Over the next few days:

Munna Pandit bunked college one day and went to PVKM in office hours. They managed to sneak in the school unspotted and headed towards the school Administration office.

"Sir, hum yahan ke purane students hai. Hume apne batch ki ek student ki janakari chahiye thi. Actually uska address chahiye tha", requested Munna to the office in charge.

"Arre aise kaise kiski ka bhi pataa kisiko de de. Aise nahi hota. Jaakar pehle application karo, Principal sir se permission le aao, letter attach karo, fir ek mahine baad aana. Record room se purani file dhoondhne mein time lagta hai", the admin guy asked to follow proper channel very firmly.

"Sir, please itna samay nahi hai, Bahut urgent hai". Munna tried to coax him but repeated pleadings and showing of old ID cards still didn't make him relent. Finally, it was lunch hour and they were shooed off.

"Yaar Chenu, ab kya karenge. Ek mahina kaise intezaar karenge?"

"Chup kar Ponga, kar di na wahi wali baat. Naina ne hum par itna bharosa kiya hai, ab toh chahe daaka daalna pade, address toh aaj lekar hi jayenge. Tu chal", Munna exuded confidence.

They went to the back door of the record room which fell in the school storage room area and was rarely frequented. It had a very old rusty lock on it. Munna found a small stone and was about to break it when Pandit stopped him "kya kar raha hai yaar? Pakde gaye toh?"

"Naina aur Sameer ke liye toh jail bhi ja sakta hoon", Munna stated firmly.

"Chenu, Naina aur Sameer ke liye main bhi jaan de sakta hoon, par agar hum marr gaye ya pakde gaye toh unki madad kaise karenge?" Saying so, Pandit pulled out a hairpin from his pocket and wiggled his brows at his genius.

"Hain...Ponga, tu kabse baalon mein pin lagane laga?"

"Abbe Chenu, main nahi lagata. Par aajkal chalte firte Sameer ke liye kaand karne padte hai toh hathiyaar toh saath hone chahiye na. Ab tu jyaada sawal jawab mat kar, khol jaldi. Isse aawaz bhi nahi hogi."

Munna was impressed with Pandit as he had grown to think about things other than Samosas. After a couple of tries, the rusted lock gave way and they barged in. The overhead bulb wasn't working and the dark room was devoid of windows. Pandit again came to rescue, miraculously producing a small torch with enough light to manuever around. There were racks and racks of old files and registers.

"Munna, itne bade kamre mein ek file kaise dhoondhenge. Ek mahina toh yahi beet jaayega."

"Chup kar Pandit, dimaag laga." Then he shook his head "main bhi kisse bol raha hoon dimaag lagane ko."

Pandit heard and expressed fake anger.

While walking around the room, they came across a rack marked 1950–1960, which had shelves marked chronologically for each year, which held all the records of that year.

"Pandit dekh, lagta hai saal ke hisaab se saare register rakhe hue hai. Ananya hamare saath satvi class mein thi. Chal 1980–1990 dhoondhte hai, usi mein milega uska pataa."

They found the rack but since it was a recent decade, the records were haphazard and weren't completely organised as the kids still came asking for some old certificates, etc. So, they divided the records between them. Finally, after about half an hour of searching through the decade, they found their class 7 register with details about all students and found Shenoy Ananya listed in "S". They jotted down her phone number and Maninagar address, and hurriedly put back everything. They left the room stealthily closing the door and placing the lock as it would look like broken due to wear rather than tampering. Since the break time was over, the students and teachers were in respective classes, and they could manage to sneak out of the premises without being noticed.

A few meters away, they had parked Sameer's borrowed bike to escape quickly after the heist.

After breathing a sigh of relief of having escaped and successfully accomplishing the mission, Pandit was back to his playful self, "yaar Chenu, ek baat to taiyy hai. Agar hum zindagi mein kuch aur na kar paye toh chor daku ya jasoos toh zaroor ban sakte hai, Karamchand ki tarah. Munna-Pandit Jasoos Company, he looked afar and declared how their nametag would be."

"Tu nahi sudhrega Ponga, chal ab", Munna smacked him lightly on the head and they rode away to Sameer's place.

Maheshwari mansion:

"Sameer, Sameer!" Munna Pandit came hollering in excited about their success.

Sameer was pacing around and hearing them "kya hua Munna Pandit, address mila?"

"Haan mil gaya bhai, par tu itna baukhalaya hua kyon hai? Kya hua?"

"Yaar maine Mamaji aur Mummy ke husband ko baat karte suna tha ki kismet khud nahi chahti ki Naina aur main saath ho. Issliye toh unhone Panditji ko paise diye the hamari kundali mein kuch bhi jhooth mooth ka bolne ke liye par aisi zaroorat hi nahi padi kyonki asal mein dosh nikla, woh bhi donon ki kundali mein ek jaisa."

He sat on the bed with head in his hands, absolutely frustrated with the turn of events.

"Tu ne bataya Naina ko?" Asked Munna, sitting next to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Nahi yaar. Kaise batata! Woh khud itni pareshan hai. Wahan gharwale use Rajasthan bhejne par itna pressure daal rahe hai. Agar college na hota toh shayad Chachaji bhi kuch na kar paate. Abhi toh woh strongly padhayi ko support kar rahe hai issliye, baat tali hui hai. Par ab iss problem ka hal jaldi karna hoga."

"Tu chinta mat kar", saying so, Munna dialed Swati's number.

"Hello", came a timid voice from the other side.

"Main Munna!"

"Address mila?"

"Haan aur phone number bhi".

"Wah! Jaldi batao".

He narrated and she noted the number carefully.

"Theek hai, main usse baat karke tumhe phone  karti hoon. Tum Sameer ke ghar par ho na?"

"Haan", he wanted to talk more but understood the weightage of the situation and was about to hang up, when her shy voice stopped him.

"Waise aaj tum college nahi aaye toh maine tumhe bahut miss kiya".

He blushed and she blushed knowing that her words had made her cute bandar blush.

"Aye Chenu, tu toh phone pe chipak hi gaya", Pandit's taunts brought him back.

Hearing the background taunt, Swati broke the reverie, "Achcha main...main Ananya se baat karke call karti hoon".

She hung up and immediately dialed Ananya. Luckily, she picked up and after a few minutes of recollection, Ananya recognized her as Naina's best friend and was elated that someone from past days remembered her. They made small talk, and Swati impatiently steered the conversation back to Naina.

"Haan haan Swati! Tu aur Naina achche se yaad ho mujhe. Par aaj achanak?"

"Haan, Ananya. Actually Naina ko teri thodi madad chahiye thi."

Swati narrated Naina and Sameer's story in high points leaving out explicit details and about their kundali dosh.

Ananya was also amazed that a docile girl like Naina loved someone so fiercely. "Wah Swati! Naina ke baare mein toh aisa sochna bhi mushkil tha. Par main khush hoon uske liye. Bata meri kya madad chahiye?"

"Donon ke parivaarwale iss baat par ade hue hai ki Agrwal aur Maheshwari ki shaadi nahi hoti aur issliye kundaliyan milane ki baat hai. Agar usmein kuch gadbad hui toh bahut badi problem hogi. Issliye Naina taiyyar rehna chahti hai. Tere Papa ne jyotish shastra padha hai na. Kya woh ismein Naina ki madad karenge?"

Ananya was thoughtful for a minute and then acceded "Swati, main kabhi nahi bhool sakti ki jab Papa beemar the toh Naina ne padhayi mein meri kitni madad ki thi. Mera ek saal kharab hone se bacha liya tha. Tu fikar mat kar, tu Naina aur uss ladke, kya naam hai, haan Sameer...tu mujhe un donon ki patri bhej de, main Papa se baat kar lungi. Woh zaroor help karenge".

"Woh actually, patriyan toh badon ke paas hai, toh nayi banani padegi. Par mere paas Sameer aur Nain ki birthdates aur time hai. Kya itni information kaafi hai, nayi kundali banane ke liye?"

"Hmmm....haan...janam sthan bhi chahiye".

Swati narrated the information as Naina had given her, and while she knew Naina was born in Ahmedabad, she wasn't sure about Sameer. So, she hung up and quickly called Sameer and summarised her conversation and confirmed that he too was indeed born in Ahmedabad and stayed here until 4 years.

Swati related the information to Ananya and she assured her that she would convince her Papa to help them. It might take a couple of days at least for her Papa to do so from scratch and then examine everything in detail.

Next day in college at Red Rose:

Swati relayed the whole scenario in detail and also Naina and Sameer replayed at whatever happened at their respective homes.

"I am sorry Naina, maine kabhi socha bhi nahi tha ki mere gharwale itni choti soch rakhte hai. Apni baat sahi saabit karne ke liye itna gir jayenge."

"Kam toh mere gharwale bhi nahi hai Sameer. Jab mujhe Rajasthan jane ke liye majboor nahi kar paaye toh Taiji aur Tauji ne tumhare khilaaf mere kaan bharne shuru kar diya. Baar baar ek hi baat dohrate hai ki tum kuch kamate nahi ho aur tumhare sautela Papa aur Mamaji ne agar tumhe Nanaji ki jaaydaad se bedakhal kar diya toh tum mujhe sadak par rakhoge aur bheekh mangwaoge."

Sameer clutched her hand, "nahi Naina, aisa kuch nahi hoga. Agar aisa bura waqt aaya bhi aur aisa kuch karna bhi pada toh main karoonga. Par tumhe kabhi sharmeenda hone nahi doonga".

"She too placed her other hand over his. "Mujhe pataa hai Sameer aur maine pure confidence se unhe keh diya hai ki Sameer aur main milke paise bhi kamayenge aur safalta bhi haasil karenge. Hum sirf ek dusre ka bharosa karenge, baaki kisi par nirbhar nahi rahenge", she assured him, which boosted his confidence.

"Ab toh buss, jaldi se Ananya ke Papa koi achchi khabar suna de", Preeti quipped worried for her sister.

Everyone looked at each other in hope and wait and anxiousness.

Munna couldn't help himself, "aye Pandat, agar aisa kuch hamare saath hua na toh main aadhi raat ko tujhe uthake le jaunga. Bhaad mein jaye saari duniya!" He declared firmly and everyone smiled including Swati, but she was sure, when the time came, he would do exactly that if need be and give two hoots about the world. She knew both Sameer and Munna were fiercely loyal and protective about their love and could go to any lengths. She smiled and placed her hand on his entwining with the one on the table, which made him blush still.

Three more days passed before Ananya called Swati one evening.

"Hi Ananya. Naina bahut besabri se intezaar kar rahi hai. Tere Papa ne kuch kaha?"

"Swati, unhone patri padh toh li par kuch batane se mana kiya. Keh rahe the ki jinki hai unhi ko batayenge. Kya tu kal Naina aur Sameer ko lekar mere ghar aa sakti hai?"

"Theek hai, hum kal aate hai."

Swati called Naina and relayed the information. They decided to meet in college and then bunk the day and go to Maninagar.

Late evening Naina finally managed to sneak the phone to her room after Taiji retired to her home for the night.

"Hello Sameer".

"Nainaaaa....kab se wait kar raha tha. Itni der kar di. Pataa nahi kyon par bahut bechaini ho rahi thi. Tum theek ho na? Please sach batana".

His voice was laced with worry and concern and honestly, she was worried too. But this time, she didn't hide it. They were in this together and henceforth, were going to be together in every up and down in life. No matter what the kundali said or family did, she was sure that even in the worst scenario, she wasn't leaving him.

"Bechain toh main bhi hoon Sameer. Swati ka phone aaya tha. Ananya ne kal hume ghar bulaya hai. Uske Papa humse directly baat karna chahte hai. Issliye ghabhrahat toh mujhe bhi ho rahi hai. Par tum chinta mat karo. Jo bhi hoga, achcha bura ya bahut bura, hum
milkar jhelenge. Abhi so jao, kal college mein milenge. Kal bahut bada din ho sakta hai."

Her words reprieved him some and he felt calm knowing that she was with him every step of life. He placed his hand on his heart and caressed her name etched on him and in his soul, felt peace and drifted off to gain strength and gear up for whatever was in store in the morrow.

P.S. Sorry for the short part. But, wanted to have the whole scenario in the same update. Stay tuned. Coming up in few hours.