135. OS 3: ASR's Heart

OS 3: ASR’s Heart 

(Smitha Radhakrishnan, my dear friend, your pics rock!)

Section 1

ASR looked at the many machines attached to his Nani who was lying exhausted on the hospital bed, her head on the white pillow.

He then moved closer to the window and looked out.

 It was raining cats and dogs. The darkness was relieved only by street lamps, the lights of vehicles and the light emanating from the small heart clinic near Shantivan they had rushed Nani to as soon as she had suffered a mild attack three days back.

'Nani...if she had died...' The thought resounded in his head, bringing with it an ache that wouldn't quit.

“Bhai,” Akash’s voice recalled him from his morbid thoughts.

He turned to look at his brother.

 Akash pushed his specs higher on his nose and said, “Bhai, should we move Dadi to a larger hospital?”

Arnav drew in  a deep breath. “She is out of the Intensive Care Unit now and in a room. Let’s see what the doctor says when he visits tomorrow.”

“Let her remain here. Dr. Prakash Sinha is a very good cardiologist, Arnav bitwaa. I have known him for years. Don’t be misled by the small size of his medical centre. Amma is in the best of hands,” Mamaji soothed them.

Arnav and Akash nodded.

“Arnav bitwaa, have some coffee,” Mami called, holding out a steaming cup.

Arnav shook his head in refusal.

“Chotey, go home with Akash and take some rest. You have been here for three days. We will stay here at night,” Anjali offered. “Nani will sleep all night anyway.”

“I will wait,” Arnav said. “Akash, take Mamaji home.”

“Bitwaa, I will stay here,” Mamaji said. “If Amma wakes up at night...”

“Bhai, I will stay with you,” Akash, the Laxman refused to budge an inch from his Ram.

Arnav nodded, not having expected anything else from him.

Mamaji and Mami sat down on the chairs in the room, Mami curling her legs beneath her. Akash sat by a teary-eyed Anjali and began to clean his specs thoughtfully. Arnav took one last look at a sleeping Nani and left the room.

Section 2

He walked out in to the corridor lit by dim hospital lights and sat down on one of the sturdy benches placed against the wall for visitors. He looked at the shut door of the room accommodating his Nani.

‘She doesn’t deserve this; she deserves better,’ he thought. ‘Poor Nani. She had to see her husband die, her daughter and son-in-law commit suicide, her grandson turn in to a monster...What a terrible, terrible life for a moral, God-loving, upright lady,’ he mused, hanging his head in defeat. He had tried so hard to keep his family insulated from potential troubles, from financial ruin, from public humiliation, from everything his father had put them through...and in the process turned in ASR who could utter cutting statements to his family and hurt them.

He drew a deep breath of regret.

He had succeeded in protecting his family, but he was powerless against death. All his money could not buy his Nani an extra day of life, an extra moment, a breath...He felt his throat close with tears he could not shed before his family that looked up to him, that considered him a rock, that expected him to shoulder all burdens...

 He saw someone walk by him and sit beside him on his bench through the corner of his eyes, his preoccupied mind not really registering the presence of the intruder till he heard a sniff.

He looked towards the stranger and blinked his eyes in shock. It was a girl, a young girl, maybe 20 or 22 years old. Dressed in a rich pink flowing anarkali with silver designs on it, she looked as though she had wandered in to the hospital from some function. Her hair was elaborately plaited with jasmine flowers dotting the dark, silky fall. Heavy pearl earrings swung against her slender, finely-formed neck that had a choker and pearl necklace delineating its attractive expanse.

As he watched, she drew in a deep breath and wiped her cheeks on the back of her hand.

“Kya hua?” he asked unwillingly, his husky voice carrying in the stillness of the hospital corridor.

The girl looked up and Arnav gasped silently. Her eyes were astoundingly beautiful even when swimming with tears and slightly reddened by copious weeping.

“Babuji...” she whispered, trying to stem her tears.

“Your father is here?” ASR asked softly.

“Yes,” she wept.

ASR nodded, somehow comforted by the fact that there were other people in the world crying their hearts out for their loved ones in danger, waiting in hospitals for their family members to open their eyes. He drew in a deep breath and looked at her.

“What happened to him?” the ASR who was known for not poking his shapely nose in to other people’s lives, asked.

“Doctor sahib said Babuji had a heart attack, a chota one,” she said.

“Oh,” ASR responded. What else could he say?

“It would have been a miracle if he didn’t have an attack,” the girl sobbed. “When I get my hands around his neck, I will...” A militant gleam appeared in her wet eyes.

ASR frowed, perplexed. Sorrow he could understand. But why did she want to kill her father even as she was crying for his well-being?

“You want to strangle your Babuji?” he asked.

The girl looked at him, not in the least put out by his question. “No, not my Babuji. My Babuji is a gem of a man, a gentleman, a man of his word. I want to kill Abhishek, the worm, the lying toad, the spineless, greedy, good-for-nothing rascal...”

“I see,” he murmured.

“No, you don’t. But you will see now when I explain how things are. Aap hi sochiye, how will you feel if Abhishek comes with his family to your house and says that he wants to marry your daughter? That they are very fond of her? That they have been looking hard for a bahu just like her, sanskaari, well-behaved, responsible?” the girl asked.

ASR tried to speak and then gave up the attempt. The girl waited, her eager eyes on his face. He finally asked the question haunting him. “You?”

The girl snorted. “Me? Will anyone call me sanskaari, well-behaved or responsible? Will any man come to my house and ask Babuji for my hand? Buaji always says that Babuji will have to go from house to house in Lucknow and beg some man to marry his sanki Khushi, his parmeswari, his bhooleshwari devi.”

ASR drew in a relieved breath. “Then?” he asked.

“My Jiji, Payal. By the way, I am Khushi,” she enlightened him.

“I know,” he said.

“How do you know my name?” Khushi asked, her head cocked, looking exactly like a curious bird.

ASR felt a small smile threatening to appear on his lips. “You said your name just now,” he reminded her.

“I did?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Acha? If you say so, I must have said it. Anyway, how will you feel if Abhishek wants to, no, is eager to marry your daughter?” she asked. “Especially when he is educated and is working in some big company in Delhi?”

ASR gave the expected answer, “Happy.”

“Yes. Babuji enquired about them. Everyone said that they belong to a good, respectable family. Respectable!” Khushi ground her teeth in anger.

“What did they do?” ASR asked.

“Poochiye what they didn't do. Babuji asked them if they wanted dowry. They said they were against the practice of taking or giving dowry. Their only demand was that the wedding should be held in Delhi,” Khushi began. “We came to Delhi and staying with Buaji in Laxmi Nagar, Babuji booked a grand venue for the wedding, invited all relations and friends, arranged buses and train tickets and accommodation for all the guests from Lucknow, fixed the caterers and the decorators....” she sighed heavily.

ASR looked at her pensive features for a moment and asked, “Phir kya hua?”

“Hona kya tha? Today, that scoundrel phoned one hour before he was to arrive at the wedding venue and demanded 5 crores as dowry,” she fumed.

“Unbelievable!” ASR was moved in to exclaiming.

“You don’t believe me?” Wounded eyes looked in to his.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” ASR rushed to explain. “I believe you. It is just that I find his gall unbelievable.”

Khushi sighed. “It was time for the wedding. Jiji was dressed and ready. We were waiting to receive the groom. Relations were eager to meet him and his family. Then Babuji announced that the wedding had been cancelled. Everyone...all were upset...they asked him for the reason...Jiji began crying....people began to say that she was unlucky, that once she had been abandoned at the mandap, no other groom would want to marry her...Then...then Babuji began to sweat...he clutched his chest....” Tears ran down Khushi’s cheeks.

ASR stared helplessly at a weeping Khushi, his head filled with images of a similar scene starring his Di. Then slowly, to take her mind off the tragedy, he said, “You were right.”

Khushi looked at him.

“You should strangle him..that Abhishek,” ASR said.

Fury transformed her face. “Not just strangle him. I will kill him and dance on his remains,” she claimed.

ASR lowered his head to hide his smile.

Section 3

“Babuji is in the ICU,” Khushi informed ASR. “Doctor Sahib said we have to wait for him to wake up.”

ASR nodded. “Then they will shift him to a room,” he added.

Khushi looked at him. “What is your name?” she asked.

“Arnav Singh Raizada,” he sighed. There was no pride in his statement.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him.

“My Nani had an attack three days back. She was in the ICU, but is now in a room here,” he said, pointing to his Nani’s room with his head.

“Oh..” Empathy flooded her cry. “I hope she can leave the hospital soon.”

ASR nodded but sat, his shoulders hunched, his hands linked and held between his knees.

“Why are you sad? Nani is better, isn’t she?” Khushi asked.

He nodded. “She is better, but I put her in the hospital,” he sighed.

“What else can you do if she has an attack? You have to admit her in a hospital,” Khushi defended Arnav.

ASR smiled slightly.

 “I caused her to have an attack,” he then confessed to the slip of a girl.

Khushi’s mouth fell open in an Awww.

“I argued with her,” he  said, ashamed of himself. “She—she wanted me to do her bidding. I refused. She was upset. A few hours later, she had an attack.”

Khushi frowned. “So you normally don’t argue with her? You obey her always?”

He looked at her, surprised. Then he said, “I rarely agree with her. We never see eye-to-eye. I don’t know why she is so—so rigid, traditional in her views. That gets my goat. It is always what will people say, what will society think, what I should be doing...the arguments—the fights have been particularly bitter this year.”

“Why?” Khushi asked freely, feeling no shame in probing in to his life.

“She wants me to get married,” Arnav confided.

Khushi looked at him in surprise.

“Every evening this year, she has been trying to force me to look at photos of girls and pick one. I finally lost it three days back. I told her that I had no intention of ever getting married,” he said.

“She didn’t know?” Khushi asked.

Arnav frowned at her.

“She didn’t know that you have no plans to marry?” Khushi asked.

“Of course she knows. I have been telling her daily this year while flinging away the photos unseen,” he clarified.

“Then it wasn’t news to her when you told her three days back. Why should she have an attack hearing something you have been telling her daily?” Khushi asked reasonably.

Arnav stared at her, his mouth open.

“It was not your fault, Arnavji. Your Nani must be in her seventies, right?” she asked.

“Yes,” Arnav nodded.

“She must have had an attack because her heart is tired of beating,” Khushi explained. Suddenly she frowned, “Arnavji, where are your parents?”

“Dead,” he said shortly.

“Who looked after you? Your Nani?” she asked.

“Yes. My Di, my cousin, Akash, Mama and Mami too live with us,” he answered.

“They are kind?” she asked.

“Very,” he said.

“Does Nani think that your Mami is capable of looking after you? Or does she personally take care of you?” Khushi asked.

Images flashed through his mind. Nani bringing him milk with haldi when he had been caught in a downpour, Nani making Mathura aloo for him, Nani holding poojas for him, Nani scolding him when he attended Aman’s calls during meal times...

“She thinks that only she is capable of taking care of me,” Arnav smiled slightly.

“Maybe...” Khushi hesitated.

“Yes?” ASR asked.

“Maybe she was fussing about your marriage this year because she already knew that she was not well...” Khushi paused.

His eyes sharpened. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly called his family physician.

“Dr. Navin, I called to let you know that Nani has been hospitalised,” ASR began.

“Her heart?” the doctor asked. “Did she have an attack?”

“Yes,” ASR said. “How did you guess?”

“The ECG report was abnormal. I prescribed medicines for her,” the doctor said.

“I..we didn’t know,” ASR said.

“Don’t feel bad about that,” the doctor smiled. “She is one smart, independent lady. If she doesn’t want you to know, you won’t know.”

ASR drew in a deep breath.

“I think she didn’t want to take an appointment at the cardiologist’s and alarm you. Where have you admitted her now?” asked the doctor.

“At Dr. Prakash Sinha’s centre,” ASR replied.

“He is the best. She will get the care she needs. Don’t worry about her,” the doctor said. “Just make sure that she is stress-free, happy. And ensure that she takes her pills and goes for regular check-ups.”

“I will,” ASR promised before cutting the call.

He turned to look at Khushi.

“Thank you,” he whispered in gratitude.

“What did I do?” Khushi asked in all seriousness.

“She was already sick. She hid it from us,” he murmured.

“Didn’t want to worry you, I guess. All of them are like this. My Buaji has asthma. She always hides her breathlessness till she can’t any longer. She hates to worry us,” Khushi said.

Arnav smiled at her, relieved.

Section 4

“Khushi,” came the call.

Khushi and Arnav looked up to see Payal walking towards them.

They stood up, anxious about Babuji’s fate.

“Babuji opened his eyes, Khushi. He asked after you,” Payal’s eyes were filled with glad tears.

Khushi looked at Arnav, her eyes spilling tears of happiness. She ran along the corridor towards the ICU. Payal and Arnav followed.

Arnav looked through the glass to see Khushi hugging a smiling, middle-aged man and crying rivers over him.

“Hai Re Nandkisore!” a middle-aged lady exclaimed. “You will flood and drown my Sasi babua, Titliya. Chodo usse and wipe your face. You look like  a witch with all that kajal running down your cheeks.”

Arnav watched another beautiful middle-aged lady smile at the jibe. Must be Khushi’s mother and Buaji, Arnav thought.

Khushi came out in a few minutes, beaming.

“Arnavji, this is my Jiji, Payal. Jiji, this is Arnavji, my friend,” she made the introductions.

Arnav and Payal greeted each other.

Buaji and Garima joined them. Khushi introduced Arnav as her friend to them.

“Arnav bitwaa, this sanka devi did not talk your ear off, did she?” Buaji asked anxiously.

Khushi groaned in embarrassment.

Arnav smiled. “No, Buaji.”

“Babua, she didn’t cry all over you, did she?” Garima asked.

Khushi glared at her Amma.

“No,” Arnav smiled.

“She loves her Babuji more than her own life,” Garima explained.

“Even though he is not her real father and Garima is only her aunt, Khussi loves and worships Sasi babua,” Buaji explained.

“Her parents?’ Arnav asked through a choked throat, stealing a glance at a sober Khushi.

“Dead,” Garima sighed. “My sister and Jiju were in an accident. Khussi was eight then.”

Arnav swallowed hard.

“Bhai,” Akash came looking for him and stopped short at the sight of Payal.

The Guptas looked at the two brothers.

“Bhai, Nani woke up. She smiled at every one and then asked for you,” Akash smiled in relief.

Arnav couldn’t believe his ears. He turned to look at Khushi. She had a big smile on her face. “This seems to be a night for miracles, Arnavji,” she said cheerfully.

Arnav could only nod as he went to meet Nani. Akash cast a lingering look at Payal before he accompanied his brother.

Section 5

“Nani,” he murmured as he cradled her soft cheeks in his palms. “I am sorry.”

“For what?” she asked with difficulty.

“For making you furious. For refusing the proposals. For causing your illness,” Arnav made his heart-felt apology.

Nani smiled. “You didn’t cause my attack, Chotey. You haven’t grown up enough for that.”

Arnav and the others smiled, feeling a burden lift from their chests seeing Nani back to her feisty self.

“But I do want you to marry before I die,” Nani said in  a low voice. “Not because I want to force my views on you, or because of my fear of what people will say. Because I may not survive the next attack and I can’t leave you all alone on this earth.”

“Saasumma, lagat he you can’t see us. How will hamre Arnav bitwaa be alone when we are all living with him?” Mami asked, a displeased look on her face. “You think I won’t looks after him?”

“You are his Mami and his mother, Manorama,” Nani soothed her daughter-in-law. “But you can’t be his wife or his lifelong companion. Loneliness is a terrible curse, Manorama. I don’t want him to live alone with his nightmares. I want a wife for him who will stay with him night and day, love him as we do, take care of him.”

“Nani is right, Mami,” Anjali seconded her.

Section 6

The next day a knock sounded on Nani’s door.

Mami opened the door to find Khushi standing before her.

“Yeees?” Mami asked.

“Is Arnavji here?” Khushi asked.

“Kaun?” Mami shook her head to clear her ears. “Whom do you bant?” she asked to be sure.

“Arnavji,” Khushi smiled.

“Hamre Arnav bitwaa?” Mami asked looking at Khushi from the top of her head to her jootis.

Khushi shook her head in the affirmative.

“Do you works in his officewa?” Mami asked.

Khushi frowned. “No, I don’t know anything about his office.”

“Then how do you knows him?” Mami asked.

“He is my friend,” Khushi smiled widely.

Mami clutched her heart. “Phriend?”

“Ji,” Khushi’s smile widened.

“Who is at the door, Mami? Anjali asked.

“Arnav bitwa’s phriend,” Mami croaked.

There was perfect silence in the room. Then Anjali rushed to the door to see Khushi standing there, waiting to be let in.

“Come in,” Anjali said softly, inspecting Khushi closely.

“You must be his Mami,” Khushi told Mami.

“Yes, I am his one and only Mami,” Manorama claimed.

“And you must be his Di,” Khushi smiled at Anjali.

“Ji,” Anjali said, looking at Nani with wide eyes.

“Namaste Naniji, I am Khushi Kumari Gupta,” Khushi greeted Nani.

“Come in and sit by me,” Nani invited her.

Khushi happily sat down in a chair by her. “Has Arnavji gone out?” she asked.

“Yes, he went home to freshen up,” Anjali answered. “Have you known him long?”

Khushi laughed. “No, we met last night,” she said.

The ladies looked at each other.

“Ee kaun sa phriendship he that happens in seconds?” Mami thought aloud.

“You are talking about Arnav Singh Raizada, aren’t you?” Anjali clarified.

“Ji,” Khushi said. “My Babuji is admitted here. Last night I was very upset and sitting and crying on the bench outside. Then I met Arnavji. We talked for long and became friends.”

“Hamre Arnav bitwaa talked?” Mami asked, one eyebrow hanging up in the air, her painted eyes wide.

“Ji,” Khushi smiled. “He is so kind, such a gentleman, so sensitive, so empathetic.”

The three ladies looked gobsmacked at this disclosure.

A knock sounded on the door. Mami rushed to open it, hoping that it wouldn't be Arnav bitwaa.

“Mami, kya hua?” Arnav asked. “Where is the fire?” he stared at his Mami who was blocking his entry in to the room.

“Phire? Phire is in hamare dil, Arnav bitwaa. Someone has come to meet you. Get ready for a birthday surprisewaa,” she warned.

Arnav gently herded Mami out of the way and entered the room.

“Arnavji,” came the sweet cry.

His face relaxed visibly as he looked at the smiling face raised to his. The three ladies watched the scene unfolding before their eyes with bated breath.

“I came to tell you that Babuji has been moved to a room,” she smiled. “Doctor sahib said Babuji is out of danger.”

“Amma, Buaji and Payal must be relieved,” Arnav said, a smile on his face.

Mami gasped. “Ee sab kaun he?” she asked Anjali in a whisper.

“Looks like they are Khushiji’s relations,” Anjali whispered back.

“Maybe, but how did they become hamre Arnav bitwaa’s relations in one night, Hello Hi Bye Bye?” Mami asked.

“Chotey,” Nani called. “Won’t you introduce us to our guest?” she asked.

“Of course,” Arnav flushed. “Khushi, this is my Nani. That is my Di. This is my Mami,” he said.

“Ji,” Khushi said.

“This is Khushi, my...my friend,” Arnav completed the introductions. “We met last night.”

The three ladies looked at the flush on Arnav’s face with amusement and delight.

A few hours later Anjali and Mami went to meet Amma and Buaji. They met Payal and Babuji and sat talking of Lucknow for a couple of hours. They left after inviting the Gupta ladies and Payal to their room.

Soon the Gupta ladies visited a delighted Nani in her room. While the ladies and Mamaji talked and Akash sat mooning over Payal, Arnav signalled Khushi with his eyes to accompany him.

She obeyed and joined him in the corridor.

“Kya hua, Arnavji?’ she asked.

“Join me for a coffee?” he asked.

“Ji,” she agreed with a smile.

They walked down the steps to the car park, deliberately avoiding the lift so that they could stretch the time they had together. They then went across the yard to the canteen, walking side by side silently.

Khushi stumbled on a loose cobblestone and Arnav’s arm reached out to haul her to safety.

“Khushi, tum theek ho?” Arnav asked.

“Ji. I am clumsy,” Khushi blushed at the feel of his warm hold on her arm. “Buaji always says that I will lose my front teeth before I get married because I am always tripping on my feet.”

“I can promise you, Khushi, that you are not going to lose any teeth, not before nor after marriage,” Arnav murmured, a small smile on his face.

Khushi frowned in to his face. “How can you promise that?” she asked reasonably. “Once Naniji and Babuji get discharged from here, we will go to Lucknow and you will remain in Delhi.”

“What if I arrange for you to stay on in Delhi, Khushi?” Arnav asked.

Khushi frowned. “You will arrange a job for me?”

“And a place to stay in Delhi, Khushi. I will give you a house. But the job may not be to your liking,” he said softly, looking down at her curious face.

“You know me, Arnavji. So whatever you decide will be right for me,” Khushi said. “And I don’t need a place to stay. I have Buaji’s house in Laxmi Nagar.”

“This job carries accommodation with it, Khushi. You have to stay at the work site,” Arnav smiled at her, seating her in the canteen and ordering coffee for two.

“Is it in a hostel? Or am I to be a jail warden?” Khushi teased him.

“Both, Khushi. Both,” a small smile danced on his lips. “Marriage to me is as bad as both these jobs, if not worse.”

Khushi stopped short as if shot.

“What did you say just now?’ she asked Arnav, her eyes wild with shock.

“Will you marry me, Khushi?” he asked, smiling in to her eyes.

The coffee cup tilted and hot coffee fell down her dress, staining her bosom and waist.

Arnav quickly grabbed a few napkins and began wiping her down.

“Khushi, tum theek ho?” he asked, his eyes fearful first and then, on knowing that she was fine, naughty.

Khushi shook her head, her limbs trembling at the intimate nature of his touch. “I will do it,” she murmured and tried to take the napkins away from him, but he held on to them firmly and continued to dab at her heaving chest and tingling waist.

When he was done, he asked. “Khushi, did it burn you?”

“No,” she wheezed.

“I never expected my proposal to have such an effect on you,” he smiled tenderly.

“But you are against marriage. You don’t want to marry. You have been fighting your Nani on this very matter the whole of this year,” she protested.

“Yes, but then I hadn’t met you,” he said, his molten eyes showering love on her.

Khushi blushed.

“So will you marry me, Khushi Kumari Gupta?” he asked.

“You ask your Nani to talk to Buaji,” she said, her face rosy like the petals of a rose.

“I will, I will,” ASR murmured, taking hold of her hand and locking her slender fingers with his warm ones.

Section 7

“Nani, you wanted me to get married, didn’t you?’ Arnav asked.

“I did, Chotey. But I have since realised I shouldn’t have pressurised you. You don’t have to marry if you don’t wish to,” Nani tried to put on  a serious face.

“You are right, Nani. Forcing Chotey to marry is the height of cruelty especially when he has been pretty violent and loud in his opposition to marriage and girls,” mourned Anjali.

“Yes, hamre Arnav bitwaa is married to his laptop, his office and Aman. Ab inn sab ke beech mein, where ijj the isspace for a girl?” Mami asked.

Arnav let out an exasperated snort. “I want to get married,” he stated.

“No, Chotey, it is not necessary,” Nani said, smiling lovingly at him.

“It is better that you remain a bachelor, Chotey,” Anjali smiled at him.

“Dekho Saasumma, how much hamre Arnav bitwaa loves you. He is ready to even marry to makes you happy. Arnav bitwaa, such sacriphice ijj not needed here,” Mami smiled at him.

Arnav almost stamped his foot in annoyance.

“I want to marry. I want to marry Khushi,” he declared.

There was perfect silence in the room for a long moment before the three ladies began to laugh uproariously.

Arnav sighed, knowing that the joke was on him. He waited till they got their chuckles under control.

“Nani, will you talk to Buaji, Amma and Babuji?” he asked, eager to set the ball rolling.

“Bhat ijj the hurry, Arnav bitwaa?” Mami teased.

“I don’t want Khushi to return to Lucknow, Nani. Let us get married as soon as Babuji leaves the hospital,” Arnav suggested.

The ladies laughed at his hurry.

“Saasumma, you came here to repair your heart, but lagat he your grandson has lost his heart here. Ab kahan jaake dhoondein usse, Hello Hi Bye Bye?” Mami laughed.

ASR blushed.