16. OS 20. The Temperamental Tyrant (Part 16)

Rains have ended in Kerala and the state is limping back to normalcy. Houses have been destroyed, wells filled with mud and debris, certificates and documents lost, many homes are not fit to be lived in, shops and businesses have been washed away and people are now left with nothing, not even essentials like food and water.

Sewabharathi is a trustworthy NGO that is running relief camps for the afflicted and transporting food, clothes and medicines to the needy. They are going to the homes of the affected people and helping them clean up the houses and premises. They are giving them clothes and food and providing them medical care right in their own homes.

I myself helped out in their relief camps and can attest to the fact that not a paisa is wasted or diverted or misused.

Pls donate to Sewabharathi, Trivandrum,

Indian Bank,

Pattom.

Account no: 486025602

IFSC Code: IDIB000P030

Part 16

“Yes?” ASR asked, tense. Aman was the soul of placidity. If he was upset, then it was no light matter.

“Sir, I...I was reading the report. Err...Khushi’s parents...” Aman had to stop.

“Were killed in an accident,” Arnav continued from where Aman had stopped.

“Yes, sir,” Aman agreed.

“The people she calls amma-babuji are her aunt and her husband. Her sister is her cousin,” ASR concluded.

“You knew, sir?” Aman asked.

“Yes,” ASR replied. “She told me her parents died in an accident.”

“Did she tell you who caused the accident?” Aman asked quietly.

ASR’s hold on the phone tightened. The premonition of something evil sent tingles down his spine. “No,” he murmured.

Aman gulped. “Rudra Pratap Raizada, your nanaji,” he said.

The phone fell from ASR’s hand to the carpet.

                                                          ***

 A few minutes later, he called Aman.

“No, it can’t be true,” ASR stated. “My nanaji didn’t drive. Never.”

Aman swallowed his regret as he said, “The car was his, sir. I checked again.”

ASR nodded. “The car may have been his, but he wasn’t driving it. I can promise you that.”

Aman breathed easy. “Give me a few minutes, sir. I will dig around and get more info,” Aman promised.

“Thanks, Aman,” ASR said, his voice a mere thread.

                                                             ***

ASR went home, feeling half-dead.

HP opened the door and held out his hand for ASR’s coat and bag, but nothing registered in Arnav’s brain. He walked ahead like a robot.

“Chotey,” Anjali called.

He continued walking.

Nani stepped in his path.

He stopped and looked at her. All he could hear in his head as he looked at her was that nanaji’s car had killed Khushi’s parents.

“Had ho gayi he, Chotey,” she thundered. “What are you doing to yourself?”

He said nothing. His mind wrestled with the hundred possibilities associated with Khushi’s parents’ death.

“Nanaji didn’t drive, did he?” he confirmed, his voice flat.

“What?” Anjali asked, confused.

“Did nanaji drive?” Arnav repeated the question, his eyes on nani.

Nani frowned. “Of course not,” she replied. “We had drivers, four of them.”

“Never?” he confirmed.

“Never. He never learned how to drive. He didn’t need to,” nani said with a sniff.

Arnav nodded and made to walk away.

“Chotey,” nani called. “What are you planning to do?”

He frowned. “About what?” he asked.

Nani dismissed the question.

“You don’t eat, you don’t sleep. You look terrible. What are you trying to do? Pay me back for sending that maid away?” nani asked, her eyes steely.

 Anjali nodded.

“I want all of you to get ready to go to Lucknow next month,” was all he said.

Anjali gasped.

“To meet the maid?’ nani asked, contemptuous.

“To attend the inauguration of Sheesh Mahal, a heritage hotel owned by me. I purchased it from chacha,” he replied before walking away.

He left behind perfect silence.

“Chotey went to Lucknow?” Anjali whispered, knowing how much he hated and dreaded the city.

“He bought Sheesh Mahal?” nani asked, her voice trembling, her eyes filled with tears, her mind filled with memories of Ratna, her daughter and the terrible sight of her lying dead on the floor, her blood soaking the carpet.

“Kaa hua, amma?” Manohar asked, joining them with his wife and son.

Nani was too overwrought to reply.

Anjali murmured, “Mama, Chotey went to Lucknow.”

Mami gasped and mama exclaimed, “Really?”

“Lucknow?” Akash couldn’t have been more astonished had they said Arnav had sailed away to the moon on a dinghy.

“He bought Sheesh Mahal from chacha,” Anjali said, crying.

“I don’t believe this,” Akash murmured after a long moment. “Bhai would never set foot in Lucknow, let alone buy that mausoleum.”

Mami hugged Anjali even as Manohar tried to take in the ramifications of these momentous events.

Finally he said, “Amma, he hates Lucknow. He fears Lucknow. And the very thought of Sheesh Mahal was enough to give him nightmares. Aap ko pata he how he wouldn’t sleep at night after he and Anjali bitiya came to live with us.”

Nani nodded weakly.

“If it is love for Khussi that has made Arnav bitwaa go to Lucknow and buy the house, then, hamri baat mano, amma, he loves her more than he hates his past,” Manohar explained quietly.

Akash nodded slowly.

Nani, mami and Anjali stared at him.

“Amma, it was his past that made him bitter, turned him against marriage and forced him to live a lonely life. If his love for Khussi can free him from that dark dungeon where he has been trapped for years, amma, please let him have her. Hum aapke aage haath jodte hein, amma. Please don’t push him back into the dark,” Manohar said, meaning every word.

Mami added, “Haan, saasumma. Laagat he hamre Arnav bitwaa ijj slowly waking ups.” Her voice broke.

Nani sat down.

“I said this before and I will say it again, our family honour is not more important than bhai’s happiness, dadi,” Akash said firmly. “Nothing is.”

Anjali pleaded, “Nani, please reconsider your decision. I am scared Chotey will.....will do something if this goes on for a few more months. Or he will fall sick.”

“Waise bhi he ijj not taking his medicinewaa,” mami murmured. “Aur phood ka naam bhi mat lo, hello hi bye bye. Even a birdwaa bill eat more.”

Anjali sat down, her head in her hands. “I can’t take this anymore, nani. I can’t. If Chotey does what mama did, then...then...I...” She couldn’t speak.

Nani closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

There was silence for a long time, interspersed only by sniffs.

Then nani asked in a low voice, “Are you asking me to accept that Khushi as our bahu?” It was no challenge, but a genuine question.

“Yes, amma,” Manohar replied.

Mami and Akash nodded.

Anjali said, “Our Chotey’s well-being is all that matters, nani.”

“Bhai is no fool, dadi,” Akash said with conviction. “If he likes her, there must be something in her that he finds very attractive. I don’t mean physical beauty. Aap ko pata he that he works with the most beautiful women across the world and no one, absolutely no one has even registered in his head. So she must have one or more qualities that he finds very attractive. Please, dadi, give her a chance.”

Nani nodded reluctantly. “Fine. I will. We have lived through worse,” she said quietly. “We will survive this too.”

                                                                   ***

“Amma, babuji, buaji, jiji,” Khushi called. “I have a job.”

All looked at her expectantly.

She explained the job, the training and the stipend.

“So much money?” Garima gasped. “Just for training?”

“Daal mein kucho kaala he, Nandkisore!” buaji surmised.

“Kuch bhi kaala naahi he, Nandkisore! Madhumatiji, remove your dark glasses!” Khushi teased. “I am going to work tomorrow morning.”

“Where is it, Khussi?” Garima asked.

“Sheesh Mahal, amma,” Khushi replied. “I can walk to work. Bus ka paisa bach jayega.”

Garima’s mouth fell open and she clutched her poor heart. “Sheesh Mahal?” she whispered.

“Sheesh Mahal?” buaji thundered. “You are not going there, Sanka Devi.”

Khushi frowned. “Kyon?” she asked. “Babuji, please make them understand. Why can’t I work at Sheesh Mahal?”

Buaji clutched her head. “This girl will give me a headache,” she complained. “Do as you are told. Sit at home and roll laddoos. Kauno zaroorat naahi he kissi Sheesh Mahal mein jaane ki, Nandkisore!”

Sasi Gupta asked quietly, “Who offered you the job?”

“A nice man from Happiness Hospitality Group,” Khushi explained.

“Happiness Hospitality Group?” buaji asked. “Lekin...lekin Sheesh Mahal belonged to...” She paused.

“I heard it had been sold to a company,” Sasi replied quietly.

“So that devil isn’t there?” Garima asked.

“Appears he was thrown out by the current owner,” Sasi said. “The company is going to run it as a hotel.”

Garima and buaji heaved sighs of relief.

“Amma, buaji, who is the devil?” Khushi asked.

Perfect silence reigned in the room.

                                                      ***

“The vehicle was driven by your uncle, Ashok Mallik,” Aman said, sounding exhausted. “He probably borrowed your grandfather’s car and took it out for a spin when he ran over Khushi’s parents.”

“Why wasn’t he prosecuted?” ASR asked, sounding downright dangerous.

“He bought the police,” Aman replied. “Khushi’s aunt tried to file a complaint against him, but the police refused to take it. Mallik paid generously to hush up the matter.”

“How did the detective find this out?” ASR asked.

“He dug locally, got in touch with Khushi’s parents’ friends, people her father worked with, retired policemen etc,” Aman explained. “All knew the truth, but feared for their lives and so remained silent. Mallik walked away free.”

ASR clenched his fist. If only he had his uncle before him for a minute! He would beat him to pulp and stomp him so hard that he was buried six foot under.

                                                                ***