Forbidden Fruit (Part 4)

Posted 11 CommentsPosted in English, Original, Rupali-Paritosh

Paritosh had been restless over the weekend. He had scolded Rupali for being unreasonable, but the hurt and disappointment in her eyes haunted him now. ‘It’s not a big deal,’ he kept telling himself, ‘She was indeed being a brat. Besides, she wouldn’t hold a grudge against me. That’s not what she is like.’ But he continued to feel miserable. Several times, he almost dialed her number, but checked himself in time. Calling her made no sense and it would be inappropriate.

Rupali found him doodling on a paper, when she came to his office on Monday morning. “What are you worried about?” she asked, knowing well what the doodling meant.

“Nothing,” he replied with a sigh, “The submission deadline for MT journal is coming close. We need to finish things quickly–”

“I have already run the results through Meteor and have forwarded you the results.”

“You have?”

“Yes. I sent you a mail last night.”

“Looks like I missed it. Let me check.”

“The improvements are quite good. It should get us an acceptance.”

“So it seems,” Paritosh mumbled as he peered at his screen after downloading the file she had sent, “Good. Good work, Rupali.”

“Thanks. Shall I start finalizing the paper?”

“Yes. By when do you think you can finish writing it?”

“Tomorrow afternoon? You will have enough time to review it, I hope.”

“Yes. Ample time.” With any other student, Paritosh would have added at least three to four days to the time they estimated to do the work. But with Rupali he didn’t need to do that. If she said so, she would send the paper the next day. Then he would have until the weekend to review and correct it for the submission.

“Okay then,” she got up to leave.

“Rupali,” he stopped her.

“Yes, Dr. Khanna?”

“Umm… If you see Suhas, can you please ask him to meet me?” Paritosh referred to another Ph. D. student of his.

“Sure. If I see him that is!” Rupali grinned drawing a smile from Paritosh. Rupali and Suhas were two extremes. If Rupali was one step ahead of Paritosh is doing her work, Suhas would often not even see him for weeks.

She made to leave again and was stopped by him again, “Rupali.”

This time, she just looked at him questioningly.

“I am sorry,” he finally spoke, “I was very rude to you the other day.”

“But I thought I had to say sorry,” surprise and confusion were evident on face, “Why are you apologizing?”

“You were just being yourself. I know that very well. So, I shouldn’t have reacted that way.”

“Being myself? You mean I act like a brat all the time? That isn’t much of a compliment,” Rupali smiled sadly.

“You don’t ‘act’ like a brat. You are a brat,” Paritosh chuckled as he said that, “And that isn’t a bad thing with you. Being every thing else that you are, it actually makes you very special.”

“I see. Not that I understand.”

“It’s okay. You are not upset, are you?”

“No. But if you think all that you just told me, why did you get annoyed in the first place?”

“I was not in a great mood. I told you I had come back for some work. I was with one of my Uncles yesterday. He is alone. None of his kids are in India. He is facing some issues related to the land records. You know how messed up those are in our country.”

“Can I help?”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean my family is in real-estate business as well. They would have the right contacts.”

“Oh! Thanks, Rupali. But we don’t need to pull that string right now.”

“Fine. But let me know if you need–”

“Sure. If required, I will ask you.”

Rupali saw Suhas in the lab later in the day.

“Dr. Khanna wants to meet you, Suhas,” she told him.

“Why? You aren’t writing enough papers for him?”

“I can write papers for him, all right. But he is not the one who needs his Ph. D. You are. And you have to write your own papers.”

“You will make one difficult Ph. D. guide, Rupali. You are more difficult than Paritosh.”

“And how exactly is pulling my leg going to help you?”

“Yaar Rupali. Listen to me. Do you know why I am doing a Ph. D.?” Suhas sat down next to her and spoke in a conspiratorial tone.

“No,” she whispered mimicking his tone, “I don’t know. But I have been wondering about it. Why are you inflicting this pain on yourself, Dr. Khanna, the department and the mankind in general?”

“Because,” he whispered back, “My parents think that Ph. D. is another degree that can help me get a better job and a higher dowry.”

“I see.”

“Rupali. You are my friend, right? Please help me.”

“By writing papers for you?” she raised her eyebrows.

“No. Just ask Paritosh to give me a Ph. D. I promise not to enter academics and inflict any pain on future generation of students. I won’t even take dowry, I promise.”

“Of course, it is that easy. I ask Dr. Khanna and you will get your Ph. D. Why not?”

“If he finds a way to do it without creating any issues, he would be happy to let go of all his Ph. D. students,” another lab mate of theirs chipped in.

“Huh?” Rupali did not understand him.

“Except you, obviously.”

“And he will make do with one student?”

“He hasn’t taken anyone in since you came.”

“You guys are crazy. I don’t think I can work here. I am going to my room.”

“Arr… Rupali… Listen…”

But she picked up her bag and left. Her labmates laughed in amusement.

“What are the names of Sujeet Saxena’s two children?” someone shouted.

“LC Saxena and RC Saxena,” everyone else replied in chorus.

“Why does Rupali Banerjee call her advisor Dr. Khanna?”

“Because ‘unka naam nahin lete’.”

Another round of laughter followed before everyone went back to their work.

Rupali, Suhas and other graduate and undergraduate students working with Paritosh were gathered at his house. It was an yearly ritual for Paritosh to invite all his students to his home for dinner. Two of the female undergraduate students had not been able to make it. So, Rupali was the only female student in the group.

After spending some time with her fellow students, she slipped into the kitchen as a courtesy.

“Can I help, Ma’am?” she asked Amrit, who was busy giving instructions to a cook and a maid.

“Don’t bother. You are Rupali?”

“Yes. I was here last year too.”

“Is it? I am sorry. I know your name, of course. But I didn’t remember your face.”

“No issues. You can’t be expected to remember so many names and faces when you meet them only once a year.”

“That’s very sweet of you.”

“Looks like the cook can take care of the stuff here. Why don’t you come out and join us for a bit?”

“No. No. What will I do there? You will be talking about computers and work. You should go back. The food will be ready shortly.”

“Amrit. Can you send some more pakoras–” Paritosh came to the kitchen and stopped in his tracks on seeing Rupali there. “Rupali. What are you doing in the kitchen?”

“She came to help me,” Amrit said appreciatively.

“And you let her do that, Amrit?” Paritosh frowned.

“No, she didn’t,” Rupali hastily intervened, “I am not doing anything here. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t have. I don’t know how to cook all this.”

“You would be used to cooking Bengali food, right?” Amrit smiled encouragingly. She had assumed that Rupali was  embarrassed at her inability to cook. This was her way of coming to Rupali’s rescue.

“She is not used to cooking anything, Amrit,” Paritosh sounded curt to Rupali, “Come out now. You are sweating.”

“All right.” Sometimes Rupali did not understand Paritosh at all. It was within reason if he did not want a guest in the kitchen. But he wasn’t politely while asking her to come out, like he should do to a guest. He was ordering her around. Rupali stole a quick glance at Amrit. She was not affected by this exchange at all. Didn’t she feel bad, Rupali wondered. They exchanged a smile and Rupali followed Paritosh out of the kitchen.

“Why on earth would you go into the kitchen?” he asked her on their way back to the hall, still sounding irritated.

“Why on earth would you make such a big deal out of it? I had come to get water. I though I’d say hello to Mrs. Khanna. Is that a crime?”

“No.”

“And rest assured. I was not made to do anything.”

“I’m sorry,” Paritosh was now mollified and his gentle, dignified manner was back, “I over-reacted. It’s just that… That’s not your place.”

“Now you are being hypocritical. It can be your wife’s place. That is fine by you? But not mine.”

Paritosh sighed, “I didn’t mean it in a derogatory sense.”

“Really?”

“Are you interrogating me?” Paritosh tried to make light of it in an effort to wriggle out of an uncomfortable conversation that he himself was responsible for.

“And you are very successfully evading me.”

“Okay, lady. Ask me directly. What do you want to know?”

“I… I don’t know.” Rupali was suddenly clueless, “I forgot.”

“So, we were fighting just like that?”

“Yes. I guess!”

Paritosh was amused now, “Next time I call you a brat, don’t get mad. You are one. You proved that just now.”

“Right,” she mumbled, feeling slightly disoriented.

“Shall we?” Paritosh pointed towards the door of the hall, where all the other guests were busy with starters and drinks.

“Umm. You go ahead. I didn’t get the water I came in for.”

“Okay. Just don’t start cooking fish,” Paritosh joked and Rupali smiled in reply.

To be continued

Forbidden Fruit (Part 3)

Posted 13 CommentsPosted in English, Original, Rupali-Paritosh

“I am so, so tired of these trees and graphs in Sujeet Saxena’s class. Does he never tire of parent nodes, left child, right child?” Rupali and his friends were gathered together for the hostel day celebration.

“Oye, haven’t you heard of this? Sujeet Saxena has two children. What are their names?”

“Huh?”

“Think logically.”

“There is a logical way of naming children?”

“With Sujeet Saxena, there is. His children are called LC Saxena and RC Saxena.”

“What are you talking about?” Rupali had been reticent, but this drew her into the conversation.

“Rupali – the genius! It’s Left Child Saxena and Right Child Saxena.”

Everyone burst out laughing. Rupali also smiled, but she wasn’t exactly feeling jovial. She quietly slipped away after a while.

“Hi!” Ajay Bhardwaj came and sat beside her on the bench. He was also a Ph. D. student in the department. He worked with Dr. Sujeet Saxena.

“Hi. What’s up?”

“Nothing. Why did you come away? Are you unwell?”

“No.I am fine. I just sometimes feel out of place is large gatherings and noisy places.”

“Right. How about a really small gathering? Tomorrow is Saturday. Would you like to go out of the campus with me, perhaps for a coffee?”

Rupali looked surprised at his proposal. Then asked, “Coffee as in coffee? Or coffee as in a date?”

Her direct question made Ajay laugh despite his nervousness, “I meant the latter. But…”

“I like good coffee. I am sorry about the date.”

Ajay handled his disappointment gracefully, “Can I ask why?”

“I will try to answer, but I am not very good at these things. So, try not to get me wrong. It’s not about you. It’s just not on my priority. Or even in my comfort zone.”

“It’s okay, Rupali.”

“Thanks for understanding, Ajay.”

“I don’t understand, to be honest. But I respect you.”

“That deserves a thanks too.”

“Can we go for a coffee as in coffee though? No trick. Seriously.”

Rupali hesitated, but then smiled, “Sure.”

He was seated slightly far from Rupali and Ajay’s table in the coffee shop. But Rupali would have recognized Paritosh’ voice from miles away. “An Espresso, please,” he requested the waiter in his usual gentle manner. She was taken aback. He wasn’t expected to be back until Monday. She resisted the urge to confront him immediately, because he was sitting with an elderly gentleman and they seemed to be discussing something important.

Ajay hadn’t noticed Paritosh, but he could see that Rupali was distracted.

“Everything all right?” he asked.

“Yes. Of course.”

After few minutes the elderly man left while Paritosh waited behind to pay the bill. By shifting her chair slighly, Rupali could keep Paritosh in her peripheral vision.

“I will be back in a minute,” she told Ajay when Paritosh left the shop after paying the bill. She went out hoping to catch him before he disappeared. But Paritosh had long strides and she had to run to catch him in the parking lot.

“Dr. Khanna!”

He didn’t need to even turn back to know who it was. Only she called him “Dr. Khanna” like that. It had felt strange in the beginning. The undergraduate students called him “Sir”, but he always insisted that his graduate students called him by name. Everyone else complied, but Rupali continued calling him Dr. Khanna as she used to do before she had joined Ph. D.

“Rupali. What’s up?”

“I thought you were coming back on Monday.”

“Yes. But one of my Uncles had some work to get done in the city and he wanted my help. So, I came back earlier with him.”

“When did you come back?”

“Yesterday.”

“You didn’t tell me?”

Paritosh replied with a smile, “I thought I would let you have a break. You weren’t expecting to be bothered about work till Monday. So–”

“You could have attended the hostel day celebration.”

“Oh!”

“You didn’t even remember? That’s so unfair,” Rupali was agitated and she didn’t realize how loud she was.

“Rupali!”

“I will never talk to you.”

“Stop it, Rupali,” Paritosh was finding the exchange embarrassing in the parking lot. Others had started staring at them, “I am sorry. All right? But don’t behave like a brat. Not here in public, at least.”

His admonishment brought her back to her senses, “I… I am sorry. Just that I saw you in the coffee shop. And–”

“I saw you too,” Paritosh was still curt, “But you had company. So, I didn’t–”

“Company? You mean… No… He is not my boyfriend.”

“Nor am I. I must leave now. I will see you on Monday, at work.” Paritosh turned away and climbed into his car. Rupali walked back listlessly and ran into Ajay.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, trying to hide how dejected she was.

“You left like it was a question of life and death. I got worried.”

“I am all right. We can go back.”

“I paid the bill. I think you want to go back to the campus.”

She did and she was thankful to him for understanding that, “How much was the bill? We should split.”

“I know it was not a date. But paying for your coffee is not going to make me bankrupt. You can pay some other time. Let’s go now.” Ajay was not curt or rude, but he didn’t sound happy either.

“Dr. Khanna is a happily married man,” Ajay said on their way back.

“I know very well that he is married. Whether or not happily is something neither me, nor you would know. But either way, why are we talking about it?”

“I’m not the only one you have refused, Rupali, right? Ever wondered why you do that? You are not a traditional, obedient India girl saving yourself for your the guy your parents find for you, are you?”

“I have told you that relationships are not on my priority right now.”

“I’m afraid, it’s more an alibi than a reason.”

“What do you want to say?”

“I think, after today, I just agree to what everyone already says.”

“And what is that?”

“That you are hopelessly stuck on Dr. Khanna.”

“So I have heard too. He is my role-model, Ajay. It isn’t the same thing as–”

“For your sake, I hope you are right.”

To be Continued

Forbidden Fruit (Part 2)

Posted 8 CommentsPosted in English, Original, Rupali-Paritosh

Paritosh came out of his reminiscence when his phone rang. It was Amrit, his wife.

“Right… Yes… Yes… I remember…” he lied. He had forgotten about the wedding they had to attend that evening. He was supposed to buy a gift before going home to pick Amrit up. Amrit perhaps knew that he would have forgotten. So, she called. He was thankful for that. But he wondered sometimes. Instead of putting in so much effort in making him remember, why couldn’t she step out and buy something from the neighborhood shop herself? It wasn’t like she didn’t have time. But she seemed to have an aversion to taking any decision related to money, even minor expenses! His mother always said that he was fortunate to have a wife like that, who always deferred to him. He wasn’t so sure.

“This is quite late even for you!” Rupali was surprised to see Paritosh in the department’s common room at two in the morning. Having a night-out in the department was not uncommon for the students or young faculty. But not for others with family. Paritosh was known to stay till late, but usually even he left by midnight.

“I had to finish reviewing Smith’s paper.”

“When is the deadline?”

“Next week. But I am going on a break the day after.”

“Break?”

“Diwali. I have to go to my native place.”

“You had gone last year too.”

“I go every year.”

“For how long will you be gone?”

“One week.”

“Not fair.”

“What is unfair about it, Rupali?” this girl never ceased to amuse him with her antics, “You want to go home? You can go. I will approve your leave.”

“No. No. Who wants to go home? Mom is mad at me for not going there for Pujo. But your going away means that you will not come for our hostel day celebrations again.”

Every hostel in the college had a day earmarked as hostel day. They would host a party and entertain with stage performances on that day. Students living in the hostels invited their friends and faculty members they worked with to the celebrations. The hostel day for Rupali’s hostel fell in the same week as Diwali this time. Last year  Paritosh had missed it because he had been away for some conference on that day.

“I am sorry about that, Rupali.”

“Do you really have to go?”

“I told you, I go every year for Diwali.”

“That is not a reason to go. Do you enjoy going there?”

Paritosh sighed. Did he enjoy going there? He didn’t think so. He had never understood the fascination of poets and dreamers with village-life. Why were the villagers portrayed as nice, simple people? From what Paritosh had seen of his relatives in the village, they could eat an average city-dweller for their breakfast any day. And the family gatherings in his village, even around festivals, hardly felt festive. It invariably became a time to fight and bitch about what is being done with the farms and other properties of the family, who is stealing whose share and so on. Amrit, who wouldn’t step out even to buy some grocery on her own here, would fight it out like a lioness protecting her cubs. Paritosh preferred staying out of it. “Let it be, Amrit,” he would advise his wife too. But on that front, she did not defer to him. “How can I let it be? Ancestral rights must be protected, and not thrown away,” she was very clear about that.

“Dr. Khanna?” Rupali spoke again when Paritosh did not reply and got lost in his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“I asked if you enjoy going to your native place?”

“No. I don’t. But we are social animals, Rupali. We don’t do things just for ourselves.”

“Do your relatives want you to come there?”

“No. I don’t think that they would miss me terribly.”

“For whom do you want to go then?”

“My wife! Amrit enjoys it. Very much. And my son too, I think. He would until he is still a child,” he smiled, “That may change in next few years.”

“Right,” Rupali’s face flushed. She suddenly felt  stupid, then fished for an opportunity to change the subject, “You were trying to get some coffee?”

“Yes. But this machine doesn’t seem to be working.”

“It won’t work the Computer Science way. We need mechanical engineering at work here,” she replied and tapped the machine hard a couple of times. Sure enough! Coffee started flowing.

“Thanks!” Paritosh picked the cup up and smiled.

“By the way, I think for someone talking about universal grammar in languages, Smith’s modeling is very weak. Prepositions, for example. The model would explain its usages in English, but definitely not in any Indian or middle-eastern languages.”

“Good point,” Paritosh nodded in agreement, “I am going to mention it in my review. Anything else?”

“No. As you had warned, the Maths did become too much for me after a while. It will take me some more time to go through the entire thing.”

“That’s fine. Whatever you managed to understand was beyond expectation. You have more course-work to do.”

“By the way, Dr. Khanna. I think you will enjoy the hostel day celebration more than Diwali at your native place. May be that should matter – at least for one year. Good night,” she said and walked out before he could process the sudden switch in the conversation. He looked confused for a moment. Then he smiled and shook his head.

“Rupali. What happened?” Garima interrupted Rupali while walking down the corridor in her hostel.

“Nothing,” Rupali replied hastily, “Why do you ask?”

“Why? You look like you failed a subject in your last semester and would have to wait another year for your degree.”

“What?”

“You look like you are on the verge of crying. Something is the matter.”

“Nothing major.”

“That’s fine. Who said you can’t share minor troubles. Come. Let’s sit in the canteen.”

“It’s not a trouble, yaar,” Rupali tried to appear nonchalant, “Just that Dr. Khanna is not coming for the Hostel Day this year either.”

“Aaaah!” Garima gave a meaningful smile.

“What?”

“No wonder you look heartbroken.”

“What heartbroken?”

“Do I have to tell you what heartbroken means?”

“Why should I be heartbroken? I am just annoyed. I had already purchased food coupons for him. It will be wasted.”

“I see. So, you are annoyed about wasted money? Since when did that start happening?”

“What do you mean since when? My family has money. I don’t. I do spend it wisely.”

“Sure. How many extra coupons do you have?”

“Three.”

“Dr. Khanna eats that much?”

“Silly. For his wife and son.”

“Ah! You were going to invite them too.”

“Of course. I was.”

“Okay. I can take one of the coupons from you. How much was it? Four hundred bucks?”

“Just take it.”

“Don’t care about the money, do you?” Garima winked at her and left, leaving Rupali flabbergasted.

To be Continued

Forbidden Fruit (Part 1)

Posted 13 CommentsPosted in English, Original, Rupali-Paritosh

“Dr. Khanna?”

“Rupali! Come in.”

“I’m sorry. You look busy. Shall I come later? Oh! You are reading the same paper. By Smith and his group.”

Prof. Paritosh Khanna laughed, something he did often in the presence of Rupali Banerjee, usually triggered by her childlike enthusiasm to know and do everything immediately. She sought instant gratification just like children. Only her candies involved complex Computer Science research! What else could explain her trying to read that paper even before it was published? It had come to Paritosh for peer-review. And it was the kind of paper whose review could not be delegated to the graduate students, not even to someone as bright as Rupali. The authors had, however, put up the paper on their website, as was a common practice among Computer Science researchers. She must have downloaded it from there.

“Let me guess,” he said, barely suppressing an amused smile, “You are stuck here.” He pointed to an equation used in modeling the use of proposition in a family of natural languages.

“Yes. How did you know?” Rupali asked, with a mix of curiosity and embarrassment.

“Because you have not yet come to Lecture 20 in Prof. Sinha’s class in Advanced Statistics.”

Rupali flushed. Paritosh tracked her  academic activities closely. Even if he was her Ph. D. Guide, this was him going out of his way. But if it was awkward, Rupali didn’t mind it. Because it also made her feel very special.

“Once you have attended that lecture, it will sound basic,” he assured her.

“Everything is basic for you,” she complained drawing another amused smile from him.

“And you are unwilling to wait for that lecture. Shouldn’t I have known? Sit down. I will explain the concept to you. But the second part of the paper may still be challenging,” he warned her.

“I get it. I am not to trouble you about this paper,” she pouted, her trademark innocent school-girl pout.

“Sit down, Rupali. You don’t have to emotionally blackmail me. I will explain it,” he said.

She grinned widely as she jumped into the visitor’s chair placed across the table from him.

After he was done explaining, and answering her myriad questions, she walked out with a visible sprint in her gait. She was excited! About understanding a statistical concept!

A year and a half ago, Paritosh had received an e-mail from Rupali and had replied with a single word. Her e-mail had her detailed curriculum vitae attached. She had written that she had applied to his institute for a Ph. D. and she wanted to do it under him. She had also asked him that if he liked her CV, could he check the possibility of accepting her in the Ph. D. programme without her having to write GATE. GATE was the exam most leading Indian engineering colleges forced any post-graduate or  Ph. D. aspirants to write to be eligible for admissions. She thought the exam was rather stupid and a waste of time.

And all he had written in the reply was “Why?”

Rupali had jumped with joy on receiving an instant reply from him. Then she had realized that it was a one-word reply. “Why?” ‘What the hell,’ she had cursed. She was prepared for acceptance, rejection, questions or even being ignored. But “Why?” Why did someone apply for a Ph. D. program? To do a Ph. D. of course! Impulsive as she was, she had also replied in one word, but with two question marks. “Why??” And Paritosh had laughed out loud. His momentary impulsiveness had been matched fair and square. So, in the next e-mail he had patiently explained his question to her.

The only blemish on her record was that she had not made it into one of the IITs. But her projects and her undergraduate research had more than compensated for it. He himself had met her at a Machine Learning conference in Zurich once and had been impressed with her paper presentation. She had contributed to many open source projects in the field. She would have gotten admission into any university in the US. With full financial support. Not that finances were  her problem. She came from a rich business family. Why would she want to do a Ph. D. in India? None of the bright undergraduates in Paritosh’ college ever stayed back in India for Ph. D. He himself hadn’t. Rupali was better than most of them. She had already defied all the stereotypes . Indians were not supposed to be good at research, and women were not supposed to be good at Computer Science. As an Indian woman she was good at both.

“You really don’t need a backup,” he had assured her over e-mail.

She had sent a belligerent reply. “Why are you acting as if you know what my plans are? Who told you this is a backup option for me? I have applied to Stanford and CMU as a backup. If you don’t accept me, I am, of course, not going to stay in India.”

That reply had made him laugh again. Even though he had met her in person only once, he remembered how animated she got when she talked. At this point, her innocent face would also have been flushed with her irritation at him. She would be an amusing sight to behold right now, he had thought.

If she wanted to stay back in India, it was no surprise that she wanted to do a Ph. D. under him. People around him had forever wondered why he came back to India. But then, it probably didn’t matter that he did. Unlike many others, his research productivity had not suffered after returning from the US. He was actively publishing in major journals in the field, getting invited to the conferences and was a well-respected researcher. He had worked as a guest faculty at several universities in the US and Europe for short-term, though he never accepted a long-term position outside India.

Despite all that, he had considered it his duty to impress upon her that staying in India was not the best option. But doing it over e-mail was difficult. He had asked her if they could talk on phone.

“Let’s talk in person. I am flying to Delhi next week. Would you be available?” she had replied.

He was happy to be available!

She had walked in wearing a jeans and a plain t-shirt. Her shoulder length hair was tied in a pony-tail. The only accessories she had on were a pair of small ear-rings and a watch. There was no visible make-up on her. She looked like any other youngster in an Indian metro. In fact more sober than most of them. Nothing in her appearance would give away even a hint of how rich a family she came from. At least not until you noticed that all the simple-looking stuff she was wearing came from expensive brands. They were not the fake ones bought off the streets in Delhi. Paritosh couldn’t fathom why he had noticed that. Perhaps because he knew her to be rich. Her face and features were feminine and innocent, and on them, her no-frills clothes, tomboyish behavior and demanding demeanor looked unnatural. As if she was putting on an act. But over last year and a half, Paritosh had dealt with her every day. She was like that only. There was no act! And now, to him, it no longer looked unnatural. She acted like a spoiled brat most of the time. But spoiled for higher things in life. Like her academic and research achievements.

“I don’t understand you, Dr. Khanna,” she was on the offensive from the very beginning in that meeting, “Just tell me this. Would you or would you not like to have me as your Ph. D. student?”

“I would like to. But I also don’t understand you, Rupali. Why would you not want to go to the US for a Ph. D.? You do understand that career-wise that will be the best thing for you.”

“And you, of all the people, are saying that? You have done most of your research from India?”

“Yes. But even I hadn’t stayed back for my Ph. D. Plus there were personal reasons.”

“I have personal reasons too,” she had retorted, rather than replied.

“Oh!” Paritosh had hesitated, “Do you mind sharing? Only if you are comfortable.”

“I don’t mind. I got inclined towards the field of Machine Learning and Computer Science research only because of you.”

“Excuse me?”

“You would not remember. You had come to our college for a tech-talk during our annual tech festival.”

“That was what? Four years ago?”

“Yes. I was in my first year. I had just joined the college.”

“I see,” This was an unexpected turn in the conversation and Paritosh was not prepared for it.

“I had gone to IIT Kharagpur next year only to hear your talk. Then, of course, the conference in Zurich–”

“I remember that. By the way, when people say ‘personal reasons’, most of the time they mean some problem, or obligation. Not this!”

“Well. If you need a personal reason of that kind, My Mom is terrified with the idea of my even stepping out of the house. Going out of the country will give her a heart-attack. Or at least she will behave like she is getting one. So, you see! Personal reasons!”

“But if I said no, you will go to Stanford or CMU, right?”

“Yes.”

“So, Rupali. It’s not a personal reason. What you are indulging in is hero-worshipping and–”

“Oh God! Doing a Ph. D. and more outside India has not changed you much, has it? You preach like Indian parents. But you know what! I can put up with that.”

Paritosh had sighed and shook his head. She was headstrong. Right or wrong, there was no changing her mind. He gave his consent. Even worked through the administrative hassles to get her exempted from writing GATE.

“What harm can writing GATE bring?” he had tried to persuade her to just go with the system, “You will easily get a record score there!”

“Is that your way of ensuring that I go to the US?” she had retorted and he had given up on trying to tame her.

To be continued

First Gift

Posted 1 CommentPosted in Fan Fiction, Hinglish, Maneet (GHSP)

“Geet, mere cabin mein aana,” Maan told her on the phone.

When Geet entered his cabin she saw two men in the room sitting on the visitors’ chairs. They were wearing their employee badges which told her that they were from the bank.

On Maan’s indication, Geet sat on the chair next to him. He had permanently put a chair next to his own in his office, which was Geet’s seat, especially when others were there in the room. She didn’t think this special treatment was necessary in the office, but he insisted on it; so she complied.

“Geet, in papers par sign kar do.”

Geet took the paper and started signing. Just for information’s sake, she asked, “Ye kya hain Maan?”

“Abhi batata hoon.”

After she had signed the papers, the bank employees took their leave.

“Geet. Maine tumhara naam mere personal bank account mein include karwa diya hai. Ye tumhare ATM aur Credit Cards hain. Tum inka use kar sakti ho, jab bhi zaroorat ho.”

Geet hesitated, “Lekin Maan. Inki kya zaroorat hai. Mujhe koi zaroorat hogi to main aapse ya Dadi Ma se maang loongi.”

Maan smiled and held her at shoulders, “Geet! Mujhe pata hai ki tumhein apne liye kuchh nahin chahiye hota hai. Lekin ab tumhare oopar aur zimmedariyan bhi hain. Hamare parivaar ki. Agar ghar mein koi zaroorat hui to kya tum har baar Dadi Ma ko pareshaan karogi?”

She nodded in agreement. Dadi Ma had talked about her responsibilities post-marriage. That had sounded natural to her. But somehow Maan talking about responsibilities made it sound like a huge thing to her. She wondered why was that so. Possibly because in his presence, she never had to take any responsibilities. He always had all the answers, he always knew the way. So, she had gotten used to being carefree like a child in his company. Probably that’s why the word responsibility struck her. But she was thinking too much. It was just another one of his ways to include her in his life as his wife, as the daughter-in-law of his family. He was saying something.

“Aur agar tumhein bhi koi zaroorat hui to tumhein kissi se kuchh maangne ki zaroorat nahin hai, samjhi tum?”

Geet smiled and left. They both had work to finish.

She had finished her work and peeked into his cabin. He seemed to be working on some blueprints. She decided to wait for him.

Her eyes fell on the credit and ATM cards lying on her table. She picked them up to keep them in her purse, but suddenly stopped. These were another symbol of her inclusion in his life. How would she use them for the first time? And she smiled. This was a thought that had crossed her mind on and off. She had never given him a real gift. There was the taveez, but that wasn’t really a gift from her to him. It was more of a symbol of their relationship. And then there were flowers that she had given him several times. But for most part they were an expression of her own feelings for him, rather than being for him. The fact was, and she had never told this to herself in so many words earlier, that with her finances she could not have afforded anything that would suit Maan Singh Khurana.

But now! She laughed to herself. So, she wanted to gift him something with his own money. But now it was hers too. That’s what he was letting her know by arranging these cards for her. So, why not! She would buy him his first real gift.

The decision to get a gift for him was easy, what followed after that was far too difficult. What would she get him? She could not think of single thing that he needed. Of course, he already had everything he needed. Were there things that would make him happy? Surprised? She picked up a piece of paper and started listing the possibilities. A watch? Too cliched… Clothes? A shirt? A tie? One wouldn’t even know where they will be burried in the heaps of clothes he had. What else?

“Babaji! Ladkiyon ke liye gift khareedna kitna aasaan hota hai. Itne saare gahnon ke options hain. Ab main inke liye kya loon?”

But Maan interrupted her tête-à-tête with her Babaji. He was done for the day and asked her to come home with him.

She was still busy thinking of gifts for him in the car. Maan noticed her unusual reticence and asked her repeatedly about what was going on in her mind, but she made an excuse every time. Then she realized that he was getting worried. He cared so much! So, for his sake she decided to push the thought off her mind for the time being. She’d figure out later in the evening. They were chatting away on their way home and crossed the mall which housed the designer boutique, where they had shopped for her dresses durnig the wedding. And then it struck her.

“Idea mil gaya,” she almost screamed in excitement.

“Kya idea mil gaya Geet?” Maan couldn’t make sense of her statement coming out of blue.

“Nahin… Woh… Haan… Maine aapse kaha tha na ki main Noida waale housing project ke kitchen ke design ke baare mein soch rahi thi. To uske liye idea mil gaya. Lekin hum abhi kaam ke baare mein baat nahin karte hain. Kal office mein bataungi.”

“Theek hai,” Maan felt confused. Something was up with Geet, but she seemed to have found the solution to whatever was bothering her. So, he did not dig further.

‘Ab kal kitchen ke liye kuchh soch kar jaana hoga. Babaji – madad kijiye,’ Geet thought to herself.

The next day Geet excused herself early from work. She told Maan that Dadi Ma wanted her back home early for some work. Maan did not like her leaving without him, but she had used the ultimate excuse – Dadi Ma. He could not stop her.

Geet had to rush through her selection to ensure that she had bought his gift, the first gift from her, and reached home before him. But she was satisfied with it.

When Maan entered his room, he felt annoyed at not finding her there. She had left only two hours ahead of him, but he had missed her too much already. And the drive from the office to home felt too lonely. He wondered about how much had changed in his life in less than six months. He was someone so used to his solitude. And now, even couple of hours without Geet would annoy him to no end. But it wasn’t the time to analyze and philosophize. Where was Geet? The only thing he wanted then was to see her and hear her voice.

“Geet,” he shouted out, as he loosened his tie and sat on the bed feeling exhausted after the tiring day. And then he noticed a nicely wrapped, small packet on the bed. The note on it read “Us Dusht Danav ke liye, jo meri duniya ban gaya”.

His first reaction was that of surprise and then he smiled. So, this was her business with Dadi Ma. He had laughed at Geet when she had told him that she liked the idea of hosting a reception because they got so many gifts. The idea of being happy about getting gifts sounded childish. Why does one need gifts? If he wanted something he could always buy it. But right now, he himself was feeling very elated. Getting a gift had not only cured his annoyance, but also made him genuinely happy.

He looked around to see if she had come in yet. She wasn’t to be seen. But he could not wait to open the gift. So, he unwrapped it. Inside a beautiful case, was a diamond pen with the body of white gold. The pen had his name inscribed on it – Maan Singh Khurana. She had clearly given a lot of thought in selecting and preparing the gift. It was expensive, but it looked classy and sober and not over the top. Just the kind of thing Maan Singh Khurana will carry. He already knew that his heart and soul were transparent in front of his Hoshiyarpur express. But he realized that she knew his day to day needs and persona very well too. Could his life get more perfect with her? He took the pen and put it in his breast pocket.

Suddenly he found her in front of him. She ran her hand over his pocket, also running it over his heart in the process and asked, “Kaisa laga?”

“Geet! Mujhe hamesha lagta tha ki mujhe jo chahiye main khareed sakta hoon. Phir kissi gift ko le kar khush hone ki kya zaroorat hai. Lekin aaj mahsoos hua ki insaan apni zaroorat ki sab cheezein to khareed sakta hai, lekin khushi dene waali cheezein use wahi de sakta hai, jo usse bahut pyaar karta ho. Thank you Geet. Aaj phir se tumne mujhe zindagi ki chhoti-badi cheezon mein khush hona sikha diya. Main bata nahin sakta ki mujhe kitna achchha laga.”

Geet was obviously overjoyed to see him happy. Suddenly she brought him a pad and said, “Ab is pen se apna pahla sentence likhiye.”

“Abhi?” Maan wasn’t expecting this request.

“Haan!”

“Theek hai. Kya likhoon?”

“I love you, Geet!” she had already thought of that.

“Kya?” Maan laughed slighly and then looked at her patronizingly. She was a child, wasn’t she?

She had started making faces seeing him laugh; so before she got angry he decided to obilige.

As he opened the pen, he noticed something and a naughty smile formed on his lips. He controlled his expressions before she could see him.

“Lao Geet. Pad do, main likhta hoon.”

She was immediatly happy again and he gave him the pad.

“Geet! Ye pen to chal nahin raha hai,” Maan told her as he tried to write.

“Kya? Aisa kaise ho sakta hai. Maine unse kaha tha ki ink bhar ke dein. Aap theek se likh rahe hain na?”

“Geet! Tumhein lagta hai ki mujhe pen se likhna bhi nahin aata,” Maan faked irritation.

“Nahin. Woh to… Dijiye main dekhti hoon,” she took the pen and tried to scribble, but to no avail. Then she jerked the pen couple of times to make the ink flow to the nib. It still didn’t work.

“Geet! Aise jhatka mat do pen ko. Diamonds nikal kar gir jayenge… Waise tumne khareedne se pahle pen chala kar nahin dekha tha?”

Geet looked at him feeling stupid, “Nahin. Mujhe laga ki itna mahnga pen hai, aur itni badi si dukaan hai to itna to dhyaan rakha hi hoga unhone.”

“Ab Geet. Pen ke mahnge-saste hone se kya hota hai. Pen to pen hi hai. Likhna to chahiye na. Ab isse achchha to yahan ghar ke paas se koi sasta-sa pen khareed lete.”

Geet sat down on the bed and was totally disappointed.

Maan loved teasing her, but only till she fought back. He could not stand seeing her sad or disappointed.

“Geet,” he touched her shoulders and took the pen from her hand. Then he took out the thin protective cap from the tip of the nib, which was preventing them from being able to write with the pen. He started smiling. Geet was first surprised and then furious.

“Aapko pata tha, aur aap phir bhi mujhe pareshaan kar rahe the,” she hit him on the shoulder, and pretty hard because he almost fell on his back.

“Geet! Sambhal ke. Ab cap nikal aayi hai, kahin nib toot gayi to?”

“Arre haan!” She forgot her fury for a moment as she became concerned about her pen. Then she saw him grinning and realized that he had teased her once again.

She got up from there and started going away pouting. But how could he let her go? He pulled her back on the bed, “Ruko Geet. Mujhe apna pahla sentence likh to lene do is pen se.”

She made a face as if she did not care any longer, but she stayed back. He picked up the pen and the pad and started writing.

Geet pretended not to be looking at what he was writing, but she was stealing glances when she thought Maan wouldn’t know. It couldn’t take him so much time to write what she had asked him to. What was he up to? Was he planning to tease her again?

He gave her the pad after he finished. She started reading it.

“Meri pyaari Mishti,

I love you. Main ye baat hazaar baar kah sakta hoon, hazaar baar likh sakta hoon. Lekin in lafzon se phir bhi ye nahin pata chalga ki main tumhare liye kya mahsoos karta hoon. Isliye tumne jitna kaha tha, main usse thoda zyada likh raha hoon.

Waise to maine bahut kuchh tumhein bataya hai ki kaise tumne meri zindagi badal dee hai. Aaj ek baat aur batana chahta hoon. Tumhare saath main apna aaj jeeta hoon aur aane waale kal ke sapne dekhta hoon. Lekin tumhare aane se sirf mera aaj aur aane waala kal hi nahin badla hai. Mujhe lagta hai jaise ki mere guzre hue kal ke din bhi main dubara jee raha hoon. Farq itna hai ki pahle woh andheron ke pal the, par ab unmein roshni hi roshni hai.

Tumhare saath maasoom khel khel kar main apne bachpan ke un dinon ki kasar poori karta hoon, jab unmein bholapan aur masti nahin rah gayi thi. Tumhein chhed kar, pareshaan kar ke, main un doston ki kami poori karta hoon jo maine kabhi banaye nahin the. Tumhari tarah pyaar kar ke main us 18 saal ke Maan ko bhula deta hoon jo samay se pahle bada ho gaya tha. Uski jagah ek naya 18 saal ka ladka ban jaata hoon, jo tumhari tarah khush rahna jaanta hai, sapne dekhna jaanta hai, pyaar karna jaanta hai.

Geet! Kabhi kabhi mujhe dar bhi lagta hai ki kahin main apni zarooraton ke liye tumhein bahut zyada pareshaan to nahin karta. Lekin jab tumhein muskurate hue apne saamne dekhta hoon, to phir laalchi ho jaata hoon.

Thank you Geet. Mujhe khush rahna sikhane ke liye, aur mujhe hamesha khush rakhne ke liye. Bas ek cheez aur maangta hoon, tumse bhi aur bhagwaan se bhi – Kabhi mujhse door mat jaana. Agar maine kabhi tumhein zyada pareshaan kiya; ya mujhse koi galti ho gai, to mujhe sazaa de dena, par mujhe chhod kar mat jaana.

Geet! Main tumse sirf pyaar hi nahin karta, main tumhari pooja karta hoon. Kyonki agar hamein zindagi dene waala bhagwaan hai, to woh khud tumhare roop mein mere saamne aaya hai – mujhe zindagi dene, mujhe jeena sikhane.

Aur kya likhoon? Tumhara pen to bahut achchha hai, lekin mere lafz jawaab de rahe hain. Lafzon mein kamzor hoon na! Baaki ki ankahi baatein khud hi samajh lo.

Tumhara

Dusht Danav”

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. She kept the pad aside and leaned on him as he pulled her into a hug.

She spoke while still hugging him, “Maan. Aap please aisa kabhi mat sochiyega ki aap mujhe pareshaan karte hain ya aapse koi galti ho sakti hai. Aapka kiya hua koi bhi kaam mere liye galti nahin hoga. Aur mujhe sata kar agar aapke chehre par ek pal bhi hansi aati hai, to aap chahe sata-sata kar mujhe maar daalein, mujhe koi shikayat nahin hogi.”

“Bilkul chup Geet. Dubara marne ki baat mazaak mein bhi mat karna.”

Their hug became tighter.

Their Surprises

Posted 3 CommentsPosted in Fan Fiction, Hinglish, Maneet (GHSP)

Note on the OS

This scene is supposed to happen during their honeymoon in Shimla.

As Maan entered the room, he saw Geet hastily putting down the phone’s receiver.

“Kise phone kar rahi thi Geet?”

“Phone?” she was taken aback because she had thought he didn’t see her on the phone and was not prepared with an alibi. But as usual she was quick to make up one, even if it was not so  believable, “Haan! Woh – Housekeeping waalon ka phone aaya tha ye poochhne ke liye ki hamein kissi cheez ki zaroorat to nahin hai.”

Maan wasn’t convinced, but she distracted him with her question, “Aap chaat le kar aaye? Dijiye mujhe. Main to kab se intezaar kar rahi hoon.”

“Kab se? Geet – abhi main aadhe ghante pahle hi to gaya tha. Aur tumehin resort ke restaurant ki chaat nahin chahiye thi. Us market waali shop se hi chahiye thi. To wahan se laane mein thoda time to lagega na.”

“Haan, haan. Pata hai. Lekin ab baby ka wahi khane ka man ho raha tha to main kya karoon?” she made an innocent face.

“Geet baby ke naam par mujhe pareshaan karna band karo,” Maan pretended anger, but they both knew he was joking.

“Baby! Dekha? – Papa kah rahe hain ki aap unhein pareshaan kar rahe ho.”

“Achchha Geet?! Maine ye kab kahan ki baby mujhe pareshaan kar raha hai. Pareshaan to mujhe tum karti ho! Woh bhi baby ka naam le kar.”

“Baby! Dekha? Papa Mamma ko kaise daant rahe hain.”

It was not possible for him to win against his Hoshiyarpur express! He finally succumbed to a smile and slight laughter. Geet started eating the chaat sitting on the bed. She looked like an innocent child enjoying her candy. Maan pretended to watch TV sitting beside her, but he was stealing glances at her through out.

Suddenly the phone rang. Maan got up to pick it up, but Geet sprang ahead, “Main dekhti hoon.”

“Par Geet tum apni chaat to kha lo.”

She had already picked up the phone by then, “Achchha theek hai. Hum aate hain.”

“Kya hua Geet?”

“Chaliye – hamein market jaana hai.”

“Market? Par kisliye? Abhi to main market se aaya hoon.”

“Haan, haan pata hai. Par mujhe bhi jaana hai.”

“Tum mere saath pahle kyon nahin gayi?”

“Offo Maan! Itne sawaal poochhna zaroori hai kya? Waise bhi hum yahan baith kar kya karne waale hain? Chaliye na. Mujhe abhi jaana hai.”

“Aur tumhari chaat?”

“Woh baaki main aa kar kha loongi.”

“Geet! Tum bilkul pagal ho.”

“Pata hai. Sangati ka asar to hota hi hai na. Aapke saath jo rahti hoon har waqt.”

“Kya?”

She practically dragged him out to the black jeep that was waiting for them.

“Jeep mein? Market? Main abhi car mangwata hoon.”

“Nahin Maan. Car mein ja ja kar to main bore ho gayi hoon. Isliye to Jeep mangwayi hai.”

“Car mein… Bore..” Maan wondered if she has totally lost it due to her pregnancy mood swings. But what could he do except to follow his Mishti’s wishes! He couldn’t have denied her even the craziest things in the world. Going to the market in Shimla in a Jeep was still pretty sane.

But Maan was again worried when he saw the route Jeep was taking. He addressed the driver, “Suno. Ye kis raaste par le ja rahe ho? Ye to market ki taraf nahin jaata.”

Geet replied before the driver could even turn to him, “Mujhse baat kijiye. Aap use kyon dara rahe hain apni bhari-bharkam aawaaz se? Hum doosre market ja rahe hain. Is taraf aas paas ke gaon waalon ka ek market lagta hai. Hum wahan ja rahe hain.”

“Ye tumhein kaise pata chala?”

“Main aas paas ke logon se baatein karti hoon. Aapki tarah akad kar apni duniya mein nahin rahti.”

“Achchha – jab koi mujhse baat karne aaye to tumhari to naak chadh jati hai.”

“Kya? Maine kab aapko mana kiya logon se baat karne se?”

“Kyon? Swimming pool par woh ladki mujhse baat karna chah rahi thi to kaun bhadak raha tha.”

“Maan! Woh alag baat hai.”

“Achchha. Kyon? Kaise alag hai?” Maan teased her.

“Woh..” she was unable to put words to her answer, “Kuchh nahin – bas alag hai. Ab aap is baare mein kuchh nahin kahenge.”

Maan smiled and put his arms around Geet’s shoulder. She looked at him and then rested her head on his shoulder as they waited for their destination to come.

They were on a dirt road going through a jungle-like  area, when the driver stopped, “Madam, bas yahan se 10-15 meter andar jaana hoga,” he indicated towards the trees on one side of the road.

“Theek hai bhaiya. Aap wapas chale jaiye. Jeep yahin chhod jaiye aur Sir ko chabhi de dijiye. Maan! Aapko raasta yaad ho gaya hai na?”

“Haan Geet. Par…”

She did not let him complete, instead asked the driver to leave.

Then she held his hands and led him into the woods.

“Geet! In jangalon mein kaun market lagwata hoga?”

Geet ignored his question.

“Geet! Main tumse baat kar raha hoon.”

“Aap thodee der in ped-patton se baat kyon nahin karte? Ye to aapka favourite shauk hai na.”

Maan sighed, nooded his head in disbelief and did not reply. He had never indulged anyone like this in his life. Even his Dadi Ma, brother or sister could not have gotten away with something like this. But it was Geet. She gave him the life as he knew it today. She ruled his life. With others, even their slightest attempt to take him for granted would have annoyed him to no end. Even now, he sometimes found it hard to believe that he enjoyed Geet’s antics. He enjoyed giving in to her wishes – however childish they may be. He enjoyed being ruled by her. He had irrevocably fallen in love with this child-woman.

It was not difficult for him to guess that Geet was planning a surprise for him. But the surprise still surprised him as he saw a tent set up near a pond. It was still sometime before it would turn dark. The logs for fire were set up, but not lighted.

Maan looked at Geet in surprise. She was smiling with just a hint of pride in having prepared a surprise to his liking.

She walked to face him, “Agar aapko surprise pasand aaya ho to kya aap mere valentine banenge?”

Suddenly Maan looked away from her, “Nahin, bilkul nahin.”

Geet was shocked, “Kya?”

“Aur kya Geet? Main aisi ladki ka Valentine nahin ban sakta jo Valentine day ki din mujhe bina dinner ke, khali pet ek tent mein sulane ki soch rahi ho. Tent to tumne lagwa liya, ab dinner kya tumahre Babaji de kar jayenge?” Maan suppressed his smile with difficulty.

“Oh! Nahin. Babaji ko itni mehnat karne ki kya zaroorat hai. Dinner mere pati banaynege.” Geet understood his trick and replied in the same tone.

“Kya?”

“Haan. Aapko pata nahin hai, unhein jangalon mein rahne ka bahut experience hai aur woh bahut achchha khana bhi banate hain.”

“Achha!” Maan’s voice suddenly become seductive, “Lekin khana banane ka koi samaan to yahan dikh nahin raha hai. Lagta hai tumse hi kaam chalana padega.” He had come very close to her.

She poked on his shoulder to push him away, “Jee nahin! Iski zaroorat nahin padegi. Shararat karne ki koi zaroorat nahin hai. Saara samaan andar pada hai khana banane ke liye.”

“Achcha Geet! Tumhari samajhdari to badhti hi ja rahi hai. Sach kaha tha tumne, sangati ka asar to hota hi hai.”

“Babaji! Apne munh miya mitthoo banna to koi inse seekhe,” Geet muttered under her breath.

“Kya kaha?”

“Kuchh nahin.”

“Geet!”

Geet started laughing and ran away from him. He ran behind her. She escaped him several times, but he finally caught her. By that time both of them were laughing like crazy and hardly had any strength left in them. They sat down near the logs gathered for fire and Maan started the fire.

The fire reflected in his eyes when he looked up at Geet. She was also lost in him. Both of them were reminded of the time they were stranded in Manali! There was snow outside and fire within. Then there was a hesitation, a wall between them. They had not openly confessed what they meant for each other, although they knew it. Today it was different. They not only knew about each other’s feelings, but were also married. No walls – neither personal, nor social.

Maan came to Geet, who was sitting on a low bench near the fire. He kneeled in front of her. This brought both of them to the same height. His gaze was penerating her, she started looking down. Maan took her left hand in his right and kissed her hand. He did not stop with one kiss, but planted kisses on her entire hand. Could she ever get used to his touch and kisses? He always managed to set her on fire. When he reached her upper arms, he got up and sat beside her on the bench. By that time she had completely lost herself and he had to support her with his arms. But he continued kissing her on the neck, just above her arms.

“Maan…” she whispered.

Maan stopped, looked at her and then picked her in his arms. He took her inside the tent. Geet gained some of her senses back and she remembered that one wall that still stood between them. Medical wall. Doctor had warned about baby’s health.

When he put her down inside the tent and continued to explore her, her face this time, with kisses, she stopped him, “Maan. Ruk Jaiye.”

Maan stopped and looked at her questioningly. Geet hesitated and was clearly embarrassed as she said, “Woh… Doctor ne mana kiya hai… Kahin hum…”

Maan understood what she was saying. He seemed to think for a moment before he withdrew, “Chalo Geet. Dinner banate hain. Thodee der mein bhookh lag jayegi zoron se.”

Geet was surprised at his calm voice. Was he upset and was trying to hide it? His voice betrayed none of the feelings he had given in to just a few moments ago. Confused to the core, Geet just followed him and they took the vegetables and other cooking material out to the fire.

Maan used the fire to barbecue the vegetables. They had some spices and salt to marinate them. Maan fed the barbecued vegetables to Geet. He kept asking her if she liked  them and she nodded everytime without saying a word. When she noticed he wasn’t eating anything himself, she fed him too.

After they were done eating, they started walking near the tent, hand in hand. Geet was still wondering if he had upset Maan by stopping him earlier in the evening. She finally gathered courage to ask him, “Maan aap gussa hain kya?”

Maan was surprised, “Kyon? Aisa kyon kah rahi ho. Maine aisa kya kiya?”

“Nahin aapne nahin, maine kiya. Woh khane se pahle…”

Maan did not realize what she was referring to; so he waited for her to continue and looked at her with questioning eyes.

“Maine… maine… aapko rok diya tha. Aap gussa to nahin hain?”

“Kya!” Maan was genuinely surprised

“I am sorry Maan. Meri wajah se shaadi ki baad bhi aapko khud ko rokna pad raha hai. I am really sorry…” Geet was crying by now.

“Geet!” Maan was almost angry as he held her at her shoulders and pulled her close, “Geet. Khabardaar jo tumne dubara aisi baat bhi ki to. Main kya tumhein itna bewkoof lagta hoon ki mujhe ye bhi pata nahin hai ki hum kya aur kyon kar rahe hain…”

“Nahin Maan… Woh…”

“Meri baat suno Geet. Agar dubara tumne aisi baat ki to main sach much gussa ho jaunga aur kabhi tumse baat nahin karoonga. Geet. Humne jo bhi kiya hai, hamare baby ke liye kiya hai. Aur ismein humme se kissi ko bhi bura lagne ki ya dukhi hone ki baat kahan se aa gayi. Geet hamara saath sirf abhi ka to nahin hai na. Hamein to poori zindagi saath rahna hai. Phir kuchh dinon ki dooriyon ko lekar kyon dukhi hona hai. Aur is thodi si parehsaani ke badle hamein itni badi khushi bhi to milne waali hai. Phir?”

While her original guilt was blown away by Maan, a new guilt took over her. She had offended him by her question, “Sorry Maan. Main aapka dil nahin dukhana chahti thi.”

Maan smiled, “Geet ab agar tum apni sorry ki dukaan band karo to main kuchh kahun.”

Geet looked at him without saying anything.

“Mere paas bhi tumhare liye ek surprise hai.”

“Kya?”

“Lekin main woh tumhein tabhi doonga, jab tum ye promise karogi ki kabhi hamare khushiyon ya pareshaaniyon ke beech mein mera-tumhara nahin laogi.”

“Main waada karti hoon Maan. Yakin maaniye mera aisa koi matlab nahin tha. I am really Sorry,” she bit her lips as she realized that she had said sorry again, while he had asked her just a while back to not do that.

But Maan seemed too happy to notice, “To suno. Jab main market mein tha to ek phone aaya tha. Hospital se. Tumhar jo tests hum aane ke pahle karwa kar aaye the, unke results aa gaye hain.”

Geet’s eyes showed antcipation as well as the fear, not knowing what the results were, “Aur?”

“Aur complications ab bilkul theek hain. Hamare baby ko koi khatra nahin hai. Bas tumhein apne khane-peene par dhyaan dena hai aur dawaiyan time se leni hai.”

Geet’s eyes had popped out in surprise, “Sach? Iska matlab…” She did not continue as she realized what she was about to say.

Maan’s voice grew naughty as he spoke in a low, heavy voice, “Iska matlab tumehin mujhe rokne ki koi zaroorat nahin thi.”

Geet’s embrrassment took the form of anger, “To. Aap mujhe bata nahin sakte the pahle. Mujhe pareshaan karne mein aapko mazaa aata hai na. Jaiye main aapse koi baat nahin karoongi…”

There goes his bomb-shell of a wife. Geet started moving away, but Maan pulled her back by hands, “Meri Hoshiyarpur Express, meri baat to sun lo. Kab batata main tumhein. Jaise hi wapas aaya tum chaat khane mein lag gayi aur phir mujhe zabardasti yahan le aayi.”

“Haan, haan. Galti to hamesha meri hi hoti hai,” Geet made faces, but did not move away.

“Waise maine aisa socha to nahin tha, lekin achchha hi hua ki maine tumehin pahle nahin bataya.”

“Kya matlab?”

“Jab tum gussa hoti ho to tumhein zabardasti apni baahon mein lene ka mazaa hi kuchh aur hai.”

Before Geet realized what he meant, she found her in his arms for the second time in the evening.

“Maan! Mujhe neeche utairye,” she was still furious.

Maan just kept looking at her smiling, as if he did not hear her. How long could she remain angry in his arms, especially when he was looking at her like that? By the time they were inside the tent, she had melted completely.

The tent was dimly lit, the only source of light being the fire outside the tent. There was a make-shift bed there, a bed sheet over a layer of hay. He made her sit on it with her back supported on one of the polls in the tent. Without realizing it she folded her knees and put her hands around them. Just as she had waited for him on their wedding night.

Maan saw this and his eyes became even more intense with desire. And he could see that she was more than ready for him. But he had something on his mind.

“Geet! Aaj tumahre liye sazaa ka din hai.”

Geet looked at him with surprise in her eyes. She was already so affected with anticipation and nervousness that the words hardly came out of her mouth as she asked, “Sazaa?”

Maan tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, “Haan Geet.” He opened her ponytail, “Jab se mila hoon tumse, pahli baar se hi, bahut sataya hai tumne.” He took off the ear-ring from her left ear, “Apni in aankhon se, jo kabhi ankahe sawaal poochhti hain, to kabhi apni sharaaraton se saansein rok deti hain.”

Geet blushed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was a surreal feeling.

Maan continued while taking off her other ear-ring, “Apne is maasoon aur khoobsoorat chehre se, jo pariyon ki kahaniyon par bharosa karne ko majboor kar deta hai.”

He took off her white stone bindi and carefully pasted it on the poll she was leaning on, so that it could be retrieved in the morning. He kissed her on the forehead as he spoke, “Apni is saadgi se Geet, jisko dekh kar tum par aankhein band kar ke vishwaas karne ka man karta hai.”

He almost crushed her ear-lobes as he continued, “Apne saaf dil se, jiski pyaar ki garmi se patthar bhi pighal sakte hain.”

There was an inconsistency. His words were poetic, deep and on a spritual plane. His touch, his voice and his eyes had a animalistic lust in them. She felt the inconsistency, although she would not have been able to describe it in so many words. But somehow even the inconsistency felt all right. As if the two could actually come together and make her life, their life complete.

He was taking off her bangles now, “Aur in sab ke baad, jab main laakh koshishon ke baad bhi apne aap ko haar gaya, tab bhi tumne mujhe bahut sataya. Kabhi apne man ki baat batane ko taiyaar nahin hoti thi. Yaad hai na Geet?”

He didn’t really expect her to be able to answer that, did he? Her eyes were either downcast or closed through out. She was not able to look at him.

“Aur Geet. Aaj tumhein in sabki sazaa milegi.”

Her mind registered the word “sazaa”. What was he talking about?  He must be joking. But it did not seem like the right time to crack jokes. Not when he was pressing her now bare hands so sensually making her feel dizzy.

Suddenly he left her hands and cupped her face. He lifted her face and commanded her to look at him, “Meri taraf dekho Geet.” His eyes were still demanding, intense and lustful. She had great difficulty in meeting them, but there was something in his voice that made her obey him.

“Aaj main tumse sawaal poochhoonga. Tumehin har sawaal ka jawaab dena hai. Aur mere sawaalon ke jawaab ke alawa main ek shabd nahin sunna chahta. Samjhi tum?”

She heard him, even understood what he said, but all of it made no sense. What “sazaa”? What “sawaal”?

“Par Maan,” she barely had started registering her protest in a weak voice, when one of his hands moved behind her on her nape to support her and to bring her closer to him and the second one landed on her mouth, shutting her up.

“Sirf mere sawaalon ke jawaab. Ek aur shabd nahin Geet. Maine poochha ki tumhein meri baat samajh mein aayi ya nahin? Aur iska jawaab ‘haan’ ya ‘naa’ hota hai Geet. Ab batao.”

“Haan,” she managed to utter when he removed her hand. She started looking down again.

He removed her dupatta and caressed and kissed her neck and nape as he asked, “Jab tum pahli baar outhouse mein rahne aayi thi, agle din hamara jhagda hua tha. Phir bhi tum mere peechhe dargah tak chali aayi thi, kyon Geet?”

What on earth was he doing? In her situation the only thing she could think of was getting crushed in his arms. Instead he was asking her questions. Why did he need any answers now? Did he not know?

Sazaa! Right – that’s what it was. His sazaa for her. He couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate time to mete out the punishment.

“Maan please…” she had hardly begun her protest, when she found his hand on her mouth again.

“Sirf jawaab Geet. Ek aur shabd nahin. Warna tumhari sazaa badh jayegi. Kyon aayi thi mere peechhe?” His hands were roaming over her neck, nape, ear-lobes, face and parts of her back and arms. But he would not hug her. He wasn’t even kissing her any longer. He knew the hold he had on her. Even his touches were enough to make her his captive; she was at his mercy.

Not that he was not desperate, but he was enjoying his little game. It was reassuring him that she was as mad for him as he was for her.

Geet had to succumb. She replied in broken voice, “Mujhe… aapki… fikr… ho… rahi…” She swallowed hard. Could he stop touching her and not torture her if he wanted his answers?

“Phir uske baad mujhe chhod kar jana kyon chahti thi? Kyon doosri job dhoondh rahi thi?”

Geet did not answer.

“Bolo Geet, warna…”

No, she could not bear any extension of her punishement. She had to speak, “Aapke paas hone se… mujhe… farq padta tha… main ye aapko… batana nahin…”

She stole a glance at him and was surprised to see that he had taken off his shirt. She did not realize when he managed to do that. His hands had never been off her. Or was she imagining his touch even when it wasn’t there?

She could not help her hands reaching out to touch him, but he held her hand firmly, “Jab main Pari ke saath Disco mein gaya tha, to tum kyon wahan aayi thi?”

“Jalan… ho rahi thi…”

“Kyon meri mangetar banna nahin chahti thi Geet?”

She was compliant now and did not need multiple urgings to answer. She knew she had no choice.

“Aapke saath rah kar… man ki baat… nahin chhupti…”

She realized that he had slid her kurti over her shoulders and she was almost undressed. He was exploring her body with his touches as well as kisses.

“Mere liye kyon apni jaan khatre mein daal kar hoshiyarpur chali gayi thi?”

“Aapko… kissi museebat… mein nahin dekh…” Her voice drowned as he pushed her on the bed and made her lie down. He kissed the various parts of her face repeatedly, but avoided her lips, making her even more desperate with desire.

“Agle din kyon bina kuchh soche samjhe subah, subah mere peechhe office chali aayi thi?”

She could not beat around the bush any longer, “Pyaar… karne lagi thi… Aapko kuchh ho jaata to… main bhi zinda nahin”

He did not let her complete that as he furiously attacked her lips with his own. The long kiss left her breathless.

“Tumhari sazaa abhi poori nahin hui hai Geet, lekin hamare beech jo dooriyan rah gayi hain, woh mere liye sazaa hai abhi, jo main nahin chahta. Isliye tumhein chhod raha hoon.”

He kissed her lips again, but more gently this time. Both of them were too eager to have each other. They weren’t aware of their surroundings, but the moon outside witnessed their sweet union. They belonged to each other in every sense of the word now.

Maan saw Geet sleeping in his arms. Looking sweet and innocent like a child. And yet desirable like a fairy. He almost gave in to the temptation of waking her up, to make love to her once again. But he stopped himself. The baby was out of danger, but she stil needed her rest and sleep. Their life together had just begun. There was a lifetime of happiness waiting for him. What was the hurry?!

Towards the Oneness

Posted Leave a commentPosted in Fan Fiction, Hinglish, Maneet (GHSP)

Note on the OS

Immediately after their wedding Maan was unwilling to consummate their marriage, because it could have been dangerous for the baby according to the doctor. But he did not want to tell her that. In trying to keep her away from him, he ended up saying hurtful things to her and went off to Chandigarh for a day without telling her. Geet, meanwhile, came to know why Maan was keeping away from her and felt guilty about doubting his love. In the show they never showed Maan repenting his hurtful words. But he should have. This incident is supposed to happen after he comes back from Chandigarh.

He stopped at the their bedroom door when he saw her sitting on the bed with her hands around her folded knees. She was sitting in exactly the same posture in which she had waited for him on their Suhag Raat. The only difference was that instead of the excitement, nervousness and love, her face showed pain and tears.

Did his staying away end up giving her more pain? He had crossed the boundaries while shouting at her. Because he would rather have her be angry at him that be guilty about herself. And he had hoped that the pain of the anger will be less than the fear of losing the baby – the baby that meant the world to her, even before he came in to their world. If there was a chance that things would look all right after the tests, if there was a chance to protect her from that guilt and fear, he wanted to take it. But did he do it right? Looking at her face right now, he thought he went utterly wrong. He went to the extent of hurting her self-respect. That was so unnecessary.

What was he to do now? He did not know how to face her. Probably he should stay away for couple of hours, until he had the time to consult the doctor. Once he knew the situation, he would make it up to her. If all was well, he would have succeeded in keeping her away from the guilt at least. And he would make sure that the pain he gave her in the process goes away. If things were still complicated, he would have to break the news to her. But he would also make sure that she did not feel guilty about it. He would find a way to ensure that.

Yes – he would stay away. But before he could turn back, she had sensed him. There was that connection between them! They always knew when the other person was around.

She saw him, got down from the bed, ran to him and hugged him. He hugged her back as a natural reaction, even though he had no clue why she was behaving this way. But when they were in each other’s arms, for those moments, the questions became immaterial. He hugged her as tight as she was hugging him and the desires raised their faces again in both their bodies. The caresses on their backs became rougher and more urgent, their breathings became shallow and they clutched each other so tight as if they just wanted to become one in the body – quite literally pushing themselves into one another.

Maan was the one who came to his senses first. He had to go away. He will end up doing a blunder if he stayed close to her.

He stepped away, tried to put on his Maan-Singh-Khurana expression and said as non-chalantly as he could manage, “Geet mujhe ek important meeting ke liye bahar jaana hai.” He turned away pretending to look for something.

She looked at him with tear-filled eyes. He was still putting up an act. But now she knew just how much he was hurting inside.

“Maan. Aapko meeting ke liye jaane ki zaroorat nahin hai. Maine woh meeting pahle hi attend kar li hai,” she said. She picked up a file from the bed and extended her hand towards him to give him the file.

Maan looked back in surprise, “Kaun si meeting ki baat kar rahi ho Geet?”

She just indicated towards the file in her hands.

Still perplexed, he took the file from her and realized by looking at the cover that those were her medical reports. He panicked and instead of reading the reports he started questioning her nervously, “Geet. Ye tumhare paas kaise aayi? Doctor ne tumhein… Tum theek to ho na Geet. Tum tension mat lena…”

“Bas Maan. Ab na to aapko mujhse gussa hone ka natak karne ki zaroorat hai, na hi apne aap ko itni taqleef dene ki zaroorat hai. I am sorry Maan. Please mujhe maaf kar dijiye. Aap meri hifaazat ke liye mujhse door ja rahe the aur maine bina soche, bina kuchh jane aapko kya-kya kah diya.”

Knowing that the wall of misunderstanding has broken, he could no longer hide his concern. He dropped the file on the bed and hugged her tight, “Geet! Tum theek to ho na. I am sorry Geet. Maine tumhein ek stress se bachana ke liye doosra itna bada stress de diya. Tumse door rahne ki koshish mein tumhein kuchh bhi bol diya Geet. Tum mujhe maaf kar dogi na? Kal raat ko bola hua mera ek bhi lafz sach nahin tha. Main aisa nahin sochta tumhare baare mein, soch hi nahin sakta.”

Neither of them tried to break the embrace as they talked. Geet replied, “Maan! Aapko maafi maangne ki koi zaroorat nahin hai. Main to jaanti hoon na ki aap mujhse kitna pyaar karte hain. Aapke pyaar ke oopar shak karna meri galti thi. Bas babaji se yahi maangti hoon ki mujhse aisi galti dubara na ho.”

“Geet. Aisa mat sochna. Ismein tumhari koi galti nahin thi. Jaise halaat maine bana diye the, usmein gussa aana to normal tha.”

He broke the hug and cupped her teary face in his hands. He wiped her tears with his thumbs, “Geet. Ab tumhein sab pata hai. Waada karo Geet ki kissi bhi baat ke liye na to tum khud ko doshi thahraogi, na hi tum koi chinta karogi. Waada karo Geet. Tumari aur hamare baby ki sehat ke liye ye bahut zaroori hai.”

“Aap kis mitti ke bane hain Maan? Aapko apni khwahishon ki koi parwah nahin hai. Kuchh bhi bardasht kar sakte hain aap apne oopar. Koi shikayat nahin hai ki shaadi ke baad bhi…” She did not complete her sentence, but the look of embarrassment and guilt on her face clearly told Maan what she was thinking.

“Geet. Kash main itna majboot hota jitne ka tum mujhe credit de rahi ho, to phir maine tumhein itni chot nahin pahunchayi hoti. Sach to ye hai Geet ki main halaat ko sambhaal hi nahin paya, apni kamzori ki wajah se. Tumse itni obviously door rahna nahin chahiye tha mujhe, na hi mera aisa koi iraada tha. Lekin jab tum kareeb hoti ho to main bahut kamzor pad jaata hoon. Khud ko rokna namumkin ho jaata hai mere liye. Aur isliye… Aur in sab ke beech main tumhein itni kadwi baatein kah gaya ki tumahre swabhimaan ko chot pahuncha di. Phir bhi tum mujhpar gussa nahin ho. Mujhe to ye batao Geet ki tum kis mitti ki bani ho? Tum apni chhoti si galti – chahe woh meri nazar mein galti ho bhi na – uske liye maafi maangne pahle chali aati ho. Meri galti chahe kitni bhi badi ho, mujhe maafi maangne ka bhi mauka nahin deti ho. Koi shikayat, koi gussa nahin rakhti man mein.”

“Maan. Jab tak aap mere saath hain, mujhe aapse to kya, kissi se bhi koi shikayat nahin hai. Us zindagi se bhi nahin, jisne mujhe bahut dhokhe diye. Kyonki usi ne aapko bhi to mere paas bheja.”

“Thank you Geet. Chahe main kitna bhi bada dusht-danav ban jaun, tum mujhe kabhi mere baare mein bura mahsoos nahin hone deti ho.”

“Kya karoon Maan, ye dusht-danav hi to mujhe pariyon ki duniya ki rajkumari bana kar, paristaan mein le aaya hai na. Usse kaise naraaz rahoon?”

They both smiled.

But Maan realized immediately that he did not yet know what her reports said. He became concerned again and picked up the file, “Geet. Tumhari reports mein kya hai?” He started leafing through the file to see for himself, as Geet answered, “Ab koi khatra nahin hai Maan.”

His eyes lit up and his facial muscles relaxed as he heard this and also confirmed it with the reports. But he wanted to be absolutely sure. He wouldn’t trust his own interpretation of the reports.

“Geet. Main doctor se mil kar aata hoon. Poori tasalli ho jayegi.”

“Par…” she started saying that she had already met the doctor, but realized that he would not be satisfied until he has checked it with the doctor himself. So, instead of stopping him from visiting the doctor, she asked to accompany him.

“Main bhi chalti hoon.”

“Nahin Geet. Tum aaraam karogi. Waise bhi Annie ke accident ki wajah se tumhein kaafi bhaag daud karni padi hai. Abhi aur nahin.”

Geet gave up. If this is what will give him peace, let it be. She could manage to be away from him for couple of hours. After all, now she knew that he wasn’t going away from her.

Maan wanted to meet the doctor alone. Somehow he did not trust Geet this one time. What if she had pressured the doctor to tone down the reports for the sake of his happiness. He did not realize that he was suspecting Geet of scheming to a level that this simple, straight forward girl was inherently incapable of. But he was so paranoid about her situation that he trusted no one, not even Geet herself. He couldn’t help it.

“Maan, kahan hain aap?” It had been over four hours since Maan left to see the doctor and she was getting restless.

“Office mein, aur kahan rahunga is samay? Aur tum office kyon nahin aayi? Kitna saara kaam hai yahan par. Shaadi ho gai to kya pati ke paison par hi aish karne ka irada hai,” Maan pulled her legs.

Her mouth literally opened in surprise. What had come upon him? A few hours back, he wouldn’t even have her go to the doctor. And now he is taunting her for not coming to the office.

‘Abhi batati hoon,’ she thought to herself.

She entered his cabin full of her cute irritation. But Maan was talking to several employees about a project proposal. She could not help notice that he was being very patient with people asking questions and did not even shout at Tasha for some silly remark of hers. Although he acted the boss with his usual authority, Geet could not help notice the brightness in his eyes and relaxation in his manners. He was clearly happy. Must be the effect of doctor’s reassurance, she thought. Seeing him happy she forgot all her irritation.

Maan assigned quite a bit of work to her too. She left his cabin with others and started working on her tasks. It was already late afternoon when she had come to the office. Soon everyone had left for the day. Geet didn’t realize it until she saw Maan in her cabin staring at her.

She startled on noticing him, “Aap? Yahan kya kar rahe hain?”

“Kyon? Main apni biwi ko dekh nahin sakta?” He said teasingly and moved towards her.

“Mr. Khurana. Ye aapka ghar nahin office hai. Main aapki biwi nahin, secretary hoon,” Geet also played along.

“Koi baat nahin. Main apni secretary ke saath hi thoda romance kar leta hoon,” he had come very close to her and they were staring into each other’s eyes. She was so lost in him that she did not notice him keeping a rather large packet on the table.

“Aapki biwi naraaz ho jayegi.”

“Woh kuchh nahin kahegi,” he grabbed her at her waist and pulled her closer. She gasped. Their lips were very close.

Geet became nervous, “Maan – hum office mein hain.”

“Yahan koi nahin hai. Aur aaj hum ghar ja bhi nahin rahe hain.”

“Matlab?”

He turned his attention to the packet on the table. That’s when she noticed the packet. He opened the packet and took out a beautiful one piece, ankle length, white dress. It flared slightly around the waist. It was enhanced with white laces, without using too much of them, giving it a classy, sober look.

Geet smiled when she looked at the dress, “Mere liye hai?”

“Nahin. Meri biwi ke liye.”

Her smile got bigger and she tried to take the dress from him, “To aapki biwi abhi change kar ke aati hai.”

But he did not let her take the dress and pulled her towards him.

“Aaj apni biwi ko main apne haathon se taiyaar karoonga.”

She became nervous again, “Maan!”

“Chup, bilkul chup Geet,” he placed his hands on her lips.

He slipped the dress over her head so that the flares covered her upper body. Keeping his hands under the dress, he untied the dori of her kurti and unzipped it. Then he slipped it off her shoulders and pulled it down until it came to her waist. At that point he untied the dori of her salwar too and pulled both the pieces of her dress down temporarily exposing her legs. He then adjusted her hands in the dress and pulled it down in place. She hadn’t realized that the zip had the back of her dress was open until he embraced her to take his hands at her back and zipped the dress up.

She had her eyes closed during the entire process. She let the reaction of her body to the most sensual dress up ever take over her mind. Finally she opened her eyes when she felt his hands off her body. She noticed that the dress had very thin straps leaving her shoulders practically bare. She panicked a bit. It was fine in front of him, but he did not expect her to go out like this, did he?

‘Babaji!’ she prayed silently.

As if Babaji heard her prayer she saw him take out a small full sleeve jacket matching her dress from the packet. He went behind her and made her wear the jacket. She felt relieved. Maan noticed this and smiled slightly, which she could not see.

Still standing behind her, he reached out to take something out from the packet. She could not see what it was, until he kept it on the table. He proceeded to take off her ear-rings and replaced them with the diamond ones he had brought. They matched her dress perfectly. There was also a matching necklace that he put on her, in the process intentionally rubbing her ears, neck and nape. She was finding it hard to keep steady by now. He was driving her crazy. As if he realized this, he made her sit on her chair and placed her hands on the chair’s arms. Then he slowly took off her bangles and replaced them with a set from the packet, once again they matched her dress.

He kneeled and started taking off her sandles which embarrassed Geet a bit, “Ye aap kya kar rahe hain?”

“Ek shabd nahin Geet. Aaj sab kuchh mere tareeke se hoga,” he said without even looking up at her. He was concentrating on her feet. Once he took off her sandles, he massaged her feet lightly. She again decided to give in to the sensations generated in her body by his touches. She closed her eyes and leaned back on the chair. He made her wear a new pair of sandles studded with white stones.

He then made her stand up and opened her ponytail to let her hair loose.

He held her at the shoulders and asked, “Kaisi lagi dress Geet?”

“Ye to aap bataiye ki main kaisi lag rahi hoon ismein.”

“Bilkul meri pari jaisi,” Maan smiled indulgently.

Geet blushed deeply. He took her hands in his and they moved towards the door.

Geet asked once they were in the car, “Hum kahan ja rahe hain Maan?”

Maan smiled at her, but did not reply. She realized that he wanted to surprise her and decided to wait for it.

“Geet. Mujhe aise dekhti rahogi to main traffic par dhyaan nahin de paunga. Gadbad ho jayegi,” Maan’s voice brought her out of her reverie. She realized that she had been staring at Maan for last fifteen minutes or so for which they were driving. She blushed and leaned back on her seat. She closed her eyes as she felt herself soaking happiness from all around her. Happiness in being with her man, her Maan.

She looked forward to the night with excitement and nervousness.

The car stopped and they got out. Geet was engrossed in her thoughts and did not notice the surroundings. She went to Maan.

“Maan! Mujhe aapse kuchh kahna hai. Nahin… kuchh maangna hai.”

“Geet! Tumhein mujhse kuchh maangne ki kya zaroorat hai? Agar woh cheez mere paas hai to le lo. Agar nahin hai to bata do – aa jayegi,” Maan smiled lovingly.

“Agar koi cheez hoti to aisa hi karti, lekin mujhe koi cheez nahin, aapki zindagi ka ek hissa chahiye.”

“Meri to zindagi hi tum ho Geet. Lekin phir bhi… bolo tumehin kya chahiye.”

“Aapki jeevan-saathi hone ka haq.”

Maan was surprised and worried, “Ye kya bol rahi ho Geet? Ye haq tumhein maangne ki kya zaroorat hai? Ye to tumhara hai hi. Humne shaadi ki hai Geet. Kya tum abhi bhi meri kal ki baaton se…”

“Nahin Maan. Aisa nahin hai. Aur mujhe hamare shaadi aur pyaar ke rishte par bhi poora bharosa hai. Lekin mujhe kabhi kabhi lagta hai ki kahin maine aapki zindagi mein bas ek khoobsoorat si gudiya na ban ke rah jaun. Jise dekh-dekh kar aap khush to ho sakte hain, lekin jiske saath aap apni zindagi baant nahin sakte, sukh-dukh nahin baant sakte.”

Maan’s face showed immense pain as he asked, “Aisa kyon kah rahi ho Geet?”

“Maan. Mujhe pata hai ki aap mujhse bahut pyaar karte hain. Aap hamesha meri hifaazat karna chahte hain, mujhe khush rakhna chahte hain. Aur isliye aap apni pareshaaniyan mujhe kabhi nahin batate. Akele ladte rahte hain, tadapte rahte hain. Jaisa ki aap shaadi ke baad se kar rahe the. Ye to sahi nahin hai na? Mujhe haq hai aapki pareshaaniyon ke baare mein jaanne ka, unse aapke saath ladne ka. Khud ko pareshaan rakh kar aap mujhe khush nahin rakh sakte Maan. Jaise mere sukh-dukh se aapko farq padta hai, waise hi aapki khushiyon aur pareshaaniyon se bhi mujhe bahut farq padta hai. Aur main itni kamzor nahin hoon Maan. Aap hi ne mujhe majboot banna sikhaya hai aur main aapke saath saari mushkilon se lad sakti hoon.”

Maan was looking at her with an expression which was a mix of love, adoration, regret and pain, “I am sorry Geet. Jaane-anjaane mein maine tumhein khush rakhne ki jagah dukh pahunchaye hain. Shayad mujhe akele jeene ki itni aadat ho gai thi ki… Lekin ab nahin Geet. Sirf is baar ke liye mujhe maaf kar do. Aage se aisa nahin hoga.”

“Maafi mat maangiye Maan, please. Mujhe pata hai aap jo bhi karte hain meri khushi ke liye hi karte hain. Bas ye batana chah rahi thi ki meri khushi aapke saath rahne mein hai. Chahe sukh ho ya dukh.”

They both smiled. She leaned on to him and he held  her in his arms.

They separated after a few seconds and Maan asked, “Chalein?”

She nodded and for the first time looked around. What she saw surprised her. A jungle! After all the dress up, she wasn’t expecting to land in a jungle for their night together.

‘Babaji! Inko thodi akal dijiye. Inhein junglon mein janwaron aur machchharon ke beech rahna achchha lagta hoga. Ye mujhe yahan kyon le aaye hain – woh bhi aaj ki raat?’ she thought to herself and complained to her Babaji.

She wasn’t speaking aloud, but her face showed some funny expressions without her realizing this.

“Kya hua Geet?”

“Nahin, kuchh nahin.” Geet forced a smile.

Maan, though, had been able to guess what she was thinking and he suppressed a chuckle.

After walking for a few meters, they came near a tent. The fire was burning and there was a small pond nearby. But he did not stop outside. Instead he put his arms around her shoulder and led her inside the tent.

Geet literally took a step back in surprise as she entered the tent. Then she moved around to examine the interiors while Maan looked at her with an amused and loving expression, his arms folded across his chest.

The inside of the tent was furnished in a way that was nothing less than a room in a five star hotel. Apart from being well decorated and well-lit, it had a king size comfortable bed and a small coffee table with two chairs, food was waiting for them on the table.

She turned back to see a smiling Maan.

“Maan! Aap intni taiyaariyon ke saath camping karte hain aur uske liye itni deengein haankte hain?” she was genuine in her question.

“Kya?” Maan’s smile vanished and he looked stupid for a moment. The he recovered, “Geet tum pagal to nahin ho gai ho. Of course, main aise camping nahin karta hoon. Ye sab maine tumhare liye arrange karwaya hai.”

“Oh!” It was Geet’s turn to look stupid and they just stood at their places for a few second without knowing how to proceed.

Finally Maan broke into a slight laughter and came towards her.

Geet spoke first, “I am sorry. Main chaunk gayi thi. Aapne itna achchha arrangement kiya aur main aapka mazaak uda rahi thi.”

“Geet. Bahut bholi ho tum. Aur isi bholepan ne to mujhe pagal bana diya hai.”

Geet blushed as he cupped her face and planted a kiss on her forehead, “Apni maasoomiyat mat khona Geet, chahe zindagi mein kaisi bhi pareshaaniyan kyon na aaye.”

Geet did not say anything, just hugged him.

“Khana kha lein Geet.”

“Haan mujhe to bahut bhookh lagi hai.”

As they sat down to eat, Maan could not concentrate on eating at all. He looked at Geet and if he hadn’t controlled himself hard, reminding himself that she must eat in time, he would have pounced on her immediately. For how long had he desired her! Since the night at the dhaba? When looking at her drenched in the rain, happy in a moment and sad the next, he had been unable to resist hugging her tight and had willed the time to stop right then. Or probably since much before that. since the first time he had seen her? When she had tried to heal his wound in their first meeting, on the pretext of which he had left her stranded! What if something bad happened to her then. No – he shuddered to think of those possibilities now. He had desired her when he had seen her in the white dress, looking so serene and innocently beautiful, to accompany him to Amritsar, when he had saved her from the speeding vehicle in Amritsar – she was distraught. He had pretended to not care, but she affected him. Affected him so much that he had tried to find peace in the Golden Temple. Even though he was not a believer. He even found an alibi to go to her house to inquire after her and his heart had skipped a beat on being told that she had not come back. He was not at peace until he had seen for himself that she was in her house – safe. He had been desiring her all the time, without consciously knowing it. His thoughts kept going back to her – practically a stranger then – but probably bound to him by a bond much stronger than that of an acquaintance or any social relations. He had desired her when he had saved her from being killed by Brij and his goons, when she had clung to him fearing for her life, when she had walked away from him instead of going to the police station as he had suggested. He had pretended to be disgusted with her weakness, but that, too, was only a way to avoid acknowledging his desires. And all those days she was in his office as strictly his secretary, goofing things up and then innocently asking for forgiveness, daring to give it back to him – the Maan Singh Khurana – if he made a mistake, taking his sorry to be a part of the dictation, tripping and falling, fumbling with her dupatta, falling asleep on her chair, muttering angry-nothings at him under her breath, driving him crazy with her innocent charm, with her simplicity, with her extra-ordinary ordinariness, with her ability to laugh even in trouble, with her liveliness, with herself. When he had seen her in a saree for the first time, when he had saved her from the mishap in the party, when he had seen her in her red lehnga getting ready for a party she had so painstakingly organized and which he had trashed and in his confused state of mind – not knowing whether to go close to her or to go away from her – had fired her and she had indeed left! Left him. When he had felt like his soul was being taken away from him. When, if he had not let his ego take an upper hand, he would have gone after her receding figure, held her hand, pulled her close to him and would have told her that she couldn’t go away from him!

What was he thinking? Geet was saying something, urging him to eat. She was praising the food. Maan was hardly able to register anything. He was seeing her lips – full and inviting! Let her eat, he told himself. He smiled and nodded at whatever she was saying without registering much. In trying to control himself in present, his mind again took solace in past. What had caused this uncotrllable urge he was feeling today. It was the wait of months! Control he had exercised all those days and the last few days – since their wedding! What had happened after the party? The party which had been so successful despite his misgivings, thanks to her. He had seen her blood in her cabin, he had rushed to her home but she had not trusted his intentions. She had thought he wanted to hurt her. It had torn his heart. But why was he remembering all this now? She trusted him blindly now. Geet had finished eating. She had washed her hands. She was happy about something. She was talking endlessly. How different it was from all those days when she wanted to run away from him, when she would not admit her feelings to him, when he had to force her to be his fake-fiancee just to keep her near him and had felt the brunt everytime she reminded him of the fakeness of their relationship. Through all of that – he had desired her and finally the day was here, when he would make her his own – in one final sense of the word – physically.

The force of his passion made him worry for a moment. Would he end up hurting her? But he let go. Now, nothing could go wrong between them. They were over all the obstacles, all the misgivings. It was their time to do what they wanted to.

Geet was still blabbering on and on about something. He loved that, but right now there was no space for words between them. He went up to her, stood behind her and put his hands on her lips, startling her and shutting her up. He hands slipped down from her lips and caressed her chin and neck.

His caresses were rough and intense. It was new to Geet, who was used to his soft, caring touches. She was still getting used to it, when he turned her around – once again with a force that she had not felt before. She looked into his eyes and what she saw there scared her for the moment. It was not her loving, caring husband. Those eyes were oozing wild passion and desire – almost animalistic. They threatened to engulf her. But she wasn’t scared for long. She understood his desire and felt happy about it. To be desired so furiously by the man she almost worshipped was the best complement the woman in her could get. He wanted to possess her, devour her and she felt happy, content and proud. She gave in to his passion. She turned into his wax doll, whom he could mould as he wanted. She felt him grabbing her hair and pulling her head backwards. He was still rough, but he was not hurting her. He never could. Protecting her was his basic instinct. It didn’t matter how engrossed he was in his desires, he would not hurt her. She complied to his push and felt his urgent kissed on her neck. He tried to access her shoulder and her jacket came in between. He pushed it off her shoulders but did not bother to take it off completely. Her hands were stuck in the jacket and she could not move them forward. As he kissed and nibbled at her shoulders, she went weak in her knees – literally – and was about to lose her balance. Due to the jacket she could not even hold him, but he immediately supported her at the waist without interrupting himself. He was driving her crazy and she really wanted to touch and hold him. But her hands were helpless. Did he do it on purpose? She wondered. Someday she would get back at him and drive him as crazy. But today he wanted his way. And she will give in to his ways. She felt him lifting her up. He made her sit on the bed and relieved her of her jacket. His movements were still jerky and urgent and they would remain so until he had had her for himself. She could not resist her temptation to hug him. He let her do that and hugged her back. Even his hug was different today. It was not a caring lover’s hug that he would usually give her. It was the hug of her wild lover. She still melted in his hug. She loved him in all his avatars. The khadoos boss, the caring guardian, the impatient teacher, the loving husband and now the wild lover. She loved this too. She let herself drown in the currents he was bringing. He pushed her down on the bed and pinned her as he slipped beside her and pulled the cover over them. She felt like she was floating in a sea of pleasure and contentment as he claimed each inch of her body. Even in that state should could not help but notice that he was taking care to not press her stomach to save the baby from any harm, irrepective of how wild he was being otherwise. Basic instinct, she thought to herself again and the tears of happiness flowed from her eyes.

After they were both spent, he felt like he was coming out of trance; as if he was in some other world – just him and his Geet and everything else around them had disappeared. Now he noticed everything and saw Geet lying beside him in his arms, looking at him, smiling through her tears. He pulled her close to him and wiped her tears.

“Geet,” he said in the softest possible, loving voice, “Ye aansoo?”

“Khushi ke hain,” Geet replied quickly to reassure him.

Maan smiled and pulled her even closer. But now he was slowly realizing how wild he had been. The concern he had pushed under the carpet came back in full force. He wanted to ask her if she was fine, but he hesitated. Would it sound odd?

Geet noticed the change in his expression. He looked worried.

“Kya hua Maan?”

“Nahin, kuchh nahin Geet. Woh bas…” He paused.

“Maan – aapne thodi der pahle mujhse waada kiya tha ki sab kuchh share karenge mere saath. Aur ab phir?” Geet reminded him gently.

“Haan Geet. Ye poochhna tha… ki… tum theek ho na… Main… Kuchh zyada to nahin ho gaya? Tumhein koi problem to nahin hui?” he managed to ask, looking very uncomfortable.

“Maan! Main bilkul theek hoon. Aapko pata na ho to main bata doon ki aap galti se bhi mujhe chot nahin pahuncha sakte.”

He was visibly relieved.

Happy and content, they chatted away for a while. Rather Geet talked and Maan fondly listened to her, until they had drifted away to sleep in each other’s arms, in the middle of a jungle, away from the noises of the world.

A Night of Togetherness

Posted 1 CommentPosted in Fan Fiction, Hinglish, Maneet (GHSP)

“Dadi Ma, Geet thak gayi hai aur use phir se chakkar bhi aa rahe hain. To use aaraam karna chahiye,” Maan told Dadi Ma as soon as the formalities of grih-pravesh after their wedding were over.

“Haan, haan bete, hamein…”

Maan didn’t even wait to hear Dadi Ma’s reply and picked Geet up in his arms. Dadi Ma cut short her sentence and gave a broad, naughty smile. Everyone else tried hard to suppress their giggles.

Geet was highly embarrassed, “Maan aap kya kar rahe hain? Main bilkul theek hoon. Sab ke saamne…”

But the look in his eyes told her that he was not going to care for anything or listen to anyone. Her voice drowned, as the possessiveness evident in those eyes and his body language became clear to her.

As they entered her room, Geet was lost in him. He was the first to notice the decorated room and his expression changed to that of surprise. This brought Geet out of her reverie. She also noticed the room and bed and blushed heavily.

Maan settled her on the bed and himself sat on the edge of the bed close to her.

“Maan! Ye aap kya kar rahe hain?”

“Kya kar raha hoon?” Maan made an innocent face.

“Aise sab ke saamne mujhe utha kar laane ki kya zaroorat thi?”

“Ye kya baat hui Geet? Maine to wahi kiya to jo tumne kaha tha.”

“Maine? Maine kya kaha?” Geet was surprised as well as irritated.

Maan leaned closer to her, “Achchha! Tumne nahin kaha tha ki main shaadi jaldi karwaun. Tumhein jaldi se Mrs. Maan Singh Khurana banna hai.”

Geet was exasperated, “Lekin Maan…”

Maan shut her up with his hands, “Chup. Bilkul chup Geet. Ab to mujhe legally permission mil gayi hai – tumhein har pal apne saath rakhne ki. Ab na to tumahre koi kayde chalenge, na hi duniya ki koi rok-tok. Samjhi tum?”

More than his words, his penetrating eyes had shut her up. She could not meet them any longer and started looking down shyly. He came closer to her and took off the dupatta from her head. She immediately closed her eyes.

Maan smiled slightly as he saw her closing her eyes. He then took off her maang-teeka and ran her finger over the sindoor he had placed a while back in the mandap. Geet realized this. She opened her eyes and placed her hand on top of his and held it there for a while. Both of them captured the moment. It reassured them that they finally belonged to each other – not only in their souls, but also in the eyes of the world. Nothing could come in between them now.

Geet brought her hands down and Maan’s slipped down caressing her forhead and cheeks.

“Meri taraf dekho Geet,” Maan lifted her chin and made her look into his eyes.

“Geet – hum dono ne is din ka bahut intezaar kiya hai, hai na?”

Geet gave a shy, nervous smile as she nodded and downcast her eyes again.

“Aur Geet. Hum apne rishte ko aage le jaane ke liye thoda aur intezaar karenge. Abhi tumhein aaraam ki bahut zaroorat hai.”

Geet was surprised on hearing this and became sad as she realized that Maan was once again sarificing his happiness for her well-being. She felt so bad that she almost had tears in her eyes as she looked up, “Maan ek baar phir aap mere baare mein…”

“Geet. Dubara tumne kuchh aisa kaha ya socha to hamara jhagda ho jayega, samjhi tum? Aur aakhiri baar main tumhein samjha doon ki main sirf aur sirf apne baare mein soch raha hoon. Apni zindagi ke baare mein. Agar mujhe tumhara saath nahin mila to meri to zindagi hi khatm ho jayegi na Geet. To poori zindagi ke liye kuchh dinon ka intezaar kya badi baat hai?”

“Aap hamesha aisi baatein kar ke mujhe rula dete hain, aur phir kahenge ki rona mat kyonki main tumhari aakhon mein aasoon nahin dekh sakta,” Geet lifted her hands to wipe her tears, but Maan held her hands and stopped her.

“Kuchh cheezon ke liye hamein intezaar karna hai Geet. Lekin iska ye matlab nahin ki main tumhein itni aasaani se chhod doonga. Baaki ke saare haq tumhein mujhe dene honge Geet. Aur ye sirf iski shuruat hai,” Maan bent forward and kissed her to wipe her tears away. A chill ran down Geet’s spine and she closed her eyes again.

Maan next moved his hand behind her neck and took off her heavy necklaces one by one. He left the Mangalsutra in its place and just ran his fingers over it. Another reminder of their togetherness for life.

He proceeded to take off her payal and other ornaments. His touch was affecting her so much that she could hardly sit straight. She leaned on the headboard, eyes closed and let herself drown in her feelings. Maan was being a tease in the process and she was enjoying it.The last set of ornaments he paid attention to were her bangles. He took them off one by one. As he was pulling out the last one, Geet stopped him, “Saari choodiyan nahin Maan.”

Maan smiled, “Tum kuchh bhool rahi ho Geet!”

He took out the set of Kangans he had given to her earlier with the promise that he would make her wear those on their Suhag Raat.

Geet was surprised, “Ye aap kab laye? Main to outhouse se kuchh la hi nahin payi thi.”

“Waada kiya tha to nibhana to tha na Geet.”

Geet didn’t say anything; just kept looking at him with deep devotion and appreciation in her eyes as he put the kangans on her.

Once the ornaments were taken care of, he said, “Geet. Tum in kapdon mein so nahin paogi. Tumhein change karne ki zaroorat hai.”

“Par main to outhouse se apne kapde lekar nahin aayi.”

She had hardly completed her sentence when she noticed that Maan was opening the cup-board. She expected him to take out one of his shirts, but she was in for a surprise. He brought a pink silk night dress, which had a top and a wrap-around skirt.

“Aap…” she started saying but stopped her sentence midway. Then she smiled and continued, “Main kya kahoon. Jab aap Delhi mein barf plan kar sakte hain, to ye bhi kar hi sakte hain. Pata nahin aap itna sab kuchh soch kaise lete hain?”

“Geet, in palon ka intezaar karte-karte maine inke baare mein itni baar socha hai ki…”

Geet was floored again, “Maan. Agar har koi aapki tarah pyaar kar pata to duniya kitni alag hoti.”

“Agar kar kissi ko meri Mishti jaisi ladki mili hoti to har koi meri tarah pyaar karna seekh jaata, lekin Mishti to ek hi hai Duniya mein.”

“Aur aapki Mishti ke liye Maan bhi to ek hi hain na!” Geet was now comfortable in conversations and was not hesitating in pouring her heart out. Maan looked at her with smiling eyes.

They were lost in each other’s eyes for a few moments. Then Geet recovered and she got down from the bed with her night dress, “Main change kar ke aati hoon.” She started going towards the bathroom, when he pulled her back.

“Geet. Tum phir meri baat itni jaldi bhool gayin? Maine kaha tha na ki apne saare haq aaj se le loonga.”

Geet did not understand him, so looked at him with questioning eyes. She found his eyes devouring her with their seductive looks. As usual, she could not meet his eyes for long and started looking down.

Then she suddenly realized that he wanted her to change there, as he had teased her before the pheras. She knew that they were husband and wife, it was their first night together and there was a lot more he could be doing to her right then; yet the idea of changing there made her extremely uncomfortable.

She looked at him, almost horrified, “Nahin Maan. Yahan nahin.”

Maan’s expression did not change as he whispered, “Kya farq padta hai Geet ki tum kahan ho. Ye karna to mujhe hi hai.”

As if she wasn’t already nervous enough that he had dopped another bomb. He was going to change her clothes!

“Please Maan,” she pleaded.

“Chalo. Main tumhari pareshaani thodi kam kar deta hoon,” he said and switched off the lights by reaching out to the switches near the bed.

He went behind her and held her at the shoulder as he spoke in his heavy voice, “Geet. Tumhein pata hai na ki main ye pahle bhi kar chuka hoon. Tab majboori thi, par aaj haq.”

With the lights off, Geet’s protests gave way to desires. She let herself go. It was Maan. He had all the rights over her. And didn’t she enjoy his rights? Didn’t she want him as much as he wanted her? Wasn’t it he who had always controlled himself to keep their relationship in the limits? Otherwise, when did she ever have the strength to resist his charms? Letting go was the key to the happiness, for both of them.

He started off by unpinning the dupatta from her blouse at the shoulders. One that was off, he wrapped the skirt around her, ‘accidentally’ touching her belly and waist in the most sensual ways, before he took off her lehanga. He unbuttoned her blouse while standing behind her, but the buttons for the top of the night dress were in front. His ‘accidental’ touches were once again enough to make her go insane.

One she was dressed, she did not feel him near her for next couple of minutes and then suddenly the lights came back. He was standing facing her. As she blinked to adjust her eyes to the light, she saw that he had changed into his black vest and comfortable black pajamas. Seeing him in his vest reminded her of the time when she had seen him practicing tai-chi long back and despite her attempts to escape his attention, he had caught her. He was wearing his black vest then. He had made her wear the ear-ring she had dropped while escaping and had told her in no uncertain terms that he will not let an ‘outsider’ insult her. She had, for the first time, then, admitted to herself how he meant so much to her. And the desire for a man had fuelled in her for the first time. Desire for Maan.

Today, thanks to how he had pushed her to the brink, that desire had increased ten-fold.

When she saw him standing there in front of her, with as much desire in his eyes as was there in her heart, she could not stop herself. She just went ahead and hugged him, her hands caressing his back. He responded in kind, but soon came back to his senses.

He just could not risk it without first getting her checked up completely and knowing her condition. He also wondered if he drove her too far and if this could be harmful to her already stressed out body.

“Geet,” his voice brought her back to her senses too. She suddenly felt embarrassed at her behaviour and stepped back.

Maan noticed her embarrassment and could not help smiling. That was his Mishti. A sherni in a moment and a scared chuhiya the next. The comparison amused him even further.

He could not resist teasing her and asked innocently, “Kya hua Geet?”

She was looking everywhere except at him, “Woh.. Main… Kuchh nahin… Sorry…”

He went forward and held her hands. His voice was serious again. “Geet. Ismein ghabrane ki ya bura mahsoos karne ki kya baat hai? Mujhe to ye bahut achchha lagta hai ki tum bhi mere kareeb utna hi aana chahti ho, jitna main tumhare kareeb jaana chahta hoon.”

She smiled, still nervous, but no longer feeling bad. What else did she need other than his approval.

“Chalo Geet. Ab aaraam karo.”

As they lied down with Geet in his arms, she said, “Maan – aaj bahut kuchh kahne ka man kar raha hai, lekin munh se jaise lafz nahin nikal rahe hain.”

“Achchha hai Geet. Abhi waise bhi tumhein aaraam karna hai. So jao.”

“Maan please. Main theek hoon. Aur aaraam bhi karoongi. Lekin hum thodee der baat kar sakte hain na. Please!”

“Geet. Tumhare saath to main zindagi bhar baat kar sakta hoon. Ya yun kaho ki tum bolti rah sakti ho aur main sunta rahunga,” Maan started teasing her again. He had decided to give in to her urge to talk. Sleep could wait for a while.

“Maan – mera mazaak mat banaiye.”

“Meri aisi mazaal. Ab to shaadi ho gai hai. Ab to mujhe tumse dar kar rahna hoga.”

“Maan!”

“Mishti!”

He caught her off-guard by calling her Mishti instead of Geet. But she didn’t take long to get back in her form, “Jaiye. Mujhe koi baat nahin karni aapse.”

She turned to face away from him. But he forced her back and told her lovingly, “Geet. Aisa mat karna. Tum mujhse baat nahin karogi, to mere hothon par muskurahat kaun layega?”

“Ab aap mujhe makkhan laga rahe hain?” Geet was still irritated.

“Nahin sach bata raha hoon. Waise Geet kahna to mujhe bhi tumse kuchh hai.”

“Kya?” Geet forgot her irritation. He always had a trick up his sleeve to get her back!

“Tumhein yaad hai Geet, jab hum pahli baar mile the?”

“Kaise bhool sakti hoon?”

“Tab se ab tak kitna kuchh badal gaya hai na Geet.”

Geet snuggled up closer to him, “Kuchh bhi to nahin badla hai. Tab bhi aapne meri madad ki thi, mujhe bachaya tha. Aaj bhi aap wahi karte hain.”

She was expecting him to smile, but he turned more serious, “Meri kismat achchhi thi Geet jo usne mujhe hamesha samay se tumhare paas bhej diya. Agar aise kissie bhi mauke par tumhein kuchh ho jaata to… Main soch bhi nahin sakta…” he shuddered to think of the possibility of his life without Geet.

“Aur sochne ki zaroorat bhi nahin hai Maan. Purani baaton ko yaad kar ke dukhi kyon hona hai. Aaj to hum khush hain na.”

“Haan Geet. Aaj main bahut khush hoon aur bas ye dua maangta hoon bhagwaan se ki tumhein bhi hamesha khush rakh sakoon.”

“Bhagwaan ki bhi aisi majaal nahin ki aapki ye dua kabool na karein,” Geet once again tried to make the mood lighter.

“Lekin Geet, ek samay tha jab maine tumhein bahut dukh bhi diye hain. Main aaj un dinon ke liye maafi maangna chahta hoon.”

Geet thought he was referring to their misunderstanding over Dev’s bail and the time that followed in Indian Paints, “Maan. Aap kyon us baat ko lekar aaj tak pareshaan hote hain. Maine aapko samajhne mein galti ki thi Maan. Main aapko chhod kar gayi thi. Phir aap kyon…”

“Nahin Geet. Main uski baat nahin kar raha.”

This puzzled Geet, “Phir?”

“In sabke pahle Geet. Jab main tumse Hoshiyarpur mein mila tha, jab tum pahli baar Delhi aayi thi, jab hum office mein mile the. Geet maine bina tumhare baare mein jaane, bina kabhi tumse baat kiye, tumhein bahut kuchh galat kaha, tumhein bahut pareshaan kiya. Main un sab ke liye tumse maafi maangna chahta hoon.”

Geet suddenly sat up on the bed and started saying chirpily, “Aapko pata hai Maan, main na Babaji ki special bachchi hoon. Bhrosa nahin ho raha hai? Main batati hoon kaise! Main ek baar ek insaan se mili, jisne hamesha meri madad ki, apni jaan khatre mein daal kar na jane kitni baar meri jaan bachayi, na sirf mera sahara bana, balki mujhe khud bhi majboot banna sikhaya, apne pairon par khada hona sikhaya, apne haq ke liye ladna sikhaya. Aur main pareshaan hoti rahi ki kaise uske sab ahsaanon ke liye thanks kahun usse. Babaji se poochhti rahi aur babaji ne meri problem chutki mein solve kar di. Bajay iske ki woh insaan mujhse thanks expect kare, woh mujhse ye sab karne ke liye sorry kah raha hai. Batayie – ekdum special treatment di hai ki nahin Babaji ne mujhe?”

Maan did not say anything, just looked at her adoringly and smiled slightly.

Then Geet turned serious, “Maan – aapne kabhi kuchh bhi galat nahin kaha. Agar aapne mujhse kaha ki tum kamzor ho, to woh sach tha. Main kamzor thi. Agar aapne mujhse kaha ki jab tak tum saham-saham kar jeeti rahogi, tab tak tumhari zindagi nahin badlegi to woh bhi bilkul sach tha. Aur aapne kaha, isliye to main badli aur majboot bani. Agar aapne mujhse kaha ki mujhe duniya ki parwah nahin karni chahiye aur apne haq ke liye ladna chahiye to usmein bhi kya galat tha? Agar aapne mujhe daanta to isliye ki maine galtiyan ki thi. Maan agar aapko lagta hai ki aapne mujhe bura-bhala kaha to aisa nahin hai. Aapne sirf sach kaha. Aur kabhi kabhi sach kadwa hota hai, lekin sach se munh to nahin moda ja sakta na? Aapne mujhe hamesha sach ka saamna karna bhi to sikhaya.”

“Geet. Tum to kabhi kissi mein koi burai nahin dekh pati. To mujhme kaise dekhogi? Lekin sach to ye hai ki kai baar maine apni kadwahat tumhare oopar nikali. Lekin tumhare andar itni mithaas hai, itni strength hai ki tumne meri saari kadwahat apne andar ghol li aur phir bhi hansti rahi. Thank you Geet.”

“Agar aisa hua hai Maan to kismat ne mujhe ek aur khushi di hai ye bata kar ki main aapke liye kuchh to kar payi.”

Maan smiled and hugged her. Once they broke the embrace, Geet became her comical self again, “Waise maine aapki itni tareef kar di, iska matlab ye nahin hai ki aapne mujhe bilkul bhi pareshaan nahin kiya hai. Aapne mujhe kai baar bekaar mein bhi sazaa di hai.”

“Achchha! Woh kab hua?”

“Kab hua? Ye poochhiye ki kab nahin hua. Aapne mujhe Mr. Chopra ke project se kyon nikala tha?”

“Usmein meri galti nahin thi Geet. Kasoor tumhara tha,” Maan joked.

“Wahi to poochh rahi hoon, kya kasoor tha mera?”

“Tum mujhe pagal kar rahi thi.”

“Kya?” Geet did not understand at all.

Maan turned serious, “Sach to ye hai Geet ki main dar gaya tha tumse. Tumhari wajah se main badal raha tha. Mujhe andhere mein rahne ki aisi aadat ho gayi thi ki jo roshni mujhe tumme dikh rahi thi, usse mujhe dar lag raha tha. Main usse bhaagne ki koshish kar raha tha.”

Geet realized for the first time that he had been affected by her much before she had realized it, “To aap tab se…” She did not complete the sentence.

“Haan Geet. Maine tumse kaha tha na ki main tumse bahut pahle impressed ho gaya tha. Shayad usse bhi pahle. Shayad jab Hoshiyarpur mein tumse mila tha. Pagal tha main Geet, jo apni khushiyon se itna door bhagne ki koshish karta raha. Aur uske chakkar mein use bhi thes pahuncha raha tha jo mere liye sabse keemti thi. Tum!”

Geet laughed slightly, “Aapse badi pagal to main thi. Aap meri wajah se itna pareshaan hote rahe, aur main aapko Dusht Danav samajhti rahi.”

“Hmm… Aur usi Dusht Danav ke peechhe daudti hui Dargah tak pahunch gayi, haan Geet?”

This made Geet blush, “Mera mazaak mat banaiye. Aapke phone se main ghabra gayi thi.”

Maan turned Geet’s face towards him by holding her chin, “Itni fikr karti thi meri, aur phir bhi mujhe chhod kar jana chahti thi. Meri shakal tak nahin dekhna chahti thi.”

She silence him by putting her hands on his lips, “Thank you. Jo aapne mujhe jaane nahin diya. Warna…”

“Apni jaan ko kaun itni aasaani se jaane deta hai Geet,” Maan said cupping her face in his hands. Then he suddenly changed his tone, “Waise phir bhi. Tum mujhe thank kar sakti ho. Mujhe koi aitraaz nahin hai. Lekin sirf thanks kahne se kaam nahin chalega. Mujhe ek gift bhi dena hoga.”

Geet looked up to see the naughtiness in his eyes.

“Maan!”

But Maan was too busy pushing her down on the bed to listen to her. His lips moved towards her, but she turned her face sideways in shyness. Maan kissed on her cheek and said, “Koi baat nahin, maine apna thanks dheere-dheere le loonga.”

And they chatted away until Geet fell asleep with exhaustion!

 

The Past Haunts

Posted 1 CommentPosted in Fan Fiction, Hinglish, Maneet (GHSP)

Geet woke up at night and did not find Maan by her side. She looked around to find him near the window looking outside. He was facing away from her; so she could not see his face. She wondered what was keeping him awake at that hour of night.

She walked up to him and touched his arms, “Maan!”

His face showed excessive worry as he turned back. He immediately took her in his arms and hugged her tight. She hugged him back as a natural reaction to his hug, but could not fathom the reason behind his worry.

Before she could ask, he started speaking nervously, “Geet – tum mujhse naraaz mat hona. Mujhe chhod kar kabhi mat jaana Geet. Main nahin jee paunga tumhare bina.”

“Shaant ho jaiye Maan. Ye aap kaisi baatein kar rahe hain? Main aapko chhod kar kyon jaungi?”

“Ek baar tum mujhe chhod kar gayi thi, to main insaan se haiwaan ban gaya tha,” he was recalling how he behaved at Indian Paints after she had walked out on him and refused to marry him, “Mujhse waada karo Geet ki agar mujhse koi galti bhi ho jaye, to tum mujhe jo chahe sazaa de dogi, leking mujhe chhod kar nahin jaogi.”

His pain and worry was now hurting her too. She blinked back the tears coming in her eyes, before breaking the hug and taking his hands his hers, “Maan. Woh meri galti thi aur main sapne mein bhi aisi galti dubara nahin kar sakti. Kya maine saat pheron ke saath hi aapse waada nahin kiya tha ki main hamesha aapke saath rahungi. Sukh-dukh mein, achchhe-bure waqt mein?”

He just nodded and did not say anything. So, she continued, “Aap chahein to main hazaar baar ye waada kar sakti hoon Maan. Kuchh bhi ho jaye main aapko chhod kar kahin nahin jaungi. Kaise ja sakti hoon main kahin? Meri saari duniya, mere saare rishte, meri zindagi – sab aap par shuru ho kar aapse hi khatam hote hain. Aap mere pati hain, mere bachche ke pita hain. Koi bhi muskil, koi bhi problem in bandhano se oopar nahin ho sakti mere liye. Aap please aise khayal apne man se nikaal dijiye. Aur mujhe bataiye ki hua kya hai.”

Her words calmed him down and it reflected on his face too. He hugged her again, a more relaxed hug this time.

“Kuchh nahin hua hai Geet. Bas ek bura sapna dekha tha aur neend toot gayi. Tum kaise uth gayi Geet, kuchh chahiye tha?”

“Mujhe pyaas lagi thi. Kamre mein paani khatam ho gaya hai. Main le kar aati hoon.

“Nahin tum aaraam karo,” he said touching her tummy and smiling, “Hamare baby ko aise raat ko pareshaan karna theek nahin hai. Main paani le kar aata hoon. Kuchh aur chahiye?”

“Nahin,” she said smiling back.

He got her the water and they lied down with Geet in his arms. She was soon asleep, but Maan had lost his sleep. He recalled seeing her in the afternoon, after he was coming out of a meeting at a client’s office.

“Hi MK,” she had called out to him.

He froze as he looked at her. The face and voice were difficult to miss, even though he had buried them in the past somehow.

“Sameera!” He spoke involuntarily.

“Cool. Tum bhoole nahin ho…” she had started the conversation, but he just turned back, got into his car and drove away.

He had never told Geet about her. He hadn’t intentionally wanted to keep her in the dark. But he just did not want to relive those painful memories. And with Geet’s own past haunting her so badly until recently, he did not want to add to her stress with his story. The story of a past that should have no effect on their beautiful future together. He did not bother with it.

But seeing Sameera that afternoon had shaken him. For th first time he consciously felt that it was a mistake on his part to not tell Geet about her. How would she feel if she came to know about it now? What if it stressed her out? And given her complicated pregnancy, could he risk that?

Geet was already in the meeting with the client when Maan walked into his cabin. He shook hands with Mr. Mishra, “Mujhe pichhli meeting mein der ho gayi Mr. Mishra…”

“No Problem Mr. Khurana. Ms. Geet ne meeting time par shuru kar di thi aur hamein aapki company ka initial brief de bhi diya hai.”

Maan smiled at Geet, “Thank you Geet.”

Geet smiled back and drew his attention to the woman accompanying Mr. Mishra, “Maan – aap inse mile nahin. Mr. Mishra ki dost hain aur shayad aap dono ek doosre ko achchhi tarah jaante hain.”

Maan noticed her then.

“Hi MK. Long time!” Sameera was smiling.

“Mr. Khurana. Sameera meri dost hai. Jab maine ise bataya ki main aapse meeting karne ke liye aa raha hoon to ye bhi saath aa gayi. Aapse milne.”

“Maan, Sameera bata rahi thi ki aap college mein saath padhte the,” Geet said enthusiastically. She was genuinely happy to meet a friend of Maan’s.

Maan unconsciously clutched Geet’s hand surprising her, as he looked sternly at Sameera. Sameera noticed him clutching Geet’s hand.

He addressed Mr. Mishra instead, “To hum discussion continue karein.”

“Sure.”

As they all sat down, Maan realized that he was holding Geet’s hand and left it feeling awkward.

Geet noticed that Maan was not able to pay attention to the discussion at all. So, apart from taking notes, she also had to continue handling the actual discussion. At the end of it Mr. Mishra asked Maan, “So, Mr. Khurana. Maine apni requirements more or less explain kar di hain. What is the way forward?”

Maan had hardly paid attention to what was going on in the meeting. He looked absentmindedly at Geet.

“Mr. Mishra. Hum do dinon mein aapko proposal bhej denge, jismein priliminary designs aur budget estimates honge,” Geet replied to his question.

“Sure. Thank you Ms. Geet.”

He shook hands with Maan and Geet and left with Sameera.

Geet could not hold herself back any longer and she turned to Maan as soon as the visitors left the room, “Maan. Kya baat hai? Aap kal se hi pareshaan hain aur abhi bhi meeting mein aap dhyaan nahin de rahe the. Sameera aapki friend hai lekin aapne usse ek baar bhi baat nahin ki. Kya problem hai?”

“Koi problem nahin hai Geet. Hum baad mein baat karte hain. Abhi tum jao.”

“Lekin Maan…”

But Maan pretended to be rude, “Geet. Main tumhare boss ki haisiyat se tumhein bol raha hoon ki abhi mujhe akele rah kar kuchh kaam karna hai. To jao yahan se.”

There was a time when she used to get really angry at his I-am-the-boss card. But by now she was well aware that he played it only when he was disturbed out of his mind. She decided to oblige him for the time being. Office would not be the best place to tackle him in this bad mood.

She was thinking about it while walking back to her cabin, when she realized just how odd his behaviour with Sameera was. From the way Sameera had introduced herself, it appeared that they knew each other very well. Then why this coldness towards her? She also realized that his mood was fine when he had entered the room. But it went for a toss as soon as he saw Sameera. What was wrong? Why wouldn’t he tell her?

She had barely reached back to her cabin, when she noticed through the partially open blinds that Sameera had come back to Maan’s cabin.

“Tum yahan kyon aayi ho Sameera?”

“Kya main tumse do minute baat bhi nahin kar sakti?”

“Mujhe tumse koi baat nahin karni hai. Aur haan – jahan tak main samjhta hoon, tum Mr. Mishra ki friend ho. Unke business se tumhara koi lena-dena nahin hai. To behtar hoga ki tum hamare saath hone waali business meetings mein na aao.”

“Come on MK. For old time’s sake. Oh! Or are you too scared of your secretary? Tumhare taste ko kya ho gaya hai? What’s her name? Geet – yeah!”

“Mrs. Geet Khurana!” Maan replied sharply. “Geet meri wife aur is company ki co-owner hai Sameera. Tameez se baat karo uske baare mein.”

Geet had just reached the door of his cabin and heard him shouting at Sameera. She hesitated and stopped there instead of going in.

Sameera was shocked as she realized that Maan was married to Geet. But she immediately came back to herself, “I am impressed MK. Such a successful boss-secretary romance! Daad deni padegi us ladki ki. She has got brains.”

“Sameera. Main aakhiri baar tumhein kah raha hoon. Geet ko judge karne ki tumhari aukaat nahin hai. Geet ka naam bhi dubara apni zubaan par mat laana. Tum us layak nahin ho. Isi waqt yahan se chali jao. Dubara mere ya Geet ke saamne aane ki koshish bhi mat karna. Agar abhi ke abhi tum yahan se nahin gayin to main apni hadein bhool jaunga and khud dhakke maar kar tumhein bahar nikaal doonga. Leave. Now!” his eyes showed extreme anger and hatred for Sameera. His roaring voice added to the impact.

Even Geet got scared looking at this side of Maan. Sameera was frightened out of her wits with his anger and left immediately.

Geet stepped back so that Sameera did not see her while coming out of Maan’s cabin. She considered going to Maan and asking him about what transpired. But she decided against it. He should feel comfortable enough to tell her himself. She would pretend she did not hear anything until she can get him to speak his mind.

Maan saw Nakul coming in their room with the food trolley. Geet followed him in to the room. Maan looked at her questioningly.

She said after Nakul left, “Dadi Ma bahar gayi hui hain. Dinner bhi apni friend ke yahan karengi. To maine socha ki hum apna khana kamre mein hi mangwa lein.”

Maan smiled, went to her and hugged her from behind, “Kyon? Khane ke saath kya karne ka irada hai Mrs. Khurana?”

“Khana khane ka Mr. Khurana,” Geet replied promptly freeing herself from his hug and started arranging their plates. Maan stopped her and asked her to sit on the bed. He would bring the food.

“Main kar rahi hoon na Maan!”

“Nahin Geet. Tum ja kar baitho,” he practically pushed her away.

Geet made a baby face, but did what he asked her to do.

Maan came to her and sat down on the bed with food in one plate.

“Ek hi plate?”

“Hmm. Apno ka jootha to kha sakte hain na Geet?”

They were reminded of the incident when he had asked her the same question during Pari’s visit. She had dodged the question then, by saying that she did not understand him. Today, she blushed and happily took the bite that he was holding in front of her.

“Aaj main apni pyaari si biwi aur baby ko apne haathon se khana khilaunga.”

Geet tore a piece of chapati from the plate, dipped it in the curry and took it near Maan’s mouth, “Par aapki problem ye hai ki apni biwi aur baby ke chakkar mein aap apna khayal rakhna bhool jate hain.”

“Kya farq padta hai Geet? Tum ho na mera khayal rakhne ke liye,” he took in the bite from her. Then added, “Hamesha rahogi na mere paas Geet?” His face again started showing the worry she had seen last night.

She took the plate from his hands and kept it on the side table. Then she held his hands and asked, “Maan. Aisi kya kami rah gayi hai mere pyaar mein jo aapko mere saath ka bharosa nahin ho raha hai? Aap mujhe bas ek baar boliye ki main kaise aapka bharosa wapas jeetoon – main kuchh bhi karoongi iske liye.”

“Nahin Geet, nahin,” he hastened to reply as he realized that he was unnecessarily making her feel guilty, “Tumhare pyaar, vishwas aur samarpan mein koi kami nahin hai Geet. Ho hi nahin sakti. Tum aisa kabhi mat sochna. Lekin…”

“Lekin kya Maan?”

“Agar mujhse koi galti ho gai ho to?”

“Aap kabhi galat nahin hote Maan. Aapka kiya hua koi bhi kaam meri nazar mein galti nahin ho sakta. Aur agar kuchh galat kiya bhi hai aapne to mujhe pata hai ki mere bhale ki liye hi kiya hoga. Aap aaj Sameera par chilla rahe the – ye sahi baat to nahin hai. Lekin woh bhi aapne mere liye hi kiya,” she had forgotten about her decision of not letting him know that she had heard his conversation with Sameera.

Maan looked at her in shock. How much had she heard?

“Maan. Aap please mujh par aur hamare rishte par bharosa kijiye aur jo bhi aapke man mein hai bata dijiye. Hamein ek doosre ka imtihaan thode hi na lena hai. Hamein to zindagi ke saare imtihaan mil kar dene hain. Jaisa ki humne ab tak kiya hai. Aapne meri saari pareshaaniyon ko apna liya Maan. Main bhi wahi karoongi. Bina sharton ke pyaar karna, saath nibhana maine aapse hi seekha hai. Main kabhi peechhe nahin hatoongi. Bataiye Maan.”

She had managed to instill confidence in him finally.

“Geet. Mujhe tum par poora bharosa hai. Haan kabhi-kabhi main bhi tumhari saaf-dili, bholepan aur maasoomiyat se dhokha kha jata hoon. Dar lagta hai ki kahin pareshaaniyan tumhare bardasht ke bahar na ho jayen, kahin tum unke tale dab na jao. Lekin tum hamesha mujhe yaad dila deti ho ki bachchon ki tarah hansne-khelne waali meri Geet ke peechee ek bahut mature aur strong ladki hai, jo duniya ki sabse achchi biwi hai aur bahut kabil Maa banne ja rahi hai, jo hamesha meri takat banti hai. Geet meri zindagi tumhari hi to hai. Tumse nahin share karoonga to kisse karoonga. Lekin pahle khana kha lo Geet. Tumhara bhookhe rahna tum dono ki sehat ke liye achchha nahin hai. Hum phir baat karenge.”

She nodded in agreement. They finished their dinner, feeding each other and lost in each other’s eyes.

But when it came to telling her, Maan felt nervous again. He got up from the bed and walked to the window. Geet followed him. Together they looked at the moon and remembered all the occasions when the moon had been the witness of their promises of love and togetherness.

“Geet – meri zindagi mein pahle bhi ek ladki thi.” Finally Maan managed to say and he looked at Geet to see her reaction. She appeared surprised, but calm, but he wasn’t sure he was reading her expressions correctly. So, he hastened to clarify, “Lekin Geet. Isse kuchh galat mat samajhna. Usse hamare aaj aur aane waale kal par koi farq nahin padta. Woh ladki meri zindagi ki bahut badi bhool thi. Woh rishta mere ateet ka ek kaala hissa tha, jise maine dafna diya hai. Jab tak tum meri zindagi mein nahin aayi thi, tab tak main ateet ke us andhere se ubar nahin paaya tha. Lekin Geet, jabse maine tumhein paya, meri zindagi mein nayi roshni aa gayi aur main us roshni ke liye swarthi ho gaya. Mujhe tumhein batana chahiye tha Geet ki tum meri zindagi mein pahli ladki nahin ho, lekin…”

“Lekin aakhiri to hoon na Maan?” Geet asked lovingly.

Maan almost cried with happiness and relief when she said that, “Haan Geet. Aakhiri – sirf is zindagi ke liye nahin, balki aane waali har zindagi ke liye bhi.”

“Aapne isliye mujhe pahle nahin bataya na Maan kyonki aap bure waqt ko yaad nahin karna chahte the?”

“Haan Geet.”

“To aapne theek kiya Maan. Aur aap bilkul sahi kar rahe the. Isse hamare rishte, hamare aaj ya hamare aane waale kal par koi farq nahin padta. Jab aapka mere liye pyaar poora hai Maan, jab usmein kabhi koi kami mujhe mahsoos nahin hui, to ateet ki kahaniyon se hamein kya lena dena hai. Mujhe aapse koi shikayat nahin hai.”

“Sach kah rahi ho Geet?”

“Bilkul,” she smiled.

He came close to her, cupped her face in his hands and said, “Thank you Geet. Tumne mujhe ek baar phir is andhere se nikaal diya.” He pulled her into a hug.

“Lekin Maan mujhe aapse ek shikayat zaroor hai,” she said breaking the hug.

“Kya Geet?” Maan was caught unawares.

“Jis cheez ko aap yaad nahin karna chahte, jisse aapka ab koi matlab nahin hai, woh baat aapne mujhe nahin batayi, to mujhe koi problem nahin hai. Lekin aap kal se pareshaan the iski wajah se, aur aap mujhe batane mein itna jhijhak rahe the? Ye to sahi nahin hai na Maan? Mujhe jaanne ka haq hai na agar koi baat aapko pareshaan kar rahi hai?”

“Haan Geet. I am sorry. Main dar gaya tha. Mujhe laga ki agar tum is baat ke wajah se parehsaan hui ya stress liya to tumhare aur baby ki health ke liye sahi nahin rahega. Doctor ne khaas kar ye kaha tha pichhle check-up mein.”

“Maan. Jab tak aap mere saath hain, aur khush hain, main kissi bhi cheez ka stress nahin loongi. Lekin, jab aapko pareshaan dekhti hoon – jaise kal raat se dekh rahi thi, to main bhi pareshaan ho jati hoon. Aap mujhse waada kijiye ki aage se aap apni pareshaaniyan mujhse share karenge, chhupayenge nahin.”

“Waada karta hoon Geet. Aage se aisa nahin hoga.”

“Waise kya Sameera hi woh ladki hai?”

“Haan.” And told her about him meeting her the day before.

“Uske saath problem kya hui thi Maan? Aur woh wapas kyon aayi hai?”

“Geet. Main un baaton ko dohrana nahin chahta. Bas itna samajh lo ki woh paison ki bhookhi thi. Aur shayad usi ke liye wapas aayi hai.”

“Theek hai. Aap nahin yaad karna chahte to main aapse aur kuchh nahin poochhoongi. Lekin aap ab uske wapas aane ki wajah se pareshaan to nahin hain?”

“Geet. Tum mere saath ho to ab mujhe uske aane ki koi chinta nahin hai. Lekin haan, tum usse door rahna Geet. Waise to main hamesha tumhare saath rahta hoon. Lekin phir bhi – tum apna dhyaan rakhna. Uska jo bhi maksad hai woh uske liye kissi bhi hadd tak ja sakti hai. Main nahin chahta ki Nayantara ki tarah phir koi tumhare ya hamare bachche ke liye khatra ban jaye.”

Geet lightened the situation by becoming her comical self, “Haan. Pareshaan to aap meri hi wajah se hote hain na? Jab koi aur cheez na mile pareshaan hone ke liye, Geet ke liye pareshaan ho jao. Hai na?”

As Maan stared at her in surprise, she smiled reassuringly, “Main poora dhyaan rakhoongi. Chinta mat kijiye. Waise bhi mujhe aapke rahte kuchh nahin ho sakta.”

Maan smiled and planted a caring kiss on her forehead.

And then, as he looked at her smiling, becautiful face, he got lost. Free of his insecurity and guilt, he felt like he needed to own her completely. Her kissed her eyes, cheeks, nose, neck and shoulders one by one. Then he placed his lips on hers in a very passionate and aggressive kiss that left her panting. He picked her up in his arms and settled her on the bed. As he climbed into the bed next to her and continued exploring her body with his sensual touches and kisses, Geet realized that it was not their usual foreplay. He had indeed forgotten about …

“Maan…” she called out his name and put her hands on her tummy, “Nahin…. Baby…”

That suddenly brought him back to the reality. The doctor had advised them against having sex due to the complications in her pregnancy. How did he let himself forget that? He immediately withdrew from her. He was looking lost.

Geet sat up and looked at him feeling guilty. She was on the verge of crying, “I am sorry Maan.”

Maan looked at her in surprise, “Nahin Geet. Tum sorry kyon bol rahi ho. Sorry to mujhe kahna chahiye. In fact thanks kahna chahiye tumhein ki tumne mujhe itni badi galti karne se rok liya. Please Geet. Ye baby hum dono ki responsibility hai na? Aur agar humme se koi is maamle mein galti kare to doosre ko rokna to chahiye hi na? Jab tum apni sehat ka khayal nahin rakhti ho to main tumhein daantta hoon ki nahin?”

Geet smiled and nodded.

“Geet – maine tumse pahle bhi ek baar kaha tha. Hamare paas to poori zindagi hai saath bitane ke liye. To kuchh mahino ka intezaar kya badi baat hai? Main to poori zindagi tumhara intezaar karne ko taiyaar tha. Aur tum bhi to mujhe mere baal safed hone tak intezaar karwane waali thi Geet! Bhool gayin?” Maan teased her about the incident when in her nervousness she had blurted out that he didn’t need her confession so soon because his hair had not become grey yet.

Both of them laughed remembering the incident.

Suddenly Maan turned serious, “Sach bataun Geet. Rishte chahe kitne bhi rahe hon meri zindagi mein, lekin tumse milne ke baad maine jaana ki pyaar kya hota hai. Apne liye kuchh paane ki koshish karna pyaar nahin hota Geet. Pyar ka asli ehsaas to tab hota hai jab apne pyar ke liye kuchh bhi karna aapka maksad ban jaye.”

“Ye baat aapse behtar kaun jaanta hai Maan?”

“Nahin Geet. Ye to maine tumse seekha hai. Tum jab pyaar karti ho to apne baare mein nahin sochti Geet. Apne bachche se pyaar kiya to sirf ye socha ki uski jaan kaise bachegi. Apni zindagi khatre mein daal di. Mujhe chahne lagi to mere bhala soch kar mujhe khud se door karne ki koshish karti rahi. Kabhi parwah nahin ki apne dil ki – us par kya guzar rahi hai. Aur main? Main to bas tumehin paane ke liye pagal hua baitha tha Geet. Tumhein kitna pareshaan kiya maine, kitna sataya tumhein tumhare ehsaas ka izhaar karwane ke liye. Agar maine tab pyaar ko samjha hota to main jaanne ki koshish karta ki tum kyon mujhse door bhag rahi thi, tumhare hanste chehre aur chubulepan ke peechhe chhipe dard ko samajhne ki koshish karta. Lekin main to bas ye soch raha the ki mujhe kya chahiye. Mujhe tum chahiye thi aur is dhun mein tumhara dard mujhe dikh hi nahin raha tha, Geet…”

“Bas Maan,” Geet could not take him beating himself up any more, “Aapko kya koi sapna aata ki meri pareshaani kya thi. Jab maine aapko bataya hi nahin tha to aap kaise samajh sakte the.”

“Wahi to baat hai na Geet. Tumne mujhe nahin bataya kyonki tum mujhe chahti thi aur mujhe pareshaan nahin karna chahti thi. Lekin mujhe to tumse poochhna chahiye tha.”

“Maan. Ho sakta hai aap tab us tarah se apne pyaar ka izhaar nahin kar paye, jaise aaj karte hain. Lekin mujhse bhi to poochhiye ki agar aap sach mein itne swarthi the jitna aapko lagta hai, to main kaise pyaar kar baithi aapse?”

“Meri kismat achchi thi Geet.”

“Nahin Maan. Us samay mujhe atma-vishwas ki zaroorat thi, duniya ka saamna karne ki himmat ki zaroorat thi. Maine apne bachche ki zindagi bachane ka faisla to le liye tha, lekin us faisle ko anzaam dene ki taqat nahin thi mujhme. Aapne mujhe wo atma-vishwas, woh himmat, woh taqat di Maan. Hum dono ye sochte rahe ki hum ek doosre se lad rahe hain. Lekin aap to jhagde ke bahane bhi mujhe majboot bana rahe the. Ye tha aapka pyaar, jise aap samajh bhi nahin pa rahe the. Aapne mujhe woh pyaar diya tha jiski mujhe zaroorat thi.”

Suddenly she changed her tone and faked sternness, “Aur haan Mr. Khurana. Maana ki aap apni wife ki tareef karna chahte hain, lekin iska matlab ye nahin ki aap mere husband ki burai karein. Geet Khurana ye bilkul bardasht nahin karegi! Samjhe aap?”

Maan smiled, “Dekha Geet. Tum ab bhi, mere khud ke munh se bhi meri burai nahin sun sakti…”

Geet put her hands on his lips, “Ab bas. Chup. Bilkul chup.”

Maan found no other way of expressing what he was feeling, except to pull her in his arms in a tight hug.

After a few moments, he said, “Tum so jao Geet. Main Mr. Mishra ke project ka kuchh kaam dekh leta hoon. Din mein kuchh kaam nahin kar paya main.”

“Main aapko brief de deti hoon meeting ki. Waise bhi aap kuchh sun to rahe nahin the.”

“Bilkul nahin. Main tumhein office mein kaam karne deta hoon, taki tumhara man laga rahe aur tum meri nazaron ke saamne raho. Lekin abhi tumhare aaraam ka waqt hai aur ismein koi laparwahi nahin honi chahiye. Samjhi tum? Main tumhare notes padh loonga.”

“Lekin Maan, mujhe neend nahin aa rahi.”

He gave her a stern look and she immediately backed off.

“Theek hai – main sone ja rahi hoon. Aise mat ghooriye.”

He smiled, confirmed that she had taken her medicines and wished her good night before going to his desk to work on the project.

The Camera Blunder

Posted 1 CommentPosted in Fan Fiction, Hinglish, Maneet (GHSP)

Note on the OS

Before the wedding, when Geet refused to shift to the main mansion from the outhouse, Maan arranged for CCTV cameras in her room so that he could keep an eye on her all the time. It was for her safety, but it could lead to other interesting things as well. One of those have been explored in this OS.

Geet threw her dupatta on the bed and started taking off her kurti. And then she suddenly remembered the cameras, looked at the one which must be capturing her at the moment. She was shocked and embarrassed. She hurried towards the bathroom with her night dress.

Was he there? Did he …? Her embarrassment knew no bounds. What would he think? But he won’t be monitoring the camera. He himself might have just returned to his room after the tiring day filled with rituals. He definitely wasn’t there. She was convincing herself of this as she came out of the bathroom; only to find him in her room. He hadn’t yet changed his clothes.

“Aap?” She stopped in her tracks.

“Haan, main. Kyon nahin aa sakta?” He sounded perfectly normal and started moving towards her.

If she had not been so nervous about her situation, she would have retorted that he wasn’t allowed in her maayka at night. But she wasn’t in her senses. Did he? Did he not?

He had come close to her by then. His eyes were penetrating her entire being. He ran his index finger across her temple. She closed her eyes and involuntarily whispered his name, “Maan!”

Maan came behind her and dug his hands into her hair. He started playing with her hair, which was untied. He was also occasionally caressing her neck, nape and shoulders.

“Kya baat hai Geet? Kuchh kahna chahti ho?” His voice was still steady and normal, as if he wasn’t driving her crazy with his seductive moves, but was disucssing when to leave for the office!

Geet moved away from him. She wasn’t going to be able to think clearly, if he kept doing THAT to her.

“Aap is waqt yahan kyon aaye hain?”

He came close to her again, moved her hair to one side and made her gasp by opening the back zip of her night dress a bit. He slid it a little from her shoulder, almost as much as she had slid her kurti when she had forgotten about the camera.

“Ye dekhne ke liye ki agar main tumhare saamne rahunga, phir bhi tum bhaag jaogi kya?”

She closed her eyes and bit her lower lips, when he said that. He had seen it. She was highly embarrassed and yet felt a sweet tingling. She was losing it. She had to come back to her senses.

Pushed by this thought, she gathered herself together and moved away from him once more, adjusting her top and adjusting her hair on the back so that her back revealed by the partly unzipped dress got covered. She was facing away from him.

Maan smiled indulgently as he saw her doing all this. He decided that he had tortured her enough for one day. Anyway, the wedding was not far away! He could wait.

Geet took a deep breath to get back in control and turned towards Maan with fake anger. She flustered for a bit when she saw him smiling, but soon regained her composure and pretended to scold him.

“Aapko raat mein mere maayke mein aana mana hai, pata hai na aapko? Aur abhi koi light bhi nahin gayi hai ki mere dar ke bahane aap yahan aa gaye hain.”

Maan was taken aback to see the change in her, but why should he be surprised. This was his sherni. What else could be expected of her? She would attack back, of course.

“Geet. Jitne ulte-seedhe kayde banane hain, shaadi tak bana lo. Ab to shaadi bhi door nahin hai. Phir uske baad tumhara koi bahana nahin chalega.”

“Ye aap mujhe baar-baar shaadi ke baad ki dhamki kyon dete rahte hain? Shaadi ke baad kya kha jayenge aap mujhe?”

As usual she had spoken in front of him without thinking. His indulgent smile became naughty.

He came to her and said, “Kuchh aisa hi samajh lo.”

Geet was again too embarrassed to think of a retort. She did not meet his eyes and kept looking here and there in nervousness.

He suddenly lifted her in his arms. As she looked into his eyes, which seemed to devour her in their own loving way, she gave up all the resistance. If he wanted her, he would have her today. Who was she to resist anyway? She was his wax doll. He could mould her in any way he wanted. And she loved it that way. The only thing that mattered to her was that he was there. Her lover, her saviour, her God. She did not have to think of right and wrong, when he made a decision.

He settled her on the bed and sat beside her.

“Tumhein mujh par bharosa hai na Geet?”

“Bhagwan se bhi zyada.”

“Bas itna hi chahiye Geet. Main tumhare bharose ka imtihaan nahin loonga. Main tumhara intezaar karoonga Geet. Aur agar tumehin pareshaani hai to… hum camera hatwa denge. Tumhari security ka main koi aur intezaam…”

She put her hand on his lips, “Jo cheez mujhe aapke kareeb rakhti ho, usse mujhe pareshaani kaise ho sakti hai?”

She always managed to surprise and overwhelm him with her trust in him. Sometimes he truly felt like a God, because she treated him like one.

He smiled and moved close to her. His lips were coming close to hers. She had closed her eyes. He surprised her by kissing on her cheek instead. She opened her eyes and blushed.

“Mujhe apne kareeb mahsoon karna chahti ho Geet?”

She did not say anything in reply. She did not even nod. She just looked at him with with her innocent, trusting eyes, which had a ‘yes’ in them.

He pulled her close, put one of his hands on her back and dug through her hair to caress her bare back. She was startled, as she wasn’t expecting this from him now.

“To aaj raat apne dress ki zip band mat karna. Mujhe mahsoos karti rahogi.”

He suddenly left her, gave her a naughty smile and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. By the time she understood what he had said, he was already gone. She blushed heavily and tried to unsuccessfully touch her back, where he had touched her. Then she lied down smiling.

Maan came back to look at the camera footage after changing for the night. She was asleep. Suddenly she turned in her sleep and was now lying on her stomach. He could see her open zip through her hair. He had thought of teasing her, but looked like he was going to be the one unable to sleep that night. He wasn’t sure what was driving him crazier. That she was so beautiful and desirable or the innocence and infinite trust with which she was ready to do everything he asked of her?