Nothing and absolutely nothing could keep them from being one now. Although they didn’t get more than a minute of tranquility to ogle at each other, it was like an eternity; as if the two souls had been lifted up to be united in a never ending bond of love, commitment and togetherness.

They came out of their reverie when Minish came near Atharva and whispered softly,

To be continued….

“Bhai.. hope you are glad to have selected this outfit.” And Atharva became aware that he n Shruti were colour coordinated. How come? Was it sheer luck or was it…? It took him a nano second to realise that the two most important people of his life had again ganged up against him, judging by the sheepish smile on Shruti’s face. She could feel him looking at her from head to toe, making her extremely nervous. She was clad in a ravishing blue Anarkali outfit, which did wonders for her. It was adorned with zardosi and thread work in tones of blue, grey and silver. She teamed it up with a lavish traditional white kundan and pearl choker set with big matching earrings. She observed that he was dressed to kill today; looked dashing in a blue raw silk kurta pajama in Pathani style.

Abhinav and family also reached simultaneously, and they were all ushered inside. She took the blessings of the elders present and was introduced to a couple of relatives who had already arrived.
Shruti gushed as she saw the way in which the whole place was adorned with flowers. It looked so very inviting, absolutely in sync with the occasion. The house radiated happiness and the fragrance and beauty of the flowers just added to its charm.

Shruti and Atharva were made to sit on the double seated swing in the living room. It was also attractively decorated with the flowers. The effervescence was addictive and very much visible on Shruti’s face.

Atharva had been observing her all this while and realised that he was falling deeper in love with her, if that was possible.

He said looking at her, “So finally we meet…”
She gave an enchanting smile and nodded, “Ya… finally.”
He commented, “Hope you liked the décor.” She said in a delighted voice, “Oh! It’s spellbinding… simple yet sooo graceful.”
He responded, “Am glad you liked it. I was….”

He was interrupted by Minish. “Atharva… you didn’t comment about your outfit,” he said cheekily.
Shruti said sincerely, “Thank you Minishbhai… you came to my rescue again.”
Atharva said aloud, “I thought you were on my side Minish!”
The latter replied teasingly, “Haa…. Toh ek hi baat hui na… bhabhi ki help karu ya teri…” And he winked at Atharva, who couldn’t help grinning at his brother’s wittiness.

Atharva remarked, “You two were in contact with each other and I was absolutely clueless about it.”
Shruti smartly replied, “Got this idea from you only Mr Atharva Shah. You had asked Minishbhai to fetch Rohan’s number, and I got Minishbhai’s contact from Rohan and well… rest is history.”

Minish was in awe of the new member of his family… literally. He mused that no one had been able to stand up against Atharva till date; but it seems bhabhi is going to be the first one to do so. And lo and behold! Atharva also seemed to be taking it in his stride. He shrugged, looked at his brother and thought, ‘Love can melt the ice around the heart of the toughest of men.’ He had been waiting all along to get a sweet bhabhi, who would not only mould his brother a little, but also help him in future to secure the hand of his one and only, Rhea.

By this time, the house started filling with guests from both the families. Everyone came to congratulate the newly betrothed couple and shower them with blessings.

Gud dhana, the foremost Gujarati function, is all about the acceptance of marriage. Close family members of both the sides had got together to rejoice over this happy occasion. The simple and sweet ceremony was held where Atharva and Shruti fed each other gud dhana( a combination of jaggery and coriander seeds). Shruti did it very consciously, whereas Atharva was excited to get a chance to feed her something for the first time. His fingers touched her chin and lips, not so accidentally, for a brief second and Shruti lowered her eyes feeling bashful. He smirked, knowing the reason and bit his lip to stop himself from grinning over her helplessness. No one noticed; it had happened for a fraction; his first voluntary touch.

The gud dhana was then distributed amongst the guests. Alpaji and Jyotiji exchanged the decorated coconut( nariyal) and a token of cash to seal the relationship. Both the families gave a couple of gifts as a token of love.

Atharva was waiting impatiently to gift the jewellery to Shruti that he had chosen. Although it was only a pendant set, it was very elegant.

To his surprise, Shankar suggested, “Atharva can make Shruti wear the jewellery right now.”
He jumped at the opportunity and said enthusiastically, “Oh yes! Why not?” Preksha, who had been busy attending to the guests till then, got the jewellery box and opened it for Atharva.

He took the chain in his hands, opened the lock and turned towards Shruti. She was fretting with anticipation and realised that she needed to take her tresses in the front so that Atharva can clasp it around her neck. She felt her body quiver with anticipation; his hands were lightly touching the nape of her neck while trying to secure the lock. She could feel his breath on her cheeks, which made her all the more conscious. He took a bit longer than required, under the pretext that he was not able to see properly. Preksha offered to help and he refused immediately saying that he is fine.

He was almost done, and about to remove his hands when Minish commented, “Oh wait Atharva… please keep still.. forgot to click pics.”
He said gleefully, “Sure Minish… take your time...” to be greeted with laughter from the guests. He muttered under his breath, only such that Shruti could hear, “I can stay like this forever.” And she glimpsed at him. God! She didn’t want to name the emotions that she could see in his eyes…

At last, much to Atharva’s dismay and Shruti’s relief, it was over and they were served the snacks. Shruti was feeling very edgy owing to the recent interaction and could barely manage to eat something. He understood the reason and said softly, “Chill! Get used to it… much more to come,” and smirked. She looked at him aghast, as he was saying so openly, in front of so many. She knew that he had said it very softly, but still… what guts this guy has!

The guests were all given small decorated potlis( cloth bags) containing Saakar pudi (a packet of sugar) as a token to mark the occasion.

Eventually, all the guests started proceeding in their respective cars towards the restaurant which had been pre booked for the function. Here, the elders and the youngsters seated in different groups so as to mingle with each other more comfortably. The younger generation occupied the biggest table as both the sides’ cousins were more than eager to meet up the new member of the family. Shruti and Atharva were obviously seated on adjacent chairs. All had a gala time, enjoying the meal to their heart’s content amidst laughter and teasing. Shruti was finding it very cute as well as a bit weird as all his cousins were addressing her as bhabhi. Atharva was really sweet and requested those elder to him to call him by his name only.

Just then, Shruti brushed her hand on her forehead and the bindi fell down. Atharva noticed and abruptly said, “Arey! Your bindi fell down!”
She realised it must have happened as she was not used to putting bindis. But she was more baffled by his reaction. ‘Ek bindi hi toh thi…’
He looked at her and regretted, ‘The bindi was really suiting her well… added so much charm to her face.’

Shruti changed the topic and observed, “You really seem to enjoy these kind of meals, don’t you?”
Atharva nodded, “Yes… I like a variety of cuisines for that matter…. Don’t you?”
She shook her head, “I can’t imagine eating thalis.. love different cuisine food… but eating gujju food in a restaurant is out of question. Ghar pe bhi wohi… baahar bhi wohi… not my cup of tea to have so much… dekh ke hi stomach full lagne lagta hai.”
He mused, “I can see that.. you haven’t eaten much… at least have little more.. as it is you refused for half of the food that was being served.”
She replied, “I don’t like wasting food… khana hi nahi hai then why take it in your plate?”
He agreed, “I second you..”

He couldn’t contain his excitement, “Hope you remembered to bring your bag for the overnight stay.”
She nodded, “Yes.”

She was reminded of the call that Atharva’s dad had made saying that it was a custom in their family for the daughter in law to stay overnight after the gud dhana ceremony. The Vermas were hesitant and found it odd, but then the Parmars intervened and convinced them, saying that every family has its own customs. As such, she was supposed to come back next morning itself. The Vermas reluctantly agreed to it. She herself wasn’t sure, although her nerves were tingling with excitement.

While they were having dinner, Atharva’s cousins insisted to feed her a rasgulla. But he shook his head, “She doesn’t like rasgulla.. she relishes gulab jamun.”
Shruti was pleasantly surprised to hear him say that and asked, “How do you know that?!”
He grinned and responded, “Madam… I have been hearing all about what you like and what you do in the long chats that we have. You had only told me.”
She replied sheepishly, “Oh Okay.”

All the cousins had a hearty chuckle, specially Shruti’s, knowing her capacity to talk. Atharva took up a piece of Mohanthal instead(a sweet dish made from gram flour loaded with ghee and sugar, topped with dry fruits). She had a bite and offered the remaining to him. The youngsters all cheered and had a good time teasing the duo. Eventually the evening came to an end, and all the guests started dispersing.

The Vermas, Bhatts And Parmars met the Shahs, shook hands and bid each other farewell.
Mr Shah said, “Since the engagement is only 3 weeks away, we would like to call Shruti over the weekend for the jewellery and the engagement outfit that we have to buy for her.”
Mr Verma agreed and requested, “Yes sure. Please come along with  Atharva to our place at Nashik as you are yet to visit our home. Also, he can select the ring when he comes.”
Mr Shah declined the invitation saying, “It won’t be possible for all of us to come as Alpa’s sister is going to come for a visit from Ahmedabad. But Atharva will surely come and bring Shruti along with him to Mumbai, if that’s fine with you.”

Thus, both the families mutually agreed to the plan and parted ways. Shruti and Atharva went with her parents to get her bag, said goodbye, took blessings and left.

Once they reached home….

To be continued.....

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