Jai had finally gathered the courage to tell the entire truth of his relationship with Bani and how he had been responsible for accidentally killing Bani's Mother a few years back. As Aditya and Massi listened to a remorseful and broken Jai finishing his monologue, the painful silence was penetrtated by Massis' grief-stricken voice, " Munna, itna kuch ho gaya tere aur Bani ke beech, phir bhi usne tera saath nahin choda….Tune itne dard diye use, itne aasoon, phir bhi usne is shaadi ko nibhane ki poori koshish ki. Aur tu?" As a guilt riddent Jai looked upto Massi, she stood up in numb silence, with Aditya sitting beside very pensively and equally shattered and as Jai and Aditya looked at him, Massi got a fierce determined look on her face and getting a steely cold voice, she told Jai, "Jo ho gaya use ab badla nahin jaa sakta, agar aaj Bani maa nahin ban ne waali hoti, toh mein khud use is nark se aazad karvadeti, lekin woh zindagi ke ek aise do rahe par hain, jahaan use akela chod dena use ke liye sabse badi musibat ban jaayegi."
As Jai kept staring at Massi, with a dead, expressionless look in his eyes, Massi continued in the same stern tone, "Ab bas, bahut ho gaya. Mere hote hue Bani ko ab koi bhi kisi tarah ki takleef nahin pahuncha sakta hai, tu bhi nahin Jai. Bani ab meri bahu nahin beti hai, aur uski hifazat aur dekhbaal karna mere kartavya hai, jise mein ek maa ki tarah nibhaoongi. Jai, ise tu mera aadesh maan, ya meri dhamki, lekin jab tak Bani ki delivery nahin ho jaati, mein nahin chahti ki tu use ke paas bhi aaye, us se baat karna toh door, mein tujhe uske saamnein bhi nahin dekhna chahti. Tu abhi ke abhi guest room mein shift ho ja, tu ab Bani ke saat us kamre mein nahin rahega."
Aditya looked staggered and tried to intervene on Jai's behalf but Massi quietened him at once and chided him, "Aditya, tub hi? Tu toh Bani ko apni beti ki tarah manta tha, phir bhi tune Jai ko use ke saat itna galat karne diya? Arre, tu hi mujhe sach bata deta." Aditya just hung his head in a shameful silence, while Jai kept sitting motionless and in a stony silence. Massi walked out of the room, followed by a mournful looking Aditya, leaving Jai in his empty lonliness, as he sat without any expression on his face, staring blankly ahead……
Bani had just completed her monthly check-up with her Gyneacologist, Dr. Simran Mathur and as she joined back Massi in her Doctor's room, Dr. Mathur smiled warmly at Bani and told a concerned looking Massi, "Fikar karne ki koi baat nahi hai, Mrs. Sharma. Aapki Bahu bilkul theek hai, bas thodi Iron definicency hai, maine uske liye tablets likh diye hai….else, she is fine." Massi smiled with a relief and proceeded to discuss Bani's diet plan with Dr. Mathur, who somehow kept talking to Massi but her eyes did not seem to leave her young patient's sad and poignant face. Dr. Mathur was one of India's leading Obsetricians and had a plethora of patients coming and going every day, but some of them stayed in her mind for some reason or the other and the moment, the young, beautiful and painfully vulnerable looking Bani Walia had entered her clinic 5 months back, Dr. Mathur had taken an instant liking to the extremely quiet and shy girl. Bani was one of Dr. Mathur's different patients, the kinds who would always do the Doctor's bidding, without posing any curious questions, without showing any excitement and without any signs of nervousness or anxiety. But Dr. Mathur found that intriguing in Bani, she was obviously very young, married into a very wealthy family, carrying her first child and most curiously, Dr. Mathur had never met Bani's husband before, as the sweet, elderly lady, whom even Dr. Mathur had come to address as Massi used to accompany Bani everytime occasionally with Bani's younger sister. As Massi kept complaining in her motherly fashion that Bani doesn't eat well, she doesn't sleep well, she doesn't take much rest, Dr. Mathur brushed away all concerns and then very delicately asked Massi if she could leave Bani with her for some time, as she wanted to do some more routine check-ups. Bani looked surprised at the request and as she stared back at Dr. Mathur, the eminent and graceful Doctor gave a quiet smile of reassurance and prodded Massi to leave.
"Bani, tumse ek baat kahoon?" As Bani smiled gently at the Doctor whom she had come to respect and look upto immensely in the last few months, Dr. Mathur coughed and proceeded with a little hestitation, "Jab ek aurat maa ban ne waali hoti hai, toh yeh khushi sirf uski nahin, uske saath, poore parivaar ki bhi hoti hai. Aur chahe Medical Science kitna bhi advance kar jaaye, woh sirf hamare sharer ke dard ke liye dava bata sakta hai, man ki kushi ka ilaaz toh sirf insaan ke paas hi hota hai."
Dr. Mathur and Bani sat in silence for some time and as Dr. Mathur came around to Bani's chair and gently placed her hand on her shouler and said in the softest tone possible, "Kya baat hai Bani? Aisi kaun si baat hai, joh tumein andar se khati jaa rahi hai. Maine Massi se yeh toh keh diya ki tum physically bilkul theek ho, magar tumhari emotional condition bahut nazuk hai, aur aise haalat mein, tumahre liye tan aur man, dono se healty hona zaroori hai. Mujhe sirf apni Doctor hi nahin, apna Dost bhi maano Bani and tell me what is bothering you so much." As Dr. Mathur took a seat adjacent to her patient, Bani broken down crying like a child, copiously, with her tears streaming down and she made no attempt to hold them back. Dr. Mathur looked at Bani with pain in her eyes and suddenly some past memories came back to haunt her and she stood up and took Bani's in her arms and patted her as Bani kept weeping and shaking inconsolably. "Ro lo, jitna chahe ro lo….Jee bhar ke ro lo, waise bhi aaj tum meri aakhri patient ho, so I am in no hurry." Dr. Mathur commented smilingly, putting a weak smile on Bani's face amidst her flood of tears.
As Bani finished talking to Dr. Mathur, both the women sat in silence for what seemed like eternity….and then finally Dr. Mathur spoke up, "Hum jab tak doosron ka dard nahin jaan lete, hume apna dard hamesha sabse bada lagta hai…..Mujhe bahut accha laga ki aaj tumnein mujhe ek Doctor ki tarah nahin, ek dost ki tarah man kar, apne dil ka bhoj halka kiya, I hope you are feeling better now? Main bas tumse itna kehna chahati hoon, ki mujhe zindagi nein sirf aage dekh kar chalna bataya hai, agar hum peeche mud kar dekhte hai, toh hamare pair zaroor ladkhadaenge aur hum zameen par gir jaayenge. Zindagi bilkul ret ki tarah hoti hai, hum apni mutthi jitni zor se band kartein hai, zindagi utni hi jaldi hamare haat se phisalti jaati hai. Now, cheer up and give me a beautiful smile!" As Dr. Mathur led Bani outside her Office, Bani smiled back at her Doctor and said gratefully, "Mujhe bahut accha laga, aaj aap se baat kar ke, Thank you very much." Simran patted Bani's head affectionately and as Massi joined them, reminded Bani to take her Iron Tablets on time.
As Bani reached home, she saw that the whole family was assembled in the Living Room, having Tea and generally chatting and having a good time, Pia had also come in along with Pushkar, much to Jigyasa's chagrain. Bani looked around the gathering and the same old, familiar feeling of lonliness and desperation crept back into her heart, as she missed Jai's presence. It seemed ages that she had seen him, since the day she had left home and got lost in the serial blasts that had ripped apart Mumbai, the horror of what Bani had seen still made her wake up from her sleep, sweating proufesly, many nights in one go.
Bani had not spoken one word to Jai from that day onwards, she didn't even remember clearly, who had got her back and what had happened, but when she finally came to her senses, all she knew was a pleading and crying Massi, a worried Aditya and Pia, Rano, Raashi, Pushkar and Saahil surrounded her. Bani had been taken aback at first when she had seen Tony packing off Jai's clothes and other stuff and shifting them to the Guest Room, Bani had not asked any questions then, but had spent many a nights tossing in her bed, wondering why Jai had evacuated his room and shifted to the Guest Room.
But that was just the beginning, and Bani seemed to miss Jai all the time, as he was not present during Breakfast, which he normally had in his Office and then used to come back very late from Office and have his Dinner in his Study, all alone. Bani had ran upto her Bedroom window to catch a glimpse of her husband once late at night, as she heard his Car entering the Main Porche, but had missed seeing him. And then Massi had told Bani about her talk with Jai and that she had decided that the only way for Jai to be punished and for him to repent was to stay away from Bani and their child and suffer in the same lonliness that he had made Bani go through. Bani had been shocked to learn this, but unable to say anything or make a protest as Aditya had also conveyed his support to Massi on this issue, saying that if he had earlier taken a strong stand against Jai's injustice, Bani wouldn't have been in this state that she was.
As Bani greeted everyone wanly and went upto her room, having no wish to speak to anyone or join in any revelry or fun the others were having, she stood in front of her room and looked back, at the Dark Ebony coloured door of Jai's study which was in the opposite end of the Corridor connecting their room, which was now her room to Jai study. Five months of not talking to Jai, Five months of seeing only his fleeting appearances, Five months of not seeing him smile, laugh, get irritated, get angry, shout on the servants, Five months of not watching him getting frustrated over finding his clothes (which he always misplaced), fussing over his food, asking for his Coffee…..
As Bani stood motionless, staring at the Door of Jai's study, a small tear seemed to roll down her cheeks, as Bani felt her heart surging with the thought of seeing Jai just once, of holding his face in her hands, of resting her head on his chest, of feeling his strong arms wrap her in his protective embrace……and as if in a daze, Bani walked slowly towards his study and just hesitating for a moment, she decided not to knock and opened the door with great trepidation and her eyes did a fleeting glance of the room, which looked as if it has not been organized for weeks on end, everything was scattered around in a careless manner, with files, books and random papers piled on top of every available space….the only little space that was free of any clutter was the small mantle piece near Jai's study desk, which had a small framed photograph of Bani.
As she kept looking at her photograph lying on Jai's desk, her eyes fell on Jai's baccalounger which was facing the wall and Bani could see Jai's tired legs spread carelessly over the Coffee Table. Bani kept standing at the entrance for some time and then quietly tiptoed into the room and went and stood in front of a deeply in sleep Jai, who suddenly seemed to look very haggard, pale and delolately tired to Bani's concerned eyes and witout meaning to, her eyes became moist, watching Jai sleeping on the Couch with his hand supporing his head.
As the moistness in her eyes threatened to become unabashed tears, Bani involuntarily sat down on the floor, her eyes not once leaving Jai's slumped form and as she kept watching him, a torrent of emotions came rushing through. As a matter of forgotten habit, Bani noticed that Jai had his shoes on, and she gently untied the laces and slipped his shoes off his feet, without as much as stirring him and got up to get a blanket for Jai and as she leaned over his form, to place the blanket over him, worried not to disturb him or wake him up, a tear drop fell from her limid eyes onto Jai's cheeks and before Bani could realize, Jai opened his eyes and without getting startled or surprised, he kept staring at Bani who was still bent very near to his face. The ecstacy and agony of seeing one another from such close quarters after such a long time was such, that both Jai and Bani stood in that position and kept watching one another, and without as much as a word, Jai gently wiped the tears of Bani's cheeks with his finger and as he realized that Bani was heading for a breakdown, quietened her by putting his finger over his lips and stood up to hold her tenderly by her shoulder.
Bani kept looking at Jai and unknowing to herself, the months spent in the cold silence and separation from her husband seemed to overwhelm her heart with a deep longing and she kept her head on his chest and begin sobbing quietly, while an equally agonized Jai placed his arms around her and brought himself to kiss her on her forehead and then suddenly the door swinged open and in a reflex action, both Jai and Ban jerked away from one another.
"Arre Bani, tu yahan hai? Sab tujhe neeche pooch rahe hain? Tu yahaan kya kar rahi hai?" Massi asked a taken-aback and bewildered Bani and then giving one cold look at an equally rattled Jai, she said very formally, "Jai, tujhe agar kuch chahiye, toh tu Tony ko bulwa bej, Bani ko pareshaan karne ki koi zaroorat nahin hai….Is ghar mein aur bahut log hai, tera kaam karne ke liye. Chal Bahu, neeche Pia aur Pushkar aaye hai, tujhe kuch din apne saat, apne ghar le jaana chahte hai, kuch din wahan chali jaa, tera bhi man badal jaaega." As Bani kept looking at Jai with a dazed and desolate expression, Jai immediately got the same subdued and numb expression he had for the past so many weeks and proceeded to go to his study table quietly and begin woking on his Laptop, without uttering as much as a word. As Bani kept standing looking at Jai with desperation and ache, Massi literally took her by her arms and dragged her away from Jai's study, leaving Jai with his unshed tears and Bani with a painful heart.
"Pia, main aaj wapas jaa rahi hoon, bahut din ho gaye hain, ghar mein sab kya sochenge?" Bani was moving about in the Terrace of Pia's house, restlessly and looking worried. "Uff Di, aap bhi. Bahut din kahan hue hai? Char din toh hue hai! Haan, agar aap apne Walia Mansion ki luxury miss kar rahin hai, toh woh main aur Pushkar aapko nahin de sakte……" remarked Pia teasingly to Bani, who looked anything but amused.
"Mazak band karo Pia, mujhe aaj wapas jaana hai, mujhe ghar mein bahut kaam hai…aur waise bhi….." Bani did not find the right words to put, as she argued with Pai about going back to her home, Bani had been figety and restless since the day, Pia and Pushkar had literally persuaded and emotionally blackmailed Bani to come and stay with them for a few days, ably supported by Massi and Rano and try as much, Bani could not wriggle out of this situation and had to come to Pia and Pushkar's house without even wishing Jai once before leaving. At first Bani felt upset and sad at the thought of staying away from Jai for a few days (even if she didn't see him in the house, atleast she was assured of his presence all the time) but now all she felt was irritation and anger at Pia, Pushkar and Massi, whom she noticed was always cold and indifferent towards Jai all the time. "Pata nahin, Tony ne unhein unki Medincines di hogi ya nahin….Aur Thursdays ko who Dinner mein sirf Salad aur Soup lete hai, magar yeh Tony ko kahan yaad rehta hai…..Aur unka Night Dress…..Unke Study ki halat kitni kharab thi, kisi ko phikar nahin hai, ki ek baar jaa kar unse pooch le, ki unhein kuch chahiye ya nahin…." Thought Bani to herself, anguished, angry and in an agony of her own.
"Kya hua Would-be-Mother, aap itne gusse mein kyon lag rahain hai. Yeh lijiye mein aapke liye Samose laaya hoon." A cheerful Pushkar joined Pia and Bani in the terrace and Pia immediately told Pushkar that Bani Di is standing on one leg to go back to Walia House today itself. Pushkar smiled to himself understanding instantly why Bani wanted to go back and why she had looked utterly unhappy since the day she had come to their house but merely remarked, "Arre, aisi kya jaldi hai Bani…..Thode din aur thair jao, agle hafte Karva Chauth hai, Pia ka pehla vrat hoga, tum toh vrat rakhogi nahin, toh tum hamare saath hi celebrate karlena." As Bani listned to Pushkar in sudden realization that it was Karva Chauth the next week, the Fast that married women keep for the long-life and welfare of their husbands, Pia teased Pushkar that she is not going to stay hungry for him ever and both of them sort of got into a friendly and flirtish duel! Suddenly Bani said, "Mujhe toh yaad hi nahin tha, ki agle hafte Karva Chauth hai…..aur waise bhi, main kyon nahin rakhoongi Vrat?" Asked Bani a trifle irritated with Pushkar who was now enjoying teasing Bani and remarked, "Nahin, mera matlab tha ki tumhari Pregnancy ka Fifth Month hai, is waqt itna mushkil fast rakhan, tumhare health ke liye theek nahin hoga….." Pushkar kept watching Bani as her expression changed from one of irritation to one of a quiet determination as a now suddenly cheerful Bani announced, "Main ghar jaa rahi hoon abhi…..Pushkar mere liye ek Taxi mangva doge please?" Bani said with such confidence, that Pia did not have the courage to persuade her to stay back and Pushkar managed to hide his grin and told Bani that he will drop her off at Walia Mansion himself.
As Pushkar's Car entered the gates of his Ex-mentor's house, Bani who was decidedly more cheerful now and anticipating meeting Jai, noticed Jai's swanky BMW cruising out fo the gates and she noticed Jai sitting in the rear seat as usual working on his Laptop animatedly and he seemed to have missed seeing Bani enter in Pushkar's Car. As Bani turned back frantically to see Jai leaving the House and disappointedly wondered where could Jai be going to this late in the evening, she entered the house with Pushkar carrying her small bag with him to be greeted by the entire family which had congregated in the Living Room. "Arre Bani, tum itni jaldi aa gayi. Chalo accha hai, tumhare bina, ghar kitna soona lag raha tha." Smiled Aditya affectionately as he patted Bani's head when she took his blessings and proceeded to take Massi and Dadis' blessings too.
Bani stood hesitanting for a while and as everyone dispersed for their chores, she asked Massi apprehensively, "Massi, woh, andar aate hue, Mr. Walia ki gaadi ko jaate dekha….Kisi party mein gaye hain woh?" As Massi got a glass of warm Badam Milk for Bani, she replied back non-chalantly, "Arre nahin Bahu, accha tujhe pata nahin hoga….Koi business ka urgent kaam nikal pada aur Ranveer ko US jaan pad tha….lekin agle hafte Karva Chauth hain naa, aur Raashi ka yeh pehla Karva Chauth hoga, aur Ranveer nahin hota, toh use kitna bura lagta, is liye maine Munna se keh diya ki Ranveer ke jagah woh US chale jaaye…..Tu toh waise bhi Vrat rakhegi nahin, is halat mein theek nahin hai."
As a stunned and shattered Bani listened to Massi telling her that Jai had left for the US on a Business Trip, Massi concluded with a slight bitterness towards Jai in her voice, "Aur vaise bhi, tujhe koi zaroorat nahin hai, Jai ke liye Vrat rakne ki. Tu jaa beta, kamre me jaa kar aaram kar, kuch chahiye ho toh, mujhe bulva bejna."
As Bani stood alone in the vast Living Room of the Walia House, a surge of tears and pain seemed to drown her, as she realized that she won't be able to see Jai for the next two weeks and that her first Karva Chauth Vrat will be without the presence of her husband.
Will continue later....Hope you liked the first part! Will be awaiting your comments and views on the same! Sorry for making the Fan-Fic to be a sob-fest, but it is in keeping with the ongoing story-line, the next part will be slightly more cheerful!😃
Cheers,
MT
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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