Thanka lot for your support.I appreciate it.
Chapter-6
Gulaal looks at the gift in her hand "waise agar tum mujhse itne gussa the tho yeh tofha kyun liya?" she really wanted to know the reason "arre nahi,main tumse gussa nahi tha.woh tho aaj subhah tum achaanak se mere saamne aa gayi aur mujhe…."Kesar stopped not knowing what to say. Gulaal did not want to force him to answer but she wanted to know "kya tum sach mein mujhe zimmedaar maante ho…." Kesar interrupts before she could even finish the sentence "nahi,bilkul nahi tumhara koi kasoor nahi hai,tum saari baaton se anjaan thi na. kasoor tho Vasa…." He takes in a deep breath trying to control himself "aur kahin na kahin main bhi gunahgaar hoon tumhara.agar main khud Motaba se baat karta tho shaayad…..meri wajah se tumhara yeh haal hua hai. sorry, Gulaal". "isme tumhari galti nahi hai Kesar. Galti tho us insaan ki hai jisne meri maang mein sidoor bhara tha. Motaba se baat karne ki zimmedaari uski thi jo wo kar na saka..." Kesar senses her sorrow and tries to cheer her up "bas ab rona dhona bandh.aaj ke baad tum sirf smile karogi. Aur aage se kabhi apne aap ko akela mat samajhna. ab dosti ki hain, tho dost ka har farz nibhana padega na.dekhna main hamesha tumhara saath doonga". Gulaal smiles back "thank you Kesar". "chalo ab mujhe chalna chahiye. Tumhe neeche bhi tho jaana hai aur tum aise jaaogi tho sab darr jaayenge.baad mein milte hain"with that Kesar walks out and the wide smile doesn't leave his face even after leaving the room.
Gulaal goes to the washroom and looks at herself. Kesar was telling the truth. She looked scary with swollen eyes and blotchy face but she was feeling light hearted and happy. After a very long time she had a genuine smile on her face. Kesar was responsible for that. She remembered her breakdown and was confused "yeh mujhe kya ho gaya tha.main uske saamne apne aap ko kyun sambhaal nahi paayi. Main use jaanti bhi nahi aur maine apni dil ki baatein usse kehdi.pata nahi kyun mujhe woh ajnabee sa nahi lagta.aisa lagta hai ki barson se jaanti hoon isliye tho itni jaldi ghul milgayi uske saath.aur ab tho woh mera dost hai" Gulaal had been a very different person before her marriage. She had been a lively girl who had loads and loads of friends but everything changed in the past one month. Yes, she met up with her friends but she could not be open with them, she had to always remain on her guard. She was no longer the old carefree Gulaal, instead she had become very cautious- all the time worrying about what to say and what to hide. It drove her mad sometimes. She wanted to scream out the truth to her closest friends but she never did. "Gulaal,bas kar yeh sab sochti rahegi tho phir se dukhi ho jaayegi.ab bandh kar rona bahut ho gaya aur smile kar"she gives herself a pep talk and smiles.
As she walked out of the washroom her eyes fell on the gift. She quickly went over and opened it and was pleasantly surprised. It was a beautiful necklace with a white crystal pearl drop pendant with matching pearl drop earrings. It was simple yet exquisite and she loved it. "Kesar ki pasand kaafi achi hai.kitni khoobsoorat hai ye" she caressed the pearl with a sweet smile. "Gulaal,neeche aa beta" Panba's voice brought her out of her daze. She quickly put the gift in her cupboard and went downstairs. Everyone was gathered around the living room with Kesar standing in the centre telling all about some funnycollege incidents. Kesar looks at her coming down the stairs and smiles at her. She gives him a wide smile in return and unknowingly his heart skips a beat.
Over the next few days Kesar joined the business and though a lot of time was spent in learning the ropes he made it a point to spend time with his family especially Gulaal. He learnt more about her childhood,her family and her friends. He talked about his childhood memories, involving a lot of pranks. He deliberately avoided mentioning Vasant which he knew would unnecessarily hurt her. He spoke about his college life in London. He even told her about his disastrous encounters with alcohol and cigarettes . This made Gulaal laugh and when he started going into details about the nausea and the vomiting, she shut her ears and scrunched her face which Kesar thought looked adorable.
One evening Gulaal was working in the kitchen when Rewa rushes in. she needed to buy some clothes for her college fashion show and asked Gulaal to accompany her. "tum jaao na apne friends ke saath.main kya karoongi". "nahin Gulaal tumhe chalna hi hoga.mujhe apne friends ke saath nahin jaana.tum meri madat nahi karogi kya" Gulaal is not able to say no to Rewa's pleading. And because Kesar was home he had to be their chauffeur for the evening. Tired and hungry after all the shopping they go to a coffee place and have some sandwiches. Suddenly a beautiful girl in a short skirt passes their table and Kesar coolly checks her out and then turns towards Rewa and Gulaal, both looking at him with a stern expression on their face. Rewa in an accusatory tone "chii Kesar tum kitne cheap ho,bilkul roadside romeo types" and Gulaal joins in trying very hard to control her laughter"haan Rewa tumhare bhai ke bare mein kya socha tha aur dekho kya nikla". "arre bhagwaan ne aankhen di hain beauty ko appreciate karne ke liye aur main tho sirf apna duty kar raha tha."Kesar defends himself. "kitna champu dialogue hai yeh Kesar,hamaare saamne bol diya theek hai,kisi aur ladki ke saamne bolega na tho joote padenge.arre maine abhi abhi apni friend ko dekha.tum log yahin rukna main usse milke abhi aayi". Gulaal breaks into a laugh and with tears in her eyes says "choti behen ke saamne izzat ka kachra ho gaya na". Kesar gives her an embarrassed smile and takes a sip of his coffee. "Kesar, tumne kabhi mujhe bataya nahi.kya tumhari koi girlfriend hai" Gulaal asks him still smiling. "nahi ,kaafi girls thi jo sirf mere ache friends hain- lekin aisa koi special nahi mila jise dekhte hi lage-haan yehi hai woh,she is the one". "acha tumhaari dream girl ke baare mein bataao na,main jaanna chaahti hoon"Gulaal asks curiously. Kesar smiles, thinks about it and says "meri dream girl sabse alag hogi,woh chaahe jaise bhi dikhe mere liye sab se sundar hogi,uski aankhon mein sirf mera chehra hoga aur uski muskuraahat sirf mere liye hogi. Aur agar meri mulaakaat aisi ladki se hui tho main use kahin nahin jaane doonga, marte dam tak uska saath doonga aur hamesha uska khayaal rakhunga". There's complete silence at their table. Gulaal and Kesar seem to be lost in their own world. Suddenly Rewa's voice interrupts"tum logone abhi tak coffee khatam nahi ki.hamein waapis ghar bhi jaana haina.jaldi karo". Sitting in the car both Kesar and Gulaal remain silent lost in their own thoughts. Both were thinking the same thing "abhi abhi coffee shop mein kya hua". By next morning the awkwardness was completely forgotten and they both went back to being normal with each other.
Everyone in the family had noticed the change in Gulaal. She had lost the haunted expression and a beautiful smile took it's place and no one was more happier than Motaba. But inspite of all this Kesar's mind was not at ease. He did everything to make her smile but it did not change the fact that Gulaal's life was a mess and her future held a huge question mark. Kesar knew that even though Gulaal denied it he was responsible to a certain extent for her sad plight. Kesar decided to talk to her about it and if needed, help her take some tough decisions about the future. He knocked on her door preparing himself to broach the sensitive topic. The door opened and whatever Kesar was about to say was forgotten looking at the vision in front of him.
Gulaal was looking radiant in a beautiful green saree . He had never seen her in a saree before and the vision dazzled him. "how could I call her average looking when I first met her.I must have been blind" Kesar thought. She was wearing the beautiful pearl drop set that he had got for her. Her long wavy hair was left untied and she was in the process of wearing bangles. "Kesar", "Kesar" Gulaal's sweet voice brings him out of his trance and he blinks rapidly uttering "huh". "kya hua Kesar kab se puch rahi hoon kya baat hai aur tum ho ki kuch bol hi nahi rahe ho" Kesar gulps "nahi ….woh main kuch baat…..bhool gaya kyun aaya tha" at this Gulaal laughs throwing her head backwards and covering her mouth with her hand. Kesar is mesmerized at the sight of this carefree, happy Gulaal and smiles back at her in a daze. "waise tho tum hamesha achi lagti ho lekin khule baalon mein aur zyaada achi lagti ho". Gulaal freezes for a second and then looks at him with a blank look on her face. Kesar comes back to reality "arre yeh maine kya bol diya,kya ho gaya tha mujhe,jaldi se kuch bol Kesar nahi tho bahut awkward ho jaayega" and he scrambles up something " mera matlab hai aaj khule baal aur extra make up mein tumhaari shakal thodi kam daraawni dikhegi na isiliye"Gulaal is still for a moment but then a smile breaks out and once again she goes on a laughing spree. Kesar is relieved "aaj koi special occasion hai kya,itni tayyari kisliye?" Gulaal smiles shyly "woh aaj mera janamdin hai". Kesar replies angrily "tumhara b'day hai aur yeh baat tum mujhe ab bataa rahi ho"
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