#chap8 #chroniclesoflife #Sagas_by_Irvika #sweetlovestory

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In the morning, Mrs Shah was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, when a call came. Mr Shah was talking to his sister, when she came out and Dilipji handed over the phone. She greeted, “Jai Shri Krishna didi.. how are you? Yes, we are all doing well… yes the Verma family came home yesterday.. I suggested Atharva to meet up few more girls though…. Oh! Are you talking about the Mehtas? That’s excellent news didi…”

To be continued…
Mrs Shah exclaimed, “I knew something better was in store for us. How sweet of you to have matched their kundlis as well! Let me talk about this and get back to you in a while. Thank you so much!”

Mrs Shah was exhilarated to say the least. She thought that she had been right all along about waiting for better proposals. She shared about it with her husband and somehow convinced him to at least give a thought over this. It’s not as if they had said yes to the Vermas yet. Mr Shah got influenced due to the continuous pressures from her.

That day, the 3 brothers had to meet up with an important client, so had to reach office early. Atharva was anyways running late. He couldn’t get up when his alarm rang because of lack of sleep the previous night. Hence, he had to rush through his routine. Mr Shah didn’t feel like discussing about the call he had received from his sister; thought it would lead to unnecessary controversy and disrupt their attention. The meeting on that day was very important, as he was one of their main clients; a lot depended on the meeting. So, he thought that he will explain when they come back home in the evening.

Meanwhile, Atharva, Shankar and Minish went about their meeting at the client’s office, which took up almost their entire day. It was around 7 p.m. that Atharva could reach office, as some important documents had to be signed and couldn’t be put off till tomorrow. Shankar and Minish needed to have a quick word with an acquaintance in a nearby office. The meeting was very taxing and all were tired by the time they were done. However, it went off exceptionally well, and they were all jubilant about it. Atharva was going through the documents, when his cousin Niraj (bua’s son) dropped in.

Niraj greeted, “Hey! What’s up? Long time since we met.” Atharva smiled, “Ya I know, you are not in town most of the time, kya kare?”
Niraj conceded, “Ya.. I know. But can’t help it na. I have to keep traveling to Gujarat often for some project or the other. Anyways, how’s life?”
He responded, “Very hectic… don’t ask, but enjoying it.”
Niraj returned, “Of course, you are a workaholic.”
He shook his head and said, “Nothing of the sort. You tell me, how did we have the privilege of seeing you here today?”
Niraj answered, “Oh! I was just passing through the area. Had come to the bank so thought of dropping in. By the way, all set to meet Dipti?” He couldn’t help himself asking.
Atharva gave him a puzzled look. “Who Dipti? What are you talking about?”
Niraj clarified, “Oh! So you don’t know? Well, get ready to meet her buddy. Mom had called up uncle in the morning about the same. Dipti Mehta is my second cousin, my bua's daughter to be specific.”
He was still baffled. “I am sorry, can you please elaborate? What did bua call for?”
Niraj smirked, “Don’t act dumb Atharva, it’s obvious...To fix up a date so that the two families can meet, and if both of you like each other, then bingo! I will be all excited to dance in your wedding. It will be a double celebration for me!”
His head was spinning now at the unexpected turn of events. He queried, “Hold on! When did bua call up about this? How come I am not aware?”
Niraj replied, “Today morning itself. Mom told me that she had a talk with both uncle and aunty regarding this. In fact aunty was quite happy about it and has even asked her to fix up a meeting.”

Atharva’s face lost all colour. He couldn’t believe his ears. How could they do this when he had so very clearly mentioned his decision yesterday?!
Niraj noticed the anxiety on Atharva’s face and questioned with concern etched in his voice. “Hey! All ok bro? What happened?”
He fumbled, not knowing what to reply and stuttered, “N..no… nothing… just having a headache. It’s been a gruelling day.”
Niraj couldn’t interpret his reaction, but then didn’t probe further.
He shook hands and said, “Okay see you soon. Bye.” Atharva tried to act normal and nodded. As soon as Niraj left office, he called up Shankar. “Where are you? Need to talk. Okay wait. I am done, will come down in a minute.” He immediately left office. Both Shankar and Minish were waiting in the car for him.
As soon as he sat in the car, he thundered, “Did mummy or papa talk to any of you about bua calling up in the morning?”
Both were unaware and Minish questioned, “No, what are you talking about?”
Atharva was losing his temper now. He explained in anguish, “Niraj had just come to the office. He mentioned about bua calling up in the morning regarding her niece, Dipti Mehta. She apparently talked to both Ma and papa about it and…” He stopped, trying to get a grip on himself, and continued, “can you believe it? Bua has been asked to fix up a meeting with the Mehta family!”
Both Shankar and Minish were dumbfounded, as they were completely clueless about all this.

*****At the Parmar’s residence******

Meanwhile, Mr Verma openly discussed about the proposal with his wife. She was aware of Shruti’s wish, still it was her duty to think over it, weigh all the pros and cons before proceeding. Above everything else, she really liked Atharva. Though she had a brief exchange of words with him, she had the ability to judge people, due to her years of experience. She was looking forward to this alliance with the Shahs. She was amused as well as relieved to realise that Shruti was once again going to be lucky, not having to go through the ordeal of meeting endless number of suitors and face the hardship that a lot of girls have to, in case of arranged marriage.

Nainaa had also called up during the day and had a heart-to-heart with her mom, so as to ascertain the exact scenario. She was super excited and was waiting desperately for everything to work out positively. Nainaa had already had a long talk with Shruti last night itself and knew her preference. Mr Verma even had a detailed conversation with Abhinav to get his opinion.

Mr Verma, after once again discussing with his sister and brother-in-law, decided to call up Mr Shah around 7.30 p.m. Mr Shah saw his mobile ringing, and inwardly cringed at the thought of what he was about to utter.
Mr Verma greeted very courteously, “Jai Shri Krishna, Dilipji.”
He returned, “Jai Shri Krishna Anilji…”
He politely asked, “Did you have a discussion with your family Dilipji? I avoided calling during the day so as to give you all time to consider. What have you decided?”
Mr Shah tried to avoid getting into too much explanation and replied, “Anilji, we need more time. Haven’t been able to have any conversation to come to a definite conclusion. I understand that you must be wanting to return back to Nashik. In that case, I will not ask you to stay back. You can proceed. I will call you up in a couple of days.”

Shruti and the rest of the members were sitting right there, and saw her father’s expression change; from waiting with abated breath to hear good news to a frown between his brows. Shruti started getting all possible negative vibes. Mr Verma could clearly make out that although politely, but Mr Shah was trying to let him know clearly that they weren’t interested. He didn’t know how to react or what to say about the unheralded circumstances. He somehow muttered, “Dilipji, we are here till tomorrow evening. If you want to arrange a second meeting, we are fine with that. The kids can meet up, not a problem.”
Mr Shah couldn’t douse his hopes further, and gave a short reply, “Sure Anilji… will let you know.” And they disconnected.

To be continued....

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