You are the writer, you set the pace. I know there are ppl who want Arshi all the time even on screen but they need to learn patience. A good story needs to be developed. Har bar hero heroine ishq farmainge to ek scene mein kissa khatam
OMG I am loving the sentiment here ... Smitzy you should decide how you want the story to unfold, you are brilliant and we all trust you and your amazing writing calibre to keep us hooked, Arshi or not ...deviation or not ... fikar not !I absolutely love this FF of yours and stalk it like nobody's business, even if I am super exhausted...even if the boys are screaming their lungs out...even if there's something boiling on the hob...kuch toh hai ...pakka !!!😛Likhtey raho boss ... We love it !
😊thanks all of you lovelies! 🤗 it is easy to get disheartened, but I'll try to remain focused!cheers!
*None of my work can be copied without explicit written permission from me. It's not polite to steal ideas.*
[Next morning, Purani Haveli]
Arnav sits up in his bead suddenly, his eyes wildly looking around, trying to identify his surroundings. He is half sitting on an old fashioned four poster wooden bed with white gossamer sheets hanging lazily from the bed stands. He remembers he is not in his bed in Delhi, but in Purani Haveli in Lucknow. His hand reaches up to his face, rubbing his eyes of any extra sleep that might be lingering. He relaxes a little and allows his eyes to scrutinize his environs more observantly this time.
To his surprise, he realises that he had slept rather well despite usually having trouble sleeping in a new place. He must have been more tired than he'd thought. Withdrawing his hand, he glances outside the half closed shuttered doors across him, noticing streaks of orange on the indigo night sky through the gaps. He picks up his phone to check the time. The digital clock blinks back 05:25 back at him. He keeps the phone back in surprise. He hadn't woken up this early in a very long time.
He wonders if he should go back to sleep but makes up his mind against it and gets off his bed. He slowly walks towards the shuttered door and opens it, to find small steps leading down to a huge balcony. The grainy graphite floors felt surprisingly cold and he realises he isn't wearing his slippers. He turns around with half a mind to put them on, but then he stands still, seeing one of the most breathtaking scenes in front of him.
Standing from the balcony on the top floor, he can see land stretching far away from Purani Haveli. The most glorious sunrise was bathing the lush greens all around him with a soft ethereal glow. He can actually follow the movement of the sun drift up lazily, lifting the early morning fog alongwith it. He closes his eyes and slowly outstretches his arms in an open embrace welcoming the sun, feeling the warmth of the sunrays seeping into his body. The air is filled with the chirping of birds, they too getting up with the break of dawn. Arnav opens his eyes and realises he's actually smiling in contentment. He hasn't felt this sense of calm in a very long time. He turns around and looks at the building behind that he now owned.
Could it be finally be his home away from home?
*
After a long jog around the estate, Arnav returns to the Haveli to get freshened up. He notices the family is sitting in the garden drinking their teas. Roopmati and Geeta are handing everyone their respective cups. Roopmati beams a big smile as she sees Arnav walk towards them.
"Arnav bitwa kitne chote se the, jab unko aakhir baar dekha tha," she says reminiscently. He looks at her surprised. As far as he remembered, even the night they had come to this place 14 years ago, he hadn't met any of the caretakers. Dadi seems to notice his reaction.
"Aap yahin paida hue the Arnav. Roopmati ne shuru ke kuch mahino tak tumhara bahut khayal rakha tha," she explains sipping her tea. Arnav nods at Roopmati. The two ladies excuse themselves and walk back inside the Haveli. Arnav sits down.
"Pata hai Chotey? Hum us kamre mein hain, jahan bachpan mein hamari tuition ki classes hoti thi. Pehle woh ek study tha par abhi ek bedroom bana diya gaya hai," Anjali says excitedly. Arnav smiles. "Humara to bahut mann hai baaki ka ghar bhi dekhne ka aur khaas kar Haveli ke pichhe ka kuaan!" Naniji looks at her in alarm.
"Anjali bitiya? Kuaan?" she exclaims.
"Haan Nani! Pata hai jab hum 10 saal ke the na, tab kuen ke paas khelte khelte humara pair fisal gaya tha aur hum almost kuen ke andar girne wale the jab Dinu Kaka ne hame bachaya tha," Anjali goes on enthusiastically, as if reliving her old days of adventure. Shocked faces greet her back.
"Di, promise kariye ki aap uss kuen ke aas paas bhi nahin jayengi," Arnav says warningly. Anjali pouts at him.
"Yes yes Di. Hum log kuch aur safer options nahin dekh sakte?" Aakash asks politely. Anjali ponders for a moment.
"Haan dekh sakte hain. Ye ghar to Lucknow ke bhulbhulaiya jaisa hai. Upar ke saare kamre bahut sundar hain, aur hum ghodon ka tabela bhi dekh sakte hain, aur," anjali suddenly brings her hands in front of her face in a mock scary way and says in a heavy voice, "kaal kothri!" NK looks taken aback.
"Kaal kothri? You mean Dungeons?" He looks excitedly at Arnav. Arnav is about to tell Anjali off for putting silly ideas into NK's head when Dadi suddenly speaks up.
"Kaal kothri mein kisi ka bhi jana mana hai. Woh jagah bahut dino se band padi hai. Jaane kitni dhool gandagi jami hogi wahan par. Anjali bitiya aap ghar baad mein kabhi ghoom lijiyega. Filhaal araam kariye," Dadi says. Nani and Mamiji nod their heads in agreement and all the ladies walk back inside the house.
As Arnav settles down comfortably in his chair and takes the first sip of his blissful ginger tea, NK pulls his chair close to Arnav and Aakash. Over the rim of his cup, Arnav looks at the expressions on NK's face and immediately deduces that NK is devising one of his usual stupid plans.
"Guys! Mere paas ek superb idea hai!" NK starts off as expected by Arnav. He keeps down his cup and stares indulgently at him. "Shradh pooja to afternoon mein hai, aur aaj ka poora din hum bilkul free hain. So let's go discovering this Purani Haveli. What say?"
"I think it is a great idea NK Bhai!" Aakash agrees enthusiastically. "After all main bhi kabhi iss ghar mein pehle nahin aaya hun. We'll have an adventure!" NK slaps Aakash on the back in encouragement.
"Ye hui na baat mere ber!" NK exclaimed joyously.
"Ber nahi NK Bhai, Sher!" Aakash corrects him. NK holds his ear in apology.
"Nannav? Tum bhi chaloge na?" NK turns to Arnav as the latter hadn't replied anything so far.
"No NK. Mujhe kaafi kaam hai. Kuch presentations finish karni hain. Aur kuch client calls bhi karne hain," Arnav immediately turns him down.NK's face droops in disappointment.
"Oh come on Nannav! Ek din kaam nahin karoge to kuch nahi ho jayega. Come along! Tumne bhi ye ghar kaunsa dekha hai?" NK persists. Aakash knows Arnav won't listen to them unless it is something to do with his work.
"Haan bhai," Aakash says. "Aur waise Dadi bata rahi thi, ki ye property ab aapki hai. Aur aap isko business ke liye use karna chahte hain." Arnav looks at Aakash in surprise. He didn't know Dadi had told others about their conversation. "To at least hum log survey kar sakte hain, ki ye haveli kaam ke liye use ki bhi ja sakti hai ya nahin." Arnav looks thoughtful for a moment. NK exchanges a glance with Aakash who winks back at him reassuredly.
"Well if you put it that way, it sounds sensible Aakash. I was planning to convert this building for commercial purposes," Arnav concedes. "Theek hai, let me complete my calls after breakfast, then let's reki this place and find out." Arnav finishes his tea and walks back inside the Haveli.
NK and Aakash give each other a victory high five.
*
[King George's Medical Hospital]
Payal and Garima are sitting outside the Operation Theatre. The red light is still on as it has been for the past 3 hours. The specialists had warned Khushi that it was one of the most complicated spinal surgery and would take 5 to 6 hours in the OR before they could set things right. But the doctors were confident of a positive outcome and it was that optimism that was keeping the Gupta family's worry in check.
Khushi walks towards them with two plastic cups of water and gives them to her Amma and her jeeji. She sits down next to them.
"Amma, aap jeeji ke saath ghar kyun nahin chali jaati? Hum hain yahan par. Waise bhi operation khatam hone ke baad bauji ko hosh aane mein thoda samaye lagega," Khushi says to her mother concernedly. Garima really looked tired. The past seven days of medical camp, followed by the rounds of hospital was finally showing its toll on her; there were small dark circles under her eyes.
"Khushi theek keh rahi hai Amma. Aap ghar chalkar thoda aaram kar lo," Payal also says. Garima hugs both her daughters, keeping one arm on either of them.
"Devi Maiyya ka hum par upkaar hai, ki unhone humein tum jaisi bachiyan di hain. Tum dono nahin hote to humaar kaa hota," Garima murmurs, suddenly getting emotional. Khushi and Payal hug her back and the three of them sit still like that, strong and joint as a family.
When they break away, Khushi gently wipes the tears flowing down her mother's eyes. "Hum nahin bhi hote na, to bhi Devi Maiyya humein tumhare paas bhej deti Amma," she chuckles.
"Haan, tum itni badi sanki jo ho," Payal agrees, teasingly. Garima also starts smiling inspite of her tears.
Payal and Garima leave for their home leaving Khushi behind to meet the doctors once the operation finishes.
[Purani Haveli]
NK is extremely excited to finally roam around the majestic yet mysterious Purani Haveli. He had always been a huge fan of horror movies and the setting of this place reminded him of a Haunted House documentary he had seen on the Discovery Channel a few days back. The mere thought of finding a ghost or something in the Haveli was giving him goosebumps. He knew Aakash had tricked Arnav into coming with them because he wouldn't have agreed otherwise, so he tries his best not to reveal his excitement.
The three brothers first start with the grounds of the estate. To their surprised delight, the horse stables were still functional and the caretaker's son Raghav was tending to four beautiful mares as they entered the stable.
"Nannav! Dekho, horses!" NK exclaims excitedly. Raghav folds his hands in greeting and smiles up at the three young men.
"Ye ghode tumhare hain?" Arnav enquires, glancing at the mare closest to him.
"Sahib, ye Haveli ke ghode hain. Pehle baggi chalane ke kaam aate the. Fir saal beete to purane ghode mar gaye. Ye nai nasal hai," Raghav explained. "Baggi to chalti nahin hai, to shanivar aur ravivar ko school ke bache aate hain ghudsawari seekhne ke liye. Ghodon ki kasrat bhi ho jati hai, aur inki dawai aur khane ke liye paise bhi jut jate hain," he finishes patting a brown horse on its back. Arnav looks impressed. He remembers going to polo matches as a kid and being in awe of these majestic creatures. NK clicks his fingers as a new idea strikes him.
"Nannav! Kyun na hum teeno grounds ka survey in horses par ride karke karein? You know like Wild Wild West -yeeehaaaw!" he yells whipping an imaginary horse. Raghav stares at NK bemusedly. Aakash and Arnav tap him on the shoulder indulgently to move on to the next part of the mansion and NK's face droops in resignation again.
Raghav walks along with them to show them the huge building south of the Haveli which was once a function Hall. The building looked ramshackled now but nothing that some repair work couldn't take care of Aakash and Arnav decided. They even checked out the well that Anjali had a near-accident in. It had been closed off after installing of a motor pump in the Haveli. The four of them then headed inside the Haveli checking out each of the huge rooms, Arnav deep in thoughts about how best to utilize all this space. When they finally reach a door near the end of the Hall, they notice it has been locked with a huge rusted iron lock.
Arnav looks at Raghav in confusion. None of the other rooms they had checked was locked.
"Ye kamra locked kyun hai Raghav?" Arnav inquires. He notices Raghav looks a little uncomfortable.
"Ye darwaja kothri ko jaata hai sahib." He replies. NK's ears stand up at the reference of the elusive kothri. His brothers had sucked out all the fun of this supposedly adventurous trip. Maybe now was his final chance at having some fun. He looks imploringly at Aakash behind Arnav's back.
"We should check it out Bhai," Aakash suggests to Arnav at NK's behest. "Shayad is room ko hum store room ki tarag use kar sakte hain." Arnav nods in agreement.
"Raghav ye darwaza kholo. Humein andar jana hai," Arnav directs authoritatively.
"Sahib chaabi to mere paas nahin hai. Main baba se leke aata hun," Raghav says and quickly walks back towards his living quarters leaving the three brothers staring at the locked door. NK folds his hands heavenwards and thanks his stars hoping he'd finally get his share of excitement.
ENGLISH VERSION
[Next morning, Purani Haveli]
Arnav sits up in his bead suddenly, his eyes wildly looking around, trying to identify his surroundings. He is half sitting on an old fashioned four poster wooden bed with white gossamer sheets hanging lazily from the bed stands. He remembers he is not in his bed in Delhi, but in Purani Haveli in Lucknow. His hand reaches up to his face, rubbing his eyes of any extra sleep that might be lingering. He relaxes a little and allows his eyes to scrutinize his environs more observantly this time.
To his surprise, he realises that he had slept rather well despite usually having trouble sleeping in a new place. He must have been more tired than he'd thought. Withdrawing his hand, he glances outside the half closed shuttered doors across him, noticing streaks of orange on the indigo night sky through the gaps. He picks up his phone to check the time. The digital clock blinks back 05:25 back at him. He keeps the phone back in surprise. He hadn't woken up this early in a very long time.
He wonders if he should go back to sleep but makes up his mind against it and gets off his bed. He slowly walks towards the shuttered door and opens it, to find small steps leading down to a huge balcony. The grainy graphite floors felt surprisingly cold and he realises he isn't wearing his slippers. He turns around with half a mind to put them on, but then he stands still, seeing one of the most breathtaking scenes in front of him.
Standing from the balcony on the top floor, he can see land stretching far away from Purani Haveli. The most glorious sunrise was bathing the lush greens all around him with a soft ethereal glow. He can actually follow the movement of the sun drift up lazily, lifting the early morning fog alongwith it. He closes his eyes and slowly outstretches his arms in an open embrace welcoming the sun, feeling the warmth of the sunrays seeping into his body. The air is filled with the chirping of birds, they too getting up with the break of dawn. Arnav opens his eyes and realises he's actually smiling in contentment. He hasn't felt this sense of calm in a very long time. He turns around and looks at the building behind that he now owned.
Could it be finally be his home away from home?
*
After a long jog around the estate, Arnav returns to the Haveli to get freshened up. He notices the family is sitting in the garden drinking their teas. Roopmati and Geeta are handing everyone their respective cups. Roopmati beams a big smile as she sees Arnav walk towards them.
"Arnav was so small when I last saw him," she says reminiscently. He looks at her surprised. As far as he remembered, even the night they had come to this place 14 years ago, he hadn't met any of the caretakers. Dadi seems to notice his reaction.
"You were born here itself, Arnav. Roopmati took care of you in the beginning few months after your birth," she explains sipping her tea. Arnav nods at Roopmati. The two ladies excuse themselves and walk back inside the Haveli. Arnav sits down.
"Do you know, Chotey? I'm staying in the room where I used to study tuition classes as a kid. It used to be a study room but now has been converted to a bedroom," Anjali says excitedly. Arnav smiles. "I really want to roam around the estate and especially check out the well!" Naniji looks at her in alarm.
"Anjali bitiya? Well?" she exclaims.
"Yeah Nani! I was 10 years old when one day I was playing near the well. My foot slipped and I was almost going to fall in when Dinu Kaka saved my life," Anjali goes on enthusiastically, as if reliving her old days of adventure. Shocked faces greet her back.
"Di, promise me you won't go near that well," Arnav says warningly. Anjali pouts at him.
"Yes yes Di. Can't we check out some safer options?" Aakash asks politely. Anjali ponders for a moment.
"Yeah we can. This house is like the Lucknow catacomb. All the rooms upstairs are done beautifully, and there are the horse stables, and," anjali suddenly brings her hands in front of her face in a mock scary way and says in a heavy voice, "the dungeons!" NK looks taken aback.
"Dungeons?" He looks excitedly at Arnav. Arnav is about to tell Anjali off for putting silly ideas into NK's head when Dadi suddenly speaks up.
"No one is allowed to go there. That place has been locked for years now. God knows how much dust and filth might have accumulated there all these years. Anjali bitiya you can roam around the house later sometime. Please rest for now," Dadi says. Nani and Mamiji nod their heads in agreement and all the ladies walk back inside the house.
As Arnav settles down comfortably in his chair and takes the first sip of his blissful ginger tea, NK pulls his chair close to Arnav and Aakash. Over the rim of his cup, Arnav looks at the expressions on NK's face and immediately deduces that NK is devising one of his usual stupid plans.
"Guys! I have a superb idea!" NK starts off as expected by Arnav. He keeps down his cup and stares indulgently at him. "Shradh pooja is later in the afternoon and all of us are free in the morning. So let's go discovering this Purani Haveli. What say?"
"I think it is a great idea NK Bhai!" Aakash agrees enthusiastically. "After all even I've never been to this house before. We'll have an adventure!" NK slaps Aakash on the back in encouragement.
"that's the spirit my ber (fruit)!" NK exclaimed joyously.
"Ber nahi NK Bhai, Sher (Not ber NK Bhai, Sher (tiger))!" Aakash corrects him. NK holds his ear in apology.
"Nannav? You'll come too right?" NK turns to Arnav as the latter hadn't replied anything so far.
"No NK. I have a lot of work to do. Have some presentations to complete and some client calls to attend to," Arnav immediately turns him down. NK's face droops in disappointment.
"Oh come on Nannav! Nothing will happen if you don't work for a day. Come along! Even you haven't seen this house , have you?" NK persists. Aakash knows Arnav won't listen to them unless it is something to do with his work.
"Yeah bhai," Aakash says. "and in any case, Dadi was saying that this property belongs to you now and you were thinking of converting this for business purpose?" Arnav looks at Aakash in surprise. He didn't know Dadi had told others about their conversation. "So at least we can survey if this place is fit to be used for business or not." Arnav looks thoughtful for a moment. NK exchanges a glance with Aakash who winks back at him reassuredly.
"Well if you put it that way, it sounds sensible Aakash. I was planning to convert this building for commercial purposes," Arnav concedes. "Ok fine, let me complete my calls after breakfast, then let's reiki this place and find out." Arnav finishes his tea and walks back inside the Haveli.
NK and Aakash give each other a victory high five.
*
[King George's Medical Hospital]
Payal and Garima are sitting outside the Operation Theatre. The red light is still on as it has been for the past 3 hours. The specialists had warned Khushi that it was one of the most complicated spinal surgery and would take 5 to 6 hours in the OR before they could set things right. But the doctors were confident of a positive outcome and it was that optimism that was keeping the Gupta family's worry in check.
Khushi walks towards them with two plastic cups of water and gives them to her Amma and her jeeji. She sits down next to them.
"Amma, Why don't you go home along with Jeeji? I'm here only. As such, it will take time for Bauji to gain conciousness after the operation completes," Khushi says to her mother concernedly. Garima really looked tired. The past seven days of medical camp, followed by the rounds of hospital was finally showing its toll on her; there were small dark circles under her eyes.
"Khushi is right Amma. Come home and rest for a while," Payal also says. Garima hugs both her daughters, keeping one arm on either of them.
"Devi Maiyya has blessed me with two fine daughters like you. What would I have done if i didn't have you with me?" Garima murmurs, suddenly getting emotional. Khushi and Payal hug her back and the three of them sit still like that, strong and joint as a family.
When they break away, Khushi gently wipes the tears flowing down her mother's eyes. "Even if I wouldn't have been with you, Devi Maiyya would have deliberately sent me to you, Amma," she chuckles.
"Yeah since you are totally crazy," Payal agrees, teasingly. Garima also starts smiling inspite of her tears.
Payal and Garima leave for their home leaving Khushi behind to meet the doctors once the operation finishes.
[Purani Haveli]
NK is extremely excited to finally roam around the majestic yet mysterious Purani Haveli. He had always been a huge fan of horror movies and the setting of this place reminded him of a Haunted House documentary he had seen on the Discovery Channel a few days back. The mere thought of finding a ghost or something in the Haveli was giving him goosebumps. He knew Aakash had tricked Arnav into coming with them because he wouldn't have agreed otherwise, so he tries his best not to reveal his excitement.
The three brothers first start with the grounds of the estate. To their surprised delight, the horse stables were still functional and the caretaker's son Raghav was tending to four beautiful mares as they entered the stable.
"Nannav! Look, horses!" NK exclaims excitedly. Raghav folds his hands in greeting and smiles up at the three young men.
"Are these horses yours?" Arnav enquires, glancing at the mare closest to him.
"Sahib, these are the Haveli's horses. In olden times, they were used to drive the carriages. The older horses passed away over the years. This is the newest generation," Raghav explained. "Carriages are no longer being run, so the school children come over on weekends to learn horse riding. The horses get their share of exercise and we get the money for their upkeep," he finishes patting a brown horse on its back. Arnav looks impressed. He remembers going to polo matches as a kid and being in awe of these majestic creatures. NK clicks his fingers as a new idea strikes him.
"Nannav! Why don't we survey the grounds riding these horses? You know like Wild Wild West -yeeehaaaw!" he yells whipping an imaginary horse. Raghav stares at NK bemusedly. Aakash and Arnav tap him on the shoulder indulgently to move on to the next part of the mansion and NK's face droops in resignation again.
Raghav walks along with them to show them the huge building south of the Haveli which was once a function Hall. The building looked ramshackled now but nothing that some repair work couldn't take care of Aakash and Arnav decided. They even checked out the well that Anjali had a near-accident in. It had been closed off after installing of a motor pump in the Haveli. The four of them then headed inside the Haveli checking out each of the huge rooms, Arnav deep in thoughts about how best to utilize all this space. When they finally reach a door near the end of the Hall, they notice it has been locked with a huge rusted iron lock.
Arnav looks at Raghav in confusion. None of the other rooms they had checked was locked.
"Why is this room locked, Raghav?" Arnav inquires. He notices Raghav looks a little uncomfortable.
"This door goes to the dungeons sahib." He replies. NK's ears stand up at the reference of the elusive dungeons. His brothers had sucked out all the fun of this supposedly adventurous trip. Maybe now was his final chance at having some fun. He looks imploringly at Aakash behind Arnav's back.
"We should check it out Bhai," Aakash suggests to Arnav at NK's behest. "Maybe we can use it as a store room later." Arnav nods in agreement.
"Raghav open this door. We want to go inside," Arnav directs authoritatively.
"Sahib I don't have the key, but I'll get it from Baba," Raghav says and quickly walks back towards his living quarters leaving the three brothers staring at the locked door. NK folds his hands heavenwards and thanks his stars hoping he'd finally get his share of excitement.
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