- 18 -
The irony of fate!
Only a day before, Alok and Rani had prayed to God that there should be no place for any kind of sadness in their life, that their love-life should remain hidden from the evil eyes of the world. The very next day, Mr. Mehra met Ramesh. This meeting not only rendered their prayers futile, but also made the storm raging in Ramesh’s mind about their relationship fiercer. Alok and Rani had wished for shower of happiness but they were surrounded by dark clouds of tension.
Mr. Mehra, besides being a successful businessman, is also fond of poets’ seminars. He not only shares business interests with Ramesh, but they are also very close at family level; they often visit each other’s families.
Mr. Mehra, “Hello Ramesh, are you in the office or busy somewhere else?”
“I’m very much in my office. Tell me, what’s the matter, Mr. Mehra?”
“It has been a while since we met. I thought if you were free, I could come over for a cup of tea.”
“Why beat about the bush, just come down. I’m always free for you.”
Soon Mr. Mehra was in Ramesh’s office. Ramesh asked, “Mehra Sahib, you informed us about Holi get-together but you yourself didn’t come?”
“Sorry Ramesh, I had to go urgently somewhere with my brother-in-law. You know - ‘Sari Khudai Ek Taraf Joru Ka Bhai Ek Taraf’ (Wife’s brother is more important than anything else in the world). The work was such that I couldn’t say ‘no’ to Amit. How did you like the programme? Bhabhi Ji must have enjoyed it a lot! She seems to have a good interest in ‘Kavi Sammelans!’ (Poets’ seminar). I had seen her in the Kavi Sammelan of Haryana Sahitya Academy, Panchkula but couldn’t meet her then.”
On hearing Mehra’s last words, Ramesh got a shock of 440 volt. He asked, “When was this Kavi Sammelan? Was Rani alone or with some of her friends?”
“This programme was held on 25th January. I didn’t see any of Bhabhi Ji’s friends, maybe she was with some acquaintance or relative, but I’ve never seen that person in your family before.”
On hearing this, Ramesh felt a storm raging inside himself. A chain of thoughts crossed his mind in a quick succession. He tried his best to remain composed, but the anxious expressions on his face could not remain unnoticed by Mr Mehra. He asked, “What happened, Ramesh? You seem perturbed!”
Trying to control the storm raging within, Ramesh said, “Don’t worry. Sometimes, my BP shoots up suddenly and I feel dizzy. Sorry, I need to see a doctor immediately.”
“Should I come along?”
“No, you may go please. I’ll go with my driver.”
After Mr. Mehra left, Ramesh once thought of going home and talking to Rani, but then composed himself and decided to talk to her only at night. But after this, he could not concentrate on any office work. Like the turbulent waves of sea, various thoughts kept churning and disturbing his mind. He had no doubt that Rani had gone with Alok. There is none else with whom Rani had ever gone alone! Had she gone with a relative, she would have told him. It was with a great difficulty that he could do his important office work.
……..
In the evening, Ramesh came home and ate his meals halfheartedly. As if exhausted, he lay down in the bedroom. When Rani came back from the kitchen, she saw that the TV was off and Ramesh was lying down. She turned on the TV and asked, “What’s the matter, don’t you feel well, you didn’t even eat properly?”
“Leave the TV remain off,” Ramesh snapped, trying to put his anger into words, “How could I be fine when you’ve poisoned my life? I had never imagined you would be doing such things behind my back! How many things have you started hiding from me? Mr. Mehra told me that he saw you at the Kavi Sammelan of Haryana Sahitya Academy, Panchkula. With whom had you gone there?”
Ramesh was not just guessing, he was hundred percent sure that Rani must have gone with Alok, yet he wanted to hear it from her own mouth. Rani was completely shocked on hearing his words. Even though she had not seen Mr. Mehra at the function, yet she had no alternative but to admit the truth. She said, “Yes, I had gone to the function. Alok had told me about that programme. He had also come there.”
Rani skipped mentioning Alok picking her from home.
Ramesh, as if giving his final decision, said in unambiguous words, “The way the closeness between you guys is progressing, is beyond the tolerance of a normal person like me. If you want our life to continue the same way as it was before the appearance of your childhood friend, then forget this friendship like a nightmare or else I’ll have to take some other steps.”
Rani also felt agitated, yet controlling herself said in a calm but decisive tone, “We know each other since childhood. We’ve met by chance after such a long time. It may not be possible for me to forget this friendship the way you want.”
Ramesh said in an angry but dejected tone, “Then I’ll have to think of something else .”
And Ramesh turned his back. Rani also turned her back towards him and took a sleeping position. Both were restless deep within. Sleep was miles away from their eyes due to the internal turmoil. They could not sleep for long and kept turning sides. In the deepening night, the long rhythmic voice of the watchman roaming in the street would be heard very loudly when he passed by the house, and then as he moved ahead in the street, his voice faded slowly and finally drowned. Sometimes the watchman’s voice would get drowned in the barking sound of dogs. Sometimes everything was lost in deep silence. Finally the body did its duty and sleep freed them from all kinds of thoughts and worries. No matter how much turmoil there is in the mind, if you are busy in some work at night, then it is a different matter, otherwise at night, even if late, sleep definitely comes, even though for a short time!
…….
As usual, on waking up next morning, Rani greeted Ramesh with ‘Ram, Ram’, but he did not reply. After he freshened up, Rani made tea. They drank tea silently. None uttered a single word. After that Rani took her bath and completed her prayers. She prepared breakfast and lunch for Ramesh. When Ramesh was heading towards car, Rani said ‘bye’ as she did usually, but without responding, Ramesh sat in the car and said to the driver, “Let’s go.” Even the busy routine of office could not lessen turmoil going on in Ramesh’s mind. He was doing his office work absentmindedly. Rani’s last words - ‘It may not be possible for me to forget my friendship with Alok completely the way you want.’ - kept hammering his mind. He thought of talking to Vinay, his brother-in-law. He may be two years younger to Rani, but he has retired from a high post in government job, hence, Ramesh gives importance to his opinion.
So, he called Vinay and asked him to visit soon. Vinay said, “Jija (Sister’s husband) Ji, if there’s some urgent matter, I can come even tomorrow.”
Ramesh wanted to discuss the whole incident with someone close as soon as possible, but he did not want to reveal his eagerness. So, he said, “No, there’s nothing urgent. Come as per your convenience in a couple of days. I want to sit with you and discuss some important things.”
“Okay, Jija Ji.”
******
