Always and Forever
Part - 47: The Dance of Passion

Naina checked the time once, sighing on seeing the hands of clock still stuck a bit after 10:30pm, just like it had been before. Was she really checking the time so frequently? Honestly, it seemed ages since she had last checked the time… But what could she do? The promise Sameer had made before leaving just made her skin tingle with anticipation.

After the engagement ceremony they all had had dinner, and none of the relatives had given any free time to Sameer and Naina to have any personal conversation. When Sameer had asked for some time, he had been teased and asked to wait for a few more days. Finally, when their families were exchanging pleasantries just before the groom’s family would leave, he had snuck a crumpled bit of paper in her hands. She had waited until she was in her room to check the paper, and her face had split in a grin on seeing the two words he had written on it, “11pm. Room.”

She had understood that this meant he was coming to her room at 11pm to meet her, to fulfill her wish. Her eyes closed as she remembered that night on terrace when she had whispered her wish to him, “main chahti hun ke mujhpe sabse pehli mehndi aur sabse pehli haldi tumhare haatho se lage… Har kisise pehle mere liye tum ho, toh shagun bhi tumhare haatho hi hona chahiye. Aur main bhi tumpe wahi haq chahti hun.”

He had been so overwhelmed on hearing her that he had kissed her hard. Since then she had wondered several time if she had made an unnecessary demand. She knew it would be difficult to fulfill it. She knew it was extremely risky. But still… She wanted it. It wasn’t about romance or needing time alone with him. It was about the right they had on each other… Maybe people considered it a bad omen, but she couldn’t think how it could be a bad omen to meet the man she was getting married to. Being with Sameer, she had understood that things always had some logic or reason behind it, and some norms that were usually followed by society need not be followed if the person didn’t wish to. Just like he was so open minded about her menstrual cycles, calling it natural, but her family was the exact opposite. It was all a matter of perspective and understanding why these customs were made.

When it came to not meeting before wedding, there were these rituals in earlier days because they felt if the groom sees the bride before they got married, then he might get a chance to say no, or maybe he would lose interest. Another reason was the risk of intimacy, something which people thought should only happen between a bride and groom after marriage. So if the would-be bride and groom met before wedding, and they got intimate, then it would be a matter of shame. There were perceptions of risk which caused people to make these rituals, but when it came to her and Sameer, she thought that these rituals were utterly useless because she had already given herself to him and yet he had chosen to wait, respect her family’s boundaries, and her wishes.

She went out of the room to check on Preeti who was sleeping with Pooja didi and her son, just so that the room would be empty for Sameer to come in. She adjusted the speed of fan, covered the trio with a thin blanket, and then grabbed a bottle of water and a bit of chocolate from the kitchen. The clock now showed 10:45pm… 15 minutes more to go, she thought. Maybe the chocolate could last that long. Biting a bit of the chocolate bar, she glanced once more around the hall, and then walked back to her room, locked the door, turned and froze…

At the balcony door, a silhouette was outlined, backlighted because of the street lamps. The glow from her own desk lamp, didn’t reach that corner, but she didn’t need any light to know who it was. Quickly placing the water and chocolate on the desk, she rushed to the silhouette, and flung her arms around the person, “tum jaldi aa gaye.”

Sameer made a humming sound at the back of his throat, wrapped his arms around her, and walked her inside, closing and latching the door behind him. His long fingers massaged at her nape, and then applied gentle pressure to tilt her head back. “Baate baad me karenge”, he muttered hoarsely, and kissed her. She whimpered at the instant pleasure, and moved her hand in his hair, rising up on tip-toe, returning the kiss with equal fervor. Teeth nipped, bodies trembled, and in a tangle of arms and legs they fell on the bed. The need to touch was strong and she tried to tug on his shirt. He held her hands, shackling them against the bed, and lifted his head, breaking the kiss, “Naina… shaant ho jao.”

She squirmed, “shaant hi rehna tha toh kiss kyun kiya?”

He buried his face against her throat, “raha nahi gaya… kya karu…”

Holding the back of his shirt, she tried to drag in a deep calming breath, “shaadi ke baad main inn sabka badla lungi.”

Sighing, he rolled back onto the bed beside her, “ek ek minute mushkil se guzar raha hai… kuch achche plans banana badla leneka.”

She chuckled, “ek baar phirse kiss karu?”

“Nahi”, he moved a bit away from her, “door raho mujhse… ek toh aise wish maangti ho, upar se kamra bhi khaali rakhti ho mere liye… kitna control karu khudko?” She opened her mouth, but he placed his palm over her lips, muttering, “ab yeh mat bolna ke maine kahan bola hai control karneko.”

She smiled against his hand, kissed his palm softly, and then removed his hand, turning sideways to him to nuzzle. He held her to him for a minute, and then groaned, “nahi… nahi… door raho Naina… seedhe do din baad gale milna ab.”

She laughed, “okay… dekhte hai. Chalo utho ab.”

He sat up, licking his lips, and frowned, “Naina… tumhe kiss karke chocolate ka taste kyun aa raha hai?”

She picked up the chocolate from her desk and showed it to him, “kyunki main chocolate kha rahi thi.”

The fear in his eyes was immediate, “kya? Iska matlab… tum… periods… abhi?”

She chuckled, “nahi… mujhe pata hai main chocolate hamesha periods me khati hun par iska matlab yeh nahi ke kabhi aur nahi khati… isse pehle bhi tum darr gaye the ek baar… Mujhe bas kuch meetha khane ka man ho raha tha aur ghar me itni mithaiya bhari padi hai ke kuch samajh nahi aa raha tha, toh isiliye chocolate utha liye.”

He tugged her to sit beside him, took a bite out of the chocolate from her hand, and then lay down on her lap, “ek meherbaani karna… honeymoon pe chocolate mat khana, warna pakka mujhe heart attack aa jayega.”

She giggled, stroking his hair, “tum bilkul pagal ho.”

He hummed in agreement, focusing more on how her fingers skimmed his scalp, and how soothing it somehow felt. She smiled seeing how he closed his eyes, totally relaxed, and asked, “aaj akele aaye ho?”

“Nahi”, he replied, “Munna hai saath me. Pandit aaj aa nahi paaya, aur Rohan ko laana thoda risky ho sakta tha.”

She pouted, “iska matlab jaldi chale jaoge.”

He opened his eyes, “jaana toh padega na… tumko toh pata hai ghar me kitne log hai. Aise me zyada der gayab rehna risky hai… Upar se kal raat bhi toh aana hai.”

She sighed, “theek hai… chalo… mehndi laga do.”

He sat up once more, and grabbed the last bit of chocolate from her hand. She gasped in shock, and he frowned, “chotu sa piece bacha hai… itna toh le hi sakta hun na?”

She clucked her tongue, “chocolate ke liye nahi… mehndi… mere paas toh cone hi nahi hai… Mehndiwali kal hi sab layegi.”

He playfully pinched her nose, “jaanta hun… tabhi toh main leke aaya hun.”

Her eyes widened, “sach?” He nodded, pulling out a mehndi cone from his pocket. She grinned, “yeh kahan se laaye tum?”

“Ek parlor se”, he informed.

She took the cone from his hand, inspecting it, “parlor me kisine pucha nahi ke tumhe mehndi kyun chahiye?”

He smirked, and said in an exaggerated tone, “parlor wali mujhe dekhke kho si gayi thi… itna handsome ladka usse mehndi ka cone maang raha hai… mujhe dekhe hi jaa rahi thi who… isiliye kuch sawaal nahi puche.”

She rolled her eyes, “Sameer… mazak mat karo… sach bolo.”

This time he leaned forward, his tone mysterious, “maine usse bola ke main meri girlfriend ko bhagake le jaa raha hun… isiliye ek mehndi ka cone chahiye taaki woh thoda sa mehndi laga sake mandir me shaadi karne se pehle.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at this, even though she knew that this was also a lie. He didn’t seem to be in the mood to divulge any information and so she didn’t ask anything further. Plus she really thought it was adorable how he could make up all these fantasy tales at the spur of moment. She cupped his face, and kissed his forehead, thinking that she would do anything to preserve this childish side of his which had survived within him despite all the hardships he had faced in life. He grinned at her, seeming to be as happy with the forehead kiss as he would be with a proper kiss.

Just seeing the broad grin on his face made her want to kiss him, but remembering his instruction she took a deep breath and changed the topic, “toh… mehndi kahan lagaoge?”

He had a puzzled frown, “uhh… yahin pe?”

She tapped his forehead with her finger lightly, “uff… kahan matlab… mujhe mehndi kahan lagoge?”

“Oh”, he quipped, “mehndi toh haatho pe hi lagate hai na.”

She pressed her lips in a fake smile, “mere haatho pe mehndi lagaoge toh main kal sabko kya bolungi ke yeh mehndi kisne lagai.”

He stuck his tongue out for a moment, thinking how he had overlooked this, “yeh toh maine socha hi nahi. Aur kahan laga sakta hun.”

She shrugged, “mere haatho pe aur pairo pe ghutne tak toh kal mehndi lagegi… Aur main lehenga pehnungi, iska matlab…”

“Kamar khali rahega”, he finished her sentence, his eyes roving up and down her body. Hands and legs were out of question… Well half of her legs… and her waist was also out of the equation, because she would wear a lehenga almost every day until wedding. That left all the controversial body parts from which he was staying away… Dammit.

He nervously swallowed, “toh… kahan lagau?”

She smiled, “mujhe kya pata… tum choose karo, apna naam kahan dekhna chahte ho.”

And that statement just sent his brain into an overdrive mode… He could literally visualize his name written along the line of her hip, maybe just a bit above the panty line… Or maybe written in bold cursive along the length of her thigh… or inner thighs so he could see it when he parted her legs… No. No… He should stop thinking that way… He couldn’t do that… He had to choose some neutral zone… Her nape? Bad idea… She would tie up her hair… Her back? But then he had no idea how deep her lehenga blouse was… That meant… Her breasts… No way… He couldn’t do that… If he saw her breasts, he would have to touch… If he touched, he would have to taste… And then there would be no mehndi happening tonight…

He had always felt her eyes were her best feature and her hair too especially when she left it open… The long wavy mass just made him want to sink his hands in it and hold her to him. But if he went on purely physical level he had to say that her breasts were the most enticing part of her body… And more so because he had seen the changes in her body, and her style too… Even in school she was curvier than most girls, but the layered uniform hid the shape of her body mostly. However when she had worn normal clothes in Mt. Abu he had noticed the way the pink shirt had stretched a bit near her breasts, the flare of her hips, the perfect dip of her waist, and had quickly averted his gaze and thoughts both because Naina was supposed to be just a friend or rather a bet… But well he was a boy even then… How could he have not noticed something so obvious? And well… Kamya’s stunt in that mini skirt was totally wiped out from his brain once he had seen Naina in jeans and shirt with open hair. That was the day he had won that big teddy bear for her, and probably would have won every teddy bear in the market if she had asked because he just couldn’t bear to see her sad. Her smile had always lighted up his life, and yet it had just taken for that smile to wipe out completely for him to understand how much it meant to him.

During Pooja didi’s wedding when he had stayed at Agarwal house for most of the time, he had observed how Naina dressing at home was extremely simple. But in college when she had finally started to pay more attention to her dressing from second year, he had suddenly noticed one day how her breasts seemed to be different… He couldn’t really define it, but they seemed to be more lifted and firm… Earlier he had seen how they would, for lack of a better word, move along with her walking or running actions… But then it had changed one fine day. It had taken him a couple of days to figure out that she must have changed her bra style. And he had really liked the new view… It enhanced her figure, made her look curvier, and he had wondered how they would feel in his hand…

Well now he knew… Her breasts were creamy, smooth, full, with dark tips, and oh so soft… His mouth literally watered every time he saw them, and he couldn’t stop himself for tasting them repeatedly when they made out. He was so happy that she wasn’t super skinny and neither aspired to be… She was what she was… A curvy maiden who was definitely more than a mouthful… He was sure that there wouldn’t be any lovemaking session where he would skip her breasts… so nope… Breasts are out of range today… So where then?

Helplessly he stared at Naina, who was smiling at him as if she could hear his thoughts… “Naina”, he pleaded, “help karo na…”

Her smile widened, “tumne kya socha?”

“Bahot kuch”, he replied, “par ek bhi sahi jagah nahi hai…”

She looked down at herself, and frowned, “matlab… mere sharir me galat jagah hai?”

He shook his head, “nahi… umm… matlab woh saari jagah hai jahan main dekhunga ya haath lagaunga toh… khud ko rok nahi paunga.”

She smirked, “toh…??”

Incredibly enough he was reminded of the same dialogue he had asked her in school many years ago… At that time he had managed to leave her flustered. And this time the tables had turned, she was asking it to him, and he was flustered. He just had no idea how to explain his dilemma or that way his thoughts were jumping around to her assorted body parts and what he could potentially do if he even saw them. Suddenly she chuckled, and pulled his cheeks, “sharmate hue bahot cute lagte ho.”

He grumbled, “bada maza aa raha hai mujhe uljhan me daalkar… Tumko toh meri help karni chahiye kyunki tum hi meri haalat samajh sakti ho.”

She laughed softly, “bas… emotional blackmail ki zaroorat nahi hai. Karti hun madad. Light ke paas aao.”

He followed her to the desk, and watched in amazement as she turned away from him, grabbed the hem of her night suit top and pulled it up over her head. “Naina”, he uttered in shock.

She turned her head to smile, at him, then held the top to her front, and sat down on a stool, gesturing him to sit on the chair behind her. He did as she instructed, his eyes trailing on the smooth skin of her back. His fingers itched to touch, but he fisted his hands, controlling himself. She bit her lip, and softly said, “hook kholo.”

He shuddered, “Naina… main nahi…”

“Kuch nahi karna”, she assured, “bas wahi jagah hai jahan mehndi laga sakte ho… Peeth ka woh hissa hamesha blouse ya bra se dhaka rahega. Kisko kuch nahi dikhega.”

“Oh”, he muttered, understanding what she was saying, and his mind flashed back to the low cut blouses that were still stowed at his home. She was right… Even if she wore those blouses or anything similar, this particular part of her back would always be covered. And so with slightly trembling hands he managed to unhook her bra slowly, the struggle with the tiny hooks not as tedious as before.

Just as the hooks opened, and the fabric relaxed, parting at the ends, she softly said, “kenchi upar wale drawer me hai.”

He took out the scissors and frowned, “umm… Naina… Kitna kaatu?”

She smiled, lifting one hand, palm up over her shoulder, “laao mujhe do.”

He placed the scissor and cone in her hand, and she somehow managed to cut a bit from the top without leaving her top. He took the cone back, and then grabbed a paper from the desk, squeezing some mehndi on it to test, because he wasn’t really sure how much pressure to apply. He tried writing “S” couple of times, practicing so the he didn’t mess up, and when he felt mildly confident he turned back to her, and parted the back straps of her bra with one hand, skimming her skin. He noticed the hitch in her breath, and he wasn’t unaffected either. Extremely carefully, he positioned the cone like a pen, and started to write each alphabet of his name patiently… He wasn’t really touching her properly, but the act of marking her body, of seeing his name slowly form on her smooth skin was so erotic that he felt unbelievably aroused. Finally after many almost twenty minutes he had written “Sameer” on the right side of her back with a small heart on each side… Unable to resist he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her spine, and then blew on the mehndi so that it dried faster. She sighed, as he kept blowing air on the pattern, but didn’t touch her at all… After about fifteen minutes he whispered, “Naina kab tak aise bethi rahogi? Thodi problem hai…”

She chuckled, “sirf thodi?”

He dipped his head and gave a punishing nip on her shoulder, making her hiss, but being gentle enough so as not to mark her. She grinned, “udhar dekho… main kapde pehen leti hun. Ab tak kaafi sukh gaya hoga.”

He turned away obediently while Naina tried to touch the mehndi, finding it dry enough to put on her top, but not the bra yet… She didn’t want to risk spoiling it. And so she discarded the bra, and just pulled on her loose top. “Ho gaya”, she announced and he turned to her, blinking in a bit of surprise.

Gulping he asked, “uhh… andar ka nahi pehna…”

She shrugged, “mehndi bigad jayegi…” Then she picked up the cone from the table, “ab meri baari… kahan likhu?”

He tried to keep his gaze limited to her face, rather the obvious free movements, and replied, “peeth pe hi likh do.”

She shook her head, “tum ladki nahi ho ke blouse se dhake rahoge… Haldi ke din tumhe t-shirt ya shirt utaarna padega… Aur phir baraat se pehle bhi sab log tumhe taiyar karenge.”

He bit his lip in contemplation, “haan… woh toh hai… phir kahan likhogi?”

She stared up and down his body, thinking what could be a probable place… She didn’t know how much rowdy his friends and relatives could get when they would get him ready for wedding day. She had heard some extremely strange and weird tales, and if Sameer was made to lose his shirt as well as pants then… well… there was only place she could write… That was trouble… not that she was going to see any vital parts but considering he was trying to control so much she didn’t know if that would be a good move… Thinking for another few moments she decided that the best way to go about it is to be completely nonchalant… If she pretended that she was not affected, then maybe he could hold on to his control too.

She smiled up at him and gestured to the bed, “udhar aao… let jao.” Puzzled, he obeyed, lying down on his back. “Ulta”, she instructed once more, and he turned on his stomach even more puzzled. Didn’t she just say that she wouldn’t write on his back? Then why did she make him lie like this? She sat down near his hips, and lifted his t-shirt up a bit. He couldn’t stop himself from asking, “kya kar rahi ho? Abhi abhi toh kaha ke peeth pe nahi likhogi.”

“Peeth pe nahi likh rahi”, she murmured, and stroked two fingers down his spine to the waistband of his jeans, and then slipped them inside to the right, touching the border of his boxers, “yahan likhna hai.”

He gasped, his body taut, and his hands fisted on the bedsheet. Before he could say something, she quickly explained, “aur koi jagah nahi hai… idhar ekdum chotu sa likhungi, aur jaldi karungi… tension mat lo.”

He was silent for a long minute, wondering what to do while she sat there trying to figure out any other places just in case he refused. But to her relief, he sighed and gave her an ultimatum, “paanch minute hai tumhare paas… usse zyada time liya toh aaj yahin hamari suhaagraat hogi…”

She smiled, not really scared of that threat, but then her breath hitched when she heard the low metallic rasp of his zipper as he pulled it down. Her fingers trembled as she tugged the waistband down, and he lifted his hip a bit to let her. She could see the lining of white boxers he was wearing, and gently eased that down a bit too, taking care not to touch his skin more than required. She didn’t need much space, just a tiny bit but the stretchy fabric of boxer settled into place once more even after she tugged again. Biting her lip, she concentrated on the fabric, wondering how to deal with it, and suddenly had a brainwave. She rolled the elastic band inward which gave her enough space to write her name on the line of his right hip. She made it fast, mindful of his time limit… The name “Naina” with three dots at end glistened on his hip, and she too leaned down blowing on it just as he had done.

He jerked, reaching behind him, and pulling her to lie down beside him, “mat karo aisa…”

She lay down sideways, keeping the cone aside, and touched his hair, “itne se bhi farq padta hai?”

“Tumhare har ek harkat se farq padta hai”, he confessed, turning his head towards her to look at her face.

They just lay there like that, her hand in his hair, staring at each other with a smile on their faces. Yes, they could do more… they could kiss and touch… but just losing themselves in each other’s eyes also gave them so much solace that they didn’t really feel the need for more in that moment. When he felt that considerable time had passed, he checked once to make sure that the mehndi was dry, and then tugged his jeans up, zipping and buttoning before turning over. He sat up and so did she, debating if it would be okay to hug him once before he left. He smiled, and gently eased her in his arms, tipping her head back to kiss her softly and briefly.

She smiled, sighing in pleasure, and asked, “kal bhi aaoge na?”

“Haan…”, he assured, “par kal shaam ko sangeet hai toh ghar jaane me der hoga… isiliye yahan aane me bhi der hoga.”

She nodded, “koi baat nahi… main haldi taiyar rakhungi.”

He kissed her forehead, and then got up to leave, taking the partially used mehndi cone with him so that no one at her home found out. Naina watched him climb down the pipe, and then meet up with Munna who was waiting all this time in the shadows. Sameer waved at her once, and then the boys quickly left. She walked back inside and lay down on her side, setting the alarm for early enough so that she could get up before everyone else and take a bath, assuring that there were no traces of mehndi left.

Early next morning, Sameer was woken up by a knock on his door, and he opened it to let Deepika and Rohan enter, who immediately queried how his night meeting went. He smiled, “achcha tha… par ab main jaldi naha leta hun, warna subah ka plan flop ho jayega.”

Meanwhile at the other end, Naina had already taken her bath, and cleaned her room, careful to remove the slight smudges from her desk. She had even stood before the bathroom mirror, turning partially to check the name on her back… It wasn’t that dark, but it was okay. She hadn’t really applied eucalyptus oil or lemon-sugar mixture to let the mehndi darken… Just his name on her body, even if not so dark, was enough to cause fluttering in her belly. And today his name would be on her hand too…

After a hurried breakfast of poha and fafda, she got dressed in the traditional gamthi lehenga that she had selected for the mehndi. It was made of the soft cotton material, like the chaniya-cholis for Navratri, and hand-woven designs on it. It was also the only lehenga that was a mix of three colors, with the skirt being mehndi green, the choli in deep blue, and the dupatta was orange to compliment the shades of embroidery. At first it had seemed funky to her, but after placing the fabrics on her body for trial she had been extremely satisfied with the overall look. The parlor ladies had already arrived to help her dress up, and they chose a light neutral make-up so that the heat didn’t trouble her and a tied-up and pinned hairstyle so that she wouldn’t have to adjust her hair repeatedly. The jewelry set to wear for the function was also a light one and there were no bangles or payal today.

The stage from yesterday had been transformed into a shaded area, with decorations of fresh flowers, and a comfortable settee was placed for her to sit on. Swati had also arrived, and was ready to help her in anything she needed, of course along with Preeti. There were few ladies singing songs, and playing musical instruments. Naina sat down, looking around happily, and reminiscing how during Pooja Didi’s wedding she had been so angry on Sameer during mehndi but he had kept up his antics, complimenting her, and then had even defended her in his own way in-front of Taiji. Just then someone turned the fan towards her, and her head snapped up, her heartbeats picked up even though she knew it couldn’t be Sameer who had done that, but still the gesture was so familiar… He had wanted to see her open hair, and no matter how much she pulled them to one side, he would direct the fan towards her to make her hair just as he wanted. She touched the braided bun on her head, and bit her lip… On spotting the parlor ladies leaving, she immediately hailed them, and requested, “please mera hairstyle thoda change kar denge… Adhe baal khol dijiye na.”

The women were puzzled and one of them said, “par madam… aapko hi problem hogi… Mehndi ke liye yeh perfect hairstyle hai aur aap bahot sundar dikh rahe hai.”

Naina didn’t know how to explain, “phir bhi… please… saamne se pins rehne dijiye… bas peeche se thoda khol dijiye… mujhe koi taklif nahi hogi.”

Preeti asked in a hushed tone, “Naina kya kar rahi hai? Baal kyun kholne hai?”

“Kyunki Sameer ko waise hi baal pasand hai”, she blurted.

Swati countered, “par jijaji yahan nahi hai.”

“Haan toh”, Naina argued, “photo toh dekhenge na baad me.”

Preeti sighed, “yeh nahi sunne wali Swati… rehne de… isse pehle ke yeh khud baal kholne ki koshish kare, hum hi madad kar dete hai.”

The parlor ladies and Preeti carefully undid the bun, leaving her hair in a half-pinned-up style with the long waves cascading down her back. Naina smiled, “thank you.” She pulled some of her hair to the front, brushing her fingers along the length and then flicked it back. The air from the fan made her hair flutter gently, and she felt happy to think that if Sameer was here he would have admired this look.

Straight from her, on a rooftop of adjacent society, Sameer grinned, extremely pleased with how she fulfilled his demands and wishes even when he was not present with her physically. He had arrived at his vantage point along with Pandit just in time to see Naina sitting down for her mehndi, and even though she looked like a million bucks in that lehenga, he had wished her hair was open. And she had done it… She had no idea he was looking at her, but still she had understood what he had wanted. He totally felt like going up to her and kiss her for being so amazing…

He watched a lady sit in-front of her, talk something and from the way Naina blushed he understood that probably the lady was teasing her. His heart leaped in happiness when he saw the mehndi starting to etch on her hand and the girls around her cheered, making her laugh. He was about to lower the binoculars, intending to leave because the function would start at his home too and it would be difficult to explain his disappearance. However, just before he could peel his eyes off the visual of Naina, he saw another woman sit before her and slowly lift the lehenga up to her knee, baring her leg to his view. What the heck! His heart skipped beats because he could see the clear smooth skin…

His voice seems constricted as he muttered, “yeh kya kar rahe hai?”

“Mehndi lagana hoga na paav pe bhi”, Pandit replied from beside him promptly.

He turned, scowling, ready to cover his friend’s eyes, but stopped on seeing that Pandit already had his eyes squeezed shut. His face split into a smile, and Pandit urged, “jaldi chal yaar… aankhen bandh karke khada rahunga toh waqt ka bhi pata nahi chalega.”

“Ek minute bas”, Sameer murmured and turned to look at Naina one last time. She had told him about mehndi on legs, but he hadn’t remembered. God… her legs… he had almost forgotten how they looked… Just one more night, and then he would be doing a lot more than just seeing those legs. He figured they would be just as beautiful up close; and would look even better wrapped around his hips. Even though she couldn’t see him, he blew her a kiss. Stuffing the binoculars back in his jacket, he pulled Pandit away, and then left.

The lady asked, “naam kya likhu?”

Naina smiled, “hatheli pe hindi ka “स” aur teesri ungli pe, side me pura naam likhna… Sameer.”

Preeti was puzzled, “iss ungli pe kyun? Log toh nakaashi me hi likhwate hai.”

“Nakaashi me likhwaungi toh Sameer dhundh lenge”, Naina informed, “aur teesri ungli pe isiliye kyunki iss ungli ki nas seedhe dil tak jaati hai.”

There was a collective awws at this, and Naina blushed. Soon all the women sat down for the mehndi turn by turn; even Preeti got one flower done on her hand even though she hated the smell. Swati had her hands full and was excited to show it to Munna, because when no one was looking she had sneaked a cone and written a “M” on her hand.

At the other end, Sameer jumped inside Nanu’s room through the window, and hid his shoes and binoculars. Pandit was set to enter the house through front door, and that was a signal for Deepika and Rohan to cause a distraction so that Sameer could go upstairs without anyone spotting him. However, not every time things went as planned. Sameer smiled at Nanu’s photo, and then waited by the door for the sound of distraction, but just as something clanged to the floor, someone opened the door right in his face, and he yelped, “Ouch…”

“Sameer”, Vishakha gasped in surprise, “tum yahan kya kar rahe ho?” And then turned her head towards the hall, and asked, “kya gira bahar?”

Someone replied that Deepika had dropped the silver dish. Vishakha shook her head, and once again focused on her son, “tum yahan kya kar rahe ho?”

He shuffled his foot, wracking his brains for an escape route, “uh… woh Mummy… main…”

Vishakha looked around the room, and smiled in understanding, “Nanu ki yaad aa rahi hai tumhe, haina?”

It wasn’t an excuse that he wanted to use because he had never lied on Nanu’s name, and so he shook his head, choosing not to speak. Thanks to his luck Vishakha considered it as a false denial. She stepped inside and closed the door, “main tumhe hi dhundne aa rahi thi… par usse pehle socha yeh rakh du.”

He looked at the stuff in her hand, “Naina ka shaadi ka joda. Yahan kyun rakh rahe hai?”

She sat down on the bed, keeping the decorated basket carefully, “abhi tumhe shagun ki mehndi lag jayegi uske baad Rohan, Munna, Pandit, Vivek aur tumhare mamaji sab Naina ke ghar jayenge na uska shaadi ka joda aur gehne dene. Isiliye main samaan nikalke rakh rahi thi. Bahar rakhungi toh koi kuch gira dega… Sabse pehle toh Deepika hi kuch kar degi, dekho na, abhi thodi der pehle hi thaali giraayi.”

He chuckled, “bachchi hai… jaane dijiye.”

“Naina ki Taiji hoti toh kehti kuch hi saalo me shaadi hogi tab sasural me jaake naak katvayegi”, Vishakha teased.

Sameer laughed out at this, “haan… yeh bhi sahi hai.”

His mother patted the place beside her, “yahan aao… betho. Tumhe kuch dena tha.”

He sat down, watching curiously as his mother took out an envelope from a purse she had started to carry around the house too because she had to keep cash handy. She sighed, “pata nahi yeh sahi mauka hai ke nahi… par tumhari shaadi me tumhare Nana-Nani ke saath saath ek aur insaan ki kami hai… Tumhare papa ki… Isiliye aaj main tumhe yeh dena chahti thi.”

Puzzled, Sameer took the envelope from her hand, and opened it only to freeze for a moment. The photo had four person in it, his Nanu, his mother, a man he supposed was his father and a small kid that his mother was holding… Was that… him? He couldn’t voice the question, but Vishakha seemed to understand his confusion, “yeh tasveer tumhare pehle janamdin pe khichwai thi. Idhar, isi ghar me… Papa se milne aaye the hum log kyunki unki tabiyat kuch theek nahi reh rahi thi. Tumhare papa ne kaha kuch din yahin rehte hai, aur phir din mahino me badal gaye kyunki unke parivaar me koi nahi tha toh unhe bhi yahan achcha lagta tha, aur Papa ko bhi tumhare saath bahot mazaa aata tha…”

Sameer felt his throat choke up, but somehow managed to ask, “kya… isike baad…”

Vishakha nodded, blinking back tears, “haan… yahi unki aakhri tasveer hai. Par main yeh tumhe isiliye nahi de rahi ke tum unko yaad karke dukhi ho… Satyen bahot achche insaan the, aur hamesha chahte the ke unka beta bada hoke woh zindagi jeeye jo unhe nahi mila. Isiliye woh itni mehnat karte the. Hamesha mujhse kehte the – ‘Vishakha, tum dekh lena main Sameer ko kisi cheez ki kami nahi hone dunga.’ Apna business alag se khada karne ke liye unhe bahot mehnat karni padi, phir jab tum huye toh unhone khushi khushi Papa ke business ke saath apna business merge kar diya, yeh kehke ke ab woh thehraav chahte hai zindagi me taaki tumhare saath waqt beeta sake…” She touched the smiling faces in the photograph, and continued, “sach me kisi cheez ki kami nahi hone di… bas waqt hi nahi bacha unke paas.”

He slowly asked, “aapne yeh sab baate kabhi pehle kyun nahi bataya mujhe?”

She had a sad smile on her face, “jab sab kuch hua tab tum bahot chote the… Phir ek naye parivaar ki umeed thi, par uss ghar me kabhi tumhari jagah nahi bana paai. Halaat ko dosh de sakti hun par galtiya maine bhi ki hai. Aise me kabhi tumse Satyen ke baare me baat karneki himmat hi nahi hui… Hamesha sochti thi ke agar tum samajh nahi paaye ke maine dobara shaadi kyun ki toh kya hoga. Isiliye taalti rahi… Aur taalte taalte ek waqt aisa aa gaya ke hum dono ke beech ki dooriya itni badh gai thi ke do minute bina jhagde baat nahi kar paate the. Mujhe laga Papa ne kuch bataya hoga tumhe…”

“Maine kabhi pucha nahi”, he confessed, “mujhe bhi darr lagta tha… iss baat ka ke Papa ke baare me puchke aapse dooriya aur badh jaaye. Aur Nanu se nahi pucha kyunki jab bhi unke saath hota tha mujhe kisi rishte ki kami mehsoos nahi hoti thi… Aur phir…”

“Naina aa gayi”, Vishakha completed with a smile, “ek ladki jo tumhara apna parivaar ban gai… tumhari duniya ban gai… isiliye puraani yaade ko kuredneki zaroorat mehsoos nahi hui.”

Sameer nodded, “haan… par aaj achcha laga jaanke aur yeh tasveer dekhke bhi… Main ise rakh sakta hun?”

Vishakha nodded, “tumhare liye hi hai… Aur ab aage se tumhe agar koi sawaal ho Satyen ke baare me toh bina kisi jhijhak ke puch lena.”

Sameer frowned, “ek sawaal hai… mere birth certificate pe Nainital likha hua hai… Kya hum wahan rehte the?”

This time Vishakha chuckled, “nahi… Hamara ghar Bombay me tha. Par jab meri pregnancy ko paanch mahine hue tab hum log Nainital ghumne gaye. Aur wahan mere pet me thoda dard hua achanak ek din… Toh tumhare papa itna ghabra gaye ke wahi ek dusra ghar kiraaye pe le liya jab tak tumhara janam nahi hua. Tum jab 3 mahine ke hue, tab hum Bombay wapas aaye.”

“Ohh”, he quipped, finally finding answer to his one question, and now asked another, “kya isiliye aapne Nainital ke hostel me mujhe daala tha?”

Vishakha sighed, “Delhi me hi kisi hostel me rakhna mujhe theek nahi lag raha tha… Phir tum ghar aane ki zidd karte aur Mummyji ko yeh manzoor nahi tha. Isiliye Delhi se nazdeek jagah dhundi… Par faasla phir bhi kaafi tha…”

He observed the sad expressions in his mother’s eyes, maybe it was because she was remembering her first marriage, or maybe the distance between them for so many years… Impulsively he hugged her, and murmured, “koi baat nahi… faasle ab toh nahi hai na…”

Surprised Vishakha hugged him back, “haan… aur ab honge bhi nahi.”

Another sound from outside made them part, and Vishakha frowned, “yeh kaun cheeze gira raha hai.”

Sameer blinked, biting his lip, sure that it was still Deepika who was keeping up her antics just to ensure that he was safe. He quickly got up, “ah… main dekhta hun mummy… Aur taiyar bhi toh hona hai.”

Vishakha nodded, and as he stepped out of the room Deepika immediately rushed to him. Sameer hushed her, and then took her upstairs, and Rohan also followed. Once safely in the room, Deepika queried, “bhabhi ko dekha?”

Sameer nodded, “haan… sundar lag rahi thi… Uske haath aur paav pe mehndi lagna shuru hua hai.”

Rohan grinned, “main toh abhi thodi der me bhabhi se milunga… koi message?”

“Haan ek message hai”, Sameer smiled, “par woh Deepika degi.”

The girl was puzzled, “kya message?”

Sameer whispered something in her ears, and she giggled, “okay… aur return bhi laau?” He laughed, “haan… kyun nahi.”

Rohan was confused by all this, but didn’t ask as he saw the time, and asked his brother to get ready. Grabbing a few stuff from the room, he pulled Deepika away, and Sameer closed the door, humming as he changed into the kurta chosen by Naina for the mehndi function. It was a green one with blue and orange threadwork, and now he knew exactly why she had chosen those shades. They were color coordinating even when they weren’t together. He could just bet that there would be lot of good photographs after all these functions to put up all over their house. He especially wanted a big picture from the day of their wedding to replace the frame above his bed.

Soon Munna and Pandit came to call him, and he went downstairs, grinning ear to ear on seeing all the arrangements for mehndi ceremony. He tried to be cool and composed but from inside he was jumping like an over-excited teenager all set out to go on his first date. And that made him think if he had any dates in school… Ah yes, he had… He wasn’t nervous about meeting Naina outside Rajshri Park at 6am in morning, he was just feeling lazy, but as soon as she had mentioned that they were going to the temple instead of park, that’s when all the nervousness had piled up… After all who goes to temple on first date? He chuckled… Sameer Maheshwari does that, because he had no option other than that to be with Naina Agarwal. So now, after wedding, will they go on temple dates or would it be scratched off? He frowned… No, he would like to continue… Only difference would be that now they would go together… But… If they got up that early, then what about morning romance? Or would Naina be like, ‘Sameer… mandir jaane se pehle nahi.’ He had no idea, but his heart warmed at the thought that how lovely it would be to find out all these little things after they got married.

His mother’s voice broke into his thoughts, “Sameer… kahan khoye hue ho? Betho yahan pe…”

He shook his head to come out of his reverie, and smiled, sitting down on the low seat. Vishakha came forward and took his hand, “kaisa design banau haatho pe?”

He thought for a moment and then asked, “umm… Naina hi likhoge na?”

She laughed, “haan… likh dungi… par chupana toh padega na naam. Warna Naina dhund legi toh woh jeet jayegi.”

“Ooohh”, he exclaimed in revelation, and then told his mother to hide her name written in Hindi and English both so that it is more confusing for her to find. The ladies laughed, and then Vishakha started to draw a traditional pattern on his hand, carefully interweaving Naina’s name in the designs. Soon Rohan and others were ready to go to Naina’s home, and Sameer reminded them to be careful with the things. Deepika walked along with the men, dressed in a leaf-green salwar-kameez, and she had told everyone that she would get mehndi done with her bhabhi.

At Agarwal house Naina watched her hands and legs slowly being covered with mehndi, and felt a bit sleepy. Also the songs weren’t really helping her; she hoped they could play some movie songs, but knew it would be a trouble if she asked that. Preeti came over to help her have some water, and asked if she was hungry, but she refused, “nahi abhi nahi… Deepika aayegi na tab kha lungi. Usko bola tha ke saath me khayenge.”

After ten minutes three cars entered the lane, and Naina glanced up with a smile, sure that it was her in-laws. And soon enough Deepika rushed inside the arena, followed by Rohan, Munna, Pandit, Mr. Somani, and few more men. Swati helped her adjust the lehenga skirt a bit, and Chachiji, Chachaji, her father and remaining family greeted the guests, welcoming them. Everything was placed on the table and then the guests were escorted inside; many ladies quickly got up to check the stuff that had arrived from her in-laws. Deepika came to sit beside her, gleefully looking at the mehndi, and exclaimed, “wow! So pretty! Mere haatho pe bhi itna saara hoga?”

Naina chuckled, “tumhare haath toh ab tak thode chote hai na… toh itna saara nahi hoga. Tum batao tumhe kya banvana hai?”

“Flowers”, she immediately declared, “bahot saare…”

“Thike”, Naina replied, “pehle lunch karlo… Phir mehndi lagva lena.”

Swati and Preeti brought two dishes, and Deepika started to eat herself while Preeti fed Naina. Deepika watched the scene, and then asked, “bhabhi… main bhi thoda khilau aapko?”

Naina smiled and agreed, and the delighted teenager fed a bit of paratha-sabji to her bhabhi. After lunch, Deepika sat next to Naina, and another lady started to draw mehndi designs on her hand too. It took another thirty minutes for the mehndi to finish, and Naina also breathed a sigh of relief. She was tired, but she knew she had to sit like that for a few more hours. When Rohan came to take Deepika away, she wished bye, but paused before stepping down from the low stage, and turned back to go to Naina, happily chirping, “Sameer bhaiya ne kuch bheja hai aapke liye.”

Naina was perplexed, “kya?”

Deepika stepped up close and kissed Naina on both her cheeks, making her blush and the women around them either gasped or giggled. Preeti and Swati had laughed out loud, while at slight distance, Rohan stood unsure of how to react to the situation. Deepika grinned proudly, and then said, “aapko return me kuch dena hai?”

Naina’s eyes widened for a moment, and then she laughed softly, “haan… idhar aao.” Deepika leaned forward obediently, and Naina whispered something in her ears, making the girl laugh and agree.

Back at Maheshwari house, Sameer was in his room, sitting on the love seat while he watched TV, taking care not to use his hands at all. He didn’t even change channels in break, because he didn’t want to take any risk of wiping Naina’s name from his palm. At around 2pm the door of his room barged open, his friends and siblings entered, and immediately he asked, “mile Naina se tum log? Kuch kaha usne?”

Before anyone could answer, Deepika went up to him and pinched his waist. He yelped, “ouch! Deepika… kya kar rahi ho?”

The girl blinked her lashes innocently, and replied, “bhabhi ka return gift de rahi hun.”

Sameer looked stunned for a moment and then laughed out loud, “achcha… toh yeh wapas aaya hai mere liye.”

Deepika nodded, “haan… par kuch aur bhi hai?”

He threw a wary look, “kahin gud-gudi karne ko toh nahi bola?”

She giggled, “nahi… ek minute.” He waited as she came up to him, and was surprised as she held his face between her forearms, since her palms were covered in mehndi, and dropped a kiss on his head. He closed his eyes, smiling, definitely sure that, yes, this was a gesture from his Naina.

At around 4pm the residents of Maheshwari house welcomed the men from Agarwal clan, and Sameer was surprised to see Rakesh sir there along with Arjun, but he nearly slipped from the stairs when Rakesh sir gave a kind of awkward smile to him. What was happening here exactly? He knew Naina’s family members would come, but he hadn’t expected Rakesh sir, and he could have never even dreamt of that smile. He meekly sat down as the set of Sherwani, a watch, a gold chain, kantha, jooti, and a bottle of perfume was given to him. As Sameer took everyone’s blessing before they left, Chachaji told him in a low volume that the perfume was a gift from Naina. His heart leaped as he checked out the bottle… Fragrance… How did Naina know that he would like something like this? He always used a mild perfume in office, maybe that’s how she knew… But wow… She bought something for him, and then gifted it to him today. And he hadn’t really even thought of anything like that. But what could he do that wouldn’t look flashy or just a status symbol?

Naina scraped off the mehndi carefully in evening, it took her a better part of an hour to do that, and then Preeti helped wipe her hands and legs with a liberally oiled towel, removing as much stickiness as possible. The parlor ladies came to help her get dressed at around 6pm, and she pulled out the one lehenga that Sameer had wanted to know the most about. He had been able to guess the colors for Mehndi and Haldi naturally, but had no idea about her Sangeet outfit. She hoped he would be pleasantly surprised. She wore the lehenga herself, and the parlor ladies helped her tie the dori, set the dupatta in place, and then started to work on her make-up and hairstyle. Naina had instructed them to keep her hair open as much as possible, and so they went for a knotted half-up hairstyle, and then styled her long hair into thicker and fuller waves. She wore long heavy earrings, and a short necklace for the evening, and her hands were full on bangles, most of which Sameer had gifted her in college.

At 7pm sharp cars honked outside, and Naina knew that he was here. But this time she didn’t go to the window to see him, she wanted to see the surprise in his eyes. Preeti rushed inside, “jiaji aa gaye.”

Naina checked her lipstick once, and then stood up, “jaanti hun… chal.”

Swati met them in the living room, “tujhe dance ke saare steps yaad hai na… aaj bilkul waqt nahi mila practice karne ka.” Naina nodded, assuring that she remembered all the steps. Preeti and Swati had been teaching her a dance on a latest song for the Sangeet performance of the girls. At first she had thought of telling Sameer, but then had refrained because he had also not told her anything. It seemed that they both were going to surprise each other. She wondered what song Sameer had chosen.

The downstairs arena had been decorated with more flowers and lights for the evening. Waiters were moving around today, offering cold drinks to the guests that had arrived. When Naina walked in several ladies complimented her look and Vishakha also stood up to meet her, but her eyes were trained on Sameer who seemed to be struck at one place. Her eyes wandered over the maroon kurta he wore, and the way they spanned his broad shoulders giving him a more muscular build. The two buttons at the front was done, and her hands itched to undo them… He was wearing just a watch as accessory, and his hair flew in the gentle wind.

Vishakha held her hands and said, “bahot sundar lag rahi ho tum Naina…”

“Thank you Maa”, Naina replied with a smile. And then she walked towards Sameer…

He kept staring at her… Pink… She was wearing pink… That was why she had got this maroon kurta for him. Oh man… Here he had thought that he would be able to see her in pink only after wedding, but he had totally forgotten that this was one function which didn’t require any specific color code. No wonder she hadn’t told him about it even though he had asked her so often… This surprise was totally worth it. He let his gaze wander over the earrings sparkling at her ears, and the glittering necklace on her throat, the way the outline of her blouse could be seen through the semi-transparent dupatta, the curve of her waist that was bare for his view, and the bangles… Were they…?? Oh yes… He had given those bangles to her… Bought on different occasions in college… And she had mixed-and-matched to form a set to wear today. God… He loved her for such gestures. How she always understood what he would like… How she always just knew how to tell him without words that she belonged to him…

He was standing near the stage, a bit removed from the guests. She stopped before him, and smiled, “aaj bahot handsome lag rahe ho.”

His eyebrow quirked, “roz nahi lagta?”

She chuckled, “lagte ho… aaj thode extra lag rahe ho. Yeh color bahot achcha lag raha hai.”

He nodded, “thank you.”

“Bas thank you?” Her lips curved in a frown, “aur kuch nahi bologe?”

He shrugged, testing her patience, “kya bolu… tum toh hamesha achchi dikhti ho.”

She tried to explain, “par rang toh dekho… kuch yaad nahi aaya?”

He almost smiled, but pretended to shrug, “pink hai… tum hamesha pehenti ho kyunki mujhe pasand hai.”

Her smile drooped a bit, “bas? Itna hi?”

Just a minute more, he thought. Aloud he said, “umm… aur kya… oh haan… samajh gaya.”

Her face lighted up again, “sach? Bolo na…”

He grinned, and leaned forward a bit, “tumne pink isiliye pehna kyunki main apna control kho deta hun tumhe iss rang me dekhke… Itni bechaini Naina?”

She scowled at him, “tumhe kuch yaad nahi hai… jao yahan se… mujhe nahi karna tumhare saath dance-wance.”

And then she turned away from him, he was sure she was seething, and disappointed. He bit his lip to control his laughter. He just wanted to tease her, but he could see she was genuinely upset, and so he picked up the flowers that he had kept behind him on the stage, and walked up behind her. Extending his hand he held them in-front of her, and leaned a bit from behind to whisper in her ear, “I am sorry sweetheart… Tum kamaal lag rahi ho… bikul heroine ki tarah… Kyun… Ho na tum iss hero ki heroine?”

Her face split in a smile, she grabbed the bunch of pink roses from his hand, and turned back to him, “tumhe yaad tha?”

He smiled, “tumse kitni baar kaha hai maine, ke mujhe tumse judi har baat yaad rehti hai. Phir woh Sangeet ki raat kaise bhul jau jab tumne mere liye isi rang ke kapde pehne the, khaas taiyar hui thi, aur uss raat bhi mere diye hue chudiya pehni thi… bilkul jaise aaj pehne hai. Kyunki tum tab bhi meri thi… aur aaj bhi meri ho… Sirf meri.”

She blushed, holding the flowers close to her chest, and murmured, “ek pal ke liye laga ke mera surprise kharab ho gaya. Bahot bure ho tum…”

“Toh sazaa de do”, he suggested.

She tilted her head, scanning him up and down in a way that made his body tingle, “woh toh milegi hi… bahot jald.”

Before he could reply their friends came over to them, asking them to sit down as the function was about to start. They sat down on the sofa that was specially decorated for the bride and groom. Shefali and Deepika were hosting the evening, and both Naina and Sameer wondered when they had practiced. The opening performance was a big surprise as their friends, all of them – Munna, Pandit, Rohan, Swati, Preet, Shefali – danced to a medley of Bollywood songs. Naina laughed out when Sameer pointed out how dreamy-eyed Pandit looked when dancing with Shefali. Vishakha was called upon stage along with Sameer’s Mamiji, and they just sang a brief song to grace the occasion. Sameer grinned wide on seeing his mother so happy for the wedding. Deepika and Pralay’s performance with Swati and Preeti on “waah waah raamji, jodi kya banai” put a smile on everyone’s face, and received the loudest cheer. Chachaji and Chachiji were also called upon stage, but they had no idea what to do or say, and finally Chachaji just talked about how special Naina was in the family, and how Sameer had become like the son they never had. And then it was time for the boys to perform. Sameer stood up, and winked at her as she wished him luck.

Naina waited with bated breath to see what he would do, and laughed out when Munna appeared with a dupatta on her head, while Sameer and Pandit sat on stage in qawwali style singing along to “ae meri zohra zabi…” The comical performance swiftly changed to a breathtaking one with “mehndi lagake rakhna, doli sajake rakhna”, and Sameer jumped down from the stage once, pulled Naina up and twirled her on the line, “lene tujhe o gori aayenge tere sajna.” And finally Rohan also joined on the stage as the four energetic men grooved on “Om Shaanti Om.”

Chachaji and Sameer’s mamaji went on the stage to do the tradition of warding off evil eyes with money. Everyone clapped and cheered, the enthusiastic performances had really set the mood for the evening. Sameer came back to sit beside her, and gestured to the stage as a challenge, “ab tumhari baari…”

She grinned, “dil thaame rakhna apna.”

Sameer combed his fingers through his hair, and then crossed his left leg at the ankle on his right knee, leaning a bit to the side to enjoy. His Naina danced extremely well, so he was really intrigued to see what she was going to do. To his surprise, the lights on the stage dimmed, and then a beam focused on Naina… She was standing near a small table, and… wearing bangles? He straightened to see clearly, and just then she turned a bit, looking at him directly… He nearly stopped breathing… She was the doing the same thing she had done all those years ago… She wearing the same bangles… Damn… She smiled, and then the other girls appeared, as they all danced on “chudi mazaa naa degi, kangan mazaa na dega.” He dragged in a shaky breath, he was sure Naina didn’t know the meaning of these words back then, but now… She knew… She understood… And the knowing smile on her face was enough to set his heartbeats racing. He knew what was coming next… He was sure… And just as he guessed, the girls smoothly transitioned to “mere haatho me nau nau choodiyan hai.” She stared at him from between her bangle-clad wrists, while singing along to the line of “lambi lambi te kaali-kaali raaton mein”, and then flashed a sensuous smirk at “satayega jagayega tu saari raat mundya.” He nearly sank back in his chair, his cheeks flaming at the blatant teasing from her, and covered his mouth to hide the extra pleased smile. After that, Naina went away from the stage and the remaining girls performed on “woh mere jijaji” making him grin… But just as he relaxed once more, Naina appeared on the stage again, and this time his mouth fell open when she moved gracefully to the tunes of the latest song, “chudi jo khanki haatho me… yaad piya ki aane lagi… haaye bheegi bheegi raato me.” His eyes widened, and there were several thumps on his back from behind, which he could only assume to be from his friends. He didn’t turn to look however… He was afraid even to blink… Naina was looking so sexy in this performance… Someone turned a fan towards the stage on the line “thandi thandi pawan chale”, and Naina moved her hands up the sides of her body on “tan man me haaye aag lage.” He gulped, shifting on the sofa, unable to control his reaction… Oh man… She should stop now… But it seemed she was determined to wreak havoc today as she performed on the next phrases as well… When the music blared to “tan se chunar jab udd jaaye”, he nearly gripped the edge of the sofa, because the back portion of her dupatta was fluttering in the wind. She ended the performance at the line “bheegi bheegi raato me”, and winked at him. He sagged back in the seat, hand over his heart, his breathing heavy; his friends and Rohan laughed at him, but he couldn’t help it… He was a total goner with her performance. How did she do it every time? He hadn’t even thought of performing to the songs of Pooja didi’s sangeet, but she had not only dressed up in the same color, but had also reminded him of the way she had danced only for him.

Naina came back to sit beside him, and he struggled with words to compliment her. But it seemed she didn’t need any, because she just held his hand, and sat watching the stage. After two more song performance from some extended families, it was time for their dance. The uproar nearly shook the grounds as Sameer and Naina walked to the stage. Preeti informed the audience about how the bride and groom hadn’t practiced, and didn’t even know the songs they were going to perform on. Everyone chuckled when the first song started… It was “aaj kal tere mere pyaar ke charche” and the couple laughed grooving to the well-known steps of the popular song. Then it switched to “goriya re goriya mera dil churaake leja…” And finally flowers showered on the stage blown by fans around as he held her to him, swaying to the music of, “humko sirf tumse pyaar hai.”

Everyone clapped as the song ended, and Naina smiled thinking it was over… But Sameer caught her hand, “ek minute… ek aakhri gaane pe dance karogi mere saath?”

She was puzzled, but nodded, “haan… konsa gaana?”

He whistled, and Rohan jogged up on the stage handing a guitar to Sameer… Naina’s eyes widened in delight, and she waited with a smile on her face. He strummed up the tune of “pehla nasha… pehla khumaar…” As the intro-tune ended, the music player picked up, and Sameer placed the guitar aside, extending his hand to Naina. She slid her palm into his waiting one without any hesitation, and he pulled her close, sliding his other hand around her waist, his fingers spanning the bare skin. She held his shoulder with her free hand, and tilted her head to look up at him, while he gazed down… He softly murmured, “tumhare dance ka effect bahot strong tha…”

She smiled, “pasand aayi apni sazaa?”

“Lajawaab”, he praised, “par logo ke saamne aisi sazaa ka kya fayda… Akele me milo toh pata bhi chale sazaa ka asar.”

She grinned as he twirled her twice and then caught her to him again. At the end verse, he leaned down and picked her up in his arms, touching his forehead to hers, their eyes closed. The moment however was extremely brief as their friends and family trooped up on the stage and soon everyone was dancing to random songs, cheering and hooting in happiness. This was what he had never imagined… A bunch of happy people in their wedding… But they had done it… They had made it happen. Their love had received the blessing of family.

As the music finally stopped, people wandered over to freshen up before eating dinner. Naina also excused herself, telling him that she needed to adjust the pins on her lehenga, and went with Preeti. After a while when he was drinking water, Swati came over, and inconspicuously stuck a chit in his hand. He opened the note in confusion to read, and his heart thumped hard at the hand-written message – ‘Shefali ke ghar pe aao… Sazaa ka asar dekhna hai.’