Disclaimer - This is a work of fiction
"Dada...can
I call u by this name?," A little girl of 6 came running towards me as I
entered my house. She resembled her mother.
"Appa...meet
Akhila your loving granddaughter," My daugher Hema introduced me
to Akhila whom I was meeting for the first time ever since her birth. Having
spent 14 long years in prison ,I have
realized that life had been too harsh on me for I even failed to recognize my
own kith and kin.
"Yes
dear...I am your dada. You never knew how delighted I am to see you and hold
you my dear,"
I took her in my laps and kissed on her soft tender cheeks. She soon left for
school and we never met until dinner. The night was still young yet everyone at
home was fast asleep. I lolled on the couch near the window peeping outside admiring
the scenic beauty and vastness of the night sky. It had been long since I sat
like this in complete silence. Those were the days of fame when I was at my
career peak. The house which I lived for 30 years failed to embrace me. All
because of a fateful day. The day I got
linked to a murder case.
There was few minutes of
silence as I lied on the couch introspecting where things went wrong . "Dadaaa..," My granddaughter
sat next to me. "How was school
today?," I gently asked her, ruffling her thick dark curls.
"school
isn't fun,"
She complained.
"Where
were you all these days dada?," I saw a glimpse of innocence
reflecting in her shiny eyes as she uttered these words.
"I
was outside the town lovely," I said as she sat on my lap. "Why didn't you come to meet me even once?," She said,
her eyes turned moist with tears.
"Oh
lovely ,don't cry...now that I'm back ..I promise I will be with your
forever,"
I wiped the tears rolling on her cheeks with a napkin.
"But
you know..some of my friends mock me saying you were sentenced to jail," She said making a
puppy face.
"And
you murdered someone ...," She continued.
"Is
it true?,"
She questioned me something I was well prepared to answer.
"Oh
dearie. Its time to sleep. you have to wake up early tomorrow ," I said to her. "No Dada..you are going to tell me else
I will not talk to you ," She was visibly a defiant kid. All my
attempts to refrain from this topic seemed futile. "Ok I will tell
you..but before that you need to make a promise. I opened my palm to make the
gesture.
“promise
me you will never ever say this to anyone," I asked her.
"Ok
..I will not tell anyone.. not even Amma," She immediately held my hand and smiled.
I took a deep breath and began…
"You
might be unaware that I was a reigning superstar of Tamil Cinema during the
80's and the 90's era. I had a huge fan following. People especially youngsters
were crazy behind me and would perform religious rituals every time my movie
released. That time I considered myself lucky for I had great people around me
who appreciated and encouraged me with their constant support. They loved me
and even put me next to their God," I smiled as the word made my nostalgic.
Little Akhila’s gaze was fixed
upon my eyes as I told her my story. I believed that she found it intriguing. "Wow..I'm sure you must be having many
female fans as well," She laughed.
"oh
yes”
I laughed at her question. “An ensemble
of females gathered outside our house just outside that verandah whenever my
new film released," I pointed my index finger towards the verandah.
"They
would come with garlands and flower bouquets to wish me and catch a glimpse of
their hero,"
I continued.
"I
would address them from the balcony ,"
"Amazing!
How lucky a person you were dada," She said as she reclined on
the sofa resting her head upon my shoulder.
"I met your grandmother at the set
of 'Veera Paandi' where she was casted
opposite me. I tell you that it was love at the first sight," I smiled at my granddaughter
who by then showed signs of sleep. I
carried her to the bedroom where her mother and father slept.
I married 'Rajatha' ,the
reigning queen of Tamil Cinema of the 70’s on 19th September ,1981 . The very
next year she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. The birth of the new born
showered much more luck upon me and I reached a zenith of my career in the next
5 years with every movie being a hit. During that decade I won several
accolades and many filmfares and National awards. Rajatha and I lived happily
along with our daughter Hema. It would be foolish, infact too foolish to say
that I never loved my family. I looked after them and Rajatha stopped doing films after Hema was born. She transformed
herself into a perfect housewife taking care of me and our daughter.
( to be continued ...)
Image Courtest - Google Images
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Nice start :) It gives a personalized touch to the story. Flow of the story is great plus i love the dialogues. Anxiously waiting for part 2.
ReplyDeletenice one... waiting for more!
ReplyDeletegreat narration ....
ReplyDeleteme too in queue of waiting part 2:)
Now you stopped at a point the way TV-serial directors do which makes the readers almost try peeping beyond the right corner of their windows screens to see if they can get a glimpse of the sequel ha ha .... Very well narrated...Eagerly awaiting the next one
ReplyDeleteha ha thank you ...I hope you liked the series
Delete