Here's chap 2...hope it's worth your while...
HULCHUL
She flipped the card around, feeling the rich texture with her sensitive fingers;
Hmmm good grade, that means expensive card stock...Mr SK is well off then..
She read the lettering;
Shantanu aka Shaan Khandelwal
Owner and artistic director
Jhankaar music and dance company
Followed by a contact number..simple and to the point.
Very unusual for an entertainment company..that spelt arrogance or self confidence or simply popularity.
Then out of impulse she brought the card up to her nostrils and sniffed at it..
A distinctive, unmistakably male scent, which immediately conjured up an image of a pair of gorgeously seductive brown eyes...
She jumped as if stung and let the card drift out of her hands to the floor...
What am I thinking?
A hand drifted up to rest on her rapidly moving chest..
Nahin, apne aap ko rok ( No, control yourself,) Khanak...those are forbidden thoughts..girls like you don't think that way..at least not before marriage and not for somebody other than your husband!!
She glanced at the card as it lay innocently on the floor; let it lie there, she had no use for it..this was her home, this was where she belonged.
She turned the lights off and went to settled to sleep.
Meanwhile at the Chennai airport:
Shaan! It's no use yaar! Woh nahin aayegi! Aesi ladkiyaan badi traditional hoti hain! Anyways uske parents kabhi bhi use permission nahin denge! ( She will not come! Such girls are very traditional, her parents would never agree.)
But I thought I saw something in her eyes, a hunger to break out of the mould, to become famous! She has it in her Abhay!
He waited till the last moment then dejected joined the line.
A bright and early morning at the Mishra household in Chennai:
Like everyday it was greeted with the fragrance of agarbattis ( fragrance sticks,) and the rhythmic music of bells; dancing bells which Khanak wore on her feet as she practiced her Adavus and dance routines. She had done that without interruption ever since she had started learning Bharathnatyam at the tender age of five.
Her aunt Komal who was also the mother of Shreya, frequently told her to relax; Itne saalon ke baad nritya tere kan kan mein basta hoga, toh itni kathor practise ki kya zaroorat? (After so many years, dance has become ingrained into every atom of your body , so why the need for such rigorous practice?)
No matter what chachi, the first and foremost principle of mastering any form of art is practice, practice and good practice, without which the artist will become a langur ( performing monkey,) as my Guru says and I certainly don't want to, do you
? Khanak laughed.
Komal shook her head and laughed back; despite being a very gifted and talented artist Khanak at times seemed younger than Shreya who was 4 years Khanak's junior; No baba, then your sasural wale will accuse me of sending a chimpanzee instead of the orangutan that you already are!
Oh no chachi! Mujhe aap itna tease mat karo! Mujhe sirf aapka langur hi banke rehna hai! ( Don't tease me so, I only to stay with you as your monkey.)
Haan bacchi! Tu sirf meri paas hi rahegi! Hamesha! ( Yes my baby, you will only stay with me! Always!)
( Khanak lived with Komal and Srinivas Mishra ever since her parents had been killed in a train accident when she had been barely two years old. Sharat (her father's elder brother and Komal had taken over her care and she loved them as her real parents. They had never discriminated between her and Shreya or their older son Shyam who adored her more than his own younger sister and was very protective towards her. He was an officer in the Indian Army and had just been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and they were all very proud of him.)
But somehow this morning found Khanak distracted and unable to concentrate. She felt unusually irritable and listless.
Bubbly di???!!!
She turned to see Shreya standing at the door grinning mischievously, holding something in her hand.
She snapped; Kya hai? Don't you know abhi mein kya kar rahi hoon? (Don't you know what I'm doing right now?)
Kya hua di? You look all red and flustered jaise aapki koi chori pakdi gayi! (As if you have been caught hiding something.)
Shreya said walking in hiding something behind her back.
Khanak tossed her head and started practicing her mudras...she had lovely expressive hands. Shreya watched fascinated.
Kuch nahin, I'm just not myself today...didn't sleep well last night.
Ah..ha! Toh yeh baat hai! Is card ke peeche ka raaz...Bubbly di ke sapnon ka raj kumar..haye! Mr Shantanu Khandelwal! Bhaiyya ko bata doon kya? Aur Anand ko bhi!!!?? (So that's the secret behind the card..Bubbly sis's dream prince! Shall I tell brother and Anand?)
Khanak broke her pose and snatched at the card which Shreya was waving over her head. It wouldn't do for her to spread the word. The whole household would turn upside down. The only reason why she had been able to continue learning classical dance was because of Komal aunty's and Shyam's continued support and only because she had caught the eye of her Guru as someone who had the potential of becoming a major star.
Her chachu had always been against it, he maintained that girls from good families did not perform on stage;
Acche ghar ki ladkiyaan school ke baad apni ghar grahasti sambhalti hain, yahi hamaari sanskriti ki pehchaan hai! (Girls from good families after a basic education take care of the home and hearth, this is our culture.)
Stop it Shree! He was a guy who saw me as Shakuntala and wanted to see if I would be willing to join his dance company and I refused! Bas that's all! Don't you dare tell anybody!
Awww but di! What an incredible opportunity...haaye! Big city stage, international exposure, name, fame! Di I can already see your name written in neon...Khanak the diva of dance!
Shreya spread out her hands gazing dreamily into the distance unaware that she was vocalizing exactly what Khanak wished for..but it would just remain a dream.
Not all dreams turn into reality Shree, so stop it before chachu comes to know about it!
Ab chachu se kya chupane ka iraada hai? Chup chup ke night show jaane ka plan bana rahe ho kya?
Komal chachi came smiling into the room bringing a string of fresh fragrant mallipoo ( Jasmine flowers,) with her which she lovingly attached to Khanak's luxurious black mane, a daily morning ritual.
Aah! Ab meri Khanak bilkul pari lag rahi hai, Anand sach bada hi khush kismat hai! (My Khanak is now looking like an Angel, Anand is very lucky indeed!)
She stepped back to admire Khanak who's thick black hair contrasted most beautifully with her smooth and glowing complexion and her classically perfect facial features which she had inherited from her mother.
(Anand Vaidyanathan and his family had been the Mishra's neighbors for as long as Khanak could remember. He was Khanak's senior by five years and was working as an engineer in a major software company and was doing very well. Khanak had always considered him to be a close friend and had shared with him things that she hadn't been able to share with anyone else and he had always been a willing listener.)
Why is Anand lucky? Are you hiding something from me Amma ( mother)?
Khanak said looking suddenly anxious. She had always considered Komal as her mother.
Bubbly di!..Anand and his parents...Shreya started..
Shhh! Let me tell her! Komal said turning to Khanak and taking her hands in hers; Anand and his parents are coming over to officially see you today!
But why? Khanak looked at her astounded.
Well, for some time we have known that you like each other and Anand is a gem of a boy, he worships the ground you walk on!
What are you saying Amma?!
I'm just saying that Anand is leaving to go to the U.S. soon and his parents want him to get settled before he does, and when they asked him, obviously he said that he wished to marry you and only you and when they asked your chachu, he couldn't refuse such a wonderful proposal!
Khanak suddenly felt her whole world come crashing down in front of her; she had been content with her life as is and had never thought of marriage or anything else which would disturb her life's relative content...but it was not to be so.
But what about me, did anybody care to ask me about what I want? And yes I like Anand as a friend but I don't love him! For me that is the most important for a marriage and anyway I've yet to make a name for myself, I've just started! If I go away, all those dreams will be shattered! Please, please say that it's a joke Amma! A very cruel one but a joke nevertheless!
Khanak held onto her Aunt's arms in desperation and looked searchingly into her eyes.
Bubbly, meri bacchi, I wish it was but it isn't. Chachu ko toh tu jaanti hai na, lakeer ke fakeer hain woh! Ek baar unhonein ne thaan li toh thaan li ...(You know your chachu very well, once he makes up his mind no one can change it.) Meine badi koshish ki, magar woh sunne ko tayyaar hi nahin,
But I cannot marry Anand, it's impossible! I cannot
! Khanak collapsed on the floor, burying her head on her bended knees.
But di!
Shreya interjected; Anand is such a nice guy!
Komal interrupted;
Bubbly! Who is asking you to marry Anand? He is a very nice boy, if you talk to him, he will understand and will never force your hand. He loves you way too much to hurt you.
Khanak lifted her head and stared at her Aunt's face through tear filled eyes; Aap ka kya matlab hai? ( What are you saying?)
Haan beta, I've seen it in his eyes, whenever he looks at you, though he probably has never told you so. He will never refuse you in any way, he will understand.
Khanak smiled slightly, she had always thought she knew Anand very well, but never had any inkling of his feelings for her, he had never once mentioned anything which had made her suspect it. He had always been a ready and caring companion and friend; her best friend.
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