SWASAN – MR MAHESHWARI AND I
Heyy, It’s Anjali back with the next chapter!!!
Thnxx for comments and to my silent readers….
http://www.tellyupdates.com/swasan-mr-maheshwari-chapter-5/
THIS IS A SUPER LONG CHAPTER!!!! HAVE FUN!!!
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Swasan dance in ballroom, Sanskaar accepts Swara’s challenge…Swasan conversation…
CHAPTER 5
Swara and Sanskaar started walking outside the house.
Swara : Usually, I take the smaller route. But since Zozo has been cooped up inside for 2 days, I am going to take him for a longer run. Do you mind?
Sanskaar : Not at all! We’ll go to the park near the lake as your mom suggested.
Swara (knowingly) : Ragini won’t be there. You’re going to be disappointed.
She tries to send a message to Ragini to ask her to leave, But Sanskaar notices and takes her phone.
Swara (indignantly) : Hey! What are you doing?
Sanskaar smiles.
Sanskaar : I am going to keep your phone with me until we go to the park. Then I will give it to you.
Swara fumes and they walk silently. She usually loved walking Zozo as she could reflect upon her life. But now, this stupid man was there. Though he was being quiet. She would too.
This strategy worked for several minutes. Then
Sanskaar : Yesterday, Laksh made us both look like fools…
Swara : Sorry?
Sanskaar : Do you know what he told me before introducing us?
Swara tried to stop. But Zozo kept walking. So she stumbled and straightened herself. She shook her head no.
Sanskaar : He said that you couldn’t stop talking about me.
Swara : Actually, That’s not exactly a lie.
Sanskaar : No! What he meant was, you couldn’t stop complimenting me. In a good way.
Swara (smiling) : That’s not true.
Sanskaar probably shouldn’t have smiled. But he did. And Swara was glad he did.
Sanskaar : I thought as much.
After some time,
Swara : Why would he do such a thing?
Sanskaar : Do you have a brother?
Swara : No! All I have is Ragini!
Sanskaar : He did it just to torture me. Sibling requirement, you see…
Swara (muttering) : Good Boy!
Sanskaar : I heard that
Swara : Damn your sharp ears
Sanskaar (continuing) : I think he wanted to torture you as well.
Swara (surpised) : Me? What did I do to him?
Sanskaar (suggesting) : Because you insulted his beloved elder brother?
Swara (sarcastically) : Beloved?
Sanskaar : Much admired and inspiring?
Swara shook her head.
Swara : That doesn’t make sense either.
Sanskaar grinned. Miss Gadodia did have an admirable wit. They had almost reached the park. He took her arm and guided her through a narrow muddy road rather than the main road.
Zozo, clearly a town dog, picked up his pace as they entered the narrow roads. Though he was so fat that it was difficult to think of him running faster.
Still, Zozo seemed perfectly happy and sniffed every flower, animal or passerby that crossed them. A sunny day had finally shown up in Kolkata after many rainy days and so many people have come out to enjoy the weather.
They reach the park. Sanskaar and Swara do not see Ragini anywhere.
Swara : Wait! I’ll call her. give me my phone.
Sanskaar (seeing that Swara wanted to sit down) : No, It’s ok. We’ll wait for some time. Then we’ll call her. You sit down.
Swara was surprised but nodded. She sat down and motioned for Sanskaar also to sit. He shook his head and turned to look at the passer-bys. He turned around to look at Swara.
He was mesmerized seeing her. She was looking up with her eyes closed and enjoying the sun. Her face looked so peaceful. He could see her long eyelashes and how pretty she was. Her hair was flying and covering her face. Automatically, his hand slowly and gently pushed the strands behind her ear. Swara opened her eyes as she could feel someone touching her face. Swara looks at Sanskaar touching her and gets a tingling feeling. He stops and looks at her. His hand is touching her cheek. They hold that position for several minutes. He leaned in closer and got a whiff of lilies and soap. It was really tantalizing.
Suddenly, Zozo seeing that Swara’s grip on his leash had reduced jumped up joyfully and began running. Swara stumbles and almost falls, but Sanskaar catches her by the waist. He sets her straight.
Swara : Thank you! (She sees Zozo running somewhere) Oh crap! Sorry Mr Maheshwari..
Before Sanskaar could figure out what was happening, Swara had begun running after Zozo.
Sanskaar : Damn it! I can’t let her go after the dog alone. What if he goes somewhere unsafe? Damn the dog…This Miss Gadodia is causing too many problems for me. MISS GADODIA!!!
He runs after her and soon reaches her as she had stopped for breath. There was no sign of Zozo.
Sanskaar : Where did he go?
Swara : I don’t know. Maybe he found a mouse, or a rabbit, or a frog.
Sanskaar(sarcastically) : That’ll make it easier to catch him. Our main roads are filled with such tiny animals.
Swara shot him a glare meaning that she didn’t like his sarcasm. Sanskaar wanted to tell her to forget the fat beast and get a real dog, but seeing the worry and irritation in her eyes, he sighed and began searching for Zozo.
Sanskaar : I think we should just wait here. Sooner or later, someone is going to scream looking at him and we can get him.
Swara : You think so?
EEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK
Sanskaar (flashing Swara a know-it-all grin) : What’d I tell you?
Swara hurried after him, cutting right across the grass towards the lake. The businessman was running in front of her, and all she could think was that he must really want to marry Ragini, because despite the fact that he was clearly a splendid athlete, he looked most undignified dashing through the park after a rotund corgi.
Swara kept running on after them, but she was losing ground. She had worn a skirt today and it kept unbalancing her while running.
She stopped again, unable to run any more. Then horror and realisation dawned. They were almost near the lake, which meant…
Oh Shit!!!
There was little Zozo liked better than to jump in a lake. And the sun was just warm enough that it might look tempting, especially if one happened to be a creature covered with thick, heavy fur, a creature who’d been running at breakneck speed for five minutes. Especially a fat corgi who admirably had managed to keep a tall athlete running after him still.
She yanked up her skirts, She couldn’t help it and went started running again. She had to stop Mr Maheshwari. Otherwise, he might kill the dog for making him run and jump in the lake.
Suddenly she stopped. She quinted.
Swara : Is that Ragini over there? With Mr Das? Near the harbour? What the hell is she doing so close to the water?
She could finally see that Sanskaar had caught up to Zozo who was almost about to jump in the lake, when, he too spotted Ragini and taking a 90 degree angle swept past Sanskaar and ran.
Swara : Mr Maheshwari!
Sanskaar looked at her pointing to Ragini. So that was why the damned dog spun on its heel and made a ninety-degree change of course. Sanskaar had nearly slipped on the mud and fallen on his bum trying to maneuver such a sharp turn.
He was going to kill that dog.
No, he was going to kill Swara Gadodia.
No, maybe—
Sanskaar’s gleeful thoughts of vengeance were broken by Ragini’s sudden shriek of, “Zozo!”
Sanskaar liked to think of himself as a man of decisive action, but when he saw that dog launch himself in the air and hurtle himself toward Ragini, he was quite simply frozen with shock. Shakespeare himself could not have devised a more appropriate ending to this farce, and it was all playing out right before Sanskaar’s eyes as if at half speed. And there was nothing he could do about it.
The dog was going to hit Ragini straight in the chest. Ragini was going to topple backward.
Straight into the lake.
Sanskaar ( going forward like a hero, though he knew he was too far) : NOOOO!!
Splash!!
Ajit Das (the man with no brain, just stood there) : Oh Dear! She’s wet.
Sanskaar (angrily) : Don’t just stand there.
He knelt and gave a hand to Ragini and pulled her out. Sanskaar (not too gently) : Are you ok?
Ragini nodded, coughing and sputtering out water.
Sanskaar stood furious.
Sanskaar : Miss Gadodia! (seeing that Swara had just reached them) Not you, Miss Ragini..Your sister.
Ragini (blinking out the dirty water from her eyes) : Swara? She’s here? Swara!! Where is she?
Sanskaar :Dry and healthy in the embankment. Miss Gadodia! Rein in your damned dog.
Zozo had cheerfully come out of the lake and was now sitting peacefully on the grass. Swara quietly but quickly took Zozo’s leash. Sanskaar saw that she had not mouthful and pithy comebacks for him and felt pleasure. He wouldn’t have thought the blo*dy woman would have had the sense to keep her mouth shut.
He turned to Ragini, who surprisingly, managed to look lovely even when dripping wet from the dirty pond water.
Sanskaar (gently) : Let me take you to a dry place.
Before Ragini could say something, he scooped her up in his arms and took her to dry ground.
Ajit Das : I have never seen anything like this before…
Sanskaar made no reply. He didn’t think he’d be able to speak without tossing the idiot into the water. What was he thinking, just standing there while Ragini was submerged by that pathetic excuse for a dog?
Swara (coming forward) : Ragini! Are you ok?
She comes forward, but Sanskaar stops her, clutches her arm and pulls her closer.
Sanskaar (hissing) : I think you have done enough!
Swara : What? Me?
Sanskaar( pointing at Ragini, but staring at Swara) : Look at your sister! Just look at her!
Swara : But it was an accident….
Ragini : I’m fine! I swear! (panicking at the level of anger simmering between her sister and the man.) Cold, but fine…
Swara (gulping slightly looking at her sister’s messed look) : See! She’s fine. It was an accident.
He merely held her arm tighter and raises a brow.
Swara (realisation dawned) : Oh My God! You don’t believe me! You seriously think I would take pleasure in doing this wantedly?
Sanskaar said nothing. It was inconceivable to him that Swara Gadodia, for all her wit and intelligence, could not be jealous of her sister. And even if there was nothing she could have done to prevent this mishap, surely she must be taking a bit of pleasure in the fact that she was dry and comfortable while Ragini looked like a drowned rat. An attractive rat, to be sure, but certainly a drowned one.
Swara wrenched her arm from him, furious.
Swara (scornfully) : Despite the fact that I could never harm Ragini…How do you think I accomplished this? (in a mocking tone) Oh, yes, I know the secret language of the corgis. I ordered the dog to yank the lead from my hand and then, since I have the second sight, I knew that Ragini was standing right here by the lake, so then I said to Zozo—through our powerful mind-to-mind connection, since he was much too far away to hear my voice at this point—to change his direction, head for Ragini, and topple her into the lake.
Sanskaar : Sarcasm doesn’t suit you, Miss Gadodia!
Swara (screaming) : NOTHING SUITS YOU, MR MAHESHWARI!
Sanskaar (dangerously) : If you cannot control your pet, Don’t have one.
Swara (snapping) : Men should not take women with pets for a walk in the park if they cannot control either.
Sanskaar could feel his ears going red due to anger.
Sanskaar (in a low, dangerous tone) : You, Swara Gadodia, are a menace. A menace to me, to your family and to your society.
Swara started to open her mouth to retort back with an insult, but instead smiled. A frightening, devious smile. She pointed towards him.
Swara :Shake Zozo!
Zozo obediently trotted a few steps closer to him before allowing himself a full-body shake, spraying pond water everywhere.
Sanskaar (now dripping wet in some places) : MISS GADODIA! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!
He lunges forward, but Swara nimbly slips besides him and goes and hides behind Ragini.
Swara (taunting) : Now Now! It would be bad for you if you lose your temper in front of Ragini, wouldn’t it. Especially if it is directed at me?
Ragini (whispering to Swara) : Swara! Why are you being so mean to him?
Swara hissed back : Why is he being so mean to me?
Ajit Das : Oh My! That dog got me wet!
Swara : He got all of us wet.
Including her. But it had been worth it. Oh, it had been worth it to see the look of surprise and rage on that pompous rich guy’s face.
Sanskaar (jabbing a furious finger at Swara) : You! Shut up!
Swara held her silence. She wasn’t foolhardy enough to provoke him any further. He looked as if his head might explode at any moment. And he’d certainly lost whatever claim to dignity he’d had at the beginning of the day. His right sleeve was dripping wet from when he’d hauled Ragini out of the water, his shoes looked to be ruined forever, and the rest of him was spotted with water, thanks to Zozo’s expert shaking prowess.
Ajit Das(clearly unaware of Sanskaar’s anger ) : I’ll tell you what I need to do…I need to get a mechanic to look at my car and fix it. Then I’ll take Miss Ragini Gadodia home.
Sanskaar : That will take too long. (firmly) This is what we are going to do!
Three pairs of eyes looked at him in anticipation.
Sanskaar : I see my friend, Karan there. I am going to borrow his car and take the Gadodias home. And Swara Gadodia, You will not utter a word, DO YOU UNDERSTAND? (Swara nodded mutely) Good. You, Mr Das, call yourself a damn mechanic and do whatever you want.
Swara : Will Karan, whoever he is let you borrow his car?
Sanskaar glared at her.
Sanskaar : That’s it. I am not going to tolerate your presence any more. Come walking, come running, I don’t care.
He takes Ragini’s hand, goes to Karan, gets the keys and leaves before Swara could process everything.
The blo*dy man had left her here with a fool for company. Even worse, the very two people she had vowed should never even be in the same room together, were now going to be ALONE in a small car.
Swara : What the hell am I going to do??
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PRECAP : SWARAGINI CONVERSATION…..SWARA IN SANSKAAR’S HOUSE!!!
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