Another life - Another tale

Tumhein dillagi bhool jani pare gi
Muhabbat ki raahon mein aa kar to dekho
Tarapne pe mere na phir tum hanso ge
Kabhi dil kisi se laga kar to dekho

Her feet felt tired and were aching. She desperately wanted to stop and just lie down for a while, maybe ask one of the maids to massage her sore limbs but she could not. Today was “The Day”, her unveiling. Although she had been practicing for months now but today felt like a never-ending day of several sessions that were exhausting her out. Apa ji had meticulously trained her with the art and now when her hands moved in the air, gracefully pointing towards the guests and her long neck tilted to one side like a swan, even the air around her seemed enchanted. You are a gem, Apa ji had told her many times since that tragic day. Had fate not thrown her in Apa ji’s way, God knows where she might have been. Dead, probably. She shook her head to push away the painful thoughts and continued enticing the guests by swaying her body along with the music……

Honton ke paas aye hansi, kya majaal hai
Dil ka muamla hai koi dillagi nahin

Zakhm pe zakhm kha ke ji
Apne lahoo ke ghont pi
Aah na kar labon ko see
Ishq hai dillagi nahin

Dil laga kar pata chaley ga tumhein
Aashiqui dillagi nahin hoti

She checked her makeup in the compact, ran her fingers through her hair, took one long breath and got out of the car to face the cameras. The vultures were onto her asking her to give more details for the merger that her company was forming with another multinational. No comments, she gestured with her hands. Her secretary told the reporters that details would be given by the company’s spokesperson later in the evening. Someone asked her if her husband would have done the same thing? For a split second, her face showed  a slight hint of pain but she quickly brushed away the reporter and with quick, brisk short steps went inside the building. As soon as she entered the building, she took off her shades and prepared herself to face the largest merger contract signing of recent times…… 

Kuch khel nahin hai ishq ki laag
Paani na samajh ye aag hai aag

Khoon rulaye gi ye lagi dil ki
Khel samjho na dillagi dil ki

Yeh ishq nahin aasaan
Bas itna samajh leejay
Ik aag ka darya hai
Aur doob ke jaana hai

The little girl didn’t know where she was. It was raining very hard and she was cold but she didn’t want to go home without getting the water from the well. She hadn’t wanted to go out at such a late hour but she knew she couldn’t say no to her stepmother. She shuddered at the thought of facing her without fulfilling the task that she was given, but she had no choice. Her father had gone to the nearby village and would be back the next morning so there was no refuge at home. It was very dark already and with the rain, she could barely make out her way. She felt tears welling up in her huge eyes and had to bit up her lip to keep herself from crying. It suddenly dawned on her that she had lost her way and the strange houses showed her that she was very far from home……

Wafaaon ki hum se tawaqo nahin hai
Magar ek baar aazma kar tou dekho
Zamanay ko apna bana kar tou dekha
Humein bhi tum apna bana kar tou dekho

The meeting had gone quite well. She had a dinner party to attend that night and as she slipped into a brand new dress that she had ordered for this occasion especially, she suddenly felt sadness seeping inside her. Why did he go away so soon? It felt just like yesterday that he was here, in the same room, with her. She could literally imagine him watching her put on her makeup and casually telling her she should put her hair down, as he preferred. She sighed and then went back to the task of getting ready. As she was leaving the house, she glanced at one of the corridor mirrors and saw a cool and confident woman with a dignified persona. People called her the ice queen. Little did they know how far from truth they really were. It used to be all fire inside her. Hot and burning. 

Rukh se naqab utha, ke bari der ho gayi
Mahol ko tilaawat-e-quraan kiye hoye
Hum na samjhe teri nazron ka taqaza kya hai
Kabhi parda kabhi jalwa yeh tamasha kya hai
Jan-e-jan hum se uljhan nahin dekhi jaati
Khuda ke liye chor do ab yeh parda...

 “Im sorry, I don’t know what to say to you”, he said to her. She looked up at him trying to guess his age, late twenties maybe? He had been a regular visitor ever since she had started her “act”, about two months ago. Initially he looked quite awkward as it was clear he had never visited these streets before. And it came to no one’s surprise when one day he requested for a private conversation as he clearly was coming there just for her. “Im not the kind of person you think I am”, he said after a while. Then he went onto explain that he was writing an article and he needed some insight into this kind life. It was just a hobby for him otherwise he was working in his father’s firm. Once he started talking he couldn’t stop and she felt herself getting totally absorbed into what he was saying……..

Khuda ke liya chor do ab yeh parda
Keh hain aaj hum tum nahin ghair koi
Shab-e-wasl bhi hai hijaab iss kadar kyon
Zara rukh se aanchal utha kar tou dekho

The little girl opened her eyes to find herself in a strange home. A middle-aged woman was sitting beside her with cloth strips dipped in a water basin and was pressing her forehead with the wet pieces. “What’s your name, little one?”, the woman asked. The little girl simply stared back and covered her face with her hands to hide her tears. “Shhhhh… Don’t cry, let me get you something to eat. You are too weak right now”, the woman said. She called someone in the kitchen to bring some food and went back to treating the poor girl she had found unconscious after the terrible storm had subsided. She had tried searching for the girl’s parents but could not get any clue. Filing a police report was out of the question as she did not want any kind of attention to herself. The local people didn’t know anything, so she had brought her home and was now thinking to take her to the city where she lived…… 

Jafaaein buhat kien buhat zulm dhaye
Kabhi ik nigah-e-karam iss taraf bhi
Humesha huay dekh kar mujh ko barham
Kissi din zara muskura kar to dekho

The pain had subsided but her eyes hurt from all the crying. How could he do this to her? She had never imagined that he would go away from her so soon. Death is like a black hole and when a loved one dies, it engulfs us within itself in a very cruel manner. Keeping us alive, but barely. Oh how she wished time to go back to the fateful morning of a few weeks ago. What if she had stopped him from going out? The accident wouldn't have happened. What did she do that God took him away from her? The thoughts were haunting her now. “Why him, why us?” She could hardly remember the mourning services, family and friends expressing sympathies and asking her to be patient. “THE ONLY PERSON WHO HAS EVER CARED ABOUT ME JUST DIED”, she wanted to shout back at them but words escaped her, only her moans came out. Now everyone was gone and she was all alone in this huge house, reliving every moment she had spent with him. The children were too small to realize that they had just been deprived of one of the most beautiful relations of the world. The vice president of the firm, her husband’s best friend had taken the children to his place till she felt good enough to take care of them. He had left some messages with her secretary regarding future of the company. “You need to come back. The sharks are already eyeing the top spot your husband left but you own the major shares and the board has complete confidence in you. Get back and we’ll vote.” The message was very clear and she knew sooner or later she had to come out to face the world but it felt like a betrayal. Would he think I have moved on, stopped caring? No, silly. He loved you and would want to see you taking care of what he and his father before him had built-up over the years. You owe this to him, you owe this to your children. “Tomorrow. I’ll be back tomorrow” she sent a message to the office……

Jo ulfat mein har ek sitam hai gawara
Yeh sab kuch hai paas-e-wafa tum se warna
Satate ho din raat jiss tarha mujh ko
Kissi ghair ko youn sata kar to dekho

Everyone called her Apa ji. She was a middle aged woman who had worked part time in a few movies in her younger years but was now known in her circles as the owner of one of the best houses in these streets. Despite such a background there was nothing cheap about her or her girls. The clientele therefore was more elite than what most of other houses could boast of. The little girl was now feeling at home with all the new people and learning new things with each passing day. She missed her father but was glad to escape the step mother. “Time for your lesson, don’t be lazy”, Apa ji called out to her. The music had already started…….

Agarche kissi baat par woh khafa hain
To acha yehi hai tum apni si kar lo
Woh maanein na mannein yeh marzi hai unki
Magar un ko pur-nam mana kar to dekho

In the beginning she felt terribly scared when he told her what he had in mind but she trusted him and after he assured her that his family would support them, she said yes. She did feel some guilt at leaving her “family” without telling anyone but then she didn’t have much choice. She had always hoped for a better life and this could be her chance at that. His parents were initially very critical of his choice but then gradually had come to accept their son’s decision and allowed them to marry quietly. What would she do at his home all day? She wondered to herself. “Okay. So here’s the deal. You are going back to school”, he said to her with a twinkle in his eyes. “I have arranged for home schooling, so let’s gets started”, he smiled at her and she knew she had married the right person. 

Tumhein dillagi bhool jani pare gi
Muhabbat ki raahon mein aa kar tou dekho

The applause was overwhelming. She looked radiant but composed. As she received the prize for the best female entrepreneur of the year, she couldn’t help but think of the person she owed her whole life to. Tears were brimming in her eyes and her children and other guests stood up to give her a standing ovation. As she looked back at them, memories of her life flash-backed before her eyes, with her husband dominating all thoughts. The presenter asked her for a few words so she started gesturing with her hands, while her secretary translated to the crowd that she was thankful to all of them and how much she owed to her late husband and children……….      

Sana.

* This is purely a work of fiction and any resemblance between the characters and persons living or dead is totally coincidental.