ArMu OS : Mukhi ji ki Mukhiyani! (UPDATED)

Mukhi tried to extract his hand from her grip for the umpteenth time. She was holding it as if her life depended on it. And the surprising fact was that that nothing was able to wake her up. The sun, the alarm so his huge towering body beside her had no chance.

"Dikhti to bitte bhar ki hain aur pakad dekho iski. Are Gaurani chhod mhanne." He mumbled whisperingly, more to himself than to her. He tried to make his body stay as far as possible from hers. But she wasn't helping. After grabbing and snuggling onto his arm, she had turned around and was now almost plastered to the front of his body, his hand still in her strong grip. He heard a knock on the door. He tried again to extract his arm from her gently so as to not wake her up while lying in such a compromisingly embarrassing position, but in vain. The knocks got louder and he heard Rami's voice asking them if they were awake and had freshened up. Hearing it he tried to pull his arm with a little force.

"Haa mai bas bahar aa hi raha hoon Rami. Bas ek minute de mhanne." He spoke still tangled with his wife.

The third knock was quite louder and he realised that there was no other way but to pull his arm with a jerk no matter if it woke her up. He was about to do the same when she snuggled closer and buried his face in his chest, her hair falling all over her face, covering it from the sun rays. Mukhi's body went still for a moment as he looked at her in stun. Never had he been this close to a woman before and that too in his own bed. He could feel her delicate small frame on him and he wasn't able to tear his eyes from her. It was as if he was suddenly thrown into a daze.

"Raje tu uth gaya hai na. Hu andar aau chhu." Rami cried in irritation.

"Haan aaja..." he said still in a daze and immediately regretted as he came out of his stupor and realised his blunder. The door opened with a thud and Rami stood there. Her jaw dropped on the floor as she saw the scene in front of her. The whole room was in a mess. Burnt diyas all around the room, a few flower strands among all those that decorated the bed, were broken and hanging around. A couple of pillows were lying on the floor along with a cotton dupatta and she was very easily able to make out whom did it belonged to. The bed was in a complete mess and in the centre of the bed were Aur and Mukhi, lying undeniably close, almost wrapped around each other. Rami's eyes spit fire at the sight in front of her eyes. This was a scene she never even wanted to imagine in her life. No rocket science was needed to her to know the reason behind the mess and their closeness. She felt like nauseating at the sight. She never wanted to see Mukhi happy with his woman. Seeing him enjoying the marital bliss that she believed she could never experience because he had brutally snatched it from her. Tears clouded her eyes as she remembered she could never experience the bliss marital intimacy with your beloved brought. How she always had to stay away from her only love.

Mukhi was stunned, shocked, embarrassed all at once. He was at loss of words and looked at Rami like she was some ghost. He was about to speak when he saw Uma too coming towards the room. She too gasped at the sight. Rami twitched her lips, saying acidly, "Lagta hain galat waqt par aa gayi hoon. Hu jau chhu. Jitni jaldi ho sake neeche aa jana kyuki yeh sab niptane waqt to lagega hi." Uma giggled not understanding the bitter undertone to her words and followed Rami after closing the door, mumbling some lame excuse.

"Ae Gaurani uth ne. Tu te kumbhakaran ni pan maadi chhe (You are the mother of kumbhakaran) Kitna soyegi?" He said in a louder voice and she buried into him even more as she rubbed her eyes.

"Pappa bas 5 minute aur. Aur yeh takiya itna sakht kaise ho gaya achanak se." She mumbled under her breath. But the next moment she opened her eyes wide before springing up. She looked around dislocated but her eyes popped out seeing someone on the bed beside her. All the sleep gone, her eyes wide awake she realised that the hard pillow wasn't actually a pillow but a human. A man. Her husband. The events from the previous night came running to her and she slapped her forehead. Opening her eyes she saw her Mukhi ji sitting on the bed straightening his clothes. She gasped loud before moving out of the bed with a jerk.

"Mukhi ji aap yaha mere bistar me kya kar rahe hain. Aapki himmat kaise hui kamre me aane ki aur vo bhi bina meri permission ke. Aur toh aur aap mere saath soye the. Maine kaha tha mere paas bhi mat aana phir aap..." Aru was ranting when she felt his hand land on her mouth, shutting it up, like the previous night while his arm went around her waist to catch her wriggling frame. She surely was a single piece in this whole world.

"Uhmmm..." she still tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Chup...bilkul chup. Ek shabd aur bola toh dekh lena. Gaandi thayi gayi chhe? (Have you gone nuts?) Bolne se pehle socha kar thoda sa. Mai... mai tere paas aake soya ya tune mujhe bistar me kheech liya." He said as he took his hand off her mouth.

"Kya??? Maine aapko bistar me kheecha. Yeh kab hua. Jooth mat boliye mukhi ji. Mai kyu aisa karne lagi bhala." She angrily cried as she came out of his grasp, throwing away his arm on her waist.

"Tujhe maanna hain maan. Nahi maanna mat maan. Mai alarm ghadi band karne aaya tab tune neend me mere haath pakad ke kheecha aur mai tere paas gir pada. Pichhle aadhe ghante se utha raha hoon tujhe pan tame toh maharani chho. Kumbhakaran maate soyi padi thi." (I have been waking you up since half an hour but you seem to be a princess. You were sleeping like kumbhakaran.)

"Kumbhakaran. Kumbhakaran honge aap. Hadh hai. Aisa tha to mujhe jaga dete." She retorted.

"Jagane hi wala tha tab Rami ane Uma aa gaye aur..."

"Kyaaa...????" She screamed. "Rami ben aur Uma ben ne hame aise dekha. Hey bhagwaan yeh maine kya kar diya. Shit. Shit. Shittt." She cried further burying her face in her hands, horrified at what she heard. Mukhi looked at this girl. She was so unpredictable. One moment she was lashing out at him and in the next one she was cursing herself, very conveniently forgetting that she owed him an apology because of her behaviour.

"Gaurani..." He spoke many minutes later only to be cut by her. "Abhi nahi Mukhi ji..." Instead of speaking further, she moved towards her unpacked bag and grabbing a simple blue saree, rushed into the washroom, too embarrassed to meet his or anybody's eyes.

"Daffod" Mukhi shook his head as he readied himself and donning his turban moved out of the room.

~~~~~~

"Are bhabhi tu rasoi mein nahi aa sakti. Aaj dopahar aapki pehli rasoi hogi na tab hi tu kitchen me aana. Chal bahar." Mishri spoke as she took her towards the living. All the ladies of the house were sitting,doing their respective chores. Though she felt quite comfortable in the house, she would still need time to get accustomed to the new atmosphere and people around. Even though she would be back to where she belonged in around a month. Aru smiled and greeted everyone as she took a seat. Her eyes wandered around the house. She had not seen him since early morning. She was avoiding him and felt shy to meet his eyes.

"Mukhiyani ji aapki aankhe jise dhoond rahi hain na vo abhi panchayat chale gaye. Thoda sa sabr kar lo." A girl hushed, giggling as she ground turmeric in the mortar.

"Aru. To bata kaisi rahi kal raat? Zyada pareshaani to nahi hui na?" Uma ben asked in a teasing voice.

"Bhai iska chehra hi bata raha hai ki sari kahani. Haina Aru. Aur main yaha tension leke aadhi ho rahi thi ki mere Raaje aur teri jamegi kaise. Umar ka itna farq jo hain. Par chalo achhi vaat chhe ki tum dono ne ek doosre ko pati patni ke roop me sweekar liya. Nahi?" Rami said in an extra sweet tone, trying to make her spill some information about how far had they gone.

"Jiii..." Aru looked all around, completely flushed at the unabashed questions and stares.

"Are mera matlab tha andhere se pareshaani toh nahi hui na...Bade bade machhar hai hamare gaon mein. Kahi kisi bade machhar ne tujhe kata to nahi na?" Uma teased some more as all the ladies laughed. Her mind went back to what happened in the morning and she felt her cheeks colouring. It was too embarrassing for her.

"Kaata to hai Uma ben. Yeh dekho nishaan." A woman sitting beside Aru spoke up showing a small red scratch mark on her neck. She recalled how she got it. She had been taking off her dupatta and those heavy necklaces when Mukhi had suddenly re entered the room and she bruised herself with the corner of the finery as she had hurriedly tried to cover herself.

"Yeh vo gehne utarte waqt lag gaya tha." She spoke up not wanting them to believe what they thought it was.

"Haan haan sab khabar chhe mhanne..." An older lady spoke up wriggling her brows.

"Main abhi aayi..." Aru mumbled before literally running upto her room making everyone chuckle at the blushing bride. Reaching her room she covered her face with her hands trying to erase everything that happened that morning, from her memory but in vain. Guilt sprout in her heart for accusing Mukhi the way she did. She couldn't deny that deep in hearts of hearts she very well knew Mukhi would never do such a thing. He would never try to touch her or force himself upon her without her consent. He was a gentleman and there had been a number of instances where the same was proved. She had impulsively said too much and now she really wanted to apologize. She caught hold of her phone from the bed and started to dial Mukhi when she felt that an apology on phone would look rude.

"Ek kaam karti hoon panchayat se aa jaye phir hi baat karti hoon." she mumbled to herself.

~~~~~~

"Bhaila yeh toh baat nahi hui. Bhabhi tere ghar me tere aur tere parivaar ke liye rasoi bana rahi hain. Tujhe to hona chahiye na yaha pe." Misri tried to convince him on the phone.

"Are dhingli bohot kaam chhe mhanne. Yeh lagan ke chakkar me maine kaam pe theek se dhyaan hi nahi diya. Mai aa jaunga fursat milte hi. Tu kha le." He answered back checking some files and scribbling numbers on it.

"Mujhe kuch nahi sunna. Tujhe aana hi padega. Biwi jab pehli rasoi banaye to pati ko to hona hi chahiye saath mein. Tu aaja jaldi se varna mai vaha aa rahi hoon tujhe lene." She said and cut the call immediately, without waiting for his reply.

~~~~~~

Aru and Uma ben entered the kitchen as Mishri prepared everything for the pehli rasoi ki pooja. Mishri smiled seeing them and pulled Aru towards the gas stove. They performed the rituals and Aru made a little swastik on the gas marking it as her start to be the cordon bleu of the kitchen.

"Are wah. Rasoi ki rasam ho rahi hain. Kya banane wali hai nai bahu?" Rami asked entering the kitchen.

"Aap hi bataiye na Rami ben kya kya banana chahiye mujhe? Kya kya pasand hai aap sab ko?" Aru asked with a warm smile.

"Achha to tu hum sab ki pasand ka khana banayegi. Toh ek kaam kar. Undhiyo Poori bana de aur saath me sev tameta nu shaak. Aur matar pulav, chaach, kadhi ane meethe me basundi ane sooji no sheera." Rami replied with an evil smile knowing that this city bred girl would not be able to make the typical Gujrati food and that too for so many people.

"Par Rami ben Aru ko itna sab banana nahi aata hoga. Aru tu sirf shagun me sheera bana de baki sab main bana doongi." Uma ben expressed her concern.

"Rasoi nai bahu ki hai ki teri. Aru ki hain na toh use hi banane de." Rami ben said, a hint of rudeness in her tone.

"Uma sahi keh rahi hain Rami. Sheher ki chhokri chhe. Yeh shuddh Gujrati bhojan isne banana nahi aayega. Uma tu hi khana bana le aur aap logo me se koi bhi ise gaon ke rang me dhaalne ki koshish mat kijiye." Mukhi spoke from the kitchen door, his hands folded on his back.

"Are waah. Yeh kya baat hui Mukhi ji. Sheher ki ladkiyo ko khana banana nahi aata yeh kisne keh diya aapse? Main bohot achha khana bana leti hoon." Aru immediately retorted.

"Haan khabar chhe mhanne. Vo packet wali Maggi aur chai coffee ko khana nahi bolte." Mukhi taunted.

"Mukhi ji aapne sheher walo ke liye kuch zyada hi galatfehmiyan paal li hain. Par koi baat nahi. Aaj agar maine aapko apni ungliyaan chhatne par majboor nahi kiya to mera naam Arundhati Nanavati nahi." She challenged.

"Vo toh vaise bhi nahi raha na bhabhi. Abhi to aap Arundhati Raj Katara ban gyi ho." Sharabi uttered without thinking but immediately shut up seeing Mukhi shooting daggers at her. Aru raised her eyes towards Mukhi involuntarily. For the first she realised how much difference marriage can make to you. Everything including your surname changes. She was not Arundhati Nanavati now but Arundhati Raidhan Raj Katara, the lawfully wedded wife of Raidhan Raj Katara and the Mukhiyani of the Amboli village. Mukhi broke the eyelock first making Aru lower her lashes.

"Haath kangan ko aarsi kya. Padhe likhe ko faarsi kya. Agar tu banana ki chahti hai to teri marji. Dekh lenge." Mukhi uttered and left the kitchen smirking along with the ladies. Mishri and Uma wanted to stay and help but Aru sent them away saying she would manage everything.

~~~~~~

"Bhaila khana lag gaya hain. Chal jaldi chal." Mishri dragged him towards the kitchen. Reaching the kitchen they saw Aru standing on the stool trying to grab something from the heightened kitchen cabinets. Mukhi was about to go towards the dining where the women were laying the cutlery when he saw that the stool's one leg was not properly attached the the flat top and that his Gaurani could trip anytime. He wanted to go and tell her to climb down but his ego stopped him. He reminded himself that he wasn't her husband and he need not act like one. But the next moment he thought how he never resisted helping anybody, not even his enemies. While he was conflicting with his thoughts, he saw the stool trip and before he even knew he was beside her to catch her. Aru fell directly in his arms, her arms wound around his neck and her face buried in the crook of his neck. Her eyes were tightly shut due to fear and she was gripping his kurta as if her life depended on it. Mukhi again felt a feeling from deep within himself, a feeling completely alien to him. She was clinging to him and he was staring at her again in a daze. Each time they were near, it seemed as if she cast a spell on him with her proximity.

"Mukhi bhai ab utaar bhi do apni Mukhiyani ko. Bhook lagi hai sabko." Mastana joked making everyone giggle and Mukhi immediately put down her while Aru looked everywhere but him, blushing beet red at being caught close to him for the second time in a row.

"Koi baat nahi Mukhi bhai, Naya naya lagan hua hai na. Hota hain. Mukhi ji ki Mukhiyani ji aaj khaana milega ki nahi." Uma joked.

"Haa ek minute bas kadhi me tadka lagana baki hain. Mai vo heeng (asafoetida) dhoond rahi thi." She said.

"Har kaam khud karne ki jarurat nahi hoti. Thodi bohot madad le legi toh tu teri ye uchi naak chhoti nahi ho jayegi.Ruk mai utar ke deta hoon." He again taunted her, as if it was his favourite thing to do.

"Jab dekho taane marte rehte hain. Sach much mein dukhi mukhi hain." Aru mumbled under her breath.

In a few minutes, the lunch was laid, heavenly smells emanating from the table. Aru started to serve starting from Rami when Uma chirped, "Are patni ki pehli rasoi ke pehle niwale par pati ka haq hota hain. Mukhi bhai ko pehle paroso." While Rami fumed at the insult of not being valued enough. But thinking how Raaje is going to hate the food made by this city girl, she smiled evilly again.

Aru smiled as she moved towards the head of the house chair, where Mukhi sat. Aru looked at him for a moment before she started serving on his plate. She had heard Mishri saying that her bhaila loved Undhiyo puri so she served him that first and then served rest of the food. After serving all of the people at the table Mishri asked Aru to sit down on the chair beside her bhaila, the chair that was unused since eons. Aru smiled and sat on the chair, though a bit reluctantly and started serving herself.

"Bhaila tu bhabhi ko paros na. Bechari bhabhi ne itne logo ka khana banaya, lagaya, parosa, tu itna to kar sakta hai apni bairi ke liye." Mishri uttered making Mukhi make a face and shoot daggers at her, for demanding stupid things to him since morning. But nonetheless he served her plate and she kept looking at him. It was surprising to see this no nonsense gaon ka mukhi assent to every demand by his beloved sister. She realised how his happiness revolved only around his family. Plus she had never seen him act so homely. Mukhi ji making tea or serving food was quite a way ahead of her expectations.

"Chal Aru tu Mukhi bhai ko pehle niwala khila." Uma asked her bringing her out of her daze. Aru looked at Mukhi and felt like he was about to retort so she immediately brought him a bite of halwa near his mouth. She told herself she did it because she did not want him to say anything rude in front of the family making them sad. Everyone seemed happy and she wanted it to be the way it was. Mukhi looked around but took the bite of the food nonetheless and Uma and Mishri were the first ones to ask about how the food was. Mukhi's eyes popped and he couldn't believe what he had tasted. He took a bite of Undhiyo to make sure it he wasn't mistaken.. Mukhi couldn't believe that this city bred girl could cook such amazing kathiyavaad food. The food tasted as if made by some experienced Gujrati chef.

"Gaurani aa bhojan tune hi banaya hai?" He asked still surprised.

"Kyu Mukhi ji kaha tha na agar aaj maine aapko ungliyaan chaatne par majboor nahi kiya to mera naam Aru nahi. Meri poori colony ki best chef thi main." She said proudly, back to her bubbly self.

"Bhojan to bahu saras chhe. Mukhi bhai aap bhi khilao na bhabhi ko" Mastana uttered gobbling on the food. Mukhi glared at him and when everyone started insisting he had to give in and feed her. She too ate from his hand. Surprisingly it didn't feel odd but right.

"Sach me Aru maine nahi socha tha sheher me pali ladki itna swad wala khana banayegi vo bhi itne logo ke liye. Bhaila tu bhi to kuch bol." Mishri couldn't help but praise her.

"Haa theek chhe. Bhojan theek thaak chhe." Mukhi uttered not looking at her, as he finished the kadhi,sipping every drop from the bowl. Aru shook her head at how bad a liar Mukhi was. She could see him relishing the food and his actions praised her more than his words could. Everyone enjoyed the food while Rami just tried to gulp the food, getting frustrated at how this girl always managed to ruin her plans.

"Aru yeh kangan tere liye. Shagun hai to naa mat bolna." Uma gave her a box after finishing the food and Aru accepted it with a smile. Rami too gave her a necklace set and Mishri light and delicate pendant.

"Bhaila tu toh shagun de bhabhi ko." Mishri asked.

"Main. Main kya du. Tum logo ne de diya na." Mukhi said trying to get up from the table.

"Aise thodi hota hain Raaje... shagun to dena banta hain. Chal kuch de." Rami said with an overly sweet smile knowing Raaje won't give her anything and she would be heartbroken.

"Rami ben rehne dijiye. Mujhe jo chahiye hoga main khud Mukhi ji se maang loongi aur mujhe yakeen hai vo mujhe denge." Aru said smilingly making Rami twitch her lips. Mukhi stood up and started to leave for work. He had reached the door when he heard Aru calling him in her typical way.

"Ab kya hua tujhe." He asked in his typical way.

"Ek baat bolni thi. Actually apna shagun maangna chahti thi." She uttered, her eyes downcast.

"Kya maagna chahti hai tu?" He asked looking down at her.

"Maafi. Apne bartaav ke liye." She said like a baby raising her lashes to look at him.

"Maafi maangni thi... vo bhi tujhe. Aaj sooraj paschim se to nahi nikla ne." He taunted as per his attitude towards her.

"Mukhi ji mai kafi serious hoon. Jis tarah se maine subah aap pe ilzaam lagaya aur aapse badtameezi ki uske liye maafi maangna chahti hoon. Maine soche samjhe bina kuch bhi keh diya ghabrahat me. Please mujhe maaf kar dijiye." She said looking at him with her clear doe eyes, sparkling bright. Mukhi was at a loss of words at her sincere apology. He had not expected her to apologise to him and not at least after he himself had forgotten the incident. She looked so innocent at that time that it was hard to believe she could be a tigress while arguing with him on anything or how stubborn she can be to get things done as per her wish.

"Boliye na Mukhi ji aapne mujhe maaf kiya na." She asked again.

"Nahi karunga toh kya karegi?" He asked with a smirk.

"Galti meri thi kyuki kahi na kahi mai bhi jaanti thi ki aap sapne me bhi aise nahi karenge. Isliye aapse tab tak maafi maangne ki koshish karti rahungi jab tak aap maaf nahi kar dete." She said.

"Aa to tu sahi keh rahi chhe. Mai apni hadh achhe se jaanta hoon. Aur teri bhi utni hi ijjat karta hoon jitni apni beno ki karta hoon. Aur rahi baat maafi ki toh Gaurani mai to yeh waqeya kab ka bhool chuka tha. Tu pan bhool jaa." He said, smiling at her forthe first time.

"Par aapne bataya nahi maaf kiya ki nahi." She asked cutely.

"Daffod. Badi badi baatein samajh jati hai par chhoti chhoti nahi. Haa kiya maaf. Aur tu aise bakri jaise mimiyate hue achhi nahi lagti. Sherni jaise hi raha kar." He joked before moving out of the house making her giggle at his back. This mukhiyani had definitely wormed her way into her Mukhi ji's heart. It was just a matter of time when either of them would be on their knees to propose the other.

Also post the 1st part here as well...just for forum activity

no need to sorry amreen please PM us before u post so that we can easily find it😊