Breathless silence prevailed for at least three minutes -silence that were so stifling that she desired to boom with noise but...finally her door banged again and she rushed there gasping for breath and as she opened it, it seemed she had opened the door of a fairytale land as her grandmother started crooning the birthday song along with the man who pasting a charming grin over his face forcing her to stare at him with fervent eyes...

"Happy birthday to my Niiiiniiiii...

Happy birthday to youuuuuuu...' her grandmother was too much zealous and finishing the song she burst into a peal of laughter before saying,:'tujhe kya laga tha haa? main bhul gayi hun? badmash ladki...' she put a light pat over her right cheek and continued,:'is umar me kya mujhe mera yaaddash ka pariksha dena padega? haa?'

Niyati was befuddled and for some time she failed to find any suitable reply as her eyes busied in scrutinizing each and every tinge of reaction Daya's face had been reflecting and having been a viewer of that she felt a surging flow inside her-a flow of delight with an eccentric tingling at the centre of her heart..

:'tujhe kya lagta hai? surprise dena bas tujh ko hi ata hai? haa? mujhe kuchh nahi ata hai?'the old lady's eyes twinkled with mischeif as she added,like a child,:'abhi main bhi kar diya na tujh ko surprise haa?' she continued laughing and Niyati's restive eyes noticed that how affection poured from Daya's gentle eyes for the old lady...Before she could utter anything the old lady hugged her granddaughter tight making her a little embarrassed infront of Daya..Daya though, sage enough to gauge her discomfort, averted his glance elsewhere...

:'meri gussa karnewali pyari gudiya..' the lady crooned for Niyati,:'chal abhi cake kat le..'

:'cake?' she objected feebly...

:'haa cake,' answered the old lady, :'Daya laya hai...arey Daya...tu hi keh de ise cake katne ke liye...'

Niyati's eyes gleaming with a flame of peevishness flicked towards him and Daya with an equable smile, clipped his tongue for the first time,:'maaf kijiye doctor...Maine to bas...nanijee ka order carry out kiya tha...Ye cake...' he raised it towards her and uttered the rest a little irresolutely,:'nanijee ke taraf se ...aap ko deke...mera kaam pura hoga...' there was an odd tranquility she found within his eyes which defied the anger inside her that had been shooting high till now...She averted her glance a little forcefully from the man with the scare to hurt him by her idiotic tendency of being reproachful...Daya,though seeing her nonchalant enough, placed the cake over the table, trying to hide the discomfort...For some second he occupied himself in reading her reaction until the old lady interrupted, :'arey Daya...jaise dress main kaha tha...waisa mila tujhe?'

Daya grunted with despair forgetting to mention that and replied finally,:'haa mil gaya hai...' He delved into his bag and taking out a thick plastic bag he handed it over to the old lady...

:'ye sab ka kya jaroorat tha?' now Niyati asked and moved towards the table venturing to restore her confident self back,:'aur tumhe to pata hai nani...' she concentrated on her polished nails,:'ke main birthday manati nahi hun...aur bhala hi...' her stone eyes archly noticed Daya once as she asserted,:'Daya ko ye baat maloom na ho...magar...tum ko to pata tha...'

The face of the old lady pervaded with a dark layer as all the blood as if suddenly siphoned from her face...Daya's avid eyes noted that and he now interposed gently yet with a rare stoutness that abruptly descended upon him perhaps not to bear the poignant eyes of an old lady who was desirous to enjoy every tiny moment of her life,:'pata hai doctor...' he paused meaningfully before resuming,:'sab pata hai doctor...Magar ...' his eyes darted everywhere in his inhibition to express his view in that matter,:'magar...naniji ka bhi to koi mang reh sakta hai...hai na?' he anticipated for her answer but she was abnormally stiffened and cold to give him even a flippant reply..

:'jin logo ka yaad se...aap ...janam din manate nahi hain...kya...woh log bhi...khush ho payenge aap ko dukhi dekh ke...khas taur pe...is din me?' he paused and returned back firmly,:' woh log is duniya me...aap ke pas nahi rahe...is baat ka gham...har din ka hai doctor...' his voice turned persuasive,:'ye kami har din ka hai...Na hi kisi ek din ka ...ki bas usi din gham ko manaya jaye...'

Niyati's sparkling eyes were restless in registering and analyzing each and every word of the man...Her nose was abnormally crinkled and her brows drew together in her effort to gauge the depth of his words...

:'waise ...kaha jaye to...' he was hesitant and it reflected over his face,:'aaj ka din...un logo ke zindegi ka...ek khushi ka din hai...' he tried to discern Niyati's mood but her face had been screened with her hair, :'aaj aap janam liye the...aur aap ka khushi khushi...is duniya me jeena hi...un logo ka safalta hoga...' he paused, batted his confused eyelids and resurrected back,:' woh log nahi rahe...magar...unke parchhai ko to rakh ke gaye na...is duniya me...' for a flicker of second his voice trembled impelling Niyati to look at him at once as her hair blew into disarray...He flashed a smile at her though it was pregnant with a stifling anguish...Niyati's eyes shone with an unknown emotion as a smirk escaped from her tantalizing lips gazing at the man steadily...Daya dropped his glance and sighed in tiredness...Niyati though possessed further the power of being daring as she advancing towards him, put the question sharply,like an interviewer,:'ye sab aap ko kaise pata chala?'

An innocent naivety seeped through his face as he replied like a perplexed interviewee,:' nanijee se...' he paused as astonishment blending with disbelief crossed Niyati's face...

:'aap ka janam din manane ki baat se hi woh kitni khush ho jate hain,' his face turned affectionate ,:'to sochiye...ke agar aap ka ...janam din...manaya jata...to...'

:'to?' Niyati asked as impatience was nagging her badly-impatience that made her every nerve tout, that suddenly revived every pore of her body...

:'to...aap ...ek pal me...kaise khush kar sakte the un ko...' replied Daya steadily though with a fright to face Niyati's screaming disapproval..

The old lady wished to natter on wrapping the young man within her affectionate arms as her eyes moistened unknowingly...But she was prudent enough not to chim in into their conversation and she finally shuffled towards the couch to plump herself onto there...

Niyati gazed deep into him for some perceivable seconds before heaving a sigh with flaring nose,inferring,:'shayaad...aap...sahi keh rahe hain...' her vision became nebulous and a dolorous smile curled in the corner of her lips,:' mom papa pe naraz ho ke...na to main khush huyi...' she confessed in abject submission,:'na nani ko khush kar paayi...' she started mooning over deeply until Daya's voice dashed onto her lovelorn heart,:'hume ummeed hai...ki aap kabhi na kabhi...jaroor manayenge janam din...'

Niyati's fervent eyes wandered through his eager face for some seconds before she pressed her lips in a very known and confident gesture shrugging once,: 'all right...' a grin decked her face,: 'I am ready to cut the cake...'

:'are re...' the old lady butted in,:'aise kaise haa?' a witty curl that existed till now in her lips broadened into a smile as she stated further looking at her already abashed granddaughter with almost a penetrating glance,:' pehle sajna savarna padega tumhe...phir jake dusra kaam...' she broke off abruptly scrutinizing the face of Niyati which was sprinkled with crimson colour of shyness but she was sage enough to cover it with a fleeting shrug while the old lady stated in an air of authority,:' Ye naya dress pehen le...Daya se mangvaya main...chal abhi jaa...' Niyati rolled her eyes flaunting feigned tiredness and taking the plastic bag she steamed into her room and clang the door closed...

Pasting herself with the door she kept chuckling for a minute before allowing her gaze to the ceiling sinking deep into a frenzied fervour...She clung tight the plastic bag that Daya had brought to her...Might it be...the wish of her grandmother; might it be the order of her grandmother that was merely carried out by the man...but...he had brought it to her...A smirk curled in a corner of her lips as she with trembling hand took out the dress from the bag...She caught at her breath and her eyes protruded in awe watching it...It was an extremely beautiful ethnic lehenga of red colour embroidered beautifully with golden threads...She slowly touched the glowing russet satin top that she just discovered coiled up with the lehenga...An electric delight as if started surging over nipping every

pore of her body...She felt a queer and unusual shyness in seeing her face in the mirror...Her eyes dimmed and glowed abnormally within the darkness of the room figuring out the mischief of Daya in calling her just to make her disappointed so that...she wouldn't be able to measure the delight, she would be receiving later..She sniffed the fragrance of the satin top and kept flashing elusive smile within her tempestuous thought that...it was the fragrance of ...the man himself...She kept nuzzling the top for sometimes with half closed impassioned eyes before planting some furtive kisses over it ardently..It took a little time to dismiss everything with a chuckle in order to get ready..

(In the Drawing room)

The old lady didn't want to squander the opportunity of teasing the coy young man who seemed to be the embodiment of suaveness..

:'waah Daya...tune to kaamaal hi kar diya...Jis Nini ko main pichhle bada tera salo me kabhi raazi na kara payi...' her one eye screwed at him as she delivered with humour,:'tu chukti me woh kar diya..haa?'

Daya,sitting now in front of the old lady, flashing as usually a gentle and soothing smile, almost startled inside...The facial expression of the old lady indicated something which created a frisson of scare down his spine... He was destitute of any thought and it was not clear to him why a wave of discomfort tripling inside him...

The old lady was prudent enough to veer the discussion with a compassionate smile,:'are Dayaa...woh cake aur dress ka bill de mujhe...kam se kam woh kaam karke rakh lun main abhi...' she kept prattling,:'pata nahi Nini ko kitna waqt lagega...iske baad khana lagaungi aur...' she stopped perceiving that Daya was silent...She kept her glance over his somewhat disconcerted face and asked further,:'kya baat hai Daya? kis soch me par gaya? Bill lana bhul gaya kya?' she laughed and said simultaneously,:'Tu ekdam tere nanaji jaise hai re...woh bhi aise hi the...bada bhola...' her eyes glistened for some seconds before she returned into the reality and suggested, :'achcha baba itna fikr na karna parega...Mujhe bata cake aur dress milake kitna kharch huya? Bill ka jaroorat nahi hai...'

:'nanijee...' spluttered Daya irresolutely..

:'are keemat to na bhula na?' the old lady said comically

The perplexity hadn't dispelled from Daya's face as he ventured,:'sach me mujhe...keemat yaad nahi hai...'

A puckish curl rippled over the lips of the old lady as she was prompt to react,:'badmash ladka...yaad nahi ya nahi bata raha hai?'

A squirm smile seeped through his face as he dawdled in answering,:' Nniyati ko...maine...kabhi kuchh na diya...' an inconvenience was visible as he added,:' aj is khushi ka mauka jab mila...tab ...' he paused as his flummoxed eyes darted here & there,:' jaroori hai woh paisa wapas karna?'

As the old lady looked into the beseeching glance of the man, she felt immediately an up rushing affection for him and said gently,:'Tu to phool laya hai...card bhi laya hai...aur...' she was genly interposed as Daya divulged,:'woh dress aur cake aap hi ne diya hai nanijee...mujhe pata hai...' he paused and then came back,:'paiso se khareedne se hi bas diya nahi jata hai nanijee...woh aap ne aap ki pyar se diya hai...'

The old lady was bemused and kept looking at him with infinte tenderness though she kept repeating,:'magar Daya...Nini ko pata chale to...'

:'to woh aap ko kuchh nahi kahegi...sab daat bas mujh pe hi padega...' he laughed ingenuously revivifying the atmosphere of the residence while the old lady perceived that the vivacity had able to touch her heart too and she with a throaty laugh confided a secret to him...