FF - Neighbor’s - Complt / Thk Nt - Pg 26 - Page 2

That was great. Can't wait to read further.

YOu made my day after crappy episod of KS today.

Can't wait for the next part.

Rekha thanks for writing this mindblowing SS. It's just brilliant piece by you.

JW and Bengali...If only he was one, he could have confessed his love for Bani by uttering those three magical words right "Ami tomake bhalobashi" 😍 😃 😆

Social differences between the outcast and overachievers were beautifully described. Loved this strong, dignified idealistic Bani. And JW..waiting to see how his characters would shape up and why his regret for not born being a Bengali. Please do continue soon 😃
👏

Awesome start of what is surely a beautiful FF! Love the fact that it is only 3 parts and will be done by 21 Oct. Impatient that I am, I eagerly await the next part and the next and so on.....

Now to the FF. Loved the beautiful portrayal of characters, especially Bani and Jai. Bani, a strong young girl, who is not afraid to stand up to her parents for someone who is, for no fault of his, a pariah! Also, loved the description of Bani's parents according to Jai!! Aparajit and Peehu appear to be snooty!!! Poor Nachiket!! Hope he passes his boards soon!!!

Loved the part! Now waiting eagerly for the next!

Wishing everyone a happy Durga Puja!!!

Wow MT, nice 👏

Bani's maid is lucky, kitne sunehre sapne aate hai usse 😉, mujhe aise sapne kyun nahi aate????? 😆

Jai, a drop-out???? 😲, never read about him such pictured!!!! In almost every FF [that I read of course😳], he is the successful Industrialist 😳

Bani sounds sweeeeeeet and haila, padosi se pyar!!!! And woh bhi while taking the dog for a walk!!! 😆

I want good padosis toooooo, I have dadaji on the right and kakaji on the left, with a total of 5 cousins and 2 nephews!!! 😕 Uff, I better think of moving.........😆 😉

Another fantastic one MT, post the other parts soon hun, intezar nahi hota! 😳

hi MT, longtime i read mindblowing FF..
i thought you quit IF..you don't write any update..
waiting for next part..

Part II (A)

The spirit of excited festivity was omnipresent throughout Asiad Village and in the beautifully built Pandal when the image of the ten headed, a beautiful but fierce goddess on her lion charger was worshipped with great gusto, the chants of Durga Saptasati and hymns reverberated in the air which was thick with the smell of jasmine, balsam, harsingar, java and incense. Little flames decorated the main podium where the deity was kept and the sound of cymbals and drums made the whole atmosphere more divine that it already was.

Today is the fourth and last day of Durgoustav and the entire Deb clan had come, the men dressed in white and the women looking radiantly beautiful in red and white. Bani had not joined them, as she had woken up a little late, especially after the subtle warning by her Father which had caused her sleeplessness for most part of the night. Bakul Kaka, their servant had knocked on the door several times and when the groggy eyed Bani had opened, he had told her that everyone had left for the Pandal and that Bade Babu (Bani's Father) had instructed her to join them soon.

After taking her Bath and changing into a simple Salwar Kameez, she went to the Terrace to put her clothes to dry. However well-off the Deb's were, Prof. Deb had made it a point that all the three children always do their own work and do not depend on servants to run errands for them.

As Bani finished drying her clothes and was about to leave, she saw Jai sitting on the parapet of the wall, looking at her direction and smiling quietly. She was taken aback and suddenly felt herself blushing.

"Happy Dashmi, Bani."

"Er…Thanks. Same to you. What are you doing at home? Not going to work?"

"Today is an off for us, just cleaning my shoes, bags ect."

Bani noticed his blackened hands as he sat with a pair of well-worn shoes, and a lot of paraphernalia to clean it.

They both stayed at their respective places, not knowing what to say next, till Jai suddenly thought of something and looking at his neighbor said, "Bani, will you wait here for a moment, I have to get something for you."

Before Bani could react, Jai had wiped his hands with the back of his jeans and sauntered off downstairs. Bani went and hopped across the Terrace as Jai joined her there.

Handing over a rather clumsily wrapped package, he said in an awkward manner, "It's for you."

Bani took it and looked at Jai and then again at the gift, "What is it?"

Jai went a little pink in the face, which actually showed starkly on his fair complexion as he mumbled, "It's a gift…for Durga Pooja."

Bani smiled shyly and for once was at a loss of words. Just then Bakul called for her saying that Mouli had come to fetch Bani and everyone was waiting for her to join them.

"Oh…I am late. I will run now. I…Give me a call in the evening."

"I don't have your phone number."

"What? Just check out the number from the Colony Handbook under Deb's."

Bani rushed towards the stairs with the packet in her hand and stopped to look back at him. Jai was standing in the same spot looking at her direction. In an impulse, she went back to him and throwing her hands over his shoulder, planted a fleeting kiss on his cheeks and said, "Thanks…for the gift."

Jai forgot to finish cleaning his shoes and wasted his one good holiday day-dreaming about his lovely neighbor.

Everyone was assembled in the Living Room of the Deb's and chatting away about the innumerous family relations and long-lost cousins. Just then the shrill ring of the telephone interrupted the flow of conversation and Bakul Kaka picked up the phone.

"Ji haan, hain. Abhi bulatein hain." Keeping a hand over the speaker, Bakul Kaka looked at Bani and said, "Choti, phone hain. Koi ladka hain line par." Bani made a face at Bakul Kaka as if to indicate that the last line was not required. Looking very casual, Bani walked over to the phone, noticing that her Father had stopped talking to Debu Uncle and was looking at her direction.

"Hello, this is Bani here."

"Hi…Jai."

"Hi Pushky…How are you?"

"Pushky? No…No…Its Jai."

"I know that Pushky! I wonder why Bakul Kaka did not recognize your voice. He is getting old. Ha Ha."

"Are you alright, Bani? I can't understand anything you are saying."

"Yes, Baba, Ma, everyone is there. Right in front of me! Ma is saying hello to you."

"Oh….I will call up later. What time?"

"Yes, of course we can meet. You tell me what time?"

Jai laughed at the other end of the phone at Bani's slyness which he found incredibly cute.

"10 at night. I go for a jog at that time. The lawns near the main gate. Ok?"

"Perfect. Give my love to Brinda Aunty and tell her that Ma misses her a lot."

"I would give my love to Brinda Aunty if only I knew her."

"Ha Ha. Pushky, no time to joke, this!"

"Hey, before I hang up. Is Pushky a good looking guy?"

Bani waited for a moment and said with a serious voice, "Only if you find Monkey's good looking…"

Jai laughed loudly at the other end and said, "See you at 10 then."

Bani kept the phone down and joined the rest of the family, looking very innocent and unperturbed.

Ashima beamed at Bani and said, "Shona, was that Pushkar on line? How is he doing?"

Bani looked up and said vaguely, "Ya, he is fine."

"Its quite some time that he came home. You should call him here more often."

Bani nodded her head absently as she flicked through a random magazine and plotted away silent about her night sojourn to meet Jai.

Ashima then went on to sing praises about her best friend, Brinda Sharma's son, Pushkar, who was Bani's age to Debu and his family. Both the children had been together in the same class for many years till he moved out into a Boarding School in Shimla. It was Ashima's greatest desire to see Pushkar and Bani getting married someday and both the mothers had already started planning the trousseau and details of the imaginary wedding that they expected their children to have some day.

Bani adored Pushkar, but mostly like a brother and she reckoned he thought the same about her.

Bani managed to get out of home at 10 in the night, with the excuse that Kaibee wanted to attend nature's call, but only after getting rid of Mouli who had insisted on accompanying Bani in her walk.

Bani tied Kaibee to the bark of a tree and looked around for Jai. The street was a little lonely at that time of the night, but the neighborhood was a safe one and after attending Karate Session for the last 6 months, Bani felt confident to deal with any unsocial elements who might try to mess around with her.

A pair of warm, strong arms closed her eyes as she jumped with surprise and then smiling, listened to his deep voice call out, "Guess who?"

"I am bad at guessing game."

"Still…one try."

"Hmm…let me see. Is it the guy who used to ignore me in the school bus for the 4 years we traveled together? Or is it the guy who was too shy to wish me on my birthday? Or is it the guy who rescued my dog from falling down in the drainage pipe? Or is it the guy who blushes more than I do when kissed on the cheeks?"

Jai laughed and took off his hands, plopping down on the velvety grass as Bani sat alongside him. She was wearing a short skirt, which pulled up even more when she sat, exposing her shapely legs as Jai looked at them, a bit transfixed.

Bani gave him an arch look and said mischievously, "Are you like, checking me out?"

Jai was startled but did not lose his composure this time and replied back, "Well, you are worth checking out, isn't it?"

Pleased with herself, Bani pushed her hair back and said, "Thank you. I think so too."

"Modestly certainly doesn't sit prettily with you."

"Modesty is only an excuse for losers."

Jai kept quiet and after a moment, Bani kept her hand over his and said in a determined, calm voice, "And you are not one."

"Not many people think so."

"It doesn't matter what others think of you…its what you think of yourself that matters the most, Jai."

"So, I shouldn't care what you think about me."

Bani said quietly, "I am different."

Jai grinned and retorted back, "Really? And how?"

Bani bit her lips and answered, "I am your girlfriend, am I not? Then I am different and special from other people."

Jai laughed lightly and said, "We spoke to each other for the first time, four days back…how can you be my girlfriend?"

Bani was miffed and replied back, "So what? Is there a special qualification to be your girlfriend?"

Jai lay down on the lawn, folding his knee a bit and resting his head with the palm of both his hands, interlocked behind it and teased her, "Well…people who go around don't just talk…they do other things too."

Bani crossed her hands across her chest and looking at him squarely said, "Like what?"

Jai kept the same naughty grin on his face and replied back, "Oh, I don't know…go for dates…movies…hold hands…hug…Kiss…"

A breeze had picked up, and Bani shivered in her knitted top and short skirt, which exposed a good part of her hands and legs. Sitting besides Jai, she found it easy to believe that they were the only two people in the world and that all the stars in the inky-blue sky were meant for them. Bani felt vulnerable and fragile, on the verge of new possibilities.

Bani lay on the grass slowly besides Jai as he was completely still, looking into each other's eyes, for the first time, clearly and intensely. She wrapped her hands around his neck, steadying her head near his face and kissed him on his lips. His hands slid from the back of his head to cup the back of her head, his fingers tangling in Bani's hair and his lips on her were cool, almost cold, gently exploratory. Jai tasted strangely of the Hot Chocolate Fudge that Bani loved to have at her favorite Ice-cream parlor.

Suddenly Jai interrupted and said, "Your family would kill me if they found out what I was doing with you."

Bani replied back simply, "Shut up."

Jai smiled at her once again and kissed her once more, right there, in the open lawns of the Asiad Village Colony, 10:30 on a cool October night. Something stirred within Bani and Jai and they felt as though every light in the world had exploded at once inside their heads. They were tightly wrapped in each other's arms and Bani could barely breathe, bit it was alright, because surely there had never been so much brightness for both of them till now.

Bani happily danced back home, almost 11 at night, as Bakul murmured something and opened the door.

"Has everyone slept, Bakul Da?"

"Bade Babu is still awake."

Bani went a bit red in the face as she saw her Father coming out of his study, looking at her with serious eyes.

"I…I had taken out Kaibee for a walk."

Prof. Deb looked at his daughter and said plainly, "And forgotten to bring the Dog back home?"

Bani realized with a shock that she had left Kaibee tied to the tree near the lawns, completely forgotten about her.

Keeping a hand over her mouth in shock, she let out a shrill scream and ran out of the house, only to be met by Jai halfway who handed over a furious Kaibee, who jumped and snarled at Bani, on being deserted at night.

"Oooh…Kaibee….I am sorry, darling…I am so sorry….totally forgot about it."

Jai raised his eyebrow and remarked, "Am I that good a kisser?"

Bani looked up suddenly, realizing he was still standing and found herself blushing. Jai kneeled besides her and patted Kaibee, who seemed to show a new found liking for her neighbor who had rescued her.

"I think I am falling for you." It was a simple, no-frills statement, but said with a lot of sincerity that touched Bani's heart.

"And I think I have already fallen for you." Jai smiled at Bani's answer to him and coming near her, kissed her lightly on the cheeks, "Good night. And don't forget to take Kaibee home this time."

Bani had spent a sleepless night, tossing and turning in her bed, trying to grapple with the flush of first love and Jai had spent a good part of the night, trying to repair his broken down Bike, his thoughts mostly on Bani and the confusion that prevailed in his mind.

He knew that there was no chance of him ever getting accepted by the Deb's. Infact, the day they got to know about Bani and him, all hell would break lose. Jai was not an escapist and faced reality head on, accepting what life had handed over to him. But now that he tried to come to terms with love for the first time in his life, he was filled with a lot of doubts, regrets and uncertainty on what the future might hold for him and Bani.

First love is like learning the first lesson of your life…the Alphabets…on which the whole premise of your future relationships will be based. One could fall in love many times during the course of a lifetime, but the first rush of love always holds a special place in our hearts. The novelty, like the first drops of dew on an untouched leaf, of the feeling makes it special and unforgettable. It enriches us both emotionally and physically, touching our hearts in a way that it would never be touched again in that way.

Somebody said "why the first love always takes the big part of our life?

It's just like any other "first" we do in our life that is always remembered by either us or others.

Our first word is remembered by our parents, and so is our first step, we always remember our first best friend, our first day at school, our first date, first time we sat behind a wheel and drove the car, first kiss, first sex, first time we travel, first day at university, first day at work, first pay cheque……

It's not only love that we never forget our first time of….

Our first love however is extra special because it overwhelms us with new feelings that we never knew existed…it exposes us to a new horizons of intimacy and sentimentality, it teaches us the language of the soul, it shows us how to speak to the heart with the language of the eyes. It's the first to tell us that we are humans…

First lovers are not the best we have, but still they are the most special. Why? Because they are the one who shared the 'Firsts' in your life…the first time, butterflies fluttered in your stomach, the first time you lied to your parents about meeting them, the first time you made excuses, fabricated tales and did just about everything you never did, only to find a way to speak or meet up with them, the first time someone made you cry as if your heart had broken and would never mend again, the first time someone made you laugh with such delight, the first time someone made you blush over something…the first time you placed your trust and faith on a complete stranger.

Come spring and the tamarinds lining the entrance to Asiad Village, that looked dead all winter, turned green overnight. The avenues in other parts of the quiet residency was lined with evergreen Jamun trees. Whenever Jai could take out time from his work, he used to pick up Bani from school and they used to share a paper-cone full of spiced Jamuns standing in a bus-stand, chatting away about their respective day spent at the School and at Jai's work place. Or meet up right after Bani's Music class was over and share one plate of Samosa at Haldiram's with Bani nibbling away the crunch bit of the savory snack wrapped in the Khatti Meethi Imli Chutney and Jai left with the mound of spicy potato filling which he had to eat. Or sometimes, take time off from her Sunday Tennis Session and sneak out to have some spicy, deep friend Moong Dal Pakoda's from a nearby vendor. In the last 6 months of their dating, Jai and Bani had explored every possible avenue for meeting up from the prying eyes of family, friends and neighbors and in a place like Delhi, it wasn't very difficult, but nor was it too easy, because almost everyone knew Prof. Deb's youngest daughter quite well. But that did not bother Bani too much, and with her ingenuinity and determination, she found newer and newer avenues of meeting up with Jai…sometimes sneaking upto his terrace at midnight and enjoying a rather hurried kissing session under the moon, till Kaibee used to start whining, missing her Mistress from the room.

If there were rumors about the outcast Walia's son cavorting around with the golden girl of the neighborhood, no one dared say that directly to Prof. Deb and Ashima just could refused to believe that her daughter could have such low choice in life and attributed these whispers to nothing but jealousy.

Jai and Bani on their part were very much a young couple in love and the fact that they had nothing in common between them, apart from love, did not seem to bother the youngsters…Jai used to bring up the topic once in a while but was mostly shut-up by Bani, whom he said was the most domineering girl he had ever chanced upon in his life! It was not as if Jai wasn't aware, that Bani was preparing for her Medical Entrance and on the way to becoming a Doctor in the future and he had still not charted out anything for his life till now…..the more he tried to get out of the rut of his life, the more they seemed to hold him back in their fold. Bani was probably the only glimmer of hope he had in life and her lively, cheerful disposition always put a smile on his face and heart and upped his self-esteem by reminding that if such a wonderful girl could fall in love with him, there would certainly something good about him!

"Baba, I am taking Kaibee out for her walk. Take your medicine; I have kept it on the Coffee Table."

Prof. Deb looked up from the copy of The Economic Times he was reading so intently and then peering through his spectacles, looked at the clock which showed 10 at night and then at his younger daughter and remarked sharply, "What time is this to take Kaibee out? It is not safe for girls to go out so late."

Bani gave an exasperated sigh and said, "Kaibee is with me, Baba."

Prof. Deb retorted back unmoved, "She is a girl too."

Bani laughed now and going to her Father, sat beside his favorite rocking chair, on her knee and said, "Oh Baba…you are the best! But you worry too much about me. She really needs to go, else the Carpet goes to the dry cleaners again."

Before her father could say anything more, Bani had rushed off taking an excited Kaibee alongside her, who was elated to get these extra outings for the past few days…even if the walk was for barely 5 minutes after which Bani used to pet Kaibee and tie her to some nearby lamppost or tree and disappear somewhere.

"You are late…again."

"I am sorry…again."

"Ha Ha…Not amused."

"I love you."

"That is not a retort."

"When did I say I was retorting."

"How can I fight with you, if you don't fight with me?"

"That's because I love you."

"Jai…."

"Bani…."

Both of them giggled as Bani put her head on his chest laughing gaily, as he pulled her by her arm and they fell in a heap on the dewy lawns Revolving Tower Lawns which was just a few meters away from their respective houses.

Kaibee had let herself lose from the Tree and was wandering aimlessly along the lawns, where Jai and Bani were both lying, holding hands.

"Jai?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you a Virgin?"

Jai who had his eyes closed till now, opened it with a jerk and after a moment's silence replied back, astonished, "Excuse me?"

Bani repeated in the same casual manner, "Are you a V-I-R-G-I-N?"

"What sort of a question is this?"

"That means you are."

"Hey! How can you say that?"

Bani smiled cheekily and turning to face him sideways said, "Men always exaggerate about their scores, don't they? And you were too taken aback by what I asked…so that means, you haven't tested waters there…"

Annoyed and Embarrassed, Jai answered back, "Stop it, okay. No need to act like a Ms. Know-It-All every time."

Bani giggled with delight and caressing his cheeks said in a teasing manner, "That's alright, my stud…we are both first-timers."

Jai looked at her with different eyes and said, "And what does that mean?"

Bani colored in her cheeks and said softly, "I can't explain everything to you in words…"

Both of them kept quiet, till she spoke again, "Baba and Ma are going to Calcutta for the weekend, to meet up some ailing relative…Peehu is off on her tour and Dada is back in the US…I will pack up Bakul Kaka…Only Kaibee and I will be at home!"

Jai grinned slowly and running his finger over her cheeks whispered conspiratorial, "Ms. Deb…You-are-a-very-bold-girl."

Bani gave an equally flirtish smile back and said, "I really have no wish to die a Virgin, Jai…and seeing the amount of time you are taking in getting our relationship any further…I have no option but to be so forthcoming!"

Jai put his head back on the grass and laughed loudly, "So you think I am slow in taking things forward? I will see to it that you are removed of such misconceptions, ASAP!"

Bani smiled lovingly and put her head on his shoulder said with a lot of feeling, "I love you, Jai!"

"I know that…..and I love you all the more for it!"

To be continued in Part II (B)

Cheers,

MT

PS : One of the readers posted a very witty PM saying that the FF is different cause Jai is the King of Misfortunes and Bani is showered by all of God's mercies…Yes, that was exactly what I had in mind! A reversal of characters!!! 😉😆And to try and see, if JW can be as appealing as a College drop-out, trying to make ends meet! (I have still made him look like a hottie, though!😉)

A big thanks to Harveen, Sheenu, Kiran, Sanam, Shruti, hipreet, Sangy, our MOTW Divan-e-khaas, Shaz, Nabeela, Suwas, Johnangad, Khush, Rama, Sabina, Cheeze and Pop for your comments, posts and pm's!🤗

I am taking some time off now, cause I want to catch up on innumerous FF's that I have been reading with a lot of interest! You guys are my inspiration…for writing such lovely stuff and encouraging so many more to come out with their thoughts and words!😃

The name Kaibee is Cantonese for Pretty! My Chinu colleague has a Dog by the same name! Coming back to the character names, I have known so many Bengali's all through my life, so getting names for them wasn't tough at all! Admittedly, Bengali's have some of the most beautiful and meaningful names!😊

😆 😆

Rekha saving for now....it's almost 1:30 a.m here😕......will be back tomorrow....pakka😛😆

Darn, the forum has gone to hell...so many technical problems today! IF I lose this, I am going to send my comments over snail mail instead...LOL!

I love this Bani..she is so forward!! 😲

And Jai is so cute!! 😳 All shy and blushy blushy!

She forgot to bring back Kaibee?? 😲 😲 I would be kutti with my owner...waise bhi, I remember my dogs being kutti once or twice...no wonder I am called absent minded professor... 😕 😕 😕

I am shocked beyond belief. Bani Rani... 😡 😡 😡

You have invited a boy with intent to seduce when no one is at home! Haila....what's the world coming to??? 😆

Aaj ka generation ka ladkis...LOL!! 😉 OK, I am sounding like my 97 year old grandma...

Wonderful part darling....keep it up!

Hey.....lovely part..........ur bani is so bold.........jai is so cute.........continue soon

Wow...Just read the first line of Part 1...It looks awesommmeee! 😃 Something very unique-ish... 😉 So glad you're back with another FF...Can't wait to read it all!! 😉