Gehraiyan: New Thread Link Posted Page 141 - Page 73

Originally posted by: glassdoor

Hi there 😃 Long time no see on this thread.

Totally my fault. I have been overloaded with work and lazy as hell lately.

Here comes by ramblings.

First of all the haveli is spooky. It scared me a little. And I am scared easy. If it was me I would spend the night in its shadow turning the other way. Instead of inside it you know. I am silly that way. But alas it is cold in Darjeeling, isn't it? Feel for Geet here.

Really? I honestly would not have guessed that at all.

She has come to such an alien place expecting it to be so different from her home. May be that is why she did not get into a hotel?

When I'm running away from problems, I sometimes forget that life in other places is not stagnant. Those places have their darkness and their problems too – they're not waiting for me. Life keeps going, keeps going…

Darjeeling seems to be such a beautiful place. I have never been there but I could see it through your eyes. The place seems to have so many secrets and hidden paths. Only waiting to be discovered.

The people in small towns are so nosy and appear to know it all. They always put their detective skills into proper use making people uncomfortable. But it is loveable actually. It is the people who ask the right questions that build the aura and mystique of a place. They seem to know something we don't. Once it becomes commercialized it ceases to be an escape.

I agree. But I do think that we all possess that intrinsic ability to just pick up on these things. It's more of a matter of quashing down our instincts so that we don't seem nosy or so that we can get on with our own lives, no questions asked. We're too self-aware. Once in a while, don't we want to be thrown off guard and asked the questions we try to evade? I know I do.

The building reminds me somehow of the haveli in 'Sahib, Biwi Aur Ghulam'. Such an intriguing movie. Where the ghosts are the people themselves. This building clubbed with Gopal Kaka gives the same tone and feel. Are we going to see some legends around this building? (I am spoiled I know. I am going make you dig for stuff. 😉)

You know, I've never seen it, although I was about to start 'Sahib, Biwi aur Gangster' the other day. I have a feeling I'd prefer '…Ghulam'.

Well… what's a haveli without its legends, right? ;) Every place has its story to tell, after all.

Who is this Kaka? What does he know. I am most interested in meeting him. Is he just a servant of the place...Hard to think of him that way. He has seen too much. He knows too much. Why do I feel he is not just 'the help' ?? May be I am getting confused by his actions. Is he the master or servant? Or both? Man you have gotten me worked up about him...

Ooh, such burning questions. I'll leave you with one more: when does a person stop being an employee and start becoming a part of the story? I wouldn't write him off as a servant just yet…

By the way I did not get shocked by 'The End'. 😆.
It is hard to shock me though I scare easy.. tehehehe...

And by the way regarding pictures...hmm...i prefer my own imagination..i dont even listen to the music selection at most times. But I don't mind it so terribly.

Originally posted by: Susegad

So I relished this one right on the day you posted it, happily digested it and and finally decided to burp out a comment today.😆

You can blame my delay on the dauntingly beautiful comments posted below me. I am so in awe of Qoc's and Pilli's comments that I swear I just wanted to say Ditto...refer below and be done with it.😉

Shame on me for wanting to take the eay way out, but I reeeaally wanted to do it , but finally I decided to pull my socks up,and so here I am.😃

Ha, I know the feeling! I don't like being below any of you ladies on comments. You all say everything and I end up wanting to dissect your comments too.

Shut the *%#@ up, is what I want to say to people like the 'know it all. creature Geet met at the service station.😡

Morality and spirituality ia a whole different ball game.

Why are moral judgements passed on a person's spirituality.

Why do clothes decide a person's spirituality. Being brought up in Goa, I've seen Brahmins in the temple turn away tourists, who've come in shorts to pay their respect. I mean come on, they are roaming around whole day in a hot humid place, maybe visiting the beach or whatever, they are not going to be decked up to the nine's or wrapped in a silk saree to come into the temple.

I don't think we'll ever really be free from other people's prejudices. Gotta have some tough skin and a ready retort if they cross limits.

What then of people or sadhus who go around naked in the name of religion. How come it's ok for them to do it in the name of religion.

It is an individual's faulty vision and high moral stand, that makes him so judgemental. and there's not enough clothes in the world, that can hide an ugly soul.

👏 Well said, Nisha Di.

Ok I'm going to stop my rant right here and thank you for giving us such an obnoxious character on whom, I could vent my frustruation.😆

Haha, anytime.

As Geet was walking through the tangled grreen, I couldn't help but feel that she was trapped in an enchanted forest with the requisite haunted mansion and a care taker to boot in the form of Gopal kaka. I just can't help thinking, if he is he real not.😲

The picture you posted only enhanced this illusion and I swear I can see a person in that picture if I look carefully, right upfront near the second arch, in a long purple dress. Please look carefully and tell me if you see it or is it just me. Coz now that would freak the hell out of me.😆

What person? 😳 Just kidding, yes, I see her too so either we're both right or we're both mad.

Gehraiyan is now getting into the depths of mystery. Oooh I'm loving this now.😉

Originally posted by: .Maggie.

Are we getting an update??

Originally posted by: WL.PM

Commenting so I can track the thread and also this comment will be edited as a justified comment to the updates and I really should get some sleep and hopefully I can spare some time tomorrow (or later today rather) to catch up on the stories I've fallen behind on.

Hopefully.

Hopeful.

Hope.

Hop.

Ho ho ho.

Chapter Twenty - Famous Last Words

Her room was beautiful, graceful, old and untouched. Even before Gopal Kaka announced it, she knew that it had been empty for years. The lingering scent of the past lay quietly under a blanket of time. Her intrusion did little to change it. It existed as all beautiful things exist alone and watched in awe.

Not a clean slate, as she had hoped, but a clean room with old ghosts.

"Do you like it?"

She smiled at Gopal Kaka. "Do I have a choice?"

He chuckled. "No."

Sitting on the edge of her bed, an ornate queen sized beauty, she rested her head on the bedpost.

They remained as they were, enjoying a peaceful, companionable silence. Finally, she began to feel the overhanging remnants of the journey leave her; he leaned against the door frame and watched contentedly out of the window. There was a second door, she noticed then, nestled between the floor-to-ceiling windows, leading out into the forest.

"Shall we go over the rules, then?"

"Rules?!"

"Oh come now, Miss Mumbai. This is not a chidiya ghar, after all. You didn't think there wouldn't be rules here, did you?" He laughed at her horrified expression and she understood that he was teasing her, but to which extent she didn't know.

"Hmm. Okay, fine, I'm game. Tell me, GK," she replied in the same playful tone and laughed when he momentarily seemed thrown by the new nickname. "What are the laws of this beautiful land?"

Shaking his head with a smile, he began. "This haveli runs on one cardinal principle: it is not a house, but a home. And we expect our guests to treat it as such. Not their home, either, so I would advise that you do not relax yourself as such that you forget where you are." He looked at her pointedly and with that one look, her stern, disciplinarian father returned. "This was once a beautiful, happy place. And while we have no control over what becomes of one of those things, we can certainly take care of the other. But perhaps... that is beside the point..."

He paused, looking distinctly far away as he stared at his fingers.

"Meals," he continued briskly, "are to be eaten together when you are at home, unless other arrangements are made in advance. We are a family here and if you do not wish to dine with a particular guest, then, well... just keep in mind that one aunt for whom there is no love lost but you are still expected to spend time with." He winked in amusement and it occurred to her that he perhaps did not take these rules as seriously as he had led her to believe.

The next rule, nevertheless, came as a surprise.

"Guests are expected to help with the cooking every once in a while."

"Cooking?!"

"Yes, cooking. Don't look at me like that, they're not my rules."

"Then whose are they? I'd like to have a few choice words with them..." Geet muttered.

Ignoring her, he continued. "Currently, it is just you and I here so there is no need for you to help just yet. The chudail who owns this haveli left behind enough food to last a few more days. When a few of the other guests arrive, we can see how far we get with that particular rule. Say, you are a part of the development project from Mumbai, aren't you? I forgot to ask when - yes, I thought so," he said when she gave him an affirmative nod.

"Well, that's all. I shall take my leave. I have to find the kerosene lamps for tonight."

"Gopal Kaka, wait... uh, may I ask you a question?"

"In addition to the one you just so audaciously asked without my permission?" He grinned. "You may."

"Where is everyone? I mean... on my way here, I didn't see a single person. You mentioned a storm but..."

The mischievous glint in his eyes was quickly replaced by a sudden seriousness. "These storms are not to be taken lightly, Miss Mumbai. If you find yourself stuck in the midst of one, you could find yourself stuck for hours. Darjeeling is an unforgiving world and even more so to the uninitiated. I suggest you do not leave the haveli tonight."

She nodded dutifully and, satisfied, he began to leave. She moved to close the door when she saw him hesitate and then return.

"And if you really must shorten my name, Miss Mumbai, you may call me Kaka. But not GK. I would rather not be a part of the... hip crowd."

She giggled and called out quickly before he left again, "Kaka?"

"Yes?"

She hesitated, wondering why she felt a sudden urge to confide in him. "Then you may call me Mrs Mumbai."

He watched her for a moment then, as if he understood her - really understood her - before nodding and giving her a comforting smile that almost went against his ultimately stern demeanour. "I see. Goodbye, Mrs Mumbai."

He left then, taking with him all spirit of the present. She closed the door, revelling in its uneven surface and distinct smell, before leaning back into the bed and drawing her arms around her legs.

She felt diseased, plagued by the feeling of not quite being alive. She was... stale. Her life was stale. Her thoughts were stale. Her words were stale and her love... her love was stale, too.

Nothing was wrong but nothing was right. And it was...

Tiring.

Resting her chin upon her knees, she pointedly ignored the door that led out into the forest.

The sky had lost a little of its sadness and while the idea of sunshine was still a far-fetched notion, there came from outside a glow of warmth that she was finding very hard to ignore.

Technically... it hadn't been a rule...

Checking to see whether the main door was locked, she jumped off the bed and sauntered towards the windows.

One walk, she implored to the hidden door. The sky seemed to brighten, as if encouraging her to take the chance.

Yes... just one short walk, she decided.

She would be gone and back before the storm. Nobody would ever know.