Pt 3
"Nidhi, stop crying now, will you?"
Anjie was panicking now. She had spotted Nidhi running up the stairs towards her room and had quickly followed her. Nidhi had collapsed onto the bed and proceeded to sob her heart out. The crying had been on for some five minutes and showed no signs of abating.
"Nidhi, stop crying now! You'll make yourself sick this way, come on now!"
"I wish I would fall sick, Anjie! I don't want to go on living feeling as miserable as I do! I wish I would die in fact!"
"And how would I go on living then?"
Nidhi's sobs ceased immediately as she scrambled up from the bed and looked at the doorway with an expression that was a mixture of embarrassment, shock, love and hope.
"Ashu Bhaiyya, what are you doing here? Don't you know you can't enter a girl's room without knocking? And why are you spouting such filmy dialogues to Nidhi?"
Ashu simply could not tear his gaze away from Nidhi's tear blotched face. Even with swollen eyes, tear stained cheeks and a red nose, she remained the most beautiful woman he had ever set eyes on!
"Bhaiyya, I asked you a question? What is going on here?"
Anjie was beginning to get suspicious now. Her cousin and her friend seemed unable to look away from each other. Was there something going on that she had no clue about?
"Anjie, be a good girl and leave the room!"
Anjie was flabbergasted now while Nidhi looked mortified.
"You want me to leave my own room? For what, Bhaiyya?"
"So I can speak to Nidhi in private!"
It would be an understatement to say that Anjie was poleaxed. Her expression revealed that pretty much.
"Bhaiyya, what are you saying? Why would you want to speak to my friend in private? I mean you don't even know her. And this is not your Delhi, Bhaiyya! Girls and boys don't speak in private unless they are brother and sister or are married!"
Anjie looked at Ashu teasingly as she spoke the last part.
"We are not married yet, Anjie! A fact that I hope to rectify at the earliest!"
Nidhi's flaming cheeks and the passionate expression in Ashu's eyes conveyed a message all their own. Anjie put two and two together and her eyes started gleaming with mischief!
"You are that Prince Charming who stole my friend's heart at first sight?"
Ashutosh's gaze remained fixed on Nidhi even as he asked Anjie.
"Did she tell you that?"
Before Anjie could respond, Nidhi grabbed her hand.
"Anjie, I have to go home. My mother is waiting!"
Even as she moved towards the door, Ashu quickly blocked her exit route.
Unable to meet his eyes, Nidhi appealed to Anjie.
"Anjie , please ask your brother to move out of my way!"
"Anjie, please ask your friend to listen to what I have to say for five minutes,"
Anjie could not stop herself from breaking into laughter.
"Bhaiyya and Nidhi, please talk to each other directly. I am out of here!"
As she moved towards the door, Nidhi quickly grabbed her hand.
"Anjie, meri kasam, you can't leave!"
Anjie could feel her fingers trembling and the flustered expression on her face indicated that she was genuinely disturbed.
"Anjie, I think your friend is afraid to be alone with me but please assure her that I am a respectable guy!"
"Bhaiyya, I can certainly vouchsafe for you but Nidhi is not used to all this. She has had a very sheltered upbringing and has probably never spoken to a man other those in her family!"
Ashu nodded understandingly,
"I understand. I respect her wishes!"
Ashutosh turned to look at Nidhi imploringly.
"Nidhi, I am sorry for everything that happened today and the other day too! Believe me, it was not my intention to hurt or humiliate you or your family in any way!"
Although she still did not look up at this, there was an almost imperceptible nod of her head, as if to indicate that she was listening.
"Nidhi, I want to marry you. If you are willing, I will ask my parents to approach your family again!"
This time, she could not help herself. She quickly looked up at him and the flare of joy in her eyes was a dead giveaway. Ashu could not stop himself from mentally pumping his fists.
"Bhaiyya, I know I am a kebab me haddi here but nothing much I can do about that. Look at how tightly she's gripped my arm. See the red marks!"
Nidhi was mortified to see that there were indeed marks on Anjie's fair upper arm.
"Anjie, I am so sorry!"
"Hey silly, I was just joking. And listen, my Bhaiyya is still waiting for your answer. Are you going to reply or should I maybe leave you people alone after all?"
Nidhi shook her head vehemently as she grabbed Anjie's arm again.
"Bhaiyya, she's not letting me go, so don't blame me! But tell me, how did it all happen! I mean, Maasi had told Maa that you were here to see some girl. And I knew all about what went on with Nidhi. But it never struck me to put two and two together!"
"You know that wedding last month in my Taiji's family Na? Papa and I could not go because we had to go to Singapore for some business conference. So, they had brought the wedding album home for us to see. While everyone was busy admiring the couple, I could not take my eyes off a certain doe eyed beauty who was present in most of the snaps. If you can fall in love looking at a picture, then that is what happened to me. Mumma was of course delighted when I quietly told her that I had chosen my bride and things moved at lightning speed after that. Until my sister had to crash down on us like thunder and spoil things!"
Ashu's face darkened at the thought of his sister's abominable behaviour!
"Wow Bhaiyya, all of this sounds so romantic! Doesn't it, Nidhi?"
One pair of eyes looked at her teasingly while another held all the hope in the world in them.
"I told my mother I had picked my bride! But the important question now is if my bride will have me? Will you, Nidhi? Will you be my bride? Will you be mine?"
The fervent note in his deep voice sent shivers down her spine and her fingers unwittingly tightened again on Anjie's arm.
"Ouch Nidhi, that hurts! Cut your nails, will you? Imagine your state or else, Bhaiyya!"
Anjie started laughing loudly at the identical deep blush that stained both their cheeks. Ashu gave her a mock blow on her head.
"Brat! I'll be going now! No time to waste!"
Ashu gave Nidhi a meaningful look as if to seek her consent once again before he left.
Her shining eyes and the glow on her face gave him the answer that her lips failed to utter.
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Shyama felt acutely embarrassed. As if her simple attire and lack of jewellery were not enough to scream that she was an outsider to these surroundings, Vidhya had effectively underlined the fact with her sharp words and her rude behaviour. Although, Anjie's mother had quickly diverted Vidya's attention and sent her off on some errand, the damage had been done. Everyone was giving her looks that were a mixture of contempt and pity.
Why did she allow herself to be convinced into coming here? If only she had known that the Mathurs would be here! She would have stayed miles away from the place and ensured that Nidhi did too. The poor child had still not recovered from the hurtful events of the other day. What mother would she be if she did not know her daughter's heart! She had not missed Nidhi's expression when she had set eyes on Ashutosh Mathur, nether today nor the other day. The young girl had started weaving dreams already only to have them torn apart by cruel and spiteful words. Her heart had broken when she had see the dreams in her daughter's eyes shatter even before they could take complete shape,
"Behen ji, please forgive my daughter for her harsh words!"
Shyama broke out of her reverie. Mrs Mathur and Mrs Solanki, Anjie's mother, stood beside her.
"It's okay ji, we are small people. We cannot expect respect from hi-society people like you!"
Mrs Mathur flinched,
"Please behenji, don't say such things. Big and small has nothing to do with anything. My daughter was an only child for twelve years before Ashu came along. I am ashamed to say that my husband and I thoroughly spoilt her and failed to give her good values and the right kind of upbringing!"
Shyama could see the genuine regret and guilt in Mrs Mathur's eyes. A kind hearted woman, she hastened to make light of things in an effort to make her feel better.
"Please don't say such things, behenji! Sometimes youngsters can be a little abrupt. I am sure your daughter did not mean to be hurtful!"
Mrs Mathur impulsively hugged her.
"Now that the two samdhans have hugged and made up, shouldn't we go about fixing the wedding date? Come on, Didi, get on with the job you came here for!"
Shyama was take aback by Mrs Solanki's words. What did she mean?
"Behenji, Lakshmi is my chacha's daughter. I was telling her about how Ashu wanted to marry Nidhi and how Vidya had spoilt things. When I told her more about your family, she realized that the Nidhi I was talking about was her daughter Anjie's friend. This Satyanarayana Pooja was planned just so we could all meet again and try to resolve our differences!"
Shyama was stunned. Nothing was a coincidence? They had planned it all? Is that why Anjie had come home and begged her and Nidhi to attend the Pooja? Was she also party to this plan?
"Aunty, trust me, I had no idea. If I had known, I could never have kept it secret from Nidhi!"
A beaming Anjie joined them, half dragging an embarrassed Nidhi along.
"Nidhi beta, take behen ji's blessings!"
As Shyama urged her, Nidhi bent down and touched Mrs Mathur's feet. The older lady promptly helped her to her feet and hugged her warmly before planting a kiss on her forehead.
"So, will you put my son out of his misery and bring the smile back to his face? His father is complaining that he plays the same song again and again these days. How does it go, Ashu?"
She threw the question at an approaching Ashu before starting to hum,
"O Saathi Re...tere bina Bhi kya jeena!"
It was Ashu's turn to blush now even as he bent down to take Shyama's blessings.
"Aunty ji, please bless me. So I can keep your daughter in happiness for all our lives!"
Edited by sharadrocks - 10 years ago
