07/04/2008
Hi Friends...I am back with another Chhotu after more than 2 months. I wished to write down some other sort of story but then ended up writing another Aam ka achhar story...as some of you asked for it so many times..making me feel guilty! So here we are with another story which again deals with Jay and Bani's sweet relationship that comes to light through mango pickles!😉 Hope you enjoy it😃
Phir ek baar…..Aam ka Achhar
Bani was stealing smiles behind her book as she saw SRK trying to see the name of the book…..not the one in her hands but the one in Kajol's hand. For the umpteenth time she was watching DDLJ and smiling at the moments she loved to watch. She felt a weight on her lap…..Jay did the same act as SRK, the only difference was that they were in their bedroom instead of a moving train.
"Baaaaaniiiiii……." Jay stretched her name to draw her attention as he could very well realize that Bani was biting her lips while blushing due to his small act behind the book.
"Kya hai?" she asked in a normal tone without moving away the book between them.
"Suniye…." Jay said as softly and musically as possible.
The bulb in Bani's brain lit up as Jay's tone gave some indication. Zaroor Mr. ko kuch chahiye. With a soft thud Bani closed the book. Resting her chin on the book she sweetly said, "Ji kahiye"
Clasping her free hand with his, he put them together on his heart and started singing looking at her eyes
"Aise na dekho mujhe
Pyar ho jayega……"
Bani immediately hid her face behind the closed book. After a few seconds she moved away the book slowly, only to find his gaze on her with his dreamy eyes. Keeping the book aside she covered his eyes with her palms. He lifted her palms from his eyes and placed a soft kiss on it. Bani withdrew her hands with utmost emergency. The small gesture made her heart beat faster. Trying to recover from her state she played with her hairs for a while. From the corner of her eyes she could see Jay smiling at her. Gaining her voice she asked, "Kya baat hai aaj itna maska kyun maar rahe hain?"
With his free hand Jay brought her face down…closer to his. Bani hesitated while moving. Within sufficient distance between them to see and talk, Jay stopped. Blinking his eyes like toddlers with a cheeky smile he said, "Aam ka achchar!" Bani immediately moved away her face in shock.
"No way!" she looked away while saying in a stern voice.
"Please", Jay said in an innocent voice moving further to have a better look of her face.
Bani kept on shaking her head in negative while Jay continued with his "Pleease", "Pleeease Pleease Pleease", "Puh-leez", "Pea-leez", "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease". He was by then on his knees like the demanding kids adamant not to budge till their wish is fulfilled. Seeing Bani opening the book once more, he sat beside her keeping his arms behind her back and resting his chin on her shoulder. He didn't say a thing. Just waited…. Finally she gave in her 'ignore him' act and looked sideways at him. He gave one of his adoring smiles. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes. Then she opened them.
"Last year aap ka deewanapan dekhkar mujhe doubt hai ke mujhe achchar…oops aam ka achchar banana chahiye", Bani said matter-of-factly. "Wo toh kabb ki baat hai!" Jay tried to reason. Making a childish face he continued, "Kya tumhe apne Darling par taras nahi aata? Ek wo duniya hai jo mujhe please bolti hai…aur ek main hoon tumhe 'please' keh raha hoon..Mera prestige puncture karogi kya?" Bani shaked her head to indicate that she won't pay heed to any of his requests and excuses.
Jay got down of the bed and walked upto Bani's side. Bani avoided looking at him pretending to search for the bookmark in the book. He forcefully grabbed the book and dropped it on the bed. Kneeling down he rested his elbows on the bed and his looks of anger changed remarkably to an innocent one. He said with a tone of grief, "Ek hi toh cute hubby hai tumhara…uski ek chchoti si request bhi nahi manogi? Theek hai..hum aapke hain kaun…" He got up with a real expression of disappointment.
Whatever reasons Bani had, not to prepare the pickles dissolved in the air. She felt bad for saying no to him. It's always hard to disappoint your loved ones. Picking up the book and flipping the pages she spoke while looking away from him, "Tony Bhaiyya ko bazaar se kachha aam laney ke liye keh dijiyega." Jay turned to face her with concealed happy expressions. He grinned, "Kyun?" Bani lifted her eyes and glared at him. Making a scientist-like pose Jay said, "May be because you love me…." He grinned. He wanted to laugh but was waiting for her reactions. She waved her hands around her face and neck…fanning them in the process and said with an attitude, "What a misconception!" Before Jay could answer that in his way…SRK started singing:
Ho gaya hai tujhko
Toh pyar sajna
Lakh karle tu
Inkaar sajna
Dildar sajna
Hai yeh pyar sajna
Bani screamed, "Nooooo…..aapki wajah se pura Europe ka part miss ho gaya. Mera sabse favourite scene bhi miss ho gaya!" Her face got filled with frown. "Hmm.. mere liye scene miss kar diya? Then toh Hai yeh pyar sajna" he winked while smiling and proceeded towards the door. Coming by the door, he stopped and turned back only to find Bani looking at him with her best of best shy smiles. Folding his arms he rested his back against the door. He started:
Aise na dekho mujhe
Pyar ho jayega
Bani quickly immersed herself in serious reading, trying hard not to blush.
Days passed by as the pickles got gradually ready for being eaten. One fine Sunday morning, Bani dragged Jay to the roof. He rubbed the back of his neck and asked in a lazy tone, "Kya karna hai is dhoop mein?" Bani took his hands and brought her to the place where the pickles were spread on big plates. Suddenly Jay got excited and asked, "Khaoon?" Bani jumped to catch him to stop him from going near the pickles. "Kya kar rahi ho Bani?"was Jay's initial reaction. After a moment he whispered, "Arre theek se hug karo na!" He laughed as Bani left her grip on him and put her hands on her hips. "Maine aapko yahan hug karne ke liye ya phir achhar khane ke liye nahi bulaya hai. Aapki request par achhar bana rahi hoon toh aapka farz hai ke mujhe yahan isey dhoop dikhane mein help kare!" Bani acted like a school-principle. Jay complied. Both of them sat down and talked and talked while guarding the pickles.
Few days later
After coming back from office Jay freshened up and sat down to catch a movie. He called, "Baniiiiiii" from their room upstairs. Bani who was downstairs asked, "Kya hai?" "Mera favourite movie aa raha hai TV par…Popkorn milega kya?" Jay replied. "Rukiye main Tony Bhaiyya ko bhejti hoon.." Bani said. Jay replied, "Arre Tony ko kyun bhej rahi ho, tum aao na upar! Mere sang movie dekho.." Bani explained, "Mujhe kaam hai!" "Aisa kya kaam hai abhi?" Jay asked with displeasure. "Achhar…….." Bani could manage that much as Jay came down with tremendous speed. "Kya hua?" Bani was shocked with his sudden appearance. "Tumhi ne toh kaha…Achhar!" Jay stated.
A good amount of pickles already made way to Jay's stomach within two minutes. Bani tightened the caps of the bottles before it reduced any further. Jay gave her a look and then resumed to finish the remaining pickle in his hands. Bani came back after a while and pulled a chair in Jay's direction. She sat down and asked eagerly, "Kaisa bana hai?" "Sach sunne ka kya dogi tum?" Jay looked at her. "Uff! aap bare wo hai!!" Bani exclaimed. Jay came near to her and softly asked, "Aur wo se tumhara matlab kya hai?" "Sach sunne ka kya denge aap?" Bani bit her lips in an attempt to control her smile. "Meri billi mujh hi se Maeow?" Jay raised an eyebrow. Bani got up and said, "Mera kauwa..mujh hi se kaow kaow!" She climbed the stairs as fast as she could because she knew Jay won't leave her after that comment. He screamed, "Main kauwa? Oh God meri masoom si biwi ko kahan bhaga diya hai?" He climbed the stairs too.
When he entered their room he saw Bani breathing very fast because of her fast flight as well as her non-stop laughter. Seeing Jay on the door she knew he would seek revenge in any manner but she had no strength left to put a fight. She held her ears and said, "Sorry!" although she didn't stop laughing. As an afterthought even Jay found it amusing and joined the laughter. When they stopped laughing finally she asked, "Aapne bataya nahin…achhar kaisa bana hai?" "Mujhe meri pyari biwi yaad aa gayi" Jay replied with a dreamy expression. Bani got puzzled, "Matlab?" "Hmm…Matlab yeh….ke ek wo waqt tha jab tum mujhse sharma ke poochti thi..ye kaisa bana hai..wo kaisa bana hai..aur ab…" Jay stopped.
Bani nudged him, "Ab kya?" Jay got up and said, "Ab toh jailor ban gayi ho…" he laughed. Tracing the flower pattern on the pillow cover Bani said in a low voice, "Jo bhi kahiye…yeh jailor apne kaidi se bahut….." Jay questioned, "Bahut?" Seeing that Bani fell in trouble leaving her sentence unfinished he completed it for her. Pulling her cheeks he said with a sweet smile, "Yeh jailor apne kaidi se bahut sharmati hai!" Their eyes met with the admiration reflecting in them for each other.
The pickles became the obvious thing that remained present during their lunches and dinners. It was hard for Bani to keep it away during breakfast yet she managed. One day after Jay came back home for lunch, Bani sat beside him as they decided to have lunch a little later. Bani began, "Aaj Karuna Didi aayi thi." Jay exclaimed, "Kaun? MJKD?" "MJKD ka matlab?" Bani asked innocently. "MJKD for Meri Jaan Ki Dushman" Jay explained smilingly. He then began to explain the cat and mouse relationship between him and his cousin. Jay shared so many stories that they didn't care to have lunch. The phone rang suddenly. Jay saw Sanjana Di flashing on the screen. He received the call, "Hello." "Hi Jay kaisa hai?" from the other side some lady said.
"Karuna!"
"Haan mere bhai…waise lunch ke liye ghar par gaye hoge!"
"Hmm.. right!"
"Achhar bhi khaoge"
"Right"
Suddenly Jay could sense some trouble as Karuna talked with too much sugar coated voice. Karuna's voice from other end broke his thoughts.
"Mujhe bahut dukh hai dear ki….."
"Ki?"
"Achhar ka jar mere paas hai…bye"
She disconnected the line. Jay stared at the phone and then turned to Bani. Seriously he asked, "Bani, Karuna Di achhar ka jar le gayi hai kya?" "Ji" Bani gave the reply being a bit afraid. "No!" Jay banged his fist on the table. Thinking something for a while he said, "Wo jaroor abhi Sanjana Di ke ghar gayi hai…Nahiiiiinnnnn Sanjana Di ke chchote chchote chchote bachhe sara achhar khatam kar denge." He panicked. Suddenly he pulled up Bani from her chair and forced her to go their room to get ready as soon as possible. He needed to reach Sanjana Di's house as quickly as possible. He could not trust her children. Jay thought that by now how much of the jar they have had emptied already.
Hearing footsteps on the stairs Jay turned to see Bani coming down and then again turned to go towards the door. He stopped in his track and turned again. She looked divine. For few moments Jay forgot everything around him. He walked up to where she was then and just admired her while standing with folded arms. He spoke after releasing a deep breath, "Bani….ek you drive me crazy aur ek aam ka achhar!" "Achhar…no..Bani come fast" Jay's mood changed as he remembered the pickles. Bani rolled her eyes.
While Jay drove towards his cousin's house as fast as possible, Bani experienced the fastest drive she had with him. She tried to remember those long drives few months back but every now and then brake..broke her chain of thoughts. She asked Jay, "Aaj aap aur office nahin jayenge?" The car came to a halt as the brakes screeched. Jay held Bani as she couldn't balance herself due to the sudden impact. Jay thought Isse bhi aaj hi itna khubsoorat dikhna tha? He retraced back his hand and dialed his brother-in-law's number.
"Hello Aditya….main aaj aur office nahi aoonga!" Jay spoke seriously
"Fool's day par aur koi nahi mila ke mujhe Fool bana rahe ho?" Aditya mocked.
"I am serious..main Sanjana Di ke ghar jaa raha hoon!" Jay didn't have the patience to explain.
"Oh I see. Okay."
Jay and Bani reached the place in few more minutes. As they entered, they met Jay's maternal aunt..whom they addressed as Masi, first. They bent down to take her blessings. Masi was too happy that Jay could take out time to come to Sanjana's house. She went on how they all had been asking him to come there but he couldn't make it and finally he surprised them. Jay felt guilty for the assumed reason. He remembered how many times Masi called him to come to Sanjana's house but he couldn't take out time. At home it was Bani. For the past one week she insisted to go there but he felt lazy to go out after office. The little fights with her regarding that had resulted in good memories. He smiled remembering them.
As they proceeded inside, everyone else met them. Jay and Bani exchanged blessings and pleasantries with them. As soon as Jay saw Karuna, he glared at her. Karuna whispered in his ear, "Kya baat hai bhai, idhar kaise?" she smiled wickedly. Jay knew that she knew the reason very well but didn't want to admit it. He looked in the other direction where he saw his cousin Sanjana's two little daughters and the little boy scraping out something from a jar. Jay's heart dropped and he hurriedly went towards them. To his relief it was a jar of Jelly. When they saw Jay they clung to his legs and smiled. It made him smile but his fears couldn't be replaced because the kids were as naughty as they were cute. He gave them some chocolates and before their mother could ask them not to eat them before lunch, they had already finished it. Jay thought of bribing the kids but firstly he was unsure that whether they knew that the pickles were in their house and secondly even if he would mention it then bribe or no bribe..it will be hard to stop them.
They all sat for lunch. Everybody enjoyed the lunch. Jay saw Bani having fun with all of them. Taking advice from Masi, Karuna, Sanjana….feeding the three kids, laughing, smiling, blushing, getting surprised and often stealing some looks at him. He was happy that she was so happy. He just had the urge to get up and hug her on two occasions but controlled his feelings. It was Karuna's wicked looks that reminded him of the purpose of his arrival. While eating he thought once Yeh Sanjana Di kitna khana banati hai…maine toh socha hi nahi tha ke lunch hour mein yahan aane se problem hogi kyunki inhe toh pata hi nahi tha ke hum aanewale hai..magar yahan toh jaise khana zyada hi bana hai! Karuna's voice broke his thought. Karuna asked the butler to bring the 'Achhar'.
Jay almost got up from his seat in anxiety but prevented himself from getting embarrassed in front of family. Poor thing…he had a look at Karuna who was smiling like devil. Then he started counting how many people were seated for the lunch. While counting when his eyes fell on the kids, his heart sank! He had a sad expression. He was thinking that may be after lunch all these people will finish up the rest of the pickles as the pickles were too tasty to resist and the family was famous for being impatient to finish tasty things. He looked down at the plate and startled when the butler put the pickles on his plate. Hesitantly he started to taste the pickle once more with his fore finger. As soon as he put it in his mouth he had a strange feeling. He tasted it again. No it didn't taste like Bani's Aam ka Achhar..instead it was not at all of mango's. It was some mixed pickle. He looked at Karuna who looked in the other direction. While Masi tasted the pickle she commented, "Jaanti ho Bani bahut achcha aam ka achhar banati hai…pichli baar Munna to deewana ho gaya tha!" Every body smiled as Bani blushed. Jay felt both shy and sad. Shy for his another side being revealed and sad because the thing which formed the topic..that achhar was missing! Masi continued, "Bani is baar kya haal hai? Karuna ne bataya ke tune ghar par achhar banaya hai!" She then turned to Jay and asked, "Kyun Munna is baar pichli baar se bhi achha bana hai na?"
Jay thought yahi mauka hai. He said, "Wo aap Karuna Di se hi poochiye" glaring at Karuna. Masi said, "Haan uski toh sun li hai…bechari ka kitna mann tha laney ka par phir tujhe pooche bina nahi layi..boli tujhse permission leke le aayegi…usey bhi pata hai tu kitna pasand karta hai wo achhar." Jay felt like strangling Karuna for a moment when she smiled at her mother's statement. He sulked. Then he looked at Bani, who was looking away. He thought Kuchh garbar hai! Yeh Bani aise muskurati hai toh zaroor garbar hoti hi hai.
By the time they finished the lunch, Jay was getting angry. He knew something was wrong but until and unless he got to see the pickles..safe and about the same amount as it should be he couldn't relax. After lunch when everyone retired to respective rooms…Bani went in Masi's room leaving Jay in the company of his brother-in-law. Afetr Jay's brother-in-law went to sleep, Jay went to one of the rooms given to him and Bani. He walked impatiently unable to decide how to look for the pickles. Seeing Bani entering the room, he held her arm spontaneously.
"Kahaan thi tum?" he asked furiously.
"Masi ke saath" her voice was feeble.
"Achhar ka pata chala?" he seriously came to the point.
"Wo…" Bani bit her lips.
"Wo kya Bani?" Jay was getting impatient.
"Wo achhar to ghar par hi hai!" Bani looked up curiously at him as she spoke as softly as possible.
"Ghar par? Magar….." Jay was shocked out of his wits. Here the man was suffering with the fear of being separated with the pickles and had all those crazy thoughts and his wife says that the pickles are at home itself.
Bani started singing:
April Fool banaya
Toh unko gussa aaya
Hamara kya kasoor
Zamaane ka kasoor
Jisne dastoor banaya
Jay stared at her laughing figure. He felt like on top of the world for knowing that the pickles were safe in his home, he wanted to join her in her laughter but he was fooled. JW being made Fool? He frowned. By evening he came to know that it was all Bani's plan to Fool him and Karuna joined hands with her including even Sanjana in the plan. Masi came to know of it from the girls later on. She scolded them for troubling Jay that way but then she also joined in the laughter.
In the drive back home..Jay was unusually silent. Not for once he looked at Bani. She felt sad but knew that his anger will evaporate by the end of the day. He made unnecessary noise while shutting the door of the car when they reached home. The first thing Jay did after reaching home was to check the kitchen. He saw the jar intact there. He thought Is ladki ko pata hai meri kamzori..aise poora plan kiya ke mujhe ek baar shaq bhi nahi huwa! Isey maloom tha ki main iska itna bishwaas karta hoon ke kitchen mein jaake dekhoonga tak nahi! Kitni badmaash ladki hai... He couldn't help but smile thinking what she did. It was completely her new side..A prankster Bani.
He went to his room to find that the bathroom was locked. After five minutes Bani came out all freshened up wiping the rest of the water drops. She faced Jay's back. He was singing:
Tareef karu kya uski
Jisne tumhe banaya……..
Mana yeh ke tere jalwe
Karke rahe bekabu
Sau baar sambhala dil ko
Par hoke raha bekabu
Tareef karu kya uski
Jisne tumhe banaya……..
Tareef karu kya uski
Jisne tumhe banaya……..
Tareef karu kya uski
Jisne tumhe banaya……..
Since Jay had selected only few lines from the song, Bani knew something was going on. The most she expected was to find Jay having achhar in her absence, otherwise why he will be so happy. She stepped nearer to him slowly and peeped over his shoulder. Suddenly Jay turned and held her in his arms. Bani glanced at his hands..they were empty. But then why was he singing?
Jay whispered in her ears:
April Fool banaya
Toh unko gussa aaya
Hamara kya kasoor
Zamaane ka kasoor
Jisne dastoor banaya
Bani shook her head and smiled that made it clear that she was indeed successfully fooled by Jay. Even more she was happy to see Jay back to his normal mode. He again whispered..this time more softly:
Tareef karu kya uski
Jisne tumhe banaya……..
Mana yeh ke tere jalwe
Karke rahe bekabu
Sau baar sambhala dil ko
Par hoke raha bekabu
Tareef karu kya uski
Jisne tumhe banaya……..
Bani blushed and hid her face on his chest as he did several eye tricks while singing the song. As Bani rested her head on his chest…she could smell something. She moved her face near to his shirt pocket as the smell grew stronger. She peeped in the pocket to find a piece of mango from the pickle there. She glanced outside the pocket and it was already stained. Jay followed her eyes. She looked at him and asked, "Yeh kaun dhoyega?" Jay tightened his grip on her and started:
Aise na dekho mujhe
Pyar ho jayega
Bani smiled and looked away feeling shy. She felt one of his arms moving away. She glanced sideways to find him bring a plate full of the pickles from a nearby table, to the front. She didn't notice that plate earlier. Jay had a bite of a mango piece and pushed the remaining in Bani's mouth. He said while taking another piece, "Bani tum itni cute kyun ho? Tumhe dekh kar achhar khane se taste aur bhi badh jaata." He winked.
