Samaina SS : "Suhana Safar" (*Updated*; Epilogue on Page 85) - Page 49

"Mujhe to shuru se hi pata tha ki is ladki ke lachan theek nahi
hai. Kitni bar kaha tha maine aapse lekin aap sunte kahan hain ", Beena
lost her cool at her husband when Anand informed them about Sameer while
Bela, Preeti and Naina stood terrified in one corner of the hall.

"Anand tumhe pata bhi hai tum kya keh rahe ho? Agarwal khandan ki
ladki ka prem vivah aur vo bhi Maheshwariyo me. Tumhara dimag theek
hai bhi ya nahi?", Naina's tauji's shouted in anger.

"Bhaisahab, ek baar aap Sameer se mil to lijiye. Bohat hi accha
ladka hai. Aap sab bina use jaane aise faisla kaise le sakte hain",
Anand tried to talk some sense into them.

"Sameer se mil le. Kabhi nahi. Aapne aisa soch bhi kaise liya
Anand babu ki humare jeete jee is ghar me aisa kuch ho sakta hai?",
Beena spoke again. "Accha, ab samjhi main, to islie pichle do saalo me
Naina ke liye mai jo bhi rishta laayi use mana kar diya gaya iski padhai
ka bahana bana ke. Asli kaaran to ye tha." Beena got up from the sofa
and walked towards Naina furiously. "Kab se chal raha hai tera ye lappa
jhappa. Bata. Dilli se shuru hua ye sab ya yaha Ahmedabad me hi. Chup
kyu hai ab. Bolti kyu nahi?", Beena twisted Naina's arm angrily.

"Taiji, mujhe dard ho raha hai, chodhiye please", Naina winced in pain.

"Dard ho raha hai. Jab apne khaandaan ki izzat mitti me mila rahi
thi tab dard nahi ho raha tha tujhe? Jaanti hai na tere tauji kitne bade
vakeel hain is sheher ke? Unki izzat ka to khayal kar liya hota kuch.
Ab dard ho raha hai maharani ko. Ye sab na tum dono ke laad pyaar ka
nateeja hai", Beena shot daggers at Anand and Bela.

"Bhabhi ji aap shaant reh kar ek baar hamari baat sun lijiye",
Bela came forward and hid Naina behind her before Beena could harm her
any further.

"Ab bacha kya hai baat sun ne ko? Aur Rakesh ji, aap kuch bolte
kyu nahi. Vaha chip ke kyu baithe hain. Dekh rahe hain kya gul khila
rahi hai aapki ladki. Ek to inke dono baccho ko khilaya pilaya varna
aapki tankaah se to kuch hone se raha tha. Aur aaj ini ke beti humari
izzat lutane pe tuli hai", Beena taunted Rakesh.

"Bohat hua bhabhi ji. Maana tankhaa kam hai lekin izzat ki khata
hun. Ye bar bar kya ginane aajati hain", Rakesh shouted back. "Aur tu,
teri to mai jaan le lunga aaj", Rakesh raised his hand to slap Naina but
he was stopped by Anand."Bhaisahab kya kar rahe hain aap? Aap is tarah
se Naina par haath nahi utha sakte, badi ho gayi hai ab vo. Ye koi
tareeka nahi hain apne baccho se pesh aane ka."

"Tu sikhayega mujhe mere baccho se kaise pesh aaun? Haan? Tu itna
bada ho gaya ki apne bhai ko naseehat dega? Aur yaad rakh Naina meri
beti hai. Mai jaise marzi chahu uske saath bartaav karunga. Samajh aya?"
He turned towards Naina and continued " Aur tu, agar aaj ke baad is
ghar se bahar nikli na to teri taange tod ke rakh dunga. Na ab aage ki
koi padhai hogi, na hi naukri. Andar ja chupchap"

"Bhaisahab par", Anand and Bela spoke together to defend Naina.

"Koi par var nahi, Anand. Har baar to tum apne man ki kar lete ho.
Lekin ab faisla hamara hoga. Agar is ghar me us, kya naam bataya us
ladke ka? Haan, Sameer. Agar is ghar me us Sameer ka naam bhi liya gaya
na to mujhse bura koi nahi hoga. Aaj tak tumne sirf bade bhai ka pyaar
dekha hai. Ab agar koi manmaani ki to mera vo roop dekhoge jo tum soch
bhi nahi sakte," Naina's tayaji warned Anand. "Chalo Beena yaha se".
Before walking out of the house, Tayaji turned back and looked at Naina "
Umeed karta hun tum bhi samajh gayi hogi varna hume aur bhi tareeke
aate hain samjhane ke."

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That whole night Naina wept laying her head in Preeti's lap. The
images of her father walking towards her in anger, kept flashing in her
head. This was not the first time that her father had shouted at her or
raised his hand to slap her. It was quite a normal scenario for her. But
the way his eyes held hatred for her, shook her to the core. Why was it
so difficult for her own father to understand her? Was she that bad
that her father never took any opportunity to mend their relationship?

"Naina mujhe pata hai tu nahi soyi hai. Bas kar ab rona. Sab theek ho jaega", Preeti said as she tried to put Naina to sleep.

"Kuch theek nahi hoga Preeti. Dekha na tune kaise react kiya
sabne. Aur papa ne to chachaji ko kitna sunaya na. Har baar meri vajah
se chachaji aur chaachiji ko kitna kuch sehna padta hai. Mai bohat buri
hun", Naina replied.

"Kisne kaha hamari beti buri hai? Kiski himmat hui hamari beti ke
baare me aisa kuch kehne ki?" Anand and Bela walked into their room with
plates in their hands since no one had had dinner that night.

"Haan papa dekho na, kya kya bolti rehti hai. Pagal ladki", Preeti supported her parents.

"Naina, aaj ke baad kabhi ye baatein apne dimaag me mat laana. Tu
to hamari pyaari si gudiya hai. Tere liye hum itna nahi sun sakte kya?
Aur tu to jaanti hai tere tauji, taiji aur paap ko gusse me kuch bhi
bolne ki aadat hai. Jab unka gussa shaant ho jaega, hum fir se unse baat
karenge. Theek hai? Chal khana kha le ab", Bela caressed her cheeks.

"Aisa karte hain, aaj apni betiyo ko khana mai khud apne haath se
khilaunga. Kyu Bela idea kaisa hai?", Anand looked towards Bela who
smiled in return.

With every morsel that Anand fed her, Naina was reminded of the
immense care, love and support her Chacha and chachi had been giving her
all through her life. If she never had the opportunity to feel her
father's love, her chacha chachi had compensated way more than that
with their unconditional love for her. After the dinner was finished,
Anand and Bela made sure that both their girls had slept before retiring
to their room .

"Bhagwan jooth na bulaye, Preeti ke papa aapko kya lagta hai
Bhaisahab aur bhabhiji ka gussa kabhi shaant hoga?", Bela asked
worriedly.

"Dekhte hain Bela, hum apni Naina ke liye kya kar sakte hain", Anand replied, unsure of how to tread forward.

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"Kahan ja rahe ho tum dono? Mana kiya tha na ghar se bahar nikalne ke liye?" Beena's voice echoed in the corridor.

"Vo, vo taiji, mummy ne suit silne diya tha, vahi lene ja rahe hain", Preeti replied.

"Do logon ki zarurat padti hai is kaam ke liye? Andar ja
Naina, Preeti le aayegi. Tumhe kya lagta hai mujhe kuch samajh nahi
aata?" Beena shouted again.

"Taiji, aisa kuch nahi hai. Aur aap yaha bahar to mat daantiye
kam se kam", Preeti looked at the people who had gathered around
hearing Beena's loud voice.

"Tu batayegi mujhe ab?" Beena twisted Preeti's ear. "Chal
Naina andar ja aur tu bhi jaldi se vaaps aa jana. Nahi to jaanti hai
na?"

"Ji taiji", Naina and Preeti both replied in union; Naina walked back inside while Preeti headed downstairs.

As
Preeti reached the end of the road, she stooped and looked back to
confirm taiji wasn't spying on her. Seeing her nowhere in the vicinity,
she turned left to the road going towards the mandir. On reaching the
mandir, she saw Sameer standing near the park gate, opposite to the
temple's entrance.

"Naina nahi ayi?" Sameer asked as he saw Preeti approaching him. Seeing Preeti nod in negative, his face fell.

"Jijaji aap tension nahi lo na. Papa mummy try kar rahe hain sabko manane ki", Preeti said in an attempt to calm him down.

"Kaise
tension nahi lun Preeti. Do mahine ho gaye maine Naina ko dekha tak
nahin. Na koi baat kari. Aaj itni mushkil se milne ka plan set hua tha,
vo bhi cancel ho gaya. Aur tum keh rahi ho tension nahi lun. Mujhe dar
lagta hai mai kahin use kho na dun", Sameer replied, frustrated at the
turn of the events.

"Aap uske bare me bhi to socho na ek bar. Vo bhi to kitni pareshan hai", Preeti replied.

"Tum
bhi to mere baare me socho na Preeti. Main pagal ho jaunga uske bina.
Na tum dono nanaji ko ghar aa kar hamare rishte ki baat karne deti ho
aur na tumhari taiji Naina ko akela chodhti hain. Agar hum kuch karenge
nahi to sab theek kaise hoga", Sameer said irritatedly.

"Jijaji aap nahi jaante hamare ghar me log kaise hain ", Preeti tried to reason.

"Mujhe
jaan na bhi nahi hai. Mai bas ye jaanta hun ki ab mere sabr ka baandh
toot raha hai. Mai kuch galat kar baithunga Preeti", Sameer said in a
warning tone which scared Preeti.

"Aap shaant ho jao please. Agar aap Naina par bharosa nahi karoge to fir kaun karega?" Tears welled up in Preeti's eyes.

"Preeti,
tum ro kyu rahi ho. Accha sorry. Aansoo poncho please", Sameer handed
his handkerchief to her. "Preeti, tumse kisne kaha mujhe Naina ke pyaar
par bharosa nahi raha. Mai jaanta hun ki meri Naina kabhi aisa kuch nahi
karegi jis se mujhe hurt ho. Lekin mai use aise nahi dekh sakta. Mai
taiji ko use aur pareshan karte hue nahi dekh sakta", Sameer put forward
his stance.

"Maine aapko kabhi aise
gusse me nahi dekha na islie rona aagaya. Aap hi to ho jo Naina ki
khushi ka khyal rkhte ho. Ghar me to sab bachpan se bas use rulate hi
rahe hain. Aaapka gussa dekh ke mai dar gayi thi", Preeti replied,
controlling her tears.

"Saali sahiba,
lagta hai aapne abhi tak apne jijaji ko pehchana nahi theek se. Chalo
abhi rona band karo haan. Sameer Maheshwari ki saali ke aanko me
aansoon. Bhai meri image ka to kuch khyal rakho", Sameer tried to cheer
her up. "Accha ab tum jao. Late ho raha hai na.Tum dono apna khyal
rakhna aur Naina ko kehna jyada nahi soche".

Preeti
looked at her jijaji in awe. One moment before, he was angry as hell
and the next moment, he was trying to lighten up her mood forgetting all
his anger. She mentally reprimanded herself for thinking that her
jijaji would ever loose trust in her sister. Assuring him that things
would get better soon, she left for home.

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"Preeti,
tu mili Sameer se? Gussa tha kya vo? Mujhe pata hai bohat gussa hoga.
Usse to bilkul bardasht nahi hota agar mai usse baat nahi karun to. Aur
yaha to itne time se sab bura hi chal raha hai. Bata na kya kaha usne?",
Naina bombarded Preeti with her questions as soon as she entered their
room.

"Behan, saans le le aur mujhe bhi lene de. Itni bhi kya bechain ho rahi hai?", Preeti teased her.

"Preeti, ye mazaak ka time nahi hai. Bata na kya bola Sameer ne?" Naina asked again.

"Anand,
Bela, Preeti, Naina sab bahar aao". Before Preeti could answer, they
heard Rakesh asking them to come out in the hall. As they went out,
Rakesh happily walked towards Naina and tauji and taiji who accompanied
him, looked happy as well, thus confusing everyone. "Naina, tera rishta
pakka ho gaya hai is sheher ke bohat bade CA se. Jaanti hai tere tauji
ne baat chalayi. Itna accha ladka hai, ghar parivar bhi bohat accha hai.
Aur itne bhale log hain ki bole hume ladki dekhne ki koi zarurat hi
nahi hai. Unhe tere tauji par itna bharosa hai. Batao ghar baithe itna
acha rishta mil gaya", Rakesh said offering Anand and Bela mithai.
Rakesh's words reverbated around the room, shaking the ground beneath
Naina's feet. She held Preeti's hand tightly, unable to come to terms
with her father's decleration.

"Ye
kya keh rahe hain aap bhaisahab. Naina ki marzi ke bina aap uski shaadi
kaise tay kar sakte hain? Aapne ek bar bhi nahi socha Naina se puchne ke
bare me?" Anand asked Rakesh.

"Kya
puchna tha usse? Hamare ghar me aajtak to bade budhe hi shaadi tay karte
the to humne bhi kar di", kya galat kiya?" Taiji chipped in for Rakesh.

"Galat
kiya hai aap sabne. Ye jaante hue ki Naina kisi aur se pyaar karti hai,
aap log aisa nahi kar sakte. Aise to aap ek saath teen teen zindagiya
barbaad kar denge", Anand spoke again.

"Anand
tum fir shuru ho gaye. Tumhe samajh nahi aaraha kya itne dino se kuch.
Kya isilie mai tumhe gaanv se yaha padhne ke liye le kar aaya tha taaki
tum ek din is ghar ki izzat ki dhajjiyan udao," Tauji shouted.

"Bas
aapke inhi ehsaano ki vajah se aaj tak mai chup tha. Sochta tha ki aaj
nahi to kal aap logon ko pyaar se mai aur Bela mana lenge. Lekin ab to
aap logon ne baat karne ke liye kuch chodha hi nahi. Maaf kijiyega
bhaisahab, Naina ki shaadi vahi hogi jaha vo chahti hai, fir iske liye
mujhe aapke khilaaf hi kyu na jaana pade. Bohat ho gaya ab. Mai apni
bacchi ki khushiya aap logon ki dakiyanusi soch ki vajah se kurbaan nahi
karunga", Anand raised his voice, tired of seeing his efforts going in
vain.

"Anand, tujhe fir se yaad dilana
padega ki vo meri beti hai aur uski zindagi ka har faisla mai lunga. Tu
nahi. Aaj ke baad", Rakesh pointed his finger to warn Anand when he was
cut in between by Naina " Aaj ke baad aap is tarah se chachaji se baat
nahi karenge papa".

"Tu mujhse zubaan lada rahi hai", Rakesh slapped Naina, shocking everyone.

"Ruk
kyu gaye papa? Aur maaro na. Aap bachpan se bas yahi to kar rahe ho.
Thappad maara aur chup kara diya, Iske alawa aur kaun sa farz nibhaya
hai aapne apne pita hone ka ", Naina replied, crying.

"Naina, main baat karraha hun na. Tum chup karo," Anand tried to intervene.

"Nahi
chachaji. Ab agar aap kuch aur bolenge na to ye aapko fir se aapko yaad
dila denge ki mai aapki beti nahi hun. Aaj mujhe bolne do aap log."
Turning towards Rakesh, she continued "Jab mai bachpan me gir jaati thi
aur roti thi tab kaun ata tha mujhe chup karane? Jab mujhe raat ko dar
ke maare neend nahi aati thi tab kaun mujhe kahaniya suna ke sulata tha?
Jab mai har saal school me top karti thi to kaun meri kamyaabi par puri
society ko mitahi baant ta tha. Jab mujhe aage ki padhai karni thi, to
kaun mere liye duniya se lada tha? Jab mujhe thode din pehle gold medal
mila tha, tab kaun apna saara kaam chodh ke meri khushi me shaamil hone
aya tha? Jab mujhe chot lagti hai to dard kise hota hai? Meri har choti
se choti chiz ka khyal kaun rakhta hai? Meri har farmaish ko kaun pura
karta hai? Kaun har kisi ko mujhse shaan se meri beti, meri beti keh
kar milwata hai ?Ye sab chodho jab bachpan me pehli baar mere mu se papa
shabd nikla tha to use sun ne ke liye kaun tha vaha maujood?". Wiping
her tears, Naina asked again " Kya aap the inme se kisi bhi mauke par
papa? Nahi na? To fir aapne kaise keh diya ki mere chachaji ka mujhpe
koi haq nahi hai. Is duniya me mujhpe pehla aur aakhiri haq sirf aur
sirf mere chacha chachi ka hai. Aaaj ke baad mere chacha chachi ki shaan
ke khilaaf kisi ne kuch bhi bola to main bardasht nahi karungi." As
Naina spoke, Anand and Bela looked at their daughter with tears in their
eyes. Naina's words had caught them off guard. The only thought that
ran through their mind was "Were they worthy of this respect when they
weren't even able to get their daughter her share of happiness?"

"Zubaan
dekho kaise kainchi ki tarah chal rahi hai. Yahi hota hai ladkio ko
jyada padhao to", Beena said in anger. Ignoring her taunt, Naina
continued " Aaj tak mai islie chup thi kyunki mujhe lagta tha ki mere
papa shayad ek baar mujhe samajhne ki koshish karenge. Shayad unka dil
paseej jaaega. Shayad unhi apni beti ki khushio ki parvaah hogi. Lekin
mai galat thi. Ab mujhe samajh aagaya hai ki meri khushio ki aapki
zindagi me koi value nahi hai. To jab aapko koi fark nahi padta, to aaj
se mujhe bhi nahi padta. Shaadi to meri Sameer se hi hogi. Jab mere
chacha ji ka aashirwaad mere saath hai to mujhe kisi aur ke saath ki koi
zarurat nahi hai".

"Aise kaise Sameer se
shaadi hogi haan? Jahan humne tumhari shaadi pakki ki hai, vahi hogi.
Ye baat gaanth baandh lo", Tauji warned Naina.

"Tauji,
aap to is sheher ke bohat bade vakkeel hain na. To shaayd aap ye bhi
jaante honge ki pichle do mahine se jo aap logon ne mujh par pabandiya
laga rakhi hai vo kanoon ki nazro me bilkul sahi nahi hai. Aur aapka
kanoon mujhe puri puri ijazat deta hai apni marzi se shaadi krne ki. Aur
agar aap log iske beech me aaye to aap jaante hain na kanoon me kya
praavadhan hain ? To shaadi to meri Sameer se hi hogi." Saying this,
Naina stormed out of the house leaving everyone shocked. Beena and tauji
sat on the sofa unable to bear the shock while Rakesh stood fixed to
his spot. On the other hand, Anand, Bela and Preeti had happpy tears
seeing their Naina finally speaking for herself.

"Aap
sabne Naina ka faisla sun liya na. Mera faisla bhi vahi hai. Isse
pehle aap mujhe rishta todne ki dhamki de, mai hi aaj aap sab se apna
rishta todta hun. Meri beti ki khushiyo ke aage ye samaaj ke reeti
riwaaj sab bemani hain. Aap log jaa sakte hain ab", Anand folded his
hands and went to his room angrily followed by Bela and Preeti.

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"Sameer, tujhe aise apna aapa nahi khona chahie tha", Nanaji told Sameer as he informed him the happenings of the evening.

"Nanu, mai pareshan ho gaya tha. Mujhe kuch smajh nahi aa raha tha", Sameer replied.

"Beta par",

"Bade malik, Naina bhabhi ayi hain. Bohat ro rahi hain", Ramdhari came running to Nanaji's room.

"Naina,
is waqt", Nanaji and Sameer rushed out, worried. Seeing them, Naina
couldn't control any longer and hugged Nanaji "Nanu, maine sabse jhagda
kar liya. Mujhe nahi rehna Sameer ke bina ab. Chachaji ne kitni koshish
lekin hamesha taujji aur papa unhe bura bhala kehte hain. Mai nahi sun
skati ab aur. Mai aagayi sabse jhagda kar ke."

"Naina,
shaant ho ja beta", Nanaji patted her head and let her cry knowing very
well that she needed to vent out. After some time when Naina had
stopped crying, she told them everything. Hearing her side of the story,
Nanaji felt really sad thinking what all had Naina been going through
since her childhood. But at the same time, he felt really proud that she
had finally taken a stand for herself. Once Naina's mood was better, he
and Sameer took her back to her chachaji's house where it was decided
that it would be better to marry them soon. Since Anand had also made it
clear to his elder brothers that he would get Naina married to Sameer,
he and Nanaji decided not to wait any further.

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