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A Chat Club for the Bees to keep buzzzing...
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Galloping Away...
Arnav surveyed the chaos around him with a frown twisting his naturally perfect brows and a disdain twisting his beautiful lips. Disgust - perhaps, amazement - a little bit and annoyed - definitely!
He himself was a married man, for a guy who never believed in marriage, he went through that fiasco twice and if his darling wife was to ask him, is willing to go through that fiasco a few more times as well till her little heart is content... But this circus around him, this is way out of line.
He always suspected NK would find an Indian girl to settle down and she will be one almost like his Khushi, he did not believe there is anyone like Khushi though... She is one of a kind in this poori duniya. Now, NK had gone and done exactly that. Found a girl as pagal or maybe a little bit less pagal than Khushi (he has reservation of anyone else topping Khushi in pagal) and a Lucknowi girl to boot as a bride for himself. And today is the D-day, after so many other days of sheer mind numbing celebration. Why would anyone want to put themselves through this torture? Won't it be simpler to elope like he did the first time around or only have your family around like he did the second time around? But no Sir, the mad NK and his madder Maasi had invited closer to 5,000 people for this wedding and every event from Roka to today a circus in its own way...
"Arnavji"
That voice as always had the power to bring him back to earth regardless of his mood and thoughts and he turned towards the voice and forgot to breath.
Khushi was looking stunning!
She is in a red color saree that made her glow and added to that was a beaming happiness on her face for her best buddy's marriage. She was in her elements and all that happiness made her look like an angel, an angel without wings perhaps but an angel nevertheless with her beauty and that halo like glow...
Arnav simply could not help the desire that hit him hard the moment his eyes registered the beauty that is his wife... Nor could he conceal that same desire from reflecting in his eyes or his voice. So ASR being ASR simply lifted his perfectly formed one eyebrow in question.
Khushi as usual, was too busy with wedding preparation to notice the state of her husband and was all set for the next event...
"Arnavji we had to leave now... Are you not going to get dressed?"
ASR looked down at his impeccably tailored suit - an AR original - and lifted his brows again...
"You cannot come like this. Won't you wear that Kurtha set Di got for you?"
"No" Arnav's voice came out all horrified and irritated. The desire now completely wiped out. "You know how uncomfortable I feel in that dress. Then why is it that you and Di are hell bent on making me get into that?"
Khushi knew that she is starting a no-win argument... She also knew if she pouts prettily and looks all hurt her Arnavji will relent and agree to go in a boxer to the wedding if that makes her happy... But she simply did not want that today... She wants Arnav to make a choice not force him into it...
"OK, the horse is already here... Where is Naneji?"
"Horse? What horse?" Arnav could not help the knot that immediately formed in the pit of his stomach of an impending doom waiting to happen...
"Oh... Naneji wanted to ride with you in a horse during our wedding... But since you were coming in a car his wish was not fulfilled. He wants to make sure those traditions and rituals are followed for his wedding, hence the ghori chadna rasam and that will also make Madhu happy..."
Arnav stared at her with a total what the?' expression.
"That idiot wants to ride a horse? Does he even know how to get on one? He was scared to go near one the last time he came with me to the Darby because he was worried that horses are related to Buaji and all are trying to take a bite out of his cheeks... Though he was clearly not referring to his face..." Arnav voice continues to become quieter as he threw the questions at Khushi
"He went to some classes and he feels comfortable now and also these are highly trained horses specifically for wedding procession" Khushi was quick to reassure him.
"Khushi this is highly dangerous... In the old times grooms rode the horses to show the status and also that was the means of transport. Now you can easily do that in a car... If he does not like the car, let me get him one of the choppers... Why take a risk with a hor..."
"Nanav, mere bhai" the devil called, interrupting Arnav and saving Khushi from an ear full. As he neared Arnav NK saw Khushi standing by her pati dev and his elation hit another notch...
"Khushiji... I am all set... Is Aarav ready too to take the ride with me?"
"What?" Arnav felt his heart stopping and then dropping to his stomach and settle down squarely on the already formed knot...
He turned and again lifted his eyebrow which his wife is becoming quite apt at reading without him uttering a single word
"Woh... Arnavji... Normally a younger brother or a nephew in the family rides with the groom on the horse. Since Aarav is the nephew and also Naneji's friend, he wants to ride with him"
"No way Khushi. My son is not getting on any unsafe transportation... And traditions be damned..."
"But Arnavji..."
"No Khushi... And a no means a NO!" The ASR voice came out strong and final putting an end to that conversation.
"Nanav, mere bhai! Lis..."
NK was cut off before he could complete his sentence, "No, you listen... If you want to risk your neck on your wedding day NK, that's your problem but not Aarav's safety... Forget it"
"Chotai, Khushiji and NK Bhai? Why are you guys standing here without making a move on? We have to reach the mandap soon" Anjali joined the group as well with her customary thali...
"NK? Are you sure you want to do this man? Don't you want to rethink?" Arnav made another attempt to talk NK out of this crazy scheme and now that his brilliant brain is processing this more, he is even more convinced that this is going to be disasters from the word go...
"Chotai, what are you saying?" Anjali as usual wanted to know her Chotai's thoughts and once Arnav explained as expected choose NK's side...
"It is tradition Chotai... Don't discourage NK bhai from riding the horse to the mandap"
"Your funeral..." Arnav murmured under his breath and turned to lead them to the place where the horse and Aarav were standing eyeing each other warily...
"Aarav beta, I am going to be all alone in the car... Would you care to join Papa and keep me company please?"
Arnav could see that his young son is quite relieved by the suggestion, but the desire to ride a horse is also still evident...
"But Papa, I told NK uncle that I will ride with him"
"True and you must always keep your promises, but in this instance NK uncle is OK if you don't want to ride till you have also attended a few training sessions after which I will get you a lovely pony to ride. How about it?"
"OK"
Arnav dragged a big gulp of air relived that his son will be safe... NK... Well, that is another story all together...
He pulled Aarav, less Khushi gets any of her innovative ideas that is bound to turn crazy, to his side and waited for the wedding procession to start.
As he watched in amusement a decked up horse groom led his equally decked up horse near an even more decked up bridegroom who was now certainly looking a little nervous... Arnav simply could not help himself from calling out...
"NK, are you sure you want to do this man... You can take the new Ferrari I just got delivered or I can order a limousine"
"No way Bro, I am definitely doing this... You already cheated me out of this and it's entirely your fault that I had to go through this on my wedding day instead of on your wedding day"
"Your wish..." Arnav could only murmur... You can only guide the horse to the water, but making it drink it...
Anjali moved near the horse and fed him a piece of jaggery and Khushi took the thali and did an Aarthi to the horse... Aarthi for crying out loud... Why is the horse getting married? Maybe his partner is a donkey and won't that fit right into this circus...
The groom pulled the stirrup and held it for NK to slide his legs while having a tight hold on the reins. Arnav could not help the smile that spread across his face at the struggle NK was having getting on the horse as the sherwani NK had selected to wear for his wedding was clearly not meant for a horse ride and would not allow him to lift his leg high enough to slide his feet into the stirrup.
By now Aarav too was quietly chuckling next to him of the acrobatics NK is employing to get on the horse...
Arnav could have easily given him a leg up, but he was having too much fun just watching NK...
Obviously the groom is a seasoned individual and had seen many such bridegrooms struggling to get up on a horse. He quickly found an alternate way...
"Ma'am, can you give me a small stool or a chair, please" he asked Khushi.
Before the man could close his mouth on his request a kind soul passed on a chair. He helped NK to climb the chair and brought the horse alongside the chair for NK to now move to sit on the saddle comfortably...
Arnav's smile turned to a frown when he saw that the horse is uncomfortable and was fidgeting...
"Stop!" That single word command in his voice brought the horse, the grooms, his di, his wife and a few passersby to a quick standstill...
"There is something wrong with the horse. NK get down right now" NK for a change quickly climbed down from the horse back onto the chair and for some reason better understood only to him choose to stand on the chair instead of getting down on the grounds.
The groom was quick to defend his horse..."No sir, there is nothing wrong. The dulha sahab is nervous and the horse is sensing it and reacting"
ASR only threw a look at the groom that quickly shut the man up before moving towards the horse and lifting the heavy cloth draped around its body and ran his hand. The horse stayed put, eyes closed, enjoying the soothing touch of firm gentle hands. When he was satisfied nothing was wrong on the first side Arnav repeated the action to the opposite side and as he neared the saddle the muscle moved and the horse fidgeted again. He called the groom to remove the saddle that revealed that one buckle was not properly set and it was pressing on to the skin causing the discomfort. Once the groom redid the buckle properly Arnav moved the hand back again and this time the horse stayed put.
Arnav moved back, allowing the groom to readjust the drapes and lead the horseback to where NK was still standing on the chair.
"NK for the last time, do you really want to do this?"
Arnav's concern was met with a glare and a nod.
The groom led the horse to the baaraat and the dhol, music and dancing began and someone started lightening the fire crackers...
As Mohan pulled the car in front of where Arnav and Aarav were standing, he helped Aarav into the vehicle and turned to take one last look at the wedding procession. As Akash waved to him walking next to the horse he saw what he was dreading from the time this horse conversation started.
One of the rockets types fire cracker move under the horse and blasted with more noise than fire startling the animal.
The horse reared so high and so fast it literally pulled the reins out of the groom and as well as almost throwing NK to the ground. Since NK too was holding the reins that fate was avoided, but no one could stop the horse from galloping away.
The whole baaraat and baaraatis froze.
Akash threw a look at Arnav to see how his brother was reacting and the said brother was already in action running to a motorbike parked nearby. He simply pulled the guy from his seat and immediately took off. As Arnav got closer to Akash he could only yell "Take care of Aarav before you follow me" before speeding away behind the horse that was already galloping away with NK holding on to the reins for his dear life.
The frozen baaraat and baaraatis came back to life and the screams and noise they were making and the oncoming traffic spooked the already spooked horse so thoroughly it increased its speed rather than reducing it trying to find a way to get out of the traffic and to a safe place.
The horse saw a small gap in the traffic and jumped over the barriers from the oncoming traffic to the outgoing traffic and took a narrow lane that was visible.
Arnav was lost...
First, he does not know these damn roads in Lucknow and on top of that he could not make the jump the horse executed perfectly over the island barriers and was forced to go around and come back to the narrow alley that the horse took off from... By the time he reached the alley the horse and NK was nowhere in sight. All he could see was a dramatic change in the landscape at the end of the alley leading to a rundown deserted area of Lucknow he had never seen before.
He stopped his bike to listen for any noise.
None!
The whole place is eerily quiet. The dusk was rapidly turning to night and he knew visibility will be nil around this area once the night settle down. If that happens they will need a bigger search party to find NK. The damn idiot has to do this while his bride was waiting at the mandap. What a f%$* up!!!
Arnav was so livid with anger for this senseless tradition he can kill NK all over again if the horse has not yet killed him.
He looked at the ground and he could see the hoof marks leading to one direction and since he is no expert on reading the freshness of the marks he simply took off in that direction... Suddenly he could hear the yelling and stopped the bike again thinking that the horse was causing the commotion though he cannot see any people. The noise was coming from behind and he turned around to see Akash and a few others in bikes with Akash yelling "Bhai.. Stop!" on top of his voice.
Arnav waited.
"Bhai did you find NK bhai?"
"What do you think Akash? I found him and send him to mandap and just sightseeing the beauty of Lucknow in this run down area" The concern and worry for NK was taken out on Akash...
Akash gulped at the biting tone of his brother and paled visibly at the news the NK was still missing...
"Sorry Bhai... That was a thoughtless question..."
"Oh... Forget it... Let's not waste time as it will be dark soon. The horse had gone this way. Try not to make a lot of noise, but follow the tracks and spread out... And keep any eye for NK... Put all your phones on vibrate or silence... We need not scare the horse anymore than it already is and don't call NK's phone yet. We need to find him before he injures himself..." though Arnav spoke with conviction, he personally could not imagine how NK could escape uninjured... That bumbling fool...
"Actually NK bhai's phone is with me. He gave me to keep it as he was going to be busy with all the rituals..."
Before Akash could finish speaking the phone rang... Akash pulled out NK's phone, took one look at the caller ID and passed the phone to Arnav with a resigned expression.
Khushi!
Only she can bring this expression to mild Akash's face. Arnav quickly hit the talk' button.
"Yes Khushi?"
"Arnavji? Aap? What are you doing with Naneji's phone? Where is Naneji? Sab theek hai na?"
The questions came out faster than the rocket firecracker that just went under the horse's belly.
"What do you think Khushi??? Actually, what were you thinking calling NK's phone? That NK will be holding on to a galloping down horse and at the same time answer a phone call from you?"
Arnav's annoyance came out dripping in sarcasm at Khushi...
He could hear the audible gasp from Khushi then a tear "A... Arnavji..."
Arnav relented immediately... What is the point in taking it out on Khushi?
"Khushi, NK's phone was with Akash. We have not found him or the horse yet and as soon as I find him I will call you"
He could hear a sniff and felt the nod through the connection...
"Khushi don't worry. Everything will be alright, I will find him and bring him back. Stop crying now and I have to go search for him and I am switching off the phone"
Arnav cut the call and switched off the phone before pocketing it. "Do we have torch lights here?"
At the blank stares around him, he sent one guy back to get few torch lights.
"Right, Akash, let's get moving. We will follow the tracks as long as we can see and decide when we lose the tracks"
He set off again in the direction the tracks were leading and after another 15 minutes ride there was still no sign of the horse or NK. Another 15 minutes more and still there was no sign.
This can't be possible as he did not take half an hour to get to the alley so they cannot be that far behind the horse and he was pretty sure the tracks he was following were the only tracks he saw. Are they going in the right direction? Did he miss any further shortcuts in the alley? So many questions and he wants to kill NK all over again for this mess up? All those stupid movies and senseless faith is the rasam is the reason for this predicament NK and he and the rest of the people were in right now. He cannot even imagine what the bride must be feeling right about now...
Another 10 minutes and now the visibility is really low. By now they have moved from the old building area to an almost forest like area border with bushes and dried trees dotted around a vast ground and he saw a sight he was hoping and praying he will never see.
The horse was grazing peacefully near a bush and NK was nowhere in sight. He stopped the bike and the battalion behind him also came to a quiet halt.
"Akash, call for an ambulance and get the locals to give the direction. Under no circumstance call anyone home till we find NK. Put the phone back on the ringtone after I secure the horse"
Arnav did not wait around to see if his orders are being carried out. If Aman is his left eye, then Akash could be called his right eye, though his brother is more than that and his instructions will be carried out flawlessly to the dot without too many questions.
He moved cautiously near the horse. The animal sensed an intruder and reared its head. Either Arnav's scent or his appearance calmed the animal down it went back to grazing from the bush. Arnav took the reins and inspected the bush.
No NK!
"OK people, let's move, check all bushes in the 100 yard radius to make sure NK is not in any of those bushes and be cautious. Did that fellow returned with the torches yet?"
"No Bhai. But we have the phone lights and let's start the search with that"
"Good, let's move"
Thus began 'Operation - Find NK'
The search party moved carefully calling out NK's name and checking each bush least a snake or a rabbit jumps out at them... By now it has gone really dark and only their phone torch was giving any light.
"Saheb, I hear something" one fellow called out and Arnav and Akash rushed to him...
"Listen saheb"
Arnav looked around keeping an ear for any sound...
None!
"NK!" came the command.
"NK Bhai, please answer?" came the request.
None! Simply no sound...
"No Saheb, I definitely heard a sound" the man pointed in the direction and there was nothing, not even a bush...
Suddenly Arnav remembered the Nainital trip and Khushi in a ditch and took off in the direction the man pointed yelling NK's name with Akash following close on his heels and came to an abrupt halt near a large ditch... He would have gone under if not for the light from the phones...
They both neared the ditch to see NK in a semi conscious state moaning...
"NK!" Arnav forgot all about killing NK when he saw the state NK was in and jumped into the ditch without any thought for his safety the moment he saw his brother in danger...
Akash jumped right after him.
"NK!"
"NK Bhai"
"Nanav, mer..?"
"Han, NK. It's Nanav... Don't worry... we have got you and get you to hospital in a few minutes". Did he just call himself 'nanav'?
"Hum..mm.."
"NK, stay with me, man... everything will be all right"
"Han, NK bhai... we are here... Don't worry and we will get you out of here shortly... The ambulance is on the way"
"Nanav, mere bhai, I don't think I can get married today!"
Narrator's Note:
OK... in case you are wondering that the heck I had written here is the background of the story narrated to me by my father that happened when he was a young man... and the actual story was, in the place I come from there was a rasam during weddings where the groom ride to the bride's place in a horse... So at one such wedding while the groom was on the horse someone throw a firecracker under the horse and the horse took off... after a long and hard chase the horse throw the rider into a thorn bush. My father was the person to find him and by that time the bridegroom was injured so badly they had to postpone the wedding and subsequently cancelled it as the bride's people were not sure the bridegroom was man enough to marry their daughter. After this incident, no self-respecting bridegroom was willing to get on a horse on their wedding day and the custom was subsequently abandoned.
Though it was a sad story, the way my father used to narrate this story brought laughter to all who heard it though all are sensitive to the predicament of the person who went through it and he was a distant uncle of mine and after this incident had a nickname called 'Pattacu' (meaning firecracker) throughout his life.
I cannot make it as funny as I wanted it to as I am not a writer, but I hope you have enjoyed this.
Secondly, I really liked the NK character in IPKKND and did not want him to suffer any lasting injuries, but in one of the episodes (349) NK wanted to ride the ghori with his Nanav... So I used that as the backdrop to tell the actual story...
Thirdly, I have great respect for traditions and rituals, but there are those that are over the top and though I don't believe in them I have no disrespect for them. So any ridicule you might find here is Arnav's view as his character was enacted in IPKKND and was not meant to hurt anyone's feelings. In case I have hurt anyone I do apologize though that was not the intention.
Finally, the reason I narrated this story was Ruchi wanted to know what the horse story I was referring to and then everyone else jumped into the bandwagon, wanting to know the story and finally AMan made the whole thing into a horseshoe story and I thought it would be better for me to tell the story and finish it off before someone (Kurinji and Rashmi) make it into a horse and donkey story as well... Which also happened in case anyone forgets it... and AMan again (that girl...), went to a lot of trouble and posted the horse and donkey image as a banner for this story. I was frankly worried that I will not be able to tell a convincing story on the horse and donkey and if I let it go for more time with my fellow bees this whole thing will end up as a lion and snake story... AND I don't have a lion and snake story so don't even go there... 😛
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Presenting you with the bees that keep the lights on anytime of the day or night:
Expelliarmus - Juhi
1chilly - Charu
A_BA - Aami
Angellic_doll - Shilpa
Areeba_blossom - Areeba
..Arnav.. - Sindu
Arshix144 - Mini
Arshi67 - Ruchi
ArnavBarun - Veena
...ASB100... - Asha
AzraZaidi - Azra
Bhavikakosambia - Dolly/ Bhavika
BlueMystique - Ridz
Bridgeofdreams - Shaimaa
Champsum - Sumaiya
Chokri_ASR - Jigs
Chotidesi - Choti
cineraria - Ria
Dev25 - Mani
esamoe - Raeesa
esseesse - Sid
Heavens_Flower - Re Re
IOVENI - Nish
jduke - Jay
JforChimpanzee - JforChimpanzee
Kclovearshi - Kavi
Kiwikali - Kali
Kurinji - Kurinji
LooneyLuna - Luna
mem1 - Gita
MsDroolKanthan - Astha, not Shlock's though
Nooro - Noor
pravallika - Asha
preethi.saseeda - Preethi
rith123 - Rithika
Rulama - Rashmi
Ssyahoo - Sami
Sarikaa97 - Sarikaa
Semanti - Semanti
shree10 - Shree
sj236 - Sur
Sman - Shailaja
sudhareddy - Sudha
Tinkleby - Maanasa
tvpal007 - Cherry
vks11 - Sri
vandana.sagar - Vandana
***Apologize in advance if I may have missed anyone, please let me know and I will update. Also if you do not want your name listed, I can remove it as well...no pressure 😊
Some things to keep in mind (Thanks Juhi for the rules):
1) We are all friends here, so let's value each other's opinions, without personal judgments and comments. Step back if you need to...
2) Let's keep it clean, so no one has any need to come up creeping at our doorsteps, no being the basherz ya?
3) You probably don't want to share personal info here, that's what PM(s) are for ya?
And with that, let's get this party started...
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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