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Chapter 6 B-Dheere dheere jiya ko bhaayo re Saibo
Amit looked fidgety on the dining table and Rohan was really curious on what had excited his normally calm, serious, mature cousin. But he thought it wise to hold his silence in front of his mom and Kaki as they would overreact and Amit would clam up. He needn't have worried for, as soon as they were out of earshot, Amit hurriedly turned to him and said,"Rohan, please tell me the way to Qwiky's Coffee shop near our college. Please yaar!" Rohan's jaw dropped in surprise. "Amit, teri tabiyat toh theek hai na? Tu aur coffee shop?" "Yes, its urgent. I have to meet Snehal there tomorrow at 4. She will..." "You what?"Rohan cut Amit mid-sentence,"Wait, wait, hold on. Am I hearing this correctly? You are meeting a girl at a coffee shop?" Rohan's interruption had brought Amit back to his senses and he was embarrassed and self-conscious now. He tried to downplay it,"Haan,woh...no big deal, I am meeting two juniors, Arush and Snehal at that coffee shop. Woh kya naam tha uska? Haan, Qwiky's...to mentor them for their Intrend presentation." "Achha bachchu? Shaanpatti aur woh bhi mere saath? Itne din toh jab bhi main bulaaun, mujhe daanta tha ki main time waste na karun. Aur ab miyaan khud ladki ke saath date pe jaa rahe hain. Aur ladki ka naam kya hai? Haan, Snehal! Tu ruk, main abhi kaaki ko bataata hoon ki unka laadla bigad gaya." Falguni was just walking back from the kitchen carrying the rabdi Nani had made for Amit but she saw Amit had already walked away from the table and was almost near his room. "Arre, Amit..." she tried calling and then turned to Rohan concerned, "isko kya ho gaya? Maine Amit ko bola tha ki aaj Nani ne Rabdi banaayi hai." Rohan knew it is useless ko mock-complain to Kaki now since Amit was not here. So, he sought to assuage Falguni's concern. "Arre, kuch nahi Kaki. He was tired after the long day of Intrend evaluation at college. Mujhe Rabdi nahi milegi?" he asked with a cute pout. "Kisne kaha? Yeh lo" Falguni smiled and happily served him. "Hmm! Bahut acchi hai kaki" Rohan quipped busily devouring the Rabdi while his mind was whirring,"Amit is interested in a girl after so many years? Wow! I have to find out more about this Snehal. But I'll have to be discreet..."
"Party time!" Amita burst into Preeti's room where the rest were gossiping under the pretence of studying. "Party? Kis baat ki?" Preeti asked surprised. "I just saw one of the banners they are
putting up for Intrend at the Nehru Street junction and guess who is coming to judge our presentation?" Amita was super excited. "Arre hoga koi khadoos buddha! Tu kyun itna khush ho rahi hai iske liye? Khadoos buddha hoga toh winning easy ho jaayega kya?" Aarti teased getting hit by a pillow in response. "Chup kar, idiot, Suraj Raizada is coming! Eee!" Amita squeaed in delight. "Yaar, is Suraj Raizada mein hai kya? Uske naam pe yeh Ammu itni hyper kyun ho jaati hai hamesha?" Jigna was annoyed as well as curious at the same time. "I am not complaining. Har saal uske birthday pe treat deti hai, muft khaane ke baare mein zyaada sochna nahi chaahiye" Aarti wisely advised."Oho! Tum logon se baat karna hi bekaar hai. You know what a big deal it is that Suraj is coming to our college? He is one of India's leading businessmen, an amazing entrepreneur. He was voted one of the prestigious Young Turks couple of years ago. His company is predicted to become one of the Fortune Global 500 companies next year. He is young, charming, educated, successful. Arre, he is the Ranbir Kapoor of the business world. In short, he is my dream man!" Amita finished with a flourish. She was a little disappointed to see that her friends had turned glassy-eyed and were barely sharing her enthusiasm. "Fine! Ok! Main samajh gayi tum logon ko meri likes mein koi interest nahi hai. I too dont care, ok?" She retorted angrily and huffed and sat down on the edge of the bed, only to be drowned in a group hug from her three friends. "Chup kar, stupid! You know we all love you and your likes, crazy as they may be!" Aarti said, smiling while Preeti and Jigna too nodded and they all started their playful pillow fight.
Preeti parked her scooty and nervously adjusted her kurti and hair looking at the rear view mirror. "Relax, you are only going to discuss the presentation", her mind said but she knew in her heart
of hearts that it was not just about the presentation. She had spoken to Sanjay only a few times after their first meeting at the Freshers' Welcome Party and most of them were a quick "Hi! How areyou?" when they passed each other on the campus. So, this was the first time they would be meeting outside campus. As much as she denied it shyly to her friends, she liked Sanjay. She did not know him much but she liked the always smiling, helpful, decent guy. He made her feel comfortable in his company, no doubt about that! Why else would she have agreed to meet him alone? With all these thoughts running in her mind, she walked to the coffee shop entrance. Sanjay was already there waiting. His eyes lit up as soon as he saw her and he gave her a warm smile. "Hi, Preeti! After you..." and he held the door open for her. Preeti smiled at the gentlemanly gesture and walked in. They were seated at one of the window-side tables with sofa-seats which gave them a great view and some privacy too. Not that they had to fear anyone seeing them and mistaking them as this joint was mostly frequented only by college students and sometimes the staff. "What would you like to have, Preeti?" "Umm...Mango smoothie?" "A Frappuccino for me" Sanjay added. "Anything to eat?" asked the bearer noting down the order. "No, I am good" both answered simultaneously and glanced at each other and smiled. After the bearer left, there was a lull in the conversation with both of them wondering what next to talk about without seeming too eager and bashful. Preeti started to look around. Sanjay flipped open his laptop and brought up the presentation. "Ok, main kal raat ko tumhara presentation dekh raha tha. As I said, it is good overall. There are a few rough edges that we need to work on, it should be fine after that. I have a few suggestions that I have marked here..." Preeti opened her notepad to jot down points. And the next 45 minutes went by with Sanjay at his senior best, patiently explaining concepts, aspects of formal presentations, rewording some points, rearranging some slides. Preeti was a patient listener and sincere learner and she appreciated his sincerity in her mind while she busily took notes. Some of the suggestions seemed confusing to Preeti and she would ask Sanjay to elaborate. She would quip "Wow, I didn't know that!" or "Yes, that makes sense now" at the end of those explanations. Since they were engrossed in their work, it didnt take the waiter too much to convince them when he smartly asked them if he should refill their order alongwith a club sandwich. They simply nodded to him and carried on with their discussion. They were soon done with their work. "Amita will love this!" Preeti said enthusiastically capping her pen. "I'll email you the updated copy and you both can discuss today or tomorrow. We can then have a couple of mock sessions before the final day." Sanjay suggested. "Oh, that would be great! Thank you so much! You are so sincere and thorough even though this is rather a favour that you are doing for us." Preeti said with a sincere smile. "Not at all, it is a pleasure and a learning experience for me too." Sanjay smiled. Anyone who saw them just now would think they had been friends for a while, they both looked so comfortable with each other. "Ok...uh, I think I'll leave now." Preeti somewhat hesitantly checked her watch and said. Sanjay called for the bill and they both paid their share. After walking out, Preeti turned around and smiled, "See you in college, Sanjay! Thank you so much once again!" "Most welcome and yes, see you, bye!", Sanjay smiled and they parted ways.
Once again, sorry for messing up! This chapter didn't seem satisfactory to me. I wanted to do the coffee shop meetings of both couples in one chapter and wanted to go forward with Suraj's introduction and character. But too much going on in asli duniya, I became numb these past two weeks with the serial and I am going on a vacation today.
Next chapter is about Amit-Snehal's meeting at the coffee shop, Amita's Suraj Raizada (the surname is a nod to one of my favourite TV characters :)) fangirling and some more hopefully. Will get started with it when I come back from vacation. Miss me till then ;-)
So, happy holidays everybody and a very happy new year! Lets hope this new year will bring us cheer in the form of a new avatar for Nishad and Chandni. :)
Amit looked fidgety on the dining table and Rohan was really curious on what had excited his normally calm, serious, mature cousin. But he thought it wise to hold his silence in front of his mom and Kaki as they would overreact and Amit would clam up. He needn't have worried for, as soon as they were out of earshot, Amit hurriedly turned to him and said,"Rohan, please tell me the way to Qwiky's Coffee shop near our college. Please yaar!" Rohan's jaw dropped in surprise. "Amit, teri tabiyat toh theek hai na? Tu aur coffee shop?" "Yes, its urgent. I have to meet Snehal there tomorrow at 4. She will..." "You what?"Rohan cut Amit mid-sentence,"Wait, wait, hold on. Am I hearing this correctly? You are meeting a girl at a coffee shop?" Rohan's interruption had brought Amit back to his senses and he was embarrassed and self-conscious now. He tried to downplay it,"Haan,woh...no big deal, I am meeting two juniors, Arush and Snehal at that coffee shop. Woh kya naam tha uska? Haan, Qwiky's...to mentor them for their Intrend presentation." "Achha bachchu? Shaanpatti aur woh bhi mere saath? Itne din toh jab bhi main bulaaun, mujhe daanta tha ki main time waste na karun. Aur ab miyaan khud ladki ke saath date pe jaa rahe hain. Aur ladki ka naam kya hai? Haan, Snehal! Tu ruk, main abhi kaaki ko bataata hoon ki unka laadla bigad gaya." Falguni was just walking back from the kitchen carrying the rabdi Nani had made for Amit but she saw Amit had already walked away from the table and was almost near his room. "Arre, Amit..." she tried calling and then turned to Rohan concerned, "isko kya ho gaya? Maine Amit ko bola tha ki aaj Nani ne Rabdi banaayi hai." Rohan knew it is useless ko mock-complain to Kaki now since Amit was not here. So, he sought to assuage Falguni's concern. "Arre, kuch nahi Kaki. He was tired after the long day of Intrend evaluation at college. Mujhe Rabdi nahi milegi?" he asked with a cute pout. "Kisne kaha? Yeh lo" Falguni smiled and happily served him. "Hmm! Bahut acchi hai kaki" Rohan quipped busily devouring the Rabdi while his mind was whirring,"Amit is interested in a girl after so many years? Wow! I have to find out more about this Snehal. But I'll have to be discreet..."
"Party time!" Amita burst into Preeti's room where the rest were gossiping under the pretence of studying. "Party? Kis baat ki?" Preeti asked surprised. "I just saw one of the banners they are
putting up for Intrend at the Nehru Street junction and guess who is coming to judge our presentation?" Amita was super excited. "Arre hoga koi khadoos buddha! Tu kyun itna khush ho rahi hai iske liye? Khadoos buddha hoga toh winning easy ho jaayega kya?" Aarti teased getting hit by a pillow in response. "Chup kar, idiot, Suraj Raizada is coming! Eee!" Amita squeaed in delight. "Yaar, is Suraj Raizada mein hai kya? Uske naam pe yeh Ammu itni hyper kyun ho jaati hai hamesha?" Jigna was annoyed as well as curious at the same time. "I am not complaining. Har saal uske birthday pe treat deti hai, muft khaane ke baare mein zyaada sochna nahi chaahiye" Aarti wisely advised."Oho! Tum logon se baat karna hi bekaar hai. You know what a big deal it is that Suraj is coming to our college? He is one of India's leading businessmen, an amazing entrepreneur. He was voted one of the prestigious Young Turks couple of years ago. His company is predicted to become one of the Fortune Global 500 companies next year. He is young, charming, educated, successful. Arre, he is the Ranbir Kapoor of the business world. In short, he is my dream man!" Amita finished with a flourish. She was a little disappointed to see that her friends had turned glassy-eyed and were barely sharing her enthusiasm. "Fine! Ok! Main samajh gayi tum logon ko meri likes mein koi interest nahi hai. I too dont care, ok?" She retorted angrily and huffed and sat down on the edge of the bed, only to be drowned in a group hug from her three friends. "Chup kar, stupid! You know we all love you and your likes, crazy as they may be!" Aarti said, smiling while Preeti and Jigna too nodded and they all started their playful pillow fight.
Preeti parked her scooty and nervously adjusted her kurti and hair looking at the rear view mirror. "Relax, you are only going to discuss the presentation", her mind said but she knew in her heart
of hearts that it was not just about the presentation. She had spoken to Sanjay only a few times after their first meeting at the Freshers' Welcome Party and most of them were a quick "Hi! How areyou?" when they passed each other on the campus. So, this was the first time they would be meeting outside campus. As much as she denied it shyly to her friends, she liked Sanjay. She did not know him much but she liked the always smiling, helpful, decent guy. He made her feel comfortable in his company, no doubt about that! Why else would she have agreed to meet him alone? With all these thoughts running in her mind, she walked to the coffee shop entrance. Sanjay was already there waiting. His eyes lit up as soon as he saw her and he gave her a warm smile. "Hi, Preeti! After you..." and he held the door open for her. Preeti smiled at the gentlemanly gesture and walked in. They were seated at one of the window-side tables with sofa-seats which gave them a great view and some privacy too. Not that they had to fear anyone seeing them and mistaking them as this joint was mostly frequented only by college students and sometimes the staff. "What would you like to have, Preeti?" "Umm...Mango smoothie?" "A Frappuccino for me" Sanjay added. "Anything to eat?" asked the bearer noting down the order. "No, I am good" both answered simultaneously and glanced at each other and smiled. After the bearer left, there was a lull in the conversation with both of them wondering what next to talk about without seeming too eager and bashful. Preeti started to look around. Sanjay flipped open his laptop and brought up the presentation. "Ok, main kal raat ko tumhara presentation dekh raha tha. As I said, it is good overall. There are a few rough edges that we need to work on, it should be fine after that. I have a few suggestions that I have marked here..." Preeti opened her notepad to jot down points. And the next 45 minutes went by with Sanjay at his senior best, patiently explaining concepts, aspects of formal presentations, rewording some points, rearranging some slides. Preeti was a patient listener and sincere learner and she appreciated his sincerity in her mind while she busily took notes. Some of the suggestions seemed confusing to Preeti and she would ask Sanjay to elaborate. She would quip "Wow, I didn't know that!" or "Yes, that makes sense now" at the end of those explanations. Since they were engrossed in their work, it didnt take the waiter too much to convince them when he smartly asked them if he should refill their order alongwith a club sandwich. They simply nodded to him and carried on with their discussion. They were soon done with their work. "Amita will love this!" Preeti said enthusiastically capping her pen. "I'll email you the updated copy and you both can discuss today or tomorrow. We can then have a couple of mock sessions before the final day." Sanjay suggested. "Oh, that would be great! Thank you so much! You are so sincere and thorough even though this is rather a favour that you are doing for us." Preeti said with a sincere smile. "Not at all, it is a pleasure and a learning experience for me too." Sanjay smiled. Anyone who saw them just now would think they had been friends for a while, they both looked so comfortable with each other. "Ok...uh, I think I'll leave now." Preeti somewhat hesitantly checked her watch and said. Sanjay called for the bill and they both paid their share. After walking out, Preeti turned around and smiled, "See you in college, Sanjay! Thank you so much once again!" "Most welcome and yes, see you, bye!", Sanjay smiled and they parted ways.
Once again, sorry for messing up! This chapter didn't seem satisfactory to me. I wanted to do the coffee shop meetings of both couples in one chapter and wanted to go forward with Suraj's introduction and character. But too much going on in asli duniya, I became numb these past two weeks with the serial and I am going on a vacation today.
Next chapter is about Amit-Snehal's meeting at the coffee shop, Amita's Suraj Raizada (the surname is a nod to one of my favourite TV characters :)) fangirling and some more hopefully. Will get started with it when I come back from vacation. Miss me till then ;-)
So, happy holidays everybody and a very happy new year! Lets hope this new year will bring us cheer in the form of a new avatar for Nishad and Chandni. :)
CID
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
