pandya niwaas ki anokhi kahaaniyan || notice - page fifteen

looking pretty

Lipstick. Foundation. Concealer. Blush.

Primers. Bronzers. Powders. Cream.

These items should sound foreign to Krish. After all, if he were to follow in the footsteps of a stereotypical man, he should have no business knowing what the purpose was for each item. He shouldn’t know which products go best with his skin, or how to properly apply each one so that he doesn’t end up looking like a clown.

But he knew.

As he stared at Raavi’s make up kit, he thought about how he has known for quite some time. He supposed the fascination for beauty products had arisen when he was a child. Seeing his Dhara Bhabhi sit before the vanity desk and pat her cheeks with some blush had made him curious as to how it was possible for such a drastic transformation to take place. Not that he didn’t find Dhara Bhabhi to be pretty sans make up. Nay, she was one of the prettiest women he knew. Rather, he was fascinated by how she managed to look even more pretty by twirling around a few brushes across her face.

Wondering if he could make himself look just as beautiful, he too, used to pick up a brush and spun them across his cheeks. Giggles used to erupt out of his little tummy as the soft bristles had moved across his soft skin. To complete the process, he used to browse through Dhara Bhabhi’s collection of lipsticks and pick out the brightest reds. Uncapping the little tube, he used to smear the red color haphazardly across his lips and then examine himself in the mirror. The first time he had done it, he had indeed ended up looking like a clown. But with his later tries, he had gotten better with coloring within the lines of his lips.

A branch knocking against his window startled Krish. He stared at it for a few minutes as he waited for his heart to calm.

He thought back to the first time he had felt a similar cold dread.

He had been applying some powder over his cheeks when Shiva had walked into the room, calling out for Dhara Bhabhi. He had clutched the powder puff in his small hands for dear life while he had waited for Shiva to yell obnoxiously and get him into trouble. His older brother had taken a few steps into the room, stared at Krish’s painted face and at all the various tools he had used to make himself look pretty. Instead of yelling like Krish had expected, Shiva had held him by the wrist and taken him straight to the bathroom. There, Shiva had vigorously scrubbed at his face and hadn’t stopped until every trace of make up had been removed completely. Krish had waited for Shiva to say something hurtful about what he had been doing, but he never did.

The only thing he had said during the scrubbing was, “Agar Dhara Bhabhi ko pata chal gaya, toh bahut maar paregi.”

Krish couldn’t help but chuckle at the strange twist of events. Though it took years for her to find out, his Bhabhi did catch him. Clad in heavy make up and a deep red and gold saree, Krish had been caught and brought before the entire family to be punished. Granted the punishment was for him nearly scaring Rishita Bhabhi half to death and not him trying a more feminine attire, he couldn’t help but wonder if his family would have acted any differently? How would they have reacted?

Would they have mocked and ridiculed him for being silly? Would they have chastised him and told him to grow up? Or would they have gotten angry and used that hard stick to beat some more sense into him?

He looked down at the saree and make up kit that had been resting on top of it. Even though it had been short lived event, he had never felt more alive. He wanted to hear the echoes of the ghungroos bounce off of the walls, and the bangles around his wrists jingle as they slid up and down. He wanted to be able to spend more time staring in the mirror and match various eyeshadows appropriately with his outfit.

If only there hadn’t been so much fear pulsating behind his every action. If only there had been a freedom associated to them so that he could properly bask in how light he felt.

“Krish, mera make up ka samaan abhi tak tere paas hi hai na?” Raavi spoke loudly as she entered his room.

Paling in color, he twisted around in his seat to look at her.

Smiling, she walked to him and gently ran a hand through his curls. “Kya hua? Itna darr kyun gaya?” Laughing, she joked, “Kahin tu ne sach mein Kesar ko toh nahi dekh liya?”

“Kya aap bhi na Bhabhi.” He lightly laughed so that he could cover up his fear of meeting an actual ghost.

“Chal mera make up de. Shiva ke uthne se pehle mujhe lagana hai nahi toh mujhe lagane nahi de ga.” She explained while extending her hand for the kit.

Krish turned around and carefully picked up the kit. The cubic box felt cool in his heated hands. He glanced at Raavi who was patiently waiting to receive her item back. When he didn’t make any effort to return it quickly, she placed both hands around it. Krish should have let it go at that point, but he couldn’t. He knew that the kit belonged to her and hence, it should return to her. But just this once, he wished he didn’t have to part with it.

He wasn’t entirely sure as to what Raavi thought of his hesitance. She didn’t say anything that could provide him a hint. However, the way she looked at him reminded him of how Shiva had observed him all those years ago when they were kids. There seemed to be some form of understanding, but what exactly did she understand?

Raavi removed her hands from the kit, and gave him a warm smile. “Woh,” She began, but then looked around, feeling nervous. “Krish, mujhe na ek bahut hi zaroori kaam yaad aa gaya. Mein woh kar ke aati hoon. Tu na, tab tak isse sambhal ke rakh. Mein baad mein aa jaungi isse lene. Teekh hai?”

With his heart elated, Krish nodded.

Raavi ran her hand through his curls once more. Then, her eyes growing misty, she pressed a long kiss against his forehead. Krish felt his own eyes tear up.

“Yaad rakhna, mein aur Shiva hai tumhare saath. Hmm?”

Krish basked himself in her warm smile. With a gentle ruffle of his hair, Raavi left the room.

Krish didn’t know why he hadn’t imagined a warm approval straight away. He supposed given the rigidity of his family’s principles and values, he hadn’t expected anyone to whole-heartedly accept him the way he was.

Still, he had to tread the waters carefully. Regardless of her noble intentions, Raavi was still a new member to the family. And thanks to Rishita, Raavi’s journey into integrating one with the family wasn’t going to be an easy task. The last thing Krish wanted was to repay Raavi’s kindness by creating more hurdles in her path. Until things became more cemented for both of them, Krish would keep this little matter hidden.

Running his hand over the makeup kit, Krish smiled.