Meherbaan (Hinglish) [Book 1]

14 II | Bhaage Re Mann

Mihika squealed as she watched Raman who observed Ishita. Nitya, who walked along with Mihika had looked at her weirdly. Mihika had just pointed towards Raman, who had just left his seat and then returned to it, he finally shook his head and had finally taken his seat as he observed his wife. Mihika and Nitya squealed at each other, held hands and ran towards Paati, Amma and everyone who was seated towards them.

"Peri Amma, Raman!" Mihika had screeched in a surprisingly low tone.

"Kya hua Raman ko? And Nitya, you are the bride... Why are you running around with this girl. Ishita ke wedding pe tum sab bechare Raman ke sar pe baithe the."

"Please. Jiju itna hot hai and then pehle baar aise couple se mile the jo shaadi karne ke liye court tak paunch gaye the - muhurat and all long forgotten. Par jab when it came to rituals, they had all kinds of problems with. Besabar but ziddi. And then that was Akka's happiest day. Kud Kud Kumar se jo shaadi karne wali thi. She couldn't last a second without smiling."

"Please. Woh Punjabi. Poore wedding ka satyanash kiya. Engagement mein prasadam ke nam pe vodka."

"Amma. Your fault also. Full Tamil wedding. With Punjabi folks. It's good that all they wanted was Ishita."

"Don't start. Uske dance. Tsk. Tsk. And engagement ke night se pehle full night party and puja mein talli. Thank god Raman and Senior Mr. Bhalla were the sane ones."

"It was so funny."

"What funny? Engagement ke night pe kaunsa dulha Byah Karke Pachtaya' pe dance karta hai. And not to forget other dances. Mere proper traditional Tamil wedding ka the end." Madhavi shook her head disapproving.

"Amma. Admit it. Raman is your perfect son-in-law. You consider him to be your son. Poor guy. Ishita ka kitna torture sehta hai. Maa beti hamesha tang karti hai."

"Seriously. Pehle ka Raman and this Raman. Kitna farq hai."

"Koi farq nahi hai. It's the same. Paati, you have to see them fight. Kitne cute hai. Ruhi and Shravan se bhi cute. Ishita mooh phulake baith thi hai and voh pehle ignore and phir Ruhi ke threats pe manana suru. Infact jab se Ruhi aayi hai, I don't think their fight even last for more than a few minutes of Ruhi's notice."

"I know, Akka. Sometimes I do wonder if Subbu was right when he said that kids bond their parents. Kabhi sochti hoon ki agar Ruhi nahi hoti toh kya Raman and Ishita yahaan poochte. They would have split up in such a short time."

"Forget breaking up, who would've thought that they would have ever married. As Raman taunts, 'Bina break ke sade hue lecturer se shadi ki hai,' and not to forget Ishita's free ka psychiatrist Bala. Infact, he's now the proud advisor to Raman too. Infact, recently.. Raman and Ishita argued as usual - both standing on either sides of Bala and Ruhi glaring at him as she stood before him. My poor petrified husband bent down to Ruhi and promised her that he'd punish her parents like the great teacher he was. And then he handed Raman a contraceptive pack and pushed him into a bedroom followed by Ishita, locking the room after them."

"Ishita?" Nitya giggled.

"Totally, I'm pretty sure Ruhi loves her parents antics way more than any cartoon out there. Get a bag of popcorn and observe them - pure entertainment." Mihika promised.

"You're kidding, right? Come on, stop pulling our legs." A cousin exclaimed.

"I second, Mihika." Nitya exclaimed, her hands raised in the air. "The first time I came across Ishita, I wanted to go to up to her and ask her so many questions. But there stood Raman Bhalla's security team guarding Ishita and Ruhi like blood hounds. No media person was allowed near them without proper certification. Raman Bhalla, the stoic business man had smiled when he watched them walk down the aisle. And then after being as Mihika puts it Khadus'that he is to all the media, the total no nonsense, dude, I managed to be locked into the security grid by mistake and then I saw them together. He had totally transformed into a gentleman when I came to Ishita. And he adored Ishita's daughter. Ruhi is just too adorable, so I thought that maybe, they were just acquaintances as the only official detail released about Ruhi's father was that he was a part of the corporate clan. And then I saw them. At the diner, Raman's security had checked the place out several times. And then they came in and you could notice his fierce protective nature when it comes to his family. It's hard to imagine that people of their status have never hired nannies when it comes to Ruhi. From what I've noticed Ruhi is never handed over to any of their staff."