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SHOBANA MAHADEVAN

Copyright © Shobana Mahadevan All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-1-68487-223-7 This book has been published with all efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. However, the author and the publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. While every effort has been made to avoid any mistake or omission, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that neither the author nor the publishers or printers would be liable in any manner to any person by reason of any mistake or omission in this publication or for any action taken or omitted to be taken or advice rendered or accepted on the basis of this work. For any defect in printing or binding the publishers will be liable only to replace the defective copy by another copy of this work then available.

To the healthcare workers all around the world!

Contents Prologue

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Other Works By Shobana Mahadevan

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1. Grandeur Holidays

1

2. The Interview

14

3. A Friendship In The Making

23

4. Fun At Office

42

5. The Day On The Beach

63

6. Trouble Brews

84

7. Vaishali Moves

100

8. A Blast From The Past

112

9. Vaishali In Love

122

10. Even The Best Things In Life End

147

11. The Revelation

153

Epilog

171

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Prologue She lookedat the waves. She was back again at the beach. Back again at the exact same spot on the beach where the direction of her entire life changed course. All because of that one day at the beach. It was strange how things happen. But however strange, she was very grateful for that day. Now that she was back at the same spot, will her life change again? The waves seemed to be inviting her, again and again, to come into its arms. It seemed easy to just get up and walk into those waves. So very easy. A few minutes of struggle and then peace. It would be the end of her problems. End of the crushing pain in her heart. She saw how inviting and easy death seemed. She had never realized it before. She sighed. But it was not right. Especially since she had spent her entire life advocating against it. She will endure. Endure the pain that life is. Someone had once told her that life was a cross to bear to attain moksha. She had laughed at it. But now, it made sense. Every day was a struggle. Every day was a cross to bear. To be away from him. She had envisioned an entire life with him. A lifetime of happiness. Unfortunately, she had done the unthinkable. Life was so cruel. It had shown her all the pleasures that life could offer and then had cruelly snatched it away from beneath her. It was like taking a person to a buffet and asking them to fast. It was like experiencing the ecstasy of winning a lottery and then being told it was a fake. It was hell. Life was hell.

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Other Works By Shobana Mahadevan AMarriage knot 40 Feet Off the Ground! The Mentor Memories in the locker Confessions A holiday in Goa One Day in Paris Wedding Plans The Affair

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1 GRANDEUR HOLIDAYS 14 months back! The following email was sent to all the employees of rd Grandeur Holidays, Mumbai on April 3 “It gives us great pleasure to announce that our CEO, Dhruv Mehta is being interviewed by the Swaraj TV for winning his most recent ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award in the hospitality sector. Make sure you tune in at 7 PM tonight to catch our CEO on your TV screens.” A picture of their CEO, Dhruv, appeared along with the email. He was dressed sharply in a business suit and smiling into the camera. On his hand was the award he had won. He was tall, well-built, and looked incredibly attractive. His long, thick, straight hair was pulled back, and it added a few inches to his height. He had a short, stylish beard that made his prominent jawline more so. And his eyes were shining with pleasure. There was a lot of excitement at the office. The recent award won by their CEO and the following interviews had increased the visibility of Grandeur Holidays tremendously. 1

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In fact, it had put their company on the map! There had been a huge spike in the number of people signing up for a lifetime membership with them. It had been a very easy quarter for the sales team as their sales objectives were being met with little effort from their part. After an exciting day at work, Dhruv visited his parent’s house in the evening. They lived in a palatial house with a sizeable garden. The house was a huge, modern structure. The living room had enormous glasses which gave the feeling of spilling itself over into the garden. Or was the garden spilling into the living room? Anyway, there was a continuum between the living room and the garden which made for a large, impressive space. The whole living room was dressed in white. It was more of a status symbol. If they could decorate in white, it meant that they could afford a fleet of servants for its maintenance. And they did. Dhruv’s parents had invited a few of their friends over and they were throwing a party in his honor. Dhruv would have preferred to catch the interview with just his parents, but his parents had put their foot down. Their only son’s fame was increasing day by day and they wanted to flaunt it as much as possible. A wide-screen was set up in the living room to view Dhruv’s interview. As it was prerecorded, Dhruv knew the interview was perfect. And yet the prospect of seeing himself on such a gigantic screen made him cringe. The only reason he had agreed to this was because his parents seemed to be insanely proud of him. Their reaction warmed Dhruv’s heart. But he was not as elated as they were. He knew his journey was a long one. And these were just pit stops to refuel and rejoice. This was by no means the end. He still had miles to go. Grandeur Holidays was relatively new in the hospitality sector. His father had managed a few resorts during his time, but it was Dhruv 2

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who took over and did massive expansion. He even did a complete makeover of the resorts. For his 29 years of age, he had accomplished a lot. But there was still a long way to go. He kept saying this to himself, even as his parents and their friends heaped praises on him. It was his way to make sure he stayed grounded and did not get complacent. At exactly seven, the telecast of his interview began. There was pin-drop silence in the room. Only his and the interviewer’s voice boomed across the room. “Where did you study, Dhruv?” asked the smartly dressed lady in a red saree and matching accessories. “I did my bachelor’s in Canada. And I got my management degree from The Wharton School.” Dhruv thought back to his college days. They were the best days of his life. He had the best friends and had truly realized what the word ‘fun’ meant. There were days of both extremes - days of continuous partying and there were days of continuous studying. The course was exhaustive, but it had grilled and molded him. And that was where he had discovered his innate leadership skills. “Was it always your dream?” “Of course, it was…” As the Dhruv on the big screen was giving out politically correct answers, the Dhruv in the living room of his parents’ house smiled. It had never been his dream. He took a sip from his drink. His dream had been different. Sometimes it was a great blessing not to get the things that one wanted. But he had not known it then. He had been so close to losing everything. So close. But thank god! Everything worked out. “How about your employees?” “I am very happy with my employees. They are talented and extremely dedicated. They work day and night to make sure 3

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that the vacation of our customers goes without a glitch…” Dhruv took a sip of his wine. His employees worked hard. Only because he made sure of that. He had to constantly overlook their work and made sure everything got done properly. Not that they were slackers. But because they all set extremely small goals for themselves. They all seemed to be happy doing little. How could they? Dhruv helped them set lofty goals and also helped them achieve it. You have one life. You should have lofty goals. Else, what’s the point? “Have you had any mentors? Can you attribute your success to any of these mentors?” “Of course, my dad is my mentor. He was the one who initiated me into this business. He had been in this business for over 30 years. And yet, he was willing to give me a free rein of the company… to make changes as I deemed fit. It has been a rollercoaster journey. And I attribute every success of mine to my dad.” Dhruv thought about another person who had kindled the burning fuel in him. The CEO of Stellar holidays, Mr. Krishnaprasad. When Dhruv had met him at a conference five years back and introduced himself, Krishnaprasad had subtly dismissed him, “Grandeur Holidays? I am sorry, I have never heard of it.” As Dhruv moved away, clenching his jaw, he had whispered to himself, “Oh! But you will. You soon will!” Dhruv hoped that Krishnaprasad was watching the interview. “Why hospitality?” “I view it as a service. People are busy throughout their life. They rarely take breaks. So, I want those rare breaks to really count for them. I want to give them a space where they can truly unwind. Relax. I want people to take a break from 4

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their meetings and their work-related stress. A break from the incessant decision-making process. At my resorts, the only decisions you have to make should be - what do you want to eat or what fun activity do you want to indulge in? If all you want was a place to eat and sleep, we make sure we provide you with the best possible place for you to do that. I want to give the housewives a break from their routine. I want them to relax and want them to not worry about the hundred things that usually run through their minds on normal days. I want them to let go. I want the kids to enjoy our resorts. We offer varied activities, and fun events to keep them engaged. Not only do the kids love it, but it also ensures that their parents get to put their feet up. I want everyone to let down their hair and have a marvelous time. If people are trusting us to spend their rare breaks with us, I want to make sure it is perfect.” The interview continued for another ten minutes. It ended with the clip of him receiving the award at the ceremony. As soon as the interview ended, the entire house erupted into a big applause. Everyone congratulated him one by one. Or maybe they were congratulating themselves on their affinity with him. He tried to smile and nod. But he soon realized being passive might not work, especially when he found his mouth stuffed with sweets by everyone. Politely refusing to eat the sweets fell on deaf ears and he was repeatedly assaulted with sweets. He ended up having more sweets that day than he had had in the last few years put together. The sudden influx of sugar left him nauseated. He skipped dinner, hoping against hope that it would somehow tally against the sweets he had been fed. After he had been sufficiently polite, he discreetly informed his parents and left for his house. He had taken a th flat in a large apartment complex on the 12 floor. He had furnished it tastefully, and yet it reeked of comfort. He even 5