#8: Jaipur Visit, Part I

Mohit hears a voice trying to wake him up. At first, he thinks Shalini is calling out to him. Her voice… soft, familiar, the kind he wouldn’t mind waking up to every morning. “No, no. The voice is loud and different, with a different accent and telling me something,” he realizes, stirring himself from his drowsy state. Slowly, he opens his eyes and sees the househelp standing before him, her expression grim.

“Saab, please go to Shikha Madam’s room. I need to clean the hall.”

Mohit blinks, adjusting his eyes to the light and his mind trying to process the abrupt wake-up call. He seems a little confused, with his mouth open, as he tries to make sense of the situation. The househelp notices his hesitation and studies him briefly with mesmerisation and asks, “Who are you then?”

“Oh! I am Mohit, Shalini’s to-be husband,” he replies, his voice slow and crackly.

At this, the househelp’s grim expression softens. She smiles, “Oh! Then why are you sleeping outside? Did you pick up a fight with Shalini Madam? She’s a nice girl, Saab.”

“It’s not like that!” Mohit answers, a little too quickly.

“Oh! So no sleeping together before marriage,” she teases with a playful glint in her eyes.

Mohit feels his face heat up; despite his best efforts, he is unable to suppress the blush. The househelp chuckles at his naive reaction. “Your Bangalore is not as good as our Jaipur. Ask Shalini Madam to give you a full tour,” she says while dusting the sofa.

Mohit nods as he gets up, rubs the back of his neck, and straightens his posture. Still feeling slightly embarrassed, he starts walking towards Shalini’s room.

Shalini’s door is unlocked, and he slowly opens the door and enters quietly. Shalini is sleeping peacefully in her room, her breath steady, her face calm. The morning light is barely filtering through the thick curtains, and her face is barely visible.

After trying to figure out her facial features in that dim light, he heads to the bathroom. Once done, he walks toward her and sits near her, observing her for a moment. She is still in her party dress, her makeup smudged slightly, yet she looks effortlessly beautiful.

He notices how serene she seems, so unlike the Shalini he’d seen yesterday—hooting, dancing like a madwoman, drinking like a horse. “The one who tried to break her own rule of not sleeping together before marriage”, he blushes. 

The thought reminds him of their first kiss, and in an instant, a jolt of electricity rushes through his entire body. The woman I want to share the same blanket with for the rest of my life is right in front of me, sleeping so peacefully.

He wants to touch her, to feel her warmth, to let his fingers trace the softness of her skin. But his damn principles don’t let him. “Not yet. Not now.”, he forces himself to think. 

He takes several deep breaths, trying to steady himself, to suppress the desire stirring within him. “Control yourself, Mohit.”, he says to himself several times. 

Once he calms down, slowly, gently, he touches her hand. 

At his touch, she gasps, her body tensing momentarily before her eyes snap open.

She is looking both disoriented and angry. When she looks at him, her expression softens a bit. She gets out of bed and switches on the light. 

“Why were you afraid when I touched your hands?” he asks in his usual concerned voice.

Shalini blinks, then exhales. “I am used to traveling in trains and local buses; that’s why I subconsciously react in this way. I have been to those situations. It was not meant for you, I am sorry,” she replies, her voice steady, though her eyes showing with something unsaid.

“But…” Mohit starts, wanting to ask more, to understand more.

“I need to use the bathroom,” she interrupts, pushing away the topic.

Mohit watches her as she walks past him, his mind suddenly heavy with thoughts and heart clenched, “This is one of the silent battles women go through every day. The public transport to school, college, work, and travel has completely failed them. Groping. Eve-teasing. So common, so normal, that three out of four women have been through it. Three out of four! Shalini might have gone through this too.” Sadness and anger fill him.

The thought unsettles him. He wants to talk about it, to ask her more, but then he remembers her grim reaction. “Maybe now is not the time”, he thinks, trying to control himself. 

Shalini comes out of the bathroom, her face fresh, her features relaxed. She has changed into a night suit, its soft fabric draping over her comfortably.

“Hungry?” Mohit asks, watching her carefully. Shalini nods. 

Shalini feels relieved that Mohit hasn’t pressed the topic further. She has no energy to discuss something so draining first thing in the morning. “Maybe he’s not that pressy. Thank God!”, she sighs inwardly.

Mohit, on the other hand, has already made up his mind. “I will definitely ask about this sometime, if not today”, he thinks, squeezing his eyebrows slightly, a small but telling gesture of his stubbornness.

Shalini notices it but dismisses it. How could she possibly know this was a sign of stubbornness? She has only known him for a few months.

They take their breakfast together, sitting on opposite sides of the table, eating in silence. Both of them feel a quiet discomfort in each other’s presence, the unsaid words lingering in the air, stuck near their lips. Yet, in the stillness, their hearts silently reach out to each other much like moonlight meeting the still water of a pond - quiet, subtle, reflecting beauty and tranquility. But even in serenity, beyond the surface, there are ripples - the underlying restlessness of the pond. That’s how their eyes meet softly but fleetingly, leaving both of them smitten.

Shalini notices Mohit’s neat, methodical way of eating. He places his plate down gently, without a sound. He takes a bite of the parantha carefully, but chews it fast, almost instantly. Still, there's no careless dropping of crumbs, no untidy mess.

Mohit, on the other hand, smiles when he notices the exact opposite in Shalini, her distracted eating, crumbs scattered across the plate. Yet, in contrast to his fast chewing, she is slower, more deliberate. A playful thought crosses his mind, to tease her, to crack a joke, to break the unnecessary ice between them.

But as he looks at her, he notices that she seems to be enjoying the tranquility of the moment. The game of hide-and-seek she’s playing with him with her eyes holds a quiet beauty – a shared space between them that doesn’t need words.

He decides not to disturb it. A wave of emotion stirs within him, something warm, something deep, leaving him just a little breathless.

After breakfast, Mohit shares his plans for visiting Jaipur, starting from Amer Fort, then moving to Hawa Mahal, and ending with dinner at Chokhi Dhani. He is quite excited to explore Jaipur in her company. But, as she listens, Shalini feels a surge of exhaustion. She wishes to tell him that all she wants is to crash on the sofa, watch movies with him, eat, talk, laugh, and steal those quiet, exciting glances. Seeing his excitement, her tongue falters, and she is unable to convey her heart’s desire. Instead, she just nods.

This gesture of hers frustrates her. In a relationship, what is meant to be said should be said and discussed. Yet, she chooses to remain silent. They are still in their betrothal, he won’t understand, or maybe even after marriage, unless she tells him, the boundaries are not set yet. But she has still decided that he intuitively must understand.

Mohit asks whether Rhythm wants to accompany them, deliberately leaving out Shikha.

Already irritated with her expectations, wanting Mohit to understand her without telling, Shalini snaps at him, “Why include everyone? And if you want to, then why exclude Shikha? What has she done wrong? She has been nice to you, but I’ve noticed you are constantly ignoring her. If Rhythm is my friend, then so is she. Either include her, or I’m out.” Shalini feels sympathetic towards her, looking at the closed door of her room.

Mohit is taken aback, unable to believe the harshness in her voice. How could she not see that Shikha is up to something? He knows Shalini is naive, but there is a fine line between being naive and being foolish.

“Okay, fine! Let us include her too”, Mohit says.

“You did not want to include her, now don’t do it for my sake”, Shalini, unable to control her anger, starts shouting.

“Why are you so loud?”Mohit points out and is also confused, she said both including and leaving Shikha in just two sentences.

“That is how I am”, she says in a much lower voice and goes to her room.

Mohit lets out a deep breath. She is not seeing it practically. She is unable to notice such a small thing about her friend. Maybe she is blind to people she likes, which is a bigger problem. He decides to leave her alone for some time.

With so much noise, Rhythm comes out. After talking to Mohit, she goes to Shalini’s room and tries to make her see that it is Mohit’s trip to Jaipur. It should be done as he likes. He might not be comfortable with her, but just for her sake, he has decided to include Shikha. Shalini reluctantly agrees. Aakash refuses initially but agrees afterwards. They all get ready and start the trip as per Mohit’s plan. 

Shalini is avoiding Mohit, but Rhythm is making all the effort to reconcile between them. When they reach Amer Fort, Raman comes with Veena and greets everyone. Mohit and Rhythm are shocked at his sudden arrival. How would he know? Mohit and Rhythm exchanged confused glances. Shalini has zoned out. Nothing is bothering her, nothing, even the fort’s beauty is not making her happy. Raman, as usual, is trying to be near Shalini. As Shalini is avoiding Mohit, during lunch, Raman sits next to Shalini while Mohit is sitting just opposite Shalini. 

Shalini sits with her arms folded lightly on the table, her smile polite and distant. 

Veena, radiant and dreamy-eyed, tries to keep the energy light, laughing loudly at every word Raman throws, not that he’s paying much attention to her. Raman, however, is watching Shalini again. Like he did last night at the club. Staring too long, too hard, too inappropriately, and too openly this time.

“Did you sleep well?” Raman asks, his tone far too personal, ignoring the others.

Shalini gives a brief nod, not meeting his eyes.

“She danced like a hurricane last night. Mohit, how do you keep up with her?” Raman adds with a chuckle, but there's something in his tone - too familiar, too knowing.

Mohit doesn't respond. He calmly keeps on eating his food. His face shows nothing, but his chest tightens. 

Raman leans in slightly, lowering his voice so only Shalini can hear, “You were wild last night. That dress, that dance… and when you stumbled into me and your skin was so warm.”

Mohit notices that her face has gone pale. She has kept her spoon down and is staring hard into her plate. She wants to run away from this very place.

His jaw clenches. His grip on the water glass tightens just slightly. Raman must have told her about how he touched her last night. Mohit remembers last night at the club, the way Raman’s fingers grazed Shalini’s arm, the look on his face. Raman knew that Shalini was drunk. He did not care even for the consent of a woman.

Mohit didn’t react then. He had pulled her close, gotten her away. But today, she is sober, and today, he is going to act instead of watching. 

“Shalini’s always had a thing for laal maas, hasn’t she?” Raman adds smoothly, again pretending history where there is none. He nudges her arm again, not much, just a graze dipped in lust, but Mohit sees it.

That’s enough.

Mohit sets his spoon down with a click.

“Raman, Shalini is a vegetarian," he says, calmly but firmly, “and you’re sitting too close.”

The table falls silent. Even Veena stops mid-bite, glancing nervously between the two men.

Raman smirks, “Oh, come on, Mohit. Don’t be so possessive. I’ve known Shalini longer than you have. She is a close friend. ”

“And I know her well enough to see when she's uncomfortable. I can tell the difference between a friend and someone just forcing their way in. In her case, stop forcing it. She doesn’t want you even as her acquaintance. And if you don’t stop, I will make you do it. She is mine. She has the freedom to choose. And I’ll protect that choice, no matter what." Mohit’s voice is low, firm, and razor-sharp, his gaze locked on Raman’s eyes, unflinching.

Shalini finally lifts her head. Her eyes meet Mohit’s - conflicted, yet grateful. Her lips part as if to say something, but she quickly looks away.

Trying to fill the silence, Veena chirps, “The food here is amazing, right?”

Shalini gets up to use the bathroom. Rhythm also gets up, but she signals Rhythm to remain seated. She goes to calm her conflicted heart, to cry, and to see that she has finally found one.

“Maybe we should order dessert,” Rhythm says quickly, trying to cut the rising tension.

Mohit asks Shikha, who is sitting next to Rhythm, to take Shalini’s seat. Seeing the fire in Mohit’s calm eyes, she reluctantly agrees to sit with Raman. 

The air on the table remains thick. Mohit doesn’t say more. He doesn’t need to. The message is clear. Raman picks up a water glass, his ego bruised but masked beneath a fake laugh. He is murmuring something, which everyone at the table ignores.

Mohit, he may be silent for now, but the protective storm inside him is far from settled.