Agarwal house wore a festive look with decorative wall hangings, fresh flower festoons adorning each door, colorful covers on sofa and chairs, and fairy lights strung all over the exterior. It was the wedding of the daughter of the house, Naina Agarwal. And the groom happened to be from one of the richest and most respected family in Ahmedabad.
Naina sat inside her room, packing her things in a large suitcase, reminiscing the date she had with Sameer just couple of days back. He had planned well, and safely dropped her back to Preeti’s parlor at 5pm. But right now she wasn’t thinking about the drive back but rather the final moments of their date in the park. How had she gained so much courage to kiss him like that? She had no idea… She just knew she had gone with the flow. Seeing him like that, knowing how much she would miss him, she had just done what her heart had wished for… make the moment special for him, for her, for them. And he had reciprocated. She would never forget the way he had kissed every inch of her face, except on her lips, and that whispered promise of finally making the kiss happen on their wedding night. God… every time she remembered the whisper she would shiver feeling as if his warm breath was still tickling her skin. And whenever she thought of his promise her stomach would clench as if there were a thousand butterflies swarming inside… How would she handle him kissing her?
Phulla Bua-Dadi had arrived just a day before yesterday, and Chachiji had done the ritual of welcoming the first guest for wedding. Then Dadi-bua had conducted another ritual which was apparently meant to save the would-be bride from all evil eyes. She had also gifted her a set of gold necklace and earrings for her wedding. The two days had passed with Dadi-bua overseeing the wedding preparations at home, and today was an important day, as guests were about to start arriving and also Chachiji was going to make papad. Naina had no idea about the why making papad was important, but well… somethings never had any explanation.
She pulled out more packets of clothes from her cupboard and stowed them inside the suitcase. Noticing an unfamiliar white pack, she tugged it open and nearly groaned aloud… It contained the nighties. She hadn’t been able to discard them yet, and she had no idea what to do with them… The only thing she knew was that she was never going to wear them. Suddenly she looked around, and smiled… there was no one in the room… now was the perfect chance to get rid of them. She grabbed a black polybag and dumbed the white pack and its contents inside it, then stapled it, and dropped it in the bucket near her desk. Chachiji had given her the bucket to discard old clothes that she didn’t need anymore, and Naina guessed she was going to give it all to the woman who came here to sell things in exchange of clothes. Well… Naina guessed the woman would be only too happy to receive the new nighties. Happy with her smart plan, she went about packing the remaining things and humming a romantic song.
She also had her parlor appointment that day about which Taiji kept grumbling until Phulla Bua-Dadi shut her up, “chup kar Beena… Tujhe kya pata shaadi me kitne armaan hote hai ladkiyo ke.”
Taiji mumbled, “oh bai! Meri bhi shaadi hui hai.”
“Haan haan”, Phulla Bua quipped, “gaanv se uthake laaye the tujhe. Ab tak yaad hai mujhe, tere ghar me pure choudah bhese thi. Aur tera armaan tha unme se do ko yahan leke aana.”
A momentary silence prevailed after this revelation and then everyone started laughing. Naina secretly thought that having Phulla Bua-Dadi here was good for handling Taiji’s ego sometimes.
The parlor lady came in at 3pm, and set up her materials in Naina’s room. As she was getting her waxing done, the phone rang outside, and Preeti picked it up. It was Sameer and she squealed, “jijaji…!!”
Sameer grinned, “yeh tum hamesha aise cheekhti kyun ho? Itni khushi hoti hai mujhe jijaji bulane me? Theatre me toh awara aur pata nahi kya kya bola tha mujhe.”
Preeti looked around one to check no one overheard, “haww jijaji… ab uss din aap harkate hi aise kar rahe the. Pehli baar me kon ladki ko gale lagata hai.”
He rolled his eyes, “gale nahi lagaya tha Naina ko… mera haath uske kandhe pe tha, woh bhi galti se.”
She giggled, “achcha thike… phone kyun kiya?”
“Tumhari cheekh sunni thi isiliye”, he replied immediately.
Preeti was puzzled, “huh? Kya?”
Sameer laughed, “Naina se baat karni hai… aur kya… milne toh de nahi rahe ho. Kamsekam baat toh karne do.”
Preeti smiled, “haaye… itna miss kar rahe hai aap Naina ko. Lekin abhi toh baat nahi ho sakti.”
He asked, “kyun?”
She excitedly relayed the information, “kyunki abhi Naina ka parlor treatment chal raha hai… aur uske baad mera number.”
“Parlor?”, he quizzed, “Naina bahar hai? Aur parlor treatment matlab… kya karwa rahi hai?”
She saw Taiji enter inside, and said in hushed tone, “woh sab aap Naina se puchna… aur woh ghar pe hi hai… sab khatam hote hi main bolti hun ke aapko call kare. Filhaal rakhti hun… Taiji aa gai.”
Sameer quickly disconnected the phone at Taiji’s mention, and his brain raced at jet speed as tried to think about what all Naina was getting done. And that home service sounded pretty cool… He had no idea Naina was becoming this resourceful. Also why couldn’t she just pause for a bit in middle of whatever she was doing and come to talk? Preeti didn’t even tell him when she would be done.
Naina called him two hours later, and he frowned, “ab yaad aayi?”
She smiled, “nahi… lekin abhi free hui.”
He frowned even more, “shaadi se pehle hi yeh haal hai… shaadi ke baad toh pata nahi kya hoga. Tum shayad pure din beauty parlors aur kitty parties me rahogi aur mujhe bhul jaogi.”
She controlled her laughter and mused, “ummm… kitty parties… achcha idea hai. Aap toh waise bhi office me honge toh main apne din aise hi bitaya karungi.”
He was horrified, “bahot kharab idea hai Naina… sochna bhi mat. Tum kitty party me jaogi aur do-teen din me meri bholi-bhali Naina ek gossip karne wali, upar-se-neeche tak hamesha makeup karke rehne wali, khaufnak aurat ban jayegi.”
This time she did laugh aloud. She had never heard such a description of kitty parties. Finally she calmed down enough to ask, “yeh sab kahan se sujha aapko? Kitty parties aisi nahi hoti… members kaise hai uspe bhi bahot kuch nirbhar karta hai. Swati ki mummy jahan jaati hai woh log gareeb bachcho ko padhane ka kaam bhi karte hai.”
“Lekin gossip bhi toh karte honge na”, he countered.
She wondered what he was trying to say, “umm… shayad thoda bahot. Main kabhi gai nahi hun. Par aap itne bechain kyun ho rahe hai kitty party ko leke? Koi wajah hai kya?”
“Nahi”, he replied so quickly that she knew there was something.
She waited for a bit and then said, “Sameer… zaruri nahi ke hum ek dusre ke baare me sab kuch shaadi ke baad hi jaane… dheere-dheere janenge maanti hun, lekin shuruat toh kar sakte hai na.”
He hesitated for a long time, but then sighed and honestly accepted, “mummy hamesha kitty parties me jaati thi… ek-do baar maine hostel se phone kiya weekends pe toh yahi sunne ko mila ke woh kitty party me hai. Kabhi school ke kaam se phone karo toh bhi wahi… Aakhir-kaar maine phone karne hi bandh kar diye.”
Naina felt this was extremely odd. Women who used to go to kitty parties would do it on weekdays when husbands would be in office and children in school. Weekends were usually reserved for family stuff. She softly asked, “aap jitne din wahan rahe tab bhi waisa hi tha?”
He replied, “nahi… tab weekends me ghar pe hote the, ya kisi relative ke wahan jaaneka hota tha, ya koi guests aate the.”
Yes, that sounded like a proper explanation of weekend, Naina thought. Was there someone then who always stopped Sameer from talking to his mother? She didn’t know, and right now her focus need not be on that, it should be on cheering Sameer up, since obviously he was upset. So she smiled and said, “achcha thike… main kitty parties me nahi jaungi… par parlor toh jaana padega na kabhi kabhi.”
He chuckled, “kyun? Parlor me aisa kya karwana hai? Aur usse pehle yeh batao ke aaj kya karwaya? Aur sabse zaruri baat… jo bhi karwa rahi thi thodi der ke liye bandh karke mujhse baat nahi kar sakti thi.”
Naina indignantly replied, “aise kaise phone pe baat karti… aapka call tha yeh baat bhi mujhe parlor ka saraa kaam khatam honeke baad pata chala. Preeti bata nahi paayi na mujhe, kamre ka darwaza bandh jo tha.”
He frowned, “darwaza kyun bandh tha?”
She huffed, “aree maine thik se kapde nahi pehne hue the toh darwaza toh bandh hi hoga na.”
Sameer froze at the other end on hearing this sentence, and here Naina frowned wondering why he wasn’t saying anything. “Sameer”, she called out… and then gasped as she suddenly caught on to what she had uttered. God… how much more clumsy she could be? How can she utter such things?
She thought about disconnecting the call, and had almost separated the cordless from her ear, when his voice sounded, clear and commanding, “phone mat rakhna Naina.”
She gulped. How did he know what she was going to do? He softly asked, “tum kahan ho?”
“A…apne room me”, she stammered.
“Good”, he replied, “main nahi chahta ke hamari baate koi aur sune…. Toh ab… kahan the hum?”
“Kahin nahi”, she desperately tried to divert the topic.
He chuckled, “bano mat… maine suna tumne kya bola. Toh… bina kapde ke kya karwa rahi thi?”
She gasped, “Sameer… aap…aap aisa kya puch rahe hai…? Mai…maine kapde pehne the…”
He bit his lip and drawled, “uhmmmm… par… maine toh kuch aur hi suna… ab sach sach batao. Waise bhi… mujhse kaisa sharmana.”
Her face flushed totally, and she twisted her dupatta, “Sameer please… aap aise chediye mat na mujhe…”
He smiled, “achcha… uss din park me kiss karte hue toh sharam nahi aai thi.”
She closed her eyes shut as if he was standing in-front of her and teasing her. Her voice held both anxiety and hesitation as she said, “woh toh bas… hum itne din mil nahi rahe the toh… mera matlab…”
He realized her condition and thought to stop teasing, “shsh Naina… main mazak kar raha hun. Lekin yeh bhi sach hai ke tumko mujhse sharmane ki zarurat nahi hai. Mera matlab… main pati hun tumhara… sab kuch janne ka haq hai… thike waise hi jaise tumko mere baare me sab janneka haq hai. Dheere-dheere janenge, par shuruat toh kar hi sakte hai.”
She relaxed as he repeated the same sentence she had spoken to him few minutes ago. She didn’t know what all topics husband-wife would talk about. She had seen Chachaji-Chachiji talk about several family related topics, and non-essential stuff too, but who could know what they talked about in private. Did a couple share everything? And was it necessary to go by the norm of the world? Maybe she didn’t know what was usual, maybe Sameer also didn’t know, but they could form their own rules as they moved ahead… Wasn’t that another aspect of marriage? Taking a deep breath she softly confessed, “maine facial aur waxing karvaya… Aur nails bhi clean karvaye.”
He was surprised that she gave out this information, and tried to control his mind from spinning fantasies. Naina was opening up to him, and he needed to handle this matter delicately. So he smiled, and ignored waxing discussion totally, instead focused on the most non-sexual part he could of her body, “wow… tumhara matlab manicure and pedicure.”
She queried in confusion, “aapko inn sabke baare me pata hai?”
He hummed, “thoda bahot. Mujhe toh woh saare instruments torture jaise lagte hai.”
She giggled, thinking that this sharing thing wasn’t so difficult. He hadn’t made fun of her or asked embarrassing questions. Rather he had understood her hesitation, and kept the enquiry as neutral as possible. She understood why and what he had done, and so the respect she held for him in her heart increased a lot.
He gently asked, “toh… tumhe kuch janna hai mere baare me?”
She thought about it, and as usual her focus again rested on his jawline that had so attracted her. So she queried, “aap hafte me kitni baar shave karte hai?”
He was amused, “shave? Naina… tum kuch bhi puch sakti thi mujhse… shaving ke baare me kyun?”
She bit her lip, wondering how much she could share, but then softly answered, “aap woh… kabhi kabhi thodi si daadhi rakhte hai na… jaise maano uss din subah shave na kiya ho… woh bahot achcha lagta hai aap pe.”
His mouth fell open in surprise. Did she just confess that she liked his stubble? Oh wow… This was getting too good. His eyes sparkled, “achcha… lekin usse tumko problem ho sakti hai.”
“Mujhe kaisi problem”, she enquired innocently.
A mischievous grin lit up his face as he supplied, “main tumko kiss karunga toh chubhega na.”
She blushed furiously, “aap phirse ched rahe hai mujhe… jaiye main baat nai karungi ab.”
He laughed, “aadat daal do madam… main toh aisai chedunga tumhe zindagi bhar.”
She wanted to be annoyed, but his talks of lifetime mellowed her, brought a smile on her face and she could only whisper what her heart wanted, “I love you.”
He grinned, “I love you too.”
An interruption from Pralay announcing that some mama-mami had arrived made Naina wish goodbye to him, as she had to receive the guests. The remaining day passed just like that with people coming in, some blessing her, some trying to find out how she had landed such a good match, and some trying to drill the point that she needed to put in more effort to glow like a bride. Preeti stood by her frowning at guests, and whispered to Naina, “tu na inme se kisiki bhi baato pe dhyan mat de.”
Naina smiled and held her sister’s hand, “chinta mat kar… mujhe pata hai Sameer sochte hai ke main khubsurat hun.”
The evening was all about food and more food as several guests had several demands, nd Phulla Bua strictly forbade Naina from cooking. There were two new maids whom Chachaji had hired for the wedding time-period to help with things. Even though there would be catering for all the guests in a couple of days when more people arrived, but still he felt the initial few days would also be hectic and not possible for his wife to manage everything alone. Naina and Preeti stood in the balcony with few of their cousins, chattering non-stop. Meanwhile Chachiji went inside Naina’s room to check if she had finished packing everything, and Phulla-Bua joined her hoping to rest some as her knees were aching.
Seeing a stack of books on the bedside, Bela shook her head, “bhagwaan jhuth na bulaye, kya karti hai yeh ladki. Sasural me bhi itni kitaabe leke jaana hai isko.”
Phulla-Bua sat down on the bed, “aah… ab thoda aaram kar sakti hun. Par tu sunle Bela… Uss Beena se bhi kaam karwa, akele sab mat kar. Aur Naina ki kitaabe jaane de… Suna hai tere damaad ka ghar bahot bada hai, saare kitaabe rakh lega.”
Bela laughed, “woh toh hai Buaji. Par main toh soch rahi hun Naina shaadi ke baad bhi kitaabo me hi uljhi na rahe toh achcha hai. Thoda bahot samjhane ki koshish ki hai maine… Par…”
Phulla Bua waved her hand and worries aside, “itna mat soch… tu thodi na sab sikhke aayi thi maayke se. Ladki sasural jaake sab sikh jaati hai, sasural walo ko smabhalna bhi, aur pati ko khush…” she trailed off suddenly spying something, and asked, “Bela woh kya hai… aise thele me daalke pheka hai Naina ne. Kahin uske maasik toh nahi shuru ho gaye?”
Bela turned to check, and squinted at the black packet in dustbin, “nahi nahi Buaji… maasik hote toh batati… aur yahan nahi phenkti.”
“Dekh toh zara”, Phulla bua instructed and also stood up herself.
Hesitating a bit Bela pulled out the black polybag from the bin, and held it at an arm’s length trying to gauge what was in it. Phulla Bua reached her and slowly touched the bag, feeling the content, and murmured, “kapde lag rahe hai.’
Bela kept it on the table, and opened one end of the bag, “aise modhke kyun phenkegi kapde? Dekhte hai kholke…”
As soon as the bag opened a bit, both ladies peered inside to see and another white bag with some pink fonts. Bela frowned, and then gasped as she realized what was it, “bhagwaan jhuth na bulaye… yeh ladki ne kya kiya.”
Phulla Bua looked at her, “kya kiya? Tujhe pata hai isme kya hai.”
Bela nodded, “haan… woh… woh thode nightie kharidke diye the maine Naina ko. Aur dekho… usne phenk diya…”
Phulla Bua started at the contents in the bag and then up at Bela, and then started to laugh, “tu sach keh rahi thi Bela… yeh kitaabo me hi doobi rahegi… Bechara Sameer…”
Bela sighed, “kaise samjhau iss ladki ko?”
Phulla Bua thought about it for a moment, “tu jaanti hai Bela… ladkiyo ko saheliyo se, aur aaj kal picture dekhke thoda bahot toh pata hota hai… Aur Naina toh kitaabe bhi padhti hai… mujhe yaqeen hai usko kuch na kuch toh pata hai, par phir bhi… aise maamlo me thodi jhijhak toh hoti hai. Tu usko aisa sab pehenneko bolegi shaadi ke turant baad toh woh nahi samjhegi… Tu bata tune kab aise kapde pehne the?”
Bela’s mind flashed to her precious purple nightie, and she coughed, adjusting her pallu, and said, “bhagwaan jhuth na bulaye buaji… kaisi baate kar rahi hai aap… main bhala aise kapde kyun pehnu?”
Phulla bua rolled her eyes, “haan haan… Pooja-Preeti toh padosi ke ghar se aaye hai…” When Bela tried to say something, she interrupted, “khair… baat teri nahi Naina ki hai… mere khayal se hume yeh bag uske suitcase me rakh dena chahiye. Baaki sab damadji sambhal lenge.”
“Par usne wahan jaake bhi phenk diya toh?”, Bela asked.
Phulla Bua smiled, “woh tu mujhpe chod de. Ab yeh bag mujhe de, main suitcase me chupati hun. Aur tu yeh saara kachra khali kar de, taaki Naina ko pata na chale ke uski chori pakdi gai.”
And the two ladies executed the plan smoothly to ensure future romantic adventures of Sameer and Naina were not hampered by Naina’s extreme determination of getting rid of those nighties.
The next day Sameer called extremely early in morning, and Naina was waiting beside the phone somehow knowing he would call.
“Hello Sameer”, she whispered.
He smiled and then frowned, “mere bina kuch bole tumhe kaise pata ke main hun.”
“Laga tha aap phone karoge”, she said, “kahiye…”
He sighed, “itna jaanti ho toh wajah bhi jaanti hogi.”
She smiled, “haan… aaj Mummyji, Rohan aur Deepika aa rahe hai, isiliye…”
He closed his eyes and leaned back on the chair he was sitting on, “kya karu Naina? Rohan se baat hui thi… lekin ab… Aur Deepika, woh bachpan se Sameer bhaiya-Sameer bhaiya karke aas paas ghumti rehti thi lekin maine kabhi… Aur aaj achanak aise… Upar se Mummy.”
Naina understood what he must be feeling, and had herself thought about the situation. So she softly asked, “ek baat kahu? Zyada koshish mat kijiye…”
He queried, “matlab?”
She explained, “mera matlab zyada sochiye mat… Ghar me shaadi ko leke khushi ka maahol hoga, aur aap bhi khush hai, toh apna mood waisa hi rakhiye. Jo bhi baat kare unn logo se usko zyada… umm… analyse mat kariye… Rohan samajhdaar hai, mujhe yaqeen hai woh bhi aapka saath dega. Aur Deepika bhi… Unn dono ko bas apna bada bhai chahiye, aur kuch nahi…”
“Aur mummy?”, he asked.
She smiled, “Ek maa hamesha apne bachcho ko khush hi dekhna chahti hai. Mujhe pata hai aapko unse bahot shiqayat hai, lekin jab aap Rohan aur Deepika se achche se baat kare, ya woh log aapko bhaiya kehke bulaye tab ek baar aap Mummyji ki taraf dekhna zarur… unki aankhon ki khushi aapko sach bata degi.”
He frowned, “kuch samajh nahi aaya Naina.”
She chuckled, “wahi toh… samajhne ki zarurat bhi nahi hai. Kabhi kabhi hum rishto ko kuch zyada hi samajhne ki koshish karte hai aur phir galat-fehmiya ho jaati hai.”
He shook his head, “tum har subah aise paheliyo me baat karti ho yaa aaj kuch khaas hai?”
She grinned, “haan khaas hi hai… aaj kuch toh rasam hai jisme mujhe kachcha ghee peena hai.”
“Ewww”, he almost choked at the thought, “chee… mat peena Naina… mana kar do.”
A soft laughter escaped her and she teased, “pakka mana kardu? Phulla bua-dadi ne kaha ke agar main woh ghee nahi peeti toh meri shaadi nahi hogi…”
He sat up straight, “kya? Aisa bhi hota hai kya?”
She tried to control her giggles, “kya pata… inn rasmo ka koi bharosa nahi… ho sakta hai koi rukawat aa jaaye shaadi me… baarish toh hogi nahi March me… shayad koi political party Bharat bandh ka elaan karde.”
His eyes widened, “umm… suno… waise toh main shaadi rukne nahi dunga… zarurat padi toh tumhe utha le jaunga. Par phir bhi, risk kyun lena… tum na ghee pee hi lo. Uske baad muh ka swad badalne ke liye turant kuch kha lena.”
She couldn’t control her laughter this time, “Sameer Maheshwari ko bhi darr lagta hai… yeh pehli baar pata chala.”
He scowled, “aaj tum mujhe ched rahi ho…”
She calmed down, “ji haan… aur aadat daal lijiye… aapki biwi itni seedhi bhi nahi hai. Zindagi bhar main bhi aapko pareshan karungi.”
He grinned, “main toh tumhara hi hun… jo chahe kar lo.”
She blushed, “jaanti hun. Chaliye ab phone rakhiye aur airport jaiye.”
Holding onto Naina’s words, Sameer drove to the airport to pick up his mother and siblings. This was the first time he was doing such a thing. Usually, he would just a driver or Nanu would go. Today even Nanu didn’t know that he was going to the airport, and yet somehow Naina had known that he would go even though he hadn’t told her. How did she do that? Was it normal? Or did women come equipped with some special husband-sensors that activated as soon as a woman was about to get married?
He waited nervously shuffling his foot, wondering about the reactions he was inviting by being here. The flight had landed twenty minutes ago, and he soon saw his mother exiting with a suitcase in tow, and her another hand holding onto Deepika. Rohan was behind her with two small suitcases, one in each hand. Deepika saw him first and her eyes widened in surprise, she stopped in her tracks and looked back to Rohan. Sameer didn’t know what but he was sure a silent communication passed between them, and he wondered about the bond these two had already developed and how would he ever fit in.
However, just like Naina had said he tried not to think a lot, and smiled hesitantly at Rohan and Deepika. His mother had still not noticed him. He walked towards them and soon Rohan also increased his pace. Vishakha looked at her son, and frowned wondering what he was up to, when suddenly she spotted Sameer and halted.
Rohan came up to him and smiled, slowly whispering, “bhai.”
Sameer smiled a little wider, “Hi Rohan.” To his surprise Rohan soon enveloped him in a hug, with some hesitation and trembling hands he too hugged him back. Sameer closed his eyes, for the first time not feeling angry on Rohan’s presence. When he opened his eyes again he saw his mother staring at them with a shocked expression. Deepika left her mother’s hand and came up to her brothers. Sameer left Rohan, and looked down at his sister who had been a small chubby kid when he had been in Delhi, but now was a gangly teenager with thick intelligent glasses, a brilliant smile with two dimples, and her hair hung in two pigtails that reminded him of a photo he had seen of Naina in school uniform during one of his numerous visits. He didn’t know how to proceed with her, what to talk, when she was small she would jump around him calling his name, trying to harass him into talking, but now she was waiting for him to make a move and he felt totally clueless on how a big brother should be behaving. Finally, he took a deep breath and crouched in-front of her and brought out a chocolate from his pocket. Deepika looked at the chocolate and then at the man kneeling in-front of her, and grinned, ecstatically flinging her arms around him and squealing, “Sameer bhaiya!”
Vishakha gasped, and Sameer again looked at her while holding onto his little sister, trying very hard not to cry. The feeling was so different, and so unique… The way she had flung her arms around him, as if sure of his affection, and also secured that he would hold her. He had let her down many times before, but this time he tightened his hold and soaked in the feeling of being a big brother, of the unnatural reality of having siblings who loved him. He could see that his mother was in a shock, and so after a moment he disentangled himself from Deepika, gave the chocolate to her and went to Vishakha. Again he didn’t know what to say, so after a lame “Good Morning Mummy”, he took the suitcase from her hand and guided her towards the car. He felt quite surprised when Deepika slipped her small hand into his while walking, looking up at him with a bright smile.
Vishaka was silent through the whole ride to home, but Rohan and Deepika kept talking, chattering about weather in Delhi, the flight, how hungry they already were. Sameer listened to everything with a smile, answering only when they asked about Naina. When they reached home, Nanu was enquiring about Sameer to Ramdhari, and was slightly angry that he left without telling.
He turned when Sameer entered, and asked in an irate tone, “kahan gaya tha subah subah? Naina se chori-chupke milne.”
Sameer’s eyerbrows furrowed, “ah nahi… main toh…”
Before he could finish the sentence Deepika skipped inside, followed by Vishakha and Rohan. Nanu’s eyes widened, “tum log aa gaye?”
Deepika smiled, “haan nanaji… Sameer bhaiya lene aaye the.”
Nanu looked at his grandson in surprise, and was even more astonished to see him smiling down at the little girl. He saw his daughter looked to be in shock and he could understand that. Amazing what a little love can do in someone’s life, Nanu thought, blessing Naina in his mind.
They freshened up and sat down to eat breakfast; Sameer had gotten paneer paratha prepared after asking Rohan what he and Deepika liked. As he rolled up a paratha and dipped it in mint sauce, suddenly he remembered how his mother rebuked him all the time, and instinctively he looked up only to find his mother frowning again. He started to keep the paratha down, gloom starting to settle in, but Deepika chirped, “wow Sameer bhaiya… aap bhi paratha aise khaate ho? Dekho… main bhi.”
“Good idea”, Rohan pitched in, “main bhi aisai khaunga aaj, bachpan ki tarah.”
Sameer smiled at his siblings and took a bite out of his own roll, whispering a mental thanks to Naina, and planning to make her day a bit special.
Later in the day as the rituals started to happen in Agarwal house, Naina sat decked in an orange saree, praying to lord Ganesha. After the aarti, the ladies did some ritual of blessing her, and then came the small bowl half filled with ghee that she had to drink. She wrinkled her nose at the smell, and her stomach churned just at the thought of drinking it… She was okay with ghee in any sabji or paratha or even with rice, but who in the world drinks ghee just like that? Apparently all women who get married, she sighed. Even Pooja didi had drank it, and very eagerly too because she was so desperate to get married. She lifted the bowl to her mouth, but drew back quickly because of the smell.
Pata nahi kaise piyungi. Itna ganda hai…
But then she remembered Sameer’s slightly panicked voice when she had teased him about the consequences of not doing this ritual. She smiled recalling something Chachaji had told her once, rishto ko jodne ke liye kai pariksha deni padti hai, aur unhe jode rakhne ke liye usse bhi kai zyada parikshaye hoti hai.
Well… It looked like this bowl of ghee was her first test to tie the nuptial knot with Sameer and she was determined not to fail it. So she closed her eyes, held her breath and slowly drained the contents in the bowl. She nearly gagged at the taste, and desperately tried to control her reactions. Preeti came with some honey for her so that she could get rid of the oily residue feeling on her tongue.
Just then there was a knock on the door and a man came up with a huge basket, and said, “memsaab ke liye sahib ne diya hai.”
Chachaji was puzzled and enquired, “kon memsaab?”
The man smiled, “Naina memsaab.”
Naina’s eyes widened while her family and relative looked extremely astonished. She got up and accepted the basked thanking the man, and asked him to sit and have some tea. But the man excused himself saying that he needed to go back.
She placed the basket on the table, and Preeti snatched the note from top of it. Naina immediately snapped, “oi… kya kar rahi hai?”
“Jijaji ka note padh rahi hun”, she grinned, “personal toh hoga nahi warna aise khule me nahi rakhte.”
Naina tried to take it back, but in the struggle the small red colored note landed on Phulla Bua’s lap. Now no one could object. Phulla Bua picked up the note and read it herself, a smile bloomed on her face, and then she read aloud, “suno sab hamare naye damaad ne kya likha hai… Naina, hamare rishte ki shuruwat me hi kadwa sa ghut peene ke liye shukriya. Tumhare muh ka swaad badalne ke liye kuch bhijwa raha hun. Ummeed karta hun tumhe pasand aaye yeh chota sa tohfa.”
The basket was brought to the floor to check the contents, and it had all kinds of chocolates, chips, packs of peanuts and peas, and one… or rather half cream-roll in a small transparent sealed bag, with an envelope pinned to it. Naina giggled, snatching the cream roll and envelope, and dashed to her room before anyone could object. The people left behind kept on wondering why the would-be bride ignored all the other goodies in the basket, and took away only the half cream-roll.