Part 3

She was waiting for them to come home and hoping may be today they will come home at a decent hour. ‘Waiting & hoping’ it has been her job to wait & hope for things ever since she had been affected by the dreadful disease, she had to wait to learn to walk again, she had to wait for people to help her walk on a rough terrain.

When their parents left them making them orphans in this world she had to wait and hope for some sunshine and happiness to come back into their lives. She had seen her loving, protective brother turn into this bitter, cynical, hot tempered &over protective person that he was and she could do nothing but hope for a better life for him and wait for someone to show him that there was still good things in this world.

She was a weak hearted person and she was completely broken after the tragedy with her parents and it took her a long time to come back to normalcy. By then the damage was done her little lovable brother had turned into this person she did not recognize any more except for some incidents when he mellowed down to make her happy she would see a glimpse of her little brother.

She felt guilty, she felt even weaker as she realized that she had been so self absorbed that she had even forgotten to be there for her younger sibling, her baby. She didn’t know what to do so she turned to the ultimate power for help. She turned to God to help her and her little brother.

She started fanatically spending time on spiritual activities probably more time than her grandmother spent but it gave her solace and it centered her wayward thoughts. She prayed to god to give her strength to be her brother’s strength and not his weakness. He had done so much for her already she wanted to return the love in any way she could. So she made him the centre of her universe and God the protector of her universe.

Then came the biggest blessing in her life as if god had heard her prayers and sent him her way. He had saved her from falling down the stairs of the temple and when he had talked to her she felt like a new person. After that her life had become colorful and wonderful and filled with love… or so she thought. So she decided that her universe would have two suns, her brother and her husband though her brother shone a little bit brighter than the other.

After a few weeks of becoming his wife, she had started noticing little subtle things about him. Very tiny things like saying one thing to Mami and explaining the same thing in a different way to Nani. She ignored them in the beginning as she thought that he did that for their good. Through the years together with him she started noticing more things about him, his secretive ways, his mysterious trips, his sugar coated words and she realized that she had married a very very very intelligent man who could think on his feet and change is dialogue mid sentence. She gathered that knowledge and filed it away for use in future if there is a need. And now she waited for them to reach home. Meet MS.Anjali Shyam Jha, 15% share holder of the Raizada Industries, loving, caring, very observant, very intelligent. She thinks she is a weak person as she was always protected by others… but what will she be when she decides that she has to be strong for her loved ones.

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He was tired but continued driving, just a little more and he will be home. It had been 2 weeks away from home but he didn’t want to lose this assignment and hence he had convinced his family to let him go to the dense Nallamala forest in Southern India to take exclusive photos for an international magazine. It was his passion, photography and when he was asked to major in business to help his brother, he had thought long and hard.

Once he decided what he wanted to do he gathered the family and told them about his decision to major in photography. It was met with immediate resistance from the older Raizadas just like he expected. But he was holding his breath for the one person who was his role model, his own personal super hero, his enigmatic, magnetic older brother ASR to roar his decision.

 He remembered how nervous he was as he waited for the ASR to look up at him and say something anything. He remembered how his own personal angel on this earth saw what he was waiting for and gently placed her had in his and lightly pressed it to reassure him and she spoke softly but firmly “Chotey, it is in his nature to see beauty in everything, it’s a gift. Now he wants to share it with us, I for one would love to see this world through his eyes.”

He remembered her words so clearly, and he had turned and looked at her in awe, like he said she was his own personal angel. He wished he could love her more for that but that seemed silly as he loved her to the extreme already. His Di, his best friend, she was also like his mother. A mother who was not preoccupied with make up or jewellery or anything else for that matter when he was around. She used to play with him for hours and help with school work and make sure he ate and slept well and fought with his teachers when they said he was not working hard enough, he remembered with a smile. He knew in his heart that he was given the best gift ever when she had come to stay with them. He also knew that he would go to any lengths to keep her smiling.

He also remembered how ASR had stood up after a minutes and immediately held undivided attention of the family and he spoke “You have to do this in the best school Aakash, nothing but the best. After you graduate you have to be the primary photographer for Raizada Industries and Raizada Fashions in particular, no arguments about that or else you have to study business. But however when you are free of engagements from RI you can take other assignments and fit them into your schedule. Deal??” The deal was given and accepted with much enthusiasm.

He knew that he had spoiled his brother’s plans about his future. He knew his brother well, he would have planned his retirement too. But he knew only ASR could fit his request and also make him a part of what ASR wanted for him. His sharp as a razor brained brother was his hero, sorry, super hero. He had seen how a lanky teenager with little means had worked and built this empire. He also knew that his brother was a lonely person below that though exterior and wished his brother would find someone that would heal his soul.

Here is the secret that only he knew, on that fateful day if his brother had said “No, you have to study business.” Then he would have studied business and done so with his best efforts as he could not and would not stray from his brothers wishes. Meet Mr.Aakash Singh Raizada, Professional photographer, 15% shareholder Raizada industries, winner of the best photo of the year award from World Photography Organization for three years in a row in three different categories (wildlife, underwater, plants).Very simple, very pure hearted and hard core romantic. Photography is his passion and his family is pride and strength.