Part Five: Alvida
Khandelwal House in Mumbai
"Maa maine bahut koshish ki Sunil ko samjhane ki, per baat abb bahut agaye nikal gaye hain…Sunil apna faisla nahi badalay gay aur mera beta hameesha kay liye mujh se dur hojaye ga…main kya karo?" Madhavi asked her mother-in-law with concern, hoping to find comfort in her advice and guidance.
"Jaanti ho, Sunil ka ghussa abhi tak thanda nahi hua hain, aur main bhi apni puri kohshish kar chuki ho…per tum yeh kyun keh rahi ho kay Shaan humse dur ho jaaye ga? Aggar tum usski Maa hokar iss tarah soochogi toh uss ka kya hoga?" Daadi consoled her worried daughter-in-law and tried to give her some confidence.
"Maa, Shaan ko gaye huye ajj puray teen haftay hogaye…phone per bhi usnay mujhse vaada lay liya kay man Sunil se uss kay favor mein koi baat na karo aur na he ussay financially support karo…pata nahi voh aisa kyun keh raha hain…mera beta toh kabhi itna udaas nahi tha." Madhavi recalled the phone conversation she had with her son two days ago. Shaan's tone gave away his disturbed state of mind and Madhavi was restless since then, she didn't know what she should do.
"Shayad Shaan sahi keh raha hain, main jaanti ho voh kabhi bhi ghar mein iss tarah ki tension nahi pasand karta…Tumne ussay jo vaada kiya hain tum uss ko pura karna aur phir shayad voh khud kuch aisa kar dikhaye jis se Sunil apne faislay ko badalne per majboor hojaye…Mujhay apne subse pyaare grandson per pura bharoosa hain…tum fikhar mat karo…" Daadi hugged Madhavi who was on the verge of breaking down just by imagining the mental torture her son was suffering by his own father.
"Maa sub theek hojaye ga na?" Madhavi asked innocently, holding on to her mother-in-law as she hugged her.
"Hmm…sub theek hojaye ga…bus tum himmat mat haarna…" Daadi replied back with a solemn look on her face, she hoped her words would be proven true in time.
Back in Manali
"Yeh ghari (watch) aur iss phone ko kitne mein kharido gay?" Shaan asked one of the salesmen who worked at Manali's local pawn shop. He was running out of options in handling his financial situation, the hotel manager was asking for his pending rent and while he struggled in finding a job, the only temporary solution was to sell his possessions until he finds a way to earn some money.
"Jee yeh ghari toh 1,000 mein loonga aur iss phone kay zayaada se zayaada 1,200 bante hain…Manali jaise choti jagah per iss phone kay liye nayi service leni paray gi iss liye yeh sirf itnay mein he khareed sakta hoon…" the salesmen told him his estimates clearly, without leaving any room for bargaining. Shaantanu knew that his possessions were worth much more, but he knew had to let them go if he wanted to sleep in a secure room tonight.
"Theek hain, rakh lo..mujhay puray paise abhi cahiyay…" Shaantanu said with a disheartened look in his eyes as he handed his phone and his favorite watch over to the salesman.
"Jee bilqual, app yahi rukiyay main app kay paisay leaky aata hoon…" Salesman gave him a smile and went to get cash from the back room. Shaantanu felt a bit relieved as he no longer had to make embarrassing excuses from the hotel manager, his rent could be paid with this money and he wouldn't be bothered about it for the next few days at least. The next thing on his list to do was to find a job and his hunt would resume as soon as he leave here with the rent money.
Adi's shop
"Mohit tumne mujhay pehlay kyun nahi baatya kay tumhay jaana hoga, voh bhi puray adhany month kay liye…main yahaan per accounts aur orders ko akelay kaise sambhalo ga…" Adi asked Mohit after finding out about his intended leave due to family reasons in the city.
"Sorry Adi bahiyaa, main kya karo meri behn ki shaadi hain aur mera vahaan hona zaroori hain... app kahe toh main bewi aur bacho ko pehlay bheej deta hoon aur khud shaadi se do din pehlay chala jaao ga…" Mohit suggested not knowing how to deal with the sudden dilemma he was faced with.
"Nahi, Mohit tumhari behn ki shaadi hain aur tum vahaan sirf do din pehlay poocho, aisa nahi hona chiyay…phir bhabhi aur bache akele Mumbai tak jaaye…nahi yeh kuch theek nahi hain…tumhe unkay saath he jao gay…main dekhta hoon kay main kya kar sakta hoon…" Adi decided to go ahead and let Mohit go, he could understand his situation as he was a brother himself and wouldn't want to deprive Mohit of the festivities of his sister's most important life event.
After consulting with the original owner of the shop in Mumbai over the phone, Adi decided to put up a "help wanted" sign on the door, he was willing to hire a temporary replacement for Mohit as he just needed someone to help him manage the store in its peak season. The job didn't require a genius; it simply called out for a friendly and an easy going personality to make the customers feel welcomed and appreciated. Adi would take on the responsibility of accounts and tedious aspects of the business of someone could aid in the customer service department.
Shaantanu took his second round around the town looking and asking around for work vacancy, but so far he had no luck as most stores had exactly the needed amount of people working in them, a small town like Manali was expected of such situations. Shaantanu's eyes were exhausted from searching all day and just as he was about to give up his search and head back to the hotel, the "help wanted" sign on Perfection Cloth House's door caught his eyes. It brought a victorious smile to Shaantanu's dull face and he rushed over to the store and talk to the manager for the job. He was willing to do any type of labor as long as he was being paid for it.
Mathur Household
In the evening Khanak awaited for Adi's arrival back home whole multi-tasking in preparing dinner and talking to Tara over the phone.
"Haan Tara bol phone kyun kiya?" Khanak asked stirring in spices in her favorite daal while tasting it to make sure it was just right.
"Khanak movieeeee…chal na humaray saath, phir se dekhay gay…"
"Nahi Tara, abhi bahiyaa bhi ghar nahi aye hain aur maine kahna bhi nahi banaaya pura…"
"Acha toh phir humare saath ice-cream kahne chal, pleaseeeee…" Tara requested trying her best to bring out Khanak for some Sunday night outing.
"Dekh promise toh nahi karti per Bahiyaa se pooch kar aanay ki koshish karogi…app sub movie dekh kar ice cream shop per ajana main vahi milti hoon…abb kush!" Khanak tried to make a deal with Tara by not completely letting her down and her plans to hang out together.
"Acha sun Abhay ka message hain kay tu ussay uss purani si dukaan per millay, vahi jahaan se voh dusray logoon kay sell kiye huye puranay video games kahreedta hain…actually movie per voh bhi nahi jaraha…Sam, Lucky aur main movie dekhnay ja rahay hain…" Tara informed Khanak about who was doing what and where she should meet up with the rest of the gang.
"Aur Shaantanu…voh nahi arahey?" Khanak asked as she covered up the pot for the final simmer that was needed for palak paneer.
"Shaan…haan voh ussay phone kiya toh tha per off tha, pata nahi koi service nahi arahi thi…vaise Shaan ka aana kitna zaroori hain appke liye Ms.Mathur…?" Tara teased Khanak over her question.
"Tara, aisi koi baat nahi hain…main toh yunhi…"
"Haan toh maine kub kaha kay aisi koi baat hain…vaisay bhi app ke Shaantanu app ko kal University mein toh milne he vaale hain toh thora sa aur intezaar karne mein koi takleef toh nahi honi cahiyay…" Tara was finally getting a chance to get back on Khanak about all the times she teased her and Lucky and she seemed to be enjoying it.
"Bye Taraji…main app se khud mill kar baat karti hoon." Kahnak rolled her eyes and hung up the phone before Tara got the opportunity to annoy her any further.
"Chutki! Ajj kahne mein kay banaya hain…bahut bhook lagi hain…" Adi came in the front door questioning for food just like always.
"Bahiyaa app fresh hojaye main tub tak table set karti hoon…everything is ready for you sir!" Khanak declared as she handed a glass of ice cold water to a tried and exhausted Adi, he smiled and drank up before heading in to his room to change.
"Sorry Chutki, ajj dair hogaye mujhay…voh ajj aik naya sales person hire kiya hain toh ussay store kay barey mein samjha raha tha…" Adi continued his conversation from his room while Khanak set the table for dinner.
"Kyun? Mohit Bahiyaa hain toh sahi…" Khanak questioned the sudden decision of hiring a new employee.
"Haan per voh kal ja raha hain, usski behn ki shaadi hain Mumbai mein aur itni lambi chuti kissi replacement kay bagair main de nahi sakta tha ussay…" Adi replied coming out of his room and settling himself on the dinner table where Khanak was waiting for him.
"Acha toh itni jaldi app ko koi replacement mil bhi gaya…?" Khanak asked serving him palak paneer as started on roti by itself.
"Haan…koi naya student hain…Tumhari university mein he jata hoga meray khayaal se…Manali mein bhi shayad pehli baar aya hain aur bata raha tha ke akelay rehta hain..maine zaayada sawaal toh nahi pooche per mujahy theek laga issi liye job per bhi jaldi kar liya…" Adi casually informed Kahanak about the details for his new employee while Khanak's mind immediately made the connection with Shaantanu. She had no idea that he was even thinking about finidng a job as he never mentioned anything like that to her.
"Jee, university mein aaj kal kafi out of town students arahay hain…I think Sir Shekhar Manali University ko aik bara naam de kar he rahay gay, kafi loog unki classes ki vajah se yahaan admission latay hain…" Khanak responded with a brief statement as they continued dinner without further discussion over the newly hired employee
After dinner Khanak requested for Adi's permission to meet up with the gang for ice-cream and Adi granted his kid sister his permission open heatedly because he knew he could trust Khanak with his own life. He had never faced any troubles in regards to Khanak or her friends, in fact he encouraged her to enjoy and take part in activities that most university students her age took part in; it was his way of thanking her for doing so much for him in terms of every day things like preparing food, doing household chores, and taking care of domestic things.
Khanak got ready pretty quickly and decided not change as she felt pretty comfortable in her favorite baby pink chiffon churidaar that she was wearing. She walked over to the town market and went staright to the shop where Abhay was bargaining for already marked down video games with the same salesperson that Shaantanu had visited earlier that day.
Khanak made Abhay aware of his presence by interrupting his argument with the salesman but Abhay went right back to the bickering after greeting her and telling her to wait for him. Khanak was looking about the display shelves that held several second hand things, they all looked new, but the cheap price tag that they had on them indictaed that they were not. As she browsed through one of the sections labeled "new arrivals", she noticed a familiar Rolex watch being displayed next to a seemingly new Blackberry phone, her eyes would have moved past the two objects but something in her mind indicated that she had seen them before somwhere. She had to think about it for a moment and then she recalled His wrist, the first time she had seem Him strumming his guitar, that beuitiful tone that she was crazy about, and the hands that were responsible for it sported this particular Rolex. It was Shaantanu's Rolex and that Phone too belonged to him as she recongnized the slight scratch to the left of the screen which she had questioned him about and he had revealed his careless tendency of dropping it almost everytime he held it in his hands. Khanak was shocked to see the two items on the display of this small pawn shop; she had about a million hypothetical thoughts in her mind that led Shaantanu to sell his possession like this. Her worry was apparent by concerned expressions that appeared on her face.
"Khanak kya hua? Itni preshaan kyun ho?" Abhay approached Khanak as he noticed Khanak's colorless face.
"Abhay tumharay pass abhi kitnay paisay hain?" Khanak asked him bluntly without giving him an answer to his question.
"Credit card hain…jitney chaho le lo…Kyun kuch pasand agaaya..?" Abhay asked looking over at the shelf that Khanak's eyes were glued to.
"Abhay meray pass bhi kuch hain, about 2,000…tumse kuch borrow kar kay mujhay yeh phone aur watch leni hain yahaan se..." Khanak pointed to the objects on the display as Abhay looked at her with surprise.
"Khanak yeh cheezein toh usually larke lete hain…tumhay kyun..."
"Abhay please…Kya tum bagair sawaal poochay meri madad kar sakte ho, I promise main tumhare paise tumhay vaapis kardo gi…please." Khanak pleaded genuinely to Abhay who gave in to her request with a smile.
"Oye! paiso ki baat nahi hain main toh bus ainvayi pooch raha tha…you know me and my general knowledge thing…Aur vaise bhi iss displayed price se 50% off karvana meray left hand ki baat hain…you wait and watch…" Abhay told Khanak and called out to the sales person so that he can take out the items Khanak had selected and have them bargained on his terms. Khanak wasn't paying attention to Abhay's bickering with the salesperson as she was still occupied with her worries regarding Shaantanu.
Shaantanu was unable to get himself to sleep at night, he was physically tired but his mental exhaustion exceeded beyond the threshold of fatigue. He could almost hear his burdened soul beg for mercy, to put an end to this misery that he had confined himself to. Today he had to sell his Rolex and his phone to secure his only shelter, who knows what he might have to give up in the future. His uncertainties were coming true one by one, he had vowed to not look back on Mumbai and the meaning that city had in his life, he was starting over and he was alone. He was out to prove himself but he had no idea that hurdles would challenge his so ruthlessly. He didn't care if he had to go bed without eating at night or avoid meeting up the people so that he wouldn't have to answer their questions regarding his obvious worries. He even lied to the generous manager about his own past so that he wouldn't suspect of his background and what had happened with the relations that he held so dearly to his heart. It was all gone. All anyone would ever know now was that he was new in town and was sarting form the scratch on his own.
NOTES: I know its sad but i think i did justice to it...I hope you guys like it...will update soon.
Rules & Announcements
