CHAPTER 3. THE NIGHT OF CONTEMPLATION!
It was late at night. Everyone had just retired to their rooms after getting the shock of Arnav eloping with Khushi. Shyam paced in his room in anger. Anjali was in the bathroom changing for the night and crying too, Shyam guessed from the sobbing noises he was hearing. But then why wouldn't she cry? For any other sister, it would have been just their brother eloping but for Anjali it was more than that. Anjali and Arnav's relationship was not like any normal brother and sister. At one time, it had been them against the world. They had stood side by side and weathered all the problems of their life and now, her Chote had gone and without telling her, eloped. He had not just eloped, as far as Anjali was concerned, Arnav had betrayed his sister by taking a major step in his life without consulting or inviting her. Anjali was betrayed and that showed in her tears that poured non stop down her eyes for a while now.
Speaking of feeling betrayed, there was another person in Anjali's bedroom who was feeling betrayed. Aapne theek nahi kiya Khushiji, Shyam ranted in his mind. Bilkul theek nahi kiya! Aapne humaara sirf dil hi nahi toda Khushiji, aapne toh humein hi tod diya! Humaare pyaar ko aap thukraati rahi, hum chup rahe! Aapki har baat sehte rahe! Lekin aaj... aaj toh aapne humein dhoka diya hai! You have betrayed me, Khushiji! Aur hum iss dhoke ka badla jaroor lenge! Kya kya nahi kiya tha humne aapke liye! Anjaliji ko kitni baar maarne ki koshish ki taaki uske marne ke baad aap humaari ho jaayein! Hum aapse shaadi karenge! Aapko poori duniya ki khushi denge! Aapko palkon pe bithaake rakhenge! Lekin aap? Aapne toh shaadi karke humaare khwaab ko ek pal tod diya Khushiji! Par hum chup nahi baithenge! Hum Shyam Manohar Jha bilkul chup nahi baithenge! Humne bhi thaan li hai Khushiji! Aap agar humaari nahi hui, toh kisi aur ki bhi nahi hongi! Aur Saale Saahab ki toh kabhi bhi nahi! Hum aapke iss ghar se jude har rishte ko todenge aur phir aapko apna banaayenge ya toh aapko tabaah kardenge! (You have not done right, Khushiji! Not at all right! You haven't just broken my heart, you have broken me! You kept on rejecting my love, I remained quiet! I bore every pain you inflicted! But today...today you have betrayed me! You have betrayed me Khushiji! And I will take my revenge for this betrayal! What all things I had not done for you! I have tried to kill Anjali so many times just so that after her death, you become mine! I had planned to marry you! I would have given you every happiness in the world! I would have brought the whole world to your feet! But you? You married and broke my dreams in a second, Khushiji! But I won't stay quiet! I, Shyam Manohar Jha, refuse to remain quiet! I have decided, Khushiji! If you are not mine, then you won't be someone else's either! And especially not my Saale Saahib's! I will break every bond you have with this family and either I will make you mine or destroy you fully!)
The door to the bathroom opened making Shyam come out of his thoughts. He turned to see his Rani Sahiba coming out of it and he schooled his features into something comforting. The comforting expression must have looked very real because the moment Anjali saw it she hugged him and started sobbing again. Shyam shook his head. Another kurta ruined! How much will this woman cry? This is the tenth kurta she has ruined in this month!
Finally, after being comforted by her husband for almost an hour, Anjali stopped crying and her husband made her sit on the bed. Slowly, she let out all her anguish at feeling betrayed by talking to Shyam nonstop. Shyam listened as patiently as he could and then after a while he started his plan. He knew that if Anjali accepted Khushi as her sister-in-law, Arnav and Khushi's divorce was totally impossible and that meant Khushi will never be his. No! He had to make sure that Anjali never accepted Khushi! And that meant he had to poison his wife's brain right away. Khushiji! Aapne apni chaal khel li lekin ab humaari baari hai! Dekhte jaayiye kaise hum iss ghar mein aapka jeena mushkil kar dete hain! (Khushiji! You have made your move, now it is my turn! Now you wait and watch, how I make your life hell in this house!)
"Rani Sahiba! Humein nahi lagta ki aapko itne aansu bahaane chaahiye! Woh bhi uss insaan ke liye jiske dil mein aapke liye ratti bhar bhi sammaan aur pyaar nahi! (Rani Sahiba! I don't think you should cry this much! That also for that person who does not have any love and respect for you in his heart!)", Shyam started his drama.
Anjali looked up with tearful eyes, "Aap kiski baat kar rahe hain? (Who are you talking about?)"
Shyam shrugged, "Aapke Chote ki, Rani Sahiba!"
Anjali shook her head vigorously, "Aisi baat nahi hai Shyamji! Humaare Chote humse bahut pyaar karte hain! Aur sach toh yeh hai ki poore duniya mein sabse pyaar toh woh humse karte hain! Hum unki jaan hain! (It is not like that, Shyamji! My Chote loves me a lot! Infact, the truth is that he loves me the most in this whole world! I am his life!)"
"Hmph!", Shyam made a face, "Toh phir aaj unhonein is tarah se shaadi kyun ki? Aisa toh nahi tha ki dono parivar waale iss rishte ko mana kar denge? Hum sab toh, infact, khush hote agar iss rishte ki baat khud Saale Sahab ne hum sabse ki hoti! Hum sabko toh Khushiji kitni pasand thi! Aur un dono ne aisa kiya? Chi! Hum keh rahe hain Rani Sahiba humein nahi lagta jitna ehmiyat aap aapke Chote ko dete hain utni hi ehmiyat woh aapko dete hain! (Then why did he marry in such a way today? It is not as if both families would have said no to their relationship? Infact, we all would have been very happy if Saale Saahib had come and talked to us about the rishta himself! We all liked Khushijia lot! And those two went and did this? Chi! I am telling you Rani Sahiba, I don't think your Chote gives you as much importance as you tend to give him!)"
Anjali looked at Shyam with tears in her eyes. Was Shyamji true? Is he speaking the truth? Does Chote really not care for me? Hey Ma! Humein kuch toh raasta dikhaao!
"Kya humaare Chote sach mein humaare baare mein itna kam sochte hain? Kya sach mein unki zindagi mein humaari koi ehmiyat nahi? (Does my Chote really think of me that less? Do I really not have any importance in his life?)", Anjali asked her husband hoping that as usual he will advice her and guide her truthfully. Shyam smiled smugly in his mind. This is what he wanted! For so many years, he had perfected the act of loyal husband so well, that his wife looked up to him for guidance and believed every word from his mouth as truth. And today he was going to use that and poison her mind against Khushi. He knew that this could not be accomplished in one night. He would have to keep on poisoning her mind against Khushi for days before his efforts will bear fruits but today he will make sure that the seeds of poison had been sown.
"Ab hum kya kahein Rani Sahiba? Hum toh khud pareshaan hain aaj jo hua woh dekh kar! Ek taraf Saale Saahib hain jisne bina aapke baare mein soche shaadi karli, yeh tak bhi nahi socha ki unki behen unke shaadi ka hissa banne ka sapna saalon se dekh rahi hai! Aur doosri taraf hain Khushiji... (Now what do I say Rani Sahiba? After seeing what happened today, even I am in shock! One side is Saale Saahib who married without even thinking about you, he did not even think that his sister had been seeing dreams of his wedding for ages! And on the other side is Khushiji...)" Shyam was cut off by his wife.
"Khushiji?", Anjali asked in puzzlement. Shyam nodded, "Haan Khushiji! Aaj tak hum unhein ek achche ghar ki ladki samajh rahe the lekin unhonein aaj jo kiya usse toh humein unki niyat pe shaq hone laga hai! (Yes! Khushiji! Till now, I thought she was a girl from a good family but today what she did has made me doubt her intent!)"
Anjali's eyes widened at that, "Aap kehna kya chaah rahe hain Shyamji? (What are you trying to say, Shyamji?)"
Shyam smiled sadly at her, "Aap hi bataayiye Rani Sahiba! Kya koi achche ghar ki ladki iss tarah ghar se bhaagke shaadi karegi? Woh bhi tab jab saare parivaar waale iss rishte ko kabhi nahi inkaar karenge! Phir kya aafat aa padi ki unhonein iss tarah shaadi karne ke liye haan keh di! (You tell me, Rani Sahiba! Will a girl from a good family elope and marry? Especially when our family would have never said no to this rishta! Then what kind of problem came up that she said yes to marry in such a manner!)"
Shyam knew that Khushi had married Arnav to get away from him and ASR must have married Khushi to show Shyam that his Khushi was not his anymore but Anjali did not know that, right?
Anjali huffed at that, "Ab ismein Khushiji ka kya dosh? Chote ke saamne koi aaj tak na bol paaya hai? Chote ke zidd ke aage jhuk gayi hongi Khushiji bhi! Aur kya? (Now what is Khushiji's fault in this? Has anyone said no to Chote till now? Khushi must have had to bow in front of Chote's stubbornness! What else?)"
"Aapko sach mein aisa lagta hai Anjaliji? (Do you truly think like that, Anjaliji?)", Shyam queried making Anjali look at her, "Hum us ladki ki baat kar rahe hain jinhonein aaj tak Saale Saahib ki baat sar jhukakar maani nahi hai! Arre! Woh toh duniya ki pehli insaan hai jinhonein The Great ASR ke khilaaf khade hone ki koshish ki hai! (We are talking about that girl here who has never accepted Saale Saahib words without questioning till now! Arre! She must be the first person in this whole world who has tried to stand up against The Great ASR!)"
Anjali frowned, "Aap kehna kya chaahte hain Shyamji? (What are you trying to say, Shyamji?)"
Shyam looked at her intensely, "Hum yeh kehna chaahte hain, Rani Sahiba, ki yeh shaadi Khushiji ke manjoori ke bina kabhi nahi hui hogi! Toh phir sawaal yeh banta hai ki Khushiji jinhonein humesha sanskaaron ki baat ki hai woh kyun iss tarah shaadi karengi? Ya shaayad ... (What I am trying to say, Rani Sahiba, is that this marriage could not have happened without Khushiji's acceptance! Then the question that should be asked is that Khushiji who has always talked about her sanskar, why has she married in such a manner? Or maybe...)"
"Shaayad kya?", Anjali prompted and Shyam delivered his blow, "Ya shaayad yeh sanskari ladki banna Khushiji ka naatak tha! (Or maybe this sanskari girl was just Khushiji's naatak!)"
"Kya?", Anjali looked aghast and Shyam plowed on, "Haan! Humein abhi yahi sach lagne laga hai Rani Sahiba ki Khushiji sirf dikhaava kar rahi thi ki woh sanskari ladki hai! Aur humein toh yeh bhi lagne laga hai ki shaayad Khushiji ne hi Saale Saahib ko iss tarah se shaadi karne ke liye uksaaya hoga! (Yes! I have started to believe Rani Sahiba that Khushiji was just acting that she was a sanskari girl! And I have even started to believe that maybe it was Khushiji who convinced Saale Saahib to marry in such a manner!)"
"Kya?", Anjali stood up in shock, "Nahi! Khushiji aisa nahi kar sakti! Woh sach mein dil ki achchi hain! (No! Khushiji can do such things! She really is good from heart!)"
Time to back off a little, Shyam realised. "Shaayad aap sach keh rahi hain! Khushiji shaayad aisa nahi kar sakti! Waise bhi humse jyaada aap unhein jaanti hain! Hum toh unhein ek do mahine pehle mile the, aap toh unhein mahino se jaanti hain! Lekin phir dil mein yahi sawaal uthta hai ki kya Chote khud se jald baazi mein shaadi kar sakte hain yeh jaante hue ki aap unki shaadi ke kitne sapne dekh chuki hain? (Maybe you are right! Maybe Khushiji cannot do such things! As it is, you know her better than me! I have known her only for one or two months, but you know her for many months! But still there is one question building in my heart that would Chote himself marry in such a haste knowing very well that you have seen so many dreams for his wedding?)"
Anjali sat down as she took in her husband's words. Why would her Chote get married in such a way when he knew about her dreams of seeing him married? Why? Is what her husband saying true? Is it true that it was Khushi who was manipulating her Chote? What is more possible; her brother breaking her dreams or Khushi playing games? She could not understand anything.
Shyam took advantage of Anjali's confusion and continued to poison her mind, "Humse agar koi pooche toh hum apne Bhai pe jyaada bharosa karenge na ki koi baahar waali pe! (If someone asked me, I would rather trust my own brother than some outsider!)" Anjali looked at him and Shyam continued to speak nonchalantly, "Humein toh ab Khushiji pe bilkul bharosa nahi hai! Aur humein toh ab darr lagne laga hai ki kahin Khushiji un ladkiyon mein se toh nahi jo ameer ladkon ko phaasti ho! Ab aap hi sochiye! Unki toh sagaai ho chuki thi! Toh woh sagaai tooti kyun? Kahin unhonein sagaai isliye toh nahi todi kyunki unki nazar humaare Saale Sahib pe thi? Humein toh yeh sab Khushiji ki sochi samjhi chaal lag rahi hai! (Now I don't have any trust in Khushiji! Now I am starting to fear that Khushiji might be one of those girls who try to snag rich men! Now you yourself think! She was engaged! Then why did that engagement break? What if she broke the engagement because she had her eyes on Saale Saahib? I am starting to think that this was all thought and planned move of Khushiji!)"
Anjali looked at her hands, "Shaayad aap theek keh rahe hain! Kyunki humaare Chote toh humaare khilaaf kabhi nahi jaa sakte! Toh ab aisa kyun? Ab toh humein bhi lagne laga hai ki yeh Khushiji theek insaan nahi hai! (Maybe you are right! Because my Chote will never go against me! So why right now? Now even I am starting to think that Khushiji is not a good person!)"
Shyam nodded, "Waise agar hum iss nazar Khushiji ki harqaton ko dekhein toh unki bahut saari chaalein humein nazar aa rahi hai! (By the way, if we saw Khushiji's actions from this point of view, we can see many of her moves!)"
Anjali's eyes widened, "Kaisi chaalein Shyamji? (What moves Shyamji?)"
Shyam narrowed his eyes, "Yaad hai Rani Sahiba, ki kis tarah Saale Saahib aur Khushiji pehli baar mile the? Khushiji seedha aake unke baahon mein gir gayi thi! Kahin woh bhi ek chaal toh nahi? (You remember Rahiba, how Saale Saahib and Khushiji first met? Khushiji had fell right into his arms? What if that was also a plan of hers?)"
Anjali looked down in horror. Was Khushiji planning to seduce and marry her brother from that time? Hey Devi Ma!
"Ab humein kya pata Rani Sahiba", Shyam spoke as he shook his head, "Ki woh uss fashion show mein galti se aayi thi ya jaan boojh ke! Aur phir Khushiji ka Lucknow se yahaan aana, Saale Saahib ke Office jaana, aap sabse ghul mil jaana, sab kuch ek soch samjhi chaal jaisi hi lag rahi hai! (Now what do we know Rani Sahiba whether she reached the fashion show by mistake or deliberately! And then Khushiji coming from Lucknow to here, joining Saale Saahib's Office, getting so friendly with all of you, everything started to seem like a well thought plan!)"
For few minutes there was silence in the room. Shyam wondered whether he went too far and his plan would backfire. Trying to save himself, he opened his mouth to backtrack when Anjali spoke in a calm monotonous voice, "Shaayad aap theek keh rahe hain! Humaare Chote humein iss tarah dhoka nahi de sakte! Shaayad yeh sab Khushiji ki hi chaal hai! Humein Maamiji ki baat sun leni chaahiye thi jab woh humein Khushiji ke baare mein aagaah kar rahi thi! Agar tab hum sunte toh aaj shaayad Chote aisa bada kadam humein bataaye baghair kabhi na lete! Aaj Khushiji ne ek pal mein humaare Chote ko humse door kar diya! (May you are right! My Chote cannot betray me in such a way! I think it is Khushiji's plan! I should have listened to Maamiji when she tried to warn about Khushiji! If I listened to her that day, today my Chote would not have taken such a big step without informing me! Today Khushiji has separated me and my Chote in one moment!)"
As Anjali started crying Shyam smiled smugly. His plan worked better than he thought! Instead of just doubting Khushi, his wife had already believed that Khushi was the one behind everything that happened today! Time to up his ante, it seemed.
"Royiye mat Rani Sahiba! Maajra itna bhi bigda nahi hai! Aapke Chote abhi bhi aapke hain! (Don't cry Rani Sahiba! The situation has not gotten that bad! You Chote is still yours!)", Shyam consoled his wife and Anjali looked at him tearfully. Shyam nodded, "Haan! Infact, agar aap unhein aapke aur Khushiji ke beech mein chunne ko kahengi na toh woh aapko hi chunenge! (Infact, if you asked him to choose between you and Khushiji he will still choose you!)"
When his wife looked at him doubtfully, Shyam continued, "Vishwas nahi hota toh kal aazmaake dekh leejiye! Aapke Chote aapko hi chunenge! Bachpan ka bandhan hai! Aise thodi na ek ladki ki wajah se toot jaayega! (If you don't believe me, then try it tomorrow! You Chote will choose you only! It is a childhood bond! It won't break just because of a girl!)"
As Anjali nodded, Shyam smirked. And this way he will slowly alienate Khushi's every support in this house and soon Khushi will have nowhere to go. Soon, he will get Khushi thrown out of the house and when a heartbroken Khushi will need comforting he will step up and convince her to marry him. And who knows! Maybe he can poison Khushi's mind against Raizadas and get her help in gaining the Raizada fortune. Aur phir hum aur humaari dil ki Rani Khushiji iss ghar par raaj karenge! (Then I and the Queen of my heart Khushiji will rule on this house!)
While Shyam was poisoning Anjali's mind against Khushi, in another room of Shantivan a similar type of conversation was ongoing. "Hello Hi Bye Bye! Hum keh rahe haina, thees ees all planned!", Maami announced as she removed her jewelries. Maami rolled his eyes at that and Maami noting his action, turned around and glared at him, "Why you rolling eyes? I not lie! I tell you Aakash ke Daddy, everything was Arnav bitwa's plan!"
Maama blinked at Maami's comment and then questioned his wife, "Ab ee ka naya bakheda khada kar rahi ho? Itne der se toh uu Paayal bitiya aur Khushi bitiya ko bura bhala keh rahi thi! Aur ab keh rahi ho ki Arnav bitwa ka plan hai! Dimaag jagah par hai ki nahi? (Now what are you blabbering about? Till now you were badmouthing Khushi bitiya and Paayal bitiya! And now you are saying it is all Arnav bitwa's plan! Is your head in right place?)"
Maami huffed at Maama's comment, "You not understand! Aakash bitwa ne shaadi karli toh Aakash bitwa ko pehle bachcha hoga na! Toh humaar pota hi iss khaandaan ka waaris banega! Humka lagta hai ki Arnav bitwa nahi chaahte ki humaar pota iss ghar ka waaris bane! Isliye aisan gadbadi maa shaadi karli! (You don't understand! If Aakash married first then he will have kid first! Then my grandson will be the heir to our family! I think Arnav bitwa does not want my grandson to become the heir to this family and hence, he married in such a haste!)"
Maama shook his head, "Tumka pata hai tum ka bak rahi ho? Iss jaaydad ka waaris apne bete ko banaane ke liye Arnav bitwa shaadi karke aaye! Humka lagta hai ki shaam ko jo hua uu dekhke tum satthiya gayi ho! (Do you even what you are blabbering? Arnav bitwa married so that his son would become the heir to this house! I think after seeing what you have seen in the evening, you are getting senile!)"
Maami fumed in anger and getting up from her seat, she marched towards her husband, "Hello Hi Bye Bye! I satthiya gayi? I? If I satthiya gayi then you tell me, why did Arnav bitwa marry jo jaldi jaldi? Phati saadi ka toh samajh mein aawat hai! Uu toh apni behen khoon bhari taang ke saath milke iss ghar ke beton ko apne jaal maa fasaakar shaadi karna chaahat thi! Lekin Arnav bitwa ne kyun jaldi ki? Why why? (Hello Hi Bye Bye! I gone senile? I? If I gone senile then you tell me why did Arnav bitwa marry in such haste? I can understand about Phati saadi! She, along with her sister khoon bhari taang, wants to snag the rich sons of this house and wanted to marry them! But why Arnav bitwa agreed to the haste? Why? Why?)"
Maama shrugged at that, "Humka ee sab nahi pata! (I don't know all this!)"
"I tell you, something khichdi making here! And I will get to the bottom! Humka sab kuch chhaanbeen karne ka padi! (I will have to investigate everything!)", Maami ranted.
Maama just rolled his eyes and hit the bed. If he indulged his wife, she will bore him till the next day.
In another room of Shantivan, another person wondered the same thing. Chote ne iss tarah chori chhupe shaadi kaahe ki? (Why did Chote elope?) Naani continued to ponder as she paced the room. Every idea that came to her head was discarded due to some reason or other. Very few people knew but Arnav got his calculative brain from his Naani and right now just like a sharp minded person would have, Naani dissected every scene that happened in the evening from the time Arnav entered married to Khushi till everyone left the room. Even after rehashing the scenes again and again, Naani could not get a single clue behind Arnav and Khushi's sudden marriage. Even Arnav's answer to Anjali's question did not yield any clue.
As Naani sat down to solve this puzzle, she wondered whether the answer was something simple. Maybe Khushi bitiya was pregnant was the top of her answers but one thing remained proof that this answer was not viable. And that proof was Khushi was too conservative to sleep with a man before marriage. Naani still remembered the expression on Khushi's face when she came to know that Lavanya was in live-in relationship with Arnav. No! Even though, the pregnancy answer fits in with the puzzle perfectly and solves it in a moment, Naaniji knew that it was a wrong answer.
Naaniji did not even consider Khushi manipulating Arnav to marry her. The reason behind it was that Naani had raised her grandson to not fall for someone else's words and rely on his own brain which also meant that it was Arnav's decision to marry Khushi and not Khushi's manipulation.
So why the haste marriage? Maybe Arnav did not think by brain and his decision was ruled by heart! But again the question remained; what was the hurry? In love or not, the only time a couple elopes is when the family is standing against the relation and of course pregnancy is another cause but Naaniji had already ruled that out. So when no one was standing against this relationship, then why the elopement? Naaniji shook her head. This puzzle won't be solved today and that also this easily. She had to look at the situation in new perspective, maybe after a good night sleep.
As Naani lied down to sleep, she wondered if cornering either Khushi or Arnav and questioning them would yield any response. No, she realised. Even though Khushi and Arnav were total opposites of each other, there were some similarities between them that Naani noticed. One of them was the ability to keep their mouth shut when necessary. Khushi might slip out few things in her haste but a big secret can be kept by her. And opening ASR's mouth was like pulling teeth out of camel, very tough. Naani closed her eyes. Enough of this puzzle! Time to sleep! Can worry about this later! Naani prayed to Devi Ma and closed her eyes.
While everyone in Shantivan was trying to sleep, one person had given up on sleeping and simply lied on the bed trying to think about his future which, it seemed, would be without Khushiji. Khushiji! I will miss you! I don't think I will ever meet a girl like you! He smiled sadly as he remembered his dream of proposing Khushi after Aakash's wedding and gaining her acceptance. He remembered how he had dreamed of taking her to Austrialia with him after marriage and then decorate their room with their photos. He sighed sadly as all those dreams got broken into pieces in the evening.
But Nk was not a vindictive person like Shyam who refused to give up. Nk was a very sensible person. He accepted gracefully that Nannav took his chance and has now won the hand of the fair maiden. And now like a fair gentleman, Nk stepped down and promised to move on. After all, he only had a crush on Khushi. It was not the true love everyone dreamed of. Nk was sure though that if Arnav had not snagged Khushi so soon, he may have fallen for her one day.
Unlike rest of the family, Nk was not much affected by the elopement of Arnav and Khushi. He was from Australia and he did not understand the Indian culture much to realise the depth of Khushi and Arnav's actions. As far as he was concerned, they must have in love and could not wait, hence, they got married. Nk accepted the fact and moved on to deal with his feelings.
Nk sighed. While he may have said goodbye to his dream of marrying Khushiji, he refused to give up his friendship with her. Khushiji was a good person and he refused to give up such a good friend just because she is married. Infact, once he reached Australia, he would call Khushiji on daily basis. And if that made Nannav jealous, that will be bonus for him. Nk grinned as he imagined Arnav's jealous face.
"Khushiji!", Nk softly spoke up to the dark room, "You are diamond amongst the rough and I am honored that you call me your friend! And today I promise you that I will stand by your side at every problem you face and when you need me, I will be right beside you!"
PRECAP:
A showdown between Arnav and Anjali leads to some unexpected and shocking decisions taken!
Thanks for reading!
Take care and have fun,
Kalpana
Edited by Kalpana_Writer - 10 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
60