Unfazed

46. Wheels Of Time (Rohini)

(Image: Harsh and Dev as Infants)

The hero and heroine had just reconciled after a terrible break in their relationship - in the Bollywood movie Ganesh and I had been watching after he got home a couple of hours ago. When the sound of the gate opening and the arrival of a car made me expect Dee and Harsh, I was surprised that the doorbell rang instead. Looking through the peephole in the door, I was shocked to say the least, to see a dishevelled Deven standing outside.

Fumbling with the lock before finally throwing the door open, my first question was, "Deven.. Beta - is everything okay? Where is Deeksha?", the worry lacing my voice, evident.

"She's okay Ma - she's still in the café with Sneha and Alana," came the voice of my beloved son, walking up the couple of stairs that led to our door. "Oh lord. You scared me for a second there," I sighed, letting them into the house.

Both of them voiced their greeting to Ganesh whom I had brought up to date on all the events of the day, until Harsh had dropped me home to head to the café with the other kids. If I knew anything about my husband of over two decades, he was more than surprised at Deven's presence in our house - but of course, that would be the last thing he would voice out.

Deven and Harsh headed straight for the dining room and before I could ask what was going on, Deven turns around and says "I'm sorry Ma." Before I can process what is happening, he has already turned around in lightning speed and punched Deven across the face.

"Owwww", howls Deven while I scream something incoherent. Almost instantly, Deven also shoves Harsh backwards and by then, I have come back to my senses and wasting no time, I say, "Enough! Both of you!!" before it gets out of hand.

They stop and throw me very guilty looks and are quiet while I continue hearing the booming of my heartbeat in my ears. "I'm sorry Aunty - Harsh is right. I deserved it," offers Deven but it is of no help.

"Both of you, out of the house and in the garden, NOW", I say and by then, even Ganesh is in the room. Sure enough, such a commotion is enough to rouse even a tired financial analyst from his "Rest" on a Sunday evening.

"Roh - you're handling this, no?" he asks and when I give him a stern nod, he knows better than to question me further. As he walks back to resume watching the movie, I parade Harsh and Deven out of the house saying, "The two of you aren't entering the house until you've made peace."

And just like that, Harsh and Deven are no longer 'the fine young men the society looks up to'. To me, they are the same silly teenagers who fought over video games and friend-circles. The friends who were like brothers. The brothers who would go to the ends of the world to save the other. Maybe it is time they remember it too.