17
The Temple of Promises
Mhow is a cantonment in
the Indore District in Madhya Pradesh. Sameer arrived in the district, ready
for his month of hard work. He reached Colonel Rathi’s house and was welcomed with the same attitude as Anjali’s father – the army men were all
alike, it seemed. Mr. Rathi spent a little while asking Sameer about his journey
and then took him right to his room for the next month. His massive bungalow
now doubled as private quarters for students of the Academy. The room was
furnished with the bare necessities – a chair, a desk, a bed, and an easy chair.
There was a small attached kitchen, stocked with essentials.
“You may rest today, we
will start your routine tomorrow,” Mr. Rathi said.
“What time?”
“Be ready at 5:30 am. And
remember, if there’s one thing I cannot handle, it’s latecomers.”
******
Sameer’s alarm rang at 5
o’clock in the morning. He woke up several hours before his normal time.
Everything may adjust to a new routine, except your bowels. This delayed him by
ten minutes, and he reached the field at 5:40. All the other students were
already there. Rathi checked his watch.
“You are ten minutes late,”
Mr. Rathi said.
“Nature called, sir,”
Sameer said, honestly.
“This is your problem, you
will have to come on time. Like I said, I’m punctual. Today is the first day, that’s
why I am leaving you, it’ll be a stringent punishment from tomorrow.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. Now, start with the
warm-up. Four rounds,” Rathi said.
Sameer completed this
first lap in 15 minutes. Push-ups and swimming followed.
“It’s enough for today. We
shall increase gradually. Now, will meet later for football,” Rathi said to
Sameer.
Sameer quickly settled
into his new routine, which increased in intensity gradually. Within a
fortnight, he had begun to internalize this lifestyle.
Soon, it was New Year’s
Eve, and he decided to celebrate, as a reward to himself. He drove to the main
city of Indore, where a concert was being held. The police had blocked the road
to the venue. He was greeted by the familiar sounds of music, the happy cheer
of dancing. He had missed this. He looked around and saw one girl, standing by
herself, a drink in her hand. She wore simple jeans and a top. He approached
her for a dance.
Her name was Nandani. They
hit the dance floor, casually grooving to the beats.
“So Sameer, where are you
from?” Nandani asked.
“Mumbai. You’re from
Indore itself? ”
“Yes, but my sister stays
in the city.”
They
spoke casually till the minute to midnight, and then participated in the
countdown to the New Year.
“Eight,
Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One ……. Heeee…”
“HAPPY
NEW YEAR.”
“Happy
New Year!” Sameer hugged Nandani.
“Hey,
can I make a quick call to my girlfriend?” Sameer asked.
Sameer
called Anjali to wish her. They spoke for a few minutes, and Sameer told her
where he was and what he was up to. Anjali told him she couldn’t wait to see
him.
“Thanks,”
Sameer returned her mobile.
The
two stayed till around two am that night and then parted ways – Sameer in the
car and Nandani on her scooter.
*****
Indore
is a small city that sleeps early, even on a night like this. As Nandani was
driving home, her bike sputtered and guttered and came to a halt in the middle
of nowhere. She tried and tried, but could not start it again. She tried to call
he parents, but they were early sleepers. She decided to leave the bike and walk
home. It wasn’t too far if she kept a steady pace.
Two
guys appeared out of nowhere, on their bikes and flanking her on either side her.
Her blood ran cold.
“Hey,
baby come on my bike. I’ll take you on a good ride,”one of themsaid.
While
she turned to look at him, the second guy took her hand and started to try to
kiss her. She defended herself, and the first boy got down and came at her from
behind, grabbing her breasts and trying to slide his hands under her top. Together,
they tried to put her on one of the bikes.
“Help…Help…”
She shouted. She tried to rescue herself, but the combined strength of the two
was too much for her. As luck would have it, Sameer was passing by the route
and slowed down, hearing the screams. “Sameer, help me!”
“Hey
leave the bitch to us and we will spare you,” the first boy said.
“Leave
her!”Sameer said.
“Leave
us alone, or that will be the last thing you do.”
Sameer
got down from the bike and flexed his muscles. He was furious to look at and
stood taller than the other two.
“Let’s
go, Amar,” the second boy said. The two, clearly a little frightened, decided to
go away.
Nandani
ran to Sameer and hugged him, still crying and shocked.
“Thanks, Sameer, you saved my life.”
“Where
is your scooter?” Sameer asked.
“It
broke down.”
“Now
I’ll drop you home, don’t worry, it’s all right.”
Sameer
crashed at her place that night, and it was too late. Her parents, lawyers by
profession, would not take no for an answer. He obliged.
18
A Wedding Against All Odds
Soon enough, January 15
arrived, and with it, Sameer returned to the city. He went straight to the
Colonel’s house to meet Anjali and her family. And then Colonel burst into a
huge smile, “Come here, son, my boy.” Looking back, this was the happiest moment
of their lives.
“You are really best
choice for my Anjali,” the Colonel added.
After the consent of Mr.
Colonel, marriage preparations began in earnest in both houses. Invites
were sent out over the phone, and only close family and friends were called. The
noise and bustle in each household were welcoming, and the warmth was palpable.
Sameer and Anjali, given the limited time they had of about a month, were
personally involved in all the details and shared an exciting time together.
They say together to draw the
guest list. Sameer wanted to invite Raj to prove a point, but Anjali disagreed.
“Why would you? You’re a crazy
man.”
Together, the two went to
give Raj the invitation. He tried to sound cordial, but the look on his face
gave him away. He even invited them for a coffee, but they were in a hurry.
After they had left, he said to himself, “Sameer, you may have her now. But she
will be taken away one day.”
“Did you see the look on
his face?” Sameer was angry, even though it had been his idea to invite Raj. He
was driving the car faster than usual. Anjali looked at him.
“Not really. I didn’t pay
much attention.”
“He looked like he could
murder me.” Sameer smiled.
“Well, can you blame him?
He wanted to marry a girl and now she’s ended up in your arms.” Saying this,
she leaned in a little and nibbled his left earlobe. “He has every right to be
angry. And you have every reason to not bother about it.”
“What are you doing, Anjali? you’ll get us killed.”
“Which is why I’m saying,
you concentrate on the road. Let me do the loving.” She was unzipping him now, and Sameer slowed down the car at a safe spot. If they did it, they better do
it right. She kissed him.
“Oh, you stubborn, stubborn girl…”
The wedding day arrived in
no time. The mahurat was at 10:45 pm, and the Baraat, or the marriage
procession began at 9 pm. Friends and close family danced about halfway to
Anjali’s house, with the traditional Indian wedding fanfare – Sameer sat on
horseback, the band played to popular chartbusters of hindi films and the
family danced. The procession moved slowly, but merrily. JD danced with a new
fund energy, as all his worries seem gone in a jiffy.
The wedding shed was
constructed in the lawn of Anjali’s building. Team bride was ready with the
welcome.
Finally, Sameer sat next
to her, in front of the fire, and the vows were read by the pandit. Anjali
looked every inch the traditional Indian bride in the white and maroon saree,
and he looked rather royal in his sherwani.
There were tears, and there
were a lot of feet touching as Anjali’s parents gave her away. Sameer, still a
little too young to understand the situation, stood awkwardly as Anjali said
her goodbyes, and her parents hugged her more than once. Worst for him was to
see his uncle cry, he always expected the Colonel to be some unbreakable character, and seeing him emotional like this was unusual.
There were tears on a lot
of faces, mostly women. What was it about their emotional triggers that
required so little?
***********
Indian
weddings are one thing, if nothing else, tiring. The reception was held on the
next day, in a beautifully done-up open-air venue.
Girls, especially Indian
girls, tend to really overdo their wedding outfits and makeup, where the
wedding becomes more of a competition on who can wear the gaudiest, heaviest
outfit. But Anjali, with her subtle pink lehenga, and light makeup, looked
every bit the angel she was. Her jewellery, part of the family heirloom, added
to the beauty. The bride was now representing her new family, and stood with
her in-laws. “Hey beautiful.” Sameer stood proud next to his new wife.
“Well, today and
every day.”
“Women.”
Sameer invited Nandani and
her father, lawyer Satin Desai. They both came, and Anjali was introduced to
them.
“Anjali, I told you about
New Year’s Eve.”
“You are a very lucky girl.
You got the perfect guy. Every girl cherishes the dream of a groom like Sameer,” Nandani
said. Anjali gave a proud, beaming smile.
Anjali smiled and posed
for all the pictures, but she was a little anxious. She didn’t want Raj to come
and hoped that he would ignore the invitation. But come he did, along with his
brother Rahul. Raj congratulated the couple with a brave but fake smile. “So
you win, Sameer.”
“Love wins.”Sameer smiled.
“Not always. But it’s all
in the past. Let’s start afresh. I wish you both a happy married life.”
Saying this, he got out a
bunch of keys and handed them over to Anjali.
“The bungalow was never
truly mine. It’s my wedding gift to you. Please accept it.”
The couple obviously
refused, but Raj wouldn’t have it. “We cannot accept such a precious gift, Raj,
please understand.”
“Please don’t think about
money. This is something I really want Anjali to have. The bungalow will always
be a constant reminder of the love, and I don’t want that.”
“I understand, but this is
too much. Please.” No one wanted to create a scene at the party, and Raj
quietly left without eating. Balu and Sonia, too, were there. The two couples
rejoiced in the happy moments.
Raj, on the other hand, was
furious. Rahul said, “You can get whoever you want. Why her?”
“I just want her. I’ve
always had what I wanted. I’ve always won. I don’t take failure too well, Rahul,
you know it.”
All Raj could think about
on the way home was how to get his revenge.
Thanks for Reading....
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