Love Is Our true Destiny: A Rikara FF

Chapter sixteen

"Is something wrong?" asked Omkara, as he saw Gauri scrunching her face slightly.

They had left the studio some time back, and were proceeding  towards his favorite beach in Bombay. But the nearer they got, the more uncomfortable Gauri looked. 

"Umm, nothing, Omkaraji" replied Gauri, biting back the truth.

"Gauri, don't lie to me" said Omkara sternly.

Gauri sighed. Someone had learnt to catch the Thakurain at her lies too quickly. 

"Its the smell, Omkaraji. The smell of salt. I don't think I'm too fond of it. I'm sorry" said Gauri, feeling embarrassed. 

"Why are you sorry? You don't have to be sorry, for not liking the smell of something. Do you want us to go back, or go somewhere else?" asked Omkara

"No, no, we are almost here, so we must move ahead" said Gauri.

Omkara laughed, shaking his head, but continued on their way. 

"See, here we are. There are quite a few pretty beaches in Mumbai, but I prefer the one here, in Bandstand" explained Omkara.

Gauri ignored the smell of sea assaulting her nostrils, and focused on the sight. It was pretty, no doubt. 

"What do you think?" asked Omkara.

"Omkaraji, can we have some tea?" asked Gauri. She needed to smell something stimulating to counteract the stink of the sea.

Omkara nodded, and got them both two cups of tea, Gauri's a special adhrakh (ginger) tea. 

This fact didn't go unnoticed by Gauri, that Omkaraji had noted her likes and dislikes. What did she know about his likes and dislikes? 

She knew he wasn't fond of sweets, preferred what he called 'Italian' food made by Bade bhaiyaa, and...did she know him well enough?

"Omkaraji, what is your favorite color?" asked Gauri. 

"Blue" answered Omkara mechanically, wondering how the question came out of nowhere.

"Okay. What was your favorite subject in school? Apart from art, I mean?" asked Gauri.

"Political Science and philosophy" answered Omkara.

Gauri grinned at that, and moved onto the next. "Who is your favorite singer? Actually, what kind of music do you prefer the most?" 

"Ghazals. And my favorites are Jagjit Singh and Mohd. Rafi. What next, who was my favorite teacher in school?" asked Omkara, tilting his head, smiling at her.

"No, who is your favorite actor?" asked Gauri.

"Isn't it a little too late to play matchmaking, where the the future bride and groom try to know each other?" asked Omkara.

Gauri sighed. 

"What is this about?" asked Omkara.

"I'm trying to know about you. What you like, what you dislike, I mean, I should know all this" said Gauri. 

"I hate lies. I live art. I l...like you. You know me, and that's more important than knowing about me" said Omkara firmly.

Gauri wasn't satisfied with his answer, but she kept her silence, and turned to look at the setting sun. 

She had see paintings of sun going down, slowly drowning in the sea; today she was seeing it in person. At this moment, she forgot everything else: the salty smell, trying to figure out Omkaraji, at this moment she immersed herself in enjoying one of the purest pleasures of life.