**Edited**
Loved the chapter Jen. It was just beautifully described. Right from Khushi's arrival at Srinagar airport & her enthusiastically taking in all the standard sights... I love the Chinar trees in the the Valley, especially Srinagar, they are so majestic at the same time so pretty... Fall is a wonderful time to see them turn color... It is really a beautiful sight... And Dal lake with it zillions of colorful shikaras & ornately crafted house boats that lend splendor to an already pretty sight... I wish you would take both Arnav & Khushi on a shikara ride, there's nothing more romantic than that, even the gondolas in Venice fall short, I do know, since I have been on both... :) Believe me, I would take the shikara ride over the gondola ride in Venice any day... 😉 Especially with a halt at Char Chinar on that Shikara ride, it would be just awesome...
I would also love to see them traipsing down a couple of the Mughal gardens hand in hand sometime later... My favorite ones are Chashme Shahi & Nishaat... They are just so beautiful... They definitely give the gardens at Versailles & the Boboli Gardens in Florence a run for their money...
Anyways, I loved the description of Shantivan... It was exactly how an old ancestral home in Kashmir would be... Full of local arts & crafts, starting with Walnut wood carving furniture, carved doors & ceilings & lamps, expensive rugs, copper & papier mache artifacts, Kashmiri embroidered cushions & silk drapes among others...
Love Aastha, she seems such an adorable lady, short & plump & very friendly... She seems to have taken a strong liking for Khushi, why else would she be so patient with her tedious shopping??? 😉 But I hope it is enough to want her to play cupid in the future... I hope she sees in Khushi a future daughter-in-law for herself...
So Arnav didn't recognize Khushi after all... 🤔 Maybe it was because Khushi was dressed up in Indian attire, he might remember seeing her in jeans or other western attire... I am sure he least expected a girl whom he met on the flight to show up in his house with his mother... I am pretty sure, he will remember eventually... He was already openly admiring her looks, what will happen when he actually gets to know her some more?? 😉
Waiting to read more Jen, please update soon... This miffed Khushi is too cute btw. 😉
P.S. Forgot to add, that quote from Jahangir was just perfect... 😊
"Agar Firdaws ba roy-i zamin ast, hamin ast-u hamin ast-u hamin ast,"
Edited by pixiegirl - 11 years ago