Chapter Text
Garima Gupta, a resident of Gomti Sadan located in the congested lanes of Lucknow was the second wife of a halwai Shashi Gupta. Usually a competent lady, Garima was no longer what she was two months ago. She was stressed all the time. Her appearance reflected her burdens and the sense of defeat that surrounded her all the time. Her husband, Shashi Gupta was your regular halwai minus the paunch belly and slick tongue. He owned a small, yet popular sweet shop named ‘Swastik Mishtan Bhandar’, which was located near his house Gomti Sadan; one decent portion of the huge haveli was inhabited by mostly his clan members and a few tenants. Together the couple lived with their three daughters, Payal, Sheetal, and Khushi. Payal Gupta was the eldest daughter of Shashi Gupta and his first wife. Payal’s mother had died of cancer at a young age. The untimely demise of Payal’s mother had worried Shashi a lot, since Payal was barely two years old. Thus, Shashi Gupta had married Garima in a simple ceremony. A year later they had Sheetal, their second daughter. Their family was complete - as much as an average Indian family is without a male child - until Garima got the sad news. Her elder sister and her brother-in-law lost their lives in a car accident.
The deceased couple was returning along with their daughter from the wedding late at night, when a speeding truck crashed into their car on the highway. The crash was so severe that the truck driver and the couple died on the spot, leaving behind the only survivor Khushi, the eight years old badly injured child. While Khushi was fighting for her life in the hospital, her paternal relatives had conducted the final rites of the deceased, but collectively decided to abandon her. Thus, Khushi was casted away.
Initially, chances of Khushi surviving were little. The doctors had declared her safe only three days after she was admitted to the hospital. Upon hearing the news of an ailing female child, the relatives perceived Khushi as a bad investment and avoided her. Taking the female orphan meant getting saddled with the additional responsibilities of upbringing her and taking care of her education, marriage, and dowry.
Yet, Khushi was not abandoned.
Shashi and his wife had, like most of the relatives, attended the final rites of his late sister-in-law and brother-in-law. An inconsolable Garima had insisted upon checking on Khushi in the hospital before attending the funeral. The Gupta couple’s heart bled out for her when they saw her small frame dependent on multiple hospital equipment, fighting for her life. Shashi particularly empathised with the small survivor as he and Payal had gone through the loss of his first wife. While Garima could never replace his first wife Radhika, she was still a strong support system for both of them. Shashi decided to adopt Khushi. And Khushi Kumari, daughter of deceased Sangeeta and Vijay, became Khushi Kumari-Gupta, official family member of the Gupta clan.
The addition of Khushi to the Gupta household completed their family. A ray of sunshine, Khushi was the thread that bound them together with her antics and care. There was a strong connection of love as they had chosen each other as their family. Garima and Shashi Gupta had now only one dream left: to marry all of their daughters and get them settled in decent families before their death.
Life took a nasty turn and the family elders became obsessed with getting their daughters married quickly. Reasonably so because their eldest, Payal was jilted at the wedding altar two months ago casting a shadow on the marriage prospects of their three daughters. The groom’s family made an unreasonable demand at the last moment: Shashi Gupta must transfer the ownership of his sweet shop to Payal's groom as part of Payal’s dowry or at least pay 10 lakhs more to compensate them. The groom’s family believed, since Shashi Gupta had no sons and his youngest was adopted, his assets (his home and shop) should be equally divided between the two sisters. And because the Guptas were offering them the only half-legitimate daughter, they should compensate the groom by offering them their shop. Initially, Shashi Gupta tried to reason with them, but the groom’s family seeing the docile behaviour from the bride’s father became absolutely unruly and unreasonable. They shredded every pretense and showed unimaginable greed. Shashi Gupta had enough when they demanded either hand them the property papers of the shop now to get Payal married or exchange the bride with Sheetal with the existing dowry. Shashi broke off the marriage right then. However, the groom’s side made sure to tarnish Gupta’s reputation in their community by spreading lies about them. They called Guptas dishonest and frauds. As the rumours spread, the family’s reputation and business suffered a lot. The money they had borrowed to meet difficult demands of the groom’s family accumulated huge interest, while their wedding expenses ended up being an absolute waste. The Gupta sisters were sad and inconsolable: Payal was yet to overcome the shock of being abandoned and reduced to commodity when she was has been nothing but gentle and sweet, Sheetal had tough time wrapping her head around the unwanted wedding proposal that she had not asked for and had managed to hurt every single family member, the words and the skewed logic of the groom’s family reminded Khushi that she was and will always remain an outsider to the family. Seeing their daughters’ mental state, the family’s financial difficulties, and her husband’s struggles to manage everything, Garima worried and dreaded their future.
And Garima Gupta’s worries became her reality after a month of cancelled wedding. Her husband fell sick - had a heart attack - due to stress of dealing with the gossip mill, financial strain and at least two depressed daughters. He was now struggling to make the ends meet. Payal was in no mental state to help, Sheetal was already working in a small company in Lucknow and helping them meet their daily expenses while Khushi was still in college, in her final year had mentally withdrawn to herself. After talking to Madhumati, her husband’s widowed sister, Garima decided to send Payal with her to Delhi to mentally recover; start managing the shop with Khushi’s help and let her husband recover. Everyone readily agreed. Payal left with her buaji for Delhi when the latter had come to visit her younger brother. Sheetal had started looking for overtime and better job prospects. Khushi was found cooking sweets for the shop after relieving two of their shop workers, while her mother oversaw the accounts. In the meantime, Shashi Gupta tried to recuperate as much as possible. Things became manageable for a while with only worry being their loans.
***
One evening, Khushi and Sheetal had overheard their parents’ conversation about the financial strain that looms over their heads. Both sisters got lost in their heads while trying to figure out ways to ensure the safe sail of their family through the tough times. Khushi decided to look for work and only go to college for exams while helping out their parents at the shop - that would take care of most of the monthly expenses. She and Sheetal discussed their options. Sheetal being the only other breadwinner of the family was worried. She was forced to shoulder the majority of their family’s financial burdens, including the responsibility of paying off their debts. She had calculated that if things continued to get worse, Khushi would need to drop out of college and start working somewhere to help her with the finances. Sheetal suggested selling the shop. At least, that way they can take care of the major expenses. By that time, both of her sisters would join and their three incomes would be enough to restart their business and have some savings left for the future. Pleased with their thoughts, they decided to discuss this with the parents once Sheetal had evaluated the property’s market value and found potential buyers.
A week later, Sheetal disclosed the list of potential buyers to Khushi that she had secured from a few property dealers and colleagues. Seeing the prompt response from the market, Khushi argued with her. Partly because Khushi was worried about their finances in future since the shop was the only stable source of income for the family and partly because of its sentimental value to Khushi. The shop had helped Khushi bond with the new family after she lost her biological family, when she used to sit quietly and learn how to make various sweets. Khushi wanted her to talk about this with their parents before doing anything. However, Sheetal did not want to make any empty promises. Both sisters refuse to give up and thus come up with a compromise: Sheetal will sell the shop only after Khushi has thoroughly vetted the buyer, and they will disclose this to their parents only when Khushi is assured, something which was a win-win for all of them.
One day, Khushi was on her way to meet the first potential buyer because Sheetal was busy with the office work. Sheetal knew her sister to be a tough negotiator: she had seen Khushi bargain in her favour with their suppliers and customers. Sheetal had already forwarded the details of the meeting to Khushi: the meeting was to be held in Sheesh Mahal. A part of Sheesh Mahal was converted into a heritage hotel to afford the lavish lifestyle of the Maliks, the notorious nobles of the bygone times. Sheesh Mahal was constructed some four centuries ago and formed a close link with the elites of the city, thus it still attracted the true connoisseurs of the city even though most of the building was dilapidated. Sheetal felt half a battle was won with a good impression, hence she had deliberately scheduled the meeting there. For Sheetal this was a practical move. Unfortunately Khushi was unaware of Sheetal’s reasons hence she got caught into the grandeur of Sheesh Mahal and lost her way since it was the first time Khushi had seen anything this imposing and old.
Khushi knew about the heritage hotel and its notorious owners just as much as an average Lucknowi did, which is why she was unaware of the change in the ownership of the place that took place a few months ago and was surprised by the speedy restoration that had provided support to the dilapidating building. Sheesh Mahal was now opulent and seemed to show off its glory like it once did. She had no idea when her admiration made her forget the directions that were provided by the receptionist and she ended up in the restricted section, which was crowded by crazily running people. Khushi presumed the reason to be a collective wedding event with the amount of brides rushing around in stunning lehengas and equally splendid jewellery. Some of them were getting ready and walking towards some exit. Khushi appreciated the smart move of the organisers, afterall kanyadan was a sure way of collecting blessings and virtue. Khushi also presumed that the organisers must be some local businessmen and politicians and wondered if they intended to gain profits in business and local support. If that was the case, then the organisers would certainly benefit from it.
Mentally concluding her observations, she decided to ask someone for the directions to the place and finally meet the buyers. However, the first three people refused to listen to her. The fourth person, who was running like a panicked child, stopped in front of her only to misunderstand her when she asked for directions. He grabbed her, asked her to change, making her panic. She tried to explain, but he and the group of people that had joined him, refused to listen to her. Instead, one of them unpinned her dupatta. Khushi was shocked by this sudden move. However, before she could say something, another person made her wear a blouse over the top of her kurta, and another person had already taken off her sandals and pushed her feet in six inches high footwear. Once they had finished putting on the blouse, she tried to speak, but was turned around and two men picked her and put her in the long, heavy skirt that matched her blouse. Once done, they untied her braid and started putting on jewellery on her. Khushi felt her life flash in front of her eyes as in her heart a dreadful feeling arose. Her mind conveniently supplied that she was about to become a substitute bride. She thought, since these people are unwilling to hear her, she would run away before she is sent to the mandap and escape this. She silently let them work on her, giving them a false reassurance to slack off.
It worked in her favour, but only for a short while. She grabbed her green dupatta and ran towards the door closest to her. But to her absolute misery, her walk was slow due to the heavy clothes she was wearing and the high heels. Instead, she was herded in a different direction, with a tight hold on the green dupatta and ended up at what looked like a backstage.
They are showing off the brides. Her mind supplied. She tried to retreat, but once again, she was grabbed by similarly dressed ladies and brought forward to the long stage - the only visible portion apart from the blinding lights and flash. Khushi struggled during her walk till the end of the stage. Suddenly she was let go, making her wobble a little before she could stand on her own. In those few seconds, she realised the stage was surrounded by people, who were glaring at her. Intimidated, she turned around to run, only to trip on the forgotten dupatta in her hand, which she had somehow managed to lose during her walk and got her leg twisted in it. Her face held the look of horror as she realised that she was standing close to the edge of the stage and was about to land on the floor or on someone if they were sitting closer than she had realised.
Luckily, she did not touch the ground and was somehow suspended in the air. Unluckily, she was not suspended in the air, she was in the arms of a man, who was kind enough to intercept the disaster. Unconsciously, she grasped the lapels of his coat to gain stability, grateful for his timely action. She passed him half a smile and muttered a soft thank you, waiting for him to put her down, unaware that the man was pissed off at her. The said man turned around and walked a little further from the stage before he let her go. However, Khushi found herself being grabbed once more - this time by tall, intimidating men with security badges pinned on their chest. The security herded her to a less crowded section of Sheesh Mahal and there they locked her inside a room. This time, Khushi did not even bother protesting because it hadn’t worked in her favour till now. Instead, Khushi wondered how many times she would be manhandled in a short duration and eventually decided to take a break, pray, think and escape in the same order.
She moved away from the door to further inside the room that looked like a temporary storeroom: everything was clean and Khushi was yet to spot a cobweb or a speck of dust. But before she explored further, she took off the heavy clothes. With some difficulty, she got out of the lehenga and heels. Feeling better, she took off the jewellery before she took off the dupatta and the loose blouse. Finally, back in her own clothes, minus her sandals and her own dupatta, she felt better. Looking at the things she had discarded, she realised they were expensive and she needed to return them to avoid getting further tangled in whatever this was. After all, she did not want the bride or groom’s family to charge her with theft. She picked each and every jewellery piece, piled it on her discarded blouse. She then picked the heavy lehenga, folded it neatly. She found a spare stool on which she dumped the forcefully loaned clothes and jewellery and then neatly arranged the footwear under it. Satisfied with the work, she grabbed the fancy dupatta, the only thing she had willingly borrowed from the pile until her own was returned and left to explore the storeroom. She offered a short prayer to her favourite goddess, hoping for a quick rescue.
Upon inspection, she found a single window so close to the ceiling that it served no purpose other than bringing light into the room. She realised how much time had passed since she had stepped inside the Sheesh Mahal. She had left the college around 3pm and the sun was setting now. Must be around 5pm at least. Without her bag, which contained her money and phone, she was left to muse about how worried everyone would get at home. Her parents would wonder the reason behind her prolonged absence. Usually, her sisters would back her up. However, this time, even Sheetal would be worried since Khushi cannot take her phone call. On the top of it, the meeting must have resulted in a disaster, destroying their chance of gaining financial liberation. Thinking about all this, stressed Khushi so much that again she started praying, hoping for a miracle to make everything better.
It was dark now and Khushi was fairly afraid when the door was unlocked. A man entered and started interrogating her about her trespassing. Thankfully, he had decided to switch on the lights, which were not working earlier when Khushi tried to light the room. Khushi truthfully answered, now trying to get away from Sheesh Mahal since her family would be absolutely miserable with her absence. Already her family was going through tough times and they did not need her to cause trouble. However, her answers hardly changed anything. The man simply left her alone, locked inside. She did not know how much time had passed since then. She was hungry as she had last eaten before her meeting. She was drowsy since she had stayed awake in hopes of being allowed to leave soon and not miss out her cue. She was tired because the day’s events had taken a toll on her health since she had a busy day before her debacle at Sheesh Mahal. During her captivity, Khushi easily lost the semblance of time.
The next time the door opened, she was greeted by the sight of the man, who had intercepted her fall earlier. Seeing the kind man again, Khushi was relieved. He sported the same clothes, which comforted Khushi - it was not too late and she can still manage things at home. Khushi also noted the same blank expression and she sensed he looked quite closed off and intimidating. But her mind signaled he might be someone important to be able to enter this place easily, so she thanked him once again and pleaded her case. To her misery, the man neither addressed her concerns nor reacted to her gratitude for yesterday. She waited for the man to speak, to react but he just continued to glare at her. So much that she finally unleashed her frustration on him.
‘Done?’ The man spoke in such a deep voice, Khushi was jolted out of her verbal attack. She felt ashamed of her behaviour - to have ungratefully lashed out at him when he had been kind to her earlier. His composure and authoritative words was enough to make her quiet and attentive to him. The guilt of her own crude behaviour from a few seconds ago compelled her to avoid eye contact, but her subdued appearance indicated she was listening.
‘Jis tarah se tum restricted section mein ghusi aur tumne mera fashion show kharab kara, tumhe dekh kar toh yahi lagta hai ki tum afat ho. Ya toh tumhe ye sab karke bohot maza ataa hai kyunki tum har baar khud ko bacha leti hogi ya phir tum aisa kar ke paise ainthti hogi.’ ‘The way you barged in the restricted section, you gatecrashed my fashion show and managed to successfully sabotage it. You are a walking disaster. I wonder if you are doing this deliberately because you can get away with it and enjoy the power trip it gives or you are extorting money from such situations.’
Khushi took a while to understand what he was saying. And when she did, she was extremely angry. How can anyone accuse a stranger so harshly? ‘Toh aapko lagta hai hum paise ainthte hain logo se jabki galati aapke logon ki thi jo apni manmarzi karte rehte hain. Humne aapke logon ko samjhaya tha ki unko galatfehmi ho gayi hai. Woh humein mandap laa rahe the jabki hum toh shaadi karna bhi nahi chahte!’ ‘You think I am extorting money when it was your people who did whatever. I told your people that they misunderstood me. They were bringing me to the mandap when I did not even want to get married!’
‘Tumhe lagta hai ki tumhari shadi ho rahi thi?’ ‘You think you were getting married?’ The man arched a brow, bemused by the audacity of Khushi to lie so blatantly at his face.
Khushi answered confidently. ‘Aur nahi toh kya, warna aur kahan milengi itni saari dulhanein? Humein malum hai ki har saal ki tarah, iss saal bhi koi arthik roop se asamarth parivaron ki ladkiyon ke liye samuhik vivah ka aayojan kar raha hai. Par iska matlab ye toh nahi ki aap kisi bhi ladki ki shadi uski marzi ke bina hi karwa de apne target numbers match karne ke liye. Aise thodi na punya kamaya jata hai. Aur jab bechari ladki zabardasti wali shadi na kare toh aapke log kisi aur ladki to apne pachde mein gaseetein. Kya uul-julool harkat hai ye!’ ‘Of course, where else would anyone find so many brides? I know like every year, this year too, someone is organising community marriages for women from disadvantaged backgrounds, but that does not mean you marry a girl forcefully to meet your target number. This is not how you gain virtue. And when the poor girl avoids the forceful marriage, your people drag another unwilling girl into your mess. What a Blasphemy!’
The man was exasperated by Khushi’s words. He harshly shouted at her. ‘Tumhare jhooth ki koi hadd nahi hai. Tum dawaa kar rahi ho ye fashion show nahi balki koi community marriage event hai gareeb ladkiyon ke liye. Tumhe lagta hai tum bahut tez dimag ho par mujhe lagta hai ki tumne ye sab jaan boojh kar kiya. Tum mujhe apne backer ka naam aur apni keemat batao. I promise to pay you twice the amount you say.’ ‘Your lies are limitless. You claim that the fashion show is some random communal wedding event for poor girls. You might think you are ingenious, but now I believe you conspired to deliberately sabotage my fashion show. Tell me the name of your backer and your price. I promise to pay you twice the amount you say.’
Khushi thought this man had some functional brain cells, after all he managed to save her. But her recent verbal exchange was proving otherwise. He reminded her of the patronising customers at the sweet shop, who thought they could cheat on her because she was a young, sweet girl. She did what she does when she encounters such people: explain things in a condescending manner.
‘Aapka dimag kharab hai kya? Itni saari ladkiyan shaadi ke jode mein asli gehne pehene hue - aap humein bewakoof banane ki koshish mein hai. Ye fashion show nahi ho sakta. Humein pata hai fashion mein saste kapde aur bekaar silaye wali cheezein istemaal hoti hain - itne bawaal ho chuke hai fashion mein kacchi silaye se kapde phatne par. Sirf isliye ki stage saja hai jahan dulhanein ek-ek karke chal kar aayeingi taaki unko accha lage, unki tasveerein acchi aayein - isse ye fashion show nahi bann jata. Waise bhi Lucknow mein fashion show nahi ho sakta. Humein bewakoof mat banaiye, janab. Humara sheher khane-peene ka sheher hai, tehzeeb aur riwajon ka sheher hai, Mumbai ke shehri pagalpan ka nahi. Usko bewakoof banao jisko duniya-daari na pata ho! Samjhe?’ ‘Are you out of your mind? With so many girls dressed in wedding garb and authentic jewellery, you must be fooling me. There is no way this is a fashion show. I know fashion shows have clothes of cheap quality - there are too many scandals of clothes coming off because of the bad quality of stitches. Just because a stage is set up to make the brides walk one-by-one like in a fashion show to make them feel important and obviously to take good pictures of the bride does not make it a fashion show. Besides this, there is no way a fashion show will happen in Lucknow. Don’t try to fool me, mister. Our city is a city of food, culture and traditions and not of the urban craze of Mumbai. Try fooling someone who is not street smart! Understood?’
‘Tum itni zyada bewakoof ho ki mujhe tumhe bewakoof banane ki koi zarurat nahi. Tumne aisa soch bhi kaise liya ki main tumhare in stupid claims aur usse bhi zyada stupid logic se impress ho jaunga? Get out now. I swear on my pride, main is sab ke bare mein sab kuch pata laga kar rahunga aur jo bhi involved hai, usko iski keemat chukani padegi.’ ‘You are a fool enough that I need not bother with the efforts. How did you even think I would be impressed by your stupid claims and stupider logic? Get out now. I swear on my pride, I will find everything about this and make sure whoever is involved will pay the price for it.’
Khushi was irritated by this man’s words but was relieved that she could leave. She really needed to return home. ‘Chale jayenge. Humein rukne ka koi shauk nahi hai. Humein humara saman - humara purse, humara dupatta aur humari jootiyan lauta dijiye, hum chale jayenge.’ I will leave. I am not interested in staying back either. Return my things - my purse, my dupatta and my sandals - I will leave then.’
The man signals to someone, who brings Khushi’s belongings and Khushi hurriedly takes all the things, cross checks them and then replaces the heavy, embroidered dupatta with her own, light green one. She slips her feet in her favourite footwear and is ready to leave. But one glance on her phone, she is shocked to know that it is 4 am. She shrieks in horror as she was officially missing for more than half a day. Her family would be in a miserable state, much more after the recent series of misfortunes they had suffered. In her panic, she started ranting loudly, creating a rift and misunderstanding between herself and the other person inside the room so much that within a short span, the duo were engaged in a verbal spat that escalated to the point where the man grabbed her harshly and jolted her. Khushi struggled to break free from his painful grip and managed to maintain a safe distance at the cost of tripping into the pillar next to her. She suddenly realised that she was now standing in the corridor of Sheesh Mahal as the room she was locked in did not contain any pillar. Before she could stand without support, she was grabbed by her hand and pulled in the arms of the man she was arguing with.
‘Main tumhare saath kya kar sakta hu, iska tumhe andaza bhi nahi hai.’ ‘You have no idea of what I can do with you.’
Khushi was helpless as her right hand was now twisted behind her back and her other hand was trapped between their bodies in her hopes of maintaining the gap between the two. Unfortunately, she could not do much as she felt his other hand on her nape, which was neither covered by her kurta, nor her dupatta. A shock ran in her body, when she realised the weight of the hand on her skin. She felt the hand turn into a fist and tug the thick pearl dori so forcefully that she was certain that some part of her skin was also ripped along with the kurta.
‘Main tumhe warn kar raha hu. Apni aukaat se zyada wale logon se panga mat lo. Aur ye baat tum apne dimag mein acche se bitha lo. Tumne galat insaan se panga liya hai. Tumne, mera yani Arnav Singh Raizada ka fashion show kharab kiya hai. Tumari himmat aur itni acchi prep ki main daad deta hu - after all, meri team bhi tumhare baare kuch khaas pata nahi laga payi - isliye sirf warning de raha hu. Agar pir kabhi mere raaste mein aayi, toh uska khamiyaza bohot bura hoga.’ ‘I am warning you. Do not try to mess with people beyond your status. You better impress this on your mind. You messed with the wrong person here. You messed up with my, Arnav Singh Raizada’s fashion show. I appreciate your ability to pull such a stunt and to amuse me with your extensive prep - even my team failed to find dirt on you - I am just letting you off with a warning. If you ever cross paths with me, there will be terrible consequences.’
With that he pushed her away. Khushi was uncertain of the damage done to her dress, so she unclipped her long thick tresses to hide the tear.
‘Jab aapne humein stage se neeche girne se bachaya, tab humein laga ki aap bahut suljhe hue, acche insaan hai, jo sab samajhte hain aur sahi karte hain. Par aapki iss harkat ke baad humein samajh aya ki aap bahut hi battameez insaan hain. Humara din hi kharab tha jo humare saath aisa hua, pata nahi aaj ka din kaisa jayega, subah-subah aapki shakal jo dekh li.’ ‘When you prevented my fall from the stage, I thought you were quite a simple and nice person, someone who understands everything and does the right thing. However, after this act of yours, I have learnt that you are quite ill-mannered. It was my bad day to have gone through so much. I wonder how my day will go when the first thing I have seen today is your face.’
With the statement, she ran away from the place hoping she would get some transport at this time to reach home soon. She walked through the quiet road in the direction of Charbagh railway station, the only place where she can safely hail an auto from.
Needless to say, Khushi’s return was not easily overlooked. The first thing Garima had done when she saw Khushi at the doorsteps was to deliver three sharp slaps before she could say, ‘Amma’. She would have continued to slap Khushi had not Sheetal and some chachis of her neighbourhood not separated them. Her arrival had woken up the entire locality. Everyone gossiped about her when she remained tightlipped about her absence. It was not long before, people attributed her ill-manners to the absence of biological parents, treating her as incapable of loving, caring, or even using a moral compass. None tried to ask her reasons.
Sheetal was miserable. She knew the elders, be it ladies or the men from their neighbourhood, none can be stopped when they let their tongues lose. It had already happened once when their sister’s wedding procession had gone back without conducting the marriage. She simply ran inside and woke up her father, who was sleeping because of his medicines (their mother had forced the medicines worried his health will turn worse). A groggy Shashi Gupta took a few minutes to reorient himself with his reality: one of his daughters was missing and there was a huge ruckus happening outside. He turned towards his younger daughter questioningly. Sheetal swiftly answered his questions. Shashi hurried out of his room and a single glance in Khushi’s direction revealed she had suffered.
He stopped his angry and worried wife. He pulled Garima inside, signalling her to calm down. When Garima refused, he asserted his dominance as the man of the house and ordered her to go inside. Next, he turned towards Sheetal, and insisted that she take Khushi to their room. He addressed his helpful neighbours with a bowed head and joined hands. Shashi thanked them for their support through the difficult times and apologised for troubling them before he shut the door and went to see his family members.
Once inside the house, away from the prying eyes, Shashi found Khushi being scolded by Garima while Sheetal was trying to support Khushi her best. He joined them after a short trip from the kitchen with two glasses of water: he handed one each to Garima and Khushi. Two women drank water when Shashi gently encouraged them, bringing a momentary relief. Once done, he asked Khushi about her whereabouts. Khushi looked in the direction of Sheetal seeking her consent and when the latter nodded, to reveal everything, Khushi summarized the reason behind the scheduled meeting and the events that happened up to the point when she was locked. Garima, now worried for Khushi indirectly asks her if someone misbehaved with her during her captivity. Khushi lied to her parents, insisting nothing happened except that her kurta was torn when the people who misunderstood her carelessly handled it during her walk on the stage. Both Gupta elders scold their daughters and decide to take the matter of selling their shop in their hands and let the daughters have a room to breathe instead of juggling too many responsibilities.
Thoroughly chastised, the two daughters went to their room to get ready for the day and Garima hurriedly headed to the kitchen to cook for the daughter, who had not eaten anything since afternoon. Though Sheetal was relieved after seeing Khushi, the same could not be said about Khushi. For the whole day, her mood fluctuated to the extremes. First, she was angry at the latest events of her life and she blamed it on her hunger. Then she was annoyed by the ill-manners and audacity of Arnav Singh Raizada: she thought his audacity was unfounded even if he has a three-lettered name. Then she was obsessed by his contradictory ways: one moment, he was gentle with her when he had caught her in his arms, held her till she opened her eyes and gained her balance, put her down when she could stand on her own, then she recalled the moment when he had accused her falsely and called her names. She blamed her obsession on the low levels of sugar in her system and went ahead to cook sweets for herself. But even her sweets failed to prevent her from thinking about how he had unceremoniously grabbed her upper arms to push her away only to grab her right wrist and twist it behind her back as he tore off a part of her kurta. Khushi did not understand why she would relieve the moment with so many vivid details and why she would feel his hands were still on her now as if they had imprinted their mark upon her skin. She decided a visit to the temple might hold some answers. But no temple stays open during the afternoons, so she traced her steps to the nearby dargah to settle her mind.
The visit had settled her mind enough to take major decisions. And Khushi decided to teach the stupid Arnav a lesson in etiquette next time she sees him. As if the gods were being generous, they offered the chance to Khushi on a silver platter immediately. Arnav was in the dargah like her, to offer his prayers. Khushi wondered if the guy was from Lucknow because only locals knew of this dargah and how to reach it. She kept an eye on him, observing him. He was accompanied by the man that had interrogated her, the neat looking guy. The latter seemed like his assistant with the way he was rushing ahead of Arnav and providing him things - the cloth to cover his head, rushed to drop his footwear in the designated place, directing him to the place to wash his hands and legs, buy the flowers, cover, spare change, the promise threads - everything was provided eagerly yet it did not look like bootlicking to Khushi. Khushi could sense the other guy was doing it genuinely as if it mattered to him that things reached Arnav on time.
When Khushi saw him about to leave, she hurriedly ran in his direction to stop him but instead managed to crash into him.
‘Tum?’ ‘You?’ Arnav spat it the moment he noticed who crashed into him.
‘Aap!’ ‘You!’ Khushi had enough sense of self-preservation to reply in the same tone.
‘Tum yahan kya kar rahi ho?’ ‘What are you doing here?’ Arnav demanded because his logical brain was telling this girl was a stalker.
‘Wahi jo aap karne aaye hain. Dargah par ibadat karne aur mannat mangne.’ ‘The same thing you are here for. To pray and seek blessings.’
‘Really? Toh tum mera peecha nahi kar rahi?’ ‘Really? So you aren’t following me?’ Arnav glared at the chit, who was trying to be smart with him.
‘Nahi.’ ‘No.’ Khushi replied curtly.
‘I don’t believe you unless you prove otherwise!’ Arnav demanded.
Hearing Arnav’s response, Khushi finally let go of her self control and scolded him, ‘Kya? Hum sabit karein ki hum sach bol rahe hain? Bilkul bhi nahi. Aap ke logon aur aapki wajah se hamari pareshani badh gayi, lekin maafi mangne ki jagah aap humpar ilzaam laga kar, humse badtameezi kar ke, humein hi suna rahein hain!’ ‘What? I prove that I am speaking the truth? Absolutely not. Because of you and your people my troubles multiplied, but instead of apologising you blamed me, misbehaved with me, only to taunt me some more!’ Khushi let her anger return.
And before Arnav could speak back, Khushi passionately continued, ‘Kaise insaan hai aap jisko logon se kaise pesh aana hai, ye tak nahi malum? Kya yahi seekha hai aapne? Aur kya lagta hai aapko, ki aapko koi kuch nahi kahega aur aap bach nikloge? Aapko duniya mein bohot bachane wale milenge, aapki galtiyon par parda dalne wale milenge, par hum aise nahi hai. Hum aapko aise nahi jaane denge. Aapne Humare sath badtameezi ki, hum bhi aapke saath wahi karenge. Iss bar badtameezi sirf humari zabaan karegi, kyunki aapko hath lagane se humare haath gande ho jayenge!’ ‘What kind of a person you are who doesn’t know how to behave with people around them? Is this what you have learned in your life? And you think you can get away with it? Well you might have gotten away with it, but I will not let go of this matter so easily. You humiliated me by doing that, right. I will pay you back in kind. I will humiliate you with words because I don’t want to taint myself by touching you!’
Khushi was now in full form. She was encouraged by the sparks of anger she felt the man emanate and the man accompanying him still and flash fear. She was satisfied with the outcome. Deciding to end it here for once and all, she delivered the final statement, which was a mix bag of insults and advice. ‘Aap sirf acche kapde pehen lene se sharif nahi ban jaoge. Theek vaise hi daulat aapko dusaron se bada nahi banati ya aapko dusaro se badtameezi karne ka haq nahi deti. Aur agar aapko ye nahi samajh aya, toh apne parivaar ke paas jao, usne tameez seekho. Aur agar unko bhi nahi malum, toh waqt aa gaya hai ke aap tameezdar logon ke samajh mein rehne, baat karne ka qaida seekhne ka safar tai kar le. Namaste!’ ‘Just because you are well-dressed, doesn’t make you civilised. The same way wealth doesn’t make you superior or grant you the right to abuse anyone. And if you don’t understand this, it is time to go back to your family and learn basic manners. And if even they don’t know what to teach, then it is time for you to go on a quest to find decent people to teach you the essentials of behaving well in a society. Good day!’
‘Tumse pehle bhi kaha tha, badtameezi toh maine abhi shuru bhi nahi ki hai. Main kya kar sakta hu, iska tumhe andaza bhi nahi hai. Aur jo tumne abhi mere parivaar ke, aur mere bare mein kahan, bohot bhaari padega tumhe. Yaad rakhna.’ ‘I have already told you, I haven’t misbehaved yet. You have no idea of what I am capable of doing. It will cost you an arm and leg for what you have said about me and my family. Remember it.’ Arnav promised in an ominous voice, while silently vowing to make the girl seek him and take back her words.
Khushi left the place, not paying heed to his promise. She felt light and happy. She decided to cook a scrumptious meal tonight. Partly, to appease her parents, and partly to celebrate her light heart. She had no idea a terrible storm awaited her.
It took exactly three days for Khushi to realise what terrible thing had happened to her. A video of her tripping down from the stage was being flashed by every channel as a sensational page three news. The video featured her falling in the arms of the rising ‘king’ of the fashion industry. The video became infamous on the second day, when people managed to recognise her and started talking about her and the family in hushed tones. Her parents were really angry at her. She was scolded, her babuji criticized and amma thrashed her with anything she could get her hands on. Poor Sheetal, who tried to intercept, also got several hits for encouraging Khushi’s unruly behaviour. But this was not all. On the third day, when Khushi and her mother were returning from the local market after shopping for the essentials, Khushi was catcalled by some rascals. Garima initially tried to stop the boys, but they were unrelenting to her words. A worried Garima made a phone call to her husband at home and requested him to help them in the market, fearing the matter might escalate.
By the time Shashi arrived at the market, Khushi was surrounded by the five goons, who were catcalling and trying to disrobe her. And there was a crowd watching the entire scene with sheer indifference. Shashi tried to take her away, but the men now obsessed with Khushi had managed to injure Shashi and withheld the parents while they advanced upon Khushi. Thankfully, a kind man who later introduced himself as Shyam, helped Khushi. He not only protected Khushi from the assault, but also lodged FIR on behalf of Khushi against the men for physical assault, attempt at sexual harassment and disrupting the public law and order. The family was skeptical until Shyam told that he was a lawyer by profession. His generosity did not end here. He took the family to the nearest clinic to get their wounds treated after the incident and dropped them home later in the evening. Within a week, Shyam became an important part of their lives.
Shyam was there when Shashi had received a phone call from Khushi’s to-be-in-laws’ place to break her marriage alliance with Ankur because of her viral video in circulation and the long disappearance on the same night. Shyam was there when Shashi’s health deteriorated. And he was the one who suggested Garima send her daughters away to the house of a trusted relative till the issue died down.
Guptas, grateful for Shyam’s help, really thought about the suggestion. Garima understood that none would let her daughters marry into a respectable family after the fiasco. She discussed with her sister-in-law Madhumati and together, the ladies decided the Guptas must relocate to another city for their daughters’ better future no matter how thin the hope might be. Finally, it is decided that Khushi will leave for Delhi first and stay with Madhumati and the rest of the family would join her and Payal after wrapping up their matters in Lucknow. A scared Khushi travelled alone for the first time outside of the city. She felt she was driven out of the city like an exile. Thankfully, Payal and Pam were waiting for her at the railway station. So when Khushi reached Delhi, it was no longer lonely. Khushi was looking forward to meeting buaji and her cousins Parmeshwari and Simran, who could not pay her a visit during Payal’s fiasco of a wedding due to not getting leave from their workplace.
EXTRAS: CHAPTER I When His Heart Behaved Inappropriately
Sheesh Mahal was bustling that night with lights and music and glamour; afterall, it was a fashion show where The Arnav Singh Raizada was introducing his specially curated Bridal Dress collection. The stage was set, esteemed guests were already seated and then began the ramp walk where, one by one, models walked out showcasing the beautiful attires from the collection. Arnav Singh Raizada, who people called ASR, was a scary perfectionist, no imperfection ever escaped his notice, and that generally made people nervous. The knowledge of this fact made the backstage scene quite intense and slightly chaotic.
Uncaring of the on-going madness, sitting at the front of the ramp, Arnav was quietly contemplating his future. He had achieved everything he had ever coveted in his life. His entire world revolved around his family, especially his Anjali di. Every wound that life had inflicted on them, he had healed it:
he had avenged his parents infamy by becoming the fashion icon,
he had avenged his sister’s jilted wedding by getting her married to the top lawyer,
He bought back all the property that he, his sister and his his maternal family were cheated of their rightful inheritance - Sheesh Mahal being last of those properties.
And there was nothing to look forward to, except for his di’s children.
That’s for later, his mind reminded him and nagging him to focus on the bridal collection, he dedicated to his di. Looking at the models walking on the ramp, he had a sudden epiphany: everything was too easy and predictable for him. He let out a sigh channeling his boredom, exhaustion, and his enthusiasm towards the monotonous future. He closed his eyes to tune out his surroundings and seriously pondered on his alternatives to avoid monotony.
Should he acquire a hobby? The thought popped up in his mind.
“Hey devi maiyya”
The loud utterance projected a sharp contrast to the atmosphere of the fashion show. The soft murmur died, the music felt haunting as it was no longer accompanied by the rhythmic walks of models or occasional comments of the host. Arnav came out of his thoughts. He opened his eyes and found staring at an unfamiliar woman clumsily walking down the ramp. Unlike the theme of the night, she was dressed in garish green and golden laces, a complete contrast to his sophisticated red. He watched her with anger in his eyes because it was clearly an attempted sabotage by one of his competitors. Thoroughly pissed at the incompetence of his own employees, he stood up from his only to find himself catching the clumsy girl, who had tripped at the end of her ramp walk. They locked eyes, among the flashing lights of cameras, capturing this very moment. And then his heartbeat stuttered before it began beating wildly. Arnav Singh Raizada knew there it was, his new challenge.
***
The next time Arnav met her, it was at the Dargah. Arnav was visiting Dargah upon his di’s insistence. They almost missed each other, but fate intervened. Arnav found a lone dupatta blowing on his face; it belonged to her. Khushi, his mind supplied, this girl sabotaged your show and insulted your di. He had his own prejudices, which he wanted to let go off. However, his tongue betrayed him and said harsh words. She was unaware of the tears in her eyes; perhaps they reflected the wounds of their earlier encounter. His heart beat was stuttering in irritation - how dare she provoke him without an ounce of self-preservation. He let her speak her mind without interrupting her. He was busy dissecting what unsettled him the most - was it her audacity to speak to him despite his misbehaviour with her or was it her teary eyes as she insulted him. He tried to put together an apology once but when Khushi insulted her sister and late mother, he was pissed. She had clearly crossed his bottom line. And retaliation was inevitable.