The curtain of rain was slowly passing over. Eventually, the noise of the growling sky lessened and the drops faded into a musical chime. Meanwhile the traffic jam problem was also solved.
"Thik se baithi ho na?" he asked while driving the scooty.
"haa Nachiket..main thik hu. Tum please thoda jaldi chalaoge? I'm getting late."
"Ragini main economy speed pe hi chala raha hu. Ab isse jyada expect mat karo. India hai ye..i have to be careful. Aur upar se raat bhi bohot ho chuki hai, and its still raining a little!" he said without increasing the speed.
"Nachiket, bas thodasa tez...aur tum to hamesha speed me hi gadi chalate ho na?"she reverted back
"Kya ye wohi Ragini hai jo mujhe bohot daant lagati thi jab main tez gadi chalata tha? Sorry dear! Main tumhare diye gaye rules nahi tod sakta" he said with a smirk.
"Main sab jaanti hu! You're doing this purposely. Yaha mujhe late ho raha hai aur janab ko majak sujh raha hai" she said with a pout.
"Accha? To madam ko late ho raha hai! Tumhe bata du..late bhi tumhare wajah se ho raha hai Ragini. Paanipuri khane ki idea tumhari thi!"
"Haa to baarish bhi aa gayi na beech me! Aur traffic jam..uska kya ha? Aur chai peene ki idea bhi meri nahi thi. Tumhari chale to saari duniya ke problems ki wajah mere sar rakh do! Gaadi chalani to ati nahi hai..aur janab ko ghar pohchana hai mujhe!" she said an irritation.
"Accha? Tum to jaise superwoman ho na. Khud chalalo phir" he said looking at her over his shoulder.
"What? Main?" she almost shouted. "Haa to..main bhi chalaa sakti hu! Tumhe kya lagta mujhe nahi aata scooty chalana? Main bilkul chala sakti hu!" She said composing herself well in time.
But he was serious this time. He spotted a corner and stopped the scooty at a side of the road. He asked her to get down and slipped to the back seat.
"Hmm..chalo! Lets go..come on Ragini..chalao gadi." he said patting on the front seat.
"Nachiket..are you sure" she said with disbelief.
"Arre..absolutely sure Ragini! Tumne hi to kaha tha na ki tum ye kar sakti ho. Now come on! Aur waise bhi tum chalati thi scooty pehle. We used to have a scooty for you!"
"Haan ha..jarur chala sakti hu. Lekin main isiliye keh rah thi kyuki bohot saal ho chuke hai na scooty chalaye, to..i hope tumhe koi problem nahi hai" she said as she hoped him to stop her from driving.
"Ragini! Maine kaha na..i believe you. Tum chala logi. Ab mujhe to kuch aata jaata hai nahi, to tum hi chala lo. Ab chalo bhi..you're getting late right?" he said with his usual smirk.
This irritated her even more. "Fine!!" she said as she sat on tbe driving seat.
She started the scooty. Gave acceleration and headed towards the road finally.
"Ragini.. dekho..aaram se chalana!" he said as tension started building up his mind.
"Ab kyu chinta kar rahe ho ha! De di hai na scooty chalane ke liye? To ab chalane do pls. Aur ha...ab shuru hone wali hai tumhari sabse yadgar sawari!!" she said increasing the speed.
Nachiket was shocked and held on his seat..
"Ragini!! what is wrong with you? Drive a LITTLE slow"
"Kyun tumhe dar lag raha hai?" she said with a giggle whilst concentrating on the road.
"Tez gadiyon se toh tumhe dar lagta tha na?"
Ragini removed one hand from the handle and looked behind "nahi Nachiket..woh toh sirf gadiyon se...two wheeler se nahi" she said still looking at him
"Ragini!! aage dekho..handle pakdo..kar kya rahi ho?"Nachiket was all worried.
He held her hand tightly and put it on the handle moving a little forward.
Ragini suddenly became a liitle conscious for him so close to her..his hand on hers..
"Nachiket?"
She looked at him from the rear view mirror.
"Sshh..bilkul chupchap gadi chalao." he said as he removed his hand.
Suddenly he saw the long loose end of her saari was waving with the wind. It was blowing almost near the wheels.
"Sarees should be banned on two wheelers!" he said
Before Ragini could understand anything..he got the hold of her pallu, wrapped it a little and then tucked it around her waist.
"Thanks!" she said as soon as she understood what he did.
"You should have done this before Ragini! This isn't safe at all" he said coming a little closer to her.
"mmm..yaa! Aage se dhyan rakhungi" she said turning around to him.
"Pehle aage dekho!" he smiled and turned her chin to look forward.
Music Corner
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
Advocate Anjali Awasthi
