'Randhir! Tumne bataya nahi ki main tumhare liye kya hu?' Sanyukta looked at Randhir with longing eyes.
'Arre yaar! Kyu mere peeche padi ho. Its bin 4 days and you are stuck on this one question. Galti ho gayi tumhe bachcha ke. Ab maaf kar do please.' Randhir replied in an agitated tone and was about to turn around to leave the lab when Sanyukta grabbed his wrist.
'Why Randhir? Please tell me. I need to know.' Her eyes were already watery. Randhir saw that she might break down any moment. He made a decision within and took a deep breath, before holding Sanyukta by her shoulders.
'Listen Sanyukta, I have reasons for why I did what I did. But how does that concern you? Tum jao aur Sameer ke saath apni engagement ki taiyaari karo.' Randhir's soul crushed into pieces as he confronted Sanyukta with the truth, while Sanyukta's eyes shot wide open at realising that Randhir knew all that she had been trying to hide from him since last 2 months.
'Randhir ?' she tilted her head feeling herself at loss of words.
Randhir on the other hand posed an extremely calm face. He was upset which was evident from his eyes that were red, but he did not seem to have lost his control over his temper, leaving Sanyukta even more confused. It was very uncharacteristic of Randhir to not be impulsive and be so much in control of himself in a situation like.
'Sanyukta, if it makes any difference to you then listen. I luv you. But more than that I respect you for what you are. And I have known you to be a fighter. But now if you have decided to give up on your dreams I really can't do much about it.' Randhir tried to keep at bay, the storm of emotions inside him as he said all this to her. Sanyukta only stood there looking at him trying to register his words.
'Today I may help you to avoid this engagement and come back to FITE, but what if your parents force you into another match 2 months down the line. You being you, the great Sanyukta Agarwal who puts family before anything, will be ready to bare it all for them again. I know Sanyukta that somewhere in the cores of your heart you too luv me. But that comes later. First you have to sort out your aspirations and expectations from your own self. You know that you will not be a happy person after giving up your Dream, still you are going to take this step. Think for yourself Sanyukta, how do you plan to live a life that is no more than a compromise for you?' Randhir's tone was that of a friend who really cared not for his own feelings but for the one he had changed himself.
Tears were rolling down her eyes continuously by this time and she felt the world around her spinning. She gasped for air as she reached out to the table on her right for support. Randhir reached out to her immediately and helped her to the nearest chair.
Sanyukta rasied her hand to touch Randhir's face. Randhir held her hand in his and knelt down looking straight into her eyes. 'What about you? I know I've lied to you and hurt you.' Sanyukta said in a broken voice.
For the first time Randhir's face expressions gave away his real emotions. The vulnerability on his face sent a shiver down Sanyukta's spine. But Randhir gained control immediately and replied, 'Yeah! I never trusted anyone in my life before I met you. And now you too seem to have proved my trust wrong. But its ok. I am probably doomed to live a lonely life. I'll manage. Atleast I'll be living my life the way I want to and not compromise on it for anybody's sake.' He said this in a very matter of fact tone bearing an expressionless face. He stood up and cupped Sanyukta's face in his hands. 'All the best Sanyukta! Just remember that its YOUR LIFE AND YOUR CHOICE after all.' Was all he said before leaving her there, all alone.
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Next day
Sanyukta was sitting in her room lost in her thoughts. 'its YOUR LIFE AND YOUR CHOICE afterall' Randhir's words rung in her head in an infinite loop. Her head hurt badly as she felt herself choking. To add salt to her wounds her phone rang; ofcourse it was Sameer.
'Hello..' Sanyukta addressed the phone call, quite nonchalantly.
'Hi Sanyukta dear... hope tumhara engineering ka bukhaar tum apne us bekar se college mein chod aayi ho finally. Ab tumhara poora focus sirf humari shaadi par hona chahiye.' Sameer said in his typical unreasonably demanding and authoritative style.
'Sanyukta tum meri baat sun rahi ho na...' he enquired, Sanyukta !!!' he almost shout this time.
'Haan ! Sameer.. woh main tumse milna chahti hu. Kya tum mere ghar pea a sakte ho mujhse milne ke liye.' she asked him sorting her thoughts out.
'Kyu kya hua.. mere bina rahaa nahi jaa raha tumse.' Sameer tone was evidently full of mockery.
'Kuch zaroori baat karni hai. Please ek baar aa jao.' Sanyuktaa requested.
'Ufff tum aur tumhari zarrori baatein. Theek hai 30 mins. mein aa raha hu.' He said as he disconnected the call.
Sanyukta rushed outside her room. 'Sameer ke aane se pehle kuch arrangements karne honge.' She thought.
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'Bolo kis liye bulaya hai mujhe.' Sameer spoke in his usual rude tone.
'Sameer main woh tumse poochna chahti thi ki...' Sanyukta hadn't completed when Sameer interfered, 'Tumhe abhi itna urgent kya poochna tha Sanyukta. Tumhara dimag kharab hai kya. Seriously tumhare maa - baap ne tumhe sir pe chadha ke rakha hai. Ek baar shadi ho jaane do tumhe bikul thikane lagaa dunga.'
'Matlab?' Sanyukta asked sheepishly *It's going to be easier than I had anticipated*
'Matlab? Matlab yeh ki tum ko tumhari sahi jagah dikhani padegi shaadi ke. Ghar per eh kar meri seva karogi mere family ka dhyaan rakhogi, saara din ghar ke kaamo mein busy rahogi toh akal apne aap thikane aa jaayegi' Sameer continued his jabbering.
Three people in the other room were listening to Sanyukta and Sameer's conversation in an almost shocked state. 'What's worng with this girl?' Mr. Agarwal and Ankit exclaimed in unison. Ankit stood up and was about to leave to intervene lest anything untoward may happen. But Mrs. Anju Agarwal stopped him, 'Agar Sanyu ne humse chup chap yeh conversation sunne ke liye kaha hai toh I think we should trust her.' They all continued to listen.
'Kyu abhi kya problem hai mujhmein.' Sanyukta chose her words very carefully.
'Problem? Ek ho toh bataoon. Aur problem sirf tum mein thode hai... tumhari poori family mein hai. Sab ne ek toh jhooth bolne mein PHD ki hai... upar se aise meethi meethi baatein kartein hain jaise abhi shahad mein dubki lagaa kar aayein ho.'
'Par woh toh tumhari respect karte hain. Unhone job hi kiya meri galti chupane ke liye kiya. Tumhe toh woh genuinely apna damaad maan chuke hain.' Sanyukta held her breath. *God as far as I know him, he can't disappoint me*
Mr. Agarwal was of the view, 'Kya kar rahi hai yeh ladki. Arre Sameer se yeh sab baatein karne ki kya zaroorat hai?' This time Ankit was listening very intently. 'Nahi papa! Mujhe sunna hai. Pata toh lage ki akhir Sameer humare bare mein sochta kya hai.'
'Respect my foot. Unhe toh yeh sab karne hi chahiye. Ehsaan manna chahiye mera ki unki beti se shaadi kar ke, unki liabilities ko apne sir le raha hu.'
'Liability? Haan waise toh theek hi bol rahaa hai. But meri behen lakhon mein ek hai. Jo bhi hai jaisi bhi hai.. jiski zindagi mein jaayegi uski kismet khul jaayegi.' A conflict of thoughts had already cropped up in Ankit's mind. Sanyukta's mother justed waited to see what effect was the conversation having on the two men infront of her as Mr. Agarwal just listened further with a stern face.
'Sameer mere parents ke bare mein aise kyu baat kar rahe ho? Whatever they did has been so that our relationship remains intact.' Sanyukta defended her family.
'Oh Please can we cut this crap Sanyukta. Tumhari family mein mujhe koi interest nahi hai. Yeh toh unki respect karni padti hai ki meri hone waali biwi ke ghar waale hai woh. Ek baar shaadi ho gayi to woh log apne ghar aur main apne ghar.'
'Par Sameer! Main toh shaadi ke baad bhi apne parents ke liye hamesha present rehna chahti hu. You toh know ki my dad has a heart problem and my mom she is very vulnerable. And Ankit? Ankit is only settling down in business. I was expecting ki you will help me in supporting my family. Ofcourse not in monetary terms, but atleast in emotional supportive terms.' Sanyukta posed a very concerned and pleading expression *bloody mcp ! ab toh phas gaya apne hi jaal mein*
'Sanyukta! Kya tumne mujhe yeh sab bakwaas karne liye yahaan bulaya hai. In that case listen very carefully. Tumhari family ka theka maine nahi liya hai... More over shaadi ke baad I want kit um apnaa poora dhyaan sirf aur sirf mere upar rakho. Tum wahi kar logi toh bada ehsaam hoga sab par. Seriously, I am thinking ki kaise tumhari family tumhe jhel rahi thi ab tak. Sahi hai, apni musibat mere gale daal kar bahut khush ho rahe honge sab log. Abu par se tum chahti ho ki shaadi ke baad I should become their son? Kyu unka apna beta nalayak nikla toh kya ab mujhe god lenge kya woh log, apni sewa karwane ke liye.'
This time Ankit's patience gave away. He stood up and rushed to the room next door.
'Oh! Mr. Sameer Mittal pehle toh meri nehen kisi par bhi liability nahi hai, doosre humein tumhare support ki kabhi zaroorat nahi padegi. Sanyukta ne humein sab kuch bataya hai, kaise tum use hamesha rudely baat karte ho. And if this is the way you are going to treat my sister even after marriage I am telling you that this marriage is not going to happen.' Ankit blurted, his eyes red with rage.
Sameer realised that he was caught on the wrong foot. He was about to say something to justify himself when Sanyukta's parents also followed. Sanyukta looked upto her father with hope. Mr. Agarwal stood still with his head held straight and looked toward Sameer.
'Dekho Sameer beta, yeh sach hai ki humne tumse jhooth bola. Aur achcha hi hua ki shaadi se pehle tumhe yeh sachai maloom ho gayi. But main tumhe yeh batana chahta hu ki meri beti mujh par bojh nahi hai jise main dhakke de kar tumhare upar laad raha hu. Aur aaj mujhe is baat ka bhi ehsaas ho gaya hai ki main apni beti ko lekar bahut galat faisla liya hai.'
With this Mr. Agarwal pulled out his mobile phone from his pocket and dialled Mr. Mittal's number.
'Mittal. Saab, main bol rahaa hu Kishore. Ji main aapse yeh kehna chahta tha ki mujhe lagta hai ki shaadi nahi ho sakti.Ji nahi aap logon ki koi galti nahi hai. Ji mere haalaat kuch aise ho gaye hai ki main apni beti ki shaadi aapke bete se nahi kar sakta. Ji nahi,,, woh aisa hai ki maine aapko batayaa nahi ki Sanyukta engineering padh rahi thi, aur abhi uske do saal baaki hain. Main uski padhai beech main nahi rukwana chahta.. ji haan yeh engagement toh aap cancel samajhiye... Main maafi chahta hu aapko bahut takleef di... Badnaami toh aapko jitni sehni padegi mujhe bhi sehni padegi... par bachcho ke future ka sawaal hai. Ji haan.. Bahut ehsaan hoga apkaa...' and Mr. Agarwal put down the phone.
He looked up at Sameer, 'Isse pehle ki main apne gusse pe control kho baithu and tumhare papa ko phone karke tumhare is badtameezi ke bare mein batao, tum chale jao yahaan se.' He showed Sameer the way to the door.
Sanyukta broke down infront of her father. 'Papa, am sorry, but mujhe aapko sachchai dikhani thi. It was not just about me. Sameer had never respected you people also and always been rude while talking about you all. I know I have acted in an extremely selfish way, but I really am sorry. Aapki Sanyukta apni engineering ke bina kabhi khush nahi reh paaegi.' Sanyukta was now kneeling infront of her father.
Mr. Agarwal took a deep sigh and held out his hands to bring Sanyukta back to her feet. 'Hamare yahan ladkiyaan pairon mein nahi baithti... unhe toh palko par bithaya jaata hai.' His voice was full of remorse.' Ankit driver ko kaho gaadi nikalega, Sanyukta FITE waapis jaaegi' he said placing his hand on Sanyukta's head. Sanyukta threw herself into her father's arms.
Ankit was also holding his mother by now, who was leaning onto to Ankit's shoulders, crying nonetheless.
'Ok aap ladies ka rona ho gaya ho toh chalein, Sanyukta ko packing bhi karni hogi.' Saying Mr. Agarwal asked everybody to leave Sanyukta's room.
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Sanyukta bid a tearful and a grateful adieu to her entire family. 'Dekha beta maine kaha tha na ki bhagwaan wahi karte hain jo hamare liye sabse achcha hota hai. Apnaa dhyaan rakhna.' Anju Agarwal took her daughter into a long embrace, before Sanyukta got into the car.
She was just too exhilarated and couldn't wait to be back at FITE. She had wanted to call up Randhir immediately and tell him what all had happened, but she restrained. She wanted to tell him everything in person and see his reaction.
She was lost in her thoughts, when her mobile rang. 'Randhir ! Tum! Bolo! Kya hua!'
'Hua kuch nahi, apne driver ko bolo ki car roke' Randhir said in his ever confident tone.
'What? Driver? Car? How do you...' Sanyukta couldn't complete her question... 'Arre yaar tumhari yeh bahut badi problem hai. Kya tum ek baar mein baat sun nahi sakti? I said ask your driver to stop the car.'
'Haan! Haan! Driver ji Car rokiye please! 'Sanyukta said in bewilderment. As the car stopped, she saw a bike come to halt just next to the car. A very well built handsomely dressed young man removed the helmet, brought himself down to the level of the car's window pane and signalled her to bring the pane glass down.
'Farzi! Would you mind a bike ride?'He asked her holding out his hand to her. Sanyukta was totally ecstatic 'Tum yahaan kya kar rahe ho.. i mean how did you know.. I mean were you stalking me ?'
'Seriously kitne sawaal poochti ho tum. Ab chalna hai ya driver ko bolun gaadi aage badhane ke liye' he warned her.
'Nahi ek minute ! Driver ji aap yeh mera samaan leke FITE jao. Main aati hu aapke peeche -2. Raste mein college ka kuch kaam hai toh aapko zyaada se zyada 1 ghanta wait karna padega.' Sanyukta did not want to get into another trouble so soon.
She jumped out of the car and hopped onto Randhir's bike. As Randhir kicked the bike back into life, Sayunkta held him by his shoulders to prevent herself from loosing balance.
'Par tumne bataaya nahi ki tum yahaan aaye kaise. How did you know...' Sanyukta was extremely impatient now.
'Sanyukta! Main tumhe achche se jaanta hu. I had complete faith ki meri jhaansi ki rani kuch na kuch toh karegi par apne dreams ko aise apne se alag nahi hone degi. I had been waiting outside your house since yesterday ki tum kab ghar se niklogi FITE jaane ke liye.' Randhir said. Sanyukta could see him smirking through the bike's rear view mirror.
'Meri help toh kuch ki nahi... badaa aye confidence waale.' Sanyukta said making a pout in the direction of the rear view mirror where Randhir could see her.
'Listen Farzi! I could have helped you. But then it would have looked like that don't want to get married because of me. But in reality I wanted that you should make your family realise that you don't want to get married because of your dream.' Randhir said in a very matter of fact tone.
'But now you too are a part of my dream' Sanyukta said snaking her hands around his waist and resting her head on his back.
'That toh I am!' Randhir said holding Sanyukta's hand with one of his hands as he threw back his head to touch hers.
Both of them felt the bliss of love that had been bestowed upon them.
Ok, over ho gaya... I meant this to be a drabble and see what it turned out to be... 5 pages of relentless typing. Sorry guys thoda lamba ho gaya.. Please do read it and drop in your comments, likes and views on how would you like things to happen in the serial.
Udne Ki Aasha
Hollywood
13