ThE inFaMoUS LoVe StOrY

CHAPTER-1

The Punishment

Kritika's pov

"But why?This is not fair.You are trying to merge my professional life with personal.I don't like it",I almost cried while trying to convince Miss Khanna,my boss to not punish me for not attending her house warming function.

"Okay fine. I'm your boss,I order you. Do as I say!!You are coming with me on this tour, it will be fun and not even a worthy punishment"she did that wierd thing with her eyeballs almost yelling at me.

"You understand right?I'm a crime journalist,I write articles related to crime and you want me to interview celebrities.....huh!! That's not my job not my genre,find someone else who could do it",I retorted.

"Look beta,I had an entire team ready to do this but one member backed out in the last moment, someone has to fill in right?I don't have substitutes to fill in.You know how important these "BIG"events are and plus this is happening for the first time in India.International artists from all over the world are going to perform in the four metro cities,you don't understand the opportunity that you are getting and you think it is demeaning your work.You write articles right?I need detailed report of everything you observe and then we will publish it,Don't you think it's similar to your work?Coming to interviewing them,you are confident and have got communication skills,you will nail that too.Don't worry. Work apart we will travel together,do some clubbing,we will go sight seeing, shopping and what not.Honey,trust me we'll have fun and now your duty is calling on you.Please fill in,"she tried convincing me and sort of linked it with my emotions on duty so that I would not refuse.

"Okay,I agree to come with you but you gotta help me alright,I need to prepare for that dammned interview and you know what I have no idea on who I'm gonna interview",I asked for her help.

I had no idea on international artists and their stuff,I was pretty much stuck to Indian art forms.I had to do a lot of research and prepare so many questions for the interview.This was not even restricted to one artform,there were singers,dancers,poets,magicians, writers,painters and the list went on and on.That was a stressful night,I couldn't sleep out of anxiety.I requested Miss Khanna for a mock interview but there was shortage of time to have one.But for her,I would have never got myself prepared for this.She helped me to sort my entire life and now here I'm as her employee.Strange enough!
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A little history

I spent 17 years of my life in Patiala with Miss Radhika Khanna,she was my guardian back then.During the initial days,her network was restricted to punjab and then eventually she picked up pace and this network was spread in the entire nation.She became the top journalist of the modern times,a living example of women empowerment and most importantly my role model.I grew up watching and believing her and developed a sort of daughterly affection towards her.I owe my entire life to her cause she is the one who raised me.

Back in 1999,my father passed away in a disastrous train accident and my mother couldn't bear this loss and had to go through trauma,she became mentally sick.She had a massive heart attack after my father's death and my dad's little savings were spent on her treatment.I don't remember those events,I was only 3 but I remembered missing my father for days and I expected he would return one day but it never happened.

Miss Khanna happened to be our neighbour during those days.She lived along with her husband who divorced her later.She looked after me when my mom was in hospital,she taught me to draw, dropped me to school and packed my breakfast.Though she was highly educated, she couldn't have a job due to orthodox restrictions imposed on her by her husband. She took a stand for herself and divorced him to follow her passion in journalism.My mom was not financially stable to raise me and put me in a good school.Naturally she wanted the best for me and she felt no one can look after me like Radhika aunty.Legally I was still her daughter but Radhika aunty was the one who raised me.So after 10th grade,I was sent back to Mumbai for high school,I was a scholar and so the government sponsored for my higher studies that I completed in mumbai staying with my mother.Working now,I share Radhika aunty's flat in Delhi.