CHAPTER 79 (A). MEHENDI LAGA KE RAKHNA!
Day - 7 Thursday
Sheeshmahal
"Mehendi ni Mehendi! Mehendi ni Mehendi!", the sounds of ladies singing echoed down the hallways as all the ladies residing in the Sheeshmahal gathered in the main hall. Mattresses were strewn across the hall for ladies to sit along with a special mattress placed in middle just for the two brides. Gents had already shifted to lawn where arrangements of snacks and beverages had been done for them.
Lavanya and Paayal smiled as they sat on the mattress right in the middle, prepared just for them. While many ladies had already started applying mehendi to each other, the brides's hands and legs were still bare. This was due to the ritual where the mehendi could be applied to the brides only after an elder from her in law's family applied the first line. So both smiled and giggled as ladies with dholak teased both the girls. If anyone noticed that Lavanya's smile looked a bit brittle, then that person did not open their mouth.
Suddenly the chatter in the room rose as Naaniji, Maami, Anjali and Geet entered the room with the younger duo carrying platters filled with mehendi cones both grinning eagerly. The songs continued to play with renewed fervour as Naaniji and Maami sat in front of the brides. Amma and Buaji grinned at each other from where they were seated right by the brides. Khushi, standing nearby, smiled softly.
Maami, getting emotional, applied kajal ka teeka to her bahu making Geet and Anjali giggle. Naaniji smiled at her Chote's bahu, feeling a bit emotional herself. Her Chote was finally getting married and that too tomorrow. As both elder ladies brandished the mehendi cone to apply something simple on the brides' hands before the professional mehendi appliers took over to draw a more intricate design, Geet sighed softly.
Arnav Bhai toh Khushi Bhabhi se shaadi karna chaahte hain, right? Geet pouted. Toh KB ke haath mein bhi pehli mehendi humaare ghar ke bade se lagni chaahiye, right? She looked at Khushi in confusion. Par kaise? Kya karoon ki mere AB ki dulhan ke haath mein humaare ghar ke kisi bade ke haathon pehli mehendi lage?
"Ek minute!" Geet shrieked making Naaniji and Maami jump in their seats and other ladies of the family look at her in shock. "Ka hua bitiya? What ees the piraabilam (problem)?", Maami enquired in surprise.
Geet smiled brightly, "Arre! Mujhe abhi realise hua ki humaari pyaari dulhanon ki ek choti behen bhi hai!" Saying this, she dragged Khushi by her arm to the front making Anjali frown. Ise abhi realise hua? Hey Devi Ma!
Seeing everyone's confusion, Geet explained, "Mera matlab hai ki ab kal se Khushi ki behnein toh humaare ghar ki bahu ban jaayengi! Yaani ki yeh inn behnon ke liye last day hai saath rehne ka!"
Khushi's smile dropped and she looked down. Her sisters were getting married and that too tomorrow! Paayal and Lavanya smiled sadly as they took in their little sister's sad face.
"Isliye...", Geet muttered as she made Khushi sit right beside Paayal facing Anjali who was sitting by Maamiji, "Aaj teeno behnon ko mehendi saath mein lagegi! For the last time, before two of them become Mrs. Yeh teeno Miss. Saath mein mehendi lagaayengi! What say, Gupta girls?"
All three sisters smiled eagerly at the idea while Amma and Buaji smiled tearfully.
"AD!", Geet called her sister, "Lagaao Khushi ko bhi mehendi taaki teeno ke haath mein ek saath mehendi lage!"
Anjali, excited at the idea pulled out a cone too and soon all three ladies applied mehendi to the girls. Anjali drew a small flower in Khushi's hand while Maami drew something stick like which no one understood but hoped that the professional mehendi artist would be able to hide it and make it look less hideous. Naaniji also went for flower design but her's was much more intricate.
"Arre! Aisan kaahe dekh rahe ho! Apne bachpan ma humaar saari saheli humse hi toh mehendi lagwaati thi!", Naani explained when everyone looked surprised.
Geet smiled at the vision in front of her. Yes! KB ke haath mein bhi mehendi humaare ghar ke bade ke haathon lagi! After all, AD bhi toh badi hain! Aur AB ki favorite bhi! Toh AB ki future dulhan ke haath mein mehendi toh AB ke Di ke hi haath se lagni chaahiye, right? Geet smiled proudly at her achievement. Then she frowned. Ek minute! Dulhanon ke haath mein toh pati ke naam ka pehla akshar likhwaate haina! Yaani ki Kb ke haath mein A' lagna chaahiye na? Lekin KB toh aisa kuch lagwaayegi nahi! Geet pouted. Hey Babaji! Ab yeh problem kaise solve karoon?
Soon Naaniji, Maami and Anjali got up from their seats and professional mehendi artists took the seats to start applying mehendi to the brides. As Khushi was also seated, one of the artists started applying to her too. Many older ladies were already applying to each other as they wanted something simple. Anjali had already found an artist for her hands and was already seated to get her mehendi done. Anjali indicated to Geet that one of the artists was still free and Geet should go to her and get her mehendi started. Geet nodded and smiled but her mind remained on the puzzle called A on KB's hand'.
Khushi smiled as her sister whispered something in her ears. She giggled and replied back and as she was lost in her discussion with her sister, she did not notice Geet sneakily talking to the mehendi waali who was applying mehendi on Khushi's hand.
"Suno! Mera ek kaam karogi?", Geet whispered.
"Kya?", the mehendi waali girl whispered back.
"Iske haath mein A' likhogi?", Geet asked.
When the girl frowned, Geet explained, "Arre! Iske boyfriend ka naam A se start hota hai, isliye bol rahi hoon!"
The girl blinked in susprise. Iska bhi? As far as she knew both the brides' husband's name started with same letter. Waah! Kya naseeb hai teeno behno ka! Teeno ke pati ka naam A se start hota hai!
The girl nodded at Geet's instructions.
"Lekin ise pata nahi chalna chaahiye!", Geet mumbled and when the girl questioned her, she explained, "Thodi shy hai na yeh isliye!"
The girl frowned. Shy? Kya? Forget it! Mujhe kya? Mujhe toh mehendi aur mere paise se matlab! Waise bhi yeh ladki toh is ladki ki dost lagti hai, ab yeh sab cheezein toh doston ko hi pata hota haina! She shrugged and went back to applying mehendi.
Geet stood up to walk away but sat right down, "Aur haan, iss letter ko chhupaake rakhna! Kya haina iske gharwaalon ko iske romance ke baare mein pata nahi hai!Toh letter ko aise chupaana ki jab tak Khushi ko pata chale ki yeh letter iske haath mein hai tab tak yeh mehendi ka rang chad jaana chaahiye!"
The girl nodded as she continued to apply mehendi. Geet smiled proudly. Ek aur problem solved! AB! Main aapke liye kya kya karti hoon! She shook her head and walked off to get her own mehendi done. Ab toh mujhe bhi apne haath mein M' likhwaana hai aur woh bhi aise likhwaana hai ki sivaay mere kisi ko bhi woh dikhe nahi! Hey Babaji! Pyaar mein insaan ko kya kya chupaana padta hai!
Two hours later, Geet smiled as she walked down the hallways in excitement. Mehendi Laga Ke Rakhna, Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, Lene Tujhe O Gori, Aayenge Tere Sajna! Nahi! Wait! Geet stopped and pouted. Lene Tujhe O Geetto, Aayenge Mr. Khurana! Geet giggled as she walked down the hall staring at her Mehendi. The M was hidden in such a way that unless Geet pointed out no one would notice it.
"Kya baat hai? Badi uchhal rahi ho motormouth?", a voice came stopping Geet in her tracks.
"AB! What are you doing here?", she whined as she turned and looked at Arnav leaning on a nearby pillar, "And stop calling me that! Yahaan main aapki prem ki naiyya ko paar lagaane pe lagi hoon aur aap mujhe motormouth bula rahe ho, not good AB!"
Arnav rolled his eyes, "I am here to get my phone. I left it in my room!", he replied, "And what have you done so great that you are feeling all so high and mighty?"
Geet grinned and explained about how she made Anjali apply the first stroke of mehendi to Khushi fulfilling the ritual and how she got the artist writing A on Khushi's hands sneakily.
Arnav raised his eyebrow as his mind went through various ideas on how to exploit this two incidents while he clapped loudly, "Very good, my dear sister! Now let me go and milk this occasion for all its worth!" Arnav turned to walk away.
Geet giggled "Before you leave, AB, yeh toh jaanlo ki woh A KB ke haath mein kahaa chhupa hai!"
Arnav turned to see Geet looking at him innocently and spoke in a sing song manner, "Maine uss artist pata laga liya yeh kehkar ki mujhe uske boyfriend ko bataana hai!"
Arnav smiled smugly and Geet smirked at him as she told him where to find his A.
Soon Arnav was gone and Geet continued to walk up and down the hallways waiting for her mehendi to dry enough so that she can wash it and check out her mehendi designs. Sehra Sajaake Rakhna, Chehra Chhupaake Rakhna, KB AB ki Secret, Dil Mein Dabaake Rakhna!
"Hello Miss. Afreen!", a voice came making Khushi jump. She was another one who chose to walk down the halls trying to get her hand to dry sooner. Unknowingly, she chose a hallway which was on the other end of the house, while Geet was on one end. She looked at Arnav with shock and then see him smirking as he leaned by the pillar she glared at him. Now what did he want? Hadn't he created enough havoc in her life what with all those confusing remarks he kept making the whole day? Devi Maiyya wanted me married to him? Ya right! Khushi refused to believe it after seeing her sisters so happy with the wedding preparations. No! Her decisions were right and she refused to regret them or back away from them.
"Kya baat hai? Mehendi lagaayi hai haath pe?", Arnav mused and Khushi looked at him in shock. Lost in her thoughts, she had not noticed Arnav walk towards her till he was standing right before her almost in her personal space. She took a step back only to have Arnav take a step ahead too. Before she could take another step back, he grabbed her arm where there was no mehendi applied and dragged it to his face, staring at her hand carefully.
"Hmmm... Wow! Nice design!", Arnav mused as he looked at her hand in a mocking manner.
Khushi tried to wrench her hand away but Arnav made sure that his grip was loose enough that it did not hurt her but tight enough that she could not pull away.
"Hey! Wait a minute! Is that the initial of my name?" Arnav exclaimed in surprise. Khushi's eyes widened in shock. Inka naam ka pehla akshar humaare haath pe! What the! She pulled her hand from him and this time he let it go. She looked at the letter with wide eyes. He was right! It was an A', hidden in such a way that if he had not seen it she would not have noticed it. Hey Devi Maiyya! Yeh kaise hogaya! Humein ise mitaana hoga! Aur woh bhi abhi ke abhi!
"Yeh kaise hogaya?", Arnav's voice came as Khushi turned to walk away.
He walked towards her as he spoke, "Lagta hai koi ishaara hai! Maybe your Devi Maiyya is trying to tell you something, eh Miss. Afreen?"
Khushi had enough, "Bas! Bas keejiye Arnavji! Yeh ishaara vishaara kuch nahi hai! Jiji aur Di ke haath mein bhi A saja hai toh galti se mehendi waali ne humaare haath pe bhi A likh diya hoga! Aur kuch nahi hai!"
Arnav wondered who was she trying to convince, him or herself?
"Whatever helps you sleep, Afreen!", Arnav mumbled making Khushi glare at him.
Suddenly, he came towards her without warning and whispered softly, "Theek hai! Mehendi mein A galti se aagaya hoga! Par tum iss baat ko jhutla nahi sakti ki tumhaare haath mein pehle mehendi Di ne lagaayi thi! Aur rasmo aur rivaajon ke hisaab se ghar ke bade hi bahu ke haath mein pehli mehendi lagaate hain! Ab iss incident ko kya kahogi? Coincidence ya Devi Maiyya ka ishaara?"
Khushi stumbled back as comprehension dawned in her eyes. She looked away uncertainly and then walked off. Arnav smiled softly, happy that her certainty that it was not a signal again turned into uncertainty and now she was again wondering whether she was doing it right or wrong. This is what I want, Afreen! I want you to be so confused that when I plead to you to give me a chance, you will actually agree with my decision to call off the wedding.
Khushi scrubbed her hands under the water as tears streamed down her face. How? How did this happen? Yeh kaise hogaya Devi Maiyya? Kahin sach mein koi ishaara... Nahi! Nahi! Yeh koi ishaara nahi hai! Aur hai toh hum iss ishaare ko mita denge! She went back to scrubbing her hands. But the mehendi had already shown its color and even after scrubbing for a while the dark maroon colored lines refused to leave her hands. She looked at her image in the mirror in front of her and looked at her pain filled eyes. She bowed down as she again tried to scrub the design and Arnav's initial away.
"Mohabbat Ka Rang Hai Yeh", Geet's voice floated from somewhere near the door of the room and she tensed at her words. She had her back to the bathroom and hence, did not see Geet come and stand by the door.
"Kisi Ke Utaare Nahi Utarta", Geet continued but Khushi did not raise her head to look at her. She kept her head down, her whole body tense; for what, she did not know.
"Sambhaalke Ke Rakhna Apne Pyaar Ko", Geet spoke and Khushi flinched at those words.
"Aisa Pyaar Phir Kabhi Nahi Milta", Geet ended the couplet and finally Khushi turned around only to see Geet smile at her mobile.
"Achchi sher hai na?", Geet asked still looking at her mobile screen. When Khushi did not reply, Geet looked up from her mobile and looked at her, "Haina?"
"Huh... Haan!", Khushi muttered as she went back to scrubbing her hands off.
Geet walked towards one of the basins nearby, "Meri friend ne abhi yeh sher SMS ki thi! Waise tum yahaan kya kar rahi ho? Mehendi nikaal rahi ho? Arre! Mehendi aise nahi nikaalte! Isse rang jaldi utar jaata hai! Aise karogi toh kal tak bhi nahi tikega!"
Before Khushi could protest, Geet grabbed her hands and dragged her off to the main hall where she applied oil to Khushi's hands chattering about how effective oil was when it comes to prolonging mehendi's color. Khushi was lost in her thoughts not noticing what Geet was saying as she wondered whether this was another Devi Maiyya's ishaara. After few minutes, Geet walked off to remove her own mehendi but Khushi remained seated in shock and uncertainty.
Geet smiled as she took in her mehendi after the dried henna was removed. Haaye! Kinna sona hai! She looked at her name. She had her name written in English right in the middle in big letters. She smiled at the peculiar way the E's in her name were written. The artist had looked at her crazily when Geet had asked her to write her E' in such weird manner but only Geet knew why she did that. She wondered what would Maan's reaction would be at her latest idea. Geet imitated his glaring expression. He would glare and growl and stomp away. Geet giggled at that thought as she continued to admire her hands.
Shaking her head of the thoughts of Maan glaring at her, she looked away to see Khushi staring off in a distance. Geet thanked her Babaji that she was loitering nearby when she saw Khushi scrubbing her hands. She decided to drag her away from there but she did not know how to do that without getting Khushi to start protesting. Geet knew that only way to do that was to shock her into silence and hence, she made up the couplet right away hoping that it would shock Khushi. The couplet had worked its magic and Geet was able to drag Khushi away from the room into the main hall. Geet sighed; AB has his work cut out for him. Abhi hi inke zidd ko todna itna mushkil ho raha hai! Shaadi ke baad jab yeh zidd pe adengi toh pata nahi kaise sambhaalenge AB apni wife ko!
PRECAP
The mehendi ceremony ends with Khushi and Geet getting spoon fed by their lovers.
Wait! How did that happen? For that stay tuned, for the next update!
Thank you, take care and have fun,
Kalpana
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