Our KTLK - Kashmakash Chap 17 (pg 136) Updated - Page 9

Chapter 3:

His warmth reaches her through his coat and Nidhi automatically snuggles into the coat, swallows and looks up at Ashu. Her eyes are a bit puffy and red from crying and lips are still trembling. He extends his hand to her and after a second's hesitation, she accepts it and gets up. Nidhi licks her dry lips, passes a hand over her cheeks as if to wipe away any remaining moisture and says, "thank you." Ashu asks, "you ok now?" and she nods as if in a yes. Ashu ' "neeche chale?" Nidhi ' "ji" both turn towards the terrace door and only then realize that they are still holding each other's hand. Their startled gaze meet and both make a move to loosen their grip, then as if unable to completely let go, tighten it once again and then slowly draw apart. Ashu gestures her to precede him and both of them make their way to his cabin. Ranganath is inside waiting for Ashu to sign on all the official documents required in these cases and once that is taken care of, he comes to Nidhi and gently asks, "you ok Dr Nidhi?" Nidhi gives a small smile and says, "yes. I am fine Dr Ranganath. Thank you for asking." He nods and leaves Ashu's cabin and closes the door behind him. Ashu ' "sit down Nidhi and here, drink some water. You must be dehydrated by now." Nidhi gives a hiccupping laugh and replies "that's the most polite way any one has ever told me that I have just cried buckets sir." And Ashu gives one of his lopsided smile in answer. Nevertheless, she drains off one full glass of water and pours another for herself and sits on the sofa. Then as if just remembering, she gets up again saying, "sir, your coat.."

Ashu ' "leave it on for some more time. You were on the terrace for quite some time aur aaj raat tand kuch zyaada hi hain." then he leans against his desk and folds his hands ' "Ranganath told me about your mother. I am really sorry. want to talk about it or want me to leave it alone?"

Nidhi absentmindedly runs her fingers over the glass that she is holding and replies without looking at him. "its something like I can talk about it for hours on end or everything can be summed up in one sentence. She had ovarian cancer. Aur aap toh jaante hain..it can't be diagnosed until its too late. But she was so young so none of us suspected. She just used to complain of back ache and bloating. I took her to a Gyn and we even got a CT done. Reports were all normal and she finally ignored the pain. Then finally when everything came out, there was nothing anyone could do except the chemo. I was in the final year MBBS and all I can remember of that period is the helplessness. Yahan mein khud ek doctor banke logon ki jaan bachaana chahti thi aur yeh situation tha jahaan apni maa keliye bhi kuch nahin karsaki. Final exams kaise diye maine only I know!" then she exhales and raises her eyes and looks at him. "buss itna hi hain."

AShu ' "and yet you still managed to get 14^th rank huh!" Nidhi chuckles at that. "haan. Stroke of luck I guess! But my DB says Bajranbali was with me all through."

Ashu is spellbound by that chuckle that comes from her. the first time he is seeing her laugh whole heartedly. Not smile. Laugh. And its'.just'.beautiful. Nidhi looks up as if to say something to him but stops at the intense look on his face and for a few seconds gets lost in his eyes.

Then she blinks and clears her throat and gets up. "ab mujhe ghar jaana chahiye."

Ashu also straightens from his position and asks "how are you going to go home?"

Nidhi ' "I came driving sir. I'll go back the same way."

Ashu ' "ek kaam karo. You leave the car here. I don't think you should drive after..you know! I will drop you at your place."

Nidhi ' "no sir. That's ok. I am fine. I can drive."

Ashu gives her "the look" and says, "don't argue. Now, come on, lets go. Both of us have to again be back by 8. btw, your shift is at 8 or 3?"

Nidhi ' "8 am sir."

Both make their way to the parking lot and Ashu tells the security guard about Nidhi leaving the car at KGH and gets into the driver's seat with Nidhi on the passenger side. Its around 5am in the morning so there is not a lot of trafiic and streets are still almost empty.

"so, where is your house? I think I need the address if I have to drop you."

Nidhi ' "oh sorry sir. I forgot!" and then gives him the address. Both are silent for some time and Ashu sees that Nidhi again has a faraway look in her eyes. Then his gaze falls on a 24hr coffee shop and on the spur of the moment turns his car into the driveway of the coffee shop and stops. Nidhi gives him a questioning look. He gestures towards the shop and says, "want to have some coffee? Waise bhi ab subah toh hogayi hain. is that ok or you want to go straight back home?"

Nidhi grins at him. "agar aap bill pay kar rahe hain toh I am definitely on. Meri stipend abhi tak aayi nahin hain. sooo..i am basically penniless."

Ashu gives out one more of his lop sided smile ' "kyon? Aap ka khadoos Dean kanjoos bhi hai kya?"

Nidhi laughs out at that, then quickly stifles her laugh and puts on a serious face. "dekhiye no calling names to my Dean ok? woh toh sirf mein kar sakti hoon. Aur koi nahin."

Ashu gives out a small laugh ' "ab andar chale aur haan, bill mein hi pay karoonga."

The coffee shop is also almost empty at that hour and both of them settle down at a table near the full glass window. Seeing that there is no waiter, Nidhi gets up and bows at her waist and asks, "what would you like to have sir?" Ashu rolls his eyes at that and gets up too. "seeing that I am the one who has to pay Doc, I think, I will go there and place the order and pay at the same time. What do you want? Coffee or tea?"

Nidhi ' "coffee, garma garam. Strong." Ashu nods and goes and places the order and pays and comes back. Nidhi ' "aap ne kya order kiya? Coffee ya chai?" Ashu ' "coffee, garma garam. Strong."

Nidhi ' "wow aap bhi? Waise toh I drink tea the rest of the day. But subah ki shuruvad toh coffee se hi hoti hain. I can't open my eyes properly otherwise."

Ashu ' "same here."

Nidhi ' "aap ko kaun si chai pasand hain?"

Ashu ' "adrak wali"

Nidhi ' "oh. Mujhe toh chai with elaichi bahut pasand hain. thhhoodaaa sa shakkar zyaada dalke strong chai with elaichi on a cold or rainy day'waah..mazaa hi alag hain." she rubs her hands in delight and smiles.

Ashu ' "toh Dr Nidhi Verma..who IS Dr Nidhi Verma?"

Nidhi thinks a bit on this. "hhmm..i am an only daughter of Col Yograj Verma and Nandini Verma. My dad retired from the army and now along with a few of his army friends runs an orphanage kind of a thing. and my mom discontinued her MBBS course coz she fell in love with my dad and wanted to marry him. Uske baad she wanted to continue her MBBS but my dad had postings all over the country and I was just a baby. So she just kept putting off."

Ashu ' "so its your mother's dream that you become a doctor?" meanwhile coffee comes and both start sipping it.

Nidhi ' "nahin. my dad took me to a toy store when I was 3 and I selected a doctor set as my toy that day. Ever since childhood, that's all I wanted to become. A doctor. Of course, my mom was super happy and tried her best to encourage me in this direction. Aur aap? You wanted to become no.1 Neurosurgeon since your childhood?"

that wipes off the smile completely from Ashu's face. He gets lost in his thoughts for some time and Nidhi realizes that whatever those thoughts are, they are NOT pleasant. So she leaves him alone to gather himself. Then he shakes himself as if dislodging something dirty and says, "I don't know about childhood but Baba doctor hain toh somehow it seemed to be a natural decision for me."

Nidhi ' "oh, aap ke Baba doctor hain? kahan kaam karte hain?" Ashu ' "Jeevan Sandhya mein consultant physician hain. a kind of semi retired life I guess. And you said your Baba runs an orphanage?"

Nidhi ' "ji. Kids from the street come there. Unlogon ko wahan khaana, kapade, sab milthe hain. initially they don't stay. They come, eat and run away again. But some kids, the lure of security makes them stay back and the institution funds their basic education along with a vocational training so that they can get some kind of a job after their 12^th."

Ashu listens intently to all this. "interesting! May be I will go there one day. Pass me on the address later. Ok?" Nidhi nods her head. Ashu ' "you ok with just the coffee or want something to eat?"

Nidhi ' "no sir. This is fine. Ghar jaate hi Chote Sarkar, he is our cook, poora bfast mere saamne laga denge."

Ashu ' "Hamaare ghar mein bhi Hiraman Kaka hain. he is an amazing cook."

Nidhi ' "mujhe na gobi ke parate bahut pasand hain. I just love them. hot hot paratas with cold cold dahi. Wow!! Simply yummy I tell you. sochte hi muh mein paani aajata hain."

Ashu ' "and whats your favourite subject in MBBS?"

Nidhi ' "paediatric medicine and ophthalmic. Aur aap ka? The subject chose you or you chose the subject?"

Ashu ' "both I guess. I wanted to do something in the dept of Neurosciences and luck was with me."

Then they went into the topic of medical college and ragging and Nidhi starts describing some of the most horrendous and hilarious episodes of hers. And by the end of it Ashu is throwing back his head and laughing at the incidents.

AShu ' "kya hua? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Nidhi ' "sir, pehli baar aap ko itna haste dekha hain..thoda spellbound hona toh laaz mein hain!"

Ashu coughs a bit and clears his throat at that and decides to change the topic. "During my college days, it was even worse I tell you."

Nidhi gets a surprised look on her face. "matlab aap ke saath bhi yeh ragging hua?"

Ashu ' "haan. Why wouldn't I have had?"

Nidhi ' "nahin..i was just thinking ki kismet itni himmat hain jo aap ko rag karen. All you had to do was give them your look and they would have run away."

Ashu ' "my look?"

Nidhi ' "woh aap aise dekhte hain na hum intern ko.." saying that she puts on a scowling face with a little frown and one eye brow raised. "buss uske baad koi bhi aapke saamne aake toh dekhe!"

Ashu ' "but you don't seem to be scared of 'my look'"

Nidhi ' "kya baat kar rahe hain sir. Of course I get scared. Its just that I hide better."

Then a waiter approaches and asks if they want anything else. Nidhi frowns and looks at the time. "Oh My God! Its 7 already! We were talking for 2 hours?"

ashu gets up and both of them make their way out at a faster pace. "WE didn't talk for 2 hrs doc. You talked for 2 hrs."

Nidhi ' "yeah I know. Once I start talking, I can't seem to stop. Aap ko pehle bolna chahiye tha na. bore kardi kya meine?" Ashu shakes his head as if in a no. "nothing that a couple of aspirin can't cure. So don't worry."

Nidhi gives him a horrified look and he laughingly starts the car. "mein mazaak kar raha tha Doc. Relax."

Nidhi ' "aap ko mazaak karna bhi aata hain?"

Ashu ' "ab kuch baaten apne interns se bhi seekhne padte hain na."

Nidhi then gives him directions to her house and soon the car stops in front of the gate.

Nidhi ' "thank you sir. For the lift and the coffee and..everything. Aap andar aana chahenge?" Ashu ' "you are welcome Dr Nidhi and not now. may be some other time. Waise bhi we are running late. Ok?"

Nidhi nods her head and gets down from the car, closes the door and leans over the window. "ek baat kahoon sir. Dr Sanjay told me about the foundation you started for the kids at KGH. sunkar bahut achcha laga. I am proud to say that Dr Ashutosh is my Dean. See you later sir." With a slight wave she turns and goes inside the house but her words keep reverberating in his mind. "Nidhi is proud of Ashutosh!"

Its almost 7.30 by the time Ashu reaches home and he rushes through and gets ready. BB asks him about his surgery and he explains about his OT and also about the child while knotting his tie. He picks up his coat and is about to leave with HK shouts. "arre ashu beta, naashta toh karthe jaona."

Ashu ' "no Kaka. No time. Am already late."

BB ' "Ashu, aisa nahin karthe. Chal aa bait. You should not skip the first meal of the day. And dekho aaj Hiraman ne Gobi ke parate banaya hain bfast mein."

Ashu's walk towards the door stops and he turns back. "Gobi ka parata?" HK ' "haan beta. Ek toh khaale."

Ashu remembers Nidhi's voice telling "hot hot paratas with cold cold dahi wow!"

he makes his way to the dining table with a little smile on his face, rolls his sleeves and says, "chaliye Kaka, bfast deejiye."

HK happily gets a couple of hot paratas on the plate and puts some achaar and gets it for Ashu. "Kaka, ghar mein dahi hain kya?"

BB and HK both look up in surprise. Ashu never asks for anything and is known to eat whatever is put before him.

HK ' "haan beta. Dahi toh hain. laa doo?"

Ashu - "ji"

HK serves dahi in a bowl and ashu takes a piece of parata, dips it in dahi and puts it in his mouth and starts chewing, all the while, with that little smile still on his face. Both BB and HK keep looking at him strangely.

HK ' "chai peeyoge beta?"

Ashu ' "haan Kaka. Elaichi wala."

Now the looks become even weirder. But HK quickly makes the tea and gets it for Ashu and BB. Ashu takes a tentative sip and looks as if his thoughts are somewhere else.

BB ' "Ashu, kya baat hain beta? Aaj bahut khus nazar aaraha hain?"

Ashu ' "nahin Baba, aisa kuch nahin hain. why do you ask?"

BB ' "nahin, aaj tere chehre par ek nayi chamak hain."

Ashu ' "kuch nahin Baba. Woh buss abhi abhi nahaake aaya hoon na. issliye.."

BB ' "nnnooo..there is a spring in your step as if you found something very interesting in life. Bolna beta, baat kya hain?"

Ashu ' "Baba, its not nothing like that. chalo ab I got to go. Chalta hoon Baba. Kaka." Saying that he hightails out of the house.

HK ' "kuch toh hua hain Mathur saab." BB also nods with a thoughtful smile.

Col.Verma opens the door to Nidhi. "beta, badi der hogayi. Ab woh bachcha kaisa hain?"

Nidhi ' "he passed away Baba."

CV hugs his daughter in comfort. "you ok beta?"

Nidhi ' "ji Baba. Dr Ashutosh didn't want me to drive because I was a bit upset so I left the car at KGH and he dropped me home."

CV ' "that's really nice of him Nidhi. you should have invited him inside na beta."

Nidhi ' "Baba, I did. But both of us were getting late for work so he said some other time. Waise I told him about your Orphanage and he said he would visit it some time soon."

CV ' "any time. Any time. He is most welcome. Ab jaake thoda aaraam karle."

Nidhi ' "no Baba. Aaj 8 to 3 ka duty hain. toh abhi niklna padega. But I promise I will be home by 3.30 and will sleep off."

CV is very happy to see that his daughter is coming back to normal and is talking as usual. He was worried as to what this little boy's death would do to her. but his daughter is a strong girl!

CS ' "Babyji, aap keliye coffee banau kya?"

Nidhi ' "nahin CS ab toh seedha nashta aur chai."

DB ' "arre abhi abhi toh aayi hain aur abhi chal padi. Yeh ladki bhi na! Yog tumhi samjhao iss ladki ko!"

CV ' "arre Bua, woh ek doctor hain aur apni internship kar rahi hain. ab mehnat nahin karegi toh kab karegi?"

DB ' "par Yog ab shaadi nahin karegi toh kab karegi?"

CV ' "Bua, I already told you, I won't pressurise her for a marriage. I did that with my wife and later on she never got a chance to complete her medicine. Uska adhoora sapna adhoora hi rehgaya. Nidhi ke saath mein aisa nahin hone doonga. Aur uski umr hi kya hain? karlegi shaadi. Aap tension mat leejiye."

Saying that he walks away and DB shakes her head at the situation. Nidhi does a super quick shower and spends an extra 2mins cutting her nails and doing a top knot for her hair and wearing another of her kurtis and comes out yelling to CS for bfast. Anji also joins in and both smile and catch up on each other's day before. Anji, upon hearing the kid passing away, hugs Nidhi and comforts her and soon CS gets bfast on the table for everyone including Anji.

CS ' "Babyji, aap nashta keejiye, hum aap ke liye chai lakar aate hain." something strikes

Nidhi and she says ' "adrak ki chai CS!" CS gives her a confused look. "par aap toh hamesha.."

Nidhi ' "haan lekin aaj adrak chai peena ka mann hain buss."

DB ' "arre manhoos ab dekh kya raha hain? jaake chai leke aa." Then she looks at Nidhi and runs an affectionate hand over her head and says, "meri Bachchi, tujhse ek baat karni thi."

Nidhi ' "haan haan boliye DB."

DB ' "dekh beta, hamaare rishedaaron mein jaan pehchaan wala ek ladka hain. Rohan naam hain uska. Woh kya kehte hain'MBA..haan..MBA kiya hain..achcha khaasa naukri bhi hain. meine uske ma baap se na teri baat chedi hain.."

Nidhi gets completely irritated. "DB, aap meri shaadi ki baat kar rahe hain? I joined my internship last month and you want me get married NOW? aur woh bhi kisi MBA ladke ke saath? No way DB. Forget it. Just forget it."

DB ' "arre par beta tu pehle use mil toh le. Milne mein kya harzi hain? hain na. aur kya pata. Agar pasand aagaya toh?"

Nidhi's temper spikes up even more ' "DB aap ko pata hain'"

Anji intervenes. "yaar woh sab chod. Jab aayega ladka tab dekha jaayega. Tujhe toh der horahi hain na. chal dono saath saath chalte hain. I will drop you at KGH and go to my college."

She forcefully pulls Nidhi away and Nidhi collects her coat and steth and book on her way out still in an angry mood. "kya Anji, tumne dekha na DB ko. How many times do I tell her that I don't want to get married now. aur waise bhi I want to first fall in love and then get married."

Anji ' "haan haan mujhe pata hain. don't take her words too seriously. Waise ek baat bata..tujhe kaise pata chalega ki tujhe kissi se pyaar hogaya hain?" Anji wriggles her eyebrows suggestively.

Nidhi gets a thoughtful look on her face. "hhmmm..jab mein apne aankhe band karke pyaar ka naam loon toh usi ka chehra mere aankhon ke saamne aayega. Then I will know."

Saying that she closes her eyes in demonstration and sees Ashu's face and immediately blinks them open with a frown.

"ab kya hua? Phir se kahan khogayi? Chal chal lets go. Its getting late. And once we get back, we will go shopping. Uncle ne permission dedi hain and we'll get you a new dress for Priyanka's wedding. Ok?"

Anji drops Nidhi at KGH in her car and leaves for her college. The day rushes by till the lunch hour and Nidhi goes to the canteen to have her lunch. But as soon as she sits, her gaze automatically goes to the opposite chair where Aayush used to sit and share his lunch with her. her eyes fill up and she pushes away her plate that's on the table and is about to get up when a voice behind her stops her. "aise khaane ki thaali ko chodkar utna nahin chahiye Nidhi." She turns and finds herself face to face with Ashu, with a solemn look on his face and his own lunch plate in his hands. He then comes and sits at her table and when he sees her still standing and looking at him, gestures her to sit and shows her own lunch plate. Nidhi slowly sits back down and both start having their lunch.

That evening Nidhi and Anji spend their time shopping and Nidhi ends up buying a beautiful dark blue and gold combination sari along with all the accessories. Then both of them go to Priyanka's house and attend the Mehendi. The function was done that morning but since Nidhi was on duty, she could not attend. Priyanka is really happy to see her and forces her and Anji to put mehendi on their palms. They have their dinner there and come back home exhausted and fall into bed. The next day, Nidhi is in the process of shifting to Orthopaedic dept, now that the one month shift at paediatrics is done. She gets introduced to the HOD and the assistants when Priyanka drops in.

"Hi! Ab yeh Dulhan yahaan pe kya kar rahi hain? I thought we were on leave until after your wedding and of course, the honeymoon?"

Priyanka ' "haan yaar. But I just came to give the wedding cards and invite everyone formally to the wedding."

Nidhi ' "oh ok. toh mera invitation kahan hain?"

Priyanka gives one playful tap on her shoulder. "tujhe meri shaadi attend karne keliye invitation chahiye? Achcha sun Nidhi, sab ko invitations dedi meine. Dr Ashutosh ko dena baaki hain. tub hi chalna yaar mere saath."

Nidhi ' "kyon? You invited everyone na. waise hi Dr Ashutosh ko bhi invite karlo."

Priyanka ' "yaar. Mujhe unko dekhte hi bolti band hojaati hain. pata nahin what he will say. Aisa na ho ki I give him the invitation and he gives me a lecture on taking off for so many day. "Dr Priyanka, aap ki shaadi toh k din ki hain na. then why did you take an off for one whole week? Yeh school hain ya hospital?" aisa boldenge toh? Please Nidhi, tub hi chal na mere saath."

Nidhi giggles at the way Priyanka tries to imitate Ashu's voice ' "achcha teek hain chal." Both of them make their way to Ashu's cabin and knock on the door to hear a rumble of "come in" from the inside. Priyanka tells a silent prayer and holds onto Nidhi's hand and both of them go inside. Priyanka ' "sir, good morning sir!"

Ashu ' "Good Morning Dr Priyanka! Ranganath said you were on leave and that its your wedding."

Priyanka ' "yes sir. I am..that is..yes sir. Woh mein..sir, I have come to invite you for my wedding. Please do come sir." Saying that, she gives him the wedding card. Ashu gets up, silently accepts it and nods his head. "Congratulations and All the Best!"

Priyanka, not wanting to test her luck further says, "thank you sir. Ab mein chalti hoon. Shaadi mein zaroor aayiyega sir."

Then she looks at Nidhi, who gestures her to go ahead and that she would follow. Priyanka leaves the cabin and closes the door behind her. Ashu looks up and then notices Nidhi's palms all filled up with mehendi design. "shaadi Priyanka ki hain ya aap ki Dr Nidhi?"

Nidhi laughs "woh buss, kal Mehendi ka function tha toh'and sir, are you going to attend the wedding?"

Ashu shrugs at that. "I don't know. I don't think so. Mein shaadi mein aake kya karoonga?"

Nidhi makes a face at that. "so true sir. Aap shaadi mein aake kya karenge. And I told the same thing to Priyanka also. I told her why bother? Sir won't come. He would find it boring. Ek invitation card ki bachat toh hogi." Then she also shrugs her shoulders. "lekin woh nahin maani. I even made a bet with her ki aap nahin aayenge." Then she looks at him with an open challenge and mischief in her eyes. "Dekte hain sir, ki mein yeh bet jeetungi ya nahin." Nidhi leaves Ashu's cabin and closes the door softly behind her.