Just Roommates

Lost

The haveli was lavish yet basic in so many amenities, the bathroom was grand and luxurious but the room only had a fan, no AC for the summers and No heater for the winters. She'd have to wash all the clothes and utensils by herself, there was no washing machine or dishwasher and Arjun ensured that she was burdened with a lot of things to wash. They had a few servants who take care of the cleaning, mopping, sweeping and cooking, which Diya was so grateful for. Even though she had stayed alone almost all her life and was accustomed to doing household chores, there was a vast difference between doing household chores in 1 bhk house in mumbai and a huge haveli in the village. To add to her discomfort, Arjun had clearly specified that he expected a morning tea at 6 sharp and that the milk had to be brought fresh from the barns. Diya hadn't even touched a cow ever, milking it was a task next to impossible! In the beginning she tried to scam him by using the milk from the previous day but he would know the difference and then have an outburst, sometimes flung things around, all Diya could do was abide by his rules as the contract stated. 

She remembered the first time she went to milk the cow, she was so scared and could barely even touch it, right there, there was a young man cleaning his motorcycle who noticed Diya and offered to help. Ranjit, was his name. He was easy to talk to and helped Diya in milking the cow, teaching her a new trick everyday, "Oh carefully, with all the love and affection" Ranjit would guide her while making baby noises at the cow. 

In the room when the cold air wasn't enough for her and diya missed her AC she would sleep in a spaghetti and boxers, the one time she came down in front of the servants, Arjun had raged at her making it clear that she was to leave the room only in Indian ethnic wear.

Joining the office wasn't great either, she was given a work in the administration that only had to do with entering data. She remembered walking to Arjun's cabinet demanding to do something challening and not something so repetitive and at that moment Arjun shunned her, saying, "Diya, we're not on talking terms, only working terms"

Diya was going crazy, she considered it a waste  of her talents, she could do so many other things, that's what she was good at it, brainstorming!

The village was boring to her, she didn't know any one except Jagat, Simi and ranjit. She couldn't vibe with Simi mainly because Simi was such a devoted housewife and barely understood the kind of atmosphere that Diya came from. 

She hated the food too. It was too desi for her, full of spices, butter and ghee. She could barely tolerate it and would often go hungry. What she liked about the village were the fresh fruits and vegetables. She would often just have them as a meal, raw!

As Diya sat in the canteen of the the Gupta Goenka plant, she noticed how much it was like a steel dabba, she felt trapped but she barely had time to think about a lot of things, the village really was exhausting and the heat as well as the mosquitoes deprived her of a proper sleep. It had been a month since she had come to Rajgreha, She hated her work, she hated the house, she hated the room and she loathed Arjun. Sometimes she thought he was being a prick and sometimes that he deserved to be one. As she took the last sip of the terrible cold tea, she heard an employee sit on the chair that they had just dragged chatting, "Arjun sir hadn't liked a single advertisement idea, he doesn't want to understand only that parents arent willing to send their girls to school! We have two more days till the board meeting here in Rajgreha and he hasn't decided anything!"

This was the perfect opportunity for Diya, here is something khadoor couldn't do on his own, Khadoos was the new name Diya had picked out for Arjun. She quickly threw the cup into the dustbin and ran to Arjun's cabin.

*Knock knocK* 

"Come in" Arjun said unconcernedly as he studied a few files. He looked up and his expression changed as soon as he saw Diya, "Not now Diya, I have too much to deal with, please not now-"