Na Jaane Kyon...

Tere te maraan kehn toh daraan

This song because Randeep is using it quite a lot these days... and it describes both Sameer's and Randeep's present state 😉

Sameer had never done any such thing at home so he had no idea how to place the balloons on the wall. As kids, he and his siblings had lavish birthday parties, where everything... from decorations to food to games to return gifts... was handed over to party planners. Even now, any occasion or celebration just needed them to dress up and attend the function. He was never involved in setting up the party place. Now, with the bunch of balloons in hand, he stared at the wall. The threads could be attached if there was a beam or bar, but a flat wall... he scratched his head. In fact, the balloons did not even have threads... they were twisted around a soft wire.

Naina brought out the packets of decorative items she had purchased.
Streamers were the first things to be placed vertically on main wall. She got a step ladder from the service balcony and placed it in corner. By the time Sameer saw her, she was already on the third step, sticking one end of a streamer on the top edge of the wall.

"Naina, yeh kya kar rahi ho? Get down." He rushed to hold the step ladder.

She smiled, "Yeh girega nahi. Main hamesha ispe chadh ke hi sab kaam karti hun. Aap balloons laga lijiye, streamers main laga dungi."

"Main kar deta hun. Tum utro neeche." He commanded, holding the ladder firmly.

"Sir, mujhe aadat hai. I can..." She picked up another strip of paper.

Sameer held the trailing end, not letting her take the edge to the wall. She paused, giving him a questioning look.

"Tum utar rahi ho ya main utaru?" His determined gaze told her he wasn't joking.

Naina bit her lip. Keeping the strip back on the small surface at the top of step ladder, she slowly climbed down. Once she moved away, Sameer went up two steps and picked up the streamer she had been holding. He checked the three she had set on the wall, and placed it next to them. Since she had already put double sided tape on it, the strip was stuck easily. Elated at the ease of this job, Sameer picked up another one.

"Phir se yellow nahi. Abhi green lagaiye." She pointed at the other one.

Sameer picked up the green strip and pressed the edge on the wall. It slithered down the moment he removed his finger.

"Aapne tape nahi lagaya." Naina picked up the streamer and handed it to him.

He looked around. A tape, according to him should have been a cellotape... but all he could see was a box, with rectangular foam type pieces.

"Yeh kaisi tape hai?" He picked up one piece and asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

"Mujhe dijiye, main laga ke deti hun aapko." She held up one hand.

Sameer handed her the piece, and the streamer. He observed keenly as she peeled of the smooth paper and stuck it to one end of strip, pressing hard. Then she peeled off the paper from other surface too, and handed it back to him. Sameer placed it next to yellow one.

"Bas colour bata do. Ab main tape laga lunga." He said when she asked for next one.

"Blue." She replied.

She watched as Sameer followed the same procedure, and successfully put up another strip.

"Ab aap yehi colour pattern repeat kar lijiye." She pointed at the set that now hung on the wall.

While Sameer began doing what he was told, Naina kneeled on the floor and started to twist the strip hanging on the wall. She then pasted the stretched end to the bottom edge of the wall. After doing the same for next few, she realised more had not come. She looked up to find Sameer struggling with a big heap of entangled streamers. She had suspected that he didn't have any experience of doing these kind of things.