Mishal Raheja as Major Dutta Patil
Painful Rapture~ Chapter 66
"the patient must minister to himself,Shakespeare
Dutta toddled back to his room , as was expected, his batman Bertie ,now supped stood vigil at his new so to speak boss's den. Dutta gave him a narrowed quizzed glance and commanded ,"ah yes Bertie it seems that I now desire a bath that you earlier referred to," he uttered in a definitive guttural tone. Bertie opened the door and acted swiftly. Dutta walked towards his dressing table and studied his stubble face and distinguished tell tale signs of weariness , as his fingers slowly undid his cravat against the sound of water that gushed and spurted in his bath. Bertie apprised ,"Sir!your bath is ready.. may I?.."and before he completed Dutta turned to face the new foreign batman and bowed his head," thanks very much Bertie , you may consider your self off duty as of now ,so make use of your time as you wish, that'll be all thank you". Bertie saluted and backed out of the officer's room, with the thoughts of politeness and respect for him. He was apprehensive before having met him, that the man was an Indian guy, but had wondered if he would be accustomed to the ways of the western culture ,but Major Dutta sort of transcended that as it mattered not, for his manners and treatment towards a junior non commissioned soldier spoke louder than the colour of his skin and rank.. Bertie speculated that it could be surmised that this officer would definitely be held in high esteem before the eyes of his soldiers. Dutta started to exercise his skills of self reliance as he undressed and , quite enjoyed the privacy of his room as he sat stark naked in front of his dresser, he felt his hairy chest and chuckled ,..man this kind of exposure like the flower people could never be possible even now after marriage as he would fear Naku coming into the room and suffering a heart ache after they had consummated .. of course before his marriage there was fear of that joker Baji, who would beam out of nowhere in his PN den.. his mouth dropped as he thought of his two loved soul mates.. and he, while the inhabitants of this manor were either watching before bed time telly, or reading.. put on his ear piece and checked the time on his phone quarter past 8.00pm in UK , so not too late back home .He dialled her number as he made way towards the bath, that continued to rush and flow till he lowered the flowof the bath'after a few rings she finally picked the phone up,"oonhh Saab app theekh ho"? and he raised one of his folded lions and lowered it into the warm bath and heaved, breathing heavily over the phone and then gradually completely immersed his lower body into the warm bath water with a aaahooohhh ahhh, Naku bit her lip and shook her head as the sound of occasional trickle of water was audible , this was unbelievable the dirty rascal was .. and before she thought further his moans of "hai!haiii "as he stretched his long muscular legs lengthwise in the hot relaxing bath, alarmed her ,"Saab ap theekh ho batao na ,kya kar reho ho ? are you in pain ? you sound it, she questioned caringly, he relaxed his folded elbows on the side of the bath and rested his head back on the titled wall, "oh chup kar jahil aurat ! I am lying in a hot bath, Itsss tooo good, my body so laid back darling! Oooh" he carried on, and she responded "hain? kitne lucky ho ap ke bath mein beith ho , ummh that's not fair," she protested lightly, he smiled and replied "to tu bhi ah ja mera pas , kis ne roka hai thujhe hummh..?Naku I bet you if I had a bath constructed in our bathroom you would never slouch in it with me would you?, he flirted, paused and continued, "chaal lardki I wouldn't mind ke two ek two piece swimsuit mein bhi ho ,chaale ga ! baki us ka kya kerna hai , ye to tu janata hai tera Saab aise he tu chup nehi baithe ka , kuch na kuch tu karga ..hummh,"he chuckled as he threw back his head and his hairy belly quivered above the water level. A not so shocked Naku replied, "Saab onnnh ap na mujhe neend mein se jagya hai asie dirty batien karien ke liya?, "and he lowered his hand and splashed himself with some water with a compliant, "hey Naku ,baaaby now that's not fair.. you're my wife darling tere se aise talk nehi karoon ga tu aur kis se karoon ga hummh bol? ,ya tu mujhe khule chooti de deti ke I can have a bit on the side.. "and before he could finish, she laughed ," even if I give you the go ahead Saab I know ap aise kuch nehi karo ga.. ap too much on the straight and narrow ho" she empowered him with her trust, and he nodded dismissively as he preferred to flirt with her rather than be galvanized by her faith in him. He curled his pink toes in one end of the bath, and grazed his bottom on the white Victorian wrought iron bath ,as he propped himself a bit to move back his wet fringe from his forehead, "Naku ,I tell you baaby it's a great contraption for relaxation and intimate acts between man and woman, hummh tu phir tu itna intezaar kyon kara rehe hai, aah ja tu bhi..he pleaded, and she giggled at his shameless advances, and replied ,"itne jaga hoge us bath mein? ke mein bhi puri ah jaon use mein?"she contemplated and he replied ",aye Naku !, woh tu mujhe pe chor de how I make room for you ,or should I elucidate more how" ,he teased ,and she shook her head shyly ,"nahiiinnn Saab mujhe nehi suna.." she spurned him lightly ,and he was most put off as he crossed his legs in the bath,"chaal ja jah! thuje bol kaun raha hai , I was only joking to see if you were ready , but tu to serious he ho gayea hai Naku !,you should know better that Dutta does not and I repeat not! tolerate such beshaarme! so apne haad mein reha ker tu , fridge aurat!" he sulked. He heard her sigh at the other end and he bit his lower lip in consternation, this was bad timing in no uncertain terms. How would he tell her about the extension after having irked her with his pseudo pricked male ego nonsense. It's solace that needs to be offered now ,he mused to appease her, she was his woman after all and he sighed as he rubbed his chest, "baaby, this distance is taking my life my darling, thujhe pata hai na ke mera bas chale tu mein tera pas abhi ah jaon, but naukri hai kiya karoon,." he admitted and Naku disapproved his tone , for she sensed that her man's speech was out of order. Somewhere it sounded a bit of a contrived wheedle.. surely he was about to tell her something, that was likely to upset her. She bit her lip and kept her thoughts to herself for the time being and waited for him to continue.."mujhe kuch kehna hain Naku" he said, and she replied,"mujhe bhi kuch kehna hai Saab"..he yanked his neck back a bit and narrowed his eyes and challenged "tu bol Naku ,shoot! but she declined "nahi Saab phele ap bolo", which he did, "Naku you know full well that when it comes to my work commitment ,even my family takes second place , so despite the fact that I miss you heaps , I have been commanded to stay in the UK, for five weeks in total instead, of a fortnight.. and Naku you know tera Saab like any other guy in the army just follows orders.."and he fell silent as he felt a tiny cargo of emotions lift off his chest. She nodded her head and bit her lip and threw back her head to swallow a few tears ands swallowed hard as she amassed her courage, with, "koi baat nehi Saab, it stands to reason, that it's not every day you are allowed a Sabbatical that revolves around army duty, so I would say put it to good use and gather maximum info that would benefit our country.." she commented and after a pause ,"Saab main bhi ap ko miss karti hoon, maagar mujhe pata hai ke jahan do hafta hai wahan paanch bhi nikil jayen ge "she said stoically. Dutta doubled his chin, and sighed, "haaan Naku , my love , mujhe pata tha ka tu mujhe bhi himmat de ge ke main renewed vigour se apna kam ker sakoon, baaby I am so blessed to have you beside me.." he confessed as he become overcome by the fact that she for once gave him the .."look no tears".. she giggled as she sensed what might be going through his big square head, and he gave a slanted smile as he cupped water on his chest, "misss you baabyyy"he said and then reminded her,"chal Naku ab tu bata, I hope your piece of news is better then mine, ?ya thu bhi koi dhamaka dhar boomb phhore ge mujhe jawab dena ke liye bol spit it out woman! before I throttle you!" he shouted, and she criticized his belligerent tone "ooh ho kya ho gayea hai ap ko? phele apna gussa par kabo rekho tu main batie ge.."she hissed and he, splashed his sinewy leg noisily in the bath, "hei! mera samna bole mujhe aisea tu to dekha main kiya kerta hoon tera! He yelled, as he splattered his palms in the bath, and she placidly replied, "kya karo ge saab, "her seductive voice thrilled him and he replied, "I'd love you like hell baaaby, tuhje pata nehi chale ga what hit you..land to surface missile or underwater torpedo! He said devilishly, and then moaned ,"chaal bata bhi de ab surprise, me clam now .."he assured her , and she began, "Saab, Ms. Tendukar ,rang his morning and she wants me to set up a PT unit at Patil Vadi, aur pata hai Saab I can live at PN soocho Saab mein AS ke pas rahoon ge" she told him all animated and he looked up to the ceiling ,and muttered with his head bowed down,"ye sab tera Bappa ka kamal hai Naku, it's like a small miracle has transpired not just for my household ,my mother, but for the benefit of the people of our beloved home territory, have to I say it's an excellent move, as not only are you a qualified person to administer the job , but the people in our people are familiar with you , as such enabling them to invest their trust in you.. yes my darling my love , you are truly blessed, in fact the gods are bestowing their good will and blessings on our union, humari wajah se doseroon ko bhi fayeda phoonche ga" he approved. Naku smiled at his interpretation, how her action man extended their relationship inevitably to all those things that meant so much to them, their community , their country. She loved him so much, for all those things he was , sensitive, merciful, humble and oh so patriotic, what more could she ask for.He noticed she feel silent and growled, "oyee jaage hoi hai ye sau gaye hai tu ? aise tu koi baat nehi ke maine ke to baithe ke gheri sooch mein par jai bol!,he roared, she giggled and added, "main ye sooch rehe hoon ke aaj ap bath mein he sau ge kiya Saab?.He jerked his head to one side and with a moan and a few loud heaves moved his taut limbs and torse out of the bath, and pulled the plug out and the water gargled out of the bath as ,he swirled a huge bath towel round his bottom, and she called out ," Saab are you there? ,bolo kiya kar rehe ho ?,she asked and he laughed ,"Naku Iam drying my bottom , kyon you wanna do it hummh? be my guest,"and she giggled and retorted , "no but I would gladly spank it if I could", and he rubbed his body and teased her "hain! being kinky are you ? bad girl..? hummh ah zarra mera pas thujhe baton mein.." and she just giggled at her man's, on going passes at her over the phone. He went towards the wardrobe to get his kurta pyjama out and commented, "before you ask my darling, I am putting my night suit on .. Naku recalled how many times in the past when she brought his tea to his room, he used to sleep bare chested. She understood it was cold where he was, besides what difference would it make to her whether he slept clothed or not. He eventually lay on his back and folded one arm on his forehead, as he suggested, "look baaby you go back to sleep, mera kiya hai it's 9.00pm, here besides I had a nap for an hour.. but still I am ready to crash, as I have to get up fairly early for my morning exercise, so tu aisa kar ke mera pas ah baaby get close to me" he said romantically as he pulled her chunni from under the duvet'"hummh come closer baaby let me feel your warm soft lips and he felt her soft chunni on his full lips and he embraced the chunni in his arms across his chest and moaned, "baaby I love you ummmh it's nice to hold you across my chest, ahhhummh" he uttered and Naku clutched her cuddly lion and closed her eyes in bliss, for she knew that he was already making love to her chunni, she whispered softly, "Saab should I give you a wake up call at 6.00 am UK time," and he moaned ,"haan kar dena aur ab sau ja my love, nite nite" he said ,and rolled over on the chunni moaning heavily over it and whispering .."kiss de" ..and Naku, snuggled cosily into her cuddly lion and both went off to sleep..as one and complete..
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True to her pledge , she alarmed him up by the spiritual tones of "Jaago Mohan Pyara". He arose slow and steady in his room as he shoved his legs into the black track bottom , and pulled on his full sleeved black track sweat shirt, finally covered with the black zippered track jacket. He sat on the bed dragged on his thick black ribbed socks and pushed socked toes into the black lace up running shoes. With a sweep of his palm he zipped up his pocket which contained his wallet ID and a few tissues. He headed in the direction of the window to be informed regarding the weather. The was his first day break in UK. Nothing much had changed it was still dull and uninspiring, but much relieved he noted that despite the dampness that gave over washover to everything outside his window , there was hardly any sign of falling rain. He checked the time ,it was ten past 6 and he grabbed his black balaclava, pulled it his down his broad head and fitted it around his sturdy taut neck but left his eyes and face exposed. He stepped out into the cold air , the temperature for him only meant one word cold as opposed to the heat he was accustomed to. He was clued on enough to carry on a pair of black fingerless woolly gloves, which he tugged on his fingers. Thus began Dutta's first jog in a country of strangers, his feet carried him with maintained pace and discipline on the wet damp yet not overly wet ground, towards the military barriers of the mansion. He came out on to the side walks of the main road ,that pulsated with slow early morning traffic. His heart pounded with the mechanical thud of his whole body as his brawny strong legs pushed in the forward direction as he administered his jog. The cold air brushed his face and his nostrils flared as he inhaled and exhaled the cold crisp fresh air. His blood circulated warmly and his body warmed up as his stubble face glowed with a rosy hue. He en route checked out with his surroundings with narrow eyes. He passed by other joggers who nodded and then muttered a quick,"morin'", as they passed each other.The tips of his runners, hurled him and his hind legs and back forced him forward , as he continued with his jog. He, thought of a drink which he deliberately didn't carry ., to whet his parched mouth. From far he saw the parade of shops that he had earlier noted and he spotted the newsagent.."Ajay's" it said and he smiled at the familiar name, amongst other names like, Georgios kebab platter, Hilary's florist, Gys and Dols hair stylist, Klean dry cleaners, and J. Sainsbury, Rest in peace, funeral directors.. Dutta gave a crooked smile at the collection of the business, but observed that the newsagent seemed, the busiest as people went in and came out with packs of cigarettes and their early morning paper. Dutta pushed open the heavy glass door and an electronic entry bell tinkle, sounded as he stepped inside the shop. He scoured the shop that contained ,magazines, confectionary, sundry home ware items and two up right chilled drinks dispensers, invariably hard to miss. He caught sight of a garlanded picture of an elder, a small statue of Devi maa , and some gold Om signs. He walked in and looked around. The sweet distinct fragrance of aagar beti was hard to ignore.The big Asian lady behind the counter looked suspiciously and uncomfortably at this tall stranger, male dressed in all black and stubble ridden! with a balaclava over his head. She felt the panic button under the counter and pressed it. Soon a short potbellied, man who stacked shelves stood up and walked over to Dutta. Dutta , bowed his head stiffly and brought his folded knuckle to the corner of his mouth. But before he could verbalise his request for a water bottle, the police cars screeched outside and a British bobby in full uniform, entered with an audible walkie talkie and another followed the first one who appeared senior and hence he did the talking .."hello hello and what have we here , don't move and before you say anything may I tell you what you say may be used as against evidence in a court of law," he said curtly to Dutta, Dutta let the officer finish , and then squared his shoulders, and asked most perplexed, "officer I fail to understand why I am being treated in this strange manner, I just entered the shop with the intention of buying water and here you chaps grace us with your presence "he said resolutely with some authority. The officers relaxed a bit and turned to the woman behind the counter, "we answered to a panic button call from this premises, am I correct madame? the officer confirmed. The woman admitted, "yes I raised the alarm, when this man came in, I mean check out the way he is dressed! all in black!" she defended.The police officer a bit irked said, "so this gentleman didn't act suspicious and you just went by the way he looks called the police madame..so I take it you didn't ask him what he wanted?" questioned the officer.The man who confirmed he was the woman's husband , mumbled,embarrassed "no officer none of us attended to the man.."Dutta who stood amused with both arms folded across his chest, turned towards the officers and the one who asked questions, said formally, "ok Sir, can you show me some proof of identity, please?. Dutta nodded once with a ,"sure",and pulled out his ID badge and a highly red faced officer saluted and said,"beg your pardon Sir! just doing my duty," Dutta stood with his legs lightly apart and replied, with a degree of amusement, "I was beginning to wonder when you were going to ask for the most obvious thing in this situation.. but decided to stay quiet lest I subvert the way to justice as they say here.."he quipped. The door suddenly burst opened and in walked Major Jane with a big smile, and "what already in a spot of bother with the law Major Patil ?she questioned much amused. Both the shop keepers greeted her with a "hello major", and the boys in blue echoed as well, then Dutta realized she was a known figure here. She turned to the officer, "oh I vouch for who he is officer, he's residing at the Manor and is a visiting Indian army officer!" she shouted. The two shop keepers were extremely apologetic and Dutta folded his hands and did Namaste to them and then raised his palm as he indicated to forget about it. But the police officer reminded rather curtly, "madam had you shown some due diligence you could have avoided wasting police time",but Dutta felt he had to intervene,"I think ,she acted according to her instinct and sometimes that is necessary to save one's life and vandalism to one's property , so In my opinion, she acted wisely, by calling upon the police" he argued .The officer, too agreed on that one and said sheepishly, "yes I suppose one's safety comes first, so I'll treat this incident as resolved and closed, "and with that he saluted Dutta again and left. Both the shop keepers despite fresh customers , spoke to Dutta, "kam cho", Dutta hesitated a bit as he realized they spoke Gujerati, which he was not that au fait in, but still managed shyly, "maze mein",and briskly made his way to back of he shop to buy some room temperature still water. While his wife continued to served customers at the till behind the counter. The husband, approached Dutta, "so proud to have you in our shop Major so where are you from Gujerat?"Dutta was dying to speak in his own language replied, "nahin ji, main Mahrashtra se hoon, par yahan tu hum sirf Bahrat se hain'tu ap kahan se hain" Dutta enquired, the man replied that he as from Surat originally and came here some twenty years ago and has now settled here. Dutta smiled, and asked, "tu ap wapis India tu jate hoonge?,the man nodded and responded,"haan ji hum jata hain , hum nein Surat mein ek property buniya hai , tu wahan jate hain kuch months ke liye , yahan tab mera bhai business sambhala ta hai , tu we both take turns to go on holidays in the winter months.."he explained ,Dutta smiled in appreciation of the enterprising spirit of the Gujerati community in Britian,"haan ap bhut kuch contribute kar rehe hain UK ke economy ko,ise theran ,Bharat ka name roshan hota hai," he praised the shop keeper, and made way to the counter to pay. Jane too who came for cigarettes , stood beside him in her grey track kit and a white pair of runners. They both bade farewell and left the store. It was clearer now but the sky was still overcast, she peeled off the cellophane wrapping of her fags and offered one to Dutta , who brushed it with his palm. She pulled one out lit it and took in in a long drawn puff, and looked sideways at him as he walked beside him. He realized and turned his head towards the traffic and mumbled ,"thanks for vouching for me , although there wasn't much need as I had shown the officer proof of ID," she puffed and laughed as she stole sideways glances at his now face exposed balaclava head ,"have to say Major you do look like some kind of shady SAS guy , kind of thuggish, couldn't you have chosen a different colour , and just a simple beanie cap instead of what you're wearing.. no one wonder people go hubbub! and of course that stubble adds to your suspect coarseness," she teased, taking puffs upon puffs. He kept his face the other way as his jaw twitched, dangerously, "badteemeez aurat! samjhete kiya hai apne ap ko? Margret Thatcher !"he festered and replied formally, "look Major Ashworth never you mind too , how I look, besides I wear what I've got for a certain purpose", but she wasn't going to give up, oh but you most check out the sports wear shops , there's trendy stuff about, I'll take you if you like" she offered. He turned to her disinterested and instructed "better start jogging back to the manor Major,.."and much to his delight she flicked off her ciggy to the right side clearing , and carried on jogging next to him ,"he couldn't help but remark, "major that was a litter bug act that you just did , ummh you being an army officer ,do you not have a civil sense of cleanliness?" he reprimanded her, and she smiled as he jogged with a flirty "ooohh, very by the book you're major Dutta!". Before he could reply it started to spit with rain and he pulled his balaclava over his face only his narrow eyes and his stubble mouth exposed .They increased their jogging speed a bit as she spotted a Starbucks and yelled, "you carry on I'll join you! , Dutta carried on with his jog and noticed pedestrians had unfurled their brollies and so he was attentive to the fact that he jogged to one side of the foot path. Jane soon caught up with him and since the spitting had stopped she took him to an old unoccupied bench on the footpath, "here sit here it's a bit damp, so be sure you'll get a damp bottom , but never mind here have a coffee" and she handed him a piping hot paper beaker. He looked sideways at her with a ,"but I don't drink coffee",but she nudged his shoulder, with a "well you better drink it soldier and it's black as well!" to match the weather, and I daresay your mood now quick drink it up before you catch a chill!", she insisted. Without wishing to being rude Dutta sipped quietly, while she rested her cup on the floor and lit another cigarette , and yet again offered him another one which he declined with a firm "I don't smoke Major ,so stop offering me please," she noticed his strong attractive nose flared a little and she asked with immense curiosity, "tell me you have never smoked ? not even as a teenager,?".Dutta sipped his coffee and gulped it with much effort,"no I have never smoked ever, and apart from that, Major, I also despise having to be a passive smoker", Jane continued ,"tell me does your wife not smoke either? , Dutta's eyes lit up at the reference of his woman, he nodded, "nope she doesn't smoke either, and she would be very irate with me if she learns that I have contaminated myself in any shape or form "he said dryly. Jane turned to him as he sat with his legs apart, leaned forward with his paper cup in his fingerless gloves which also part revealed his pale slender fingers, "tell me Major Dutta are you a henpecked husband?" she asked unexpectedly, he turned his head towards her slowly ,and replied "yes I am henpecked husband, for my wife has considerable influence over me in all aspects of my life, and so far I have to confess, I wouldn't have it any other way.."he verified clearly. Jane seemed to take this conversation with this tough nut with a pinch of salt. She suggested they make their way back quickly as it as nearly 7.30.am. Dutta complacent that he had put her in her place, agreed and both binned their empty beakers of coffee in the large public dust bin and trained their way back to the manor. Bradley, who took his running exercise in the grounds, was nonplussed to see Dutta and Jane.Their gear spoke of the reason they were together, but Bradley was extremely dismissive of Jane's onslaughts on poor Dutta. He moved towards them as they decreased speed, "morning! all"and turned to Dutta,"I trust you slept ok, Dutta? ,who thumbed up shyly, which prompted Bradley to poke Dutta, "really Dutta that smug in a bug look you have on your face does it mean you slept with an inflated dolly?, he guffawed. Dutta squared up his shoulders and folded his arms across his chest and retorted," now do I look like the quirky sort to you?, and Bradley , nodded his head ,"well Dutta you never know ,it's always the shy ,quiet withdrawn ones who keep to no good," Dutta listened to his nonsense and felt the left side of his chest as he recalled Baji's aimless babble. Jane, looked at Dutta and sounded offregrettably,"oh I tell you, Bradley, Major Dutta wouldn't even dream of extracurricular activities, he is so by the book that he's almost incredibly saintly! Bradley turned to her mockingly, "why Jane! did you attempt to enter his inner sanctum!?", Jane protested ,"no I never did anything of the sort ,ask him you self" she said flirtingly. Dutta, not really amused shifted his narrow lion like eyes to both the fellow officers and excused himself, "ok officers , I'd better get to my room and organise myself for the rest of the day" and he tapped two of his fingers against his forehead ,and pulled of his balaclava off his head and ran his fingers through his hair and walked off stiffly with his left arm folded behind his back, taking long bold strides. Both remaining officers watched his back and nodded towards each, other as Jane, confirmed, "cool guy"!, and walked off, while Bradley, muttered, under his breath let's hope Dutta doesn't turn hot..as he had picked up stray stories about his temper from locals in his home town, about which Dutta never knew.
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Dutta, stepped out invigorated by the shower, and noted that Bertie had laid out his new UK uniform on a clothes trolley, ironed and ready to be worn ,complete with belt ,rank slides and other accessories. He reached for his phone. He had a missed call from Baji, and he held his mobile as he dialled it with a smile, now duty can wait for a mo' as far as his dil and jigar was concerned' but he did put on his earpiece for he would be multitasking'"haan Bajii bol? Sab theekh hain wahan par?" ,he asked, Baji,complained,"areee Bhao tum kaisa hai wahan pariyoon ke desh jate he apne, jaan ko tum bhool gaye, palat ker dekha bhi nehi ke mein kis hal mein hai" he whimpered and Dutta replied dryly "chaal ab rhoothe hoi biwi ke terhan behave kerna band kar aur udher ka haal bata! sab under control hai na?, Baji guffawed "bas Bhao , bas sab fitfat hai bas main teri yaad mein out of control hai! Dutta, slanted his head and growled," oyee you are bloody fraught to receive a bloody ghum ke tera kaan ke neeche , aacha bata woh teri vahini kise hai?"he asked shyly as he started to put on his disruptive pattern material, DPM woodland , green black and sand camouflaged uniform shirt. Baji, shouted excited, "areee apni tu nikal parre sun ke naku ab edhur he rehe ge! you know that, by the way I lied as I don't miss you as much Naku jo hai tera substitute!", he yelled, Dutta went "haan she told me", and he pulled on his matching DPM trousers with multiple carrier pockets.. on the lower torso, all the way down to the legs. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled up his olive green ribbed socks, while Baji carried on with his ,banter, "haan Bhao , main le ke jaye ga ,use Rehab centre aaj, tere tu baat hoi haina us se?, and before you ask woh theekh hai in fact she' s on a high ke PN mein rahe ge" he assured Dutta, who pulled on his black leather commando boots, with ten eyelets, steel toecaps and a thick screw on sole. Dutta, stood up to brush his hair in place and combed his contoured stubble, as he continued his phone conversation with Baji while he fixed his rank slide on his each of his shoulder,"woh Baji mujhe AS se Skype par baat kerna hai , tu tera kiya khayal hi, Naku manage ker sakte hai,? he asked innocently. Baji nodded his head and scratched his head from one side and thought," kya Bhao tum kyon mera saath lotcha kerta ho, sadhe tara bolo na Naku ke saath ankh mataka karna hai tumko!! he cackled ,and an aggravated Dutta growled ,"bikwas maat kar, is mein haraan hone wali kya baat hai? AS maa hai meri bemaaar rehte hain tu , of course I want to see how she appears," he clarified, and Baji gave a full on dimpled smile and replied, "haan sab janta hai ke tu kitna hoonhar aur unke har baat mane wali sapoot hai.. fauji beita..!he said as he voice began to choke. Dutta, sensed his mate's sudden silence and said gently "aacha dekh, Baji I am putting my new uniform on ,getting ready for breakfast, so tu abhi ja and ummmh, us Naku ko bol dena I called and AS ko kehna that main theekh hoon.." and the call ended . Dutta took off his ear piece patted his face with his cologne and put on his black leather belt around the waist of his shirt. Finally he put on his gabardine DPM camouflaged combat jacket with four large button pockets, two zip chest pockets, rank slide and waist adjuster. He checked himself in the long wardrobe mirror, and slanted his woodland green leather banded woollen beret on his head' and pocketed his phone, as he left his room ..
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Breakfast was a much livelier set up. The sight of Officers in combat uniform spoke a tale of some troops in front line attack. The smells of fry ups filled the air as the officers breakfasted. Captains Butterworth, Landsworth and Huntington, all rose to salute Dutta as they noted in awe this handsome Indian officer in British camouflaged uniform. He bowed and waited for them to be seated and then sat himself down. He was served cereal oatmeal porridge which he refused, and remembered how Naku would fuss round him when she served him poha , which he continuously declined.. but how he missed it now ,as he buttered his whole meal toasts, and gradually deep in her thoughts he munched ,chomped and swallowed his toasts. He dabbed his stubble mouth every so often as he realized there was no Naku here to give him her sign language message about a crusty stubble!
Once breakfast was done, all officers made way towards the foyer where the proceedings for the course were out lined. The introductions were the main order of the day, that would last for the greater part of the day, with a break for lunch and after evening meal the officers were given the time to use as they wished. The conference room were an admixture of old and new traditional styles, it was again carpeted, with wooden, high chairs with padded seats covered with floral tapestry. Two sides of the adjacent walls were lined with rows of wood carved book cases, that displayed neatly catalogued volumes of war, history, politics and philosophy adding to the staid scholarly character of the huge study cum conference room. To celebrate the military affairs a huge painting of Duke of wellington in full military arms graced one of the walls. Several wood backed walled mounted coat of arms along the historical ages ,fascinated Dutta to no end . However the overhead projector and screen looked like a poxy boil on the face of the grand traditional setting. The officers milled in first before the session, small formal bops of heads and eye contacts. Dutta responded to who so ever approached him. He at one point felt he was the only Asian around, not that it mattered ,but looking at the current population trend of UK ,his expectation was that he was likely to see more officers from the ethnic minorities as well. His anticipation was rewarded in the shape of Major, Agbanyaka from Nigeria. He was pleasantly surprised as two young Asian officers approached , "Sir", they both saluted, and Dutta's narrow eyes smiled as he doubled his chin and with squared shoulders commanded these to Captains to stand at ease. He leaned over, the male officer, and read his rank and name slide, "so kahan se ho ap, Captian Mahendra Kumar "he said in clear cut hindi, and the captain replied, "from Surrey Sir!, in a clear London accent, and Dutta shook his head and clarified," yahan se nahin India se batao? Ummh you can understand and speak Hindi, can't you young man,? Dutta said with a raised eyebrow. The taken aback captain, confessed," yes! Sir, I do understand Hindi but ,well embarrassed to speak it ,it comes out in a British accent Sir". Dutta threw his head back a little and instructed with a slanted smile, "well I suggest that you'd best practice your spoken Hindi skills, after all it is your mother tongue," he said firmly. He was pleasantly surprised to hear the voice of the female officer,"Sir! main bhi Captain Kumar, ko yehe kethe hoon woh mera saath practice ker sakta hain, aur Sir" main Mumbai ke rehana wale hoon,", informed Captain Sneha Gupta to a well pleased Dutta. Then as he realized it was time to start, the session, her relapsed in the language of the land, "ok delighted to meet you officers! let's get to our seats for the session. He gazed at the two officers, as they sought unoccupied seats , and thought, interesting fact..that he needs to face more and more is that he will come across many young Asians born and bred here with perfect British accents! who comprehend their home root languages but may not speak it as readily as he would have liked them to. The session began with formal introductions of officers. Dutta, was applauded immensely by Bradley and some of the officers he had met last night. He smartly walked towards the podium and in his guttural voice spoke on behalf of his nation," well officers I come here hoping to in gain information, which in a crux is, issues regarding how best to train infantry soldiers in new technological skills. I am in particular interested in the use of off shelf radios, computers, GPS, weapon sights and cameras, as compared to conventional systems still prevalent". After, Dutta finished, the officiating General Ramsey ,gave a synopsis of the areas the course would be covering, an interested Dutta noted that they were topics that he had taught during his tutoring days, like that of Awareness, and lethality , however clothing and use of power supplies would be more worthwhile in developing more understanding of. The general further explained, that this system will improve a soldiers situational awareness, lethality plus survivability. He explained it would also take into account that it affords ease and comfort of soldier operation. Dutta, now in a spectator ,learning situation ,reiterated his intake aloud ,when granted permission to speak in open floor input, "so Sir! you really are bringing home the capability areas, of command, control, communications, computers and intelligence; also then,when you refer to lethality you relating this to weaponry and sights", confirmed Dutta and the General, further carried on explaining with less jargon and more simplicity of language, "yes furthermore the course will also deal with mobility, which will touch areas of navigation, size, and weight of equipment; finally officers we will be looking at survivability, which will concentrate on clothing, stealth , body armour and sustainability which takes logistical considerations.The officers ended up much more informed about the way things would be looking in the near future, and it was time to wind up the session for the day. Lunch followed and many officers, afterwards either went to explore the building, or retired to their rooms. Dutta, showered and changed into casual smart mufti. He realized that no matter what he wore, he had to wear a jacket or a smock outdoors..
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"chaal ,Naku ,beithe ja ,jeep mein , phir tu bolo ge ke main late kerta hoon," complained Baji as he sat in the driver seat of Dutta's jeep .He looked sideways at Naku and alerted her,"aree, Naku apne seat belt baand le, kuch ho gayea thujhe tu Bhao mujhe is jahan se he uthe de ga, aura agar mein ne soooside bhi kar liya tu who pataal se bhi mujhe khench le ga," he scratched his head. Naku shook her head and Roops traipsed along and yelled "Baji rok! ,me coming as well! AS ne bola hai I am to help collect Naku's stuff as well. Baji banged his head and moaned, "Deva Shapat! just when it was safe to come out! ye Roops ke baache saath chaal parte hai,!"he complained to Naku, who bowed her neck gently and advised, "Baji, let her come please, I don't want her to feel excluded, you know that she too is likely to miss Saab, waise bhi.. it'll be good for me to ,there might be things in my packing that I would feel uncomfortable within myself if you were about, tu leave it," and she turned towards Roops and ordered ,"chaal hop in the back or do you want to sit next to Baji", she asked teasingly. Baji ,shook his head, "no Naku you sit where you are ,waise bhi aagar ye mera saath agge hoi tu sara rasta mujhe marte hoi jaye ge !"he said as he winked at Roops in the back seat and she pinched a chunk of his shoulder and Baji yelped ,"dekha Naku ye lardki nehi ek bala hai , budrooh!" ,he moaned as he revved his engine and shot out of PN. Naku ,looked at Baji ,and remarked, "dehko you two, kuch daer mein tumhara lagan hona wali hai ,tum dono ise theran bicker kerte rahe tu kaise chaala ga..batao mujhe?"she questioned anxiously "areeey Naku, ye tu hum dono aise he firing kerte rehte hai, tu kyon chinta kerti hai, upar upar se" he assured her, and Roops haulded her self from the back and hugged Naku's shoulders ,"awww vahini ,Baji is right ,till we don't have a gibe at each other humien chaien nehi ata , you can say humri bahut understanding hai",Roops said, lovingly, and Baji said "haan Naku, I understand that she is a first class kid, and me big man the lal tern!, and Roops, yelled, "Vahini, me going to phone Bhao and tell off him for sure"! she threatened. Naku smiled quietly at the reference to her lover and her fingers twitched nervously. Baji too was sensitive to Naku's little turns of bashfulness whenever his Bhao's zikr was made, he decided this was the opportune moment to talk technology, "woh Naku, you know this place you're setting up will you have computers there as well? he threw in. A perplexed Naku, nodded her head, "yes but why do you ask?, but he chipped in ,"so it obviously means that you can use computers comfortably?", he further pried, and she confidently replied "of course I can use it confidently ,it was part of my training, in ordering and maintaining resources" she confirmed. Baji , struck the cord, "ok phir tu you can use Skype? haina?. Naku heard what he said, but bit her lip , there was no way she could say to Baji,..haan and she would give anything to see her lionman!, that would be too embarrassing, Baji is like a brother to her soo' Baji while driving knew exactly what Naku was thinking and he mused , areey Dev shapat ye Bhao aur Naku dono he bahut bare khiladhi hai, saaf saaf nehe bolte.. maan mein kya chaal raha hai.. he give a dimpled smile and thought but un dono ka baap hai Baji Rao Patil!. He looked at Naku sideways and said clearly, "woh kya Naku! this morning I spoke to Bhao us ko AS ke bahut yaad ah rehe the, tu he ordered me to ask you to arrange a mother and son Skype session, on your lappie, kar le ge na tu?"he asked, as he tried to be serious and Naku, nodded shyly and replied, "ummh yes, I could give it a try, and if I get stuck tu Roops can help me out, haina Roops? she asked, and Roops happily agreed, with an exuberant "yes! then I get to talk to Bhao as well !"Baji, held his head and thought, "arrey Deva, Bhao wants talk to Naku aur edhur tu pura khandan tayeer hai ! Bhao to mujhe bad management ke case mein goli maar de ga!" he griped.. Baji arrived at the rehab centre and dropped off Naku. Roops and Baji talked and quarrelled over the silliest of things. Both were content as whatever! , with each other's company however obnoxious, they still desired each other more than anything else in the world , it's like they were used to being in each others faces.. Naku had her prelim meeting with the manager of the centre, they discussed matters pertaining to setting up , identifying provisions, ordering bedding and equipment all state of the arts for consulting rooms, and overhauling cum maintenance of existing resources. Naku prepared a report there and then and both of them looked at the draft report. Naku was pleased as she could see that she would make use of her skills here, where they were much needed. Both manager and deputy parted on an positive note, which foretold of an amicable and productive partnership, towards community service..
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Dutta answered the landline. It was Bradley, "hey, mate going down to the local, so thought of you, comme on then leg it ,waiting for you.. nope don't even think of turning it down, you can't be here and not visit the local ,it's the done thing Dutta so come on down!", he insisted. Dutta shook his head and finally put on his super casual style waffle knit pattern zippered hoodie, collected his, keys and phone and made his made towards the entrance to join Bradley and company' to be continued ~ Hamlet53. 12.10.12
Precap: "nehi Dutta, Naku kam pe nehi hai, kuch theekh nahin hai aaj woh, informed AS.
Edited by Hamlet53 - 12 years ago
She has to pick up some tips from our very own persuasive yet shy, demure oriental khani to make any inroads at all lol. Since our sher has proudly admitted he is a hen pecked husband, its an uphil task for Janii, hardluck lady. 
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
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