Chapter 2
Maj. Gen. Rathode thought about the incident that occurred a few hours ago at the BB court. He thought about how effortlessly Captain Gupta had answered Maj. Nanda and he was glad that Major was rendered speechless for once in his life. Maj. Nanda was one of the finest additions to tem from NDA and he seemed to have taken the fact to his head along with few others. Moreover, the lack of any female company had also made them a little rough around the edges. And he needed his men groomed and well behaved. Another thing he noticed was Captain Gupta. He had to admit he had his doubts when he first saw her. The girl looked almost nave in first glance, a mere child but she was anything but. He realized she defined the saying, "still waters run deep." She acted up only when instigated and he really liked that quality. Now he had a little more than just hope that she will be able to handle his boys.
Riddhima settled in her room, unpacked and had a two hr nap before getting up and getting ready for dinner. She wore her uniform nice and neat and went to mail room first. From there she called home letting them that she was safe and had joined in. Then she went for her dinner in mess and when she got there at exact 1830 hrs everybody was already present. She was introduced to many other officers e.g. Lt. Batra, Lt. Sodhi, Captain Mishra, Major Ramanna etc. Turns out she knew Captain Mishra. She had treated him during was, then Lt. Mishra. She made friends with proplr quick and mingled quite well. But she also noticed she was the only female there and this was her first time being the only one of her gender in such a huge crowd. The thought irked her a little but it all went away when Maj. Gen. Rathode introduced her and told everybody what she was here for. Then he went on to explain the achievements of their battalion Rajputana rifles during and out of war. She felt a sense of pride and duty fill her entire being like the heat from fire place as she listened. She felt it to be her utmost duty to measure upto the standards of this battalion and do everything in her power to not let any of her team members or her country down.
The dinner went on. She made quick friends with almost everyone and was laughing a one Ramanna's jokes when she noticed Rahul talking to Maj. Gen. Rathode. She looked at him and realized that she had not talked to him the whole she had been there. She felt kind of bad thinking she didn't want start off with animosity among her own team. As she thought about it she realized maybe she should have been more polite. But she just couldn't curb her reaction against such notions about women people seemed to have. And Rahul's remark had refreshed the incident just a few days old that she still had not completely forgotten. She did not realize she was staring until Grewal clicked his fingers in front of her to bring her back from her musings. She blushed from embarrassment and looked down. Not wanting to discomfort her further, he changed the subject and she gave him a grateful smile. Later, he came upto her and told her," I can understand your dilemma captain. And you shouldn't worry. It's just that Rahul takes time to open up. He is reserved by nature and tends to keep his guard up all the time. And you can imagine not being privy to female company for long can also bring this behavior. Don't worry just give him time. He will come around." She gave Grewal a thoughtful look and then nodded her assent to his explanation. But something he said caught her. He is reserved by nature. That means she will have to make the first move to amend things. When she turned she saw him heading out. Excusing herself she went after him and called out his name, "Rahul." He turned and looked at her with barely concealed astonishment and also bit of skepticism. She felt uneasy but shrugged it off and went forward. Stopping at an arm's length she began, "listen Rahul' uh' I mean Maj. Nanda, I think we got off on the wrong foot here. I didn't mean to offend you this morning. I just wanted to answer your remark. But if I said something really harsh then I'm sorry. We have to work together for the next year or so and I would hate to bring animosity between us of any kind." Rahul looked at her speculating her words to look for a hoax or pretence but found none. She seemed genuine in her plight and he had to admit that she definitely took the cake here by apologizing first when they both knew that he was at fault here. But his ego, the size of a whole country, would not let him agree to that. But not to seem rude he gently nodded and took the hand she offered in a gentle shake. He bid her a soft goodnight and went his way.
Riddhima stood their contemplating his reaction. Grewal was right. He was reserved and didn't talk much. But then why had he behaved like that this morning. Anyways, she had made her move and now it was upto him. She hoped that he would take her gesture in consideration and not give way to this awkwardness. Shrugging her shoulders, she went back to the dinner which was over soon without any excitement and everyone retired to their rooms. Riddhima did not think of the days events anymore and went to sleep as soon as she hit the bed. She had a class tomorrow morning and she needed her full energy for it.
Next day:
She was up at 0500 hrs and went for a jog. A jog was the best way to unwind and get the apprehensions out of her system. She was nervous about her class, this being her first time for a lecture. But she knew that was not the only reason. The reason for her nerves being at edge was also the fact that her assessing was going to be a little more strict due to the fact that she was the only and probably first female of her regiment. Although, she hated such notions and mind sets, she had no means of changing these in matter of few hours. She knew she would have to work hard and stand her ground to get the message through that Riddhima Gupta was no less of a doctor or soldier than any other male in there. She finished her jog with that thought in her mind and went to take a shower. After returning from a refreshing shower, she went towards kitchen to satisfy her tummy which she knew would start rumbling thunder any second if not fed. When she got there, she found Subedar Chauhan already at work. She felt bad seeing an old man cooking for a full lot of hungry soldiers. She went to him and started chatting and helping him. He exchanged stories of his experiences in battle fields and out of them with her. He was pleasant man with a great sense of humor and kindness about himself that made the respect come out for him by itself. The way he called her 'Captain Bitiya' made her remember her father whom she missed a lot. Being the only daughter she was the apple of her father's eye thus making their bond ever so special. Subedar gave her a sense of father figure and she was delighted to know that he had his own family in a small village of Madhya Pradesh. After helping him arrange breakfast, she realized she still had a lot of time at hand. She remembered seeing a temple just before the city of Shimla started and went to ask permission if she could visit it every day in the morning. Maj. Gen. Rathode had no problem with it as long as it did not interfere with her daily duties. She went to the temple, prayed and got back in time for breakfast to be served.
"Subedar kaka, aaj khaana kuch zyaada hi achha bana hai, Kya baat hai, koi khaas vajah?" Lt. Chaudhary asked. Everybody found the delicious food a nice change to Subedar's rather bland cooking. At this Subedar politely replied," jab haath mere nahi the to khaas baat mein kaise bataun sahib?" "Kya matlab?" Bajwa asked. "Aaj ke khaane mein Captain Bitiya ne hamari madad ki hai sahib. Shayad ye Sawaad unka hi jaado ho?" Riddhima blushed hearing his comment and the several pair of eyes that turned to look at her did nothing to relieve her of her discomfort. When she saw G(Maj. Gen. Rathode: Riddhima nick named him G in her mind) raise a curious eye at her, she hesitantly said," Vo subah jaldi uth gayi thi to socha Subedar kaka ki help kar doon. That's it. Sorry, Sir" She thought she should have waited to get orders. Riddhima tera yeh help karna kisi din tujhe musibat mein phasa ke chodega. She thought she was in for it but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw G and others smiling at her in approval. Chaudhary , Grewal and Ramanna even went ahead and said that they doubted they could like any other food after eating her delicious paranthas. And Rahul found himself discomfited about the whole thing again. He kept trying to find the reason in her actions telling himself that there had to be purpose but the honesty in her voice and eyes did nothing to support his theories.
The morning incidents were enough to calm her excited nerves and she entered the classroom at exact 1000 hrs. She lectured the men about her experience taking help from Captain MIshra and answering their questions to her best knowledge and level. G was impressed and liked the way she described each and everything. Rahul found himself a little more respectful towards her after knowing about her hands on encounters during Kargil. After the lecture she joined Captain Bhatia, Lt. Bajwa and Subedar kaka for a patrol around the area to familiarize her with surroundings. The sight of snow covered mountains looked something like straight out of a romantic novel. After getting back she joined the guys for an evening game of BB and the day passed uneventfully. She was to take the hospital charge from tomorrow and hoped that everything would just as smooth as today.
hello readers... i just wanted to thank all of you for the wonderful comments... they encouraged me a lot... this part is a little longer than the ones before.... do comment and criticize..... and one last request.. if any of you wants me to pm then plz add me to your buddy list so that i dont miss any one... thanx again and keep reading😃
Sonia
Chapter 3
Over the next two weeks, Riddhima settled in a nice routine. She woke up a 0500 hrs every morning, went for a jog, after freshening up went to help Subedar kaka, after that went to temple if time permitted and got into her work after breakfast. She had lectures on every Monday at 1000hrs and other days she started her work at hospital at 0900hrs. The atmosphere was pretty calm for now and there didn't seem to be much change in the routine. A group of men usually went on patrol everyday to keep an eye on the border area and she sometimes went with them. Rahul and she avoided each other as much as possible and although the arrangement disappointed her at first, she took it in her stride thinking maybe that's how Rahul's prefers it. Rahul, on the other hand, had a hard time coping with the character Riddhima Gupta portrayed. But the more he saw her work and around other men in his regiment, the more the voice of his heart took over his mind telling him that she was genuine and he should give her a chance. She deserved as much.
After rather uneventful weeks, one Tuesday morning, Riddhima while coming back from temple saw a lady, probably the age of her mom, sway a little while climbing the temple steps. But when the lady handled herself well, Riddhima decided to wait on the sides and see if she will be fine, her doctor's instincts kicking in immediately. But she did not have enough time to muse as she saw the lady sway once more only this time she fainted. Riddhima ran over to her and checked her pulse which was quiet low. She rushed the lady to the army hospital and made sure her treatment was accurately started before heading back to base. In the midst of all this, she didn't realize how much time it had taken and she missed breakfast. To keep the flow of sugar running through her veins, she popped 2 candies in her mouth and reported for duty. Later in the day, during her break, she went to see the lady from the morning and found out that she was much stable and awake. She went to her asked in her sweet voice," Kaisi hain ab aunty?" the lady looked at the sweet doctor asking about her health and noticed how pretty the girl was. She had jet black hair tied in a bun and looked really elegant in the army code uniform and doctor's coat over it. She smile at her and said, "Better. Bas thodi kamzori lagti hai. By the way do you know what happened?" "Ji main vahin par thi. Aap behosh hokar gir padi aur aapko jaldi se hospital le aayi. Aapke kuch tests kiye hain but everything seems normal. Bas sugar level thode kam ho gaya tha body mein. Aapko diabetes to nahin hai par aapke sugar levels kaafi troublesome hain. Aap please apni sugar ka khayal kijiye aur kabhi kam yan zyaada mat hone dijiye. Varna problem badh sakti hai. Aap chahe to mein aapke liye ek diet chart bana sakti hoon, if you think that will help."
"Nahi beta iski zaroorat nahi hai. Yahan par pehle jo doctor the Dr. Hasija ne mujhe already ye sab bata diya hai. Par bas is umr mein dhyaan nahi rehta. And thanks a lot beta, mujhe yahan lane ke liye."
"No problem aunty. It was my duty. Aapka koi relative hai jihne inform kar doon ki aap yahan hain varna pareshan honge."
"Don't worry mere pati yahin hain. Uhne pata chala to chale aaye the. Aur mera beta abhi bahar gaya hai kuch mahinon ke liye. Vo dono bhi army mein hi hain."
"Wow, phir to mein zaroor jaante hongi. Kya naam hai aapke pati ka?"
"Prabhat Singh Rathode." came the reply from a voice Riddhima could not mistake anywhere in the world. She turned around, at first confused, but when she saw him cross the distance and sit down next to the lady holding her hand, realization dawned and her eyes widened considerably. He was the husband she was talking about and this was Maj. Gen.'s wife. Riddhima felt faint but composed herself and stood in position. Both husband and wife saw the play of emotions on her face and the lady recognized the girl as the same girl her husband had talked to her about quite a few times over the past couple of weeks. Her husband was a hard man to impress and she knew that this girl had to have some great qualities to get in her husband's good books so quickly. And now meeting her in person carried away all her minimal doubts too. The girl, Captain Dr. Riddhima Gupta, Was definitely a rare kind. She was serious about her work but at the same time fun and easy to talk to. Pretty and humble too. Army job showed her courage and doctor's coat, her intelligence. A rare combination of three B's: Beauty, Brains and Bravery.
Her musings were cut short by her husband's voice," Good after noon Captain Gupta. Meet my wife, Neha Rathode. Sweetheart, this is Captain Dr. Gupta I told you about." Neha gave a nod of acknowledgement to her husband and turned to Riddhima with a sweet smile. However, it turned into an amused one seeing the panic mixed with surprise clearly visible on her face. Neha looked at her husband and decided to relieve the poor child of her misery. She addressed Riddhima," Beta, don't mind him. He is just puling your leg. Right now, he is just a husband and not you commanding officer so you can relax. And, Prabhat don't be mean. She brought me to hospital on time this morning and that's how you repay her." "Sorry wifey, your're right. Relax Dr. Gupta and thank you so much for bringing her here and taking good care of her." Said the senior officer-now-turned-husband.
Hearing her motherly voice Riddhima felt the panic leave but immediately her whole being was overtaken by shock filled surprise as she heard her commanding officer talk to his wife. The way he addressed his wife and listened to every command given by her nobody in the world could ever guess that he ran a battalion full of soldiers on a border area so efficiently. One minute he was the strict Maj. Gen., one look from whom could quieten a whole regiment of soldiers and the next minute he was a husband who loved his wife with all his being. Talk about split personality, eh!! Riddhima mused. But she had to admit, it was very refreshing to see a man take care of his wife like that and still address her with a romantic ardor in his voice and acronyms like sweetheart and wifey even after a marriage of atleast 25 to 30 yrs, she calculated. The sight was a rarity not only because of the people involved but also because of the sincerity it oozed.
When Neha looked up from her husband's eyes, she found Riddhima staring in to space and call it woman's intuition or experience, somehow she knew exactly what was on her mind. Anywhere in the world, in any profession, women with of any kind or nature looked for one thing that was a luxury not everyone could afford in the world or if could, than found it difficult to hold on to: love. And she, Neha, being one of the lucky ones and had done both. She had found the love of her life, married him, had the world's best son with him and still kept the flame in her relationship going. Of course, it was both their joint effort with him being in army and her a high school biology teacher, it was not easy and she remembered him being at war or posted away from her and days and nights that were spent pinning for each other. But in the end, it was all worth it. Now, as she looked back, she had no regrets and if given the opportunity to do it again she would not change a thing about her life. And, now as she looked at this young girl, she somehow got this crazy idea in her head that she would make a wonderful wife and daughter-in-law. She shook her head for being so forward in just first meeting and decided to get to know the girl a little better.
Neha called out to Riddhima and she came out of her thoughts. She took the seat on the other side of Neha when she offered and the three of them spent the afternoon chatting away. She had never seen her senior officer in such a laid back mood and enjoyed it while it last still not crossing her limits. She found out that after 20yrs of moving around when G got promoted to Maj. Gen., he got a posting here in Shimla and they have been living here ever since. They have son who is also in army and a Chemical engineer on top of that and is currently away on the special task force training for three months. She found out that he left before she got there and is stationed here for the next 2 yrs too. She could tell by his tone that G missed his son but was very proud of him. Neha, like every mom, was worried for his safety. As the lunch time neared end, Riddhima felt a new bond formed between herself, G and his wife. Their humble demeanor and welcoming eyes kept her from excusing herself for lunch and she found that although gone without food, this lunch was probably the best lunch she had had in a very long time. She had found care of father figure, motherly tenderness and lots of friends around her in this army base supposedly full of emotionless soldiers who just knew how to fight. And she had never been surer that this was what she wanted to do in her life.
Hello once again... i'm back with another update but i have to say that i'm a little bothered with the response i got for part 2. i guess not many people liked it... plz all i request is that if u dont like sumthing in my writng let me know so i can improve it. criticism is just as welcome as praise here.
Also, a little heads up... there will be a short leap after this part and yes Armaan is entering, thats y the leap.... and watch out for what happens next😉
Sonia
Chapter 4 (a short leap)
Three months later:
As Riddhima walked down the hallway towards G's office she couldn't help but notice the irony and similarity of the circumstances. She remembered the first time she walked down the hallway, she was nervous and excited at the same time in the anticipation of what's to come. And today too, the situation was somewhat familiar. She was going to meet G to meet her new commanding officer whom she would be reporting for the next 2 yrs. He is Major Rathode, G's son, about whom she has been hearing from anyone and everyone for past three months. She was thinking all this when she saw Rahul coming from the opposite side smiling at her. She smiled too and greeted him a cheerful good morning. He returned the greeting and said," I was just in there meeting Maj. Rathode. Go ahead, he is waiting for you." She thanked him with a smile and Rahul left. She still remembered the awkwardness that had been there for the first between her and Rahul and then came that fateful day.
Flashback:
She, Rahul, Ramanna and Bajwa were going to city in the evening; them to patrol the area and she was just going to visit the temple. On the way there, they all decided to pay their regards at the temple and show Riddhima around the city and also take her on a patrol just for an experience. When they got to the temple, the evening prayers were going on and there were a lot of people there. They stepped inside and started to pray. Riddhima gave a fleeting glance at the crowd and found everything normal, people with their eyes closed murmuring along the hymns played in temple, until she glanced at the far corner a saw a man sitting with a shawl draped across his body. He looked kind of sickly by the posture and face, but something about his body language and especially his eyes made her suspicious. But she shrugged it off as her brain in over-drive. Unknown to her, Rahul had also noticed him and shrugged it off. But a couple minutes into the prayers she heard a commotion and opened her eyes to see people looking in the same corner. A man was talking to the suspicious guy and asking him if he was alright but the suspicious man was trying to shoo him off and for some reason looked uncomfortable. Riddhima looked towards the others and they also raised their brows at the situation. She then being a doctor and finding it appropriate to interfere went towards them and introduced herself and asked what the problem was. The concerned civilian said that he found the man mumbling and trembling and thought he needed help. Riddhima nodded and proceeded towards the sickly man just to stop in her tracks. Although nothing was visible but her training in army had made her notice these things more clearly. She could very well see the outline of the nasal of a rifle outlined through the cloth of the shawl the man was wearing. So, that's the problem. She turned towards her colleagues and sent them the designated code for alert. They understood immediately and made their way towards her but the man, apparently a terrorist, sensed something and got up not only exposing his gun but also a pack of hand grenades hanging from his clothes. This created a ruckus in the temple and people started running here and there for their lives. Riddhima, Rahul and Ramanna took their positions and Bajwa went to call headquarters and inform the local police. Back in the temple the situation was tense because of civilians present and the three of them knew that it could be dangerous if they tried to take any action and could endanger someone's life. So the best bet was to stall until they had back up. But even that was impossible now because the terrorist already had a grenade ready in his hand that he threatened he was going to explode any second. Amongst all this chaos Riddhima saw Bajwa returning and she knew what to do. She signaled Ramanna , Rahul and Bajwa and headed off to a side. Rahul and Ramanna started talking to the terrorist and trying to convince him to surrender but he wouldn't budge and kept threatening. As soon as Riddhima reached Bajwa the terrorist took his gun and started firing at rahul and Ramanna. Without thinking further Riddhima launched herself at the terrorist knocking him straight off in Bajwa's grip and thus making him miss the shot which no doubt would have pierced through Rahul's shoulder. Bajwa, Ramanna and Rahul tackled him into surrender and by that time they had back up from headquarters and local police too. The terrorist was taken into custody and people were assured and reassured that everything was fine. Thankfully, no one was injured and the matter did not go out of hand. There was however significant change this incident brought. Rahul's every doubt about Riddhima vanished in thin air and he finally saw his fault. After they got back to base, G thanked them all for taking care of the situation so deftly and praised their bravery. Later, in the evening Rahul met Riddhima in her room and apologized for his behavior and thanked her for that days save and for having his back. Riddhima was pleased to see the rift between them starting to fade and accepted his apology with utmost humility. They shook on the success of day's events and thus started a new friendship.
Back to present:
She also remembered how worried Neha aunty had been when she had found out about the incident. Turns out Neha had been acquainted with Rahul too, through her son and he also respected her like a mother. Neha reminded Riddhima of her own mother in so many ways and after the hospital chance meeting she had taken a liking towards Riddhima. Thus she used to come meet her often and had invited her to their place too. G, amongst all this, had remained his official strict self, that is of course in the office but at home he also treated his men, and now women too, like his children. Riddhima was so overwhelmed with all the love and care these people had that she called home and told her parents all about it. Her parents , having been worried about her all this time, were relieved to some extent to know that Riddhima was not lonely in such a dangerous place. She had friends and people who cared for her .
She shook her head to clear the random thoughts, took a deep breath and knocked on the door twice. She entered when she heard 'come in' in a deep baritone that did not belong to G. As, she entered she looked at the back of man sitting in one of the chairs and G missing from the room. Remembering what Rahul told her that Major was waiting for her in here she assumed the man present to be him and saluted," Captain dr. Riddhima Gupta reporting, sir." As soon as she finished, the officer in chair turned and she once again found herself looking into a pair of ocean blue eyes. Her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the man in front of her and she shouted out of compulsive shock," Tum? Tum yahan kya kar rahe ho?"
The man in question, a six foot two with a buff build definitely a perk of being army, broad shoulders, handsome face with a little stubble giving him a more rugged look , set jaw and best part ocean blue eyes, gave her a lop sided smirk. He had not expected any other reaction from her. After all, he had made sure that she did not get know his real identity in their first meet just so he could give her this surprise. Major Armaan Singh Rathode. Rajputana rifles. Presented with Vir Chakra post Kargil war for running an operation to rescue peak 1461 single handedly and succeeding with the help of merely 10 soldiers. Graduated top rank from NDA, India's best military academy and son of the Maj. Gen. Rathode himself, he prided himself in his achievements. A little too much pride sometimes.
He raised an eye brow at her and asked," Is that a way to address you seniors Captain?"
She frowned at the authority in his tone and replied with defiance in hers," Senior, my foot. Who are you and what are you doing here? And where is Major Rathode?"
Now it was his turn to frown. What was she getting at? " Excuse me, I'm Major Rathode. You're commanding officer, whom you have insulted twice by now."
At this she noticed the name tag on his uniform and something came to her. Oh My God. Seeing her eyes widen he smirked again and thought finally she accepts. But his smirk turned into a frown when she said," Oh my God. What have you done with Maj. Rathode? Where have you kept him? I can't believe you actually thought you could take his place in here. Well, not on my watch." She took out her gun and pointed at him," give me your weapon and surrender and nobody needs to get harmed."
"What the hell are you doing? I told you I'm Maj. Rathode. Don't you get it?"
"And you expect me to believe that? HA. I know your kind. What, you think being in army is some kind of a joke? Ki tum bhaade ke kapdon mein chale aaoge aur hum tumhein army officer samajh leinge? Non sense. Army officers have a lot more poise and dignity then you can imagine. Lafander kahin ke. Ab chup chap surrender kardo varna achha nahi hoga." Between the shock of suddenly seeing him here and then sparing with him verbally again, she forgot the little fact that everybody recognized him here and so many people could not be wrong. She also did not notice the same ocean blue eyes that she had noticed about G on her first day. Armaan, on the other hand, was quite irritated and a bit flustered too. The woman was seriously one of a kind. Ever since their first meet, she had decided not to give heed to anything he said and it was getting on his nerves. He was about to explode when both their thoughts were interrupted by a deep thunderous voice, "What the hell is going on here, officers?" came from Maj. Gen. Rathode.
** okk i tried and tried and this is the best i could come up for this part... i knw its not upto the mark and might even suck, but this is where my imagination gave up and said, "thats it, I quit. You're on your own." anyways dont hesitate to let me know how disappointed you were with this one... will wait for your comments
And thats to all the people who commented and liked the part...this ones to all of you...😊
Sonia
Chapter 5
Maj. Gen. Rathode left his office for a few minutes to attend the urgent call he had received from his seniors in Delhi. He had just met with Maj. Rathode and told him about the new task he was assigned and also about the group of officers that will be accompanying him under his command, including the new Dr. Riddhima Gupta. He had summoned for her and told major to relax and meet her when she comes and he himself will be back in a few. After a pat in his shoulder, which was meant to be from a father to a son, he left the office. He thought Armaan will be able to introduce himself and get acquainted with Riddhima, but what he witnessed when he got back could not have been anywhere near his imagination even if he had seen the whole scene with his own eyes. There in front of him stood, his two most prized officers against each other, ready to fight and Riddhima had her gun pointed at him and her face set into hard and deep frown. He could not, for the life of him, understand what could have brought this scenario out. But regaining his composure as much as he could under the circumstances he bellowed, "What the hell is going on here, officers?"
Armaan and Riddhima stopped short and turned their heads to see Maj. Gen. Rathode standing there gapping at them with confused anger all over his face. Both of them heaved a sigh of relief albeit for different reasons. Armaan for one was relieved and certain that his dad would provide enough evidence for Captain Gupta to see that he was Major Rathode and not some disguised prankster with no sense of seriousness whatsoever as she saw him. And then he would make sure that Riddhima Gupta never crossed him again. Riddhima, on the other hand, was certain that G now would do something about this immature idiot in front of her and find out the whereabouts of the real Maj. Rathode, his son. As soon as the thought came to her something clicked and she looked back at Armaan and noticed what she had ignored so far busy in her own speculation and skepticism of his sudden appearance here of all places; the blue eyes, G's son, Rahul telling her that he is waiting to meet her and it all fell into place. He really is Maj. Rathode. As soon as the realization dawned on her, her nerves that were already on edge were just short of another shock to break loose out of her body. So, the chimp had been an army officer all along and new about her joining here as her junior. Wait a minute, so he knew everything all along and still kept her in dark just so he could play his little sick joke!!! The sudden bolt of anger that passed through her body surprised her too with its intensity. Oh, if she ever got her hands on this little monkey, she will make sure he suffers the worst. Just wait and watch Maj. Rathode, just you wait and watch'But for now she will have to act with grace. Both the men in the room saw the play of emotions on her face from skepticism to realization to fear to anger and finally when she gathered her thoughts and regained her composure. Everybody knew that she had realized her folly but now first thing G had to do was to find out what had transpired between the two of them. But before that Riddhima spoke tentatively," I'm sorry sir." A simple but sincere apology but G did not miss the flash in her eyes when she glanced at Armaan neither did Armaan make the mistake to ignore for he knew her temper and he also knew she was already scheming all the ways to torture him. He suppressed a smile, nodded at her and turned to Maj. Gen. Rathode. But before he could speak G said," Before anything goes further I need to know what exactly happened. So take your seats officers. You two have some explaining to do."
Riddhima and Armaan sat in front of G who had a serious face on when he said," Captain Gupta would you like to tell me what was this all about?" Riddhima nodded and said," Sir, to explain my actions for today I will have to tell you what instigated them and its sort of a long story." "I'm all ears, captain." G replied. Riddhima took a deep breath, glanced at Armaan from the corner of her eyes and recollected the incident from the week before she joined base.
Flashback:
Riddhima was thrilled when she got back to Delhi for several two reasons. She was going to meet her parents after a long gap of a year and her high school best friend Abhimanyu was getting engaged to both their high school best friend Nikita, in short, Nikki. And no they weren't high school sweethearts. Both Abhi and Nikki chose Chemical engineering and Riddhima chose Medicine. But Abhi and Riddhima were the only ones who chose army. Nikki was never the toughing it out kind. She was too soft and fragile having lost her mother to the horrendous ailment of asthma in early childhood. And because of the different choice of careers, they had lost touch. But Abhi and Nikki met again, apparently during their training. They were both assigned in the same chemical factory and thus began the start of a new relationship. Both of them fell in love within the span of six months and Abhi proposed. But they waited to tell their family until they had told Riddhima and said that they will have the official engagement when Riddhima came. So, it was decide and hence now that Riddhima was returning, both the families held a grand function for the occasion. Riddhima was excited about her two best friends spending life with each other. She knew they will keep each other happy and that's all she wanted for them. When Riddhima got home she had at once taken part in all the arrangements required with an unseen enthusiasm and had been ecstatic. But one day before the function Nikki's dad asked her a favor. "Ridhi beta, Baba ji called from Ashram called and said he will not be able to come because he is sick and advised not to travel. He was supposed to come with the rings after blessing them but now that he is not coming'" she did not let him complete and said, "Uncle, don't worry. I will go and get the rings myself." He was pleased to know her answer and said," you are gonna have start early tomorrow so I think you should go to sleep now." She nodded and made her way towards Nikki's room where she was talking to her to-be-fianc," Abhi please, thode sabr karo. Kal sagai ho rahi hai na. Shaadi bhi ho jaayegi." Hmm' So Mr. Abhimanyu Modi was romancing with his to-be-fianc on the phone. Oh, this was too much of a good opportunity to miss. So she snuck in behind Nikki in the room that both of them were now sharing, and snatched the phone out of her hands and into the bathroom. But Abhi, oblivious to this entire commotion, still in the dreams of his sweetheart kept on with his romantic banter over the phone."Oh Nikki, I miss you so much. All this while, I keep thinking when you will come in my house as my bride and brighten everything in this lifeless place. I can't wait to take you in my arms and love you, sweetheart." Riddhima jerked up at this and yelled," Whoa Whoa Whoa, dude!!! Chill and hold your horses' a little too much info here."
Abhi jerked up as soon as he heard Riddhima's voice," Kid, what the heck are you doing on the phone and where's Nikki?"
"okk two things. First, don't call me Kid. Second, oye majnu ki aulad teri Nikki kamre mein hai aur mein uss se phone cheen ke bathroom mein aa gayi yeh soch ke mazaa loongi, par tu to zyaada desperate nikla yaar' had ho gayi, achha hua mein yahan nahi thi varna pata nahi kaisi kaisi baatein sikha dete tum log mujhe'. Ram, Ram, Ram.. Ghor kalyug hai.." Riddhima exaggerated on. On the other side of the bathroom door, Nikki giggled softly hearing Riddhima and knew what Abhi must have said. Abhi, on the other hand, turned a tell tale crimson being caught by Riddhima. But he was not the one to give up and retaliated,"Oye tu zyaada bholi mat ban' teri chabi kitni bhari hai mujhe sab pata hai.. bhagwan bachaye use jisse teri shaadi hogi' vo becharaa to be maut marega." At this Riddhima spiked up immediately," Ja ja, pehle mein shaadi karne hi nahi vali. Aur agar kabhi majboori mein kisi chachundar ko gale bandhna pad bhi gaya to mein to use seedha karke rakhungi. Mein kisiki gulami nahi karne vali." "Aur agar tujhe kisise pyaar ho gaya to?" " sawal hi paida nahi hota. Mera dil hai, Haldiram ka laddo nahi jo har kisi mein bantati phiroon. Aur vaise bhi shaadi tum dono ki hai yeh meri baat beech mein kahan se chal padi?" Riddhima said coming out of the bathroom now that conversation had taken a more casual tone. They put the phone on speaker and talked for a while. Riddhima told them that she had to go to Ashram next morning to get the rings and Nikki got a little worried thinking that Riddhima might not come back on time. But Both Abhi and Riddhima assured her that she will make it. Thinking of Riddhima's early departure they all said gudnite and went to bed with Abhi Nikki thinking of their life together and Riddhima with a funny feeling of something coming her way.
Next Morning, Riddhima left in a hurry. The drive to Ashram was almost four hours and she had to come back at least by two to make sure she got to the function with the surprise she had planned for both of them. On her way there, she stopped at a little roadside market place to get herself a bottle of water. As she was heading out, she saw a young guy probably her own age, asking for directions from a girl there, well if u call shameless flirting asking for directions, then yes that's exactly what it was and she could swear the girl almost threw herself at him. She made a disgusted face, shook her head and made her way out. She was not against flirting but outright indecency was something she could not tolerate either. But she could not deny that the guy was extremely handsome and well built. She shook her head to get rid of the alien thought and drove off to her destination. Unknown to her, the guy had noticed her expression and frowned at her disapproval.
When Riddhima came back from Ashram, she met with a huge traffic caused by an accident at the outskirts of the city and it took her nearly an hour to get out it. She drove to her house as fast as she could and found her parents making their way out to the venue. She told them what happened, gave them the rings and told them to go ahead, she will come by herself. When she was finally ready with her present and surprise for the couple she made her way to the venue. The party had already started and when she peeked in she found everybody was waiting for her. So, she quickly took her place, behind the scenes and spoke through the mike," Ladies and gentlemen and of course a special mention to our couple of the night, Welcome to Abhi and Nikki's engagement."
Everybody looked around to see where she was speaking from but nobody found her. " Are, are. Itne hairan mat hoyiye. Main yahin hoon aur thodi der mein haazir bhi ho jaungi lekin usse pehle hamare Love Birds ke liye meri taraf se ek special tohfa. I f I can have everyone look at the Screen by the south corner. Thankyou. Abhi Niks I hope you a have a life just as happy and memorable like the one in these." The screen started a slide show of pictures of Abhi Nikki and in some of them Riddhima too from their childhood to high school. And then some pictures from their training days that she had asked Abhi and Nikki's fathers to collect for her. In the end, there was a video mix from a few videos of Abhi and Nikki with the song 'U, Me aur Hum' in the background. Everyone in the hall was so engrossed in the video that nobody noticed Riddhima emerging from the backstage and arranging a stage for her next surprise. Abhi and Nikki were overwhelmed with the amount of thought and effort put in the presentation. It felt like living their childhood all over again. Both of them silently thanked Riddhima for the best present of the day and Nikki got a little teary with the myriad of emotions that ran through her watching the video at the end. When the video ended, everyone still under the effect of it, clapped as loudly as they could filling the hall with thunderous applause. When everyone moved their eyes away from the screen and turned, they found the hall in darkness which everybody had seemed to overlook by now. And then the voice came again," Thank you everyone for appreciating the effort. And now for the last surprise for both my best friends, Meine kaha tha ki tum dono ki shaadi mein main sabse pehle naachungi. So, here goes nothing'." And the music came on for Alisha Chinoy's number 'Who Yaar Mera' and Riddhima began moving her body sensuously under the veil of darkness giving her the aura of a mysterious imp.. the lights came on as the music grew louder and everyone could see the back of a girl clad in a beautiful silver grey body hugging lehenga that accentuated her curves giving her a look of an enchanting seductress still revealing nothing..
As Riddhima danced around the room, a pair of ocean blue eyes observed her every bend, curve, leap and step with great concentration. He felt himself getting transferred into the realm of magical charm presented by the pair of blue grey eyes that belonged to the sultry dancer. As his heart leapt in to the pool of unknown feelings, he himself did not know the changes this one dance was gonna bring in him and his life'
** Alright readers, here is an extra long part to make up for the delay.... i don't think u will find it that interesting since it lacks Armaan's presence for the most part.... but try not to fall asleep while reading it.. but if you do well i guess i don't blame ya...
Another thing is that even though the flashback is detailed its only in Riddhima and Armaan's imagination.. G is being told the shorter skimmed version of it..
And lastly here is the song by Alisha Chinoy that i mentioned in the part.. althought quite old but its one of my favourites from her.. do listen to it...
thanks for liking and commenting the parts so far...😊
Sonia
Edited by Tanha_Dil - 16 years ago
Anupamaa
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