Hello there beautiful people! Wish you all a very bright and prosperous new year! I'm back, with a new one shot. Not proofread though. Sit back and enjoy!
You know what to do. Read, vote and comment.
"Jaldi kar Suman! Lagta hai ladkewale aa gaye" a visibly frenzied Rachna Maasi screamed.
Raghuvar Tiwari a.k.a. Nanu had decided it was about time Sumo settled down with a decent boy. She had asked for time for setting up a cafe of her own. And now that she was doing good professionally, she had to but give in to his earnest wish.
"Aaiye aaiye baithiye" Mamaji welcomed the ladkewaale.
Ramnath Malhotra walked in with his wife Nirmala and son Shravan Malhotra.
Shravan, an Oxford graduate in law, was back in India for good after a hiatus of five years. He was planning to start a law firm of his own shortly. He had been given an ultimatum about marrying a suitable bride at the earliest, much to his annoyance. So here he was, seated at Tiwari Killa, waiting for his probably to be wife.
Both the families exchanged greetings and introductions.
Suman walked in to the living area, eyes downcast, in an elegant cream anarkali. With a dash of kohl and blush, and her long hair left open, she looked nothing short of a goddess.
"Aur yeh hai meri naatin, Suman" Raghuvar Tiwari proudly introduced.
"Hi! I'm Shravan!" He sprang up from his seat, earning himself a glare from his parents and a chuckle from the others.
Suman looked up at him. Shravan wasn't exactly able to gauge her expression. Was she nervous? Angry? Sad?
"Bahut pyaari bacchi hai aapki, Tiwariji." Nirmala said with a warm smile. "Aa beta, baith mere paas."
"Agar Sumanji aur aap logon ko koi aitraaz na ho, kya main Sumanji ko drive pe le ja sakta hoon? Isi bahane hum ek doosre ko jaan bhi sakte hain" An edgy Shravan spoke with hopeful eyes, even before Suman could take a seat, much to the amusement of the seniors.
Nanu observed him for a few seconds, while Shravan kept on looking for a positive response, anxious.
"Itni jaldi? Theek hai. Modern zamana hai. Par zyada hoshiyari dikhane ki koshish ki, toh main bhi modern ban jaaonga" Nanaji declared sternly. He burst into laughter all of a sudden, along with the others, and Shravan heaved a sigh of relief.
"Jaao Suman." Suman nodded.
"Chaliye Sumanji"
She silently followed him out of the door towards his car.
Shravan held out the door for her. She got into the front passenger seat, while he settled into the driver's seat.
Shravan zoomed his Pajero onto the expressway. They drove in silence, while a soft melody played on the radio. Shravan's hand which stayed on the gear stick daintily manoeuvred itself onto hers, which rested on her seat. He brought it closer to his face and placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand.
"Stop the car!"
Her shriek brought him back into his senses.
"What the hell Shravan? Sumanji? Kya hai yeh sab?"
"How did you like the surprise?"
"Surprise my foot! To hell with you and your surprise!" She stomped out of the car, furious.
"What do you think of yourself? Huh! You can't just walk in to my house, looking all dapper, with a rishta. I was so terrified. I had cried myself to sleep last night, do you even realize that?"
By now the frown on her face was replaced by tears, a flood perhaps.
"I hate you Shravan Malhotra" Suman began wailing loudly, while she kept hitting his chest with her tiny fists. Shravan could not bear to see her in tears, albeit he found the sight before him quite endearing. And cliché as it may sound, the pretty bracelet that she had chosen to wear today, got trapped into the second button of his perfectly pressed dress shirt.
Shravan held on to her wrist to take a closer look, while a smirk formed on his face.
"You're so cute Sumo. I love you" he said caressing the bracelet.
"But I hate you!"
"Oh I see that very clearly" he said, bringing her wrist in front of her. "You hate me. And that's why you decided to wear this, the proof of my love."
It was a delicate trinket made of platinum, that held two intertwined Ss.
An extremely irate Suman pulled back her wrist. "I wasn't going to marry a random joker, okay. You just don't get it, you moron! Kaise pagal aadmi se paala pad gaya. I was so upset. I had decided to announce something drastic in front of this joker and his family that was coming to see me today. And what do I see? The Shravan Malhotra in all his glory, the very same guy who was having a blast at my cost last night."
I'm not marrying someone else. This cannot be happening.
Who's the guy? What does he do? Is he charming enough?
Hoga koi gadha. Like I care. Hang on, you shouldn't be asking me this. Heck, you should be fighting for me. Go to hell Shravan!
Relax Sumo! There's no harm meeting him. You can always say no later.
I can't believe I'm having such a retarded conversation with you. You've absolutely lost it Shravan. I do hope you realise the gravity of the situation. Shravan, I swear. If I'm forced into marrying anyone else, you will regret the consequences.
Sumo...Sumo..
All he heard was a beep, as she had already disconnected the call.
"Pagal ladki" he chuckled.
-----
"My darling Sumo, you are it for me. And you very well know that. I cannot imagine my life without you. I am what I am owing to my struggling days in London no doubt, but I was so miserable without you. I'm so glad I decided to confess my love before leaving. God knows, if I had waited all these years to tell you how I feel, you would have actually ended up marrying a joker."
"I guess Maasi figured out something was amiss. She apparently noticed me talking and smiling to myself. She kept probing me further about the guy in my life, but I denied. It was like I was happier, all of a sudden. And all this, since the time you returned for good. You have no idea how much I have waited for this day."
"Come here my Sumo wrestler" He pulled her into a tight hug.
"Papa and Ma have been literally pestering me to find a nice girl. I couldn't be wasting time looking at photographs of prospective matches, when I've fixed it all up, long ago. What would I have told him? That I have been hopelessly in love with this pretty tomboy I had met in high school? That's when I struck upon a strategy. I placed your photograph with the rest of the ones that Ma had left for me, and then I had the same one all over my desktop as well. You know the curious Ma. And, here we are!" He narrated, patting himself on the back.
"You're so cunning Smarty Pants."
"I know!" He replied coolly. "Basically, this is an arranged marriage now. So you don't even to have to worry about facing Nanu and telling him about our little decade-old love story."
"Well done my boy." She pecked him on the cheek.
"Sumo, I lived up to my promise of returning for you. But thank you for waiting all these years."
"Idiot!" She whacked him on the arm. "I can't believe I'm seeing you after six long months. You came down to India so infrequently. That's the only time we could meet up for real, secretly. It was so pathetic to just see you virtually on FaceTime, though I cannot deny that was my favorite time of the day."
"Night, you mean" he corrected her, earning himself another whack on the arm.
"I missed you so much Sumo. This time I ain't leaving without my beautiful bride."
"I missed you my Prince Charming. Let's get married."
-----
"Bacche samajhte hain ki hum sab bewakoof hain." Raghuvar Tiwari laughed as he sipped on to the cup of hot tea. "Maine kaha tha na Ramnath, yeh dono ek duje ke liye hi bane hain."
Ramnath nodded in agreement. "Sahi kaha aapne Tiwariji. Un buddhuon ko yeh lagta hai ki humein ullu banakar apni baat manva lenge. Par unhe kya pata ki unka yeh rishta toh humne bachpan mein hi fix kar diya tha. Nirmala ne mujhe bataya ki Shravan poori tarah se Suman pe lattoo hai. Aur kaise woh doosri ladkiyon ki tasveer dekhna se mana kar raha tha."
"Haan Suman ka haal bhi kuch aisa hi tha." Rachna maasi piped in. "Mai jab sawaal karne lagti, toh sharmake baat ko taal deti thi."
"Accha hai. Bacchon ko lagne dete hain ki unki love marriage, ek arranged marriage hai"
"Humari taraf se rishta pakka"
"Humari taraf se bhi."
"Toh match fixed."
Okay I'm done. How did you guys like it? Lemme know!
Ciao,
Nuts
