Part-Time Devdaas... (33 page)

It had been more than two hours that Devika was around but she hadn’t spoken a single word to me. The reason, surely was my moronic response in the past, but I preferred to assume it was Advait, her fiancé who had accompanied her. Who Advait? Remember Mr Francisco? At last Devika’s father had succeeded in convincing her into getting engaged to him. I waited for the rest of the seats at the lunch table to be occupied so that I would get a chance to sit beside her, but when the time came, ‘The Mother’ chose to put me on display to a bunch of kitty party type aunties. By the time I reached the table, the seat was occupied by Advait. Muttering abuses to my bad luck, I took a seat Ragini had saved for me.

“So Raghuvir?” Shashank said loudly enough to score the attention of all the ten people sitting at the round table. “What have you decided?”

“About what?” Raghu said meekly, fully knowing he was going to be ragged.

“About your name. I mean are you keeping your first name or is Ruchika changing it to something else?” Raghu buried his head in his hands as everyone at the table guffawed.

“Shut up Shashank, or I’ll stab you with this fork,” Ruchika jumped to Raghu’s rescue before Raghu said anything inviting further ragging from Shashank.

“See, now she won’t let him speak for himself even. Bye bye my fiery friend… thou shalt be missed,” Shashank said faking horror.

“I should have come for your wedding. I would have embarrassed you so much, you would have regretted inviting me.” Devika jumped to Raghu’s rescue.

“Yes, but you didn’t na, bloody ditcher.
f
riends like you and Poncho should be caned,” Shashank said slapping my arm. Devika finally smiled looking at me.

“Can we please stop the girly ranting?” Ragini gave Shashank a cold stare, silencing him instantly.

“Now who’s the pussy?” Raghu hollered across the table, everyone guffawed again.

“So, Advait, when’s the wedding?” Shashank asked as the laughter subsided.

“That depends on her highness’ mood...” he said placing his hand on Devika’s chair. “...She hasn’t agreed on a date as yet.
a
s soon as she does, I’ll fly her away to SF...”

I saw Devika’s face flush the smile as the wedding date was mentioned; my stomach on the other hand cramped at the thought of Devika going permanently away from me. Even though she wasn’t always around in the past eighteen years, I knew at the back of my mind she would be accessible. All through the time Mr Francisco bragged about his life back in SF, Devika and I kept stealing glances at each other. I had missed her in the past two years, but only when she reappeared did I realize the magnanimity of how much I had missed her. Every time she looked at me, there were these unrecognisable feelings that launched mini tornadoes all over my body, making me highly unstable.

“I think we should leave, lest will miss the flight,” Advait said to Devika as the lunch wrapped. She profusely coughed cleverly masking her displeasure.

“I’ll just say bye to everyone and be back,” she replied as her coughing petered out. My eyes followed her as she skittered between Raghu’s relatives bidding the goodbyes.

“Hey, it was nice meeting you.” I said to Advait as he caught me staring at Devika.

“Same here, brother. If I’m not wrong I’ve seen you before.”

“Yes, probably at Nishi bhaiya’s sangeet.”

“Yes, now I remember! You are the guy everyone was talking about then...”

“Yes...”

“Let’s leave, I’m done,” Devika said, thankfully interrupting a potentially awkward conversation.

“Oh sure. Bye Arjun, see you soon?” Advait said, I nodded yes with a smile.

“Bye...” Devika said to me before she turned to leave.

“Are you not going to tell her?” Ragini said as I stood motionless watching Devika walk away yet again. I mutely looked at her, “After what you’ve put her through, she deserves to know.”

“Who deserves to know what?” Shashank asked entering the scene.

“She deserves to know that he loves her...”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Devika.” Raghini said, I turned to her stunned.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“No, I am not, but you are blind. What you couldn’t see in all these years, I figured it out in a few hours.” She poked her fingernail in his chest.

“He knows what I’m saying.”

She turned to me. “Tell her before it’s too late Arjun, again.”

“But...” I said.

“Don’t worry. She feels the same about you, don’t you know it already?” I smiled, “Now run!”

I hysterically rushed to the parking lot as the fact that I was in love with Devika sank in deeper and deeper. I had no idea why I had not figured that out. Huffing and puffing, I caught up with her before she sat in the car.

“Dev...” I said, barely able to breathe.

“Arjun? What happened?” My furious panting continued.

“I’m sorry...” I said trying to regain control over my breath.

“Sorry for what?”

“Sorry for being a dick to you, sorry for not being there when you needed me the most, sorry for letting you go away easily, sorry for screwing everything we had...” I gasped for breath.

“I was so pissed at God for not letting me have what I wanted that I couldn’t see what I already had. I was so confused and guilty and angry at everything, that I could not recognise any of my own feelings.”

She was quiet, looking at me with those huge eyes, so I continued, “I can’t change the way I feel for Hrida...” I took a few steps towards her, “... but what you and I till now didn’t know is what I feel about you is equally devastating. It took me two years away from you and one Mr Francisco to realise what I had lost and what I was about to lose...”

I curled my finger to her pinky finger, “...
y
ou. I’ll fight every heavily moustached warrior in your family if I have to, but I’m not letting you go away this time. I’m sorry it took me so long to say this, but I love you Dev, not crazily, not madly, but fairly enough for us to last a lifetime...” I noticed the moistness in her eyes. Advait in the mean time had gotten out of the car.

“Dev? Say something?”

“Promise me you’ll roll joints for me till death do us apart,” she said as she took a step towards me.

“I promise,” I said and held her face to kiss.

The End

After the End:

“I
might have exaggerated a bit when I said I’ll fight all the warriors in your family.” I said inching towards Devika as we stood in front of a hundred odd fierce-looking men and women of Devika’s family.

I had always considered my internal contortions as the only obstacle in the way of me getting married. So after overcoming my partial pursuit of self-destruction and recognising my feelings for Devika, I thought happily ever after of my story was just around the corner. Little did I know that there were around hundred more people to be buttered before I could drive into the sunset with her. Talking about fighting for your love is one thing, but the thought of literally sword-playing with ferocious men who’d shred you like confetti in the blink of an eye made me piss my pants. Not only men, even the women with their moustaches akin puberty hit boys looked barbarous.

“Pussy you are, but that’s what makes you adorable.” Devika giggled as her fingers gripped the back of my hand, “Besides they don’t really fight for a living these days.”

“Are you both going to stand there and keep talking to yourself?” Thundered Digvijay Uncle, Nishi bhaiya’s father. On the flight to Gwalior, I had mugged up the names of all of Devika’s three grandparents, eleven uncles, eight aunts their respective spouses and some fifty-six cousins, even maids just in case. I somehow had a knack of consistently getting myself in the utmost complicated situations possible. As though once wasn’t enough, I was here again in front of the ‘To be Father-in-law’ to convince him to let me marry his daughter, after him agreeing to it once.

“Sir...” I said clearing my throat, “... sirs I mean, and ma’ams, and  brothers and sisters...” I said as I looked at everyone. I had no idea what I was saying or what I was going to say. All I could think of then was to turn around and run away. I did turn, but then my eyes locked themselves on Devika who stood behind me, absolute as always, her eyes exuding warmth and love. Something she had done for the past nineteen years. I had an intense urge to smack myself every time I wondered what took me so long to realise how I felt about her. She had been right there in front of me all this while and I couldn’t see it.
i
t was only when I lost her that the blood rushed to my brain. It was time for me to man up and face the warriors.

“I-I am sorry...” I said walking up to Devika’s father but maintaining a safe distance. “No words can justify what I did, so I can understand the anger and hatred you might have for me. I know you love Devika dearly and don’t want to see her hurt in any way. I love her too, it is my love for her that gives me the courage to stand here in front of all of you, and if it’s anything to go by, then believe that I’ll never let anything break her heart again...” I turned to look at Devika’s gleaming eyes.
h
er smile made my heart pound and I began firing words straight out of it. Fifteen minutes later when I was done with my monologue, except for the ‘To-be Father-in-law’, the moustaches of all the men and women sitting in front of me were soaked in their tears. I stood there with my eyes fixed on Devika’s father for a reaction. He motionlessly stared at the floor for exact three minutes before he got up. It felt like all my innards had begun to run helter-skelter as soon he took his first step towards me, sweat began to drip from every corner of my body. I anchored my feet to the ground to keep myself from running away, but what happened next flipped all of the discomfort within me.

“Welcome to the family...” he said extending his hand towards me. “Lemme know when we can meet your parents.”

Devika jumped to hug him. I too wanted to do it but controlled my emotions, lest he would change his mind. Nishi bhaiya satiated my itch to hug as he pounced on me.

“You broke my heart...” Nishi bhaiya said hugging me, I felt few of my bones crumble inside me, “Don’t do it again, okay?” his rugged voice choked.

“I’m sorry bhaiya...” I said as he released his grip on me.

I spent next one hour hugging and touching the feet as Devika’s father introduced me to everyone. My forehead had never gotten so many kisses all my life. I was overwhelmed with all the love showered on me. I stood there smiling as people pulled my cheeks, clicked photographs, stuffed all sort of sweets in my mouth, asked questions after questions about filmstars, but to my surprise, I had no qualms about any of it. I gelled with all of them as if I forever belonged to the family. I guessed ‘The right time’ had come. I looked at Devika, covering her smile with her hand, rolling her eyes in mock anger, strands of hair falling on her face. I swear if it was a film, there would be a romantic song playing in the background. I loved her, so much that my heart somersaulted looking at her. All I could think of was hold her close and never let her out of my sight for a single second.

“Thank you...” I muttered looking skywards.

“Done talking to God?” She said as she hugged me.

“Hmm...” I smiled as I turned to face her. Somehow I couldn’t get enough of looking at her.

“Thank you...” she said hugging me, “The master shall reward you handsomely for it...” she said whispering in my ear.

“How handsomely?”

“Handsomely enough to fry your brains useless,” she said pecking a kiss on my lips. “But that’s for later, for now I have work to do.”

“Like what?”

“Like flying back to Mumbai and convincing your mother?”

“Shit!”

and the story continues…