Vignettes- 18. Hai re Nandkishore! Finished! Thread 2 - Part 30/ Pg 18 - Page 12

One year later...

"Khushi!!!"

"Khushiji!!!"

"Khushi bitiya!!!"

"Bhabi!!!"

"Titaliya!!!"

The cries from many, many throats resonated in the peaceful evening air of a small village somewhere in the vast landscape of Uttar Pradesh. And in response, an irate voice shouted back, "Main theek hoon!!!"

Irritated with the constant monitoring, Khushi angrily brushed the hair away from her eyes and turned to face her family from the bottom of the stairs that she had just rushed down, only to find her eyes captured in the searing ones of her husband. Her huff of annoyance evaporating as she read the worry and anguish in those eyes, she walked up to him and taking his hand in his, said with a soft smile, "Aap ab se itna ghabraaye hue ho toh baaki saath maheene aap kaise chain se saans lenge?"

Swiftle gathering her to his side as he tried to get his leaping heartbeats under control, he muttered, "By God, I have no idea!", the earnestness in his voice making his wife burst into giggles. "Aapko naah, Jijaji se training lena chahiye. Dekhiye naah, woh kitna aaraam se baithe hue hai, apni biwi ko apne kaam par chod kar."

His panic at seeing his wife rushing heedless down the steep steps still not subsided, Arnav snarled, "That's because his wife makes sure that she never does anything to make him worry about her safety or the safety of their child! You should take lessons from her!"

Apparently deciding that the lessons should start right then, Arnav called across to the handsome man seated at the far end of the courtyard, his sharp eyes not missing out on any of the multitude of activities happening around him, as he supervised the erection of the shaamiyaana. "Jijaji... Ek minute ke liye yahaan aayiyega, please..."

His face wreathed in a soft smile as he headed towards his brother-in-law and his favourite Saali, Raghuveer Singhania called back, "Kya kiya Khushi ne ab?"

"Haw! Aapko kaise pata ki maine kuch kiya hoga? Jijaji, aap naah bilkul, kya kehte hain, haan, biased ho! Jab dekho Arnavji ke side par ho!", Khushi huffed.

Grinning now, as he neared the couple, the older man said, "That's because this look of utter panic on his face can be brought about by only two people. Ek ho tum, aur ek hai Anjali. Aur hum sab jaante hain ki meri biwi toh aisa kabhi kuch nahi karegi jo apne chotte ke mooh par aisa look layein. So, the automatic answer hai ki tum kuch kiya hoga."

While Arnav grinned back at his Jijaji, Khushi let out an exasperated "Aarrgghh" before squirming out from her husband's arms and heading towards the rest of the womenfolk who were all busy in a multitude of wedding-related preparations. leaving the men to discuss about her latest antic.

Smiling at her grand-daughter-in-law, Devyani Raizada said, "Khushi bitiya, hum jaanat hain ki aap apan dekhbhaal kar sakat hain, lekin humein bhi pareshaani hovat hain naah, aap ke khaatir. Chotte ke darr ko bhi samjha karo bitiya. Aap aur Anjali bitiya donon ko lekar woh thode dare hue hain."

Sitting down beside her, Khushi replied, "Hum samajhte hain, Naniji. Lekin unse ladne ka toh maza hi kuch aur hain!"

Seeing her cheeky smile, the ladies burst out laughing, as they all knew how the duo bickered on every tiny thing, often turning the whole house upside down. An evidently pregnant-looking Anjali called out from her post by the flower-arrangement table, "Haan, haan, hum jaante hain, Sankadevi aur unke Laad Governor ke pyaar-bhari ladaayiyon ke baare mein."

Turning to her beloved Di, Khushi narrowed her eyes, "Di! Aap naah, kuch boliye mat! Yeh sab aapke kaaran hain!", and looking over at a grinning Garima and Madhumati, she continued, "Amma, Buaji, aap toh dekh sakte hain naah, Jijaji Di ko kaise aaraam se apne kaam par chod diye hain? Aur Di yahan apne bhai se bhi yeh karvaane ke bajaay yahaan baithke maze se humara mazaak utha rahe hain!"

"Aur Di, Khushi Bhabi ne kal jo kiya...", Dhruv piped up from the side where he was sitting with Akash and Payal, busily stringing the decorative lights, only to subside into fits of laughter at Khushi's shout, "Dhruv! Chup!!"

And so continued the banter, a day after the entire Raizada parivaar descended upon the unsuspecting village for the wedding that was to take place in another day's time. In the quaint village much like the one in which Khushi was born, there were no proper hotels or guesthouses and the Raizadas were put up at the house of Pooja's maternal uncle while the actual inhabitants shifted to Pooja's house to help with the wedding arrangements.

With the entire family together free from work and other engagements, it was a festive atmosphere in the old house with everyone putting in their bit to make sure that the house from which the "baraat" would leave the next evening looked every bit like a doolha's home. The women-folk busy with cooking and flower-arrangements, the men had divided the task of decorations and other odd jobs amognst themselves, not that anyone got much done amidst the laughter and teasing that filled the air.

The evening light shading everything a dull orange, no one noticed the arrival of the two older couples who stood in the shadows of the pillared hall, watching the young people having the time of their life, aided and abetted by their grandmother and Khushi's mother and aunt. Having gone to Pooja's house for finalising the rituals, Jagraj, Meena, Manohar and Manoram had taken the long route through the village, enjoying the quiet, reminiscing about their own youth spent in surroundings much like these.

"Nazar na lagein humare bachchon ko", murmured Meena while her husband nodded along. Standing close behind, Manohar and Manorama too surveyed their children with pride and joy, thankful to the Gods who had removed all shadows of the terrible times they had gone through from the lives of their children, and filled them with love, light and joy.

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

Much later, Dhruv jerked awake, his eyes blinking in the pitch darkness as he tried to identify what the noise was that woke him up. Spotting the eerie blue glow seconds before a muffled curse reached his ears, Dhruv grinned as he happily eavesdropped.

"Damn this useless phone and damn the useless phone companies... not a single tower in miles! Waise hi itne saare rituals sqeezed in hai in three days that neither I nor she's free for a second, and now raat ko bhi usse baat karne ki chance nahi! Crap!"

With the available rooms divided up between the women and the men, Jagraj, Manohar and Shashi had a room to themselves, so did Devyani, Meena, Manorama, Madhumati and Garima. Arnav and Raghuveer refusing point-blank to let their expectant wives sleep away from their watch, those four along with Akash and Payal had ended up in the hall while Dhruv and NK decided to camp out in the verandah bordering the courtyard.

After listening to NK's mumblings and muttered curses for a few minutes, Dhruv whispered. "NK Bhai, I have an idea."

Leaping a foot in the air at the hoarse whisper behind him, NK subsided and whispered back, "My God, Dhruv! You almost gave me a heart-attack! What idea?"

Leaning up on his elbows, Dhruv grinned in the dark, "Aapko bus Pooja bhabi se baat karna hai, hain naah? Toh chalein?"

Intrigued, NK bent close, "Chalein, kahan? Aur ab?"

"Unke ghar! Aur kahan?", Dhruv supplied nonchalantly, as if midnight wanderings were a daily occurance. "Kal aur aaj jab aap rasamon mein busy the, main aur Jijaji bahar ghoom rahe the. Mujhe ab yahan se bhabi ke ghar, gaon, nearest chai-ke-dookaan, sab jahan jaane ke short-cuts maloom hai. Peeche ke raaste se chalein toh paanch minute mein bhabi ke ghar pahoonchenge hum. Toh chalein?"

Staring at him in delight, NK breathed, "Yes, please!"

Without wasting time, the duo creeped out, unaware that their escape had been right under the watchful eyes of Arnav, who grinned as he remembered all the nights he had climbed in at Khushi's window during the days of living apart during their re-marriage rituals. NK had his sympathies and unspoken support.

Going back to bed and spooning his wife as she lay on her side, he thought back about the past year. Pooja's surgeries had resumed after their engagement and once the Mohantys returned back to Australia, NK had taken up full responsibility of Pooja and her family and rather than impose upon Buaji even more, he had found an apartment close to the hospital for Pooja's parents and made arrangements for Bittu to stay at a hostel close to school back in his village. Much to Arnav's secret pride, NK had done all this while managing his job at ARH through his efficient team.

Once all the surgeries were over, Pooja had bravely decided to go back to her job and had rejoined at ARH Gurgaon in a month's time and had proven her worth by catching up to speed in a matter of days. Her parents had returned back, happy, proud and joyful of all that their daughter had achieved and the wonderful family in whose hands they were leaving her. And now, here they were, a year after the engagement, with another wedding having happened in between and ready to welcome two new members of the Raizada family in addition to the girl who had become a daughter-in-law much before the actual ceremony was to take place.

Aware of him even in sleep as usual, Khushi grabbed his hand that were unconsciously rubbing in slow circles over her belly and murmured, "Kyun jaag rahe hai aap? Kuch soch rahe hai, kya?"

Gathering her closer, Arnav smiled against her hair, "Kuch nahi, NK abhi-abhi chala gaya, Pooja se milne. Bus woh sound se jaag gaya tha."

Tensing suddenly, Khushi whispered anxiously, "Par Arnavji, unko raasta pata nahin hoga. Aur itni raat ko...", Arnav shushed her and replied, "Don't worry, Dhruv hai uske saath, guide banke. He has been wandering around for two days. I think he now knows the entire village like the back of his hand."

Snuggling back against her husband, Khushi chuckled, "Aur isi liye hum kehte hain ki aapke chote bhai bilkul aap par gaye hain. Jaise unke Bhaiyya ne aadat daala tha humari khidki se ghusne ka, ab woh NK ko dalwaayega!"

Laughter rumbling deep in his chest as his wife uttered the same thing he had been smiling about, Arnav pulled his wife and unborn child safe against his warmth and fell asleep once again.

Meanwhile, NK happily chatted away to his lakdi under his cousin's guard, until she sent him away so that they could both get some sleep before the big day.

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

The wedding day dawning bright and cheery, the old house standing amidst lush green fields rang with laughter and shouts until evening descended and soon it was time for the baraat to leave for the bride's house. With the neighbours joining in, the festive group made its way down the lane, with NK walking in style, but minus a horse much to the disappointment of his Bollywood-weaned romantic heart.

The wedding rituals and phere getting over in a blur and the dinner and nach-gaana leading well into the night, the next day too flew by and all too soon, it was time to leave for Delhi with the bride. The emotional bidaayi making even the normally stoic Raghuveer's eyes tear up, it was Bittu's overwhelmed face that finally broke Pooja's iron-grip over her emotions. Hugging her brother close and promising him and her parents to visit as often as she could and extracting promises from them to come visit her within the fortnight, she took leave from the house of her birth and set off with her Nanduji, the man who had defied all odds and stoood by her through a trail by fire.

As planned earlier, NK and Pooja left with his parents for Australia the very next day for a two-week holiday. Having spent almost thirty years in Australia, they had a huge circle of friends who were waiting anxiously for the wedding party to arrive for a second celebration, and NK being the responsible Hospitality Director that he was, didn't want to prolong it any more than he could.

Thus, his lakdi in tow, NK waved goodbye from the car, "Bye, everyone, see you in two weeks. Aake lautthe hain!"

Amidst the groans that erupted from the send-off party at NK's hindi, Buaji's voice rang out, "Hai re Nandkisore!!"