The strains of the shehnai had not quite faded away. The golden mogras had started drying on their strands decorating Circuit House. The air seemed to have a fresher feel to it. Colors seemed brighter and sounded sharper.
It was now five days that Shiv and Anandi had got married. Their marriage, as the rest of their hitherto relationship, had been unconventional.
A month ago, Choti Maa had shocked everybody with her intention of calling off the wedding. Anandi had felt that someone had pulled the rug out from under her feet. Her world was falling apart once again... She would never forget the tears that had rushed into her eyes when "her" Shiv had stood up and said, "CM, mujhe lagta nahin hai ki yeh waqt sahi hai baat karne ki, magar maine Anandi ko vachan diya hai ki main uska saathi banoonga. Chaliye, ghar chaltein hain. Wahin baaki baatein ho payengi."
Bapusa had turned into a thunderous cloud, with all his anger vented at dadisa. But dadisa, being dadisa, was not guilty at all. And, no one had the power to speak up against her. As Anandi did not hear from Shiv all that day and all that night, she slowly and steadily retreated into a shell.
The next morning, Anandi had woken up with new resolve and left the house silently. Walking on half-numb feet to the park, she had looked around for her friend. The absence of a strenuously working out Collector Saheb had saddened her deeply. As she had turned to leave, she spotted him sitting on the ground, under the shade of a babool tree. As she walked softly up to him, he turned, as if he had sensed her very presence. She settled softly on the ground near him and opened her mouth to speak. "Anandiji, main maafi mangta hoon. Aap mere baare mein aur mere pariwar ke baare mein kya soch rahi hongi? Mushkil aayee nahin aur humne tumhare saath chodne ki baat shuru kar di." "Please, Collector Saheb, kuch mat kahiye. In fact, main bhi aap se maafi maangne ke liye hi aayi hoon." "Meri wajah se..." Shiv started laughing, "What a pair of clowns we are. I know that you have said that you see your future with me. And hear this from me now, I will never ever go back on the promise I made to you."
From that day on, Anandi, who had been shaken out of her stupor, resolved that nothing would harm their relationship again. Going home, she announced that she could have nothing more to do with Jagya and his illness and would only consider marrying Shiv or nobody at all.
With dadisa up to her old tricks, it was all they could do to wangle a few moments together. CM had also gone and tried her utmost to break the rishta. But Shiv and Anandi had remained firm in their resolve. As time moved on on wings of fire, Jagya grew more desperate to get back his toy. But, to her surprise, Anandi realized that he did not affect her in any way; he only disgusted her. All she longed for was a glimpse of Shiv, a word with Shiv.
What was wrong with her? She had long thought that her heart had become numb, unable to feel for any man. Did she love him? Surely not! At best, it was the love one has for a dear friend. So, then why this frisson of tension when he placed a casual hand on her elbow? Why this desperation to be with him? And why was the thought of leaving her family not affecting her so much these days?
As she packed for her trousseau, she was surprised with the ease with which she could imagine Shiv approving of something. Anyway, he never disapproved of anything she did! The week before their wedding, her to-be-in-laws arrived. To her discomfort, there was a thin wall of disapproval there now. Sensing the tension, Shiv had taken her home one day and holding her hand gently, had said, "I know you are unhappy with Jagya's presence in some remote corner of Anandi's life. However, this is MY decision and MY happiness. I would be extremely happy if you participated in the wedding with open hearts, but if you cannot, I do not blame you."
The day of the wedding finally dawned. As Shiv had requested, the ceremony itself was to be simple. Though Dadisa was keeping all her promises, she did not emerge from her room, preferring to sit with her laadesar.
Anandi got ready all by herself. There was no sorrow though. Just an eagerness to move on to her new life. As she walked down the stairs to her destination, flanked only by her students, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror - simple maroon sari, huge kundan ear-drops and maang tikka, and a beaten gold odhni covering her hair. As she stepped into the simple pandal, her eyes were caught and held by her soul mate, who stood up and put his hand out to her. Without the slightest hesitation, she put her hand into his. As his large, capable fingers closed over her delicate ones, realization came flooding through her soul. "I love him. I love him till the breadth of my heart and the bottom of my soul." Her eyes didn't leave his beloved face for a minute after that. And every time she looked, he was looking right back.
After an emotional farewell to Bapusa and Ma, they returned to Circuit House where everybody had made some attempts to liven up affairs. But the constraint was clear. She had to do a lot of work to get both her dadisa's family and her new family on her side. Saanchi quietly took her to her room and said "Bhabhi, we are all leaving right now." Though shocked, Anandi thought it better not to press the matter. Standing to the side of the window, she saw Shiv bidding farewell. When the last car left, her heart almost broke in two seeing his sadness. Seeming to shake himself off, he turned back to the house. Entering their room, he said, "Arre, yeh kya, aap abhi tak soyi nahin. You must be tired." Seeing her confused state, he said softly, "I am in no hurry, Anandi. Chai pe milte hain."
Spending a restless night tossing and turning, she questioned herself why she was not relieved. Just a month ago, she had been dreading the final intimacy. Did she really want to take the final step in the relationship between a man and his wife? The next morning brought no answers.
As day turned to night and night turned to day, she gazed at the beautiful, strong face in front of her with awe. Is he really mine? Am I so lucky that I have got this wonderful second chance? Shiv too left no stone unturned to make his beautiful new bride feel at ease.
A question was now plaguing Anandi's mind. How did she take it to the next level? There was no way she could just go and tell him... Slowly, but surely, in the course of seemingly innocuous conversations about home and work, she started touching him - just little gestures to show that she did not mind the feel of him. She noticed him watching her carefully, but with a secret smile tugging at her lips, she kept dropping the odd hints here and there.. walking into his room at odd hours, asking him if he needed help with the mundane, and always ready to touch his hand at the slightest pretext.
She knew he loved her; he had proved it ample times. But how was she to tell him that she loved him?? Though just a few days had passed, she was longing to cross the final hurdle.
The fifth day of their wedding, Shiv had to stay back at work. As he wound his way back home in the silence that prevailed on the streets at 9 pm, he pondered about what was going on in his sweet little brides' mind. She seemed happy, but still... As he reached home, he saw it was pitch dark. Switching on first the porch light and then the lights of the other rooms' one at a time, he started getting fearful. Had she left? Her room too was empty, even the dressing table clear of things. Smashing his fist against the doorjamb, he threw his laptop on the table and moved despondently to his room. His nose suddenly twitched. He could smell something sweet, touched with a lemony zest... his Anandi's personal fragrance. He threw his door open with a clatter and almost fainted at the sight that greeted him. Dim candles lit up the dark recesses of the room, roses littered the room, but all that caught his eye was "his Anandi," dressed up like a bride once again, sitting on the middle of his bed.
He walked slowly over to her, "Anandi." A sigh, a question, a hope... Slowly, she lifted her mesmerizing eyes to him and he found all his answers there. "Shiv." He sank to his knees on the bed, not believing his luck. She raised a soft hand to his face and brushed his tousled hair off his forehead. "Main aapse bahut pyar karti hoon Shiv, par pata nahin kyon, na samajh payi, na sanjha payi." He cupped her face with his hands, and blew a light kiss over her eyes. Moving closer, he said, "Mein tumhein deewangee ki had tak pyar karta hoon Anandi. Ye hamari zindagi ki nayee shuruwat hai." Moving closer, he stopped an inch from her lips. To his everlasting joy, Anandi arched upwards and crossed the last distance between them. Their unconventional love affair was finally beginning.
PS: Dedicated to our beloved Souji... my inspiration for this OS. The idea is hers.
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