A Part, Yet Apart

Chapter 27- Mehndi hai Rachnewali

"2 din se aap yahi steps practice kar rahe hai dad! C'mon dancing is not your cup of tea" Mukti said to her dad. "Sorry, I'm a coffee person" Shrikant cracked a lame joke. "Agar bad jokes ke competition hote to dad would win for sure" Aryaman said. "I know he won't stop, actually you know this was the same song your dad wanted to perform on our Sangeet but I had a leg sprain and I couldn't perform on my own Sangeet" Nyonika said. "Tab bach gayi mom, now no one seems to save you" Manik said. "Nyonika, bachchon ke saamne mere mazaak mat udao, and Mukti where's Abhimanyu? Tum logon ka rehearsals khatam ho gaye?" he asked her.

"Aaj shaam ko mehndi function hai, aap ab tak aise dance rehearsals kar rahe hai?" Nyonika expressed her concern. "Ah, there she is! Nandini bhi aa gayi. Ab wo batayegi tumhe ki sab preparations ho gaye mehndi function ke liye" Shrikant said as Nandini entered. "Abhimanyu?" Mukti didn't expect him to be with Nandini there. "I went to Abhimanyu's place first to see if outfits were delivered and he got me here" Nandini said. "Acha hua ki tum aa gayi, decoration wale aa gaye. Did you sort out the return gifts?" Nyonika asked worried. "They're here with an express delivery option. I've sent someone to pick them up from the courier office" Nandini said.

"Nandini hum tho ab tak koi hashtag socha hi nahi shaadi ke liye! What would I write about our wedding hashtag" Mukti asked worried. "Mukbhi, ye kaisa hai" Aryaman asked. "What's really special about it. Three letters from my name and three from him" Mukti eyed Aryaman. "FYI, that's how hashtags are made, with the union of your two names" Aryaman made it obvious. "Abhikti" Shrikant said when no one asked him. "Mukti, if you ever have a daughter, you can name her this. Sounds like a Sanskrit tongue twister" Manik said. "Does this mean that I'll have to post my mehndi photos without a hashtag?" Mukti's voice is low. "Relax Mukti, we're a team. Hum sab soch ke ek acha sa hashtag sochenge" Manik assured her.

"How about team?" Nandini asked. "What team?" Aryaman asked. "See, generally we'll choose the team bride and team groom, how about we select both of them as a team?" Nandini said. "Sounds interesting but I didn't get what you were saying" Mukti listened. "See, we're all a team, a team of bachelors and that can be your bachelor theme and your hashtag too. T.E.A.M bachelors which would mean The End of Abhimanyu and Mukti's Bachelorette" Nandini said hoping they would like it. "This is too lame" Manik commented. "So, do you have anything to say against me" Nandini looked straight at him. "No" he said. "This is nice but!" Mukti paused. "But would everyone understand it?" she said. "Why do you want to think of everyone Mukti?" Abhimanyu asked. "That's right, we can be a team of bachelors for T.E.A.M of Bachelorette" Aryaman said. "Tum dono ka rehearsals ho gaya?" Shrikant asked. "Yes dad, we will rock it on our Sangeet" Abhimanyu said confident. 

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Manik saw that he was the first one to get ready as he reached down. Abhimanyu went home to bring his family to mehndi function. He saw a few guys entering inside. ''Aap log kaun?'' Manik enquired. ''They are mehndi artists I have booked for the function'' Nandini intervened. Manik turned to see her and is awestruck to see in saree. ''So hot'' he said almost like a whisper. Nandini sent the guys inside. ''What did you say?'' Nandini asked as she heard him saying hot. ''This is so hot! Ye Badam milk itna hot kyu hai?'' Manik tried not to show his embarrassed side. ''What else do you expect on a chilled winter night? Cool drinks?'' Nandini asked. ''I know weather chilled hai but aise mausam mein chilled beer hi peena chahiye na'' Manik said with a wink. ''So, do you want all the guests to have beer tonight?'' Nandini asked with an unusual smile. ''I mean not everyone, but I hope you have got arrangements done for the beer and booze'' Manik leaned towards her. 

''No way, mujhe strict orders miley hai that non-veg and alcohol are banned in this house until wedding'' Nandini said. ''So, what's on menu? Leaves and roots?'' Manik narrowed his brows. ''Nyonika aunty was quite thoughtful on tonight's menu, all the food items included in the menu are those super foods which would keep your body warm. Easy to eat, because they should eat with mehndi on hands. And the drink, you had just now, it was Badam tea'' Nandini said. ''So basically mom ne Royal Punjabi wedding theme ko chilly winter theme banayi. Return gifts mein shawls! like really!'' Manik asked. ''They're Kashmiri Pashmina embroidered shawls'' Nandini said. ''Koi limited edition hai?'' Manik exaggerated. ''By the way, why aren't you ready yet?'' Nandini asked. ''I'm the first one to get ready'' Manik said. ''But this is not the outfit you should be wearing now'' Nandini said. ''Tum bhi tho green pehni ho, and I'm wearing green too for a mehndi function'' Manik said. ''No, no. Maine khud tumhare dress tumhare kamre mein rakhwaya. Just go and get ready'' Nandini said.