Chapter 32
A journey to a Whole New World
Hare ek pal hai shabnami sama badal gaya
Tumhare saat milke yeh jahaan badal gaya
Hai zindagi mein har tarf yeh roshni hai tumse
Yeh roshni hai roshni tumse
~ Lyrics of a TBZ Jewelry ad
"What
was that?" Anjali stirred in her bed and
lay down absolutely still for a minute.
Then she heard it again, a distinct knock on her balcony window. Her eyes flew open in an instant andher heart
thudded anxiously. It was a little past
one am. Switching on the bedside lamp,
she grabbed the alarm clock on her bedside table and gingerly stepped closer to
the balcony.
"Anjie, yeh kya kar rahen hai aap?
Scream! What if it is a thief?" Hollered the inner diffident Anjali,
while her twin the bold and reckless one egged her on, "Well, atleast switch on the light and peer through the other window,
before you scream. If it is something as
innocuous as a branch knocking against the window, you would look like a fool
for screaming."
With one hand
clutching the side of her nightie, Anjali peered through the window on the
adjacent wall, and instantly snapped the balcony light on, flooding the tall
figure of Rathod in a flood of light. A
small yelp escaped her, as she quickly snapped the light off and bounded across
to throw the French windows open and let him in.
"Aap! Yahan, iss waqt Kya ka", she got no further as Rathod stepped in
and in the next instant pulled her against him to claim her lips.
"I have been missing you Sugar queen" he whispered
against her dazed lips several minutes later.
"Hum bhi aap ko bahut miss kar rahe the.
Par iss waqt, iss tarah. Kisi ne
dekhliya hota tho?" She scolded in a
mock-angry voice, even as she nuzzled her head against his shoulder and
tightened her arms around him.
"Big
deal! Kal waise bhi hamari shadi hai. Phir kya faraq padta hai. We have not been alone even for a second for
the past three to four weeks", Ajay complained as he picked her up and strode
over to her bed, where they cuddled next to each other and recounted the past
few weeks of their life, reliving the brief moments they had spent together and
catching up each other on the ones they had spent apart.
Anjali
recalled waking up the day after the eventful night when she had had her final
showdown with Shyam. The family had all
camped overnight in Rathod's house, anxious about how she would feel about the
whole thing come morning, while she had slept like a baby. Probably the best sleep of her entire life in
recent times. She had woken up to a golden sunrise, insanely happy, that finally
she had broken free of all the shadows of her past and was free to love her
Alladin without any reservations.
The
family was pleasantly surprised, but had quickly accepted it as the way things
were going to be with this newly emergent self-assured Anjali. Then, towards mid-day they had discovered the
divorce papers from Shyam. That was all
that was needed, before her brothers had set things in motion legally to bring
it to closure, while the elders sprang into action, consulting with their
respective panditji's to set the date for the wedding.
Since that moment Anjali and Rathod had known
no peace. They were hustled and bustled
through activities in preparation for the D-Day.
Added
to this was the fact that Nitin and Radhika's wedding date was just a few days prior to their's and Vrindavan's grand opening preceeded a few days prior. Anjali, Radhika, Maya, Khushi and Payal were
on a never ending shopping spree hopping between Jaipur and Delhi, with a quick
dash to Kumarakom for Maya's sake.
Naaniji, maama, maami and Viren chacha were bustling around ensuring
that everything turned out just perfect for the wedding, aided by Iyer uncle,
Garimaji, Buaji and even Shashiji who was now on his way to recovery atleast
with the motor functions of his paralyzed arm.
He had valiantly taken on the task of writing out the invitations,
claiming it was just the exercise he needed, and that folks shouldn't worry
since he was ably supported in this effort by an overjoyed Tashi and an eager
Ayan. The men were left to their own
devices and were all alternately ecstatic with their new found freedom and
sullen at prolonged separation from their respective partners.
Rathod
spent every available free minute with Tashi to ensure she was ok with the
transition, but to his delight, Tashi had no qualms or apprehensions about his
wedding to Anjali or accepting her whole heartedly as her mom. She was infact waiting for the moment when
she could stop calling her Anjie aunty and call her mom.
Anjali
had juggled her time between preparations for getting Vrindavan launched,
helping Radhika with preparations for her big-day, soothing a now-frazzled-nervous-and-now-desperate-to-meet-Radhika
Nitin and somehow managed to prepare for her own wedding. The launch of Vrindavan was set for early-October
right after the family had had a private celebration of Arnav and Khushi's
first Wedding Anniversary at Vrindavan.
Nitin and Radhika had tied the knot in Vrindavan in a themed destination
wedding " Jaipur'.
The Raizadas, Gohils
and Guptas had moved into the private section of Vrindavan much to the chagrin
of Viren chacha, who ended up spending most of the day in Vrindavan rather than
Malhar, protesting that the now empty haveli drove him to insanity.
Anjali
and Rathod had decided that they would have a wedding with all the trappings
and rasme, but restrict the invitees to the most intimate circle of family and
friends. The past few days of mehendi,
haldi and sangeet had provided them brief respite when after weeks of hectic activity
and separation, they spent some time in each other's company, even if it was
under the nose of the entire family. It
also had increased Rathod's determination to be with Anjali for a few
uninterrupted hours and had him risk discovery, as he had snuck past the
private grounds of Vrindavan, scaled the wall, tapped on his sugar queen's
window and had even risked having his head smashed by her with the antique
alarm clock in her hand.
"Uthi
ye Ajay, iss se pahele koi dekhle."
Anjali hissed, gently patting Ajay's cheek.
They had talked for barely an hour last night
before fatigue had claimed them. They
had slept like babies wrapped in each other's arms. Ajay rushed out of the window after a final
kiss to his bride-to-be and a promise to be at the palatial gates of Vrindavan
with his baraat on time.
Arnav
had left no stone unturned in his arrangements for his precious Di's
wedding. The private grounds and gardens
of Vrindavan had been decorated with lights and flowers. The wedding itself was to occur in the
evening and with their magnificent ancestral Haveli as the background, the
entire area was breathtakingly grand and beautiful.
"Sab kuch itna sundar hain, Di bhi itni khush
hai. Hey Devimayya, aap ne hum sab ki
sunn li", sang Khushi as she squeezed her Arnavji's arm and quickly added in a
much softer voice, turning him around and gazing in his eyes, "aap theek tho
hai na?"
Arnav pulled her in a tight
embrace and dropping a kiss on her head, he spoke in a voice choked up with
emotion, "I am very happy for Di. Par Khushi ajeeb lag raha hain, yeh soch kar
ki kal se di Shantivan mein nahin hogi.
Delhi mein bhi nahin, but in Jaipur."
Khushi's eyes filled with tears, that she quickly blinked away, and
cradling Arnav's face in her palms, she dropped a kiss on his cheek, "Jaipur
itna bhi door nahin hai. Aap kabhi bhi
fly karsakte hain. Aur Rathodji ka Dilli
wala bunglow tho Shantivan ke bagal mein hain.
Di, ke honeymoon se laut ne ke saat hi, aap unko yeh project de deejiye,
ki Shantivan aur Rathod house ko kissi bhi tarah connect karde. Bas.
Di aur Jijaji donon Dilli mein rahen ge kuch maheenon tak." She chirped
brightly and was rewarded with one of Arnav's full blown smiles.
"Pagal ho tum, par meri ho" replied Arnav,
hugging her tightly.
The
wedding was a traditional and elegant affair. Ajay in his Jodpurs and Anjali in
her vermillion red wedding outfit made a striking picture together. Tashi had the time of her life. She was glad that she had decided to follow
in the footsteps of her role models - Anjali, Payal, Khushi and Maya and had traded
her tomboy dressing and mannerisms for her gorgeously feminine lehenga and jewelry. She left no opportunity to
swish her now long hair and sashay all over the house in her silken outfit,
much to the amusement of Ayan.
Ayan who
had moved to Delhi to study, thanks to the Ratna Mallick Scholarship, had also
moved into the guest house of AR group, since he was now designing a new line
of Jewelry in parallel with his studies for AR's next fashion reveal. He was extremely thrilled, for, not only was he
doing what he loved the most, he was studying to be the business man he always
dreamed to be, and rejoiced at his luck at having the country's youngest and
most successful business tycoon, the great ASR himself as his coach and
mentor. Life was finally smiling at him.
At the
moment though, all these thoughts were far from his mind, as he expertly
sneaked off with some meetha paan clutched in his hands, and set off to find
Tashi. Tashi had been trying to get hold
of one of these paans for over the past hour, but had been told off by one
elder or the other. He had earlier
teased Tashi endlessly and she had now gone off to sulk somewhere. He smiled to himself, his eyes scanning his
surroundings, as he set out to find her, and charm the smile
back on her pretty face with his peace offering of Meetha paan.
************
"Nahin,
aise nahin. Malhar ki bhi kuch parampara
hai. Rathod, tumhe Anjali ko apne godh
mein utha kar, andar aana padega. Aakhir
yeh muscles kis din khaam aayenge," insisted Radhika with a wink for Anjali.
Nitin and Radhika had postponed their
honeymoon until after Anjali and Rathod's wedding. Radhika had effectively assumed the role of
Rathod's sister and having learnt about Anjali's penchant for parampara' from Lavanya, had
made up her mind to ensure she got every bit of it.
The family cheered, while NK sang, "Haan,
Rathod. You see, di is all about
parampara and pooja. If you don't co-operate,
tumhe kutte-ke-ghar mein sona hoga, you know; as in sleep in the dog-house".
The family burst out into peals of laughter,
while Rathod scooped up his bride and carried her into his haveli with flair.
************
Several
hours later, Ajay once again gathered up Anjali in his arms and crossed over
into his bedroom, decorated with great care by Lavanya, Payal, Maya and Khushi for their
suhaag raat. The family had returned
back to Vrindavan; Viren chacha and Tashi included, leaving the Haveli to the
newly-wed couple.
Anjali blushed crimson
as her eyes took in the huge four-poster bed bedecked with flowers and the stash
of sweetmeats on the nearby table.
Rathod came to stand beside her and clasping her hand, he said "Sugar
queen there is something I have to tell you.
Kyon ki, aaj se humdonon ke zindagi mein ek naya chapter shuru hone wala
hain, I want it to be based on complete disclosure".
Anjali turned at the somber tone and looked
into Ajay's solemn face, her face suitably sober while she awaited what would
follow next anxiously. He continued,
looking into her eyes as he led her to the farthest wall and unveiled the
painting that had been covered during his exhibit. It was the same one that had set Shyam off on that fateful night.
Anjali blushed to the roots of
her hair as she looked at the painting properly for the first time. "She had
never even imagined that she could look so seductive, simply standing in
the rain, lost in her own longing for Rathod that night when she had pushed him
away after their first kiss----wait a minute how did he? Had he seen her that night? How?" The color deepend in her face as she turned
questioning eyes to Ajay.
"Yehi tho hum
aapko batana chahthe the" said Ajay in his mock serious voice, although his
lips were twitching with a barely suppressed smile causing Anjali to frown in
suspicion. He led her to the French windows,
even as he dimmed the lights in his room, and drawing back the drapes, pointed
straight across to the balcony that has been her's while she had stayed at
Malhar. Anjali gasped and covered her
mouth with her palm, as she realized that
while she had been thinking she was unwinding and letting her guard down in a
sanctuary of her own, she had infact been revealing it all to Ajay. How could she not have looked straight across
and spotted his balcony or him. She
bit the inside of her lower lip and holding the lapels of his kurta, buried
her hot face in his chest as laughter rumbled in his throat.
"Hume
bhi aap ko kuch such bata na hai", she said a few minutes later."
It was Ajay's turn to look suitably
perplexed and shuffle his feet anxiously while he waited with his eyes closed
per her instruction, wondering what else his sugar queen had to reveal now;
when she came back with something clutched behind her back.
"Apne aanken kholiye" she said.
Ajay obeyed instantly and found himself
staring at his autograph signed in a bold hand across the back of a pink
Tee-shirt. He recognized it as one of
his early signatures. Anjali smiled at
his bemused expression, and wrapping her arms around his waist, she looked into
his face as she spoke "This is your autograph to your biggest fan at the end of
your Painting exhibit when you first returned back from abroad. "
"Gosh!
That was ages ago, for a charity event organized by the Architecture
college of Lucknow. I was probably twenty-three. Oh my God! Anjali" he exclaimed, overwhelmed and humbled
at the thought, that she had it preserved it over so many years.
"Yeah!
You see we met first seventeen years ago. And I have been your biggest fan since." Admitted
Anjali simply.
Ajay swallowed hard at
her simple admittance and scooping her up in his arms once again, he whispered
against her lips, "and now I am yours for the rest of our life Sugar Queen" and
he sealed her lips with a kiss of undying love and a promise of unwavering
loyalty.
********************The beginning of a Magical life in a whole new world************************
A whole New World from Disney's Alladin
I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?
I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic carpet ride
A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming
A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear
That now I'm in a whole new world with you
Now I'm in a whole new world with you
Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky
A whole new world
Don't you dare close your eyes
A hundred thousand things to see
(Hold your breath, it gets better)
I'm like a shooting star
I've come so far
I can't go back
To where I used to be
A whole new world
Every turn a surprise
With new horizons to pursue
Every moment red-letter
I'll chase them anywhere
There's time to spare
Let me share this whole new world with you
A whole new world
That's where we'll be
A thrilling chase
A wondrous place
For you and me
~ Song Writers - Alan Irvin Menken; Timothy Miles Bindon Rice.
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