Paradise ~ A Devdutt Padikkal Story

37.

Haldi Day.

The beautiful backyard of the Taj had been chosen as the venue. The theme was obviously yellow and Marigolds had been specially sourced from Maharashtra for the decor. Upon the green grass, overlooking the rustic yet homely architecture of the Taj, the event planners paced to and fro giving instructions to their workers. A particular part of the yard was adorned with rose petals on the grass upon which stood two yellow colored chairs for the bride and the groom.
The canopy of trees overhead looked elegant with flower lines hanging from them. The brown and green tree barks had been revamped by draping marigold garlands around them. The warm sunlight was the unpaid actor while it playfully seeped through the trees and shone brightly.
Dreamy to say the least.

Dev stood in the backyard talking to his father. He looked stunning in the lime yellow kurta his mother had got for him. Even when she insisted on him buttoning up the kurta till the neck, Dev dismissed the idea and unbuttoned it till his chest. Only a fool would fail to miss the white Mundu he wore underneath. It elevated the look to a different level.

A nudge in his back made him turn around. He looked at Disha standing infront of him. She still looked pretty like the day she wore a blue saree at Saint Joseph's saree day.
Her hair were in a low ponytail with a few strands falling on her forehead. Ochre yellow really looked good on her was what he concluded after noting the
shade of her saree.
"I brought coffee." She said hesitantly, showing him two paper cups in her hands.
"Thanks! I needed this." Dev said honestly.

Gulping the coffee in two large sips, he got busy with a call. As he stood with his hand on his waist and his phone to his ear, Dev saw Vedangi walk into the backyard discussing something with his mother. Dev was at loss of words to even phrase his reaction. She looked breathtaking in her lime yellow saree that she had paired up with a vibrant pink blouse. The pop of colour complimented her skintone really well. By now, Dev had realized the fact that dark and vibrant colours looked phenomenal on her.
Her silky black hair sported a gajra dangling from the point where two strands had been clipped together. Something that Dev loved on women was a gajra. She tugged her hair behind the ear, making the pink jhumkas stand out effectively. He didn't fail to notice the small black bindi on her forehead.
To his surprise, he saw a nosering in her nose that looked unconventional but still pretty.
If home looked this enticing, Dev was ready to give up everything for it. Vedangi had stolen his heart once again.

Disha watched Dev staring at Vedangi like a lovestruck puppy. Was it her brain playing games or was it the reality? No one looks at a person with so much attention unless they're in love. It was as if he was trying to store Vedangi's image in his eyes, scared she'll vanish.
Disha decided to walk away to avoid anymore mind games.

"What's with the nosering?" Dev asked in a soft voice standing next to Vedangi.
"It's not looking nice? I knew it would be a mismatch -" Vedangi said disappointedly and was about to unclasp the nosering when his hand held her wrist. It looked really tiny with his palm around it.
"I never said anything about it suiting you or not." Dev stated in a deep voice.
"I meant, is there a specific reason you're wearing a nosering for?" He added.
Vedangi rolled her eyes at him, hitting him lightly before she walked away.

Like every sibling ever, Dev had resolved on spoiling his sister's face with Haldi but a stern look from his mother made him drop the plan. Even then, Dev made sure he picked up as much Haldi as possible in both of his palms and smeared it all over Chandni's face while she cursed relentlessly.

Laughing, he let all the elders take over with the ceremony and backed off.
"Is this how you spoil the bride even before the photographs are taken?" Vedangi reprimanded Dev.
"If everything in the world happens according to rules, it would be such a sacred place. Shaadi mein kaun itna dhyaan rakhta hai?" He counter questioned chuckling.
"Behen hai meri, haq se chehra kharab karunga!" Dev stated proudly.
"Ha ha haq se gala bhi daba do!" Vedangi remarked sarcastically.
"Woh bhi kiya tha when I was in ninth aur fir got a nice scolding from Achan. Chandni the drama queen." Dev told Vedangi who ended up laughing.

In the spur of the moment, he spontaneously brought up his Haldi smeared hands to her face and touched two of his fingers to her cheek.
"Aye what?!" Vedangi whisper screamed to avoid attention from everyone else.
"What?" Dev asked playfully.
"Haldi meri nahi hai!" She said in annoyance.
Before she could bring up her saree's pallu to wipe the Haldi off her face, Dev said, "Aise hi rehne do, achha lagta hai."
The intensity of his compliment was strong enough to make Vedangi believe in him. She let go of her saree's pallu and looked at the scene infront of her.
Whenever he said things like these, Vedangi found it very hard to look him in the eye. If she did, that would give away her little secret. Having a lighter skintone was such a disadvantage in situations like these, one look at her red cheeks and Dev would come to know everything.
"Ye achha hai tumhara, Jo bhi baat Disha se kehni ho woh pehle mujhpe practice kar lete ho!" She taunted and left.

Around twilight, Vedangi cleverly managed to convince Dev and Disha to go to the terrace. It wasn't easy to come up with believable reasons that would not sound suspicious and similar.
Dev walked to the terrace only to find Disha instead of the photographer.
"Tum yaha?" Both of them asked perplexed.
"Someone told me that the photographer needs some help, he's up here that's why I came up." Dev explained.
"What? I thought Dhruv asked me to come to the terrace isiliye I came up." Disha said.
It did not take them long to realize of this being a tactic. Too cinematic in their indiviual opinions.

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Look at our pretty girl Disha, isn't she a sight for your sore eyes?

Ig - @aarshamohann

Haldi decor