Kolhapur Chronicles

17. progression

"Vahini we are back."

The entire family had gathered in the hall room ready to eat pakodas. Raghav and Pallavi instantly went to freshen up before Vahini would be back with the pakodas. Pallavi went to the bathroom first while Raghav lay down on the bed, facing the ceiling fan which was rotating as always. There was a serene feeling of calmness engulfing him. On any other day, his mind would be stuck in a thousand thoughts, the memory of 10 years ago playing in the background somewhere, the image of the design he is sketching currently flashing in his mind every 10 seconds: reminding him of the changes to be made, a random song which he heard from somewhere ringing in his head and the constant urge to break something or punch someone in the face steady in the background.

But today it was different.

His mind had shut down all its tabs and was repeatedly showing her image in front of her, along with the four most beautiful words he had ever heard in his life. I forgive you Raghav. Damn, that sounded so good. Raghav felt instant regret because he did not record her saying it so that he could listen to it all day long, but seeing the dedication of his brain which was making him remember how those four words sounded every four seconds, he knew a recording wasn't needed. He was not going to forget this anytime soon.

Never.

He is never going to forgive how it felt. Maybe the stars knew that Pallavi would forgive him for sure hence they created the perfect atmosphere with the help of their friends i.e the clouds and the winds so that this moment remained pasted in his head till the day his brain loses its ability to think or retain memories. The stars may also know beforehand how the confrontation would take place hence they made the clouds cover the sky at that time so that the impact of her words was more on him. He chuckled at himself, The Raghav Rao agreeing on the fact that his fate was known by the stars and then proceeding to make the stars and the clouds friends to help plan the weather?

This is all because of Angel.

She has made him watch a new movie every single day, half of which are made by Disney. And Disney always makes nature talk and enhances their friendship with humans. Every single film he watched with her had a talking plant or an animal. But it is so amazing. He never thought that there would be a day when he would lie on the bed carefree, happy with the fact that he watched Disney movies.

The best decision he took in his entire life was to come here to Kolhapur.

No, the best decision he made was to marry the most beautiful woman to ever exist on this planet and the ones surrounding it, but the way it was taken was entirely horrible. Also, the fact that his marriage is hanging loosely by a single thread, and today he just gained forgiveness and not the reassurance that she will spend the rest of her life with him makes it hard to declare his marriage as the best decision, because it has so many open ends. Whereas in Kolhapur, everything has been nothing but beautiful.

The way his perspective has spread to a broader spectrum, making him realise that the world cannot be seen as just black and white. It is grey too, and that doesn't define a person entirely. Our choices define us. How every single detail of our life, and the lives surrounding us are dependent on the choices we make every single day and that is what matters. No one should justify why they chose to be themselves, because the decisions we make for ourselves- good or bad, are entirely our responsibility. Kolhapur has made him realise the importance of such small choices. A smile passed to the kaka on the street, a piece of advice to the teenagers who come every alternate day asking how to be successful, a phone call of Farhad answered with a happy tone, a message to Farhad when he doesn't get time to call, a helping hand to Vahini every single time he realised she can be helped, the movie nights with angel where he purposely picks movies she likes, the everyday temple visits with Aaji, the two lined conversations with dada which enhance his outlook on every topic to exist, small help and acceptance of his mistakes in front of Pallavi are what make him a better person than how he was in Hyderabad.