Hey everyone, I am back with another OS. I hope you all like it. Do share your views.
Sameer Maheshwari tossed around in his bed in a desperate attempt to get some sleep. When his constant attempts to drive away the thoughts that were plaguing his mind turned futile, he got up and walked toward his room's window. The moon was high in the sky illuminating the otherwise dark surroundings. A smile appeared on his face as a sense of peace dawned over him. The moon had been his companion since childhood. While his friends spent their childhood cocooned in the warm embrace of their mothers, Sameer had the ever shining moon and stars to his company. It had always given him a direction to tread through the impenetrable darkness that his life kept offering him. "Kahan milogi tum Naina? Kahan dhundhu tumhe?, wondered Sameer looking at the sky hoping to find some solution up there.
On the other side of the town, Naina woke up with an unexplainable sense of grief taking over her. She had been feeling the same for the last 3-4 days. No matter how hard she tried to be happy, she felt strange and incomplete. "Behan, tujhe milne koi bohat smart sa ladka aya hai, ekdum Salman Khan type", Preeti rushed into the room breaking Naina's chain of thoughts. "Mujhse milne? Itni subah? Kaun aya hai?, Naina asked absent mindedly. "Uske chehre pe nahi likha hai. Tu chal,mummy papa ne bulaya hai. Hamesha ulta sawal hi karti hai", Preeti snapped at her.
Naina washed her face, straightened her clothes and went outside. As she walked through the narrow passage separating the dining area from their room, she caught a glimpse of the supposedly handsome man Preeti was talking about. A mere glimpse of his was enough to send her heart racing. She stood rooted to her place, lost, until she heard him asking "Aap Naina hain?"
"Ji. Maine aapko pehchana nahi", Naina replied and looked towards her chacha chachi who seemed perplexed by the happenings.
"Mai Sameer Maheshwari hun, Mr Jayprakash Maheshwari ka naati. Mujhe aapse kuch zaruri baat karni thi", Sameer replied.
''Boliye", Naina took a seat on the sofa facing him.
"Sabse pehle to mai aap sabse maafi chahta hun ki mai aise subah subah aapke ghar aagaya bina aapko itilla kare. Vo darasal mere nanaji ka do hafte pehle dehaant ho gaya tha". Sameer paused for a moment and continued "Jab unke vakeel ne unki will padhi to hume pata chala ki unhone apna bangla Naina ji ke naam kar diya hai. Isilie mai aapko pichle ek hafte se dhundhne ki koshish kar raha tha. Aur aaj jaise hi pata chala ki aap yaha rehti hain to maine aur der karna zaruri nahi samjha. Mai aapko aapka ghar saunpne aya hun", Sameer finished and looked at Naina for some response.
To say Naina was shocked, would be an understatement. The news of the sudden demise of the man she had forged a unique and special bond with, broke her heart. At the same time, his decision of leaving his house in her name puzzled her. Her memories drifted to the day she had first seen him sitting in his lawn, lost in some deep thoughts. His house fell on her way to college. The white marbled house stood majestically, attracting everyone's attention. And why wouldn't it? It was the house of Ahmadabad's richest person. It ought to be like that. Though, it wasn't the outer beauty of the house that had always appealed to her, it was the thought which went in making of it. She didn't know why but she had always felt that that house had some story to tell. And every day she passed by it, she would stop for good 5-6 minutes admiring the beauty in front of her. But that was the first time she had seen someone there. As she contemplated over the fact that he must be living all alone in the house at this age, he looked towards her, confused. Startled, Naina passed a smile and marched forward.
What started off as an act to cover up the embarrassed situation she had landed herself into, became a routine from the next day. Whenever she passed by the house, she would smile looking at him and he would return the greeting. This continued for six long months. Naina had always believed in the wonders of a small smile. She had always believed that if you greet people with a smile, your happiness passes on to them and doubles. But she didn't know that a smile could form unnamed relations as well. It gave her a sense of peace that she was able to bring a moment of joy in someone's life. She clearly remembered the day when he had instructed his servant to ask her to come inside. Apprehensive at first, she had ultimately decided to listen to her heart and she never regretted her decision. From that day onwards, she would make it a point to stop by his house before proceeding further to the college. Though she never had much time at her disposal owing to the strict nature of her taiji who would neither allow her to leave early for college nor come back late, she had come to know many things about Mr Maheshwari. He always talked about his wife and his grandson. Whenever he talked about them, his eyes sparkled with love and she knew that those two were the most important parts of his life. And yes, she was right, that house did indeed treasured secrets. It was the product of the struggle his wife and he had endured for years. When everybody had given up on him, his wife held his hand and made him into the man the whole Ahmedabad knew of. And that was the kind of house his wife had always dreamt of and he had left no stone unturned to turn her dream into reality.
"Naina, aap sun rahi hai na?"Sameer asked, confused.
"Haan, haan mai sun rahi hun. Par mai ye accept nahi kar sakti hun. I am sorry par ye mujhse nahi hoga", Naina replied.
"Naina, ye mere nanu ki akhiri iccha thi. Sach bataun to mujhe bohat bura laga tha jab maine suna ki mere nanu kisi ajnabi par itna vishwas karte the. Maine to socha bhi tha ki mai aapse nahi milunga. Lekin fir jab thoda thande dimaag se socha to ehsaas hua ki mai unki aakhiri iccha ka apmaan nahi kar sakta hun. Mai jaanta hu sun ne me bohat ajeeb hai lekin sach to yahi hai", Sameer articulated his words carefully and continued " Mere nanaji jab is duniya se gaye to unke chehre par bohat badi muskan thi. Ramdhari kehta hai ki unki khushi ka kaaran aap thi. Shayad jo khushi unka naati unko itne saalon me nahi de paaya, vo aapne itne kam samaay me de di. Aap soch lijiye, apne gharwalon ke sath vichaar vmarsh kar lijiye aur agar aapko theek lage to mujhe bata dijiyega. Aur dekhiye aapka faisla jo bhi ho aap mujhe aaj shaam tak bata dijiyega, please. Mujhe kal subah ki flight pakadni hai. Ab mai chalta hun, namaste"
After Sameer left, the Agarwals looked at each other in complete shock and disbelief. The whole Ahmedabad including the Agarwals knew of the business tycoon Jayprakash Maheshwari but they had never thought that their paths would cross like this. When Naina told her chacha chachi and Preeti that how had she known Mr Maheshwari, even they couldn't fathom the reason behind his decision. Nevertheless, everyone was of the same opinion that they should not accept it. Yes, they did not want to disgrace someone's last wish but they had no other option.
Sameer packed his clothes in the suitcase and closed it. He was to leave the next day. This was the last chance he had at his disposal to spend some time in his Nanaji's house. He walked towards his Nanu's room and looked at everything emotionally. He sat down near his nanu's rocking chair and kept his head on it the way he used to keep his head on his nanu's lap in his childhood. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He had not been a good son to his nanu. The guilt of not being near him during the last days of his life, pierced deep into his heart. "Aapke nanu aapse naaraz nahi the Sameer. Balki vo to aapse bohat pyaar karte the". Sameer heard someone; rather he heard the same voice he had listened to in the morning. He turned around and saw Naina walk upto him. She sat down in front of him, careful enough to maintain a considerable distance between them and continued "Sameer, unhe aapse kabhi gussa tha hi nahi. Balki vo to khud se gussa the ki vo aapka saath kyu nahi de paaye. Vo saari umar yahi sochte rahe ki aap Delhi me apne naye ghar me khush ho. Lekin jab tak unhe sach ka pata chala, bohat der ho chuki thi. Aap sabse bohat dur ja chuke the. Is baat ka guilt ki vo kyu apne bete ka dard nahi dekh paaye, unhe khaaye jaa raha tha. Vo chahte the ki aap unke saath hamesha raho, aise do chaar mahino me 1-2 dino ke liye aake nahi. Unhone decide kar liya tha ki is baar vo aapko vapas nahi jaane denge. Lekin aapse keh nahi paaye, bhagwan ji ne mauka hi nahi diya. Lekin mai aapko batana chahti hun ki vo aapse bohat pyaar karte the. Please unhe galat mat samajhiye". Naina raised her hand hesitatingly and wiped his tears. She didn't know where she got the courage to do this. A girl, who had never talked to boys all her life, was sitting with a guy, all alone in his house, wiping away his tears. But this just felt right to her. When chachaji had decided to convey their decision to Sameer over phone, she asked him to let her and Preeti go there. Not approving of her demand at first, he agreed after some time when Naina told him that she wanted to go there once, just to let that feeling of grief leave her mind. She had asked Preeti to wait outside in the living room when Ramdhari told them about Sameer's wherebaouts. The moment she comforted Sameer, the feeling of unease that had been gripping her since the last few days, settled down. At once she realized that some things never need any explanation. She had to do this for the dil ka rishta which had bonded her with Sameer's nanu and now maybe with Sameer as well.
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The laughter of the kids echoed in the garden as they played around. Some played with the ball while some others were busy playing hide and seek. Naina looked at them from a distance and felt happy. A pair of arms encircled her waist from behind and she closed her eyes to control her heartbeat as the sudden closeness still affected her even after 2 years of their marriage. "Pata hai aaj bhi jab tum aise ekdum se sharma jaati ho na, mujhe bohat accha lagta hai ", Sameer said lovingly."Bacche dekh lenge, hato abhi", Naina tried to push him away. "Sab khelne me mast hai. Koi nahi dekhega", Sameer replied. "Vaise Naina ab to bata do ki humne ye orphanage yaha hi kyu banaya hai. Hum kahin aur bhi to", "Nahi", Naina cut him in between. "Sameer, Nanaji ki zindagi ka ek hi to dukh tha ki vo tumhara bachpan khone se nahi bacha paaye. To ab in baccho ko unka bachpan vapas de ke hum nanaji ki zindagi ki vo kami bhi puri kar denge. Aur uske liye nanu ke ghar se achi jagah kaun si ho sakti hai? Vaise bhi itne bade ghar me hum akele hi to rehte hain". Sameer looked at his wife in awe. With each passing day he fell more and more in love with her. He wondered how his nanaji had known that he and Naina were meant for each other. Well, maybe, Naina was right, "Dil ke rishte duniya ke sawalo jawabo se pare hote hain"
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Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
