Chapter 36: Chapter 36

"In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony".

"You have to earn my forgiveness, Dhruv," Dadi for the first time spoke, with a finality in her voice.

"I can do everything, Dadi, for your forgiveness," Dhruv too didn't lose his confidence and spoke out with determination in his voice.

"For one month, you have to be the maid of our house like you did with Ayushi, he made you work for a few months like a maid, right Ayushi? Now in our house, in Bhopal, you have to work like that and then if you perform well, you'll lead a normal life again and if you do not perform well, you'll have to be the maid for another month until you perform well," Dadi had some plans in her mind and she dropped the bomb on his head.

Everyone was shocked after hearing this condition of Dadi. She had sympathy with him, her grandson but no doubt she had sympathy and justice for her granddaughter as well. Dhruv just looked at her, not knowing how to even react to this. Although this punishment was not so worse, but to challenge his male ego and non-existing misogynist nature, Dadi had given him this punishment, of which he had to repeat for another month.

"I am ready," he was ready to do it because now, no one could stop him from being with his family and this task which was given to him was not so difficult, he deduced.

"Tomorrow, we'll be going for Bhopal. Ayushi beta(child), pack your bags and of babies as well," Dadi dropped the second bomb and finally relaxed on the sofa.

Whereas, Dhiraj, Pratibha, Dhruv, Ayushi, and Payal looked at her in shock. Although Dhiraj knew the reason behind his mother's condition for his son, he still was shocked when his mother's idea finally came out.

"Ayushi, come here, sit with us, from today onwards our Dhruv will make food for us, right Dhruv?" she smiled encouragingly at Dhruv and Ayushi was just looking at Dhruv's face in gloominess.

He didn't even have an iota of knowledge on how to even boil water, what would he do now. Her concern was genuine for her husband. Even Pratibha, as well as Payal too, were worried about him.

"Dadi, but?" Payal tried to intervene while sitting on the sofa with all other family members except for Dhruv as he was still standing there, looking like a dumb.

"No ifs and buts," Dadi concluded.

"Go, son, cook something delicious for us, we have finally met after such a long period, and also make something for dessert as well, finally it's our time to rejoice," it was Dhiraj who spoke out in a joyful tone.

Ayushi just looked at Dhruv in distress, she wanted to help him but she couldn't. Even Pratibha and Payal were worried about him.

"Do not worry Ayushi. Our son has Rajput blood flowing in him, he won't lose the battle," Dadi spoke out after seeing Ayushi's distressed state. She just nodded her head and looked at Dhruv who was now going towards the kitchen.

"Beta, do not worry, he will perform well," Pratibha too tried to cheer her.

"So, tell us beta how you managed to run away under our son's nose?" this time Dadi, asked Ayushi in a serious tone. Ayushi unfolded her story to all of them and they all were in tears when she finished.

"You have to endure so much pain, beta, sorry for my son's behaviour," Pratibha took her in her embrace and caressed her tresses.

Whereas, on the other hand, Dhruv didn't know where to start.

"I don't even know how to use a lighter, how will I cook something," he spoke out in frustration. Then suddenly his eyes caught something. A smartphone. Ayushi's smartphone it was.

"I will take help from cookery shows, maybe then I can cook something for them," he cheered in joy and was just going to unlock the phone when the casseroles caught his eyes. He removed the lid and saw some Puris (fried small-sized chapatis) in it, then in another he found the cottage cheese and peas gravy.

"Maybe, I can continue to make some more Puris and some other vegetable gravy," he encouraged himself and unlocked Ayushi's phone. Fortunately, "1234" was her pin code which he guessed so easily.

"Ayushi, you need to change your PIN," he whispered and started surfing YouTube. The first thing, which he learned was how to use a lighter. After giving it a try for two-three times, finally, he got the crux of it. He washed his hands properly and now he was ready to "burn" the kitchen.

"It is not so hard to learn cooking," he whispered to himself and cheered in joy.

Then the other thing which he opened on YouTube was "kneading the dough". He took out some wheat flour in a container, mixed some salt in it, then a few drops of olive oil and finally some drops of water in it.

"Oh God! Can't you be a little slow, why is she speaking so fast," he murmured in frustration on the YouTuber who was currently giving instructions on how to knead a dough.

"Eww," he took out his hand which was now fully covered with the overwatered dough as he had added too much water in it.

"Now what to do with this?" he sighed in sadness and then an idea strikes his mind. He added dry flour in it and then again started mixing the dough just as the YouTuber was doing in the video. Finally, with lots of flour scattered on the floor as well as on the kitchen counter, with an hour of labour, his dough was ready to be rolled into puris and then later fried.

Keeping the dough aside, he started preparing for the potato gravy which needed another video to be opened up. He washed his hands and opened another video for making "Dum Aloo" or simply "Potato gravy".

"I need these things," he jotted down all the ingredients whichever the YouTuber had used in the video.

And one-by-one he started searching for those ingredients.

"Onion -check, garlic -check, tomato -check, cumin seed -check, potato -check, turmeric powder -check, chilli powder -check, what is the coriander and Chicken Masala powder now?" Dhruv got confused between this coriander powder and chicken masala powder.

"Oh! So, this greenish brown powder is coriander powder and this reddish-brown one is chicken masala powder," he cleared his doubt after again watching a video and then cross-checking with the Masalas that were present inside his kitchen.

"Then ginger, then some chillies, then some cream, that's all? Yippee. I have found all of them successfully," he whistled, and then he resumed his video again.

"Boil the potato in the cooker, now where the hell is the cooker?" he started searching for the cooker, in the cabinets, in the drawers but didn't find it anywhere. Then he found a small one which was in the sink.

"I need to wash it," he sighed and washed that cooker for at least three times, as he was not sure whether he washed it properly or not.

Now he took the cooker and got near the gas stove then he remembered about the potatoes which he needed to put in it. He took a lot of potatoes, washed them properly, and then added it in the cooker after adding some water in it, as told by the YouTuber.

"4 whistles, okay I'll cut the other veggies till then," he started cutting the onions after removing its waste parts but it wasn't even fully cut when, unfortunately, he cut his index finger, and blood started oozing out of it.

"God!" he immediately washed his hands under the cold running water from the tap.

Again, he got back to his work and started cutting onions, this time with more concentration and dedication. But again, he was troubled.

"Oh God! My eyes," he was crying so badly, cutting those onions which he called stupid.

"I need something to protect my eyes from these gruesome onions," he started searching for a helmet, again an idea which his mind gave to him. Fortunately, he found one in the cabinet. He wore it, protecting his eyes from those onions.

"Onions are cut, now tomatoes," one-by-one he cut the tomatoes, the garlic and then the ginger, all the vegetables that were to be added inside the gravy were cut now, and the last whistle was soon going to come.

He unlocked the phone and rewind the video.

"Add some oil," he lit the stove and put a pan on it, and finally put off the cooker after its fourth whistle. He added oil in it and then added some cumin seeds, till it started tampering.

"Now what to add, Mam?" he asked the YouTuber as the video started buffering.

"God! Jio services are the worst," he added and then put the phone on aeroplane mode and then again set it on normal. Now the video was running at a lesser resolution, but still, Dhruv managed to do the things, which the Youtuber was asking him to do. Finally, with a lot of hard work, his Dum Aloo was ready and it was looking so delicious.

"My first dish," he was content, would be an understatement. He put the gravy inside a casserole.

"Let's make some sweet dish now," he moved on to another video, where 'Kheer' (Rice pudding) was cooked by another Youtuber. With again a lot of patience and hard work, he made the sweet dish. Now he was left with the Puris, the most difficult thing to design.

Making round Puris was the hardest thing that he had ever done in his entire life. Not a single Puri was round, but square, heart-shaped, or something out of the world. He sighed and continued making the round and small chapatis which were later to be fried.

As three hours had already passed, all the members of the Rajput family were famished now. They were expecting something burnt or awful, but what they did not expect was that Dhruv could make something so delicious and mouth-watering. All the house was filled with the mouth-watering aroma of his vegetable gravy and of course his dessert.

"I think he had already cooked the gravy and the sweet dish, let's help him in making those chapatis," his mother stood up and started going towards the kitchen when Payal too came along with her. Whereas, Dadi, Dhiraj, and Ayushi were talking about Dhruv's past life. Ayushi too wanted to help her husband but as she was talking with Dhiraj and Dadi, she couldn't make herself move as they were discussing something important. Ayushi couldn't introduce her kids to them as they had already slept.

Payal and Pratibha were surprised would be an understatement when they entered inside the kitchen. He had already fried the Puris and was now busy in cleaning the mess that he had created inside the kitchen.

"Wow, bhaiya (big brother). The gravy and the desert look so delicious," Payal was the first one to interrupt him from his cleaning. Dhruv smiled at her, at least now he was a little less nervous.

"I hope you all like it," he said in a small voice, he was tired, working like this for three continuous hours.

"You have always been my brave son, Dhruv. You made some big mistakes, but now you still have time, sort out everything between you and Ayushi and start afresh again," his mother blessed him with her moist eyes. She was proud of her son; he had cooked everything with so much dedication. And he needed to be appreciated as it was his first time that he had cooked something in his entire life.

"Take it out on the dining table, Payal," she ordered her daughter and then Payal started taking the casseroles out on the dining table, meanwhile calling others to join them on the dining table as the feast was ready to start.

"I trust you, beta, now you will never disappoint us," Pratibha kissed Dhruv's forehead and went outside. This small gesture was enough for Dhruv to get back his lost energy. One soothing touch of our mothers can minimize the effect of even big tornadoes.

Once the food was served, everyone started savouring it which was just so mouth-watering. Even Dhruv was sitting on the chair, but he didn't even eat a morsel of food, as he was nervous about everyone's reaction about his food.

"Dhruv, did you make it?" Dadi asked him in a solemn tone. Dhruv nodded his head and all the members were looking at him seriously. Now he was much more nervous than before.

"It is super delicious, Bhaiya," Payal broke the suspense and a smile too broke on everyone's face, including Dhruv.

"It does not even taste like you have cooked for the first time," Dhiraj too praised his son and Pratibha nodded her head at him, agreeing with her husband.

Ayushi held his hand under the table and pressed it a little, appreciating him in her way. Dhruv looked at her and finally at all the other members.

They all were smiling at him brightly except for Dadi. A small smile broke on his lips as well.

"Well done my son," Dadi appreciated him in her mind, she just controlled her smile all the time.

After the dinner, Payal and Pratibha helped Ayushi in packing her luggage along with her babies'. Meanwhile, Alka too had her talk with Ayushi that she didn't want to be a burden on them, even after Ayushi's persuasion, she didn't agree, so, finally, it was decided that Alka would remain here in Mussoorie and Ayushi would come here from time-to-time to meet her along with her kids.

At night, all the ladies slept in one room and the gents in another. As Ayushi's house had only three bedrooms, so in one Dhiraj and Dhruv slept, in another Payal, Dadi, and Pratibha slept and in another Ayushi along with her babies and Alka slept.

Dhiraj and Dhruv shared all the things which happened with them in these two years, from their professional to their personal lives.

"Beta, your grandmother loves Ayushi the most and that is why she is taking this step," Dhiraj had whispered this to Dhruv before sleeping and that left Dhruv for a sleepless night to welcome.

There Ayushi too wasn't getting any sleep. So much had happened today, firstly meeting Dhruv, then his past, the reaction of her babies and then finally their family's surprise visit.

Both Ayushi and Dhruv got outside their respective rooms and then they collided with each other, as they both exited at the same time.

"Will you mind a cup of coffee?" Dhruv had asked her and Ayushi couldn't say no.

~**•**~

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