Nayika Writes

R is for... Raizada 'And you?' Arnav looked up to see the woman looking at him curiously. Instinctively he hid himself partially behind Akash who despite being a year younger was already much taller than him. The woman didn't scare him but her question did. Since that night, he dreaded being asked his identity; his name. Akash moved further in front and spoke for him, 'this is my bhai.' It was a known fact that Akash was painfully shy and only ever spoke when spoken to but the fact that he had now made a surge of pride shoot through Arnav. This was his new identity. He stood straight, shoulders back and chest out. 'Raizada. My name is Arnav Singh Raizada.' 'I didn't realise you had another son, Mahendra.' Arnav stiffened, waiting for his Mamaji to correct the woman but instead he felt a comforting arm land on his shoulder and Mamaji simply smiled.

Q is for... Questions without Answers  'Do you think we did everything all wrong Khushi?' Payal stroked Khushi's back, not expecting a response. 'Maybe we shouldn't have questioned Babuji. Should we have let him mortgage the shop? Should I have married Abhishekji regardless? What do you think Khushi?' Her eyes rested on her parents, her father resting an awkward hand on his wife's head. 'Would Babuji be well do you think? Would he be able to walk and talk and smile and laugh? Would Amma be smiling instead of crying?' Khushi lifted her head slightly and looked at Payal with tearful eyes, 'Jiji, will he come?' *** Set during Khushi and Arnav's second (actual) wedding when he was delayed angsting in the street about his mom.

P is for... Prakash Brothers Ltd 'The only problem is... they keep calling me Hari Prakash!' Shiv Prakash sighed, 'they're very rich people Ram Prakash, they don't have time to remember the names of all their servants.' 'They knew my name,' Om Prakash remarked smugly from his desk in the corner. 'And mine' added Jai Prakash, looking up from where he was watching The Dirty Picture on his iPhone. Ram Prakash glared at them both, 'Om Prakash, didn't you get fired because you had a crush on Khushiji? And you got fired for fainting all the time Jai Prakash. At least I still have my job.'

O is for... Over She could hear the raindrops falling onto the window as she watched the clock finally strike 12. The day was over. It had been over for hours actually and had been an unremarkable day just like the rest. It should have been her wedding day; the happiest day of her life, filled with lights and colours. Instead it had been just another miserable day. She should be in the arms of her new husband right now, enveloped in his love and warmth. Instead, the day had ended and Lavanya was just as alone as she had been when it began.

N is for... Nanheji He didn't particularly hate his given name, but trying to get Australians to pronounce Nand Kishore properly was almost impossible. The much shorter and cooler NK was given to him on the first day of High School by his new friend Sean and he adopted it with ease. Another decade passed before he acquired a new name; his favourite name. Not that he would let anybody but Khushiji call him by that name. When Khushiji called him Nanheji, it made him feel special. As if they shared a joke between them, one he wasn't willing to share with anyone else.