Forever Love 5: Hum rahen na rahe

For Seema, where she kept her foot, there should be a pavement. But Preetham found it hard to say yes to her latest wish. That was visiting the haunted house on the top of the hillock. but he didn't know how to say NO to his dear wife.He found it strange when she said that it had to do with her research in the subject forever love, "It's the house where a girl died of a terminal illness.Her boy remained there till his end not marrying anyone and always was lonely... It is said that even now the ghost of the boy enjoys the moments he had with her in that house"
Seema brought her young baby Prerana along with her. When Preetham looked at her questioning her decision to take their child along, she answered, "Don't you see those horror movies on HBO? Its with the children that the ghosts make the first contact"

They reached the place sometime around the evening. There didn't seem to be visibility of human life anywhere nearby. Environmentalists would be happy to find the rich growth of the greenery over there. Preetham checked his mobile to find if there was signal and to his surprise, he found it was showing good netwrok connectivity.Clever baby Prerana pointed to the top of the ghost house to find a mobile tower there.

As they entered the house, Seema slowly put her child Prerana down.It reminded preetham of movie scenes where the Cops unleash their sniffer dog to catch the thugs. He hated his wife using his kid like that.But the happy girl Prerana moved towards a dark room and after some seconds, Preetham and Seema heard their baby's laughter echo the entire house. When they went inside, they found her with a cute cat with a right mixture of colors on its body. And Seema was full smiles, but it was shortlived when Preetham spoke in a strange tone as if to give a signal that he was possessed. "My dear girl found it full wet one afternoon and asked me whether she can give sharan(Asylum) to it and I never knew how to say NO to her... That's when she named me a SHARANagatvatsal(One of lords names)..." That gave a creepy feeling to the Seema and at that moment itself, she decided to end her research

As she moved out and lifted her baby Prerana, Prerana saw the swing in the garden and pointed towards it and when Seema rejected,Prerana started crying at the top of her lungs forcing her mother's feet move towards the swing. Seema felt as it was outside the house, she had nothing to fear and sat along with her child and asked her dear husband to give them the push.As they were enjoying the swing, Preetham remarked which was very unlike of him and in a very strange and rough tone, "There on the horizon, a rainbow came on the August evening and she asked me to give the swing such a push that she could land on it...For her rainbow is a staircase to the heaven." Though the thought was romantic, Seema felt creepy once again and immediately got down in the fear of the push her 'possessed' husband was talking about.

She wanted to reach the car at the earliest and had put her research in the back of her brain. But as they were climbing down the hillock, Prerana's eyes fell on the small pound and the in minutes she was crying wanting to play in the water. Seema had to oblige and when they reached the pond, she asked her husband to hold her baby's one hand while she holds the another as the baby puts her legs in the water.As Prerana touched the cool water and giggled,Preetham started again, "This pond attracted some migrating birds and she always wished to fly along with those migrating birds to know where they came from... And one day she did fly away from my life to the place where she came from... the Heavens above..."

Seema had enough and lifted her baby and just pushed her husband into the pond. The coldness of the water seemed to have done the trick and the husband asked his wife to give him a hand. She rejected asking him for his identification. The husband or someone else trespassing into his soul uttered, "You wanted to know about forever love and I wanted to tell you. Look around you... The cat... the pond... the swing... all tell tales of our forever love... We never thought we were making memories... we thought we were having fun. But as time passed together, the bond became stronger and so you have your forever love...." The possessed husband looked at the kid and slowly started moving towards Prerana singing "Hum hain iss pal yahan, Jaane ho kal kahan...Hum miley na miley, Hum rahey na rahey...Rahegi sadaa yahan, Pyar ki ye dastan..Sunenge sadaa jise,Yeh Zameen asmaan.**" Seema forwarded her hand and the contact of the hand seemed to have did the trick and hubby immediately came to his normal self

But while returning to home, the atmosphere in the car was very silent. Slowly, Preetham who was at the wheels whistled that Rehmaan tune slowly, "Hum hain iss pal yahan, Jaane ho kal kahan, Hum miley na miley, Hum rahey na rahey..." and then looking at the surprised face of Seema, laughed out loudly and his daughter joined him in the laughter. A moment of forever love was made.
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Authors Note
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Yes, love is forever, but not other things in life,like this blog which has to end. I would like to end the Preetham-Seema Series here itself and by the way this was the 50th episode in the series. I hope my readers have liked it.

(** Translation of the song for non hindi readers
We are here at this moment, who knows where we will be tomorrow...
Whether we meet or not, Whether we live or not...
This love story will live on forever....
and will be heard forever on earth and in heaven)

No One for the Evening Walk!

"Oh My God!" came the shriek from Preetham's house. It was Seema's voice. Her Mother in law came running towards her room. When she enquired as to what happened, Seema replied with concern, "Look at your son's belly! Fat has started accumulating." But dear husband Preetham tried to ignore it, "Come on... You know what they say in the west... It is just a sign of prosperity." Seema became more vociferous, "Prosperity! My Foot! It is a sign of laziness" and she tapped gently on the stomach. Her child Prerana followed her mother's example and in few minutes the baby was practising tabla.

Seema also had the solution "This problem needs to be nipped in the bud.You spend too much time lazing in front ot the computer." and then she issued directions, " Now that there is less work at office, You can come down early and we will go for a evening walk from 5.30 to 6.30" Preetham's mother immediately objected, "Not that time! Its the time when most of the ladies venture out of their dens and start using their strongest weapon... the tongue... Buri Nazar pad sakthi hain...on my dear son... I will not allow it..."
Preetham smiled which irritated Seema more and she said, "Well! Dear MIL, I have a idea to protect your son from bad and roving eyes.We will dress him in a burkha covered from top to bottom with openings only near the eyes... Howzthat!!!"

Seeing her MIL's eyes becoming red with anger, Seema immediately went for a time change, "I hope you wouldn't object for the evening timing of 6.30 to 7.30" This time, instead of the mother, the son himself objected to it, "Its the twilight time... Its the time for the mind to focus on God....It would not be right for me to go for walk during that time..."Seema was getting crazy hearing all kinds of excuses, "Hmm... If you so can't live without your God, you should have married him." Mother in law gave a shocked look and Seema thought that her MIL was shouting 'Sacrilege' in her mind but MIL politely advised,"How about visiting that Ganesh temple? It will serve twin purposes - Walking as well as Darshan of the almighty" Seema congragulated her Mother in law,"You are great! If we go to the temple, Your Son will not come out of the temple without having that delicious prasadam (appam) dipped in shuddh ghee"

Seeing her DIL put her head down, Mother in law gave another suggestion and tried to finish off the discussion, "I think no one would object for 7.30 to 8.30." Seema was silent from which it was clear that she didn't consent to the time.Preetham himself talked for her, "If ladies went for walk during that time, television networks all around India would lose a big chunk of advertising revenue.For the sake of Indian's economy, It is better ladies stayed inside their homes during that time "

Seema smiled, "Then we are left with no option except go for a walk after the dinner... i.e 9.30 to 10.30"
Preetham agreed, "And that would be a romantic one too... With no one on the streets and with moon light following us and stars spread across the sky.... It reminds me of Raj Kumar and Nargis walking down the lane and singing Pyar hua iqraar hua"
Seema' s mother in law interrupted the romantic moment, "Hello! You both are forgetting that there is another member in your small family... Prerana, your baby... who will put her to sleep"
Prerana decided to speak for herself and slowly she crawled towards her grandma
Seeing this, Seema mischievously commented supporting her daughter's move, "Why else then do we have old ladies at home for?"

Why... I Love My Husband

Preetham and Seema along with their four month old baby Prerana were on their way to a function in a small village. En route, a villager stopped them and asked them to take an alternate route, "There is a Chudail (a she-giant) some distance ahead on this road who feeds on good husbands" Preetham gets jitters but Seema gives him courage and speaks like Superstar SRK, "Main Hoon Na! You Just control the wheels"

But they run directly into her. The Chudail had set up a road block ahead. The Chudail was more than fifteen feet tall and looked more like a female version of Shrek. As Seema watched, the Chudail who went by the name Sundari just picked up Preetham by his collar like we humans pick up the cockroaches by their mustaches. Prerana looked with awe at the Chudail and then questioningly at her mother as if asking her, "Whatever happened to 'Main Hoon Na'" Seema reminds herself of all those sati-savithri movies where the wives plead and beg for their husband's lives and gets into the act.

The Chudail melted a little and said, "I will put him down if you say me what is that you like in him the most" Seema didn't know how to answer it. She was reminded of her mothers advice, 'Never ever praise husbands. It goes into their heads'. She thought she would bluff and walk away with it, "What else! His Good Looks! Even If I see a Hrithik Roshan movie, I see my husband in Hrithik Roshan"
The Chudail couldn't digest the answer, "This face here can't even launch a toilet paper! And you are comparing Hrithik Roshan with him!"
Seema got furious, "Mind Your Tongue! Lady... "

The Chudail reminded her, "I am controlling my tongue. Otherwise it would have tasted your husband by now... Don't waste my time... Answer quickly... "
Seema this time tried to be a bit realistic but not honest," His intelligence... He is in a good job.. He fulfills all my wishes and keeps me happy..."
The Chudail smiled, "This is economic basics. Because of women like you, the economics is working. Otherwise What do men need! They will wear the same four shirts and pants and one set of shoes the whole year around. I mean.. your husband is doing what all others do... This is a common trait.... Stop playing around!"

Prerana tugged at her mother and Seema felt her daughter was shouting at her, "Get my father! Get him Now! Say the truth!" She looked at her daughter and then at her husband, dangling between the two fingers of the chudail a well fifteen feet above the ground. From where she stood, to her, it looked like her husband was preparing for a bungee-jump. She came out with the truth, "Its his caring nature. I love it when he kisses me good bye as he leaves for work in the morning. I love it when he calls from the office to check whether I had my lunch on time. I love it when he expresses his fears to me and doesn't allow his male masochistic ego come in the way. I love every little thing he does. He never makes me feel that we both are two different souls."

On hearing this, there's a transformation in the chudail and within minutes she has became a nubile young beauty and she explains that how she was cursed in her previous life for not understanding her good husband. Now she was liberated from the curse as she understood the traits in her husband of previous life. Saying so she started walking from the scene. Preetham got into the car and before starting the vehicle, checked the young beauty from his rear view mirror. Seema caught him in the act and warned, "If you do that again!... I will myself feed you to some other giant"

One Small Desire

Preetham and his wife Seema were returning home after her first day out in many months. To make the drive home pleasant, Preetham turned on the radio. The presenter's voice filled the air, "In MUSIC, M stands for Melody. If you take M it will make U SIC(K)." Preetham liked to hear this weekly program on classical music. The presenter continued, "Speaking on Ragas, AdI Raaga was created by Lord Shiva himself when he got fascinated by the beauty of Devi Parvathi...."
Seema didn't like the idea of her husband listening to some silly program when she was present there and immediately muted the volume. Preetham objected, "Come on. Its an informative one..." and increased the volume. The presenter was explaining a hymn, "Adi Shankarachaya composed this hymn... Here he says of How Lord Vishnu who had this whole universe under the control of his eyes had lost himself to the stealthy glance of Devi Laxmi..."
Seema just switched off the radio, "How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being! Even the Gods praise their wives and write poems for them. You have not done anything like that for me..." Preetham smiled, "But You never liked poetry...!" Thats when Seema decided, "Okay! I don't ask you for a epic poem nor something like a bollywood song with anthras and mukdas. All I ask from you is some good romantic lines. If you compose them, I will put the music back."

It was a testing time for Preetham. He very well knew that 'to satisfy the hunger for love is much harder than to satisfy the hunger for bread. But Preetham was quick enough to belt out some romantic lines, "I have seen a thousand girls before I saw you...." Seema quickly stopped him in the middle, "What is this! You were ogling at girls!" Preetha smiled, "Listen completely... I have seen a thousand girls before I saw you. Once I saw you, then I have seen none."
Seema was wise enough not to accept this one, "This Reminds me of my young days when Shammi Kapoor came on television and sang something like this and I always thought he was singing for me, 'Yuh tho humne laakh haseena dekhi... tumsa nahin dekha'" And turned to her two months old daughter Prerana, "Your dad is trying to cheat!"

Preetham was ready with another, "Okay! There is another and this time I will say it in Hindi itself. Maa se maine Pyar ka matlab samjha...." Again Seema interrupted, "Why pull mother in law into this one? Can't you keep her out of it..." Preetham corrected her, "Let me finish it.... Maa se maine Pyar ka matlab samjha... Tumse maine Pyar ka Saakshathkar kiya.... Aur Prerana se maine Pyar ko roop diya...."
Seema liked it this time, "Beautiful! But with three generations in one song, this qualifies to be a family song." and turning to her daughter, "When you grow a little old and when we take you out to some mela etc and when you get lost, just remember this song and sing it aloud. We will easily find you out...."

Preetham racked his brain, but nothing came to his mind. And for a moment, he took his eyes off the road and looked at the skies above, "Oh God! You helped me fulfill all her big desires even before she could ask for it. Now, when she is asking for simple lines of romance, you betray me?..." Seema asked him to focus on the road, "God is everywhere. Concentrate on the road." Preetham brought the vehicle to a halt, "God says that you are special for me and words cannot describe how special you are to me and lines cannot say even the tenth of your importance in my life. In this world of lies, you seem to be the only truth that I know..."

Seema smiled, "That seems pretty good. I am satisfied. Let me pass you this time..." and turning to her daughter, "You father needs to be rewarded..." and with the soft hands of her daughter, Seema had the radio turned on only to hear the presenter say, "With that composition of Thyagaraja we come to the end of this week's program...." Seema just blurted out a 'Oops!' and quickly covered her daughter's eyes with her hands, "You better not watch your romantic father's angry face"