Part VII
Sanjay and Nirmal's Residence
Jalandhar
Sometime in the evening …
Kranti woke up to see that the afternoon has given way to a bloodshot evening; Rajbir was still not around. She was surprised since she had expected him to be back. Her heart thudded with unknown anticipation; she knew that Rajbir was not an irresponsible person. An unknown fear gripped her.
Physically, she was much better than before, thanks to her sister and brother-in-law, and of course her own husband; and she wished that she could step out of the bed. She was bored beyond belief.
'Husband!' the word rolled in her tongue smoothly as she tried to gather its implicative response. She thought about the days when she treated him with utmost disdain and invited his scorn in rejoinder. The days that would start with their inimitable bickering and end in fiery outbursts. She had never expected things to change between them; they never saw it coming. They were constantly outsmarting each other to get even, completely unknown to the fact that faith had other plans.
She could sense Nirmal moving around in the next room and knew that her sister was upset with her for not eating properly. Kranti could not bear this silence from her sister's end and called out for her.
'Nirmal Didi …' Kranti called out.
A few hesitant seconds later, Nirmal stepped inside the room.
'What's it Kranti? Are you ok?'
'I am fine Didi, I just want to get down from this damn bed' Kranti answered back.
Nirmal walked to her sister's side and wiped the slight sheen of sweat from her forehead. Though she was upset with Kranti, yet she was worried about her too. She knew very well how Kranti hated to be indisposed and that too for such a long period. Kranti never told her anything, yet Nirmal knew that her sister was worried about Rajbir, though she hardly mentioned anything. But Nirmal also knew that her sister was a much stronger character than anybody would vouch for. Kranti was not someone who would take things lying down.
'Why not?' Nirmal said jovially. 'After all the Doctor did say that you should start walking by now.'
She carefully eased Kranti out of the bed and wrapped her arms protectively around her sister's shoulder.
Kranti felt exhausted after taking a few steps, but she knew that she could not continue lying on the bed any longer. She needed to take control of things; of her own life. And she needed to speak to Rajbir desperately. But where was he?
………….
Lt. Governor's Office
Around 4.30 p.m.
Amritsar
'Welcome Mr. Lal' wished the Lt. Governor as Rajbir entered the Lt. Governor's office.
'Hello Sir' Rajbir greeted back genially, as the Lt. Governor signaled him to take a chair.
'Well young man' the Lt. Governor continued 'I am mighty you came here today. I wish to discuss with you about a case regarding the local terrorists.'
Rajbir's blood began to boil and he shifted in his chair. The Lt. Governor's eyes did not miss the action and he smiled inwardly.
'The game is about to begin' he thought, as he sifted a file from the pile kept on his desk. He threw the file casually in front of Rajbir.
Rajbir's eyes did not miss the fleeting glint of satisfaction on the man's face sitting in front of him and was instantly on guard. He couldn't afford to be careless now. A lot was at stake.
He picked up the file and looked at it weightily.
'What is it about, Sir?' he asked.
The Lt. Governor leaned back on his chair and rolled his gold tipped pen in his fingers, measuring Raj in the process.
He drawled 'Of course about the Krantikaris, Mr. Lal.'
His eyes remained trained on Rajbir's face; he was a bit disappointed at the impassive face in front of him.
'Ok' Rajbir said, as he opened the file. It seemed to contain details about those extremist freedom fighters staying in Amritsar and around, who have been declared as 'wanted' by the British Government.
The Lt. Governor sat straight and looked into Rajbir's eyes. Leaning forward, he said,
'Mr. Lal, you are a good lawyer and you have won many cases for us. The British Government is now planning to start a case in the High Court against these Krantikaris – I would love to see all of them on the gallows!'
'But Sir, all these people are on the run' Raj said casually, while flipping the pages. His heart was hammering inside but he knew he had to remain cool and composed outside.
Getting up from his chair, the Lt. Governor started pacing. He thought for a while and then said
'I know that's the problem. But I have asked for more forces to hunt them down. I want to see them hang from the gallows and die a dog's death. Each one of them.' is eyes flashed angrily.
Rajbir returned his gaze back to the file and kept on turning the pages one by one. His heart skipped a beat when he reached a certain page – he couldn't believe that he was staring down at his wife's face!
'This couldn't be happening' he thought, his mind in a jumble. 'I need to do something. First of all, the Lt. Governor must not know that I am affected in any way.'
His fingers turned the page with great difficulty, but the Lt. Governor's keen eyes had seen what they needed to see.
The meeting lasted for another hour or so. Rajbir diligently went through the rest of the file as the Lt. Governor discussed various issues with him.
As Rajbir was about to step out of the room, the lt. Governor asked
'Mr. Lal, will you be returning home or going to Jalandhar?'
Rajbir felt that a dagger was twisting his inside; he turned around to face the Lt. Governor. He was locking the file inside the drawer.
Seeing Raj standing near the door, the lt. Governor continued,
'Well that day one of my Generals told me that he saw you in Jalandhar? I was surprised that you hadn't informed me that you were going there.'
Raj inhaled deeply,
'Well Sir, my paternal aunt stays at Jalandhar and she is ill. Her only son has passed away so I go there sometimes to check on her.'
'Ok ok' the Lt. Governor shrugged. 'I will meet you in two days at the Court. We have a hearing on the State vs. Khubchand case, if you remember.'
'Of course I do remember Sir' Rajbir said. 'I will be there sharp at 12 noon.'
With that, he took leave off the Lt. Governor and headed towards home.
………….
Sanjay and Nirmal's Residence
Jalandhar
Around 9.30 p.m.
Sanjay and Nirmal were sitting outside in the verandah. The moon was shining brightly. They were talking in hushed tones and Kranti knew that it was about her. She hated being a burden on anybody and wished for a speedy recovery.
She was sitting inside, on the sofa, tucked carefully in a blanket. She was feeling sleepy. It was after a long time that she had exerted herself today and walked inside the house, with her sister's help, she felt like she had climbed a thousand mountains. So when Nirmal had forced her to eat, she hadn't resisted at all, though it had been a slow process. After dinner, Nirmal wanted her to go to sleep but Kranti insisted on staying awake for some more time; she was tired of lying down on the bed. She had wanted to sit outside, but both Sanjay and Nirmal had resisted saying that she shouldn't hurry and stress herself more and that she was just recuperating. So while Sanjay and Nirmal sat outside, enjoying the nocturnal beauty of the surroundings and talking in whispers, Kranti sat inside alone, her thoughts in turmoil. Had Rajbir left her alone once again? The tick-tock of the wall clock kept her company.
Seconds turned into minutes and unaware of herself, Kranti dozed away. It was only when she heard the honking of a horn, did she awake. She could hear a different voice, albeit a muted one, speaking to Nirmal and Sanjay. Sensing that it was a different person, and feeling groggy under the influence of the medicines, which she still had to take, Kranti decided to go inside her room and lay down. She stood up waveringly and took a few steps towards the room. Suddenly remembering the blanket, she turned around and extended her arm to pick it up. A shot of pain ran through her as she picked up the comforter clumsily, only to drop it back on the ground. Tears threatened to spill over at her own helplessness. She resolved that she would not give up so easily and tried to bend down slowly to retrieve the blanket.
Blanket in hand, she swung around when she heard a voice just behind her
'Aren't you supposed to be resting? What are you doing here? Couldn't you call anyone for help? '
Kranti's eyes remained fixed on her husband's eyes for a minute as she took in the cold anger in them. She could sense Sanjay and Nirmal coming inside the room too; but at that very moment, the world decided to swim out of her vision. Blindly, her hand groped for support while she felt herself sliding towards the floor.
Rajbir caught her instinctively and brought her closer. Her eyes were closed and there were beads of perspiration on her forehead and upper lips. He carefully swung her up on his arms and started walking towards the room. He suddenly felt something entangling his feet and noticed that a corner of the blanket was still in Kranti's hand, which was dragging as he walked.
His frame shook in mirth as he realized that his wife had not let go off the blanket even when she had swooned; no one could win against her. Even in her illness, she was as persistent as one could be.
…………..
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