Fiction: Vani will marry Vir only if he wins her over before the train reaches the last stop

There was screaming and yelling: “It was almost 7 am, and I had barely slept. I didn’t feel like getting up, but if I didn’t, the whole train would. The drama was happening next door, Mum and Dad. But what happened so early?”

“Why can’t both of you act like a mature couple for once?” I cried.

“He doesn’t listen to me!” Mum revolted. Dad stayed quiet. It felt like I was a schoolteacher who had caught two students misbehaving.

‘Please, guys, we are on a train. The walls are too thin. Can we not pretend for a few more days?” I pleaded.

“Do you even know what happened?” Dad asked.

“Yeah, probably some stress from work happened that you are taking out on Mum,” I said, and I left the room. Ever since Dad became successful, things have gone downhill for our family. We take fancy, soulless vacations now, but I miss the family trips we did before Rishi Uncle kicked us out and we had no money.

Our Jim Corbett trip when I was 12 was probably a million times better than our trip to Norway, fighting under the Northern Lights.

Maybe it’s Dad’s fault or Mum’s, but both seem right from their point of view. But to me, it feels like they stopped trying. I will never let that happen to Vani and me. No matter the situation, she will always be a priority.

Crap! I haven’t talked to her since we got on the train. I've been so distracted. I called Pia and asked her to arrange everything ChatGPT told me about a romantic date in Jaipur.

“Make it light but deep. Fun but meaningful. Playful but soulful,” I told Pia.

She rolled her eyes, “Do you want me to plan a date or a therapy session?”

“Both?” I shrugged. I like Pia; she goes the extra mile. I rushed to my room, wrote a brief message inviting Vani to explore Jaipur with me and promised her a trip clear of those pretentious viral Instagram cafes. I figured that she likes things that are old, have history, are layered and are forgotten by the internet but not by people.

Because I knew Vani. Not really but enough. Enough to know she would appreciate my handwritten note more than a text message, which I slipped under her suite’s door. And I was right, she later sent me a photo of the note on WhatsApp with a red heart. A red freaking heart! Things could not have started any better.

I was wearing my best outfit. A white T-shirt with a dark blue shirt on top and beige chinos on the bottom. Standing outside her suite with a bouquet. This date was something I must have dreamt about forever, replayed in my head a million times, and today, finally, it was happening.

The door opened, and I got the chills. She was in a beautiful white dress. She looked like a goddess. For a moment, my jaw dropped. I was just in awe of her beauty. It felt like that moment from Om Shanti Om when Shah Rukh Khan sees Deepika Padukone for the first time, swoons, puts a hand on his heart and pretends to fall to the ground in slow motion. I mimicked the same.

Everything is a cliché until it happens to you. I wanted to scream, I love you, Vani, you are so freaking beautiful! But I couldn’t say anything.

“Are those for me?” she asked, pointing at the flowers.

“Oh … yeah, you love orchids, right?” I blushed and handed her the bouquet. She appreciated the effort.

I guided her outside the train towards a horse-drawn carriage waiting for us.

I quickly sensed her hesitation and signalled Pia to change the plan.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t like a horse ride, right? Too cliché?” I covered up.

“It would be embarrassing!” she replied.

“Precisely. Nothing to worry about; that’s why we have a Toyota for you! I don’t know who would book a horse for their first date!” I grinned and ran towards Pia to take the car keys.

We drove away from the city. Most of the things in Jaipur are now commercialised, so we went to Galta Ji Temple, a prehistoric site that doesn’t get a lot of attention but is mesmerising.

As soon as we reached there, we were surrounded by monkeys. The guide came to our rescue by trading some bananas with them. “They are your friends now,” the guide said, grinning.

I didn’t realise it at first, but Vani had grabbed my hand and was holding it tight. “I hope you are okay,” I asked.

“Yeah, I love animals. These little guys just came out of nowhere,” she said and then let go of my hand. Why? I screamed inside.

We explored the temple. I can’t fully describe it – tranquil, spiritually surrounded by the Aravalli mountains on one side and natural springs and fountains on the other. “This is beautiful. Why is it so empty, though?” she asked.

Before I could say my prepped line, the guide intervened and stole my moment to shine. “Today’s public wants Instagram reels. They go to show-off places, beta. Old places are not shiny enough for them.”

We strolled for a while, talking and Googling to confirm everything the guide told us. I don’t like getting my pictures taken, but the temple and Vani were way too beautiful to say no. The monkeys must have also fallen for Vani’s beauty, or as I like to call it, the “Vani Glow,” and photo-bombed us.

She genuinely loved animals because right before we left, she bought all the monkeys way too many bananas. They were probably set for the next few months!

“Wanna have some coffee?” I asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t wanna go to.” Before she could finish, I said, “Those pretentious cafes, right? I know just the place for you.”

She seemed impressed. I could see her smile, even if just for a moment. She didn’t want me to notice, but I see you, Vani.

Excerpted with permission from Wedding on the Maharaja Express, Prakhar Vishwani, Penguin India.