Chai, Chaos aur Cousin Wars

Pune ke engineering college mein annual fest ka season aate hi campus ka mood ekdum switch ho jaata tha—jaise monsoon ke pehle humidity ho, aur uske baad achanak full-on thunderstorm. Corridors mein poster chipske hote, canteen mein extra crowd, aur har second kisi na kisi ka “bro deadline kal hai” wala panic. Rohan Mehta ke liye ye sab sirf fest nahi tha; ye war zone tha. Aur war zone mein, uske hisaab se, sabse important cheez hoti hai: plan.

Rohan, 21, final year engineering student aur technical events ka co-coordinator, apni notebook aur color-coded checklist ke bina kahin nahi jaata tha. Uske pen case mein bhi pens alag-alag category mein sorted the, aur uske WhatsApp notes mein “backup for backup” ke backup milte the. Bahar se woh cool lagta tha—black T-shirt, calm face, ekdum “haan haan ho jayega” type—but andar se uska dimaag 24/7 run kar raha hota tha. Sabko lagta tha woh bas competitive hai. Sach much, woh bas yeh prove karna chahta tha ki woh family ka “responsible cousin” label se zyada bhi kuch hai.

Aur phir thi Anika Deshmukh.

Anika, 20, third-year student aur cultural-cum-creative coordinator, bilkul Rohan ka opposite version lagti thi. Late-night ideas, last-minute jugaad, sharp one-liners, aur aisa confidence jo dekh ke lagta tha ki uske paas life ka hidden cheat code hai. Log usse social butterfly kehte the, par woh actually guarded thi—thoda sa smile, thoda sa sarcasm, aur apne emotions ko pocket mein fold karke rakhne wali girl. Rohan ko tease karna uska daily sport tha. Aur Rohan ko uski creative chaos se problem bhi thi, aur secretly respect bhi.

“Tu phir se ek aur spreadsheet le aaya?” Anika ne ek din canteen mein uske laptop screen pe nazar daalte hue poocha.

Rohan ne bina uthe reply kiya, “Aur tu phir se last minute genius banne ka plan leke aayi hai?”

“Plan? Beta, talent ko plan ki zarurat nahi hoti.”

“Talent ko nahi, damage control ko hoti hai.”

Anika ne chai ka sip liya aur smile dabayi. “Tu seriously har cheez ko Excel sheet samajhta hai kya?”

Rohan ne finally uski taraf dekha. “Aur tu har cheez ko improv comedy samajhti hai kya?”

Dono has diye. Thoda genuinely, thoda challenge mein. Campus ko unka yeh routine pata tha. Cousins the, par ek dusre ke natural rivals bhi. Jahan Rohan timing aur structure se jeetna chahta tha, wahan Anika intuition aur creativity se game palat deti thi. Aur is beech me their banter ek daily ritual ki tarah ho gaya tha.

Problem tab shuru hui jab fest ke beech ek rumor campus mein phail gaya.

Pehle toh bas canteen ke corner mein do log whisper kar rahe the. Phir terrace pe ek group. Phir WhatsApp class group. Phir seniors ke memes. Aur phir poora college full-speed mode mein. Rumor simple tha, par explosive: Rohan aur Anika ke beech kuch “first-love angle” chal raha hai.

Kisi ne bola unka ek secret chat screenshot dekha. Kisi ne kaha library ke piche dono ko dekha gaya. Kisi ne toh yeh bhi add kar diya ki “obviously cousins hain, par vibe toh alag hi thi.” Campus ki gossip machine ko aur kya chahiye hota hai? Bas ek spark, phir full bonfire.

Rohan ko jab pehli baar yeh suna, usne laugh off kar diya. “Bakwaas,” usne Sameer se kaha, jo uski tech team mein tha aur hamesha corner mein khada sab observe karta rehta tha. Sameer ne bas ek eyebrow raise kiya.

“Bakwaas hai ya inconvenient?”

Rohan ne usko ghoor ke dekha. “Dono.”

Sameer ne kuch nahi bola. Woh waise bhi zyada bolta nahi tha. Par uski aadat thi cheezein notice karne ki—kisne kis waqt kaunsi file bheji, kis group mein kaunsi odd message timing thi, aur kis tarah ka pattern repeat ho raha tha. Rohan ko laga yeh bas random campus drama hai. Anika ne bhi pehle hasi mein uda diya, par jab uske cultural team ke do log usse aise dekhne lage jaise woh koi secret heroine ho, toh uska mood thoda off ho gaya.

“Seriously?” usne Meera se kaha, jo uski best friend aur publicity volunteer thi. “Mere naam ke saath ye circus kisne start kiya?”

Meera ne guilty face banaya. “Main nahi, I swear. Maine bas ek story forward ki thi. Matlab, it looked funny at that time.”

Anika ka tone sharp ho gaya. “What story?”

Meera ne phone nikala, scroll kiya, aur ek half-blurry screenshot dikhaya jisme Rohan aur Anika ke names ek saath the, aur neeche kisi ne caption likha tha: “Fest ke beech fest ke bahar bhi chemistry chal rahi hai.”

Anika ne aankh band kar li. “Meera.”

“Okay, it was a joke. But like, a harmless joke.”

“Harmless jokes hi sabse dangerous hote hain,” Anika ne mutter kiya.

Usi din evening ko technical events ki high-pressure meeting thi. Rohan already tense tha kyunki ek venue update late aaya tha, aur uske according koi uski presentation ko undercut karne ki koshish kar raha tha. Jab usne dekha ki uski final slide deck ka ek updated version missing hai, uska dimaag seedha Anika par gaya. Uske saamne Anika cultural schedule leke aayi, aur usne bina soch samjhe bol diya, “Tum logon ne meri tech presentation ke files mess ki hain kya?”

Anika ka face instantly hard ho gaya. “Excuse me?”

Rohan ne chair pe thoda aage jhuk kar kaha, “Venue change ka mail late aaya, backup file gayab hai, aur mere log bol rahe hain kisi creative side ne wrong info circulate ki. Tumhara squad ka kaam lag raha hai.”

Anika ne ek cold laugh diya. “Wah. And here I was thinking you had better faith in your own cousin.”

“Faith tab hoti hai jab sabotage na ho.”

“Sabotage?” Anika ki voice thodi loud ho gayi. “Tum seriously soch rahe ho main tumhari lineup ko intentionally mess karungi?”

“Tumhari side se kuch bhi possible hai,” Rohan ne gusse mein bol diya.

Aur bas. Wahi line jo chubhti hai, because usme half truth hota hai aur half ego.