Prem Vivah

• Din Shagna Da •

All the religious ceremonies were done with peace and happiness, and Sameer and Aditya entered the wedding hall, their eyes restlessly hovering around to spot their brides, but just then they remembered they are yet to come, and the time they will come, they are undoubtedly going to cry in bliss.

Both the grooms sit down on the widely spread pristine clothes and start with the holy poojan.

Sameer was honestly not able to focus and put all his attention on the ongoing sacred worship as he was too busy looking at the entrance gate to check if someone was going there to bring Naina out of her room. He literally can't wait to see her as his Bride.

The situation wasn't any different with Aditya, he too was eagerly tilting his head while offering prayers to deities, and the priest looked at the desperate groom in sheer annoyance.

"Pooja me dhyan doge toh zyada accha hoga." The priest told the young boy in a curt tone.

"Kaunsi Pooja? Pooja Sharma, Pooja Maleskar, Pooja Gupta, Pooja Singh, ya phir Pooja Mehta?" Aditya asked him with bewilderment in his voice, and the priest mentally kicked this groom out of the hall for behaving like a toddler.

"Yeh sari pooja kaun hai ab?" The bald man asked him in annoyance.

"Mere social media account pe mujhe follow karti hai sari," Aditya replied to him with a sweet smile.

"Main yeh sab Pooja ki nahi, asli Pooja ki baat kar raha tha," Priest said irately.

"Woh sab bhi asli ladkiyan hi hai pandit ji, fake account nahi hai unka," Aditya spoke with an innocent expression, and people behind him couldn't stop laughing.

"Murk ho tum ekdum, Pujan me dhyan do." The old man scolded the nincompoop groom in sheer resentment, and Aditya realized now that the priest wasn't talking about a girl. He was talking about holy rituals.

Giggling at his childish behavior. Aditya tried to concentrate on the Pooja.

Meanwhile, inside the makeup room.

Nishikant, Prashant, and Ravi reached to meet the dolled-up brides, and delight embraced their hearts when they saw Naina and Radhika looking all pretty with a traditional touch on their appearance. Looking at your daughter bedecked in a saree with heavy ornaments adorning her, all set to start a new journey with her husband makes you feel emotional in myriad ways. Nishikant and Ravi experienced the same situation while staring at the grown-up girls beaming at them, their eyes silently crying, wishing to never let their daughter leave their house.

"Looking Beautiful." Nishikant praised his daughter in a weak tone, his moist eyes examining his smiling doll only to acknowledge how quickly years passed by. It still feels like just a few months ago he welcomed a little mischievous human into his world to complete the meaning of his existence and named her - Naina, and now he was going to wed her off to her longtime lover with the purity of love capturing her face.

He can't believe Naina grew up into a woman within a few years which flew by happily.

Nishikant fondly ran his palm through her bun hairstyle, pulling his lips for a gentle smile with unshed tears in his eyes which were immersed in adoring the human he and Sarita brought into this world, and Naina could sense her father trembling to express what he was feeling right now after seeing her dressed up as a Bride.

"Itni si thi tum, itne chote chote haath, chotu se pair, rotlu thi ekdum, kisi ke paas nahi jati thi, humesha Baba hi chahiye hote the tumhe." Nishikant said with a bright smile but suddenly his glimmer vanished when he spoke in a feeble voice - "Kab tum itni badi ho gayi pata hi nahi chala mujhe." Gulping down his emotions, he added further while roaming his fingers on her soft cheek - "Aaj tum apni zindagi ka ek naya chapter khol ne jaa rahi ho, jo bahut saalon pehle tumhari aai ne khola tha mere saath. Main bas yahi umeed karuga ki tum humesha, humesha Sameer ke saath khush raho, aur...aur kabhi bhi kisi cheez ki kami na ho tumhe."