Chapter 4: Dilli Ki Sardi
Hari Prakash went to the table and checked if everything was in order. It was almost eight thirty in the morning and the family members were due to arrive for breakfast any moment now. He had been working with the Raizadas for the last thirty-eight years, from the time when he came to this family as part of Poonam Raizada's dowry. He was thirteen then and the young Raizada couple had kept him in their house after they promised his parents that they would pay for their son to finish his school. When he moved from Sitapur, a village in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi first, the Raizadas lived in a small house in Lajpat Nagar, House No. M-4, near the main market area. Poonam Raizada, whom he called Didi was a journalist working with The Hindustan Times and Anand Raizada whom he called Saheb was a well-known, young lawyer who defended several of the high-profile criminals in the city. Of course other than this aberration, Saheb was a man of high integrity. They were reasonably well-to-do then and could afford to keep him along with actual maids. His initial work used to be to help Didi do her monthly spring cleaning or tasks like taking out the warm clothes, blankets and razais to air them out when winter came in and to store them properly at the end of the season. He also served water and chai to the clients who visited Saheb in the office which was the ground floor of the house. They moved to the current house, Raizada House in Greater Kailash just a few months before Arnav Bhaiya was born. He was not at all biased when he said this, but Raizada House was the most handsome house in their street, which boasted of many other beautiful houses. But Didi who had quit her journalism job by the time they had moved to this house had literally built the house brick by brick. Every corner of the house had a story of how Didi had contributed to it and made it the way it was. He felt a great deal of loyalty with the Raizadas, Saheb, Anjali Didi and Arnav Bhaiya, but the person with whom he felt the greatest emotional connect with was Didi, Poonam Raizada. His wife Kusum would often complain that he did too much chaaploosi of badi deedi, but that is not how he saw it. He was loyal and at times did go out of his way to do things that Didi would ask of him. He was proud of how fiercely loyal he was. His Didi, who had treated him and his family with nothing but kindness and respect deserved his loyalty.
He looked at the clock, it was a quarter to nine and nobody was around. It was a very cold day, but he knew Didi and Saheb were not the kind to oversleep because the weather was chillier than usual. They were both very disciplined.
"Hira," he called to the cook, "Yeh toast andar lekar ja aur phir se banana. Yeh thanda ho gaya hoga."
Hira Singh, the cook, muttered something under his breath and picked up the plate with the slices of bread and left. HP realised that there was a slight revolution brewing among the servants of Raizada House, which he needed to take care of. He would normally have taken the help of Didi, but she was going to have her hands full with the return of that Chandni Chowk girl, she needn't be bothered with trivial things like the cold war between the cook and the gardener. But for now he had to tell Didi about Khushi Kumari Gupta, the girl who had brought trouble into their lives seven years ago was back.
"Didi ko mat batana, tumhe kya milega us ladki ko pareshaan kar ke. Peechli baar bhi.." Kusum his wife had pleaded to him almost to not tell their mistress about Khushi. He had nothing against the girl Khushi, she used to be a good person even back then, but his first duty was to protect the Raizadas.
Just a little after nine, his phone rang and he saw on the caller id that it was Poonam Raizada.
"Didi, aaj nashte pe koyi nahin aaye."
"Haan HP, ek zaroori meeting aa gaya tha to main office paunch gayi hoon. Mujhe aah dopahar hi nikalna hai, pehle Bombay aur phir wahan se London. Ek hafte mein wapas aaongi. Mera suitcase bahar nikal ke rakhna aur ek dawai ki list rakhi huyi hain side table par, woh khareed ke rakhna."
"Ji Didi. Lekin ghar main koyi nahin hain"
"Saheb golf club mein nashta kar lenge aur Chotey Payal ke ghar gaya hain."
"Theekh hai, Didi."
"Aur kuch, HP?"
"Aur kuch nahin, Didi. Main aapka suitcase nikaal ke rakh deta hoon."
Didi sounded stressed. She pretty much single-handedly ran the family business now. Saheb, ever since his ill-health, had been advised to take it easy. He recovered from his illness, but never from the taking it easy. Arnav Bhaiya worked very hard, but on his business and Anjali Didi, he did not even understand what she did. Didi had such big dreams for her, but she was the disappointment. This Khushi situation would have to wait. Maybe Kusum was right too, why inflict Poonam Raizada on the girl yet again.
**
"It is so cold. I can't work," NK announced for the sixth time in the last fifteen minutes. Payal, NK and Arnav were going over the work-in-progress garments of the Kalpavriksha collection. They had set an internal deadline to have the pieces ready in another ten days so that they would have time for tweaks and alterations. They were at Payal's apartment-cum-studio since the tailors and artists were working there, it was easier to see if all was well.
"My house is really warm and cozy and you have six layers of clothing, NK. This is Delhi, not Siberia, stop being a drama queen," Payal said to him, her tone giving away how impatient she was.
"Look, the news channel says that it is the coldest day in the last fifty-two-years. Fifty-two years," NK said pointing at the news channel, running on mute in the background.
Arnav shook his head, it was probably a slow news day for the cold wave in North India was the breaking news of the day and the news channels had an expert panel in the studio discussing this phenomenon.
"Turn off the TV then, you will probably feel warmer immediately," Payal said sarcastically.
"The weather is cold. The vibes are frosty. Arnav, do something," NK appealed to him.
"Okay, it is almost lunchtime, why don't we order some soup and noodles from that Chinese place that has opened around the corner. You have the menu, right, Payal?" Arnav said realising that some food would help achieve temporary truce. Payal pointed to the little box by the phone that had the menus of every restaurant in the vicinity.
"Fine. But this is more the weather of chai and samosa from Tewari & Sons. What say, bro?" NK said grinning.
"Oh yeah, Arnav, did Khushi tell you why she refused to recognise us the day we met her? I am sure you must have asked her," Payal said, no longer interested in continuing her little fight with NK.
"She was pissed off with me, not you guys. Anyway, what soup do you want?" Arnav threw the menu of Yellow Lotus, the Chinese restaurant and hoped that they would drop the subject of Khushi.
After this thankfully NK and Payal got into a debate over what was the best type of soup and the best starter and then later into an even more long-winded discussion about how Yellow Lotus may or may not be affiliated to a political party. Khushi was forgotten. By them. Meanwhile Arnav had an idea about how to approach the Khushi situation. He had earlier in the day sent a text to his cousin, Aakash Mallik saying if he was willing to catch up for drinks one of these days. It had taken six hours, but just a couple of minutes ago Aakash had responded with a, Keya, Tomorrow, 9. This was soon followed by another message that said, PM. His cousin sure was cryptic in his communication, Arnav thought, and clearly thinks him to be a daft if he thought he would show up at a nightclub at 9 am.
"From Monday it is back to rallies. I am so tired of this elections now. We should do something fun tomorrow evening. What say, guys?" Payal looked around hopefully at both the men.
"What do you have in mind? It is no fun to be that single guy with a couple," NK said, " I don't want to see my bhaiya and bhabhi making out."
Payal threw a ruler at him and said, "We are not that kind of touchy feely couple."
"I know. You guys are not even normal. It is like the two of you have been married for hundred and twenty seven years already," NK continued, unperturbed by Payal reaching out for anything that she could lay her hands on.
"Guys, I have plans for tomorrow. So, sorry about that," Arnav said, finally interrupting the brawl between the pair of them.
"Wait a minute! For whom are you abandoning your fiance and brother for," NK asked, while Payal looked at him curiously.
"I am not abandoning anyone. I just made plans to meet Aakash," Arnav said, even as he mentally prepared himself for the inquisition that would certainly come his way. Aakash and he were cousins, but never really close, preferring to keep out of the way of the other than to engage with each other.
As they ate lunch, NK and Payal speculated if Arnav and Aakash were meeting to plan a coup of AR Enterprises and overthrow Poonam Raizada. Which reminded him of a cryptic text he got from his mother a while back, "Heading on a business trip for a week. Will be available on mail and phone. Take care of pa." This was probably the most uncharacteristic thing that his mother had ever done. He must speak to Di about this.
**
"Aaj thand ki wajah se university bandh hai. Monday ko aana," the clerk at the counter said immediately.
"Thand ki wajah se insaan kaam karna bandh kar de toh kayi deshon mein log kaam hi na karein," Khushi pointed out to the clerk, possibly inflaming him some more as a result.
"Dekhiye, Madam, order hai. Aap Monday ko aa jaayiye, application tab lekar jaana," the clerk said and this time he pulled the tiny sliding door that separated them, shutting out Khushi.
Khushi sighed and realised it was no point arguing with him. Though this clerk was a reasonably insignificant part of the system, he had the power to ruin Khushi's plans. So she had no choice but to take this slight in her stride. She pulled the dupatta closer around her. It was indeed a very cold day, not at all typical of a December day in Delhi. Usually it was only in the month of January when it got really cold, but this year the winter was already bleak. It was two in the afternoon, but already the place was dark and visibility was poor. Khushi realised that coming to the university on a bike was a bad idea. She was better off taking the Metro or the bus on a day like this. As she walked towards the main gate were her bike was parked she also realised how deserted the place was. She took bigger strides now, a slight feeling of fear in her gut.
"Khushi!" a voice called to her, making her halt and turn behind to look the direction that the voice was coming from. She had to admit, in that moment she was terrified. The newspapers were agog with things happening around in the city to make anyone fearful. And the last couple of weeks, she was running into all the people from her past life, it had shaken her up considerably. The voice approached her and an attractive young woman, wearing a sari walked towards her. She was smiling and for a minute there Khushi could not place her until the face was just a couple of meters from her.
"Anjali Di?"
"Hi, Khushi. Fancy meeting you here."
So was Khushi going to run into one Raizada each week. The thought was disconcerting. Very disconcerting.
"I had some work at the university office. You.. stay.. work here?" Khushi asked, hoping her voice didn't sound accusatory, but normal.
"I teach at Jesus & Mary College in South Campus actually. I was here for some invigilation duty in a college here. Uni really treats us lecturers badly. Just got done and heading home. By the way, thanks for the ladoos. I had a Satyanarayan Pooja at my house and it was for the bhog. I had put the leftovers in the freezer, but Jun.. Arjoon, my husband polished it all off," Anjali Di went on chattily. She sounded friendly, just as Khushi remembered what she was like and her behaviour was as if Khushi and she were friends who regularly caught up.
"I am glad you liked it," Khushi said politely and pointing to her bike said, "It was good meeting you Anjali Di, but I need to get home, it is already so dark."
"No," Anjali Di said, rather vehemently.
"Sorry."
"I mean.. the university chai shop is right here. Lets have a cup of chai. It is anyway so cold. Please?"Anjali Di looked at her with big imploring eyes. Khushi could not refuse and proceeded to have some chai-biskoot with Anjali Bose nee Raizada. As they sat in the small thela, popular among the university students and professors, she watched the older woman closely. She looked very graceful and elegant, but had an authoritative air about her. Probably because she was a teacher now. But this Anjali Di reminded her of someone. Not her brother Arnav Singh Raizada, but someone else. And it was when the piping hot chai came and Anjali Di handed over a cup to her with a smile it stuck Khushi that the woman in front of her reminded her of another Raizada woman, Poonam Raizada.
**
"Are you sure you want to marry this guy who has no time for you even a week before your wedding," Aakash asked Lavanya as they browsed through the hall taking in the decorations and arrangements.
"It is precisely to escape snide comments such as these did I bring you along instead of coming with my mother to this place," Lavanya said, making a face at him and looked around rather disapprovingly at the way the tables were arranged.
They were at the Army Golf Club at Dhaula Kuan where Lavanya was to get married, in a week to be precise. The were here along with the wedding planner to look at the venue and finalise the placements of the decorations, food and other arrangements. Lavanya's groom Major Anand Singh Grewal had excused himself because he was called off for a last minute meeting at work.
Duty before Beauty, he had texted Lavanya, which Aakash thought was too cheesy, but which Lavanya thought was cute. Guess that is what counted, Aakash thought. He was very happy for his friend that she finally found someone whom she loved and respected.
Lavanya was always a bit of a romantic, so she fell in love about ten times a day and fell out of love with equal vigour. Major Anand was her only sustaining relationship and it was no surprise to Aakash when she finally decided to marry him. Major Anand was not just an officer in the Indian Army, he was also an Asian air pistol champion. It was in his capacity as a sportsperson that he met Lavanya, whose agency represented him. Two years ago on his trip to India when Aakash was invited to Lavanya's work party he noticed the chemistry between the pair. Lavanya denied that there was anything between them. A week later they were dating. Lavanya and Major Anand's wedding was a small affair. Just a wedding, followed by a dinner and reception. Aakash was glad for that, he hated the jamboree of eight-day-Chatarpur-Farmhouse weddings.
"Sorry. So did you speak with Khushi," Aakash asked, after Lavanya seemed satisfied with the venue and did not look like she would have a bridzilla-esque moment.
"God! She is so difficult to pin down. Yes, I spoke to her and she sounded happy enough when I suggested we meet. But each time I call her, she is busy. Either she is making excuses or she is really busy. How busy can she be running one chotu mithai dukaan. I know you really like her, Aakash, but she is always been a bit of a diva," Lavanya said, surprisingly Aakash with her somewhat bitter rant. Aakash knew that Lavanya did not like that Khushi got a lot more attention than Lavanya believed that she deserved. Aakash who was friends with both the women tried to bridge this gap between the two. But the little gap always remained.
"She does other things too," Aakash said, but did not volunteer any more information. He knew how fiercely private Khushi was, and it was not his place to share details that Khushi herself did not.
"Like? Never mind, don't tell me. I will ask her myself when I meet her. By the way, why don't you just let her know how you feel. Before we know it, you will be Devdas and getting wasted with your buddy Chunnilaal," Lavanya said in a rather grave tone.
"She is my friend. Honestly Lavanya, how many times do we go over this?" Aakash said, helping Lavanya down the stairs as they walked towards the car.
"Fine. If you insist. But baad men mat kehna ki kissi ne bataya kyun nahi. Anyway, what else is new?" Lavanya said as she got into the car on the driver's seat.
"Not much. Am meeting Arnav tomorrow at Keya."
"Lo, you have found your Chunilaal. Or he has found his. I wonder which of you will be Devdas," Lavanya said, as they finally drove out.
**
"Really? Mom is going soft in her old age then."
Arnav was on the phone with Anjali Di and had just apprised her on the peculiar text that his mother had sent.
"Maybe HP tipped her off about something."
"C'mon, Chotey! HP is not mom's spy. Just because he told on you a couple of times when you were a child, it does not mean he still does that."
"I am not saying he is spy-spy, but he is watching us. Very closely. Anyway, Jeeju is not home?"
"Nope. He works late these days. He has promised to not work tomorrow, so he will come in late today."
"Why don't you and Jeeju come home for brunch tomorrow."
"Sure. Sounds good. It was good to see dad the other day at the pooja. He and Jun really hit it off."
"I saw. Your little machinations worked for you, after all."
"Yes. By the way, how did it go with Khushi. We never spoke about it."
"Was alright. I don't think she was thrilled to see me, but she was polite about it."
"Hmm. I saw her today."
"What? Where?"
"Arnav, tell me honestly, is there some kind of romantic interest here. Because if there is, it is going to be messy."
"Of course not, Di. She is.. I mean.. things soured between us and I want to correct it. If I can."
"I don't know, Chotey. You will have to work very hard to get closure here. You are marrying in a couple of months."
"How are those two related, Di? Anyway you don't know what happened. I think I can fix it."
"Okay. But remember this, Chotey, keep mum out of this. The last time she got involved the poor girl had to leave college."
"I know. I know. Anyway, did she speak with you? Was she cold with you?"
"Of course, not. She was very sweet, friendly and charming. Having chai with her, I can actually see why you and Aakash are drawn to her, Chotey."
"Not again, Di."
"I am just saying, she is both fierce and vulnerable, what man can resist that."
"I am hanging up now. Please bring along with you better conversational topics for brunch tomorrow."
"Haha. By the way, ask NK to come along too."
"He will be there even if you don't want him there. That is assuming if he will get past his, it is so cold that I can't move phase."
"It is really cold today. Delhi is never this cold."
"NK is from Bombay, what is your excuse, Di?"
"Oh I forgot, Raizada House is centrally heated. But the rest of the masses feel cold, okay?"
"Shut up, Di! Stop pretending that you are sitting in front of Hanuman Mandir with an old blanket that some generous bhakt threw your way.
**
When Khushi came back to Tewari Sweets she found Faisal Bhaii almost breathless as he was standing on a stool, over a big pan that had milk bubbling away.
"Faisal Bhaii, maaf kijiye aaj itna samay lag gaya aur aap hi ko sab kuch karna pada," Khushi said, removing the sleeveless cardigan that she was wearing and tying her dupatta around her waist. The next couple of hours she was going to making mithai, the cold was not going to bother her, the fire from the stove would keep her warm.
"Koyi baat nahi, Didi. Aap aaram karo, main bas kalakand khatam kar ke aata hoon." he said, struggling to stir the thickening milk.
"Nahin. Aap jao. Shaam ho gaya hai, lunch kiya bhi nahi aapne. Main kalakand bana leti hoon," a determined Khushi took over the ladle from Faisal Bhaii.
"Yeh ek courier aaya, Didi," Fiasal Bhaii pointed to an envelope that was at the cash counter. Khushi told him she would look at him later. As khushi stirred the giant kadai of milk and paneer mixture, she felt strangely nauseous. She realised that other than the chai and biskoot with Anjali Di earlier in the day, she had nothing else to eat all day. But not now, she would think about it later.
Tewari & Sons were catering for a small wedding and ladoos and kalakand needed to be made. They made the ladoos in advance, but since Kalakand would get spoilt, they had to make it just hours before the delivery. When the mixture had thickened considerably, she added the sugar in, which made the mixture thin again and also caused it to bubble and stick to her hands and burn them. But Khushi had done this long enough not to be bothered too much about it. She thought back about her freak encounter with Anjali Di earlier in the day. It was weird how all the people she had consciously kept away from all these years were now back in her life. Arnav, Payal, Lavanya and now Anjali. There was no escaping them after all. The mixture had thickened and it was almost done. Khushi added cardamom, nutmeg and her mother's secret, a little bit of salt before turning it off. She transferred the mixture into the three empty trays to let it cool.
"Didi, Kalakand ban raha hai? Main cut karoon?" it was Aarav.
"Homework nahin hain kya?" Khushi asked, her automatic reflex when she saw him.
"Uff ho, Didi! Kal hi khatam ho gaya. Waise bhi Monday ko school ki chuti hain. Cold wave ki wajah se," Aarav said gleefully.
"Utni bhi thand nahin hain?" Khushi said, even as she wondered, why was it that she did not seem to feel the cold even one bit. That fierce cold that evidently was shutting down educational institutes and brings business to a standstill.
"Sirf aapko hi nahin lagta hain, Didi," Aaran announced, making a face at her.
"Theekh hai. Tu bahut chota hai, cut karne ke liye. Packing mein madad karna," Khushi said, as she got down on all fours, mentally forming lines on the Kalakand plate.
"Kya Didi, aap kehti the na ki Dadaji aapko mithai banane mein madad karne dete tha. Aap bhi toh choti thi." Aarav argued.
"Theekh hai. Tu kar. Lekin mujhe bua bulana," Khushi said, correcting him for the thousandth time.
As Aarav took the knife and began to make the indention on the tray, Khushi said from behind, "Lines bilkul straight hone chahiye. Dekhte tumhari geometry kitni chi hain."
"Aap jitni toh achi nahin hogi," Aarav grumbled as he managed to draw one very crooked line.
**
Hari Prakash was not pleased. Arnav Bhaiya had just informed him that there was going to be a brunch at Raizada House tomorrow. Saheb, Anjali Didi, Arjoon Jeejaji, Payal Bhabhi, NK Bhaiya and Arnav Bhaiya would be there. It was as if they were all waiting for his Didi to leave to bond and have fun together.
**
Khushi reread the letter again. If at first reading the contents were crushing, they felt worse on a reread. Khushi had forgotten about the courier that Faisal Bhaii had mentioned. Once she managed to give some semblance of shape to the kalakands that Aarav had messed up, they packed it and went to deliver at the venue. The one boy that they had in the shop, Manu had left early because of the cold. Manu lived in the other end of the city and Khushi didn't want to detain him longer than necessary. So the task of the delivery fell on Khushi. Once she returned to Tewari & Sons, she looked through the accounts of the day and that is when she spotted the envelope.
It was a legal notice, filed by Avtaar Tewari, a nephew of Pradeep Tewari and Mahesh Tewari's second cousin claiming that it was he who had legal rights over the shop as the nearest blood relative of the family. Nobody had come forward to make such a claim all this while, but in the last three months, AnandRams, the large mithai and savouries chain was looking at setting up a fine dining chaat place a few blocks away from Tewari & Sons. Several of the shop owners had sold their shop to AnandRams and it was handful of stores, including Tewari & Sons that had resisted. Seeing the opportunity of making some money, Avtaar Tewari had got involved in the mess to add to Khushi's burgeoning problems. This would once again open the Tewari-Gupta nexus and there will be speculation about her mother's character and things would get ugly.
The shop was already seeing red and had been mortgaged by Mahesh Tewari in his lifetime and if it didn't become profitable soon, they will need to fold over anyway. Perhaps that was for the best and it would end Khushi's misery once and for all. And yet, Khushi could not do that. She needed to find a way out. Even if it seemed like everything was falling apart.
Khushi suddenly realised that without the warmth of the simmering kalakand, it was in fact very cold.
**
Arnav picked up the phone when it rang. He didn't recognise the number, a lady's voice a the other end identified herself as Mrs Anita Chawla. She was one of the family's acquaintances and his mother's friend at the club they went to. She had apparently attended the pooja at Anjali Di's house and was organising one at her own place next week. She wanted to order the motichoor ladoo from the place where they had to as it was good. Anjali was not picking the phone and since he was the one who got it, would he know the name of the shop. Arnav gave the lady the details including Khushi's number. Once she hung up, he realised that he should warn Khushi. He considered sending a text, but he was unsure if she was a text person and so he called her.
He was almost about to give up and hang up when her voice came from the other end. Cold, distant and heavy.
"Khushi, this is Arnav. Sorry to call you this late. A lady by the name Anita Chawla might call you to order some mithai. I gave her your number and details, hope it is okay."
"Sure, Arnav. Thanks."
"Khushi.. are you okay? You sound upset."
"I am okay, Arnav. Just tired. Thanks for the lead. Good night."
"Good night."
As he went to sleep that night, Arnav could not help but wonder if Khushi had been crying. Her voice did sound like she had been crying and that she had composed herself just before she picked up the phone. And somehow this bothered him a great deal.
**
"Aman, are you sure you want to go to India alone. It has been years. Wait for two more weeks, dad and I will also come with you."
"Mom, chill."
"But.."
"Don't worry, mom. I will not attempt to kill myself. Nobody makes the same mistake twice. I will make new mistakes. Don't worry."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, mom. There will be new mistakes, I promise."
"How about no mistakes."
"Not possible, mom, not possible."
**
Edited by YellowBoots - 9 years agoRadhika,
You gave me more mystery to break my little brain. Is there a connection between Guptas / Garima and Anand Raizada?. What is connection between Tewari and Garima? Looks like their character bashing already happened before. Is Akash really interested in Kushi? and Aman too?. Looks like every man in vicinity is behind Kushi. What did Poonam Raizada do that Kushi has to quit college?. Did she take Kushi's job away and down the line this made Kushi to lose her sports scholarship and finally leave new-on?. Only one thing that got cleared in this update is Anand Raizada alive 😊. What kind of couple are these Arnav n Payal?. No make out 😉?. Will Kushi attend Lavanya's wedding?. Waiting for Wednesday to come soon and clear some fog.
BTW I can't stop laughing imagining HP as spy 😆
Edited by jduke - 9 years ago
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