Ch2.
Next day was Haldi.. Arjun didnt want to apply Haldi on himself,but,after a hard glare from Shanaya's side,he sighed in defeat and sat for the Haldi... At first,Panditji did the Tilak and some elderly women applied Haldi on Arjun.. After them,one by one,Sameer,Karan,Shree,Chotu,
Aayesha,Liza,Simran and Anjali applied Haldi on Arjun,half-heartedly.
After that,Shanaya came from inside and took some Haldi paste on her palm and applied it gently on Arjun's cheeks and hands and legs.
''Dulhe Raja ko bhi toh shaadi wale din mein gora chitta dekhna chahiye,kyun?'' Shanaya said to Arjun,with a smile,masking away all her pain.
Arjun smiled at her words. The jovial,happy-go-lucky girl,bubbly,chubby,gutsy and beautiful girl,Shanaya seemed to be happy at her best friend's wedding.Only she knew,what is she going through these days...
Arjun was taken away for a bath,not before taking out the smeared Haldi from his body,because,Arjun's haldi will be sent to Roshni's house for her Haldi. Shanaya was putting the Haldi in another bowl,when,accidentally,a little bit of Haldi smeared on her cheeks.She checked it by moving her fingers over her cheek. Tears formed in her eyes after looking at it.. She imagined herself at the place of Roshni where Aayesha,Liza,Simran and Anjali were applying her Haldi and teasing her by Arjun's name... She let out a muffled smile and wiped her tears and sent the Haldi at Roshni's place through some servant.
Roshni's Haldi took place nicely,where,Arjun's Haldi was smeared on her body... Everyone was happy at her place...
As Shanaya was walking and wiping her cheek with a soft cloth,she collided with Simran,who was about to leave from Arjun's venue... Simran looked at Shanaya's cheek and asked,
''Gaalo ko kyun poch rahi ho,Shan?''
''Woh.. Woh... Arjun ki utari huyi haldi galti se mere gaalo pe lag gayi thhi,wahi saaf kar rahi thhi.. Tum bolo?''
Simran held her hands and said, ''Kehte hai ki dulhe ki haldi,jo ki shagun hoti hai,kisi larki ke gaalo pe lag jaaye,toh uski shaadi bohut jaldi hoti hai..''
Shanaya let out a sigh and with a faint smile,said, ''Kaash..Jo tum kehrahi ho woh saach hota...''
Saying this,she went away and left for her home,with tears in her eyes...
Next Morning,Shanaya took the shagun ki mehndi to Roshni's home,along with Liza,Simran,Aayesha and Anjali. Mehndi-walis' started decorating Roshni's hands' with the mehndi,while Roshni's Mom also asked Aayesha,Anjali,Simran,Liza and Shanaya to get the mehndi applied. At first,they hesitated,but,after constant nagging from Roshni's mother,they agreed... After an hour,everybody's hands' were adorning with the henna designs... Simran and Liza teased Aayesha,because,her mehndi had Sameer's name written in it,where as Roshni's friends' asked Roshni to reveal her palm so that they can see the colour of her mehndi... As soon as Roshni opened her palm,her friends' were shocked to see the colour of the mehndi so light... Roshni was stunned..She started to panic and cry. Her mother tried to console her,but,it went vain... Shanaya went to her and said, ''Dont worry,Roshni... Beete huye kal mein mayne rakhta hoga ki mehndi ke ranng zyada garha hone se,pati patni ke beech pyaar zyada gehra hota hai,par,ab yeh zyada maayne rakhta hai ki tum Arjun se kitna pyaar karti ho.. Raat ko sote waqt nimbu aur shakkar wali pani lagana,,,Rang garha niklega...''
''Sacchi?''
''Mucchi...''
Roshni smiled and asked Shanaya to show her mehndi colour... Everybody in the house were stunned to see Shanaya's mehndi... It had a very darkish-maroon shade of red,with a light tinge of orange,which added the glow... Roshni felt jealous but decided to keep mum...
''Maan toh karta hai ki uss nimbu-shakkar ke ghol mein Roshni keliye hydrochloric acide bhejdu... Nautanki kahiki... Accha hua ki uska mehndi ka rang garha nahi hua... I wish ki Arjun Shanaya keliye apna pyaar phirse mehsoos kare... Hey Krishna Kanhaiya,ab tu hi koi leeela dikha de.. Ab tera hi sahara hai...'' Liza said,praying to Shree Krishna...
''Dekh toh zara churhail ko... Shanaya ki mehndi ka rang itna zyada garha huya,isiliye Roshni madam jalrahi hai... Havankund ka aag isse khajaye...'' Aayesha was hurling curses at Roshni in her mind,because of Roshni,Arjun and Shanaya are not together...
After all the ceremonies' ended,Shanaya went to her home..She changed into something light and went towards her Madhav's mandir,in her room. She folded her hands and prayed to her Madhav for her Arjun's happiness... Tears fell from her eyes.After finishing her night prayers,she sat on her bed and looked at he henna-coated hands.The henna colour came out really well.. A deep shade of maroon colour with a tinge of orange colour... She gazed at the mehndi and said unknowingly,
''Yeh mehndi ka garha rang hi meri pyaar ki aakhri yaadein bannke rahegi... Bhaley hi Arjun mile na ho mujhe,par,unka pyaar iss mehndi ke ranng ke roop mein mere saath rahega aur isski khusbu ki tarha rahega humesha..''
TBC
53