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Chapter 30: Nostalgic Reminiscence
**Flashback**
The crowd in the college seemed to be excited. People were moving about in groups, discussing, enjoying, and chatting with each other. It was Fresher's day and all the seniors gathered to see the newcomers, while the first year students were busily preparing for their big day.
It was time for talent show and the announcer called, "Ms Anuradha Iyer!" A fair and petite figure, walked among the crowd with her veena in her hand. All the guys whistled at her beauty while the girls eyed her with envy. She elegantly walked to the stage, and began a beautiful carnatic classical song.
A young man, sitting by his bike with a bunch of guys and girls surrounding in the far corner of the big field, suddenly stopped talking when he head a beautiful and melodious voice. As though in trance he simply followed the sound that finally led him to the stage and he saw an angelic figure singing and playing the veena flawlessly. She instantly smote him and his heart became restless to find out more about her. He crooned his neck to get a clearer picture of her when he heard someone calling his name.
"Arvi chalo!" someone yelled from behind
Arvind turned around to see his friend calling him. "Haan Gowtam, aa raha hoon!" he yelled back. He took one last look at her before walking away. Soon he found out about her whereabouts and was determined to make her his soulmate. Their first official meet was in the college library when she angrily came to him. But even before she could open her mouth he began speaking. He had taken a lot of pains to find her details well his friends had taken a lot of efforts to find out about her, to be precise. Her name was Anuradha Iyer, one of the wealthiest yet one of the most conservative Tamil family in Bombay. She was a perfect combination of beauty with brains but she was very soft spoken and shy-type. She had always kept to herself and spent most of the time in library or in her hostel dorm. It was love at fist sight for Arvind and he would make sure she was his always.
He knew she would reject him outright if approached directly he had sent his friends first. Gowtam found Anu busy with her friends near the field and walked upto her. "Aap Anuradha hai?"
"Yes," she said unsure of whom this new person was.
"Arvind Krishna told me to tell, 'Krishna loves you'," he said.
"Kya?" Anu asked, her eyes popping out.
"I'm sorry ma'am I am just a messenger," Gowtam said shrugging his shoulders.
Anu was bewildered by the sudden announcement and thought it was strange. She quickly brushed it off thinking there might have been a mix-up. But as the day progressed random people came to her to say, "Krishna loves you!" Anu was thoroughly irritated by the continuous declarations of random people and really wanted to know who this Krishna was.
"Hi Radha, I am Arvind Krishna. Naan idha solliye aaganum, nee avvalo azhagu. Inge evanum ivvalo azhaga oru—" he laughed nervously before looking at her sheepishly. "Ivvalo azhaga pathirukka matanga. And I am in love with you."**
Anu couldn't believe her ears. This man had just proposed to her in public that too in Tamil! She hurried out of the library with her books in hand and missed the smirk on his face. She was walking on the empty track field when she heard his voice again.
"Hello miss hello miss enge poringa?" he sang, trying his best to eliminate his accent. Anu turned around, surprised at his sudden outburst in Tamil again. From what she knew, he came from a wealthy Punjabi family, pampered to the core. He was the college lover boy and all the girls didn't miss a chance to be with him. She had heard a lot of stories when she was in the hostel about his playboy character and decided to stay away from him. But when her name was involved, she decided to put an end to everything by confronting him. She had never met him, so with the help of friends, she found him.
He did look amazingly dashing and handsome, making her speechless in the beginning. But she reminded herself the purpose of her visit and brushed away the new kind of feelings in her heart. When he had coolly brushed off his statement as a general statement she knew she had made a fool of herself and it was best to walk away from that place without giving away her disappointment. But now seeing him sing in Tamil, she thought she was dreaming.
"Hello miss hello miss enge poringa? Indru en intha kovam konjam nillunga," he once again sang in his rich baritone voice. Anu tried hard not to smile at him and turned her head away so her emotions wouldn't give away her rapid heartbeats. She ran to her hostel, just across the field, while he followed her.
After a while Anu heard some noises from outside and decided to check it out. From her balcony she could see a few men including Arvind standing in the grass and preparing something and as soon as they saw her he began singing.
kaNNAlE pEsi pEsi kollAthE
kAdhAlE kEttu kEttu sellAthE
kAdhal dheiveega rANi
bOdhai uNdAguthE nee
kaNNE, en manadhai vittu thuLLAthE
Arvind looked at Anu lovingly and seemed to sing flawlessly while the others played a few instruments to accompany his singing. She couldn't believe he was singing for her and strangely enough his voice seemed to totally match with her favorite singer PB Srinivas. The other boys tried to sing a chorus along with him while he busily tried to impress her.
pAsam meeRi sitham thALam pOduthE - un
bhakthan uLLam nitham Engi vAduthE
She looked in awe at the happenings and couldn't help smiling at him. She started to admire his efforts to impress her. She leaned on the railings enjoying his singing.
Asai vetkam aRiyAmal OduthE
en annamE, un pinnal jadai AduthE
AduthE AduthE AduthE…
Anu comes back from her trance at the repeating of his words. He looked tensed while trying to maintain his cool. He helplessly looked around while repeating the same word. She wondered if he had forgotten the words. She decided to go check it out herself and came out of the room to where Arvind was standing. As she approached, he walked back nervously. He gestured his mate to go while simultaneously walking back. Anu was confused at his behavior and her confusion slowly turned into suspicion, wondering what he was upto. She followed his gaze and found another guy trying to fix something. She went to the tree to see what it was and to her shock he was fixing the gramophone. Her eyes widened at the scene while Arvind came running behind trying to distract her attention, but it was too late, she had found out! She turned around and looked at him sternly with her hands on her hips. He was playing the gramophone and was lip-synching to it. No wonder he was flawless and his voice was perfect.
"Mr. Arvind Krishna Handa!" she said, her lips forming a grim line.
"Voh," he said trying to find the right words. "I'm sorry," he managed to whisper bending his head down. She couldn't help smile at his little act. She wanted to reprimand him but he looked so innocent and cute while asking a sorry. She let out a chuckle, causing him to look up. Arvind slowly smiled and walked upto her. "Sorry, I had just memorized the proposal and it took me a hell a lot of efforts to do so. But I shapat I shall learn Tamil, if that's what takes to marrying you," he said sincerely.
"Really?" she said looking amused at his efforts to impress her. She turned around and started walking to her hostel to mask her shyness.
"Hey Radha, kuch toh bata!" he yelled seeing her retreating figure. She turned back, biting her lower lip and her head bent in shyness. Arvind sensed her thoughts, and his joy knew no bounds he ran upto her, "Thank you," he said kissing her on her cheek and making her go red in embarrassment.
Everything seemed to run smoothly. Both passed law school with flying colors and enjoyed each other's company. They planned to marry, having the consent of their parents. But to their dismay they faced a lot of problems. Anu's father was utterly disgusted by the fact that the groom was not from his own caste or community and had strictly prohibited her from marrying Arvind. She tried reasoning, crying, pleading but he was strong on his decision. Arvind, and his close friend Gowtam tried their best to convince but to no avail. In fact Gowtam became a mediator, trying to resolve the issues but both sides were stubborn in their stand. Having no other option, Anu and Arvind decided to marry against their parent's wishes.
Gowtam arranged everything and took extra efforts to make sure they wouldn't face any problems. The news of marriage reached their parents and instantly Anu's father and brother disowned her and considered her dead for walking out of the house. She was shattered that her own brother, whom she was very close to, had completely went against her and disowned her. Arvind was unable to console his beloved wife and it took a lot of time for her to finally lead a normal life with Arvind. Although she looked happy, she did feel her family's absence. Arvind made sure he provided her with every joy possible and Gowtam became a brother-like figure for her. He supported her and gave her the strength to withstand her grief.
**End Flashback**
Anu had tears in her eyes, recalling the rocky past while Maan sat stunned at their story. Although Geet was aware of the past, she still felt tears running down her cheeks at the thought of missing her grandfather, her uncle, aunty, and cousins. She had heard they had moved out of Bombay, few years after she was born to Thanjavur, a small town in Tamil Nadu and nothing was heard of them afterwards.
Arjun saw everyone were in a sad mood and wanted to cheer them up. "Okay, Arvind Uncle didn't sing properly that day, so I am asking him to sing a proper Tamil song to his beloved wife, Anu ma," he said diverting their attention from the grief events of the past. Arvind also realized Arjun's intentions and willingly tool the guitar from him to sing a song for his Radha.
Paadatha pattellam paada vanthal
Kaanatha kangalai kaana vanthal
Pesatha mozhiyellam pesa vanthal
Pen paavai nenjile aada vanthal
Hmm hmm hmm… la lala la lala lala lala laaa
This song was one of her favorites and Arvind had finally taken great pains to master the language for his loving wife. She looked at him, her eyes twinkling with joy. She couldn't imagine a life without her caring husband and she thanked the lord everyday for giving such a wonderful family.
Maan took the guitar from Arvind and began playing it before starting to sing.
Kisi ki muskuraahaton pe ho nisaar
Kisi ka dard mil sake to le udhaar
Kisi ke vaaste ho tere dil men pyaar
Jeena isi ka naam hai
Everyone clapped but Geet was flabbergasted at seeing this fun side of Maan. She never knew he could sing and enjoy. In fact he had a superb voice and his guitar skills were amazing. Geet enthusiastically clapped and blew a loud whistle seeing his new side.
Later they all started to get up to leave downstairs. Maan also bid goodbye to everyone and especially thanked Anu for her wonderful meal. Geet decided to walk him to his car and followed him out.
"Maan, I never knew you could sing," she said pleasantly surprised.
"Kyun? Was it not good?" he asked a bit skeptical.
"What, are you kidding? It was mind blowing!" she said, her eyes widened.
"Thanks."
"Magar Maan, I seriously didn't know you could sing so good. You should do it often," she said genuinely.
"I actually don't sing often. In my college days I used to sing a lot magar some things don't remain the same," he said looking away.
Geet sensed his discomfort. "Maan is everything alright?" she asked with concern.
He swiftly turned his head, not wanting her to sense any difference and plastered a smile on his face. "Haan, sab teekh hai. Main chalta hoon jaanu."
Although Geet brought his explanation, she didn't miss the glistening in his eyes. She decided to explore it by herself. "Teekhai Maan. By the way thanks for dropping by," she said smiling.
"Of course, it wouldn't look good if I don't visit my sweet—" he began but decided to tease her, "Anu ma," he finished with a lop-sided smile. Geet criss-crossed her arms, and pouted like a little child who was denied her favorite candy. Maan chuckled at her cute anger, "I was kidding Jaanu, main toh sirf tumhe dekhne ke liye aaya," he said pinching her cheeks.
"Jhoot mat boliyega," she said narrowing her eyes.
"Satyama di Jaanu (I promise Jaanu)," he said in his rough Tamil.
"Arre vah Maan! Ab duniya mein aise language hai ki Maan Singh Khurana ko na aaye," she teased.
"Oi nautanki," he said in mock anger.
"Help me Muruga!" she said looking up.
"Help her Muruga!" he said dramatically.
Geet looked at him and cocked her eyebrows before laughing hysterically. Both had a good laugh at the turn of the conversation.
"Geet you gotta be back in office two days from now. Don't forget!" Maan said getting into his car.
"Ji Shehenshah!" she said bowing down.
Maan drove out of the Singhania Mansion replaying the events of the day. It had been a good day, right from the wonderful moonlight dinner to the stargazing and then the final look at the past. Although it was painful, the love and care Anu and Arvind carried for each other was exceptional indeed. Maan was amazed with the couple's admiration for each other that had made him sing after a long time. He had stopped singing after his mother's death. He always used to sing to her or with her, and after her death, it pained for him to sing for it reminded of her absence in his life. But today he had forgotten his dark phases and let himself free of all the sorrows and grief in his life. These wonderful accepted him people for what he was and the love his Anu ma showered was beyond description, making him forget his pain. He would always cherish this memory of the beautiful moonlight dinner and these people would always remain permanently in his heart, especially his Jaanu.
OKAY MY DEARIES 😳 this is my second update from the double dhamaka 😆. the proposal part was from the movie Vaaranam Aayiram. that part was shooo cute that i couldnt help include in this. i hope u guys like it. i have provided 2 translations of the proposal for easier reading of people who cannot understand tamil 😉
**["Hi Radha, I am Arvind Krishna. Mujhe yeh batana hi hoga, tum bahut khoobsurat ho. Yahaan koi bhi itni khoobsurati—" he laughed nervously before looking at her sheepishly. "Itni khoobsurati nahi dekha hoga. And I am in love with you."]**
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Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
