Ahhh...! Nothing like sipping on cold, refreshing lassi and munching on scrumptious, melt in the mouth jalebis. The girls, Khushi, Kumud, Madhu and Pankhudi, are all lounging on the plush, large couch in Madhu's house in Mumbai. For most ladies, the night of freedom would have turned into Girls Night Out. But they are not like most ladies. Give them delicious food, great company and lively music and they can show what it means to have good times.
Madhu (stands up): Who wants to dance?!?
Khushi (jumps up and screams): Yes! Play any of Salluji's song please.
Madhu plays Dhinka Chika on her playlist and all the ladies show off their dancing skills. Each of them tries to outdo Salman Khan's moves. Khushi, true to her sankaness, jumps up on the couch and tries to show off her impressive, dancing skills. Madhu jumps and joins Sanka Devi on the couch while Kumud and Pankhudi laugh at them clumsily trying to dance on the soft couch. The song finishes and the girls slump down, laughing at their silliness.
Pankhudi (catches her breath and looks at her watch): I hope Adi is back from his business trip. (Annoyed) He still hasn't called.
Kumud (shakes her head): Men. They just can't pick up the phone and make a simple call.
Madhu (nods her head in agreement): RK can sometimes go missing for hours without answering his phone. I get so frustrated it almost makes me want to knock him dead. (Mischievously) I say let's enroll them for Husband 101 course.
Khushi (snorts): Enroll Laad Governor in a class? He would instead teach them how to be a rakshas and yell what the...what the...!
Madhu (laughs): RK will teach all the men to yell Biwi...Biwi! And the class will turn into Drama 101, he'll teach them to say dialogues instead of having real, proper conversation.
Kumud: No thank you. These men are difficult as it is. (Laughs) I say just train them like a good school teacher. (Winks) Give corporal punishment if they get out of line.
Pankhudi (huffs): If I try any of those tactics, my MIL will eat me for dinner.
Khushi (to Pankhudi): I thought you are fond of Aunty?
Pankhudi: I am fond of her. She's strong and principled but...Uggh! She's also rigid and frustrating! Did you know? For a long time she was against our marriage.
Madhu: Pankhu...you never told us. How did you and Adi meet? How did you get married?
Pankhudi (sighs): My dadaji had business contract with Adi's nanaji's company. Both of our grandfathers thought Adi and I would suit. So Adi and his parents flew down to Kullu to meet me and my family. (Huffs) Did you know he rejected me at first?
Khushi (surprised): What the...!?!
Kumud (angrily): Did the fool actually think he would find someone better?
Madhu (militantly): I hope you set him straight!
Pankhudi (sighs): No...I took it like a good sport. Somehow he and I started hanging out and he indicated to my family that he was interested in me. Did you know all the while he was giving me the vibe that he was interested, he kept on saying he didn't believe in marriage?
Kumud (mutters): Ohh God! He must be Saras's long, lost brother.
Khushi (mouth open wide): What?!? He was still courting you even though he didn't believe in marriage!
Madhu (angrily): I would have slapped him!
Pankhudi (shakes her head): Hmmm...maybe I should have but I didn't. Things were left undecided. Adi and his parents were planning to return back to Mumbai. But Adi requested to stay an additional few days. Due to a misunderstanding, my family got us engaged. But Adi he doesn't know any rituals so he thought it was some sort of pooja instead of our roka.
Madhu (surprised): How's that even possible?
Khushi (mutters): He's just like Laad Governor. Does not know or understand any ritual.
Pankhudi (continues): In his ignorant bliss, he told his parents about the ceremony and his mom explained that I and my family tricked him into getting engaged. Do you know what he did? He stormed into our house and insulted my parents and dadaji! I was so angry! I told him that if he is not interested he can break it off.
Kumud (gasps): How dare he insult your family?!?
Khushi (hands on her hips): He must be Laad Governor's long, lost brother!
Madhu (angrily): I would have given him two tight slaps!
Pankhudi: Adi did deserve a slap or two for his disrespect. He flew back to Mumbai. His nanaji called my dadaji and they both discussed the misunderstanding in a rational, grownup manner. Nanaji tried to explain to Adi but of course he can so stubborn. Mom's constant harping that we are all cheats didn't help either. So after the incident, I was accepted for an internship in Mumbai. Nanaji flew me down from Kullu and made living arrangements for me at a girls hostel.
Khushi (eagerly): So did you guys get close again?
Madhu (excitedly): So did Adi realize what a fool he has been and beg for your forgiveness?
Kumud: Did he ask you to marry you?
Pankhudi: No...nothing of that sort. Yes we became close again. But he started thinking of me as just his best friend.
Madhu, Khushi and Kumud (simultaneously): Oh no! Not best friend!
Pankhudi: Yep. A best friend. Due to some misunderstanding, I was kicked out of the girls hostel. Nanaji refused to let me stay anywhere else and insisted that I stay in Diwan Mansion and finish my internship. Mom threw a fit and she and nanaji and had a huge fight. Nanaji had a heart attack. Thankfully he recovered from it.
Khushi (impatiently): Then Adi realized that you are more than his best friend?
Madhu: And then he asked you to marry him?
Pankhudi (shakes her head): Nope. I was still his best friend. However, mom was worried about my influence over Adi. So she introduced him to her friend's daughter. (Scowls) Latika. She's such a disgusting schemer. They started dating and even got engaged.
Madhu, Khushi and Kumud (simultaneously): What?!?
Pankhudi (continues): Latika was jealous of my involvement so I pretended that I had a new boyfriend.
Khushi (eagerly): Did it make Adi jealous?
Madhu: Did he realize just how stupid he is being to go for a piece of coal when he already has a diamond in you?
Pankhudi (shakes her head): Nope. But it bothered Latika. She created such hungama. Adi and I were out one night and we got stuck. We ended up staying overnight at a hotel. This Latika...she pretended that Adi assaulted her and created all sorts of drama in Diwan mansion.
Kumud (angrily): What a cow! What did you do?
Pankhudi: What else could I do? I told the family that Adi was with me all night to prove that Latika was lying.
Khushi and Madhu (simultaneously): And Adi was grateful and married you to save your reputation?
Pankhudi: No...but mom softened up against me. After my internship finished, my parents came take me back to Kullu. Apparently the boy that I was pretending my boyfriend, was an actual proposal. Giving up on ever having any relationship with Adi, I went back to Kullu to get married to Shivam. Adi followed me back to Kullu.
Khushi: Because he realized he's been a fool!
Madhu: These men...can't they figure things out like us girls?
Kumud: Men! They think they are so smart but they are complete dumbos when it comes to emotional matters.
Pankhudi (sighs): I wish girls. But Adi followed because Latika arrived at Kullu to stir up trouble. On my wedding day, she came and implied that Adi and I were intimate. Shivam and his mother broke off the wedding and left. My family was devastated. I still don't know what took over Adi, but he just picked up sindoor and applied it to my maang.
Madhu: What? No proposal? Why do these men hoist marriage on us without even asking?!?
Khushi (mutters): Definitely Laad Governor's long, lost brother.
Pankhudi: After much convincing from my dadaji, we got married with all rituals. We returned to Mumbai. But you see I wasn't ready to go to Diwan Mansion so I moved in with papa.
Madhu, Khushi and Kumud (simultaneously): WHY?!?
Pankhudi: Two reasons. Mom just started to forgive me and if she found out about the marriage then she would have hated me. Second reason, I promised nanaji that I would reunite mom and papa. I didn't want to go back on my promise.
Madhu (understanding): Even if it's a nearly impossible promise, once made, it must be fulfilled.
Khushi: Yes...but did Adi start thinking of you as more than a best friend?
Pankhudi: No...I was still the best friend. Everything was going well. We made slight progress in mom and papa's relationship. But then my parents visited Diwan Mansion thinking I was in resident and have been accepted as the bahu. Mom threw a fit and said she is against the marriage. She gave us a test. We can't see or talk to each other for 15 days. After that if we can still maintain our relationship, she'll accept our marriage.
Kumud (groans): Oh no! Then what happened?
Pankhudi: We passed the test. (To Khushi and Madhu) I had a slight accident during our separation period. And Adi finally realized that he loves me.
Khushi: Hai Devi Maiyya! About time!
Madhu: Thank goodness his brain started working.
Pankhudi: Everything was finally going well. Mom and papa almost reunited. Mom even agreed to celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary. But then the storm hit. We all found out that massi became pregnant 15 years ago and she had an abortion with papa's help. Everyone thought massi and papa had an affair. Nearly tore our family apart. Adi and I could not move forward with our marriage. Suffice to say, after all the drama, we manage to finally become true husband and wife. But do we get any peace? Noo...! It's always one thing or another trying to stir up trouble in our marriage. (Sighs) Yeh meri Pyaar ka Dard hai.
Khushi (shakes her head): Pankhu...that's nothing. Let me tell you about my Laad Governor.
Author's Note: Please share your thoughts and comment and also hit the like button. đ Thank you!
Index:
Part 2 - Pg. 3
Part 3 - Pg. 5
Part 4 - Pg. 7
Part 5 - Pg. 12
