20

The swords were drawn. Mummiji and Papaji were at war! "Dharm Uddha' papaji kept calling it.
"Viru...!" called out mummiji, first time raising her voice. Papaji glared at her. Viru, her servant came out running. 

"Viru, help me rearrange the room. I need to change the layout!" she ordered him. He nodded and went to call other servants. 

"What?" papaji asked.
"Yes, I am rearranging the room!" she declared. Raj and Elsa looked at each other.
"And you are sleeping in your study!" she said glaring at Papaji.

"What?" papaji was shocked. "Are you throwing me out?" he asked narrowing his eyes.
"Yes!" she said. "Till the show, I need the room for meetings and planning. And you are staying out!" she said angrily.

"What? That is my room too!" said papaji coming a step forward. "You cannot oust me from my room!" he said forcefully.

"Ok!" said mummiji pausing. "Viru, take my things to the guest room!" she ordered. Viru gaped at her.
"What?" papaji blurted. Guest room had stairs to climb which would be difficult for her. She was determined. Papaji was fuming with rage.

"Alright!" he said giving up. "I will stay in my study!" he said. 

"Good!" said mummiji and went into her room to give instructions.
Papaji's belongings started pouring out of the room!

"Dad, calm down! Why are you two stretching this to the limits? Please Dad, I thought it was just fun!" Raj felt guilty for supporting his dad in the fight
"It is not fun! She keeps doing something behind my back! I am not going to tolerate this!" he said depicting his gender ego! 

"Oh! Come on Dad! Please... leave it!" pleaded Raj.
"No way!" his dad said and went into his study to rearrange his room!

Elsa and Raj kept gaping at each other in bewilderment. The things took a very serious turn.
"Elsa!" called out mummiji. "Come and help me!" she ordered. Elsa went to Mummiji's room. Raj went to kids’  room.

"Dadaji, can we come to your study, now?" asked the kids. Dadaji had never allowed the kids in his study. Now that he was to stay there, kids grabbed the opportunity to play in the study room! Dadaji nodded. Kids were happy with this arrangement. They had two rooms to play now! 

Mummiji called Raghu. "Raghu! Now the meetings will be at my home!" she said. "But madam.. !" he was surprised. "There is hardly any time left. We need to intensify our work!" she said not giving him any chance to ask anything further. 

"You will meet me in the evening with our design drawings!" she said eyeing on papaji who was still fuming! Elsa's mouth fell open!

Mummiji had taken it very seriously and was now personally supervising over the preparations. Raghu was surprised at this move. He thought Madam was just helping them out of courtesy. But it turned out to be that she actually was taking over. He was happy. He learnt new things from the old lady about positioning the concepts in the market. 

"If we have to sell the concept, we need to create the need first!" she had said. He really loved interacting with her. 

"Raghu, if this is successful to my expectations; you will be rewarded beyond your expectations!" she had said finally when they were all set for the show! 

Raghu's head did not stop spinning. "Why is she taking it so seriously?" he wondered. All this time, he had hardly met his Sir, Mr. Balwindar Singh! And whenever they met, Sir had no time to talk to Raghu. Sometimes, Sir did not even reciprocate his greetings. Sir was acting strange! And Madam never talked about sir at all!

Mummiji had busied herself in the show completely, now taking it as a challenge. Papaji had nothing much to do. He kept calling Arnav only to remind him that they should outsmart KHF, sometimes to Arnav's annoyance. 

"Puttar, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I can do anything for your success!" papaji kept telling Arnav. "Just remember! It is now a prestige issue! We need to stay ahead!" 

****** ********* **********
Khushi was least bothered about the show. She knew Elsa and Mummiji would take care of everything. She was unaware of the mansion's war declaration! Mummiji had not called her. Elsa gave her the updates but did not talk about the fight. Mummiji had told her not to tell anything to Khushi. 

But papaji was growing restless as the show approached. Mummiji was calm and quiet. She avoided talking to anyone. Papaji and Mummiji did not even see each other's faces. They avoided each other. Raj felt growing guilt within him. "I should not have supported Dad!" he kept thinking. 

Even the kids sensed tension and kept asking Elsa what was wrong with Dadaji and Dadiji. "Did they fight?" asked meera. Elsa nodded. "Will they divorce each other?" she asked more seriously. She had seen her friend's parents fought and then divorced. 

"No!" said Elsa assuring the kids. "Its just they are faking it!" she said "For fun!" she added. Meera had a smile on her face and went out to play with Tej reassured that everything was ok.
But everything was not Ok. The senior couple had taken very personally. It was not the show now; it was going to be the show of the rivalry! Both their heads were in Furness, with erupting rage every now and then. 

"Shondeep, come home!" Raj called up Shondeep. Looking at the situation, he had postponed his departure to US until the show. When he felt the things were moving out of his control he called up.

Shondeep walked in. Raj talked to him at length explaining what all had happened. Shondeep felt strange. He had never seen the couple fight. Not even argue with each other. "This is strange!" he thought. He knew all the decisions taken by Balwindar Singh were driven by his wife. He knew Balwindar Singh is incomplete without his wife.
Papaji came out of his study and saw Shondeep and Raj talking. "What are you doing here?" he asked angrily. 

"I just came to talk to Raj about the Nanded issue!" lied shondeep. Raj and Shondeep exchanged glances. 

"Come to my study!" papaji ordered. Shondeep obeyed. "The room was changed into his bedroom. Shondeep looked around in surprise. "Shondeep! I know you are on her side, but remember I am still your boss!" papaji threatened him.

"I know sir!" started Shondeep in a calm voice. "I know that AR Group is far ahead in all these things! You need not worry!" he said pleasantly.

"I know! But now she is there with them." He waved at Mummiji's room. Shondeep hid his smile. "You know, she can turn around any situation to her advantage!" cribbed papaji. Shondeep had to work hard to hide his laughter. Papaji had expressed his hidden feelings. He was afraid of his defeat!

"No Sir! Nothing of that sort will happen! Of course we will try our level best to establish ourselves in this show!" he added naughtily.
"Get out!" papaji had ousted him out of his study-cum-bedroom!

***** **********
"Dad, relax! Why are you so tensed up?" asked Raj worried about papaji's restlessness.
"Raj, you don't know! This old lady is wicked! She can do anything!" Papaji said angrily.
"Dad!" Raj did not like anyone saying so bad about his Mom.

"You don't know, Raj! She has used only her brain in those ten years on wheelchair! She had no other work than to read! There is literally nothing on this earth, which she does not know!" Dad was exaggerating. Raj searched in his Dad's eyes. There was a faint admiration reflecting.
"This is a thing to worry!" muttered Dad. "You know, my business grew exponentially only because of her brain! I was only the executor!" he went ahead. "Now, I must show her that I can do something!" he said with determination. He became serious again.

"You know, bte? After you went away, I busied myself in business and she in her books. In these ten years we only talked about business and nothing else. In fact, there was nothing to talk about at all! She was left with nothing!" he got sentimental. Raj hugged his Dad tightly. "Don't worry Dad!" he said. 

********* **********
Arnav smirked! "Don't worry! I know what to do! No one can be a match to AR Group!" said Arnav smugly responding to Raj's call. Papaji had forbidden Raj to tell anything about the fight. But Raj could not take it anymore. He had explained everything to Arnav. Arnav assured him that he will not let papaji down. 

Khushi was moving around when Raj's phone came that night. "Khushi? Oh! She is alright! All set for the show!" he said smirking. Khushi got alerted. "Who?" she asked. "Raj!" answered Arnav. She ignored.

Aranv disconnected the phone lost in thoughts. "Does Khushi, know about this big fight? Should I tell her?" he wondered. "Why should I? This is competition! And I must win!" he thought to himself resolutely. 

"Arnav ji! You look serious! Is it that you are worried about the show? Are you afraid? Do you want any help?" she asked him contemptuously! He glared at her. "Shut up!" he said. She grinned! He pulled her in a tight hug "Khushi....!" switching off the lights.

****** ******** ***** ******
The morning was different. Only a couple of days left for the show. They had no time to talk to each other. They had booked different flights to Kolkata. Arnav and his AR Group team were to go together. Khushi had booked her early morning ticket. Arnav had decided to stay with his team in Kolkata too! Lavanya was happy! She kept following ASR everywhere. Khushi was not around! She had gone to the Mansion.

Mummiji greeted her. Papaji had no recognition in his eyes for Khushi. Khushi looked away angrily ignoring his presence. 

"Where is Arnav?" he asked in the air.
"He is with his team and not coming here!" she answered to the photo frame!
"Where?" he asked again not looking at her.
"Taj!" she answered. Papaji went out hurriedly.
"Dad!" Raj followed looking angrily at Khushi.
"What did I do?" asked Khushi frowning! Elsa came forward.

********** ********** ********

PC Chandra Greens was full with guests and customers from all over the world. The show theme was "Earth Summer!" The participants were to display the summer collection with a freedom to choose their own themes. All were excited. Only Five big Teams from India were participating. Among them, AR Group and KHF were the two big names. The rest twenty two were from all over the world with different themes and concepts. The schedule was: shows for four days and the fifth day was a special surprise event by host Kolkata.

The atmosphere in the Mansion was like farness. The sun shone hot outside and it was hotter inside. Papaji never showed his face in these two days. He was constantly with AR Group to the annoyance of Arnav sometimes! He was fed up with papaji's instructions and kept telling him that everything is under control. 

Oh the other hand Khushi and her group was cool except mummiji. She kept checking her check list throughout, talking constantly over phone; supervising over the rehearsals! Khushi kept telling her that everything will be ok and their success was 100% sure! She had never seen mummiji so restless. She had a long discussion with Elsa to know the details of the fight. She was furious about papaji's attitude.

"How can he do this to me?" she wondered sadly. "I will show him what I am!" she took up the challenge.
The inaugural function was about to begin.....!

Khushi was restless the night before the inauguration ceremony. She paced her room. Several times she felt like calling her husband but she restrained herself. She could not bear the atmosphere in the Mansion. Everyone was tensed up. "What if we did not do well?" she shuddered with the thought. "What will mummiji think of us? She has been so helpful. It was me who roped her in! its my mistake! I should have thought of this!" Khushi blamed herself.
"I cannot let her down! I have to do something! I have to ensure my team's success!" she became more restless. She was furious about papaji. "How could he do this to Mummiji?" she thought angrily. "Poor Mummiji, she has been unnecessarily dragged into this fight between me and Arnavji!" she felt sorry and guilty at the same time. "No! No! I cannot let her down. I have to ensure our success!" she started racking her brains for the resource who could help her in this. She stopped dead after pacing the room for a while. "Yes!" she said smiling broadly and dialed the number! It was ten in the night.

******** ********** *********

Arnav was surprised at Papaji's restlessness. He assured him so many times that their's would be the best show! But papaji was not convinced. He kept on pestering Arnav. Arnav paced his room to find the solution to ensure his success. Looking at papaji's nervousness, he too sensed real competition now from KHF group! He knew nothing about their theme. In fact he was not bothered to know about it. He was sure of his success. But now papaji's insecurity crept into his brain. His brain started calculating the risk in losing this show. He badly needed to ensure their success. He kept on searching for a solution. He stopped dead in his tracks and dialed a number to make sure the success of AR Group! It was ten in the night.

***** ****** ********

Raj, Elsa and Shondeep were tensed up. They could not predict anything. They wanted their teams to win but at the same time, wanted the other team not to lose! "I don't know what will happen after the event! If they continue their rivalry like this, their life will be hell after the show!" Elsa expressed her fears. Raj looked serious. Now the things had fallen in place and they were living happily. This stupid competition had ruined everything. "This couple, Arnav and Khushi! They did this! They must be blamed! Who had asked them to participate independently?' Raj was furious. Neither Khushi nor Arnav was there to hear this. Mummiji's BP dosage was doubled and papaji often ignored taking medicines. Elsa was worried about their health. This fashion show had stirred their smooth life. They were all worried. "Whoever wins, we are the losers!" said Raj gravely.
No one slept that night for different reasons!

*** **** ****

"ASR!" Lavanya was knocking on the door. Arnav was busy talking on phone. He opened the door and without looking at her turned his back and continued talking. She came in and waited patiently. He turned after disconnecting and looked at her questioningly.

"ASR! You know what, they have only three international models" she gave him the news. "Who?" he asked.

"The Bangalore Group!" she said. "Lavanya, you came here at this hour to give me this news?" he was clearly annoyed. "No ASR, I was just tensed up a bit and nervous. I just wanted to spend some time with you!" she said wrapping her arm around his. 

"Lavanya! How many fashion shows have we done so far? And still you are nervour?" he asked her sternly. Someone banged open the door. It was papaji at the door. He gaped at ASR and Lavanya! He looked furious. "Papaji!" called out Arnav going after him. He had turned and marched out of the room. "Papaji!" he stopped. Arnav caught up with him. "What is it, papaji?" he asked.

"Nothing! And what were you doing with her?" he directly asked Arnav.
"Nothing! She came to my room to give me some news!" he said looking straight into papaji's eyes. 

"Look, puttar! Don't waste your time in such matters. We have to win this, remember?" warned papaji.

"I know papaji! And we will!" assured Arnav again. He came back to his room looking serious. Lavanya was still waiting for him in his room.

"Lavanya, leave me alone!" he said sternly and she went out sulkily. She had a growing feeling that ASR was avoiding her. "What's wrong with him? Why is he behaving so strange? We have been good friends all along; though he is more than a friend for me! But for him, I am not the one!" she thought with a bitter taste in her mouth. "Why can't we be just friends as before?" she wondered sadly. She went back to her room. 

The night and the wait were killing everyone!

**** ***** ******
Mummiji refused to come for the inaugural function. Elsa wanted to stay with mummiji; but mummiji refused that too. She asked everyone to attend the function. "I want to pray God for my success!" she had said. 

ASR was as usual in monochrome attire, with everything black! Aakash looked handsome with his navy blue suit and white shirt with gray tie. Shondeep was present in casual wear for a change. Elsa and Raj were the perfect couple in western attire. Lavanya was at her best with short skirt and stilts. She looked taller and slimmer in her attire attracting many eyes.
Papaji looked nervous. He caught hold of ASR again. "Puttar, look, I have never attended such functions! I normally stay away from these types. Tell me, how do I look?" he asked ASR looking at himself. Arnav eyed him from top to bottom and said "You look normal, papaji! Nothing special. No horns, no vampire teeth!.... " he said hiding his laughter. Papaji looked furious. "Sorry papaji!" Arnav apologized! "I just wanted to ease out your tension!" he said not controlling his grin. Papaji went away to find out another gullible person and he did. Shondeep was roaming around aimlessly. "Shondeep! How do I look?" he asked excitedly. "Perfect!" complemented Shondeep. "Perfect nervous boy, going to give his first exam!" he added grinning. 

"Dad, what are you doing here?" asked Raj coming towards him. Shondeep was saved from papaji's wrath. "Dad, you look handsome!" Elsa complemented him. He looked smug!
"Where is she?" asked papaji. "Who?" asked Raj.

"That lady?" Raj still had question mark on his face. "Ok! My wife?" asked papaji giving up.
"She stayed home!" said Elsa. Papaji had a smile on his face "See? 'darpoke!' she chickened out!" he declared victoriously.

"Dad, she is not attending only this inaugural function! She will be right there for the show!" retorted Elsa. She did not like papaji's comment. 

Khushi was nowhere to be seen. There was another session of headlock going on at the other end. Arnav and Khushi were standing in front of each other gazing at each other angrily, nose to nose! Both of them opened their mouths raising their fingers simultaneously to say something scornful and stopped like statues! Arnav lowered his finger after a while and a shade of victory appeared in Khushi's eyes. Arnav was still furious. “How could you ask him?” he asked again.  “ASR please… Stop all this..! She didn’t.. I mean… I didn’t..” Regi who was standing aside guiltily stepped in.

“You stay out of this…! And I am warning you…!” ASR marched on to him aggressively.  Regi staggered backwards.  Khushi glared at ASR and closing the headlock session said scornfully,  "All the best Mr. Raizada!" said Khushi holding out her hand. "Wish you the same!" said Arnav shaking hands with her. They both turned their backs on each other and went to their camps. 

A typical inaugural function started off with serenity with lighting the lamp, a typical Indian tradition and melodious Robindro Shongeet; typical of Kolkata!! The crowd was a mixture of Top industrialists, fashion tycoons, designers, amateur designers, enthusiasts, free pass holders, government officials as special invitees, and participants among the models!! Each team projecting its best. 

The image of earth from space revolved slowly in the backdrop. The ramp was lit by foot lights. The drapery was a mix of white and yellow shades everywhere giving it a classy summer look. No spot lights were lit yet. After the inauguration ceremony by the Chief Minister of West Bengal, the schedule for the show was announced. The attending industrialists, potential customers list was announced. Mr. Balwindar Singh's name was taken prominently as the host and major sponsor!! No one knew about it. Papaji had managed this last minute to impress upon the rival team!! Arnav looked at Papaji in surprise. Papaji winked at him. Arnav looked away. Khushi was nowhere to be seen. She was at the other end eyeing on Papaji. "So he is throwing his weight around!" she thought sulkily. 

ASR from the other end was eyeing Khushi. She was wearing black long skirt with white intricate appliqué work on it and white short top with black starry sash wrapped around her neck. She was wearing a diamond delicate pendent along with her mangalsutra and matching ear buds with single bangle around each wrist. She had let her wavy hair lose sprawled on her back. The curly hair locks dangled merrily on her forehead an around her ears. She looked simple but elegant in that crowd of fashion and style. Arnav could not take his eyes off. 

"ASR!" Lavanya interrupted. Arnav startled. She was with Aakash and a group of persons. He shook hands with the persons accompanying Aakash. And then he had no time to look around. He was busy meeting the existing customers, potentials, guests, industrialists, acquaintances....!
Raghu was doing the same at the other end. He was seen with the top models Candy and Celvin Klein. He was all set to grab the opportunity to make his presence felt. He looked a perfect fashion model Mr. India, himself. Females never stopped glancing at him with curiosity.
The schedule was announced. Both the teams were scheduled on fourth day evening. Khushi and Arnav took a sigh of relief that they were placed on the same day. 

*************** ***********

Day four! Of the International fashion week! The two teams waited in their respective green rooms with bated breath. Lavanya and Aakash were nervous and Elsa and Raghu were busy encouraging the participant models. ASR was engrossed in meeting people and talking about the prospects. A senior industrialist had caught hold of Mr. Balwindar Singh. But papaji kept looking around for someone. Khushi was with mummiji. Though she walked with the help of her walking stick, Mummiji had preferred a wheelchair. She was clearly nervous. Papaji saw her and started moving towards her. Raj intercepted him in between and warned him. "Dad, don't create a scene here!" he pulled him aside. Shondeep came to his rescue and took papaji away. He saw ASR and Lavanya together. He waved at her. She came hurriedly and greeted him with a light hug. Shondeep, though was westernized, felt awkward. She wrapped her arm around his and asked "Shondeep, where were you?" 

"Busy!" he answered. "I am sorry, Shondeep, I got to go! Have a hell lot to do!" she said and vanished in search of ASR who by that time had reached up to his wife. "Khushi!" he whispered in her ear from behind. She turned in a jerk. He had placed his hand on her waist. She blushed "What are you doing?" she pulled herself away. He smiled and went away.
The fourth day first show was about to begin!