Is love blind? .......Oh yes it is!! - Episode 50

[Anjali goes home thinking about what she can do to get Sid's attention……She sees her mother in law serving some sweet dish to her father in law….Papa was relishing it so much and appreciating mom…
Anjali gets an idea instantly…After a while, she goes to her mother in law’s room …She starts enquiring about Sid’s likes and dislikes….his favorite food and things like that….She gets to know that Sid likes carrot halwa a lot….She directly goes to the kitchen…….she starts doing something as if she is an expert cook]

Anjali’s POV: ghaajar ka halwa mein carrot toh hogi…..[pulling out 2 big carrots from the fridge] that’s there, being a sweet, cheeni aur, ghee toh surely hogi…[takes the respective bottles and places them on the kitchen counter.....starts chopping the carrots…but her lack of skills makes it big pieces….] achoooo, yeh bohat badaa badaa sa hogaya….[she chops them randomly to make it smaller…] ab teek hai, first time banaa rahi hoom, toh aisi galthiyaan excuse karne chahiye!!!…..[smiles at what she thought and puts the kadai on the stove….pours some water and puts the carrot pieces into it….She waits for a few minutes and puts a lot of sugar and few spoons of ghee…..she stirs it for some time….closes the lid and sighs deeply] aah aah, Sid ka favorite gaajar ka halwa ready hogaya…..now he will know how much I care for him…..
[she turns off the stove and leaves the kitchen…..Her mother in law who watches her activities comes into the kitchen and sees what she has made…..She is happy on one side because Anjali has started doing things to impress Sid and also made an attempt to know his likes and dislikes which makes it obvious that she has started liking Sid……
but seeing and tasting the halwa, she laughs out….”yeh ladki ko cooking ka ABCD tak nahi maaloom….yeh ghaajar ka halwa nahi, carrot soup hai only difference being that she has put sugar and ghee instead of salt and pepper….hmmm isse Sid ko nahi deh sakthi….main kuch karthi hoom…..”]
[Later, Sid’s mom serves the ghaajar ka halwa to all after dinner….All including Sid love it and appreciate Anjali….but Anjali realizes that its not what she made from the looks of it…..She is disappointed rather than being happy…]

Back in the room….
Sid: Anjali, tum itna accha cook ho???i never knew it……i am impressed dear….it was awesome….i loved it….
Sid’s comment wasn’t a bit sarcastic….He appeared to be truly impressed……but even then Anjali was silent and looked upset…..
Sid: what happened??? Why are u sad?
Anjali: Sid, woh halwa main ne nahi banaaya….looks like ur mom made it all over again….may be she wished to make me happy and did it..…..but i don’t want to take the credit for what I didn’t do…..[after a pause] I guess I made something horrible…..[tear drops glisten her deep dark eyes] I wanted to make something special for you…..but I failed hopelessly…..I don’t know anything about cooking….[tears up]
Sid: [noticing her tears and understanding that she is really upset] hey hey, idhar dekho..[bridging the gap between them quickly and raising her face to see him]….itni choti baat ke liye ro rahi ho??…..i know u don’t know to cook…..and I love you as you are…..You don’t have to do anything special to impress me…..I am already impressed with you….samjhe?? [pausing for a moment and when she looks at him again] if you don’t have interest in cooking, then don’t do it….dont change yourself for me…..just be what you are…ok??? I love you for what you are…….[pausing for a while and looking at her] But if you really wish to do it, then fine….Maa se seeklo, she is an expert cook, she will teach you everything……[noticing that she hasn’t smiled yet, he completes it with a subtle sarcasm] [hesitantly] main ek baat kahoom……tum boora math maanna
Anjali looks at him enquiringly…..
Sid: actually, tumaare dish ke baare mein Maa ne mujhe bathaaya tha….I tasted it also…..[grinning]Don’t try to cook anything for me till you learn it well….
Anjali: [fumes and looks at him….hits his chest with her fist] So u knew everything and still you were acting to me…….jaao jaao….i wont talk to u…[she tries to move away…..]
Sid: [he catches her and hugs her tightly] kahaan jaa rahe ho??…..come here…..[she falls into his arms]
Their deep, intense, passionate hug is interrupted by the ringing of the phone….they break apart with a startle……Anjali blushes and leaves the room…..Sid brushes his hair with his hand and curses the caller…”Damn, ek minute chehen se chodengae nahi….kaunsa paagal iss samay call kar raha hai??”…..
It is Sam….He speaks to him….
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while Anjali runs out of the room…..while passing near Sid’s parents room, she overhears their conversation……She usually doesn’t pay attention but today it was different……they were talking about Sid….The conversation totally puts her off….

Sid’s dad: Uske shaadi karke humne bohat badi bool ki…..its all your fault….….shaadi kya hogayi, usse lagtha hai ke sab kuch mil gaya…sochtha hai ke koyi badaa kaam kar diya!!!…..har waqt Anjali ke peeche baagtha hai, phir kaise career pe dyan dega??….i knew that he would get distracted, that’s why I was against this marriage……shaadi ki umar bhi nahi tha…..par tumne uske haan mein haan milaa kar mujhe chup kardiya!!……see what happened now….final semester exams aane waale hai…..ek din bhi classes nahi gaya, phir kaise exams likhega?? Saara waqt friends ke saath ya Anjali ke saath….Campus interview bhi hai…..Is he prepared for any of these????? God only knows what he is going to do!!
Sid’s mom: dheere boliye…..Sid ya Anjali sunn lenge
Sid’s dad: sunne dho….sunkhar kuch akhal aaye toh accha hi hai….let them realize their responsibilities…..
Sid’s mom: aap gussaa math kariye……main Sid se baat karungi…usse samjaavungi…..aap tension math lijiye
Sid’s dad: atleast pass hone ko kaho….life long college mein hi reh nahi saktha….pass hokhar mere business mein haath bataane ko kaho…..kuch aur nahi tho itna toh kar saktha hai humaare liye….
[Anjali is very upset hearing this…she is sad that such a tension hovers in their mind due to her marriage with Sid….She is shocked to hear such words from her in laws……She never thought that Sid’s dad had so much anger in his mind…She is not able to stop her tears…….She has never felt so bad and miserable before….She feels lonely and left alone in the big house…..
She spends a lot of time on the terrace thinking about what she can do…….She goes back to her room after a long time…Sid is on the verge of sleeping but he forces his eyelids to stay open as he is waiting for Anjali…He smiles and tries to hug her but Anjali poses a false headache and pushes him off……She knows that she cant avoid him like that in the days to come nor can she tell him the true reason behind her sudden change…..Sid would surely get into a argument and fight with his dad…..So she chooses to keep mum……Sleep evades her throughout the night…..she keeps her eyes closed so that Sid thinks that she is sleeping but in reality, she keeps thinking of what to do next……
Early next morning,before Sid wakes up, she packs her bag and goes back to her mom’s place….She tells Sid’s mom that she is missing her parents and will come back after a few days…..Sid’s mom is a bit confused but allows her to go….]

Sid gets up to find Anjali missing….his mom tells him that she went to her home….He is upset as well as angry……
He calls up Anjali that same moment as he walks to his room.
"How can you leave like that…that too without even telling me?? Abi abi toh humaare beech ke dhooriya mitt rahi thi….aur tum achaanak aise chali gayi….…..i know the real reason…..u don’t want to give up on ur adamant decision…if u are close to me, you cant resist me for long….…..mujhse dhoor rehne ka ek jhootaa bahaana….but don’t even think that I will come to you and fall on your feet to bring you back….I will give u ur space…….You can come whenever u wish to come….."

Sid cut the phone giving his piece of mind to Anjali…..Anjali silently hears to all his outbursts…..She doesn’t get angry …Just before cutting the call, he says one last thing….[after a heavy sigh] if you never wish to come, then [pausing] that is also fine with me…..I hope you understand what I meant by that…bye]that last part of his talk gives tears in her eyes…..She cries uncontrollably……but then she calms down thinking that whatever is happening is for the best….and that she can bring back their relationship to normal at a later point of time…….

Anjali’s parents especially her mom is bit tensed about her daughter but her dad insists that they shouldn’t interfere between Sid and Anjali’s matters……so they decide to trust their daughter’s confidence and ability to set things right…..

In college, Sid and Anjali behave like strangers…..even if they happen to come face to face, just a hi or a smile came out…..nothing more than that……Sid was annoyed with her…..so he mostly avoided seeing her….though the friends understood that there was a problem, they didn’t dare to interfere……
Aashu knew the real reason……So she didn’t interfere too….

Sheetal-Sam encounters….

On the other side, Sheetal was trying hard to meet Sam…but he kept avoiding her always…..If she goes in search of him to the library, he would escape to the canteen…his friends would say, “Sheetal, he just left…he might be in the canteen”…. Or “Sheetal, he just went home”…. the places just alternated but she never could meet him face to face……if he saw her by chance, he would ignore her and fly off in his bike…..
Even if she called him, he would cut the call soon saying that he had some urgent work, or he had to study or Sneha was on the other line….the reasons varied…….but all were false excuses and Sheetal was intelligent enough to understand that he was avoiding her….…..As a final try, she decides to put Anjali’s plan into action……She waits for the exams to get over……
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New subtle romance in the air……Deepak-Kripa….
Kripa and Deepak’s love story progresses slowly and steadily though Kripa’s acceptance and confession hasn’t happened yet…..But from her attitude and behavior towards Deepak, it was quite evident that she loved him deeply……She had silently given her consent but she was always feared the opposition they may face from her family…..She was worried mainly about her dad’s response….They mutually understood the need to keep their romance suppressed and undercover….

Exams get over for the 1st years…..Seniors have 2 more papers to go….the juniors start preparations for a farewell party for the final years……It is planned on the next day after the final year exams…Sam still ignored Sheetal and so she takes up the party time as the ideal time for her plan…..

After the exams of the juniors…..Aashu and Anjali are on their way home on their scooty…
Anjali: hey Aashu, tumme kya problem hai??? You look lost…..you didn’t talk to me too…..
Aashu: nothing da…..may be exam tension…
Anjali: Aashu darling, I know you from LKG…..so don’t tell some lame reason…..kitne exams hum dono saath mein dekhen hai.…..tumme itne worried maine kabhi nahi dekha……so out with it…..
Aashu: [after a long pause….Anjali waits patiently for her to speak up]its all because of your brother…
Anjali: [grinning] ABI??? What did he do??
Aashu: He hasn’t talked to me properly for nearly a month now…..neither does he call nor does he pick my phone……even if he picks it, he disconnects saying that he is driving or he is busy…..I don’t know what is happening??? I am tensed if everything is well on his side…did he call you?
Anjali: hmmm we spoke 2 days back…..may be he is struck with work ….you don’t worry….
Aashu: see he spoke to you….but not to me…..koyi toh problem hai…sure!!! [in a slightly fuming voice] may be he is stuck with someone else…I mean some other girl….
Anjali: hey hey…..tum serials bohat dekhthe ho yaar….i know my bro….he is not that type of guy…..he loves you truly…..he will never look at another girl…
Aashu: tum toh sirf uske side loge….aakhir bhai hai tumaara….
Anjali: nahi nahi….tum bohat gussey mein ho….isiliye tum teek se soch nahi rahi….within 2 days, I will talk to him and make him call you…..now cheer up girl…
Aashu: [not yet convinced but cheers up for the time being] hmmm….

[To be continued]