Lalita's take : Episode for Sat 18th Feb UPDATED - Page 2

awsome lalita, will wait for the second chapter. thanks for making the week end bearable

Chapter 2

They drive on in compatible silence. After some time, Ram asks Priya is she's hungry.

Priya : Nahin toh.

Ram : Phir tum aise chup kaise baithe ho? Tabiyat thik hai na?

Priya : Very funny.

Ram smiles. His wife never ceased to amaze him. He really wonders what was going on in her head right now. He tried once agin.

Ram : Batao na, kya soch rahein ho?

Priya : Nahin .. bas woh log kaise honge?

Ram : Who?

Priya : Your family in Pune. Did I meet them at the wedding? I don't actually remember anyone I met at that time.

Ram : Same here. But I remember your Naani though.

They both smile, remembering the fights between Daadi and Naani and how both of them had to be managed, placated and humored.

Ram : You love Daadi a lot, don't you?

Priya, smiles : Haan. Rishabh also. Then she hurriedly adds : Baaki sab log bhi acche hai.

Ram looks at her for some time.

Ram : Main tumhe ab jaan gaya hoon Priya. Tumhe kaun achha lagta hai, kaun nahin lagta, kab, kyun sab kuch pata hai. And as long as we maintain a formal relationship with people whom we may not love deeply, its ok. Ek aur baat Priya, I'm proud of you and the way you deal with everyone, be it within the family or outside. And any time, you are disturbed by any one, please share with me. Trust in me and I'll take care. Chahe woh koi bhi ho.

Priya smiles and nods her head : Trust toh main karti hoon Mr. Kapoor. Aapko pata hai.

Ram : Haan Priya. I know you trust me. But now I'm talking about a different kind of trust. I want you to trust me… I want you to believe…I want you to have full faith in me ….. that … I believe you and trust in you fully and will always listen to whatever you tell me, irrespective of who is involved.

Priya thinks for a moment. She remembers Natasha's dialogue at the doctors' chambers when Natasha had openly challenged her that her Bhai would always believe her against Priya. Was this the kind of trust Mr. Kapoor was referring to now? Yes, maybe … but Priya somehow deep down still felt … that their relation needed to be stronger for this trust to creep in and make its place in his heart. She again nods her head.

Ram : You have a very transaparent face Priya. I don't if it it is as clear to anyone else but I, at least, can read you face very easily. Tumne abhi abhi aisa koi incident yaad kiya jo tumhe lagta hai ki shayad I may not believe.

Priya is totally taken back and doesn't know how to respond.

Ram continues : I won't force you to tell me whatever is in your mind. But just tell me, am I right?

Priya : Haan.

Ram : Then it's something lacking in me that I can't make you believe that I'll trust you. I know our misunderstandings in the past have been too much. But don't worry. Abhi tumhe kuch bhi batane ki zaroorat nahin hai. One day, I promise you that you'll develop this faith on me.

Priya : Nahin,..iss mein aapki koi galti nahin hai..

Ram : Hain Priya. Hai. But try not to hide anything from me. And I promise, I won't do so too. Deal?

Ram holds onto the steering with his left hand and extends his right. They shake hands.

Priya : Aapko bhook nahin lagi?

Ram : Haan, lagi toh hai. Rok lu car thodi der? Phir aaram se kha sakta hoon.

They stop the car and Priya takes out the packet of food.

Ram : Arjun and his family are just like Daadi and Rishabh. You'll like them very much and they'll also love you a lot. Haan, bahut ghee wala khana khilaenge, so be prepared. Aur mana karogi toh bahut bura maan jayenge. I've never been to their Pune house but I'd heard that they've tried to create a mini Punjab in that house. With a huge courtyard and …

Priya, interrupts: How many people stay there?

Ram : Dekho, Arjun is my Daadaji's elder brother's grandson.

Priya : Phir toh woh aapke second cousin bane, nor first.

Ram : Haan, toh?

Priya recollects Niharika telling her that Arjun was his first cousin. She realizes Niharika would not be knowing these people at all.

Priya : Nahin, kuch nahin. Bataiye.

Ram : So Arjun, his parents, his daadi, his wife and their 2 kids … so officially 7 but unofficially, lot of cousins and friends from Punjab stay over most of the time. Whenever people come to Mumbai for some work, they land up at Pune around midnight to spend the night there.

Priya : Hamare ghar mein toh koi nahin aata?

Ram looks sad and doesn't reply.

After some time, he suddenly laughs and says : Waise wahan tumhe sar par ghunghat rakhna hoga.

Priya looks shocked : Kaise? Matlab, woh shaadi pe, karvachauth pe toh rakkha tha .. par woh toh itne saare pins se baandh ke rakkha tha. Ab kya karu? Mr. Kapoor, aapko yeh sab pehle bolna chahiye tha na?

Ram laughs : Tum itna darr kyon rahe ho? Dikhao tumhara chunni.

Priya takes off her chunni and gives it to her. Ram moves her a bit so that she's facing him and he tries to arrange the chunni on her head. Again Priya is mermerized by his actions, but this time she forces herself to keep her eyes open. She keeps on staring at Ram.

Ram finally arranges it to his satisfaction and smiles. He turns the rearview mirror towards her and shows her : Ab dekho.

Priya smiles shyly at the mirror.

Ram fumbles : Ab Vikram bhi nahin hai ... toh .. ussne kuch nahin bola …. par… they look at each other in the small mirror… acchi lag rahi ho … bahut acchi … and he looks away, out of the mirror.

Priya looks down, smiling shyly.

There's silence for some time. Finally Ram again re-adjusts rear view mirror.

Ram : Don't worry. They're very nice people. Pehle aise jaana, uske baad phir zaroorat nahin padega. Aur Daadi toh hai hi.

Suddenly he looks at his watch and exclaims : Pata hai kitna late ho gaye hum? Kya kare? Are you tired? Do you want to stop somewhere ?

He looks at his surroundings and continues : There's a nice place in Khandala ..…. we can stay there for the night. Kya kehto ho?

Priya : Haan, anything you say.

Ram smiles : Tum hamesha aise kyon nahin reh sakte? Kitna accha lagta hai !

Just then Ram's phone rings. It's Rishabh.

Ram : Haan Rishabh?

Rishabh : Bhai aap kitne der mein pounch rahe ho?

Ram : Tujhe kaise pata ki hum aa rahe hain?

Rishabh : Woh maine ghar pe phone kiya tha toh pata laga. There's some confusion. Arjun Bhaiyya says he did not make any call and everyone is fine here. So I'd called up to talk to Bansi Kaka. But Bansi Kaka says he thought he heard the person say Arjun. Anyways, Daadi is very happy to be here and so am I. And now everyone is very happy that you and Bhabhi are also coming. What time will you reach?

Ram : Chal thik hai, we're reaching.

Both Ram and Priya are a bit disappointed but neither of them acknowledge it. The urge to spend time exclusively with each other is dominating all other emotions but both of them are hesitant to acknowledge it. Priya understands why but will not take it forward whilst Ram does not even understand the cause. For him, its simple, Priya is his friend and understands him so well and takes care of him. But he still hesitates and is shy in saying much.

They reach Pune finally. The entire family is waiting outside to welcome them. At first count, Priya notices at least 10-12 people other than Daadi and Rishabh. Lots of hugs and blessings all around. Nobody has had dinner and even at that time, the youngsters force Ram and Priya to take a stroll of the house.

Priya loves the house ! Arjun's wife, Geet, takes her around the house showing her everything … the huge compound where everyone spends their time together, the large airy kitchen, the lounge … with lots of oversized cushions …, dining space which could accommodate 14 people at a time … even larger than the one they had in Kapoor Mansion. Everyone spent their time together, be it watching TV, eating, playing, studying. There was no concept of breakfast being served in rooms and personal entertainment rooms. Priya vows to herself that she would try and change the atmosphere at Kapoor Mansion over the years, if possible.

Everyone is very hungry and they sit down for dinner.

Priya : Main bas washroom se aati hoon. Mr. Kapoor, woh gaadi se bag nikalna hai !

Ram gets up but there's pindrop silence everywhere. Suddenly, badi Daadi (BD) starts laughing and one by one everyone joins in.

BD : Beta, tum Ram ko Mr. Kapoor bulate ho?

Priya gets embarrassed and steals a look at Mr. Kapoor wondering what to say. Ram is also laughing but tries his best to salvage the situation.

Ram : Nahin,, badi Daadi… matlab….

BD : Jo bhi ho, Priya beti, ab jab tak tum yahan ho, tumhe hamare andaz mein apne pati ko bulana padega. Bolo, manzoor?

Priya shyly nods her head. Daadi and Rishabh are also smiling.

BD : Sunte ho Ji … aise bulate hai …. Everyone bursts into laughter.

Geet : Daadi … aap bhi .. Priya .. tum ghabrao mat … Daadi aise hi mazaak kar rahi hai … hum bhi Arjun ko aise nahin pukar te hai ..

By then all the youngsters also start participating in the leg pulling. They demand that Priya address Ram at least once in that manner.

Priya doesn't know what to do.

Geet : Chal Priya,ek baar bol de. Phir main guarantee deti hoon ki tujhe koi tang nahin karega.

Ram sees Priya blushing.He knows its only his Daadi who can save Priya now.

Ram : Daadi, maine aaj subah breakfast ke baad kuch nahin khaya .. ab toh mujhe chakkar bhi aa raha hai …

Daadi : Arre Golu puttar, tu aa, mere paas baith. Chalo sab khana khane baitho. Ek toh mera Golu ne subah ke baad kuch nahi khaya .. upar se itni lambi safar karke aaya hai … kitna kamzor lag raha hai.

Everyone sits down. Priya goes to the washroom and comes back after freshening up. She helps Geet in serving the food. Everyone requests her to sit down and eat as she too must be hungry and tired but she declines. Ram looks at her and realizes that she's still embarrassed and blushing.

Finally dinner is over. The menu is totally non vegetarian and Priya wonders how to avoid having dinner. Its very late and one by one everyone says good night and retires to their room. Finally Arjun, Geet, Ram and Priya are left in the dining room.

Geet : Chalo, ab Priya aur mein bhi kha lete hain.

Arjun : Haan, tum dono baitho, ab main padosta hoon.

Geet smiles and turns to Priya : Sach mein Priya, main toh bahut khush hoon ki Rab ne mujhe itna accha pati diya. Waise Bhaiya bhi itne acche hain, tu bhi bahut lucky hai.

Priya nods her head shyly.

Ram : Bhabhi, isse lagta hai ki main lucky hoon. Humesha mujhe taane marti rehti hain.

Priya glares at him.

Ram : Haww ….. Priya, main toh darr gaya !

Arjun brings the food. Priya looks at Ram in desperation.

Ram smiles and holds her hand under the table, slightly pressing it to make understand that he would take care. As usual, at his touch, Priya is transported to another world and she almost loses gist of the conversation that is happening around her.

Ram : Bhaiyya, ek baat batau? Agar aap bura na maane, toh hum abhi aapke terrace pe jaana chahte hain. I just saw a glimpse of the kitchen garden in your terrace before dinner and I want to see it in detail before I go to sleep. Priya, tumhe bhi kitchen garden ka bahut shaukh hai na, toh tum bhi dinner le ke upar chalo..?

Priya nods her head : Haan. Par Bhabhi phir akele dinner karegi…?

Arjun : Akele kyon? Main hoon na. Jao tum dono. Humne bahut mehnat se woh banaya tha … Ram dekhna, just before you enter the terrace, there's a switchboard to your left. Aur phir Ram, tu who niche wale kamre mein aa jaana. Hum sab udhar hi soenge. Priya, tum first floor mein woh second room mein chale jaana. Geet uddhar hi hogi.

Ram : Ok.

Ram and Priya make their way up to the terrace. Priya is carrying her plate full of non veg food. She can barely even hold it.

Priya : Mr. Kapoor, switchboard woh raha..

Ram : Chodo na, aaj full moon hain, aur lights ki zaroorat nahin hai.

They enter the terrace.

Priya puts her plate down. Relieved.

She leans against the wall.

Ram : Priya, waise acchi tarah se sab kuch dekh lo .. kahan pe kaunsi sabzi hai … kahan pe kaunsi phool … yeh log zaroor kal poochenge ki unka garden kaisa laga.

Priya : Thanks Mr. Kapoor.

Ram : Phir Mr. Kapoor? They'll definitely make you say it tomorrow morning.

Priya is looking down, shy.

Ram : Nervous? Ab practice kar lo …

Priya shakes her head.

Ram laughs : Thik hai phir, tomorrow morning I cannot save you any more. Chalo, ab yeh khane ka kya kare?

Priya : Aap kha lijiye na.

Ram : Paagal ho gayee ho ! Maine poora dinner kiya abhi. Aur phir tum ne toh kuch bhi nahin khaya !

Priya : Nahin, mujhe bhook nahin hai. Please Mr. Kapoor, kha lijiye.

Ram : Priya, entire Saturday and Sunday you'll get only non veg. All these people are super excited that we've come. At home they have a lot of veg food but in our honour now, you'll get only non veg for next 2 days. Will you stay hungry for 2 days?

Priya : Main nahin kha sakti.

Ram : Accha, ek kaam karo. Bharosa rakhho mere upar. You close your eyes. Then you won't see what you're eating. Main tumhe yeh chicken tikka khilata hoon. Try it. This is the best way to start eating non veg …. with boneless tikkas. If you don't like it, I'll finish it. But try it once. For my sake.

Priya closes her eyes.

Ram : Open your mouth.

He feeds one small piece of the tikka to Priya. Priya has it and slowly opens her eyes.

Ram : Kaisa laga? Batao? Is it any different from a paneer, alu or gobi tikka?

Priya is unable to reply. She has not even tasted it properly, being too busy savouring the thought of Ram being so close to her, feeding her.

Ram : Mujhe pata tha tumhe accha lagega. Chalo, phir aakhen bandh karo.

And he feeds her another piece.

Ram relishes the entire experience. Feeding someone with his hands and the other person enjoying it. Additionally, he was overjoyed because it seemed to him that Priya was enjoying the food also. He was happy that he could now share his favourite non vegetarian food with his wife.

Priya was in the seventh heaven. She had no clue of what she was having but was very sure that if Ram fed her like this, she could even have worse food without complaining.

Ram : Dekho, tumne toh poora plate almost saaf kar diya.

Priya looks down and is actually shocked : Bas, baaki aap kha lijiye. Please.

Ram : Thik hai, par kal kya karoge? Har baar yeh terrace ka bahana thodi chalega. Aur main sab ke saamne tumhe khila bhi nahin sakta.

Priya blushes very hard.

Ram : Sach bolo. Tumhe accha lagan na?

Priya knows Ram is referring to the food but all she can think about is the experience.

Priya : Haan.

Ram : See. I told you. Now lets go down to sleep. Tumhe darr toh nahin lagega?

Priya : Nahin.

Ram : Kuch chahiye toh phone..nahin phone nahin, message kar dena.

Priya nods. Ram walks towards the terrace door. He'd just put one foot on the first stair when he hears from behind : Sunte ho ji !

End of Chapter 2

Superb writing...👏

Please continue soon.. m eagerly waiting😍

OMG it's awesome, very nice, superb, lovely Thank u sooo much just loved it please continue, eagerly waiting 4 ur next post.

Beautiful updates Lalita. Thanks.😃