Part III
Note: Past in the rest of the fic is twenty five years ago.
Present
The marriage vows having been taken, Milind was all set to apply the sindoor on Prachi's maang when he froze in the act, hearing a powerful voice that broke through the solemnity of the occasion.
"Stop it," the voice commanded. "Stop the ceremony. How can you go ahead without me?" The guests who had assembled to witness the ceremony were stunned by the sudden intrusion.
Milind, however, smiled hearing the familiar voice. Turning his head to look at the intruder he said genially, "Well, if it is not our dear Ayesha! What is it with you? You never show up on time for our weddings, do you? You barged in late in our first wedding and now again you are late for our silver jubilee wedding."
Ishaan and Sahana who were standing on either side their parents asked in unison, "Badi ma was late for your first wedding too, Papa?"
"Yes, she was!" exclaimed Milind and under his breath muttered, "And what a shock she gave me!" Milind's thoughts went back to the past.
Past (Milind's flashback)
The priest called out to the bride's family to tie the gahtbandhan. Inder and Prem Latha came forward and just as they lifted Milind's stole and Prachi's orni they heard a loud shout.
"Stop, stop, stop. I want to do the honours for my sister."
Milind who had his head bowed down, jerked it up when he heard the voice.
"That's her voice!" his mind screamed at him and sure enough it was her standing in front of him in a meganta salwar kameez which enhanced the fairness of her skin. He wondered whether his eyes and ears were playing tricks on him. He pushed back the floral strands of his sehera to get a clearer view of the vision in front of him. When his eyes confirmed what his brain already knew, he drew in his breath sharply. If she was standing in front of him, who was it sitting next to him in the bridal attire? He looked at the figure seated by his side. He could not make out her face as it was covered in the ghunghat, "Damn these stupid veils" he muttered silently. In the meantime his would be father-in-law was calling out to the intruder.
"Ayesha! So you finally made it! We thought you weren't coming." Both Inder and Prem Latha rushed to her and hugged her tight. The bride was about to get up too but half way up she stopped and sat back wondering whether it would be appropriate for her leave her place.
Holding her father's shoulders in both her hands and looking him in the eye the intruder exclaimed, "Me not coming? And that too for my darling and only sister's wedding? No way! I begged them to allow me to give the exam a few hours before schedule. After a lot of pleading they permitted me to do so. I finished the exam early and rushed to take the first flight back home. Here I am just in the nick of time." She rushed to the bride and leaning down she hugged her. Over her sister's shoulder she looked at the bridegroom who had gone ashen by now and hurriedly whispered in her sister's ears, "Hey, he looks more handsome in person than he did in that photograph Papa sent you." She then silently pleaded with him with her eyes to forgive her for her late appearance. Milind was too stunned to react.
The priest was in the meantime getting restless, muttering that the auspicious time may pass if they don't continue with the proceedings soon. Ayesha apologised to him and quickly straightened herself up and went behind the bride and groom to tie their clothing in gahtbandhan. She leaned forward and whispered to Milind to cover his face. He turned back to look at her and slowly drew back the curtain of flowers over his face. His mind, which had been temporarily paralysed by what had just taken place, started racing now. So the woman he had fallen in love with is not the one sitting beside him but the one standing behind him. By the looks of it, the new comer seemed blissfully unaware of his misunderstanding. .
He wanted to scream that there had been a horrible mistake and that he did not want to get married to the girl covered in ghunghat but his tongue felt heavy and his throat went dry. When the priest asked them to get up to take the pheras (seven steps around the pyre) he blindly got up and mechanically started taking the steps. His thoughts were chaotic as he tried to figure out what went wrong. How could he have made such a huge blunder? His would be father-in-law had addressed the new comer as Ayesha. So was the woman whom he was in love with all these years not Prachi? He knew Inder Shah had two daughters but as Inder kept his family away from media attention, he was not aware of who they were. If Ali had not mentioned that the girl he had seen in the inter-collegiate event was Inder's daughter, he would not have even known that. Ali could not enlighten him of her name though. He associated her with the name 'Prachi' because he himself had seen it on the book she had dropped while getting into her college bus a couple of weeks later. He couldn't give it to her as the bus had sped away. That evening he had gone to Shah Mansion to hand it to her but the watchman took it from him and said that he will do the needful.
He never met that beautiful and intelligent girl again. Goaded by Ali, he tried to write to her several times but was too shy to bare his heart. He was also apprehensive that she may reject him, for he was after all just a poor accountant's son. He decided then that he will first make a name for himself so as to be worthy of her. He was sure then that her father himself would approach him to offer his daughter's hand in marriage, as he had challenged Ali. He immersed himself in his studies and later in his work abroad but had not forgotten the girl he had seen only twice in his life and had not spoken to on both occasions. When he returned to India to set up his hotels in the country he tried to meet her but his secretary told him that Inder's eldest daughter was pursuing a law course in the Harvard Law School in the U.S. He then decided to wait for her return.
In the meantime he met Inder at the hotelier's conference and immediately sought his company. He did not have to do much to impress the man for Inder seemed quite in awe of him. In fact, the admiration was mutual. He had heard a lot about Inder Shah and his business acumen but he got a first-hand feel of it when a couple of weeks later Inder approached him with the twin proposals of a merger of the Mishra and Shah groups of hotels and a marriage with his daughter, Prachi who was presently in the U.S. Inder offered to show him her photograph but he assured him that he does not need to see it for he has already seen her in person. The marriage was fixed as soon as the girl accepted him. He still remembered how happy he was when Inder Shah called him up to convey the news. He could not sleep a wink for two whole days. He got her e-mail address and wanted to mail her but his shyness got the better of him. He could not understand why he was behaving like a lovelorn teenager. A man who was bold enough to confidently negotiate and conclude the best business deals could not open up to the woman he loved and was about to marry. He felt that he needed to face her eye to eye to be able to covey what was in his heart. So he decided he will wait till they were wedded before he revealed his long standing love for her. Now he realised what a big mistake he had done in bottling up all his emotions for so long.
The saath phere was over and the bride and groom resumed their seat in front of the pyre. The priest asked him to put the mangalsutra and the sindoor on the bride. Milind looked up to see the woman he loved with melancholic eyes. She smiled happily at him and encouraged him to go ahead. He realised then that he had lost her even before he had won her. There was no point in making an issue now. Her sister's life and reputation were at stake. He cannot afford to turn his back on Prachi for no fault of hers. He grimly put the mangalsutra around her neck and lifted the ghunghat to smear the vermillion on her maang. He finally got to see the woman he wedded. She had an oval face, blemishless skin, almond eyes lined by neat brows, a small but sharp nose, soft pink lips. She was beautiful in her own way, the sober kind of beauty, not exactly the kind he would be attracted to but now she was his wife, for better and for worse and there was nothing he could do about it.
Edited by Opti - 16 years ago
Tum Se Tum Tak
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
Vasudha
