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“The article about such people who cannot be changed....” He said mysteriously.  Suleyman appeared at the entrance and Ravi stopped....

“Saya wants a con call...” he said looking at Kalindi for her permission...

“No...!” Ravi said at once.  Salil looked alarmed.  

“He will be devastated...” Ravi pleaded and Suleyman said...

“Ravi... Saya wants to talk to Dr. Dixit...” he said gravely sealing the confirmation of the con call... Ravi looked at his maasi for support but before she could say anything....Indroneel shot up...!

“Yeah.. That is the right thing, Mr. Deo is doing.... Talk to him directly, Salil... He will clear all your doubts...” He pressed Ravi’s hand saying... “Ravi... let him talk to your father..!” Ravi hung his head helplessly.... 

“Namaste...” Sayajirao Deo’s image appeared on the screen and Dhatri shot a glance at Ravi’s face.  He didn’t want his father to go through the hell again... He had avoided discussing his mother...! But this would take Saya back to the hell....! 

“Dad... you don’t have to ....” he said coming into the frame....! Sayajirao shook his head and addressing Salil, said...

“Dr. Salil... I will answer all your questions, I avoided all my life.  I want to do this for my son... for his happiness and for Dhatri’s happiness too... !” Salil merely gazed at Sayajirao’s image..! He couldn’t make out what kind of person Saya was or whether he would tell the truth...! He looked away sceptically.  Virender understood his nervousness...

“Goodmorning, Mr. Sayajirao... I am Virender Pandit... Rini’s father in law...” he greeted pleasantly and Sayajirao bowed his head... ! 

“We know, Ravi is a gem of a person.   I personally thank him for his support during my son’s hospitalization... He was always a support pillar for us...!” Virender looked at Salil and waited for him to gather himself.  

Sayajirao waited for someone to start the conversation... but the awkward silence prevailed....! He understood...!

“I believe Ravi’s mother met you...” he said looking at Salil...! he merely nodded.

“Rehman briefed me on the issue... I understand your concern, sir..!” he again waited for Salil’s response.  There was none.  

“I don’t know from where to start... but understand that the issue is about me...!” he said gravely and Ravi swallowed hard looking away, hiding his moist eyes.  

“Ravi has business in California... he is doing well here...!” he started off and everyone looked at the changing track....! But Sayajirao continued....!

“I move around everywhere for my consultancy in automation...I do not have any problem at all...in relocating to some other place... Ofcourse... we have a ranch and my office in Orlando... “ He went ahead.  Salil and Virender looked at each other, totally bewildered.  

“Would it solve the problem, Dr. Dixit... If I move out of their lives ... so she wouldn’t run the risk?” Sayajirao asked solemnly joining his hands...

“No!” both Ravi and Dhatri shot up...! Salil shook his head, shocked...!

“No no...! Please don’t misunderstand me Sir...” He urged joining his hands.  

“Dr. Salil... I just want my son to be happy and I am sure he will be, only with Dhatri...! It really doen’t matter, where we stay... I too will he happy if he is happy... No matter where I stay.....” Sayajiroa swallowed the lump formed in his throat...! 

“I understand your concern, Dr. Dixit... “ he glanced at the faces on his video window and making up his mind said... “I just want to say ... That the last time I slept with a woman was Sanyogita, before Ravi’s was born....!” 

“Dad... No... Please... You don’t have to go through this... I will answer all the questions... Dad please, log off...” Ravi urged blocking everyone from the camera view....!

“Ravi... let me do this....Please...” Sayajirao was ready to face anything for his son’s happiness... Ravi was tormented.. !....

“No Dad...!” Ravi turned the power off...! Waited for people to gather themselves and said.... 

“So. I needed to make sure my guess was right .... I came back to India....” Ravi continued ignoring confused looks on the faces of listeners...! 

“I saw her in Disha’s wedding... gatecrashing without invitation.... Maasi, that night took me upstairs ... I knew I was right...!” the mystery was thickening...! 

“I was shocked, pained, anguished.  Hatred surged through my body.  I decided to go after my mother to finish her off..  But when I came back...I saw Dhatri sleeping peacefully on the sofa, smiling in her sleep.  She was the victim ... she had suffered, had passed out... my mother had tried to kill her throttling her...! And she was there sleeping peacefully.  Dhatri gave me strength to face it... and face it bravely... to accept the fact...!” Ravi looked at Dhatri, so did everyone else with different emotions... ! Dhatri looked up at him with beady eyes... surprised to the core!  She couldn’t believe, she could be strength to someone...! She remembered the resistance she had faced for the first time while curing...! She shuddered recollecting how the lady had strangulated her... threatening her to death...! Ravi had continued...! 

“I went back and took steps to sever ties with my biologic

al mother, getting a restraint order against her....! He stopped to breathe...!

“This is it.... I do not have a mother...I stay with my father and he is everything to me...!” He ran his fingers through his thick streaked brown hair and turning his back on the dumbstruck family, went out of the room.  Dhatri struggled to go after him, but Salil stopped her....! Everyone looked at Kalindi.. It was her turn to take over....

She looked down to gether her strength...

“Baba... Where is Maa?” A little six years old Kalindi was pulling Randheer’s hand.  He had no answer to her question.  He didn’t know where his wife was.. They had a row a week back and she left the house ....! He stroked little Kalindi’s head losing himself in thoughts...! After a long time he said gravely..! “She will be back soon, beta... go to sleep now...!” He hummed some soothing tune...! 

“I am eight years elder to my sister Sanyogita...!” Kalindi said and everyone looked at her.  

“Baba... Look at the baby... cute baby... my little sister... my dall...” Kalindi was so thrilled to see the baby girl in her maa’s arms...The baby opened her eyes yawining and Kalindi sqeecked...! “Baba.. she is just like a dall... white white with blue eyes...” Kalindi pulled her Baba’s hand again.  Her baba held her hand and took her out of the hospital room... “Lets go home...” he said gravely...! 

 She was never like me. She behaved differently, looked different...! Kalindi said running her tongue over her lips.  

“The two are so different...” One of her mother’s friends was staring at both the sisters... Mother smiled smugly and picking up Sanyogita, asked Kalindi to go out and play. Kalindi picked up her dall and Sanyogita snatched it from her...  Kalindi went to her father, who was in his study... He rarely came out of that room...! He took Kalindi inside into his world of books...! She felt happy...! Sanyu would never come into this world...! 

She is very beautiful, smart, charming, witty... unlike me...!” Kalindi said and Nilima shook her head in disagreement...

“Mother took her to England when she was eight and I was sixteen.  I preferred the local college where I met Bhanu’s father.  We got married and Sanyogita came back, after what she said, completing her studies, with my mother...! When my father died.. we all were shocked to read his Will.  He had given away everything in charity, infuriating my mother...! I introduced Sanyogita to Saya when he had come back for good after his MS, during Bhanu’s third birthday... They fell in love and soon got married... She was on the top of the world with all the grandeur and Royal family status... 

Kalindi’s face shadowed with sadness... But that too was short lived... She soon came to her true self... And I was buried under the baggage of my own guilt.  Within few months of their marriage she disappeared for a few months and appeared with her friend, A British Neval Officer...! Saya was shocked... I had no face to face him... He was liberal, had come from a country of free sex.. but his father couldn’t tolerate and they had a big argument.

Kalindi sighed....!

“The next thing they found was a call from the police officer stating that Sanyogita had met him to file a complaint against Saya’s father on the charges of sexual harassment....! Saya had to rush to the police station with Rehman... She demanded a huge sum of money.. Saya agreed.  But his father couldn’t take it... He committed suicide...!  Sanyogita now turned to Saya’s old grand father... But the man was much stronger. He had seen her through.  He failed all her plans...He tried to keep Saya away from her...! 

Kalindi had had enough of preface to her story... She came to the crux...

“Saya was madly in love with her.  She took advantage of this, blackmailing him everytime.... He tried his best to save the relationship.  But only once lost his control when a Doctor called him saying Snayogita had visited his clinic for abortion...! He slapped her and faced the music all his life...! She went to the police commissioner with complaint of cruelty and physical torture.  Saya parted with a chunk again...! Every month of her pregnancy... He paid through his nose for her maintenance...To keep her in good humor, to keep the unborn baby safe...! “

“He heeded to all her demands... And she came up with the altimate strategy... She declared that after the child’s birth, she would divorce him...! “ Kalindi was reliving that torture....

“But this time, his old Grand father jumped in the fray.... He asked Saya to stay away and with the help of Suleyman, told her to go ahead....! He himself prepared the divorce papers, offering her the maintenance of the child too...! Sanyogita was taken aback.  She would never take the responsibility of the child.  After much deliberations... they struck the compromise... that Sayajirao would keep the baby she would move out of his life... with the moeny ofcourse...!” Kalindi couldn’t stop a sob...!

“The petition for divorce was signed when she was in her pregnancy....” Nilima hid her face ...sobbing hard...!

Saya’s grandfather had retained the title “Maharaja of Kanker”  and had all the powers of a Maharaja.  He, through his Will bequeathed all his inheritance to the child of Sayajirao.... 

“When she left, Saya renounced all his title... converted everything into a Trust... and shifted to US for good.  He has not returned, since then....!” Kalindi said wiping her sweat...!

 Salil shifted nervously...Dhatri got up.  Salil tried to stop her but this time she dashed out, making up her mind to put an end to all this ....!!