Hello Dearies,
I still have to reply to few comments on the last update, but
have decided to do that post sharing the update.
So, here is the next part and do let me know how you find
it. Also, a big thanks for your ongoing love and support for this FF!
Lots of love,
May
Chapter 29
Once Mr Maheshwari was convinced that his wife's headache
had eased, he set out to start ticking things off his Dating To do List.
The first seemed the easiest to execute and hence that
evening when he returned from the factory, he went straight to the kitchen.
Naina informed him that the Aloo chaat would be ready in a about ten minutes as
soon as she finished the pudina chutney.
He stood in the kitchen, admiring her back in the pink
blouse, the curve of her neck, the wisps of hair that had escaped from the
braids and what seemed to him as her perfect and graceful movements as she gave
the blender pot a shake and ensured the chutney had reached the right
consistency. His wife was perplexed, why he was suddenly so fascinated with how
pudina chutney was made!
As she washed her hands after transferring the chutney to a
serving bowl, he debated with himself about whether to give her the contents of
both his pockets at the same time, or one now and one later. Finally, he took a
deep breath and said "Naina, main kuch laya hu... She looked at the big bar of
Diary milk in his hand, and not the usual one. It was the more coveted Fruit
and Nuts variety. For a moment she blushed a little and then gave herself a
mental shake. She replied "Dijiye main fridge mein rakh deti hu, aap ka dinner
ke baad jab bhi khane ka main kare, le lijiye. He started objecting "Aare,
main yeh fridge mein rakhne ke liye thodi laya hu... Yeh toh maine tumhe "
Before Sameer could finish his sentence, Pandit rushed
inside "Bhabhi, yeh lo, garam garam jalebi leke aaye hai! Bhabhi asked in
surprise "Aare, aaj yeh kiss khushi mein leke aaye ho?! Munna replied grinning
"Bus yeh samjho aaj dil bahoot khush hai! Bhai ne khabar hi kuch aisi sunayi
hai... As Sameer threw him a cross look, worried that the duo might let the cat
out of the bag much earlier than planned, Naina asked as she proceeded with
getting the chaat plates ready "Acha, zara mujhe bhi toh batao aisi kya
khushkhabri hai?
Sameer turned to Pandit and said "Ha, sunna na teri khushkhabri... Pandit not expecting
things to turn out like this, said the first thing that came to his mind "Aare,
woh baju wali society mein ki Priya ka phone number mila hai. Naina not
understanding why this was such a big good news asked, "Ussne khud diya hai
kya? Pandit replied "Nahi khud toh nahi diya... uske bhai ke ek dost se mila hai...
Naina tutted over this information saying "O ho... tum bhi na...
kissi bhi baat pe itna excite ho jaate ho. Ladki ka phone number pata chalane pe
kaun celebrate karta hai?! Sameer tried to draw the focus away from this topic
saying "Naina, tum bhi na... chodo iss baat ko... chalo jalebi enjoy karte hai!
After they polished off the Aloo chaat and the Jalebis,
while tiding the kitchen platform Naina noticed the chocolate bar and
remembering he had said that he had not got it to keep in the fridge brought it
out. She offered it to the trio and Sameer looked on helplessly as his duo happily
broke off big chunks. He was thinking Laya
isske liye tha aur khila baaki sabko rahi hai!
He muttered a "Tum nahi khaogi chocolate? She replied
"Nahi, abhi toh jalebi khayi hai. Aur mujhe meetha itna jyada pasand bhi nahi
hai... Pandit chimed "Phir toh ekdum perfect hai... Waise bhi humara bhai to jyada
teekha hi hai! As Munna burst into laughter, Sameer blushed while Naina sat
there confused and trying to understand what exactly was being implied.
She soon excused herself and headed to her room contemplating
on some changes in him that she was not able to put her finger on. Last few
days, he had become more attentive and seemed to linger around her whenever
possible. Before her heart could start building some castles in the air again,
she told strongly herself that he was just being caring, like a good friend.
That night after he had closed the window, he pulled out the
other thing he had got for her thinking Acha
hua yeh bhi uss waqt nahi diye thay, warne yeh bhi Munna-Pandit hi kha ke chale
jate... She was sitting at the table working on some notes as on most
nights. Blushing a little, he opened his
palm in front of her and revealed a few wrapped-in-red Kismi toffees.
If it was meant to be some sort of subtle message it was
completely lost on his wife in that moment, who asked "Yeh kaise layi aaj? Aap
ko pasand hai?? He fumbled for reasonable words "Woh... aaj... Dairy Milk lene
gaya tha tab... ha, dukandar ke pass chutta nahi tha, toh ussne yeh bhi de diye
sath mein.
She picked one but sat there thinking about something
without opening it. He asked "Kya soch rahi ho? Yeh toh chotasa hai... yeh bhi
nahi khaogi?? He thought Yaar lagta hai
isske liye toh Kurkure leke aane chahiye thay!
She came out of her reverie, smiled a little nostalgically
looking at the toffee and then shaking her head said "Khaungi na... bus bahoot saalon
baad kha rahi hu yeh toffee... kuch yaad aa gaya. He was intrigued and asked "Kya
yaad aa gaya? She blushed a little and then replied "Kuch khaas nahi... bus kuch
school ke dinon ka... He impatient to learn everything about her asked in a
cajoling voice "Naina... batao na...
She gave in and said "School mein ek baar bahoot maar padi
thi iss toffee ki wajah se... uske baad khane ka mann hi nahi hota tha! When he
pushed her for more details, she explained how her classmate Sanjay Tebriwal
had once slipped a letter confessing his feelings for her along with one of
these toffees stuck to the letter in her bag. Instead of her, the letter had
landed in Taiji's hands and had created a huge drama in their household as
could be imagined.
Her family had approached the school principal and
complained. Finally, the matter had been resolved only when the culprit or
ashiq in question had been identified and had been forced to tie her a Rakhi in
front of the whole class. But for a long time afterwards, the snickering from the
students had continued about this could-be-saiya-turned-bhaiya
incident. She had avoided the toffees since then.
Sameer listened with accelerating unease and thought Matlab yeh idea toh kissine pehele hi try
kar liya hai iss par! Such mooch Kurkure hi lane chahiye thay... And then he
thought a little irately Dekhna padega
tha kaun yeh Sanjay Tebriwal!
He asked "Aur ab kaha hai yeh? She was thinking it all
seemed like another lifetime now and asked sounding confused "Kaun? He
responded "Wahi... Sanjay Tebriwal... tumhara
muh bola bhai! She replied "Yahi hai Ahmedabad mein... He asked "Dikhta hai
kabhi? She nodded "Ha, college mein toh roz hi dikhta hai. Meri hi toh class
mein hai.
He exclaimed "Kya?! Class mein hi hai? Abhi bhi?? She
looked surprised "Ha, toh? He now tried to downplay his reaction "Toh kuch
nahi... bus main thoda surprise ho gaya... tumne bataya nahi kabhi pehele... She
asked "Iss mein batane wali kya baat hai? School ke bahoot log hai abhi college
mein aur kuch class mein bhi... He nodded but was thinking Ab toh pakka dekhna padega... ab tak peeche padda hai!
Just when he was about to leave her room, she called "Aap ka
caridigan reh gaya... He shook his head slightly and picked up the thin cardigan
he had left on her bed thinking Ajeeb
ladki hai... ab jab khud hoke kuch chod raha hu peeche, toh launta rahi hai!
She was thinking Pata chala, kal phir sab
ke saamne mujhe katghare mein khada karenge... Kahenge, main bhool gaya to tum
lauta nahi sakti thi?!
As he headed upstairs, Sameer felt a little disappointed by
the failure of his first plan. He hoped and prayed, that though he was not the
first to give her the Kismi toffee, he would at least be the first to actually
kiss her!
Naina noticed that he had left the toffees behind on her
table when he headed upstairs. She picked one up and wondered at the irony of
life. How was it that the shopkeeper had given him these very toffees? With
such a suggestive name??! She bit her lower lip unknowingly as she tried to
talk herself into not reading anything into this. The universe is not trying to
say anything, she tried to drum into her head and heart.
The next day, when Sameer informed his friends that he
wanted to check out the competition, Pandit said "Aare, woh toh bechara
retired-injured batsman hai. Tu kyun tension le raha hai?! But they still
stood outside her class till Sanjay made an appearance. Looking at the spectacled
guy with slightly hunched shoulders, both his friends assured him that there
was nothing to worry about. But Sameer did not miss the way Sanjay seemed to
size him up too.
The following day after Nanaji returned from his trip. He
didn't know what to make of these new dynamics in his home. On one hand Sameer
seemed to be so much happier, almost like a new person. But Naina's face seemed
to have lost its lustre and her smile did not quite reach her eyes.
She still asked about his trip and enquired about the
well-being of the Bharucha family, but he felt like she was only half listening
when he spoke. A couple of times her eyes seemed to resemble that of a Doe staring at
the headlights of car, not sure if the vehicle would stop before it crashed
into her. Sometimes she jumped excessively when something around her dropped
and at other times she barely registered someone calling out to her.
When on their own, Nanaji asked Sameer apprehensively "Beta,
Naina theek hai? Tum dono ke beech koi jhagda toh nahi hua na?? He was fairly relived
to see Sameer looking astonished by this question and rushing to assure him
"Nahi Nanu, koi jhagda nahi huya humre beech! In fact... (suddenly feeling lost
for words as he tried not to blush he went quiet for a few moments) actually,
uski tabiyat kuch theek nahi thi... issiliye aap ko aisa laga hoga. Nanaji asked
worried "Tabiyat theek nahi thi? Kya hua tha? He told his Nanu about her headache
which had lasted a few days and how she had also missed college because of it.
The next morning still not at ease, Nanaji asked his Bahu
"Naina, beta Sameer bata raha tha tumhari tabiyat kuch theek nahi thi... ab theek
ho? She smiled slightly and nodded "Ji Nanaji, kuch nahi, bus sardard tha. He
probed "Sameer ne kissi baat par tumse jhagada toh nahi kiya na? Dekho, tum se
koi bhi badtamizi ki ho toh mujhe batao. Dekhna kaise kaan kheechta hu uske!
She objected "Nahi Nanaji! Aisa kuch nahi hua... unhone toh bahoot dhyaan rakha
tha. Dawai bhi lake di thi. Nanaji was pleased to hear her response and hoped
that the headache had been the only cause of her pale face.
Sameer now decided to move on to the next item on his list.
And once again he decided to kill two birds with one stone.
The next day when she arrived in college, he was waiting near
her classroom door with a big bunch of red roses. And so were lot of her
classmates! Everyone intrigued by this gesture was speculating on the reason for
the flowers. Some thought it might be her birthday, while other that they must
be in lieu of an apology, while the more romantic hearts sighed imagining
declarations of I Live for you... I die for
you...
Naina was just stupefied. She asked after staring at him and
the roses for a bit "Yeh kya hai?! He wondered wasn't it obvious "Roses hai...
aur kya... She responded "Woh dikh raha hai. Mera matlab, kyun laye hai?!
Sameer realised that at least two dozen other students along with Preeti and
Swati were eagerly waiting to hear his reply.
He thought a little miffed Yeh kaisa sawal hai? Phool laye hai toh khushi khushi accept karke
thank you bolna chod kar, issne toh interrogation hi shuru kar diya! He
replied feeling very self-conscious now "Yeh toh bus aise hi... woh mujhe dikhe...
ha, actually bus pass mein hi ek chota ladka bech raha tha... kehene laga paise
ki bahoot jarurat hai. Toh maine le liye!
Naina thought, Inka
naam Sameer na hoke Daanveer Karan hona chahiye tha... kabhi kissi ki madat karne
ke liye richshaw rakh lete hai, toh kabhi phool kharid lete hai! She asked
a little confused "Par main kya karu inka? He answered now sounding a little
impatient "Aare, ghar le jao, aur kay?! She looked a little uncertain "Par
abhi toh char ghantey hai... tab tak leke ghumna padega...
Sameer who had envisioned her blushing a deep red just like
the roses and then carrying them around proudly for the rest of the day, now
started questioning his judgement with regards to giving her this bouquet in
college. But it was too late to back down now and so he said "Mujhe to
chee-saat ghantey lagenge factory hoke ghar aane mein, tum mujhse pehele toh
poohunch hi jaogi! Aur waise bhi maine liye toh tumhare liye thay. Jo marzi ho
kar lo!
Preeti sensing this wasn't proceeding in the right direction
quickly held out her hands and said smiling "Jijaji, aap mujhe de dijiye...
college mein main enjoy kar lungi aur phir ghar pe Naina! Sameer smiled at his
Saali gratefully and started handing over the flowers to her. But Mrs
Maheshwari stepped forward and almost grabbed the flowers muttering "Nahi...
tujhe khamakha inconvenience hogi... main pakkad lungi. She was thinking Pehli baar toh phool laye hai... chahe kissi
bhi wajah se ho! Thode hi kissi aur ko dungi... Sameer now pleased with this
reaction, said softly in a teasing tone "Toh pehele kyun nakhre kar rahi thi?
She now blushed the shade he had hoped to see and muttering something unintelligible
rushed to the classroom.
As he walked away with his friends, he muttered "Yaar, par
woh Tebriwal nahi tha waha... Main toh uske saamne hi phool dena chahata tha. Munna
laughed "Darr mat, aaj Naina ke hath mein din bhar phool dekh ke, tere saare
rakeebon ko pata chal jaayega ke iss ladki se toh dur hi rehna acha hai!
Sameer blushed hearing that his friends had very clearly understood his
intentions behind presenting the flowers here.
For the rest of the day, Naina received a lot of looks of
surprise and also some queries about the flowers everywhere she went. Preeti
and Swati happily proclaimed to one and all that their Jijaji had got them for
his wife.
While Naina tried to downplay the event as much as possible,
she couldn't control the way her heart fluttered every time she looked at roses.
The feelings she was trying to bury would start blooming again. First the Kisme
toffees and now the flowers... why is he making it so difficult? She groaned
internally. She decided that the universe was definitely conspiring against her!
At dinner time that evening, after not spotting the flowers
in any of the vases in the lounge, Sameer thought she must have placed them in
her room. A vision of Naina lightly caressing the flowers every now and then,
or inhaling their fragrance, made him smile. He felt very pleased with the
thought that she had chosen to keep them to herself.
Unable to contain his joy, he asked "Naina, tumhe phool pasand
aaye na? Tumne apne kamre mein rakhe, right? She replied avoiding his eyes, "Kamre
mein toh nahi rakhe... He asked "Toh kaha rakhe? She replied "Uppar hai. He remarked
sounding baffled "Uppar? Mujhe toh nahi dikhe kamre mein... Aur mere kamre mein
kyun rakhe?! She answered "Aapke kamre mein nahi... terrace pe hai... woh maine...
He interrupted "Terrace pe? Aare, waha kyun rakhe hai? Gamle mein nahi vase
mein rakhne thay!
She took a deep breath and said in rushed manner "Gamle mein
nahi... woh maine achar ke dibbay mein... maine Gulkand banane rakha hai... Parso hi
TV pe dekha tha recipe, aur aaj aap le bhi aaye toh maine socha try karti hu. Bhagwan
kare sakar ka proportion theek ho. Maine bus jaise yaad tha, dal diya.
Sameer gaped at her disbelievingly. All he could manage was
"Bouquet ka Gulkand??!
Nanaji who had been listening to all this conversation,
shook his head too thinking Ab isse kya
ho gaya?! Mere Bombay jane tak toh kafi samajhdari se pesh aati thi...
Ramdhari who had brought out some hot phulkas chimed in "Hum toh phir bhi
Bhabhi se keh rahe thay, ke Gulkand ke liye dusri tarha ke Gulab ke phool
istamaal hote hai... Sameer and Naina both looked at him irritated.
As Naina finished her dinner and exited the dining area,
Nanaji said to Sameer in a low teasing voice "Barkhurdaar, aage se Gajre hi laya
karo. He sounding miffed replied, that for all he knows she might try making
ittar or agarbattis from the Mogra flowers of the Gajras!
Later as he closed the window, she mumbled "Sorry... aapne hi
toh college mein kaha tha, ke jo marzi ho kar lu phoolon ka. Mujhe nahi pata
thay, ke koi special type ke Gulab se hi Gulkand banta hai... And then she added
for good measure "Woh recipe dekhke mujhe bahoot khane ka mann ho raha tha!
Issiliye... He muttered a Its ok. and headed upstairs, feeling let down that
his second idea had also not worked.
She wrung her hands, thinking how she could tell him that
the idea of constantly seeing those flowers had left her too frazzled. The
whole afternoon their scent had seemed to be trying to cast a spell over her senses.
She had been reminded of the memory of those rose petals that had been
scattered on his bed when she had entered his room the night of the Bidai.
Though he had brushed the petals away at some point, their fragrance had seemed
to linger all through the night. She loved roses, especially the red ones that
he had got. But she did not want her heart to start getting fanciful again. And
so, she had followed the first idea that had popped in her head, Gulkand!
The next day, when she heard where the roses had ended, Preeti
looked at her sister as though she had lost her mind. Swati shook her head
thinking she had been unnecessarily wasting her breath and time on reading
articles out of various magazines to Naina.
That night Sameer wordlessly plopped a bottle of Gulkand on
her table. She protested "Yeh laane ki kya jarurat thi? He replied still
feeling a little off "Pata nahi woh uppar wala gulkand kab aur kaisa banega!
Mann ho raha tha, toh aise hi bazar se bhi toh la sakti thi... Seeing her
looking contrite, his eyes softened. In that moment he decided that maybe he
would have better luck if he just stuck to her wish list to start with.
Over the next few days, everyone's workload increased thanks
to the soon approaching Diwali festival. Sameer got involved in understanding
the process around Bonus calculation for their employees. As a topic it had
seemed much simpler on paper, but now he started learning all the human aspect
involved. He learnt how a family business considers the individual needs of
their employees. Nanaji took into account whose son or daughter was getting
married over the next year, or any college fees, or health emergencies that
might have left the employees strained for cash. Sameer found a new respect for
his Nanaji as a boss and learnt how keeping a business going was so much more
than just ordering new machinery and training the staff.
Naina found that Mr Joshi and his team started handing over
more and more of the business-as-usual work to the Interns, as they strived to
meet all their key targets for the Diwali season. She had a lot to manage on
the home front too. Chachiji bombarded her with instructions all the time to
ensure that she met everyone's expectations from the new Bahu. Ramdhari's
queries regarding the cleaning the house and planning for the festive season
also increased. She started stocking ingredients for all the snacks and sweets
that would have to be organised for Diwali.
During the Khidki-band-karo conversations, Naina and Sameer
started comparing notes on their experiences related to work and how corporates
and family run businesses operated differently. Naina found this an easy and
safe topic to discuss, as it did not focus on their personal lives. While
Sameer found himself more and more impressed by her intellect. If her doe like
eyes had charmed him before with their innocence, they now in addition captivated
him every time they narrowed while she was trying to figure out something.
Where her lips had allured him with their shape and softness, they now also
enticed him when she pursed them in a certain way, just before countering him
with her thoughts on a certain subject or recommended her version of best
practices.
One night as she sat bent over her books, he without
thinking tucked an errant lock of her hair behind her ear. Both froze as she
looked up at him in shock. For a few
moments they strived to listen and understand the language spoken by the each
other's eyes, till Naina lowered her eyes and pretended to be absorbed in her
books again. As Sameer murmured a goodnight, he was resolved to make some
further and faster progress on his Dating To Do List.
(I know this update was shorter than usual, but this week
has been very busy for me! Hope you all enjoy Sameer's To Do List.)
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