MANAN FF:STRANGERS TO SOULMATES[COMPLETED]

CHAPTER 4

ROKA CEREMONY!

Our car halted outside a posh farmhouse.Like a true gentleman ,Manik got down and opened the door for me. Surprisingly the entire farmhouse was decorated with peachish pink coloured roses and dupattas.So that was the theme Mr. Malhotra had decided and even coordinated our attires with it.Quite impressive this man was turning out to be !

We walked in quietly though I could see manik was having a hard time matching my slow speed.Ek to he is so tall and so he takes much bigger steps and upar se my lehenga had reduced my speed of walking.Poor boy was actually reminding himself again and again to coordinate his steps with mine.Howsoever we managed to reach inside in a good few minutes.Dhruv and Navya had reached already and were waiting there with our parents.

"welcome beta" Malhotra aunty came forward and hugged me "Bahut pyari lag rahi ho, ek dum mere manik ki pari" .

Oh God did she actually say that...MANIK KI PARI...I mean just forget pari but MANIK KI...I turned red with embarrassment . I didn't know where to hide my face...left, right or centre.

"aao beta aao"Now it was Malhotra uncle who side hugged me and thankfully he didn't say anything further.

White sheets had been spread on the floor where Pandit ji sat with his thali.

"Aao Manik beta"Pandit gestured him to sit in front of him "Apni hone wali patni ko bhi saath me laiye."

Now if Malhotra uncle had skipped the beat , it was Pandit ji who had to finish what Malhotra aunty had started.HONE WALI PATNI.I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to relax myself.

"Shall we" manik asked as we both sat near Pandit ji.I was unable to sit on the floor due to lehenga so manik helped me with it.

Pandit ji started doing the pooja.He applied tilak on manik's forehead and then appa and amma came forward and gave him shagun.

"Ab ladke ka muh mitha karwaiye" and Appa and amma obeyed Pandit ji.

"ek min ek min , ye haqq to sabse pehle saali ka hota hai"navya came forward and took the biggest piece of sweet and forcefully put it inside manik's mouth.Everyone clapped seeing Manik's mouth full of sweets.

Then the pandit ji turned towards me and applied tilak on my forehead.Malhotra aunty came forward and placed the shagun and jewellary on my laps.She then kissed my forehead and said

"Aaj se tum hamari hui beta, Once again welcome to the family, officialy this time"

"Arrey aise kaise"Dhruv came forward and forcefully put a big piece of sweet in my mouth

" Now , officialy welcome to the family bhabhi maa"

Once again the room echoed with laughter.

"Pandit ji ab jaldi se engagement aur shaadi ki dates bhi nikal dijiye"Malhotra aunty said turning towards pandit ji who was already busy looking the same in his book.

"Malhotra ji ek hafte baad sagai ka bahut hi shubh mahurat hai aur uske theek ek mahine baad shaadi ke liye"

"To kya kehte hai Murthy ji...dates freeze karein?"

"Bilkul ji...agar sab raazi hai to hamein kya aitraaz hona hai, Kyu Suman?"he asked Amma

"To bas theek hai phir ab shaadi ki tyari me lag jate hai...Bahut se arrangements karne hai and time bahut kam"

I could see everyone was very happy.Navya and Dhruv seemed to be forming a special bonding.

But my heart sank!!Only 1 month to wedding.1 more month and my identity would be completely changed.Amongst the chaos Manik probably read my thoughts.He came towards me.

"Are you alright?" he asked

"yeah"I replied faking a smile

"You sure" he asked again to which I nodded but he didn't look convinced.

"Sir lunch is ready" Servant came and told Malhotra uncle.

AT THE TABLE

"But ek bahut hi humble si request hai Murthy ji , agar aapko koi aitraaz na ho to shaadi ke sabhi functions hum Punjabi style me bahut hi dhoom dhaam se yahin apne farmhouse me karna chahte hai"Malhotra uncle asked Appa.

"hamein kya aitraaz hoga Malhotra sahab, Nandini ki amma bhi to Punjabi hi hai to iss lihaaz se Nandini bhi half Punjabi hi hai" Appa acknowledged

Our parents had a few more discussions regarding the wedding arrangements and finally now it was time for us to leave.

"Bhabhi ji aap please kal Nandini ko hamare saath shopping ke liye bhej dijiyega, actually roke ki dates itni jaldi me final hui ki hum dress choose nahi karwa sake , lekin main chahti hu main engagement ki dress Nandini ki pasand ki ho"Malhotra aunty told amma as we stood outside the farmhouse .

"Ji bilkul,ye to koi kehne ki baat hi nahi hai. Ab to Nandini aap hi ki hai"

"to theek hai phir kal subah Manik pick kar lega beta aapko"she said looking towards me this time

"Ji aunty"

"aunty nahi beta mom...jaise manik aur dhruv bulate hai , vaise hi tum bhi aaj se mom hi bulao "

"Ji aunty , I mean mom" It wasn't that easy for me at it sounded.

"aur mujhe dad" Malhotra uncle called out from the back to which I willingly approved.

MANIK'S POV

I had been noticing that since the wedding dates got finalized , nandini looked a little uncomfortable.I tried to ask her but she denied.Though I wasn't convinced at all with her.I had to find out what was cooking in her head.

It was time to leave.We all stood by our cars outside the farmhouse.

"Uncle if you don't mind , can I pls drop nandini back home" I asked making a courageous move.Though it was a bit difficult for me but I had to do this for her.I had to know what was actually bothering her!

"Of course I do mind " he retorted and my heart skipped a beat. " but not you dropping her back , I mind you calling me uncle.Beta, you should be calling us appa and amma from now onwards" he added relieving me .

"Sure Appa" I replied " and thank you"

"You're welcome beta. Jao aur iss time ko enjoy karo...ye sabse precious time hai aapki lives ka" amma added.

"Hum bhi aaye saath" Dhruv and Navya spoke in unison and then everyone laughed looking at our faces.

Precap:

"So" he said "finally we are alone"