"Tum pahunch gaye?'' Naina asked excitedly over the phone while Preeti cocked her eyebrows standing at far.
"Hmm..Ab tum jaldi se taiyar hoke aa jao.Bataya tha na kounsi dress pehnke aane ke liye.'' Sameer asked and naina hummed in reply.She was bottling all her desperation and excitement before they burst up.
"Main Mandir ke liye nikal raha hoon,ab bas jaldi aa jao.'' Sameer already had a despair tone and Naina knew the feeling too well..She had been through this and still is.
"Oh ho..To Jijaji pahunch gaye aur milne bhi bula liya''. Preeti commented less and teased more.
"Preeti ki bachi!Dhire bol''. Naina slapped Preeti's hand while a slight blush crept to her cheeks.
"Preeti!Kya aaj puch lun ki Sameer wo photo frame kyun tod diya?''Naina asked while setting her hair for the last time before she goes out.
"Tu pagal ho gayi hai?Pata hai na Jijaji gusse mein chale gaye,phone pe bhi nahin bataya to iska matlab Jijaji ko shayad acha nahin laga wo photo ki baat..Dusri baar kuch alag gift karlena.Waise aaj kya gift lekar jaa rahi hai?''Preeti asked realising Naina and she had not talked about the meeting 'gift'' this time.
"Koi gift nahin hai isbaar.Phone pe pucha to bola ki kuch bhi lene ki zaroorat nahin hai.Khud pahunch jaun wohi bada gift hai..''Naina spoke remembering the night they spent talking before he flew to London for some official assignments.
It was his first foreign trip and accompanied by Somani was adding to his already tensed mood.Not the fear of getting lost in an alien world but the fear of losing himself under Somani's wrong notions about him.Naina had made him make several promises not to get annoyed or angry and handle everything coolly.
He was so afraid and agitated that Naina had to go for the only popular way to carry out things in India ''Bribe''.
Sameer Jayprakash Maheshwari had to be bribed a 'meet in Ahmedabad' option.The bribe surely did its job and the caller had a peaceful and hopeful sleep thereafter.
He just hoped and wished two things.Hoped that the meetings to play out well and wished that atlest for once he would call her and speak to her from a foreign land.
The hope fulfilled while wish failed.. Sameer proposes and Somani disposes.
"Kya?Koi gift nahin le rahi hai.Wo gana yaad hai na 'Chandni' ka..
Apni Mehbooba Se Milne
Khali Hath Nahi Aate..'' Preeti asked crossing her arms.
"Dar lag raha hai Preeti.Kahin phirse kuch lungi aur phir use bhi naraz ho gaya toh..'' Naina sat huffed as the remembrance of the day and his shouts still skittered through her arousing her emotions of fear.
"Yeh le.. ''Preeti handed over the gifted packet to Naina while Naina looked surprised.
"Isme kya hai?'' Naina asked inspecting.
"Pen hai.Shefali ke liye kharidi thi.Par lagta hai ab Jijaji ke liye yeh gift best hai.Tu jyada soch mat aur jaldi se nikal.Nahin to pata chala ki yeh pen bhi gusse se phenk diye hein meri Rakhi aur Daddi Bua ke saare paise bekar jaayenge.''Preeti spoke with her style 'dramatic touch' and Naina could not help hugging her sister tight.
"Ab Meena Kumari mat ban..Madhuri Dixit ki ada mein nikal.''Preeti voiced breaking the hug and pushed Naina outside the door.
"Naina! Kahan jaa rahi hai?'' Arjun asked as he spotted her walking down the lane.
"Bha..iya..Aap? ''Naina stuttered to see Arjun who was supposed to be on a train than in the lane.
"Apne bhai ko dekh ke tujhe khushi nahin hui? ''Arjun asked and Naina's eyes through the corners travelled to the wrist watch.Time was ticking away and she was getting definitely late.
"Haan..khush hun na bahut khush hun.Apka match kaise gaya? Papa kahan hein?'' Naina voiced non-enthusiastically.
"Match bahut acha gaya.Bas Man of the Series' haath se chut gaya nahin to average score ache aaye hein.Waise tu ja kahan rahi hai.?''Arjun asked again as suspicions clouded his eyes and voice too.
"Mein wo Swati se milne.''Naina lied through the teeth and Arjun could see through.
"Swati? Ya phir uss Sameer Maheshwari se?Waise yahan wo to rahta nahin hai..Iska matlab..NAINA .''Arjun's voice gathered strength and temper while Naina felt tremors under feet.
"ARJUN BHAIYAA'' Preeti trailed and rushed to the end of lane.
"Preeti.'' Arjun gasped as Preeti engulfed him in a crushing hug.Though he loved his sisters but this side of Preeti was as new and surprising as it was the day he learnt about Naina involved with Sameer.
"Aap yahan kya kar rahe ho.Tauji ne bataya ki unhe thoda waqt lagega.Isliye aap chalo ab.Aapse dher saari baatein karni hai.Naina!Tu jaa na..Suman teri wait kar rahi hogi. ''Preeti spoke as Naina's eyes went wide.
"Naina? ''Arjun's eyes zeroed upon Naina while all Naina wanted the mother Earth' to engulf her like she had seen on the other day in Ramanand Sagar's 'Ramayan'.
"Wo..Arjun bhaiya aap aao na''.Preeti pulled Arjun and gestured Naina to leave.
In the Temple
"Naina!''Munna voice floated through the air as Naina broke away from her trance.
"Munna? ''Naina turned to look and found the smiling faces of Pandit and Munna asking her to descend down the stairs.
"Tum dono?'' Sameer kahan hai?Phir se gussa ho gaya?'' Naina asked as dejection already set on her face.
"Arey aise kaise gussa ho jayega..Haan thoda ho gaya tha lekin do plate Samosa ke baad ab tumhara Prem bilkul 'Premi' mood mein hai.Wo park mein hai..Jaldi jao aur humein izazzat do..Bhabi '' Munna whispered the word while Naina blushed into shades of scarlet.
"Khayal rakhna iss baar Salman phir se Sunny Deol na ban jaaye'' Pandit spoke as they parted and Naina nodded in approval.
Meanwhile
"Preeti! Sach sach bata..Naina kahan gayi hai.'' Arjun asked the question for 29th time to be precise.
"Apne dost ke pass.''.Preeti trailed as she tried switching ON the TV.
"Tu idhar dekh ke bata..Uss Sameer se milne gayi hai na? ''Arjun yanked Preeti and if eyes could burn then Preeti surely would have turned into ashes.
"Haan gayi hai.Apko koi problem?''Preeti asked crossing her arms.
"Uss awara se jo kuch bhi rishta rakh rahi hai pachtayegi. ''Arjun fisted and thumped on the table.
"Kya rishta? Pyaar karti hai wo Sameer se.Ab to kuch confusion nahin hai na aapko.''Preeti asked she drank a glass of water.
"Aur usne kya kiya hai tujhe pata hai?Itna ghatiya aur awara ladka maine aaj tak nahin dekha hai...Aur Naina..uske saath ..''Arjun scrounged his eyes as he still had pains to accept the 'most bitter' fact.
"Aur aap jaise chupa rustom aur jhoothe maine aaj tak nahin dekha tha..Aap aur paper ki chori.''Preeti imitated Arjun and his eyes opened to wide.
"KYA? Kya badbadi rahi hai?''Arjun tried intimidating.
"Badbada nahin rahi hun..bata rahi hun ki mujhe kya kya pata hai aapke awaragardi' ke bare mein.Aap itna niche kaise gir sakte hein?'' Preeti 's words hit Arjun like a ball hitting some audience in the stadium when the player hits a sixer.
"Main niche gir gaya to wo Sameer bhi sharth lagaya tha..wo bhi Naina ko''.Arjun spoke with all the vexation.
"Ek baar Sameer se pucha hai kya kyun sharth lagaya tha wo?Ek baar puchte to tinde ki kasam apne aap se nazrein nahin mila pate.Aapko kya laga aap Varanasi ke sadhu hein? Aap chup rehte hein isliye aap bade ache hein?Sache hein? Aur haan apki jaankari ke liye bata dun ki aap ki Pooja Didi ke shaadi ke waqt tang tutne' ki nautanki ke bare mein bhi mujhe pata hai.'' Preeti finished only to see horror evident on Arjun's face.
"Aur agar aap ko yaad nahin hai to aapki yadas tazaa kar leti hun..Shefali aur apka Pralay ke tution ke bahane jo gutra gu chal raha hai..Taiji ko bata dun? Boliye na Arjun Bhaiya..Bata dun? ''Preeti had lace of tease and sarcasm as Arjun plopped his head in hands to believe the words Preeti threw at him.
"NAINAA..NAINAA ''Taiji s voice echoed in the corridor while Preeti and Arjun jerked and look startled.
"E Preeti! Naina kahan hai?Bula use jara.''Taiji instructed as she made herself very comfortable on the swing.
"Wo..Taiji Naina ghar par nahin hai''.Preeti's words slipped before she could mould them.
"KYA??Ghar par nahin hai?Kahan bhag gayi? ''Taiji asked with all suspicions.
"Wo Taiji Naina Post Office gayi hai.''Arjun spoke surprising Preeti a bit.
"Kahan gayi hai? Dak ghar mein?''Taiji asked gesturing Preeti to bring her some biscuits.
"Haan..wo mujhe kuch khat likhne the isliye.''Arjun tried sounding convincing.
"Aur tu uss ladki ko itni bhid mein chod ke akela chala aaya.Jaldi jaa aur use leke aa.'' Taiji instructed while Preeti felt like adding some anaesthesia to the cup of tea she was preparing.
"Ji Taiji.'' Arjun obliged not knowing where to fetch Naina from.
"Taiji main Arjun Bhaiya ke saath chali jaun? ''Preeti prompted while Arjun nodded a big ''NO''.
"Tu kyun uske ssath jaayegi?Wo khud tujhe lene ke liye mana kar raha hai.''Taiji asked while Preeti' warm smile changed into something sly.
"Wo..Taiji Pralay ke tution ke chakkar mein..''Preeti was interrupted as Arjun's words kicked in.
"Taiji Pralay ka tution ka time ho gaya hai..Aap jaiye na.Main aur Preeti le aayenge Naina ko.Chal Preeti.''Arjun spoke and pulled Preeti while Taiji looked confused less and sceptical more.
"Oh Bai!Inn logon ka lakchan kuch thik nahin laga rahe hein mujhe.''Taiji self-talked as she completed sipping the tea.
Meanwhile
Sameer paced restless under the gulmohar tree shadowing the buttercup shrubs.
Naina put her foot measured and counted.The gift clutched tight enough in her fists.If thepen would have been a living being it would have died of suffocation and strangulation.
Sameer saw her approaching and smiled.Her eyes met his and the straight line of lips bends to a curve.
Her smile gave him a smile that just seemed so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushed through him.
"I am Sorry.Aane mein der ho gayi.'' Naina spoke up instantly as she presented herself before him.
"Main bhi abhi aya..Bas paanch minutes pehle.'' Sameer could easily mask the wait of one hour behind his smiles all to make her feel less guilty and more at ease.
"Yeh tumhare liye.''Naina passed the gift while Sameer sighed and nodded at the fact how stubborn' she is.
"Kya hai ismein?''Sameer asked while Naina asked to open it.
"PEN! Bahut sundar hai.Tumne kharidi hai?'' Sameer asked holding the pen to the bright sunlight filtering through the canopy of trees.
"Nahin.Preeti kharidi hai.Tum ye apne pass rakhoge na?'' Naina asked apprehensive and Sameer knew what to do to make her confirm how much he adored the gift.
"Ab thik hai?'' Sameer asked as he pinned the pen to his breast pocket and run his fingers on the satin and whole of pen.
Naina smiled wide as she could acknowledge that Sameer held the gift close to his heart.She instantly huddled upto him and hugged him.How she missed him and the phone conversations.
She would be lying if she would say that she was keeping herself busy without thinking about him.She was hell missing him every nanosecond or even smaller units of time if at all they existed.
All hopes of eternity and all gain from the past he would have given to have her there, to be wrapped warm with her in hug. It seemed the hug with the girl in his arms was the only necessity.He was finally breathing after eons.
Could the time stand still?Or atlest freeze.
They broke away from the hug not before Naina had drenched his peach colored shirt with her salty tears.His eyes pooled too as he felt the tears were more of cleansing than weakness.
What it seemed eternity or just few minutes on the sequential time on wrist watch they pulled apart.They made themselves comfortable under the heavy bush of buttercups.
He smoothed her hair as she fidgeted with the flower clip he had got for her from London.As he trailed with his tales of first foreign visit and instances where his blood boiled and few places Somani was embarrassed due to his I-know-it-all' attitude brought smiles to both faces which shined brighter than the sunshine.
"Naina! Ek aur baat.Main Camera laya hoon.Tum photos kinchogi na? ''Sameer asked as Naina felt something serpent like slithering over her spine.
"PHOTO?PHIRSE?''Naina's words were shut as her balmed lips were shut with his calloused fingers stained with fountain ink.
"Dhire bolo na.Haan ya Naa?'' Samer asked as a spark of naughtiness sparkled in Naina's dark orbs.
She ran her fingers over his shirt and reached to the pocket making his breath hitch and blood racing a sprint race.
"Kya kar rahi ho?''He voiced through clench of teeth as the sensations were too testing..too tempting.
"SSHH!Apni jawab chahiye na..Toh ''Naina whispered alluringly and pressed on the retractable pen twice.Before he could fathom the sudden change in Naina's demeanour and color of sky Naina was already near the red hibiscus shrubs rehearsing few filmy poses.
She is herself a vista..Though a plain Jane for rest of world he knew she has a breathtaking view about herself.The aura,the magic,the peace..He only knew what a beautiful rhododendron she is in the valley of flowers that the world notices yet fails to admire.
And he is going to capture her in all her grace to his heart's content ,to his eye's content..only to his content.
"NAINA...''Preeti's voice broke through the cool breeze that was indicating of possible rains in evening bringing much relief to parched hearts,parched lands.
"Preeti!..Arjun Bhaiya! ''Naina stammered as they both rose to feet and dusted their apparels.
"Saala ..I mean Arjun yahan kar raha hai?''Tum inn dono ko saath leke aaye the? Sameer asked still the first temple meet vivid in his memory palace.
"Nahin nahin main to akele aayi thi..''Naina tried her best to wipe out even a speck of suspicion.
"Naina itni der uske saath kya kar raha hai?Baatein karne ke liye itna time?''Arjun murmured while Preeti knew which weapon to shoot now.
"Kyun apko jalan ho rahi hai? Aapko Shefali itna time de nahin rahi hai isliye?'' Preeti asked and Arjun pretended to be very' angry with her nonsensical talks.
"Aur haan agar aap Jijaji ke saath kuch aise waise baatein ki to Taiji ke table pe aapka sara kartut ka report hoga..Yeh mat bhuliye ki mujhe Gujrati aur Hindi ache se aati hai aur Taiji Tauji ko bhi''.Preeti winked as she moved forward to greet Sameer.
"Wah! Mere Jijaji to foreign se aaye hein..Haaye!Kuch logon ke pass imported cheezen hogi aur mere pass to imported Jijaji hein..Waise mere liye kuch laaye hein ya nahin.Nahin to tinde ki kasam ye tiscu taiyan sab band karwa dungi.''Preeti spoke with tease and warning as Sameer fished a 'Big-Ben' shaped key ring from his pant pocket.
"Yeh lo Saali ji aapke liye.Cycle ke chabi bandh lena isse.''Sameer spoke as Preeti jumped in happiness drawing a good attention from few evening joggers and her dearest elder brother Arjun.
"Arey Arjun! Hi.Kaise ho?Tumhare match ke bare mein Naina ne bataya tha.Selection ho gaya?'' Sameer asked as he moved to shake hands with his saala'.
"Haan bataya to hoga .. Mujhe se bhi ache khiladi ho.Hum to sirf maidan pe khelte hein..Aur tum..''Arjun's words interrupted as Preeti's words pierced through.
"Naina !Tujhe pata hai na mujhe Gujarati aur Hindi kitni ache se aata hai..Soch rahi hun teri tarah kuch likh dun.''Preeti spoke with a higher pitch while Naina remained clueless of such an off-topic dialogue.
"Sameer!Bahut acha laga tumse milke.Ab Naina ko ghar chalna padega.Taiji dhund rahi thi use.Agar tumhara izazat ho to .''.Arjun asked as Sameer broke into splits.At the back of head he knew Preeti must have done something to trigger the gentleman ness in Arjun.
"Haan ab bhi tumhara behen hi hai.Le jao aur khayal rakhna uski.''Sameer said as he pulled Naina and gently pushed her to Arjun.
"Chalein Naina?''Arjun asked as he held Naina's hand and Preeti joined them not before waving back her imported' Jijaji.
Naina kept on looking back at him till he was out of view. It was love at first sight, at last sight, at ever and ever sight for her..for ever.
"Arey tum tinon kya teerth pe gaye the?''Taiji asked as she spotted the trio entering the door.
"Nahin Taiji wo bhari bhid thi aur Naina ko dhundna thoda muskil tha.''Preeti spoke on behalf.
"Pata nahin kounse bhid mein chali gayi thi? Batake jana chahiye tha ya nahin.Ek to Bela apne maike chali gayi hai pata nahin kab lautegi aur upar se yeh teeno.Arey uss Bholuram se kuch seekho.Itna bada ghar ka hoke bhi badon ka kitna adar samaan karta hai..Sabse puchkar,salah lekar sab karta hai..Aur tum teeno..Oh Bai! Kya karun mein in logon ka.''Taiji cursed everything under the universe as she spoke the words excluding Tauji and Paraly babu.
"Taiji! Chai banau apke liye? '' Naina asked as her topper brain got activated.
"Han bana..Elaichi ache se dalna.Bhagwan ka shukr hai kuch to akal baki hai iss ladki mein "Taiji joined her hands in reverence to lord as three giggled and rushed to the rooms inside.
------------------------------------THE END----------------------------------
P.S.:Thank you for reading.😃 Would love to read all your feedback.😳
comment:
p_commentcount