Yuhn Hota Toh Kya Hota- Rikara FF

Chapter 7

Omkara hated this. This....all these people quickly wrapping up their business, and running helter-skelter. The temple environs were full of people picking up all their belongings, their years of hard work and blood and sweat, loading it onto carts and scurrying away.

Omkara knew that law was on his side. The land belonged to the Thakurs. Kali Thakur's forefathers had granted the land to the community, for developing a temple related environment. For whatever reason, Kali Thakur had decided not to upkeep that informal agreement, that is between him and his dead forefathers. Omkara was completely on the right side of the law, to buy the land from Kali. 

Yet, he felt guilty. He feared seeing accusations in the eyes of the people. But instead he saw something worse, he saw fear. These villagers were sneaking glances, but they quickly looked away when they caught his eyes. They were scared of him, scared of the person who was snatching away their source of employment. And Omkara was also scared of looking at them directly. 

Omkara wore his shades, hoping to avoid seeing them and hide his true feelings. He hated this "business". He wished he got some other deal to crack. But he had a hunch that whichever business deal he would work on would involve moral sacrifices like these. Maybe Mr.Oberoi purposely chose this deal, to see whether his son could really live up to his words of becoming a businessman. Omkara could not retreat, for his mother, it was essential that he completes this deal successfully. This was his first task, he had to succeed at it. He kept on repeating Shivaay's words, keep calm, don't involve your heart.

Through the long wall of people leaving the area, suddenly he could make out the outline of a tiny girl breaching that wall and going in the opposite direction, coming towards him. She went to what Omkara assumed was her shop, and started calling out some visitors who had hung back and other passerbys, to buy her products. Omkara didn't have the heart to tell her to stop and vacate the area. So, he beckoned one of Kali's men who was employed to do this, to go and tell her to leave. 

"Chale jaayenge. Pehle hum dus hazaar rupiye kama le, phir dukaan band kar denge. Phir bana lena apna Taj Mahal."(I'll go. Let me just earn ten thousand rupees, then I'll close the shop. Then you can build your Taj Mahal)

Oh so she only wanted some money? Maybe she was facing some emergency, some economic obligation. She just needed the money. 

He gestured that hefty man to step back, especially because he didn't trust Kali's men not to use force, even against a woman. 

He walked up to girl. She seemed nearing Rudy and Soumya's age. She had a lot of threaded and bright bangles on her left hand, which caught Omkara's eyes, because it clashed with the otherwise drab clothes she wore. But he didn't pause to ponder on this artistic anomaly.

"Listen, you girl. I have bought this land, it belongs to my business now. Others are vacating it, you have to vacate it as well." Omkara said seriously, his eyes still hidden behind the shades.

"Zameen khareeda hai, humein naa hi khareeda. (You have both the land, but not me) I'll leave but only after earning the amount I need." she replied.

Her choice of words irritated Omkara. "Listen girl, don't be stubborn." 

"I'm not being stubborn. You are misunderstanding my faith as a tantrum" she replied. 

Faith. It was something Omkara never possessed, because having faith never helped. Believing in the almighty or in people was useless, both disappointed him. He wanted to prove this mouse of a girl wrong.

"You are misunderstanding your obstinacy as faith, which I can break easily." he countered.

"Then break it. You are also here, I'm also here. Lets see what breaks first: my faith or your arrogance." she replied