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"Aap jaldi se aa jayiye, main zara neeche jaakar aata hoon, yeh Lala pata nahi kabse ke chilla raha hai" Hanuman Singh raced off before Babita could respond. She quickly turned off the stove and ran a few steps with colour in her hand, but he had well disappeared behind the Haveli's door.
She stood there, on the edge of the barsaati, a but disappointed. It was Holi, furthermore, their first Holi. She wanted it to be special. She wanted to be the first one to colour him, in all sorts of rang. Red of love, yellow of friendship, blue of admiration, green of trust.
She looked at her closed fist brimming with gulaal. She retraced her steps and quickly started cleared up the kitchen platform. In another fifteen minutes, she rushed downstairs, with the thaal of colours that she had selected herself.
She stood at the Haveli door, carefully avoiding colours. It was only him who had the right to colour her first today.
She stretched her neck well above her shoulders to have a glimpse of him. There was hardly anyone who wasn't devoid of colour and the whole crowd pretty much appeared one happy unit painted red. It was next to impossible to differentiate people or recognize them. Gingerly, she stepped a little forward to have a better view. She was sure he must be standing in some corner, aloof, waiting for her. She couldn't help but recall, how Ashok left for London on her first Holi in her new home. But she smiled, confident that Hanuman wouldn't disappoint.
And suddenly, he appeared in front of her, immersed in shades of red, blue and green. She was taken aback. Lala darted forward and threw a violet fluid on him.
"Arey Lala ke kare hai!" Hanuman chided him for using dark unpleasant colours.
Angered beyond limits, Babita turned around and marched inside, slamming the Haveli door behind her. Shocked, Hanuman Singh couldn't comprehend that behaviour.
---
"Chal theek hai na Babes, ab rang lagade Hanuman uncle ko, kya problem hai?"
"Jagah kahan bachi hai Mini, rang laagne ki?" She said, in simmering anger, staring unabashedly at his coloured face.
Hanuman stood in a corner, with his head down. Babita aggressively kept the thaali of colours on the platform and sat down on the charpayi, white and untouched.
Hot tears gushed down her cheeks and she forcefully flicked them off.
"Accha chalo Hanuman uncle, aap toh Babes ko rang lagado. Dekho na kitni kori hai abhi bhi" she said, trying to peacefully settle the situation.
"Mujhe nahi lagana koi rang vang. Jaa na tu ab, kab tak khadi rahegi? Ja aur enjoy kar."
She didn't budge, infact, stiffened even more, cutting off any signals that suggested that she wanted to be coloured. Mini walked away, devoid of the last ounce of patience she had.
Unable to keep his calm anymore, Hanuman Singh walked to the water tap and emptied a bucket full of water over his head. The water furiously splashed in the floor, weighs loud thud.
The dark shades were stubborn and didn't leave him easily. He scrubbed and scrubbed his skin, unaffected by the slight rashes. All he cared was that Babita was adamant on applying colour on an uncolored Hanuman Singh. He couldn't fathom that his adopted anger was due to Babita's trivialities or the fact that he couldn't deliver upto her expectations. He was standing silently near the Haveli's door when Lala dragged him into the mess. And obviously no one cares about anything on Holi, as all his cries and protests went unheard.
Dripping in water and soap, he walked upto Babita. His red eyes met her flustered ones. Not breaking the eyelock, she filled her fist with red colour.
Babita stoop up and rather aggressively colored his cheek with gulaal. The powder became thick and sticky as it met Hanuman's warm, wet cheeks, deeply imprinting him with her colour.
She again rolled her fingers around blue colour and coloured his other cheek, yet not breaking the gaze. Hanuman didn't blink or breathe even once, only looked into her stubborn eyes. She yet again picked up green colour and ruffled his hair with it, slowly moving her fingers in his curls. He closed his eyes as green fluid dripped slowly over his eyebrows and forehead.
Her anger mellowed down and turned into tears of grief and frustration. She had become so unruly in her unreasonable ways that she didn't even realise what harm was she causing.
She picked up yellow and painted his kurta with it.
She stepped back, satisfied with her job, now unable to meet his eyes. He pinched some colour off his cheeks and softly moved his fingers over her face.
"Ji main promise karta hoon ki aaj ke baad Holi par sirf aap hi mhanne pehle rang lagayengi."
He wanted to smile but couldn't, as he was still taken aback by the intensity of her anger and feelings. He made a note to never underestimate her again on the passion front, as he slightly shivered due to the hot-cold shower he just had had.
...
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