Hello, I'm here with the next update, and this one takes off where the previous one had ended, i.e. its mainly about the confusion saga that Mihir has initiated.
Hope you like itđ
Ishita had been pacing in her room since the last half hour wondering what she should do about Raman's phone. Had he realized that he had left it with her? What if he doesn't remember? She had to get it back to him. But how would she contact him?
She was confused with all the questions plaguing her mind when, suddenly, a thought struck her, as if in reply. She picked up his phone, and scrolling through the contacts, dialled the only name in the list that was familiar to her.
Mihir stared at his mobile as he saw Raman's name flash across the display, and picked the call immediately, assuming that he had managed to get his phone back after all, but was surprised to hear a female voice at the other end instead.
"Hello, Mihir, I don't know if you remember me... I'm Ishita Iyer. Raman left his phone with me by mistake, and I was wondering if I could give it back to him somehow."
Mihir did not reply for a few moments. Of course, he remembered her. But how had she ended up with Raman's phone?
"Hi," he began, "Why don't you give me an address? I'll come over and take it from you."
"Actually, it's my fault that Raman forgot his phone. So, I wouldn't want to put any of you through any trouble for this. Tell me where he is, and I'll go give it to him."
"Bhai is in a meeting," Mihir told her, "But, tell you what, I'm at his place right now. You could come over. Just give me a call when you reach and I'll come down and take it from you. I'll message you the address."
He hung up and remembered the day he had spoken to her previously. Had Raman been in touch with Ishita all this while?
A few minutes later, he was distracted by yet another phone call, this time from his office.
"Mihir, I think we've cracked it. Mehta looked pretty impressed" he heard Raman's excited voice on the other end.
"That's great, bhai. Although, I never had any doubts. I knew you'd win him over," he said with all the pride and respect that he felt for Raman.
"So how's everything at home?" Raman asked carefully.
"I've managed..for now," said Mihir hesitantly, "Are you coming over?"
"Yes, I'm almost done. And I'm famished. So I'll come home and have dinner first, because I'll have to go out again to get my phone back."
"Err.. okay."
Mihir debated if he should inform Raman that he needn't go anywhere and that his phone was about to come home along with his mysterious friend, but he really wanted to meet Ishita and so, decided against telling him.
Meanwhile, Ishita had already reached Raman's society, but was finding it difficult to locate the exact building that Mihir had mentioned in the address. She was about to call him, when she spotted Romi in the parking lot.
"Excuse me," she asked him. "Do you know where Raman Bhalla stays?"
"Of course. He's my brother. He stays in this very building," he informed her, pointing to the nearest building. "But may I know who you are?" he asked her. "I've never seen you around."
"Oh, you're his brother?" she smiled at him. "I'm Ishita...Raman's friend. Actually, your brother and I met earlier this evening, and he forgot his phone with me. So I've come here to return it. Mihir knows about this, too. I just spoke to him a while back."
Romi's mind instantly shifted into overdrive. He knew his bhai very well. He had no female friends in his social circle, he was sure of that. So, a woman who spoke of him as if he was her close friend definitely sounded fishy to him. Besides, hadn't she said she also knew Mihir? He put two and two together and concluded that she had to be the one Mihir had been talking about earlier. His face broke into a wide smile as soon as he made the connection.
"Can I give it to you instead? You can inform Raman and Mihir for me."
"Oh no no," he replied immediately, "You must come home and give it to him yourself." He wasn't going to let go of this opportunity.
"But I.." she tried to refuse. She wondered if it was a good idea to barge into Raman's home this way.
"No buts.. Please come with me."
She agreed reluctantly and followed him to his house.
The first thing she noticed as soon as she stepped inside was the simplicity of the cozy little flat. She had seen Raman's ostentatious taste in cars, and had expected a house that reeked of luxury, but his home was nothing of the sort. It was warm and comfy, with the aroma of home-cooked food wafting from one end and pictures of the family adorning the walls on the other end. She looked around with interest until she noticed that everyone in the room was staring at her curiously.
"Umm..Hello," she mumbled uncomfortably.
Mihir, who had just finished his call with Raman, turned around to find a new guest in the room. He wondered who she was until he heard Romi clear his throat.
"Everyone.." he announced, "This is Ishita, Bhai's friend. She's come to return his phone "
He noticed how Romi had emphasized on the word friend.
Oh no'
Then he saw Romi wink at Toshi, and his doubts were confirmed.
No no no.'
Toshi couldn't believe what Romi was hinting at. Was this the girl whom Raman was with? She couldn't contain her joy as she looked at the pretty girl who stood before her.
"Why don't you sit, puttar?" She walked over to her and led her to their sofa.
"Ishita, you said? That's such a beautiful name," she lovingly caressed her cheek as she spoke to her.
"I'm Toshi. I'm Raman's.."
"Mother! Yes, I know," she smiled at her and then turned to the others.
"And you're Romi, you're Rinki and that's Mihir," she said pointing to each of them, leaving all of them open-mouthed.
"But you haven't met any of us before, puttar. Then how..?" asked Mr.Bhalla.
"Actually, Raman has told me about each of you. It was easy to guess."
"But bhai hasn't told us anything about you, right Mummy ji?" Rinki complained.
"Yes, he hasn't. Raman ki to aaj khair nahi. Uski to maine aaj class leni hi hai!" replied Toshi in mock anger.
But how could Toshi remain angry with her son anymore? If Raman had already chosen a girl for himself, then that would make Toshi the happiest woman in the world.
Mihir placed a hand over his mouth, unable to believe his eyes. Watching Ishita mingle with all the Bhallas, he was forced to doubt if there was actually some truth to the cock-and-bull story that he had made up about Raman.
"Psst... Mihir," he heard Romi whisper behind him and turned.
"Mihir yar," he continued in a low voice. "Bhabhi is the sweetest!"
"Romi, it's not what you think," Mihir tried to explain.
"Look, don't worry. We won't tell Bhai that we know. We'll wait till he's ready to announce it himself. But just look at her. It's like she's already a part of the family."
Mihir couldn't help but agree with Romi as he watched Ishita giggle along with Rinki over something. She did fit into the family perfectly.
It wasn't until a few minutes later that Ishita noticed Mihir standing silently, a few feet away from them and made her way across to where he stood.
"Hey Mihir!" she began.
"Hey," he replied. He had never been more eager to speak to anyone.
"Like I said, I don't know if you remember, but we've spoken before. Before today, I mean. That's why I called you from Raman's phone." She smiled at him as she handed the phone to him.
"I remember," he said to her, before she turned to leave. "I can't forget, even if I tried."
"You made a promise to me that day," he continued when he saw the quizzical expression on her face.
"I promise you that he'll be with you by tomorrow." she had said.
"You had said he'd be back, and bhai did come back, safe and sound. I don't know what you did or said to him, but I truly got my Bhai back that day, in more ways than one. So yes, I do remember you, Dr.Ishita Iyer."
She blinked at him, taken aback by this revelation. Who would have thought that those words that she had uttered in the heat of the moment all those months ago had meant so much to him?
"Ishita..?" She turned to find Raman at the door. "What are you doing here?" He asked her, walking up to her her as soon as he entered, unable to hide his surprise.
"Well, you had forgotten your phone with me!." she replied.
"I know! I was just about to come over to your place to get it back."
"I'm so sorry, Raman. I should have been careful. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you today."
"Don't be crazy. Do you hear me complaining? In fact..." he stopped all of a sudden, noticing the unnatural silence in his otherwise noisy house.
They both looked around then, and noticed that everyone was gawking at them with goofy grins plastered on their faces.
"What?" he asked them, and they immediately scampered off in different directions, pretending to get busy with some chore or the other.
"Puttar, you must be hungry. Dinner is ready. Why don't you both sit to eat?"
Wow. Not even a trace of anger on Ma's face. I wonder what Mihir told her!' Raman thought to himself in delight.
"Aunty ji," Ishita replied to Toshi, "It's getting late and I really need to leave now."
"Arey what's the hurry, Ishita? Kuch to kha le, puttar," Toshi insisted. She had taken an instant liking to the girl, and tried to make her stay back, wanting to spend as much time as possible with her.
"Maybe some other time, aunty ji. My amma must be worried." said Ishita.
"Okay then, I'll let you go on one condition. I'll pack some of my world famous chole for you. I don't know if it'll suit your Madrasi tastes, but you must have some."
"Ma.." Raman interrupted their interlude, "Ishita is a dentist. You should ask her if it'll suit her teeth, not her tastes!"
Ishita rolled her eyes in response.
"Aunty ji, he's always cracking jokes on my profession. I don't understand what his problem is!"
"My problem? It's you who have a problem, Madrassan! You don't let little kids have ice cream."
"There you go again! Will you drop it? You bought one ice cream for Shravu, and now you think you're the hero in his life and I'm the monster!."
"Of course I am! Didn't you hear him? I'm Batman."
"See, I had told you that you need to get your brains examined, but you didn't. Now, you've turned into a complete nutcase!"
"Takes one to know one!"
"Oye!" screamed Toshi, and they fell silent at once.
She pushed the box in which she had packed the curry into Raman's hands and said, "No more fighting with this sweet girl!"
"Sweet?" He repeated with a bemused expression.
"Shh..not another word from you! Take this and leave now. And see to it that she reaches home safely."
"Great! Now you've turned my own mother against me...Chalo," he sighed and said to Ishita, who was standing with a smug look on her face.
"Yes, chalo," she repeated and turned to the others before following him outside.
"Bye aunty ji, bye everyone!"
Rinki and Romi burst into giggles as soon as they left.
"They are soo cute!" exclaimed Rinki, unable to control her laughter.
"Toshi ji, what is Raman up to? Do you think he really likes her?" remarked Mr.Bhalla.
Toshi had been waiting to spot a sign that would give her a beacon of hope; an assurance that her son had found the key to his happiness. And then she had observed the look on Raman's face as he had set his eyes on Ishita, and the change in Ishita's demeanor as he spoke to her, and she was sure of one thing: Ishita was the one for her Raman.
"Don't you worry, Bhallaji. I trust Raman. My son has chosen wisely!" said Toshi
Mihir, who had been watching the entire scene unfold before his eyes, pondered over how he would save the situation. He couldn't have said anything in front of Ishita because she was the most innocent of all in this confusion that he had created and he didn't want to freak her out. He deliberated whether it would be appropriate to break the news to the Bhallas now. But that would mean admitting to the lie that he had fabricated to save Raman in the first place, which he did not wish to do. Then there was Ishita whose mere presence seemed to lighten Raman's mood. He had a nagging feeling that there was definitely something more than what meets the eye as far as the two of them were concerned, and he would have to do something to get to the bottom of it.
Either way, he realized that, sooner or later, he would have to face the consequences of his actions. He figured he would speak to Raman later and sort it all out before it got out of hand. But right now, he would remain silent.. Because right now, he was having way too much fun watching a clueless Raman deal with his crazy family.
"Raman," Ishita called out to him as he began walking towards his car. "I've brought my car." She said, pointing towards her little red car, parked a few metres away from their building.
"Oh, you got it fixed already!"
"Actually, Bala jiju got it done. He's my go-to guy for everything, usually," she said with a smile.
"Yeah, I've noticed." he remarked. "It's always him; not your your fiance." He added, unable to control himself.
"That's because Subbu is in London these days," she defended.
"Kabhi Mumbai, kabhi London. When does he ever spend time with you?" He hadn't meant to taunt her, but he wasn't really pleased about the fact that she had forgiven him after the way he had broken her heart.
She could guess that Raman was finding it difficult to understand why she had chosen to marry Subbu after all that had happened. But now, the decision was made and she didn't want to dwell on it too much, because if she did, she would definitely have second thoughts.
"Well, he's a dentist too... And a very busy one at that!" She explained. "He's In London now because he's doing a PhD. course there. He'll be here a week before the wedding, though."
"Oh. A week. How nice!" He commented, hoping that she wouldn't miss the sarcasm in his voice.
"You have a lovely family, Raman, and I'm glad I got a chance to meet them... I should get going now." She diverted, upset about the turn that their conversation had taken.
"Hey, not so fast," he said, before she could leave. "I'm not letting you go in that lal dabba of yours!"
"It's not a dabba, Raman!" she sighed.
"Of course it is. Where did you get it from? The 19th century?" He mocked her.
"I know it's small and simple, Raman, but there is beauty in simplicity, haven't you heard? Unlike yours, which is so flashy that it grabs eyeballs from miles away!"
"Besides," she continued before he could respond, "it's in perfect condition. It always has been! This was the first time that it broke down and I don't know why. Probably because I was meant to run into you today!"
She realized the implication of her words, as he stared at her intently.
"Probably," he repeated softly.
"I.. I need to leave, Raman," she said, after a few seconds of silence.
"Fine," he relented, "Let me know once you reach home."
She nodded and walked away.
He didn't believe in fate. But he could not rule two chance meetings with her on the same day as coincidence either. Either way, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop thinking of her now... more so than before. One encounter with her had affected him so much that there had hardly been a day in the past eight months wherein her name hadn't cropped up in his mind. He had intentionally kept himself from looking for her, thinking that she had no place for him in her life. But here they were again, thrown together after all this while and, fate or no fate, he wondered if he would be able to keep himself away this time.
Next
Current Affairs
Anupamaa
1.2k