OS: TUM CHALE AAO (Tasha)

saawan ke jhoole pade

tum chale aao

tum chale aao

dil ne pukaara tumhe, yaadon ke pardes se

aati hai jo dekh ke, ham uss dagar pe hain kabase khade

saawan ke jhoole pade,

tum chale aao, tum chale aao

supriya came running to call her " nakku jaldi ghar chal tere baba laut aye hain aur tujhe bula rahe hain." she rushed back home and found a badly injured man lying on the cot while her father ganpat was busy examining his wounds " jaa woh lep le kar aa aur jahan jahan chot lagi hai laga de tab tak main kambal laata hoon, shareer thanda nahin parna chaiye." She at once got the paste and started applying it on his wounded head and arms " baba yeh sahab apko kahan mile?" he came back with a blanket and covered him properly " main wapis aa raha tha toh yeh mujhe nadi ke kinaare behosh haalat mein mila, gaonwalon ki madad se ise yahan le aya , halat toh nazukh hai par jaldi hosh aa jaye to bach sakta hai." She folded her hands and mentally prayed for his well being " baba aap thakh gaye hoge khana kha kar araam kar lo , main baithti hoon inke pass." He nodded his head and was about to speak when she interrupted " jaanti hoon agar inka sharer thanda pade toh pairon mein garam tel (oil) lagana hai." He smiled at her intelligence and felt proud that she was learning the nuances so quickly. he left the room to have dinner.

She took a chair and sat next to him watching how deeply hurt he was while he laid unconscious. In the middle of the night her eyes started becoming heavy, she decided to check his temperature before leaving to sleep. She touched his hand lightly and felt it was getting cold, worriedly she heated the oil immediately and started massaging his feet with it till they were warm enough, she sighed in relief and brought one more blanket to cover him. She turned around to leave when she felt a strong grip on her wrist she looked back and saw him creasing his eye brows, his face twisted in pain as he tried to gain conscious, he murmured something and then went back to sleep once again. She smiled broadly and thanked bappa for saving his life, finally he was out of danger. Her gaze fell on her hand which was still held by him, she twisted her wrist to free herself but failed her bangles made a tinkling noise making her remember how she always longed for a day to come when someone would hold her hand with complete authority, had that day finally arrived? Her heart questioned silently, why did his touch felt so special? She took a step, sat next to him and examined him carefully. She moved his hair back falling on his forehead with her free hand, he was breathing heavily and tightened his jaw muscles, with a gamut of emotions running through him she placed her hand over his heart to calm him down, she could feel his restlessness. She wondered what must be going in his mind that was causing unrest in him, she rubbed her hand lying on his heart to soothe away his pain. After a few minutes he relaxed and loosened his grip on her, she was lost in admiring him when he flickered his eyes and tried to open them. She realized how close she was sitting to him and immediately freed her hand and left the room in a hurry before he opened his eyes.

In the morning he was fully awake but felt very week, images of his car being chased by annas men and then he losing his control on the car and falling in the valley flashed before him. He closed his eyes in pain as he recalled that he had lost everything in that gang war even his closest pal baaji , it was his death that shook him to the core and made him realize that all this bloodshed was taking him nowhere, that's when he decided to surrender himself to law and put an end to this unholy nexus by disclosing about annas whereabouts to the police, which didn't go down well with anna and he thought of eliminating him from his path. Ganpath cleared his throat to make his presence felt " ab kaisa mehsoos kar rahe ho?" he opened his eyes and replied gratefully " jee bahut accha .. apne meri jaan bachayi iske liye apka bahut bahut shukriya." He smiled and nodded his head in negative " shukriya kis baat ka ? waise aap hain kaun aur yeh sab hua kaise?" he lifted his lowered head and said " main dutta ..dutta shriram patil ..meri gaadi ka accident ho gaya tha aur woh khayi (valley) mein gir gayi thi."

"chalo bappa ka shukr hai apko kuch nahin hua .. nakku ? beta inke liye dawai le aa" he called her out. She came with a glass of turmeric milk and medicines, dutta made a face looking at the glass of milk in her hands and asked in surprise " dhoodh?"

" haan beta pee lo haldi wala hai apke liye kafi faidemand hoga." Dutta took the glass from her hands and wrinkled his nose on smelling it then closed his nostrils with his fingers and had it one go. She pressed her lips to stop herself from smiling on seeing him behaving like a child, he looked so adorable she thought. But her attempt to curb her smile didn't go unnoticed by him, in fact it annoyed him and he stared back at her. His intense gaze pierced through her soul which she couldn't bear so went back to the kitchen.

Slowly days passed by and dutta began to recover thanks to ganpat who would assist him with his daily chores and nakku who would take care of his medicines and food. He was grateful to both of them and would admire them the way they selflessly served other villagers as well. Dutta and nakku hardly spoke to each other but didn't fail to steal glances whenever the other person was busy with some work , there was definitely some kind of attraction between them which they didn't want to accept but couldn't ignore at the same time. One fine day ganpat was sitting lost in his thoughts when nakku came from behind and kept her hand on his shoulder " kya hua baba kya soch rahe ho." He turned and looked at her " karza chukane ki tareekh nazdeek aa rahi hai aur uske liye mujhe shehar jaana hoga lekin tujhe akele is ajnabi ke saath kaise chod kar jaun." Its not that her father didn't trust dutta but he was worried that he had still not recovered fully and needed someone for his assistance and on top of that both of them staying alone in his absence would send a wrong message to the villagers and at the same time it was important to arrange for the money as well, she thought for a while and then replied " baba main ek kaam karti hoon supriya ko kuch din rehne ke liye bula leti hoon jab tak ap shehar se nahin laut te." Ganpat agreed with her and left the next day.

She was heating the milk for him when supriya came " jaa yeh dhoodh sahab ko dede tab tak main aur kaam dekhti hoon." He hated milk since childhood and was fed up of having it with those bitter medicines he tried so many times to refuse her but couldn't do so, so today he had made up his mind not to have it come what may, he was looking down when supriya came with the glass and without glancing up he started off " phir dhoodh ? mujhe nahin peena .. main koi 2 saal ka baccha hoon jo roz roz dhoodh peeon..mujhe chai chaiye." Supriya got startled at the way he was blasting her and replied with a trembling voice " yeh nakku ne bheja hai ." he looked up and glared at her then turned his head, he was adamant that he wont have milk anymore. A minute later he saw a hand with the glass again which angered him " maine kahan nah mujhe dhoodh nahin .." before he could finish nakku said "dhoodh toh apko peena hoga kyunki apke liye zaroori hai iske liye aap apni naak , aankh sab bandh kar sakte ho sivay apne muh ke ..main yahan se hillegi nahin jab tak aap isey khatam nahin karte?aur raha sawal chai ka toh meri ayi kehti thi ki chai peene se rang kala pad jata hai" He continued to look out of the window while she stood behind him with the glass at last he gave in and grabbed the glass from her and drank it with his eyes and nose closed. She was about to leave when he told her from behind " yeh jo tum mujhpar hasti ho nah jab main dhoodh peeta hoon ..mujhe pasand nahin." She stopped in her tracks and pressed her lips tightly thinking how did he know that she smiled at him whenever he had milk? But she couldn't help it he looked like a baby and she always wanted to pull his cheeks then, she blushed at her own thoughts. In the morning she helped him with his bath and his clothes all the time her eyes were downcast, she dared not meet his gaze. He was walking back to the bed when he tripped and was about to lose his balance but nakku came and held him she kept her hand behind his head so that he didn't bang it on the ground. He was too heavy for her to manage so she too fell on him in the process. The fall wasn't as bad as she had expected it to be she had managed to save him from getting badly hurt but only" physically", emotionally and mentally they both had fallen deeply for each other thanks to the close proximity which was not helping them either. Their faces were centimeters away from each other, he looked into her eyes and saw the concern they held for him, he felt like drowning in them never had anybody taken care of him the way she had " lagi toh nahin?" she asked softly, he smiled back lightly and indicated with his eyes "no" they both continued to look at each other till their magical spell was broken when supriya came and slapped her head " satyanash ..tod di nah nakku ki pyari choodiyan." They both got up and saw broken pieces of her bangles , she examined her hand which she had kept under his head was bleeding, she hid it from him and left the room quietly. Supriya held her hand under the tap to stop bleeding and was blabbering like why she didn't take care of herself? And see how much blood was coming out? but nakku was lost in her thoughts, never for a moment she felt the pain of her bleeding hand but was only worried that he shouldn't get hurt, nor did she remorse over breaking of her priceless green bangles, why? She questioned herself with a smile playing on her lips.

"peeche hato" he ordered. Supriya instantly closed the tap and instead of taking two steps back moved four steps back, god she was too scared of him. He took nakkus wounded hand in his and started applying the paste which she used to apply when he was hurt. He turned his neck and stared at supriya , she at once left them alone. Nakku winced in pain as the paste stung her, she closed her eyes tightly and pressed his hand firmly, he bent his head and blew on the cuts, she glanced at his worried face, the pain of her cuts reflected in his eyes " kya zaroorat thi haath beech mein lane ki?" she met his gaze and replied " nahin laati toh apko chot lag jati aur yeh main kaise?" didn't complete her answer, took her hand back and left him speechless once again with her unconditional concern for him. The whole night he kept on thinking about her, the way she attended his wounds and how her eyes would get filled when he groaned in pain as if he meant something to her. Did he really mean anything to her? He wondered and she cleared his confusion immediately when he felt her covering him with the blanket which he had thrown away to the other side of his bed. He opened his eyes and saw his retreating back automatically something flickered in his heart, he didn't know what but some new and strange feelings were making a place in his lonely heart.

In the afternoon both the girls were making lunch when supriya said " wah karela (bitter gourd) bana rahi hai us kadoos ke liye ? accha hai..humesha aankhein kholta hai ghoorne ke liye aur muh kadva bolne ke liye ." unaware that he was standing near the door listening to them when nakku defended him " koi insaan janam se kadva nahin hota , haalaat (circumstances) insaan ko rukha (dry) bana dete hain aur sahab ki zindagi mein kya hua yeh hum kahan jante hain , unke dard ka toh hum andaaza bhi nahin laga sakte , bhale he woh kadva bolte hon lekin dil ke toh saaf hain." Her words kept ringing in his ears how could a stranger understand him so well without he even uttering a word. She slowly kept the bitter gourd dish in front of him a little uncertain whether he would like it or not. He gazed at the plate and made a face, were those bitter medicines, those glasses of milk not enough that now he had to eat this horrible dish too. He sighed and started having it reluctantly, both of them joined him and started having lunch she looked at his face to read his expressions which clearly told how difficult it was for him to swallow that bitter gourd but still she gathered her courage and asked him " sabzi acchi nahin lagi?" he didn't reply and her face fell, few minutes later he broke the silence and asked " thodi sabzi aur milegi?" she at once got up and served him more happily while he realized although she made him have those bitter medicines and milk but at the end of the day she fed him with delicious food as well, this bitter gourd tasted divine when cooked by her.

In the evening he heard a melodious voice from nearby and couldn't stop himself from following that voice, he slowly took steps outside the house and was dumbstruck when he saw her on the swing , getting wet in the rain and singing this

Aanchal na chode mera..pagal hui hai pawan

ab kya karoon mein jatan..dhadke jiya jaise panchi ude

sawan ke jhule pade

tum chale aao ..tum chale aao

In the morning she thought of visiting the temple so with her pooja ki thaali she stepped out, he was also standing there " main mandir jaa rahi hoon" she informed and took another step then stopped and asked " sahab aap chaloge?" he shrugged his shoulders and began walking a little behind her slowly " hmm theekh hai thodi sair hi ho jayegi..chal" both walked silently, it was breezy, her dupatta flew and covered her face making him smell her fragrance, he smiled inwardly on recalling the recent events, it felt good to be with her. Soon they reached the temple and he sat on the footsteps she turned and asked him " aap darshan nahin karoge?" he replied uninterestingly " kya farak padta hai.. waise bhi mujhe kuch nahin chaiye ." She smiled and met his eyes " yeh kisne kaha ki hum sirf yahan mangne ke liye aate hain? Hum bappa ka shukriya bhi toh ada kar sakte hain?" he didn't want to argue with her so turned his head and looked to the other side, she took a deep sigh and thought some things cannot be forced they should come from within so left him alone. After doing her puja she offered him Prasad he was not interested so she said " sahab humesha mere haath se kadvi dawayiyaan khate ho aaj ise mithai samajh ke he kha lo." He took it quietly and then they both started walking back to the house, on the way he saw her pressing her lips hard to control her smile " ye tu humesha mujhe dekhkar apni hansi kyun rokti hai..ab meri kis baat par hans rahi hai?" she pointed towards the chain he was wearing " aap dikhate kuch aur hain aur karte kuch aur ?agar bhagwan par vishwas nahin karte toh gale mein mata ka locket kyun pehna hua hai ?" he lifted the locket and gazed at it " meri aayi bahut puja paath karti thi ..ye unki aakhri nishaani hai?do saal pehle mere 23^rd janam din par woh guzar gayi" His eyes filled up on remembering her but he pushed his tears back " unhone apni hone wali bahu (daughter in law) ke liye banwaya tha." She stopped in her tracks and asked out of curiosity " toh phir koi mili." He took his time to reply " kal tak toh nahin .." then started at her and continued " par ab lagta hai shayad meri talaash puri ho gayi." Color rose to her cheeks on hearing this and she dropped her gaze, rest of the walk was silent both thinking about those new feelings which had developed between them, where they in love? May be

When they reached home ganpat had already returned and was having an argument with the money lender, he held ganpats collar when he said he couldn't arrange for the full loan amount. On seeing ganpat being abused and physically assaulted dutta couldn't control his temper and slapped the money lender hard he was about to punch him when ganpat intervened " nahin bhau isey chod do ismein iski koi galti nahin hain main he pure paison ka intezaam nahin kar saka." Dutta left the man asked him how much money had to be repaid, the money lender replied "Rs 25000 ..lekin ye sirf Rs 5000 de raha hai." Dutta checked his wallet he wasn't carrying that much cash so thought for a while then instantly took out his chain and gave it to him. Both nakku and ganpat were shocked , ganpat tried to stop him but dutta raised his hand to silence him and said " apne itne din mera khayal rakha woh ehsaan toh mein kabhi nahin chukka sakta par itna toh kar hi sakta hoon nah.." ganpat was still not willing to accept it but dutta continued " theekh jab paison ka intezaam ho jaye toh ye chuda kar mujhe de dejeyega." Ganpat accepted his condition reluctantly and nakku had tears in her eyes on seeing him part with his mothers belonging because of them, his large hearted gesture touched her immensely, she felt indebted to him.

A few days later dutta had went to the market and was coming back happily after purchasing what he wanted to but didn't know that like always this time too his happiness was short lived. He entered the house and saw ganpat talking to someone proudly on seeing him he introduced him as Ravi , nakkus would be husband, their marriage was fixed when they were kids, ravi had gone to the city for further studies and worked there. He had come back after spending seven years in the city and now both the families wanted to get them engaged as soon as possible and then married when ganpat was financially more stable. The whole revelation shocked dutta to the core, for a moment he just couldn't comprehend what ganpat was saying as if he was speaking in a foreign language with him but when reality struck him it struck him hard breaking his heart and feelings into countless number of pieces which he failed to gather. He looked at nakku accusingly who with her head downcast was standing near the door, he glared at her, clenched his jaw firmly and left the house without saying a word. He was blazing in anger and took it out by cutting logs of wood with an axe, with each stroke his anger reached another notch. Soon he heard her soft voice from behind " main janti hai aap mujhse naraaz hain ..mujhe apni shadi ke baare mein bata dena chaiye tha lekin mujhe khudh is baat ka dhyaan nahin tha ..meri shaadi bachpan mein tay (fix) hui thi aur phir mein bhool gayi ..baba ne bhi kabhi is baare mein zikhr nahin kiya ..aaj achanak ravi aa gaya aur unhone mujhe bataya ..lekin main unhein manaa kar ?" he didn't let her complete and turned around in anger " mujhe safaai dene ki koi zaroorat nahin , main hoon hi kaun tera ? ek ajnabi jiski tum logon ne jaan bachayi aur jo ek din yahan se chala jayega ..teri shaadi kis se hoti hai kis se nahin is baat se mujhe koi farak nahin padta ." she was shocked to hear his words, she couldn't believe that all this didn't affect him and that they both shared nothing " toh apka matlab humare beech mein kuch nahin hai , aap mere liye sirf ek ajnabee ho aur main kis se shaadi karti hoon apko koi farak nahin padta?" she met his eyes and questioned him. He threw the axe aside in frustration and stepped near her, for the first time she was getting scared not of him but for him, she dint know what he would do to himself and stepped back and continued to do so till her back touched the barbed fence, she placed her left hand on the fence to support herself as he towered on her, he was raging in anger like a hungry lion and she could feel his hot breath on her face, he pressed his hand firmly on hers which was placed on the barbed wire and said " kya hai humare beech mein ? huh do din ki mulakat ko tu kya naam dena chahti hai ? pyar ka ?" he smirked at her " maine kaha na mujhe koi farak nahin padta ki tu kis se shaadi kare , kiske naam ki angoothi (ring) apni ungli mein pehne" and crushed her hand lying under his, her eyes became teary as the barbed wire pierced through her fingers, she cried not in pain but out of joy on seeing the love which he was trying hard not to acknowledge but which was clearly visible in his eyes. He left her on seeing her in pain and regretted his act, he turned his back to her and she went back home with her ring finger bleeding now how could she wear anybody else's ring she was already marked as his, she smiled inwardly.

In the middle of the night she got up out of thirst, after having water she went to check on him as a matter of habit, he wasn't there, she looked everywhere but failed to find him then saw him making the swing outside from her window, she rushed out in happiness, he did care about no matter how much he tried to deny, that swing was the proof. He pulled the rope hard to check if it was tight enough and wouldn't break again. He could feel her presence so turned her neck, she was standing with her arms folded across her chest and gave him a challenging look "kyun nahin apne dil ki man lete ..kab tak apni bhavnaon (feelings) ko dabaoge." He couldn't lie to her anymore so lowered his head to avoid her gaze " main kya mehsoos karta hoon iska koi matlab nahin hai..ek pal ke liye behak gaya tha..khwab dekhne laga tha ..ye bhi bhool gaya tha ki mere jaise insaan ko khwab dekhna ka bhi haque nahin." She didn't understand what he was trying to say and had a confused expression on her face, so he continued " jin haathon ko tu thamna chahti hai woh kitno ke khoon se range hue hain tujhe nahin pata ..main toh apne gunahon ka prashchit karne jar aha tha jab mujh par hamla hua aur mera accident ho gaya ..yahan aaya toh kuch palon ke liye apna beeta hua kal bhool gaya ..par sach toh ye hai ki aaj bhi police ko meri talaash hai." He looked at her dumbstruck face and took a step towards her " mere pass tujhe dene ke liye kuch nahin hai." He said helplessly, she glanced at the swing fondly and held its rope tightly to speak her mind" main phirbhi apko chahti hai ." he couldn't believe his ears here he was sharing his dark past with her thinking that she would realize what grave mistake she was committing by loving him instead his past didn't bother her at all, he narrowed his eyes in frustration and asked " chahti hai ? aur tere baba kya chahte hain uske baare mein kabhi socha? Unke itne ehsaan hain mujhpar unka badla aise chukaoon?" she was behaving like a stubborn kid he thought as she continued " main samjha degi unhein." He took a deep breath to cool his anger and explained to her this time patiently " nakku samajhna unko nahin tujhe hai.. main kaun hoon? Ek mujrim..tu mere liye apne baba ke sapno ko kaise toad sakti hai?..koi aulad apne ma baap ko dukhi kar ke khush nahin reh sakti..tu us ravi se shaadi kar le isi mein sabki bhalayi hai ..woh tujhe bahut khush rakhega aur mera kya maine kaunsa yahan humesha rehna tha ..ab sochta hoon isi waqt laut jaoon." She felt the ground under her feet give way, she sat on the swing to steady herself and gave a weak smile wondering for years she waited for her someone special and now he was standing in front of her only to leave her alone once again, tears welled up as she saw her dream world coming crashing down, his own heart broke into hundred pieces on seeing her like this, he always craved for true love and when he finally got it he couldn't accept it thanks to his destiny which was always cruel to him. He so wanted to take her in his arms and sooth away her pain but like many other things this too he couldn't do. He turned around to leave and slipped his hands in his pockets when he felt something, he turned back and took out the green glass bangles he had brought for her early in the day. He slowly walked towards her and stood in front of her," yeh tere liye laaya tha socha tha jhule ke saath saath yeh bhi tujhe tohfe mein doonga." She looked at him with tears threatening to roll down, on one side he took care of such small things which meant so much to her and on the other hand he was not willing to acknowledge her love for him "why?" her heart questioned. He asked her hesitantly " agar bura na mane toh main yeh jaane se pehle tujhe pehna doon?" she smiled through her tears and lifted her hands he held them gently and slipped the bangles into them carefully. He so missed the tinkling of her bangles even when he was unconscious he could hear their soft noise, when she was silent her bangles did the talking. He admired her hands filled with bangles and then rubbed his thumb over her ring finger which had got hurt she had tied a piece of cloth to stop it from bleeding. He had purposely hurt her finger cause he couldn't bear to see her with someone else, he was so mad at her but when reality struck him he regretted his doing after all he didn't have any right over her. He left her hands and the place immediately this time without looking behind. She collapsed on the ground and cried her heart out. She placed her face on the wooden plank of the swing and traced her name with her fingers which he had engraved, she vowed not to sit on it ever, without him it was absolutely impossible. A few hours later she felt a hand over her shoulder she looked up to find her father standing " baba main is rishte ke liye taiyaar hoon." Was all she could manage to say.

Dutta surrendered himself to the law and confessed his crimes as well as disclosed annas where abouts, he was sentenced ten years of rigorous imprisonment. Every passing moment, day, month, year he just thought about her. When tea was offered to him he remembered her saying " meri ayi kehti hai chai peene se rang kala pad jata hai." And smiled. While working in the cell when he got hurt he recalled her attending to his wounds worriedly and all his pain vanished away. In the rain when he gazed out of his small window he imagined her on the swing enjoying herself and getting wet. That soulful song still rang in his mind while his heart couldn't forget how beautiful and innocent she looked in the rain that day. The rain falling on her face looked like dew drops on the grass, so pure and mesmerizing , he was totally blown away by her and his feet on their own walked up to her. The food given in the jail was bland and absolutely tasteless he so missed the food she cooked for him. So every minute of his life reminded him of her, Soon days turned into months and months into years but her thoughts never left him alone even once. In spite of being far away he could always feel her around him. Finally the day came when he was released.

He felt like a new reformed man after coming out. The weight of his crimes on his heart reduced to quite an extent after serving the punishment. He was all alone in this new world didn't know where to start his life from. Before entering the business of crime he worked as a mechanic in a garage, that's all he knew so thought why not do it again? The earnings were less but the satisfaction was immense. After working hard in the day he slept peacefully at night with her dreams washing away all his tiredness.

One fine day he had taken out a car for trial purposes, after covering a reasonable distance the car broke down. He opened the bonnet to examine it and found that the engine was really hot, he needed water to cool it down. He looked around and found that it was the same place, unknowingly he had come back to her village once again. He was confused whether to go there for water or not, what if she was still there, last time he had left her in tears her depressed face was still fresh in his mind. He closed his eyes for a moment then thought its been ten years she must have got married and moved ahead in life after all that's why he had gone away so that she could have a better future something which he couldn't offer her then. The thundering of clouds disturbed his thoughts, soon it began raining he had no choice but to visit the village. A lot had changed in his absence he noticed. He saw a small tea stall and went there to take shelter, " ek cup chai..nahin mera matlab dhoodh milega?" he asked , the man gave him a confused look then nodded his head and told him to take a seat. He sat there nervously and his heart was beating really fast he didn't know why, something was going to happen he could feel it.

" kaka ek cup chai dena."

It was her voice he knew for sure, he could never forget that sweet voice, he turned his neck and saw her standing. Both were shocked to see each other.

"beta wahan baith jao abhi chai lata hoon." The tea seller said. She broke the eye lock and looked around for an empty place but the stall was fully occupied, she had to go and sit with him. She reluctantly sat in front of him and looked everywhere except him but his eyes didn't leave her for a minute. He cleared his throat and said " kaisi ho?" she met his eye and replied dryly " theekh hoon." After a moment of silence he again asked " aur baba kaise hain?" her thoughts went back to that fateful night and said softly " woh nahin rahe." He was shocked and his eyes indicated her to continue further which she did hesitantly " meri shaadi ka tootna woh bardaasht nahin kar paye." One after the other her statements were throwing him off guard and he looked at her intently " aise mat dekho ..maine toh shaadi ke liye haan keh diya tha lekin sagaai wale din ravi ne bataya ki usne shehar mein pehle he kisi se shaadi kar li thi ..bas ye baat sun kar baba ko dil ka daura pad gaya aur woh chal base." He closed his eyes in pain, he had never thought that something like this would have happened in his absence, he had left her for her better future but didn't know that all this was in stored in her life. The tea seller kept a cup of tea and hot milk in front of them. He looked at her holding the tea cup in surprise but didn't say anything although she understood what was going in his mind and defended herself by saying " woh aaj thodi thand hai aur baarish bhi ho rahi hai ..isliye chai pee rahi hoon." He knew she was lying to him, in the past when he was there with her and that time it was much colder and it rained too heavily but even then she didn't allow him to have tea, having it herself was out of question. He smiled inwardly on realizing how they had inter changed their habits. Again there was silence between them so he took the initiative to start the conversation " toh phir yahan kaise?" she gave him a surprised look " ye mera gaon hai ..main yahan nahin toh kahan hongi balki ye sawal mujhe aapse puchna chaiye, aap yahan kaise?" he was glad at least she was interested in knowing something about him " meri gadi kharab ho gayi thi toh paani lene aya tha..tum yahan kya karti ho." He noticed her ring finger still had a cloth tied around, that meant she was still unmarried? She replied back " main yahan supriya ki madad se ek chota dawa khana (dispensary) chalati hoon." He kept looking at her ring finger, she followed his gaze and hid her finger but he wanted to confirm his doubt " tune aaj tak shaadi nahin ki?" she was taken aback by his frankness, it was true she didn't marry anyone , how could she when she had him in her heart, when all these years she lived only to love him,she didn't bother to reply but he glared at her waiting for her to answer, at last she spoke " haan nahin ki." And walked out of the stall even though it was raining hard. He sat there for a moment thinking how could she sacrifice ten years of her life for him. He followed her and held her wrist filled with those green bangles which he had got for her, " mere saath chal nakku." She was aghast at the way he still tried to order her, she took her hand back from him and asked bitterly "kis haque se ?" hurt and disappointment cearly visible in her tone. He lowered his head and replied softly " usi haque se jis haque se tune meri aayi ka locket apne gale mein daala hai." She clutched the locket tightly, how did he notice it she thought? That locket meant a lot to him and after earning enough she had taken it back from the money lender, all these years she wore it as a mark of his love which she knew he did but never acknowledged it. He lifted her left hand and untied the cloth around her finger, the wound had healed long time back but she always showed to the world that she belonged to somebody. He took his ring out from his finger and slipped it into hers. She had tears in her eyes and felt choked with emotions, he embraced her face in his hands and looked at her with all the love he had hidden from her before " itne saal pehle mujhe laga tera pyar tera bachpana hai.. par nahin samajh paya ki woh itna saccha tha..aaj agar nahin keh paya toh shayad kabhi na keh paoon..main bhi tujhse bahut bahut pyar karta hoon ..nahin reh sakta tere bina ..itne saal teri yaadon ke saath bitaye hain par ab tere saath bitana chahta hoon..bol degi mera saath?" he gave her a pleading look and she smiled through her tears, that's all she wanted to hear from him, she had only hoped, wished and prayed that one day he might come back to her but didn't know that her desire would really be fulfilled. She simply threw her arms around him and cried"sahab". His ears longed to hear that from her, he hugged her back and felt that his long lost life had returned to him. Both cried with their tears mingling with the rain drops, He broke the hug reluctantly, took her hand and began walking, she questioned him through her eyes where he was taking her, he said smilingly " baarish bhi ho rahi hai..aaj tujhe jhoola nahin jhulna?" she felt the color rise to her cheeks , ever since he had left she had never sat on that swing but today she would and not only she would be pushed by him from behind but would also sing for him.

Saawan ke jhule pade

Tum chale aao

Jab hum mile the piya,Tum kitne naadaan the

Hum kitne naadaan the, Bali umariyaan mein naina lade

Saawan ke jhule pade

Tum chale aao..tum chale aao

Some things, some events, some relations are meant to happen, if not today then tomorrow.

THE END

thanks for reading