Meri Maa
"And the last honour of today's footbal tournament, the Man of the Match goes to Aditya Kumar Bhalla from India International School" announced the compere.
"Yes yes yes" squealed Adi as he hopped towards the stage to receive his award.
IshiMaa is going to be super happy. What a splendid way to welcome her back home Adi thought as he posed for the pictures with the trophy in his hands.
Few days ago he had come home to celebrate holi with his family on his grandmother's insistence. And he was completely taken by surprise when he got to know that IshiMaa is still alive and her death was staged by his Papa and IshiMaa to save her from Nidhi.
The moment he laid his eyes on her he felt alive and he did not want to go back for the tournament.
But his IshiMaa had urged him to go back "Ab to mai wapas agayi hoon na. Ab tumhe chodkar kahin nahi jaaungi" She had said.
"Promise aap kahin nahi jaaogi na" he had asked and for the first time in life he had heard his IshiMaa say "Adi Promise"
It was a strange feeling of belongingness in that moment when she had pinched her throat and assured him. And in the spur of the moment he had agreed and decided to resume his tournament.
And then after 2 days he came to know that his IshiMaa was shot by Nidhi and he felt the floor beneath him slip away. He had cried and fought that he wanted to go back. But then again his IshiMaa had spoken to him over the phone assuring him that she was safe. He still wanted to come back to her but she had just given him her kasam and he with a heavy heart stayed back.
A day ago, from his dadi he came to know that his IshiMaa would be discharged the day he was returning home from his tournament.
Now that he was returning from his tournament he could not wait to be back home in the arms of his IshiMaa.
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He impatiently rang the door bell again and again as he was not able to contain his excitement.
"Adi Baba" Neelu said opening the door for him.
"Hello Neelu Didi" he greeted her politely before he rushed into the house.
Finding the house unusually calm and finding no trace of people around, he turned to Neelu and asked "Ghar pe koi nahi hai kya?"
"Sab log hospital gaye hain" Neelu said.
"Oh Great! Aap mere liye chocolate milkshake bana do. Mai jaldi se fresh hoke aata hoon" he said walking to his room as he assumed that everyone was at the hospital to bring his IshiMaa back home.
The poor soul had no clue what had transpired behind his back and how things had changed upside down in the Bhalla house in just 2 days.
He quickly freshened up and walked back to the living room. He picked up the glass of milkshake from the kitchen counter and sat on the couch that faced the wall in the living room.
He talked to himself as he sipped the milk
'IshiMaa kitni khush hongi jab unhe pata chalega ke mujhe Man of the Match mila hai. I am sure woh ek badi si party throw karengi is achievement ko celebrate karne keliye. Aur woh tab tab proud feel karengi, jab jab woh meri trophy ko is wall pe laga hua dekhengi'
he pointed towards the wall in the process and that's when his IshiMaa's picture hanging on the wall caught his attention.
What disturbed him was the garland that was hanging around the picture. For a moment he was taken aback and then he remembered that the garland had been put around the picture when his family came to know that she was pushed off the cliff by her father.
He assumed that they had forgotten to take off the garland amidst all the chaos and he not for another moment wanted to see that garland there.
He placed his glass on the centre table and marched towards the picture. He tried reaching the garland that was way above his height and after going on his toes and raising his hand to the maximum he could, he finally managed to get hold of an edge of it.
"Adi Baba. Ye aap kya kar rahe ho?" Neelu screamed.
"Ye haar utaar raha hoon. Ab iska koi kaam nahi hai yahan" he said still on his toes and trying to take that dreaded garland off.
"Adi Baba ruk jaiyye" Neelu held his hand trying to stop him.
"Neelu didi chodiye mera hath. IshiMaa zinda hain toh unke tasveer pe ye haar nahi hona chahye" He told her.
"Meri baat toh suniye" Neelu tried to tell him but he was so engrossed in the job at his hand that he completely ignored her.
In the little tug of war that they were having, the garland got pulled with a lot of force pulling the picture frame along with it and sending it crashing onto the ground.
"Oh shit" Adi said looking at the shreds of glass and his IshiMaa's pic fallen on the floor.
Neelu clamped her mouth in shock while Adi knelt down to pick the smiling picture of his IshiMaa.
Kaanch ka tootna apshagun hota hai
he had heard his Dadi say a lot. His mind began imagining the worst scenarios and the consequences of the broken picture frame.
'Nahi...nahi...Ye mai kya soch raha hoon? IshiMaa ko kuch nahi hoga. Kaanch ke tootne se zindagi ka koi lena dena nahi hai. Tu bhi na Adi'
he chided himself for believing in the superstitious beliefs his grandmom harboured.
More than that he chided himself for thinking that something would happen to his IshiMaa. He couldn't even imagine how it would be to lose her yet again.
"Adi Baba aap chodiye. Mai saaf kar deti hoon" Neelu said recovering from the shock.
"Ok" Adi said still holding the picture in his hand.
He smiled back at her smiling picture and said "Kahan ho aap IshiMaa? I miss you so much. Jaldi aajao na"
The door bell rang and he turned towards it having the same excited he had come home with "IshiMaa" he chirpily ran to the door.
He was in for a surprise as he saw his father holding a little baby in his arms.
He was overjoyed and wanted to hold his baby sister but was too afraid that he would hurt her.
He was so busy in drooling at her that he failed to notice the expressionless faces of his family.
He stepped aside making way for them to enter inside.
Everyone stepped inside without a word which looked strange to him. He even wondered why his baby sister was not receiving the grand welcome every new born Bhalla would get.
He then realised that his IshiMaa was not there yet. He peeped out in the corridor to see if she was being accompanied by the hospital staff on a wheelchair or something as she had gone through a surgery.
"IshiMaa kahan hai?" He asked turning to his family.
They all seemed to have frozen with the mention of her name.
"IshiMaa discharge nahi hui? Woh ghar kab aayengi?" He asked again on not getting a reply to his previous question.
"Ab teri IshiMaa kabhi nahi aayegi puttar" said Toshi and began to sob loudly.
"Sambhalo apne aap ko Mumma" said Simmi holding her mother.
"Aap kya bol rahe ho? Mujhe kuch samajh nahi araha" said a shocked Adi not wanting to believe what he had inferred from his grandmother's words.
All he got in response was more tears from his grandmom and sympathising looks from his aunt.
His father stood emotionless with a sleeping baby in his arms.
Adi did not want to believe what this all meant. He was hoping against hope that what he was assuming is not true.
He shook his father asking him and blabbering "Papa boliye na IshiMaa kahan hai? Unhone mujhse waada kiya tha ke woh mujhe chod kar kahin nahi jaayengi. IshiMaa apna waada nahi todti. IshiMaa nahi jaa sakti mujhe chodke. IshiMaa..."
"Bas karo Adi" his father yelled at him making him step back in reflex
"IshiMaa IshiMaa IshiMaa. Bas karo. Aaj ke baad is ghar me koi uska naam nahi lega" Raman passed on his verdict in a fit of raging pain in his heart.
"Bhai ye aap kya bol rahe ho?" Simmi questioned.
"Maine keh diya na, bas keh diya. Jis ko jaana tha woh humein chodkar chale gaye. Jisne ye tak nahi socha ke uske jaane se hamara kya hoga uske liye hum jeena kyun chod dein. Ab yahi mera faisla hai. Aaj ke baad is ghar me koi uska naam nahi lega" saying so with final authority he walked to his room without waiting for anyone to respond.
"Hey bhagawan..Ye kya kiya tune mere sath. Is ghar ki dono raunakon ko tune mujhse cheen liya. Meri Ruhi aur meri Ishita" Toshiji lost her balance as she cried loudly.
"Mumma" shrieked Simmi holding her mother and then took her to her room.
Adi was left alone to deal with the heartbreaking news that had turned his world upside down. His little sister Ruhi and his IshiMaa were no more.
Hid knees did not support him anymore and he fell on the floor. His heart broke into million pieces like the glass frame had shred while ago.
His vision got blurry due to the tears but still his IshiMaa's smiling image remained crystal clear in his mind's eye.
"Ish..." he began to say and then remrmbered his father's verdict.
"Maaa" came out a heart wrenching cry from his mouth as he cried bitterly on his loss.
Maa..O..Maa
(Continued in Post Below)
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