Part LX
Early the following morning, Maan and Geet had left by a tourist taxi to Mysore. On the way they visited Srirangapatnam where Tipu Sultan was killed, betrayed by one of his own confidants. They visited his palace and his tomb. They then reached Mysore and checked into the Viceroy hotel which was a 3-star hotel. After freshening up they went on a city tour.
First they visited the famous Mysore palace which was the official residence of the former royal family of Mysore, the Wodeyars. The opulence and the splendour in which the royal family lived left them speechless. They admired the ornately gilded columns, the rosewood doorways inlaid with ivory, stained glass ceilings, decorative steel grills, chandeliers with fine floral motifs, the peacock mosaic flooring, the rich oil paintings, Indian and European sculptures and the beautiful doll collection from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In one of the halls was a unique mirror which made the person standing in front of it look short and fat. Geet found it highly amusing to see her distorted image in it. Giggling at herself she told Maan that she may end up looking like that after pregnancy and child birth.
"Would you be still interested in that fat woman, then?" she asked Maan, pointing at her image.
Hugging her shoulder from behind he whispered that the woman in his arms will always hold his interest no matter how old, or fat or clumsy she may look, in his eyes she will remain as beautiful as ever. Geet turned around and gave him her best smile. He pinched her cheek and asked her to move on.
As Geet was interested in art, they went to the Jayachamarajendra Museum and Art Gallery which housed some of the finest paintings of stalwarts like Raja Ravi Verma and Nicholas Roerich. The gallery also had some fine curios in ivory, sandal wood, ceramics and stone including Japanese porcelain and English glass, traditional musical instruments, antique furniture and carvings from China. Geet feasted her eyes on such rich artefacts and thanked Maan for bringing her there.
That evening they visited the widespread terraced Vrindhavan Gardens below the Krishnarajasagar dam. The garden is renowned for its musical dancing fountain. At the gardens, a group of college students passed them by. One of them turned around and immediately squealed, "Hey, isn't that Geet Khurana". The rest of them turned around too and their eyes widened in surprise. They rushed to her and asked her if she was Geet Khurana. Geet looked at them in confusion as she did not recognise a single one of them. Admitting that she was, she asked them how do they know her.
"How can we not know you? You are the latest rage, your songs are just too good," said the first guy.
The girl next to him agreed and said to her that her voice is so captivating that they just can't seem to stop listening to her. As if to prove her point she gave her the ear phones to her ipod and sure enough Geet got to hear her own voice in it. Blushing at the sudden popularity she seemed to have gained and that too in a place so far away from her own city, she looked at Maan who couldn't hide his pride. The students followed her gaze and asked her who he was.
"That's my husband, my strength and my support."
"You are married?" exclaimed one the guys."Why is it that all the good ones are already taken?"
Maan smiled at that and tapping the back of the guy's head, he said, "Even if she wasn't, don't you think that she is a little old for you?"
"That is no problem, Sir. 'Older the wine, better the taste' or is it 'older the fiddle better the tune?!'" said the guy naughtily.
This time Maan gave him a sharper tap on his head, although it was in jest. The students then begged her to give her autograph and extended whatever they had in their hands. Some gave her their entrance tickets to the garden, some their handkerchiefs, some their notebooks, some even their hands. Geet signed them all and wished them all the best in whatever they do.
Soon it turned dark and the garden was illuminated with colourful lights. Maan and Geet reached the corner of the garden in which was the famous musical dancing fountain. They took their seats on the nearby gallery. They were enthralled to see the jets of water, lit by colourful lights, dance to the beat of the music.
Geet leaned on Maan's shoulder in amazement at the sight. Maan smiled and held her close. The chillness in the air increased and she started shivering inspite of the shawl she was wearing. Maan wrapped his arms tighter around her letting his body heat permeate to her. She sighed and held on to his waist. The performance of the fountains soon finished and they made their way back to the entrance of the garden as soon as possible before the lights were turned off.
Early next morning they left for Madikeri or 'Mercara' as it was called earlier. It is a hill station in Karnataka, popularly known as Scotland of India. The mist clad hills are adorned with thick forests, tea and coffee plantations and orange groves. Geet fell in love with the natural setting. They checked into their hotel and later walked down the hills, enjoying the beautiful scenery. They went to the Abbey Falls and admired the lacey frills of the crystal clear water gushing down.
Suddenly Geet started coughing and sneezing continuously. Maan looked worriedly at her. Her eyes and nose were streaming and she looked positively unwell. Not wanting to strain her further, he carried her back to the hotel and took her to their room. He laid her on the bed and by then she was burning up with fever. She started shivering and her teeth started chattering. Maan was alarmed to see the sudden deterioration in her health. He ordered for some warm milk and took out a Crocin tablet from his bag. He made her take the medicine and then rubbed some eucalyptus oil on her forehead, arms, chest and back before bundling her up in thick blankets. He stretched himself next to her and held her tight. After a few minutes, Geet slipped into deep sleep, exhausted by the fever. Maan called in the hotel's resident doctor, who on examination said that she seemed to have a flu attack. Maan watched over her, not able to sleep a wink, right through the night as the fever shot up during the night. Maan gave her cold swabs to bring the fever down. She kept muttering and moaning in pain. He covered her up with his own body to give her as much comfort and warmth as possible.
The next two days went in taking care of his sick wife. Maan could not bear to see his wife suffer and hoped and prayed she will be well again. On the second day, the fever left as suddenly as it appeared. Geet was still feeling weak from it. Maan asked her if she wanted to stay back for a few more days till she felt stronger before they undertook their journey but she wanted to get back home soon. So they went to Mangalore, from where they flew back to Mumbai. On the flight Geet apologised to Maan for ruining their honeymoon with her sickness. Maan kissed the top of her head and reassured her that she had not ruined anything, for to him honeymoon meant spending time alone with your beloved and he got to do just that, even if it meant being bundled up in bed for two days.
Continued here
Edited by Opti - 14 years ago
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