DANCE

Meanwhile, oblivious to these developments, hundreds of kilometres

away, in the bustling city of New Delhi, a young woman was sprawled

on the bed, her hair spread across it, reading a book. Sehmat was

relaxing. She had just come back from college after a gruelling session

of dance lessons and wanted to do nothing but read. Sehmat glanced at

the alarm clock by her bedside as she turned a page of the gripping book.A soft groan escaped her as she realized she was late for her evening

walk.

Swinging her long, shapely legs off the bed, Sehmat slipped her feet

into her slippers and made for the bathroom that she shared with her

room-mate, Mitali. Both women were classmates and classical dance

was a common interest between them.

But that was where the similarity ended. While Mitali was an

accomplished dancer, driven by the ambition to achieve fame and

recognition, Sehmat danced because it was her passion. Her hands and

feet moved in deft coordination with the rest of her body because her

soul directed them to. Dance was like a daily prayer for her that made

her feel complete.

Though the girls shared the same room, they were not as close as most

room-mates in a college hostel are. Mitali was more of an extrovert,

while Sehmat was an introvert and took a long time to open up to people.

Mitali was of medium height and had a perfect honey complexion;

Sehmat was tall and had fair, translucent skin that turned beet red at the

slightest provocation. But that she possessed a supreme confidence about

herself was evident from her deep-blue eyes, which reflected courage

and resolve.

Watching Sehmat was like witnessing poetry in motion. Her peaches

and cream complexion, combined with the sharp features common to

those from the Valley, was breathtaking. Her movements were effortless

which gave an impression that she was gliding instead of walking. To the

men who looked at her, she seemed like she had descended from the

heavens and did not belong to this world. Her biggest assets were her

big, doe-shaped blue eyes; they shone with wit, intelligence and

occasional mischief. Quite naturally, Sehmat was the most sought-after

girl in college. While men vied for her attention, the women did not

know how to react to such beauty and humility. She was not vain despite

the fact that she was the most beautiful woman for miles around. If

anything, she downplayed her beauty by blending into the crowd. She

consciously dressed in simple, loose-fitting clothes to avoid drawing

Undue attention. She also refrained from socializing and restricted herself from making too many friends

Many speculated that she had a boyfriend back home since she did not

encourage the men. Only her close friends knew that Sehmat did not

have any male friends. Looking at her parents, she knew that true love

was sacred and it existed. She was also convinced that it would cross her

path some day. In her mind she was very clear about the kind of man she

would fall in love with. She would see him in her dreams, approaching

her and filling her life with meaning, love and strength. She knew he

would sweep her off her feet and take her away from the ordinary world

to paradise. Though she had a perfect picture of the attributes of her

dream man, his face eluded her.

But Sehmat was willing to wait. Her friends often joked about her

fantasy, but she believed he would arrive at the designated place at the

designated time. Little did she know what destiny had in mind. It was

during the annual college celebrations that fate introduced her to

Abhinav.

Aby, as he was fondly called by his close friends, belonged to a

wealthy and influential Delhi family. Tall and athletic, he looked like a

hero from a romantic novel. Women tried to attract his attention but

failed. While some admired his drop-dead good looks, there were others

who were more attracted to his hefty bank balance. Even though the

entire campus swooned over him, he kept to himself and often sat on the

last bench of the classroom.

No one, however, knew that instead of taking notes, Aby often penned

down his heartfelt feelings in the form of poetry that had only one theme

—the beautiful, unattainable Sehmat. He was in complete awe of her

ethereal beauty and often described her as a Kashmiri princess who had

lost her identity in an alien city. He loved his princess deeply but could

never muster enough courage to approach her. Instead, he poured out his

feelings in his poems, which, by his third year in college, had become an

impressive collection.

Sehmat often caught him looking at her strangely. While other men

made her uncomfortable, Aby’s glances were different. His eyes bore

into her soul and seemed to search for an answer. Sehmat was

instinctively aware of Aby’s interest in her. She felt the same, but was determined not to rush anything.

One evening, nearing sunset, Sehmat was taking her regular walk in

the park nearby. The orange sun was spreading its hues around the grey-

blue sky. She was in her tracksuit, walking briskly. Aby stood unnoticed

behind a tree, his usual spot in the park, watching his princess as she

walked along her route through the joggers’ track. Suddenly, Sehmat

stopped and bent over something she had stumbled on. Aby leaned over

to get a closer look too. It was a baby squirrel that she was about to step

on. She gently picked it up and lovingly placed it next to a bush away

from the path of the other walkers. Her eyes shone with love and

tenderness, as her fingers delicately handled the creature with ease and

comfort. The connection must have been intense, for the baby squirrel

didn’t show any sign of struggle either.

For Aby, what he saw was surreal. His throat constricted. The fading

sunrays reflected brightly on her deep mahogany hair, giving her the

look of an angel. He felt as if he were under a spell. On many occasions

in the past he had pondered about Sehmat. Her religion was very

different from his and could have serious social consequences, since he

came from a staunch Hindu family. But at that moment, he put

everything aside and became aware of the truth. It was then that Aby

decided he would either marry Sehmat or not marry at all.

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