CHAPTER 6 SCENE 2
[GUPTA HOUSE]
Arnav confidently walked up the stairs, a smirk fixed on his face and his heart beating in leeps and bounds with a feeling of triumph. What was it that made him feel exhilarated after beating Khushi at her own game? Especially when she assumed the airs and graces of a Ms. Know it All. Doesn't she know? I'm Arnav Singh Raizada! And with that thought he picks up his foot to step into the house when -
"Wohin ruk jao!" a disembodied voice thunders. The smirk is wiped off Arnav's face, his eyebrows furried in confusion. Suddenly Buaji comes charging in front him. Arnav hastily steps back outside.
"Tum kahan chale aa rahe ho NandKishore?" Buaji demands of him. His eyes look inside the house searching for Aakash but Buaji snaps her fingers at him, demanding his attention. "Hum idhar hain babua! Udhar kahe dekh rahe ho?" Arnav stares, words seemingly vaporised from his mind. "Tumre joote mein jo paani bhara hua hai, usse kya ghar mein chhap chodoge?" He looks down at his shoes and then back at her.
"Nahin Buaji," he mumbles in reply. He was in no mood to entangle himself in a fight with Buaji who was resembling a wild bull let loose. "Main bahar wait karta hun." Buaji nods, satisfied with his response. Arnav turns around and comes face to face with Khushi. She stands in front of him with her hands folded, sweetly smiling up at him.
"Aapke liye kursi le aayen, Mr. Raizada?" she asks charmingly. A smirk again starts building up on Arnav's face.
"No thanks, Ms. Khushi. Waise chair ki zaroorat tumhe zyada hai. Dard ho raha hoga na?" he replies equally charmingly. As expected, Khushi's smile disappears and she walks inside the house in a huff. Arnav smiles to himself and sits down on one of the stairs, taking off his blazer. It still reeks badly of whatever was in that bucket. He sighs. I'll have to go home and change. Damn you Khushi, you ruined my suit.
[Cut to Raizada Mansion, Dadi's room]
Dadi is speaking to someone on the phone in hushed tones despite the fact that there's no one else around.
"Pehle Khushi ke yahan aane par rok lag gai, aur ab Payal bhi iss ghar se chali gai hai. Ab iss parivar ka Gupta parivar se door door ka naata nahin rahega."
She becomes silent as she hears the other person reply.
"Unke pati ke apahij hone ke baad Garima ke liye unki betiyon ki khushi hi sab kuch hai. Aur woh dono to ab khush hone se rahin. Iske alawa aur kya kar sakte hain?"
Silence.
"Laxmi Nagar wala ghar? Par woh to Arnav ne Khushi ke naam kar diya hai? Kanooni taur se woh ghar ab Khushi ka hai."
Dadi listens carefully and a smile starts appearing on her face.
"Haan hum jaante hain, kanoon to aapko bahut achi tarah aata hai. To kya aap woh kaagazaat tayyar kar sakte hain?"
She listens to the reply and sinks into her thoughts.
"Hmm. Uska upaye hain humare paas. Lucknow mein humara ek purana ghar hai. Sheesh Mahal se jab hum rawana hue, to hamare parivar ki kuch purani cheejen humne uss ghar mein rakhwa di thi. Aapko kuch kaagaz aur tayyar karne honge, jisme likha ho ki woh ghar bhi hum Arnav ke naam kar rahe hain."
Silence.
"Aap uski chinta mat kijiye. Kuch hi dino mein hum Lucknow ja hi rahe hain. Arnav apni sehmati ke liye woh ghar bhi dekh lenge. Aap bas dono ghar ke kagazon ka kaam shuru kar dijiye. Hum chahte hain, aaj shaam tak hum Arnav se un kaagazon par dastakhat le len."
Dadi listens carefully and then smiles sadly.
"Haan hum jaante hain, aise waqt mein aapka yahan hona kitna zaroori hai. Par uske liye samaye ka theek hona bahut zaroori hai." she says. "Achha hum rakhte hain. Aapse shaam ko baat hogi... Jeete Rahiye."
[Cut to Gupta House]
It's been half an hour since Arnav has been sitting outside. A slight breeze has picked up and his wet shirt is now sticking to his chest. He's feeling uncomfortable and his bottom has started hurting too. He's starting to get annoyed now as neither Buaji nor Khushi have come to invite him inside. He wonders how long his patience will serve him to sit there before he calls for another car to take him home.
"Ye lijiye!" Arnav finds a towel at his lap. He looks up to see Khushi in a different set of clothes, eating a plate of poori and alu. He gratefully wipes off himself with the towel the best way he can, all the while muttering something.
"Kya kehna zor se kahiye. Humein sunai nahin de raha!" Khushi snaps at him. Arnav looks up at annoyed.
"Kitni achhi baat hai. Main apne hi ghar mein, kisi bahar wale ki tarah baitha hun!" Arnav exclaims in disgust. Khushi waves a poori at him angrily.
"Dekhiye Mr. Raizada, agar aapko bahar baithne mein takleef ho rahi hai na, to shauk se doosri gaadi mangwaiye aur ghar ko rawana ho jaiye. Aapko yahan kisi ne zabardasti bitha kar nahin rakha hai." Khushi retorts. Arnav looks up at her angrily. A bucket full of filthy water splashed on me, mocking me, making fun of me, and now eating in front of me. This is not what I signed up for.
"Khushi mujhe tumse baat karni hai," Arnav mutters to her. Khushi shoots her eyebrows up enquiringly as her mouth is busy licking her fingers. Arnav stares at her in amazement. Only Khushi can eat like this, forgetting she has people staring at her. He stands up, tugs at her elbow forcefully and steers her down the stairs at towards the courtyard a good few feet away from the house. Khushi's eyes become wide. Ab inko kya ho gaya? She wonders to herself.
"Khushi, kal jo kuch bhi hua tha office mein," Arnav starts off, "I mean... jo maine kaha tha..." Khushi waits for him to complete. Arnav clears his throat.
"Main ye kehna chahta hun ki, ab sab theek hai. Aakash ek naye ghar mein shift ho raha hai. And woh ghar kaafi achha hai. Maine usko select karne mein help ki thi. Payal comfortable rahegi wahan. Maine woh ghar Aakash ke liye kharida hai, you know as a gift," Arnav reels off everything that he wanted to tell her with a small smile on his face. You can't hate me now Khushi! Khushi stands still absorbing his monologue.
"To aap ye kehna chahte hain, ki jeejaji ko Shantivan se nikalne mein aapka kitna bada role hai?" she asks him. Arnav looks indignant.
"Nahin! Maine apna decision change kar diya tha!" Arnav exclaims resentfully. "Aakash fir bhi chahta tha ki woh kuch time ke liye Shantivan se door rahe."
"Ye sab aap mujhe kyun bata rahe hain?" Khushi asks him suddenly. Arnav looks taken aback.
"Kyunki... main chahta hun ki tum jaano ki maine Aakash ki help ki hai. Uske decision mein uska saath diya hai." He says, desperate for her to understand. Khushi looks at him with a deadpan expression on her face.
"To aap ye batana chahte hain, ki aap apne bhai se itna pyaar karte hain ki unke liye aapne ek ghar khareeda." Arnav nods, mentally delighted that she understood the point he was trying to make. Khushi continues, "aur ab jeeji ek aisi jagah rahenge, jo ghar to hoga par unka sasural nahin hoga." Arnav's feeling of joy fades a little. "Jahan jeejaji to honge, par unka parivar nahin hoga. Jahan Naniji ka sneh nahin hoga, Mamiji ki daant nahin hogi, Anjali di ka saath nahin hoga, Jeeji ek aise ghar mein ja rehne ja rahi hain." Khushi looks at him sadly. Arnav is dumbstruck.
"Paison ki is tarah numaish mat kijiye Arnavji," Khushi says calmly. "Ye sab hum sadharan logon ke liye koi maaine nahin rakhta."
"No Khushi, that is not what I was trying to say!" Arnav replies disturbedly.
"Pata hai aapke saath sabse badi samasya kya hai Arnavji? Aap gusse mein sochna band kar dete ho," Khushi mumbles and starts walking back towards the house. Just then he notices Aakash and Payal walking out of the house, holding bags and talking to Buaji. A sudden panic grips Arnav. He has to say it right now before he doesn't get a chance.
"Khushi!" She pauses and turns around. "Khushi, I'm sorry! Please wapis aa jao!" She stares at him in surprise obviously not expecting this. She knows he is not asking her to walk back to him, he's asking her to return to his life. The moment stretches between them; Arnav feels his heartbeat slow down, waiting... expecting an answer... Khushi glances at Payal thinking of her getting uprooted from Shantivan, she thinks of the pain this will cause her mother when she comes to know about these events, she thinks of Arnav walking away from the mandap on her wedding day. Really Arnavji? One sorry is all you have to offer? She closes her eyes a pained look on her face.
"Nahin Arnavji. Hum wapis nahin aayenge," she mumbles determinedly, loud enough for him to hear and walks back towards the house.
Arnav stands frozen, fearing his heart has stopped beating altogether.
NEXT CHAPTER (click)
You thought it would be that easy eh Arnav? Sorry kid, I hate to disappoint you. Tujhse naak nai ragdai na to mera naam smitzy nahin! 😆
So people, what's the verdict? Not the best/the worst/okayish??
ENGLISH VERSION
CHAPTER 6 SCENE 2
[GUPTA HOUSE]
Arnav confidently walked up the stairs, a smirk fixed on his face and his heart beating in leeps and bounds with a feeling of triumph. What was it that made him feel exhilarated after beating Khushi at her own game? Especially when she assumed the airs and graces of a Ms. Know it All. Doesn't she know? I'm Arnav Singh Raizada! And with that thought he picks up his foot to step into the house when '
"Stop right there!" a disembodied voice thunders. The smirk is wiped off Arnav's face, his eyebrows furried in confusion. Suddenly Buaji comes charging in front him. Arnav hastily steps back outside.
"Where do you think you are strutting in, NandKishore?" Buaji demands of him. His eyes look inside the house searching for Aakash but Buaji snaps her fingers at him, demanding his attention. "I'm right here! What are you looking here and there for?" Arnav stares, words seemingly vaporised from his mind. "Your wet shoes are leeking of water. You want to trace your footsteps all over the house?" He looks down at his shoes and then back at her.
"No Buaji," he mumbles in reply. He was in no mood to entangle himself in a fight with Buaji who was resembling a wild bull let loose. "I'll wait outside." Buaji nods, satisfied with his response. Arnav turns around and comes face to face with Khushi. She stands in front of him with her hands folded, sweetly smiling up at him.
"Should I get a chair for you, Mr. Raizada?" she asks charmingly. A smirk again starts building up on Arnav's face.
"No thanks, Ms. Khushi. I think you need the chair more than I do. You must be hurting, no?" he replies equally charmingly. As expected, Khushi's smile disappears and she walks inside the house in a huff. Arnav smiles to himself and sits down on one of the stairs, taking off his blazer. It still reeks badly of whatever was in that bucket. He sighs. I'll have to go home and change. Damn you Khushi, you ruined my suit.
[Cut to Raizada Mansion, Dadi's room]
Dadi is speaking to someone on the phone in hushed tones despite the fact that there's no one else around.
"First Khushi's entry to this house stopped, and now Payal has also left the house. Now this family will have no relation with the Gupta family."
She becomes silent as she hears the other person reply.
"After her husband became a handicap, Garima is concerned only with the happiness of her daughters. And those girls will be far from being happy now. What else can we do?"
Silence.
"The Laxmi Nagar house? But Arnav has made Khushi the owner of that house? Legally that house belongs to her now."
Dadi listens carefully and a smile starts appearing on her face.
"Yes of course I know. You do know the legal ways quite well. So can you get the necessary papers ready?"
She listens to the reply and sinks into her thoughts.
"Hmm. I have a solution for that. We have an old family home in Lucknow. When we were thrown out of Sheesh Mahal, we kept some of our old things in that house. You'll have to get some property papers made mentioning that I'm transferring the deeds of that house over to Arnav."
Silence.
"You don't worry about it. We all are leaving for Lucknow in a few days. Arnav can go and inspect that house for his satisfaction. You just start the work on preparing both sets of documents. I want to take Arnav's signatures on those papers by today evening."
Dadi listens carefully and then smiles sadly.
"I know at a time like this, how important it is for you to be here. But the time has to be right for you to return." she says. "Okay I should keep the phone down now. I'll speak with you later in the evening... God Bless you."
[Cut to Gupta House]
It's been half an hour since Arnav has been sitting outside. A slight breeze has picked up and his wet shirt is now sticking to his chest. He's feeling uncomfortable and his bottom has started hurting too. He's starting to get annoyed now as neither Buaji nor Khushi have come to invite him inside. He wonders how long his patience will serve him to sit there before he calls for another car to take him home.
"There you go!" Arnav finds a towel at his lap. He looks up to see Khushi in a different set of clothes, eating a plate of poori and alu. He gratefully wipes off himself with the towel the best way he can, all the while muttering something.
"Whatever it is you're saying, say it louder. I can't hear you!" Khushi snaps at him. Arnav looks up at annoyed.
"This is great. I'm sitting as an outsider in my own house!" Arnav exclaims in disgust. Khushi waves a poori at him angrily.
"Look Mr. Raizada, if you are feeling troubled sitting outside, then please get a car for yourself and go back home. Nobody has forced you to sit here." Khushi retorts. Arnav looks up at her angrily. A bucket full of filthy water splashed on me, mocking me, making fun of me, and now eating in front of me. This is not what I signed up for.
"Khushi I need to talk to you," Arnav mutters to her. Khushi shoots her eyebrows up enquiringly as her mouth is busy licking her fingers. Arnav stares at her in amazement. Only Khushi can eat like this, forgetting she has people staring at her. He stands up, tugs at her elbow forcefully and steers her down the stairs at towards the courtyard a good few feet away from the house. Khushi's eyes become wide. Now what's wrong with him? She wonders to herself.
"Khushi, whatever happened in the office yesterday," Arnav starts off, "I mean... whatever i said..." Khushi waits for him to complete. Arnav clears his throat.
"I wanted to say that everything is alright now. Aakash is going to shift to a new home. And it is a good house. I helped him decide on it. Payal will be comfortable there. I bought that house for Aakash, you know as a gift," Arnav reels off everything that he wanted to tell her with a small smile on his face. You can't hate me now Khushi! Khushi stands still absorbing his monologue.
"So you wan't to tell me, you've such a big role in letting jeejaji out of Shantivan?" she asks him. Arnav looks indignant.
"No! I changed my decision!" Arnav exclaims resentfully. "Aakash decided that he wanted to stay away from Shantivan for some time."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Khushi asks him suddenly. Arnav looks taken aback.
"Because...I want you to know that I helped Aakash. I've supported him in his decision." He says, desperate for her to understand. Khushi looks at him with a deadpan expression on her face.
"So you want to tell me that you love your brother so much that you bought him a house." Arnav nods, mentally delighted that she understood the point he was trying to make. Khushi continues, "and now jeeji will live in a house, which is a house but isn't a home." Arnav's feeling of joy fades a little. "Where she'll have jeeja ji for company but not the entire family. Jeeji is going to live in a house where she won't have naniji's affections, Mamiji's scoldings and Anjali Di's camaraderie." Khushi looks at him sadly. Arnav is dumbstruck.
"Don't show the might of money this way, Arnavji," Khushi says calmly. "All this pomp and show doesn't matter to simple people like us."
"No Khushi, that is not what I was trying to say!" Arnav replies disturbedly.
"You know what is the biggest problem with you Arnavji? You stop thinking when you get angry." Khushi mumbles and starts walking back towards the house. Just then he notices Aakash and Payal walking out of the house, holding bags and talking to Buaji. A sudden panic grips Arnav. He has to say it right now before he doesn't get a chance.
"Khushi!" She pauses and turns around. "Khushi, I'm sorry! Please come back!" She stares at him in surprise obviously not expecting this. She knows he is not asking her to walk back to him, he's asking her to return to his life. The moment stretches between them; Arnav feels his heartbeat slow down, waiting... expecting an answer... Khushi glances at Payal thinking of her getting uprooted from Shantivan, she thinks of the pain this will cause her mother when she comes to know about these events, she thinks of Arnav walking away from the mandap on her wedding day. Really Arnavji? One sorry is all you have to offer? She closes her eyes a pained look on her face.
"No Arnavji. I won't," she mumbles determinedly, loud enough for him to hear and walks back towards the house.
Arnav stands frozen, fearing his heart has stopped beating altogether.
NEXT CHAPTER (click)
You thought it would be that easy eh Arnav? Sorry kid, I hate to disappoint you. Tujhse naak nai ragdai na to mera naam smitzy nahin! 😆
So people, what's the verdict? Not the best/the worst/okayish??
Edited by smitzy - 12 years ago
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