Perfect comment. Thank u. Have I told you how much I enjoy reading your comments?Smita,😊
"The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order the continuous thread of revelation" ~ Eudora Welty
And Revelations it is. Soon after the dance Kushi and NK's eyes searching for Aarti couldn't locate her. At Kushi's signal both started looking at the spot last seen. Observing Kushi's actions Arnav Singh Raizada, always attuned to his wife's emotions enquired.
"The real act of marriage takes place in the heart. It's a choice you make - not just on your wedding day, but over and over again - and that choice is reflected in the way you treat your husband or wife" ~ Barbara de Angelis
Her answer that it was a friend she was searching doesn't satisfy him. Kushi deciding to play a prank on her husband elaborates it as a male friend. The response it elicits is quite funny too.
"How old is he? Ten- twelve?", Arnav raised an eyebrow.
"Ten-twelve? Do you think all my male friends are children?"
"Haan. I do.", Arnav was sure. The smirk on his face said so.
Khushi hid her smile, and said, "He is 21-22, very, very handsome, with fine features, dressed all in white, polite, doesn't get angry easily..."
Arnav frowned. The smirk vanished. "I see. I should meet this paragon of virtues, I think."
"I will introduce him to you one day. Then you will understand why he is my friend.", she said, smiling lovingly at him and squeezing his fingers.
Arnav looked down at her naughty smile and her twinkling eyes, feeling her pressed against his side with pleasure.
"I love you, Khushi.", he whispered.
"A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge" ~ Thomas Carlyle
Arnav Singh Raizada though possessive, of his wife, feels secure with the knowledge that only he is the love of her life.
On their way back to Laxmi Nagar, Buaji asks Eeiyaam bitwaa as to why he did not dance at the Sangeet? She had seen him watching NK's dance but later had disappeared like "gadhe ke sar se seengh." Aarti's just a slight smile brings in a frown from Buaji berating the present day youth. She goes down the memory lane saying how she used to dance in marriages! This brings smiles on both Aarti and payal. Buaji takes exception to it and says
"Why are you two smiling, Nandkisore? Making fun of your Buaji, are you? Hhmmm! I was not like this 35 years back." She pointed to her bulky body. "I had Patli kamariyaa, tirchi nazariyya... The boys of our gali would sit on walls waiting for me to walk out of the house!"
"Buaji! I never knew you were so naughty!" Payal teased her. "Poor Phoophaji! Did he know about the long line of admirers?"
"Hai Re Nandkisore! He was the first one in line!", laughed Buaji.
This brings out laughter in both Payal and Aarti.
"One of the things that binds us as a family is a shared sense of humor" ~ Ralph Fiennes
Buaji's enquiry of Aarti not dancing, giving Aarti a peep into her younger days, feeding Aarti to make her a muscular man, all gives Aarti a glimpse of how the Sinha family brings in warmth to all those who come in touch with them. This makes her think that she has to withdraw from the scene as her world is entirely different. When Buaji requests her to come early next day to ferry them to Omkar Aarti says the car will be waiting for them at 6 a.m. Catching the implication, that another driver not Eeiyam would be their driver she bludgeons Aarti into agreeing to be their chauffer.
"Buaji, you don't worry. Another driver will be at your home early in the morning."
There was silence in the car for a few seconds.
"Gaadi roko." Buaji said.
Aarti slammed on the brakes.
"I don't want another driver. I want only you, Eeiyaam Bitwaa."
"Buaji.", Aarti tried to protest.
"Can't you come for the wedding tomorrow?", asked Payal, hopefully.
"Err... I... I was roped in at the last moment. I was not supposed to..."
"Who is your manager, hein? Your boss? Give me his number, Nandkisore. I will talk to him directly, and get permission." , Buaji threatened.
"Buaji!", Aarti sighed. "I will talk to him."
"Tell him that we don't want a seventh car if you are not driving it, Eeiyaam Bitwaa. We will take a rickshaw."
Aarti sat looking at the steering wheel for a few seconds. Then she said quietly, "I will come. Now, shall I take you home? Your family must be worried. They will think that I kidnapped the bride and her Buaji!"
Payal smiled. Buaji tried to control the small smile peeping out. She said, "Hhmmmppfff! The man hasn't been born who can kidnap me!"
"Love is always bestowed as a gift - freely, willingly and without expectation. We don't love to be loved; we love to love" ~ Leo Buscaglia
This is what Aarti gleamed from the love and affection heaped by Buaji on her.
"Secrecy involves a tension which, at the moment of revelation, finds its release" ~ Georg Simmel
Once they reach Laxmi Nagar Aarti feels uneasy for keeping the warm hearted Buaji under false impression.
"They may forget what you said but they will not forget how you made them feel"
~ Carl W Buechner
Aarti decides to come out clean and tells Buaji and Payal that she is a girl named Aarti M hence AM, who has dressed as a boy for her safety during work. When Buaji enquires about her line of work and family she reveals that she doubles up as a mechanic too and her family consists of just her Amma, Gopi Kaka who looks after the house and herself. She is the bread winner of the family. This earns tremendous respect from both Buaji and Payal.
"Minor things can become moments of great revelation when encountered for the first time"
~ Margot Fonteyn
Buaji equates her with Payal. Aarti is surprised to hear that Payal, a doctor, is running a clinic where the service is free for the poor and also works in another hospital to pay her staff. She is continuing the good work started by her father who is now wheel chair bound! This is a revelation to her about the sweet natured, beautiful Payal, who offers Aarti to treat her mother for free whenever necessary. It makes her revise her opinions once again. They are under the impression that Aarti is trying hard to make ends meet.
"The more you love, the more love you have to give. It's the only feeling we have which is infinite..." ~ Christina Westover, Precipice
Then Buaji tells Aarti to be the one to chauffer them the next morning and hands over a card.
"It was an invitation to the wedding between Akash Singh Raizada and Payal Sinha, addressed to Aarti M & her Pujaneeya Mother"
This infinite love too was a revelation to Aarti who had all along been deprived of any form of Love by her hard hearted Father.
Live simply. Deepest joy is like a flower...beautiful in essence." ~ Tony Samara
It was a revelation as how people leading a simple life too are capable of giving boundless love. It was a revelation as to how a stranger too is enveloped into the family fold. The Sinhas' and Raizadas' though belonging to the different spectrum of economic strata are bound by a common bond of love, respect and goodness.
The biggest revelation that she gets from this is however much she tries to go away from the Raizadas' and Her Sunflower, she is unable to as the bonds developed are much stronger than she had thought. Even their extended families, though might not be capable of matching them in money they too possess a heart as large as the Raizadas' themselves.
Some Conversations:
"Eeiyaam Bitwaa, come early tomorrow morning. Woh kya he, the Raizadas did all the arrangements for Payal's wedding. If we don't get there early, Khushi Bitiyaa will arrange everything for haldi, alone, without taking anyone's help. It is not right. We should be at Omkar early in the morning, before Khushi Bitiyaa finishes all the work by herself.", Buaji said.
Aarti nodded.
This revealed to Aarti that eventhough Raizadas' helped the Bride's side, Sinhas' never took things for granted. It also revealed how Raizada's mingled with the Sinhas', just thinking them as one family.
"I don't want another driver. I want only you, Eeiyaam Bitwaa."
"Buaji.", Aarti tried to protest.
"Can't you come for the wedding tomorrow?", asked Payal, hopefully.
"Err... I... I was roped in at the last moment. I was not supposed to..."
"Who is your manager, hein? Your boss? Give me his number, Nandkisore. I will talk to him directly, and get permission." , Buaji threatened.
"Buaji!", Aarti sighed. "I will talk to him."
"Tell him that we don't want a seventh car if you are not driving it, Eeiyaam Bitwaa. We will take a rickshaw."
This revealed how firm Buaji was at taking decisions and getting things done her way.
"Buaji and Amma too used to help out when Babuji was healthy.", Payal smiled at Aarti. "It is Dr. Sinha's Clinic near the big Devi Maiyya's temple on the Main Road near the government school.", she said softly. "Bring your mother if she needs to see a doctor. The treatment is free."
Aarti looked at Payal in shock. This soft-spoken, kind-hearted, unassuming lady was a doctor, and was running a free clinic for the poor?
The social service work of the Sinhas' when they themselves were not that well off was a revelation to Aarti, an eye- opener.
PICK OF THE DAY
Buaji brushed that aside. "Is this the work you do, Bitiyaa? Driving people around?"
"Ji. I also repair vehicles."
"Like Happyji? In the workshop across our house, Nandkisore?", Buaji pointed to the workshop.
Aarti looked at the auto workshop. "Ji."
"You work with men all the time, Bitiyaa?"
"Ji."
"The people who hire your car are mostly men, aren't they, Bitiyaa?"
"Ji."
"Then you remain a man. Don't tell them you are a woman, Nandkisore! It is such a dangerous world, Bitiyaa, for such a beautiful girl like you. Driving late at night with men... Who knows what kind of rascals come to hire a car?"
Aarti looked at Buaji, wonder in her eyes.
This revealed the concern Buaji showed to an unknown girl whom she met that very day for the first time and how she has taken Aarti into her fold.
Hope you enjoy it.
We are seeing the education of Aarti.
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