Thank you people who read and left comments on the previous part. Here is Part 5.
Part 5: Eighteen Hours
Eighteen hours to go"Khushi, is it too much to ask for if I want my sister to take her pretty nose off her phone and spend time with me eighteen hours before I get married," Payal said in a sulky tone.
Khushi looked at Payal, sitting prettily in the middle of the room, literally glowing like a 1000 Watt bulb. Ah, pretty brides to be! They were all in her room. It was almost midnight and instead of letting the bride get her all important beauty sleep, the extended family had descended upon her and a noisy game of Antakshari was underway.
Family, Khushi muttered under her breath and shook her head in exasperation.
"Sorry, sorry. I was just playing a game of Words with Friends," she offered in explanation.
Thankfully Daadi was asleep by now, else she would have got the nearest sharp object hurled at her. Or worse, have her phone snatched away from her. And her phone was now to be treated with utmost care and respect. For it had one very magical quality to it. No, not all the fancy apps that she faithfully downloaded and had no use for. Not the 3 GB of music that helped her shut off the rest of the world when they pissed her off. Not the fact that she had queued up for eight hours outside the phone store the night before it was available to her. None of that. The phone now was in possession of one important quality, Arnav Raizada's phone number. Just the thought of the man made her face feel hot and she was pretty sure her face was one not particularly pretty shade of red by now. She patted her cheeks, commanding it to behave.
She saw that Payal squint her eyes and consider her little sister.
"Are you playing with some boy," she demanded to know.
"What?! No. Just playing with... a person," Khushi said, reluctantly taking her eyes off the phone and walking towards where her sister was.
"Fine. Don't tell me. I will find out myself," Payal said in a cool tone that immediately made her suspicious. No, her older sister wasn't going to let go off this one easily. Payal had been excessively curious about her love life ever since she had updated her Facebook relationship status as being in a relationship with a girl. Each time Payal had broached the subject, Khushi would indignantly pronounce her sister as a homophobe, promptly getting her ruffled and make her pronounce huffily how she went to a few Gay Pride marches in Mumbai and did not discriminate or judge people based on their sexuality. Khushi had always enjoyed her excessively nice sister get all worked up over this. Perhaps she should tell her sister that at this point her heterosexual heart was singing songs for Arnav Raizada, the same song that Meenal Bua's team was singing rather tonelessly in the antakshari right now --
pyaar humein kiss mod pe le aaya, ki dil karein haaye, koyi yeh bataya, kya hoga?Get a grip over yourself, Khushi, she admonished herself as she plonked herself next to Payal.
"So who is winning, you or... a person," Payal asked in neutral tones.
"It is a draw as of now," Khushi said, looking directly into her sister's eyes. Ya, two could play this game.
"Khushi didi, you are not helping us at all," Chikki her kid cousin shouted, "we need a song with Bbb."
Tick Tick One. Tick Tick Two. Tick Tick Three... Meenal Bua's team began gleefully.
Baabul ki duayein leti ja, Khushi began in mock sadness and suddenly both the teams united and sang the song to Payal.
Baabul ki duayein leti ja, ja tujhko sukhi sansaar mile... maike ki tujhe na yaad aaye, sasural mein itna pyaar mile.Payal collapsed in a combination of laughter and tears and hugged her sister while their father stood in the corner, looking at both his daughters, feeling a sudden pain in his heart, that would never leave him.
***
Sixteen hours to goIt was almost two in the morning when Arnav finally got to his room. The family had gathered in Aakash's room for among all things, a game of Antakshari. But thankfully he had her to play text-text with. "Words with friends" as it turned out, had taken on an all new meaning. It began with him sending a text to her. He was unsure why he sent one to her, but he didn't want to delve too much into the kinship he obviously felt with this woman.
My family is playing Antakshari. Yes, you heard it right. Help!As soon as he had pressed send, he regretted it. What if she mocked him. Or worse, didn't respond. They had swapped not just usernames for the game, but for some reason, swapped phone numbers too. What was the etiquette, he wondered? Could he text her? Talk to her? All day? All night? Jeez! When did Arnav Raizada turn into a lovesick hormonal teenager for heaven's sake. He was about to put the phone away, when it glowed warmly.
My family too. Bah! What is up with that?! What kind of self-respecting adult plays Antakshari. That too in 2013. After that there was no looking back and he immediately responded, any doubts about etiquette etc set aside.
I know right? We should be allowed to divorce families.
Oh yes. Except for parents, grandparents and siblings. And Meenal Bua, who is a great cook. And Chikki, my fave cousin. And Rima Maasi. And..He had smiled seeing that, even as he could see from the corner of his eye that Anjali and Asya were looking at him with more than a mild amount of curiosity.
Is that all. <smiley>
Wait. Did Arnav Raizada just use an emoticon?!
Pretty much. Oh and spouses of siblings. I think Aakash Jeeju is the best.
What about siblings of the spouses?
We are not exactly related, are we?I guess not. Friends, then.
Friends it is. Wait. Does that mean I can't divorce you?He was about to respond when his phone died.
The next two hours were torturous, with the phone dead and Anjali Di sternly admonishing him when he declared that he wanted to go to charge his phone.
"You want to charge your phone. C H A R G E Y O U R P H O N E," she repeated so many times, as if he had made the most scandalous suggestion possible.
"Who could you be missing so much," Abhimanyu, his brother-in-law chipped in, "after all Asya is right here."
He had looked sharply at his brother-in-law and Asya, putting the phone into his jeans pocket. After which he sat down next to the groom with thinly-veiled impatience. Which turned into horror when a cousin's three-year-old daughter danced away to, Munni badnaam huyi darling tere liye, even as she was cheered on by the family.
What the, he swore,
I really need to divorce this family.But now he was back in his room and he began to frantically search for the phone charger. But it was nowhere to be found.
I have to find the charger, dammit! Not to flirt with Khushi, but because his family needed him with the wedding a mere sixteen hours away. Yeah, Arnav, go ahead and lie to yourself. After half an hour, during which he opened every cupboard, turned every drawer upside down in his deluxe suite room, lovingly designed by his soon to be sister-in-law, he concluded that the most important accessory of humanity, namely his phone charger, had gone missing.
Khushi has the same phone that I do and her room is on the same floor, perhaps I should go and get her charger, he thought to himself. The thought that Khushi was in the same floor as he, just got his toes to curl a little bit. Don't be ridiculous, Arnav, the voice of sanity inside his head said, it is 2:30 am and that is the worst excuse to go into the room of the girl whom you... whatever it is that you do.
After this, he proceeded to the reception area, surely they must have a charging station somewhere in this mammoth hotel after all.
He walked past Khushi's room to the elevator. He lingered for just a few seconds in front of her room and heard the rhythmic hum of the air-conditioning. She was probably asleep by now. Holy cow! Was Arnav Raizada a stalker now, he thought as he hurried to the reception.
The receptionist was a resourceful sort and came with a box full of chargers and Arnav found himself calming down. After some polite chitchat about the weather in Lucknow, he was about to head back when he spotted NK.
"A-dawg! What you doing here," he asked cheerfully, without taking his earplugs off on which he was listening to music.
"I just came for something," Arnav said vaguely, feeling mildly impatient, "Why are you sitting here listening to music."
"Can't sleep. Still jetlagged," NK said shrugging his shoulders, "Got bored in the room and thought will check our hotel. It is beautiful and huge. Anyway, I have run into everyone sitting here. Seems nobody can sleep around here."
Arnav raised a brow quizzically as NK launched into a complete with theatrics explanation.
"First I spotted Anjali Di and Jeeju, they were off for a romantic moonlight walk," NK said chuckling.
"Okay. Good night," Arnav began to leave, mildly creeped out listening to the tales of the romantic adventures of his family.
"Then next I saw Payal soon-to-be-our-bhabhi, her dad and Khushi go out for a walk. Khushi got tired and she came back sooner and the two of us were catching up," NK said in a wistful tone.
Arnav felt an irrational rage rising inside him and he wanted to smack NK at that point.
"Then Payal returned and Shyam was skulking around, so the two of them went for a walk," NK continued, oblivious to the fact that Arnav immediately looked at him sharply at this.
Shyam and the Gupta girls, what is up with that he wondered.
"After that Manorama Maami came here," NK continued, "She said that she was experiencing some mild flatulence and needed to take a walk and..."
"Good night, NK," Arnav said firmly, as he walked towards the elevator.
He was preoccupied in his thoughts, waiting for the elevator when he saw Payal come in. She looked flustered, to put it mildly.
"Hey Payal, you okay," he asked her, "What you doing here at this hour?"
"I am ...fine," she said nervously, "I had just gone to check on the decorations."
Something is wrong, this needs to be investigated, he concluded as he finally hit the sack.
***
Nine hours to go"OMG! OMG! We need more bobby clips and safety pins," Khushi announced as she sat surrounded by suitcases and boxes full of shiny, bling stuff.
"Calm the heck down," Payal said, "It is MY wedding, when I am not hyperventilating, why are you."
"This one was always like this," Daadi said whacking Khushi on her head with one of the empty jewelry boxes, "Too much of drama and theatrics."
"Owww. And whose fault is it," she asked her Daadi, "If you keep hitting me on my head like this, obviously my brain is going to turn into mush."
"You are blaming me," Daadi thundered mock seriously and grabbed her, "Let me show you."
"Can the pair of you not fight today," Payal asked, a few drops of water trickling down her face.
Ah, her sister was good. And Daadi and she decided to call it a truce.
"You can't eat anything after 12 O'clock," Khushi informed her sister, "So you have three more hours to satiate your hunger."
"What does that mean," Payal said horrified, "The ceremony doesn't begin until six in the evening. I have no intention of starving from noon."
"But you have to. The choli is super tight, if you want to be able to breathe, you better not eat after 12," Khushi said and for a change even Daadi seemed to agree.
"Fine," Payal conceded, "I want aloo parathas now."
"Not the best choice," Khushi said, "But I will get you one paratha."
"Three," Payal said stubbornly.
"Two," Khushi offered.
"Fine," Payal said, "But with lots of desi ghee."
Khushi rolled her eyes and headed to the kitchen. Walking towards the kitchen she began to tick off items on her mental checklist. There were a few hair accessories and makeup stuff that needed to be bought. If one of the taxis were available she would step out and buy it, she thought. God knows that every bride needs at least a thousand safety pins.
"Bhaiya, do aloo paratha deejiye," she told one of the boys working in the kitchen, "Sirf ghee, daaliye, par bahut kam."
"K..kya." the boy said making big eyes, evidently her demand seemed too complex.
She repeated in English and got the same response.
"Hey Khushi," Shyam Jha said, "You needed something."
"Yes, I needed two aloo parathas, for Payal," she said. Now why did she have to add that, Khushi kicked herself.
"Don't worry, I will have it sent to you," he said.
"I will be back here in five minutes," Khushi said hastily, "I will take it myself."
Shyam nodded, understanding her true meaning.
When Khushi returned after five minutes, she found Arnav Raizada in the kitchen. Evidently a puja of some sort had gotten over, for he was dressed in a kurta-chudidaar and had a big teeka across his handsome forehead.
"Do you mind if I take these parathas," she heard him ask the big eyes boy, "They look really appetizing."
"Woh. Na..hin," big eyes boy managed, "Chef Shyam ne isspecially P.. woh.."
Khushi immediately rushed in.
"Haan, Chef Shyam ne issepcially in madam ke liye banaya," big eyes boy managed to finish.
"Compliments from the chef, eh" Arnav said, looking deep in her eyes, "You guys must be really good friends."
"Yes, I have been lucky with friends," Khushi said smiling mischievously at him, as she stressed on the word friends.
"As have I," he said in a tone that was completely genuine.
Khushi noticed that his teeka was beginning to bleed now and she felt an urge to wipe it with her fingers, set it right. Maybe run her hands through his slightly stubbly cheeks. And then..
"A penny," he said, "Oh wait! I forgot you were not that cheap."
"You are a quick learner," she said grinning, "By the way it is your turn on Words With Friends. I haven't forgotten about our challenge, you know."
"I saw that you made the word Qi and got yourself 72 points," he said, "I refuse to play a game which considers Qi as a word."
"Oh c'mon, don't be a sore loser," she said, "Qi is completely legit."
"Oh ya!" he said in a challenging tone, walking towards her, "And what does Qi mean. Use it in a sentence, will you?"
"The world is your oyster," Khushi said, "It can mean anything you want it to be."
"That is the lamest thing I have ever heard," he said as he pushed a strand of her hair behind her ears.
"I Qi you," she said almost breathlessly and moved away.
"You do," he asked, an amused glint on his face.
"Whatever," she said making a face, "If you don't play your turn I am going to go ahead and declare myself as the winner."
"Fine," he said, "You are going to regret this"
"All talk and no action." she said and then looked at her plate horrified. Where did one paratha go?! Did she eat it without realizing it?!
"This is all your fault," she said looking at Arnav accusingly and ran out of the kitchen as he looked on baffled.
***
Four hours to goIt was 2 in the afternoon and the venue seemed almost ready. Arnav surveyed the room, it was grand and yet very subtle. He was impressed with Payal who had been the decorator and designer at her own wedding. She really had a great sense of aesthetic, he thought. A classy lady, perfect for his brother. And an imperfect sister whose thoughts he could not get rid off from his head.
He considered the board on the phone. She was really good with this game and was way ahead of him. What did she tell him, all talk and no action. Ah, wish he could show her that it was just the opposite. As his mind raced away at the possibilities, he didn't notice when Anjali Di make her way towards him.
"Chotey," she said.
He immediately looked up. When Anjali DI referred to him as Chotey then it was because she wanted to admonish him over something, when she was doling out some tough love.
"What is the matter, Di," he asked, placing his arms on her shoulders, "Is all okay?"
"You tell me," she said, looking deep into his eyes, seeking answers.
"Di, will you stop being cryptic now," he said with just a touch of impatience, "What is bothering you?
"Asya," is all Anjali Di said.
"What about her," he asked in an equanimous tone.
"Can you tell me, why is it that, as we speak now, she is packing her luggage," Anjali Di demanded, almost in tears.
"I don't know, Di," he said, "Maybe something came up."
"How can you not know," Anjali Di said, raising her voice just a little, "For heaven's sake, she is your girlfriend."
"Not anymore, Di," he said, "We broke up a few days back."
"You broke up with her," Anjali Di asked incredulously.
"No," he said in a reasonable tone, "We broke up with each other. It was a mutual decision."
"And you didn't think, I or any of your family deserved to know this," Anjali Di took on that hurt tone of hers.
"Please, Di," he said, "We didn't want anything to take the attention away from Aakash and Payal. There was no great deception in our part."
"Fine," Anjali Di said, "You are both adults, I respect your decision. But make sure she is there till the end of the wedding."
"Come on now, Di," he said at the tether of his patience, "She is a grown woman, I can't force her to do anything that she doesn't want to."
"Well, this time you have to," Di said in her uncompromising tone, "I want this wedding to be perfect."
Once Di left, he saw that just a few meters away was Khushi. He wondered how much of the conversation she had heard. He walked towards her.
"I was... I am.. I was... just.. I mean.. checking... I was... checking stuff and all.. and to see... if I was just checking if everything was fine... with the arrangements and all," she said in an excessively chatty and confused tone.
Ah, so she had heard all of it. Good, he thought.
He noticed with some amusement that she had a dozen safety pins hanging out of the hoops that she was wearing around her ears.
"Is this some kind of fashion trend," he asked, pulling at the safety pin and getting an oww from her.
"I am sorry," he said quickly, as he gently massaged her earlobes. It was a strangely intimate gesture to do right in the middle of a room teeming with workers and both their family members. But he was beyond caring now, unable to resist this girl at all. He thought she would push him away, get angry. But she did not. Not right away at any rate.
"That will do, Florence Nightingale," she said in an amused tone placing her palms on his chest and gently pushing him back.
"Happy to help, Madam," he said, "By the way, it is your turn on Words With Friends. I have a great move planned, so get on with it."
"Oh, didn't you see," Khushi said gleefully as she shoved her phone screen on his face, "I played ONTOLOGY and used up all my tiles."
So, she won and he had lost his heart.
***
One hour to go"I am feeling faint," Payal complained as the hairdresser and makeup artist fussed over her.
Khushi was lost in thoughts about Arnav and Asya, pleased as punch that they were no longer a couple. Now why should something like that please her. Was she a bad person that she was deriving happiness in someone else's misery.
"Khushi," Payal yelled, "Quit day-dreaming right now."
Khushi looked at her sister, she was stunning. Maybe they needed to put that black dot to ward off the evil eye, she thought to herself. Good heavens! When did she turn into a 300-year-old woman?!
"What is it," she said, "You have been a good girl so far, don't activate bridezilla mode now."
"I am faint," Payal repeated, "I need some food."
"Fine," she decided to make an allowance, "Will get you sugar-free nimbupaani and some salad."
As she left the room, she had to duck a shiny sandal that her sister threw in her direction.
At the kitchen, as luck would have it, Big Eyes Boy was whom she ran into again. The kitchen was buzzing with activity and she felt mildly high with the fragrance of the saffron all around. this time around Big Eyes Boy seemed more competent and understood exactly what she asked for.
"Khushi, did you need something," Shyam Jha asked her.
God! This guy always creeped in on her. Was he a ninja or something?!
"Thanks. I have already told him," she said pointing in the direction of Big Eyes Boy.
"Khushi, I wanted to apologize about everything that happened. That is why I needed to meet Payal. I know she and Aakash are perfect for each other. I wanted everyone to put the past behind, that is all," Shyam said, and there was no doubting that he was being genuine.
"It is okay, Shyam. I know that you always loved P..." she began to assure him.
"I always loved you," he said quickly as she looked at him quizzically.
He subtly shook his head and pointed in the direction of the door where Arnav Raizada was standing, an unmistakably expression of rage on his face. Thankfully, Big Eyes Boy got her tray of nimbupaani and salad, she picked it up and ran towards the emergency exit and took the stairs.
She did not notice that Arnav had followed her until he caught hold her of her wrist and pinned her against a wall, one hand keeping her in place and the other expertly picking up the tray from her hand and placing it on the ground.
"So you and Shyam, eh," he growled.
"Yeah," she said, "And can you stop going all caveman on me, please. My makeup will get ruined."
Bad idea to have drawn his attention to her makeup. Because he considered her, letting his eyes wander all over her, from head to toe.
"You look perfect to me," he said after the longest time.
And even though she should have been pissed off with him for the blatant objectification and the way in which he wouldn't let go off her, she found herself basking in the warmth of his approval.
"Let me go," she said, not really meaning it.
"Really," he said and freed her hand, "Why would you go out with a chef?"
"Huh," Khushi could not help but think, this man is so condescending, "Better a chef than a writer. At least that is a real job. A chef can cook me a great meal. What can a writer give me?"
Arnav looked amused, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Plenty actually," he said, "He could write you a poem."
"Are you going to write me a poem," she asked him flirtatiously.
"That seems moot, given that you prefer chefs to writers," he said.
"Whatever," she said, a peculiar feeling of disappointment descending upon her, "I am going now."
She picked up the tray and climbed up one stair and stopped when he asked, "Do you love him too?"
"Love whom," she asked, getting some kind of perverse pleasure in his discomfort.
"The chef, that is who," he almost spit out the words.
"Maybe," she said, deciding that he needed to be cut down a size or two.
And before she knew it, he had grabbed her again, this time by her waist, pushed her against the wall and kissed her, urgently, passionately and as Khushi kissed him back she heard the tray go crashing down. But she didn't care.
"Why the f**k did you do that," she asked him when they very reluctantly broke away from each other.
"I think it is because I Qi you too," he said and gave a quick peck on her cheek before he walked away.
***
Zero hours to goArnav and Khushi saw each other and ran towards each other.
"Arnav.." she began.
"Khushi.." he said simultaneously.
"Payal is not in the room," she said.
"Aakash is missing from Sheesh Mahal," he said.
"What the!" they said in unison.
***
Part 6: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/86365195 Edited by TabassumR - 12 years ago
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
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