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Thirty year old Omkara rehearsed his composed smile before he knocked on the door. Smoothing out the almost non-existent creases of his cream coloured shervani, he cleared his throat as he opened the door. He saw her decked up in the bridal attire, and with just one glimpse, he stood mesmerized, again. With her, he always was. She sat there on the chair, with the dupatta pinned over her head. She seemed to be fidgeting with her bangles with a frown and murmuring something inaudible to herself. "Pre-wedding jitters!" he mused.
Just then, she looked up from the mirror and saw him standing at the threshold. "Omkara? Aap?" she said in a surprised yet cheerful tone, as if she had been anticipating his presence, but was also shocked when he actually stood in front of her. "Aap oopar kaise aaye? Kisi ne roka nahi? Toka nahin ke dulhan ko milna mana hai?" she said with her hands folded at her chest. He grinned as her mouth twitched into a humorous smirk. "Omkara Singh Oberoi ko kaun rokta?" he said with a broad grin.
She stood up and turned around, stepping away from the chair. Then with a broad grin, she twirled around, twice. "Kaisi lag rahi hai yeh dulhan?" she asked with a raised brow, totally fishing for compliments. She looked divine; at least to him, she always looked divine. "Jaise bachpan ki kahaniyon mein pariyon ki rani dikhti thi, waisi hi..." Her smile broadened as she walked towards him. Placing her hands on top of his, she said in a soft whisper, "Iss din ka humein kabse intezaar tha. Aur aaj yeh din aakhir aa hi gaya..." He patted her chin, and then cupped her face, "Tum khush toh ho na, Gauri?" She broke into a giggle, "Bahut zyada. Isse zyada khush toh main pehle kabhi nahi thi..."
He smiled at the sincerity in her tone. And then, his gaze fell on the dark hue of the henna on her arms. He gave her an appreciative grin and said, "Rang toh bahut hi gehra aaya iss mehendi ka..." She chuckled at the teasing, and then looking at him she said, "Kyun nahi aayega. Hamare pati humse bahut pyaar jo karte hain!" Omkara folded his hands at his chest and smirked, "Accha? Itna yaqeen hai?" She turned serious for a moment there, and looked into his eyes. For a moment, he felt as if she was trying to read his soul, and so, he quickly blinked as she spoke, "Khud se zyada yaqeen hai humein unn par..." She stood in front of him, staring into his eyes, as a million expressions quickly ran across his face, something that was too unreadable for her to comprehend.
The loud firecrackers broke the trance, and he knew that the time had come. Her eyes widened as she realised the same, and quickly looking at herself in the mirror one last time, she started arranging her jewellery and dupatta. Omkara walked to where she stood and placed his hands on her arms. Gauri froze at the touch, and as he turned her around to face him, he gave her a warm smile. "You look beautiful, like a divine angel..." he said as he arranged her maang-tika on her forehead. "And trust me; you make a gorgeous bride..." He tightened his grip on her arms, and then moved his hands away. Taking a step away from her, he held his hand out to her, "Shall we?" Her eyes glistened with tears of happiness. Placing her hand in his, she nodded and then walked with him downstairs where the wedding ceremonies were to take place.
Gauri's mother, who was on her way to bring the bride to the wedding pandal, saw Gauri walking with Omkara, and smiled at both of them. Placing a black mark behind Gauri's ears so as to ward off all evil eyes, she patted Omkara's arm asking him to take her to the pandal. The whole gathering rose from their seats to welcome the bride. As she took tiny steps, Omkara felt her hand grip tightly around his. "Nervous?" he whispered, and she nodded. He smiled, "Don't be. You look... perfect..." She looked at him with a smile with which his heart fluttered. "Thank you, Omkara, for everything..." she whispered back at him.
"Ready?" a deep voice said as his hand extended in front of Omkara and Gauri. She grinned and nodded enthusiastically. Loosening her grip on Omkara's hand, she placed her hand in her groom's hand; the love of her life, Shlok Agnihotri. Omkara held his hand open and felt her fingers slip away from his, just like the sand on the shores of the ocean. He looked at her; the way she looked at her groom, with so much of love and adulation in her eyes. And just like that, he saw that her hand was no longer in his; it was clasped tightly in the hand of the man whom she loved; who was fortunate to have been loved by her.
Omkara stepped away from the pandal and stood at the corner, watching the love of his life unite with the one she chose. Memories of their childhood spent together flashed before his eyes.
"Lekin hum ghar-ghar kiske saath khelein? Hamari gudiya ka toh koi gudda hi nahi hai..." she said with a pout. He had come up with a solution and in his childish voice he had said, "Toh main tumhari gudiya ke gudda bann jaate hain..." She had laughed at him, "Aap hamari gudiya se shaadi karoge?" "Kyun nahi? Waise bhi, mujhse accha dulha tumhe kahin nahi milega..." She laughed some more, "Agar aisa hai, toh meri gudiya ki jagah, main hi tumse shaadi karoongi..." He had laughed at her, "Aur agar mujhe tumse shaadi nahi karni ho toh?" She had flipped her hair and smirked, "Toh woh aapka nuqsaan hai. Humein toh koi bhi dulha mil sakta hai... Aapse bhi accha..."
He stood there, watching her as she exchanged garlands with her groom. His eyes threatened to spill out those silent tears with which his heart was aching. She looked so happy, and he could only smile looking at her. How was he going to survive without seeing her everyday henceforth; something that he had not done for the past twenty five years! He smiled generously when she looked directly at him from the pandal and she grinned as she placed the garland around the groom's neck. He exhaled a deep breath, put on his best smile and showered flowers on the couple. That was all he could do.
"Omkara humein darr lag raha hai... Hum gir jayenge..." she had said, trying her best to peddle the bicycle, and simultaneously reach the ground with her legs. "Darr kyun lagega? Main hoon na. Main tumhe kuch nahi hone doonga..." He had said, assuring her. "Promise?" she asked. "I promise..." he had said and she had found new confidence in his words.
The funny thing about memories was that one memory followed another. Omkara smiled as he kept recalling the times he had spent with this girl he grew up to fall in love with. The day he had chosen to tell her about his feelings was the day she poured out her heart to him, her best friend, that she was in love with another man; the very same man to whom she was getting married to. And now, as she stood up to take her wedding vows around the sacred fire, he realised what a punishment he had condemned himself with, by burning with love for her and keeping quiet about it. Omkara lowered his head and let that tear slip down his cheek. He was human too, and there was only so much of pain that he could bear. He looked at her with a broken smile, as she looked at her to-be-husband in awe, while vowing to belong to him alone for the next seven births. Omkara felt choked, and suddenly the room was too crowded for him as he felt suffocated. As he continued to look at her, his heart screamed out asking why she couldn't simply feel what his eyes showed and what his lips refused to say.
Omkara saw her eyes shine in wonder and happiness as the partition on her forehead was filled with vermillion, and his heart broke to pieces causing his whole body to feel the pain. He had given her his heart, unknown to her, and even if she hadn't acknowledged it, his heart was gone forever. Numbing the pain until now made him realise that the pain he felt right now was close to unbearable. It would take just a slash on his wrist to rid him from it all; but love wasn't something that made him weak. She was and would be his strength, whether she belonged to him or to anyone else.
"Vivaah sampan hua..." The priest said, followed by a loud cheer from the gathering. Omkara finally felt the tears stream down his cheek. He had lost the one girl he loved all his life; she now belonged to someone else. Why did he ever hide his feelings to her? Why did he love her even though she loved another? Why did he wish nothing but her happiness when all he got in return was pain? Why was he still waiting even if there was nothing else to wait for? He smiled wearily as his heart realised the reason. The answer was love. He realised that he would be over her, his love for her would diminish as soon as forever came to an end. But till that time, his heart would keep the fire of his love her burning alive.
With that thought, he quietly walked out of the room, not before looking back at her one last time, and smiling at her as her groom hugged her. How did it all happen? How did he land up here? What was it about her that he still hurt on the thought of giving up on loving her? Was it her smile? Was it the way she scrunched her nose while thinking something? Was it the way she tucked her hair behind her ear as she watched the setting sun. Was it the way she giggled when she danced in the rains? Was it the way she pouted when her mischief was caught? Omkara smiled bitterly. He would never know. Neither did he wish to know. All he knew was this: His love, though unrequited would never die; yes, it would be crushed and beaten down to a secret place within him where it would hide, curl and bleed every single day; but it would never die.
"I'll always love you, Gauri..." he whispered and with one-swift turn he walked towards an unknown future in which nothing but her memories would be his companion to journey forward.
Gauri smiled and looked around, searching for her best friend. He wasn't to be seen anywhere around. As Shlok nudged her and reminded her that her eyes should be seeking only her groom, she blushed; and then she whacked him on his arm for whispering something mischievous about their wedding night in her ear. Yet, somewhere, she wished to see Omkara. And his absence made her restless. Feeling a tug on the edge of her shawl, she realized Shlok was waiting for her to complete the rest of the ceremonies, after which they sought blessings from the elders. Omkara Singh Oberoi was gradually just a name in the back of her head, which would soon fade into a happy memory. Little did she realize he had left his beating heart with her and walked out of her life forever, wishing her nothing but happiness. Little did she know that even if he was just a memory for her now, she was his very reason to live every day. Little did she know... Little would she ever know!
***
Decades later, halfway across the globe, a certain bespectacled, long-haired man sat at his desk scribbling something in his diary. The renowned artist OSO, whose face the world had never seen earlier, smiled as he completed the lines to his musing. His fingers brushed the frame of the picture of his muse, his eternal love, his Gauri. "Mr. OSO, it's time for the gallery inaugural..." his assistant's voice reminded him over the intercom. "I'll be right there." He replied in a curt voice and rose from his seat to put on his coat. Germany winters were bitter cold after all. As he donned his hat, he closed his diary and locked it in the drawer of his desk, not before reading the lines, which he had just completed, out loud,
"Chala aaya unn raahon pe jahan tu hogi nahin
Yaadein bana liye humne unse, jinse phir mulaqat hogi nahi
Uljhe bhi hum iss kadar, ke khudh sulajh paye bhi nahi
Woh chaah na sakey humein, aur usey hum bhula paye bhi nahi"
***
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Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
