Kolhapur Chronicles

23. forever

"Chachu, when will they come down?" an annoyed Sona questioned Farhad for the twelfth time, rendering him speechless as he failed to come up with a new reason.

"Shehzaadi, I-"

"Sona, do you know why we are gathered here?" A soft feminine voice interrupted him, and he was more than happy that it did.

"Yes Amu, it is their Halad! We get to play and have fun right?" Sona answered with all the confidence she had, her mood shifting to happiness at the sight of the beautiful face ahead.

"Do you know darling why we do this function?" Amruta questioned, picking Sona up and placing her on her lap while getting settled on the chair placed in the back garden. Upon receiving a negative nod from Sona she continued. "Halad is applied to make all the bad nazar go away."

"Like Aai removes my nazar that nazar Amu?" Farhad chuckled at her inquisitiveness while grabbing a chair to sit facing the two lovely ladies in front of him.

"Yes, that nazar. Now Attu and Fufu are getting married na, so they should not have any bad nazar. That is why we play halad."

"Shehzaadi what is the colour of haldi?" Farhad threw this question at her while she was still processing the information, to which she answered in a smile brighter than the sun, "YELLOW!"

"Yaay, yellow," he matched her energy. "What else is yellow my princess?"

She began thinking for a while when Amruta whispered something in her ear, earning a playful glare from Farhad. "The sun chachu!" she exclaimed and clapped her hands in glee, Amruta and Farhad matching her actions and smiling.

"Do you know what the sun means?" She got into deep thought, her tiny index finger on her chin while she looked up at the stars. When she could not think about something she looked at Amruta who nodded her head in a no, and they both gave puppy eyes to Farhad, declaring their defeat.

"Well my shehzadi, the sun stands for a new day, and halad is for a new beginning in their lives." Sona made an o with her face, trying to grab the things explained to her. "Sona," Amruta calmly called her again. "For such an important day, don't you think they should be given some time to look pretty?"

She was lost in thoughts again while Farhad and Amruta exchanged glances, Farhad quickly speaking up. "Shehzadi, let them take time and look pretty because," he leaned ahead, whispering the next words close to them. "Because everyone knows you are looking the most beautiful here tonight."

The smile on her face was brighter than the golden lights surrounding the back garden, and she exclaimed with the same huge grin. "Really?"

"Yes my darling," Amruta kissed her cheek. "But you must not tell everyone okay? It is their halad let everyone tell them they are pretty." Sona nodded, not able to reduce the smile on her face. Farhad asked them to pose while he clicked some very beautiful pictures of them, his heart not able to contain the love he has for the two of them.

He would do anything and everything to protect them.

While Sona was busy checking the pictures, he leaned near them and whispered in Amruta's ear, "That was a lie."

"What?"

"You Amruta, are looking the most beautiful one tonight, atleast in my eyes." The tint that spread on her cheeks was a brighter shade of red as compared to the lipstick she wore, and she tried very hard not to let her lips curve up in a smile at which she failed tremendously, making Farhad smile as well.