Ishqiya - Chapter 7: Chapter 7
You are reading Ishqiya, Chapter 7: Chapter 7. Read more chapters of Ishqiya.
Sadhana twirled gracefully to the beats of the song, her ghungroos dancing along with her creating a melodious sound as her Anarkali flaunted circling around her. She kept twirling and twirling and stopped in taking the ending position as her chest heaved up and down.
A chorus of claps echoed in the room as the students sitting before her applauded for her. She thanked them smiling brightly. She crouched down and carefully removed the ghungroos.
Removing them, she brought them towards her both eyes and gently kissed them, wrapping them in a cloth she safely placed them in her bag. For her, her ghungroos were her aaradhana, her sadhana, they symbolised the connection she closely felt with Mother Earth while performing.
Dancing was always her passion, she took it upon from her mother, who was a trained classical dancer and later on passed the art to her daughter. Her mother was her guru, who first taught her how to dance. Once she started learning, there was no stopping, and years later she started teaching dance at a local school.
Sadhana always wanted to have a small dance school of her own, but because of some circumstances, she couldn't. She wanted to teach those curious children to dance, so she chose to be a teacher. Nritya was her kala which she wanted to pass on to others as well.
Dancing made her feel at peace, she felt herself flowing in the abyss. It was her love, her devotion, the answer to her every prayer.
"Toh bacchon, aaj ke liye itna hi baaki ka next class meh, thik hai", she spoke as a chorus of loud yes echoed in the room making her chuckle
It was late afternoon when the school finally dispersed and Sadhana stepped out of the premises while talking to her mother on the call.
"Aate vakt sabji le aana aur tere baba ki medicines bhi, aur ha jaldi wapas aa jana andhera hone se phele", her mother instructed to which she replied with an okay
Quickly walking towards the chemist's shop, she asked for the prescribed medicines.
"madam aapke 2,000 ho gye", the boy behind the counter said as he packed the medicines in the typical brown packet and passed it to her
She looked inside her purse and fetched for the few currency notes. She had the total cash of 3,000 rupees. She gulped hard, mentally calculating the expense, when the boy's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she quickly paid the bill and stepped down from the stairs.
Sadhana stared at the 1000 rupees in her hand and a deep sigh left her lips. She was tired, tired of the things happening around her. She never knew living in a middle-class household was so tough, that you need to fight your way against all odds to make your ends meet.
Her family was a typical nuclear middle-class family with her being the only child. It was a prosperous household, her father was a bank manager and her mother a housewife. They were leading a happy life until on a random Wednesday afternoon some goons barged inside the bank where her father was working.
The robbers were armed with weapons and guns and demanded hefty cash along with the password to the bank's safe. Her father being the honest citizen declined and in rage, the leader of the gang shot her father. His spine was badly injured and he had been bedridden since then. Doctors declared that he would never be able to walk.
Her father's disability took a huge toll on their financial condition. Her mother who never stepped out of the house, joined a chocolate factory to earn. She sold all her gold jewellery for medicines and Sadhana too started working when the bank refused to give them any compensation for their loss.
Since then she and her mother have done their best to make ends meet and run the household, from managing every expense to running the house, grocery, finance, and her father's medicine they were together in that and never lost hope. They had each other's back since then.
Sadhana wiped the sweat drop forming on her forehead with her dupatta. She stood under the scorching hot sun debating in her mind since it was the start of April, the sun was at its highest peak. Her throat ran dry and she felt it as dry as sandpaper.
She started at the currency notes defeatedly in her hand and decided to walk back home, since she couldn't afford any transport on her way back, walking was the only preferable option left.
Finally, after the tiresome 30 minutes, which felt like an eternity, she reached the gates of her locality. Her wrist pained because of the heavy vegetable bag she carried. She hurriedly walked towards the stairs to her flat and climbed them.
Reaching her floor, she noticed the door of the flat before they unlocked it, but she ignored it and rang the doorbell of her own home.
Her mother opened the door and took the bag from her hold. Sadhana made a beeline towards the kitchen and drank the water from the earthen pot quenching her thirst. Their fridge wasn't in working condition no matter how many times they informed the operator about it.
Heaving a relieved sigh, she walked to her room and quickly took a refreshing bath, trying to get rid of the tiredness of the day. After the shower, she helped her mother with the dinner.
"So kaisa Raha Aaj na din?", her father asked as she gave him his medicine along with water. "Bohot accha, aapko pata hai Aaj Maine sabhi ko Naya dance sikhaya...", she continued briefing him about her day.
It was their daily thing, every day while giving him medicine she would tell him everything that happened throughout the day. She could see it in his eyes, how much he was hurting on the inside. It pained her to see him in this state. Her father felt guilty, he felt like a burden on this family but alas he couldn't do anything.
Later when Sadhana was getting herself ready for bed her mother entered with a jug of water. Both of them slept in her room, while her father took the master's bedroom, and at night if he needed anything he would just ring the bell kept on the nightstand. Her mother wasn't a heavy sleeper so there wasn't a problem, she was at his aid whenever he needed her.
"Maa, remember Janvi? My colleague from school? She said that her close relative is getting married, and they're looking for a choreography for the Sangeet day", Sadhana said
"So?", her mother confusingly looked at her. "you know na how much these professional choreography charges for a single song, so Janvi asked if I would teach them dance?", she added looking expectantly at her
"So you agreed?", her mother questioned back. "I haven't given it a thought, but the offer sounds so appealing, they're ready to pay 1000 rupees per song and looking at the number of songs they'd be performing it'd be a hefty amount. We can easily afford Baba's medicine and above all the event is after six months so it wouldn't be a problem", she replied, trying to convince her
"You know your baba na Sadhu, he won't agree, you remember right, it was so difficult to convince him for your job, and you don't even know anyone there, so-", her mother put front, deeply in thought
"Don't worry much Ma, they're ready to pay extra since it is a destination wedding. They'll take up all my living and travelling expenses, it's just a matter of a month and the party seems pretty rich, there's nothing worrisome, Janvi is my colleague, she'd be the known person there", she coaxed her mother
"Do as you think is better bacche", her mother replied with a small smile caressing her head she reciprocated.
The ultimate thing she liked the most about her mother was her strong will, no matter how much she was struggling, she wouldn't let it show on her face. She always had that appealing and charming smile on her face, which encouraged her further to fight.
"Accha, you know there's a new tenant living in the flat before ours, he shifted just today", her mother told her while arranging the clothes in the wooden cupboard. "Oh, nice. The flat was on sale for a long time, but since Mr Basu was so notorious because of his bad temper, no one bought it, seems like the one who bought it wasn't aware of it", Sadhana added as both the mother-daughter duo chuckled
"Oh I pity the poor soul, you know, he's the same age as you or older by a year or two. But my my he looks so handsome and charming as if freshly out of college", she appreciated with a dreamy smile
"You are too old to have a boyfriend now Maa, have some pity on my Baba", Sadhana joked only to earn a stinky eye and smack on her bag to which she laughed
"Jokes apart, so you know since he is living here alone, he was searching for a good mess tiffin service, but couldn't find one. So I came up with the ideas and offered him that I could cook for him. Obviously, he'd pay 2000 rupees per month for the three-course meals", her mother shared the news which gained her attention
"And?"
"Well he agreed, so from tomorrow we just need to cook extra breakfast for him with a cup of tea, I'd pack him his Lunch and about dinner, we can just pass on the hot meal since he just lives a door away. 500 rupees for every meal with some occasional side dish, what say?", she finished
"Not bad mother! Bohot accha haat mara hai, vaise bhi Maa toh meri hi ho", Sadhana boosted, "badmash",and both of them burst into laughter.
A chorus of claps echoed in the room as the students sitting before her applauded for her. She thanked them smiling brightly. She crouched down and carefully removed the ghungroos.
Removing them, she brought them towards her both eyes and gently kissed them, wrapping them in a cloth she safely placed them in her bag. For her, her ghungroos were her aaradhana, her sadhana, they symbolised the connection she closely felt with Mother Earth while performing.
Dancing was always her passion, she took it upon from her mother, who was a trained classical dancer and later on passed the art to her daughter. Her mother was her guru, who first taught her how to dance. Once she started learning, there was no stopping, and years later she started teaching dance at a local school.
Sadhana always wanted to have a small dance school of her own, but because of some circumstances, she couldn't. She wanted to teach those curious children to dance, so she chose to be a teacher. Nritya was her kala which she wanted to pass on to others as well.
Dancing made her feel at peace, she felt herself flowing in the abyss. It was her love, her devotion, the answer to her every prayer.
"Toh bacchon, aaj ke liye itna hi baaki ka next class meh, thik hai", she spoke as a chorus of loud yes echoed in the room making her chuckle
It was late afternoon when the school finally dispersed and Sadhana stepped out of the premises while talking to her mother on the call.
"Aate vakt sabji le aana aur tere baba ki medicines bhi, aur ha jaldi wapas aa jana andhera hone se phele", her mother instructed to which she replied with an okay
Quickly walking towards the chemist's shop, she asked for the prescribed medicines.
"madam aapke 2,000 ho gye", the boy behind the counter said as he packed the medicines in the typical brown packet and passed it to her
She looked inside her purse and fetched for the few currency notes. She had the total cash of 3,000 rupees. She gulped hard, mentally calculating the expense, when the boy's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she quickly paid the bill and stepped down from the stairs.
Sadhana stared at the 1000 rupees in her hand and a deep sigh left her lips. She was tired, tired of the things happening around her. She never knew living in a middle-class household was so tough, that you need to fight your way against all odds to make your ends meet.
Her family was a typical nuclear middle-class family with her being the only child. It was a prosperous household, her father was a bank manager and her mother a housewife. They were leading a happy life until on a random Wednesday afternoon some goons barged inside the bank where her father was working.
The robbers were armed with weapons and guns and demanded hefty cash along with the password to the bank's safe. Her father being the honest citizen declined and in rage, the leader of the gang shot her father. His spine was badly injured and he had been bedridden since then. Doctors declared that he would never be able to walk.
Her father's disability took a huge toll on their financial condition. Her mother who never stepped out of the house, joined a chocolate factory to earn. She sold all her gold jewellery for medicines and Sadhana too started working when the bank refused to give them any compensation for their loss.
Since then she and her mother have done their best to make ends meet and run the household, from managing every expense to running the house, grocery, finance, and her father's medicine they were together in that and never lost hope. They had each other's back since then.
Sadhana wiped the sweat drop forming on her forehead with her dupatta. She stood under the scorching hot sun debating in her mind since it was the start of April, the sun was at its highest peak. Her throat ran dry and she felt it as dry as sandpaper.
She started at the currency notes defeatedly in her hand and decided to walk back home, since she couldn't afford any transport on her way back, walking was the only preferable option left.
Finally, after the tiresome 30 minutes, which felt like an eternity, she reached the gates of her locality. Her wrist pained because of the heavy vegetable bag she carried. She hurriedly walked towards the stairs to her flat and climbed them.
Reaching her floor, she noticed the door of the flat before they unlocked it, but she ignored it and rang the doorbell of her own home.
Her mother opened the door and took the bag from her hold. Sadhana made a beeline towards the kitchen and drank the water from the earthen pot quenching her thirst. Their fridge wasn't in working condition no matter how many times they informed the operator about it.
Heaving a relieved sigh, she walked to her room and quickly took a refreshing bath, trying to get rid of the tiredness of the day. After the shower, she helped her mother with the dinner.
"So kaisa Raha Aaj na din?", her father asked as she gave him his medicine along with water. "Bohot accha, aapko pata hai Aaj Maine sabhi ko Naya dance sikhaya...", she continued briefing him about her day.
It was their daily thing, every day while giving him medicine she would tell him everything that happened throughout the day. She could see it in his eyes, how much he was hurting on the inside. It pained her to see him in this state. Her father felt guilty, he felt like a burden on this family but alas he couldn't do anything.
Later when Sadhana was getting herself ready for bed her mother entered with a jug of water. Both of them slept in her room, while her father took the master's bedroom, and at night if he needed anything he would just ring the bell kept on the nightstand. Her mother wasn't a heavy sleeper so there wasn't a problem, she was at his aid whenever he needed her.
"Maa, remember Janvi? My colleague from school? She said that her close relative is getting married, and they're looking for a choreography for the Sangeet day", Sadhana said
"So?", her mother confusingly looked at her. "you know na how much these professional choreography charges for a single song, so Janvi asked if I would teach them dance?", she added looking expectantly at her
"So you agreed?", her mother questioned back. "I haven't given it a thought, but the offer sounds so appealing, they're ready to pay 1000 rupees per song and looking at the number of songs they'd be performing it'd be a hefty amount. We can easily afford Baba's medicine and above all the event is after six months so it wouldn't be a problem", she replied, trying to convince her
"You know your baba na Sadhu, he won't agree, you remember right, it was so difficult to convince him for your job, and you don't even know anyone there, so-", her mother put front, deeply in thought
"Don't worry much Ma, they're ready to pay extra since it is a destination wedding. They'll take up all my living and travelling expenses, it's just a matter of a month and the party seems pretty rich, there's nothing worrisome, Janvi is my colleague, she'd be the known person there", she coaxed her mother
"Do as you think is better bacche", her mother replied with a small smile caressing her head she reciprocated.
The ultimate thing she liked the most about her mother was her strong will, no matter how much she was struggling, she wouldn't let it show on her face. She always had that appealing and charming smile on her face, which encouraged her further to fight.
"Accha, you know there's a new tenant living in the flat before ours, he shifted just today", her mother told her while arranging the clothes in the wooden cupboard. "Oh, nice. The flat was on sale for a long time, but since Mr Basu was so notorious because of his bad temper, no one bought it, seems like the one who bought it wasn't aware of it", Sadhana added as both the mother-daughter duo chuckled
"Oh I pity the poor soul, you know, he's the same age as you or older by a year or two. But my my he looks so handsome and charming as if freshly out of college", she appreciated with a dreamy smile
"You are too old to have a boyfriend now Maa, have some pity on my Baba", Sadhana joked only to earn a stinky eye and smack on her bag to which she laughed
"Jokes apart, so you know since he is living here alone, he was searching for a good mess tiffin service, but couldn't find one. So I came up with the ideas and offered him that I could cook for him. Obviously, he'd pay 2000 rupees per month for the three-course meals", her mother shared the news which gained her attention
"And?"
"Well he agreed, so from tomorrow we just need to cook extra breakfast for him with a cup of tea, I'd pack him his Lunch and about dinner, we can just pass on the hot meal since he just lives a door away. 500 rupees for every meal with some occasional side dish, what say?", she finished
"Not bad mother! Bohot accha haat mara hai, vaise bhi Maa toh meri hi ho", Sadhana boosted, "badmash",and both of them burst into laughter.
End of Ishqiya Chapter 7. Continue reading Chapter 8 or return to Ishqiya book page.