Posted:
Hello all... since last scene of the show kinda made me want to throw Dev ka patthar on the CVs I gave it a shot myself😆 mostly sharif😳.. here goes:
They were sitting on the floor...right where they both fell little more than an hour ago, playing chase like they did when they were children, tumbling on the floor and fully dressed. When he had pulled her upright and looked down into her eyes, eyes so full of laughter and joy, eyes which reflected his own smiling countenance, he had only one thought. To hold her close, and thank all the Gods who gave her back to him. So he did that and only that...yanked her into his arms and held on tight. She hadn't complained. She was content in his arms, feeling warm and treasured. It was a rarity for her...something only one person in the whole world could give her. Dev. Only Dev...
For now they were content with just being near each other. They spoke sometimes...with words, sometimes with actions, light touches, gentle kisses. And in the space in between, silence was never more soothing to either of them. There was no hurry.
She had her back against his chest, his arms about her, caging her against him and the wall. Because he seemed to be lost in thoughts she raised her hands so her bangles clashed and sang in his ears; he dodged with a little smile. "Kya kar rahi ho," he asked as he captured one hand in his. "Sata rahi hu tumhe," she poked her tongue out and jingled the other set on her free hand.
"Bado ka aap kehte hai," he replied as he caught her other wrist, crossing her arms tight across her waist and bringing her closer. He blew on her hair just below her ear, making her laugh and squirm a little. That set her anklets tinkling, reminding him where he was before she teased him with her bangles just now he was thinking of the day she annoyed him just so he could come see her dropping the darned chandelier and prove that he cared enough to save her life. "Tumhe itna bharosa tha mujhpe ki jhoomar ke sath khelne gai tum uss din..." he asked wonderingly. She turned to look at him with a mysterious expression. "Tumhe apni jaan ki zara si bhi parvah nai thi?" he continued. It baffled him then, it baffled him now.
"Mujhe nahi hai tho kya hua... tumhe tho hai," she replied with a serene smile.
"Par maine kaha tha ki mujhe tumhari koi parvah nahi hai...ye bhi kaha tha ki tumhari shakal tak nahi dekhna hai muje, aur tum-"
She sang softly, "Kitne bhi tu kar le sitam...has has ke sahenge hum. Ye pyar na hoga kam...Dev, teri kasam..."
Was she mad? Possibly, he thought to himself with another half smile. She was in love with a mad man. The love would be insane just as the two of them were...he removed the bangles carefully, thinking back to that day he had tried yet another scare tactic on her. Setting those bangles on fire...His only thought at the time was that he wanted her out at any cost. He had only realized the price after she walked out on her own in the end...he raised her wrist and pressed his lips there as an apology, followed up with the other wrist too. Her pulse jumped and he could feel the erratic beat beneath his lips. It distracted him from his train of thoughts...enough that he trailed a line of soft kisses down that arm, lighting them both on fire. Not one hot blaze, but slow, smoldering hot coals, one for each kiss.
What was he doing... She could almost feel the heat on her cheeks and of course she jumped along with her heart when his lips touched the bare skin. She could feel the heat rise up from her toes...How did he do it...intense one moment, playful the next, setting her heart pounding one moment, and then holding her close as though he was sheltering her from every storm in life the next moment...In all her life there was no one else like him for her. No one but him. "Dev," she murmured as he released one hand and started on the other. "Hmm," he turned her palm up and pressed his lips to the centre.
"Kya kar rahe ho." She asked for form's sake, trying to ignore the butterflies flitting in her tummy. "Taj Mahal dekh raha hu," he answered, linking his fingers with hers and raising their joined hands to his lips. "Tumne hi tho kaha tha, ki do pyaar karne wale mil jaye tho unke hatheliyon ke bech Taj Mahal banta hai."
"Tumhe yad hai."
"Tumhari har chiz mujhe yaad hai. Bachpan se leke aaj tak ka sab kuch."
He really meant that every time he said that...it pleased her no end that he did care and admitted it too. That it hadn't mattered when they were innocent children nor when he wanted to hate her and thought her a liar of the worst kind and partner to her parents' crimes. He cared, he paid attention to every little thing, he remembered...
He picked the mang tikka carefully, detaching it from the drapery. It was true she looked pretty in all this jewelled finery, but he much preferred her simplicity. Where she was just Chandni and didn't need anything else to adorn her, he thought as he removed the drape from her hair. Just Chandni, and that gentle, luminous smile of hers.
He sought out every pin in her tied up hair, tossing them off to the sides randomly. He smiled when her hair tumbled down in soft curls. He had a mind to run his fingers through those dark locks and he did exactly as he pleased...
"Dev tum na... kahi bhi phenk dete ho," out of habit she began to reach out for the discarded hair pins, and he yanked her back into the circle of his arms. "Rehne do," he brushed her tresses off her right shoulder and bent down, "subah koi aur safai kar dega...Shilpa ya Murli," he said off-handedly, rubbing his nose along her shoulder blade softly, stopping at the nape of her neck.
"Dev, wo-" she stammered. If someone else saw jewellery and accessories tossed all over the floor from one corner of the room to another...
He stopped, turned his head a little to look at her as he guessed where her mind went. "You are blushing..." he said with an amused smile, planting a kiss on her warm cheek. "Katto gilehri," he whispered in her ear, hugging her close. She could be so cute sometimes... "Shut up, Dev," she replied huskily, wishing she could control the blood that rushed to her cheeks.
"Kyu..." he gave her earlobe a playful nip. "Nahi ho kya meri katto gilehri?"
"Tumhari hu," she acquiesced as she tilted her head back to look at him with those misty eyes, and he leaned down to close the gap. "Spiderman movie dekhi hai tumne?" he asked with a glint in his eyes just before he touched his lips to hers, teasing her with that upside down kiss. She reached back with her hands in answer, pulling him down for a not-so-light kiss this time...When she pulled back, he didn't know who won...Bemused, he drew her back into his arms, holding her impossibly close. She closed her eyes and gave in, drawing his arms tighter together. A little unsure where he ended and she began, he wondered how he had ever come to the conclusion he could be without her...
She was playing with the buttons on his kurta that were within her reach, just as he was playing with her hair.
"Kya soch rahi ho?" he whispered in her ear, wrapping one long lock of those silken strands around his finger.
"yahi ki har rishte me ek insaan dosre insaan se zyada pyaar karta hai," she said softly, without looking up at him. It was her secret fear.. and her conviction. It was what life taught her.
He froze for a moment as he realized what she meant, then resumed his pursuit of her hair. "Aise pyar karna tumhe Indrani Vashisht ne sikhaya hai. "
Her heart gave a lurch of pain. Her mother... life was cruel.
"Shayad. Par ye sach hai Dev, "she replied.
"Chandni. "
She focussed all her attention on one shiny button on his dress. "Bolo Dev."
"Look at me," he used a finger to raise her chin and turn her face a little, leaned forward to look at her. "Tumhe lagta hai ki tum mujse zyada pyar karti ho."
She didn't have to answer. He could see all of it in her eyes. It made him want to avenge her too... the justice she had meted out to Indrani was nothing. That woman... he could see it now. Cold and calculating, she must have manipulated Chandni all her life, so much that she was starved for love. Tamping down on his rage towards Indrani, he turned her about to face him, as gently as he could. "Chandni, he kissed her eyes shut, "pyar barabari ka hota hai...koi zyada ya kam nahi. "
She opened her eyes, eyes of a frightened little doe who was afraid to be happy lest the happiness be taken away from her. It hurt to realize he had added to it too... "Tum nahi janti...aaj koshish karunga batane ki. Shayad me bhi nahi janta tha, aur na jaane kab mujhe realize hua ki...tum mere liye kitni zaruri ho. Nafrat, pyaar...dosti, ladai...jo bhi tha, sab tumse hi. Pyaar kise kehte hai..." he brushed away the tears which brimmed and spilled over from her moist eyes. "Wo bhi maine kabhi socha nahi tha. Jo barso se khud ko samjhate aya ki tumse nafrat karu...shayad dil ne kabhi ye mana hi nahi tha." He took her hand, placed it over his heart. "Jaise tumhe apne Dev ka intezar tha... mujhe meri Chandu ki itni yaad ati thi ki-" he raised her hand to his lips. "Ek din nahi gaya jo tumhari yaad nahi ayi. Tumhari har chiz mujhe yaad thi. Hotho pe hasi, har khushi jo tumne di thi, dard aur dua, har wo chiz jisse tumhe Dar lagta tha, sab. Tumse nafrat karta tha jab tum mere ankho ke samne nahi thi... Wo nafrat aur wo badla mere zindagi ki maksat bana diye maine...par asaan nahi tha. Jo meri Chandu mere yaadon me thi aur jiski taswir mere man me thi..." his voice had lowered to a hoarse whisper as he relived that pain and conflict with the retelling. But he also knew his pain was nothing compared to hers...and she deserved to know. "Phir tum mere paas thi... mere ankhon ke saamne. Jo khud ko samjhane ki koshish karta tha wahi dil kehta tha ki tum wo nahi ho jis dhoke aur fareb ki moorat ke saamne maine nafrat ke diye jalaye the. Kabhi ye ehsaas hua mujhe ki jo tumhe bhoolne ki baddua her khuda se mangi thi... unhi khudao ne dobara tumse milne ki dua de di," he kissed her tears away. "Please don't cry," he requested. "Jis nafrat se mujhe ishq tha...wo nafrat bhi ek ishq tha...aur uska ek hi naam tha- Chandni."
"Dev," she wished he had never wanted to be her enemy, but it couldn't be helped. After what her parents did...she wondered why he hadn't wanted them all dead. An eye for an eye.
"Kabhi kabhi aisa hota hai Chandni ki dimag dil ki nahi sunta...I wish aisa nahi hua ho. Sochta tha ki kash tumne aisa nahi kiya hota... Par mujhe ye bhi sochna chahiye tha ki ek 8 saal ki bachi ko itna bada jhoot bol kar kuch haazil nahi hoga," he stroked her hair gently, wondering how on earth he had come to any other conclusion. "ye bhi sochna chahiye tha ki meri Chandni aisa kar bhi nahi sakti kisi ke sath, khas karke apne Dev ke sath."
"Dosh tumhara nahi hai Dev. Mere maa baba ne jo tumhare sath kiya... jo sab kuch tumse cheena, uske bad tumhara gussa jayaz tha..."
"Dosh tumhara bhi tho nahi tha Chandni. Aur saza me tumhe deta raha," he held her carefully, as if she were made of glass. So fragile... yet so strong. "Kya kuch nahi kaha maine tumhe...kya nahi kiya..." and yet she withstood all of it, all the insults, hammering and pressure. "Kaise maaf karogi wo sare zulm jo maine kiye tum par?"
"Please Dev. Tumhe mafi mangne ki koi zarurat nahi hai."
He shook his head no. "Zarurat hai." He remembered that cop's report, the day she had taken him to the hospital, maimed his car in her attempt to save his life even when she didn't know how to drive a car. And in Mumbai with all its loud noise and crowds, she who was afraid of crowds and closed spaces. And how she had been worried and crying when he woke up on the hospital bed. It was staggering to realize that she had probably already forgiven him then...his Chandni had such capacity to forgive, and such immense strength... "par tumne kaise...?" he asked, searching her eyes. "Itni taqat kaha se milti hai tumhe?" he asked, half to himself.
"Tum se," she answered with a smile even though her eyes were filled to the brim. "Tumhi ne muje taqat di hai Dev, duniya se ladne ki. Jab bhi koi musibat ati thi, tumhe yad karti thi. Tumhe yad hai tumne Kya kaha tha jab tumne mujhe wo patthar diya the bachpan me?"
He had promised to lend his strength to her whenever she needed him. Poor girl...She drew strength from his memories even when he used everything he had against her. "I'm so sorry Chandni," he said earnestly, raising her hands to his lips again. Where the whole world was against her, even her own mother whom she loved with all her heart but thwarted mercilessly, her Dev was equally ruthless in his pursuit of revenge. Cursing himself for being blind, he vowed to make up for it all. "Bachpan me kiye wade ko maine thoda...tumhari ankhon me aasu aane diye," he brushed those tears away with his thumb, "Aaj wada karta hu tumse...phir kabhi tumhari ankhon me aasu nahi ayenge," he dried the river of tears with kisses, one on each cheek. "phir kabhi tumhe akela chod kar nahi jaunga," he kissed her forehead, "aur itna pyaar karunga Tumhe, he pinned her eyelids shut with more kisses, "mere hisse ka bhi, aur tumhare maa ke hisse ka bhi,"- she opened her eyes to look at him then, bright and sparkling with tears, tears which she refused to shed because he had promised her he won't make her cry again "tumhare baba ke hisse ka bhi," he kissed the tip of her nose, "itna ki tumhe phir kabhi aisa naa lage ki her rishte me ek insaan dosre insaan se zyada pyaar karta hai," he cupped her face in his hands, brought her closer still so his breath mingled with hers, "aur lage bhi, to ye ki jitna pyaar tum mujse karti ho, me usse zyada pyar tumse karta hu," he smiled when she did, and finished with a soft declaration, "I love you."
Advocate Anjali Awasthi
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