhar Gadodia. Before he even responded, she knew it was in vain. He pampered both his children to the max fulfilling their every demand.

"Mishti, without the alarm they would not wake up today."

Sharmistha closed her eyes and sent a shout, "Swara, Lakshya! Shut those alarms right this minute!"

Silence. The alarms were snooze only to ring after 5 minutes. As she geared up for another shout her mother took the call. "Aye Swaru, Lucky! Will you get up or should I throw puri-halwa in the trash?"

Both ran to the railing and looked down to the dining table. "Puri-halwa? We will be right there in 10 minutes!" They ran to their respective rooms and got ready.

Fifteen minutes later, Swara Gadodia, the eldest child of the Bengali mother and Marwari father, took her place to the left of her father after a short prayer at the mandir. "Good Morning Dida, Ma, Baba."

"Shona, you are the Managing Director of Tunes. Still, you behave like your brother. This is not done." Her Baba chided.

Swara Gadodia, 28, was the youngest music professional to have taken the role of MD in West Bengal. At the age of 25, she took the reins of her family business. She had only one priority - her family. Anything she did was for her family. It was that simple for her. No confusion. No complications.

"Baba, can you please not spoil my day?"

Sharmistha joined them at the table. "Swara, how about you both siblings spoil my morning every single day?"

"Mom, that's not my fault." Lakshya Gadodia, the only son of the Gadodias, defended himself. "If Di sets her alarm to the same time as me, how can you not scold her?"

Lakshya Gadodia, the pampered prince of Gadodia empire, strolled to the dining room. He had little care for his future and lived each day as it came. If there was one person whom he took seriously, it was Swara, his elder sister, because according to him she understood him the best and would go to any extent for him.

"Lucky, clear your ears. Ma is scolding both of us. Just seal your mouth and come enjoy your Puri-halwa."

"Sharmi, let them be! They are just kids." Their Dida said in their support.

This was almost a daily routine for this nuclear family. While the three elders have been successful in teaching Swara and Lakshya the importance of family and cultural values, they couldn't enforce the stringent codes of conduct on their Prince and Princess.

"Shekhar, we have received a proposal for our Lakshya."

"Mom, it's Lucky. And what kinda proposal?"

"Wait, you are thinking of his marriage?" Swara asked.

"No. We just received from a family friend."

Dida asked, "Who's it?"

"Ragini Maheshwari, daughter of Late Durgaprasad Maheshwari of Maheshwari Textiles."

"Shona, have we heard of them before?" Shekhar asked.

"I have never!" answered Swara with a shrug. "What's your opinion, Ma, Baba?"

"Looks like a good alliance," commented Shekhar.

"As long as she can handle our live wire, the girl seems well cultured." Sharmistha passed the picture to Swara.

"Let me see. She looks quite reserved. Maybe we can find out a bit more about who they are." suggested Swara.

"Good idea, Di. Please make sure she is not the boring types like your..."

Swara's coffee cup halted in mid-air. Sharmistha gave a slight shake of head stopping Lakshya from saying that one name which hurt Swara till date.

Swara finished her breakfast and stood up. She took her phone and patted her brother on his shoulder. "Don't worry Lucky. Your Di is here to worry about all those things."

Before she reached her car, Swara had emailed her secretary the name and photograph to extract more details. She loved her younger brother and if there was another girl coming into his life, that girl needs to be patient enough to understand her brother and his likes.