Anandi stared at her computer screen, brain struggling to register the content of the email in front of her.
She had to admit that the email shouldn't have come as a surprise to her. She and Ashi had been in fairly regular email contact for some weeks since Ashi's visit to Jaitsar. Ashi was very keen to learn more about Indian culture and get better at the language, and Anandi was only too happy to oblige. Ashi also had her own cultural insights to share, which were equally fascinating to Anandi... like a snapshot into an entirely different world from the fields and plains she was used to. Anandi was as eager to see and learn more about England as Ashi was to learn more about India. However, she hadn't quite expected this intercultural sharing to translate into the email she'd just received - an invitation to visit London in roughly two months' time!
She glanced at the time - nearly 11 o'clock. She had to be up early the next day - Bapusa and Tausa would be having business guests over for lunch, and there was a lot of cooking to be done. A trip to London was a very big thing to think about; she decided it would be best to sleep on it and think about it more the next morning.
She turned off the light and lay in bed, mulling over her friendship with Ashi. It was nice to have a friend her age to talk to about little things and to share little triumphs with. Of course, she could always share things with her family, but somehow it felt different with an age-mate. She had Phooli, too, but Phooli lived some distance away and was now busy raising her son. Talking to Ashi had made her realise that there was a gap in her life that she hadn't really paid attention to before. She had become conscious of the fact that, in her heart of hearts, she was lonelier than she'd previously thought. She needed someone who could just be her friend, who treated her like an ordinary person and didn't expect her to never falter or fail. It was incredibly refreshing to come home at the end of a long day and, just for a little while, not have to be a strong leader, a perfect teacher, a dutiful beendhni. With Ashi, she could just be Anandi and let go and laugh and joke.
Yes, she really wanted to see Ashi again. But travelling outside of India was something she had never even considered. For so many years, she had resigned herself to her role as a beendhni, and now that she finally had the freedom to pursue her own desires, she had focused almost single-mindedly on making up for lost time with her education and using that to serve her village and make it a better place for future generations. Travel and adventure had never really figured in her goals - but was that just because she hadn't dared to dream of it at the time? And was it even worth daring to dream of it now? Dadisa had certainly mellowed over the years, but had she mellowed enough that she would give her beendhni the freedom to travel abroad alone, that too to visit a girl who - for reasons Anandi had never been able to figure out - she seemed to thoroughly dislike?
She sighed. She would talk to Bapusa tomorrow, and perhaps the two of them could attempt to breach the topic with Dadisa and hope for the best...
-----
"Us lapundari ke saath rehwegi!? Poore ek hafte tak!? Paraaye des ma!?" Dadisa said, looking horrified at the very thought.
"Dadisa, woh sach me bohot acchhi hai," said Anandi, dismayed that she was getting exactly the reaction she had feared. "Mujhe yakeen hai ki woh wahan mera poora khayal rakhegi. Aur main bhi chahti hoon ke main uska des ek baar dekhloon..."
"Us des me ke rakhe hai? Kuch na hai wahan! Aur tujhe kya maloom ke us lapundari ki rehen sehen ka tarika kaisi hovegi?"
"Dadisa, usne mujhe kaafi saare tasveerein bheji hai... computer se. Uska ghar bohot acchha hai... mujhe wahan koi takleef nahin hogi. Sacchhi!"
"Haan, Masa," Bhairon interjected. "Anandi ne mujhe saare tasveerein dikhaayi. Lagta hai ke kaafi acchhi area me hai Ashima ka ghar. Aur phir yeh itna acchha mauka hai Anandi ke liye... woh ek alag des to dekh paayegi. Abhi chhoti hai, hunhar hai..."
"Na, chhora, na. Ee chhori Hindustan ko chhodke kahin na jaavegi, bas."
"Hindustan ko chhodke?"
They all looked up. Shiv was standing at the door, looking somewhat perplexed and concerned.
"Arre, Siv beta! Aao, aao! Behtho!" Dadisa's face lit up at the sight of her laadla collector.
Shiv smiled. "Ghani khama", he said to the general company, walking towards the sofas.
"Khama ghani!" Dadisa replied, while the others smiled back.
Shiv took a seat next to Bhairon and glanced up at Anandi and Gehna. Dadisa, sensing his thoughts, motioned for the two of them to sit down. Gehna walked over to sit next to her husband, and Anandi sat down in the only other available spot, which just happened to be next to Shiv. She noticed a strange twinkle in Dadisa's eyes at this."Actually, Anandi ji," Shiv started, "mera aana is liye hua kyunki mujhe aapse kuch baat karni thi nehar project ke baare me. Ek baat ko lekar aapki raha chahiye thi. Main blueprints ko leke aaya hoon. Agar aap free ho, to hum dono saath me behtkar is baat ko discuss kar sakte hai?"
"Aisi koi baat thi, to aap mujhe office bula leti, collector sahab. Main aa jaati aapse milne..."
Shiv looked a little nervous. "Haan, magar... bas ek chhoti si baat hai... main khamakham aapko disturb nahin karna chahta tha aapko office bulaakar... woh bhi ravivaar ko."
"Vaise acchha kiya tune, Siv beta, jo yahan haveli aa gaya. Tum kaam liptake hum sab ke saath dopahar ka khaana bhi khaalo. Bhairon aur Basant ke kuch mehmaan aanewaale hai".
"Arre, nahin, Dadi ji... aapke parivaar ke private lunch hai... main isme kaise...?"
"Arre... ee ke? Phrivhate ho ya na ho... maare haveli ki niyam hai ke mehmaan ko khaali pet vaapas kabhi naa bheje!"
Shiv and the others all laughed. "Thik hai, Dadi ji. Main aur Anandi ji kaam liptake aap sab ko join karlenge."
"Jaa, chhori," said Dadisa. "Gehna rasoi ke baaki ke kaam liptavegi."
"Chaliye, collector sahab," Anandi said, leading him to the table in the next room. As he was spreading out the blueprints on the table, he stopped and looked up at her. "Oh haan... maine aate waqt kuch suna tha aapke Hindustan chhodne ke baare me...!?"
Anandi laughed, "Hairaan mat hoiye... main hamesha ke liye nahin jaa rahi hoon! Darasal aapki dost Ashima ji ne mujhe London bula liya hai ek hafte ke liye. Jaise humne usko Hindustan dikhaya, woh chahti hai ke woh bhi mujhe uska des dikhaye."
"Oh wow... that's great!" Shiv said with a grin. "Aap dono kam waqt me kaafi close ho gaye ho."
"Haan," said Anandi. "Bas ek hi problem hai... Dadisa ko manana." Her smile faded slightly at the thought.
"Woh kyun nahin maan rahi hai?" Shiv asked, his face falling too at her disappointed expression.
"Usko meri fikar hoti hai. Woh nahin chahti hai ke main vides chali jau, woh bhi akeli. Vaise uska bhi koi dosh nahin hai... bade shehron kaafi khatar naak ho sakte hai, aur kaafi baar logon ko bigad bhi dete hai..." She fell silent, staring into space. Suddenly, a touch on her shoulder brought her back to reality.
"Aap thik to hai na?" Shiv asked, looking concerned.
"Haan... sorry... main thode der ke liye kho gayi thi," she said. Feeling a sudden need to do something with her hands, she turned back to the blueprints and started trying to smooth out the curled-up edges, aware that Shiv's concerned gaze was still upon her.
"Agar aap bura na maane, to main ek baat keh sakta hoon?" he asked.
"Haan, kahiye, collector saheb..." she replied, still not looking at him.
"Main nahin jaanta hoon ke aapko aur Dadi ji ko shehron se aisa khauff kyun hai. Magar mere khayal me, aap ko London zaroor jaana chahiye. Bohot hi acchhi jaga hai... Ashi ke saath thodi der wahan rehkar shehron ke tumhari... I mean, aapki jo misconceptions hai, woh door ho jaayenge..."
Anandi finally looked up at him, opening her mouth to contradict him, to protest that she didn't have any hang-ups or misconceptions that needed correcting... But when her eyes met his, she was struck by the genuine concern and... affection? that was reflected back at her.
She closed her mouth, unable to let out the retort she had wanted to.
"Aap shayad thik keh rahe ho," she said quietly. "Aur sach kahoon, Ashima ji se baat karte karte mera bhi kaafi dil kar raha hai ke main uska shehar dekh loon."
"Mere khayal se aapka poora haq hai yeh trip lene ki. Khatra kahin bhi ho sakta hai, sirf bade shehron me nahin. Dadi ji aapki baat zaroor samjhegi."
"Umeed to yehin hai!" Anandi said.
He smiled, and after a moment's hesitation, she smiled back.
"Chaliye," he said, "Yeh kaam jaldi se liptaake lunch kar dete hai. Kitchen se bohot hi acchhi khushboo aa rahi hai! Soomte hi moo me pani aa rahi hai..."
A scene flashed in front of Anandi's eyes... a scene where her food had been cruelly rejected for being too oily. She shook her head slightly and turned back to the blueprints - and the man - in front of her.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
