Posted:
congrats for the new thread..
simply amazing n awsum update..
loved it alot..
finally all is getting back...
thnx for the pm...
congrats for the new thread..
simply amazing n awsum update..
loved it alot..
finally all is getting back...
thnx for the pm...
Chapter 23 Scene 2
[Shantivan, Diwali morning]
The preparations were on full swing in Shantivan; HP was supervising the decorations being put up around the pillars of the main lounge. There were wicker baskets on the floor from where the other servants where picking up strands of vibrant yellow and orange fresh genda flowers. Another group of servants were busy sorting through the fairylights from a big heap. Arnav was supervising the second group, instructing them how to put the fairylights around the pillars and all over the huge French windows.
Payal and Naniji are sitting in the other lounge making lau for the diyas from cotton balls. Mamiji looks busy in the kitchen. Anjali walks in from her room and joins the ladies of the house, her gaze fixed on her brother who was busy as a bee. She looks surprised to see Arnav so involved in the decorations on his own initiative. As far as she remembers, she'd always had to drag him to help her, but today he seemed to be actually doing everything on his own. Anjali smiles fondly; it was no mystery; Arnav was really looking forward to having Khushi at Shantivan.
"Happy Diwali, Nani, Happy Diwali Payalji," Anjali wishes them. Nani and Payal Anjali wish back with a smile.
"Nani?" Anjali murmurs sitting down next to Naniji. "Hum kuch soch rahe the." Nani smilingly raises her eyebrow inquisitively. "Aaj poori Gupta family aa rahi hai. Aap ko nahi lagta, ki humein Khushiji aur Chotey ki shaadi ke bare mein baat karni chahiye?" Anjali asks. Nani, and Payal who is withing earshot, look absolutely delighted with the idea.
"Yii to aap bahut achhi baat kiye rahe Anjali bitiya. Hum zaroor Garimaji se iss bare mein baat kiye rahenge. Par Khushi bitiya iss bare mein kya sochti hain?" Naniji asks looking suddenly worried.
"Dadiji, humein nahin lagta ki Khushi ko iss bare mein koi musibat hogi," Payal suddenly pips in with a big smile on her face. Anjali looks at her in surprise for a moment. To kya Payal ji bhi iske bare mein janti hain? She wonders. Payal looks at Anjali and nods her head once, as if silently answering her question. Anjali too smiles back at her sister in law.
"Hello Hi bye bye! Hum sweets ka order diye rahe Sasu Maa," Mamiji exclaims walking amidst them clutching the phone in her hand, looking agitated, "par woo announcement kare rahe ki unka transport failure hui gawa hai aur sweets delivery nahi ho paye rahegi!" Mamiji settles down heavily on the sofa looking disappointed. Just then Arnav walks to them.
"To kya hua Mamiji? Main ja kar sweets le aata hun," Arnav offers. All the women folk gape at him for volunteering. Was this the same Arnav who wasn't too pleased with festivals? Apparently not. Mamiji dazedly nods her head and hands over the bill of the shop having the address.
Arnav studies it for a moment and then yells to Aakash across the room, "Aakash main kuch kaam se bahar ja raha hun. Just take care of the decorations in the meantime," Aakash nods at Arnav in reponse. "One more thing, painters ka kaam khatam hua ya nahin?" Anjali's eyes suddenly widen on hearing the mention of the painters and she remembers about the cameras.
"Chotey!" she exclaims and walks to him. Arnav raises his eyebrow enquiringly at her. "Humein tumse kuch zaroori baat karni thi," Anjali mutters. Arnav is about to ask her what was wrong when he gets a phone call from Aman. Arnav receives the call and raises a finger to let Anjali know he'll be back in some time to talk to her and walks out towards the main door talking on the phone.
"Di?" Aakash's voice snaps Anjali's attention. "Woh painters aa gaye hain, aapne kaha tha na ki aapko apne poolside mein kuch kaam karwana tha?" Anjali looks towards the main door once more but realises Arnav has left already. Deciding that she first needed to take care of the cameras, she nods at Aakash. He summons some of the painters and they follow Anjali to her room.
In the meantime, NK walks down the stairs looking utterly morose. Aakash walks towards him and sits down next to him on the stair.
"NK Bhai! Happy Diwali!" Aakash wishes his brother animatedly. NK sits down on the last stair heavily.
"It's not a happy diwali Aakash. It's a very sad diwali," he mutters in a despondent voice. Aakash looks slightly alarmed at NK's tone and sits down next to him on the staircase.
"Sad diwali? Kyun?" Aakash asks. NK glances at Aakash and curves his lips into a half frown. Aakash immediately realises why it was sad for NK and he bursts into laughter. "Ohh, I got it. To isme sad hone wali kaun si baat hai?" NK bows his head in resignation.
"Nandini ji aaj nahin aa rahi hain Aakash. Do you need another reason?" Aakash smiles at hearing NK's admission. First Arnav had been up since early morning and supervising the decorations all round the house and now an emotional NK was sitting in an almost Devdas style, it seems to Aakash that Shantivan has filled up with a lot of lovesick people all of a sudden. Aakash shakes his head.
"To aap Khushi ji se baat kyun nahin karte?" NK turns to look at Aakash. "I'm sure, Khushi ji Nandini ji ko zaroor convince kar sakti hain yahan aane ke liye." NK stares at Aakash for a moment and then hugs him tightly. Aakash looks momentarily stunned at this sudden display of affection, but taps NK on his back.
"Maine ye kyun nahin socha?" NK wonders aloud, gets up and almost runs up the stairs from where he had slouched down not minutes ago. Aakash turns to glance at Payal sitting across the room from him and both exchange a knowing smile, no wonder thinking the same thing. Hopeless lover boys!
[Gupta House, Diwali morning]
Preparations are going on full swing in Gupta House too. Khushi can be seen standing on a rickety old stool in the verandah as she is putting up fairylight connections near the ceiling around the verandah. Nandini can be seen holding the stool and looking up at Khushi with absolute concentration.
"Nandini ji! Hathora dijiye, hum keel thokni padegi. Pichle saal wali keel to pata nahin kaha gir gayi," Khushi mumbles prodding a hole on the wooden frame 7 feet above the ground. Nandini looks around to notice that the bag of nails was kept a good two feet away on the ground and try as she might, she couldn't reach it (even after stretching her feet). So she finally walks away from the stool and hunts inside the bag for a nail that would be strong enough.
"Khushi ye wala theek rahega?" Nandini asks holding a nail up for Khushi's scrutiny. Khushi looks down at it and nods her head once in assent, but then realises that no one is holding the stool anymore. Her legs start shivering with panic instantly.
"Nandini ji!!!" Khushi yells in alarm and stumbles from the stool to collide head first with Nandini to break her fall. Both women fall on the hard concrete floor with a dull thump.
"Ouch!" Nandini groans loudly.
"Nandini ji! Aap theek ho?" Khushi asks immediately getting up and offers her hand for Nandini to take. Rubbing her aching butt, Nandini slowly looks up at Khushi. Her hand pauses in its action and she gapes at Khushi with her eyes wide open. Then all of a sudden, Nandini bursts into laughter. Khushi first looks at Nandini in bewilderment and then looks down at herself. Her mouth too flies open.
The fairylights that Khushi was trying to put up are now entangled all around her body. She slaps her forehead in dismay. "Hey Devi Maiyya! Fir se?" Khushi groans and starts detangling the lights. Nandini gets up from the floor.
"Fir se matlab?" Nandini asks still laughing, "Tum pehle bhi iss tarah ulajhi ho kya?" Khushi sighs.
"Haan, pichle saal bhi kuch aisa hi hua tha hamare saath. Pehle to hum Arnavji ke saath rangoli par gir gaye aur fir poolside par ye battiyan hum par ulajh gayi thi," Khushi replies as she continues detangling herself. Nandini's laughter ceases immediately and she straightens up with no trace of humor on her face anymore.
"Arnav ke saath?" she asks suspiciously raising her eyebrow at Khushi who nods in reply.
Khushi starts remembering this time last year when she was at Shantivan and it was Arnav who had stumbled from the stool and fallen on Khushi. Thankfully he had saved her from hitting the floor but the Rangoli that Khushi had made so laboriously had been completely ruined and so had Arnav's sweater! Khushi smiles at the memory. And then she remembers standing by the poolside with the fairylights wrapped all around her torso and how Arnav had walked towards her and slowly with steady hands had unwrapped each wire from her body, his fingers brushing her skin leaving a trail of goosebumps all over her body. Khushi shivers slightly thinking abouting and slowly rubs her arm, looking slightly dazed.
"Oye Khushi! Kahan kho gayi?" Nandini asks shaking her out of her trance. Khushi looks slightly disoriented as she looks at Nandini and then shakes her head. She again stands up on the stool holding the fairylights in one hand and the hammer and nail in the other.
"Jaldi se ye battiyan lagani hain Nandini ji. Fir iske baad humein diyon ke liye lau bhi banani hai," Khushi mutters and starts hammering a nail into the wooden frame. She tenderly hooks the wire of the lights on it and proceeds to the next nail which is already there. Nandini holds the stool firmly in place.
"Khuseee bitiya?" a loud summons makes Khushi stop midway and peek inside the open window to see her mother carrying her phone towards her. "Tumra phone aya raha hai." Khushi leaps down from the stool and takes the phone.
"Hello?" Khushi breathes.
"Khushi ji? Main NK bol raha hun," NK's excited voice comes from the other end. "Agar Nandini ji wahin aapke paas hain to mera naam mat lijiyega please!" he adds urgently. Khushi turns to look at Nandini for a moment and then awkwardly smiles.
"K.. k.. kishore kumar ji! Namaste!" Khushi stutters, her mind coming up with the most unimaginative name. NK sighs in relief. Nandini however, looks at Khushi curiously. "Aapko diwali ki shubhkamnaye!"
"Aapko bhi happy diwali Khushi ji," NK replies.
"Kahiye kishore kumar ji, kaise phone karna hua?" Khushi plies ahead turning away from Nandini and cupping the phone with her hand. "Nandini ji hamare bilkul paas khadi hain," Khushi warns with a whisper.
"Okay okay," NK too whispers back cupping his hand on his phone. Khushi straightens up with a confused look on her face.
"Aap kyun khusfusa rahe hain?" she asks confusedly. NK stares at his hand cupped on his phone and looks heavenwards in exasperation. That's it! He was going crazy! There was no other explanation.
Finally releasing his hand, he replies, "Khushi ji mujhe Nannav ne kal bataya ki aap sab log Shantivan aa rahe hain diwali celebrate karne ke liye?" Khushi suddenly remembers that she was supposed to help NK with writing the letter but she had left much before that.
"K...Kishore kumar ji, humein maaf kariyega. Hum kal aapse baat kiye bina hi ghar ke liye nikal gaye," Khushi murmurs guiltily.
"Arre Khushi ji, koi baat nahin. Jo kaam kal nahin hua, woh aaj kar dijiye," NK replies. Khushi stares ahead in confusion again.
"Kya matlab? Aap aaj shaam ko chitthi likhna chahte hain?" Khushi asks trying to clarify NK's intentions.
"Nahin Khushiji!" NK immediately retorts, then pauses with a thoughtful look on his face. "I mean, letter bhi likhenge, baad mein. Par aaj raat kya aap Nandini ji ko apne saath Shantivan la sakti hain? Khushi stands rooted to her spot, her jaw dropped open at NK's request. She slowly turns around to look at Nandini who was now standing with Garima and talking animatedly about the the fairylights.
*
[Shantivan, Anjali's room]
Anjali is sitting all alone on the recliner by the poolside. She is staring transfixed at two cameras lying on the table in front of her. Their wires have been snipped off just six inches below the main apparatus. Anjali's throat has dried up completely and she realises that she is slightly shivering in fright. Lying in front of her was proof that someone had been spying on her movements. But who could do something like this. How could anyone get inside Shantivan to instal cameras all around her room and quite possibly around the rest of the house as well? Most importantly, when could they have gained access to the house?
When we were in Lucknow, Anjali realises with a pang. Panic immediately sets in. She summons one of the painters.
"Suniye, jis tarah ye cameras aapko iss poolside se mile hain, waise hi hum chahte hain ki aap poore ghar mein ek baar achhi tarah check kar lein. Kahin bhi agar aapko aisi koi cheez dikhai de, uska taar kaat ke aap woh humare paas wapis le aaiyega, theek hai?" The painter stares at Anjali, hearing her strange request, but then nods his head and goes back to join the rest of his group to pass the message.
Anjali's gaze falls back on the decapitated cameras lying functionless on her peg table. She hopes Arnav would return home as soon as possible.
[Somewhere undisclosed]
Shyam is staring in confusion at the bottom two screens which are marred with grey distorted static. Those were the cameras placed by Anjali's room and were working fine till last night. What had happened between then and now that led to disconnection of live images? Shyam walks behind the giant TV screen set up and tries to fiddle with the connections to check if something might have short circuited. He unscrews the connection going into the socket of the screen and then replugs it hoping that would solve the purpose.
When he walks back to the front to check the screen, he's surprised to see two more screens showing static now; screens whose connection he hadn't even touched. Shyam runs his fingers frustratedly through his hair, staring at the screen in complete bewilderment. What the hell was going on? Suddenly he saw three painters ambling around the main lounge as if looking for something. Shyam walked closer to inspect the screen showing the live footage. The men were talking amongst themselves but were constantly looking around and sometimes shifting potted plants. They didn't look like idiots who were attempting robbery in broad daylight. Then suddenly, one of the men looked straight at the camera and raised his hand pointing towards it. Shyam's eyes widened in surprise and the very next minute that screen too greeted him with distorted static.
Shyam stepped away from the screen and looked at the remaining two screen which were the only ones left still feeding him live coverage. However, they were of not much use as one of them was located at the corner of the dining room, looking out towards the kitchen and the other one was looking towards the side garden and the sit out. Shyam glared at the screens with narrowed eyes. The more important cameras located in Arnav's and Anjali's rooms had been neutralised. Yes, they were meutralised, which meant that someone had found out about the cameras.
He took his phone out and flicked down to a number. He quickly hit dial and walked away from the screen set up to his desk. As the phone started ringing, he picked up a file and started browsing through its contents.
"Hello Mr. Bhushan. Hum Shyam Manohar Jha bol rahe hain," Shyam says as soon as the banker picks up the phone. "Hamare paas property ke kuch papers hain jo hum aapko dikhana chahta hain," Shyam continues in his silky voice, "kya hum kal aapke office mein mil sakte hain?" Mr. Bhushan seems to have agreed to the appointment, for Shyam smiles leeringly. "Thank you so much Mr. Bhushan. Hum kal milte hain phir." Shyam disconnects the phone.
Koi baat nahi Saale sahab. Hamare cameras aapko mil gaye to kya hua? Aapki dukhti nabs to hamare haath mein aa hi chuki hai samajh lijiye. Ab bas use dheere dheere dabane ki der hai. Snapping the file shut, Shyam hugs it close to his chest and finally lets out an eerie laugh that ricochets against the walls of the tiny dim lit room.
[Shantivan, later in the evening]
Arnav is back from the shops and has handed over the sweets to HP. He is happy to see that the lounge is decorated beautifully and in the way that he had wanted; the pillars are wrapped with alternate strands of flowers and red and yellow fairy lights. Also, strands of similar coloured fairylights are arranged all over the floor to ceiling French windows.
Payal can be seen supervising rangolis made by diyas on the floors in different designs. She looks up to meet Arnav's eyes and smiles at him. It was strange how much change had come between Payal's behaviour towards him since the day Aakash and she had returned to Shantivan. I guess time does change people, he thinks to himself. He nods at her once in reply and starts walking up the stairs to his room.
He reaches his room and closes the door behind him. He peers out towards the poolside and is pleased to see rows of diyas kept neatly by the rim of the pool. The floor was decorated with beautiful rangoli patterns. His plants were covered with fairylights as well. Satisfied with the poolside setting, Arnav walks to his tower of CDs kept by the door. He runs his fingers down their spines until he finds the one he was looking for and pulls it out from the stack. With a mysterious smile on his face, he pulls the CD out of the case and inserts it into the CD player. He keeps the remote of the CD player carefully on top of the tower for easy access.
Arnav stands back to admire the settings in place. Yes, it seemed all right to him. He hears a knock on the door and Mamiji's disembodied voice immediately follows. "Hello Hi Arnav bitwa! Evenings hone ke wali hai. Tum ready steady go hoke Laxmi Pooja ke liye mandir aa jaio." And just as abruptly she had come, Mamiji leaves. Arnav looks down at the trousers and shirt he was wearing. Fiddling with the buttons of his waist coat, he turns sideways to looks towards his closet. Another smile appears on his lips. Well if he really was planning every last detail...
ENGLISH VERSION
Chapter 23 Scene 2
[Shantivan, Diwali morning]
The preparations were on full swing in Shantivan; HP was supervising the decorations being put up around the pillars of the main lounge. There were wicker baskets on the floor from where the other servants where picking up strands of vibrant yellow and orange fresh genda flowers. Another group of servants were busy sorting through the fairylights from a big heap. Arnav was supervising the second group, instructing them how to put the fairylights around the pillars and all over the huge French windows.
Payal and Naniji are sitting in the other lounge making lau for the diyas from cotton balls. Mamiji looks busy in the kitchen. Anjali walks in from her room and joins the ladies of the house, her gaze fixed on her brother who was busy as a bee. She looks surprised to see Arnav so involved in the decorations on his own initiative. As far as she remembers, she'd always had to drag him to help her, but today he seemed to be actually doing everything on his own. Anjali smiles fondly; it was no mystery; Arnav was really looking forward to having Khushi at Shantivan.
"Happy Diwali, Nani, Happy Diwali Payalji," Anjali wishes them. Nani and Payal Anjali wish back with a smile.
"Nani?" Anjali murmurs sitting down next to Naniji. "I was thinking something." Nani smilingly raises her eyebrow inquisitively. "Today the whole Gupta family is coming over. Don't you think we should talk to them about Chotey and Khushi ji's marriage?" Anjali asks. Nani, and Payal who is withing earshot, look absolutely delighted with the idea.
"That is indeed a wonderful plan Anjali bitiya. I'll certainly talk to Garimaji about this. But what does Khushi bitiya feel about marriage now?" Naniji asks looking suddenly worried.
"Dadiji, I don't think Khushi will have any problems with it," Payal suddenly pips in with a big smile on her face. Anjali looks at her in surprise for a moment. So does Payal too know about this? She wonders. Payal looks at Anjali and nods her head once, as if silently answering her question. Anjali too smiles back at her sister in law.
"Hello Hi bye bye! I gave the order for sweets Sasu Maa," Mamiji exclaims walking amidst them clutching the phone in her hand, looking agitated, "but they are giving announcement that their transport system has failed and they can't deliver the sweets!" Mamiji settles down heavily on the sofa looking disappointed. Just then Arnav walks to them.
"So what Mamiji? I'll go and get them, no problem," Arnav offers. All the women folk gape at him for volunteering. Was this the same Arnav who wasn't too pleased with festivals? Apparently not. Mamiji dazedly nods her head and hands over the bill of the shop having the address.
Arnav studies it for a moment and then yells to Aakash across the room, "Aakash I'm going out for some work. Just take care of the decorations in the meantime," Aakash nods at Arnav in reponse. "One more thing, have the painters finished with their work?" Anjali's eyes suddenly widen on hearing the mention of the painters and she remembers about the cameras.
"Chotey!" she exclaims and walks to him. Arnav raises his eyebrow enquiringly at her. "I need to talk to you about something urgently," Anjali mutters. Arnav is about to ask her what was wrong when he gets a phone call from Aman. Arnav receives the call and raises a finger to let Anjali know he'll be back in some time to talk to her and walks out towards the main door talking on the phone.
"Di?" Aakash's voice snaps Anjali's attention. "The painters are here, didn't you say you had some work to be taken care of at your poolside?" Anjali looks towards the main door once more but realises Arnav has left already. Deciding that she first needed to take care of the cameras, she nods at Aakash. He summons some of the painters and they follow Anjali to her room.
In the meantime, NK walks down the stairs looking utterly morose. Aakash walks towards him and sits down next to him on the stair.
"NK Bhai! Happy Diwali!" Aakash wishes his brother animatedly. NK sits down on the last stair heavily.
"It's not a happy diwali Aakash. It's a very sad diwali," he mutters in a despondent voice. Aakash looks slightly alarmed at NK's tone and sits down next to him on the staircase.
"Sad diwali? Why?" Aakash asks. NK glances at Aakash and curves his lips into a half frown. Aakash immediately realises why it was sad for NK and he bursts into laughter. "Ohh, I got it. But what is there to be sad about?" NK bows his head in resignation.
"Nandini ji isn't coming here tonight Aakash. Do you need another reason?" Aakash smiles at hearing NK's admission. First Arnav had been up since early morning and supervising the decorations all round the house and now an emotional NK was sitting in an almost Devdas style, it seems to Aakash that Shantivan has filled up with a lot of lovesick people all of a sudden. Aakash shakes his head.
"Why don't you talk to Khushiji then?" NK turns to look at Aakash. "I'm sure, Khushi ji can definitely convince Nandini ji to join us here." NK stares at Aakash for a moment and then hugs him tightly. Aakash looks momentarily stunned at this sudden display of affection, but taps NK on his back.
"Why didn't I think of this?" NK wonders aloud, gets up and almost runs up the stairs from where he had slouched down not minutes ago. Aakash turns to glance at Payal sitting across the room from him and both exchange a knowing smile, no wonder thinking the same thing. Hopeless lover boys!
[Gupta House, Diwali morning]
Preparations are going on full swing in Gupta House too. Khushi can be seen standing on a rickety old stool in the verandah as she is putting up fairylight connections near the ceiling around the verandah. Nandini can be seen holding the stool and looking up at Khushi with absolute concentration.
"Nandini ji! Hand me the hammer, I'll need to hammer in a new nail. The nail from last year has fallen off," Khushi mumbles prodding a hole on the wooden frame 7 feet above the ground. Nandini looks around to notice that the bag of nails was kept a good two feet away on the ground and try as she might, she couldn't reach it (even after stretching her feet). So she finally walks away from the stool and hunts inside the bag for a nail that would be strong enough.
"Khushi will this one be alright?" Nandini asks holding a nail up for Khushi's scrutiny. Khushi looks down at it and nods her head once in assent, but then realises that no one is holding the stool anymore. Her legs start shivering with panic instantly.
"Nandini ji!!!" Khushi yells in alarm and stumbles from the stool to collide head first with Nandini to break her fall. Both women fall on the hard concrete floor with a dull thump.
"Ouch!" Nandini groans loudly.
"Nandini ji! Are you alright?" Khushi asks immediately getting up and offers her hand for Nandini to take. Rubbing her aching butt, Nandini slowly looks up at Khushi. Her hand pauses in its action and she gapes at Khushi with her eyes wide open. Then all of a sudden, Nandini bursts into laughter. Khushi first looks at Nandini in bewilderment and then looks down at herself. Her mouth too flies open.
The fairylights that Khushi was trying to put up are now entangled all around her body. She slaps her forehead in dismay. "Hey Devi Maiyya! Not again!" Khushi groans and starts detangling the lights. Nandini gets up from the floor.
"Again meaning?" Nandini asks still laughing, "Have you tangled up previously like this too?" Khushi sighs.
"Yes, last year around this time too something similar happened with me. First Arnavji and I fell on the rangoli and then these lights got entangled on me somehow," Khushi replies as she continues detangling herself. Nandini's laughter ceases immediately and she straightens up with no trace of humor on her face anymore.
"With Arnav?" she asks suspiciously raising her eyebrow at Khushi who nods in reply.
Khushi starts remembering this time last year when she was at Shantivan and it was Arnav who had stumbled from the stool and fallen on Khushi. Thankfully he had saved her from hitting the floor but the Rangoli that Khushi had made so laboriously had been completely ruined and so had Arnav's sweater! Khushi smiles at the memory. And then she remembers standing by the poolside with the fairylights wrapped all around her torso and how Arnav had walked towards her and slowly with steady hands had unwrapped each wire from her body, his fingers brushing her skin leaving a trail of goosebumps all over her body. Khushi shivers slightly thinking abouting and slowly rubs her arm, looking slightly dazed.
"Oye Khushi! Where are you lost?" Nandini asks shaking her out of her trance. Khushi looks slightly disoriented as she looks at Nandini and then shakes her head. She again stands up on the stool holding the fairylights in one hand and the hammer and nail in the other.
"We have to hasten and put up these lights Nandini ji. After this we have to make lau for the diyas as well," Khushi mutters and starts hammering a nail into the wooden frame. She tenderly hooks the wire of the lights on it and proceeds to the next nail which is already there. Nandini holds the stool firmly in place.
"Khuseee bitiya?" a loud summons makes Khushi stop midway and peek inside the open window to see her mother carrying her phone towards her. "You have a call." Khushi leaps down from the stool and takes the phone.
"Hello?" Khushi breathes.
"Khushi ji? This is NK here," NK's excited voice comes from the other end. "If Nandini ji is somewhere close by, please don't take my name!" he adds urgently. Khushi turns to look at Nandini for a moment and then awkwardly smiles.
"K.. k.. kishore kumar ji! Namaste!" Khushi stutters, her mind coming up with the most unimaginative name. NK sighs in relief. Nandini however, looks at Khushi curiously. "Happy Diwali to you!"
"Happy diwali to you too Khushi ji," NK replies.
"So, kishore kumar ji, tell me. What is happening?" Khushi plies ahead turning away from Nandini and cupping the phone with her hand. "Nandini ji is standing very close to me," Khushi warns with a whisper.
"Okay okay," NK too whispers back cupping his hand on his phone. Khushi straightens up with a confused look on her face.
"Why are you whispering?" she asks confusedly. NK stares at his hand cupped on his phone and looks heavenwards in exasperation. That's it! He was going crazy! There was no other explanation.
Finally releasing his hand, he replies, "Khushi ji Nannav told me last night that all of you are coming to Shantivan tonight to celebrate Diwali with us?" Khushi suddenly remembers that she was supposed to help NK with writing the letter but she had left much before that.
"K...Kishore kumar ji, I'm really sorry. I left for home yesterday evening without meeting you first," Khushi murmurs guiltily.
"Arre Khushi ji, it's fine. What you couldn't do yesterday, you can do it today," NK replies. Khushi stares ahead in confusion again.
"Meaning? You want to write letters tonight?" Khushi asks trying to clarify NK's intentions.
"No Khushiji!" NK immediately retorts, then pauses with a thoughtful look on his face. "I mean, we'll write the letter too, later. But for tonight, can you please bring Nandini ji with you to Shantivan?" Khushi stands rooted to her spot, her jaw dropped open at NK's request. She slowly turns around to look at Nandini who was now standing with Garima and talking animatedly about the the fairylights.
*
[Shantivan, Anjali's room]
Anjali is sitting all alone on the recliner by the poolside. She is staring transfixed at two cameras lying on the table in front of her. Their wires have been snipped off just six inches below the main apparatus. Anjali's throat has dried up completely and she realises that she is slightly shivering in fright. Lying in front of her was proof that someone had been spying on her movements. But who could do something like this. How could anyone get inside Shantivan to instal cameras all around her room and quite possibly around the rest of the house as well? Most importantly, when could they have gained access to the house?
When we were in Lucknow, Anjali realises with a pang. Panic immediately sets in. She summons one of the painters.
"Listen, just like you found these cameras from my poolside, I want you to thoroughly check the rest of the house for these. If you see anything like this anywhere else in the house, I want you to cut its wires and bring it back to me. Can you do that?" The painter stares at Anjali, hearing her strange request, but then nods his head and goes back to join the rest of his group to pass the message.
Anjali's gaze falls back on the decapitated cameras lying functionless on her peg table. She hopes Arnav would return home as soon as possible.
[Somewhere undisclosed]
Shyam is staring in confusion at the bottom two screens which are marred with grey distorted static. Those were the cameras placed by Anjali's room and were working fine till last night. What had happened between then and now that led to disconnection of live images? Shyam walks behind the giant TV screen set up and tries to fiddle with the connections to check if something might have short circuited. He unscrews the connection going into the socket of the screen and then replugs it hoping that would solve the purpose.
When he walks back to the front to check the screen, he's surprised to see two more screens showing static now; screens whose connection he hadn't even touched. Shyam runs his fingers frustratedly through his hair, staring at the screen in complete bewilderment. What the hell was going on? Suddenly he saw three painters ambling around the main lounge as if looking for something. Shyam walked closer to inspect the screen showing the live footage. The men were talking amongst themselves but were constantly looking around and sometimes shifting potted plants. They didn't look like idiots who were attempting robbery in broad daylight. Then suddenly, one of the men looked straight at the camera and raised his hand pointing towards it. Shyam's eyes widened in surprise and the very next minute that screen too greeted him with distorted static.
Shyam stepped away from the screen and looked at the remaining two screen which were the only ones left still feeding him live coverage. However, they were of not much use as one of them was located at the corner of the dining room, looking out towards the kitchen and the other one was looking towards the side garden and the sit out. Shyam glared at the screens with narrowed eyes. The more important cameras located in Arnav's and Anjali's rooms had been neutralised. Yes, they were meutralised, which meant that someone had found out about the cameras.
He took his phone out and flicked down to a number. He quickly hit dial and walked away from the screen set up to his desk. As the phone started ringing, he picked up a file and started browsing through its contents.
"Hello Mr. Bhushan. This is Shyam Manohar Jha speaking," Shyam says as soon as the banker picks up the phone. "I have some property papers that I need to show you for consultation," Shyam continues in his silky voice, "Can we meet in your office tomorrow?" Mr. Bhushan seems to have agreed to the appointment, for Shyam smiles leeringly. "Thank you so much Mr. Bhushan. We'll meet tomorrow then." Shyam disconnects the phone.
No worries Saale sahab. Even if you found my cameras, so what? Your Achilles' heel is within my reach now. All I need to do is find the right points and squeeze them hard. Snapping the file shut, Shyam hugs it close to his chest and finally lets out an eerie laugh that ricochets against the walls of the tiny dim lit room.
[Shantivan, later in the evening]
Arnav is back from the shops and has handed over the sweets to HP. He is happy to see that the lounge is decorated beautifully and in the way that he had wanted; the pillars are wrapped with alternate strands of flowers and red and yellow fairy lights. Also, strands of similar coloured fairylights are arranged all over the floor to ceiling French windows.
Payal can be seen supervising rangolis made by diyas on the floors in different designs. She looks up to meet Arnav's eyes and smiles at him. It was strange how much change had come between Payal's behaviour towards him since the day Aakash and she had returned to Shantivan. I guess time does change people, he thinks to himself. He nods at her once in reply and starts walking up the stairs to his room.
He reaches his room and closes the door behind him. He peers out towards the poolside and is pleased to see rows of diyas kept neatly by the rim of the pool. The floor was decorated with beautiful rangoli patterns. His plants were covered with fairylights as well. Satisfied with the poolside setting, Arnav walks to his tower of CDs kept by the door. He runs his fingers down their spines until he finds the one he was looking for and pulls it out from the stack. With a mysterious smile on his face, he pulls the CD out of the case and inserts it into the CD player. He keeps the remote of the CD player carefully on top of the tower for easy access.
Arnav stands back to admire the settings in place. Yes, it seemed all right to him. He hears a knock on the door and Mamiji's disembodied voice immediately follows. "Hello Hi Arnav bitwa! It's about to be evening. Get ready for the Laxmi Pooja and come down to the Mandir." And just as abruptly she had come, Mamiji leaves. Arnav looks down at the trousers and shirt he was wearing. Fiddling with the buttons of his waist coat, he turns sideways to looks towards his closet. Another smile appears on his lips. Well if he really was planning every last detail...
[Precap]
Khushi: Ramanchi!!! Aapne cheating ki hai!
Arnav: Maine kya kiya?
Khushi: Aapne patta chupaya hai! Aap jeet nahin sakte! Aapke paas Badshah nahin atthhi honi chahiye thi!
Arnav: What??
Khushi: Ohho!! King! Aapke paas king nahin 8 hona chahiye tha. Hum patte gin rahe the...
Arnav: Oh really? Tum cards count kar rahi thi? To ramanchi maine ki ya tumne?
NK: Guys guys, ye sab kya ho raha hai?
Arnav: I'll tell you kya ho raha hai NK, Khushi Kumari Gupta cards count kar rahi thi. So basically Khushi haar gayi.
Khushi: Hum hare nahin hain!!
Arnav (in a whisper): You lost Khushi and bet ke mutabik, ab main tumse jo chahe karwa sakta hun!
Khushi: *gulp*
Writer's note: 😉
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