Chapter 5 - Baba
After that lil encounter, Jay and Shivaay actually became good friends.
Turned out, Jay was just 13 years old making him 4 years older to Shivaay but they both didn't mind the age gap between them.
Jay really liked Shivaay's attitude and he absolutely adored Shivaay's brave yet kind nature and Shivaay liked hanging out with Jay cause one, Jay was funny and two, he always got to learn about new things from Jay.
One fine Sunday,
Shivaay sat on a bench in the local playground waiting for Jay. After what felt like ages to Shivaay, Jay arrived.
"Hey Shivaay !" Jay grinned and sat next to him.
"Hey Jay." Shivaay mumbled in a low voice.
"Oye kya hua ?" ("Oye 'sup?") Jay nudged him with a frown. "Itna sad sad kyu ?" ("Why do you seem so gloomy?")
"Kuch nahi." ("It's nothing.") Shivaay shrugged. "Aj ka kya plan hai ? Cricket khelein ya fir volleyball ?" ("What's the plan? Shall we play cricket or volleyball?")
"Volleyball. Lekin pehle yeh bata ki tu sad kyu hai ?" ("Volleyball. But first tell what wronged your mood.") Jay said seriously.
Shivaay sighed and licked his dry lips nervously. He debated whether to tell him or not but finally decided to open up cause he trusted Jay.
"M..mujhe meri dadi ki yaad aa rahi hai." ("I...I am missing my grandma.") Shivaay whispered and looked away.
Jay's eyes turned sad. He placed his hand on Shivaay's shoulder. "It's ok, Shivaay. Tu apni dadi ko call kar le. Unse baat karke tujhe accha lagega." ("It's ok, Shivaay. Just phone her and speak with her, you'll feel better.")
"Nahi kar sakta." ("I can't.") Shivaay replied sadly. "Mujhe unka number nahi pata." ("I don't know her phone number.")
Jay nodded in understanding.
"Waise ek baat puchu ?" ("Can I ask you something?") Jay asked cautiously.
Shivaay encouraged him to go on by nodding.
"Meine kabhi tumhare maa papa ko nahi dekha, woh log kaha rehte hai ?" ("I never saw your parents around, where do they live?") He asked slowly.
Shivaay looked away from Jay and searched through his brain for a lie but he couldn't think of a lie to tell so he decided to tell half truth.
"Mere ghar pe...kuch problems chal rahi thi... Isiliye meri badi maa hume Gopal kaka ke yaha chod ke chali gayi... Mujhe ab nahi pata ki meri family kaha hai, mein unhe call bhi nahi kar sakta...Meine pichle 6 mahine se unhe nahi dekha, aur mujhe pata bhi nahi hai ki mein unhe kab dekh paunga." ("There are some ... problems in our house... so mum has sent us to live with Gopal kaka...I don't know where they are now, I cannot call them either...I haven't seen them for the past 6 months and I don't even know when I'll be seeing them again.") Shivaay summarised it all for Jay and put on a fake nonchalant smile like that all doesn't bother him that much.
Jay had been friends with Shivaay for 4 months now and he knew Shivaay enough to see through his fake expressions.
"Tumhe pata hai na ki tumhare yeh jhoote expressions mujh par kaam nahi karte ?" ("You know I can see through your fake expressions, don't you?") Jay frowned. "Mein samjh sakta hu ki tumhe kaisa feel ho raha hoga. I'm sorry. Mujhe yakeen hai ki woh jald hi tumse milenge." ("I understand what you're going through. I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll see them all soon.")
Jay smiled and rubbed Shivaay's back soothingly and looked at him guiltily but then suddenly something sparked inside of his brain.
"Aye Shivaay !" Jay grinned at Shivaay all of sudden. "Chalo." ("Come with me.") He pulled Shivaay to his feet.
"Kaha ?" ("Where to?") Shivaay asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"Chalo toh !" ("Just come with me.") Jay said excitedly and started dragging Shivaay with him.
"Bataoge bhi ki kaha jaa rahe hai hum ?" ("But where are we going ?") Shivaay grumbled.
"Kitne sawal puchte ho tum !" ("You question way too much!") Jay complained. "Tumhara naam Shivaay singh Oberoi nahi Sawal singh Oberoi hone chahiye tha." ("Your name should've been Question Singh Oberoi instead of Shivaay Singh Oberoi.")
Shivaay huffed in response.
After a few minutes they both were standing in front of a building complex.
"Yeh kaha laaye ho tum mujhe ?" ("Where are we?") Shivaay asked again and looked at Jay who rolled his eyes.
"Ab agar aur ek baar muh khola toh mein...toh mein..ha..toh mein tumhe woh gajar ka halwa nahi dunga joh mummy ne tumhare liye bheja hai." ("If you open your mouth one more time I swear I will...I will...right...I will not give you the carrot pudding which mom has specially sent for you.") Jay produced a small tiffin box from a bag which he had brought along and showed it to Shivaay with a smirk.
He knew that Shivaay loved gajar ka halwa. He also knew that Shivaay wouldn't utter another word now that his favourite desert was at stake.
Shivaay huffed again and nodded.
Jay grinned and put the tiffin box back in his bag. He made Shivaay turn around and covered Shivaay's eyes with his hands.
"Ab chalo mere sath." ("Let's go.") Jay guided Shivaay inside the building with the same excited grin.
"Ta da !" Jay removed his hands from Shivaay's eyes and waited patiently for his reaction.
Shivaay opened his eyes and got confused. "Soulbeat Dance Academy ?" He read the banner in front of him.
"Yes !" Jay was so excited. "Mom ne kal hi mera admission karwaya hai aur tujhe pata hai mere sir bahot acche hai...Woh kehte hai ki jab kabhi bhi tumhe sad feel ho raha ho tum dance karo...Apne dance mein apne gham ko utaro toh dance aur accha hota hai." ("Mom has just enrolled me yesterday and you know what my instructor is such an amazing person...He says whenever you feel low just let dance takeover you...If you let your emotions seep into your dance, your dance becomes more soulful and wonderful.")
Shivaay smiled at Jay warmly. He felt so good to know that Jay couldn't see him sad and that's why he thought he should bring Shivaay to his dance academy.
"Thanks Jay." Shivaay smiled at him sincerely. "That's great Jay lekin mujhe nahi lagta ki I can join. Tujhe pata hai na ki woh fees..." ("That's great Jay but I don't think I can join. You know I cannot afford fees...") Shivaay trailed awkwardly.
Shivaay was talking about the fees required to join the academy. He didn't want to burden kaka with more expenses. Kaka already was doing so much for him and his brothers.
Jay knew that Shivaay didn't want to burden his guardian with expenses cause Shivaay always talked about how he felt when he sees kaka working very hard for them.
"Don't worry Shivaay...Jaisa ke maine kaha, humare sir bahot acche hai. Agar tumhare pass dance ke liye passion hai aur agar tum sach mein dance sikhna chahte ho toh woh tumse paise bhi nahi lenge." ("Don't worry, Shivaay... Like I said earlier, my instructor is an amazing person. If you have a passion for dance and really want to learn how to dance then he won't charge you a penny.") Jay smiled.
"Sach ?" ("Really ?")Shivaay asked in amusement and excitement.
"Mooch." ("Cross my heart.") Jay flicked the tip of Shivaay's nose and chuckled.
Shivaay rubbed his nose with a frown and narrowed his eyes playfully at Jay before sticking his tongue out at him.
Jay also stuck his tongue out at Shivaay. Both burst out laughing at their own childishness.
Did I mention that Jay was childish and always managed to bring out the child in Shivaay ?
Shivaay only acted like a child when he was with Jay. Other times, when he used to be with his brothers, he acted all mature and brave.
"Agar tumhara bachpana khatam ho gaya ho toh andar chale ?" ("If you're done with your childishness, can we go inside?") Jay asked.
Shivaay nodded and they both walked inside.
It was beautiful inside the studio. Lights were hung everywhere. It was actually a big hall with a small cabin in the corner.
One adjacent wall was replaced with full length transperent window while the other wall was replaced by a full wall length mirror.
Speakers were hung around the ceiling through which an English song was playing.
{Please watch the video present in media box to see the dance cause I won't be able to describe the dance steps very well. Thank you.🙂}
Shivaay's eyes finally landed on a boy dancing in the middle of the hall. He was dancing alone and without any audience (well now he had Shivaay and Jay as his audience but he didn't know that cause he was so engrossed in dancing.)
Shivaay watched in awe as the boy grooved with the music so smoothly and flawlessly as if his body was one with the music.
The music finally stopped and so did the boy. Shivaay couldn't help but clap enthusiastically at the art he had just witnessed.
The boy turned to Shivaay and Jay and smiled.
"Wow. Aap toh bahot accha dance karte hai." ("Wow. You're a really amazing dancer.") Shivaay blurted out with a grin.
The boy chuckled. "Thank you." He said with a smile.
"Sir, yeh Shivaay hai, mera best friend." ("Sir, this is Shivaay, my best friend.") Jay said to the boy and turned to Shivaay. "Aur Shivaay yeh mere sir hai..." ("And Shivaay this is my dance instructor...") Jay held his earlobe in respect and added. "... Shantanu Sir."
"Hello sir." Shivaay smiled again.
"Hello Shivaay." Shantanu said and quickly sipped on the water. "Tumhe admission lena hai ?" ("You wanna enroll yourself?")
"Um.." Shivaay trailed and looked at Jay before staring at his feet.
"Sir, Shivaay ko dance pasand hai, in fact Shivaay acche se dekh dekh ke dance sikh bhi leta hai." ("Sir, Shivaay loves to dance, in fact, he learns just by observing.") Jay spoke for Shivaay.
"Accha ? Shivaay kuch karke bata sakte ho ?" ("Really? Shivaay, can you show us your dance moves?") Shantanu asked Shivaay.
Shivaay nodded timidly. He felt nervous cause he had only danced in front of his brothers and Jay before.
"Go on, Shivaay." Jay whispered to Shivaay, encouraging him.
"Kaunsa song ?" ("Which song ?") Shantanu asked.
"Ankh mare from Simmba." Shivaay muttered and licked his lips nervously while taking shaky breaths.
"Dekho Shivaay it's not a test. Just feel the music, bhool jao ki hum log yaha pe hai." ("Look Shivaay it's not a test. Just feel the music, forget about our presence.") Shantanu smiled warmly.
Shivaay nodded and stood in the middle of the hall. Shantanu played the music and Shivaay started moving.
First Shivaay did some basic warm up steps and then as the song proceeded he recalled the steps which Ranveer Singh does in the song video and exactly copied those steps.
Shivaay didn't dare to look at Jay or Shantanu. His heart was racing 50 miles per second but he danced nonetheless, giving his 100% to the performance.
Till the music stopped, Shivaay was drenched in sweat partially due to dancing and partially due to tension.
Shantanu and Jay started applauding making Shivaay look at them in surprise.
They both walked up to him. Shantanu extended the bottle of water towards Shivaay and patted his back.
"Very good, Shivaay." Shantanu praised. "Thodi si smoothness lani hogi moves mein but I must say ki tumne gaane ke beats aur rhythm acche se catch kiye." ("You just need to smoothen your moves and practice but I must say you caught the beats and rhythm of the song very well.")
"Thank you sir." Shivaay released a sigh of relief and smiled.
"Toh kab aa rahe hai tumhare mom dad tumhara admission karwane ?" ("So when are your parents coming to enroll you?") Shantanu asked.
Shivaay's face contorted with sad expressions as Shantanu mentioned 'mom dad', this didn't go unnoticed by Jay, who quickly spoke up from Shivaay's behalf again.
"Sir, kya aap plz mere sath chalenge." ("Sir, please come with me.") Jay asked and took him to a corner.
"Kya baat hai Jay ?" ("What's wrong, Jay?") Shantanu asked.
"Sir woh... actually...Shivaay ke parents uske sath nahi rehte...woh usey Gopal kaka ke pass chodke kahi chale gaye." ("Sir actually... Shivaay's parents don't live with him. They have kept him with his Gopal kaka.") Jay explained shortly. "Uske pass utne paise nahi hai ki woh dance tuitions ki fee bhar sake lekin mein usey yaha leke aaya kyu ki mujhe pata hai ki woh ek accha dancer ban sakta hai.." ("Sir he cannot afford the fees but I have still brought him here cause I believe he can be a good dancer.")
Shantanu nodded in understanding. "Thik hai." ("Okay.")
They both walked towards Shivaay again.
"Shivaay, kal se classes ke liye aa jana. Monday aur Wednesday classes hote hai 4 se 6 tak ok ? Jay ke sath aa jana." ("Shivaay , your classes start tomorrow. You'll have classes on Monday and Wednesday of every week from 4 to 6 ok? Come with Jay.") Shantanu smiled politely at him.
"Pr sir woh fees..." ("But fees...") Shivaay trailed off.
"Tumhara dance ke liye passion hi meri fees hai." ("Your passion for dance is my fees.") Shantanu said seriously but with a smile. "Remember, we dance to express, not to...?"
"...Impress." Shivaay completed his sentence and they both smiled at each other. "Thank you so much, sir."
"No problem."
After biding bye to Shantanu, Jay and Shivaay left from the studio and started walking towards their home.
"Thank you so much, Jay. Mujhe abhi bhi yakeen nahi ho raha ki mein Shantanu sir se dance sikhne wala hu." ("Thank you so much, Jay. I still can't believe I'm going to learn to dance from Shantanu sir.") Shivaay said excitedly.
"You're always welcome, Shiv." Jay smiled.
Shivaay went home with a big smile glued to his face and told Gopal kaka that he had joined dance classes.
"Arey waah. Bahot acchi baat hai yeh toh baba." ("Wow. That's really nice baba.")Kaka smiled.
Shivaay smiled. "Kal 4 se 6 tak classes hongi." ("Classes start tomorrow from 4 to 6 pm.")
"Thik hai, kal jaate waqt mujhse fees lete jaana." ("Ok, don't forget to take your fees along when you go.") Kaka smiled although he knew that he would have to adjust the fees somehow.
"Nahi kaka, fees ki jarurat nahi hai. Woh sir mujhe free mein sikhane wale hai." ("No kaka, fee is not required. He's going to teach me free of cost.") Shivaay replied and explained everything to him.
Kaka didn't find it right though so the next day he went with Shivaay and insisted Shantanu to take the fees but Shantanu politely denied to accept the fee.
In this way, Shivaay found a new thing / skill in his life. He loved to dance and his same interest helped him to heal his broken heart. It helped him to cope up with his sadness and move on.
Next day Shivaay attended the dance class and learnt a few basic moves.
He was so happy, the smile on his face never left that day.
Shivaay loved to learn new things.
When Shivaay reached home he saw Om sitting before TV watching cartoon while kaka was running behind Rudy with a plate of food in his hand.
"Ru baba khana kha lo na." ("Ru baba eat your meal.") Gopal kaka said with heavy breaths.
"Baba, nahi. Woh nahi." ("No, baba. I don't want that.") Rudy yelled with a frown and ran as fast as he could.
Shivaay chuckled to himself. This was what had left with him to call a family.
It wasn't anything like his old home where everyone was busy in their own world, this was more better and more lovable. Kaka always greeted him when he came home and there was always noisy inside the house not pin drop silence like his old mansion.
Shivaay caught Ru in his arms and picked him up.
"Baai !" Baby Rudy squealed with excitement.
"Yeh sab kya ho raha hai ? Kaka ko kyu pareshan kar rahe the, ha ?" ("What's this all about ? Why are you troubling kaka?") Shivaay asked while tickling Rudy a bit.
"Accha hua baba aap aa gaye, dekhiye na Ru baba khana hi nahi kha rahe." ("Thank God baba you came, Ru baba is refusing to eat his meal.") Gopal kaka said in between his heavy breaths.
Shivaay took the plate from kaka's hands and sat down on the cot with Ru on his lap. "Bahot samay pehle ki baat hai...Ek kingdom mein ek rajkumar rehta tha, pata hai uska naam kya tha ?" ("Once upon a time...There was a big kingdom with prince, do you know what was the name of that prince?")
Rudy shook his head saying 'No' and paid full attention to Shivaay.
Shivaay bit back a smile and frowned at Baby Rudy. "Uska naam mein ussey hi bataunga jo fatafat khana kha lega...aur tum toh khaoge nahi toh jaane do mein yeh story Om ko bata dunga." ("I'll tell his name only to the person who will finish his meal quickly...and you won't be eating this so I'll just tell this story to Om.")
"Nahi !" ("No!") Baby Rudy said with sad expressions.
"Toh fir chalo muh kholo. Kaho aa." ("Ok then open your mouth.") Shivaay picked up the spoon full of dal chawal and placed it on Ru's lips.
"Aa." Rudy opened his mouth as big as he could and started eating while listening to the story Shivaay was narrating.
Kaka smiled at the duo and ran inside the kitchen in hurry. After 5 minutes, he came back with a small Polaroid camera and clicked a few pictures of ShivRu.
"Yeh toh bahot acchi aayi hai, kaka." ("These are so cool.") Shivaay commented after looking at the pictures. "Apka camera bhi mujhe accha laga." ("I loved the pictures as well as your camera.")
"Yeh camera meine Arnav ke tisre janam din pr kharida tha, uski har yaad sambhal ke rakhne ke liye." ("I had bought this camera on Arnav's 3rd birthday to treasure every moment of his life.") Kaka explained sadly but then he composed himself. "Aur ab mein aap tino ki yaade sambhal ke rakhunga." ("And now I'll be using it to treasure every moment of you guys' life.")He smiled.
Rudy jumped down from Shivaay's lap and went to kaka. He started pulling Kaka's pajama pant's sleeve and muttered. "Baba, pani." ("Baba, water.")
Om chuckled. "Buddhu ! Baba nahi kaka." ("Idiot ! It's kaka not baba.") He tried correcting Ru.
Rudy nodded and pointed at kaka. "Baba." He repeated making everyone chuckle except for kaka who just smiled.
Kaka picked him up in his arms and hugged him once. "Ru baba, bolo Ka..ka." ("Ru baba, say ka..ka.") He smiled.
"Baba !" Rudy squealed and hugged kaka tightly.
A tear or two escaped from kaka's eyes as he smiled widely and hugged Ru tightly.
Shivaay saw the tears and came to kaka in panic. "Kaka, aap ro kyu rahe ho ? Maaf kardo kaka, Ru se galati ho gayi, baccha hai woh...Uski baat ka plz bura mat maano." ("Kaka, what's wrong ? I'm sorry if Ru said something wrong kaka, Ru is just a kid...don't take his words to your heart please.") He said guiltily.
"Arey nahi Shiv Baba, mein ro nahi raha...Yeh toh bas khushi ke ansu hai. Ru baba ne mujhe 'Baba' bulaya." ("No, no Shiv Baba, I'm not crying...these are happy tears. Ru baba called me baba.") He smiled through teary eyes.
"Toh ?" ("So?") Om frowned as he didn't understand what was like crying in Ru calling him baba.
"Aap toh jaante hai ki mein marathi hu." ("You already know I'm Marathi.") Kaka said and Shivaay nodded. "Marathi mein hum papa ko baba bulate hai." ("In Marathi, we call our father baba.") He explained.
"Mujhe koi dikkat nahi hai agar Ru baba mujhe baba bulate hai toh...Mere liye aap tino mere bete jaise ho." ("I don't mind Ru baba calling me baba...For me you 3 are like my own sons.") Kaka was so happy and it was flashing on his face.
"Thik hai toh aj se main bhi apko baba bulaunga !" ("Alright then I'll call you baba too!") Om grinned from ear to ear making Kaka smile at him and hug him too.
Kaka's eyes landed on Shivaay who looked like he was having an internal argument with himself.
"Shiv baba, apko mujhe baba bulane ki koi jarurat nahi hai. Itna mat sochiye uss bare mein." ("Shiv Baba, you don't need to call me baba. Don't sweat it out.") Kaka said.
"Pr apko kaise pata chala ki mein wohi soch raha tha ?" ("But how would you know what I was thinking?") Shivaay amused.
Kaka just smiled at him.
"Woh sab chodo, yaha aao sab hum ek tasveer khichte hai...Kya kehte hai usey..?..ha ! Family photo." ("Chuck it, come here we'll click a picture...what it's called?...um...family photo.") Kaka swiftly changed the subject and placed his camera on the window pane after setting a timer.
Shiv was on the right side of kaka, Om was on the left side of kaka while Ru sat in kaka's arms. Everyone smiled at the camera and none of the smile was fake. All the smiles were sincere.
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First things first, this is longest chapter in this book till now ! 2930 words !
Oh God !
By the way, in Ishqbaaz it is shown that Shivaay is a good dancer and I seriously loved it when he danced in the serial so I decided to add it here too. 😊
This chapter was pretty much about Jay and Shivaay's friendship nothing more really...but then it's a lil bit about the trio warming up to kaka as well.
Anyway, I hope I didn't bore you ♥️
And oh, do not forget to watch the video in the media box... Shantanu's dance is really mesmerizing in that..😍💗
Till the next update,
Have a safe and great life 😇
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