Hi Everyone,
I have decided to try my hand at writing my first long FF based on our favourite Samaina. Here is a story that has been playing on my mind for a while now.
The central characters will be the same as our show, but I will introduce a few characters as per the demands of the storyline. Main deviation that I am introducing here is that Sameer is a few years older to Naina and they have never been classmates/schoolmates.
Hope you all enjoy reading this! And I eagerly look forward to your feedback as always 😊
Lots of love,
May.
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you - Maya Angelou
The Reluctant Groom and His Accidental Bride
Chapter 1
It was about eight in the morning and there was still some time before the sun would start making its presence felt very strongly. Though the summer holidays were coming to an end and most schools and colleges were set to reopen for a new academic year over the next couple of weeks, it was still quite hot for the time of the year. The Agarwal household was experiencing more than its usual share of hustle and bustle this morning. Bela was serving breakfast and a second round of tea for the morning and all the while urging the girls to bathe early today. Taiji was attempting to keep up with Pralay and cajoling him to finish his milk, while simultaneously criticizing the thickness of the dal parathas cooked by Bela. Chachaji was just finishing up his Pooja, while Naina and Preeti were ironing some saree blouses and neatly laying out all the accessories to be worn today for Taiji's approval.
There was a sense of excitement in the air, as the family was to attend the wedding of the daughter of a close family friend. As per Taiji this marriage was nothing short of a miracle, as the bride in question was a manglik and was finally getting married at the advanced age of 28. Friends and relatives had long given up hopes of seeing her settled in life and then along came an unmarried manglik boy of 32 as an answer to everyone's prayers. Taiji heavily attributed this miracle to the fact that the bride and groom's families were devotees of a renowned and widely revered Guruji. She time and again expressed her hope that maybe the Guruji might deem the unmarried girls of their house worthy of his blessings too, especially the poor motherless Naina for whom there was otherwise no real hope of a decent alliance. Hoping that the girls would catch the eye of some prospective in-laws, she had ordered the girls to wear sarees and accessorize appropriately.
Naina who had long mastered the art of ignoring these taunts and predictions for her dire future, was happily looking forward to spending some time doting over Pooja didi's 2-year-old chubby son Gaurav aptly nicknamed Golu, as their family would be attending the wedding too. Preeti was in good spirits at the prospect of some mouth-watering food. Apparently, the bride's family had hired a bunch of cooks from Baroda for the event! Bela was also pleased about the opportunity to dress-up and take a day off from all the other household duties.
All in all, everyone was in high sprits for various reasons, except Rakesh of course! He was ranting about being forced to take a day off from work when there was so much to be done with ordering books for the new year and how this would mean extra workload for him to catch-up on the next day. Though nobody voiced it, almost everyone wondered just how much could go wrong in a school library in a day especially while the school holidays were on. Tauji reminded him "Rakesh kabhi kabhi hume dusro ke baare mein bhi soochna chahiye. Biradari mein humse logo ki koi umeede hoti hai. Kal tumhari Beti ki shaadi hogi tab tum bhi chahoge ke log waqt neekal ke usse ashirwaad dene aaye. Taiji immediately made a dig "O bai! Aapko such mooch aaisa lagta hai? Inka bus chale toh ek paisa kharch na kare... biradari walo ko pyar se khana khilayenge yeh?" Rakesh countered as he exited the room, "Lo yeh phir shuru ho gayi. Mujhe neecha dikhane ka koi bhi mauka nahi chod sakti yeh! Bela instructed the girls to head inside to get ready shaking her head and muttering to herself that she would probably die listening to these dialogues.
Meanwhile in another part of the town in the Maheshwari household Mr Jaiprakash Maheshwari was explaining to his grandson the importance of attending a wedding with him, "Sameer beta wo Patelji humare bohoot purane aur bade client hai. Aur unhone bohoot pyar se hume aapni khushi mein shamil hone ko kaha hai. Beta bohoot intezaar ke baad unke ghar aaj yeh khushi ka mauka aaya hai. Patelji apne bete Sunil ki shaadi ke sapne saalo se dekh rahe hai, par koi na koi badha aa hi rahi thi... ladka manglik hai. Ab jaake pai-tees ki umar mein shaadi ho rahi hai. Sameer tried to argue "Nanu aap toh ja hi rahe hai... main waha aake kya karunga? But Nanu was convinced that social norms demanded that Sameer accompany him. Also, though he was not an overtly religious person he deeply respected the Guruji who was expected to be at this wedding and wanted Sameer to seek his blessings. "Sameer, agle saal tera college khatam ho jayega, tab se tujhe inn sab logo ke sath hi kaam karna hai. Beta, business ke liye bhi yeh achaa hai ke tum humare clients se milna julna shuru karo.
Couple of hours later Sameer found himself reluctantly dressed in a maroon kurta and cream shalwar in the car with Nanaji, travelling to the wedding venue. The roads were very busy today. They had already come across 3-4 wedding processions where the baraatis were dancing wildly to the loud music, slowly making their way to the respective wedding venues. Sameer observed one of the bridegrooms atop a horse wearing a large headpiece and a sword at his hip. He found it rather comical and wondered what exactly the groom thought he was up to. Did he think he was heading to win some battle and earn himself a new kingdom? But then again, in all likelihood, this is as close as the guy would ever come to becoming a king. A King for a day and a Ghulam for a lifetime... Sameer thought amused. Not in a million years would he want to be in that guys shoes!
This was turning out to be one of the most painful things he had done in his life, Sameer thought as he tried to ignore the smiles being bestowed on him by the groom's sister. Nanaji had pretty much left him to his own devices after introducing him to some of the young members of the Patel family. The groom's sister Sheetal had taken an immediate fancy to him and had made every attempt possible to keep him by her side for the last hour or so.
Some pooja preceding the actual wedding ceremony had just been completed and the exchange of garlands was now to happen in a few minutes. Sameer had noticed some of the ladies on the groom's side looking at him and Sheetal with a great deal of interest. To avoid any further speculation, he took the first opportunity that arose to get away from the main raised platform and volunteered when one of the aunts asked for some help to carry a few things to the rooms being used for storage. Soon he found his arms full of an assortment of thaalis to be put away. The aunt pointed him in the direction of a room towards the back. As he walked to the room, he noticed his Nanaji and a bunch of other elders sitting around the venerated Guruji and listening to him with great attention. He wondered how people were able to have so much faith in the unknown. He usually indulged his Nanu by doing the bare minimum that was expected from him when it came to this all religious stuff, but it had not made a lot of sense to him yet.
Suddenly a toddler ran across Sameer's path. He somehow managed to avoid tripping over the kid, but before he could feel any relief he felt someone ram into him with a force that knocked the air out his lungs. All the contents of the thaalis he had been carrying flew into the air. The next instant he found a girl in a red/orange saree sitting awkwardly on the ground in front of him covered in the Haldi, Sindoor, some puffs of cotton, flowers and few other things that had been in his thaali a moment before. As he tried to catch his breath, a fleeting thought ran across his mind - for someone so petite she surely was a force to be reckoned with. She looked up at him in a daze for a moment before screaming out to the toddler "Golu!!! Ruk ja... Main tujhe ladoo dungi. She faltered as she tired to stand up and Sameer reached out to hold her hand helping her get back on her feet. Belatedly she noticed the state of her clothes and look of horror fleeted across her face. As both blurted "Sorry " at the same moment, an overweight woman with an even more overbearing personality approached them hollering at the girl "O bai! Naina yeh kya kar diya tune? Naye kapde turant kharab kar liye. Har waqt hawa pe sawar hoti hai. Aandhi ho gayi hai kya? Naina mumbled "Taiji, wo main toh Golu ko pakad rahi thi. Wo itna teej bhag raha tha... " The lady cut her short "Ek kaam thik se nahi hota iss ladki se. Ab apna huliya thik kar jaldi. Pata bhi hai haldi aur sindoor ke daag utarna kitna mushkil hota hai?
Couple of meters away, Guruji who had been observing the event smiled slightly and calmly announced to the people surrounding him "Yeh dekhiye vidhata ka ek aur chamatkar. Aaj hum yeha aaye thay ek vivaah ke liye, pur usse bhi pehele ek aur vivaah sampan ho gaya! Issiliye main kehta hu chinta karne ki koi avashakta nahi hoti hain. Vidhi ka leekha toh atal hota hai. Ab iss vivahit dampati ko Ashirwad lene idhar bulaiye. To say that everyone around him was shocked would be a huge understatement. But, Jaiprakashji almost felt the ground slip from beneath him. He started "Guruji, Yeh aap kya keh rahe hai? Aaise kaise shaadi ho sakti hai... Pata nahi ladki kaun hai aur kaisi hai. Aur dono ek dusre ko jaante bhi nahi hai. Guruji put his hand on Jaiprakashji's shoulder and replied "Ek dusre ko jaante nahi toh kya hua? Aage ki saari zindagi padi hai... jaan hi lenge.
He then stood up and walked to where Sameer and Naina were standing with Taiji. "Aare behenji yeh daag nahi aap ki bachi ki suhaag ki neeshaniya hai. Seeing Guruji addressing her Taiji found herself completely overwhelmed and speechless for the probably first time in the last couple of decades. Turning to Sameer and Naina he said "Ashirwaad le lo beta... Not quite following what was happening but seeing Taiji gesturing to her Naina quickly bent and touched Guruji's feet. Guruji addressed Sameer "Beta, aapni ardhangini ke sath aao. Aaise awsar par dono ko sath hi ashirwaad lena chahiye Sameer looked around and found everyone in the vicinity looking in their direction with rapt attention and expectations. He had not followed most of what the Guruji had said but had understood that he wanted Sameer to seek his blessings too just like the girl. As he leaned forward and paid his respects, Guruji pronounced "Kush raho. Dudho nahayo putto phalo. Patting Naina's head he uttered the words that sealed her fate "Sada Suhaagan raho."
Naina and Sameer looked at each other sideways with extremely confused expressions. What was he saying? Naina muttered as she stood up "Guruji aap ko shayad koi galtlfaimi hui hai. Humari shaadi nahi hui hai... Main toh innhe peheli baar dekh rahi hu... " Guruji smiled indulgently at her "Shaadi toh ho gayi beta. Turning to Taiji he said "Dono ke ghar wale aapas mein sanvaad kar lijiye aur ucchiit toh yahi hoga ke issi madap mein aaj hi dono ke phere bhi karwa de. As an extremely worried looking Jaiprakashji approached them, Guruji smiled at him and said "Chinta ki koi avashakta nahi hai. Sakshaat Lakshmi aur Annapurna aapke ghar aa rahi hai. Hearing his words Taiji exclaimed "O Bai... Guruji aap ko such mooch koi galatfaimi ho gayi hai... yeh koi Lakshmi nahi humari mamuli si Naina hai. Isske pitaji bhi ek mamuli Librarian hai. Guruji looked displeased and turned away saying "Mamuli toh aap ki sooch hai. Yeh bachi toh anmol hai. Jaiprakashji again tried reasoning "Par abhi inki shaadi ki umar nahi hai. Sameer ko toh abhi college khatam karne mein ek aur saal hai.. " Guruji asked Sameer "Kya umar hai beta tumhari? Sameer mumbled that he was 22. Turning to Naina he asked the same question but Naina seemed in too much of a daze to respond and hence Taiji confirmed that she is 19. Guruji observed to Jaiprakashji "Mujhe toh inki umar mein koi aapatti nazar nahi aati. Kay aap aura aapki patni vivaah ke samay umar mein inn dono se bade thay? Nahi na... toh phir kya adchan hai." Saying this Guruji walked away leaving everyone behind struggling to make some sense of the situation.
Chapter 2 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=7
Chapter 3 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=15
Chapter 4 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=21
Chapter 5 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=31
Chapter 6 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=40
Chapter 7 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=50
Chapter 8 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=63
Chapter 9 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=72
Chapter 10 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=83
Chapter 11 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=98
Chapter 12 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=111
Chapter 13 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=125
Chapter 14 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5036906?pn=139
Chapter 15 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5057789
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