Mera janm ek aisi khamoshi ke beech hua, jahan emotions toh the, lekin har kisi ke dil mein ek jaise nahi the.
Jab main iss duniya mein aayi, toh main apne papa ki pehli beti thi. Mere aane ki khabar ne kuch chehron par muskaan laayi, toh kuch dilon mein khamoshi bhar di.
Meri dadi, jo meri mummy ki saas thi, unhe meri mummy zyada pasand nahi thi. Aur jab main paida hui — ek ladki ke roop mein — toh shayad unke liye yeh khushi ka kaaran nahi tha.
Lekin mere papa… unke liye main sirf ek bacchi nahi thi, main unki khushiyon ka sabab thi. Unhone mujhe apni zindagi ki sabse badi ne'mat samjha.
Meri mummy bhi bahut khush thi. Unki aankhon mein mere liye woh pyaar tha, jo har dard ko chhota kar deta hai.
Mere papa ne mera naam 'Aishwarya' rakha. Unhone kaha ki unke ghar mein Lakshmi aayi hai, sukh aaya hai. 'Aishwarya' — jiska matlab hi sukh hota hai. Shayad unhone mere naam mein hi meri kismat ki ek khoobsurat umeed chhupa di thi.
Mera janm Indore shehar mein hua, ek simple se family mein, jise log lower middle class kehte hain. Mere papa subah se raat tak mehnat karte the, aur meri mummy ek housewife thi, jo poore ghar ko sambhalti thi.
Meri mummy ki shaadi bahut chhoti umar mein ho gayi thi — sirf 14 saal ki umar mein. Mere papa us waqt 19 saal ke the. November 1997 mein unki shaadi hui, aur ek saal baad, 1998 mein mera janm hua.
Meri kahani ki shuruaat hi contradictions se bhari thi — jahan ek taraf society ki soch thi, aur doosri taraf mere parents ka nishwarth pyaar.
Shayad ussi khamoshi aur pyaar ke beech, meri zindagi ne pehli saans li… aur dheere-dheere, main bhi us khamoshi mein ek phool ki tarah khilne lagi.