Warrior

“Ma’am.” Heer’s assistant walked up to her rather reluctantly as she looked nervous, straightening her formal skirt and scarf. “The press meet will start in five minutes. Sir is calling you.” 

She received a nod from Shakti, who was sitting opposite her chair. “She will be there in two minutes.” 

He handed her a glass of water, “Here, calm down. You are confident. You can do it.”

“Please come along, Shakti.” Heer sulked.

“Look, Heer.” He smiled faintly, staring into her eyes, “ It’s a Punwar Mughal alliance. I will be at the side wings with Ajabdeh. We have faith you can do this. This is your first of many, okay?”

“Okay, Okay. Jija is here, na?” She made Shakti gulp.

“Yes, she is.” He lied. “Go on now. All the best.” He hugged her.

As Heer left to meet Jalal, he dialled Ajabdeh.

“Hello??” She seemed like in trouble.

“Where are you, Ajabdeh?" Shakti sounded worried, " Heer …”

“Shakti… beta… I think I am lost.” She sounded tense.

“Lost? What the…” Shakti frowned “Where are you?”

“I can't find the entrance.”

“Okay, send me your location, and I will go find you. She will be live in three minutes, Ajabdeh, hurry!”

Heer stared at the curtains of the side wings for the umpteenth time. There was no sign of either Shakti or Ajabdeh. Her heart raced nervously staring at the huge media gathered in front of them. Microphones. Cameras. Recorders. Jalal came with a smile, and a gentle tap from him on her shoulder made her feel at ease.

“Let me handle the tough ones!” He whispered, hugging her gently before taking his seat.

“Let’s begin.” He smiled as the cameras flashed.

“Congratulations on your wedding plans.” A Lady reporter smiled, “Apne toh sab ka dil hi todh diya.”

“Thank you. I hope aapka nahi todha.” He smirked, making the media persons smile.

“So what do we expect from this partnership, Mr Mohammad?”

“Well, Miss Punwar and I have had a discussion and meeting with each other, and we decided to focus on the small-scale, cottage industries and handlooms of our nation. You see, India is rich in its handicrafts, art and craft, handloom and everything. The Government is doing its bit to promote them, and I feel that if we, the big brands, buy these from villagers directly and sell them here and abroad under our brands, we will definitely get a price that is actually worth the products. It will not only help our business but also several artisans and craftsmen working at the grassroots level.”

“Ma’am. What are the sectors you will be focused on?” Heer cleared her throat.

“Well. I…” Heer paused as she saw Ajabdeh wave from the side curtains, Shakti in tow, and she smiled. 

“We are right now focused on handicrafts, handloom and also export items, like interior decor, paintings, sculptures that can interest foreign buyers. Brand showrooms are being planned, firstly in Udaipur, then across the major cities of the state, and if successful, then across India.”

“Miss Punwar, going a little off topic here, are you single?” The reporter made the others smile.

“I am.” Heer nodded as Jalal stepped in with a frown “No personal questions, please, focus on the…”

“You were spotted at a very famous café in the city last week, Miss Punwar.” The reporter smirked, “You have something to say about that?”

Ajabdeh stared at a rather annoyed Shakti, “ What were you up to? Huh?” she asked, a little hyped.

“Conversations." Shakti shook his head, “The media is so…”

“What?” Heer was a little taken aback by the surprise.

“ Are you dating Kunwar Shakti Singh of Surajgarh?” The man’s question sent a buzz across the room.

“Is there a Punwar Sisodia alliance in the making?” someone asked.

“Were you his date at yesterday’s party?” 

“Are we getting a royal wedding soon?”

“ Are you in a relationship?” 

“Ma’am kabse janti hai Kunwar Shakti ko?”

“Ma’am, did your father actually cheat on your mother as per the rumours?”

“Enough now.” Jalal looked irked. Heer was puzzled at the questions thrown at her; she was surely not prepared for it. Her face turned pale. This will be all over the news in minutes!

“Heer.” Ajabdeh looked rather restless and about to step in, and Shakti held her back. “Don’t react to them; it will make things worse if you are angry.”

“They are bullies. They are bullying my sister.” She was clearly angry.

“ Let me answer some questions for you here.” The media buzz stopped at the new entrance on stage.

“Dadabhai.” Shakti looked stunned. “What is he…”

“Hush!” Ajabdeh stopped him, eyes on the stage. 

Pratap Singh was in his formal suit with a Surajgarh brooch in his pocket. He stepped in rather coolly as Jalal and Heer stood up at his presence.

“It’s okay, Heer,” he nodded, “Let me handle them!” He sat patting her as she still looked rather shocked.

“Haven’t you all had personal lives you kept personal, or your journalism woes gave you no time for it?” He smiled faintly “ What if they are dating? So what?”

“ Kunwarsa, we are eager to know…” The man was stopped by his hand gesture.

“Let me tell you what you are eager to know: if there is a relationship. If people are holidaying somewhere in secret if you can get pictures to make your papers sell. If people are breaking up, cheating or casually having fun… what’s inside the closet?” 

He looked at the silenced crowd, “Why? Why are our lives of so much importance to you? Why can’t you go and cover meaningful things?”

The reporters stared at each other.

“Two people get along, they can be friends, acquaintances, lovers, whatever. They don’t get along; they can get a divorce or separation. Live your lives, let us live ours.” 

Pratap got up “Oh yes, I have two announcements for you! One, I am thinking of turning this into a Punwar Mughal Sisodia alliance as well. Two, yeah, they are dating, now stop following them like creeps. Have a good day!” 

He was about to leave with Heer and Jalal getting up as well when Ajabdeh shouted a most frantic “Wait!” making the media stare at her.

“I have an announcement too!” She smiled at the cameras in her most casual jeans and Mickey-printed top. 

She waved, “Hi, people!”

“Ajabdeh, what are you…” Shakti opened his mouth to follow her on stage and went, “What are you two doing…” and stopped at Jalal’s nod. 

Pratap’s eyes were on the girl who shook her hair off her shoulder rather confidently and smiled, “I am writing a book, I won a major competition, with my writing skills and not a Punwar name, and I am getting published soon, add that to your affair rumours column as well. It will be my publicity too!” She smiled at the crowd on stage, and her eyes met Pratap’s, who nodded at her confident smile.

“ And I think you have got enough news for a day!” Jalal waved his hand “We are done here!”

“Thank You.” Heer finally said it when they were sitting in the comfort of Jalal’s penthouse in the city, sipping on what Jalal called his “Special” cocktail while Heer made green tea for herself. Ajabdeh was learning to mix the drinks, sharing a laugh with Jalal while Shakti had decided to head back to the office instead.

“It’s okay, if they had asked Shakti the same thing, I would have…” Pratap shrugged, sitting opposite Heer on the bar lounge of Jalal's penthouse.

“Yes, but I was so cold to you and…” Heer looked a little embarrassed. 

“That’s okay, it’s in the past.” Pratap smiled at her. “Someone wise once said, one reaction doesn’t define who you are…”

“You… heard her too?” Heer raised her eyebrows, smiling.

“What? Who?” Pratap was really bad at acting as Heer sulked, “ I am the only one who missed, and she is not re-reading it to me.”

“It was worth hearing," he smiled, murmuring,  "I wonder what tomorrow’s local daily headline will be.” He sipped his drink, making Heer look worried.

“ I am worried more about the calls Maa will receive.” Heer sounded worried. “She is clueless about…”

“ She likes Shakti.” Pratap smiled, “At least more than she likes me”, which made her smile.

“I was thinking”, Jalal sat down after placing his and Ajabdeh’s drinks on the table. Ajabdeh took her place beside Heer on the couch opposite Pratap.

“Kya?”

“We can do what you told Kika”, Jalal smiled. Heer looked clueless at Ajabdeh, who narrowed her eyes.

“What did I say?” Pratap’s clueless glance made Heer laugh.

“The Punwar-Mughal-Sisodia alliance can start right here.” Jalal stood up. "The Hotels are already a Mughal–Sisodia alliance between you and me unofficially, I have an official one with them now, let's merge the two, and the Punwars can also enter the hotel business, what say?”

“All the business talk makes me want to drink more!” Ajabdeh sulked, hitting her head on the pillow.

“ But Bhaijaan, I am not very familiar with the hotel industry.” Heer shrugged, “And Maa and I both are very much occupied with the work at hand; we lack the manpower to go to Surajgarh even on weekends to contribute. And I personally hate the give your money and forget about it partnership.”

“Hai na manpower.” Jalal stared at Ajabdeh, who looked wide-eyed.

“Wait, what? I am not the type to sit in an office and…”

“You don’t need to, na?” Jalal smiled. “This is perfect. You can visit Surajgarh on weekends and overlook the site work, give your inputs, and Pratap can do the office work then; he doesn’t need to be at the site all the time. And your input will also be the Punwar investment in the project. You are a Punwar, it's in your blood.”

“But...I am busy.” Ajabdeh shrugged.

“Doing what?” Pratap frowned as Heer and Jalal shared an amused glance.

“Umm… writing my book. It’s a work in progress.”

“Jija, write in the week and visit during the weekend. Take Brownie along, you won't be alone.”

“I don’t think she will lack company there.” Jalal’s murmur made Pratap give him a dead stare.

“ Please, Jija, this will be a big boost for our business. Maa will be so happy.”

“Yes, all your previous inputs were brilliant, right, Pratap?” Jalal smiled.

“Haan, but if she doesn’t want to…” Pratap shrugged.

“Alright.” Ajabdeh smiled at Heer, “I will do it, just this once.”

“So we are done. To Partners! Bottoms up, people!” Jalal brought out the beer cans. 

Heer stared at Pratap and Ajabdeh, drinking down in perfect sync with “I win”, and frowned at each other.

“Here, let's go home.” Heer seemed scared by the idea.

“Jija, maa…”

“Am gonna talk to her, let's go.” She got up, taking Heer’s hand “Bye, Jalal, and thank you for these.”

“Kabhi hum e bhi bulaya karo ghar?” Jalal smiled.

“Sure, Bhaijaan, we will plan”, Heer smiled.

“Bye, Heer.” Pratap waved as she got into the car, and Ajabdeh was about to.

“Bye?”

“Yeah, Bye.” She nodded and stopped “Waise, thank you.”

“For?”

“ The conference drama”, she smiled. “ Heer needed it.”

“Someone said not to say thank you and sorry. All that filmy dialogue... what was that?” Ajabdeh laughed at his words.

“Yeah, yeah, see you at the weekend.” She opened the car door to get in.

“Ajab…” he stopped her, “Hmm?”

“ A wanderer does turn into a warrior when he needs to.” 

He whispered before turning and walking inside the penthouse as Ajabdeh stood there a little wide-eyed, watching him go. She smiled and shook her head as she got into the car. Pratap turned to see the car leave with a smile.

“You won’t believe what just happened here courtesy of Bhaijaan”, Heer texted Shakti excitedly, noticing Ajabdeh stare out of the window with a smile.

Pratap reached home to be called to the study room by his parents.

“Did you summon me?” He knocked and peeped in to see Shakti give him a “save me” stare as the parents sat on a high-back couch and sipped tea. Shakti was standing in front of them in silence, and Pratap joined him. The news channel was flashing with clips of the conference as Udai Singh turned it off.

“Hmm.” Udai Singh put down his cup. “What is this I am hearing?” made the brothers stare at each other.

“He is dating Heer!” “He called Ajabdeh to stay here on weekends!” came the answers in unison.

“It’s just a partnership for Jalal.” Pratap shrugged. 

The parents stared at their sons and at each other, trying hard not to laugh. Udai Singh got up to leave.

“You handle this one, Jaivanta.” He walked away with a rather serious look.

“One, by one,” Jaivanta smiled. “How is Ajabdeh?”

“She is good.” Came to an answer in unison, and they stared at each other.

“And Heer? Their business is doing good.”

“ Yes. She…” Shakti stopped as Pratap inhaled, trying not to smile.

“ When is Ajabdeh coming?” Jaivanta stared at Pratap for the answer.

“Actually, Jalal suggested that she can…”

“I didn’t ask about your business, Pratap.”

“Next weekend, Ranima.” He stared at Shakti, smiling.

“ I will make preparations then”, she got up “ Why don’t you call Heer and Hansa to dinner as well before they leave on Sunday?”

“Okay..” Shakti agreed as Pratap frowned, following Jaivanta out.

“Ranima.” He stopped her, “It is nothing like that...I mean, you are thinking wrong...”

“Really, Pratap?” Jaivanta smiled, “And what am I thinking?” 

This caught him off guard as he fumbled.

“I mean… umm… ”

“Hansa was here.” Made him stare at her, “ You children are never going to grow up.” 

She shrugged. “We will do what is needed.”

“Wh.. what do you mean?” Pratap looked scared. “You are not understanding…”

“Am talking of Heer and Shakti, what did you assume, Kunwar Pratap?” Jaivanta smirked at her son. Patting his hair gently, she smiled, “Go to sleep, the weekend is far away. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Ranima," He looked awkward and left in a hurry.