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PART - 1
Long weekend and wanted to pen down something...the topic that came to my mind was Sameer and Naina...the outcome is pasted below...hope you all will like...happy reading..
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My life changed when I was 9 years. My widowed mother got married to a very famous business man . He was also a widower and had a son of my age. She had met him during one of the industrial exhibitions and from there on they became good friends. I used to like Mr. Somani then, but the moment I heard that my mom wanted to marry him, I started hating him. After marriage I refused to stay with my mom or his family. I chose to stay away from her. I never even wanted to meet her. They did try a lot to convince me , but I wasn't ready to accept anyone in place of my dad. PERIOD. I chose to stay in boarding school than with them and vacations were spent at summer camps or with Nanu.
I didn't have much of friends either. The only two people whom I could call as friends were Munna and Pandith , who used to come to my house to play with me whenever I visited Nanu's house for summer vacation. On one such summer , all three of us got to visit with Nanu to a temple festival. On that day , all the expenses for the pooja and food were sponsored by the Anand Agarwal's family.
This whole thing was new for me. I had never been to such festivals because I was a recluse . The entire area was lit with fairy lamps of different colour, there were loudspeakers playing bajan , stalls set up on either sides of the road that led to the temple, people dressed in their best attire. There was absolute joy and a feeling of well being in that place...at least that is what I thought. And as 17 year olds we were dressed in our best attire with just one thought in our mind...yes!! to impress girls!!
"Boys I think you should walk fast else the arthi will start and I had told Anand that I would be there on time ."
"Nanu , Mr Anand is Charted Accountant rt??"
"Yes Sameer , he is the one who helps me during financial audits and even when I have to file tax . His elder brother is a famous lawyer and he is our legal advisor too."
"And Nana ji , you forgot the famous one of all...our librarian Rakesh Agarwal, Naina's father.."said Munna with a tint of humor mixed with sarcasm.
I saw Pandith laughing and Nanu literally pulled Munna's ear for this comment. As we entered the temple, a 6 ft tall , well-built man came running towards Nanu and touched his feet for blessings.
"I am glad you came Sir!!"
"Of course I had to come . Where are the others??"
"They are all inside the temple. Arthi will start any moment."
Nanu and Mr. Anand walked towards the temple and we boys tagged behind. There were Pandals , with tables and chair set , so that post arthi , people could have their dinner. At that point in time , my belief in god was limited or shall I say ..I was a non-believer. So , I slowly moved towards the Pandal just to have a peek at the food. Since the Arthi had started , the area where food was kept were devoid of people. I felt this was the best time to taste one Laddoo.
"You shouldn't eat before you offer food to god.
I turned my head and saw the owner of sound , she stood in a cream colour chenniya choli with red duppata. I was embarrassed as she caught me red handed trying to flick a Laddoo. I regretted my decision. Thought she would go and complain to Nanu and he would have to hear it from others because of me.
Before even I could apologise , she went to the near by Peepal Tree below which Small Idols of Lord Krishna was kept. She lighted the lamp , then came took two Laddoo , placed it near the idol and said to me, "Now you can eat." After which she walked away from there , didn't even wait for a thank you from me.
That was the first time I met Naina. Naina Agarwal topper of PVKM and my Nanu's favorite lil girl. This whole act of her's surprised me. If it had been anyone in her place, they would have made a big issue. My need for eating Laddoo was replaced by the need to know more about this girl. Was it her beauty that attracted me ?? Nahhh...I had seen beautiful girls with much better sense of dressing but even then there was something about her which was pulling me towards her. I decided to let go the Laddoo and walked towards the temple and my eyes kept searching for her. Pooja was over, so was dinner but the person in question was missing.
"Sameer, what happened you look lost . Come lets go.
"Nanu , I am feeling thirsty. I will go and drink some water and be back." I lied for the first time to my Nanu. My thirst was not for water but for the girl whom I met sometime back. I had decided that ones more I would try to search for her , at least I had to apologise for my act and say a thank you for keeping quiet about it.
I rushed towards the place were drinking water was kept and the next thing I know , my kurtha drenched in water and scattered steel glasses. I did not just meet her but collided with her turning both our lives upside down.
"NAINA !! WHAT THE HELL !! Cant you see where you are going??" An older lady screamed her.
"No No...its not her fault , I was the one who was running. I should have noticed."
"Aree Beta , you don't know her. She is born cursed. No one can be happy with her around. She came into world taking her mother's life away from us."
She looked absolutely scared seeing my drenched Kurtha and by now people had rushed to the place hearing the commotion. I was too shocked to even respond to such a cruel accusation made by the old lady.
"I am sorry. I didn't do it on purpose."
"Its ok Naina. Such things happen and you don't need to worry. Beena Behan, it's a nice occasion and lets not spoil it . Said my Nanu with calm yet an assertive tone.
She apologized to me once again , picked up the scattered glasses and quickly went away from there. I don't think I have ever felt so bad in my life. As I walked towards the car, I was feeling miserable, her face kept appearing in front of me. The poor girl was literally humiliated in front of every one just because I wasn't careful of where I was going. Every one entered the car except me , I just couldn't walk away as if nothing had happened. I had to talk to her.
"Sameer??!!"
"Nanu , you go . I will meet Naina and come. I need to apologize. "
"Sameer , I don't think that will be right. That lady or anyone else sees you speaking Naina, she will fall into trouble. This is not Delhi , Bombay or Nainital. This is a very conservative society."
"I understand , but I have to see her and apologise."
"Ok , then we will come with you."
"NO! I will go alone."Saying so I walked away from them towards the temple determined to meet her. More than apologise , I understood my need was to meet her , to see if she was ok , to console her...My heart told me she would be, near that Peepal tree and I was so right.
She was sitting on the floor, with tear filled eyes, making silent conversations with her god. There was no anger reflected on her face...all I could see is pain...something that I could recognize easily.
"After all this , you still believe in him ??"
"YES !!"She responded even without looking at me.
"You need something ??"
"Naina , I came to apologise. I just couldn't leave without telling a sorry to you."
"Its ok. I am used to it."
"Don't you feel bad?? Doesn't it bother you?"
"I don't know..I don't think so much"
"Really ?? If that is the case why were you crying ??"
At this she suddenly got up from there , touched Krishna's feet and said "I think you are getting late. Jayaprakash Sir will be searching for you."
"Nanu , knows where I am . If you dont want to answer , say that...Why play with words?"
"Good Night !!" Saying so she walked toward the Pandal , took some sweet boxes from there and placed it neatly in couple of carry bags. Not even once did she turn back to see if I was gone. It was as though she was least interested in me. That's another thing that I noticed about her, unlike the girls I had met in my life, she never showed interest in me. She treated me just like she would have treated anyone else. Did that affect me ?? Yes !! It did, the girl I wanted to look at me wasn't ever bothered.
I saw her walk towards the temple, had no choice but to let go my thoughts and walk back to the car. My ego pricked. I regretted that I came back to check on her. I told myself that I wouldn't talk to her again in my life. I was walking down the temple stairs, that's when I heard her again.
"SAMEERRR!!" There she was running towards me with a small box in her hand.
"This is for you . Thank you for coming back to see If I was ok and I am sorry for my rude behaviour. It's Laddoo that you wanted to eat. I know you didn't eat it even during dinner. So , I packed it for you."
Hearing my name from her mouth was like music to ears and knowing that she had packed Laddoos for me made me so happy. All my resolution went down the drain. I was so shocked with the turn of events that all I could manage to say was "THANK YOU NAINA and GOOD NIGHT."
I had a smile on my face when I sat in the car. The car passed the temple gate , I saw her standing there, waving. Was I happy?? Oh yes !! I was on top of the world.
For the next two weeks , me the non-believer visited the temple morning and evening with out anyone knowledge , in the hope of meeting her. Can Life be that easy ?? Especially when my intention of visiting the temple was to meet her and not her god?? Well , soon started praying to Krishna , pleading with him to bless her presence in my life. Her blind trust in Krishna taught me to believe in him more. Days and nights passed, summer vacation had end but there was no sign of Naina at the temple.
I left for Nainital next day early morning and lost all hopes of meeting her. Since it was our final year at school and we had to appear for 12th board, days got busy. There was too much pressure on me as I had to do better than Rohan, my step brother. A pressure that I had bestowed it on myself. No one compared me with him, it was just me who did that to make a point to my mom and step dad , that I would excel even without her. Even as I got labored with studies, somewhere in the corner of my heart her thoughts did wander, especially during nights when I used to feel lonely. I wondered if she would ever be thinking about me like the way I thought about her.
Then on 12th August I got a courier from Ahmedabad. No one sent me gift for my birthday. All my family members including my Nanu would transfer money to my account so that I could buy something that I like for my Birthday. And I would ONLY take the money that I Nanu sent, the rest would be there in the bank un used. Even if I was short of cash I wouldn't take it. That much I had disliked my mom and step dad's affection for me. For me love just happened once and I couldn't understand how my mom could love another man , live as if my dad never existed at all.
I thought it would be from Munna Pandith. As I picked the courier from the mail room , I checked for the name and I stood rooted . It was from Naina. Instead of walking towards the senior boys dorm. I walked towards the garden. I wanted some time alone with this gift . I didn't want to open it in front of everyone. I sat on the bench below a huge rain tree. The cold winds were blowing, announcing the onset of winter. With shaky hands , I open the packing. In it was a hand knit light blue woolen sweater and a box of cholates. On the box a red hand made card was stuck.
"Happy Birthday Sameer!! Wish you always the best in life and all the best for your exams. Take care. Warm Regards , Naina.
PS: I started working as a part time teacher at your grandfathers' school Shanthi Nikethan. I teach alphabets for Kinder Garten Students. "
That's when I checked her address and I realized PO Box was given. From then on wards , we regularly wrote to each other and during Summer I stopped attending summer camps , would directly go to Nanu's house. On the pretext of learning accountancy , I started helping her Chacha ji. This helped me to know her family and also got an easy access to her home. Slowly everyone on both sides understood that my interest in her is not just limited to friendship . Its beyond that. Initially, her father disliked the idea, but eventually he gave in when Nanu got a Job for her brother Arjun. Tayi ji hated Naina , hence she didn't approve of the idea of me liking her but she couldn't say much as this time Tauji had strictly said not to voice her opinion . Hence, she was forced to keep her mouth shut. But there was one problem, none of us knew if it was the same with Naina. Every one knew she considered me as her best friend but was it more than that ?? Even her dearest cousin Preethi couldn't understand. Every one was scared to ask because if it wasn't , then we all feared that this beautiful friendship that we shared might also be lost. Post her post-graduation, they wanted her to get married but she smartly got a job in Bombay with a leading news paper and left Ahmedabad. And at my end since people knew my state of mind no one talked about it. Nanu asked me to join and he started handing over tasks to me . 10 years just went by . All the while not knowing what is in her mind. Neither was she marrying anyone , nor did she show that kind of affection towards me.
"Sameer !! Its been a month since you have called me."
"You could have called me too Naina. No one stopped you."
"I didn't want to disturb you . Now you are the head of Maheswhari industries. Its not like calling the old Sameer who just a next door boy , rt??"
"Really ?? Is that what you think about me?? I have been handling this role for the past two years. Till last year you used to call me . Why this dialogue now?? "There was absolute silence. And this silence was killing me. My fear of loosing her to someone was growing by the minute. I felt something had to be done. We just couldn't go on like this. I needed to know whats in her mind. I decided to go to Bombay to meet her.
"Anyways , called you to tell I will be in Bombay next week. No excuses , I plan to meet you. Don't say you are busy blah blah...if you do...you know me rt?? Will trace you down ...no running away."
"When I have ran away from you?? I have never done that Sameer."
"Oh yeah, that is why you are in Bombay. You didn't even tell me that you had applied for a job there."
"I didn't want to marry that Sharad and If not him, I was sure Tayi ji would bring someone or the other. I wanted to concentrate on my career. "
"Hmmm...you could have told me...Ready to meet??"
"Do I have a choice ??" I could hear her laughter while she asked this question.
"NO!!"
"Well, then let me know when you are here ."
"Ok. Bye for now."
"Take care Sameer."
One week passed very slowly . Finally, the day arrived and my flight was in the evening. The sky was turning purple, the birds flew towards their nest, the sun was slowly moving towards the horizon for the much-needed rest and I was getting ready to ask the most important question of my life to the one and only. Was I nervous ? Oh yes , so was both sides of the family. Would it be in our favour ?? What if it isn't ?? Can I let it go , that easily ?? After all I have waited nearly 10 years of my life. As the plane touched down , my heart started beating faster , there was an absolute uneasiness. Wondered how it would be when I meet her the next day.
PS : Let me know your thoughts on this write up ... eagerly waiting for your comments.
Part 2
https://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=5031970&TPN=4
Epilogue
Part 1
https://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=5031970&TPN=8
Part 2 and 3
https://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=5031970&TPN=9
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