CHAPTER 3:
Mr. Rangu Mukharjee was sitting in his cabin buried in deep thought. His train of thought broke at the sound of light knock in the door.
Mr. Mukharjee: Come in.
His secretary Sunita Dobrial came inside.
Mr. Mukharjee: Sunita maine mana kiya tha ki agle ek ghante taak mujhe koi disturbance nehi chahye.
Sunita: Sorry sir. But aapke friend Mr. DamnSing Rathod aye hai. To maine socha aapse ekbaar puch loom.
Mr. Mukharjee: Oh..Prithvi aya hai? Thik hai. Bhej do andar.
Sunita: Ok sir.
She went out from the cabin.
After sometime an elderly man came inside. Mr. Mukharjee got up from his chair and went to him. Both friend hugged each other. Mr. Mukharjee made Mr. Rathod sit in the chair and went to sit in his own chair.
Mr. Rathod: Kaisa hai tu? Aur meri bacchi kaisi hai?
Mr. Mukharjee: Main thik hoom. Riya bhi thik hai. Tu kaisa hai? Naina bhabi kaisi hai? Kal tere bete aur bahu se mili main.
Mr. Rathod: Ha. Sameer ne batya mujhe. Main thik hoom aur Naina bhi thik hai. By the way kaisa lag raha hai Mumbai wapas aake?
Mr. Mukharjee: Ha bohot accha lag raha hai. Uss accident ke baad to mujhse aur Mumbai mein raha nehi gya. Mujhe aaj bhi yeh manneme dikkat hoti hai ki meri Diya aab iss dunya main nehi hai.
Mr. Rathod: Sahi kaha tune. Diya bhabi ki kami haame aaj bhi satati hai.
Mr. Mukharjee: Accha ek baat bata. Yeh ACP Arjun Rawte kisska beta hai?
I mean...
Mr. Rathod: Sahi pehchana tune. Woh Surya aur Jaya ka beta hai.
Mr. Mukharjee: Hmmm. Kal hi mujhe shak hua tha. Usske ankhe aur features Surya se bohot milta jhulta hai. Phir surname sunke mera shaq aur bhi baar gya. Waise kaisa ladka hai Arjun? I mean bohot suna hai usske bade main. Usske tragic past ke bade mein. But main tujhse sunna chahta hoom.
Mr. Rathod: Arjun bohoti accha ladka hai. Sher ka dil hai. Usske jaisa police officer iss desh ko bohot jaroorat hai. Par bohot jiddi aur gussewala bhi. Akhir hamara Surya ka beta hai. Jaisa baap waisa beta. Aur phir Jaya ka bhi to khun hai. Roshni se bohot pyar karta tha. Usske ankho ke samne hi usse maar dala kuch kamino ne. Detail mujhe bhi nehi pata baas itna jaanta hoom ki woh keechar ko ETF ne saaf kar dya hai. Jaya ladki dhoond rahi hai usske lye par janab shadi ke lya tayaar nehi hai.
Mr Mukharjee: Soch raha hoom jake ekbaar mil loom undono se. Last Arjun ke shadi ke waqt mili thi.
Mr. Rathod: Bohot acche. Main bhi javuunga tere saath. Surya aur Jaya aksar tere bare main pooch te hai. Jabse tu Mumbai aya hai tabse dono soch raeh hai tujhse milne ayenge.
Mr. Mukharjee: Woh sab to thik hai likin Jaya to mujhe pakka maar dalegi. Itne din hue Mumbai aye hue par unlogose milne nehi gyi. Yaad hai na colllege ki dino mein kitna pit ti thi haame.
Mr. Rathod shuddered visibly.
Mr. Rathod: Ha yaar. Par yaad hai college din. Haam charoon pakke dost the. Teri aur Diya ki love story to Jaya nehi age badayi.
Mr. Mukharjee chuckled remembering old days. People says old is gold. But to him those memories were not just gold. They were his inspiration. Those memories gave him power to walk ahead in life. After the accident he was visibly shattered. He went to big doctors. He took Riya foreign countries for her better treatment but no dice. Every doctor said pretty much same thing. Her vocal cord was damaged badly. It can not be recovered. Those days was worst then nightmares. But Riya handled everything quite peacefully. As if she accepted the fact before he could grasp what happened. She gave him support. She taught him to be strong. Now a days he think how could a girl of five years could be so strong willed. His best friends Prithvi, Surya and Jaya also helped a lot. With their help he came back to normal state.
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Mr. Suryakant Rawte was reading a newspaper while his wife Jaya came there and sat beside him. They were college buddies. But soon their friendship turned into love. After finishing college they got married. Then came Arjun. Now a days Jaya started searching girl for Arjun but in vain. Arjun is not ready yet.
Jaya: Thak gyi hoom main. Akhri warning tumhe aur tumhare bete ko. Agle ek hapte ke andar agar ussne shadi nehi kya to main tum dono ko chod ke chali javuungi.
Mr. Rawte flinched visibly. In college days everybody used to call her Jangli Sherni. Mr. Rawte thought he was the only one one with arrogancy and stubborness but Jaya beat him to it. And oh!!! Arjun beat them both in this department.
Jaya: Waise ek ladki mujhe bohot pasand hai but Arjun ko pasand ayega ki nehi.
Mr. Rawte: Koun?
Jaya: Hamare Rangu ki beti. Riya. Kal usski birthday thi aur Rangu ne ek party through ki thi. Newspaper mein dono ki photo ayi hai. Tumne to dekhaya tha subha hi. Ekdam Diya pe gyi hai. Par tumhe to yaad hai na ki bacchi bol nehi sakti. Mujhe chinta hai kahi Arjun iss lye mana na kar de.
Mr. Rawte: Mujhe usse koi problem nehi hai. But ha Arjun ka mujhe nehi pata.
Jaya: Nehi pata ka kya matlab? Mr. Suryakant Rawte mujhe kuch nehi sunna. Mujhe apni Diya ki beti meri bahu ke roop mein chahye. Arjun ko kaise mana hai yeh tum jano. Samjhe ya Samjhvuum?
Mr. Rawte smiled nervously.
Mr. Rawte (in a meek voice): Samajh gyi samajh gyi.
Jaya nodded.
Jaya: Good good. Aab kam pe lag jao.
Saying that she went to work.
Mr. Rawte released the breath he was holding.
Mr. Rawte (in mind): Chal beta kaam pe lag ja. Biwi ki hukum hai. Nehi manega to sar chala jyega.
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Arjun was driving while Riya was drinking the sight with thirsty eyes. As if she didn't come out for ages. Arjun was stealing glances at her while he noticed the writing pad.
Arjun: Riya tum writing pad kiyu lyi?
Riya looked at him and smiled shyly. She wrote something in the writing pad and show it to Arjun.
Aapse baat karni thi. Aur isse accha kuch aur mila nehi. Gharpe bhi papa se aise hi baat karti hoom.
Arjun nodded in understanding. Then stopped the car at the side and then he turned to her.
Arjun: Riya main chahta hoom ki haam kahi aise place chaale jaha tum aur mere sivah aur koi na ho. Mujhe yeh crowd jyada pasand nehi hai. Haam yaha se kuch snacks lekar jaa sakte hai. Tum kya kehti ho? Will be comfortable?
Riya think for a moment then write down something and show it to Arjun.
With u I am ready to go even hell..
Arjun looked at her amazly and she lower her gaze due to shyness. He slowy caressed her cheek and placed a lock of hair behind her ear. He wonder when was the last time she got so much attention from a stranger who actually like her. His phone was buzzing continuously. So, he put it in a silent mood. When Riya looked at her enquiringly he smiled.
Arjun: It's dad. When I am with you I want to give you every moment. I don't want anybody to come between us.
Riyai blushed deep red. They bought some food and Arjun started driving. She didn't know where he was taking her but it didn't matter. As long as he is with her she is ready to go any place.
He took her the picnic stop of Krishnagiri Forest. It was a huge place. Today was the off day but Arjun took special permisson to visit. They visit the famous Gandhi Smruti Mandir which is situated in one small hill of the forest. The view of the whole Mumbai city from the top of the hill was breath taking. They took a break and eat their lunch. Then they went to boating in a beautiful lake. Then they visit the safari park which is near the lake. They saw the famous Gir lions. The famous three lakes that supply water the whole city can be seen from the east side of the forest. Arjun could tell that Riya was enjoying very much. Arjun felt very relieved today. It was almost dusk. Time to go back. Both of them wanted to stay a little longer. They wanted to spend some more time with each other but it was not possible. With heavy heart they came back to Mumbai. When Arjun dropped her in her house it was near 8 pm. He enquored if Mukharjee sir came home but maid said he didn't. So, he bid bye to Riya and was about to leave when Riya caught his sleeves. She wrote down something and give it to Arjun. Then she waited patiently with lower head.
Today I had a lot of fun. No outsider ever showed any interest in me. Never ever. U are the first one who took care of me and my happiness. Thank you so much for the outing.
Arjun ran his hand through his hair then went close to her. His one hand slid around her waist while with other hand he chinned her up.
Arjun: I had a lot of fun too. It was one of the best outing of my life. But it's not the outing I enjoyed. I enjoyed ur company. I enjoyed the time I spend with u. Thank u.
Saying that he placed a soft kiss in her cheek then hesitantly he pecked at her lips and went away. Riya could feel her heart was beating like a humming bird. Last night she googled on him. She wanted to know about him. Their she came to know about his tragic past. Her heart went to him. For some unknown reason she felt a pull towards him. Now she had no doubt. She had fall in love with him.
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