Kesar had not heard Gulaal speak since he started the car and now he was starting to get worried. He adjusted the rear view mirror so that he could get a good look at Gulaal. He found Rewa busy talking to her friend on her cell and Gulaal was just sitting silently looking out the window with a sad expression on her face. Kesar knew that she tried to smile in front of everyone and behave as if everything was fine and normal. She tried hard to be there for everyone and expected nothing in return. But what about her? Who was there for her? Kesar sighed "meri koshish tho hamesha yehi rehti hai ki main tumhare har dukh ko baant sakoon.lekin kabhi kabhi lagta hai ki yeh kaafi nahi hai.main tumhare gham ko, har pareshaani ko hamesha hamesha ke liye mita dena chahta hoon.tumhari zindagi ko khushiyon se bhar dena chahta hoon.main sirf tumhara dost nahi rehna chahta Gulaal. Par main yeh baat tumse kaise kahoon,kabhi sahi mauka hi nahi milta aur jab mauka milega tho kya main apni dil ki baat tumse kar paaunga.?main samaaj yaa uske jhoote rivaajon se nahi darta Gulaal,darr bas is baat ka hai ki kahin tumse yeh baat kehke tumhari dosti ko hamesha ke liye kho na doon. Kyunki sach tho yehi hai ki main ab tumhare bina nahi jee sakta". Just then a song comes on the radio.
"Dheere dheere
Naino ko dheere dheere
Jiya ko dheere dheere
Bhayo re saibo
Dheere dheere
Naino ko dheere dheere
Apna sa dheere dheere
Lage re saibo"
Kesar is reminded of the dance. That had been so magical. He had never before experienced such a blissful moment. Having her in his arms and swaying slowly to this beautiful song had made him forget the whole world for a few minutes. He finds himself smiling at the thought of that dance.He forgets his worries for the moment and looks back at Gulaal hesitantly.
Gulaal had been thinking about the uncertainity in her life and though she never got much time to think about herself, it was quiet times like these that made her take a deep,hard look at her life. She had no idea as to where her life was leading her. Right now she could not think clearly and just went along with the flow. On top of all this her feelings for Kesar overwhelmed her so much that she feared it would scare him off. She tried hard to control her emotions in front of him but sometimes it became very tough to hide what she felt for him and she knew that right now he did not need this. He already had enough going on in his life. Then she hears the song on the radio and a smile creeps up on her face unknowingly thinking about her moment with Kesar. She turns away from the window to look at Kesar and finds him looking back at her intently with a small smile on his face. The look in his eyes startled her. It was a look of deep longing. Her eyes widened just a bit and she suddenly felt light-headed.
Rewa screams "arre Kesar kitna acha gaana hai.mujhe yeh bahut pasand hai.volume badha na.kuch sunaayi nahi de raha.yaad hai Gulaal yeh wohi gaana hai jis par tumne dance kiya tha". Rewa suddenly stops for a second and then continues "sorry Gulaal,main bhi kitni buddhu hoon.maine tumhe us raat ki yaad diladi. Sorry Gulaal". Gulaal who had been looking at Kesar had not heard a single word that Rewa said and she reacted "huh,kya kaha tumne Rewa". Rewa repeats "woh main yeh''.",then she notices the faint blush on Gulaal and her frequent sideway glances towards Kesar,who was also doing the same. She smiles and continues "chalo jaane do.waise bhi tum nahi sunogi aur Kesar please gaadi theek se chalao.har baar bolna padta hai"and she continues laughing. Realizing that he has been caught out by his little sister, Kesar is embarrassed and smiles sheepishly.
Soon they reach the college and Rewa runs off saying "chalo Gulaal jaldi chalte hain". Gulaal gets down from the car and is about to follow Rewa when Kesar's voice stops her,"Gulaal". She turns around but is unable to look at him. So she looks down shyly and speaks hesistantly "haan Kesar,bolo". Kesar fumbles around "Gulaal,woh'.woh'.. mujhe tumse ''kuch baat karni thi". Gulaal smiles at his awkwardness and this makes her slightly confident. She looks at him straight in the eye and says sweetly "bolo na Kesar,main sun rahi hoon". Kesar smiles back "woh main yeh kehna chahtha hoon ki'..". "Gulaal,Gulaal"Rewa's screams stop Kesar from continuing and he is frustrated. "Gulaal,main pass ho gayi mujhe tho laga ki main kisi na kisi subject mein fail ho jaaungi lekin main tho sab mein pass ho gayi". Gulaal smiles happily at Rewa and hugs her "main bahut khush hoon Rewa". "Kesar,main pass ho gayi aur tu itna dukhi chehra banaake kyun khada hai?" Kesar forces a smile on his face and says "main kahaan dukhi hoon.main bhi bahut khush hoon.yay, meri behen pass ho gayi.Congrata Rewa". Gulaal tries hard to stifle a smile and fails. "Gulaal ab chalo tumhe bhi tho check karna haina.chalo. aur haan Kesar tujhe office jaane mein der ho rahi hogi na tho tu jaa. Hum waapis ghar chale jaayenge.theek hai.bye",Rewa drags Gulaal along with her and for the first time in his life,Kesar is irritated with his sister.
In the house meanwhile Sudha is feeling very restless. Her dream of seeing Talli as Kesar's bride was not going according to her plan. She was becoming very uncomfortable with Kesar's growing closeness to Gulaal and at the same time Talli seemed least interested in Kesar. Vasant's death had shocked them all but it would have been a good opportunity for Talli to get closer to Kesar by providing him the much needed emotional support. She did provide comfort to the family but her focus of attention was not Kesar but Dushyant and this did not go down well with Sudha "maine use kitna samjhaaya ki Kesar se acha jeevan saathi use nahi mil sakta.lekin yeh ladki hai ki meri koi baat sunti hi nahi. Dushyant ji uske liye bilkul sahi nahi hain. Umr mein bhi woh Talli se bahut bade hain aur woh aakhir hain tho Raman ke hi bhaai. Agar woh bhi Raman ki tarah nikale tho.nahi main yeh kabhi nahi chahungi ki meri behen ki zindagi bhi meri tarah tabaah ho jaaye.nahi main yeh hargiz hone nahi doongi.mujhe bahut jald Panba se baat karni hogi",Sudha decides determinedly.
Kesar had just finished attending a meeting and suddenly he remembers "arre Gulaal ka result tho aa gaya hoga.chalo usse phone karke pooch leta hoon". He quickly calls her up and smiles when he hears her shy,sweet voice "Gulaal,tumhara result aa gaya kya?maine bas yehi jaanane ke liye phone kiya tha". Gulaal and Rewa were in the taxi going back home. Gulaal had wanted to go home sooner but Rewa wanted to meet all her friends so she also stayed back. She had been thinking about Kesar the whole time and was wondering "kya kehna chahta hai mujhse aur us baat ko kehne mein use itni problem kyun ho rahi hai?kahin woh mujhse apne dil ki baat'..". just then her phone rings and she smiles shyly answering it. "Kesar,main bhi pass ho gayi.main tumhe bulaana chaahthi thi lekin socha ki tum busy hoge isliye nahin bulaaya". "bulaa lena tha na Gulaal,itni achi khabar jo hai. Congrats Gulaal,ab jaldi batao treat kab dogi", Kesar asks mischeviously. Gulaal replies with a smile "pehle tum bataao ki pass hone ki khushi mein mujhe gift kab doge". Rewa listens to the entire conversation and takes the phone from Gulaal "Kesar,yeh mat bhoolna ki teri behen bhi pass hui hai.aur ek chota sa gift mujhe bhi mil jaata tho acha hota.aur mere pass hone ki khabar sunkar tho tu itna khush nahi hua tha.jaa main tujhse baat nahi karungi",Rewa looks at Gulaal with a teasing smile and hands the phone back to her. "Rewa,tu gussa mat ho na.main tere liye bhi bahut khush hoon aur bol tujhe kya chahiye main tere liye woh laake doonga.ab baat kar na Rewa",Kesar pleaded. Gulaal feels sorry for him and says "Kesar,yeh Rewa bhi na,woh tho mazaak kar rahi hai.woh tumse naaraaz nahi hai,bas aise hi tumhe chidaane ke liye". Kesar becomes serious "chalo acha hai ki uske chehre pe muskuraahat tho waapis aa gayi.pehle hi Vasant bha ko kho chuka hoon ab agar Rewa bhi mujhse naraaz ho jaati tho'..". "Kesar, tum aisi baatein mat karo.lo Rewa se hi baat karlo", Gulaal gives the phone to Rewa. Rewa's eyes had filled up and she whimpers"main tho aise hi mazaak kar rahi thi na.ab itna emotional kyun ho raha hai?tu khud bhi royega aur mujhe bhi rulaa dega.ab bas kar aur yeh bata ki kab laayega acha sa gift". Kesar smiles and says, "woh main nahi bataunga.It will be a surprise.theek hai.acha chal ab main rakhta hoon.office mein hoon tho kaam tho karna padega na".
Talli is in the kitchen making tea when she suddenly hears a sound. She goes to check and is surprised to find Dushyantji on the sofa with his eyes closed. He was sweating and his face had an unnatural colour. She goes near him and feels his forehead and to her horror finds that he is burning up. She quickly calls the servants and they take him up to his room. she makes a call to the family doctor and asks him to come over quickly. She also tries to bring down the fever by putting cold water pads on his forehead.By the time the doctor arrives Dushyant's fever had come down but he still looked pale. The doctor checks him and says "ghabraane waali koi baat nahi hai.shaayad aajkal yeh zyaada stress le rahe hain.isliye inka yeh haal hua hai.maine ek injection de diya hai jisse bhukaar tho uthar jaayega.lekin inhe kuch dinon ke liye complete rest lena hoga.main thodi dawaaiyan likh deta hoon jinka poora course inhe lena hoga". Talli answers in a small voice "doctor, yeh theek tho ho jaayenge na". The doctor smiles and says,"haan,beta. bas do teen din thodi takleef hogi par yeh medicines lete rahenge tho sab theek ho jaayega aur phir dekhbaal karne ke liye tum sab tho ho phir kis baat ki chinta". She quickly informs Jamna kaki who is very worried but Talli comforts her that it is nothing serious. Jamna kaki sits beside him for a very long time. Talli comes to check on her and asks her to take some rest and assures her that she will stay by his side. Jamna kaki is relieved and leaves the room. talli looks at Dushyant and thinks to herself "aaj tak mujhe bhi lag raha tha ki main jo aap ke liye feel kar rahi hoon woh shaayad sirf ek infatuation hai lekin aaj jab maine aapko is haalat mein dekha tho main bahut darr gayi. dard aap ko ho raha tha lekin mehsoos maine kiya. Doctor ke aane tak meri jo haalat hui woh tho dekhne laayak thi. Maine aaj tak kisi ke liye bhi itni chinta, itna darr kabhi mehsoos nahi kiya.yeh tho sirf infatuation nahi ho sakta na.nahi Dushyantji yeh pyaar hai.patha nahi kab aur kaise hua lekin mujhe aap se pyaar ho gaya hai". Talli smiles and keeps looking at Dushyant with love shining in her eyes.
Gulaal had not seen Kesar in the evening and she missed him terribly. She came to know from Motaba that as Dushyantji had taken ill suddenly, the meeting that he was supposed to attend was now Kesar's responsibility. And he would be able to come back only late at night. Gulaal thinks to herself,"Gulaal,tu har waqt usi ke baare mein sochti rahegi tho kaise chalega?use office mein bhi tho kaam karna hota hai na". "nahin main use miss nahi kar rahi.bas mujhe yehi chinta hai ki kaam ki wajah se woh khaana nahi kha paayega". Then Gulaal smiles to herself "waise koi baat nahi.main uske liye wait karungi aur hum dono saath mein khaayenge.haan yehi theek hoga". She makes an excuse and doesn't have dinner with the others. The night wears on but there is no sign of Kesar.Gulaal is disappointed. She is so tired that she sleeps off right there sitting on the sofa. After some time Gulaal feels as if she is floating in air. At first she thinks it is a dream but soon realizes that she was being carried. She groggily opens her eyes and looks at Kesar's face above her. Kesar was carrying her in his arms. Instinctively she closes her eyes and pretends to be asleep. They were now in her room which was dark. Kesar puts her down on her bed and stares at her for sometime and quietly mutters to himself "mujhe patha hai tum meri raah dekh rahi thi aur wohi so gayi aur tumne kuch khaya bhi nahi hoga.tum meri itni parwaah kyun karti ho Gulaal". He looks at a lock of her hair which had come loose from her pony tail and had fallen over her cheek. He moves it away slowly with his finger and Gulaal tries hard to control the little shiver that she feels at his delicate touch. She could still feel him stare at her face and hoped that he didn't realize that she was awake. She suddenly feels a light and tender touch on her forehead. It was a brief touch with the softest hint of a carress, but she felt it in every part of her body. "mujhe maaf kardena Gulaal", she hears Kesar's hoarse whisper and then she was alone. Gulaal opened her eyes slowly and sat up on her bed. She hesitantly touched the place where Kesar had kissed her. She was trembling and a shiver ran up her spine just thinking about it. She blushed in the dark hiding her face in her hands. She knew she would not be able to sleep a wink tonight. There would be only one thought going through her mind the whole night "Kesar kissed me".
Cricket
Udne Ki Aasha
Veer Hanuman
Anupamaa
