Part 317th AprilTHE SINGH HOUSEHOLD

Part 31

7th April

THE SINGH HOUSEHOLD

Opening her eyes, Jodha calmly bowed to the beautiful idols sitting in the temple at front - before stepping away from the mandir and towards her family who were waiting for her to join them. Swiftly touching her parents' feet as a mark of respect, Jodha rose up to greet them with a smile - eagerly awaiting their shower of 'aashirwaad' that morning. After all, she was about to leave in a few minutes to brave her first ever MBA examination!

'May God bless you...' her mother patted her cheek lovingly 'Achi tayyari kar lee na?'

'How can you doubt her, Malti?' her father interrupted, speaking up in support of the apple-of-his-eye 'My intelligent beti will shine through...like she always has...' daddy's steadfast faith in his laadli was by no means unjustified - academically, Jodha had never fallen short.

Having said that; this time around a latent anxiety about maintaining her unbeaten track record did linger at the back of her mind. These were the toughest set of exams she was out to face yet - and a 'crisis' had interrupted her preparations till a week ago! Nevertheless; she'd prepared as well as she could and the determined junior had vowed to take up the challenge on a positive note!

'All the best choti' came Bade Bhaiyya's encouraging voice from behind, as he picked up his office bag

'You'll do well Jodha...I'm certain...' Kranti bhaiyya chipped in affectionately - before nudging the distracted guy standing beside him 'Vishal...wish kar na usko!'

'Yeah... yeah... all the best!' chote bhaiyya mumbled - barely looking up from the video game on his mobile

Noting the lazy display of regard with sisterly annoyance; Jodha was about to get into a mini-tiff with him, but stopped. Her attention was caught by the the familiar ringtone on her mobile that had just gone off.

'Gosh! How careless' she thought - she'd forgotten to switch its silent mode on 'And who could be calling first thing in the morning? Hopefully not Jalal...'

Surveying her family's curious expressions, Jodha subsequently made a swift visual search for her instrument. A second later and she'd spotted it atop the dining table 'Thank God!'

Wasting no time; she stepped forward to get her phone, but alas!

Her mom, who was standing right beside the table - had already picked it up!

Watching her mother inquisitively scan the caller id thereon, Jodha's heart skipped a beat'Please... please let it not be Jalal...warna...it'll be question after question from mamma now...'

'Lo...' her mother handed the phone back in a moment 'It's your friend...Meera...'

Phew! Letting out a hush sigh of relief, Jodha attended the call at once 'Hi yaar... haan... I'm on my way out... yeah...yeah I'm bringing the print outs that you'd wanted... ok... bye... bye...'

No sooner than she'd cut the call and looked up to bid her family adieu, she noticed that the otherwise genial expressions on her mom's face had changed

'What happened mamma?'

'Nothing beta...' the woman folded her hands sceptically 'Just that I've noticed a few changes in you lately... you guard your mobile so closely all the time...why?'

'What!' she tried not to act too taken-aback by the fact that her mother had read into her reactions so well 'No mamma...'

'Is there something you're hiding Jodha?'

'H..hiding? No...' she put on a forced smile in an attempt to cover her tracks - hoping it'd be the last of the questions for then

'Ab kyaa huaa ma?' bade bhaiyya walked towards the mother-daughter duo, observing his sibling with a concerned frown 'Jodha you seem a bit troubled...is there something you're not telling us about...is someone else troubling you?'

'N...no bhaiyya' she protested 'No one's troubling me...' God! She was not very good with this hiding-and-fibbing routine. She'd never done this to her family before and she really wished she didn't have to do it now. Then again, this was not the time to come out with the truth either!

'Look Jodha...' he explained after a short while - since she wasn't saying much 'I understand you're enjoying your post graduate life...I can see that your circle of friends has expanded... you're staying back at college for longer...you're out on weekends too... BUT...' his voice suddenly assumed an icy sternness that wasn't there till a second ago 'The ONLY reason I'm not bringing it up is because I feel this is the time for you to enjoy...once college ends and you get married, you wouldn't get this freedom then...' he paused 'So, I hope you're not misusing our trust or the freedom we're giving you...'

God! Did they really have to send her on a guilt-trip minutes before she was leaving for her semester exams? Silently whining in part-guilt and part-frustration, she nodded with a soft stare 'I understand bhaiyya...'

'Ohooo ...she needs to leave for her college now ...late ho jaayega...' came the welcome respite in the form of her bhabhi's friendly reminder 'She's already tensed about the exams...ye sab questions baad mein pooch lena na...'

Having made her spirited way from the kitchen and through the crowded living room, bhabhi approached Jodha with a small plate and a large smile 'Lo...prasad... and wish you all the best! I Pray that you and your friends do well, ok?'

'Thanks bhabhi' she accepted the prasad and winked at the lady with gratitude - with those sweet words of assurance, the worry lines on her forehead had vanished - at least, for then!

'I can't afford to be so careless anymore...' she reminded herself as she went off to slip on her sandals 'Not if I want the truth to stay concealed till I complete my MBA...mamma is becoming suspicious ... and oh yes...' she suddenly remembered 'I better be careful with the glass painting as well!' she was referring to the latest project that she'd just started - the one of Robbie sitting on Jalal's lap.

If her family found out about it - understandably enough - they were not going to be too pleased with her showering such time and attention upon a picture of her handsome senior and his late pet!

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Bagian 317 AprilRUMAH TANGGA SINGHMembuka matanya, Jodha tenang sujud kepada patung-patung indah yang duduk dalam Bait di depan - sebelum melangkah dari mandir dan terhadap keluarganya yang masih menunggu untuk dia untuk bergabung dengan mereka. Cepat menyentuh kaki tuanya sebagai tanda hormat, Jodha bangkit untuk menyambut mereka dengan tersenyum - sabar menunggu mereka mandi 'aashirwaad' pagi itu. Setelah semua, dia hendak pergi dalam beberapa menit untuk berani pertama pernah MBA pemeriksaan!'Semoga Tuhan memberkati Anda...' ibunya menepuk pipi dia dengan kasih ' Achi tayyari kar lee na?'_FITTED'Bagaimana Anda dapat meragukan dia, Malti?' ayahnya terganggu, berbicara untuk mendukung apple-dari-nya-mata 'kelompok beti saya cerdas akan bersinar melalui... seperti dia selalu memiliki...' ayah teguh iman di laadli nya adalah tidak berarti tidak bisa dibenarkan - akademis, Jodha pernah jatuh pendek.Karena itu; saat ini sekitar kecemasan laten tentang menjaga nya rekor tak terkalahkan melakukan berlama-lama belakang pikirannya. Ini adalah set terberat ujian ia sedang keluar untuk menghadapi belum - dan 'krisis' telah terganggu nya persiapan sampai seminggu yang lalu! Namun demikian; Dia telah menyiapkan serta dia bisa dan junior ditentukan telah bersumpah untuk mengambil tantangan dengan catatan positif!'Semua terbaik choti' datang Bade Bhaiyya mendorong suara dari belakang, ketika ia memungut tasnya kantor ' Yang akan Anda lakukan baik Jodha...Saya yakin...' Kranti bhaiyya terkelupas di Sayang - sebelum mendorong orang terganggu yang berdiri di samping dia ' Vishal... berharap kar na usko!''Yeah... yeah... all the best!' chote bhaiyya mumbled - barely looking up from the video game on his mobileNoting the lazy display of regard with sisterly annoyance; Jodha was about to get into a mini-tiff with him, but stopped. Her attention was caught by the the familiar ringtone on her mobile that had just gone off.'Gosh! How careless' she thought - she'd forgotten to switch its silent mode on 'And who could be calling first thing in the morning? Hopefully not Jalal...' Surveying her family's curious expressions, Jodha subsequently made a swift visual search for her instrument. A second later and she'd spotted it atop the dining table 'Thank God!' Wasting no time; she stepped forward to get her phone, but alas!Her mom, who was standing right beside the table - had already picked it up!Watching her mother inquisitively scan the caller id thereon, Jodha's heart skipped a beat'Please... please let it not be Jalal...warna...it'll be question after question from mamma now...''Lo...' her mother handed the phone back in a moment 'It's your friend...Meera...'Phew! Letting out a hush sigh of relief, Jodha attended the call at once 'Hi yaar... haan... I'm on my way out... yeah...yeah I'm bringing the print outs that you'd wanted... ok... bye... bye...'No sooner than she'd cut the call and looked up to bid her family adieu, she noticed that the otherwise genial expressions on her mom's face had changed'What happened mamma?''Nothing beta...' the woman folded her hands sceptically 'Just that I've noticed a few changes in you lately... you guard your mobile so closely all the time...why?''What!' she tried not to act too taken-aback by the fact that her mother had read into her reactions so well 'No mamma...''Is there something you're hiding Jodha?''H..hiding? No...' she put on a forced smile in an attempt to cover her tracks - hoping it'd be the last of the questions for then'Ab kyaa huaa ma?' bade bhaiyya walked towards the mother-daughter duo, observing his sibling with a concerned frown 'Jodha you seem a bit troubled...is there something you're not telling us about...is someone else troubling you?''N...no bhaiyya' she protested 'No one's troubling me...' God! She was not very good with this hiding-and-fibbing routine. She'd never done this to her family before and she really wished she didn't have to do it now. Then again, this was not the time to come out with the truth either!'Look Jodha...' he explained after a short while - since she wasn't saying much 'I understand you're enjoying your post graduate life...I can see that your circle of friends has expanded... you're staying back at college for longer...you're out on weekends too... BUT...' his voice suddenly assumed an icy sternness that wasn't there till a second ago 'The ONLY reason I'm not bringing it up is because I feel this is the time for you to enjoy...once college ends and you get married, you wouldn't get this freedom then...' he paused 'So, I hope you're not misusing our trust or the freedom we're giving you...'God! Did they really have to send her on a guilt-trip minutes before she was leaving for her semester exams? Silently whining in part-guilt and part-frustration, she nodded with a soft stare 'I understand bhaiyya...''Ohooo ...she needs to leave for her college now ...late ho jaayega...' came the welcome respite in the form of her bhabhi's friendly reminder 'She's already tensed about the exams...ye sab questions baad mein pooch lena na...'Having made her spirited way from the kitchen and through the crowded living room, bhabhi approached Jodha with a small plate and a large smile 'Lo...prasad... and wish you all the best! I Pray that you and your friends do well, ok?''Thanks bhabhi' she accepted the prasad and winked at the lady with gratitude - with those sweet words of assurance, the worry lines on her forehead had vanished - at least, for then! 'I can't afford to be so careless anymore...' she reminded herself as she went off to slip on her sandals 'Not if I want the truth to stay concealed till I complete my MBA...mamma is becoming suspicious ... and oh yes...' she suddenly remembered 'I better be careful with the glass painting as well!' she was referring to the latest project that she'd just started - the one of Robbie sitting on Jalal's lap.If her family found out about it - understandably enough - they were not going to be too pleased with her showering such time and attention upon a picture of her handsome senior and his late pet!