Vignette - 26. Tujhpe Kurbaan Dil... - FF - Part 3 / Pg 15

Hello my dears...

Here comes the next FF in the series...

To those who missed the earlier TS - Annapoorna, this is Anjali's story...

The same Anjali, who was a mother to her orphaned brother...

The same Anjali, who kept the family of temperamental Raizadas together for years until Khushi and Payal joined her...

The same Anjali, who inspite of losing her parents, her husband and her unborn child, still manages to be the loving, cheerful, bubbly woman who hides a spine of steel in her gentle demeanor...

The same Anjali who people tend to forget, is first and foremost, a Raizada, Arnav Singh Raizada's older sister, and can the apple have fallen far from the tree?

In this case, she's the one who brought up the young man who's famous as ASR...

She is Anjali Singh Raizada, and woe betide anyone who makes the mistake of forgetting that!

26. Tujhpe Kurbaan Dil...


Part 1



Anjali's clear, soothing voice drifting up the stairs was what woke Arnav on a cold January morning. Opening his eyes with a soft smile, as memories and images from hundreds of similar mornings flowed into his mind, he got up, his eyes immediately searching for his wife. The sound of the shower letting him know where she was, he flicked a glance towards the bed-side clock. It was still very early, not the usual time that he woke up.


His Di's voice almost pulling him towards her, he knocked and opened the door to their toilet-suite, and seeing that Khushi was still inside the misted-up shower cubicle in the far corner, he cleaned up his face and mouth and strode out. Quickly walking down the stairs, he came to a halt near the dining table, quietly watching his sister as she finished her morning Aarti.


The rest of the women still getting ready, Anjali was alone in the mandir, as was her daily routine. The house woke up to her melodious voice resonating in the air, but it was rare for Arnav to be the first person to come down. Standing quietly behind her, he watched the serene face that he had grown up finding peace in, his rock in the stormy life they had both had.

For the whole world to see, it had always been Arnav who was Anjali's protector and provider, but he knew, that whatever he had achieved, whatever normalcy his life had had, it was all because of his Di. Her unshakable faith in him, her steady love and support, her laughter and little fights, it had kept him sane, it had kept him without shattering until she brought Khushi into his life. Yes, it had been fate that threw them together, destiny that brought them closer, but it had been Anjali, and her stubborn wiles that had kept them in eachothers' company long enough for them to recognize in eachother their soulmates. Arnav Singh Raizada owed almost everything to his sister, and she never failed to amaze him with her sheer resilience and optimism.

Anjali finished her pooja and turned around to see her brother standing behind her with a wistful smile on his face, his eyes unfocussed as he stood lost in thought even as his eyes remained trained on her face. Her face wreathed in a wide smile, she walked towards him, "Arre, janaab uth gaye? Itni subah?"

At his answering grin, she held her thaal forward and once he bowed before the lamp, fed him the prasad, and asked, "Aise kyun dekh rahe ho, Chotte?"

"Kyun, main apni Di ko dekh nahi sakta?"

"Lo, ho gaya shuroo!", she sighed, and pulling at his nose, chuckled, "Khoob dekh sakte ho! Tumhe itni subah yahan dekhne ki aadat nahi hai, iss liye poocha. Ab jaao, jaake taiyyaar ho jaao. Khushiji abhi aati hogi tumhara naashta taiyyar karne. Humein bhi ready hona hai. Aaj humara ek event hai, toh hum donon ko bhi jaldi nikalna hai."

Putting a companionable arm around her shoulder, he gathered her close to his side as they walked out of the mandir. "Di, aap bahut khush ho naah? Iss naye career ko le kar?"

Being an expert in reading every nuance in her brother's voice, she understood the underlying worry and his need to shield her, and turned to him, her heart in her eyes, "Hum bahut, bahut khush hain, Chotte. Aur iss baat se aur bhi khush hai ki yeh kaam hum Khushiji ke saath milkar kar rahe hain. Tumhein nahi pata ki humein kitna kuch karne ko mil raha hain, kitne logon se mil rahe hain. Sach mein, Khushiji ka idea humare liye bilkul sahi nikla."

"So I gather, from all the glowing reports that I'm getting", Arnav murmured, a warm smile on his face as he took in the utter happiness on his Di's face.

"Sach mein? Kisne kaha tumse?"

Tunring her around in front of him and linking both his arms around her neck, he grinned, "Apparently, Ms. ASR is a formidable negotiator when it comes to sourcing the best raw materials from vendors! Di, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard someone mention this from a neighbouring table while I was out for lunch. Meri sweet, docile Di, aur Ms. ASR?! Aur, aapne jo fund-raiser event organise kiye the naah, last week, for the Bhatias? Well, Mr. Bhatia ke saath ek meeting tha mera, and he was also absolutely thrilled with the decor and the food. Looks like your Annapoorna is a hit, Di!"

Walking down the stairs smiling at the peals of laughter that Anjali had collapsed into, Khushi called out, "Aur nahi toh kya, Ms.ASR hai humara PR Head-cum-CEO. Hit kaise nahi hoga?"

Looking up at his wife with a glorious smile, Arnav gathered his still chuckling sister close for a tight hug, at peace finally where Anjali was concerned. He had never seen her this happy in the recent past.

Even though Khushi and Anjali had started Annapoorna several weeks ago as a Wedding Planning enterprise, they had gotten their first break when they got selected to host a corporate dinner after an impressed guest from a wedding recommended them to her husband, and then on, their clientele had become very varied, cutting across different types of functions ranging from dinners to corporate functions to weddings. And now, within a month of their launch, they had become one of the sought-after Event Managers for high-profile functions, the benefit of which was felt very much in Prateeksha, with all of the employees sourced solely from there.

And with Anjali's MBA and design skills being put to its maximum use, the solid backing by Khushi's Catering Division and Payal's team of seamstresses, had won Annapoorna the envious position of rising to the select club of elite Event Management Enterprises. With AR Group's patronage, they were sure to grow fast and steady, and no one was happier that Arnav himself at the transformation these few weeks had made in his Di. The old confident, articulate, professional Anjali Singh Raizada was back, and back to stay. But the biggest test was yet to come.

Author's Note:
And now starts Anjali's story... a cliffie after a very long time, folks! Leave tons of comments, please 😃

And this early update is for my very own Aruni, who put her demand across oh so sweetly!!😆

And for Sharada and Arun who hound me to update and pour their love into their feedback and PMs, so much so, that they make my day! 🤗
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res for my place.

Edited:
Now that came as a surprise! Loved the starting...Waiting for the journey of Ms.ASR!

rez

loved it...

Beautiful start

i love the way you connected every story of you be it is OS or SS or FF ...every time i read them i just fell in love again and again with ipkknd

Wow...it will be nice to see anjali as a strong lady and to see khushi, payal and anjali growing professionally 😊

Loved it. I really wanted to know how Anjali settles herself.😊

fantabulous update