Great Expectations-Part XXXI- Pg 202 (23/5) - Page 114

Originally posted by: MichiDespo

Opti r there any chances of Milind discussing with prachi about Animal Firm and prachi watching an action movie for Milind sake.

Originally posted by: $weet Ema

Opi, great chapter! :)) So the Michi bonding sessions continue, and this time through Milind's casual hobby...swimming!!. I like the role reversal here, in thelast chapter Prachi was explaining the technical bits on Ghazals, and here Milind is teaching her to the ins and outs of swimming . Prachi has found a good support system in Milind, I admire the way he instilled confidence in her, and motivated her to overcome her biggest fear of water. Milind will benefits from this too, now that he will have company whenever he wants to have a dip in the pool ;)

Originally posted by: ariska

I am glad Prachi had cured from her water phobia and she can have fun in the pool thanks to her caring husband.
So Milind started to call her baby ... that was nice.
Great update as always Opti ... please continue ...

Originally posted by: aritha

yes i do remember that Ayesha is at Harvard. but i thought it wud be nice to see Milind's 'ideal wife - well he thought so' around him and him not bothered about her presence anymore.

but i guess he has crossed that stage already.

but his ideal wife misconception hasnt changed yet has it?? he wants to accept prachi as his wife, but he still doesnt believe YET that she is ideal for him right???

Part XXVII

"No Sahana. Don't do that. You will be leaving your King exposed. First protect your king, even if it means that your queen will have to be sacrificed in the process. If your king is check mated the game is over, with or without your queen. You can always use your rook to counter attack later on."

Hearing Prachi's advice, Ayesha looked at her in shock.

"Since when have you become such an expert in chess, Prachi?" she asked in pleasant surprise.

"Since your jiju taught me the intricacies of the game," Prachi said. She looked up at her husband and smiling warmly, she mouthed a big thank you to him.

Milind immediately tried to play down his role saying that he was successful only because he had a willing and obedient student in Prachi. He recollected how he initiated Prachi into the game of chess, more as a means to spend time with her and get to know her. Later on this became a strong binding factor between the two of them.

Past (Milind's flashback)

Milind was pleased that Prachi had made considerable progress in overcoming her fear of the water. Ever since he heard that she had aquaphobia he was disturbed and had wanted to do something to help. Her rain dance on the night of the Conference in Pune was an eye opener to him. It showed that her phobia was not too deep rooted as she did not fear rain and there seemed to be a possibility that it can be cured. He consulted her family doctor to ascertain the cause and extent of her fear of water. He was told that there was no traumatic water experience which could have instilled this fear in her. It seemed like she suffered more from an instinctive fear which limited her fundamental comfort level in water activities such as swimming. He suspected that she had only a minor case of aquaphobia which, with proper guidance, could be overcome. The problem could have festered for so long maybe due to her father's unwillingness to push his daughter into doing things she did not want to do. Milind, however, felt that in her own interest, Prachi needed to overcome this fear. He decided to try his hand in helping her do so and bought her the swimsuit. He could tell from her reaction to it that she wasn't too pleased to see it nor was she enthusiastic when he told her that he would be teaching her to swim the next morning. He was in half a mind to call off the whole thing when he noticed her tossing and turning in bed that night, unable to sleep. But later he steeled himself thinking that even after trying, if her fears seem too deep seated, he would not press on.

The next morning when he saw her near the pool looking like a scared kitten, his heart went out to her. He spoke to her as reassuringly as possible and demonstrated to her what he was expecting her to do. He was about to give up after trying for a couple of times but surprisingly she took the first step and willingly came into the pool. He then slowly dispelled her fears. In the course of the lessons, he had at one point of time moved away from her temporarily to allow her to float for longer. But when he saw her terrified reaction to it, he understood that her immense faith in him was the only reason why she was willing to break free from her fear of water which was so deeply embedded in her psyche for so long. He vowed to himself then that he will never break that faith and will always be there to protect her, for she was the most precious person in his life. The swimming lessons also made him more physically aware of his wife as they were in such close proximity to each other in swim suits, but he kept himself in check, concentrating on the task at hand, which was to get Prachi out of her aquaphobia.

Once Prachi was completely cured of her fear, they regularly swam together in the pool every morning. The exercise was not only a good way to start off his mornings but it also allowed him to spend more quality time with his wife and he was really beginning to enjoy these moments with her so much that he started subconsciously looking for more activities which would throw them in each other's company.

It was a Sunday morning that day. After their usual swim and morning breakfast, Milind spent an hour, pouring over the Sunday newspaper and Prachi got busy cleaning up the house. Once he was done with the reading, he felt bored and asked Prachi if she could play chess with him.

"Chess?" asked a surprised Prachi "But I don't know how to play it," she said sadly.

"I will teach you," he said excitedly.

Prachi did not look too enthusiastic, "I don't know Milind, I suck at games which involve the use of the mind."

"Don't worry, with me as your instructor, you will not suck at anything," he said with confidence. "Moreover, I feel so bored Prachi and I have no partner to play with. You'll be doing me a big favour by playing with me."

Prachi could not refuse him after that impassioned plea. She would do anything for her husband. She smiled and nodded her head. Milind enthusiastically hunted out his chess board and chess pieces.

"You'll require a lot of patience with me. I'm quite dense, you know!" she warned Milind as he came out of his study, armed with the chess equipment.

"Not a problem. I'll not snap at you," he assured her and placed the chess board on the centre table.

He started with the rudimentaries of chess. "In chess we have two players, each controlling an army of 16 pieces - one white and one black. Before we start to play the game, we need to make sure that the board is set properly. Look at the square in the lower right-hand corner for each player. This should be a light-coloured square. An easy way to remember this rule is the phrase white on right."

Prachi leaned forward to check the board. The bottom right hand square was white for both of them.

Holding up a chess piece, Milind continued, "We now need to place these pieces in their proper places. Would you like to play with the white pieces?" he asked quizzically.

She nodded her head in the affirmative.

He instructed, "Put the pieces which look like small towers in the four corner squares of the board. These towers are called rooks or castles."

After she placed the four rooks in the four corners he said, "Place the knights, which are the pieces that look like a horse's head, next to the rooks of the same colour."

She did as she was told.

"Now place the bishops next to the knights of the same colour. Bishops are the ones which have an onion shaped head. Yes, that is the one," he said as Prachi picked up a white Bishop.

"Pick up the queen. This is the second tallest piece in the set and which has a crown. Good. Now, place it at the centre square of its colour. For instance the white queen should be placed in the centre white square. A good way of remembering this is queen on colour."

When Prachi placed the two queens in their respective places, Milind said.
"Good. Now pick up the tallest piece in the set and which has the cross on its head. That is the King. The King's place is always next to his queen, isn't it? So place the kings next to the queens of the same colour."

After this was done, he said, "Now all the major pieces have been set. Let's go on to the smaller ones. These short pieces are the pawns," he said, picking up one of the small pieces. "You should have eight pawns of each colour. These pawns should go in each square in the row in front of the other pieces of the same colour."

Prachi deftly set all the pawns on the board. After all the pieces were set on the board, the chess board looked like this.

"Starting with the white pieces, the players take turns moving one piece each turn. Since you have the white pieces, you will have to make the first move."

Prachi immediately tried to move one of her pieces.

"No, wait. There is more to learn before we start the game. Each piece moves in a unique manner. You need to understand how the pieces move in order to be able to play the game. The rook can move any number of squares, horizontally or vertically in a straight line, as long as there are no other pieces before it. Like most pieces, the rook cannot jump over other pieces. However, it can land on a square occupied by an opponent's piece, removing that piece from the board. This is known as capturing a piece. All pieces are capable of capturing in this manner."

Prachi nodded her head understandingly.

Milind continued his discourse, "The knight moves in the shape of an L." Seeing her confused look he hastened to explain, "This means that the knight moves two squares horizontally or vertically, and then turns at a right angle to move one more square. The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. However, the knight can only capture a piece if it lands on the same square as that piece. It cannot capture all the pieces it jumps over while landing in a square." He demonstrated this move too.

"The queen combines the abilities of the rook and bishop. A queen moves any number of squares in a straight line, in any direction. This mobility makes the queen the most powerful piece in chess," he explained.

Prachi looked suitably impressed. Looking up at her, he said jocularly, "Much like you. You, as my queen, are more powerful than me, aren't you?"

Prachi hit his hand lightly. Milind smiled and continued, "Queens and rooks are known as major pieces and bishops and knights, which are considered of equal value, are called the minor pieces of the set."

"Unlike the powerful queen which can move in several directions, the king can only move one square in any direction. But the king is the most important piece in chess because if the king is under threat of capture, the game is over. Hence, when a king is attacked by another piece, it must avoid capture immediately. If the king is attacked, it is said to be in check. If the capture cannot be avoided, it is known as checkmate and the game is over. The king is not actually captured in chess. The king also has the ability to perform a special move known as castling, which I will teach you later.

"There are more complicated rules for the game which I will explain as we proceed. But are these basic rules clear to you?"

Prachi nodded her head in the affirmative.

"OK then, let's start the game and see how much you have understood. I'll address any problem you may face as we proceed," he said and asked Prachi to begin as she had the white pieces.

"Check," she said confidently.

Milind looked from her face to the chess board. She was right. His king was indeed in check. He hastily tried to move his king away, only to find that he was completely cornered.

"Check-mate," she said in her sweet voice.

"Damn!" he cursed. "I forbid you from flashing one of your dimpled smiles whenever we play chess," he said thoughtlessly.

Prachi looked at him in surprise.

He soon realised how foolish his order sounded and went red in embarrassment. She broke into a peel of laughter when the full import of what he just said sunk in her mind. Milind joined in her mirth and they laughed together till they cried happy tears.