PART XX
Jai made his way down the stairs when he was intercepted by his friends and forcibly taken away towards the hall where all relatives of the family had assembled. Some of the aged women in the household iterated the fact that the Sangeet was mainly an all-women's programme and that no men would be allowed. The men folk groaned heavily and tried their best to convince the women that they had nothing better to do and since they were all invited to the programme, they might as well be allowed to take part. After much haggling, it was decided that they could attend the programme but they would have to be content with themselves being relegated to the far end of the hall. Another round of deep sighs emanated from the throats of the assembled, hapless male population but they decided that something was definitely better than nothing. Jai wasn't listening to all these seriously, he just wanted to see Bani, he was already missing her and a dull ache vibrated through his being.
After a while, Bani made her appearance wearing a peach n' cream lehnga-choli, which was hand embroidered and intricately designed. Perfect pearl jewellery adorned her neck, hands, and ear. And a string of jasmine flowers coiled around the bun that she had forced her hair into. To Jai, she looked like the early morning blushing rose, opening its petals langurously, the blush creeping slowly and steadily towards the tip of every petal. One of Jai's friend, Suraj quipped at Jai to keep his mouth closed lest any fly flew straight inside. This comment extracted a wave of laughter from towards the end of the hall which drew sharp glances from the womenfolk who were busy with the various rituals.
Bani was trying hard to avoid Jai's eyes, since the pleasant 'mishap' in her bedroom and the occasional laughter trailing into her ears from the far end of the hall, managed to make her blush by a degree more every time. Once or twice she did manage to catch his eyes and found him staring at her much to her blushing embarrassment.
Bani thought 'What is he doing? Why can't he do something else?'
Jai realized what she was thinking and continued staring at her with more resolution, unnerving Bani completely.
The rituals being over, the guest men folk were all called in to the main hall and a festive, joyous mood engulfed all of them.
Jai searched for every available opportunity to get closer to Bani but it was of no avail. First it was his friends and later it was Rano and her friends who embarked on a mission of 'tease and torture Jai' much to the elders' amusement. Initially Jai felt a little irritated, but later a word from Maasi, stating that these ceremonies would only happen once in his life, opened his vista towards enjoyment. After all, he didn't have any plan to let Bani go away from his life, ever, Jai mused.
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The rituals and the party stretched itself well into late evening and one by one, the guests started leaving. Maasi sought permission from the Dixits to leave for the day and promised that the baraat would reach the Dixit Residence surely on the eleventh evening of February at around 7 p.m. and that she could not wait to welcome Bani into the Walia Mansion as the bahu and the Laxmi of the household the next day.
With a longing look towards Bani, Jai made his way to the car along with Maasi. Once the car started moving, he started feeling numbly irritated again. Why couldn't those people leave him alone in peace for a few minutes? He thought. he so wanted to have a word with Bani. Forget speaking to her, he wasn't even allowed to her vicinity.
A glance towards him and Maasi realized the reason for his sudden aloofness and cold rage and smiled inwardly. She slightly tapped Jai's shoulder to draw his attention. Sensing Jai's gaze on her, she said
'Jai, why are you being so impatient and angry? I know the reason for such behaviour but beta, its only a matter of 11 days more. After that Bani will be yours for life', Maasi said soothingly.
Realising that he was caught, Jai made an exasperated expression and said
'I know Maasi. And yes, I should have behaved more maturely'.
Maasi smiled knowingly 'Yes Jai, you should enjoy. It's once in a lifetime event and you should enjoy it thoroughly. You should be grateful to all those people who had all assembled here today to celebrate your happiness and Bani's. Do you know why? Because they love you two and want you both to be happy in your future lives. So don't make anybody feel as if you are going through the grind just for the sake of it. I know you don't like crowds but remember they are here for you.'
Jai placed his hand on top of Maasi's and said 'I understand Maasi and I am sorry for behaving gruffly. I will definitely follow what you have said and ensure that this turns out to be the most memorable event of our lives.'
'By the way Jai', Maasi continued 'Bani asked me to give you this' as she brought out a small gift packet from inside her handbag.
Jai was thrilled and he couldn't wait to open it. Though Maasi asked him to open it in the privacy of his own room, Jai opened the pack immediately displaying usual lack of patience. Maasi smiled adoringly at her nephew but her smile froze in action when her eyes fell on the article embedded in the box that Jai was holding and staring dumbfounded at it.
A reverent whisper came out of Jai's mouth 'Isn't it beautiful Maasi?' as he lifted the gift out of the box.
'I know', Maasi replied as Jai ran soft fingers over a medium-sized photo frame, carved entirely in ivory and gilt-edged around the border, only slightly so, hence not allowing the golden glow smirch the innocence and purity of the ivory itself. It held a photo of Jai and Bani together, smiling towards the camera, the smile reaching their eyes and causing them to shine in turn. The ivory brought out the virtue and the subtle nuance of their relationship pristinely.
The car turned towards the road leading to the Walia Mansion as the duo within continued with their lifeless ordinary talks.
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Edited by sangitadas - 18 years ago
CID
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
