Equm, made sure to lock the door to the bathroom, before he dialed for purvi on his phone. He patiently waited, sliding to the wall, his back relaxed, as he took huge sigh. The ring, as expected, went long, before she picked up.
"kya hai? itna kya utaawle ho rahe ho batane ko?" questioned purvi, as she was in the booth with all the editors and sound guys, making sure everything functions smoothly for the news reader in the studio.
"police ghar aayi hai...nihaal se puch taach karne ke liye usse uthane waali thi par maasi ne rok liya unhe ghar..." informed equm, as purvi was genuinely surprised.
"papa ya tayaji ghar pe hain?" cross-questioned purvi.
"woh toh kabka chale gayein.." replied equm.
"hmm, ghar mein akeli, pareshaan maa ko tang karne ki koshish kar rahe hain..." concluded purvi.
"arre harass lagana na, woh actually ek criminal offence hai...anti-police narrative aur banayega, family ke liye bhi sympathy badhegi." countered equm her statement, as purvi scoffed.
"tum mujhe mera hi kaam sikha rahe ho?" rebuked purvi.
"mata shree aapki na yahi problem hain...arre mujhe apne partner jaisa hi samjho, partners in crime...baaki, payment bhej dena, apni questioning ka joh bataunga uska extra." hung up equm on the call, as purvi didn't even bother to revolt, just signaled her assistant to come.
"oye, teri ama ke mare khi khabar hai kya, itna sad music lagaya hua, sansani case hain, bada font daalo, aur melodrama kam, suspense zayda badhao...chunks mein information do." rebuked purvi to one of the editors and sound guys.
***
a photo flashed in front of the screen, of ACP Abhijeet Mathur, as they labeled in big words, 'a sadist?', 'corrupt?'....and a big flash of the breaking news...
'police harasses mother in jasmine khanna missing case..'
the news reader, with disgust on his face that was so exaggerated, made the seriousness of the headlines, comical.
"ek bechari maa, jiski beti ab 48 ghante se gayab hai...uske ghar mein ghuske uske bete ko arrest karne ki dhamki di jaati hai, badsharam officers, ek aurat ke saath badtameezi karte hain, uske ghar mein akele hone ka faydaa uthate hain...kya yahi hai delhi police ki asliyat...janta ke liye nahi, balki janta ke khilaf..." the anchor at one point seemed to be so loud, that he would break someone's ear canal with even the one decimal of sound he would make.
bani, who was sitting on the floor with her back on the closed door of her bedroom, felt something she had never before. Her mother, was not even a human anymore...but seemed an algorithm, programmed to only work for one thing, her channel's ratings.
***
"abhijeet yeh kya nonsense chal raha hai! tumne apne officers ko ek minor ladke ko uski maa ke saath arrest karne ko bhej diya! tumhara dimaag kharab hai!" yelled the commissioner from the other end of the call, as abhijeet just closed his eyes and slapped his forehead.
"ab pahauncho wahan...main DCP ko bhi bhej raha hoon...dono jaake wahan joh media khadi hai...sab clarify karo..aur bakayada sharafat se wahin puch-taach karo...this is ridiculous, tum mujhe resignation dene ke liye majboor karne mein lage ho!" the commissioner kept on blabbering in anger, as abhijeet angrily looked at the tv, and just threw a paperweight from the table on it.
***
"ji sir, sorry sir...haanji sir, thik....theek hai sir...ok sir." kept pasi the phone down, as he glared at paswan standing right next to him, trying to listen to his call. he moved away , embarrassed , as pasi turned to ishita and nihaal.
"toh, mathur sahab khudh aayenge ab, i suppose.." stated ishita bluntly, glaring at both of them, as pasi nodded.
"toh joh yeh aapne hamara 15 minute time waste kiya hai, uske naate jab tak woh nahi aate, hum apna kaam toh kar hi sakte hain..." declared ishita, as pasi reluctantly agreed.
"good...chalo, nihaal, jao, kamre mein araam karo thoda...hmm.." commanded ishita, lovingly brushing nihaal's hair, as he nodded in agreement, glaring at pasi and paswan himself, before walking away.
"shyam bhaiya!" called ishita, as she got up from the couch, still staring at pasi and paswan, as the servant walked in.
"peladijiye inhe, chaye-coffee jo bhi peena chahte hain, bade door se aayein hain..." remarked ishita, before leaving, dialing for someone on her phone.
***
The stampede continued, dushyant and kavin, were quietly getting out of there, as a man, could see it all from his window, at the top of his ivory tower. he was on the phone, but he didn't have to do the talking, or even move a finger, it was only when his phone started to vibrate, for another call coming his way, did he move it away from his ears. the reflection on the mirror was clear, the contact name flashed 'ishita' on the screen, but he didn't respond, and placed his phone on his ear again, to continue the call he was on...
the door opened, as kavin and dushyant entered.
"what the fuck is this nonsense? minimum wage nahi pay kar rahe ho kya unhe!" exclaimed kavin, as dushyant, just came and sat down on the chair of a well-decorated and lavish office. the man didn't budge though, just moved a finger, to signal of a wait to be done for a minute.
"minimum wage ke protest mein kaun dande lekar aata hai idiot?" questioned dushyant, not raising his voice at all, as kavin just glared at him.
" maine rakha tha uss contractor ko!competent hota, toh humein yahan aana nahi padta..." interjected kavin as he too took a seat.
"koi mar mura gaya hoga, i'm sure...community feeling kuch zyada hi hota hai beekhariyon mein..." contemplated dushyant.
"haan, aur inn logon ko bhadkana kaunsa bada mushkil hai...ek kaam karta hoon, main apne bande ko bhejta hoon, woh kisiko pakadke wahan se pata karein ki saala kaun hai jisko itna shauk hai messiah banne ka..." informed kavin, as dushyant looked back at the man.
"aur tumhe do minute bhi nahi lage architect ka office apna banane mein..." remarked dushyant, as he turned back after hanging up on the call.
***
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
two stories of marriage 2
Fanfiction17 years after their marriage, with all of their children grown up, life seems perfect dushyant, kavin, purvi and ishita. But everything is turned upside down when ishita and dushyant's daughter goes missing on her 16th birthday, but things only go...
