"Dr ashutosh..."it was nidhi getting ready for the hospital , as guddi jumped around..trying to imitate nidhi's dance steps that she had seen nidhi , jyothika n anji practise ...dr ashutosh looked around not able to understand what had happened to his daughter ..who was playing with her finger n trying to sing "ladha teri challa,..."nidhi smiled at his amused look n said"main 6 baje pahunch jaoongi taj, bachchon ke sath..aapke kapde yahaan sab ready rahenge ..bus baba je sath aa jayieyga..ok honey"?? Dr ashutosh raised his eyebrow as he repeated"honey...yeh sab to theek hai ..per main dr ashutosh se honey kab ho gaya"?? Nidhi smiled..as she said"woh ...ahana ,..james ko kehti hai..honey..to maine bhi sicha...aapko bura laga kya"?? Ashutosh smiled indulgently..as he picked guddi up n came to nidhi.."nahi bura kyun lagega...bus haan dr ashutosh sunne ki aadat si ban gayi thi...ab shahad ..yani honey ki aadat daalni hogi..."n nidhi pouted"koi zurooratnahi..main dr aahutosh hi kahoongi...mere ...exclusive dr ashutosh"!! Ashutosh smiled as he looked at her"ab itne saal baad bhi shaq hai kya...tumhare siwa aur kiska ho sakta hoon"?? And nidhi looked atlil guddi,.now growing fast..n replied"iske..yeh jo meri competitor hai"!! And dr ashutosh laughed loudly n hugged guddi...as nidhi tried toshow him her costume for the sangeet "bataiye na..what should I wear..."?? Ashutosh was hardly interested as he said"whatever pleases you..kuch bhi ..pehno..rahogi to meri biwi..."!! And nidhi giggled asashutosh said"doc..ab hospital chalein..I have a surgery..."and nidhi gave guddi to maxi..as the two left.
Kgh was abuzz withactivity, as soon as they entered , dr dubey came along, "kya ashutosh...all set.."?? Ashutosh replied"yes sir bus going to the O.T" to which dr dubey replied"ohho ..I was talking of dr aahaana's sangeet"..bhai yeh ladkiyaan todance karengi hi..per tumhara gaanabhi to hona chahiye"!!dr ashutosh smiled as he went to change...
Nidhi came into the cabin at 4 ..he was on a round, she left a rose that she had been carrying..kissing it she aaid"yaad diladena..time pe aa jaayein"and then seeking permission from a jolly dr dubey (for a change in a v good mood) nidhi left for home..
Maxi hadbathed thechildren n they had had their snacks n milk..nidhi first tookcharge of nishu ..giving him his under ground sweater, n kurta ...acrimson silk..and as he emerged with a towel around..nidhi smiled ..telling maxi to go out as she sat n helped herson wear the churidaar..nishu was not happy at being helped n retorted"i wish ..papa ki tarah suit hi pehan leta..."and nidhi pulled hus nose.."dekhna ..aaj tumhare papabhi suit nahi pehnenge..I mean not like every day..."nishu was intrigued. ? Asnidhi quickly secured his string n he wore his brown shoes n she arranged the brown n cream tusser stole on his shoulders...as he stood near his father's study...below the sangeet pic of ashu n nidhi...like their report card...nidhi could not help realising how greatly he resembled rr ashutosh..his height...he was the tallest in his class..his forehead...n his nose..high n firm like his father's ..."mammma"nidhi's trance was broken as gudfi pulled at her ..her purple lehnga in hand...and as nishu went out ..saying"tum girls to 3 hrs lagaoge ready hone mei"!!...and nidhi began the ardrous task of decking her daughter...a purple n golden lehnga ..with an attached slip...then a high neck sweater ..n the golden long blouse..she combed her maghi noodle hair ..n put a black clip...as gudfi pulled at nidhi's mangal sutra ..something she was enamored of..nidhi smiled n hid the mangalsutra in her blouse..n adorned guddi with a necklace of pearls n gold beads...guddi looked a real doll...recalling what dadi bua always said..she put a black peck behind her ear...and then began to dress herself..a pink sari with golden peacocks...the one that dr ashutosh had got for her in her god bharai...when she was expecting nishu...and a golden blouse with a deep back..n then she put on her polki necklace ..gifted to her by baba ...lastdiwali..with matching kundan earrings n bangles...nidhi applied a speck of sindoor.though the way her shampooed hair fell..it was hardly seen...and could not help admiring herself...she still looked gorgeous..even after 2 kids ..n 8 years of marriage...and now she had shed quite a bit of weight..no one could guess she was a mother...unless they observed those stretch marks on her tummy...nidhi blushed as she adjusted her sari...recalling how dr ashutosh would always kiss her there...caress the marks tenderly...as if trying to fathom the pain of motherhood...
Guddi yelled "mamma shoooes"and nidhi sighed..as she made guddi wear special golden shoes ..matching with her own golden square heels she had bought for herself...the only thing that dr ashutosh didnot aloow her to wear..was pencil heels..."no nidhi..no..I said...no pencil heels..I cannot risk u falling and hurting yourself...n no arguments"he had said..leaving nidhi making a face!!!
Nidhi lovingly took out his band gala...a deep brown one..with brown shoes ..n as she pit his pocket watch..she felt like closing her eyes..trying to imagine her prince charming in a prince suit...
********************
As nidhi parked the car n entered with the kids , there werent many people beyond the immediate family..and nidhi was relieved as the children ran to dr priyanka ..who now 6 months pregnant could not dance...as she hugged them n nidhi warned"guddi careful..."n priyanka smiled"dont worry..u enjoy..apne items ki taiyyari ker..jyothika must be on her way..."nidhi disappeared to look for her dance mates...they had planned a medley..with new and old songs,..all teasing numbers...n dr sudhir n nanda had promised to jig to "chali chali phir chali chali..ishq ki hawa chali..."..james n ahaana too were going to give a performance...but they had kept it a guarded secret..not even nidhi knew...
As nidhi came back to the hall with jyothika in a white n golden lehnga n a backless blouse , n the respendant ahana in a rose red lehnga with golden border...wearing diamond set ...n a solitaire ring that james had given her..cementing the relationship...all eyes were on her...n yet allmost each of the 250 odd guests could not but say that nidhi ..the brides maid was stealing the show...
Ahaana came n hugged her dadi..as she broke into a misty smile...n then turned to nidhi...as ahana said"meri friend dr nidhi...mere saath hai...dr a..."and dadi was not listening ...as she called out "tejendra..."and a tall handsome...young man appeared...as dadi spoke"ahaana ka cousin hai...delhi se...bol raha tha ..mujhe ahana ki saheliyon se milwana..."and poor tejendra blushed"oh dadi!!! Anyway call me tej...come I d take you around..."and before nidhi could say anything..tejhooked his arm casually to ninidhi's n took her to the youngsters corner...
Nidhi looked around...dr ashutosh must be about to come...how were the kids...n as she said"plz excuse me..."dadi came up...eith a dignified though over weight middle aged lady"tejender ki mom...yeh niddhi..dr nidhi"!! And nidhi smiled...as the lady spoke"wow...kitti pretty hai..."n as nidhi smiled...n moved a lil ahead..dadi whispered"achchi ladki hai...tejender ke saath pakki ker dr baat..."!! And both the ladies laughed...as tej followed nidhi...and asked "are you going to dance today..."?? To which nidhi replied..."its my dear friend's sangeet so obviously
..."tej added"may I join u..."??"YES YES..WHY NOT..NIDHI WILL LOVE IT ..N SO WOULD WE"!!nidhi glared at her friends but it was rather late ...too late as dr ranganath n anji with khushi decked in a pink salwar kurta n golden chunni came in..anji hugged nidhi and pointed to the kids chatting away with dr priyanka ..khushi waved n ran to them as anji elbowed nidhi"humare jeejaji kahaan hain"?? N nidhi frowned..I wonder kahaan hain...aur yeh dr mishra ki maa mera rishta tai karwa rahi hain...uss idiot se..."and nidhi pointed towards tej...as he seemed to smile back...n anji found it hard to control her laughter..."abhi is buddhu ko pata nahi hai..ki tere saath do bachche bhi hain.guddi ke diaper badalne honge aur nishu ko padhana hoga..."and nidhi completed"aur mere dear dr ashutosh se maar khaani hogi...bhai biwi hoon unki"!!...
Just then the guests could hear dr nanda take the mic and welcome everyone ...formally and introduce ahaana n dr james who entered looking v handsome indeed in a maroon sherwani with a golden creamchuridaar...and just as the guests began to clap...the door opened n in walked baba in a dark blue open suit..with a black silk tie..n dr ashutosh in his tan prince suit..a cream silk hankey in his upper pocket n the lovely pocket watch hanging from the third button...his grey side burns, his trimmed salt n pepper beard...and his intense eyes that seemed to be looking for someone in the crowd...seemed captivating...
As the applause died down, n the dancers moved to the green room...dr sudhir shook hands woth the duo, making baba sit as ashutosh made his way to the open arms of his kids...while priyanka explained that nidhi had to prepare for the performance...
All were seated as dr ashutosh made place for dr chandra, dr dubey n keerti ..who seemed just a lil jaded...as she sat , she whispered to dr ashutosh"kya hua..armaan ..not here"?? Ashutosh shook his head..saying that armaan had no close connect with the mishras..n keerti kept quiet...as dr priyanka took over the responsibility of announcements .."welcome to bless this holy union of james n ahaana...n now for some shuddh desi naachna gaana"!!
Tejender's mom was behind ashutosh..talking with another lady.."pink sari me hai ladki..bahut soni hai..main to nanda se keh ke apne teju ki baat pucci karwaoongi bus..."!! And the chatter went on ..as anji stepped with the inaugural performance ..accompanied by aditi ..dressed as a boy ..complete with moustaches n they started moving to...
ISHQ WALA..SOZ WALA SURKH WALA LOVE..
HOTA HAI JO LOVE SE ZYAADA ..WAISE WALA LOVE...
HUA JO MUJHE..."
And moved to tease james n ahaana ..who sat on two special chairs...ahaana looking pink..james a lil dazzled..as anji danced n fell into aditi's arms..khushi seemed to laugh with joy ..and ranga held her n cheered loudly as the music stopped n priyanka announced for dr sudhir n nanda ...the bride's parents...
There was silence of anticipation. ? As sudhir in silk kurta pyjama n nanda in a blue silk sari got up...n to every ones surprise started doing twist ...to a song that all love..
CHALI CHALI HO CHALI CHALI...CHALI ISHQ KI HAWAA CHALI...
and as they held hands n tried various steps..till a tired nanda just gave up...and sudhir was joined in by nanda's sister n bhabhi...who anji saw was tej's fat mom!!!!
"N now...for the performance of the evening...dr nidhi dr jyothika ..n anji ...for james n ahaana"and there was loud cheering with dr dubey clapping the loudest...and looking at ashutosh...who smiled..with baited breath..as nishu held guddi's hand ..lest she d run on to her mom..spoiling the show...the dancers appeared n bowed...as the music began...n anji spoke..
"Aaite dekhein ahaana ke dil ki haalat"and the song that played..was MERE HAATHON MEI NAU NAU CHOODIYAAN HAIN..THODA THEHRO SAJAN MAJBOORIYAAN HAIN...
MILAN HOGA ABHI DO RRAAT KI DOORIYAAN GAIN"and as the naughty stanzas played out..ahaana was laughing away while poor james blushed...n then spoke nidhi"aur ab dekhein..humare dr james kya sochte hain ahaana ke baare mein..."And nidhi danced gracefully to
TU RANG SHARBATON KA..
MAI MEETHE GHAAT KA PAANI...
TUJHE KHUD ME GHOL DE TO..
KUCH AUR BAAT BAN JAANI..."and before long, the exuberant tej was dancing along side...nidhi...with an amused look on dr ashutosh's face...as he cuddled their kids n smiled.."aur ab...kya hoga jab hogi in dono ki shaadi...desi aur vilayti ..dono..kahenge..."and nearly all began to gyrate to the fast tune of
LONDON THUMAKDA...as khushi n guddi also ean..n nidhi bent to hug both of them...before anji got them back...n the final part...nidhi spoke"bhai dr james..humari ahaana hai to seedhi saadhi..per yaad rahe..naaraaz ho gayi to aa jaayegi waapas ..apne maayike...so no jhooth..n no double cross..otherwise..."
Nidhi ran wafting her aanchal as dr jyothikafollowed with a hankey around her hair...n nidhi moved to the eords of ..
"JHOOTH BOLE KAWWA KAATE..KAALE KAWWE SE DARIYO..
MAIN MAIKE CHALI JAAOONGI..
TUM DEKHTE RAHIYO..."!! And as the bargain went on..from"MAIN PED PE CHADH JAAOONGI...MAIN KUEN ME GIR JAAOONGI"all looked at ashutosh..with dr nagpal laughing.."beware hardstone...she sure is a live wire"!!! And while all this was on..tej was looking at his mom..n nodding his stupid head...as she beamed..looking at nidhi n then at maa...
The performance ended and as dr priyanka called for the couple of honour...james n ahaana...james held ahaana by the waist as they slow danced to waltz ...n then suddenly ..changed to the pulsating
RADHA TERI CHUNRI..HO RADHA TERA CHALLA..
HO RADHA TERI NATKHAT NAZARIYA...
RADHA TERA JHUMKA..O RADHA TERA THUMKA..
PEECHE PEECHE SAARI NAGARIYA...
and as james went on his knees once again to kiss ahana's hand ..the hall thundered with claps...and then ahaana took the mike and said"n now to the man who made all this possible..the one n only ..dr ashutosh...plz ..the sangeet is incomplete without ur performance...dr ashutosh looked around ..there seemed no escape..he sighed as he got up...still hodong his children 's hands ...he smiled n said"uske liye..jisne meri zindagi me aake...sab disturb ker diya..."n all laughed ..as he began...with nidhi looking at him from besides ahana n jyothika ...
"MAIN SHAAYAR TO NAHI...MAGAR E HASEEN..
JABSE DEKHA MAINE TUJHKO..
MUJHKO SHAAYARI AA GAYI..."n he looked at nidhi...as dr dubey clapped ...
SOCHTA HOON AGAR MAIN DUA MAANGTA..
HAATH APNE UTHA KE MAI KYA MAANGTA..
MAIN KAAFIR TO NAHI..
MAGAR E HASEEN
JAB SE DEKHA MAINE TUJHKO...
MUJHKO BANDAGI AA GAYI...and nidi lowered her eyes as ashu bowed his head...n tej looked nonplussed...n finally ashutosh serenaded
PYAAR KA NAAM MAINE SUNA THA MAGAR..PYAAR KYA HAI YEH MUJHKO NAHI THI KHABAR...
JABSE DEKHA MAINE TUJHKO..MUJHKO AASHIQUI AA GAYI...and as he opened his arms...nidhi rushed into them...as he folded his arms around her,..firm n unabashed...it was an honest man claiming his wife...as the dr friends clapped...ahana n james came as ashu nidhi separated...n guddi wriggled to ashu..n ashu lifted both his kids...
Maa looked at tej's mother...and seemed shocked...as they looked at the seemingly odd couple...but tej smiled sportingly ...as jyothika explained something to him...and he laughed loudly...and then went to shake dr ashutosh's hand..."SORRY SIR...BUT I NEARLY FELL FOR UR WIFE...I AM V SORRY..."AS ASHUTOSH PATTED HIM , HE CONTD."NO SIR...BAAT AISE NAHI KHATM KAROONGA...I WANT YOU BOTH TO JOIN US IN A DANCE...SPECIALLY FOR U BOTH..N INFACT EVERY COUPLE IN THIS WORLD...JISNE PYAAR KO SAMJHA AUR JAANA..."
Dr ashutosh could not refuse...as nearly all formed a semi circle n serenaded to...the philosophy of love..
NA MAANGOO SONA CHANDI..NA MAANGOO HERE MOTI..
YEH MERE KISS KAAM KE...
DETI HAI DIL DE..BADLE ME DIL JE...
GE GE GE GE..GE GE AAHIBAAN PYAAR ME SAUDA NAHI...
And as the dance contd...ashutosh stood in a corner with nidhi 's head resting in his chest...while both saw their kids dance...to the symphony of love...
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