Had fun writing this one, hope reading it is just as fun!
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Appu tapped her feet against the floor to a song that was stuck in her head while she rested her chin on her ‘office desk’. She took note that the old computer in front of her seemed to suddenly want her attention as the CPU decided to make a noise as if it was about to lift off into space. Appu lazily lifted her eyes to look at the monitor, the monitor blinked back twice before it went into standby mode again. Appu caught her distorted reflection on the now black monitor, bored and lost. At least something wanted her attention here. She had become quite attached to this old computer. They were both in a similar situation- undervalued and hidden away. Ever since she had joined the office again, everyone had made it very clear she was not welcome here. Even Dubey ji looked at her with sympathy rather than excitement these days. Only this room full of unwanted scraps and this old computer were her friends. But she still believed Rakshit cared for her too… Just as she thought of him, his blurry reflection appeared behind hers on the monitor.
Appu jolted up into a sitting position and turned around to see Rakshit standing near the entrance of the room. He had two others with him, a sharp looking tall gentleman and on his arm, one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. She was a slender elderly lady, silvery white hair with greys tied back into a neat pony tail. She had large brown eyes, softened with age but still piercingly sharp to onlookers. And although slightly hunched over using the gentleman’s arm as support, Appu could tell she was a tall woman. She wore an elegant simple light green sari, one of Appu’s favourite colours. She wore deep maroon lipstick, and Appu smiled thinking this must have been a habit of hers since her younger days. What an elegant woman! Appu was so taken by her, she barely noticed her male companion.
Rakshit also assisted the lady towards Appu who floundered as she attempted to stand up from her chair quickly. In the chaos, the chair fell and lightly hit the handsome stranger. Appu began to apologise profusely before she was rendered speechless again. Having finally seen his face properly, she realised the man was Abir Malholtra, one of the most popular actors of the country. Eyes wide, Appu covered her open mouth in shock.
Abir smiled, amused, “This is Miss Aparajita?”
Rakshit cleared his throat, “Yes, this is Aparajita ji.”
Abir looked quizzically at Rakshit, surprised by how formally he called Appu. “Hello, Aparajita ji.”
Aparajita managed a nervous smile, “Na-namaste, Mr Malholtra.”
Abir raised an eyebrow, almost smirking, “Please just call me Abir. You run a very formal office, Rakshit. You seem like a strict teacher and Aparajita ji a good student!”
Rakshit smiled but inside, he was annoyed. Did Abir have to keep repeating Appu’s name like that? It was not the way he said it, but that he kept saying it. Although Rakshit had started calling her ‘Aparajita ji’ to create distance between them, having used it for the last few weeks, the term had become endearing to him, just as all his other numerous nicknames for her. Everything to do with Appu became endearing to him. Darn it!
By now, Appu’s attention had reverted back to the elderly lady, carefully seating her in the now upright chair. Why had Rakshit brought these guests to her room when he could have seated them comfortably in his cabin and called for her? Appu didn’t mind- she was quite proud of her room!
Rakshit cleared his throat again, “Aparajita ji, this is…”
“-Geetanjali Sarkar ma’am, Abir sir’s Nani,” Appu smiled, still in awe. Abir came from a prominent film industry family with a long line of famous actors from different eras of cinema, Abir belonging to the current generation.
“You know me, beta?” Geetanjali said, surprised. While she had multiple hit movies under her belt, she had retired to the quieter life early in her career.
Aparajita kneeled down beside her chair. “Ma’am, who doesn’t know you? Your movies are masterpieces!” Appu began to list some of Geetanjali’s movies, while Geetanjali laughed, amused by Appu’s excitement. Rakshit could not help but smile seeing Appu. She had this effect on everyone, she made everyone’s world brighter. Who could resist loving her?
“Bas, bas, Aparajita ji! Please stop or else Nani’s feet will never touch the ground if you praise her so much!” Abir laughed as his grandma playfully hit his arm. Rakshit forced a smile, increasingly annoyed by how openly Appu seemed to be laughing at Abir’s remarks. She doesn’t laugh… she didn’t use to laugh this much at any of my jokes! And can he stop calling her that?
“Aparajita, you make masterpieces of your own,” Geetanjali reached to hold Appu’s hands, “I saw you on TV when you wore the sari you weaved for that competition. You looked so beautiful!”
Appu’s face lit up before she frowned again, “Thank you ma’am but I used to weave… I’m taking a break to do other duties.” Appu looked up at Rakshit who quickly looked away from her.
“That’s a shame,” Geetanjali frowned, looking up at her grandson, “I was hoping I could ask Aparajita to design and weave my sari for your sister’s wedding. I had a feeling she would create something perfect for me.”
“You want me to weave you a sari for Raina Malholtra’s wedding?!” Appu covered her gaping mouth with her hands again, amusing Abir and Geetanjali more. Raina was another popular current actor and model. Appu looked up excitedly at Rakshit, wanting to share in her happiness with him. To her relief, this time Rakshit could not hide his proud smile for her.
“Will you weave a sari for me, Aparajita?”Geetanjali held Appu’s hands again.
Aparajita stood up in excitement, smiling from ear to ear as she looked at Rakshit for approval, “Rakshit sir, please, may I…?”
Rakshit was taken aback by her eyes, with so much longing and excitement, he had to fold his arms and clear his throat again to reign in the rush of emotions. How could he ever say no to her with her looking at him like that? “Yes, yes of course you can. Anything for the legendary Geetanjali ma’am.”
“Thank you, sir!” Excited, Appu ran back to the main office area to retrieve the electronic tablet she used for her designs. As Appu and Geetanjali discussed the plan for the sari together, Abir and Rakshit stood back, leaning on the shelves of scrap cloths. Rakshit was so engrossed in watching Appu in her excitement, he had forgotten they were all still standing in Appu’s congested ‘office’. To him, over time this ‘office’ felt more opulent than his own.
“Is this where Aparajita works?” Abir asked, his voice seemed distant to Rakshit as he continued watching Appu.
“Hmm? Oh yes, it is.”
“Interesting place…” Abir looked around the office. Aparajita had used scraps of colourful cloth to create bunting which she had strung across all the shelves. He noticed embroidery and patchwork art Appu had been creating also adorning some shelves. Some shelves were so organised, the cloth had been arranged in precise rainbow colour order! Abir smiled, Aparajita seemed like an extraordinary person.
“This room doesn’t seem to have a lot of space for weaving,” Abir noted out loud, “With your permission, Mr Teacher, can Aparajita stay with Nani when she weaves her sari? I’m sure Nani would love her as company.”
Rakshit’s annoyance had reached a new high. If Aparajita went to their household to weave, how was he going to sneak in and watch her work?! And wasn’t Abir liking her a bit too much?! Why did Appu have to be so loveable?!
Geetanjali called out from the end of the room, “Please beta, can we take Aparajita home with us?”
Appu looked straight into Rakshit’s eyes, so excited she almost dropped her stylus. Rakshit’s heart dropped immediately, she really hates this place, huh? At the exact time, the old white computer seemed to cry out in pain with a roaring sound from the CPU and continued to sound like it was part of an F1 race. Abir laughed. Rakshit frowned with the computer. Seeing his face, Appu turned back to Geetanjali, “I’m sorry ma’am, but I need the equipment and-“
“We can just move it, right? We can transfer the equipment to our house, and bring it back here when you’re done,” Abir suggested.
Rakshit was biting back his words, “It’s not that simple…”
“We can buy a new one and once Aparajita ji is done, she can keep the equipment, as a gift? Or who knows, my Nani might just hire you as her personal designer and we’ll have to keep it there anyway,” Abir laughed. Rakshit glared at Appu who was now blissfully taking out light blue and white scraps of fabric from her library of rejected cloth. They’ve known her for less than five minutes! Why does everyone want to take her away from me?!
“Why hire her as a designer when I could keep her as a bahu?” Geetanjali said with such charm, Rakshit smiled without thinking and almost didn’t catch the meaning of what she said. Geetanjali winked at Abir. Rakshit’s level of worry had skyrocketed and in harmony, the old white computer whirred up again into a fit.
Appu was now sifting through her pile of lilacs, straining to reach a very high shelf. Absentmindedly, she said quietly, more perhaps to herself, “Me, ma’am? Me? Ma’am, I can’t become your bahu. I’m not fit to be anyone’s bahu. I’m a divorcee…” and as soon as she said this, the whole room went dead silent. Even the old computer, her one true friend and possibly her secret admirer, had shut itself down again. Appu covered up her mouth. Why did she say that?! What’s it to these strangers who or what she is? Appu wanted to be swallowed in by the fabrics around her.
Rakshit’s mind went blank. Suddenly he forgot all the worry, pent up anger, annoyance and everything else that had been running through his mind.
What remained was pain and sadness. His heart broke for her, that’s all Appu thinks about herself?
Abir had now come around to help Appu. He was smiling, amused again, “I’m also divorced. Is that a problem?” He reached over her to retrieve the baby blue cloth she had been trying to bring down and teasingly placed it over her head. She peered up at him from under the cloth, still in shock. Abir was taken aback by her large beautiful eyes.
“I’m also divorced,” Geetanjali smiled, “What does that matter, Aparajita?” she asked gently.
Appu turned to look at Rakshit again, speechless, the cloth falling from her head to the ground from the sudden turn of her head. Rakshit could see her large brown eyes welling up with tears. She almost looked distraught or panicked, unsure of how to process what she was hearing because she had never heard it so clearly before. For a moment, there was peace between them, understanding and silence. Rakshit came to a sudden realisation- Appu had become very lonely. She was surrounded by people every day but no one who truly understood her, or had gone through a fraction of what she had. The whole office was against her, her mohalla enjoyed her misery, and her one best friend in the office reminded her every day how unwelcome she was at HoB. And here strolled in two strangers who had also gone through divorces, with not a care in the world for a label that weighed Appu down so heavily, and in her secluded cabin filled with rejected things where Appu had been sequestered away, the strangers had reminded her she was indeed not alone. Rakshit had to restrain every muscle in his body to stop himself from running to her, holding her hands, caressing her face to comfort her. With a heavy heart, Rakshit knew what he had to do.
“Appu… I mean Aparajita ji can go to Geetanjali’s household for this job on two conditions. She must report to me… I mean Ira… every morning and every afternoon at the end of shift. We will also do a standard site visit when she first starts work there if that’s okay with you, ma’am?” Rakshit said in a very businessman manner to try and mask his sadness. Appu looked at him, shocked. Of course she wanted to weave again and to have Geetanjali as company was never in her wildest dreams! But leaving Rakshit… was he going to be okay? Was she going to be okay?
Geetanjali laughed, “Yes, that will be fine. You really take care of Aparajita, don’t you Rakshit beta?”
Before Rakshit could say anything, Appu said, “Yes, he does. He’s a great boss, to everyone.”
Rakshit frowned again, looking away. He was starting to hate himself even more for what he had made Appu go through. “So Abir, about transporting the weaving equipment…”
News spread like wildfire in the office that Appu was going to work at Abir Malholtra’s house. With wedding celebrations going on, that household was already causing a buzz in the media. People who barely looked towards Appu approached her that day to say hi when she made herself tea or took breaks from her office. The whole day was spent mostly on her tablet as she planned out the sari. For inspiration, she watched some of Geetanjali’s old songs and scenes from her evergreen movies. To stretch her legs, like she did on other days, she would sometimes walk into Rakshit’s cabin while he pretended not to see her, often just to annoy him, other times to think out loud. She showed him drafts of her designs and asked him for his opinion. He didn’t speak to her, like always, but couldn’t help but use his subtle body language to show his thoughts on the designs. From tomorrow, I won’t see her like this anymore, Rakshit thought as Appu yapped about a scene she had just watched. His eyes followed her as she paced around his room, describing a sari in that scene. What was he going to do without her?
“Are you doing any work or just watching movies and coming to annoy me like this every 5 minutes?” Rakshit finally spoke, quickly looking down at his laptop. “I have work to do.”
Appu stopped talking for a moment, shocked he spoke to her before letting out a huge smile, “Rakshit sir, will you miss me when I’m gone?”
Rakshit looked up at her, expressionless, “Aparajita ji, whether you’re here or not here-”
“Yes, yes, I know! You don’t care whether I’m over there or in the bin, whether I’m dead or alive. You’re like a broken radio!”
“Then why ask questions when you already know the answers?” Rakshit looked frustrated.
“Because sometimes, just hearing a voice is enough,” Appu smiled. “No one else speaks to me. I’ll miss you, Rakshit sir.” Rakshit looked transfixed at Appu. He could never predict what would come out of her mouth. How did she have such an immense control on his attention? He had feigned every moment of nonchalance. Every design she had shown was imprinted in his mind. Every scene she had described watching was vivid in his imagination. Would he miss her, she asks? He would crave her presence while she was gone. He would count down the hours till the end of her shifts. He would try to find her presence in every nook and cranny of this office.
“Aparajita-“ Rakshit started.
“Yes, I’ll close the door on my way out,” Appu turned to leave.
“No- no,” Rakshit called her back. “I was going to say, take care of yourself there, have your wits about you. You’re a recipe for disaster so please, just be careful. And you’re there only to weave, don’t let them use you for any other wedding work. You’re the ‘helpful-wala’ types, you know? You don’t need to be so helpful. I’m telling you this not because I care about you but because I’m the one paying for your services, not them. So-“
“I get it, I’ll finish the work as quickly as I can and come back here. Don’t worry, sir, I won’t let this company down!” Appu said with absolute conviction. Rakshit wanted to laugh. How could he not worry? Trouble always found her wherever she went. “Sir, I’m coming in early tomorrow so I can start early so I’ll check in with Ira ma’am. The house I’m going to be working at is about 1 hour away from here. I probably won’t see you tomorrow. Take care of yourself too.” And with a final smile, Appu waved goodbye before she left his office.
Rakshit tilted his chin up towards the roof before leaning back in his chair. He was tired. Tired of pretending not to care for her. Tired of sneaking glances at her. Tired of not being able to speak his mind to her. Maybe a few days without her here was going to do him good?
And of course, his dread of her absence did quite the opposite. Rakshit woke up early the next morning and almost flew his car through the empty roads to work. He was already in the office before sunrise, a time he could not remember ever waking up before. He waited in his cabin before he saw Appu entering an hour later, walking across the office to her ‘cabin’. She hadn’t noticed Rakshit sitting at his desk, staring intently at her with sleepy eyes as she walked past his office. Rakshit found her rummaging through the office’s storeroom for her materials. She was sorting through a bottle of white sequins before she suddenly noticed Rakshit standing in front of her. Shocked, Appu almost fell backwards but Rakshit caught her hand before she could fall, pulling her up to standing upright.
“Rakshit sir?! What are you doing here?!” She quickly began collecting some sequins that had fallen onto Rakshit’s shirt.
“See, always a disaster!” Rakshit angrily brushed off the last few sequins from his sleeve. “You said you were coming in early?! You call this early?!” Rakshit was too tired to act like an angry young man.
“Sir, it’s 5:30am in the morning?! What are you doing here?!” Appu still looked shocked.
“It’s 5:30am?” Rakshit looked at his watch. It was indeed 5:34am- how was he awake this early?!
“Yes, Ira ma’am said she’d come in at 7am and we could travel together for the site visit as you had instructed, but I wanted to come in early to collect materials and do some practice embroidery with these sequins. I’m a little nervous- no one watches me when I weave but Geetanjali ma’am said she would. I think I’m getting performance anxiety! Geetanjali Sarkar, watching me?!”
I watch you, Rakshit thought. You look beautiful when you weave…
Appu looked quizzically at him again, “Why are you here this early?”
“My-my office, my choice. I- I don’t have to answer to any of your questions. I’m your boss, your boss.” He repeated his default answer to her for whenever she caught him off guard.
“Oh yes, how could I forget. Anyway, go rest in your office. I’ve never seen your eyes so red! We can start making our way to the place in 30mins so that you can make your way back here early as well. Geetanjali ma’am said I can go as early as I please.”
“Who said I’m coming with you for the site visit?” Rakshit looked away from her.
He is such a child, Appu thought. Appu gave him a knowing look, “You also want to see Abir sir’s mansion, right?” she looked proud of herself, not letting Rakshit answer, “I knew it!” she clapped her hands so loud, it rang in his ears. “Give me just 30 minutes, go rest. It’s a long drive. And please let Ira ma’am know so she can come in later.” With that, her focus now was on collecting the rest of her materials.
She thinks I want to drop her off because I want to see some stupid mansion?! Rakshit stared at her in disbelief. She was more dense than he had thought. He remembered the sparkle in her eyes and pride as she had clapped in content. He smiled to himself. How can someone be this cute and innocent? How was he ever going to let her go from being by his side?
Rakshit drove Appu to her new workplace for her special assignment. The drive was a quiet one, Rakshit’s radio was up to no good again and played romantic songs. The two watched as the first rays of the day turn the sky to dawn and the clear skies took on a pink hue as the city slowly woke up. Once they arrived, Geetanjali insisted they eat breakfast with her. After spending some time with her, Rakshit made sure Appu settled in one of many rooms in this opulent mansion, checking to see the machine worked and helped seat her in front of the weaving equipment. Rakshit’s caring side was obvious on this bright morning. Appu secretly thanked God as he carefully moved her dupatta so it was a safe distance from the machine. She was confused watching Rakshit stare Abir down when he came to say hello to the two before he made his way to the sets. Maybe Rakshit sir didn’t like his latest release?
Before Rakshit left the room without saying a proper good bye, he turned around halfway to the door to watch Appu make her first weaves. How beautiful she looked as her hands glided across the yarns, a small content smile on her face. Her eyes had lost the fatigue and nervousness he had seen in them just moments earlier. In a few minutes if Rakshit could have waited, she may even sing or hum to herself like she often did when she weaved. Rakshit was watching Appu with her first love and he could not imagine a more serene sight. Appu stopped weaving suddenly to turn back to look towards the door, catching Rakshit in his daze.
“Rakshit sir,” she called out to him softly.
“Hmm?” was all Rakshit could manage, still caught in a trance.
Appu smiled, happy that he had not left yet, “Thank you.”
Rakshit gave a quick nod before reluctantly leaving.
Appu had a great time at her new place. The room had a divan beside where Appu worked and Geetanjali sat or lay there for great lengths of time and chatted and watched her weave. Even the bride to be came to watch and lamented at not hiring her earlier. Everyone was lovely to Appu, they made sure to feed her, keep her topped up with chai (although not as good as how she liked it). It was a great break from the drama in HoB.
“You’re a very diligent worker, Aparajita,” Geetanjali commented, “Here I’ve been talking so much and you have answered back with the most delightful comments and yet, you never stop weaving.”
Appu laughed, “Geetanjali ma’am, the event you are wearing this to is not too long away! And I have to get back to Rakshit sir- I mean HoB.” Appu’s hands stopped weaving for a second and frowned. Could he not have texted if he returned safely to HoB or not? Surely he has by now? I’m glad he ate before he left- him on an empty stomach is a terrible idea! He must be worried about me too, she thought.
Geetanjali laughed, “It looks like my dreams of making you my bahu is going to remain a dream.”
Appu laughed too, “I think that’s a good idea. My ex mother in law would tell you that you were saved from me!” Appu had grown to speak quite frankly with Geetanjali, just as Geetanjali spoke with her.
“Ah yes, crazy mother in laws. I’ve seen my fair share, perhaps am one myself,” Geetanjali and Appu laughed. Geetanjali watched her weave for some time more and thought of how caring Rakshit had been to Appu this morning. Geetanjali smiled, “But you know beta, if there is a man you come to like, who loves you so much they wouldn’t mind being ‘ruined’ by you, give them a chance. A man who wants to hear the noise of a woman and embraces what you have to say is a real man, Aparajita. There is not enough men and women in the world who listen in the world anymore.”
Aparajita finally stopped weaving for a moment to look at the pattern she had just weaved. What was meant to resemble a ‘G’ looked more like an ‘R’. She smiled, running her hands across the light gold embroidery. “What if he is such a great man, that I will never be able to repay what he’s done for me? I don’t want a man like that to be ruined by me, Geetanjali ma’am. I want him to have all the happiness in the world. A man like that deserves so much more than I can give.”
Geetanjali looked at her with sympathy. This silly girl, she thought. She can’t see how much happiness she gives to everyone without trying. Can you imagine the day she gives her love to someone? That man cannot even fathom the happiness she would give him. Love worth being ruined for…
And Appu’s day continued with Geetanjali’s refreshing company.
On the other hand, Rakshit spent a large portion of his first morning without Appu in the office snoozing in his cabin. For the rest of his afternoon, he remained in a bad mood, intently working to distract himself and drinking numerous cups of ginger tea. He occasionally found himself sneaking visits to spend some time in Appu’s office. He enjoyed the little embellishments she had made for the room. He enjoyed feeling her presence amongst her artwork. She had organised these previously rejected items with great love and care, she had given them new purpose. At first glance, the room didn’t seem to have much order to it. Now that he could freely peruse her room, he realised that over the days, she had silently organised the room into her treasure trove of inspiration. While he sipped his fifth cup of ginger tea, he inspected the shelf of velvet fabrics, meticulously ordered by colour and pattern. He looked closer at the velvet and found what he had been searching for- streaks of darkened and lightened areas where Appu must have run her fingers through the soft fabrics. Rakshit followed the imprints with his fingers and smiled to himself. Look at how lost I am without you. Come back soon, Phatuka.
And of course he waited for her to return to the office that afternoon to report to Ira, and pretended to not care when she strolled into his office like it was her own to say bye and let him know Abir would be sending his car down to HoB everyday to pick and drop her off from now on.
Rakshit thought he would get used to not having her around but quite the opposite occurred. The brief interactions with her in the mornings and afternoons when she reported back to Ira, and her waves to him from outside his office which he pretended to ignore were not enough. The week wore on with his cravings for her presence increasing, he was starting to have withdrawals. Imaginary Appu was making appearances left, right and centre. He knew things had gotten very serious when she made an appearance in his office toilet!
One rainy evening, Aparajita called a worried Rakshit.
“It’s getting late, are you on your way here? You can’t keep seniors waiting like this,” Rakshit said without a greeting as soon as he picked the phone up.
“Rakshit sir, I’ve already called Ira ma’am to let her know. I’m staying here for the night. With the rain, Abir sir said-“
“I set conditions for a reason- wasn’t I clear enough? I’m coming to get you. Wait there,” Rakshit walked towards his car. He feared something like this would happen.
“No, but sir-“
“What will aunty ji think if you don’t get home tonight?”
“Ma? Suddenly you’re thinking for your aunty partner-“
“I’m not paying you overtime.”
“I won’t log this as overtime! Abir sir said he would-“
“Abir said you couldn’t go home today because of some rain and you just accepted it? Didn’t want to burden him by insisting, right? If he doesn’t want to help you get home, then you tell me, alright? Do you work for Abir sir or for me?” Rakshit almost shouted into the phone, the remaining few people in the office looking up from their work to look at him. Rakshit apologised quietly to them before jogging towards his car.
Appu remained silent on the end of her phone. Everything he had guessed had happened was absolutely correct. Appu wanted to go home. “Fine, but drive safely in this rain please. We both know how temperamental your car can be….”
Again, the drive back was a quiet one. Appu mostly sat back with her eyes closed, occasionally looking out the window to watch the heavy rainfall bathing the city. Rakshit turned down the volume of his radio which had decided to play sad love songs of longing. Appu looked exhausted. Rakshit noticed her occasionally discreetly stretching out her hands and wincing in pain when she did. She had multiple cuts on her finger tips. Rakshit’s pain and anger suffocated him again.
“How much longer?” Rakshit asked abruptly, suddenly breaking the silence. “And what are you using to weave, knives?!”
“Ji?”
“When will the sari be ready?” Rakshit asked, his patience now drawn thin, “Have you been talking with that Abir sir rather than weaving?” Rakshit knew this was not the case. His pain at seeing her hands had gotten the better of his control. He knew she had been working with all her unfaltering dedication. He had watched her come in and out of the office, exhausted yet with absolute determination.
Irritated, Appu closed her eyes again, “Geetanjali ma’am will be wearing HoB to the biggest wedding of the year. All the media will be there. This sari has to be perfect.”
Rakshit hazarded a quick glance at Appu. Despite how his company was treating her, she remained fiercely dedicated to help HoB. She really was a museum piece. “Oh, I thought you would ask Geetanjali ji to name you as the designer.”
Appu stayed quiet for a while. She knew he wasn’t thinking that at all. She could tell he was in a sour mood again. She decided to answer his first question instead, “I need two more days. I’m finishing the embroidery now.”
Rakshit was impressed by how quickly she had managed to weave the sari. He had gone to inspect the sari before the drive back- even in an unfinished state, the sari looked divine. She had weaved a light baby blue sari with intermingling gold threads so that the sari had a soft delicate glow. The white filigree design she was embroidering looked ethereal with a garden of white pearl beading and small flowers stitched to perfection. Rakshit could see Appu had weaved it wholly with the future wearer in mind, she had poured her love and respect for Geetanjali into her artwork. He was now worried Geetanjali would outshine the bride. This was going to be the best piece to ever come out of HoB to date.
“Well, good. We can’t have you out of the office for this long…” Rakshit quickly stopped talking. Another moment of silence before Appu cracked up laughing. Rakshit looked at her, surprised. “What’s so funny?”
For a while, she couldn’t talk through her laughter. “You need me in the office, for what? For sorting out those rejected fabrics? Me not being there- is it causing a huge loss for your company?” Appu said through her laughter. She was now tearing up. She was so tired, she was bordering on being delirious.
Rakshit couldn’t help but laugh silently to himself. She had a point. He turned to look out the window so that she couldn’t see he was laughing too. As they quietened down, Rakshit turned to see Appu was now resting back in her chair, eyes closed with a pleasant smile on her face. Finally, she looks at peace, Rakshit thought. Of course this company needs you, Appu. Look at who commissioned a sari from you!
And I need you…
Just as Appu had predicted, she finished the rest of the embroidery within the next two days. The clients were so happy with the final product, they promised they would come to HoB more regularly for orders. She bid the household good bye. Abir’s attempt at asking Appu out on a date was a fail as Appu misunderstood his invitation to be a visit to the sets which she politely refused. Geetanjali was in tears when Appu was letting her hand go to leave for the last time.
“Beta, you will come to the wedding, won’t you? You will come visit this old lady frequently, won’t you? How did these days go by so quickly?” Geetanjali held Appu in a warm embrace.
Without much thought, Appu planted a small kiss on her cheek, “Ma’am, thank you, but I can’t come to the wedding.”
“But why? You’ve become part of the family now!”
Appu smiled, now also tearing up, “But of course I will come visit you again! And you can visit me at the office or come to my home at any time. I’ll miss you, Geetanjali ma’am.” Appu went in for a long hug. Geetanjali had kept Appu company throughout all stages of the weaving. Sometimes they spoke, sometimes Geetanjali read a book or newspaper by her side or sometimes she drifted off into a small snooze. Appu was going to miss this amazing woman’s presence. Her words had healed Appu in more ways than she knew.
Rakshit went to sneak a glance into Appu’s cabin the day Appu fully returned back to the office. She was sitting at her desk in front of the old computer, the computer happily whirring away on another flight path. Appu was busy stitching a flower design on a scrap fabric. She was humming to herself, a popular romance song from one of Geetanjali’s films. Rakshit could see she had changed- she looked happier, refreshed, more confident in herself. Rakshit leaned against the door frame, his heart filled with immense peace after a very long time. He knew she would not notice him- he knew how engrossed in her work she became when she weaved or stitched. Finally, he could watch her from afar to his heart’s content. Finally, he could pretend to bump into her at the office kitchen while she made her numerous cups of tea. Finally he could wait for her to barge into his office multiple times a day whenever she pleased to converse to herself out loud while Rakshit pretended not to listen. If this was had been a test run for their separation, ever letting her go seemed impossible.
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
Bollywood
Rules & Announcements
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
Zindagi Ki Mahek
Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai
Anupamaa
18