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That was an amazing update. Loved NKs enthusiasm and Arnav's supporting his brother. Finally Khushi made him to reveal his secret to the family. Loved the update. Thanks for the pm :)
Serendipity
Part 11
The heart has its reasons, which reason knows nothing of.
~ Blaise Pascal (French Mathematician)
"Kya yeh dono bhai her saal fashion show ke pehle aise hi hote hai?" queried Khushi, curiosity mixed with an unknown anxiety in her voice.
Arnav and Akash had not been part of any of the household's daily routine for the last four days as they left early in the morning and returned back well after everyone had slept. Today being the day prior to the reveal, they had not even caught a glimpse of them even in the wee hours of the day.
Khushi vaguely remembered Arnavji kissing her forehead hours before the first break of dawn that morning and murmuring that he was flying out to take care of something important and he would see her in the evening. Ever since the Kidnap, Khushi fretted anytime her Arnavji had to be away for long periods of time. She knew it was childish, but she simply could not still her anxiety, longing, and fear.
"Haan Khushiji. Aap ko aur Payal Bhabi ko yeh sab naya lagta hoga, par baaki ghar walon ko iski aadat si pad gayi hai. Gabrayi ye mat, aapke Arnavji iss event ke baad bilkul relaxed lagenge" assured Anjali putting her arms around Khushi and giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze.
The pealing doorbell broke up the conversation. "Mein dekhoongi" called out a pregnant Payal who happened to be closest to the door.
A tall distinguished gentleman with greying hair at his temples, dressed in a smartly tailored suit and a homely simple lady in a salwar stood at the door way. Payal looked puzzled and enquired "Ji aap?"
"Hello Hai, Bye, Bye, Kaun hai? who eeejjj?" said Manorama making an appearance. Her expression broke into a huge smile as tears welled in her eyes at the sight of her dear sister Meerah, whom she was seeing after many years.
Manorama engulfed Meerah in a bear hug and dragged her in calling out "saasuma, pati saadi , Anjali, Jaldi eehan avo and sees who is here."
"Kya hua Mano. Kahe itna chilla rahi ho?" questioned Manohar as he hastened down the stairs to see what had set off his wife. When he saw Brij Kishore he covered the gap in a few paces and hugged his dear friend.
"Arnav ne hume bataya ki hum log turant yehan aajaye. Par wajah nahin batayi. Waise NK theek hai na? " asked Brij, his eyes scanning the house.
Manorama and Meerah were totally engrossed in conversation and were being pampered by the two bahuriyas of the household.
Over the next couple of hours, Anjali and Naani assured the couple that NK was fine and caught them up on how he met Maya and fell in love with her, and told them the rest of the story that NK had related to them a few days back. Meerah was overjoyed that her son had finally found a girl to his liking and was anxious to meet her.
"Par muje to iska project ka hava tak nahin hai. Kaise kar paa raha hai. Muje chinta ho rahi hai. Kaheen yeh uska ek aur experiment to nahin" wondered Brij aloud.
"Arrey nahin, nahin Brij. Muje aisa nahin lagta. Hume bhi theek se pata nahin ki kya kar raha hain. Usne kaha ki bas ab kuch hi dinon mein sab kuch samne aajayega. Waise agar tum yehan ho the aur apne bte ko dekhte, tume pata lagta ki kitna mehnti hai, aur kitna badal gaya hai. Meine kabhi bhi nahin socha ki aise natkath aur allad pan wala NK aisi zimmedari nibhayega" finished Manohar.
"Ab hum chalat hain. Aaj ke liye hum hotel mein rukhe huein hain" said Meerah.
"Ka baat kar raheen hai? Humre hote hue aapko hotel mein rahne ki ka zaroorat hai?" questioned Devyani.
"Nahin amma, Arnav bitwa ne humse kaha hai ki woh NK ko chaunkana chahta hai. Isliye jab tak who na kahe hum waheen rahenge" so saying, the couple departed in their waiting car.
"Khushi, muje lagta hain ki tumhara assar Jethji pe kaafi pada hai. Warna mein kabhi nahin soch sakti ki woh aise sujaav denge" whispered Payal in her sister's ears.
"Yeh baat apne bilkul theek kahi Payalji. Warna Chote aur surprise deneki itni planning. Nevvver!" stated Anjali smiling.
************
It was a day destined to be full of surprise visitors for the inhabitants of Shantivan. As the women of the house hold settled in for a quiet afternoon tea, the doorbell rang again. Hari Prakash escorted in a lovely slender girl with a mass of lustrous curls spilling over her shoulders.
"Hello. Namste" said Maya as she entered the Raizada Mansion in a sweet voice. The ladies were delighted to see her. Akash followed her into the house and announced in a seemingly guileless voice," Mayaji AR ke fashion show attend karne yahaan aayee hai. Meine socha kyun na hamare ghar mein, rahen aur hame bhi mehmaan nawazi ka mauka de. Aakhir inho ne ham sab ka Kerala mein kitna accha khayaal rakha tha."
"Haan, Haan, Theek hi to hain. idar ayiye" said Devyani Raizada patting the seat next to her while exchanging a conspiratorial look with her grandson.
Within minutes Maya had relaxed and was participating in the exchange of conversation and laughter. She joined Khushi in the kitchen to try her hand at Jalebi making. Khushi had insisted that Jalebis had to be on the agenda to welcome their khaas mehmaan.
None of them revealed what NK had related to them. Instead they resorted to teasing Maya with their tongue-in-cheek comments and not so veiled references to NK's south India tour from time to time. They laughed in delight when Maya colored up prettily at their comments.
As the day drew to a close Arnav too had returned and the family settled in for their Dinner. Arnav and Akash both looked very relaxed in direct contrast to their frenzied countenance over the past few days. "We are in good shape, there is nothing to worry about" declared Arnav smiling up at his Khushi while stealthily stroking her back as she served him rotis.
Maya averted her eyes as a sudden pang arrowed itself through her heart. She had not yet caught a glimpse of Nandu and her parched eyes had been seeking him and only him all day.
"Maya bitiya aaap to bilkul chidiya ki tarah khaa rahi hai" admonished Naani as she directed Anjali to serve Maya.
Maya was protesting and Khushi was teasing "Arey ab Khaa bi leejiye warna Nanheji humse shikayat karenge ki humne aap ki dekh baal nahin ki" , when NK stepped into the house and took in the scene in front of him.
His heart soared and his throat dried up at the sight of Maya, lovely in her white kurta and blue jeans and looking so much at home with the rest of his family at the dining table. He had missed her so much over the past few months that the ache had turned into a permanent hole in his chest. "Maya" he uttered as he finally commanded his feet to move and he settled down in the empty chair across her "What a surprise!"
"How are you Nandu?" Managed Maya a little breathless. The family nudged each other.
"I want to turn in early. AR designs ke liye kal bada din hain. I am sure you guys will want to catch up as well. Right Nandu?" drawled Arnav a little later, with a slight smirk and a knowing glance for NK as he emphasized the word Nandu.
"Haaan' Bhai mein bhi tired ho gaya hoon. Chalen Payal?" Akash said, inching his way out, with his arms around Payal's waist as he helped her up. The rest of the family took their cue and quickly disappeared from the scene, leaving NK and Maya alone.
Maya moved as if in a trance and walked towards NK on trembling legs. NK caught her in a tight embrace his words refusing to leave his throat. Tears poured down Maya's cheek as she stroked his back. Her normally chirpy and loquacious Nandu was lost for words. They stood by the poolside by the living room for what seemed ages lost in each other's embrace.
"Kitne pyaare lag rahe hain na dono?" exclaimed Khushi happily as she caught sight of the couple from the top of the stairs. "Ab is ghar mein jaldi hi ek aur shaadi hogi. Kitna mazza ayega" she clapped her hands in delight.
Arnav smiled at his wife's paagalpan. "Haan Khushi. Par ab waqt hain ki hum bhi toda sa mazaa lootlen" said Arnav his eyes darkening and pleasure lighting his face as his wife caught on with his meaning.
"Haah" she opened her mouth only to have it covered by Arnav in a second, as he swallowed her words in a quick kiss, picked her up in his strong arms and carried her to their bedroom to translate his words into actions.
************
"Goodness, I forgot to tell you the very thing I have been dying to ever since I got here" said Maya as she slapped a hand to her forehead, sprang out of NK's embrace after what seemed ages and ran into the guest room that had been provided for her.
NK followed her curiously asking what it was.
"Nandu, I wanted to surprise you so I had kept it a secret from you. Take a look-------Go on----------" She urged him, her eyes dancing with joy and suppressed excitement, as she thrust a large envelope with several post marked stamps in his hands.
NK gave her a slight smile, shrugged and pulled the contents out of the already open envelope. It was a letter stating that his photographs had been selected as the winning entry. If he chose to, he could turn in the filled in application for a contract with the Government of India tourism to capture all the photographs as part of their "Discover India Campaign".
"What do you think Nandu? I had entered your photographs in the contest on a whim on your behalf. I wanted to surprise you if everything turned out in your favor. This is indeed prestigious. Just think, all you have to do is turn it in and we can let appa know that you have something solid, and we can get married any day now." She declared as she twirled, oblivious to the sudden hardening of NK's face and his swift withdrawal.
The light of winning left his eyes at her last words. Anger, and an indecipherable emotion, very alien to him, coursed through his system as he watched Maya silently. Maya came to a standstill as she realized at length that Nandu was not reciprocating her joy as she expected. A chilling dread encircled her heart as for the first time, she wondered if she had done the right thing. "N n n nandu" she called out her voice wavering and hardly audible. The ring of ice around her chest tightened with each passing second threatening to squeeze all air out of her lungs as she took a step forward and turned his face to look into her eyes. "What is the matter? Is it something I just said or did?" she asked her voice close to tears as she saw his cold black eyes staring back at her devoid of any emotion.
"Maya, I am glad to have my photographs selected. But I cannot digest the fact that even for a moment you could have thought that I would not be able to achieve my goal on my own." He said in an injured voice his face reflecting his raw and wounded ego.
Maya staggered back as if she had been physically slapped across her face. "I am sorry Nandu. That was not what I meant. I was merely---------"
"You were merely what Maya?" ground out NK in a low strained voice, his eyes glittering dangerously as his hands fisted and every throbbing nerve stood out in his arm.
"Nandu please--------- I missed you so much, I was so scared and desperate and worried I might lose you. You did not share details about what you were doing. It has already been five months since you had promised appa. I was despairing. I could not eat, or sleep or even think straight. I laughed and cried without a rhyme or reason and was close to losing my sanity. I did not know what to think. I am so sorry, I should have trusted you. Please don't be angry. My heart is ripping itself to shreds, for putting that look on your face. But I only did it for us. You have to believe me. I did not even think it could translate to a lack of trust in your abilities. P p p please do forgive me" wept Maya shivering.
NK's gentle heart relented and instantly softened at her words and obvious distress. He cursed himself under his breath and closed his eyes to collect himself. "Hush!" he whispered, gathering her into his arms. "It's ok. My male pride took a sudden beating and it was a knee jerk reaction on my part. I am sorry too. Let us agree to let our first tiff slide and make up with a kiss. Shall we?" quipped Nandu eager to lighten up the moment.
Maya raised her tearful eyes to look at his face. NK wiped her tears and gently traced her cheeks with his knuckles. She had lost weight he noted and had dark circles under her eyes that she had concealed with make-up. He mentally cursed himself again for putting them there in the first place. "I am inches away from fulfilling my promise Maya. Trust me. You are as good as mine." He declared; an unmistakable ring of pride and triumph in his voice as he slowly lowered his lips to hers and took her for a spin as he kissed them torturously slowly and deeply.
Maya felt as if she were hovering over land on a cushion of air, as their tongues tangled in a wild mixture of tastes and textures and she let herself sink and float in the sea of sensations that NK was creating in her at his touch.
"Maya, don't talk Nonsense" he said smiling down at her as she let loose a stream of Tamil words at the end of their passionate kiss.
Bidding her goodnight, his eyes holding out a promise for the day to come, NK softly closed the door and sped up the stairs to his own room two steps at a time.
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Serendipity (English Version)
Part 11
The heart has its reasons, which reason knows nothing of.
~ Blaise Pascal (French Mathematician)
June 05, 2013
Shantivan, New Delhi.
"Are these two like this every year prior to the fashion show?" queried Khushi, curiosity mixed with an unknown anxiety in her voice.
Arnav and Akash had not been part of any of the household's daily routine for the last four days as they left early in the morning and returned back well after everyone had slept. Today being the day prior to the reveal, they had not even caught a glimpse of them even in the wee hours of the day.
Khushi vaguely remembered Arnavji kissing her forehead hours before the first break of dawn that morning and murmuring that he was flying out to take care of something important and he would see her in the evening. Ever since the Kidnap, Khushi fretted anytime her Arnavji had to be away for long periods of time. She knew it was childish, but she simply could not still her anxiety, longing, and fear.
"Yes! Khushiji.I can understand how new and strange this must seem to you and Payalji. But the rest of us are accustomed to Arnav and Akash working ridiculously long hours, and being absent from home for most of the time, a few weeks to days prior to the annual show. However, your dear Arnavji will be quite relaxed and ecstatic once the event is over. Don't you worry." assured Anjali putting her arms around Khushi and giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze.
The pealing doorbell broke up the conversation. "I'll get it" called out a pregnant Payal who happened to be closest to the door.
A tall distinguished gentleman with greying hair at his temples, dressed in a smartly tailored suit and a homely simple lady in a salwar stood at the door way. Payal looked puzzled and enquired "Yes?"
"Hello Hai, Bye, Bye, who eeejjj?" said Manorama making an appearance. Her expression broke into a huge smile as tears welled in her eyes at the sight of her dear sister Meerah, whom she was seeing after many years. Manorama engulfed Meerah in a bear hug and dragged her in calling out "saasuma, pati saadi , Anjali, hurry up. Come, sees who is here."
"What is the matter Mano? Why are you screaming on top of your lungs?" questioned Manohar as he hastened down the stairs to see what had set off his wife. When he saw Brij Kishore he covered the gap in a few paces and hugged his dear friend.
"Arnav had called us up and asked us to come over to India right away. However, he neglected mentioning the reason for this urgent invitation. Is everything ok with NK? " asked Brij, his eyes scanning the house.
Manorama and Meerah were totally engrossed in conversation and were being pampered by the two daughters-in-law. Over the next couple of hours, Anjali and Naani assured the couple that NK was fine and caught them up on how he met Maya and fell in love with her, and told them the rest of the story that NK had related to them a few days back. Meerah was overjoyed that her son had finally found a girl to his liking and was anxious to meet her.
"I had no inkling, not even a whiff about this project. How is NK managing? I am worried. I hope this does not end up being yet another one of his many experiments" wondered Brij aloud.
"No Brij, I don't think so. We are not quite sure what exactly is the business venture or project that NK is working on. At the sametime, given his dedication and commitment and the zeal that he is expressing, I am inclined to trust him. I think he is really on to something and finally might have found some stability in his life. If you see him work away diligently, you would have arrived at the same conclusion, I am sure. I had never ever imagined that such a carefree boy such as NK, had such a well of seriousness and sense of responsibility within him" finished Manohar, as Brij listened intently, his facial expression relaxing.
"Ok. We have to leave now. We are staying at a hotel at present" said Meerah.
"Oh No! How come? How can you stay in a hotel when our entire house is at your disposal? I can't hear of that at all. You must stay with us" exclaimed Devyani.
"It's not like that Amma, Arnav had asked us to keep our presence here under wraps. He wishes to surprise NK. Therefore we will humor Arnav and wait at the hotel, till we hear from him" so saying, the couple departed in their waiting car.
"Khushi, I think your penchant for drama has rubbed off on Arnavji. I cannot think of any other explanation for this recent act of his and his wanting to keep NK's parents' presence in India a secret" whispered Payal in her sister's ears.
"I think you are absolutely right Payalji. Chotte going to such lengths to plan a surprise has never happened in the past. Nevvver!" stated Anjali smiling.
************
It was a day destined to be full of surprise visitors for the inhabitants of Shantivan. As the women of the house hold settled in for a quiet afternoon tea, the doorbell rang again. Hari Prakash escorted in a lovely slender girl with a mass of lustrous curls spilling over her shoulders. "Hello. Namste" said Maya as she entered the Raizada Mansion in a sweet voice. The ladies were delighted to see her.
Akash followed her into the house and announced in a seemingly guileless tone, "Maya is here to attend AR's Fashion Reveal. I had invited her over to stay at our place, especially since she had taken such marvelous care of us in Kerala. I thought this is a smallest token we could bestow on her in return for all the love and attention she had showered on us"
"Indeed! You did the right thing Akash. Come here my dear, sit by me" said Devyani Raizada patting the seat next to her while exchanging a conspiratorial look with her grandson.
Within minutes Maya had relaxed and was participating in the exchange of conversation and laughter. She joined Khushi in the kitchen to try her hand at Jalebi making. Khushi had insisted that Jalebis had to be on the agenda to welcome their khaas mehmaan.
None of them revealed what NK had related to them. Instead they resorted to teasing Maya with their tongue-in-cheek comments and not so veiled references to NK's south India tour from time to time. They laughed in delight when Maya colored up prettily at their comments.
As the day drew to a close Arnav too had returned and the family settled in for their Dinner. Arnav and Akash both looked very relaxed in direct contrast to their frenzied countenance over the past few days. "We are in good shape, there is nothing to worry about" declared Arnav smiling up at his Khushi while stealthily stroking her back as she served him rotis. Maya averted her eyes as a sudden pang arrowed itself through her heart. She had not yet caught a glimpse of Nandu and her parched eyes had been seeking him and only him all day.
"Maya my child, you are eating like a bird" admonished Naani as she directed Anjali to serve Maya.
Maya was protesting and Khushi was teasing "Aww! Go on Maya, do eat a little bit. Otherwise, NK will find fault with me for not being very hospitable to his special friend", when NK stepped into the house and took in the scene in front of him.
His heart soared and his throat dried up at the sight of Maya, lovely in her white kurta and blue jeans and looking so much at home with the rest of his family at the dining table. He had missed her so much over the past few months that the ache had turned into a permanent hole in his chest.
"Maya" he uttered as he finally commanded his feet to move and he settled down in the empty chair across her "What a surprise!"
"How are you Nandu?" Managed Maya a little breathless. The family nudged each other.
"I want to turn in early. Tomorrow is a big Day for AR Designs. I am sure you guys will want to catch up as well. Right Nandu?" drawled Arnav, with a slight smirk for NK as he emphasized the word Nandu.
"Haaan' I am tired too. I think it's a good idea to rest up well tonight. Shall we Payal?" Akash said, inching his way out, with his arms around Payal's waist as he helped her up. The rest of the family took their cue from Arnav, and quickly disappeared from the scene, leaving NK and Maya alone.
Maya moved as if in a trance and walked towards NK on trembling legs. NK caught her in a tight embrace his words refusing to leave his throat. Tears poured down Maya's cheek as she stroked his back. Her normally chirpy and loquacious Nandu was lost for words. They stood by the poolside by the living room for what seemed ages lost in each other's embrace.
"Awww! Don't they make a lovely couple? Absolutely adorable!" exclaimed Khushi happily as she caught sight of the couple from the top of the stairs. "I can hear wedding bells toll. Soon we will have another grand wedding in this house. Ooph! What fun!" she clapped her hands in delight. Arnav smiled at his wife's crazy excitement.
"Yep! Khushi. But, now it's time for us to indulge in a little fun of our own. What say?" said Arnav his eyes darkening and pleasure lighting his face as his wife caught on with his meaning.
"Haah" she opened her mouth only to have it covered by Arnav in a second, as he swallowed her words in a quick kiss, picked her up in his strong arms and carried her to their bedroom to translate his words into actions.
"Goodness, I forgot to tell you the very thing I have been dying to ever since I got here" said Maya slapping her hand to her forehead, as she sprung out of NK's embrace after what seemed ages and ran into the guest room that had been provided for her. NK followed her curiously asking what it was.
"Nandu, I wanted to surprise you so I had kept it a secret from you. Take a look-------Go on----------" She urged him, her eyes dancing with joy and suppressed excitement, as she thrust a large envelope with several post marked stamps in his hands.
NK gave her a slight smile, shrugged and pulled the contents out of the already open envelope. It was a letter stating that his photographs had been selected as the winning entry. If he chose to, he could turn in the filled in application for a contract with the Government of India tourism to capture all the photographs as part of their "Discover India Campaign".
"What do you think Nandu? I had entered your photographs in the contest on a whim on your behalf. I wanted to surprise you if everything turned out in your favor. This is indeed prestigious. Just think, all you have to do is turn it in and we can let appa know that you have something solid, and we can get married any day now." She declared as she twirled, oblivious to the sudden hardening of NK's face and his swift withdrawal.
The light of winning left his eyes at her last words. Anger, and an indecipherable emotion, very alien to him, coursed through his system as he watched Maya silently.
Maya came to a standstill as she realized at length that Nandu was not reciprocating her joy as she expected. A chilling dread encircled her heart as for the first time, she wondered if she had done the right thing. "N n n nandu" she called out her voice wavering and hardly audible.
The ring of ice around her chest tightened with each passing second threatening to squeeze all air out of her lungs as she took a step forward and turned his face to look into her eyes. "What is the matter? Is it something I just said or did?" she asked her voice close to tears as she saw his cold black eyes staring back at her devoid of any emotion.
"Maya, I am glad to have my photographs selected. But I cannot digest the fact that even for a moment you could have thought that I would not be able to achieve my goal on my own." He said in an injured voice his face reflecting his raw and wounded ego. Maya staggered back as if she had been physically slapped across her face. "I am sorry Nandu. That was not what I meant. I was merely---------"
"You were merely what Maya?" ground out NK in a low strained voice, his eyes glittering dangerously as his hands fisted and every throbbing nerve stood out in his arm.
"Nandu please--------- I missed you so much, I was so scared and desperate and worried I might lose you. You did not share details about what you were doing. It has already been five months since you had promised appa. I was despairing. I could not eat, or sleep or even think straight. I laughed and cried without a rhyme or reason and was close to losing my sanity. I did not know what to think. I am so sorry, I should have trusted you. Please don't be angry. My heart is ripping itself to shreds, for putting that look on your face. But I only did it for us. You have to believe me. I did not even think it could translate to a lack of trust in your abilities. P p p please do forgive me" wept Maya shivering.
NK's gentle heart relented and instantly softened at her words and obvious distress. He cursed himself under his breath and closed his eyes to collect himself.
"Hush!" he whispered, gathering her into his arms. "It's ok. My male pride took a sudden beating and it was a knee jerk reaction on my part. I am sorry too. Let us agree to let our first tiff slide and make up with a kiss. Shall we?" quipped Nandu eager to lighten up the moment.
Maya raised her tear stained eyes to look at his face. NK wiped her tears and gently traced her cheeks with his knuckles. She had lost weight he noted and had dark circles under her eyes that she had concealed with make-up. He mentally cursed himself again for putting them there in the first place.
"I am inches away from fulfilling my promise Maya. Trust me. You are as good as mine." He declared; an unmistakable ring of pride and triumph in his voice as he slowly lowered his lips to hers and took her for a spin as he kissed them torturously slowly and deeply.
Maya felt as if she were hovering over land on a cushion of air, as their tongues tangled in a wild mixture of tastes and textures and she let herself sink and float in the sea of sensations that NK was creating in her at his touch.
"Maya, don't talk Nonsense" he said smiling down at her as she let loose a stream of Tamil words at the end of their passionate kiss. NK bade her goodnight his eyes holding out a promise for the day to come, as he softly closed the door and sped up the stairs to his own room two steps at a time.
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