Ayesha
Sahil stood there, leaning against the pillar wearing a typical light yellowed coloured kurta. His hairs messed up in his usual style, and his hands crossed, smirking.
"Hey!" Siya chirped, and he patted her on the shoulder, before crouching down my side, on a knee. Well, he didn't say anything apart from his signature smirk, and I focused my attention on the grass down.
Wow, they look so green and healthy today.
All the girls surrounding me, including Siya, began a chorus of 'Mehandi laga ke rakhna, ' a famous track from DDLJ. And more heat crept into my cheeks, and I felt I was drowning in a cauldron of red paint.
Perhaps understanding my embarrassment, he stood up, not uttering a word to me, and said something like, "he would be around" to a very hopeful Siya Malik and departed.
I looked up shyly, to see Siya giving me a bored expression, and I hastily began, "He-"
"Go." She said in a mono-syllable, plastering a dull look on her face, and rolling her eyes.
I instantly scrambled to my feet, careful to not touch my clothes or anything else with my henna filled hands. A mobile pouch hung from the waist of my outfit, and my mobile began to ring. Perfectly knowing, it was Akanksha Sinha, I ignored it.
I walked amongst the busy crowds, occasionally stopping to not bump with anyone, with my henna filled hands and looking around for Sahil. I entered a fully decorated arena, where the Jai Mala ceremony was to take place tomorrow. The hall was beautifully decorated with flowers; roses, marigolds, lilies, and jasmines. The fragrance of them hung around on the air, and I found myself being bewitched by this enchanting scent.
And suddenly, strong muscular arms pulled me back to a hardback, curling around my waist and instantly, I know who it is. Careful, not to damage his kurta, I turn back mildly, to see Sahil, who has an evil smirk plastered on his face.
He opened his mouth as though wanting to say something, but closed it abruptly, his eyes raking around my body, from head to toe, checking me out. A satisfied yet hungry expression adorned his face, and I ducked my head shyly.
His fingers cupped my face, gently forcing me to meet his hard gaze, and I obliged. Tracing fingers from my cheeks to my temples, he stopped near the little skin near my lips and rubbed his thumbs in a circular motion, and slowly began to lean ahead. And I closed my eyes in anticipation, of receiving the touch of his lips on mine.
Ring-Ring.
I opened my eyes at once, and Sahil went back, giving my mobile in the pouch, a cross look. I wanted to switch off my mobile, but couldn't because my hands were filled with Mehandi, and there was no way; I could do that myself. I look at Sahil, awkwardly.
"Can you, um, help me take this out?" I said, gesturing to my ringing mobile phone.
He gave me a dull look, but his face immediately lit up with evilness. And a smug expression replaced his flat look as he joyously replied, "Sure, "
I regard him with a what's-wrong-with-you look, and as an answer, he just chuckles. And instead of directly taking out the mobile, he decided to put one hand across my waist from the opposite direction of the mobile pouch and unwrapped it from behind, and then took out the mobile phone, giving me a victorious look.
Attending the call, he placed it on my right ear, tucking back strands of my hairs firmly behind my ear, and I gave him a grateful smile. I was trying to that from the past few minutes with my forearms and have been very unsuccessful. Not to mention, the weird facial expressions I have been giving.
"Hi, can I call you later?" I said bleakly, hoping she would understand the signal, but she straight away rejected my plea, and said, "No."
"How's Munnar treating you?" She asked brightly.
"Um, good?"
"Okay, any events, so far?" She asked excitedly,
"Well, the Mehandi ceremony is going on."
"That's not what I meant!" She said hotly, "I meant if anything happened between you and Sahil?"
I glanced at Sahil uneasily, who was giving me a how-long-will-you-take look, "No."
"Ayesha! You can't be this boring!" She complained.
You ruined a moment! I wanted to say, but I settled with a "Hmm."
"Fine, I'll call you tonight. And I would want every minute detail. Agreed?"
Sahil suddenly got an idea, and he began tickling my neck with his free hand. "Ye- hehe, " I laughed, and Sahil did that again,
"Is he there around you?" She asked excitedly, and I looked up at Sahil, who gave me another tickle.
"Yeah," I said, managing to keep a straight voice, with so much background disturbance.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" She squealed frantically, and so loudly that Sahil stopped his tickling. Her voice was clearly audible to anyone who was around us.
"Who's it?" Sahil asked, and I hastily replied, "No one. I mean, " I coughed, before correcting myself, " no one important, "
Instantly, both Sahil and Akanksha repeated my sentence, in unison,
"No one important? " Akanksha asked fiercely.
"No one important?" Sahil asked, confused, "Then why -?"
"Um, Akanksha, can I call you later? Please?"
"Fine!" She granted generously, "But I want all the details, get it? What happened tonight, tomorrow and tomorrow night too! And the exact descriptions with no skipping details and-"
"Bye!"
I sighed and looked up at Sahil, who was giving an amused reaction. Instantly I asked, "How much did you hear?"
He smirked, "The last line for sure, "
"Oh!" I said, blushing furiously, and trying to find some interest as though why the sky was blue.
And at last, my eyes travelled to the wedding manager who was ordering his workers to work faster. They were setting up the stage, nearby, throwing the rose petals from the top, on the scene, decorating it. Wow, the roses look so red today.
Sahil took an abrupt step forward, and I instinctively took a step back, hitting a pillar. He again stepped forward, and I looked at him in surprise. Yet he did not stop and took another step forward, almost killing the distance between us.
Gently taking my hands, he said, "You have my name written?"
"Yeah," I said nervously.
"Can I have a look? " he asked, peering over the intricate patterns of the Mehandi, on my hands. I extended the fingers of both my hands in front of him, and he took over my right side first.
Bringing it closer to his face, he began raking his eyes from the top of the hand to the bottom, searching for his name and a dreamy smile spread over my lips.
I watched his eyes scrunch up in concentration, and disapproval, as he quite didn't find his name for the first time.
"Give up?" I asked softly.
"No." He said determinedly. Holding my wrist tighter, he raked his eyes again from the top, and I saw a satisfied expression covering his face when he reached the index finger. Glancing at me once, he smirked and brought my hand closer to his lips, and kissed the part of my hand, gently yet forcefully.
Well, he got the intended effect for sure, because my toes began to curl in pleasure, at the warm touch of his lips and he smiled against the fingers once more kissing the spot and withdrew, having a triumphant expression.
Not uttering a word, he took hold of my left hand and began to find his name over again, and I released a deep breath, I didn't know I was holding.
This time, he found it quite quickly, in the centre of the palm, on the petal of a flower, of the design. Bringing his lips closer to the hand, he repeated the action, once again, making me almost whimper in the gratification of the touch of his warm lips against my hands.
And swiftly, his warm lips met mine, quite unexpectedly, almost in a demanding manner. I gave in, trying to savour the moment, and then a quick wind blew, making me almost shiver.
And then, before I knew it, rose petals fell on top of us. So many rose petals, all at once, but still, it felt like it was falling over us in slow motion. We broke apart and looked at each other in surprise. We both looked around, trying to locate the source.
Apparently, because of the sudden wind, a worker had toppled down on his stool, dropping his basket of rose petals, as an impact.
We both looked at each other and smiled.
A rain of rose petals.
*****
That evening I was ready, in my outfit. For the Sangeet ceremony, Akanksha had chosen me, a bright lehenga with merely zig-zag lines in thick with a combination of grey and cream colours. The choli is also given similar design while the dupatta is dull grey with golden zari border.
The red henna went perfectly well with the outfit, bright and bold. I also had silver bangles, and my hairs left open, neatly curled. Wearing appropriate jewellery and the right makeup, which includes kohl and lipstick, I stood before the mirror, twirling around, assessing myself before the mirror.
Deciding this was enough, I came out, keeping my purse in one hand to Sahil, who was waiting for me in the living room. He was adjusting his collar of his black sherwani, looking at the mirror.
He paused at the jingle of my bangles and turned to look at me and checked me out.
"How do I look?" I asked meekly.
"All dressed. Not my style, " he said in a bored tone, walking up to me.
"Sahil!" I blushed, pushing his chest, and he gave me a sincere look. Bringing my hands to his neck, I began buttoning up the sherwani and adjusting his collar.
"It's done, " I said, once complete and looked up at him.
I felt him lean ahead, and I took an abrupt step back, "I am not allowing you to ruin my lipstick!" I said, waggling a finger in front of his face.
And he pouted, touching his heart and said dramatically, "Ouch!"
I laughed at his expression, and he dropped his act, and put his hands around my waist, pulling me closer to his hard chest, "You know what? " he said, "Can we just skip the Sangeet? " he pouted, "I have no mood to be amidst so many people when I can perfectly spend tonight with my girlfriend!"
"Sahil!" I said alarmed, "We can't do that!"
"I know, " he agreed mournfully, and his gaze aimed at my lips, "But don't you think, I deserve a little coaxing?"
"You do?"
"Yeah!" He complained, "Don't you know, it's harmful to remain hungry for a long time?"
I laughed out loud.
"So, I am being mean right now?" I asked.
"Yes!" He replied, tucking back a strand of my hair and passionately glaring at me.
"So, you don't like, a mean Ayesha?" I asked teasingly in a dramatic manner, faking to be hurt. He pressed his lips together and placed a hand on his chin, pretending to think.
"Nah! Mean or no mean, you're mine, " he concluded, "and that's all that matters to me. "
I blushed, heat creeping my cheeks. I hoped the makeup would conceal my heated and coloured cheeks, but the smirk on Sahil's face told otherwise. I looked down to avoid his gaze.
Bringing his lips close to my ears, he whispered seductively, "Can I ruin your lipstick now?"
I chuckled and nodded, and instantly his lips smashed on mine, capturing it alluringly. Demanding more, he closed the distance between us, and automatically, my hands curled up behind his neck, weaving through hos hairs and my bangles jingling. He kissed, oblivious to the fact that my red lipstick was ruining entirely, and my heart danced happily.
*****
Before entering the hall, Sahil and I were walking hand in hand. The music and the noise from inside told us that the Sangeet ceremony was going on in full swing.
"I told you, " Sahil repeatedly said, giving me a wary look, "We could have enjoyed much better in the room. "
I rolled my eyes and put back an invisible strand of hair, a habit I have developed from the past one month, maybe out of nervousness.
"Ready?" Sahil sighed,
"Sahil, why do you sound as though are we are going to enter into a battlefield. It's just a Sangeet!" I said exasperatedly.
"Sure, " he remarked darkly.
We both entered the full swing party, passing across people dancing and singing, enjoying all together. The food counters were being thronged in one side of the hall and the some in the home bar closer. The remaining were chatting with others, or dancing or singing loudly, in random beats.
We spotted Siya and Aryan in the centre of the hall. Siya looked pretty with a beautiful lehenga. The lehenga was crafted with a shimmering look and beautiful embroidery embellished in the veils—a crop top, heavily ornamented and a matching dupatta in the plain with embroidery work. Aryan was wearing a similar coral coloured sherwani, complimenting her style, and they both looked gorgeous together.
Siya waved her hand, excitedly on seeing us, and we both went there to her. Aryan smiled at me and gave Sahil a signature bro hug, and Siya hugged me,
"You look stunning, Ayesha!" She chirped, and I thanked her for the compliment. "Now I can see why Sahil has fallen for you, " she said, and I glanced at Sahil uneasily.
"Yeah!" Sahil agreed, and stepped closer, and putting an arm around my waist.
"Well, you both look made for each other," Aryan spoke, for the first time and we both smiled at him.
"Thank you, Aryan," Sahil said.
The Sangeet Ceremony is usually held after The Mehendi Ceremony. The womenfolk of the household gather around the bride. This is followed by fun, frolic, dance and traditional wedding songs.
After some polite words with them, Sahil and I excused ourselves, making our way to a less commotion side, and we sat down there, watching the people dance and sing so joyously.
Suddenly the lights went off, and everyone gave a collective gasp. Sahil leaned ahead and said in my ear, "It's a gimmick. To make people like us feel more interested in these ceremonies. "
He sounded so severe that I couldn't judge if he were joking or not.
"What happens now?" I asked,
"The bride calls out one person to represent the girl's side, and the groom would call out someone from the boy's side. And whoever she calls out cannot refuse," he said in a grave tone.
"Are you joking, Sahil?" I asked, chuckling nervously. Because if that was the case, I knew perfectly who were going to be the victims. The lights came back, and everyone heaved a sigh.
"No, " he said truthfully, "It's a ritual. It then develops into a competition between the girl's and the boy's side. And whoever dances the best, wins. Look there."
I followed his gaze, and sure enough, Siya was standing there with a mic in her hand, scanning the crowds, and her eyes settled on the farthest corner, that is me.
"I would like to call out, Ayesha Mehra!" She said triumphantly, waving at me and all the females began to cheer out loudly.
Is it too late to say that I would have preferred living in the room than attend this party now?
Aryan stepped closer to Siya and said challengingly, "Oh yeah? But from the guy's side, I call out Sahil Malhotra. "
The entire hall broke into applause, and some of them rushed to where we were standing and took hold of Sahil's hand and dragged him to the stage. Not wanting to look weak, the girls also rushed to me and pulled me to the stage. Siya smiled coyly at me, and Sahil directed an irate look at Aryan who in turn gave a pout.
The shehnais began, and so did the tablas, resonating a beautiful beat. The people surrounding the stage started to cheer for us, asking us to dance and lead them on.
Sahil finally gave in to their demands and began his dance. Starting slowly he began to dance, along with the beat, perfectly collocating with the song and exhibiting his master dance moves. The male clan began to cheer loudly, and the female group gave them an annoyed look and looked at me, waiting for me to dance. Slowly they began to cheer loudly, calling out my name.
That's enough of an motivation.
And then, for the first time in eleven years, I took the initiative. Dropping the veil form my shoulders, I danced again for the first time in eleven years.
*****
After a good amount of dancing to the hit songs of the decade, I was exhausted yet happy. It was the first time in eleven years I had danced. The last time was when I was ten, with Kavi Di, in my cousin's marriage.
My legs were tired from dancing continuously to at least seven songs all at once. I was so glad; I was able to pull off all the steps quickly, maybe my mind still was that of a ten-year-old, a time where there was nothing apart from dance in my brain.
Sahil presently had a substantial female crowd around him, wanting to take selfies with him and he wearily obliged. After what felt like hours, he peeled his foot away from them, giving them a wave and walked to me, exhausted.
"A walk?" He said, smiling, reading my mind entirely.
"Yeah." I smiled in return, and we walked towards the exit of the hall. On our way, we stopped with Siya appreciating my dance moves all over once again, and I thanked her politely for the umpteenth time.
Sahil, meanwhile, made his way to the bar and came out with two glasses of vodka, and handed one of it to me, once we were out.
"It tastes revolting. " I said, glancing at the clear liquid. "I don't like it. "
"But you still want to drink them, " he said, rereading my mind, and I gave a sheepish smile, taking the glass from him.
We both walked away from the hall and away from the noises. A feeble voice of 'Kaho na Pyaar hai.' Was still being heard in the background.
"I didn't expect you to dance, " Sahil admitted,
"I used to dance a lot once, " I revealed, "when I was a child. "
"Why did you stop?" He asked, looking at me,
"Times change, people change, " I smiled sadly at him. The last ten years of my life had been quite harsh for me, and it all began after Kavi Di left. All the abuses, insults, assaults, deaths and everything. Instantly, tears filled my eyes.
Sahil caught hold of my hand and squeezed it thrice. "Hey, " he whispered softly, "I am here, alright? Don't worry."
I nodded, wiping my tears. His alternate squeezes, three at a time, comforted me to a great extent. We had this ritual developed between us from before, three-hand squeezes. They calmed both Sahil and me to a great extent whenever either of us, was tensed.
We drained our glasses of vodka, and it felt remarkably warm with the cold I was experiencing. I shivered as a cold wind blew by, and Sahil instantly scooted closer, pulling me to him, and sharing his body heat with me. For some reason, he looked happy. And when the second wind blew, he whispered mischievously " I know other ways to make you feel warm. " and in an instant, he captured my lips with his, in a gentle manner at the beginning and in minutes it turned a bit too heated, and of course, sheltering me in a sudden generated warmth.
Sure enough, when he withdrew, he had lipstick smeared all over his lips. "You ruined my lipstick again!" I complained,
"You want it back?" He inquired politely, leaning ahead, and I shook my head.
Nevertheless, he placed his lips on mine again, in a vitalising manner such that my toes curled in pleasure, and my heart jumped back. His one kiss had the power to turn my insides topsy-turvy, making me desire for more. My insides heated up, just like he promised and I was warm, a small flame igniting in the centre of my heart.
And in the distance, south-west monsoon winds blew again, and a feeble track of 'Tujhe Dekha toh yeh Jana Sanam ' played in the background, and we both remained just like that. Under the dark sky and the cold weather. Happily oblivious.
*****