Atharva tried to cheer her up. “Hey! We shall be meeting up again in another 10 days… for ganpati festival.” Shruti’s face brightened up. She knew it was a big time in Shah family, but she was going to witness it for the first time and couldn’t wait for it.

To be continued….

Before they knew, they had reached Mumbai. For them, it was too soon but then it wasn’t in their hands. They had a family dinner as it was quite late already. Once again Atharva witnessed the unrestricted environment and conversation in the family and enjoyed it. It was time to part ways and there was no other excuse to keep lingering. Atharva invited all to come to their home for Ganpati Darshan, took blessings of the elders and bid adieu to the youngsters.

It seemed impossible to have a moment of seclusion without being obvious. So, he simply wished Shruti bye, devoured her with his eyes for a full minute and had almost left, when Shruti said, “Atharva! Wait a minute,” and excused herself. They went towards his car… she glanced around to assure herself, went on her tip toes and gave him a quick peck on his cheeks, much to his amazement. He quipped with tongue in his cheek, “Bold and Beautiful.” She returned saucily, “It’s the company I keep… you see.” He teased her, “Is that so? Next time I won’t withhold myself then.” Saying so, he gently squeezed at her waist and chuckled at seeing the reaction. He bit his lip trying to suppress his laughter, seeing her going from bold to timid in a matter of seconds. They finally bid goodbye to each other. Everyone teased the hell out of Shruti once she went back but she simply couldn’t have let him go like that. She merely grinned from ear to ear and kept mum.

On Monday, Atharva went to the office and the Vermas returned to Nashik once Anilji was done with his work. Shankar had returned from Delhi. So it was decided that, this time Minish would  accompany Atharva to the factory.

Shruti, on the other hand, got busy with getting her stuff done. She had shopped for quite a few dress materials as well, so got involved in designing them and getting them stitched. She was running around with a hectic schedule, as she had started going to a gym since a month. As it is with mostly all brides, she wanted to loose a couple of pounds before her wedding and have that perfect figure. She was conscious of what she ate nowadays, and religiously followed her workout routine. On top of that, the visits to the workshop were also frequent as there was a lot being done there. She was always doing something or the other and hardly got any time to sit down and relax.

On one such afternoon, it was almost 3 p.m. by the time she came home for lunch. Her mother had called her up multiple times to inquire but she didn’t want to leave before she got what she was waiting for. She chided her as soon as Shruti stepped in, “ You lose track of time when you go there Shru. It’s quite late. Don’t skip your meal times please. As it is, you have cut down on your food. Ek din chakkar kha ke gir jaayegi. “ She brushed it aside, as if used to it, and exclaimed, “Woh sab chhodo Mumma! Please close your eyes.” Jyotiji did so, although kept grumbling in her motherly way, “Paagal hai tu sachhi.”

Shruti excitedly took out something from her tote bag and held it for her mom to see. She was super excited with the result and was impatient to see her mom’s reaction.  She began, “Surprise! See it’s the sample for the embroidery of your sari for my weddi…” Before she could complete, she realised that her mom was crying.

She was taken aback and asked, “Mumma! What happened?” Jyotiji took a while to get back to normal. After having a glass of water offered by her daughter, she said in a tearful voice, “After Nainaa went, I was still ok as I had you to keep me company. Time has wings I feel, as in another couple of months even you will be married. I thought I will pamper you to the core during these months, coz after that you will go away forever. But here you are, running around getting things done. I know it’s your passion, the chance you had been waiting for to live your dream. So didn’t want to stop you, but do take care of yourself beta. Don’t over exhaust yourself.”

Shruti was weepy herself and said, “Mumma… I am fine. It’s just that they had done it in a very different way… it was looking very cluttered. So I got it done again. These saris will take a long time to be made. I wanted them to start before I leave for Ganpati. Don’t worry. But you didn't tell me..  How's it?” Her mother said with a lot of pride,  "It's stunning beta. I am sure It's going to turn out to be grand." Shruti felt elated and satisfied to hear that. The duo hugged each other and had their lunch together. Shruti, like always, discussed about everything brewing in her head. She realised that it was going to be very difficult for her to exist without her mom. That had been the sole reason of not even thinking about studying out of town.

And here she was… getting married in a different city. She used to feel scared of the unknown. Till date she had been a very carefree person, not bothering about anything in the world. Suddenly, she will be expected to behave in a matured and responsible way. Till then, she had only been a daughter and a sister to someone… family meant the five of them. But that was changing at a fast pace. She was soon going to be addressed as Shruti Atharva Shah…. sounded like music to her ears of course, but then what about the identity she had been living with for so many years? She was going through that emotional phase where, although the girl knows that she will have to leave her safe haven one day, has that jolt of realisation that life is going to change in a humongous way and she would be helpless about it. Just one decision can change so much! Now she was a fiancé, sister in law, daughter in law, the ‘bahu’ of Shah family. That title itself sent shivers down her spine.

Shruti was in her thoughts when she got a message. It was from Atharva… her eyes welled up on reading the text which said, without any preamble, “Missing you.” The unshed tears threatened to overflow from her  eyes thinking about him. It gave her the assurance that there will always be someone to take care of her in the house that was soon going to be her home as well. She texted back, “Miss you two, three, four, infinite.” Atharva grinned when he saw the message and texted, “All ready for Ganpati jaanu? Can’t wait to meet you.” Shruti’s mind got stuck at the first part and she thought, ‘Freak! I haven’t even decided what am I gonna wear! God!' She texted back,  'Me too.'
She was in her room and screamed at the top of her voice for her one and only saviour, “Mummmmmaaaaa!! Come quickly!” Her mom was there in a minute when Shruti continued, “I haven’t decided about what am I going to wear for Ganpati… hardly four days left!” Her mom answered, “Tujhe fursat mile tab na… achha listen, since it’s your first time, you will be expected to wear a sari.”

Shruti looked warily at her and said,  "Kya mom.. How will I manage? " Jyotiji gently rebuked her and said,  "High time you learn dear.  You can learn basic draping while still here and then ask Preksha or Alpaji to help you out.  Then there is that ready to wear sari as well. So it shouldn't be a problem." She spent the entire afternoon sorting out and deciding on clothes.  Her friend Priyanka came over in the evening and helped her to chose and coordinate. Once done, her mom treated them With delicacies and they had a good time catching up after so long.

The days passed quickly prepping herself and before she knew,  it was time to go to Mumbai.

To be continued...

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