This one is for all who wanted to see them dance together. I don't know much of dancing so I kinda wrote it vaguely. (Though I did learn very little kathak when I was a kid 🤣)
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Raghav started tapping his feet to the rhythm which was slowly building like an uncontrollable flame inside him. The fire swirled like tendrils of smoke throughout his veins as his muscles flexed and moved fluidly along the expanse of his chiselled torso and limbs. The humming of the Shiv tandav strotam created an almost other-worldly aura around him. His limbs moved powerfully exuberating grace and a raw beauty which was both tempered and savage. The postures were impeccable and the mudras flawless, his mind had blanked completely, focussing only on the inner energy which his form radiated wildly.
The hymns started increasing in pace, reaching a tempo when Pallavi descended like a racy river. Her form sprouted and meandered with the elegance befitting a mighty river cutting through infallible rocks and chartered a course around the volcanic frame which was her husband. Her movement drew fluidly like the fathomless and piercing jets of icy streams, her feet in perfect harmony with that of the powerful notes of the strotam and her hands pantomiming her surrender to the higher forces of nature.
Raghav matched his wife's agility with a feline speed and wiry power which would have made any athlete burn with jealousy. Pallavi's hair had escaped from the braid she had made it into and was currently flapping around her frame and his face and body as they danced furiously. The mansion was empty and icy in silence yet remained vibrating with their mutual power as if mount Kailash itself. They kept on gyrating to the tune in symphony yet the marked differences could be visible in their chosen dance forms. Seemingly, it would be impossible to match the two so fundamentally dissimilar forms of art - the bharatnatyam and the kathak. Yet they have melded both in a frighteningly rapturing frame.
There was something trancing in the image they were presenting as they kept tangling in each other and separating like two repulsive and attractive forces of nature. A scientific impossibility of coexistence of two mutually destructive elements of the earth - fire and water. Yet, here they were making love to each other and getting burnt out and extinguished the moment they touched only to be born anew as they separated. There was something sensual about this fusion of tandav that they were dancing to. It was like they Gods they were worshipping had manifested in them as a reflection.
Shiva - the destroyer and his consort, Shakti - the mother of all creation. Raghav could feel his sweat map a path down the various planes and ridges of the play of spectacular muscles on his completely bare torso. He was donning his usual black patiala like trousers. Pallavi was in blood red. Her fitted blouse had a modest square cut, defining just her collar bones and midriff. She had it paired with a similar patiala but in red. Sweat glistened from her skin as well giving it an almost golden sheen. Their exhaustion only seemed to fuel their resulting fury as they started twirling and moving violently around the room and each other. There was a lasting grace in those terrifying violence as well.
The last notes of the strotam rang blaringly in the air and Raghav and Pallavi completed their dance in a graceful yet powerful move coming to a halting stop in front of the huge bronze Nataraja statue they had installed. The room now eerily quiet seemed to still pulsate with the vestiges of their union of energies. They joined their hands and bowed in front of the deity to finish their worship and only then did they notice the frozen audience at the distance.
When Nikhil Deshmukh had conspired with his uncle, Milind and dragged Farhad, his new wife Ainaa and Krishna in his dubious plans to give his elder sister and brother in law a surprise visit, he had never expected to be so tremendously surprised himself. And if he would have been able to remove his eyes from the sight of the couple's dance then he would have noticed neither had his fellow conspirators. They stood spellbound and bewildered as they saw the couple dancing in such contrasting yet crackling harmony. It felt as if they would have been burned down to ashes had they taken a step forward than where they had frozen in awe. Though Nikhil, Milind and Krishna knew Pallavi loved to dance was quite a talented kathak dancer they had never seen her in this form before. So much vigour and so much fury in her steps that they were rooted to their place. And Farhad though having had the privilege of seeing his boss worship once or twice had never before witnessed such a a smooth amalgamation of finesse and savagery in his steps.
They had stood there amazed and speechless, their jaws loose in disbelief and wonder till they had seen the climactic end of their worship. Yet, however much they wanted to burst into a thunderous applause none of their hands would move. As if the mere notion of clapping seemed somehow inadequate and insulting to such an overwhelming display of power and love wrapped in obeisance. They saw the oblivious couple bow to the idol and then stand there sideways looking at each other.
The reverence they felt for their chosen deity, their chosen dance forms and each other, shone candidly in their eyes. It was such an intimate moment that they felt highly embarrassed suddenly, to have been standing witness to it. But before they could make the effort of silently slinking away they were spotted.
Finally Ainaa broke out of her enchanted trance and skipped towards Pallavi to catch her hands in hers. She was beaming, pride and awe shining in her bright hazel eyes.
"Bhabi.. that.. that was... that was.. what was that!!!?"
Pallavi flushed bashfully and grinned, preening at the amazement in her voice. Raghav the master of spoiling perfect moments couldn't let the opportunity slide. He grabbed a towel and started patting himself while walking towards a seat.
"Why? It wasn't so bad..... was it?"
"Bad!!!?"
Milind Deshmukh finally spluttered and came to occupy the opposite seat before plonking the gift he had brought on the table resoundingly.
"Are you mad? That was fantastic! That was mind blowing! That was making me want to tear my hair out that I didn't see it before. "
"That was too good Didi. For a second I thought I'll combust into flames spontaneously, seriously! Kya baat hain.. aap dono toh chupe rustom nikle.."
Krishna gushed.
"Kaka, Krishna... kuch bhi.. aisa kuch nhi hain.. that was just.."
Pallavi began flustered as she always got when dragged in the spotlight while her husband enjoyed her discomfort mightily trying to hide the blush which was forming on his cheekbones at everyone's ceaseless praises.
"That was terrifyingly good di! Kuch mat bolo.. mujhe toh believe hi nhi ho raha.. that you and jiju could dance like that."
Nikhil said moving to sit with the men still looking a little star struck at his brother in law. Who would have thought Raghav Rao had such elegance along with his raw physical brawn? Ainaa laughed musically and pushed her husband to move his a** as Farhad was still frozen in his place making the rest giggle at the sight. Ainaa was a perfect match for their stoic and cool headed Farhad. She was cheerful, bubbly and so unbelievably hot tempered that Farhad joked she could rival Raghav's anger if given a chance. Raghav only countered it stating coolly, then that is good that Farhad has had a lot of practice.
"That definitely deserved a far more illustrious audience then us. We don't know the d of dance Anna, yet we could safely say that.. this is award winning material.."
Farhad said seriously and Aina added cheekily to it.
"Yes.. and Allah kasam bhaijaan! if I could have had one fourth of your grace then my Ammi would have gone on Haj to Mecca, Medina."
Raghav flushed darkly and Pallavi felt the flames licking her ears and cheeks simultaneously. She was opening her messed up braid as she walked towards her family trying to locate an empty spot. However much immersed she had been in the dance at one point, her limbs were killing her now. Raghav pulled her and she ended up sitting on the artificial grassed lawn on the ground in between her husband's legs as he started untangling her dishevelled tresses with his fingers gently.
"Wow! How did you people even think about it?"
Nikhil finally asked the question everyone had in their minds for some time now. Pallavi looked up at Raghav and they shared a small smirk.
Raghav and Pallavi had made this little corner at the end of their rather huge hallway opposite to the gym. They had discovered that though married, they had little time for each other jumping from their highly taxing professions and managing their various philanthropic extensions while looking after their respective families though in incognito. One fine day, Pallavi mentioned she had seen him dance once at the initial days of their rather heated acquaintance. She put forth a desire to see him dance again. Raghav had felt a little conscious but then he had countered well, telling that he would comply with her request only if she danced too. So, thus began their dance routine. Some days into it they had seen that it relaxed them considerably and was a perfect opportunity to spend time together. With it they had discovered that they shared an affinity towards the Lord of the Ghouls - Shiva. So they had a Nataraja made and after a million fights and silly bickering they had finally managed to create a rather loose fusion of their individual dances and were mightily proud of themselves.
This was their stress buster. Raghav could drain all his uncontainable fury and Pallavi could let her inner frustration flow out seamlessly. Not to mention they were secretly fascinated with seeing their partner dance. It had become a weekly ritual now. They send away the house help and focused on dancing their guts out. By the look on their impromptu spectators' faces they could for the first time gauge.. maybe it wasn't as bad as they thought it to be.
They heard the people seated around them chatter like incessant crickets and felt a sense of peace pervading their minds and hearts. These were the people they had found a family in. Their little world as their original families had disowned them long since. The pain due to that though still prevalent deep in their souls buried under pretences and fake smiles was lessening as the days went by. Raghav and Pallavi saw that the group had engaged in a heated discussion of how to showcase their hidden talent to the rest of the world and how would a face off look etcetera etcetera.
Her husband, fascinated with her hair as he was had learnt within a short time how to braid it. And that was what he had been doing for sometime now. Pallavi tilted her face upwards and saw Raghav look at her facing downwards, the emotion in her eyes mirrored perfectly in his. Their marriage might have happened due to weird circumstances yet their emotional bonds were forming on the stronghold of the blossoming love they had started to share. They were falling in love. Slowly yet surely as the Universe kept pushing them towards each other and they centred their existence around the other person.
Pallavi closed her eyes feeling Raghav's lips press on her forehead upside down as his hands rested on her shoulders while hers were loosely entangled in her lap. They looked sideways at the rest hearing someone's shrieking laughter and felt a gladness surge in their bodies which always did, witnessing such a scene. Pallavi slowly reached up for her husband's hand as they still had their gazes locked on their friends and family.
They entangled their little finger together like kids holding an oath to keep a promise. A promise to keep loving and living together as long as fate decreed and possibly even against it.
Anupamaa
