Swaragini ff- Dilon mein hai pyar bhara

Chap 49- Facing the truth

Swara looked up and she saw that Ragini's face was smeared with her black kajal flowing down her tearful eyes. There was truth in her words, concern in her voice and love in her heart. Swara knew that her marriage with Anurag would never bring her any happiness but she feared that her mother would be shattered and heart- broken if the wedding did not happen.

"Ragini," said Swara wiping her kajal smeared face with her dupatta, "Years ago, you did not accept Sanskar's love because you knew that your papa and dadi maa would never approve of it. So you should try and understand how important the happiness of our elders is. You should understand why I always place maa's happiness above mine."

"Swara Bose," said Ragini in an angry voice, "It is true that I could not accept Sanskar's proposal due to my family. I was scared that if papa or dadi maa ever found out about this, they would never let me go to school again. But we arent kids anymore Swara. We are adults now. And I swear to you that if I still loved Sanskar, I wouldnt have feared anyone at all! "

Swara didnt know what to say. She wiped her hands and got up. Then, she slowly walked back to her house.

"Its my engagement tomorrow," she said to herself, " and I should not have any second thoughts about this. I........................I will do as maa says."

Anurag was in his room trying on his sherwani when Veena walked in.

"My son is looking so handsome! " she said smiling lovingly at him.

"Thanks maa," he said while admiring himself in the mirror. 

"Maa," he continued, "Do you remember that girl Ragini? The one due to whom Kajal slipped and injured herself?"

"Yes, I do. But why are you suddenly asking about her?"

"Maa, I met her yesterday and........and she was talking very badly about you. I didnt like it at all. I had heard that Mrs. Gadodia's grand- daughter is very well-mannered and disciplined.  But this girl...........Maa, we must make sure that our Swara stays away from her."

"I know," said Veena pinning the golden brooch onto Anurag's sherwani, "and dont you worry about it. I have already made it very clear to Sharmishtha that I dont approve of Swara and Ragini's friendship. And as far as I know Sharmishtha, she is desperate to get her daughter married into our family. So I am sure that we have nothing to worry about."

"Tomorrow is your engagement Anurag," said Veena, "I want my son to be happy, not stressed."

"Thank you so much maa," he said feeling relieved, " you are the best!"

Sanskar was sitting in his room sipping his coffee when Lakshya walked in.

"Whats up with you?" he asked Sanskar, "why are you so upset? I have never seen you like this before."

"I dont know Lakshya, but something is really bothering me. I dont know what it is but its this aching feeling which fails to go away! I feel so restless and anxious for no apparent reason."

"It might be stress," said Lakshya trying to comfort him, " You have just moved in to a new place and all these things might be bothering you."

"Maybe," said Sanskar taking a deep breath.

"This year," said Lakshya, " College is going to be real fun. We have the music fest, then the sports events, the prom night parties and my most favourite- the batching ceremony."

" But I will really miss Swara though."

"What do you mean?" asked Sanskar, " she isnt going anywhere. She is just getting married."

" Ragini told me that Swara is quitting college," said Lakshya, " I guess that her in-laws are pretty conservative and demanding. Anurag seems to be a nice guy but going by Ragini's description of him, I feel that he isnt very supportive."

"How the hell did Swara fall in love with such a spineless guy as Anurag who cannot even stand up for his wife and let her continue her studies!" said Sanskar, his voice rising in anger, " I just dont understand what made her take such a stupid decision. Had I been the love of her life, I would have stood against the world for her happiness! Thats what love is. "

"So," said Lakshya, "Now we know the reason for your restlessness. You really love Swara, dont you Sanskar?"

*********So today I purchased my new laptop and now I can finally get back to writing. Thank you so very much for having faith in me and sticking around. So, I really need your feedback here. How many of you are enjoying the wedding track? Does Anurag as a villain satisfy you or you want this track to end asap? Please do let me know in the comments section below.******