14/7 - Epi 297 ME ... Miles to Go Before I Sleep

Saturday 14th July

The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep,
But I have Promises to Keep
And Miles to Go Before I Sleep 
And Miles to Go Before I Sleep

Miles to go on that RTRW ... miles to go on the road to becoming a Perfect Pati ...

Quick Edit -
Today's ME was not actually a part of IPKKND ... it was an ad for Teri Meri Love Stories ... :))
And it was cute, funny and enjoyable if you took it in that sense ... a harassed husband trying to win over his very annoyed BB ... and pretty clueless as to how to do it ...
BS was neither Arnav or ASR, he was a normal HH ...
Khushi wasn't heartbroken 'I need to leave you for your own happiness' Khushi ... she was back to her chirpy GH days, bugging her HH, except with more reason, and a lot more sensitively ...

Watching in that mode ... presenting ...

Lessons for Harassed Husbands how to (Not) Win over their Boiling mad Biwi's ... in 101 Easy Steps
- Wish your wife Happy Birthday ... epic fail ... HH has another takniki kharabi, he can't say the words Happy Birthday. And BB is not impressed at all ...

- Expensive gift - also fail ... better than this was her 200 rupees ka kapde ka jhola ... besides, he didn't choose it, he didn't buy it, he didn't wrap it ... thank you so much, Amanji!
Lesson no 2 on the RTR ... BB is NOT impressed by material gifts ... she is not a Material Girl ...

More miles added to RTR ... this time not by BB, but by her Bhayanak Buaji ... he forgot her bhanji's birthday?! How dare he?! He has to win BBJi over before he can even make a start on BB ...
A few miles redeemed ... he managed to win over BBJiall right ... at least the line is clear through to BB ...

A glimpse of the original IPKKND ... he asks as he's leaving ... 'you will come home, won't you?'
And Khushi replies bitterly ... 'you haven't left me much choice ...'

Arnav goes back home, where Nani is back to normal ... she's Bhishma Pitahmah for sure ... very much with Khushi, but she has to show her support to Anjali ... and Arnav gets another earful from another old lady in his life ... 'Did you wish your wife? Did you give her a gift?'
Apparently these are two elementary lessons for all good husbands ... Bitwa skipped that class :))
And he knows he's in deep trouble ... he wanted to woo her back, and he doesn't have a clue how to start!
I think we all imagined that twinkle last night ... I told you guys it was quicksand!!! And our Bitwa is sinking ;) 

NK into the act ... Arnav nixes all his ideas ... he needs something 'Dil Se ...' ... will he find it on Google? :))
Honeymoon in Bali ... nixed again ... because it's a week away, he needs something for tonight!
(Bitwa, you could always buy the tickets anyway ... tumne kaunsa ek hafte mein usko manaa lena hai? Abhi to Dilli is very very far, my dost!)

NK does finally get Arnav going though ... just as Khushi finishes sabzi shopping, stuffing palak tamatar into expensive designer bag and returns home ...
Sweet - Nani greets her ... with NK, Payal and sulking Mami ... now that is something Khushi appreciates and is genuinely touched by ...
(Gloatwa ve :) )

Arnav manages to inform Khushi about the price of the bag ... Khushi is horrified but still in no mood to forgive ... why did he spend so much of money anyway? Waste of money!!!
(My hubby would appreciate this scene very much ... I react exactly the same way to designer stuff :)) )
However Arnav still doesn't blow his top ... he goes off to check on his surprise ... and stops Khushi from entering their room ... it's not ready yet ... NK is in charge :))
I have a strong feeling this surprise of his is going to go tai tai phisss ...

And while Khushi huffs off to the kitchen to try and clean the bag, the bell rings ... and we start getting back to the main story ... just in time to set up for Monday ...
I went 'Oh shit" ... when Anjali opened the door ... saw the red roses ...
Then :-o *head desk*  X( "delusional woman!" ... when she assumed they were for her from Shyam ...
Then "ouch" when Arnav saw her, and broke the news that they weren't from her KP but from him ...
Then *head desk* X( again when Anjali still assumed they were for her ... ruddy hell, woman, RED ROSES ... where is that peanut you call a brain???!!! Your brother would give you red roses???!!! 

And Arnav realizes again what a long dicey RTRW he has to tread yet ... as he meets Khushi's eyes ... and sees her smiling through her tears ... he knows Khushi is going to see this as more confirmation that she needs to leave ...

In between there was lots of  PAM stuff ... typical SP saas bahu scenes ... with Akash converting into typical MCP ... another one who will be in need of those lessons soon :)) 

*edited*
Sorry for the late edit ... hectic weekend and hubby doing a possessive Arnav ... pc or me, and it had better be me =))

I did an uncut of the episode, joined the last scene of Friday to it, and got a 35 minute video of pure fun :)) Attached the link at the end of the post.

So Khushi at GH, Arnav comes all ready to fire her for leaving without telling him, and finds himself struggling in very deep waters ... He forgot her birthday.
As ALL husbands know, the best way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once :))

Buaji fires up immediately ... he forgot his wife's birthday, on top of that, he started yelling at her ... her poor delicate darling niece?! He is in deep doodoo!!! =)) And apparently not knowing it was her birthday is not a good enough excuse ... and why should Khushi have told him? It was his duty as a husband to divine these things and act accordingly :)) ... how hurt she is ... first things first, where is her niece's gift?!
No gift either?! Unforgiveable!
Arnav is deep in quicksand and sinking fast ... just last night he decided he was going to win his wife back and make her forget about all nasty things such as contract marriages and stuff like that ... and he muffs the first simple step!

So he quietly follow instructions of BB's equally Boiling mad Buaji ... stand for the aarti like a good boy, even bend to take Buaji's aashirwad ... Buaji blesses Khushi with 'sada suhagan raho' ... quick awkward look between Arhi ... but Buaji isn't ready to forgive Arnav yet ... not by a long shot.

Babuji is getting better ... but he still can't talk ... but of course! :)

Then Arnav decides to leave ... and Buaji fires up again ... armed with a karchhi. =)) "You won't stay for Khushi's birthday lunch?!"
Backtrack quickly ... this was another wrong step ... he's not forgiven yet, and he can see where Khushi gets her temper from ... no, no, of course I'll eat ... 'kha ... kaaunga na ...'
Phew! Saved ... for the moment!
I LOVE Buaji!!! =)) >:D<

Arnav tries to wish Khushi Happy Birthday, but apparently LG has another 'takniki kharabi' ... he can't say the words "Happy Birthday" ... not together ... He gets as far as Happy ... Khushi accepts gracefully the thought for the deed ... not so gracefully actually ;) ... a curt "Thank you" ... and Arnav knows this wasn't good enough. So he covers up with Happy Singh ... Khushi did give him a way out, but he's determined to do things right this time, and get the damn words out! 

Arnav looks ruefully at himself in the cracked mirror ... "Arnav Singh Raizada ..." he runs an empire and he can't wish his wife ... or win her over ... or even her Bhayanak Buaji ... :))

And he watches Khushi back to her Sanka Devi vivacious self, smiling, teasing ... the child-woman he fell so deeply in love with, the one who can cover her sadness, smile through everything and make everyone around her smile too ...

Khushi's bag breaks ... and Arnav gets an idea ... while Khushi explains Arnav's 'takniki kharabi' to a disbelieving Buaji. Buaji is wondering ... and not pleased.

So Arnav's first step is to mollify BBJi ... tries to help her lay the table, sweet-talk her ... 'Buaji, I'll win over Khushi in good time, but you please don't stop talking to me ...' ... he needs all the help he can get here. :)

The difference between ASR at RM and Arnav in GH is so apparent ... here he is a child of the house, like Khushi or Payal ... if he makes a mistake, he gets rapped over the knuckles for it, he is not infallible and always right ... he is a normal human being, and a son of the house ... subject in equal measure to love, affection and scolding ... because that scolding comes with affection and the feeling of belonging. 'You are the same like your Phupaji ...' He's part of the family, Khushi's uncle is his uncle too, and unfortunately the resemblance to Phupaji, and all other males, has been noted!

So the great Arnav Singh Raizada, who owes no explanations to anyone in his own home, and never bothers to give any, now tries desperately to make up for his faux pas to Buaji ... "I really didn't know it was her birthday, she never told me, she never told me she was coming her ..."
Buaji tells him to direct his energies towards soothing his wife ... but Arnav needs to win back Buaji too ...

So Buaji starts his test ... which consists of feeding him his first meal after he got back from his sojourn with Rocky and gang!!! And Buaji believes in making up for all the meals he missed ... no half measures here!:))  Much to Khushi's consternation ... but she won't interfere - after all, he still hasn't wished her ...
More tries ... 'paani...'
Next one under the table ... 'Khushi ... Ha ... ha ...'
Khushi is more annoyed ... 'no half poori, only poori poori ...'
"Ha ... ha ... ' Khushi waits expectantly, unfortunately Arnav sees Garima and Buaji also waiting expectantly ... 'Happy Singh, is he in the garage?'
Exasperated Khushi ...
Helpful Garima ...'yes, he is ... is your car kharab?'
'No, my dimaag ...' :-o
More pooris for you then, Arnav babua!:))
And finally he passes Buaji's test ... and she laughs and gives him his certificate ... go ahead, line clear ... now move towards the real target ...' :">

This has to work ... all girls like gifts, right? And she just ruined her bag ...
And it seems it will ... till he stumbles again ... 'Ha ... ha ... hands free ...'
Nope, not so good ... it's just two simple words, and they're really all she wants ... on top of which, damn fool manager stuck his name on the card ... so Khushi very promptly and sweetly calls Aman to thank him ... Arnav spluttering ... hang on, I sent the bag, not Aman!!!
And while Buaji and Garima gush over the bag, Khushi subjects Arnav to Rapid Fire round on how gifts are bought for wives ...
Did you choose it? ... No
Ah, so you went to buy it? .... No
Oh, you told him where to buy it ...  No
Then you must have packed it ... No

Khushi perplexed ... 'No? You sure this is your gift?!' 
And Arnav gets the point loud and clear ... 'it doesn't seem so ...'
Yep, he got it, that's exactly what she meant ... Was that Lesson no. 2 on the RTR as well? He just failed this one too.
Arnav, do try to remember her joy when you bought her bangles in the right size ... put the two lessons together ... and bingo! 

Arnav wants to return home, Khushi makes very transparent excuses to stay back ... don't blame her, she's not ready to go back to the house where only taunts and tension reign ...
Arnav is actually worried ... he can see the difference between her face here and at RM ... here, her smile is ever-present, she's happy, loved, fussed over, cossetted and pampered ... what can he offer her at home?
'Khushi ... you will return, won't you?'
He knows how unhappy she is there, but the tensions reign for him too ... only Khushi by his side will help him get through the mess at home ... he needs her. Her strength, her smiles, her courage ...
"I don't need anything, Khushi ... I don't need anything ..." except you.

Yes, she will ... he's left her no choice ... even though she feels he and Di would be better off if she left quietly.
No, they wouldn't ... Di has to face reality at some point, and only if reality is there, staring in her face all the time, in the form of Khushi, will Anjali ever be able to accept the bitter truth.

And Arnav starts righting some of the wrongs done to Khushi in his house ... he tells Nani it's Khushi's birthday ... thus ensuring that Khushi gets a loving welcome, Nani's blessings, which he knows will mean a lot to her, and some of the affection that she gets so effortlessly in GH.
SN - I hope he tells Akash himself, and Akash realizes what a boor he was being with Payal - Shiddat!
SN2 - If I'm thinking of shiddats for Payash, obviously their track is making some sense! :))

And Nani gives him lessons on being good husband ... same as Buaji did ... wish your wife, buy her a gift. Elementary lessons for a happy married life :)

Arnav gets unwanted help from an unlikely source ... not so unlikely, actually ... NK and Payal are the only two firmly on Khushi's side so far.
Cute - Arnav annoyed and burning that NK knew Khushi's birthday, while he didn't ... :">

And he learned his lesson all right ... now he needs to do something 'dil se ... because Khushi is already so mad at me ...'
Aww ... he sounded so like all harassed husbands who ever made the cardinal mistake of forgetting their wives' birthdays ... and were confined straight to the doghouse ...
And unfortunately NK puts two and two together instantly ... 'she's mad because you forgot her birthday, right? Well, worry not ... you've got the right man here ... I'll help you!'

Khushi is still grumbling over the bag, and finding fault with it ... 'straps are too short, it's too big, my DM will get lost ...'
But what's really troubling her is that she has to return home ...

NK suggests Salman Khan ... Arnav nixes it without second thought ...
NK says ... gift, cake, sing HB ...
Arnav's opinion ... that's childish ... and cheesy!!!
Okay, Arnav, so you need a grown-up way to wish your wife?! What exactly are you thinking? ;)
NK suggests romance, pyaar and magic ...

Khushi grumbling continuously ... straps are small, they keep slipping, bag is too big, I could have made it myself ... all I wanted was for him to wish me, and he couldn't do even that much ... :(

And the size of the bag is useful finally ... for carrying vegetables ...

NK hasn't stopped ... 'Honeymoon in Bali? How's that?'
Arnav needs something for tonight ... not next week! And can NK please shut up?!
NK is indignant ... 'did you forget my NY plan? That worked, didn't it? You saw Khushi at midnight ... and here you are spending your life with her ...'

And that stops Arnav ... yes, he is, isn't he? And he remembers the Diwali lights ... and seeing Khushi at midnight, also surrounded by lights ... yep, he's got it ...
NK wants to know ... but Arnav is very possessive about his Khushi, and his plans ... after all, 'who's spending the rest of his life with her, me or you?!'

While Khushi finishes her vegetable shopping and returns home ...
Arnav opens the door at first ring ... he was waiting on the doorstep or what? And he still can't say the words ... and Khushi has given up on her stammering husband ... 'what is it now? Ha... ha ... haal chaal?'
And a vintage Arnav-Khushi quickfire round on the bag ...
'What did you do to the bag?!'
'Hey Devi maiyya ... pichak gaye!'
'Kaun?!'
'Tamatar!!!'
'You put tamatar in this bag?' :-o
'Yeah ... I used to put all vegetables in my old bag, it was fine ... this one, one day and it's gone!'

He can't even be angry ... just resigned ... 'just by the way, how much was your old bag?'
'Two hundred rupees! I bought it at Sarojini market!'
He's impressed ... 'two hundred rupees?' wow ... expensive!
Yes, she also thought so ... 'you think so too? So did I ... I knew from that man's smile that he looted me. How much did you pay for this one?'
He shrugs ... 'only 2 lakhs ...'
She laughs happily, it wasn't only her ... 'two lakhs?! You also got cheated ... WHAAAATTT??? Two lakhs???!!!

Yep ... designer bag ...

 She's upset, dismayed, guilty and annoyed all at once ... why did you spend so much money? A bag's a bag ... to carry things ... not to carry the house! And she doesn't even like such expensive things, she would have been happy with an inexpensive one too ...
He manages to control his annoyance ... Yep, he forgot ... her fashion sense ... she doesn't like expensive things ...

Before she can say much more, Nani appears ... ready to do the right thing ... welcome Khushi with grace, respect and affection ... now this meant a lot to Khushi :) And even more when Nani said it was Arnav who had told her ...
That was definitely the right step ... he made sure his wife was greeted with a smiling welcome, and that she got the respect she deserves ... even Mami joins the welcome group with smiling Payal and NK ... Nani does aarti, while Arnav, like a good husband, holds his wife's bag ... that is a right of initiation for all husbands, they are not truly husbands until they have held their wives' bag in public at least once ;) 
Arnav has to hold the palak also ... Mami refuses the laddoo ... Arnav saw that, and didn't like it ... but he appreciates NK's enthusiastic greeting ... NK's gesture was cute ... forget her, she's gone, I'm here :)

And Nani helpfully reminds Arnav again what he has to do ... and takes Payal and NK away ...
No use ... 'ha ... ha ...'
And Khushi has had about enough. 

'Happy ji sent his love ... and your hands free is in your pocket ... anything more?'
Nope ... he's done ...
And she walks off grumbling ... 'you're useless ... can't wish me, and gave me a two lakhs ka bag ... and I'm worse ... I went and spoiled it ...'

More surprises in store for Khushi ... she can't enter her room ... yet ...
"Why?!"
He has no answer ... so fall back on vintage ASR, that usually works ... 'Because I said so!'
Not this time ... 'fine, then I'll go back to Buaji's ...'
'No ... no ...' back to being Arnav again, ASR didn't work at all ... this business of winning back an annoyed wife is a darn sight more difficult than negotiating the toughest business deal ... 'that wasn't what I meant ...'
And Khushi is very annoyed ... 'do you even know ever what you mean?' ... and she walks off angrily ... leaving Arnav with nothing but a sheepish half Sorry ...

NK comes hurtling out ... 'everything is ready' ... the doorbell rings ... and Arnav sprints to the door ... this is one thing that should work ...
While Khushi tries to clean the bag ...

And Anjali opens the door ... for reactions to that last scene see Quick edit above main post :)

Arnav Khushi and Buaji :)) ME scenes (including 13th July last scene)
ArHi with Buaji, Nani NK et al - ME