Heer & Veer (Part 1)

“Trringgg…”

The alarm rang showing, 4.00 am on the clock. Heer woke up from her sleep to do her final revision. It was the last exam of her Degree 3rd Semester. She, being the studious girl of the class, never wanted to compromise on her grades. Heer slept after 2 hours of study and woke up again at 7.00 to get ready for college. Her exam was at 10.00 a.m. She went downstairs after getting ready. Heer went into the kitchen, where she spotted her mother, Preet Bhalla, cooking the breakfast. Preet was a very strict mother who cared about society extremely. Because of that reason, she never allowed Heer to hang out at night or rather go anywhere with her friends. The only thing she wanted Heer to do was to study, study and study. Heer always obeyed her mother and hence was the First Rank holder in class.

“Good Morning, Maa.” Heer wished.

“Haa… Good Morning. You have studied everything properly, right?” Heer just nodded as a reply.

“I’ve told all the ladies in the society that my daughter will score the highest marks for the exam. Don’t break my expectations,” Preet told with a stern tone.

“I’ll not Maa,” Heer replied with a meek tone. She took her breakfast and ate it with pace as she didn’t want to get late for college. She washed her hands and went to her Maa, who was there in the Prayer Room.

“Here, your pen for the exam and Prashad. Just go, and write your exam properly. And one more thing. Don’t allow anyone to sneak into your paper. If there’s an issue like that, complain it to the invigilator. Don’t talk to anyone while in the exam hall. You’ll forget everything. Before going, take your Bapuji’s blessings. He’s there at the sit-out,” Preet gave necessary instructions to Heer after giving her blessings. Heer walked to the sit-out where her father was sitting with a newspaper.

“Bapuji, I’m going for the exam.” Heer touched her father’s feet as he blessed her in return. Heer’s father, Rishabh Bhalla, was a retired Army Officer. It had been just one year since he had retired from his position. Rishabh was not there with Heer in her growing stage as he was busy with transfers and work. Because of that reason, Preet had to play the additional responsibility of being Heer’s father. The reason for her strictness was that she never wanted anyone to complain about her upbringing. But she never knew how it affected her daughter.

“All the best, Puttar. Go and write your exam well.” Heer walked to the bus stop to catch the bus to her college.

At the other side of the city, Veer Kapoor was conducting auditions for a female singer for his band. Many entries came, but Veer was not satisfied with anyone’s performance. He was the head of the College Band named ROCKERS. The band was the best one in Delhi city. His college, St. Stephens, was holding a National Music Band Competition. The college officials were adamant about winning the title, and hence Veer and his other members were exempted from the semester exams. Veer was in the same class as Heer, but he never approved her, like others in the class. He was taking one-by-one auditions, and that was when his phone rang. It was a call from his best friend, Tahir Sehgal.

“Bol Saale, what’s the matter?” Veer asked in a friendly tone.

“Yeah, you’re living tension-free. You don’t need to know about any matter, right? Just sing, sing and sing,” Tahir told with a sarcastic sound. Tahir was feeling stressed about his exams as he hadn’t studied a line. He was always like that. Tahir was a mastermind in cheating in exams. He was known to make things his way by hook or by crook. But this time, the situation was not the same. Tahir was at a party yesterday, and because of being drunk for the night, he forgot about his exams. He hasn’t written any copy materials for the exam.

“What happened, Tahir Saab?” Veer asked.

“Veer Yaar, I forgot about today’s exams. I don’t know what I’ll do. Dad’s gonna scold me if I fail,” Tahir raised his concern.

“Arre but, our Roohi will be sitting with you, right? Then why do you want to get tensed?” Veer asked.

“Ohho, Mr. Veer Kapoor. You’re so involved in your music band that you don’t even know what your friends are going through. Roohi is having Chicken Pox. She hasn’t written any of the semester exams. Because of that reason, I wrote copies. But today, I don’t know what to do. I just hope the person who sits next to me cooperates.”

“If it’s a girl, then you can make her help you cheat with your charms. If it’s a boy, then you can make him help you cheat with your arms. So, why taking stress?” Veer asked playfully.

“You could say that. You’re the Veer Kapoor, the only son of the Megastar RK. There will be a lot of people who will be ready to even write exams for you. So, you can say that.” Tahir said with a shrug.

“Stop it, yaar. Just see me as a normal person. Even I’m having a difficult time here, finding a female singer. No one’s up to the level.” Veer revealed his situation.

“I hope you get one soon because then only we could see you rocking on the stage. Don’t worry you’ll get one soon.”

“I hope so too. Anyways, all the best, man. May you get a cooperating exam partner.” They wished each other luck and went back to their respective works.