" Arohi sun na yarr?" disha said, I just roll my eyes, she is just blabbering since morning. She is asking me ridiculous questions. She just asked me what If I returned from delhi with a guy in mind. Dude, you know what, since childhood, I have been hating delhi. I have no particular reason for hate but I just hate it so much. I m leaving tonight too for delhi and I am already having anxieties thinking about staying there for atleast 4 days. These four days are gonna be the longest days of my life.
" disha stop your rubbish now, there is no way I will like anyone from there, that too from someone living in delhi. I don't want to be "DELHIWALI". I m fine with being Punjabi only." I said with my confidence. I m really proud to be born in a Punjabi family. There are some perks of being a Punjabi.
" bas kar arohi, tu toh rehne de, dil badi nazook cheez hai, kya pata kab kis pr aa jaye" I roll my eyes once again at her Bollywood dialogues. No matter how annoying she is but I m loving this banter. Its been four days since my mother and kavya left. I have no one to scold and argue with so I m doing these things with disha.
" sabse nazook aakhein hoti hai pagal, I said slapping at her forehead playfully, she winced even though I didn't do it hard. " haa toh fr kya pata teri aakhon ko koi delhi wala hi bha jaye" god this girl is being drama queen now.
" agar meri love life khatam ho gyi ho toh kaam ki baat kare" I said.
" bas kr arohi, kaam vaam toh hote rahenge, zindagi ke chaar din hai jeene ke aur usme bhi hum faltu chizo ki tension krke khrab kar dete hai" she said leaning to her chair and looking at me. I just don't know what kind of karma I did in the past to get her in my life. Well i m not complaining I m just saying this so that I can do the same karma and get her in the next life too.
" acha acha ab meri love life ki baate khatam kar, tu apni bata, tera kya scene hai woh chashme wale ke sath,?" I said leaning to her making sure its only audible to her. She has a crush on one of our colleagues in the tech department. He is handsome but he looks like a nerd with his specks. And this girl is just fantasizing about having intimacy with that guy.
" what should I say, he is just too shy I wonder if he even knows how kids are made?" at her words I burst into laughter. The look she has right now is of disappointment yet admiration. Then her eyes brighten up immediately and she leaned to say something to me, " well then I will get to dominate him and I will be his mommy if he cant be my daddy?" her words made me widen my eyes, damn her imagination is wild just like the fictional books.
" damn disha, your man is going to be the lucky one, all he will have to do is sit still and watch you just like an obedient husband." I said and her eyes light up with pride.
Sudden clearing of thoughts came from behind us, we both startled and looked behind, I look at her, I can't help but smile at seeing her getting nervous in front of her crush while having wild fantasies with him.
" jatin sir sent me, he told me you are good at graphic designing, do you mind helping me in my presentation" he spoke even his voice screams nerd and shyness. I look at disha, her cheeks are getting redder, I can't believe few moments ago this girl was talking dirty and now she is suddenly getting shy because her crush came to ask for her help, " sure, I m free for you anytime" as soon as she said those words I know she regretted by the way she bit her lip and spoke again, " I mean I m free whenever it comes to work" he nodded and told her to follow him. she quickly grabbed her laptop and followed him, I winked and wished her luck. I watch them until they disappear from my sight walking towards the elevator to go to the tech department.
Life is really uncertain. You know what's one of the beautiful things, the beautiful thing is watching two people who love each other blushing together to initiate. I just hope he is the right guy for her. Disha deserves the best its not like that guy isn't the best, what I mean to say is, sometimes what we see isn't all true. We start believing things on what we hear or see but we always forget the depth or root of it. this is the reason misunderstandings happen.
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Last night was tiring, I couldn't sleep on the train. My father and I reached here at 10 am. One of the relatives was sent to pick us up from the railway station. As we reached their house, I was shocked to see it. I have heard my mother used to tell us that her uncle is into politics and business. But I didn't expect them to have such a beautiful home. It's bigger than ours. They have a garden and many well decorated sitting areas too. as we reach the front door, my mother and kavya wait for us at the entrance. As I was within reach, my mother hugged me, and asked me about my whereabouts. In the last 5 days, she called me thrice a day to ensure I was eating because she knows I forget to eat sometimes even when I'm hungry. my mother's uncle ( mama ji) came out and welcomed my father. No matter, who it is but the daughter's husband is always treated first. Since my mother is like a daughter to him, he will definitely treat my father with respect. My father touched his feet for blessing. I greeted him too, he patted on my head and said, " last time I saw you was when you were a toddler, now you are a young intelligent independent woman." We all smiled at his words. My father added, " betiyaan kab badi ho jati hai pata hi nhi lagta ".
I m sharing a room with a kavya and some cousins of the groom. One of them spoke,
" I m aarti",
" I m Geetanjali, you can call me geet for short,
" I m riya" the girl with specks said.
" I m arohi, nice to meet you all" I said introducing myself. They all look same age as me but I have heard from Kavya that they are a few years older.
" is it your first time in delhi" the girl whose name is geet asked. " yes, from what I have heard is last time I came to delhi was when I was 4 maybe, but I don't have any memory, so hypothetically, this is my first time having a memory of here" I said .
" then trust us, we will make it memorable for you, we will make sure when you leave from here you leave with beautiful memories and desire to come back here again" the girl whose name Is aarti said, she looks like a bubbly type. They all are pretty.
" Tonight is a haldi ceremony, we will make sure you enjoy it here" geet said. " guys don't miss out on me" kavya said giving me back hug. I missed kavya a lot. Finally she is here.
Since I came here I realised people are not that bad, I see my mother talking to others, getting back with old times with her cousins. The house is already decorated like a bride now. In two hours the haldi ceremony will start, everyone is getting ready. Most of all are wearing yellow, but I m not going to wear it. if I wear it, it will make my skin look more dull. Shut up arohi, its not time to be insecure. I scolded myself and focused on the event tonight.
I was going to the room after getting my dress ironed. my eyes caught an old lady who doesn't seem well. Oh no she is going to fall.
I quickly walked to an old lady, "are you okay?" I asked her as I held her. She was about to fall maybe because of dizziness. "thank you beta" she said softly. I helped her walk to a nearby couch.
"how are you feeling now? do you want me to call anyone?" I asked her.
She just smiled at me, " nahi mere bache I m fine" she said caressing my head with her soft wrinkled hands.
"tell me what I can do for you?" She is just too sweet and I feel some warmth from her. It's like I feel some kind of bond with her already.
"nothing beta I just have low blood pressure" she informed. " aap yahi rukiye main abhi aati hu" I said and walked to the kitchen.
I go through drawers and quickly make lemonade for her without sugar. i have heard from my mother saying lemonade is best for this low blood pressure .
I walked to her and gave her. " aap yeh pijiye fr dekhiye aap kitni jaldi acha feel kroge?" I said. She smiled at me, " thank you bache" she said and sipped it slowly.
"mam are you okay" my mother's uncle came, a frown formed on my forehead as I saw him talking to her like that. He called her with so much respect.
"let me lead you to my cabin" he said taking her hand, she turned to me,
"what is your name beta?" she asked. "arohi.. arohi rajput." I said, my mother's uncle spoke up, " mam she is the daughter of my niece" he informed her. She smiled at me one last time before walking away with him.
"who could she be?" I thought then walked back to our room to get ready for the ceremony.
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As the haldi ceremony started everyone was applying haldi to the groom, he was making weird faces at the smell of haldi. I couldn't help but smile. In my case I really love the smell of haldi, in fact I would say it suits me. It makes my skin glow.
Today I'm wearing a dark green colour Anarkali suit, with a silver jhumka and bangles matched with a silver ring. I didn't do any make up it's just a kajal, pinch of Vaseline mixed with a pinch of lipstick. I don't like applying lipsticks. It will bring the attention of others to my lips so I apply light colours only.
My mother is busy with others and my father is also talking with some men. Kavya, geet, aarti, riya are doing a wonderful performance. They dance like professionals. I love their confidence. i hope one day i will also perform like them not sitting in the corner.
"mind if I sit here beta?" the familiar voice caught my attention. I looked at the voice. It's the same old lady now dressed in a very beautiful baby pink saree and her round specs make her look so cute, she is with a young man, maybe he is her helper or assistant. If I m right she is a chief guest.
"sure" I said standing up helping her sit beside me. "you are looking beautiful beta" she said making me feel the same warmth I felt earlier. "thank you but I think you are looking prettier than me" I said. She chuckled at my response.
"what do you do, arohi?" she asked. " I m not from here, I m here with my mother for a wedding, I m a full time employee at marketing firm" I informed her.
"that's good" she said complimenting me once again. "are you single?" her question caught me off guard. I hope she isn't trying to do match making because that's what old ladies do. I hesitantly nodded, " ji".
"is Neeraj close to you?" she asked, Neeraj is name of my mother's uncle, " I don't know since its my second time here, my first time was when I was 4 years old, but my mother is close with him, I heard from my mother he treated her like his own daughter." I informed her.
I didn't know how long I talked to her. She told me her college time stories while I told mine. She shares the same passion as me. I got to know she had love marriage in her time. With her husband she started a business which has become generational wealth now. I also want to be like her. I hope one day I will get my partner to support me too.
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