#PulaoStory
It was the ninthh day of Durga puja...There was chaos all over as people were waiting for Aarti... Prerna was preparing aarti ki thali & placing the essentials for maa's puja on the plate. She was wearing a typical deep red Bengali saree like she had the previous year. Although this year things have changed a lot for her... She was not same Prerna Sharma rather than this time she was Mrs.Prerna Sharma Bajaj! As she was decorating her thaal the preceeding year memories started playing in the back of her mind. She couldn't hold it more so she closed her eyes & sat infront of Maa's idol to calm the hurricane which was running inside her. The pandit jii standing nearby took her plate and started chanting some auspicious mantras holding it.
Meanwhile Rishabh Bajaj stopped therby, looked at MAA Durga's idol for a minute & came forward, folded his hands , closed his eyes and prayed to the divine figure. He was wearing a typical white silk Dhoti- Kurta with a minute border of red color on it on his daughter's insistence. Afterall the king cannot deny his Princess kukkie ! Suddenly his phone started ringing. While taking it out his hand collided with thaal which the Pandit ji was holding & the box containing Vermillion fell off. It was investors call & due to noise as well as the urgency to attend it he rushed towards the exit murmuring sorry. Pandit jii looked at the box and then at the woman over whom the Vermillion off. It was her- Prerna Bajaj. Suddenly a voice broke her thoughts and brought her back to present. Pandit ji called her again,"Sunoo Beti!" She got up & said ,"Jii boliye Pandit ji!" But he was looking at her. She was looking divine, flawless , magical & there was a different glow all over her face. Pandit ji said," Adbhutt beta! Ye sindoor jaise hi tmhare maang mein gira tum sakshat Devi maa ka swaroop lagne laga...bhishoon Sundoor." Prerna gave him a confused look & then saw her hand which was filled with red powdery substance.
She touched it and then ran her hands over her hair's middle partition which was filled with the red Vermillion in large amount unlike what she applied in the evening. She started breathing heavily unable to understand God's maaya and glanced at her. She saw the red Vermillion over the supreme's head and then touched hers...this went on for 5 minutes. Then Pandit ji broke the silence & spoke the words of wisdom ,"Ye Devi maa ki maaya haii beta....Ye sindoor hi Tumhri kismat aur manzil hai... MAA ne tmhra rishta uske saath jodd Diya hai aur apni manzoori aur aashirvad bhi saath mein di hai....Tumhe uske naam ke sindoor mein rang Diya haii aur ab uske sang kadam se kadam milake chalne ka saubhagya tumhe Diya hai...Tumi khub bhaalo lagache...Jai MAA Durgaa! Jai MAA Durgaa! Dugga ! Dugga!" Prerna remembered her marriage and started walking down. She was completely lost in Bajaj's thought and all of a sudden she heard shankh's voice.He was blowing it! She saw him then looked at Durga maa and then touched her Vermillion. She closed her eyes and felt something & then she quickly jumped the stairs and ran upto him.
She was breathing heavily as well as smiling looking at the idol. She stood beside him and he gave a weird look at her and said ,"Aap kuch ajeeb....I mean alag...." and she quickly responded ,"Sundoor lag rahi hu naa!??? " to which he nodded hesitantly and then she said ,"Aapke naam ka sindoor mujhe bhishoon Sundoor bana Raha hai,Mr. Bajaj." This sentence sent a chill down his spine and kept on looking at her. She gave him a smile and went ahead to bring her aarti ka thal...he was still looking at her! She raised her brows and gestured him to hold the thal. They started doing the aarti while Bajaj was in a dilemma that what happened to his wife Prerna was smiling looking at the Vermillion box,Durgaa maa's idol and his husband.
It seemed like this Navratra brought new beginnings for her.
Sorry for typos.
Loved It..This was bliss..
Arjun
