We have all seen so many ups and downs in Kasamh Se and this past week has aroused a turmoil of emotions. After seeing Jai and Bani go through so much pain, the only way to keep my blood pressure normal was to forget about the current track, and so in the process I wrote a short FF.
It's not great, nor is it the emotional type of FF that I usually write, but rather is just a fun, jovial, random type of FF.
It's a little long, but I hope you guys still read it and like it!
-------------
Dixit Residence
"Are you sure we should be doing this" wondered Rano out loud. She had never done anything without telling her sister Bani but now all of Bani's friends were sitting in the living room urging her to do it just this once. Rano hesitantly dialed the number and stared at all her friends in a panic stage. The one specialty about Rano that everyone applauded was her ability to act, which is probably the reason everyone had picked her to do this task.
After so many rings, Rano finally heard a strong voice on the other line. " Mr. Walia?"
Jai wondered who was calling him at 9 at night. He had always kept his office and home separate and if it was one of those telemarketers, he was in no mood for them. "Speaking" Jai replied curtly to let the other person know he didn't have time for any sort of nonsense.
Rano composed her voice and picked up the piece of paper that contained her lines that she now had to say. "Mr. Walia, this is Runalia Banarjee from the matchmaking industry, also known as Shaadi.com."
Jai let out an exasperated sigh, why was he always aimed at? Yes, he was voted the country's best bachelor but that did not mean these people call him and annoy him. "Excuse me Miss Banarjee, I do not wish to be involved in anything of this sort. If you would now excuse me"
"Wait, don't put the phone down. Just listen for a two seconds. We have been requested by someone in your family to find a suitable girl for you. If you have any problems with it, you should talk to them. But for now, we are just doing our job" Rano felt really weird lying so openly to this man on the line but his friends were also sitting her forcing her to do this.
Jai wondered who in his family could do such a thing, it angered him when other people messed with his life. "Well Ms. Banarjee, I will talk to my family members and let me assure you this will not happen again. I can't believe any of them would do such a thing but I don't need any assistance so thanks for the concern but we are doing just fine here."
Rano wondered if she should just let it go but all those eyes stared at her telling her to move on and read the rest of the lines to him. Rano once again picked up the paper and said as instructed "Mr. Walia, I understand that this may be a shock to you and you do not wish to continue this any farther. But because we were instructed by your family members to arrange a meeting of you with a girl, we have already informed her to meet you tomorrow. I don't think you can back out now as it it is too late for me to call the girl and let her know that you can't meet her."
"Well, you are telling me this today and informing me that I have to meet a random girl tomorrow, so why can't you call her and tell her that it is not possible and that she should try somewhere else…" Jai was getting really annoyed by this agency, and the thought of who it could be behind all this bugged him even more.
"Sir, will you wait on a second. I will try and contact the woman on another line and if we cant contact her I am sorry to say that you will have to go tomorrow and tell her yourself or she will be standing alone waiting for you to come." Rano put the phone on hold and turned to the rest of the people in the room. "Are you guys sure we should be doing this? I mean Jai is your friend and so is Bani, let's just say things don't go as planned what will you do then?"
Saahil looked at Rano and smiled slowly "Rano, Jai is my uncle and I know that he needs a girl in his life even though he won't admit it. And I have also met your sister and she is just great and perfect for him. So, what is wrong with us trying to make them meet at least once and if there is any future for them, things will happen on their own after that."
Rano smiled and nodded. It was true, she had seen Saahil's uncle's picture once and his eyes were intense and in one instance Rano was assured her Di needed someone exactly like him. She once again picked up the phone and called out with her somewhat fake voice "Sir, I am sorry, I just tried to call her cell phone and her house but no one picked up. It seems that she is going to be standing there waiting for a man to show up tomorrow. I am hoping that you can go and just let her know what just happened and solve everything out."
Jai sighed rather annoyed by the scene that had just taken place. He really didn't want to go but he had to pay the price of one of his family member's stupid insistence. "Fine, what is her name?"
Rano looked at Saahil rather confused about whether to tell him the truth. But Saahil squeezed her hand and Rano replied softly "Bani Dixit."
"What time tomorrow? And how will I recognize her?" Jai asked wondering what he was getting himself into and if there was any way out of it.
"At lunch time, 12, at Sunset Restaurant." She will be wearing Pink and she will most probably have a book in her hands as she loves reading" Rano was glad that this conversation was coming to an end. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this going.
"Thanks but it is only this once. Start looking for other guys for her as she is not going to get anything out of this meeting." Jai hung up the phone and started to see what he had scheduled for tomorrow. So he was going to have to cancel his meeting with the company executive directors for this, great, just great. What a waste of an hour.
Rano jumped up and down suddenly excited about this new match. Her Di deserved someone special and the way Saahil described Jai to her, it seemed like they would hit it off really well tomorrow. She now looked at Saahil and wondered how they were going to convince Di to go. That was when Saahil came up with another plan to convince Bani to go.
Rano knocked on her sister's door. Bani took her time to get off the bed and made her way to the door. "What is it Rano, you know I am tired and told you not to wake me up for another hour."
"But Di, we have a new client who wants to meet at 12 tomorrow" Rano suppressed her smile.
"Client? For what?" Bani was utterly confused and she blamed it on the lack of sleep she had been getting recently. Her job was a killer and she would totally quit working there but for now she needed the job as it was required for her and Rano to survive in Mumbai.
"Remember Kritika Aunty? Well she along with Sunita aunty opened up a new matchmaking business since they are always meddling with other people's business. So, they met this guy and they want you to go interview him and ask him about his likes and dislikes so they can find a girl who he can be perfect with." Rano loved seeing the surprise on Bani Di's face.
"Are you kidding me Rano? They want me to go? But why me? Are they insane?" Bani had always known those aunties were crazy but she didn't know they were crazy enough to include her in all this!
"Well, they said that they would pay you and since we really need the money this month, I thought it was a good and necessary idea but if you don't like it, then it's fine. Just let me know and I will tell them to find someone else." Rano knew that Bani Di was trying to get enough money to keep Rano going to college and hopefully to a good graduate school as well. Money was certainly not Bani's weakness as she knew her priorities but she was willing to work to gain money but never take charity.
"Fine, tell them I will do it. What is his name? And where am I meeting him?" Bani still couldn't understand why anyone would want to meet a random girl like this but it was none of her business. All she needed to go do was find out a little bit about him for his profile. How hard could it be as she would just record everything they talked about.
"His name is Jai and you are meeting him at Sunset Restaurant at 12 tomorrow. Oh yah and wear Pink." Rano smiled and walked towards the door leaving frustrated Bani behind.
"Pink?" Great, just great now she was going to have to waste her time on a useless guy who couldn't even find a girl for himself and needed to through this process… It was true that this may work for some people, but if she ever had a choice to meet a person like this her answer would be a big NO.
The next day, Jai picked up his newspaper and went through his normal routine and headed towards the office. At 11:45 exactly, he picked up his jacket and headed outside the door. He still didn't know why he was going rather then sending one of his employees to go and do the job. But he felt it was really rude to do that and so relented to go ahead since it was not that hard and he had to eat lunch and Sunset Park provided a great menu.
Bani got out of the auto rikshaw and after paying him, went towards the restaurant. It was an expensive place but Rano had given her the money that the aunties had given her to pay for it so it didn't matter. She had brought a tape recorder along with her to record his answers to his question. Rano had told her not to write down as he talked cause that is just weird. Bani didn't understand how it was weird considering the guy knew that he was being interviewed.
Rano and Saahil looked from a far seat inside the restaurant. They had situated themselves so that they could see Jai and Bani but they couldn't see them. Rano was nervous that their secret might come out in the first meeting itself and things would go nowhere. The aunties weren't involved in all this even though it is totally their kind of thing to do. Saahil had given her the money to give to Bani, and if Bani ever found that out, she would be really mad. Bani cherished her self respect more then anything else.
Bani went inside the restaurant and asked for a man named Jai but found none around. She was seated by the waiter who had been instructed by Rano and Saahil. The waiter played along "You can sit her, I will let Mr. Walia know about your whereabouts when he arrives." Bani smiled softly at the waiter and sat down waiting for this man to show up.
At exactly 12, Jai entered the restaurant and went straight for the table with a woman who was reading. Her face was hidden but he could see she was wearing a pink salwaar kameez. Jai thought to himself "Great they found me a behenji, thank God, this isn't going anywhere." He walked over and extended his hand out in front of the woman "Hi, it's Jai Walia."
Bani flicked her hair off the face and put the book down and looked at the gorgeous man standing across from her. All her mind could think was, why would he need something like this to find a girl? She smiled and extended her hand "Hi, I am Bani Dixit. Please sit."
Jai was surprised by the simple beauty that made the woman opposite him glow. She didn't have any make up yet she looked really pretty. He had come with the intention of telling her right away that he wasn't interested but his mouth wouldn't form the words.
Bani wondered how to start the conversation as she had never done this before. How much was she allowed to ask, how much was needed for the profile. She looked at Jai and smiled.
Jai could sense her uncomfortableness and decided to ease her tension "Don't worry, I am not going to eat you up. Let's start with a simple question… why are you doing this specifically. I mean a girl like you could do anything so what is the need of this?"
Bani thought that he meant why she was doing such a job when she could be doing a lot of other things "Well, I am not here out of free will really. My sister and some of the aunts I know forced me to come here and I need to do this right now. Why are you doing this? I mean any girl would fall for you without this, so what is the use of this matchmaking?"
Jai smiled at her saying any girl would fall for him, he wondered if they had met in different circumstances if she would "fall for him." But he put that idea aside and answered her question "Well, someone from my family suggested that they do this and well I came here to say that I don't want to do this anymore but then I am like why not give it a chance…"
Bani was beginning to understand why this man would choose such a thing. She remembered what she had come here for and began her questioning, "So, what do you like to do during your spare time? As in do you have any hobbies?"
"Wow, we are already jumping into it." Jai felt as if he was in an interview, and wasn't sure how comfortable he was with that.
"Well do have anything else in mind?" Bani was confused… did this man not know why they were sitting here.
"No, as in I meant that we should probably order dinner first." Jai signaled the waiter to come. He looked at Bani who picked up her menu as if suddenly realizing that they were in a restaurant. "I will take Chicken Biryani and some Chicken Kofta. And you Bani?"
"Wow, you must like Chicken a lot. I will take some idli, sambaar."
"Of course, I love Chicken, it is just awesome. I don't think I can ever survive without it." As far as Jai could remember he had always had chicken and was surprised that Bani had not ordered anything with Chicken. "Do you not like chicken, Bani?"
Bani looked up from the menu "Well, I am a vegetarian, so I have never tasted chicken so no idea if I like it or not."
"Oh" Jai seemed a little disappointed. Luckily, this wasn't going anywhere as he wouldn't be able to survive without Chicken at home.
"So, what else do you like? Other then food…" Bani not only was asking these questions for the interview but now she was genuinely interested. She picked up some water and softly gulped it down in an attempt to stop the butterflies in her stomach.
"Well, my favorite outdoors activities are so many, I am a total outdoor person. I love to play and watch all sorts of games, football, soccer, you name it. Indoors, there really isn't much to do. I have my family here living with me but unless Maasi is around, we don't do much together." Jai didn't know why he was saying all this to her but for some reason he felt really comfortable sitting her and talking to her like this. Maybe it was cause, she looked at it him as if she really wanted to hear, and there weren't that many people left in this world who genuinely cared about things.
Bani was surprised how much she was enjoying this man's company. She loved his personality and he also had an intense look in his eyes that made it easy for anyone to actually care about him. She was surprised though how opposite they really were. "Wow, I am a total indoor person. I like the outdoors but I rarely have the time or the activeness in me to do things outdoor."
"What is it that you do?" Jai was curious to find out about her as well.
Even though she was just supposed to be interviewing him, Bani couldn't help but answer his questions. "Well, I am an assistant at"
Before Bani could finish answering someone tapped her on the back, it was her friend Anjali. "Bani, what are you doing here?"
Bani turned around surprised at seeing her friend here "Oh, Anjali what a pleasant surprise. By the way, Mr. Walia, this is Anjali and Anjali this is Mr. Walia."
The two of them exchanged cordial hellos and Anjali left saying she had to run somewhere but they will meet later.
Rano let out her breath, she was glad that Bani Di never finished her line about where she worked. That would ruin everything in the first turn. After a while, once Bani and Jai got close, then she could let it out but till then.
Bani and Jai talked about random things and neither of them realized how time flew. They shared a lot of things about each other and their families. Luckily, Saahil's name was never mentioned much to Rano's relief. And neither was Rano's much to Saahil's relief. As Bani knew about Saahil and Jai knew about Rano.
Jai's cell phone rang and he excused himself for a second. While he was gone, Bani smiled at how wonderful their conversation had been. She picked up her cell phone and looked at the time. It was 2. Wow, she had just spent two hours with a stranger and now she felt as if she knew him really well. But something else caught her attention. In the reflection of her cell phone, Bani saw Rano and Saahil. They sat there looking towards Bani's table. She was confused about why they would be here considering both of them knew about Bani being here.
Something clicked, and when Jai came back she asked him a simple question VERY QUIETLY to make sure neither Saahil nor Rano could hear " You said you came here with the intention of not wanting to do this matchmaking thing anymore. Why are you still letting me interview you?"
"Interview?" Jai was utterly confused.
"OH MY GOD! They didn't just do that to us!" Bani was appalled at Saahil and her sister's behavior. How dare they….
"What is going on here? What do you mean interview?" Jai couldn't make out what Bani was mumbling to herself.
"Mr. Walia, are you by any chance related to Saahil Walia?" Bani narrowed her eyes as she asked that question.
"Yes, he is my older sister's son. Now, tell me how you know him…" Jai wondered what Bani was upto.
Bani explained the entire situation about how both of them had been tricked into coming to this place. She said it very softly as she didn't want Rano and Saahil to know that they had cracked the truth so quickly.
Jai was shocked at his nephew's behavior and wasn't too sure how to react. The girl he had been talking to had been sitting there to interview him.
"What do you think we should do now, Mr. Walia? I mean they need to be punished by all this. Don't they?" Bani wanted to go question her sister right away but knew that wouldn't be as awesome as other possible things.
Jai pondered over the situation and in a second his face lit up with a bright smile "We should pretend to hate each other."
Bani was shocked at the idea but allowed it to sink in for a second.
"Just think about it Bani, if we pretend to hate it each other—their plan will fail which means that we can make them suffer for a while since they need our "approval" to be with each other. So we can fight right now and they will be worried about it and afterwards, we can find out about you being Rano's sister and me being Saahil's Uncle and that way they will be tricked by us. How does it sound?" Jai was sort of glad that this meant he would spend more time with Bani and get to know her, he had no idea why he wanted that.
"That sounds perfect, Mr. Walia." Bani smiled at the idea and then straightened her face so Rano couldn't see the glow in it.
"How dare you!" Jai screamed on top of his lungs.
For a second Bani was surprised and then quickly realized what Jai was up to. "You know what, you an arrogant, pompous man who I don't want to talk to." Bani felt like laughing at seeing Rano's expression in the glass she had set on the table.
Rano looked at Saahil in surprised, things were going there way and then all of a sudden Jai and Bani were fighting. What the heck happened.
Bani got up from the table in a huff, grabbed her stuff and on a piece of napkin wrote down a phone number and walked out of the restaurant. She was almost laughing by the time she got out of the place. It had been so much fun, the entire lunch and now this act would allow Jai and Bani to spend sometime together.
Jai got up from the table and walked towards the bathroom. On his way back he purposely went by Saahil's table. "Saahil, what are you doing here?"
"Just eating here with Rano, what are you doing here Jai Mama?" Saahil wasn't sure what to say at this time.
"I just met a very annoying girl who ruined by day." Jai controlled his laughter at the sullen expression on Rano's face. Some part of him felt bad about doing this but it was all harmless fun.
Rano spoke up for the first time "Annoying? Are you sure? I mean, why?"
"I would rather not talk about it." Jai couldn't believe how stupid Bani and him had been. They hadn't made up a story to tell everyone so what if Bani told a different story about the reason of their fight. With that said Jai walked out of the restaurant and let Rano and Saahil sit there in silence and wonder what they had just done. They hadn't thought about how this could screw things up for them. They heaved a sigh and sat down on the table staring at each other in confusion.
As soon as Jai got out of the restaurant, he called up Bani on the number she had left. Bani saw a strange number on her cell and instantly knew it must be Jai, her face lit up in a huge smile.
"Mr. Walia, how did it go?"
Jai smiled at hearing Bani's voice again, even though it had only been 10 minutes, it felt right to talk to her again. "Calm down. They were certainly surprised as that was the last thing they expected especially after we spent two hours talking. I think we should bump into each other at a party tomorrow, take Rano somewhere and I will take Saahil to the same place."
"Mr. Walia, are you sure we should do this?" Bani was loving the idea of spending so much time with Jai but was still worried if the consequences of their "game" could be tragic.
"Don't worry, we won't play it that far."
That night when Bani got home, she pretended to curse the aunties about having picked such a guy. Rano was relieved that her sister didn't know about the fact that she had been set up. Rano tried to make Bani reason it out and asked her the reason for the fight but Bani ignored all questions saying she never wanted to see him or talk to him again. EVER.
Rano wondered how she was going to tell Bani one day about the truth, she would hate Rano.
"Rano, I have a party to go to tomorrow, I want you to come with me. Want to come?" Bani asked questioningly.
"Sure Di, whose party is it?" Rano knew Bani was no party person so this must be a really important party.
Bani had no idea what the party was as Jai had told her he would call her tonight and tell her the details. Nor did she want Rano to tell Saahil where they were going so they would realize the act. Bani looked through her closet to find a dress for tomorrow, all she knew was it was an upperclassmen sort of wedding so they had to dress up nicely. Bani had a really pretty ghagra which she took out for herself and Rano also had something she wanted to wear.
After Rano had gone to sleep, Bani flipped through the channels waiting for Jai to call. It didn't take too long. Soon she was talking with Jai for an hour about totally random things. Their conversation had no flow but somehow it still made sense to them. It was getting late and both of them had to wake up early tomorrow so they made the final plans for the party and headed to bed.
Neither of them would remember this the next day, but they dreamt of each other.
Bani got up the next day and waited for the evening when it would be time to go to the party. She quickly finished all her chores and since it was Saturday she had no work. She got ready, it didn't take her too long since she didn't like to put on much makeup. She went into Rano's room and heard her talking to Saahil about random things. Bani smiled to herself, her sister had found someone perfect for her.
Jai on the other hand took his time and took out his best suit. He had usually declined any party offers and that is why Saahil was really surprised at Jai's proposition of going to the party.
Bani arrived at the party first and looked around for Jai but couldn't find him. Rano was wondering what her sister's eyes searched for but dismissed it. She was enjoying the environment but hoped that she would get a chance to see Saahil soon.
Jai entered into the party and the first person his eyes fell upon was Bani standing there looking beautiful. Jai had to fight to keep his expression neutral and then show anger at a woman who looked gorgeous. He quickly tore his eyes away from her as Saahil would realize the situation. Saahil was just looking around when he saw Rano and his face lit up. It only took a second for the reality to stick. His thoughts went haywire thinking about how if Jai and Bani met now, it would be catastrophic.
Rano also saw Saahil and through eye communication, they agreed on keeping Jai and Bani as far away from each other as possible. However, Jai and Bani had something else in mind and after a few minutes found their way to each other. Of course, they had to pretend to hate each other but that didn't stop them from sharing a quick smile with each other.
Saahil sighed as Jai stared at Bani with anger filled eyes. Jai supprsessed his laughter "You? What are you doing here?"
"Excuse me. Why can't I come here? As it is, this is my friend's wedding. What do you think you are doing here?" Bani felt weird talking to Jai, well actually shouting at him.
"You don't own this area. As a matter of fact, I do. This is my restaurant where the wedding reception is taking place, now if you don't mind—get off the property"
"Don't you dare tell me what to do. There is a wedding going on here, I am sure they rented this place from you for now so you are not the owner at this point. Now if you would excuse me, I have to go talk to some important people." Bani didn't want to stop talking to Jai but it was getting awkward. She stopped after a second and saw Saahil. To make matters fun, Bani went up and hugged Saahil, "Saahil, what are you doing here? And why are you talking to this incorrigible man?"
Saahil was at a loss of words, he was sure Jai Mama was listening to everything so he dismissed the questions and pretended like he had to go somewhere. He walked towards Jai Mama to explain the situation but to his delight Jai Mama was on the phone busy, and hadn't heard anything. Rano was also scared for a second as they would have to explain the truth at that time.
Once Rano and Saahil had gone outside to meet in peace, Jai and Bani found each other at the party. At seeing each other, both of them burst into laughter, it was just way too funny to see the two of them in so much pain! "Mr. Walia, I kind of feel guilty… I mean yes they tricked us and we found out quickly, we have been torturing these poor people enough… haven't we?"
Jai pondered over it for a second but realized if they told the truth, Bani and him wouldn't really have a reason to meet and talk to each other so often. "Do you think a little more fun would hurt anyone?"
Bani sighed with relief, "No, I guess it wouldn't be so bad."
The two of them talked for a couple more minutes and everyone around them noticed their chemistry. Jai Walia, who was known to be a strict, tough guy seemed to be laughing along with a young girl at a business party. Usually he stuck with his own kind, basically other bachelors and to see him with a girl was a shock.
Bani had never really been to these big parties but she was enjoying every bit of it, I mean who wouldn't be especially when there was such a guy as company. There was something about Jai Walia that attracted her to him, not just the looks (even though that was always a plus) but rather the personality that stole thunder from others.
As Rano entered into the room, Jai and Bani changed their blushing, laughing faces into being infuriated and serious. It was hard to keep this going though since they were always surrounded by Rano and Saahil and Jai and Bani just wanted to spend some quality time together.
A few days passed and Rano and Saahil became increasingly worried about their future especially with Jai and Bani's war going on. Rano decided it was time to break the news to her sister, time to tell the truth. "Di, I have something to tell you. And something to ask you."
Bani knew it was finally the day, finally she wouldn't have to pretend with Jai anymore, rather they could meet and risk getting lost. She remembered her last night when the two of them had met at a friend's party and just sat and talked all night. Of course to Rano, Bani was at her friend's house. "Yah Rano, what is it?"
"Di, you know Saahil…"
"Yah, he is a nice guy… what about him?" Bani turned around to hide the smile spreading on her face.
"Well Di… his family…"
"Yah, I know he is a Bali. I looked into that when you guys started dating. His father, Aditya Bali is a nice man and known all over the world for his own company. And his mother Jigyasa, well I didn't really find much about her but I guess she can't be that bad."
"Well Di, Jigyasa aunty has a brother…"
"I am not surprised… but why are you telling me that?"
"Di, his name is…" But before Rano could finish her sentence, Rano's cell phone rang and she saw "Saahil"'s name flash. "Hello?"
"Rano, don't tell Bani Di anything yet. Mom was talking to Dad and she said that as long as Jai is not married, how can I get married. And Mom found someone for Jai Mama and we can tell Bani a little later after everything is settled so she won't be as mad at us." Saahil was hoping he had called Rano before she had told the truth to Bani.
Rano walked out of the room, and away from where Bani Di could hear her. "What difference does it make that Jai Mama is getting married? I mean Di still has to know…"
"Well, once he is engaged, after that they can't get mad at us for trying to set them up. Or at least not as much since it will be a somewhat of a happy ending." It made little sense but Saahil's brain wasn't working much. He just didn't want to tell Jai Mama.
"When is the engagement?" Rano was still hesitant on the matter but agreed nonetheless.
"Tonight is the party, and Mom is going to announce it then. Why don't you bring Bani Di to that? She will see it and then we can explain it to her there only."
"Saahil, you are not making any sense. Why can't I just tell her now?"
Saahil sighed and realized he would have to tell the truth. "Rano, I am just simply scared of telling Jai Mama alone. So tonight after the engagement, we can tell Jai Mama and Bani Di at the same time."
Rano smiled slightly at Saahil's behavior. "Jai Mama, isn't going to eat you up. But anyways, fine we can tell her afterwards. Happy?"
"Very!"
The two of them hung up and Rano went inside. "Di, you know I had to tell you something. Well Jigyasa aunty has a brother who is getting engaged tonight and so we were invited."
Bani was shocked at the announcement… Jai was getting married. No, couldn't be. There must be another brother. "Rano, how many brother's does Jigyasa aunty have?"
Rano thought about Nachiket, "Two."
Bani sighed with relief. It must be the other one who is getting engaged tonight. "All right I will come."
Jai had no inkling about the events that were to happen tonight but he knew about the party in the night where something big was going to happen. He didn't care much about it but he remembered how Bani had told him she was coming too.
Bani picked out the best of things from her closet. She had a feeling something big was going to happen tonight but she couldn't place her finger on it. She knew something was amiss but she had no idea what it was. The night had finally come, the night where they could tell the truth to Rano and Saahil. Bani had sat up for hours last night wondering about the new emotions she was going through and discovered that there was a part of her that had fallen for Jai Walia, and that two hard. After looking at herself in the mirror one last time, Bani picked up her purse and was ready to leave. Bani looked up at her little sister and found her to have grown up so much, and that to perfectly. The two of them left in the car Saahil had sent for them.
Jai walked back and forth at the party waiting for Bani to come. For some reason ever since she had entered his life, he couldn't remember what his life had been like without him. He now depended on Bani for everything, ever little decision and the first person he would as was Bani. Today the truth would come out, Saahil and Rano would admit the truth and then finally Jai could explain his feelings to Bani.
Just then Jai saw Rano come out of a car and his eyes searched for Bani to come out but was interrupted by Saahil's talks. By the time he turned around again, Bani was no where in sight. He kept looking around for that familiar face.
"Mamaji, who are you looking for?" Saahil curiously questioned.
Jai tried to come up with an excuse quickly but was unsuccessful, "Um... oh look they are making an announcement."
Jigyasa stood there in front of the crowd smiling at everyone. "Ladies and gentleman, thank you for coming tonight. I am sure all of you are wondering what the big news is and the reason behind this big party. Well your wait has come to an end. I would like to…"
"Wait Jigyasa, why don't we have some dancing first," asked Dadi who was in the mood to dance.
"Dance?" Jigyasa got really annoyed everytime Dadi started playing around like this but she had no other choice as everyone was looking at her. "Sure, why not?"
Everyone paired off and Jigyasa brought along Pia and paired her up with Jai. Pia smiled flirtatiously and Jai smiled back but his eyes went back to searching the room for that someone special. He found her dancing with Pushkar and talking to him. He felt a little tug, but chose to ignore it as he was sure they were just friends.
Kehna hai kehna hai
Kehna hai kehna hai aaj tumse yeh pehli baar Ho tum hi to laayi ho jeevan mein mere pyaar pyaar pyaar Tum se kehne waali aur bhi hai pyaari baatein Saamne sab ke bolo kaise keh doon saari baatein Aaj magar bas itna hi karna hai ikraar Tum hi to laayi ho jeevan mein mere pyaar pyaar pyaarBani made small talk with Pushkar because she didn't want to seem rude but her eyes searched for the only reason she was at this party. She found him in the arms of Pia (a woman who she knew and despised quite a bit). She saw Jai smile back at her and just for that she openly flirted with Pushkar even more.
Kab se dil ne mere maan liya hai tumko apna Aankhen meri dekh rahi hai jaagte sochte sapna Mere gale mein daal rahi ho tum baahon ka haar Tum hi to laayi ho jeevan mein mere pyaar pyaar pyaar Kehna hai kehna hai
Through the duration of the song, the partners had switched and Jai ended up with Bani, while Pia with Pushkar. Saahil and Rano were too engrossed in each other to notice anything else. Jai smiled at Bani, "Enjoying the party so far?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Bani looked up at the deep brown eyes.
"You seemed to be quite close to Pushkar," Jai didn't want to be openly jealous but he couldn't control himself.
"He is a nice guy. It's not as if there was a feet distance between Miss Pia and you." Bani didn't want to sound so bitter but when it came down to Mr. Walia, something happened to her.
"Bani" Jai wanted to tell her his feelings.
"What?" She looked up and knew whatever he was about to say could change her life a lot. But the song ended before he could answer and Jigyasa was back up on the stage. Jai and Bani broke apart from their dancing position and looked up at Jigyasa who was going to make an announcement.
"Ladies and gentleman, I hope you thoroughly enjoyed dancing. I am more then happy to announce my brother's engagement. I would like all of you to applaud for the new, hot and happening couple of this party, Mr. Jai Walia and Miss Pia." Jigyasa gave a wide smile.
Jai was shocked out of his mind, he felt Bani scoot back a little. He turned to look at her but she was blocked by Pia who had come and taken the spot next to him. She hooked her hand around Jai's arms and took him up to the stage. Jai reluctantly went up the stage but was still numb. He whispered in Jigyasa's ear "What the hell is going on here?"
"Bhaiya, aren't you happy? Pia is the perfect person for you and this family." Jigyasa felt as if she had found a gem of a girl for her brother.
Jai was getting more frusturated by the second if that was even possible, "And you couldn't even ask me once? What makes you think I want to marry her?"
"Why not? She is pretty and rich, what more do you need?" Jigyasa continued to smile for the crowd because they couldn't break the image. She moved away from her brother because she didn't want the crowd to be suspicious.
Jai looked into the crowd and saw Bani leaving the party but before leaving she turned once and looked straight at Jai. There were small tears in her eyes and it told Jai exactly what he wanted to know. He didn't care what anyone thought or said, he broke away from Pia's grasp and ran down the stairs and after Bani.
Bani didn't know what she was more shocked about, Jai Walia's engagement announcement or her reaction to it. There was a beach nearby and Bani walked up the bench and sat down. She put her legs up and buried her head in her legs and allowed her tears to fall.
Jai saw a shadow of a girl sitting on the bench and slowly he approached her and put his hand on her shoulder.
Bani felt a tinge and became stiff. She wiped off her tears and stood up and turned around to look at Jai. "Mr. Walia, what are you doing here? There was your engagement going on over there…"
Jai looked at the fragile yet mesmerizing Bani and knew for sure about his feelings "Bani, why did you leave?"
"What?"
"Why? What made you leave?" Jai wanted to know the truth and he wouldn't let her go without admitting it.
"I… I just did." Bani was confused, she didn't know what she was supposed to say.
"Were you jealous?" Jai hoped that Bani felt the same way about him as he felt about her.
"NO! What do you think of yourself?" Bani didn't want her emotions to be so open in front of him at least not now when he was getting engaged to someone else.
"So, you felt nothing?"
"No" Bani didn't want to lie but she didn't want to appear weak either.
"I guess then I should just go back and get engaged." Jai hoped that she would finally admit it. He turned around and decided to count till 5 because he knew she would call him. "1…2…3"
"Wait," Bani didn't know if this was the right thing to do but she knew she had to do it now or she would never be able to do it. "I have something to tell you… yes, I was jealous."
"Good" Jai smiled slightly.
"Good? Is that all you have to say? I am standing here and telling you I was hurt and jealous and you say good??" Bani turned around and faced the ocean once again.
Jai walked around and faced Bani, "Can I ask you something?"
"No, leave me alone"
Jai knelt on his feet and took out the ring Jigyasa had give him to put on Pia. "Bani, I know we have only known each other for a small amount of time, and this may seem abrupt and totally random but somewhere between the day we met and today, I fell in love with you. We acted in front of others as if we hated each other, but that only made me love you more. Even the idea of losing you now, hurts. I never want to lose you. I want us to be together forever, I want you to be mine, and for me to be yours only. Miss Bani Dixit will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Bani Walia? Will you be my wife? The mother of my children? The woman I see every morning the rest of my life? The soulmate I can look at and smile when I am old and wrinkly? The one I want to live the rest of my life with? The one I want to die with? The one"
"No more Mr.Walia, because if you don't stop now, I will never be able to control myself. Yes, I will marry you. I will take you to be my husband, the father of my children, the man I will see every morning, the soulmate that I can tell everything to, the man I want to grow old with, the man I want to die with. The man that will be a part of me. Yes, I would love to be Mrs. Bani Walia." Bani couldn't control her tears anymore. Jai put the ring on Bani's finger and it fit perfectly. The two of them hugged tightly with extreme joy.
Just then from behind them, they heard someone clapping. It was Saahil and Rano standing there, looking at Jai and Bani who looked guilty but quite in love.
Rano walked over to her Di and took her hands. "Di, stop looking so guilty. I think it should be Saahil and me who should be looking guilty. But we have no guilt. I want to introduce you to someone Di."
Just then Rano moved over and Pia and Pushkar walked towards them. Pia opened her mouth, "Hi, my name is Mrs. Pia Shukla. Don't look that shocked. Let me explain what happened. I am a friend of Rano's and my husband is a friend of Saahil's. A while back, we prank called Mr. Walia and got you guys to end up going on a date. You two figured out the truth faster then we thought you would. But you guys saw Saahil and Rano sitting there but what you didn't know was that Pushkar and I were sitting on the table right next to yours. You guys didn't know us and so you didn't notice us listening to your conversation as well. We realized that you had figured out the truth and we went and told that to Rano and Saahil as well."
Jai and Bani just stared at each other incredulously and looked back at Pia.
Pia continued with a smile "And they were worried and were going to come and tell you right away. But we told them to pretend as if they didn't know you knew. And so in front of them you pretended to hate each other but that made you talk to each other and start liking each other which was their original goal. And then along the way we realized you two had fallen for each other but we weren't too sure if you would reveal your true feelings soon and so we had to play this mean trick. Sorry!"
Bani walked over to Rano and twisted her ear "This is what you do to your older sister?"
"Di!! Ouch! It hurts! Fine, fine I am sorry!" Rano said twitching.
"Don't be sorry. You have no idea what a big thank you I owe you!" Bani hugged her sister while Jai hugged Saahil and patted him on the back for the great work.
Jai put his arms around Bani and looked at her "And we thought, we were making a fool out of them, who knew we were being made into the biggest fools."
"I am willing to become this type of fool anyday." Bani said smiling up at Jai. He planted a quick kiss on her forehead and the three couples headed back to the room where all the preparations for their formal engagement were made. Jigyasa was happy that her brother had found someone and she had also played along with the game.
Everyone was extremely happy because looking at Jai and Bani, no one could question the fact that they were made for each other.
--------Phew, hope you guys enjoyed it. It was fun writing it. Would love to hear your comments and or suggestions!
Thanks,
Pari
Anupamaa
