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Saturday, March 22, 2014

Arhi SS: Untouched. Part 3.

                                      
AN: Hi guys! So I am finally back with another update of Untouched. The reason I am writing this note is that I have decided to convert Untouched into an SS, though earlier I had intended it to be a TS. Well, the thing is when I start writing as in actually start typing at my system, the story gets out of my hand and starts weaving itself and so it very often happens that my stories start as something but end up being something very different. So, my apologies,  but try and bear with this one for a bit longer. I promise, it won't be very long.

                           Untouched
                               Part 3

He didn’t know how he ended up there, right by her side… her angelic face just a touch away, the temptation growing stronger with every heartbeat. And as the rhythm of his heart pulsed beyond control, so did his fingers, now feathering the contours of her face, both past any rhyme or reason. As he felt the silk of her skin under the tip of his fingers he was reminded of Coleridge’s immortal verse, “Water, water, everywhere,/ Nor any drop to drink.” He could finally relate to the Mariner and all those sailors… dying of lack of something that was in abundance and at an arm’s length… thirsting for water… while being surrounded by it. Ah! The mockery life makes of us mere mortals. Here he was less than a breath separating him from all he desired, all he thirsted for, all he was dying for… and yet he knew he was destined to die with parched lips and scorched soul. Lost in his thoughts he didn’t notice the slight frown lines marring the smoothness of her forehead and the next moment he was looking deep into those shining pools of hazel. And once again he was thrown back in time…
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Arnav Singh Raizada was known for his very and at times dangerously practical approach towards everyone and everything in life. Every single idea that he conceived took months of mulling over before any real action happened. Every complexity and contraction; adversary and adversity had to be taken in account. In fact, at times it seemed like he was challenging fate by taking his life in his own hands, disregarding the presence of anything external and unrelated. And that was his mistake, for don’t they say, ‘don’t tempt fate’. Well, fate retaliated and in the last few hours he found himself desiring the woman he couldn’t have; breaking his relationship with the woman he could have but didn’t want, not anymore and probably never had; willingly occupying the spot that had been vacated… nah, rejected not too long ago; and willingly taking the woman who had very recently fallen from the state of societal grace for no fault of her own. And right now he stood waiting for her… waiting to hold her in his arms… to finally touch her and claim her… mark her as his territory. And that was how Khushi found him when she entered the room, leaning against the window, his posture calm as ocean but a tsunami stirring in his eyes…Waiting… Waiting for their wedding night to finally begin.



She had all but stumbled inside, as if someone had forced her in… as if she would be anywhere but here at that moment. She had looked at him once and then turned around moving towards the door; the door had been shut the very next moment and locked from outside it seemed. And so she stood frozen. Her back was turned towards him and so he could not see her face. But the stiffness of her posture screamed her displeasure, her discomfort at being forced to share her intimate space with him. Discomfort and displeasure were very very mild terms to express what Khushi was feeling at the moment and Arnav was to discover that soon. He took a step towards her and then stopped as she had turned towards him, alarm evident in her big innocent eyes. The way she had clutched the sides of her very ornate lehenga and stumbled taking a few hurried steps back towards the closed door had nothing to do with the nervousness of a bashful new bride. No, it was the naked fear of being chased by a predator or worse, being trapped with one… for the next seven lives.



The fear that came with the realization that tonight she was a dish that would soon be devoured by her husband… a dish… that is what she was, to be traded for fortune and served for honor and devoured for pleasure. And all this for others, after all who ever gave a single thought to the dish, or showed any concern about how it might feel… for dishes were not supposed to feel. Not the deer satiating the hunger of a lion, not the chicken kabab gracing a nawabs banquet and not the meager serving of mashed potatoes in front of a tired rag-picker. She saw a similar hunger stirring in the eyes of her husband of a few hours, a man she hadn’t even known existed before tonight.
_______________________

Khushi looked at her husband of one year. The hunger was there again, the hunger that made her feel like she was some exotic foreign dish that her husband ate with so much relish at those numerous parties. What was it called? Ah, Lazania, yes that was what he loved. She had tried learning the recipe from Miss Julie, her English tutor but the final product had been a little to dry at first and a little too gooey finally and so she had just dumped it in the dustbin, never letting her husband get even a whiff of her adventure with the foreign delicacy. She remembered seeing that hunger in his eyes when their eyes had first met, while she was sitting beside Shyam on their wedding alter… She remembered seeing it when she had first entered her room that night as an unrecognizable outsider, as Mrs. Khushi Singh Raizada… The hunger was still there and she would get a glimpse of it every now and then, sometimes when he was lost in his thoughts and sometimes when he thought she wasn’t looking. But it was too strong, too tangible to go unnotice. And it was in those moments, those scarce stolen moments when she thought, nah, she knew that she still existed in his world, that she was an actual tangible part of it. Mostly it just felt like no one really noticed her.

She saw a flicker of sudden realization in his eyes and then he had straightened, distanced himself from her. Taking her cue from it she too stood up and then turned towards the kitchen to heat up the food. The heat between them hung there, unmentioned, untampered, and untouched… but there. He saw her toe as she turned towards the kitchen and noticed that she had painted it red today. It was the first thing he had noticed about her, well the only thing that he could have seen of a woman who was another man’s intended, a red painted toe peeking at him invitingly from under her bridal ensemble and he knew it then that he was a goner. But then, fate had played its twisted game and the next he saw her toes playing peek-a-boo with him was when he had already marked her his, well at least according to the societal conventions he had. Arnav, however, believed in the more primal system of markings…
_________________

The slight shivering of her fragile form and the naked horror of hopelessness in her eyes pierced through the shroud of madness that had engulfed him for the night and for the very first time that night Arnav saw Khushi for what she really was, a lost terrified child. A sixteen year old, who was not even considered eligible for giving her consent to the silliest of decisions like whether or not Congress should form the central government, no, she’d have to wait another two years to cast her vote and yet, she was married. Everyone but her, had been involved in taking the biggest decision of her life, a life that was still getting accustomed to the rhythm of breathing… and was now reduced to the bare mechanics of it.
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Her whispery movements brought him back to the huge antique oak-wood dining-table, that looked like it could belong no where else but in that huge antique Raizada           drawing-room. She was busy arranging the various smaller bowls in his plate and then serving liberal portions of curry, dal and sugar-free kheer in them, alongside plain rice and ghee-less rotis. He knew that she knew he would be removing a lot of it from his plate to the extra plate she had kept near his (which he was sure she had kept there for the same reason). And somehow the fact that she always served him the formal liberal quota of food despite being aware of his appetite clearly pronounced the distance in their socially approved and assumed intimacy. She sat beside him and started serving food on her plate. The Raizadas didn’t approve of this sort of companionship and camaraderie between husbands and wives, but Arnav had remained adamant and Khushi had bowed… she anyway had to bow, this way or that. Just like she had had to that night… their wedding night…  

To be continued...
Hope to see your reactions on this one, any and all forms of it are more than welcome.

Love,
Srija Singh :)




29 comments:

Unknown said...

it was lovely update. i feel sorry for that poor 16 yr old girl where she is bowed to everyone's wishes and the real girl chasing a butterfly is lost within.

SS88 said...

Khushi's story is the reality of too many girls around the world, across different countries. Who are shuttled from one house to another. How sad is it that she wasn't old enough to vote but was deemed to be old enough to become a wife. I do hope Arnav was considerate towards her.

Unknown said...

Awesome update
I love Arnav for helping khushi through their initial days of marriage as she was very scared and he didn't want to make her more uncomfortable.
A 16 years old girl is expected to be acted as a wife and daughter in law, that's very unfair.
Fate has been cruel to them both.
Love the dinner scene and khushi having food with him. I love Arnav's notion of giving his wife the same respect that he holds. His small positive steps will led the way to a strong marriage.

Anonymous said...

I am still confused...
Has one year passed since they are married.?
Nd what happened in this timeperiod?
Nd wedding night,
Ok I ll wait to read more..
Will wait:)
Mbbsrocks

Unknown said...

nice update...confused about a lot of things..hoping for the future updates to vanish those...thanks for starting again,,,cant wait for the next chapter

Unknown said...

"water water evrywhere...." oh what a poem it is....reminded me of school days!!, and what an accurate description of arnav's thirst!!!
I am loving this gong back and forth in time!
I feel so sad for khushi... 16 and marrried...no say in any of her life decisions....i shudder to think what i'd do if i had been married at 16.
Looking forward to more....i hope your asli duniya allows you to update this more regularly

Unknown said...

Amazing update
Loved it
Arnav is so understanding and caring
They should talk and sort out their differences
Awesome please continue soon
Thanks for the link

Anonymous said...

Nice update
Loved d dining table scene
IF anamnoor

menaka said...

loved the update although it was a bit cryptic. One year has passed after their marriage. Has she become comfortable with him. His hunger for her hasn't diminished at all, he observes tiniest details about her and she is quite aware of him though she compares his hunger for her with lazania;-) that was hilarious but cutting her some slack since she is just 16. wonder what you meant by she bowed to him on their wedding night.

Unknown said...

Awesome update Sri!!! Feel so bad that such young age Khushi has to take up the responsibilities of a wife!!!

Hopefully Arshi's relax ship will progress and she will get to grow up a little!!!

Happypeace said...

this update was awesome.. wonder what happened on their wedding night

Unknown said...

thanks for the blog link dear... im just enjoying ur stories... really love them...

Unknown said...

Nice update - wonder how Arnav & khushi ended up together . Poor Khushi - she is still so young.( IF - jg12)

Unknown said...

thanks for ur blog link:))

Unknown said...

i loved this story frm the moment i started reading it. u r a brilliant writer.

felt bad for Khushi...but she is a intelligent girl.
Arnav intrigues me!

Awsome update:)

greshu said...

wow khushi bowed down to arnav, interesting, let's see if he is controlling her like other members in her life or not, continue soon...................

Unknown said...

brilliant update
so arnav didnt touch her on the wedding night
cant wait to read more=]

Anonymous said...

Awesome update
tat was beautifully written
si she was actually married to Arnav
nd is still untouched
Pls update soon

MISHTEE [IF]

Anonymous said...

soo khushi married 2 arnav.....thnkgod..he helpd her from tht snakewa..
i think arnav is a gentleman...:))

shamlin(IF)

Unknown said...

Awesome update Srija!!! Loved it :-)

Anonymous said...

Caught up with the second story...this sounds so interesting, makes me wonder what actually is holding arnav back. Can't wait to read more! Is it an age thing, I wonder!

Mrignayani

addicted25 said...

Hi Srija , again started reading this on IF, but thought it was another abandoned story. Im glad she married Arnav and not that scum Shyam... and his family urghh..

16 is a young age to marry, but in those days lol only 30 years ago! It happened, even worse was the fact these poor thing bacame mothers within the first year. Thank god things have changed since then I hope. I hope he treats her well, I assume here she is untouched hence the name and yhe story is leading up to that. You have a very interesting style , and your stories are vety different well done

greshu said...

hey waiting for the update dear, continue soon............

Anonymous said...

Fantastic!!

Parramjit said...

Hey Wonderful story.. read all parts in one go.. very interesting one.. would really like to know what happened next in ARSHI's life.. did they cross the barriers and become soulmates or they were always this far away.. your way of writing is lovely.. loved the way you incorporated past and present thoughts of ARSHI.. loved the story.. see if you can complete it anytime.. Thanks for wonderful stories. :)

Ymonu11 said...

Awesome story, can u please provide the link of ur semi private blog my id is ymonu11@Gmail.com

Samb289 said...

Wow its so good I Read the 3 parts in one go r u planing to continued it I hope u do coz its awesome

Anonymous said...

Wow!what a short,Ma'am.This was so nice to read .Arnav seems to be little complex and khusi is an adorable child.Would love to know the dynamics of their relationship.

Love,
Guna

Anonymous said...

Is this an ending of this story?.I don't find any other chapters of untouched.