OS - Yaadien NOTE PAGE 25 and 33

baaten bhool jaate hain Yaadien yaad aatihain

May 9^th, 2013: MM: Early in the morning:

BB picks up the phone: hello?

CV: Good Morning Dr Mathur. kaise hain aap

BB's face splits into a wide smile: arre colnel! good morning. good morning. aaj subah subah humaari yaad kaise aayi?

CV grins: woh darasal aaj Nidhi aur Ashutosh ke shaadi ki saalgira hain na..toh socha wish kardoo

BB lowers his tone as if sharing a secret: woh dono kal raat ko hi nikal chuke. Samdhanji se kahiyega nahi par Nidhi ki khwaaish thi na ki unki wedding anniversary bhi wahi manayenge jahaa pe woh honeymoon keliye gaye the. Ashu kal shaam ko achanak decide kiya aur dono ussi waqt nikal gaye.

CV laughs: oh..achcha achcha. waise yeh Nidhi bhi na..

BB completes the sentence: bilkul apne nana pe gayi hain (both men laugh uproariously and say bye to each other.)

DB, who is impatiently waiting beside CV: kya hua? Nidhi ne baat nahi ki?

CV: woh dono kahi baahar gaye hain bua..2 din keliye.

DB: iss tarah achaanak? Nidhi ne mujhe kuch nahi bataya..

CS steps in: bibiji aur dactar saab phir se jungle gaye hain kya saabji?

CV's face is a dead give away and DB screeches out: KYA? JUNGLE! PHIR SE?

CV: Bua, shaanth hojaayiye. dono saath saath gaye hain. aajayenge.

DB shakes her head in despair: iss ladki ka kuch nahi hosakta! ab toh Ashutosh bhi usko samjhaane ke bajai uska saath deraha hain.

CV: aisa nahi hain bua. iss ek saal mein dono kitne badal gaye hain. Nidhi has matured a lot and Ashutosh has learnt to let go and relax and have fun. Both of them have found a middle ground. (DB nods with a smile on her face)

National Park: Guest House:

Nidhi plops down on the bed: phew! finally! (she claps her hands in delight and excitement) kitna mazaa aayega na! humaari wedding anni..(she bites her tongue and gets up to hug her husband) Happy anniversary Dr Ashutosh!

Ashu tightens the hug before pulling back and placing a tender kiss on her forehead: Happy Anniversary Doc!

Nidhi rests her head on his chest: thank you. mujhe phir se yahaa laane keliye. mein jaanti hoon aap ko yeh sab itna pasand nahi.

Ashu kisses her palm softly before placing it over his beating heart: tumhe kisne kahaa mujhe pasand nahi hain? I was sceptical the first time around but I had fun too. (Then with a mischievous glint in his eyes adds) haan par iss baar mein poori taiyaari ke saath aaya hoon.

Nidhi raises her head to look into his eyes: achcha? kaisi taiyaari?

Ashu pretends to think: I brought a compass so that we don't get lost. I brought a lot of chalk pieces so that in case YOU get lost and I have to find you. I will give them to you and you can mark the trees as you go along..(she pushes him away) arre gussa kyon horahi ho?

Nidhi pouts: that way even I am better prepared this time. I got myself some nice track suits instead of salwar kameez and shoes and socks instead of high heels, a first aid kit..yaad hain..pichli baar aap ped pe chadgaye the..

Ashu rolls his eyes: excuse me ped pe chada nahi tha..chadaya gaya tha. you wanted those flowers and you were all set to climb on to that tree in that dress.

Nidhi's eyes tease him: iss baar dono ussi ped par chadenge! mazaa aayega.

Ashu groans amidst her laughter: achcha teek hain woh sab baad mein. mein jaake pehle chai ke baare mein dekhta hoon.

Nidhi pushes him onto the bed: aap baitiye. mein dekhke aati hoon. (and goes out in search of the manager)

Manager: kya chahiye memsaab? chai nashta bhejdoo kya?

Nidhi smiles: ji. mere liye coffee aur unke liye chai. (and comes back to find Ashu in the process of unpacking their clothes and putting them in the shelf. her thoughts take her back to their first day of the honeymoon when he had grumbled that he doesn't like sharing his wardrobe space. now its like he didn't even think twice before piling up both their clothes in the same space. she wraps both her arms around his waist and back hugs him) I love you Dr Ashutosh!

Ashu smiles and turns his head to the side to look at her in the mirror reflection: agar aap aise hi pyaar jatati rahengi Dr Nidhi..toh yeh do din iss kamre mein hi guzar jaayenge.

Nidhi kisses his shouder: Dr Nidhi nahi..Mrs Ashutosh.

Ashu turns and places both her arms around his neck before pulling her to him with both his arms wrapped around her waist: achcha toh Mrs Ashutosh..yeh do din iss kamre mein hi bitaane ke baare mein aapka kya khayaal hain?

Nidhi leans closer: do din?

Ashu leans in further: hmmm

Nidhi's lips almost touch his chin: issi kamre mein?

Ashu closes his eyes: uh huh..

Nidhi pushes him away before grabbing her towel and running away shouting: NAHI.

Ashu's breath releases in a disappointed sigh before a tender smile reflects in his eyes. both of them quickly get ready, have their bfast and start their day of trekking.

Nidhi points out to the tree: woh dekhiye woh dekhiye..wahi ped. aaj bhi wahi hain.

Ashu starts laughing: FYI Nidhi..ped ke paav nahi hote ki utke kahi aur chali jaaye.

Nidhi: haan haan jaanti hoon. par agar koi toofan aagaya toh gir toh sakta hain na.

Ashu: if the roots are strong, it won't fall na.

Nidhi smiles up at him: rishton ki tarah.

Ashu nods: haan. rishton ki tarah.

Nidhi: chaliye dono ped pe chadte hain aur photo kheenchte hain. mein baba ko dikhaungi.

Ashu shakes his head: you got to be kidding me!

Nidhi frowns: kyon? I wore this jeans and t shirt just for this purpose. chaliye na please. mazaa aayega.

Ashu: if both of us get up the tree, who will take the snap?

Nidhi looks around and after a few moments her entire face lights up. she starts clapping: arre suniye! idhar idhar! (the same woman who had given them food to eat that day one year back approaches them) Namaste. aap ko yaad hain? ek saal pehle hum dono yahaa ghoomne aaye the aur aap ne hume khaana diya.

The lady frowns as if trying to place them and then she grins happily: arre haan! aap log phirse yahaa?

Nidhi nods: ji. hum apne shaadi ki saalgira manaane aaye hain.

lady: mujhe kyon bulaaya? phirse khaane ko kuch chahiye kya?

Ashu laughs: ji. no thank you. iss baar hum apna khaana khud laaye hain.

Nidhi interrupts and gives the woman her camera: aap humaari photo kheenchiye na please.

Lady takes a step back: mujhe woh sab nahi aata.

Nidhi pulls her fwd and puts the camera in her hands: please. bahut aasaan hain. (and she shows where to see and how to click. the lady nods with a little doubtful look on her face. Nidhi quickly gives her the camera and pulls Ashu along to climb the tree. the lady starts giggling helplessly as she realizes what these two were doing. finally, with Ashu sitting on one of the main branch and Nidhi standing and leaning towards him, the camera clicks rapidly for a few times. Ashu climbs down first and helps Nidhi down. both look at the snaps in the digital camera happily.) they are great. wow! I am going to love showing this to Anji and baba and (her face becomes a picture of naughtiness) DB! I will show it to DB too..

Ashu sighs: job hi thoda bahut achcha impression iss ek saal mein meine kamaaya hain na DB ke saamne sab ek jhatke mein chalajaayega.

Nidhi thanks the lady and both wave her bye: aisa kuch nahi hoga. DB thinks we are made of each other. (both collect their back packs and she loops her arm through his) chaliye..thode door aur chalte hain aur kahi baitke we will eat our snacks.

Ashu pulls her back: Nidhi..(she looks at him with a question in her eyes. he silently extends a bunch of flowers that he had plucked from the tree earlier. her cheeks turn pink with joy as she raises on her toes and kisses his cheek.)

Arms around each other they resume their walk. Around noon they sit under a tree and feed each other lunch. Nidhi takes out the juice bottle and amidst fond reminiscing of their previous trip; they finish their lunch and relax for a bit before making their way back to the cottage. Ashu: Nidhi..jaldi se fresh hoke taiyaar hojaao.

Nidhi: we are going somewhere?

Ashu: yup. surprise hain. so come on come on make it fast.

Nidhi nods and runs inside. around 6.30, the manager knocks on the door and informs Ashu that the jeep is ready. Ashu takes out his hanky and blindfolds a protesting Nidhi and helps her into the jeep. after about 20 mins of rocky ride, Nidhi feels the jeep coming to a halt. Ashu guides her down and tells the driver to come back to pick them up at around 7 in the morning. he then turns and opens the blindfold. Nidhi blinks a little as her eyes adjust to the darkness. Ashu gestures her to look up and her eyes widen in wonder. He has brought her to the same machaan! but this time around, it is decorated with more lamps which give a soft yellow glow to the whole place. Bemused, she climbs up and comes to a sudden halt at the top most step. the bed is already made..this time with cream white sheets and rose petals are scattered all over it and also on the pillows. She climbs up and turns towards Ashu, who is close behind her: yeh..yeh sab..

Ashu shrugs: sangat ka asar Doc! ab ek saal tumhaare saath rehkar thoda bahut romantic toh mein bhi bangaya hoon. kya kare!

Nidhi grins before hugging him tight: aap toh mujhse bahut aage bhi nikal chuke. Dr Heartstone ek dum Dr Sweetheart bangaye hain.

Ashu closes his eyes blissfully: sirf tumhaare liye Nidhi..sirf tumhaare liye.

Nidhi smiles: waise meri taraf se bhi ek surprise hain. itni khoobsurat toh nahi phir bhi..(she pulls away and goes to open her bag pack. she opens the small circular dry fruit cake, tears away the wrapper before placing a small candle on it and lighting it up. she turns towards him with a huge grin on her face) Happy anniversary Dr Ashutosh! (together they blow the candle and feed the cake to each other before taking out the pre packed fruit salad and finishing their dinner. they finally settle down on the bed with Nidhi's head resting in Ashu's lap and him resting his back against the machaan. she closes her eyes on a blissful sigh as his fingers start combing through her hair) aap ko yaad hain..pichlibaar hum dono issi jungle mein bichadgaye the..kitna darr gaye the na..

Ashu nods: haan yaad hain..aur mujhe woh sab bhi yaad hain jo shaayad tumhe bhi yaad nahi.

Nidhi looks up with a challenge: achcha? toh yeh baat hain!

Ashu grins and tweaks her nose: yehi sach hain.

Nidhi: lagi shart? (Ashu shrugs. Nidhi ponders for a few moments before) whats special about 4^th Oct, 2011?

Ashu bends down to peck her nose: the day we met for the first time.

Nidhi: Oct 27^th, 2011? (Ashu frowns thinking. With a tinkling laugh, Nidhi raises her head from its resting place in his lap and pecks his cheek) pehli baarish jisme hum dono bheeg gaye the. next..26^th Dec, 2011.

Ashu picks up her palm and kisses it: pehle pyaar ka pehla izhaar.

Nidhi closes her eyes in fond remembrance: 27^th Jan 2012.

Ashu's fingers glide over the face before settling down on her cheek: Dr Nidhi Verma ki chai ne mera violin concert khareedliya. I will never forget that day..you..in that sari..walking towards me..your love for me open to the whole world to see.

Nidhi's cheeks turn pink: hmmm..April 24^th, 2012? (Ashu gives her a bewildered confused look which earns him a glare) baba ne humaare rishte ko accept kiya tha.

Ashu smiles and nods and before she could ask further: aur 27^th April ko sagai aur May 9^th ko shaadi. aur kuch? (then without giving her a chance to reply, he pulls her up and kisses her deeply. her fingers dig into his hair as she holds on to him and returns the kiss. with shuddering breaths, they slowly draw apart to look into each other's eyes) ab meri baari.

Nidhi cuddles up to him and rests her head on his chest before settling down almost completely on top of him: sure. go ahead.

Ashu wraps both his arms tightly around her: 30^th Nov, 2011

Nidhi's contented expression disappears along with her smile. silence surrounds them as both of them battle the memories of that painful day. she swallows before replying: the day you fired me from KGH. (He tightens his arms further in acceptance) ek baat pooochu? (he nods) why did you do it? Was I really careless and..(his fingers close her mouth and stop the rest of her words)

Ashu: nahi Nidhi. I had realized that I had fallen in love with you. and I thought all you felt for me was a kind of..of..attraction..a kind of infatuation. I thought given enough time and a chance, you will get over it..over me. I didn't want to give you a chance to leave me..so..i pushed you away myself. (Nidhi nods in understanding. Ashu clears his throat before continuing) 20^th March, 2012.

Nidhi closes her eyes as in pain: The day I took your heart in my hands and smashed it to pieces along with my own. uss din..kerala mein.

Ashu: kyon kiya Nidhi? When I was willing to fight for our love, why weren't you? why did you give up?

Nidhi looks into his eyes, her own glazed with tears and cups his cheeks: mein darr gayi thi Dr Ashutosh. I am not saying that's the reason. I am just saying I became a coward. a person who loved you but didn't fight for you.

Ashu: promise me that you won't ever do that again Nidhi. (she nods) kyon ki agar phirse kuch aisa hua na toh mein..(she closes his mouth with her own and stops his words. his hands trace the curve of her waist and chest before landing on her neck as his lips leave hers and starts placing random, almost desperate kisses all over her face and neck. before they could get carried away though, he pulls her back) next..next question..26^th June, 2012.

Nidhi frowns: yeh kaun sa din hain?

Ashu gives a sad smile: tumhe yaad nahi? (she shakes her head) the day I accused you, my wife and my love, of being an incompetent doctor..of not knowing how to give a simple injection..of deliberately trying to overdose and harm Mallika.

Nidhi carefully disentangles herself and sits up beside him: aap yeh sab baaten abhi kyon kar rahe hain? lets think about good sweet memories na.

Ashu continues as if she has not spoken: 3^rd July, 2012..i outright accused you of trying to KILL Mallika and kicked you out of our house in the middle of the night. Baba wanted to go and look for you but I stopped him too. told him, "achcha hua chali gayi. ghar mein shaanti bani rahegi."

Nidhi gets up and goes to stand near one of the pillars. she looks out into the pitch dark night and the star studded sky: Mallikaji aap ki dost thi.

Ashu also gets up to come and stand beside her but doesn't face her: aur tum? aur tum kya thi Nidhi? meri dushman? arre aisa bartaav toh koi apne dushman par bhi nahi karta na. a helpless, defenceless innocent woman..my own wife and I not only kick her out but also rejoiced at the fact. (she remains silent as if understanding his need to talk it out) woh khayaal jab bhi dimaag mein aata hain na..apne aap se bhi nazren nahi mila paata. apne aap ko maaf karna toh door ki baat hain. Mallika ka ne jo kiya woh alag..uske peeche uska pagalpan tha. uska obsession tha. lekin meine jo kiya uske peeche kya tha? male ego? stupidity? an innate sadism?

Nidhi softly inserts: aapko apne dosti par vishwaas tha.

Ashu huffs out a sarcastic laugh: oh how I wish I could hide behind that lame reasoning! may be when I had my accident, I had hit my head too and didn't realize it. or may be the medication that I was taking then was having some weird side effects. Because try as I might, I can't come up with anything else. I know this one word does not even begin to cover it, its too little too late, but..(he finally looks at her and meets her eyes) mujhe maaf kardo Nidhi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6gENVGJoSY

Nidhi takes his hand in hers: bhooljaayiye woh sab baaten Dr Ashutosh. jo beet gaya woh beet gaya. in the end it had made our love grow strong na.

Ashu: so strong that when you felt insecure about Mallika's pregnancy, instead of reassuring you, I let you walk out..28^th August, 2012.

Nidhi hugs him: par waapas bhi toh aagayi na Dr Ashutosh..aap ke paas..24^th Sept, 2012. aur jab gayi bhi toh apni jaan aap hi ke paas chodkar gayi thi. (then she pouts and pushes him away in an attempt to change his mood) ab yeh sab chodiye aur apna mood teek keejiye. humaare anniversary ke din koi aisi baaten yaad karta hain kya?

Ashu: yaadien yaadien hoti hain Nidhi..achchi bhi aur kuch buri bhi..(she turns away in a huff) achcha achcha ok. (he goes behind her and back hugs her) sorry sorry..bolo kya karna hain.

Nidhi shrugs, still miffed at him: mujhe kya pata?

Ashu glides his lips over the back of her neck: chalo kuch aur yaadien banaate hain.

Nidhi: achchi waali ya buri waali?

Ashu turns her to face him and continues to trail his lips all over her face: achchi waali..sweet..spicy..hot..

Nidhi's eyes drift close in obvious delight and desire and her fingers start playing with his shirt buttons: hot?

Ashu slides his arms under her t shirt and traces her bare back pulling the shirt up along: hmmm..you like hot? (he nips her chin softly) I thought you liked spicy..

(Nidhi trails her fingers over his cheeks before digging into his hair at the back of his head and brings his lips back to hers. He lifts her up in his arms and carries her to the flowers scattered bed to make some more memories that are all of their own.)

Next morning Nidhi pulls him along to the tree where she had inscribed both their names a year ago and the driver who had come to pick them up clicks the snap with both of them standing on either side of the tree. after a quick stop at the guest house to freshen up and change and eat, they once again head out in the same jeep to trip around the jungle. the camera continues to get clicked sometimes by Ashu and sometimes by Nidhi..but most of the time by the jeep driver. Ashu makes the mistake of feeding a banana to one of the baby monkeys which results in the monkey tagging along behind them for the rest of the trip and at one point it even climbs on to Ashu's shoulder making Nidhi almost double up with laughter at the picture he made and also at the expression on his face. He finally growls out at her that they are so NOT going to come back here ever again and that sets off her laughter some more. Finally, its evening and time for them to pack up and go so that they don't miss the bus that would take them back to Lucknow.

Nidhi looks at him while zipping up the carry on, her eyes alight with laughter: as soon as I reach home, I am going to show the snaps to baba. (a slight pause and then adds on) esp the one in which the baby monkey is sitting on your head.

Ashu: excuse me..it was not sitting on my head. it was sitting on my shoulder.

Nidhi: it had its hands on your head na..

Ashu raises his eyebrow: mazaa aaraha hain na tumhe? lelo lelo..aur mazaa lelo. mein bhi kehdoonga baba se.

Nidhi bites her lip: kya kahenge baba se?

Ashu: kehdoonga ki ek bandariya se shaadi karoonga toh mera haal toh yahi hoga.

Nidhi giggles: toh humaare bachche bandar honge?

Ashu controls his own grin: ma pe jaayenge toh bandar ki tarah hi honge. (and leaps back to escape her mock punch. They run around the bed with her trying to catch him and him trying to escape until the manager loudly clears his throat interrupting their chasing game)

Manager: saab..gaadi taiyaar hain.

Both of them nod and pick up their luggage. Ashu looks at his wife: chale Doc?

Nidhi loops her arm through his and nods with a grin.

Suja, i m speechless, once again - nothing new in that.

What do i say except that i loved each space, each punctuation, each character of each word of each sentence of each para of this OS - simple beautiful dear.

Waise toh poora ka poora OS hi highlight hai, lekin phir bhi the super highlights were -

BB- CV convo - esp. the last line by bb - bilkul nana pe gayi hai

DB-CV-CS convo - it was hillarious (esp. cs's dialogue - he really knows when to say wat - doesnt he?) yet the last line by CV was so touching - indeed is ek saal me kaafi kuch badal gaya hai.

Loved the simple yet touching way Ashni wished each other.

Loved these lines as they show the change in ashu:

Ashu kisses her palm softly before placing it over his beating heart: tumhe kisne kahaa mujhe pasand nahi hain? I was sceptical the first time around but I had fun too. (Then with a mischievous glint in his eyes adds) haan par iss baar mein poori taiyaari ke saath aaya hoon.

Hehe so both are better prepared this time around...

Nidhi is just priceless- insaanon ka 2nd honeymoon hai ya bandaron ka:

Nidhi's eyes tease him: iss baar dono ussi ped par chadenge! mazaa aayega.

loved ashu arranging both their clothes.

Liked this - never once in the show did anyone address her as Mrs. Ashutosh, chalo atleast aapke ff me AshNi ke muh se hi sunne mila:

Nidhi kisses his shouder: Dr Nidhi nahi..Mrs Ashutosh.

This was a hillarious convo, yet so typical of our AshNi:

Nidhi points out to the tree: woh dekhiye woh dekhiye..wahi ped. aaj bhi wahi hain.

Ashu starts laughing: FYI Nidhi..ped ke paav nahi hote ki utke kahi aur chali jaaye.

Nidhi: haan haan jaanti hoon. par agar koi toofan aagaya toh gir toh sakta hain na.

Ashu: if the roots are strong, it won't fall na.

Nidhi smiles up at him: rishton ki tarah.

Ashu nods: haan. rishton ki tarah.

@Bold - very well written dear

Loved the entire scene with climbing tree, and taking pics by that lady.

The flowers - how sweet!

Aha now comes best part- ashu's surprise on the machan and the way they remembered all the important dates - good and bad both.

Loved the way Ashu forgot some good days but not a single bad day- shows the extent of his guilt feeling. Indeed the best way to redeem Ashu w.r.t. the mallika tracks.

Loved the romance - waise tell me something plz, - how did it feel to write such subtle romance after a long time? 😆

The pic-taking near that tree was a nice touch.

Still cant stop laughing at the monkey scene - can so imagine the entire scene.

This convo too was hillarious:

Nidhi looks at him while zipping up the carry on, her eyes alight with laughter: as soon as I reach home, I am going to show the snaps to baba. (a slight pause and then adds on) esp the one in which the baby monkey is sitting on your head.

Ashu: excuse me..it was not sitting on my head. it was sitting on my shoulder.

Nidhi: it had its hands on your head na..

Ashu raises his eyebrow: mazaa aaraha hain na tumhe? lelo lelo..aur mazaa lelo. mein bhi kehdoonga baba se.

Nidhi bites her lip: kya kahenge baba se?

Ashu: kehdoonga ki ek bandariya se shaadi karoonga toh mera haal toh yahi hoga.

Nidhi giggles: toh humaare bachche bandar honge?

Ashu controls his own grin: ma pe jaayenge toh bandar ki tarah hi honge. (and leaps back to escape her mock punch. They run around the bed with her trying to catch him and him trying to escape until the manager loudly clears his throat interrupting their chasing game)

All in all, a fab OS dear