"1, 2, 3, 4...tchhh, no mam aap galat kar rahi hain"

"Fir se galat kar diya?" she asked with a pout.

"Ok let me show you again, left leg out, in and then out along with these hand movements...ok?" he showed her some steps. "If you want then hum kuch punjabi touch add kar sakte hain isme thoda" he said after a pause.

"No no no...main kar lungi yeh"

"Ok then, take a break for five minutes. We will start after that" as soon as he left, she sighed and mumbled,

"Haye Waheguru! pta nahi kab khatam hoga yeh aur main kab ghar jayungi"

She picked her phone from side table and mumbled again "Usko bhi bol deti hoon ke time se lene aa jaye" with that she typed a message and then clicked on the send button.

-

And cut.." she sighed in relief as soon as the director shouted.

"Very nice shot Shehnaz..Thank you so much itne busy schedule mein se time nikal kar yaha aane ke liye" said the director as soon as he came to her. She smiled politely and said 'It's ok' to him.

"Now you go home and enjoy the wedding functions, i'll will not disturb you and congratulations for the wedding" she chuckled and mumbled 'Thank you' to him and moved towards her vanity to change her outfit.

*

Preeti and her mother Rita were in the living area with Shehnaz's mother and were happily talking about the function that took place some time ago.

"Bahut maza aya aunty ji, maine first time yeh sab experience kiya, main toh abhi bhi uss zone mein hoon ke agar koi abhi bhi song chala de na toh main uth kar naachne lagu" said Preeti excitedly, making the both ladies chuckle.

"Chalo shukar hai Waheguru ka, mujhe toh tension ho rahi thi ke pata nahi aapko pasand ayega ya nahi" as Shehnaz's mother said this, Rita put her hand on her and assured her by saying, "Nahi-nahi aisa kuch nahi hai, hum sab bahut enjoy kar rahe hain...aap be-fikar rahiye" this made Shehnaz's mother smile.

With that, both ladies started discussing about next ceremony. Preeti saw her sister Neetu who was talking over the phone on the other side of the living room. Excusing herself, she made her way towards her.

On reaching there, she gently placed her hand on her sister's shoulder, which made her to turn. Seeing that her sister is waiting, she disconnects the phone after saying 'I'll call you later'.

"Isko saans bhi lene diya kar kabhi" said Preeti as soon as neetu finished the call.

"Saans lene ke liye main hoon na" Neetu said while still looking in the phone, to which Preeti rolled her eyes in irritation.

"Phone ke bahar bhi duniya hoti hai" saying this Preeti snatched her phone.

"Arre yar, give me the phone back na" she said irritatingly and tried to get her phone back and when she failed, she said, "Ok fine, now tell me, what were you saying?"

"Tu mere se properly baat nahi krti aaj kal" Preeti pouted.

"Aww my sister" Neetu pulled her cheeks and sadi further, "Ab rona mat shuru kar dena han" she teased Preeti to which she slightly slap on her hand.

Putting her arm around Preeti's shoulder, she said, "Aaja tujhe phone ke bahar ki duniya dikhayu" seeing her confused, Neetu spoke further pointing to the particular direction, "Woh dekho, kaise akele mein hi smile kar raha hai" Preeti giggled looking in that direction and said,

"Then let's have some fun"

"Yesss, let's go" Neetu smiled cheekly.

-

"Everything should be in order, okay? Now you go, it's already late"
he said to the event manager while his eyes were roaming every corner of the hall to see the arrangements.

The day of wedding is approaching. All the preparations were under control but still he wants the smallest thing to be perfect, as it is a big day, especially for his family. This is the reason he was getting everything done under his supervision.

On top of that, this wedding is not happening in his city so he was having a little bit of difficulties, but still he managed everything very well.

He never thought that this wedding would take place in Punjab, that too Punjabi style. He wanted it to be in Mumbai only, but when the in-laws family requested, his mother could not refuse.

But on the other side he is happy that he came to Punjab. He is liking its atmosphere because of two reasons. First is, it's culture, because he felt that the culture of Punjab is really overwhelming and has its own uniqueness which is unmatched. And the second is, people of punjab, because they give heart warming vibes and welcome everyone with open hearts.

A smile crept over his lips remembering the day, when he came here for the first time. The way they treated him and his family, he didn't even felt that they were meeting for the first time. It seemed like they know each other for a long time.

And of course a glass of lassi and typical Punjabi food, how can anyone forget about this? The way they made him eat everything with those big glasses of lassi forcefully, he felt as if he had eaten the food for a whole week in one day. And what happened to him after that, he doesn't even want to imagine.

Remembering that incident, he chuckled and said, "Punjab and Punjabis...I love both man" and smiled cheekily.

The soft sound of giggling broke his chain of thoughts. He turned and saw both his sisters. Seeing the mischievous smile on their face, he mentally facepalm himself as it is was their routine to tease him. Ignoring those teasing smiles, he questioned,

"Tum dono soye nahi abhi tak?"

"Tum bhi toh ab tak jage huye ho" Preeti said with cheeky smile.

Rolling his eyes he replied, "I was checking the arrangements"

"Ohhhh! so you were checking the arrangements" said Neetu teasingly, he was about to open his mouth, but she interrupted him,

"Or you are trying to impress people here" saying this she gave Preeti a high-five.

"I'm not impressing anyone. Ek toh maa ne bhi kahan phasa diya, pta nahi kya dekha unhone Punjab mein. Kab yeh sab khatam hoga aur kab main wapis Mumbai jayunga"

"Ohhh..toh wapis jana hai isko, suna Preeti?" again she said, winking at Preeti.

"Han Neetu suna, aur thodi der pehle jo isne bola, woh bhi suna"

He narrowed his eyes and asked with curiousity, "kya suna tumne?"

"Yahi ke you love Punjab and Punjabis" with that both started laughing.

He sighed and tried to change the topic as he knew that this teasing session would not stop otherwise.

"Neetu, don't you think you should take your beauty sleep, otherwise kal tum bhoot dikhogi with dark circles under your eyes." her eyes widened as soon as he said this.

"Sidharth you...?" but before she could complete her sentence his phone started beeping. A soft smile crept over his lips when he saw the message on his phone. And then looking at them both he said,

"Ahh excuse me ladies" with that he left from there.

#Meanwhile On The Other Side

"Oh paji, aapko clearly bola tha aur list bhi di thi kaunsi mithayi pack krni hai, phir bhi aap itni badi galti kaise kar sakte hai" he was yelling at the sweet seller over the phone to pack the wrong sweets in the box.

The moment he felt a tap on the shoulder, he looked back and saw his father was waiting for him to finish the call. After making sure the sweet seller would send the correct order tomorrow, he cut the call and ask his father what's the matter.

"Shehbaz puttar, agar idhar ka sab ho gya ho toh udhar decoration and catering ka bhi check karle ek bar, main guests ko dekh leta hoon"

"Papaji, tusi tension na lo, main sab dekh lunga, tusi jaa kar guests ko sambhalo aur aaram karo bas"

"Acha theek hai" with that his father left, patting his cheek, while Shehbaz also moved towards the caterers.

While checking the menu, he strictly instructed them not to make the food so oily, and also ordered them to add two more sweet dishes to the dessert menu.

Standing in the middle of the hall, he roamed his eyes in every direction to check the decoration and lighting. 'Everything looks perfect' with that thought he was about to leave when his eyes fell on the flowers. Smacking his forehead, he moved towards that direction while mumbling "Siyapa"

"Yeh kya kar rahe ho aap log?" He asked, as soon as he got there.

"Yellow ke sath white flowers bole the aur aap log red laga rahe ho. Sana dekhegi na toh juloos nikal degi ek ek ka, karo ab isko sahi" they nodded silently and got back to work. "Aur yeh kya hai? Fix karo isko bhi" he said again when he saw the fairy lights on the floor.

While moving on the other side, he shook his head and mumbled, "Sab ko sab kuch ache se samjhaya hai phir bhi. Ab akela bechara Shehbaz kya kya dekhe?" He sighed and after taking a pause, he said further,

"Behan ki shadi mein kitna kaam aur responsibilities hoti hai na. Aur jab behan shadi kar ke chali jati toh..."

"Jab Sana shadi karke chali jayegi toh, main kaise rahunga apni motto ke bina" he said emotionally and wiped away the tears on his cheeks.

"Oh shit!" On realzing something he immediately took out his phone from pocket and typed a message and then headed towards his cousin Shehzad, who was talking on the phone.

*

"The person you are calling is unavailable to take your call, please try..."

"Ugghh... Try hi toh kar rahi hoon last 15 minutes se"

After hearing the same response again and again, she started walking on the empty road. As it was already midnight, there is no chance of getting any cab at this hour. She thought it's better to walk until someone came to pick her up.

"Bola bhi tha time se aajana, but nahi... Agar ghar pe pata chal gya toh meri band baj jani hai" Joining her hands she mumbled again "Hey Waheguru! mehar karna apni iss masoom si bachi par"

She unlocked her phone and dialed the number again, hearing the same response again, she irritatingly stuffed her phone in her bag and started walking fast while mumbling, "Ab main nahi krungi dobara phone, paidal chali jayungi lekin isko phone ni krungi"

A smile crept over her lips when she heard a car honking behind her.

She turned and immediately covered her eyes with her hands to protect her vision as the bright headlight directly hit her face. As soon as her eyes adjust the light, she made her way towards the car.

Reaching the driver's side window, she knocked on the glass harshly. As the window rolled down, she started pulling hair while saying, "Kutte, where the hell were you? Kab se phone kar rahi main khoteya..."

"Ahhh! Shehnaz...chodo...it's paining"

Her eyes widened in shock the moment she heard the voice. Upon realizing that he is not the person she was expecting, she loosened her grip on his hair. But still to confirm her doubt, she bent her head down a bit and the very next moment she gulped down her slavia and whispered frightened,

"Aap?"

*

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Hello Everyone!

So this was the first part of 'Arranged By Shukla'

Actually I started writing this in July. The whole idea of this story is from my friend, I just wrote. She helped me in literally everything with patience( July to December...itna pateince kahan se laati hai tu). Thanks for helping me throughout and giving me such a wonderful concept jaani ( Yeah yeah I know, now you will be like 'chal bey paka mat')

I'm feeling a little nervous now.

Okay! so guys, I hope you will like this. Don't forget to hit the Star and share your opinions.

I will post next part soon. Till then #HappyReading