"Huh?"
"You know well enough what I am asking, WHY didn't you attend the party??"
"Oh, some important work held me back……."
"It was our party, you did know that Colonel?? OUR party…..and you were NOT there!"
"I have already explained myself….."
"Yes….you certainly have….EXPLAINED……"
Silence…….
"Main hi bevkof hoon, jo yeh sab karti rehti hoon……Paanch saal ho gaye shaadi ko…..aur hum dost bhi nahin bas sakein!"
Silence….
"Kuch bhi karu…..aapko kuch na kuch kaam aa hi jata hai…..Simla jana tha, kaam aa gaya…..pichle saal tumhari bahen ki shaadi hui, mujhe bhej diya…..aur ab saare guests ke beech main akeli thi……….aur aap ko phir se KAAM THA!!??"
"Gopal, meri coffee kahan hai?"
"Important kaam……kya hota hai aapke liye yeh main jaanti hoon…..phir se…."
"PLEASE!!", yelled Colonel Rajveer Singh Shekhavat, at his wife, "….I said I am SORRY!", his wife, Ritu, was almighty's one beautiful creation, with all the aesthetic perfections…..draped in an expensive black saari, sparkling jewellery, she looked like a dream……..but the Colonel's eyes never rested on her….her beauty was all in vain to him. As he looked at her, with a blank expression, his eyes didn't have a tinge of attraction, admiration, love or even respect.
"We are married, do you realize that Colonel?? MARRIED! You owe me some of your time……..Yeh shaadi nibhaana aapki bhi zimmedaari hai!", yelled she.
"Haan…..hai na, meri bhi…..zimmedari……Zimmedari hi to hai!"
Ritu stared at him for a minute, as her silently sipped his coffee. Than walked out of the room….
Rajveer stood up….his hands tucked in his pockets, looked up in the sky, and closed his eyes, "I am sorry……Naveen!"
************************************************************ **********************************************
The atmosphere grew more festive as cars full of relatives arrived at the Ghai household in Kapoorthala, from all over the country that morning!
Pooja's face had a glow, which made her shine brighter than her chunky jewellery. She was sitting on the jhoola with Biji, and all her relatives wished her one by one as they came. Every now and than, she kept on looking at her hand, where a golden ring with an engraved "A" shone under the sun, the mere glimpse of this, made her pretty face glow even more!
"Oye Praji, tusi, Amritsar wich Hotel book karai?", Pooja's aunt asked her father.
"Yeh tuna achha yaad dilaya.", answered Surender Ghai, "Kuljeet, oye Kuljeete…."
"Ji Pitaji",answered Kuljeet, Pooja's brother.
"Amritsar di koi changi hotel wich ek changa sa kamra dekh ke book karvaade, Pooja de khaad dost aane wale hai…..aur inhe to thik se rakhe nahin, to aspas ke log use pareshaan karne aa jayenge….bhai poora khyal rakhna, hamari khatirdaari main koi kami nahin honi chahiye!", explained Surender.
"Ji, Pitaji", said Kuljeer and drove off in his motorbike.
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