All three quickly settled; before the lights were switched off, she pleaded, “Atharva… I have set the alarm for 6 a.m…. but still I am known for switching off the alarm and going back to sleep. So pllleasse… wake me up in the morning.”

Both the boys chuckled when Atharva quipped, “You seem to be breaking all possible ‘ideal bahu’ norms that were ever formulated.” She retorted back cheekily, “In which age do you live Atharva Shah? Please grow up.” The lights were switched off, all three wished each other good night and slept.

To be continued….

In the morning, it was a task for them to wake up. Eventually they did though Shruti was the last one. Thankfully, once she was up, she realised that she might get late and rushed about her routine. Atharva was impatiently waiting for her to get ready as she was going to be wearing a sari. He was sure she would look stunning and couldn’t hold his excitement. Shruti was also equally conscious as this was going to be the first time that she will be wearing one in front of her in laws.

While wearing her blouse, she became aware that she would need help with it as the buttons were at the back. She messaged Atharva, ‘Please send bhabhi.. need help.’ He knew she must be stuck up with the draping and naughtily texted, ‘Bandaa haazir hai… will help you.’ She was irritated as it is and snapped, ‘Line baad me maar lena… right now please send bhabhi.’ He chuckled at her bold reply and requested Preksha to help her.

Shruti didn’t take long as it was a ready to wear sari and was done in 15 mins. Preksha observed, “You have really lost weight Shruti… I didn’t notice till now. The drape is really enhancing the look.”

Shruti couldn’t have been more glad as she had been slogging herself at the gym and was following her diet ritually as well. It was a mermaid cut sari in hues of orange to golden yellow, giving it a sultry look. It was minimally embellished with stone work and the overall impact was dazzling. She decided to leave her hair open and wore a delicate diamond necklace and earrings to go with it. Her make up was as usual, to the point and nothing too jazzy. She wore her bangles and oh yes! How could she forget the bindi? She checked herself in the mirror once more and moved out.

Shruti was hunting for her beloved, waiting for his approval. However, she was disappointed to know that he had stepped down to get something for the puja. At that very instance, the doorbell rang and she went to open the door. Atharva stopped in his tracks when he saw her and stood staring. Shruti raised her eyebrows, asking him silently about how did she look, when a wide smile broke on his face. He stared at her from head to toe in a way that made her curl her toes.

Their moment of adoration was quickly over as both became conscious of the fact that they were at the doorstep. She adored him in the lemon yellow kurta that he had paired with blue denims.

They got busy with getting things ready for puja. After a while, the puja began and Shankar and Preksha took their place for the same.

Atharva sat down to pick out the durva (a type of grass offered to Bappa) and asked Shruti to join him. At first, she couldn’t understand what exactly was he doing. So Atharva patiently explained, “Bappa adores being offered durva. But it needs to be precise..” He then held one in his hand and showed her, “There should be just three leaves at the top, forming a Trishul…  That’s the correct way.”

She gulped down a lump and said, “You are too particular yaar… never in my life had I thought about all this. I consider it an accomplishment that I knew about this grass being called durva.”

He looked at her wryly, “Hmmm… I can comprehend that. No problem, waise bhi bahot kuch seekhna hai tujhe.” She made a face and rebuked, “Sharam karle thodi si… Bappa ke saamne aisi baatein!” He said nonchalantly, “tch tch… kya kya sochti hai tu… I am talking about paath puja and all.” She made a face and continued with what she had been asked to do, with full concentration.

Shruti stopped for a second and looked at him, “Is there something wrong with the way I look today?” He knitted his eyebrows and replied, “Not at all.. why?” She said in a disheartened tone, “Ohh… you didn’t say anything… that’s why.”

He looked at her and shook his head, “I thought my eyes said it all. Har baar bolna zaroori thodi hai? I am sure you could judge from the way I looked at you that you look ravishing today.” She was overjoyed to hear him say that.

The sthapna puja was about to get over when Atharva pointed out, “Next year, we shall also sit for one of the pujas.” She mumbled and sat observing the various rituals being performed.

Once over, Shruti helped in the kitchen with whatever she could. Amongst so many ladies she felt useless with her lack of skills, but still she did her bit. She was assigned the task to set plates and bowls, as the guests would start pouring in a while now. Majority would make an appearance during lunch time, including her parents and relatives.

By the time her parents came along with the Parmars, the Bhatts, and a couple of other relatives, she was already looking tired, owing to the endless number of trips between the kitchen and the living room where the guests were having their lunch. In between introductions and requests for serving something or the other, she felt dead on her feet.

Mrs Verma observed her daughter, who seemed to be all grown up,  keeping an eye on what was required and trying her best to be alert, unlike at home, where she rarely had to bother about anything. They all sat down for the meal, along with the Shahs and Preksha’s parents.

While having the luncheon, Anilji mentioned, “Dilipbhai, you are yet to visit our home.” Mr Shah nodded and agreed, “Yes… I am aware Anilji and will soon make amends. Actually, this weather doesn’t suit me as I suffer from chronic asthma… hence avoid traveling.” Mr Verma sympathised with him and suggested, “How about coming during Diwali? Then the climate would be pleasant enough. We can go for darshan at  Trimbakeshwar as well.”

Atharva knew Anilji had nailed it, as his father was a devout follower of Shiva. Mr Shah responded, “We have Diwali puja at our office, just as you do… and this time, Shruti will be there too. What we can do is, we can all join you in Nashik after Bhai dooj… if it’s ok with you.” Anilji readily agreed, “You are most welcome anytime Dilipji.” And so it was decided that the entire Shah family would visit Nashik after Diwali.

It was past 3 in the afternoon that she could take a break and sit down. Her parents stayed around for a while and then left. She had wanted to change into something comfortable then itself and even mentioned about it to her mom, who reprimanded, “It won’t look appropriate Shruti… change later on.” She gave a dejected look to her mom but knew she was right. It was just impossible to run around and take care of the sari as well though.

Shruti was waiting for bhabhi since a while but she had gone to her room as Isha was cranky and needed to be put to sleep. Even her mother in law had gone to take an afternoon nap as there will be quite a few guests in the evening as well.

Atharva went to convey her the same and entered into her room. Shruti was fumbling with the buttons at the back, but to no avail. The moment he saw her doing that, the hormones that had been lying dormant till then, started raging and he felt an adrenaline rush. He came in, shut the door and before she knew, started unfastening a couple of buttons.

He nuzzled at her neck all the time, tingling her senses. She was gradually losing her grip on her sanity owing to his intoxicating touch. The tension had been building between them since yesterday as they hadn’t had a chance to steal even a quick kiss. He planted butterfly kisses while caressing her back that was getting denuded as he was still at the task. He took his time, doing it at a snail speed, devouring every inch of skin getting exposed for him to relish. He slid his hand over her slender waist that had been enticing him… she looked so sultry today that he couldn’t resist touching here right there.

He had observed that the couple of pounds she had lost had done wonders for her figure and succumbed in to his desire. They had lost track of time, place, everything… adrift in the sensations that the touch was creating. Shruti was trying to combat with her conscience as all coherent reasoning flew out of the window and tiny quivers made her tremble. The small hair on her face were standing coz of his breath that she could feel on them.

It was a sweet anguish; the deep dark wishes that a girl keeps buried and under control, came awake and she was losing herself in the wild sensations. Caught up in the moment of passion, he almost undid all the buttons.

She was his weakness, the chink in his armour… his undoing. All at once, he jolted out of his fantasy and remembered the occasion. He created distance between them with great difficulty and whispered in her ears, “Ye kambaqt self control ne aaj bhi dhokha de diya. How I wish I could continue, but Bappa ghar pe hai. Not correct on our part to indulge ourselves.”

She abruptly came out of her enchanted world and self consciously held on to her clothes. She couldn’t meet eyes with him, took her change of clothes and ran inside the washroom. Atharva was all heated up and realised the extent to which they had gone. He mentally asked Bappa for His forgiveness. Hell… he was not himself nowadays. He left before someone came looking for him and went to freshen up.

Shruti couldn’t come to terms with what just happened. Where did their common sense go every time?! She wondered and locked herself up for a while, still feeling the emotional riot when he touched her. She thanked her stars that no one came searching for them at that time; as such, all had just retired to their rooms. Anyways, it had lasted for hardly a few minutes, though it felt like an eternity. She decked up in an olive green silk bandhej with a heavily embroidered dupatta, which she pinned up for practical reasons (she had to run around right?) and wore an exquisite pair of jadau earrings and a neckpiece to complete the look. A touch up of her make up and voila! She was ready and went out, relieved to see that there weren’t many people. Throughout the evening she was tensed, expecting Preksha to ask her about how did she manage on her own. Thankfully, it skipped her mind owing to the fact that they were extremely busy.

Gradually, people started coming and steadily the flow increased. Everyone who came, praised the magnificent temple which pleased the trio immensely.

The next day was equally hectic as they had Satyanarayan katha in the morning. This time, Atharva and Minish sat for the puja and Shruti and others sat around. She observed how keenly Atharva listened to every word that the Panditji said, and became aware of the crucial difference between them once more. For Shruti, closing her eyes for 2 mins and praying with full devotion was more than enough. She was never inclined towards saying or learning shlokas and all, unlike the Shah family.

The day passed in a jiffy, with continuous flow of guests. Before they knew, it was already time for Uthaapan (a ceremony after which we immerse the idol in water) . It was indeed very difficult to bid farewell and all the family members were feeling pretty low. It left a felling of emptiness behind.

Shruti mused, ‘What was best about such festivities was how it enlivened the environment. She adored the way it brought the family members together. It left behind an aura of peace and harmony.’

The thing about such occasions is that it takes so long for the preparations… builds up your enthusiasm and keeps you energised. However, it gets over sooner than you wish. For Shruti, it meant end of the stay at Shah residence.

To be continued….

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