Pride & Prej with a twist - Page 2

I can smell the second meeting the the handsome stranger coming.

Material & Immaterial conflict

“Ma keh rahi hai to start thinking about it” Akash clarified

“She wants me to apply for Ph D programs overseas but yahannahi”

“You have a grant I know, but Kharagpur mein aap PhD thodikarne waale ho?”

Father and daughter flipped through newspapers on a idyllicSaturday morning

Naina worked for a Interiors Designer, she was gone early togo take “Before” pictures at a client

“Kala ap mil nahi paaye, Naina ke… umm.. who kya kehte hain?”

“Suitor” Viveka laughed

“Jee… jee wohi” Akash tapped her head fondly

“How was he?”

“Kya pata Naina itni picky hai”

At least mana to nahi kee usne” Viveka chuckled and winked

“Don’t get your mother started”

“Did you know… aapko pata hai yeh jo saare economic research,surveys et chain they focus more on families and countries…. And notindividuals… and so between 2010 and 2020 the plight of children in rural Indiaactually got worse?”

“I believe that” he nodded staring at his eldest withadmiration

She was smart, self confident and nerdy. It was almost likethe mold was lost afterwards. Naina, Karuna and Diya were made with differentpersonality molds. Naina studied Art and had studied a 2 year Associates Degreeat Amity in Design and Aesthetics

The twins, Karuna was studying English Honors on her way tofulfill her sports journo dreams so she can “always hang out in cricketerlocker rooms” and Diya was studying Business Mgmt, hoping to work in Retail

“Did Naina like him?” Viveka raised her head up from herphone as she kept looking for a screen shot of statistics that was shared at DrAhluwalia’s lecture

“U asked me that” Akash poked her with a finger

“Yes hai?”

“Khud hi pooch le”

“He has an older cousin” Anubha brought out chai and poha

“Aaj to Papa ki baari hai”

“He is lazy” Anubha shook her head

“LAZY nahi hoon, bus Doordarshan lagaya Ma ne, they had abunch of old songs” Akash chuckled

They ate like they were famished

“Jahan bhi jaogi aa jaana 5 baje tak, Savita Bua keg har jaana hai” Anubha ordered

“AB kya hai?”

“30th? 25th?” kuch to hai” Akashexplained

“She probably has a 25th anniversary every year”Viveka laughed

“She has the money let her flaunt it”

“AND THAT is exactly why India mein 200 million log din meinRs.200 bhi nahi kama paate” Viveka appeared moved by her own statistic

“To HUM kaise keh paayenge Bua ko?” Anubha was irritated

“The least you can do is not partake in the spoils” Vivekaurged

“See this is not possible beta. Aap kuch kehte kyon nahi?”

“I know her, she is very passionate.” Akash sighed rubbinghis eyes and sipping his chai

“Don’t wear jeans and kurti beta”

“Ab jaaoon bhi, aur tayar hokar bhi? This is insanity”

“Maan lo beta Ma ki baat… you are the leader of the pack”Akash waved his hand towards the shut bedroom where the twins slept

“the first object has to be shiny?” Viveka laughed

Akash noticed how vivacious she was… the large glasses andthe unkempt curls and the careless way she carried herself, did not do herjustice. She was fiery, and articulate, but always buried in books quoting dataand statistics, arguing endlessly with whoever that would talk with her

She was popular and social among friends… and moved in packswith her 15 or so friends

“Papa kehte hain kabhi permanent nahi karenge JNU mein, heknew the previous Chancellor” Anubha exchanged a look with Akash and began talking

“I know that Ma… I LOVE teaching I am going to continue downthis path”

“What about Kharagpur?”

“Really Ma? Mujhe itna sunaya aapne”

“Sorry… I am just helping you make up your mind”

“I don’t believe that” she said grimly

“OK fine do what u want”

“WHY did u name me Vivek AAA again?” she asked suddenly

“Papa ko who naam pasand tha… we cannot do gender identification…when you were born he said AA laga dete hain”

“Unko feminine naam de diye, were you expecting girls?” shelaughed

“We were expecting Naina… but twins to yoon hi mazey mein hogayin” Akash laughed

“TMI…. TMI” Viveka plugged her ears

“Kisi ne kuch kaha? Anubha was protective

“Umm.. no… a M Phil student ko meet kiya parson who mujheVivek kehta hai” she blushed self consciously

“KAUN HAI?” Anubha sat up

“Oh please… just some… u know” Viveka was self conscious

“AREY Papa keh rahe hain boyfriend is OKKK:”

“Ajeeb ghar hai hamara” she laughed

“Shaadi to tum karogi nahi, BF hi kar lo”

“I can never date a man that fawns over me” Viveka saidthoughtfully

“Kya kaha bhai is MPhil ne?”

“He said THREE things about my 5 year ago article on ruralpoverty”

“Is great”

“Ughhh” she cringed

The couple tried to hide a smile

“What were you wearing?”

“Jeans and kurti” she said bluntly getting up

“PLEEEZ beta… 5 PM”

Viveka was not rebellious or disrespectful, she was home by4 after helping a friend at the DU main library

The twins were trying on one outfit after another andfinally settled on short summer a shirtdress and a jumpsuit dress, and flats

Anubha and Akash shareda great marriage they could be heard laughing over something on TV as theygot ready

Viveka showered and stared at her closet

Threw on a red tussar cotton kurta with purple peacocks onthe sleeve with a grey pencil pant, and wore her favorite oversize silver jhumkasand silver jootis

“No jeans?” Anubha laughed

“Aap kahen to main ghar reh sakti hoon”

“Shauq se, ka Fa (Bua’s husband Kamal) ko kahoongi aayenge”

“I like him… sure” she nodded

They arrived early around 6

There were 10 cars parked outside

By the time they got to the kitchen area to meet Bua thehouse started filling up Bua and Fa spent some time quizzing her about why shewas not home to meet Naina’s “ummeedwar”

The house has a chef’s kitchen and butler’s pantry and aglass green house, and more glass walls and less brick and mortar…

… Viveka made her way to the large “office/library” avoidingthe cackling high society crowds and looked through the books and finallysettled down with something about Yoga and financial well being

She chuckled to herself about how even her Yoga books wereabout economics, pushed her glasses back up the bridge, and read the back summary

Raanav Parashar’s family wandered through the large lawn,pool area, and Raanav spotted the twin sisters… not noticing Viveka seated in one of the window seats of the large casement windows lining the study.

He wondered where he had seen the twins… they were identical he realized.

Dressed in tan shorts and a olive green seersucker cottonshirt and trendy loafers on the feet, he turned and walked towards the house

From the corner of his eyes he noticed a female form bent over a large book in the expansive double glass door open study

He did turn to look, just kept walking…

Good to see your version of P&P Nisha ! Congratulations on the new thread !!

It’s one of my all time favourites and not surprisingly , Elizabeth is one of my favourite protagonists too.

Hope all well with you and your boys.

Viveka likes her books. She is educated and has her opinions. I like that she can speak her mind.

Raanav only saw the twins. He didn't realize the figure he saw and didn't quite see was Viveka.

“One of ‘em”

There was lots of eating, dancing, loud music, and drinking

Naina arrived directly from work and showered and changed upstairs, when she came down the grand staircase in her gorgeous yellow skirt and a sleeveless blouse, many heads turned

“Why are you not wearing a Western outfit”

“Ask Ma, mujhe strictly bola gaya tha main JEANS na pehnoon”

“Kyon Ma”

“Subah shaam sotey jaagte jeans mein regti hai”

“Maybe you should have said clearly, DRESS pehno”

“Mazak nahi karen aap please, she doesn’t listen for any sartorial advise from me”

“We all have our personal style Papa, the twins dress like teens… well they are teens, Naina loves her skirts mujhe apni kurtis kurtas pasand hain”

“Privately kya family huddle chal rahi hai?” KamalShrivastav

“Fa Ma ko mera suit pasand nahi, skirt ke liye keh rahin hain”

“Beta tu yahin ruk ja, Harsha aur Piyush (sons) tumhari roz poochhte rehte hain, tu yahin ruk ja”

“To MAIN kya karoonga?” Akash was upset

“To yeh chai hai ya poha thodi hai? Aapki biwi hai aapke paas Bhaisaab”

“Damaad hain aap ghar ke to maine sun lee aapki baat” Akash hugged Kamal

His sis and BIL were exponentially wealthy, but very affectionate and loving

“Aaayen to, naye doston se milwaate hain

“Johri hain aapki tarah?”

“Arey nahi, kuch ke to factory hain, kuch ke kayi tarah ki factoryiyan hain” Kamal laughed

There were a lot of introductions made

There were over a 100 people filling the well lit outside lawn, there were misters and breezers, people trying to talk over the sounds of music

Naina was talking to a broad shouldered man with a buzz cut

Naina was fluttering her eyes affectedly, he was bringing her a drink, and appys Viveka noticed

She let a smile escape

Raanav noticed that from a distance… his eyes roved over her appearance and quickly looked away

There were many single men in the crowd.

The teens were flirting with men much older

Karuna was already fishing for something from a guy’s pocket

“Bhaisaab, yeh hain Smrita Parashar… ab yeh last iske baadkoi aur milaap nahi” Kamal laughed

Smrita turned around with a disinterested look

Anubha observed her carefully

“Mrs Parashar YEH hain jinhoney hamri shaadi karwayi Savita se” Kamal was gracious

“hello” Anubha joined hands in Namaste

“Hi!” Smrita nodded

“Aur yeh hain Satyen Parashar”

“Aap wohi to nahi? Subterra Communications ke CEO? Aapki company ne Who kya naam hai something Swedish SAS se koi deal sign ki for undersea optical fibre network in the Indian Ocean”

Satyen nodded with admiration

“Yeah that is ONE of our companies” Smrita nodded reminding Akash the distance was unscalable

“Welcome to Delhi” “Aap move kar rahe hain?”

“Jee… we lived all over, yeh yahan ki hain…. Main Rajasthanka hoon” Satyen began talking

There was a really awkward silence between the women

“”Arey inke baare mein to batana bhool gaya, Bhaisaab hamare state Bank mein Regional GM hain…aur Bhabhi, Ingersoll Rand mein R&D Program Manager hain”

“Oh?”

“Bache kitne hain bhaisaab?” Akash asked curiously

“DO bete hain… Rakshit aur Raanav”

“Wonderful” Akash shook hands joyously

“Ladki ho to bataayen” Satyen was really spontaneous

“INKE yaane ki hamare behnoyi ke barabar ke status to khair nahi milenge aapko” Akash joked

“Arey kya baat kar rahe hain Bhaisaab” Kamal was embarrassed

“Satyen… Rakshit is not here tonight…” Smrita smiled

“Arey haan… a small detail… Rakshit to aaj aaye nahi… bas Raanav hai”

“Akash Bhaisaab ke bache ekdum 100/100” Kamal laughed

Anubha squirmed

She did not get good vibes

Smrita had not said a word to her

She prayed her daughters will stay invisible, as she scanned the large crowds

“Kidhar hain… bulao” Akash said casually

“They must be busy” Anubha mumbled, “Viveka library mein hogi… Naina… yahin kahin thi”

The group scanned the crowd

“Arey who rahi” Akash almost spotted her as Anubha's expression crumpled

“Kamal Piyush ko dekha? Who angeethi naan waali ek taraf secrack hai, pata nahi contractor ka number nahi mere paas” Savita was flustered

“Hum dekhte hain, aap baat karo” Kamal squeezed her shoulderfondly and left her

“Jeejee aap andar chalo aapko ek cheez dikhani hai” Savitagiggled to Anubha

“She is your brother’s wife?” Smrita asked curiously

“Bhabhi nahi keh paati main, Jeejee se pyaar zyaada hota hai”Savita hugged Anubha

“Oh” Smrita nodded

“Naina ,Viveka kidhar hain?” Anubha enquired

“Naina to who rahee… jeejee” Savita pointed to a large crowd where she stood with the buzz cut hunk

“Yellow mein?” Smrita asked grimly

“HAAN wohi wohi Interior decoration ka course kar rakha hai isne” Savita spoke proudly

“Ma Decoration nahi design… design is like engineering”Piyush laughed at her

“Haan haan jo bhi” Savita laughed

“Ma, Papa kidhar hai who contractor keh raha hai peechhe kajo door hain wahan se utaar dega who baaqi ki angeethi” Piyush explained

Savita left them again

Smrita was later chatting with her son Raanav

Raanav went looking for Harsha….people were wandering in and out of the house, chattering, looking at the expensive artifacts and paintings…clustered in corners

He noticed people were looking the library bookshelves

He walked in to take a look

He found Viveka sitting with her feet up in a large leather chair

She hadn’t noticed him

He wondered if she was a driver? Or a Desi au pair or a personal tutor to the twin girls

The way she was lounging comfortably on the plush cherry red leather chair was irking him

Couples talked about a large original oil painting on the side of the window

“That looks like a original manuscript” he said bluntly.

She looked up from the book, and shoved her glasses up her nose

“Yeah it is… Its called the Economic History of India in the Victorian Age” she turned it around to look at the front… the book was old and yellowy… with stiff pages with frayed edges… the spine showing the stitch under the fabric sleeve

“It is an old book” he insisted hoping she would say she had clean hands

“It’s a fascinating book” she said instead

“Huh” he growled thinking “She not only has her dirty feet all over the patent leather chair… And she is holding the original manuscript with her bare dirty hands… no gloves”

A couple walked by the open study door giggling… Viveka smiled knowingly, at Naina and the buzz cut hottie

“Do you… know… her?” he asked piercingly

“Yeah” she nodded looking up at him carelessly and going back to her book

His mother had told him… she had told him she had just met the host & hostess’s BIL and wife… about their gold digger daughters,

and Smrita had pointed to Naina (and Inder (Smrita’s nephew and raanav’s bestfriend) ) saying “One of em”

Oh god!!! HOW I HATE THAT WORD NOW!!! I don't understand how people instantly form judgements just by appearances!

wtf.. gold digger daughters.. jaise factoriyan iske pati ne nahi isne kholi h.. she is also one of them then.. crackpot😡.. i love viveka❤️

Why it has become a common thinking that whenever two people of not same status interacts , the one with lower status is termed as gold digger.......

Smrita is so snooty. Raanav is too. Viveka has dirty hands and dirty feet. She must be the help. So judgemental.