Posted:
Chapter 19
"Ahmm... Sir, aap ye kaisi ajeeb ajeeb baatein kar rahe hain?" "Answer me Cadet Singh! Sirf read karne ka hi shok hai ya likhne ka bhi?" he forces her to answer, by raising his voice a bit."Sirf reading ka!" "Ye articles apne likhi hain?",Captain Rajveer shows her a magazine containing articles written by her. As soon as she gets a glimpse of the articles written by her, the first thing that comes into her mind is, checking the name written underneath each article. She breathes a sigh of relief, when she assures herself that instead of 'Naina Singh Ahluwalia' it's written 'Naina Singh'. Not that it was the first time she was reading and noticing her name there, but she wanted to conform, she didn't want to take any risk. Looking into his eyes she says "Ji" "hmm...! Maine ye articles read ki hain, kafi acha likhti hain aap" "thank you".
"Cadet Singh maine notice kia hai, last almost 10 articles mein aap bohot gussey mein lag rahi hain. Aisa mujhey lagta hai. Am I right?" Turning back Naina answers "nahi, nahi aisi koi baat nahi hai. I was absolutely fine" "Alright. Anyways kya apko kuch aur kehna hai Cadet Singh?" as he asks this, Naina remembers that she should leave now. "Ahmm.. No! Thanks! I'll leave now" saying this she leaves for her room.
As she was walking towards her room, an orderly informs her, "Ma'am apka phone aaya hai". Creasing her brows, she moves towards the receiver to receive the call. "Hello" "Hello Naina" says her mother on the other end. "Ma! Kya hua sub theek to hai na?" asks Naina, in a worried tone."Thodi der pehle kisi ka call aya tha, koi scheme de rahe the shopping ka kuch. Par Naina tabhi peeche se police k car ka siren sunai dia mujhe. Pata nahi kyu mujhey thoda ajeeb laga, ye sub schemes to official places se aate hain, to ye siren kyu? Mujhe thoda ajeeb laga to socha tujhe inform kar dun""Acha kia Ma. Waise wo keh kya raha tha, jisne call kia tha?" "Wo keh raha tha ki agar humari family mein koi bhi army mein raha ho ya iss samay hai, to 10% discount hai purchases mein. Maine ussey samjha kar, shayad thoda rude ho kar, phone to rakh dia, par mujhey shaq ho raha hai. Tu theek to hai na beta?" Naina goes into a deep thinking, trying to make out, who it could be, hence she forgets to answer her mother."Naina, hello! Kya hua?""Han.. Han Ma main theek hun. Aap please meri chinta mat karna. Baba ko bhi tension mat lene dena""Theek hai beta. Tu bus kabhi kabar phone kar dia kar" "Ma tumhe pata hai na mera aap logo ko phone karna problem create kar sakta hai future mein" Her mother starts crying "Mujhey pata hai, par main kya karun beta mujhey teri yaad aati hai" Hearing her mother crying, Naina softens her tone "Ma please mat ro, samjhne ki koshish karo Ma, apko strong hona hoga - mere liye, (then she whispers) bhaiya ke liye" "Theek hai beta, tu apna khyal rakhio" "Aap bhi. Chaliye main phone rakhti hun ab, Baba ka khyal rakhna" saying this she ends the call, then leaves for her next class. Hiding behind a pillar, Captain Shekhawat listens to whole of the conversation.
*****
As Naina enters her next class, she finds all the other five cadets have already occupied their seats. Giving an angry look to Huda, Naina sits alone at a corner. "Yaar Usool Bhai kiski class hai waise ye. Kon padhane wala hai humein psychology?" "Koi Miss Mishra hai, Huda Bhai""Dr. Ritu Mishra" corrects Dr. Mishra as she enters the class, wearing a saree, emphasizing on 'Dr.'.
She places her files on her desk. "Good Morning Madam ji" says Huda, in his own flirtatious style. "Good Afternoon Cadet" Dr. Mishra corrects him again, indicating towards her left wrist, showing him the time, that it is after 12 pm. "Afternoon Ma'am" Huda corrects his words, then continues, "wo kya hai na Madamji, jab teacher aap jaisi hon to waqt ka kahan dhyan rehta hai?" "Cadet Huda waqt kafi precious cheez hai. Agar ek baar haath se nikal gaya to dobara laut kar nahi ayegi. To usse befizol baaton mein mat gawao" smiles Dr. Mishra."Kyu maine theek kaha na Cadet Singh?" Turning, she focuses her attention on Naina. Her sudden assault takes Naina by surprise.
Current Affairs
Real Estate
14