FF: KUCH LUV JAISA - LAST pt pg-72 NOTEpg-75 - Page 12

Chapter 6

She sighed while laying down the breakfast on the table as one more day passed and she didn't get to visit the temple. She was lost in her thoughts when he looked at her then turned his neck towards roops and said " roops , taiyaar rehna aaj sham ko hum sab shivji ke mandir jayenge bappa ke darshan ke liye." Her eyes stilled for a moment her ears couldn't believe what they had heard then she looked at him, with eyes beaming in excitement. He lowered his head and left for work.

As promised in the evening dutta took roops and nakku along with baaji to the temple. It was a huge temple beautifully decorated with lights as the festival was nearing towards the end a large crowd had turned up but dutta had already informed purohit ji of their visit so they didn't have to wait in the crowd. There were a number of food stall around the temple, nakku couldn't contain her happiness and began walking up the stairs when roops called her from behind " vaheni abhi nahin pehle chaat khaate hain phir darshan ko jayenge." Baaji slapped his forehead " roops tu khane ke ilava kuch soch sakti hai." Nakku came down and roops raised her head high to reply " pehle peth puja phir kaam duja." So the four of them entered the chaat stall but nakkus eyes didn't leave the big idol of lord ganesha which was visible even from far " bappa kitne sundar lag rahe hain nah ?" Dutta realized how much she believed in Him and must have missed out on seeking His blessings daily. " bhaiya zara chaar plate chaat dena." Said roops while dutta intervened and said " ek bina mirchi ke dena." Roops elbowed nakku naughtily suggesting that he remembered that she doesn't enjoy spicy food making her blush shyly. He saw their playful interaction but ignored it.

Purohit ji carried out the evening arti in their presence. The whole crowd was reciting the chants with him, nakku knew all the words by heart, since childhood she had been reciting them. Dutta stood a little far away from her and watched her closely how she was enjoying each and every moment of the arti without taking her eyes off the idol of lord ganesha. A sweet smile and a feeling of contentment displayed on her face. He was neither a firm believer nor a non believer of God, just that he believed in himself more than in anybody else. He believed in doing things himself rather than depend on some super natural power to make things happen for him. When the arti got over she looked around for him and caught him staring at her, he instantly dropped his gaze and started moving back without noticing that huge lamps were lit behind him, he was about to hit one when nakku came rushing towards him and pushed him aside. The lamp fell down and the hot oil splashed at her feet burning them a bit. She shut her eyes in pain while dutta held her by her shoulders. His forehead creased in worry on seeing her hurt because of him why did she have to come in between? His mind questioned. He made her sit on a nearby chair and baaji brought some ice for her and rubbed it softly on her feet, " vaheni ab kaisa lag raha hai?" asked roops worriedly she nodded her head slowly indicating that she was feeling better. Sometime later dutta asked baaji to get the car as close to the tent as possible. Nakku began walking slowly towards the car with the help of roops while dutta walked ahead of them dispersing the crowd.

Roops made her sit at the back seat with her legs up while she sat on the front seat. Dutta came behind to sit, he lifted nakku's legs carefully and placed them on his thighs. She instantly moved her legs back and kept them down, how could she rest her legs on his thighs? She felt his strong grip on her ankles as he lifted her legs and straightened them once again, he saw the reluctance in her eyes," main agar kuch karta hoon toh uska matlab hota hai." Stressing on each and every word of his, he continued" pata nahin raaste mein kitne ghadde (holes) hain?, inhe neeche rakhegi toh ghaadi ke jhatkon se aur chot lagegi." She didn't seem convinced with his logic instead appeared uncomfortable," main aapke upar apni taangein kaise rakh sakti hoon?" he kept a finger on his lips and glared hard to silence her, he didn't want to hear another word from her as it is he was upset to see her like this and now her unnecessary hesitation was annoying him, " baaji raaste mein koi chemist ki dukaan dikhe toh rok lena?aur ghaadi araam se chalana" She curled her toes uneasily and fidgeted with the end of her saree then looked everywhere except at him. He examined her feet thoughtfully, why did she have to intervene without any reason? He was capable of taking care of himself, he could have managed easily, he clenched his jaws and pressed his lips hard on seeing her burnt feet then raised his head and frowned at her, accusing her of hurting herself needlessly. This whole accident could have been easily averted had she not jumped in between. He shook his head in displeasure on the other hand she smiled inwardly on seeing him concerned which he was trying to hide behind his anger.

Baaji stopped the car in the middle and bought an ointment for her. On reaching the house she got down slowly, roops tried to help her by lending her shoulder so that nakku could lean on it but dutta raised his hand to stop nakku then picked her up in his arms in one swift move, she gasped in surprise and then squealed ," yeh kya kar rahe ho aap?" he took a deep breath and began walking," chaar kadam chalne mein toh takleef ho rahi hai ?kamre ki seediyaan tu chad legi ?..aaj ka din araam kar le kal se thoda thoda chalna shuru kariyo." Baaji and roops were happy to see him taking care of her. He entered their room slowly and placed her on the bed cautiously then gave her the ointment to apply it on her feet. He moved back to change himself in something more comfortable, the heavy worked kurta was hurting him before stepping into the washroom he turned around and said " aur woh diye ki chinta mat karna mein bhujhne nahin dunga ..theekh se ghee daal dunga." She gave him a grateful smile, his small small things were making a place in her heart.

He woke up rubbing his eyes and looked around for her, she was not in the room, he went out and saw her climbing down the stairs with roops holding her firmly around her waist both talking softly unaware that he was behind them listening to their conversation

" kya hua vaheni ? dard ho raha hai?" roops asked seeing her gloomy face. Nakku shook her head and replied " nahin dard toh kum hai par isey bhi kal hi jalna tha ..do din bache hain bappa ke viserjan ( immersing of the idol) mein ab toh sahab mujhe bilkul mandir nahin leke jayenge." As it is she had lost out many days to visit the temple and now after what happened yesterday she was sure he would not take her to a crowded place again. If she had to get her hurt she wished she had got on the last day.

She busied herself in the kitchen as it was difficult for her to stand for long so she took a stool and chopped vegetables while roops did the cooking as per her guidance. Soon both of them got lost in their talks when all of a sudden they heard loud noises, roops rushed out immediately and nakku too came out slowly, then what she saw surprised her completely, dutta and baaji were carrying a Ganpati idol covered with a red colored cloth. The guards followed them behind screaming " ganpati bappa morya." They kept the idol on a huge table and uncovered it, the guards showered it with flowers and colors, nakku still couldn't believe herself that her bappa was at her home and that too her husband had brought him for her. Dutta turned around to find her standing behind him with eyes filled with joy and gratitude. She kept on staring not the idol this time but him, thanking him silently for giving her this priceless moment of happiness. He didn't know that his small little gesture would have such a deep effect on her, she was hurt so taking her out in a crowded place was out of question so he bought the ganpati home unaware that it would delight her so much. She parted her lips and said softly " sahab .." he blinked his eyes and shook his head lightly indicating not to thank him, she smiled through her tears. She held the edge of her saree and raised it to his face level then began wiping off the color that had fallen on his cheeks both unable to take their eyes off each other.

" dutta ! yeh tune bahut accha kiya jo aakhri ke dinon ke liye bappa ko ghar le aaya." Said AS who was informed and brought by roops, dutta and nakku moved apart hurriedly while AS continued ," ab agar tu bappa ko laaya hai toh in do dino tak unki khoob seva karni hogi ?subha subha arti ke liye jaldi bhi uthna hoga." He nodded his head in acceptance, if he had taken up this responsibility he would fulfill it with utmost sincerity. Purohit ji began chanting the mantras to invoke life in the statue after which coconut, jaggery, modaks, beetle leaves and red flowers were offered. Nakku went back to the kitchen to make panchaamitra (honey, milk, ghee, curd and sugar all mixed together), dutta placed a garland of flowers around bappa's neck and Soon the whole family joined for the arti.

The last two days of the festival passed away in no time. Dutta had arranged a huge tent in his lawn where poor people were fed lunch and dinner for free, he would get up early in the morning though with not pleasure to attend the arti while nakku kept herself busy in decorating the idol, making modaks and ladoos , a little extra modaks knowing how much dutta liked having them in fact she was restricted to only giving out instructions the main work was actually carried out by roops and baaji. She was not allowed to strain herself by standing for long and would often find dutta glaring at her if she was caught doing so but nevertheless she enjoyed each and every minute of those remaining days. The purohitji came once again to conduct the final arti , nakku joined her hands and closed her eyes thanking bappa to grace her family with his presence at the same time seeking for his forgiveness if any ritual or custom went wrong unknowingly. Baaji and the guards picked up the idol to take it out in a procession accompanied with dancing and singing patil niwasi's to be immersed in the nearby beach. Dutta was walking behind silently and saw nakku admiring the ganpati idol one last time with tear filled eyes. He stopped near her and raised his eye brow asking her the reason for getting teary, she said innocently " bappa itni jaldi jaa rahe hain." He couldn't see her weeping and gave her a reassuring look," toh kya hua? Agle saal hum bappa ko pure dus din ke liye layenge." She wiped her tears then lowered her eyes and replied back softly " par agle saal main yahaan nahin hogi." Reminding him of the deal they had struck.

Thanks for reading

Lots of love

Rose