Keep the Faith-A Maan and Geet story-imp note pg3 - Page 2

(Handa Haveli, Delhi)

Three months after the promotion'.

Rano Handa was distraught. Her only child had just gotten a promotion, she was doing exceedingly well, and another milestone in her career didn't seem to be too far into the future. Oh yes! Rano was happy, she had always told Geet to stay focused on her education and work, marriage and a family would follow, eventually. But right now she was starting to fear for the work obsessed and alone child of hers. A senior vice president of a department that large would mean she would be working extra hard and extra-long. She hardly even had enough time to talk to her parents. Rano doubted that she even slept and ate well.

Now, Rano knew Geet had never had any real romantic inclinations, except for a few crushes here and there; Geet had never gotten into a relationship calling such things, frivolous. From the time she had started university she had been so focussed on getting ahead, that 'love' or anything remotely along the lines of the same had taken a backseat.

Oh yes, she knew Geet had plans of marrying since she had once asked her outright if marriage would ever be on the cards and her daughter had simply replied with 'of course..at some point'. She had been relieved. To the mother, that 'some point' had always seemed to be twenty-seven but to the daughter 'some point' had meant thirty five. Thus the cause for worry.

Geet had not found herself a prospective boy and neither were there any boys Rano thought appropriate from her daughter's little group. Add to it the pressures of the new position she held and the extra work load, and Rano doubted her daughter would ever find one. Now Rano was not one of those obsessive traditional mothers, she herself had married at twenty seven, nearly thirty years earlier. She had studied and worked, made something out of herself and then met Mohinder and fallen in love with him. Her family had accepted him with open arms. She being the youngest had never been pressurised into marrying early and she had promised herself to never force her Geet either. But now things were changing, her twenty-two year old niece was gearing up for an engagement to a boy from an illustrious and well known family. Her sister, Parneet had called early morning to convey the good news in the guise of warning her of how 'good boys' from 'good families' wanted younger girls and not girls who were nearing middle age even if they did have tons of degrees and excellent work credentials. She knew her sister tended to exaggerate but she also knew a good family would want a younger girl, someone whose biological clock was not ticking away. Her sister had even dropped the bomb of how relatives and friends in their village, Hoshiarpur had started talking and Geet's living alone and working late routine was being whispered about.

By the end of the conversation, Rano had made up her mind ' Geet would marry. Soon. She was out to get Geet to wear at least an engagement ring at Rajji's wedding even if not a Mangalsutra. The boy they would find would be a jewel, a gem of a person, someone Geet just wouldn't be able to decline. Yes that's what they would do, ask their closest friends and family to keep their eyes open for prospective grooms and then take it from there.

(Five hours later)

Rano Handa was on the phone, speaking with her sister, again. Apparently there was a boy, in search of a bride. He was perfect, 27 years old, living in Mumbai, from a family as well known as the Handas and in charge of the family's thriving business. Rano's sister seemed almost wistful as she spoke of the boy and his family, she would have done anything to make him her own son in law but he was in search of someone more mature than twenty-two and instead of letting him go, why not propose an alliance for her niece?

The sisters after nearly an hour of deliberation and discussion decided to invite the boy and his family to their home in Delhi. The place, his family lived. Parneet would serve as the intermediary, getting the family to meet Geet and fixing things up. So now that things were set, Rano was left to deal with Mohinder who would definitely put up a fight on behalf of his 'princess'.

As Parneet ended the call she stated the most pressing issue of all, one which Rano had tried to ignore

"Let Jiju be. How are you going to deal with Geet?"

That was a question, Rano had no answer to.

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Chapter 4:

(Mumbai Airport)

"Meer, do you have the boarding passes?"

Meera flinched as she heard Geet's voice behind her.

"Yes"

She couldn't help but stammer as she muttered her weak yes.

The two friends were at the Chatrapati Shivaji Airport waiting to board the flight that would take them to Delhi and home.

Geet was ecstatic; her little Rajji was getting engaged and would soon be married. Initially Rajji's age had caused her to feel apprehensive on behalf of her little sister but on seeing how happy the girl was she couldn't help but forget all her apprehensions. This was an occasion to celebrate, not to worry about. And she would certainly make the most of this long awaited and much needed holiday. Geet couldn't help but smile at the thought of going back home after so long, back to the place she grew up. Adding to her excitement were the thoughts of the December cold, her mother's food, the shopping at Dilli Haat, Chandni Chowk's aaloo paranthas, enormous samosas, hot jalebis in the sweetest sugar syrup, kachoris, the kulchas..Gosh, she had missed it all too much.

Sure she had been taken aback by the sudden advancement of the engagement ceremony which had been due to take place in April but then again this was Massi's daughter they were talking about. Massi, the traditional woman that she was would never have allowed Rajji to move around with a boy who was not her husband or at least her fianc. So the sudden advancement had been assumed normal by Geet and she had even managed to put off Rano's absolute insistence at having Meera come as well, as a chance to relive the old days, the days before they had left home.

As Geet smiled to herself thinking of the kulfis; the rabdi; and paneer tikkas, Meera couldn't help but clench and unclench her hands in nervousness. What that hell was she doing? She felt like she was kidnapping someone, a small kid who was unaware of what would happen to her.

She had known right from the start that agreeing to Rano's demands would spell absolute disaster, especially if it included the 'M' word and Geet in the same sentence. And the so called advancement of the engagement had geared her friend up for a relaxing and enjoyable holiday – here she was thinking of the apparent good times to come unaware of all the plotting behind it.

How would Meera get herself out of it?

Could she claim ignorance of the family's plan, when Geet was paraded in front of this random 'perfect' guy and his family?

Or could she feign a fractured leg and disappear for say…a couple of months?

"Meer Come on! Come on! That's us" Geet, the innocent lamb up for slaughter, squealed in delight.

Oh. Ho.

"Meer come on, what are you thinking about? You really got to relax. Forget about Yash and the kids this one time. This is going to be one great holiday. Come on"

Oh no! We are so dead.

(Elsewhere at Mumbai airport)

Maan Singh Khurana was angry. No. He was livid.

He was tired; sleep deprived and had a hell lot of work to do. Nevertheless he was waiting for the private plane that would take him to Delhi, his family and home. After spending a good part of the morning trying to dissuade his irate Dadima of her elaborate plans, his mother had taken over and ordered him to get home as soon as he possibly could. And so he was going, leaving his work behind since he couldn't risk having the only two women in his life, bring on the emotional drama and the tears. He was no match for them despite being the Maan Singh Khurana. After all they were Savithri and Kaamya Khurana.

What he didn't get is why he had to be there? Did they expect something dramatic to happen if he were present? Not like they were going alone. Both his brothers were going as well. Couldn't they handle it? Did they honestly expect him to talk to the girl or her family?

Well if they did, they were sadly mistaken.

He had been working days and nights, sleeping for hardly an hour or two. Even as he waited for his flight, he was going through his notes on his phone. The final hearing was in 2 weeks and to win the case, he was required to be in his office. Not in Delhi, visiting some girl.

The girl, he had gathered from what an excited Dadima had managed to convey, was from Mumbai, an only child and a lovely human being.

Yeah right.

A lovely human being, in today's world was code for a gold digger eager to get her claws into men of rich and influential families. This girl would be no different and neither would her family. An overly ambitious and persistent mother, a father who served as a spineless, namesake head of the household who would watch his scheming wife, helplessly and finally a daughter who was desperate for a life of luxury and opulence.

The perfect family. Sigh.