The Result Of Misunderstanding

By Shyam Kumar

Welcome to "The Result of Misunderstanding", a gripping story of two friends Rohit and Nivedita but the beautiful relation died due to the misunderstanding of the society and the name which they gave is "Lust." Misunderstanding danced along with ill logical and nonsense stuff on a naked platform and the result was that the beautiful bonding of friendship was turned into an ugly faded relation and due to that even their blood relation shattered.
We have to understand that it is not necessary that your life partner will be your best friend and your best friend will be your partner of life, because both relationships is very different and very honest, just like two holy rivers whose stream is different but they meet in the same ocean.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wordit CDE
• Release date: Dec 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9788194394150

Shyam Kumar

Shyam Kumar, the youngest sibling of one brother and five sisters, was born on 5th December 1945 in Multan (now in Pakistan). After partition of India in 1947, his entire family migrated as refugees to Delhi as refugees where they had to spend a few nights on footpaths opposite the Old Delhi Railway Station till the hunt for a shelter was over. He had his schooling at government schools in Delhi and graduation from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. He joined New Delhi YMCA where he worked for 35 years. During this period, he authored a novel – The Last Dawn, published in 1999 and a story book in Hindi – Jheel Ke Us Paar, published in 2021.

Book preview

Chapter – 1

Bare Beginnings

It was the wedding reception of my cousin, where I, Rohit, met all my relatives after a long time. Robin, my cousin, and I, after having some snacks, went to an ice-cream stall to have its sweetness for the fifth time. While returning to my seat, I saw my cousin Nivedita, who was as old as me. Thereafter, the three of us spent some time together before Robin left for his home. Later, it was just the both of us giving company to each other, as our relatives were quite older than us. Everyone typically said two-three patent lines.

Hello, how are your studies going on?

Hey, you’ve become so tall!

God bless you, may you succeed in life, after which, they’d continue with the respective topics they were busy discussing.

I had completed school in a boarding. That’s why I was not so close to the guys who were there, although they were the kids of my father’s friend. Shaking hands and how are your studies going? were the only topics we discussed, and I was expected to constantly smile without a reason, so they could see my yellow teeth.

Anyhow, I met Nivedita after a long period of twelve years. She was looking very sweet. I asked her for an ice-cream, and she responded with a smile. I went again to the ice-cream stall and came back with a thick scoop of butterscotch. She asked what I was doing, and I replied, I’m in my second year, pursuing B.A.L.L.B. from Delhi.

She said, I am trying to take admission into M.B.B.S., and there are a few entrance exams in Delhi I have given my CBSE examination too. Let’s see what the result will be. I assured her that everything would be fine, and that it would be really great if she got admission in Delhi. As we were the same age, it was quite mandatory to ask if we were committed.

So, do you have any girlfriend? she asked.

First I said no, but after twenty seconds I said, Yes. I like a girl in my batch, but till now I have not asked her out, I am afraid that if she says no, then it will be very difficult for me to continue the friendship. Nivedita laughed at my response.

What’s so funny about this? I asked.

You know what, all the boys think the same, and that’s why they take lots of time to express their feelings.

Great, so that means you have a boyfriend, right?

Yes, she rolled her eyes.

What’s his name?

First you tell, what’s her name? she countered.

She is not my girlfriend yet.

Fine, but she will be.

Well, her name is Priya, I answered, blushing.

His name is Prateek, Nivedita said in a low voice, as she closed her eyes.

And I could guess then that she was missing him a lot. I had read somewhere that if we miss someone then our eyes close automatically, so that we visualize their face, and remember the priceless moments spent with them.

He is going to England. In a heavy voice she uttered, while opening her beautiful eyes.

Oh! Why?

He is planning to pursue his M.B.B.S. from England. His uncle is also a doctor practicing in England, so his parents want him to go there for his further studies. She answered, and smiled in a very odd way, which told me that she was very sad.

Meanwhile, we saw one of our cousins coming, so we changed the topic. He came and said,Nivedita your mother is calling.

She stood up and went with him. After sitting alone for five minutes, I again went to the ice-cream stall to have yet another scoop. While returning, I saw Nivedita coming back. When she came nearer, she exclaimed, Another ice-cream!

Do you want?

No, I want coffee.

We both went to the coffee stall and she took a mug of coffee, and came back to the same place where we’d been sitting earlier.

So what’s the matter? I asked.

Nothing, mummy wants to introduce me to someone.

You don’t know him.

No, mom told me that I was four years old when I last saw them.

Okay, I replied and put all my pressure on the back of my chair, so that I could sit comfortably. Nivedita was looking very beautiful on that day. She was very fair, wearing a dark blue coloured saree. Her beautiful eyebrows with big black eyes, supported by eye shadow, her soft cheeks and a maroon lipstick, with a small bindi on her forehead was enough to attract attention and give her admiring looks. Her long open hair was tied in a very unique style; fifteen to twenty hair strands on the front resting on both her shoulders, and the remaining on the back to form a U-shape. With her perfect figure, she gave the impression that yes, she was the hottest. Her smile was as innocent as a newly born baby’s, and her face was as fresh as the first dew drops on a winter morning.

After two minutes I began again,So, you were saying that Prateek is going to England.

Oh! Yes, I am feeling very uncomfortable, I don’t know if I will ever meet him or not, and her voice became low. The only good thing is that whenever he will go, he will take a flight from Delhi, so I can meet him then.

Really, that’s great. By the way, when is he going? I asked.

If everything is on track, then he will leave India in the second week of September.

And when are you going to Delhi?

Tomorrow at 11:30. I don’t know whether I will get admission or not.

I can understand, but be positive, you will get admission, I assured her.

Looking at the floor, she said, Entrance examination is not a joke, and this is my first attempt.

Okay, if not, then?

I don’t want to waste my year. I will go for B.Pharma. Seeing her face tensed, I held her hand and said, Relax. To change her mood, I asked her about dinner.

Yes, of course, she said.

Walking past the many curious onlookers, we walked into the dinner hall. The hall was decorated very beautifully; at the center of the hall was a black round table and the base was covered in red, on that there was a bronze statue of lord Ganesha. Nearby, the salad was decorated in shape of fish. There were two rows opposite each other: on one were non vegetarian dishes, and on the other side, vegetarian ones. The ceiling of the hall had dangling yellow and crimson lamps, giving a welcoming aura. The floor was covered with a blue carpet, and the beautiful pillars gave a surreal effect to the magnificent hall. We approached the non-veg delicacies with an appetite. Giving her a plate, I stocked mine; three rumali rotis, three pieces of chicken, two pieces of dry fish and biryani. On the other hand, she took two rumali rotis, four pieces of dry fish with one piece of mutton and a huge amount of salad. Girls were so figure conscious that they could do anything to maintain it; a common sight in the college canteen. Girls! They lived on salad. I wonder what figure they desired! There was a variety of rice dishes. Biryani, fried rice, steamed rice, jira rice; but Nivedita eyed them with a longing smile and moved on.

Hey… Rice…? I asked.

No, it’s too oily and is full of fat, Nivedita replied.

Poor rice, most girls stay away all for the sake of theirfigure, it seldom touches their beautiful, luscious lips. We returned to the same place and took the same chairs.

I love fish. This is my favorite non-veg dish, Nivedita said. After five seconds she asked, What is yours?

I smiled and replied, I too love fish a lot, but I can’t have them in Delhi.

Why?

Because, I like fish only when it has been made in my mother’s kitchen.

Yes, same here, I enjoy everything my mom makes, Nivedita grinned. In hostel, I always miss these things.

This is true, I replied. We have to eat whatever the hostel provides us with.

Basically Nivedita had been in boarding school since the third grade, and I, from the fourth. So we both knew the positive and negative aspects of hostel life very well. We both were busy talking to each other and were hardly having our dinner. Little did we realize that one and half hours had passed before we’d finally cleaned our plates. Here again, I asked her for an ice-cream. She smiled and replied, Why not, it’s good to have dessert after dinner. Walking towards the ice-cream vendor, the man looked at me with apprehension, curiously watching my new-found friend, as if to say, I am not going to serve you ice-cream anymore!

Nivedita said, Bhaiya, two bowls of ice-cream please, and she smiled. Her smile so sweet and innocent, anyone would have given her whatever she desired, what was then a mere ice-cream? The man took out a brick of vanilla, and cut it into two different styles. First was of thick layer and the other was thin, and the judgment given by him was clear. I gave him a stern, offended look.

How many plates of ice-cream have you eaten since you’ve been here? Nivedita asked, as she understood the judgment passed by the ice-cream vendor.

I don’t know maybe eleven or twelve plates.

Fuck yaar! Nivedita exclaimed, smiling.

So how and when did Prateek ask you out? I asked.

With a killing smile, she rolled her eyes and said, It’s a long story. I will tell you, but not now.

With a long sigh I retorted, That means in Delhi.

Maybe! she giggled. Cutting the ice-cream with a disposable spoon, Nivedita asked, When are you going to ask her out?

Whom...? I cross-questioned her.

Shaking her head, she said, Priya.

Okay okay, I said. I don’t know.

Are you serious about her?

In a solemn tone I replied, I am very serious.

May I ask you something? she asked.

Yes why not?

When is her birthday?

On 10th September, I said.

Great! she replied after a moment, placing her spoon back on her plate. Try expressing your feelings on that day.

What? I was totally surprised.

Leaving the spoon on the plate she said,

Yes…are you close friend? Yes of course, we are very close friends. She shares each and every thing with me.

And you?

I don’t share my feelings, but yes I like her company. I feel very comfortable when she is with me.

You know one thing?

No I don’t know that thing, I interrupted with a smile.

That’s why I am telling you, she continued. Do you know when we girls share our feelings with any boy?

Enjoying the ice-cream completely, I asked, When?

When we trust that person and feel that he will understand us. Holding my hand Nivedita said, Tell your feelings as soon as possible, because we girls hardly take this step. But once we give our commitment, we give it for our entire lives. Many of you guys do it for time-pass, but if we are not interested, we frankly tell you. We don’t go on wasting time. We are made like this, for us commitment is a very big step; many of us give our lives just for the sake of commitment.

Looking into my eyes, she continued, We girls judge you by your nature, your truthfulness and by your trustworthiness too; for us physical appearance hardly matters, because we love you and we love you by your nature, not by your physical appearance. Don’t get angry, but most of you boys want to be in a relationship just for the sake of lust, once your work is over you leave us like an old cloth, and you don’t feel any type of guilt either. And our fault is that we trust you so much that getting physical doesn’t matter. You know, we girls are made in such a way that we can sacrifice anything for the person we love the most. Your happiness becomes our happiness. But you boys never understand, and will never understand in the future either.

I was sitting and listening to her like a good student, concentrating on each and every line that clearly depicted the true feelings and emotions of a girl.

She again said, If you love her honestly then tell her, but if you love her just for one night, please don’t do that, because love is beautiful and being in a relationship is more beautiful. I don’t know about you boys, but for us life becomes hell when you say goodbye forever. So I request you, if you love Priya honestly, only then move forward, otherwise leave her.

No, I love her honestly, I said in a heavy voice.

Then promise me that you will never leave her in the future, Nivedita asked of me.

I looked at her for a while, then, "Yes, I am giving you my word.

I am not going to leave Priya at any cost. It was like a promise you make to your parents that you would score more than 90% marks in your board examinations. But if she leaves me, what happens then?" I asked her after a minute.

Nivedita laughed at once, her beautiful eyes twinkled, as she said, There are very few girls who use boys. More than 98% girls would never do this. She fell quiet again, and I started thinking about what she had just said.

Do you want more ice-cream? I asked.

Yes, but I want water too.

It was only natural to want water after such a long speech. Once again, we were at the stall. I was a little away from it though, because had the man in the black shirt seen me again, thenI was dead sure he wouldn’t give us any more. So I asked Nivedita to get the ice-cream, and I went to get water.

I have never eaten so much ice-cream as I have today, Nivedita said.

So how are you feeling after coming home? I asked.

It’s always nice to behome, but I am missing my friends a lot. I don’t know when I will meet them again.

Especially Prateek, I pointed out at once.

Looking to her left, she said, Not only Prateek, All my friends. Soni, Shweta, Anjali, Mayank, I am missing them all.

In a heavy voice I replied, I can understand. When we are away from our parents, our friends are our caretakers. Whatever the matter is, we share it with them.

Meanwhile, Rajiv uncle and Sunita aunty, Nivedita’s parents, came up to us. We both stood up. I went forward and touched their feet, and they blessed me, putting their hands on my head.

"So how are your studies going on, beta?" Rajiv uncle asked.

With a huge smile on my face, I replied, They’re going quite well.

Nivedita is also going to Delhi, Sunita aunty added.

Yes, she told me. It will be good if she gets admission there, with the same smile, I replied.

Yes, we all want the same, because Delhi is closer, and it will be easy for us to reach there soon, in case of any emergency. Rajiv uncle then looked at Nivedita, asking, Nivedita, shall we move?

Listening to his tone, I started wondering whether he was ordering or asking. With the same sweet and innocent smile, Nivedita agreed. At the same time, my parents came. Sunita aunty greeted my mom and invited all of us for dinner at her place. Sunita aunty and my mom had been very close since childhood. My mom accepted her invitation.

We all came to the gate to see each other off. Rajiv uncle opened the door to his white Honda City, and sat on the driver’s seat. Nivedita said goodbye in a very low voice, and I responded to her the same way. She opened the back door of the car and went inside, while Sunita aunty took some time talking to my mom. After a few minutes, she opened the door to the passenger seat, and Rajiv uncle waved his goodbyes before