Vignettes -12. From ... , with love - Page 15

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This is the longest update I've ever written...Dhruv's story refuses to be told in short parts...it is making me work hard!

Enjoy!

Breakfast was a gala affair, with every member of the family present except Dhruv's brothers. Busy in serving everyone before sitting down, Payal and Khushi didnot notice their young brother-in-law's eyes on them the entire time, assessing them. Anjali caught the looks and smiled to herself. Dhruv Sigh Raizada was going to have his work cutout for him if he thought that they could be figured out that easily. Her smile slightly wobbling as she drank in the sight of her baby brother sitting down for breakfast with the family, she prayed that he and Chotte would patchup their differences soon.

"Parathe?", Dhruv was jolted out of his 'wonder-about-Khushi Bhabi' session by Payal. "Yes, please", he replied, giving her half-smile in thanks. Nodding her head at him, she passed him the plate. As he slowly started on his first Indian breakfast in years, he watched Payal interacting with the rest of the family. Saw her respectfully serve his Dadi and Papa, gracefully slide past the half-snide comments his mother threw at her, and saw her keep an eye on her sister as she shot out a hand to steady Khushi who had trip on air, apparently.

"She's a calm, steady one, alright", he thought. "And not without a humourous bone", he decided as he watched her joining forces with Di in teasing her sister about being the single person on the planet who could manage to trip over even non-existant things. "A perfect fit for Bhai".

Suddenly Payal looked up at him, her gaze holding steady for a few seconds. And then, giving him a faint smile, she nodded, acknowledging his perusal. Quite flustered as he realised that she was aware all along, and that she was, very obviously, cut from the same cloth as himself and his Bhaiyya. "Without the temper, I hope!" he thought with a grimace.

Attention pulled to the other end of the table by loud giggles from Di and guffaws from his father, he saw his mother grinning at Khushi and giving her a high-five as Khushi jumped away from the reach of his Dadi's arm. The smile under her mock-glare evident to the family, Devyani was scowling at her daughter-in-law and her grand-daughter-in-law who had joined forces in teasing her. "Manorama, aap yeh mat sochna ki aapke bahuein ghar mein aa gayi toh aap humre barabar ki darje mein pahunch gayi."

"Arre, kaise, saasuma? Kahan aapki ee bootiful bahu aur kahan humri yeh phati-saree aur khoon-bhari-taang?! No comparijons, pileej!"

"What?! What had his mother just called the two women? And why are they not offended?" Dhruv wondered, as he turned to stare at his sisters-in-law, who were smiling fondly at his mother. And to his even bigger surprise, his Dadi and his mother, who had, for as long as he could remember, been taking pot-shots at eachother, were laughing together.

Catching his look, Anjali smiled and thought, "Kaafi kuch badla hain iss ghar mein, Dhruv. Tumhare Bhabiyon ke aane ke baad."

"Haan, haan, tum jaisi bahu banne ke liye ee bitiya logon ko bahut mehnat karni padegi. Woh ka hain naah, ee donon aadat se toh kaamchor naahin hain, kosis karke banna padega."

Dhruv too was grinning by this time. Somethings never changed, like how much his father loved riling up his mother and how his mother could turn on waterworks in an instant. But the waterwork part didn't happen, as his Payal Bhabi had jumped in with his mother's favourite fruit juice.

**************

Going up to his old room, which his mother and Di had always kept ready hoping for his return, Dhruv kept his bags down and collapsed on his bed. The sleepless night coupled with jetlag was beginning to pound in his head. Just as he was debating going straight to sleep versus taking a bath before going to sleep, Di walked in with spare towels.

Laughing at her half-comatose brother, she quipped, "Nahane ke bina sone ke baare mein sochna bhi mat! Tum bhi naah, Dhruv. Saari cheezon mein bilkul apne Bhaiyya pe gaye ho, sivay isske. Woh toh aate hi nahaane ke liye daudte hain aur tumhe nahaane ke liye kisi ko tumhare peeche daudna padta hain!"

Curling against her as she sat down next to him, he gave her a one-armed hug. "Missed you, Di. I really did."

Running her hand through his hair, she replied softly, "Toh tum ghar aane mein itna der kyun lagaa diya, Dhruv? Tumhe pata hain, uss din tumhare Bhaiyya..." she trailed off as he shot up.

Grabbing the towel from her, he said as he walked towards the bathroom, 'Main nahaake aata hoon, Di. Aur main dhodi der ke liye sone jaa raha hoon. Puri raat flight main so nahi paaya."

Sighing as she watched him escape, Anjali got up. It was no use trying to press him, she knew. "Khushiji se kehna bhi hain ki Dhruv ke liye lunch nahi chaahiye. Hamesha ki tarah woh toh teen baje hi lunch ke liye aayega."

**************

Waking up from a deep sleep, it took Dhruv a few minutes to get his bearings. First he thought that he was dreaming, seeing his room around him, smelling the familiar lemon smell of the sheets. Sitting up, he drew in a deep breath, drawing in all the smells of his youth, that had always defined 'home' for him.

A glance at the clock and the rumble from his stomach told him that it was past luch-time. Smiling as he thought that veing in one's own home had perks like being able to eat whenever you wanted to, he got up and went out of his room. Passing by his brother's room, he heard the TV playing in a low volume and heard his mothers and Payal Bhabi's voices murmuring about some movie.

Deciding not to disturb them, he continued on his way, only to slow down as he turned the corner and came to the lounge in front of Bhaiyya's room. The doors stood open, signalling that Khushi Bhabi was not inside. Memories of the many many evenings he had sat there, studying under the watchful eyes of his brother washing over him, he gulped, "How could I say those things to him? And why couldn't he see that it was guilt that made me say them? Mere Bhaiyya hain...mere ghabraahat kyun samajh nahin payein?"

Hearing Hari Prakash coming with cleaning supplies, he quickly walked downstairs, intending to have a quick lunch. Finding the living area deserted, he remembered that Di and Dadi had been speaking about some evening pooja at a neighbour's house. He walked to the dining area, hoping to find his lunch kept aside, when, to his surprise, he saw his eldest Bhabi sitting at the dining table, engrossed in a book.

Looking up suddenly, she spotted him and smiled. "Achche se so rahe the, isi liye humne aapko dopahar ke khane ke liye jagaaya nahin. Bhook lag raha hoga naah, aao, baitho...Hum abhi khana lagaate hain."

"Nahin, Bhabi, main le loonga. Aap takleef mat keejiye."

"Arre, iss mein kaunsi takleef hain? Bhabi hoon aapki, yeh to aapka haq banta hain, hum pe", she chuckled as she walked off to bring in his lunch from the kitchen. As he sat down, staring after her, she called out, "Waise, aaj khane mein Di aapke man pasand cheezein banwaye hain. Aur jaate waqt humein hukoom deke gaye hain ki humein aapko achche se khilana hoga."

As she brought in the dishes and started serving him, she kept up a running commentary of all that Dhruv had missed while asleep. Akash Bhai had called to check on him, his father had gone for a business lunch and was expected to come late, Di and Dadi had gone early for a satsang, Payal Bhabi and his mother had waited for a while, but then had gone up to watch a favourite movie, how Khushi had had to stop Lakshmiji from going into Dhruv's room and wake him...

"That blasted goat's still here?!" Dhruv couldn't help but exclaim as he recollected how many of his school assignments had become her snack. Looking up at the sudden silence, he found his Bhabi gazing at him, a half-smile on her face, as if lost in some memory. Reddening under her steady gaze, he shifted uncomfortably in his chair and occupied himself with the task at hand - his lunch.

The sudden ringing of her phone brought Khushi out of her reverie; she had been wondering about how much Dhruv resembled her husband. When the phone went on ringing, Dhruv looked up to see a hilarious scene. His Bhabi was scampering around the dining room, family living and kitchen, trying to locate her phone. Cushions went flying, books went tumbling, and the ringtone played on...

As the song set as his tone by her husband played on, Khushi grew frantic in her search, letting out a stream of mutters and exclamations of "Devi Maiyya raksha karna. Phone nahi uthaaya toh Laad Governor humein maar dalenge".

"What an apt song, for Khushi Bhabi", thought her amused dewar, "But yeh Lord Governor kaun hain?"

Finally locating the phone under the book she had been reading, Khushi leapt to answer it. "Humein daantiye mat!"

"Now that's an unusual greeting! Must be a friend", Dhruv thought. His Bhabi was indeed a chatterbox. "How did she survive with Bhaiyya?" he wondered. Even though he tried not to overhear, it was sort of impossible. It was with a lot of amusement that he listened to the one-sided conversation.

"Arre, hum phone dhoondh rahe the, naah. Bhool gaye the ki kahaan rakha tha."

"Haun! Aap humein buddoo samajhte hain? Hum kuch bhi khoye nahin the. Bus..."

"Laad Governor kaheenke... Lagta hain humein tang karne ke liye phone kiye hain!"

Apparently the person at the other end had said something effective, because his Bhabi was left standing open-mouthed, reddening by degrees. And then came a chuckle and an exclamation, "Besharam! Koi nahin hai kya aas-paas? Meeting khatam ho gaya?"

Choking as the realisation dawned on him, Dhruv gasped, "It's Arnav Bhaiyya!"

Reaching for his glass, he thought, utterly gobsmacked, "ASR being addressed Lord Governor! And referred to as besharam!" Looking up at him, Khushi saw him gulping down water and went back to the conversation.

"Aap khana aur davai le liya, naah?"

"Ji, aap jaayiye aur jaldi se meeting khatam karke ghar aayiye."

"Aapko bhi...nahin, Arnavji, hum abhi bol nahin sakte... nahin... Arnavji... achcha baba, theek hain..."

As she walked a little away, murmuring something that was apparently extremely private, Dhruv sat shell-shocked. It was beyond his wildest imaginations that his brother was capable of holding a conversation along this lines. The Arnav Singh Raizada he had seen in the morning had been the one and the same he had last seen three years ago. But apparently he was a changed man.

As Dhruv thought back about the moments that had left him surprised during the course of the day, he realised that all of them had been connected to his Bhabi. He corrected himself, "No, he wasn't a changed man for anyone else. Only for Bhabi. Maybe Di hadn't been exagerating when she told me months ago that marriage had changed him."

By the time Khushi ended the call and came back, Dhruv had finished his lunch and was waiting to thank her before heading back up to his room. Not understanding why he suddenly appeared flustered and not able to meet her eyes, she waved away his thanks and sent him away with promises of waking him up for the evening aarti.

**************

Walking in earlier than planned, Anjali saw Payal and Mami bust with preparations for the evening aarti. She informed them that Nani was staying back at the neighbour's house till dinner and asked about the rest of the family. Apparently Arnav, Akash and Manohar were still stuck in their meeting and Dhruv was fast asleep. When she asked about Khushi, Payal pointed to her left.

Spotting Khushi sitting by the pool near the living room, looking up at the darkening sky, Anjali quietly asked Payal, "Payalji, koi problem hai kya? Khushiji taare kyun dekh rahe hain?"

"Nahin, Di. Aisa kuch nahin hain. Ab tak toh yahaan thi. Bus abhi abhi bol rahi thi ki dhandi hawa mein baithne ka mann kar raha hain aur baahar chali gayi."

Smiling her thanks at Payal, Anjali walked to her young sister-in-law. Seeing Anjali walking up to her, Khushi smiled up at her from where she was sitting, legs pulled up, arms around them. As Anjali sat down on the deck-chair behind her, Khushi leaned back against her legs, both of them settling comfortably into their usual heart-to-heart chat positions.

Eyes closed as she enjoyed the feel of Anjali running her hands through her hair, Khushi asked softly, "Di..."

Lost in the soothing calm of the evening, Anjali said, "Hmm..."

"Hum ek baat poochein?"

Alert now, Anjali replied cautiously, "Ji...?"

"Aaj se pehle Dhruv ke baare mein hum kabhi bhi nahin socha. Lekin aaj humare mann mein bahut saari sawaal udh rahe hain. Aur hum yeh soch rahe the ki Arnavji se baat karne se pehle hum ek baar aap se pooch lete hain."

Turning around to look up at Anjali, Khushi continued, "Arnavji aur Jijaji ko saath mein dekh ke humein aksar Ram-Lakhan ki jodi lagte hain. Kuch kahe bina ek doosre ke baat samajhte hain, ek doosre ko bahut pyaar aur issat karte hain. Lekin yeh toh ek taraf se samaanon ka rishta hain, shaayd iss liye ki umr mein donon mein bus do saal ka antar hain."

Looking up to see Anjali nodding at her to go ahead, she said, "Aaj humne dekha ki Arnavji aur Dhruv, aur Jijaji aur Dhruv ke rishte bilkul bade bhai-chote bhai ka pyaar bhara rishta hain. Humne Dhruv ke aankhon mein unke bhaiyon ke liye pyaar aur samman dekha hai, Arnavji ko dekhkar toh, jahaan tak hum unhe jaante hain, humein lagta hein ki woh Dhruv ko bahut laad-pyaar dete the. Toh aisa kya hua tha, Di, ki iss rishta aise toot pada? Aur chaahte hue bhi yeh ek doosre ke paas aa nahin paa rahe hain?"

Taking a deep breath, Anjali sat for a minute, gathering her thoughts. She had known that Khushi would come to her soon.

"Aap theek keh rahe hain, Khushiji. Dhruv hum teenon ka ladla chota-bhai tha...tha nahin, hain. Woh umr mein hum sab se itna chota hain, shayad iss liye. Aur na jaane kis wajah se, woh bachpan se hi Chotte ke kareeb tha, sabse zyada, apne ma-papa se bhi zyada. Jab tak humare Mamma-Papa zinda the, hum aur Chotte unhe sirf summer holidays ko hi milte the, phir bhi Dhruv Akash se zyada Arnav ko 'bhaiyya-bhaiyya' pukaarke piche-piche chalte tha."

Seeing her Di lost in those sweet memories, Khushi's eyes became wet as she too mourned that lost childhood.

"Dhruv aath saal ka tha jab hum Lucknow se Dilli aa gaye. Shayad iss liye ki bus woh hi tha jo iss se khush tha aur hasta khelta humse baat karta tha, hum donon zyada se zyada waqt uske saat bitaana shuroo kiya. Tabhi hum notice kiya ki Dhruv ko padhaayi karna bahut mushkil hain. Actually Chote ne notice kiya. Mama aur mami se bahut daant padta tha, bechaare ko. Kuch din uske saat rehne ke baad Chote ko yeh shak hua ki use koi problem hain aur Mama-mami ko itna tang kiya ki woh Dhruv ko ek doctor ke paas le jaane ke liye raazi ho gaye. Us doctor bahut saare tests karvaane ke baad bataaya ki Dhruv ko dyslexia hain."

Looking down at Khushi, she asked, "Kya aapko pata hain yeh kaisi bimari hoti hain?"

To her surprise, Khushi nodded, "Ji, Di. Aapko yaad nahin? Prateeksha main ek bachchi hain naah, jisko yeh hain? Hum aur Arnavji milte hain uss se, jab bhi hum jaate hain."

Smiling softly as she realised why Arnav makes it a point to meet the girl, Anjali continued, "Yeh diagnosis milne ke baad, maano Chote Dhruv ka personal tutor ban gaya. Sirf Chote ke madad ke wajah se Dhruv ko confidence mila aur Chote ne jo bhi alternate-learning methods hote hain, woh sab seekh liya aur upyog kiya. Dhruv ko uss se achcha teacher mil hi nahin sakta tha."

"Jab Chotte ko Harvard mein admission mila tab tak toh woh Dhruv ko apne aap seekhne ka kabil banaa diya tha. Iska sabse bada saboot hain ki aage jaake Dhruv ko bhi Harvard main hi admission mil gaya. Chote toh saatve aasmaan mein pahoonch gaya tha uss din."

Wondering at the still unknown faces of her husband, Khushi smiled tremulously. Who would have guessed that the gussewala, sabr ka matlab na jaannewala Laad Governor ek dyslexic bachche ko padhaaya tha?

"Lekin Dhruv ke wahaan jaane ke baad, pata nahin kya hua, donon mein dooriyan aana shuroo hua. Aur Dhruv ke bartaav mein bhi badlaav aa gaya. Ek din, Harvard se Chote ke naam koi chitthi aayi jo usne kisi ko bhi nahin dikhaaya. Uska US mein ek conference bhi tha, toh humse bola ki wahaan jaake Dhruv se milenge aur sab theek kar denge. Par wahaan kya-kya hua, yeh bus Chote aur Akash hi jaante hain. Wapas aane ke baad, Chote bus bol diya ki uska Dhruv se ab koi rishta nahin raha. Aur Akash humein bataaya ki Dhruv se itni badi jhagda hui thi ki ab kuch nahi kar sakta."

Khushi asked in between, "Kis baat ko lekar jhagda hua tha, Di? Aur kyun?"

"Humein pata nahin kyun hua. Padhaayi ko lekar hi hua tha. Iske aage Akash ko bhi nahin pata. Uske baad Dhruv bhi gharwalon se door rehna shuroo kiya. Aur padhaayi khatam karne ke baad, woh apne research mein vyast ho gaya. Chote ko aap jaanti ho naah, ek baar bol diya, toh bol diya. Jab bhi humne koshish ki, Dhruv ke baare mein baat karne se saaf inkaar kar diya."

"Aap Dhruv se nahin poocha?"

"Shayad aapko samajh aayi hogi ki woh bhi bilkul Chote ki tarah hain. Woh bhi iss maamle pe baat karne se inkaar kar raha tha. Devi Maiyya ka laakh laakh shukar hain ki woh ghar aane ke liye raazi ho gaya. Dheere dheere shayad sab dheek ho jaayenge."

Reaching out to cup Anjali's face, Khushi said, "Devi Maiyya sab theek kar denge, Di. Ek hi din mein humne dekha hain ki Arnavji aur Dhruv mein ek doosre ke liye kitna pyaar hain. Woh ek hi ghar mein rehke, zyada der tak alag nahin reh paayenge."

Hearing Payal calling them for the aarti, Anjali and Khushi got up. Taking Anjali's hand while walking forward, Khushi continued, "Hum bhi koshish karenge, Arnavji se baat karne ke liye."

Seeing Anjali's face take on a worried look, she assured her, "Aap fikar mat keejiye Di. Hum sambhaalenge unhe."

Smiling gently, Anjali replied, "Hum jaante hain, Khushiji. Ek aap hi toh hain, jo yeh kaam kar sakti hain."

The updates are becoming longer and longer! I can't get the Raizada's to leave me alone! They demand to be heard!

I hope that I'll be able to wrap this up in two more parts. And I hope that you guys did enjoy this long update. Do let me know if you would've liked it to be shorter.

Next update on Friday...long updates are exhausting...and I have classes to teach...

Let me know your feedback, please...

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Breakfast was a gala affair, with every member of the family present except Dhruv's brothers. Busy in serving everyone before sitting down, Payal and Khushi didnot notice their young brother-in-law's eyes on them the entire time, assessing them. Anjali caught the looks and smiled to herself. Dhruv Sigh Raizada was going to have his work cutout for him if he thought that they could be figured out that easily. Her smile slightly wobbling as she drank in the sight of her baby brother sitting down for breakfast with the family, she prayed that he and Chotte would patchup their differences soon.

"Parathe?", Dhruv was jolted out of his 'wonder-about-Khushi Bhabi' session by Payal. "Yes, please", he replied, giving her half-smile in thanks. Nodding her head at him, she passed him the plate. As he slowly started on his first Indian breakfast in years, he watched Payal interacting with the rest of the family. Saw her respectfully serve his Dadi and Papa, gracefully slide past the half-snide comments his mother threw at her, and saw her keep an eye on her sister as she shot out a hand to steady Khushi who had trip on air, apparently.

"She's a calm, steady one, alright", he thought. "And not without a humourous bone", he decided as he watched her joining forces with Di in teasing her sister about being the single person on the planet who could manage to trip over even non-existant things. "A perfect fit for Bhai".

Suddenly Payal looked up at him, her gaze holding steady for a few seconds. And then, giving him a faint smile, she nodded, acknowledging his perusal. Quite flustered as he realised that she had been aware all along, and that she was, very obviously, cut from the same cloth as himself and his Bhaiyya. "Without the temper, I hope!" he thought with a grimace.

Attention pulled to the other end of the table by loud giggles from Di and guffaws from his father, he saw his mother grinning at Khushi and giving her a high-five as Khushi jumped away from the reach of his Dadi's arm. The smile under her mock-glare evident to the family, Devyani was scowling at her daughter-in-law and her grand-daughter-in-law who had joined forces in teasing her. "Manorama, don't think that just because you've become a mother-in-law, you have reached my level."

"Arre, how can I think that, saasuma? Where your bootiful bahu stands and where this phati-saree and khoon-bhari-taang?! No comparijons, pileej!"

"What?! What had his mother just called the two women? And why are they not offended?" Dhruv wondered, as he turned to stare at his sisters-in-law, who were smiling fondly at his mother. And to his even bigger surprise, his Dadi and his mother, who had, for as long as he could remember, been taking pot-shots at eachother, were laughing together.

Catching his look, Anjali smiled and thought, "A lot has changed in this house, Dhruv. After your sisters-in-law arrived."

"Haan, haan, to become a bahu like you, they will have to work very hard. By nature, they are not lazy, so to become like you, they'll have to work real hard to acquire laziness."

Dhruv too was grinning by this time. Somethings never changed, like how much his father loved riling up his mother and how his mother could turn on waterworks in an instant. But the waterwork part didn't happen, as his Payal Bhabi had jumped in with his mother's favourite fruit juice.

**************

Going up to his old room, which his mother and Di had always kept ready hoping for his return, Dhruv kept his bags down and collapsed on his bed. The sleepless night coupled with jetlag was beginning to pound in his head. Just as he was debating going straight to sleep versus taking a bath before going to sleep, Di walked in with spare towels.

Laughing at her half-comatose brother, she quipped, "Don't even think of going to sleep without taking bath first! Tum bhi naah, Dhruv. You're just like your Bhaiyya in everything except this. He runs to take bath as soon as he comes home and to make you take bath, someone has to run after you!"

Curling against her as she sat down next to him, he gave her a one-armed hug. "Missed you, Di. I really did."

Running her hand through his hair, she replied softly, "Then why did it take so long for you to come home, Dhruv? Do you know, that day, your Bhaiyya..." she trailed off as he shot up.

Grabbing the towel from her, he said as he walked towards the bathroom, "I'll go bathe now, Di. And I'll sleep for a while after that. I've slept a wink in the flight."

Sighing as she watched him escape, Anjali got up. It was no use trying to press him, she knew. "I've to tell Khushiji that Dhruv won't take lunch with us. As always, he'll have it only at three o'clock."

**************

Waking up from a deep sleep, it took Dhruv a few minutes to get his bearings. First he thought that he was dreaming, seeing his room around him, smelling the familiar lemon smell of the sheets. Sitting up, he drew in a deep breath, drawing in all the smells of his youth, that had always defined 'home' for him.

A glance at the clock and the rumble from his stomach told him that it was past luch-time. Smiling as he thought that veing in one's own home had perks like being able to eat whenever you wanted to, he got up and went out of his room. Passing by his brother's room, he heard the TV playing in a low volume and heard his mothers and Payal Bhabi's voices murmuring about some movie.

Deciding not to disturb them, he continued on his way, only to slow down as he turned the corner and came to the lounge in front of Bhaiyya's room. The doors stood open, signalling that Khushi Bhabi was not inside. Memories of the many many evenings he had sat there, studying under the watchful eyes of his brother washing over him, he gulped, "How could I say those things to him? And why couldn't he see that it was guilt that made me say them? He's my Bhaiyya ...why didn't he understand that I was scared of disappointing him?"

Hearing Hari Prakash coming with cleaning supplies, he quickly walked downstairs, intending to have a quick lunch. Finding the living area deserted, he remembered that Di and Dadi had been speaking about some evening pooja at a neighbour's house. He walked to the dining area, hoping to find his lunch kept aside, when, to his surprise, he saw his eldest Bhabi sitting at the dining table, engrossed in a book.

Looking up suddenly, she spotted him and smiled. "You were in deep sleep, else I would've woken you up for lunch. You must be really hungry, come sit...I'll bring your lunch."

"Nahin, Bhabi, I'll get it, don't trouble yourself."

"Arre, waht trouble? I'm your Bhabi, it's your right to get waited on by me", she chuckled as she walked off to bring in his lunch from the kitchen. As he sat down, staring after her, she called out, "By the way, Di has made all your favourite dishes today. And gave me strict orders to feed you till you're ready to burst."

As she brought in the dishes and started serving him, she kept up a running commentary of all that Dhruv had missed while asleep. Akash Bhai had called to check on him, his father had gone for a business lunch and was expected to come late, Di and Dadi had gone early for a satsang, Payal Bhabi and his mother had waited for a while, but then had gone up to watch a favourite movie, how Khushi had had to stop Lakshmiji from going into Dhruv's room and wake him...

"That blasted goat's still here?!" Dhruv couldn't help but exclaim as he recollected how many of his school assignments had become her snack. Looking up at the sudden silence, he found his Bhabi gazing at him, a half-smile on her face, as if lost in some memory. Reddening under her steady gaze, he shifted uncomfortably in his chair and occupied himself with the task at hand - his lunch.

The sudden ringing of her phone brought Khushi out of her reverie; she had been wondering about how much Dhruv resembled her husband. When the phone went on ringing, Dhruv looked up to see a hilarious scene. His Bhabi was scampering around the dining room, family living and kitchen, trying to locate her phone. Cushions went flying, books went tumbling, and the ringtone played on...

As the song set as his tone by her husband played on, Khushi grew frantic in her search, letting out a stream of mutters and exclamations of "Devi Maiyya, save me. Laad Governor will kill me if I don't attend his call".

"What an apt song, for Khushi Bhabi", thought her amused dewar, "But who's this Lord Governor?"

Finally locating the phone under the book she had been reading, Khushi leapt to answer it. "Don't start scolding me!"

"Now that's an unusual greeting! Must be a friend", Dhruv thought. His Bhabi was indeed a chatterbox. "How did she survive with Bhaiyya?" he wondered. Even though he tried not to overhear, it was sort of impossible. It was with a lot of amusement that he listened to the one-sided conversation.

"Arre, I was searching for the phone. I'd forgotten where I had kept it."

"Haun! You think I'm dumb? I didn't lose anything. Just..."

"Laad Governor kaheenke... Did you call just to have your fill of teasing me?"

Apparently the person at the other end had said something effective, because his Bhabi was left standing open-mouthed, reddening by degrees. And then came a chuckle and an exclamation, "Besharam! Are you sure no one's aroud? Meeting's over?"

Choking as the realisation dawned on him, Dhruv gasped, "It's Arnav Bhaiyya!"

Reaching for his glass, he thought, utterly gobsmacked, "ASR being addressed Lord Governor! And referred to as besharam!" Looking up at him, Khushi saw him gulping down water and went back to the conversation.

"Did you have your lunch and medicines?"

"Ji, go finish your ,eeting and come back quick."

"You too...no, Arnavji, I can't say it now... no... Arnavji... okay baba, fine..."

As she walked a little away, murmuring something that was apparently extremely private, Dhruv sat shell-shocked. It was beyond his wildest imaginations that his brother was capable of holding a conversation along this lines. The Arnav Singh Raizada he had seen in the morning had been the one and the same he had last seen three years ago. But apparently he was a changed man.

As Dhruv thought back about the moments that had left him surprised during the course of the day, he realised that all of them had been connected to his Bhabi. He corrected himself, "No, he wasn't a changed man for anyone else. Only for Bhabi. Maybe Di hadn't been exagerating when she told me months ago that marriage had changed him."

By the time Khushi ended the call and came back, Dhruv had finished his lunch and was waiting to thank her before heading back up to his room. Not understanding why he suddenly appeared flustered and not able to meet her eyes, she waved away his thanks and sent him away with promises of waking him up for the evening aarti.

**************

Walking in earlier than planned, Anjali saw Payal and Mami bust with preparations for the evening aarti. She informed them that Nani was staying back at the neighbour's house till dinner and asked about the rest of the family. Apparently Arnav, Akash and Manohar were still stuck in their meeting and Dhruv was fast asleep. When she asked about Khushi, Payal pointed to her left.

Spotting Khushi sitting by the pool near the living room, looking up at the darkening sky, Anjali quietly asked Payal, "Payalji, any problem? Why is Khushiji gazing at the stars?"

"No, Di. Nothing like that. She was here till now. Went out for a bit of fresh air."

Smiling her thanks at Payal, Anjali walked to her young sister-in-law. Seeing Anjali walking up to her, Khushi smiled up at her from where she was sitting, legs pulled up, arms around them. As Anjali sat down on the deck-chair behind her, Khushi leaned back against her legs, both of them settling comfortably into their usual heart-to-heart chat positions.

Eyes closed as she enjoyed the feel of Anjali running her hands through her hair, Khushi asked softly, "Di..."

Lost in the soothing calm of the evening, Anjali said, "Hmm..."

"Can I ask you something?"

Alert now, Anjali replied cautiously, "Ji...?"

"Before today, I have actually never spent much time thinking about Dhruv. But after all that I saw during the day, I have a lot of questions, Di and I wanted to talk to you before I approach Arnavji."

Turning around to look up at Anjali, Khushi continued, "Arnavji and Jijaji make a Ram-Lakhan ki jodi. They communicate without words at times, the love and respect for eachother is evident in every action. But in a way, they treat eachother like eqauls, maybe because Jijaji is only a couple of years younger."

Looking up to see Anjali nodding at her to go ahead, she said, "But today, I saw that the relationships between Arnavji and Dhruv, and Jijaji and Dhruv are typical big brother-kid brother ones. Dhruv's love for his brothers is evident even to me, and as far I understand him, to Arnavji, Dhruv was his favourite once. Then what happened to destroy those ties, Di? That even though they want to, they are not able to even appraoch eachother?"

Taking a deep breath, Anjali sat for a minute, gathering her thoughts. She had known that Khushi would come to her soon.

"You're right, Khushiji. Dhruv was our pet, our kid brother...not was, he still is. Maybe because he is so much younger to us. And for some reason, he was closest to Chotte, even more than his own ma-papa. When our Mamma-Papa were alive, Chotte and I used to meet him only during summer holidays, but still, Dhruv was much closer to Chotte than to Akash."

Seeing her Di lost in those sweet memories, Khushi's eyes became wet as she too mourned that lost childhood.

"Dhruv was eight years old when we left Lucknow for Dilli. Maybe because he was the only one who was still able to talk and laugh normally, we would hang around him all day. That's when we noticed how difficult it was for Dhruv to study. Actually Chote was the one to notice. Mama and mami used to scold the poor thing a lot. After observing him for a few days, Chotte was convinced that something was wrong and he pestered Mama and Mami until they took Dhruv to a doctor. After a lot of tests, it was discovered that Dhruv had dyslexia."

Looking down at Khushi, she asked, "Do you know what that is?"

To her surprise, Khushi nodded, "Ji, Di. Don't you remember? There's a child in Prateeksha who suffers from it? Arnavji and I meet her whenever we go there."

Smiling softly as she realised why Arnav makes it a point to meet the girl, Anjali continued, "After it was diagnosed, Chote became Dhruv'spersonal tutor. It was only because of his tireless work that Dhruv got the confidence to go to school and Chote spent months learning alternate-learning methods just so that he could help Dhruv. He was the most patient teacher anyone could've wished for."

"By the time Chotte got admission in Harvard, Dhruv had become capable of learning on his own. The biggest proof of how much Chotte helped him is that later, Dhruv also got into Harvard. Chotte was in the seventh heaven that day."

Wondering at the still unknown faces of her husband, Khushi smiled tremulously. Who would have guessed that the short-tempered, impatient Laad Governor had coached a dyslexic kid once?

"But after Dhruv went abroad, they sort of started drifting apart. Dhruv's attitude also started changing. One day, Harvard sent a letter in Chotte's name which he wouldn't show us. He was Dhruv's guardian then. He had a conference coming up in the US and he said that he would meet Dhruv and patch-up whatever was the issue. But what happened there, only Chotte and Akash knows. On his return, Chotte just said that he has no ties with Dhruv anymore. And Akash said that after the fight they'd had, it was impossible to mend the relationship."

Khushi asked in between, "What was the fight about, Di?"

"I don't know, it was something to do with his studies. Akash also doesn't know the details. Slowly Dhruv too started distancing himself from the family. After graduating, he got busy with his research. And, you know Chotte, once he decides, then that's it. He would never agree to talk about Dhruv."

"Didn't you ask Dhruv?"

"You might have caught on how much like Chotte he is. He too refused to talk about this. Thanks be to Devi Maiyya that he finally came home. Maybe things will slowly get better."

Reaching out to cup Anjali's face, Khushi said, "Devi Maiyya will make everything better, Di. In one day, I've seen enough to know how much they love eachother. They won't be able to ignore eachother for long, not while staying in the same house."

Hearing Payal calling them for the aarti, Anjali and Khushi got up. Taking Anjali's hand while walking forward, Khushi continued, "I'll also try and talk to Arnavji."

Seeing Anjali's face take on a worried look, she assured her, "Don't worry,Di. I'll take care of Arnavji."

Smiling gently, Anjali replied, "I know, Khushiji. You are the only one who'll be able to manage him."

The updates are becoming longer and longer! I can't get the Raizada's to leave me alone! They demand to be heard!

I hope that I'll be able to wrap this up in two more parts. And I hope that you guys did enjoy this long update. Do let me know if you would've liked it to be shorter.

Next update on Friday...long updates are exhausting...and I have classes to teach...

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