Family Time

“Dadi! We are back ‘with a bang’!”, screamed an over enthusiastic Shubh as he ran in through the main door of their mansion, with Agastya and Lakshya walking closely behind him, shaking their heads. Shubh Kapoor is a total drama company. Period. Well it wasn’t entirely his fault, anyway. His brothers pampered him all the time. With both his parents, uncle and aunt busy with their respective work, it was only his grandmother, Bhaiyaa and Bhai who looked after him. And about Agastya’s baby sister Purvi, well, she was two years younger than Shubh.

“Arey Khoteya! Why are you screaming? Dadi ko dil ka daura par jayega teri wajah se (grandma will have a heart attack because of you)!” walked in an old lady, dressed in a traditional salwar, paired with pearl jewelry. She was close to 70, but by the looks of it, she was absolutely fit and fine. Having a huge smile on her face, Kalyani Kapoor looked every bit of a lady from a respected, aristocratic family.

Shubh continued in his dramatic style. "Dadi, you won't believe what happened in school today. It was like witnessing a Bollywood action film!" His grandmother stared at him, confused, she then turned to her elder grandsons, only to find Agastya laughing silently. She huffed lightly, "At least one of you tell me what exactly happened!"

Sighing, Lakshya recounted the incident at school. Hearing him, Dadi laughed and spoke, “ Bring those two angels with you one day. I would really like to meet your friends, who stood up for you.” Shubh was the happiest. Jumping around, he said, “ Really Dadi? I will tell Diti and Jaggu Didi tomorrow that you have invited them. They also need time to inform their family, right?”. Hearing him, Agastya exclaimed, “Whoa, looks like our little Shubh has already become an intelligent boy!”, to which Shubh pulled his collar up in pride, grinning happily.

Lakshya could only shake his head at the two brothers. He knew how much Shubh looked up to his Bhaiyaa, while on the other hand, Agastya pampered, more like spoiled his youngest brother as if he was his firstborn son.

Dadi watched the three boys and smiled to herself. She knew them really well. Agastya was the strong, reserved guy, who only warmed up to a very few people. Lakshya was the intense and serious kind, but he did have a mature side to him. Shubh, on the other hand, was the spoilt kid. But of course, he was a softie at heart. But one thing was common between the three, they loved each other more than themselves.

“If the three of you are done with all the discussions, go freshen up quickly. I’m asking the servants to set the table. Dadi ko bhukha hi rakh dena hai kya? (do you want grandma to starve?)

Hearing her, the three quickly scrambled up to their respective rooms. As they sat down for lunch, Dadi spoke up, “ Your parents are returning tomorrow." Right when the youngest one could start jumping up in excitement, she continued, in a solemn voice, "....except Janvi. Your Devyani Nani( Janvi’s mother) isn’t well.”

Janvi Kapoor was Lakshya and Shubh's mother, and the elder daughter in law of the family. She was the head of the Kapoors' airline company as well. A really hardworking woman, she balanced her life well between being a CEO and a mother of two. Her husband Avinash was a ruthless business shark while his younger brother, Abhinav, was a prominent figure in the corporate world. His wife Pragya had a chain of NGOS all over the nation, named “Aastha”. Abhinav and Pragya were Agastya and Purvi’s parents.

The four of them had to travel all over the nation most of the time. That’s why, the kids got to spend most of their childhood with their Dadi. But they made sure to talk with their children and the senior Mrs. Kapoor everyday through video calls. Kalyani had never made any difference between her sons and daughters-in-law. She let them grow in their respective fields. When she was of their age, she had to manage the Kapoor household on her own. They weren’t even this rich and famous back then. Her husband had practically started everything from scratch. That’s why, she had to devote her life to the house and her children. She very well knew how much it hurt when she realized that she couldn’t fulfill her dreams ever.

Hearing Dadi, Shubh made a puppy face and said, “ Please na dadi, tell mom to come back. I miss her sooooo much. You know, Diti said her mumma packs her tiffin everyday. Isn’t that so amazing? I wish even mom, or at least, Chhotimaa could make us lunch some day.” Nodding his head, Agastya seconded him, “Besides, we three (immediately receiving a first class glare from Lakshya, because he very well knew what his elder brother was about to say)…. I mean the two of us trouble you so much. You don’t even get any time for yourself. Always either running around managing the household, or looking after us. Don’t you ever get tired, Dadi?”

The elderly lady couldn’t help but laugh. She said, “ Arey puttar, I have brought your dads up singlehandedly. Your Dadu never had the time. Both of my Bahus were quite young when they came to this house. I had to teach them many things about life after marriage. If I managed to bring all those four “grown up kids” of mine, of course I can manage you three as well. Aur Purvi toh itni-si hai( And Purvi is this little)! Besides, who said you trouble me? Don’t even dare to say anything bad about my grandchildren, okay? They are the best!” The three boys got up from their seats and hugged her, saying, “ And our Dadi is even better than the best!” Exactly at that moment, one of the maids brought in an extremely cute little bundle of joy in her arms, and said, “ Dadi ji, Purvi baby isn’t sleeping. When we tried to make her sleep, she started crying.”

Immediately, Dadi took the little doll in her arms and said, “ You go, I’ll make my poti sleep. “ Having finished her lunch, she got up from her seat and started walking around, rocking the little girl in her arms, muttering soft lullabies that she used to sing when her sons, and then her grandsons were of her age, with sometimes softly trying to cajole her by saying, “Arey mera bachha( Oh my child)!”, while the three brothers looked on with huge smiles on their faces.

Key to relations mentioned:

Dadi: paternal grandmother

Dadu: paternal grandfather

Nani: maternal grandmother

Bahu: daughter in law

Puttar: son/child in punjabi