Tag: Mumbai

The First Option (Part 1)

Posted Mish4 CommentsPosted in English, Mukundo-Piyali, Original

Mukundo waved the placard he was dramatically holding for her. She looked incredulous for a moment; then almost ran around the railing to reach to him quickly, pushing her baggage trolley with her. He met her mid-way and took the trolley from her.

“You came yourself?” she asked, pushing the trolley away so that it didn’t come between them.

“Well… welcoming you home after like what? Ten years? I could do that much. How was the flight?”

“Fine,” her answer was barely audible as she looked away. She was controlling her emotions with difficulty. What was it? Mukundo got worried.

“What happened, Piyali?” he asked.

Instead of replying she hugged him and started sobbing.

“Hey. Pihu Rani,” he addressed her with one of his several nicknames for her, “What happened? What’s wrong, Shona?”

“Nothing,” she broke the hug and wiped her tears, “I just got overwhelmed. Happy to be back after so long.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded rubbing her face with her hands to wipe off any tears and other signs of crying. It was hardly successful. Her nose, as usual, had swollen and red even with slightest crying. He did not point that out though.

“Let’s go,” he said and pushed the trolley ahead. She followed him.

She was unusually quiet during the ride from the airport, and that raised Mukundo’s suspicion.

“You weren’t just overwhelmed, were you?” he asked.

She looked straight ahead and didn’t reply.

“Is it about Ahwaan?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Troubles between you?”

She nodded again and bit her lips.

“Have you guys… broken up or something?”

She hesitated, but then nodded yet again.

Ah! So that was it. Although it was no happy news, it put Mukundo at ease. It was a solvable issue. Piyali being Piyali, had probably starting thinking this was the end of the world. Like she had thought on discovering that she had missed out on a 2-mark question in board exams. Always hyper, always super sensitive. That was his Piyali. He would know how to cheer her up and help her move on. It was a good thing she was back in Kolkata. In his care.

“Mukundo Babu,” she spoke after another long pause, “Can we go to your home first? I hope you don’t have any guests there?”

“Sure,” he replied immediately. That was a sound suggestion. They needed to have a chat.

—

“Why did you break up?” he asked straight away. The housekeeper had brought tea for them. He handed a cup to her.

“He couldn’t talk to his parents.”

“Couldn’t?”

“He said they won’t listen to him and he did not want to go against his family. My guess is the he never talked.”

“Didn’t you guys discuss it earlier?”

“We had. At least I thought so… He used to say we’ll cross the bridge when it comes. I assumed he meant that he would talk when time comes. I guess he just meant to…”

She kept the teacup on the table and started crying silently.

“Hey!” He also kept his cup away and went to sit beside her on the sofa. “I know Pihu Rani that it seems like the end of the world, but it isn’t. You will move on. You are back home, you have a job to start… In couple of months it will all go away.”

“It won’t Mukundo Babu.”

“Believe me it will. You always think like this don’t you? At even the slightest of the disappointments. But things have been all right till now. Remember your board exams…”

“I am pregnant,” she blurted.

He jerked back in shock. “What? What did you say?”

“I’m pregnant,” she wouldn’t meet her eyes and he could not figure out if there was any mischief in them.

“If it’s a joke, it’s a bad one!” he said somewhat sternly, although the feeling quickly sank into him that it wasn’t a joke.

She cried silently in reply.

“Damn it, Piyali. How could you… Does Ahwaan know?”

“He does,” she replied through her tears.

“And?”

“He wants me to abort it.”

“And you don’t?”

“I have been an idiot, Mukundo Babu, but what is the baby’s fault?”

Mukundo looked at her disconcerted. What had happened? The spirited girl he had known all these years, too intelligent and too naïve for her age, had suddenly grown up and was sitting in front of him with her head bowed, her eyes tearful, but concern and pride of motherhood in her heart. Should he lament her immaturity that it had come to this? Or should he celebrate her growing up that, however feebly, she was trying to face the music?

“Kaka doesn’t know, I guess?” he asked about her father.

She shook her head, “That’s why I came away to Kolkata.”

“I can try talking to Ahwaan…”

“You have already stuck your neck out once for him, for us, Mukundo Babu. And it’s going to be of no use. He is least interested.”

“What do you want to do, Piyali?”

“I don’t know, Mukundo Babu. I have thought about a thousand things… And yet… One of them is…”

“What?”

“Will you… adopt my baby, Mukundo Babu? You had always said that you’d adopt a baby, if you didn’t get married… I don’t know if you were serious… But if you would then… I can watch it growing before me and be assured that it will get everything it deserves… I am saying bizarre things, am I not? I have just thought to so many things I can no longer figure out what is workable and what is not. I will probably just tell Baba and beg him to let me have the child. It’s not like we don’t have money or anything…”

“So, you have seriously considered giving it up for adoption?”

“No!” she looked panic-stricken, “Not giving up. Just like that for anyone to… That was only if you… Oh God! I am sorry. I am so sorry, Mukundo Babu. All my life I have bugged you with my problems. But this wasn’t something even you would have signed up for. I think I will go home and figure out what to do after my brain is functioning again,” she got up, “Please don’t tell anything to Baba yet, Mukundo Babu. Please! He would be heart-broken; and angry. I don’t even know how he would react…”

“Calm down, Guddi,” he also got up and interrupted her. Quite unconsciously, he used another nickname for her, which only the two of them knew about. He didn’t know how it would sound under the circumstances, and whether his intention would not be completely misconstrued. But if there was a time when it should be said, and he hadn’t thought that any such time would come, it was this, “You have another option.”

“What?” she looked up hopefully. Mukundo was his friend, philosopher and guide, since her childhood. He had a solution for all her problems. Fights with her BFF, preparation for exams, running out of geometry pencils at the last moment, attention from boys in school and college, preparing for debates, adjusting to life in Mumbai, and finally even convincing her Baba about Ahwaan. If someone could bring her out of the soup today too, it would be Mukundo.

—

To be continued

Discovering Love (Part 4)

Posted MishLeave a commentPosted in Ashni (KTLK), Fan Fiction, Hinglish

“Excuse me,” Ashutosh was surprised to see a woman in the children’s ward after visiting hours, “Visiting hours khatam ho gaye hain. Aapko ab ghar jaana chahiye.”

“Nahin ji. Meri Dr. Nidhi Verma se baat ho gayi hai. Main to apne bachche ke paas rukne waali hoon,” the woman was confident and almost quarrelous.

“Dr. Nidhi?”

“Ji haan.”

“What the hell…” Asuhtosh mumbled and turned towards to door to look for Nidhi, when he saw her entering the ward.She saw him and stopped in her tracks. A pen she was holding in her hands slipped through. Ashutosh looked at the pen in exasperation and she hastily picked it up.

“Dr. Nidhi. Aapko children’s ward ke rules pata hai na? Yahan parents ko raat mein rukna allowed nahin hai.”

“Y… Yes Sir.”

“Phir aapne inko kiske kahne par permission di hai?”

“Ma… Main… Maine nahin… nahin di, Sir. Woh… meri baat maan hi nahin… rahi thi. To main aapko hi dhonndhne ga… gayi thi.”

Ashutosh sighed and turned back towards the woman, “Dekhiye Ma’am. Ye is ward ka rule hai. Yahan parents raat mein nahin ruk sakte. Isse sabko disturbance hoti hai. Aapke bachche ki poori dekh bhaal yahan hogi. Please leave now and come back tomorrow. Please Ma’am.”

“Lekin…”

“Hum kissi ke liye rules nahin badal sakte,” Ashutosh was stern.

The woman was angry, but she did leave.

“Come to my cabin,” he told Nidhi and walked off.

—

“M… May I come in, Sir?”

“Yes.”

“Sir. A… aapne mujhe bulaya?”

“Dr. Nidhi. Aapke haathon ki ya ungliyon ki muscles kamzor hain?”

“Na… nahin to.”

“To phir aapke haathon se kabhi file, kabhi pen girte padte kyon rahte hain?”

“W… woh main ghabra gayi thi, Sir.”

“Aur aapko stuttering ki problem hai?”

“N… nahin. I mean no Sir.”

“To aap har waqt haklati kyon rahti hain?”

“Na… nahin to Sir. I… I mean har waqt nahin.”

“Look Dr. Nidhi. Is profession mein aapko din-raat logon se deal karna hoga. Log hamesha apna bhala-bura nahin samajhte. Kabhi pyaar se, kabhi sakhti se samjhaana padta hai. Jab bhi koi parent rule todne ki koshish karega, kya aap mere paas daudi aayengi? Aise to kaam nahin chal sakta.”

“Y… Yes Sir.”

“Make yourself a little more confident. You have to believe in yourself and appear confident. Warna patients ki himmat toot sakti hai.”

“R… Right Sir.”

“And for God’s sake stutter karna band kijiye.”

Nidhi did not say anything at all, just nodded in affirmative.

“All right. You can go.”

She turned back and left. She sighed in relief once she was outside his office. He smiled and shook his head after her. “Bilkul pagal hai,” he muttered.

—

“Mujhe nahin pata hai ki ye kaun hai? Lekin ye bachcha behosh pada hua tha sadak par,” Nidhi was explaining the staff of Jeevan Prabha, “Shayad kamzori ki wajah se…”

“Ji doctor bas abhi pahunch hi rahe hain…”

“Der karna sahi nahin hoga. Main khud bhi doctor hoon. Aap please mujhe stethoscope aur doosre instruments dijiye. Main check karti hoon.”

“Lekin…”

“Please…”

“Ji theek hai. Aaiye.”

Nidhi was examining the patient and asked the nurse to prepare saline water to be given to him, when Ashutosh entered the room.

“I am so sorry sister,” he addressed the nurse, “Main traffic jam mein phans gaya tha. Kahan hai bachcha?”

“Ji wahan. Jo madam use le kar aayi thi, unhone kaha ki woh bhi doctor hain to woh use treat kar rahi hain.”

Ashutosh ran towards the bed. Nidhi had already noticed him and had stood up when he reached there.

“Dr. Nidhi?”

“Y… Yes Sir,” she stuttered again, but Ashutosh ignored it and asked her about the patient. He was satisfied with the treatment she had given to him.

“Sir. Aap yahan bhi kaam karte hain?” she asked after the patient had been settled down. She wasn’t feeling nervous after getting a confirmation from him that she had treated the boy right.

“Ye mera hi hospital hai. I mean, mere Baba ne banwaya tha. Jeevan Prabha hospital and orphanage.”

“Oh!” Nidhi was surprised and that afternoon from five years back came back to her mind. “Aapke Baba kaise hain?” she asked.

“Aap mere Baba ke baare mein kyon poochh rahi hain?” Ashutosh was confused.

“Actually ek baar, kareeb paanch saal pahle, main aur mere Baba unhein yahan laaye the. Unhein heart attack aaya tha aur woh hamare ghar ke paas the us waqt.”

Ashutosh looked at her surprised, “Unhein aap yahan laayi thi?”

“Ji. Main agle din aayi thi unhein dekhne. Lekin in logon ne bataya ki unke bete ne, I guess they meant you, unhein shift karwa diya hai. Woh theek to ho gaye the na?”

Ashutosh nodded in negative and said sadly, “Nahin Dr. Nidhi. Woh theek nahin ho paaye. He didn’t survive the cardiac arrest and passed away.”

“Oh!” Nidhi felt extreme sadness envelop her, “I am sorry.”

“But thanks a lot Dr. Nidhi,” for the first time since she had met him Nidhi noticed a hint of emotion in his voice as he talked, “Unki madad karne ke liye. At least unhein saari care to mili. Otherwise…”

“Thanks ki koi zaroorat nahin hai Dr. Ashutosh. Woh to mera farz tha. Meri jagah koi bhi hota to yahi karta. Lekin obviously aapke Baba bahut achchhe insaan the. Bahut logon ka bhala hua hai unki charity se. Unhein bahut logon ki duaen mili hongi. Unki aatma ko zaroor shanti milegi.”

Ashutosh smiled sadly.

“Main chalti hoon, Sir. Baba ghar aa gaye honge aur akele bore ho rahe honge.”

“Baba?”

“Mere father.”

“Aap bhi apne father ko Baba kahti hain.”

“Ji. Ajeeb coincidence hai na?”

“Yeah. Aap kaise aayi hain?”

“Maine ambulance bulwaya tha.”

“Phir main aapko drop karwa deta hoon.”

“Nahin Sir. Main bus le kar chali jaungi.”

“Takalluf ki zaroorat nahin hai Dr. Nidhi. Mera driver aapko drop kar dega.”

“Lekin Sir…”

“Come with me.”

Nidhi had no option but to take his offer.

—

“Sir. Indian Academy of Pediatrics ke annual convention ke passes aa gaye hain. Hum typically inmein se ek kissi intern ko dete hain. Who should we select this time?” Rangnath asked Ashutosh during the departmental administrative meeting.

“Dr. Nidhi Verma,” Ashutosh replied without even thinking over it once.

“Dr. Nidhi?” Mallika interrupted, “Don’t you think hamein kissi KMC ke student ko bhejna chahiye Ashutosh?”

“Mallika. Ye selection KMC ke liye nahin hospital ke liye ho raha hai. When we have taken her as an intern, she is an equal and she is the best intern we have here this year. So, she will get the pass.” Ashutosh said in a final tone leaving no room for any further discussion.

“Theek hai, Sir,” Rangnath noted it down as a to-do for himself and moved on to other matters.

—

“Sir,” Rangnath came to Ashutosh’ cabin.

“Yes Dr. Rangnath.”

“Dr. Nidhi Verma convention ke liye Mumbai nahin jaana chahti. To who is the next choice?”

“Nahin jaana chahti? Kyon?”

“Maine poochha nahin, Sir.”

“Woh abhi duty par hain?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Unhein yahan bhejiye.”

“Sure Sir.”

—

“You do know that this convention is a great opportunity. Aap kyon nahin jaana chahti Dr. Nidhi?”

“Woh… Sir… Baba nahin chahte,” Nidhi tried to cook up an excuse.

“Kyon?”

“I mean, unhein akela chhod kar jaana theek nahin hoga, Sir.”

“Kya unki tabiyat kharaab hai?”

“Nahin to.”

“Phir?”

“Bas Sir. Aise hi.”

“Koi aur baat hai. What is it?”

“Ku… kuchh bhi nahin, Sir.”

“Dr. Nidhi! Tell me the truth.”

Nidhi looked exasperated.

“I am waiting,” he spoke again.

“Sir. Mumbai jaana, aur wahan chaar din rahna mere liye affordable nahin hai… Gaon mein meri Dadi beemaar hain. Baba ki salary unke ilaaj mein chali jaati hai. Aur mere stipend se ghar chalta hai.”

“To kya hua? Convention mein jaane ka expense to hospital bear karega,” Ashutosh himself did not know that he was such a quick and smooth liar.

“Letter mein to likha tha ki sirf convention ke pass ka expense hospital dega…”

“Woh letter purana daal diya hoga Dr. Rangnath ne,” Ashutosh lied again, “Policies update hui hain. Aap chinta mat kijiye. Aapke travel aur stay ka arrangement ho jayega. I will let you know.”

“That’s… that’s great, Sir. Thank you very much,” Nidhi was excited and decided to brush aside her skepticism.

—

“Flight tickets?” Nidhi was surprised,when Ashutosh handed her the ticket.

“Kya hua?”

“Main kabhi flight par gayi nahin hoon,” she said sheepishly.

Ashutosh smiled looking amused, “Koi baat nahin. Main bhi isi flight se ja raha hoon. Main aapko pick kar loonga jaate hue aapke ghar se. Driver ko pata hai na aapka ghar?”

“Ji Sir.”

“Aur haan. Packing karte waqt dhyaan rakhiyega. Cabin luggage mein koi liquid na ho, na hi koi nukili cheez.”

“Cabin luggage?”

“Jo samaan aapke haath mein rahega flight par chahdte hue. Baaki ka samaan check-in ho jaata hai. Aapko use carry karne ki zaroorat nahin hoti.”

“Okay Sir.”

—

To be continued

Coming Around (Part 15)

Posted Mish6 CommentsPosted in English, Original, Subrato-Paridhi

It was Saturday afternoon. Although normally Paridhi spent most of her weekends also at work, she wasn’t doing so this time. She was sitting in the hall, with Subrato and filling him in with the details of her research work. Suddenly she changed the topic.

“Did I tell you, I reconnected with my brother?”

“You did?” Subrato straightened up with and asked with interest, “How come? Where did you find him?”

She smiled, “You are the culprit again. You forced me to open a Facebook account.”

“Which you hardly use. But yeah – why shouldn’t I have forced? The reason you didn’t have one was to protect yourself from the prying eyes of your family and potential in-laws. The reason no longer existed. Anyway. So, your brother…”

“Yeah. We just found each other there. He is in Mumbai. In a job. He has a kid also now. He is doing very well for himself.”

“That’s great to know. And Paridhi?”

“Hmm?”

“Did your mother never get in touch with you?”

She shook her head sadly.

“Did you try?”

“No. I… She had disowned me. It wasn’t me…”

“It’s okay. I just…” her extreme care had turned into extreme anger and apathy. She couldn’t be blamed though.

“You know something,” she clearly wanted to talk.

“Go on.”

“I feel really, really bad for her.”

“Paridhi…”

“No. Don’t get me wrong. I am not regretting any of my decisions. She is miserable. But making myself miserable could hardly have solved her problems. She has been a victim of circumstances. Unfortunately, she did not have the strength to take things in her own hands. She tried to make amends for what was wrong with her life in strange ways… Making me miserable…”

“You mean your father’s death…”

“Not really. But how everything was before and after it. Her married life was never peaceful. And apparently the culprit was dowry. Dadi always complained that in her only son’s wedding, she did not get much of dowry and kept taunting Mummy for it all the time. This went on even after several years of marriage. My brother remembers it. My father was apparently stuck between his mother and wife, couldn’t open his mouth before his mother and could not do anything to placate his wife… Result was everyday fight in the house. The day he died… In an accident, while he was driving… There had been a huge fight at home. And till date Dadi blames Mummy for the accident. Apparently if she hadn’t fought with her husband before he left home, the accident would not have happened. And Mummy can’t really hold her ground. She has always been cowed down by Dadi. That even I have seen. She saw us – her children – as the only chance of her getting some ground under her feet. And she tried so hard to mold us in a way that will make her look good to Dadi and the society they both cared so much about, that… She lost both of us. I had seen the misery and gloom after my brother left. I had thought that by making some sacrifices, I could probably give her some respite. But that wasn’t about to happen. Giving whatever they wanted as dowry was her way of assuring that I lived my life with dignity, not the way she had to. She was sure that she was settling me the right way. I won’t be taunted about dowry all my life. What she refused to see was that dowry wasn’t the way to a dignified life, independence was. Obviously, she still doesn’t see it this way…”

Subrato walked towards her and sat beside her. He took her hands in his and pressed them lightly. “I understand Paridhi,” he said in an extremely soft voice, “You were not an idiot that you were trying to put up with all of that for so long. You were trying to set things right.”

“Where do you get this infinite patience from? You have always listened to me, so patiently?”

“Purely selfish reasons Paridhi. Purely selfish. I have been stung by people who don’t care. So, I care a lot about people who do. And now let me get some coffee for you.”

“I will get it.”

“Sit down. You don’t need to play an Indian housewife with me.”

“I am just playing a host.”

“How about we play roommates instead? Equals?”

She smiled, shrugged and gave up. She could try with all her might, but she couldn’t get around this man.

“What is this?” Subrato noticed something lying on the table with his name on it, when he brought the coffee.

“This… is… I haven’t saved enough to repay everything to you. But the application fees. A cheque for that. I wasn’t sure if your old bank account is active. Or you will be opening a new one. So, I haven’t put the date…”

“Paridhi. This…”

There he goes, she thought to herself. He won’t accept it. Part of her wanted him not to accept it. That would mean…

“What happened?” she asked outwardly.

“Umm… Nothing. I will put the date.”

He accepted it! She hoped her disappointment didn’t show.

“I have a question though,” he spoke again.

“Yeah?”

“Will repaying me ensure that you do not feel indebted to me?”

“Why are you… No. I can’t ever stop feeling indebted to you.”

“Why?” he was exasperated.

“Why? Number one – it isn’t just the money. Number two – even for money, it was the time that mattered… Somebody giving me 4800 bucks today won’t matter. So, my returning it to you today doesn’t make the importance of having it then disappear.”

“Paridhi…”

“And number three,” she did not let him interrupt, “This feeling connects me to you. I can’t let it go. It’s… It’s my emotional life line. Why can’t you let me have it? Why does it bother you so much?”

“Because…” he got up, held her hands and made her stand up too, “I have a connection with you too. And I want to know if you feel it. But not under indebtedness. That would spoil everything.”

“What connection?” her voice quivered in anticipation.

“You tell me. If you forget for a while that you feel indebted to me, do you still feel something else?”

“Do you?”

“I already told you, I do. I need to know from you.”

“Like hell, I do. What took you… so long to ask? Was it so difficult to see that?” her eyes filled with tears even as she smiled.

“There is no way to deal with you except patience. You know that, don’t you?” he also smiled and pulled her in a hug. The long-awaited one!

“You drove me to impatience,” she said.

He broke the hug and smiled mischievously, “Really? You are impatient now?”

She suddenly stepped back and said nervously, “I didn’t mean that.”

“You didn’t mean what?”

“Nothing,” she was trying to look anywhere but him to deal with her shyness and embarrassment, “The coffee is getting cold. Let’s… let’s finish it.”

Subrato was amused by her sudden nervousness. But he decided not to tease her. “Sure. Let’s finish the coffee,” he said sat down on a chair across her with his coffee mug.

He noticed that she was holding her mug with both her hands. “You all right?” he asked looking concerned.

“Yes… Yes…” she noticed him staring at her hands, “Just a little cold. Hot coffee feels good….” Her voice trailed as she saw his eyebrows raised. He didn’t believe her. And he was right not to. “I am extremely nervous,” she said plainly and honestly.

He sighed and smiled, then went over and sat beside her. He kept his own coffee mug on the table and put his hands around hers on her mug.

“Are you scared of me?” he asked gently.

“Of course not.”

“Then?”

“I don’t know. How am I supposed to know? It doesn’t happen every day…”

“Silly girl,” he couldn’t suppress a grin, “Here take a sip.”

“Why are you holding my… mug?” she did not say hands.

“Because your hands are trembling and you are going to spill your coffee.”

She took the sip, “Aren’t you going to drink your own?”

“No,” he took her mug from her and deposited that on the table too, “I think there is better coffee waiting for me elsewhere.” He did not give her a chance to interpret what he said and attacked her lips thrusting his tongue deep in her mouth. After initial surprise and awkwardness, Paridhi responded with gusto.

After they broke the kiss, Paridhi hugged him tight and started crying silently. He realized it when he felt the wetness on his shirt.

“Paridhi. What happened…” he tried to break the hug to talk to her, but she clutched him hard.

“No,” she whispered urgently, “Let me be. Don’t push me away.”

She needed to feel the support and care. Her proximity was wrecking havoc on his hormones. But this wasn’t the time. Her emotional voids needed to be filled first.

“You know something,” he said after a while without trying to break the hug.

She pulled back just a bit to look at him and asked, “What?”

“Purple does suit you very well.”

She blushed and grinned and hid her face in his chest.

The check was forgotten and it would be discovered much later, when Paridhi would be packing her stuff to shift to a new house with Subrato.

—

To be continued