~The Connected Souls~
"Arohi apne bare mein aur kuch bataya...?" Savita asked in an uneasy tone. Shefali shook her head silently. After talking to Arohi she felt that she should tell Arohi's parents about her. Like Shefali, they didn't have any idea where Arohi is & she won't call them either. Shefali was quite certain about that. Their house was covered with an unworldly silence & it was more prominent because of the absence of Arohi.
"Rajasthan mein kahan hai kuch nahi pata tujhe...thoda sa kuch ta ki hum use at least dhund sake..." Hariprasad asked again.
"Nahi uncle...kuch nahi pata...puchne ka himmat hi nahi hui..." Shefali said & stopped to take a breath, then she spoke again in a mild tone, "Waise Arjun gaya hai Arohi ko dhundne aur..."
"Uska naam bhi maat lo..." Hariprasad's harsh tone came abruptly & made Shefali stop at once. "Uske wajah se...sirf aur sirf uske wajah se aaj ye din dekhna padh raha hai..." Hariprasad stood up. Anger was clearly showing on his face.
"Arjun gaya hai Arohi keliye...?" Savita asked, Shefali nodded, "Mere ghar aya tha puchne...kahan ki woh Arohi ko dhundna chahta hai..." She kept her head down.
"Kyun batata tune use...janti toh hai tu kaisa hai woh..." Hariprasad said again.The displeasure was prominent on her face.
"Main toh bas..."
But in between her words the doorbell rang. Hariprasad went to open the door & gasped in astonishment seeing the person who was standing in front of him. Savita & Shefali both were surprised.
"Main andar aa sakta hun...?" Rudrapratap spoke in his sonorous tune.
"Ji aiyee..." Hariprasad restrained himself & welcomed him, though he was still shocked to see him here in his house. He could understand that he is here because of Arjun but Rudrapratap's expressionless face was making him uncomfortable.
"Dekhiye main samaj sakta hun Arohi ke wajah se aap log pareshaan hai aur use wapas le ana chahte hai par uske liye mere bete ko bhejne ka kya jarurat tha...?" Rudrapratap said directly looking at Hariprasad.
"Matlab kya hai apka...?" Hariprasad for a second could not get what he is actually saying.
Rudrapratap scoffed, "Ap log aise hi mujhe irritate karne keliye puch rahe hai ya na janne ka natak kar rahe hai...?"
"Apko lagta hai humne Arjun ko bheja hai Arohi ko wapas lane keliye...?" Savita got up & asked in a surprised tone.
Hariprasad laughed, "Agar Arohi ko dhundne keliye apke bete ka shara lena padhe toh mujhe nahi chahiye meri beti wapas...jisdin se aya hai woh ladka Arohi ki zindagi tabah karke rakh diya hai..." Hariprasad said.
"Dekhiye mein bas itna bolna chahta hun Arohi ki wajah se agar Arjun ko kuch huya main ap logon ko nahi chodunga..." Rudrapratap warned them.
"Rudrapratap ji Arjun aur Arohi ek dusre se pyaar karte hai isiliye Arjun ko alag se Arohi ko dhundne keliye bhejne ka hamare pass koi matlab nahi tha, pyaar bina matlab se kiya jata hai aur woh pyaar agar kho jaye toh use bina matlab ke hi dhundna padhta hai...zimmedari kehte hai ise..." Shefali spoke in a polite tone. Rudrapratap looked at her for a moment & then left the place without saying anything.
"Mujhe ye bilkul nahi pasand sahib..." Chotu's displeasing voice came making Arjun frowned for a bit. He looked at his tanned face through his rear view mirror. It was afternoon. The sun was almost setting & smeared with it's last tint the sky was looking like a dream. The shops beside the road have turned on their lights already. The rough, futile lands are long gone, this place was quite populated. Arjun could understand that he has almost reached Jaisalmer.
"Kya nahi pasand...?" Arjun asked after a long. Chotu was unmindful, he startled a bit,
"Main thare ko leke ja raha hun nah toh raste main dobara puchne ka jaruraat kya tha...?" Chotu said sulking in the back.
Arjun remembered now, while coming he had asked again in an another shop that whether it is the right path or not. He removed his shades & put that in his pocket.
"Tujh pe bharosa nahi karta hun..." He replied in a frigid tone.
"Bharosa nahi hai...bharosa nahi hai...toh motor pe bithaya hi kyun...?" Chotu shouted.
"Main nahi bithaya tha tu khud baitha..." Arjun replied again in a cool tone ignoring his anger.
"Toh utar do...abhi utar do...Sheher ke log sare ek jaise..." Chotu growled.
"Aur kitna jana hai?" Arjun asked but he didn't get any answer from behind.
"Dekho itna waqt nahi hai mere pass...aur kitna jana hai...jana bhi hai ki yehi hai...?" Arjun asked again.
"Bas yehi hai Jaisalmer, ab yahan se kahan jana hai...?" Chotu asked.
"Doctor Gauri Kashyap ke ghar..." Arjun replied.
Arohi & Shefali were walking silently in the road. The morning sun was spreading a warm light in every corner of the hill.
"Preparation kaisa chal raha hai tera...?" Shefali asked cutting of the silence.
"Thik thak...bahot time waste kar liya maine..." Arohi replied.
"Campaigning keliye kahan kahan bhejega kuch idea hai...?" Shefali spoke.
"Nahi par my personal choice is Rajasthan..." Arohi give her a brusque reply.
"Itni dur kyun...?" Shefali was a bit surprised.
"Aise hi..." Arohi replied & turned her face away.
Shefali understood her real reason, she said nothing.
They reached the church. The St. Francis catholic church was one of the most beautiful churches in Dehradun. The white building was shimmering in the sunlight. They came in & saw a bunch of little kids there. Arohi got surprised because it was not sunday, so there was no question for sunday mass.
"Itne sare bachhe?" Shefali hushed. Arohi shrugged her shoulder. The kids were sitting there on the benches waiting for the prayer to begin. They ignored them & came to the front, took the candles & put that on the stand when they heard a voice from the back,
"Arohi kaisi ho tum...?"Arohi turned & saw father there.
"Thik hun..." She smiled. "Aaj kuch special hai kya...itne sare bachhe...?"
The father shook his head, "Ye sare NGO ke bachhe hai 'Little sunshines'. Unlogon ka main office Rajasthan mein hai par they are planning to open a branch here...unke hi bachh hai ye sare..."
"Little sunshine...nice name..." Shefali commented.
"Father..." Arohi mumbled. "Can I play the piano...? actually bahot dino se nahi bajayi, I used to sing the prayer song in my school. Aaj yahaan in logon keliye prayer song main gaa sakti hun?" She gave an embarrassing smile.
"Yes please..." Father said & welcomed her to play the piano. Arhi smiled, looking at Shefali & sat in front of the instrument. Shefali smiled back.
"Maine kabhi Arohi se itni personal batein nahi puchi...par haan akhri baar jab woh mili thi pareshaan dikh rahi thi..." Gauri said & looked at Arjun's pale face. They both were sitting in her front garden. Chotu was standing beside Arjun's chair. The breeze was cool. Today's sky was clear & a milky moon was glittering in the vast sky. Gauri has offered him tea, but he has denied to drink. He has not eaten anything yet but he was not feeling hungry at all. What Gauri said was not a bit positive. Arjun didn't know how he will find her, from here everything seemed darker. Seeing him silent Gauri spoke again,
"Ap Rakeshji se mile...?"
"Rakeshji kaun...?" Arjun frowned.
"Rakeshji matlab Rakesh chauhan...yahan ek NGO chalate hai...orphan bachho ko padhate hai, apne pairo pe khade hone ke kabil banate hai...Arohi kabhi kabhi wahan jati thi..." Gauri said.
"Arohi NGO jati thi..." Arjun was surprised to hear that, because he didn't know that Arohi has any connection with any NGO.
"Haan jitna mjhe laga ki she was very lonely...shayed NGO ke bachhon ke saath khush ho jati thi...ap ekbar mil lijiye Rakeshji se...shayed woh kuch madat ka de..." Arjun nodded. Gauri stood up, "Ab mujhe jana hoga..."
"Ji...thank you so much..." Arjun smiled. "Achha NGO ka naam kya hai...?"
"Little sunshines..." Gauri replied.
"Thank you..." Arjun smiled. Gauri gave him a nod & left.
Arjun was unmindful. He thought that he loves Arohi but he doesn't even know her properly & didn't even try to do that. Arohi was right. Arjun Singhania is a self-centered person & a man like him can't love anyone.
"Sahib yehi hai NGO..." Chotu's tired voice came. Arjun stopped his bike & went down. He read the signboard "Little Sunshines". Arjun didn't notice that when Chotu came & stood behind him.
"Yehi hai..." He said again.
Arjun entered without saying anything.
It was a single-storied small house. A small garden was there in a corner of the house & in each & every corner of the garden there were lamps situated scattering a gentle freshness. A middle-aged woman stopped seeing them, Arjun spoke,
"Rakeshji hai? Arohi..."
"Arohi toh chali gayi..." She replied in a second. Arjun's face got pale at once. Chotu looked at Arjun. "Kahan gayi hai kuch pata hai...?" Arjun asked again.
"Mujhe nahi pata andar Rakeshji hai...apko thoda intezaar karna hoga..." The women left.
Arjun sat there in the stairs. Chotu sat beside him.
"Arohi kaun sahib...?" Chotu asked.
Arjun didn't give him answer. "Ek ladki keliye ap itna dur aa gaye...kuch toh baat hai haina?" Chotu smiled looking at him, but getting no answer from Arjun chotu spoke again, "Mujhe batane ki jaruraat nahi hai bas ye pyaar bimari achhe achho ka jaan le leta hai..." Chotu started whistling a melancholy tune.
The night seemed darker to him as if everything was falling apart. Arjun's heart was dropping in such a deep void that revive from this misery was an impossible task. Suddenly Arjun heard a melodic phrase, more than tune it was a song, it was so familiar that it came like a sudden shaft & made Arjun shocked at once. He got up in an instant.
"Kya huya sahib...?" Chotu's perplexed voice uttered. But the tune overwhelmed him in a way that Arjun even forget his whole entity. He felt the same attraction again, which he feel for Arohi. Arohi...she was here...it means she was here...this though came & Arjun's heart skipped a bit & he entered in the house. The tune could be heard from each & every passageway of this building. Walking through the long corridor Arjun was searching Arohi in every room. in every corner when walking past a window he saw a man, who was sitting in front of a bunch of kids & they were singing the chorus & with a blink of an eye the memory flashed in front of his eyes.
Arjun was paddling his cycle in a hurried manner. The dream & Arohi's face both were rumbling in his brain. The more it was making him restless the speed of his cycle was increasing with that. And suddenly something made him hold back there. A voice. A familiar voice, but Arjun couldn't believe it. It was the same voice which he had heard in his dream. But it was unbelievable. He saw the church there & realized the voice was coming out of the church. Like a possessed person he began walking towards the church. Standing at the doorstep, he saw a girl there just like his dream, but she was playing the piano. Arjun took a step, in his heart he knew that she is the same girl of his dream, but he only wanted to be sure. The more he was coming forth her voice it was becoming more prominent.
(Ankhon mein rakhna, sapna tu kal ke
Tujhko lekin , un tak jana hoga khud chal ke)
Yes, it was she, it was Arohi, she was sitting in the front facing the piano & she was looking as dim as she was in his dream. Her voice was piercing his heart & for some unknown reason Arjun was not feeling good. He didn't know just what he is feeling, but all he could gather that it was something totally different.
(Majhdharon se tu , har nahi jana
Sahil tujhko , pana hoga lehron mein dhal ke)
He wanted to leave the place, wanted to get rid of it & lead a life without any complexity. But it seemed like his legs have frozen there. The similarity with his dream was making him more & more flabbergasted.
(Hai zindagi , wohi jo chalti hai
Yeh girke hi , sambhalti hai)
Though it was a simple song, but he felt that it was for him. Everything was a conspiracy...but by whom? Situation? fate or the universe? He couldn't think straight anymore. Arjun took a moment & then turned back at once, while walking away, he laid off for a moment, the kids were singing with her, doing harmony with her.
(Gaye ja, gaye ja
Raat ke dhaagon se savera bun, gaye ja)
With steady steps he went outside, he still could hear the chorus in the background.
(Gaye ja , gaye ja
Gham mein sargam gunguna ye dhun
Gaye ja)
He boarded on his cycle & moved on.
"Ye sahib Arohi se milne aye hai..." The voice came & made him startled, he restrained himself. Arjun turned back & saw the same middle aged woman & an oldman with her.
"Ap..." The old man spoke, he was quite surprised.
"Namaste..." Arjun folded his hands.
"Namaste...main Rakesh Chauhan..." The man greeted him as well. He was an old bald man. His white kurta was a prominent evidence of his sleek personality.
"Main Arjun...Arohi meri dost hai...main dehradun se aa raha hun..." Arjun spoke in a timid tone. The man nodded thoughtfully looking at Arjun,
"Mujhe Arohi se milna hai...bahot urgent hai..." Arjun said again.
"Arohi 2 hafte pehle ek baar ayi thi..." The man stopped for a second & then said, "Apko shayad pata hoga uss accident ke bare mein...Dehradun mein jo huya tha...Arohi hamare Dehradun ke center mein ek ladke ka admission karwaya tha...lekin hus use yahaan shift karadiya...Arohi ati thi use dekhne...kai bar ayi hai...bahot chota ladka ladka hai...uski Ma uss accident mein..." He kept his head down without completing his sentence.
Arjun turned his face, he felt a lump in his throat, he tried to gulp it down but it didn't help him. The guilt, pain & dejection were engulfing him, everything was whirling in his chest, but there was nothing he could have done to undo all this. A sensation of shame suddenly enveloped him; he has never felt this kind of shame for himself before. He has been thinking since the day Arohi has left him, straining to find out what was the exact reason, now he knows.
"Arohi ko dekh ke bahot bura laga mujhe...usne kuch nahi kahan bas kahan ki iski ye halaat keliye main hi zimmedar hun..." Rakesh Chauhan said.Arjun wasn't able to establish eye-contact with him,
"Arohi nahi...uss accident keliye zimmeadar main hum aur isliye hi...Arohi...mujhe chodke chali gayi..." Arjun said in a dry tone making the man perplexed completely.
Arjun reached to the near-by park. The name of the park was ECO-park, which was an urban park in Dehradun. This park was one of the most beautiful parks here. It has a long route to cycling on one side of the park, another side has a wildflower garden. The two sides of the cycling route were covered by the enchanting rose bushes. Gradually Arjun felt that his uncomfortable thoughts were leaving him. The nature was beautiful here. he smiled & started cycling.
Meanwhile, Arohi & Shefali entered there. Arohi was quite happy after a long. Today's morning was precious to her. For a second she has forgotten all the bitter past of her.
"Thank you so much Shefi..." Arohi said suddenly.
"Why...?"
"You made my morning beautiful..." Arohi said while adjusting her red scarf.
Shefali smiled, "ye toh mujhe karna hi tha..."
Suddenly her phone rang, "Ek second...tu chal main ati hun..." Shefali said & got vanished in the corner. Looking at the pathway Arohi stepped forward. In this lavish green area the yellow brick designed road was looking like a painting. Her eyes got stuck with the read roses which were fixed in an unlined way beside the road. She was just walking; all her focus was on the roses & suddenly her foot caught on the water-pipe which were lying there irresponsibly & her arm flailed to the air, colliding with someone when she was about to fall, she felt a grip of strong hands under her waist & in an instant her red scarf flew out & covered her face before she could see anything. The quickness of the incident was made her taken aback completely, but the warm touch on her waist was making her so uneasy that she moves off the scarf from her face immediately & she saw a pair of eyes at once looking at her in an intentional way. The deep; magnetic eyes, which possess the same unworldly attraction with which she has fallen in love with at once. It was Arjun, Arjun Singhania. As shortly as she realized it's him she restrained herself & stood properly. She was completely baffled & the realization brought back the incident in an instant. Arohi was fuming from within but the bewilderment was stopping her from showing it. Each & every word of Arjun, the crooked smile of Arjun, all those insults...everything was making her suffocated.
"Ar..." But before he could utter her name Arohi turned back. Arjun was puzzled too, his eyes were set on her, Arohi stepped forward & her scarf got a sudden pull & made her stop.
"Don't you da..." Arohi couldn't control her anger anymore & yelled while turning back & stopped at once. Arjun was standing there folding his hands still gazing at her, Arohi looked down & saw her scarf is stuck in the middle of the bell & the handle-bar of his cycle. Staring at it for a moment she seized the remaining part of it which was hanging loosely from her shoulder & throw it away. Arjun tried to turn his face aside but it directly came blowing in the wind & covered Arjun's face at once. Arohi turned back. Arjun could hear the fluttering sound of that piece of cloth, as if the time has got into an unfathomable back-hole. Uncovering his face when he looked there he found no-one, except the far-stretched road in-front of him & an incomprehensible feeling which was spinning now in his chest.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Edited by M_Nira - 8 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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