Smitar's OS:Knowing Khushi Part 9 Page 123 (Mar 4) - Page 45

Originally posted by: rulama

Smita,😊

Here is my interpretation to Part 5.

In this update, it is about quiver, quaver, shake, tremble, shiver, think constantly about another. In a nutshell PALPITATE.

Arnav filled a pot with potting mixture absently, his hands doing the familiar task with ease while his mind replayed Khushi's words, the look in her eyes as she said that Shyam would turn the situation to his advantage and blame Khushi & her family for his misdeeds...

"The search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions" ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

He looked at the phone. She hadn't called yet... He sighed in impatience, & turned back to the pot.

Shyam would do it... His fingers squeezed the life out of the rim of the pot. A man who could cheat his wife who thought that he could walk on water could do anything... Shyam would make Khushi look like a vamp and himself the poor, unsuspecting, patnivrata husband...

"From sinful pleasures come sorrow, separation, birth and death. The fools try to account for their misdeeds, and argue uselessly"

~ Sri Guru Granth Sahib

The cheat was not at home. He had apparently left on a long business trip that evening... a long business trip that would take him to the other end of the town and Khushi's house... Arnav grit his teeth.

"Cheating on a relationship is like throwing away a diamond and picking a rock"

Why hadn't she called yet? He looked at the clock in his room. It was late! He glowered at the innocent phone lying on the small table that held his laptop. Maybe terrified by Arnav Singh Raizada's expression, it rang.

"Not getting the waiting phone calls is the severest form of torture in the civilized world"

~ Marisha Pessl, Special Topics in Calamity Physics

Arnav strode to the table & scooped up the phone. The display read 'Happy', the name under which he had stored Khushi's number.

"Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you"

~ Hafiz

"Hello!", he growled.

"Sorry, Baba, Sorry. I couldn't call earlier. Lakhon sorry!", Khushi whispered into his ear.

Arnav gulped.

"Woh kya he, the rascal came here this evening, dragging a big suitcase. Amma & Buaji were so happy that they did everything but aarti for him while he smiled and smiled and smiled. I was about to go to my room & call you when an army of guests dropped in to congratulate the devil and me on our sagai. I didn't know we had so many neighbours...", Khushi sighed. "My arms are aching. I have been making tea & serving it for the past 3 hours!"

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task" ~ James William

Arnav bit back a smile.

"You are not angry, are you?", Khushi asked hopefully. "Right now, only my arms are aching. If you shout at me, my head too will start hurting..."

Arnav said, softly, his husky voice sending a thrill down her spine, "No, I am not angry."

"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off" ~ Gloria Steinem

Khushi twisted her head to look behind her. Had she leaned against some appliance that was giving her electrical shocks? But there was only a pillow touching her back.

"Khushi, why are you whispering?", Arnav asked softly.

"What is whispered in your ear is often heard a hundred miles"

Khushi looked at the pillow against which her back was resting with suspicion. Why were her nerves tingling?

"The heart is a

The thousand-stringed instrument

That can only be tuned with

Love"

~ Hafiz, The Gift

"Ji... woh... the living room is full of ladies chatting with Buaji, Jiji is folding clothes in the next room, Amma is sitting with Babuji in his room, and I am in our bedroom with a sheet over my head...", Khushi whispered.

"Sheet over your head? Why?", Arnav was pleasurably perplexed.

"I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it" ~ Rita Mae Brown

"Because I don't want anyone to see me calling you.", Khushi confessed. "If Buaji knows that I am talking to a man... that too at night... that too when I am in my bedroom... then we won't have to worry about the sagai. She will have killed me before it!"

"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do" ~ Walter Bagehot

Arnav smiled.

"Khushi...", he asked, knowing the answer, "haven't you talked to your boyfriends over the phone?"

"Baaifriends? How can I talk to baaifriends when I don't have any friends that are baais?", Khushi asked a legitimate question. "You don't know anything! In real life, girls don't have baaifriends! All that writing prem patra, singing around trees, dancing in the rain, sliding down the hill on your back... yeh sab sirf phillmon mein hote hein. Not in real life. If you do it in real life, you will end up in jail. And you will have torn clothes with grass stains..."

Arnav burst out laughing.

Beloved,

I am so glad,

So very glad

You have come"

~ Hafiz, The Divan

"Sshhh..Sshhh... Don't laugh so loudly! Jiji will hear!", Khushi cautioned him, peeping out of the sheet with one open eye. The door was still shut. She sighed in relief.

Arnav laughed as he had never laughed before in his life.

"It was a laugh that came from the tip of his toes, gaining force and soul as it traveled through his body and out into the world in mirthful bursts. There wasn't anything fake about it; it was an amusement park of a laugh, and when it appeared, you wanted to jump on board"

~ David Levithan, Marly's Ghost

The guffaws attracted the attention of his family members who were gathered in the living room.

"Bhat ijj that sound?", Mami asked, looking around with wide eyes as she walked towards the source.

"Nannav... Nannav is laughing?", NK asked, scratching his head in confusion as he followed her.

"A good time to laugh is any time you can" ~ Linda Ellerbee

"Bhai! What happened to Bhai?", Akash ran up the steps, covering them rapidly with his long legs.

"Chotey? Chotey is laughing?", Anjali looked at Nani.

"It has been so long, Anjali Bitiyaa...", Nani's voice trembled. Anjali held her hand and helped her up the steps.

"When was the last time you had a good belly-shaking-tear-jerking-ripple-producing laugh?

That long?"~ Osayi Osar-Emokpae, Impossible Is Stupid

"Are you laughing at me?", Khushi asked, suspicion lacing her voice.

"No... No...", Arnav gasped.

"Hhmmphf...", Khushi snorted.

Arnav clutched his stomach.

"What is this precious love and laughter budding in our hearts? It is the glorious sound of a soul waking up!" ~ Hafiz

"Khushi...", he heard a sweet voice call.

"Haan, Jiji...", Khushi replied.

"Isn't it time to go to bed? Why are you huddling under that sheet? Are you feeling cold?"

"No, Jiji... I mean I was... But now I am not feeling cold, Jiji..."

"Yeh ladki bhi na...", he heard Khushi's Jiji grumble good naturedly.

"A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracle" ~ William Hazlitt

"Payaliyaa!", he heard a loud call. That must be the Buaji, he thought. "Has Titliyaa got in to bed yet, Nandkisore?"

"Haan, Buaji.", Khushi's Jiji replied.

"Ask her to sleep without playing pranks on you. Or dancing on the bed. That girl! No one would say that she is going to get married soon the way she runs around like a whirlwind!"

"There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep" ~ Homer, The Odyssey

"Haan, Buaji, I will tell her." Khushi's Jiji said. "Khushi, I will be back in a moment. The book with salwar patterns is on the table in the living room. I will just put it back, and then we can go to bed."

"Ji, Jiji...", he heard Khushi mutter obediently.

As soon as her Jiji left the room, Khushi whispered into the phone, "Hum phone rakhte hein!"

"The mobile phone acts as a cursor to connect the digital and physical" ~ Marissa Mayer

"Khushi!"

"Ji"

"Tomorrow at my office."

"No...", Khushi screeched almost silently, if that was possible.

"Yes. I need to... err.. we need to talk...", Arnav said.

"Oh.. our plan..."

"Yes."

"I will leave the house to go to the temple in the morning. After that I can come to your office. Will 8 be too early?"

"No. Eight is fine.", Arnav smiled.

"Luck decides whom you meet in life!

Your heart decides whom you want in life!

But God decides who gets to stay in your life!"

"Acha. Shubh raatri.", Khushi said.

"Good night.", Arnav whispered.

"Sun is upset and Moon is happy,

Because Sun is missing you,

and Moon is gonna be withyou

for the rest of the night.

Have a wonderful night"

He stood holding the phone to his ear long after Khushi cut the call, smiling at the craziness of the adorable child-woman. He finally dropped the phone on the recliner, and turned towards his room, a smile still on his lips, to come face to face with his Nani, Di, Mami, Akash, & NK, all standing staring at him as though he had grown 4 more heads.

"Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often" ~ Mae West

When Arnav was gardening, he was mechanically doing the familiar tasks while his mind was occupied elsewhere. It was replaying all that Khushi spoke, her expressions. Her eloquent thoughts had left a deep impression on him. He knew what she told about Shyam trying to implicte her family while showing his hands were clean was true. What haunted him was her expression while voicing her fear of what Shyam was capable of doing! He knew what Khushi had pointed out was in fact the truth and Shyam will not take responsibility for his actions. But Arnav needed to make sure that Shyam would,

"Stop pointing fingers and placing blame on others. Your life can only change to the degree that you accept responsibility for it" ~ Steve Maraboli

He was waiting for the call from Khushi impatiently, and with a frustrating sigh he continued with his gardening. While he remembered how Shyam was cheating his sister he felt like squeezing the life out of the sleaze ball and in reality it was his pot that bore the brunt of his anger. A man who could cheat his wife, who thought he could get away with anything and everything easily would not hesitate to make Khushi look like the other woman who enticed an unsuspecting, upright, faithful person devoted to his wife.

"Earthquakes just happen. Tornadoes just happen. Your finger does not just happen to fall into some girl's ring!" ~ Gemma Halliday, Deadly Cool (adapted)

Shyam Manohar Jha was capable of playing on the emotions of all concerned and victimizing the innocent in the process. Basically he was an irresponsible coward with a penchant to cheat and have a good time without a thought of how it would affect others!

"We may place blame, give reasons, and even have excuses; but in the end, it is an act of cowardice." ~ Steve Maraboli

Arnav had come to know that evening that Shyam had left on a long business trip.

"Life is no game,

There are no cheat codes and

if you mess up, you can't

press the restart button"

Gritting his teeth he said to himself a long business trip that was as far as Khushi's house at the other end of the city.

"If you succeed in cheating someone,

don't think that person is a fool.

Realize that the person trusted you

much more than you deserved"

He wondered why was it that Kushi didn't call him yet? Seeing that it was late, a frown made its appearance. He willed the cell phone to ring that was lying on the table as cool as a cucumber, while he was feeling frustrated! As if on cue it rang. Arnav who strode over there saw that it was displaying Happy, Khushi's code name!

"The happy have whole days,

and those they choose.

The unhappy have but hours,

and those they lose"

~ Colley Cibber

His growling greeting elicited a whispered apology.

"Sorry, Baba, Sorry. I couldn't call earlier. Lakhon sorry!" making Arnav gulp at her easy going sweet nature. She continued to state the reason for the delay. Shyam had arrived in the evening with a big suitcase and her Amma and Buaji were thrilled to see him. They were pampering him so much that he was smiling all the time.

"You can only hold a smile for so long, after that it's just teeth" ~ Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters

When she was about to go to her room to call him, hoards of guests had arrived to wish them on their impending engagement. She continued to say that she never knew that she had so many neighbours and now her arms were aching from having to prepare and serve tea for the past three hours to the continuous flow of visitors!

"A little flattery will support a man through great fatigue ~ James Monroe

Hearing her explanation Arnav relaxed and bit back a smile. She asked him whether he was angry and hoping against hope not to be so. She told him that right then only her arms were tired and hurting and if he vents his anger on her, then along with her arms head too would join hurting!

Arnav in his soft husky voice told her that he was not angry and that sent a shock through her system.

"It is wise to direct your anger towards problems... not people; to focus your energies on answers... not excuses" ~ William Arthur Ward

Khushi in her naivety wondered if she was touching an electric point and turned to look. She found only a pillow touching her back! Arnav asked her softly as to why she was whispering over the telephone.

"Goodness speaks in a whisper, evil shouts" ~ Tibetan Proverb

Khushi still engrossed in why she was getting the nerve tingling sensation told him in a round about way that the living room was filled with ladies chatting with her Buaji, her sister was immersed in household chore, her Amma was with her Babuji in his room and she was whispering to him in her bedroom under the cover of a sheet. "Sheet over your head? Why?" asked Arnav nonplussed. Her reasoning was that it was not to let anybodyelse see her calling him and if her Buaji even got a clue that she was talking to a man that too at night and moreover when she was in her bedroom then all their worries would be solved. There would be no engagement as her aunt would butcher her mercilessly! Hearing her talk made him smile!

Knowing that she would not have boy friends he still asked her just to confirm from her mouth,

"Khushi... haven't you talked to your boyfriends over the phone?" She was taken aback. Mustering her wits, she answered, "Baaifriends? How can I talk to baaifriends when I don't have any friends that are baais? You don't know anything! In real life, girls don't have baaifriends! All that writing prem patra, singing around trees, dancing in the rain, sliding down the hill on your back... yeh sab sirf phillmon mein hote hein. Not in real life. If you do it in real life, you will end up in jail. And you will have torn clothes with grass stains..."

Her thoughts and simple way of putting things into perspective and her practical view on romancing tickled his funny bone. He burst out laughing.

"Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks"

~ Samuel Johnson, The Idler; Poems

She cautioned him not to laugh out loudly saying that her sister might barge into the room to check the sound. She peeped out of her sheet tent with one open eye to check and was relieved to find all was well. She seemed to have forgotten that it a telephonic conversation and even if he laughed loudly unless somebody is standing nearby nobody would be wise to it! The sound he made would not carry over in her house! This made him laugh harder. He had never been so tickled in his life!

"A hearty laugh gives one a dry cleaning, while a good cry is a wet wash" ~ Puzant Kevork Thomajan

But his roar of mirth resonated in his home. His family members who had gathered I the living room were at a loss. "Bhat ijj that sound?" Asked Mami, wide eyed and went to investigate the source of the sound. "Nannav... Nannav is laughing?" Was asked by NK who couldn't fathom a laughing Arnav and followed his Maasi. "Bhai! What happened to Bhai?

Akash was worried and rushed up the steps with long strides.

"A good laugh is sunshine in the house"

~ William Makepeace Thackeray

"Chotey? Chotey is laughing?" Anjali couldn't believe her ears and looked at her Nani. "It has been so long, Anjali Bitiyaa..." Nani said in a quavering voice. With Anjali holding her hand she climbed the steps.

The family was in ecstasy to just hear the sound of his laughter. It was one portion of the house where such sound never emanated since long!

"Laughter is the sensation of feeling good all over and showing it principally in one place"

~Josh Billings

Hearing his burst of laughter, Khushi asked in a voice tinged with suspicion "Are you laughing at me?" "No... No..." was his quick reply not wanting her to feel bad. But her, "Hhmmphf..." was his undoing. He controlled his mirth with great difficulty.

"Humor is a spontaneous, wonderful bit of an outburst that just comes. It's unbridled, its unplanned, it's full of suprises" ~ Erma Bombeck

He heard somebody calling her name in a pleasant voice and realized it was her sister from her reply.

She was asked to go to bed in a pleasant manner and was she feeling cold to have huddled under her sheet. When Khushi told her she had felt cold sometime back and now was all warmed up had her sister comment on her crazy ways good naturedly.

"The world is good-natured to people who are good natured" ~ William Makepeace Thackeray

Arnav heard a loud shout calling Payal, Khushi's sister. He thought it must be the Buaji, whom Khushi did not dare to cross. "Payaliyaa, Has Titliyaa got in to bed yet, Nandkisore?" Payal was asked. Her reply in affirming so brought in another shout, "Ask her to sleep without playing pranks on you. Or dancing on the bed. That girl! No one would say that she is going to get married soon the way she runs around like a whirlwind!"

"Never waste any time you can spend sleeping"

~ Frank H. Knight

Telling Khushi she'll join her in bed soon after clearing the living room of strewn books she left the room which was agreed by Khushi.

As soon as she left the room, Khushi whispered over the phone that she will be cutting the call.

But Arnav was reluctant to do so. He asked her to meet him at his office. When she was about to deny he quickly interjected saying that they needed to talk. Assuming it was to formulate their plan on OFSO (Operation Flushing Shyam Out), she agreed to meet him after her daily temple visit. She asked would 8 a.m. be too early?

"Let us always meet each other with smile,

for the smile is the beginning of love"

~ Mother Theresa

When he told her that was fine by him, she wished him good night and he whispered back the same to her.

" Stars light Stars bright,

You are the only star

I see tonight,

I wish I might be there

guarding your

dreams tonight

Good night and sweet dreams"

After the call was cut, he stood holding the telephone in his ears unaware of the surroundings. He was engrossed in his thoughts on the simple, adorable, crazy, innocent child-woman who had endeared herself to him with her antics. It had made a smile linger on his lips. After long moments, bouncing his phone on to the recliner, he turned, still with a smile on, only to see his family in full attendance staring at him as though they were witnessing an alien amidst them.

"O dear Himalaya... why are you so amazing, can I kiss your peak or can I just let your silence speak...O dear Himalaya..." ~ Santosh Kalwar

In this update both Arnav and Khushi converse and get to now each other. They experience feelings that they had never felt before.

He is impatient to hear from her.

While hearing his husky voice a shiver is sent through her spine tingling her nerves.

He wants to know why she was whispering and when told the reason, he is thrilled and tickled at her antics.

He enquired about her friends, boyfriends in particular and her reply has him in splits.

She becomes the first person to make him laugh belly out in quite a few years. Her talk amuses him so much that when he laughs, it is heard in all parts of his house.

He listens to all the talk going on in the background at her house while on call.

He wants to know all there is to know about her.

When finally she tells him that she is keeping the phone down he is reluctant to do so. In order to meet her again, he tells her to come to his office the next day, and when she suggests an early morning meet he easily agrees!

After the conversation too, his thoughts linger with a smile, on her, her voice, her talk and her innocence.

Shyam or no Shyam, this stirring is in fact the beginning of Rabbave moments in IPKKND term

That is why I have termed it as PALPITATE.

That's it from me. Hope you enjoy it.