Chapter - 35 (Akanksha and Anushka 4)
Akanksha found the door open as she stepped inside her house. She heard her mother talking with someone in the kitchen. She sneaked a peek into the kitchen to find Ritu Pisi leaning against the door while Mrs. Sania, her mother was helping the maid with the luchis.
"Ritu Pisi! What a surprise! When did you come?" Akanksha shrieked from outside before getting in to hug her from behind.
" I came at around 2 in the afternoon. The train was late by 7 hours. I heard about Dada's sickness. I'm angry with both of you nices for not letting me know in time. " She replied with apparent anger.
"Oh, Ritu Pisi! I'm so happy to see you. I've so much to talk to you about." Akanksha continued speaking gleefully before turning to her mother,
"Ma, why don't you let Ritu Pisi go up to our room and talk to Anu?" But she knew at the same time that her Ma might have made the same request to her father's only sister already.
" No, Akanksha, you go up while I give boudi company. I've a lot of catching up to do with her first." She replied as Akanksha left the kitchen smilingly.
She was, in fact, humming as she pushed the door of her room open. She got surprised to find the room in complete darkness but for the streaks of moonlight coming in through the chinks in the curtains of the southern window. She could make out the silhouette of Anu in bed, rubbing her eyes as Akanksha put the light on.
"Anu, what's wrong? Are you all right? Why are you in bed now?" Akanksha asked her sister worriedly.
"Don't worry. I'm fine. How's your day been?" Anushka answered a bit rudely.
"Awesome, Anu. I couldn't tell you last time that Jishnuda asked me if I was interested in watching the " Titanic". Oh, Anu. You must watch it. It's the most touching love story I've ever seen. My God, Anu! This guy who played Jack - what's his name? Leonard de Caprio, and Kate Winslet, who starred as Rose - they were so, so amazing!" She cried out before murmuring to herself:
"I'll ask Barun to transfer the video in my thumb drive for us, and then we can watch it together."
"Thanks, Akku. Don't bother about the cassette right now. If the rating is good, I might watch it later."
Akanksha felt that her sister was in a foul mood. Anushka threw her off guard completely by asking her next, "Do you feel like telling me about your date instead?"
"Date? What date? I didn't go on a date, Anu," She replied meekly.
"Oh, really? Who was the lucky guy, may I ask? The Prince Charming of CPS?" Anushka was brutal in asking for an answer to the question from her elder sister.
" Yes, it was Jishnuda all right. He asked me when he came over for lunch last Sunday, remember? "
The entrance of the maid carrying a tray in her hands, brought a temporary relief to the tensed atmosphere in the room. On two plates, there were some luchis with two bowls of potato curry mixed with card.
"Masima told me to tell you that dinner might be late tonight. So, have these luchis. I'll bring some coffee or tea afterwards. They took the plates off the tray and kept them down on the study table.
"I do remember bro Jishnu coming to ours for lunch last Sunday but I don't remember you telling me anything about his invitation to dating you!" Anushka replied hauntingly. She seemed to be in two minds before asking her sister again, " Was it simply a dating invitation or something more?"
"What do you mean?" Akanksha seemed genuinely surprised by the question.
"I mean what you understand well, Akku. Did he propse you or not?" She seemed hell-bent on learning something more than what her sister had to tell her this time.
"Anu, for God's sake!" Akanksha sounded hurt as she explained," How can you expect someone to propose on the very first day of taking someone else out? Have some good sense at least, bhai." She pleaded.
"Thanks, Mother, for the reminder. But the question was whether bro Jishnu propsed you while out on a date today?" Anushka asked calmly while shredding a luchi into pieces.
"He DIDN'T, " Akanksha was clearly losing her cool.
"So, you admit then you went on a date?" It was more of a statement of affirmation than a question.
"NO, I mean, Yes. You can look at it that way. But it all started with a simple request. When I agreed, Jishnuda thought having dinner afterwards, might not be such a bad idea at all. Later, we decided to go for lunch instead."
"I see, my dear sis, 'it all started with a simple request', right? YOU then decided to go for lunch, right? Since when have you become such a habitual liar, my dearest sister?"Anushka was clearly trying on her sister's patience.
" You know I hate lying, Anu. Besides, why should I lie about having lunch with Jishnuda and going for a movie afterwards?"
"Ok. It was a simple invitation to a movie, which, in your words, turned out to be the 'most touching' love story you ever saw. The movie was followed by a simple lunch. Have I got it all correct? "
"More or less, yes. but with one exception. The movie happened AFTER lunch." Akanksha was desperate to correct her sister.
"One final question, Akku. Was there a kiss scene on your second date as well?" This time Anushka's eyes were smiling and probing into her sister's eyes at the same time.
"I wish there was. But Jishnuda being what he is, it turned out to be a vegeterian, a kissless date of sorts, Anu." This time Akanksha was the one trying to pay her sister back in her own coins.
The sisters engaged in a verbal banter for some more time before Anushka got busy by listening to some music while Akanksha started talking to someone on her mobile. At around 9.30 p. m. Mrs. Sania called them from downstairs.
On going down, the sisters found the extra chair around the dining table. Mr. Rajan was already seated on a chair at the head of the table, while sitting on his right, were their mother and Ritu Pisi. Anushka and Akanksha took the empty chairs on his left of their father. Their mom had prepared Ritu Pisi's favourite dish, polao and mutton curry, followed by the fruit pudding as the dessert.
" I always tell others that when it comes to Polao and mutton curry, there's none to match my Baudi." Ritu Pisi commented animatedly.
"Have some more then, Ritu, though tonight's, I'll be honest with you, is lacking in something. What is it, less salt or what?" She asked looking across at her daughters.
"I think it was mainly due to more of the haldi (turmeric) in the polao, Sona." Mr. Rajan who had got up quietly earlier, remarked having returned and reoccupied his seat after washing his hands in the basin.
"You seem to have lost a lot of weight, Dada, since I saw you last. Please, don't quit having that doctor come over for a regular check-up." She said looking at her elder brother.
"I'm all right, Ritu. I don't mind telling you though that I feel rather weak these days after the attacks. Anyway, what have you decided about Sonu's marriage? Is it taking place in December end as scheduled?" He asked his sister while his wife got up and got busy clearing the table.
Akanksha proceeded to the basin and was back at the table soon to help her mother.
"I know you won't let me help, Baudi, so, there's no point asking about helping.." She cried out complaingly.
"There is no need, Ritu. Let them do it." Her brother cut in and asked her next," Why don't you tell us about the marriage instead?
"That's what I was thinking of doing, Dada. I need to discuss it with you all. Do you remember the boy that Sonu'd fallen for? We talked to you about him, remember? He came to our house three days back. His father, a local businessman passed away last month. Now Sonu says that she won't marry anyone else other than that loafer!" She paused while the sisters exchanged a meaningful look.
"How can she when she agreed to marry the man of your choice only some months back?" Mr. Rajan questioned his sister incredulously.
"I don't know what has come over the youngsters of this generation!" Ritu Pisi spoke up, throwing up her hands in a dramatic manner. "But we'll talk about it later. What I want to tell you is how the end of this rascal's father came, Dada. The man came home early one day and retired to bed, telling his wife that he needed rest. When the boy was sent to his father's room for dinner two and half hours later, the boy found him lying peacefully with both hands folded on his chest. Suspicious, the goon ran to the doctor's.The doctor, on arrival, took a look and pronounced the man dead. He had died of a massive stroke while asleep! Have you heard anything more bizarre?" She asked looking around.
"One gets to hear of such sublime deaths off and on, Ritu? What's so special about this one? Why are you scaring your brother?" The sisters were not the only ones in the room, thinking that their mother was a little rude in asking for an explanation.
"The most pathetic thing was that the man died in bed without so much as complaining of a chest pain or anything like that! No one in the household knew anything about him being dead for long!" She exclaimed before turning to her brother and stating, "Why I'm telling you all this Dada, is so that you be careful. Other than you, I've no one else to call my own." She concluded
"Why Ritu Pisi, Sonu, Pisimoshoi (uncle), aren't they your own as well?" It was the sister's turn to cry out simultaneously to ask for an explanation from their aunt!