EPISODE 3: ISHQ CHUPTA NAHI CHUPANE SE
Part 7
Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate
Scene 1
Raman laughed softly. "Kabhi nahi" he replied, his voice intense with passion. "Never".
His grip on her hand tightened, their fingers entwined. One touch, which could be openly displayed in a room full of people, yet it heralded an emotion that was so private, so intimate, that Romi, who had unwittingly witnessed the scene, stepped back in embarrassed awe.
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Toh yeh baat hai !!!!!! Romi's earlier confusion and doubts cleared up in one illuminating moment of clarity.
"Bhabi had been talking to Bhai on the phone that day, when she said I love you. And she she lied about going to the clinic in order to spend time with Bhai. Chee, how could I have even imagined for a moment that it would be someone else." Romi murmured to himself.
Romi Bhalla was young in years, but he knew all there was to know about matters of the heart. The looks he had seen on the faces of his Bhai and Bhabhi were those of a couple deeply in love, crazy about each other. Their body language, their eyes screamed out their adoration for each other.
"How could I have missed this" Romi asked himself. "Bahut out of touch ho gaya hai beta."
He was so engrossed in talking to himself that he did not notice that he had moved close to Shagun, whom Ashok had deserted in order to grease up the mayor who was holding court at the back of the hall.
"That bloody bitch Ishita... Kya entrance marti hai" Shagun's muttering alerted Romi to her presence. "Abhi jaa kar baat karti hoon Raman se. Phir dekhna kaise woh mere piche bhagta hai, us ayya behenji ko chod kar"
"Oh, Shagun Madam" Romi turned around to face her, his eyes momentarily getting bedazzled by the gold jewellery-blouse combo. He blinked twice, then continued "Kahan ja rahi ho. Mere Bhai aur Bhabhi se to tum dur hi rehna."
"Mind your own business, Romi. I have to talk to Raman about Adi"
"Adi se toh Bhai milte hi rehte hai, community service par. Aur baat karna hai toh aap phone par kar lena. Kal subah. Lekin aaj toh nah, mainu tujhe meri Bhabhi ko nahi milne dena hai, by God. Mood kharab karna hai na, toh mera karlo."
"Oh shut up" Shagun stalked off in high dungeon, and headed towards Ashok instead.
Scene 2
Raman and Ishita were still standing together, lost in each other's eyes when they were approached by Neil Pathak.
Neil cleared his throat, then getting no response, touched Raman on his shoulder. "Bhai, aap aa kar welcome kar dijiye sab ko. Kuch hi der mein formalities kar dete hai, phir music aur dancing start kardenge, buffet ke saath." He said apologetically.
Ishita snatched her hand from Raman, blushing a deep red as she looked up at Neil. Raman however stood his ground, showing no embarrassment at being caught ogling his wife.
"Haan, thik hai chalo" He said to Neil, then turning to his wife." Ishita, tum..."
"Mein woh Vibhu aur us ki fiance se hello karne ja rani hoon" she indicated Subramaniam's son standing chatting with a pretty young girl.
"All you madrassi's stick together" Raman smiled. "Ek aur bhi hai yahan, Madras se aaya hua. Abhi aata hoon toh tumhe introduce karta hoon."
And with a last lingering glance at his wife, he walked away with Neil.
Scene 3
His good humour restored by his realisation of the truth, Romi decided to tease his bhabi. He walked up to where Ishita was standing, chatting happily with Vibhu and his mangetar.
"Hello Bhabhi. Hello Vibhu"
"Hello Romi" Vibhu responded introducing his fiancee. "Ishita akka, aap hum ko excuse kijiye, please. Appa dhundh rahen honge"
"Haan, thik hai" Ishita replied. She had been wanting to talk to Romi. "Romi" she said, turning to him. "Kaise ho? Sab thik toh hai naa? Kyon nahi gaye mamaji ke ghar?"
Romi arranged his features in a mock frown.
"Bhabhi, aap ke kaaran pareshan hoon. Is liye wapas aa gaya."
"Mere liye? Kyon, kya hua Romi?"
"Bhabhi I know ke Tuesday ko aap clinic mein nahi thi. Toh kyon jhooth bola aapne? Kahan thi aap? Bhabhi, mujhe bahut darr lag raha hai."
"Romi" Ishita looked at her young brother-in- law with some trepidation. "Kya chal raha hai tumhare dimag mein? Tumhe kyun lagta hai mein clinic par nahi thi?"
"Kyunki sari evening toh mein wahan tha Bhabhi. Aap mujhe sach bata do please."
"Tum wahan kya kar rahe theh Romi?"
Romi would not let her deflect the conversation on this side tangent. "Meri chodiye Bhabhi, aap kahan thi? Kya chupa rahi ho. Sach bolo na"
Ishita smiled ruefully at her brother in law. She had loved and cherished her secret meetings with Raman. The thrill that their private rendezvous had given her had surprised her, the sneaking around like teenagers, the pseudonyms, the planning, the stolen time with each other, when the world could be left far behind ... But she knew that the time for secrets was over. Mummyji already knew, Mihika suspected her of meeting Subbu, of all people, and now Romi appeared to suspect her of something as well. Their family loved them and were concerned about them, and this sneaking around had the potential to cause too many misunderstandings.
Besides, after the way that Raman had been gazing at her just now, Ishita knew that he would not be able to keep up the charade for much longer. It had been his game, but he would be the one who would soon no longer be able to play by his own rules.
She took a deep breath. "Ok, no lies Romi. Sach toh yeh hai ki mein movie gayi thi. Raman ke saath."
"Movie gayi thi, aur woh bhi Bhai ke saath, toh isme chupane wali kya baat hai Bhabhi?"
"Woh Romi, tumhare Bhai, woh chahte theh, I mean, hum dono..." Ishita fumbled with her words, wondering how to explain that Raman had wanted to keep their love private from his family to escape just for a while, their loving interference.
Romi laughed out aloud. " Kya Bhabhi, mein samajh gaya. Bhai ko aap se private mein romance karna tha na. Bada maza aata hai, yeh chup chup ke, by God. Aur Bhabhi, sorry haan, mein ne abhi aap ki aur Bhai ki baate sun li thi. Mistake se. Toh aap ka bhanda toh samjho foot gaya tha. Mein toh bas aap se sunna chahta tha."
"Romi, kuch bhi" Ishita blushed furiously, as the music stopped and Raman stepped up to the mic at the podium.
Scene 4
Mihir by his side, Raman welcomed all his guests to the party.
His speech was short, yet pithy and entertaining. He thanked everyone who had assisted with the project, and their families for putting up with their continued absences while the project was being completed.
"Although perhaps our wives were delighted to see the back of us for a while" he lied with a chuckle, his eyes finding and locking with Ishita's, remembering his restlessness in her absence, his long drive back to Delhi just to spend a few stolen hours with her.
Ishita smiled back at him, arching her eyebrows in acknowledgement of the look that gave lie to his words.
"You may have been delighted that Jiju was away akka, but I certainly wasn't that he took Mihir with him" Mihika who had moved to stand next to Ishita, grumbled to her akka in a whisper. "Jiju kitne unromantic hai na akka, sirf office aur projects. Mihir ko bhi bilkul apni tarah bana liya hai"
Romi, standing on the other side of Ishita, couldn't help overhearing Mihika's words and gave a soft chuckle, but subsided as Mihika glared at him.
Waiters had been moving around handing out glasses of champagne and orange juice during Raman's speech.
As Raman concluded his speech, he raised a toast to the success of the project.
"To PSR" he raised his Champagne flute "And to all those who have supported us through our journey to success" He looked directly at Ishita then, holding her gaze as he drained his glass.
Scene 5
Ishita, Mihika and Romi were sitting together when Mihir and Raman came up to join them some twenty minutes later.
The huge restaurant was abuzz with activity. A buffet had been set up and some guests were busily selecting from the gourmet Italian and Mughlai cuisine on offer. Others had drifted towards the dance floor, where the DJ was playing the latest Bollywood hits. Some groups of men, obviously deep in discussions on business matters, were seated at the tables at the far end of the room, their backs to where Ishita and her group were standing.
Romi had stayed protectively close to Ishita, glaring daggers at Shagun every time she approached anywhere near. He knew that Shagun would not go near Raman Bhai while Mihir was with him, so had self appointed himself his bhabhi's protector for the evening. Shagun had created enough havoc in all their lives, he was damned if she would ruin the happiness he could see sparkling in his bhabhi's eyes.
Mihika was looking at her akka contemplatively, wondering about the reason for that sparkle when Raman and Mihir walked up to join them. Both their faces were flushed with the successful completion of their project, the success of the night and the glasses of champagne with which they had been felicitating themselves.
"Shall we go and have dinner, Ishita, Mihika" Raman asked, glancing tenderly at his wife."There is a special vegetarian buffet especially for you."
Romi noticed the tender looks that his brother was giving to his Bhabhi and guffawed, a wide grin splitting his handsome face.
"Kyu beh, tujhe badi hasee sujh rahi hai. Aisa kya keh diya mein ne?" Raman demanded. "Aur waise tu yahaan Bhabhi ki security ki tarah kyon baitha hai. Tujhe yahan clients se interact karne ke liye laya tha na, na ki Ishita ki parchai banne ke liye?"
"Kyon Bhai, aapko kyon problem ho raha hai?" Romi retorted, smug in the knowledge that he knew his brothers secret.
"Mujhe kya problem mein..." Raman took a threatening step towards Romi, just as a man in his thirties, dressed in a well tailored suit came up to their group.
"Raman" he exclaimed, seizing Raman by the hand. "I'm sorry I'm late. Congratulations my friend, congratulations."
"Thank you Anwar" Raman responded. "Let me introduce you to my family. Ishita, my wife, and this is Mihika her sister, my brother Romi, and you know Mihir." They all stood up and shook hands as Raman continued, "And this is my friend Anwar Shah. Anwar is the Executive Manager and CEO of the newest and biggest cinema complex in town, Reading Cinemas"
"Reading Cinemas?"exclaimed Mihika, just as the pitfalls of his introduction became evident to Raman. "Anwar, chalo, dinner karte hai" he tried to move them all towards the buffet.
Mihika was not going to give up so easily though. "Aap Reading Cinemas ki CEO hai?" She asked Anwar
"Yes" he responded proudly." Aap gayi hai kya wahan? Kaisa laga?"
"Kaisa laga?" Mihika pulled herself up, her forgotten indignation about Tuesday coming back in full glory. "Mein gayi thi, who aap ka Retro Luxury Cinema mein Tuesday ko, apni akka he saath. Aur kisi aamir baap ki bigadi aulaad ne woh saara cinema hi book karliya tha. Aap ke Manager ne bahut rokne ki koshish ki lekin mein toh...kya hai Jiju? She stopped suddenly as Raman, looking around wildly but in vain for anybody, anything, any distraction to stop this conversation, saw no alternative but to hold her hand and attempt to usher her towards the buffet.
"Mihika, chalo na, dinner karte hai" he said desperately, not daring to meet Ishita's eyes. Ishita for her part was trying desperately not to laugh at Raman's panic, while at the same time anticipating with horror just what was going to transpire next.
"Wait Jiju, let me finish" Mihika brushed his hand aside." Haan, I was saying, woh aadmi ne toh saara cinema hi book karliya tha, and for what? Chee. Apni girlfriend ke saath rangraliye manane ke liye. Disgusting. Kyon book karne dete hai aap aise log ko theatre. I just couldn't enjoy the movie, I tell you"
"Areh yeh kya keh rahi hai aap Mihikaji" Anwar replied, looking at Raman in bemusement. "Tuesday ko toh sirf ek hi exclusive booking thi for the whole theatre, aur woh toh Raman ne ki thi"
Raman ran his hand over his reddened face, even as Ishita broke into a paroxysm of coughing.
"Jiju, aap?" Mihika looked at Raman in dawning horror. "Woh aap theh? Toh woh aap ke saath kaun thi?"
Part 8 - Page 67 - Samjhawan
Edited by Veeann - 11 years ago
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