OK guys, here goes.
Lots of PraSha to make up for the delay. Hope you like it. And, pleaeeeeeeese comment and press the like button. There is no better encouragement than your comments.
Special thanks to Dua44 and Ash_Smash. Guys, your VMs were mind-blowing and inspired me a great deal.
@Ekaloa: your anxiety to read my FF is intensely gratifying.
😊Thank you so much😊. Just for record though, this is being posted at 6:56 PM Eastern Standard Time, (US east coast) on Saturday. Oh, I almost forgot: May, you got your "kabab main haddi " line......thanks for the inspiration😃
Once again, let's keep this interactive people, so please comment. So here goes,
Part VIII
"Chalo bhai chalo, jaldi karo, ......kitni der lagaate ho Shashank, itna sa samaan gadi main nahi rakha ja raha tumse..." Araina turned her face out of the window and shouted. She had spread herself like a queen in the front passenger seat and was tapping her fingers on the arm rest.
"Itna sa samaan? '..yeh itna sa samaan hai'.? Tumhen shayad pata nahin'.Hum log ek din ke liye wahan ja rahe hai, basne ke liye nahin'." Shashank replied from behind the open trunk door.
Araina made a face and said , "Very funny"
"Aur yeh tumhari Di kahan rah gayi'.ghar mein log kam pad gaye the ki ab padosiyon ke pair choone gayee hai?.......................... Oh God, aisa lagta hai ki hum vanwas par jaa rahen hain..................yeh dono behnen to mujhe paagal kar ke hi chodengi...." He muttered while closing the trunk door with a bang.
That's when he saw that Araina was sitting in the front and Prateeksha, Bijoya, Sonia, Khala and Maushi Maa had just stepped into the porch. Somehow, he stopped himself from screaming at Araina and flashing a perfectly fake smile to all the elders, opened the back car door for Prateeksha. She waved at everyone, got in ,and Shashank closed the door with more force than was necessary and then turned around to say his goodbyes.
"Beta, sambhal ke chalana and call me once you are there..." Sonia gave the last minute instructions. With a final wave, they were off.
"Helloooo......madam.....aapse yahaan baithne ko kisne kaha tha?.....aap peeche nahin baith sakti theen?"
"Kyun? Main peeche kyun baithoon?......Mujhe to aage baithna hai taaki main achche se dekh sakoon ki raasta kitna mushkil hai'''''.ha ha ha'..wapas jaa kar Maa ko batana jo hai'."
"Wow, how smart of you!!! ....kya joke maara hai aapne !.." Shashank glared at her and spat out.
"Aage dekho warna car kahin thok doge'." Araina retorted smugly.
Shashank finally turned his attention back to the road, but not for long. He adjusted the rear view mirror so that he could see Prateeksha clearly in the back seat and the sight was enough to clear his face of all the disappointment over his thwarted hopes. She had changed into a light pink shalwar kameez that accentuated the rosy glow on her face and made her look even more beautiful.
Shashank was mesmerized.
Beyond her goodbyes, Prateeksha had not spoken a word and had simply smiled at the banter between her sister and him. She was still in the process of fully absorbing the extent to which her life had changed these few short hours back. Her body and mind were functioning on auto-pilot while her heart threatened to burst with an extraordinary feeling of lightness; as if she could float away, over a cloud of happiness to a land where only she and Shashank existed. So, it didn't matter to her that she was not sitting with him in the front seat or that they were not holding hands. It was enough for her that she was in his presence and she could wait for the time when it would just be the two of them, together, forever. She smiled, while looking unseeingly out of the car window.
Shashank was fascinated by the play of these emotions and thoughts on her face, and as the slow, but sure smile finally made an appearance, he grinned and turned his attention back to the road. After a moment's silence, when everyone was lost in their thoughts, he suddenly started to whistle to the tune of :
Tum mile toh mil gaya yeh jahaan
Tum mile toh har pal hai naya
Tum mile toh sabse hai' faasla
Tum mile toh jaadu chaa gaya
Tum mile toh jeena aa gaya
Tum mile toh maine paaya' hai khuda
This startled both the girls and Prateeksha's eyes met his in the mirror. Seeing the unmitigated joy on his face, her smile also widened into a grin, while Araina looked on disbelievingly:
"Do you guys realize how silly you both look....? Grinning for no reason....." she shook her head and continued, "...seriously pathetic"
But nothing could dampen their glee and they continued to stare and smile at each other in the mirror. Araina was forced to look out of the window and leave them to their smiling session. It was going to be a long drive....she sighed, rested her head back and closed her eyes. Instantly, Raunak's face swam before her mind's eye and her eyes snapped open. Seeing the heart-warming love between her best friend and her sister had renewed the desire that she had all but given up on. She knew that she had hurt him too much for there to be any hope for them now, but somehow, today her heart was beating a different beat. Taking a deep breath, she looked back inside the car to see the other two still busy with each, oblivious to the world.
"Shashank!!! stop the car and let me drive!..is tarah to tum zaroor kisi se ja kar lad jaoge....mujhe koi shauk nahin hai itni jaldi marne ka !", she exclaimed.
This was apparently enough warning for the other two to desist from eye-locking sessions and Prateeksha rested back on her seat in a way that Shashank could no longer see her in the rear-view mirror.
"Yaar tum bhi koi apne Hitler baap se kam nahin ho'..kitne order deti ho.......zara sa bhi dil mein dard nahin hai......mera nahin to apni behen ka to khyal karo...kaisi dost ho? Chali aayeen kabab mein haddi banke....." Shashank said in an exasperated tone.
"Kya?..kabab mein haddi?..woh kya hota hai?" Araina was perplexed.
This was enough for Prateeksha to break into peals of laughter and Shashank joined her. "Hota hai nahin hoti hai...."bone in kebabs"" he said, striking a British accent for the last part.
"Arre Angrezon ki amma, thodi bahut apni language bhi seekh lo....." Prateeksha lectured. "What he means is....."
".......two's company and three a crowd....yeh to suna hoga...?" Shashank completed her sentence.
"Arre, tum dono mera thanks karo, maine tumhe bacha liya'agar main aane ko tayyar na hoti, then there was no chance in hell that Maa would have allowed you two to go!" Araina retorted.
The other two could hardly argue with this logic and backed off from teasing her any further. The rest of the hour long journey was spent in good natured banter, interspersed by moments of silence when all three would get lost in their thoughts.
When Shashank finally stopped the car in front of the cottage, Prateeksha exclaimed. "car to yahan tak aati hai'..par us din to aap ne kaha tha''" before she was cut short by Shashank's silent glare.
Before Araina could question all this, Shashank jumped out of the car and rushed around to open the back door for Prateeksha.
"Chalo chalo, jaldi karo. Aunty ko surprise dena hai"
Araina got out by herself and glowered at him. He wasted no time in putting his arms around the two sisters and ushering them in through the open door and into the drawing room.
"Aunty., Aunty...aap kahan hain"
"Kaun.....Arrey Shashank beta tum..." Buaji entered the room, her face wreathed in smiles.
"Aao, Aao'..main tumhare baare mein hi soch rahi thi'." She walked towards them, her arms outstretched. Shashank stepped forward to give her a hug and whispered in her ear, "Aapki dua aakhir asar dikha hi gayi.."
She smiled back and then turned to greet Prateeksha and Araina. This time Prateeksha went forward to touch her feet and Buaji blessed her with "hamesha sukhi raho".
"Yeh meri sabse achchi dost aur Prateeksha ki behen Araina hai, Aunty." Araina said namaste and smiled.
"Aao aao, sab log baitho. Aur mujhe sab kahani batao'..kaise aana hua tumhara yahan"
Everyone settled down on the sofa and made themselves comfortable.
"Hum sab aapko lene aayen hain'..", Shashank announced. "Aur kahani to bahut lambi hai'.sab bataayenge to puri raat guzar jaayegi, bas aap tayyari kar lijeye hamare saath chalne ki"
"Itna to main samajh hi gayeen hoon ki tum dono shaadi kar rahe ho'.." she looked at Shashank and Prateeksha fondly. "Lekin yeh nahi samajhi ki tumhaare Daddy ne kaise tumhen yahaan kaise bhej diya'." She continued, looking enquiringly at Shashank.
He looked down for a minute and then lifted his head, took a deep breath and intoned, "Unka is sabse koi lena-dena nahin hai'..mera ab Dad se koi taaluq nahin hai''"
"Achcha, ab samjhi'..Subhash tum dono ka saath nahin chahta hai'.Nandita bhi majbooran uske saath hi hogi'.bachi Maa, to un bechaari ki kaun sunta hai'..is liye tumhen meri yaad aayi'." She summarised the situation in few short words.
"Nahin nahin Aunty, hum aapke paas to waise bhi aate, kyun Prateeksha'." He looked to her for help. She got up and went to sit next to Buaji and taking her hands in her own said,
"Buaji, aap nahin jaanti aap kitna bada sahara thi hamare liye'..aapki jeevan kahani ne to mujh par bada gehra asar choda tha'..woh to main hi kamzor thi ki tab kuch kar na saki'.lekin aapke aashirwad aur dua ne mujhe bahut himmat di thi'."
"Arrey nahin bachchon, main to mazaaq kar rahi thi'.mujhe batao kya karna hai aur mujhe bahut khushi hogi tuhari madad karne main'."
So Shashank narrated the whole story, with help from Araina and Prateeksha and was able to convince her to travel with them back to Delhi the next morning. She was in tears when she heard the part about Prateeksha and Araina's lost mother and went to give them a hug.
"Tum bachchon ne bahut dukh uthaye hai'..khaas taur par beti Prateeksha, tum. Meri Bhagwaan se yahi dua hai ki aaj ke baad, tum sada khush raho'."
"Chalo tum log thoda araam kar lo, tab tak main khana banaati hoon'."
"Arrey nahin Buaji, mere hote hue aap kaise kitchen mein jaayengi'.aap jaa kar packing kar lijeye'..humen subah nikalna hoga'.Araina, tum meri madad karogi?"
"Kitchen mein yeh tumhari madad karegi?? Yeh?........Araina?
Isko khaane pakaane ke baare mein kya pata? Iske saamne to aloo ke chilke bhi rakh do to salad samajh kar kha jaati hai...... you are knocking the wrong door'. Main hoon na, chalo main tumhari madad karta hoon'."
"Shashank!!! I'll kill you for this'.!!!" Araina shrieked and ran after him. Buaji just laughed and walked way, shaking her head. Prateeksha smiled at their exchange and started to move towards the kitchen.
"Aap kyun usko itna chedte hai'bechari ne kabhi khana banaya nahin to kaise pata hoga..dheere dheere seekh jaayegi'..". They were in the kitchen and Araina had left them in a huff to go call Sonia and let them know about their safe arrival. Prateeksha was looking in the refrigerator to decide what sabzi to make and Shashank was lolling against the counter, with hands crossed at the chest and a cheshire grin on his face.
"All is fair in love and war''..yeh sab na kehta to wo humen akela chodti? Waise bhi saare raaste sar khati rahi''"
Prateeksha, arms laden with all that she needed from the fridge, gave him a shy smile and moved back to the counter to deposit everything and then started to look for utensils.
"Arrey waaaah!!.... main mar jawan!!,.kudi to sharma rahi hai'..balle balle'Shashank beta, teri to nikal padi", he shouted.
"Sh..shii, dheere boliye'.kya ho gaya hai aapko'.Buaji sun lengi'." Prateeksha hushed him in a panic filled voice. Disregarding her admonition, he pulled her in his arms and lowering his head, whispered, "ek shart par'.ek baar phir se kaho you love me'. Subah se shaam ho gayi intezaar mein, '"
Prateeksha shook her head and whispered back "abhi nahin'..chodiye na''Araina aa jaayegi'.'.."
"To tum keh kyun nahin deti'.All you have to do is say those three little words and I'll let you go''unless you don't want me to let you go'." Shashank said in a stage whisper. She whipped up her head at this to look wide-eyed into his smouldering eyes for long, heart-stopping moments.
"I love you'.." Prateeksha blurted and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, snatched herself out of his arms.
Shashank was in heaven and his face said so. He leaned back and closed his eyes while Prateeksha looked on shyly.
Dinner , when it finally reached the table, was surprisingly good, despite the numerous distractions that Shashank offered Prateeksha all the time they were in the kitchen. She heaved a huge sigh of relief, when she saw that everything tasted as it should have and that she had not added sugar instead of salt to any of the dishes.
"Tum donon ladkiyan mere saath mere kamre mein so jaana aur Shashank beta tumko yahan sofe par hi sona padega'.maanf karna beta, meri kutiya zara choti hai'"
"Nahin, Aunty koi problem nahin hai'..waise aapse ek baat poochni thi'.agar aap ijazat den to kal subah ka sunrise dekhane ke liye main Prateeksha ko pahadi par le jaaoon?" Shashank asked after they had cleared the table and were preparing for bed.
"Haan, haan beta , kyun nahin, wahaan se to bahut sundar nazaara hota hai. Prateeksha beta, tum subah 4:30 baje ka alarm laga lo'..suraj paanch baje nikalta hai aajkal."
"Ji Aunty, Araina tum bhi chalogi na'..main tumhen bhi utha doongi" Prateeksha said, giving a sly look to Shashank. This made him mad enough to froth at his mouth'.standing behind Buaji and Araina, so that they couldn't see him, he was silently threatening to strangle Prateeksha.
"Nahin baba, 4:30 baje kaun utheyga'.aap log hi jaayiye'mujhe to apni neend pyaari hai" Araina pretended to shudder. Shashank gave an exaggerated sigh of relief at this and Prateeksha smiled. Buaji and the two girls went into the bedroom upstairs after saying goodnight to Shashank.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As promised, Prateeksha met him at the front door at 4:50 in the morning. She was wearing the same magenta chooridar suit that she had worn on her first trip, had put on very light makeup and said a shy good morning to Shashank. He smiled approvingly on her choice of clothes and silently took her hand in his. "Let's go"
It was still dark outside, so they walked carefully the short distance to the cliff. All of a sudden, Prateeksha started to chuckle. "main bhi kitni budhdhu thi?."
"Aur nahin to kya? Tum samajhi ki Aunty ke ghar aane ke liye aur koi raasta hi nahin tha? Seedhe raaste se laata to how would I have gotten the excuse to hold you in my arms?"
"Aap ko kaise pata chala main uske baare mein sooch rahi thi'.."
"Dil ke saath saath hamara dimaag ka bhi rishta hai Prateeksha'.hamari wave-length bhi milti hai'.I can catch your frequency transmissions" he joked. This made her laugh out harder.
"What?....kya hua, maine kuch ghalat kaha kya"
"Nahin, ghalat to nahin but it was not always like this'.."
"What do you mean?"
"Aapko yaad hai jab maine pehle pehle job chodhi thi aur aapne wo gifts bheje the mujhe manaane ke liye'.woh stupid si blue dress'.."
"Tab to hum dono bilkul hi alagh spectrum par the'aap FM to main AM" she burst out laughing and Shashank smiled sheepishly. "I know, I didn't know what hit me when you slammed the door in my face'..par tumne bhi bahut attitude dikhaya tha '..zara pyaar se samjhaa deti'.bilkul Sonia Gandhi ke mode main operate kar rahi theen."
"Pyaar kya hota hai, tab main jaanti hi nahin thi'." She replied. They had reached the cliff edge and looked over to see the first flickers of sunrays trying to peek out from behind the distant mountains. The rest of the horizon, indeed the area around them, was blue 'tinged and covered with a light, wispy smoke. Prateeksha took a deep lungful of the fresh, clear air and exhaled it out slowly.
"Aap sahi kehte the'.khuli hawa mein saans lene ka maza hi kuch aur hai ."
Shashank stepped forward to stand next to her and taking her hand in his, faced the rising sun. Both of them had lots to say to their maker, for giving them a second chance, and they made full use of this opportunity to offer their thanks.
"Ek din, isi jagah par kadhe ho kar main tumhen hamesha ke liye khone wala tha'..aaj main tumhen hamesha ke liya pana chahta hoon.", Shashank put his other hand in the pocket and took out a square box. Turning sideways to face Prateeksha, he opened the box to reveal a beautiful solitaire diamond ring that he proceeded to put on the third finger of her left hand.
"Prateeksha, mera jeevan tumhare bina adhoora hai, main tumhare bina adhoora hoon, 'kya tum is adhoorepan ko sada ke liye poora karogi, meri jeevan saathi ban kar?.will you marry me?"
He looked up to see Prateeksha's eyes brimming with unshed tears and her lips struggling to hold back both sobs and laughter. Unable to really say anything, she simply nodded and smiled at him. They walked into each other's arms and stayed thus for long moments, savouring their time together, away from rest of the world, surrounded by nature at it's prettiest.
Eventually, they drew apart and Prateeksha laughed out aloud when Shashank made a whoop of glee and pulling his elbow and closed fist inward, shouted "Yesssssssss" She would never cease to be amazed by his ability to switch between the ultra serious, sublime and the frivolous, naughty side of his nature in minutes. She looked down at her hand to admire the beautiful ring and then in a sudden spurt of involuntary joy, spun around and around, hair and dupatta billowing out and pretty peals of laughter ringing the air.
Shashank caught her in his arms and the two fell down in an untidy heap at the base of a rock, away from the edge of the cliff. Using the rock to rest his body against, Shashank pulled her up to sit with her back against his upper body and his arms around her, holding her tight.
"Happy?" he asked.
"Very'..much more than I deserve'."
"Excuse me'..aap meri honi wali biwi ke baare mein baat kar rahin hain'.she deserves every bit of the happiness she gets and then some'" he replied in mock stern tone.
Prateeksha smiled and said, "Maa bhi yahi kehti hai'.tum duniya ki har khushi ki haqdaar ho"
"Lekin mujhe hi kabhi ispe yaqeen nahi raha'.maine kabhi apne aap ko aapke laayeq samjha hi nahin, isiliye hamesha aapse door hone ke bahane dhoondti rahi'..aur logon ko hamesha apne se zyaada importance di'.Maa ka kehna hai ki bachpan mein unka humen chod kar jaane ka asar mujh par aisa hua ki main apne aap ko doshi samajhne lagi'..pata nahin'.shayad yeh sab bahut complicated child psychology hai'."
"To chodo na, jaane do, is pal mein jiyo, aaj ki khushi ko enjoy karo'" Shashank replied.
"Nahin, mujhe ye sab ek baar aapko bataane ki zaroorat hai'.you deserve to know this'.aap jinhon ne mere itne tantrums jhele'..mere haathon itni baar be-izzati sahi'."
"You know what Prateeksha," he interrupted. "even though it really hurt at the time, baad mein mujhe samajh mein aaya ki kahin na kahin tum mujh par apna haq samajhti theen aur isiliye, apna maan kar, aise gussa dikhati theen. I mean, you will agree, that there was no formality in your manner, when you would be giving me your tongue-lashing'." He ended ruefully.
She also nodded regretfully. "Aap sachmuch bahut achche insaan hain ki aapne mujhe maanf kar diya, itna sab kuch hone par bhi''main itne din Raunak ke saath rahi, duniya ke liye hi sahi, hum log pati patni ban kar rahe, par is sab kissi baat ne bhi aapka vishwas nahin toda'.."
He pulled her back so that she was half lying in his arms and he could see her face. Caressing her face with his long, sensitive fingers and looking deep into her eyes, he began, "maine tumhen pehle bhi bataya tha, yeh jo tumhari aankhen hain na, ye tumhari aatma ka aaina hai, I can see your soul reflected here''aur yeh kabhi jhoot nahin bolteen. Mujhe bas har baar inme dekhne ki zaroorat hoti thi, aur mera vishwas phir se pakka ho jaata tha, tumhari aankhen dekh kar. Laakh chaahte hue bhi, tum mere liye apna pyaar inse chupa nahin paati theen"
His words and his caressing fingers brought new rosiness to her cheeks and she closed her eyes to escape the instensity in his. All of sudden, she snapped them open and got up and turned on him to allege,
"To us din Kolkatta mein jo aap ne kaha tha wo sab natak tha'..mujhe chodne ka naatak tha'"
Shashank smiled angelically and brought his hands to touch his ears. "Full mea culpa'..I could figure out no other way to snap you out of this self-sacrificing binge of yours'."
Realising the truth of his statements, she settled down back in his arms and mouthed "sorry" silently. "Aise khali sorry kehne se maanfi thodi milti hai'uske liye to kuch karna padta hai'." Shashank winked and smiled devilishly at her. All this confession and the attendant hyper-emotions proved too much for Prateeksha and she simply turned and hid her face in his chest.
Very soon they realized that the sun had climbed up considerably in the sky and they had tarried long enough. "Ab humen chalna chahiye, Buaji intezaar kar rahi hongi"
Shashank nodded and smiled and with a last, long look at the place that would always hold a very special place in their hearts, they walked back towards the cottage, hand in hand.
Edited by vista90pro - 14 years ago
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