Naina pulled the drying bedsheet from wire.The bedsheet was still wet at hems yet it had to be packed.The large suitcase was waiting with a big wide open mouth to engulf the bedsheet.It least cared if the bedsheet was wet or dry ,if the bedsheet at all wanted to leave the bed and be packed off for some different bed.She was lost feeling the hems of the bedsheet,remembering the times Sameer had stood below the balcony,staring up at her and she staring down at him.Her eyes were turning misty again.Memories! The time can't erase them,may be it will only be able to make them bearable,if not forgettable.
"Naina!Beta wahan kya kar rahi hai?Jaldi aa.Paecking khatam kar.Main khana lagati hun''. Bela Chachi's words were clear and loud.She jerked and felt the wetness.In her hands and in her eyes.The night was going to be last in her house,in the lane,in the city and even in the state.Chachaji decided to send away Naina to Bombay for pursuing the career in CA.In a way,he felt Naina would be at peace from daily drama of Taiji bringing proposals from middle classes relegating to below poverty lines.Before it could get any worse,Chachaji decided its better Naina leaves the city and pursue her dreams.If any suitable proposal comes,then the matter would be informed to her.
Naina sat quietly on the dining table,munching and trying hard to gulp the cauliflowers. She already felt lifeless when the decision was made.It was like she was just a dummy in battle ground.Bullets are flying .Some are whizzing by spooking her.Some are enough straight to tear her open and leave her in pieces.
"Naina!Kya soch rahi hai beta?Khana jaldi khatam kar.Bahut kam tame bache hein.Aur abhi tak trunk ki packing baki hai.''Chachiji uttered and gestured Preeti to follow her.Naina jerked back,looked at the plate.Unknowingly she had nearly wiped the plate clean.Didn't she do the same with her life?In the determined way of removing away all the sadness from his life ;she has wiped the past joys they shared.She withdrew immediately,not pondering much and washed her hands clean.The basin, witness to all her finger cuts,the mehendi she had washed during Pooja Di's wedding with S' and during the latest roka with Sharad with 'S' in palms.The mehendi was gone now,all it remained,wiped,clean palms.She lathered her palms with the soap and smiled seeing wet,clean palms.Was she being sadistic or going insane?
"Naina!Tujhe yaad hai teri school wali picnic ke tame pe bhi tu yehi trunk le ke gayi thi.Par wo to kuch hi dinon ki baat thi.Pata nahin ab kitne mahine ke baad dekhungi tujhe.''Chachiji's eyes were beginning to turn misty when Preeti decided to not let anyone shed a tear.For it was getting difficult for her to see happiness scattered,feet staggering,happiness leaving and smiles already gone.''Haan!har baar to iski hi packing hoti hai.School time pe bhi aur ab bhi.''Preeti sulked,pretending,and Chachiji was back to her smiling self.The mention of school trip had evoked enough emotions inside Naina and she could only mouth "Tujhe kabhi aisi packing na karne pade,Preeti''.Preeti could no more hold back and crushed herself in a tight hug.Her sister needed enough strength to endure this testing phase.And her sister was alone.
Without her Sameer ,without her Preeti.
Sameer opened the suitcase and found his packing done already.All thanks to Munna,Pandit and Bhabhi for lessening his burden.But this physical burden was so so less to what emotional burden he was carrying.He could see Naina's beautifully, painstakingly knitted blue sweater kept at top.He smiled,thinking it would have been definitely Pandit's work.He picked up the sweater and thrust it between his other warm clothes.He needed to shield him against her memories otherwise he will fail the very aims and objectives he had set for himself.Kehna aasan hai,lekin karna..His heart screamed back.He shrugged and tried packing few more stuffs,not to equip himself but keep himself busy.He pulled out the shirts and came in his hands the camera.The very camera he had clicked pictures with during their school trip.Mamiji had got a new branded camera with new techniques for him but he could not help placing the old one in suitcase.He was going to keep away from her things...His heart did a victory jig and mind smacked for losing the self control.
Chachaji lifted the trunk and placed it in the diggy.Naina carried the slightly heavy suitcase and decided to keep it with herself.Chachaji sat at front and the car jerked into move.Naina saw the images of Chachiji and Preeti turning hazy.Oh yes!She had tears in her eyes and slight rains had left haze of droplets on the car window glass.As the car left her lane,she remembered not seeing her father,her Taiji and Tauji for last time.She had only seen Pralay waving at her from the balcony.Was she so unwanted in her closed one's life?
"Ram naam satya hai.Hari naam satya hai.''The words hit her .She looked out of the window to see a dead body being carried to funeral.She could not see the face but she could gauge they were carrying an old man.Flowers all over his body and gulaal scattered carelessly over.She for a moment felt like she was just like the deadbody. Lifeless. Her own kin carrying to some place,from where her journey will be all alone.
The body took turn at a lane to the funeral ground and she saw the lamppost demarcating the lane's end.Stillness had invaded the lane,and she felt the stillness of a fairy tale where dark magic has cast the kingdom into a waking dream.Naina swung between numbness and grief ,preferring the former.The hours were blur together.The car ran smooth and then she heard the temple bell ring.
"Tum kamzor nahin ho Naina.Main tumhare saath hun. "Tumhe kya lagta hai..tum chali jaogi to main wohi Sameer ban jaunga..Ek hawaka jhonka jo kabhi idhar kabhi udhar? "Main manta hun ki maine galti kiya hai,par tum uss galti ko badhawa kyun de rahi ho? Please Naina aisa mat karo.Naina ...Nainaa... "
Naina! Naina! She jerked feeling Chachaji's extended palm closing over her.
"Ji.. Chachaji!'' She voiced stuttering ,trying hard to look normal,behave more normally.''Kahan kho gayi ho?Neend abhi tak tuta nahin hai kya?Train kitne baje hai?'' He asked and Naina fidgeted with the handbag,pulling out the folded ticket.She could see moths hovering in the darkness.She knew Chachaji was struggling with his own sorrow.But she could not reach him from the deep hole she had fallen into.
"Arey bhai sahab! Yeh to mast piece hai.Kahan se li?'' Devang asked the bahadur-turned-driver who seemed to be in a jolly mood.''Mt.Abu se.Pichle mahine gaye the'' The big moustache man twirled the corners with pride and happiness.''Arey Sameer!Tu bhi to Mt.Abu gaya tha na?'' Devang asked.If it would not have been Devang,Sameer would have hurled curses.He was fighting a battle.Whom he loves more? The person who left that day or the person who was part of his nicest memories? And the very time Mt.Abu was mentioned.
"Haan..school trip pe'' Sameer spoke ;only when the driver threw a suspicious glare at him; through the mirror.''Bhaiya!Ek minute ruko.Main jara mandir se aata hun.'' Devang's clear and loud voice was enough to bring the car into a halting screech.''Sameer!Tu chalega?'' Devang asked only to see Sameer nodding in negation.
In the wake of Mt.Abu's memory ,a tide of others swept in ,tugging him towards the happier times.Though he was guilt driven then,but he had enjoyed the most with her until that fateful afternoon.Their night escapade to Toad Hill,the sun shine watch,the antakshari,he still could remember the blush on her face and how flirtingly he had winked at her.He closed his eyes, allowing the train ticket to grow heavy in his hand.He yearned for some similar nights to carry him away.Where only he and Naina mattered to each other.
He looked at the temple,with a long,blank stare. The exact place,where Naina sat on the cool floor next to him,beneath the stern benevolence of the Lord Shiv's glance.She had no fancy clothes on her.She was sitting erect yet looked impatient.In between they could hear the priest reciting Sanskrit mantras.He felt her palm over him.The touch could not have been gentler.How he loved her,with all her fierceness and innocence,the tenderness that she tries to hide from him.
"Tum soch rahe ho na main bhi Arjun bhaiya ki tarah hun? Shefali ko bhi yehi lagta hai.'' She said breaking the monotonous silence.Main kuch aur soch raha tha? He replied black, slightly caressing her thumb.
"Jaanti hun.Arjun Bhaiya galat the par main unki galti ki wajah jaanti hun.Tum to Papa ko jaante ho na Sameer,kya Papa Arjun Bhaiya ko ek minute bhi ghar mein rehne dete agar Bhaiya yeh bol dete ki wo Shefali se pyar karte hein? Agar Tauji aur Papa unhe ghar se nikal dete to Shefali ko leke kahan jaate? Pyaar se man to bhar jaata lekin pet ki bhookh to nahin.Wo Shefali se pyar karte the,lekin yeh sab itni jaldi ho gaya ki ...waise bhi wo bujhdil hein.Par ...Isliye main Chachaji ki iss faisle ko mana nahin kar sakti.Yehi acha hai mere liye,tumhare liye.'' She completed,wiping the hot tears that flowed.
""Tum kamzor nahin ho Naina.Main tumhare saath hun.'' His grip strong over her closed fists.
"Apni Maami ko baata sakte ho ki Bittu ki padoshi ki behen se shaadi karoge?Bata sakti ho ki Agarwal khandan ki ek nihayati kanjoos librarian ki beti se shaadi karoge? Haan,main jaanti hun tum bata sakte ho.Unko mere ghar bhi laa sakte ho.Uske baad? Sab kuch sambhal paoge?suljha paoge?Tumhari pocket ki yeh 10 rupaye khud ki kamai hai? Sab kuch tumhara hai lekin ek bhi kamai tumhari hai kya?Tum unke apne ho,lekin main koun hun? Agar Maami ne mujhe inkar kar diya to?'' She enquired and he felt the set jigsaw puzzle of his life suddenly look disjointed.
"Tumhe kya lagta hai..tum chali jaogi to main wohi Sameer ban jaunga..Ek hawaka jhonka jo kabhi idhar kabhi udhar?''He asked looking straight into her eyes.The very eyes he was lost in when they had nearly collided in the corridor.
"Gussa aa raha hai na mere upar? Soch rahe ho na chodke jaa rahi hun tumhe.Uss din canteen mein bhi kitna kuch suna diya tha.Ki mujhe sirf mere family.mere sanskaar,mere Chachaji..mein mein...mujhe sirf inse matlab hai.Lekin ek baat to kehna hi bhul gaye.'' He looked at her,a truant lock fallen on his forehead.
She could not stop herself from leaning over and smoothing it back.''Tum bhi to mere ho Sameer.'' Her voice, chocked with emotions.
"Main manta hun ki maine galti kiya hai,par tum uss galti ko badhawa kyun de rahi ho? Please Naina aisa mat karo.Naina ...Nainaa...Main tumhe na kisike saath dekh sakta hun na aise dur reh sakta hun. ''He confessed,howling.He clasped her hand and she felt it hard to breathe.With each of his requests to stay,she felt she needed to leave.Leaving today for a miracle tomorrow.So she hoped.He was the one who made her believe in miracles more.How else they could have fallen in love?
"Isliye to jaa rahin hun.Tum bhi business ka kaam sambhalna sikho.Jab hum dono khud ki kamai se khane ki kaabil ban jaayenge to Taiji ya Maamiji ka dar nahin hoga.Bhag ke shaadi Karen ya gharwalon ki marzi se..jyada fark nahin padega.Tum samajh rahe ho na.Nanu ki bahut se sapne honge tumhare liye.Chachaji ki bhi mere liye hai.Pehle hum use pura kar lein... ''She said,wiping his tears that were threatening to flow.
"Pata hai Naina.Uss din Mt.Abu mein maine tumhe chaar words diye the kahani banane ke liye.Main,tum,pyar,parivar.Kitni achi kahaani tumne sunayi thi.Aaj sochta hun to lagta hai yeh chaar sabd se koi kahani ban nahin sakti.Agar ban sakti hai to sirf ghum aur judai ke.'' He turned his face away while she felt the words were arrows.The truth hitting her hard.
"Taklif tumhein ho rahi hai aur yeh anshoo mere aa rahen hein?Kyun?'' He asked.She put her arms around him and hugged him. Forgetting they were at a public place.Anybody can see them.Can recognize her well,to feed her story to Taiji.But she cared less.''Kyunki hum do insaan nahin ,hum kabke ek ho chuke hein.I love you ...Naina.''He was breaking apart and she needed to fix the broken pieces.He always had been this broken.And now she hated herself for again breaking him.
"Agar tumne soch liya hai to jao. Main bhi yahan se dur chala jaunga.Main jyada bol nahin pata.Tumhari tarah kahani lekhak to hun nahin.Bas yeh letter rakh lo.Kabhi iss Sameer ki yaad aaye to padh lena.'' He pressed the letter ,wiped his own tears and stood up looking at the sky.The evening was turning into night.Stealing away all colours of the beautiful,fairy-tale like sky.
"Yeh grah nakshatra humesha yaad aayenge. ''His voice; heavy like soaked cotton wool.
"Tch!Grah nakshatra nahin grah nakshyatra "She spoke,out of habit.Her own words coiled back ;she turned away and ran down the stairs.''Naina!'' Her feet halted. She didn't want to be one thing at that point but he made her.Vulnerable.She could not stop herself from running to him for last time.Hugging him tight.She felt an overwhelming feeling of belonging and nothing he could do about it even if he did know, being held tightly in someone's arms who completely loved him.Then she was gone.
He looked at the broken anklet in his closed fist.
Yeh kyun kiya Naina?
***************************************
"Station aa gaya Sameer!'' Devang's voice floated,hanging heavily around him.The dark half moon was receding in the sky and the advertisements read "must be experienced to be appreciated.'' If this was the experience,he didn't know if he would ever find a strong vocabulary to appreciate this.
The Bombay Mail made a screeching,loud halt at the platform.Everyone hurried and so did her Chachaji.The sunrise was beginning to happen.The sky was changing from ash-black to stained blood.
"Ek insaan mein itne rang hote hai yeh pehli baar dekha''. Her own words rushed back to her.The sunrise at Toad Hill still vivid,like it happened yesterday.
"Yeh surya uday aaj bhi nahin badla Sameer!Inke rang aaj bhi waise hein.Tum bhi badal mat jaana.'' Her mind screamed;her hands involuntarily pressed the letter to her heart.
"Naina!Uss din ki surya-uday mein jis Sameer ko dekha tha..main aaj bhi wohi hun.Hawa ki jhonka nahin...mouth organ ki wo hawa jo hamesha koshish karega tumhari zindagi mein khushiyan ki sur hamesha bajti rahe.'' His mind now determined,consoled itself.
"Sameer!Sambhalke jana.Aur so mat jaana train mein.Mujhe pata hai tu pehli baar surya uday dekh raha hai.''Devang said gleefully.
"Umm hmm.. Dusri baar''. Devang looked surprised, but then Sameer was gone enough far to explain.
The train bellowed hard,moving slowly out of the platform.. taking away two souls in different coaches.Each ignorant about the other's presence.
The morning, the sun made them adore it. It had the scattered blooms.Just like their lives were,dreams were.Those scattered blooms would soon bloom into a beautiful bright morning.The oriental brightness, orange and crimson, the colours in the physical and ideal would fuse soon.The dark sky and the early sun would only know the secrets of a true and daily paradise.So did they.Secrets enclosed in hearts,love coursing through souls ..the Bombay Mail took them to a desired paradise.
--------------------------------------THE END-----------------------------------------
P.S.:Well I don't give explanations for my stories but I think this story needs some explanation.The story has an open ending because a sunrise doesnot decide the fate of the day.Going by the old adage-- ''Morning shows the day" but "doesnot decide how it will be ''.
P.P.S.:Thank you all for reading.š Would love to read all your feedback.š³
Seher Hone Ko Hai
CID
Indian Premier League
