20-10-2019, 01:08 PM
The Surprise - Part 1
Nikhil was depressed. It was 9 am, and he was already up...far before his routine wake up time.
Rajukaka, the elderly manservant, had been sent to wake him up. He silently cursed him under
his breath. Nineteen year old Nikhil was the only son of famous actress Rajani Advani. All his
life, he had been raised by Rajukaka, the manservant who had been with his family for two
decades. Actually, his "family" consisted of only his mother and him, his father had left for
greener pastures in a country abroad two months before he was born. His mom too was almost
never around,being busy with her shooting schedules and he was largely raised alone but
amongst the best of luxuries. At that moment though, Nikhil loathed his mom Rajani. He hated
the fact that he was financially dependent on her and also hated the fact that there wasnt much he
could do if he set out on his own. He did not want to give up on his current lifestyle either : the
clothes, the innumerable cars with drivers, holidays abroad, and entertaining his friends at the
best clubs every night. "What is it Rajukaka..?? Why did you wake me up at this ungodly hour?",
he asked the servant.
"Because Membsahib wished me to do so..", came the polite reply. He reluctantly got up from
his comfortable position, and dragged himself to the bathroom. By the time he freshened up
though, he was feeling a bit cheerful. He let his mind wander..and thought about which girl he
would give a call to today to give him company, whether they should go shopping or hang out at
some expensive restaurants.. With this mood, he came out of his room, only to find his mother
Rajani sitting on his bed. "Hello Nikhil", she said, "Hope you are feeling fresh today, because we
are going on a trip." What??? A trip with her?? Nikhil did not particularly like her overbearing
presence, as also the facts she still made decisions for him. "I am not coming anywhere with
you..". Rajani sighed, and got up. Walking up to him, she put her arm on his, and said with a
finality "Yes you are, Rajukaka has already packed for you. I will be waiting downstairs". As she
walked away from his room, he dislike for her grew a bit, and he did not like the fact that he
always buckled under her pressure and gaze, no matter what his opinion was. Reluctantly, he got
dressed and went downstairs. His mom was waiting for him in the posh lobby of his house.
"Good", she said,and gently touched his cheek with her palm. Nikhil sized her up. Now in her
40s, Rajani wasnt an unattractive woman at all, as her profession demanded.She was almost as
tall as he was, perhaps half an inch less.She was wearing a white shirt and cream trousers today.
He followed her out, where a gleaming black Tata Safari was waiting for them. He did not
remember seeing that before, but then, they had many cars, and he hardly paid attention to the
ones in which was being driven around by drivers all day in his quest for fun and frolic. He was
surprised when his mom walked over to the drivers side, opened the door and got inside.
"What??", He exclaimed, "No driver??". "No sweetie, its just you and me today." . Ohh, he
groaned internally, this was going to be one hard trip. Rajani started the big vehicle, and slowly
steered out of her lavish home.
"Where are we going?", he asked. "You will know when we get there.",came the reply. Rajani
handled the big vehicle to morning traffic in the city in the direction of the highway. Nikhil was
surprised she could drive it without a problem, he had never seen her do it before. He himself
had never bothered to learn how to drive, who needs it when you have drivers at your beck and
call at every hour. Rajani deftly steered the vehicle on the crowded highway, and they were
making good progress. After about an hour and a half of driving, they turned off the main road
onto what seemed like a village road. About 20 minutes later, they came to the actual village
itself. The roads were extremely narrow, and the vehicle barely fit onto it. Many a times, he
thought they were almost going to hit something, but nothing happened. Rajani, as usual, and
calmly steered around the obstacles. A while later, they came to a big compound, where the road
was comparitively wider. "This", explained Rajani,"is our village estate". They came upon a gate
and honked twice. Slowly, the big gate opened, and Rajani steered the vehicle inside. Nikhil
could see a biggish house built in a retro style. The door had been opened by a lady who
appeared to be a maidservant. "That is Kamala, she looks after the house along with the
gardener.", came the unasked for explanation. She parked and they got out. "Why are we here?",
he wanted to know. "You wait here, I will change and come", came the reply. Nikhil was
irritated by the fact that as usual, she had this mom-knows-best attitude,and deflected his
question with an instruction.
He couldnt wait to get back to his friends and those shopping malls. Five minutes later, Rajani
was back out in the courtyard, but now she was dressed in an orange and green salwar kameez.
"You must be wondering na..why I changed into this?" . "Well...yeah...sort of..". "Well, its
because we are heading to a temple.". Nikhil sighed...he was bored. He started walking back to
the car... "Where are you going, we are not taking the car.." Rajani called back after him. "You
mean....we are going to walk??!" he gasped. "No sweetie.. but didnt you see the roads back
there? So narrow, a car isnt always practical". She clasped his hand into hers and began leading
him to the back of the house. "We will be taking.....this!!", she said with a smile. In front of
them, stood a black coloured motorcycle. The tank said 'Royal Enfield' , and the middle part said
'500cc'. "What??",he exclaimed, "But I dont know how to ride a bike!!" "Who says YOU have to
ride sweetie",his mother said with a mischievous smile and before he knew it walked over to the
bike. The Enfield looked in to good be in good shape, and seemed as if it was recently polished.
"Butt..can you...I mean...", he began, but stopped as he saw his mom put the bike down from its
main stand in one single fluid motion. The bike looked heavy to him, but he didnt know much
about them. She gently swung a leg over on the bike. Nikhil didnt know it was possible to get on
a bike wearing a salwar kameez. He looked on with a mixture of amazement and doubt. Rajani
bent down and engaged the choke, then she swiftly kicked the bike. It spluttered once but did not
start. She gave another hard kick, and with a mighty noise which sounded like a thump and a
roar, the big motorcycle came to life. Nikhil was more than impressed, he didnt know his mom
could start bikes.
Slowly, she engaged gears and called her son over. He slowly stepped over. "Common son, we
are going for a ride!". He didnt know what to say...he was amazed. He gently sat behind her,
unsure whether the lady could handle both his as well as the bike's weight at once. His mother
had tied her dupatta at diagonally across so it wouldnt interefere with her riding. Slowly, they
edged out of the compound and into the village. Nikhil could feel the people staring at him, but
didnt know whether it was out of amazement of seeing an attractive salwar kameez clad woman
riding, or was it because they hadnt seen her with HIM before. Nikhil had a gut feeling it was the
latter. They left the village behind and came to a shady tree lined road, and Rajani started
gathering speed. She rode deftly, without the slightest hesitation or sign of struggling or
imbalance. He figured this was something she did regularly. "When did learn to ride a
motorcycle??", he yelled into his mom's ear, struggling to make himself heard above the wind
and the bikes noise. "Well....I had ridden bikes before in my movies too!". This was news for
him, not that he watched too many of her movies. Just then, he realised that he was sitting in an
awkward pose, with his hands behind him, holding the grab bar. "It would be better if you hold
me instead.." Rajani said over the wind. He slowly let go, and put his arms around his mother's
waist. He placed his head gently alongside hers, on her shoulders, feeling the wind in his face. It
sort of felt good. As he was discovering, his mother was a skilled rider, taking the twists and
turns of the road without upsetting the big bike the slightest. After what seemed like half an hour
of riding, they came across a stone temple, at the side of the road. Rajani gently rolled to a stop
alongside it, and Nikhil got off. The bike ride wasnt as bad as he had imagined it to be. His
mother got down and smoothed out her dress. She parked the bike on the main stand and went
inside.
“What’s the matter beta? Why so quiet tonight?” Rajani asked Nikhil.
“Nothing maa just feeling a bit sleepy.”
“Beta we have got a special order for a wedding,” Rajani said while playing with her hair.
“Oh really maa? How and Where?”
Rajani,” Nikhil, get ready, we have to go for a reception of my old friend’s marriage reception.”
Nikhil wore a nice suit, Rajani wore purple full shirt with pink tight pant. Rajani started bike and
Nikhil sat behind her, they travelled to a nice hotel, to a small decorated room. Rajani called
hotel staffs did more arrangements flowers, music, candle lights, banquet and two decorated
seats, garlands, light in floor and music boxes with dance floor, she checked costly shampene
boxes. After everything she found satisfactory she told employees to leave hotel, just give them
full privacy. The swimming pool was floating with diyas giving nice environment. Nikhil was
wondering who is coming, some celebrity or politician.
Nikhil was depressed. It was 9 am, and he was already up...far before his routine wake up time.
Rajukaka, the elderly manservant, had been sent to wake him up. He silently cursed him under
his breath. Nineteen year old Nikhil was the only son of famous actress Rajani Advani. All his
life, he had been raised by Rajukaka, the manservant who had been with his family for two
decades. Actually, his "family" consisted of only his mother and him, his father had left for
greener pastures in a country abroad two months before he was born. His mom too was almost
never around,being busy with her shooting schedules and he was largely raised alone but
amongst the best of luxuries. At that moment though, Nikhil loathed his mom Rajani. He hated
the fact that he was financially dependent on her and also hated the fact that there wasnt much he
could do if he set out on his own. He did not want to give up on his current lifestyle either : the
clothes, the innumerable cars with drivers, holidays abroad, and entertaining his friends at the
best clubs every night. "What is it Rajukaka..?? Why did you wake me up at this ungodly hour?",
he asked the servant.
"Because Membsahib wished me to do so..", came the polite reply. He reluctantly got up from
his comfortable position, and dragged himself to the bathroom. By the time he freshened up
though, he was feeling a bit cheerful. He let his mind wander..and thought about which girl he
would give a call to today to give him company, whether they should go shopping or hang out at
some expensive restaurants.. With this mood, he came out of his room, only to find his mother
Rajani sitting on his bed. "Hello Nikhil", she said, "Hope you are feeling fresh today, because we
are going on a trip." What??? A trip with her?? Nikhil did not particularly like her overbearing
presence, as also the facts she still made decisions for him. "I am not coming anywhere with
you..". Rajani sighed, and got up. Walking up to him, she put her arm on his, and said with a
finality "Yes you are, Rajukaka has already packed for you. I will be waiting downstairs". As she
walked away from his room, he dislike for her grew a bit, and he did not like the fact that he
always buckled under her pressure and gaze, no matter what his opinion was. Reluctantly, he got
dressed and went downstairs. His mom was waiting for him in the posh lobby of his house.
"Good", she said,and gently touched his cheek with her palm. Nikhil sized her up. Now in her
40s, Rajani wasnt an unattractive woman at all, as her profession demanded.She was almost as
tall as he was, perhaps half an inch less.She was wearing a white shirt and cream trousers today.
He followed her out, where a gleaming black Tata Safari was waiting for them. He did not
remember seeing that before, but then, they had many cars, and he hardly paid attention to the
ones in which was being driven around by drivers all day in his quest for fun and frolic. He was
surprised when his mom walked over to the drivers side, opened the door and got inside.
"What??", He exclaimed, "No driver??". "No sweetie, its just you and me today." . Ohh, he
groaned internally, this was going to be one hard trip. Rajani started the big vehicle, and slowly
steered out of her lavish home.
"Where are we going?", he asked. "You will know when we get there.",came the reply. Rajani
handled the big vehicle to morning traffic in the city in the direction of the highway. Nikhil was
surprised she could drive it without a problem, he had never seen her do it before. He himself
had never bothered to learn how to drive, who needs it when you have drivers at your beck and
call at every hour. Rajani deftly steered the vehicle on the crowded highway, and they were
making good progress. After about an hour and a half of driving, they turned off the main road
onto what seemed like a village road. About 20 minutes later, they came to the actual village
itself. The roads were extremely narrow, and the vehicle barely fit onto it. Many a times, he
thought they were almost going to hit something, but nothing happened. Rajani, as usual, and
calmly steered around the obstacles. A while later, they came to a big compound, where the road
was comparitively wider. "This", explained Rajani,"is our village estate". They came upon a gate
and honked twice. Slowly, the big gate opened, and Rajani steered the vehicle inside. Nikhil
could see a biggish house built in a retro style. The door had been opened by a lady who
appeared to be a maidservant. "That is Kamala, she looks after the house along with the
gardener.", came the unasked for explanation. She parked and they got out. "Why are we here?",
he wanted to know. "You wait here, I will change and come", came the reply. Nikhil was
irritated by the fact that as usual, she had this mom-knows-best attitude,and deflected his
question with an instruction.
He couldnt wait to get back to his friends and those shopping malls. Five minutes later, Rajani
was back out in the courtyard, but now she was dressed in an orange and green salwar kameez.
"You must be wondering na..why I changed into this?" . "Well...yeah...sort of..". "Well, its
because we are heading to a temple.". Nikhil sighed...he was bored. He started walking back to
the car... "Where are you going, we are not taking the car.." Rajani called back after him. "You
mean....we are going to walk??!" he gasped. "No sweetie.. but didnt you see the roads back
there? So narrow, a car isnt always practical". She clasped his hand into hers and began leading
him to the back of the house. "We will be taking.....this!!", she said with a smile. In front of
them, stood a black coloured motorcycle. The tank said 'Royal Enfield' , and the middle part said
'500cc'. "What??",he exclaimed, "But I dont know how to ride a bike!!" "Who says YOU have to
ride sweetie",his mother said with a mischievous smile and before he knew it walked over to the
bike. The Enfield looked in to good be in good shape, and seemed as if it was recently polished.
"Butt..can you...I mean...", he began, but stopped as he saw his mom put the bike down from its
main stand in one single fluid motion. The bike looked heavy to him, but he didnt know much
about them. She gently swung a leg over on the bike. Nikhil didnt know it was possible to get on
a bike wearing a salwar kameez. He looked on with a mixture of amazement and doubt. Rajani
bent down and engaged the choke, then she swiftly kicked the bike. It spluttered once but did not
start. She gave another hard kick, and with a mighty noise which sounded like a thump and a
roar, the big motorcycle came to life. Nikhil was more than impressed, he didnt know his mom
could start bikes.
Slowly, she engaged gears and called her son over. He slowly stepped over. "Common son, we
are going for a ride!". He didnt know what to say...he was amazed. He gently sat behind her,
unsure whether the lady could handle both his as well as the bike's weight at once. His mother
had tied her dupatta at diagonally across so it wouldnt interefere with her riding. Slowly, they
edged out of the compound and into the village. Nikhil could feel the people staring at him, but
didnt know whether it was out of amazement of seeing an attractive salwar kameez clad woman
riding, or was it because they hadnt seen her with HIM before. Nikhil had a gut feeling it was the
latter. They left the village behind and came to a shady tree lined road, and Rajani started
gathering speed. She rode deftly, without the slightest hesitation or sign of struggling or
imbalance. He figured this was something she did regularly. "When did learn to ride a
motorcycle??", he yelled into his mom's ear, struggling to make himself heard above the wind
and the bikes noise. "Well....I had ridden bikes before in my movies too!". This was news for
him, not that he watched too many of her movies. Just then, he realised that he was sitting in an
awkward pose, with his hands behind him, holding the grab bar. "It would be better if you hold
me instead.." Rajani said over the wind. He slowly let go, and put his arms around his mother's
waist. He placed his head gently alongside hers, on her shoulders, feeling the wind in his face. It
sort of felt good. As he was discovering, his mother was a skilled rider, taking the twists and
turns of the road without upsetting the big bike the slightest. After what seemed like half an hour
of riding, they came across a stone temple, at the side of the road. Rajani gently rolled to a stop
alongside it, and Nikhil got off. The bike ride wasnt as bad as he had imagined it to be. His
mother got down and smoothed out her dress. She parked the bike on the main stand and went
inside.
“What’s the matter beta? Why so quiet tonight?” Rajani asked Nikhil.
“Nothing maa just feeling a bit sleepy.”
“Beta we have got a special order for a wedding,” Rajani said while playing with her hair.
“Oh really maa? How and Where?”
Rajani,” Nikhil, get ready, we have to go for a reception of my old friend’s marriage reception.”
Nikhil wore a nice suit, Rajani wore purple full shirt with pink tight pant. Rajani started bike and
Nikhil sat behind her, they travelled to a nice hotel, to a small decorated room. Rajani called
hotel staffs did more arrangements flowers, music, candle lights, banquet and two decorated
seats, garlands, light in floor and music boxes with dance floor, she checked costly shampene
boxes. After everything she found satisfactory she told employees to leave hotel, just give them
full privacy. The swimming pool was floating with diyas giving nice environment. Nikhil was
wondering who is coming, some celebrity or politician.
![[+]](https://xossipy.com/themes/sharepoint/collapse_collapsed.png)