Chapter 3
The next morning was a morning of change at Excel. It was a regular college day, students and teachers coming at the routine timings, following the daily time schedules of classes, labs, games etc. Everything was the same, and the only change that was going to happen was the new HoD. And with him a new chapter for Excel was waiting to get started.
Gunjan was following her daily routine. She didn't have any classes before 2 pm, so she was busy in other administrative work. She had to take some info from the library, and she went out of her office. As she was walking towards the library, she heard the Dr. Khan (the Dean) call her, "Gunjan".
She turned around, "Ji Sir. Ap ne mujhey bulaya?".
"Haan Gunjan. Tumhein yaad hai na, aj humarey naye HoD ne join kerna hai". Dr. Khan told her.
How was it possible that Gunjan cud forget any official matter, so she responded, "Ji Sir, mujhey yaad hai. 11 o' clock ana hai na unhon ne?"
Dr. Khan replied, "Yes, and he's very punctual. So, please see to it that everything is done timely."
Gunjan knew that everything ought to be perfect and timely, coz it will b the first impression of Excel on him. She assured Dr. Khan, "Sir, mein khud sab kuch coordinate ker rahi hon. Everything will b perfect. Sir, waise baki toh sab kuch toh ho gya hai, I just have to see everything one last time. Bus, students aur staff ko inform kerna hai ke sab 11:30 pe auditorium mein a jayein. Wo mein convey kerwa dungi Sir."
He was relieved to know this, "Mein aisey hi worry ker raha tha. Gunjan ke hotey huey kabhi koi problem ho sakti hai bhalla."
She smiled at him and said, "Aur koi kaam Sir?"
Dr. Khan replied, "Nahin, sab kuch toh tum ne already ker hi dia hai. Mein ab chlata hun. Its almost eleven, and he'll b here any minute."
Gunjan said, "Ok Sir. I've prepared his contract. Mein wo abhi apko la deti hun".
With this, she turned back (towards her office, for getting the contract).
Dr. Khan again called her, "Gunjan, ek minute."
She turned and before she cud say anything, he asked her, "Tum Samrat ko janti ho na?"
Gunjan thought, "Again Samrat". Wid a predictable look on her face, she replied, "Sir, Samrat ko Excel mein kaun nahin janta? Aur aisa kum hi koi din ho ga jis din ap ne uska zikr merey samney na kia ho. Baaz dafa to lagta hai, mera us se koi ages ka naata hai. Excel ka her student janta hai ke Samrat yahan ka star student tha. So, ye kaisey ho sakta hai ke mein ussey na jaanun?"
Dr. Khan grinned and said, "Yahan tum ghalti ker gayi na, Excel ka her student janta hai ke Samrat aur Gunjan, DONO yahan ke star they nahin, HEIN."
Gunjan knew that she was one of the most brilliant students of Excel, but her humility never made her think of herself so. Every time anyone praised her, her instant reaction was that she wud get shy and smile. And this time too she just blushed.
Suddenly something clicked her and she inquired, "Sir, ap Samrat ke baarey mein kyon poch rahey hein?".
"Wo mein tumhein baad mein bataon ga. Abhi let's get to work, bohat kaam baki hai", Dr. Khan replied.
Gunjan had a very good relationship with the Dean. Sometimes, he even used to call her beti. He had a lot of confidence in her and was a great admirer of her hard work, dedication and professionalism. He was a very good-natured person, and had respect for everyone. And Gunjan was his all time favorite (don't worry Samrat too was).
Wid this, they both went in their respective directions. Gunjan took the contract from her office and gave it to the Dr. Khan. She had to see the other arrangements also, so she got busy in them.
It was exact 11 am when Samrat entered Excel. He was wearing a dress pant, with a formal shirt. His hair were gelled back and he was looking all mature, sober and graceful.
He went to the Dr. Khan's office. After formal greetings etc. Dr. Khan asked him, "So, all set?".
Samrat took a deep breath, "Absolutely Sir."
"Good" Dr. Khan replied. Then giving him the contract he said, "Here's ur contract Samrat. Is ko achi tarah se perh lo and then sign it".
Samrat took it and read it quite carefully. When he was done, he again took a deep breath and said, "Okay Sir, I'm all ready to sign it".
Dr. Khan gave him a smile. Samrat took his pen out from his pocket and signed the contract. He was quite satisfied wid his decision and was looking forward to this new phase of his life.
They both stood up and shook hands. Dr. Khan congratulated him, "Welcome Samrat. U're now officially the Head of the Management Sciences Department at Excel University".
Samrat felt a new wave of enthusiasm within himself. He smiled to Dr. Khan and replied, "Thank you Sir. I assure u, I'll try my best never to let u down, never disappoint u, and I will put in my best efforts to take Excel to the top."
Dr. Khan reciprocated with the same excitement, "I'm sure of it Samrat. And I assure u of my best cooperation. Kisi bhi cheez ki, guidance ki zarorat ho, always feel free to ask me, discuss wid me?"
Dr. Khan hadn't finished his talk when someone knocked on the door.
"Sir, may I come in?"
These words, the sweetness of the voice shook Samrat. He wondered, "This voice is so familiar. Ho na ho, ye ussi ki awaz hai. Wo yahan kaise ayi hogi? Wo toh koi student thi. Aur mujhey ye awaz sun ker itna ajeeb kyon feel ho raha hai? Nahin Samrat, ye koi aur bhi toh ho sakti hai. Per ye awaz, ye ussi ki hai. Turn ker ke dekhta hun. Ssss.!! Nahin Samrat, wo kya sochey gi, ke isko itney manners bhi nahin hen, aur agar koi aur hui toh?"
These thoughts were floating in his mind, and he had to make a conscious effort to come out of them. He was totally confused.
Dr. Khan looked at the door and before he cud say anything, she started, "Sir, mein ne sab classes mein inform kerwa dia hai. Everyone will b seated in the auditorium before 11:30."
Dean replied, "Great. Tumharey hotey huey humein koi problem kaisey ho sakti hai. Waisey wahan kyon khadi ho, come on in, aur in se mi-l-o?"
Gunjan was almost still at the door, so she took a step further inside and then suddenly stopped, "Oh Sir, labs, library or canteen mein toh students ko inform kerwaya hi nahin. Mein jaldi se unhein bata deti hum. There's hardly any time left". She looked at her watch, excused herself and hurriedly went from there.
From the first word, till her last, Samrat was lost in her voice. He wanted to see her, mayb just once, coz he was dead sure that this voice cudn't b of anyone else, except her's. He wanted to ask Dr. Khan who she was, but somehow, he didn't.
Again Dr. Khan's voice brought him out of his thoughts, "Is larki ka kya kerun? Her kaam jab tab tak khud nahin kerti, issey chain nahin ata. Anyway, chalein Samrat? Abhi kuch time hai, so pehley faculty room mein tumhein sab se introduce kera deta hun. Baki logon se intro session ke baad tea-break pe mil lein ge."
Samrat knew that it was not the time to thing abt anything else and so, he tried to keep his focus firm and straight only on the new facet of his life that had just started. He went wid the Dean, met a few faculty members and off they went to the auditorium.
The auditorium was full of students, faculty and administrative staff of the department. Faculty and staff were seated at the front rows and the rest were filled wid students.
Samrat, along wid Dr. Khan and some senior faculty members and admin staff entered the auditorium from the door that opened directly on the stage. As soon as everyone saw them, all the noise, gossips and discussions halted, and everyone took their respective seats.
On the stage, there were some 5 to 6 chairs. Some of the faculty as well as staff members accompanying him, sat there. Dr. Khan took the last chair of the row that was towards the rostrum and right next to him Samrat got seated.
He never knew that one day he will b nervous too. Wait, was it nervousness??? May b excitement?? Whatever it was, he was experiencing it for the first time. He was sitting at a place, where even in his wildest dreams, he cudn't ever imagine. He was sitting wid his own teachers and dean, and that too, as a part of their rank, their strata. Everyone was looking upto him. He felt as if he was an alien who had come to earth for the very first time, and everyone had nothing else to do except, discuss him. He was literally being dissected by the thousands of eyes present there.
He took a glance throughout the auditorium, and as soon as he saw Uday and Riya, sitting amongst the students, a smile made its way on his face. They just shook their heads at each other and that gave him relief and a little more confidence.
The intro session started. Dr. Khan went to the rostrum and started his talk. Just as he had started, he saw Gunjan coming and standing at the door on the stage. He told her to come and sit on the stage and she started towards where the chairs were placed.
Samrat:
Dr. Khan had just started speaking abt the reason of this gathering at the auditorium. I had somewhere in my heart prepared an introductory speech, so as not to make any blunders. Just then the Dean told someone to come and sit on his place (coz that was the only empty chair). As a normal reaction, I looked towards that side, to b precise, on the left side, and my senses started shaking again. It was HER. There was something in her which just glued my eyes to her. I was sinking in the sea of her beauty, her innocence. Everything else around me seized to exist. All I cud see was her. The moment her eyes caught mine, she probably got confused, just like me. Her beautiful eyes, behind her specs, widened further and she blushed. Sometimes she looked at me, and at the next moment her eyes avoided me. My mind was just wondering, "Who is she? Ye yahan kya ker rahi hai? Students toh sab neechey bethey huey hein? Mera shak sahi tha, Dean ke room mein yehi ayi thi. Mein ne usko dekha toh nahin tha, per mein ne ussey feel ker liya tha".
Gunjan:
When I reached the stage, I found the lighting to be a bit dim. I was just going to check it, when Dr. Khan told me to take a seat wid the rest of the faculty members on stage. I moved forward in that direction, and felt as if someone was looking at me. As soon as I saw there, my heartbeat skipped. It was HIM. He was looking at me. I was taken aback. His eyes caught me and my eyes denied to listen to me and were just lost in him. I forced them to look left, they denied. I moved them towards right, the turned back. I looked down, but that gaze had a magnetic power and I was as if helpless, coz the more I avoided them, avoided him, the more and more I was lost in them, in him. The more I was getting close to him, my heartbeat was rapidly racing, hands were sweating, trembling. I had all sorts of questions occupying my mind. "Ye yahan kya ker raha hai? Mujhey toh laga ke ye koi student hai, aur ye yahan stage per..? Kahin ye Dr. Khan ka beta toh nahin hai jo USA mein hota hai? Nahin, wo kaise ho sakta hai? Agar wo aya hota toh Sir mujhey zaroor batatey. Aur ye naye HoD kahan hein? Dr. Khan ne toh kaha tha ke wo bohat punctual hein, per yahan toh mujhey koi nazar nahin a raha, siwaye is ke". I was literally drowning in these thoughts and wid every step that I was taking towards him, my condition was becoming worse.
During this time, Dr. Khan was telling the students abt the new policies that were in the process of being implemented.
Gunjan reached the center of the stage, where Samrat and others were sitting. She stood on the side of the chair, where she was supposed to sit, but there was something stopping her. It was nothing else but the gaze that had held her. Finally, her attempts to regain senses worked and with a deliberate jolt, she disconnected her eyes from those of his. They shared abrief nod, signaling hi to each other. She held the arm of the chair, placed the file on the table (that was placed in front of the chairs) and with utmost care and delicacy, she sat on the chair. All this while, Samrat was observing her. It was not at all something he was doing deliberately, because a lot of times, he wanted to get his focus back on the Dean, students, his new job, people around him, but most of the times, his effort went futile.
She sat on the chair and both exchanged a smile and a nod and that made the atmosphere a bit relaxed. After a brief eye-lock, both of them looked towards the audience (students and others sitting in the auditorium). She kept her arm on that of her chair and a flash occurred. Their arms collided wid each other's. A current passed through their bodies and they instantly and simultaneously looked towards each other. It seemed as if not only their arms, but their eyes were also touching each other's and after a while, they both withdrew their arms saying a sorry by just shaking their heads.
It was an awkward moment of their lives. With so many people around, they could only feel each other's presence. They were trying hard to divert their attention to the happenings of the auditorium, and in dis they sometimes succeeded and sometimes failed, coz there were a lot of questions in their minds.
When Dr. Khan was done wid the policies etc., he came to the main reason of the gathering, "Jaise keh ap sab jantey hein, humara aj yahan aney ka basic reason hai humarey naye HoD ko welcome kerna. I'm very extremely happy that he has accepted to join us. He's smart, dynamic and a seasoned professional aur ye Excel ki khush kismati hai ke wo is ko apni vision se agey le ke chalney ke liye tayar hein. He is a young fellow, qualified from a top foreign university, aur humara unhein yahan laney ka maqsad hai un ke experiences aur soch se Excel ko, aur ap sabko top pe le ke jana. Ap sab ye soch rahey honge ke koi mujh jaisa young, dashing aur heroic personality ho ga, per mujh jaisa milna toh mushkil hai (the whole auditorium laughs at dis, and finally Samrat and Gunjan also get to smile). Wo bhi ap hi ki tarah Excel ka student reh chuka hai. Ap mein se aksar ne uska naam suna ho ga. He was one of my favorite students (wid dis Gunjan got completely stunned, and a confused look replaced every other expression, every other thought). So, ladies and gentlemen, its my absolute pleasure to introduce to u all our very talented new Head of the Dept. and he is, Mr. Samrat Shergill."
Gunjan cudn't believe her ears. She just froze, became completely numb and shocked. "It can't be him. How can it b Samrat? Aur wo hai kaun aur kahan hai? Aisa kaise ho sakta hai?"
Everyone started clapping, but she, she was only thinking abt Samrat, when the person sitting right next to her stood from his chair. Not understanding the reason, she lifted her face to look at him wid sheer astonishment.
Samrat stood from his chair and looked at her. It was which shock of the day, she cudn't recall, all she knew was the day had so far been filled wid only shocks and surprises. Her heart was beating abnormally, eyes were wide-open, the cheeks that were pink when she entered the hall, were now white, as if someone had taken every drop of blood from within her. "Ye Samrat hai? Ye Samrat kaisey ho sakta hai? Ye toh... Aur mein ne... Mein ne issey samjha ke ye.. Ye nya HoD hai? Tabhi Sir subah mujh se iskey baarey mein poch rahey they. Ab mein kya keron? Mein ne toh kal issey, I mean inhein, student samjha tha. Ab kya hoga?...."
Samrat was still looking at her. He was seeing and getting amused by every changing expression of her face. He knew that she was confused, but he didn't want to increase her distress. So, he got up and wid his hand, he just asked for way out and in a polite manner requested, "May I?"
His words brought her back and she, after a slight jerk, got off her chair and gave him the way. All this time their eye contact didn't break. He cud see that her eyes were moist and it seemed to him as if she wud cry any minute. Still, she was composed (and that was another quality that she had). He walked passed her and went to the rostrum.
Dr. Khan came back to his seat and Gunjan sat next to him (where Samrat was sitting). She tried to excuse herself from there, coz she wanted to go away, run away from there and vent her emotions, but Dr. Khan didn't let her go and whispered to her, "Is liye mein tum se subah Samrat ke barey mein puch raha tha. Yehi humara nya HoD hai. Kyon de dia na jhatka?"
She cud do nothing else, except look at Dr. Khan and then go back to the land of her thoughts, and this is wat she did.
Gunjan now knew who Samrat was, but Samrat was still wondering abt the girl who had captured all his senses. With a lot of questions abt her in his mind, he went to the rostrum. He was unable to understand his feelings, but the huge round of applause that he got, overshadowed the other thoughts for a while and he tried to keep his concentration on his first interaction with the people at Excel. He cleared his throat to start his speech.
Edited by ayesha_80 - 15 years ago
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