AmDheer - Romancing under the stars.

The Ball

I was pacing the hall waiting for Amrit. I had doned a black tuxedo for the evening. All the guests had left for the party. She was never late. I didn't know what was taking so long today.

I, Amrit and Veer had arrived at the Alwar Palace two days earlier in our Triumph 1800 Roadster. We had been invited to the wedding of the crown prince of Alwar. The wedding had taken place yesterday. Today they had organized a ball.

I glanced down at my watch to check the time. That was when I heard footsteps. I turned around and was dumbstruck. There she was descending the stairs and with each footstep I felt as though she was tugging my heart away from me. She was wearing midnight blue off-shoulder gown. She had her hair up a bun. And few tresses fell on her face in soft curls.
I was spellbound. After what seemed like minutes, I moved a bit forward and gave her my hand. As soon as she took it, I pulled her right into me. Tucking away a strand of hair behind her ear, I whispered -

'Na jaane kya jaadu iss samaa mein chaaya hai
aaj humare chand par kuch alag hi noor aaya hai'

And surprising me she said
' Jis chand ka aasmaan itna haseen ho
uspar toh noor aa hi jayega',
Her mesmerizing were intently looking into mine. I was speechless.

If it were up to me, we'd have our own private ball right here. But as if to foil all my plans, Veer barged in the hall.
'Arey hum adhe ghante se gaadi ke paas tum dono ka intezaar kar rahe hai. Kisiko humari kadar hi nahi hai.' He exclaimed in mock anger.

I unwillingly pulled away from Amrit and looked at him.
'Hum bas aa hi rahe the. Aaj Amrit ne bohot waqt laga diya taiyaar hone mein.'
'Jhooth! Amrit kabhi der nahi karti. Chote Bhai, tumne hi der ki hogi.
Amrit, hume lagta nahi hai Prem ka kuch khaas mann hai party mein jaane ka. Chalo hum hi dono chalte hain. Isse yahi aaram karne dete hain' he winked.
'Arey aisi koi baat nahi, main bhi chalunga', I glared at him.
Together we hastened outside.

Veer had decided to drive the car to the venue letting me and Amrit sit in the backseat.
He was not such bad brother after all. I smiled.

I had not left her hand all this while. I raised her hand and kissed her knuckles. Before she could say something
'Hum ab bhi yahin hai' - Veer said prying from the rear view mirror mischievously.
'Aapko raaste par dhyaan dena chahiye. Vo behtar hoga' I replied with a smirk.
Amrit was all smiles.

The ball was held in an open lawn. On reaching the venue, we got down from the car and let a chauffeur park it.
Veer lent out his hand to Amrit. 'May I ?'. This person was hell-bent on annoying me today.
Before Amrit could oblige him, I ushered her away, giving him a victorious smile.

We exchanged pleasantries with the Royals of the other Princely states. Amrit was engaged in a conversation with the Maharaja and Maharani of Jaipur. They seemed impressed. Well, who could not be impressed with my wife.

I was not able to take my eyes off her all the time. That was when a gentleman came up to ask Amrit for a dance. Letting my extremely beautiful wife dance with someone else, that too today - I'm sorry but this was not happening. I whisked her off to where everyone was dancing.
Her one hand in mine, the other on my back while mine on her waist. We waltzed around the lawn under the starry sky, savouring each and every moment of the night.

Dekha hazaaro dafa aapko
fir bekarari kaisi hai
samhale samhalta nahi ye dil
kuch pyaar mein baat aisi hai

Lekar ijaazat ab aapse
saansein ye aati jaati jaati hain
dhoonde se milte nahi hain hum
bas aap hi aap baaki hai

We did notice all the eyes upon us.
'Randheer , sab aapko dekh rahein hai'- Amrit said embarrassed. I leaned in and murmured
'Yakeen maniye, mujhe nahi sab aapko dekh rahein hain', and her cheeks turned crimson.

Just then, Veer appeared out of nowhere and led my wife away for a dance. I gave them a sheepish smile. Amrit was enjoying the attention she was getting. However, though she was dancing with Veer, her eyes did not leave me for a second.

Pal bhar na doori sahein aapse
betaabiyaan ye kuch aur hai
hum door hoke bhi paas hai
nazdikiyaan ye kuch aur hai

Dekha hazaaro dafa aapko
fir bekarari kaisi hai
samhale samhalta nahi ye dil
kuch pyaar mein baat aisi hai

Veer said something to her and she blushed.
Unable to bear it, I went up to them again almost begging to let me dance with my wife. Thankfully Veer did oblige me immediately giving us a wide grin and I took her in my arms again.

Aagosh mein hai jo aapke
aisa sukoon aur paaye kahan
aankhe hume ye raas aa gayi
ab hum yahan se jaaye kahan

Dekha hazaaro dafa aapko
Fir bekarari kaisi hai
Sambhaale samhalta nahi ye dil
Kuch pyaar mein baat aisi hai

There were hundreds of beautiful women around but my lady had definitely stolen the show today.

The bride and groom had arrived. Everyone's attention shifted to them. I took the opportunity, grabbed Amrit's hand and tip-toed stealthily out of the venue to the other side of lawn which was empty.

Amrit was amused at my behavior.
'Veer sahi keh rahe the. Aapka toh sach mein party mein mann nahi lag raha hai. Hume aapko lana hi nahi chahiye tha', she teased me further.
I swiftly turned her and placed my head on her shoulder, hugging her from behind.
'Party ka to sirf bahana tha. Main toh bas aapko dekhne, aapke saath rehne yahan aaya hoon'.

We could hear soft music coming from the other side of the lawn. We were dancing alone here, slowly, feeling the music, feeling each other so close. No one was nearby. Just us.

That's when Amrit turned around and put both her arms around my neck. We were lost in each other's eyes, leisurely moving with the soft music.
Amrit brushed her soft lips against my cheeks.
We were close- too close. I could feel her breath. I was about to kiss her when I heard someone calling my name from afar. Couldn't we have a few moments alone !!

We were not going back.
It was almost midnight.
'Amrit, chaliye yahan se chalte hain'
'Hum Veer ka intezaar nahi karenge ?'
'Veer kisi aur ke saath Palace aa jayenge. Waise bhi aaj unhone ek mauka nahi chhoda hume pareshaan karne ka. Unhe bhi saza milni chahiye. Unhe bhi thoda pareshaan hone dijiye. Aisa mauka hume baar baar nahi milega' I winked, hurrying towards the parking.
'Haan aur Veer ko to bas ek baar Raj mahal phone karna hoga.
Ab jaldi chaliye isse pehle koi hume rok le'
Okay, so Amrit was not going to stop me. Rather she was more excited about this runaway!
I was taken aback. If I knew she was up for these adventures, I would plan one every other day!
I imagined Veer's face when he'd come to know that we ditched him and ran away with the car. He was going to get a bad shock !

I helped Amrit into the car, leaped in the driver's seat and we drove away.

Me, Amrit, an open Car and midnight - what more could I ask for.
We took a turn and I drove the car into the highway. I turned on the radio. Amrit stood up in the car and started singing along.
Aaja sanam madhur chandni mein hum
tum mile to viraane mein bhi aa jayegi bahar
Jhoomne lagega aasmaan
Jhoomne lagega aasmaan

Kehta hai dil aur machalta hai dil
more saajan le chal mujhe taaron ke paar
lagta nahi hai dil yahaan
lagta nahi hai dil yahaan

The breeze made our drive all the more romantic. She took my hand and held it tight. I kissed her knuckles softly. Amrit was beaming.

I stopped the car near Arvari River. We stood by the riverside, arms around each other.
Amrit looked radiant with the moonlight shining on her face.
I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her passionately.

This was probably the best night of my life.

We stayed there for quite some time and then decided we should go back now.

Throughout the return drive, Amrit was resting her head upon my shoulder, holding my arm tight.
We were together, we were married. And this was one of those many, many amazing days and nights we were to spend together.

We reached the Palace. As Amrit stepped out, she stumbled on something. Taking the opportunity, I scooped her in my arms.
'Randheer koi aa jayega'
'Subah ke teen baj rahe hain Amrit. Koi nahi aayega'

And I carried her in my arms to our room.