He came back home, tired and lost after a long and almost deadly day.
Today he had almost lost the two most important women of her life in just one go. His wife was arrested for a murder he didn't have a slight idea of and his daughter was kidnapped by the terrorists and brought in front of his eyes as a live bomb.
People hear about death but today he had seen the death with his naked eyes.
He didn't want to recall the struggle that had gone in freeing his daughter from that life taking danger. He didn't want to reminisce how he had managed to get his wife bailed so that she didn't have to spend a night in the jail and he didn't want to remember what a draining day it was.
His wife and his daughter both were back at home now; safe and fine enough and so he was content.
As he entered his room after checking Ruhi who was sleeping into his mother's room, the unusual sight bothered him.
The room lit brightly otherwise was all dark and silent.
Moving inside, he switched on the light and as the room lighted up, his eyes traveled to his wife who was curled up onto the rug near the bed.
Hiding her head in her knees, she was crying there and seeing her in this form pinched him.
Ishita, he murmured as he went close to her.
Raman...Raman, her silent sobs turned into noisy wails as he went closer and sat beside her.
Sshh...calm down Ishita...sab thik hai ab, he wrapped his arms around her guarding her from the world.
Kuch thik nahi hai Raman...woh log phirse mujhe le jaayenge... Raman main aap sab se dur nahi jaana chahti hoon...please mujhe bacha lijiye, she repeated those words again and over again sounding scared to death.
Ishita koi tumhe kahin nahi le jaayega...tum humesha mere saath rahogi...hum sab ke saath...apni Ruhi ke saath, he tried to calm her down.
Nahi Raman woh log mujhe le jaayenge...woh log meri Ruhi ko bhi kuch kar denge Raman...please mujhe bacha lijiye, she continued to cry remaining unaffected with his words.
Ishita listen to me...jaanta hoon bahut bura din tha aaj ka...par ab sab thik hai...tum thik ho Ruhi thik hai...hum sab saath hain...ab shant ho jao, he pulled her closer into a hug as he pecked her forehead.
Aapko pata hai main kitna darr gayi thi Raman...jab maine apni Ruhi ko us bomb ke saath dekha mera dil hi baith gaya...aisa laga jaise ab sab khatam, words choked her throat as she recollected the traces of the horrifying incident from the noon.
Tumhare hote hue Ruhi ko kaise kuch ho sakta tha, he caressed her hair as she became a little sober.
Humesha humare saath hi aisa kuch kyun hota hai Raman...ek ke baad ek musibatein humare peeche hi padi rehti hain...hum ek musibat ko hal karke chain ki saans tak nahi lete ki agli taiyaar ho jaati hai...kisi ke saath kuch bura karo toh apne saath bura hota hai na par maine toh kisi ka kabhi kuch bura nahi kiya...meri nanhi si Ruhi ne toh kisi ka kuch bhi nahi bigada...kitni maasoom hai woh...phir humesha hum hi kyun Raman, she questioned something for which he himself had no answers.
Shant ho jao Ishita aur bhagwan par bharosa rakho...sab thik hoga, he assured her even though unsure himself.
Sometimes words don't heal, hugs don't heal, emotions don't heal but only time heals. He too let the time do the healing and patted her to sleep.
--------------------------------------------
He stretched his arms lazily as the dawn took over the dusk. And as he opened his eyes, he realized that fact that they had slept on the very same rug last night and that reminded him of what the heavy day yesterday was.
His eyes then traveled to the figure sleeping next to him; his wife whose forehead still had those lines of worry and her face still had the scars of the tears she had shed the whole night.
It was evident to him that she didn't have a calm slumber and so he had to do something today for sure.
Nahi...chod do meri Ruhi ko, he came out of his thoughts as he heard her shouting suddenly and on looking at her, he realized that she was probably seeing a bad nightmare.
Ishita Ruhi thik hai...relax, he shook her waking her up in the process.
Raman Ruhi, she hugged him while crying inconsolably.
Ruhi ek dum thik hai aur maa ke paas hai, he wiped the sweat from her forehead and tears from her eyes.
Hmm, she said faintly.
Aur sona hai, he asked her.
Nahi, she answered before starting to get up.
Jaldi se ready ho jao hum bahaar jaa rahe hain, he already had a plan in his mind.
Mera mann nahi hai Raman please, she refused as expected.
Maine pucha nahi hai tumhe bataya hai...go and get ready fast, he strictly declared making her leave for the bathroom unwillingly.
------------------------------------------
Raman hum kahaan jaa rahe hain kuch toh bataiye, she asked him yet again.
Thoda sa wait karo na yaar...pahunch jaayenge toh pata chal hi jaayega tumhe, he repeated the same answer for the seventh time.
And after driving for almost 20 minutes, he finally stopped the car making her look around at the familiar place.
Mall Raman...aap mujhe is mall mein kyun laaye hain, she asked puzzled at her husband's thoughts as to why he wanted to shop all of a sudden.
Ander toh chalo sab pata chal jaayega, he opened the door for her before leaving to park the car.
Raman kahaan le jaa rahe ho, she asked irked as he took her inside the mall.
Kitne sawaal yaar...thoda chup bhi toh raha karo kabhi...baitho yahan, he said as he pushed her on a chair in the kids play area of the mall.
Confused at her husband's plan, she looked upto him but before she could even say anything, he was vanished.
Ab yeh mujhe yahan bithake khud kahaan gayab ho gaye, she looked here and there to locate her missing husband.
Chak De Chak De Chak De
Chak De Saare Gham, there he came singing and playing a guitar along.
Chak De Chak De Chak De
Tere Sang Hain Hum, Ruhi followed her father while enormous kids of her age or younger followed her.
Unable to grasp anything that was happening around her, she stared at her husband and her daughter and all the kids who followed as they all were similarly dressed in clown's clothes.
Haske Toh Dekh Tu Ek Baar
Khud Hi Aa Jaayegi Phir Bahaar, he pinched his wife to bring her back from the trail of her thoughts while singing for her.
Gaale Nayi Sargam Geet Ek Naya Gaa
Aaya Naya Mausam Aaya Din Naya, her daughter ran around her while the kids too joined making her realize the arrival of a fresh new day.
Seeing her daughter happy did make her feel good but probably everything was happening at such a high pace that she was unable to give any sort of reaction. Before she could say or do anything, her husband and her daughter were ready with another endearing action.
Chak De Chak De Chak De
Chak De Saare Gham, he picked her up in his arms.
Chak De Chak De Chak De
Tere Sang Hain Hum, he twirled her while kids twirled around them.
And on finally seeing her laugh, all the kids clapped.
Raman yeh sab aapne kab kaise, she asked as they settled down.
Chodo na kya kab kaise kiya...aaj bas masti karo...dekho Ruhi ko...koun kahega kal iske saath itna darawana haadsa hua tha...kitni khush hai aaj...mast hai bachon ke saath...bas aaj tum bhi sab kuch bhul jao aur in bachon ki anjaan naadaan duniya mein kho jao, he smiled dreamily looking at their daughter.
(Ched De Dhun Woh Aaj Chaa Jaayen Mastiyaan)
Par Raman, she tried to say something.
Par war kuch nahi Ishita...bas ho gaya...bahut pareshaan ho liye hum...humare pareshaan hone se na toh beeti hui kadwi yaadein kam ho jaayengi na aane wali musibatein tal jayengi...toh jo humare bas mein nahi hai uske baare mein chinta karne se acha hai kam se kam aaj toh khulke jee le, he tried to explain.
(Chod De Khul Ke Aaj Lehron Mein Kashtiyaan)
Hum dono saath hain toh phir kya gham hai...hum dono ko toh ek dusre ka itna strongly saath dena hai ki musibatein humare paas aate hue daren aur dukh humari khushi dekhkar jale...jab tak hum saath hain humara koi kuch bhi nahi bigaad sakta...bas tum khush raho...hasti raho...chehakti raho...tumhari smile hi toh meri taakat hai...tum ho toh main har musibat se lad sakta hoon...waise bhi yeh choti si toh zindagi hai...ise bhi roke jiya toh kya jiya, he continued as she looked deep into his eyes.
(Thokar Mein Masti Ho Kankar Bhi Jhoome
Mann Bhi Thirak Jaaye Baadal Ko Chume)
Arre aap dono abhi toh smile kar rahe the abhi wapis rone lage...chalo chalo dono smile karo, Ruhi ran to her parents as she saw them getting emotional.
(Chak De Chak De Chak De
Chak De Saare Gham)
Haan meri Ruhi aur Ruhi ke papa dono sahi hain...jab tak hum sab saath hain sab thik hai, she finally accepted the fact before the trio engulfed into a tight hug.
(Chak De Chak De Chak De
Tere Sang Hain Hum)
Aap bilkul sahi keh rahe the Raman...bahut priceless hai yeh life jo humen mili hai...aur meri toh kuch jyada hi priceless hai kyunki meri life mein teen priceless gems jo hain...mere pati aur mere bache...mujhe toh haske jeena hi chahie, she finally smiled from the heart as they together witnessed their daughter enjoying with kids free of all the tensions and fears.
(Sach Hai Yeh Bas Ek Baar Milti Hai Zindagi)
Maana ki humari life normal se thodi alag hai...thodi si jyada mushkil hai...par murugan bhi toh apne favorite bachon ko hi jyada problems dete hain na...Murugan ko pata hota hai ki kounsa bacha unki di hui problems ko jhel paayega aur kounsa nahi islie jise woh trust karte hain use hi problems dete hain...islie kitni bhi musibatein aayen ab main kamzor nahi padungi...haste hue aage badhungi, she looked at him with tears of satiation in her eyes.
(Karwatein Badalti Hai Pal Pal Yeh Zindagi)
Kya baat hai madrasan...achanak se itna dimaag kahan se aa gaya tujh mein, he teased her out of habit.
Kya Raman kuch bhi, she hugged him shyly as they both laughed at their banter.
(Har Pal Ko Gale Se Haske Lagale)
I love you, he pecked her quickly stealing a moment of love for themselves.
I love you too, she returned the peck.
(Pal Pal Mein Chupi Jo Khushiyaan Churale)
Waise aapne yeh guitar bajana kab seekha aur yeh joker ki dress toh kya jach rahi hai aap par, she finally paid attention to her husband's efforts.
Haan kyun nahi...ab bas yahi bach gaya tha Raman Kumar Bhalla ki zindagi mein ki woh joker banke logo ko hasata ghume toh lo tumne aaj woh bhi karwa diya mujhse...aur rahi guitar ki baat...Tum chahti thi na Adi seekhe guitar bajana...ab Adi toh Vinny madam ke liye dance ke chakkar mein pad gaya...ab IshiMaa ka order tha toh papa ne socha kyun na bete ki jagah woh hi seekh le, he winked naughtily.
Aww...you are so cute, she pulled his cheeks earning a fake angry glare.
Don't call me cute, he warned her.
Yah right...aap ho bhi nahi cute...aap toh ravan kumar ho, she too teased him.
Offo aap dono phirse chalu ho gaye, Ruhi who came randomly looked at them hopelessly hitting her head with her palm dramatically.
Chak De Chak De Chak De
Chak De Saare Gham, both pulled their daughter into a hug from either sides.
Chak De Chak De Chak De
Tere Sang Hain Hum, both kissed their daughter and laughed creating a perfect picture moment.
It wasn't that the problems were over, the fears were gone, the life was perfect but they had learnt to live in imperfection, fight the hurdles of life and smile between the sorrows.
Debate Mansion
9