Samaina SS : "Suhana Safar" (*Updated*; Epilogue on Page 85) - Page 7

A week had passed since Naina's return to Ahemdabad after giving the entrance exam which was a cakewalk for her. On one hand,she was happy because she was confident that she would get admission in of the best colleges of DU and on the other hand no response from Sameer was making her restless. She was experiencing a wide range of emotions; happpiness, excitement,anger, sadness and irritation; all at the same time.

Bohat heroine ban ke apna number de kar ayi thi na. Dekha, usne ek call bhi nahi kara. Uski to shakal dekh kr hi lag raha tha ki kitni sari ldkiya uski dost hongi. Kya padi thi tujhe usse baat krne ki? Said Naina to herself while angrily pacing back and forth in her room.

Par agar use mujhse baat nahi krni hoti to vo number maangta hi kyu? Naina contradicted herself.

Naina, Naina, Naina mat soch uske baare me itna. 7 din kum nahi hote hain. Bhool ja ki tu kisi se mili thi, bas; Naina made a mental note.

Par aisa bhi to ho sakta hai na ki vo kisi problem me ho? Ahhh ye ldka mjhe pagal kar dega; Naina sat down on her bed holding her head in frustration and anger.

For the last 7 days Naina has been doing the same, putting arguments and counter arguments to herself, contemplating whether her decision of trusting a stranger was right or not.

Her chain of thoughts was disturbed by Preeti who was calling her for listening to their favorite radio programm. Naina was in no mood and she denied. Preeti, who was at the receiving end of her mood swings for the last couple of days couldn't take it any more and barged into their room with an angry face.

Bohat ho gaya Naina tera ab. Jab se Delhi se ayi hai bas yhi kr rhi hai. Chupchap chal aur radio sun varna mujhse bura koi nahi hoga, Preeti held her hand and took her out in the dining area forcefully.

Preeti tuned into AIR while Naina sat on the swing sulking over her sister's bossy behaviour.

Namaskar bhaiyo aur behno, ye hai Aakashvani aur ab waqt ho gaya hai hmare vishesh karyakram ''Aapki Farmaish'' ka. Jaisa ki aap sab jaante hain hamara ye karyakram ek zariya hai aap sab se mukhatib hone ka, aapke vichaar jaan ne ka aur aapke sandesh aapke priyajano ko pohnchane ka. To chaliye zara si bhi der na krte hue pdhte hain aapke dwara bheje gye khat.  Aaj ka pehla khat hume likha hai Delhi se Sameer Maheshwari ne. Vo likhte hain, " kuch din pehle ek safar me mere sath ek pyaara sa ittefaq ho gaya. Lekin jin mohtarma ne is ittefaq ko khoobsoorat bnaya unhe pichle 4-5 din se lagataar phone krne ki koshish kr raha hun, mazaal hai ek bar bhi phone busy na gaya ho. Ab is khat ke zariye ye meri aakhiri koshish hai un tak apna message pohnchane ki. Agar tum ye sun rhi ho to aaj raat theek 8 baje mai tmhe phone krunga. Please jawab de dena"

Ahem ahem lagta hai Maheshwari ji ka mamla kuch jyaada hi sangeen hai. Khair hum asha krte hain aapka ye sandesh aapki mohatarma tak zarur pohnch gaya hoga. Isi ke sath hum aapko sunate hain Maheshwari ji ki farmaish pr ye behad hi umda geet "Aate jaate khoobooorat awara sadko pr".

Naina's VO: "Sameer Maheshwari", ye naam sun kar mjhe 440volt ka jhatka laga tha. Ji haan, pehle to mai yakeen hi nahi kr paa rhi thi ki ye vohi Sameer hai. Lekin jaise jaise vo radio announcer khat pdhte gye, mujhe yakeen hota chala gaya ki vo khat mere liye hi tha. Mere man me khushi ka maano koi theekana hi nahi raha. Do minute phle Sameer ko kos rhi thi aur usi Sameer ki is pyaari si harkat ne meri saari naarazgi, sari udaasi dur kr di. Aakhir koi kisi se bat krne ko itna betaab kaise ho skta hai ki vo radio tak ka sahara le le?  Kitni khush thi mai us din aur shayad Preeti ne mere dil ki khushi bhaanp li thi.

Naina, pichle 6-7 din se tu mu phula kar baithi hai. Lekin jaise hi is Sameer Maheshwari ka naam suna, tere chehre pr se muskurahat ja hi nhi rhi. Aur to aur tu tamatar ki tarah laal bhi ho gayi hai. Chakkar kya hai? Asked an amused Preeti.

Kuch bhi. Tujhe pata bhi hai tu bol kya rahi hai; Naina playfully slapped Preeti and continued, mai to bas khush ho rhi thi ye soch kar ki koi itna pyara khat kisi ke liye kaise likh skta hai?

Preeti, though was not satisfied with Naina's answer, didn't persuade her further.

It was 11 in the morning when Naina had listened to that radio programme. Now it was 7:30 pm. Only Naina knew how had she managed to pass these 8.5 hours. She was not able to concenterate on any work. She even got scolding from her taiji  and chachiji for being lost when she was about to add sugar in poha instead of salt. But Naina for the first time in her life, didn't feel bad. She was in a trance oblivious to everything around her and the change in her behaviour didn't escape Preeti's attention

VO: 7:30 baje the aur Sameer ka phone aane me abhi aadha ghanta baaki tha. Mera dil itna zoron se dhadak raha tha ki mai bata bhi nhi skti. Pata hai aapko, kum se kum 100 dafa to maine ghadi ki taraf dekh liya tha, itna kosa us din ghadi ki suion ko ki kya btaun. Ek ek pal sadiyon jaisa beet raha tha lekin mai us din bhi confused hi thi ki mere sath aisa kyu ho raha hai?Aakhir kyu thi mai itni bekarar us ajnabi se baat krne ke liye? Ajnabi? Kya sameer tab bhi mere liye ajnabee hi tha? Nahi, dost, shayad us din man hi man maine use apna dost maan liya tha, ek pyaara sa saccha sa dost.

It was 10 minutes to 8 when Naina slowly crept out of her room to get the cordless phone. Sensing no danger, she picked up the cordless and proceeded towards the balcony. At that very moment, she felt a tap on her shoulder which made her shudder with fear. She slowly turned around fearing her taiji has caught her red handed but saw Preeti standing in front of her with her hands on either side of  her waist and  brows arched in suspicion, demanding an explanation from her.

Haaan to Mohatarma Naina ji, aap is waqt phone ke sath yaha kya kar rhi hain? Asked a suspicious Preeti.

Vo, vo Preeti mai vo; Naina replied stammering.

Kya vo vo Naina? Sidhe se bol, nahi to abhi taiji ko bula dungi. Aur haan jhooth bolne ke bare me to sochio bhi mat; Preeti warned Naina.

Vo Preeti, mai ,radio, phone, subah, Naina replied.

Naina, ye kaun si bhasha me baat kr rhi hai tu? Sidhe se kyu nahi batati ki us Sameer Maheshwari se baat krne ke liye aayi hai, vo subah vala message tere liye hi tha na? Preeti asked angrily.

Naina was afraid of the anger of her cousin . Preeti being a fun loving girl used to get angry rarely but when she did, she would not listen to anyone. And Naina knew she was at fault. She had hidden an important development in her life from the person who has been her support and secret keeper since childhood. Seeing Naina standing nervously with her head down, Preeti laughed out loudly;

Arz kiya hai,

"Meri pyari behna Naina jo kal tak thi bholi bhali aur naadan;

Aaaj ban gayi hai shaitan;

Jo bolti this sirf sach, aaj jhooth bol kr nikalwa rhi hai apne saare kaam,

Aakhir kaun hai ye ldka jisne kar diya hai meri behan ke dimag ka chakka jaam; "

Vah vaah vaah vaah, Preeti patted on her shoulder praising herself as she always did when no one else appreciated her shayaris.

Dhat, Naina turned her face away from Preeti because she didn't want her to see the blush on her face.

Kya dhat. Kab se chal raha hai ye sab? Preeti asked teasingly.

Naina took a glance at the clock and mentally cursed Preeti for choosing this very moment to ask questions ; Dekh Preeti, kuch bhi nhi chl raha hai. Hum dost hain, sacche dost.

Dost???? Sacche dost???? Topper Naina Agarwal ka ek sacha dost bhi hai aur mujhe kaano kaan khabar nahi hui; Peeeti replied stressing on the word "Dost"

Naina pleaded, Preeti, abhi ja na yaha se , mai tujhe sab bta dungi, pakka promise.

Kyu agar kuch chal nahi raha hai aur tujhe mjhe sab batana hi hai to mai bhi yahi khade ho kr sun leti hun na sb; Preeti replied sarcastically.

Preeti ki bacchi, jaldi se ja yaha se varna tu bohat pitegi, Naina warned Preeti.

Theek hai theek hai pr mjhe ek ek detail chahie, smjhi. With this, Preeti left for her room.

Exactly at 8, Naina's phone rang. Before the phone could even complete its first ring, Naina picked it up.

Naina? came a voice from the other end.

Naina's heart skipped  a beat hearing his voice, her heart was beating so loud that she feared Sameer would hear it at the other end. Calming herself down, she asked, aapko kaise pata chala ki mai hi hun?

Sameer chuckled at her question, Pehli ring par hi to tmne phone utha liya, ab itna to smjh hi gya hun ki mera intezar krte krte phone ke bilkul paas hi baithi hogi.

Naina felt embarassed, Sameer had figured out that she was indeed waiting for his call.

Nahi to, mai to yahin baith kr padhai kr rhi thi itne me phone ki ring sunai di to maine utha liya; she tried to sound ignorant.

Accha? Matlab mai aise hi khush ho raha tha. Chalo theek hai fir mai rkhta hun; Sameer replied teasingly.

Kyuuu? Naina almost shouted.

Sameer laughed and continued ; are tumhi ne to bola tum intezar nahi kar rahi thi.

Haan to intezar nahi kr rhi thi par iska matlb ye bhi to nahi hai ki baat nahi karna chahti, Naina frowned at the way Sameer was making her confess.

Sameer who was by now enjoying Naina's antics, cleared her throat and continued further; accha, matlab mjhse baat krna chahti ho?

Kitne bure ho aap? Kyu mera mazaak bana rhe ho? Naina asked irritatedly .

Acha? Bura hn, Pichle 5 din se non stop phone milane ki try kr raha hun. Hmesha busy aata hai. Tumhare ghr me sb phone pr hi lage rhte hain kya? Sameer asked jokingly.

Are to isme meri kya galti hai. Vaise Pata hai kitna gussa aa raha tha mjhe, aur kitne ajeeb ajeeb khyal bhi aye. Mujhe to ye bhi laga ki aap bhool gaye mujhe; Naina blurted out and immediately bit her tongue. She was not supposed to let him know that she had been thinking about him all this while.

But the damage has been already done. Oh, to matlab tumhe gussa aa raha tha ki mai tmhe bhool gaya? Ya fir mai aisa bhi soch skta hun ki tum mjhe miss kr rhi thi islie tmhe gussa aa raha tha. Haina? Sameer gave a winning smile to himself.

Sameer's questions put Naina into a trance again. She wondered how could she tell him that all she did in the last 7 days was to think about him. There was not a single moment when his thoughts hadn't crossed her mind.

Naina, tum sun rhi ho na? Naina? Naina? Sameer took her name 3-4 times thus breaking her trance.

Naina slapped her forhead; Haan sun rhi hun na.

To tumne mere sawal ka jawab nahi diya? Miss kr rhi thi tum mujhe? He wanted her to say explicitly but he very well knew that Naina won't confess anything easily. He decided to take a different route then. Vaise aapke lagae hue ilzaam ko mai bilkul nahi manata kyunki mohtarma Sameer Maheshwari dosti krta hai to use bohat acche se nibhata hai; Sameer replied firmly.

Naina blushed on hearing his words.
Dosti?

Haan, kyu hum dost nahi hain? Sameer aksed and then smiled at his own thoughts "Chalo madam ab ye bhi nahi accept krengi. Jo ldki ye nahi bol paa rhi ki vo meri dost hai usse mai ye ugalwana chahta hun ki vo mujhe miss kr rhi thi. Beta Sameer, bohat mushkil pitch pr khel raha hai tu"

Hmmm, mjhe nahi pata. Acha vaise Hindi aapki kamzor hai to aapne kya socha ki chalo urdu hi seekh leta hun. Mohtarma shabd naya naya seekha hai kya? Khat se le kar phone pr  yahi bole ja rhe ho. Finally Naina found a way to avoid his questions.

Sameer frowned ; tum nahi sudhrogi na. Han sikha hai. Aur mai ise har jagah bolunga Huh. Tumhe kya?

Are re aap gussa bohat jaldi hote ho; Naina couldn't control her laugh seeing him behave like kids.

Haan kyunki tum aise hi krti ho hmesha. Vaise chodho vo sab aur ye btao exam kaisa hua tha? Sameer asked.

Bohat accha. Mujhe pakka pata hai mera admission ho jaega; Naina replied in an excited tone.

Sameer smiled at her excitement; are vaah, miss padhaku. Mai to tmhari shakal dekh kr hi samajh gaya tha ki ladki me dum hai. Vaise result kab aaega?

His appreciation made Naina blush again. She thanked God thay they were talking on phone lest Sameer would have made fun of her constant blushing. Hmm result to do hafte me a ajaega pr admission hote hote ek  mahine lag jaega. Kyu?

Itna time. Matlab kum se kum ek mahina intezar krna pdega mjhe. Sameer frowned again.

Kis baat ka intezar? Naina asked curiously.

Tumse dubara milne ke liye intezar, Buddhu topper. Milogi na mjhse Delhi aane ke baad? Sameer asked.

Naina almost dropped the phone on hearing his question. Her heartbeat once again picked up pace on the thought of meeting him. All this while she had never given a thought to the fact that she could indeed meet him again.

Naina ab kum se kum is baat ka to jawab de do; her silence was now bothering Sameer.

Haan, milungi na. Naina replied.

Sameer sighed, Thank God. Dekho ab mai jyada der baat nahi kr skta. PCO ke bahar do log aur hain. To btao ab kab phone karun tumhe?

PCO? Aap PCO pr kyu baat kr rhe hain? Ghr se kyu nhi?  Naina asked confused.

Vaise hi, he replied casually.

Nahi btaiye aap mjhe; Naina was admant to know.

Ek shart pr btaunga, tm mjhe aap aap keh kar pukarna band kro. Smjhi?

Naina chuckled, Smjh gayi. Btao to fir.

Sameer laughed and said Vo islie kyunki ghar pr meri dusht daadi hain jo mjhpar 24 ghante nazar rkhti hain.

Haww apni dadi ko koi aise kehta hai kya? Naina was amused.

In a bid to close this dadi topic Sameer replied, Ji haan, tum nahi rehti na unke sath islie janti nahi. Ab unki side mat lena mai kal call krunga shaam me.

Theek hai, Naina replied.

A silence lingered on the phone as  both didn't want the phone call to end.

Breaking the silence, sameer asked; Toh?

Neither in the train that day nor on the phone, Naina could figure out what does his 'toh' actually mean. Toh kya?

Toh Kuch nahi. Sameer said dejectedly. Chalo bye. Kal baat krte hain nahi to log mjhe zabardasti PCO se bahar nikal denge.

Naina kept the cordless back at its place and returned to her room where Preeti was waiting for her impatiently. Preeti hurriedly took Naina to the chair and said 'Aaram se baith kr sab kuch bta' . Naina laughed at her sister and thought if only she had taken this amount of interest in studies. Preeti hit her playfully; Naina hasna band kar aur jaldi bta naaa. And then  Naina started narrating about the best journey of her life, she told him how sweetly Sameer had made her comfortable throughout the journey; she told him about their common love for stars and Sameer's nature. Naina was going to tell her about the time he asked for her number but Preeti spoke in between, Vo dikhne me kaisa hai?

Ekdum hero jaisa, lambe lambe baal, bhuri aankhen; Naina replied

Hayee sachiii??? Asked an excited Preeti.

Preeti ji aap bda hayeee hayyye kr rhi hai na , pata hai tinde uski Favorite sabzi hai. Chachi ji ne jo safar ke liye tinde pack kiye the na ungliyan chat chat kr kha gaya vo. 

Kyaaa? Preeti reacted as if she got the biggest shock of her life.

Naina put her hand on Preeti's mouth; Dheere bol, nahi to chacha chachi yahi aa jaenge.

Tinde. Chiii. Use tinde pasand hain. Tune aise ldke se dosti kri Naina, Preeti scowled.

Naina gave her a stern look and continued.

To fir usne tujhse tera number bhi maang liya. Hawww aise kaun ldka krta hai. Aur tu,  usne terese do meethi meethi baatein kr li to tune use number de bhi diya. Preeti asked surprisingly because this side of Naina was new to her.

Preetis's constant nagging was irritating Naina, Preeti, tujhe puri baat sun ni hai ya beech me taang adate rhna hai? Sunni hai ya mai jaun? Naina got up to leave.

Preeti pulled her back to the chair, Bata na, please.

Nahi Preeti vo baaki ladko jaisa nahi hai. Ye jaante hue bhi ki mai phli baar akele travel kr rhi hun usne ek baar bhi kuch ulta seedha nahi bola. Vo to balki koshish krta raha ki mai uncomfortable na feel krun. Aur pata hai jab usne mjhse number ke liye pucha tb maine use koi jawab nahi diya, bas chup ho gayi. Vo samajh gaya aur usne mjhe bilkul force nahi kiya. Tujhe pata hai chacha ji aadha ghanta deri se station pohnce the aur vo pura time mere sath khada raha bina kisi umeed ke. Soch na Preeti, aaj tk school me kabhi bhi kisi ne mjhse dosti nahi kri. Sab mera mazaak udate the. Maniben, tel ki dukan, teacher ki chamchi kya kya nahi suna hai maine apne liye. Lekin inhi logon ko jab bhi mjhse notes chahie hote the mere dost ban jate the. School chodh, ghr pr bhi mere apne papa ko bhi mjhse koi fark nahi pdta. Lekin Sameer, Vo jaanta tha mai man hi man ghabra rahi thi, fir bhi usne ye zaahir nahi hone diya. Jis tarah se chachaji mere sath hamesha khade rhte hain vaise hi us din sameer bhi bina kisi shart ke mere sath raha. To aise ldke pr mai kaise vishwas nahi krti Preeti? Haan jab Sameer ka phone nahi aya to mjhe laga ki vo bhi bakiyon jaisa hi hai pr aaj mere sare doubts clear ho gaye. Mai nahi jaanti humari kismat me kya likha hai, lekin zindagi me phli baar kisi ne sacche man se mjhe apna dost maana hai, to mai is dosti ko puri tarah se nibhaungi.

Naina waited for Preeti to respond but Preeti was lost in her own world. This made Naina real angry and she slapped preeti hard on her arm. Preeti ki bacchi itni der se dimaag kha rkha hai aur ab jab bata rhi hun mai to tune kuch suna hi nahi.

Ouch, kya hai Naina. Sab suna hai maine. Mai to bas ye soch rhi thi ki tere sath to ekdum filmon vaali story ho gayi. Hayeee kitni lucky hai tu; Preeti lied down on the bed thinking when will something like this happen in her life.

Ye ladki bhi na pagal hai bilkul, abhi gussa kar rhi this aur ab khud sapno me kho gyi, Naina murmured and smiled to herself.

Sameer's VO: Mai jis din se Delhi pohncha tha, akelapan khal raha tha. Kehne ko to meri mummy ka delhi vala ghar bohat alishan aur bda tha lekin us ghar me rhne vale logon ke dil utne hi chote. Akela aur bejaan pd gya tha mai un naam ke rishto ke beech me pr  Naina se baat ki to aisa lga kisi ne mjhme dubara jaan foonk di hai. Kya ho raha tha mujhe?

That night both Sameer and Naina stood in their respective balconies staring at the stars demanding answers to all the doubts which were plaguing them regarding each other. And the stars and the moon shone brightly than ever declaring that the universe indeed was upto something.

Precap: Naina preparing to leave for Delhi.