Smita,š
Here is my interpretation for Part 102.
In this update we see people giving a particular look in various instances. It can be described as mildly amused, lovingly amused, engrossed, thoughtful, confused, muddled, bewildered, fuzzy, dazed, stunned. So many words can describe just one look. ...BEMUSED!!
Early in the morning, after the prayers, Nani peeped into Arnav's bedroom to see Khushi sleeping in Arnav's arms, their arms tight around each other, Khushi's face buried in the crook of his neck'
"Sleep is still most perfect, in spite of hygienists, when it is shared with a beloved. The warmth, the security and peace of soul, the utter comfort from the touch of the other, knits the sleep, so that it takes the body and soul completely in its healing"
~ D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers
She smiled, went down, and sent everyone off to bed.
"Shall we check on Khushi Bhabi, Naniji?", asked NK.
"Chotey he na? When Chotey is with her, does she need any one else to look after her?", asked Nani with a smile.
"Theek kahat ho, Saasumaa. Bhy phear when hamre Arnav Bitwaa ijj there?"
"If Bhai needs help..?", said Akash.
"Both of them are asleep. Let us rest too.", said Nani.
"O bed! O bed! delicious bed!
That heaven upon earth to the weary head"
~ Thomas Hood, Miss Kilmansegg - Her Dream
"Let me get home now, Nandkisore! I will come later to check on Khushi Bitiyaa.", said Buaji yawning.
"You are not going anywhere, Madhumatiji. A guest room has been prepared for you. Akash will get you a pair of clothes from Laxmi Nagar at noon when we wake up."
All nodded. Buaji said, "Theek he, Nandkisore!"
The ladies and Gopi Kakka went to their beds.
"The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night's sleep" ~ E. Joseph Cossman
They woke up in time for lunch, and after washing & changing, came downstairs and stood shocked.
"Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often" ~ Mae West
The table was laden with delicacies, the divine fragrance of the food wafting to tempt the Raizadas, NK, Aarti, Amma, Gopi Kakka, Buaji, Anand, & Anjali. Rani & Raj were at the hospital with Pinky.
They watched Arnav laying the table, and Khushi in a red sari, placing the dishes on the table. HP was in the kitchen.
"Nannav! What are you doing?", NK's shocked voice made Arnav & Khushi look up at them, smiling.
"What's happened to me,' he thought. It was no dream" ~ Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis
"Good. You are awake. Come down and have your lunch.", Arnav said, a small smile on his lips.
"We have made gajar ka halwa, NK Bhai.", Khushi said.
"Khushi Bhabi! You... you..made this? You should be resting...", NK said. The others nodded, and protested loudly.
"Love is when you are as concerned about someone else's situation as you are about your own."
~Morrie Schwartz
Khushi smiled. "I am the only one who had a good night's sleep."
"Arnav Bitwaa, you helped in the kitchen?", Mami asked, her eyes wide.
"Sure. Why not?", asked Arnav, a naughty twinkle in his eyes.
"You knew where the kitchen was, Chotey?", Anjali teased him.
"He must have lost the way to it a couple of times before he found it, Anjali Bitiyaa!", teased Mamaji.
"The King once said to me, 'Harold, you stand above all other men.' I said, 'No, Sire. I want nothing more than to stand shoulder to shoulder with my men. I am nothing without them"
~ Elizabeth Alder, The King's Shadow
"Are you alright, Khushi Bitiyaa?", asked an anxious Nani.
"I am perfectly OK.", Khushi smiled and hugged her, seating her at the head of the table. All sat down, making Khushi & Arnav sit down in their midst.
"Life is ten percent what you experience and ninety percent how you respond to it"
~ Dorothy M. Neddermeyer
"Khushi Bhabi, you should not have worked so hard. You should have called us to help you...", Akash said.
"Why didn't you call me & Aartiji?", complained Payal.
"You could have instructed us, and we would have done everything as you wanted them done."
Aarti nodded. "Err... I don't know how to cook... but I am sure I could follow instructions..."
"The intelligent man is one who has successfully fulfilled many accomplishments, and is yet willing to learn more" ~ Ed Parker
"You don't know how to cook?", Manorama gasped to tease Aarti. "How can we have a bahuriyya who does not cook?""Manorama!", Nani sighed. "When was the last time you made something for us?"
Mami thought long and hard, but could not remember.
"It's easier to say, "I don't remember" when you're wrong" ~ Anthony Liccione
"Amma, the first and the last time this Manno got into the kitchen was on the day after our marriage when she burned the halwaa and charred the pooris.", Mamaji teased. "On that day, this Munni became Badnam..."
Mami poked him with a spoon.
"Take a pinch of snuff, doctor, and acknowledge that I have scored over you in your example"
~ Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes
All laughed, and Mami said, "That ijj bhy I said that Aarti Bitiyaa and her Maasi are rab ne bana di jodi. She can't cook, and I can only burn, Hello Hi Bye Bye!"
Aarti and the others smiled.
"Don't worry, Aartiji! Hum he naa? We will teach you to cook.", Payal said.
Khushi nodded.
"This paneer is delicious. Did you make it, Khushi Bitiyaa?", asked Amma.
Khushi smiled. "Arnavji made it.", she teased him.
"Life is a beautiful journey for all those who are willing to learn how to live and love"
~ Shubhanshu Tiwari
Mami choked over the morsel she had been about to swallow. Anjali had a coughing fit, and Nani held the piece of puri she had been about to put in her mouth suspended in the air.
"Arnav Bitwaa can cook, Nandkisore?", asked Buaji.
Nani and Anjali hid their smiles. Mami coughed.
"I put the paneer in the curry, Amma, Buaji. So that means I know how to cook, doesn't it?", asked Arnav, smiling.
"Haan, haan, Nandkisore! You put the paneer in the curry Khushi Bitiyaa made. That is cooking.", Buaji comforted him, hiding her smile.
"That word is 'willing.' It's an attitude and spirit of cooperation that should permeate our conversations. It's like a palm tree by the ocean that endures the greatest winds because it knows how to gracefully bend" ~ Stephen Kendrick, The Love Dare
Amma and the others laughed.
"Don't tease him. We all have to start somewhere..", Buaji said.
"And I laid the table.", Arnav claimed.
NK put the big spoon down, clapped his hands at Arnav's feat, and spooned gajar ka halwa into his mouth.
"Be willing to be a beginner every single morning" ~ Meister Eckhart
After the leisurely meal, the family gathered in the living room
Mamaji said, "We need to decide on the arrangements for Haldi."
"What is there to arrange, hein?", asked Mami. "Just make the paste, apply it on the bride and the broom, and call them, Yellow Yellow, Dirty Phellows!"
All laughed.
"Yellow is a very favorable vibration for mental or intellectual activity, as it promotes a clear state of mind. Yellow heightens your awareness and alleviates depression, sadness, or any kind of despondency" ~ Tae Yun Kim, The First Element: Secrets to Maximizing Your Energy
"Talking about Dirty Phellows, where is the Coco in the cowdung?", asked Mami.
All looked anxiously at Khushi. She smiled as she took a sip of water, and then said, "Haan, Mamiji. I wonder what the doctor said."
Arnav continued to have his sugar-free dessert calmly.
"It does not take age to be a sage, neither does it require rage to have the courage to be a sage in this day and age" ~ Ogwo David Emenike
All heaved sighs of relief.
"A man of calm is like a shady tree.
People who need shelter come to it"
~ Toba Beta, Betelgeuse Incident
"Rani called. The doctors have asked the girl to stay in the hospital for 3 weeks with her leg strung up.", Nani said.
No expressions of sympathy were forthcoming.
Nk said, his eyes serious and troubled, "Khushi Bhabi, Mama is sorry that she brought trouble home by inviting Pinky Aunty and her crazy daughter."
"Apology is a lovely perfume; it can transform the clumsiest moment into a gracious gift"
~ Margaret Lee Runbeck
"It is OK, Nk Bhai.", smiled Khushi.
"It is not OK, Khushi Bhabi. But don't worry about Coco. She is just a nacheez."
"A what?", asked Akash. All looked at each other.
"Nacheez. 'Cheez' means 'thing' and 'Na' means 'No'. So 'Nothing.'"
Anjali hit her head on the dining table. "NK Bhai, you are getting better! Must be Aartiji's sangat..."
Aarti could not stop her laughter.
"So Nacheez means 'Nothing?' I thought it meant 'Not Cheese' in your dictionary.", teased Akash.
All laughed.
"A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book" ~ Irish Proverb
We begin with Nani peeping into Anav's room and seeing them both asleep with arms wrapped around each other is lovingly amused and relieved that Khushi bitiya is getting her much needed rest.
"I love sleep because it is both pleasant and safe to use. Pleasant because one is in the best possible company and safe because sleep is the consummate protection against the unseemliness that is the invariable consequence of being awake"
~ Fran Lebowitz, Metropolitan Life/Social Studies
She sends all the others to bed. When NK wants to see Khushi she says with her Chotey around they need not worry. This was concurred by Mami too. When Akash says if his brother needs help Nani informs them both are asleep and makes everyone retire to their rooms to get the much needed rest. She makes Buaji sleep in the guestroom saying that it was late to go to her house.
When everybody, waking up late, came down in time for lunch, they were bewildered with the divine fragrance of the food wafting in the air. They were greeted with a dining table laden with mouth watering delicacies. They were dazed to see Arnav laying the table, Khushi resplendent in a red saree, up and about, placing dishes on the table with HP in the kitchen!
"If you can eat with mates or friends or family, I mean, it's such a brilliant thing isn't it? If you feel really rubbish and you have a nice bit of food it makes you feel good, you know?" ~ Jamie Oliver
When the shocked NK voiced out, as to what he was doing, he was invited by Arnav to have his lunch! Khushi tempted him further that his favorite Gajar ka halwa too is on the fare! NK's admonish that, she should be resting and not cooking, which was concurred by the rest, was brushed aside by her saying that she was the only one who had a good night's rest.
"No wonder Sleeping Beauty looked so good...she took long naps, never got old, and didn't have to do anything but snore to get her Prince Charming"
~ Olive Green
Mami's confused question of Arnav helping in the kitchen was answered by him, as why not with a naughty twinkle in his eyes. Anjali's enquiry as to whether Arnav knew his way to the kitchen, evoked a teasing remark as to he must have lost his way once or twice before getting it right from his Mamaji!
Nani's anxiety as to Khushi's well being was put to rest by Khushi herself. When Akash voiced out that her doing so much of work was not good, Payal and Aarti joined him and told Khushi that, she should have woken them up and they would have got it done. Aarti who admitted that she was not well-versed in cooking but was willing to learn by following instructions was met with a teasing exclaim from Mami as to having a bahuriya with no cooking skills! This was countered by Nani as to when was it that Manorama had cooked last time? evoking a pretension of deep thinking by Mami. Mamaji who was witnessing it along with the rest told his mother in jest it was the day after their wedding when they were served with burnt halwa and charred Poori's. This lightened the atmosphere around the table. Mami replied to this in her typical style,
"That ijj bhy I said that Aarti Bitiyaa and her Maasi are rab ne bana di jodi. She can't cook, and I can only burn, Hello Hi Bye Bye!"
Payal and Khushi assured Aarti that they would introduce her to the delights of cooking.
"Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great" ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
With that all sat down to partake the sumptuous meal!
When Kamala praised the paneer dish Khushi responded with a teasing smile that the dish had been prepared by Arnav evoking various types of response! Mami choked over a morsel, Anjali had a coughing fit and Nani agape with a morsel in hand midway! Buaji's wonderous question as to Arnav could cook was met with smiles from Anjali and Nani and a cough from Mami. His reply that he put paneer into the dish and that meant he knows how to cook doesn't it? was responded with complete agreeable answer by Buaji trying to hide her smile! The ensued laughter was lovingly admonished by an amused Buaji saying everyone has to start somewhere. Arnav's announcement that he was the one who laid the table earned an applause from NK in the middle of eating his favorite Gajar ka halwa prepared by his beloved Khushi Bhabhi.
After the meal Mami's response to preparation for Haldi ceremony,
"What is there to arrange, hein? just make the paste, apply it on the bride and the broom, and call them, Yellow Yellow, Dirty Phellows!"
reminded her of Coco with the cowdung. When she voiced it aloud, all eyes darted towards Khushi who was sipping water. She said she too wondered about it. All the time Arnav was calmly having his dessert.
"You are the sky. Everything else... it's just the weather" ~ Pema Chodron
The rest had been wondering how things would be.They had expected a downcast Khushi and a thunderous Arnav. But seeing their response all heaved a sigh of relief!
Nani informed them that NK's mother had called and Coco has to stay in the hospital for three weeks and was being treated with traction. This was received nonchalantly by the rest.
NK told Khushi that his mother was feeling sorry for having invited Pinky Aunty and her crazy daughter, Coco and being the cause of so much of trouble.
"An apology is the superglue of life. It can repair just about anything" ~ Lynn Johnston
Khushi responded that it was OK with a smile. But NK said it is not and not to worry as she is nacheez! His word 'nacheez' was not understood by anybody getting a fuzzy expression on all the faces!. When Akash voiced it out, NK explained na means no and cheez means thing. Hence nacheez means nothing! This had everyone in stitches. Lovingly amused by his usage, it made Anjali say,
"NK Bhai, you are getting better! Must be Aartiji's sangat..."
evoking laughter from Aarti and
"So Nacheez means 'Nothing?' I thought it meant 'Not Cheese' in your dictionary.",
a teasing rejoinder from Akash leading to lots of laughter.
In this update we see people giving mildly amused, lovingly amused, engrossed, thoughtful, confused, muddled, bewildered, fuzzy, dazed, stunned expressions. Hence BEMUSED!!
That's it from me. Hope you enjoy it!
Edited by rulama - 12 years ago
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
Arjun
Cricket
10