Lalita's take : Friday, 10/2. Chapter 3 updated - Page 3

Chapter 3

Ram stops his car a little away from Kapoor Mansion. He wants to ensure that everyone has already left for the party and there was no one left to force him to go. He makes a few phone calls and waits in the car.

He keeps on thinking about Priya. His Priya, he thinks proudly. His one in a million wife. Why was it that it took Chhoti's one sentence stating Priya's love for him to understand and realize his own love for Priya? Why? He knew now that this love hadn't blossomed today. He couldn't even remember the day he had fallen for her. Maye the day of her mehendi ceremony when she'd come to visit him in hospital. Or maybe even before that? This was Love. Magical. For the first time in his life, he had surrendered himself totally to someone. In full faith.

For a moment, Ashwin's image comes to his mind. Priya is his first and only love. But he was not Priya's first love. This thought saddens him a bit. How could Priya have loved such an obnoxious creature? Even for a day? Then he shrugs off the thought. He was there in Priya's present and in her future. And for the past, well, he did not care, but he would emotionally blackmail Priya over that episode a million times. He smiles at the thought.

When he's finally sure that everyone has left, he enters the house. Priya is not there in their room. Did she finally go to the party? But Chhoti had said that Priya had called to say she would not make it?

He rings for Bansi Kaka.

Ram : Sab log chale gaye?

BK : Priya Madam..

Ram interrupts : Main sab ke bare mein pooch raha hoon..

BK : Jee Saab, sab chale gaye….bas Priya Madam ghar pe hai.

Ram : Kahan hai Madam? Kitchen mein?

BK : Nahin Saab, library mein.

Ram : Ok. Mujhe ek cup chai de dijiye.

BK : Saab, abhi, chai?

Ram : Haan, jaldi se. Mere sar mein bahut dard ho raha hai. Aur mujhe bukhaar bhi aa raha hai. Mere liye dinner mat laana.

He hopes Bansi Kaka will pass on the message to Priya. Bansi Kaka hurries off to get the tea. Ram changes his clothes quickly and returns to the room to see his tea on the table. Ram picks up the cup of tea, gets up softly, checks that Priya is not coming back and … pours the entire cup of tea on the couch ! He puts the cup and saucer upside down on the ground beside the couch and then quickly walks back to the bed and lies down. He picks up the comforter and covers himself. Then he turns to his side and keeps his eyes just a wee bit open to see what Priya would do and how she would react when she came in.

Two hours pass by but Priya does not come. He gets tired of lying down in the same position and feels very hungry too. But he cannot get up for fear that Priya might walk in immediately. This was his Plan A; pretend to be sick and also make sure that Priya would not be able to sleep on the wet couch. He hoped both these factors would ensure that she lay down on the bed. Once she was nearby and taking care of him, maybe he could apologise to her for the hundredth time and make her forgive him.

Should he call Priya? But his wife was so smart, she would see through his plan. No, he would have to wait.

Suddenly he hears Daadi's voice. Oh my God, Daadi is back ! Almost immediately Daadi enters the room, followed by Bansi Kaka and Priya.

Daadi : Kya hua Golu puttar? Yeh Bansi ne bataya ki tera tabiyat thik nahin hai.

Ram, in a weak voice : Bas, ab thoda thik hoon, Daadi, aap chinta mat kijiye.

Daadi : Priya, dekh zara abhi bhi bukhaar hai kya?

Priya put a hand on Ram's forehead and looks puzzled : Nahin Daadi, abhi toh bilkul bhi bukhaar nahin hai.

Daadi : Golu, tune dawai le li?

Ram is in a fix. On one hand, he wants to establish that he is feeling better only because he took some strong medicines and on the other, he cannot tell in front of Priya that he has taken any medicine, for any reason.

He makes a groaning sound and does not reply.

Daadi : Golu, main doctor bulau?

Ram : Nahin daadi, aap so jaiye, main subah tak bilkul think ho jayoonga.

Daadi : Achcha puttar, tu so ja. She turns to Priya : Priya puttar, Golu ka achhi tarah se khayal rakhna. Raat ko koi bhi zaroorat padhe, toh mujhe zaroor bulana. Think hai?

Priya nods her head and Daadi and Bansi Kaka leave.

Priya : Aapko kuch chahiye? Water? Medicine? Should I call the doctor?

Ram, back to his weak voice : No Priya. I have an awful headache. I had fever earlier but I think that's gone now. Don't worry please.

Priya looks at him for a moment : Ok, please call me if you need something.

She walks to the couch. She is about to lie down when she notices that the couch is totally wet. Then she also notices the cup and saucer on the ground and is puzzled. She wonders whether to call Bansi Kaka and ask him to clean it.

Ram : Oh Sorry Priya. I had asked for a cup of tea but I just couldn't hold it as my hands were trembling so much and the tea fell down.

Priya : Par yahan pe kaise? Aur aapne mere ko ya Bansi Kaka ko kyon nahin bulaya?

Ram closes his eyes, pretending as if he did not hear the question.

Priya waits for some time and then picks up her pillow and comforter. She keeps the things on the small sofa outside the room and switches on the small lamp. She comes back to the room and stands near the bed.

Priya : Mr. Kapoor, I'm sleeping on the sofa outside. I'll come and check on you at regular intervals. In the meanwhile, if you need something, please call me.

She starts walking out.

Ram is desperate now !

Ram : Priya

Priya looks back : Haan?

Ram : Mujhe kuch chahiye.

Priya : Haan bataiye. Kya?

Ram : Tum

Priya looks puzzled : Kya chahiye boliye?

Ram : I want you Priya. I want you to stay here beside me. Please.

Priya still does not understand : Mr. Kapoor, I'm just outside. In case your fever returns, I'll come and give a medicine. I'll check at regular intervals so you need not worry.

Ram suddenly gets up from the bed and kneels down the ground, holding both his ears.

Ram : Priya, I don't want to lie to you, nothing has happened to me. No fever, nothing. I just thought if I pretend to be ill, you'll stay here beside me. I don't know what came over me that day Priya. I don't want to make any excuses. What I did was unforgivable but trust me, I don't think I believed that in my heart.

Priya is silent or some time.

Priya : Is this another of Vikram's ideas? I am here Mr. Kapoor. We're husband and wife and whenever you're ill or you need me for whatever reason, I'll be there. You don't need to pretend you're ill or anything.

She goes out and brings back her pillow and lies down on the other side if the bed.

Ram, puzzled, gets up : Toh tumne mujhe maaf kar diya?

He gets up from the ground slowly.

Priya turns back and replies : There is nothing to forgive. You have said whatever you felt. I cannot change the way you think and I cannot force anyone to trust me.

She pretends to go off to sleep.

Ram sits on the chair for some time. Well, Plan A was partially successful. She was back to the bed and also talking to him. Well, that was a start. Time for Plan B. He makes a special phone call.

Next morning

Priya is awakened by the sound of her phone ringing. It's not even 6 am and she wonders who could be calling at this time. She sits up on the bed and picks up her phone. It's an unknown number.

Priya : Hello

Caller : Hello Priya, how are you?

Priya : I'm fine thank you but who is this?

Caller : Pehchaano. We spent some time together a few months back.

Priya thinks that the voice sounds familiar but she cannot identify it.

Caller : It's me, Vidya!. Bhool gaye?

Priya : Ohh..hi Vidya ji. Kaise hai aap? Aapko mera number kahan se mila?

Vidya : Tumhaare pati ne diya, Priya. Ram called me up last night. He said he's offended you highly by something he did and you're not accepting his apology. He requested if I could convince my dancing partner of one night to forgive her husband who loves her very very much?

Priya suddenly blushes and thinks : Mr. Kapoor loves me ! Can that be possible? Khud toh kabhi bola nahin. And how could he say this all important thing via another person?

But… had Mr. Kapoor really told that to Vidya or did she add that on her own, like a dialogue from a film… she doesn't know how to react and keeps thinking. If he really loved her, then he would have trusted her, believed in her.

Vidya ; Helllooo ! Madam..kahan chali gayee? Toh tum meri baat maan loge na? Please?

Then she gets serious ; Priya, many of us filmstars know Mr. Ram Kapoor. He's a successful businessman but a very shy person at heart. Any other person in his position may have done so many things... wrong things… but trust me, he's such a simple and nice and most important, a genuine person that all of us respect him very much. For such a person to confess his love for you to me and ask me to plead with you on his behalf must have taken him a lot of courage. Please forgive him Priya. Not for my sake, but for his. You have a one in a million husband.

They talk for some time more. After the call, Priya looks at her husband. The comforter is covering his head and she cannot see his face. However, she's sure that he's awake and had listened to the whole conversation.

What should she do with such a person? A person who took so much care of her, made her feel so special and depended on her and listened to what she said? And then in one stroke, wiped out all that and made her feel so low? She had been let down by Ashwin earlier. And she had also been let down by Ram earlier when he had behaved badly with her for many weeks without any fault of hers and had even gone to the extent of handing divorce papers to her.

That time, she had kept her ego aside and taken the first step forward. And Ram had responded..by showering her with so much love and attention. But would this happen all the time? Would their relationship always be like a wave in a turbulent ocean……improve day by day and rise to new heights……and then….. crash……and touch new depths. Could she sustain that, absorb these crashes? Be part of such a relationship?

Yes, she loved Ram. With all her heart. But opening up that fact to him would allow him to hurt her deeper. She looks at him again. She wants to desperately hug him, caress his head, feel all their worries wash away in a new wave of happiness. But then…. again wait in anxiety for a new crash?

She doesn't know what to do. It's still very early but she gets out of bed anyways and slowly goes to the washroom.

Ram slowly removes the comforter from his head. So Plan B was a washout. It did not work. Did she really not care for him? Or had he crossed all limits when he'd accused her that day?

But he could not continue like this any longer. It was time to make another call. Plan C. And this would not fail.

He takes his phone and goes out to the lawn where there's no chance of anyone overhearing his conversation.

Ram : Hello. Apeksha?

Apeksha : Ram ! There's so much happiness in her voice. She cannot belive that Ram has actually called her up.

Ram : Mujhe kuch baat karna hai.

Apeksha : Haan Ram,bolo na.

Ram : Nahin..woh mujhe tujhse nahin…woh…

Apeksha understands and says softly : Ma ko phone du?

Ram, softly : Haan.

After some time Krishnaji comes on the line. There's no hi or hello from either side. The only sound is of tears on both sides. Silent tears. But both can feel the tears of the other person.

Ram cannot talk. He tries to but cannot. He disconnects the phone.

After a minute his phone rings again. He picks up and says : Ma.

Krishnaji : Haan beta.

With that one word from both sides, all their misunderstanding is wiped out in a second.

Ram tells her the whole story. Not only this incident but he tells her all details , how he met Priya and under what circumstances they got married, what happened in Australia right upto what had happened this morning. He does not hold anything back. There's so much relief in being able to open up and talk to his mother. His own mother. About his wife. He knows now, that whaever had happened between Krishnaji and him had been a big big misunderstanding. There would be time later to take care of all that. But he needed her help to clear his misunderstanding with Priya. He knew somehow that Priya would listen only to Krishnaji. No one else in the world.

Krishnaji takes time to explain to him. She makes him understand what Priya must have gone through. And for a person like Priya, trust, integrity were the pre requisites to any relationship. If that was endangered, she would not be able to progress or even continue that relationship. Finally she promises to talk to Priya immediately. She ends with reassuring Ram that she knew Priya would listen to her. She had full trust in her.

Ram : Thank you Ma. Aur.. agar sab thik ho jaata hai, toh hum dono aaj shyam ka flight leke aapke paas aayenge.

Krishnaji smiles.

Priya is sitting on the sofa, drying her hair. Mr. Kapoor is not in the room and she wonders where he is. Her phone rings again. It's Apeksha's number.

Priya : Haan Apeksha. Kaisi ho?

Krishnaji : Apeksha nahin. Main bol rahi hoon. Tumhari saas.

Priya is surprised. She knew Krishuji had never emphasized on that relation.

Krishnaji : Priya, Ram ne mujhe phone kiya tha.

Priya is amazed : Mr. Kapoor ne? Aapko? She cannot believe it and is so happy !

Krishnaji talks to her for a long time. She finally concludes by explaining that the only important emotion in the world was love. Her son was late in realizing that emotion because he had been deprived of it for so many years. And he did not believe in it. So inspite of progressing in his relationship with his wife, at the first opportunity he got, he believed the worst of her just to reassure himself that all these years he had not been wrong. The word "love" was just an illusion. A fantasy. She also explained that she could not promise that it would not happen again in the future. 20 years was a lot of time for a person to go without love. And that too, for a person as sensitive as her son. But once his deep distrust was wiped away, her son would prove to be the best husband in the world.

Priya finally understood. She respected Krishuji a lot and knew that whateverher mother in law was saying made perfect sense. And even in her own emotional state, she noted how many times Krishnaji used the word "mera beta"..so proudly. Suddenly the world seemed glorious. Happy. Awesome. She thanks Krishnaji and promises to obey her and listen to her, as always.

Ram enters the room.

Priya looks up to see Ram's still troubled eyes. Ram looks at her for a moment and notes the expression in her eyes. All is well… he realizes and his happiness is projected in his eyes. There's a huge load off his chest and suddenly he feels twenty years younger. He's like a young college kid, standing in front of his love and doesn't know what to do.

Priya also blushes and looks down.

Ram slowly closes the door and walks to her and holds out his hands.

Priya is still looking down and does not respond.

Someone knocks on the door. Ram quickly lies down on the bed and covers himself. Priya gets up and opens the door. Bansi Kaka has come with the tea. He keeps the tea on the table and leaves. Priya slowly closes the door and prepares the tea. She calls her husband.

Ram does not reply. She slowly walks to him and removes the comforter from his face. Her wet hair touches Ram's face. Ram slowly holds her face and makes her almost lie down, on him…. Priya is very shy and suddenlt gets up and runs away. She goes and sits on the chair.

Ram smiles, gets up and goes close to her. He lifts her from the sofa, holds her in his arms and walks to the bed. Priya puts her hands around his neck, shyly, still without looking up. Ram places her on the bed and lowers his face.

Lalita