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"Do chaar maheen se lamhon main,
Do chaar maheen se lamhon main
Umaro ke hisaab bhi hote hain."
It was hypnotic. The rain pattering on car roof, now a drumbeat, now a hum and the colours too, muted ones; grey mist, green moss and snowy mountain caps and the rhythmic motion of the car winding down on slippery road. Now the last one was bit of a stretch but she was feeling poetic; fighting hard to keep sleep away from her eyes, to absorb her surroundings. And, yeah, to keep an eye on driver, too. She was travelling alone after all. But she just knew that he was a good guy. Hadn't he stopped at the stall that served yummiest Alu parathas? She still felt taste of tangy pickle on her tongue. A deep contented sigh escaped whispering that she was in heaven. Well, this was still a heaven on Earth where time existed so she checked her watch. Barely 5 pm but light was fading fast. Good thing that she wasn't much far from her destination.
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Twin pools of light disappeared in darkness as she stood basking in soft light pouring from old Victorian lamp in the veranda of Forest guest house, Palampur. Well...the softness of light was thanks to layer of dust and grime but happy grin on her face said that she found it charming. She had given fat bakshish to her cab driver, declined his last attempt to take her to a fancy hotel and taken his phone number on his insistence as she would need ride back to Pathankot. She slowly turned around and took in her surroundings wrapping her hands around her slender frame as wind had picked up and she felt need of warmth despite the windcheater she had worn. She could barely make out mountains of Dhauladhar Himalayas which on her left. She sniffed air like a happy wolf cub and caught the scent of pines in surrounding forests and then took deep breaths and imagined moisture-laden, cool scented air rushing through her blood. She was already feeling rejuvenated.
A rumble in her stomach reminded that she was hungry. She laughed and whoosh-whooshing wind carried that laughter all the way to the mountains. She picked her heavy rucksack and settled on her shoulder and started in search of warm bed, warmer shower and warmest food.
Wind had shut the main door close. She slowly opened it running her admiring hand through coloured glass plates on the door and stepped in a brightly lit reception hall. Reception desk was empty. It was quiet and she nervously clutched rucksack straps.
"Koi hain?" It seems time moved slowly here. She could feed her voice gliding through old register, folded newspaper, tightly capped ink pen and faded photo of mountains on the wall and move in general direction of what she thought could be kitchen where the caretaker must be.
A rustling behind her startled her and she hastily turned around while dropping her rucksack with a loud thud.
Her eyes locked with eyes that were appearing from behind a newspaper. First she was just startled and hence frozen but then it seems she was unable to tear away from its gaze. It had been just few seconds but the other pair of eyes had gone though a gamut of emotions; mild surprise, amusement, momentary shock and then blankness.
He was first to look away. He cleared his throat and folded the newspaper while saying, "Didn't mean to startle you!"
"Huh?" She was still in a far away land.
"Just ring the bell. Ramu must be in kitchen or in backyard." He said with a polite smile.
"Yh...thank you." She had recovered now and returned his smile. And, then she turned around and noisily rang the bell and shouted "Koi hain? Koi hain?" louder than required. But adrenaline was rushing through her blood and she was shaking, she needed to do something.
Ramu was still not visible. She bent down and started opening various zip pockets of her rucksack to find the letter that was to give her accommodation in this guest house. Her high-profile Delhi bureaucrat of a brother-in-law had pulled few strings so that her baby sister-in-law's sudden desire to go on a Himalayan trek while experiencing authentic guest house of yore was fulfilled. She quickly glanced at other occupant in the room who was engrossed in a book now. She shyly smiled; she had liked what she had seen. Her vacation was getting better and better. She found the letter and in haste to get up bumped her head against reception desk.
"Are you alright?" He was up from his seat; concern itched on his face.
"Yes. I am fine. Thanks." She answered him with a smile while rubbing her head.
He went back to his book and now Ramu had arrived.
"Salam, memsahib."
"Room chahiye. Delhi se reservation karvaya hain."
"Jee memsahib. Bara sahib ka phone aa gaya tha. Aapka kamra ready hain. Bas is register main sign kar dijiye."
Ramu pushed the register her way and searched for pen tugging his monkey-cap.
"Woh raha pen...," Zoya pointed at the pen.
"Jee memsahib," Ramu toothily grinned. Zoya had instantly liked him.
"Memsahib, aapke liye balconywala kamra ready kiya hain. Subah subah sunrise dekhna." He turned around to get keys, while Zoya made an entry in register, first one on a new page and then quickly glanced at Ramu still searching for keys and glanced left and right just like that and turned a page back to read the entry on it. Asad Ahmed Khan had arrived at the guest house two days ago. It was easy to figure out as other entries had check out date as well.
"Memsahib, keys." Zoya shut the register with a snap and grabbed her room key.
Ramu had taken her rucksack so she walked free.
"Garam pani milega?"
"Jee memsahib.""
"Abhi khane main kya milega?"
"Chicken curry, rice, potato sabji. Sahib ke liye banaya hain."
Zoya grabbed the opening she wanted. "Woh sahib kaun hain?"
"District ke collector hain. Daure per hain. Jab bhi daure per aate hain, yahan rukte hain. This way, memsahib." They were climbing stairs now. 'Collector...hmm...'
There were only three rooms on first floor. "Aapka kamra, memsahib." Ramu placed her rucksack near the door.
"Is floor pe aur koi hain?"
"Nahi, memsahib. Sahib to hamesha neechewala kamra lete hain. Kabhi kabhi verandah main meeting bhi kar lete hain to aasani rehti hain."
"Hmm...thank you, Ramukaka. Khana kitne baje milega?" She asked checking her watch which was showing just 6 PM.
"Aath baje. Sahib ko khana time pe chahiye. Aapka khana kamre main laoon?"
"No...no need. Main neeche aa jaaongi."
"Kuchh bhi chahiye to kamre main bell hain woh baja dijiye." His toothy grin had an expectant look now.
She ordered for tea and some snacks for her hunger pangs and bid him good bye with some bakshish.
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At 8 PM, she was in dining room looking fresh and well-rested. She had managed shower, tea & snacks and phone calls to her family, her friend Najma and organiser of the trek that she was going on and a cat-nap.
She was admiring chipped but beautiful china plates set before her when Asad walked in. He stopped seeing her but returned her smile.
"Hi, I am Zoya Farooqui." He was on the other side of the table for handshake, so they managed with smiles.
"I am Asad Ahmed Khan. Pleased to meet you!" He took a seat opposite her on the table. He was in crisp while chikan kurta-pajama which Zoya had seen him earlier in and about which she had already raved before Najma.
"Ramukaka said that you are district collector and often visit this place." It didn't take much time for Zoya to get him into a conversation. Besides the attraction that she had felt for the man, she was genuinely curious about his job, about Palampur and surrounding area and she knew that being collector, he would have good knowledge.
Ramu was a good cook and played host to perfection. Chicken was tender, rice fragrant, potatoes and daal spicy.
She felt his initial reluctance to get into a conversation. It seemed like he was in hurry to finish meal and get back to his book, but he slowly opened up. Zoya told him about her 10-day trek and two days before the trek that she was going to spend here relaxing. His opinion of the trekking group she was joining was good. He was an encyclopedia of local history, flora-fauna and even the guest house they were staying in. Ramu kept chiming in with his words of wisdom about snooty sahibs, crazy tourists, snow storms and Yeti as he shuffled between kitchen and dining room with water jug and food.
Zoya liked Asad very much.
"What?" Ramu was gone back to kitchen and Asad's gaze had lingered on Zoya.
He looked away and then looked back at her with a hard-to-categorise smile on his face. "You really don't remember me, right?"
Zoya processed the question for few moments and then raked her brain for some missing piece of information while she asked him, "Have we met before?"
He nodded yes. "Well, it has been few years and you and I were in different years, so it is understandable."
He was calmly looking at his plate, while Zoya's every fibre was high with curiosity. Before she can prod him further he named his Alma mater.
"No way." Zoya's eyes were wide.
He smiled seeing expression on her face. "Zoya Farooqui, computer engineering. You were a first year student and I was in final year of mechanical engineering."
Zoya shook folds of her memory to find any piece, any tiniest piece about him, but nothing came out tumbling. It was not much surprising though. She remember her computer engineering seniors; she knew few from other branches too with whom she had mingled in college cultural festivals but if the guy was already in final year, good chances that their interactions were far and few between.
Zoya opened her mouth to say something along the line but paused seeing Asad. He was looking in a faraway place and time. But next moment he shook his head and looked straight in her eyes with same polite, a bit distant smile.
"And, I loved you."
"Some more daal?" His eyes pointed at her plate.
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Hola...I am back. This is a two shot. Next chapter will be up on Wednesday. You all get reading this one, while I go writing next one.
BTW, there is no such forest guest house in Palampur, so don't go running there looking for your Asad Ahmed Khan. 😉
As great Indian summer is upon us, who doesn't crave some mountains? Better if they come with Asad and Zoya 😃
Hope you all are good!
