Dear All,
This was my entry for OS Competition under the theme of Celebration. Would love to get your feedback as always.
Since this one came up as the 2nd runner up, I would like to take this opportunity for thanking all who voted for this. It means so much to know that you enjoyed this concept! And I would like to share some credit with my daughter who suggested the name for this OS 😊
Big hug to all!
Love, May.
Samaina OS Hip Hip Hooray!
Naina was bent over the dining table slightly biting her lower lip with an expression of great concentration and mild irritation as she made another pink rose on a cupcake. As she set down the cupcake to one side she quickly glanced at the cupcakes still to be decorated and noted that there were still five more to go. She moved her neck bending it in a side to side motion trying to get rid of the crick. Well, this is bound to happen when you have spent the last hour and half icing about three dozen cupcakes. At this point she was not sure who she was more annoyed at, herself for getting talked into this idea or at the person who had so enthusiastically suggested that cupcakes with pink roses would be just perfect for the 5th birthday celebration of Muskaan.
They had been going over some last-minute details for the party when Naina had wondered if the cake that they had ordered would be enough as the number of guests had gone up after Muskaan had extended the invite to a few more new friends she had made recently. Of course, considering the venue Naina had to invite their parents too. Sameer suddenly had that look on his face that she had come to feel a little apprehensive about over the years. It meant he had come up with another brilliant idea, which would result in a lot of extra work for Naina. Sameer had proposed that they get some cupcakes and just ice them at home with pretty pink roses as Muskaan was going through a phase where everything had to be pink. Before Naina could argue that they would need about 40 odd cupcakes and it would be quite time consuming, Muskaan who had been playing quietly with some building blocks close by jumped up and screamed in joy her eyes lit up. After that there was no going back.
Finally, all the icing was done. As Naina surveyed the cupcakes of her labour, Muskaan ran into the room and seeing the pretty pink display hugged her squealing in joy "Mumma, you are the best! I love you!! Can I please have one now? Just to make sure they all taste good too? All the cricks and pain were forgotten in a moment as Naina hugged her and handed one of the slightly smudged cupcakes to Muskaan.
Naina quickly surveyed how Ramdhari and his wife Geeta were getting along with the cooking in the kitchen. She had already made the Copsuey noodles and Muskaan's favourite spring rolls earlier in the day. Ramdhari was now busy preparing the traditional Dhokla and Kachori, as any celebration in Gujarat cannot be complete without these.
Naina then headed to the back garden, the thing that she liked the best about this place. As she stepped in the veranda that ran all along the backside of the house, she sighed with pleasure. She could never get enough of this view. Their back garden gently sloped into the valley behind. The location very closely resembled the one where they had celebrated her 18th birthday. The dream that Sameer had shared with her that day had come true recently, when the construction of this house was completed about 6 months back. It was a house built in the colonial style airy rooms with big windows and sparsely furnished with just the essentials. They had built it with the intention of using it as a holiday home that could also be used as a weekend getaway and had plans to retire to. As the house was about an hour outside the main city, it was not feasible to live here on a permanent basis. Also, both were not keen to leave Nanu's home which still reverberated with his presence even so many years later. The rear veranda had a lot of cane chairs and couple of tables. Sitting here in the mornings sipping their respective Tea and Coffee, was one of their treasured moment together when they stayed here.
The garden was overflowing with an assortment of balloons of all shapes and sizes. Mr Sameer Maheshwari could never do anything in moderation! And currently he was busy making a swing using a tyre for the kids arriving for the party. He had decided that he wanted the kids to experience some simple pleasures from their childhood. A farmer from the area was going to bring one of his ponies and offer rides at the party. A lot of plastic chairs were setup all over the place to offer ample space for the adults who would be accompanying the kids. A big table was placed in the centre where they would be cutting the cake.
Naina walked over to Sameer and wiped the sweat off his brow with one end of her dupatta. Watching him working outdoor like this in his vest, she remembered that incident from Pooja didi's wedding when he was helping with installing the pendal. Naina smiled and placed a quick peck on his cheek. "Sameer, jaldi karo. Abhi hum sab ko tayar bhi hona hai. Guests ek ghanta mein aayenge. Sameer nonchalantly replied "Koi nahi aayega ek ghanta mein. Leekh lo tum... do ghanta mein bhi aa gaye to bohoot hai. Ek tum hi ho jo itni time ki pabandh ho... "Naina just shook her head and headed back in murmuring "Shaadi se pehele toh meri yahi baat bohoot pasand thi ke main kabhi jyada wait nahi karwati thi... Sameer chuckled throwing a quick glance at her retreating figure.
As Naina walked to her bedroom, she found Muskaan in one corner of the living room counting through a pile of Eclair chocolates and some perfumed erasures that she was planning to hand to the kids coming to the party as a little thank you. Naina was sure this was at least the tenth time since this morning that the counting was in progress. Naina handed her a bag of Kiss-Me chocolates and asked her to hurry outside to her Dad and hide them around the garden for the treasure hunt planned as one of the games for the party. "Muskaan, chocolates hide kareke ho jaane toh Geeta didi ko bolna tumhe nehla de aur tumhari nayi dress pehen lo. Phir mere pass aana aur hum tumhare baal acche se banayenge. Muskaan nodding her head "Mumma wo naya wala bow bhi lagayenge na jo Nani ne diya hai? Naina replied "Ha beta, wahi lagayenge. Muskaan called Bela chachi as Nani, something that Naina had insisted on since the day she was born, where as Taiji was Tai-Nani. Taiji kept away from them as much as possible, as she had taken Naina's marriage to a rich handsome guy who quite obviously adored his wife as a personal failure.
During the last year so of their college and the year following it while Sameer was still finding his footing in the business, Taiji kept pushing good-for-nothing boys who were ready to marry Naina for little or no dowry. When Chachaji adamantly turned down all these alliances, she brought forward a few good alliances from educated boys, but those families wanted huge dowries. It became a topic of much disagreement and taunts between Taiji and Rakesh. One day after a huge fight during which Taiji pointed out to Anand and Rakesh that they should be realistic and try to find a boy as per Rakesh's haisiyat, Rakesh announced that he had had enough and would marry off Naina to the first guy who came along willing to marry her without a dowry irrespective of his income or credentials or caste. The very next morning even before the family had a chance to finish their breakfast, Sameer showed up with his proposal. Rakesh still in his angry mood took one look at Taiji's shocked disgruntled face and said yes just to spite her. From there on Sameer made sure everything moved so quickly that they were officially engaged in three days and married by the end of the month. Naina and Sameer both didn't care about the number of guests or size of the venue. It was a small intimate affair attended by just close family and friends. Taiji complained that it was her husbands name and image which was tarnished in their community considering Rakesh never was respected anyways. Sameer's mom had been very supportive of her son's decision and for once she had decided to step up and put his happiness ahead of everything else.
Naina laid out her and Sameer's clothes out on the bed and selected the accessories for the party. Before she headed for a quick shower Sameer entered the room. He triumphantly announced that the Kiss-Me toffees were hidden and the swing had cleared all the stringent tests that it had been subjected to by Muskaan. Sameer unwrapped a toffee that he had his hand and held it between his teeth offering Naina a bite. Naina tried to brush him away "Sameer yeh koi time hai kya romance ka... "but seeing him blocking her way she quickly stretched up and took a bite. "Ab jao? Sameer held her wrist and smirked "Mood toh nahi hai tumhe chodne ka... par kyuki tum mujhe kabhi jyada wait nahi karwati... aaj main wait kar lunga... "Naina blushing hit him lightly on his chest and proceeded with getting ready for the party.
Couple of hours later the house and garden were hustling and bustling with all the guests who as predicted by Sameer had arrived at their own pace following the Indian Standard Time guidelines. The kids were playing Pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, while relishing the rewards of the treasure hunt conducted earlier. Some kids were squealing in delight clinging to the tyre swing. The adults were helping themselves to the soft drinks and food and chatting with each other while keeping an eye on the kids and occasionally helping resolve some minor fights. The men were mostly talking about politics and cricket. The women were covering the latest movies and sharing the tips for the best tailor in town who could get your blouses stitched in the latest Bollywood fashion under a week.
As Naina brought out the latest batch of spring rolls freshly fried by Geeta, Sameer admired his petite wife with an overwhelming personality draped in a white with red border Calcutta style saree that he had got her while on one of his recent work-related trips. She had tried her hair in a French plait with a few loose tendrils softly framing her face. She was wearing pearls today to complement the white saree. While Naina walked around offering the guests the piping hot spring rolls, Sameer looked at her and their new home with a sense of pride and contentment.
After ensuring that the guests were being well fed, Naina headed to a bunch of chairs where her best friend Swati had settled herself for the most part. Munna and a very round and chubby Swati were expecting their second child in about a month now. Their son Akshay was just a few months older to Muskaan, but acted as her big brother ready to fight for her always. Akshay was his father's copy always ready to crack a joke. Pandit who had a three-year-old daughter named Poonam, had recently moved to Bombay to be closer to his wife Smita's parents as her father was ailing. As Naina and Swati chatted away, Munna came over with a plate heaped with everything that was on the menu "Swati, maa kasam aur kuch bhi nahi bacha hai ab! "looking at Naina he continued "Aare Naina kal raat 11:30 ko mujhe pav bhaji laane bheja tha... pata nahi yeh pet mein bacha hai ya Bakasur! As Swati gave him a angry look, he held up his hands in surrender and walked way. Naina and Swati just laughed. Naina watched as Munna walked back to her hubby who was as always looking dashing, today in pair of beige casual trousers and a half sleeved black shirt.
As Naina's eyes wandered to the entrance once again, she spotted her most awaited guests. Chacha- Chachi has just arrived carrying a huge big Teddy bear for the birthday girl with the driver that Sameer had sent earlier. The birthday girl who was dressed in a pretty pink part dress dashed to her grandparents and planted big sloppy kisses on their cheeks and she excitedly hugged the teddy. Naina now understood the reason behind all the hushed conversations between Chachaji and Muskaan when she had lasted visited them. Her father now lived with Arjun and his family in Surat, where Arjun had joined a bank. Bela chachi made some excuses on behalf of Taiji saying she was experiencing a bout of joint pain, but Naina and Sameer knew that the real reason behind her current miserable state was some gossip that she had heard from some well-wishing relatives about Pralay rather seriously dating a non-veg eating Punjabi girl. Bela also fished out another prettily wrapped package which Preeti Mausi had couriered for her favourite niece. Vishakha had not been able to come to Ahmedabad though she really wanted to be here today, as she was busy looking after Rohan and Preeti's sons in Delhi. Preeti had been able to join Rohan on his business trip to Dubai after a long time, as she always busy managing her two Hair Saloon cum Spa ventures and of course the twins. She had got her hearts wish of marrying into the same family as Naina!
As the last kid had his turn with the Pony rides, Naina brought the beautiful cake out which was decorated with lots of chocolate icing and cherries. The cupcakes had been devoured by the kids and adults earlier, when Muskaan decided that everyone should sample one as soon as they arrived! As Muskaan blew the candles everyone boisterously sang the Happy Birthday song with her Papa strumming it on his guitar. As Naina started slicing up the birthday cake, Sameer approached her with another smaller cake with one candle atop it and proudly announced that this was to celebrate Naina's first book which had hit the shelves just about 2 weeks back. There was a huge round of applause and congratulations from all. Chachaji looked at his not-so-little-now Gudiya with moist eyes and a very happy heart. Bela chachi instinctively made her trademark gesture of "nazar na lag jaaye' for the Mr, Mrs and Miss Maheshwari.
Indian Idol 15
