I know I'm not updating this story as regularly as I want to. My apologies for the same. Somehow I find writing this one much more complicated than my other stories. Lots of characters and situations to deal with, plus all this trying not to make it boring! Hope I've succeeded though till now! 😆
I'm beginning a new section where I'm taking the story back to the present, right where we left off at Section I, where Sameer proposes Naina. Section II was about some past reflections on a few of their firsts.
Wednesday, 14th September, 1994, 9.00 pm:
"Chachaji! Naina called out to
her uncle at night, after dinner. Chachi was busy winding up the kitchen and
Preeti was helping her. Taiji and Tauji, along with Rakesh and Arjun had
retired to their home. The same morning Sameer and Naina had carefully
discussed about the course of action for future. That included Sameer informing
his parents about Naina and his plans to marry her. And Naina informing
chachaji and chachiji about Sameer and his proposal.
"Haan Naina beta bolo na...kya baat
hai? asked chachaji, as he was going over some official documents. "Aapse kuch
baat karni hai chachaji...z...zaruri hai! Naina stammered, her heart pounding
against her rib-cage. "Bol na meri gudiya! Chachaji encouraged her. "Chachaji
wo baat aisi hai ki...ki...wo main...wo...wo..., Naina started. "Naina...tum itna
hichkicha kyun rahi ho? Ghabrao mat...tumhare chacha tumhare dost bhi hai na!
Bolo! Chachaji tried calming her down. Naina took a deep breath and blurted,
"Main Sameer se shaadi karna chahti hun! And then she breathed out.
Chachaji looked stunned at her,
his expression back to formal and solemn. After a pause of a few seconds, he
voiced, "Sameer? Naina lowered her eyes to the ground. "Ji! Sameer
Maheshwari...Mujhe maaf kar dijiye chachaji. Maine aapko yeh baat pehle nahi
batayi, lekin Sameer aur main ek dusre ko pasand karte hain. Aur usne kal
mujhse pucha hai ki kya main usse shaadi karungi, Naina spoke hurriedly.
The clanking of the utensils
stopped as Bela chachi and Preeti stood frozen in their places. The entire
house suddenly became pin-drop silent. As she took in a few minutes to let
Naina's words sink in, rage came over Bela chachi and she stormed into the
living room. She pulled Naina aside and screwed her ear, as she started lambasting
her. "Hamare bharose ka aisa fayeda uthaya tune...ek ladke ke saath tera chakkar hai
chee...Naina humne tujhpe kitna bharosa kiya...tujhe apni betiyon se badhke pyaar kiya...aur
tune aaj ye chura hamare kaleje mein hi ghonp diya..., Chachi was in tears, while
Naina looked ashamed, about to cry herself. Preeti was terrified seeing the
reaction of her parents.
Not that she and Preeti hadn't
expected this, but seeing the response from Chacha and Chachi, Naina trembled
to think how Tauji and Taiji would react. Not to mention her father. He would
try to rip Sameer off in rage. Overcome with fear, Naina stood silent as Chachi
kept on berating her.
Suddenly Chachaji raised his hand,
commanding his wife to show restraint. His eyes had a strict look as he peered
at Naina and asked, "ye wahi Sameer hai jo hamare ghar aaya tha...jo tumhare
saath school mein padhta tha...wahin jispe Arjun ne paper chori ka galat ilzaam
lagaya tha...? Naina nodded her head slowly.
Chachaji asked again, "aur kab se
chal raha hai ye sab? Naina remained silent. Chachaji prompted, "school se?
Naina nodded again, feeling guilty and embarrassed at the same time. Preeti was
as sure as Naina that now she will get a slap. Naina had already closed her
eyes tight in anticipation, ready to bear the brunt. But the slap did not come.
"Wo tumse pakka shaadi karna
chahta hai...? Chachaji questioned instead. Naina opened her eyes and a moment
later, nodded.
"Usne kaha hai tumse? Kya usne
apne gharwalon se baat ki hai? Uske Nanaji to ab is duniya me nahi rahe...fir
uske maata pita? Chachaji asked reasonably. Naina knew she had to reveal
Sameer's background now. "Wo chachaji...uski mummy Dilli me rehti hain. Unhone
dusri shaadi ki... Ignoring the gasp by Bela chachi, Naina continued, "kyunki
Sameer ke papa uske bachpan mein hi guzar gaye the...uske sautele papa Dilli mein
hain. Wo wahan uske sautele bhai Rohan aur uski behen Deepika ke saath rehti
hain.
Chachaji pondered over the new
found information. He couldn't deny he'd felt betrayed by Naina's revelation,
but as his initial bout of rage gave way to lines of reason, he felt concerned
for Naina's future and happiness.
"Hmmm...Naina tum jaanti ho na wo
log kitne ameer hain. Sameer abhi baccha hai. Kal to uske mata-pita ne mana kar
diya ki ek middle-class ladki se use shaadi nahi karni to tum kya karogi...aur
usse zaruri hai wo kya karega? Aur upar se uski mummy ki dusri shaadi...tum
jaanti ho na...bade bhaisahab aur bhabhiji ye kabhi baat nahi maan payenge...aur Rakesh
bhaisahab to shayad hamesha se hi Sameer
ko pasand nahi karte! Chachaji tried to reason with Naina.
Naina stood listening to all
this. Chachaji's eyes flickered onto Naina's determined yet abashed face. Then
he spoke again, "Lekin mujhe Sameer pasand hai...!
Naina, Preeti and Bela looked up
in surprise. "Ji...aap ye kya keh rahe hain? Bela interrupted but paused at her
husband's gesture. A smile crept across Naina and Preeti's lips as they saw Chachaji
smiling. "Par jitna main use jaanta hun...sirf us hisab se...main ye baat ghar pe
kisi aur ko batane se pehle Sameer se milna chahunga...aur agar wo meri gudiya ko
hamse zyada khush rakhega to main tum dono ki shaadi zarur karwaunga, ye mera vaada
hai tumse! Chachaji declared happily.
Naina was overwhelmed by Chachaji's
words. She could not believe that he had accepted Sameer's proposal so easily.
She'd thought she would have to go about convincing him and Chachi for days before
they relented. Of course he wanted to scrutinize Sameer and his character to
his satisfaction. But that was normal considering how protective Chachaji was
for Naina. With tears in her eyes, Naina couldn't help but hug her chacha, as
she started crying out in joy. "Thank you Chachaji! Thank you so much! Seeing
her husband's support for the couple, Bela too softened. After all, she too had
liked Sameer when he'd come over to help during Puja-Varun's wedding. And also
when he'd forgiven Arjun and in a way saved his and his father's reputation in
school.
***
Wednesday, 14th September, 1994, 9.30 pm:
"Mom! Vishakha heard Sameer's
voice and was surprised. "Sameer...kaise ho tum? she asked. "Main theek
hun...actually mujhe aap logon se kuch zaruri baat karni hai...kya aap log kal
Ahemdabad aa sakte hain? he spoke. "Ahemdabad? Kal? Lekin kya hua Sameer...aisa
kya zaruri baat hai jo tum phone pe nahi kar sakte? Sab theek hai na? Vishakha
asked in concern. "Nahi...sab theek hai...bas hai ek baat...agar aap aa payenge to
acha hoga...kamse 3-4 din ke liye please...mujhe is waqt aapki zarurat hai maa...Nanu
nahi rahe...varna aapko pareshan nahi karta! Sameer confessed, his heart heavy
as he recalled his grandfather. How he wished Nanu was here with him. He would
have taken care of everything then. "Theek hai...main tumhare papa se baat karti
hun...kal subah phone karti hun okay? she said as she hung up. Sameer looked at
the receiver and sighed. He wished he would be together with Naina, soon!
The next morning, Vishakha called
Sameer and informed him that they would be arriving on Sunday. His step-father,
Mr. Somani had taken a few days leave on her insistence and since it was Rohan
and Deepika's mid-term break from their college and school respectively, they
would bring them along. Sameer had formally thanked Mr. Somani before he replaced
the receiver.
***
Thursday, 15h September, 1994, 2.00 pm:
"Sameer! Dheere chalao! Naina
yelped as she tried to cling onto him for support. "Hahaha! Sameer was
laughing joyously and celebrating with an overspeeding bike ride. "Gir jaungi
main! Naina shrieked. "Mujhe kas ke pakdo na...mere hote huye kaise girogi! he
shouted back as he accelerated more. "Sameer! Itni kya excited ho rahe ho?
Naina shrieked. "Arey Chachaji maan gaye...mujhse milna chahte hain...Step 1 done...ab
hamari shaadi hogi! he declared happily as he swerved the corner around Rajshri
Park. "Sameer...zinda bachenge to karenge na shaadi...dheere karo...! Naina
commanded. "Tum to abhi se biwi ki tarah order dene lagi ho! Sameer exclaimed
as he slowed down. Naina breathed a sigh of relief as the bike jerked to a halt
and propped herself down immediately.
"Tum na...sudhroge nai! she tapped
his arm feigning anger. "Ye umar sudharne ki nai...bigadne ki hai jaaneman! he
winked at her as he climbed down the bike.
As they made their way inside the
park, Sameer wrapped his arm around her shoulders and said, "Naina...Sunday ko mom
bhi aa rahi hain...unse bhi baat karni hai...phone pe batana sahi nahi laga
isliye bula liya...par unke saath mere khadus pitaji bhi aa rahe hain! Naina
smacked him for disrespecting an elder and he grinned.
A few minutes later, they settled
down on the grassy lawn as they discussed the dos and don'ts that Sameer should
follow when he met Chachaji and planning on how to tactly broach the topic in front
of Sameer's family.
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