She almost passed for being shy and shocked when her married younger cousin exhibitioned her adult rated bedtime stories from the time she'd been a new bride - which, to her, was far from being a raunchy account when it lacked a passionate curiosity and restlessness for their age.
Her flower earrings were a constant tickle by the curve of her neck and she pushed them behind in a dainty lift of her fingers, when the crusty mehendi on her hand still needed some drying. Sitting by the tent that was set up in their backyard, for the Mehendi and Sangeet party, her feet weighed as molten lead, when she hadn't moved them in a while in fear of smudging the filigree tracing or two. Oh! she could really use some spinning and moving her body as waves, like a dervish dancing around a warm desert fire, when her limbs had gone sore from all the inaction.
The last four days had passed with as much confusion, minor accidents and bustle as was expected in the house of a wedding. There had been no sudden visits from him and nor had there been repercussions of his dubious temper from that night and yet she couldn't help drawing deep breaths, to fill herself with vigor from the draining worry that often set-in between her brows.
Given how mercurial his moods were, she'd hinted Binoy about Rishabh's real intentions of picking him up at the airport - of the deceivingly artful slander that was in the news from the book release and that Rishabh loosely held her responsible for it. It was needless to say, that she'd not revealed their own amorphous personal history. Binoy needn't be bothered for a bunch of silent phone calls and a few capricious visits that had lastly led to an impassioned exchange, which no longer held any significance to either of them.
Her gaze swept through the hymeneal gathering engaged in that evening's entertaining of song and dance, to find Binoy and their group of friends who were there for the wedding. The entire clique was here: Alice, Keerthi, Ritu, Luc, Ashwit and even old pals of Binoy who had come down from Trivandrum. She eventually found them making an entry from the side of a grove of tress, with Binoy in the center, dressed in a shiny blue Sherwani. They raised their Patron shots in her direction and smiling she waved to them, reckoning they must have gone for the ceremonial pre-wedding cigars, as was custom with their group.
The night merrily ripened with more celebration and when most of the older crowd left for the dinner buffet being served in the front lawn, the younger gentry drove the frolicking a notch higher. Lights dimmed and the games began with a few song dedications playing in the background, while the microphone occasionally went around for embarrassing speeches from an intimate circle of friends and cousins.
At first, Luc tried translating his practiced french speech into English, but when no body laughed at his jokes, he gave up and switched to French in entirety, leaving a blessed few rolling on the floor with his recollecting of their vicious bumbles at Sorbonne.
La vie en rose, a terribly cliched choice was played when Binoy took her to the dance floor much later. She rolled her eyes to start with, but gave in and danced for a few minutes while he held her close. Despite the comfortable pace of his swaying, she raised her head in prayer when somebody had the presence of mind to change it to an upbeat Bollywood song again and she left the center to sit back in a nearby chair.
Ainvayi Ainvayi came on and a ruckus broke out in the dance floor, with each competing with the other to break a leg. Keerthi showed Binoy his punjabi moves. His uncoordinated hand and leg raises gave her peals of laughter, but it also led her into thinking that besides being the clown then, he would also be her husband the next day.
"There is always a train leaving the station, to the place you want to go. But, you just have to buy the ticket first. It's the process of deciding to make that buy that is the most difficult, Madhu. The rest will follow...everything else always follows"
The words came back to her as she held the smile and found herself counting down to holding all that was within her reach into the palm of her hands - the almost happiness that awaited in a world far from the one she lived in. If that wasn't enough compensation for the ticket she'd bought, there was more. Though she didn't necessarily romanticize the institution of marriage, she believed that it took out the hostilities of dating, promoting a tacit, mutually agreed upon structure to the sharing of life's many moments. Even, so far as, helping a few people let down their guards and allow for another person to come into their lives. Hopefully!
It was also then, when the song came to a close and everybody huffed catching their breaths, that she heard a sharp scream, followed by loud gasps and murmurs.
"Didi...Didi..." Her youngest cousin, Zara came running in a frenzy, her skirt hiked up, "Is RK your friend or Jiju's friend? He is here..."
Shit!
But before she could ask her friends or Maira aunty to try and keep him at the gate, he was already inside and to her dismay, the microphone found its way into his hands.
"...This thing even working?" And she saw him haggle with the switch and mumble, as he cut a swath walking through the crowd while they parted to let in their fashionably late guest.
Feigning to show no surprise or any other emotion with his presence there, she sighed for a long beat.
"Ah!" he exclaimed, having sought her in the premise, "There she is.
"Better late than never, I guess" he waved to a few of her cousins without a flourish, which was to her surprise that he toned down his flamboyance for the night. Her impish cousins giggled coyly and crowded around him, "So, I heard from Bittuji...Oh! he is my assistant, by the way," Bittji came forward with a grin and fell in step with him.
"Bittuji, was telling me that there were speeches and song dedications from the bride and groom's circle and I thought its only fair, I be given my chance too.
"For those who are curious to know if I'm from the bride or the groom's side," he spoke with a lilt in his tone, and she swallowed in her corner awaiting his response, "I will tell you that I'm here as Binoy's friend today and for Madhubala..."
He paused mid-sentence, "Or should I call you Sanaa here?"
When she didn't smile or answer him, he said, "Madhubala and I, we go way back..." and gave Binoy a friendly tap on his shoulder.
Oh! dear, she found herself saying as she held her breath in anticipation.
She caught Binoy make a face, but a second later, she was partly glad that he faked a cordial greeting in return, instead of picking up trouble with him for all to see.
"Too much history to tell you in five minutes and so, I will finish up here by saying, that we were so close, that I knew Binoy was going to come into her life even before they met each other"
"Start sound!" He yelled as if the amplification from the speakers weren't enough and she winced. Quite unexpectedly, Dil to bacha hai ji song begun and a sliver of surprise crossed her face.
Aisi ulji nazar unse hatt thi nahi
And she looked away from him, while she tried to recollect the lyrics of the song from the time she'd heard it, to reason out that particular music selection.
Daant se reshmi dor katt ti nahi...
"I actually have a confession to make,' he spun around to get everyone's attention and her heart galloped out of her chest, "Despite all the romance element in my movies, I was a cynic when it comes to happily ever afters. But Madhu here...she is something else"
Maira aunty reached her side and held the side of her arm. She didn't move and continued to hold his gaze as he made his way towards her.
"She always had a clear vision of her future, unlike most women I have known. Well, what does that tell you? Just be prompt about her monthly contact refills," he came to a stop directly in front of her. With his head titled to one side, his features falsely expressed a shared understanding and the depth with which he agreed with her sentiments too was also apparent there.
No wonder, he had all those films lined up.
"Secondly my friend, she always speaks two words in the place of four. You are a lucky man Binoy when it comes to that, until the second she decides to start talking that is," he laughed with derision and so did the others.
He began to say something else, but stopped and instead gazed at her for a moment, as if he wanted to draw emphasis to what he'd coming next. "Now, if you don't have an ambulance on speed dial, you better get to it this very minute," he said without averting his eyes and shook his head in disbelief, "Looking the way she does, she could only be an angel or a vampire. Either ways, you are going to have an heart attack when you find out, so, keep your reinforcements my man!
"And all that silence..." he remarked when she wouldn't look at him anymore nor stop him from speaking further, "You begin to assume she is saving her energy for some fight against the dragons. But, I can tell you, its not like how it seems. The problem is..."
Bas***d! He can't really be exposing her in that open setting and even for him, it was low. Her hands curled into fists by her side, making the Mehendi crumble and fall on the grassy lawn. By and large, a cold anger swirled in her eyes then.
"Now, see that is what makes a bad wedding speech," he amended registering her scowl, "Getting all mawkish.
"But, here you are ready to carry her into the sunset," he turned to face Binoy who was still with her other friends on the dance floor, "I'm afraid, you have made a believer out of me too.
"And so this toast goes to," he raised an untouched water glass in the table next to him and had a devilishly wide smile as he said, "your forever..."
Taking a sip, he placed the glass back on the table.
"To all the hearts she has broken...hayee! Madhubala," he drawled in a wistful tone and let out a sigh, tantamount to saying she was forbidden to all other men from that day onward.
"On that note, you have to give me this last dance," he said and throwing the mike down onto the cushions, he pulled her to her feet.
With all the guests still in view, he placed a hand on her waist and taking her hand in his, he led her to the dance floor. When making a scene or resisting his touching her was not an option, she swayed to his leading with the exception of a latent awkwardness.
The old comfort in the accordion medley and guitar chords flowed into his movements - with each box step - and it annoyed her to no bounds that he could keep such cool, when she struggled needing air. He twirled her once and when she came around to face him again, he drew her to him much closer than before.
"Rishabh, please," her tone bordered on pleading, "You have got it all wrong"
"Hush!" he said, breathing down her ears in a whisper and her eyes closed on its own accord as it always did.
"Hush! its not time to wake up yet..." he said and her eyes flicked up to him as he smiled, taking her across the dance floor in a slow waltz.
Dilsa koi kameena nahi
Koi to rokey, koi to tokey
Iss umar mein ab khaogey dhokhe
As that line ended, she felt his forehead rest by her temple and in opposition to what she awaited then, an odd pooling of relief collected in her belly.
Darr lagta hai ishq karne mein ji
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