Part 28: As Ram opens the curtain, the sharp rays of Sun suddenly make an entry in the bedroom through the window and fall on sleeping Priya's face. Her eyes blink, reacting to the light. She has covered herself with comforter. She finds Ram standing near the window. He stands staring at her. She feels his smiling getting brighter as he continues staring at her. His always fresh looking handsome face, shines with some sort of indefinable masculine radiance when he is freshly bathed, with sleepy eyes she continues to scan him. He is in Olive green Tee and light blue denim, looking very cheerful. His soft voice follows. She sees he is coming nearer to her.
Ram: (With softness) Good Morning Mrs. Kapoor. (He sits on the bed next to her) Rise up.
She is still lying on the bed, unwilling to get up.
Priya: Good morning! Morning ho bhi gayi?(She lazily open her eyes fully and shifts her head on his lap) Soney dijiye na Mr. Kapoor. (Sleepy, husky voice) I am tired.
Ram's lips twitch in blush, he shakes head smilingly.
Ram: Humlog 'Kapoor Mansion' mein nahi hain, pata hain na tumhe?
Priya: Of course Mr. Kapoor.
Ram: (Bends down and mumbles in her ear) Kal raatko neend aayi na theekse? I mean tumhe zyaada 'thand' toh nahi laggi? (Playing with her disheveled strands of hairs by his hand) You were so worried about the trivial things.
Blushingly, she tries hard to control her smile understanding the meaning behind his teasing hints.
Priya: Neend aayi sahi par puri nahi huyi….mujhe aur sona hain. (Laying her head firmly, snuggles to his hand more tightly by her hands)
Ram: Ok. You can sleep for 5 minutes. Not more than that.
Priya: Jaayiye naaa..aap baat kartey rahogey toh 5 minutes aisehe ho jayegey.
Ram: Yeh accha hain. You are sleeping on my lap. Aur mujhe jaaney ko kahein rahi ho.
She smiles and doses of for few more minutes. He watches her sleeping face admiringly. After sometime he speaks.
Ram: Chalo Priya zidd mat karo aur utho abb.
Priya: Aap ki zidd ki wajahse…
Ram: You know what. Mujhe pata hain tumhe mujhe kaise uthana hoga.
Priya: Nahi uthungi toh?
Ram: You know the story of 'Sleeping Beauty'?
Priya: (Still sleeping) Humm…Subah subah bacchowali story.
Ram: (Laughs at her complain) Lekin sunno toh sahi darling.
Priya: Mr. Kapoor mujhe 'Sleeping beauty' ki story bacchpanse pata hain.(Half asleep mumbles) Humlogoko school mein batayi thi.
Ram: Accha tumhey pata hain na 'Sleeping Beauty' ko neendse jagaaney kay liye 'Prince'ne kya kiya tha, shayad mujhe bhi wohi karna hoga?
Priya: Aap subah subah shuru ho gaye? (Checking his patience still sleeps, thinking that will be his punishment for keeping her awake)
Ram: Accha yeh dekho (Taking the table clock in his hand). It's already 9 a.m. Meine tumhe soney diya hain Priyaa…abb utho.
Priya: (Eyes open wide) Baap re 9 bajj gaye. Humlogon ko function attend karna hain.
She gets up in shock and sits, starts tying her hairs in bun. He picks up the hair clip lying on the side table and hands over to her.
Ram: Yes, 10.30 baje humein wahanpe jaana hain. Aur tumhe 'Ready' bhi hona hain.
Priya: Par mein 'Ready' kaise ho jaaoongi? I mean cloths and everything.
Ram: (Pointing towards the bags) don't worry. Sab samaan subah subah room mein aaya hain.
Priya: (Amuses) Aap akelay lekar aaye?
Ram: Nahi, Laxamanney kisi ko bheja tha, who upa rtak lekar aaya, phir mein room kay andar le aaya.
Priya: Lekin itnay saarey bags mein kya hain?
Ram: (Takes out a piece of a paper from his pocket) Yeh note hain tumharey liye. Har ek bagpe ek no. mention kiya hain. Iss notepe who no. aur uss mein kaunsi cheezein hain who mention kiya hain. For example 'Bag no. 3 mein wedding function kay liye cloths hain. Aur bag no. 2 mein sab jewelry.'
Priya: Ek bag mein sirf jewelry…(Shouts)
Ram: Haa..iss mein problem kya hain?
Priya: Mr. Kapoor hum yahanpe sirf do dino kay liye rahainey aaye hain na?
Ram: Haa par meinehe Nehase kahan tha ki tumhari pasand ki sab types ki jewelry aur sarees function kay liye pack kar de taaki tum apaney choice se sab kuch decide kar sako.
Priya: (She doesn't understand how to react now) what should I say now? Aapbhi kamal kartey ho Mr. Kapoor. Matlab aap aisehe har ek cheez ki dukan inn sabhi bags mein pack karkay lekay aaye ho?
Ram: Humm..Woh kya hain na.(Scratches his temple) I mean that time I was so worried. Shaadi ka function hain aur tumharey mann pasand ki koi cheez tumhey mili nahi aur tum mujhpe gussa karogi toh? Iss liye saarey options Neha ko kharidney ko kahein.
Priya: 'Thanks' aapne meray liye itna sab kuch kiya. Waise aapse ek baat kahu. Jab mein khud ko 'Ready' karney jaati hun. Meri pasand se zyaada, mujhe aapki pasand ka khayal rahainta hain.
Ram: (Brings his face closer to hers) Mein ek baat kahu 'Tum meray kapdo mein (shifting his gaze at his Kurta which she is wearing) bahot …kya kaheintey hain useey…huuhh! (Gaze shifts to her lips) You know what? (Voice gets husky) Kaise dekhti ho?'(Winks)
Priya: Chaliye late ho raha hain…(Pushing him away she runs away from there to get ready)
Out of different options offered to you which are all splendid, sometimes it gets so confusing to choose one. She thinks looking at the different types of sarees, she has got in the suitcase. The variety of fabrics with different shades adorned fully with intricate work on them. Banarasi, Kanjivaram, Kota just name the type and you have all. She feels like as if she is standing in her favorite saree shop which is really an empire of the emporiums 'to buy sarees'.
'Wow! Neha and Maa have great dressing sense and all of them are so sweet .They patiently did shopping for me as if I am getting married.' Confusedly, she stands looking at the choices she has offered; she suddenly remembers her mother's words. That was the day for the 1st time after long time; she felt like getting ready and she called her mother to get the help in choosing her saree. Her mother had said that she suits to colours and not the colors that suit Priya. Priya thinks the sentence suits better to someone else than her. He suits to the colors. Finally, Priya chooses to wear a green Kanjivaram silk saree with gold butti work. She comes out from the walking wardrobe adjusting the pallu of saree. Ram is lazily lying on the bed and watching TV.As she enters in the room, his eyes get lost looking at her. She sits in front of the dresser. She could watch his reflection in the mirror. He is still observing her. She smiles looking in the mirror.
Priya: (Without turning around, talks with his image in the mirror) Mr. Kapoor kahan kho gaye ho aap? I mean aise kya dekh rahain ho jaise kay peheli baar dekh rahin hain mujhe.
Ram: I am wondering. (He too talks with her, looking in the mirror) Tumney beena meri help liye sab kuch kaise kiya? (Confused)
Priya: Mein samjhi nahi?
Ram: I mean how did you tie the knot of blouse-dori without my help?
She turns around, looking at him. She laughs.
Priya: (Naughtily) Different pattern Mr. Kapoor! (Winks and turns back, she sits facing the mirror)She sees him in the mirror and finds following her sentence, he imitates her dialogue 'Different pattern Mr. Kapoor!' along with some facial expressions. She knows what it conveyed. The complete 'Displeasure' for losing some romance with his wife while doing the knot. She smiles understanding it.
After sometime she gets busy in doing make-up and all. He gets busy in watching the cricket match on TV. After some time she hears some music is playing on the TV. She wonders from when he started watching music channels. She looks at him in the mirror. He is watching TV and completely lost in the other world.
Priya: Mr. Kapoor match khatam huyi kya?
Ram: Huhhh…nahi. Buray halaat hain. (Sad face)
Priya: Phir aapney channel kaise change kiya? I mean 'aap match ka ek bhi moment miss nahi kartey hain'.
Ram: (Grumpy) they are just losing the wickets one by one.
Priya: Accha iss liye aapney channel change kiya hain. Tabhi mein soch rahi thi kay match chhodkay aap music channel kabbse dekhney laggey.
Ram: Arre..tumhari problem kya hain? Mein match dekhu ya songs dekhu har ek baat pe explanation dena hoga kya mujhe! (Actually irritated because Indian team is losing the wickets) Tum jaldise ready kyon nahi hoti, mujhe bhuk laggi hain, wahanpe jaldi jaana hain.
Priya: Aap apani match ka gussa mujhpe kyon nikal rahain ho? 'Ready' toh mein ho rahi hun bas aur do minutes. Aur aapney sandwiches khaye the na, kuch der peheley?
Ram: Itnayse sandwiches se mera kya hoga?
Priya: Par aap ready ho jaayiye na? Aap iss T-shirt aur Jeans mein aanewaley ho kya?
Ram: Haa…peheley tum ready ho jaao. Mujhe time nahi laggta hain.
Both have stopped talking for next few minutes. She tries to hurry up but time runs fast. He just keeps on surfing the channels. Finally, she gives finishing touches.
Priya: Kaise lag rahi hun mein? (Admiring her beauty in the mirror) Theek lag rahi hun na?
He doesn't reply. She senses the music has become suddenly loud. She thinks maybe he couldn't hear her.
Priya: Mr. Kapoor…TV ka aawaj thoda kam kijiye please! Mein aapse kabbse kuch pucch rahi hun?
She looks him in the mirror. His face is bursting with some weird joy watching at the TV. She finds those expressions of him have some resemblance of their past memories. But at the moment she does not bother to give a thought about 'Which memory?'Right now she just wants to know that 'How is she looking?' She feels the music noisy. She shouts.
Priya: Mr. Kapoor…Hellooo…
He doesn't bother to look at her.
Ram: Kya hain? (Lost in TV)
Priya: Kaise dekh rahi hun mein?
Ram: Very hot like a red chilly…( Watching TV, the song in which Vidya Balan is dancing in nine yard red saree) Kya kaheintey hain ussey, 'Ekdam lawangi mirchi Kolhapurchi?'(Excitedly)
Priya thinking 'Aww..khaaney kay siva toh kabhi kuch aur compliment karteyhe nahi. Goluu kahi kay! Kabhi strawberry, kabhi mirchi'
She observes looking in the mirror; he didn't bother to look at her for past few minutes. Still he is complimenting her. She listens the song carefully 'Mala javu de' is playing on TV. She knows that who (Vidya Balan) must be sizzling on the screen.It hits her suddenly that just before sometime he was not complimenting her. Surely, his object of attention is something else.
Priya: (Lovingly) Mr. Kapoor 'Red chilly' ya phir 'Green chilly'? Theekse batayiye na?
Ram: Red chilly…! (Concentration fully on TV screen)
Priya: Accha Mr. Kapoor aisa kya hain TVpe jo aap yu kho gaye ho?
Ram: Red Ferrari… (She knows the song is from the movie 'Ferrari ki sawari') Tumhe toh pata hain na ki mujhe 'Ferrari' kitni pasand hain.(Firmly)
Priya: 'Ferrari' ya koi aur Mr. Kapoor.
Ram: (Still not looking at her) Mein chup chap TV dekh raha hun.(Hiding the truth)
Priya: Mein abb samajh gayi ki aapko 'Green' colour 'Red' kyon lag raha hain? Mr. Kapoor aap kabbse mujhe 'Red chilly' ka compliment de rahain ho, mein 'Green' saree mein hun.(Shouts loudly finally breaking his attention from the TV screen as she hits the perfume bottle on dressing table in huff.)Ram realizes her anger as VB song gets over and his wife enters in 'Hitler' avatar simultaneously. He switches off the TV. Sheepishly looking in the mirror, he tries to form an eye contact with her. She continues her rambling, (Bending down her head) so that trying to avoid eye contact with him in mirror.
Priya: Kabhi 'Red' strawberry..kabhi 'Red' chilly!'Red' colour dekhkar toh jaise ki bhatak he jaatey hain. 'Compliment' bhi karengey toh sirf 'khaaney ki cheezonse he. Full focus on eating! Jaise ki duniya mein phool-kaliyaan, chaand-sitaarey yeh kuch exist he nahi kartey hain.Thanks to God, kabhi mujhe 'Gobhi ka phool' nahi kahan. Gobhi kay parathe bhi acche laggte hain na.(sarcasm)Now he senses, she is really burning with jealousy and looking like a fuming 'hot chilly'.
Ram thinking 'be prepared Ram, the lecture has started'… He gets ready to get her tantrums.But she stops suddenly. He looks at her, she has started getting hiccups. Finally, she is looking at him in the mirror. He gets the water bottle from the side table and moves forward it.
Ram: (With concern) have you eaten something spicy? (Looking in the mirror)
She nods indicating 'NO', looking in the mirror. Her hiccups continue.
Priya: (Turns around) Aapney adrakwali chai aur apple diya tha. Bas who he! (Holds the water bottle, starts drinking water)He watches her. She drinks the water.
Ram: I know, jo khud itani 'tikkhi' hain ussey kuch aur kaise...(Before he could complete his sentence, she gives one of her 'Hitler look' to him. He smiles sweetly in reply to that look)
Ram: Jarur tumhe koi yaad kar raha hain. (Tries to sound more polite)
Priya: Revati rahegi. 'Haldi' ka muhurat dopaharse peheley hain. Aap jaldi jaayiye na. I am ready. (Her hiccups stopped)
After they got ready, the chauffeur driven car has reached to receive Ram and Priya. Ram told her that within 15-20 minutes, they would reach there. Ram has told about Laxman and his family on previous night. He gave the idea about this place and the Kapoor's residence in the village. Laxman's family has the status of the landlord in the village. The bonding between the two families is deeply rooted since past few years, one could say it's older than Ram's age. Ram's daadaji and Laxman's grand fathers were friends. This friendship passed from the old generations to the next generation. Amarnath Kapoor and Laxman's father 'Mr. Purushottam Inamdar' became friends and so like that Ram and Laxman. Years passed by and the families witnessed, shared each other's happiness as well as sad times together as the good friends do. But the things couldn't last as they were before, after the day Amarnath Kapoor showed mistrust and doubted about Mrs. Krishna Kapoor's character. Mr. Inamdar was amongst the two or three people including daadiji who confronted with Mr. Amarnath Kapoor for mistrusting Krishnaji. When Mr. Amarnath Kapoor got married to Niharika, Laxman's father broke all the remaining ties of friendship with Ram's father. But Laxman's family have stayed connected with Ram (and Ram did the same), of course they formed a self imposed boundary of staying away from the other members of the Kapoor mansion. Ironically, today the circle will be complete. As it looked like one marriage in the last generation broke the friendship between two families, maybe this marriage in the present generation would bring the two families close yet again. Lots of thoughts play in Priya's mind as she develops some unknown excitement to meet these people. Though she has never been here before, she feels some positive vibes in everything happening around them. Ram sees Priya is lost in thoughts. He waves his hand in front of her face,
Ram: Kahan kho gayi ho? (Doesn't speak just gesture)
Priya: (She nods smilingly) Kuch nahi…(Eyes twinkle)
The car stops. Mr. and Mrs.Ram Kapoor have reached at the venue, the bride's residence. Ram and Priya got off the car at some distance from the main venue. They start walking towards the entrance. The breath taking view awaits them. The building in the backdrop of the temporary wedding structures looked like a classic embodiment of authentic grace and grandeur in architecture. The small tents clubbed together in a circle and forming symmetry on either side of the pathway which they walked down to reach at the entrance. Ram and Priya could see the hosts. Revati and Laxman are standing at the entrance to greet the guests. They are busy in talking, unaware of Ram-Priya's arrival near them. As they reach near, Ram and Priya can hear them,
Revati: Nooo, 'Hichaki song' is better. Mujhe wohhe best lagg raha hain.
Laxaman: (Sings)Aga Saajani…(ohhh darling- translation) ! 'Mala lagli kunachi …Uchaki' sounds better. 'Remix' could never do a justice to the originality. (Ram and Priya exchange smiles and looks with each other, hearing their conversation about 'Hiccup song')
Ram: Hello Laxman, tu yahanpe mehmaanoko dekhney kay liye khada hain ya phir bhabhi kay saath 'Flirt' karney kay liye? (All of them laugh and they start walking)
Laxman: Arre chaliye, aapka he intazar ho raha tha. Aur humlog 'dance' kay baarey mein decide kar rahey the. Sab family members dance kar rahey hain. Yeh Revti tension leti hain.
Revati:'Laavni dance' karna kitna difficult hain. Aapko sab kuch easy laggta hain.
Priya: (Coughs) Revati, kya main kuch 'Help' kar sakti hun?(Excitedly)
All of three stopped walking; looking at Priya in bewilderment at a same moment. Mr. Kapoor gets some shock of nervousness, thinking about what's going on, in his wife's mind.
XXX
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
Udne Ki Aasha
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
