Chapter 21
"Which girl was I talking about, Maan? Was that your question? Well, I have no answer. But I have a question. How many girls till now, have you thought, are beautiful in a sari, or talkative and have given enough chances to argue and have put up with their words?", she asked.
Maan dropped his fork and spoon, looking at her, shocked, while Dev looked at Maan, with his mouth wide open.
"What? You think Geet is beautiful in a sari and etc etc etc? Wow bro, that's quite an improvement!", exclaimed Dev, laughing.
"Improvement? What nonsense?", said Maan, angrily.
"No bro, not nonsense, but full sense. From ignoring girls, to noticing one of them, then hating her to noticing her and then noticing her beauty in a sari, is quite an improvement", he said, keeping aside his plate and putting the fruit bowl in front of him.
Maan shook his head in frustration that they had started all over again. He did not like the fact that his Daadima revealed his secrets in public.
"Right Daadiji?", asked Dev.
"Absolutely Dev, Mr. Maan "Attitude" Khurana, is getting better by the day", she said, both of them, laughing out loud and showing a thumbs-up to each other.
"whatever", he said, getting up, to leave.
"Maan, we have not finished dinner yet!", she reminded him.
Maan sat gave and looked at them, while they slowly chewed their food and ate it. Maan got irritated, but since his Daadima, was there, he could not say anything. He thought, had it been only Dev or anyone else, apart from his Daadima, he would have walked out by now or slapped that person and threatened to speed up their chewing and swallowing process.
As Maan sat and cursed himself for not being able to move from the dining table, Daadima's phone rang.
"Geet!", she said, answering the call.
Maan looked at her, as she spoke on phone. Dev observed Maan, as Daadima spoke and grinned. Maan only paid attention to his business affairs and his property related affairs, but as per the improvement standards, he had moved a step ahead even in this matter. So, to him, anything starteting or ending with the four letters "G E E T" would catch his attention.
Dev wanted to pat himself, for the wonderful thesis, on Maan's changing interest. He wanted to laugh aloud, but then realized Maan would kill him or bury him alive. In addition, Naintara would be left, all alone, crying over his corpse.
Daadima, caught up with Geet, while Dev mentally rehearsed his thesis. Maan listened to DAadima. Kiara informed her that they would be staying in some guest house, known to Geet, about 100kms away from Hoshiarpur, as it was too late, in the night. Kiara hung up soon, on the context that they had to grab some food and sleep as it was pretty late and they were pretty tired.
DAadima then informed the same to Dev and Maan. Maan was happy that they had finally finished dinner. And was to go back to his outhouse.
"Maan, you can stay in the mansion, today", said Daadima.
"No, I have all my files, folders and office related stuff in the outhouse and I have no patience to get them all shifted here, and again shift back after 4 or 5 days", he said, impatiently.
"Well, you don't have to shift back", she said.
"Daadima, Good night", he said, very impatient to argue now, with her.
HE walked out of the dining room and towards the living room, when he heard some chimes cound. He turned around and searched, wondering where the sound came from. His eyes finally stopped, on the chimes, attached to Geet's room door. Nakul stopped and looked in the direction where Maan was looking and told him.
"Saab, woh Geet madame ne apne door ke bahar lagai. Unhe bahut pasand hain, jab woh chimes bring hote hain, hawa ki wajah se", saying so, he walked away. Maan looked at the wind chimes and smiled. It was interesting how smnall things made this girl happy, when even the biggest of successes sometimes, failed to make him, happy.
While he walked out, Dev called out to him.
"Bro, I feel like playing guitar today, for sometime, do you wanna join me, with your violin?", he asked, panting, for running behind Maan, to stop him.
"Sure! Outhouse?", he suggested
"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes", said Dev, running back to his room, to get his guitar.
Maan went into the outhouse and into the storage area. He noticed the violin, wrapped and placed carefully, on the attic. He took the violin and some orange colored cloth fell out, from the attic. HE suddenly remembered Geet's orange colored sari, the one she had wore it to the temple. He rubbed away those thoughts and walked towards the living room, when his phone rang.
Dev told him, that he would take another 20 minutes, as he had to speak to Naintara. Maan agreed and sat on the couch in the living room. HE played some music on the violin and kind of started to getting lost in it. Music, usually never pleased him, that much, but violin and guitar were two instruments he enjoyed playing, occasionally.
Maan, played the violin for sometime. he waited for Dev to come, walked out of the outhouse. He saw, him busy on the phone. He wondered how people could talk for so long. He then took his violin to put it back, in the storeroom, carefully. While he held the violin in one hand, and the cue in one hand, his gaze fell, on the orange cloth again. He looked away, placed the violin on the chair there, threw the orange cloth on it and walked away. He texted Dev that he was going to bed.
HE lay on his bed and closed his eyes. He imagined himself walk towards the storeroom again, and stood at the door. He looked at his violin that was now covered with the orange cloth. He walked towards it, and slowly moved the cloth away. As he did that, he suddenly looked up and moved back. Geet was standing in front of him, dressed in the orange sari. He realized he was actually lifting the pallu away from her face, which covered her face, like a veil. She stood there, blinking her eyes and smiling.
"Don't smile!", he yelled at her and moved away.
She did not say anything. He then picked up the violin, played it for sometime, and still found her standing there.
"Say something", he said, softly as he played. She said nothing and looked at him. He then heard her bangles jingle and looked up. She had turned the other side, now revealing her back. Her blouse was tied together with a few strings at the back.
"Geet!", he called out to her and she did not turn back.
He walked towards her and she walked a little away from him. He walked faster and stopped her, by placing his violin in front of her, on her stomach and pulling her back, towards him. He could hear her breathe faster.
"Geet!", he called out to her, again and got know response. He slowly placed the violin to the side and called out to her again, yet the same.
"Respond to me, dammit",he yelled. She laughed and was about to walk away, when he ran the cue, that was in his right hand, on her back.
She stopped immediately and he grinned. He repeated his action again and slowly took it under the strings of her blouse. He could feel her shiver, as the cue ran on her naked back. He slowly, released the strings of her blouse with her cue, by increasing the pressure. She held the cue behind her, and Maan moved closer to her.
"Geet!", he said, again.
"Bro", some one called him.
"Geet!", said Maan.
"Bro!", called someone and shook him, up when Maan got up with a jerk. He looked around and found Dev standing on the other side on the bed.
"Dev", said Maan, "What are you doing here?"
"Ji, I had come to ask about Daadiji's medicines. Nakul told me that Naintara would take care of it everyday. So, I wondered if you knew".
"Acchha. When did you come?", he asked.
"Just now. But you seemed to be in deep sleep. Sorry!", said Dev.
"No problem", he said, opening up the drawer in the side table and giving Dev the copy of the prescription.
"This should have been in Daadima's room", said Maan.
"Dunno. I could not find it", he said, taking the prescription and walkjing out of the room, "Good night Bro", he said and walked out.
Maan, sat up on the bed and wondered what was he dreaming. He was dreaming of Geet and about running his cue on her back. He stopped and looked around.