Part 2 Prem
"Agle mor par mera saaya hai," Prem Manjrekar typed as his facebook status, adapting the lyrics of his favourite Nidhi Kapur song.
He looked at Nidhi Kapur smiling at him from the wall on his right. The picture was from the poster of Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai. Nidhi was looking gorgeous in her baby pink sari, her wavy black hair flying behind her gracefully. Her bright light brown eyes seemed to read him, penetrating deep into his soul. Like she knew him, like she was waiting for him. She smiled. They would definitely meet some day. He knew it, and her smile said, she did too.
His computer beeped. An email notification. Somebody had commented on his status: "jeez man, u still obsessd abt dat nidhi kapoor? hahahahaha. she's in luv wid rohit thakkar, u moron! so now, r u gna kill urself 2?? lmao."
It was Tanmay Bose. He must have read the article from Sparkle too. But to him, it must have been hilarious. The disgusting glob of cowdung that he was! And apparently it wasn't enough that Tanmay made sure that the time he spent at school was as nightmarish as possible. Now he had to bully him on facebook as well. To Tanmay, there was nothing more hilarious than making fun of Prem all the time and making sure the "big loser" remained unpopular, friendless and as lonely as ever.
Prem shot a venomous look at Tanmay's idiotic profile picture and removed him as friend. What had possessed him to even accept Tanmay's friend request in the first place! And why on earth was he on facebook! He deactivated his account. He didn't need anyone to judge him and shun him. He didn't need any of those so-called friends, who only pretended to understand and like him. He didn't need the hypocrisy. If only he didn't have to go to school at all. If only he didn't have to meet any of those fiendish creatures. They were all the same... back-stabbers! Like his father.
He turned back to Nidhi whose eyes were looking sad now. That stupid Tanmay Bose! He told her silently, "Don't mind Tanmay. He's an idiot. He even misspelt your name! He doesn't know a thing. He doesn't know that I'm not obsessed with you. I love you. I'm your Prem, aur mera prem amar hai. And that Rohit Thakkar, he doesn't deserve an angel like you. He -"
Prem could not continue, strangled by a strong burst of emotion. He fumed at a disembodied hand on the left of the poster. It was Rohit Thakkar's. Prem had cut out as much of Rohit Thakkar as much as he could from the poster. But the hand had survived because it was on Nidhi's shoulder.
"Prem beta!" It was his mother, calling him for dinner.
He wasn't hungry. How could he eat when his Nidhi was suffering so much? When she was so heartbroken that she had nearly ended her life? When she was thinking of jumping from the edge of a cliff for some dog who did not even care if she was alive or dead? What if she attempted suicide again? What if something happened to her? He would die for sure. She was the only person in the universe who he could confide in, she was the person he trusted most, she was his one and only best friend. Without her in his life, his life would make no sense whatsoever. Without her, he would lose out to despair and loneliness. He would be the loser Tanmay thought he was.
His mother called again.
"I will have to go," he told Nidhi, "Don't want to worry her. You know how Ma is when she is worried. If her depression worsens, she might have another fit, the doctor said."
Prem sat down to eat. It was moong ki dal and aloo mattar again. Just like every other day. His father's legacy. He avoided his mother's eyes and stared down at his food, pretending he loved it. But then she sniffled and he had to look up and see that she had been crying again.
"What happened, Ma?" he asked, forcing his lips into an innocent smile.
"Nothing. How's the food?"
"Very nice. You're not eating?"
"Your Baba will be late today," she said, "I'll get some more rotis."
He watched her go to the kitchen to hide her tears, breathed deeply and got back to his food. He hated having to pretend he knew nothing of what had happened. He felt like he was cheating; he felt like he was his father.
Minutes passed; Prem had nearly finished his food but his mother was not back yet. He went to the kitchen and saw her standing and staring at the stove, her eyes withdrawn, like those of a blind, hopeless person. Like the eyes of one who had given up.
"Ma. Please eat. Baba doesn't like you to wait for him for dinner."
He had to repeat himself a few times before she looked at him and nodded, but didn't budge. He had to physically take her to the dining table and serve her food.
"When will he come?" she asked casually. She had forgotten, again, and had swung out of her depression. It seemed like even God wanted to give her a momentary break from her suffering.
"I don't know Ma. But you eat, have your medicine and go to bed. I'm up late studying. I'll serve him food when he comes."
"He'll be very happy. I made his favourite today. Moong ki dal and aloo mattar." She smiled like a lovesick schoolgirl. It made Prem's blood boil.
"Yes. Now eat."
She started eating, slowly, as though her throat was too constricted by the confused tangle of emotions to allow food to pass through. Half a roti later, she had given up and retreated numbly into the dark world of her reminiscences.
She had remembered. God's idea of fun: break over.
He was struck by an irresistible urge to shake her, slap her, tell her that her husband had left and would never come back. He wanted her to cry all her pain out and unleash her unexpressed fury. He wanted her to start living again.
Instead he fed her the rest of the food, got her to have her medicine, and took her to bed. She allowed herself to be fed and led like a lifeless person. He did the dishes and went to his room to finish his homework.
That night, like countless others before it, was interminably long, sleepless and dreary. Prem had completed all his homework and was surfing the net aimlessly, hoping for something that would help him take his mind off life.
If only he could meet Nidhi. She was an angel in a world of deceit and lies, greed and selfishness and cruelty. If he met her, he would tell her not to lose hope, because to him, she was hope herself. Just thinking about her, talking to her, made his life so much more bearable. If he met her, he'd be the happiest person in the universe. She would make everything right again. And he would do everything he could to fill her life with endless happiness and love.
His heart filled with an overwhelming bubble of joy and he turned to one of his favourite hobbies: googling Nidhi Kapur. But as always, happiness turned out to be a fickle companion. This, you see, was the fate he shared with his mother.
In just half an hour, Prem's bubble had burst and his wistful smile had been replaced by disgust and anger. Some articles on the internet that claimed that Nidhi's suicide attempt was only a publicity stunt, that she was only hankering for attention, that she had tried to trap Rohit Thakkar but he had never loved her, and that she was now seeking vengeance to soothe her bruised ego.
Prem's eyes welled up and he turned to Nidhi's picture.
"It's not true," he said, "I know it! You mustn't take these things to heart and be sad. You must never be sad. Because you're not alone. I'm with you, and one day, all will be well. These people, they're only jealous. Liars, all of them. You know, Nidhi, the good people always suffer the most. Look at Ma. What did she do except love Baba and I more than her own life? And what did he do? He left. If mamaji was not there, we would have starved to death by now and that - that, that dog, he wouldn't even know. And Ma? Did you see Ma? She used to be so full of life, so happy, and now - And him? He's having fun with his family, his children. I just don't know what to do. I don't know if I'm doing the right thing. Hell, I don't even know if there is a right thing. If there is a way out. I don't know. I'm so weak. I cannot deal with all this."
He broke down and started sobbing uncontrollably. The tears he had suppressed for so long gushed down his cheeks, relieved of their painful confinement. His mother was sleeping peacefully, under the influence of her medication and there was nobody to hear him. Except Nidhi. His only friend, his best friend.
Edited by _.serendipity._ - 15 years ago
Hindi TV Shows
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
