Part 5: Liar! Liar!
Maan walked towards
the couch where everyone was sitting with a serious expression on his or her
face. He came and sat near Daadima while questioning Geet with his eyes. Geet
simply looked at him with a blank expression and shrugged her shoulders for a
no. Daadima briefly looked at him before looking at the Pandit intently. Unable
to contain any more suspense, he broke the silence, "Daadima yeh kya ho raha
hai?" he asked with curiosity.
"Voh kuch nahi Maan
bete hum sirf pooch rahe the ki," Daadima hesitated fearing Maan's anger.
"Kya hai Daadima, why
are you hesitating? Boliye na," Maan urged.
"Kuch nahi hai Maan
hum sirf Panditji se pooch rahein ki kaunsa din accha hai for you and Geet to
come to the mansion," she gulped.
"Magar daadi why do
have to ask for a specific day. She shall stay here as long as her leg heals.
After that we shall see what is to be done," he groaned.
Daadima was hesitant
to tell him what her friends had warned her regarding the marriage. Well it was
not Geet's fault she had injured her leg on the day of her wedding, but the
rituals had to be halted and prevented her from coming to the mansion. All this
seemed a little inauspicious but Daadima had initially brushed it off but when
her friends insisted to once again check if Geet's horoscope was alright. Their
persistence got Daadima thinking thus, she had called the pandit just to make
sure everything was fine but she knew Maan would never approve of it. He never
believed in them thus he had refused to even check if the horoscopes matched
calling it sheer ignorance. Since it had taken a lot of efforts to even get him
married, even Daadima had allowed him to go ahead to marry the girl whom he had
fallen in love with. But the events that followed got her worried, making her
consult the pandit. Just then the pandit looked up from his calculations to
reveal his findings.
"Savitriji, aapko
badayi ho, in donon ki kundli har baat pe milti hai, chinta ki koi zaroorat
nahi," he announced proudly of his findings.
Daadima looked pleased
at his announcement but Maan was perplexed as to why the pandit was talking
about horoscopes when Daadima wanted to know about a particular good date. He
decided to voice his opinion, "Daadima, aapne kaha aap inse shubh din pooch
rahe the but why is he talking about horoscopes?" he asked puzzled.
"Voh, it was part of
the procedure Maan, haina panditji?" Daadima said sheepishly trying to cover up.
"Haan?" asked the
pandit utterly confused. "Magar Savitriji aapne kaha ki aap kundli ke '"
"Haina panditji?"
Daadima stressed her tone rising.
"Ji, ji," he nodded
helplessly.
"Dekha Maan, its part
of the procedure," she smiled hoping Maan was convinced.
"Ab mujhe kya karna
hai?" padit asked cluelessly.
"Arre panditji, hum
eek shub din bataayiyega taaki hamari bahurani hamara ghar aayein," Daadima
said smiling and looking at Geet.
Geet shifted
uncomfortably on the couch when she saw Daadima eager for her arrival at the
mansion. Maan noticed her squirming on the couch and decided to find a
temporary solution for the problem right at hand. He saw that the pandit was
sitting on the end of the couch near the coffee table that contained a glass of
water. Maan glanced at the pandit who again got busy calculating something
while Daadima started engaging in a conversation with Geet. He took this
opportunity and walked towards the coffee table, and picked up the water glass
and pretended to sip the water while intently looking to see if he was being
watched. While trying to place the glass back he let it slip near the pandit,
spilling water all over him. The pandit was startled by the sudden splash and
jerked from the couch shaking his clothes.
"Oh my, I am extremely
sorry panditji, main galtise paani gira di," he said faking surprise.
"Arre, it's okay
beta," pandit said, still trying to wring the water off his clothes.
"Maan, could you not
drink the water carefully?" Daadima said clucking her tongue in annoyance.
"Hame maaf keejiyega
Daadima, the glass slipped from my hand and before I knew it, the glass fell
down," Maan said apologetically. "Ayiye panditji, aapko washroom dikhata hoon,"
he said showing the way to the pandit to follow.
Geet stood as a silent
witness to the proceedings while Maan passed her with a quiet wink. She looked
confusedly at Maan's behavior and tried to fathom the end of the situation. Daadima
had come a few hours ago asking for her kundli, she gave it to her suppressing
the urge to ask the reason. Then Daadima had announced she wanted to fix a good
day for her to continue with the rituals, this had made her uncomfortable but
she kept quiet, not wanting to hurt the elder lady's feelings. Did Maan catch
her uneasiness she wondered, but quickly brushed the thought off. Before
guiding the panditji to the washroom he winked at her, confusing her more. Probing
further in the matter erupted more questions; therefore she tried to shut it
off and tried to concentrate on Daadima's questions about her health and other
general issues.
Maan and the panditji
were walking upstairs towards the washroom side by side, when, "Agar mein paanch
hazaar dun, aap jhoot kahenge?" he whispered loud enough for the pandit to
hear.
"Kya bola?" the pandit
asked surprised.
"Kya bola?" Maan asked
innocently splaying his palms. "Agar main paanch sau dun, aap jhoot kahenge?"
Maan again whispered.
"Aap ne pehle paanch
hazaar kaha?" the pandit blurted.
Maan chuckled, "I laid
the bait using paisa, now doing sauda (bargain)," he said smirked.
"Tu jaado hai re," the
pandit said grinning sheepishly
"Mujhe maalum hai re,"
Maan said circling the money in front of the pandit's face before safely
tucking it into his pocket.
Few minutes later, the
pandit and Maan walked down. Maan had an unusual grin plastered on his
face. They descended down the
steps and Maan came to stand beside Geet, who was seated on the couch while the
panditji resumed his seat, and again started calculating with a serious face
and then looked at Daadima morosely.
"Is ghar main abhi
shubh kaam ho nahi sakta," pandit announced shaking his head.
"Kyun? Kya hua
panditji?" Daadima asked alarmed.
"Ab ek aur mahine ke
liye Rahu aur Shukr galat jagah pe hain. Is samay agar kuch shubh kaam kiya toh
aapke pote ke jaan khatre main hoga," pandit said gravely.
"Magar panditji agar
ek aur mahine toh tab tak hamare bahurani yahi pe rukegi," Daadima asked
worriedly. "Nahi, nahi, yeh kaisa ho sakta hai?" she said.
"Baccha ke accha
keliye hone chahiye," he said reminding her that she was putting her grandson
in danger.
Daadima had no option
but to agree with the pandit for she feared her grandson's life more than
completing the rituals. She unwillingly agreed to postpone the rituals and
Maan's face beamed with happiness but toned it down in front of everyone. He
cleverly played sad in front of Daadima and winked at the panditji thanking him
for the help. The pandit wound up his stuff into his side bag and headed out to
the door followed by Maan.
Daadima turned face
Geet who looked bewildered but was happy she didn't have to go through the
rituals any time soon. Daadima mistook her bewilderment as sorrow and rushed,
"Geet beta ghabraayiye mat, everything shall be alright soon. It's just a
matter of one month it shall pass away soon, teekhai beta?" she said cupping
Geet's cheek lovingly.
"Haan?" Geet said
trying to recompose herself. "Ji Daadima," she said bleakly.
"Alright, I am going
to retire for the day. I hope the outhouse is not too uncomfortable?" Daadima
asked with concern.
"Nahi Daadima, it's
just perfect. Thanks for asking," Geet said gratefully.
"Agar aapko kuch
chahiye toh, Nakul ko bula deejiyega," Daadima said.
"Ji Daadima thanks a
lot," Geet said squeezing Daadima's hand in assurance.
Daadima was about to
leave when Maan returned from sending the pandit off with a victorious smile on
his face but quickly masked it with a serious expression seeing Daadima.
"Teekhai Maan bete,
hum wapas ghar jaa rahein. Are you going to come or going to stay here?" she
asked.
"Voh Daadima, I shall
stay here, in case Geet needs anything," he said hoping his Daadima wont catch
the desperation in his voice. Since he was not lucky enough to share his life
with his love, he wanted to alteast stay near her and let her presence fill his
void life. He wanted to look at her peaceful face while she was asleep before
he retired to be and wake up to look at her face secretly, allowing him to if
not mend but atleast salvage his heart a bit.
"Haan, haan Geet ke
paas rehne keliye bahane doondh rahein hai aap," she said playfully twisting
his ears.
"Aah! Daadima it's
hurting," Maan said faking a cry.
"I know you want to
keep your wife to yourself," she teased, "teekhai magar ek mahine ke liye
badhmashi nahi. Samjhe aap?" she warned causing Maan and Geet to turn crimson
red in embarrassment.
"Daadima!" he feigned
anger.
"Maan bete hum aapke
daadi hai, hume sab pata hai," she said smiling, "use tang mat karna, jhoru ka
gulaam," Daadima teased again. She kissed them on their foreheads and bid them
good night before heading back to the mansion.
Once she was gone Maan
grinned and did a little victory dance. "Kya baat hai Maan, tumhare brain itna
kaam kar raha hai. Hm! Afterall, Maan Singh Khurana can do anything," he said
to himself loudly. Geet watched him perform a mini victory dance and couldn't
help smile at his action. But she wondered why he was praising himself when she
again heard, "Shabash Maan, shabash," he said patting on his shoulder.
"Maan is everything okay?
Aap dance kyun kar rahe ho?" she asked knotting her eyebrows together.
"Geet I managed to
bribe the pandit into postponing the rituals," he announced victoriously.
"Kya?" Geet asked with
her eyes widened.
"Haan Geet, I knew you
were not comfortable with all those rituals so I figured the only way Daadima
would listen was if the pandit told her so. And to make him say so, paisa bolta
hai," he said, his fingers gesturing money.
Geet couldn't believe
her ears. Maan had bribed the pandit into postponing the rituals just for her?
This man seemed impossible to fathom. Unable to contain her joy she hopped to
him and crushed him in a huge hug, grateful for his help. Maan was taken aback
by her sudden touch and he stood still without reacting. Words failed to occur
as she was overwhelmed by his gesture while he was surprised by her hug. Few
minutes passed while she hung tightly to him and he slowly let his hands
envelope her. The loud ringing of the grandfather clock brought them back to
reality. She immediately released her grip and stood back embarrassed by her
act.
Maan, not wanting to
make the situation more awkward joked, "By the way you are welcome."
"Huh?" she said dazed
and then realizing she didn't thank him, "thank you very much Maan."
"Haha it's okay, I
think it's already late. Hum kal subah baat karenge. Tum jaakar so jao," he
said.
"Ji, aap bhi so
jayiye," she said and left thinking about the incidents that took place.
Geet reached her room, reflecting on the
proceedings of her life. Two days ago she was cursing her fate and vowed to
shoo the groom away. But life had taken a complete U-turn and here she was
taken care by an unknown stranger who came to respect her views and wishes. She
tossed and turned on her bed as her thoughts ran through the twists and turns
in her life and finally came to rest upon the hug. She was surprised with her
own action; unable to reason it she fell asleep. Maan on the other hand
slightly shivered at her embrace. He wanted to distance himself from her, to
lessen the pain when she would leave him soon, yet he hopelessly hugged her
back. he hand tried to keep his emotions under control, yet Geet managed to unleash
it with a mere hug. He wondered how her mere touch melted him but chided
himself to keep in check in the future. He settled on the couch to let dreams
evade his sleep but for some reason he couldn't fall asleep. He reluctantly got
up, knowing the reason for his restlessness, walked to her bedroom to get a
quick peek at her before he went to bed. It had been just a day and he had
already gotten used to seeing her cutely tucked in bed before he slept. He mentally
made a note to not get used to see her sleep and arrived at her bedroom. He saw
Geet peacefully sleeping neatly tucked under the blanket. But what caught his
attention was her cute smile that was playing on her lips. He smiled at her
innocent smile in her sleep and headed back to his couch with a content sigh of
having seen his love before he slept.
alright guys here is the update. sry couldnt update earlier as i was busy during the weekend. i made it up by giving this EXTRA LONG UPDATE. hope u guys like it 😊
**Please not i had originally planned to write a simple encounter between maan n pandit. but i was totally inspired by the telugu movie bindaas when i wrote the scene between maan n pandit. so the credit goes to the director 😉. hope u guys like it. PLEASE COMMENT (atleast for the extra long update😳) i know not a lot of maaneet scene in this but i wanted to get over the rasam loop.
i have compiled all the links to my work into a thread. the link for the thread is on my siggy: "Maaneet World" please explore it!
ALSO I WAS ASKED BY MY FRIEND DEEP TO HELP PROMOTE THE PEITION TO SAVE GEET. HERE IS THE LINK:
Edited by Maaneet_09 - 12 years ago
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