As we walked into Raizada Sadan, we saw Yash pursuing Keerti around the drawing room. And she... held a camera in her hand. Wait a second!?
'Randheer voh toh ?-'
'Haan Amrit, humara hi camera hai. He replied with a chuckle. 'Aur ye do wapas apne puraane kaarobar pe laut aaye!'
I looked at him questioningly with an amused smile.
'Bade bhai ke saare saaman pe paidaaishi haq jataana!', he said with a chortle. 'Karaachi mein jab bhi chhutiyaan manaane aate the, teeno mujhse milne se pehle mere kamre pe dhaava bolte the! Aur main yahi maanke baithta ki jab tak ye sab yahaan hai, mujhe ek bhi saaman apni jagah par nahi milne waala! Kayi baar toh kamra milne par bhi shaq hota tha mujhe!'
Now in a slightly self-important tone, he said, 'Par shaadi shuda hone ke apne faayde hain!'
I raised my eyebrows.
Looking at me with a broad smile, he said, 'Sach hai! Bhabhi ki shaan mein bhai ko bhi thodi izzat aur pyaar baksh diya jaata hai!'
Suddenly probably Yash, placed Randheer's arm around my shoulder from behind. Here Keerti exclaimed, 'Bhabhi smile!', and made a click before I could comprehend and turn properly. And the next moment they hurried away before I could maybe ask for another click. Mainu pata hai achi nahi aayi hogi! Nevermind.

'Tu toh bina bataye hi chala gaya tha!', Mummyji said with a chuckle, emerging from her room.
'Yoon Laad sahab banke Amrit ko hi toh lene gaya tha ye!', Bauji added loudly with a chuckle, from inside the room.
Randheer smiled puckishly, looking down.
'Aap bhi na ji!', Mummyji told him off gently. Turning to Randheer, she asked, 'Abhi koi kaam toh nahi na tujhe?'
'Mummyji, dobaara nikalna hai hume thodi der mein!', Randheer replied.
I turned towards him in surprise.
'Dobara ?', Mummyji too asked in confusion.
'Ji! Keerti ki farmiash hai ki usse Dilli ghoomni hai! Aur sirf itna hi nahi, Yash aur Gautam ke bina!', he said with an amused smile.
Mummyji chuckled. 'Achi baat hai. Ghuma lao use!'
'Par... Maine toh pehle se socha tha ki aaj khaane mein sabke liye kya kya banana hai', I chimed in doubtfully. 'Bahar jaayenge toh der ho jaayegi. Fir toh ...kuch nahi bana paungi...'
'Amrit aapko humaare saath bahar chalne ki jagah ghar pe khaana banana hai?', Randheer complained.
I looked at him uneasily.
'Par sab wapas chale jaayenge to pakwaan reh jaayenge na', I said meekly.
'Yeh sab hota rahega Amrit! Inka mann kharab ho jaayega agar tum nahi gayi toh!', Mummyji said. 'Khana kabhi aur bana dena tum!'
Turning to Randheer she said, 'Isse liye bina jaana mat tu!'
'Ji Mummyji!', he nodded obediently.

'KEERTI! Beta taiyaar ho ja! Bhai-bhabhi ke saath bahar jaana hai!', Mummyji called out to her.
'Aayi!!', came her voice and out she came with a slight frown on her face. Trailing behind was a triumphant Yash with the camera in his hands.
'Bilkul sahi waqt pe le jaa rahe hai isse bhaiya aap!', he said, grinning.
'Abhi kuch waqt hai nikalne mein. Tab tak tum dono dhyaan se suno meri baat!', Randheer told them softly yet firmly. 'Jitni tasweerein kheechni hai kheechlo , par baad mein isse wapas sahi salaamat iski sahi jagah pe rakh aana!'

'Ji ji uski aap fikar mat kijiye!', he replied, his eyes gleaming.
Mummyji asked after a while, 'Bahar kuch awaaz si ho rahi thi kuch der pehle. Maine dekha toh kuch log jama the bahaar. Prem Niwaas ke andar jhaankne ki koshish kar rahe the. Kya hua tha?'
With a chuckle I replied, 'Vo darasal mummyji, Veerji ke sabhi saathi aaye the Randheer aur humse milne'
Hearing it Yash looked up. 'Poori team aayi?!'
'Haan!', Randheer replied.
'Amandeepji, Mirji, Nirmalji sab?!', he asked yet again.
'Haan sab aaye the!', I responded.
'Balbirji bhi aaye the?!', he asked in anticipation.
'Haan haan vo bhi aaye the!'
'Bhaiya aapne ek baar bhi mujhe kyun nahi bulaaya ? Ek awaaz deni thi! Ek telephone karna tha! Sab aaye the sab!! Poori team aayi thi!', he rattled about enthusiastically.
'Mujhe ...nahi pata tha ki tumhara rujhaan hai hockey ki taraf...', Randheer replied unsurely.
'Randheer!', Mummyji said with a frown. 'Poore vyaah mein Yash Uday ka pitthu bana ghoom raha tha. 'Uday bhaiya ye, uday bhaiya voh! Voh kitna acha khelta hain! Mujhe toh yakeen hi nahi hota ki itne bade khiladi, humaare itne kareebi hain! Uday bhaiya yeh kardu, uday bhaiya voh kardu! Aur tujhe pata hi nahi hai?!'
Adding to it, Yash said, 'Uday Bhaiya ne mujhe milwaaya tha baaki sabse! Unhone kaha bhi tha ki vyaah ke baad mujhe sab autograph bhi denge! Aap bhi na bhaiya!', he complained.
Randheer looked at him guiltily. 'Yash... mujhe waakayi nahi pata tha. Agar pata hota toh main zaroor tumhe bulwa leta'
Yash sat down glumly on a takht, the camera not exciting him anymore.
'Yash...', I said. He looked up. 'Agar aap kaho toh main Veerji se poochh leti hoon. Kal savere aapko practice pe saath le jaayenge...'
He looked at me in disbelief. 'Main?! Uday Bhaiya ki hockey practice par? Kya wakayi aisa ho paayega?? Main dekh sakta hoon practice unki?? Sabse mulaqat hogi??'
'Main ...waada toh nahi kar sakti, par main poochungi Veerji se. Agar woh haan karein toh. Par... agar unhone haan ki toh aapko subah paanch baje taiyaar rehna hoga.'
'Bhaabhi main toh raat bhar so hi nahi paaunga agar unhone ne haan kardi toh!', he leapt to his feet. 'Shukriya bhabhi!!! Aap sabse acchi hai, sabse sabse sabse achi!!'
I grinned. Randheer too heaved a sigh of relief.

'Acha baatein bohot hui. Tum chalo mere saath', Mummyji said to me. 'Kuch tohfe bhi laane hai tum donoko sabke liye'
'Uh Mummyji main upar hoon haan!', Randheer called out, bending a bit backwards, with a goofy smile.
'Sabko pata hai tera kamra upar hai!', Mummyji said plainly, with raised eyebrows. He looked elsewhere in an embarrassed manner and took the stairs swiftly.
I suppressed a giggle, and turned to go with Mummyji.

*

It had just been a short while. As I walked in the bedroom, I saw newspaper sheets strewn all over the floor, and Randheer kneeling down, picking them up, one by one and arranging them. A small pile of newspapers lay neatly folded beside his feet. On noticing me, he stood up, 'Oh! Amrit-'
Before he could complete, I slowly went over to him and quietly slid my arms around him. He too squeezed me in his arms a bit. This was such a privilege, to wrap my arms around him whenever I felt like.

Withdrawing a while later, he babbled, 'Aap bhi soch rahi hongi ye kya halat kar di hai maine kamre ki!'
I asked with an amused smile. 'Ye sab kya hai?!'
'Voh darasal main Yash aur Keerti ko aapki likhi kuch kahaaniyan padhkar suna raha tha.'
I raised my eyebrows, still confused.
'Pichhle dino ke saare akhbaar baithke padhne the zara tafseel se. Unki madad li thi ismein maine. Ye unki rishwat thi, meri madad karne ki', he replied with a chuckle. 'Mere khyaal se khidki khuli reh gayi aur saare akhbaar yoon farsh par bikhar gaye!'
'Mainu toh aapne kabhi nahi padhke sunaayi meri kahaaniyaan!', I said with puckered brows.
He looked at me for a while. He took one newspaper with him, keeping the others aside in a pile and walked over to the bed. He sat, folded the newspaper bringing up the page where the story was published and patted the part of bed beside him. As I sat down beside him, he enfolded his arms around me, turning me over and making me sink and cradle in his arms. Was this his version of 'let me make you comfortable'? Because it rather made my heart stop for a few seconds.
I looked up at him with a flustered smile. 'Uhm... -'
'Baatein nahi Amrit! Aap mujhe kahaani sunaane dijiye!', he said with a blush, he so miserably failed to hide.
'Prem ki Saanjh', he began, reading it out softly.
He read the entire story with such expression and sentiment! Every now and then he would turn to me while reading and I would actually pretend as if I was unaware what was to happen next. The story had been written by me, but it sounded so many times sweeter when narrated by him. Love was written all over his face.
'Aakhirkaar Nikhat aur Zakir ka nikaah qubool hua', he concluded the story with a satisfied smile and kept the newspaper aside.
'Kaisi lagi aapko kahaani?', he asked with a big grin.
'Bohot achi thi', I said, feigning admiration.
'Iski lekhika ko main zaati taur pe jaanta hoon! Badi pyaari hain!', he said dreamily.
'Ooh!', I said dramatically, smiling from ear to ear.
With a smile, he kissed my temple hard and I shut my eyes and bit my lip, smiling impishly. I slightly turned and embraced him tight.

We were to leave. Neero bhaiya had just brought me a pile of freshly ironed clothes neatly piled up. I was arranging them in the armoire.
Randheer too was almost done with tidying the room from newspapers. At the bottom of the pile, I found a tie. But Randheer never wore a tie. It must be Bauji's . However I turned and asked him. 'Aap kabhi tie kyun nahi pehente ?'
'Koi khaas wajah toh nahi Amrit, bas yoon hi.', he replied sweetly.
'Ek baar pehenke toh dekhiye, ho sakta hai aap-pe jache?', I asked eagerly, getting up and walking upto him.
'Chaliye thik hai! Laaiye pehna dijiye!', he said with bright smile.
'Par mainu toh nahi aati pehnaani', I said with a slight frown, looking at the tie.
'Toh main sikha deta hoon!' , he said casually. He straightened his shirt collar and then took my hands along with the tie. He draped it around his shoulders and went on explaining how to actually tie a tie as if I was actually listening.
He made me cross one end of the tie over the other, loop it around once, twice, thrice, did some more mumbo-jumbo movements with it and finally tightened the knot.
'Ye aise aur ye ho gaya!', he beamed. 'Aap samajh gayi?'
With a silly and embarrassed smile I shook my head. 'Nahi'
He chuckled. 'Kuch bhi nahi suna na aapne?'
I shook my head again.
'Aur ye kaisa lag raha hai?'
'Uh nahi, ye acha nahi lag raha!', I said considering for a while.
'Aapko pasand nahi aaya na?', he asked again.
'Huh! Shukra hai!', he said with relieved smile. I smiled in amusement. The next moment, he brought out a white-brown printed cravat scarf from the armoire and handed it to me.
'Yeh to aap seekh hi lijiye aur bhi dhyaan se! Ye scarf mujhe bohot pasand hai, Aur abse aap hi pehnaaya kijiyega!', he said whimsically.
I nodded timidly.
I draped it around his neck, one end slightly longer than the other. This time he didn't hold my hands and made me do it. Perhaps he too realized it was useless, I wouldn't listen. Hands clasped behind his back, he just instructed, and I followed, occasionally looking up at him.
I resisted an urge to grab his collar and pull him slightly and the very next second brushed off the thought with a smile. Stupid me!
I crossed the longer end over the shorter one and further brought it through the neck loop and tightened the knot. The other end was to be brought up and over the knot. I adjusted the width of the scarf and then he tucked it inside his shirt.
I realized this was a lot more simple than all those incomprehensible movements he did with the tie. 'Ho gayi!', I smiled triumphantly, nose high up in the air.
'Ab chaliye, Keerti intezaar kar rahi hogi neeche!', he said.
He grabbed my hand and we hurried downstairs.

I and Keerti waited at the door for a while he brought the car at a halt before us. Hurrying outside, he opened the front door for me and I slid in with a giddy smile. And he took a seat at the steering. Ah I had such a wifely feeling sitting here!
Keerti got in behind us. And we drove off.

'Aapko yaad hai bhaiya, kitni dafa aap hume sair pe la jaate the Karaachi mein?', Keerti said with a thoughtful smile.
'Haan Keerti yaad hai!'
'Aur kaise aap Fufaaji ke saath kabhi gaadi nahi chalaana chahte the. Har baar koi bahaana dhoondte the!', she chuckled.
'Aisa kyun bhala ?', I asked with an amused smile.
'Amrit main 16 saal ki umar se gaadi chala raha hoon. Par Bauji ko vishwaas hi nahi hai mujhpar!
Jab bhi mere saath baithte the agli seat par, har do minute mein mera kandha sehla kar kehte the 'Ahista chala puttar ahista chala!', he replied with a chortle. 'Hairat ki baat toh ye hai ki humaare driverji, woh mujhse kaheen zyaada tez gaadi chalaate the, unhe Bauji ne aajtak ek baar bhi nahi kaha hoga! Aap jaanti hain! Mere attharhwe janmdin pe Bauji ne khud mujhe gaadi di thi tohfe mein! Maine kitni minnatein ki unse ki 'aap chaliye mere saath aapko samandar kinaare sair pe le chalu'
par nahi!'
I chuckled softly.
'Aap mujhe ghumaane aaye toh hain par aapne kitni Dilli dekhi aapne Bhaiya?', Keerti asked him.
'Dekho maine toh utni hi Dilli dekhi hai jitni tumhari bhabhi ne mujhe dikhaayi! Ye hi hain humaari rehbar aaj. Jahaan jahaan ye kahengi, wahaan wahaan hum chalenge!' he said looking at me for a while and then turning back to the road.
'Bhaiya? Bhabhi kaise aapko ghumaaengi. Ghumaaenge toh aap na unhe! Kuch bhi kehte hain aap!', she said brushing him off.
'Kyun nahi ghuma sakti yein?', he asked with raised eyebrows. 'Main toh kuch hi dino pehle lauta hoon. Ye toh reh rahi hain na yahan! Zahir se baat hai, ye jaanti hai is shehar ko kareeb se! Ab jo jaanega wahi ghumaaega!'
Hesitating for a second she asked, 'Haan par ye shehar ghumaana, ye toh mardon ka kaam hota hai na? Agar aap mein se koi Ludhiana aayega toh main toh nahi le jaaungi unhe shehar ghumaane! Gautam bhaiya ya Yash hi le jaayenge na... Waise bhi main kitna hi jaanti hoon shehar ko. Bas school tak hi aana jaana hai hota hai mera who bhi Bauji aur Yash ke saath gaadi mein. Uske alawa bohot hi kam nikalna hota hai mera. Main toh shaayad khud hi ghum jaau!'
'Aur agar chunaav tumhara ho toh?', Randheer asked her.
'Agar mainu ijazat mile to zaroor main ghumaana chaahungi! Khud bhi ghoomna chaahungi! Par aisa ho toh nahi sakta'
He remarked, 'Tumhe nahi lagta ki bahar jaana, shehar ghumaana- ye sab aam si baatein hai. Sabko iska haq hona chaahiye?'
'So toh hai!', she said thoughtfully.
'Sirf haq nahi Randheer, mahual ka bhi fark hua. Dilli aur baaki sheharon ki jeewan shaili mein wakayi bohot fark hai. Veerji bhi bataate hai. Aur Keerti ke school ke din bhi bas khatm hone ko aaye. Ab university ki zindagi bhi kaafi alag hogi na iski!', I noted. 'Tab bhi mauke honge duniya ko, cheezon ko aur behtar samajhne ke, jaan-ne ke!
Aap jaante hai, main apne halaat baaki ladkiyon se bohot behtar samajhti thi kyunki mere Bauji ne mainu padhaaya tha, meri apni ek soch thi. Par yahaan aane ke baad, thokre khaana, university mein daakhila lena, asal mein daftar jaana, kai logon se milna – is sab se mainu samajh aaya ki duniya mein main toh kuch hoon hi nahi. Kitna kuch hai yahaan jaan-ne ke liye, samajhne ek liye aur hum kitna kam jaan-te hain!'
Both of them were listening in rapt attention.
'Bilkul sahi kaha aapne Amrit! Ghar baithe hue insaan soch toh bana sakta hai, par soch ka daayre to ghar se bahaar nikalke hi badhaaya jaa sakta hai!'

'Yash toh doctori ki padhaayi karna chaahta hai', Keerti said after a second.
'Tum kya padhna chaahti ho Keerti?', I asked curiously.
She looked at me for while blankly and said, 'Mujhse ye sawaal aajtak kisine nahi poochha. Maa-Bauji ne bhi nahi. Sab ladkiyaan jo graduation ki padhaai karti hai vo BA kar leti hain. Unhone bhi yahi maan hi liya ki mujhe bhi vahi padhaai karni hai. Ya shayad ....unhone poochhne ki zaroorat hi nahi samjhi. Ya shayad kahin koi nahi poochhta hoga ladkiyon ko. Mujhe toh nahi pata', she said unsurely. 'Shayad unhone aisa socha hoga ki iske alawa main aur kuch kyun padhna chaahungi ya padhkar kya karungi'.
Randheer asked, 'Kya tum bhi yahi sochti ho?'
'Nahi bhaiya, mujhe bhi doctor banna hai! Aap ye mat sochiyega ki Yash ki isme dilchaspi hai isilye, mujhe bhi ... Nahi nahi. Balki hum dono toh saath hi baith kar padhaayi karte aaye hain. Lagbhag ek hi saath hum dono ka rujhaan badhaa is taraf. Ghar mein sirf Yash ko pata hai meri is ichha ke baare mein. Par hum dono ki himmat hi nahi hui kabhi Bauji ke saamne kuch bolne ki', she clarified.

Thoughtfully I said, 'Maine toh voh mauka gawa diya Keerti, par tum ye galati mat karna. Agar ab nahi ki baat toh ye waqt beet jaayega. Fir afsos hi reh jaayega tumhe ki kaash thodi himmat dikhaa di hoti maine...
Tumhe Mamaji se baat karni chaahiye! Mamaji toh naye khayaalat ke hain! Voh zaroor maan jaayenge tumhaari baat!'

'Agar hum khudke liye nahi bolna nahi seekhte toh bohot kuch chhoot jaayega zindagi mein Keerti! Apni baat khud rakhna behad zaroori hai!', Randheer told her.

'Darasal, ek aur kaaran hai ki Bauji na maane- Medical ki padhaayi ya toh Calcutta mein hogi ya Madras. Aur mujhe nahi lagta ki Bauji maanenge mujhe kahin bhi bhejne ke liye', she said glumly.

'Agar kudiyon aur mundon ke sapne ek hai, humaare saadhan ek hai to raaston mein bhed bhaav kyun!', I said with a frown. 'Shayad meri baat se koi ittefaq nahi rakhta hoga par agar Yash ko bhej sakte Calcutta toh Keerti ko kyun nahi! Dono ko duniya mein apni pehchaan banaane ka baraabar haq hona chaiye!', I said adamantly.
'Asmaan ek ho toh udaan bhi ek si honi chaahiye!', Randheer remarked with a smile.
I turned to him with twinkling eyes. I know he did this every time, but every single time I couldn't help being more fascinated towards him.
'Hum aaj hi Mamaji se baat karenge! Nahi nahi! Baat tum karogi Keerti', he said looking at her from the rear view mirror. '-aur hum tumhaara saath denge! Tumhari padhaayi ki baat tay kiye bina Dilli se jaane nahi dunga main kisiko!', he said eagerly.
Keerti grinned.
Excitedly, I hopped over to his side, arms around him. The car went berserk for a second, as Randheer turned towards me with a wide-eyed, completely flustered. 
Realising my stupidity, I straightened up awkwardly and turned to look out of the window. "Haaye Rabba!", I muttered, shutting my eyes. I turned towards him for a second and turned away again, embarrassed. I could hear Keerti giggle behind.

'Uh.. hum pehle khareedari karne chalte hain. Fir ghoomne chalenge!', Randheer said sheepishly.
'Haan bhaiya jaisa aap kahein!', she said stifling a giggle.

We went to Chandni Chowk. I and Randheer moved about stores, looking for gifts. After about half-an-hour of exploring, we got suitable gifts for all five of them.
'Mummyji ko na mainu bhejne ki zaroorat hi nahi thi! Aap khud hi sabke liye tohfe le aate, voh bhi sabse ache!', I remarked, as we walked out of the last store.
Taking some bags from my hand, and bringing the other hand around me he said, 'Bas aapke saath bazar ghoom paaya, yahi samajh lijiye!'
I smiled, looking up at him.
'Amrit, Keerti kahan hai?', Randheer asked me.
'Humare peechhe hi thi na', I said unsurely.
'Keerti ?', I turned around. She wasn't behind us. Both of us looked here and there. But she was nowhere to be seen.
'Amrit main andar dekhke aata hoon. Aap aas-paas ki dukaano mein dekh lijiye! Main us taraf ki dukaano mein bhi dekhlunga', he said. I nodded and we split ways. 'Kuch der mein gaadi ke paas hi milte hain!', I added.

She was a smart girl. I doubted she would lose her way. Maybe she just got stuck in some shop. I searched around some shops where we had visited but couldn't find her anywhere.
I decided to go towards the car first to inform Randheer.

As I neared the car I saw Randheer too coming towards it from the other side. He questioned worriedly with raised eyebrows. I shook a no. He too shook his head.

As I turned towards the car, I saw her sitting inside the car with a sullen face. Astonished, I waved to Randheer, gesturing towards the car.
He hurried towards the car and opened the door. 'Keerti?'
Getting out of the car she exclaimed miffily, 'Aap dono kuch mat kahiyega! Abhi dhyaan aaya mera?? Main pichle ek ghante se gaadi mein baithi hoon! Aap dono ne gaadi se nikalte hue, darwaaza hi band kar diya, palat ke dekha bhi nahi!'
Stunned I looked up at Randheer. He too looked perplexed.
Two responsible adults turning into absolute idiots?! Terrible! Were we that hopeless now?

'Uh maaf kardo humein? Keerti?', he apologized softly.
'Please maaf kardo hume! Hume laga tum humaare pichhe hi ho', I said timidly.
'Bhabhi aapne palat ke bhi nahi dekha ek baar bhi', she said with a frown.
She turned away her face with a humph.
I held my ears and prompted him to do the same. 'Maaf kardo hume!', we apologized.
Haughtily, she said, 'Agar aap chahte hain ki main main aapki is harkat ke baare ghar par kisiko kuch na batau toh chup chaap gaadi mein baithiye aur chaliye! Rahi aapko maaf karne ki baat toh... voh main sochkar bataungi!'
Following the orders, we sat in the car meekly.  I and Randheer just looked at each other and at her every now and then anxiously. Keerti did not speak for about ten-fifteen minutes. But then, unable to stay quiet any longer, she forgave us. We heaved a sigh of relief. 
We zoomed around Connaught Place, took her to Humayan's tomb and Lodhi Gardens. We relaxed there for some time. 
It was my time to go to office. Randheer decided to drop me to office and show her around a bit more before coming to office himself. 

*

We had reached the Dainik Bhaskar office. I opened the door and stepped out when Randheer grasped my hand. Bending, I peered inside.
Holding my gaze, he slipped a bag in my hand but did not let go of my hand. After a while, Keerti cleared her throat, bringing us out of our reverie. Awkwardly, we withdrew our hands. I straightened and shut the car's door. Leaning over to this side, he softly said, 'Aata hoon'
I waved goodbye with a smile, and they drove off.
I found a bunch of white gardenias in the bag. A note was attached to them
'Love, Randheer'
I stroked them lovingly. About time to step up in love... maybe.