Chapter 17

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RECALLING ARNAV

Part 9

Section 1

"Parents' corpses, bitwaa? Kya? Kab? Kaise? Matlab, Anjali bitiyaa's shaadi? But she married Shyam, didn't she? And Sheesh Mahal? That is where Khushi fell on you, isn't it?" Garima looked as perplexed as she sounded.

Arnav felt his heart quiver, his breath stop, his whole body go numb.

"You... you didn't know that Arvind Mallik and his wife had died?" he asked softly.

"I knew. A few months after Babuji and I went to stay with Jiji, Ram Charan Mishraji wrote to Babuji about buying our house and land in Purwa. In his letter he mentioned that the factory was being run by Arvind Mallik's brother as he had passed away," Garima said.

Arnav looked in to the wide eyes of his sister.

Swallowing very hard, he managed to ask Garima, "Where did you meet Dadi if you are unfamiliar with Sheesh Mahal?"

"In a house in Triveni Nagar, Bitwaa. That was the address your Dadi wrote in her letter," Garima said.

Mami gasped.

"Sumi's house," Nani whispered. "So you never went to Sheesh Mahal, Garimaji?" she asked.

"No, Devyaniji. I never went there," Garima replied.

There was perfect silence in the room. Old absolutes were crumbling, leaving the Raizadas floundering, trying to make sense of their past.

"Did you ever meet my father in Lucknow?" Arnav asked.

"No, Bitwaa. Before I married Payaliyaa's father and settled in Lucknow, I had visited the city only once. That was to meet your Dadi. Babuji and I left Lucknow immediately after your Dadi told me the truth," Garima was definite about this.

"Then who was the woman who came to Sheesh Mahal to see the corpses of your mother and father, Chotey?" Nani asked in a whisper.

All the Raizadas looked at Arnav, seeking answers to all the questions roiling within them.

"This means that Papa was having an affair with another woman. Someone whom my mother saw with my father. That was what Mama said when she cornered him with her accusations on the evening of Di's wedding. That she had seen Papa with the other woman. If Mama had to see him with her, then she must have been in Lucknow," Arnav whispered.

In to the silence that followed, Mami exclaimed, "Hein, he was having two affairs? Yeh to Roadside Romeo hi nikla!"

"Maybe even more. But we have no proof, no one who can..." he paused, as if struck by lightning. "Chacha! He will know."

All the Raizadas nodded eagerly, their eyes anxious.

"I am sorry I had to ask you such questions and remind you of unpleasant events," Arnav said softly to Garima.

"Kono baat nahi, Bitwaa," Garima said softly.

"I need to find out more details. I will get back to you with the full truth at the earliest." Arnav said in a low voice.

Garima nodded.

Part 8: Section 2B: 100419332 Part 9: Section 2:100968626

rulama2014-02-13 00:37:53