Love Story - 4......an expression of Life !!!

Piali was staying with her ailing grandmother at a place called Golf Green, a posh locality in South Calcutta. Her granny was practically surviving on medical support, & Piali would most always be on tenderhooks in terms of how each & every day went by. Her support system depended on help from neighbors & friends, and of course a 24/7 maid on duty for her granny. Piali was good at work. She was sincere & hard working & had a good Boss in Chirag to support her. Interestingly, she would address Chirag as ‘Boss’, whether it was at work or at home.

Chirag had a mobike, a Hero Honda CD100 to himself. He stayed in DumDum, a place north of Calcutta, near the airport. While the distance between the homes was more than 50 odd kilometers, it did not deter the two Lovebirds from spending time every evening. While the whole day would be in the thick of work, evenings would bring them together, & both would ride through the hustle bustle of the city, lost in their own world of dreams. They would normally drive down to Piali’s home at Golf Green, where after freshening up, they would spend some time with the granny & then again drive out. Since both of them were musically inclined, they would end up singing popular old Hindi & Bengali songs to themselves.....and leave the others around mesmerised........

Some of their favourite numbers were :
"Tere mere sapne ab ek rang hain, hohoho, jahan bhi le jaye rahein hum sang hain….."
"Jeevan ki bagiya mehkegi, chehkegi, lehkegi, khushiyon ki kaliyaan jhoomengi , jhoomengi, jhoomengi…."
"Kali palak teri gori, hmmmm khilne lagi hai thori thori, ek chorni ek chor ke ghar karne chali hai chori…"
"Jaane jaan, dhoondta phir raha, main tujhe raat din, main yahaan se wahaan……."
"Gata rahe mera dil, tuhi meri manjil, kahin beete na yeh raaten kahin beete nay eh din……."

Piali’s place was frequented by friends & they would end up in long sessions of music. Someone would pick up a guitar, & then for the next few hours it would be pure music……this of course was followed by home cooked food……it looked like a perpetual party for all.
This looked exciting for a while, however, over a period of time, the place had become like a social outing joint. Anyone who had nothing better to do would just land up…….unannounced.

Almost every evening, Piali would reach home to see a bunch of people sitting & yapping. It was a small two room apartment, with one room occupied by the granny. So effectively Piali would have no place for herself to rest or unwind or give time to herself. The house would be perpetually crowded & Piali had a tough time managing the inflow of people. Being a shy host, she took all of this with a smile, but kept getting worked up over a period of time. She would prefer to be with Chirag outside, somewhere else, as that would be her only space & time to herself. She was happy in his arms….in his company. Both were together like a house on fire…..the chemistry was just fascinating….anyone who saw them, knew instantaneously that they were in love….deep love. With every passing day their love & dependence for each other grew…….deep & strong. Over the next few months, both were seen painting the town red….blue…yellow…green…..all shades actually……. on the mobike, huddled together……they were just inseparable.

"Tomar kotha bhebe amar raat bhor hoye jaye, tomaye niye shopno dekhe din je chole jaye…." ( my nights end into mornings just thinking about you, my days pass by just dreaming about you….) a poignant Bengali love song written by Piali & music given by Bhombol, her cousin.

According to Piali, “there is something about Chirag, which is infectious. He gives you so much of attention & care & love that you tend to just rest on his shoulders. He actually makes me feel like a woman.” For a girl who had grown up under very insecure circumstances, Piali now had someone, who was beside her to take on the world. As far as Chirag was concerned, “Piali is like a breath of fresh air. Look at her twinkling eyes, look at her smile, look at her warmth, I can die a hundred times for her. She just fills me with Love.”
Both felt life complete in each other’s arms.

"Tum aa gaye ho, noor aa gaya hai, nahi to chiragon se lau jaa rahi thi,
Jeene ki tumse, wajah mil gayi hai, badi bewajah zindagi jaa rahi thi....."

to be continued.......