Mish' Fiction

Maan settled her on the bed and drew a chair close to the bed.

“Aapko nahin sona hai Maan?”

“Bas tasalli kar loon ki tumhein neend aa gayi hai, phir main chala jaunga. Koi awaaz nahin karoonga. Pakka.”

Geet was also hungry for his presence around her. So, she happily accepted his plan even if it meant he would be awake for much longer. She closed her eyes as he caressed her forehead and hair.

Both of them slept well for the first time since their showdown at Khurana Constructions.

—

Dadi was pleasantly surprised to see Maan in the mansion for breakfast.

“Maan beta. Hum aapka nashta bhijwane hi waale the. Achchha hua aap khud hi aa gaye.”

“Haan Dadi Ma. Maine socha ki yahin nashta kar loon. Garam, garam. Dadi Ma. Geet nahin uthi hai?”

“Pata nahin bete. Hum dekh kar aate hain.”

“Nahin. Nahin Dadi Ma. Aap baithiye. Main dekh leta hoon.”

Dadi Ma was surprised again. Yesterday he did not even want to see her once. Today he was happily offering to go to her room himself. Whatever had happened, had happened for good, she decided and let him go. She had known for quite some time now that Geet was the only path to Maan’s happiness. And there was nothing she wanted more than his happiness. Only if it did not have to be at loggerheads with Dev’s happiness, she thought sadly. But all that was Dev’s fault and he was not a kid. Adults have to pay for their mistakes. She shook Dev’s thoughts away from her mind, even though it was difficult.

—

Maan entered Geet’s room to see her sleeping peacefully. There was a smile on her face and she looked even more beautiful while sleeping. He decided not to disrupt her sleep, but he could not resist waiting there for couple of minutes and drinking in the divine beauty of her face. Just when he turned to leave, he heard her shifting in the bed. She was half awake, stretching her body. Then she noticed him and smiled. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and looked at him again. This time she appeared surprised, “Aap sach-much yahan hain?”

A naughty smile formed on Maan’s lips as he came back and sat beside her on the bed, “Kyon? Tumhein kya laga ki tumhara sapna continue ho raha hai.”

“Haan. Woh…” She stopped as she realized that she had just admitted to dreaming about him. Then she tried to cover it up, “Nahin. Main… Woh… Mujhe laga…”

“Chup. Bilkul chup,” he silenced her by covering her mouth with his hands, “Subah, subah jhooth nahin bolna chahiye Geet.”

She blushed and appeared embarrassed. Maan smiled indulgently, moved forward and drew her into a hug.

“Maan beta, sab theek to hai na?” Dadi barged into the room and they separated hastily. But not before giving Dadi Ma a glipmse of their intimate moment.

Dadi Ma smiled knowingly and said, “Hum aap logon ka nashta kamre mein hi bhijwa dete hain.”

“Nahin, nahin Dadi Ma,” a highly emabarrassed Geet objected, “Main abhi taiyaar ho kar neeche aa jati hoon. Aap log nashta shuru kariye.”

“Nahin Geet. Tumhein aaraam ki zaroorat hai. Baar-baar sidhiyon se utarna-chadhna theek nahin hai,” Maan was genuinely concerned, “Main neeche jaata hoon aur tum yahin nashta kar lo.”

He got up to leave, but Dadi Ma did not want to let go of the opportunity. Nothing was better than them spending time together and coming closer again.

“Geet akele bore ho jayengi Maan. Aap yahin rukiye. Hum nashta bhijwa denge Nakul ke haathon.”

“Ji Dadi Ma,” Maan was the happiest person at the proposal.

—

There were some important meetings Maan had to attend. He conducted them in his outhouse office and came back to check on Geet. The sight that greeted him on entering the room took his breath away. Geet was sitting in front of the dresser and was struggling with his kurti’s zip at the back. It was half done exposing her upper back. The dori near her nape was untied too. Her hair was untied going over her right shoulder leaving the left side of her neck exposed. Geet didn’t see Maan entering the room until he had reached close to her. She was stunned when she saw him so close to her. His eyes were glued to her, almost devouring her. Geet stood up nervously, but before she could move away from him, he held her by her shoulders. He was standing behind her.  He moved the few strands of hair that were still on her back to her right shoulder. Then he bent down and started kissing the exposed part of her spine. Starting from the bottom he moved up and on reaching her nape, he moved left towards her neck. Geet was breathing heavily by then. She didn’t want to show just how affected she was. She had closed her eyes and was clenching on her fist to achieve that, but it did not help. She was still going weak in her knees and if Maan had not been supporting her through out, she would have collapsed on the floor.

“Maan!” Maan came out of the trance when she whispered his name. He looked shocked at what he was doing as if he wasn’t aware of it until then. He stopped kissing her and his face showed a hint of embarrassment. He held her until he was sure that she was stable and then moved back. When she turned to face him, he wasn’t meeting her eyes and it appeared as if he was struggling to explain something to her.

Geet was feeling shy, but at the same time she knew she had no qualms in submitting to Maan, if he desired so. So, she gathered courage and asked, “Kya hua?”

Maan looked at her with unreadable expressions in his eyes. Then he moved forward and held her hands. He directed her to the bed and both of them sat down on it. Maan continued to hold her hands as he spoke, “Geet. Pagal ho jaata hoon main jab tum mere paas hoti ho. Kabhi kabhi khud ko rokna namumkin ho jaata hai.”

“Lekin… maine to… aapko… nahin… roka…” Geet gulped hard as she said this. It had taken a lot of courage for her to speak it out.

Maan smiled lovingly, “Jaanta hoon Geet. Aur mere dil ka ek kona hai jo sirf aaj ke baare mein sochta hai. Woh chahta hai ki main tumhein apni baahon mein bhar loon aur apne itne kareeb le aaun ki saanson ke liye bhi jagah na bache. Lekin…”

He paused and Geet looked up anxiously to know what he wanted to say. But his eyes were so penetrating that she could not meet them for long and started looking down again, waiting for him to conitnue.

“Lekin Geet. Mere usi dil ka ek kona woh bhi hai jo jaanta hai ki tum mere liye kitni precious ho aur tumhara khayal rakhna kitna zaroori hai.”

He left one of her hands and caressed her cheek with the free hand, “Geet. Tum abhi kamzor ho aur apni zarooraton ke liye main kuchh aisa karne ki galti nahin kar sakta jisse tumhein koi taqleef ho jaye. Mujhe tum kuchh palon ke liye nahin, zindagi bhar ke liye chahiye Geet.”

Geet finally looked up. The desire in his eyes were replaced with love and care. She was overwhelmed. Not knowing how else to show what she felt, she leaned forward and hugged him. He also happily reciprocated. Before breaking the hug, he moved his hands to the zip and zipped up her kurti. He also tied her dori and then broke the hug. He made her lie down on the bed and pulled the bedcover over her. Then he sat down close to her head and caressed her forehead, “Kamzori lag rahi hai na Geet? Aankhein band kar lo aur chain se so jao. Main yahin tumhare paas hoon. Tumhein kissi cheez ki chinta karne ki zaroorat nahin hai.”

Geet smiled, clutched one of his hands bringing it close to her heart, then closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep as Maan watched her lovingly.

– The End –

“Geet. Agar tumne mujhe galat samjha to ismein tumhari koi galti nahin thi. Tumne zindagi mein jitne dhokhe khaye hain, uske baad to koi bhi aisa karega Geet. Aur maine bhi to tumhari galatfahmi door karne ki koshish nahin ki. Tum please khud ko pareshaan karna band karo aur so jao jaa kar. Tumhein aaraam ki zaroorat hai.”

“Lekin…”

“Bas Geet,” he wanted to touch her and reassure her. But after he was reminded of his behaviour at the farm house that morning, he was unable to do that. He felt like he had lost the right!

Geet hadn’t noticed it till then, but when he stopped her from speaking further she saw him moving towards her and then withdrawing his hands consciously. She thought it was because he could not forgive her. He was being nice to her because she was ill. But he could not forgive her.

She said sadly, “Mujhe pata hai ki main maafi ke kaabil nahin hoon. Aur aap dil ke itne achche hain ki aap mujhe sazaa bhi nahin denge. Phir bhi ek baar maafi maangna chahti thi.” She turned around to leave.

She would leave. But she wouldn’t rest. Maan had to talk and that was not an easy thing for him to do. He was not prepared for this. But then he could not let her suffer because of that. He had to talk.

Geet stopped in her tracks as she heard Maan’s voice, “Mujhse maafi maang rahi ho Geet?” She turned back and faced him as he continued, “Mujhse? Jisne waada kiya tha tumhari har mushkil aasaan karne ka. Lekin jab tumhein taqleef hui, to tumhare man ki baat samajhne ki bajai tumhein aur taqleef de di. Jab tumhein sambhaal kar rakhna chahiye tha, tumhara khayaal rakhna chahiye tha, tab maine tumhari taqleefein aur badha di.”

“Lekin…”

“Geet. Main khud ki ummeedon par khara nahin utar saka. Shayad main tumhare liye sahi nahin hoon. Aur sahi ho bhi nahin sakta. Maan Singh Khurana – jiske bhai ki wajah se tumhare gujre hue kal ne tumhein itni taqleefein di hain, itne dard diye hain, ye soch kar hi mujhe apne naam se jude hue har rishte se nafrat hone lagi hai,” Maan’s guilt was evident on his face and eyes and so was Geet’s pain on hearing him pour out his insecurities and disappointments with himself.

Maan turned away from her as he continued, “Mujhe dar lag raha hai Geet ki agar main tumhari zindagi mein raha to tumhare aane waale har pal mein, tumhare guzre hue kal ka aaina ban kar tumhare saamne khada rahoonga. Tumhare ateet ke har dard, har taqleef ko tumhein yaad dilata rahoonga. Chahte hue bhi tumhein tumhare ateet ko bhulne nahin de paunga Geet. Aur main khud kabhi nahin bhool paunga ki maine use ghar se nikala tha, uski madad karne se mana kiya tha, aur isliye usne tumhare saath…”

Geet was stunned by this time. He turned back to face her, “Geet. Kya tum kabhi apne ateet ko bhula paogi? Kabhi mujhe maaf kar paogi?”

Geet was so taken aback that she could not say anything immediately. He looked at her for couple of seconds and then walked out. She saw him going to the terrace.

She sat down on the bed. She needed sometime to find her voice back. He had been torturing himself with so much of guilt. She was only concerned that he would be angry at her. But this anger at himself – she hadn’t thought about it even in her wildest nightmare.

—

Maan went to the terrace unable to bear Geet’s silence. It was full moon night. He remembered the evening when he had made her wear the engagement ring making the moon his witness. Was the same moon to witness the end of their relationship now?

‘Geet ne kuchh bhi nahin kaha jab maine usse poochha ki woh mujhe maaf kar payegi ya nahin. Kya use bhi yahi lagta hai ki main uske liye sahi nahin hoon?’ Maan thought to himself. He had decided to be brave. To go away from her life for her betterment. And yet, when he had poured his heart out to Geet, he had hoped that she would stop him. That she would say she had forgiven him. And that she did not hold him responsible for what Dev did. But she was silent. That was the end of his world. His world that revolved around Geet.

“Haan!” The voice ringed in his ears and he turned back to find Geet in front of him.

“Geet?”

“Mera jawaab haan hai. Aap jaanna chahte the na ki main apne ateet ko bhool paungi ya nahin? Haan – main bhool jaungi apne ateet ko. Mere liye mera ateet, meri nafrat, mera guzre hue kal ka dard, kuchh bhi aapse bada nahin hai. Agar mujhe aapka saath milega to main sab kuchh bhool jaungi. Lekin kya aap mera saath denge?”

Maan’s eyes had tears once again. But this time they were of happiness. He did not mind shedding those tears. Not in front of Geet. There was nothing he needed to hide from her. They moved forward and gave each other a bone crushing hug. It felt like getting cold, sweet water after spending several days in a dry desert. They just could not have enough of each other.

Maan was the one to break the hug first, “Geet. Ji to kar raha hai ki aaj tumhein kahin jaane na doon. Bas apne saath baitha kar raat bhar tumse baatein karta rahoon.”

“To kariye na,” Geet eyes were also moist with happiness as she looked up at him.

“Nahin Geet. Ab bilkul nahin. Tumhein aaraam ki zaroorat hai. Aur… ab to hamare paas poori zindagi hai. Hai na Geet?” He actually seemed to look for reassurance.

Geet nodded happily.

“Bas ek baat Geet.”

“Kya?”

“Tum bahut majboot ho. Aur tumhein meri madad ki koi zaroorat nahin hai. Lekin mujhe tumhari bahut zaroorat hai Geet. Main tumhare bina zinda nahin rah sakta. Mujhe phir kabhi chhod kar mat jaana Geet.”

“Maan. Shayad maine aapse itna to seekh liya hai ki main aapki madad ke bina zinda rah sakti hoon, khud ko paal sakti hoon. Lekin Maan. Saansein lena to kaafi nahin hai na. Main aapke bina zindagi nahin jee sakti. Aur na hi jeena chahti hoon.”

Overwhelmed they hugged each other again.

“Chalo Geet. Main tumhein kamre mein chhod doon. Tum aaraam se so jaana. Aur neend poori kiye bina mat uthna.”

—

To be continued

“Bas Dadi Ma. Aap please aisa bol kar mujhe aur sharminda mat kijiye. Main pahle hi itni badi galti…”

Just then the nurse walked in and informed Dadi Ma that Geet’s discharge papers were ready. When she left, Dadi Ma proceeded to do the task Maan had assigned to her.

“Geet beta. Hamari ek baat maanengi aap?”

“Boliye Dadi Ma.”

“Please hamare saath ghar chaliye. Aapko bed-rest ki zaroorat hai.”

“Nahin Dadi Ma,” Geet was guilty, “Maan…”

“Maan ne apna samaan outhouse mein shift karwa liya hai. Unka kamra hamare kamre ke sabse paas hai. Aap wahin rahengi. Please Geet. Agar aapne hamari baat nahin maani to hum aur bhi guilty feel karenge. Itna naraaz mat hoiye humse.”

“Bas Dadi Ma. Mujhe sharminda mat kijiye baar baar maafi maang kar. Aap jo kahengi main wahi karoongi.”

Maan wanted her to go home. Even after all this, after she had doubted his unconditional love, after she had insulted him, after she had…. slapped him, he still cared about her. Geet wondered for a moment if she could disappear into thin air, not having to face her embarrassment and shame. But that route was not for her. Hers was a life of struggle. If she had fought for her dignity, she had to fight her shame also. She had to pay for the hurt and insult she had given to Maan.

—

“Hello. Dadi Ma? Sab theek hai na?” Maan hurriedly picked up the phone and asked anxiously.

“Geet ghar aa chuki hain beta. Aur unki tabiyat bhi abhi theek hai.”

“Thank you Dadi Ma,” Maan had to try hard not to choke on his words.

“Aap unse milenge nahin Maan?”

“Dadi Ma. Abhi use aaraam ki zaroorat hai.”

“Dinner ke liye to ghar aayenge na aap.”

“Nakul ko boliyega mera khana outhouse bhijwa de.”

—

After Geet had settled down in the room and Dadi Ma had left for her own room, Geet became restless. The room had Maan’s aura about it. She could feel his presence there. She remembered spending a night in this room with him, when he was angry with her for hiding his pregnancy from him. Even then, when she had fallen sick, he hadn’t thought twice about bringing her home and taking care of her. That’s the way he was, wasn’t he? He might be angry at her, he might think he hated her, but he could never stop taking care of her, he could never stop loving her. And she doubted him? His love? She thought he would help a criminal against her? She doubted his integrity?

She tried hard for the sake of her health, her baby’s health, but she could not sleep. Her guilt, her shame would not let her sleep. Even when she managed to take a nap, she would wake up in minutes with some dream or nightmare haunting her.

She looked at the wall clock. It was 2 am. She could no longer stay in the room. She had to see him. She would come back without disturbing him, if he was sleeping. But she just had to see him. She woke Nakul up asked for the spare keys of the outhouse and he promptly brought it for her. He did wonder why she needed to go to the outhouse this late at night, but Geet avoided his question and he was too sleepy to make much out of the situation.

Geet practically ran towards the outhouse and opened the door. She slowed down and walked cautiously, without making any noise, once she entered the place. She climbed the stairs to reach his room. The door was unlocked. She opened it slowly. The lights were on, but Maan was not in the room. She walked in and saw a shirt of his lying on the bed. It was the same shirt he had worn that day. She could not help the urge to pick it up. She held is close to her heart and kneeled down, supporting her hips on her heels. She clutched the shirt even closer and started crying silently. Despite her agitated state of mind, she found peace there and slept off resting her head on the edge of the bed, Maan’s shirt clutched close to her heart.

—

“Geet!” Maan was shocked to see her there when he came back from the bathroom. He had returned only a while back, had changed into his night dress and was freshening up, when Geet had walked into his room.

At the same time Geet woke up calling his name, “Maan!”

She was dreaming of him, Maan realized and his heart skipped a beat.

Geet became extremely embarrassed when she saw him. She had come there hoping to see him, but she had not expected to find him awake. She had not thought about how to talk to him. She was also disoriented having just woken up from sleep.

“Woh Maan. Sir. Main… Sorry. Ye shirt…” She realized that she was clutching on to his shirt and she threw it back on the bed, “I am sorry. Main jaati hoon.”

She began to leave, but Maan held her hands. He did not pull her to him as he had done that morning. He was fully aware that she was weak and needed care. Instead of pulling her to him, he walked to face her.

“Geet. Dadi Ma ne tumhein bataya hai na ki tumhein complete bed rest ki zaroorat hai. Phir itni raat ko aaraam karne ki bajai tum yahan kya kar rahi ho?”

She had to say it now, “Mujhse bahut badi galti ho gayi hai…”

Maan thought she was referring to the slap. And that reminded him of his behaviour just before that. He became very conscious of touching her. He suddenly left her hand and interrupted what she was saying, “Geet. Jo main aaj kiya uske baad…”

“Woh galat tha. Lekin uske baad to maine aap par haath utha kar ek aur galti kar di. Uske liye bhi mujhe maafi maangni hai, lekin abhi main uski baat kar bhi nahin rahi thi,” Geet’s eyes were downcast as she was recounting her mistakes.

“Kya matlab?”

Geet started crying again as she spoke, “Dadi Ma ne mujhe bataya ki… aapne Dev ki bail unke kahne par sirf do ghante ke liye karwai thi. Aur maine? Aap par shaq kiya? Sooraj par andhere ka ilzaam laga diya maine. Maine jo kiya uski to maafi ho hi nahin sakti. Aap mujhe sazaa de dijiye Maan. Mujhe koi bhi sazaa manzoor hai.”

“Geet!” Maan’s heart was tearing apart seeing her in pain like this. This was all that was needed. What did he have to lose if he had answered that one questino she had asked? ‘Kyon shaadi karna chahte hain aap mujhse?’ Just one reassurance of his love and she would have melted in his arms. Why did it all have to come to this? May be he could explain now at least.

—

To be continued

Not knowing where to go and what to do, Maan drove to the Indian Paints office. Instead of going to his cabin, he went to Geet’s. He saw her chair and sat down on it, feeling her presence around him. Just then Romeo and Pandey walked in without knocking, “Geet ji…”

They were startled and their cheerful demeanour changed, “Sir Aap? Sorry. Woh actually Geet ji subah hi nikli thi aur tab se dikhi nahin, to hamein chinta ho rahi thi. Hamein laga ki woh aa gayi, isliye…”

“Geet ki tabiyat kharaab thi. Ab woh theek hai. Do-teen dinon mein wapas aa jayegi.”

“Kya? Tabiyat kharaab hai? Kahan hain woh?”

“Apollo hospital mein. Lekin woh ghar jaane waali hai. Chinta karne ki koi zaroorat nahin hai,” He paused, thought about something and added, “Mujhe pata hai ki tum log usse milna chahoge. Lekin doctor ne use bed rest ke liye kaha hai. Agar zyada visitors honge to shayad use problem hi ho. Isliye bura mat maanna, lekin abhi zyada logon ka wahan jaana theek nahin hoga.”

Romeo and Pandey were surprised to see their boss talking so calmly and respectfully, especially after the outburst they had seen the day before.

“Thank you Sir. Hamein batane ke liye. Unka aaraam karna hi theek hai. Sab log pareshaan hain Geet ji ko lekar. Hum unhein bhi bata dete hain.”

“Haan. Aur… tum log kal se lagaataar kaam kar rahe ho. Sab log ghar jao. Baaki ka kaam baad mein ho jayega. Ek-do hafte mein backlog clear ho jaye to kaafi hai.”

That was another shocker for them. Not knowing what else to say, they just thanked Maan and left the cabin. Maan had wanted to thank them for being Geet’s friend, for being on her side, for making her laugh when he was being a monster. But he did not know how to do that. Only Geet could so effortlessly pour her heart out to people. She did not hesitate is saying sorry or thank you when needed. And only she could make others pour their heart out too. Like she had done with the workers. Like she had done with him. But he… he had lost her.

He realized that the workers had gotten into the habit of walking freely into Geet’s cabin. He could not stay there. He absent-mindedly walked to his own cabin. He noticed the tapes of CCTV footage lying on one of the shelves. He took out the ones from the cameras in her office and started watching them. He had watched most of those things live. But then he had been angry. Now, every sight, every familiar action of hers brought tears to his eyes. He kept watching the footages and kept shedding tears silently. Then he came to the part he had not seen earlier. Geet ran into the cabin crying. Then she opened a taabeez she was wearing on her hand. And… Maan was stunned. The engagement ring came out of it. Maan stopped the video and replayed it, again and again, until he was fully sure of what he saw. He noticed the date and time of the footage and realized that it must have been after he had insulted her in the washroom.

Maan could hold it no longer within him. He sobbed. He cried out loud like he had not done in his life since the time he remembered. He cried and cried until his voice was hoarse and all his tears seemed to have been exhausted.

And at the end of it, he was left with nothing. He was neither laughing, nor crying, he wasn’t even moving from his place. He looked lifeless except for the slow blinking of his eyes. He was in some kind of trance and he came out of it when his phone rang.

—

“Geet Beta!” Dadi Ma entered as soon as the nurse told her that Geet had gained consciousness.

“Dadi Ma?” Geet was surprised as well as happy. Since the time she had come to live in the outhouse, Dadi Ma had been a mother-figure to her. And although this relationship didn’t count when her relationship with Maan was broken, still seeing Dadi Ma made her feel very relieved and secure. She did not know how long would it last, but at that point of time she really needed a shoulder to cry on. A strong enough shoulder. Tears started flowing out of her eyes.

“Nahin Geet,” Dadi Ma got worried and she walked faster towards her, “Aise nahin karte beta. Pata hai aapko, stress ki wajah se hi aapki tabiyat kharaab hui thi. Apna nahin to apne bachche ka to khayaal kijiye.”

Geet leaned forward and hugged Dadi Ma.She tried hard, but she could not stop her tears. Dadi Ma’s heart went out for this girl. And her guilt at being the possible cause of her separation from Maan increased many-fold. She was already miserable seeing Maan’s condition in last one week.

“Bas Geet. Chup ho jaiye, please. Hum hain na yahan. Sab theek ho jayega.”

Geet broke the hug and wiped her tears, as she tried to become calm.

“Sorry Dadi Ma. Main bahut ghabra gayi thi.”

“Koi baat nahin beta. Aap hamein apni pareshaani nahin batayengi to kise batayengi?”

Dadi Ma pressed Geet’s hand and they stayed silent for a moment.

“Geet beta. Hamare dil par bahut bada bojh hai. Hamein aapse baat karni thi beta, par aap to bina bataye na jaane kahan gayab ho gayin?”

“Kya baat hai Dadi Ma?”

“Hamein pata nahin ki ye sahi samay hai bhi ki nahin. Lekin hamein lagta hai ki shayad hamare sach batane se hi aapko bhi shanti mile.”

“Paheliyan mat bujhaiye Dadi Ma. Please mujhe bataiye ki kya baat hai.”

“Beta. Mujhe nahin pata ki aapke aur Maan ke beech kya hua tha? Maan ne to hamein kuchh bataya nahin. Aur office waalon se bhi hamein aadhi-adhoori baatein hi pata chali. Lekin beta agar aapke man mein Maan ke iraadon ko lekar koi bhi galatfahmi hai to use door kar lijiye. Unhone sirf aur sirf mere kahne par Dev ko bail dilayi thi, do ghanton ke liye. Hamein pata tha ki aapko achchha nahin lagega, lekin hum mamta ke haathon majboor the beta. Hum…”

“Dadi Ma!” Geet got the shock of her life. Dadi Ma looked at her and was scared at what she saw. Her face had suddenly become pale. Life seemed to have gone out of her body.

“Geet!” Dadi Ma shook her and Geet came back to reality.

“Geet beta. Aapko humse naraaz hone ka poora haq hai. Humne jo Maan se karwaya, woh galat tha… Lekin kya aap ek baar is boodhi dadi ko maaf nahin kar sakti. Hamari galti ki sazaa Maan ko…”

—

To be continued

Geet tried to free herself from him as she said, “Sab kuchh galat hai. Jo hua hai, jo ho raha hai. Sab galat hai.”

Maan clutched her even harder, “Tumehin problem ho rahi hai na Geet ki tumhare bina main itna khush hoon? Tumhein problem ho rahi hai na ki tumhare hote hue bhi main kissi aur ko ahmiyat de raha hoon? Tumhein problem ho rahi hai na ki main kissi aur ko kareeb aane de raha hoon?”

It was getting beyond Geet’s tolerance. She pushed him hard and freed herself, “Chhodiye mujhe.”

But Maan was not affected by her pained expressions or her words. He pulled her back again, “Tumhein problem ho rahi hai na ki main tumhare saath nahin, kissi aur ke saath dance kar raha hoon. Tumhare kareeb kyon nahin aa raha hoon?”

She continued to struggle to be let free. After a pause Maan continued his verbal assault, “Bolo Geet tumhare saath dance karoon. Ya…” He pulled her closer and their lips almost touched. While his words were insulting to her, she was well aware that Maan was not in his senses. The only thing she was trying to do, then, was to free herself so that she could get away from him before more damage was done. Another attempt, “Sir mujhe jaane dijiye.” She half succeeded, but he pulled her back and forcefully hugged her. The he made her keep one of her hands on his shoulder and grabbed her waist once more, bringing them in a dancing pose.

“Kya hua Geet? Tum door kyon ja rahi ho? Tum to yahi chahti thi na? Ab sharma kyon rahi ho? Yahan par koi nahin hai. Aur agar koi hoga bhi to kya farq padta hai.”

Geet could not help getting hurt now. Tears started flowing from her eyes but they seemed to have no effect whasoever on Maan.

He ignored her tears and constant pleas of letting her go as he forced her into a dance. Geet did not realize what she was doing until she had already done it. As soon as she found one of her hands free, she slapped him.

Startled by it, he let her go immediately. Geet herself was as startled by her action as he was. When he looked back at her, his expresions were blank. He did not even show the anger that was so visible on his face few moments back. It was as if he was unable to make any sense of what was going on.

Geet on the other hand was visibly shaken. She immediately regretted what she had done. And yet she was too stunned to say or do anything. She looked at him shocked and ashamed at what she considered a serious lapse in her behaviour. At that moment she wasn’t thinking of how wrong he had been. She was only thinking of how could she slap him. Him of all the people in the world. She started crying openly and ran away from there. Maan was glued to his place as he saw her going away, still not able to think or do anything.

And then the physical and mental exhaustion, irregular eating and sleeping habits and emotional stress of last half an hour took its toll on Geet as her head started spinning and she started losing her balance.

That brought some sense back into Maan as he ran towards her, “Geeeet!” He reached just in time to prevent her from falling, “Geet. Kya hua tumhein? Aankhein kholo Geet.” And then suddenly things started making sense to him. She was right when she said everything was wrong. It indeed was! What on earth was he doing? Giving her so much stress? She was pregnant.  She needed to be taken care of. And what was he doing? He hated himself. But this was not the time for self-loathing. She needed care.

He rushed her into his jeep and took her to the hospital. After checking her up, the doctors told him that she had fainted due to stress. As such there was no immediate danger, but she should not be taking so much stress as it can be bad for her own health and fatal for the baby. Maan maintained his control in front of the doctors, but sank into the chair in the waiting area as soon as they had left. Outwardly, he looked exhausted and devoid of the ability to think. But inside there was a storm going on as the events of the last few days replayed in his mind. He waited and waited for her to become conscious. The doctors had told him that she would be up only by the late evening. They also said that once she was up he could take her home, but she needed complete bed-rest.

He was waiting for her to wake up. He was checking on her every few minutes. But when the time drew closer, he realized something. It wouldn’t be the best thing for her to see him when she wakes up. That would only stress her more. He took out his phone to call Dadi Ma and noticed that the battery had died.

He walked to the reception and made the call.

“Dadi Ma,” his voice sounded so exhausted that it had Dadi Ma worried.

“Maan beta. Kahan the aap din bhar? Farmhouse se phone aaya tha ki aap achanak gayab ho gaye. Aapka phone bhi nahin lag raha tha. Office mein bhi kissi ko kuchh pata nahin tha. Aap theek to hain na?”

“Main theek hoon Dadi Ma. Par Geet…”

“Geet? Geet mil gayi? Kya hua Geet ko beta?” Dadi Ma was worried even more.

“Dadi Ma. Geet ki tabiyat kharaab hai. Abhi koi khatra nahin hai. Lekin use bed rest ki zaroorat hai. Abhi behosh hai. Thodee der mein hosh aa jayega. Dadi Ma! Aap please mera ek kaam karengi.”

“Boliye beta. Geet kis hospital mein hain?”

Maan told Dadi Ma about the hospital and asked her to convince Geet to go home with her. He was sure that Geet would not listen to him. Dadi Ma agreed. He waited for Dadi Ma to arrive in the hospital and then reluctantly left the place.

—

To be continued

Nobody other than Geet knew who he was. Romeo was startled and he asked, “Aap kaun hain?”

“Main kaun hoon? Main Maan Singh Khurana, is company ka owner.”

Romeo’s body language changed and he looked more deferential.

Maan continued to shout, “Aur tum yahan kaam karne aate ho ya flirt karne? Nikal jao abhi ke abhi yahan se. You are fired.”

“Maan?” Geet was shocked. Then she controlled her temper and corrected herself, “Sir! Romeo mehnati worker hai. Aap bina matlab ise fire kyon kar rahe hain?”

“Ye meri company hai aur mujhe apne decisions kissi ko explain karne ki zaroorat nahin hai.”

Maan left the place with this and Geet quickly reassured Romeo, “Romeo. Tumhein kahin jaane ki zaroorat nahin hai. Tum apna kaam karo. Chinta mat karo. Mera gussa ye tumhare oopar nikaal rahe hain. Main aisa nahin hone doongi.” Then she ran after Maan.

“Sir. Aapka gussa mujh par hai. Aap woh Romeo par kyon nikaal rahe hain.”

“Tumhein aisa kyon lagta hai Geet ki meri duniya tumhare chaaro or ghoomti hai. Main kissi ka gussa kissi par nahin nikaal raha.”

“Mujhe nahin pata ki aapki duniya mere chaaro or ghoomti hai ya nahin. Lekin itna to saaf hai ki main kya karti hoon, kya sochti hoon, mere aas paas kaun hai, isse aapko farq padta hai. Romeo mera dost hai, mujhe khush dekhna chahta hai, mere saath thoda hansi-mazaak kar leta hai to aapko usse khunnas ho rahi hai.”

“Geet!” Maan was enraged. She had bluntly told him what was happening to him and he was not ready to accept it.

“Agar aisa nahin hai to Romeo kahin nahin jaayega. Maine use bola hai ki woh kaam karta rahe. Agar aapko use nikaalna hai to wapas aa kar bol kar jaiye.”

Maan did not reply to that and walked away from there. Geet went back to the shop-floor.

—

Geet became busy with the workers and she did not have time to dwell on what happened with Maan. She had decided to stay in the office until the work was finished. Everyone tried to send her home for the night, but she did not agree. Finally they made her agree to take some rest in the office itself. They also arranged for her to eat something, but she was too nervous about the whole thing. She did not eat much. She came to her cabin, sank in to her chair and slept off almost immediately from the exhaustion.

She woke up in the morning when the landline in her office rang.

“Hello?”

There was no reply from the other end as Maan was coming out of his jeep at his farmhouse.

“Hello? Aap theek to hain na?” She remembered how Maan had left yesterday and got worried for him.

“Tumhein kaise pata chala ki phone par main hoon?”

“Ji… Woh… Haan… Aapi gaadi ki awaaz…” She fumbled for the explanation.

“Geet. Mere cabin mein ek green color ki file padi hui hai. Us par ek Chinese company ka naam likha hoga. Tum abhi ke abhi woh file le kar mere farm house par aao.”

“Farmhouse? Abhi? Lekin office mein bahut kaam hai. Main peon ke haathon bhijwa deti hoon.”

“Agar main peon ke saath hi woh file discuss kar sakta to supervisor ki job to uski honi chahiye thi na. Tumhari kyon hai?”

Geet tried hard to not get angry and replied as calmly as she could, “Main aa rahi hoon.”

“Aadhe ghante mein mujhe tum yahan chahiye.” Maan said and disconnected the call.

—

Geet reached the farm house just in time and rushed to meet Maan. She asked one of the housekeeping staff where Maan was and barged into the room. She was surprised to see a party going on there. With her enxhausted face and crumpled clothes, she was looking completely out of place and she grew extremely conscious of the glances she was getting from the people there.

She couldn’t fathom why Maan would call her to a party with an official file. She decided to find him, hand him the file and leave immediately. As soon as she spotted Maan she walked quickly towards him.

“Sir. Aapne ye file mangwayi thi,” She said ignoring her surroundings.

Maan was talking to a girl then. He pretended not to even look at her and said, “Wait karo. Main abhi busy hoon.”

“Par…”

“Geet. Maine kaha na main busy hoon. Tum yahin wait karo.”

Geet had no option but to shut up. She started moving away and looked around trying to find a lonely corner. Just then the music started and Geet saw Maan inviting the girl he was talking to for a dance.

She looked at the girl. Short dress, high heels, latest accessories, short, stylish hair – everything that Maan used to tease her about at one point of time.

Why did he call her here? To make her uncomfortable, jealous? She should not give in to this, she thought. But she could not take her eyes off them once they started dancing. She remembered the time when he had dragged her to the dance floor in a similar party. Both of them were angry at each other then. But that dance had showed something else. Something that they had taken a long time to accept to themselves. Their passion, their desire for each other, their love! And what was he doing today dancing with this girl? Trying to insult those moments, those memories, that feeling, that love. As the song ended and he lifted the girl up as a finale to the dance, Geet could hold herself no longer. Her eyes became moist and before he could see her crying, she left from there.

Maan immediately noticed that she was missing. That wouldn’t do for him. She had to be there. She had to see that she did not matter to him. That he was not affected by her presence. That his life could go on with others irrespective of her presence or absence. But how would she know if she was absent? She had to be present. He walked out of the room to find her.

He did not have to look hard. She was trying to get away from there, get away from him. He ran after her and pulled her by hand. He held her close and clutched her waist with one of his hands. He glared at her with his steely eyes without saying anything.

She burst out finally, “Ye kya kar rahe hain aap? Kyon apna tamasha bana rahe hain? Kyon aisi harkatein kar rahe hain, jo karne ki izaazat khud aapka man aapko kabhi nahin de sakta? Bas kariye.”

Maan continued glaring at her unwaveringly, “Geet. Aisa kya kar diya hai maine? Dance hi to kar raha hoon. Ismein galat kya hai?”

—

To be continued

As soon as she stepped out of the room, she could not control her tears any longer. They started flowing freely and she rushed towards the wash-room. Ramesh was coming back to Maan’s cabin, when he saw Geet crying. He tried talking to her but she did not respond. He thought he should inform the boss and rushed to Maan’s cabin. But Maan had already seen her on the CCTV footage and he was coming out of his room by the time Ramesh reached there. Maan did not let him speak anything and walked in the direction Geet had gone to.

Maan stood at the door of the washroom as Geet cried her heart out in front of the mirror. She was looking down while crying and did not notice Maan. For a moment Maan became the same protective lover, who could not see Geet crying ever. His face showed immense pain, but when he saw her looking up and he hardened his expressions. Geet was shocked once again to see his face in the mirror as she looked up. She turned back to face him, “Aap yahan kya kar rahe hain?” It was the women’s washroom.

“Ye meri company hai. Main jahan chahe ja sakta hoon,” Maan was not to be perturbed. He moved towards her and came very close. She expected him to wipe her tears as he always did. His closeness was affecting her as usual. But instead he took out a tissue paper from the stand near the mirror and offered it to her, “Maine aaj kal apna rumaal ganda karna band kar diya hai.”

Geet looked up at him surprised. When did he learn to hurt at at every possible opportunity? She tried to move away from there, but he was so close that she hit his shoes and stumbled. She grabbed his collar for support. Maan glared at her and started removing her hand from his collar one finger at a time. When he reached the ring finger he realized that she wasn’t wearing the engagement ring. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but this realization angered him to no end. He almost crushed her finger in anger. By then she had gained her balance and ran away from there.

She walked into her cabin, which was closer to the washroom than Maan’s. She opened a tabeez she was wearing on her hands and took the engagement ring out from there, “Ye ek bandhan main tod nahin payi Maan.” She grew emotional. Maan did not watch this on the CCTV as he hadn’t reached his cabin yet.

Then she pulled herself together and walked to the shop floor to discuss the situation with workers. Maan noticed her going there and followed her, instead of going back to his cabin.

—

She showed Maan’s instructions to Gurcharan and sank on a nearby bench looking hopeless.

“Chacha ji. Mujhe to samajh mein bhi nahin aa raha hai ki main aap logon se kya kahoon? Ye saara kaam do dinon mein kaise ho sakta hai? Mujhe naukri chhodni hi padegi. Lekin phir bhi jitna ho sakta hai utna poora karne ki koshish to hum kar hi sakte hain.”

Geet tried to be strong, but she was on the verge of crying again. Workers noticed her situation and Gurcharan patted her head affectionately, “Puttar. Tu itna pareshaan mat ho. Thoda samay de. Main sab logon se baat karta hoon. Kuchh na kuchh samaadhaan nikal jaayega.”

Geet smiled weakly at him. Some more people gathered there and assessed the situation of how much paint was already produced and what was the situation of packing machines and consumables.They made some calculations.

“To agar machine do dinon tak lagaataar chale, chaubees ghante to production aur packaging dono ho sakte hain.”

“Lekin chaubeeson ghante machines kaise chal sakti hain Chachai Ji? Uske liye log bhi to chahiye honge na.”

“Romeo tujhe yaad hai jab hamare paas ek urgent order aaya tha, Amrica ke kissi client se, to Bhaiya Ji ne kya kiya tha.”

“Ji Chacha ji. Hum log shift baant kar aath-aath ghanton ke shift mein kaam kar sakte hain. Aur jab production machine chal rahi ho aur use dekhne ki zaroorat na ho, to wahi log packaging par bhi kaam sakte hain beech mein.”

“Haan. Aur agar zaroorat pade to hum sab log do-teen ghante zyada kaam kar lenge. Actual production ke liye kaafee time hai kyonki paints pahle se bhi hai stock mein. Packaging aur delivery par zyada dhyaan dena hoga,” Gurcharan added.

“Theek hai. To hum abhi se kaam shuru kar dete hain. Ek tihai log yahan abhi se kaam karenge. Baakiyon ko ghar bhej dete hain. Woh log baad ke shifts mein aa jayenge,” Pandey said.

“Haan. Pandey. Ek kaam karo, tum logon ki shift baant do aur uske hisaab se kaam shuru karwa do.”

Geet was looking at them all surprised. She silently thanked Babaji for sending these good-hearted people in her life.

Maan was overhearing them and he did not know how to react. The feeling sank into him that Geet could indeed manage without him. And it angered him, it distressed him.

He could not have explained why he was reacting that way. He did not realize that when she said she did not need him, it not only hurt his ego, but more importantly it brought out his deep-seated insecurities. Whether or not he acknowledged it, his world revolved around Geet. She was the source of his happiness, the source of his feeling of worth. He was a hurt man before she came into his life. somewhere deep within him he had a feeling of worthlessness. As if he did not matter to anyone. He had hidden his hurt and the feeling of worthlessness in the mask of arrogance, ego and ruthlessness. But Geet had come in and broken his shell. She had healed him and in her he had seen a reason for his life. Loving her, protecting her, making her happy restored his self-esteem and he started feeling that he was indeed worthy of living. And then one day, she took it all away. She did not need him!

Then he had reacted with ego induced anger. But when the feeling sank in that she could indeed do without him, his anger was fueled by distress.

He was a lost man at that moment. He could not think straight. He was not thinking of his name, his reputation, his family, his business, anything. He saw Geet going around on the shop floor looking after the work, helping the workers where she could, ensuring communication between them to finish work in time and ticking things off her checklist.

Then he saw Romeo coming to Geet. With his usual friendly, flirtatious self, he was saying something to Geet, which seemed to visibly cheer her up. She gave him a hi5 and shook his hand. Seeing that Maan lost any last iota of control that was left in him. He stormed in to the working area and pulled Romeo away from Geet.

—

To be continued

That night Maan waited for every one to leave the office. He had to wait much longer for Geet to leave as she seemed to be studying some reports. She wanted to be ready for more demands from her new boss the next day.

Finally when she also left, he made a call and got CCTV cameras fitted in every nook and corner of the factory. He did not wait to think how wrong it was to fit those cameras without the workers knowing about it. He had couple of them fitted even in Geet’s office. He was thinking of nothing and nobody other than Geet. And he did not realize the irony of it all.

—

From the next day, Geet had prepared herself to work hard. She had realized while looking at the reports that the supply was pending on many of the orders for several months – the oldest orders being delayed by as much as five months. The customers were cancelling the orders and that was not a good sign for factory’s future. She spoke with Gurcharan and other senior workers and they decided to get things back in order. Geet, herself, joined them on the shop floor. But the workers were chivalrous and they did not let her do any of the dangerous work involving chemicals or heavy-lifting.

Geet set up the target of clearing one month’s backlog at a time. It turned out that production was not so much behind the schedule. But the packing and delivery had been delayed. At her request, even the production workers chipped in for the packing work and to everyone’s surprise and the packing for the orders from the oldest one month was finished the same day by 8 ‘o clock in the evening. Everyone had worked overtime for the day and Geet thanked them all. But they did not need that. They were happy to have the ownership back in their hands. Geet found out from Gurcharan that Yash’ brother would let the workers talk directly to the customers to take and deliver the orders, which the supervisors coming later had forbade. They did not think it was appropriate for the shop-floor workers to talk to the customers. Geet decided to let the original owner’s tradition continue. Romeo was the person assigned the work and he happily took it up. He was to call up all the customers the next day and arrange for the delivery of the orders.

Maan was watching the day’s activity through the CCTV cameras. He could not hear their conversations, but it was clear from the activities on the shop floor that everyone was working hard. There were no signs of the disruption in work that Adi’s report had told him about. Geet was going around in the factory and was being treated with a smile by everyone. And in between he could not help noticing how Romeo was stalking her at every possible opportunity.

Maan wondered for a moment about what he was doing. What had he come to prove? But his anger did not let his sensibilities prevail for long. Laughing around with the workers was not going to make her win. She would have to come to him for help. And he would ensure that. He left some instructions with Ramesh for the next day.

—

Maan was leaving for the day. As soon as he settled on the driver’s seat and put on the seat belt, he heard her voice, “Maan!”

He turned to look at the passenger’s seat to see her sitting there smiling, “Mujhe pata tha aap mere bina nahin rah paayenge. Aap mujhe dhoondhte hue yahan aa pahunche hain na?”

“Geet. Tum yahan kya kar rahi ho?”

“Pahle sawaal maine poochha tha.”

“Main akela rahna jaanta hoon Geet. Mujhe tumhari nahin, tumhein meri zaroorat hai. Aur ye baat tumhein jald hi maanni padegi.”

“Theek hai. Ye bhi dekh lete hain.”

“Geet!” He was enraged but she suddenly disappeared.

“Geet?” He looked around confused and then realized that he was dreaming with open eyes. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and started driving.

—

The next day Ramesh came to Geet’s office as soon as she had come there and gave her a letter from the boss.

She glanced through it and looked up at Ramesh incredulously, “Ye kya mazaak hai?”

Ramesh just shrugged and started to leave.

“Boss apne office mein hain?”

“Jee. Par woh busy hain…”

“Kis cheez mein busy hain? Thoda time aa kar shop floor par bhi bitayen, taki unhein samajh mein aaye ki factory ki halat kya hai. Office mein baithe-baithe hukm chalane se kaam ho jaata to yahan logon ke kaam karne ki zaroorat hi kya thi?”

She ignored everything Ramesh was saying and walked furiously towards Maan’s office. She, of course, had no idea whom she was going to encounter.

She did not even bother to knock and directly ran into his office. Maan was facing away from the door when she entered, “Excuse me Sir. Kya main ye jaan sakti hoon ki aapke hisaab se kaam kissi jaadoo ki chhadi se hota hai kya, jise ghuma diya aur saara kaam ho gaya? Aapne reports padhi bhi hain? Poore paanch mahinon se orders ka backlog hai. Production ka backlog kam hai isliye humne ek mahine ke orders kal pack karwa diye hain. Lekin saara backlog do dinon mein kaise khatm ho sakta hai? Aur agar ho sakta hai to aap hi karwaiye ise?”

Maan turned around, “To aapko meri madad ki zaroorat pad hi gayi Ms. Geet Handa?”

Geet was so stunned to see him there that she did not notice the sarcasm and bitterness in his voice.

“Maan?”

“Sir!” Maan corrected her, “Maan Sir kaho. Main is company ka owner aur tumhara boss hoon.”

“Aapne ye company…”

“Khareedi hai. Lekin woh tumhara sar-dard nahin hai. Tum backlogs ke baare mein kya kah rahi thi?”

“Ye kya mazaak hai?” Geet tried to bring herself back to the matter at hand, “Do dinon mein saare order backlogs poore nahin ho sakte hain.”

“Tumhari marzi. Ya to tum woh kaam poora karo jo tumhein diya gaya hai. Ya phir maan lo ki tum meri madad ke bina ye nahin kar sakti. Ya phir tum naukri chhod bhi sakti ho, agar tumhein challenge manzoor nahin hai to!”

Geet was almost tempted to resign on the spot, but she bit her lips and controlled herself. She had a huge responsibility on her shoulders and she could not go around changing jobs everyday. She did not say anything to Maan and started to leave.

“Aur haan! Tumhein thodi tameez seekhne ki zaroorat hai. Boss ke kamre mein aane se pahle knock karna hota hai aur permission maangni hoti hai. Aage se main permission doon tabhi tum andar aa sakti ho. Yaad rakhna.” Maan didn’t realize how childishly mean he was being. Geet did not look back to reply because then he would have seen the tears forming in her eyes.

—

To be continued

Ah! There had to be a caveat, Yash thought. He was almost sure that he’d have to give the check back to Maan once the condition was spelled out.

“Kaisi shart?”

“Company ke operations aaj se hi main take-over kar loonga. Aur tum ab se factory mein nahin jaoge.”

“Par..”

“Mujhe ye check tumse wapas lene ki bhi zaroorat nahin hai. Ye cancel bhi ho sakta hai, abhi ke abhi.”

‘Bhari jawaani mein senile ho gaya hai lagta hai,’ Yash thought to himself, ‘Lekin main kyon pange loon isse. In sab se nikal jaana hi behtar hai.’

“Theek hai,” he said outwardly, “Lekin main aapko staff se introduce to karwa doon.”

“Uski zaroorat nahin hai. Main khud hi unse miloonga. Tum sirf apni supervisor ko phone kar ko bata do ki company takeover ho gayi hai aur tum ab uske boss nahin ho.”

Yash noticed that Maan seemed to know that his supervisor was a woman. The entire situation was freaking him out. He silently prayed to God to make his decision the right one. Was he really selling out his brother’s factory to this crazy guy?

“Mera naam batane ki aur introduction dene ki zaroorat nahin hai,” Maan added.

“Okay,” Yash decided to encash the check at the earliest, invest the money for his brother’s kids and get himself out of all this. India and Indian ways of business were not for him. He was happy with his role as an investment banker in New York.

—

“Lekin naya owner kaun hai Yash?” Geet asked over phone.

“Tumhari tarah hi koi sirfira hai. Woh nahin chahta ki main uska introduction staff ko doon. Woh khud tum logon se milega. Main naam bhi nahin bata sakta,” Yash informed her, “Aur haan. Main aaj shaam ko hi US wapas ja raha hoon. Tarnsfer ki legal formalities hoti rahengi. So, all the best!”

Geet could not fathom what was going on in her life. She had managed to gain the initial trust of the workers. She had figured out what was wrong and given Yash’ desperate situation, he was willing to give her a free hand, if she could run the business. And now suddenly a new owner, a new boss!

“Babaji! Meri madad kijiye,” she prayed and then went to the workers to tell them the news.

—

Geet sat in her cabin speculating what the deal with her new boss will be. She imagined the worst and got agitated. As she paced up and down the room, she felt a familiar touch on her shoulders, “Geet!”

She turned to see Maan there, “Aap?”

“Geet. Tum akeli nahin ho. Main hoon tumhare saath.”

Her eyes became moist and she moved her hands forward to touch him. But…

She found herself groping in the air. Nobody was there. She was alone. She was stunned. She was dreaming. Dreaming of him, his support, his love.

She shook herself out of the self-pity, “Bas kar Geet. Tu Hoshiyarpur se sab kuchh chhod kar kissi aur ke bharose to nahin aayi thi. Ab tujhe kya ho gaya hai?”

She sat down on the chair and said it out aloud, “Aapse maine bahut kuchh seekha hai Maan. Lekin ab ye ladai mujhe khud hi ladni hai.”

Just then Maan walked into the factory, but instead of going to the shop floor, headed directly upstairs to his cabin. He had an assistant with him to whom he gave some instructions.

The assistant, Ramesh, went to Geet’s cabin and knocked.

“Aa jaiye,” Geet said as she tried to come out of her gloomy mood.

“Good morning Ms. Geet. Main Ramesh, company ke naye owner ka assistant. Unhone aapke liye message bheja hai ki unhein company ki pichchhle 6 mahino ki sales reports chahiye aur jin orders ki supply pending hai unki list bhi.”

“Ji. Maine bhi kal se hi kaam shuru kiya hai. Mujhe thoda samay lagega ye sab reports banane mein. Main kal subah tak bhijwa doongi.”

“Unhone kaha hai ki unhein ye sab aaj 2 baje tak chahiye.”

Geet looked at the clock in the cabin. It was already 12 noon. In two hours!

“Lekin…” she started to object, but realized that he was just a messenger and there was no point talking to him about it, “Kya woh office mein hain? Main unse milna chahti hoon.”

“Woh abhi busy hain. Kissi se mil nahin sakte. Aap please do baje tak reports taiyaar rakhiyega. Main khud aa kar le jaunga. Main chalta hoon,” Ramesh left immediately.

Geet was flabbergasted.

“Babaji! Kya pahle hi kaafi uthal-puthal nahin ho gayi thi zindagi mein? Jo ab ek Mr. India boss aapne mere sar par daal diya hai. Janaab nazar nahin aayenge, bas orders diye jaayenge.”

She took a deep breath, “Koi gal nahin Geet. Tune Maan Singh Khurana ke saath kaam kiya hua hai. Ye kis khet ki mooli hai.”

And she ran to Gurcharan, “Chacha ji. Mujhe abhi ke abhi aapki madad chahiye. Warna meri naukri shuru hone se pahle hi khatam ho jayegi.”

“Shaant ho ja puttar. Aisa kya ho gaya?”

“Woh maine aapko naye owner ke baare mein bataya tha na, jiska hamein naam tak nahin maloon hai. Use 2 baje tak saari reports chahiye. Ye dekhiye list. Ab maine kal hi to kaam shuru kiya hai, aap hi bataiye itni jaldi sab kaise karoon?” Geet was speaking so fast that she started panting by the time she finished.

“Oye Chhotu. Paani la zara,” Gurcharan ordered the boy. He, then, handed the water to Geet and she gulped it down in one go.

Then Gurcharan smiled and told her, “Geet. Hum itne saalon se ye factory chala rahe hain. Gahbrane ki kya baat hai? Tu ja aur Romeo se mil le. Uske paas sab reports hongi. Aur agar kuchh nahin hogi to woh tujhe banane mein madad kar dega.”

“Achcha ji. Thank you very much.”

“Ab ismein thank you ki kya gal hai?”

Geet smiled and left to look for Romeo. ‘Romeo, ab ye kaise naam hai?’ she wondered, ‘Chaddo. Mujhe kissi ke naam se kya lena dena. Bas ye bala sar se utre.’

Geet hadn’t realized that Maan was stalking her while she was talking to Gurcharan and was also watching her talk to Romeo.

“Romeo ji. Dekhiye. Mujhe ye saari reports urgently chahiye. Ye sab ready hain kya? Ya abhi banani padengi?”

It was not at all difficult to observe that Romeo was a natural flirt and he was smitten with Geet. Even though Geet seemed oblivious to Romeo’s over charming manners and attempts to woo her, Maan’s blood boiled as Romeo touched Geet’s hand while taking the list of reports from her.

“Geet ji. Aap chinta kyon karti hain? Bas 15 minute mein saari reports aapke paas pahunch jayengi.”

“Thank you Romeo ji.”

“Are – aapke liye to hum channd-taare tod kar bhi la dein. Bas bataiye to sahi.”

Geet laughed at that remark taking it as a friendly joke. Maan forgot everything as he heard the ringing sound of her laughter. After all these days! But he came back to reality as he saw Geet walking towards the door. He had to hide himself from her. But he made a sub-conscious mental note to keep an eye on Romeo and to even get rid of him. Why was he bothered? He did not ask that question to himself.

—

To be continued

Please also read my earlier post. Need your help. 🙂

—

Geet entered the factory and asked the first person she came across, “Suniye. Kya main Gurcharan ji se mil sakti hoon?”

“Ji zaroor. Aayie mere saath,” he led her to one section of the factory.

“Chacha ji. Aapse koi milne aayi hain?”

Gurcharan Singh came forward and he appeared trying hard to remember who Geet was.

“Sat Sri Akal ji. Aap mujhe nahin jaante hain. Mera naam Geet hai. Mujhe aapse thodi baat karni thi.”

“Ji kahiye.”

“Hum kahin aaraam se baith sakte hain.”

“Aaiye.”

He took her to an open space. There was an old wooden bench there. Both of them sat on it. Gurcharan called a boy and asked him to get tea for both of them.

“Kahiye. Aapko mujhse kya baat karni thi Madam?”

“Aap please mujhe Geet bulaiye. Aap mujhse bahut bade hain.”

Gurcharan smiled, “Theek hai puttar. Jaise aap kaho. Batao kya baat hai.”

“Ji. Aap please meri baat shanti se suniyega. Mujhe Yash ne yahan naukri par rakha hai,” she saw tension building up on Gurcharan’s face and hastened to add, “Dekhiye, mujhe pata hai ki aap logon ki Yash se nahin banti. Aur isliye main yahan kaam shuru karne se pahle, aap logon se milna chahti thi. Unke bade bhai ke saath to aap logon ka kaam bahut achchhe se chalta tha. Phir unke baad aisi kya problem ho gayi hai?”

Gurcharan was silent.

“Gurcharan ji. Main koi is factory ki malik nahin hoon. Agar main yahan kaam karoongi to aap logon ki hi tarah ek employee ban kar. Mujhse baat karne mein aapko jhijhakne ki koi zaroorat nahin hai. Aur main waada karti hoon ki agar aap logon ko mere yahan kaam karne par koi bhi aapatti hui to main aapke oopar apne aap ko zabardasti nahin laadoongi.”

“Yahi to badal gaya hai na puttar yahan par. Bhaiya ji jab tak the, hum yahan employee ki tarah kaam nahin karte the. Woh hum sab ko apne ghar waalon ki tarah dekhte the. Hum sab log yahan ke malik ki tarah kaam karte the. Customers sirf Bhaiya ji ke nahin the, hamare bhi the. Unka order samay par pahunchaana hamara kaam tha. Aur uske liye agar hamein aadhi raat tak bhi kaam karna padta tha to karte the. Lekin hamare aur hamare parivaar ke sukh-dukh ka bhi dhyaan rakha jaata tha. Ab apne Pandey ko dekh lo. Uski Maa bahut beemaar rahti hai. Uski ghar waali subah kaam karne jaati hai kuchh aas paas ke gharon mein. Ab jab tak woh wapas na aa jaye Pandey ghar se nahin nikal sakta Maa ki wajah se. To pahle woh dus baje tak aata tha, aur uske badle shaam mein der tak kaam bhi karta tha. Lekin ab in naye zamane ke maalikon ko ye manzoor nahin hai. Unhein yahan har koi subah aath baje chahiye, chahe kissi ki zindagi mein kitni badi museebat kyon na aayi ho. Lekin ye sab tumhein kyon suna raha hoon main? Tum bhi pahle ke supervisors ki tarah Amrica mein padhi hogi, ya koi MBA kiya hoga. Hum sab ke ghante ginogi kaam karne ke.”

“Nahin, nahin Gurcharan ji. Na to main MBA hoon, na hi main Amrica mein padhi hoon. Balki main to Hoshiyarpur ke ek chhote se gaon mein pali hoon.”

“Tum Hoshiyarpur se ho? Are mera nanihaal bhi wahin hai. Bachmein mein khoob gaya hoon main. Ab to kai saal ho gaye. Koi raha bhi nahin ab.”

“Achcha? Kaun se gaon mein hai aapka nanihal?”

And they talked for a while about the common places they knew. At the end of it Gurcharan felt convincced that he should give Geet a chance.

“Theek hai puttar. Shayad tum hamein samajhti ho. Kab se aa rahi ho kaam par? Tab hi baaki baatein karenge. Aur tum baaki sab logon se bhi mil lena.”

“Ji zaroor. Main kal subah hi aa jaungi. Aath baje yahan aate hain na zyadatar log?”

“Tum bhi aath baje aa jogi?”

“Aur nahin to kya? Jab sab log aayenge, tabhi to main bhi aaungi. Warna kaam kaise hoga?”

“Achchha. Theek hai. Kal milte hain,” Gurcharan was smiling. This was clearly not something he had seen the earlier supervisors or managers do. Geet had just scored another point with him, without knowing about it.

“Aur ek baat. Aapko yahan sab Chacha ji bulate hain na? Main bhi bula sakti hoon?”

“Bilkul puttar,” Gurcharan’s smile became broader.

—

“To Ms. Geet Handa Indian Paints join kar rahi hain aaj se,” Maan looked at the report his detective had sent and said bitterly. He had come to the office after one week. He had neither slept, nor ate properly this entire week. He had to get back at Geet. He had to prove to her that she could not manage without him. Why was it so important to him? He did not bother to ask this question to himself. But where the hell was she? The detective finally had the answer.

He surprised Adi when he asked him to gather all possible information about Indian Paints.

“Sir. Ye a..a…achanak Indian Paints mein interest k.. k… kyon Sir?”

“Adi. Tumse jo kaha hai woh pata karo. Mujhe is company ke baare mein jo bhi latest information hai woh chahiye.”

“Yes Sir,” Adi backed off as was his usual reaction to Maan’s unreasonable anger.

—

Later in the day, Yash Malhotra was surprised to receive a call from Maan Singh Khurana, the MD of Khurana Constructions. He was interested in buying out his paint factory.

“Lekin aap suddenly paints business mein kyon enter karna chahte hain? Woh bhi meri factory khareed kar. See, I want to be honest. Labour situation achchhi nahin hai is factory mein,” Yash told Maan when they met soon after the phone call.

“Main kyon khareedna chahta hoon, ye mera kaam hai. Aap ye bataiye ki aapko bechna hai ya nahin aur aapki price kya hai?”

“Woh bhi discuss ho jayega, lekin main aapko sabse important baat bata doon. Ki jo bhi ye factory khareedta hai, use ye ensure karna hoga ki ye factory chalti rahegi aur workers ko fire nahin kiya jayega.”

“Agar factory nahin bhi chalti hai to mera apna business bahut bada hai. Main workers ko usmein absorb kar loonga. I hope ye tumhare liye kaafee hona chahiye.” Maan was impatient and arrogant. Yash could help noticing how he had come to “tum” from “aap” without bothering with any formality of confirming with him if he was fine with it. It was difficult for him to understand this man, supposedly a very successful business tycoon, at least in the construction industry. But he was the first and the only potential buyer, who was assuring him of workers’ future. So, he decided to take the opportunity and get himself out of this mess.

“Theek hai Mr. Khurana. Meri asking price 20 crores hai, lekin agar upfront payment nahin bhi milta hai to mujhe koi problem nahin hai…”

Maan asked him to shut up with a gesture of his hand and took out his checkbook. He signed a check for 20 crores and gave it to him, “Mere lawyers tumhein call karenge. Saari formalities aaj hi shuru ho jayengi aur jitni jaldi close ho jaye utna achchha hai.”

Yash was shocked. Was this really a business tycoon? No negotiations? Upfront payment before even completing the formalities? Did he really run his business like that? And it survived? Even became the market leader in the industry? Yash had to pinch himself to ensure that he was not dreaming. But the check was real and Maan Singh Khurana was still sitting in front of him.

“Okay…” Yash mumbled, not knowing how to take the conversation further.

“Lekin meri ek shart hai,” said Maan.

—

To be continued