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Ex Friend Today It Ends
Dr. Ritu Beniwal
EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011)
www.educreation.in
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Dr. Ritu Beniwal
1
Hello Guys, I Am Prisha
“It‟s 11 o‟clock in the morning, and this girl is still
in bed”, I heard my mother‟s ever-complaining
voice, entering my room.
I slightly removed the quilt from my face with
just my eyes outside and saw her sliding the
curtains from window. She opened my almirah and
took out a sky traditional outfit and turned to me.
“I am placing this salwar kameez here, now get
up soon”, she said again, “do you even remember
that Kshitij and his family are coming to see you
today? I am sending Avani to help you get ready,
till that time, you get up from bed and take bath”,
and she moved out.
After spending approx. 10–15 minutes of
laziness more in bed, I got up and entered the
washroom.
It‟s hardly six months that I have completed my
college, and the marriage concern has been started
in my family, but not a matter of that much thought,
as this is very much prevalent in our middle-class
traditional families.
Chapter 01
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Ex Friend Today It Ends
2
Hello guys! I am Prisha, and I am from
Ambala, Haryana. Mine is a big joint family,
parents, uncle aunt, and we seven children in all,
siblings and cousins. Except me, the rest of the
children of our family are extraordinarily talented in
their respective fields of academics. They are
pursuing their bachelor or masters degree from top
institutes of the town. In short, I am a bouncer
personality in this talented squad, and after a lot of
effort, I could hardly made it to dentistry only,
which even I will not say a cup of tea for all.
Although my family never imposed to choose this
field ever, I did dentistry with my own will. Now
when I am pretty satisfied with my profession, just
one thing which I couldn‟t indulge in my work was
passion for it, which I always wanted to have in my
work, and I often feel when I am busy in my
hobbies of painting, creativities etc.
W
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Dr. Ritu Beniwal
3
Get ready, guests are to arrive!
“Don‟t move, Prisha. Let me pin up this dupatta”,
Avani di said to me while giving a jerk to my
shoulder to make me stand head straight.
“Okie, but please carefully, otherwise you will
hurt me”, I said looking at the deadly sharp safety
pin in her hand.
“No, I will not. You just stand straight and keep
quiet for a second”, she said and draped the dupatta
over my shoulder.
“Isn‟t it looking perfect now”, she said with a
proud smile for her work and turned my face to the
mirror.
“Ya, this is ok”, I said with a glazed look.
“Kshitij will definitely say „yes‟ when he will
see you. You are looking very beautiful”, Avani
said drying my wet hairs, “and if we think of his
parents, then they have already liked you when they
saw you in my marriage.”
“Kshitij‟s mom had talked to mummy many
times after that, but that time you were in college,
so no one wanted to disturb your studies”, she went
on saying doing my hairs.
Chapter 02
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Ex Friend Today It Ends
4
“Then, why are you disturbing now?” I said
and turned to her, “you know I want to establish my
own clinic and want to be independent first.”
“Then, who is saying not to, you can do
whatever you want to but after marriage”, she gave
her very expected answer, “and you were not even
interested in your dentistry degree and profession
first, what happened now.”
“Ya, I was not, but I have done it. I want to do
my work with all my heart”, I said in a firm voice.
And then trying to make me understand, the so-
called practical point of view, she explained,
“Kshitij is a nice guy. He is smart, intelligent and
has recently set up his own business. He is just
perfect for you. Marriage is not going to hinder your
dreams.”
“But marriage will obviously give me a lot of
responsibilities, and I don‟t think I will get enough
time to start up with my work with full
concentration.”
Avani looked at me for a while again, “Just
leave it for now, I actually don‟t understand your
logic behind this all. You are looking very pretty,
just don‟t make faces in front of them and smile
please.” She changed the topic very smartly.
“Hmm, thank you! Is he on facebook, di?” I
asked.
“Ya, he must be, I mean who is not nowadays!”
Avani said, “but you don‟t try to find him out there.
They are about to reach within half an hour, then
you can see as you want to.”
“Okay!”
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Dr. Ritu Beniwal
5
Well, I have seen his one picture in Avani‟s
marriage album. He was the typical marriage
material, was looking actually dashing in that grey
well-tailored suit, but only looks are not important
to spend your whole life with someone!
I was all ready to meet my future husband and
in laws. Avani tried to put on make-up also, but I
succeed in saving myself from that torture at least.
“Okie, now come with me and have breakfast. I
am going to help mom in kitchen. Guests would be
coming anytime”, Avani said, and I followed her to
the hall downstairs.
W
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6
‘You are not a kid’
The house was decorated with flowers, lights and
rangolis. No, these efforts were not taken to
welcome the guests; instead, this was the month of
March, and it was the great Indian fest – Holi – few
days back. This was just the after fest left
decoration and elements still in air. Avani started
preparing breakfast. Everybody was busy in their
respective works assigned to them. At such time, in
Indian families, boy‟s side guests are welcomed and
treated so nicely that even our PM wouldn‟t get
such a warm welcome during his famous foreign
visits.
We all have some criteria set up for our life
partner, or I should better say soul mate. As life
partner specifies the mod term which means one
with whom you just spend your life, earn and spend
money, make family, raise the kids, marry them
when they grow up, settle them and die happily; yet
there is no big difference in the two, soul mate is the
one with whom we feel, we grow not only socially
but emotionally, spiritually, with the feel of
togetherness forever, and with a love that is beyond
boundaries, beyond everything, perhaps beyond life.
Chapter 03
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Dr. Ritu Beniwal
7
I was almost sinking in my philosophical
thoughts that Avani interrupted, “Prisha, just look at
my phone. See, who is calling?”
“Umm … some number”, I looked at the phone
lying on the kitchen table in charge.
“Take call, I am busy”, she said without
looking at me.
I removed the phone from charger and received
the call, “Hello!”
“Hello! It was a guy on the other side, with a
little pause, he continued, “Avani ji?”
“No, Avani is busy, who are you? I am her
sister, Prisha”, I asked in a casual manner.
“Ohh k! And this time, after taking a little
longer pause than before, he introduced himself,
“Hey Prisha, I am Kshitij, we have almost reached
here, but not exactly. I think I have missed the
street. Will you please help me to get the way to
your home?”
“Oh … ya sure, tell me exactly where are you
right now, any landmark …?” I asked.
Avani looked at me and gesticulated, “Who is
on call?”
“Kshitij …”, I said slowly holding the phone
away from mouth.
“Well, this is a school here, D.A.V. school”, he
replied.
“Ok, then you just take lef …”, and before I
could complete, Avani almost snatched the phone
with a dark look at me.
“Hey Kshitij, it‟s Avani, ya, you just take left
from D.A.V. school, then it‟s the 7th house in same
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Ex Friend Today It Ends
8
side row.” She talked very sincerely and hung up
the call.
“What‟s wrong with you?”
“Now, what wrong I did?”
“He is supposed to be your future hubby. His
parents are with him now in car, and you are telling
him the address and landmarks! Don‟t you know
how you should behave?”
“You told me to take the call, and what‟s
wrong in it”, I asked with a quizzical face.
“Then, you should have given it to me when
you got to know that it‟s him!”, she said making the
reason behind her over dramatic behaviour crystal
clear to me.
I didn‟t say even a single word after her such
an intelligent thought and just kept listening to her.
This was really the extreme. What the hell was
happening to me? He was just a stranger, and I was
supposed to behave as if he is the one and only for
whom I should think now.
W
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Dr. Ritu Beniwal
9
Welcome…
While she was teaching me this lesson to react
normal and quiet, Kshitij and his parents arrived
home. They were made to sit in drawing room.
Avani di and all my family were there with them.
After about an hour, Avani di came to call me.
Taking me to the drawing room, she again
anxiously set my already set dupatta and hairs.
I entered the room following her. Kshitij‟s
father gestured me to sit beside aunty.
“Come, sit here beta”, aunty said.
I was trying to act normal but the way I found
aunty staring at me from head to toe, it was making
me a bit conscious. Mothers are really keen
observers when it is something about their son‟s
life, and I think she was doing her job very well!
After a minute of this check-out session, she
finally spoke up, and my heartbeat came back to
normal, “Do you remember me, beta? We have met
at Avani‟s marriage?”
“Ya, I remember”, I said with a cheesy smile
and tried to recall if I had ever met her during
Avani‟s marriage but what I could actually
Chapter 04
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Ex Friend Today It Ends
10
remember from Avani‟s marriage was that special
flavoured ice-cream of my choice and my struggle
in managing my lehenga all the time.
Suddenly, Avani nudged me, “Prisha, uncle is
asking you something.”
“Ah …yes, sorry, I didn‟t hear …what?”, I said
in hurry.
“So you did your BDS degree from
Faridabad?” uncle asked in a very polite manner.
“Yes, from DDU institute of medical sciences”,
I replied.
“Ok, that institute has good colleges, and its
hostels too have good facilities”, he said.
“Yes”, I said.
“So your hostel was combined or was it
separate from boys?”, aunty suddenly asked in the
middle of the conversation.
I have never thought of this, but it was a cool
thought! Such kind of facility was no yet available
in most of the Indian UG degree institutes till date. I
guess she asked this because she had done her
master‟s degree from abroad. Maybe there are such
kinds of arrangements there. I got her sincere
motive behind the question but still my wicked
thought made me smile a little, which I controlled,
when Avani pressed my hand, guessing my thought
process behind that.
“No, it was separate aunty ji”, I said normally,
and amidst all these rapid fire rounds, I gave a quick
look at Kshitij who was also smiling at this
question. After this momentary eye contact, I turned
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Dr. Ritu Beniwal
11
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