Adway shoved uncomfortably on the sofa, while Amarendra settled himself quite comfortably before him.
Smiling.
Adway too glanced at him, and smiled.
"I never thought you would walk over to this place to meet me... "
Amarendra seemed very comfortable in starting the conversation.
" I mean, you are celebrated, at least in the fields of artistry. I too paint somewhat, and have seen your masterpiece. Brilliant job. "
And now Adway could deliver a genuine smile.
" Oh thank you. Really means a lot. "
" So are we having some drink? I guess, coffee would be fine. Or do you prefer alcohol? "
" Heck no! I mean, are you really asking me that? "
They both laughed, and Amarendra got up to make a drink. Adway stared at him, unable to believe that his past hardly burdened him as much as he believed it did!
Amarendra placed the tray before him and sat back. Adway shrugged and smiled and took up a glass.
" So, does this visit have a purpose? "
Adway stared at Amarendra after he threw what should have been the very first question, in a way not much thankful for asking him that though.
" I... Really don't know why I'm here. "
Amarendra smiled wider.
" it's okay brother, we can have pegs together and talk of art. Doesn't matter much, anything. "
" Maybe. Today, I realized, life is the easiest mystery. The problem lies in the fact that we are afraid to solve it. "
Amarendra nodded in agreement.
" So, what are you by profession? " , Adway asked.
" A doctor. " , Amarendra poured some more drink in his glass. " Some more? " , he offered Adway who forwarded his glass as well.
" Wow. Serving mankind in every life. "
" I smell sarcasm. " , Amarendra kept smiling.
" I would rather die. " , Adway gulped in the bitter drink at a go.
" Well, I remember everything, if you care. "
" Oh I do, I care a lot. But you are lucky. You at least don't carry the name. I do that even. "
Amarendra leaned back on the sofa staring at the ceiling.
Adway laughed.
" This is dope! Two men sitting together, who used to be the biggest enemies hundreds of years back, now sympathising each other for their burdened pasts. "
Amarendra nodded in disagreement, still staring up.
"I was never your enemy Adway. "
"Bhalla maybe. That's what you should call me. " Adway added, " My tongue is craving for something salty. "
Amarendra jumped up, " oh yeah that's right! "
He brought a big jar of peanut from the kitchen.
" You are a plain and simple Adway Mathur to me. A man of my age who has every potential to be my friend. "
Adway made a noise.
" Same here. I too have no interest in excavating the past. But now and then, a guilt tears me apart. It's so beautiful that most people don't remember their pasts. They are too haunting, specially the wrongdoings. "
Amarendra stared silently at Adway for sometime, who concentrated on his drink.
" Maybe what we feel is wrong now, never felt so at the point we committed them. Actually rights and wrongs are extremely relative. "
Amarendra scratched his forehead.
Adway looked at him.
" I never thought this meeting would be so peaceful! I hesitated a million times before stepping at your door. "
" Why? What did you expect me to do? Shoot you at a glance? "
" Maybe. I wondered if I could hate myself so much, how much would you. "
" Hmm... Even I believed I might hate the man who didn't let me touch my son even for once. But now, facing you finally, I know, souls hardly carry anything. Maybe, I hardly truly feel anything for Amarendra Baahubali than what I believed I did. "
Adway thought of something very deeply. " But I truly hate Bhallaldeva. I don't know what made him do what he did, but if it were me, I don't think I would have ever done that...
Anyway, I feel, you still connect to Amarendra Baahubali more than you are feeling right now. Because you just said 'my son'. I would have never done that for Bhallaldeva. "
Amarendra stared at him with brows slightly curved, trying to judge his words.
"You don't hate Bhallaldeva or me having his soul because, maybe Amarendra Baahubali would have never done that too. He was not made that way. And you are more of him, but I am absolutely nothing of a man who killed his brother and mother just to own a kingdom. I hate these monarch battles of ages. Truly repulsive. Meh! "
He placed the glass on the table with noise and leaned back on the sofa.
" I believe you are absolutely right. Because, I can quite easily forget and forgive the bad part of the story. But not the beautiful parts. I'm hopelessly sticking to them even when it's hurting someone... "
Amarendra stopped.
Adway sat up and stared at him.
" Though I hate Bhallaldeva, I'm not a demigod. In no life will I be. Hence I really don't understand how you are so forgivingly sitting before your murderer. "
Amarendra laughed out loud for quite sometime.
" Because... I... Am... Alive. And a living one doesn't have a murderer. "
A smile crossed Adway's face slowly.
" Apparently that's the best logic. Why fight over something that doesn't apply to our lives right now? You are alive! Me as well. Wow. Awesome. "
He seemed truly satisfied as he played a rhythm of the table with his fingers.
" What's hurting whom though? "
Amarendra had believed Adway had missed the statement, but he hadn't.
Amarendra smiled, without a word.
" Devasena Sehgal. She knows me, but doesn't remember. "
Adway uttered, popping in some peanut.
Amarendra didn't stir, just stared distantly.
" Did you meet her? " , Adway asked.
Amarendra nodded in positive.
" You told her everything? " , Adway sat up straight.
" Nothing. Until she remembers. "
" Jesus! And her friend doesn't want her to remember anything. "
" I know. She still desperately holds onto her past. "
" That's dangerous. "
" May not be even. "
" ...yeah." , a deep thought engulfed Adway.
" Amarendra, suppose you were bound to punish Bhallaldeva for his deeds. What exactly would you do? "
Amarendra took very long to talk above his smile.
" Rule over him. And never...murder him. "
Adway nodded a big yes.
" That's how Mahendra Baahubali never became an Amarendra Baahubali. "
Amarendra nodded sideways. " Not buying this. Mahendra ruled a long fifteen years. But maybe, fate doesn't play it right with our clan. "
" Do you know the story after our demise? "
"I do. "
" Do you believe? "
A silence engulfed the palace.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Anupamaa
