Raghvi : The Game of Destiny

1.

It was nearly midnight and the sky was in a perfect navy blue shade with full moon shining in its entire glory. The roads were nearly silent with no trace of any living being except for a small girl who was still waiting with a hope of getting a customer for the sindoor that she was selling. Her eyes instantly filled with hope as soon as she saw a lady in a saree walking from the other end of the road. Excited that she will finally be done with the last sindoor bottle of the day, the girl ran towards the lady only to see her wearing a white Saree. All the hopes that she had went in drain and started walking aimlessly hiding the sindoor bottle in her hand so that the lady doesn't feel bad.

Pallavi, who was returning home after a long, tiring day at work got confused at the sudden change of emotions on the girls face and went upto her to ask if she was okay or there was something wrong. The girl just nodded in negative indicating that there was nothing to worry about. Convinced with the girls reply, Pallavi started walking only to realize that she had broken her scandals. While Pallavi tried fixing her scandals, the girl went away. As the girl ran, a car stopped with a jerk just in front of her. Two men came out to see if the girl was doing okay and if they had not accidently hit her. On inquiring further about why she was roaming alone on the streets instead of being at home, they got to know that she was here to sell the last bottle of sindoor that she had.  One of them bought the bottle and handed her a two thousand rupee note, making her happy.

"Anna, aapne yeh sindoor khareed liya? Kahi shaadi karne ki planning toh nahi?" His assistant asked playfully.

"Farhad, I am Raghav Rao. Mein aur shaadi matlab paani aur tel ke jaisa hai jo kabhi mix nahi ho sakta. Yeh sindoor toh mein woh bacchi ke liye khareed liya kyunki mein kisi bacche ko sad nahi dekh sakta. Warna mereko iska kya jaroorat! Jitna ladies log life mein hai, unko nahi sambhal paa raha mein. Ek aur aa gaya toh mera sar pe baith ke nachega woh." Raghav said throwing the sindoor backwards. Without caring about it much, he asked Farhad to start the car and head towards RR Mansion. The sindoor that he had thrown landed on Pallavi who just got up after fixing her scandals. The red color covered her entire Saree and some parts of her hair. Before Pallavi could process the entire situation, Raghav had left the place. Pallavi tried running behind the car but, of no use as the car had already left. Looking at the Charminar and her Saree for one last time, she started walking towards her home.

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After reaching his Mansion, Raghav directly entered his washroom to get a shower to relax himself. After a relaxing shower, he sat down in his bar drowning all his sorrows in the whiskey that he was drinking. Another day, another insult by his Amma, something that he was used to but, still couldn't help but, feel bad about it. As he took the next peg of whiskey, he wondered why God was being unfair to him.

"Hey Venkateshwara!! Why only me? Why does nobody care for me? Everyday, Every single day, I try to talk to Amma. Why does she not listen to me? Why does she not believe me for once?! For how long will I stay alone in this big Mansion? It's been ten years now. How long am I supposed to wait?Just because I don't show my emotions, doesn't mean that I don't have them. Even I feel bad when Amma insults me everyday, when Keerti treats me like a complete stranger and when they make me realize that I am no longer a part of their family. I want my family back. I can't bear this loneliness, Venkateshwara. I can't." Raghav mumbled as he took the last peg of whiskey and slept in the bar itself.

Farhad who had come back to return Raghav's laptop heard him talking to Venkateshwara and felt bad looking at his condition. He had been with his Anna for the past seven years and knew him in and out. He knew how lonely his Anna was and how much he craved for love and care. 

"Hayee Allah!! Mere Anna ke life mein khushiyaan wapas bhej de. Kab tak woh aise tadpenge? Koi toh aisa ho jo mere Anna ko samjhe aur unse mohabbat kare. Meri bass yahi dua kabul kare. Ameen."