~~~~~Part 12: A Hidden Gem~~~~~~
The day has ended and Nupur's hesitation has now turned into a fear. She wondered what Mayank must be thinking. That sudden behaviour may have come across very rude to him.
"kya hojata hai tujhe Nupur! sahi tarha se baat bhi nahi karni aati. kya soch raha hoga Mayank! yeh humain kya hojata hai achanak se. kitni umeed se ussne message bhejaā¦main jawab kyun nahi de paayi? ab kya karoon? kya karoonā¦ab woh mujhse shayed kabhi baat na kare. ufffā¦"
She spends a restless night that day and the thought pattern continues next day. Tanmay cannot help but notice that Nupur is still lost in her thoughts and is not her usual self. As they walk by the road, suddenly he pushes her towards a passing car and instantly pulls her backā¦
N: Tanmayā¦yeh kya kar rahe ho.
T: wohi to main pooch raha hoon k tum aakhir kar kya rahi ho. aise chalti gari k saamne kuddne ka matlab?
N: hum kudday? tumne dhakka diya!!!
T: arre maine kab dhakka diya!! maine tumhe khincha iss taraf ā¦warna to tum gayi thee kaam se
N: mujhe samajh nahi aarahaā¦dhakka diya phir khincha!! maarna chahte ho ya bachana?
T: marray tumhare dushman aur bachane ki naubat bhi Khuda kare kabhi naa aaye. main to bas apni khoyi hui dost ko dhoondh raha tha
N: khoyi hui dost?
T: kal se dekh raha hoon Nupur tum kuch khoyi khoyi ho. aha..main wajah nahi poochoonga. batana hota to kal hi bata dete, nahi batana to koi harj nahi hai. per kam se kam iss tarha khud ko pareshaan na rakkha karo. tumhari pareshaani ab mere shakal me dikhne laga hai aur to tum to jaante ho aise looks mujhe suit nahi karte (as he back brushes his hair with his fingers)
N: (starts smiling) kitna drama karte ho yaar. kisi 1967 ki hero lagte ho pata hai! (she starts giggling)
T: saal koi bhi ho..lagta to hero hi hoon na.
N: hahhaaaā¦accha ab style marna bandh karo. kisine agar iss nakli hero k saath itne nakhre karte hue dekh lia na mujhe to iss college me meri reputation barbaad hojayega.
T: acchaā¦to Ms. Nupur Bhushan ki ek reputation bhi hai college me. humain bhi to pata chale kya reputation hai? batao mujhe..kaunse teer maarke reputation bana liya apna
N: woh to ab bataker nahiā¦karke dikhana hai. tum bhi kya yaad karoge iss college ki kis shaksiyet se paala parha hai. (and she holds his hands and drags him to the college campus)Tanmay follows her with a grin on his face..he feels good that whatever was bothering Nupur has, temporarily, may be has gone off her mind. Before his thoughts can go any further, he finds himself in the college auditorium where there is a dance rehearsal going on. Nupur, as if forcibly, sits Tanmay down on one of the seats and disappears. After few minutes, there is a new background music playing and from behind the curtains, its Nupur. As she walks towards the stage, she is tying her dupatta round her waist and she has ghungroo on her feet. As the music fades in, she starts dancingā¦a form of classical dance. Tanmay sits up a little as this is like news to him. Nupur dancesā¦that too she seems like an amazing dancer. Every step, every movement, every angle is in par with the tune. Its picture perfect. As much as he was enjoying Nupur perform, Nupur too was proudly showing her talent that was hidden from Tanmay all these days.
Sooner than Tanmay's expectation, it ended and all the other students who were present there, started applauding. They started chit-chatting with Nupur while Tanmay is still sitting there like a statue with his jaws wide open. Nupur walks up from the stage towards Tanmay and with a smile she says..
N: mun to bandh karo Mr. Tanmay Senguptaand she passes by him untying her dupatta from her waist. Tanmay follows her instantly.
T: wahā¦tumhe to maine jhansi ki raani samjha tha..tum to meena kumari nikli
N: tareef kar rahe ho ya taane kass rahe ho?
T: nahi baba tareef hi kar raha hoon. I mean you were great! kab se ..I mean..
N: bachpan se. humain hamesha cultural activities me bohat lagao raha to humnain shuru se hi sikhna shuru kar diya tha
T: phewwā¦aur bhi kuch jaanti ho ya phirā¦bank robbery to nahi karti na?
N: dhet! ab chalo yahan seā¦class me waise bhi late horaha hai.
For the day, Tanmay manages to keep Nupur's mind off the tiny issue that was bothering her since yesterday. But when she comes home and recalls the day with Tanmay, suddenly Mayank creeps into her thought again. But this time rather than sulking over it, she decides to put it aside for another time and thanks Tanmay for clearing up her mind.
Next dayā¦Nupur is feeling her usual self again and no one is more excited to see her like that than Tanmay.
T: oh hello Meena Kumari jiā¦aadab arz hai
N: yeh kya meena kumari meena kumari laga rakkha hai
T: to aur kya kahe janab koā¦kal jo sample dikhaya usske baad munni ya sheila to nahi bula sakta na!
N: Tanmay accha nahi hogaā¦.poori campus ke saamne ek ladki se pitne ki chances dikh rahe hai humain
T: o babaā¦maaf kar do maaf kar do. I take Meena Kumari back. (then he murmurs to himself) pata chala k meena kumari me bruce lee ki aatma bhi basi hai
N: Tanmayyyyā¦.(she starts beating him up)
T: okā¦.ok chalo ab. As they walk towards the classroom, Nupur opens up the topic.
N: Tanmayā¦agar kabhi koi aisi baat hojaye jahan pe jaane anjaane hamari kisi baat se ya kisi harqat se kisi insaan ko taqleef pohunche per aapko samajh na aaye k kaise usse samjhana hai k yeh bas ek ghalti thee..jaan bujhke nahi hua to aap kaise kahoge usse. I meanā¦usse shayed bohat bura laga ho aur yeh bhi hosakta hai k uss per iss baat ka koi asar hi na hua ho. kisiko kaise pata chale?
T: hmmā¦to janab ko yeh gham sataa rahi hai! per Nupur tumne to aisa kuch nahi kiya jisse mujhe ittttna taqleef ho (he starts giggling)
N: o helloā¦yeh hamesha tum khud ko kyun khinch le aate ho beech me!
T: kyunki mere siwa aur kaun hai tumhari zindagi me jissko lekar tum itna socho
N: wah wah..khudko Tees Maar Khan samajhte ho kya? aur tumhe kisne kaha k yeh hamari problem hai! (she starts struttering) woh to ek friend ki problem haiā¦ussne humse jawab maanga aur hum sahi tarha se usse kuch bata nahi paaye. socha tumhari raaye jaan le
T: (stops walking and looks into Nupur's eyes) dekhoā¦woh jo koi bhi ho jisse yeh problem hai or jisske saath bhi ho..mera manna to yeh hai k agar woh tumhe acchi tarha se jaanta hai, samajhta hai to tumhari kisi bhi harqat ya baat ka bura nahi maanega khaas karke jab woh harqat tumhare shaksiyet ke khilaaf bolta ho to. aur agar usse bura laga uss baat ka jiss baat ka intention hi aisa nahi tha then he doesn't know you at all and for these kinds of people, its not worth losing your sleep over.
He finishes his words by slightly removing her hair from her forehead. Nupur, for a few seconds, forgets everything and slowly closes her eyes as she loses herself to the very first touch of a man on her. Then again, in split of a second she gains conscious and looks away from Tanmay and starts heading towards the classroom
As per Tanmay's advise, she now knows exactly what needs to be done. That day, later in the afternoon, she goes to the lab and writes a quick note to Mayank.
Mayank,
Hum nahi jaante kal hamare iss tarha achanak chale jaane se aap kya soch rahe honge. bas itna samajh lijiye k uss waqt hum zeheni taur se aap ka iss tarha saamna karne k liye hergiz tayyar nahi the. humain nahi pata aap kya soch rahe hongeā¦per aapki woh choti si Nupur ab aisi hi haiā¦bilkul apni iss choti si sheher ki tarha. hamari ek dost ne humain kaha tha k saamnewala agar aapko samajh saake to woh aapka accha dost hai aur aap to hamare bachpan k saathi ho. agar aap samajh paaye to hamari khush kismeti aur agar na samajh paaye to isse zyada humain aur kuch nahi kehna.
-Nupur
After sending the email, she lets a sigh of relief out. She thinks to herself that Tanmay is rightā¦if Mayank understands her that no further explanation is needed and if he doesn't than its not even worth the self defense. She starts heading home wondering what Mayank's response would be.
-Neela-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
woh kehte hai rangon ki tarha dil bhi badal jaaya karte hai
asar ho aahon me to aasman bhi pighal jaaya karte hai
lamhein khushiyon ki koi kaise qaid kare ya rabā¦
raith ki tarha bandh mutthi se bhi nikal jaaya karte hai
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Edited by sharneel - 14 years ago
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