Part 8 - Siyappa!
After college, Swati forced Naina to go with her to her place. "Naina, please chal na mere ghar. Yeh JBR wala assignment samajh mein hi nahi aa raha hai. Meri thodi madad kar dena please".
"Haan tou, mei kahan manaa kar rahi hoon. Tu mere ghar chal. Waise bhi Preeti ko bhi pakka meri madad ki zaroorat padegi, toh hum teenon saath mein baithke kar lenge". Naina proposed logic.
Swati looked at Preeti with questioning expression and she shook her head with a clear no in her eyes. She needed her sister to be away so that she could search in peace.
Swati again persuaded Naina. "Nahi nahi, tu Preeti ko baad mein aaram se samjha dena. Pehle mujhe, aur bahut din se tu mere ghar bhi nahi aayi hai, toh please chal na...mujhe apni nayi cassettes ka collection bhhi dikhana hai tujhe".
Finally, Naina agreed and went with her, and Preeti was relieved. Just as they were about to leave Sameer instructed Preeti, "Jaise hi tumhe photos aur negatives mil jaaye, mujhe phone kar dena, hum aakar le jaayenge".
Preeti returned home thinking about excuses she could give to her mummy, so that she was allowed to search through the cabinets in her room. Direct asking would entail several questions that she thought were best avoided. However, she was in luck when she returned home.
"Arre, tu aa gayi Preeti...Achcha hua, mujhe na bhabhiji ke saath badi market jaana tha. Arre par Naina kahan reh gayi? Tere saath nahi aayi?" questioned Bela.
"Mummy, college se tou aa gayi, par ek assignment mein madad ke liye Swati use apne ghar le gayi hai, abhi thodi der mein aa jaayegi", replied Preeti.
"Theek hai...fir tu khayal rakh, hum bhi thodi der mein wapas aa jaayenge, tab tak darwaza achche se bandh kar lena", instructed Bela before leaving.
This was the chance Preeti was seeking. She hurried into her parent's room and started searching through the cabinets and drawers. Finally, she found some old albums, even her parents marriage photos. She took a minute to gaze at them, though they were black and white, she couldn't stop admiring how beautiful her mother looked in the wedding attire and her father was no less than the then superstar Rajesh Khanna. Such a perfectly gorgeous pair. After leafing through a few pages, she came across one that was her parents and Pooja didi, approximately 5 days after her birth when she was brought home. A similar photo was found in another album of herself with her parents, and then all four of them as a family. Over the next few pages, she found her and Pooja Didi's photos of every birthday. Although they didn't celebrate until the age of 5, her papa, ahead of the times and didn't hesitate to bend some family rules when it came to his kids' happiness, including Naina, had made it a custom to click at least one pic of each of the three girls to document their growth every year and as fondest memories.
"Mere aur Pooja didi ki toh saari photos hai, fir Naina ki kahan hai? Naina toh papa ki ladli hai aur mujhe yaad hai wo photos kheenchte hai". Preeti was thinking to herself.
After rummaging through a few more piles of ancient things, she found a smaller album, titled, "Meri Naina ki yaadein". She leafed though the whole album and what she saw brought tears to her eyes. Her papa had beautifully saved all of Naina's pictures from day 5 of her birth until her last birthday. Since hers wasn't ever celebrated, he would take a candid shot unknown to her and save it in this album. Some of these clicks, were not known to Preeti as well. Finally, in the last two leaves, she found what she was looking for, Arjun bhaiyya's picture with his mother on day 5 and him with his parents. The only thing missing in Naina's life was such a picture. She didn't know what her Jijaji was planning, but she gathered the relevant pictures and the negatives, cleared the mess, put everything back in place, and rid all the evidence of crime.
Quickly, she went to the hall and dialed Sameer's number. On hearing his voice, "Jijaji...aapko jo chahiye tha, wo meine dhoondh liya hai"... Just then the doorbell rang and Naina called from outside "Preeti, Chachiji, darwaza kyon bandh hai? kholo na".
"Jijaji, Naina wapas aa gayi, aap jaldi se aa jao, aur gali ke kone pe rukna" and she hung up rapidly.
"Khol rahi hoon na..." and she opened the door.
"Bandh kyon kar rakha tha?" asked Naina.
"Wo ghar par koi nahi hai na, Mummy ne kaha tha bandh rakhne ko".
"Arree, Swati...achcha kiya tu aa gayi". Preeti pulled her also inside as it would now be easy for her to deliver the goods.
"Hain... aise kyon bol rahi hai? Abhi toh college mein hum sab saath hi the na?" retorted Naina at her sister's weird remarks.
"Swati, tu baith, mein tere liye notes lekar aati hoon", Naina went inside.
"Swati, tu kaise aa gayi? Naina ko shaq toh nahi hua na?"Asked Preeti.
"Nahi re...meine bahut aaram se notes ka bahana bana liya tha. Mujhe laga photos dhoondhne ke baad, tu unhe Sameer tak pahuchayegi kaise? Toh mein tujhse lekar unhe de dungi. Waise bhi college mein diya toh Naina ko pataa chal jaayega aur saara surprise kharab ho jaayega. Waise tune photos dhoondh liye? Asked Swati and Preeti, who had cleverly hidden the goods under the sofa upholstery got them out and gave it to her. Swati immediately hid them in her bag.
"Meine Jijaji ko phone kar diya hai, wo aate hi honge, gali ke kone pe khade rahenge taaki Naina na dekh paaye. Tu jaate waqt unhe de dena". Preeti explained.
Swati was also happy and excited and in Naina's friendship, they had also learnt to pull off a prank and plan a surprise for her.
When Naina came out, Swati grabbed the books "Achcha Naina, mein chalti hoon, der ho rahi hai, kal milte hai" and left hurriedly.
"Arre, ise kya hua? Abhi tou ghar aane ke liye itna fudak rahi thi...fir baithi bhi nahi aur chali gayi".
"Arre behen, itna kya soch rahi hai? Use der ho rahi thi na...toh chali gayi". Preeti tried to divert her attention.
Gali ke kone par:
"Munna tum? Mujhe toh lagaa Sameer aanewala hai?" Swati was surprised to see Munna.
"Sameeer hi aanewala tha par fir wo kuch aur kaam karne lag gaya, mein abhi usike paas ja raha hoon. Par achcha hua na, ki mein aaya, warna tujhse kaise milta? Munna was equally happy to see her after college as he was expecting Preeti.
"Ab aa hi gaye toh thoda ghumne chale motorcycle par, teri favarite jagah se icecream khilata hoon" asked a shy Munna.
Without saying anything, Swati sat with him on the bike, placed her hand on his shoulder without hesitation and they spent some quality time together while eating icecream.
After a while he dropped her back to her place, which was just a few feet away from Naina's house and he stopped at the end of the lane and wished her bye "Arre ruko, jis kaam ke liye aaye the, wo toh le lo". Swati removed the envelope of photos and negatives from her bag and handed it to him. Next, she also removed a book from her bag and tried giving it to him "Meine dekha tha, aaj class mein tumhara dhyaan bilkul nahi tha. Meine Naina ki madad se assignment pura kar liya hai. Tum please ghar jaake ise copy kar lena. Mein nahi chahti ki tum fail ho jao". Swati reprimanded lovingly "Aur aage se, please class mein bhi thoda dhyaan do".
Munna was excited, blushed, but elated that she cared for him so deeply. While taking the notebook from her, he took the opportunity to hold her hand, they looked into each other eyes and were blushing when a loud holler of her name broke their reverie.
They both turned to the boom and were shocked to see Naina's Taiji, accompanied by Chachiji; their hand contact broke immediately.
"Swati..." the two ladies came closer".
"Sharam nahi aati tujhe, bhare baazar mein ek ladke ka haath pakad ke khadi hai?" Boomed Taiji.
"Swati, tujhse yeh umeed nahi thi", added Chachiji.
"Nahi Taiji, aisi koi baat nahi hai, mein toh buss ise notes de rahi thi", Swati tried to cover up the situation.
"Chup, ek dum chup...chal teri ma se baat karti hoon...tu chal" taiji held her hand and started dragging her towards her society.
A bewildered Munna didn't know what to do and how to save his love from Taiji's wrath.
"Nahi taiji, please... aisa mat kijiye...Mummy ko kuch mat batayiye...papa ko pataa chal gaya toh bahut maarenge... mein sach mein sirf notes de rahi thi...aage se aisa kuch nahi hoga". Swati pleaded again.
"Bhabhiji, jane dijiye na, Naina ki dost hai, sach hi bol rahi hogi...".
"Chup kar Bela...aur tu, tum donon chalo mere saath". Taiji again directed her anger to SwaMun and started pulling Swati to now her own house.
Upon reaching
"Naina... Preeti... bahar aao ladkiyon" Taiji hollered loudly and angrily as soon as she came in.
Both girls came out and were shocked to see Taiji super angry holding Swati's hand and Munna also dragged behind.
"Sachi sachi batana, inn donon ka kya chal raha hai?" Taiji asked Naina Preeti.
A shocked Naina, looked at Swati and she was trying to gesture a No when Taiji interrupted again "Uski taraf kya dekh rahi hai? Tu mujhe sach bata, inn donon ka kya chal raha hai? Warna mein abhi iski ma ko phone karke yahan bulati hoon aur batati hoon ki unki beti bhare bazaar ladkon ke saath gulcharre uda rahi thi".
Now Munna had had enough. He had swallowed his anger previously to prevent the escalation of the situation but he couldn't allow Swati facing the wrath alone for no fault of hers when she had only given in to his desire to spend some time with her. "Taiji, wo mujhe notes chahiye the, buss isiliye mile the...aur kuch nahi hai".
Naina also supported him "Haan, Taiji, aisa kuch nahi chal raha hai...aap hi sochiye, college shuru hone se pehle aap hi ne sikhaya tha na ki kisi bhi ladke se baat nahi karna, toh hum kisise baat nahi karte...Munna Pandit toh school se hi hamare saath padhte hai na, toh kabhi kabhi humse notes maang lete hai. Agar wo kuch bhi aisa waisa karte toh kya hum unse baat karte? Aur Swati toh bachpan se hi meri dost hai, agar wo kuch galat karti toh meri dost thode hi hoti", Naina tried to reason calmly but it was very difficult to convince taiji.
"Wo jo kuch bhi ho, aaj ke baad, tum donon iss Swati se koi baat nahi karogi aur na hi dosti rakhogi, ghar pe aana jaana, phone pe khi khi sab bandh" Taiji instructed PreeNa and then directed her anger at Swati "Aur sun le tu, mere ghar ki ladkiyon se durr rehna, warna yeh bhi bigad jaayengi".
"Jane dijiye na bhabhiji, ab nahi aayegi kabhi yahan". Chachiji tried to cool her down.
"Iss baar toh jane de rahi hoon, fir kabhi dikh gayi na Naina-Preeti ke aas paas, toh teri ma se shikayat karungi aur tere kale karnamon ka pura chittha batoongi". Taiji scolded her again.
A crying Swati, looking at Naina, left, followed by Munna.
He didn't know how to handle a crying girlfriend, so he just followed her till her society to make sure she reached well. She stopped to look at him "Ab tum jao, wo envelope Sameer ko de dena".
"Sorry yaar Swati, meri wajah se tujhe itna kuch sunna pada, teri aur Naina ki bachpan ki dosti toot gayi, please maaf kar de par please mujhse naaraz mat hona" and he removed his handkerchief and gave it to her.
She took it, wiped her tears, and smiled through them "Sabse pehle toh, mein tumse naaraz nahi hoon, tumne toh sirf ghumne ke liye pucha tha, mein na bhi bol sakti thi, par mujhe bhi tumhare saath ghumna tha, toh galati tumhare akele ki nahi hai. Dusri baat, Naina aur mein toh bachpan se dost hai, itni nazook nahi hamari dosti ki ek mamooli toofan se toot jaaye, toh tum uski chinta mat karo".
She handed back the hankie. Seeing her smile, satisfied, Munna left.
Later, he handed the treasured envelope to Sameer, who was busy figuring out and contacting people so that he could execute the gift plan he had in his head.
Munna was not his usual chirpy self and upon asking, he related the whole incident to Sameer, who was thankful that both he and Naina had the best of people as friends.
"Tu chinta mat kar Munna, Swati toh tujhse naaraz nahi hai na, aur Naina aur Swati ki dosti nahi tootegi, agar aisa kuch hota hua dikhayi diya, toh hum aisa hone nahi denge". Sameer assured him.
Next day in college, Sameer was happy and surprised that Naina and Swati shared a bond similar to his with MP. The girls hugged "Chahe jo ho jaaye, hamari dosti kabhi nahi tootegi", said Swati.
"Aakhri saans tak nahi, hum bachpan se aajtak saath hai, hamari dosti ne kayi utar chadhav dekhe hai, aage bhi jo bhi hoga, saath mein hi dekh lenge", promised Naina.
Over the next few days, MP had found the time table and slowly bought and gathered things for the decoration of the room, Preeti had already done her job, Sameer had ordered the cake, and was also working on his gift, and Swati never left Naina's side.
Just 2 days before the birthday
Chachaji called Preeti when Naina was out buying some stationary for college "Beta, iss baar Naina ka atharva janamdin hai, toh mei soch raha tha ki kyon na Naina ko ek surprise party di jaaye" Chahiji also grinned and nodded in elation, while Preeti was surprised and shocked.
"Naina ke liye birthday party? Par Papa, hamare ghar mein toh Naina ka birthday kabhi celebrate nahi kiya jaata. Fir achanak iss saal kaise?"
"Haan beta, kabhi nahi kiya par iss saal karna chahiye, ab tum donon bade ho gaye ho, 18 matlab desh ki Sarkar banane mein apna mat bhi de sakte ho, itna bada faisla lene mein apna yogdan dene mein saksham mane jaoge, toh uske liye party toh banti hai na. Tu buss Naina ko college se seedhe ghar le aane, hum sab taiyyari kar lenge, meine chutti ke liye arzi daal di hai...lekin use kuch batana mat. Surprise denge" Conveyed an eager Chacha.
"Par Papa, tauji taiji, Rakesh tauji, inn sabko toh nahi pasand na, fir unse puche bina aap yeh..." Preeti tried to deter her parents from their plan not because she didn't like her family celebrating Naina's birthday, but because Sameer had already made the plans, that too with so much effort to make it very special for her, and now everything would be ruined if Naina couldn't stay back in college after classes for a few extra hours.
But Chachaji had decided this time and was not going to give up "Arre, tu unki chinta mat kar, mei unse baat kar loonga, aur fir bhi agar nahi mane toh koi baat nahi, unke bina hi mana lenge, tu, mei, Bela, Pooja, aur Arjun, aur apne aur Naina ke doston ko bhi bula lena".
Preeti didn't have any more counter arguments, she simply resigned, hoping that her Jijaji wouldn't be too disappointed. Naina would be happy in any case as it was a first for her but may be Sameer would be disheartened that he wouldn't get to spend some time with her on the day.
Next day in college
After landing in college, Preeti was relieved that Naina wanted to utilize the pre-class time in the library. So, leaving her sister to herself, she rushed to Red Rose to find the rest of the gang. Thankfully everyone was there.
"Achcha hua, tum sab yahi ho", expressed a relieved Preeti.
"Arre Rajdhani ki tarah kahan se aa rahi ho? Aisa kya ho gaya?" Asked an inquisitive Pandit.
"Tumhe yaad hai, class 8, hamare class mein, ek Punjabi ladki aayi thi, bahut sundar thi..." Preeti recalled some old incident.
Pandit's pupils dilated recalling some exciting event. "Haan...Ritu Juneja...hayeee gajab ki khubsoorat thi, Kamya se bhi jyaada...par ek hi saal ke liye thi, fir uske papa ka transfer ho gaya aur wo chali gayi" Pandit had a dreamy and sad look, while the rest of them smirked, except Preeti.
"Haan...wahi...uska favorite word yaad hai?"
"Siyappa! Par uska matlab kabhi samajh nahi aaya", replied Pandit.
"Aaj aa gaya meri samajh mein...", Preeti gave the context.
Pandit raised his eyebrows and Sameeer asked "Kya hua Preeti?"
"Wahi... Siyappa...Iss saal papa bhi Naina ka birthday manana chahte hai aur issliye wo bhi surprise party plan kar rahe hai. College ke baad, Naina ko seedha ghar le jaane ko kaha hai..." she narrated with a sad tone.
"Waise mein Naina ke liye khush hoon ki iss baar sab uske liye kuch special plan kar rahe hai par aapka plan kharab ho gaya na". Preeti was saddened again.
Sameer made a slight grim face but the brain wheels started churning...He was also happy for Naina that finally her family realized her worth and were doing something for her happiness. But how could he step back as her boyfriend.
A new plan started formulating, adjusting everything according to the current situation. He smirked at his own genius. It might be slightly difficult to execute but when it came to Naina, he was ready to move mountains! He was firm in making the day special & memorable for her & that he would do, come what may!
P.S. I had planned to include the birthday celebration here, but as usual it got too long as I tend to write a lot! & the celebration needed a dedicated part... next one is that pakka... vl try to update on Sunday, but definitely by Monday...sorry to keep u waiting guys but vl try my best to make the wait worth!!!
Thank you for the patience.
Edited by Radkam - 7 years ago
