The sky was just beginning to change hues sluggishly when Prithvi woke up after hours of restful sleep. Drowsily savouring a deep sense of contentment, he glanced at the slender figure sleeping by his side. Nandini was sleeping like a log, her hands wrapped snugly around his arm.

He too had slept soundly, which was surprising in view of his state of mind last night.

It had shaken him to find out that his father had lived in Ayodhya for a few days.

Since childhood, he had obstinately refused to set foot in any place associated with Adityaraj. And then to find out that he’d been living in the same structure that had housed his dad once …

Prithvi closed his eyes for a moment.

Long after Sumer Singh and Mochi had retired to their respective rooms, he had wandered through the whole house restlessly. He had even opened rooms that had been locked until today and spent some troubled moments in their musty confines, unsure of what he seeking but unable to stop searching for it…

And to amplify his confusion, Sumer Singh had also handed him the velvet box that contained an ancient gold ring engraved with his father’s family crest.

The large and hideous object, which had been passed through generations for hundreds for years, supposedly gave him the “right to rule”, according to a soppy tradition in the family.

Sumer Singh had confessed to snitching it from the palace before “greedy relatives stole it”. And the old guard had then taken an unbiased decision to give it to the boy he had raised for a decade, Prithvi mulled ironically.

In the end, feeling uncomfortable and perturbed, he had instinctively come to the terrace. Then he’d seen her sleeping on a mat, snuggled sweetly in a sheet. And instantaneously, the numerous ‘would haves’ and ‘could haves’ had lost their hold on his thoughts. Life was fine just the way it was…

He glanced at Nandini again.

Prithvi carefully eased his arm out of her death grip. She fidgeted and bundled up cosily in the bed sheet. Her hair had come loose during the night, and it was covering half of her face.

Raised himself on an elbow, he gently shifted the locks aside and kissed her cheek. She didn’t stir.

Such peaceful sleep….it would be a real shame to wake her up…

He grasped her shoulder and shook insistently. “Get up!”

“Five minutes,” Nandini mumbled automatically in sleep, pulling the sheet up to cover her face.

 “Sure. Good for me,” he muttered amusedly.

His hand settled on her waist and set out on a leisurely upward journey…

There was a small shriek and angry hands instantly shoved at his shoulders, pushing him away.

Nandini shot upright and frowned irritably at him.

“It worked like magic,” Prithvi shrugged and grinned.

Lingering drowsiness hindering her efforts to respond, she crossly grabbed the cotton sheet and stood up. “Mat and pillow,” she mumbled groggily.

“You can take it back later,” he said unconcernedly, rolling onto his stomach.

Panic cleared a little more of the fog in her brain. “You can’t - If ma comes here and sees – What will I tell her!”  

“You’ll think of a good excuse,” he encouraged in a muffled voice. “Now go and study.”

Nandini wondered acrimoniously if it was possible to stomp a person to pulp...   

*******************

Nandini gathered her bag close in anticipation and moved out of the shade offered by the bus stop to stand by the roadside as a bus appeared in the distance. Like everyone standing near her, she screwed up her eyes in the sunlight to figure out the number and destination mentioned in the glass case at the top of the vehicle. 

It was not the one she’d been waiting for. Disappointed, she quickly moved out of the way of a harried couple who were rushing to board the bus. 

Nandini wiped her perspiring forehead and neck with a handkerchief, and then retreated a few steps as the vehicle took off. She started to return to the bus stand….then stilled. 

Prithvi was strolling down the pavement towards her, bag slung on a broad shoulder. 

Bemused, she stared at him. As far as she could remember, the first and last time she had seen him walking to this bus stop was on the day after the riots. But currently, there wasn’t any such trouble in Shamli that she was aware of. 

In fact, the only difficulties in her life at present were the kind he enjoyed creating, Nandini mused crossly. 

She wanted to communicate her resentment before he came too close, and would have done a fine job of it too - if only he would look at her. But he was gazing into the distance as attentively as the other people who were awaiting the bus.  

She stared at Prithvi with rising annoyance as he came closer and closer …

 ….and indifferently walked right past her.

He strode to the edge of the metal shelter and halted, looking soberly in the direction from which the bus was to arrive.

Nandini studied him in disbelief. Then gritting her teeth, she walked up to him and huffily asked, “Why did you do that?”

He turned to her perplexedly. “Come to the bus stop? My chopper is scheduled to land here shortly,” he replied seriously.

Nandini wished she had the courage to pummel his arm in public. “Very funny!” she snapped. “Why did you just walk –

“Don’t stand so close to me in public. People will start questioning my morals,” he complained, looking around worriedly in an oddly familiar manner.

Taken aback, Nandini stood uncertainly, feeling at a complete loss. And then comprehension dawned. 

“You’re imitating me?!” she exclaimed with an astonished giggle, embarrassed and amused in equal measure. 

“And saving you the trouble of ignoring my existence for a minute before you give in,” he added with a grin.

“In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve ignored your existence for days on end without any problem whatsoever,” she retorted sweetly.

“Yeah right!” he snorted derisively. “You were a complete mess the whole time. Always angry and frowning and sulking and -”

“That was not me,” she protested laughingly, “That was you!”

“See…you still haven’t recovered from the trauma,” he said sadly.

As she giggled again, a loud honk announced the arrival of a bus.

***********************

Ensconced in the seat near the window, Nandini kept the bag on her lap. On the adjacent seat, Prithvi dropped his bag on the floor between his feet and then opened it to extricate a tablet computer.

“Don’t keep your bag there. It’s not hygienic,” she reproached. 

“I don’t intend to eat it for lunch, so it’s fine,” he retorted.

Sighing, Nandini picked up the heavy knapsack and kept it on top of her bag.

“Good girl,” he approved while working on the tablet, sitting more comfortably.

She looked at him indignantly. “Keep that aside and talk to me!”

“Yeah. That’s great,” he murmured distractedly, plainly in a different world altogether.

Giving up, she shifted her attention to the world beyond the window.

He had given up a chance to ride his darling bike so that he could romance a stupid electronic device in the bus. How lucky she was to have him in her life.

************************

Uma Raheja uninterestedly listened to her foolish sister prattling on about a saree sale in the town. Her only son was sitting near her on the couch and watching TV.

Despite the ghastly swelling on his face, Virat hooted excitedly each time he saw himself on the screen in an advertisement for a specialised itching cream for men. He was hopeful that the commercial would help him bag the hero’s role in big budget movies.

Uma was confident that his dreams would become reality. Wasn’t he fair and handsome? And the long wavy hair that grazed his shoulders added more charisma, in her opinion.

And in case his movie ambitions didn’t work out, he could always take over the family business. She was sure he would do a fine job. And then she would be able to give a fitting reply to everyone - her husband, relatives and the whole society – who believed Virat lacked basic common sense and intelligence. So what if he had performed terribly in studies and most extracurricular activities. Her son was a very talented person regardless of what jealous people said.

But he was very innocent….which is why some evil person had been able to fool him with that nonsense about a wish-granting pole, and then someone had slapped him senseless, stuffed him into a smelly and hole-ridden jute sack and dragged him back to the yard behind the wedding hall.

Virat wasn’t sure if the same person was responsible for both pranks. But he did remember that the second person had appeared out of nowhere after he had danced around the pole five times. The assailant had disgustedly stated that he, Virat, wasn’t worthy of a closed fist punch and then had slapped him twice. The first slap had almost taken his head off, and the second one had knocked him unconscious. The next thing he remembered was struggling to free himself from a stinking bag…

Uma fretfully gazed at the swelling on Virat’s face and clear-cut red fingerprints on his cheeks. The doctor had said her son’s face would take a couple of days to look normal again.

She viciously abused whoever had treated her child so abominably. But she was also determined that the incident be kept a secret. If people found out, her son would become a laughing stock. And that could harm her image when she went to Vrindavan to discuss the marriage proposal.

The Bharadwajs were not in their league money-wise. But she didn’t mind. Her goal was to see Virat married and settled before he became a big star in Hindi movies. It was the best way to protect him from vulgar gold diggers. And moreover, she had burnt her hands while attempting to find a match from families that were her financial equals.

Some months ago, her son had received a marriage proposal from a prominent family that had arrived recently in their city. Uma had visited their palatial house to see the girl. Everything had seemed alright. She’d even decided to overlook her prospective daughter-in-law’s average looks as it had appeared to be a good match otherwise. The alliance had been finalised.

Then purely by chance she had come upon a photograph of the girl in a tight dress.  The picture clearly showed sagging breasts and oddly bulging fat around the stomach. Suspicious, Uma had hired a private eye to investigate the female’s past.

The results had shocked her.

The outwardly coy girl had eloped with the family’s driver three years ago. She’d lived with the man for more than a year, and then had returned to her parents one fine day, disillusioned and pregnant. The child was presently staying with the girl’s grandparents.

Uma had felt outraged at the family’s deception. In a troubled moment, she had asked her sister to look for good alliances in the small town of Shamli. Neelu had instantly launched into a glowing description of a girl named Nandini.

Engrossed in other issues that cropped up later on, Uma had forgotten all about it until she had seen the girl in the temple, and later, observed her carefully during the wedding festivities in the Chawla’s house.

She had to concede that Nandini was beautiful, well-mannered and docile. Most importantly, the girl had an immaculate reputation. Discreet yet thorough investigations into the girl’s nature and character in the past few days had not thrown up any unsavoury revelations. Besides, the Bharadwaj family boasted of an illustrious lineage and commanded immense respect in the town.

Yes…Nandini would be perfect for her son.

************************

As they left the bus stop, Nandini mulled stoically that it was going to be a very long walk. She, for certain, wasn’t going to disturb him with her voice. He could saunter along with his face buried in his loathsome phone or tablet or -

A hand clasped hers warmly, and her eager fingers instantly mingled with his.

So he had finally noticed her presence, she thought with a curious mix of cynicism and pleasure.

They walked silently till the turning from the highway and entered the long stretch of the lovely, tree-lined road that led to the college. It was sparsely populated as usual. Far ahead of them, three students were hastening towards the institution. Vehicles were passing by sporadically

Prithvi broke the silence first. “I’ll be going to Devgarh after two days to bring Choti maa home,” he said casually.

She looked at him in surprise. It was the first time he’d mentioned his destination. Devgarh…the name wasn’t unfamiliar...

“Okay,” she murmured, “But have you checked with the doctors if you can travel for -”

“Naturally,” he nodded graciously.

She chuckled. “Sorry. It was foolish of me to ask. Hmmm…so I’ll get to see your Choti maa soon,” she said cheerfully.

“I’m really looking forward to your meeting with her,” he said sincerely.

The unusual earnestness in his tone roused faint misgivings in Nandini’s mind, but then she berated herself for being unduly suspicious.

“Will she – will she like me?” she asked brightly, struggling to mask her juvenile anxiety at the thought of meeting the woman who had been an important part of Prithvi’s childhood.

“She certainly will,” he said breezily.

She beamed at him and keenly asked, “What kind of a person is she?”

“Very easygoing and calm. Not old fashioned. Never loses her temper. Trusts people easily,” he answered thoughtfully.  

“She sounds wonderful,” Nandini said happily.

“She is,” he assured her. Towards me.

Nandini deliberated zealously for a while in silence, striving to decide how she would greet Choti maa. A Namaste? Or should she touch the older woman’s feet? Or a hug….

Partly lost in the important debate, she asked, “For how long will you be in college today?”

“Not sure. Don’t wait for me while going back home. I have other plans.”

“Alright,” she said, and then hesitantly asked, “What plans?”

“The kinds that don’t involve you,” Prithvi enlightened with a grin. As she was about to respond crossly, he stopped in his tracks, compelling her to halt too. 

He looked down at her feet with knit brows. “You’ve lost one.”

Nandini followed his eyes in puzzlement, and a close look proved he was right. The glint of silver was missing from one of her ankles. She groaned in dismay.

Pulling her hand from his hold, she swivelled and stared at the ground intently, her gaze tracking the path they had travelled. She hurriedly retraced her steps, examining every inch of the concrete road.

“Forget it,” Prithvi said impatiently. “It was just a cheap piece of silver - which is why you should find it at any cost,” he amended his opinion hastily as she stopped in her search and levelled a cold stare at him.

Nandini returned to the quest, and to her relief, almost immediately spotted the sparkling piece in a shallow crater on the road. Its delicate hook had broken. She picked up the anklet and put it into her bag, deciding to take it to a jeweller on the weekend.

Then she walked to one of the pavement stones by the edge of the road and sat down to take off the other anklet as well. Mingled, and growing, noises of a rattling rickshaw and a famous, trashy movie song reached her ears.

After two failed attempts, she looked up at the irritated-looking male in her vicinity.

 “Could you help?” she requested hopefully, extending the foot tentatively. He scowled, but walked over to her and kneeled on the ground. She hid a smile at his grumpy expression as he went to work. A second later, the anklet was thrown into her lap.

“Why aren’t you wearing the ones I gave you?” Prithvi demanded suddenly as he got up.

She laughed while placing the silver jewellery in her bag. “You expect me to walk around wearing diamond anklets?”

“Why not?” he countered mulishly

Nandini took the hand he had proffered and stood up, ruefully saying, “I’ve had enough trouble trying to explain the… ”

She paused and quickly freed her hand from his clasp as a rickshaw appeared around the small bend in the road. The decrepit vehicle was decorated vibrantly with posters of voluptuous heroines in seductive poses. She expected it to go past them, but the rickshaw swerved and came to a halt by the roadside before it reached them.

From the passenger seat, Suvek disembarked awkwardly and gaped at the couple, looking enraged. There was a nasty discolouration on his cheeks, nose and jawline. His left arm was in a sling.

He turned to the driver. “Shut that song!” he barked, and then grimaced in pain. Moving his facial muscles had been an agonizing exercise for the past fortnight.

Nandini too was wincing. Memories of the horrifying day that had nearly destroyed her sanity were spinning in her mind again…

She had not seen Suvek subsequently, though her friends had. He had apparently re-joined college last week.

“Damn it. You’re walking around already?” an exceedingly disappointed male voice noted. “I didn’t know I’d done such a shoddy job.”

Alarmed, she glanced at Prithvi.  His face had already turned ominously red. She looked back at Suvek. He was glaring at Prithvi. The rickshaw driver’s head poked out of the vehicle, gauged it was a dicey situation, and retreated swiftly after making a decision to flee if violence erupted.

“You – you *******…. I’ll teach you to - I’m going to the cops. You’ll be in jail by evening,” Suvek threatened in a low voice.

He had not wanted to have this confrontation without the protective company of his friends. He was also not emotionally ready to face Nandini after having been beaten up by his rival. But he’d not been able to overlook the sight of her hanging out cheerfully with the cocky ******* who had thrashed him senseless. He shouldn’t have let bitter humiliation and the fear of public mockery stop him from going to the police immediately after the fiasco.

“You should have approached the police weeks ago,” Prithvi chided, rage thrumming in each word. “But better late than never. Don’t worry. I’ll help you make a real case against me,” he assured icily, walking towards Suvek.

Nandini darted ahead and grabbed Prithvi’s arm. “No! No – not again!” she said feverishly.

Prithvi detached her hand from his elbow and moved ahead dauntingly.

Suvek clutched the vertical bar by the side of the rickshaw. He would have to make a quick getaway.

Furious, Nandini hastened to block Prithvi’s way. “Didn’t you hear me? I said – not -again!” she yelled angrily.

Startled by the telltale sparks in her gaze, Prithvi halted and watched warily as she swung to face Suvek.

“Leave. Right now,” she ordered frostily.

Suvek gawked at her in hurt disbelief. The anger in her eyes was destroying the hope that had surged on seeing her snap at his adversary…

 “You’re supporting him?! Even after you know what he did?”

“I know what you did too. And his actions were not as despicable as yours,” Nandini said coolly. “What you did on that stage that day…it was disgusting. You weren’t improvising. You were misbehaving. Don’t bother to lie,” she said harshly as he began to interrupt. “The type of suggestions you kept offering before the play…. I haven’t forgotten those either. I don’t want to make it an issue. But if you kick up a fuss about what Prithvi did, I’ll make sure everyone finds out about your cheap behaviour,” she warned heatedly.

Suvek’s eyes fell, unable to meet her direct gaze. He was dumbstruck by her outburst. He had expected to be intimidated by Prithvi, but he had not bargained on facing the temper of the girl he loved. He had not seen her in this mood before. It was devastating to be at the receiving end of her fury…

“So this is it? You’re choosing him,” he muttered in a stupor, and looked hatefully at Prithvi. “You’re choosing this bully – this egomaniac who -”

“Shut up!” Nandini said furiously. “Even at his worst, he is more admirable than you can hope to be at your best.”

Suvek stood motionless, gazing at her in shock. After a moment, he turned silently and got into the rickshaw. The old vehicle took off at a sedate pace with a relieved driver.

Nandini waited till the auto had left, and then swivelled to face a stunned Prithvi.

“Why do you have to behave like a hoodlum each time you see him?” she asked angrily.

Recovering somewhat from his shock, he irately muttered, “At least I know whom to get mad at. You fight with me even when it is someone else’s fault.”

“I fight with you because I don’t know what goes on in that puffed up head of yours!” she cried out. “And because you go out of your way to make me feel insecure! Always talking about stupid ex-girlfriends and other relationships! But not one word about your feelings for me!” she hissed. “I’m not like you. I’ve told you so many times that I love you! And I don’t drive you crazy with talks of other men. Have I ever done that? Have I?”

“No,” he admitted, and uncomfortably asked, “Can I tell you just one thing in my defence?”

“What?” she snapped.

Prithvi bent and grazed his lips very lightly against hers. He gazed into her widened eyes with a pleased light in his own and murmured, “You’re really awesome…sometimes.”

 “Always,” she rectified haughtily with a warm, pink face and turned to resume the walk to the college.

 He grinned after her, and followed unhurriedly.

“It was an amazing song.”

Nandini glanced at Prithvi, mystified by the comment. A brief tussle between ego and interest took place. When it was over, she stiffly asked, “Which one?”

“The one that was playing in the rick,” he answered seriously.

She stopped in astonishment. Out of nowhere, the song’s revolting lyrics and cacophonic score started playing in her mind.

Nandini giggled.

“I’m not kidding! It gave me an epiphany,” Prithvi insisted, coming to a halt himself.

“Of what kind?” she asked amusedly.

He stepped closer and clasped her shoulders. “Do you realise we haven’t danced around these trees yet?” he asked gravely.

Nandini burst out laughing.

“Dance? You? Me?” she said incoherently as tears of hilarity began rolling down her crimson face on imagining both of them, especially Prithvi, doing the mandatory dancing-around-the-trees routine she’d seen in Hindi movies

“Okay. Not around them. How about we do the dance in the middle of these trees,” he compromised courteously. 

A fresh hilarious scene popped up in Nandini’s mind, making her double up in a gale of laughter.

“Okay, I’m starting to feel a little insulted,” he glowered at her.

“I’m sorry,” she hiccupped, wiping off mirthful tears. “But the idea of you and me dancing….it’s funny!” she chuckled again.

“When will you learn,” he sighed, tossing his bag to a side. It landed at the bottom of a tree trunk.

“What are you – why - my bag!” she yelped as he slid it off her shoulder. It joined his knapsack. 

“You shouldn’t treat books like that! It is disrespectful to Goddess Saraswati,” she said exasperatedly, turning to go and pick up both the bags, and then gasped as his hands seized her by the waist and spun her back to face him.

“Prithvi, we’re standing on the road!” she remonstrated with a surprised laugh. “People will see us!”

“No one is that lucky,” he dismissed unconcernedly.

Nandini’s astonishment skyrocketed in the next few seconds as her left hand was smoothly positioned on his right shoulder, his left hand gently clasped her right one and his right arm positioned itself in the middle of her back. 

He tugged her closer in a quick, polished move that flustered her.  “You’re about to find out how little you know about me, pumpkin,” he grinned at her astounded features.

“Pumpkin?” she echoed, giggling in happy confusion. “What kind of a name is that?”

“It’s inspired by the size of your eyes,” he teased, and suavely swung her around

 “You’re insane!” Nandini accused laughingly. The initial feeling of surprise was swiftly being supplanted by sheer delight. If only she could allow herself to be swayed by the thrilling moment. The road was isolated and both the campus and the highway were far away. However, they could easily be seen from a considerable distance by people or vehicles approaching from either ends of the stretch and if any student, professor or members of the administration saw -

“Only for you,” Prithvi murmured quietly, gazing at her flushed face. The tenderness and intensity in his eyes made her knees go weak. What did a verbal confession of love matter when he could make her feel cherished and loved without saying a word…

Then he smiled irresistibly, and in a breathtakingly stylish move, whirled her around on the path. 

Nandini giggled nervously. Her heart was hammering with joyous excitement. And in the subsequent minutes, the sense of euphoria only deepened as she found herself being swung and twirled with incredible refinement and flair.

She didn’t know what she was doing. Her knowledge of this dance was restricted to watching it in movies. Prithvi, on the other hand, seemed to be magnificent at it. And using a subtle and gentle strength to influence her movements, he was making her feel implausibly graceful. She gasped as he blithely executed tricky moves with her, and laughed while outmanoeuvring his optimistic attempts to exploit the ‘opportunities’ offered by the dance.

They were being unbelievably rash. Outsiders could come across them at any minute.

But the scariest part of the situation was that she was finding it impossible to care about the risks.

“What other talents have you got up your sleeve?” Nandini asked dazedly when she finally succeeded in catching her breath.

He smiled wickedly and promised, “You’ll find out in time.”

This time, the distinctly roguish twinkle in his eyes gave Nandini adequate forewarning. She pulled out of his arms with a playful jerk as he bent to kiss her again.

 “That was the finale!” Prithvi said indignantly.

“I’m not that impressed with your skills,” Nandini chuckled, walking to the roadside to pick up their bags.

“Which ones?”

She spun to look at him quizzically.

“Dancing or kissing?” he asked anxiously.

Her skin flamed up.

Scarlet-faced and tongue-tied, Nandini quickly turned and walked towards the bags with as much poise as she could manage, simultaneously pretending she couldn’t hear the rich rumble of laughter in the background…

****************************