Ek Premkatha

Chapter 1 : Uttar Pradesh?(I)

At Rishikesh, uttarakhand:

Kaira's pov,

I was standing across ganga river,the rhythmic flow of the sacred Ganges River, flanked by towering mountains, created an atmosphere of profound tranquility. The gentle chanting of pilgrims and the soothing sound of temple bells add to the meditative ambiance.

I was counting the money I earned today by guiding the tourists about the tourist place. I stopped counting the money and looked back to see the boat starting to move so I shouted them to wait for me,"Moti bhaiya wait!"

I ran through the stairs to catch up with them when I saw a group dancing uttarkhand's traditional dance so I stopped on my tracks moved back and joined them. I danced with them while showing them a little of rajasthani dance which they imitated.

I moved forward and saw a man giving his child two ice creams while he already had one so I took the ice creams from him and gave to the poor children sitting behind them in stairs. I smiled to them and flying kiss to the child as the man gave me thumbs up and smiled too.

Finally reaching, As I set my foot on the boat the Flowers fell from the tokri due to my impact of setting my foot in boat. The delicate petals of flowers fell on me as I twirled around happily. The petals falling and me twirling maked a cheerful atmosphere around.

As of me feeling really happy and cheerful today, I saw a newly Wed lady sitting in the middle of seat of boat wearing a ghoonghat. So I came sat facing her and opened her ghoonghat and praised her beauty by making gestures. I teased her husband about getting a really pretty wife.

I sat beside them and took their phone to click a picture with them and gave back after clicking. I sat on another seat so I can dip my hand in the river.

As I dipped my hand in the river, I felt the coldness of it and due to the surrounding air I felt a soothing relief in my skin. The river's flow mighty gently tug at my hand creating a sense of connection to the moving water.

I dropped my head back and rested my shoulders on the edges of the boat. I saw some devotees playing manjeera so I went to them and took it and played it myself dancing in the devotional tune.

The atmosphere was of serenity. The majeera's metal plates felt cool to the touch. The instrument produced vibrations that resonated through my fingers and hands. I gave back the majeera to them and touched their feet for blessings. I moved and stood on the top of the boat and shouted,"Ganga maiya ki!".

Everyone shouted after me,"jai!"

At Goenka's house in udaipur, rajasthan :

Author's pov,
Kaira's mother, Aishwarya Goenka suddenly jolted out from her sleep. She was gasping and breathing heavily. She looked outside the window of the room to notice that it was already morning.

She looks around the room and sees kaira's cardboard photo and leaves the bed to come closer to the cardboard photo of kaira. She takes a flower crown from beside the desk and places it on kaira's cardboard photo.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she says,"where are you kaira? Why did you leave your mother? Why did you leave so far that you didn't even looked back and turned once?",She says looking at Kaira's cardboard photo where she was smiling, now a distant memory.

"Please come back. I promise that I will never leave you by myself. Please listen to your mother. I know that one day my voice will definitely reach you and you will come back", she says while crying and remembering kaira and her memories.

"But when will that day come? I'm tired,I have been waiting for so many years",she felt lost and alone, her heart aching with every breath.

Aishwarya's thoughts swirled with memories of kaira's laughter, her bright eyes, and her gentle touch. She longed to hold her close, to feel her warmth, and to whisper words of love in her ear.