Jassi can't take her eyes off the package she has unwrapped. Inside lies a breathtaking wedding outfit in wild rose pink and brocade, with antique silver embroidery. She raises her head in an unbelieving manner. "Armaan…yeh toh shaadi ka joda hai!"
He crosses his arms and twinkles at her. "Exactly."
She still looks like a little girl lost, so he kneels next to her and puts his arms around her. "Jassi….tumhi ne kaha tha na…ki kaash hamari shaadi yahaan hui hoti, sab apno ke saamne, saari reeto-rasmo ke saath…..isse achche mauka aur kya ho sakta tha Jassi….(lifting her chin and gazing into her moist eyes) hamari zindagi mein pyaar ke pal abhi bahut baaki hai Jassi….lekin ye lamha hamesha, hamesha hamare saath rahega!"
Thum ja zindagi starts playing in the background. Jassi, with tears streaming down her face, hides herself in his strong, protective arms.
Sometime later:
The guests and family are greeted with the sight of Armaan and Jassi walking towards the mandap, dressed in wedding finery. Armaan has a deep blue sherwani with golden thread embroidery. Jassi is on his arm, blushing indeed like a new bride. As they approach the others, there is wild applause all around. Armu pulls Jassi a little closer to him and she smiles, blushing.
The ceremony starts. Raj-Neha, Nandu-Beauty, and our dearest JandA exhange garlands. When Neha tries to put the mala around Raj, Armaan and a whole lot of the GM guys raise him on their shoulders so he is out of her reach. Nothing daunted, Nazneen, Ruby mom, Angel and Meghna raise up Neha so that she can grab him and put the noose….er garland…..round his neck.
Nandu, in comparison, is so docile that he doesn't even wait for Beauty to raise the garland before grabbing her hand and putting it around his neck. Then it is JandA's turn. Jassi raises the garland, momentarily forgets herself as she sees Armu's face framed in the fragrant blossoms. Flashbacks come to her: Armaan telling her to come to office next day at 9 and she offering to come at 6; the way she screamed over a spider and fell all over Armaan; the countless times Armu held her hand or gave her his special smile; the time he grabbed her outside Octaviur and blurted out his love; her forgiving him in the dream in Mauritius; JandA coming face-to-face at the Jessica Bedi launch; the courtroom scenes; their torrid romance; the studio scene where he put sindoor in her maang; their broken wedding and her flight to Nainital; the reunion in Goa; the Malaysian wedding……their journey unfolds before her like a rose shyly displaying its pristine beauty to the morning sun.❤️
Then he smiles adoringly at her, she is recalled to the present, and puts the garland round his neck. He raises his head and gives her such a smile as he garlands her that she trembles.
While Raj does the kanyadaan for Beauty, as she has insisted, Armaan does it for Neha. Whe it is Jassi's turn, Billu's eyes go wet. "Iss din ka maine itne saalo intezaar kiya….aur phir laga ki ye mauka mere haath se hamesha ke liye chala gaya hai…par aaj, main apni Queen Victoria ko poori rasmon ke saath Armaan ko phir se saunp raha hun…."😳
Finally it is time for the pheras. Neha gets flashes of her last time with Anuj Shastri, and the painful memories that followed—but then she catches sight of her daughter's happy, untroubled face and smiles. Raj whispers, "Hamari shaadi dekho kitni special hai….humne apni beti ko bhi apni shaadi mein invite kiya hai!"😆
Bua is crying as Beauty takes the pheras. Bebe tries to make her understand, "Pammi, wo baju wale ghar hi toh ja rahi hai….kaunsa videsh ja rahi hai….Nandu ki maa se aam ke achar ki recipe poochne ke bahaane tu kitni baar usse milne ja sakti hai!"😆
Armaan holds Jassi's hand as they get up. She looks inquiringly at him. "Jassi, ye safar humne har kadam, saath mein tay kiya hai", he says firmly, "aur aage bhi ye saath kabhi nahin tootega. Issliye, yep here hum aage-peeche chal kar nahin, ek doosre ke haathon mein haath liye, saath-saath lenge!"
The look she gives him is inscrutable to a casual observer, but its intensity seems to burn into his very soul, and he understands every word of what she is saying without even opening her lips.They entwine their fingers so firmly in each other, that it seems no force on earth can separate them. Side-by-side, shoulder to shoulder, they walk around the sacred fire, promising that the sacred chants resounding around them will bind them together not just for one life, but for eternity.
Tomorrow: Last update….suhaag raat!!
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
Cricket
