Dua
Hazrat
Nizamuddin Railway Station,
As the Rajdhani Express stopped at the
platform a lot of hustle bustle started with people getting down as well as
trying to get their luggage... Koolie's trying to get customers... Family and
friends greeting each other etc. In this a young girl wearing a white salwar
kameez with the dupatta wrapped around her head got down with a small duffle
bag. She sighed as she looked at the happy faces of people around her and
clenched her fists tight and slowly breathed out and tried to walk out of the
station.
After
coming out of the busy station she looked around and wondered how would she be
able to handle herself in this familiar yet unknown city. Shaking off the
disturbing thoughts she took an auto and reached Chandini Chowk after a long
struggle through Delhi's busy traffic. After paying of the fare she carried her
bag and walked a bit and finally reached her destination and knocked. As the
door didn't open for minutes she started getting nervous and wondered if she would
have to go somewhere else when finally the door opened and a lady in her early
40s looked at Geet and smiled a bit and said, "Sorry Puttar. I was getting some
work done so got late in opening the door"
Geet
smiled sadly and said, "Koi baat nahi Maasi. Aapne mujhe yaha aane diya wohi
bohut hai"
Simran
(Geet's Maasi) walked in and said, "Come in. Did you have any trouble while
travelling?"
Geet
walked behind her and said, "No Maasi" and looked around. This house was still
the same as it was when she visited it 5 years back with her family.
Remembering her family she felt a knife pierce her heart and closed her eyes to
not let the tears fall. She opened her eyes to see Simran looking at her with
pity. She just hated that look but what can she do when people around her just
wanted to pity, sympathise or empathise with her.
Geet,
"Maasi where is Mausaji? Are Amar and Sheetal also not at home?"
Simran
sat on the charpai in the courtyard and gestured Geet to take a seat too. After
Geet settled down she continued, "Woh Tere Mausaji Amristar gaye hai kuch dino
ke liye kaam ke wajhe se. Aur Amar aur Sheetal bhi unke saath hi gaye hai. Main
bhi jaane wali thi lekin phir khabar
aayi ki Didi aur Jijaji ke baare main toh main yahi rukh gayi todhe din ke liye
aur phir tub hi akeli thi waha. Acha Puttar tu kuch khayegi?"
Geet
breathed out slowly and nodded no and said, "If you don't mind Maasi I would
like to rest for some time."
Simran, "Yeah
yeah Puttar. Go get some rest. You must be tired"
Geet just
nodded and went to the guest room they always used whenever they visited this
house.
After
freshening up Geet took out a photo frame of her family and sighed as tears
rolled out of her eyes. It seemed that pain was never to leave her. One after
the other God just kept pushing more pain into her life. She wondered how much
more pain could she suffer before she gave up? With all these thoughts she
never realised when she dozed off.
Few Hours
Later,
Simran
had come and woke Geet to have dinner. Geet didn't want to have anything but
she couldn't hurt her Maasi's hospitality as well and had a little. After she
was done she went and cleared the dishes. As she finished she saw Simran
hesitating to speak and so said, "Maasi do you want to tell something?"
Simran
sighed sadly and said, "Yes Puttar. When I heard from Didi about what happened
I couldn't believe that something like this would happen in your life but what
can we do it's all fate."
Geet
looked down and said, "Why are you telling this Maasi?"
Simran, "Dekh
Puttar ab tujhse kya chupana. Dekh teri zindagi main kitne toofan achuke hai
lekin main nahi chahti yeh toofan ka asar mere bacho pe pade. Unki ab umar
hogai hai ke who apna ghar basaye aur agar kisi ko tumhare baare main pata
chala toh koi bhi unke saath rishta jodne ke liye manega nahi. Puttar bura mat
mann par tujhse bas yahi kehna chahti hu ke tu please apne liye koi alag jaga
dekh le aur tune toh padhai bhi puri ki hai toh tujhe toh achi naukri bhi mil
jayegi. Do hafte baad Sheetal ko dekhne ke liye ladke wale arahe hai. Tu bhi toh nahi
chahegi na ke tu jis dor se guzar rahi hai use kisi ki khushi cheen jaye.
Isiliye Puttar tu khud ka rehna ka intezaam kahi aur kar. Fikar mat kar abhi do
hafte hai tab tak tu yaha rukh sakti hai lekin uske baad main ya tere Mausaji
tumhe yaha rehne ki izazaat nahi de sakte" and walked away to her room.
Geet
looked at her walking away and went to her room and sat numbly. She couldn't
believe that her own Maasi was telling her to get away from them just when she
went through such a tragic incident in life. Maasi whom she expected to treat
her with love and care as daughter of her own sister but instead got betrayal.
She closed her eyes and wished Babaji would have taken her away instead of her
family. She was the cause for their sorrows then why were they punished for her
sins?
Remembering
all the painful memories Geet cried herself to sleep but even sleep wasn't
meant for her as whenever she relaxed the nightmares began. She sat in a corner
of the room with the picture of her family and rocked herself to not fall
asleep. The dark night was as painful and long as the nights have been since a
year.
Next
Morning,
Simran
called Geet to the courtyard and gave her the newspaper and said, "Isme kuch
PG, Hostel aur Job Openings hai. Tum dekho aur jaake apply karo. Main nahi
chahti ke do hafto baad tum kahi bhataki raho"
Geet's
heart pierced at her words but she took the newspaper and just meekly said yes
and taking her handbag left the house. The whole day she kept on applying for
jobs and went through different PGs and Hostels but nothing was going right.
Sometimes the owners didn't agree while sometimes the price was too high.
Two Weeks
Later,
Geet
sighed in defeat as she realised that today she would have to spend night as a
homeless person in Delhi or go back to Mumbai. Her Maasi didn't even say a word
to her to console her or even tell her to come back when she missed her family.
She realised she was once again left alone to fight against the world.
As she
walked she came across a small park and just sighed and went and sat there
tiredly. She never realised when her eyes closed due to tiredness. She felt
someone shaking her and got up hurriedly to look at a slightly aged woman who
looked at her curiously. Geet looked around and realised that it was getting
dark. She looked back at the lady who asked, "What are you doing here? It's
getting dark and it's not safe to be here alone"
Geet
looked down and said, "Umm I actually don't have any place to go so I was just
sitting here but I don't know when I dozed off"
The lady
realised that the young girl might be in some trouble and said, "If you don't
mind can I suggest something?"
Geet
nodded and the lady continued, "There is a Haveli just 10 min from here.You can
go there and if anyone asks just let them know that Mrs. Sharma has sent you.
They will surely help you"
Geet felt
it a bit odd and said, "But how can I go to the Haveli?"
Lady, "See
don't be afraid. That Haveli is actually under Khurana Foundation. There a lot
of other girls and women stay who have some problems and don't have any place
to stay. I am Mrs. Sharma and Im a trustee there so you don't need to worry. If
you want I can drop you there"
Geet
finally felt hopeful and smiled a bit and said, "No no you don't to take any
more trouble. I'll go by myself. Can you please provide some card or something
for identification that you have sent me there"
Mrs.
Sharma was impressed seeing that the young girl had asked for her card so that
they wouldn't think her to be fake or anything. Looking at her she felt as if
she was well educated but physically she looked really weak. She immediately
took out her card and on back scribbled something and gave it to Geet and said,
"You just show them this card and there will be no problem there. By the way
may I know your name?"
Geet took
the card and said, "Ji my name is Geet and Thank You for the help. I will never
forget this help from you ever"
Mrs.
Sharma smiled and gave her the directions again and after making sure that Geet
left she called at the foundation and let them know that she had sent a young
girl named Geet and to help her settle in. After that she called the owner of
the foundation Mrs. Savitri Singh Khurana and informed her about Geet. Savitri
thanked her for letting her know and assured her that she would make sure that
help would be provided to Geet.
Meanwhile
Geet walked for another 10 mins and finally came in front of the Haveli and as
she showed the card to the guards she was let in and escorted to the reception
area. After filling in her basic data she was led to a cabin and was told to
wait for a few mins as the Owner wanted to talk to her personally.
Geet
waited patiently and was glad that Babaji had sent someone to help her out. The
faith that she was losing on her Babaji after all the troubles she went through
was slowly being gained back.
After
about 10 mins an aged woman clad in an off white saree with golden border and a
pearl necklace adorned with small pearl earrings and 2 gold bangles in the name
of jewellery entered the cabin. As she came in Geet stood up and looked in awe
at the aura of this elegant lady. Savitri smiled and asked Geet to sit and
offered her some refreshments. Geet just took a glass of water.
While
Geet was drinking water Savitri looked at Geet and felt like she had seen her
somewhere but where exactly she couldn't pinpoint. After Geet finished she
looked at Savitri nervously.
Savitri
realising that she was making her nervous softly but calmly said, "Geet my name
is Savitri Singh Khurana and Im the owner of Khurana Foundation. Can you please
tell me something about yourself?"
Geet
smiled sadly and said, "Hello Ma'am. You do know my name. Umm actually Im from Mumbai
but I had to leave Mumbai and came to Delhi two weeks back. I stayed at my Maasi's
place but due to some personal problem I can't stay there anymore. I tried a
lot to get a job and some place for myself but it isn't possible to get a job
in two weeks and because of that I got problems in finding a living accommodation
as well"
Savitri
felt bad looking at the young girl whose shoulders were slouched because of
sadness. She smiled and asked, "What have you studied? Maybe I can help you in
finding a job and don't worry about accommodation. You can stay here without
any problems and when you find a better place you can leave from here."
Geet
smiled gratefully and said, "Thank you Ma'am. I have done B.Arch from Pune
College of Architecture and did my internship in DSP Associates"
Savitri
smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about job. We have our own company called
Khurana Constructions and recently there have been job openings so you can
apply"
Geet
shook her head and said, "No Ma'am I don't want any recommendation. I want a
job but not like this"
Savitri
was getting impressed by every word that Geet spoke and said, "Don't worry Geet
I won't provide any recommendation. I'm just providing you a suggestion to
apply there and I assure you my grandson as in the MD of the company will not
offer any job based on recommendations so you will have to go through all
rounds of interviews."
Geet
smiled and said, "Thank You Ma'am. You have helped a lot first by letting me
stay here and then by providing suggestion for job"
Savitri
patted her hand which was on the table and said, "You don't need to say thank
you. I'm happy that through this foundation I'm able to help others. Ok now
let's go and you can see your room and once your settle in we can continue our
talks."
Geet
smiled and nodded and left while Savitri felt happy that she could bring a
smile on this sweet girl's face.
After
sometime Geet met a few ladies who stayed at the Haveli and was shown around.
Here anyone could do anything until they followed certain rules. All the ladies
helped each other in their works and Geet felt happy being surrounded by such
people. The pain she felt since a year was forgotten for some time when she was
amongst these people.
3 Days
Later,
Geet woke
up early and rushed to get ready. After having some bread for breakfast she
went to cabin she had met Savitri on her first day. Seeing Savitri she knocked
the door. Savitri seeing Geet told her to come in.
Geet, "Umm
Ma'am I came to get your blessings. Today I have an interview at Khurana
Constructions. It's possible because of you only" and bent to touch her feet.
Savitri
immediately pulled her and said, "Nahi nahi Geet. Humare yaha Beti Bahu pair
nahi chooti. Aur humara ashirwad aapke saath hai. Khush rahe aur all the best.
Sab acha hoga"
Geet
smiled and left while Savitri smiled at her sweet gesture. Slowly but surely
Geet was making her place in Savitri's heart.
Khurana
Constructions Main Office,
Geet
entered the cabin to see a few more candidates already seated. She sent a small
prayer to her Babaji and went and took her seat. The first round was Basic
Assessment Round and they were given a few questions to solve. After finishing
it they were taken to the above floor where a section was left empty. They were
asked to each occupy a computer and were given a small practical test to check
their software and technicality skills.
The third
round was to work on a Project and come up with a concept and basic plan. They
were given 3 hours to work on it. By the time all finished it was evening and
all were requested to leave for the day and the selected candidates would be
informed to return the next day for the final rounds.
Geet
sighed and felt good working on something she really liked and prayed to Babaji
that her project gets selected.
As Geet
reached Khurana Foundation she got a call from KC confirming her return
tomorrow for the final rounds. Geet was overjoyed and rushed to Savitri and
hugged her impulsively.
Geet,
"Ma'am my project has been selected! I have to go tomorrow for the final rounds"
Savitri
smiled looking at Geet's joyous face and said, "Well Done Beta"
Geet
realised what she did and pulled out of the hug and said, "Sorry Ma'am. In
excitement I.."
Savitri
patted her cheeks and said, "Hume bura nahi laga Geet. Bohut khushi huvi ke
aapne hume apna samjh ke aapki khushi baati"
Geet had
tears in her eyes hearing it but controlled herself and said, "Thank You Ma'am"
and after chatting with her for few more minutes left for her room.
Khurana
Constructions,
After all
the candidates had left their projects the files were taken to the MD Mr Maan
Singh Khurana's cabin where he personally reviewed each project. He liked 5 out
of the 15 projects and called Adi and informed him about the files he had
selected and let him know that he would like to personally interview the 5
candidates tomorrow.
After
letting his PA know about his next day's plan he left the office and went home
to spend some time with his Dadi whom he had been ignoring a bit due to office
works.
Next Day,
Geet
dressed in formals with a nice pressed shirt and trousers looking really smart.
She again took Savitri's blessings and left for Khurana Constructions Office.
After reaching they were told to be seated while each candidate was called
individually for the final round. Each candidate seemed to take at least half
an hour and by the time Geet entered she was a bit nervous. Before she entered
she closed her eyes and sent a small prayer to Babaji and remembered her family
and entered with a small smile.
Maan who
had been looking through the project looked up when the next candidate entered
and for a minute was mesmerised as he saw her enter. She looked really elegant
and beautiful even in the formal attire and the small smile seemed to enhance
her beauty. Maan immediately snapped out of his trance and told her to be
seated.
He first
asked a few questions about herself, her studies, internship etc. After that he
gave her the project files they had all worked on and asked her to point out
the positive aspects and flaws in each project.
Geet
smiled and opened the file and studied it for a few minutes and looked up to
see if he was ready and then started telling about the positive aspects. What
really impressed Maan was that she never let the flaws seem to be flaws but
turned them into areas which they could improve and work on. The most
impressive thing was that she presented her project the last and pointed out
her own flaws and areas of improvement. This showed that she wasn't arrogant or
too proud that since it was her project it was perfect.
After the
interview was over Maan asked her to wait for a few mins and after the final
candidate was done the results were announced.
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