KHWAB : A Distant Dream

Chapter 22

It was time for the Sangeet to start. Anika was sitting with Shivani, Abhira, Tanya and Shalini. They were done with their mehendi and were waiting for it to dry completely. Aarav was sitting near Anika feeding her snacks, while Shivansh was feeding Shivani, Vidhyut was feeding Shalini while Advaith was feeding Abhira. Arhaan was sitting there occasionally eating from Anika's plate earning a glare from her. Rudra was with Maan while Avyansh was with Anvi feeding her and helping her out. Kartik had some work and the Oberoi brother's were nowhere to be seen. The elders were also enjoying themselves. There were some other relatives from both the families too.

Soon after the lights suddenly dimmed and focus light was focused on the stage. Arhaan was sitting in the middle of the stage with his guitar in his hands. Anika didn't realise when he left her side. Arhaan took a deep breath and looked at Rudra straight in his eyes and started singing. He had a soothing voice that touched your hearts.

Aashiyana mera
Saath tere hai na
Dhoondte teri gali
Mujh ko ghar mila

Aabodana mera
Haath tere hai na
Dhoondte tera khuda
Mujh ko rab mila.....

Everyone was looking at Arhaan in admiration and awe. The moment Shivani heard his voice she gasped in shock. She couldn't believe her ears. She turned towards Anika, "Anika....yeh... yeh awaz to...matlabh...he." Shivani trailed off, not able to complete her sentence. Anika understood what she was trying to say and nodded her head in confirmation, and turned to look back at her dada. Shivansh and Advaith looked confused but they knew better than to ask.

Tu hi toh jannat meri, Tu hi mera junoon
Tu hi to mannat meri, Tu hi rooh ka sukoon
Tu hi ankhiyon ki thandak, tu hi dil ki hai dastak
Aur kuch na janu mein, bas itna hi jaanu
Tujh mein rab dikhta hai,Yaara mein kya karu .......x2

Sajde sar jhukta hai Yaara mein kya karu
Tujh mein rab dikhta hai Yaara mein kya karu
Ohhhh hoooo.......

Meera always knew that the twins considered Rudra their everything and today her son was pouring out his feelings for the world to see. Gayatri was also feeling happy seeing the love between her kids. Everyone present there knew that Arhaan spoke for his brother too. The song slowly came to an end and Arhaan gave Rudra a small smile. Arhaan's songs had touched Rudra and gestured Arhaan to come to him. Arhaan nodded and ran down to Rudra throwing himself in his arms, while Rudra tightened his embrace. The claps had become a background noise for them.

Anvi smiled looking at their bond, and felt happy that she was going to marry Rudra. Now it was time for the group performance and Shivani, Aarav, Vidhyut, Shivansh and Advaith went on the stage. They had managed to put together a decent performance on bollywood hits and rocked the stage. They all came down breathing hard while laughing to the claps of the audience. Next to perform was Meera. Although she had left the field a long time back, she was still in her form and people were in trance looking at her grace. Although the youngsters were enjoying the performance they were more interested in knowing what Anika had planned, but they couldn't find her anywhere.

In the meantime, Meera had finished her performance but stood on stage with a pose. Everyone was confused when the tune of 'Ghar more pardesiya' played in the background and they heard the sound of ghungroos. What surprised them more was the person who had walked up to the stage. It was none other than Anika. She had tied the dupatta of her Anarkali diagonally and stood in the centre. The moment the lyrics started Anika also started performing. If the crowd was in awe of Meera's performance then they were stunned by Anika's grace. Her body moved with the ease of water, complete in rhythm with the beats.