Taabindagi (Sequel Of Sharar)

Six

(She’s Momo. With the way she acts, she probably gets scolded a hundred times a day.)

"Phir bhi, Momo ko nahi involve nahi karna chahiye tha. Eifa, kam se kam tum hi kuch samjhadari dikhati, kyu..." Kian whispered, crossing his arms.

(Still, you guys shouldn’t have dragged Momo into it. Eifa, you at least should’ve shown some sense...)

"Aap unhe kyu keh rahe hain?" Shahnan cut in.

(Why are you blaming her?)

"Tumko kisne involve kiya?" Ehan added, rolling his eyes. Between Kian's constant nagging and Eifa's worried glances, he was starting to feel frustrated. "Jao tum kone mein baitho." Ehan grumbled, giving Kian a gentle push. Just then, Nomi leaned closer.

(Who asked you to get involved?)

(Just go sit in the corner.)

"Shayad badi dadi kuch keh rahi hain," he whispered, and they all strained to listen.

(I think badi dadi is saying something,)

"Ek humara zamana tha, dadi ke samne zuban nahi kholte the, aur tum dono, yaha kachehri laga rahi ho."

(In our time, we’d never even think of arguing in front of our elders, and here you two are, holding 'kachehri,')

Kulsoom fidgeted in her seat and shot a quick look at Sharfa, who, despite orchestrating the whole thing, sat there casually, scrolling on her phone as if she hadn't a care in the world.

With her legs up on the sofa and a pillow hugged to her chest, Sharfa looked up at Rukhsar at her last words. Kulsoom's hopes rose-finally, Sharfa was about to speak on her behalf. But then Sharfa asked, "Kaha hai kachori?"

(Where’s kachori?)

The group outside the lounge turned to Shahnan as if it was somehow his fault. Shahnan threw up his hands in apology.

"'Kachehri, means Court," Kulsoom quickly whispered to Sharfa, covering her mouth.

"Oh, no no, badi dadi, Kullu court thori jayegi. Yeh itni bhi buri nahi." Sharfa said earnestly, her wide eyes innocent, as if they were actually discussing filing a lawsuit against Grandma.

(Oh no, badi dadi, Kullu's not going to court. She’s not that bad,)

Kulsoom wanted to smack her forehead. Why had she trusted Sharfa with this?

"Kulsoom, tum batao, kya dikkat hai tumhe? Iss ghar mein sabse pyara naam tumhara hi hai. Aaj kal ke naamo ki tarah thori, sab ek jaise hi toh lagte hain, Ahana, Alana, Shanaya, inn naamo mein kya khas hai? Inn sab ke comparison mein tumhara naam itna pyara hai." Rukhsar paused, watching Kulsoom lower her head.

(Kulsoom, tell me, what’s the issue? Your name is one of the prettiest in this family. Not like the names nowadays, all sounding the same—Ahana, Alana, Shanaya. What’s so special about those? Compared to them, your name is so lovely.)

"True, humari khud ki class mein 2 Ahana hai, aur 3 Alana hain... and one Anara as well," Sharfa agreed with Rukhsar, making Kulsoom glare at her.

(True, I have two Ahanas and three Alanas in my class... and one Anara too,)

"Her name really is Anara. Anara Kapoor," Sharfa added in detail, thinking maybe Kulsoom didn't believe her. "She was a new admission at my school, aur humne unhe dekhke smile kiya, but unhone nahi kiya, so rude! Phir humne soch liya dubara nahi karenge inko dekhke smile. Lekin phir ek din we got paired for a project, tab jake I realised, she's sweet. Bas zyada smile nahi karti. Pata hai uske parents ka divorce ho gaya last summer, and she lives with her mom, aur unki sister dad ke sath rehti hain. Aur woh kafi close thi apni..."