I don’t trust anyone Dairy, Arnav read as he opened a random page in his mother’s diary, one that was nearing her final days.
My trust in everyone I have known all my life has shattered today. My best friends are not who they are, Diary.
Kailash and Uday have kept so many things from me. And Dilip Bhaiyya? He is closer to me than my own brother.
How could he?
I wouldn’t have believed this had I not had evidence.
So,
I confronted Arun with what I had found. He stared at the paperwork in my hand.
He showed no reaction. No shock. No surprise.
“You have been meeting Shyam without telling me?” He asked.
I’m the mistress of this house. I don’t need Arun’s permission for anything. I’ve never needed his permission for anything.
“You are angry that I met Shyam?” That was his concern?
“What about Dilip Bhaiyya?” I asked. “What about this Arun?”
“Ratna, don’t meddle into things that don’t concern you.” Arun raised his voice.
“This concerns me,” I screamed. This concerns my Mannu, my Priya. This concerns the kind of people my husband is friends with.
And Dilip Bhaiyya is my brother.
And Mannu? Oh my god! He is a pawn in Dilip Bhaiyya’s hands and he doesn’t even know.
That wicked man has been using my Mannu to do his dirty work for years. How could I have not seen it before? How could I have not protected my child?
“Arun…call the police.”
“Are you mad?” He hissed.
“Dilip Chaudhary cannot get away with this.”
Arun didn’t even defend my accusation, Diary. He knows. They all know.
Devi Maiyya!
The man I’ve looked up to is a monster. And the man I’m married to has been protecting that monster.
And my Mannu. Oh my Mannu!
“Arun…Mannu,” I choked.
“What am I meant to do with that boy Ratna? He doesn’t listen to anyone.”
And so? He was going to let him rot?
“Aryaman is my child,” I hissed. “I’m going to warn him.”
“You have to stop talking to Shyam, Ratna. Don’t you understand what he is trying to do.”
“This is evidence advocate Malik.”
Arun clenched his jaw.“Now you listen to me carefully, Ratna. This marriage is important. And I don’t want Shyam anywhere around my Anjali, anywhere around this mansion.”
I don’t care what he has to say anymore, Diary. Shyam is the only person who can help me right now.
And Shyam was waiting for me behind Ammaji’s bedroom.
I didn’t tell Arun anything else. I grabbed the paperwork and left.
If this is the kind of friends Arun wants to keep, then he will lose his wife.
Once Anjali gets married, I will be taking my children, all my children, Priya, Mannu, Arnav, Arjun too, everyone, and I will leave this house and go live in my cottage in Delhi.
No! I will go and live in some unknown location where no one can find me or my children.
“Do it,” I told Shyam when I met in the cottage behind Sheesh Mahal.
“Are you sure?” He asked.
“Yes. Get the paperwork ready. I’ll sign it.”
“But Amma, don’t you think Arnav deserves a share?”
Arnav will get his rightful share from the Malik empire. But I must protect my Mannu. I must protect him before they all turn him into a hardcore criminal and toss him behind bars.
“It is my property, Shyam Jha. I have the right to give it whoever I want. And my property will go to my son, to Aryaman.”
Thankfully my father left me an equal share in his property. My father also gifted me enough wealth during his prime.
Arun and Somen Bhaiyya helped me invest. I now have enough money to ensure my Mannu can have a comfortable life, more than a comfortable life.
When I make this transfer, Aryaman will become a wealthy man. I want that for him, so he won’t ever have to work for these monsters. He can start his hotel business. He can marry Priya when she turns eighteen. He can follow his dreams.
Shyam regarded me with a scornful smile. “All this for Priya, isn’t it?” He asked. “She must get the man she loves, because he Aryaman is your son.
“But me? Why will you care for me, Amma? Why will you care for Anjali or for what she wants?”
He can keep lamenting. This is beyond love and marriage and all those petty things now.
This is about my Aryaman’s future. This is about making sure he doesn’t end up in prison.
“Are you going to get the paperwork ready or shall I hire someone else?”
“Will you pay me?”
I removed my purse and gave him a thick bundle of notes.“I’ll pay twice as much once you get the paperwork ready.”
Shyam took the money and left.
I don’t trust Shyam either. I don’t trust anyone. But Shyam is Aryaman’s friend. I know he will get this paperwork ready.
I’ve also promised him I’ll take action against Dilip Chaudhary and will hire Shyam as my advocate.
Dilip and K have ensured no one will hire Shyam. They tell him to make wealth. But they also have shut all his means of making wealth.
Bastards!
Once Shyam left, Razzak Bhai came over. We silently drove to that shop in the middle of nowhere from where I called a private number.
This is my last resort.
“I’m worried for Mannu,” I told the only man I trust right now. He is an intelligence officer. If anyone only he can help us.
“I’ll be always watching over my child, Bhabhi,” he promised.
I have a plan for Mannu. I have to find a way to make him promise he won’t fall into wrong hands.
“Keep Mannu safe,” I told Razzak Bhai. “They are all planning somethis big this time.”
This time I fear whatever this is, it is not going to end well for any of us. I fear it is going to end with our lives.
But not while I am alive, Dairy.
I will not let anyone hurt my children so long there is even one last breath left in my body.
___
Downstairs, huddled in one corner, Arjun and Vish studied a video on the laptop.
There was time for the Teej programme to start. It was noisy outside.
Seemed like the whole family was gathering outside, which gave them the time to look into that old case that Vish had finally managed to find more info on.
“See…here.” Vish pointed to a very blurry image of a man coming out of the hospital.
It wasn’t a CCTV footage, but a private camera footage that had captured something it shouldn’t have.
“This is the only proof we have that he was there that night at the hospital.”
“Hmm.” Arjun nodded.
“I’ve gone through the files, Araj, everything points to Dilip Chaudhary.” Vish was briefing him when the glass door behind them opened and Tej Pratap walked in.
Vish stood up. “Afternoon, Sir!” She saluted.
“Stop that, DCP!” Tej snapped, as he stormed off the living room and disappeared into the corridor.
Vish kept staring after him. Arjun patted her shoulder.
“I don’t know what to do, Araj. I feel so helpless around him sometimes. He wears this pained look. I want to help you. But…”
“Where is the original post-mortem?” Arjun asked.
“It’ a mess. They didn’t do it properly.
“But…I found this.” She showed him another report. One with DNA samples.
Arjun nodded. “I’ve seen this one. Pri found this in Bade Bhaiyya’s study.”
Vish froze. “You have known all this while that Dilip Chaudhary raped Tej Sir’s wife?”
“Hmm.” Arjun nodded. “R@ped and then had Bade Bhaiyya murder her. Yes.”
Vish blinked. “My god! How did you find out?”
“Priya found out a few weeks before her accident. She called me that night. At two AM. She was so terrified of both her father and her husband, she didn’t know what to do or where to hide.” Arjun sighed.
“I knew it in that moment they would kill her if they found out she had seen this report.”
“They found out, didn’t they?” Vish had seen and heard enough things to know Aryaman was involved in Priya’s accident, yet she welled with tears as more evidence piled against her brother.
“Bade Bhaiyya was on the other side of the curtain, listening to our conversation.” Arjun smiled ruefully.
“Fuck!” Vish sat down. “I didn’t know she knew.”
“She knows everything.” He sighed. “Don’t know how she functions on most days.”
“But Tej Sir and Dilip Chacha continued to remain very good friends, Araj.”
“Dilip Uncle was a very powerful man,” Arjun said. “Tej Pratap didn’t have no evidence to prove a thing that happened to his wife. Also, I don’t think he even knew at that time it was Dilip Chaudhary.”
Vish shook her head. “This is why he’s so anxious lately. All this evidence must have shaken him. His own best friend.” She sighed.
“You remember he asked me for all the stuff I had on my USB. He wanted to hide this. He doesn’t want anyone to find out how his wife died.”
“What does her report say?”
“Prolonged illness. She was asthmatic. She died in ICU.”
Arjun nodded.
“But this report that Priya found. This changes everything, Araj.”
“Hmm.”
“I think this is what Tej Sir is searching, Araj. He’s trying to collect evidence.”
Arjun frowned, and he glanced through the report again. “Wonder who got this DNA test done?”
“It’s protocol. The hospital must have run all tests.” Vish said.
“Hmm.”
“Show me that video again.” Arjun pulled out his glasses and wore it.
Vish stared at him.
“What?” He asked.
“You look so hot with those glasses on. Like a hot professor.”
He laughed. “I can come over tonight, as your maths professor. A cane in hand.”
“I’ll prefer a belt.” She teased.
But her stomach tightened at that dark expression in his eyes.
“Do you really want a belt?” He asked.
“Sounds thrilling.”
They held each other’s eyes. He was deliberating, his hand stroking his brown leather belt. She was trying to contain her heartbeats from exploding.
“So, what happens after you use the belt?”
“I’d rather show than tell.” He smirked.
She couldn’t hold his seductive eyes anymore.
“Umm…check the video again,” she said, before she grabbed him by his collar and found a dark corner to get frisky with him.
They began watching the video again.
Arjun’s expression went grim when he recognised the man who was leaving the hospital in the middle of the night.
“There was an old man in the building opposite the hospital. He was star-gazing and recording. This is his footage.”
“It is Bade Bhaiyya.” Arjun nodded, playing it over and over.
“It tallies with the time of her death as per the post-mortem. And they have an eye-witness too. But they had no evidence to prove he did it. Or he would have been long arrested.”
Arjun took off his glasses and frowned. “So Dilip Chaudhary r@ped her and put her in the hospital. And Bade Bhaiyya then went there to turn off he machines?”
“That’s how it seems.” Vish nodded. “What are you thinking?”
“Why put her in the hospital? Why not just kill her after he did what he did?”
“Good question.” Vish sighed. “Maybe someone happened upon them? Maybe…he didn’t have the time to kill her?”
“Get me all details on this one.” Arjun said. “How did she reach the hospital? Who brought her? Who found her? Everything.”
Vish nodded. But she sighed when she replayed it all over. It was Aryaman. She has watched it so many times, but there was no doubt that it was Aryaman.
“This is why Tej Sir is doing everything in his power to get Bhaiji arrested. He murdered his wife.”
“Hmm…” Arjun began texting something.
“What are you doing?” Vish caught his hand. “Don’t tell Pri anything.”
“I can’t keep this from her. It’s just another file to the tonne of files we have against him.”
“But Araj, if he did it under Dilip Chaudhary’s command… how is it Bhaiji’s fault.”
Arjun clenched his jaw. “Who the fck made you a police officer?”
Vish ran her fingers through her hair. “I was there,” she said, “for her funeral.
“I was so small that time.
“But I remember how broken Tej Sir was.
“And now….turns out it was not an illness that took her. Oh! Poor woman!”
“Wait!” Arjun sat up. “Replay that again.”
And they replayed the video. It was dark and blurry. Raining too. A man walked out of the hospital. It was Aryaman. His face was not clear but he could recognise Aryaman with his eyes closed.
The way he stormed out, the way he lit a bidi, the way he rubbed his shoe to the edge of a brick.
It was Aryaman.
But that was not what had caught Arjun’s eye.
“Who is that?” He pointed to a cut out image of a tall man at the far end of the hospital.
“Don’t know.” Vish leaned closer to get a better view.
The man’s face had not been captured, just his torso, his shoes in particular, a traditional leather joothi. He was holding someone’s hand. It looked like a child.
“Some visitor.”
“He’s our witness.”
“It’s a hospital, Araj. And according to Bhaiji’s statement he was there to visit a friend.”
“Find me details of this friend. We start from there.” Arjun shut the file. “Anything else?”
“Don’t tell Priya about this today. She’s fasting for him, praying for his happiness.”
“Delusional fool!” Arjun hissed. And he slammed his fist to the table.
“I’ve been telling her to get a divorce.
“But she won’t
“I told her to pack her bags and leave that night when she called me all those years ago.
“But nope…she didn’t believe he would murder her till she didn’t hear it for herself.”
“But Bhaiji was blackmailing Chaudhary Chacha. What was that about?”
“Sharma’s accident. It’s a different matter.” Arjun said.
His phone pinged, and he pulled out his phone.
Vish watched the way his eyes lit up. A moment later her phone pinged. As she checked, she gasped.
They glanced at each other.
“What’s your code name?” He asked.
“Wild cat. You?”
“Joker.”
They laughed.
“I can’t believe we’re in.” She felt butterflies dancing in her stomach.
“We are under Black Tiger’s direct command!” He sighed. “This is huge.”
It was huge. They were now part of the elitist group of officers.
“Have you met him?” Vish asked.
“In person? No!” Arjun said. “But I’ve seen him in action, from distance.”
“Wonder how he looks?”
“He’s tall. Very swift. Like the wind.”
“Wow!”
“Hello Vishaka!” Sahay strode inside.
“Sir!” She stood up straight and saluted him.
“How’s my wildcat!” He asked.
“Good sir!” Vish frowned for a moment. But she stayed in her salute position.
“Have high hopes from you. Don’t let us down.” He winked as he walked off.
Arjun and Vish glanced at each other. “Araj! He called me wildcat.” Vish hissed under her breath. “Wildcat, Araj. He knows my code name.”
Arjun was smirking.
“He is black Tiger.”
They watched Sahay with pure awe-filled eyes.
The man was a legend.
“He can shoot with his eyes closed.” Arjun said.
“I can’t wait for this operation to start.” Vish was super excited.
“I’ll be your boss.” His eyes darkened.
Vish tried to keep a straight face. But she blushed.
“Will you salute me, DCP?” He asked, leaning closer to knock his shoulder to hers. “Ah! But once you get me naked, it will be I who will be saluting you.” And he threw a glance at his crotch.
Vish blushed. Shameless man! It was rarely that he flirted. And she loved him whenever he did it. But there was a wall between them too.
“You need to choose your sides, Araj,” she said. “If you don’t…and if I find you on the other side…”
“Shoot me. Simple!” He shrugged.
That made her well. “Why can’t you choose us?”
He started closing the laptop.
Why do you always put your guard up? She wanted to ask.
But she stared on, holding on to her tears.
Arjun clenched his jaw. “Don’t you fcking cry?” He hissed.
“Then don’t make me.”
“I can’t rest till I don’t put a bullet in his head, Vishaka,” he hissed. “He killed my baby. I’m not going to leave him.”
“Lakhan Bhaiji had nothing to do with any of that.”
“He did!” Arjun slammed his fist to the table.
Vish jumped in her skin.
“I know what I know. And I will do what I have to do.” He clenched his jaw. “It is not I who needs to choose sides, Vishaka Anand. It is you who needs to stop forgiving your brothers for the monsters they are.”
“Lakhan Bhaiji’s men went rogue, Arjun. I have proved it to you over and over.”
“I don’t fcking care. They killed my child. I’m going to take everything from them.
“But first…I’ll play.” He smirked. “I like to play…with my prey.
“He wants to marry La. I’ll dance at their wedding.
“But if I couldn’t hold my son, he won’t hold his child in his arms too.”
Vish welled. My brother is innocent, she wanted to tell him. But once Arjun made up his mind, there was no changing that.
She could warn Lakhan. But that would make matters worse.
Her only hope was that Arjun would change his mind for La. He adored La. Perhaps if he was convinced La was happy, he’d forgive Lakhan for a crime he never committed.
The door flung open.
“Rajen Singhal’s coming. Act stupid,” she hissed.
Arjun scratched his head like a fool, and taking Vishaka’s dupatta he began chewing it
“Chee!” She smacked him.
“Ah! Kids! What’s going on?” Rajen came over. He patted Arjun’s back.
“How are you feeling?”
Arjun grinned like an idiot.
“Why don’t you all include Veer into your group? He feels left out.”
Vish nodded, while she feared Arjun might just break the man’s face.
She was caught between the Singhals and the Maliks. And it was not a great place to be caught between these two warring clans.
“I’ll call Veer. Be nice to him please. Just look after him.” With that Rajen left.
“Do we look like a fcking babysitter?” Arjun hissed.
Vish continued reading her email. “I can’t wait to start this new operation. Wonder what it is going to be..”
“It’s not new case. They are reopening old files.”
“You know this case?” Vish asked. “What is it about?”
“You remember the woods behind Sheesh Mahal.”
“On the other side of the lake?” A chill spiralled down Vishaka’s spine.
“Those kids who went missing from those woods.”
“The ones who were believed to be taken by the witch and eaten?” Vish said softly.
Arjun nodded. “That’s what the legend says. We’ll be looking for them.”
“Looking for me?” Veer Singhal stood behind them.
Vish turned around to study him, but her eyes fell out of the windows.
“Arey rey rey rey…” She cried in horror. “Ee kaa ho raha hai?”
____
Outside on the lawn, it was pure chaos. Radha arranged all chairs, put the cushions in place, left a vase of flowers on the table.
“Tell OP to make tea, but on the chula,” Aryaman told her.
That was when, “Mannu!” Lakhan’s mother waved, as she stumbled up the lawn in her heels. “Dekh naa…teek lag rahe naa? Sadee teek hai naa?”
“Bua, you reached safely?” He walked up to her and touched her feet. “How was the helicopter ride?” As she stumbled, he caught her. “Why are you wearing heels? Why is your face painted like this?”
“How do I look?” She adjusted her saree and fixed her goggles over her nose. “Do I look worthy of a farmer?”
“Hello Haye, farmer nahi, faaarnner.” Mano panted as she put down a heavy basket.
“Wahi tho boley.”
“Ee sab kaa laayi ho, Renu?” Mano scolded. “And why is you teeth red?”
“Lipashitck laayege. Phast time.” She showed her saree. “Kaisi hai? Parrot green colour.”
“Nice colour!” Mano said. “You looking bootiful. Ekdum heroine.”
“Really?” Renu blushed.
“So many baskets, Renu Chachi. Kamariya ki dahi ho gayi.” OP and HP huffed as they unloaded baskets after baskets.
But they screamed. “Chachi….what ijj?”
“Waaat ijj?” She asked, touching her face.
“What ijj on your face?”
“It’s called make-up. My Bahurani is farmer. I must look like a farmer…taap tip…samjhio! Budbak kahi ke.”
OP and HP looked Aryaman. He simply sighed, for she looked like a clown with pink cheeks and lipstick all over her front teeth.
“Hello Haye, Renu, why did you bring all this?”
“Sagun hai. Bahu se khali haath aayenge milne.”
“Your Bahu has everything she wants.”
“Ah! So what? I will still buy her presents.” She adjusted her goggles and licked her lipstick. “Bahu mil gayin, Devi Maiyya ki kripa ho gayi.
“Ab chat mangni… pat byaah. And then I will go on Chaar Dham yatra. By the time I return it will be time to celebrate my grandson’s naming ceremony.”
“Full pilaaning karke aayi hai?” Mano said, sharing a chuckle with Aryaamn.
But she pinched her friend. “When I said, come Renu, we will have fun over Teej…You said, naahi…vrindavan main tapasya karegi.
“But now you have flown. Pankh lagake aagayin. Chasma vasma chadake. Look at yourself. Make up and all. I couldn’t recognise you.”
“Haan tho Bahu mil gayi naa…Bahu ke khatir tho tapasya kiye,” She argued. “Waisey, how do I look?” She held her saree and twirled in front of Mano. “Is this good?”
“You need more jwelry.” Mami said.
“Aye! I’m not like those women on TV you watch.”
“Momji,” Payal said from behind.
Mano turned around. “Yes…khoon bhari taang. This is my friend. My bestest friend, Renuka Singhal.”
“What best friend?” Renu hissed. “I’m older. I am your Jijji. Badi Jijji. You should touch my feet.”
Mano ignored her. “She is from my same village.” She told Payal. “Ekdum mandbudhdhi.”
“Aye zabaan sambhalke.”
“This is my khoon bhari taang.”
“Aww!” The woman gasped. And then she went around Payal in circles. “Ee hai Akaass ki Bahu?” She asked, eying a nervous Payal from head-to-toe.
“My Bahu.” Mano said with pride. “Live-in Bahu.” She said, as Payal covered her head with her dupatta and touched her feet.
Lakhan’s mother held her arms and studied her face. “Bohut pyaari hai.”
“I thought she’ll be hi-fi. But she’s very simple….nahi. Ekdum gau hai.”
“She can speak English.”
“Ah!” Renu gasped. “Say something.”
“Jee?” Payal blinked.
“Khoon bhari taang…say something farratedaar in English.”
“Ab…” Payal looked at Aryaman.
“Welcome her in English.” He said.
“Welcome home, Ammaji.” She joined her hands. “We are honoured to have you with us on this auspicious occasion.”
“AWW!” Renu widened her eyes. Mano was grinning. “Told you.”
“So fast she speaks, I didn’t understand one word. It all sounded hush push,” Renu said, as she removed her purse from inside her blouse.
Taking out a hundred and one rupees, she gave it to Payal. “Muh dikhayi hai…Rakh liyio. Buy sweets.”
“She makes sweets.” Mano waved to the trays on the table. “She made all this. Everything.
“And ghar ka kaam tho pooch mat, Renu.
“Even before I finish my tea, breakfast ready, lunch ready, dinner ready.
“She’s so fast, so responsible. She has taken over the whole house and given me so much free time. I’m learning English now. I’m singing also….like before.”
Payal couldn’t believe how proudly Mano spoke of her, even her mother didn’t speak of her like that. “Momji helps a lot,” she said. “I would be lost without her.”
“You and Mano, you both live together without marriage?” Renu was in awe. “You both cook together, eat together. You do everything all Saas Bahu do together?”
“We have our morning tea together,” Mano said. “Tell her.”
“Jee. We wake up at five.” Payal nodded. “And we have tea outside on the lawn, watching the Sunrise.”
“Sasumaa, me, and her,” Mano said. “It’s our morning routine. Very good for mental health. We have so much fun, Renu. You should come live with us.”
“Why? I have a Bahu now. I will do all this with my Bahu.” Renu frowned.
“What else do you do?” She asked Payal eagerly.
“We also fight every ten minutes. Hain naa Payaliya?”
“Payaliya? Such a beautiful name.” She sighed. “Waisey what is my Bahu’s name?”
“Lavanya!” Vish hissed from behind them.
“Vishaka…” Renu gasped. “Where have you been? Why have you not called me? You cut your hair? Why can’t you act like a girl at least on festival days?”
“Pranam to you too Bua.” Vish touched her aunt’s feet. “Aur Bua…kaa banke aaye ho tum…tota lag rahi hai poori…” (You look like a clown.)
“Bahu mil gayi. Farmer. Tho I’m also farmer.”
Vish rolled her eyes, as she took a tissue and wiped off the lipstick from her aunt’s teeth. It was stuck. God! “La’s gonna laugh.” She hissed.
“You know her. Have you seen her? How is she?
“Hello Haye! Arey bestie hai dono. Vishaka tell her.”
“You are her friend.” Renu pinched Vishaka’s arm. “Why have you not introduced this girl if she is your friend?”
“Because she’s a witch.” Vish hissed.
“Aaah!” Renu froze. She turned to Mano. “I knew it. I knew my son would choose only a witch for himself. Bilkul apne baapu pe jo gaya hai.”
“All sons are the same. My son chose this one.” Mano glared at Payal.
Payal lifted her chin haughtily.
“You women have nothing else to do other than gossip and bitch.” Aryaman sighed.
“This is not bitching Mannu,” Renu said. “This is discussing our life, our children, of how they are ruining their future…and our future too.”
“Like he did the day he chose Priya.” Tanvi said.
“Tanvi….you are here too.”
“She just arrived, ten minutes ago.” Mano sighed.
“What is going on here?” Tanvi asked. “And Bhabhi what are you dressed as?”
“I’m here to meet the chudail who has taken my son.”
“Amma!” Lakhan yelled from on top of the steps. “What are you doing here?” He asked, running down at the steps and across the lawn.
“Aur ee kaa banke aayi hai Amma?” He looked at her in horror. (What are you dressed as?)
“Haw! Jai Ramji ki Amma. Kaisi ho. I’m thrilled to see you.” She adjusted her goggles. “Par naahi…Tevar dekho…Bahu mil gayi tho Amma ko bhool gaye laat sahab.”
“Amma, you are wearing makeup?” He stared. “Heel paini ho Amma?
“Seeveless?” He screamed. “Amma you are wearing seeveless baloujj?”
“Haan tho. Your wife can wear short dress, but your Amma cannot even wear seeveless?” She hissed.
“Ee sab uss chudail ka kiya dhara hai…she has turned him against me already, Manorama.”
“Amma tum aayi kaahe? Bina bataye?” He hissed. (Why have you come here?)
“I missed you, bitwa.” She caught his shirt and faked a sob. “Amma ko tumri bohut yaad aayin…Raha nahi gaya Amma se.”
“Drama band kar Amma.”
His mother slapped her chest. “How could I not come when I found out that the witch I’ve dreaded all my life is here to snatch my son from me?”
“Amma! You will put a finger on your mouth and you will nod.” Lakhan glowered. “Don’t ruin this for me.”
“Haw! Aise kaise nod? Nandi bail hai kaa hum?” She argued. “I will check her. I will test her. I will find a million faults in her.”
“Fine! You upset my Rani. I’ll be taking sanyas in the Himalayas. Bol devat hai. Baad main roti mat rehna.”
“Boys these days,” she complained to Mano. “How is your one?”
“The question is not ‘how’,” Mano said. “The question is ‘Where,’” And turning her angry glare on Payal. “Where is my son?” She asked.
“Oh!” Payal quickly sank to her knees and began searching under the sofa. “Not here. Sorry. Why don’t you check your purse?”
Lakhan’s mother burst into a loud laugh. “You have found your perfect match,” she teased Mano.
“Hello Haye! She has turned my son into an invalid.
“He was so responsible before this one came along.
“Now…I don’t even know where he is.” She sighed.
“On that note,” Mano said. “Somen Bhaiyya has rejected Lavanya.”
Renu adjusted her dupatta over her head and turned all grim. “In that case I must accept her,” she said.
And as she looked at Mano, they burst into a laugh together.
“These women!” Aryaman sighed.
“Where is Lavanya?” He hissed.
“I’ll get her.” Payal said.
“Amma, you sit.”
“You sit. At my feet.” She pointed to the spot on the floor. “She must know you are mine first. Mine forever. That you will remain at my feet only.”
“Amma! Bhaiji!” He gave up and so he sat down at his mother’s feet and cursed his fate.
Before he could tell his mother to not create a scene, Dadi came first, and then Nani.
Renu went around touching their feet and enquiring after their health.
Just as she was about to sit, La emerged, flanked by Khushi on one side, and Buaji on the other.
Everyone gasped.
La hadn’t experienced nerves like this, not even when she faced a boardroom full of misogynistic condescending men.
And she was so nervous despite that she had her best friends surrounding her. Pri was just a step behind her. Arjun was around too. NK and Akash too had joined them.
It should have calmed her. It made her all the more nervous.
She was decked in a silk banarasi saree that she had worn in a traditional right side drape. It was one of Priya’s sarees, a pale pink, but it was rich too, and she was trembling like a leaf.
Her eyes searched for Lakhan.
He was sitting on the grass, looking up at her, mesmerised, like as though he was looking up at a goddess.
There was awe in his eyes, devotion too. And so much love, she lowered her eyes and blushed.
And she never blushed.
But he made her blush. That annoyed her. She wanted to scold him to look away.
She also wanted to sit by his side and hold his eyes and feel all the wonderful things he made her feel with just his eyes.
But as her gaze moved to the woman standing bedside him, she frowned.
His mother was not what she’d expected. There were barely any pictures of his mother’s on the internet.
She’d imagined her as a strict traditional woman, someone like Dadi.
The lady in front of her was dressed in a neon green saree and was donning sunglasses that was too big for her face.
Flowers stuck out of her head in strange pointed ways. Her cheeks were painted pink. Her lipstick was such a bright red, she looked like a parrot.
La glanced at Vish, trying not to laugh at the way her friend was smacking her head.
And with every step La took forward, his mother took a step back, till her knees hit the sofa, and she collapsed on it.
“Careful!” Aryaman said, as she sat lost balance and fell on the sofa.
She sat up straight, her eyes on La. And she leaned towards Aryaman. “Mannu, you said farmer hai.
“Ee tho saadi main ayi.” (She is wearing a saree.)
“Haan tho…you thought she’d come in a dress?” Lakhan hissed.
“They get banarsi sarees in forin?” Renu asked.
“Arey hamari Priya ki saadi hai.” Aryaman sighed. “I got it for her, from the weavers in Bananas. Nakhchadi ko rang bohut pheeka laga.” He clenched his jaw and glared at that veiled woman.
“Look such a beautiful saree,” he complained to his aunt. “She wore it only once….just in the bedroom….woh bhi because I sulked.”
Renu turned and glared at him. “You remember your wife’s saree?
“Amma ki saadi yaad hai?” She hissed. “Amma yaad hai?”
“Arey Bua…don’t start.”
“Patni ki saadi yaad hai.” She told Mano. “Kab liye…kitne main liye. He has not purchased one saree for his mother in the last six years.
“And this one.” She smacked her son on his shoulder. “When was the last time you got me a saree?”
“Boys!” Nani said. “Now you understand the pain in my heart.”
“I get your pain Ammaji. Ab saas bane naa…akkal aa gayi.”
“Hello Haye! You are on my side or her side.”
“What side? My son is lost. Look at her. Sakshat Lakshmi hai.” She flickered her eyes all over La as she bent to touch her feet.
“So beautiful.” She sighed.
“Are you sure she wants to marry you?” She asked her son. “Kono galat faimi tho nahi.”
“She wants to marry your son,” Dadi said.
“Yeh kaisa jodi hai?” She told Dadi. “This one looks like a buffalo. She is like a delicate water lily.” And she sighed. “I thought Priya Mannu were the worst matched couple. But this is beyond worst.”
“Aye Bua! Bakwas mat kar.” Aryaman snapped. “Priya and I were the perfect couple. We looked heavenly.”
“Haan, you looked like a crow with a rasgulla in its mouth. Lah bhi tapak rahi thi….dono side se.” (You used to drool all the time when she was around.)
Pri muffled a laugh. Aryaman clenched his jaw. Damnit! This stupid veil.
“What do you say Ammaji?” Renu asked Dadi. “How to accept this mismatch?”
“You don’t have to accept me.” La spoke.
“Arey…Rani…My mother is not rejecting you. She is rejecting me. For me.”
“Hain?” Renu gasped. “Mano, she’s already talking back.” She said, as she made La sit beside her.
“No…Ammaji…” La said, as Renu took her hands and turned them around, and then began checking her face in awe.
“She’s so beautiful,” she hissed softly to Mano. “Look at her skin. And so slim and tall. Wonder what her mother ate when she was pregnant?”
La looked at her nervously. Lakhan kept scolding his mother to stop creating a scene.
“Nandkisore…calm down bitwa.” Buaji smiled. “Lavanya bitiya is very talented. You will be blessed to have her as your Bahu.”
Renu bent over to look at Buaji. “Who is she?” She asked Aryaman. “Her side of the family? But she looks like us. Not farmer.”
“We are not related. But she is my daughter only,” Buaji said.
“You are not related?” She frowned.
Then she turned to Aryaman. “You asked me to come to fix the date. Where are her parents?”
“My parents are not here.” La said.
“Will they come? Can we talk? What do they do?”
“My parents are divorced,” she said.
That was all it took for an uncomfortable silence to descend.
Lakhan turned to glare at his mother. She clutched La’s hands, trying her best to blink away her tears.
La felt terribly sorry for the lady.
“Chachiji…Lavanyaji is very educated,” Khushi dived in. “She is a top boss.
“Matlab very big boss.
“Here, have chana.” She offered the elderly lady a cone.
Payal pinched her arm to shut up. “Jijji!” She hissed.
“Lavanyaji can make excellent chai,” she went on praising however. “World class. And her cakes are so good.”
“Who is she?” Renu asked Aryaman.
“Hamari behen hai.” Lakhan said.
“I’m the wedding planner.” Khushi removed her card and gave it to Renu.
“She is my sister.” La claimed.
“What the!” Arnav hissed, as he joined the madness.
“She is my sister,” Payal finally said.
“Aww! Saali hai tumhari?” Renu teased Akash.
“He is my live-in Jijaji,” Khushi said.
And they laughed together. “I like her. She’s so cute.” Renu told Mano.
“But she looks exactly like…” And she frowned. “Mano look…she…”
“Renu bitiya…can we discuss the wedding plan, so we can start the pooja?” Nani said.
“Jee Ammaji.” She adjusted her dupatta over her head.
“I have questions.” She opened her phone and frowned.
“Hello Haye! You brought questions, Renu?”
“I asked my Facebook satsang group.” She told everyone eagerly. “We do satsang everyday online…I told them Bahu mil gayi….they sent questions.” She frowned. “Ee tho sab angrezi main hai.”
“Waat is your…kalipicason?” She managed to read.
“Shall I read?” Payal asked.
“Haan….read. Be strict. Ask her in firm voice…ekdum kadak awaz maa.”
“Amma…stop this.”
“Lakhanwa…your mother didn’t have a say in her own wedding. Let her fulfil her wish in your wedding, bitwa.” Nani said.
He gave up and sat at her feet.
“What are your qualifications?” Payal read.
“MBA.”
Renu looked around. “Tenth pass hai?”
“Tenth se aage hai Amma.”
“Ah! Aur tum?”
“I’m MA.”
“She is more? Less?”
“More.” Lakhan said.
“They are equal.” Khushi said.
“No, they are not,” Arnav said. “MBA is the elitist qualification if one wants to pursue a career in business.”
“Is she more or less?”
“It doesn’t matter,” La said.
“More, Amma. Way more.” Lakhan said.
“Ah! Very good.” Renu smiled, taking La’s hand into hers again. “I want more educated Bahu for my son. That way he will respect you.”
La glanced at Lakhan, and at how sweetly his mother was smiling despite living the bitter reality of her life.
“Can you cook?” Payal asked.
“No.” La said. “But I can bake.”
“What is that?” Renu asked for translation.
“Arey chula hota hai naa…” Aryaman began.
“Ah! You cook on chula? Me too. That’s common between us.” She smiled. “What else is common?”
“Common with you?” Lakhan asked.
“Haan tho…for your happy married life it is important that your wife and I have everything in common….or how will we live together.”
“Amma! You will live in the village.”
Before Renu argued, “That’s not happening, Lakhan.” La snapped. “I’ve told you already your mother is living with us or I’m not marrying you.”
Renu froze as she stared at La. “Mannu…” She caught Aryaman’s hand. “Are you sure she’s farmer? Ee tho bohut hee sanskaari Bahu hai. I can find no fault in her.”
La shook her head. “No,” she said. “You don’t understand. I’m not Sankaari.. I’m not good for your family.”
“Rani…tum…”
“I cannot cook,” La said.
Renu nodded. “But you will learn?”
“Yes.” La said. “I cannot wear a saree.”
“But you will learn?”
“Yes.” La said. “I cannot speak Hindi fluently.”
“But you will learn?”
“Yes.”
“Tho prablem kaa hai?” She looked at Lakhan.
“I am not worthy of your son,” La said.
“Rani…please,” Lakhan said.
Renu however, smiled ruefully. “Do you know who she reminds me of, Ammaji?” She asked Dadi.
“Of myself.”
And she turned to La. “I was seventeen when they got me married.
“I hadn’t even seen his father. Met him directly on the wedding mandap.
“Ab gaav side aisa hee hovat hai.
“But when I saw him…” She smiled. “He was so handsome, so educated….I told my Amma…I’m not worthy of him.
“And for all the years we were together, I kept thinking I’m not worthy of him….till one day…” She stopped as her tears got the better of her.
“Be careful of what you say, child. Sometimes what we keep repeating, they come true.
“Look at him.” She waved to Aryaman. “He too kept saying he is not worthy of Priya…and now…”
Everyone went quiet. Khushi was the quietest, for Renu’s words had struck her the most.
She slowly turned to Arnav, thinking of all the times she told herself she wasn’t worthy of him.
Her heart stopped though, for he was gazing at her just the way he had been when he had blatantly declared to his Nani she was his girl.
Did he think she was worthy of him? As Arnav touched his finger to her bracelet, she blushed. He was also wearing her father’s watch. That made her well.
Beside her, “But I have a reason to believe that,” La wouldn’t stop making matters worse for herself. “I’m not worthy for your family because I’m not a…”
Payal elbowed Khushi. Devi Maiyya! Before Khushi could pounce on her and shut her up, “I’m not a virgin,” La said.
A loud sigh went around the lawn. The men mostly smacked their head. The women looked at each other.
Lakhan’s mother covered her mouth with her hands.
“What?” Nani gasped. “You’ve had a lover? Who is he?”
Author’s note
Hello my lovely people.
How are you all?
Yes, there are many shocks coming along. Sab shak ke dayre main hai. No one is spared in SMA. Lol! But we and Arnav also got a glimpse into why and how Ratna transferred all her properties to Aryaman. It was a wise move, for it only all came into use for Arnav and Anjali.
Lakhans mother is such a delight to write. I never wanted to give her much role. She doesn’t have much role, but I wanted to give a lovely mother in law for La and so I wrote this part.
I wrote Renu with Sheeba Chaddha in my mind. She is such an excellent actress. Would nail this character it she was to play it.
Keep reading it. Next chapter is full on riot. Will be giving it very soon as it is fully ready.
Love Chitra.
