FF Keeping Khushi Thread 9:Part 90 Page 138 - Page 71

Part 88

The adults lolled on chairs and sofas and the floor, tired after the shagun and sagai. The children from Omkar and the sons and daughters of Anand's sisters ran around them, playing and laughing.

Aarti and NK sat close together, holding hands. Khushi was sitting by Arnav, and Payal was leaning against Akash's arm.

Mamiji had curled her legs under her in her seat. Mamaji sat by her, laughing at something Buajiwas saying.

Baba said, "We need to fix the date for the mehendi and sangeet."

Gopi Kakka sitting near him, nodded.

"Haan.", agreed Mamaji. We need to pace it in such a way that Aarti Bitiyaa gets lots of rest in between."

All nodded.

"Today is Saturday. Let us hold the mehendi and sangeet on Monday.", Arnav suggested.

"Haan, Bhai. If we have Haldi on Wednesday, we can concentrate on the wedding on Thursday.", said Akash.

"That is a bhery good idea!", said Mami. "I can go to my isspa (spa) on Tuesday."

Arnav asked Baba, Amma, & Gopi Kakka, "What do you say?"

"A break between the functions will be good.", smiled Amma.

Arnav smiled at her.

Baba and Gopi Kakka agreed.

"We will make all the arrangements.", Arnav said, asking NK, Anand, & Akash to go with him to his study to finalise the caterers, the music, the stage decorations etc.

Aarti sat alone, watching the Sunflower walk away to help his brothers plan their wedding. As he was about to exit the room, NK turned to look at Aarti and caught her looking at him. Hewinked at her and walked out.

Aarti drew in a deep breath. She looked down at her fingers. Her nails had grown slightly. She played with the fringes of her dupatta, listening to the noisy conversation between the large number of family members sitting around her. She looked at her Amma. She was smiling at something Anandji's mother was telling her.

Aarti felt a pudgy hand pull at the end of her dupatta. She looked up, startled, to see a small, gap-toothed girl standing near her chair.

Was she lost? Who was she?, Aarti wondered.

"Are you Aarti?", the child asked.

"Yes.", Aarti said.

"Can you drive?"

Aarti looked at the child with the missing front teeth, and said softly, "Yes."

"Will you take me for a drive?", the child asked, leaning against Aarti's knee. "I am Nidhi."

Aarti looked around at the family. All were busy discussing the wedding and planning the mehendi and sangeet.

"If your mother permits.", Aarti said, wondering which of Anandji's sisters was this child's mother.

Nidhi's face sported a frown. "Mother? My mother? Will Di do? She is our Di Amma."

Aarti nodded, confused.

"NK Bhai used to take all of us on drives when he and Akash Bhai came to teach us basket ball."

"Oh!", said Aarti. "Us?", she asked.

"All of us at Omkar. After Khushi Di married Arnav Bhaiyya, NK Bhai and Akash Bhai spend Saturday and Sunday with us."

"Oh!", Aarti smiled.

"We play basket ball, cards '...dance'.hear stories from them'ghost stories'.", Nidhi shuddered in pleasure, slowly crawling onto Aarti's lap.

Aarti looked at her, motionless and expressionless for a moment, and then held the child loosely and awkwardly, trying to prevent her from falling off her perch.

"I wanted to marry NK Bhai because he is a good driver, but then the Mami with blue eyelids said that I should marry you because you are a better driver."

Aarti looked at her with wide eyes. Nidhi squirmed, making herself more comfortable on Aarti's lap.

"But Mami does not know anything. I am a girl, not a boy. How can I marry you?"

Aarti bit her lips to stop smiling.

"Will you teach me to drive?", Nidhi asked.

Aarti looked into the big, innocent eyes, the floppy hair, the dimpled cheeks, the missing teeth on the cute child for a moment, and then she nodded.

"When?", Nidhi was eager to learn.

"When you are older.", said Aarti softly.

"But I want to drive now.", Nidhi protested. "I want to drive Vivek Bhaiyya to his college so that he does not have to wait for his bus. And take the others to school in the morning. I want to become a driver.", Nidhi stated.

Aarti looked at the sweet face of the child, and slowly smoothed her hair away from her forehead.

"I will teach you when you are older."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now you are a child. Play. Dance. Listen to your NK Bhai's stories'..."

Nidhi leaned closer to Aarti to lie aganst her. "I like horror stories the best.", she confided.

Aarti smiled.

"NK Bhai knows many good ghost stories.", Nidhi murmured.

Aarti smiled.

Nidhi yawned, and said, cuddling closer to Aarti, "He acts like a ghost, wearing a white bedsheet, and saying 'Booo' when we walk by."

Aarti smiled.

"NK Bhai is great fun.", Nidhi said.

Aarti nodded, agreeing with all her heart.

Nidhi fell asleep on Aarti's lap.

Part 87: 73089738 Part 89: 73327083

Smita,😊

Here is the interpretation for the Part 88.

FORMULATION it is. FORMULATE means plan. In this installment it is used in the sense meaning work out, detail, express, dream-up.

When the adults were relaxing, after the shagun and sagai on chairs and sofas and the floor, all the children from Omkar, the children of Dwivedi sisters' were enjoying playing and laughing around them .

"The best way to feel family is being part of it"

~ Miguel Angel Saez Gutierrez, Zori 2 Parte

Aarti and NK sat close together, holding hands. Khushi was sitting by Arnav, and Payal was leaning against Akash's arm.

Mamiji had curled her legs under her in her seat. Mamaji sat by her, laughing at something Buaji was saying.

"Cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey" ~ Jack Layton

Baba said, "We need to fix the date for the mehendi and sangeet."

Gopi Kakka sitting near him, nodded.

"Haan.", agreed Mamaji. We need to pace it in such a way that Aarti Bitiyaa gets lots of rest in between."

All nodded.

"Family isn't about blood relationships, its about the meaning behind them. I realize now that sharing chromosomes is not the only way to having a family, it's about the friendship behind it" ~ Sarah Dessen

"Today is Saturday. Let us hold the mehendi and sangeet on Monday.", Arnav suggested.

"Haan, Bhai. If we have Haldi on Wednesday, we can concentrate on the wedding on Thursday.", said Akash.

"That is a bhery good idea!", said Mami. "I can go to my isspa (spa) on Tuesday."

Arnav asked Baba, Amma, & Gopi Kakka, "What do you say?"

"A break between the functions will be good.", smiled Amma.

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" ~ Victor Hugo

Arnav smiled at her.

Baba and Gopi Kakka agreed.

"We will make all the arrangements.", Arnav said, asking NK, Anand, & Akash to go with him to his study to finalise the caterers, the music, the stage decorations etc.

"These people make my family look easy to get along with"

~ Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

Aarti sat alone, watching the Sunflower walk away to help his brothers plan their wedding. As he was about to exit the room, NK turned to look at Aarti and caught her looking at him. He winked at her and walked out.

"Do you really think anyone in this world, compares to you in my eyes?"~S.C. Stephens, Thoughtless

Aarti drew in a deep breath. She looked down at her fingers. Her nails had grown slightly. She played with the fringes of her dupatta, listening to the noisy conversation between the large number of family members sitting around her. She looked at her Amma. She was smiling at something Anandji's mother was telling her.

"No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful" ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Aarti felt a pudgy hand pull at the end of her dupatta. She looked up, startled, to see a small, gap-toothed girl standing near her chair.

Was she lost? Who was she?, Aarti wondered.

"Are you Aarti?", the child asked.

"Yes.", Aarti said.

"Can you drive?"

Aarti looked at the child with the missing front teeth, and said softly, "Yes."

"Will you take me for a drive?", the child asked, leaning against Aarti's knee. "I am Nidhi."

"Oh! the innocent girl knows perfectly well what everything means"~ David Herbert Lawrence

Aarti looked around at the family. All were busy discussing the wedding and planning the mehendi and sangeet.

"If your mother permits.", Aarti said, wondering which of Anandji's sisters was this child's mother.

Nidhi's face sported a frown. "Mother? My mother? Will Di do? She is our Di Amma."

"What is family? They were the people who claimed you. In good, in bad, in parts or in whole, they were the ones who showed up, who stayed there, regardless" ~ Sarah Dessen

Aarti nodded, confused.

"NK Bhai used to take all of us on drives when he and Akash Bhai came to teach us basket ball."

"Oh!", said Aarti. "Us?", she asked.

"All of us at Omkar. After Khushi Di married Arnav Bhaiyya, NK Bhai and Akash Bhai spend Saturday and Sunday with us."

"We're all family--the only family we've got. It doesn't have to be blood"

~ Holly Cupala, Don't Breathe a Word

"Oh!", Aarti smiled.

"We play basket ball, cards ...dance...hear stories from them..ghost stories...", Nidhi shuddered in pleasure, slowly crawling onto Aarti's lap.

"It was like how people find other people to be in love with, all random and accidental and lucky."

~ Jennifer Castle, The Beginning of After

Aarti looked at her, motionless and expressionless for a moment, and then held the child loosely and awkwardly, trying to prevent her from falling off her perch.

"I wanted to marry NK Bhai because he is a good driver, but then the Mami with blue eyelids said that I should marry you because you are a better driver."

"Love is not the absence of logic

but logic examined and recalculated

heated and curved to fit

inside the contours of the heart"

~ Tammara Webber, Easy

Aarti looked at her with wide eyes. Nidhi squirmed, making herself more comfortable on Aarti's lap.

"But Mami does not know anything. I am a girl, not a boy. How can I marry you?"

"The heart has eyes which the brain knows nothing of" ~ Charles Henry Parkhurst

Aarti bit her lips to stop smiling.

"Will you teach me to drive?", Nidhi asked.

Aarti looked into the big, innocent eyes, the floppy hair, the dimpled cheeks, the missing teeth on the cute child for a moment, and then she nodded.

"The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time" ~ William Butler Yeats

"When?", Nidhi was eager to learn.

"When you are older.", said Aarti softly.

"But I want to drive now.", Nidhi protested. "I want to drive Vivek Bhaiyya to his college so that he does not have to wait for his bus. And take the others to school in the morning. I want to become a driver.", Nidhi stated.

"80% of man's happiness is based on love - love for others, love for self, love for family, love for friends, love for work, love for nature, and love for being loved" ~ Ogwo David Emenike,

Happiness Recipe: Eat and Stay Happy

Aarti looked at the sweet face of the child, and slowly smoothed her hair away from her forehead.

"I will teach you when you are older."

"You can have it all. Just not all at once"

~ Oprah Winfrey

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now you are a child. Play. Dance. Listen to your NK Bhai's stories..."

Nidhi leaned closer to Aarti to lie against her. "I like horror stories the best.", she confided.

"The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express" ~ P.C. Cast, Betrayed

Aarti smiled.

"NK Bhai knows many good ghost stories.", Nidhi murmured.

Aarti smiled.

Nidhi yawned, and said, cuddling closer to Aarti, "He acts like a ghost, wearing a white bedsheet, and saying 'Booo' when we walk by."

"What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful" ~ Scott Westerfeld

Aarti smiled.

"NK Bhai is great fun.", Nidhi said.

Aarti nodded, agreeing with all her heart.

"I told myself that some families we get without asking, while others we choose.

And I chose those two. I think that's what you'd call a silver lining" ~ Jenny Valentine, Broken Soup

Nidhi fell asleep on Aarti's lap.

The entire family is planning all the rituals of the wedding in detail, taking the health of Aarti and her Amma into consideration. They plan it in such a way that there is a day's gap between every ritual giving them ample time to rest and recover from the strain.

The ladies were planning for Mehendi, Sangeeth and wedding. They express their desire about the Mehendi designs to be applied and going to the Spa.

Nidhi is curious to meet Aarti whom Mamiji had certified as a better driver than her favourite NK Bhai!

"Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect"

~ Samuel Johnson, The Rambler

She regales Aarti with her dreams of being a driver to be able to ferry her brothers' to and fro from work, school etc., her dream of being service to them. She even tells her of her dream to marry her NK Bhai and Mami telling her to marry Aarti as she fitted her requirements better than NK! Along with her curious mind her intellect too is sharp. In her mind she has worked out and points out how flawed Mami's thoughts were. She wondered how she could marry Aarti when she herself was a girl!

Nidhi expresses how much she loves her NK Bhai's ghost stories and his antics. Aarti is getting a glimpse of this side of NK for the first time. Nidhi who cuddles in Aarti's lap goes into sleep with contentment. This is also an eye opener to Aarti herself that she is not a cold person as she believes herself to be. She is capable of giving warmth and love which had eluded her in her life so far. Not only NK and the Raizada Parivaar elders even the child Nidhi, is able to sense her sweet disposition even without much contribution from her in their conversation! Isn't this similar to the experience Arnav Singh Raizada went through!!! All these experiences contribute to boost her self confidence as a beautiful human being which was trampled by her father in her formative years.

That is why it is titled FORMULATION!

That's it from me! Hope you enjoy it!