RN ONE SHOT GALLERY update page 17 - Page 13

Tere Ishq Me...!!!

"Ye kya...tum abhi tak taiyar nahi hui?" she asked her sister with a bit of impatience. "Kab se bolke gayi thi...par tum to sunti hi nahi ho."

"Tu mujhe taiyar karne ki itni jaldi kyun macha rahi hai." The girl was sitting in front of a big mirror and was gazing at herself.

"Excuse me...mai tumhe taiyar karne ki baat nahi kar rahi hun. Tum khud taiyar ho rahi ho. Aur rahi mere jaldi machine ki to tum jitni jaldi taiyar hogi utni jaldi sagai hogi aur fir utni hi jaldi shaadi."

"Meri shaadi hone se to mai ghar se chali jaungi na. Tujhe bura nahi lagega?" she asked innocently.

"Buraaaaaaaaa!!! Aur wo bhi tumhare jaane se? Arey agar aisa hota to mai tumhe jaane hi kyun deti?"

"Toh ab mere jaane ki jaldi kyun macha rahi hai?"

"Kyunki mai chahti hun kit um jitni jaldi ho, ghar se jao. Tabhi to meri jaan bachegi....warna humesha meri jaan khati rehti ho." She added the last sentence after a while.

It had the desired effect. The girl sitting in front of the mirror got up and turned in a huff. "Kya kaha tune...mai teri jaan khaati hun? How dare you...?? Mai tujhe chodungi nahi...you......" she picked up a pillow and aimed it at the younger girl who ducked aside to avoid it.

"Chuk gayi na.... Kaha tha...nishan lagana tumhara kaam nahi hai." She picked up the pillow and aimed it at her sister which hit her straight in her face. Leaving the pillow aside she ran after the younger girl around the bed as the tom and jerry race started again. At this moment, the door opened but the two girls were too busy to notice someone else in the room.

"Stop it girls." A shout stopped the girls in their track. To their horror they saw their mother standing in the doorway with her hand on her head. "What the hell is happening here? Kya kar diya hai tum logon ne room ka haal, zara dekhogi?"

Sheepishly, they looked around themselves to see the pillows strewn on the floor. The sheet had been pulled from the bed, one of the bed side table had turned upside down and the contents from the dressing table like combs, rubber bands and things like that were all over the floor.

"karte kya ho tum dono?" their mother demanded. "Aaj ke din to ye ladhai band karo. Aaj Abhara ki sagai hai...ab kuch hi din ki mehmaan hai ye iss ghar me, fir to sasuraal chali jayegi. Isha...tum ladhna band nahi kar sakti." She asked in irritation

"Maaa...mai nahi ladh rahi thi." Isha said making a puppy face. "Mai to di to yahi bol rahi thi ki wo jaldi taiyaar ho jaye...jiju bas aate hi honge. Par di to mujhse hi ladh padin."

"Nahi Maa...ye jhuth bol rahi hai." Abhara cried horrified.

"Arey ab to bas karo. Tum dono kab samjhogi?" she sat down on the bed with a sad expression.

"KYa Maa.,..kitna emotional ho jaati ho..." Isha came up from behind and hugged her mother. "Kitna achha mauka hai di ko ghar se bhagane ka...aur tum ho ki iss mauke ko bhi barbaad karna chahti ho. Zara socho, iss nautanki ke ghar se chale jaane se ghar me kitni shanti hogi."

Her mother started laughing at this. Then asking Isha to get Abhara ready as soon as possible she went out to greet the guests who had started pouring in by now.

The engagement was a lavish affair since Abhara and Ishani's father Mr. Samarth Rajvansh was the most famous and richest man in the society. In addition to being a successful businessman he was also a philanthropist and headed many charitable organizations in the city.

Abhinav Singh, Abhara's fianc was the only son of the city's most celebrated and famous criminal lawyer. However, he himself was a PhD in Microbiology and worked as a scientist under the government of India. However his argumentative habit and great communication skills always earned him the comment of being a lawyer.

Abhara was a research analyst working in one of the city's top most firms. Abhinav and Abhara met through a common friend in a New Year party two years back. They had immediately liked each other and had spent the whole evening talking and gossiping about various topics. Though they had very different tastes but still they found that they gelled well. At the end of the party when Abhinav offered her a lift, Abhara who was usually averse to taking help from strangers, found herself gladly accepting his offer. Soon began a series of meetings which deepened their friendship. After dating each other for 2 year, when Abhinav finally proposed to Abhara for marriage, she was on cloud nine.

It took their families only a few days to talk among themselves and fix up their marriage. Today was their engagement and the marriage was after one week.

**************

Ishani had decked Abhara beautifully. As she brought Abhara to the hall, all eyes immediately turned towards her. Abhinav stopped talking with Mr. Rajvansh and looked up at the stairs as Abhara slowly made her progress. She took his breath away, she looked so beautiful. Her complexion was very fare. On top of that she was wearing a red lehenga which had golden thread work on it. She was decked in gold ornaments which mingled and matched with her skin colour. She was really looking ethereal. Abhinav was left speechless.

"Kya hua Abhi... bolna bhul gaye bhabi ji ko dekhkar?" Parth whispered in his ears so that only he could hear. "Arey kuch to sharm karo, zara nazren hata bhi lo. Sab log dekh rahen hain." He whispered naughtily.

Parth was Abhinav's cousin and was 3 years his junior. But more than being brothers, they were great friends and shared a healthy camaraderie. Parth was in the second year of MCA and studied in Pune.

"Di dekho, jiju ki nazren to aapse hatt hi nahi rahin hain." Ishani whispered naughtily as she escorted her sister down the stairs. Abhara looked up once at Abhinav but the undiluted love and adoration in his eyes made her lower her gaze in shyness. A blush crept up her cheek and she clutched Isha's hand tightly. Isha understood her di's situation and said. "Kyun ghabra rahi ho? Ghabrana to jiju ko chahiye. Wo bechare ye nahi jaante ki kitni badi musibat mol le rahen hain." She said tongue in cheek which immediately angered Abhara and she looked angrily at her younger sister.

Ishani smiled wickedly and whispered. "Sorry di...aap majbur hain...kuch nahi kar sakti...mai chahe kuch bhi bolun. Aaj to mera din hai."

Mrs. Rajvansh who was looking at them immediately understood that Isha was teasing Abhara, but she couldn't scold her in front of so many guests. So she contended herself with sighing deeply. Parth who was standing besides her, heard that and asked, "Kya hua aunty? Kuch pareshani hai?"

"Arey beta, ye Isha kabhi nahi sudhregi."

"Isha?"

"Haan, Isha...meri choti beti. Dekho na...mauka milte hi Anhara ko chedna shuru kar deti hai. Waise Abhara kuch sharif nahi hai iss mamle me...magar abhi kuch nahi kar paa rahi hai." She smiled at the girls as they came and stood next to her.

"Hi bhabi...bahut pyaari lag rahi ho." Parth complimented Abhara. Then he turned towards Isha as Mrs. Rajvansh left to make a formal announcement. "Hi I....oh....you...!!!"

"Aap...!!!" Isha was too shocked and tounge tied to react. "Aap yahan par kya kar rahen hain?" The question was out of her mouth even before she could think of what she was saying. It left Parth amused.

"Kyun, nahi hona chahiye tha kya?" the drawl in his voice left her speechless. He was complicating things for her. He retort was almost on the tip of her tongue, but hastily she bit it back. He had never seen the jovial and retorting Ishani... and she didn't want him to know either. But the bigger question was...what was he doing here???

Abhara had never seen Isha go so quiet in front of someone. She looked at them in surprise, wondering in her mind about the identity of this guy who had managed to shut Isha up with his mere presence. Isha had never been so uncomfortable in a company ever before. She carefully chose her company and always used to be the centre of attraction. But she had gone all quiet today.

"Kya hua Isha?' Abhara wanted to know. "Tune usse kuch kaha kyun nahi?"

"Wo hai kaun?"

"Pata nahi...par maine usse Abhi ke saath dekha tha. Par hua kya?"

"Haan...nahi...mujhe laga ki ladke waalen honge. Jyada bolna abhi thik nahi. Isliye chup ho gayi." Isha managed to say.

"Arey... tu itni samajhdaar kab se ho gayi?" Abhara was not ready to buy it.

"Kya karun!!! Majburi hai. Apni khushi ke liye hona padta hai."

"Kya...??? Teri khushi uss ladke me hai???" Abhara tried to snatch a chance of teasing her.

"What rubbish?" Isha hissed furiously. Abhara started laughing after having scored a point over her. But Isha was not defeated so easily.

"Meri khushi to tumhe iss ghar se bhagane me hai. Aur agar maine abhi ladke walon se jyada jaban ladai to wo log tumhe liye bagair hi chale jayenge. After all meri reputation par hi to tumhari reputation tiki hui hai na. Aur agar tum nahi gayi...to iss ghar par mera ekchhatr raaj kaise hoga??? Isliye chup ho gayi mai."

"Isha....tujhe mai..."

"Kuch nahi kar sakti abhi tum. So chup chap khadi raho aur mummy ki announcement suno. Meri azadi ki pehli sidhi hai ye." She winked at her sister irritationg her all the more.

"Uff...tujhse to baat karna hi bekaar hai. Kismat achhi thi ussladki ki jot u chup ho gayi...warna wo abhi tak apne baal noch leta."

Unknown to them, Parth was standing just behind them and was listening to this tirade with an amused expression on his face. He never knew this girl to be capable of talking so much. He always thought her to be very quiet and reserved. Because that was how he had seen her till date.

Just then Mrs. Rajvansh called Abhara and Abhinav on to the stage. They were accompanied by Parth and Isha respectively. Once on the stage, Parth found himself standing next to Isha as the rings were being exchanged between the couple.

"Aaj tak nahi pata tha ki tumhe itna bolna bhi aata hai." He remarked softly.

"Wo...actually..."

"Bolti band...tumhari di to keh rahi thi ki tumne agar bolna shuru kiya to mai apne baal noch lunga." Amusement reflected in his voice which suddenly irritated ISha to no end. But to tell the truth, she was rattled to see him here. Hence she couldn't stop the retort this time.

"Sahi kaha tha unhone. Mai chup hun iska matlab ye nahi hai ki mujhe bakwas achhi lagti hai."

"Bhul gayi...hum ladke walen hain... agar bhabiji ko nahi le gaye to tumhe mukti kaise milegi?" He teased her.

But he was not ready for the fierce way of her answer. "Sabse pehli baat, jiju di ko chodkar ek kadam bhi nahi chal sakte. Fir chahe wo aap kahen ya khud bhagvan. Dusri baat... meri di koi bojh nahi hai jo usse chod diya to hum majbur ho jayenge. Jo karna hai kar lijiye...but I challenge you aap iss shadi me angda daal hi nahi sakte."

He was taken aback at her retort. He had never realized that a harmless comment would take such a dangerous turn. She had walked away without giving him a chance to clarify his point. As he watched her go down the stairs, he saw something which others had failed to notice. She aggressively wiped away the tears and made up a brave exterior. He understood that it was the sadness of losing the company of her sister. He smiled at her actions. She was so cute.

The engagement ceremony was over. Now it was the time for the party. Isha was standing behind Abhara looking at the other girls dancing to the tune of various bollywood songs. When a few of the girls went forward and dragged Parth into the group, he hesitated a bit at first, but then started swaying with the beats. Unknown to herself, a small smile formed on her face as she saw him dancing. Even she didn't realize what she was doing, but he did and a plan formed in his mind.

"Ek minute, ek minute..." he stopped dancing and the others stopped with him. "Engagement ceremony ka ye function tab tak pura nahi hoga jab tak ladki walon ki taraf se koi humara saath nahi deta."

Ishani rolled her eyes as she heard it. He was upto his usual tricks again. "To kya itni saari ladkiyan aap logon ki taraf se hai?" she asked pointing towards her various cousins.

Immediately giggling broke out, but he calmed them down with a gesture of his hand. "Magar inhe koi lead karne wala nahi hai. Aur fir dulhan ki behen bhi kahin nazar nahi aa rahi. Wo kahan hai?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

She shook her head as if to denote that he was hopeless; but nonetheless came forward for dance and with that, his purpose was served.

Song: Ye galiyan ye chaubara...

Abhara tried hard to control her tears ans she clutched her mother for support. Seeing this Isha pulled Abhara on to the floor.

ABHARA:

As she finished dancing, there were tears in the eyes of Abhara and Mrs. Rajvansh which Isha didn't like at all.

Just then Parth came near her challenging her for a dance with him as the song flowed out in the back ground.

PARTH:

Mrs Rajvansh wiped her tears as she sang these words.

ho teri hathha witch mehandi ka rang khila hain

tujhe sapano da changa mehboob mila hain

meri banno pyaari pyaari sari duniya se nyaari

ise doli mein tu leja doliyaan, doliyaan...

Now Abhinav joined them on the stage... and sang this part for Abhara.

Abhinav lifted her left hand to his lips and kissed the back of her palm.

*****************

It was decided that the next week would be spent in shopping for the wedding. Since there was just a week's time, it was a very hectic schedule. In these times, Parth and Isha were always thrown together. And if Isha tried to escape, her mother always used to deliver a fully prepared emotional speech. To escape from that, Isha decided to accompany her sister on the time consuming and boring shopping spree.

On one such occasion, when they had gone to shop for the bridal attire and Abhara and Abhinav were busy in selecting dresses for each other, Isha wandered away from the group of women and went and stood in a corner.

"Yahan khade khade kya kar rahi ho?" she jumped up at the question.

"Aap yahan?"

"If you don't mind." He stated as he came and leaned against the wall next to her.

"Why should I mind?" she remarked lightly.

"I think you do mind. Tum mujhse dhang se baat nahi karti, dekhkar muh fer leti ho ya bhaag jaati ho... what's wrong with you?" he asked her.

"Aap galat samajh rahen hain, aisa kuch nahi hai. Wo to bas..."

"Does it make so much of a difference to you that I'm your senior in college and now going to become a relative? Agar ye itni buri baat hai to mai chala jaata hun."

"Agar yehi baat hoti to mai aapse jhagda kar leti... dur nahi bhagti."

"Yaani tum maanti ho na kit um mujhse dur bhagti ho?" he remarked.

"Han...mera matlab nahi.... wo mai..."

"Haan yaa nahi...kooi ek baat batao yaar...mai to aise confuse ho jaunga."

"Aap dusron ko confuse karne waali cheewz ho, khud kaise confuse ho jayoge? Aaj suraj kis disha se nikla hai?" she wondered aloud.

"Hello, maine kaha ho jaunga... ye nahi kaha ki ho gaya hun." He countered.

"Ek hi baat hai...matlab aapke chances hain confuse hone ke..." she teased.

"No ways...tum meri baat twist kar rahi ho."

"Kahan twist kar rahi hun...aur aapki baatmai kaise twist kar sakti hun...mai to apni jagah par sidhi khadi hun...bilkul straight." She stood straight as she said it.

Parth hit his forehead in exasperation. "He bhagvan... mai kisse baat kar raha hun....ye ladki to mujhe pagal kar degi." He sighed aloud.

"Dekha..." she was back to her calm and controlled self. "Isliye nahi baat karti aapse...Aap jhel nahi paoge mujhe... mai jab bolna shuru karti hun to kya bolti hun wo mujhe bhi nahi pata hota...par saamne wala meri baton se pareshan jarur ho jata hai... to isliye..."

He looked at her in amusement for a few seconds. "Mujhe pata nahi tha kit um itni bindaas aur straight forward ho. Mujhe humesha laga tha kit um bahut hi reserved aur shaant rehne waali ladki ho."

"Jab bhi baat ki hai aapse humesha hi to has bol ke ki hai...fir bhi mai reserved hun...kya baat kar rahe ho..."

"Trust me...tum aisi ho sakti ho mujhe ehesaas hi nahi tha."

She smiled at that and chose to keep quiet. He continued after a minute's pause. "Tum na haste bolte, muskarate uchalte, behes karti hui...apni di ki tang khinchti hui...zyada achhi lagti ho. Apne aap ko kisi khol me mat bandho...kyunki zindagi bahut choti hai... usse ache se jeeyo...live it to the fullest. Trust me... zindagi bahut pyaari lagegi......" He had a faraway look on his face as he said it and Isha couldn't help but gaze at him transfixed.

He came back to reality after a while. To lighten the atmosphere, he again said; "And to begin with, you can start with me...shed all your inhibitions in front of me. And I promise you, mai tumhe satane ka ek bhi mauka nahi chodunga." He added with a wink.

"And I promise you mai aapko satane ka koi mauka nahi chodungi." She came back with equal spirit.

"Done?" he put forward his hand as if sealing the deal and she grasped it with equal spirit.

The week passed in a flurry of activities since it was not easy to finish all the tasks and the various other jobs. In between, Parth and Isha never left a chance for bickering. They always found out a topic; and if they didn't, they invented some new reasons. It irritated as well as amused others to a great extent but at the end of the day, it simply resulted in bringing them closer.

Finally, it was the day for marriage, and try as she might, Isha was not able to control her grief at being parted from her sister. All throughout the wedding ceremony, she put on a brave exterior teasing her di and jiju...but when it was time for Bidai... she had a hard time trying to stem her tears.

"Chalo ab jao..." she said pushing her di inside the car. "Ab tum jao aur meri jaan chute..." she tried to laugh away her tears but Abhara was too sharp for her. "Aaj tak humesha tu jo bolti aayi hai...maine vishwaas kiya hai...par aaj nahi kar sakti....kyunki teri aankhen kuch aur bol rahi hain aur zaban kuch aur."

"Ye melodramatic dialogues ab jakar apne sasural me sunana." Isha retorted.

"nahi...ye sab dialogues to sirf tere liye hain...ab kabhi kisi ko kuch nahi sunaungi." Abhara wept as she said this.

"Di ab jao... jaan chodo meri..." Isha turned her back towards her. With a soft touch, Abhara turned Isha towards her.

"Sachhi jaun...???"

"Mat jao na di.............................." Isha clinged to her sister and wept like a child...something which she had never done till date.

After some time, she forced her di inside her car and turned towards Abhinav. "Jiju...aapne kaha tha ki aaj mai aapse jo magungi milega."

Abhinav nodded in affirmative. Nobody knew what she was going to say.

"To fir bas aapse yahi maangungi ki meri di ko itna pyaar dena ki unhe kabhi bhi humari yaad na aaye. Wo kabhi bhi humari kami mehsus na kare..." And as he nodded in affirmative...surprised at what she said, she pushed him inside the car and closed the door, the tears flowing incessantly.

Parth looked at her once. Her tear strained face tweaked his heart. In this one week, he had grown terribly fond of this girl. He just shook hands with her, sought the blessings of all the elders present there and took to the wheels.

**************

ONE MONTH LATER:

Isha and Parth were back in their college in Pune. Now they were extremely casual with each other and sought each other's company unconsciously. Isha had become friendly with her seniors and spent most of her time in the company of Parth and his friends.

It was a normal day and Isha was waiting for Parth in the canteen. Since he used to stay with his parents, he got the home cooked food which Isha used to love like anything. In this one month, she had visited Parth at his home once and had spent a weekend there.

Parth was a bit later than usual. "Kya hua...kahan der laga di?"

"Hai kuch baat." He said mysteriously.

"Kya...mujhe bhi bataiye."

"Bataunga...par ek shart par..."

"Kya...???"

"Aaj night out lo...iss pure hafte ke liye aur mere ghar chalo...mom ne bulaya hai..."

"Par...."

"Tum mummy se hi baat karo." He handed her the cell and when aunty ordered Isha to pack her bags and come for more than a week, there was little she could do other than accept the order. However due to Parth's insistence on the completion of a project they were very late in reaching home.

****************

Time: 12:00 a.m.

Place: Parth's house

As Isha saw the house she felt something was wrong. The whole house was in darkness.

"Kya hua hai...line nahi hai kya?"

"PAta nahi...chalo chalkar dekhte hain."

The moment she pushed open the door and entered into the darkness, she felt something fall on her. With that a cracker went off, forcing her to retrace her steps and grip Parth's hand in fear. With a comforting side hug, he curled up his fingers and held her hand in a vice like grip.

Just then the lights came on and she was bathed in glitters and flowers.

"Happy Birthday Ishani..." Many voices rang out....but among them she could um=unmistakably hear the voice of her beloved....

"Diiiiiiiiiiiiiii....................." And she rushed into her arms.

The whole week passed in fun and laughter. By this time Isha had become very comfortable with Parth's parents.... so much so that they used to support her over Parth in their useless bickering which they continued till date.

Soon it was time for Abhara to leave...but this time, Isha knew she had a family over there she could turn to when she was alone.

************

A YEAR LATER

Isha got up to the sound of the ringing of her cell phone.

"Hello..." she said groggily.

"Madam ab to uth jao...subah ke 8 baj rahen hain." Parth laughing voice floated across the room.

"Sone dijiye na Parth... sirf 8 hi to baje hain..."

"Tumhe ek khabar deni thi..."

"Boliye...kya baat hai..." she was wide awake now...sitting up on the bed as she waited for him to say what he wanted to tell her.

"Mujhe campus ke through naukri mil gayi hai...TCS me....."

It took her a minute to register what he was saying. When it finally clicked in her sleep laden brain, she shrieked out. "Kyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaa.........congratssssssssssssssssssssssssss................. meri treatttttttt???"

"Isliye to phone kiya hai...jaldi taiyar ho jao...mai adhe ghante me tumhe lene aa raha hun."

The day was spent in sightseeing and roaming here and there. Isha enjoyed the day like anything...but she had a lingering feeling that Parth wanted to say something, which he couldn't.

It was about 8:00 p.m in the evening. Since Isha had taken a night out, there was no hurry of rushing through the dinner. They were sitting in one of the personalized gardens for candle light dinner. Parth was looking out of the window into the garden while Isha was scrutinizing him thoughtfully.

After a while, he turned towards her. "Kya dekh rahi ho?"

"Aapko..."

"Achha..." he smiled. "Kya dekh rahi ho mujhme?"

"Kuch soch rahi thi."

"Kya soch rahi thi?"

"Yehi ki aap aisa kya kehan chahte hain jo aap pure din ki koshish ke baad bhi nahi keh paaye."

'Tumhe andaza nahi hai?"

"Shayad hai...shayad nahi...par aap bolke dekhiye..."

"Isha...ab to finally meri naukri lag hi gayi hai... ek mahine me college se pass out ho jaunga. Fir tum final year me aa jaogi. Tumhe apni padhai puri karne me ek saal aur lagega...aur tab tak mai naukri me settle kar chukka hunga... kya aaj se ek ssal baad............tum......... mujhse shaadi karna pasand karogi???"

She didn't say anything...just looked at him for a long time. He returned her gaze equally calmly. Finally what seemed to be after an eternity, she reached out and placed a palm on his clasped hands. Immediately he clutched her hand in his. With a smile on her lips, she looked out of the window.

She didn't say anything... neither did he...he already knew her answer.

***********

woowww...

amazing...

beautifully written........

thnx for the pm...........

Awesome OS dear...