I woke up with bright sunshine that filled my room. I stretched my arms lazily and drew the curtains aside. The first thing I saw were the lilies Randheer had bought me yesterday. They were placed in a pretty china vase on my dressing table. I jumped from the bed towards it and took in their fragrance.
The balcony's door was to the left of the dressing table. I swiftly went into my balcony and scanned his balcony. His balcony did not have a window like mine. Only a part of his room could be seen from the door. And his room seemed empty, from all I could see.

For a second I frowned. But I was too happy for that frown to stay.
These days were passing in daze. I was so so happy ! I went back inside, took the flowers in my hand and twirled in delight.

'Oye hoye hoye hoye hoye hoye !'
I turned to see Vashma leaning against the door with her arms crossed.
'Kya ho gaya subah subah ?!'
'Pyaar ho gaya !', I said turning pink.
'Hazaarvi baar ?!', she asked with gleaming eyes.
'Das hazaarvi baar !' I replied with a big grin and rushed to her.

'Oye tere mann mein to bade gaane shaane baj rahe honge !'
'Kyun', I asked narrowing my eyes and keeping my elbow on her shoulder, 'Tere mann mein nahi bajte gaane ? Tujhe nahi hua pyaar 'das hazaarvi baar' ?'
'Tere bhai se ? Nah !', she said.
'Jhhooti', I pinched her and we started laughing.

I pulled Vashma holding both her hands and we danced.

Jawaan hai mohabbat
haseen hai zamaana
lutaaya hai dil ne khushi ka khazaana

mohabbat kare khush rahe muskuraaye
khush rahe muskuraaye...
na soche hume kya kahega zamaana
kya kahega zamaana...

Jawaan hai mohabbat
haseen hai zamaana
lutaaya hai dil ne khushi ka khazaana

Just then she stopped, 'Oye ruk'. She took my pendant around my neck, in her hands.
'Ye kab liya tu ne ?'
'Ae Randheer laaye the mere vaaste !', I replied blushing a little.
'oye hoye hoye hoye hoye ! Itna pyaara hai ! Isse na main rakh lungi !'
'Main nai utaarne waali isse', I said turning away.
She rushed in front of me. 'Aha. Pehle to bada bolti thi jo tera hai vo sab mera bhi bhi. Sab bas bolne ke liye tha na !'
'Idhar dikha to ! Ye baaliyan, ye kanthi aur jo inne inne tohfe laate hai veerji tere vaaste ! Ye sab kabhi chhune bhi diya hai mujhe tune ? Tab ? Mainu to tere naal gal vi nai karni chaidi.' I said smirking.
'Acha acha maaf kar mujhe. Ab ye bata tohfa sirf liya ya kuch diya bhi use ? Bata bata ?', she asked widening her eyes.
'Nai to. Maine kuch nai diya !', I said averting her gaze.
'Dhatt tere ki !', she said slapping her forehead. 'Naak kata di na meri ! Banda itne pyaar se tere liye tohfa laya ! Aise nahi ki tu bhi kuch de deti'
'Sacchi batau ?! Maine unko ittar ki shishi di tohfe mein', I said hiding my face with my palms.
'Oye ?! Pehla tohfa aur vo bhi ittar ki shishi ! Um hmm ! Tune to pehli baar mein baazi maarli !'
I smiled bashfully.
'Acha ye bata Randheer na kya kaha ? Hmm hmm?!', she asked nudging me.
I recalled the awkward moment but didn't say anything. I was too embarrassed.
'Oye,' she said shaking me by my shoulders. ' Main kuch poochha tujhse. Randheer ke khyaalon mein khone ko nahi kaha !'
Trying to divert her attention I said 'Tu ruk'
I quickly went to my writing desk and returned with a sketch book and a small wooden box, smiling broadly.
'Ae dekh ! Ae sketch book main ohna layi khareedi ha. Ae pencils vi. Ohna de cartoons layi'
'Oye tu na Randheer ke liye ek patthar bhi le jaayegi to vo us patthar ko bhi din bhar jeb mein rakhke ghoomenge ki ye na mujhe meri Amrit ne diya hai'
'Kuch bhi na Vashma !', I went red.
'Mujhe kya dikha rahi hai. Jaldi jaa aur use de ke aa'
'Par aise ?! Main to taiyaar bhi nahi hui ab tak !',
'Tere taiyaar hone ke chakkar mein pehle hi din Randheer ko daftar ke liye der ho jaani hai.' Holding my chin, she continued, 'aur tera ye sohna sa mukhda dekhe bina Randheer daftar to jaane se rahe. Is liye jaldi jaa'
I nodded and sprinted downstairs, beaming.

Randheer was sitting on a chair in the front porch of Raizada Sadan. He was wearing a white suspender shirt with a maroon cravat scarf and gray faded trousers - as carelessly handsome as ever.

Seeing me, he grinned. He gestured me to stop and hastened across the street towards me. With a struggle, I kept my composure when the scent of musk ittar wafted in the air around me.
'Aap bahar kyun baithe the ?', I asked him.
'Ji vo main ghar pe keh ke nikal gaya tha daftar ke liye'
I raised my eyebrows in question.
'Aapka intezaar kar raha tha', he said, stroking the back of his neck.
'Acha kiya !'
'Ji ?!', his eyes sparkled.
'Vo aaj aapka pehla din hai na isliye. Waise bhi kal se aapke daftar jaane ka aur mere college jaane ka waqt mel nahi khaaega. Kuch hi dino ki baat hai !', I beamed. 'Pehle aap ye dekhiye', I said handing him the sketchbook and wooden box.
'Amrit aap kuch nahi bhoolti na !' he said with gleam in his eyes.
'Aap se judi koi bhi cheez main bhool sakti hoon ?!', I beamed. 'Acha ab aap jaiye warna aapko sacchi deri ho jaani hai ! Mujhe bhi college ke liye nikalna hai ! Shaam ko milte hai !'
'Shaam ko ?! Aap office nahi aayengi ?', he asked giving a puzzled look.
'Nahi Randheer. Aaj college mein kaam hai mujhe ! Fir ghar mein bhi kaam hai. Par main kal se roz chalungi ! Waada !'
His face fell but he smiled on my insistence and then left for office.

I came back to my room and picked out a pink salwar-kameez from my almirah. But before getting dressed I went to Kabir's room. Kabir came running and hugged me, 'Good morning mummy !'
'Good morning bacche', I kissed his head.
But then suddenly he crossed his arms and turned away. 'Main to aapse bhi naraaz hoon. Nai baat karunga ! Humph !'
I knelt down and cupped his face. 'Arey arey kya hua mere puttar nu?!'
'Naraaz hai hum sab se ! Kal hum sab iske bina Asian Games dekhne chale gaye the na. Is liye !', Vashma said coming into the room.
'Haan. Nai baat karunga main kisi se.'
Vashma knelt down near me and said to him, 'Puttar, ye sab na tere Piyo ne kiya hai. Humne to kitna bola use ki Kabir ko bhi le chalte hain par maana hi nahi. Tu na use naraaz ho jaana. Humse na rooth. Hum tujhe kahin chhod ke jaa sakte hai ? Hmm?'
'Bauji ne kaha aise ?!', he asked in babyish tone. He looked as if he had been betrayed. Aww ! He looked so adorable.
'Kabir ! Kitni dafa kaha maine. Uday ko Bauji mat bola kar ! Mujhe nai pasand ! Buzurg buzurg jaisa lagta hai. Huh!', Vashma exclaimed with a frown, 'Kahan mera gabru, aur kahan "Bauji" ', she continued with a dreamy expression. I suppressed a giggle and nudged her.
'Kya Vashma , kinna to pyaara lagta hai jab humaara chota sa Kabir Veerji nu Bauji kehta hai. Bulaane de na !'
'Arey nai na Amrit ! Abbu bulaaye, papa bulaaye. Bauji nai !'
'Ammi ! Par Bauji to onu bauji hi bulaane kehde ne ! Hud main ki karaa', he said with the cutest frown ever.
When even I give her a pleading look, she said ,'Sochungi ! Abhi haan nahi ki hai maine ! Ab apni shaklein thik karo dono'
I and Kabir slapped our palms together.

'Mummy ! Ammi !' He took up an angry expression again. 'Main abhi vi naraaz hoon', he said, crossing his arms.
I and Vashma looked at each other and looked back at him. I took his tiny hands into mine, 'Ek baat batau ! Veerji ne na mainu bataya tha. Aaj practice se na vo tenu school lene jaayenge aur fir wahan se seedha stadium – Asian Games dekhne.'
'Sacchi ?!', he asked with delight.
'Haan haan sacchi !', Vashma said. Kabir jumped in excitement and hugged both of us together.

After getting him ready for school, we sent him downstairs for his daily prayer. I followed Vashma into her room. She started putting books in her bag before getting dressed.
'Vashma !'
'Hmm'
'Mainu daftar jaana hai'
'Haa to chali jaana college se aake. Waise bhi tu to abse daftar se hi kaam karne waali thi !', she said without looking up.
'Oye tu samjh nahi rahi hai', I said. She looked up with questioning eyes.
I continued with a glint in my eyes, ' mainu chhupke jaana hai ohnu dekhne. Main kinni vaari sochti thi ki vo kaise lagte honge daftar mein baithe kaam karte hue. Mainu ik vaari chhup ke jaana hai ohnu dekhne'
'Kya khuraafaat chal rahi hai tere dimaag mein ?!', she asked raising her eyebrows
I showed her the burkhas, grinning. And she almost leaped in excitement.
'O lekin hume na poori taiyaari karke jaana hoga. Warna tujhe pehchaane mein Randheer ne ek pal nahi lagana hai !'
I nodded. 'Isiliye to jaali waali burkha nikaala hai', I replied with a wink. The burkha had a mesh-screen which covered the eyes. She grinned.
'To fir tay raha. Hum college se seedhe daftar chalenge !', and we hugged each other in excitement.

I was getting dressed when Vashma came running into my room. 'Oye ittar na lagaa lena galti se !', she said huffing and puffing.
'haan haan nai lagaya!' I said smiling.
'Thodi akkal hai tujhme bhi ! Agar laga liya hota to abhi tujhe wapas gusalkhaane mein dhakel deti main !'
'Rab ne saari akkal to tenu hi di hai na!'
'Woh to hai !', she replied whimsically.
'Inna vi mat itra. Chal ab !', I said pulling her downstairs with me.

I did my daily prayer . We ate our breakfast in hurry and the three of us left. I and Vashma dropped Kabir at his school and then went to college.

It was difficult to concentrate on the lectures today. I kept looking at the clock but the time was passing at a snail's speed today. Finally the clock struck twelve and we left for office in a tanga, pulling the burkhas over us.

'Tu zara soch samajh ke muh kholna', Vashma warned me.
'Haan haan'
Just then I noticed my bracelet and slapped my forehead. Vashma widened her eyes in question and I showed her my hand. She smacked my forehead and quickly unhooked my bracelet, popping it in her bag.

*

The newsroom was in a hubbub but less so, in comparison to the mornings. Manoj, Ravi Sahab, Preetika, Daljeet, Ali, everyone settled on their respective desks and cabins . Gopi kaka couldn't be seen anywhere.
All the while Vashma was holding both my hands tightly down so that I couldn't wave to any of them. I was fidgeting. Nervousness and excitement was building up.

I looked around the room and finally found Randheer sitting on a desk in the far right corner - pen in one hand, a writing pad in another. His desk was laden with paper. He looked as aristocratic as I had imagined.
I nudge from Vashma brought me out of the reverie.

Imraan came up to us and asked, 'Salam Alaikam ! Kisi se milna hai aapko ?'
I replied, camouflaging my voice as carefully as I could, 'Walaikam Salam. Ji vo Randheer Raizada hai na. Arey wahi Karaachi waale. Humne suna hai aapke yahan kaam karte hai vo ! Ji unse mulakaat ho paayegi ?'
Imraan scratched his head in confusion. Probably thinking who were we and how did we know about all this as it was his first day here.
'Bhaijaan puraani jaan-pehchaan hai humaaari', Vashma said and we moved past Imraan, without waiting for him to oblige us or lead us.

Randheer was absorbed in his work.
Very softly, I said,
'Ghalib ki likhaayi kadardaano ke dil par chot deti thi
kya pata tha unka sheher puraani khwahishein bhi poori karta hoga'

'Ji ?', Randheer looked up cluelessly.
'Adaab', we said unanimously raising our right palms to our faces.
Vashma took over, 'Ji main Tasneem aur ye meri behen Dilruba ! Aap Randheer Raizada hai na ?'
'Ji. Kya hum pehle mile hain ?', he asked chivalrously.
'Aap to humse shaayad pehle kabhi nahi mile. Par hume ek martawa deedar hue the aapke, aapke Karaachi wale daftar mein', I said softly.
He showed no recognition.
I continued coyly, 'Khuda Kasam, jitne haseen us waqt lage the, aaj bhi –'
He shifted in his place awkwardly.
Turning to me he said, 'Mohotarma-'
'Uh-huh', Vashma said cutting him across. 'Dilruba ! Dilruba kahiye janaab'
'Ji, kuch kaam tha mujhse ?!', he inquired politely, switching the conversation.
'Koi khaas kaam toh nahi. Bas ek ishtehaar chhapwaana tha hume akhbaar mein.', Vashma replied.
'Ji-'
'Tasneem. Tasneem naam hai humaara', she said clarifying.
'Tasneemji , us taraf Ali bhaijaan ka cabin hai',he said courteously pointing to the left . 'Ishtehaar mahakma wahi dekhte hai. Aapka kaam wahan ho jaayega'
Interrupting him I said, 'Aap agar ek nazar dekhlete to... hume acha lagta', I and Vashma nodded at each other and then at him.
He paused for a second but then said,'Jaisi aapki marzi. Laiye'
Vashma handed him a paper.

He was reading the fake advertisement when I said, 'Aapke aalekh, aapki tehreerein hume behad pasand hai'. I muttered under my breath, 'Aur aap bhi'.
Hesitating for a moment he said 'Shukriya... uh Dilrubaji –'
'nahi nahi. Sirf Dilruba', Vashma chimed in.
'Er- Dilruba', I bit my lip and Vashma tightened her hold around my wrist to prevent me from doing something stupid.
'Par mere lekh chhape hue to saalon beet gaye ?', he asked gentlely.
'Khoobsurat cheezein aksar dil mein bas jaate hai', I replied demurely.
He gave a slightly embarrassed smile.
'Pehli dafa jab aapki likhi ek tehrir padhi thi, tabhi dil kiya tha aapse milne ka. Kuch aapke khayaalaat ka asar tha, aur kuch... aapke naam ka khumaar!'.
He looked so flushed. Bichaare kuch bol hi paa rahe the, aur mainu rukne ka mann hi kar raha tha.

'Agar aap bura na maane to', I said pulled out a small wooden box from my bag. 'Hum aapke liye ek tohfa laaye hai. Ise kubool kar lijiye'
'Ji ye main nahi rakh sakta. Main to aapko jaanta bhi nahi hoon. Mujhe maaf kijiye'
'Jaan-pehchaan hone ko to baz ek nazar hi kaafi hoti hai. Kayi baar do-chaar lamhon mein umar bhar ke hisaab ho jaate hai !'. Pity, he couldn't see my sparkling eyes right now !
Vashma added, 'Aur aap yoon humaare itne mann se laaye hue tohfe ko thukra nahi sakte !'
'Ji par –'
'Ji, naa aap kar nahi sakte', she said, taking the box from my hand and placing it in his. Reluctantly he opened it but smiled on seeing its contents. He took out the elegant light-golden coloured fountain pen.
'Ye vaakai bohot khoobsurat hai. Par main ise kubool nahi kar sakta. Mujhe maaf kijiye !', he graciously kept the pen back in the box and held it out to us. 'Ek ajnabi se tohfa hum kubool nahi kar sakte'
'Ek mureed ka diya hua tohfa to aap kubool kar hi sakte hain'
Still hesitating, he kept the box back on his desk and said, 'Shukriya –'
Vashma had almost opened her mouth to correct him yet again but he said 'Dilruba'. The hold around my wrist tightened again and she nodded at him in approval. I was already scarlet red under the veil.
'Aapke liye to gulab laana chahiye tha par...', he started looking away awkwardly and I briskly changed the tone, '..ek kalam-nigaar ke liye kalam se behtar tohfa kya ho sakta hai.'

Then returning to the paper we had given him, he said, 'Ye thik hai par isse Ali Bhaijaan hi chhaap sakte hain. Chaliye main aapko le chalta hoon.'
Vashma replied,'Ji shukriya. Uski zaroorat nahi hai. Hum chale jayenge. Us taraf jaana hoga na hume ?', pointing to the left.
'Ji '
'Ji aapse milkar hume khushi hui. Umeed hai fir mulakat hogi!', I said and turned to leave but he swiftly grasped my wrist. Shit! He knew us all along. I widened my eyes in shock.
'Mulakaat to shaam ko hi hogi na ? "Meri" Dilruba !'
He had been playing along all this time. Unki taraf dekhna to door, main to wahan se haath chhudaake bhaagi.
Reaching the door, I rushed outside, stopped the first tanga and got in. Vashma who had been closely following behind, got in after me. We drew up our veils, looked at each other and burst out laughing.
'Amrit !?' I hid my face behind my hands. 'Aaj kuch zyaada hi himaat nahi aa gayi tujhme ?!'
She tried to pull my hands apart. 'Aise to Randheer ke saamne zubaan sil jaati hai teri. Aur aaj to rukne ka naam hi nahi le rahi thi !'
'Poochh mat Vashma. Mainu ni pata aaj inni baatein kaise karli maine !', I looked at her and hid my face again, laughing.
'Hayee mujhe to teri shakl dekhni thi us waqt par ye mua burkha. Bichaare Randheer ki bolti band thi aaj.'
'Kyun na ho !', I replied boastfully. 'Har baar munde kyun apni baaton se hume lubhaaye?! Hume bhi to mauka milna chahiye !'
'Oye ! Ye boli na meri Amrit. Ab agli baar is burkhe ke peeche chhupke baatein na banana', she exclaimed, prodding me.
'Haye Rabba', I said turning crimson. 'Par Vashma , ohnu kive pata lagaa hum hai ?!'
'Dil ko khabar pad gayi hogi unke !', she said eyeing me.
'Haye Rabba ! Ab main saamne kaise jaungi unke ?!', I looked at her, red-faced.
'Haq se jaana aur kya', she said with a teasing smile. 'Waise bhi aaj bade khanzar chalaaye hai unke dil pe tune.'

All the way home, we kept laughing and chattering excitedly about our today's exploit!