46

"Rini Didi....!" Dhatri screamed in excitement hearing that news.  She was woken up with Rini's call early morning.  Rini smiled from the other end.  "Listen Dhaa... Don't start dreaming about it, just study ok? Finish your summer exams and come back." Rini warned Dhatri.  But Dhatri already had reached the dreamworld with all her sisters and friends....!

Again Rini had taken over the charge.  "Don't worry Mamma, I will handle everything..." she again had assured everyone that nothing will go wrong.... This time there were double celebrations.... Rini was excited too.  Now she had no time for anything else... She had to plan... arrange to execute.... make sure everything goes well.... After all it was a prestige issue for her.... !

"I will be completing two years reckonable commissioned service....! Promotion will be due... I will be Capt. Dharini Dixit...!" she stood before the mirror puffing her chest with pride adjusting her cap....!" Her vehicle honked... She marched out of her barrack in full uniform...! Maj. Vinit Pandit was waiting for her.  Vinit was no way near being Vinit... a humble person... ! A task master, an astute military officer from Southern Command, was on deputation in DRDO...

"Durrdoo" as Dhatri used to call. Being in Forces, he detested Officers in Services, especially women... ! "They are no good!" he remarked every now and then, to Dharini's annoyance.  She had learnt to obey and not to answer back, bidding her time for a slightest opportunity to retort back.  She craved for Forces... 'This DRDO sucks!'  Every day she used to detest before going to bed.  'The age old animosity between Services and Forces ran in the blood right from the 49 weeks training program... They were grown to hate each other... the Forces and the Services....! Though they were meant to complement each other... they always turned out to be competitors...!

  "Good morning!" she greeted her senior officer saluting... He gave a curt nod! Rini frowned, seeing Vinit glancing at his watch! The fact was, she was ten minutes ahead of time and he had a problem with that too! He never left an opportunity to taunt and bring the morale down.  All her colleagues had given up on him and his grueling tactics but Rini had stood up to him always,  giving him no chance to chide at her.  "Let me enter the Forces... and then I will show you, Major Vinit...!" she gritted under breath entering the Three Ton carrier...! Vinit followed and taking his seat next to the driver, ordered to move.  Rini contorted her face, biting her lips, visibly upset.  All the happiness of talking to her Dhaa had drained out seeing Vinit's face, at the break of the day.  She was not aware of what was in store for her...! She didn't bother either!

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"Damn it!" Disha frowned shutting her system.  She was running late... She had spent all the night fixing up bugs.  One single damn thing had tossed up her simulation... She was actively involved in Open Source White Dwarf Code, A computer program / code to model the evolution and pulsations of white dwarfs. 

Her cell rang.  "Hey... Will talk to you later... I am driving...!" she said disconnecting and repenting the next moment for forgetting to wear her blue tooth.  She took the ticket issued for breaking traffic rules when she was asked to pull over....!

"Damn!" she banged her fist on the steering...! This was taking her nowhere.  Her mounting frustration levels were bringing her performance down.  Her professor guide and her mentor in the Lab, both were unhappy with the progress.  "If you can't finish by this monthend... I will have to reschedule your defense... her guide had warned her.  She had almost finished but these last minutes bugs were biting her to death. 

"No! I can't take it anymore...!" she banged her forehead on the steering, breaking down.  The tears didn't help either... She had to work it out... increase her working from twelve hours to sixteen hours to given her theses a final shape. 
"Damn! I am a mess.... My head is all riot...!" she clutched her head in frustration!  Her cell rang... She picked up as the car was pulled over.  "Haan?" she answered the call with a question!

"Hey, you ok?" someone asked.

"No! I am not ok!" She burst out.  "This white dwarf screwed up my night and this Simulation will do exactly the same with my day~" she broke in a sob.

"Disha...!" Bhanu waited for her to gather herself.  "Huf... humm... I am alright...!" she said sniffing and he took a breath.  "Go and get a hot cup of coffee, Disha... Everything will be alright...!" he said soothingly. 

"Hope so!" she said little dejected and drove off.

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Dhatri took out her laptop.  She opened her mail box.  First time she felt like writing the mail on her own.  Every time she responded to Dr. Maria's mail in all these years.  Dr. Maria was the only person who was in touch with Dhatri from her team.  Dhatri only wrote to her and no one else.  Maria had made it a point to write to Dhatri once in a month.

But the morning was different for Dhaa.  She felt like sharing the news with someone like Maria who didn't mind her monosyllable answers to Maria's lengthy emails.

"M'am,  My Didi is getting married... " she started off without any preamble.  Her Mail ended with an invitation to attend the Marriage of her sister. 



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What is white dwarf?
It is a small very dense star that is typically the size of a planet. A white dwarf is formed when a low-mass star has exhausted all its central nuclear fuel and lost its outer layers as a planetary nebula.  All stars one day are going to be white dwarfs......