WAQT KE PANNE

           And the Red Bulb highlighted those three dreaded letters..ICU.

  Silence.......

... stony silence gripped the whole existence.

         He cannot believe it... He must not believe it rather... He was convinced , Mohter will come out and hug him and say..Hey Kiddy, was joking re"...

        Three hours passed by......

       He felt a known hand on his shoulders....His father...

    Eyes squared.... and for the first time, leaving all inhibitions, he fell into his arms and broke down... No dad.... She will come..I know.., God cant be so cruel.. Two lives ..are completely dependent on her..,, U..... Me.......

And And ... U know dad.. We don't exist without her... There's somebody.. needed to get both of  us along...

 U know...

The Dad.... embraced his Son.. and joined him... and his tears started finding way through the shirt of his Son

 Soon the Son got wet... and the role reversed..... Now the Son became the Father...

Two grieving souls... One's crying for the Mother...and the Other crying for Wife...Actually both crying for their existence.

It was a happy family... of three .Sadanand-the father,Mohit-the son and the umbilical cord joining these two guys Mansi-the mother.

Mansi was World to both of them but there was no meeting point for the father son duo.. Known to no body..except these two..Why there was so much hate... So much So.. that Mohit used to taunt him infront of Mansi...."hey Moma.. Where's is SAD...?

and Sadanand never lost the opportunity to quip.. "yeah..Mad?? and Mansi..O Mansi.. helpless as always,,rushes to her favorite desti..Kitchen... But there was agreement..and that too on only one issue....

That ..Mansi is the Best.. The Best cook, the best mother, the best wife ,the best.the best...

Ha Ha Ha.....Yeah..the perfect..

She was perfect..and She was the meeting ground for the father and Son..

And today, as Mansi was driving Mohit back to home from School.. He insisted, he be allowed to drive the car for a while..

Mother , the loving Mother... with little bit cautionary advice.. gave in..

5 minutes passed and he did glanced at his mother as if he did prove her wrong..

Suddenly..

at a T-Junction.....

A lorry.......showed up from no where..

and Out of fear, the Accelerator and the Brakes got pressed simultaneously...

Mohuu..... Watch out........" Mansi yelled..!!!!!

Moma.........and his  voice was cut short...AND..

the Monster....

RAMMED into the left portion of the car........

He could just remember this much......

Both were still into each others arms..

The Red Light went off and the Word ICU lost its sheen..

Both of them rushed to the incoming doctor..

who was definitely looking diffident, as if wanted to sneak away nowhere....

Words can kill..

Five letter word.., famous word....rather infamous...

SORRY.....the doom came out of the mouth of the doctor..and

everything came to a stand still..

All others related.distantly or close...came sobbing and said something.... to them... but it was all useless...

Because the words do have meaning for the living, but for the DEAD, words go DEAD too..

Three months passed...... but the memories didn't fade so early... and for these two ORPHANS...

nothing changed...

Sad and Mad changed to Sadanand and Mohit..again..

Good Morning changed to Good Afternoons and Good Night.. Oh.. Who the hell wanted the night to get over.. Both of them... found solace in the oblivion bestowed upon them by the all engulfing Night...

And Sadanand, after three months break,went to his office...

It was 7 pm sharp and the doorbell started disturbing the silence of the abode of the only hermit... Mohit...

He indifferently went up to the door and openend..

 Come Shikha... "  He heard his father calling somebody into his house..

Something really BAD ,got into Mohit's ears....III

He SHOUTED..SAD.. I did tell u not to bring this shit into my house, didn't I??

It was all RED , his eyes.....

Sadanand said nothing.

The lady's eyes got moistened.

Both of them came into the room ignoring him..

"Didn't We have an  agreement regarding that, SAD...? Mohit was unrelenting.

Sadanand said nothing again. and moved into his room along with her....

but not before  dropping the bomb...  "She's not shit.. Now she's your MOM...."

WHAT?????

SAD... She could be anything but...not my MOM.. did u hear ,, u pervert.... " Mohit simply went MAD.. How come this guy, who professed eternal love to his mother ,can just turnaround into a ......" he could not say more. Still something was left but How ???

More than 3 hours passed , and he came out of his subconscious consciousness ...

Mumma, Y did u leave me... here .. ??? And he cried , yelled, sobbed...

Whole night......................

He felt alone.... No body was there.. He felt as an alien in his own HOME.. sweet home.. huh.!!!

But something was also moving that the hapless protagonist missed...

The curtains of his fathers new wife's room.. oh sorry the lad's newly crowned "MoM's room" often took the help of not so blowing breeze .... and a pair of eyes.. sorry  ... rather one eye replacing each other at short intervals... was trying to see her "canvas"-- to which  she dreamt of carving a new scenary... a new beginning..

she wanted to reach out... and assure that .. She z not an intruder and She z not there to erase what he so dearly wanted to preserve.. in his dreams , in this house and for his satisfaction of some sort , in his fathers mind , heart.. But ... the introductory remarks.. ensured that she dare not.... and

the distance remained unbridged and breeze that was never there, stopped..

Next day....

Mohit's door didn't open..  even the clock blared 12  o clock.. 


Shikha couldnot wait more..

she rang Sadanand... " Mohu"  isn't opening the door,sada."

" Did u knock at his door??" asked Sada..  his voice did shake a bit..

yeah, she replied. I did'nt want to bother u Sada...

Within half and hour... Sadanand was there, knocking...

but in vain..

It was more than what the poor Shikha could take

Moh... Mohit... I will go from ur home.. but please open the door..

Poor Sadanand too  broke down..

and when every request failed .. Sadanand tried the ultimate

Mad.. Open the door for my Mansi's sake...!!!!

After 5 minutes... there was some movement.... yes.. he opened the door..


and he came near to his father and asked with .. shaking voice and teary eyes... 

Don't take her name .... Let her live in peace and ...... me too...




  ......... Sad""...



The very familiar word 'Sad' evoked something in Sadanand and he forcibly hugged his son.. his Mad... and everything  was lost.. all egos.. all shackles got broken... both of them forgot everything... cried like hell..and it looked like the Rudali in them got awaken from deep slumber.. Today Mansi's soul , wherever it would have been,must have got Moksha... 


as even without her .. the father son duo are with each other...


Oh .. Did we forget something.. 

Yeah...


Both seemed to be oblivious of the presence of Shikha... 

it happens always... and the new member feels as an "intruder".. 


and Poor Shikha ... did not want to be .... spoilsport...




when Sad ,,,,, - our Sadanand got to his normal self, realized that the newest official member of family might have felt ''unwanted''..

But..... Mohit who for the first time had used his father's bosom to lay his worst fears to rest... was still there .. fast asleep... and Sadanand knew , the more delayed he gets in reaching Shikha.. the more are the chances.. of her being traumatized with the feel that she doesnt belong ....


What to do??? 


But he has to ACT.. that too now... Sadanand took his cell, opened 'write message' and typed.. "Shikhu... could you please come over.. to the door and let me believe that my Son is with his father even knowing the fact that his new Mom is also sharing the same roof.."


and Message box flashed "Message Delivered : Shikha"


Sadanand waited with bated breath but there was no movement at the door..He was helpless...


Suddenly he felt some movement there at the door... Shikha was there.. 


Sada could see the emotions on her face.-Shikha Wife of Sadanand-but more than Wife .... the water in the eyes were searching a Mother tag... 

More than for Sadanand.. She wanted her to be for the hapless Mohit.. but 

BUT.. a big but was keeping her there at the door.. 

Sadanand .. our poor sadanand.... caught in a quagmire.. 

Relationships origin out of simple contracts.. but  sometimes one takes the whole life just to understand/interpret its terms...

'Cuz its the Relationship of emotions,, that's  why contract of relationships doesn't have the ACCEPT or DECLINE button before you not its having any "Read me " eliciting  terms and lifelong implications... Hmm..

Trringg Trringg... door bell blared... !!



who z this ??



DOOOODHH.......!! yelled, the milkman.


  Oh...... its morning !!sighed Sadanand.!!!!













                         

And the morning made it clear to him...that its a long way before he could set things right...

Yeah... Our Mad.. ..was nowhere to be found...in his lappy....

Sada looked up to the curtains... Shikha too... was not there.....

Poor Sadanand stood up..picked the icy milk pouch... kept it in the fridge..

His hands got icy too .... drawing parallel to the 'iced relationships' he is fighting with ,within his family..

Days passed by...

Sadanand's house virtually got divided into two parts... Mohit had stopped going upstairs and Shikha never dared to use the Main gate adjacent to the Mohit's room.

For our ‘sandwiched’ Sada… it was like walking on the thin edge of the sword… but some how.. he was able to perform his twin roles of “Sad-the Father” and “Sada- the husband of Shikha”….

But for how long …would he be successful in playing this double role… ?

Tough one to call…

But these makeshift arrangement has one glitch..

Our Mohit has virtually stopped eating at home..!!!!

And this new development has pained Sada and Shikha alike..

For Shikha, unless Mohit starts eating things prepared by her.. she would not be able to stamp out the “remains” of ALIVE Mansi in his mind..

And for our Sada…. It was the  situation of devil and the deep sea.. He didn’t feel like eating anything as his son didn’t had any..  but at the same time he also did not want to break Shikha more…

Hmmm .. No points for  guessing the answer…… the above situation wont allow Sadanand more time.. He has to find a solution .. VERY SOON…

IT WAS 07:00 AM IN THE MORNING….

                                    “KNOCK KNOCK”

Sada Shouted from upstairs…..”Mohu, Could you Please open the door ? I am in the Washroom”

After a lull of 5 minutess.

            “ KNOCK KNOCK”

Mohit came out from his Room’s Gate… walked up to the main door.. and opened it..

A middle aged woman was standing there. Mohit indifferently asked her : Yes ????

“”” Ji…. I am in search of job… Some passer by told me to find job over here, Sir..””””

“Mohit, Who’s there?” By that time Sadanand too , had arrived there.

Yeah lady, I am Sadanand .. whats ur problem? She narrated the same scene to him what she already had told to Mohit.

 OK. OK… Whats your name ??

:::::::::: she uttered “MANSI”

The name sounded as if Bomb has exploded into Mohit’s ears…. He rushed towards his room and closed his doors with a ‘Bang”.

Geele Chawal

Not more that 500 metres away..... from the Railway station..."Nauu".................... is his Home..

Yeah...  his home.. where he grew up, around the trees....fields.... Aahar(embankment of nearby canal)...

Those days are still fresh..and looked like its just another day and he is still a part....an important one...


He took few more steps.. and there he is... karpuuri's well.. The dreaded!!!

.. Mom had never scolded him... but the moment she gets to know about his presence near the well... It was as if heaven's gonna fall... and yeah.. how can he forget....  once he was caressed with the STICK too.... Ha Ha... ..He smiled.....

   It was his ninth b'day when ShivShankar--his childhood friend told him.. that his father died in the same well... ShivShankar had heard his father once ... "is karpuria ke kuen ne Malti ke sari ka rang chheen liya hai.. We wont be bringing water from that well.."" Malti- our hero's mother never ever wanted his kid to even know about the well...



After knowing this he never took that path...absolutely never...


.......He just passed by... with a smile on his face... SMILE????

yeah.. he too got amused.. How could he smile ?? .....Yeah.... Smile after seeing the ill-fated Well.....


It happens.....


... and that too with everybody..................Some times the Connection with the Old blurrs the difference between the memories.... Good or Bad..

Nostalgia... to be precise.. He was overwhelmed....



He...Just sat near the well....and tried to peep into it..as if trying to figure out... . He took a nearby Khaprail..(part of thatched roof in villages) and threw it in the well..


WAVES...        He thought the waves sometimes took the shape of a face.. human face...

"I must move on"...he thought..but was perturbed....Y he's feeling the urge to sit more here.... Y the tears- the reason for which is not clear...- is rolling down his cheeks..

He stood at once and left for his house...but not before touching the ring of Well as if paying obiescnece .....

Slideshow began with each forward step...

His mother had taken care of him after his father's death... She worked as Maid in several houses...and for extended hours---- to give him whatever he wanted.....

Best clothes.. Best Schooling.. Best....Best.......simply everything best.......


But Y these things did'nt fall in the category of even Better that time....

Tears again rolled out... He was so mean...  Always complaining .. "Amma--- My friends bring Roasted Cashew for lunch.... I too need that....


And the poor lady... brought some Nuts... and two-three Cashew's which were looking as toppings....

And still he could not keep his friends amused .. because they could COUNT his Cashews...


""AMMAAA..........." He again sat and cried .... Scorching Sun was at its best.. but something else was burning more severely in his heart..   

Crying over something 20 year old......Whats the use?????

Because the very day he had scolded his mother....."Amma,,,, Can't u bring more?? My friends taunted me....

What beta??? She asked...

Mumma... They said.. Why did I bring Two extra? Am I not going to have dinner?


Two souls... sobbing... over something...which meant NOTHING for some and A LOT for some...


few more steps...



He met his old Pal..... The Mango tree...

Whenever he felt low... He used to sit on its branches.. playing with leaves... having mangoes...

Once he fell down and his new school bag.... ..

and new school shirt.....


It took the whole night... for Amma to stitch them...

and later when he came back from school.. came to know Mother .. has lost her job in one of the houses..

as she was awake whole night and that took its toll.. one of the expensive flower pots.. got broken... and she was fired....


But She didnt even let him know the hardships.. He now could remember .. Amma's ring... was not there the next day.. but he could proudly announce his mates that he got a remote control toy on his b'day.

The days passed on...

He got Scholarship... State award and then being meritorious..one NGO sponsored his higher studies...


and he got selected in IIT's... then got into IIM and then...      Bangalore....


They promised.. him a package of Rs.9 lacs per annum..



Got married.. to an MBBS Dr.. and had a kid...


His senior had assured him.. that the Village people hates the city life.. they are happy with their trees,cows cowdung... and Your mother is not going to come here.... Let her be at the place where her husband lived her last breath...

and he accepted..... Y????



And he had  just sent letters to her...


as if she had loved him.. cared for him.. nursed him........................for  LETTERS....


and she never complained...



Y did she never complain??????  and he is no less than a demon... who always wanted to bury the past... because he didnt want any of his friends to COUNT his PAST!!!!!.........






He could see his house.. and there she is ... AMMA...


NO.. she's not Amma....she is some one else......





But the old lady came ... and Said ''Chhotu..........




He recognized the voice and could not speak anything.......she   is his MOTHER.....




she recognized him and he cannot.....


because  she could even recognize him when he was in her womb.... 4 nine months.....



and for a SON like him it was no more than a Transit camp.....



And will anyone ask the lady.. Y she's behaving as if God has come to her house...

the white sari... is more a broom than being a sari....

Where is Shikha??? Chhotu......



His wife is still at the station and had refused to walk.. Her ORDER  was clear.. if his Mother wants to see her .. she has to come to the station....so he could not say anything...and left alone for his house....



he sat on a peedha(wooden object for sitting in villages) and Amma opened a jar where there was in plenty... Cashews... and said .. Chhotu.. u just have it.. Kal ke geele chwaal hain.. Let me bring some chhanchur(Salted Mixture) and she left hurriedly...




It was heavy on him.... HEAVY ...

He decided... to bring Shikha and his kid to his mother.. He had given no happiness to his mother... and this time he has no answer for Shikha's absence...The MAN in him took over ...


He just left the place..... took the geele chwal in a polythene and left.. to bring her


But .......




It took him 500 metres and nearly and hour ...and The Whizkid of Banglore did not muster any courage to tell her domineering wife to come along...




They boarded.. the train.... Wife was continuously murmuring against the use of traversing this distance ..


and she said ..What's this????


and threw that polythene out of the window....... Train was about to leave the the station..




The stone faced .. our hero... stood up and said ... M just coming from Washroom...









Two more stations passed by...



and he was yet to arrive...


Later her co-passenger confirmed he deboarded two stations back....


She too deboarded... seething with anger.....and reached "Nauu"""







Her MAN-THE HUSBAND... was having something from a torn polythene.. and Crying loudly......as he was also trying to save the polythene from two stray dogs...


and the DOMINEERING WIFE....could see  




some thrown  coins before him....

Fevicol Jod

Sun was about to set....

Cool breeze,..... was at its best....


The sailor could not resist himself and ..... started humming a song....

 Tough to make out.. though seemed romantic....

 Reason was obvious.....

 Today his passengers are a newly wedded honeymoon couple...

 who wanted to savor every second of it...... Their Honeymoon....

 Perfect........

 Both of them were trying to click pictures... some times nature.... flowing river , sunset..and sometimes...

 of themselves...
 Looked like they wanted to let the river, the sun,the nature as a whole to know.. of their existence..


 Suddenly...the boy screamed with joy...as he clicked some where on the page he was viewing in his laptop...

 Honey.... I'v done it..I'v done it....

 What happened Shonuu..ki holo ki...???? Girl a bengali...was puzzled what made her husband scream....

 Hey..Shikha re.....U'r so lucky for me. so..oo.. oo. lucky... Boy hugged her tightly , The presence of the sailor didn't mean much to him..He was happy, Really happy..

 What happend Shonu?? By now she understood something good has happened..

 My Shikhu...I didn't tell u because I wanted it to be a surprise... Hey Gudia... U r going to America
 I got selected.

 Are... Where selected ... and when did u apply for any such job?? visibly shaken... and grappling with the news,she asked...

Ur hubby is a proud member of the No.1 Fortune 500 company Wallmart and they have offered me to join at the earliest.. he said in a single breath..

 Girl was unmoved..

What happened Shikha, R u not happy?? ...

 No M happy.... but...

 What BUT??? One could feel something was harsh... in that BUT......

 Wife.. who could sense this harshness....just kept mum..

 Nothing.... Can we talk about this when we reach our hotel,Shonu??

 What is to be talked about??What's the problem ?? U tell me now,I dont know anything... tell me now..... the ambiance was loosing its sheen... gradually

 Shonu.. We have come for us na... Don't u think we should enjoy this...this ride.. and can talk over ur job later on ... Please...Girl pleaded..

 NO!!! Now , tell me what's the problem....The Husband in him took over..



Girl too, felt for the first time that she is someone's wife and she's no more a girl-An individual..

 I don't want to go..she pleaded with putting some warmth in her eyes..The gesture apparently made it clear she was trying to put her case firmly laced with whatever love she has for her husband..

 Are u out of ur mind??? Out of more than hundred of my co-employees, Ur husband is the only one who got this call,and U fool is not able to understand the importance of this offer....-elled The authoritarian husband...

She stood up, walked to the corner of the boat and sat facing the river,opposite to her husband..Tears rolling down....The message was clear...She WONT GO!!!

The sailor has long back curbed his tune..


 Husband too sat ... After a lull of 15 minutes...He rose and said... Shikha!! It seems u r in love with urself and whatever love u tried to show is something u engineered to trap me.. I don't think I can walk with u anymore..Lets call it quits..U remain happy with ur loved ones,enjoy life in ur Maruti 800 that is too good for ur family of 4..-he paused n felt he is being sarcastic...



 I would like u to be happy all through ur life....find a partner (Girl just looked backwards...with disbelief) who can keep u happy

..Girl's face full of tears which was adding more to the river water... suddenly became red...Yes..... She stopped crying .. her grip on the wooden part of the boat became firmer...She..was .........firm...

 She too can't live with a person who decides fate  of something with flesh and blood--in rage..who can forget all the love,care,affection... everything.... so easily.. without hearing her point of view....


 Boat was still sailing.. Sun was yet to disappear.....Camera which was housing the NATURE .. was lying mid way between them...

Cool breeze which was harbinger of emotions,sesousness.....seemed helping the emotions to freeze..ice is what was being formed and Cool breeze seemed to enhance the icy feel...

No.....it didn't remain breeze... air was more than what one knows as breeze.. boat trembled...

 What happened Bhaiya???

 Asked the boy..

 M trying sir....The sailor was giving his everything to save the situation..

 MAA GO....(The sailor screamed in Bengali.... the bamboo with which he was rowing the boat was snatched by the river)

What happened ?

Babu saheb...I need to bring the bamboo back other wise ....... (he kept those dangerous words in his mouth)

and he jumped into the river before any body say anything...


The boat was loosing its way..

 Girl was still rock faced... seemed she is willing to embrace the mighty river.. She no more wants to live..

Suddenly the Boy fell down... and his head hit the hard wood of the boat.. Blood started oozing out...

 Girl was still unaware what was happening as she still was facing the river..

After a minute,when she looked backward.. she saw BLOOD....


 Shonu... Babu... Shonuu........ She could think nothing ..

 just ran ..but the boat didn't allow HER to reach HIM.. She too fell down with the same result...BLOOD


..
She rose again and some how crawling she reached her MAN...

 Husband was still conscious and could see his wife kissing his forehead umpteen times.. and yelling... something...

 No, the love wasn't lost...

She tore a piece from her newly bought Banarsi and tied to the wound...

 Husband too by that time was able to sit on his own.. and touched her forehead.. with love...

 and he could feel...



 Blood ... His whole palm was wet with Blood..and there SHIKHAA........she was unconscious....lying in his lap...

 Something wooden had hit her head too , badly..

 He was about to tear her sari...... But he stopped....

 He took out his T-shirt and tied it to her wife's head..



 15 minutes ago... the couple was epitome of indifference and......... And now they were trying to show their part of love... in t heir own way.....



 Yeah ,,,, Somebody has said love blends souls... everything is immaterial....

 Just then the sailor resurfaced with a grin on his face and yeah,, he got his weapon , the lost bamboo..

and he showed it to them..


 Everything was calm and in control in just 5 minutes.. yeah ... Everything even ambiance.. even the couple .. even the LOVE.....

Shikha re.... M sorry.......                  Naa Shonu..... M sorry.......

 Naa re... I got blind .. I was after money success,treasure.. and forgot my real treasure.....U..

 Naa Shonu.. Being ur wife... I should have thought of ur career.. ur happiness... I was selfish shonuu..



Naa Shikhaa... and the Husband embraced wife tightly..





  



 The boat touched the bank...

The couple gave the fare to to sailor..

and it was when they were about to leave..

The sailor yelled...

 Babu saheb,, did u miss anything..


 What???



By then Shikha... Shonu... .Aamar Cameraa..




 She climbed the boat.. The camera was still lying there..


 Hey.....she said to sailor... as she could peep deeper into the boat....there were too rowing bamboos....






  She was startled.. amazed... Y this sailor went after the bamboo when he was already.. having two ....

"Y????????" she asked him..

 Sailor just smiled and said.... U two were not looking good while quarreling... ...




 She was still in disbelief...came out... with the camera and shock..... Husband by then... came and hugged her and said "lets go..."


Sailor smiled... seeing both of them hugging each other ... said ...Bhalo lage... ee. aapnar prem... U must make it a Fevicol jod......

And all bursted into laughter..




 Wife understood everything....  and waved her hand to the sailor.... Thank you DADA........