Episode 11 - The Paradise has a Heart

 One whole minute of silence passed but Roja stood frozen in her place. The smile had vanished from her face. Pradyuman watched her cautiously without making any movement. The next word from her mouth could break his heart or fill it with boundless happiness.

‘Roja, did I ask you something that I should not have asked?’

He could no longer bear the suspense.

‘No, of course not. It is just that I did not see it coming. It was out of the blue,’ she said putting her towel on the chair to dry.

‘So, what do you think?’ he asked trying to read the emotions on her face. But her face was blank.

‘Pranu. we both know how much we love each other and. I am so happy that you came here for me. But I need time to think about marriage. This is a big decision for me and I would really be grateful if you would please give me some time.’

She was quite honest with him. Once again, she was not going to make the mistake of making a decision to please someone dese. This time, she was going to deliberate a lot before taking the plunge. The disappointment on his face was not hidden and she felt guilty for making him unhappy. Roja walked up to him and held his hands.

‘I am sorry it-’

He clapped his hand over her mouth.

‘Don't apologize. You should not be sorry for taking control of your life. I can understand your apprehension. I will not lie that I am not disappointed. Somewhere in the corner of my heart, I did hope that it would be an immediate yes. But I guess I am not so handsome to get you to marry me right away,’ he said trying to make light of the moment.

He moved his hand from her mouth and kissed her forehead. She wrapped her arms around his waist and embraced him warmly.

‘Take your time, love. And always remember that no matter what you decide, my love for you is not going to change,’ he said tightening his hug.

‘Thank you. This really means a lot to me,’ she said softly.

His words and gesture had indeed touched her heart. She felt so loved that tears almost welled up her eyes. That afternoon everyone set out for shopping in Srinagar. Zayed took them first to Ali Shah Shawls and Carpets. The owner of the business was a warm and friendly man. He showed them the workspace where carpets were being made. Kashmir carpets were famous for their exquisite designs and the handmade ones exhibited praiseworthy craftmanship. They were told that some carpets would take nearly 2 years to be completed. Initially when they heard the price of authentic handmade carpets, they felt that prices were unreasonably high. But after seeing all the hard work and effort going into it, every rupee spent was worth it. Then the owner took them to the retail shop and displayed beautiful shawls and dress materials. Roja bought a couple of woollen stands while the others also bought a few shawls and dress materials. Roja was getting the shawls billed while the others walked back to the tempo traveller. Meanwhile, her eyes fell on a lovely embroidered salwar suit on a mannequin. She asked for its price and was disappointed to know that the price was Rs. 20,000. Pradyuman watched as she moved away from it and went back to the billing counter to collect her shawls.

‘Roja, if you really like it, then we can buy,’ he said holding her hand.

‘I don't have so much money to spare. But certainly next time when I come, I will save up some money and buy it,’ she said with a smile.

‘Come on, I have my credit card, lets buy it now,’ he insisted.

‘Pranu, you know that I hate using the credit card. It is a bad habit. Moreover, this is not so

important. I can wait to buy it,’ she said firmly.

He let out a defeated sigh. There was no point in arguing with her. But he had to admit that he really admired her quality of not giving in to temptations. Later Zayed took them to the government owned Kashmir Emporium. There was a good collection of sweaters, shawls, unstitched salwar suits, blankets and carpets. The prices were lower than the previous shop but the collection was good. Everyone bought sweaters, shawls and dresses for members of their family too. On the whole, it was a day well-spent.

The next day was their final day for sight-seeing and Gulmarg was their destination. Everyone wore layers of warm clothes because the temperature in Gulmarg was known to be sub-zero. Roja wore triple socks inside her boots. Today was going to be the ultimate test for her snow boots. Pradyuman too was dressed in his quilted jacket and waterproof pants. Under them he had worn two layers of clothes which also included his thermal wear. Roja quietly watched as he put on his sunglasses and walked onto the porch of the house. He was indeed a handsome man and she felt a sense of pride when she remembered that this man had actually proposed to her that morning. He climbed into the tempo traveller and sat next to Roja. Agnivesh and Karna sat right behind them. Agnivesh had not spoken to Roja for over a day. The last conversation they had was on New Year's Eve.

After reaching Gulmarg, the tempo traveller was parked at the foot of the mountains. Since the snow-covered mountain in Gulmarg was not easy to be walked upon, the tourists had to rent boots and another long jacket to keep themselves warm. The guide assured that Vasu, Pradyuman and Roja would not need the rented boots because their snow boots were good enough. After wearing the rented boots and jacket, the guide made them board another vehicle which would take them to the top of the mountain.

The winding road up the hill was around 11 km and it looked as if a dangerous snake had embraced the mountain. It was a very bumpy and uncomfortable ride of nearly half an hour. After reaching the top when they stepped out of the old rackety van, they were greeted with pristine white mountains. One had to compulsorily wear sunglasses otherwise the reflecting sun's rays pose a danger of causing snow-blindness. Roja was mesmerized by the view. For the first time in her life had she seen so much snow. Excited, she began walking while staring at the mountains. Sushma and Jennifer too were taking quick steps in the snow. Suddenly, Jennifer failed to notice a patch of frozen ice and stepped on it. She slipped and fell down. Immediately Vasu and Roja were by her side.

‘Are you okay, Jenni? Is it paining?’ asked Vasu kneeling by her side.

‘No. I am okay, I didn't see the ice,’ she said bending her ankles, just to make sure that there was no pain.

‘Come on, let’s get you up. It is freezing down,’ said Roja and helped Vasu to get Jennifer back on her feet.

‘Thank you, Roja,’ she said with a smile.

‘Watch your steps and put your heel down first when you take your steps,’ said Roja and went ahead to join the others.

After watching Jennifer fall, Pradyuman did not want to take any chances. He firmly held Roja's band while walking on the snow.

‘Don't worry, I won't be hurt if I fall on snow. I am covered in so many layers of clothes, I will barely even get a scratch,’ she said smiling at her man.

‘You might not get hurt if you fall but it will certainly hurt me,’ he said sincerely looking into her eyes.

Roja’s heart melted like the snow under the sun. Next, they took the Gondola ride to reach further up on the mountain. The view from the Gondola was both breath-taking and scary. The ride was from the Gulmarg resort to Kongdori station which lasted for close to 10 minutes. The Phase-2 ride from Kongdori station to Kongdori Mountain was closed. Then there was also a Phase-3 ride which had chairlifts from Kongdori to Mary Shoulder where many skiing events were held. At phase-1, where the tourists disembarked from the Gondola, there were many activities. The tourists could try their hands at basic skiing and sledge rides. But it was the snow bike that caught Roja's attention. When she evinced interest to ride the snow-bike, Jennifer and Sushma backed out because they were scared. Later everyone began debating about should they go for it or not. Agnivesh had moved away from the group even before this discussion had begun. He had lost interest in doing anything ever since Pradyuman had reached Srinagar. After a few minutes, Karna walked up to him to take water bottle from Agnivesh’s bag.

‘I am hungry. Shall we go to that restaurant,’ asked Karna looking the couple of restaurants at a distance.

‘Okay. What about the others?’ asked Agnivesh pointing at their group.

‘Well, most of us felt that snow-bikes were not safe. But Preetham, Nakul, Pradyuman and Roja are going for it,’ said Karna shaking his head.

Agnivesh looked at him horrified.

‘What?! Has she gone mad? she must not be taking a risk like that.’

‘Yeah, but she is adamant about it. Pradyuman also fees that it’s no big deal,’ said Karna shrugging.

‘To hell with him! I am not going to let her go on that hideous ride,’ thundered Agnivesh.

He stormed towards Roja and Karna followed close behind. His best friend was in no mood to hear his advice on not to interfere in Roja's life. Agnivesh had to be reminded that she was no longer his girlfriend. Whereas in the next few moments, he was about to cross his limits of being an ex-boyfriend.

To be continued...