Author name: Aasima Arora

“Hello ji! Welcome to Kudi Ambarsariya i.e. Mehek’s world! This is my third blog of the day! It has been so eventful that I had to start recording to keep panic at bay! This again is an awkward position. I am hiding in that stranger’s car. You would be wondering how I got into his swanky BMW? The person who got his clothes also returned his keys, I just took the liberty of taking them along! No one will look for me here. Daarji has sent his army all about the haveli looking for me. I climbed the verandah wall while they were looking for me. Billo, our cook, saw me jumping but she is a good friend, I know she won’t rat me out!” Mehek nervously blabbered on into her smartphone. “Yaar, you guys won’t believe what I pulled off today! I mean I did something again after the ‘besan-wali-holi’! I can’t tell but I wish I could tell you people!”she blushed and giggled when she recalled how surprised he had been by the tricky manoeuvre she had displayed just a few minutes back. “Let’s not talk about it! So, now I am waiting for Biji, my grandmother, Naseebo Rani to come home and take the case of her dear husband. Anyways, can you see how Daarji is scolding my cousins?”Mehek  tried to laugh but it sounded hollow. “Rabb di saun[I swear to God!], I am now feeling bad for my cousins. Should I go and take the punishment?” Mehek mused but shivered at the thought. “No! It is not worth it and it wasn’t my mistake. I will make it up to the kids later. See you guys!”Mehek shut down her video blog as she spotted someone nearby. “Hun ki pasoori pay gayi?[What has gone wrong now?]”Naseebo Kaur Gill, fondly called Biji, swore under her tongue as she entered her own house and witnessed the kids and entire domestic help crew standing in a line.  “We were gone only for an hour Biji! Haye, I am so worried for Jassi’s wedding,”her daughter-in-law’s eyebrows creased with worry. “Waheguru will take care! Don’t worry! Let me see what has now ticked off this old man! He has made my house an Army camp!”Naseebo said. “Where is Mehek hiding?” Retd. Major General Satnam Gill roared. “Why are you harassing my kids?”Naseebo roared louder as she entered the verandah.  “See, what your favourite grandkid has done!”Satnam was consumed with fury as he recounted the incident. “It is just a little besan! They are kids, they are supposed to be naughty! Should oldies like you and me be naughty?”Naseebo hollered back. “You always let her get away with everything! Look around at the mess she has created!”Satnam replied in rage. “Why don’t you look around? I have at least fifty people coming over in an hour for lunch. Cooks haven’t started cooking because you have turned the whole house into a bootcamp. What will I feed the paronas(guests)…your salute? It is a wedding house not your army base! It was my bad destiny that my aunt got me married to you…”Naseebo started cursing and crying over her bad luck. Satnam looked hassled with the culmination of the whole episode. He could handle everything except women crying, especially his wife. Naseebo was well aware of this and didn’t believe in leaving any opportunity to use this to bring the old man to his senses. “Enough! Ask your darling grand-daughter to come over and apologise to Jassi’s senior! I am appalled at the treatment a defence officer was given in my own abode,” Satnam dismissed his wife without another thought and walked away to the peace and quiet of his own room. “Yaar, meri hi shaadi main, mera band bajaya tune Motto! (You embarrassed me at my own wedding)!” Jaswinder screamed at his younger sister as he paced the room.  “Biji please tell him, it wasn’t my fault,”Mehek whined but it fell on deaf ears. She tried explaining the whole scene to him, but he was hyperventilating. “Squadron Leader Abhiraj Kapoor…You drenched Kapoor Sir with besan?  “I feel no less than a criminal Veerji(brother). I am so sorry…”Mehek started apologising but before she could complete her apology, she had a change of heart.  “Wait…one minute…Abhiraj Kapoor…isn’t he the same ‘Khadoos Kapoor’? Your trainer at NDA who used to give you punishments day in and day out?” Mehek said indignantly.  “Oho!”Naseebo sighed dramatically.  “I refuse to feel guilty! At last Khadoos Kapoor learned a lesson!”Mehek said. Jaswinder left the room muttering choicest utterances.  “I am telling you! Jassi is suffering from wedding nerves!”Naseebo told her favourite grandchild. Abhiraj had changed and was moving towards the staircase when he heard his name being called out by someone. He realised it was Jaswinder scolding his sister. Although, he would never ever do this in normal circumstances but, today his brain had no control over his actions. “It is ok to eavesdrop sometimes!” he consoled himself. “…..isn’t he the same ‘Khadoos Kapoor’? Your trainer at NDA who used to give you punishments day in and day out?”a mellifluous voice emanated from the room, enchanting him till he realised the words spoken were ‘Khadoos Kapoor’. “Khadoos Kapoor? I knew that I was hard on the trainees but why should she call me ‘Khadoos Kapoor’?” he asked himself. “But why am I concerned about what the girl thinks about me?” he asked himself again, completely taken aback by his own reaction. “She is cute though!”he mused to himself as he walked away.    By the time Mehek  went down, ‘the Khadoos Kapoor’ had already changed and was having tea with Daarji. He had his back towards her, but she still felt the need to duck behind the servants to hide her presence. Her aim was to reach the kitchen to meet her grandmother and mother for another round of damage control. “Thankfully, both have tackled their respective better halves at their ends,”Mehek sighed to herself after meeting the women. She quickly

“Hello ji! Welcome to Kudi Ambarsariya i.e. Mehek’s world! A few of you have asked about my family. So, for generations, we Gills have served  in the Indian Defence services. My Daarji(Grandfather; a shorter version of Sardarji) is a retired Major General from the Indian Army, just like his father and grandfather were. However, this family profession missed a generation. My father became a politician and his brother became a doctor. Uncle is now settled in Canada. This fact has become a bone of contention between the father and the sons. Jassi Bhai, however,has brought some sort of peace in the family by choosing the Indian Air Force. The thing about my Daarji is that he often forgets that he is retired. He runs the house like his platoon. There are rules and when the rules are not followed, punishments are given out. You must be wondering why I am recording this blog in an awkward space?  Peshi lagugi meri! [I am being summoned to the verandah, where he will surely court marshal me!] I am literally shivering with fear. I have already received his special dose twice since yesterday. Now only one person can save me…my Dadi(grandmother). If my Daarji breathes fire, my Dadi is a film of ice. Her eyes  twinkle in mischief. A toothless smile always plays on her lips. Even though only curses come out her mouth, her heart is full of kindness, and most importantly I am her favourite.  She is the only one who can control this ‘angry old-man’ and right now she isn’t home. With a fate worse than death awaiting me…ok…ok…I am filmy!  So here is what I did! The moment Daarji called for me, I ran to the nearest room- the same that was being prepared for the guests! See I am not dumb! No one will look for me there. I have now hid myself under the bed and I am not coming out till my Dadi, my saviour, returns. And imagine what kind of scolding Binny and Sunny would be getting from Daarji. Their first class for the season.  I will let you know what happens next in tomorrow’s Vlog. Signing off now.  Rab rakha![May God protect you] ************************************************************** Post the ‘besanwali-holi’ incident, all hell had broken loose in the Haveli.  “Extremely sorry Sir!” Jaswinder Gill exclaimed.  Before Abhiraj could respond, Senior Mr. Gill  rushed to him and profusely apologised for the misadventure that had just taken place.  An elderly gentleman, Jaswinder’s grandfather, came and unleashed a  verbal fire in hard core rustic Punjabi on the two children, who looked grief stricken. Abhiraj couldn’t understand completely but got the essence. “It is fine sir!” Abhiraj tried to intervene but the old man was not in the mood to listen.  “Bulla unno [Call her]”Retd. Major General Gill screamed at the top of his voice.     A flurry of people ran helter-skelter trying to catch the culprit but returned empty-handed.  “Is the girl absconding? Not just the setting is filmy, the family is too!”Abhiraj chuckled to himself as he dusted the besan from his clothes . “Jassi take your Sir upstairs where you can change!”Retd. Major General Gill told them.  Someone got his suitcase from the car and he was taken to a room on the first floor.  “Really sorry Sir, once again!”Jaswinder showed me the room. “Never mind Jassi! So much for my reflexes!” Abhiraj laughed to make light of the situation but he knew the truth.   He had always prided himself for quick reflexes. It was critical for his profession. But the moment he had heard that peal of laughter, his feet had stuck to where they were. He could see the powder moving towards him, but his eyes wanted to see the face behind the projectile. “And it was worth it!” he thought to himself.  ************************************************************** “Murphy’s law! Durr phite muh tera Murphy![Screw you Mr. Murphy!]” Mehek swore under her tongue and banged her hand to the head as she heard her brother bring the stranger in.  “Of all the four rooms, Jassi bhai could find only this room to bring the ‘besanwali-holi’ victim? Waheguru, please save me!”Mehek sent a silent prayer to the almighty.    The door  remained open for a few minutes and Mehek could hear her brother apologising profusely to the person for her ‘misadventures’. “Uff…it is just besan flour. You hear them apologise and you will think as if I stole his kidney. My family always always overreacts…Drama Queens!”Mehek’s temper rose as she heard her brother go on with the apology.     “Finally!” Mehek sighed in relief when Jaswinder took leave but before she could make her presence felt, she saw that the tall, muscular guy had shut the door. He opened the buttons of his shirt and took it off in a split second to reveal a well toned torso with rippling biceps.  “Hai rabba![Oh God!]” She whispered to herself. She could feel the heat seeping into her cheeks and ears. “Is his face just as amazing? Would the film live up to the teaser?” her heart asked. “This is an utterly inappropriate question,”her mind scolded her.   Before she could do much, he reached for his trouser and a cry escaped from her lips. Mustering every iota of confidence Mehek crawled out from under the bed and declared herself.  “Helloji…myself Mehek Kaur Gill. Don’t worry about the besan, just scrub it off! It will add glow to your skin. Nice meeting you,” Mehek said in her much practised vlogging tone and walked out in a second. But, the question she actually wanted to ask was “Who was he?”   ************************************************************** The moment Abhiraj took off his shirt, a cry startled him. For the second time in a row, he stood rooted in his place.    “Well my adventure for the day isn’t certainly over”he informed himself.  “My culprit is definitely cute!” Abhiraj mused to himself as he stood confronted by her. He was startled by her simplicity. Dressed in a simple yellow punjabi dress, she looked

“Squadron Leader Kapoor, thanks to you, we can look forward to some interesting stuff in the Chennai skies next month,” Air Marshal Batra smiled at the tall, impeccably dressed man in his early-thirties.  “Thankyou Sir! We will be working together on some simulated combat scenarios alongside our military. It’s always exciting to train with the international forces,” Squadron Leader Abhiraj Kapoor replied.     “Yes of course! We will meet soon young man!” Air Marshal Batra said and moved towards the dignitaries.  “Kapoor!” someone called out.  “Lunch will be interesting!” Abhiraj smiled as he spotted his friend. “Major Imran Rizwi! I never thought I would meet you this time in Amritsar!” Abhiraj shook his friend’s hand rather zealously.  “I have just accompanied my senior. He was called to join this grand see-off luncheon,”Rizwi quickly supplied more details.  “I thought you were on leave! Your wife is expecting right?”Abhiraj asked his friend.  “Two more months to go. I had taken leave to drop her off at her parents. I resumed today itself! Let’s meet up in the evening?” Imran asked.  “Not this time! I have a junior who is getting married here in Amritsar. I must congratulate him and then leave for Chandigarh. I got transferred last month from Chennai, but haven’t even had a day to settle,” Abhiraj clarified.   “Listen, why don’t you stay back for the wedding? Indian weddings are ideal for scouting beautiful girls for bachelors like you. After the wedding, meet me and then we will party!”Imran suggested.  “No thankyou Sir! I have no plans to marry! I will wish him luck and then get back on the road home!”Abhiraj tried to dodge the bullet.  It was still early in the afternoon when he finally left the Amritsar Air Force base. The past three days had been grilling and draining. His command was going to participate in the bilateral exercise with a friendly nation. These exercises are conducted between two different nations to derive ‘mutual benefits’ from each other’s combat experiences.  “Nothing better than a pleasant October day to drive!” Abhiraj mused as he cranked up the volume of his SUV’s music system.  His agenda for the rest of the day was simple. He would visit Jaswinder Gill’s home and congratulate him for his upcoming wedding, stay there for a few hours and head home to Chandigarh. He was looking forward to the upcoming five days leave that had been approved this morning.  “Welcome Sir!” Flying officer Jaswinder Gill, along with his father, was standing at the gate to receive Abhiraj. Bright, jolly and happy-go-lucky Jaswinder had been Abhiraj’s trainee at NDA, Khadakwasla. They had hit off immediately once the training got over and Abhiraj came out of his trainer mode.  “I can’t tell how happy I am that you came!”Jaswinder hugged Abhiraj. “I had to Jassi! I had promised you and I am glad that it all worked out,”Abhiraj smiled and entered the grand haveli.  The Gill house was this old traditional two storey huge Haveli, complete with a huge internal courtyard that was flanked by rooms around and a well that stood in the corner of the compound. The scene looked just like a scene out of a typical Bollywood movie.  “Abey what a filmy setting!”’ Abhiraj mumbled to himself.  As he followed the Gills into the household, a yelp from the floor above pulled his attention.  “Hello ji! Welcome to Kudi Ambarsariya i.e. Mehek’s world! Before we go ahead, thank you all for 200 followers! I am so happy!  In my last week’s vlog, I had informed you that my elder brother dear Jassi bhaji is getting married. I have been so busy!” Mehek spoke into the phone with an ease that only came with practice. “Oooji vekho…[Look where you are going]!”  Mehek was alerted by a conscientious domestic help, who spared her from a potentially embarrassing incident. “Sorry Uncle ji!” Mehek ducked and bit her tongue in mortification. However, she shifted her focus on the phone right away.  “Haye…had I slipped on live, it would have gone viral!”Mehek confessed on camera to an invisible audience.   “Khair chaddo[Let it be!] Meet my cousin sister Binny and cousin brother Sunny, fresh off the plane from Canada. Binny is twelve but she looks like sixteen and Sunny is nine. Say ‘hello’ guys!”Mehek turned the camera, stuck at the end of a selfie stick, towards them. “Hey guys!”both said in unison. “My teacher said it’s not cousin brother or sister, it is cousin!”Sunny, a young lad with thick spectacles, exclaimed. “Oho! Canada wale! Justify this…how will the other person know if it is brother or sister?”Mehek exclaimed but earned a smirk from Sunny.  “Well nevermind these smarty pants! Let me show you guys the Haveli,”Mehek went back to her vlogging, unaware of the sinister smiles that her cousins were throwing at her.   “Don’t mind Binny and Sunny! Since the time they have landed here, they have been running helter skelter in the whole haveli and I have been chasing these devils up and down these two storeys. I am this close to losing my mind! It is Jassi bhai’s wedding in a day’s time and I can’t keep calm anymore. Swarms of people are supposed to descend at home by tonight for the sangeet ceremony…Bathinda wale Chacha ji, Tittu bhaiya and family from Delhi, not to forget snobbish Sania aunty and her haughty daughter Malika and their crazy family-the list is endless. I have to count and get the beddings done for every room and do infinite chores…”Mehek kept on vlogging as she went from one floor to another.  “To be honest ji, these munchkins have all my heart. These kids are cute, smart and fun to be with.  We have had this scoreboard going since yesterday. They have pulled three pranks on me and I have managed only one. Can you suggest any ideas to level the score? Please write down in the comments…till the…”   Before Mehek could record her closing statement, a water balloon hit her