IshRa FF : Bas Ek Sanam Chahiye (Updated Chapter 13 & 14 page 60) - Page 18

Chapter 8

The Bhalla residence was a comfortably-sized, tastefully decorated house. There was no ostentatiousness as one might expect. In fact you could never guess this was where someone like Raman Kumar Bhalla lived. Ishita had been inside a few times before when Mrs. Bhalla invited her for tea after their appointments. The family had lived here for decades she was told, and this was reflected inside. The whole place had a homely, lived-in vibe with family pictures and treasured but useless objects placed carefully about, each no doubt with its own story. Mr. Bhalla had told her that when Raman offered to shift them to a larger, newer house, they had declined. This was their home, where they raised their kids and where they hoped to see their grandkids grow up. It had made Ishita warm even more towards Mr. and Mrs. Bhalla.

As Raman and Ishita entered the living room, a familiar voice called out. "Ishita puttar!" Mr. Bhalla was sitting in the living room with three others who were all busy on their phones while their father had been reading the newspaper.

Ishita had met Mr. Bhalla several times but as she was usually here during the day, none of the Bhalla kids were around. She was curious to meet them today and had to admit that it was mainly to compare and contrast with the one Bhalla child she did know. Mr. and Mrs. Bhalla were such kind, unassuming people that it was hard to believe that they gave birth to this Crabby Kumar.

"Hi Uncle, its good to see you again. How is Aunty?"
"Oh she'll be fine puttar. Just needs to take rest. You haven't met Raman's younger siblings have you?"

Introductions were given all around as Ishita observed the family. Simmi was a striking and friendly girl, who looked and spoke animatedly, much like her mother. The younger ones, Romi and Rinki were just college-aged. All three were tall like their father while their older brother seemed to have inherited his mother's height. Pleasantries were exchanged and the family inquired about the progress of the location selection. Raman hovered nearby, checking his phone but also eavesdropping on the conversation happening in the living room.

After several minutes of chatter Ishita asked to see Mrs. Bhalla and Raman offered to take her. She followed behind silently as he led them towards the back of the house on the ground floor. As they approached the room, Neelu was coming out closing the door. She smiled with a shyness as Ishita greeted her happily.

"Kaisi ho Neelu?"
"Main teekh hoon Didi par Maaji ka haal dekhiye...teekh se aaram bhi nai karti. Aap bhi boliye na, kisiki nahi sun rahi"
"Achcha, teekh hai main bhi kuch bolungi."

As Neelu left, Raman turned to her in surprise. "I don't think I've ever heard Neelu speak that much in my presence before. She only ever says yes or no." Ishita only smiled at the comment, not knowing how to respond to this unsurprising information, as he opened the door. Mrs. Bhalla was laying in bed, her hand dramatically resting on her head. When she heard the door, she opened her eyes and her face broke into a joyful smile.

"Oh Ishita puttar! Its so good to see you, aaja aaja. Kaisi hai tu?" Raman watched as Ishita went over and hugged Mrs. Bhalla like they'd known each other for years, though in reality it had only been a few weeks.

"Aunty, aap kaise hain?? What have you done with yourself? And Neelu tells me you're not taking rest."

"Woh Neelu ki bachchi...if she knew how to cook properly I wouldn't have to worry. Raman was supposed to get a temporary cook to come in the evenings but until then they've all been eating kachra from outside."

"Maa, she will start in a couple of days. A little takeout won't kill us", Raman was still standing in the doorway.

"Yes yes that's what you said. The domestic help in Delhi is so unreliable these days, by then she will have found another job. We should be thankful Neelu is such a steady girl in fact. Anyway why are you hovering about, let me talk to Ishita in peace or is that also too mentally straining?? You anyways don't have the patience to tell me properly what happened with the proposals."

Raman left grumbling as Ishita chuckled at their exchange before tackling the task Neelu had asked of her.

"Aunty, but everyone is right...you do seem to be overly stressed. If you don't relax, recovery will take much longer, you must let go of these little things. And don't worry so much, I'm sure they can all take care of themselves."

"I know puttar. It's just Raman, I know I was complaining but he is actually a very good boy. He takes such good care of me. And I know he will take care of the family, he's always been like a second father to his younger siblings. But he takes on so much and I worry that there isn't anyone to take care of him if I'm not there."

"Well not for long Aunty, once he gets married Shagun will also be there to look out for him."

Mrs. Bhalla gave her a doubtful look but nodded. Sensing more there but not wanting to probe further, Ishita dove instead into a detailing of the evening; telling Mrs Bhalla about the two proposals, the perceived willingness of each to negotiate and ending with Raman's thoughts on the options.

"Mata Rani bachaye usse, uski shaadi and he doesn't even care. Sometimes I think he just wants to get it over with."

"No Aunty, that's very common. They prefer to leave the details up to their wives or mothers. Plus in this case, your son is also very busy so it's natural."

"Khair at least he made time for you. Nai toh I was half afraid he would...what do they say...'outsource' to one of his chamche from the office. But he insisted on being the one to coordinate with you from now."

Ishita was surprised to hear this. But based on how much he seemed irritated with her tonight, it wouldn't be long till he sent along a proxy. "Don't worry Aunty, marriage changes everyone. I'm sure he'll take it easier once he has children. You must be excited to have some kids running around this place in a few years right?"

Suddenly Mrs. Bhalla's mood seemed to shift. Previously she was only melodramatically unburdening herself, but a deeper sadness seemed to settle over her now. After a long pause, she spoke thoughtfully.

"I hope you are right puttar. But what Bhallaji and I have realized is that no matter how you raise your kids, eventually you have to let them go. Because we have no control over the decisions they make and the other people they meet that influence those decisions which could eventually take them away from you, from what you've taught them."

A little taken aback by the serious turn in the conversation, Ishita thought about Mrs. Bhalla's words. The leap from Raman's lack of time to losing connection with her kids seemed convoluted, but clearly hinted at something much bigger bothering the older woman. It might not be her place but Ishita liked Mrs. Bhalla and wanted to offer any support she could. Touching her hand in concern and she asked gently, "Is everything ok Aunty?"

Mrs. Bhalla smiled weakly at her, "I just don't know how much longer the family will be together puttar. They will be living such different lives soon. And no one seems to have time to spend together anymore. Raman would have been the one to tie us together, to be the force that centralized the family but with him moving out after the wedding, I've got this fear...I don't even know how to describe it. I just don't want to lose my family."

Ishita recalled the short time she had spent with Shagun and things started to become a little clearer now. "Aunty, I don't know much about your kids or what's happening in their lives. But I have seen how you and Mr. Bhalla are and how much love is contained within the four walls of this house. Whatever happens, wherever they go, nobody could stay away from that kind of love for long. I'm sure everything will turn out fine in the end."

Mrs. Bhalla wiped away the gathering wetness in her eyes. "Maaf karde puttar. I don't know why I brought up all that nonsense to you. Brought down the mood didn't I? Sorry."

Ishita held her hands, "No no please Aunty, sorry mat boliye. At least now I know that the kids are hardly home, next time I turn up here I expect plenty of your famous aloo parathas saved for me. No excuse about running out ok?"

Mrs. Bhalla laughed heartily, her mood lightening once again. "Teekh hain puttar. No excuse next time pakka. But listen, call me Mummiji like you did once. No more of this Aunty shanty. We are beyond that now."

Ishita laughed, "Yes, sir, Mummiji!"

----------

It was this tail end of conversation that Raman caught when he came back to check on the two of them. They were still sitting in roughly the same position, hugging and emotional over something. Was it normal for people to get this close to their wedding planner, he wondered. Mothers!

"What's this rona dhona now, it's just a sprain you know right?" The question was directed towards Ishita but his mother answered. "Are you back already? Trying to drive off my one visitor, are you!"

"I was just checking on her, and you Maa. To see if there was anything you wanted."

Ishita got up, "Actually I should get going anyway. Mummiji think about what I said and please take care of yourself. I want you all ready for the wedding festivities, it won't be any fun without you in full form!"

"Ok puttar. Mata Raani tera khayal rakhe. Come visit again. It'll be nice to chat with you."
"Of course, I will. Good night."

Leaving her to rest, Raman and Ishita made their way out to the living room again where the two youngest Bhallas were huddled in a corner whispering. Simmi appeared to have left. Following their gaze, Ishita saw that they were observing Neelu in the kitchen, who was herself looking apprehensively at some washed vegetables.

"Bhai, I think Neelu will finally poison us tonight. She does not look happy about making that sabzi." Romi then gestured to his midsection with a pleading look. "We better arrange for take out."

Mr. Bhalla chimed in. "Phir se nai puttar, my stomach can't take anymore outside food. All those years of eating your mother's cooking has ill-equipped it to handle much restaurant food. I don't know why you all complain so much, Neelu's cooking is not that bad."

It was Rinki who answered, "Papa, Neelu could serve you just ketchup and toast all week and you would eat that without complaining. Your tastebuds are not reliable!"

"Such nakhrewale your mother has given birth to. In my day, we used to eat whatever was given to us and be thankful for it! The temp cook will be starting soon, you can deal with another meal or two till then. Ishita puttar you are staying for dinner right?"

"No Uncle, I should go." Ishita didn't have to be anywhere in particular but by all accounts this meal wasn't going to be pleasant.
"I don't want to hear it, you are eating with us."

Resigned to her fate Ishita then got an idea. "Ok Uncle but only if I can help. I'm not the world's greatest cook but I can make a decent meal. As long it doesn't have to be non-veg."

Raman who had been silently observing the conversation, chimed in, "That's alright, we'd rather not become test subjects in your experiment to expand into catering."

Before she could retort, Romi started steering her towards the kitchen where Neelu was also looking slightly relieved. "What are you saying Bhai, I could totally go for some South Indian food right now. Ishitaji you go ahead."

"Yes yes, I'll help too!" Rinki had joined them as Ishita laughed, "Ok ok, but it won't be South Indian, I can only use what's here."
"We'll like anything you make, I'm sure." Said Romi hopefully.

Raman rolled his eyes and left to go sit in the living room from where Mr. Bhalla spoke up. "Your mother will thrash us all if she knew we were letting a guest cook."

The next hour passed quickly in the kitchen with the 3 helpers. Romi was cracking jokes and causing havoc while Rinki and Neelu became proper sous chefs for Ishita; cleaning, chopping and mixing things. They had decided to put away the chicken altogether as the head chef was feeling grossed out being so close to it. Ishita was having a great time. While Romi seemed to be a masti-filled prankster, Rinki came off as a level-headed girl who spoke very sensibly about her life and goals for one so young. She liked them both. They certainly didn't appear to have any of the unpleasant social qualities of their older brother, so clearly his issues weren't genetic. This led her to conclude that Raman must have acquired them later in life.

Meanwhile, sitting with his dad watching the news was Raman, whose attention nevertheless was fully in the kitchen. He tried to waltz in there earlier wanting some juice but had been shooed out by his siblings, with the request fulfilled too quickly. He was curious about their chatter and it largely stemmed from from his inability to understand how someone could be so at ease with everyone she met. And so quickly.

His siblings were generally much more easy going than him but lately were mostly glued to their phones, their friends, their lives. It was nice to see them spending quality time at home, even if it was with a non-family member. Raman used to always find great pleasure in being around his family. Even when he was swamped with project work in the initial days of his startup, he would bring his laptop outside and sit among them as they horsed around and he pretended to be annoyed. In reality he never liked missing a moment.

Dinner was finally announced and they all settled around the table, Raman quietly inspecting the food with interest.

"Thanks puttar, everything looks great. And somehow you got these nalayaks to do some work in the kitchen!"
"Nai Uncle, we had lots of fun actually. And they were both very helpful."

"Papa, at least ghar jala nahin. So they actually exceeded my expectations." It was Raman who spoke, prompting Romi and Rinki to look crossly at their brother while he served himself.

"See Ishitaji, our own family talk about us like this." Rinki complained while Romi leaned over confidentially to Ishita but maintained the volume of his voice so everyone could hear, "We are convinced we must have been accidents; that they had only planned for Bhai and Simmi di."

Raman who was sitting across Ishita, tried to reach over to smack his brother, "Chupkar idiot, you're embarrassing her." But Ishita just twinkled at Romi and giggled, as he gave her his most charming smile. The chatter continued as everyone began to dig in.

"Everything is very good puttar."
"Thanks Uncle." She refrained from looking up, expecting a taunt from that direction any second.
"Yes it's very good, for vegetarian food." There it was. She gave him her best fake smile.

"It's amazing how despite using only ingredients from a Punjabi house, that wonderful Madrassi taste still comes through, nai Papa? Or did Maa start buying rasam powder recently?" But Mr. Bhalla was busy enjoying and didn't hear. In any case she knew the comment was targeted at her.

"Very funny." Ishita was scooping more rice into her in plate.
"Thanks. But looks like the chicken had the last laugh, being spared from you lot."
"Heyy!" Rinki pouted as Ishita gave him an odd look.
"It was a joke." Raman said, looking apologetically at their guest.
"Oh that I know. I didn't laugh because it wasn't funny."
"Then why the confused look?"

She had in fact just noticed what he was wearing at the table, "I was just wondering...do you sleep in a suit too?"

After a momentary silence in which Raman and Ishita just looked at each other, Romi burst out laughing as did the rest of the table. "Ishitaji, you've just said what we've been thinking for a looong time. These days Bhai only changes to go from one suit to another." Raman glared at him, but Romi continued to laugh heartily.

"Bhai, she is a funny one."

"Mm hm."

-----------------------

Once dinner was complete, Mr. Bhalla made Romi and Rinki help Neelu put things away. He made Ishita survey their work as he told her it was good for them to experience the other side of cooking too. Exhausted Romi retired to the living room after, "Arre baapre...its such hard work to feed yourself. No wonder people do take out so much these days."

"But we got to have some wonderful and different homemade food, totally worth it" Rinki was also lounging on the couch now.
"Yes, thank you Ishita puttar."
"You're all welcome. It was fun! Chalo I should get going now, its quite late."

Raman spoke up, "Will you be okay to drive back? We can have the driver come with you and he can take the bus back."
"No no thats alright, I'll be fine thank you."
"If you're sure...let me just walk you out then."
Ishita bid them all goodnight and headed out.

When she reached her car, she turned around to say goodbye. Raman was standing on the stairs underneath the porch light, watching her. Searching her mind for what to say, she found her gaze falling quite without purpose on his clothes, which he noticed. "No I do not sleep in a suit. Any other burning questions about my nighttime habits?"

Ishita's gaze jumped up to his eyes, a blush spreading across her face. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking about that!" He smiled at her distress, which unsettled her momentarily but she continued, "Um you know I was just joking right, I hope I didn't offend you?"

"Like I said before, I can take a joke." He looked around awkwardly but when she began to turn away assuming the conversation was over he continued, "Ishita, thank you for tonight. I mean for the appointments and all but also for staying for dinner and of course for cooking. I did really like the food."

"It was my pleasure. I'll call once I get the final proposals, so we can decide."
"Thank you. Get home safe."

Driving away, Ishita tried to get her head around all this new information she had gotten about Raman Kumar Bhalla. Whatever his lack of social skills, as a brother and son, he had been spoken of fairly highly. Of course it was his mother speaking, but somehow based on their interactions today, it seemed like there might be truth to it. Perhaps he was just an extremely moody person; with a little too much arrogance, and a bit of a temper, but...a nice smile.

As Raman turned back into the house, only one thing occupied his mind: that slow unexpected blush.