A 16 year old raavi was annoyed as she dumped her school bag and sat on the bed in her school uniform.her bhootnath has been ignoring her since he joined engineering college.he spent most of his time now with his new group of friends or the college library.she had no idea that she was so used to his presence.they would always share a fight in the lunch break at school, or he would somehow end up sitting besides him on the school bus on the way home and they would bicker all the way.she remembered how she had got injured during a school kabaddi match and shiva had tended to her wounds, been so patient with her when she had cried her eyes out. She smiled as their soft moments played out in her head.
That's it, she had to meet him. She missed him terribly. She rushed out without changing or Eating to pandya house ignoring her maasis shouts.
She saw shiva standing outside admiring his new bike with Krish.
She ran to them and touched the handle.
" Nayi bike? Tere liye shiva? Mujhe baithna hai " she said and was about to climb on it when shiva held her arm.
" Ae gadhedi, bilkul bhi nahi.tu mere bike ko haath bhi nahi lagayegi " shiva said shoving her away
" Dekh shiva.tere saath bike par sabse pehle Mai hi baithungi Mai bata rahi hu " she said pointing a finger at him.
" Din Mai sapne dekhna band kar, sabse pehle to kya, sabse aakhir Mai bhi tujhe na bithau " shiva scoffed.
Krish saw them bantering and decided to slip away before he was made a scapegoat.
" Dhara diiii " raavi shouted as she entered the pandya niwas.she knew shiva will have no choice but to give her a ride on his new bike if dhara toldd him to.
But she was disappointed when she didn't find her in the house.
She saw Krish and sat besides him sadly.
" Tune dekha na shiva ne Kitna rude behave kiya mere saath, mujhe nahi bithayega to kise bithayega " she said annoyed
Krish decided to add some ghee into the fire and pull her leg.
" Kya raavi? Itni bholi mat ban. Ab shiva college jaa Raha hai.maine suna hai xyz clg of engineering Mai bahut Sundar ladkiya hai.ab Soch shiva apni nayi chamchamati bike lekar jayega to Kitna accha impression padega." Krish teased him.
" Kyaa? Mujhse bhi zyada Sundar ladkiya hai? " Raavi asked as her face fell.
Krish slapped his hand on his forehead.this is the only fact that she is worried about?
" Are Nahi raavi, tujhse Sundar kaise ho sakti hai? Tu to Somnath ki sabse sundar ladki hai na? Par ab clg ki ladkiyo ke saamne Tu to bacchi lagegi " Krish explained.
Raavi bit her nails, she didn't get a good feeling about this.a visual of shiva riding on a bike with a girl grabbing on to his waist flashed in front of his eyes and she didn't like it one bit.
" Nahiiii " she shouted as Krish closed his ears.
Then she saw dhara entering and she followed her to the kitchen.
" Dhara di.aapne shiva ko nahi bike kyu dilayi? " She asked
" Kyu dilayi matlab? Usne itni mehnat ki, itne acche clg Mai admission hua uska.itna to deserve karta hai woh " dhara said
" Woh sab to thik hai dhara di, par aisa na ho ki shiva bigad Jaye. Matargashti kare, ladkiya ghumaye. Isliye Mai bol rahi hu, aap usse woh bike wapas Lelo" raavi tries to convince her.
" Bigad jayega? Mera shiva? Tu yeh kya keh rahi hai raavi. Bachpan se jaanti hai na tu use. Dukaan, padhayi aur parivaar ke alawa kisi aur cheez par Kabhi dhyaan hi nahi Gaya uska. Aur Sach kahu to Mai chahti hu woh Apne clg ke din bahut enjoy kare,bachpan Mai Kita kaam kiya usne.store par gombi Ka haath bataya.kabhi dusre baccho ki Tarah carefree nahi reh paya.ab jab sab thik ho Gaya hai, pandya store finally apna ho Gaya hai to mai mere baccho ko unki Zindagi khulke jeete huye dekhna chahti hu." Dhara said as her eyes filled up . She remembered those hard days.how they all worked hard to make ends meet.how they didn't have enough money to pay the school fees of shiva, Dev and Krish.shiva insisted on leaving school and work full time in the store, but she and gombi had been adamant that he won't do anything of that sort.he was a bright kid.but he always thought about himself last.
Raavis eyes too filled up when she listened to dhara.this has always been her family and the fact that they had to suffer so much due to her maasi pained her heart.how she wished things didn't play out the way it did.and even after what her maasi did the pandya family loved her. Shiva claimed to hate her and call her maamikibehenkibeti but she knew that if any trouble fell upon her, he would be the First one standing in front of her.she remembered how broken shiva was when he saw the marks on gombis back, he wanted to leave school and work at the store.dhara Di and gombi didn't let that happen.he used to come back from school and help in the store and study at night.
She wasn't a very bright student but she tried to help shiva in her own small ways.she used to complete his records so that shiva could study during those times.she was good in drawing and the creative stuff so she helped him in his projects.literature, poetry and art were her strong points while maths and science was shivas.he would never accept help from her, so she had to apply some Tedhe ways.shiva would always explain to her the hard maths problems and physics equations. They completed each other in everything way, opposites but couldn't do without each other.in likes, in interests, in behaviour, poles apart.
Raavi was brought out of her thoughts when dhara offered her a samosa.
" Kahaan kho gayi? Aur tune abhi tak uniform kyu nahi change kiya? Jaa haath muh dho le, Mai khaana lagati hu. " She said.
Raavi took the samosa from her hands and ran away.
" Aap Khana mat lagao dhara di, mujhe Kuch kaam hai " she said and ran away.
She was stuffing the samosa in her mouth and glaring at shiva who was simply ignoring her and talking to someone on the phone.
"Hann Dipti Mai tujhe pick up karta hu, phir clg chalenge " he said
Raavi looked at him with big eyes and her samosa stuffed mouth.
He gave her one last look and started the bike and headed away.
Raavi tried to shout his name, but damn the samosa.she quickly finished it and grabbed Krish.
"Yeh Dipti kaun hai " she asked angrily.
* Mai to Kirti ke saath ghumta hu.kahin raavi ko pata to nahi chal gaya, par yeh Dipti ke baare Mai kyu Puch rahi hai * Krish thought.
" Bataa na Krish.yeh Dipti kaun hai jiske saath shiva baat kar raha tha " she asked again irritated.
"Accha, shiva ki dipti.clg Mai shiva ki koi dost hai shayad.maine bhi ek do baar yeh naam suna hai uske muh se.uski project partner bhi hai, Uske study group Mai bhi hai " he said
" Kyaa? Par school Mai to shiva ki koi ladki dost nahi thi " she said dejected
" School Mai tum Jo thi, Majal hai Kisi aur ladki ki Jo shiva ke paas aye.sabko apni Jaan pyaari Hoti hai " Krish joked when raavi slapped him on his arms.
She had to find out who this Dipti is? Is she the cause why shiva was spending less time with her? She felt her heart sink.she had heard how college is the perfect place for finding love.so many love stories she has read are about college romance.no. the thought of someone else getting his bhootnaths attention scared her.her bhootnath? Yes, he was definitely hers.they fought a lot but over the years her feelings have changed, she can't imagine her life without him.especially since high school.the number of times she had dreamt about him! The thought of those dreams were enough to make her blush a deep red.she was always confused about her feelings because softness was not their thing.they were soft to each other when either one was sick or hurt.rest all times it was the bickering and ladayi jhagda. she had to tell him how she felt about him before it's too late.
She ran towards the street and sat in an auto ignoring Krish Calling her.she directed the auto to take her to his college.the college was at the outskirts of the town and it was getting dark.she felt a bit scared coming out like this.she didn't even have her phone with her.she knew the autowale bhaiya so she told him that she will pay him later and made her way to the college.
She saw a building that had the lights on.
" Yeh students group study kahaan par karte hai?" She asked the security bhaiya who told her the way.
She entered a building and heard some noise coming from a common room.
*Great.now he was giggling with that dipti.he rarely smiles when he is with me*
She went inside, opened the door and shouted.
" Yeh Dipti kaun hai? " She glared at all of them.
A guy came forward.
" Ji Mai hu.diptiman singh.aur aap? " He said
She was taken aback.she looked around to see all guys dressed on shorts and some wearing a short and some not.they were all looking at her curiously.
" Are tum yahaan kaise aayi?yeh boys hostel hai. Kho gayi ho kya? Tum mere phone se Apne parents ko call Kar sakti ho " another guy said.
She didn't know what to do.she entered a boys hostel to snoop on shiva? What's wrong with her ? She felt so embarrassed of herself.how she wished to be buried inside the ground.shiva and his friends will make so much fun of her when they will come to know.she looked down unable to meet anyone's eyes and to hide her own tears.
Just then she heard a familiar voice.
" Raavi " shiva was surprised.
She turned back and hugged him tightly hiding her face in his chest.
He instinctively hugged her back.
" Tu jaanta hai isee? Yeh mujhe dhund rahi thi." Diptiman said.
Shiva got an idea of what the matter was.
" Hann.yeh..she is family " he said
Raavi looked up to see him.family.thats how he introduced her.a small smile crept up her face.
" Mai Ghar par Bina bitaye aa Gaya tha to sab tension le rahe hoge.to isliye yeh mujhe dhundte huye aa gayi. Ghar Pe sabko tera naam pata hai, to tujhe dhunda isliye " shiva tried to come up with an explanation.
His friends didn't look so convinced but they let it go.
Shiva held raavis hands and took her outside.
He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her.raavi was still not meeting his eyes.
He sighed and put his hand under her chin and lifted her face up.
" Ae gadhedi, kya baat hai ab bakegi bhi " he said softer than his usual tone.
" Mujhe laga Tu Dipti naam ke Kisi ladki ke saath hai,isliye aajkal Tu mujhse nahi milta.kitne din ho Gaye hai par tune na mujhe koi tanna maara, na thik se jhagda kiya.to Maine socha aaj us Dipti ko suna du.par woh to..." She said
" Ladka nikla " shiva completed her sentence and chuckled.
Raavi nodded her head sheepishly.
" Dekh chipkali, college ka first semester bahut tough hai.upar se itne saare projects.isliye busy rehta hu.mere life Mai ek musibat Kam hai jo Mai dusri ko invitation du? " He said
Raavi smiled at that and hugged him.
" Maine tujhe bahut miss kiya shiva " she said honestly.
Shiva hugged her back and smelled her lavender shampoo after long.
" Maine bhi " he whispered
" Waise tune mujhe apni family kaha.finally tune maan liya ki Mai tere hisse Mai aati Hu " raavi broke the hug and flashed a toothy smile.
" Ae, zyada mat ud.woh to Maine isliye kaha taki Teri izzat Ka faluda na bane.kya kehta? Ki tu jalan Mai aakar meri jasoosi Karne ayi hai " he said
" Bhootnath" she muttered under her breath.
" Ab chal Ghar chal " he said as he started his bike.
" Tu mujhe Apne bike par bithayega? " She beamed with happiness.
" Nahi, Mai bike par jaunga.tu chalkar aa " he said
" Shivaa " raavi slapped his arms and sat behind him holding onto him close.
" Chipkali " shiva smiled and made a mental note to spend some time with her irrespective of his busy schedule.he realised how much he missed her crazy antics and bickering.
Raavi had thought that she will confess her feelings but she liked it this way.the haq they had on each other, the unnamed relationship that means so much to both of them.the thought of being Shiva's family felt so serene to her.she knew that noone could take her place in his life and she couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life with anyone else except her bhootnath.
She put her head on his back and gripped him tighter as they rode away on the dark streets.
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
Cricket
