IBTIDAA ابتدا

eight

" Saifu nahi!" Gulaisha warned her son from jainamaaz where she was hurriedly finishing her prayers.

" Ammi, Yaasu bhook lagi " Saifaan justified his action and continued doing what he was in the process of.

Gulaisha sprang up from her place, her namaaz left halfway as she held her older son's hand that was trying to feed his baby brother a biscuit! Her Yaaseen was only four months old for Allah's sake!

" Ammi, Yaasu rou raha" Saifaan pointed out to her.

" Yaasu bhook lagi hain" he repeated again.

He had seen his mother feed his baby brother whenever he cried and since she was praying then and his brother was crying his lungs out, Saifaan decided to intervene and help his mother out.

" Beta woh bohot chhota hain aur sirf doodh peeta hain. Aap ussey biscuits tab khilaana jab woh aap jitna bada hojayega, theek hain?" Gulaisha patiently explained to her son while rocking a now quiet Yaaseen.

" Theek hain" Saifaan slumped his shoulders in defeat not understanding the logic behind it but since his mother said it, it has to be right.

" Ammi namaaz?" Saifaan's eyes caught his mother's abandoned prayer mat and he immediately sat on it, repeating what he had seen his mother do.

Gulaisha sighed in relief and felt the familiar wave of love that rises inside her, everytime she looks at her sons. Her Saifu was two years and a few months old now and a very happy and active baby. Her Yaasu however would just sleep all day, not taking interest in anything that his brother did and she didn't mind it one bit. It was one less hurricane to tame!

" Aap yaha mere paas baithe, aur Yaasu ko kuch nahi khilaana" Gulaisha came back hurriedly from the kitchen when she had remembered that she had forgotten to switch off the gas and now the milk had reduced to almost half the quantity.

She finished her prayers and started reciting the Quraan, her one eye always on her boys. She felt a little body crawl in her lap and immediately her face morphed into a soft smile. Her Saifaan. She held the paara with one hand and caressed her baby boy with the other, kissing his head in between.

Just then her little boy started crying again and she shut the paara and kept it on the table, also trying to put her older son down who was now drowsy but refused to cooperate.

" Ammi godh mein sona" Saifaan held onto his mother's waist tightly when she tried putting him down.

" Saifu mujhe Yaasu ko dekhna hain. Aap yaha Diwan par sou jaayein" Gulaisha frantically tried easing him off her as her baby's cries were increasing in tempo but her elder one wasn't listening to a word.

" Ammi paas sona" he repeated stubbornly, not liking the fact that his mother was choosing his brother over him.

" Saifu zidd nahi karo. Ammi wapas aayegi aapko sulane, abhi aap Diwan par soye" Gulaisha tried to move him again but this time he purposefully hid himself in her bosom and when she tried using force to remove him, Saifaan bit his mother's hand earning a loud shriek from her.

" Saifaan! Foran hi neechey utrein" she used her stern voice and Saifaan moved away from her, his face contorted in visible hurt.

" Bohot naafarmaan hou gaye hain aap. Ammi ki ek baat nahi suntein hain. Maine Abbu se aapki shikayat lagani hain ki aapne Ammi ko kaata" Gulaisha cradled a whimpering Yaaseen, scolding her older son.

She needed her children to be disciplined and tried instilling values at this young age even if that means she has to be the bad guy here.

" Ammi gandi!" Saifaan jutted his lower lip out that was wobbling due to the effort it took to stop his tears that were ready to fall from his big black eyes.