HELLO!!!!
Well, I sat to write something else and ended up writing something else. Kesar was haunting my thoughts. So I wrote down something on it. Hope you enjoy my take. Fingers crossed. Comment guys on how you find it. Sorry for the typos.
Thanks to everyone who read and liked the previous parts and of course commented. Hope you all enjoy this one too.
Stay safe and Happy reading.â¤ď¸
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PART 5
Pandya familyâs ancestral home wasnât in Somnath. The family once in a while visited their ancestral home 9 hours away from here for special occasions. Suman thought it was high time the family paid a visit there. There was a tradition of the family that the newly weds go to seek blessings from their ancestral temple. It had been 11 days since ShiVi got married. Suman wanted to get done with the ritual as soon as possible. Soon Raavi would start school and Dhara was nearly three months pregnant. They would probably not get time for it later. also Dev's marriage was coming up in a few months. She had asked Gaumbhi to arrange everything and Dhara to not worry about anything regarding the preparation. Ever since her pregnancy news came out two days ago, the family was delighted and extra careful about her. So, Gaumbhi and Dev took the responsibility of the puja. They planned to stay there for maximum three days. They had arranged an AC microbus so that it would be comfortable for both Suman and Dhara. As they loaded the vehicle, Shiva, Raavi and Krish occupied the back seat, while Dhara, Suman and Gaumbhi sat on the middle row and Dev in the passenger sit. On route, GauRa and Suman shared their memories of the haveli and the town with the kids who were eager to capture as many stories as they could. They reached by late afternoon. Gaumbhi took his mother to her room while Dhara went to check the food arrangements for the night asking the youngster to freshen up after unloading all their stuff from the vehicle.
âaur kesar ke baath yaad hai Shivaâ, Krish suddenly asked as they entered the haveli and was about to laugh as if he just remembered the greatest prank ever but stopped on Shivaâs signal of staying mum,
âhaa mujhe yaad hai, tum teeno ne kitni darawani faltu ke kahani sunaya tha. Woh Kesar sach me hai kya?â, Raavi asked with a frown â she was also there in the haveli for her Anita diâs supposed marriage and these three idiots had to scare her out of her wits with their brain cooked stories. Now that she thought of those she realized how fake and silly those tales were. But still spirits were spirits and she preferred them miles away from her. She clutched Shivaâs shirt on arm glancing around.
â kesar ke hone se tujhe koi dikkat nahi honi chaiye. Woh kesar apne rishtedaron ko kuch nahi kartaâ, Shiva retorted having fun at his wifeâs slightly scared face,
âRishtedaron matlabâ, She immediately zeroed her concentration on him narrowing her eyes knowing his play very well,
âtu bhi chudail woh bhi chudail. Behno hoge na tum dono?â, he added a shrug for extra effect, she pinched his arm making him shriek and move away. Krish and Dev were following them inside and shook their head at the nonsensical conversation,
âusse rishta hoga tera. Tu bhoothnath woh bhi Bhoothniâ,she tried to take a jibe at him, but well, it was Shiva, so her jibe came right back,
âkaise sahi pakde hai na tuâ, he started suddenly excited, â woh nah mere mashooka thi. Par tere khatir maine usse reject kar diya. Tabse woh apne toote dil lekar yaha haveli mein mandara rahi hai. Aab tu bole toh usse apna loo?â, if glare could burn,Raavi would have ashes for husband by now. He offered her a smug smile.
âbehen bani sautanâ, Krish exclaimed dramatically dropping down on the sofa in the living room, other two boys followed suit, but Raavi! her scorching gaze turned to him â did he just called her chudail too!!! He sat up straight quickly, âmera matlab soch Raavi bhabi, woh yaha itne saalon se tera hi intezar kar rahe hai. Tujhse badla lene kaâ,
âpar humara shadi toh do hafte pehle huwa nah!!â, Raavi said coming back to frowning again â what kind of logic was that!! They hadnât even fallen in love, not yet. Shiva sighed â this pagal was actually buying their story, Again!!! what did she for brain?!!
âshadi saath janmo ka bhandan hota hai. Pichle kisi janam chod diya hoga Shiva ne usse tere liyeâ, leave Dev to add a more realistic touch!!- Shiva grinned at his brothers sharing a wink. They proved to be his brother today! Raavi looked in deep thoughts.
âkitna ajeeb baat hai, tu apne rishtedaron sekitne darti hai. Kabhi chipkali kabhi chudailâ,
âizzat se naam le samjha, kyon ki ab toh yeh tere bhi rishtedar hai. Mere pati joh thehre tuâ. Raavi frowned at the trioâs relaxed expression as they lazed off on the sofa.
âshukar hai tune mana toh tu chudail chipkali yeh saare cheez haiâ, they burst out laughing leaving Raavi dumbstruck,
âDi sahi kehte hai. Tum teeno ho banar senah. Aab jake fresh hoke aa, jaâ, She said to the other two and pulled a smirking Shiva with her.
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That night, Raavi couldnât sleep as Kesar occupied her thoughts. She somewhere felt that it was another of Shivaâs stupid trick to make fun of her. But again she did see some shadow ten years back right? No,she might be thinking too much. It must be Shiva messing up with her again. Her chain of though broke by some noise. She tried to hear carefully and felt it was coming just outside their door. She looked at Shivaâs side and saw him in deep slumber. She doubted if even tsunami could wake up that saarson ke tel ke tanki! Sighing she thought to have somewater and got up. Suddenly she saw something through their open window, something white may be. She walked towards the window and saw a figure clad in white saree sitting on Krishâs window perch, its feet were dangling on the air and itâs face was covered with all of its long dark hair. Krishâs room was just beside them. Whereas Sumanâs were in downstairs and GauRa and Devâs on opposite wing. Raavi felt a shiver run down her spine seeing the scenery. It seemed to be merrily singing something and waiting. What was it waiting for? Shiva? Or his wife? She felt frozen on her place as if all blood was sucked out of her. Was it Kesar? Did that mean all those tales by the two monkeys were true!! She quickly turned around only to clash with another body making her scared even more. She screamed at top of her voice but the person shushed her up. It was Shiva.
âaee gadheri, itni raat ko kya kar rahi hai aur aise kaoye ki tarha chik kiya rahi haiâ, he asked in his most nonchalant voice holding her shoulder. She immediately hugged him tight.
âShi..vva, woh ke...sar hai wahaâ, she whispered hiding her face in his chest. He encircled his arm around and felt her chanting hanuman chalisha. He felt it was enough and couldnât hold himself back. She felt his chest vibrating and she stiffened â was he laughing?! She pulled away and looked up at his face and he started laughing loudly. She switched on the light and he called out to Krish in between his laughter. She again looked out of the window and watched as the white saari person got into krishâs room. A few seconds later, a knock was heard on their door that made Raavi startle. Shiva opened the door laughing and incame Krish in that white saari ,long hair and blood red nails.
âkya Shiva itna jaldi kyon bula liya. Aur mazaa aa raha thaâ, the duo highfived and Shiva watched her reaction closely. She felt anger course through her veins â Shiva and His Kesar âhow dare they scare her like that!! those donkeys! elephants! gorillas! She felt like hitting them and looked around for something. Shiva and Krish had stopped laughing and followed her movements. She took the nearest thing â pillow first and threw it straight at the brothers face shouting â kamino, duffos, saare huye tamatars and whatever came on her mindâ. She didnât wait to see if they were hit or not - it didnât matter who got hit, both deserved that - and searched for the next thing. The boys dodged the pillow cackling slightly and looked back to see what she threw next, only to Krish get hit by the hairbrush on his nose. Shiva laughed at him and got her lotion bottle on his face. Both looked ahead and saw her picking up the vase, they looked at each other widening their eyes and ran out of the room into the hall,
âAyyy chudail kya kar rahi hai tu! Prank tha usske kiye jaan thode na legiâ,
âlena hai toh iss ka lele bhabi, mere toh aabhi bhi shadi nahi huyiâ,
âtujhe shadi karni hai!! Ek accha sa ladka dhoondo ga main tere liye Kesar khala. Gharelu bahu ka pose dene ke liya taiyar ho jaa tuâ,
âdekh mami ke behan ki beti , woh vase rakh. Mujhe kuch ho gaya toh tujhe mami ke behan ki beti kon bulayega bolâ,
âtu!!! saare huye kele ke chilka!! woh ek naam 11 saal purana ho gaya hai. Mujhe nahi chaiye wohâ, suddenly they came face to face with a white saree clad figure halting their chase and all three got scared. Raavi dropped her vase and the devar bhabi clinged to Shiva shouting their lungs out. The hall dim light was replaced by bright light giving them a clear view. Shiva saw Dhara standing in front of them with a horrified look, he shrugged the two off.
âyeh ho kya raha hai bhai, aur yeh......Krish? tu yeh kya pehna hai!!â, GauRa and Dev had come out to check hearing all the chaos the three were making. They were shocked to see the trioâs state. What was Krish doing in that attire!!! Dev slapped his forehead getting what all these fiasco was about.
âbhabi yeh Raavi chudail ban gayi haiâ,
âchudail ke kapde khud phene rakhe hai aur mujhe bula rahe hai chudailâ,
âhaa isse chudail nahi bhootni bulaâ,
âbhoothnah se shadi ki hai aab bhoothni to bulayega hi nahâ,
âbas karo tum teenoâ, they didnât pay heed and kept on throwing insults at each other. Gaumbhi had had enough, â MAINE KAHA STATUEâ, all three froze on their place,
âaab kon bolega yeh kya ho raha haiâ,
âyeh na inn dono ka plan hai Raavi ko tang karne kiâ, Dev said pulling Krishâs ear, GauRa gave them an exasperated look,
âtu hai Kesar !! jo saalon se iss haveli mein mandara raha hai!â, Raavi nodded eagerly and Krish offered them a sheepish smile. Gaumbhi laughed at their silly antics.
âShiva,maine kaha tha na tujhe Raavi ko tang na karâ, Raavi glared her husband, her eyes screaming revenge,
âkya bol rahi hai Dhara, tere Shiva ko sirf teen cheez aata hai â ek dukan sambhal na, do bhabi bhabi karna aur teen Raavi ko saatanaâ, Gaumbhi said slapping Shuvaâs cheek lightly, âaur tu Raavi, tujhe lagta hai inn shaita no ke hote huye bhooth, dayan, chudail koi bhi yaha tik payagi. Joh bhi aayega khud apna saman band wapas chala jayegaâ,
âphir mere bagal mein khade woh kya haiâ, Shiva muttered under his breath but Raavi heard it. She gave him a look as if saying âapna time aayegaâ,
âaab tum teeno aise moorti banke kya khade hoâ, They gave Gaumbhi an incredulous look â who was asking?? Yes, the one who statued them!!
âBhabi maine kuch nahi kiya , yeh sab na Shiva ka idea thaâ, Krish made his most innocent face,
âgadhere, saree tune pene rakkhe haiâ,
âjo bhi ho, tu na apne kesar ke paas jaake so jah. Kamre mein tere gira huwa kathal jaise shakal nahi dekhni chayiyeâ, Raavi stomped to their room with Shiva following her calling her whatever he called her. Others shook their head at their retreating figure and Dhara turned to Krish who made a puppy face,
âaab tera kya hoga kesariyaâ.
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One week later,
There was a hustle - bustle going around in the Pandya House. Raavi sat on the step outside the kitchen resting her chin on her hands. She watched as the four brothers ran around doing god knew what. Today was Raaviâs joining day at school. So she had woken up early and completed most of the chores to ease out Dhara. She was reluctant to go. But whole family refused that idea instantly and instead insisted on making the day perfect for her. According to the brothers, she and Dhara were to take rest and relax and they were to take care of everything for that day. Raavi couldnât understand what were they taking care of actually. She herself had finished maximum house chores. She had made breakfast and prepared everything for lunches well. Then what were they cooking in the kitchen? Dhara was going to the washroom when she saw Raavi sitting like that.
âtu aise kyon baithi hai Raavi?â,
âbaithi nahi hu Di. Mujhe jabardasti baithaya gaya haiâ,Dhara gave her a confused look. Just then Krish passed by them carrying a bucket full of water in his hand. Dhara raised her eyebrow at Raavi who gave a nod sulkily. Both watched him walk into the washroom then return back to the kitchen. Dhara stopped him midway holding his arm,
âYeh kya hai krish?â,
âbalti hai Bhabiâ, Dhara put her both hand on her waist, âwoh aapke liye garam pani dale hai, jaldi se jaake nah lijeâ,
âkisne bheja yeh garam paniâ,
âGaumbhi ne, of courseâ,
âGaumbhi ne!!â, Krish nodded excitedly making the girls glare him, âmatlab kitchen me yeh charo haiâ, Raavi gave her a sad nod, Dhara gave an exasperated sigh and went into the kitchen followed by Raavi and Krish. Both girls widened their eyes at the condition of the kitchen. Well, it looked like a mini tornado had passed through it.
âTum logo ko mana kiya tha mere rasoi me mat aanaâ,
â Shiva!! tujhe yeh toofan lana tha isliye nahi aane de raha tha mujhe aandarâ,
âjo bhi karo so, mujhe tum teeno yaha ek aur second nahi dekni chaiyeâ, Dhara said pointing at Shiva, Dev,Krish , âaur tum Gaumbhi yeh saare faile huye raita sameto ge, AKELEâ, she finished emphasing the last word. All three boys left showing thumbs up, better Gaumbhi than them.
âDi main.....â,
ârehne de Raavi, inhe aata hai yeh sab. Yeh toofan to woh banar sena ne laya hai. Gaumbhi kar legaâ, Dhara said as she pulled a reluctant Raavi with her, â tu jaake school ke liye tayar ho ja jaldiâ. Well she might have declared he would do it alone. But few minutes later, Dhara was found in the kitchen helping her husband and the youngsters couldnât help admiring them.
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Shiva stopped his bike as they reached her school and waited for Raavi to get down. When he was about to get down too, Raavi stopped him and suggested he should get going lest he would be late. Sitting back, Shiva stared at her face then gently held the back of her head. Seeing him leaning forward, she closed her eyes. He watched her face then closing his own eyes placed a peck on her forehead ever so softly. Feeling his kiss, Raavi encircled her right arm around his waist and kept her left palm on his cheek. He backed away a bit but held her close. Neither opened their eyes. A slight smile was playing on their lips. Both opened their eyes and stared at each other. A different emotion flowed between them at the moment. They had been close before on numerous timesâ it was either Shiva pulling her by her arms to emphasis his words or her holding his collars to spout something very annoying or something else. But right now, right in each otherâs arm, it felt way different from those incidents. They were normally touchy people. Holding hands, pulling each other, hitting shoulders, hugging each other etc had always been normal for them. They had always been comfortable around each other. They hardly ever shied away from each others touch. It always felt... normal. But now all touch felt different,meaningful and special. They felt an emotion they never experienced before. They didnât know if they wanted to name it, yet. But surely, they were excited to experience it all.
âsun,waha apni asli roop mat dikhana, bacchco ko pata chala tu chudail hai toh school chod ke bhag jayengeâ, Shivaâs voice was soft despite the words. Raavi smiled at his remark, still in the same position,
âfir toh tujhe yaha se jaldi bhaga na chaiye,tu bhoothnath jo thehreâ, he gave her a challenging look, she grazed his slightly grown beard. He didnât retort her deciding to continue it at home. So, he let her go with a smirk. She too started walking to the entrance. He rode off shaking his head with a goofy smile after she went inside.
Around 3:30pm,
Shiva and Gaumbhi were unloading some goods outside thestore. Kaka was attending a customer inside and Dev was on the cash counter. An auto stopped in front of the store and Raavi came out of it .
âGaumbhi aap jaldi se ghar chale jaiye, hum sambhal lenge yahaâ,Raavi said as Shiva took her bag off of her and went inside followed by Gaumbhi and her. He checked her tiffin and found it full, he kept everything aside shaking his head.
âkyon?Tu school karke aa raha hai, ghar jaa aaram karâ, Gaumbhi refused instantly,
âchodona gaumbhi, iss ke kaan kam nahi kar raha kuch dino se, aap chale jayo. Bhabi khush ho jayegi aap ko dekh karâ,
âaur kehte hai pregnancy ke waqt jiska chehra jyada dekhte hai baccha uske jyasa hota hai.â, Devadded his two cents getting on the duoâs plan. Surely, both maa and Bhabi would a happy seeing him early. All this years they had seen their brother and sister in law always on their feet working tirelessly. May be with this baby they would be allowed to relax back a bit.
âphir toh mujhe hamesha di ke paas rehna chaiye. Tab bhi jake baccha mere jaise sundar aur intelligent hoga naâ, Raavi exclaimed making Shiva snort and others smile,
âyeh dekho gadheri ko!! galat fehmi ke mehel bana ke jee rahi hai!, tu aas paas rahegi na toh baccha gadheri hi hogaâ,
âgadhere hoga tu aur tere aane wale khaandanâ,
âRaavi, tu jaanti hai na iska aane wala khaandan tujhse hi aayegaâ, Gaumbhi gave her a pointed look. She widened her eyes and turned to Shiva who smiled smugly. She couldnât decide whether to feel embarrassed at those words or irritated at Shivaâs look. Beside them Dev and Gaumbhi burst out laughing, â Raavi, yeh bata tera din kaisa raha?â,
âBohat accha tha Gaumbhi. Waha ke bacche itna pyaare hai. Aur staffs bhi bohat acche haiâ,
âmatlab tumne chaar paanch dost to bana hi liya hogaâ,
âinsaan jaisi makkhi ke bhan bhan se pak gaya hoga pure schoolâ,
âchalo saaro che.â, Guambhi interrupted not letting Raavi reply, â Main chal ta hu, Raavi tune lunch kiya naâ,
Raavi was about to nod a no but Shiva interrupted again,
âyeh chiti hai Gaumbhi, rashan kar raha hai khanaâ,
âaur tu machchar hai khane ke katne lag jata haiâ,
âsun, inn logo ne bhi nahi khaya abhi tak. Saab sath me kha lenaâ, ShiVi nodded their head obediently, âAur Dev, dhyan rakhna yeh dono khud ke sath sath humare dukan bhi na jala de kahiâ, Dev nodded biting back his laugh as the couple glared at each other.
The store was busy even at that hour. So Raavi suggested Dev and Kaka to have lunch while she and Shiva attended the buyers. Then they could take over and ShiVi would lunch. Dev immediately agreed giving teasing looks to Shiva who for the first time didnât feel annoyed. Instead he enjoyed it. As their lunch was over they got busy with the customers again. Raavi took control of the cash counter while others provided people with their necessary things. Krish joined them by evening as it was their peak time.
âBhabi, teri school mein koi handsome colleague hai kya?â, Krish asked out of nowhere making ShiVi confused,
âEk teacher hai joh dekne main bilkul Ranbir kapoor jaiseâ,Raavi said not paying attention entirely to the words but Shiva looked at her with a scowl,
âtu parane gayi thi ya ladka dekh neâ, she rolled her eyes and looked up at him questioningly,
âkya fadak padh ta hai Shiva.â Dev intervened as he was the referee for today and smacked Krish for asking the stupidest question, â waise bhi, teri Raavi Deepika Padukone banke ghumti hai, usse to Ranveer Singh hi pasand aayegaâ, his reply made Raavi look at her husband in a new light. Was he pissed with that piece of information?? Was her dear bhoothnath jealous? She couldnât help grinning at him. Her day just got even more better. But Shiva wasnât pleased with all RK â RS mention.
âAyy mami ke behan ki beti !! tu apna kabutar apne muh meh ghusa aur kaam pe dyan deâ, Well well well, didnât Raavi find just the right plan for revenge for all his pranks on her?!! She cheered in her mind - apna time aa gaya!!!
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