"Extremely sorry yaar main...",
checking his watch, he continues,
"Teen (3) minute late ho gaya!",
he sighs.
Standing, leaning by his car, Vikas looks at him, drifting his attention from his mobile. Swiping it into his jeans' pocket, he asks Rajeev,
"Kitne saalon se janta hun main tujhey Raj?"
"Kya?",
he asks, creasing his brows, setting his trip bag properly on his shoulder.
"Tu kehna kya chahta hai?",
he elaborates his question.
"Zada kuch nahi, filhal bus itna puch raha hun, kitne saalon se janta hun main tujhey?",
Vikas repeats his question.
"Bachpan se. Nursery se!",
replies Rajeev, puzzled, as to why is he asking such a silly question?
"Right! To yaar main janta hun tu kitna punctual hai. Agar 2-3 minutes late ho gaya hai, to koi pahad nahi tut gaya! Ab chaley 'pahad' charhne?",
he asks seriously, then burst out into a laugh. Rajeev follows the laughter!
"Tu bhi na yaar... hadd hai... chal!",
saying that, Rajeev places his bag into the back seat of Vikas' jeep. And himself sets next to him in the front.
Looking towards Vikas, with a smile on his face, he asks,
"Chaliye bhai karey Shree Ganesh iss safar ki?"
"Haan zarur. Aur bhagwan karey ye trip yaadgar sabit ho bacha!",
says Vikas.
They both laugh and begin with their journey.
Rajeev relaxes back on his seat.
"Yaar agar kuch mahino baad baad ghumne na jaun na to aisa lagta hai zindagi agey hi nahi barh rahi.",
says Rajeev.
Smiling, Vikas asks,
"Tujhey itni jaldi kyun hai zindagi ke agey barhne ki?"
"Matlab? Tera matlab ye hai ki main zindagi ko slow motion mein jeena shuru kar dun?",
asks Rajeev, getting a little serious.
"Nahi, slow motion mein nahi, bus bhaag mat. Zindagi ke har pal ko jee",
advices Vikas.
"Wohi to kar raha hun. Zindagi ke har pal ko jee raha hun, khush reh kar. Par kabhi kabhi na zindagi ko takkar dene ka mann karta hai! Mann karta hai ki kahun khul kar ki agar hai himmat to samna kar mujhse!",
says Rajeev, getting excited. He feels the adrenaline rush.
Vikas shakes his head, smiling.
"Yaar itna suhana mausam hai, trip par ja rahe hain. Gana-wana chala na koi!",
says Rajeev.
"CDs tere samne hain, jo gana chalana ho chala le!",
replies Vikas, whilst driving.
Checking his CDs Rajeev says,
"Abey tu bhi kya english songs ke bhandar le aaya. Ruk main dekhta hun, mere phone mein issey achey collections honge".
"Yaar samne yahi parhe the jald baazi mein utha kar le aya. Warna mere mobile ke ganey tujhey dhundhne se bhi nahi milenge samjha tu!",
says Vikas, feeling proud of his collection.
"Haan haan janta hun sarey dukh-bharey gano ki list tere paas hi milti hai mujhey. Pata nahi tum logo ko kya maza aata hai itne emotional ganey sunn kar!",
shrugging off.
"Look who's talking! Come on Raj tujhse ye umeed nahi thi!",
Vikas shakes his head, smiling, disappointed.
"Kyun? Maine kya kiya?",
asks Rajeev, unable to comprehend with Vikas's words.
"Yaar you have a good taste. And you should know emotional ganey hi best hotey hain.",
says Vikas.
"Yes I do have a good taste, I know. But I have varied tastes, and which taste will I go for, wo depend karta hai ki kis mood mein, kis situation mein hun",
replies Rajeev. Then creasing his brows, he says,
"Like iss waqt main masti ke mood mein hoon, relax karna chahta hun, josh se bhara hun. So of course main dukh bharey geet sunna pasand nahi karunga. I need the music which lets me to feel that 'yes man I am going for an adventure trip'. Ye ganey sunn kar to aisa lag raha hai jaise main apne kisi relative ke ghar ja raha hun",
says Rajeev.
His words make Vikas to burst out into laugh.
"Relative ke ghar? Wo log itne burey hote hain kya?",
he asks, after laughing his heart out.
"Not all! Hain kuch jo mazedar bhi hote hain. But anyways kabhi kabar majburi bhi hoti hai yaar unse milna",
says Rajeev.
"Haan yaar, main samajh raha hun teri baat!",
replies Vikas, understanding Rajeev, sympathising with him.
"Chal aur bata tere projects selection kaisa chal raha hai? Koi story pasand ayi? Anything new jo tu kar raha ho?",
asks Vikas.
"Kahan yaar. Yaar mujhey to samjh nahi aata ke aj kal ke writers ko ho kya gaya hai? I mean, I know I should not say like that, but yaar perfection kahan hai?"
"Perfection? What do you mean? Tujhey stories mein perfection nazar nahi aata?"
"Yaar ek banda perfect tab hoga mere hisab se, jab wo kuch alag karey. Wohi purane type ki peedhi dar peedhi chaley aane wali ghisi-piti stories... I don't know mujhse nahi hota!",
says Rajeev, getting irritated as he remembers few pointless scripts that he read.
"Raj dekh agar kabhi kabhi bina achi script ke kaam karle hum to bura kya hai? At least kaam to mil raha hai?",
explains Vikas.
Pointing his index finger towards him, looking at him, Rajeev tells him,
"Bus yahi... bus yahi mujhse nahi hota! I cannot work just for earning!"
Sighing, Vikas says,
"Theek hai, fir wait karte raho. Aur kya?"
"Kal Rohit aya tha ghar"
"Kon Rohit?",
asks Rajeev, unable to comprehend.
"Arey Rohit Bakshi. Mila tha na Mr. Malhotra ke party mein",
reminds Vikas.
"Oh acha acha, yaad aya. Nice man. So kya baat hui?"
" 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' mein kaam kar raha hai"
" 'Kyunki...' ",
thinks Rajeev.
"Oh acha acha wo daily soap. Uske wajah se to Mumma aur mera bohot jhagda hota hai",
says Rajeev, shaking his head.
"Kyun?",
asks Vikas, surprised. How can a serial become a reason for a fight?
"Yaar kaam karke, thak haar kar main wapas ghar jata hun, late. Sochta hun ki ghar pe, bed pe aaram se lait kar, news dekhunga. Kabhi football match aye to wo dekhun. Tabhi aati hai dusre room se Mummy ki awaz. Papa aur Mummy ke beech roz remote lekar larayi. Papa ko news n all dekhna hota hai aur Mumma ko ye 'Kyunki..' What did you say the name?",
asks Rajeev, as he fails to remember such a long name.
"Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi!",
tells Vikas.
"Haan wohi. Waise waah, tujhey pura naam yaad hai! Such bata kahin tu bhi to nahi...",
teases Rajeev.
"Chal be!",
he shrugs him off, blushing.
This makes Rajeev to laugh out loud, Vikas follows.
Rajeev opens his playlist and presses the play button. And randomly comes out a slow track, exact anti to their current mood.
'(Tune) hmm...
Meri bheegi-bheegi si...
(Tune)
Meri bheegi-bheegi si,
palko pe reh gaye,
jaise mere sapne bikhar ke.
Jaley mann tera bhi,
kisi ke milan ko,
Anamika tu bhi tarse.
Meri bheegi-bheegi si...'
"Oh! Oh! Ye to tere mood se bilkul anti ho gaya. Koi baat nahi kuch aur chala le",
says Vikas.
But Rajeev, who has already started to feel the lyrics of the song by now, closing his eyes, starts singing along...
"Meri bheegi bheegi si,
palko pe reh gaye,
jaise mere sapne bikhar ke.
Jaley mann tera bhi,
kisi ke milan ko,
Anamika tu bhi tarse.
Meri bheegi bheegi si..."
Opening his eyes, he takes a deep breath, looking straight ahead on the road through the glass.
"Yaar kitna acha gana hai na ye? Kitna depth hai iss ganey mein! Mann karta hai kisi shant jagah pe, akele baith kar issey sunta rahun",
says Rajeev in a dreamy voice, his eyes - dreamy.
"Oh mere Rajesh Khanna... Waise Raj kya tujhey kabhi kisi ne kaha hai ki you resemble him?",
asks Vikas after teasing him.
His words make Rajeev to burst out into laugh!
"Hahahaha! Main... main... kiski tarah?",
he asks, and continues laughing.
His not taking Vikas's words seriously, pisses Vikas off.
"Rehne de. Tu to meri kisi baat ko kabhi seriously leta hi nahi hai!",
says Vikas getting irritated.
Getting calm, but still bearing the smile on his face, Rajeev says,
"Yaar aisa nahi hai ki main teri baat seriously nahi leta. Par ye baat nahi le sakta..."
Having said that, he enjoys another fit of laughter. This makes Vikas to laugh too.
Laughing, Rajeev looks towards Vikas to enjoy looking at him laughing. By now, Vikas enjoys their session of laughter too.
"Chal lag gayi shart?",
asks Vikas, being sporty.
"Rehne de mujhey faltu cheezon mein time waste nahi karna!"
"Darr gya?",
mocks Vikas.
Rajeev raises his eyes, looking in front of him, to nothing in particular. His entire focus is rather on Vikas' bet.
Smirking, he says,
"Dekh Vikas tu mera bohot acha dost hai, main tujhey haarte hue nahi dekh paunga"
Couldn't see that coming from him, Vikas, on listening to his words, rolls his eyes. His this gesture makes Rajeev to laugh.
~*~*~
At around 6:30 pm
It starts getting dark, but still the visibility is fine.
"Waise Raj, Aunty ke haath ka khana khake maza aa gaya yaar",
says Vikas, who still relishes the taste of matar paneer.
Rajeev, busy in adjusting the camera asks,
"Kis din ki baat kar raha hai?"
Vikas gives him a quick glance before focusing back on the road and asks,
"Kis din ki baat kar raha hun matlab?"
"Iss question ka matlab wohi hai mere dost jo maine pucha!",
says Rajeev calmly, still adjusting his camera.
"Aaj ki baat kar raha hun yaar. Abhi jo humne khaya!",
says Vikas, still puzzled.
"To wo khana banane waley hath Mumma ke nahi iss nacheez ke hain",
tells Rajeev, still playing with the camera.
"Nahi.. nahi you must be kidding!",
he says surprised.
Seeing the genuine smile and blush on his face, Vikas gives back a big smile.
"I mean I know tujhey khana banana ata hai, par ye such mein bohot acha tha yaar!",
says Vikas.
Now that fades Rajeev's smile. Turning to look at him, he asks,
"What do you mean 'such mein acha tha'? Tu itne dino se mera dil rakhne ke liye ye meri tareef aa tha?"
Laughing, Vikas tells him,
"Nahi! Nahi! Mera matlab wo nahi tha"
"Tu rehne de yaar, mujhey ganey sunne de",
says Rajeev, disappointed.
His anger makes him look so cute and innocent. This makes Vikas to laugh. Laughing he says,
"Yaar agar main 'ladki' hota na to mujhey abhi tujhse pyar ho jata! Tu itnaaa pyara lag raha hai!"
Blushing, cascading down his eyes and shrugging him off he says,
"Rehne de, main waise hi ladkiyon se pareshan hun. Ek dost hai, usse bhi nahi khona chahta"
Focusing back on camera, he sings,
'Tujhey bin janey,
bin pehchaney,
maine hridaye se lagaya.
Tujhey bin janey,
bin pehchaney,
maine hridaye se lagaya.
Par mere pyar ke,
badle mein tu ne,
mujhko ye din dikh laya.
Jaise birha ki,
rut maine kaati,
tadap ke,
ahein bhar bhar ke,
Jaley mann tera bhi,
kisi ke milan ko,
Anamika,
tu bhi tarse.
Meri bheegi bheegi si...'
As he completes with this line, he smiles and says,
"School ke din yaad aa gaye!"
"Kyun?",
asks Vikas.
Then suddenly he remembers,
"Achaaa kahin tu Valentine's day ki baat to nahi soch raha?"
And this makes both of them to laugh. Rajeev shuts his eyes as he laughs, blushing.
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