Chapter 7: Twenty Five Thousand
Note: And begins the famous you owe me... did anyone count by the end of the show how much money did Khushi owe Mr. ASR? Here's chapter 7 for you, I re-watched a couple of episodes, a little family time this chapter. You guys read on till I look for that fu***ng calculator of mine. Urrrgh.
"HOW
DARE YOU DO THAT ?" Khushi found the words coming out of her mouth,
"Tell me Mr. Raizada, if you have any grey matter in your top story, you
should have known how damaging your actions can be, especially for a
girl." she rebuked him in a high pitch.
"What? Damage you? The only thing damaged
here is my damn car." he shot back fuming.
"That
damage can be repaired, but the damage you have done to me cannot be made up for,
Mr. Raizada you have nearly ruined me." she said her voice turning hoarse.
"So
you are ruining my day? Do you have
any idea how expensive this car is? If I had to put a price for your entire
life, it won't be remotely close to that of my car."
"What
are you made of? You mean, you are comparing a living human with this
car?"
ASR
narrowed his eyes, "I don't get this, first at the couture, then at the
dargaha and now here in Delhi, I see you; all of this cannot be a coincidence.
Tell me, are you following me or something?"
"Follow you? Why would I follow
you?" she asked surprised.
"You
want me to spell it, c'mon you are not that naive. Apparently, you are trying
to trap me to get money out of me, you seem to be in need of some."
"Again
money? Listen mister I have no interest in you or your dirty money, there is a
world beyond money. But if that's the only language you understand, then be it,
I am gonna talk money. I'll pay now for your damaged car. Say how much?"
she said rummaging through her tote bag.
"Twenty five thousand for the dent."
he said wryly. Her eyes popped out. He turned towards the door of his car, a
few vehicles honked.
"Wait,
I will pay you when I have that amount with me."
He
turned to face her, a smirk on face, "that was not even the starting price
to deserve an argument with Arnav Singh Raizada, you are way past yourself
miss." The signal turned green, the traffic cop rushed towards them as the
other cars violently honked their horns. ASR shoved a thousand rupee note into
her hand, "get your mirror fixed and a return ticket to Lucknow with what
remains. Bloody gold digger", he cursed as he swiftly sat back in his car.
The traffic cop stood in front of his car. He showed him two crisp thousand
rupee notes, the cop grinned wide, "this way sahib" he directed him
out of the melee of vehicles. Khushi too tried to move in the direction,
another cop stopped her, "oye, where?"
Mimicking Arnav's action, she shoved the newly acquired bucks into his hand, he
glared at her, "trying to bribe
me?" "N...no sir, it just
fell from my hands...I need to get, oh my god, please my aunt is dyeing, I have
to get to the medical store." she let out a shrill sound. "Okay go
now..." the cop grunted, pocketing the note. Khushi zoomed towards a large
red plus sign board across the road. She stopped just at the counter.
"Hello miss, breaks failed or what?" the chemist gazed at her.
"One asthma pump please, quick." she panted. "You seem to be in
need of one." sighed the chemist and produced a box. "150 for
this". She took the box and placed the money and turned to leave only to
be faced with...
"What
have you been doing with my scooter?" inquired the angry stout surd
standing in front of her. Khushi froze, "sorry sir, I did not steal, my
aunt had an asthma attack, I couldn't find any other..." she replied with
earnest sincerity.
The surd's face softened at that. "It's
okay lassie, Bedi's scooter, public scooter, where is your aunt?"
"She's
at the metro station, oh my god I need to hurry." she cried raising the
broken rear view mirror.
"Oye,
broken?" he cried appearing more broken than the mirror at the moment. "Never
mind as long as you are fine lassie
everything is fine, hop in the carrier I'll fly you to your aunt."
"Thank
you so much sir." Khushi exclaimed jumping into the carrier. Bedi took off
for the station. "Where do you live sweet girl?" he shouted over the
traffic roar. "My bua resides at Lakshmi Nagar" she too shouted. The
surd beamed at her. "What a coincidence, I live there too, I run a car
repair garage, who is your bua?"
"She's
called Madhumati." Khushi yelled.
"What,
you are Madhumatiji's niece?" The surd beamed further and then his nose
turned red and cheeks turned pink. Khushi had never seen anyone blush at the
mention of Madhumati, not even her own husband, let alone a strange surd.
"I really like your bua", Bedi said somewhat shy, "but she has a
bad temper."
"Oh
yes, I call her a pressure cooker."
The
scooter screeched to a halt at the metro station's ascent. Madhumati was
standing upright at the stairs, clutching an inhaler with one hand and holding
her long braid with the other, fuming. "Where did you fly nincompoop? We
missed two Vaishali bound trains because of you." she enlarged her eyes,
glaring at Khushi. Khushi held up the inhaler in her hand like a trophy,
"I got this." she said and saw one in Madhumati's hand, "who
gave that pump to you?" she asked looking confused. Madhumati stomped her
foot loudly and growled, "I always keep one in my bag, only if you could
take the pains of proper search but no, when the goddess of eccentricity
decides to fly away, can anyone stop her."
"I
didn't go away buaji, look whom I met on my way, Bedi uncle - our
neighbor." Khushi said gesturing towards the surd.
"Uncle!"
Madhumati scoffed, "which uncle? whose uncle? what uncle? Haye re
nandkissore, look at this girl, barely five minutes in the city and she already
has relatives."
Bedi
looked at Khushi, "sweetie, why is she a pressure cooker?"
"She'd
be cool after the steam let-off." said Khushi shrugging.
****
For
Sitaram Tyagi - the head guard on duty at the Raizada mansion for the evening,
the duty hours were always sane, yet he very often misplaced the remote that
controlled the opening and closing of the parking area gates. But he was never
perturbed as the sahib who came home in the evening was pretty lenient. For
that matter Akash Singh Raizada would step down from his blue Mercedes and join
him in the hunt, "Hey Sitey, you
need me to track the remote for you?", he'd ask.
What
Sitaram beheld tonight yanked him into a frenzied attempt to find the remote.
He perspired profusely at the sight of the speeding BMW, either he should be
able to open the gate or he'd be fired from the two and a half years of service.
Unable to locate the gizmo, Sitaram flung himself at the gate pillar, pulled up
a small shutter and applied all his bodily force in pressing a hard button.
There was a short beep and the gates opened just in time for the BMW to pass
through, closely followed by the usual Mercedes. The driver of the Mercedes
whistled at him. Sitaram wiped the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief
and heaved a sigh of relief.
The
driver of the Mercedes honked incessantly at the BMW. ASR grunted, got out and
shot his brother a sharp look, "what's the big idea?", he said
frowning. Akash grinned behind the steering wheel, "Seems like somebody
forgot to honk in the first place.", he said stepping out of his car and
pointing at the dent. "You are usually a very safe driver bhai, whatever
happened?"
"Should
it matter however safe you drive when there are lunatics strolling on the
road?". Arnav looked baffled for a moment and then said almost to himself,
"I can't believe I met that silly girl again."
"What
girl?" asked Akash.
"Did
I say something?" said Arnav sounding lost.
"I
think so."
"Never
mind." said Arnav turning on his heels to walk away. Akash had never seen
his brother behave that way. "A girl who has apparently dented your
brain." he chuckled.
"Chote
has come." Devyani Raizada ran towards the drawing room in excitement and
then slowed her steps, sat in the sofa, picked up a magazine and pretended to
read as the two brothers came in. "Hi Daadi." said Akash bending down
to touch Devyani's feet. Arnav repeated the same, though with a slight
hesitation. He didn't quite fathom the significance of touching feet.
"Akash, I have a little task for you." she said.
"And
what should it be?"
"Will
you please find Laxmi for me, haven't seen her the entire day." She said,
her wrinkles pronounced all the more.
"Sure,
unless she has become invisible."
Arnav
took the clue, she had deliberately sent Akash away. He began to walk in the
other direction when..."Wait, Arnav, I think I need to have a word with
you." she looked at him straight. Arnav tried to avert her eyes for a
moment and then said, in his politest tone, "How was your trip Nani? I
hope you were comfortable."
"I
was on a pilgrimage Arnav and that cuts out on comfort." she said firmly,
"but this time I went there specially for you."
"For
me?"
"You
have excelled in your professional life and I admire you for that but there is
more to life than just career. A man isn't made purely of his achievements, he
requires personal growth as well." Arnav stared at her. She smiled,
"Son, I don't expect you to live by my ideals, but I pray to god that let
not your pace consume your being."
"What
am I supposed to infer from this Nani?" he asked.
"I
hope that you understand the difference between man and machine. I want you to
live like a man. I want you to think about your life, your future which is,
apart from your business. Thats all I have to say to you."
"I'll
consider that." he said, not quite meaning to.
Akash
was sure there was one place where nobody would look for her. He called out her
name from the kitchen store, a foolish looking head poked itself out from
behind a wrought iron cabinet. "Got you." Akash had a victorious smile
on his lips.
"Ma,
can I help you in some way?" Mahendra Singh Raizada asked his puzzled
mother. "Forget it Mahendra, I don't expect anything from you."
Mahendra hung his head. After twenty six years of his marriage with Manorma,
Devyani still maintained her reservations about them. Manorma came down for the
pooja and walked towards her mother-in-law.
"Oh, my darling where have you been? How
I missed you throughout my trip!" cried Devyani in ecstasy. Manorma
stopped short in her tracks. How she had yearned to hear these words from her
mother-in-law, but was gradually losing all hope and yet today, out of the
blue, Devyani displayed affection for her! "Come give me a hug my
dear." Devyani continued looking in her direction. Manorma spread out her
arms to hug her, "but Ma, I was there with you for the trip." she
said and stopped short again, her arms still spread.
Her
white fleece nestled comfortably in Devyani's arms. "Mehehehehe." she
bleated. "Of course I love you too Laxmi." Devyani exclaimed, patting
her goat. She hadn't even noticed Manorma's presence.
Much
to the dismay of her daughter-in-law, Devyani Raizada dotted on her odd pets.
Mercifully she kept one at a time. Once she had bought a viper which had bitten
two servants and also attacked Manorma (who by then was not a servant) before
Arnav had it taken away. She then got three slimy turtles and named them Meena,
Madhu and Rishabh. Akash was intrigued by how his grandmother decided upon the
turtle gender. She then had a Chihuahua from Mexico, whom the family agreed on
calling 'Chi-chi', apart from Arnav who simply referred to it as 'that dog'. Soon followed a cub whom
Devyani named Dhananjay. Akash was convinced there could not be a more
ridiculous name for a cub and instead called him Victor, Arnav on the other
hand preferred 'that cub'.
The
latest addition to the hysteria was her pet goat - The Laxmi.
****
Anjali
balanced the two bags in one hand while hastily typing on her Note II from the
other. "Stand where you are Akash." she instructed her brother and
took his pic with her phone. "What was that for?" asked Akash.
"MJ's
turning gay. He wanted me to send yours and Arnav's photo on whatsapp because
he was missing you guys."
"C'mon
di, he's your husband, how can you call him a gay?"
Anjali
showed him the message on her phone screen:
MJ: I
have no saalis so I fancy my saalas. :-)
"What
else do you call it?" she asked.
"P.J."
"Hey
wait, Akash I got this for you" she said handing him a carry bag of Fab
India. "Wear it tomorrow."
"Kurta
Pyjama? Sure Di." Akash smiled.
"Arnav..."she
called out. Arnav approached her slowly, he looked at her face and tried to
smile, but smile wasn't something that came easy to him and he didn't make much
effort towards it. The distance between them since Anjali got married and the
fact that she was not around him all the time, whenever he required her hadn't
affected Anjali the way it had affected Arnav.
"Arnav,
you know its Durgashtmi tomorrow, and I would love it if you come for the pooja
wearing this." she gave him a white Kurta pajama with minimal embroidery
at the collars.
"Oh
god di, you know I don't wear this stuff. It'll be dumped in my unused
collection. Why do bother yourself doing all this?"
"Just
in the hope that you might surprise me one day and come for the pooja."
"And
it's about time you realize that thats not happening."
"By
the way this was MJ's choice, my choice isn't that plain".
Arnav
went upstairs to his room and bolted the antique looking wooden framed door
behind. He slid open the translucent glass door of his closet and dumped the
kurta pajama in a huge rake in the second last drawer where about twenty unused
pairs were stacked in a neat pile, the ones Anjali gifted him every year. Even
the tags hadn't been removed.
He
then took a quick shower and changed into a casual black T-shirt and khaki
track pants. He walked towards the other side of the room and shifted the jade
colored curtains with a grayish tinge to one side revealing an array of glass
doors. He slid open one of them and entered the pool side attached with his
bedroom. Half moon shined in the clear water of the swimming pool in the
centre. Around it were hundreds of plants, creepers and shrubs, each of which
he had planted and tended on his own.
There
was an easy chair in a corner and a table. He placed his Mac Book Air on the
table, sat in the chair and began reading his mails.
Anjali,
as a custom, sent for a servant to call Arnav for the Navratra Pooja. The
servant knocked at his door, knowing well the knock would not be answered. Ten minutes
later the brief pooja was conducted, for which Arnav didn't make an appearance.
He
did make an appearance though, at the dinner table. Devyani gazed happily at
her grandchildren as Anjali served him stew. "Anjali, you should stay for
a longer time here, at least we get to see Arnav's face in this house, which is
rarer than the blue moon. Why is it only a few days respite for us?" said
Devyani Raizada.
"I
am sure, " began Arnav, "jiju would be wondering the same in Bombay -
its only a few days respite." There was a round of laughter on the table.
Anjali picked a tomato from the salad plate and threw at her brother, "I
am not going to talk to you."
"The
pleasure's all mine." said Arnav, smiling for the first time in that
day.
****
"The
water supply is till 9:30 in the morning." announced Madhumati,
"paste that in your brains," and then looking at Khushi, added,
"if you have one."
"But
why?" asked Khushi.
"Urrgh,
you mother of 'why', because this is
Lakshmi Nagar, not your Amma's home!"
"We
have a jet pump there, why can't we have one here?"
"Because
we have a hand pump here, in the middle of the street, you want to take a bath
there?"
"Buaji,
I wondered, " began Payal, "if we could call babuji and tell him we
have reached here."
"Sure
bitiya, anything." said Madhumati and then felt the pocket in her kurti,
"A..brrr...you want to make an STD call?" she looked at Payal,
praying she would reconsider that."
"Yes,
bua." Just then the ancient land line rang. Madhumati picked up and sighed
in relief, "Arre Sasi babua, we were about to call you. We are fine, talk
to Payal."
"I
will also talk." Khushi jumped.
"He's
Payal's real father." spat Madhumati.
Khushi
made a face, "blah..blah" and took the receiver from Payal,
"hello Babuji..."
Madhumati
showed the girls their room which badly required a broom and a mop. There was
almost a centimeter thick layer of dust on the table. Mites flew all over the
room when the girls brushed the bed sheet. Madhumati lived all alone in the
house and never kept a maid. With growing age, she couldn't do all the cleaning
of the house and hence had this room closed for many years. The cleaning took
the girls a couple of hours while Khushi narrated to Payal her third encounter
in a series with the same man.
"Twenty
five thousand for the dent said that Anaconda Singh Raizada." she said
sulking.
"One
hundred and one." said Payal.
"What
one hundred one?"
"That
is the hundred and first name you have given him, you know, Anaconda, you are
already past a century in calling him names."
****
PS: I really couldn't think of any other reason apart from Nani having the same pet fetish as Ruskin Bond's grandpa to explain the coexistence of humans and a goat.
I'll update again in the evening. 😃
Edited by cineraria - 9 years ago
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