Meer was stunned at his sudden outburst
just like the first from last night!
With her tear filled eyes she shakily
said ‘I ..I.. don’t want you to think that you have to do this out of some
compulsion..I will talk to my baba and he won’t let you be forced into this
marriage with me’
‘No no!’ Haider stood up and said ‘I
mean it! I was nervous and I panicked yesterday with dad’s sudden decision but
after thinking about it the whole night...going over the few things you had
said now I really do want this!’
‘I..I want to achieve whatever I want in
life but with you by my side’ Haider whispered.
Meer pulled her hand out of his grip and
wiped her tears and coyly looked at him from the corner of her eyes, anxiously
playing with the ends of her dupatta not knowing what to say in return.
Haider then hesitantly asked ‘Do you still
want to talk to your baba?’
Meer quietly nodded and Haider worriedly
said ‘Now you don’t want to be with me?’
Meer suddenly took a turn and said ‘I am
going to tell him that I am happy with moving to Delhi’ and hid her face in her
hands.
Haider sighed and said ‘Phew! Maangayi! Warna
mujhe phir pait ke chakkar lag jate!’ (Phew! She said yes! Otherwise the runs
to the toilet would have begun again!).
Meer bursts out laughing at his comment
and ran off in the direction towards the back wall of the Haweli.
----------------------------------------------
Geet was bored with Maan following her
around the fields with his nonsensical questions. She didn’t know why he
wanted to know such small things, like if she goes to walks so early in the
morning a lot, what she likes to eat, who she hangs out with or what she does for
fun! Geet had no time to think of anything else besides the decision her friend
will make under the banyan tree!
She suddenly saw Meer running back to the
Haweli and wanted to go right after her but Maan was still looming behind so she turned to him and said ‘Why
don’t you go to your friend, aren’t you worried for him?’.
Maan looked at her anxious form in
amusement and answered ‘Nahh. If your friend says no to my friend he deserved
it anyway and if she says yes then he is one lucky guy and probably too happy
to need me with him!’.
Geet looked perplexed said ‘Chaddo! You
make no sense! A friend always needs friends, in sadness more and in happiness
even more’!!
And she ran behind trailing Meer. Maan laughed out at her last statement. He decided to know of his friend’s fate
and walked towards the tree again.
The clouds also decided to burst open
and bless the otherwise summer hot mornings with a spell of rain showers.
As Geet made her way to the haweli, the
rain began pouring down, in her slight wet form, she jumped over the wall, just
the way Meer had and ran across the back courtyard. She saw Meer looking out at
the rain in happiness holding a pillar nearby taking shade under the roof.
Geet chuckled and said ‘dekha maine kaha
tha! We will come back home khushi kushi! But you went on berating me like I am
some fool! I know things too Di and I wanted to make things right for you!’.
‘Oh Geet!I am so sorry for being so
harsh with you!!Meer hugged Geet and Geet asked in return ‘so shall we get ready
to have some fun in your wedding then?!’ and Meer nodded happily saying ‘Haan
let’s have some fun’!
Geet happily chirped away saying ‘Now
you don’t have to worry with saying anything to Bade baba about Dulha bhai. Waise Di, I think Dulha bhai is a confused man, he
doesn’t know what he wants until he sees it clearly..Seems like the wheels
churn slow up there’And she pointed to her head.
Meer laughed at Geet’s analysis on her
future husband and turned to say ‘Well madam the credit goes to you for
clearing his confusion and making him think faster and talk even faster than
before!
You know just like how we saw in the movie in Ma’s library, he asked me to marry me!
Geet said Hayye Di! Do you think Dulha
bhai also watched the same movie as us?!
‘No budduh (Silly)! Those scenes are in a lot of
those Angrezi movies not just the one we watched!’
‘Oh Di, you don’t worry we will dress
you up just like our guddi..she twirled Meer around and added ‘you will get
such beautiful clothes and lots of presents and lots of…Her words got stuck in
her throat as she saw Daijaan in sight and having seemed to have heard most of
their conversation.
She pinned Geet with her eyes and said ‘Go upstairs in my room and wait for me there’.
Meer was about to say something but she
stopped her and waited until Geet ran up the back stairs scared of her
Daijaan’s anger.
'Now will you tell me when Haider decided to NOT marry you and when he ASKED you to marry him ? All in the space of ONE night and I guess THIS very morning!?’
Meer looked down in guilt and began to narrate
the story to Daijaan.
-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Geet was walking back and forth in Daijaan’s room upstairs. Although having spent most of her summers here, either
reading, playing with toys or learning any craft from the old woman she has
come to take as her very own and preferred to use her time talking and
listening to Daijaan’s stories than spend time with her school friends; but she has
very rarely invoked any anger in the old lady and when Daijaan decides on something no one can dare to change it back. She prayed that Daijaan doesn't cancel the wedding.
Daijaan entered the room quietly and
almost smiled at the sight of her 15 yrs old Geet who was just as beloved to
her as Sameera and at times like these more beloved than even her.
Geet saw Daijaan enter and ran up to
her, she held her hand and said ‘Daijaan. Dulha bhai is a very nice man and Di is
really happy to get married to him. I wanted dulha bhai to talk to Di again so I took
them for the morning walk. I didn’t want Bade Baba to be sad knowing that Di
won’t be getting married and now look Dulha bhai himself said he really DOES want to marry and take Di with him to Delhi’.
Daijaan held her hand and sat on her old
wooden chair, she then said ‘ Pagli, just to keep your Bade Baba happy you
didn’t tell anyone and thought its okay if Haider agrees to marry Sameera?’.
‘But Daijaan I never asked him to get
married to Di, his friend came and told me last night! And all we did is get
them to talk again’.
Daijaan looked at Geet and smiled. She
then said ‘Well, it's good to know that you didn’t ask him to marry your di, Meer
won’t stay happy by just getting married and she can only stay happy if he is also
with her. But these things should be shared with your elders beti, you won’t
understand the problems that may come up later’.
‘But Daijaan, Di is still getting
married to Dulha bhai, right?’
‘Haan, lekin if you know anything else
you will come and tell me straight away’.
‘Yessss Daijaan and she immediately
hugged her and said ‘ I will go see
Meer’
As she was leaving the room, Daijaan
stopped her and jokingly asked ‘Geet what angrezi movie did you two watch where
the hero asked to marry the heroine?’
Geet laughed ‘woh hero toh bohot khadoos
tha Daijaan, pata nahi Di ko itna pasand kyun ata hai woh! Pride and Prejudice
thi woh. (That Hero was such a douchebag, I don’t know why Di loves him so
much. It’s from that movie: Pride and Prejudice’.
‘Hayye Mr Darcy!’
‘Haan wahi dusht danav’ (Yes, that wicked
one’) and Geet ran out of the room with that response.
Daijaan laughed and said to herself
‘aisey hi dusht danav ladkiyoun ko pasand atey hai meri pagli!’ (Girls like
just those wicked type of guys, my dear’).
A short while after, Daijaan heard noises of laughter coming from her window. She went and saw Geet pulling Meer into the rain, and playing
in the blissful showers in excitement.
Mohinder knocked on Daijaan’s door and
saw Daijaan gazing down below smiling. He said ‘Bi jaan, I came to call you
downstairs Haider and Maan are waiting for us for breakfast and Jassi wants to
start the preps for tonight with you’.
Daijaan looked at Mohinder and and
absent mindedly said ‘Haan Mahi, main abhi aa hi rahi thi bas’. (Yes Mahi, I was just coming anyway).
He felt that Daijaan’s thoughts were
elsewhere and came to the window to look at what had held her attention and he
saw Geet and Meer playing in the rain down below in the courtyard.
Just then Daijaan saw Maan and Haider
approaching the courtyard and standing underneath the covered porch watching
Geet and Meer in the rain dancing away in the rain.
Meer straightened up at the sight of
Haider and Maan and pulled Geet away from the rain heading to the stairs
leading to their bedroom.
Mohinder smiled at the sight and said
‘yeh Ladkiyan bhi na! Zaroor Geet ka bachpana hoga yeh! Iski masoom batoun main
sab ajate hai! Meer bhi mana nahin karti iss pagli ko’ (These girls! I am sure
it must be Geet’s antics. With her Innocent face and talks no one refuses
her...Even Meer can’t say no to her!).
Daijaan looked on at the girls rushing away and and in deep thoughts said ‘Masoom Mohabbat ka bas itna fasana
hai Kaghaz ki haveli hai barish ka zamana
hai’ An
innocent love has just that story of pain. A mansion of paper in the time of rain.
She walked away, making her way downstairs and said 'Ask Haider to call his father for breakfast as well'.
Leaving Mohinder to mull over her wisdom filled words.
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