At your Service

At Your Service

Ramrakh Punwar stared in disbelief as his wife proudly showed off her lack of culinary skills. The whole ground floor of their little house was filled with the lovely aroma of the burnt food prepared by his wife.

“This is all burnt, Hansa” he uttered while opening the windows. His wife stood clueless, “oh I know that, but look I made a perfect round roti.” She picked up her creation and proudly showed it off. 

Panna Dai shook her head in disbelief but before she could say a word, Hansabai beat her to it,

“You said that wives make perfectly round rotis,” she reminded Panna Dai of the lesson her caretaker had given her. “Besides, it is only a little charred” she looked at the blackened side of the roti.

Her victorious smile at the small accomplishment made Ramrakh laugh out loud as he joined in congratulating his wife. Later in the night, as he cleaned the kitchen and prepared for next day’s meal, as the radio played Pyaar humein kiss mod pe le aaya

                                                Ki dil kare haaye...haayee......

he remembered something that an elder had told him,

“Marriage is hard if there are expectations on one person but if you share those expectations with your partner then they become easy to accomplish. It’s like having tea without milk on days when there is no milk, pretend you are a fancy person who likes black tea instead of creating a ruckus over not having milk.”

Ramrakh smiled as he picked up the black tea and took a sip of it while Meerabai created a ruckus over the absence of milk. He had come to live a life of compromises for the sake of Heer and Patta, he had learned to fake smiles and happiness while his insides drowned in sorrow and pain of separation from his little world. The only solace he had was work- he would leave first thing in the morning and do his best to return as late as he could back home especially now that both Patta and Heer had moved out of the house. It had become easier for him to stay at the office longer and not rush back to the emptiness.

Patta sat in the private booth waiting for his guest to arrive for their meeting. As per his PI, this person would be able to provide an insight to his parentage. All through the way, his thoughts had run wild and he had come to one question at the end, did he really wish to know the truth?

“Khamma Gani, Kunwarsa” Vajra Singh smiled as he took his seat facing the young man whose eyes clearly showed his troubled thoughts. The elderly man had intercepted the PI snooping around Ranisa’s private life and learned about the person behind the investigation.

“Before you ask me any questions,” Vajra Singh spoke up, “I assure you that if you wish to learn the truth then I will tell you the complete truth but if you still have doubts then we can hold this off till you are ready. You have my contact when the time comes, I will be at your service.”

Ruqqaiya stood on the balcony of her house looking at the clear blue sky thinking about everything that had happened in the last few days. Her best friend was in love and had joined the girl’s office as her PA. She was both happy and mad at him, happy for he was in love and she wanted him to know this feeling of love. It was beautiful, powerful and filled with warmth, growth, companionship and true there were some downfalls but with your partner, it was a journey worth taking. Her anger at him was directed towards his cowardice on not working on his dream. He did not give her a reason for not pushing for the aviation project but it had to be something big if it had stopped him from taking it to its destination.

“What is my child thinking?” Bairam Khan’s voice made her smile as she turned to greet him. 

They sat down on the balcony when she asked him her doubt about Pratap’s intentions

“Pratap knows well that the current market is unstable. A lot of investors are not ready to put their money into any new or experimental projects where there is no guarantee of profits. He wishes to establish the project on his own without taking any help from his family or known associates. For him, the project is his baby and he wants to bring in the best team to carry it out. Right now, he is still in the process of searching for the right team”

Ruqqaiya nodded her head, “but then why did he agree to become a PA? I mean he could have taken up the VP Position under Udai Kakosa”

“He could but then he would not be Sangram’s grandson now, would he?”

Khan Baba’s statement confused Ruqqaiya more but she knew there was no way to understand Khan Baba and Sangram Singh’s jibes at each other. The two old men went at each other’s throats all the time and the only time they would take jibes at each other would be post their deaths. Until then, they were at each other’s service serving jibes hot and cold, day and night for everyone’s enjoyment.

Hansabai hid her amusement her daughter’s new PA ran from one end of the office to the other on errands. The poor fellow was already run down from his morning runs between the cabins and now she had him running between the floors,

“I need Finance files before the meeting with the Department Heads,” her daughter listed out orders as the young man took notes. “Also, ask HR to send me the latest reports with areas that need attention highlighted.”

Pratap nodded his head and took a turn to leave only to be stopped at the doorstep, “also, block an hour tomorrow and day after tomorrow on my calendar, I will tell you the exact time when you return with the files.”

He nodded his head as she looked up, “by the way, I suggest you run down as the elevator is blocked for maintenance.”

Hansabai let out a laugh as Pratap rushed out of the cabin. Her daughter smiled before joining her in the laugh riot.

“You are having fun troubling him, Ajab” Hansabai remarked as her daughter nodded her head.

“He asked for it,” she told her mother, “the moment he agreed to be my PA he asked for the whole package.”

The meeting with the Finance Department went smoothly as Jiwa had already prepared the agenda and Pratap had managed to get all files to her in time for the meeting. Ajabde was irked because she had seen women falling over his charms and that dazzling smile that made women go weak in the knees. As she walked out her eyes searched for him in the crowd. A smile came on her face watching him play peek-a-boo with a colleague’s toddler but then her smile vanished as girls surrounded him.

“He’s only your PA” she reminded herself, “not anything more.”

But Hansabai had seen her daughter’s reaction and a mother knew well when her child was having troubles accepting feelings of their own. 

Pratap’s smile vanished as Ajabde walked past without giving him a glance, he had done everything she had asked for, “a simple thank you would have been nice” he thought to himself as he sat out on the patio for tea-break. “Why did I have to fall in love with a headstrong girl?” he wondered.

“She is headstrong, my daughter,” Hansabai spoke up as she sat by his side. “My Ajabde is stubborn, headstrong, determined, a good business-person but a fool when it comes to feelings.”

15minutes later

“Ma’am your tea,” Ajabde looked up to see Pratap holding a tray standing on the doorstep.  

Before she could speak, he continued, “you have been working non-stop since the meeting and you skipped lunch as well. So, I decided to bring you tea and I managed to sneak in a pack of Parle G biscuits as well.”

Ajabde remained quiet as he placed the tray down on the side table and walked back to her, “please have it before it gets cold. Also, as you requested, I have blocked two hours on your calendar giving you enough time to travel if your meeting requires it. All files have been updated, notes from today’s meeting have been sent out to all departments. If there is nothing else, then I will take your leave”

She nodded her head and as he was about to walk-out he heard her say, “Thank You”

He smiled on the drive back to his apartment, recalling Hansabai’s words

“Oreos, Chocolate cookies ke time mein Parle G khaane waala saathi chahiye usko,

BMW, Mercedes nahi bicycle par usko ghooma sake aisa saathi chahiye usko,

Business ke tension, life ke ups and downs mein uske saath baith ke chai pee sake

Aisa saathi chahiye meri Ajab ko, kya tum ban sakte ho aise saathi?”

“Rajkumari Ajabde Singh Chauhan of Bijolia, I, Kunwar Pratap will be at your service for the rest of your life” he promised himself as the song came on the radio

Pyaar humein kiss mod pe le aaya

Ki dil kare haaye…haaye

Koi yeh bataaye kya hoga…..