Kabhi Neem Neem, Kabhi Shahad Shahad
"When it comes to men who are romantically interested in you, it's really simple. Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do."
Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
This man, she smiles to herself as she looks at him. He really is the most complicated, confusing, and confused creature she has ever come across in her life; knows she ever will.
When will he ever understand... she sees through him now, clear as a bell, hard as he tries to hide himself, to display that I-don't-give-a-damn-attitude, the more it becomes obvious to her - the reality is he cares... he cares about her, a LOT. He thinks he can use that tongue of his to get away with things; display a false sense of nonchalance, hide behind his taunts and retorts and all that grumbling he does... but the truth is the more he tries to hide, the more she sees him for who he is.
She found him to be the rudest man to have walked the earth once upon a time. Now she knows better, she knows he is one of the most caring and loving people, she has had the pleasure to know. His mannerisms aside, he is on par with her Appa, Bala jiju and Papaji; men she admires and respects - men who have the courage to stand by their family and preserve and protect them. She never thought a day would come when they would be here together as she gladly enjoys his company.
Oh, she definitely likes to spend time with him now, now that she knows him better and is used to his mercurial ways and unpredictable nature and it most definitely is for that sharp wit of his, that quick tongue which knows to spew venom and honey in equal amounts. She admitted it once, only ONCE, to this man... she enjoys the Raavan Kumar version of him... because the 24 hours he stayed quiet and sweet as a lamb; they turned out to be the most mind-numbing, the most boring 24 hours of her married life so far.
Sparring with him, she has come to learn is such a delight; she dreads now the mere thought of a day when he would be tamed - no, she would die of sheer boredom, she can so tell - not that he needs to know this though.
His company is anything but boring.
That combination of his razor-sharp mind and tongue are her source of amusement and entertainment; particularly when they are aimed at someone else. It is truly a delight; the company of this man who can make her laugh even in her foulest moods, her dullest days.
She muses how her life has changed suddenly... post her break-up with the man she once loved, it had seemed to her she would never again smile, never be happy; not when the pain of his betrayal still haunted her heart and soul.
Here she is today, out with her husband for a midnight drive because she felt bored and he obliged though in his usual way, because he understood she had been bored sitting at home all day only resting and relaxing owing to her fracture.
Ruhi & Raman... they have changed her world - her daughter makes her days bright and is her reason to smile, and her husband - he makes her laugh, laugh hard enough at times that she her eyes pool with tears. He really is a darling man; though she would never admit it to his face...she certainly is unprepared for that downpour of incessant taunts from his end. Not to mention he does not need any more reason to add fuel to that smug attitude of his.
She just had to pout and whine she was bored and so wanted to have Kulfi and he, he obliged her enough to take her out so late in the night.
Though they could have landed at the high-end restaurant of any five-star hotel for some gourmet ice cream, on her insistence he came here, all the way to Karol Bagh for a roadside Kulfi at late night.
So here they are, she sitting in the car waiting for her husband who insisted she not get off the car as he taunted her, that he cannot bear to lift her if she falls down in the rain and ends up with another plaster; while he got drenched just to fulfill her wish.
It's raining cats and dogs outside, and for a moment, she wishes she had not made the sudden craving of hers be known looking at her husband as he waits patiently outside a popular eatery that serves the best Kulfi this side of town as she sits here waiting for him. However, a corner of her heart cannot help but feel gleeful that he came here for her, that for her... he is ready to go through so much trouble.
Her husband had departed the car with the keys still in ignition and the FM playing and suddenly she hears the enchanting composition of A.R. Rahman, as the song Kabhi Neem Neem, Kabhi Shahad Shahad starts playing.
Looking at her husband as the song plays, and he finally reaches the counter and waits for their order, she cannot help but have a broad smile on her face.
She has loved this song ever since the music of the movie came out, but tonight, tonight this song finds a special place, a new importance in her life - the lyrics describe her husband to the T, after all.
Raman is such a mix of Neem and Shahad, for sure she thinks with amusement. Equal parts bitter and sweet, angry and caring - he is such a contradiction by himself - she shakes her head as the singer continues to croon the delightful melody.
When they had got married, she had no hopes from this marriage and was not even sure whether this man deserved being a human being, up until that point all she had seen of him was anger and pride, ego and hatred, the way he treated his daughter. It angered her every time he snubbed Ruhi, yelled at her or made the sweet little girl upset. She had felt it was such a cruel fate, for having blessed a monster with such an angel, while she longed to call a child of her own.
She did not know then, that very child would be her own one day... as would be the man whose progeny she is. That little girl who she saved on the streets was in reality her savior, she had merely saved Ruhi but Ruhi... she gave her reason to love, live and smile after that.
Recently she had upset him as she spoke of her ex and the bitter memories their breakup gave her, the experience of her heartbreak. She had poured her heart out to this man, because she found a true friend in him - only she had upset the husband in him.
It is happening more often now, she muses, the claiming of their relationship as husband and wife. She had been upset with him when he wanted to go for a picnic with Adi and Shagun and wanted to take Ruhi along with them, the wife in her had been hurt then feeling snubbed by her husband, less favored than his ex. She had reared her head again the day she had said Raman still loves her, his ex-wife.
She is seeing him stepping up too. Beating Parmeet outside the court that day, yelling for the world to hear he will not leave her hand, as he is her husband.
She still cannot help but recollect the time they spent together alone when he had planned that picnic - Raman had planned it for her, for them. He wanted to spend some alone time with her.
She had brushed aside Mihika' statement at her home as her misconception based on some misunderstanding Mihir might have had... but the way Raman had taken care of her when she had a sudden allergy attack, had played the possessive, protective husband it warms her heart.
She ruined his plans but he never once complained nor created a scene in front of anyone. It amazes her he can be this sweet too.
Weirdly, it feels to her, this outing is akin to a date and for some reason it makes her feel giddy.
Raman grumbled, as is his norm; when he heard she wants to have a Kulfi, but was ready in less than ten minutes and got Mihika to help her change in a comfortable Churidar Kurta too for the outing. Her cousin teased her when she learned of their plans and at the time she had hushed up Mihika by pulling her ears but she can't help but feel the delight she does, right now with no one to witness her she does admit, it thrills her, her husband is such a caring man.
She feels a flush as she recalls her prank and hears the words her husband had said to her in that fit of panic - we are happily married. He is happy with her... she makes him happy. He had said they have kids, she never spoke up about it - but his words gave her an unprecedented bliss that day. No words can describe what it means to her for having heard those words from him - happily married, two kids.
She is a happily married woman with two kids today!
A lone tear escapes her eye as her heart fills up with a joy she has never experienced before.
It feels surreal... to have this feeling, to be in this place - like a distant dream come true, a dream she had all but found shattered and abandoned at the hands of a man whom she trusted her heart with at the age of fifteen.
The man, who had promised her the world once, left her when she most needed him. broke her heart, and like a spineless coward didn't even meet her eyes ONCE as he did that, stomped all over it when he crushed the dreams she had had, dreams of them for twelve long years.
She cannot help but compare the two - Raman and Subu in her mind.
The two men in her life are as different as chalk and cheese, as Neem and Shahad.
She remembers having fallen for Subu for his pleasing ways, for the soft-spoken guy he was, his mild-mannered attitude, his charisma and his looks - he had seemed the perfect guy to her back then - tall and handsome, smart and funny.
He had been everything she thought she wanted and nothing that turned out to be the one she needed in the end after all.
Raman is so volatile in comparison, so unpredictable. Her husband for the life of him cannot stay calm for twenty-four hours in a row. She has never been scared of him, but sometimes his anger does scare her for his sake. Not to mention he can be so rude, so uncouth.
He is the very antithesis of what Subu had been.
She had felt she must have sinned spectacularly when she ended up with this man the day she had to come to terms with the truth she had to wed him.
He was nothing she wanted...and it turns out everything she needed.
A man she thought she knew better than her anything in this world did not bother to face her once as he destroyed every dream that had been theirs from the beginning. Then came this man, who was a stranger to her not a year back is today doing everything within his means and more to please her, to take care of her.
It seems so strange to her, the man who had made her life seem so beautiful once made everything bitter with his betrayal - every memory, dream and thought she had while the man who had seemed like nothing but her cross to bear for the rest of her life is here making things sweeter by the day.
She never would have expected the things he has been doing or trying to do for her lately ever since her fall. The childish greeting card, the way he helped her brush her teeth or tried to comb her hair - she never could have predicted Raman could be capable of such considerate gestures.
She is still lost in her thoughts when the door to the car opens and her husband shivers before he hands her the spoon that came along with the pot of the Malai Kulfi she had wanted to have as he holds on the earthenware for her.
"Thank you." She says with a smile to him.
"Don't thank me; just know this if you fall sick after this I am not taking care of you. You are such a crazy woman wanting to have a kulfi in the middle of a rainy night."
"Oh rains are the perfect time to have some cold kulfi Raman, but whom am I arguing with? The biggest grouch in the world, huh forget it besides... I understand your concerns."
"My concerns, exactly what is that supposed to mean?" He asks her with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes your concerns and it means at your ...age it's needed you take better care of yourself." She says with an amused laugh.
"You think you are very funny? And if I am an old man... well then you are an old woman too remember we are only two years apart."
"With the way you behave at times, it seems more like twenty."
"Shouldn't I be the one complaining about this then? You are the one who always keeps on lecturing me in each and every matter."
"Oh please! You and I both know better than that who is the old soul here and right now I am more interested in my Kulfi than proving to you it's you... so before this one melts, let me finish it we will continue later."
"Please do, I am the one who had to brave these hellish rains and stand in that queue after all for this stupid kulfi."
Its then that she notices, he got only one pot of Kulfi.
"Raman didn't you get a kulfi for yourself?"
"No, I didn't feel like having one. You enjoy yours, once you finish it, I'll start driving otherwise you might just drop it and spoil the carpet of my car."
"Raavan Kumar..." She mutters under her breath.
Taking out a huge scoop with a spoon, she offers it to her husband.
"Raman here, have a bite, open your mouth."
"Didn't I say I don't wanna have it? You can enjoy your kulfi."
"Oh come on, I don't like eating all by myself and one spoon won't kill you."
"I already...uhmm"
He never gets a chance to finish as she stuffs the spoon in his mouth and laughs. Gulping down the spoonful, he looks daggers at her.
"God how childish can you be? What is your problem?"
"I don't like eating alone, like I said. Besides this seemed like such a great way to shut you up, I might just stock some kulfi at home now in case of emergencies you know."
"Oh is that so?"
He takes the spoon from her hand and dips it into the earthen pot, taking out a huge spoonful he extends the spoon towards his wife who gleefully opens her mouth for the scoop, only to see at the last moment her husband gobbled down the entire thing.
"Haw... that was supposed to be my spoon"
"Weren't you just planning to save an entire stock only to get me to shut up? Could not even handle the loss of a spoonful, miser. Besides I just said I do not feel like having a kulfi now, I will have you know I can finish these things in no time."
"I said in case of emergencies as far as the shutting up goes and right now I wanna eat this one. Now give me the spoon."
Instead of handing her the spoon when she extends her hand to take it, he dips it into the pot and this time sincerely extends it towards her, but she tries to take the spoon from him with mock anger on her face,
"I can eat by myself."
"Be careful of that sling of yours. Like I said, I am concerned about my car here, if you drop this kulfi on the carpet, it will be messy so I'll feed you, and now just shut up and open your mouth."
Pouting at him she finally opens her mouth as he feeds her the spoonful.
"How is it?" He asks her after the first bite.
"It's quite good; I have never been to this place."
"This is my favorite kulfi joint."
"You never mentioned you love kulfis as well."
"Who doesn't love a kulfi? Only an idiot doesn't like them."
"Subu didn't like them, would fall sick even if he ate one."
The name and the detail slip out matter of factly before she can stop them.
Her husband goes quite for a while before he looks up at her and quietly replies, as he feeds her another spoonful,
"Like I said he must be an idiot, doesn't know what he is missing."
As she gulps down, she sees Raman doling out another spoon that he has,
"Weren't you saying you didn't wanna eat a kulfi?"
"I changed my mind... besides didn't you insist, you don't like eating kulfi alone."
"I only mentioned the eating part, never mentioned kulfi."
"So... you don't wanna share with me now? Is that it?"
"I never said that only..."
"Only?"
"You got us only one pot, that too such a small one between the two of us." She says with a smile.
"Hmm that is true, with your appetite I should have brought the bigger one."
When she makes a face at that, he has to laugh,
"Relax, lets finish up this one first, I'll get us another one after this, this time of my favorite flavor."
"Your favorite flavor, which is it?"
"Elaichi, it's the specialty of this joint."
"Okay."
Soon the pot of kulfi is empty and Raman is about to step out to get another one from them as he opens the door with an umbrella in hand and stops at the last moment to turn back to her,
"Ishita..."
"Hmm?"
"I have a rule in life."
"Huh? What?"
"I said I have a rule in life."
"Uh, okay. What is it?"
Her husband really is strange sometimes, she does not see what he is doing here when he replies with the words he does they stun her once again,
"Ishita, I never like or trust people who hate kulfis."
He sees the confused look on her face and smiles slightly before asking her,
"Don't you wanna know why?"
"Why?" She whispers the word still a bit dazed.
"Because, such people aren't capable of appreciating a good thing, nor do they know how to do it. And that in my opinion makes those people unworthy of any consideration."
Before she can process anything or react, he is out of the car and headed towards the eatery once again.
The words her husband used, they however bring a shy smile on her face as she looks on at him and tries to hear the pouring rain over the pounding of her thundering heartbeats ringing in her ears.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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