42

The girl was standing at the window staring hopefully at the terrace of the Haveli. There was no one waving back at her. The relatives had gathered in the house. 

Everything was hush-hush. They were talking in bare whisper. The commotion on the road had increased. There was more number of police than the agitators. She heard screaming and looked in that direction. 

They were dragging the Austin car. The mob was violent,  Police had to lathi-charge. There was gun firing in the air, people scattered running in all directions. A group entered the house and closed the door behind them. Everybody in the house was scared.
"Nothing will happen. Give us shelter for the night!" said a particularly rough man. The girl's father nodded. The girl still was looking out of the window and following the Austin car. They set the car on fire shouting like maniacs!! 


Khushi screamed and got up with a start sweating all over. "They got him. They burnt him with his car!" she murmured clutching her head trying to stop the riot in her head. In panic, she dialed Arnav's number. 

Arnav got up with a jerk on hearing his phone ring. He looked at the time. It was 3.30 in the night. Khushi's name flashed.

"Khushi?" he was surprised.
"Arnav ji!" she called out in panic. 'Are you ok?" she asked him shakily.

"Khushi? What happened? I am fine! Khushi?" he talked to her soothingly.
"Khushi, tell me what happened?" he asked her softly.

"Th..That bo...!" Khushi stuttered and suddenly coming back to her senses said. "No.. nothing! I missed you!" she said hurriedly.
"Oh! Really?" he asked her suspiciously.

"Ye.. Yes! O ok! Good night!" she said ready to disconnect the phone.
"Khushi..? was that one of those bad dreams?" he asked her. She hesitated and said
"No! nothing like that. I ..I just wanted to talk to you!" she said hiding her emotions.

"Are you scared?" he asked her in a soft assuring voice.
"Its ok! I am here!" he said soothingly. She felt better.
"Ok. Keep your phone on and go to sleep. I am with you!" he said in a low husky voice. She obeyed. 

"Khushi, I miss you too! I miss being with you under the blanket!" he said. Khushi blushed. "Hmm!" she said.

"I miss your fragrance and I miss your warmth....!" he started off mischievously. "No! no. stop!... I am disconnecting!" she said blushing furiously and took the blanket over her head. Arnav smiled looking at the blank screen.

"See you tomorrow, Khushi!" he said switching off the lights.


Next day evening Raj, Shondeep and Arnav were in Nanded and were with papaji. Khushi was happy to see them all. They had a very serious discussion over the dinner. 

"Khushi is going to brief you about the situation here after an hour or so. Take rest till then and come to my room!" Said papaji.

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

Khushi talked about the pathetic condition of the workers, how the union leaders were exploiting, the pending payments ... etc!

You know what? We were talking about keeping them on sustenance package but strangely, the salary/wages figures on papers are different than these people actually get. You know, they get much less than our sustenance package!" she dropped the bombshell.

"What?" all of them were shocked.

"Yes. This is how it happens. 410 workers are on daily wages. They get paid every Saturday in cash. They sign on the full amount and are given only 60% of the total amount. Then every week Rs. 50 goes to union fund, compulsory. So ultimately if a person earns 1000 Rs. a week, he gets only Rs. 550." She showed them the calculation.

"Where does this money go?" asked Shondeep astonished. "Union and Political leaders"! She said. 

There was a silence for a long time. She broke the silence and said.

" The other 500 workers are on permanent basis. Their salaries are deposited in the bank. When they go to withdraw, the money is taken away from them. The moment any of them raises the voice, his job is gone. Only permanent workers have the free residence facility. All these workers are the members of this cooperative mill. They are not sure about their future! Half of office staff has already left"

"We remove the word sustenance and give them the reduced salary in full, still they will have Rs. 100 more a week than they are actually getting now in hand" All of them kept gaping at each other. 

They had to change their strategy now.

"How did you know all this?" asked Arnav surprised, at the amount of data Khushi had gathered and compiled right from the land ownership, the capacity of old and new machinery, the composition of labour, their salaries, their other perks...etc!" 

She smiled throwing her nose in the air proudly. "I have my own sources!"

she said with a glint. Arnav looked away. Shondeep smiled looking at both of them. And Raj thumped on her shoulder sending her off balance.

"Ok Khushi, if you have finished with your data, go to your room and sleep well! You are going back tomorrow early morning!" Papaji said dismissing her.

"What? No! I am not going!" she said adamantly.

"I did not ask your opinion, Khushi! Go back to your room!" said papaji holding her shoulder and driving her towards the door. She went back to her room sulkily. Somewhere after midnight she felt Arnav beside her. 

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

"Dada!" Ramani called up late in the night. Papaji came out of the room.
"What is it?" he asked him surprised.

"Dada, you are in Nanded!" declared Ramani.
"Yes!" said papaji. 

"Dada.... !" Ramani give him the details.
"Yes, I have the idea! I am making all arrangements!" said papaji seriously. 

"Dada, careful!" said Ramani.
"Hmm!" said papaji. 

"Ramani, I am sending back Khushi tomorrow! Take care of her safety. I have arranged for police protection, but you know...!" said papaji seriously. He was clearly worried about her safety.

"Dada, don't worry! My people will take care of her!" said Ramani.

Next day was the test for Balwindar Singh, as a human being, as a businessman and as a negotiator!!

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

"Khushi, wake up!" Arnav was trying to wake her up. She turned and resumed her sleep.
"Khushi, car is waiting. You got to go!" Arnav lifted her from bed. She opened her eyes.

"I am not going!" she said.
"Yes, you are!" he said.

"No!" she was adamant.
"Khushi, go and get ready!" he ordered. She got ready!

"Khushi let us go and meet papaji before you go!" Arnav said.
"No! I am not meeting him!" Khushi was angry with papaji.

Arnav took her to papaji's room. "Bye Puttar, call me once you reach safely!" He said seriously trying to hug her.

She broke away with a jerk and said "I hate you!" papaji stopped dead so did everyone else.
Papaji embraced her forcibly and said "Khushi Puttar, don't hate your poor old papaji!"

"No! I didn't mean it, papaji!" Khushi hugged him tightly letting her tears down her cheeks.
"Its ok, Puttar! Now go!" he pushed her towards the door. His phone rang.

"Dada, I am sending a car and driver. He will take her to Mumbai Airport! Don't use any of your vehicles" said Ramani. 

"Ok!" papaji said. The driver was waiting. Khushi left. Papaji and others came back to his room.

"Hope, she reaches safely. We have sent her back in a nick of time!" said papaji gravely. Arnav nodded.

"Here are the possibilities...." Papaji started off.
It was nine in the morning. Papaji's phone rang. He listened and said "Ok!" disconnecting.

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

Khushi reached home in the evening. She was restless. "Khushi bitiya, you came home and Chote left for some business tour yesterday" said Naniji. Khushi knew, Arnav had not told anyone in the house that he went to Nanded. They all thought that he went to Mumbai for some business deal. She was puzzled.

They were at the table for dinner when Mamiji switched on the TV. She started surfing the channels. Khushi tried to take away the remote to see the news. Mamiji was busy watching her favorite daily soap. Khushi saw a marquee about curfew in some parts of Nanded. She got panic and ran towards her room.

She switched on the TV and started surfing the news channels. There was the news of Sahakaar Spinning Mills. The meeting with the workers and unions got postponed by a day due to disturbance and agitation by the workers before the meeting. The agitation took turned into riots and there was heavy loss suffered because of stone pelting and breakage by the angry union activists. The mob had vandalized the building and furniture. Three cars were set on fire. "Cars? Fire?" Khushi tried the phone but everybody's phone was switched off. She did not know whom to contact. She started pacing the room in panic. No one in the house knew that Arnav was caught in this. She repented having come back. She was angry with everyone.
"How can they do this to me? They sent me safely and themselves are caught in this mess!" she cursed herself.

She remembered her dream. "I knew, I should have stopped them. I knew the cars would be set on fire. I had seen it! HIS car was set on fire!!" she started blurting in panic and crying. "Why didn't I tell about my dream to Arnav ji? Why didn't I alert papaji?" she blamed herself. "No! No.. I have to do something!" 

She dialed Vimal's number. "Hello, Khushi? When did you reach?" asked Vimal from the other end.

"Vimal, is everything ok? Did you meet papaji?" she asked in panic.

"Papaji?' Vimal was puzzled.
"I mean, Sir, Tell me vimal, did you meet him? Is everything ok? What was the problem in the Mill?" she started bombarding the questions.

"ho ho, break lagao, Khushi!" Vimal said casually. "Khushi, don't panic. Everything is fine. Though the office building is ruined and vandalized, no injuries to persons. You know, last minute the meeting got postponed for tomorrow. Sir changed his vehicle at the last minute. They are all safe. Don't worry!" said Vimal to Khushi's relief. She thanked Vimal and disconnected.

Her phone rang. It was Arnav. "Arnav ji, ...!" Khushi again started off in panic.
"Khushi, relax! We are all safe. There were lot of things going on so had to switch off the phone!" Arnav justified. Khushi was not satisfied.

"You all come back! We don't want that factory, we don't want to run it, you all come back!" she ordered hm.

"Khushi, calm down!" Arnav tried to pacify her.
"No! you come back. All of you! I want to talk to papaji!" she said.

"Khushi, stop! Stop it! We are not coming back. We will finalize the deal and come back! Don't worry! I will keep you updating!" said Arnav. But Khushi was not ready to listen.
She dialed papaji's number.

"Papaji, come back!" she ordered.
"No!" said papaji and disconnected.