Chapter 5

IshqKaRang

@IshqKaRang

Chapter 5 - Koi toh toh na laage

Shiva turned around so swiftly he was sure he would get a whiplash. What? Raavi wanted him to find her a suitable groom?!! Only when Hell froze over! “Ay! Uss maami ki behen ki beti ne kya mujhe apna naukar samajh ke rakha hai? Aur koi kaam nahi kya mere paas? Ab main uss gadhedi ke liye gadheda dhoondhoon? Samajhthi kya hai khudko? Iski tho main..” With that Shiva stormed out of his house, ignoring the frantic calls of the rest of his family. 

“Inn dono ko samajhna mere bas ki baat nahin hai. Yeh tho commerce se bhi difficult subject hai,” Krish said, shaking his head. Rishita had been a silent spectator so far and finally spoke, “Commerce nahi, Krish.. Inko samajhne ke liye tujhe Physics, Chemistry or Biology padhni padegi.” “Matlab?” Dev asked curiously. “Matlab aap log aise hi tension le rahe ho sab,” she replied cheerfully. “Rishita, yahaan Raavi aur Shiva ke divorce ki baath ho rahi hai. Aur Raavi ki doosri shaadi ki. Shiva aag babula hokar nikla hai yahan se. Aur tum keh rahi ho tension ki koi baath nahi?” Dhara asked. “Arey chill na Bhabhi, I’m telling you.. Yeh dono na ghoom phirke ek doosre ke paas hi pahunchenge, dekh lena.” Dhara shook her head, “paas aayein tho theek hai. Par paas aate aate pata nahi kya kya bavaal karenge.” “Main na saamaan lekar aata hoon,” Krish said. “Kya saamaan?” Gautam asked. “Ek loudspeaker aur bahut saare posters.. Poore Somnath ko warning deni padegi na ki bekaabu aag aur toofan takrane waale hain,” Krish replied. 

***

“Ay Chipkali! Bahar nikal!”

Shiv yelled at the top of his voice as he stormed into Maami’s house.

“Shiva?! Tu yahan.. Matlab tu shart maan gaya?” Maami asked nervously. 

“Kahan hai wo chudail?” Shiva asked angrily. 

“Dekh, tera usse ab koi rishtha nahi hai.. tho tu usse aise waise naam se nahi bula saktha,” Maami scolded him. 

“Rishta tho bachpan mein bhi nahi tha. Maine hamesha usse aise hi naam se bulaya hai aur aage bhi bulatha rahoonga,” Shiva replied without missing a beat.

“Matlab tu uske naye pati ke saamne bhi usko Chudail aur Chipkali bulayega? Hey mhara Bhogilal! Iss baar Raavi ki shaadi kisi aise ladke se karwana jo iss paagal jungli saand ka muh thod de, sar phod de,” Maami retorted. But as soon as she saw Shiva taking a threatening step towards her, she backed down. “Nahi! Nahi! Main tho keh rahi thi ki achcha hoga agar Raavi ki shaadi kahin dur ho jaaye. Phir usse tujhse koi takleef nahi hogi aur na hi tujhe usse.”

Shiva ignored the sharp prick in his heart at the mention of Raavi leaving. He raced past Maami to Raavi’s room and quickly shut and bolted the door before Maami followed him in. Raavi was rummaging through her closet and randomly throwing out clothes. When he bolted the door, she turned around surprised.

“Arey Shiva! Tu! Achcha hua tu aa gaya! Maan li na meri sharth? Maine Mausapa se kaha tha ki woh bina baath ke tension le rahe hain. Mujhe apni zindagi se nikal phenkne ka itna achcha mauka tu kabhi haath se nahi jaane dega,” she chirped happily. “Achcha sun.. main soch rahi thi ki pakka tu kisi aise ladke ko dhoondega jo yahan se bahut dur rehta ho, hai na? Sheher wala ladka dhundega ki gaon wala? Shehar walon ke gentlemen type hone ke zyaada chances hain par gaonwaale bhi kam nahi kisi cheez mein aaj kal. Ab divorcee hoon tho thoda tho adjust karna padega na? Main tho bas iss liye pooch rahi hoon taaki main uss hisaab se shopping kar sakoon.” 

Shiva was having trouble keeping up with her nonstop chatter. What was she talking about? Oblivious to his cluelessness, she continued, “Agar sheher waala ladka hoga tho main soch rahi hoon thoda apna wardrobe upgrade kar loon. Dekh na, yeh saree aur blouse kaisi hai? Suna hai aaj kal sheheron mein aise open back sleeveless blouse ka trend chal raha hai. Soch zara, uss ladke ki aankhein tho phatti ki phatti reh jaayenge mujhe isme dekhkar. Imagine kar na, mujhe iss blouse aur iss saree mein. Haaayyyyeee, kitni hot lagoongi main. Ek dum Deepika Padukone!” 

Shiva had trouble keeping his thoughts straight. She had asked him to imagine her in this flimsy scrap of muted golden material she called a blouse and these six yards of gorgeous pink fabric that matched her skin tone like God had come up with the color just for her. For a few minutes, all he could imagine was how good it would feel to have her dressed up like that for him, how the delicate material of her saree would hug her curves to perfection. Would she tuck the pallu of her saree in her waist as she did her work around the house? Would she unknowingly tease him with glimpses of the creamy expanse of her tiny waist? And how would she react, when after teasing him with her gorgeousness for the entire day, he would finally slip the fabric off her and watch it glide into a pool at her feet as he would bend his head to kiss..

Wait! What?! No! Shiva shook his head. No! This is not what he was here for. Bloody hell, he couldn’t seem to recollect what he was here for! It definitely was not to have lusty dreams about this Maami ki Behen ki Beti in a chiffon saree, he knew for sure. Then he remembered. He grabbed the saree and blouse from her hand and flung it across the room. He immediately proceeded to grab her wrists and pin her against the wall. The goal was to intimidate her, and that was why he was all up in her personal space, not an inch between her perfectly kissable lips and his. It definitely was not because he had missed her scent, missed the feeling of the warmth that she radiated for about a week now. Nope! That was not the reason why. 

“Ay Chipkali! Yeh kya bakwas hai, huh? Tu chahthi hai ki main tere liye ladka dhoondhoon? Apna dimaag kahin bechke aayi hai kya?” He asked. “Nahi tho. Dekh, tu ne uss din kya kaha tha? Haan.. Raavi I know you never wanted to be married to me. You always wanted someone more.. gentlemanly.. And its not fair, that just because you were forced into marrying me, you have to let go of your dreams and hopes and wishes. That is just not fair. I know I am not your choice – never was, never could be. I just want to give you the freedom to make a choice for yourself. I don’t want you to compromise with me because it isn’t a compromise for me anymore.. I..” Raavi imitated him. “Waise you left your sentence unfinished that night. What were you going to say, Shiva?” Raavi asked, looking him straight in the eye, with such fierce concentration that Shiva was afraid she would be able to read in his eyes what he had left unsaid. “Uss sab ka teri iss bakwaas shart se kya lena dena?” Shiva asked, changing the topic to not answer her question. “Arey, you decided for me that I wanted someone more gentlemanly, you decided I was “forced” to stay in this marriage, you decided I did not deserve to stay in a “forced” marriage, you decided what my dreams and hopes and wishes were made of and you decided to give me freedom to make my choice,” Raavi said, freeing one hand and poking his chest, right at his heart, each time she placed emphasis on the phrase you decided. “It seems to me Shiva that you know me better than myself. Who else would be able to find me my perfect match if not for the man leaving me because he recognizes what is best for me?” she finished. 

“Apni yeh bakwaas baatein na kisi aur ko jaake suna. Main kya yahan tera naukar baita hoon.. Aur koi kaam nahi hai mujhe?” Shiva glared angrily. “Tu ne divorce ka decision liya tho main ne chup chaap maan liya na, Shiva? Ab mera bhi yeh decision tujhe maanna hoga. Maasima aur Mausapa ko main aur takleef nahi de sakthi. Shaadi tootne ki wajah se pehle se hi Anita di ghar par hain. Agar main bhi  yahan.. Unse bardasht nahi ho paayega. Main jaanti hoon ki tu Maasima se nafrat kartha hai, par Mausapa ke liye thodi si tho izzat hogi na tere dil mein? Unki khaatir.. Chal chhod, unke liye bhi nahi.. Aisa samajh le ki main ek charity case hoon aur tu hi meri aakhiri ummeed hai. Jab maine apne mann ki karni chaahi, tho shaadi ke mandap pe mera tamasha ban gaya. Phir maine Mausapa ki baat maani aur..” She left that unsaid as a tear trickled down the corner of her eye. 

Shiva felt her tear fall like acid on his heart and he reached out to wipe it off her face. She leaned into his touch like that was the most natural thing for her to do. She looked up at him with tear filled eyes and he released her other hand to cup her face. How could there be so much innocence, so much perfection in one face? he wondered. He inched closer to her but as soon as she closed her eyes, he let go of her and stepped back. 

No! This was not right, he reminded himself.

“Apna drama apne paas rakh. Main teri koi madad nahi karne waala,” Shiva said, turning away but no matter how hard he tried, his voice did not seem angry at all. He started to make his way towards the door when she caught onto his hand and stopped him. 

She pulled him towards her and stood directly in front of him. He refused to meet her gaze so she placed a finger under his chin to force him to look at her. He swatted her hand away and stubbornly looked away. “Shiva…..” Raavi’s tone had a tinge of soft curiosity mixed into it as she said his name. “Tu mujhse nazarein kyun chura raha hai? Mere paas hone se tujhe itni ghabrahat kyun hoti hai? Kahin aisa tho nahi, ki main tujhe achchi lagne lagi hoon? Aur isi liye tu meri sharth nahi maan raha.. Kyunki tu nahi chahtha ki main kisi aur se shaadi kar loon?” Raavi asked Shiva, mischief twinkling in her eyes. 

He glared at her like he was about to eat her alive, “Jaake apne dimaag ka ilaaj kara. Main, aur tujhse pyaar? Shiva Pandya 100-100 saal ke 7 janam bhi lega na, tab bhi tujh jaise chipkali se pyaar tho kya, dosti bhi nahi karega. Tujhse pehle bhi kaha hai na maine, na tere aane ki khushi, na tere jaane ka gham.” “Tho prove kar ke dikha,” Raavi said determinedly. “Prove kar ke tujhe koi farak nahi padtha. Dhoondh mere liye doosra ladka aur kara meri shaadi.” “Mujhe kisi ko kuch prove nahi karna,” Shiva said stubbornly. “Kyun?” she asked, coming closer to him and tracing a fingernail over his chest. “Shiva Pandya darr gaya? Nahi ho paayega na tujhse? Nahi kar paayega na khud ko mujhse dur? Nahi dekh paayega na mujhse kisi aur ke saath?” Shiva grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away, “Mujhe farak nahi padta!”

“Tho saabith kar na! Itne chote se challenge se darr gaya?” She egged him on. “Fine! Teri yeh galat fehmi dur karne ke liye aur tujhe apni zindagi se hamesha hamesha ke liye bahar nikaalne ke liye, mujhe teri shart manzoor hai. Main dhoondoonga tere liye ladka and main karaunga teri shaadi!” Shiva yelled before unlocking the door and storming out the way he had stormed in.

“Aur iss baar, main khushi khushi shaadi kar loongi, Shiva. Koi zor zabardasthi nahi hogi,” Raavi whispered softly with a smile on her face as she watched Shiva’s retreating frame.

***