Ch62
Dutta- haan to theek hai Farooq bhai. Aap jammu se aapke hastkala ka samaan train ke jaariye Mumbai tak pahucha dejiye aur wahan se eupore ke deshon mein usse export karma aur revenue lana Patil traders ka kaam hai..Bharatiya railways ko tender de dete hai..kyun baaji?
Dutta turned to look at baaji who was sitting beside him a distracted look on his face. Dutta tried to press down on the irritated feeling and tried to calm himself by repeating in his head that baaji his friend couldn't help his majnupanna. Dutta cleared his throat- baaji….Baaji startled and nodded at dutta- haan bhau….main kadam se baat karega school ke zameen ke liye. He saw the weird look on Farooq's face and said apologetically- wo main..Dutta looked at baaji sternly- baaji dhandhey pe dhyan nahi hai tera...tu ghar jaa…ye main sambhal lega. Baaji shook his head- nai bhau..main theek hai. aap kya bolrahe the. Dutta looked baaji in his eyes piercingly as baaji tried to escape his look. Sighing inside Dutta turned back to the deal.
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Nakkusha wiped Misaal's lips as he again threw out the dollop of smashed banana. She sighed and tried again as misaal pulled back to avoid the spoon. "Misaal..chup chaap kha lo nahi to aai daategi…muh kholo.." She felt a tickle on her spine as a pair of rough callused hands dragged her back to a lean body. She gasped as Dutta placed a kiss on her shoulder,"kya hua? Mere sher se pareshaan ho gayi …hmm?" She turned to face him with wide eyes and shook her head,"dekho na saab…kuch nahi kha raha..khali badmaashi…kya haal kiya hai..is jagah ka dekho."
Dutta looked at the various toys scattered around the baby table where little lisaal was strapped to the high chair. Most of his food had landed on the table, the building blocks and his favorite tiger soft toy. Dutta grinned as he spied a bit of banana paste on his left eye and hair too. She bent back with the spoon,"aaja…mera raja..dekho ab hum kha ke baba ke saath badi gaadi mein ghumne jayenge..chalo jaldi se kha loo.." Misaal evaded the spoon while batting it away making the scoop land on his denim dungaree. Nakkusha sighed in exhaustion as dutta bent down to look at his son who was excitedly slapping his hands on the table, an indication that he wanted to be picked up by his dad. He kicked his feet and called out,"abbaa bbbaa baa..hmm…bbba" Dutta laughed and loosened the belt to pick him up. He kissed the soft bald head and turned back to nakku,"ab aai humko jaldi se khilla do…hai na beta!" Nakkusha brought the spoon to his lips and misaal looked at his dad suspiciously. He decided to trust his baba and accepted the morsel making nakku sigh with relief. Dutta continued to carry around misaal pretending to flea from nakkusha who laughed and followed them around with the food. Misaal's squeal of gurgling laughter resounding throughout the Patil Niwas.
Babi looked at her daughter following her husband to feed her son with a glow on her face. Her eyes watered as she thought of the days nakkusha had seen before such immense happiness came knocking on her door. Aaisaheb came and looked at the tears in babi's eyes. "Hey kai babi?" Babi swiped her eyes and turned to AS,"wo kuch nahi aaisaheb? Beti ki khushi ko maa ki nazar na lag jaye. Kaise kaise din dekhe meri bacchi na..kuch bappa ne usk kismet mein likhe aur kuch maine khud aapne haath se likh diye...log boltey meri bachi ki kismet bahut acchi hai..aisa ghar aisa pati..aisa parivar..sabko bas yahi dikhta hai...pann iske picchey meri nakku ki tapasya nahi dikhti." AS nodded as she saw the trio fall back on the settee with nakkusha trying to wipe the baby's soiled face,"sach kaha babi. Khushi ka waqt sabki aankhon mein aata hai..pareshaani ka andhera nahi…in dono ne ek dusre ki zindagi ka andhera bhagaya hai…samaj nahi aata ki nakusha dutta ke liye wardaan thi..ya dutta nakusha ke liye…aai jagdambey mere baccho ko buri nazar se bachaye.." she suddenly looked sad and blinked tears from her eyes. Babi asked her softly,"ki zala aaisaheb? Tumhi rardta kasaala?(what is the matter? Whya re u crying?)" AS sniffed,"mere dusre bte ki zindagi mein abhi bhi dard hai baabi…baajirao ki haasi jaise shamika ke jaane se kho gayi hai…aur hum jaantey hai ki madhu humse kuch na kahe par wo bhi udaas hai…kaise zidd hai in logon ki…aapne ahenkar se aapna jeevan na jala de..aai jagdambey inhe sahi rasta dikhaye."
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Misaal slept peacefully on his father's bare chest as dutta dozed on his bed holding his son waiting for nakkusha to come into the room after finishing her kitchen cores. Nakkusha smiled at the scene as she paused on the threshold. She slowly went approached them and picked the baby from dutta's lax hand and patted him a little to soothe him. She could feel the warmth of his father's body on her son and shivered a bit in contentment. Dutta's life had taken an about turn since misaal's birth. He had left no leaf unturned to make his business legitimate so that he never had to worry about being behind bars. His contacts and keen brain had helped him excel in film production and construction business but now since the past month he had undertaken a bigger venture. A business to help Waqis and his people in Kashmir. Dutta had opened an industry to export exotic handcrafts from Kashmir to dubai, turkey and many such places. Bilal had left to go and oversee that business from Kashmir. Waqis had refused to leave dutta at any cost. He felt indebted to him for life and dutta too decided that waqis was more useful to him in Mumbai. Nakusha thanked Bappa everyday that Saab had not done something wrong that day in his anger. She had feared that he would kill kalawati and bring more bloodshed in the family. But he had been most resilient and made arrangements to keep kala under his thumb without her being able to do them any harm. Nakkusha didn't bear her any ill-will as her son was safe with her now. She didn't want to live in darkness when her days were awash with happiness. Yet nightmares plagued her saab, making him wake up at night to hold her and misaal in an embrace. She understood that the life he had led will live him scarred but she knew that one day she will be able to heal these scars too with her love.
She laid down Misaal on the cot and turned to the bed to lie down beside dutta. Dutta immediately tugged her towards him to make her lie on his chest. Placing a quick kiss on her forehead he whispered,"thakk gayi?" nakkusha shook her head. He smiled,"to sirf mere liye time hai tere paas?" Nakksuha shook her head again,"kal subha jaldi utna hai… aaisaheb ne bahut logon ko bulaya hai..agley haaftey ke janmashtmi ke puja ki tayyari abhi se shuru karni hai…ab aap bhi so jao. " Dutta sighed,"tere paas sabke liye samay hai..apne saab ke liye nahi." Nakusha smiled,"main saab ki mera sab kuch saab ka..to mera samay kya?" Dutta growled in her ears,"to ab saab apni nakku ka saath chahta hai.samjhi?"
Nakkusha her eyes to him and smiled as Dutta kissed her chin and cheeks. He turned to look at the cot and turned back towards nakkusha,"nakkusha main Kashmir jaa raha hoon kal kissi kaam se…ek haaftey mein laut aunga…baaji aur waqis yahi hongey tum log ke hifazat ke liye. Hmm?" Nakusha looked forlornly at him and nodded. Dutta smiled and kissed her lips and turned to remove the lost sad look on her face slowly.
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Harsh parked his car under the apartment parking lot board and slid out with teh file and takeaway Subway sandwich in his hand. He hated Subway and Subway honey mustard sauce. Yet every night he ended up stopping at their drive in take away and ordering paneer tikka footlong sub with extra honey mustard sauce. He gave the packet a disgusted look as he pressed the button to call the elevator. As he travelled the floors watching the numbers flick by he was lost in his recollections. She was a bad cook. Terrible! She was probably the only person he knew who could even burn the coffee. Yet one day he had came back from office to see her in his shirt and her denim with an apron sputtering about the kitchen.
"Ahem ahem! Ye sab kya ho raha hai?""You! how can you come home at this time?" she looked aghast. He looked at his Tissot watch and frowned at her,"Its 8Pm already and last I checked this is still my house." She turned away from him muttering under her breath. He walked in the kitchen and took a water bottle off the fridge sniffing the air,"what was that?" Madhu turned to him squarely,"I said that only a pigheaded man will ruin a surprise for him…Everyday you come at ungodly hour past midnight and today of all days you had to arrive early..you bif Oaf." Harsh suppressed his smile,"surprise hai ya shock…wo kya hai?" he pointed at the sink where a charcoal black wok was visible. Madhu cleared her throat trying to look nonchalant,"dal thi..jal gayi….but only because you didn't have any jeera at home." Harsh nodded at the rack above her head. She turned towards it suspiciously as he drew out a box of Cummins seed. She smiled at him,"baby why don't you go taek a long luxurious bubble bath and I will get the dinner out..i made all the best stuffs.." Harsh ignored the bubble-bath part and walked towards his bedroom,"what best stuff exactly?" Madhu smiled triumphantly,"dal-khichdi aur pappad! Awesome na! U like?" He didn't actually but he smiled happily. Fifteen minutes later he was looking at the catastrophe madhu called dal-khichadi. It was not even fit to feed a dog. Madhu gave up in 2 minutes and looked brokenly at him,"sorry!" He grinned,"its ok. Madhu! Mujhe pata hai..you can't cook to save your skin..par ye sab ki kya jarurat thi?" Madhu smiled,"I felt like it." Harsh shook his head as she hopped off to order home delivery,"hello Subway! Yupp…two footlong subs…Spicy paneer tikka on wheet bread with all trapping and extra honey mustard sauce…extra..i mean extraaa.." She turned to him,"I love subs..you love too na!" Harsh smiled softly at her sparkling eyes,"Yupp..honey! I love too!"
"Saab…aapka floor!" Harsh blinked to clear his head and saw the lift keeper looking at him weirdly. He walked out of the elevator and tried to fish out his keys when his hands stilled as his eyes met the dark eyes he had never thought to see again. "You?"
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Nakusha looked at aaisaheb as she finished the katha. Aaisaheb quietly swiped tears from her eyes and bowed to the God. Nakusha placed a hand on her shoulder,"Aaisaheb, main jaanti hai aapko baaji aur madhu ki chinta hai na...pann aap fikar mat karo..baapa hai naa! wo kissi ke saath bura nahi karenge...sab theek ho jayega."
AS shook her head,"nahi nakku...baappa pe shaq nahi hai humein..hum to bas ye soch rahe hai..ki kab humein humara parivaar pura aur khushaal dikhega. aphele bas Dutta ki chintaa thi...ab uski chinta tujhe saup ke hum nischint hai..par jab tak humare saare bacchey muskatey huye nazar naa aaye to hum kaise muskura saktey hai..aai hai hum!" Nakkusha looked at the idol and lit the small thaali with earthen lamps one by one,"aaisaheb! Bappa sabki suntan hai..unke liye bhi aai ke jaise uske sab bacchey ek se hain….main bappa se prathna karegi ki Bappa baaji aur madhu ki aur pariksha na le." Aaisaheb asked her in urgent tones,"nakku, tune shammika se baat ki hai na? wo teri sabse acchi dost hai na? tu usse samjha shayad agar wo koshish kare to…hum khud jaake harsh se uska haath maangey….bhale hi humein delhi jana pardey."
Nakkusha shook her head,"aaisaheb maine shammi ko bahut samjhane ki koshish ki hai..wo nahi maan rahi..usne to aapne bhai se bhi naata tordh liya hai..wo nahi gayi harsh ke saath delhi…wo to pune ke anath ashram ke bacchon ko pardhane gayi hai..wahi reh rahi hai. humare kuch kehne se nahi maanegi tab tak nahi jab tak harsh aur aur baaji khud ek saath ye maan na le."
Aaisaheb shook her head in dejection,"hey deva tumhi kahi inward kara!(God please show us a way.)"
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Baaji was looking at the plant they were planning in Pune and talking on phone,"abbey teri maa ki…Main baajirao bol raha hai. kya matlab ke wo nahi dega. Dena padega. Mereko wo zameen tabardtob chahiye samjha na. Haan to? Bhau ne dhanda bandh kiya hai pann bhau ke tashan kum nahi hua..samjha na..sher shikar karna chod de to uske panje mein jung nahi lagta..wo phir bhi sher hota hai..samjha de apne pantar ko..pyar se smajha raha hoon warna...abhi bhi main Baajirao Patil bol raha hoon." He slammed the phone down and made a note on the white side of the file as a knock sounded on the door. He looked up startled to see roops standing there. Baaji frowned at her,"arey roops tu? Aa naa..aaise paheredaar mafik kyun khadi hai."
Roops entered and stood by him with an uncertain look on her face. In the past few months she had thought back on all her actions not because the family pointed at her, but because they didn't every one accepted her with equanimity and unbiased manner. Kindness is hardest to accept when you can't be kind to yourself. It had taken a lot of courage for her to approach baaji today. Roops spoke without meeting his eyes,"Baaji. Main..main tujhse maafi maangna chahti hoon…kala tai ka saath detey detey maine bhau,vahini aur tere saath bhi bahut galat kiya…main is kabil tonahi hoon par phir bhi agar tere dil mein jagah ho..to mujhe maaf kar de..please." Baaji shook his head,"aye vedi..pagal hai tu to bilkul…maafi kya maagne ka…bhau..vahini kissi ne kuch kaha kya tereko?" rooops hsook her head,"wahi to baat hai..koi kuch nahi kehta baaji..kyun…kalatai ke saath maine aur leela tai ne bhi galat kiya hai…kala tai ko bhau ne saaza di..leela tai ko bhagwaan ne..mujhe kissi ne kyu saaza nahi di..aur baaji agar kissi ko haq hai saaza dene ka to wo tu hai..kyunki..kyunki..tu hi hai jisske saath maine sabse galat kiya hai…tu nahi jaanta maine tere bare mein kya socha tha." Baaji nodded,"main jaanta hai re. mereko sab bahut pahele pata tha..maine sunna tha us din tum teeno baat kar rahe the." Roops looked up startled as he nodded again. She bit her lips and shook her head,"I am sorry, baaji.par tune bhau ko kyun nahi bataya tab." Baaji smiled,"nai re..sorry worry nahi bolne ka…aur bhau ko kya bolta..bhau ko itne dinno baad to nakku milli thi..khushi milli thi…usko bahut dukh hota re!" Roops- aur tujhe baaji? Tujhe bhi dukh hua hoga na?
Baaji stood up and walked to the window- mera kya hai. bura to laga pann phir socha jot u boli wo galat to nahi boli. Main to sach much bhau ke karan hi yahan hoon. Aur phir kuch aisa hua ki tere se naraz hone ki jagah mereko tereko thank you bolne ka hai. Roops stood beside him- kya? Baaji- us tere karan mujhe mere akkhi zindagi ki sabse badi khushi milli re…mereko shammi milli. He thought back to that night as a smiled played on his lips. Roops saw the lost look on his face and places a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She leaves but baaji looks at the setting sun thinking of his time with shammi. Her drunk babbling and excitement at riding his bike. Her smile as she encouraged the kids, shammi dancing in moonlight in the park among the fountains on new year's eve in a saree.
(song-jeeyein kyun film-dum maaro dum )
Na aaye ho, na aaoge,Na phone pe, bulaoge
Na shaam ki, karaari chai,Labhon se yun, pilaoge
Na aaye ho, na aaoge,Na din dhale, sathaoge
Na raat ki, nashili bye,Sey neend mein jagaoge
Gaye tum gaye ho kyun,Yeh raat baaki hain
Gaye tum gaye ho kyun,Saath baaki hain..
Gaye tum gaye hum tham gaye har baat baaki hain
Gaye kyun..Toh Jiyein kyun..
Madhu kicked the hitbag hard and evaded it as her mind was filled with the way she had parted with harsh.
"I just got back a family Harsh…I can't leave them now." "And you will leave me?""Main to yahi hoon..chodke to tum jaa rahe ho."
Shamika walked across the Sangam bridge as the loud cheer of kids reached her ears. The COEP students were playing cricket. Shammi recalled how baaji loved cricket. He had an adorable pout she thought fondly. As she thought of the time when she had hid the remote in between a cricket match so he had to watch the romantic movie she loved. "Shammi, dekh mera dimaag mat phera…apna Tendya Century maarne walla hai re!""Tum uski century dekhne yahan aaye ho ya mere sath time spend karne?""dono…century ki century…aur romance ka romance.."
Na aaye ho, na aaoge, na dooriyaan dhikhaoge
Na thaam ke woh josh mein yun hosh se udaoge
Na aaye ho, na aaoge, na jhoot se sunaoge
Na rooth ke sihane mein, remote ko chupaoge
Gaye tum gaye ho kyun, yeh raat baaki hai
Gaye tum gaye ho kyun, saath baaki hai
Gaye tum gaye hum tham gaye har baat baaki hai
Gaye kyun toh jiyein kyun
Harsh was still reeling from the unexpected visit yesterday night. Sitting in the police station he tried hard to concentrate on his work but thoughts kept crashing one into the other. He looked at his reflection and wondered if he really was wrong. Was making the person you love happy that difficult? He went with his troubled thoughts to raid a illegal alcohol making shop and slammed the miscreants with his furry.
Aankh bhi tham gayi, na thaki,Raat bhi na bhati, na kati
He chased the fleeing louts and dragged them in the tank of dirty water used to make cheap alcohol. As the water sloshed around him drenching him,he hit them hard till they lost consciousness and went on venting his anger.
Madhu sank down to the tub as water closed over her, her eyes shut and all world was locked out
Raat bhi cherti marrti,Neendh bhi lutt gayi, chiin gayi
Raat bhi na sahi, na rahi,Raat bhi laazmi, zaalmi
Baaji drank deeply from the bottle as the waves crashed on the boulder where he had met shammi that night. He started walking towards the sea as high waves reached to the shore to welcome him. He walked into the furious sea deeper and deeper.
Shammika walked through the busy pune traffic with her arms wrapped around her as Pune rains came crashing down on her. People ran through the streets to get shelter while she kept walking in the torrents, her tears mixing with the fresh water pouring from heavans.
.
Gaye tum gaye ho kyun, yeh raat baaki hai
Gaye tum gaye ho kyun, saath baaki hai
Gaye tum gaye hum tham gaye har baat baaki hai
Gaye kyun toh jiyein kyun
Gaye kyun toh jiyein kyun
Harsh sat down on his knees looking up at the sky as water dripped from his forehead. Madhu came up with a gasping breath . Baaji walked back to the shores with his clothes sticking with salt and sand on his body. Shammi swiped at her face and blinked at the rain as she hailed an autorickshaw.
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Baaji hauled the little baby on his shoulder and danced around as Misaal squealed his happiness. Sethji shouted,"Baaji bhau ab meri baari..mereko do na…main godh mein lega." Baaji laughed,"abbey jaa..tu khud deer foot ka..tere se nahi hoga..lag jayegi chottey ko." Anay followed him from other side,"nai baaji mama..hum sambhal lenge..do naa..misaal ko." Baaji bounced Misaal up in air and caught him back,"nahi. Abhi misaal baba apne baaji chachu ke paas rehne ka hai naa…bol mere sher!"
Nakusha smiled at their antics as she arranged the lunch on the table. Leelawati and roops brought the items for her to arrange. "Vahini! Bhau kab aayenge?" Nakusha smiled at them,"aaj raat ko bola tha."
Leela teased her gently,"chalo..aapki judai to aaj khatam..bolo to aaj raat bhar ke liye aapke misaal ko hum sambhal le..wo kya hai..bhau ko aapse bahut saari baatein karni hogi naa?"
Nakusha turned pink and shook her head. Roops gasped,"to vahini bacchey ke samne hi?" Nakusha's eyes widened as she shook her head again and escaped to kitchen as their teasing laughter followed her.
When she came out holding the chapattis she stopped at the scene. Dutta stood in the living room as AS sahib looked at the guest with surprise. Harsh stood with his head low in front of Aaisaheb holding shammi's hand in his,"Aaisaheb! Agar bura na maaney to main aapse ….main aapse kuch request karma chahta hoon…main meri behen ki shaadi aapke yahan aapke bte Baajirao patil se karne ki anumati maangne aaya hoon."
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Harsh stood in the garden of the patilwadi still thinking of the step he had taken. Inside Aaisaheb was ecstatically calling the Pandit and people to arrange for the wedding. She cried with happiness at harsh's words and held shammi's hands in hers placing it in baaji's. She had then turned to Harsh and kissed his forehead thanking him. Harsh had then explained in halting voice that Dutta had come to his apartment that night and had requested him to think about his sibling's happiness as he was thinking of his. Dutta had said that he would get baaji and shammi married with or without his consent. But he would be grateful if harsh did give them the consent as it will make shammi happy. Dutta had also told him that since he was going to Kashmir harsh had time to think over it till the end of the week when he will come again for the answer.
Harsh had told them all without any hesitation that when he had talked to shammi and seen how unhappy she was he had decided to give baaji a chance. But he warned baaji to not retort back to being a bhau as then he will not be spared. Though baaji had made fun of harsh's warning on his face, no one was left with any doubt that Harsh acceptance and baaji's acceptance of his acceptance had both been grudging.
Madhu approached him slowly and placed a hand around his torso. Harsh stiffened a bit,"I' sorry..i hurt you..again." Madhu smiled and kissed his back,"I am just glad ki tumne bhaiyya ki baat maan li."
Harsh smiled as he turned a bit,"It was a bit selfish decision..They say..kuch pane ke liye kuch khona pardta hai. here I am gaining a lot more."
Madhu smiled up to him as tears streaked her face,"I always wondered why I couldn't have it all…Thank you….thank you." She mouthed as harsh kissed her lips.
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Dutta approached nakkusha quietly looking at the happy faces of his family. Baaji and shammi were sharing coveted glances and aaisaheb was gushing with happiness. Dutta whispered softly, "Khush hai?"
Nakkusha stiffened and turned to met his eyes,"Haan bahut."
Dutta- mere liye aaj kuch karegi?
Nakusha looked at him with question in her eyes. Dutta leaned down and whispered in her ears and moved away, leaving her flustered and blushing with heated cheeks. Dutta scooped up his son and looked at his mother with a deep desire in his eyes. Nakusha felt herself burn under the gaze and looked at him wide eyed.
……………….To be continued.
Edited by shilpita87 - 14 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
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