Whole Hearted Karwa Chaut Part I
Daadi was up in the kitchen preparing the sweets and other delicacies for Khanak to eat before dawn as she starts her very first Karwa Chauth as the bahu of the Kandelwal family. She made sure that nothing was wrong in her preparations and hoped that Khanak would not feel that bad for Madhvi not doing everything for her. She asked Harilal to arrange everything on the table as she approached towards upstairs to call Khanak.
Khanak came out of the room quietly not wanting to disturb Shaan who was in his deep sleep, after checking the time. She was so nervous that she could not sleep for anytime thinking about the big event that was coming on her way. 'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!' She cried when Daadi caught her hand from behind thinking that it was a thief who entered into the house. 'Khanak, stop it now, it's me Daadi' Daadi stopped her and let her down stairs to feed her the pre-dawn Karwa Chaut meal also known as the Sargi. She ate so much that she found herself difficult to get up from the chair because Daadi forced her, saying that she has to stay without food for the whole day.
Shaan, who woke up with the sound of Khanak's cry, was standing on the stairs watching and listening to their conversation. He hid himself in a corner when Khanak walked towards the stairs wanting to go back to her room. With a sigh of relief, he then came down stairs to meet Daadi and told that he too wanted to undertake the karwa Chauth fast. Daadi widened her eyes in surprise but smiled lovingly at her grandson and provided food for him as well. 'Daadi, please don't tell anyone that I'm fasting' he asked Daadi to make a promise on that small matter, stubbornly. 'Oh God, again I have to waste my sleep for this' Khushboo came down cursing on what she has to do. She wiped her eyes as she sat at the meal table and stared at the foods angrily as if the food stuffs have anything against her. Shaan tried to escape from there without getting caught, but luck was not with him because Khushboo called him 'Shaan, what are you doing here?' Without knowing what to do or say Shaan cupped his hands together and answered her 'bhabhi, don't I have the right to wander in my house?' he ran away without giving a dare to listen to her anymore. Khanak was still in the washroom when Shaan went back to the room 'thank God that Khanak didn't know that I was not here' he murmured to himself and got into bed to sleep.
It was too late when Khanak woke up in the next morning and she found that Shaan was gone to office without calling her. She decided not to complain this time believing that it was her fault not to wake up earlier. She went directly to the kitchen after getting ready but was shocked to see a notice hanged on the wall 'No lady of the house will be working in the kitchen today, especially Khanak'. She repeated it for several times and wondered about why her name was mentioned there specifically. Little did she know that it was done by her hubby dear, Shaan. She went to Daadi's room and sat there for a while asking about the notice. Daadi, who has no idea of what she was talking about tried to make her understand 'Khanak bte, no matter who did it, but it wasn't wrong because you don't have to work in the kitchen today'. Daadi's answer was not enough for Khanak, so she still kept on wondering who might have written it.
It was in the afternoon Daadi gave Khanak the lehanga that she has to wear for the puja in the evening. At the very same time Harilal came up to her saying that Shaan baba has called her. Excusing herself from daadi, she went to attend the phone call 'hope that you won't mind wearing the lehanga for the puja in the evening' it was the only thing she heard because Shaan disconnected the phonecall thinking that he might bring out everything if he tends to speak her for long. Muttering in anger, she went back to her room.
Khanak sat down trying to hide the discomfort she was feeling while dressed in the heavy lahenga and the jewelleries. With the instructions of the pundit she followed all the rituals needed to be done to complete the puja. After that all the ladies including her mother-in-law and the rest of the ladies gave their blessings to her with special gifts. Madhvi being the egoistic mother-in-law also gifted her with expensive gifts knowing that Khanak was doing everything for her son, Shaan. Khanak felt her stomach growling due to hunger, but she has to be strong and brave because her vrut is for her husband's well being and long life.
Khanak waited in the line with other women expecting Shaan to come to her as soon as possible. She saw that the rest of the males who were supposed to be there were already with their wives as the moon lit the dark sky. In the mean time Shaan was observing the movements of Khanak from a few meters away thinking that he should surprise her. She took the sieve with a trembling hand knowing that the rest of the women in the line were staring at her for standing there alone, but before she could look at the moon Shaan stopped right in front of her. She widened her eyes as she saw his face and all of a sudden put down the sieve and looked at him straight. Ignoring the shock on her face Shaan gave Khanak the very first sip of water and fed her the first morsel of the day. Upon seeing the husbands of the other women giving them the gifts, she asked him about her gift. 'Sorry Khanak, but I forgot to bring you a gift' he pulled his ears kneeling in front of her, and watched her eating the food.
P.S. I have to say sorry to Vandu for posting this so late but will bring a double treat by writing this as two different parts. The first part is a bit official but hope that the next part will bring up the best tastesš Edited by amrita2010 - 14 years ago
