The land rover with Surajgarh’s emblem stopped at
the now-constructed hotel area. Kunwar Pratap walked out in his usual blue work
suit, secretly cursing himself for being late on Ajabdeh’s first day. He had
fallen asleep, and if not for Ranima walking into his chambers and telling him
it was way past his office hours, he wouldn’t have managed to be here at all
today. He shook his head and walked in, only to stop at the sight in front of
him. What a greeting indeed!
He nodded, approving the employees who greeted his
presence, eyes fixed on the spot. Ajabdeh, in a white self-embroidered kurti, denim and a multicoloured scarf around her neck, had bunned up her hair with a pencil
as a pin and looked rather simple, in her work ‘avatar’. She had a pen tucked in between her lips as she checked out a file. Rukaiya was waiting for her
approvals on the final designs of the interiors, and holding the file was none
other than Shallavan Tanwar, who looked extremely happy at Ajabdeh. He frowned
and walked up to them rather quickly. Ruqaiya was the first to spot him there
and greeted him with a smile. He eyed Tanwar at his greeting, and Ajabdeh dismissed
his presence altogether.
“Okay, this seems fine.” Taking the pen out from
between her lips, she signed the papers.
“Oh, Hi.” She stared like she hadn’t seen him there, and suddenly a worry swept across her face, “Brownie?”
“He is fine with Ranima, nothing to worry about.” He
spoke genuinely. “So what is this?”
“My review.” Tanwar smiled, “From Ajabdeh.”
“Wha…” Pratap frowned, clueless to be interrupted by Ajabdeh’s “Where is Shakti?”
“He had gone to Delhi with Ranaji; they will be
back tomorrow morning,” made her frown. In that large mahal, without Shakti,
seemed like Trouble with a big T with this one, looking so…. Handsome?!
“But what review?” He frowned again at Tanwar.
Ruqaiya noticed his glares and walked away with a
smile.
“I have finished my job, and she approved of the
restorations, and hence today is my last day; her review will help me later.” He didn’t ask me for a review! His last words, however, made Pratap smile a genuine smile. “The rest is Rukaiya’s work!” Tanwar
added.
“Great, thank you.” Pratap shook hands with the
man “So when are you leaving?”
Tanwar looked confused as Ajabdeh frowned, “Not
so soon, ha?”
“Why not?” Tanwar would have asked the same, but
Pratap was quick with a frown.
“Aree, it’s his farewell, and he's done a fabulous
job!” Ajabdeh shrugged, looking around. “Party toh banta hai!”
“Aree nahi nahi….” Tanwar looked awkward as Pratap
glared at the girl rather disapprovingly.
She dismissed his glares with “Share a booze with
us at least, invite him na Kunwarsa?” Her last words were sure to make Pratap
choke at Kunwarsa, but he was more concerned about the man in question as of now.
“I am sure that he has … umm… lots of work
pending back home to go back to…”
“Yes, I…” Tanwar knew this man was not interested
in it now.
“Aree! Tomorrow is a Sunday! Idea.” Her gleeful
eyes scared the men a little “Why don’t we accompany him to Udaipur for a night
at the Pub, and we will head back here! Ruqaiya can call Jalal, too!” She seemed
excited, “Huh? Haa?”
“I… “ Pratap wanted to find a quick excuse in
vain. “Okay.” He gave in to her excitement.
“Great, Mr. Tanwar, we have your farewell party!
From the Boss,” She didn’t notice the two men stare at each other rather
awkwardly as she walked off, saying, “I need to check Ruqaiya’s designs!”
Pratap stood in front of the mirror, being helped
by one of the servants. He had chosen a rather ordinary-looking grey casual
shirt with his denim and was inspecting his boots. Putting on the watch, he
stared at his reflection. Not in a desperate attempt to impress, the attire
looked perfectly sexy as it clung to his well-shaped body. Setting his hair
right, in a not-too-playful way, he picked up the constantly ringing phone.
“Dadabhai.” Shakti seemed rather eager to talk
even before his hello “I heard you are partying tonight!”
“Yes,” he shook his head, “With Mr. Tanwar if Heer
hadn’t mentioned that”
“And Ajabdeh! “ Shakti smiled.
“Yes, she is the one who dragged everyone to it.”
He smiled at his reflection.
“How was she all day?” Shakti asked, “Our work here
is almost done. I will be back around dawn or so… if the flight is not delayed
for fog and…”
“She was helping Ranima…” he sounded unsure, making
Shakti laugh.
“So? What is wrong with that?”
“I don’t know… but she didn’t need to.” He
shrugged.
“Dadabhai, we all know by now, Ajabdeh doesn’t do
things she needs to. Rather, she does things she wants to.”
“Hmm…” But
why will she even try impressing Ranima if she doesn’t…
“Can I say something?” Shakti broke his thoughts.
“Yeah.”
“Tell her.”
As soon as Shakti said it, Pratap’s door flung open, making him stare a little wide-eyed and in a reflex, he disconnected the
call. Shakti frowned at the other end.
At the door stood Ajabdeh Punwar, in black tight
leather pants, a shimmery black one-shoulder top, and a pair of rather funky
moustache earrings. Her hair was curled up and hung at her waist rather
messily, and the only make-up she wore was the smoky eyes that stared back at him.
“I have no party clothes here.” She shrugged. He
dismissed the helping hands with a gesture, and she stood there at the threshold
still.
“You can come in.” He looked away rather indifferently, trying hard not to let the thoughts of how beautiful she looked make him act weird.
She frowned, “You should come out, we are late.”
“The bosses are always late; let Tanwar wait.” He
put his purse in his pocket as he spoke.
“Says who?” She frowned, “Where on earth is such a
rule made?”
“Okay, leave with him if you want to.” The moment
he said it, he was scared.
Scared that she would do it, but instead, he watched
her narrow her eyes at him rather funnily, and she took her place on the couch.
“I have never been here.” She looked around the
bedroom “Haina?”
“No one, except my family, has been here.” He
smiled at her through the reflection. She caught it with a smile and said, “I
like that rule, I follow that too. If you are not a friend, stay away from my
house!”
“Can I ask you something?” He turned to stare at
her, looking rather impressed at the room.
“I didn’t count!” She shrugged.
“What?” He frowned, clueless.
“I didn’t count how many men I mingled with in the
past few years.” She tilted her head, and he realised how much he had missed
that tilt and the smile at the corner of her lips.
“I was not going to ask that.” He let out a
chuckle.
“Do you… umm… Like…. Tanwar?” He asked, sitting
down beside her, a cushion in between.
“Like… I like him, and his work, of course!”
“Not like that, I mean… I…” He was interrupted by
her phone, as she jumped up rather excitedly with “Jalal hi!” and walked out,
gesturing at him to follow.
The Pichola Pub, at the Taj, in the middle of the
lake, was a rather extravagant sight. The open-air party place and bar had a
spectacular view of the lake, and the crowd was always elite. Jalal sat with a
drink, in his effortless-looking weekend look, a lot of eyes staring at him
and Ruqaiya, who looked rather awkward at the stares.
Their eyes travelled to the
dance floor where Ajabdeh was dancing to some tune that went Let me terminate you… terminate your body…
terminate this night… I am too hot for my ways… Jalal stared at Tanwar on
the dance floor with her. He was the one who got her there, and then he was standing while she danced on her own. Ajabdeh Punwar didn’t even need a
partner!
Jalal eyed Pratap, who had encountered an acquaintance and was having a conversation, but his eyes were fixed on the dance
floor. Jalal smiled at Ruqs with a rather smirking one. Pratap had just
finished his drink and managed to excuse himself and come back to his spot. He
stared at the floor, thoughts playing on his mind. Their first dance, her rules. He had noticed how cleverly she
handled attention, keeping Tanwar not only off herself but rather away. He
smiled. Eyes met, and he gestured at her to come over. She frowned and obliged, followed by a clueless Tanwar.
“When Jalal and I party”, Pratap spoke, almost
breathing in her ear to get to her in the loud music, “We compete on tequila shots,
wanna try?”
It would be wrong to say Ajabdeh didn’t feel a shiver; she shrugged
off with a laugh, “Compete with you two on tequila shots? Bring it on, Baby!”
Three shots later, Jalal had moved away, with
Tanwar and Ruqaiya staring at the two still going on.
“I win!” Ajabdeh giggled
rather victoriously at her sixth. “I win!”
She stared at Pratap with a lingering
smile, “You are the loser, you!”
“What does the winner get?” Jalal smirked.
She frowned at him and
at Jalal, who just smiled, “Huh?”
“ A dance!” Pratap whispered in her ear, and
before she could register it, she was dragged to the floor rather swiftly by
the prince in action.
Jalal gestured at Ruqaiya with “Am hungry, let’s get
some food from the restaurant, ha Mr Tanwar?”
“Sure.” The man shook his head, staring back at the
dance floor one last time before leaving.
Matlabi… Ho ja zaara Matlabi… Dunia ki sunta hai kyun…. Khud ki
bhi sunle kabhi…
“Remember the rules.” She said with a gesture as
he smiled at her, shaking her head, making her head sway to the music.
Matlabi… Ho ja zaara Matlabi… Dunia ki sunta hai kyun…. Khud ki
bhi sunle kabhi…
Kuch baat galat bhi ho jaaye, kuch tere yeh dil bhi kho jaaye,
Befikr Dhadkaane is tarah se chaale, shor gunje yaha se waha….
She held his collar, eyes on each other, and for
the first time, Pratap felt the crowd around them; their judging stares didn’t
matter, her eyes and happiness did. He twirled her around, and they nodded to
do the signature step together.
Suraj dooba hai yaaron, do ghund nashe ke maaro,
Raste bhula do saare gharbar ke…
Suraj dooba hai Yaaron, Do ghund nashe ke maaro,
Gham tum bhula do Saare sansaar ke.
She was back to her initial position of holding
his collar. They stared and smiled. Drunk in happiness, Ajabdeh felt peace in
her heart. Close to him, she left what her father never made her feel, safe.
Aata paata rahe na kisika hum e….
Her moves made him smile. He joined in her
crazy headbanging.
Yehi kahe yeh pal zindagi ka hum e…
Yeh khudgarz si khwahish liye, besaas bhi hum tum jeeye…
Hai gulaabi gulaabi yeh samaa…
Suraj duba hai yaaron… Do ghund nashe ke maaro…
Raste bhula do saare ghar baar ke…
She twirled to land on his chest, prompting him to
hold her by her waist. Her locks, falling on her face, he moved it away with
his free hand, the other one firm on her waist. She looked up at him. For a
second, Pratap did think of letting go; he didn’t want to disappoint her again,
but her stare, her smile, made him pull her closer as she rested both hands on
his neck, as they swayed to the music.
Matlaabi… Ho ja zaara matlaabi….
She could feel his warm breath on her forehead as
he swept her locks away, his hand rubbing from her waist to her back and back
at her waist. She stared at him, her cheeks felt warm, and she wished that he didn’t
notice that, how he affected her.
Pratap felt her gaze, her trust, her peace as she
stared at him. He loved how she tried hard not to blush, in vain. Her hand
responded, holding on to his neck tighter, pulling him closer.
Chale nahi uree asmaan pe abhi, pata na ho hai jana kaha pe abhi…
Ki bemanzile ho sab raaste, dunia se ho zaara fasle…
Kuch khud se bhi ho duriyaan… Her moving
back made him frown at letting go of her before she smiled, doing the signature
step.
Suraj Duba hai yaaron… do ground nashe ke maaro…
He pulled her back by her hand as the song ended, and she suddenly frowned, looking around “Where are they?”
“Who?” Pratap looked rather clueless.
“What’s his name and Jalal?”
“What’s what?” Pratap looked around, realising that
Jalal was not there.
“What do you mean you
LEFT?” Pratap frowned on the phone. Ajabdeh was breathing in the fresh air that
came from the lake, sitting on the bonnet of Pratap’s car. “Yes, I have got a
driver coming”, she heard him say.
“I can drive.” She
shrugged, making him stare from his phone at her.
“Six tequilas later,
not a chance” He shook his head firmly, “Not that you can when sober.” He added
quickly, making her laugh.
“Come, let’s sit on
the roof till he arrives.”
Before he could utter a word, she was on the roof of
his car, her heels in her hand, her bare feet dangling from the side. He shook
his head, joining.
“ Ahh,” she closed her
eyes, breathing in, “There is something about this air!”
“It feels like…”
Pratap smiled, searching for the right word.
“Home.” She smiled. “Feels
like I belong”
“Yes, it does.”
“Kunwar Pratap Singh?”
The driver was kind of astonished at the two of them on the roof of the car.
That was unroyal, he guessed.
Pratap felt her head
on his shoulder as the car drove through the darkest night, towards Surajgarh.
He smiled, watching her sleep peacefully, a faint smile lingering on her face.
He held her hand, rather tightly, staring at her sleep. In a reflex in her
sleep, she had put her hand around his upper arm. He remembered her words It feels like home. A sudden thought
made him skip a heartbeat. He needed to do what he had never done, never
dreamt of in his craziest nightmares. Tell a girl how he felt, how he had
fallen for her, and that too truly. Do I need
to? The sudden thought of losing her scared him as she slept peacefully. Maybe I do.
The car stopped at
the porch as he gently patted her head “Ajabdeh?”
“Ajab?” She blinked
her eyes rather sleepily, staring at him
“Wha…”
“We are home.” He smiled.
“Home?” made her look
around.
“I mean…” he looked
awkward, realising his grip on her hand and let go “Surajgarh.”
“Umm…” She
straightened herself and opened her door to get out. Pratap did the same,
dismissing the driver.
In the hall, Ajabdeh had lost her balance twice, and now
she held Pratap’s protective arm with one hand, and her heels in the other. Barefooted, she had walked into Pratap’s room rather than her own beside his.
“You can… use this
door.” He pointed at the connecting one, closed from his side. Dismissing his
words, she sat down on the couch “Brownie will bark everyone awake when he sees
me, he does that a lot!” She smiled.
“I love him. He’s so adorable!” she smiled
like she remembered something.
He stared at her, then sat down on the couch
beside her.
“I… missed you.” He gathered
he could start there. “ Here, when the bhumi pujan…”
“I missed you, too, when I signed the book contract!” She cut in, staring at him.
“Ajabdeh.” He took
both her hands in his. “I am sorry for every…”
“Hush!” She made him
stop. “ I am glad we are here.” She smiled.
“I am glad you are
here.” He smiled back, eyes not leaving each other’s hearts thumping.
“ I am happy, Heer
and Shakti found each other.” She said, lowering her eyes to his chest and back
at his eyes as he smiled. “And love.” He added, tilting closer to her. Her smile
faded from her eyes as she kept staring at him.
“Will we ever… find
Love?” Ajabdeh’s question ended with him pulling her closer, noses touching
lightly. The silences were never this meaningful before, were they? Ajabdeh’s
thoughts couldn’t help but wander. His gaze scared her. His eyes travelled to every
feature of her face like he owned them and stopped at her lips. And back at
her eyes. Her eyes twinkled. Were they tears? He looked worried all of a sudden.
“I don’t know… if we
will ever… find…” he stammered, starting to pull away as she stopped him, holding
the collar, forcing him to stare at her.
“Almost”, she
whispered at his frown.
“What?”
“We almost… did”
made him stare at her faint smile, as he placed his palm on her cheek, a lone
tear had appeared in the corner of her eye, he wiped it away, smudging the Kohl
a little.
“Almost?” he asked.
“Yes, half the road
is travelled, the other half leads to the locked towers of the Captive Princess’
heart.” Her words made him smile as he leaned in, whispering
“Is that the most
difficult road to travel?” made her smile.
“Not when a wanderer
can turn into a warrior if he needs to.” She smiled as noses touched again, and she closed her eyes.
“He can always… fight
for you.”
She had expected something, yes, she did. But a warm peck on her forehead
melted her heart as she stared at him. She was not one of those girls he’d kiss
and forget. Today, he had said that to her in his gestures.
“Good night, Princy.”
She spoke, moving away, “It was nice meeting the warrior.”
“It’s always a
pleasure meeting the carefree Ajab.” He smiled, holding the door for her.
Once
on the other side, he smiled at her, alarmed, “Okay, Brownie Hush! Hush!”
Sleepless. Pratap
tossed in his bed. He checked his phone.
Opening Instagram, he
saw a picture. It was of the Picholi, illuminated at night. When did she take this?
There is no place I
would rather be… her caption read.
Ajabdeh opened the
notification reading “Kunwar Pratap Singh tagged you in a photo”
