Chapter Twenty Three: Cats Out of Bags (II)

Here’s wishing a Happy Diwali to you and yours! May the lights always shine bright and merry in your world! 

 

Ajeeb rangaan di, tu hai badi

Lage alag hi, jahaan di

He crooned with his eyes closed and yet it was no surprise anymore when he opened them to look at her and her alone first when he did.

Ajeeb rangaan di, tu hai badi

Lage alag hi, jahaan di

Ai ta nazraan nazraan di gal ve, she lip-synced to the sound of Divya’s soulful voice.

Tub hi sun le zara

Main ta kolh tere rehna, main ta kolh tere rehna

Main ta rehna kolh tere

Tainu takdi ravaan, naina’ch tere vasdi ravaaan

Paagal main khud nu, banaunda ravaan, Arnav watched her as his voice and words threaded right back onto the song.

Tu hansdi rave, main hasaaunda ravaan

Tainu takda ravaan

It was a bad call she realized eventually. She should have had the courage to slip away from the den when she had the chance. Now, it was five hours later and they were still surrounded albeit by people she liked, even loved. But, Shiv-ji, she wanted to be able to put her arms around his neck and kiss him till it felt as real as she knew it was. Now, staring at him as he strummed and sang in practice for the third video that they would be shooting some time in the next couple of weeks before she had to head back to India, it felt like it had all been a dream.

No, she shook her head with a smile a few moments later as Arnav’s eyes found hers and stayed for a second before he went back to the conversation Nishant and he were having about some technicalities of singing. This was no dream.

“So?”

She turned around to find Arjun plonking himself on the couch next to her. She smiled and turned to face him, tucking one leg under herself. Her very unvirtuous thoughts about Arnav Varun needed to wait.

“So?” She asked with a saucy smile of her own. “Did you win?”

The look on his face told her that he wasn’t expecting to talk shop. She smiled some more, pleased with herself.

So he rolled his eyes in response. “I’ll let the Senior Manager on the job answer that. I am sure that’s the first thing you guys will…er….talk about when you find some…alone time together. After all, it is going to have a big impact on your….er…your project…” He half smirked, half grimaced at her. “Fuck! This is insane! All these riddles. And honestly, how?” He shook his head and turned to look at Arnav who Khushi realized had just glanced at them, half a smile still lingering at the edge of his mouth. Shiv-ji, she needed to stop staring at his mouth and thinking of about how it would feel against hers. “How the hell does he keep up with you? You are seeing him after…a week…his birthday week no less and you are just sitting here…and he is sitting all the way over there…I mean…” He threw his hands up in the air.

Khushi sighed a deep breath of relief when she realized Arnav hadn’t mentioned his birthday trip across the Mainland to anyone, not even Arjun.

Arjun was shaking his head ruefully as he spared a knowing, sympathetic glance at his senior. “He deserves some sort of Nobel Prize.” He said softly before chuckling out aloud. “But then he is not taking what he wants either, is he? You both definitely deserve each other. What the hell was I ever thinking? It is that obvious. It has always been. I was…just fooling myself in college and then by the River. And might I add you were too? Even a few weeks ago…”

Khushi rolled her eyes. They both knew to ignore some of these random outbursts and focus on the more important parts of the conversation. “And what kind of Prize do you deserve?” She asked, knowing that while she couldn’t talk about Arnav and herself, she definitely had questions for Arjun – especially given her last conversation with Tripti.

“I am good, thank you. I’ve drawn the bumper prize on the Gupta lottery already and that is more than I seem to be equipped to handle.”

Khushi stared at her friend who was now staring right back at her as if challenging her to blink first in the wake of what he had just implied. “Arjun…this girl who has you all wound up like a clock…”

She stopped and waited for him to help her out. She should have known better. She raised her head in a quick flick of askance. But no, Arjun was not one to bail her out today.

“It’s Tripti?”

“Is it Arnav?” He asked without missing a beat.

Khushi’s heart beat quickened and for the first time in a long, long time, it had nothing to do with Arnav Varun. So much so that it didn’t even occur to her that he was in the same room and that if she so wanted, she could have had his support to get through this moment.

“Arjun, you know I…You know how I….” Shiv-ji, she appealed to her favorite manifestation of divinity. How was she supposed to deal with this? How could she confirm to Arjun what she hadn’t confessed to Arnav himself?

“I am just as unprepared to answer that question, Kavi.” He said honestly.

She bit her nails and watched her best friend struggle with something she hadn’t seen in a long, long time – a kind of uncertainty that made her want to throw her arms around Arjun Agarwal’s neck and pull him into that bear hug that he had been so surprised with. “Okay.” She said as she nodded. “Okay. I get that. I mean, sure…” Then she looked up at him and shook her head. “No, I don’t get that. I don’t understand. How? How can it be Tripti? When? Where?”

“The reason you aren’t telling me about Arnav is because it isn’t defined yet, right?”

It was unfair that he knew her so well. And she had known this for a long time. Still it surprised and stung that she was this obvious. Wasn’t that what Nishant had said earlier in the day too? Nevertheless, she nodded.

Arjun shrugged. “It’s the same for….well, not for me. I am not confused.”

“She is the one who is confused…” Her words trailed away. Of course Tripti was the one. Her ambiguously declared reservations had been in the same vein, hadn’t they? And it had something, no it had everything to do with her – with Khushi, with Arjun’s Kavi. Shit! How was she going to help fix this?

“You can’t help, Kavi. Could I help you with your journey?” He asked with a wry smile. “It had to be you. And now it has to be…If it is meant to be, that is. I am not even sure anymore.”

Every little bit of good humor that Khushi had bubbling beneath her skin since she’d turned around to find Arjun Agarwal smiling down at her was gone. She noticed only now that her friend was evidently distressed, his eyes bright and yet nowhere close to how they usually sparkled with life and good cheer. And Tripti….she hadn’t been at her best either…

“You…” Arjun interrupted her free fall and pulled her up with his now beaming smile. He placed two fingers between her brows and eased them apart in a familiar gesture now. She clearly frowned too much for her own good if everyone she loved saw it that easily. “This is not the time for you to worry, you know. After all these years, it is…” He turned to look at Arnav and smiled. “God, I cannot believe that all these years of heartache is going to be for nothing now that you are…” He stopped and looked at Khushi. “You are together, aren’t you?”

Khushi rolled her eyes and held on to her worry for her friend and by extension her sister. Now was not the time to probe. She still had a couple of weekends before she had to head back to India. Surely, one of these days she would be able to speak with Arjun freely. “No comments,” she whispered and chuckled a second later at how unconvincing she sounded. She looked up to see Arjun laughing silently as well. And then one long, interlocked gaze moment later, they spoke at the same time.

“You are just good friends?”

“We are just good friends.”

The two of them burst out laughing, their sides hurting even as the others in room swerved to look at them and sent a barrage of whys and tell-us-whats-so-funnys.

———-

 

 

Ek nadi se maine poocha, ithla ke chal di kahaan, Divya sang beside her as Khushi watched in breathless awe. Of all the songs to have come up now in this session….She couldn’t help wonder if it was all a grand plan…It had started about fifteen minutes ago when Divya had all but forced Arnav to the grand Steinway. That it had come to this song so quickly was too coincidental to be that.

Duur tere pi ka ghar hai, balkha ke chal di kahaan?

She winced slightly as Divya’s elbow flicked at her knee and deepened the crimson in her cheeks.

Thoda who ghabrayee, thoda sa sharmayee,

Uchhli yahaan se wahaan

Saagar se milne ka, uska toh sapna tha,

Khushi shifted to her right just in time to miss Divya’s pointed look and the very pertinent next line

Teri hi tarah piyaa

And as if just Divya wasn’t enough, Arnav, shameless as he had decided to become, joined right in, Nishant in tow.

Maine poocha ek ghata se, itra ke chaldi kahaan?

Pyaas ki bhari zameen hai, barson bhi tarsao naa

Thoda woh gurraayi, thoda sa tharraayi

Garjhi yahaan phir wahaan

Preet loota ke phir, cham cham cham barsi woh,

And he looked right at her and winked, this time no hiding his action or intention.

Tere hi tarah piya

Arjun and Nishant clapped fervently as the former commented on the uncanny similarity between the song and the one Khushi had selected to sing a decade ago. Khushi, of course, did not Arjun to remind her of the similarities. The film-maker and his ode to his own past glory was one she’d known and fondly cherished since this new song had joined the older one next to her playlist shortly after its release.

“Achcha Agarwal Babu, we are now done entertaining you.” Arnav said once the noise had settled down. “It’s your turn.”

Khushi chuckled and secretly heaved a sigh of relief as Arnav worked to draw Arjun right amidst the merriment that was the group. She wouldn’t be surprised, she realized, if Arnav had guessed Arjun’s state of mind and was using his participation in singing as a ruse to give him a break

“You have forgotten how well I sing clearly.” Arjun commented wryly as he took a deep swig of beer that was now being consumed with great gusto in the room – by everyone except her, of course. Thankfully, none of them, least of all Arnav, had insisted she join them against her wishes.

“If Salman Khan can sing,” Nishant quipped, surprising Khushi.

“Ab toh NK ne bhi bol diya, Arjun. Imagine how much free-riding there has been” Divya commented as she vacated her seat and went to join Nishant on the recliner. Khushi wasn’t sure whether it was the time they’d spent cooped up in the den or the alcohol in their blood-streams, the physical distance between Divya and Nishant was progressively reducing with each passing hour. If things continued in this vein, Arnav, Arjun and she were sure to be kicked out of the den in the next couple of hours by the couple currently teasing the edge of PDA.

Which of course, wouldn’t be all that bad, Khushi told herself. Arnav and she really did need all the help they could get from people to be the adults they had such a hard time being. Or maybe there was something about foreplay after all. Khushi looked down at her clenched hands and mentally slapped herself for going where she was only bound to embarrass herself.

“Okay, since you brought Salman Khan into the mix, here you go.” Arjun commented as he plonked himself beside Khushi. “Kavi, join me please? For old times sake?”

Khushi rolled her eyes but immediately turned her gaze to Arnav who was now openly laughing at them both.

Jaane kab hothon pe

Dil ne rakh di dil ki baatein

 

 

Khushi started laughing as soon as Arjun finished the opening lines. Arjun managed to stump them all every time. Every time, she laughed as she shook her head and listened to his singing – which she had to admit had gotten better over the years.

Samjha nahi yeh dil

Isko hum toh rahe samjhaate

Maine dekha tujhe bhula ke

Har ek tarqeeb laga ke

Har nuskhe ko aazma ke

Par dil se kabhi na utre

Hangover teri yaadon ka, the entire group sang, including her with Divya and Arjun even raising their beers in cheers as the laughter mixed with music and brightened the room in an absolute instant.

Hangover teri baton ka, Arjun sang and nodded at her

Jaane kab hothon pe

Dil ne rakh di dil ki baatein

She sang right on cue as Arnav joined on the piano and Nishant drummed the table in front of him. Once a long time ago, Arnav had commented on how Arjun knew the pulse of an audience enough to have them all eat out of his hands. It was, a decade later, just as true even if the audience was a fraction of what it used to be.

Jaane kab hothon pe

Dil ne rakh di dil ki baatein

Samjha nahi yeh dil

Isko hum toh rahe samjhaate

But then, this was Arjun. And she should have known that he never did anything with just one objective. So when the words she hadn’t realized the import of left her mouth, made themselves understood in a sharp pinch of not-nearly-old yearning, she found herself changing gears from amusement to admission – one she had been sure was at least a few months and definitely many crowds away.

Maine dekha tujhe bhula ke

Har ek tarqeeb laga ke

Har nuskhe ko aazma ke

Par dil se kabhi na utre

Hangover, teri yaadon ka. This time the group stayed silent as Arnav’s eyes held hers and refused to let her blink. Hangover, teri baaton ka, she completed in rebellion. Ironical as it was that she was singing a song she’d never imagined to be half as romantic as it now sounded, it made her inexplicably sure of what she felt. And perhaps that was the reason for the hush in the room.

Jaane kab meri neend udi

Soyi soyi raaton mein?

Jaane kab mera haath gaya

Soneya tere haathon mein?

Her fingers tingled as she recollected the memory of his skin against hers. The now faded nip of his teeth that once shone proudly above her heart, the kiss that still heated the skin of her lips.

Chal padte teri ore

Main jab bhi kadam uthati hoon

Jaaun tujh se door door

Toh paas tere aa jaati hoon

Maine dekha tujhe bhula ke

Har ek tarqeeb laga ke

Har nuskhe ko aazma ke

Par dil se kabhi na utre

Hangover teri yaadon ka, Divya sang with her, her eyes warm and knowing as she watched Khushi and Arnav in quick succession. Hangover teri baaton ka.

As soon as she finished singing, Arjun thumped her back and began clapping. “See?” He smirked at the rest of the group. “This is how it’s done.”

Immediately Nishant and Divya began speaking at once, both of them congratulating Arjun and complimenting her on how well she sang, of course, still not having undergone any formal training.

It was, however, Arnav’s silent smile that tugged at Khushi’s heartstrings. He stayed in the background, never taking his eyes off her as she soaked in the joy and warmth of such beautiful company. He really did deserve some sort of prize for being the person he was. Despite the absolute childishness of her refusal to meet him when she really did want nothing more, he was there, waiting patiently for her to find her rhythm to match his own.

And so once again, she found herself caught in his world, her eyes unwilling to focus on anyone or anything else as the happenings in the room twirled and swirled with gaiety.

That it was his guitar that strummed shortly thereafter, was hardly surprising, even if the song he selected was a far cry from the demure turn her thoughts had taken in the last few minutes. But then, she wasn’t alone anymore and that – had to count for something.

Aisa na mujhe tum dekho

Seene se laga loonga

Tumko main churaa loonga tumse

Dil mein chhupaa loonga

 

Laughter and whistling weren’t going to dissuade her anymore. She watched with a small smile, her eyes meeting every challenge he seemed to be throwing her way.

Dheemi dheemi aag mein ek shola bhadakaaya hai, Divya joined Arnav, her tongue firmly in cheek as she winked at Khushi.

Duur se tumne iss dil ko kitna tadpaaya hai

Main ab iss dil ke armaan nikaaloonga

Tumko main chura loonga tumse, dil mein chhupaa loonga

Nishant and Arjun joined the song at this point and the den rang with teasing and Khushi couldn’t help but grin at the absolute madness that her life was at this point. Shameless was liberating. If only she’d known it sooner…

Tere dil se aye dilbar dil mera kehta hai, Arnav sang, chuckling as he handed his guitar over to Nishant who missed four beats and joined right back in with his renewed strumming.

Pyaar ke dushman log mujhe, dar lagta rehta hai, he jerked his head at the grinning faces behind him.

Thaam lo tum meri baahein, main tumhe sambhaloonga, He walked up to her and held out his hand. Her eyes shot up her forehead and disappeared into her brow.

Tumko main chura loonga tumse, dil mein chhupaa loonga, the group sang from behind as Khushi battled with herself and then threw propriety and good sense away to put her hand in Arnav’s extended palm.

In one quick jerk, he pulled her up, his gaze fixed on hers as the air around them collided, oblivious to the current and the electricity in the room.

“Finally!” A voice Khushi couldn’t bother trying to recognize in that moment, shouted.

“Isi baat pesh-e-khidmat hai, situational song number 23.”

Arnav tugged at her hand and pulled her closer. “We are getting out of here. If this…” He waved their interlinked hands between them, “is high-handed, then I guess I am high-handed when you leave me no options.” He whispered so softly, she had to strain her ears to listen. Or perhaps it was the blood roaring in her ears that made the effort seem so much more.

“Dekha hai pehli baar, saajan ki aankhon mein pyaar.”

Khushi’s eyes found Arnav’s equally surprised ones and together they turned to look at Arjun and Divya clapping to the beat of the song they were belting out in barely concealed glee.

“Ab jaake aaya mere, bechain dil ko qaraar”

As the two of them tan-tana-tan-ed in the background, Arnav waved at them and steered Khushi on the way out of the den, up the stairs and away from prying, laughing eyes.

River Song, Music and Lyrics

Song Title: Ye Fizayein

Album: Main Hoon Na

Singers: Alka Yagnik, KK

Music: Anu Malik

Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

 

Geeton ka mausam hai, khwabon ka aalam hai

Ab hosh kam kaam hai 

Jeevan ki raahon mein, tum ho nighahon mein

Baanhein hain baanhon mein,

Har dil deewana, hai ab ye jaanaa

Kyun hai haseen ye samaa

Har lamha hai meherbaan, har pal hai khushi

Paa hi gaya yeh caarvaan, manzil pyaar ki

 

Next Update: Wednesday Oct 25, 2017, late night IST

Please excuse typos!