Is love blind? .......Oh yes it is!! - Episode 23

5 days before.....
Anjali’s POV:
I am still waiting for some miracle to happen…….It’s not that I don’t like Sid…..I just didn’t want to get married now….the very thought that I would be married in 5 days gave me a shiver….

I wanted to pour my heart to someone and cry…..Aashu was the best person but she would get worried…..

Bhaiya!!! Should I call him??? My phone rang at that point…..It was my brother’s call……Did he get a hint of my mind???? It was perfect timing!!! I took the call almost immediately…..

Anjali: [broken voice] hello ……

Abhi: hello Anjali….kya hua???? Tum ro rahi ho kya???

[Anjali set her voice right…She doesn’t want him to know her problem and worry him too….She knew that her brother would surely stand up for her….but that would mean that he would have to speak against our parents…..An argument between her loved ones….that was the last thing she wished…..So she opted to keep quiet…..]

Abhi: kya hua Anjali??? Kuch toh bolo!! 

Anjali: kuch nahi bhaiya…..line mein kuch problem hai….isiliye aap mere voice teek se sun nahi paa rahe hai…..

Abhi: [mind voice: You think you can fool me like that little sis] I know each and every side of you darling…..I can feel your sorrow….. tell me the truth…..

Anjali: [starts crying]

Abhi: [unable to bear it] tum papa ko phone dho…..ya phir, tum phone rakho….I will call him….

Anjali: [stops crying] no bhaiya…..aap aise kuch nahi karenge…..

Abhi: why???I can’t see you like this…..I know that you don’t like this wedding….How can he decide all this without your consent???

Anjali: aap ko patha hai????but how???

Abhi: tumne kya socha…..main tumaare paas nahi toh mujhe kuch nahi pathaa hoga….mujhe sab kuch pathaa hai…..I will talk to papa…..You don’t worry!!

Anjali: no bhaiya…..papa is happy now….He will get tensed if you talk against him…..I can’t afford to do anything to hurt him further……

Abhi: aren’t you hurt dear???

Anjali: I was…but after talking to you, I feel better…..moreover, I like Sid…he is a good guy….You will like him too…..

Abhi: hmmmm…..i too don’t want to hurt papa and Maa……..but not at the cost of your happiness……So tell me if you have any problems….

Anjali: I have no problems…..I am very happy……my only worry is that you aren’t here for my wedding….

Abhi: sab kuch itna jaldi fix hogaya…..you know that it’s not easy for me….

Anjali: I know….thats why I am not pestering you…..[laughs]

Abhi: [Contended smile] great to hear you like this…..

Anjali: [seriously] aap ke blessings chahiye bahiya….

Abhi: mere blessings har pal tumaare saath hai sweety…..
[Anjali is silent getting his blessings]

Abhi: so ok…I will call you later…. Sid se mere wishes kehana….

Anjali: hmmm……ok bhaiya….take care….will miss you…

Abhi: miss u too dear…..bye….take care…

[As she said to Aashu earlier, Anjali has accepted the fact that Sid is going to be her life partner…..She is trying to come in terms with the fact of getting married…….Abhi, her brother, now thinks she loves Sid and her father is getting them married in a hurry….He doesn’t know anything about her proposal with Rohit and how Rohit’s parents back out and so on…..]

Anjali’s POV cont……
Just a day more……my dreams of an elaborate grand wedding will remain just a dream now…..….There is no time for all that now……All rituals and ceremonies are happening quickly…..But Dad and mom are doing their best to make me happy….With the available time and resources, they are trying to make it grand….really grand…..

Mehndi:
Sid’s mom sent me mehndi……My cousins are decorating my hands with that……Woh mere haath mein Sid ka naam likh rahe hai…..My hands were looking beautiful with those designs….. My friends were also there……They wanted to cheer me up…..there was fun and frolic everywhere around me….Am I happy???Hmmm I didn’t know….may be…may be not!!
I was trying to enjoy all that….I knew there was nothing else to be done now…..Actually I forgot for sometime that I am the bride…..That memory loss made me happy…..

My friends formed 2 groups….Boys and girls…..they started singing and dancing……I wanted to dance too but my mom held me back…..”kuch toh sharam kar…..dulhan ho….aur dulhan ban kar raho”

Oh o o o, oh o o o o 
Mehndi lagaake rakhna Doli sajaake rakhna
Mehndi lagaake rakhna Doli sajaake rakhna
Lene tujhe o gori aayenge tere sajna

Mehndi lagaake rakhna Doli sajaake rakhna
Oh ho, oh ho
Ho, o o o o o oh, aah aa aa aa aa aa aa aa
Sehraa sajaake rakhna Chehraa chhupaake rakhna
Sehraa sajaake rakhna Chehraa chhupaake rakhna
Yeh dil ki baat apne dil mein dabaake rakhna
Sehraa sajaake rakhna Chehraa chhupaake rakhna


I ignored my mom’s warning and got up….I joined Aashu and Sheetal for the dance……..

Mehndi lagaake rakhna Doli sajaake rakhna 
Hoye, hoye, hoye!
Hoye, hoye, hoye!

Ud udke teri zulfein Karti hai kya ishaare
Dil thaamke khade hain Aashiq sabhi kunwaare

Chhup jaaye saari kudiyaan Ghar mein sharam ke maare
Gaaon mein aa gaye hain Paagal shaher ke saare

Sid’s parents came in for the function…..Sid walked in a minute later…….My friends made me sit back at my place and pointed towards him as if i was waiting for him…….

Nazrein jhukaake rakhna Daaman bachaake rakhna
Nazrein jhukaake rakhna Daaman bachaake rakhna
Lene tujhe o gori aayenge tere sajna

Mehndi lagaake rakhna Doli sajaake rakhna

Sehraa sajaake rakhna Chehraa chhupaake rakhna

Oh oh oh oh oh, aah aah aah aah aah aah 
Oh oh oh oh oh, aah aah aah aah aah aah

[Sid’s friends forced him to dance…..he joined the dance floor….He was looking at me continuously…..I bent my head as if I were shy……but the truth is that I wasn’t shy…..His presence reminded me that I am the bride….So I wanted to look away…..That would seem rude…..So I looked down……I could feel his eyes on me…..I wasn’t comfortable at all….I was becoming very self conscious…..]

Main ek jawaan ladka Tu ek haseen ladki
Yeh dil machal gaya to Mera kusoor kya hai

Sid’s POV:
She looked gorgeous in the green lehnga…..She was shy…..I was seeing her like that for the first time….She was blushing because of me….She looked cuter than ever……Though my friends made fun of me, I couldn’t take my eyes off her…..I joined the dance to please my friends…..moreover, I could look at her easily from the center point…..I could see happiness everywhere…..I wanted to see that reflecting in her eyes too…. 

Rakhna tha dil pe kaabu Yeh husn to hai jaadu
Jaadu yeh chal gaya to Mera kusoor kya hai

Rasta hamaara takna Darwaaza khula rakhna
Rasta hamaara takna Darwaaza khula rakhna
Lene tujhe o gori aayenge tere sajna

Kuch aur ab na kehna Kuch aur ab na karna
Kuch aur ab na kehna Kuch aur ab na karna

Sid’s POV contd
I longed to talk to her…..I knew I wouldn’t get another opportunity before our wedding…I tried to convey it to her somehow…...But her eyes kept evading mine….Was it just shyness??Was she actually blushing???? Yes, she is……or I wished to believe it that way…..Anyways, she would be mine forever from tomorrow…..Even she can’t prevent it from happening now…… 

Yeh dil ki baat apne dil mein dabaake rakhna
Mehndi lagaake rakhna Doli sajaake rakhna
Sehraa sajaake rakhna Chehraa chhupaake rakhna

Sha va oye, oye, oye Sha va oye, oye, oye Sha va oye, oye, oye Sha va oye, oye, oye 


I knew somewhere in my mind, that all this were being forced on her….She wasn’t completely happy with this…..but I knew that my love was powerful enough to make her happy…..
[He also realizes that they are young for marriage but he feels…”may be that’s what is written in their fate” and accepts it happily……]

****************************************************

Wedding day……

The day’s proceeding starts off at both places….bride and bride groom are getting ready……
Sid is eagerly waiting for the moment……The moment when her hands will be in his….the moment he and Anjali will take the saat pheras……the moment he will put the mangal sutra in her neck…..jab uska naam ka sindoor Anjali ke maang mein hoga……the moment she will be his in every sense…..

he had done his googling on the various shaadi rituals and was delighted by the 

details! Of course, he wasnt mature enough to understand its importance but he 

tried his best to know it all and its significance at each step of life!

She is also looking forward to the various ceremonies…..Her mom and dad’s 

dream will come true….They will be relieved and happy by this….She is happy when she finds her people happy about the wedding.....

Her mom had got her a new wine red shaadi ka jhoda….and the jewellery that 

matches with it…..She is all dressed up…..She looked stunning as a bride…..Her mom comes to her room

Mom: tumme meri hi nazar lag jaayegi…… [She keeps a black mark with kaajal behind Anjali’s ears]

Anjali: Maa…. [Hugs her tightly]

Mom: [tearing up slightly] Anjali…..tum humse naaraz toh nahi na??

Anjali: kabhi nahi maa….main aap aur papa se kabhi naaraaz nahi ho sakthi…..

Mom: main jaanthi hoom ke tum itni jaldi shaadi nahi karna chahthi thi…..par…[Anjali intervenes]

Anjali: main khush hoon maa…..Aap dhono ke khushi se badh kar mere liye 

kuch aur nahi…..

[Her Mom hugs her and starts crying…..Anjali cries too…..Anjali’s papa comes in….he has tears in her eyes when he sees Anjali as a bride…..The feeling that she is going to go away from him floods his eyes with tears…. but pretends to be strong….]

Papa: yeh kya ho raha hai???? Abi se rona dhona…vidaayi ko bohat time baaki 

hai…..Uske liye bhi thoda bohat aanzoo bachaake rakhlo…[false smile on his face….but Anjali and mom don’t smile…they continue their hugs and cries!!!]



Papa: Sharada, tum phir se shuru hogayi na??? Usse bhi rulaadiya!!!



Anjali: [breaking away from her mom…..rushes to him…..hugs him and burrows her head and cries…in between her cries, she speaks in broken sentences] Papa…sab 

kuch bohat jaldi hogayi……ab ehsaas ho raha hai ke main aap sab se dhoor hone waali hoom…..kuch hi samay mein yeh ghar mera nahi rahega…..main aap 

keliye parayi ho jaavungi….. [Sobs again]



Papa: [raising her chin up and looking at her face] kabhi nahi beta…..tum hamesha humaare laadli beti hi rahogi…..yeh ghar tumaara tha, hai, aur hamesha rahega……..[pauses] These tears don’t suit you beta…..[wipes her tears] dekho, tumaare 

aankhen laal hogayi…. 



Mom: [noticing the tears in his eyes] mujhe keh ke, aap hi ro rahe hai…..



[A girl, Anjali’s cousin, comes running inside the room…..All three wipe their tears 

quickly……Aashu follows in shortly…..]



Girl: bhaaraat aagayi…..sab aap ko bulaa rahe hai….



Papa: oh…..aa raha hoom….aao sharada…..neeche chalthe hai!!

Mom: Aashu, tum Anjali ke saath rukho…hum log neeche chalthe hai….

Aashu: sure aunty….….[Aashu starts touching up Anjali’s make up…..]


***********************************************
Same day at Garden View hotel: Sheetal is waiting for Jeeth in the 

restaurant…….

Sid has some out station guests staying at the same hotel……he has delegated the responsibility of picking them up from the hotel and bringing them to the 

wedding to Sam and Tushar……..They are waiting at the lobby for the guests to 

get ready and come down…..



Jeeth comes to Sheetal….They recognize each other by the dress code which was 

already decided….Jeeth hugs Sheetal tightly…..Sheetal is a bit embarrassed but 

decides to give him that freedom…….He has a handsome cool dude look…..which obviously pleases Sheetal….She had been dreaming a hero like person so far as her Jeeth and he perfectly fitted that…….

Jeeth: [finally breaking away from her….looks at her intently] Beautiful!!!You don’t know for how long I have been wishing a meet like this!!

Sheetal: [blushing]

Jeeth: I am staying at 102…..we can go there and talk comfortably…..Shall we???

Sheetal: [scared] Why jeeth??? Let’s talk here na…..

Jeeth: hmmmm so u don’t trust me…..ok….i won’t force you on that…let’s stay 

here…..Sit…

Sheetal: [sitting down]no I trust you….if not, will I come to meet you like this….

I even missed my best friend’s wedding for this……

Jeeth: is it???? But I promise, I will make this evening memorable for you…..tum 

chahkhar bhi yeh sham bhool nahi paavoge….. [Grins]

Sheetal: [smiles sweetly at him]

[He orders a lime soda for himself and an apple juice for her……and some snacks…….They tell each other about themselves……The waiter knowingly or unknowingly 

pours the sauce on her dress while serving…….Her dress is spoilt and she goes to the 

rest room to wash it…….She comes back after a while…..]

Jeeth: You could have come to my room…..

Sheetal: It’s alright Jeeth…..

[As they go on, Sheetal feels her head is spinning…….] 

Sheetal: [placing her fingers on her forehead] Jeeth, I want to leave now….i am not 

feeling well….

Jeeth: no sweety….i cant leave you alone in this condition…..take some rest and go….Come…

[He doesn’t wait for her to reply but forces her to go wth him….As they walk and get into the lift, Sam and Tushar spot them…….]

Sam: woh Anjali ki dhost Sheetal hai na??

Tushar: haan yaar….wahi hai….par yeh shaadi mein kyun nahi gayi????yahaan kya kar rahi hai???

Sam: aur uske saath kaun hai???kuch teek nahi lag rahi!!! Kuch toh gadbad hai!!

[To be continued]

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