Hithere. ...sorry for not updating for a long time. ..I was on a family trip. ..came back to a bundle of assignments. ...plus the scorching summer heat. ..will update sooner hereon. ...I am writing the past story in form of diary entries partially. .hope you like it.
CHAPTER 7
2ND JANUARY 2009
We are all very happy today. All thanks to Mr Sanskaar.
Today morning everyone was very homesick having just returned after vacation. So we went to college late. There was some seminar by a young entrepreneur who passed out from IIM before 3 years and is doing very well in his business. In this short time he had taken his company to heights and was considered a rising tycoon.
We reached college an hour after the session started. So we thought it would be better not to walk into the class. We headed for the music room. After an hour or so, thanks to boredom I started singing. I was singing 'Ek Din Aaap Yoon' . Its Ma's favourite. Rishi played his guitar joining me and Anju too. Ansh and Myra were sitting together.
And then it happened. We had no idea who he was. From the formal kind of clothes he was wearing I thought he was a professor. But he seemed too young. Which he is. He walked in looking and asked me "Were you the one singing? I mean was it you guys? " his eyes seemed focused on me. Rishi replied in the affirmative.
"You were so good. Both of you sing so well and I am sure the rest of your band is as good as you. So would you like to work with me. ?"he asked still looking at me. I don't know why he was looking at me like that but I couldn't look away either . There was so much admiration in his eyes that I could feel myself blush. Anyway we were all surprised .
"Let me introduce myself. I am Sanskaar. I was here for a session ."He said .
Then we realised he was entrepreneur who was here for the talk. He said his friend is starting a new cafe and he wants us to play on the inaugural night. We just grabbed the opportunity. Rishi and I will meet him tomorrow at his office.
I feel myself blushing as I think even as I think about the look he gave me. There is something weird about him. He uses his first name only even in his visiting card. God knows what is his story.
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3rd January
The meeting went well. Mr Sanskaar is a very nice person. Despite his stern manner he a warm person. Not only did he give us a splendid chance he also offered that we could practice at his place. The neighbours have a problem with late night practice and we have just 5 days time. So he told us to come over to his. I went with him while the others arrived later with our things.
It is a beautiful house but not like my house. It is a medium sized house furnished in a very simple manner as if no one bothered to work on it. It lacked a human touch. He showed me the room where we were to practise . We were having tea when I dropped some on my dress by mistake. I went up to wash it not knowing it was his room.I came out of the washroom and he gave me a towel.
My eyes fell on the picture by his bedside. The girl was so beautiful. About my age. There was another picture of her on the wall. This one had him with her smiling at each other. "Your wife?" I asked him. He looked so sad.
"No. Girlfriend. " he told me and then he told me to come down and walked away .I think he doesn't want me to talk about her. Wonder why.
Anju teased me that the whole day I have been talking only about him. She is right . I have written only about him. But people get inquisitive. That's all.
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7th January
I feel so bad for Mr Sanskaar. He has gone through so much.
First time in years I haven't written my daily diary entry yesterday. How could I when I was trapped the whole night in a room with him. Mr Sanskaar.
Its funny how our thoughts about a person can change over a day. ..or rather a night. So till last night he was to me a handsome ,rich, successful man whose life was probably perfect. While he made me feel strangely curious I only admired him for what he was. When he avoided talking to me about his girlfriend I felt that there was something he didn't want to discuss with a stranger but today I realise his pain. I feel a very deep kind of respect for him today. First time in life I actually want to fall in love .Ma always said it was worth the pain. Maybe she was right.
Yesterday Sanskaar (he doesn'twant me to call him Sir or Mr ) told us that we could practise at the venue last evening. So we were practising there and discussing about the stage arrangements and stuff when I got a very bad headache. Rishi insisted that I should go home and rest. I was about to take a taxi when Sanskaar arrived. I was feeling rather week. So he suggested that I should stay there and told me to take some tablets and rest in the restroom there for some time before going home. He took me there and I thoughtI would inform Rishi after some time but I fell asleep.
Next thing I know Sanskaar was waking me up. He told me that my friends had left and didn't know I was there. He himself had shown up a few minutes before and had thought I had gone home. He was leaving and had come in to check one last time. He told me to hurry up as the manager had the key and was leaving. We were about to leave when the lights went off. The manager who hadn't known that Sanskaar had come back in had locked the place and switched off the mains.
Sanskaar was explaining all this but I heard hardly anything at all. All I could think of was the darkness around me. My worst fear. I HUGGED HIM. Out of fear. He seemed to understand my fear.
"Don't worry Swara. Lets see if I can find some light. " he said.
His words were soothing. I recovered and got the candles and lighter from my bag.
"I always carry these with me. "I said giving it to him.
Soon we were sitting in the two sofas facing each other with the candle between us. Again I asked him for a favour. I asked him to talk to me till I sleep. He laughed seeing my fear. But then we got talking.
"I knew someone else who is scared of the dark "he told me.
"Your girlfriend? "I asked.
He nodded looking away. " Where is she now? "I asked.
"I wish I knew. But definitely not in this world. "He said and then sensing my confusion added "she is dead. "
"Accident? "I asked . His face was pale in the candlelight. His eyes showed immense pain.
"Murder "he said.
His pain was too much for me to want to hear anymore. But he went on. Its a sad story. His family was Marwari and didn't want a Bengali bahu. His uncle with the help of his cousin whom he trusted a lot had killed her. He said nothing more and I don't want to know either. I am never going to talk about her again. But I know he still loves her. It is wonderful. This kind of love. Even death cannot destroy it. The beauty of the feeling is something I want to feel. Kavita must be very lucky to have a guy like Sanskaar fall in love with her. He is the kind of man any girl would want.
Then he asked me why I fear darkness. I told him that it was always like that. The conversation drifted off to my family. I told him EVERYTHING. About Ma Baba ' s love. My childhood. How I felt when Dadi was partial to Ragini and a lot many things I had never talked to anyone about. Not even Rishi or Ragini. As a child I had shared my feelings with Rishi but even then not as much as I told Sanskaar yesterday. It was like he understood every feeling of mine. And I think he felt the same because when I was done talking he said "We both know what its like .Being alone in a crowd. "
I don't know why I poured out my heart to him but I feel better. I think it was fair. He told me his story and I told him mine in return. But I still feel nervous. I will see him again in a few hours and I wish he doesn't regret talking to me. That would make things awkward.
The thought of meeting him makes my heart beats faster. I don't know why. I cannot think about anything except last night. God knows what is going to happen to me.
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Hope you like this one...I am working on the next. It will be longer. Do leave ur suggestions.
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