I am eager to watch the sunset from the window of my room. When you're forced to stay in bed, these little things start appealing to you once again. And so I have my plans in place. And as per them I wake up at 5.45am and wait to watch the sunrise. Instead what I see is a young lady with a camera, clicking pictures conspicuously. Is she a journalist?? Oh my God no. Please.
I open my phone, type "R" and Call Rutu,
"Rutuuuuuuu, the worst of our nightmare has come true. Some sneaky and smart journalist found your ancestral home ka address. She's spying bahar. Kya karna hai?"
There's a pause on the other side. The voice that speaks is certainly not Rutu's.
"Good morning to you too, Devika. You've mistakenly called me - Rajvardhan."
I bite my lip. Oopss. I guess I'm still half asleep. But he sounds wide awake and fresh.
"Good morning. I'm sorry I must not have looked properly before dialling the number."
"No worries. So this journalist that you were talking about...wait how are you sure she's a journalist?"
"No, I'm not sure if she's a journalist but her enthusiastic clicks tell me that something's up. I'm not getting a good feeling, Raj. She could ruin everything if she leaked the photos of the Wada."
I stop when I realise that I accidentally ended up calling him, Raj. He doesn't seem to notice it though, and if he does, it's not evident when he casually says, "Well, let's do this, I'll go down and meet her and let you know about it."
"Yes, that'd be perfect!!! Who knew that being bedridden could be fun." I add softly. He's sharp enough to catch it because I hear him chuckle.
Minutes pass. I've been watching them talk since I don't know how long. They're smiling and conversing with such ease that I am assured that she's definitely not some journalist on the mission to find Ruturaj Gaikwad's wedding venue. But then who is she?
When Raj arrives he has this wide sheepish smile.
"Guess what. Her name's Shanelle, she was born in India but in her 22 years of life, this is the first time she's visiting the country and so she wanted to start with her parents' state - Maharashtra. She's been to Pune and Mumbai already and now she's here in Lonavala!"
"Aahhh. That's relieving to hear. But why this Wada?"
"I asked her the same thing. She said that she wanted to stroll through the streets early in the morning and click some nice photographs. And the cobalt blue sky was making our wada look, as Shanelle put it, "more regal" Here, have a look."
He shows me the picture. I'm impressed. The Wada looks different in this picture. Something special. Royal. Right out of history.
"Wow. I guess this is what they mean when they say, "Looking at something in a new light."
His face lits up as he understands the pun.
"Exactly! She seemed so eager to learn about Maharashtrian culture that I promised to ask Rutu if she can see the Wada once."
"Oh that's again very thoughtful of you." I smile even though I'm mentally eyerollinh while thinking, typical men thing to see a pretty girl and look for opportunities to spend more time with her.
"Devi...." He says suddenly.
"Look!" He points at the window. The sky's the yellowest yellow that it can be. I realise that it's the most standard colour. Without any shades. Pure yellow. Something about purity is so beautiful, isn't it?
I hear Raj sigh.
"I thought you were a night person."
"No, I'm an early bird. That was the one rare day when I got up late because I had been on a call with my sister who is studying in France."
Oh, Devi that's why you should never assume.
"For some weird reason I'm still surprised."
"Let life surprise you."
As if he's some weird angel controlling the sky, he turns me to face it again. In two minutes the sky has changed to orange!
I beam at him and raise an imaginary glass.
"To surprises."
"To surprises." He smiles.
A/n - Yes, the girl on the cover, that's how I imagine our Kriti.
Happy Dussehra to all those who celebrate!