Chapter Seven
"Dādā, we have a Photogram page now!" Nikhil was saying, excitedly, as Mandar walked around inside Deshmukh Saree Emporium. "We are getting so many orders online!"
Mandar grinned at his little brother's enthusiasm. "Of course! Tell me, how did you convince Bābā? I tried to show him my ShakalGranth page once, and he said, it's a waste of time. Nobody will look at so many photos. Picture-books are for little children - those were his words."
"I didn't convince Bābā. Pallavi Dī did that."
Mandar looked at Pallavi, his grin fixed in place, as he thought about what they had said to each other on their way to the shop. Pallavi still felt about him the way she had three years ago, when they had approved each other on the matrimonial site and gotten to know each other by video chat. So, a few minutes ago, Mandar had taken Pallavi's hand in his, and smiled into her eyes, just as he was supposed to do, and she had smiled back, trusting him. Pallavi had accepted him for marriage - that meant his life was getting back on track, right?
Pallavi had asked for a couple of days to talk to Raghav about an annulment; it wouldn't be decent if he heard about her decision from someone else. So, Mandar couldn't share the good news with his family yet. For now, his wife would still be Nikhil's Pallavi Dī, not Pallavi Vahinī.
"Tell me about it, Pallavi." Mandar looked from Pallavi to Krishna as the two women exchanged an uneasy look before Pallavi replied.
"I used to believe what Bābā said, that customers need to see sarees up close and feel their texture before they can make a choice, and our customers trust us because we answer their inquiries face-to-face. So, I never made the effort to advertise online. Then Raghav made me realize that even a trusted brand's reputation is fragile, and bad luck would swallow up our business unless I learned to fight back and be seen. So, I asked Nikhil to create the Photogram page and Āī-Bābā launched it together. Manasi is our photographer."
Mandar knew that Pallavi was trying to spare him the hurtful truth that Raghav had stalked her while he, Mandar, had not been there to protect her. Trying not to sound furious, he said, as gently as he could, "Pallavi, I know that Raghav made himself our landlord. I found out this morning that he was the one who slandered you, just before his mother told him to marry you. Did he also attack our brand's reputation?"
Pallavi silently nodded. Mandar looked at Krishna. "I want to know the truth. Don't try to spare my feelings. Tell me, Krishna, how bad was this bad luck?"
Krishna hesitated, looking at Pallavi, who nodded at her. One by one, the repugnant incidents tumbled out of Krishna's memory. "Mandar Dādā, it wasn't bad luck; it was all intentional. Raghav Jījū loves Dīdī now, but when they first met, he harassed Dīdī, just because she confronted the man that he sent to watch Kirti. Raghav came into the shop to intimidate me. He set fire to our raw material. He followed Dīdī at night and threatened to hit her with his car and smash her mobile phone. He tore up a beautifully hand-woven saree and used it to wipe his shoe."
So, Raghav was already stalking Kirti, Mandar thought, and he moved on to stalking and demeaning Pallavi. Women in business never know when harassment will spoil their entire day, while men like Raghav think so little of misbehaving with women that they make rudeness into a daily habit.
Krishna saw the look of disgust in Mandar's eyes, but he gestured that she should continue. "Mandar Dādā, I'm sorry, you don't know what you asked to hear. Raghav carried Dīdī out of her house at night and tied her up in the middle of the highway where a truck almost ran over her. He's sorry about that now. But right after he did that, Raghav bought our shop and sent people to bulldoze it and throw our wares into the street. He sent fake police to kidnap Dīdī, and when she lost consciousness while trying to escape on the road, he didn't call your parents to tell them where Dīdī was; he just kept her in his guest room all night while we were all worried."
Mandar's hand was covering his mouth by now, and he was trying to control his nausea as he listened to Raghav's crimes that Krishna was recounting to him. Pallavi had endured so much abuse that would remain in her memory for the rest of her life, and Raghav got away with it all by tying a maṅgalasūtra and saying a simple sorry! Mandar knew that he had to make himself a good husband for Pallavi. The alternative was intolerable.
"Raghav stole our sarees and filled the shop with skimpy clothes to drive our customers away. He made a complaint to the weavers' association. Every day, Raghav would think of a new trick to disrupt our business and make us afraid of him. He took a saree that Dīdī had designed and produced knockoffs of it so that a new customer cancelled a big order with us. Raghav blacklisted us so that no mall would let us open a showroom. He sent us an illegal eviction notice."
Harassment and kidnapping and property damage weren't enough to conquer Pallavi, Mandar thought, so this Rākṣasa attacked our family's reputation and stability from every angle. No wonder Bābā reached his limit. Would I have had the strength to go on as Pallavi did, if it had all happened to me?
"On the day of Manasi's photo shoot, Raghav brought his team into the shop and threw us out. Then he paid off our model so that she quit, and when we went ahead anyway, he tried to take over the shoot. That night, he put a padlock on our shutter and spraypainted it with a notice that the shop was permanently closed. Even after Raghav sold the shop to Dīdī and married her, he stole the shop key from her so that we couldn't open. Mandar Dādā, Dīdī was so brave, she stood up to Raghav every time -"
At last, Mandar's limit was crossed, his stomach heaved, and he bolted out of the shop, startling Krishna, Pallavi, and Nikhil. Mandar managed to get outside just in time, and stood bent over, vomiting with his hand pressed to the shop wall. He felt a hand making circles on his back, and saw a water bottle being offered to him. When he turned around after rinsing his mouth, to his surprise, it was Farhad.
"Are you still feeling sick, Mandar?" Farhad asked. The miserable expression on Mandar's handsome face made Farhad want to hold him tight, but now was not the time. Mandar shook his head.
"May I ask what's wrong?" Farhad had a terrible thought. Had Mandar told his family his truth, and had they rejected him? Had Farhad's sincere advice hurt this brave, sensitive, and desirable man? His thought was interrupted by Mandar's answer.
"How can anyone be so cruel, Farhad? Raghav, I mean. For what reason would he go to such lengths to harass Pallavi, and to discredit and ruin my father's business? Raghav drove my Bābā to attempt suicide; Raghav's lies caused Bābā's heart attack. That's the kind of man my wife had to marry, just because he wouldn't leave her alone! Why isn't he in jail?" Mandar had tears running down his face and he was trembling with fury.
"Anna's influence reaches very high, Mandar," Farhad said, and the look of scorn in Mandar's eyes let Farhad know that Mandar saw right through his crisp professional attire and recognized him as a criminal's accomplice.
"It's not fair, it's not acceptable, but this is the real situation in which Pallavi Bhābhī has defended herself and her family single-handedly." Farhad's voice was soothing, and Mandar, in spite of his scorn for the words, softened in response to the tone.
"Mandar, Raghav Anna is a strange person who can do a dozen kindnesses every day without even thinking, but he will stay up all night plotting cruel tricks to destroy his enemies. Unfortunately, Pallavi jī became Anna's target when he lost some valuable opportunities, and he would not listen to me when I said that he misunderstood her, but right away I observed how he responded to her personality. She never gave up, she outwitted him and convinced him to support her, and she did it all with honesty and compassion. Soon, Anna was trying to fulfil Pallavi jī's needs secretly, and he would feel stung when she didn't take his help. Mandar, there were only two people whose opinion matters to Raghav Anna - his mother and his sister, the only two people that he would help without their knowing it, and now he feels that way about Pallavī Bhābhī because she inspires him to be a better person and he listens to her."
Mandar was not in the mood to hear about Raghav's tender feelings. "You would never testify against Raghav?" Mandar asked Farhad directly. Farhad dropped his gaze. "Then you're an accessory to his crimes. Maybe he's a Rākṣasa by nature, diabolically cruel and destructive, but you're a thoughtful man, you have a conscience - aren't you more guilty for following orders that you know are wrong?"
Farhad was hurt to hear Mandar's opinion of him, but he managed to say, quietly, "Raghav Anna feels truly sorry for his mistreatment of Pallavi jī, and he is trying in his own way to look after your family. And if you need a friend, Mandar, I want to be your friend."
Just then, a gaunt little dog came up to Mandar, pulling her human by the leash. Mandar squatted to rub the sweet beagle's big floppy ears, not noticing that the other end of the leash was in Raghav's hand. The dog put out her tongue and started to lick Mandar's face, cleaning away the half-dried tears.
She changes teams just as quickly as Amma, Raghav thought. He heard someone giggle, but it wasn't Mandar or Farhad. Sure enough, Luṅgīvālā Raghav was squatting behind the dog, with his hands resting on both her sides and her tail thumping against his thighs, left-right, left-right.
Pallavi, Nikhil, and Krishna, with a couple of customers, were all standing in the door, under the sign for Deshmukh Saree Emporium, watching Mandar enjoying the dog's attention. Raghav stood still, holding onto the leash, jealously watching his new pet lavishing her love upon Mandar. Raghav knew he was helpless, being unwilling to yank his dog by the neck and unable to pick her up without shoving Luṅgīvālā Raghav out of the way - which would look strange to all onlookers, as none of them could see his alter ego.
Finally, Mandar stood up, and the dog returned to Raghav. He scooped her up with one arm and walked up to Pallavi.
"Pallavi, this is Damayanti. Damayanti, this is your Amma."
"Hello, Damayanti!" Pallavi knew that Raghav's words meant that he wanted to put last night's bitterness aside and insist that she belonged with him. She had to be firm with him and tell him her decision, but she couldn't respond here. So, Pallavi concentrated on rubbing under the chin of the wriggling beagle that was trying to leap into her arms.
"Where did you find such an adorable dog in half a day, Raghav?"
"At an animal shelter. You can hold her, you know; she's yours too, Sārī kā Dukāna."
"Raghav, I can't right now. I have to get back to my customers. But we have to talk in private soon. Please."
"I know what's on your mind, and believe me, I won't let it happen." Raghav was hinting at Pallavi's criminal jeopardy, which he couldn't mention aloud, but he was sure that Subhadra must have explained it to Pallavi, just as Dhananjay had explained to him.
Raghav's phone rang and he moved Damayanti to his other arm, pulled out the phone, and answered, while Pallavi returned to her customers inside the shop. "Yes, Amma? ... Yes, I found Pallavi. She's right in front of me. ... All right, but tell me, did you take your medicines on time? ... Here, Pallavi, Amma wants to talk to you."
Pallavi excused herself again, took the phone and inquired about Jaya, then spoke with Kirti. Meanwhile, Mandar approached Raghav outside the shop, with Farhad at his side, ready to intervene if the conversation turned ugly.
"Raghav, I know." Mandar's voice was unsteady with fury, and the knowledge that Raghav had the police in his pocket made him nervous, but he managed to croak out the words. "I know how you mistreated Pallavi and nearly killed my Bābā. Pallavi was alone then, and she stood up to you alone. She's not alone now. I'm back, and if you ever try to harm her again, you'll have to go through me first."
Raghav wanted to thrash Mandar just for being alive, and all the more for reminding him that he had ever been capable of harming Pallavi. But Luṅgīvālā Raghav, standing behind Mandar, said, "Pallavi thinks, you owe Mandar. Don't raise your hand at him, or you'll spoil my chance to be with Pallavi."
"You think you have a chance to be with Pallavi?" Raghav sneered. "You're not equipped to be with her, artham ainadā?"
Mandar hadn't expected this reaction from Raghav, but the taunt about his lack of riches made it clear that Raghav didn't understand Pallavi at all. Mandar knew that if he remained in front of Raghav, they would come to blows, and if he spoke, he would blurt out that Pallavi had already chosen him. So, Mandar simply shook his head and backed away from Raghav. Farhad put a reassuring arm around Mandar's shoulders and guided him back inside the shop, where Pallavi had finished her phone call.
Luṅgīvālā Raghav rolled his eyes and retorted, "I may be imaginary, Raghav Rao, but I'm equipped, for your kind information. I keep my luṅgī on because I'm a good boy, but I'm what you wish you were, artham ainadā?"
Raghav noticed that Damayanti was paying attention to the cheeky talk in his imagination, and he glared at Luṅgīvālā Raghav - behave yourself! Then Raghav walked up to the shop door.
"Come on, Farhad, I have to take Damayanti home. We have a video conference with Puja about the exports tonight, remember?" Raghav took back his phone from Pallavi and said, "We can meet privately at home tomorrow morning. All right?"
"All right," Pallavi said.
Farhad got into the driver's seat, while Raghav secured Damayanti in the middle of the back seat with her special seat belt, and then took his place next to her. Luṅgīvālā Raghav made himself comfortable on Damayanti's other side.
While they were on the road, a message appeared on Raghav's phone.
"Pay up if you don't want this recording to fall into the wrong hands."
Chapter One on page 1
Chapter Two on page 2
Chapter Three on page 2
Chapter Four on page 3
Chapter Five on page 4
Chapter Six on page 4
Chapter Eight on page 5
Chapter Nine on page 7
Chapter Ten on page 7
Chapter Eleven on page 8
Chapter Twelve on page 8
Chapter Thirteen on page 8
Chapter Fourteen on page 9
Chapter Fifteen on page 10
Chapter Sixteen on page 10
Chapter Seventeen on page 11
Chapter Eighteen on page 11
Chapter Nineteen on page 11
Chapter Twenty on page 11
Chapter Twenty-One on page 11
Chapter Twenty-Two on page 12
Chapter Twenty-Three on page 12
Chapter Twenty-Four on page 12
Chapter Twenty-Five on page 12
Chapter Twenty-Six on page 13
Chapter Twenty-Seven on page 14
Chapter Twenty-Eight on page 14
Chapter Twenty-Nine on page 14
Chapter Thirty on page 14
Chapter Thirty-One on page 14
Chapter Thirty-Two on page 14
Chapter Thirty-Three on page 15
Chapter Thirty-Four on page 15
Chapter Thirty-Five on page 15
Chapter Thirty-Six on page 15
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