Sach hote Khwaab

Prank

I splashed water on my face, wiping it almost clean. It was afternoon. We all were tired after playing holi. Though we had tried to leave the maidan but some neighbours had caught up with us and held us back. Amrit and Mukund had vanished for a short while. When they reappeared, Mukund had a big wicked grin on his face and Amrit, an unsure but mischievous one. This boy had definitely convinced my wife of some mischief. Oh! And he wasn't a boy anymore. I need to be careful.

'Kya hua Amrit?', I asked her casually.
She turned to me startled. I had probably interrupted a train of thoughts. 'Kuch nahi! Kuch bhi nahi!', she replied promptly.
Poor Amrit! Doesn't she realize I can see right through her. I suppressed a chuckle with a fist covering my mouth. I was probably the one who was going to be pranked but I find it funny!? Strange!
Just then Mukund came to me, 'Yaar Randheer maza nahi aaya ab tak! Koi muqabla shuqabla ho toh jashn mein maza aaye!'
'Par rang waala muqaabla toh ho gaya na!', Vashma remarked with a confused look.
'Woh toh jeet gaye na ye dono!', he fretted. 'Hume ek aur mauka milna chaahiye!'
All of us exchanged blank looks.
'Panja ladaane ka muqaabla hona chaahiye!', he announced.
'Usme toh bada maza aayega!', Radha ji exclaimed in delight.
'Haan kar sakte hain!', Vashma replied and then started looking around. After while she pointed towards a set of chairs and table. 'Wahan wahaan! Wahaan koi baitha nahi hai!'
And before I knew it, we were all walking towards the table.

'Pehla Muqabla, main aur Randheer!', he said firmly. Everyone readily agreed so I moved to sit down across him.
'Arey aise koi muqaabla thode hi hota hai. Koi inaam-saza bhi toh honi chaahidi hai', Radha bhaabhi suggested.
'Bilkul sahi keh rahe ho tussi!', he remarked, sitting down. 'Agar main jeeta toh main jo kahunga, isse karna padega. Waise hi agar ye jeet gaya toh ye jo kahega woh main karunga!'
I looked at him with narrowed eyes. What's the catch? Vashma too looked at him skeptically.
'Kya hua? Aise ghoor kyun rahe ho mujhe?', he asked innocently. 'Seedhi seedhi toh baat ki maine!'
'Aapki seedhi baat mein mujhe bharosa kyun nahi ho raha hai?', Vashma remarked.
'Woh isilye ki tumhe meri baaton pe shaq karne ki aadat ho gayi hai', he said cheekily.
Both of us still looked at him with raised eyebrows and we definitely did not believe him.
'Ohji khel shuru karte hain na. Je kuch gadbad hogi toh aaphi pata chal jaana hai!', Radha bhaabhi said impatiently. Amrit just smiled to herself.

Across the table, I and Mukund gripped each other's hands positioning ourselves for the arm wrestling. Amrit settled down beside me while Radha ji sat down beside him. Vashma did not pick sides. Rather she volunteered to referee.
'Ek do teen – shuru!', she signaled with a clap. Both I and Mukund looked at each other intently to win. As soon as she clapped we shifted our focus to exert all the force we could to force the other's arm down the table top. All three of them cheered for us. 
That's when I felt toes slightly grazing my leg. I stiffened.
Amrit clearly knows the power she holds over me. And to my surprise she has begun wielding that power quite ... meticulously.
There and then, I lost.

'Inni jaldi tussi kivein har gaye?!', Radha Bhabhi exclaimed in bewilderment.

I turned towards Amrit but she was looking down with a suppressed faint blush. Vashma looked at Mukund, Amrit and then towards me. What do I even say to my defense? That I had been tricked? And how so? I don't even have an answer to that.

'Ye muqabla main nahi maanti!', Radha bhaabhi firmly said.
'Arey par?!-' ,Mukund protested.
'Arey!! Inni jaldi koi thode hi haarta hai! Nahi nahi Damaadji dubaara hona chaida muqabla! Chalo chalo tussi dono dubaara taiyaar ho jao!'
Amrit looked taken a back for a while but then she straightened herself.
I turned to Vashma and tried to gesture her to take Amrit away. But she couldn't decipher my hint and kept asking in signs, what I meant.
'Vashma!!', Mukund waved a hand in front of her.
'Ji jijaaji!', she said promptly.
'Kya soch rahi ho? Khel shuru karwao!'
'Ji', she said dubiously and then signalled, 'Ek do teen shuru!'

And the contest began again. I tried with all my might to win. He too did. Atleast he was leaving no stone unturned in the effort. We wrestled for a while. I was losing but I recovered. It was so much fun, Radha Bhaabhi and Vashma were cheering with all the energy. I and Mukund stared each other down. But another brush of her toes and with a thud I lost.
I looked at Mukund, mouth agape who returned me a roguish smile. Guilty as charged.
Radha bhaabhi consoled me.'Arey! Koi nai ji! Ye jeet gaye toh kya hua. Tussi udaas nahi hona. Kade kade ho jaata hai!'
I half-expected Mukund to leap to his feet and start performing bhangra there but he didn't.
'Main abhi aaya', he said with a glint in his eyes and rushed away. He returned after a couple of minutes with a tray full of glasses.
'Tujhe ye saari thandai peeni padegi!', he said with a wink.
'Saari?!', I exclaimed. 'Par yeh toh bohot zyaada hai!'
'Par yahi toh saza hai!', he said cross-armed. He knew I didn't like thandaai. And I had the inkling that Mukund being Mukund, this wasn't just thandai. He had definitely mixed bhang in it.
'Chal ab jaldi!', he ordered.
'Ab toh baat maan'ni padegi', Radha bhabhi said with a comforting frown. 'Par chalo inni saari nahi. Ek-ya do glass bas. Inni saari se tabiyat bigad gayi toh?'
Mukund reluctantly agreed. I looked at her with a sigh of relief. She was a real savior.
Giving Mukund a death stare, I picked up a glass. He made a teasing face. Amrit and Vashma are nowhere to be seen.