Part 20 - ‘Saiyaan’
Sai and Virat finally reach Chavan Niwas.
Sai is feeling nervous and has butterflies in her stomach. It is the first time that she is willingly entering this house as a bride, sure of her status and having her love by her side. Virat, noticing her nervousness, gently holds her hand and they reach the main door.
Ashwini is standing at the door with Aarti thaali and everyone else is standing on both sides. There is ofcourse a kalash filled with rice for the Grihapravesh ritual.
Ashwini does Aarti for Sai and Virat but before they can enter, Devi comes ahead and says,
“Are Sai.. aise nahi.. Ukhana ghe pahile” (Ukhana lo)
Sai smiles and looks at Virat. He realizes that she will take a funny one.
Aatun Mau pan baher kateri saal / Soft inside and rough outside
Virat aahe Khadoos tari man aahe Vishal / Virat is khadus but has a big heart
Everyone bursts into laughter hearing this and Sai sheepishly looks at Virat and holds her ears asking for forgiveness. It is now Virat's turn for Ukhana.
Kanti tichi surekh, roop tiche anvaar / Her beauty is incomparable, she is delicate
Sai majhi ratnajadit talwar / But Sai is my gem studded talwar/sword
Virats retorts Sai and gets a mock scorn from her. Enjoying their nokjhok, Ashwini asks Sai to step inside. Sai lightly pushes the kalash with her right foot and steps inside. As soon as they get in, Mohit and Samrat burst party poppers and a rain of confetti falls on them. They are also blessed with a welcome sign.
“Welcome home… Dr. and ACP Joshi Chavan… Congratulations!!!”
Sai and Virat are amazed at the welcome they have received. They seek blessings from everyone assembled and it's finally a one big happy family.
Later in the night, post dinner, Ashwini takes Sai to the guest room to sleep. Virat, desperately wanting to meet her, is loitering outside her room. Ashwini sees this and goes and talks to him.
“Kya hua Godu, yaha kya kar rahe ho?”
“Kuch nahi Aai, bas dekhne aaya tha ki Sai so gai ki nahi”
Ashwini smiles, “Sab pata hai mujhe.. Aai hun tumhari.. Aaj nahi milegi.. Kal Satyanarayan ki pooja hai.. Uske baad”
Virat blushes, “Are Aai.. main to bas aise hi”....
Ashwini pulls his cheeks and quietly whispers “Thodi der ke liye bhejti hun use.. Lekin jab sab so jaaye tab, thik hai?”
Virat is overjoyed at this and tightly hugs Ashwini… She exclaims, “Bas, bas… itna maska marne ki jarurat nahi hai… jao ab”
Around midnight, Virat is eagerly waiting for Sai in his room. He hears a light tinkling of her bangles signaling that she has come. He hides near the door. As soon as Sai enters, Virat pulls a string and a bucketful of rose petals falls on Sai. She squeals slightly and immense joy is seen on her face. Virat comes out of hiding and hugs her from behind. Loving the feeling, Sai leans on him and they do a little waltz to the tune of ‘Saiyaan’ playing in the room.
Tu jo chhoo le pyaar se
Aaraam se mar jaaoo
Aaja chanda bahoo mein
Tujh mein hi gum ho jaaoo
Main tere naam mein kho jaaoo
Saiyyan, saiyyan
Mere din khushi se jhoome gaaye raate
Pal pal mujhe dubaaye jaate jaate
Tujhe jeet jeet haaroo yeh praan praan varoo
Hay aise main nihaaroo teri aartee utaaroo
Tere naam se jude hai saare naate, saiyyan, saiyyan
Feeling a bit of moisture, Sai turns to see Virat, who has tears in his eyes. She too gets emotional seeing him like that and hugs him tightly. They stand like this for sometime when Virat breaks the hug, kisses her forehead and takes her hands in his.
“Thank you Sai.. mujhe maaf karne ke liye aur mujhe apne aap se phirse milane ke liye.. Aaj tumse ek aur baar ek vaada karta hun (Sai raises her eyebrows hearing the word vaada, Virat smiles).. Haan haan jaanta hun, main is shabd ko bahot misuse kar chuka hun.. Par ab nahi… this is the last promise I will give to anyone. I promise to always support you, cherish you, nurture you and love you.. Always and forever”
Sai smiles, she takes his hands in hers and says, “Thank you, Virat, mujhe samjhne ke liye.. Mere liye intezar karne ke liye aur mere saath ke liye itna kuch karne ke liye… (Sai rises on her toes and kisses his cheeks) Thank you for pursuing me”
Virat swamped by the love he sees in her eyes.. Kisses her deeply. Sai too responds wholeheartedly. They break a short while later.
Virat then asks her to sit on the chair and close her eyes. A few moments later, he asks her to open them. Sai sees a bouquet of her favorite cotton candy in front of her. She jumps with joy and promptly takes it from Virat.
“Oh wow.. thank you thank you thank you.. mera sabse favourite meetha!!”
Virat keeps on looking at her amused at her childlike joy.
She takes one and happily eats it, then takes a bite and feeds him. He does the same.
Sai then, noting the time, tells him she has to go. Virat, not wanting her to go, takes her into another embrace, hugging her to his heart's content. Sai too gets emotional and buries herself in him.
“Thank you to you too, kyunki tum mera sabse favourite meetha ho. I am so happy today that you came back into my life!! ONCE AGAIN!!”
Sai smiles through her tears and reluctantly leaves the room.
Virat and Sai finally sleep peacefully that night satisfied with the new direction their life has taken, eagerly waiting for the new morning and new beginning and a great life together.
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Ukhana is another tradition in Marathi culture, where husband and wife take each other's name in a playful short rhyme. It seems to have originated when wives would hesitate to call husbands with their first names and hence the tradition where the blushing bride takes her husband's name. It is still practised but more for the fun element. Nowadays, comic/funny ukhane are more popular.
Also, SR does not take place immediately. There's a Satyanarayan pooja conducted on the next day of the wedding, where the bride and groom perform it and it is considered that they are symbolically Vishnu-Laxmi from then on.
Song for this part is ‘Saiyaan’ by Kailash Kher.
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First of all, a huge thanks to all those who read the story, responded and loved it and appreciated it. It means a lot to an amateur writer like me. Your comments and suggestions have only made it better. Much more than I had anticipated. Hope it lived up to your expectations.
I am glad I found this forum and some lovely virtual friends. It's a great atmosphere where all everybody does is encourage you. Will continue visiting the forum and engaging with you all and hopefully write more stories.
Thank you again… to all those who responded and to the silent ones!! Cheers!!
Arjun
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