The Raging Storm (ARVI) - Chpt 22 - Page 98 - Page 44

Laurie,

Dear Laurie
Thanks for the update. Today is the first day I am reading your FF. Shyamala has mentioned it in her posts and I was intrigued. And here I am on a saturday night sitting and reading from beginning to present and what a treat.

My heart is skipping a beat and excited at the prospect of what is to come. Laurie you have gain strength and momentum in your writing from chapters one to eleven. I got nervous for Arjun when KD showed up but loved him like everyone else who wouldn't. He is every woman's dream come through and don't forget Indian parent. He is handsome- the gods have smiled on him, talented and sensitive. Wow- like your dad I think you broke the mold when you created him.

I love the premise of coming to London and giving Purvi wings to fly. Giving her a chance to become more confident and assertive in herself.
Tej what a wonderful character. So energetic, playful and great friend for Purvi.

And last but definitely not least our torture AK. I love the dreams they share together. That although they are not able to be together at present that in their sleeping state they connect. That is quite beautiful. I look forward to the next chapter. You make me want to fall in love again.

You have truly out done yourself. With each chapter there are so many more nuaunces to your writing. Keep it up! Bravo ⭐️

OMG...Laurie this ws amazing and I had goosebumps during the scene where Arjun lifts her into his arms. 😳 I really wish we could see Purvi be like this on the show. Wish we could get this scene. Her hands in his hair, his head in her lap (in my scene for next week I mentioned her in his lap in the office...foreheads touching...looking into each others eyes (and then Punni can walk in :))

Laurie, gave me goosebumps too! This chapter comes as a natural corollary to the ARVI reunion on the bridge yesterday!

Luvd it their dream is so damn romantic
each word u wrote i literaly falen fr it
plz do cntinue soon

loved ur update...please continue soon...:)

Waiting for shyamala's input on this marvellous dream chapter ...very eager to see what she has to say on this...:)

It is a double whammer for us this weekend..ofcourse, our beautiful union of ARVI in reel life and this dream of ARVI in Laurie land...cant get better...😳

My dear Laurie,

I am now running really scared, after seeing Jyoti's post announcing that she is (most flatteringly for me!) looking forward to what I have to say about this, the most poetic chapter so far in The Raging Storm (literally as well as figuratively).

It is almost like the time last Thursday, when I ventured to predict that the Arjun-Purvi milan-e-khas on that little wooden bridge would

(a) not be inaugurated with a thappad, levelling the score between them at 3 all (not counting Ovi's effort), and

(b) would be a warm and affectionate one, even if Purvi did not abandon her insistence on getting the approval of her aai and baba.

Having stuck my neck out on that one, I was alarmed no end by Jyoti announcing that she was now at peace because of my assessment. It was a major responsibility, to be in charge of maintaining the peace of mind of so many of you, and if that did not make me lose my sleep on Thursday night, it was only because I am a hardened case! However, I did keep my fingers tenaciously crossed for the next 24 hours, only partly reassured by Archana's impeccably logical thesis in support of my conclusion. In the event, the PR CVs rescued me, for which I duly forgive them their innumerable failings over the past 6 months!

So, even as I write this, I want to request Jyoti to bear with me if, as is very likely, this is not up to her expectations. My dear, thanks in advance for this forbearance!

Laurie, your father, by being so marvellously romantic (I do NOT mean to add "even at his age" , for as Arjun remarked so pertinently on Friday, love has nothing to do with age. In fact, it probably matures and becomes richer and more delectable with the years, like a fine vintage), must have spoilt almost all likely suitors for you. They do say that daughters always look for their father's qualities in their husbands, and it does not seem to me that any young man can trump your father in the romance department, or perhaps in much else. He is going to have a very, very tough act to follow, God help the poor chap!

The poem or song, as you like, is utterly and totally lovely. Like a cross between Kalidasa and Hafiz, perhaps closer to the latter. Persian poetry is always in the high romantic vein, "sighing verses to his mistress's eyebrow", and this one has all the mandatory flourishes giving his all into his beloved's keeping. Since Arjun has always been a joru ka ghulam in the making, these lines are a perfect fit for him!

Ai mere yaar, ai husn vaale Dil kiyaa maine tere havaale Teri marzi pe ab baat thahari Jine de chaahe tu maar dale Tere haathon men ab meri jaan hai

As for your own contribution to the chapter, I have always admired your literary skills, and the unusual turns of phrase that you scatter across your pages. This time, I think the lyricism of the verses has seeped deeper into your prose than ever before, and has infused the love scenes between Arjun and Purvi with not just more passion and fire, but also with more grace and charm. Even the descriptions of nature are as hatke as they are beautiful:

white puffy clouds that seemed to be performing choreographed numbers at the behest of the maestro wind.

wild flowers were scattered about the landscape like fragrant, hidden treasures

And enlivened by the occasional quirky flourish:

The sky started to dim as the clouds rolled in for their second act. They had changed costumes and now sported ominous grey and black tutus as they geared up for their final performance.

'My God she looks(ed) beautiful - even upside down.' Arjun mused.

You are in trouble, Laurie, for the greedy and demanding forumites will, in the weeks to come, not only want more, but also want prose to match or top this. As it is your own fault for spoiling us all, I shall let you stew in your own juice without any regrets or compassion.

I have one small caveat, which I hope you will be able to explain away, and one hope, which I would want you to fulfil.

First the caveat. I cannot understand how Purvi, who is the soul of moral rectitude, feels nothing wrong when she indulges in such passionate love scenes with a man she believes is by now Ovi's lawfully wedded husband, even if they are only, as she thinks, in a dream. Given her strong and upright character, she should normally think of such fantasies as haraam , and try her best to exorcise herself of them. Instead, she is shown rejoicing in them even after she wakes up, and when she says ''Come find me, Arjun, I'm waiting for you', it is simply impossible for me to understand her.

The same objection, of course, does NOT apply to Arjun and his thoughts and desires, for he knows that he has not married Ovi and is thus fancy free. But it does apply to Purvi.

Now the hope. I hope you will be moving fairly soon to a face to face meeting between Arjun and Purvi. One can tap telepathy only so far, and it has to eventually yield to flesh and blood encounters. I am eager to see how you will handle that, while staving off an immediate resolution of all the misunderstandings on her side (there being none on his), for that would trim the length of your tale considerably.

This said, I have no doubt, none at all, that you will pull even this trick off with the panache of a Houdini, and the comparison is apt, for you, my dear, always hide more than you reveal. That, Laurie, is as it should be. The appeal of the mysterious is like the beauty of a veiled woman, the more she hides, the more she promises.

Shyamala

Shyamala,