“Ragini! Where are you my child?” Her mother shouted her name in the early hours of the day to get a glimpse of her lovely daughter. She noticed how her Ragini would wake up early just to make her tired mother relax with her extra hand.

Her father was always busy with cleaning the cattle and feeding the hens. Get the milk to the dairy farm before the dawn of the day. Their family were not farmers nor poultry owner, but it was something that their forefather from the past two generations have been doing as a part of their recreational activities in one of the remote villages of Kodagu.

Although her father was a businessman taking care of his truck business in the town. Their family were the most respectable among the villagers.

Rajanna and his family of four with his wife Gauriamma, daughter Ragini and son Rajesh were living peacefully in their hill top house with big garden and a poultry farm with the usual clacking and mooing sound of their farm children.

Gauriamma was the typical housewife indulging in the daily household work alongwith helping her husband to manage their poultry farm.

Ragini was studying for her M.Sc. final year in the university and her younger brother Rajesh was still awaiting for his SSLC results with batted eyelids.

“Coming Amma, I was sweeping the cowshed. It was full of the dry grass. Tell me, what is it?” Ragini came inside the kitchen wiping her hands on her dress.

Her mother told her to take the coffee for her father as he was getting late for his meeting in the town.

Rajesh was getting ready to meet up with his friends to find the suitable colleges for his future studies. Rajesh was a sturdy boy in his mid-teens, athletic and handsome like his royal ancestors. He had the calm face of a prince and rage of a bull for the right person. He loved his family and the favourite being his big sister. Since he was taller than her and even for his age, he was much more protective of her.

Ragini got ready for her university by pleating her long wavy hair and covered her beautiful flawless face with moisturiser. Ragini was the epitome of natural beauty with the humblest nature of a princess. Her round oval immaculate face, green almond shaped eyes, with rose petal for lips, smooth forehead, chin and a perfect jawline. Her zygomatic cheekbones had a natural pink blush giving it a more prominent look for her beholder to gaze at her for hours.

“Amma, I will take the bus to the town while returning. Do you need some groceries while I am at there?” Ragini adjusted her dress pallu and looked for the last time in her mirror. She got the blessing from their ancestral God from the Pooja room and put the Vibhuti on her forehead.

Rajanna took his scooty and went for his meeting in the town along with his Son.

Ragini was waiting for her regular bus and as well as her bestie Shanti.

“Ayoo! One of these days I am going to kill my sister for sure!” Ragini chuckled at her bestie’s outburst at her sister for the umpteenth time.

Shanti’s sister used to always take her beauty products and never give it back. Shanti was always late for college because of her pestering sister.

“Leave it! She is your little sister. They are supposed to take your stuff and use them. You are just exaggerating. Relax, Oh!! here comes our bus!” Ragini tried to pacify her bestie.

At the university

Ragini and Shanti came out of the lab with a frowned look as they had failed to get the result of the chemical combination that their professor had explained to them.

They had to again try them the next Monday.

“Aiyoo! Why can’t Mrs. Dwivedi give us the marks for at least trying! She is such a drama queen!” Shanti was mentally pulling her hair out for the rage of the professor for their failure.

Ragini pacified her saying that they would try with the assistance from the professor itself.

Shanti nodded her head laughing at the rare possibility of that to ever happen.

The entire village was in festive mood for the annual fest of the harvest season making major of the official places to be shut for the week, including their university staff members to take leave for the festival.

Hence, it was not possible to take up the experiment the next day, delaying it for the next week.

At the other part of the town, in a small factory

A 30-year-old man was shifting the 25 kgs of iron blocks each from the loaded truck to his warehouse. His workers were helping him but he was a man who believed in doing his own work.

He flexed his muscular self and instructed his workers to take the next lot as he received the call from one of his clients.

He answered saying that he would be busy for the next two days as he had to attend the festival in his village. His 50-year-old client laughed off at his remark of declining his work for something like a festival which was very rare of him.

The young man chuckled at the remark and kept the call. He washed his face of the heat from the hot furnace which would not only melt the iron but also the people inside the factory.

He thought it was time to fix the cooler as it was going to be summer next month.

Swarag went home late at night on his motorbike to be greeted by his mom who was praying to the Tulasi plant for the long life of her family members.

He had changed to his clean shirt and pants as he didn’t want his family to smell the iron or grease from his intense work.

He washed his perfectly proportioned body to drain off the dirt and tiredness of the day and refreshed himself with the sweet peck on his forehead by his loving mother. His mother caressed his wavy locks praying the usual prayer after his bath as per their family tradition.

“Late again! Swara, try to reach early! I get scared in this big house all by myself. tsk” His mother Kaushalya complained while fanning her son’s tiredness with her saree pallu.

Swarag gave his usual dimpled smile to calm his mother who lightly pinched his dimple to drive away the evil eye. He looked at her in amusement shaking his head.

Kaushalya used to visit all the known temple to clear the evil eye from her youngest son who managed to stay single for so long. Her elder son Sudeep used to stay in the town with his small family only to visit them during the festivals and special occasions.

Apart from his long life, she also wished for a perfect life partner for him. Alas, but it seem the Gods were busy with their own headache to pay attention to the cry of a 50-year-old mother.

Swarag was a quiet person who would speak only when spoken to and a good listener.

He was a shrewd businessman who knew how to handle those cunning traders ready to pounce on the weaklings off their trade. Apart from that, he was always humble to his polite and loyal clients who loved and respected him equally.

So, when his father left him their trade of iron and steel factory, he knew he had to change his personality to suit the business that he would run in the future.