Thursday 26 July 2012

When I Met You! - Prologue & Character Sketch




Character Sketch
Arnav Singh Raizada. 28 yrs old, Filthy Rich, Tall Dark and Devastatingly handsome are just adjectives to describe him, but not fully. He carries a kind of aura around him which leaves all men jealous and women panting. His arrogance and pride are his banes and also his assets. He is a true playboy who changes girlfriends like one change's their clothes. Currently he was pictured in the arms of a famous Brazilian top model at a recently held charity polo match in London. His company is amongst the top 10 textile companies in the world.
As glamorous as his life is for the public and media, it is equally earth-bound when it comes to his family. After his father passed away when he was barely 17, Arnav took over the company; with his hard work and determination and the help of his maternal uncle Mahendra, he raised the company to become what it is today. His mother, dadi and his sister are the three main focal points in his life. He is very much attached to his younger sister Anjali and will do anything for her. His mother is a strict women but with a warm heart while his dadi is the most dear old lady always standing up for her grandchildren. Arnav does not believe in true love or any such fantasy, his mantra is 'Work hard, Play Harder'. Is there any girl in this world who can make him fall in love?

Khushi Gupta, 23 yrs old, born and brought up in London, to an English mother and an Indian father, she's called Katya by her friends. She was born in a loving home where she lived with her parents and her half-brother Nicholas (her mother's son from a previous marriage) When she was 8 her mother passed away leaving behind a heart-broken husband, and a bitter son. Her father's sister from India, Madhu came to live with them at that time, she taught Khushi all about her Indian culture and traditions; Nick always resisted since he considered himself an outsider.
When Khushi turned 18 her father passed away leaving her in the care of her aunt. Nick too left them, taking away all the money in their parent's account, never to return. Khushi had to take up a job in a nursing home while trying to complete her education at the local university but being the bright student that she was she finished her degree with a 1st and proceeded to do her masters in Fashion designing from a reputed Fashion Institute. She had a flair to put the right things together and come up with something wonderful. To make ends meet, she had to shift her aunt to an Old person's home, while she stayed at the university halls. Khushi always believed in true love as she saw the love her parents shared, but she was also a realist. She wondered if anyone was made just for her'

Prologue
Belgravia, London
"ASR'your phone is ringing. Its irritating please shut it off!" Arnav groaned as he heard Anna screech in her annoying accented voice. He untangled himself from her long limbs and reached on the side to take his phone, he had too much to drink the night before and the shrill ringing of his phone and the shriller, if there is such a word whining of his current plaything were giving him a headache. He rubbed his eyes and sat up to see who was calling this early.
His eyes adjusted to the dim light and he picked up his phone at once when he saw who it was "Hi ma, good morning." The voice at the other end was not so amused "Good morning? Really chotey! Do you know what time it is! Why are you still in bed?"
Arnav held the phone away from his ears, his mothers shouts were making his throbbing head worse, he spoke slowly on the phone as his mothers tirade came to an end "Ma, please don't talk to me as if I am a small child. Secondly in case you have forgotten I'm still in London, so even though its nearly noon there, here it's still early morning and its a Sunday! So can I call you back in some time? unless you have woken me up for some very important work" He could feel his mother being annoyed; how much ever he loved her, sometimes she was too much!
"Fine, go back to sleep then, and I know you are not a small boy anymore arnav, especially with the wonderful photos of yours that get pasted on every sleazy mag and newspapers with some or the other sleazy girl! Why can't you find a nice girl and marry!?"
Arnav sighed, here she goes again "Ok ma, gotta go. If you had just called to scream and shout then we should end this conversation right away. Give my love to dadi and anji. Love u" with that he cut his phone off and leaned back. He felt Anna's hand creep slowly over his surfboard abs, he saw as she lazily smiled at him. He held her wrist and pushed it away, he was so not in the mood for this, he saw Anna pout before turning her head and dozing off 'Women'! He thought as he got up and went in for a hot shower.
...
New Delhi, India
Maya Raizada was not pleased; she had had enough of arnavs attitude. Every day she saw photos of his with supermodels, actresses, society butterflies draped all over him, but never with a sensible girl by his side, she was afraid that her son would never marry, he seemed to love this life he had.
Though she was proud of his achievements and knew that he worked hard, maybe even harder than all their employees put together, she really wanted him to choose a life partner who could share his life with him, maybe help him unburden the weight he carried around.
She was walking looking troubled when her mother in law came right in front of her "Maya, what's wrong? Did you and Chotey have another spat! Really maya, leave the boy alone otherwise he'll start living away from us, already we hardly get to see him"
Maya looked at Nirmala devi "No maaji, I just want him to find a nice girl and settle down, I can't take this bevy of girls hanging around him all the time. Even you know it's time he marries"
Nirmala devi smiled at her daughter in law, she was a tough lady but she knew what a soft heart she had "Maya, I understand but we need to tackle this in the right way. Now think what is the most important thing for arnav?"
Maya thought for a bit and said quickly "Anjali off course, it's like she's more his daughter than mine! But his work is also important for him, this company is his life"
Nirmala devi smiled slyly "Exactly'I don't want to involve Anjali in this, she's too innocent. So we need to strike at his other lifeline, Raizada Industries. This is what we should do..." with that both of them went in to sip their tea as they discussed their plan.
...


Roseneath Care Home

Winchmore Hill, London
"Arre Khusi! Have some chai with me bitiya. I hardly get to see you now a days" Madhu was sad to see her niece leave so soon, she looked very tired and stressed, her beautiful face was etched in worry line, too much for a girl so young.
Madhu looked as Khushi bent down to give her a soft peck on her weathered cheek, her beautiful long dark brown hair blowing in the wind, her fair porcelain skin so delicate while her hazel eyes shone with mischief, she had inherited her exotic looks thanks to her mix of genes, she really was a beautiful girl.
"Buaji, you know I can't resist a chai with you right, even though you keep complaining about how the English don't know what a good chai is! Khushi smiled fondly "I know we hardly get to meet, things have been very hectic plus my last paper is tomorrow followed by my final show at night. Once that is done I have only one week to empty my room in the halls"
Khushi worriedly pouted as she thought of how to find a good job or solution for her problems., she won't get student loasn anymore and her nursing job was just enough to pay for buaji's care home fees
Madhu held her hands as tears formed in her eyes "I know bitiya, I feel horrible that you have to pay for my comfort while you don't get to spend anything on yourself. I am such a burden" Khushi placed a finger on madhu's mouth "Not a word more buaji, I would never think of you as a burden. Don't worry once I get a job we'll get ourselves a good flat where we can both move in. It will all be ok I promise."
As they finished their 'English chai' as buaji had renamed it, Mrs Morrison came to sit with them "Hello Katya dear, looks like you both are enjoying your cuppa. Its soo nice to see you around here, very few people come to visit us you know." Khushi squeezed her hand "I wish I could take my aunt back to our home, but circumstances haven't helped. But I'm glad till then she has such wonderful people like you around."
Buaji smiled at her brave child, she only looked delicate but inside she was very strong, she had seen too many hardships in her young life. Madhu was worried she would break down one day. Many times she had insisted that they go back to India where they had few relatives, but Khushi was worried since she had never been to India before. She felt Madhu could use the best medical and social help here in London instead, so they had stayed back. Her only wish was to find a good boy for Khushi who would love and protect her.

-x-

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