FF: Pyaar in the Pink City Pt32/Pg106(Concluded) - Page 29

Part 13

Conversations

I can show you the world

Shining, shimmering, splendid

Tell me, princess, now when did

You last let your heart decide?

I can open your eyes

Take you wonder by wonder

Over, sideways and under

On a magic carpet ride

~ Lyrics of A Whole New World from Disney's-Aladdin

"Ale, ale----Unghuuu---Unghu--- Cooochi Coochi Coo--Cooo---bete'aay'aay--aay, kya aapne papa ko miss kiya? Hahn!Hahn? Papa missed you too Aanya", Akash tickled his daughter's belly with his nose sending her into ecstatic giggles. Hahn! Jijaji bilkul aur inki ma bhi aapko bahut hi miss kar rahi thi. Kyun jiji" said Khushi who was peering over Akash's shoulder. Payal smiled at both of them dotingly, but her mind wondered about what was eating her jetji. He was normally quiet but then there were times when his silence clamored louder than words. This was one such time. They were all settled in the living area after dinner generally winding down and waiting for Mamaji and Mamiji to return from a satsang party that they had gone to. Arnav was watching Aanya and Akash playing on the floor, but his thoughts clearly were miles away. Payal settled in the couch across from Arnav and began,"Jaipur mein sab kuch theek tho hain na Arnavji? Anjali Di settle hogayi hogi wahan. Hai na? "Yep. Di aur naani dono theek hai Payal. Di is happy with her work, the Rathods are nice people. Aur woh little girl, Tashi is just so sweet. Nitin is fantastic; renovation ka planning aur strategy bhi almost complete ho gaya hai." "Accha---"replied Payal; her eyes continued to question while her glance shifted to her husband now. Akash answered her unspoken question"Payal. Bhai ko na, Di ko aise apne aap dekhne ki adat nahin hai. Tho he's just a little concerned. Bas utna hi hai."

Khushi instantly shifted over to Arnav's side at this, wrapped her arms around him while perching on the arm of his chair and said"Arnavji, itne saal aap Anjali ji ko apne di, ya, naani ki naati, ya phir kisi ki patni ke roop mein hi dekhe hai. Aur ab woh apni khud ki wajood kyayam kar rahi hai, sirf aur sirf Anjali bankar. Ghabrayiye mat. Sab bhale ke liye hai. Aap dekte jayiye, Anjali di ek bilkul kush-haal bavishya ki ore badd rahi hai. Devi Mayya jo hai na? Sab kuch sambaal legi". Arnav smiled squeezing Khushi's hand as he exchanged looks with Akash and they both realized instantly that they were concerned about the same thing, Rathod and Di. Rathod was a fine man. But he was a man and he knew nothing of the wounds that Di's heart had sustained, nor of her battered ego which was just taking baby steps towards recovery.

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"Hello, Hai, Bye, Bye, bhere are you goings? Who are you? Kaun ho? Hein! Hari Parkas ee kisko andar aane diya morning, morning?" Manorama's loud voice brought Khushi and mamaji to the living room. They took in the sight of maamiji interrogating a tidily dressed woman in her mid-forties, who was nervously wringing her hands and stammering out her explanation, " Woh-----hhham hhhai ---Shyamala---- kal dai ke saat------". "Mamiji, yeh aanya ki dai ke saat kal yahan ayi thi. Kahihiye Shyamalaji" enquired Khushi peering behind the lady expecting their dai to show up any minute behind her. The lady smiled gratefully and replied" Woh hamari saheli achanak bimaar padgayi hain, aur muje bejdiya do teen din aapke yahan apni jagah par." "Tho theek hai, chaliye, hum garam paani tayyar rakhe hai" said Khushi and led the woman inside. "Yeh kaisi nayi aurat hain? Mano, hume zara dyaan rakhni chahiye. Yaad hai, kaise pichlebaar shyam andar ghus aya tha dholak-wale ke bes mein"cautioned mamaji. Manorama raised an eyebrow dramatically and blew imaginary smoke off the tips of her fingers, immediately transforming into Manorama-bond.

"Yes Aman. Yep. I will be taking some time off. And one more thing, book tickets for all of us to Jaipur. AaHaan, we will fly over a couple of days ahead of Teej. Yeah. September thirteenth works. Yep. I'll see you at work." Arnav switched off his blue-tooth, as he stepped off the last stair and scanned the room for Khushi. "Kaun kahaan jara ha hai bituwa?" questioned mami. "Maamiji, iss baar hum sab log Teej Jaipur mein mananewale hain. Arnavji kahrahe the ki Virenji hum sab ko unke haveli pe aanekeliye amantrit kiye hain. Kitna mazaa ayega na?" gushed Khushi as she magically emerged by her Arnavji and helped him with his blazer. "Aur Khushi, iss bhaar tum kitne days pahle se food stock up karne wali ho apne pet mein, iss ek din ka upvaas ke liye" teased Arnav reminding her how hard it was for her to stay away from food. Chuckling at his wife's open-mouthed expression he gently pushed her chin up with the tip of his index finger to close her mouth and whispered"Khushi, mujhe pata hain ki mein handsome hoon. Par itna agar muh khologe tho Aanya ka bib tumhe pahanane padega, you know for all the drool" and he smartly crossed over the threshold smirking; leaving behind an aghast Khushi who muttered under her breath, "Laad Governor kahin ke. Hum kisi pe drool wool nahin karte samje aap?" as she watched his retreating back with her hands on her hips, trying her best to ignore mamaji's and mamiji's smothered laughter.

************

"Tashi bitiya, kidiki ke paas kya kar rahi hain aap. Aaj school nahin jaana hai kya?" asked Devyani, making her way from the break-fast table towards the window-seat where Tashi was perched feeding berries to a rather bold little squirrel. "Mein bilkul ready hoon grams. Bas papa ka break-fast khatam hote hi we will leave". Ajay , looked across the table at Anjali and smiled. In the streaming day-light the comfort that Anjali had experienced in Ajay's presence last night had vanished. In an attempt to mask her discomfiture, she rose, poured him his coffee and walked over to join Tashi and naani. "Is ka naam hai Tin-Tin, aur yeh sabse intelligent hain. Kissi se bhi nahi darta hain. Hain na Tin-Tin, my sweetie-pie" sang Tashi tickling the squirrel's head. "Tashi kya aapko Tin-Tin comics pasand hai?" asked Anjali, recollecting her comic-book characters. "Full points to you Anjie aunty. You are absolutely right. You see, Papa aur mein ek theme follow kar rahen hain. Unhe bhi reading ka interest hai, aur mujhe bhi. And we both love the characters in the books we read, so, hum apne pets ko wohi names dethe hain. Jaisa, yeh squirrel hai Tin-Tin, aur Dobby ko tho aap mil chuki ho. Aur we have the peacocks by the mandir, whom I call 'the veela', aur woh jo Robin hai na, wahan, uss window mein, uska naam hai Asterix aur uska friend hain ek pigeon jiska naam hai Obelisk, aur hamare horses; mera horse ka naam hain Cadbury, you know as in Richie-Rich ke butler ka naam, aur papa's horse is Atticus"

"Atticus as in 'the Atticus Finch?' " questioned Anjali turning to look at Ajay who was walking over to them. "Yep!The one and only. Growing up, I adored Atticus Finch. He was my inspiration to study Law. Ok. Let's go now Tashi. It's getting late. Aap aaj Vrindavan nahin ja rahe hain kya?" Ajay asked looking directly into Anjali's eyes. "Haan. Hume jaana hain" she replied hesitantly, unsure where this was leading to. "Bete, aap Ajay ke saat kyun nahin jaate, Tashi ko drop karke aapko bhi Vrindavan chod aayega" suggested Virenji looking up from his newspaper; startling Anjali who had not realized that he was seated right by the windows, his nose buried in the latest edition of 'The Hindu'. Ajay sent a knowing glance towards his uncle, and offered"Why not? Come on Anjali, I'll drop you off at Vrindavan." Anjali murmured, "Theek hai, hum apna bag leke aate hain" and she wondered at the conspiratorial smiles that naani and chachaji were exchanging as she made her way to her room to fetch her bag. What were these elders upto? Why am I nervous? Last night I had no problems chatting away to glory with him, why then this awkwardness in front of others?

************

The day sped by on a busy note. As lunch hour drew near, Anjali walked into Nitin's office. They both chattered on about various things, their conversation starting at one topic and as usual ending at another while digressing to several others along the way. Anjali was laughing her head off holding on to the sides of her tummy at one of Nitin's hilarious narrations, when she suddenly sensed the tension in his stance. Sobering up and wiping her eyes, she turned to see what had caught his attention. Looking out the window, she spied Radhika on the stony pathway skirting the lawn leading towards them. The vulnerable look on his face and the longing in his eyes were enough for Anjali to gather that Nitin was head-over-heels in love with Radhika. She reached across the table to cover his hands with hers and looking into his eyes asked"Nitin, jab aap unse itna pyaar karte ho, tho batate kyun nahin?" "It's not that easy Anjie. She confuses me. Khabi lagta hain ki who bhi mujhe pasand karti hain, but at other times she fairly bites my head off. Too many mixed signals. Besides I don't think I can take a 'no' from her. Hum aise hi theek hain. Atleast we keep bumping into each other and I get a chance to see and talk to her." Nitin replied, his face softening.

"Aapko ho kya gaya hai Nitin? Are you the same I-am-Sexy-and-I-know-it wala dashing Nitin I went to school with?" Anjali persisted, incredulously. "Anjie, ladke aise hi hote hain. When it matters the most, we cannot seem to say or do the right things. I am afraid I have pissed her off, pardon the expression, many a time for her to care about me" he finished. "But, Nitin---" Anjali pressed on, giving his hand a gentle squeeze; but she never got to complete her sentence, for they heard a knock on the door and looking up they saw Radhika at the door step. "Sorry to interrupt you guys, par I had to give these to you Nitin, from Ajay. He said you wanted the latest catalog of stones from his quarry." She said, handing Nitin a folder with an impassive face, and turning to smile at Anjali she said"Hi Anjali. Hope, embroidery threads aapke kaam aaye?"

About thirty minutes later, Anjali and Radhika were laughing over a shared joke as they sped over to the local bazaar in Radhika's car. Anjali had taken charge of the conversation to make-up for Nitin's stoic silence. One thing had led to another and when Radhika offered to take her to the local shopping places, Anjali accepted gleefully. It would give her a chance to get to know Radhika better and may be play cupid on behalf of her mule-headed friend. Besides she thought, as the butterflies returned to flutter in her belly "I do need something Rajasthani to wear this evening."

Her thoughts flew back to this morning. They had just dropped Tashi off at her school and were heading over to Vrindavan. The silence and their mutual awareness hung heavily between them and neither was willing to break the ice. Anjali's heart was hammering in her chest while her inner-voices were having a field day debating the situation and supplying her with conflicting responses. Finally, after what seemed aeons, but what was in reality about fifteen minutes, Vrindavan loomed into sight and Ajay pulled up right in front of the guest house. She was about to alight when he held her wrist. Anjali's heart skipped a beat and then resumed to race at a break-neck pace, as she slowly turned her head from the window to the sight of his brown hand encircling her wrist and then lifted her eyes to meet his. She could not fathom the expression in his eyes hidden as they were behind his shades. All external noises had dulled to distant echoes, and everything around had slowed down. She became aware of his lips moving and she commanded her mind to listen. "--- So, "he was saying "Anjali, aaj shaam, mein aapko Rajasthan ke nazaare dikhana chahtha hun. Go out with me and let me return your kind gesture from last night" he said his voice low and deliberate. "Ok. Khab jaana hai?" she heard herself say but could not believe that she had actually uttered the words out aloud. "We will leave at Five-Thirty. Tashi, Chachaji aur Naaniji aaj shaam ek birthday party attend karnewale hain" he added. Anjali nodded and drew her hand from his grasp. She stepped down on unsteady legs, and turned when she heard his voice call out, "And Anjali, if you can, wear something Rajasthani, will you?" he said with a smile and drove away.

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Disclaimer: I do not own the pictures. They were procured for illustrative purposes from internet sources for public consumption.

Part 13

Conversations

I can show you the world

Shining, shimmering, splendid

Tell me, princess, now when did

You last let your heart decide?

I can open your eyes

Take you wonder by wonder

Over, sideways and under

On a magic carpet ride

~ Lyrics of A Whole New World from Disney's-Aladdin

"Ale, ale----Unghuuu---Unghu--- Cooochi Coochi Coo--Cooo---bete'aay'aay--aay, Did you miss papa? Hahn!Hahn? Papa missed you too Aanya", Akash tickled his daughter's belly with his nose sending her into ecstatic giggles. Of course! Jijaji Aanya absolutely missed you as did her mon. What do you say jiji?" said Khushi who was peering over Akash's shoulder. Payal smiled at both of them dotingly, but her mind wondered about what was eating her jetji. He was normally quiet but then there were times when his silence clamored louder than words. This was one such time. They were all settled in the living area after dinner generally winding down and waiting for Mamaji and Mamiji to return from a satsang party that they had gone to. Arnav was watching Aanya and Akash playing on the floor, but his thoughts clearly were miles away. Payal settled in the couch across from Arnav and began,"How are things at Jaipur? Has Anjali Di settled down in the new environment?" "Yep. Di and are both fine and have settled in Payal. Di is happy with her work, the Rathods are nice people. And that little girl, Tashi is just so sweet. Nitin is fantastic; planning and strategizing for the renovation is almost complete." "I see ---"replied Payal; her eyes continued to question while her glance shifted to her husband now. Akash answered her unspoken question"Payal. Bhai is not accustomed to see Di out and about and on her own since the past several years now. And so, he's just a little concerned. That's all there is to it."

Khushi instantly shifted over to Arnav's side at this, wrapped her arms around him while perching on the arm of his chair and said"Arnavji, all these years you have only seen your Di, or Naaniji's grand-daughter or someone's wife in Anjaliji. She is now establishing her identity as Anjali and just Anjali. Don't worry. Everything will turn out fine. You'll see, Anjali di's future will be a rosy one full of happiness and fulfillment. Devi Mayya will take care of everything? We needn't fear when she is there for us". Arnav smiled squeezing Khushi's hand as he exchanged looks with Akash and they both realized instantly that they were concerned about the same thing, Rathod and Di. Rathod was a fine man. But he was a man and he knew nothing of the wounds that Di's heart had sustained, nor of her battered ego which was just taking baby steps towards recovery.

************

"Hello, Hai, Bye, Bye, bhere are you goings? Who are you? Hein! Hari Parkas who did you let into the house morning, morning?" Manorama's loud voice brought Khushi and mamaji to the living room. They took in the sight of maamiji interrogating a tidily dressed woman in her mid-forties, who was nervously wringing her hands and stammering out her explanation, " Aaah-----Aaa ac actually I I I am ---Shyamala---- Yesterday'with --dai------". "Mamiji, this lady had accompanied Aanya's dai yesterday. What is the matter Shyamalaji?" enquired Khushi peering behind the lady expecting their dai to show up any minute behind her. The lady smiled gratefully and replied" Actually my friend, your dai, has suddenly fallen sick and she has sent me as her substitute for a few days to take care of her duties over here." "Ok. Alright then, follow me please, I have readied the bath water for Aanya" said Khushi and led the woman inside. "Who is this new lady? Mano, We have to kep an eye on herDo you remember, how Shyaam had entered our house last time dressed up as the drummer"cautioned mamaji. Manorama raised an eyebrow dramatically and blew imaginary smoke off the tips of her fingers, immediately transforming into Manorama-bond.

"Yes Aman. Yep. I will be taking some time off. And one more thing, book tickets for all of us to Jaipur. AaHaan, we will fly over a couple of days ahead of Teej. Yeah. September thirteenth works. Yep. I'll see you at work." Arnav switched off his blue-tooth, as he stepped off the last stair and scanned the room for Khushi. "Who goes bhere bituwa?" questioned mami. "Maamiji, this year we will all be celebrating Teej in Jaipur. Arnavji had informed us yesterday that Virenji has graciously invited our whole family over to his haveli for Teej. What fun it's going to be. I can hardly wait." gushed Khushi as she magically emerged by her Arnavji's side and helped him with his blazer. "So Khushi, what's your strategy this time around? How many days in advance are you planning to stock up in your tummy all your favorite food, in preparation for this one day of fast?" teased Arnav reminding her how hard it was for her to stay away from food. Chuckling at his wife's open-mouthed expression he gently pushed her chin up with the tip of his index finger to close her mouth and whispered"Khushi, I know how devastatingly handsome I am. But if you are going to open your mouth this wide, I may have to get you Aanya's bib. You know for all the drool" and he smartly crossed over the threshold smirking; leaving behind an aghast Khushi who muttered under her breath, "Laad Governor! I don't drool on anyone. Did you hear that?" as she watched his retreating back with her hands on her hips, trying her best to ignore mamaji's and mamiji's smothered laughter.

************

"Tashi darling, what are you doing by the windows? Don't you plan on going to school?" asked Devyani, making her way from the break-fast table towards the window-seat where Tashi was perched feeding berries to a rather bold little squirrel. "I am absolutely ready grams. As soon as papa is done with his breakfast, we will leave". Ajay, looked across the table at Anjali and smiled. In the streaming day-light the comfort that Anjali had experienced in Ajay's presence last night had vanished. In an attempt to mask her discomfiture, she rose, poured him his coffee and walked over to join Tashi and naani. "His name is Tin-Tin and he is extremely intelligent. He fears no-one. Isn't that right Tin-Tin, my sweetie-pie" sang Tashi tickling the squirrel's head. "Tashi do you like Tin-Tin comics?" asked Anjali, recollecting her comic-book characters. "Full points to you Anjie aunty. You are absolutely right. You see, Papa and I are following a theme here. He loves to read and so do I. And we both love the characters in the books we read, so, we named our pets after the characters we like. For instance, this squirrel here is Tin-Tin, and you have met Dobby. Then we have the peacocks by the mandir, whom I call 'the veela', and that Robin perched on that window sil, his name is Asterix and his friend, the pigeon is Obelisk. Then we have our horses; my horse is Cadbury, you know as in Richie-Rich's butler and papa's horse is Atticus"

"Atticus as in 'the Atticus Finch?' " questioned Anjali turning to look at Ajay who was walking over to them. "Yep! The one and only. Growing up, I adored Atticus Finch. He was my inspiration to study Law. Ok. Let's go now Tashi. It's getting late. Don't you have to go to Vrindavan today?" Ajay asked looking directly into Anjali's eyes. "Sure, I do. I am running late I think" she replied hesitantly, unsure where this was leading to. "Darling, Why don't you hitch a ride with Ajay. He will drop you right after you both drop off Tashi at school" suggested Virenji looking up from his newspaper; startling Anjali who had not realized that he was seated right by the windows, his nose buried in the latest edition of 'The Hindu'. Ajay sent a knowing glance towards his uncle, and offered"Why not? Come on Anjali, I'll drop you off at Vrindavan." Anjali murmured, "Ok then, let me grab my bag" and she wondered at the conspiratorial smiles that naani and chachaji were exchanging as she made her way to her room to fetch her bag. What were these elders up to? Why am I nervous? Last night I had no problems chatting away to glory with him, why then this awkwardness in front of others?

************

The day sped by on a busy note. As lunch hour drew near, Anjali walked into Nitin's office. They both chattered on about various things, their conversation starting at one topic and as usual ending at another while digressing to several others along the way. Anjali was laughing her head off holding on to the sides of her tummy at one of Nitin's hilarious narrations, when she suddenly sensed the tension in his stance. Sobering up and wiping her eyes, she turned to see what had caught his attention. Looking out the window, she spied Radhika on the stony pathway skirting the lawn leading towards them. The vulnerable look on his face and the longing in his eyes were enough for Anjali to gather that Nitin was head-over-heels in love with Radhika. She reached across the table to cover his hands with hers and looking into his eyes asked"Nitin, When you love her so much, why don't you tell her? Why do you torture yourself so?" "It's not that easy Anjie. She confuses me. At times I feel that she feels the same way as I do, but at other times she fairly bites my head off. Too many mixed signals. Besides I don't think I can take a 'no' from her. It's better this way. At least we keep bumping into each other and I get a chance to see and talk to her." Nitin replied, his face softening.

"What's the matter with you Nitin? Are you the same I-am-Sexy-and-I-know-it dashing Nitin I went to school with?" Anjali persisted, incredulously. "Anjie, this is how we guys are. When it matters the most, we cannot seem to say or do the right things. I am afraid I have pissed her off, pardon the expression, many a time for her to care about me" he finished. "But, Nitin---" Anjali pressed on, giving his hand a gentle squeeze; but she never got to complete her sentence, for they heard a knock on the door and looking up they saw Radhika at the door step. "Sorry to interrupt you guys, I had to give these to you Nitin, from Ajay. He said you wanted the latest catalog of stones from his quarry." She said, handing Nitin a folder with an impassive face, and turning to smile at Anjali she said"Hi Anjali. Hope, the embroidery threads were put to good use?"

About thirty minutes later, Anjali and Radhika were laughing over a shared joke as they sped over to the local bazaar in Radhika's car. Anjali had taken charge of the conversation to make-up for Nitin's stoic silence. One thing had led to another and when Radhika offered to take her to the local shopping places, Anjali accepted gleefully. It would give her a chance to get to know Radhika better and may be play cupid on behalf of her mule-headed friend. Besides she thought, as the butterflies returned to flutter in her belly "I do need something Rajasthani to wear this evening."

Her thoughts flew back to this morning. They had just dropped Tashi off at her school and were heading over to Vrindavan. The silence and their mutual awareness hung heavily between them and neither was willing to break the ice. Anjali's heart was hammering in her chest while her inner-voices were having a field day debating the situation and supplying her with conflicting responses. Finally, after what seemed eons, but what was in reality about fifteen minutes, Vrindavan loomed into sight and Ajay pulled up right in front of the guest house. She was about to alight when he held her wrist. Anjali's heart skipped a beat and then resumed to race at a break-neck pace, as she slowly turned her head from the window to the sight of his brown hand encircling her wrist and then lifted her eyes to meet his. She could not fathom the expression in his eyes hidden as they were behind his shades. All external noises had dulled to distant echoes, and everything around had slowed down. She became aware of his lips moving and she commanded her mind to listen. "--- So, " he was saying "Anjali, I want to take you out, to show you the sights of Rajasthan this evening. Go out with me and let me return your kind gesture from last night" he said his voice low and deliberate. "Ok. What time?" she heard herself say but could not believe that she had actually uttered the words out aloud. "We will leave at Five-Thirty. Tashi, Chachaji and Naaniji are off to a birthday party this evening" he added. Anjali nodded and drew her hand from his grasp. She stepped down on unsteady legs, and turned when she heard his voice call out, "And Anjali, if you can, wear something Rajasthani, will you?" he said with a smile and drove away.

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