Chapter 24
In the Guise of the Colors
(March 7, 1982...)
(Army Cantonment, Roorkee...)
"Welcome Home Mrs
Patel," Aditya smiled at his wife as they entered their home. It was late
evening, 7th of March that Aditya finally had brought Pinky to his
world, his regiment after fourteen months of marriage.
"Hmm, this is so
nice and cozy," Pinky beamed as she took in their living quarters, "and we will
finally have a home to call our own Adi, just you and me."
"Yes it will be
just..."
A shrill ring of an
alarm clock went off from somewhere inside interrupting Aditya mid-sentence.
Shock gave away to irritation as the alarm's sharp ring could not be located
immediately. A frantic search later the alarm clock was found under the
mattress in the spare bedroom.
An incredulous Pinky
plopped down on the bed, "Who kept this here?"
"No clue," Aditya
replied, "probably Kishore, the helper who is has been assigned to me."
"Weird fellow! Who
keeps an alarm clock under the mattress?"
*shhrriiinnng*
No sooner had the
words left Pinky's mouth another alarm rang through the house. Running around
to end the auditory torture they finally managed to locate it in one of the
cupboards in the kitchen.
Pinky smashed her
hand on the clock's snooze button and heaved a sigh of relief.
But the night had
just begun.
When the third alarm
had went off and later found behind the grill in the fireplace Aditya realized
that this was the official welcome his fellow officers and families were giving
his wife. He turned around to tell Pinky this but one glance at her red puffed
face made him swallow his words and fidget with his glasses.
*shhhriiinnggg*
"Hei...hei...hei..."
"Oh shut up Adi!"
The fourth one was
found in the shoe rack in the gallery. Fifth was found in one corner of the
uniform wardrobe. Sixth behind the flush tank in the washroom. Seventh in the
luggage loft above the gallery. Eighth in exhaust fan vent in the kitchen. And
the ninth one was hidden all the way behind in the kitchen garden area of the house.
"Please God let this
be the last one! Adi," Pinky glared at her husband, "you better find out who is
behind all this or else!"
I think soon we will
find it for ourselves. Something told him that the tenth alarm would soon set
off and signal the finale of this ordeal they were put through.
*shhhriiinnnggg*
This time the sound
came from outside the main door.
As soon as the
couple opened the door they saw few officers and ladies standing outside. The
officer in front stood holding the alarm clock and smirked at Aditya before
turning a charming smile towards Pinky. He held the ringing clock towards and
greeted, "Capt Maan Singh Khurana at your service Ma'am. On behalf of the
ladies and officers of the regiment, welcome to Roorkee Mrs Patel."
**********************************************************************
(March 8, 1982...)
(Handa Haveli, Amritsar...)
The girls were
getting ready to leave the house for their college as Rano was clearing away
the breakfast table.
"Girls remember Holi
is two days away so you better be careful," saying so she wished them goodbye
as the girls headed towards the gate.
"Ma is right,"
Sameera spoke up, "you two better be careful. You know how the boys in Khalsa
College are. And this year Papaji is not
around to drop you to college," she referred to the fact that Mohinder was out
of town.
"We will take care
Di," Meera agreed, "but what about you? Your school is in the outskirts of the
city."
"Don't worry,"
Sameera assured, "I will be going with Darshan Aunty as usual, so I will be
fine."
They waved each
other goodbye and headed towards their respective institutions.
On reaching college,
Meera headed off towards her wing and Geet headed to her class.
But today getting in
the class seemed difficult.
Few guys, some of
whom she didn't even recognize as fellows from her college were obstructing the
way to the class. The girls were lined up at the entrance and each was being
applied a little color to before they were allowed to enter.
Geet looked on
horror-stricken as despite obvious reluctance the girls were being coerced into
this situation. One of the decent guys from her class tried protesting but he
was threatened to stay quiet.
"Wonderful
festival," one of them was saying, "no other festival allows us to mingle with
girls so freely. This is highly conducive for a healthy environment of a
co-education college."
Oh my God! Maybe I should turn back.
"You," a voice
called out to Geet, "come here please. No need to run. We are just wishing each
other Holi."
"Is she the one
Rahul bhai?" another whispred, "Bilkul totta* hai!!
"Chup kar saaleya," Rahul shut him up as Geet
neared them. "Aao ji. We just wish to spread the Holi cheer. Nothing else. You
won't disturb you after this at all. Promise!" Rahul pinched his neck to make
the promise.
Geet stood there
frozen to her spot. Sweat broke on her forehead. Scared, disgusted and on the
verge of tears she looked on as he dabbed a little color on her cheek. Her
stomach churned at his touch and all she wanted to do was vomit the bile that
had risen.
"Happy Holi ji,"
Rahul sniggered.
She shut her eyes
and made to move from there.
"I wished you Happy
Holi," Rahul blocked her way, "won't you wish me back? Or didn't I wish you
properly? Should I repeat?" He raised his hand towards her again.
"Happy Holi," she
spat at him before the little courage that she had in her gave away and quickly
sought refuge in her class as the laughter from the hallway chased after her.
**********************************************************************
(Late Night, March 8...)
(Army Cantonment, Roorkee...)
"Please Capt Dhillon
I can't take this anymore," Pinky pleaded, "Capt Khurana is nowhere stopping.
Atleast you take a break."
Everyone was rolling
and bending over with laughter as Maan and Tejbir were regaling them with many
of their jokes and anecdotes. The two friends were so tuned with each other that
their pair was super-hit when it came to entertaining friends.
"What do you say
Maan? The lady has made a request," Tejbir asked his friend.
"Well the lady had
complained that we had reduced her to tears yesterday. I am simply being a
gentleman and making due amends," Maan replied in a teasing manner.
"But you will give
me stomach aches this way," Pinky complained.
The prank was Maan's
idea keeping in the tradition of welcoming an officer's wife with a little
mischief. The easy-going and affable Pinky, who was earlier irritated by the
random alarms was now enjoying pulling Maan's leg about it. She clearly seen
the affection the small group had bestowed on her behind the prank.
"Women! There is
just no pleasing them," Maan dramatically rolled his eyes, "I sympathize with
you buddy," he teased Aditya.
"Wait till you get
married," Aditya retorted, "I would like to see your efforts in keeping your
lady appeased after we play our welcome prank on her."
"Come on Aditya,"
Tejbir guffawed, "why ridicule a poor female? As it is she would be cursing her
family for getting her married to Maan. Why add our names to the list?"
"I don't believe
it," Rasika jumped in, "I think any girl would be lucky to marry Capt Khurana."
Maan raised his brow
at this while Tejbir gave him a smirk which Maan knew translated to you-are-one-lucky-dog-getting-defended-by-girl.
Ignoring Tejbir's looks he turned towards Rasika, "That was sooo very gallant on
your part Miss Rathore."
Rasika grinned at
him, her little pretty brain missing the obvious sarcasm in his tone. However,
his tone was not lost on Anupama who glared at him.
Great! First Teji is giving me looks, now
Pammi. Someone would think both are married to me rather than each other. He shrugged dismissively at them and turned
back to the conversation in the room.
"This is not fair
Adi," Pinky was complaining, "you always told me stories of fun and adventure
of your Army life but I got welcomed by such an irritating prank. I was
expecting dinners, parties, picnics," she mock glared at Maan, "charming
company..."
"Ma'am," Maan stood
up, "if fun and adventure is what you want then we can have it right now. Have
you ever danced around a bonfire at mid-night Ma'am?"
"Now?"
"Ofcourse, if Maan
says now then now it is," Tejbir quipped, "the correct question here my friends
is how?"
"Bikes for us and
jeep for you," Maan replied matter-of-factly, "how about a two hour road trip
to Rishikesh? I believe it is worth visiting around Holi."
**********************************************************************
(Half an hour later...)
"Do you think it was
right to send Rasika with Maan?"
"It is a perfect
opportunity," Anupama replied, "this way Maan can know Rasika better. Things
might progress between the two."
"Hmm."
"Don't sound so
pessimistic. I am sure things will work out for good."
"Pammi," Tejbir
looked at her as the jeep turned a bend in the road, "if you think that it is
an easy task for any girl to snare Maan Singh Khurana in her charms then you
don't know your rakhi-brother as well as I know my best mate."
"Maane ta ki?" [What
do you mean?]
He slowed the jeep a
little, "Look ahead for yourself."
A few meters ahead a
motorcycle stood with two figures standing next to it.
As the jeep came to
a stop near them, Maan who was leaning casually against the bike jerked his
head towards Rasika, "Miss Rathore was feeling chilly. I even gave her my
jacket but she kept clutching at me due to the cold. I think it will be better
for her health if she comes with you in the jeep."
A miffed Rasika started
to sit in the jeep. Her lovely plans of cozying up with Maan had been dashed.
"Umm...Miss Rathore,"
Maan called her from behind, "can I have my jacket back?"
She crushed the
lapel of the jacket in her hand, "Yeah sure!"
She removed the
jacket and almost threw it him.
He grabbed it with
his right hand while turning on the keys with his left. "See you guys in
Rishikesh," he revved up the engine, "Stay warm Miss Rathore," he advised a
burning Rasika.
**********************************************************************
(March 9, 1982...)
(Amritsar...)
"You are not well?
What happened?" She touched the forehead with the back of her hand, "Oh my God!
You are running a high fever!"
Sameera was standing inside Darshan Kaur's
house and speaking to the lady herself. Darshan Kaur, or Darshan Aunty as her
colleagues fondly called her, was a 51 year old teacher in the same school
where Sameera taught. When Sameera became the youngest girl to join the ranks
of the teachers at their school she was immediately taken under the care of the
kind and motherly Darshan. Within days they became more of friends than mere
colleagues. Since the school was on the outskirts of the city, Darshan had
deemed it proper that Sameera travels with her daily. Hence a routine set in
whereby Sameera would first come at Darshan's home and then together they would
hail an auto-rickshaw till the school.
This arrangement, in
addition to Darshan's love and care, went a long way to appease Mohinder and
Rano of their daughter's safety and well-being. Especially on days like these.
Tomorrow being Holi the mischief-mongers were already lurking around with
water-balloons and colors. The festival being notorious for open opportunities
to harass girls was making Sameera jittery with worry as it seemed that now she
would have to travel alone to the school.
"Please take care Aunty,"
Sameera held Darshan's hand, "I will come meet you again on my way back. I
should leave now."
"Wait! Where are you
going?"
"To school," Sameera
shrugged, "where else?"
"You are not going
alone. The city will be filled with idiots out to take advantage of a girl like
you moving about alone in the city."
"But I have to go Aunty,"
Sameera grimaced, "I will come back with Tyaagi Ma'am from there but for now I
will have to go on my own. I have no other option."
"Yes you have,"
Darshan assured, "I have asked my nephew you to drop you till school. This way
you will be safe and even I will be without worry."
"Your nephew?"
"Yes," Darshan
replied, "the one from Ahmedabad. Remember I had gone there few days back. Wait
I will call him," she turned around, "Vardaan!"
"Aaya Maasi," came a
voice from within.
A moment later
Sameera saw him towards them from inside. A little taller than herself, lean
but well-built like a man who had labored hard in his life, he had a face that
gave away nothing about him. His eyes were such that they could glint with
cunning or twinkle with mischief, changing his whole persona with changing
moods.
He nodded politely
towards Sameera before looking at his Maasi with a grin, "at your service
Maasi."
"Vardaan, this is
Sameera. Please go drop her to the school. Make sure she reaches there safely."
"Jee Maasi," he
smiled and gestured Sameera to lead the way.
He was a talkative
fellow. And excited to be in Punjab for the very first time. He had never been
here though his grandparents belonged to this place. He was full of excitement
and kept on asking Sameera various questions about the city throughout their
auto-rickshaw ride.
"So this is why
Maasi wanted me to accompany you to school?" He asked her after she finished
telling him how Holi was celebrated in Amritsar and particularly in her alumni
college, where any girl who was found alone and unaccompanied became bait for college
goons. She was telling him how they would only apply color and then let the
girls be.
He laughed at the
absurdity of it. "Nothing like happens in our Ahemdabad. If you want to play
Holi with a girl why not just ask her politely? Weird!"
Sameera looked at
him amused. He was so different from any man she had ever met. No airs about
him. No false sense of pride. Open manners, laughing freely without any
inhibition. Yet something deep and dark lay behind that pleasing laughter.
"Ok," he caught his
breath stifling his laughter as they got down from the auto-rickshaw and paid
the fellow, "if you have a little color on your face will other gangs assume
that you have been wished by one gang already?"
They started walking
towards the lane that led to the school.
Sameera couldn't
help not laugh at the logic he had arrived, "I suppose so. Or it will be more
simple to have a male relative accompany me. No one would bother me then."
He stopped in his
tracks and looked at her seriously although his eyes shone with mischief, "But
I am not a relative am I?"
He swiped his finger
from a colored smeared wall on their side and held it softly against her cheek.
"Happy Holi
Sameera."
She looked at him mouth
agape as she brushed a little color on her cheek and stepped back from her.
Too overwhelmed by
what had just happened, she lowered he lashes for a fraction of second before
looking back at him again.
"Happy Holi
Vardaan."
**********************************************************************
*Totta - Means piece and is a Punjabi slang for pretty girls.
So how was Sameera and Vardaan lovestory ka take-off? :)
Edited by jazzerette - 12 years ago
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