Tewari & Sons, 23, Chandni Chowk - THREAD III - Page 42

Chapter 15: Ghalib Says

"You need me to do what," NK asked, narrowing his eyes and scratching his head, he did that whenever he was asked to do something that he did not like.

Arnav sighed and repeated the request to his cousin. Ever since he had decided to call off his wedding with Payal, he was concerned about her. She was after all his friend first before she became his fiance. He knew Payal was a strong and practical sort of woman and would not be moping and pinning over their failed relationship. But he also knew that she was not as cold as his friends and family believed her to be and that she would be hurting as a result of his decision. In this moment, she needed a friend to look out for her and unfortunately it could not be him. There was too much awkwardness between them now. It was too soon for them to go back to being friends, to behave like none of this happened. So which is why he had asked his cousin to look up Payal and maybe take her out for lunch or something. But NK true to character was being all dramatic about this and was making a bigger deal than necessary about it. He loved his cousin, but sometimes he was pretty damn maddening.

"Are you sure you are not setting me up to be Payal's rebound guy now, are you?" NK wanted to know, as he sat down across his desk.

"No, NK, why would I do that? Besides, she is not your type. Or you hers. So relax, don't get your mind go on an overdrive. I just needed someone to check on her, seeing that I can't do that now," he said, his attention now drawn to his phone that glowed. It was a call from his mother.

"Yeah, mom," he said picking up the phone and NK grinned, making the action of someone slicing off his neck for some reason. Surely his mother was not that terrifying to deserve that kind of reputation, he thought.

"Arnav, are you at work?"

"Yes, sort of. I mean I am at Raizada Designs. What is it?"

"Can you come to AR, say around two this afternoon. Something has come up."

"Is everything alright, mom?"

"Yes and no. I will explain when you are here."

"Sure mom."

Once he hung up, he began to ponder over what his mother had said. Now what fresh trouble was headed their way. Could it be something to do with Mihir Gupta? Or some other fresh trouble? The Raizada business was fraught with troubles beyond Mihir Gupta. There was the issue of successor, which honestly was the elephant in the room that nobody really addressed. The one good thing, at least from Arnav's point of view was that Aakash was now vey much hands on in the business and even the formidable businesswoman that his mother Poonam Raizada was, had warmed up to him. But some of their units were not doing as well as they would have liked and they needed to take some tough decisions on the same. Though he had not ever resented his father, ever since he had become more involved with the business he began to see how there was way too much pressure on his mother and his father's apathy began to annoy him. All their lives would be better if only his father spoke up more often. Even Khushi's life would have been better, he couldn't help but think. Oh Khushi, that reminded him about her situation too.

"What did Chachi say?" NK interrupted his thoughts.

"She needs me to be at AR at two.. NK you will need to do another favour for me," he said reluctantly. He did not want to get more people involved in Khushi's Shekhawat situation, but since his mother had summoned him to AR today, he had no choice but to get someone to help him. And he trusted NK, even at the risk of having to endure another round of silliness from his cousin.

"What is it? Please don't send me to Shankar Market to get the supplies on my own. I went there last time and almost got lost," his cousin said somewhat dramatically. He had to exercise immense self-control and not roll his eyes at that. How could a grown man get lost anyway? But NK had legitimately got lost once in Faridabad, once in a mall and once when they had gone to Jaipur. It was a special talent that he seemed to have.

"You need to go to Chandni Chowk, to Khushi's place and pick her up from there and drop her at a friend's place in Rohini."

"What? Are we running a taxi business also on the side? It is lucrative actually. I will take your Duster, it runs on diesel, doesn't it?"

"Very funny, NK. There is a serious problem. Khushi is in some trouble, her family is away and she needs to stay at her friend's place for a few days until her parents return. That is all. I didn't want her to get into any trouble, so I told her I would pick her up and drop her. She was reluctant, but I have convinced her. Kind of. I have to be at this AR meeting.. or else I wouldn't have bothered you."

"Relax! No need to get so dramatic. I will do it. But what sort of trouble is Cutie Kumari Gupta in now? And are you somehow responsible for it?"

"Surprisingly, I am not. Not this time. She has a stalker.."

"I know."

"You do? How?"

"You are her stalker.. okay, okay now don't give me the famous death-stare of yours.. calm down. Are you serious? But who is this dude.. I am assuming it is a dude? And why won't she call the cops," NK asked.

He sighed. Maybe it was bad idea to get NK involved. He had a lot of curiosity. Even more than Anjali Di sometimes. Perhaps it was a family trait. But he needed someone's help. And it was not only because he had a meeting with his mother in the afternoon, but his and Khushi's last meeting had left him a little confused. They hadn't met since then. They had spoken over the phone and texted, but not met. She seemed her usual self, but something had changed in their relationship and he wasn't sure he was ready for where it was headed.

**

It all began ten days ago when Khushi had called him one night while he was at work at AR. The weird thing was that he was in a meeting with some investors and Aakash, when he saw his phone glow. He checked the time on his watch, it was a quarter to eleven and he wondered why Khushi was calling him that late. He excused himself and took the call.

"Arnav," she almost whispered.

"Khushi, are you okay? Why are you whispering? Where are you?"

"Home only. Shekhawat is back to his antics again. I am not sure what to do and how to deal with this, which is why I called you.. I hope I am not bothering you."

"Of course you are not.. what happened."

"He is now getting bolder and creepier than ever... and what else?"

 Probably somebody had walked into the room because Khushi was suddenly talking to him about generic things.

"It is better to have this conversation face-to-face. Do you want to meet and talk?"

"Now? It is.. I will meet you tomorrow. Can you meet me at six?"

"In the morning?"

"Yes. Is it too early?"

Of course it was. For most people it was too early, even for an early riser like him. But he smiled into the phone and agreed to meet her at six in the morning at Delhi University Sports Ground. She had an event at half past six there. He did not ask her details about it. Though he was intrigued as to what she was upto.  Of course technically she was still a coach at Joseph's, but college had shut for the examinations and there would be no meets at the university level.

"Thank you, Arnav. And sorry," Khushi hung up on him, though he was entirely unsure as to why she was apologising to him. Probably because she was making him meet her at an unearthly hour. He shook his head and was walking back to the meeting room when he dashed into his mom. His normally very graceful mother, who walked without tripping and falling or being awkward was in a mad rush. Instead of her carefully picked designer saris, she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a casual t-shirt, her hair tied into a messy bun. He was almost tempted to consider that this was not his mother but her doppelganger.

"Mom, what are you doing here.. like this?"

"Arnav, oh.. I had to pick up some papers urgently, and I didn't want anyone to access my confidential drawers so I came myself. What are you doing here?"

He considered telling his mother that he would have been happy to bring the papers she needed, but perhaps she didn't trust him either. He explained about meeting the investors of the new tyre division that Aakash was championing. Evidently the meeting was over because Aakash and the investors walked out. After seeing off the investors Aakash walked up to them and looked at him questioningly.

"They were in a hurry, so had to leave. Your phone call.. anything important?"

He sensed two pairs of curious eyes upon him and he couldn't help but feel a little conscious as a result. What would his mother and cousin make of the Khushi situation he wondered. But he was not going to find out.

"A friend from school," he said vaguely, hoping neither would push more. And they didn't.

"Aakash, it is late. Why don't you come home for dinner? Today I myself cooked after a long time and your Anand Maama merely grunted during the meal."

He wasn't sure what Aakash made of this invitation, but he was certainly shocked on two counts, one that his mother was cooking and that she invited the son of her former nemesis home. Aakash accepted the invitation and said that he would follow them. His mom decided to leave her car at AR and drive with him. Even as his mother got onto the passenger-seat of the car and yanked the seat belt he knew that this was going to be one awkward ride for him and surely they would discuss the one thing that he had carefully avoided talking about the last few days - Payal.

"Day before I had gone to meet Payal," his mother said when they had just about got to the gate of AR. That didn't take long.

"Why?"

"What do you mean why, Arnav? Why can't we all talk to each other in this family? You are doing your own thing.. Anjali her own thing and your dad has always been doing his manmaani."

He immediately looked at his mother, though her face gave away no indication of her agitated tone. While there were definite problems that existed between his parents, it was something that they never spoke about. He wondered about his mother's sudden, albeit brief moment of candour. He realised that he had in addition to disappointing his mother had also hurt her.

"I am sorry, mom. I should have spoken to you.. but.."

"It is not that..I thought you were happy with her, weren't you?"

"I was not.. unhappy with her, I suppose. But how is that good enough. Better to realise now than later."

"You Arnav want to have it all.. and that will never happen. You don't realise it, that is your problem."

Before he could ask his mother what she meant by that his phone rang and as was habit he picked it up and put it on speaker. It was Divyesh.

"Dude, the Baig Sir Sports Academy bhoomi pooja is this weekend. Hope you have not forgotten."

"I have not. I will be there. Who will be escorting Noor Ma'm? I could do that if you want."

"No, that is alright. La is taking care of that. Are you driving? I can hear traffic?"

"Yes."

"Then I will hang up... oh by the way, can't seem to get through Khushi's number. Do you have any idea what is going on? Can you text me her landline number?"

"She has a new mobile number. I will text that to you."

Once he hung up he turned to look at his mother. She didn't say anything, her attention entirely on a game of 2048, something that she was addicted to. She didn't speak a word until they had pulled in inside Raizada House. While getting out she turned behind and asked him, "Do you remember if Aakash is allergic to arbi?"

"What arbi?

"The vegetable.. colocasia."

"Umm. I don't know. He has reached. You can ask him yourself," he said as Aakash's car pulled in right behind. He had to admit this was one of those rare instances when he absolutely welcomed Aakash.

**

"So does Khushi know about you and Payal," NK asked, evidently he had no work of his own which is why he refused to dislodge himself from Arnav's office.

"Why do you need to know that?"

"That is not the point. Does she?"

"She has not heard it from me. But I repeat.. why?"

"Well, it is a good ice breaker kind of subject. All of yesterday I was at Vasant Kunj with Anjali Di and we were discussing how we always knew you and Payal wouldn't make it."

"Clearly Thumpa is not keeping Anjali Di busy enough. Yesterday she sent me a long email about sun signs and compatibility and how Aries women and I were not compatible."

"Speaking of people who are not compatible, did you hear the latest South Delhi gossip about Juhi Opposite Chawla?"

"No. And I am not interested."

"Okay, maybe not that. I have another good one, about your former best friend, this one might actually interest you."

"What? Who? What? Which friend?"

"Aman Sabharwal your yaar, dost is in India, right. He has apparently now tied up with the Werner guys for his family business. I remember my mother telling me that the Werner deal falling through had created mild tensions between chacha and chachi."

"Mild tensions," he said wryly.

"Hehehe. You know mom right. There is nobody more careful with words than her," NK said, part pride and part wistfulness in his tone. 

NK loved his mother, Anuradha Raizada who was the complete opposite of his own mother. She married late, had a child even later and was widowed soon after. She was a successful career woman and raised to the top position of the country's best know private sector bank - ABC Bank. Though his mom was very fond of her sister-in-law, the families seldom met. Perhaps that is why his mother was fond of her. he thought suddenly. Almost every other day his aunt was on CNBC discussing stock markets and market sentiment. Among ill-mannered guests in TV studios, his aunt was a refreshingly calm voice and the only person capable of making a coherent point without wild hand gestures. His father treated his brother's wife with reverence but was also a little distanced from her. Some years ago, when he was interning with one of AR's businesses in Bombay, his manager who did not give him any special concessions even though he was family had sent him off to do a door-to-door survey. It was the month of June and it was his first experience with the Bombay monsoons and he was literally wading through knee deep water, stuck somewhere between Andheri and Juhu. In hindsight he appreciated this tough character building exercise by his mother, but at that point he had been in all but tears. Though he had a led very privileged and sheltered life, but when it came to training for the job, his mother had been convinced that he had to rough it out. Nobody wanted to talk to a salesman' as they believed him to be and several doors were slammed on his face. Out of despair he had called Anjali Di who told him to lose the tie, look poor and pretend to be a college student to get people to answer him. She also suggested that he use his cuteness. He wasn't sure how could one use their cuteness, but he had to admit that Anjali Di's plan seemed to work and people seemed more willing to entertain him. Either he looked very poor or very cute. It was at one of these door-to-door pitches when he was regaling the mistress of a house about how he was a second year MBA student that he saw his aunt. She was visiting the lady and had a quizzical expression on her face anf wondering why her nephew was lying to good, decent people. Embarrassed, he had to offer an explanation to his aunt and the lady to whom he was lying. Thankfully, the lady seemed amused and gave him a glass of hot chocolate before sending him off. He had been in Bombay for a month and hadn't gotten touch with his aunt. But something in his demeanour that day had made his aunt feel sorry for him and she had insisted that he leave the Raizada guest-house and move into her cozy home in Bandra. This was the time when he hung with his cousin NK.  They had been close as children, spending their summer vacations at their grandfather's house in Aligarh, but had drifted apart as Arnav got busy with his studies. But now they reconnected and that is when they discovered that while they were different personalities they had a shared interest in design and fashion. It was after his meeting with NK that Arnav's resolve to start his own independent business was strengthened. And when he went back to Delhi after a few months, at which time his parents were expecting him to takeover AR, he dropped the bomb. His father was quietly disappointed and his mother very vocal. Anuradha Raizada became the guarantor for his business loan and gave him his start. NK followed him to Delhi, first to study there and eventually into Raizada Designs as his business partner.

"Hmm. Interesting. I thought Aman was here in India to marry. I should speak with him," he said thoughtfully. He wondered what his mom would make out about the Werner deal going to the Sabharwals. His mother had once been very close with Minu Sabharwal, Aman's mother. But when Minu Aunty and Prashant Uncle, Aman's father, decided to split, some of the extended friends circle took sides. Minu Aunty went away to London with Aman, so his mother found it easier to take Prashant Uncle's side. But the Sabharwals reconciled and Minu Aunty returned to Delhi. Because his mother had not been supportive towards Minu Aunty in the bad times, she did not bother to reach out to his mother either. The chasm had been created and they could not wish it away. Now they were merely acquaintances who met socially and exchanged polite smiles. He sometimes felt that his mother was very lonely and if Minu Aunty was around, she would have someone to confide in. Now the only person his mother felt some connect with was Anita Chawla, who was too much of a busybody to inspire much trust.

"So who is Cutie's stalker," NK said, finally getting up to leave.

"A middle-aged man in Chandni Chowk."

"Oh Uncleji types? Then I can take him down," NK said, with a stupid grin on his face.

"No, NK, you will do nothing of that sort. He is a powerful man, political type and has groupies," he was now beginning to wonder if it was the right decision to co-opt NK into this. But it was done. His cousin cheerfully waved at him and left saying, Cutie, main aa raha hoon.

**

Arnav had reached the Delhi University Sports ground ten minutes to six. Khushi was not there, but he saw a board at the gate that said Delhi B-Zone Track & Field Trials. There were a few teens, warming up and tying and retying their shoelaces. A group of girls looked at him, huddled together and broke into some chatter and giggle. Consciously he walked away. He checked his watch again. He considered calling Khushi, but seeing that there was still a couple of minutes left for it to be six, he decided to let it be. When he left home around a quarter past five he was surprised to see his dad's study light was on. He pushed the door to check and saw that his father was looking at some files and his laptop.

"Dad, did you not sleep or have you woken up this early?"

"I wake up early to get some work done. I have a lot of meetings scheduled today, so needed a head-start."

Somehow he had left home a little startled at this revelation. So contrary to popular theory, his dad had not forsaken AR. This somehow made him very happy. Only when he was driving did he realise that his father had not even bothered to ask his son where he was heading that early in the morning. Just like his mother last night had not asked him about Khushi after Divyesh's call. While he respected the parents for not micro managing him. He had to admit that his father's lack of interest in his life was a little upsetting. Just as he found himself in the beginnings of some wallowing, Khushi startled him by zooming on her scooterette and knocking him on the ground.

"Khushi, what the hell are you doing," he said angrily as he sat and dusted off the mud from his t-shirt and arms.

Khushi parked her bike and kneeled down in front of him and started hitting him with a roll of chart paper. What the hell was wrong with her?

"Dammit woman, what are you doing?"

"I was removing the mud.. oh I am sorry," she looked at his eyes then and probably realised that he was angry. Her expression changed and now she looked almost scared.

"It is okay. Was my mistake. You just took me by surprise. But now stop hitting me with that weapon. Why do you have a chart anyway? Why are we meeting here?" he asked getting up. Here he was supposedly trying to help her and instead he was being a klutz and completely lacking in elegance. Maybe Anjali Di was right. He did turn into some kind of idiot teenage boy while being around Khushi.

"I am sorry, Arnav. And I am sorry for making you come so early. But that Shekhawat is getting out of hand now. He has now got my father on his side too. His men are following me everywhere I go. I don't know what to do anymore," she sounded really woeful. He had told her a number of times by now that she needed to get her family involved, but her reluctance seemed to be only increasing. He knew that her relationship with her father was till fragile and somehow she felt that this Shady Shekhawat's advances will be interpreted at some level as her fault. This made him mad, but unfortunately that is how most of society operated. The burden of most such things fell on the woman. Maybe some of her reluctance stemmed from the fact that she had to leave Alchemy under a cloud of character assassination. This Shekhawat Situation was a bit like that, albeit a different context. It always came back to that fateful evening at the farmhouse. 

"Khushi, I still feel that you should try and speak to your parents. I mean, this guy has now managed to get into your father's good books. This is worrying don't you think?" they were sitting on a bench just outside the gate. By now the athletes were arriving in buses and the place was getting crowded and noisier.

"I was going to do that yesterday.."

"Then?"

"Some other.. drama happened. I needed to postpone this.. besides Baba is already so mad at me.. I don't want to make things worse."

"You are really not able to catch a break, are you?"

"Yes. No. I don't know... I have never understood that phrase actually," she said looking at him, throwing a bright smile at him.

"What it means is that.. you look very pretty when you smile," he said. Wait. Did he just say that? Where was his filter this morning? And not just that, he also took an errant strand of her hair and pushed it back behind her ear. It was an altogether too carelessly an intimate gesture. Not at all a befitting action for their testy relationship. He expected her to whack him with that rolled up chart again. But instead she surprised him by doing the least expected thing. Which was to say thank you.

Khushi then went on to explain something about her sister-in-law wanting to remarry and how this had angered her folks. The family was going through difficult times and she did not want to add to their problems. Arnav understood this. Or at least tried to. In his own family he was used to all kinds of secrets between the members, but he had always thought that Khushi's family was different, more normal and loving and looking out for one another. Perhaps unhappy families were all alike too. It was decided that Arnav would investigate Shekhawat and find something about him that they could use, to force him to behave. Khushi handed over the simcard from her other phone so that they could have some evidence against Shekhawat before they took it to the cyber harassment cell. Unfortunately this was not a stranger who was harassing Khushi, it was someone she knew and they may actually need to lodge a formal police complaint. But since Shekhawat was a powerful man, it was important to have the evidence in place before getting in touch with authorities who were oftentimes hand-in-glove with important people.

"All this feels so mysterious like.. the Da Vinci Code or something like that."

"Hmm. Are you a fan of that novel?"

"No. I didn't really understand it.. do you remember.. do you remember that you gifted me that book in school.. for my birthday."

"Ah, yes. It was very popular when we were in school. I was mad at you by then, which is why I gave you that book. Okay this is embarrassing to admit, but that book was a regift. One of Anjali Di's ex boyfriends had given it to her. She did not care for that boyfriend or that book," he admitted sheepishly. He really had to avoid meeting Khushi before having his morning cup of coffee, he seemed to be unable to say anything intelligent or coherent. Actually he should never meet Khushi, because he almost exclusively only said stupid things around her.

"I figured. There was a weird note in the book that said something like, A lifetime passes before a sigh shows its effects.. Who would wait so long to see you fixing the tangles in your hair," she said now breaking into a bonafide giggle.

"Really? You are making this up."

"No, there really was. I thought for a moment that it was Divyesh's idea of a joke. But then I figured nobody in New-Ons would write stuff like that. And I knew for sure it was not you.. you were so angry with me by then."

"Thank you... I would never write something that disgracefully cheesy."

"Well. To be fair, this particular one is by Mirza Ghalib.. I don't think anyone should call him disgraceful. It was a poor translation. But that is okay. Anjali Di and that boyfriend are not together."

"You read Ghalib?? Wow. There is so much I don't know about you.."

"No, I don't. When we had Gupta Mithai Baba used to play one Jagjit Singh CD with Ghalib ghazals. He played it all day for many months and that is how I memorised some of the couplets."

"Nice. By the way, just curious, does Tewari & Sons make more money than Gupta Mithai?"

"More or less the same. We sell more in Tewari & Sons, but make the same money."

"How so?"

"Gupta Mithai, about eighty to ninety percent of our sales was from mithai, in Tewari & Sons the same percentage is for nashta. There is better margin in mithai. But... I don't want to bore you. Let me go and check if my champion has come."

"Why are we here? You never said anything about that. Who is your champion?"

But Khushi did not answer him and and instead pushed the gates to step inside. He sat on his bench, watching her from afar as a girl who was probably around twelve or thirteen came running on seeing Khushi and gave her a hug. Khushi was wagging her finger at the girl, looking rather fierce, like she was scolding her. In response the girl held her ears in apology. Khushi handed over the chart to the girl and then turned in his direction and gestured him to come.

"Arnav, yeh Ankita hai.. meri champion. Bahut achi athlete hai. Zaroor National Level tak pahoonchegi."

"Hi, Ankita," he said to the girl smiling and put his hand out to her. She smiled at him shyly and looked at Khushi, who nodded at her and that is when she took his hand. The little girl, with her fierce braid, wide eyes and pretty smile reminded him of someone else. She had an uncanny resemblance to Khushi, from his memory on their first meeting at New-Ons.

"Aap jeejaji ho," Ankita asked in a sing-song voice and got a slap on her back from Khushi in response. He merely grinned at the girl.

"Yeh Arnav hai, mera dost. Yeh bhi athlete hai.. tha. Bahut acha wallah. Tu ja apna naam register kar aur warm-up shuru kar, main pahoonchti hoon," she said to Ankita, who picked up the chart from the ground and sprinted to the registration desk.

"Thanks for.. everything," Khushi said, her voice making it seem like she was choosing the words carefully, "If you hadn't come to Tewari & Sons by accident, tumhaari life mein shanti rehti."

"Who is Shanti?" he said deliberately misunderstanding her and she rolled her eyes and left out a sigh. He grinned at her and decided that it was time he left because the event was about to start and Khushi had to get to her student. But before he left he had to ask her about Ankita.

"Is this Ankita your cousin or something. She looks so much like you. Are you coaching her?"

"She is not related to me. But she is apna Chandni Chowk girl. I realised that she was a very quick runner and spoke to her parents to allow her to train and compete in athletics.. it wasn't easy, but they have agreed now.. so I help with her training and get her enrolled in competitions. She is doing well. I am hoping to get her to..." she paused mid-sentence, biting her lip. Her animated self while chattering about her ward was now replaced by awkward silence. She really should not be running that mithai shop, but be involved in the sport instead. She was totally made for it. She might be stubborn about wanting to turn around the fortune of the business, but her talent and passion was wasted there. Oh why did Khushi have to get caught in the deadlock that was his parent's marriage. And why did he not have the decency to make it right back then. Didn't Khushi allude to that just now? Had he not run into Khushi accidentally at Tewari & Sons, there would have been shanti in his life. But he did not want shanti. He wanted the opposite of it. All the chaos and anarchy is what he welcomed. He wanted these weirdly exciting six in the morning meetings. He wanted to go all Robert Langdon with her and crack the Da Vinci code. He wanted to hear about her minor family scandals, poorly translated Ghalib verses and meet her wards. No he did not want the shanti. That much he was sure about. Some day he would explain this to her. Not today though.

"Arnav, you look lost, what is wrong? I will leave now and .. talk to you later?" she phrased that as a question and a not a statement. He nodded.

"Khushi, before you leave, what were you saying? You are hoping to what?"

"I was wondering.. I know this is silly.. but it will be great if Ankita gets into a school like New-Ons. If Baig Sir was around, he could have helped."

"Oh.. well I can try to help her. If that is what you want and she wants."

"You can? That will be so wonderful.. Anky is a good student too. Bas English zyada achi nahi hai.."

"And you want to push this bright and talented girl into the vacuous and vacant world of New-On-Ites. Why?"

"You know, Arnav, anyone with talent can play sports and compete professionally. But when sporting talent meets privilege, it is easier to focus on your sport."

"Interesting. And that is very nice of you. Just don't pin your hopes up too much on her.. you maybe disappointed," he said. Even as he said it, he realised that it probably might have come across wrongly. That he was somehow suggesting that she was pushing this girl into something that she didn't want.

"It is not about me.. it is about her. Sometime back I had gone to a parlour to cut my hair and I was reading a magazine and came across this idea of paying it forward. And I think that is such a lovely thought. Every one should try to do it. Baig Sir opened up the world for me, and I will guide Anky. That is all," she said.

"Pay it forward? Hmm. That is wonderful. Maybe this girl will turn out to be another Khushi Kumari Gupta."

"I surely hope not. I am a failure... I mean, nobody should follow me. Lets hope she does better. Anyway, I will go now," she offered a bright smile, but he could tell that it was a smile that masked her pain, that the thought of her failures brought to her. You are not a failure, Khushi, he wanted to tell her, but he knew that he of all people should not comfort her with hollow words, especially since he was also responsible for not her failure.. but her lack of success.

He shook his head and began to head towards his car. Half way to it, he thought about something and turned back towards Khushi.

"Khushi, wait, Khushi."

She stopped and turned to look at him, she looked impatient.

"Ab kya hai?"

"You are training Ankita, but what was that chart?"

"Haan?"

"That chart you were hitting me with that you gave to her?"

"Oh that.. nothing.. I mean it is some school project of hers. Yesterday she had to go on a training camp, and today this event.. she has no time to do the project. So I did it for her.. I know it is wrong.. so don't say anything. I don't want her grades to suffer. Trials to ek baar hi hoga, squares and square roots of numbers toh baad mein bhi seekh sakti hai," she said grinning.

"Khushi you are a pretty amazing person and I am sorry that I didn't get in touch with you all these years. I am basically an idiot," he said and on an impulse walked up to her and pulled her into a hug. He put his one hand around her neck and pulled her close and after a few seconds, when she didn't push him away  he put his other hand around her too and pulled her closer. She placed her palms on his chest, either to push him away or balance herself after his sudden attack hug. He felt her tense body relax and she placed her chin on his shoulder and hugged him back.

As he drove back home he kept thinking about what had happened. Arnav Singh Raizada was not a hugger. He certainly did not hug someone on an impulse. But today he had and it felt right. In that moment, he felt a surge of affection and respect for this woman. And surprisingly and thankfully, Khushi did not seem coy or shocked by his gesture. She did look at him bemused when he had pulled away, and had given him a wry smile, gestured with her hand that she would call him on the phone and walked back to the Delhi B-Zone Track & Field Trials. He had stood there watching her until she all but disappeared.

**

It took NK three tries before he could find Tewari & Sons. Though he had come here before and had Google Maps but he kept getting lost. The Google Maps lady was annoying as f**k because she kept saying your destination is on your right, but he never saw it. As it turned out, Tewari & Sons was a popular name for stores around the area and which is why he was getting lost. He considered calling his cousin, but he knew that Arnav was in a meeting with his chaachi and did not want to invite the wrath of the crazy Raizadas. Yes, he was a Raizada too, but only in name. In reality he was his mother's son, calm and unaffected by the madness of the family gene. After some more going around in circles he found the right Tewari & Sons and parked his car in a vacant spot that he found thanks to some miraculously good fortune.

The place smelt of ghee, sugar and besan. Though some people might not like it,  for him it was heavenly. He spotted Cutie at the far end of the shop, a screwdriver in hand yanking at an air-cooler. An elderly figure looked at her disapprovingly saying, aise nahi asie nahi.

"Cutie..I mean Khushi," he called out to her. She looked at him and untied her dupatta from around her waist and wore it on one of her shoulder and walked towards him. As she came closer he got a good look at her face and congratulated himself on the appropriate name that he had given her.

"Aap?" she said vaguely, clearly she was buying time so that she could figure out who he was.

"Hi, I am Nand Kishore.. we have met, but not properly. I am Arnav's cousin. Your jalebis are amazing," he said to her. She looked at him with an expression that he couldn't quite decipher. It was something between bafflement and suspicion. Now that he was seeing her up-close and personal for the first time he could see why the boys in the family were drawn to her. It was not because she was attractive. There were many attractive women in this world. But it was that she looked so dainty, like the women in princess stories that little girls read, whom you might think needs rescuing, but when you do she would probably stab you with the nearest sharp object she has. Like right now she had a screwdriver in one hand and a drilling machine in the other, but she was still cute as a button. And if that was not a formidable enough image, the drilling machine was actually on. He considered raising his hands and surrendering. Cutie was fierce. He liked that.

"Cu.. Khushi, the drilling machine is on, you might hurt yourself," he finally said, hoping that an appeal to her sense of self-preservation would work.

She looked away from him at her hand and reeled backwards. Clearly she had not realised the machine was on, so she probably didn't plan to drill a hole through his head. She walked towards the plug to turn it off. She looked like the kind of girl who could take care of herself. The stalker must be pretty good too. By that he meant pretty bad. Wish his cousin had given him more information about this stalker, he thought as he looked around nervously.

"I am sorry, Nand Kishore, we were fixing the air cooler. Jalebi chahiye," she asked him. Did she just call him Nand Kishore. The only person who did that was Mrs Sunita Gupta, his class teacher from class one to eight. And his first true love. Now did she want to feed him jalebi or sell it to him, he couldn't tell. He knew that the shop was going through a financial crisis, so maybe he should buy some from her.

"Sure.. I guess. I could eat a couple of kilos of it.. I have a massive sweet tooth," he said. He could totally marry a halwai, he could see the future - sweets, more sweets, diabetes and death. It would be a life well lived. Khushi had now disappeared behind the counter of her shop and rapidly filling four giant boxes with jalebis. She weighed, closed the boxes, put it into a large plastic cover and placed it on the glass top.

"Rupees 720," she said.

"What?"

"Two kilos jalebi.. one kilo is three sixty rupees.. so," she said, now she had the Sunita Gupta look again, when he would get basic maths wrong. Maybe they were related, they shared the same last name after all.

He gave her a thousand rupee note, that she took from him and returned the change. There was one of those machines near the cash box that allowed you to test if a currency note was a fake. He noticed that she didn't put his note through that.

"Khushi, note check nahi kiya," he said.

She smiled, nodded her head and muttered something about Raizada Paisa, but he was not sure what she said. For a girl who was to be rescued from her stalker, she seemed in no hurry, as she made a note of the sale in her notebook and was counting the money in the cash box.

"Khushi, are you packed? Can we leave now?"

"To go where?"

Did Arnav tell him that she had to be dropped off at Rohini or that her friend's name was Rohini. He could not remember. But he was certain that if he texted his cousin he would freak out.

"To Rohini," he finally said, hoping that it fitted a place and a person both.

"Rohini?"

"Your friend's place."

"Oh, Preeto."

"Arnav was going to drop you, right? But he had a work meeting with chachi.. his mom. So he sent me instead."

He noticed that her polite expression changed then. Was it disappointment? He was almost certain that Arnav was smitten with Cutie, but he had assumed she was indifferent to him. Clearly not. He would need to speak with Anjali Di about this, she was the go-to person when it came to matters of the heart. Or any matter. Anjali Di had this ability to think like Poonam Raizada, but be a warm person at heart. She would be the best person to fix this not-really-a-love-story.

"Yeh Arnav bhi. He has decided on my behalf that I have to go. I am okay here. I can't close the shop now, I have customers she said," vaguely gesturing with her hand. Though there were no customers to be seen. The old man had now prostrated in front of the cooler, evidently enjoying his post prandial nap. He also noticed two sketchy looking gundaa types in front of the shop, walking and occasionally peeping in.

"Khushi, are those men your stalkers? They look like the akhada-gym types," he whispered into her ear.

"So Arnav has told you about that also. Ussi ke aadmi hai.. they are always here, keeping an eye on me."

"Then why are you not telling the police? Sorry, that is none of my business. Your family is not in town?"

"They are back day after morning. I will be okay. Anyway I have not even spoken to Preeto. I am not sure if she in town even. Waise bhi, yeh bandeh hi humaare peeche-peeche Rohini tak paunch gaye toh?"

"Rohini is forty kilometres from here. Bahut petrol waste hoga unka. So worth it. Plus, you will be safe. It is good to be brave, but men are kameenas."

She offered him the most dazzling smile in response.  As Khushi spoke with Preeto, he realised that this was better than any pick-up line or playbook move. Condemn all other men and women automatically see you in favourable light. He walked outside Tewari & Sons to give Khushi some privacy while she chatted with her friend. He noticed the stalker's henchmen huddled outside, smoking, slapping each other while telling jokes. They looked very, very sketchy. He almost felt a little fearful for himself and walked back into the shop again. It sure was tough being a woman in this city.

"Nand Kishore, ek problem hai," Khushi said as he walked back in. Her forehead had creased and suddenly she looked vulnerable.

"What is the problem?"

"Preeto is in Amritsar.."

"I see. NH 1 pakad lete hain, wahan se four hundred and seventy kilometres. It can be done. Do you drive?"

"Nand Kishore, aap thode ajeeb ho."

**

It had been a difficult few hours, Arnav thought as he drove back home after his meeting at AR. His mother was sitting next to him in the car. She was surprisingly calm, given what had transpired just now and was fiddling around with the car radio trying to find music that appealed to her.

Mihir Gupta, had absconded. He hadn't shown up at work for a few weeks and was incommunicado. When someone from AR went to check his house it was discovered that he had moved out of the house a week ago with bag and baggage. In fact the house was getting repainted for new tenants. The landlord did not have any clue where he had gone. he had just disappeared from the face of the earth. A police compliment had been registered, but frankly he was not hopeful. The media had been quick to get a whiff of this story and had pounced on the Raizadas asking for a statement. And there were financial repercussions to consider. His parents had called the meeting of all the directors and shareholders - him, Aakash and Anjali Di included to discuss next steps. They were still not sure what all information Mihir Gupta had stolen and what would be the long term effects of this. But right now they took steps to secure the AR empire, by dividing responsibilities only between the family. It was going to be a tough few weeks ahead.

His phone rang once again and he cut it off again. It was NK who seemed to be frantically trying to reach him. He had probably dropped off Khushi at her friend's place and was calling to regale him with tales about his Cutie. Now was not the time for it. He turned to look at his mother, who seemed to be almost smiling as she found a radio station that was playing retro songs.

"Mom, I am sorry," he said, looking at the road ahead. He somehow felt responsible for the Mihir Gupta situation. As in, Aakash and he were on to him and perhaps he should have been more forceful about it then things might not have ended this way. When mom returned he had dropped the ball and gone back to focussing on Raizada Designs.

"What are you sorry for?"

"About this Mihir Gupta.. I should have told you about him.. I mean I did tell you.. but I should have asked you to throw him out."

"I knew he was bad news for a long while. If anyone is to blame, it is me for waiting for the right time, or your dad who hired him in the first place."

He looked at his mom this time, as she mentioned his father. Surprisingly his father had shown up at the meeting and in fact addressed the press even. With his lawyer-speak he managed to throw off the media too. It was surprising to see his dad like this, but also good.

"Good that dad is kind of..back.. I mean more involved."

"Yes, that was the best part. I am almost thankful for Mihir Gupta now."

She smiled at him and he saw what she meant. Managing a highly-valued empire was not easy if you didn't have enough trustworthy people around you. Dad's involvement in the business might even help the fragile relationship between his dad and mom. After all, that had been the original reason for their coming together. 

His phone rang again. What was up with NK? Was there some problem, he wondered? He cut off the phone again.

"Who is calling you so frantically?"

"Just NK. I will call him once I reach home."

"Speaking of NK, Anu spoke to me.. she is worried about her son. Apparently NK thinks there are no women left in Delhi to marry him."

"Haha. Funny. NK is very commitment phobic, he is too free a spirit to settle down."

"Really? Interesting. But you are not commitment-phobic Arnav.. then what keeps you single?"

"Mom, please.. not again... not today. Stop behaving like those  moms who are obsessed with wanting get their children married. I wouldn't have put down you and taayi as that kind of mothers truth be told."

"I am sorry if you feel that way.. that is not the kind of mother I want to be. Just saying that I am sure you will be a good.. I mean you have the qualities of being a good husband. You are not your father."

"Mom, is everything okay?"

"Yes. Are you busy now? I want to meet Thumpa. Do you think we can go to Anjali's house now? She left quickly from the meeting, else I would have gone with her."

"Sure, we can go there. By the way, can we just listen to the cricket commentary instead of this crappy music that you insist on hearing. This is literally the worst FM station one can listen to."

"Let this be. I am enjoying the music. This particular one is a very famous Ghalib ghazal. Don't make that face."

**

NEXT

Wow, so much has happened.  Did NK drop Kushi @Anjali place? Is this why he is calling Arnav to inform about this?