Yaa
r I promised dear Best friend Ranju I will include Shaan without fail today
here I go..
Part 2 - shantanu...tumne sch kyon nahi bola...
Shantanu opened the main door .
.but his feet did not feel like going to the room
Had it been a normal day after practice he would rush to their room and hug khanak tightly
plant a kiss on her cheeks and see her unexpected blushing ......admire her smile.
.and then would go for dinnerr to the dining table playing music on the table till she
brought the then cooked fresh food..
she used to keep the ingredients ready to be cooked and once she saw him at the table
would start rolling the rotis hot and heating the side dishes..
never once she left already the prepared food in casseroles for him to eat.
.He would ask her not to strain at the wee hours
but she used to tell
"shantanu meri bhai ne mujhe yehi sikhaya hain.
.pati koh khana parosna hai toh tabhi bana ke parosna hain.
.Woh aakhir ghar ke liye itne mehnath karthe hain.
.unko do peher ka banaya huah khana gharam karke nahi kilathe ..sehath ke liye bhi woh accha nahi hain...
han lekin aur ek baat hain..hamare ghar mein Fridge nahi hain
..agaar hum chahthe toh bhi hum purana khana nahi rakh sakthe .
.gharmi mein toh khaana jaldi karab ho jaatha hain..
.Isliye yeh kuch nayi baat nahi hain mere liye...''
Shaan used to wonder show simple she was
..she never faked herself
never ever pretended that she always was comfortabe at home and was treated like a princess.
she told him always that it was a hand to mouth existence in her family..
.they neither had surplus nor deficits.
..they learnt to lead their lives within their means
They had to work hard to earn a living ......It was written destiny on all of them
But they took their destiny with great happiness and no complaints"
.she always had warmth for her parents.
.Once he remembered asking her as to how she spent her janam din
he had thoughts as to her parents would shower her with gifts and all that
but she gave a simple reply..
"subah mandir jaathi hoon
uske baad ada-bahi ka aashirwad lethi hoon..
mere pasand ka mithaii bantha hain..mein kud banathi hoon
.
.laughs without regrets
kuch hum kaathe hain aur kuch padosiyon ko dethe hain.."
shantanu interrupted then
"aaur naya kapda"
khanak smiled back'
Nahi shantanu gaon mein baat baat pur naye kapde nahi lethe .
.bus char paanch kapde ada ek saath dhila dethe hain
usmein se ek hum agar ho sake toh janam din pur pehen lethe hain nahin toh sab se
accha kapda jho hain wohi pehen lethe hain"
She never ever compalined on the hardships life had puton her early in her life..
She had told him how they had to travel for miles to get a pot of good drinking water.
.how much they had to work at the fields during peak agriculture months.
.sowing whatever was possible in the dry region and later on harvesting works
..how they had to take care of cattle and camel which were the extra means of livelihood for
women apart from the jobs that men had at nearby factories and how women supported
the family with that income when there were no rains..and prices were high...
How they had to cook food for their joint families day in and day out.
..wash clothes., clean house..make edible eatable products like papads in free time..
especially the young girls they were never allowed to be lazy., gossiping ..and idling
their grandmothers and mothers used to keep them always on their toes.
.saying they will not get good name for parents at their saasras( sasurals)
then end of the day...go to temple daily..completion of the rest of the work like washing dishes etc. eat chat fora while rand sleep ,
it was a mundane tough job shantanu thought..
No entertainment whatsoever..
khanak had told him she used to love watching gujrathi movies and her dad used to take her
with mom and friends whenver a new movie was there and sometimes she was taken to
hindi movies with mom..at bhuj by dad ..She used to look forward to those outings
later dad even got her a small Tv .
.she had told as thought her dad had got her a brand new mercedes benz
khanak had told him There were not much electronics gadgets in their house..like washing
machine they had to do all work manually
but she never had a regret in her tone as to she missed these comforts at home
Nor did she ever praise too much of all the comforts available on each step at the
khandelwas house
she was eqaully comfortable in a room without fan..as she was in a room with A/c,
,She was eqaually at ease to walk over the road or take an auto when there was no vehicle
available at home to take her..
Shaan used to compare her with khushboo bhaabhi
Khushboo bhabhi can never step out of the hosuse without her own a/c car
Khanak never ever complained about the fact she was never given a chance by her parents
to be educated at college.
she was always happy with what her parents provided her..she knew they had to save for her
marriage as well.
she knew they worked hard to th best of their abilities to keep her happy..
she was never a demanding child with parents.
.she never asked for anything in particular...
she was a bright student at studies
but when she finished eighth class her father asked her to be at home and help her mother..
since that was the practice of the vilalge..
she did want to study further but knew her father would not go against the village..orders
so she was able to bury the desires deep in her mind and get over with the realities of life
that demanded so mcuh of hard work from her at an early age.,with utmost cheerfulness.
Infact she had to work day in and day out..since her mother was into agriculture related
work mostly ..and she could not spare much time for rest of the chores
and Khanak had grand mother grand father at home to take care of.
so the responsibilytof the home fell on khanaks young shoulders early in life but she was more than happy to help her mother..
Shatanu closed his eyes
Khanak had told everything in detail to shantanu
she even told him how much suraj and herself used to play around in the village
since childhood and how she used to fight with suraj while he always unlike shantanu was calm...
and used to add with her bright smile 'shatanu lekin mujhe aap se ladna behat pasand hai
and those times shaan was slightly jealous
but yet proud over the fact that he had become her lifes centre
" when she had told matters so small to me without fear why is she hiding this sunny matter from me "
Now why is khanak hiding the truth from me
Suspicion Devil slowly crept in shaans mind...
.
Anupamaa
Indian Idol 15
