Tani-Anurag Collab OS-Rooh Se Rooh Ke Darmiyaan

Rooh Se Rooh Ke Darmiyan

The warden watches on like she does everyday as he silently comes out of the asylum to have his 30 minutes of fresh air. As always he was clutching the laughing buddha; staring at it intently trying to get a glimpse of the distant past he now remembers nothing about. She wonders if it was this maddening feeling of knowing something yet not remembering what it was that had driven him mad. All day long he would carry around the laughing buddha as if it were his life-line and yet, he remembered nothing about its importance. He kept scribbling the name Mishti on the barren grey cement walls of his cell and yet, failed to remember his own name. She fondly called him Siddharth.

The warden watched as her Siddarth walked near the edges of the asylum walls as forlorn as ever, with his toes nearly concaving into crease between the floor and walls. She wished with all her might that she could remind him of his story which she knew nothing about; it broke her heart to see him everyday suffer the pain of a story he remembered nothing about.

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Taani walked on the streets, disoriented and in no particular direction. Every day she woke up with a new place to search for him and every night she came back disappointed. It had been too long since she had been with her onu and that was taking a toll on her. Her heart said he was alive somewhere,after all it was her heart he had with him, and it would beat keeping him alive as long as she was. He couldn't leave her alone. Just because she adorned a black salwar everyday disowning all colors didn't mean he was not in this world. She just didn't want any kind of color or happiness in her life without him. Her Dupatta flew a little thrusting her hair ahead reminding her of how he used to blow air on her hair drawing in her sweet scent and whisper in her ears as her cheeks reddened with the tint of her blush. She almost smiled at the memory but reality made her cringe as she realized it wasn't her onu but mother nature playing a cruel joke on her.

Leaving her footwear outside she stepped into the dargah as a few memories came flooding in. She walked upto the tomb in a trance. With every step she took she felt his presence around her, like he was walking with her. Resting her head on the dargah tomb she let her tears flow freely for once remembering the good old times as she was pulled into the memory of their first meet after 10 years.

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Anurag looked on perplexed as she grabbed the laughing buddha from his hands. He would have stopped her, fought with her, how dare that chit of a girl take his best friend's laughing buddha. But her next words had made him forget all his vocabulary or his knowledge of forming coherent sentences.

"Ye mere baba ki dukaan hai. Aur ye laughing buddha mere best friend ne mujhe diya tha. Bohot keemti hai ye mere liye" she had almost broken down before holding herself up and walking away leaving a stunned onu behind her.

The laughing buddha was a symbol of their friendship and care towards each other.it was a gift to him by his favourite meenu maam but, it had become more special when she had bought him the same to make up for her mistake.Throughout the years it had been a kind of silent comfort for anurag that she had the laughing budha with her, looking after her, bringing her luck.

Tani broke out of her memory frantically realising she had lost the thing that had brought them together. She had searched everywhere for the buddha once she had returned to calcutta but, it was nowhere to be found just like her Onu. She only prayed that it was with him and had brought him luck just the way it had taken care of her all these years.

More disturbed than she was when, she stepped into the dargah Taani walked aimlessly on the streets of calcutta without realising when she had stepped onto a pair of tram tracks from the road she was on.She kept walking on the tracks still lost in her thoughts which were loud enough to numb the whistles of the tram. The tram kept inching closer and closer while Taani kept drowning further into her Onu's memories. The tram was mere seconds away from hitting her when a hand pulled her back and onto the road.

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"TANIII" he shouted as he jolted out of his nightmare and came back to his reality.

Night had fallen, as usual sidharth had not slept and the warden had given him a sedative to put him to sleep. It wasn't even an hour since she had given him the sedative that screams could be heard from his cell. The warden along with two guards rushed to the cell.

"Kaun Taani Sidharth?" the warden asked trying to mask her smile with concern. If he was remembering something or someone there still was some hope left.

"Kaun Taani?" he asked back with a blank expression and her smile disappeared as soon as it had appeared.

Making him lie down on his cot again she switched off the lights and left him to the darkness of his cell, admidst the haunting of his dark memories, nightmares.

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He slept like a baby hugging his knees

The blur, the black; jarring his eyes
Was it anger or hurt he wasn't sure
Fate claimed it was guilt of love so pure

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"Ja tani ja. Mai chodta hun tujhe aur tere saath apni saari duniya chodta hun", he said in a flat voice which, conveyed more heartbreak than any amount of tears ever could.

She stared at him in disbelief. Trying to equate her Onu with the Onu standing in front of her. How could he think so low of her? Had she really fallen so low in his eyes? She couldn't stand before him anymore. Hating herself more and more each second he gazed at her with those vengeful, hurt eyes.

Rain poured down from heavens as if it was mourning for two broken souls.

"Mai tujhse dur chali jaungi Onu, Sirf tere liye", She silently whispered as she walked away from his life forever inwardly nursing her broken heart to stay strong for him.

"Mai tujhe khudse dur kar dunga Taani, Sirf tere liye", His broken heart responded silently as he turned around unable to see her walking away.

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By the time onu realised his blunder, she was gone.

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She was brought to the hospital semi conscious,with a bleeding head, still clutching the photo of her Onu.

"Aap inko kaise janti hain?Kya lagti hai aap inki?", the doctor asked pointing his eyes in the direction of the photograph which Taani held while the doctor treated her wound.

"Mai inki kuch nahi lagti. Par ye mere sabkuch lagte hai", Taani replied.

"Phir ye mental asylum mei kya kar rahe hai?", the doctor asked stunned to see someone so loved rotting away alone in a mental asylum.

"Kya?", Taani asks suddenly attentive.

"Mai inko treat kar raha hun hubli city asylum mein", the doctor speaks before Taani grabs hold of him while fresh tears stream down her eyes.

"Mujhe mere Onu ke paas le chaliye please", she begs.

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He took a step forward as she took a step backward.It was like they were playing an adult version of catch. Their eyes never left each other.

"Mujhe ye laughing buddha chahiye", he smirks at her enjoying her annoyed expressions which he had missed so dearly all these years.

"Mai nahi dungi mera laughing buddha" she replies even more annoyed as he inches closer.

She turns her face away as he comes closer, their bodies almost touching. She cringes and is about to shout when he catches hold of her hand with his own taking both the laughing buddha and her hand in his.

Her eyes turn to meet his that very instant, how could she not have known? She didn't need any words or introductions.

"99 kgs" she whispers looking on at him mesmerised.

"Ab 99 kg nahi raha" he smiles back at her holding his hand above her head shielding her from the water leaking through the creeks in the roof.

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The warden stood beside her telling tani how they had found sidharth, her anurag wandering the streets of calcutta searching for someone with an idol of a laughing buddha in his hands. He neither remembered himself nor the person he was searching for and yet his eyes kept wandering in hope of finding the thing he was looking for but to no avail. In his nightmares or dreams he often woke up screaming mishti.

Tani started walking towards her Anurag with tear filled eyes. She had done this to him.

"Onu" she called out but he didn't budge and continued writing on the wall the one name he remembered mishti.

"Ye laughing buddha mera hai" she says sniffing trying to take the buddha from him.

"Nahi ye mera hai. Mai nahi dunga" he hides the buddha behind himself taking a step away from her.

She steps forward reducing the distance between them. He takes another step backward scared at the thought of someone taking away his budha.

She finally corners him against the wall and moves her hand around him to catch on to the laughing buddha and in turn his hand.

His eyes shoot up at her touch to meet her eyes brimming with tears.

"Teekhi mishti" he says in a hoarse voice, of a traveller who had finally found his destination.

She sheds her unshed tears knowing she was now with the person who would always wipe away her tears and fears.

"Tu aa gayi" he smiles at her.

"Sirf tere liye" she replies before engulfing him in a hug which was 2 years too late.

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Rooh se Rooh ke darmiyaan

Ishq ke hain hazaaron jahaan

Yaa khuda yaa khuda

Mujhko de de agar ek jahaan

Toh maang lu tere liye

Tere liye tere liye

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