The day was June11, 1980. It was one of the pleasant summer evenings in Shimla, when an old lady Mrs. Sehgal sat down in the garden chair in the lawn with her granddaughter Misha. Both were enjoying their evening tea outside in the lawn after a long time. Summers are pleasant in Shimla being a hilly city. The cool breeze and the scenary was simply captivating.
Mrs. Sehgal lived with her granddaughter named Misha in Shimla,( India).Misha had lost her parents in a car accident when she was just five years old.. The father had left behind a huge legacy, so money had never been the issue.The grandmother Mrs. Sehgal loved Misha a lot and never let her miss her parents. She took very good care of her and did all she could to make her life comfortable. Both Misha and grandmother shared a wonderful bond and made an extraordinary pair.
As the years passed by Mrs. Sehgal started keeping unwell.She had taught Misha everything she could through her life experiences. Misha was now twenty years old. She has grown up into a very attractive and good looking woman with pleasing manners and etiquettes expected from a young lady of her age.
She had been a good student in school and college and excelled in her studies.
Deep inside Mrs Sehgal knew that she would not be able to survive many days due to her ill health and deteriorating condition. She was worried about Misha because the poor girl had already lost her parents at a tender age. She would be left all alone in the world after she is gone.Mrs Sehgal knew that this world had never been fair to women with traits that of Misha's.. . She was rich and beautiful.. enough to let her fall prey to dirty tactics of people.
She didn't want anyone to exploit her granddaughter after her death. All this while she has been over protective..
The old lady spent sleepless nights thinking about Misha's future but could hardly think of anything.
Until one day her childhood friend Mrs. Anita Kumar came to meet her from another city, Delhi, knowing about her ill health. Her friend had not visited Mrs. Sehgal all these years.She never cared to inquire about Mrs Sehgal and both the friends had not been in touch all this while. Misha never had a chance to meet her.. Though her granny had mentioned about her friend a few times in the past to Misha.
The grandmother's friend was also an old woman in her early seventies. She looked average from her appearance..had a stout body plain features and stooped a little. Little did the grandmother know of her selfish motives. Her friend had come to know through a mutual connection that Misha is the legal owner of the massive property and legacy left by her parents after their death.
But the granny least doubted her friend's motives. Infact she discussed her worries related to Misha with her.
The friend had all her eyes on Misha's property and she could not lose this golden opportunity.
She had already come with a plan in her mind. She had a grandson named Anish who was disabled by an accident in his childhood due to which he lost one eye while playing cricket with his friends.The ball had hit his left eye and had left him half blind. She knew that finding a match would be difficult for him.
Mrs. Kumar wanted Misha to marry her grandson Anish. But she could not convey this directly as she knew Mrs. Sehgal would not consent to it if she came to know about the boy being handicapped.It was a total mismatch.
So she hid this from Mrs. Sehgal about her grandson being handicapped. Although expressed her desire to marry him off to Misha.She told lies about Anish being one of the most promising and suitable guys to marry Misha to convince her friend and win her confidence.
Mrs Sehgal was totally amused at first. She had never thought that this would come from her friend.
She did not say anything except asked her friend to give her the time to think over it. She did not want to jump to conclusions.
Her friend hid her grandson's disability from Mrs. Sehgal and Misha.
Granny called Misha and discussed the marriage proposal of her friend's grandson.
Misha expressed her desire to meet the boy before she gave her her consent to the proposal, and it seemed right. She needed time too as it was an important decision of her life.
Granny asked her friend Mrs. Kumar to invite her grandson so that she and Misha could meet him and find out whether the boy is a desirable match for Misha or not.
At first her friend hesitated as she knew if she called Anish here both Misha and granny would outrightly reject the proposal.
So she thought of a plan. Instead of calling her grandson Anish, she invited her grandson's best friend Manish at Mrs. Sehgal's residence so that she could introduce him as Anish.
The boy could not say no to his friend Anish's grandmother as he wanted his friend to live a happy married life . The woman deliberately made the guy fall into her trap.
Granny's wicked friend knew that if Mrs. Sehgal and Misha consented to the proposal, and her plan worked, there shall be no issue and hindrance as the groom's face would be hidden under sehra( headdress made of flowers and beads) , at the day of the wedding so no one shall know who Misha is actually marrying to. And she would succeed in her mission easily.
Granny's friend had made this arrangement and dragged Manish into it as a part of her plan.
Manish was aged twenty five, the same age as her grandson. But on the contrary, he was very good looking, tall, dark and handsome.. He had a pleasing personality and appealing manners. Though he belonged to a middle class family ,he had a nice job to hold on to and made a decent living. He was an engineer by profession and worked for a reputed company.
Granny's friend Mrs. Kumar knew that Misha would instantly fall for the guy and would say yes to the proposal.
So Mrs. Kumar invited Manish, Anish's friend, the coming weekend at Misha's place.
Manish arrived at the expected time. Mrs Kumar introduced him as her grandson Anish to Misha and Mrs. Sehgal. Though he was hesitant at first, he had made up his mind to help his friend. And it did not feel right to step back at the last moment.
Misha liked the guy. She was impressed by his manners and looks. He looked decent and sincere. On the other hand Manish found Misha very beautiful and charming. Initially he could not take his eyes off her.
He had fallen in love with her the very moment he saw her. And Misha too liked him.. But what about his friend Anish? The proposal was meant to be for him. Manish had come to set and make things easy for him.
Manish found Misha innocent and kind hearted. A guilt entered inside him. How could he cheat on her? The dilemma was hard to handle. But he had to find a way. Misha's innocent looks made things all the more difficult for him.
He thought for a while and asked Mrs Sehgal if she would give him permission to have a word with Misha.. Granny had no objections. Misha escorted Manish to the lawn, so that both of them could talk freely.
Manish could not hide the truth anymore. So at once he disclosed about Mrs Kumar's ulterior motives. Misha was shocked to hear this.. She could not believe that Mrs Kumar could do this to her and granny. They both had trusted her for she was Mrs. Sehgal's childhood friend.
Misha was totally impressed by Manish's sincerity and good nature for he had saved her life from being ruined.
Misha was a very straight forward girl. She took no time in expressing her feelings for Manish.. Manish has also fallen in love with her.. But there was one more truth which was hidden from Misha. Manish had already been engaged to a girl named Isha.
She was his parents' choice. And he could not go against their wishes.
So Misha was once again left heart broken. Manish left the place.. Although he too wished he had met Misha earlier before his engagement to Isha.
In the meanwhile Mrs Sehgal broke up with her friend for hiding about her grandson being handicapped and cheating on her. Mrs. Sehgal died of a heart attack a few months after this incident.
Two years passed by.. Misha was now in the United States . She completed her Masters there and went for an interview in one of the companies in New York.
Accidently she bumped into Manish who worked as the team lead in the same company Misha had gone for an interview.
Both greeted each other. And asked how they have been all these years. Manish asked Misha if she got married to someone. Misha said I was heartbroken when you left so dismissed the idea of getting married and came to the US for further studies. Misha asked about Manish's fiancee Isha. Manish then said he and his family did not know earlier that Isha already had a boyfriend and was committed to marrying her.Due to her family pressure she got engaged to Manish. On the day of the wedding she ran away with her boyfriend. Manish and his family returned back home without a bride as the marriage could not take place. Manish took a transfer from his company and came to New York after that incident.
Misha and Manish still had feelings for each other. This time it was Manish who proposed to Misha and asked her if she would marry him. Misha looked into Manish's eyes and then after a pause said yes. She could see the love in Manish's eyes for her.
So eventually both got married to each other without wasting time further. True love always finds a way. After a year the love birds were blessed with a baby boy.. And guess what.. What name they had kept for their little baby. Of course Anish..If Anish's proposal had not come Misha's way, both of them would have never met and fallen in love and married each other.
