15th August 2017

P R E E T I

"This is so not good", I said whilst peeking out through the curtains when the Bihu dance performance started.

"And why not?", Abhishek asked.

"Look at the crowd! We've never had such a big audience in like what? A million years?", I stated and turned around to face Abhishek.

"Well that's because Kolkata's favourite couple is going to dance tonight", Aisha said in a sing-song voice. She was sitting on the chair near the table which had a microphone placed on it, while Abhinav stood behind her. I glared at her and said, "We are not a couple!". I could feel a bit of heat rising to my cheeks and when I looked at Abhishek, he was already blushing a deep shade of pink but, no words came out of his mouth.

"What are you two doing in the announcement room? Go to the backstage now!", Mrs. Sharma ordered as she entered the tent.

"But our dance is at the last so, we can at least stay here a bit longer?", I said while giving her my signature sweet smile.

"No. Your dance performance is our closing act so I want both of you to go backstage and go through the steps several times. You know I want it to be perfect", Mrs. Sharma said in a voice that meant she was going to have the last word.

"Okay, ma'am. But can we do the little surprise I told you about yesterday?", I asked her and looked at her with hope evident in my eyes.

"Fine. You can do it, just don't involve the adults. Only the kids", said Mrs. Sharma in a not very amusing way, nonetheless I was still happy that she permitted us.

"Thank you ma'am!", I said, pulled Abhishek out of the tent and went towards the backstage.

Once we arrived, we could see the other students already practising their choreography one more time before their turn came. Abhishek and I made our way past the Bhangra group to a corner of the backstage. I sat on the chair and tightly clenched my dandiyas. I was wearing a golden choli, a pink ghagra with a golden border and a pink dupatta draped over my right shoulder.

One moment I was feeling enthusiastic and the next moment I was feeling nervous. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. My mind was clouded with innumerable "what ifs".

What if I forget to do a dance step?

What if the dandiya slips out of my hands?

What if I fail?

I shuddered. I have never felt so nervous in my life. I don't know why. I have done so many dance performances before in front of a big audience. This won't be much of a big deal. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew why I was getting nervous. I have always performed in front of people alongside Aisha. This time she was not here to support me and nor was Abhinav. Abhishek had become my friend but I still didn't know him well. I wasn't even confident enough to tell him that I'm leaving for Paris in a few weeks. Suddenly I felt two fingers lift my chin, so I could look into those brown eyes that are always filled with kindness.

"You'll do great Preeti. I know it", said Abhishek who had kneeled down in front of me.

I couldn't keep eye contact with him any longer. I knew I was doubting myself too much but I couldn't help it. I looked down at the floor.

"It's just... I don't know how to explain it."

"You're scared of messing up?"

I simply nodded.

"Don't worry. You're an amazing dancer and when you get on stage, just let the music flow through you and together we will nail this dance", he said with a smirk.

"Thanks, Abhishek."

Then something I, totally didn't expect happened. He placed a small kiss on my forehead and said, "Don't mention it" and touched his forehead with mine. I shivered when I felt his warm breath on my face. We stayed like that for a minute or two. And soon...

"That was a lively performance by the Bhangra group. And now, we'll finish this show with dandiya, a folk dance of Rajasthan!", said Aisha on the microphone with a lot of excitement and I giggled.

"Shall we?", Abhishek asked straightening up his posture so that his red and black traditional Garba dress was visible and held out his hand for me. He did look cute in this outfit though. I took his hand and got up from my seat. I wasn't nervous anymore. There was this sudden rush of excitement and confidence in my veins that I couldn't explain.

"We shall"

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T H I R D P E R S O N

Luka saw the woman beside him get up just as the announcement for the last dance-dandiya-was made. She moved her tripod a bit away from its initial position and started to readjust the camera. Luka thought that maybe her daughter or her relative was going to perform and that must be the reason for the sudden bright smile on her face.

The lights switched back on and it was focused in the middle of the stage where boys and girls had lined up, one behind the other. Just as the music started playing, alternatively one boy and one girl started to twirl and spread out on the stage to reach their respective spots.

Ho avi gayi raat
Mann bhulo badhi baat
Prem niya mausam chhe
Ab aao mere paas
Reh jaao mere saath
Prem niya mausam chhe

Then a girl and a boy made their appearance on the stage from the opposite sides of the platform and made their way to the centre.

Ho aavi gayi raat
Mann bhulo badhi baat
Prem niya mausam chhe
Ab aao mere paas
Reh jaao mere saath
Prem niya mausam chhe

They synchronised their moves with the other backstage dancers. Noticing how swift and clean the dance steps of the main two dancers' were, it was quite understood that they were experienced and had done many such dance performances before. They made it look like this dance was child's play.

Mill jaaye mujhko agar saath tera
Toh bhoolun main saara jahaan

Chogada tara
Chabeela tara
Rangeela tara
Rang bher juve tari baat re

Chogada tara
Ore chabila tara
Ore rangeela tara
Rang bher juve tari baat re

Chogada tara
Ore chabila tara
Ore rangeela tara
Rang bher juve tari baat re

The crowd was cheering for the dancers and more people started making their way to the front to witness the dance. But, Luka wasn't paying much attention to the ones around him. His eyes were only focussed on the girl dancing ecstatically in the front. She looked familiar but he couldn't place his finger on where he had seen her. The lighting prevented him from seeing her face clearly. Meanwhile, Preeti was enjoying this moment. She felt lively and free. All her fears had just apparated. As for Abhishek, he was stealing swift glances of Preeti in between his dance steps and his heart fluttered to see the joy on her face.

If only she loved me.

Chup chup ke tumhe
Dekha main karun
Saari saari raat
Saari saari raat

Chup chup ke mujhe
Dekha tu kare
Saari saari raat
Saari saari raat

Mill jaaye mujhko agar saath tera
Toh bhoolun main saara jahaan

And with the last two lines of the song played, the back dancers followed by Preeti and Abhishek got off the stage, made their way to the open space in front of it and started dancing in a circle. They received a lot of cheers and whistles from the crowd.

Chogada tara
Chabeela tara
Rangeela tara
Rang bher juve tari baat re

All the dancers started pulling some nearby teenagers to join the circle and dance with them. It was only a brisk moment when Preeti's and Luka's eyes met. Even in such a small moment they recognized each other. They still remembered how they had met at the dahi-handi event, the day before and wanted to see each other again. Luka was standing just beside her mother who had a gentle smile on her face as she saw how her daughter enjoyed the moment. Luka looked dashing in his blue kurta paired with a pair of black pyjamas and Preeti looked so beautiful in her golden and pink ghagra-choli that Luka couldn't take his eyes off of her. Preeti's face lit up and she rushed towards him pulling him and Juleka who was standing next to him-wearing a beautiful black lehenga with golden border, paired with a black crop top -towards the circle of joyous teenagers of all ages.

Chogada tara
Ore chabila tara
Ore rangeela tara
Rang bher juve tari baat re

Chogada tara
Ore chabila tara
Ore rangeela tara
Rang bher juve tari baat re

When the song was about to finish Preeti and Abhishek danced their way into the centre of the circle. When the music stopped they simultaneously held up their dandiyas above their heads and crossed them. The crowd was energetic and there was a round of applause. All the dancers retreated to the backstage while Mrs. Sharma went up on stage to announce the end of the day's performances.

"See? We did it!", said Abhishek with a cheeky grin on his face.

"We sure did.", said Preeti with a small smile on her face and hugged Abhishek.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you guys liked the chapter. What do you think about Preeti and Abhishek? Great! Now I'm shipping both of them 🤦🏻‍♀️

Preeti's nervousness is something I also felt before my dandiya dance performance and I was like so scared. Preeti's scenario in the backstage is something inspired from my own experience and no... Don't even think out any Abhishek being around me then... Or maybe there was... Idk...

P.S. pictures are taken from Pinterest and don't belong to me. They belong to their rightful owners. The YouTube video also doesn't belong to me. Please don't slap a copyright on me. XD

To myself: Concentrate on your main ship...Concentrate on your main ship...

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