FF: Flowers of Despair Last part 13-pg17 - Page 5

Ran Bani Ran....So atlast JB meet.......

bani ran away!i was afraid she might get married under the misconception of punishing her father! jai caught her hand!

sorry dhani for not repling very much on this Sss

Hey hey,

woohoo, jai helped bani to run away

yaar dhani
that scene of pulling bani was superb but that hsouting one was of the ballon boy's mother ... hehehhe

loved the way bani escaped the death sentence her father decided.. how come nishikant be a father of that sense.. giving her to a man of 50

eventhough she is an illegitimate.she is his daughter and he had attchment with her every friday all these years ..

What an update, hope the passion and zest for life Bani feels

rules her heart and mind, in her quest for happiness.

Not every man like Ban's father who claim to be a father is a father.

This guy don't know responsibility,

Continue soon, thank you.

Bhavana, Indian_goddess, thank you so much for your lovely PMs. Sorry, I couldn't reply personally, I am practically running with time!!!

ENJOY!!!!

Part-4

The Halders were one of the oldest and most noted landed families of Bengal and their boat was among the most luxurious to be seen on the river, Bikram had hired it for a fortune as he didn't want to leave any stone unturned in pleasing his wood-be in-laws. The vessel was an Anglicized version of the humbler Bengali Bajra (Boat). A double-masted houseboat, the budgerow's hull was painted blue and grey, and the family's emblem-the stylized head of a tiger-was emblazoned on its prow and its sail. Usually the massive ship was mainly used for personal purposes of the Halders and their family but they were kind enough to lend it to Bikram as bikram was their private lawyer and had recently helped them with a legal litigation, moreover being of the same Brahmin caste it wasn't either objectionable. Though not Brahmins Halders were orthodox Hindus, zealous in the observance of the upper-caste taboos and in following the usages of their class.

The main deck had six large staterooms with Venetian windows and jillmilled blinds; it also boasted a grand, glittering reception chamber, a sheeshmahal, paneled with mirrors and fragments of crystal: used only on formal occasions, this cabin was large enough to stage dances and other entertainments. Although sumptuous meals were served on the ship, the preparation of food was not permitted anywhere on the vessel, since to them, the defilements associated with the preparation of food were anathema. So, when on sail the vessel always towed another, smaller boat in its wake, a pulwar which not only served as a kitchen-tender but also as a floating barracks for the small army of piyadas, paiks and other retainers who were always in attendance on the zemindar. The top deck was an open gallery, ringed by a waist-high deck rail which was usually used for flying kites, an age-old tradition.

Bikram settled the groom's side of people, carefully looking to their needs; he could already feel that they were mightily impressed by his extravagance.

He quietly tiptoed into a small chamber at the far end of the ship; he could hear suppressed giggles, he pushed the door, examining his surrounding which were deserted…
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Bani caught her breath, steadying her frenzied mind, the ship was already sailing… she let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly feeling the weight of something she focused on the stranger who accidently rescued her. Jai couldn't help but stare at the girl he rescued…she was a slim-hipped beauty, with velvety coal black hair. She had thin black eyebrows as if a painted had sketched them which looked like the arched wings of a flying bird and the gracefully hooked nose of a princess from old Persia. She wasn't fair, not dusky either, it was somewhere in between, the color of her skin lightest brown, like a drop of mud dissolving in pure water…Her eyes walnut brown and shaded by fanned lashes…met his. Held for a moment. Flew away… …

Bani glared at jai who was still holding onto her hand, she wriggled his hand out of his grip and walked past him clutching her bag to her bosom, as if it contained a treasure of jewel stones, whereas it only had a pair of clothes and a few books…

Jai looked at her, a bit angry at her highhandedness; she didn't even thank him for saving her…
XXXX
"Ah!!! You still look beautiful…" Bikram exclaimed as he seated himself on the chair...a tinkling laughter of a lady reverberated…she hushed way her two assistants with whom she was joking before he arrived… …

"But you have changed…Bikram babu…" she said coming towards him, swaying her hips…

"Elokeshi…" he said softly…

"You never came again…I had waited…" she said…playing with her chiming bangles…

Bikram just shrugged his shoulders, she laughed, most men did the same, enjoyed themselves to the fullest and then left, he was no different, but there was something in his arrogance that attracted her, she was bemused by his unintended charm…

Elokeshi was a popular baiji (dancer/singer/whore). She was a dancer, and like many dancers, Elokeshi had a fine voice and could sing exquisite thumris. As a performer she was famed for her ability to outwit the quickest table players and in bed, her improvisations created similar pleasure and surprises, which made her even more wanted. She had been Bikram's interest years ago; he had spent practically every night with her, and generously showered with gifts and her demands, but a few years later he stopped coming to her just as he got busier with other things in life.

"You look even better with grey hair…" she said as she took the liberty of sitting in his open lap, snaking her arms around his neck…Bikram chuckled…

"So after years what made you call me…" she said playing with his grey hair…

"Well, I want you to perform tomorrow in the sheeshmahal, to entertain my guests…"

"Guests???"

"My would-be son-in-law's relatives, we are heading for y daughter's wedding…" Elokeshi gasped…

"What will I get…" she asked pulling her face closer to his…

"Whatever you want…money, gold anything…?"

"Oh!! I have plenty of them Bikram babu…I want something else…"

"What??"

"A night with you…" she breathed over his face, he smirked…

"Fine…"

"It's a deal then…"

"Yes…"

"I will be waiting…" she got up, he left… …she couldn't believe the audacity of this man, it was his daughter's wedding and he was with his keep…men were just men after all… …she swirled her pallu… …
XXXX
Looking across the river, jai could observe the tide beginning to sweep in, and the Hooghly had filled with sails, as ships and boats hurried to take their berths, or to stand out to mid-channel, from where he stood, at the prow of the ship, he could imagine the world to be upside down, so that the river had become the sky, crowded with banks of clouds, if you narrowed your eyes, you might almost think that the ships' masts and spars were bolts of lightning, forking through the billowing sails. And as for thunder, there was that too, booming out of the sheets of canvas, as thy flapped, slackened and filled again. The noise never failed to amaze him: the whiplash crack of the sails, the high-pitched shriek of the wind in the rigging, the groan of the timbers and surf-like pounding of the bow-waves.

He was so lost in his imagination that he didn't even feel kajol, pressing against him…

"Jai…" kajol called out…startled jai turned to see her dreamy face, when small she always called him dada (big brother) now what happened…

"What happened kajol…" he asked moving back…

"I saw you alone so I came jai…"

"Why are you calling me jai? You always called be dada…" he asked curtly…

"Oh!!!Jai I was small then, I am not small now…" kajol said, her eyes dancing…jai felt weird…

"Small or not, you will call me dada…"

"Jai…didi must have left you but I promise I will never leave you…" she said coming closer to him, jai groaned, he could clearly she was infatuated by him, teenage troubles…

"Look kajol, I treat you like my sister, I am nothing more than a brother to you, I want you to see me like that because I am very much older than you, where as I and Lolita are concerned, it is between us, don't bother about us, get it in your head…again if you do such silly things I won't think twice before slapping you…"

Kajol started crying, jai made no attempt to console her, she stomped her feet and walked away…he shook his head and climbed the steps which lead to the deck…
XXXX
God bless
Dhani

wonderful parts pls cont soon......

dhani that was good narration
the story has started ...