~~~~~~Part 14: Rhythm of Rain~~~~~~
Another day..before Nupur meets Mayank. She is going through mixed feelings…sometimes she is overwhelmed with joy and thinks relentlessly as to what to say to him and what to ask and how to respond. Then there are times she is nervous…what if? What if he doesn't like her? What if he doesn't get the answers as expected of his childhood friend? what if he proposes..directly? what is she gonna say? At the classroom, she can't concentrate. All the thoughts are running through her head like blood in her veins. But no matter what thought she was touching with her feelings, overall it is a good feeling, a happy feeling like a hope that makes you look forward to live your life…like a dream that gives you yet another reason to breathe. While the lecturer was continuing with his lecture, Nupur notices nothing on the board but suddenly sees a blurry image passing by. She closes her eyes and feels him coming towards her…she feels him so close to her. As she opens her eyes and comes back to reality, she smiles to herself. What on earth is wrong with her? But whatever is wrong..she hopes it never gets rectified. If love is an illusion, may she never come out of this..ever! Class is over and as she walks through the corridors with a grin on her face… she hears music all around her…people around her look so friendly…are they all in love? why do they look so happy? That couple in the corner having some kind of argument but she can see that affection and care in their eyes. And whats there? a geeky looking boy is following one of the cheerleader type girl with a rose in his hand…how funny but how cute? Nupur prays that everyone gets their love…har kisiko apna mohabbat mil jaaye..wow! While she is stepping in and out of her dreamland, she realizes that Tanmay was not at the classroom today. So she starts looking for him! Suddenly she hears some chants..coming from the sports hall! She enters the hall to see it fully crowded and most of the students are chanting by "Abhijeet"s name. Nupur is very much aware of Abhi's nature..
N: yeh ladka..hamesha kuch na kuch karta rehta hai. humain kya!!! ..and she turns around to leave the hall when she hears another small crowd chanting Tanmay's name! And that crowd has Diya, Annie, Suhaani and co. Her own gang! What is going on? She wonders!! She goes to Diya and asks her only to find out that Tanmay and Abhi have challenged each other on a 1-2-1 basketball match. As Nupur looks across the court, both Tanmay and Abhi are face to face with each other and the match has started! Nupur doesn't feel good about it, Tanmay doesn't know Abhi…he can put him in all sorts of trouble but its too late. the match has started and it seems like Tanmay is beating the hell out of Abhi. Nupur has this smirk on her face.."koi to hai jo isse sabaq sikha sakta hai!" And she too joins her gang in cheering up for Tanmay. Eventually the match is over and Abhi's arrogance is crashed to the ground. Nupur runs to the court and hugs him in joy.
N: wah mere sher…kya jawab diya hai iss langoor ko!
T: tum kab aayi? aur kahan thee??
N: bas thori dair pehle aur hum to cheer kar rahe the tumhare liye. waise accha khel lete ho! humain to pata hi nahi tha k siwaye kitabon k tumhe kuch aur bhi aata hai (giggles)
T: thik waise hi jaise mujhe nahi pata tha tumhare dance skills k baare me.
N: ab to jaan liya na?
T: hmm…accha suno thori dair me baarish shuru hojayegi shayed. main jald hi fresh hoke aata hoon…dono saath me ghar chalenge..ok?
N: yeah..
Tanmay leaves and Nupur starts walking towards the door when Abhi stops her.
A: uff jaaneman..kabhi aise humain bhi galey laga liya karo. yeh Tanmay kya cheez hai…naya hai, usse kya pata tumhare baare me. main jo barson se tumahra intezar kar raha hoon, usska kya?
N: mera raasta chorro Abhi
A: arre raasta kya main to tumhare liye duniya chhor doon bas ek ishaara chahiye tumhara (as he holds her hands)
N: haath chorro mera Abhi warna accha nahi hoga
A: kyun kya kar logi? princi se shikayet? manzoor hai per sazaa se pehle ghalti to karni chahiye na…(and he pulls her close to him)
N: Abhii…she raises her hand and slaps him
A: tumhari itni himmat…
..and before Abhi can react Tanmay restrains him..
T: aarre arre Abhi yaar tum kya kar rahe ho?
..and before he could do or say anything more..to his surprise comes another slap from Nupur. Diya comes running and holds Nupur back whilst Tanmay is whispering to Diya..
T: tum fiker mat karo..iss Abhi ko to main sanbhal lunga
D: arre mujhe Nupur ki fiker nahi hai…Abhi ki fiker hai. ab to yeh gaya kaam se..Nupur isse kaccha khaa jayegi (as she struggles to restrain Nupur who is screaming the life out of her cursing Abhi). aur tum Abhi ko kyun pakar rahe ho..iss sherni ko sanbhalo..
T: (just before he lets Abhi go..whispers to him) Abhi …nikal le patli gali se warna poori college k saamne ek ladki se pitega tu
Abhi listens to his advise and makes a quick exit.
N: abbay..kahan jaa raha hai. teri itni himmat mera haath pakra..Nupur Bhushan ka? jaanta nahi hai kya? kahan bhaag raha hai…ruk yahan
Tanmay manages to restarin Nupur and calm her down. And eventually, Nupur is back to herself, sorts her hair and dupatta and starts walking towards home
T: baap re…tum to Razia Sultan nikli. kya chaata maara bechare ko..darr ke maare bhaag hi gaya
N: arre tum nahi jaante aise chichoray larkon ko! bachpan se dekhti aa rahi hoon isse. hamesha kisi na kisi tarha se humain pareshaan kiye jaa raha hai. per aaj to har hudh ko tor diya..mujhe chooaN! mera haath pakra!! kya samajh kya rakkha hai! bardasht ki bhi hudh hoti hai. woh to aaj mera mood accha hai iss liye usse jaane diya warna college me dhoondh ke nikaal k usse do aur lagati. (in her blabbering and anger she actually didn't notice that Tanmay has fallen back a bit)..arre kya hua? piche kya kar rahe ho?
T: nahi..woh tumse darr lag raha hai. yeh sunsaan jagah ..aas paas aur koi nahi hai. aur tum jiss mood me ho ab…agar maine aisa waisa kuch keh diya to tum to mujhe zinda hi gaarr daugi aur kisiko pata bhi nahi chalega.
Nupur gives him an angry look..but suddenly bursts out laughing and so does Tanmay. And down comes the rain…heavy shower! Tanmay runs under a tree to save himself but Nupur is in no rush and is actually enjoying the rain. Tanmay cannot help but watch her as if he has never seen her before. Nupur is lost in her world… every drop of rain is having a mild conversation with her..her eyes are closed but she can hear them…singing! She is dancing away in the rythm of rain…after a while she sees Tanmay under the tree. She runs to him and tries to drag him under the open sky but he resists. Suddenly, lightning strikes and in fear Nupur joins Tanmay under the tree…completely wet. Following the lightening comes a heavy wind and Tanmay quickly reacts by pulling himself over Nupur to protect her from the heavy shower. Nupur is face to face with Tanmay…as his arms are against the tree surrounding her. She has never been so close to any man before and although there is a sense of awkwardness in her but something strange is happening inside. She doesn't feel insecure or unsafe being so close to a stranger man but then again she doesn't mind as if he is not a stranger. Tanmay also seems to be lost in her eyes and as he slowly comes closer and closer to her…she feels him breathing near her ears. She closes her eyes…and it seems like words whispered from another world and landed on Nupur's lips to Tanmay's ears..
N: I Love You Mayank…Tanmay freezes at this words. He takes a step back and looks at Nupur…standing still with water dripping from her hair to her face..her eyes are still closed and he can easily understand that she is lost somewhere else. So he calls out by her name..
T: Nupur..(and she snaps out of her thoughts). baarish tham gayi hai..chalo ghar chalte hai
The rest of the walk to home is filled with silence. Tanmay neither says anything or asks anything as it doesn't seem like Nupur recalls anything. She is probably ignoring the fact because she thinks she said it to herself. What she doesn't realise is she just confessed about her love for Mayank to her new close friend Tanmay.
-Neela-
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khamoshi se seh lete hai judaai
tu yeh na soch k tera saath mera muqaddar nahi
tujhe aise hi jaane diya iss zindagi se
tu yeh na soch k humko tera intezar nahi
kabhi to hamari ruthi hui taqdeer maan jaayegi
tu yeh na soch k humain Khuda pe aitbaar nahi
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Edited by sharneel - 14 years ago
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