Casa II
Part 7
10:14 AM
Mangal Kunj
“Who is this Ranbir?” he asked
“Some one Dadi wants me to meet” she said.. playing with
a slippery strawberry…
“With
a name like that, I have nothing to fear” he concluded smugly much to his
wife’s chagrin.
“Aapne
kyon phone kiya?” she asked brusquely.
He
smiled… “ Are you taking the day off?”
“Nahi!”
she said firmly
“Is
it my imagination or does that “nahi” sound more firm each time, … you know
what I mean?” he chuckled
She
looked at Dadi… in horror… to check if she was seeing her blush… Dadi was near
the kitchen doorway… watching her… but Khanak couldn’t…
Khanak?”
he uged her to speak
“I
have to go, I worked with the DLF folks for 4 hours last nite, aaj mujhe yahan ke
project ka kaam” she stopped sudenly, worried if he thought she rambled…
They
both did not speak for a moment…
They
found a peculiar thrill in their frequent silences.
“Ive
told Dadi I called the back up car guy”he
injected into the lull
“I
can take the 11:15 from (VT?)”
“I
am sure you can” he said tightly… “Its Avis and the driver’s name is Pawan
Singh”
“Oh!”
she said..
“I
can pick you up tonite” his voice lower… achy?
“Mujhe
late hoga” she responded itching for a fight…
He
smiled..
“Bye?”
“See
you” he said firmly, not letting her get away even in thought…
Dadi
“coincidentally” returned “Your milkshake sweetie”
“I
ate SO much Dadi!!” she complained
“Kahan?
Dikhao? She asked seriously
She
patted he belly
“Pffff!
That’s invisible” Dadi reassured
Dadi
watched as she grew a big creamy moustache of whipped topping…. Downing her
shake
The
nanny brought Amogh, Khanak’s eyes sparkled like rare gem stones
She
hurriedly washed and ran to grab the baby “Amogh” she cooed… cuddling him
Dadi
watched in awe
“Kaki
kaho” she taught him…
He
drooled, grinned flashing two grainy lower teeth
“You
look so handsome. Aap chunte ho iske kapde?” she asked he nanny curiously
“Nahi,
Bhabhiji” said the young woman
Khanak
rocked… as he chewed on her black beads…
“Mujhe
kaam par jaana hai, aap bhi chaloge?” she asked politely
He
cooed back
“Kaki
ka office 20th floor par hai” she spoke in Gujarati
She
giggled as he yanked her beads… “You are strong!”
Dadi:
Chhuthi kar lo beta, Ranbir ko convince karenge ki isko apni movie mein le le”
Khanak:
ur mujhe?” (offended)
Dadi:
Shaan would beat him up.. (proudly)
Khanak
reluctantly handed the lil child back to the nanny
Walked up the stairs… as Dadi watched…
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Modi
& Dastur
11:20
AM
Dec
15th 2011
The
elevator door creaked.. and shook as it parted… she walked to her desk. She
wore a saree today. “Mujhe shaayad kaam hoga shaam ko” line to hubby had
actually meant “I want to go to Mahalakshmi” for the promotion.
She
wore a cobalt blue saree, chiffon, with vine like pattern with tiny floral
motifs… her blouse was cap sleeved… she was unafraid to wear sarees to work.
For
someone who was incredibly shy and reserved, somethings she was supemely
confident about…
Fighting
with her hubby topped the list
Followed
by expressing ideas at work and getting work done..
Thirdly
wearing traditional Indian attire almost daily to work
Not many 20 somethings with a successful career in urban India were seen wearing a saree to
work, especially in 2011
But
then, not many 20 somethings were widowed at 23….
There
was a curvy Swarowski crystal vase with 3 dozen rainbow roses…. Her face lit
up, she was sure it was Ritu
She
grabbed the card to read below the “To”
It was that familiar scrawl “Khanak” she did not need to flip the card to read the from… she did it anyway... it said “Shantanu”.
It was that familiar scrawl “Khanak” she did not need to flip the card to read the from… she did it anyway... it said “Shantanu”.
Very happy to read back to back updates....
ReplyDeletedue to low pressure over bay of Bengal heavy wind n rain...so power gayab n thereby net too gayab...
so logged in thru mobile to catch with our lovely shanak..
so does shaan knows any her promotion now..ls tat d reason for d flowers?
Awaiting d next part..
trying to woo her through roses.. is it?? hope thats for her promotion!! loving these 2!!
ReplyDeletebtw, Aditee, hope you remember the list of things we wanted to read!!
What was in the list Shal? I cant recall I am sorry :-(
ReplyDeleteHe knew :D I thought he didn't, I wanted Khanak to tell him, anyways it was such a thrill to read his signature note again, brought a insignificant kinda thrill to me.
ReplyDeleteAhaa...I loved how you didn't change any aspect of them...her silence and him always with his 'khanak' urging her to talk even after the separation they are in much more comfortable phase of their lives. Totally adorable! I always loved their phone conversations...totally in sync yet not...don't know how to describe them.
Thank you Aditee...
P.S. missed the chiffon saree's no-one describes them as better as you.
I read the conversation again.
DeleteOne thing really surprised me, that it's still the same. I mean the pull in your writing, otherwise when you a story became longish it loses it charm, and this hasn't happened with you. Touchwood!
VERY VERY KIND of you Shona
DeleteI try to sustain the magic
This couple got it
Her silences continue to be mystical
His aggression continues to be sexy
OR
So I hope.... earnestly :-)
lovely once again aditee!!
ReplyDeletedid he actually wanted her to take off?? or was that to confirm so that she could get his gift??
Amogh part was so cute!!
waiting for the next one eagerly!!
P.S: aditee SOL...ek update please...
Chandu,
ReplyDeleteSOL is a HUGE project
Requires LOTS of research
I want it to be mysterious and thrilling
There is NO time for me to do the research about oil spills and toxicity etc
Casa is well established, the characters and traits are more or less in our minds.
Its easy to write at this point
They dont still completely trust each other
There is an incredible physical attraction, but both are insecure
It makes a racy read for that reason alone :-P
the phone conv was awesome
ReplyDeleteamogh is so cute and so is khanak she seems really cute with amogh :)
roses ? for what ? for promotion or aise hi ?
next update kab dogi aaj ya kal ?
lovely update :)
ReplyDeletetheir conv is always sweet i loved it
Amogh part was awesome, she ran to pick him up talked in Gujju lovely she said to call her kaki
waiting for next
Wow can't sleep without reading Casa loved all the parts just beautiful completely lost in Shanak world :-) :-)
ReplyDeleteFeeling so happy its pure bliss Aditee <3<3<3<3
Thank u so much...
Will sleep dreaming about them..
Good day to u..
Love u always <3<3<3<3
Aww khanak and her love for ranbir ;)
ReplyDeleteWonderful update! So does he know about her promotion?? Hmm...
To and from is back again :D love subtle the exchanges between the two and she is back wearing a sari :D
Looking forward to the next update :)
woooooow lovely uodate,
ReplyDeleteafter so long ur writing is still the same and it basnt lost the chaem and inshallah it wil continie like this.
love u xx
fabulous update!! loved Shaan and Khanak's phone conversation, Khanak and Amogh were supercute!! will be waiting to know the reason behind the roses.....!
ReplyDeleteLoved last couple of updates. The updates always leave me speechless, me after reading 4 updates at times I still want to read more. I somehow feel he knows about the promotion lets see wht u come up with. Can't wait for the next update.
ReplyDeleteLoved it!!! ShaNak conversation is always intriguing!!! Awww!!! she talked with Amogh in Gujarati..Shaan might envy Amogh..LOL :)Wow!!! roses for Khanak..Did Shaan send the roses for her promotion???
ReplyDeleteglad you are back to updating this, Poo told me you were and i was delighted and surprised you started season 2! So excited for this!
ReplyDelete