Part 1 - http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=3883968
Part 2 - http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=3883968&TPN=3
Part 3 - http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=3883968&TPN=6
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Unravelling the past
...Anandi departed back to her childhood...
...
"Aaanandi aaj toh tu gayi..."Phooli screamed and ran towards Anandi. Anandi stuck out her tongue and ran further away.
She loved pulling Phooli's leg and moreover her ponytail...and today she successfully dishevelled Phooli's hair by knocking out the rubber band. Phooli was furious.
"Anandiii...ruk tu..." Phooli panted. Just as she was about to catch hold of her, Anandi bumped into someone. She looked up to discover that her teacherjee was in front of her
"...Ahhh...kya kar rahi hooo" Teacherjee blurted.
Anandi bit her lip and looked down, trying to hide her grin. Teacherjee instantly knew that her favourite student was upto some new mischief.
"Teacherjee main bataati hoo...Anandi hamesha mere baalo ke saath masti karti hai" Phooli looked cross.
Anandi and teacherjee exchanged a glance and tried hard to stop a giggle dying to come out.
"Anandi..." Teacherjee started off, faking anger "Kyun sataati ho usse??"
"...Teacherjee woh mai...woh mai"...
"Accha chalo ab, humey kal ke annual function ke liye final practice karni hai, aur tum yahaa masti kar rahi ho?? Mukhya mehmaan ke swaagat ke liye diva dance bhi toh karna hai?, chalo..." Teacherjee caught her and phooli's hand and the three of them walked towards practice area...
She was all of eight. Carefree, fun loving and sharp. Her world was this little happy home where she had grown up. Pragnya happy home, a place for abandoned children and the children of deceased parents. Teacherjee, Phooli, her best friend, her friends...and books - her world comprised of the same. She was content, happy, cheerful and bubbbling with energy.
The memory blurred out...only to be replaced by the images of the annual function that took place the very next day...
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..."Aur Aaj hum swagat kartey hai, ek aisi hasti ka, jinhone rangmunch ki duniya mai, apni alag chhaap chhod di hai, aur yaha hamaarey iss chhotey se paayadaan par banaaye gaye annual function mai chaar chaand laga diye...swagat kijiye dher saari taaliyon se, the renowned director and producer of socially relevant plays, Mr Raman Verma ka"
With the announcement of the same by the head of the happy home, the crowd broke off to a thunderous applause.
Mr Verma, a man in his late thirties, with an inborn confidence and a developed persona, walked up to the built-in stage and lit the lamp to inaugurate the function.
"Ab hamaari kucch ladkiyan, hamaarey mukhya atithi ke liye, ek khaas diva dance pesh karengi..." Teacherjee took over the hosting for the rest of the function.
All the girls of eight performed the dance with utmost sincerety and sweetness.
"Aur ab, hum pesh karne jaa rahe hai, ek choti si natyakatha, jiska shirshak hai Chhoti Maa"
The play was based on a joint family, wherein one brother had a daughter, while the other brother did not have a child. The play revolved around the feelings and emotions of the wife of the brother, who could not have a child and despised the daughter of her jethani. Anandi, played the role of the daughter. One fine day, the litlle girl was flying kites on the terrace of the house and chotti maa was present there too for household work. While flying kites, in a spur of the moment, the girl slipped and tumbled down from the terrace. She screamed for help. Chotti maa ran towards her. She was holding on to the terrace wall with one hand. With a pleading look, she stared at Chhoti Maa, urging her non-verbally to save her. Chhoti Maa was in a fix. Her years of hatred was melting away with that one look. The little girl was slipping away. Her hand was struggling to hold on any longer.
Just when she was about to slip away completely, Chotti Maa held her hand and pulled her up and hugged her. They both sobbed and sobbed hard. Chhotti Maa showered her face with kisses and the play ended.
Mr Verma was completely spellbound. He pulled up his specs and rose up from the chair and clapped hard in which the crowd watching joined in.
That was Anandi's first performance before an unknown.
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"The girl is brilliant, Madam, kya emote karti hai...a complete natural!" Mr Verma was having a private conversation with the head in her cabin.
"Actually, I was wondering, if I could take her in my upcoming play" Mr Verma paused.
"Sir, woh abhi bacchi hai, usne pehli baar perform kiya kisike saamne..." She trailed off...
"Madam, theatre ka banda hoo, ek jhatke mai talented logo ko pehchaan sakta hoo...she is a natural, a gifted artiste...usne uss bacchi ka role aise play kiya, jaise woh khud gir rahi ho terrace se...I could connect to her completely...
my new play is based on a child suffering from cancer...who is dying...and her parents are on the verge of taking a divorce...the play is all about how the child gets her parents together and after reuniting them, goes off to eternal sleep...I need a powerful child artiste...and I am not happy with the ones I have auditioned sofar...but this girl has the potential to pull it off...trust me..." Mr Verma pressed his point.
Madam pondered over it..."Look Mr Verma, I can give you permission to work with her...provided...we get some consideration in return of the same..." she cautiously, but surely put forward her point.
Mr Verma raised his eyebrows and cleared the voice. "Sure madam...provided the play meets success" He smirked..."I ll pay you the success fee? Is that fine?"
She nodded her head. "Its a deal".
...Anandi had overheard the whole conversation alongwith Teacherjee. Back then, she had no idea how this one 'deal' was going to change everything for her.
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"Theek se ro bhi nahi sakti tum? What the hell do you think you are doing? Stop treating this place like your happpy home Anandi...this is serious business...do you understand...acting is a serious profession" Verma screamed at her.
Anandi was teary eyed. Scared, frightened, trying to pour glycerine in her eyes. It was burning. She wanted to throw it away. She wanted to run back to her friends, her books, her home right now...but she couldnt. From that little place in Nagpur to being brought to the crowded and maddening Mumbai in order to practice for the play...the happy, cheerful and bubbly Anandi was caged in the world of theatre. Mr Verma was a maniac, a tyrant. For him, it was all about characters...his quest for perfection.
"Verma Sir, aapke liye call aaya hai..." his assistant called out.
Verma walked away to the office of the auditorium. The assistant, was a kind hearted man. He offered Anandi water and asked her to go to green room to rest for sometime.
With shaking hands, Anandi drank the water and entered the green room and dropped on a chair.
She clamped her eyes and cried hard. She did not want to act, she did not want to be a part of any play...she just wanted her friends and books. Her final examinations were on, but she wasnt allowed to appear for it, since the play was scheduled during the same time.
"Kulfi khaaogi?..." Someone called out. Scared, Anandi opened her eyes and looked sideways.
He was standing there, with two kulfis in his hand. A young boy of ten, who was playing the role of her friend in the play...she dint know his name back then...
Quickly, she wiped off her tears. "Mujhe nahi khaani" she scoffed.
"Offo, badi nakchadi ho tum? apni pocket money mai se do kulfi lekar aayaa hoo...ab khaa bhi lo?" He urged.
She was melting and the kulfi looked delicious. "Nakchadi aur mai...aur tum kya ho? bandar?" She grinned. This was the first time she smiled, after coming to Mumbai.
"Kya kaha...bandar??" he looked furious. "Ab fatafat khaa lo isse pehle ki Sir waapas aa jaaye", warning her.
Anandi took the kulfi and both of them finished it off in a jiffy.
"Tumhara naam kya hai? Aur yaha kaise aaye?" she asked.
"Mai Jagdeesh...mere Papa natako mai lighting ka kaam kartey hai, Verma Sir ke saath bahot saarey naatak kiye hai...unhone hi Verma Sir se kaha mujhe kaam dene ke liye..." He responded. Just then,
"Anandi...Jagdeesh...chalo...Verma Sir aa rahe hai..." the assistant called out.
They both stood up and ran towards the stage.
This was her first meet with Jagdeesh...how innocent and sweet were those days. What a beautiful start to their friendship it was...she wondered, how everything had changed from that day to this day...just then, the memory suddenly changed to a vicious picture...
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There was blazing fire everywhere...The auditorium was burning, the curtains were on fire, the stage was set on fire...there she was, a young lady now at eighteen, right in the middle of the auditorium...there he was on the other side of the exit door...which was blocked by a piece of wood...Their eyes met...his filled with guilt, shame...hers with pain, betrayal...
"Im sorry Anandi"...he said and walked away...and she collapsed.
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Present
"Platform No 1 pe gaadi aa gayi hai..." and the train halted. Anandi drifted out of her memory lane. She had reached her destination.
She disembarked at the station and disappeared into the crowd...
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To be continued...
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Its a longish update...and hopefully the next one will have the hero ki entry😛...do let me know, how ul liked it...and bear with me if there are typo errors...thank u all😊
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Edited by Hiral_Halwa - 11 years ago
Channel V Dil Dosti Dance
Arjun
