Match Made in Wedding | Rajvardhan Hangargekar ✓

Stories and Sangeet

The long fans that had been brought rotated well. Air was stirred by them from left to right, until one of them got stuck on the left hand side, ending up blowing Devi's hair away. It was almost as if it knew that if anyone required some cool air then it was her.

******

I sat in front of the fan, staring at it. With the mehendi on the back sides of both hands and legs, still wet, I made use of the strong flow of air to my benefit. Getting bored from facing the fan, I turn a little to see if Akka's Mehendi is done. Ah not yet. Rutu is sitting next to her, getting a small design done himself! The visual makes me giggle and sigh at the same time.

Thala catches me looking at them with more yearning than adoration and walks towards me.

I make space for him to sit.

He looks at my mehendi. A smile plays on his lips as he finds "Akka" written inside a peacock.

"Devi, I'll come straight to the point. This is not the first time I've seen you look at them with a forlorn look. What's wrong?"

Okay, if you're close to MS Dhoni, there's no small talk. Ever.

"I was just wondering is it possible to fall in love within ten days? I've never believed in love at first sight because I think love is something deeper. It can be attraction At first sight but I always thought love takes time to develop. So how can one fall in love in a handful of days?"

The internal battle that had been going on between focusing on my sister's wedding and what I had been feeling for Raj had reached a conclusion. Whether I liked it or not, I had fallen for Raj.

"Well you've caught the wrong man to answer that question. As you know, I fell in love with Sakshi's work ethic when she refused to let me in without an ID and then with her. Just like you I believed that a connection had to be built between two people for them to fall in love. And that'd require time...."

"Exactly!"

"But I have come to realise that there's little connection between falling in love and the time you take to do so. And that's I think they call it "falling" because when it happens, it happens so quickly that you do not have time to reason. Besides....almost everyone you see here has fallen in love quickly. Rutu... Jaddu...Faf...."

"Oh my God!! I don't know about Faf and Imari's love story. Please tell me na.... Thala please....pretty please...." I add with a puppy face.

"Mai waise bhi baithe baithe bore ho Rahi hoon. Please entertain kar do, Mahi Bhai please!" I use his other nickname to add more pressure on him. Chuckling at my antics, he gives in.

And that's how I spend the rest of my morning, listening to Mahendra Singh Dhoni narrate love stories.

******

I call Sai and Faf to remind them that we are not performing during today's Sangeet ceremony.

"Yesss! I remember our plan. Sangeet mien everyone will be expected to perform, agar mundu pehen ke jayenge toh woh effect nahi ayega, sooooo hum haldi waale din ki evening ko, suddenly gaana bajake perform karenge."

"Arey waah Sai. Tum toh Akka ki company mien reh rehke kaafi smart ho gaye ho."

"Ayee, bass haan. If you tease me more na I'll let everyone know how you and Raj had disappeared for-"

"Sai, Amma is at the door, I'll call you later."

I quickly cut the call. I need to get ready for the Sangeet. Can't have myself linger in fantasies anymore.

The whole angan has been decorated with dim lights. Everyone looks ready for an evening full of dance and romance. I wanted Rutu to perform first, since he had chosen such a lovely SRK mashup. But he wanted me to perform first because I had made efforts to curate a Kriti specific playlist. And taking advantage of our pehle tum pehle tum, Sai and CSK co were performing first.

L.O.L

Sai gete on the stage even before the music starts, evidently excited to groove on the beats of Jhingaat.

My Raj deprived eyes devour him as he enjoys himself with others. With the variety of steps on one line, I can tell, they've all forgotten the steps and are doing an impromptu dance, making it all the more adorable.

I tear my eyes away from Raj to have a look at Rutu, he's moving his head to the beat. Arey someone take him up to dance...ah...Raj reaches for Rutu's hand to bring him up on the stage and bas phir kya. The stage is full of handsome hunks who either know how to dance or don't. Regardless of this, we love them.

"A bunch of wholesome idiots." Akka says. I look at her surprised. Idiots?! Woah. That's when I catch her looking at Sai as he sways his hips in a way no one has ever seen. I break into a laugh.

"That's right Akka. This one's definitely a wholesome idiot."

******

Akka loved my performance. Instead of making her teary eyed (there's no point in making her cry after every performance, waise bhi Rutu ka performance is going to be sentimental enough) I chose songs that would lift her mood. As Rutu gets up, I see Akka sit up straight.

"He's going to perform too!" She looks at me with delight.

"You bet he is!" I squeeze her hands. More excited than her. I'm going to record her reaction.

"Tum the ki thi koi ujli kiran, tum the ya koi kali muskai thi."

Rutu's eyes don't leave Akka. Perhaps they're both thinking about their first meeting. I'm reminded of how I had rubbed the feeling of sparks away when Raj had steadied me.

"Rooh ne choo li, jism ki khushbu, tu jo paas aayi tu jo paas aayi, tu jo, paas aayi."

The most adorable blush colours my Akka's cheeks. I can't help but think of the first time Raj had hugged me in an attempt to soothe my nerves. And how well it had worked.

"Haath mera thaam lo, saath jab tak ho, baat kuch hoti rahe baat jab tak ho, saamne baithe raho tum raat jab tak ho."

I want more nights where I discuss movie plots with Raj. Definitely more days when he's around, always making me smile and be a better Devi.

"Jaanam dekh lo mit gayi dooriyan , mai yahan hoon yahan hoon yahan hoon yahan."

This time, I let my eyes look for Raj. When I see him clapping with the beats, grinning from ear to ear, I know that I made a mistake. A terrible mistake.

"Dil kab seedhi raah chala hai, raah mude toh mud jaane do."

Rutu has chosen one hell of a mashup. Almost seems like a personal attack, I laugh. He winks at Akka, perhaps reminding her of how she had let the perfectionist in her fall silent as she let her heart speak.

For Raj, I need to silent the irrational overthinker in me too.

"Kab tak chup baithen ab toh kuch hai bolna....kuch tum bolo kuch hum bolien o dholna..."

Yes. Yes. Yes. I can't bear this silence anymore.

"Do pal ruka, khwabon ka karwan, aur phir chal diye hum kaha tum kahan."

Rutu walks down and takes Akka's hand in his. He has made her emotional, already. Oh Akka the best is yet to come.

"Tu hi dil ki hai raunak, tu hi janmon ki daulat, aur kuch na janu bas itna hi jaanu, tujh mien rab dikhta hai yaara mai kya karoon."

At this point, he is not dancing but repeating the lyrics with utmost sincerity as he holds her hands in his. And that is everything a girl requires to feel overwhelmed. Akka is wiping her tears off as the final line goes off...

"Rab ne bana Di Jodi..... haaye..." They embrace each other and we all erupt in an applause.

Wiping my fresh tears I think,

Who are we to question the matches that have already been made?