hey guys...i know i know...im late...believe me...i got my share of nagging from Guli...almost every day she's like..."so...when you updating"...😕😕😕..harassment i tell ya!! 😉😉...any way...here is part 6 of my choti si kahani...hope you like it...waiting for comments
Chapter 6
Turning onto his side, glancing at the clock that rested on the bedside table Dutta saw that it was just past 3am. Groaning, he pushed away the sheets that covered him as he got out of bed. He walked over to the large window that was at the back wall of the room. Opening it, he took a deep breath as a wave of fresh air hit him. As he looked out over the garden, he saw that it was truly a beautiful night – beautiful and quiet. Not a single sound could be heard, he was sure that he'd be able to hear a pin drop. While everyone else slept peacefully in their beds, cuddled under their blankets, here he stood fully awake. He ran a hand through his hair as he sighed, and then sat on the ledge of the window sill. As he looked up at the moon he couldn't help but think, another sleepless and restless night – thanks to Naku.
Ever since he'd come to this house, Dutta hadn't had one full nights worth of sleep. From that very first night, he'd been sleepless, all thanks to one person – Naku. What was it about her? No matter what she said or did, she managed to get to him? He was Dutta-freakin-Bhao, no one got to him. No one! Never in the past had anyone managed to get under his skin like she did. No one managed to get him to rethink his actions like she did.
Case in point, her parting words a few hours ago when she'd found out about his relationship with AS. What had she said? Oh yes…
"Maa aapni ya sauteli nahin hoti. Maat toh baas Maa hoti hai."
As much as Dutta hated – HATED – to admit it, she'd been right. As he sat there and thought about his relationship with AS he couldn't help but come back to the same conclusion. Dutta had hated AS from the day she came into his life and his father life. A fear took over, a fear that she'd try to replace his mother. That was not going to happen because Dutta wouldn't allow it. From the very first day, Dutta had decided that no matter what he would hate AS and he would never make anything easy for her. And he'd done just that. From fierce tantrums, to full blown arguments to major doses of disrespect – he stopped at nothing. He and believed him to be right in his set way. Until tonight that was.
Something Naku said had hit him – hit him hard. She'd said something along the lines of AS just being happy as his AS, she didn't want to replace his mother, his Maa. And what she'd said about a mother being a mother – talk about deep. As Dutta relived memories of his childhood, he began to doubt himself.
He'd been a difficult child, to put it mildly. Somewhat "well mannered", while his father was alive, but a complete hellion once he had passed away. That is when Dutta really came into the form of the "problem child". No matter what, he had to do the exactly opposite of what AS said. If she said study, he'd go play. If she said sleep, he'd stay up all night. If she said eat, he'd starve just to spite her. As he thought back, it was then that he saw something that he'd missed all these years. While he was busy finding new ways to torture and infuriate AS, she'd done only one thing – she'd been a mother.
No matter what Dutta did, AS was always there by his side. Be it prepping for exams, being at school functions or caring for him when he was sick. After his father died, AS could have easily left Dutta. After all, with her husband gone, she had no need to put up with Dutta and his tantrums. Yet, she hadn't left, she stuck around. She'd put up with all his crap and never complained – not once. Regardless of what he'd done, that woman had showered him with love, the same love that she gave her own daughter Kaalvati. As close as he was to his half-sister, he could never accept AS.
Dutta moved away from the window sill and sat in an armchair that rested in one corner of the massive room. How could he have been so blind? Why hadn't he seen what he'd been doing? Why did it take the words of a stranger to show him how wrong he was? With those questions, and a hundred others floating around in his head, Dutta didn't realize when he dozed off.
A few hours later, Dutta was up with the first rays of sunlight. Getting up from the chair he stretched to get rid of the stiffness in his body. Then he proceeded to get ready for the day. When he came down, almost an hour later, he saw Naku working diligently in the kitchen getting breakfast ready. He remembered how she said that she'd never known what a mother was, because hers had died giving birth to her. She'd told him to be happy at his luck, because he'd had the privilege of having two mothers. Giving it one final thought, Dutta walked back up the stairs knowing what he had to do.
Knocking gently on the door Dutta waited for a response from the other side.
"Aa jaao," the voice called – only then did Dutta enter.
"Aayi Sahib," Dutta called.
Surprised, AS turned around – the shock evident on her face.
"Dutta beta tum? Kya baath hai? Mujhse kuch kaam tha?" she asked.
"Woh…main…" He surprised himself at his stuttering.
"Kya hua?" AS asked. After a few seconds of silence, she looked to the floor and added, "Kya mujhse koi ghalti hui hai?"
"Nahin!" Dutta yelled instantly. "Nahin. Ghalti aapse nahin, mujhse hua hai."
"Main kuch samja nahin," AS said.
Before saying anything else, Dutta guided her to the bed, made her sit and then sat across from her. "Aaj main aapse maafi mangne aaya hoon," he said.
"Kyun?" AS asked.
"Itne saloon se maine aapse kya kuch nahin kaha. Maine aapki kitni behizzati ki hai, aur kitna dil dukhaya hai…"
"Dutta…" AS began to say.
"Nahin aaj mujhe kehne dijiyeh." After a short pause he continued. "Jaab maine aapko pehle dekha tha, toh dil mein ek daar sa paida hogaya tha ke aap meri Maa ki jaga lena chati hai, aur main aaisa nahin hone deh sakta tha. Meri Maa meri jaan thi, aur woh jaga main kissi ko nahin deh sakta. Issi liyeh, pehle din se hi maine aapse nafrat ki hai. Itni nafrat sehne ke baad bhi aapne mujhe aapna mana. Aaj mujhe paata chala hai ke sahi maino mein, maa kya hoti hai. Issi liyeh, main aapse mafi manga chata hoon." Then, Dutta did something that made AS gasp, he folded his hands together in front of AS.
"Nahin Dutta nahin," AS said as she put a hand on top of his. "Ek maa aapne bachoon ki nafrat khabi dil se nahin lagati, kyun ke who jaanti hai ke uss nafrat ke peech koi naa koi vaja zaroor hai. Main khabi tumhare Maa banna ya unki jaga nahin lena chati." She put a hand on his cheek as she said the next line, "Main toh tumhare Aayi Sahib banke bohot kuch hoon."
Dutta stared at her, unable to believe that she'd just reiterated what Naku had said. As they said, great minds think alike.
"Toh aapne mujhse maaf kiya?" Dutta asked.
"Main toh khabi naraaz thi hi nahin, issi liyeh maafi ki koi gunjaish hi nahin hai," AS said with a smile.
She then took a chance and embraced Dutta in a hug. After a moments hesitation and awkwardness, Dutta too hugged her back. When they pulled back, Dutta say tears in her eyes.
"Aayi Sahib, aap roh rahe hai?" he asked as he wiped a tear.
"Yeh toh kushi ki asoon hai," she said. "Aaj tumne mujhe bohot kush kiya hai. Dehr se hi sahi, lekin tumne meri mamta ko samja toh sahi. Log saach hi kehte hai, bagwan ke ghaar mein dehr hai, andher nahin."
"Iss saab ke zimedar bagwan nahin hai, Naku hai," Dutta said.
"Naku?" AS asked.
Dutta then went on to narrate what happened the night before.
"Shayad iss kaam ke liyeh, bagwan ne Naku ko humare zindagi mein bheja hai, ek farishta ki tarha," AS said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Naku was just putting the final touches on breakfast when she saw Dutta come down with AS. They were talking about something, and both were sporting smiles on their faces. Dare she think that the conversation she had with him last night had actually worked? She'd been up half the night worry about what would happen this morning, because there was no doubt about it, she'd over stepped her boundaries. What business did she have discussing, let alone advising anyone on their personal lives? However, seeing the two of them together she couldn't help but smile. Naku pushed all thoughts out of her head and got back to work. Everyone planned on going shopping for the wedding today so breakfast had to be out ASAP. Naku as so enthralled in her work that she didn't sense AS walking into the kitchen.
"Naku…" she called.
"Aayi Sabhi aap," Naku said as she looked up. "Kuch chahiyeh tha aapko?"
"Teri shukriaada karna chati hoon," AS said.
"Kyun?" Naku asked, confused.
"Aaj, tere vaje se mujhe mera beta mila hai. Tu nahin hoti, toh shayad yeh din main khabi nahin dekhti…yeh kushiyaan khabi naseeb hi nahin hoti," AS said as she began to tear up.
"Maine aaisa kuch nahin kiya," Naku said.
"Joh kuch bhi kiya, mere liyeh bohot kiya. Main dil se dua karti hoon ke tune mujhe aaj joh kushiyaan di hai, usse kahin zyada tujhe mile." With one final smile, AS left the kitchen as Babi called out to her.
Naku stood frozen on the spot. Never had anyone – except her father – been so kind and loving towards her/ Never had anyone wished for her happiness. After taking a moment to compose herself and control the tears that stung the backs of her eyes, Naku pushed all sentimental thoughts out of her mind and got back to work. As good as it felt to hear someone say nice things about her, she couldn't dwell on it. Ever since her father had passed away, she had lived by one motto – separate dreams from reality, because in her life, there was no space for dreams.
Naku rushed to get breakfast on the table before she was hounded by her stepmother and/or stepsisters. As she came out of the kitchen with a plate of toast in one hand and a jar of jam in the other hand, Naku saw Babi and AS taking their seats at the table. Within the next few minutes, everything was out on the table, from the omelets to the juice, from the muffins to the fruits. She was just about to go inside when Babi called out to her.
"Naku, living room ke table mein mera phone pada hai. Usse lah doh," she ordered.
"Ji Memsaab," Naku said as she made her way to the living room.
As she was crossing the threshold of the living room, Naku say Dutta coming towards her from the opposite direction. Naku made it a point not to meet eyes with him. Now matter how well it had turned out, after what she had pulled last night, she was sure that Dutta was out for her head. She had reached the table and reached down for the phone, when Dutta had walked past her.
"Thank you," he said.
Shocked, Naku straightened out and looked at him, only to see his retreating back. He hadn't even turned to look back; he just said what he had needed to say. Naku didn't have time to think about what had just happened because Babi yelled for her. Naku grabbed the phone and ran.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It had been about two weeks since Dutta had taken the shopping trip with AS, the Deshmuk family and Sundar – or Idiot as Dutta liked to call him. The man was, hands down, the most annoying and stupid person Dutta had ever met. During the entire shopping trip, Dutta had difficulty figuring out if the girls were more excited about shopping or if Sundar was. He was like a little girl at a tea party. He insisted on going into every store – EVERY STORE – and trying something one. To make matters worse, Sundar felt the need to have some 'male bonding' with Dutta, so dragged him along everywhere. After about the second store Dutta was ready to leave but couldn't risk leaving AS alone. So he sucked it up and dealt with nearly 5hrs of shopping. By the end of the day, he was ready to wring Sundar's head.
After five hours of clothes, shoes, accessories (whatever they were) and cake tastings, Dutta had enough – he needed some intellectual conversation. Thank God for Naku. After they had returned from shopping Dutta went straight to his room without saying a word to anyone. Then about twenty minutes later, a soft knock on his door introduced Naku with a tray – a cup of tea, glass of water and two aspirins.
"Aspirins kyun layeh?" Dutta had asked. He knew he needed them but was surprised that Naku had brought them.
"Aapne pure paanch ghante Sundar-ji ke saath guzare hai. Unke saath toh main paanch minute bhi nahin guzar sakti. Aapka kya haal hai, main samaj sakti hoon," Naku said with a sympathetic smile.
Dutta chuckled at the thought of how horrible that man, Sundar, must be. Why else would Naku be carrying around aspirin for the victims of Sundar's conversations? He spent the next thirty minutes or so listening to Naku's own interactions with Sundar. Dutta found himself laughing at Sundar's antics.
Now, however, two weeks later, they all wanted to go for another shopping trip. At the mention of the mall Dutta's face fell. No way could he survive another five hours with Sundar. Forget five hours, he'd never survive another five minutes. But, on this particular day, God had been smiling on Dutta. Since yesterday AS had not been feeling to well. She couldn't sleep, felt anxious, had trouble breathing. Dutta had insisted that she go to the hospital but she refused saying it would go away soon. Since AS was sick, she decided to stay home, therefore, so did Dutta. As the rest of the family left, Dutta recalled something Naku had said to him during the past week when he was complaining about him not being able to give time to his business.
"Shayad aapko abhin nahin dikhai deraha hai Saab, lekin, joh bhi hota hai, aache ke liyeh hi hota hai," Naku had said.
Oh, how right she'd been.
The rest of the day Dutta had been busy on the phone with Baji, who he'd sent back home to deal with a problem that came up with a new shipment. Dutta hand checked in on AS several times, and every time he'd seen Naku tending to her every need. The was thankful to Naku for taking such care of his AS. It was around 8pm when Naku came into the study where Dutta had just ended a phone call.
"Saab, khaana lag gaya. Aap aajiyeh," she said.
"Tik hai, main abhi aata hoon," Dutta said. He figured he'd make on last phone call before going down.
"Saab, warning – Sundar-ji bhi aaya hai," Naku said.
Dutta groaned out loud. Sit through dinner with the Idiot, no way! "Ek kaam karo, mera khaana tum yahaan leh aana."
"Nahin lah sakti," Naku said as she fidgeted with her dupatta.
"Kyun nahin?" Dutta asked. He wasn't mad, but he wasn't happy either – no one refused Dutta Bhao, no one.
"Kyun ke Aayi Sahib ne bulaya hai saab ke saath khane ke liyeh," Naku informed. "Jaldi aajaiyeh."
"Uff," Dutta said as he ran a hand through his hair. "Yeh Aayi Sahib naa, meri jaan lekar rehgi."
He heard Naku giggle as she walked off. A few minutes later when Dutta made is way to the dining table, he saw everyone was already seated. There was only one seat left, it was the one next to Sundar – of course. As he walked to the table he saw Naku serving water to everyone. As he approached, she looked up at him. He knew, she knew what he was thinking – why me? – because she gave him a helpless look and shrugged her shoulder. Like she was letting him know she understood his unrest at being seated next to Sundar. How did she know him so well already?
"Dutta, buddy!" Sundar called. "Aajao, mere paas baito."
"Great, just great," Dutta whispered as he plastered a fake smile on his face.
Dinner was an experience that Dutta wouldn't soon forget. He thought Sundar the chatter-box was bad, Sundar the mouth-full-of-food chatter box was worse. It took all of Dutta's restraint to keep from telling that pompous jerk to just, 'SHUT UP!'. He talked with his mouth full, spitting out food bits every once in a while – one bit even landed in Dutta's water. It didn't help matters that every now and then he'd catch Naku giggling or smiling to herself – she was enjoying his misery.
When he could take it no more he excused himself to get some ice. He walked into the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief, which only made Naku giggle even more. With a frown on his face, Dutta came to the counter behind which Naku was, and stood across from her.
"Vahaan, uss Sundar ke vaje se mera khoon khaul raha hai, aur tum haans rahi ho?" Dutta asked.
Between her giggles Naku said, "Kya karoon Saab, mujhse raha nahin jaata. Then she fell into another fit of giggles as she began to walk out with dessert. Turning back she said, "Maine kaha tha naa aapse jaaldi aane ke liyeh." After giving him a smile, she left.
As Dutta came into the dining room he heard Supriya humming something.
"Priya, kya gun guna rahi ho," Leela asked.
"Kuch nahin Taayi, baas aapki shaadi ke liyeh ready ho rahi hoon," Supriya said.
"Matlab?" Babi asked.
Supriya looked at Sundar and said, "Paise doh, joote lo…Kyun Jiju?"
Everyone laughed at Supriya's comment.
"Pehle joote toh chura lo, phir dekhenge," Sundar said.
"Woh toh main kaar hi lungi. Filhaal, aapke liyeh ek test hai," Supriya said.
"Test?" everyone resonated.
"Haan test. Jiju, aapko, meri Taayi ke liyeh ek gaana gana padega."
"Gaana?" Sundar asked.
"Haan. Hum bhi toh dekhe, aap meri Taayi se kitna pyaar karte hai."
Naku was still serving the dessert, while Dutta stood and drank his fresh water. He couldn't risk sitting again. What if Sundar plopped another chunk of food in it while he was singing?
"Kitna pyaar tujhe, raabne banaya," Sundar sang. "Jee karein dekhta rahoon." He continued and sang the first verse, after they all clapped.
"Ok good, aab Taayi aapki baari. Aapko Jiju ke liyeh bhi gana padega," Supriya said.
"Woh toh tik hai, magar…main kya gaaun?" Leela asked as the tried to think of a song.
Naku happened to be walking past Dutta, headed to the kitchen when she said something.
"Tennu ghodi kinhe chadaya bhootni ke, tennu duhla kinhe banaya bhootni ke," she sang under her breath.
When Dutta heard that he couldn't help but laugh, too bad for him that he'd just taken a large gulp of water causing him to choke. Dutta coughed up a lung but couldn't fight the urge to laugh. Everyone had gotten up to see if he was alright, Naku came rushing with a glass of water.
"Dutta beta kya hua?" AS asked, worried.
"K…kuch nahin Aayi Sahib," Dutta said as his coughs began to subside. "Main…main tik hoon."
Unable to fight the laughter anymore, Dutta quickly excused himself and went out towards the garden. As soon as he was out there he let loose. He laughed like he'd never laughed before. He laughed so much that his sides began to hurt by the time AS joined him.
"Dutta, tum tik toh ho naa?" she asked.
"Haan…haan…" Dutta said as his laughs subsided.
"Saab, paani," Naku called from behind.
Turning around, Dutta saw her standing there holding a glass of water for him. But seeing her only made him reply that incident inside with the song and again he burst into laughter. He laughed so much he had to bend down because his sides began to hurt.
"Dutta, kya hua?" AS asked.
"Aayi Sabhi, yeh Naku hai naa…" he said looking at Naku, "…kya comedy karti hai………Bhootni ke!" With that Dutta fell into another laughing rage.
He saw Naku look to the ground and blush, or so he thought, because clearly no one was supposed to hear it. Not wanting to look like a laugh fool if the entire family came out, Dutta decided to go back inside. AS and Naku still stood in the garden when suddenly they heard another roar of laughter come from Dutta as he walked into the house and Sundar asked, "Buddy, are you ok?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Naku stood shocked. No one was supposed to hear the song she sang. She could have sworn that she had whispered it under her breath. How did he hear it? God only knows. She was responsible for that entire scene inside, this was going to cost her if Babi ever found out. Oh well, what's done is done. There was no changing it. Naku had turned around to go inside when AS called to her.
"Naku beta," AS called.
"Ji Aayi Sahib," Naku replied.
AS walked over to her until she was standing only a few feet away.
"Mujhe nahin paata ke tune aaisa kya kiya hai, lekin zindagi mein pehli baar…pehli baar…Dutta ko itna khul ke haasne dekha hai maine. Paata nahin tumhari shukriada kaise karungi," AS said.
"Nahin nahin, Aayi Sahib, yeh aap kya keh rahi hai. Maine aaisa kuch nahin kiya," Naku said.
"Kuch toh zaroor kiya hai, varna joh Dutta khabi muskurata bhi nahin hai, aaj saabke saamne dil khol ke haans raha hai. Bhagwan ne bohot hi sooch samaj ke hume yahaan leh aaya hai, tumse milna joh tha."
"Aayi Sahib…yeh aap…" Naku didn't know what to say but was feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Aayi Sahib gently places a hand on Naku's right cheek and smiled at her. "Tum toh humare liyeh farishta jaise baan gaye…humari pyaari si pari," she said before leaving.
Naku stood speechless. AS had been so loving and kind that she was reminded of her father. Tears well up in Naku's eyes as she remembered her father calling her his 'pari' countless times. As grateful as she was for AS's kind words, one thought seem unable to escape her.
Naku had been the one to make Dutta laugh – her, she'd done it. As she recalled how adorable Dutta looked laughing his heart out, she felt an odd sense of pride and satisfaction.
"Stop it Naku, kya kaar rahi hai?" she asked herself. "Tere liyeh sapna dekhna maana hai."
As Naku walked inside the house, she didn't realize she had a smile on her face as the image of Dutta flashed in front of her eyes.
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