FF : Bas Pyar Ho Gaya | Part 32 pg 153 updt 11.12. 2016 - Page 77

Part 26

The next day Priya left office early to meet Guptaji in the hospital, and came back home late. The moment she entered and sat on the living room sofa, Krishnaji quipped : Toh.. kaisa raha kal Mr aur Mrs Kapoor ki pehli karwa chauth? Vrat toda na thik se dono ne?

Haan Ma.. Priya blushed as she spoke... Us ne bhi khana nahi khaya tha! Par aapko kis ne bataya ?

Krishnaji smiled.. without saying a word.

Aap.. jag rahe they kya ? Priya asked..

Krishnaji nodded her head.. saying no.

Phir ? Usne bataya ? She asked again..

No .. Krishnaji smiled... Upar uske kamre mein jake dekh... Phir pata chalega!

Kamre mein ? Aisa kya hai Ma? Priya asked, anxious to know what she meant.

Ja toh sahi.. Krishnaji almost dragged her up from the sofa and sent her upstairs..

Priya came inside the room to find Ram sitting on the bed with his laptop as usual, while Pihu jumped on the couch to the tune of Popeye the sailorman playing on the TV. She scanned throughout the room , but there was no visible difference that she could point out.

Mummy... Pihu screamed as soon as she noticed Priya.. I want spinachhh... please..

Baby kal hi toh bana tha spinach... aap to khaye hi nahi! Ram quipped...

Nahi ... waisa nahi.. She said pouting her lips... mujhe can wala chahiye... Popeye jaisa...

Oh God.. phir se shuru ho gayi yeh.. Ram said nodding his head..Lo.. ab can wala spinach banao.. He smiled towards Priya, who was still scanning the room, remembering Krishnaji's words.

Kya dhundh rahi hai Priya .. He asked ...

Kkuch nahi.. She replied, pulling herself out of her thoughts.. .. Bana denge can wala spinach aapke liye... she said hugging Pihu.

Just then Ram's phone started ringing, and he bent on the side table to lift it, and a big smile flashed across Priya's face... this was what she was searching for such a long time...a new photo frame on the table, with their photos taken yesterday, feeding sweets to each other! Priya was overjoyed, apart from Geeta and Pihu, nobody had ever made to his side table yet! And the fact that it was their Karva Chauth photos made Priya feel even more special. She was so much engrossed in her thoughts that she could hardly hear what Ram was talking on the phone. Ram was referring the caller as Mummyji, so she could guess it was Geeta's mother Mrs Kulkarni. After a few minutes Ram handed over the phone to her, saying Mrs Kulkarni wanted to talk to her. Geeta's younger brother, Gaurav was getting married the next month, and Mrs Kulkarni had called specially to convey the good news. Priya congratulated her, and promised that they would come.

Priya beta... jab se Geeta chali gayi, tab se ek baar bhi Ram Pune nahi aaya... Mrs Kulkarni continued in a low voice.. Main janti hoon... use pasand nahi. Ek tum hi ho jo use samjhake yaha la sakti hai...

I understand Aunty... Priya said softly... Aap chinta na karo.. hum zarur ayenge..

Priya finished the call and looked at Ram... He certainly looked a bit disturbed... his eyes portraying a kind of irritation that Priya had learnt to read in past few months..

Yeh.. Pune jaane ki koi zarurat nahi hai.. Ram said calmly... Woh log Mumbai mein ayenge toh mil lenge unse!

Arey par Pihu ki Mama ki shaadi hai... jana toh padhega na ? Priya insisted... Maine bola hai Aunty ko... hum sab jayenge!

Yaayyy.. Mama ki shaadi hai ? Pihu screamed in excitement... Mama bhi round round karenge?

Yes baby.. Priya smiled at her.. Hum sab jayenge!

Nahi.. Koi nahi ja raha .. Ram said, with irritation written all over his face..

Arey par kyun? Kyun nahi jayenge! Priya forced..

Kyun matlab...tujhe pata nahi hai kyun? Ram said in an angry tone... That road... that route se ... koi nahi jayega !

Aisa kaisa baat karta hai tu! Priya argued.. I know jo bhi hua uske baad... but phir aisa toh nahi na ke hum kabhi jayenge hi nahi Pune! Pihu ki saga Mama hai... kuch toh samajhne ki koshish kar!

Mujhe kuch nahi samajhna.. Ram shrugged off.. Aur jane ka agar itna hi shauk hai toh train se jayenge!

Train? Priya asked surprisingly..Ma .. aur Pihu ko leke train se jayenge? Sirf do ghante ka drive hai .. aur tu train ki baat kar raha hai! Have you lost it or what! I cant believe this Ram! Main humesha sochti thi ke tu rational hai, kabhi bhi kisi rituals pe believe nahi karta, aur aaj ek incident ke wajay se tu itna unreasonably behave kar raha hai!

Ek incident ? Ram retorted.. woh kya sirf ek incident tha ?

Ram.. Please I did not mean it that way.. Priya tried to persuade..

Just leave it .. Ram screamed... I don't need to know what you meant! And please don't expect me to behave the way you want me to! Har time tere hisab se nahi kam kar sakta...kyunki ab bohot kuch badal chuka hai! Pehle toh kabhi karva chauth mein bhi fast nahi karta tha.. par is baar ki na maine! Kyunki dubara agar kuch ho jaye toh... Ram spoke in one breath.. and just stopped in the middle of the sentence...

Priya looked at him.. she could clearly read the fear and apprehension in his eyes.. Before she could speak anything, Ram just barged out of the room..

Priya sat motionless... she did not know whether to be happy because Ram cared for her so much, or to be sad to see him live in such unreasonable notion of fear!

Mummy.. Papa itna gussa kyun ho gaye .. Asked Pihu, almost in a crying tone..Hum nahi jayenge .. Mama ki shaadi mein?

Zarur jayenge beta .. Priya assured as she pulled Pihu into a hug.. Aapki Papa ko main mana lungi...

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Almost a week had passed, and there was only minimal communication between Ram and Priya. Priya tried many a times to start a fruitful conversation, but Ram seemed absolutely uninterested. Priya could not make out how to deal with the situation; but felt it was best to give him some time and space; and discuss the issue after a few days. It was late in the evening, and Priya had just reached home after office when Sudhirji called and asked her to come home. Priya promised she would meet him for dinner.

Kya baat hai.. aajkal toh tujhe invitation deke bulana padhta hai! Sudhirji smiled as Priya entered the house.. Jaise yaha ka raasta hi bhul gayi hai!

Nahi Papa... Priya came and hugged him.. Actually itna kaam hai ki..

Kya kaam hai ? Buddy ke saath jhagda karna ? He teased..

Jhagda ? Usne aisa bola aapko ? Priya asked..

Nahi! Sirf us se pucha tu kaha hai to bola aap usi ko phone kar lijiye! Bas .. pata chala ke war chalu hai! Sudhirji smiled..

Arey nahi Papa... aisa kuch nahi hai! Woh kabhi kabhi bohot unreasonably baat karta hai! Priya said in a frustrated tone as she recounted the whole conversation that happened a week ago.

Look Priya.. Sudhirji said calmly...Bohot kuch jhela hai usne... Agar tujhe Ram ko apnana hai... to uski saare apprehensions ke saath hi apnana padhega! Aur uske baad.. you have to work on them for his good!

I know Papa.. lekin samajh mein nahi aata kaise tackle karon.. Baat hi nahi karna chahta us topic pe! Priya said ..

Hmm... Sudhirji smiled..Har change force se nahi hota.. kuch changes sirf pyar aur waqt se hota hai! So just wait for the right time...abhi kuch force mat kar!

Okay Papa.. thanks.. Priya hugged him.. Nahi karungi kuch bhi force us pe!

Priya felt a bit better as she could talk her heart out to her father. Sudhirji reminded her that coming Friday was the last hearing of Geeta's case, and that their chances of winning it was quite bleak. He knew Ram would be extremely upset with the outcome, and advised Priya to be more accommodative with him. Sudhirji had already talked to his lawyer friend Mr Prasad, and they needed to be ready to appeal in the higher court further. Priya nodded her head in agreement as she took her leave and came back to Kapoor Mansion.

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It was the day of final verdict, and none in the Kapoor mansion seemed to be positive about the results. Ram had become exceptionally quiet, and he hardly spoke as the whole family drove to the court for the final hearing. Geeta's parents, Mr and Mrs Kulkarni, and her brother also joined them in the court, and all waited for the final verdict to be announced. After a lot of debate and briefings, the court acquitted the two men , stating that there was no clear proof that their car had hit Geeta's car out of negligence. There was no clear evidence either to say that they had any motive whatsoever to hit her, thus the whole mishap was proclaimed to be a mere accident. There was nothing new in this judgement, Priya knew this was going to happen; and yet it was difficult for her to hold back her tears , as Krishnaji's eyes were moistened with tears. Mrs Kulkarni was in tears too, Sab kismat ka khel hai.. She sighed.

Ram... who had been exceptionally silent all this while, said calmly... Kismat ka kuch nahi hai.. its all my fault! Before they could react Ram simply walked out of the courtroom, and headed straight towards the parking. Priya wanted to be with him, but it was equally important to support the Kulkarnis, who were totally devastated after the news. Finally, Krishnaji went back with Ram to Kapoor mansion, while Priya accompanied the Kulkarni's to their relatives place where they had put up. She spent a couple of hours with them, and assured them that Sudhirji had already made all the arrangements to appeal to the higher court. While driving back to Kapoor house, Priya felt somewhat restless, she did not know how Ram would have reacted to the whole situation. The moment she reached Kapoor house, she enquired about Ram to Krishanji, who was sitting dejectedly in the living room. She told her that Ram was in his room, he had told Bansi Kaka not to disturb him for some time. Priya knew he needed time... she went upstairs to her room, and freshened up after a long tiring day. She served dinner to Pihu, and put her to her room. It was almost 10pm, and finally she asked Krishnaji whether to call Ram for dinner. She nodded a yes, and both of them stood outside the locked bedroom, and knocked the door tentatively, calling his name. There was no answer. They knocked even harder, talking to him, pleading him to open the door. Minutes passed, and still...there was no answer at all... in fact there was absolutely no sound from the room! This silence was unnerving, and a tensed Priya picked up her phone and called him. From outside, they could hear the faint sound of his phone ringing , but still nobody picked it up. By then, Inder, Bansi Kaka and Savitri Kaki had all gathered there, and their repeated knocking at the door did not produce any response either. Finally Inder suggested he would try to go up to the first floor from back garden, and see if the balcony door was open so that he could get inside the room. Bansi Kaka and Inder rushed towards the back garden with a ladder, as all others waited with a bated breath outside the locked door. A few minutes passed by , and finally they could hear some noise inside the room; as Inder crept in through the balcony door and opened the main door of the room. Priya and Krishnaji held each other's hands as they peeped inside. The room was dimly lit, only the bed lamps were on.. and hardly anything was visible because of a thin curtain of smoke that enveloped the room! All the case files and papers lay scattered on the floor; a bundle of black ash at one corner was suggestive of the fact that some attempt had been made to burn a few papers, hence the smoke! The man himself was lying upside down on the floor, his head buried in the floor, his hands stretched above his head in the midst of a dozen of half lit cigars, two almost empty bottles of whisky and a broken glass half filled with liquor. All stood silent for a fraction of a second to absorb the initial shock, and it was Priya who first rushed towards Ram. She knelt down on the floor, and tried to lift his face up, calling his name. He was semiconscious, blabbering continuously, under the influence of alcohol. Priya could see a few drops of blood on the floor, on a closer look she could see a deep cut in his left hand, with a broken glass piece still stuck there. Savitiri Kaki rushed to fetch the first aid box while Priya with the help of Inder and Bansi Kaka somehow lifted his heavy frame and made him lie on the bed. Priya sat beside him and started dressing his wound, as Ram went on blabbering incoherently ..

It was my fault... mere wajay se hua yeh sab... he went on and on, as Priya dressed his hand and put a bandage around it. Inder and Bansi Kaka opened the windows to let the smoke out, and started cleaning the mess on the floor. Krishnaji sat on the bed looking at Ram, her heart pained to see her son in such a state! Priya finished dressing his hand, and as she tried to get up suddenly Ram held her hand tightly... Priyaaa... He uttered in a faint voice... Don't leave me ... please! I love you Priya... can't live without you! Priya was pleasantly surprised, she has been dying to hear those 3 magic words from him, but definitely not under these circumstances. Priya just did not know how to react, especially in presence of so many people around. Krishanji gestured her to hold back his hands, as Bansi Kaka, and Inder silently left the room.

Tu uske saath hi reh ja aaj.. Krishnaji whispered as she got up to leave.. Tera khana idhar hi bhijwati hoon.. Call me if you need anything! Priya could hardly look into her eyes, she felt embarrassed as Ram held her wrist tightly and kept on uttering incoherently. Krishanji latched the door and left the room.

Ram.. Priya leaned onto his face as she clenched his hands in between hers.. Please calm down...Main kahi nahi ja rahi tujhe chod ke. Bas ab try to sleep... kal subhe baat karenge ...

Nahi... mujhe abhi baat karni hai.. Ram whispered in a blurred voice... Us din.. mujhe bhi jaana tha Puna... just that I had a last moment business dinner. Nahi toh aaj...

Shhh.. Priya put her hands on his mouth.. Bas kar ab...please...

I should not have left her alone... he whispered in an almost inaudible voice... Priyaaa.. He continued...Never ever leave me alone.. I cant live without you...Promise me you won't leave me like this...

It's a promise Ram... Priya leaned onto him to plant a soft kiss on his forehead as her fingers soothed through his unruly hair... Kabhi nahi jayungi tujhe chodke...

Ram's eyes lay fixed upon her for a few seconds, the red , swollen, watery pair of eyes had an intensity which made Priya shiver in anticipation.

I love you ... Priya... Ram whispered .. and before Priya could decide her next course of action Ram had pulled her into his arms, and his ardent lips claimed hers. Priya had been waiting for this moment for days, and she clenched onto her love, providing every bit of reassurance that he needed from her at that moment.