Hi All
Thank you again for all the lovely comments. I have a short update this time. Only because its a continuation of the earlier scene. I wouldnt have been able to start a new story unless I got this one out of my system. So, if you havent read OS # 3, please do, and you'll get the background.
P.S : I have taken the liberty to include a real-life scenario into this story. I hope its as interesting as reality and the reactions it initiated on the forum.
You'll know what I mean when you get there.
This time, no song inspired the part. Instead the home building reminded me of this song, hence the title "Do Deewaane Sheher mein" from Gharonda.
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They were almost done with the shopping for Ruhi's project. Of course, both of them had different ideas about what the house should look like. They spent a few minutes arguing on what the final project shoud shape up to be. Ishita wanted it to look like a bungalow. An independent house with a garden in the front, and a play area in the back. She had an image of what plants and flowers would grace the entrance to the house. She wanted the play area to also have a huge tree and a swing. A place in the corner with a table and chairs for everyone to sit and watch the kids playing. She wanted the bungalow to have 2 floors, a kitchen, living room and dining area on
the ground floor. 4 bedrooms on the first floor, with an entertainment room and also the study. Raman's mouth did not close till he finished her description. "Oye madam. Ek baar tumko super woman kya bol diya and you took it seriously. Abhi shaam ke 6 baje hain, and we have to finish this before 8 in the morning. And tumko Buckingham Palace bananaa hai? Ruhi ke samaan ka theek se khayal rakha hota, to we would have had 2 weeks to build your palace. Ab ek raat mein bas flat ban sakta hai". She was fuming. He had laughed at her idea, and no doubt he thinks his practicality is always better than her imagination."Arre, aapne poocha ki kya samaan khareedna hai, to maine aapko bataa diya ki kaisa ghar banaana hai. Ab aap creatively nahin soch sakte, to main kya karoon? ismein jealous hone ki koi baat nahin hai, not everyone is talented". He wasn't about to waste time arguing. So he just said "dekho, garden, 2 floors banaake ka time nahin hai madam. chup chaap ek flat banate hain. 1 kitchen, 1 living room with a dining table in it, 2 bedrooms, ALL on one floor. samjhi? this is the best we can do in one night." He saw her fallen face, and added "Accha chalo, ek balcony bhi banaa denge". They had forgotten to ask the person that mattered the most. She was standing there with hands on her hip, already used to such fights between her parents. She let them come to a pause, and then said "Papa yeh mera project hai na, phir mujhse nahin poochoge ki kya chaahiye?"
"Lo, lag gayi batti" Raman thought. "Yeh to din raat Ishima Ishima karte rehti hai. chalo Raman bhai, ek bangla banaate hain" Ishita's face also brightened and asked "Of course beta, bolo kounsa idea acchha laga aapko?". She was so sure of her daughter's answer, that she just looked at Raman with a victorious face.
"Ishima, papa - mujhe ghar waise hi banaana hai, jaise abhi hai. Bas lekin paatti ka ghar and humaara ghar join kar denge. Phir aapko aur Ishima ko alag alag nahin rehna padega". Ishita and Raman looked at each other, in a way only 2 proud parents could. They did not know whether to laugh or cry. They had no choice. They came up with a list of things to buy, and started frantically running around the shops. At some point, Ruhi fell asleep. Raman was carrying her, and Ishita was pushing the shopping cart and carrying the bags. They bought all the cardboard, tapes, pins, colourful papers, miniature furniture, small kitchen sets, dolls, even bought a miniature Mutthu. Because Ruhi was a perfectionist, they also had to buy toy cars and Romi chachu's bike.
They came out to the parking lot. Raman was placing the sleeping child on the back seat, when Ishita was keeping their purchases in the boot of the car. WHen she saw the bottles of alcohol, she made a face. But she didnt say anything, just slammed the boot down to show her disapproval.
Thats when she saw it, a coiled metre-long reptile with eyes boring into her. Looking at her as if it was going to attack her any minute. "Aiyyo Muruga!!!" was all Raman heard when she came at him and jumped into his arms. She hugged him so tightly, that he had difficulty breathing. Her nails were knawing at his back... and she was muttering something. "Kya hua Ishita, mujhe kuch samajh mein nahin aa raha hai, theek se bolo na". "Raman woh, Raman woh, lamba sa snake hai wahaan pe. Raman, bahut daraaawna hai... main us taraf se jaake gaadi mein nahin baith sakti. Kucch karo na". If she didnt sound genuinely scared, Raman would have laughed. But he had to do something, people were staring at them. He had to make her feel safe, without making her regret her action of hugging him. He said the only thing that came to his mind "Arre drama queen. Itna mat daro". She calmed at his confidence. When he said "If you dont loosen up a bit Ishita, I will die. You are hurting me now. Dikhaao kahaan pe hai saap", she showed him where the snake was and he started laughing. "Arre isse dar rahi ho tum? uski shakal and size to dekho. Mujhe us saap ka sochke bura lag raha hai. Bichara woh soch raha hoga, ki lecture dena start karegi, ki main parking lot mein bina permit ke kyon aaaya". Her face had come back to normal now, and she looked at him as she always did. With some surprise and a lot of annoyance. He shooed the snake away and asked her to get into the car. Some kids around had started laughing and the only thing she could do to save face was to rush into the car.
When they got to the Iyers, Ishita gently woke Ruhi up. She had to ensure that Ruhi participated in the whole process, that was the whole point. Raman had gone to give all the party items to his mother, and tell them he won't be able to join the party. Ishita was secretly happy that he didnt get an excuse to drink that night. She arranged everything in her bedroom, and started making a mental plan. Of course, Ruhi was so distracted by all the dolls that they had bought that she wasnt into the project any more. Ishita had to scare the kid by telling her that the project was a competition and if she didnt participate they wouldnt win.
Raman had changed into jeans and a black t-shirt. She always liked him when he was in his casual clothes. He appeared a bit more approachable, not like the Ravan Kumar Bhalla in his business suits. "Chalo, tamaasha shuru karte hain abhi. Yeh school waale bhi na, poore time nautanki karwaate hain". She thought of telling him about how it is important for today's children to engage in such activities. SImply because their generation was only interested in playing video games, and chatting with friends on the internet. But she decided against it. She was still reeling from the embarassing situation in the parking lot. If she started saying anything, he would taunt her for being scared. He was amused by her silence. It looked like she wanted to say something, but was holding her tongue with great difficulty. "Kya hua, tumhaare muh pe taala lag gaya kya? Isi din ka main kab se intezaar kar raha tha, shaayad bhagwaan ne saap ke roop mein aake meri icchha poori kar di".
With great difficulty, she explained her plan to Raman. They disagreed on how to build the 2 houses and join them together, so finally they gave up and decided they would each build their own home and tape them together some how. Their daughter had different ideas. "Ishima, aap humaara ghar banaao, and papa aap paatti ka. That way, you will both put in your ideas into the other person's house, and lagega ki ek ghar hai". Ishita and Raman then realised the gravity of the situation. Their daughter was small, innocent, but not naive. Since this evening, she was expressing all her innermost fears in a cute way. In her own endearing way, she was trying to bring them together. WHo could say no to such a face. Ishita quietly nodded at Raman. But she did say "Ruhi, kitchen do banenge, OK. Paatti will never agree to cook in the same kitchen as mummyji" Ruhi started giggling.
Slowly, they started building their respective parts, with Ruhi spending equal time with both of them. She was usually reviewing their work and reminding them of any small things they were forgetting. LIke when Ishita forgot to put the wardrobe in their bedroom. Or when Raman missed Paatti's pooja area. Once in a while, when their daughter said something funny they looked at each other and smiled. They worked in a comfortable silence. They worked on separate parts of the house, but were still doing this as a team. Passing around the scissors, tape and dolls. Ishita was almost done with her part when Raman asked her for the miniature Mutthu. She extended the toy dog with without looking up. Their hands touched and she immediately pulled hers back. Raman knew she was still reeling from the after effects of what happened to her. He knew that it would take time for her to completely heal, he had to help her come back from that nightmare.So knew of only one way to deal with it, so he said "parking lot mein to acchhe se gale pad gayi thi, ab galti se haath touch ho gaya to aise muh banaa rahi ho".
Ruhi jumped up, "Ishima aapne papa ko hug kiya?" The look Ishita had on her face was priceless. Raman was waiting to see what story she would now come up with. She obviously would not want to talk about the snake and scare Ruhi. She just said "arre nahin beta, woh mere haath mein bahut samaan tha na, to I lost my balance aur aapke papa par gir gayi. bas utna hi hua, agar papa meri thodi help karte to nahin hota". Raman mentally bowed down to her. She could not only lie, but also make it his fault. "Tumhein bachpan mein kisine bola nahi? tum actress ban sakti ho. Haan itni khoobsoorat to nahin ho, but TV mein to chhota mota role mil hi jaata tumko. Itna talent to hai tum mein"
At some point Ruhi felt asleep again. By the time they were done with the house, they were knackered too. They took a final glimpse at their creation. It had shaped up well. The two houses were joined together by putting the 2 living rooms together and had a common entrance. It was as if it was a real single house, with aspects of both their lives joined together, a real joint family. It was around 2:00 AM. The Iyers had retured around 9:00 PM and checked up on them, thankfully they ahd fed Ruhi too while her parents were busy with the project. Raman got up to leave, when she said "Khaana nahin khaaya hai aapne. Abhi to party bhi khatam ho gayi hai, pata nahin wahaan pe khana bacha bhi hai ki nahin. Yahin pe kucch kha lo, if wish". Raman was waiting for her invitation. HE was secretly hoping that she would ask him to sleep in her room that night, but he was getting ahead of himself. "OK. Tumne bhi to kucch nahin khaaya, chalo saath mein khaate hain"
**** So, what do you think???
CID
Bigg Boss 19
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