Chapter 4
Maan smiled to himself and thought, "Singapore huh? No ways, Geet Handa. Everyone, in your family will go to Singapore but you! This is what you get for meddling with Maan Singh Khurana".
He took the fax, put it securely into his laptop bag, and headed out of office to go home. As he reached home, he quickly made his way to his bedroom, changed and made his way down. When he came downstairs, he saw Daadima talking on phone and by the conversation, he could make out she was talking to Devanshi Handa.
He smiled wickedly and sat next to his Daadima. He looked around the house and Daadima signaled to him, that Dev and Naintara had gone out for some work and would be back in another half hour. He nodded and pulled out the newspaper to read it. However, his entire concentration was on the conversation, which his grandmom had with Ms. Geet Handa's grandmom.
For the first time, in life he felt, there should have been a way to listen to what the other person on the phone is saying without having to pick the parallel connection. He heard daadima say,
"Oh Devanshi, that's all right. I completely understand. However, hope you and your family have fun in Singapore. And do keep in touch!"
Maan giggled inwardly. "Fun? Duh!", he thought, "well, if only they could have fun, without their granddaughter, Ms. Geet Handa".
He continued reading the newspaper until his Daadima, hung up and pulled the newspaper away.
"Maan, I'm not happy", she complained.
"Kyun Daadima? kya hua? Any problem? Tell me, I'd solve it for you in minutes", he said, turning to look at her.
"Maan, aap aaj kal itne busy ho gaye. You don't have any time for me", she said, making a sad face.
"Daadima, yeh kya baat hui. Har roj, aaphi ke saath rehta hoon. I'm coming back from office also early these days- just for now, daadima".
"Oh cut it out Maan", she retorted.
"Okay. What do you want me to do? You tell me and I'll do whatever you want me to. Did I ever say "no" to you, daadima? Aapke ilawa mere paas hain kaun?", he said, feeling a little dull, seeing his daadima become dull.
"Son, we hardly talk these days", she said, again.
"What do you want me to talk? I tell you everything that is happening in the office. I tell you everything that is happening outside, through my contacts and network. What else?", he said, pausing for a second, thinking if he was forgetting something and that's why his Daadima was angry with him.
"Maan, its not just you who agrees to everything I say. I do the same. You rejected Geet, even without seeing her photo and I did not question you. I expected you to come and talk to me about it. I waited for so long. Yet you seem to be so lost in your business and office, you seem to have forgotten certain priorities".
"Oh, so the whole discussion is about Geet? Fine, let's finish this topic once and for all, Daadima. I'll answer all your questions, today!", he said, sounding a little irritated, that Geet had started to penetrate into their conversations too.
"Why did you reject Geet, even without looking at her? Is that not harsh Maan?" asked Daadima, and before she could continue, Maan cut her and said,
"Daadima please, we've had these discussions about marriage a lot of times, and you exactly know what my views are. I am happy this way- without marriage. I have you; I have enough work and business to take care of. I do not need anything else or anyone else. Daadima, I've learnt things the very hard way in life. If I despise marriage today, you know why I do. I have certain responsibilities; that are my priority. I have enough things and people to take care of, in my life, I don't want any one new".
"So, you should have met Geet, and explained all that to her and then told her that you are not interested. Lekin aapne tuo.."
"Oh please Daadima. Aap mujhe arrogant kehte hain. Lekin who ladki tuo mujhse bhi arrogant hain. Agar main shaadi ke liye "haan" keh bhi deta, tuo ek din bhi woh ladki Khurana Mansion mein thik nahi paati. Khurana Khaandhaan ki badi bahu banna aur sab kuch sambaal na tuo bahut hi door ki baat hain", he finished in anger.
"Maan, phir se wahin ghalti. You did not even meet her and you've already concluded that she is not fit", questioned Daadima.
"Daadima, mujhe logon ke bare mein jaanne ke liye, unhe milne ki zaaroorat nahin hain. Main Maan Singh Khurana hoon, aur main logon ko pehchaanne mein koi ghalti nahin karta".
"But this time, you're wrong Son. You may not accept it now, but you'll realize it sometime later", she said calmly.
"Yeah Right!", he said, rolling his eyes. Daadima smiled and took the phone to call Dev and Naintara and find out when they would reach home.
"Why do our conversations, these days, end in arguments because of some stranger?", questioned Maan, after she hung up on the phone.
"That's because you are an angry young man, and you do not listen to the others. You have an ego and pride that is taller than the tallest building in the world", she said, laughing.
"Thanks Daadima. Thank you very much for the compliments", he said, fuming.
"I love you, Son!", she said, laughing.
"But I don't think I love you", he said, turning his face away, in anger.
"Ofcourse you do. Agar yahin baat kisi aur ne aapse kaha hota, tuo ab tak aap uske sar phod dete. But you dint do that to me. And that's because you love me much more than you ever loved yourself, your parents, your siblings", she said, smiling.
"Haan Daadima, you are the love of the life. Aapke hote hue, mujhe kisi aur jeet ki zaroorat nahin hain", he said, forgetting his anger and hugging his daadima.
"Jeet nahin Geet!", she corrected him.
"Yeah, whatever!", he said.
Handa House
Geet was cribbing with her mom, "Kya zaroorat hain, ab hum sabko, Singapore jaane ki? Brij Veeriji ko koi kaam nahin hain kya?"
Her mom responded, "Tum jaake brij ko yahin baat kyon nahin keh deti, ki tumhein yahin rehna hain- Singapore nahin jaana".
"Ma, Singapore mein hain kya? Kuch bhi nahin. Mere saare friends yahan hain, main college jaati hoon, time paas ho jaata hain. Daadi ke saath kabhi kabhi Hoshiarpur jaati hoon, hamare lands aur woh sab dekhne tuo ek hafte ka time pass ho jaata hain. Wahan Singapore mein, mujhe ghar pe baitna hoga. Aap sabke boring chehre dekh dekh kar, main tuo pak jaungi, aath mahino ke liye, hey babaji".
"Geet bakwaas bandh kar aur chup chap so jao. Is ghar mein wahin hota hain, jo tumhare brij veerji aur Daadiji tai karte hain. Unhone ek baar faisla kar li, tuo use koi badal nahin sakta. Jaante ho na tum. Tuo phir pareshaan kyun ho rahin hain?"
Saying so, her mom switched off the lights, in Geet's bedroom and walked away. Geet lay on her bed thinking, "Hey Babaji, ab main kya karun?". She desperately needed an excuse not to go to Singapore.
"Gosh, I hope someone comes and stops me from going to Singapore. Lekin Geet, aisa kaun aayega? Tum bhi na, bahut sapne dekhti hain. So ja. Hey Babaji meri raksha karna", she prayed and rolled off to sleep, hoping some miracle would stop her from taking off from Delhi.
Khurana Mansion
"Maan Veerji, Main agle hafte nahin aa paungi. Mere exams hain", told Kiara, to her brother Maan.
"Kiara, this is the second time, you are postponing your trip", he reminded her.
"Haan Veerji, jaanti hoon. Mujhe bhi ghar wapas aani hain. Lekin kya karun? Aap is month end ke liye tickets book kar lijiye please. Main har haal mein India aa jaungi. I'm so desperately waiting to see you and Daadima", she said, sounding a little excited, on the thought of meeting her veerji and daadima.
Kiara was very close to Maan and was his second love after his Daadima. She was the youngest in the family, so she was pampered by Maan, a lot. Maan never refused his Daadima's wishes and he never spoke harshly or coldly to Kiara even by mistake. Dev and Kiara also ended up fighting over trivial things and Naintara and Daadima would have trouble pacifying them. But Maan alone had the power to pacify both of them, at one go.
"Theek hain. See you soon", he said, smiling and hung up on phone.
He called up the agent and got tickets booked for Kiara and also found out the status of Geet's tickets.
Few days passed and finally the day had arrived for Maan to settle scores with Geet. Geet and her family went to the Airport and Geet was still hoping for some marvel to take place. She walked very reluctantly to the kiosks along with her brother Brij, while the others waited a little away and spoke about various things that had to be done, once they landed in Singapore. Brij checked in for himself, his wife, his father and his daadima.
Geet had to check in for herself, her mother, her sister and her niece and nephew, as these names were on a different itinerary. When she put in the confirmation number: she found all the names except hers. She cancelled it and put in the confirmation number again. She found the same thing again- her name was missing. She cleared her eyes, cancelled it, and punched in the confirmation number again. But to her surprise she did not find her name. She wanted to jump with joy. She turned around to see what her brother was doing. He had checked in, and was done with checking in the baggage too. He called out to Geet, and told her, "Hum andar jaa rahe hain. Tum baggage check in karo aur jaldi aao. You also have to show their passports. Daadi can't stand for long, so we'll go to the terminal and sit".
She nodded sincerely. She did not want to tell him that her name was missing. Her sister wondered what took her so long and came to the check in kiosk. She punched in the confirmation number and found Geet's name missing. She was shocked.
"What? How come your name is missing?", she asked and checked in the rest of them. She asked her mom to check in the baggage and show the passports, while she punched in the confirmation number again and a message was displayed, asking her if she wanted to print the boarding passes again. She was confused. She turned to Geet and said, "yeh kya geet, tumhari naam tuo hain hi nahin".
Geet stared at her , sadly, while her insides were jumping with joy. She looked at her watch and there was exactly one hour left for the flight to take off.
"Babaji, aap mere itne maddat kar rahe hain. How nice. Only one more hour babaji. Please", she prayed silently.
Geet's sister, Heer, called Brij and told him. Brij called the agent and blasted him. He could not even go out as they had reached the terminal already. He told Heer to get a ticket booked for geet.
Heer enquired for a ticket and was told that the flight was flying full and there was absolutely no seats left, even in their business and first class cabins. Geet wanted to dance. But controlled herself. While the lady at the counter checked on phone, with the back office, she asked for Geet's passport.
She hung up and said, "Ma'am even if you have a ticket, you cannot fly. You're passport pages are torn. And that is not legal. You will have to get a new passport".
Heer looked at Geet suspiciously and Geet made a sad puppy face saying, "Maine passport ko kuch nahin kiya. Aaj tak tuo mere passport brij veerji ke paas hi tha. Abhi tumne use bag se nikala. Isme meri kya ghalti?"
"Hmmm", said Heer and called her veerji again and told him of the situation.
Brij told Heer he would call back in a few minutes and hung up.
He discussed the issue with Devanshi and she said, "Nothing can be done now. If the passport itself is not proper, what's the point of trying to book a ticket. Your travel agent should have checked all this. I told you to stick to the old travel agent. However, you did not. You told us, that this new fellow gives excellent service. Now look what happened", she yelled at Brij.
"Anyways, I'll call someone to pick up Geet and drop her home. We'll get her passport fixed and then she can fly", she told and before Brij could complain, she said, "Geet is big enough to manage things by herself, all alone. So don't tell me what to do".
Devanshi called Geet and told her to send the others to the terminal and she told her, "Beta, I asked someone to pick you up. Driver's name is Rajveer. He'll come, pick you up, and take you home. Don't worry. We'll make sure you fly to Singapore as soon as possible. You take care, Beta", she said.
"Haan daadiji. I'll be fine. I'll take my luggage and wait outside", she said, laughing, blushing, and smiling, unable to believe her Babaji, actually listened to her and gave her what she wanted.
The boarding was announced for the Singapore flight and Geet waited outside, listening to the announcement and smiling happily. She saw a man walk to her and introduce himself as Rajveer. He put her luggage in the trunk while Geet sat in the car. She was excited and also too sleepy. She had not slept all these days because she wanted to make use of her time in Delhi, productively. She wanted to save her sleep for Singapore. So, as the car started and Rajveer drove towards the city, Geet fell asleep.
Later, she heard someone call her, "Geet Madam, ghar aa gaye".
Geet woke up suddenly and looked around. "yeh kaunsi raj mahal hain?" she asked looking at huge palace like mansion. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, still feeling sleepy and drowsy.
"Ji, yeh Khurana Mansion hain. Aapke Daadiji ne aapko yahin drop karne ke liye kaha hain", he said, getting out of the car and getting her luggage.
Her eyes widened with shock and she got out of the car as though she would jump onto someone.
"Suniye Rajveer ji, aap ko ghalat information mila hain. Mujhe handa house jaani hain. Is Khurana mansion se mere koi lena dena nahin hain", she explained.
"Ji aapko jo clarify karni hain, aap unse kijiye", said Rajveer, pointing to Savitri Khurana, who was standing at the staircase at the entrance door of the Mansion. She smiled and walked down the stair case.
"Hello beta. Rajveer mera driver hain. Unhe koi Ghalat information nahin mili. Until you get your new passport and until your flight takes off to Singapore, you will be staying with us, in our Mansion. I just spoke to Devanshi and she told me to take care of you".
Geet hesitated, "lekin daadiji main yahan kaise reh sakti hoon? Mera matlab hain.. ki main' nahin nahin' yahan kaise'." And stopped. She was confused and she knew she did not make sense.
"I know what you are thinking. Don't worry Maan won't even know you are in this mansion. He hardly bothers about anything that happens in this mansion. He leaves to office early morning and comes back late night. You don't have to worry at all. And I won't tell him either", she said smiling.
Geet rolled her eyes and thought, "hai babaji, yeh kaise musibat hain. Aapne hum eek musibat mein nikaal kar, doosri badi musibat mein daal di".
"Lets go in, Beta!" she said, patting Geet's shoulder. Geet gave her a weak smile and followed her. Daadi walked into the Mansion and called for Nakul.
"Geet ke luggage ko, ground floor waali guest bedroom mein rakh dijiye", she told him and he did the same.
Naintara walked down the stairs smiling, "Hi Geet, how are you?"
Geet murmured, "Ji ab tak tuo theek thi. Pata nahin ab kya hone wala hain".
Naintara looked at her confused and said, "Ji, kya kahan aapne?"
"Ji kuch nahin. Main thoda fresh hona chahti hoon. Main theek hoon. I'll see you in a few minutes", she said, all confused.
Naintara looked At Daadi, and Daadi spoke up, "Naintara, Geet ko guest bedroom dikha dijiye. I'll talk to you after that".
Naintara nodded and showed her the bedroom. Geet was about to walk into the bathroom and Naintara told her, "Geet, isse apne ghar samaj lijiye. You can stay here, the way you want. Mera matlab hain, jaise aap apne ghar mein rehte ho. Aapko koi help chahiye, tuo please don't hesitate. You can ask me or Daadima, or any of the servants at home".
"Ji, thanks!" said Geet, smiling. "Filhaal mujhe kuch nahin chahiye aur main change karke aati hoon".
Naintara smiled and walked out of the bedroom closing the door behind her.
Geet sat on the bed all lost, "Ab yeh kaisi musi bat hain, babaji? Isse accha tuo Singapore trip hi tha. Singapore mein bore ho jaati lekin, Maan Singh Khurana ghar mein rehne se tuo accha hain. Ab kahan phas gayi main? Arey jis insaan ke bare mein soch nab hi nahin chahti, ab main usi insaan ke ghar mein rehne aa gayi. Hey babaji, kya chahte hain aap?", she thought, catching hold of her head.
She sat lost for a few minutes and then thought, "In logon lo lagta hain, ki Maan Khurana ko pata bhi nahin chalega ki main unke ghar mein hoon. Who kya bewakoof hain? How would he not know who stays in his house and who does not?"
She felt helpless. For the first time, she regretted staying back in Delhi when her family travelled to Singapore. She got up and walked reluctantly to the bathroom. She took a hot water shower for over an hour, came out, and changed. She felt much better.
She looked at herself in the mirror and thought, "Geet, tu kya ek mard se darti hain? Arey Punjab ki sherni hain tu. Sambhal Ja. Dekhi jayegi. Kya karega Maan Singh Khurana?".
She combed her hair and smiled at her confidence. She was about to open the door and walk out into the living room, when she opened the door slowly and popped her head out. She wanted to make sure he was not there.
She reminded herself, "Geet, puttar tu phir se dar rahin hain. Chal puttar. Kuch nahin hoga".
She walked out and joined Dadima and naintara who were having tea. Nakul gave Geet a cup of tea and geet had it. While having tea, Naintara told Geet, "Geet, hum aur daadiji, bahar jaa rahe hain, shopping karne. Aapko chalna hain hamare saath?"
Geet looked around the splendor and magnificence of the Khurana Mansion. she was awestruck. "What riches and what opulence", she thought.
Naintara called her again, "Geet!"
"haan ji. Itne bade ghar mein main akele nahin reh sakti. Yeh mansion kum, bhoot bunglow zyaada lag rahin hain", she said, still looking around.
Daadi, looked at Geet and then at Naintara and both of them exchanged smiles.
Geet bit her tongue recollecting what she had said. "Ji mera kehne ka who matlab nahin tha. I meant this house is too big and scary".
"Koi baat nahin hain, beta. Come lets go for shopping".
Three of them walked out and Geet looked around the portico as they walked out. Her mouth was left hanging all this while and then she suddenly stopped as she saw a black BMW, make its way into the drive way of the mansion.
The driver opened the door for them and Naintara said, "Daadiji, main drive karungi".
Daadi nodded and the three of them went for shopping. By the time they returned, it was nine in the night and all of them were tired. Dev and Maan had already come back home but daadi signaled Naintara not to speak anything about them, in front of Geet.
Dev and Maan were at the dining table, busy discussing something when Dadi and Naintara joined them.
Dev, who had forgotten Naintara's instructions to avoid speaking about their new guest in front of Maan, spoke up, "Arey only the two of you are here, where is the guest?"
Before Daadiji and Naintara could react, Geet came from behind, "Ji, main yahan hoon". Moreover, Maan looked up from his phone and almost dropped it down when he saw Geet standing there.
Geet stopped midway in her track, with her mouth wide open. Naintara looked at Dev, angrily, while Daadi tried to figure out the changing expressions on Maan's face.
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