Reborn to love

Kuch Bold and Naya

Part 4

Preeti picked out one of her personal favourites that Naina loved so much, a deep midnight blue satin salwar suit adorned with white sequins embroidered on the neckline, hemline and cuffs on the wrist-length sleeves. She styled her long hair in a simple French braid and completed the look with kajal and strawberry gloss. If Naina worked hard to look a plain jane, Preeti didn't have to work hard to make her look ethereal. When she checked herself out in the only mirror attached to an age old Godrej cupboard in the corner of their humble dwelling, she couldn't believe that she was beautiful in her own simplicity. Preeti made sure to not deck her up as it was so much drilled into her by Chachiji to appear inconspicuous all the time that she had no enthusiasm left to make an effort to look pretty. What she didn't realise was that she didn't need to make that effort.

Both sisters smiled. Preeti being herself, "uff...agar main ladka hoti aur teri behen na hoti...toh paka tujhe aaj hi bhaga le jaati!"

Naina blushed hard as no one had ever complemented her except her cute little sister. "Tu toh jadugarni hai Preeti...tu ne toh mujhe bhi sundar bana diya!" Naina commended her abilities.

"Arre behen, yeh parlour ki training kab kaam aayegi?"

With least interest in studies, Preeti had negotiated her way throughout school by buttering teachers and sometimes smooth talking them into grace marks or offering free eyebrow and head massage services since class 8 in the girls school that they studied for 14 years from KG to class 12. At other times, she had befriended more than half the school in all standards with her same abilities and some more free eyebrow services so that she could easily peek in her neighbours answer sheets.

Finally, after class 12, she put forth her wish of being a stylist in front of her mother and earned a tight slap and a lot of emotional blackmail.

"Main itni mazdoori karti hoon ki raat din ka muh bhi nahi dekhti taaki meri dono betiyan achche se padh likhakar kuch ban jaaye...aur tujhe padhna nahi hai!" Bela had yelled during one of her rare outbursts.

She was a calm soul and a patient parent but at times like these, she was angry worrying about her future.

"Par Mummy, mujhse padhayi nahi hoti! Mujhe toh bachpan se hi stylist banna tha."

Before she earned another slap, Naina intervened and stood as a shield for her dear sister, "Chachiji, please gussa mat kijiye...Preeti ki baat toh sun lijiye. Shayad woh kuch aur karna chahti hai."

"Bhagwan jhooth na bulvaye beta, par padhegi nahi toh aage kya karegi? Chal maan liya ki yeh woh hmmm esti...isti...hmm" "Stylist" "haan...wahi...banna chahti hai. Par maan lo ki kal uska kaam nahi chala, toh bina padhayi likhayi ke naukri kaun dega, for meri tarah mazdoori karni padegi...beta main nahi chahti ki jo musibatein maine jheli hai apne jeevan main, tum logon ko dekhna pade..." Bela was exasperated and felt defeated with the wrath life threw at her at all times and she slumped on the chair.

"Chachiji..." Naina came forward and sat on her knees and held her hands.

"Chachiji, please royiye mat! Main aapka dukh samajhti hoon. Aur achchi tarah jaanti hoon ki hume koi takleef na ho iske liye aap din raat mehnat karti hai. Par aapko bhi samajhna hoga ki Preeti wahi sabse achcha kar paayegi jismein uska mann lagta ho. Aur aap jaanti hai ki uska mann kahan lagata hai. Mere paas ek upay hai jisse aap donon ke mann ka hoga."

Chachiji looked at her skeptically with tearing eyes and Naina provided her solution, "Dekhiye Chachiji, din mein Preeti mere saath college jayegi aur fir dopahar ko college ke baad apni parlour ki training pe. Din mein padhayi karegi aur shaam ko apna sapna poora karegi".

It got Chachiji thinking but ahe still had her doubts, "par Naina, Preeti waise hi padhayi nahi karti, dou dou cheezein karegi toh fail ho jayegi".