The Proposal

Armed with a mike in her hand, she looked around. Everything was as per plan; she ha
d her set up right below his balcony, thankfully the guitarist had showed up on time and arranged the speakers, the bouquet of roses that she had ordered had arrived. “The ring!” she thought as she patted the pocket of her jeans to re-ensure that she had brought it. The only unfortunate part was that there was a little crowd of enthusiastic spectators mostly comprising of the neighborhood folk; she mentally kicked herself as to how could she forget to account for this. She checked the time on her phone, 5.56 pm it showed. “Four minutes to go!” she thought to herself. Now that the time had come she was petrified, charged and nervous, all at once. She dialed his number and made a nonchalant conversation, just to make sure he was at home or else all her efforts would be in vain.

 

*5 days earlier*

She lay idly on the sofa and watched Shah Rukh Khan croon a romantic song for his lady love on TV. Oh! How she wished she could spend her entire life in his arms! Her Nani walked in, “SRK movies? Again?” she chided. She gave a sheepish grin, made place for Nani to sit on the sofa and lay in her lap. Visiting her grandmother’s place was a must during extended weekends, the sheer bliss of being stuffed with delicious food and stories; where gardening, long walks, sleeping and eating were the only things on her schedule. “So, how is your SRK?” Nani asked. “Don’t ask about him Nani”, she scoffed. “Did you have a fight?” Nani enquired. She sat up straight and started narrating her woeful story, “Nani we have been together for the last 7 years, both of us love each other and want to settle down, yet he hasn’t made any romantic gesture, no enormous declaration of our love to the entire world. He considers all the mushy romantic stuff to be silly. For all you know, he may not be my SRK.” Nani looked at her distressed face and gave one of her precious advices, “So what if he isn’t your SRK? You can always be his SRK, right?” She looked at Nani perplexed. Nani went on to explain, “Why is it that he has to do something romantic or profess his love for you to the entire world? Why can’t you do it instead?

”

*Present day*

She checked the time; it was dot 6 pm. The crowd around her began to thicken; by now there were a few people peeping and glancing at her from the windows and balconies of their apartments. Nervous yet determined, she took the mike and tapped it to check if it was working fine. She texted him to come out to the balcony and then announced on the mike, “Sweetheart, this is for you.” She gave cue to the guitarist and proceeded to sing “Tujhe dekha toh yeh jaana sanam”. It was their song. It was the only song that they liked collectively, much against their varied taste in music. She looked up at the balcony to find him looking amused and wide eyed; he stood transfixed in bewilderment, awed and exhilarated. She continued singing and smiling while the crowd and the people from the other flats of the building cheered her on. He suddenly walked out of the balcony, she almost stopped singing and the crowd let out a gasp. Within minutes she saw him walk towards her from the entrance of the building. He stood at a little distance away from her so that she could finish the song. Just as she was done, he gave her a bear hug. She presented him with the bouquet of flowers first, then fished out the ring from her pocket and popped the question. She got down on her knees, opened the little box and asked, “Will you marry me?” The entire crowd was silent for a moment. He pulled her up and replied, “Yes my dear SRK, yes! From now till forever.” She slipped the ring onto his finger. “I asked you to sing for me once and you ended up doing the same in front of such a large crowd, isn’t it?” He teased her playfully. They giggled, bade goodbye to the guitarist and walked back towards his apartment amidst loud applause and exuberance.