JALEBI by Jalebi Jane (EPISODE 036)
BEFORE WE GO TO JANAKPURI TO UNDERSTAND this fresh crisis, I want to inform you that when Pari burst into Aman's office to request a vehicle for Khushi, that gentleman was still on the mobile with Arnav. They were no longer discussing Mr Chopra but other matters of business. As a result, Arnav was privy to Pari's breathless words: A family emergency has made it necessary for Khushi to go home immediately---could Headquarters please-please spare a car and driver?
Aman gave his reply to Pari by picking up the desk telephone to call the parkade. He instructed the driver on duty to convey Miss Gupta speedily to Janakpuri and remain there in case she required further assistance.
Overcome by what she felt for this beautiful boy, Pari flew at him. She planted a kiss on his cheek, and pronounced, "You're my Hero!" And then ran out at the same speed with which she had entered.
"Hero?" Arnav teased, once Aman collected his wits to return to the line. "This explains your keen interest in engagement rings at the jewellers yesterday."
Aman had a quick reply. "I was only examining them, Sir. You actually purchased one. And as Miss Gupta is concealing her left hand today, I presume she is wearing it."
"Reluctantly," added Arnav, his terseness revealing more than he realized. Then he changed the subject. "Find out the nature of this emergency. I imagine that's why you asked the driver to hang around. And text me when you've confirmed the jet."
I OFTEN FOOL MYSELF INTO THE BELIEF that what I share will astonish you. That I will reveal something which you never-ever expected to hear. But I know that is my delusion; I know it is impossible to surprise Sisters so perceptive.
I have no doubt that you noticed how skittish Buaji was at breakfast this morning. Skittish even beyond what the previous day's events warranted. And you probably worked out that perhaps she was hiding something. Perhaps she was distressed not by what had already been revealed but by what had not yet been revealed.
By the time Payal returned from her meeting with the lawyer, Buaji was a nervous wreck. And she grew more restless as the afternoon progressed. At one point she went into her bedroom. Payal hoped that she would lie down for a bit. But she was wrong. Almost immediately Buaji returned and placed a modest bundle of jewellery into her niece's palm. With tears streaming down her cheeks she said, "I had hoped, Nandekishore Knows, to leave you this house and more, but now all I have left is this. My wedding jewellery. Take it and go. Leave me to die alone. It is what I deserve..."
Payal hushed her. She entreated her not to lose faith. Reminded her that Nandekishore, her Lord, would not let her fall. And as a result of these soothing statements, Buaji found courage to confess the complete truth to Payal. Surely her dearest Payaliya would sympathize.
Payal listened but she was far from sympathetic.
Buaji's confession was so appalling---so despicable!---I cannot even bear to detail it. Payal went from shock to disbelief. Then fear. And eventually disgust. She said she was embarrassed to be called her niece. And she promised---she swore!---that she and Khushi would do precisely that: They would leave her and never look back. She then ran into the bedroom, latching the door against her aunt's entry.
It was a heart-breaking scene to witness, Sisters.
When Khushi arrived she found Buaji crouched outside the bedroom door. Inconsolable. And frustratingly incomprehensible. The door whipped open, and Payal threw herself into Khushi's arms, collapsing into convulsing sobs.
Khushi gasped, taking in her sister's state. She tried to support her but they both slid to the floor. "What in Devi Maiyya's name has happened here?" she exclaimed.
"Ask her!" cried Payal, pointing at the huddled figure opposite them.
Never had her sweet-gentle sister expressed herself with such force. Payal was not only devastated but livid!
"Buaji?!" Khushi turned to her aunt, seeking explanation.
But Payal did not wait to allow Buaji to explain. "What can Buaji possibly say?" she cried. "Kya? That it was not enough for her to ruin herself, so she decided to ruin us as well?"
Buaji received each word as a blow. Her shoulders jerked up and down as her sobs grew louder.
"Ruined? What do you mean?"
"Our home! Our legacy from Bawji and Amma," Payal stated. "That man charmed her not only of this house, but of our haveli too."
Khushi was shaking her head. "No! That is impossible, Jiji. The haveli is in our two names. Buaji was able to sign this house to Shyam because she owns it. But she cannot sign away that which she does not own."
Khushi was absolutely right. But she was also dreadfully wrong.
Buaji had transposed their signatures from the haveli lease agreement onto a sale agreement. Shyam had convinced her that like the Delhi house, the only way to protect the Lucknow haveli was to put it in his trust. And in a tragic twist, Buaji was maneuvered into committing a second crime of document forgery; this time it was not for her own greed, but to protect the girls' future in case the Railway Pension Department investigated her.
Yes, it was a monumentally stupid act.
We may wonder how a savvy woman could be bamboozled into believing that signing over assets to a stranger was a way to protect them. But that is what crime does, Sisters: Those with a guilty conscience become easy victims. They panic. They are apt to believe the worst-case scenario because they know they deserve the worst. And they cannot even consult family-friends for an objective opinion because their shame forces them to keep silence. Nothing isolates a person like committing an undetected crime.
And men like Shyam know how to capitalize on this.
His actions had now left the Gupta women homeless. And without any assets or means to fight his betrayal. And even if they found money from another source to take him to court, in exposing his crime, they would expose Buaji's crimes too.
It is not a Heroine's way to give up, but the situation now appeared utterly without hope.
By Jalebi Jane
Arjun
246