FF: Solid Soul Part XXI / PG 66 - Page 3

awesome update!

"Gone,'''How'.. When?? The vitriolic expression on ASR's face prompted the nurse and the admin staff on duty at the nursing station, to quickly browse their work stations. It was indicated that Mrs. Raizada had left the hospital a week ago and the status of discharge was DAMA ' Discharged Against Medical Advice. He pulled out his cell phone and summoned the Hospital Administrator, Shiv Charan Mathur. Half an hour later, he was informed that the hospital Public Relations Manager and her treating physician, Dr. Rohit Mehta, both had tried to reach him at this residence unsuccessfully and a message had been conveyed to a Mrs. Manorama Raizada.

He would handle Mami later. Without further ado, he drove home to the farmhouse.

"Damukaka... Damukaka...kahan ho aap", he yelled as he entered the main door, ran up the stairs to the master bedroom. He pulled open the wardrobes to find very few of Khushi's things on one shelf. The rest of the shelves had a fine layer of dust indicating lack of use.

A harassed looking Damukaka came running, "Chotesaab ...aap is waqt."

ASR:"Kyon appointment lekar ana padega kya?...Khushi kahan hai?"

Damukaka looked at him as though he was being addressed in Greek. "Khushi Bitiya yahan kyon ayegi? Aspataal jaane ke baad, bitiya ko hamne dekha hi nahin."

ASR did not how to proceed. Damukaka offered further, "Chotesaab aapne factory mein check kiya? Ho sakta hai..."

ASR cut him, "Factory kyon jayegi? Baaki sabko bulao...main poochna chahta hoon... shayad kissine usse dekha hoga".

Damokaka,"Chotesaab, ab yahan koi nahin kaam karta. Dekhbaal ke liye sirf main rehta hoon. Pichle do saalon se yahan koi nahi rehta. Bitiya to factory mein rehti hain, sirf raviwaar ko hamse milne aathi hain. Ab in do saalon mein, pichle chaar hafte aap aayen to Khushibitiya yaahan thi...varna.''".

ASR:"What...teek hai, main factory jaa raha hoon, kuch pata chale to phone kar dena."

The watchman at the factory gates was astounded to see ASR's vehicle.

"Premnarayan...outhouse khula hai kya? ...Khushi yahan aayi kya? Jaldi karo...kholo darwazaa"

"Khol deten hain saab, lekin...", said Premnarayan.

ASR: "Jaldi karo, mere paas saara din nahin hain..."

Premnarayan unlocked the main door. ASR's patience was running thin, he pushed Premnarayan aside and tried to push the door open. But he could not budge the door open. He looked questioningly at Premnarayan.

Premnarayan stepped in and grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open.

"When did this orientation change and why...", he thought. As far as he remembered, to get into this house, one had to push the door in and not the other way. ASR was all set to enter the house, when he encountered a huge stainless door that barred his entry into the house.

"What the''..Yeh kabse hai yahan''..kholo isse"

Premnarayan looked and said, "is darwaaze ki chaabi hamare paas nahin hain. Electronic lock hain, sirf Khushibitiya ke paas rehti hain."

A quick tour of the house from the outside indicated that the house was protected like a fortress. Both the entrances had solid stainless steel doors. ASR tried opening one of the windows unsuccessfully.

"Kab hua yeh sab''.."

"Ek saal ho gaya saab'' choriyaan ke karan,"

ASR: "Factory ke darwaaze bhi aisse he hai kya?"

Premnarayan: "Ji saab"

ASR placed a call to his factory manager, Om Puri, and asked him to call security company representative and have the doors for the outhouse unlocked. He also asked him to report to work immediately. As he waited, he quizzed Premnarayan, "Kab se Madam ko jaante ho?"

Premnarayan,"Jabse main yahan kaam karta hoon saab...dedh saal se. Suna hai, Khushibitiya kareeb do saal se kaam kar rahi hai." The unlikely couple could not carry on any conversation. The silence seemed to scream at both of them. An hour later Om Puri and the security company representative turned up and within no time the doors to the factory and the outhouse were unlocked. ASR now had procured all the access codes. If conversation with Premnarayan was stilted, Om Puri was unstoppable regaling his wife's achievements during these last two years. He knew his wife was a hard worker and work of any kind did not daunt her. In fact the more challenged she was, she rose to the occasion beautifully. He walked through the corridors to the newly furbished daycare unit. The staff canteen and kitchen had been provided with a major facelift. And it had been achieved fully by worker monetary and non-monetary contributions. The staff canteen was no longer run by the professional catering company, but Khushi had managed to rope in women from the Abused Women's shelter and provided them with means of livelihood and at the same time ensured that the workforce at the factory were fed home-cooked meals.

Her latest venture was an onsite training and design center. Khushi had learnt the famous Patiala phulkari work and was imparting her Lucknow Chikan work to the women. In fact she had managed to work with two boutiques in Noida who were supplied with hand embroidered sarees.

As the day drew to an end, ASR was exasperated and worried. He had no clue about the where abouts of his wife. He walked from every room to find some clues. The sparsely furnished home provided none. But the few items, reeked of unadulterated Khushi, the handmade and embroidered Phulkari curtains, the luxuriously embroidered chikan sheets on the single bed. From the bed frame hung the mosquito net , and an assortment of stars. The single shelf on the wall housed Khushi's clothes. He found a suitcase at the bottom of the bed which contained her wedding saree and all the heavy sarees that were bestowed unwillingly. They were wrapped carefully and tucked away to shun the memories associated with them. The single table next to the bed held a copper water pot and a picture frame of Khushi holding a 4-5 year old boy who was eating a jalebi and an unfamiliar woman. His anger had not subsided, but worry was slowly rearing its head. He laid down on the bed and looked at the dangling stars, reminiscing the story narrated by Khushi. His recollection was rudely interrupted by a knock on the door. Premnarayan was holding a bunch of things in his hands and Premnarayan in turn was being clutched at his knees by two toddlers. From either side of Premnarayan's knee level, ASR found 2 pairs of toddler eyes eyeing him curiously.

"Meri gharwali, Raani ne bheja hai''yeh saab aapke liye'' Mineral paani'..woh Khushibitiya bole hai ke aap nal ya matke ka paani nahi peete. Saab fridge ka nahi hai. Aur'' yeh khaana, daal chaval, roti aur sabzi. Aur yeh aapki lassi. Bilkul teekha nahi hai. Aur saab subah chai kitne baje lenge. "

ASR,"Main shayad chala jaoonga, khaane ke baad."

As Premnarayan took leave, one of the toddlers stepped up

"Khushi maussi hai kya...nahi to ghar main Jalebi to hogi"

A stunned ASR just looked on, as Premnarayan herded his children away.

Hunger was the last thing on ASR's mind. But he knew he had to eat before he took his dose of medication for the night. He ate and found that he was hungry. The silence of the night that he welcomed and savored no longer appealed today. He called Aakash to check on his family and he almost asked Aakash to check on his in-laws, the Guptas. Tomorrow he would make the trip himself. He pulled out his laptop and started to catch up starting with his emails. It was almost midnight by the time he had caught up with his email. Finally, he thought this is the last one. The sender's name was familiar but it had been almost a decade since he spoke to his college buddy, Digi (Digvijay Singh). The subject line had a series of numbers '..obviously a cell phone number, he mused. The body of the message just read,'.."Call Me"

Originally posted by: ..-Sanzz-..

Omfggg, What Has Happened With Khushi ?! : O I Hope She's Okay 😳 Do Update Soon 🤗