As my Auto rickshaw stopped at the Jahangir crossing, last night, on the way to Hidden Place in Koregaon Park, a grimy hand nudged my knee as I was on the call with my friend. A dirty, dark face stared at me with pitiful look. She must be around 18-20 yrs of age, maybe younger. Her eyes were alert in spite of the sad expression. What made me pause in middle of my retort to my friend's comment for me being late to our party, was what I saw near her feet.. A thin scrawny face stared up with extended hand from the ground, eyes red, face covered in a jungle of bushy dirty beard and hair. He sat on thick cardboard that the girl was dragging with a rope tied to it. I asked while extending a five rupee coin to her,"tujha naura?(Your husband?)" she nodded and dragged him to the next vehicle. She banged his leg in haste to a car's tyre making him roar at her in obscene Marathi. She answered back to him with equal measure of vinegar in her tongue. 'No love lost between the pair' I thought as the auto took off and I got engrossed in my call.
When I came back at midnight, as I got off my friend's bike and stood talking to him I saw the couple again, sitting on the footpath opposite my apartment building. She was complaining loudly that he had again eaten more than his share of the food and gulped her booze, too. He slapped her and she kicked him. We enjoyed the spectacle and talked about other things shaking her head. Time flies when you are with friends on a Saturday night. He looked at the watch it was almost 1AM. He bid me goodbye. I smiled at the secretary of housing society who was frowning at me. Akeli ladki itne raat ko ladke ke saat baat karti hai,Huh! I could hear his thoughts like the song on my iPod. I shook my head and started climbing the stairs to my 5th floor apartment. At the landing I could see the couple on the footpath. The man was drawing a blanket over the girl, scolding her for not covering up properly in the cold.
OS:Bas Ek Zara Saath Ho Tera
Dutta smiled as he sensed her approach.She sat beside him, leaning on his side. He grinned broadly looking straight ahead. Nakkusha asked him curiously,"kya hua saab? Aap has kyu rahe ho?" Dutta- aapni hoshiyar patni pe muskura raha hoon. Ek baarmein hi sheek gai. Jungle mein raat ko aag ka ghera daalna, Khanna laana. Nakkusha blushed more than the heat of the fire around them, his words of praise warmed her-aap se hi sheeka hai..wo pichle baar. Dutta looked away, his smile vanishing-pichchli baar! Pichli baar itna majboor aur lachar kahan tha main,Nakku? Aaj main is layak nahi hoon ki aapni biwi ke liye khana juta sakun.Wahan tu jungle mein akeli khana talash rahi thi yahan main baita ta aag keg here mein surakshit.Nakkusha picked up the guava she had gathered from the tree not far away and curved his hand around it. She took it to his mouth,"Kha lo,Saab.Aap aisa kyun soch rahe ho? Tab aapne mere liye sab kiya.Kyu? Kyunki main aapki patni thi. To aaj kya main aapke liye, mere pati ke liye nahi kar sakti?" Dutta-Tu nahi khayegi? Nakkusha- Aap kha lo..Main..Dutta interrupted her- Mere khaneke baad khayegi. Hai na? He pushed the guava towards her. She held his hand and looked at him surprised,"Saab?" Dutta smiled looking down at her general direction. The bright luminous light around them enabled him to see the blurred outline of her. Dutta- Tu har baar mere khane ka intezaar kar sakti hai. To aaj main tujhe pahele nahi khilla sakta? Nakkusha's eyes brimmed with tears as she leaned forward and bit the fruit. She then pushed it towards him and took a bite at the same spot where she had bit. Dutta-hmm..patni ka jhoota to bahut meeta hai.Kya pati ka jhoota bhi aisa hota hai? Nakkusha giggled making him smile at the pleasant sound. He felt a sticky thing on his cheeks, as he touched it his other cheek too was smeared with the juice as her giggled escalated. Dutta- ruk, mujh par tamatar lagati hai. he groped for the fruit on the ground and held her fast taking his revenge. They fought and played like that. Fed each other the wild berries and fruits.
She took his arm and placed it snuggly around her shoulder making herself comfortable on his broad chest. She felt safe and warm in his arms. Even in middle of jungle she felt at home. Without him even at Patil Niwas, surrounded by so many people, she had felt so homeless, adrift, lost. She felt free to touch him, hold him to herself for the first time. She felt she owned him, too. Like he had always owned her. Her eyes filled with unshed tears as she recalled the mocking voice of that woman. "tera saab sach mein andha ho gaya hai..jab uski ankhein hi nahi rahi to kya faida teri khubsurati ka?" She closed her eyes tightly trying to hold back the hot rivulet of water in her eyes,"Saab, aapki nazar se hi mera roop hai. nahi to ye upshagun hai. hamesha jiske samne khula ek mussibat hi bana. Appki nazar nahi to sach mein iska kya faida?" Dutta leaned on her head- kya soch rahi hai? Aaj jo hua uske bare mein? Nakku nodded, her movement on his chest letting him know her answer. Dutta-Mat soch. Ab kuch aisa mat soch jo tujhe dard de. Wo sab kuch mujh par chod de. Tu bas humare aanewaale kal ke bare mein soch. Tere pyar ne mujhe har dard se lardne ki takat di hai, Nakku.Ab main duniya se lardega aur tu bas meri duniya banegi. Tune kahana kit u mere zakhm par apne hooth rakh degi, mera dard pi legi. He cupped her face lifting it towards his- Main tere taraf bardne waale har dard ke aagey deewar bann kar khada rahgunga.
Nakkusha looked at the blaze in his eyes reflected by the bonfire. She felt confident and strong by his words. She bravely placed kiss on his throat putting her arms around him she hugged him. Nakkusha- mereko viswaas nahi hota, saab. Sapna lagta hai. lagta hai main abhi uth jayegi aur aapne aap ko akela payegi. Lagta hai ki shayad aap mere ko aapna liye, ye bhi sapna hai. Dutta-Sapna? He smiled and looked up unseeingly at the stars. His eyes showed his huge blurred white dot on the sky, the moon he thought. He remembered another full moon night and the beautiful girl who donned the mask of ugliness standing at the window gazing at it from his room. He could feel the tranquility she was feeling then. He had felt a pang to go to her then, too. It had scared him how much he had wanted that. He had been confused by his need to keep her close to him even when all the reasons for holding her prisoner were proved hollow. He had fought a thousand wars that night with himself. Making him let her go the next morning had been the toughest thing he had done. Why had he not recognized then what she meant for him? How much he loved her? Why had he needed so many disasters to accept to himself that she was his destiny, his life and love? Everything began and ended on her. Why he always realized her importance in his life after losing her? Nakkusha, The unwanted, unnecessary. She had become the very needed breath of his life. The necessary beat of his heart to live. He tightened his arms around her.
Dutta- Jaanti hai,nakku! Aaj humari mohabat ki paheli raat hai. Is se pahele humara pyar kabhi ek dusre ke saath nahi tha. Nakkusha- Main nahi samjhi, Saab. Dutta- Hume ek dusre se pyaar to shayad bahut pahele ho gaya tha. Par uska ehsaas mujhe bahut der baad hua. Pahele jab tera pyaar tha to uske saath tha mera shaq,meri nafrat. Phit jab mera pyar tera sath maangne laga to use milla tere raaz khullne ka darr, teri hichkichahat. Aur jab wo raaz khulla, phir tere pyaar ko meri gaali aur gussa hi milla.Kabhi humare pyaar ko sirf ek dusre ke pyar ka sath nahi milla.
Nakkusha-Pann, ab aisa nahi hai, Saab. Aaj humare beech mein na koi shaq hai, na koi raaz. Main aapse bahut pyar karti hai.Har roop mein,Rang mein sirf aapki hai. Aur main jaanti hai, aap mereko kitna chahtey ho. Har roop mein har rang mein mere se sachcha pyar kartey ho. Main sundar hai, is liye aap mere se pyar nahi kartey, mere khubsurat hone ke bawjood bhi aap merese pyar kartey ho. Aap nab hi bolo to bhi main jaanti hai. Dutta- Par main bolna chahta hoon,Nakkusha. Ki main tere se kitna pyar karta hoon? Sari umr kahunga, karunga.Tune humari paheli raat ko apne zindagi ki kitaab mujhe pardhani chahi thi. Maine muh pher liya tha. Aaj main teri zindagi ka har shabd khud pardhna chahta hoon, Nakku. Is liye nahi ki isse mujhe ya mere pyar ko koi pharak padega, balki isliyhce ki main tujhe jaanana chahta hoon, tujhe aur jyada mohabat karna chahta hoon. Kya hai us ladki ka sach jo dartey, kapkappatey huye mujhe lipat gayi thi us raat ko. Mujhese madat maangi thi us policewaale se bachchane ke liye. Phir meri hi zindagi bachayi thi. Aur dheere dheere meri zindagi ban gayi.
Nakkusha-Main batayegi, Saab. Sab kuch batayegi. And the words tumbled out of her lips easily. Everything came unbidden. He heard her quietly, giving her strength with his calmness. They spent the night in each others' arms, sharing their lives. The words got over soon and the soft caresses stayed. The breeze slowly burnt out the fire around them as it lulled them to sleep. They slept peacefully in each other's arms for the first time in many days while the stars kept watch on them.
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Dutta-Tujhe pata bhi hai, hum kis taraf jaa rahe hai? Nakkusha shook her head-nahi, par kahi to pahuchenge na. Saab. Dutta- Pahuchenge, aur ghane jungle mein. Rastey mein koi nishaan yaad rakhne ki koshish kar,koi perd, koi patthar. Samjhi. Nakkusha looked around her surroundings. They have been walking since morning and now sun was quite high up in the sky. But she couldn't make out the end of the jungle. It felt deeper and denser with each step. She didn't want him to worry but she was panicking inside. Dutta-Kya hua? Kuch to jaroor hoga khayal rakhne jaisa. Koi perd ki shaak ya kuch? Nakkusha-Yaad hai na. main bikul khayal rakh rahi hai. Wow ala bargad ka perd to main thodey der pahele hi dekhi thi yahan se murdne se pahele.
"KYA?"
He dragged her to standstill and glared at her general direction. He looked angry enough to break something,"Kya bola tune? Tune wo perd yahan se murdne se pahele bhi dekha tha?" She bit her lips and nodded. He could just make out the bob of her pretty blurred head. He growled,"Yani, hum itni der se ek hi jagah mein gol-gol gumrahe hai? Hum kho gaye hai?" Nakkusha nodded again- Pann, saab. Main sochi ki hum yahan se har rasta dekh lenge to yahan se bahar ka rasta bhi mill jayega. Agar saare galat raastey pata hongey to phir ek sahi rasta bhi millega, hai na. Dutta swallowed his anger at her senseless logic. Dutta said softly-Dekh nakku, tera tareka hai to sahi. Par humare paas time kum hai. Tu mujhe ye bata ki ab tak humne kaunse galat raastey dund liye hai. yahan se sahi raata main batata hoon. Nakku took his arm and pointed to the three roads she had tried so far. Dutta-Mujhe bargad ke taraf le chal. She guided him to the tree. Dutta moved his hands on the surface and stood against it pointing at each of the wrong routes at a time. He closed his eyes trying to gather his thoughts and directions. He made note of all the sounds he could hear. The crow on the tree and the other birds. He snapped open his eyes. Dutta-aas paas koi nokilla pathar hai. She looked around and spotted a sharp stone nearby. She brought it to him. He felt it's edge and started scratching on the bark of the tree. He made a rough map of the roads they had taken putting a cross over the routes they had already taken and the ones which were unexplored marked with arrowhead in that direction of the route.
He touched one of the roads he had marked on his map with arrowhead and closing his eyes again pointed at that direction of the arrowhead-Yahan se chal. Nakkusha took his hand and lead him wordlessly towards the pointed direction. After about 20 steps he asked her about the surroundings again. She described it to him. Dutta-Hmm. Us aam ke perd ki taraf le chal. He made another of his illegible maps on the bark. They moved like that for an hour. Dutta could hear the change in the jungle. The birds sounds were still audible but now there was sound of monkeys on the trees. He knew she had not noticed yet. Dutta-Perd pet era bhai baitha hai. Nakkusha turned startled-kya? She looked up-Saab, perd pe to Bandar hai. Dutta grinned- Ab tera bhai sethji Bandar se kum thodi hai. Nakkusha gasped and grabbed his arm tightly and stomped ahead.
After going a few steps She felt him stiffen a little. He tightened his fingers on her hand and drew her closer. Nakkusha looked at him questioningly-Kya baat hai,saab? Bhuk lagi hai?
Dutta-nahi, kuch nahi? Yahan bandaro ka size bar gaya hai. Dheere dheere agey chaltey reh. Idhar udhar jayda mat dekh. Nakkusha could see the seriousness on his face. She kept walking as he had said. She asked him quietly- Kya hua hai? aap boltey kyu nahi?
Dutta- pichle kareeb 10minute se kuch log humara pichcha kar rahe hai.Aur ab humare ekdum paas aa gaye hai. Nakusha quickly looked around scared but saw no one-Yahan to koi nahi dekh raha hai. kaun hai wo log Sudarshan phir se? Dutta shook his head- nahi,sudarshan ya chaskar nahi. Koi aur hai.
Nakkusha looked at him with surprise –aap..aapko kaise pata,saab?
Dutta-Naku, maine pichle kuch dinno mein seekha hai. Aankhen dhoka deti hai par kaan nahi. Main wo nahi dekh sakta jot u dekh rahi hai. Par tu wo nahi sunn sakti jo main sunraha hoon.Perdo pe paato ki sarsarahat, panchiyon ka achchnak se ek saath kollahal, pedho pe bandaro ki achchanak harkat aur chillahat. Hum jungle mein akele nahi hai.
He pushed her slightly to move forward. Nakku-Kaun hai? Dutta-pata nahi? Nakku-dushman hai? Dutta- shayad?
Nakku-ab? Dutta grabbed her and pulled her down to a side of the tree-Jhuk!
The next moment the air wheezed near her ears as the tree near which she was standing a second ago was pierced with a sharp arrow. He dragged her further into foliage as many arrows, one after the other struck on the ground they were hunched on before.
Nakkusha screeched as Dutta pulled her up and dragged her blindly, literally in the forest. But a spear fell near his feet from up. He swore softly-Kaha than a tujhe? Yahan pedo pe bandaro ka size kaafi bara hai. She looked up at the tree and saw the animal her saab called a monkey. They looked down from the branches pointing sharp spear and arrows at them. She moved closer to him as he pushed her behind him staring in their general direction, his stance which a moment ago had been of 'flight' turned to resolute pose of 'fight'.
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