Preference
“Some of these subzis are authentic UP accompaniments” Anu explained to Raanav as she slid the giant brass thali with 8 or so cups arranged along the side
“they look great” he mumbled politely
“He has very picky taste” Smrita stared at the thali dumbfounded
This Anu Mathur was going to be harder than she ever imagined
A Program Director at an Engg company, with an M Tech, articulate, a great cook, and had such gorgeous daughters
Well Diya had acne…. And Viveka wore glasses, and Karuna has coarse hair… yeah Naina is lovely”
“Mom Viveka covered that part already” Raanav raised his brass tumbler in toast to Viveka
“She has been around you for 2 weeks? Ive been around many times, like… (furiously doing mental math) I mean kaafi time ho gaya”
“She is right” Viveka nodded
Smrita looked at her surprised
This girl didn’t seem to bristle at anything
“Hamari Biveka ki pehli rasoi ki ya nahi aap logon ne?”
Dadi questioned standing near Naina
The table could only hold 6 people, so Papa, and Viveka ate with the Parashars and Piyush
“Arey Amma na mere parents hain abhi na Smri ke… kayi riwaaz kho chukey hamare ghar” Satyen was ashamed
“Arey to… koi baat nahi, hamari Biveka hai na”
“Dadi I don’t know if”
“She is from UP Satya” smrita bristled
“To?” Satyen was baffled
“I am a Punjabi… you are from, well, even YOUR MOM was Punjabi, so we should have”
“Koi baat nahi yaar, traditions are universal”
“Waise Mrs Parashar sahi keh rahin hain” Akash let her have it
“Yeah you should do what feels right” Anu chimed in
They really did not care what Viveka got to follow and did not
“Areyyy… aise kaise beta? Savi sabka dekhti hai”
“Arey Amma hum bhi UP kea ap bhi UP ke, sab kayastha”
“Oh wow” Smrita was delighted
“Satya is a Parashar”
“Jaante hain hum… hum inko abhi yahi kahe… panditon se waasta pada hai hamara” akash joked
“Satyanarayan katha karwani ho to batayen bhaisaab” satyen was proud
Everyone laughed
“Chaliye, Rs.5001 mein baat pakki”
Smrita almost spit her food out, Satyen’s hair massage oil was more than that much a month
“Batayen kab aa jaayen, hamari dharam patni ghar par prashad bana lengi, ab to bahu bhi hain , do do, aur aapki beti apni taraf se kuchh meetha”
Viveka smiled at the amusing exchange between the two men
“Ab khaana to kha lene denge ya nahi?” Anu whispered
“Roti ya kachauri aur lao bhai”
“Je eek aur le sakta hoon dono mein se”
Anu started walking to the kitchen “Jee jee aap baitho, Piyush sofe pe jao beta” Bua cooed
“arey nahi”
“We usually eat in a buffet at home, you need not have served us” Smrita tried to be polite
She was enjoying the meal
No five star hotel in UP had ever served such food
“Raanav ko aapne kachauri de di, who oily nahi kha paata”
“I am not 5 BTW” Raanav flashed a toothy smile at his Mom
“For her you will always be little” Satyen blunted the blow a bit
The lunch hour was noisy and filled with laughter
Smrita noticed Raanav ask Viveka about the various katori of subzi, she explained how it was made
He peeked into one of her bowls, his was empty as he had refused when it was offered
“AREY… khila de beta” Dadi insisted
“Dadi we are not 20” Viveka turned red
Imagining feeding her husband as the entire Parashar clan watched and Mathur clan teased was a bit much
“VEEEV” Anu hissed in her ear
“Ma I wont do absurd thing”
“I know that Dadi will not stop as u know”
“Here” she sighed after “Uff”ing a bit
“Its kind of crumbly” Raanav tasted the texture
“Aap usko khila lo abhi” Dadi ordered
Raanav asked her what she would like, amused by Dadi’s coyness
“I will have something sweet, give me the orange kaddu ki subzi” she tapped that cup
He gently tore off a piece of roti and scooped up the subzi and fed her
All eyes on them, Diya Karuna and Piyush were all taking pictures
“Send it to me” Anu gesticulated
“Are you on Instagram?” Smrita enquired as if it was for elites only
“I am on all of them,” Anu nodded “When I travel for work I scroll thru their pictures” she said softly
Smrita had no comeback for that
“I can take that if you wont finish it” Viveka offered to take the kaddu subzi off his plate
“Here I can serve you more” Smrita smiled at her DIL politely scooping a giant mound from the bowl near her
“Oh, I just need a teeny bit more” Viveka nodded “Sorry, that’s a lot…” “Thanks tho”
Diya and Karuna whispered about how Viveka ONLY wanted her hubby’s jhootha
Since they were standing behind Smrita, she had to listen and she wasn’t happy“
The topic of Viveka losing the spot at Kharagpur did not come up at lunch
Viveka served her sisters and Bua and Ma and Dadi
Naina ate little, texting intermittently
As they loaded the dishes in the dishwasher, Anu asked Viveka softly
“Kya karogey beta aap? Kuch socha?”
“I don’t know… I am going to DU next week…”
“Hmm” she nodded
“I am sorry” Anu was choked up
“No worries Ma, I didn’t belong there. They say you go where you belong right?”
Dadi hollered
“Meethe ka kya intejaam hai bhai”
“Jeeji aap jao bahar baitho, main laati hoon”
Savi kicked Anu and Viveka out
The only chair empty was by Smrita
Anu sat down confidently
Viveka looked for her husband
“Did he leave?” she asked Akash
He smiled in response “Haan bhai hamey koi nahi poochhta ab”
“He has my PHONE Papa” she laughed
Satyen snoozed in a comfy sofa/chair
Smrita and Anu were dragged by Savi inside so they could chat in the kids room
Smrita wasn’t too crazy about it but she went anyway
Raanav and Piyush returned as father and daughter caught up on the latest business news
Satyen shifted in his chair, waking up intermittently to smile at them and make a comment here and there
“Kya socha beta aapne, I can make a call to Kharagpur I know the VC quite well It would be my pleasure” satyen offered to Viveka’s shock
Raanav and viveka eyes met at the doorway
Edited by Nisha0604 - 4 years ago
Cricket
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