Sorry, haven't finished writing... I have multiple Vignettes in the making now, and two others took up my time...will post on friday..
Surprise!! And Merry Christmas, All! 😊😳
Do you guys have any clue how much I juggled chores to make time to write this?!
You better leave me looong comments...
Big hugs!
Part 8
Grabbing the phone tightly, Dhruv continued, disbelief etched over his face,
"Yeh aap kya keh rahe hain?"
Apparently listening to the response, he grew more and more agitated,
raking a hand through his hair before snapping out a reply, "Of course it
was! I'll be there as soon as possible."
Whirling around to face the rest of the family, who stood as if frozen behind
him, he said, "There has been a case of food poisoning amongst the guests
who attended the dinner. That was Mr. Goyal on the phone, asking if we
had double-checked all the items."
Again raking a hand through his hair, he muttered, "This night just keeps
getting better and better!"
"Hey Devi Maiyya! Ab yeh bhi!", Khushi exclaimed, "Humara khana ek dum
perfect tha! Hum bhi chalte hain, catering humari zimmedari jo hain!"
Pocketing his keys and phone, he replied, "Nahi Bhabi, aap log aaram
keejiye, thake hue hain, subha se kaam jo kar rahe ho. Main dekh ke aata
hoon. Zaroorat hua toh phone karoonga."
Watching him rushing out at midnight, Devyani sent up a prayer, she had
a foreboding that the trial was just beginning. Turning to Anjali, who was
sitting still, staring at the Pooja Room, she put a gentle hand on her shoulder,
"Pareshaan naahi ho Bitiya, Devi Maiyya sab theek kar degi."
Shaking out of her reverie, Anjali nodded, "Ji, Naniji, humein bhi poora
bharosa hain."
To Khushi, she said, "Khushiji, humare aaj ke dishes ke sample hamesha
ki tarah liye hain naah? Fridge mein hain?"
At Khushi's affirmative nod, she continued, "Humein zaroorat padegi. Aur
Payalji, Gautamji ko phone keejiye aur boliye ki koi bhi unko phone karein
ya wahan mediawale sawal leke chalein toh 'No Comments' ke alaawa
kuch mat kehne ka."
Taking a deep breath, she got up and took her phone in hand, "Hum buss
abhi abhi mazaak kar rahi thi Chotte se ki hum ASR ki badi behen hai.
Hum nahi chaahte ki humein uss roop mein pesh aana padein, lekin gar
zaroorat padi toh...", she trailed off, before dialing Dhruv's number to get
an update.
It was a night that no one slept in Shantivan, with increasingly grim reports
coming from Dhruv who had met Mr. Goyal and accompanied him to his
house,from where they were in touch with the hospital were the guests
who had taken ill had been referred to.
Back in Germany, unaware of the new drama unfolding at home, Arnav
and Akash slept peacefully.
*****************************
The next morning dawned with multiple OB vans stationed outside Shantivan,
much to the curiosity of the neighbours, who were not aware of last night's
events. With the other caterers flying completely under the radar, the Raizada
family became the face of the scandal, where the biggest society event of
the month had landed over a hundred of the elite in the hospital with life_threatening
cases of food_poisoning. The short interview of the night already doing its
rounds in the media, the press smelled blood and gathered close, especially
after discovering that the formidable duo of the Raizada men, specifically
the much-feared ASR was out of the country.
With the reports on TV escalating into lack of food_safety in Delhi, and
even the country, with a few enterprising fellows trying to pull in how the
rich society_women are hoodwinking the system by providing sub_standard
food, the incident acquired national channel importance. No matter how
much Dhruv raved and raged, how much Manohar tried to reason with the
media, and how much Aman tried to do fire_fighting in his boss's absence,
the situation started escalating into levels beyond their control. To add
further oil to the fire raging within Shantivan, Arnav and Akash's phones
became not reachable due to the blizzard in Germany. Without their
guidance, the family was left to fend for themselves.
Anjali was stoically riding it all out, thankful that the media had not stooped
to sensationalizing the news by dragging in their personal life, while Khushi
had taken over the role of media censor with controlling who watched what
news to prevent total emotional break_down. Payal bravely took over the
role of managing the household, with Devyani and Manorama totally
overcome and depressed under this latest trial.
It was the second day, during the prime_time, that Dhruv came up on the
serious discussion happening on News India channel. Their main anchor
and channel head, Raghuveer Singhania, was leading a panel discussion
on the food_safety bill that was to be introduced in the parliament. The
programme being a favourite of the family, and the discussion being a
dispassionate review of facts, Dhruv had just settled down to watch it when
one of the panelists quoted the incident in Delhi where even a major
society event fell victim to lack of food safety.
Stating that he had been a guest at the function, but had left before dinner,
Raghuveer said, "I cannot be an impartial party to the discussion", and left
it to the secondary anchor to carry it forward, while himself moving aside
as a panelist.
The discussion that followed would change his life forever.
The discussion turned in a different discussion altogether, with the impassioned
self_proclaimed social worker from Delhi stating, "Arre, aisi amateurs food
supply business mein aksar aati hain. With no experience whatsoever in
the food industry, and without obtaining necessary permits and certifications,
they start off on a whim and bekasoor log victims ban jaate hain. Aur
yahan toh AR conglomerate ki power sab jaante hain. So obviously, when
ASR ki sister aur wife ko ek hobby shuroo karne ki idea jaag udhi, sab
authorities bina kuch check kiye approval diye honge. Aur toh aur, sad
situation yeh hai ki they have made a few so_called destitutes their staff
and claimed this to be their CSR initiative! This blanket corruption by large
conglomerates is this country's curse!"
Watching in increasing disbelief, hurt and anger, the family didn't notice
when Anjali, who was sitting at the dining table , not watching, but just
listening to the programme, with an unnatural calm, got up, walked to her
room and closed the door.
The discussion continuing in this vein for a while, the usual practice of lines
being thrown open to the public to call and voice their opinion, the first call
connected was from Delhi. At the junior anchor's prompt, a soft voice
replied, a voice that was telecast over national media, "Hello, hum Anjali
Singh Raizada bol rahe hain..."
Author's Note:
The pace is picking up, guys... Looking forward to the next chapter..
Next update on Sunday, do me a Christmas favour and leave looong comments, and lots
of them...
Might motivate me, you know! 😳😉
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