ISHAARA

Chapter 20 - Saal Badla, Haal Badla

Pradeep: I don't understand anything.

Abir looked at the couple who were standing shyly.

Abir: Yes guys will you clear the confusion or want me to do it?

Shreeja: Abir you.....

Abir: (smirks) Ok got it. So maa and baba, you see these two people standing here? They are getting married next week!

His parents stood up in surprise.

Parents: WHAT!!!!!!

Rudra: Yes uncle.

Saying so, he went forward and handed the wedding card. His parents read it and passed their good wishes to the couple.

Asha: So Abir you knew about them from the beginning?

Abir: Obviously maa. I knew it even before Shreeja did!

Shreeja: (embarrassed) Abir.... Stop it now!

Abir then proposed that they all go to the terrace like old times. They agreed of course. Abir's mother said that she'll call everyone for tea latter. Abir, Rudra, and Shreeja climbed the terrace stairs and pushed the door. As soon as the door opened and the wind touched their faces, everyone sighed together – Missed this feeling! Their faces lit up once they sat and started to have conversation like old golden times. They sat on the bench and stayed silent for few minutes. Then Abir turned to Shreeja and spoke –

Abir: So to be bride, what's the plan?

Shreeja: For?

Abir: Marriage of course...

Shreeja: Ok so the wedding will be held in Murshidabad.

Abir: Murshidabad? Why there?

Rudra: Actually Shreeja's father has their ancestral house situated at the inner areas of Murshidabad. So he wanted the wedding to be performed there.

Abir: Oh that's interesting! I have never visited to the inner district areas. It will be adventurous.

Shreeja: But it's actually a remote place so there will be lots of accommodation problems.

Rudra: Your father has a palace there. We can even find personal rooms for everyone.

Abir: A palace? Seriously!

Shreeja: Not a palace, but a real big garden house to be precised.

Abir: Ok I'm getting too excited now. When are we going there?

Rudra: Initially we planned for going there on 15th. But now after seeing your excitement I think we should go there early.

Abir: Yes please!

Shreeja: Ok I'll speak with papa tonight and will let you know.

Then the conversation shifted to various topics and went for few more hours. They all went down when Abir mother called everyone. They all had their tea along with some snacks.

Abir's mother, just like any other Indian mother wanted all details of the wedding. On listening about the venue, she declared that it's only possible for them to go there for the wedding day. The kids were happy, as they would get to spend some alone time with only friends.

After an hour Rudra and Shreeja got up to leave. Abir's mother asked them to have dinner but Shreeja mentioned that she was getting late. They hugged Abir and left. Abir then sat there and had a fun gossip session with his parents. Later they had dinner and he went to his room.

After such a long day, he was really tired but still sat on his table with his diary. He took out a fresh page and started writing –

"Dear Diary;

I returned to my happy place after 7 years. There was nothing bad in Bangalore, but I always felt left out. Sometimes it seemed that that city never accepted me totally. My job was good there and I even found a nice flat mate, but I always had the feeling that it was never my type of city. People are always rushing there. Nobody wants to take a pause and just sit on the terrace on a lazy evening, doing nothing. I realized these things once I came back to Kolkata today. I was never sad there, but I find myself happier here. Everything here grabbed my attention once more as it used to do before. Kolkata, by the way is full of aesthetic views. It just always takes the right eyes to see that.

Nothing has really changed here. The crowded roads, fields of Maidan, architectures of Nandan, aesthetic narrow lanes of the southern city, and even the styles of people, is still the same as it was. The Howrah Bridge and the river view from my terrace still carry the calmness. The sandhya aarti and azan still gets mixed with the sunset.

Even my personal world has not changed even a bit. My parents still have the cute fights sometime. My room was still cleaned and maintained until I made it messy as usual. Rudra still has the curious personality. Shreeja seemed extra happy. Maybe that's what people call a bridal glow. Mihir is still as crazy as he was before. And me? I feel like I'm the only one who has changed throughout these years. The reason for so is even unknown to me.

The biggest change that I noticed is her absence. I opened the window but didn't see her. I had fun with friends but didn't hear her voice. All I got is few lines written by her. I don't know why those lines feel so personal. It perfectly describes our situation. How it ended. It! Funny because these was nothing like "it" between us. There was nothing because she didn't feel the same way as I did. Nothing built up because I never gathered the courage to speak up about my feelings. Sometimes I think what if I had confessed to her? What if she had felt the same way? What if I hadn't moved to Bangalore? Maybe life would have been different then. As she wrote in her blog – "Life without you is good and full of leisure, but with you my love, it would have been far better". But now nothing can be changed. And every day I try to remove her from my mind. But she still stays in some corner of my heart even without me knowing.

I guess this is how it's gonna be. And I still have to learn to adapt it."

Abir stopped writing and closed the diary. He stood up and went towards the window. He held the guitar in one hand and softly moved his fingers on the strings. He was thinking about all the odd situations when his phone rang. It was Shreeja. He received it.

Abir: Yup!

Shreeja: I have spoken with papa and we can go to Murshidabad on 13th, i.e. day after tomorrow. We'll have two days to our own and after that all the relatives would start to arrive.

Abir: That's great. So how do we reach there?

Shreeja: Rudra will arrange a car. You know how to drive right?

Abir: Yeah I have my license.

Shreeja: Then we all can drive by turns. It's a road trip!

Abir: Even better.

Shreeja: Hey, Abir I want to tell you something.

Abir: Yeah go on...

Shreeja: I have a surprise for you in Murshidabad.

Abir: For me or for everyone?

Shreeja: For everyone actually. But specially for you.

Abir: OK.... I'M CONFUSED.

Shreeja: Good, be confused as you are going to get a shock after that. Goodnight.

Saying so, she cut the call.

Abir POV:

What was she talking about? What can make me feel shocked? I don't think anything can. She might be over expecting. But what surprise was she talking about?