"HUDA????", Naina exclaimedā¦.and so did all her batchmatesā¦.
"Oye, tu yahaan to main aur kahan ho sakta hoon?", there he stood in perfect sherwani, still looking perfectly dude, and bearing that perfect flirtatious expressionā¦.
"Nautankiā¦.ab yahi baaki tha!", said Aalekh and all the friends rushed towards himā¦.
"Oye Panjaban, tune apna setting to jhat se kar liyaā¦par main to ab bhi is hi janani ke intezaar main hoonā¦..", he said, settleing next to Poojaā¦.
"Huda, tu bilkul bhi nahin badlaā¦."
"Oye Phoolan, main to vaise ka vaisa hi hoon, par tujhe to pehchan nahin pa rahaa hoonā¦.oye, quaidi, yeh meri phoolan hi hai na? Ye kangan, bindiya, yeh to jananiyon jaise dhikhti haiā¦ badi sundar haiā¦."
"Ab aap unko pareshaan mat kijiye", said Ali laughing, "magar ek baat aapne sach kahi Hudabhai, Naina aaj bahot sundar lag rahi haiā¦"
Pooja raised her eyebrows and made a faceā¦.Naina guestured to Ali, and he followedā¦
"Magar sabse sundar nahinā¦.."
Pooja's eyes droppedā¦.she was too shy to look upā¦.
"Oye hoi, o ji yeh to Hindi film de scene ho gayaā¦.", and Huda started off the dance by calling all the eager girls and dancingā¦..everyone else followed, but Aalekh and Naina.
Pooja's father, came by and, "O puttarji, tussi nahin aaoge? Chal beta, doston de naal bhangda paa leā¦.", and as he said that, Huda came by and pulled her into the big group of people dancingā¦.Aalekh stood grinning!
The music got more beat, and feet moved faster, Naina stood clapping amidst the group at first but as the music got faster, she let herself goā¦..after what seemed to be five minutes, everyone coupled out for a "fodadi"[its when two people hold crossed hands and move in circular motion at a great speedā¦..remember the last shot of Hum Aapke Hain Kaunā¦.just to give u the ideaā¦]
Huda and Naina were going roundsā¦and as their speed increased she let all her thoughts goā¦.leave her mindā¦..lighten her heartā¦..absent her memoriesā¦..soothe her woundsā¦.for those few secondsā¦.she was the same old Naina again for some secondsā¦..Naina who laughed, who loved, who trustedā¦..
She had the best time over last few years, and so did Aalekh, by seeing Naina's face grow pink, rather than the usual pale, white one!
Sangeet continuedā¦..girls danced, Huda and Yudi flirted, Aalekh stood by the window talking to Ali, and Pooja and Naina were taken to the center of the hall for mahendiā¦..the two friends talkedā¦.about Pooja's work, meetings with Ali, the wedding, Naina's trips abroad, other modeling experiences, cosmetics, jewellery, clothes, future plansā¦ā¦..within what can be called an hours time the mahendi was appliedā¦.. the girls had to retain it till it dried, which would be another hour and then brush it off without waterā¦ā¦
The girls had added some little romantic ritual-like things for themselvesā¦those married and engaged could participate and others would await their prince charming.
During the hour's time everyone went for dinner, where Pooja's mother fed her, and Ali's elder sister helped Naina. After the dinner all the seniors departed as it was quite late, but the youngsters and other women hanged aroundā¦.as phirni, kheer, kesar-milk was being served.
"Oye yaaro, yeh dekho sada Quaidi Kheer kha raha haiā¦.."
"Hai la! Aalekh, yeh kya?"
"Aalekhbhai ne sharab chhod diā¦"
"Kya??????", Huda and Yudi yelled together.
"Dheere se bol, apun ko marvaoge kya? W o h do saal pahele apne birthday par Naina ne gift ke taur par maang liyaā¦..to paun ne kasam khaya ki sharab ko choega bhi nahin!"
"Hamein naaz hai aap pe! Dosti nibhani to koi Naina se sikheā¦.aurā¦..", Ali stoppedā¦.suddenly a tension filled atmosphere fell over the boy's camp, all of them staring at Naina, who was playing with Ali's niece, with eyes full of concernā¦
Pooja's cousin came up amidst the girls and said in a voice that was audible to even boysā¦
"Chalo kudiyon, ab jinki bhi mahendi sookh gayee ho w o h mahendi ko aise hi bina paani ke nikal deā¦.paani lagaya to mahendi ka rang dhul jayegaā¦..aur mahendi fiki pad jayegiā¦.aur ladko, apni apni kudi ko madad karoā¦."
It was just a simple way of having small celebrations, which would enrich every relation with more love, and it certainly seemed to work for Ali and Pooja as they sat brushing dry Mahendi off Pooja's handsā¦.Ali brushed the sticky parts and made her brush her handsā¦.
Naina looked around at couples, and her memories tortured her againā¦.those days when she ā¦ā¦.she ran off from the hall towards the varanda eneteranceā¦towards the little washing area. "whats the point", she told heself, "I will never have a dark colour, Meri mahendi kabse phiki pad gayee haiā¦.", tears in her eyes she ran in pitch darkā¦..untapped the waterā¦.and as she brushed her hands in the waterā¦.she frozeā¦ā¦a pair of hands that touched hers, were familiar, and it seemed that the owner of those hands seemed to recognize her touchā¦.and tried to hush awayā¦..
ā¦.but before anyone could move of do somethingā¦..
"Naina, idher andhere mainā¦..", Aalekh came holding a lanternā¦.but what he saw in the light of the lantern, was unbelievableā¦..he stood rootedā¦..
Naina turned and saw the familier hands that had toughed herā¦.the hands that had held hers a number of timesā¦..the hands in which she felt soo secured and safeā¦.the hands whose touch made her experience love for the first time and foreverā¦.
ā¦..the hands of Colonel Rajveer Singh Shekhavat!
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