Banda & Body
As promised he showed up at 4 ish outside her dingy NGO office
She was kneeling on the floor examining a rug. “Main khud saari le loongi to bechenge kya”
“Didi ye waala le lo aap” the young girl pulled out a silk knotted one made with leftover rawsilk ropes
It was the most stunning Viveka had ever seen
She wanted to buy it for Varsha and Harshu for their wedding
She hugged it fondly
“Chalo isko chhupa do” she whispered to the young girl
“Jee Didi” the young teen looking girl hid it under her jute sack
“Laana nahi Mahipal Singhji keg har achha?” she growled
An MP from Gujarat was in town, staying at Gujarat Bhawan and she was going with a few craftsmen so he could take a look at the work so they could be picked for a India Art show in Singapore
Viveka could not go, but the craftspersons would
There was 20 open spots for Gujarat and there were 5000 applications from various NGOs
“Kitne ka hai who resham waala?” Viveka sighed with a hand over her heart “Ufff” “Soo lovely”
“Didi aap itna bada chashma kyon pehente ho?”
Viveka began to laugh hysterically
“Kyonki mujhe KAM dikhta hai… she waved her hand cracking a poor joke “Bada pehanoongi to itnaaa saara dikhega” she laughed
The girl didn’t get it but she laughed
“Aap hamesa saaree pehente ho?”
“haan… tumhe achhi lagi?”
“Ma nahi pehenne deti, kehti hai… saadi karni padegi” the girl laughed
“Kitne age ki ho aap?”
“Abhi bawees ki ho jaaoongi Didi”
“Hmm” Viveka sat down with a sigh
Everywhere it was the same story she realized
Raanav was watching from the outside
He couldn’t pick her out from the 50 people crowded inside the tiny room
It smelled like cheap floral scents from the crushed flower enameled pots a man was arranging
“Didi koi lene aaya hai?” “Resham wali dikha doon na?” the girl teased
Ishwar her partner waved Raanav in
“Please come sir”
“I am here for Viveka Mathur”
Viveka turned around in shock
“Oh wow” she stood up
Wearing a lovely tussar silk saree in hot pink, her purple blouse was filled with sparkly beads
He took a step and paused
No one was wearing shoes
“hang on” she urged in case he didn’t want to take his off
“didi husband hain aapke?” the girl was nosy
“Friend hain” she smiled unable to hide the blush
Raanav smiled and shook his head warning her not to lie
“I am not going to tell the whole world”
“I get it… I am not something worthy of being shown off” he muttered
“No I didn’t say that… but… u know”
“I get it…”
“I can introduce you to my partners, Ishwar and Ratna”
“As your friend?”
“Kya kahoongi?” she blushed
“You blush every time like a teen”
“Ufff… “I don’t know why” she rubbed her cheek making it go away
“Were you helping hide merchandise?” he asked leaning on the bare brick wall hands tucked into his pocket
He was in business attire, navy pants, white shirt and a fanta orange tie like he walked out of Vogue Mens or something
“You shouldn’t lean on those floors… walls” umm” she was slurring
“Ufff”
“I am fine the meeting’s over”
“Oh?”
“Happy Raksha Bandhan?” he spoke in perfect Hindi
She smiled and blushed again at his lame celebration
“U didn’t answer?”
“I liked it so much… I haven’t gotten paid yet, I want o buy it for Varshu’s wedding”
“Who?” he asked
“Harshu Varshu, HV square
“Ah” he didn’t care
“do you want anything?” she waved her arm towards the room
“I probably shouldn’t answer that here” he muttered pulling away from the wall
“thanks” she cleared her throat
“Can I see your rakhi?” she asked trying to change the topic
He pulled his sleeve and showed her two slim red velvet strings one with a gold like bead and another with a silver bead
“Bas do?” she fingered it with her index finger
“One for cousins on Mom’s side and one for Dad’s”
“Is Kalyanis still around?”
“Yeah she leaves tonight but wont talk to me because I would bring her here”
“Oh no!!?”
He smiled
“I had to go the Singapore embassy first”
“Oh”
“Do u want to meet her?”
She was embarrassed but nodded weakly
“Shes home”
“Not home” she grabbed his wrist
He caught her fingers… and held it
“Why are you afraid?” he quizzed
“Umm.. no I am not” she lied
“Buy me a beer… or a coffee” he smiled
“Can you wait for like 45 minutes?” “we close around 4, but we have to go to the MP’s”
“WHO?”
“Mahipal Singh”
“Who with?”
“Nobody, just my peeps” she smiled
Suddenly realizing she hadn’t yet texted Abhishek about the flesh and blood deliciousness she was involved with, she had told him two weeks ago about this event, and begged him to go with her
He had refused saying it was “class night”
She told him it was Raksha Bandhan day… HOLIDAY
“Arey haan… dekhta hoon… but doubtful hai yaar”
“Whatt?” he saw her expression change
“I realized I haven’t told Abhishek” she mumbled
He was knocked out by her honesty
“You can tell him now” he growled
I could…” she looked for her phone turning inside
“I will wait Viveka, lets get some coffee and head over where you want to go”
“You want to go?”
“If u will bring me with you” he smiled charmingly
Her phone had incidentally received a selfie from Abhishek in tight jeans and those weirdly tight tees
“Bande ka body sahi hai na?” it said and a wink for self praise🤢 "Apna bhej rey tu aisi mast tight dress mein" and a smiley with heart for eyes
Edited by Nisha0604 - 4 years ago