Part 66

Nani  was turned into a statue..! She looked pale and weak. She tried to hold the armchair for support in vain and collapsed into the chair. Ram Prakash came running for her help calling out Mami and Anjali. Mami came out and tried to support Nani with her hands. But nani had closed her eyes and was gasping.
"Nani...Nani! What happened to her?" Anjali asked panic struck. "Call the doctor please..." She screamed. Mami hurriedly went to call the doctor picking up the phone. Anjali supported Nani and gave her a glass of water.

"What happened, nani? And who had come? I heard voices.. but then I was meditating...." She stopped. "Its good that no one came out!" said Nani looking at the closed guest room door.
"But why were they here, Nani? And what were they shouting for?" asked Anjali.
"Hello Hi Bye Bye.. we should have said bye bye to them from the door itself. What was the need to let them in?" Mami muttered. They both looked at Nani, who had recovered a bit.

"Manorama, tell your husband to come back home immediately" said nani.
"Hello hi bye bye, just now he said bye bye to me and went to office" Mami muttered again dialling mamaji number.

"Why were they here Nani?" ssked Anjali again. Nani thought over for a while and said
"Some politicians rogues for some party fund!" She clutched anjali's hand and went to her room ordering Ram Prakash to lock the main door.
Mamaji came in hurriedly looking worried. He went straight to Nani's room. Anjali was sitting on her bed pressing nani's legs.

"What is it Amma?" he asked. Nani looked at Anjali. "Anjali bitiya, can you get tea for us?" asked Mamaji requesting Anjali to go out.
"Manohar, member of Thakur family from Kanpur just barged into this house" Mamaji was horror struck.

"What?" he could not believe his ears. "I am afraid; he is the same person... son of Nirmal Singh Thakur..what a striking resemblance!" Nani said in hollow voice looking at mamaji for some hope. Mamaji gaped at her with his jaw dropping.

Anjali came in with Ram Prakash with tea. Both of them stopped talking. " I will look into it " Said mamaji looking at Nani. She nodded. They had tea silently both of them engrossed in their own thoughts and Anjali looking at them puzzled.

Sham came out when nani went to her room. He came into the kitchen and went out from the back door. He looked threateningly at the maid. She turned away. The bell rang after Mamaji reached home and was talking to nani. Sham came in from the front door and called out "Raani Saheba!"

Anjali hurriedly came out and started talking in a tensed voice to him. "Ok. Ok Rani saahiba!" take it easy. Tell me what happened and how is nani now?" He asked moving towards Nani's room.

He went in but avoided her gaze. He talked to mamaji in a worried tone.
"Damaad ji, some politician had come asking for you. He looked annoyed." Nani said staring at sham.

"Politician? When? I was out for some time..." He started off in a surprised tone. Nani was shocked.. She had seen him opening his room door and closing it shut immediately when the rogue had barged in. She looked at him suspiciously.

"What? You had gone out?" she wanted to make sure she heard correctly.
"Yes naniji, I had gone out!" said Sham. "But why was he here looking out for me?" Sham asked in puzzled tone.

"Damadji, please make sure these people do not come to our doorsteps looking out for you!" said nani in a stern voice.
"I I don't know who was here and for what!" said Sham in a low voice.
"Please stay away from all the trouble! I am worried for you! Please... remember what panditji had said" said Anjali holding his hands. She was panic.
"Don't worry Rani Saheba, nothing will happen to me!" he said passionately, smiling at her.

He took her out of the room and mamaji followed them leaving Nani alone to brood on the incident. She was shocked at Sham's behavior.

"He lied !! Why did he not come out and left me alone to handle the situation? What relation do these two share between them?" She muttered with her head spinning. She knew how to handle this kind of hostile activity. She had never thought that Sham would know this Thakur.

"And what did damad ji do that this hooligan dare barging in our house.. I have to talk to Arnav bitawa.
She was suddenly worried about Anjali. "Did she make a mistake by marrying damadji?" she thought.

Arnav came home late in the evening. No one was in the hall. Sham had again gone out. Anjali and nani were in nani's room. Ram Prakash gave him the message that Nani had called him to her room. He went in.
"Nani, what is it? Are you ok?" he asked looking at Nani lying in the bed.

"I am ok. Chote!" She said. He sat on her bed beside his di. "Di, what happened?" He asked concerned.
Anjali opened her mouth to tell him what had happened in the afternoon. "Nothing much chote.. I just wanted to talk to you" she intervened looking at Anjali.
"Anjali bitiya, can you ask Ram Prakash to get coffee for him?" She asked hinting that she should leave.
Anjali went out. Arnav looked at his nani's worried face. She looked ten years older than her actual age. He held her hand and asked. "What is it nani?"

"Chote.. he had come!" nani said quivering.
"He, who?" asked Arnav puzzled.
"Rantan Singh Thakur...." She said gravely.
"Wh....? What were the security guards doing? Sleeping after lunch?" Arnav yelled getting up with a start. He looked at the ghostly face of his nani.
"Yes. Chote.. he had come here searching for damadji...!" she said with lot of unanswered questions in her mind.
"What? How does he know him? I mean what work he had with Jijaji?" He was thinking hard.
"I do not know, but chote... something is amiss... I don't know what but my intuition says something very serious is going to happen.." she looked very serious. She was actually shivering.
He looked at his Nani. He felt sorry for her. He knew what was coming but could not tell Nani anything about it.
"Don’t worry Nani, nothing will happen to anyone in this family. I will not let it happen. Trust me!" He said sitting back on her bed and holding her trembling hand. "Trust me Nani, trust me!" he whispered barely. Nani sighed.

Anjali came in with the coffee and Arnav changed the subject looking at Nani.
He came back to his room engrossed completely in his thoughts. He inadvertently dialled papaji's number.
"Hello Puttar, good evening1" greeted papaji in a pleasant voice. Arnav automatically smiled. "Hello" He said.
"What is it?" Papaji came straight to the point per his normal style.
"Mr. Ratan Singh Thakur barged into my house." He said as if trying to ease out his burden.
There was a silence for a while. Then papaji spoke in a grave tone "Puttar, he is enraged with Sham. Sham has ruined his plans to take over the spinning mill. He will go to any extent to teach him a lesson. You have to be careful. Sham can use anyone to his advantage. He knows the weak link. Be careful and keep him away from everyone. I suggest you increase the security at your house if you do not have one in place." Papaji said.

"Yes we do have a security deployed. I will tighten it further." Said Arnav assuring.
"Keep yourself safe, puttar! Don't take unnecessary risks." He said kindly. He was really concerned about Arnav's hotheadedness. "Keep cool, my child!" he said in a fatherly tone. Arnav was touched by Papaji's genuine concern for him.
"Yes papaji. Good night!" He said and hung up. He had lost his appetite and sleep as well.

Late in the night he dialled Khushi's number. He just wanted to talk to her, tease her, fight with her only to ease out his tensions. He wanted to fly away and land in her room.