Once Upon A Hullabaloo!

CHAPTER 10

"Wouldn't you call this a piece of work by an absolute genius artist?" Kshitij held the dish having a red swastik in the centre on a spread of turmeric paste, "I think this is the best swastik one could ever come up with when using vermilion powder paste."

"Sure is, except that you have it's arms in the opposite directions so I don't think it is a swastik anymore." I laughed, "More like a symbol of dumbness maybe?"

It was the last aarti-thaali we were working on. The tedious task had eaten up our entire afternoon and I was no more feeling my butt because of the hard floor we were sitting on. I took his creation from his hands and wiped the thing before it could dry off. Making the appropriate alterations I got up to stretch myself. Kshitij too got on his feet and gave out an indecent, loud yawn. 

We had been talking about tomorrow's mandap mahurat all the while and I had explained him that it was basically a Ganpati puja to seek the God's blessings for the new couple and the union of two families. He had been hanging on to every word falling out of my mouth which made me want to tell him all that I knew. Before we realized, the job was successfully done.

"Omi beta, Beautiful aarti-thaali you have done there." Hema fai entered the room, "I'm sure Ganpati bappa will be pleased and perhaps bless you with a good husband this year."

Hema fai was papa's cousin and like every relative of mine, obsessed with getting me married as soon as possible. She had arrived with her family this morning and I knew that it was just a beginning. Soon the house was going to be filled with her alikes who wouldn't miss a single opportunity to point out my prolonged maidenhood.

I took a deep breath and forced a smile, " I hope you had a peaceful afternoon nap."

"Couldn't be better. I can't wait to go saree shopping with Sejal bhabhi and Jigna bhabhi now!" She clasped her hands referring to mummy and kaki, "I will leave Rishi with you kids. He would get bored with us elders."

I gave an assuring nod trying to seem excited about spending time with Rishi, her beloved son and by the bonds of blood, my cousin- a fourteen-year-old hormonal teenager.

She walked towards Kshitij and placed a soothing hand on his cheek, "Omi is lucky to have a supportive friend like you. I'm glad you are here, by her side in her weak times."

I rolled my eyes as she paced out of the room. Kshitij gave me a skeptical look before the harry potter book lying on my bed caught his attention. He reached out for it to flip through.

"Oh good that you two are done with this." Miral was back from the beauty salon and was eyeing the aarti-thaalis on the floor, "We three are going for shopping."

"No." Kshitij and I stated in a simultaneous flat tone.

"Cute." She looked from me to Kshitij, "It was more of a statement than a question. To balm your fragile egos, let's call it a request or whatever."

"Does domination run through your family?" Kshitij turned to me.

"Go with mummy, fai and kaki. They are going for a shopping trip now." I suggested, "And we also have Rishi to babysit."

"Take him along!" She grabbed her purse from the table in corner, "Come on, I promise to do a requirement-oriented shopping. No aimless roam-arounds in other shops."

"We have been locked in the house all day." Kshitij reasoned with me, "A little outing won't hurt."

"Fine." I sighed.

Rishi was lying on the drawing room sofa in his tee and a cargo shorts. Yellow Skullcandy headphones were snaked around his neck. The wire coming out disappeared in his shorts' pocket, probably attached to a ridiculously expensive cellphone inside. Baa was settled on a rocking chair in the corner chanting evening shlokas.