Chapter-4
"Baba...main...",he tried to speak but his father cut him off,"nahin Kesar,mujhe kuch nahi sunna aur haan khabardaar agar ghar ke andar kadam rakhne ki koshish ki..."
Kesar had never heard his father speak in such a tone.This was the first time he had seen him look so angry.He did not know what to do.He was lost in his own thoughts trying to figure out why his father was behaving this way when he felt Gulaal, who was standing next to him, tremble.He turned to look at her.She looked quite pale.He felt a sudden urge to comfort her..to protect her...ensure her that everything would be alright.He took hold of her hand which had turned ice cold in his warm grasp and gave it a tiny squeeze.They looked at each other and somehow both felt better.
"Rewa...Rewa..",his father's voice rang out which broke the eyelock
"haan...aa rahi hoon...ek minute",Kesar heard his little sister shout out.She did not sound angry or disturbed.He could hear the excitement in her voice then why was his father...and then it struck him which caused a smile to appear on his face.
Gulaal looked at Kesar in confusion.Why was he smiling when his father sounded so upset?She had not expected this at all.After last night's conversation with Kesar about his family she was honestly looking forward to a warm welcome and right now she did not know what to make of the Kesar's smirk.
Just then she saw a beautiful young girl aged around 15 or 16 come into the room slowly trying hard to balance both a plate and a small bowl.She felt Kesar sqeeze her hand so she looked at him and saw him grin.
"Rewa,maine kaha tha na yeh sab pehle se tayyar karke rakhne ko...nayi bahu ko is tarah ghar ke chaukat par rok ke rakhna achi baat nahi hothi...",Som told Rewa with a smile.
Som Mehta had been shocked when he first got to know about his son's improptu marriage.One of Rewa's friends had let her know.It hurt him that his son whom he had always treated as a friend had failed to confide in him about his life's biggest decision but then he came to know about the events surrounding this sudden decision.He was proud of his son.He had done the right thing .Of course he was still a little angry at Kesar and that's why he decided to put on this little show but judging by the grin on Kesar's face,he was not so successful in pulling it off.He looked at the girl standing beside his son.She looked confused and a little troubled.The lost look on her face made him regret his little drama.
"arre Baba aap ne bhabhi ko aate hi daraa diya.Dekho toh inke chehra ka rang hi ud gaya...",Rewa kept the bowl full of rice on the threshold and proceeeded to light the "diya"in the plate.She then came towards the newly married couple and did all the necessary rituals.She then gestured Gulaal to knock the bowl down with her foot which was considered to be auspicious.Gulaal did what she was told and then she along with Kesar crossed the threshold and entered her new home.
Kesar walked towards his baba still holding Gulaal's hand as he said,"Baba...mujhe maaf kar dijiye maine aap ko nahi bathaya...yeh sab itne achanak ho gaya...aur main chaahtha tha ki yeh baat main khud aapke saamne bolun.isliye phone nahi kiya..."
Som put his arm over Kesar's shoulder as he said,"Kesar,mujhe patha hai...tujhe safai dene ki koi zaroorat nahi...khaas kar jab tu itni pyaari si dulhan le aaya hai...".
Kesar smiled as he replied,"yeh Gulaal hai baba... aapki bahu".They both bent down to take his blessings.Som felt his throat choking up.He gave him his blessings and then he gently put his hand on Gulaal's head,"sada sukhi raho...beta us chote se naatak ke liye maaf kar dena...par woh toh hum baap bete ke beech chalta rehta hai...main jaanta hoon ki yeh shaadi kin haalathon mein hui hai lekin jo bhi hotha hai ache ke liye hi hotha...shaayad isi mein tumhari khushiyan chupi hain.aaj se yeh ghar tumhara apna hai.tumhe kabhi bhi koi bhi pareshani ya takleef ho toh bejhijak mujhse aake share kar sakti ho...yeh baat hamesha yaad rakhna "
Gulaal was overwhelmed.This was the first time in her life when she was experiencing this kind of affection.It felt strange but in a good way.She replied in a soft tone,"jee...baba".
Kesar felt a warm feeling in his heart when Gulaal addressed his father as "Baba".He could see that she was happy.Judging from her parent's reactions while she was leaving this morning he could guess that she never had a warm relationship with them.Her father appeared distant with her and her step-mother's hatred was thinly veiled.No wonder she loved her sister so much.Speaking of sisters he remembered his little sister Rewa who had not yet been officially introduced to Gulaal.
"...ab isse milo yeh hai meri choti behen Rewa.10th std mein padhti hai...dikhne mein choti hai par zara bachke rehna Gulaal...bahut khatarnaak hai...",he spoke in a menacing tone before bursting into laughter .
"bhabhi aap inki baaton mein math aao.mujhe toh yeh hairaani ho rahi hai ki aap ne inse shaadi karne ke liye haan kyun ki?...",asked Rewa innocently.Gulaal's smile dimmed a little.How could she answer this seemingly innocent question?How could she say that she did not have a choice in this matter?She stole a glance at Kesar who seemed to be trying to study her reaction.It was making her conscious.
Som noticed the awkward vibe in the air and guessed that the question had made Gulaal uncomfortable."Rewa...beta jaa bhabhi ko apne bhaiya ke kamre mein le jaa.Safar ke baad thak gaye honge na...jaa".Rewa completely oblivious to what just happened giggled as she said,"haan chaliye bhabhi waise main aap ko abhi se chetaavni de dethi hoon.Bhaiya ka room kisi war zone se kam nahi zara sambhalke paaon rakhiyega..."Kesar glared at his sister but it had no effect on her and Gulaal was amused.As they reached his room Rewa,"bas bhabhi ab aage ka rasta aap akeli hi tay kijiyega.meri toh himmat nahi hai.waise bhi mujhe is room mein enter karne ki permission nahi hai toh room ki haalath..."
Kesar interrupted angrily,"haan tu jaa,jitna bolna tha bol diya na ab jaa...sar math khaa".Rewa made a face and left.He then cleared his throat and opened the door to his room praying to God that his room was not as messy as he had left it but then he saw Gulaal's horrified wide eyed expression and his heart sank.He turned around and looked inside.He was embarrassed by what he saw.His room looked like a pigsty.He ran into the room and almost stumbled on his sneakers.Thankfully he did not fall which would have been a disaster considering he did not know if there were any sharp objects lying around on the ground."Gulaal...yeh main abhi saaf kar detha hoon.ek second...",he said scrambling to pick up the items lying all around the room.
Gulaal could not believe her eyes.She had not seen anything like this before.How could anyone stay in this room?She looked at Kesar who was now trying to clean up the mess.There were clothes,books, Cds,shoes lying around everywhere... on the bed ,under the bed,on the floor.There was absolutely no room to walk.No wonder he tripped.How did he live like this?She looked at him in disbelief as he picked up all of the stuff and put it inside one of the wardrobes.He did not even arrange it properly.
Finally after a lot of struggle which involved a lot of pushing and shoving,Kesar was able to shut the wardrobe.He looked at the room which now looked decent and then as he looked at Gulaal he said proudly,"dekha maine kaha tha na ki..."Before he could continue the wardrobe opened with a thud and everything that he had stuffed in there fell on top of him and onto the ground.
This was it...his humiliation was complete.
He looked at Gulaal who was trying hard not to laugh but then she took one look at him and broke into peels of laughter.He just stood there transfixed.She looked so happy and carefree.A warmth spread across him as he realized that he was the reason behind it.She should laugh more often,he decided with a soft smile.
Gulaal could not contain her laughter.She could feel the tears in her eyes.She had never laughed this much in her entire life.It was then she felt Kesar looking at her strangely with an almost dreamy smile.She felt an awareness,a spark pass through her body.She had felt nothing like this ever before.She stopped laughing immediately and averted her eyes from him instead she walked towards the bedside table.A photograph had caught her attention.It was of a beautiful woman and she was holding a baby in her arms and a young boy aged around 7 was standing behind hugging her with his small pudgy hands around her neck.He was giving the camera a wide toothy grin.This must be Kesar's ma.She looked so loving.She felt envious of the photo and at the same time was entranced by it.They looked so happy...
"woh meri sab se favourite photo hai.ma us din kitni khush thi...maine unhe itna khush kabhi nahi dekha tha...",Kesar stopped as he reached Gulaal looking at the photograph.She looked back at him and saw a soft,wistful smile playing on his lips."tumhari ma bahut sundar thi Kesar..." ,she replied softly.
"hai na...woh bahut khoobsoorat thi Gulaal aur woh uthni hi achi bhi thi...jo bhi unse ek baar milta woh phir unhe bhool nahi paata tha...Gulaal tum unse milti toh patha chalta...woh tumse milkar bahut khush hothi ...bahut khush hothi...woh...",he spoke animatedly still looking at the photo.He did not hear any reply and so he looked to Gulaal who was looking at him with a fond smile."kya hua?tum mujhe aise kyun dekh rahi ho?",he asked suddenly feeling bashful.Gulaal just nodded her head silently indicating that it was nothing.That put him at ease.Gulaal cleaned the frame of the photograph and she kept it back in it's rightful place.Kesar smiled at her gesture and he suddenly realized that talking about his mother to her did not hurt him as much...actually he was feeling quite happy remembering his mother and the happy times he spent with her.
Kesar came back to the present when he saw Gulaal picking up the clothes and other items that had fallen over on the ground.Kesar quickly rushed over and tried to help her but Gulaal stopped him saying,"main kar doongi Kesar...bas tum mujhe yeh batha do ki kaun si cheez kahaan rakhni hai...".
Kesar agreed sheepishly and soon the room was looking spick and span with every thing back in it's original place.She had also made a place for her own clothes in the wardrobe.For a second she just stood there staring at the wardrobe-looking at her clothes stacked besides his.She knew it was quite silly but she could not help feeling a sense of belonging that had always been elusive to her since childhood.It was not that she never had a room or a wardrobe to herself back at her father's place.Of course she did and she gladly shared it with her little sister Talli but somehow she had never quite felt at home over there.Right now standing here in an unfamiliar room along with Kesar,her husband whom she was just starting to know she felt as if she was finally home...
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
