CHAPTER 15
Broken heart, breaking heart
Maithili stepped out of the van and laid her eyes upon the vast
farmhouse in front of her. It stood on the edge of a hill with winding
roads going around and around till her eyes got lost in them. Her lush
surroundings were a welcome visual treat for Maithili who had just left
Mumbai. During the drive from the airport, she kept her eyes peeled as
she stared outside the window. Tanu sat beside her in the seat all the
way at the back, where Tanu told her stories about their childhood
trips to Mussoorie. In the meantime, Adi and Kamal sat at the front and
were deeply engrossed in conversation. The only two quiet people were
Shruti and Ashu. Ashu was beginning to miss Gauri, and was sad he
wouldn't see her for two weeks.
The van had come to a halt and everyone stepped out. Maithili took
in a deep breath of fresh air. She was really glad she decided to come
to Mussoorie, she did need a break after all. And moreover, she was
happy she was getting to spend 2 weeks with Adi and the Mehra family
here. Best of all, Kamal put aside his busy schedule and decided to
join them as well.
She soon saw a beautiful woman emerging from the entrance with a
warm smile. She threw her arms around Shruti, Tanu, Ashu, and Adi.
Parvati then came to Kamal and kindly greeted him. Kamal and Suyash
already knew each other, and they both started talking. Shruti was busy
instructing the servants to bring their luggage into the house. Parvati
slowly approached Maithili with a smile and moistened eyes, "you must
be Maithili." Maithili almost unconsciously reached downwards and
touched Parvati's feet. But before she could do so, Parvati stopped her
and hugged Maithili. "Welcome to our home, beta," she said into her
ear. Just then, Adi hugged his dadi from behind and said, "kaisi hai?"
Maithili blushed at this, looking downwards. "Bahut pyaari," Parvati
replied with loving confidence. But Parvati noticed Shruti's obvious
discomfort and made a mental note to later talk to Shruti privately to
find out what was bothering her.
In less than an hour's time, they had all been shown their bedrooms
where they started unpacking and freshening up despite their weariness
and jetlag. Maithili took a shower and slipped into a plain white
churidar and threw on a mustard coloured dupatta. She then walked
around the farmhouse in admiration of its simplistic, rustic appeal.
The rooms of the farmhouse were spacious and comfortable even though
they were simply designed. Above the kitchen, living room, and lounge
area lay a beautiful indoor but sky-lit verandah lined by two parallel
corridors. The verandah was filled with potted plants, a cushioned
wooden indoor swing, and a few armchairs. Along each corridor wall,
four doors were spread out. These doors opened up into a total of 8
bedrooms, each with its own small and cosy bathroom.
They were all sitting at the dinner table eating and excitedly
making plans for the next few days. Ashu and Adi wanted to go
sight-seeing more than anything. Tanu and Maithili had an interest in
going shopping at the local markets in Dehradun. Parvati wanted to take
a family trip to Risihikesh. Then they all agreed to get to each of
these things and merrily concluded the discussion. After dinner, Kamal
and Suyash were talking in the front porch whereas Tanu and Ashu sat in
front of the TV. Adi and Maithili went up to the terrace, where they
gazed at the beautiful star-filled sky. Their bare feet were slightly
cold but they comfortably stepped across the paved floor.
Adi looked into Maithili's eyes and told her how much it meant to
him that she was here with his family. They sat hand-in-hand on a bench
surrounded by potted rose shrubs. Adi relaxed his body and laid his
head on Maithili's lap. She bent down at him slightly, with her face
framed by her long, dark hair that hung down, slightly dancing in the
breeze. Even though the strands of her hair caged her face, bits of
moonlight still shone upon her, making her face glow. She was gently
stroking his hair, and Adi stared at her, mesmerized. He closed his
eyes for a moment, wondering to himself if this was a dream. By the
time he opened his eyes again, she had leaned her head backwards with a
gentle smile emerging on her impatient and quivering lips. He lifted
himself up to pull her face down towards him for a magical moonlit
kiss. From a distance, their faces looked like two sparks of light
merging into each other. When they pulled away, he had to make sure she
heard the single most important truth on his life. "I love you
Maithili," he whispered, sitting up. She smiled with satisfaction. "I
love you, too."
* * *
Parvati and Shruti were sitting on Shruti's bed and talking about Adi and Maithili.
"Why the hesitation then? You've been telling me how much you like
Maithili, and how you like working with her…about her honesty, her
conviction, everything she has achieved in her career…" Parvati said in
a puzzled tone.
"Mamma woh sab alag baat hai. Yes I think Maithili is a brilliant
young woman, and I adore her for many reasons. But that doesn't mean I
think it's a great idea that Adi and her are together."
"Hmm… so you don't think she would be right for our family?" Parvati asked, puzzled.
"I don't think so, Mamma. Maithili is an intelligent lawyer and a
career-driven woman. She left home for 5 years to go around the world
studying and working as a lawyer…do you really think she'll even like
the idea of a joint family? And let's say Adi moves out of the house,
then what do I do with Tanu? She barely listens to me and...--"
"Beta, maybe you're being too haste," Parvati interjected. "You
are also an intelligent and career-driven woman. It doesn't mean you
don't like the idea of a joint family. Haan shuru shuru mein tumhe
bahut adjust karna pada, aur woh sab mushkil bhi tha, but dheere dheere
sab theek ho gaya. And Maithili knows that you are all staying
together. Why would she assume that if Adi and her got married, they
would go live on their own? I see her with Tanu and Ashu and it seems
like she has developed a good relationship with both of them."
Shruti listened to Parvati with a sigh. This was the problem with
Parvati. She had the habit of talking a bit too much, and sometimes
even repeating herself. But she usually did talk sense. Over the years,
Shruti had gained a lot of respect for her mother-in-law's practical
intelligence and world-wise words.
"Maybe that's true…I am just worried that Adi is acting so
different. I've never seen him like this, even though I have seen him
with other girlfriends…"
"Yes, this is true. Even I have noticed that much. I can see it in the way he looks at her…maybe this means he truly loves her," Parvati suggested.
Shruti's face reflected a slight shock at this realization. She felt that a distance gradually widened between her and Adi.
"Yeh mumkin nahin hai Mamma. Woh dono abhi abhi kuch dinon mein ek
saath waqt bitaane lage hain. And I also heard Maithili talking to Ashu
in our house some days ago, and she said that she herself wasn't sure
what she wanted from Adi. I heard her say she had difficulty committing
to a relationship with him, Mamma. Joint family ki baatein to door, I
don't think Maithili even loves him."
Parvati considered this calmly. "Ho sakta hai Maithili ko kuch
waqt lage, but iska matlab yeh nahin ki woh Adi ke liye aur Adi uske
liye sahi nahin hai. But you're right, we should think about this but I
also suggest that we give Maithili some time to adjust. Let's see how
things go during these two weeks," Parvati said.
* * *
This was the fourth time Kajal was arguing with her aunt Chhaya
about the property dispute. Percy couldn't keep quiet anymore, and
before Kajal broke down completely, he stepped into the conversation.
"I don't understand how you can treat your own family member like
this," he shouted. "It has been less than a week since she dealt with
the funeral arrangements, and she is still grieving her uncle and
trying to deal with his loss, and here you are bickering over
property."
"Excuse me? Who the hell are you? Just because you tagged along
with her here doesn't mean you have the right to speak whenever and
however you want. Completely mannerless!" she screamed at him.
Percy and Kajal had been staying with Krishna Dadi. Krishna Dadi
was Kajal's uncle's maasi. She was kind towards Kajal but was powerless
to do anything about the property dispute. The relatives were not
listening to her and were trying to forcibly create a false case
whereby they could take the land. It was while dealing with all this
stress that Kajal's uncle got a heart attack. Now that he was out of
the picture, they were prepared to get the land at all costs. The land
in question originally belonged to Kajal's father; it was once a
valueless piece of land but with newer economic growth, it became a
prized plot. Kajal's uncle had a dream of building a girls' school in
that land and she wanted to do everything possible to fulfil her
uncle's last wish. Even if she couldn't build a school there right
away, she wanted to make sure greedy relatives wouldn't snatch it away.
Chhaya kept screaming. And soon she began to hurl even more insults
at Kajal. "Listen, we all know you're a tramp! Hum se kuch bhi chhupa
hua nahin hai. Hume pata hai ke kisi maaldaar aadmi ke saath tum Bombay
mein sambandh rakhti thi. Aur ab, kisi aur ko phasa kar saath le aayi
ho." This was too much for Kajal. She burst into tears.
Percy tried his best to control himself though he really felt like
slapping Chhaya. "How dare you talk like that about her? I am here to
help her because I am her friend. And what she does in Mumbai is none
of your business anyway, you greedy witch!"
The altercation continued on full blast until Chhaya walked away
saying there was no use talking to them anymore. Chhaya and her family
would go ahead with their case to court and legally take over this
land. She stomped off, leaving Kajal crying in Krishna Dadi's arms.
Percy felt helpless. They had to arrange for a lawyer who specialized
in land claims, but they were running out of money fast. Krishna Dadi
was barely surviving, so she couldn't offer much help. Percy and Kajal
had pretty much run out of money they had brought with them. All the
travel and funeral costs had taken its toll. They also gave some money
to Dadi to help manage the household, especially since they were
staying with her. They had a few thousand rupees left between the two
of them, but any lawyer would charge a lot more than that for fees.
Kajal cried desperately. She wished she could bring her uncle back
from the past. She really needed his guidance. She also wished she
could hold Adi and cry to her heart's content. Nothing made her happier
than the fantasy that Adi would one day return to her and love her as
much she loved him. Dadi wiped Kajal's tears. "Be strong beta…"
Percy knelt down next to her. "I think we should go into town tomorrow and try to find a lawyer who can fight this case."
"But we don't have any money."
"I know, Kajal, but we'll have to try to ask if they can do it as a
loan or something. We have no other choice, and we have to at least
try."
Kajal nodded and tried to fight back tears. The only thing they
had to console themselves was a plan that was 100% guaranteed to fail,
she thought to herself.
* * *
The farmhouse bustled with the sound of breakfast-table chatter. As
usual, Tanu was the last one to wake up, and she joined them still in
her pajamas. Parvati shook her head playfully, "abhi tak badlli nahin
tum, Tanu."
"Please Dadi, ab chhuti mein hain hum," she replied nonchalantly,
and grabbed a couple of parathas. "Eww! Dadi dekhiye na is mein zyaada
ghee hai… uff I'll put on weight!"
Maithili intervened. "Tanu, these parathas are simply divine! And
don't worry about the ghee yaar, just come jogging with me tomorrow
morning. It was so beautiful outside this morning!" Maithili truly did
enjoy wonderful sights during her jog. Unlike in Mumbai, here she felt
like each drop of air she inhaled refreshed her body.
"Yeah I was thinking that I really need to take up jogging too," Adi began, pretending to be very earnest.
Parvati smiled cutely at Adi, but Tanu didn't let it go. "Please
bhaiyya! You hate running and just lift your stupid weights in your
room. I bet if Maithili says she likes shopping, you'll start wanting
to do that too…"
Adi nearly choked on his food at Tanu's comment. Everyone laughed, because they knew how much Adi hated shopping.
They discussed their plans for the day and decided that Suyash,
Kamal, Adi, Maithili and Tanu would head to Dehradun. Ashu, Shruti, and
Parvati would head to a picnic spot nearby where they would be joined
by the rest of the family later in the afternoon. Everyone finished
their breakfast and headed to their rooms to change.
* * *
Maithili and Tanu were walking around in a very narrow market in
Dehradun lined with colourful goods – bangles, vermillion powders,
flowers, fruits, and on and on. They stopped at a stall which was
selling handmade silver earrings. Maithili and Tanu soon decided to
walk down separate lanes, agreeing to meet up with each other a few
minutes later.
Tanu walked down a lane with lots of flowers and potted plants. In
her hands, she carefully held a small potted white rose plant that she
had bought. In the hustle and bustle of the marketplace, someone bumped
into her and caused her to almost lose her balance. She struggled to
regain her balance.
"What the… bandwaala?!"
"Ah. Tanu Mehra. Of course, it seems you always find ways of bumping into me."
"Shut up! And what are you doing here? I can't believe you followed
me to Mussoorie and Dehradun…how dare you? If I tell my grandfather
he'll have you parcelled off somewhere! You loser, just you wait… none
of your stupid tricks will work with me! I'm going to call my Dadu
right now!"
Percy was slightly amused. Here she was again, going off on
another rant. Tanu glared at him. She hated it when he looked amused
when she was visibly upset. As if she was joking. His nonchalance
totally bugged her. He gave her a minute to finish her rant before he
began to speak.
"How is it that you have such a high opinion of yourself, Tanu?
For your information, I'm here on some personal business." And then
after a pause, without even realizing why he was revealing this, he
added, "my friend's uncle died."
Tanu's eyes fell. She had jumped to conclusions, and she felt a pang of guilt strike her.
"Um… I didn't know. I am sorry. And I'm sorry about your friend's loss." Percy looked at her with a surprised expression.
"Maybe if you didn't have the habit of going on a rant without even
realizing what is going on, you wouldn't have to be apologizing right
now."
"I'm sorry," she repeated in a soft tone.
He felt slightly taken aback by this sudden display of warmth from
her. He didn't think she'd ever utter the words "I'm sorry" and
especially not in front of him. He suddenly felt very confused about
his own emotions. He just wanted to leave her presence as soon as
possible, and so without any acknowledgement of her apology, he dashed
towards the nearby medical shop where he was due to pick up a
prescription.
Tanu gazed after him, still feeling guilty, when Maithili caught up
with her, diverting her attention. Together, the two started making
their way out of the market. They were supposed to meet up with Adi,
Suyash, and Kamal before they all went to the picnic spot for lunch.
Adi, Suyash, and Kamal were in a small district where most lawyers of
Dehradun had their offices. Suyash had some friends here whom he was
visiting with Adi and Kamal.
Soon, everyone met up near the law offices and prepared to leave
for the picnic spot. As everyone was getting into the van, Adi
remembered that he had forgotten something in one of the offices they
were visiting. After he was gone for a few minutes, Maithili decided to
go and check on him. She mad her way through a narrow pathway that led
to a semi-highrise building. She walked towards the elevator with a
puzzled expression. Which floor would Adi be on, she wondered? Just
then, she heard someone yell out Adi's name from behind her. She turned
around with alarm and what she saw completely stupefied her.
Adi had just gotten off an elevator from the other side of the building, and a woman rushed towards him, yelling his name.
"Adi, I'm so glad you came here for me, now I know everything will
be okay. I love you so much, Adi, and I knew one day my love would
bring you back to me," she said in between sobs as she clung to him.
"Kajal…?" Adi's voice was barely audible. He was clearly surprised to see her there.
In the other side of the building, Maithili stood transfixed as her
eyes widened in confusion. She felt something tear inside her. She felt
like some part of her was drowning. Her heart felt broken.Edited by --arti-- - 15 years ago
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