#Dupatta Mera

[ladydarkey]

The peformance went well!!! 🎉🎉🎉

Thank you all sooooo much for all your wishes 🥰

I will share some pics and a video tomorrow. Too exhausted and tired now

[theshoreofsea]

mei simp tow kr lu prr kru kispe

[iloveyouitisruiningmylife]

is ur dupatta nau rang da?

kya yaar mujhe bhi shaadi karni hai

[om-is-ok]

Kuch best combos!!!

Tu 🤝 mein

Teri hasi 🤝 meri batein

Tera dupatta 🤝 meri watch

Teri kurti 🤝 meri laayi huyi bindi

Teri aankhe 🤝 meri lagayi huyi kajal

Tere hath 🤝 mere naam ki mehendi

Teri kalaiyyan 🤝 meri di huyi chudiyan

Tere baal 🤝 mera pehnaya hua gajra

Tera badan 🤝 mere hatho se lagaya hua इत्र

Tere hontho ki laali 🤝 meri use kharab karne k baad wali hasi

-Om

[the-official-kitty]

Yaarrrr kab mera dupatta kissi ladke ki watch mien fasega...

[houseofbreadpakoda]

Pachtaava

Time flows slower when you're lonely. It was true. The loneliness was getting to her. It was strange though. Not like she ever entertained people around her. Then why was it, that the loneliness was only hitting now?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock. She fixed her dupatta and looked up. It was Jamini. Dhanalakshmi immediately tried to divert her attention elsewhere.

"Kya mein....?"

"Hmm, aayiye."

Jamini walked to a chair near the desk Dhanalakshmi sat at. It was a huge room with many windows. But they had all been shut with the curtains pulled over. A pungent scent had taken over the room.

"Aap thik hein-?"

"Yahaan meri thabiyath ke baare mein baath karne aayi hain aap? Toh haan, thik hoon mein. Karodo ka dhandha chalta hain mere wajah se. Thik toh hona padega."

This probably wasn't the best time to talk, but Jamini was already here.

"Jab se Kanwal ji....aapke pathi guzre hain, sunne main aaya hain ki aap zyada kisi se baath nahi karti hain."

"Aisa kuch nahi hain Jamini ji. I have not relied on anybody to earn bread for my house or to take care of my company. I have never been too close to my husband nor my son. Loneliness is not something which affects me."

"You were not lonely before Dhanalakshmi ji. Aapne jisko bhi dhoor rakha tha, apne marzi se rakha tha. You were alone. Alone by choice. Par ab jo Khaalipan hain......it is not by choice. Yahi farak hota. Being alone is by choice, but being lonely never is."

Several moments passed by, neither of them spoke. Jamini cursed her timing. This was definitely not what she wanted to put across. Dhanalakshmi finally broke the silence.

"Meri maa thi na, she was very clever. But where would our household put up with clever women. She assumed she had no choice but to suppress herself. But it suffocated me to see her toil hard to make our house liveable when she could've been doing any job she wished to, with more credit to her name. So when I was married away, I had only one goal. To live life without any credits due. After many years I opened Dhanalakshmi sweets.

But in the process of achieving my goal, I only ever cared about establishing my name and getting my credits. Something which started off as a Woman's fight against the society turned into something personal. Somewhere i forgot that I myself am a woman, a daughter of another woman who was oppressed in this society.

I brought my son up, teaching him only how to run a business, never how to treat people around him. I remember the first time he hit his wife in front of me. We were in a business meeting. But all I wanted was for the drama to end there. I asked her to leave and excused my son. And then I did it again and again and again until i couldn't care about it anymore. But I have nobody to blame. It is all my greed for a name for myself which turned me into the person who brewed my greed. Life has come full circle."

Now it was Jamini's turn to speak.

"Rani ne bataya aapke chitti ke baare mein..." Dhanalakshmi sighed.

"Aap apne aap ko jitni buri samajthi hain, uthni hain nahi. Haan, galthi hui hain. Par koi galti itni bhi badi nahi hoti ki use maaf na Kiya jaa sake."

After a silence of another hundred moments, Dhanalakshmi spoke again. "Magar Maine kab kahaan ki mein khudko buri samajthi hoon?"

Jamini broke a sweat, "Nahi, mera matlab yeh nahi tha...-"

She was interrupted by a chuckle. Dhanalakshmi smiled in turn making Jamini smile. Atleast the visit was a success.

.

.

.

@janaknandini-singh999 aap hi ke misunderstanding se likha gaya hain ye ;)

[btw-its-tamanna]

why u bore ho rahi

chal fk marry kill bata

clock, wrist watch, pocket watch

Thanks didishree aapke hote hoye koi bore ho sakta hai 🥹🤌

I would fuck clock (weird IDC) jaise usne meri zindagi fuck kar rakhi hai. I would marry wristwatch kyunki usme Mera dupatta fasega and you know uska owner mera 🤧(katai delulu me) and I would kill pocket watch kuch kaam ka nahi hai (main bhi nahi hu meko bhi koi kill kar do 🥺)

[spaceavenue]

hoping ki ek din mera dupatta kisi ladki ki choodiyon mein attak jaaye

[daydreaming-en-pointe]

Rangoli Lessons 🪔

——————

A Hobie oneshot

Pairing: Hobie Brown (Spider-Punk) x Indian!Reader

Word count: 990

Warnings: Reader is implied to be female bc of the mention of a dupatta(?), use of pet names (luv, my love) me turning this into a cultural infodump 😅

——————

“Whatcha doin’ there, luv?”

You jumped in surprise at the interruption, almost knocking over the plates full of rangoli powder next to you.

“Hobie, you could’ve given me a warning,” You complained, rising to your feet and dusting off the powder that you had spilled on your clothes. “Honestly, you just pop out of nowhere here into Mumbattan expect me not to get a mini heart attack.”

Hobie just laughed, grabbing your waist and pulling you into a hug and carefully rearranging your dupatta to dip evenly along your neck and rest on your shoulders. “C’mon, loosen up a little. Happy Diwali, by the way. Diwali? Am I saying tha’ right?”

“Well, not quite,” You giggled at his pronunciation of the name of the festival, sounding foreign and strange in his accented voice. “But thank you for remembering. Happy Diwali to you too.”

He gave you a small pout. “Stop laughin’, ‘m tryin’ my best.”

You tapped his nose with your pinky finger, giving him a small smile. “I’m sure you are. Well done for that. Hats off to you. Do you want mithai?”

His confused glance had you chuckling again as you gently extricated yourself from his grasp. “Mithai, mera pyaar. Sweets. Here, try some, you’ll love it.”

You grabbed a rather large box of sweets that you had kept on a plate next to you, handing it to Hobie. Your neighbours, a sweet old couple with a tiny but temperamental cat named Kaccha Aam had given it to you.

“What’s this?” Hobie asked, holding up a silvery diamond-shaped sweet and staring at it curiously.

“That’s kaju katli.”

“Well, I’ve learnt enough to know tha’ it’s be’er not questionin’ the name, much less tryin’ to pronounce it,” Hobie shot you a playful glare as he popped the sweet into his mouth. His eyes widened as he tasted it, eliciting another giggle from you at his reaction. “Bloody ‘ell, thas’ good.”

“Right? It’s one of my favourites.” You crouched down to finish your rangoli, pulling the plates of coloured powder closer to you. You skilfully took some blue powder between your index finger and thumb, drizzling it steadily inside the spaces of the pattern you had drawn in the dirt with other colours.

Hobie knelt next to you, sitting cross-legged in the dirt. “What’s tha’ now? No, wait, lemme guess. It’s, uh… something with an ‘i’. There’s kaju katli and mithai, so it’s…”

He trailed off and you looked up from your work to give him an amused smile. “My god, Hobie, your pronunciations are horrible.”

You let out a giggle and leaned over to kiss his cheek as he let out a dramatic wounded gasp. “Oh, no, my heart can’t take this kind o’ betrayal! My love, how could you be so cruel?”

“It’s called a rangoli, drama queen. Now shush and let me finish this.” You crouched to drop the last bits of powder into place, completing your rangoli and standing up. “Now for the diyas.”

You got out the earthen lamps and placed the cotton wicks into them, pouring oil over it to fuel the fire. Being careful not to smudge any of the painstakingly-arranged powder of the rangoli, you stepped over it and placed the lit diyas around, lining a path to your front door.

“What’s tha’ on your forehead? The red dot thing.”

You turned to face Hobie fully, tilting your head slightly. “Oh, that’s a tilak. Or a teeka. They’re both the same thing. We just finished the pooja, the teeka is just something we wear after it to signify purity and respect to the Gods.”

You angled your gaze downward to your rangoli again, your eyes narrowing as you examined it critically. “It looks empty, doesn’t it?”

Hobie came over to stand next to you, draping a hand across your shoulders. “Well… a li’l bit? S’not empty as much as it is… minimalistic. You could add somethin’ around the corners, maybe?”

You hummed in approval as you tilted your head to calculate how much space you could use up. “Oh, yeah. That’s actually a really good idea. Hey, you wanna try?”

Hobie looked at you in surprise, letting out a small laugh. “I’d prob’ly mess it up, luv. Easier for you to do it how you wan’ it.”

“Noooo, it’ll be fun. Besides, anything you do looks amazing to me.”

Hobie considered it for a second before giving a shrug and crouching down next to the rangoli powder. You stood a few inches behind him, watching him with a soft smile on your face. His tongue slipped between his lips, poking out slightly as he tried to copy the drizzling motion you had done with the powder, his eyes narrowing in intense concentration.

“Luv, y’know I can feel you tryin’ to do tha’. I’m Spider-Man, remember?”

You pouted slightly, sitting back with your legs folded beneath you after being caught in the act of trying to sneak up behind him. “Aw, you’re no fun. Can’t even scare you.”

“That’s… kinda the point o’ spider-senses.” He scooted over so you could come and kneel next to him. “Could you show me how you did tha’ sprinkle thing? ‘ve tried but nothing’s workin’. Keeps spillin’.”

“Oh, sure. Here.” You leaned over to take a pinch of the powder between your fingers. “Here, the trick is to keep the powder in between your thumb and the space of your second knuckle on your index finger. That way the excess doesn’t escape but you also have the freedom to decide where the trail forms. See?”

You turned to face him. “Hobie?”

He was staring at you in wonder, his eyes so soft and loving that you couldn’t help but giggle, getting more flustered by the minute. “Hellooooo, Earth to Hobie. You didn’t hear a word of what I just said, did you?”

“Can’t help it. You’re too pretty”

You rolled your eyes affectionately. “Focus, mera pyaar.”

——————

Mera pyaar means my love :)

Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions. It symbolises the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance".

Rangoli is an art form that originates from in the Indian subcontinent, in which patterns are created on the floor or a tabletop using materials such as powdered lime stone, red ochre, dry rice flour, coloured sand, quartz powder, flower petals, and coloured rocks.

A teeka/tilak/tilaka is a mark (generally a red dot in this context) worn on the forehead, usually after a pooja. The teeka may be worn daily for decorative purposes, as a symbol for sectarian affiliation, for rites of passage or for special spiritual and religious occasions, depending on regional customs. It is also used as an expression of honour or to welcome someone upon arrival.

Mithai (sweets) are the confectionery and desserts of the Indian subcontinent.

Kaju katli, also known as kaju barfi, is an Indian dessert, originating in the Deccan, and is popularly consumed throughout north India. Kaju means cashew; barfi is often made by thickening milk with sugar and other ingredients.

A dupatta is a length of material worn arranged in two folds over the chest and thrown back around the shoulders, typically with a salwar kameez, worn by women from South Asia.

A diya is an earthen lamp, with the fire usually fueled by a wick dipped in oil coiled in the centre.

[ramayantika]

Braj ki Holi (Ch-5)

//Ch-4// //Masterlist//

The next morning Dau decided to take all of us to Vishram ghat in Mathura. Our train was in the evening at around 7pm and Mathura was barely half an hour away so we agreed to visit a few more temples and ghats. 

All the girls decided to wear ethnic today, and I was glad that I had packed some nice ones to wear. My mother had packed a maroon chikankari kurti for me and lent me a beautiful pair of silver jhumke from her collection. She had also asked me to send her photographs in this dress. 

"Yaar koi dori bandh do mera mera bhagya kahan hai ki koyi cute sa ladka bandh de mere liye," I heard Bhumi who was trying to tie the threads of her backless kurti in front of the mirror. 

Subhadra laughed and helped my sister to tie those threads while commenting, "Arey didi itna rona nahi lago kya pata koi ladka aaj mil jaye?" Radhika who was combing her hair joined in too, saying, "Ekdum apsara jaisi sundarta leki padhari hai humari Bhumi ladkon ka dil phisla degi."

Bhumi giggled and applied perfume to her arms and then looked at herself in the mirror. "Tumhe koi haq nahi banta ki tum itni khubsurat lago. Not fair!"

I facepalmed and pulled her away from the mirror. "Okay Bhumi ji, now let others use the mirror too. Hume bhi khubsurat lagna hai."

Bhumi sat on the bed and began scrolling on her phone. Radhika was braiding her hair while Subhadra was playing with the beads on her beaded kurti. I applied a thick stroke of my kajal on my eyes and after feeling satisfied with the length and thickness of the kohl, I announced, "Okay, I am done. All ready."

"Whoa!" All the girls exclaimed. "Your eyes look stunning in kajal. You should wear it often," Subhadra commented. "Kanha bhaiya would get lost in your eyes for sure." This earned her a smack on her shoulder from Radhika. 

Radhika walked over to me and moved her fingers in a circle around my face. "Like those typical indian tv serial vali mummy, tujhe kisiki nazar na lage."

"Jaa meri Bhaishmi jaa ab inn aakhon se aankhon ki gustakhiyan khel."

Adjusting my dupatta over my shoulder, I rolled my eyes at Bhumi who shrugged her shoulders and pushed me outside the room, making me collide with someone. 

"Bhumi, what are you…" Thank you Bhumi! "I am so sorry Krishna, Bhumi pushed me and I had no idea that you would be walking here."

Subhadra's words indeed came true and I was struck with the realization that Krishna was holding me by my shoulders, his face leaning a little dangerously close to mine in front of everyone. 

"Not in front of my lipstick, you two!" Radhika's words brought Krishna out of my kohl lined eyes.

I took a step back and adjusted my dupatta again, a brilliant way to hide my blushy face. 

"Uh.. No I- not that, we won't… God, Bhaishmi, your eyes look angelic in kajal. Had you walked over to my seat on the train with kajal in your eyes, I would have proposed to you there itself." 

Radhika, Subhadra and Bhumi smirked. My devious sister pretended to clear her throat and motioned the others to walk with her. "Generous of us to offer you guys some privacy. Bhaishmi, I need details."

"Ghanta details." I looked at Krishna who was back to smiling amusedly at me. "Chalo sab mandir."

****

It was 2.30pm and all of us decided to have lunch and visit the Vishram ghat after which we would head back to kaki's house and leave for the train station. 

The ghat was usually crowded in the evening where tourists as well as locals gathered together to witness the yamuna aarti. Sadly, we couldn't stay that long to see the aarti, so we decided to enjoy the sight of the river and take a look at the various shrines built on the ghat. 

The ghat looked quite empty in the afternoon. We could see some of the priests and a few devotees here and there. The boats were aligned together on the river and tied to one of the posts. 

"There's our Vrindavan," Radhika pointed towards a distant mass of hills and trees visible from the ghat. 

I saw Ranvit staring at that location for a long time. He then said, "I love how Vrindavan and Mathura have still kept their history and culture together while moving forward with time. Here are various ghats and temples constructed by so many saints and kings in history; so many folklores and tales connected to each and every corner of every street. Even though we live in the twenty-first century, a part of the old times still resides here. Call me crazy, but I can still feel that maybe once we turn a corner, a portal will open and we all will be with Krishna and his sakhas." He paused and sighed, "This holiday will be the most memorable holiday in my life."

Arjun then spoke up. "This was my first time in Vrindavan too, and I feel blessed to come here. Somehow connecting to our roots grants a different sense of happiness. I don't think I have the right words to describe what I feel, but I feel that this place has changed something in me."

Arjun was right. This place, this little vacation did change something inside me too. I met some amazing people and bonded with them; celebrated a festival together and created so many lovely memories that I will look back on in the future. 

Heck, I feel like Naina from Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani as I write this. Now in the movie, Bunny and Naina got together, but does this story have the same ending? 

Subhadra gave a side hug to Bhumi. "You all don't make me cry, okay. Bhumi, Bhaishmi and Ranvit… I am going to miss you all so much. Be in touch or I will spam all your inboxes."

I saw Radhika looking at Krishna, their eyes having a silent conversation on their own. Her hand gently patted his shoulder. 

"I agree with my little sister. I never expected to have such a wonderful Holi celebration. All of this feels straight out of a book or a movie you know but I am glad I met you guys," Dau said. 

"Are we going to stay here the entire time? We need to head back and drop them off at the station too."

Thanks for reminding me Krishna about that! 

The journey back to kaki's house was no longer filled with us talking about how special this trip was or if we were going to miss each other or not. Radhika and Krishna had decided to cheer up everyone with a playful banter and soon we all were laughing until our stomachs ached. 

We reached kaki's house in an hour. Everyone rushed out of the car except me and Krishna. I wanted time to slow down by a few hours just to spend some more time with him, thus I walked excruciatingly slow while passing occasional glances at Krishna. 

"Okay, I am going to regret this if I don't do it now and let you go." This was the last thing I heard before Krishna pulled my wrist towards him and led me towards a secluded wall. 

Pressing his forehead against mine, he murmured, "Do you want this too? For the first and maybe the last time I think?"

"Do it, Krishna."

And at last, I was closer to his lips than his flute had ever been. Both of us let our yearning out for each other, not caring even once about the consequences. His lips were soft like rose petals and he kissed me as passionately as he played his flute. 

And we slowly moved away from each other after what seemed like eternity. We smiled at each other, and his arm moved around my waist, bringing me close to him. 

"You know the next time I look up at the stars, I will always be reminded of you, Krishna," I told him as I hugged him for one last time. 

His fingers played with my hair, delicately brushing them over my hair. "And why so?"

"The first time I saw you, it was your eyes that drew me in. They always shine with happiness and love for each and everything that exists in this world." Pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, I added, "And we have met like two stars too; coming close for a while and then moving away to our respective paths ahead."

I could feel him smile and his arms embraced me tighter. A very funny feeling arose in my chest. Warmth seeped inside my body, the more I stayed in Krishna's embrace. I felt the heaviness in my heart at the prospect of leaving this place and him, but there was peace and understanding too. I could feel my stomach do somersaults yet there was a calming effect too. 

Are there any specific words to describe this feeling? 

"Bhaishmi, where are you? Kaka and Kaki are calling." Thank you, Ranvit. I love you so freaking much! 

The warmth that had enveloped my being had escaped back to nature, as I felt Krishna move a step back from me. 

The end, isn't it? 

****

Bhumi was on the phone with my maasi who had once again taken up the role of cautioning sixteen year olds to not accept any food from strangers on the train. 

God, how would she react when we would tell her about our little adventure. Now, dear reader, it's obvious that we all lied to our parents that we were at the hotel and not with a group of teenagers

"Tum sab badme parivar ke sath aana bachon samjhe?" Yashodhara kaki wiped a lone tear with the end of her pallu. 

Nanda kaka was busy settling all our luggages near our seats. I saw him smile and shake his head at kaki but I could make out that he too felt a little sad with us leaving. Strange, how people take up spaces in other people's hearts when they have met only for a short amount of time? 

Bhumi was munching on those tasteless, saltless yellow Lays chips causing me and Ranvit to grimace. Dau was inside with kaka and Krishna was on the platform, standing silently. 

Radhika's gaze often switched between the two of us. Subhadra being the clever girl she is, cleverly asked everyone to get inside the train after sending Dau out to get some more snacks for us, leaving two people behind at the train compartment's gate. 

Reader, you must know who they are? 

"Goodness, my sister is far more clever than me," muttered Krishna. 

I looked at Subhadra's retreating figure as she walked to my seat. God, just a few days ago only we were on the train meeting each other the first time and now it was time to go back. Soon. This was ending too soon. 

I think when we leave a place we leave behind some part of ourselves there and carry bits of the places in us while leaving for the next destination. I was taking away some scenic sites, fun memories, amazing friends, beautiful flute tunes that would always find a way to enter my dreams and sweet memories of a very pretty boy. 

The train was to leave the station in ten minutes and Krishna and I weren't speaking a word. Our fingers would fiddle around each other, with our lips trying desperately to conceal the words of our hearts. 

But finally, Universe being the master conspirator, conspired against every bodily function and made me speak the sentence. 

"I am going to love you, Krishna."

His eyes met mine and he held my gaze for a very long time. His eyes that had lost their shine for a few moments back there on the platform were twinkling again just like my favourite stars adorning the night sky. 

Sometimes we don't need to have those forever kind of love stories. Love can be found in small moments of time too and maybe you may choose other things or some other person later in life, you are still going to house that love in your heart forever. I think people might not be forever, but love is. 

And I was going to nurse this beautiful plant of love forever. These four to five days with him were going to be some wonderful memories inside my heart. 

But indeed was it love? We only met for a few days. You can love people for the briefest of moments too. Love is a very mysterious but beautiful language of the Universe that connects your heartstrings to many people. Popularly, love might always mean romance and relationships, but one must never forget the love that exists in friends, amidst nature and quiet places that exist to tell you little secrets of life. 

I was going to love Subhadra, Dau, Arjun, Radhika, Kaka and Kaki too. I was going to love this blissful experience of Vrindavan and Mathura. There was love flowing in the breeze when Krishna and I talked by the Yamuna river. The stars that I saw with him on the terrace the night before and the darkness that welcomed my eyes after sleep embraced me as my head rested on his shoulders spoke of that love. 

This little bud of love had blossomed into a lotus inside me. And, Krishna understood everything that I have written here because… 

"I am going to love you too, Bhaishmi."

Kaka, Kaki, Dau, Subhadra and Radhika came back to the gate and stepped down on the platform one by one. Krishna was the last one to move down, but he did not leave my hand after giving me a very precious object. 

He left his peacock chain from his flute in my fingers. Those beautiful lips curled upwards for one last time and I committed his smile to my memory, and those starry eyes once again promised: I am going to love you, Bhaishmi. 

"Goodbye, Krishna."

"No. See you soon, Bhaishmi."

Kaki waved at us and I felt Ranvit's hand over my shoulder. I stood near the gate until the others on the platform were reduced to a dot in my vision until I could no longer see the platform, with Krishna's sweet voice ringing inside my ears. 

"See you soon…"

*****

Hello! It is 12.36am with machhar attacking me from all sides but I managed to write this fic nevertheless.

Wait wait wait I completed this fic??? I had started this out before my board exams maybe somewhere in April after I posted about a fic I had wrote somewhere half way about meeting Krishna on a train and some people told me to post it here. I changed a lot of things here though that what I had originally written before.

Also the last section of the fic, I would love to hear your thoughts about it. And worry not, we are going to have an epilogue. Picture abhi bhi bali hai mere dost!

Also, I would love to hear your thoughts about the ending. What were you expecting? Was it good or you wanted something else. Everything!

Anyway, I should go to sleep now. And god I am going to miss these characters. I hope you guys miss them too. Bhaishmi and everyone will always be here on this blog.

Okay so tagging people for one last time here for this fic:

@ma-douce-souffrance @lil-stark @jessbeinme15 @inexhaustible-sources-of-magic @pokemon-master-elita @manwalaage @phoenix666stuff @itsfookingloosah @riiddhhiii

[wojosubahjaldinahiuthti]

bhai mera lal dupatta kab uddke kisi cute se ladke ke mooh pe ja girega KAB

[mainapnifavouritehoon]

dupatta tera nau rang da haye ni mera dil mangda🫣🫶

[misssclumsy]

Bas ek baar mera dupatta uske watch mein fas jaaye ma qasam

[msperfectlydamaged]

MERA dupatta MERE hi jhumke mei atak gya?! Ab toh bhagwan ne bhi bol diya ki mei akeli hi marongi

[premikaunderthemoon]

hey bhagwan uska aur mera kissing under the dupatta moment kab?????

[khwabeedah]

Bas ye hua ki usne takalluf se baat ki

na jaane mera dupatta aansuon se kyu bheeg gya!

-Praveen Shakir