Heya folks ! I am extremely sorry for not being able to update this story on a regular basis. I try a lot but I am not getting time even to write. I have exams scheduled one after the other till December end and there are certain issues with my personal life as well. Since this is my first story, I really do not wish to abandon it so I thought of discontinuing it for a while. I promise when I return, I would update it regularly and give it a proper end. Once again, I am sorry and I hope you all understand. π€
"Bahaiya, cheeni kahan rakhi hai?" Naina asked Ramdhari as she stirred the flour in the pan.
While Nanaji and all others were engrossed in watching a movie on the VCR, Naina took the opportunity and sneaked out of Sameer's room to make Nanaji's favourite sweet dish 'Halwa'. Sameer had once told her that how badly Nanaji missed Nani's handmade halwa. Naina's eyes watered as her mind drifted back to the conversation Nanaji and she had shared few minutes before. She had to cheer him up and she was sure that halwa would certainly do wonders.
"Jaldi bataiye na kahan rakhi hai nahi to sab kharab ho jaega" ,
getting no reply from Ramdhari, Naina turned around to look for him when
she bumped into Sameer. If she had not taken the support of his
shoulder , she would have fallen down certainly.
"Sameer, tum kab aaye? Mai vo nanaji aur baki sabke liye halwa
bana rahi thi," Naina fumbled with her words as the close proximity
increased her heartbeat and brought back those strange, new feelings
from the other night Sameer had come to see her.
"Mai to bas dekhne aya tha ki tum fir se kahan gayab ho gayi.
Lekin jab yaha aya to bas dekhta hi reh gaya", Sameer replied lovingly.
Naina looked at him with questioning eyes unable to understand his
words. Realising that she was still holding on to his shoulder, Naina
tried to take her hands off but her attempt was failed by Sameer who
took one more step forward and now stood dangerously close to her.
"Pata hai Nainu, mai hamesha sochta tha ki jab tum shaadi ke baad
ghar aaogi, to hamari duniya kaisi hogi? Abhi jab tum kitchen me kaam
karte hue dekha na to mujhe samajh aya ki shadi ke bad ka hamara safar
to mere sapno se bhi kahin jyada accha hoga. Khana banate banate tumhari
chudiyo ki ye khankhan, ye kitchen se aati bheeni bheeni mehak aur
tumhara itni asaani se mere ghar me dhal jana mujhe kitna sukoon dega
iska ehsaas mujhe aaj hua. Vaise to mai sochta tha ki har kaam me
tumhari madad karunga lekin agar tum khana banate waqt bhi itni
khoobsoorat lagogi to mujhe to tumhe dekhne se hi fursat nahi milegi
na", Sameer cupped her face gently trying not to intimidate her by the
sudden closeness.
His touch sent shivers down her spine. She felt weak in her knees
and feared that she would collpase anytime . Her heartbeat was going
haywires and she had no control on it. Unable to understand what was
happening to her Naina whispered " Sameer, hato na please, halwa kharab
ho jaega".
Hearing her innocent reply, Sameer smiled and turned off the knob behind her, "Lo ab nahi kharab hoga tumhara halwa. Mai yaha tumse hamare future ki baat kar raha hun aur tumhe halwe ki padi hai. Not done, Naina".
"Han to usme kya hai, khana to mai banaungi hi shadi ke bad. Tumne
isme kya naya socha? Aur kitchen me kaam karte hue na koi khoobsoorat
nahi lagta, tum to kuch bhi bolte ho", Naina said and tried to run away
from him but this time Sameer was too quick to let her go. He put her
arms on either side of the kitchen slab thus caging her virtually.
"Naya bhi bohat kuch socha hai, bataun kya?", Sameer whispered in her left ear making her whole body tremble.
"Aise mat karo na," Naina pleaded. That tone brought Sameer out of
his reverie and he realised that he had gone way too far. He mentally
cursed himself for losing his control. He had promised himself that he
would not do anything that would make Naina uncomfortable but the moment
he saw his dream of their married life unfolding in front of his eyes,
he forgot everything else. All he wanted was to take her in his arms.
But he realised soon that he needed to wait for the right time. He took a
step back, pointed towards the cupbopard on the right hand side "Cheeni
vahan padi hai, jaldi se halwa bana lo, fir saath mil ke khaenge. Mai
jata hun han movie dekhne."
Naina felt bad at Sameer's instant change of stance. Her mind
fille dup with some unwanted conclusions . Did Sameer get angry when she
asked him to leave? Otherwise why would he go upstairs all of a sudden?
What did he want to tell her? He must have felt bad when she refused to
listen to him. Yes, she asked him to leave because she was unable to
figure out what was happening to her. His proximity caused her jitters,
yet she felt comfortable. The way he looked at her made her legs
tremble, yet she wanted him to keep looking at her. She asked him to go
away but actually she wanted him to hold her. She couldn't understand
any of the feelings she was going through at that moment. She wanted
answers and had nobody to turn to. Should she ask Sameer? She felt
burdened by so many thoughts. Unable to find any answers on her own,
she calmed herself down, decided to cajole him if he were angry at her
and went back to preparing the halwa.
*************************************************************************************************************************************************
The fragrance from the kitchen had by now reached everyone's nostrils and they were desperately waiting for the halwa to reach them soon. Preeti helped Naina in serving the dish. "Naina beta, iski kya zarurat thi, isse acha tum bhi yahi baith ke movie dekhti araam se. Ramdhari bana deta khane ke liye kuch", Nanaji said as Naina offered him a bowl.
"Nanu, mera man tha maine islie banaya. Aur Ramdhari bhaiya ke haath ka to aap log har roz khate ho na. Aaj meri bari. Aap bas ye batao ki halwa kaisa laga aapko?" Naina asked .
"Are bhabhi agar aisa hi khana har roz banaogi na to hum to kehte hain tum aur Sameer jaldi se shaadi kar lo, maza hi aagaya. Kya jadoo hai apke haatho me, Pandit exclaimed.
"Accha tum to aise keh re ho jaise inki shadi ke bad Naina har roz tum logon ko khana bana ke khilaegi. Aisa kuch nahi hoga, samjhe? Meri behan ko aur bhi bohat kaam hain", Preeti teased Pandit.
"O o o bhabhi ki behan, ye devar bhabhi ka mamla hai, tum isse dur raho. hum to har roz yahi khana khaenge. Kyu bhabhi? Munna chipped in as Naina looked at them in amusement wondering whose side to take?
Before Naina could reply, Nanaji spoke up, " Pareshan mat karo use
tum sab. Chupchap halwa khao. Naina beta, bohat accha bana hai, Sameer
ki nani ke hath ke bane khane ki yaad aagyi. Thankyou, beta. Aaj tum
dono bacchiyan ghar aayi ho to ye makan fir se ghar lag raha hai. Sach
me bohat accha laga aaj". Naina smiled at him in return and looked at
Sameer with anticipation. While she looked forward to his appreciation,
he ate quitely, relishing the halwa. Not getting any response from him,
she ended up blurting out " Sameer, halwa kaisa bana hai?" taking
everyone by surprise.
"Kya jijaji,
aapse ye umeed nahi thi. Kitni der se intezar kar rahi hai vo sun ne ke
liye aur aap ho ki dhyan hi nahi de rahe", Preeti sighed in
diasppointment. Naina's sudden question and too many pairs of eyes
focused on him made him conscious. "Are itna accha bana hai tabhi to bas
khae ja raha hun, bolne ke liye time nahi hai. Aur vaise bhi meri Naina
kuch banae aur vo accha na bane, aisa ho sakta hai kya?" His reply was
followed by his wide grin which made Naina blush and gave others a
chance to tease them even more.
After spending some more time in Sameer's house, Naina and Preeti
took Nanu's permission to leave. Nanu blessed them both and asked them
to visit him whenever they got some time. Naina wanted to talk to Sameer
but she had to return home as it was getting late. The way he smiled
praising the halwa, she knew he was not angry at her so she decided to
talk to him once they return to delhi. As Naina bade a final bye to
Munna, Pandit and Sameer, she looked at his house with happiness filled
eyes and thought "Nanu, Sameer aur mera pyara sa ghar".
***************************************************************************************************************************************************
August 1993
After spending two months of their vacation in Ahmedabad
stealing chances to meet each other, Naina and Sameer were back to
Delhi. While chachaji had dropped off Naina to her hostel, Sameer had
gone to her mother's house. As Naina unpacked her bags, she was reminded
of the close moment they had share in the kitchen and blushed hard .
This was not the first time she was thinking of it. The moment had been
playing in her mind ever since, not leaving her even for a second.
"Naina, tu aagayi?", Shefali entered the room and hugged her tightly.
"Aap kaise ho?" Naina returned the hug.
"Mai to theek hun, par tere andaaz kuch badle badle lag rahe hain' akele baithe baithe sharma rahi hai, chakkar kya hai?" Shefali asked teasingly.
"Kuch bhi mat bolo aap, mai kahan sharma rahi thi?" Naina spoke in her defence.
"O madam, chehra dekh apna, tamatar ki tarah laal ho rakha hai, Sameer ke bare me soch rahi thi na, bol bol", Shefali nudged her shoulder.
Naina gave up and replied, " Haan usi ke bare me soch rahi thi". Suddenly she jumped up in excitement and exclaimed " Shefali di, mujhe aapse kuch puchna hai."
"Haan puch na par itna uchal kyu rahi hai"? Shefali asked as she settled herslef on her bed.
"Nahi, pehle aap promise karo aap mujh par hasoge nahi aur mujhe sahi sahi bataoge sab", Naina put her hand forward asking for a promise.
"Batao, kahan mai Sameer ki baatein puchna chahti thi aur kahan ye mujhse promise promise khilwa rahi hai. Theek hai baba nahi hasungi, pucho ab", Shefali put her hand over hers sealing the promise.
"Are Sameer ki hi to baat hai. Kuch dino se na jab bhi vo mujhe
dekhta hai mujhe bohat ajeeb lagta hai. Matlab accha bhi lagta hai aur
ajeeb bhi, mujhe kuch samajh nahi aa raha ", Naina finished her sentence
and saw Shefali trying to supress her laughter. "Aapne promise kiya tha
ki aap nahi hasoge, mujhe nahi puchna aapse kuch bhi."
"Are are are mai kahan hasi. Gussa kyu ho rahi hai?" Shefali asked and then continued teasing her "Sirf uske dekhne se accha lagta hai ya uske kareeb aane se?"
Shefali's remark shocked Naina and she wondered how did she figure that out, " Han matlab dono chizo se."
"Oho matlab Maheshwari ji ke hormones finally jaag gaye. Shukar hai, nahi to mujhe to laga tha bechara ladka tere saath rahega to kya hi hoga uska" Shefali chuckled.
"Haw aap mera mazaak uda rahe ho aur kis bat ka bechara ladka hai
vo. Aap jyada uski side mat liya karo" Naina replied not understanding
Shefali's remark.
"Theek hai tu vo sab chodh aur ye bata, kya kiya Sameer ne?" Shefali teased her further.
Still
unable to see through her words, Naina told her everything and also the
fact that Sameer might be angry with her. While Naina hoped to get her
answers, Shefali's eyes popped out in shock "Naina, vo tujhe hug karna
chahta tha aur shayad kiss bhi, aur tune use bhaga diya? Naaraz hona to
banta hai"
It was now Naina's turn to get shocked. "Hug??? Kiss??? Chi aisa kyu karna tha use?" Naina asked in disbelief.
Shefali looked at her roommate in admiration. Naina was the most innocent girl she had ever met. Her simplicity and naivety were her biggest strengths. She often wondered that how this girl was so different from the rest of girls of her age. No matter, how many times she teased Naina regarding Sameer, she also held a deep sense of respect for Sameer for never forcing his wishes on her. That day, Shefali decided that it is time Naina should know certain things. She held Naina's hand and said " Dekh Naina, agar Sameer chahta hai ki vo tujhe hug kare to isme kuch galat nahi hai. Agar Sameer ki jagah koi aur ladka hota to shayad mai tujhe ye sab kabhi nahi bolti par maine dekha hai tum dono ka ek dusre ke liye pyar. Aur usi pyaar ko zaahir karne ka to tareeka hai ye. Aur tujhe Sameer ke paas aane par ajeeb islie lagta hai kyunki ye sab tere liye bohat naya hai. Kabhi kabhi apne pyaar ko is tarah se express bhi karna chahie. Use bhi accha lagega aur tujhe bhi."
"Par mujhe to uske sath hi rehna accha lagta hai na, fir is sabki kya zarurat"? Naina asked innocently.
"Are
buddhu mai tujhe ye thodi bol rahi ki ja Sameer ke paas abhi aur use
gale laga le. Mai to bas ye bol rahi hun ki agar tujhe comfortable lage
to isme koi burai nahi hai balki in choti choti chizo se to pyaar aur
badhta hai" samjhi? Shefali asked and Naina nodded in return not knowing
what to do next. "Vaise mai mazaak kar rahi thi, Sameer tujhse naaraz
nahi hoga, isilie tu jyada mat soch aur so ja. Subah class bhi jana hoga
na" Still not satisfied, Naina laid down on her bed and dozed off.
**************************************************************************************************************************************************
"Sameer, tum mujhse naaraz ho? " Naina asked for the umpteenth time as they sat beneath their favorite tree.
"Naina, kitni der se yahi sawal puch rahi ho, mai kyu gussa hounga tumse. Kay ho gaya hai tumhe?" Sameer replied.
"Agar
naaraz nahi ho to us din kitchen se ekdum bhaag ke upar kyu chale gaye
the? Aur Delhi vaaps ane ke itne din baad tum mere sath yaha aaye ho.
Naaraz nahi hote to pehle ki tarah har roz hum class ke baad time kyu
nahi spend karte saath me? Bolo bolo," Naina prodded him.
"Nainu,
bataya to tha mummy aur dadi sheher se bahar gaye hue hain to mujhe
class khatam hote hi jana padta hai varna Deepika akeli reh jati hai
ghar me. Tum to itni samajhdar ho, fir achanak se kya ho gaya hai
tumhe?" Sameer replied and paused midway "Ek second, kitchen? Mai movie
dekhne gaya tha vaaps, isme naarazgi ki baat kahan se ayi?"
"Naarazgi islie kyunki tumko us din mujhe hug karna tha aur shaayd kiss bhi lekin maine tumhe jane ke liye keh diya. Is sab baat pe naaraz hona to banta hi hai" Naina repeated Shefali's exact words and then cursed herself for not thinking before speaking up. She realised that she needed to mend this habit of hers.
Sameer's jaw dropped on hearing Naina's reply. Unable to find words, he asked her "Ye sab khyal tumhare dimag me kaise aya?"
"Mujhe Shefali didi ne bataya. Unhe sab pata hota hai" Naina replied meekly.
Sameer looked at her in awee,"Bas tumhari inhi baaton ke kaaran tumse din b din aur pyaar hota ja raha hai. Itni pyaari kyu ho tum?"
"Tum aur Shefali didi dono ek jaise ho. Sawal kuch pucho aur jawab kuch aur aata hai", Naina replied getting irritated. "Mai ja rahi hun", Naina tried to get up but Sameer held her hand. "Acha suno, haan ye sach hai ki mujhe us din bohat man kar raha tha ki mai tumhe apni baahon me bhar lun. Kya karta tumpe pyaar hi itna aaraha tha, mai khud ko rok hi nahi paya. Lekin fir mujhe laga ke maina achanak se tumhe uncomfortable kar diya hai islie mai vaha se aagya." Sameer looked into her eyes and continued "Naina, mai kabhi aisa kuch nahi karunga jo tumhe accha na lage.Tum mujhse pyaar karti ho , iska matlab ye nahi ki mai jaisa chahu tum vaisa hi karo. Mujhe pata hai ye sab tumhare liye bohat naya hai aur shayad ajeeb bhi. Isilie jab tak tumhe nahi lagta ki hume hamre rishte me ek kadam aur aage badhna chahie, tab tak meri taraf kabhi aisa kuch nahi hoga jisse tumhe pareshani ho. Aur ye baat hamesha yaad rakhna ki mai apni Naina se kabhi bhi naaraz ho hi nahi sakta, aisi baaton pe to bilkul nahi. Ye apna dimaag tum sirf padhai me hi lagaya karo, in sab baaton me nahi, in mamlon me to tum topper hone se rahi" Sameer tried to lighten up the situation as he saw Naina's eyes tearing up.
"Naina,
barish shuru ho rahi hai, chalo chalen, kahin aur ja ke baat karenge."
Sameer got up and signalled her to do the same as he saw the weather
turning rough. He walked forward, Naina held his arm stopping him from
going any further. "Naina, mausam kharab ho sakta hai aur chalo na"
Sameer tried to drill some sense into her. Naina ignored his plea,
smiled a little, came forward and stood facing him. She gently put her
head on his chest and threw her arms around him. Sameer was taken back
by surprise as Naina tightened her hold around him. When he still didn't
reciprocate, Naina took his hands and encircled them around her waist.
Sameer who was till now thinking that he was hallucnating, came back to
his senses and hugged her tighter. While Sameer realised that being
this close to her was much better in reality than his dreams, Naina
realised why she didn't want sameer to leave that day. She felt at peace
in his arms, his arms were her abode. Both stood there for long, lost
in each other's love with the rain adding it's special effect to their
moment of love.
comment:
p_commentcount