CHAPTER 22
Maan finally shut down his Mac and stopped pretending to work.
He had not accomplished a single thing of significance during the day and decided he might as well go home. He rose from his seat and started walking down the silent hallway. His footsteps rang loudly in the silence and he focused on the sound, refusing to let his mind dwell on the dilemma that was Geet Handa. Just as he turned around the corner of his office, he saw that somebody was still at his desk in the design room. It was Brij Handa.
Maan's first instinct was to rush in and demand straight forward answers from him. Maan Singh Khurana was neither known for his diplomacy nor his subtlety, but he knew that this situation would have to be handled extremely carefully, if he was going to draw out any information from Brij.
"Brij, still here?" He called out.
Brij looked up with startled eyes.
"Oh Maan sir aap? I was just looking up the rules and regulations regarding property sales for the Konkan area."
"Why are you doing that? The legal team will take care of it."
The whole demeanor of his ever calm and efficient chief architect changed in a second. His jaw clenched, a pulse started ticking at his temple and his eyes took on a stormy look.
"Let's just say sir, that I don't trust the people from that area very much.
Bohot acchi tarike se jaanta hoon kaise log jeete hain waha pe. Bohot kuch cheena hain uss jagah ne humse."
(I know very well what kind of people live in that area. That place has snatched a lot from us)
"Never mind sir, bohot lambi kahani hai. Aur shayad aap ko sunane ka mera haq bhi nahi hain."
(Never mind sir, it's a long story and it isn't mine to share.)
Maan was instantly on alert. Brij's word rang a warning bell in his mind. He knew absolutely without a doubt that this had something to do with Geet. He gritted his teeth against the urge to yell at Brij to spill the truth. Instead he took a deep breath and decided to probe cautiously.
"Kabhi gaye ho uss jagah par Brij?"
(Have you ever been to that area Brij?)
"Ji sir, my father was a Hindi teacher in Sawantwadi, Maharashtra. Bohot chota tha main tab. I don't remember the place, but I can never forget it either."
"Was it something your father did?" Maan held his breath waiting for the reply.
"Haan sir."
"What did he do?" Maan's heart had started beating an irregular tattoo. He could feel he was this close to the truth.
"He gave me a mother and a sister." Brij said absently, with a faraway look in his eyes.
"What does that mean?" Maan asked sharply.
Brij was startled at the harshness in the voice that grated against his ear and he came back to the present with a start.
"Oh. I am sorry sir. I did not mean to bore you with my story. I know you do not like to get involved in the personal lives of employees.
Anyway sir, we don't have any details, either about the property, the seller, or the broker. I think we should proceed with extreme caution. "
Maan couldn't hold back the burning question that had been on the tip of his tongue since he had entered the room.
"Brij, is your father a violent man?"
Brij looked at him in shock for a moment and then burst out laughing.
"My father? Mr. Mohinder Handa? Kyu sir, aap ko aise kyu laga? He is the epitome of a clichd image of a Hindi teacher, complete with a jhola on his shoulder and a Khadi kurta on his back. If he sees an army of ants marching across the road he will wait till they are done crossing rather than step on them."
"But then what about your sister?
"What about Geet sir?"
Just then Brij's cell phone which was lying on the desktop started vibrating. He looked at it and snatched the phone and answered it.
"He..Hello Pa..Pari? Haan woh...woh main ghar hi aa raha tha... ki Maan sir...
He gasped, remembering that his boss was still in front of him and abruptly disconnected the phone.
"Sorry sir. I did not realize that you were in front of me...I... I mean yes of course I realized you..you.. were here, but she called and I...and I."
"Shut up Brij."
"Yes Sir."
Maan sighed. He looked at the flustered, blushing face of Brij Handa and knew that he had lost him. He was not going to get any information from him tonight. He looked like a teenager in the throes of his first infatuation, blushing and stuttering. He decided to let go off the subject of his father and Geet for now and instead focused on the man in front of him. Suddenly there was a slight mischievous glint in his eye that his dadi would have recognized, as the one that he had inherited from his father.
"Was that Parinda Godbole?"
"Yes...yes sir. She.. she is at home waiting for me." He declared, sighing dreamily and then abruptly recalled himself, yet again.
"I mean sorr...sorry sir. She said everybody at home was waiting for me."
"Hmm. Do you like her?"
Brij Handa's face transformed into a ripe red tomato, before Maan's eyes. His eyes bulged to their fullest extent and he dropped the phone from his lifeless fingers.
"E..E..Everybody l..l...l..likes her at home sir."
"You mean to say you have no special feelings for her? That's good. I do not want my chief architect with his head in the clouds. Keeping your feet grounded will make you a far more efficient employee.
"Ji sir."
"Though I must say I like Parinda Godbole as a person very much."
"She has loyalty." Maan accounted.
"Yes Sir." Brij nodded vigorously in agreement.
"She has integrity."
"Ji bilkul sir.
"And" Maan prompted Brij who was preening like a peacock with his chest puffed out, as if it had been him whom Maan had complimented.
"She is beautiful and bold and loving and funny and caring." Brij continued with a sappy look on his face.
"And Maan continued again..
She is surrounded all day by men who I am sure appreciate all these qualities and won't hesitate to tell her so. In fact, I seem to recall her senior officer, Inspector Gujjar, takes special interest in her. He especially requested me to train Pari and her team. Besides, her male colleagues seem to be totally in awe of her. So I am sure one of the men in her profession is going to find her tolerable enough to take her on. You need not focus on the problem called Parinda Godbole."
Maan felt absolutely no guilt, coz he was not lying to Brij after all. Sangram Gujjar had infact asked him to train Parinda's team. As far as her colleagues were concerned, he had seen total respect for her in their eyes. However, the right message delivered under the wrong light took on a whole different meaning. But Brij did not need to know all that. All he needed was a reaction from from Brij and he got plenty.
He watched Brij's eyes slowly lose the dreamy look and harden with determination.
Brij took a deep breath.
"Thank you, sir. I am extremely glad that you are there to teach her the ins and outs of self-defense.. She needs it. She jumps into situations without thinking.
"Aap ne dekha na sir, kaise uske chehre pe lag gaya tha. Zaroor kisi situation mein bina soche kud gayi hogi, humesha ki taraha."
Maan who knew the reality of the situation agreed silently. Parinda Godbole was a danger to society and needed a leash to control her. He thought that Brij would do the job nicely.
"As for Inspector Gujjar and her colleagues, or somebody from her profession tolerating her and taking her on, let them just dare. How pathetic those man sound sir . Pari is far more valuable than that and deserves somebody who loves her completely for who she, irrespective of his profession. " Brij continued in a stony voice.
"I am going to have a talk with Pari, tonight when I go home."
That was it. Maan gave himself a mental nod for lighting the spark of jealousy inside Brij. Parinda Godbole had given him some information on Geet and even though the half-baked information had driven him mad throughout the day, a deal was a deal. He had promised to help her with Brij and though she had not believed him, he had kept his side of the bargain.
All of a sudden Brij looked in a rush to get home.
"Sir, agar aur kuch nahi hain toh main niklu?"
(Sir if there's nothing more can I take my leave)
Brij bid him a hasty good bye and rushed out from there.
Maan smiled slowly and leaned against Brij's desk. The screensaver on Brij's desktop screens suddenly came to life.There were two split screens side-by- side to accommodate the clarity required for displays of oversized blue prints of various projects. He glanced at them absently and his breath froze to a complete stillness. His hand lifted automatically to trace the silver trail running down the cheeks of Geet Handa. He had never seen such absolute and blazing joy in a person's face. Her lips were stretched triumphantly and he could almost hear the laughter in the air surrounding her. The shining mass of her hair was gathered into a braid that was trailing over one shoulder. The tendons of her throat were stretched; he was not sure if it was laughter that caused it, or if she had been screaming in joy. Her arms were stretched out in front of her ready to receive somebody. His eyes reluctantly moved away from Geet's face to focus on the other half of the screen. He saw Miri racing ahead of Parinda, Brij and Mohinder Handa towards her mother's outstretched arms. Her own star fish palms were extended towards her mother.
All the eyes in the picture except for little Miri's were full of tears and joy.
It was a display that had been split between the two screens and the huge picture showed off every emotion reflected on their faces. It had been captured by the eye of the camera for eternity.
His eyes moved back to Geet's face and they eyes trailed downwards to the toppled wheel chair behind her that he had noticed, when he had first looked at the screen.
Below it was a caption that read
"Geet's Victory."
Maan Singh Khurana knew he was in serious trouble, coz he had fallen head over heels for the amazing woman in that picture.
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Ok. That's it guys. I know it's a short chapter compared to my usual length, but I thought it was a perfect moment to end the chapter. 😉
Edited by Susegad - 11 years ago
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