~~~~~~~ Baraf Baari ~~~~~~~
Its a very cold night…all day it has been snowing continuously. Even now…as Mayank takes a peek through the curtains of his living room window, he sees a white world in the darkness of the night. Although in pain of a certain emptiness inside him conjoined with the suffering of not being able to paint for many many days, Mayank is failing miserably to enjoy the beauty of the nature. For a moment, he manages to come out of his day to day hurdles and hassles and allows to lose himself in the serenity of the nature out there. As he takes that last sip from his cup of coffee with a sigh…. he hears a knock on the door. Its late at night and he is definitely not expecting anyone at this moment especially now that the weather is not allowing anyone to be outside at this hour. He tries to ignore the knocks but the visitor seems persistent. Reluctant as it seems, he opens the door to see a beautiful young woman standing at his door…covered with snow and shivering in cold. As she consistently continues to rub her hands to get the minimal warmth she can in this freezing cold night, Mayank initiates the conversation..
M: Yes…
N: I am sorry to bother you at this hour but my car has broken down and I am freezing cold out here not sure what to do. aap please hamari madad kar sakte hai?
M: sure…please ander aayye
N: (being quite hesitant) nahi….its ok. humain bas ek phone call karni hai ..aap agar humain apna phone use karne dete to meherbaani hogi aapki
M: haan ji…kyun nahi per isske liye aapko ander aana hoga na…please come in
N: (stands still at the doorstep not showing any will to enter the house)
M: dekhiye..aapko pareshan hone ki koi zaroorat nahi. ander ayye…kisse phone karna hai kijiye. hum tab tak aapka gari dekh ke aate hai..shayed hum kuch madad ker paaye
N: ji nahi (she replies in haste). I mean…gari ka battery down hogaya hai. weather ki wajah se aisa akser hota hai. aap khwamakha me taqleef kyun utha rahe hai. bahar itni sardi hai…hum phone kar dete hai …madad aajayegi
It made sense to Mayank and to be honest he was not very keen to go out either. It is way too cold and this is the only weather which he cannot handle at all. So he lets her in and offers her to take a seat in his living room. With grattitude the visitor takes a seat and takes a quick glimpse around the room…its filled with canvas and paint work, some tossed cloth here and there and all this mess lead to one main canvas which is blank…spotless but is ready to be filled with colors and life. Mayank who went to the other room to grab his phone, offers it to the visitor and she walks to the passage area to make that call. After a few minutes she comes back with a smile of relief on her face.
N: humnain call ker diya hai..breakdown service se koi aata hoga per shayed unhe thora waqt lage kyunki mausam ki wajah se saare raaste bandh hai. shukriya aap ka…humain ijazat dijiye ab
M: aap kahan jaa rahi hai?
N: gari me wapas…woh log aayenge to..
M: dekhiye unhe aane me kaafi waqt lagega. aap itne dair tak gari me kaise rahengi….bahar sardi bohat hai aur gari ka heat bhi on nahi ker sakti aap..battery jo khatam hai.
N: (makes a frown)
M: aapko agar bura na lage to aap yahan pe bhi unnka intezar ker sakti hai. woh log to issi number pe call karenge aapko ..hai na? tab tak aap yahan ruk sakti hai…
N: nahi woh hum already aapko kaafi disturb kar chuke (as she indicates towards his incomplete painting)
M: disturb!! (he looks around his messy room where he was trying to paint something). oh…fiker mat kijiye. aapne kuch disturb nahi kiya. in fact accha hua aap aagayi…akele akele coffee peenay me maza nahi aaraha tha. Can I offer you a cup of coffee ma'm?
N: (smiles) aap humain Nupur kehke bhi mukhatib kar sakte hai
M: aur aap humain Mayank se :) bas humain do minute dijiye hum coffee leke abhi aate hai
Mayank leaves and Nupur takes yet another gaze at the room. Yeap..he is definitely a painter of some sort..an artist. There are some paintings on the wall which amazes her…they seem to be done with utter professionalism…with passion and soul. Each stroke of the brush seems to show the level of depth and intensity the creator carries within.
While Nupur is admiring Mayank's work he comes back with 2 cups of coffee in his hands. Quietly as he stands next to Nupur who was busy with his artwork, he whispers to her ears..
M: hamari coffee inn paintings se bhi acchi hai..I swear :)
N: (shaken by the sudden presence of Mayank) sorry…humnain aapko dekha hi nahi
M: ji aisa akser hota hai
N: aap paintings acche banate hai…in fact bohat acche banate hai
M: banate the…ab nahi
N: kyun? ab kyun nahi?
M: rangon ne saath chhor diya
N: matlab?
M: matlab kudrat humse naraaz hogayi hai
N: yeh kisne keh diya aapko? qudrat ne?
M: har kisiko har baat batani nahi hoti per jisse jo samajhna hai woh samajh hi jaata hai
N: jissne jo samjha woh ghalat bhi to hosakta hai
M: agar hum ghalat hai to umeed hai kudrat humain maaf bhi kar degi
N: to aap maafi k intezar me hai :)
M: (smiles back) nahi…hum iss intezar me hai k kudrat humain khud samjhaye k woh humse naraaz kyun hai aur agar nahi bhi hai to yeh canvas khali kyun parha hai itne mahino se
N: aapko samjhane ki zaroorat kya hai…aap to ghaliban khud ba khud ba samajh lete hai jo samajhna hai aapko.
M: ji?
N: (smiles) humain to aap khud hi khud se mayoos lagte hai
M: ek ajnabee se yeh baat kuch jama nahi
N: ajnabee kahan hum? naam to pata hai aur coffee bhi saath me peerahe hai woh bhi aap hi ke ghar me aur humain nahi lagta aap kisi bhi ajnabee ko apne ghar bulaake usse apne haathon se coffee banake pilatay hai …khaas karke woh coffee jis per aapko itna naaz hai
..and she walks towards the window and starts gazing at the snowfall
N: kitna khubsoorat hai na yeh nazaara?
M: Do I know you?
N: abhi to aap hi ne kaha ajnabee…ab aap shakk kar rahe ho
M: sorry …hum shakk nahi kar rahe aap per
N: to humnain kab kaha k aap hum per shakk ker rahe hai. woh to aap khud per kar rahe hai kyun ke ab aap ko lagta hai k aap humain jaante hai per aapko yaad nahi aaraha
M: sacchi me…humain bilkul yaad nahi aaraha. kahan mile the hum?
N: kya lagta hai aapko…hum mile the pehle kabhi?
M nahi mile the?
N: aapko kuch bhi yaad nahi?
M: kya yaad nahi..
N: subhe sab yaad aajayega (smiles and hands the cup over to Mayank). Can I use your bathroom please?
M: sure…(he gives the direction)
As Nupur leaves, Mayank remains in a dilemma. Does he actually know her? She seems to know him though but he cannot recall anything at all. The face or the name both are unfamiliar but the way she talks seems like they have met each other before…Mayank sits next to the fireplace and lost in his thoughts he gradually slips into deep sleep. When he wakes up by the sound of the alarm clock, he realises its morning already. As he recalls the events of the night, he starts looking for Nupur but there is no trace of her at all. He opens the door and there is no car broken down. He checks the bathroom and there is no sign of her. Wondering what has happened he checks his mobile for the last calls made and there is no call made at that time when Nupur claimed to make a call. Just when he begun to convince himself that it was just a mere dream, he notices his blank canvas which is now carries a portrait…portrait of the visitor herself from last night and next to the canvas are the 2 cups of coffee, cold and untouched….
-Neela-
Anupamaa
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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