Next day was quite unusual in Chavan Niwas. Things started breaking on their own.
The first thing to break was Sonali’s ego. She was combing her hair when something hit her back.
Mentally working up her rage, she turned around. Who was it? Who did it? To her surprise, she found Omkar Ji picking up a stone from the garden and hurling in her direction.
Ohhh God…this was so cute. She was instantly reminded on her courting days. He had passed on so many messages then.
But what was the need now…to be so naughty? She located the stone easily. But where was the message? She picked it up and hurried over to her husband.
“Kay he…” She began, blushing. “You can always call me. Why the stone? I was reminded of the earlier days..”
“Oh Madam! Nothing like that. I was practising stone throwing, samajala? My trainer has told me to aim for the perfect shot. And you thought what…I was calling you? Doke bike phirlaya ki kay?”
Sonali hurried away in tears. What all she had assumed…
Brushing her away, Omikaka knelt down to his pile of stones and picked up another one. Where to aim? Ahhh..this way. The entrance to the house was far away. He aimed for the garage. He knew no car would be in, they had all left for the wedding shopping. Flexing his muscles, he drew in a large lungful and threw the stone, not realizing the havoc it would play with someone’s inspirations.
For it did break Pakhi’s heart. Indirectly, that is. She was busy in the kitchen, brewing a pot of tea. It was a stormy weather outside, were rains round the corner? The black granules of tea dancing in the rich dark brown brew… it was so depictive of her life. No matter how fine the tea granules were, once the job was done, they were filtered out. Then the milk went in and the whole brew grew turbid. Another depiction. No matter how good she tried to be, Sai always outshone her. And now they were on a path of reconciliation. On the other hand Samrat had expressed his wish of shifting to Mahabaleshwar. Urgggh. First of all, to see Virat settled in life with Sai…and then marital bliss with Samrat? Even the imagination was repulsive. Lost in thoughts, she touched the hot handle and jumped in alarm. The only person who could rescue her from Samrat was…A slow smile crept on her face as she laid out her favourite crockery. Badi Mami was in a good mood and this was the time to cash on to that.
“Badi Mami, Chai…” Bhavani put aside her meditation beads and smiled at her favourite bahu. “Just the thing I wanted…” She took a cup and sniffed in its aroma. “Look at the weather outside. It will rain any moment!” A clap of thunder sounded far away. Patralekha took the chance and broached the topic.
“Badi Mami..”
“Hmmm?”
“Samrat is shifting to Mahabaleshwar…He is asking me to come…”
“Mast ha mast. Nice for both of you. The only regret is that we will miss your tea!”
“But Badi mami, who would look after Ayee here? Her doctor’s appointments, her medicines…”
She could feel the wheels turn in the older woman’s head. Pakhi waited patiently.
“Ok, let me talk to Samrat…” Pakhi mentally pumped her fists.
And then it happened. Bhavani Mami was about to drain the cup when it shattered on its own, splitting into many pieces, spilling the hot brew all around.
“Khandoba! He kay…”
Patralekha was quite petrified by the sudden turn of events. One instant, she was handing over the cup to Badi Mami, who eyed it with appreciation. She had broached the subject and was confident of a favourable outcome. Next instant, it was all over her. Badi Mami had stood up in alarm, cursing and brushing off the hot scalding brew. Walking away from the living area, she was quite oblivious to Pakhi’s pleading voice.
“Badi Mami..I don’t know how this happened! Badi Mami..shall I get another cup for you?” She was addressing the empty air around her. Badi Mami had long ago disappeared in her room for a change.
Patralekha sat down on her hunches, silently gathering the broken remnants of the tea cup.
The last thing to break was Nagesh Chavan’s framed photograph. The only problem was the path taken by the trajectory and the sequence that followed.
Totally oblivious to the havoc caused by his exercises, Omikaka picked up another lemon sized stone. Where to aim now? It should not hit anyone. Ah…the empty guestroom window, right next to the passage and the staircase. He aimed for the passage.
Call it fate or luck, there was a high draught and the lithic missile simply went off the track as soon as it was fired. It bounced off the wall of the passage, entered the staircase, retorting off the pillar and crashed into the garlanded photo of the decorated police icon. In doing so, it unhooked the garland and realigned it around the neck of a woman kneeling in close proximity.
“Kay he…Agobai…” Bhavani Kaku was startled beyond all logic. She looked around hastily. This was the second instance in a day. In fact, minutes earlier the tea cup had shattered. She had hurried to her room, changed and checked for any burns and scalds. Nothing. Phew…Cooling down, the whole sequence looked more like an accident. Laughing to herself, it was time to light the diya. She was doing the job when the second instance had happened. Another coincidence? Wind? then she caught a glimpse of the frame: a fine crack, running across the handsome face. Khandoba… This was not a coincidence. It had never happened in her lifetime. Bad omen. Tears pooled in her eyes. Better not let her emotions show…she hastily removed the garland and reinstated it to its original place. She would get the frame repaired later. She resumed her seat in the hall, her heart fluttering.
What was it about? Cracking of a glass frame was nothing but ominous. And then the way the garland landed around her neck…she was sure of one thing. Nagesh was telling her something. But what? She hoped that nobody in the house had seen anything.
She was mistaken. The whole incidence had not been missed by Karishma as she stood in the kitchen, cutting vegetables. Dadho Sutto…Hurriedly keeping the chopped vegetables on the counter, She went off to report this to Mohit.
“What? You sure about it?” Mohit, who was working on his laptop, paused for a moment. “You mean, the frame cracked on its own, the garland flew off on its own and landed around Kaku’s neck?”
Karishma pinched her throat. “Aayi shapppath…”
Mohit lapsed in an uneasy silent zone. The whole incidence was certainly sinister. He had little idea about the implied meaning. Was the house haunted?
Karishma, in the meanwhile was mentally rehearsing the post on social media. Chavan house haunted…Photo frame cracks on its own. Garland flies on its own. Is Nagesh Chavan well and truly buried?
****
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