FF: PALLAVI by Jalebi Jane SEE NOTE PAGE 117 - Page 38

Got delayed by a day🙈!

Ch-17

Of course, peace at Deshmukh Niwas required two things: (1) Always do as Baba says. (2) Always let Kaku win.  - Summed up the bane of all folks on the Forum 😒 

When you came to the villa that night, I should not have called your fiancé. It was not my place to punish you,” he spoke quietly. - Thank you for writing this scene. I seriously have never approved of Raghav doing what he did in the show. 

Farhad went on in this comical vein. - A humorous scene😆

I liked the whole flow of conversation b/w Mrs Tarabai Raje & Raghav. How she actually wants to give him a chance cos she can see he's capable. 

Ch-18

The steamer dropped out of Krishna’s hand. “Mr Rao? No! I was speaking of Mr Jagdish—!”. - I don't know why I literally thought that Krishna was actually talking about Raghav but somehow Raghav has just entered the shop & is standing behind Pallavi & that's why Krishna changes the path/culprit of the conversation. To not embarrass Pallavi & herself infront of Raghav.

Then I read ahead & realized Ofcourse we aren't getting another meetup so soon. 

How would she explain to Krishna that she had wanted to see Raghav and yet not see him as well. - I like the chain of thoughts that's initiated in Pallavi's mind already 😆. 

Wow! Her Aayi here is actually acting like a proper mother & recognises her child when noone else did 😳 ..

I loved that Pallavi is not in denial of her attraction to Raghav..

Wen the family was talking abt the video, i too for a moment believed noone recognized her. But aayi did. But i respect her her for questioning Pallavi in private.

Worried wats gonna happen next

Fantastic episode ❤️

Pallavi ko kuch kuch hone laga hai --- towards RR

Reading your work is an absolute joy for me, transports me to another world! 

Originally posted by: JalebiJane

Hey Sister,

I think we are on the same wavelength. I was just reading your incredible analysis of "Is Raghav in love?" I admire your mind. I hope you are in a career path which takes advantage of your precision thinking.

As always, thank you for your comment.

PS My name is Maya. I shouldn't assume that everyone knows who I am. hehe The 'Jane' in JalebiJane is a nod to my writing inspiration, Jane Austen.

I am Rural Management professional working as Development Manager for Renewable Energy Solutions.

Hello Maya❤️

Originally posted by: LyssaPie

Reading your work is an absolute joy for me, transports me to another world! 

Thank you, Sister. You pay me the highest compliment.

Originally posted by: Vibrant_Ana

Fantastic episode ❤️

Pallavi ko kuch kuch hone laga hai --- towards RR

I know! She has it bad---and what makes it worse for her is that she thinks he's not worth her attention. Poor girl.

Originally posted by: mayabhi

I loved that Pallavi is not in denial of her attraction to Raghav..

Wen the family was talking abt the video, i too for a moment believed noone recognized her. But aayi did. But i respect her her for questioning Pallavi in private.

Worried wats gonna happen next

Thank you, Sister, for your comment.

Yes---I'm pleased she is not denying it. It's a waste of energy to deny what she feels for him physically. But what to do with this emotion---! 

Originally posted by: SONIA441

Ch-17

Of course, peace at Deshmukh Niwas required two things: (1) Always do as Baba says. (2) Always let Kaku win.  - Summed up the bane of all folks on the Forum 😒 

hehe

I confess I'm using my FF to express all the anger I feel towards Baba. I would literally make a face every time he entered the screen. Aside: In that scene when Kaka is lamenting how bad he feels as a father watching Mansi's pain, Baba made it immediately about him. 'Imagine how I felt when my son disappeared blah blah.' That man!!

Originally posted by: SONIA441

When you came to the villa that night, I should not have called your fiancé. It was not my place to punish you,” he spoke quietly. - Thank you for writing this scene. I seriously have never approved of Raghav doing what he did in the show. 

Glad you approved of my decision, Sister. It has niggled me since that episode aired. And then when Sunil showed up and he slapped Anjali---and Farhad and Raghav just watched! Good god! In my mind, I imagined that whoever wrote that scene must be a man that I never want to meet. Don't get me started, Sister!

Originally posted by: SONIA441

Ch-18

The steamer dropped out of Krishna’s hand. “Mr Rao? No! I was speaking of Mr Jagdish—!”. - I don't know why I literally thought that Krishna was actually talking about Raghav but somehow Raghav has just entered the shop & is standing behind Pallavi & that's why Krishna changes the path/culprit of the conversation. To not embarrass Pallavi & herself infront of Raghav.

Then I read ahead & realized Ofcourse we aren't getting another meetup so soon. 

Oh! That would have been brilliant! Wish I had thought of that. But Raghav was in Mumbai so hmmm . . .

Originally posted by: SONIA441

Wow! Her Aayi here is actually acting like a proper mother & recognises her child when noone else did 😳 ..

Beautiful point. Yes--a true mother knows her child. I love Aayi as much as I despise Baba.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, Sister. It's like live-tweeting but better.

APRIL 21, 2021

EPISODE 19

I have said it before—and I will say it again, Sisters—that the sound of a slap—the sound of a human palm smacking a human cheek is a terrible sound. It hurts the ears more than the slap itself. It is the sound of humilation. The sound of something irrevocably breaking. Nothing returns to the same state after there is a slap. 

Both women were in momentary shock. 

Pallavi touched her cheek as though she could not believe what Aayi had done.

Aayi pressed her palm against her own quivering lips. She reached out to Pallavi as though she would embrace her—but then withdrew. “Forgive me—I’m so ashamed!” she cried, and ran to the door.

But Pallavi was quicker and had the advantage of longer limbs. She got to the door first and with arms spread she blocked Aayi’s departure. 

With eyes swimming in tears, her face red with fury, she said, “No! No, Aayi! You asked me a question—so you shall hear the complete answer. Then you can slap me twenty more times—you can kill me if you choose—but you will know everything before this day ends.”

Aayi was sobbing, her face bent—unable to meet Pallavi’s eyes.

Pallavi grabbed Aayi’s arm—not very gently, I might add—and led her back to the bed. Then she turned to the armoire and opened it. Sliding her hand between two sarees, she withdrew a sheet of glossy printed paper. It had one ragged edge, as though it had been torn out of a booklet. 

“What do you see?” Pallavi asked, handing Aayi the sheet.

Aayi examined it. She said, “Raghav Rao. His photo.”

“His hand! Look at his hand!” Pallavi demanded.

Aayi squinted through her tears. And then brushing the tears away, her eyes widened. “Mandhar’s?” She met Pallavi’s eyes.

“My family ring. The one I gave your son on the day we were engaged,” Pallavi stated. And speaking this sentence undid her. She fell into sobs, her shoulders shaking. 

Aayi pulled her into her arms and both women clung to each other and wept.

In time, the storm passed. Pallavi poured water from the jug at her bedside table, and they shared a glass in silence.

“I went to see Mr Rao that night,” Pallavi began. “I wanted to know how he came to have my ring. I adopted that disguise because I didn’t want him to be able to identify me later—”

“—In case, he was involved in Mandhar’s disappearance,” Aayi finished for her. 

Pallavi nodded.

Aayi pushed back a lock of hair which had freed itself from Pallavi’s plait. “My dear girl,” she sighed. “My poor child.”

“I don’t know why there has been a video circulating about the meeting—what it implies—that he misbehaved with me. That is false. He was a gentleman. I imposed myself on him. I fell. He helped me. Gave me his jacket. Put me in a car. I had the ring. I returned it,” Pallavi’s words jumbled out in a fashion that could not be understood. She gathered her thoughts, and said, “None of that is important. This is important—Mandhar sold the ring to Jayati Jewellers sometime after he disappeared. He left us—he was not taken by force—and then he sold the ring to finance his escape.”

Aayi ’s head dropped back against the headboard, she sighed, her eyes shut tight, and she said, “That worthless boy! Had he died, I would have preferred it.”

Her words thundered in Pallavi’s ears. “You knew?”

Aayi opened her eyes, touched Pallavi’s cheek, and said, “I didn’t realize you knew any of it.”

And so it was, Sisters. This night in which Pallavi expected to make all the revelations turned into a night of surprises for both. 

The private detectives which Aayi had spent a fortune on had brought results. Mandhar was discovered in Mumbai. For where else could one hide so easily?

“Remember that three-day trip I took to see my brother in Indore?” Aayi asked. At Pallavi’s nod, she continued, “I stopped in Indore but I went to Mumbai first. I saw Mandhar. He was living with his wife—yes! wife!—a very pregnant wife.”

“What!?”

Aayi said, “Why do you think I’ve been after you so persistently to marry and build a new life for yourself. Away from all of us! Away from this sham of widowhood!”

Pallavi asked, “He married again? So soon?”

Aayi took Pallavi’s shoulders and said, “Pallavi—he was already married to her before he married you.”

The information was coming too quickly for Pallavi to absorb. Questions were arising at a speed she couldn’t cope.

“Wait!” she cried, clutching her temples. “Stop, Aayi. Tell me! Am I not married to Mandhar?”

Aayi shook her head. “No. You are not married to him. He is a bigamist. You are free.”

You are free!

“Oh!” Pallavi flew off the bed. Relief flooded her veins. She grasped the murti of Lord Ganesh from her dressing table and clutched it to her bosom.

Free! 

A knock rudely interrupted her soaring heart. 

“Sharda? Pallavi?” It was Baba.

Aayi indicated with her hand that Pallavi should stay in the room and say nothing. “I’ll bring your dinner. Then tell you the rest. There is more that you must know.”

***

The next morning was not just a new morning but a new world to Pallavi. She felt different. Like her pre-Mandhar self. No! Not even that. She felt as she had never felt before. There was relief at having revealed everything to Aayi. And though their circumstances had not essentially changed—there was still heavy debt and there was still Jagdish—the problems seemed manageable. 

Aayi knocked on the bedroom door as Pallavi was dressing. She had brought her a cup of tea. The elation Pallavi felt was not reflected in Aayi’s face. It was the opposite. By unburdening herself, she had burdened Aayi.

But Aayi managed to meet her smile. And then as her eyes fell on the bed, she gave a laugh, “What on earth!?”

There were at least dozen sarees discarded on the bed. Pallavi was half-draped in one and had another over her shoulder. 

“I can’t seem to decide what to wear today,” Pallavi explained, throwing her hands up in an exaggerated manner.

Aayi, with hands on her hips, looked Pallavi over. And then as a thought struck her, she indicated the suitcase on top of the armoire. “Help me get that down.”

“That—” Pallavi was about to say, ‘that is the suitcase I packed for my honeymoon’ but she caught herself in time. 

Aayi unclasped it and threw it open. At the very top was the dress she had worn to the casino.

Aayi touched it, gave a wink, and said, “Except for this, of course, select something from here. This is the young woman you are. This is how you should dress going forward.”

Pallavi sat on the edge of the bed, and as she shuffled through the items each evoked a memory of where it had been purchased and how she had imagined the scene of its wearing. There was also a large pouch of toiletries and makeup. She unzipped the pouch and her fingers found a bottle of perfume. She removed the cap and brought the bottle to her nose. The scent of vanilla and geraniums filled her spirit.

Aayi was right. This is who she was. This past year she had forgotten all that. She had adopted the disguise of what the world wanted her to be. 

Is that what Raghav Rao had unconsciously seen? That she was not a shop-girl. That she didn’t belong there.

She gave herself a mental shake to dislodge his words from her mind.

“These are either too showy for the shop or more suited to the beach,” Pallavi said to Aayi.

“True.” Aayi said, “But—here—” fishing out a coral chiffon saree, “this will be nice.” 

***

Pallavi arrived late at the shop. She had taken time to dress, apply some light makeup and curled her hair to leave it free to cascade down her back.

Krishna was on the front steps looking from side to side as though waiting for her.

Pallavi ran up to her, drew her into an embrace almost jumping with joy.

Krishna resisted, and said, “Didi!” Her voice was a warning.

But Pallavi was too happy to notice. She continued, “I have so much to tell you, Krishna—I hardly know where to begin!”

“I’m bursting to hear every detail,” came a voice from the back of the shop.

She knew the voice.

Raghav Rao!

And as she stepped within, she saw him leaning against the far wall. His arms folded across his chest. His ankles crossed. He was wearing the same dark blue pin-striped suit from the casino but now it was paired with a crisp white shirt open at the neck.

His eyes measured her form in a slow perusal. And then met hers with a gleam. The insinuation was clear. He believed she had dressed to correct his opinion of her earlier appearance. That she had been offended by his ‘old maid’ taunt and immediately remedied the matter to show herself at her best. 

Pallavi was caught. To protest that she had not dressed for him would give weight to his words.

“Why are you here?”

“I have so much to tell you, I hardly know where to begin—” he used the same language she had earlier used to mock her, “but ladies first.” 

Krishna was immediately behind Pallavi and said, “Mr Rao says he now owns our shop!”

“What!” Pallavi exclaimed.

Raghav lifted away from the wall and stepped forward. 

Krishna stepped back instinctively putting Pallavi between herself and Raghav.

He said, “Miss Krishna, if you insist on spoiling surprises at least get the details correct.”

Krishna moved closer to Pallavi’s back at this direct address.

Pallavi pointed at Raghav as if she were warning a terribly mischievous child. “Leave Krishna be. Speak to me. What is this about?”

“I need a coffee,” he said.

“I’ll get it,” Krishna took a step towards the backroom.

“No.” Pallavi halted the girl by catching her arm. Her eyes trained on Raghav she said, “This is not Falaknuma Palace. And Krishna is not your Remmy.”

His brow lifted at this. “Remmy will be touched that you remember his name. But warm water poured over brown granules is not coffee. We’ll have a cup at the café around the corner.”

“Koffee Kahani,” Krishna supplied the name of the café. 

“See—Miss Krishna knows that her storeroom coffee is an insult to proper coffee. 

“I’m not going anywhere with you, Mr Rao. Tell me this instant what Krishna meant by you owning our shop.” Pallavi crossed her arms to show she was firmly planted.

He shrugged, “As you wish. Miss Krishna, leave the shop and draw the shutters down. Give us half an hour before returning.”

“Absolutely not!” Pallavi said.

He stated: “I will speak to you only in private. Either here with the shutters down. At the café around the corner. Or you can come to the Palace. Remmy will no doubt be happy to see you again, Sana Begum.”

Edited by JalebiJane - 3 years ago