Hi everybody. 😊 It's been ages since I last visited this forum or so it feels but I have been really busy just spending time with all my family and friends over Xmas and for new year. Of course, I have been able to squeeze in the odd episode of IPKKND every now and then😉. I really am quite enjoying the current track, Arnav needs a kick up the backside! Anyways on the whole New Year fiasco, I know people want Khushi and Arnav to meet. But that would mean that Arnav is once again right so I wanted to take a different take on the scenario. Anyways enjoy. Please do like and buddy me. 😃
The clock strikes 12
She was to avoid him like the plague alright, she thought as she munched on her fifth jalebi. How dare he insinuate that she would look for some way to turn up in front of him at midnight! Hmph! As if she had nothing better to do than to spend not just New Year's Eve but her whole life with that conceited Laad Governor! Khushi grimaced, just the thought of an eternity with that man sent shivers down her spine. In fact, even Khushi Kumari Gupta knew that she always seemed to end up in the "wrong place at the wrong time" by some divine intervention or the other. She would not admit however, that it was solely on her account. After all, it took two to tango and the Rakshas always seemed to conveniently be in the same place at the same time.
Khushi glanced at the clock. It was almost 11 o'clock. Jiji and Buaji had returned from the Raizada mansion about two hours ago, Jiji with a beaming smile and Buaji with complaints about her aching back and head, no doubt from the exhaustion of dancing and Madhubala all day. Khushi sniggered to herself thinking of the inevitable confrontation between Buaji and Madhu, which Buaji had been chattering non-stop about since she returned. If only she had been there. She sighed, taking another bite of her jalebi. Of course, she had made some excuse about staying with Babuji who was quite under the weather at this moment. Buaji had no choice but to give up insisting on Khushi supporting her sister by turning up to dance at the Raizada mansion. Even she knew full well that somebody needed to remain and once her niece had her heart set on something, nobody could shake her stubbornness, particularly in the matter of her parents.
Khushi grinned her Cheshire cat grin. She had done it! She had beaten the Laad Governor at his own game-there was no way she would meet him at midnight now. Almost on cue, her heart sank for some inexplicable reason. She caught her reflection in the mirror and her breath hitched. Her face looked quite pale and there was an expression of….what? No, no, no! Khushi shook her head. She fixed her duputta and forced herself to smile. She resolutely decided that she would not let the Rakshas ruin her 2012. It was better this way; she would try to avoid him as much as possible in the new year. He brought with him tears and brutal words that caused her pain. Yet in her heart of hearts, she also knew he brought something else too-something dangerous, something volatile, something destructive but not entirely bad. It scared her.
"Hai Devi Maiyaa, raksha karna."
Arnav glanced at the clock. It read 10 minutes to midnight. That can't be-the blooming clock must be wrong! He slammed his laptop in anger. Pretty soon, the new years wishes would come flooding in, everyone merry and congratulatory. What was so merry about the new year, that got everyone to cause such a ruckus over its coming, always seemed to baffle him. It was another year-big freaking deal! It meant another year where everyone would be a year older, another year closer to old age, sickness and death. Another year of the same old things –age old celebrations and rituals-that happened precisely in the previous year. It didn't seem much to celebrate about, thought the highly cynical ASR. He would wake up tomorrow and still be a workaholic. He would still be a cynic. He would still be alone.
The final thought tug at his heartstrings. He knew most of all that these feelings would not be dispelled with the coming of the new year, these feelings brought with them confusion and angst which would intensify and grow, suffocating him. Right now, he felt irritated and he couldn't put his finger on why.
That was a lie of course. He knew why- 3 words, KHUSHI KUMARI GUPTA. All his troubles of late seemed to stem from the same source. She had made painstaking efforts to not see him all day due to their little wager yesterday. That irked him. He kept making rounds about the house with no purpose but perhaps to catch a glance of her, with a smaller glimmer of hope that she may have turned up in the last 20 minutes he had not visited downstairs. That irritated him even more. Why did he even care? Everyone had even kept asking him what the matter was and he had made a feeble excuse of not being able to find a file and needing the Prakashes. He clenched his fists and mentally cursed himself. Wasn't he the one who told her he hoped she wouldn't turn up? And now what was he thinking? He didn't even believe in those stupid superstitions! How could meeting someone at midnight mean you spend the rest of your life with them? It was absurd and Arnav Singh Raizada was not a man to stand for absurdities. Perhaps with the exception of Khushi Kumari Gupta…
"Khushi Kumari Gupta!" he raged. "This girl's craziness is infectious!" He sighed. Yes he needed to stay away from her. This was a sign, now he could start the new year on a good note. A Khushi-free new year's eve, a Khushi-free life. He tried to smile but he knew his face had most likely fallen. Anyone who saw him would most likely think he had the expression of mourning.
He glanced at the clock, which displayed that 8 minutes had passed since he checked it last. He sighed a melancholy sigh and ruffled his hair. He got up and rather heavy-footedly walked to the drawer from which he took out a calendar. It was a calendar with a picture of a beautiful girl in a red saree. He stared at it enchanted. The alarm rang indicating the clock had struck 12.
He buried his face in the calendar helplessly. He mumbled, "Where are you Khushi? Hurry up and get here already."
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
Debate Mansion
