Chapter 11: Spring Awakening
"Bua, kal aapka chuthi hai?"
Khushi looked up from the book on Advanced Statistics that she was reading. One of her star athlete students at Joseph's, Abhay Sinha was struggling with his coursework and wanted to take time off from sports to concentrate on studies. So Khushi had convinced him to be tutored by her, three days a week after track practice. A somewhat reluctant Abhay had agreed. Khushi understood that many students did use sports as a mean to get into the college of their choice, but once they actually got in coursework often took precedence over sports. Abhay was very talented, he was the only one with any talent, so Khushi felt that investing time on him would be good for the college team. Last week the Vice Principal had called Khushi in and told her that the original coach of Joseph's who was on a sabbatical was scheduled to return when college began in the new year. This meant Khushi would no longer be a coach with Joseph's in another month, but she wanted to make sure that she left on a high note. While she was worried about the uncertainty of the future without the Joseph's job, but she was also proud of it. In some ways, it was one thing that she got entirely on her own. There was no sifarish, nobody who played her guardian angel, nothing. And it was only right that she left the job on a high she decided as she grappled with a complex regression problem. She was at the counter of Tewari & Sons. For once she was glad that they didn't have enough customers to distract her. The thing about maths is that, once you don't practise, you struggle with it. She looked at Aarav. He had still not changed out of his school uniform, though he had been back from school for over two hours now. Renu Bhabhi had probably not come back from work yet.
"Aarav, abhi tak kapde kyun nahin badle. Jaa. Bhabhi se khoobh daant padegi."
"Kal toh chuthi hai mera. Badal loonga."
"Chuthi ka uniform se kya matlab?"
"Aap batao, kal aapka college bandh hain?"
"Holi toh parso hain. Kal college hai mera."
"Lekin kal toh chothi Holi hai. Aap ka bhi college hai, Mumma ka bhi office hai."
"Hmm. Parson khelenge. Ab jaa uniform change kar. Bhabhi ab tak aayi kyun nahi?"
"Mumma apne koyi college friend se milne gayi huyi hai. Aapne bhaang piya hain kabhi?"
Khushi did not want to be judgemental or petty, but Renu Bhabhi was sure going out a lot more often these days and it was always something vague. She had noticed this for the last month or so, but her relationship with Bhabhi was not close enough for her to be intrusive about it. Her thoughts were immediately brought to another thing that she noticed lately. Something that made her uncomfortable that she didn't want to discuss with anyone with: about Shyam Bhaiya. Honestly she had no relationship with her brother. She was eleven when he disappeared. He treated her with a kind of indulgence that much older siblings did. The only real recollection she had about him was when he would buy Bourbon biscuits for her and sneak it past Maa and Baba to give it to her. Maa and Baba believed in making snacks from scratch and found packaged food both expensive and unhealthy. While it was duplicitous in a way, Khushi's greed won over and she would polish off an entire packed of Bourbon biscuit on her own. Other than this, she and Shyam Bhaiya did not share much of a relationship with each other. In fact, it was likely that she would not even recognise him these days. When she last saw him he was eighteen. Now he would be in his mid thirties. And yet, there was this man she had caught lurking around their house twice and once outside her college. Except that he would move away rapidly and somewhat suspiciously when she spotted him. It could not be a coincidence could it? Khushi was convinced that nothing in her life was a coincidence. It was all adding up to something, leading her to some place. She had considered checking with Renu Bhabhi, but they never spoke about Shyam Bhaiya and plus, Bhabhi now seemed settled in this life of hers. Aarav was very young and attached to his mother. Shyam Bhaiya had disappeared from their lives when Aarav was just a year old. For someone who had a troubled life and an absentee father, he was a very normal and well-mannered boy. She did not want to mess with that. She knew that she needed to speak with Baba, but had somehow been unable to bring herself to do that. It was a confusing time for her. But her instincts told her that something was afoot.
"Bhaang? Achanak bhaang ka khayal kyun aaya. Tu bahut chota hai. Tere liye thandai banoongi, okay?"
"Theekh hain. Lekin aap ne bhaang pi hain kabhi?"
"Haan. Jab purana mithai dukaan hua karta tha, Baba har saal gujiya aur bhaang banaate the. Jo koyi bhi dukaan aata mithai lene, usko ek kulhar mein bhaang pilate the. Toh har Holi par main peeti thi."
"Phir."
"Phir kya?"
"Aap utpataan cheezen kuch karte the?"
"Yeh kissne bataya tujhe?"
"Maine TV mein dekha hain. Naatakon aur cinema mein toh waisa hi hota hai. Log bhaang peete hain aur ajeeb harkate karte hain."
"Main aisa kuch nahin karti thi. Haan bahut achi neend aati thi. Iske alava kuch nahin."
"Iss Holi pe bhaang banana aap."
"Tujhe na main na Bhabhi peene dene walli hain. Ab jaa uniform badal."
When a reluctant Aarav left, she asked Faisal Bhaii to get the material for Thandai. She added that they would make some bhaang too. Faisal Bhaii's eyes literally lit up at this. He whispered that getting cannabis was not legal, but he knew a dealer and left the motichoor ladoos midway. Khushi was amused at this. Who would have thought the normally stoic and stickler of rules Faisal Bhaii had this streak in him. She sat down and gathered the motichoor ladoo mixture in her hands and formed them into big round ladoos. She saw Renu Bhabhi get off from an auto and head home.
"Bhabhi, Bhabhi," she tried to get her attention.
"Khushi. Abhi aayi hoon. Fresh ho jaati hoon phir tumhaari madad karoongi."
"Nahin, zaroorat nahin hain. Faisal Bhaii baahar gaye hain, woh karenge. Aaj der ho gaya kaafi."
"Haan office mein bahut kaam tha. Aati hoon main."
Once Renu Bhabhi left, Khushi began to wonder why did she lie to her. Didn't Aarav say that Bhabhi was off to meet a school friend? Of course Aarav was a little boy and might have misunderstood. Yes, that had to be it. Why would Renu Bhabhi lie to her.
The ladoos were not coming out as well as Faisal Bhaii's, so she got up and wiped her hands. As she walked to the front of Tewari & Sons, to get some fresh air she noticed that Raghu Yadav, her next-door shop owner try to convince the autorickshaw that Bhabhi had come in to take him to New Delhi Railway Station.
"Chalo bhaiya. Kissi ko lena hai."
"Arrey, kahaan na gas bharwana hai. Samay lagega."
"Tum log pehle hi kyun nahin bharwa lete ho."
"Bharwaya tha. Lekin aaj saari lambi sawaari hi mil rahi thi. Abhi iss madam ko laya tha main Greater Kailash se. Baitho stand tak chodh deta hoon."
Raghu Yadav waved at Khushi from the auto.
What was Renu Bhabhi doing all the way in Greater Kailash? The public notary with whom she worked part-time was in ISBT, that was close by. And she would normally use the Metro if she had to travel some distance. This taking an autorickshaw all the way from GK to Chowk seemed like a lot of indulgence. She also remembered that Aakash had said that he wanted to discuss something about Renu Bhabhi with her. Suddenly she was worried.
**
"Di, is everything okay?"
"Of course everything is okay? Should it not be? Do you know something? Why do you ask?"
"Well you are in my office on the middle of a weekday, so I was wondering if everything was fine. That is all. Quit being strangely dramatic."
"I am here only because it is impossible to meet my lil brother otherwise. You are so busy these days, don't hang out with us at all."
Arnav sighed. Di was right, in that he was not spending as much time with Di and Jeeju as he used to before. This was partly because Di and Jeeju itself were very busy with the adoption process: meeting other parents, meeting with their adoption agency and paperwork that never seemed to end. But it was mostly because he was honestly very busy. He spent weekdays at Raizada Designs and weekends at AR Enterprises. Plus, he was always carrying work home. He had not met anyone: either his family or friends in days now. Except NK and Aakash, whom he regularly met at work.
"Sorry, Di. Just so busy with work. But day after is Holi, it is my day off. So I am guessing we will meet at Payal's place?"
"Yeah. What is up with that? Why is Payal throwing Holi parties now? Is this some kind of political masterstroke of hers?"
"Funny, Di. I guess your brief moment of affection towards her via Horlicks is a thing of the past, yes?"
"Well, now that the two of you are not marrying, I feel it is alright if I give her a hard time."
"Hmmm."
"Tell me more, Chotey. What is up between the two of you? Are the two of you doing this to let us down gently and this postponement is just a pre-cursor to breaking it off completely."
"We are just waiting for the right time."
"The two of you are not easy to understand."
Arnav tried to read some mails while Di attended a call from someone. Based on the side of the conversation that he could hear, it seemed Di was speaking with her mother-in-law. He thought about what Di had said, about how the postponement was actually a precursor for breaking their relationship off in its entirety. He considered telling Di how much lighter he felt ever since the wedding postponement decision. He was not proud of this, but nonetheless it was the truth. He realised that Payal was his only real friend, especially after Aman's exit from his life. And while it was often said that a spouse should also be a friend, he wasn't sure about that. The day Payal became his fiance, something changed between them: they were more cautious around each other, almost cold with each other. But now, the equation was more open and liberating. But he did not dare say any of this to Anjali Di, who was only capable of processing things as altogether black or white. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it was still not something that they ought to discuss.
"Chotey, the real reason I came was to apologise to you."
Di was done with her call, she sat down on the meeting area of his room, which had a couple of uncomfortable couches that he had meant to replace, but never got around to doing it.
"Eh? Apology? What have you done now?"
"What? I have not done anything. I am sorry for missing your fashion show. I know it was very important to you. NK said that you were disappointed that mom didn't make it."
"No apology needed. Bringing my niece home trumps everything else. There will be more fashion shows. Hopefully."
"Of course, there will be. Don't let mom and AR take away your dream."
"Relax, Di. Mom is not that evil."
"Speaking of which, the two of us met for lunch yesterday."
"Oh, nice. Please tell me she persuaded you to give up Delhi University for AR. Don't see why only me and Aakash need to do things against our will."
"I am married to an anarchist. So I am tainted by association. If either you or Aakash marry someone mom doesn't approve of then you can get out of this. By the way, this is not a suggestion."
"You give Jun Jeeju way too much credit methinks."
"No, this is true. If Aakash marries Khushi, see how quickly mom drops him from the inner circle of AR. I can't wait."
"Rubbish. Khushi is not going to marry Aakash."
"Are you observing or hankering."
"Seriously, not again, Di. But Khushi is not going to marry anyone who is connected to our family. She is a very sorted person."
"Hmm. Are you hanging out with her inspite of my advice that you stay away from her. Don't go down that road."
"I am not going down any road."
"You do know it is only because I worry about you. In some parallel world, maybe you and Khushi could be a thing, but not here. Unless mom develops amnesia or something."
"Di! Stop it. I am a grown man. I understand complex relationships. So there."
"You are actually a child, who is fascinated by this toy that his parents won't buy for him. Now child has got some money of his own and can buy the toy for himself if he so desires, but he is a good boy who also doesn't want to piss off his parents. I understand what you are going through."
"Wow! What do we know, we have a Sigmund Freud in our midst."
"Yes. Had the snooty New-On-Ites I went to didn't make it seem that Economics (Hons) was the only honourable thing to study. I was so perfect to study Psychology."
"Indeed. But thank you for making me feel like a precocious little child."
"No, you are a good child, altogether too good sometimes. But I fear when my son is home, I won't have as much time for you. That is why I will keep giving you a ton of advice until then."
"Son? I thought you had decided to adopt a girl. What changed?"
"Oh the agency said that girls are too much in demand and if we were willing to adopt a boy, we may be able to find a match sooner."
"Wow. Really? That sounds so.. wrong."
"I know. But we have decided that boy or girl, doesn't matter. And Jun had a point, the world needs better raised men after all."
"Absolutely. Maybe you should not send son to New-Ons?"
"Never to New-Ons. I will raise my son to be one of those insufferable bourgeois asshole. So definitely one of those alternate schools in Gurgaon. Hopefully by the time he grows up LSR will begin to take boys in."
"That is the dream. Anyway, what did mom say over lunch?"
"Oh, she was strange. She asked me about the adoption and baby plans. She asked me if I was sure I would be able to love an adopted child as my own. She also told me that she hoped that I would be a better mother than she was. Arnav, I was sure mom was having a stroke."
"Hmm. Or maybe she genuinely regrets not being a very present mother to us. Maybe she is trying to reach out to you."
"Yeah, right. Poor, misunderstood mom."
"But Di, everything is not black and.."
"White? There are shades of grey.. ya, ya. You need to stop being mom's champion. Like I have said many times, you are repeatedly setting yourself up for disappointment."
"Hmm. Anyway I will see you at Payal's Holi party then?"
"Fine. I get the subtle hint. I will leave now."
"Actually there was nothing remotely subtle about that."
Di finally packed her half a dozen bags and walked towards the door.
"Why didn't you just leave your bags in the car?"
"I took a cab, my car is out for servicing."
"Oh. I will drop you home then."
"Don't be silly. I am a Bose, we use public transport."
"I do too, you know. Really, Di, stop with the smugness."
"Have you ever taken the Delhi Metro?"
"Well, yes. Once in college."
"Oh, Chotey. I will see you at the Holi party. Though honestly, isn't the festival too rowdy for the likes of Payal and you?"
"I hate the festival. As does Payal. But apparently Samir Singh and INP loves it. So the party."
"I look forward to you and Payal faking it then."
"Can you leave now, please."
A giggling Di left and Arnav was back at his desk, distractedly looking at his emails. Scrolling through it, two emails got his attention. One from Roy, that said he was urgently trying to get in touch with him about the Tewari situation. There was also a mail from NK saying, he too had been trying to get in touch with him. He had taken the day off to meet some of his out-of-town friends who were visiting. He had apparently spotted Aakash and Payal and they seemed to be having an argument.
Arnav picked his phone and realised it was dead.
**
"Maaf karna, Khushi. Lekin woh INP walle bahut parehsaan karte hai. Saagar, abhi chota hai. Meri do bhatijiya hai. Roz school aur tuition jaate hain. Humesha yeh INP ke gunday pareshaan karte hain. Toh maine kaha, iss sab se jaan chudao aur bech do Anand Rams ko. Tum bhi chodh hi do dukaan. Mangalram ke paas jagah mil jayegi, naya dukaan shuru kar lenge."
Khushi had just returned after delivering the motichoor ladoos for a wedding party in a Connaught Place hotel. It was close to eight in the night and she had been measuring the ingredients that Faisal Bhaii had bought for the thandai and bhaang. Holi was day after, but Thandai was best when it was chill, so she planned to wake up early the next morning to make it. She had been rather cheerful when at the wedding party she got contacts from five potential orders. But when she returned she found Raghu Yadav and his wife sitting in front of Tewari & Sons, looking rather guilty. The reason became clear soon. Evidently Raghu Yadav had sold his kachori shop to Anand Rams because of fear of violence by the INP workers who were constantly lurking around the place. While she was disappointed at Raghu Yadav's decision, she also understood why he did that. Even though they all owned only a very tiny piece of land, they had the power to be a spanner in the works for this big project. And each of them was vulnerable because Anand Rams and INP would resort to anything to get them out of the way. Threats and coercion were par for the course. Raghu with two teenaged nieces and a young son was especially vulnerable. She knew that girls used to take the back exit to go to school for fear of being trolled by the local INP Chandni Chowk gundas. They were not allowed to leave the house unassisted. When Khushi went to college, go out to make deliveries, she knew that she was being watched and followed, but she put on a false bravado and went about her tasks. Thankfully, Renu Bhabhi was unperturbed by this. She once even took out her slippers and hit a young boy who was following her when she left for work. She did worry about Aarav though, but thankfully Faisal Bhaii kept an eye out for him. Faisal Bhaii was old and frail, but he knew every little galli of Chandni Chowk like the back of his hand and almost everyone around knew him. Chandni Chowk had clear Hindu and Muslim pockets. Though the communities managed to live in harmony, they did so primarily by keeping out of the other's way. Faisal Bhaii would take Aarav to school traversing the Muslim-part of the area. This was not INP's political bastion and they usually kept away from that. Aarav was safe with Faisal Bhaii.
Last week eight stores had desisted from dealing with AnandRams, now only five remained. Khushi knew that the other four people who had not sold, would certainly resist. There was a caste angle to it. And if nothing else, they would be willing to not sell it out of spite, even if it meant that they would make a loss of some sort. The other four stores also had a political association with the Aavam Party. Though they were all Hindus, but their suspicion of upper caste Hindus made them feel a greater kinship with the Aavam Party that was seen as being the voice of the Muslims and groups that identified themselves as minorities in Chandni Chowk. Khushi personally did not care for either party. She had begun to support a new party called the Naya Josh, started by educated, professionals. They promised clean politics and better civic facilities for the people of Delhi, which honestly is all that she cared for. She however was careful to stay away from political meetings in Chandni Chowk. In fact, as Faisal Bhaii pointed out that was one of the reasons why they were always in trouble. No political party felt the need to save them. But Khushi would not have it any other way. There were enough problems as is, siding with opportunistic people was not going to end well for her.
She shut Tewari & Sons and walked back home. Maybe she was being paranoid, but it felt like someone was following her. Though it was warm by now, she pulled her dupatta around her more snugly, which was laughable because what possible protection can flimsy malmal provide against hooligans. Her house was barely a few metres away and she took bigger strides now. She felt the footsteps behind her hurry too.
"Khushi, Khushi," a rather familiar voice called her from behind.
Cautiously she turned around to see that it was her lawyer Mallikarjun Samarth. He was breathless, like he had almost run some distance and was wiping sweat off his brow.
"Vakeel Saheb? Iss waqt? Any problem?"
"Khushi, yahan nahin. Ghar chalo. Zaroori baat karni hain."
What could her lawyer want at this hour. She sure hoped that Avatar Tewari had not resurfaced. Or was there some altogether new problem? Renu Bhabhi let them in and went back to the kitchen. She was getting dinner ready.
"Kya baat hai Vakeel Saheb. Any problem?" Khushi repeated her earlier query as they sat down in the living room.
"Haan bhi aur nahin bhi."
"Matlab."
"Toh yeh AnandRams walli baat lekar aap pareshaan thi, hai na? Toh ek upaay aaya hain jiss se sab theekh ho sakta hai."
"Kaisa upay. I don't understand. Chai peeyenge?"
"Nahin. Abhi toh dinner hi karoonga seedha."
Khushi went to tell Renu Bhabhi that Mallikarjun would stay for dinner. Bhabhi showed her the kadhai which had phoolgobi subzi. Will this do for him, she mouthed the words, not wanting to speak aloud while Mallikarjun was within earshot. Khushi nodded and went back to the living room. Mallikarjun had laid out some papers on the centre table.
"Toh upay kya hai. How can we fix this?"
"There is a company. Pat nahi kaun hain. Shayad koi farzee company hai. Which will buy all the shops that have not sold, yours included."
"Who runs this farzee company? Why do they want to help us? This does not sound right, Vakeel Saheb."
"No, they are fine. I got a tip off from a lawyer friend. He said that if the shops that are resisting were brought together formally, it would be difficult for AnandRams to try and coerce them. All of you still run your shops like normal, but you are part of the same group."
"I understand, Vakeel Saheb. Par unko bhi toh koyi fayda hona chahiye. Why would they help us for no reason? I am not comfortable with this? Who is this lawyer friend? Aap sab kuch nahi bata rathe ho."
"Khushi, these things are common. Sometimes businesses and politicians will do things just out of spite. Isa hi kuch samajh lo."
"That is worse then. At least AnandRams is honest."
"Maine suna toh bol diya. Yeh company baaki dukaaono ko khareed rahi hain. Shayad tumhe offer de."
"Ab tak kissi ne baat toh nahin ki hain mujhse."
Mallikarjun shrugged. Khushi called up Arun Sachdeva, who ran one of the oldest stationery shop in Chandni Chowk. Though it was a small shop, Sachdeva Stationers sold everything that a student would need. From basic notebooks, to sophisticated engineering drawing equipments to all kinds of entrance exam forms. He also did mobile phone recharges and Khushi still went to him. He was one of the shops that was adamant about not selling to AnandRams. It helped that they were affluent. Stationery was more lucrative than mithais.
"Bolo bacha, kaise yaad kiya."
Khushi smiled at this. She was not particularly close to him, but he always had a stern, fatherly affection towards her.
"Maine suna aapne dukaan bech diya. Yeh kaise hua? Kab hua?"
"Haan. Dekho naraaz mat hona. Woh Happy Singh hai na, garage walla, woh leke aaya tha is ladke ko.. abhi parso ko. Toh usne smajhaya ki hum agar saath mein kaam karein toh sab ke liye acha hoga. Dukaan ka control apne paas hoga. Profit ka aath percent lenge. Lekin kaha hain ki dukaan mein ac lagwa denge."
"Lekin yeh hai kaun? Yeh AnandRams ke hi log nikle toh?"
"Nahin. Sports company chalane walleh hain. Thakur hain, sab sahi hi karenge. Shekhawat Sir ne guarantee di hain."
Shekhawat Sir was the wise old man of Chandni Chowk, whom everyone had enormous admiration for. All the political candidates of Chandni Chowk hung around his house in the hope of getting their candidature endorsed by him. Khushi had met him only once, when she was still in school and Baba had needed some help with some dispute over the mithai dukaan. She had been terrified of him back then and she still felt a little strange when people mentioned him. But inspite of everything he was known to be a good, fair man. So Khushi felt a little reassured. Also, if the other shops were bought over by this Thakur company, she would get some respite for Tewari & Sons for a while. After all, AnandRams would not have any use for her until he broke that other group. And it is possible that people might switch from AnandRams to Thakur. Mallikarjun convinced her that all of this was for her best and Khushi, she nodded, though not completely convinced. Her thoughts were interrupted only by Renu Bhabhi signing to her saying that Khushi needed to stop offering Vakeel Saheb any more subzi because the kadhai was all but empty. She stifled a giggle and prayed that he would not ask for more.
Once Mallikarjun left, Khushi had hoped to talk to Renu Bhabhi but she had already gone to the room with Aarav. Khushi sat in the living room looking at the papers that Mallikarjun had left behind. This included the shop deed and other legal documents. She put them into a folder and carefully put them away. It was strange how her problems were slowly disappearing or at any rate she was getting temporary respite from it. Why would this Thakurs company want to buy shops in Chandni Chowk? Just to spite AnandRams? Or was there a more sinister motive? And did Arun Sachdeva say Sports Company? It then stuck her that this was somehow the work of Divyesh Thakur. It just had to be. That explained how he knew she was at the court and why he never picked up the phone when she called. He all but avoided her during Baig Sir's tribute meeting. But why would Divyesh help her? Had Baig Sir told him something? Or Aakash? Yes, it had to be one of them who had put Divyesh on the task. She felt simultaneously mortified and grateful. But whatever it might be, she knew that she had to speak with Divyesh about this. Give him her thanks too, even if she didn't actually seek his help. It was a long while before she managed to sleep that night. Many hours later she woke up to the familiar noise of Aarav and Renu Bhabhi arguing. It was Aarav's day off for Chothi Holi and Renu Bhabhi would not hear his demand of wanting to play Holi. A groggy Khushi got up and picked up a towel on the chair. And that is when she noticed a photo-frame on her book shelf. It was and old one, but looked rather nice. It was the photograph of Taj Mahal on a rainy day. She picked it up. This was the first gift that Divyesh had given her. Except that she knew it was not from him. It all suddenly made sense to her.
**
"Sir, ek madam aap se milne aayi huyi hai."
Arnav had come in to work early as usual. He did that because he could get work done before the incessant phone-calls, NK interruptions and random office crisis began. These two or three hours, when it was just him and the guard, he got the most work done.
"Madam matlab? Kya naam hain? Kya chahiye?"
He heard the guard speak to Madam and he heard her clearly, Khushi nam hain mera. He immediately got up from his seat and headed to outside his office. And there she was trying to explain something to his office guard. She looked very different from their recent encounters. In fact, she looked exactly like she did back in college, dressed in grey track pants and a purple jacket. Except that the jacket said Carpe Diem, which was the motto of St Joseph's College. Her hair was neatly braided and several hair clips, which looked rather painful to him were inserted into her hair. Yes, this is exactly how he remembered the Khushi from college. No make-up, no jewellery and earnest-faced. It was mildly disorienting. He concluded that she was either coming straight from college or was en route to it. But the real question was, why was she here?
"Khushi!"
"Sir, yeh Madam hi aayi huyi hain. Maine kaha Sir busy hai, wait kariye."
"Nahin, andar aane do."
He gestured to Khushi and she followed him. He got the door for her to his cabin and shut it behind him.
"You can sit on this," he said pointing to his couch, "But it it not comfortable. I have been meaning to change it. Anjali Di and I had gone to Janakpuri to check some out. But.."
He stopped himself. Suddenly he was very nervous and being needlessly chatty. He needed to stop. Somehow at this point he was unable to take the image of what Anjali Di had said to him yesterday, about forbidden toys and being a stubborn eight-year-old. He watched as Khushi sat on the sofa. She almost sunk in. That was the problem with this. It was NK who had picked it up from a French Furniture exhibition. It was overpriced and altogether too uncomfortable. Not to mention how impossible it was to get up from it once you sat down. Many a meeting had ended very unprofessionally with him having to almost pull out his client forcefully from them. He pulled a more ergonomically well-structured chair and sat next to her. At least in whatever battle the two of them were going to engage in he had the upper hand by just getting the better chair. Khushi squirmed around the chair still trying to find a comfortable way to sit.
"I am sorry to come in like this unannounced. Actually I have to go to college. I thought I will first come here. I didn't expect you would be in office this early actually."
"So whom have you come to meet then?"
"What? You obviously. Oh I meant, I came here hoping you would come in early to work. I didn't realise you would be in so early."
"I like to come in early. Get a lot of work done before the rest of the janta arrives. You could just have called me to check when I came in. Wait. You don't have my number saved do you?"
He had not meant to put her in the spot, embarrass her. But somewhere deep down he was still hurt by the fact that she didn't believe that even his number was worth saving. He truly was a eight-year-old. But she did not look embarrassed.
"Oh, yeah. Actually my phone had an accident. As in, I had an accident and I lost my old phone. I lost your number because of that. But this morning something struck me and I had to come and see you immediately."
"Oh. What kind of accident? Are you okay?"
"It was nothing. I was making jalebis, and my phone fell in the oil and it melted."
He did not know what was amusing about this, but he couldn't help laughing. Perhaps it was a tad insensitive, something he considered only in hindsight.
"I am sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. But what did you want to see me about."
"In New-Ons during my birthday Divyesh gave me a photo-frame. It was you, right? And all the other gifts too? We had spoken about this during Lavanya's wedding too."
"Yes, it was I. I know I should have given the gifts myself. It was silly of me. Not the last silly thing I did, of course."
"So you used Divyesh to give the gifts. Why?"
Divyesh was right. Khushi was on to them. That could be the only reason why she was raking this up now. If he knew Khushi, she was not the sort to bring up the past. Roy said everything was fixed for now, so maybe he should be candid with Khushi. But it was hard to predict how she should react. Would she be grateful? Annoyed? Both? Something else altogether? He knew that he needed to play this right: to spare her feelings and not injure her pride, at the same time give her a good reason why he was doing this. And a redemption for himself could not be a reason. Nor could any deep-rooted feelings he had for her be one.
"So you know about my lawyer working with yours?"
"So you set up a fake company to bail me out? Why Arnav? Again the same things are happening. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the help, but you getting involved means your family will be involved too. And I don't want that again. Your mother and father, do they know about this? I mean.."
"I am sorry, Khushi. I know this was not the right way. But hear me out. I did this because I heard from my.. Payal's father that you were facing some trouble. I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't want yet another family member of mine to be a source of your troubles. Believe me, I did this only to keep you out of my family's net, not to bring you in. But I apologise again. I know that.."
"It is fine. It was nice of your to-be father-in-law to think of me before causing any trouble. He is an important man, and yet he thought about someone pretty insignificant to him. But please don't do anything more without speaking to me first, please? Hadn't we decided at Baig Sir's thing that we will try to make a fresh start? Being truthful with each other has to be a part of it."
"Agree. But I hope the matter is settled for you. If you have any trouble, you can speak with me or Divyesh."
Arnav wasn't sure how or why Khushi was quickly appeased. The mention of Samir Singh did it. He sensed that while this was not the answer she wanted to hear, she did not altogether disapprove of it. Whatever be the reason, he was glad that it was over and potential trouble had been averted.
"Divyesh is a nice person, isn't he?"
"I had never thought that I would live long enough for Khushi to approve of any of our New-Ons classmates."
"That is not fair. I liked a lot of them. Especially the once who were nice to me."
"Ouch. Point taken. By the way how is to coach Joseph's. Aren't the kids all snobs?"
"Of course not. Okay, maybe they are. But I am not that awkward fourteen-year-old with unfashionable hair and ugly backpack who is seeking their approval. So it doesn't matter."
"No you are not," he said and offered her a smile. He didn't believe that she honestly wanted anyone's approval back then even. She probably wanted more affection and respect, that New-On-Ites were too self-absorbed to give her. But she was a strong woman today and would be okay. He still hoped that one day his mother would acknowledge that she had wronged a young woman and robbed her off opportunities that she deserved. Unlike Anjali Di, he still believed that his mum would come through.
"Khushi, would you like some chai. We have a lady in the office who makes a good cup of tea. Not like Renu Bhabhi at all," he said grinning.
"Haaw. That is so mean. But no, thank you. I need to go to college now," she said clearly unable to get up from the sofa as she tried to place her palm somewhere on the squishy sofa trying to get some support.
"Hang on," he said and held out his hand to her.
"Please. I can get up from a sofa. Utni bhi bechari nahi hoon."
He shrugged and let her struggle. Finally she grabbed the stem of a potted plant next to the couch and after some struggle got up. But as she did so, she lost her balance and tripped and fell on the floor, uprooting the plant as she did so. While there had been many a bizarre situation with the the sofa, this was by far the most hilarious and inspite of not meaning to for the second time in a span of a few minutes he burst out laughing. Khushi sat on the floor, throwing a most disapproving look his way.
"I am sorry, Khushi," he held his hand out again and this time she took it and he helped her get on her feet. She dusted the mud and leaves from her jacket. Two leaves and a flower had gotten entangled in one of her clips and Arnav took them out. He also dusted the speck of sand from her forehead and cheek. Belatedly he realised that it was a strangely intimate gesture between two not-quite-friend-no-more-enemies. For once there was no deer in headlights look about her and instead her parted lips and slightly ragged breath suggested that she was.. affected as he was. All evidence of the plant had been removed from her face, but he admitted that his fingers lingered a little longer than necessary. She didn't push him away either.
"Sorry beautiful people to break up this moment, but what is happening here?"
"Aman!" he and Khushi said in unison.
"The one and only. I am the commercial break nobody asks for. I am the telephone call in the last over of a cricket match that you want to ignore."
"Is there a restroom I can use. I need to set my hair okay. I am sorry about this mess and ruining your plant."
"Khushi, the only way to make your hair okay is to remove all the hair clips. Baal khule chodh, you will be the favourite coach in the history of Joseph's. They won't fire you. I promise." Aman said to Khushi, who did not like his comment judging by the scowl she threw him.
"Shut up, Aman. She had a minor accident just now. Khushi, the restroom is right there," he said pointing to the orange door on the right corner of his cabin. Khushi picked up her bag and left.
"Kaisa accident. Lauuu?"
"Yaar, this is Khushi. Usko bekaar mein tang karna bandh kar. Bata aaj kaise main yaad aa gaya?"
He hugged his friend. And he had to admit, this day was turning out to be better than he had anticipated.
"Sorry man. Wanted to come and meet you a long time ago. But pata nahi.. was too chicken to meet the New-Ons janta."
"Umm. Does not make any sense man. But der aaye.. I am glad you came finally. Though you did meet Payal so many times, so I am not sure about not wanting to meet New-Ons janta argument."
"Caught me. But who can resist your fiance Payal. Or is that former fiance. I heard the wedding has been called off."
Khushi just walked into the room then. Her hair now properly in place. In fact, she seemed to have even more number of clips in her hair now. She was looking at the two of them.
"Payal is very much my fiance. We will marry a little later, but we decided to postpone the wedding given her father's condition," he said to Aman.
Khushi nodded at him and Aman and left.
He was not sure why he said that with such vehemence. Didn't he have doubts about his relationship with Payal. Wasn't he increasingly convinced about how everything between them was less than perfect. Then why did he say that now? Was it to throw off Aman's questions? Was it to rationalise it for himself? Or was he sending Khushi a message? And what was the message? And why would he need to send it to her?
"Good for you man. Though I don't understand why Payal. I always assumed you and Lavanya would get together. She was the batch cutie, wasn't she?"
"She was alright. My mom would have been thrilled had that happened?"
"How is aunty?"
"The same."
"Formidable, eh?"
"Yeah. You should come for a Holi party that Payal is hosting. You can meet mom and everyone else. Anjali Di will be excited."
"We now have Holi parties? Is that what the assholes of South Delhi do these days?"
"You have been away for too long, haven't you? So why are you back? Work? Anything else?"
"Why does the average NRI return to des?"
"To find a bride? No way. Don't disappoint me Aman. I expected better from you."
"Why? Am I not the official disappointment of the gang?"
"Come now. That is not what I meant."
"I know man. But don't worry I am not marrying the first Punjabi girl I meet. There is someone. If it works out, then yay. Else I will go back to London and marry a gori."
"It is Khushi, isn't it?"
"No way. Khushi is really a lovely girl. But she is too much for me. She is more your type."
"How can every woman be my type!"
"It is true. You are a stud Raizada. Too bad you want to marry a woman who is almost like a sibling to you. Siblings are wonderful, but one does not marry them."
"You are disgusting. I have a ton of work to do. Should we catch up for lunch later?"
"Lunch?"
"Drinks in the evening?"
"Yeah. Now we are talking."
**
Poonam Raizada was annoyed. She had come to meet her son and there was a new receptionist who made her sign a visitor register. Normally, she would be ushered in by the guard or the friendly receptionist.
"Phone number aur purpose of visit bhi likh dijiye," the receptionist commanded, while she played some game on her smartphone.
As she filled her details, she noticed seven places above, the first visitor of the day.
Name: Khushi Kumari Gupta
From: St Joseph's College
To Meet: Arnav Raizada
In Time: 8:10 AM
Out Time: 9:22 AM
Purpose: Personal
Khushi Kumari Gupta? From St Joseph's College? That couldn't be the same girl. What would she be doing in a college. But wasn't it too much of a coincidence that some other girl shared this name. She walked thoughtfully into her son's cabin.
"Hey mom. What is the matter? How come you are here?"
"I needed some signatures from you before I headed for the meeting. Since it was on the way, I thought I will come in myself. It has been a while."
"Yeah. We now have a new coffee vending machine and there is this painting that Jun Jeeju got for us by an upcoming artist. Everything else is the same."
"Nice. You look happy today."
"Yeah. Met an old friend today."
"I see. Anyway, I need you to sign these. Every page."
"Sure."
**
"Dad, you need to stop burning yourself out. You have barely recovered and already you are overdoing it," Payal said to him.
Samir Singh grimaced. He agreed with his daughter, but unfortunately there was way too much work related crisis for him to ignore. Raghu Singhal had been kept away from him by Payal and his wife Archana. But after weeks of being confined to his bed, he decided he needed to do something. And was he glad or what. There had been a huge crisis within the party and there was fear of it breaking into factions. Vinay Ram had washed his hands off the party after INP was unable to fix the AnandRam situation. There were also clear problems among the party workers. The morale was low. They were not doing well in some pockets, among some communities. He had dropped the ball for a few weeks and these idiots were running around like headless chickens.
"Did you see the mess in Chandni Chowk? Vinay Ram pulled a fast one over us in the last minute. We are an upper caste party, but we can't win if the baniyas are so hostile towards us."
"Dad, relax. We need to induct some young baniya leaders into the party cadre. It has to be a long-term plan."
"We only want the support of baniyas. Not give them important positions in the party."
"Dad, stop it. The problem is INP is trying to fight the good fight with bad people. We need more inclusiveness. And it has to beyond tokenism."
"You sound like Arjoon Bose."
"He is an annoying guy, but does have a point."
"Nonsense. I thought you were a smart girl, but you don't understand politics."
"I have an idea, Dad. All those small businesses of Chandni Chowk, you remember? The ones who were in AnandRams way.. we should take their side now? That will put Vinay Ram in place too?"
"Isn't that a U-turn?"
"Dad, you have been in politics far longer than I have. Surely that is not something to be surprised about."
"Hmm. What do we do then?"
"I have an idea. But first I want you to shutdown your laptop and go for your physiotherapy."
"You are just like your mother."
"I know."
**
"Hey, Arnav, long time," it was the turn of Jun Jeeju to walk into his cabin.
"Wow! Why is everyone coming to meet me in office? Suddenly feeling very loved."
"Really? Who all have been coming to meet you?"
"There was Di. Then mom came a while ago. My friend from school Aman. Then Khushi."
"Khushi?"
"Of all the names I took only one interests you, right?"
"Of course. My mother-in-law and wife, I am not so interested in. Aman, I know very little about him. Khushi has my interest piqued. You already know that."
"Hmm. So to what do I owe the visit?"
"We hardly meet these days. So I thought I will say hello. I was in the vicinity of your office and had some time to kill, so thought why not?"
"Are you sure Anjali Di didn't send you on some weird agenda?"
"Your faith in my wife is refreshing. And yes, this does sound like something she would do, but surprisingly I am here on my own accord."
"Good. How is work scene?"
"It is alright. So how are you taking the wedding postponement? Must be disappointed."
"Jun Jeeju, between you and me, can I be honest and say, I am actually relieved."
"Hmm. Won't say I am surprised."
"It makes me a terrible person, I suppose."
"Why? You are always way too harsh on yourself. I would say it has something to do with my mother-in-law, but Jhalli lets herself off the hook often. So I am unsure."
"That is not true. When I was young, I let myself off the hook all the time. For heaven's sake a girl's life got destroyed and I did nothing much."
"Don't let that one thing define you, Arnav. It is more than some belated notions of guilt, isn't it? You do like her, don't you?"
"Okay. Now I know Di sent you. She is always asking me to stay from Khushi. And I agree with her.."
"No. If you like her, it should not matter what Anjali, your mom or I feel."
"I think there was a brief period when I did like her, was attracted to her. But I think it was only because she was so different and elusive. I think we could be friends, if we ignore the elephant in the room. And I respect her.. but no.."
"So let us see. You are attracted to her. Okay, were attracted. You respect her and you want to be friends with her? What name shall I give this love?"
"Jeez! I can't believe they are going to allow you to bring up a child."
"Neither can I actually. Did Jhalli tell you we might be bringing home a boy. Between you and me, kind of relieved about it."
"Really? That is a surprise. I had put you down as a man who would want to raise fierce daughters."
"I know. But society makes it difficult to raise daughters. Sons on the other hand, you can raise them to be assholes."
"And society will approve of them."
"As long as they are cute."
"That is so wrong, Jeeju, so wrong."
"I know. I don't believe I said that either. Anyway is NK in office. I should say hi to him too."
Arnav buzzed NK who came almost immediately and hugged jeeju like they had not met for years.
"Arnav, what is the dress code for tomorrow's Holi Party," NK as always zeroed in on the most important subject.
"As in? It is Holi. Where your least favourite clothes."
"Rubbish. Everyone dresses up in the whitest Luknawi Chikans. Everybody knows that. More importantly are there going to be cute chicks?"
"There are going to be idiots from INP. Brace yourself for that," Jeeju said to a deflated NK.
"You have to check with Payal. You can meet my schoolmate Aman. He might be the cutest, single person around."
"Is he gay? I remember Payal once telling me that in school they had speculated that Aman might be gay," NK said as Jeeju shook his head.
"When you meet him tomorrow ask for yourself," he said to his cousin.
"Hey Aman, I could be gay for you. Will you be gay for me?" NK said, apparently that was his godawful pickup line.
"Listen to yourself, NK. That is the reason why you are single. Now can everyone leave while I get some work done?"
**
Khushi and Renu Bhabhi were packing the sweaters and shawls into a trunk. As was tradition, just the day before Holi they would officially declare winters close and pack the warm clothes into trunks and put them in the attic.
"Khushi, phone baj raha hain tumhara," Renu Bhabhi said to her.
"Aarav mera phone lana toh," Khushi screamed, given that she was buried under a mountain of sweaters.
Aarav handed over the phone to her and Khushi saw that it was a call from an unidentified number.
"Hello"
"Khushi?"
"Yes."
"Khushi, this is Payal.. from New-Ons."
"Yeah. Hi Payal. What is it?"
"So I am having a Holi party at my house tomorrow and I am inviting everyone from school. Please do come. It is from 8 am. I will text you my address."
"Thanks, Payal. I would like to come, but I have to celebrate Holi with my family."
"Please, Khushi, come for a short while. You can come later also. Bring your family along."
"No.. I.."
"Please come, Khushi. There will be Aakash, Veena, Lavanya.. you can meet everyone."
"Okay. I will."
"Great. I will see you then."
What had just happened? What had she done?
**
Anupamaa
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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