Hi Guys, here goes update for this weekend,I hope you all will like it,Please note that all comments positive or negative are much appreciated,please keep them coming,Thanks for your support for this story it means a lot to me..
Chapter 10
Changing equations
Part I
Every step that pulled her to her room increasing her anxiety, excitement, nervousness, apprehension something stopped her from running to him with arms extended as she would have done couple of years back, he was a grown up now, taller than her and probably bit shy too, how would he react seeing her after such a long time would he still be same, she couldn't wait to find out either
She entered the room hesitantly and saw him standing near the window with his back facing her, talking to someone on the phone his voice almost a whisper, she couldn't control herself anymore and went close to him putting her hand on his shoulder, he turned around immediately realising that touch and threw the mobile on the bed and embraced her in a tight hug, indicating her to keep quiet, tears of joy and exhilaration flowed freely from her eyes, and she stood their basking in the glory of that hug, that pillar she could hold on to, that kavach she felt so venerable without and that arms which caught her always before any fall, yes she was not alone, never was alone
Kesar tried to part after a while but she kept holding onto him not giving him any chance, he nodded his head and softly mumbled "Main aaj hi toh aaya hu na,pure teen mahino ke liye yehi hu,kahi nahi jaunga,phir mat kehna mujse tang aa gayi"
Aisa kabhi ho hi nahi sakta Kesar,main tujhse kaise tang aa sakti hu,aur tujhe aane main itni der kyun hui,pata hai sab kabse intezaar kar rahe the,kitni baar to PB bahar darwaze pe jake khadi rehti thi she asked, finally letting him part from her
He continued staring her for a while and then smiling softly asked "Aur Tu?Tu ne mera intezaar kiya?"
Yeah kaisa sawal hai Kesar,sabse jyada to maine hi intezaar kiya hoga na, Vasant tumhaari jimmedaari jo sop ke gaya tha mujhe,pata nahi kya kya dimag mein chalta rehta hai tere
He looked at her with strange directness trying to fathom what she just said,Gulaal main tere liye sirf ek jimmedaari hu? Kesar yeah tujhe aaj ho kya gaya hai,kaisi baate lekar beth gaya hai,ab…
Talli walked it at the precise moment and Gulaal hastily let go of his hand, Talli almost screaming with joy exclaimed "Arrey Kesar tu yaha kya kar raha hai, bahar kabse tere intezaar ho raha hai chalna", and she literally grabbed his hand and marched him out of the room, this time making Gulaal wonder if she did right thing by stopping Kesar all those years ago when he had questioned Talli's unannounced barging into her room, heaving a deep sigh, she followed them into living area….
PB MB, JK, GK, Sudha, Yogesh and Rewa had gathered in the living area and when Talli walked in with Kesar they were all pleasantly surprised to see him, PB first hugged him and then critically examined him from top to toe trying to take in changes that one year's distance would have brought in him, ruffling his hair she complained, Kesar aage se nahi aa sakta tha, hum yaha aarti ka thal aur diya leke tere aane ki raah tak rahe the aur tu he ke bina nazar uthare ghar mein ghus gaya,Kesar smiled and kissed her on the forehead "ab mujhe kiski nazar lagegi,Ba aap bhi kya in sab faltu ki baato ko leke pareshaan ho jati ho,chalo ab jane do mujhe,muje MB se bhi toh milna hai"…
Nahi, tu pehle bahar chal,iss darwaze se, main jab tak nahi kahu pair andar nahi rakhna and she forced him out of the door ignoring all his protests and arguments, JK who was watching the exchange with lot of interest, went close to PB and said "arrey PB,aap kyun iski nazar uthar rahi hai, yeah kaam toh uski biwi ka hai,hai na usse hi bula dijiye,riti riwazio ka aap nahi manegi toh phir koi aur kaise manega",chuckling she ended
PB reluctantly asked Gulaal to do the rituals and she came forward trying to restrain inexplicable joy she felt within, she couldn't have explained the reason for this happiness if anyone would have asked but she was overjoyed and contented welcoming her Kesar back in the house, that had felt so lonely without him to call it a home….
MB wanted to know if he was happy with how his studies were going and if all his needs were taken care of, did he want anything and how was his new bike, he replied with a bashful smile saying he was very happy to have a bike, it was a long term dream that MB made come true and yeah all needs were satisfactorily met by hostel but he missed them all a lot and didn't know how he will survive rest of the years so far away only visiting once or twice in a year, Dushyant interrupted their chat asking MB's advice on something and Kesar saw that as opportunity to escape any further questionings
Kesar constant wandering eyes stopped on her the moment he could locate her, talking animatedly to panditji about something and he started making his way towards her constantly interrupted by someone or the other, annoyance increasing with every stoppage, finally managing to reach her and whisper in her ears,"main apne jawab ke liye intezaar karunga Gulaal", Gulaal looked at him with questioning eyes, he tilted his head and smiling mischievously repeated his question from before, "Main sirf ek jimmeddari hu tere liye?" and left for his room before anyone else could stop and question him about his life in the city….
Kesar's question had disturbed her,she didn't know what he was trying to imply, he was the reason she couldn't leave this house, he was the one who would convert Vasant's dream to reality, he was the one who would shoulder the responsibility to unify this house and provide that solid pillar of support that will keep it one, one house, one village, one dream and one family that's what Vasant wanted, She had to speak to Kesar, make him realise Vasant's dreams, his aspirations, his expectations from his younger brother and how distracting his mind from this was not an option for him, after all that's what MB,PB and entire village expected from him to follow in his brother's footsteps…..
Inside his room, he was surprised to see flowers neatly decorated in a vase on a table with a
Fragranced candle burning away near his Vasant bha's picture, bringing onslaught of sneezing and coughing because of his allergy to the fragrance, he screamed for Gulaal and PB, both came running, having heard a loud crash coming from his room which was result of his throwing of candle holder into the porch that extended from his room, he asked if PB and Gulaal had forgotten about how certain fragrances didn't suit him and his need to avoid them, PB who had asked Talli to clean his room said in a soft tone, "woh beta Talli ne yeah kamra saaf kiya tha na,usse dhyan nahi raha hoga,main usse keh dungi aage se aisi galti nahi hogi"
Ha aage se aisi galti nahi higi,kyunki yeah karma sirf Gulaal saaf karegi,agar aisa nahi hoga toh main issi waqt yeha se chala jaunga,he declared with irritated tone and left the room in haste with his clothes to get ready for the pooja heading straight for Gulaal's room and closed the door with a loud bang
During pooja, paditji asked if his mother would be joining him for aahuti that would have to be offered to holy fire to which Sarufui who was watching all the rituals intently replied, nahi Gulaal should be offering it along with him as his wife, MB and PB both uncomfortable but totally helpless in front of Sarufui had no choice but to look at Gulaal with plea to go along with the demand of the ritual, Gulaal with a hesitant node to them went and sat beside Kesar to offer aahuti to holy fire holding his right hand supporting his offering as his wife…..
…………
Part II
Kesar had started taking interest in factory, accompanying Dushyant almost daily to Kharkhana and back, MB was very happy with this change in Kesar who almost always whiled away his holidays in hanging out with friends or playing with kids in the village, his talk of few days ago of becoming a responsible man to shoulder his elder brother's duties made him so proud of his son, he was going to be a fine, mature young man and follow in footsteps of his elder brother, mere thought of Vasant brought tears in MB's eyes and he walked back to his room slowly thinking about how and when he should sat Kesar down to answer his questions, he promised to give all those years ago….
Kesar aaj, kharkhane jane waqt Gulaal ko uske ghar chodte hue jana, PB instructed Kesar on the breakfast table, Kyun Ba woh kyun ja rahi hai abhi waha? Kesar couldn't believe what he had just heard, after all Gulaal would have told him first, If she was thinking of visiting her parents, so this was totally unexpected
Kesar tu koi bhi kaam bina sawal kiye nahi kar sakta?Kai dino se woh apne Ba,Bapji se milne nahi gayi uska bhi toh mann karta hoga unse milne ka,agar tu nahi ja sakta toh main Dushyant ko keh deti hu, nahi Ba, Dushyant Bha ko kyun takleef dena, main chod dunga Gulaal ko, he immediately left for his room, his eyes asking Gulaal to follow….
Gulaal followed with a glass of water as her defence if anyone questioned her, Once she entered his room,he locked the doors immediately unnerving her,,,Kesar darwaza khol agar kissi ne hame aise dekh liya toh…
Toh kya,ek pati patni kamra bandh karke baat toh kar hi sakte hai hai na? Gulaal was shocked and speechless for a moment, then regaining her breath she angrily lashed out…
Yeah kya bakwaas hai Kesar, main kehti hu darwaza khol, nahi pehle mujhe bata achanak se tu apne ghar kyun ja rahi hai,woh bhi jab main yaha hu,mere yaha hote hue tu yeah nirnay kaise le sakti hai he fumed
Kesar tum samaj kyun nahi rahe ho,PB chahti hai main kuch din waha rahu taki log hamare baare mein kuch galat dharna na bana le,aur waise bhi ab tu bada ho gaya hai,apna kaam khud kar sakta hai,meri jarurat…
Teri mojudgi mere jarurato tak simit nahi hai Gulaal, Kabhi tune apni jarurato ke baare mein socha hai,kabhi yeah socha hai ke tu kya chahti hai,PB jo chahti hai woh toh tune keh diya lekin main yeah janana chahta hu ki teri kya marzi hai,main sirf 30 din aur rahuga yaha,kya isme bhi tu kuch din mujse dur rehna chahti hai?
She didn't know how to answer that, of course she didn't want to go, how can she be away when she knew he would be soon gone for a long time but how could she refuse PB who had said it would be best for her to be away as long as Kesar was at home to save them from any participation in rituals or unwanted invitations where both of them would have to grace the occasions as husband/wife or perform the rituals as such, after all she was only trying to protect her from someone forcing her to do something she didn't want to…
Theek hai Gulaal,tu jo chahti hai waisa hi hoga,main tuje chod dunga waha bus ek baar mujhe yehi baat mere sar pe hath rekh ke kahani hogi, ki tu apni marji se jana chahta hai waha…
Kesar,tu bilkul bhi nahi badala,main soch rahi thi tu bada ho gaya hai isliye ab toh samajdaar bhi ho gaya hoga,per teri zid karne ke yeah aadat to waise ki waise hi hai..main tujse kya kahu…saying she opened the door and ran away from there trying to control her sobbing…
Kesar smiled triumphantly and said to himself,agar samjdaar hone se tujse dur hona pade,toh main na samaj hi accha…
Kesar talked to MB about the conversation between PB and Gulaal and how his presence shouldn't be the reason for her being sent away without her willingness after all she was as much a daughter of this house as he was the son, MB agreed with him whole heartedly and asked PB not to take any decisions about Gulaal without involving him, that made Kesar happy but PB restless…
Unaware that he had managed to stir the harmonious existence of kitchen environment by managing to overrule PB's decision, Kesar walked in almost ordering Gulaal to be ready in the evening as they were going out, PB asked if he would mind taking Talli along as she had not been out for a long time as well, Kesar who was now subjected to this almost daily put his foot down in presence of JK and Sudha who were listening to mother & son conversation with great interest saying no he wanted to go with Gulaal and he had already spoken to MB so there was no need for Talli to tag along
JK smirked at Kesar's declaration whereas Sudha looked at PB with questioning eyes and PB just managed feeble theek hai Gulaal,tum dono chale jana sham ko,ghum aana beta,kitne dino se tu bahar nahi gayi…
Gulaal was very quiet throughout the ride, Kesar looking at her face in the rear view mirror started narrating one story after the other about his hostel life adventures or rather misadventures finally managing a smile that extended to her eyes and soon she was herself, chiding and scolding him about his pranks and indiscipline's that he was detailing with pride
They were heading for the same place where they had been few years back, lush green farms with harvest in full bloom, setting sun in the background and flowing water below turning that place into beautiful heaven on earth, she recollected fondly, but as they were approaching now, the lush green surrounding had given way to withered and barren land, no sound of bird chirping away happily even the golden hue of setting sun and the rhythmic flow of gushing water below didn't do enough to lighten the doom and gloom that surrounded the environment compared to what it was few years back, she was thinking about the nature's severity and the effects of it on every living being when he stopped the bike and asked her to alight there, they walked in silence for a while and Kesar recollecting her near fall on the uneven land extended his hand towards her and she who was walking quietly behind lost in her thoughts took it without any hesitations walking beside him towards the opening where the vast expanse of sky tried to snuggle it's huge form to meet the calmness and serenity of earth adored by spectacular hue of setting sun………
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