What next? FF with the Doc: epilogue page 55 - Page 9

Chapter 6

"Welcome home, my dear..." Solanki Uncle had boomed as Shyama Aunty had done a small aarti for Nidhi. Nidhi had touched their feet as CS had walked past them all, carrying Nidhi's bag, and after depositing it in Nidhi's room, had asked if anyone wanted tea.

"Abe Manhoos, poochhta kya hai, sab peeyenge!!! Nidhi beta, tujhe kuchh khas khana hai"? DB asked with expectation. Shyama aunty had also asked with plenty of anticipation whether she would like to eat something particular, but Nidhi just shook her head and walked to her room.

Anjie had bounded in after sometime and was shocked on seeing Nidhi...her blank eyes, devoid of all expressions, dark circles under them, hair dishevelled, the skin that stretched tightly over the facial contours...this was not the Nidhi known to her!! Anjie felt tears of disbelief welling in her eyes as she hugged Nidhi tightly..."Nidhi, kaisi hai tu? Aur yeh apni kya halat bana rakhi hai"? DB had butted in at that moment, "tu theek keh rahi hai Anjie...Dekh, teri saheli ki yeh halat...acchha, ab dono chai peeyo aur gappe maro...Nidhi beta, dekh, CS ne teri pasand ki AKC banayi hai"...and handed over a steaming cup to her. "Ab mein chalati houn, kitchen mein bahut kaam hai...and had shuffled away.

"Nidhi kya hua? Bahut garam hai kya? Anjie rushed to her side. Nidhi was shaking all over and had dropped the cup of tea. Her vacant eyes were recollecting the rain, the drenching and the AKC that had followed, not so long ago. "Theek hai, CS, coffee banayenge teri pasand ki...chhote sarkar!!!! Anjie had called. "Rehne de, Anjie, ab to kuchh bhi khane ko, peene ko man nahi karta...please leave me alone..."Nidhi's eyes had brimmed over. Anjie had quietly withdrawn from the room, leaned against the closed door and tried to collect herself. DB had seen her coming out the room and shuffled to her in anticipation.

"Anjie beta, kuchh baat hui kya"? Anjie shook her head sadly. "Meri baat sun...kuchh dino ke baat hai... usse shopping par le ja...uske pasand ki shopping mall mein...thoda uska man behal jaayega..." DB was clearly worried, "Theek kehti ho bua, kuchh din aaram karne do, thodi tabiyat bhi sambhal jaayegi, sir ke patti bhi khul jayegi, phir Anjie beta, usse bahar le jana..." Col Verma had fully agreed to this.

A week passed without any significant interruptions...Nidhi had a few visitors from KGH. Dr Priyanka was a frequent visitor; she had got flowers and some books for Nidhi to read. DB had taken her to a temple nearby and to a yoga camp for meditation, which had helped a lot. And this had settled into a daily routine, yoga in the morning and the temple "satsang" in the evening.

Armaan and his mother had come in sometime, Nidhi had flown into Saroj aunty's outstretched hands and cried inconsolably. "Dheeraj rakh, meri bachchi, dheeraj rakh...sab theek ho jayega...aise nahi rote...dekh, Armaan tere liye kya laya hai? latest CDs!!! Sunkar, tujhe achcha lagega meri bachchi...Saroj aunty had wiped Nidhi's tears.

"Aur ha Nidhi, meri latest saree collection ke liye bhi tumhe hi modelling karani hai... " Armaan had added. "Us collection ka naam maine "Nidhi's exclusive collection" socha hai...Sample dekhogi? It has a lot of dresses, lehengas, kurti's apart from sarees in it...next week uska inauguration hai...you have to come. No excuses!!!"Armaan had persisted. "Arre theek hai bhai, Anjie was super excited, "chal Nidhi, tera bhi thoda jee behal jayega..."

Armaan had planned well. He had an exclusive clientele and his collection was well designed and executed. The Inauguration ceremony was to be held in Awadh-e- Sheraton, one of the posh hotels of Lucknow, and Anjie had walked in a couple of hours earlier, with Nidhi in tow, to offer a last minute help if needed. Armaan was glad to have them, as he himself was lost, like a person with numerous things on his "last minute agenda" and was practically shouting instructions on his cell. Anjie settled down to doing the last minute juggling and gestured Nidhi to relax in a chair, while she administered the last minute fits and tucks on the designs.

Nidhi had gotten bored with this soon and walked to the nearest window for a change of view. She had earlier tried to look around the collection that was about to be declared as "dedicated to her"...how true...Armaan had even once previously, named one of his prized collection after her. "Madam, aap koi outfit try karengi?" one of the attendants had urged. Nidhi shook her head, it didn't appeal to her...Anjie had forced her to come out of her hibernation, to wear a colourful churidar kurta and come for the inauguration ceremony. Even now, her thoughts flew to Ashutosh, "what was he doing now? Probably busy in one of his surgeries, he was a renowned surgeon at the end of the day!!! How would he have reacted if Armaan had invited him to this ceremony? Ashutosh, for one thing, couldn't relate to the art of designing, so much so that he had given"carte blanche" permission for his wedding outfit to Armaan. He would have been so bored here...she imagined his tolerant exasperated expression in such a situation as she handed over the outfits to the attendant with a polite refusal, and sauntered to the window to get a whiff of fresh air.

Ashutosh was indeed on his way to Armaan's fashion house inauguration, thinking about Nidhi, and the affection Armaan had for her, such that his naming of an exclusive collection in her name was just an indication. Nidhi!! How was she now? It had been a week since she left the hospital, which was the last that he had seen of her. He remembered how Nidhi had dressed like an item girl one night just to entertain him...it seemed like a distant dream now.

His thoughts were interrupted by Armaan's call: "where are you at this instant?" He texted back "Driving, call back later..." Armaan texted him back "Do you want to see Nidhi RIGHT NOW? She is standing in the window of the first floor lobby of the hotel, overlooking the car park area..." Ashutosh had just parked, had unbelted himself, and was about the get out when he received the message. Then he saw her...she looked divine...standing in the window and lost in thoughts. Ashutosh, fearing a panic reaction from her, didn't get out...instead stared fixedly at his rear view mirror, trying to capture the few visual morsels of Nidhi that his fate had thrown at him. His fingers felt the rear view mirror tenderly, caressing the image of Nidhi that lay within...Nidhi, oh Nidhi...can't you see me pining for you?

Abe saale, where the hell are you? Armaan had cursed inwardly when Ashutosh didn't emerge out of the car for quite some time. He was standing in the entrance and looked at Ashutosh's parked car in the parking lot. He tried to talk to Nidhi but all that he had got from her was monosyllables in return. This was not the Nidhi he had known and defended, it was as if she had locked herself in some sort of an emotional cocoon, scared to even peep out.

"Armaan ji aur kuchh karna hai?" It was Anjie. She had finished the last moment odd jobs and came to stand behind him. "Mera ek kaam karogi? Woh Ashutosh car mein se bahar hi nahi nikal raha...usko poochhogi kyoun apne pichhwade glue lagakar wahan baitha hai?" Anjie was uncertain, "Armaan ji, woh Nidhi ne agar unko dekha to pata nahin kaise react karegi, isliye shayad..."

"Ohh to yeh baat hai..theek, hai, tum Nidhi ko trial room ki taraf le jao, mein Ashutosh ko under le aata houn...and don't worry, main hoon na..." Armaan sounded pretty reassuring as he sprinted towards the parking lot.

"Nidhi!!! kitne acche dresses hai yaar, kuchh to dekh...yeh wali kurti tujhe bahut suit karegi...try to kar!! Nidhi had tried to shake her off, but Anjie would have none of it. She had taken a couple of outfits and had pushed Nidhi into a trial room and gone to select a few designs for herself.

"Abe saale, meri jaan , tera bas chale to yahin baith kar usko door se hi dekhata rahega kya?" Armaan dragged Ashutosh out of the car, "chal under chal...kuchh nahi hoga, mein hoon na...Aur anjie usse under lekar gayi hai..." "Phir theek hai, mujhe pata hota ki woh yahan hai to main yahan nahi aata Armaan... Woh kya hai na, Nidhi kissi bhi wajah se agitate nahin honi chahiye...chahe uske liye mujhe usse zindagi bhar door hi kyoun na rehna pade...agar uski khushi isi mein hai to yahi sahi..."Ashutosh's voice was choked as he struggled to check his tears.

"Uski khush agar tujhse door rehne mein hoti to uparwale ne tum dono ko kyoun milaya? Tujhe kya lagata hai, tum dono ek doosre se door rehkar khush ho?" Armaan was philosophical.

"Acchha chhod, dekh, kuchh naye designs hai. Try karega?" Ashutosh had tried to refuse but Armaan's persuasive skills were legendary. Soon Ashutosh found himself in a trial room with custody of half a dozen outfits.

Kya museebat hai, Ashutosh thought, as he removed his shirt, tie and tried to look for a place to hang them. There was none, so he flung them over the common partition and subconsciously noticed that the occupant of the next cubicle, probably a lady, had done the same.

He had suddenly snapped awake...there was something very familiar about the dupatta hanging over the partition. He gingerly felt it...yes, it was the same feel, the same touch, the same dupatta...when Nidhi had thrown it carelessly over his eyes during their HM. "Nidhi, Oh Nidhi... you are so close to me, separated by a flimsy wall? Can you hear me? He had leaned close to the common wall, "mere dil ki dhadkan sun sakti ho? Meri har aati-jati saans par sirf tumhara naam likha hai...kya yeh jaanti ho? Jaankar bhi mujhse kyoun door ho, Nidhi..." His soul had cried out in silent anguish.

In the next cubicle, Nidhi was feeling mentally exhausted and just felt like running away from the scene. She had subconsciously noted that the next cubicle was not vacant anymore and the occupant had flung his tie across the common partition wall, and in the process, had slithered down on her side. She picked it up, with an intention of passing it over, when she felt something immensely familiar about the tie...yes, it was the same tie, which she had gifted to Ashutosh sometime during their courtship. Ashutosh!!! It meant that Ashutosh was in the next cubicle!! Nidhi felt so overwhelmed with this proximity that she just couldn't take it anymore; she hastily opened the door and ran in search of Anjie.

"Nidhi, kya hua? Tabiyat to theek hai?" Anjie was worried on seeing Nidhi shaking like a leaf in the storm. "Have some water..."Nidhi had gratefully gulped the entire contents of the glass and pleaded, "Anjie chal, ghar chal, yahan mera dum ghutata hai..."

"Arre, aise kaise ja sakte hai? show to abhi shuru hone wala hai...chal, wahan ja kar baithate hai, you will feel slightly better... Anjie had refused to see reason. "Nahin to Armaan ji bura maan jaayenge..."

Ashutosh had gone in search of Armaan after Nidhi had bolted out of her cubicle, "Yaar wo Nidhi thi mere bajuwale trial room mein...meri aahat paate hi kahin chali gayi...mein kya karu Armaan...woh to mere saaye se bhi door bhag rahi hai..."

"Hausla rakh mere yaar...ek din aisa bhi aayega ki woh khud chalakar tere pass aayegi...Dekhana, tum dono ka pyaar sachcha hai na, tum dono ko uparwale ne ek doosre ka saath nibhane ke liye zameen par bheja hai...sab theek ho jayega...sab theek ho jayega... Achcha, Ab ek kaam kar, yeh laal gulab uski table par chupchap rakh kar aa...uske & aur Anjie ke naam ka label hai table ke upar...ho sake to ek "I love you" ka bhi card rakh kar aa" and Armaan had forced a red rose in Ashutosh's hand. "and don't worry, tumhara table wahan hai, she cannot see you...but you can..."

Ashutosh went quietly to Nidhi's table and placed the red rose next to the white napkin. He had no hopes that she would accept this message; things had gone too far for that. Suddenly something pricked him; a thorn in the rose had drawn a small drop of blood from his finger. He hurriedly sucked at the wound, the blood stopped, but it was not before a small drop spilled over to the white napkin, perfectly in the shape of a heart... He was about to pick up the napkin when he heard Anjie's voice approaching from somewhere and hastily backed away to his seat.

The ceremony started with a welcome address from Armaan, "Friends, Critics and Customers...in his inimitable style, evoking smiles and guffaws, from all alike. All except two people, seated in two different corners of the audience, but somehow had their thoughts originating and ending at similar issues. The fashion show went ahead with accompanying soft music, interspersed with claps and announcements, as one after the other models walked and sashayed on the ramp.

Nidhi was quiet and none of this, including the hilarity in Armaan's welcome speech registered with her. The soft music failed to reach her numbed being and she absent mindedly stared at people around her as they took in all that was happening around. She clutched at the rose lying on her table and gave a sharp exclamation of pain...the thorn had pricked her!!! She sucked at the prick and dabbed with a paper napkin. Anjie appeared not to notice this small event.

"Aaj kaisa laga? Enjoy kiya?" Anjie asked casually as they drove back, "Kuchh khas nahi, yahan nahi aate to kuchh khas fark nahi padta..." Nidhi stared out of the window. "Accha music lagate hai chal..."Anjie switched on the car radio and Udit Narayan's soulful number came on "Ei Ajnabi, tu hi kahin, awaaz de kahin se...main yahan tukdo mein ji raha houn...tu kahin tukdo mein, ji rahi hai..." Anjie looked sharply as Nidhi put her head back on the head rest and closed her eyes for the rest of the journey.

"Chal nightdress pehen, poori night out karenge, aaj Dr Ranganath ki night duty hai..." Anji had reacted after Nidhi complained about not being able to sleep. "Arre yeh kya? Yeh rose yahan kahan se aaya? Nidhi was baffled; the red rose had accompanied her home, entangled in her dupatta...!! Anjie had grown serious, "Yaar koin to hai jo tujhe I love you kehna chahta hai...aur tu sunti hi nahi..."