Moran: Every day, I love you more

Beyond words: Mere Sohneya

It was around 11am when Karan finally finished his meeting with Col Batra and got free. It was a Sunday, but Karan had to come to the academy for an important meeting after which, he was free for the whole day. He quickly checked his phone and saw a message from his wife, that she had safely reached home and was now going for a shower and it would take her a while, as she was extremely tired. Karan smilingly acknowledged her message and responded back.

There was a message from Barkha bhabhi too, asking him to call her back when he could. He settled in his cabin and immediately called her up.
She informed him that it was Akshaya Tritiya that day, and it was a special occasion as it was the first after Monami and Karan’s marriage. Since Barkha was in Delhi at her parents' place for a few days, she commanded Karan to do the needful.

Karan: Main akele? Bhabhi, par mujhe jewellery leni kaha aayegi..
Barkha: Accha baba, toh Monami ko saath le jaa.
Karan: Actually Bhabhi, Monami 2 din ke medical conference pe gayi thi. Just abhi Pune se wapis aayi hai, kaafi thaki hui hai.. Aur shaam ko hume mere friend Sachin ki shaadi pe jaana hai..
Barkha: Oh.. toh ek kaam kar na! Tu akele hi chale jaa aur Monami ke liye kuch le aa. Uske liye accha surprise bhi ho jayega aur pooja bhi ho jayegi. Aur aaj shaadi pe jaa rahe ho na..take something jo aaj woh pehen bhi sakti hai!
Karan: Hmmm..idea toh kaafi awesome hai bhabhi, bas hopefully main kuch dhang ka la saku!

Barkha chuckled in response and wished him good luck. Karan finished his work and left from the academy. He drove to the city market, to visit the jewellery shop, it was the same place from where the family usually buys.

He soon found himself amidst a lot of options, and that brought a lot of confusion along. There were earrings, rings, pendant sets, bracelets, bangles all around him and seeing all those trays, he was getting a bit nervous. He saw a lot of women trying different pieces and he couldn't find a single man who had come there alone like him.

The salesman showed him some options, but Karan already had some constraints too - for their wedding, they had already bought a necklace, bangles, jhumkas and a ring. So he didn't want to repeat any of these things now. Also, he was saving up to buy a diamond pendant set for her for their anniversary that's due in 2 months, so he was under budget constraint too. He wanted to get something small, yet meaningful.

Just when he thought of calling Bhabhi for help, he recalled one of the things she had said, that Monami could also wear it for the wedding she is attending today. He immediately requested the salesman to show him something and when the tray arrived, it didn't take him two glances to decide, because he had finally found the one. He held it in his hands, and instantly fell for it. It was a beautiful gold nath (nose ring), with small pearls and stones on the side.

His smile very clearly indicated to the salesman that this is a done deal. There was a long queue at the billing counter due to the festival rush, so Karan quietly stood in the queue. He kept gazing at the nath and imagined his Rani Sahiba adorning her beauty with this ornament.

It was a Maharashtrian wedding they were going to attend today and the groom (Karan’s friend) had very sweetly invited his Monami Vahini to come on time and help with all the rituals. Monami was super excited and was planning to wear a silk saree, as he knew. Though Karan didn't know much about clothes, accessories and styling in general, and honestly believed his wife looks good in everything she wears, still he was confident that the nath would suit her outfit.

Monami does not get a chance to wear traditional clothes much, as she is either on duty in the army hospital or on missions. The rest of the time at home, she naturally wears comfy clothes, sometimes shamelessly stolen from his wardrobe. But whenever she does wear traditional, man oh man, Karan gets bowled over everytime. There's no other sight in the world he would want to look at.