Chapter 6: Geetanjali weds Naresh.
2 years later
I had opened 5 more India Parks all across USA which meant a lot of Indians were getting used to the India there. I sometimes saw a couple of Americans registering in it but prominently I could notice it was the Indian population which seemed interested. I made more money than R & S Consultancy and I could not handle both the businesses. I spoke to Raqeeb about it one day and he gladly agreed to take over R & S. Madhu and I meanwhile had a baby girl, Anusha and that completed our family. The Indian family, which created India Parks.
After 2 years I could proudly say 200acres of USA was taken over by India and I had actually converted that into the India I knew. Now there was an Indian Institute of Technology and an Indian Institute of Management in the 5th Indian Park that I had built. I had got the permission from the govt. of India to use the names of these Institutes. One fine morning I decided to visit one of the Parts to see how everything was running. I entered via gate noticing the security guard asleep. Ah! My Idea! My India! What happened next hadn’t happened before. I asked the other watchman not to disturb the chap and walked ahead. A bunch of kids followed by a pack of dogs ran across the road. “Sau ka ek, do sau ka teen, sau ka ek, do sau ka teen” someone shouted, somewhere far the songs from the movie Aashiqui were being played loud.
I finally reached the section where people stayed. I looked around, found smoke coming out of houses and a distinct Indian masala smell. Above one of the houses, a girl was folding clothes hung on a wire and smiling at regular intervals. This was strange. I had seen it only in the movies. I looked around for her inspiration. A Shahrukh look-alike on the next house stood smiling too. He was working out on the terrace and showed his biceps to the lady every second to which she generously reciprocated by smiling and making lip movements of “Well done!” I went inside the girl’s house and enquired about them. The Joshis were from Pune, Maharashtra and they were in US since one year which obviously explained their interest in my Parks. The girl’s name was Geetanjali. Mrs.Joshi served me a plate of Poha and a hot cup of chai without knowing who I actually was. In India we do this. In India we always did this. Mrs Joshi had made me extremely happy. I introduced myself to them and extended their stay for a week at no extra cost, thanked them and left.
Now I had to deal with Shahrukh’s family.
“Come in Sunil Sir! My name is Akhilesh Shukla” said the man standing at the door. This is my wife Rinku and I have a son Naresh. This was followed by a minute of “Naresh! Naresh! Where are you?” to which Naresh paid no attention as he kept himself busy impressing his lady love. Naresh Shukla liked Geetanjali Joshi. Geetanjali Joshi liked Naresh Shukla.
Their love story now started bringing me to the Park every day. I would notice how far they had gone in this and was very happy to note their progress. Some greeting cards were exchanged; some cups of coffee, a few songs dedicated, a few lies told, a few walks in the park, it was all very Indian, very very Indian.
After 6 days
I asked my driver to stop as I saw Naresh and Geetanjali walk hand in hand in front of me. I was also very happy to observe that Ph.D was full.
“Hi guys! You are Naresh and Geetanjali right” I asked.
“Yes sir! It’s my pleasure to meet you! Said the young man.
“Geet! This is Sunil Verma, the owner of India Parks”
“Namaste!” said Geet.
“So did they agree in both of your houses to get married to each other?”
“Yes! As soon as we are out of here, we shall be doing that! We want you to come too sir!” said a smiling Geet.
I smiled at her and thought for a while. I looked around and found an empty bench in a park. I asked both of them to come with me.
“I have a proposal. I want you guys to get married here; In India Parks”.
The next couple of hours were spent deciding on the day, rituals, functions that would happen in India Parks. The neighbours Sharma, Kulkarni, Deshpande and Subramanian took a lot of interest in the ongoing proceedings.
After 3days – 20th May 2009
The baraat came at around 8.30pm that night, a horse was decorated and Naresh sat on it. Crackers were burst and a miniature version of a Maruti 800 which had a board “Pavan Band Company” moved in front of him. The men and women danced, the baraat reached Joshi’s house, the bridegroom’s shoes were stolen, the garlands were exchanged, and a tasty meal which was a combination of both North Indian and a Maharashtrian delicacy was served. I also intended to send an invitation to Raj Thackeray but I could not find him anywhere. Geetanjali cried. Mr Joshi’s shirt was wet with her tears. The mother and daughter hugged each other for 6minutes. Everybody was silent. Naresh walked to Mr. Joshi and said
“Don’t worry Papa! I will take care of her! “And touched his feet again.
It was my India I was in. A couple of tears rolled down my eyes as the bride sat in a decorated car and slowly went away. That night I went home, hugged Madhu for 6minutes, said “I love you!” and slept.
No comments:
Post a Comment