FF: Ek Boond Asmaan...LAST PART+EPI, PG-34 - Page 6

Hey guys...my first exam is over and it uummm.... went quite well. The paper was quite tough, I am not surprised!!! Anyways... ENJOY!!!!

PART-6

5 YEARS LATER... ...

MUMBAI
2009

"Bachpan School"

Jai Walia took out his frameless glasses...scanning his eyes through the admission form... fetching his Mont Blanc pen, the amber nib shimmered as he filled up the necessary details...the middle-aged principal sat dumbly awestruck by the magnanimous persona of the man who sat in front of her, at the same time impressed by his gentlemanly behavior and down to earth nature despite being the top entrepreneurs of India, though she was only aware of his name and no other details as he kept a low public profile...

Jai glanced at Krishna, his daughter, who was just about four, playing with the paper-weight...he so wished sonali was here with them...she would have been ecstatic...he had picked up a fight with masi over sending his little Krishna to school, admitting her in the nursery...but masi had put some sense into his thick head, he saw no reason in sending his daughter anywhere, leaving her alone, not when she was so young...but today's children are so curious and grow up fast, Krishna was a hyperactive kid, was what his masi had argued and scolded him for being so over-protective of Krishna, yes he was, she was too precious for him to lose...and surprisingly when he told Krishna about going to school she was so excited, full of her usual enthusiasm... ...as usual he had lost and here he was sitting in the cabin of the principal of the best school in Mumbai...

"Here maam..." jai gave a tight-lipped smile handing the forms to the principal...the lady checked the forms and gave a slight nod...

"Mr. Walia...please pay the fees in the office...she can join from tomorrow..." the lady smiled cordially...

"And here is a cheque, some amount for the school's development..." jai placed a cheque on her table, of course a huge amount...

"Oh!! Thank you...Mr. Walia...I am sure the management will make good use of it... Thank you once again..." she gingerly took the cheque, placing it carefully in her drawer...

"I hope it does..." jai said making her fluster a bit...

"Any other formalities maam..." jai asked...

"No Sir...if you don't think it other wise...can I ask you something..." the lady felt a bit uncomfortable...

"Go ahead maam..."

"It would have been so nice if Mrs. Walia would have come also..." she said...jai sat still for a moment...

"She is no more maam..." he said in a chilly tone...

"I...I am so sorry Mr. Walia...I shouldn't have pried into your personal matters..."

Jai lifted his hand to stop her...

"It's okay..." jai said...

"Papa...see plane..." Krishna said looking out of the window...staring at the airplane which went by with wide amusement...

"Yes, Krishu...come...say bye to maam..." jai stood up calling her...Krishna came to him, holding his outstretched hand...

"Bye maam..." Krishna said shyly...

"Bye beta..." the lady stood up...

"Thank you maam...Krishna will join from tomorrow..."

"Very well Sir..."
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DEHRADUN

Kiran Dixit wrapped the shawl around herself; the evenings were so cold...she threw a glance at bani, who was sitting on the carpeted wooden floor, busy checking the notebooks of her students... she could have never imagined in her wildest of dreams that something so drastic could have happened to her ever-smiling daughter, she was so full of life...but now, in just about few years she has grown up so much, much beyond her age...she just touched 23, but her image, her face, her words, her thoughts sounded so much like an old lady who had seen life through all its phrases...she wondered whether she would be able to see life infused back into her daughter...

After that dreadful incident, bani was completely shattered, losing the will to live, Nishikant decided to come to Dehdradun, where he worked with his old friend managing the orchards, they thought maybe a change of place would help...bani slowly picked up the reins of her scattered life, not only was she emotionally scarred but mentally also she had lost confidence and wretched in self-pity, after much coaxing she finished her studies, then doing a Montessori training for teaching children, something which came as a surprise as she always wanted to be a writer but she had told that she wanted to be with children, it would make her happy... ...slowly everything was coming to normal with things settling down, and pia delivering a boy, bani had cried night long after coming back from the hospital...her eyes fell on her husband's photograph, and the diya flickering before it, it was still unimaginable that she had lost him to heart-attack two years ago... she knew he was deeply hurt by bani and more so from her pitying condition... he was never vocal about anything but she could understand the amount of grief he held in his heart... ...

"Maa...your daughter has got a proposal..." bani said with small smile...admiring the crayon drawings of her tiny tots...

"Really who???" kiran sounded excited, yes she would love to see her married with her own family, now that she was also growing old with an uncertain future, she didn't want to leave bani alone...bani shook her head over her mother's obvious enthusiasm...

"Navarun Roy...four years old...my student..."

"Oh!!" kiran said, dejected...

"Bolta hain...aap bohot sundar ho, main aapko shaadi karke le jaaonga ghar...aaj kal ke bache..." bani thought of the incident in the morning...it had made her smile after a long, long time...

"Par...tujhe nahin lagta ki tujhe ab shaadi kar leni chahiye..." kiran said skeptical, bani always avoided this topic every time she tried to strike a conversation...

"Nahin maa...mujhe main kuch bacha nahin hain...I feel I am incomplete then how will I be able to complete somebody..." bani said stacking the notebooks...

"Beta...bhool nahin sakti...kya...jo kuch hua..."

"Chahti hoon maa...par hota hi nahin hain...shyaad kuch chizen ko kabhi bhulaya nahin jaa sakta hain..." bani got up, picking up the books, she went inside...

"Ek boond asmaan hi toh chaaha tha…par…" she sighed giving a last look towards her upset and brooding mother...

Too much had happened in her life to forget...her immense love for Daksh, her pregnancy, the heartbreak of his betrayal, the trauma of losing her child, the guilt of hurting her parents, the unbearable loss of her father, whose death she held herself responsible...everything was too deep-seated to even try and forget... she had learnt to live with it, past was something nobody could wipe off or erase in a moment's time, we could only respect it and lay it to rest thinking that whatever we are today is because of the past...it has taught her to become strong and be responsible and accountable to her actions, but she was too incised to love anybody else...she couldn't even bring to love herself , then how would she be able to love another... surviving was the only option she had... ...
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Jai looked amused and happy seeing her daughter speak incessantly about her school, for the past half an hour she was describing the school to masi...who was listening patiently...

"Now Krishna have it..." jai said extending the spoon, trying to feed her, she could even do without food once she started talking...it was a non-stop channel...

"Kitna bada park tha...wahaan..." Krishna said, chewing...

"Haan, pehle theek se khao fir baat karna..." jai said, making her complete her dinner...

"Tony clean her up..." jai said putting the plate aside...

"See I told you...tum bekaar main hi pareshaan hote ho..." masi said watching Krishna as tony took her to the washroom...

"Haan masi...par aap dono ke siva kaun hain aur...she is too precious..." jai said, wiping his hands with the napkin...

"Beta, shaadi kyun nahin kar lete...krishan ko ek maa ki zaroorat hian..."

"Ek baar kafi hain...aur fir woh theek hain...main hoon, aap hain..." jai said...

"Haan par maa nahin..."

"Masi mujhse nahin hoga...aur fir ek 34 saal ke baap se kaun shaadi karega..." jai said jokingly...

"Jai...kya bol rahen ho...tumme kya kahrabi hain..."

"Nahin kuch kharabi nahin hain...aankhen kamzoor hogayi hain, bina chashme ke pad nahin pata, thode safed baal aa rahen hain, pata nahin aur kaun si bimari hojayegi..."

"JAII...chupkar, tujhse baat karna hi bekaar hain..." masi admonished him...

"Daadi..." Krishna came jumping...

"Aaja beta...chalo so jaate hain...subah jaldi uthna hain na..."

"Story...princess waali..." Krishna squealed in delight...

"Haan...chalo..." Krishna came and kissed jai's cheek... before going off...
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god bless

Dhani