Mishal Raheja as Major Dutta Patil
Painful Rapture ~ chapter 32
"nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"
Dutta cuddled up in his olive green military blanket, he moved his pyjama clad legs and wriggled his toes to ward of the cold in his room ,his naked rounded arm groped around for the chunni tucked between his torso and legs,as he pulled one end with a bicep knotted arm and put it under his cheek and closed his eyes again "oomhh" he went as he dug his nose in it and took a couple of strong sniffs and moaned "Naku" ,as he kneed his hairy rough legs restlessly against the cool bed sheet .."hoonnn" he went and covered his face with the chunni end and his long tidy fingers stroked the purple material, the scent of her fragrance never failed to transport him into realms of sheer ecstacy.. buzz! his moblile vibrated behind him and he stretched his naked arm backwards and reached for his phone, pressed answer and laid it to his ear and closed his eyes moving his bottom back in a comfortable postion.. "sawwaaare sawwaaare..tere bin suni suni hai akiya" .. came the soft voice on the phone ,sawaaarre sawarre"...he smiled and hoarsed "abhi age bhi gaye gi ye teri soie edher he atuk gaye hai" ,"teri bin sune ,sune hai" ..and she sniffed ,and he said "I was waiting for your music to start" he said dryly his eyes closed once she had gathered herself, "Saab ab bhi gayo saaware sawware"..she giggled ,he smiled "mein tera gala kyon nehi daba deta phir apni awaaazz sunte rehi ahhh ahhh ahh" ,he went and closed his eyes and went ttt, with his teeth ,alarmed she asked "Saab kya hoya hai ap theekh tu ho?" ,and he continued "ttt ummhh ttt , sarde leg rehi hai Naku" , "ooh Saab" she went "tu cover ker ke soya kero na ap, mujhe pata hai jaise ap sote ho"she said, and he twisted his mouth with closed eyes "nehi Naku ye sarde tu tab door hogi jab tu khud yahan mera pas hogi" ,and he paused for a bit ,"waise teri substitute bhi koi buri nehi, jo us se kaho woh tera Saab ke her baat manti hai , mera badan se ek pal door nehi hoti hai, hai! abhi bhi hum ek dossera se lipte hoyan hain ...uff bahut mazza ah raha hai" ,he chuckled ...he drawled .."mujhe tu us ne apna ghulam bana liya hai umar bhar ka liya ,arhhummmh" he said devilishly ,"oh be quiet! said an irate Naku ..,"aap ko tu bas physical aspect he pasand hai! she spewed ,he let go off her chunni! and became vigilant with immediate effect ,while she continued ,"there's nothing subliminal about our love Saab ,now yesterday you went about feeling my belly! ..,he sat up immediately his eye brows began to crease ,"if I hadn't stopped you heaven alone knows what you would have done! ,she complained ,"Nakusha !he yelled , "shut your face immediately! subliminal my foot! I bloody touched your belly so that makes me a bloody carnal beast does it! Well! well!! , and you think I would have done god knows what! ,...you...bloody moody cow ..you!! ...he stopped to calm down ,obviously very distraught by her thoughts ,"so Nakusha you think the lust lout of a lover Dutta! just wants your body! ...only! ... well let me tell you from this moment in time! Dutta will not lay a finger on you! that's for sure from my side! !and you can give our love the sublime touch! the platonic touch! or whatever else you wish to call it! he complained on the phone ,very hurt and sore "and now if you'll excuse me I have a busy day ahead!! ..and before she could say anything to appease him he disconnected the phone... she sat there looking at her phone her face red and hot and finally the tears rolled down her face and she grabbed her lion and kissed it across the face ,had "ohhh Saab " didn't mean the words, the way they came out ,I...I! was jealous because you were so into that wretched chunni of mine it seemed to me you don't need me the way you do it!, ohhh she clutched the lion to her bosom ,I love you Saab I love your touch, there is not a crooked bone in your body I know you would never defile our love ..I know Saab but..ohhh!!" she sobbed as a fear gripped her ,for he was known to her as a man whose word is written in stone "oohhh Bappa please give my Saab your wisdom and discernment , give him wisdom to think over what he said...she prayed as she sat on her bed looking dolefully into her Bappa's eyes.
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Naku, made her way towards, her daily chores, but today was a little out of the ordinary she was noticeably the source of attention of most staff, as it was common knowledge that Harshad along with others had been fairly dismissed .Naku was uncomfortable , she hoped there would be no union reaction, but instead the nurses at the reception desk thumbed up to her which alleviated her discomfort and elevated her spirits and faith within herself. She entered the wards and found Nandi sitting in a wheelchair, dressed in jogging bottoms and a loose floral top, as soon as she saw Naku she pressed the button of the motorized wheelchair and whizzed fervently towards Naku "Naku ap ah gaye oh! she spread her arms and Naku held Nandi's palms with returned action, they continued "Naku, I hear you did some cleanup job" giggled Nandi,"come on tell me the details heard you got the male ward PT Harshad sacked"! she teased. Naku, ignored Nandi's jest and replied, "Nandi just a friendly advice for future remember, to be dismissed from job, or to be made redundant ,or to be unemployed can having harrowing effects on human beings, it can have psychologically drastic effects on the persons immediate family as well so in that light, I do say that it is regrettable Nandi ,that Harshad had to leave on a bad foot ,his parents worked hard to provide funds for him to acquire basic and finally higher education for him to qualify for this job, there was expectations that he would be able to stabilize his life, and also to provide them security in their later years, now all of that seems to be marred by an erroneous informed choice that he made!" said Naku pensively. Nandi observed this woman ,she was commended for her effort ,everyone was talking about it ,but here she is totally on a different level from everyone...,she decided to change to something lighter ,"look Naku, there were soldiers about ,apparently headed by your man, she tapped Naku's arm "oh come on Naku give us the gossip then!" .Naku smiled feebly and replied gravely "actually Nandi yes he was here ,but he was on duty and as soon as his work was finished he left ,"but you never told me what happened Naku! badgered Nandi, "there is nothing to tell except that you there were, individuals who organised ,planned ,and abetted and committed the theft of stealing from the public purse ,once exposed they were tried found guilty and sentenced, so in short Nandi it was an open and shut case of crime and punishment", she concluded . Naku, though knew, as much as she hated Harshad , his depraved and lead astray ways ,she would still prefer to uphold the forgiveness element for she was would rather give up the rightful feeling of hatred towards him. Yes she thought , she found that she too learnt and took a step further in building up her own character, she learnt this was not the end ,for the end of this case would be when Harshad can see that she was cruel to be kind.. and that for her he was still a person whom she shared territorial bonding with.
Naku, guided her patient back to what she was really here for "come along lady let's see what progress you are making ,and she smiled at Nandi "if you strong enough, we'll see if you can find your legs today to stand and balance what do you say to that ,Nandi? encouraged Naku ,"yess responded Nandi "you check Naku and I'll give it a shot!. The two reached the PT room, and Naku helped Nandi to step out of the wheel chair with her shoulder support . She was pleased to see that Nandi could uphold her leg posts, "right Nandi, this here on the floor beneath you is a foam as you can see a trapezoid balance beam, and it's used in rehab, to aid balance and stability in various parts of the body, like, foot ,ankle, abodomen, chest, arm leg and shoulder ,however in your case ,Nandi its your legs, more so your foot ankle and knee we will tone ,you ready then Nandi?"waited Naku, "now ,its best you use the beam in bare feet so as not to damage the foam beam, ok lets start with you standing on the beam on your two feet ,ensure that your heels touch the floor and your foot arches are on the foam beam ,yes that's good! ,steady and now bend your knees slightly so you can balance the body gravity ,Nandi good! let your toes touch the mat and balance your body and hold for 45 seconds ,that's excellent ,chirped Naku as she saw her patient ,"ok Nandi now let's see if you can repeat this activity with one foot at a time ,so put one foot on the ground and the other in previous manner balance on the beam and hold for 40 seconds ,and swap feet, thats' excellent! .Naku continued with her instructions ,"now Nandi , see if you can do some balance beam tandem walking on the trapezoid , forward's first and then backwards ,don't worry, here let me hold your hand to start you off ,brilliant great control! ,now place one foot before the other and carry on the walk till you reach the end of the beam ,I'll let go of your hand and you balance your arms to maintain stability", helped Naku, "that's great now keeping facing the way you are and see if you can take a few steps backwards".Nandi continued as instructed and completed the task and Naku made notes on Nandi's assessment. With approval of her patients progress Naku continued with the therapy, "ok Nandi, now step on the beam ,and see f you can do some lower body exercise by bending your knees and feeling the muscle pull in your leg and hip ,and continue for 40 seconds ensuring that you balance on your feet and feel the ankle, excellent! and now finally Nandi! keep one knee bent on the foam beam and the other propped up ,place one arm flat on the beam and see if you can push yourself up and down again 6 times ,that's great! ,see Nandi this exercise strengthens your abdominal and core , alongside toning your knee, leg and ankle muscles ,ok excellent work ,that's all for today Nandi, see if you can raise yourself and step off the beam and if I bring your wheel chair ,see if you can lower yourself in it without my help ,instructed Naku. Naku pulled a chair and sat before Nandi's wheel chair, "so any feedback ,reactions, thoughts about the activity? she prompted Nandi, "well, it was a bit of a mission Naku, as I had it in me ,the desire to succeed, but there was also the what if? element, but you being there made me do it my sweet Naku! I didn't know I had it in me", said a dewy eyed Nandi as she clasped Naku's hands .Naku ,lowered her eyes and smiled and then raised her large green doe eyes again towards Nandi. This is it Nandi, "the "what if"? questionings in our life, the tumble weed that hinders our growth temporarily, our belief in our self of what? and who we really are? ,and what we really want? and above all what we are capable of doing? so sometimes in life when we have to balance between right or wrong, the grip of a helping hand can make us walk down a precarious situation in our life, now Nandi that helping hand can either be your spiritual redeemer or an earthly body, your soul mate".. said Naku, with a distant gaze as she thought of the strong palm of her soul mate. Nandi, beamed for she knew full well who the two pillars were in Naku's life! "this is what I love about you Naku, your looking at life's experiences like a lifelong learning process and then sharing it in a little gyan, which is so very you Naku ,oohh I missed you and your healing touch my friend" ,chirped on, an energized Nandi!
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Dutta , stood organized, dressed in his angled sand beret, chocolate chip, light brown and sand camouflage uniform , in addition to his sleeveless black bulletproof jacket, buoyed up on his shoulders by broad straps that were velcro bound just below his collar bones ,his already bulky chest muscles were covered with oblong strapped pockets of the jacket. He gave one final look to his face ,it bore a scowl ,he pouted his mouth courtesy of that Naku ,with furrowed brows he curved his head and straightened it up again ,his face as if by magic devoid of all expression, blank likened to clean sheet of paper ,he turned his head reached out for his camouflaged metal helmet ,held it in the hollow of his waist and arm and stomped out of his apartment towards the parade ground.They saw him approach ,he came and stood to attention before their vertical line, and in attentive position without blinking an eyelid they saluted him and he returned their greeting . He, stood with legs slightly apart as he bent and placed his helmet on the ground , stood upright again and turned with head held high and with narrow discerning eyes inspected his Outs as he boot paced up and down the vertical line of his officers .Once complete he stood before them his long arms by his sides ,"good everything seems to be in order, shortly we shall be heading towards the firing range" ,he paused in time to catch the glint of sparkle in some eyes, "okay officers a piece of some action, not as seen in video games where the attacked figures fall dead ! but at another go of the game those dead figures come alive again and the game starts all over again! For what you practice today is preparation for the real line infantry combat, the foe has a bullet aimed at you , you have two options ,either you stop the bullet from reaching you or receive the bullet! ,Dutta said unyielding, he raised his hand and narrowed his eyes as he studied their apprehension of the gravity of today's rifle practice ,"so officer's let's get clear headed restraint into today's activity! rather than a girl guide or boy scout jamboree buzz! he continued with a fixed cold expression.
The under trainee officers huddled into the army people loader and there was, as like before on the field trip expedition, a concealed muffle , an under the breathe exclamation ,a playful guffaw, a,wink here a there, a brush of shoulders and hands as they looked around to accommodate themselves .Dutta came over to give them a final look ,his face serious and grim like a rain cloud! "right settle down you lot! and mind it don't get too comfortable not far too go roughly quarter of an hour ride ,he said rigidly, as some of them dared to raise an eye brow . Bhatnager ,Khan, and Kapur exchanged glances and as soon as their commander moved Kapur whispered to Khan who sat opposite him ,"oye he sure is in a foul mood ,hope you have nothing to do with this! ,"excuse me ?protested Khan "what do you mean me?! , "listen lovelina! said Kapur "usually you are the beauty the beast growls at the most!, hai ke nahi ? aur dekha apne haat chorri, nails chopped off nehi hoi, tu tera unglian chop off ker de ga woh aaj rifle range per! , jested Kapur .Khan gave him a filthy look "these fingers can also strangle you to death" she challenged and Kapur put his hands around his neck and stuck his tongue out "hai maar dala tu ne officer!",Bahatnagar glared at him Kapurrr why do you always remind me off a lungoor! and every one laughed, "oh knockout Bhatnagar! cheered all, "haan that should zip him up for a bit, hero giri dekhta hai" said Tiwari ,as she pointed finger at Kapur .
Dutta squinted in the bright sunlight as he prepared for the demo lecture of the two assault weapons his Outs were going to be using at the range ... "ok Outs let's see what you can do at the firing range!" explained Dutta. He held the first weapon his left hand fingers cradled the bottom half of the assault rifle, while his right hand rested on the magazine part until his knuckles and veins showed vividly in a strong grip, "right this beauty in my hold is a SA4O ,an IW or individual weapon, which is your standard light support under training weapon, now the feature with this is that it can be fitted with II, he explained, Bhatnagar ,raised her palm,"II SIR"?she questioned, "yes meaning image intensification at night sight", he replied. Kapur who remained, especially after, his ragging during the ride, utterly gripped asked "what would be the ammo used Sir?", "ah yes I was going to add Kapur but seems you are as usual in a hurry,"said Dutta as he gave Kapur a deadpan look ,and continued "the ammo used is 5.56x45 mm, and it is considered the most reliable in small arms, in terms of accuracy, versatility and ergonomic design" explained Dutta as he stirred his head to catch their undivided attention. He stood elevated and powerful as he commanded, with an raised eye brow "right volunteer needed to hold and feel the weapon", most of them shirked and he commanded "Kapur you hold the beauty ,come on officer ,for heaven's sake it won't bite you! if it all in combat it'll save you from getting your butt being bitten off! ,he said with a touch annoyed at their, lack of confidence. Kapur came with an embarrased smile, while others exchanged glances. Once Kapur held a spare SA40, Dutta started in a slow, almost intoxicated drawl as his long shapely finger felt he IW, he looked up his lion like eyes frigid, "listen up and take note ,the calibre as I mentioned is 5.56mm,the weight and he gripped it ,raised his eyes and looked at Kapur who sported a blank expression and Dutta sucked his bottom lip ,looked at the weapon and continued "is 4.98 kg, with loaded magazine and optical sight", he noticed with amusement at the expressions of some of them and quipped ,"Khan and Bose! you can cut out the gender tittering me woman can't carry rubbish! before I threw you both out! ,charged with bringing a bad name to your species"! he growled , while the two turned red in the face ,he checked for impact and assuredly continued, while he slid his long forefinger down and then up the assault rifle "ok as I was referring to the description of this weapon, the length of this weapon is 785 mm", he paused, as he let his finger glide at the barrel, "the barrel if you look, is 518 mm", ,and he looked up tenaciously and continued ,"furthermore officers the muzzle velocity is 940 m/s. He paused to see if Kapur understood and nodded once to see that the officer, along with the others could comprehended what he explained...,Tiwari asked "Sir what would be the magazine load?, Dutta nodded" well officers the feed would be a 30-round magazine, at an effective range of 400m, at a cyclic fire of 610-775 rpm!",he confirmed ,to the impressed Officers. "Right officers I want the following ready to start the range practice! ,he pointed with his long arm towards the direction of targets pitched at required distances for first shoot trials, he called out, "Bose, Singh, Bhatnager, Venkatesan, Tiwari, Gavde for the range, helmets on! and step forward and pick your gun from the case ,once they had carried out his command he watched from the side and bellowed " line up here across and aim weapon now! ",all others,not participating stood, all helmeted to one side and with bated breathe watched their course mates holding their rifles under Dutta's watchful eyes! "once in line! Dutta shouted, left leg and foot forward! ,left hand under the weapon ,resting against the magazine! ,right hand on the trigger catch and the butt of weapon pushed back onto right shoulder ,that's correct ,now ,aim your eye into the image intensifier and focus on target..hold it! he commanded as he went behind to peer into their image intensifiers, and said "come on relax and keep your head in position for vision of target ,and Bhatnager! loosen up remember this IW, is designed for maximum comfort and is safe! ok that's better, now aim and prop up the magazine all of you" he hollered and FIRE! ...raaataaa!the noise tapped , amidst a jerk of shoulders! rang and whistled, rattled through the environment. Dutta screwed his nose under his helmeted head as he could see target missed stray bullets! , however he decided to praise the effort, "fine officer's stand at ease and put down your individual weapons back to the cases and well done! a few more sustained practices should lick you all into shape !he announced and beckoned with a stroke of his palm for them to step aside, and with the same hand and head jerk he signaled the next lot to take up postion. Yadav, Bannerjee, Khan, Sinha, Chauhan, Kadam, Kapur, Subramanium, and Rao. Dutta stood staring at them as they were the second batch and as such were already familiar what had transpired ,still he gave the commands and briefly noticed Khan hesitated as she collected her weapon , she caught him for a split of a second watching her ,and upon noticing he revolved his face the other way and bit his lip ...well Khan ,let's see what you come up with , Brigadier seems to reckon you should sail through this straight into anti terrorism squad ...he stroked his stubble under his top lip, he Dutta need's to be reasonable he thought as he had seen her in action...but she did not use a weapon.. how she fares today is yet to be seen... he pondered.
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Baji! yelled a hysterical Roops as she raced frantically towards Baji's room flung open the door and rushed towards an astounded Baji who sat working on accounts at his laptop "oye aram se kya hoi hai Roops? ,it did'nt take him long to ascertain that something was not quite right she screamed "Aye Sahib", before Roops finished Baji raced ,almost slipped in haste as he leapt down the stairs to find ,Kishore , Leela ,Kala around a prostrated AS on one of the couches ,Baji raced and skated on the floor and got to her side as he held her hand ,Aye Saab "unkeen kholien AS he begged , he looked around, wide eyed and pale faced "areee koi doctor ko phone karo",Kala replied "Baji we've done it he's on his way .The doctor arrived and asked everyone to leave her side while he monitored her blood pressure, with the machine. All watched aghast at AS, plus at the doctor's expressions in desperation in some feeble hope to gather bits of information. .The doctor stopped the examination and approached the family members who all appeared worry stricken and baffled as she appeared fine generally .Baji approached the doctor, "kya baat hai hai? "well replied the doctor firstly this is not an emergency, so you all need to calm down, on examination her blood pressure appears slightly raised, and I can prescribe a stronger dose of her existing medication, it appears that as she is also diabetic ,her blood sugar suffered a low and hence forth caused a temporary faintness". The doctor contiinued she need's monitoring ,and if she suffers any more bouts of fainting I need to be informed immediately" . Roops wept in anxiety and clung to Kala who already, tended to her mother. Baji ,gulped and tried with increased difficulty to gather his wits, still unconvinced he turned to the doctor ,as he took him aside "now doctor, this is strange, she is well looked after ,has every comfort at her feet ,then how come she just passed out, to be honest ,I am rather stressed Baji expressed to the doctor. The doctor put a hand on a Baji's shoulder, "it can be age related as well Baji ,she has two medical conditions for which I am treating her, even a slight deviation from the controlled diet can also escalate her hypertension or aggravate her diabetes, so ensure she eats healthily , rests properly and is monitored carefully; if all these are done then assuredly she will fare well", concluded the doctor as he gave Baji the prescription, "thanks ever so much doctor, I am so relieved she is fine" said an emotional Baji his face red and sweating. Baji sat on the floor close to the sofa where AS lay, he glanced up at Roops, un abashed to show her his moist eyes, as he held on to AS's hand "kuch nehi hooga ap ko ,kuch nehi hoga ap chinta maat karen" ,he sniffed .She could only just hear him as she was still light headed and giddy to focus, he ordered "Roops arey Roops! ja aur thura meetha ya cheeni le ker ah!" ... Baji sat troubled as he stroked her hand, any one could see that this Baji Rao was off his coolness when it came to his AS being short of what she normally is! He fretted about the man who needed to know, Baji knew that it was Dutta's foremost instruction that if ever AS became under the weather or unwell he has to be told! but Baji, was too of much of a coward to inform Dutta ,he had to have presence of mind and stay by AS' side, because he knew that Bhao would expect him to attend to AS ..but Bhao will kill him if he spared the news ...he wiped his sweat ridden face and struggled with anxiety...he took his eyes off his mother...who can break the news to Bhao, Naku!...
Baji dialed, Naku's number ,"haan Baji ..tu is waqat? ..sab theekh hai na ghar per? ,and since there was a slight pause from Baji ,Naku hyped up Baji! bolt kyon nehi sab theekh hai?. Baji eventually responded "woh Naku ,AS, bagheer kisi waja se behoosh ho gayein, doctor aya tha aur bola tha ke sugar count low hone ke wajha se hoya tha ,BP thura upar hai",he reported sullenly Naku was slighlty gripped by panic and said "dekha Baji tum log un ka khayal nehi rekhta theekh se!" ,Naku maat bol ase tu ,thuje pata hai main AS ke dekh bhal mein koi kaser nehi chorrtha hoon, you have to believe me ,I love and worship her more then dear life it self, I check up on her 24/7 he almost sniveled. Naku gripped herself "Iam sorry Baji to have reacted the way I did ,but you know full well who's reaction to this news I am thinking off!" said Naku with a certain degree of chagrin in her voice , "excatly Naku and that's why I have rung you ,Naku he needs to know but only you can do it" !pleaded Baji, Naku immediately withdrew I dont think so Baji"... Baji was taken aback by her decline " you are telling me that you can't tell him Naku but may I ask why? Naku most put off replied "no baji you may not ask , besides you are his buddy you tell him! she said obstinately. Baji sniggered quietly.."kyon Naku tera Bhao se koi jhagreeha hoya hai kya ?he asked directly and then added on "zaroor us ne thujhe gharme dekhi hoge ,but you know what he's llke Naku an empty vessel that makes noise ..dil me uske ke koi mael nehi hoti! dil tu Bhao ke ek dum sheesha ke mafaq chuk chuk hai ek dum saaf! carried on Baji with great affection. Naku too smiled in agreement but refrained from verbally agreeing with Baji. But she responded by chipping in "acha chaal Baji mein phone ker ke Saab ko bataye gi, but before she could finish. Baji begged "Naku nehin phone pe maat batiyen ..khud ja ker use batna Naku pata nehi phone per kitna pershaan hoga ..tera us ke pas hoona zarori hai", but Naku became silent "oh Baji shall I say that his morning I fell from his grace"! she owned up sadly. But Naku said Baji gently, "phir tu all the more reason you need to go there and personally break the news to him ,I would have done it but tu jante hai na I have to stay by AS's side, and yes dont worry I'll book a prepaid cab for you, to take you there and bring you back to the Dera hospital during your lunch break, organized Baji ,"bas tu ne use ke receptionist se baat ker ne hai aur Rahmaan se rabta kqayam kerna hai,aager zarrori hoya tu,"Baji said, all dimpled smiles! so he unpicked in his mind..., this is called killing two birds with one stone ,he smiled and internally said to himself AS I am sure you'll approve of Baji's go between strategies where these two are concerned..
Naku looked at her schedule ,in actual fact ,she had no PT sessions with her patients for the afternoon was over to the occupational therapists sessions with her patients . She went back to her flat,distressed with the thought that they had fallen out with each other this morning and really and truly if she had it in her hands she would have wavered this meeting him with some delight.She festered over his rudeness! that he would never lay a finger on her !she phoo phooed the idea and opened her wardrobe and got her red georgette silver paisley motif saree , flanked with an green border, she thought after all she was going there for the first time, henceforth she had to ensure she was dressed appropriately and she was most certainly not dressing up for him! Now if he happened to like her in a saree was noy her problem it was his!, she grumbled as she put on the red blouse with green sleeve end border. She hooked her blouse and draped her saree ,and continued to study herself in the mirror ,not that she cared what about what effect her attire would have on him ,she flared her nostrils as she neatly ,pinned her pallu across her full bosom checking that her cleavage was well covered. She finally combed her hair, middle parted, ears covered and braided in a long loose plait. She looked at herself and added kajal to highlight her large green doe eyes, and graced her forehead with a tiny red bindi.The final touch was when she adorned her ears with tiny jhumkis, very subtle and feminine. Once ready she slipped on her kitten heels and reached for her bag and mobile and made her way towards the reception desk . "I have a four hour gap before my next session , as such Iam going off site ,however, please page me in an emergency situation", she reported at the hospital desk.. she addtionally needed to make an official call at the military school for entry on the premises, "hello, ma'am my name is Nakusha I am PT, who works at the Dera hospital ,for ID confirmation purposes, ma'am also, Iam Major Dutta's fiancee and need to see him regarding a family emergency, therefore I request for permission to enter the school, of course I understand ,this is an unoffical and therefore permission may be declined". The receptionist, requested Naku to hold on, while she would verify Naku's identity ,finally she gave permission to the security personnel at the entry barriers. Naku thanked receptionist, and further explained to Naku that Major Dutta was off site at the local army firing range , on Naku's request she supplied her with the address and also chipped in, that since this was a family emergency situation and that Nakusha was Major Dutta's fiancee , she would arrange for Captain Tahir and Captain Uday who are the range officers on duty, to meet and greet her and accompany her to the firing range. The cab as Baji had promised arrived nick on time and she was en route to the range. She kept looking at her hands, the thought of meeting him after their altercation, and the preoccupation with being at the receiving end again.. made her tiny palms clammy .
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Yadav, Bannerjee, Khan, Sinha, Chauhan, Kadam, Kapur, Subramanium, and Rao, stood ready and poised in position, as Dutta observed them. "focus on the target ahead officers and Fire the round" he commanded ,the noise tore apart the atmosphere ,at a glance he had his prediction confirmed ,she was good he thought , very few misses ,Dutta, decided to stretch Khan even more, he ordered a changed positioning of target, that on a lower ground ,and shouted at her "Khan! let's see you go for that bull's eye in a lying down position as opposed to standing , and you lot get to one side and observe ,he commanded to the rest of them. He looked at Khan with narrowed eyes from under his helmet as she waited and he screwed his mouth ,"well come on officer don't just stand there, lye on your abdomen! hit that target the close to the ground! "yes Sir! said Khan and bent her knees and lay flat on the ground and held her IW, and waited for his command , "5 shot's fire! he yelled ,and sure as pie the girl got it! ,while others watched in admiration. Ok officer! ,let's test your nerves one more time he said as he stared at her menacingly . "Range men ! multiple mobile targets in the thick foliage ahead" He ordered ,as Khan held her light weight rifle ...she feared his motives what did he want to see?and why? she thought as she waited with her course mates in side wings of the range , while the targets were arranged for Khan ,he reeled round and addressed the rest including Khan... "right officers, this is the SA80 fitted with the Underslung Grenade Launcher, aka UGL!, let me give you a demo of how to use it "he said as he crouched near a pre-prepared trench with the wall mount towards him, he rested his fore arm against the wall and lifted his SA80 towards the target,his left hand engulfed around the magazine and his right forefinger posed firmly on the trigger. He stood up again with weapon in hand ,and explained "this 40mm grenade launcher has tech holographic sight", and seeing they looked a bit blank Dutta clarified, "basically shows you a three dimensional image of an object using a photographic plate and light from a laser ,thus making it possible to sight and mark target". He scored they looked mighty impressed and therefore alerted them, "it is issued to infantry units on a scale of one per fire team, so don't get too excited! it will allow the fire teams to deliver effective fragmenting munitions out to 350 metres, and I must mention here that the advantages of the UGL system are low recoil, ease of use, reduced ammunition weight and the ability to have a chambered grenade at the ready, whilst continuing to fire the SA80,so there can be six UGLs per platoon which will then result in increased flexibility and weight of fire, so now what I would like to see that in two batches one UGL per patch you practice this weapon launcher ,so if you organize your selves in groups we''ll get on with the firing practice" he finished by resting his launcher on the trench wall...
Naku arrived at the entrance of the of the firing range and already two officers, uniformed and ray banned were ready to receive her, Captain Tahir held the cab door open for her as she alighted "ma'am welcome to the range, he spoke with a flashy smile , and he introduced his fellow officer, "this ma'am is Captain Uday, we will be accompanying you to the range where Major Dutta is conducting rifle training with under trainee officers, is the cab meant to wait for you ma'am? questioned Captain Uday ,Naku nodded "yes please if you allow it to park I would be grateful" she said shyly . Captain Uday, signaled the cabbie and turned to her again ,staring at her delicate fragile beauty ,"if you follow us ma'am and he moved his hand towards the army jeep "sorry ma'am this is the only means of travel we can offer a lady like you ,for we are but soldiers "he said lightly and Captain Tahir smiled discreetly at Uday's frivolous chit chat ,as he himself casually looked at the lady's saree and admired her grace ,lucky son of a gun that Major where did he get a such a stunning young fairy from ,he thought and then suddenly stiffened up in discomfort as he recalled the clout that Major Dutta has in the Army . Naku sat in silence ,in the company of these two young officers ,close to her own age, how graceful ,clean cut and full of authority they were she thought, but was in no time, worried about her Saab, she was fearful of his reaction, but she had to come...
Up at the start position on the range their only remained Khan standing in position her left hand under the barrel latched on to the magazine and right near the trigger loop ,all eyes were upon her. Dutta stood away from here and shouted "you need to check out the target first Khan, observe what the hell you are dealing with first! ,he growled, like an angry lion ,tell me now! what you see?" ,Khan moved her oriental eyes towards him laced with innocence ,anger and pure gut ,he could see it in the twitch of her jaw "Sir! she went" I see ahead mobile targets !about six of them ,they move Sir ,and between them semi hidden is the head and shoulder of the foe Sir! she shouted ,Dutta flared his nostrils and said "yess Khan that's correct! now aim and go for it let's see what you smash! Fire!... amidst bangs he could see along with others that she had hit bulls eye at all the moving swinging targets ,Dutta screwed up his face and stroked his stubble, hummmh she was top of the class this Khan! he admitted... he signaled for her to stop with his palm, and she smiled which he totally blanked out "well what do you know Officer you got all the other targets except the enemy hiding in the foliage ready to shoot you Khan! you hear that! he yelled as he pointed his finger at her , now get your damn act together I KNOW! and you know you can do it!! he shouted as beads of sweat gathered on his strong nose .."now postion ! aim and fire"! he commanded. She clenched her teeth and fired twice and he shouted heightened with irritation! rather than rage , he knew she could do it and heaven help him he will make her do it today! But he yelled "stop" and darted her with slashed looks "what is your issue Khan? you almost got the foe, tell me which part did you get ? speak to me! he bellowed "the shoulders Sir. she said terrified. "yes you bloody well did the shoulders, maiming is no good Khan! your enemy may still come after you! aim for the head finish him! he thundered ...while Khan gave him a flabbergasted look , and he finally shook his head, bit his lip and walked over to her stood behind her stretched his left arm over her shoulder covered her arm with his arm and held the magazine with her trembling hand in his broad palm ,he pulled his mouth and looped his right arm and closed it over her hand near the trigger loop, and raised the rifle slightly higher than her aim and put his chin close to her head and in a guttural voice said now fire ,his fingers over hers helped the final compression of the trigger! Fire!...
The jeep stood in front of the firing at range and Naku, came out flanked by the two captains. She saw her man on the firing range in a what she saw as a strange position his stubble chin rested on Khan's head ,and his tall body almost touched Khan's body! Naku eyes were completely dumbfounded , her face heated up in seconds and she felt she would lose her balance! Captain Uday looked at her "ma'am are you ok? He went and offerd her the helmet ma'am you might have to wear this," he said "as a precautionary measure ,now if you follow me this way please" he said and ,Naku walked dazed as her fingers nimbly put on the metal helmet. Dutta moved back from Khan and grunted "ok all done now put the rifle away and have a breather". Khan ,walked away high as sky, when suddennly she caught sight of Naku in a helmet .Naku! she screamed as she ran towards Naku and hugged her .Dutta looked up shock ridden "ye pagal adher kya ker rehe hai? he mumbled and stomped towards her, in a visible huff. The two Captains saluted "Sir your fiancee we were ordered by reception to bring her here" .Naku stood dressed in a saree with a helmet perched on her head! her arms hung in front of her ,the fingers of both hands twitched each other mercilessly ,Dutta looked down at her coldly and in particular at the helmet on her dainty little face ,and he pulled his lips to one side rolled his eyes up and suppressed a chuckle , bhootni dekthi hai tu! he said in his mind ,humm" yes thank you officers for your kindness ,I'll take over now said Dutta ,and gave Khan who had her arms around Naku's shoulder a smouldering look "officer Khan may I remind you to behave yourself! this here is the firing range ! not some bloody reunion jolly! now get back to your course mates and have a go at the USGL, now! He commanded .Naku stood her eyes down and he turned towards her when they were alone "kyon aye hai adher thuje maneh kiya tha na main ne, kabhi mera kam per maat ana! tu kyon aye hai?? ,he rattled, moved back, and yanked his head towards the lorry ,"come here behind this lorry I don't want a spectacle" he ordered. She almost, raised her arm for him to hold her by the wrist and drag her behind the lorry but instead she received a frigid look , he looked at her action and frowned and turned his face ,you must be joking woman ! no way am I touching you again! ... once they were shielded from the rest he bellowed "why are you here you stupid woman? how dare you disobey my order that you are NOT, NEVER to come to my work place!! he pointed a finger in her face .Naku had, had enough she pulled off her helmet and threw it on the ground "I came because I had to! NOT because I wanted too! You hear that Saab NOT because I wanted too!, she sparked off "and just as well I came to see the Veeru /Basanti shooting mangoes scene you were doing with Khan"!!! she cried in the face .He took off his helmet and his hair was all ruffled in little kinky waves, but he shifted his neck to one side and brought it back to face her .you know something! I am not even going to acknowledge I heard you make such a cheap ,low level remark and that to about me , and that Khan whom you call a friend" ,he uttered calmly, she looked shame faced and mumbled "well that's how it looked Saab ap ke bazzo uske ke kundha per thein aur aap ke haat uske ke hatton per ..she moaned ,bas! he raised his palm "is ke bad kuch aur nehi bolna Naku! ,and she opened her mouth again and he peered into her eyes "kyon ke main bhi teri aur us Harshad ke tasveer ke bararre mein kuch nehi bola...samjhe! he said menacingly .Naku put her hands on her mouth , and he looked at her with a fixed face "coming back to the point why have you come here? ,surly not to pick up the fight from where we left off this morning? ... he waited and she finally said "Saab its Aye Sahib she fainted... Dutta raised his hands to grab her shoulders but bent his fingers and withdrew them from touching her... to be continued~ Hamlet..16.12.11
Precap: "Dutta, there's no harm in going to see your mother for the weekend" sanctioned Parekh.
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