Sunil turns around to see who the new arrivals are.
His face breaks into the warmest smile. He is up and walks over to Khanak and Ritu and hugs them both warmly. Nivs again notices something odd, she wonders why Sunil would personally greet Ritu and Khanak.
Madhavai cant be bothered so she is chatting with Niv's boyfriend who also happens to be from Bandra, where the Gujrals lived earlier.
Khanak: Namaste Uncle (hands joined in prayer)
Ritu: Hi! Uncle! LOVELY house!
Sunil: Namaste, and Hi!, Shaan can you check if we have enough hors d'oeuvres please? (walks in the middle between Ritu and Khanak, steering them towards the small group by the sofa, Dadi , Madhavi and Niv's boyfriend)
Shaan looks at Khanak's shy form walk away quietly and walks towards the kitchen himself.
Since Madhavi and Niv's boyfriend are busy talking''..
Sunil: Yeh lo ma, inse milo Khanak Mistry"
Dadi's eyes light up.
Khanak again does a silent Namaste. Dadi orders her to sit by her
Sunil: Aur yeh uski chulbuli saheli Ritu Kaushal
Ritu: Hi! Dadi! Dadi keh sakti hoon na? (laughs)
Dadi: Nahi to mera naam what ever you like (perfect diction!)
Ritu: Wow! Dadi.
Khanak is now seated by Dadi, Ritu is seated by her.
Dadi: Tum bhi Punjabi ho? (to Ritu)
Ritu: Haan Dadi, Ludhiana. Par ab wahan koi nahi hai (careless)
Dadi: Achha? Yeh to theek nahi'.. hamare abhi bhi rishtedaar hain Hoshiarpur mein (happy)
Ritu: Dadi main to gayi bhi nahi Punjab kabhi
Ritu's phone beeps
Dadi: Kitni chup ho beta tum? (shocked)
Khanak smiles and shakes her head "Nahi'''."
Dadi: Arey main to bhool hi gayi thi ki tum aayi ho"
Sunil is watching this interaction very carefully sitting on the arm on the sofa where his wife is seated, his son returns and sits diagonally opp Khanak in a single maroon chair with a tall back, lifts one leg up and slides it over another, lounging comfortably.
Dadi: Dekho phir se chup (looks at her son)
Sunil: Khanak beta? Kya baat hai?
Khanak: Jee kuch nahi. (extremely nervous because another spectator recently added to her show). Aapka ghar ''' its lovely''..
Sunil: Hindi' (laughs)
Khanak: Ekdum sundar hai, har cheez apni jagah theek hai (rambles, looking around, cautiously avoiding one "cheez")
Sunil: Dekha Ma! (proud, smug) Dekha, yeh Hindi kaise bol leti hai.
Dadi is very happy to see her speak, smiles at Sunil. " Kam bolti hai par zyaada meetha"
Khanak: Thanks Da'
Dadi: Tum mujhe Janaki keh sakti ho (winks much like her grandson)
Khanak: Nahi''' bus 'mujhe laga
Dadi: Beta yaha to sab apney hain kyon itni nervous ho tum?
Khanak: Thanks
Dadi: Tum Gujarati ho?
Khanak: Haan, Ahmedabad se kahin bahar nahi gayi, jab tak Mumbai nahi aayi kaam par. (content) Us se pehle padhne gayi Delhi 4 saal.
Dadi thinks she is so much different than her grandson who is so eager, ambitious, restless, demanding. Not only was she quiet but very mature and calm on the inside also. There was a definite sadness in her eyes that was unmistakeable, even Sunil had wondered what it was. There was high color on her cheeks now and she spoke very softly, but she seemed very aware of something or someone in the room.
Her hands and arms are painted with the most gorgeous red henna, but the black and white combination of clothes is a very telling contrast. She wore those like second skin.
Khanak slowly opens up, and they both start talking among themselves.
Sunil: Lets make intros guys (a lil louder).
They all take turns, laughing, poking fun at each other.
Aman's girlfriend is actually Saaz. Khanak smiles at him, he gives her a "To tumne kya socha, she is a figment of my imagination?"
She is tall and skinny as he is, wears glasses and when she speaks something tells Khanak she must sing well!
Niv's boyfriend is a banker, so Uncle warms up to him quickly.
Its her turn now
Khanak: Hi! Everybody, Iam Khanak Mistry (Uncle clears his throat, she smiles and continues in Hindi) mera naam Khanak hai, main Mumbai mein kareeb ek saal se hoon, us se pehle Ahemdeabad mein rehti thi, apne Aada aur Bai ke saath, Delhi se architecture kiya, I don't work in Ajmera, I work at a client of theirs called Modi & Dastur. Is se pehle Vasanth Kamath mein kaam kiya. Doosron ke ghar banane mein apna samay bitati hoon, mujhe bahut achha lagta hai."
Sunil looks at his son's face, as something about the last line saddens him terribly.
His son is staring at the girl's face with the most inscrutable expression, rotating his iphone on the ankle resting on his knee.
Madhavi does not pay Khanak much attention but is really curious about Ritu. Laughs and chats with her freely. More appetizers arrive, Khanak has no idea which of them contain meat, she is offered a plate by Hari Lal, who smiles warmly.
Khanak: Aap kaise ho?
Hari: Jee theek hoon''.
Dadi is surprised they've met, but being the classy high-society Dadi that she is doesn't say a word. Its Khanak's third visit to the house, first when she met Nirav at the Towers, second when she brought the care pack for Shaan and now this lunch invite.
Khanak stares at the huge spread in the center, various types of breads, crackers, dips, cheese, devilled eggs, some bite size sweets, various dips, she takes a couple kinds of crackers, contemplates on the dip, all are busy, except for the man across the coffee table. She picks two bite size sweet pieces and sits back.
He waits for a min or two, gets up and makes a plate for himself, spooning the two kinds of non vegetarian dip on to his plate, there are three he does not go for, takes a cracker and chews on it while going back to his seat.
She is thankful for the cue, she takes a spoonful of one of the veggie dips. Sunil has watched it all while talking with Dadi, hides a smile in the process.
Lunch is served after a while.
Dadi and Khanak are still @ the sofa.
Dadi: Ghar par kaun hai beta?
Khanak: Jee, Aada, Bai aur main (smiles)
Dadi: Koi bhai behen nahi?
Khanak: Jee nahi
Dadi: Ghar par ladka dekh rahe hain?
Khanak: Dadi'.. who baat yeh hai'''. Ki meri shaadi ho chuki hai, thi, mera matlab,who Sooraj ek accident mein ek saal pehle guzar gaye (calm, voice laced with grief)
Dadi looks at her stunned. Barely smiles, touches her shoulder reassuringly. Dadi's heart sinks for a while. Her own grief of losing her husband a handful of years ago seems less tragic for some reason. Here she was, a young widowed 20 year old living her life with such dignity.
Dadi:I am so sorry beta. I did not know. Tum to bahut bahadur ho, aur kitni samajhdar bhi.
Khanak: aap bhi English mein baat karti hain? (surprised)
Dadi: Sorry, Sunil ne kaha ki tum hamari English teacher banogi, kya socha tumne? (NO change in plans what so ever)
Khanak: Aapko sikhaane to zaroor aa sakti hoon, aap mujhe bahut achhi lagi.
Dadi: Aur tum mujhe. Kitna kam bolti ho tum? Hamara Shaan to bahut bolta hai.
"Why am I being compared with your grandson?" she wonders.
Dadi: Mumbai mein koi rishtedaar hain?
Khanak: Nahi Pune mein hain, Chachaji.
Dadi: Kahan?
Khanak: Hinjewadi
Dadi: Jaati rehti ho?
Khanak: Haan agle hafte ja rahi hoon, Aada aa rahe hain Bai ke saath, jum sab Shirdi ja rahe hain (smiles)
Shaan walks up hearing that
Shaan:Dadi lunch''
Dadi: Haan.
Khanak is up, helping Dadi stand up. Shaan is leaning on the sofa watching them approach. Khanak and Dadi sit together near Nivedita. Shaan is across from Khanak.
Madz:Khanak what does your Dad do for living?
Khanak: He works for Gujarat Electricity Board
Madz: Oh! (impassive) Is this your first time in Mumbai?
Khanak: Yep, almost a year.
Hari Lal hovers and tells her what is vegetarian. Dadi is happy she is one too.
There was grilled vegetable, herb and goat cheese sandwiches, baked penne with roasted veggies, minestrone soup, fried zucchini, spicy baked macaroni.
Dadi opts for soup and some bread. She agrees to try some as well.
Tries some spicy baked macaroni, it's a little too spicy for her. She struggles.
For the first time in a week he talks with her voluntarily.
Shaan: Don't bother! Hari Lal can get you another plate.
Khanak: Oh! No! I cant waste food.
Shaan: Its not a big deal Khanak (firm)
Nivs notices the authority in his speech yet again.
Notices Khanak begin to bristle but settle down later, watches him try some macaroni and signal Hari Lal and ask him to take it away from the table and ask for something else.
Hari Lal brings in fresh cold juice to help tone down the heat.
Lunch goes off uneventfully, Madhavi is showering Ritu with all the attention. Sunil and Dadi team up and pamper Khanak. Shaan just watches her inscrutably.
They all move to the rec room, media room upstairs, sit around wait for dessert,Aman talks Saaz into singing, she sings "Mera kuch samaan, tumhaare paas pada hai" Asha Bhonsle song from Ijaazat splendidly.
Khanak is looking down at her bangles counting them back and forth, not even looking up once during the song. Nivs cuddles up with her boyfriend. Madz and Sunil truly enjoy her voice. Shaan is leaning on the foozball table arms across his chest, counting the number of times she has counted the two dozen on her wrist.
They coax her into singing some more. She follows with "Tere bina zindagi se koi shikwa to nahi, shikwaa nahi" from Aandhi.
The dessert arrives, pastries, Indian mithai and chocolates of various kinds.
People start to chat and laugh, Sunil coaxes Shaan into sharing some of his pictures. Shaan obliges albeit reluctantly. She stays back with Dadi. Sunil steps out, Madhavi follows texting on the phone. Dadi asks her if she wants to go, she refuses, but with a smile.
Dadi: Tum log jao beta, main Khanak se aur baaten kar leti hoon
Shaan: Ofcourse!
Sunil and Madhavi's room
The door is closed.
Madhavi is brushing her already silky smooth hair in an agitated fashion, Sunil is calm standing by the balcony door, looking outside
Sunil: I see nothing wrong with it!
Madhavi: REALLY Sunil? Is that the best you can do for my son? A WIDOW? A under privileged, WIDOW, and to top ot off a Gujarati? (her voice quivers in emotion, she flings her hair brush angrily on the dresser).
Sunil She seems like a wonderful girl. Don't get all melodramatic with me Madhavi
Madz: Stop it Sunil. Does Shaan have any idea you and Mummyji are out to destroy his life?
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Edited by aditee - 12 years ago
