Chapter 32

RR through our eyes (Chapter 32)

 

Thanks Mano for the edits.

 

All the guests had proceeded to the dining hall during the reception and Rudra and Paro were about to sit in the special thrones kept for them when Poonam held Paro’s hand and said, “See who is here .....”

 

It was followed by a man’s booming voice, “ Myrah Beti, congratulations”

 

She turned around and saw the owner of the voice. And she grinned welcoming him with open arms.

 

Rudra looked back too. What caught his attention was the face next to the man. A face which looked quite familiar.

 

And he was flabbergasted.

 

****

12 hours back Rudra was so happy. When he looked at Paro dressed as a bride. Nothing can come between them now. He will make sure that nobody comes in between them.

 

****

 

11 hours back Paro had spotted Mamisa walking into the hall. She was talking to her friends and the panditji was still arranging things for the havan. Rudra was busy giving instructions to a few well built guys. She had no clue why. She walked towards the old lady,

 

“Aap Kisiko Doond Rahi Ho ? Are you looking for somebody ?” she asked

 

The fragile, weathered or rather battered old woman who lost over the years every single person who meant something to her adjusted her eyes to the light and looked at Paro. Her Paro. How can that be ? Didn’t that devil take her away from all of them ?

 

“Mamisa ? Main Aapko Mamisa Bula Sakthi Hoon ? Main Rudra Ki hone wali Patni. Namaste. ...Can I call you Mamisa ? I am Rudra’s would be wife. “

 

Without even realising Mamisa took hold of Paro’s hands and held them tight. To reassure herself that she is not day dreaming. “Tum Theek Ho ? Paro ?”

 

“Haan Main Theek Hoon. “ she replied. She did not correct the name. Maybe she did not even hear it. She was wondering how she felt pulled to this old woman. How she felt like calling her Mamisa. Before she could think more in those lines Dhruv came running and hugged Mamisa with all his  force.

 

“Beta, Aaram se. Itne Zor Se nahin. GIr Jaoongi.....”

 

“Haan Dhruv. Take care. She will lose her balance. “

 

 

“Aapko Pata Hai Yeh Kaun Hai ? ...Do you know who this is ?” Dhruv asked Paro.

 

“Main Uski Mamisa Hoon. Woh Kaise Nahin Pahachaanegi ? ..I am her Mamisa. How can she not recognise me ? “ Mamisa replied before Paro could answer.  And she understood who it is. And wondered how is she is able to relate to each relative of Paro in the same way as Paro used to.

 

“I want to take a photo now.” Dhruv insisted. And Paro smiled and summoned the photographer. And the three generations posed with the best smiles on their face.

 

Paro was called by the Pandit soon after that but the scene with Mamisa and the photo did not go unnoticed by a few pairs of eyes in the hall.

****

10 hours back Rudra was taken aback by Paro’s eighth Vachan. And thanked all the Gods for bringing her back to him.

 

*****

15 minutes later he was even happier seeing her happiness around rose petals and the butterflies.

 

*****

6 hours back Poonam had a long talk with Mamisa. She wanted to know more about Paro.

 

Mamisa was sure that this girl decked up as bride today is her own Paro. How that happened and when – she had no clue. And she was not inclined to investigate for lack of strength and determination. She believed there are things the mind connects to and the fact that this is Paro is one such.

 

Mamisa also knew that Poonam is this girl’s mother. Myrah’s mother.  And she is here asking questions about Paro. It is natural for a mother to be sceptical about her son-in-law’s first wife. So Mamisa put her at ease.

 

“ Paro is a gem of a girl. With the heart of a child. And one who is ready to sacrifice anything for her near and dear ones. She is as close to my heart as my daughter. “

 

“She would definitely want Rudra and Dhruv to be happy. And I am glad to see both of them happy today. Your daughter will be very happy with them.”  Mamisa assured Poonam.

 

But Poonam had some other question to ask,” Yes I know Myrah is lucky to have Rudra and Dhruv in her life. I have er...one question. Was Paro happy after she was ...... ? “

 

“Married ? “ Mamisa replied before Poonam could complete her statement.

 

“Yes she was. Rudra loved her so much. Was always there to protect her.” Suddenly Mamisa realized she has said more than what was needed. Also that she had not allowed Poonam to complete her question.

 

“Is that what you wanted to ask ?”

 

“Ah well......yes.” Poonam replied – very unconvincingly. How do you ask questions without getting the other person suspicious. Maybe she should not ask anything to Mamisa. Instead should ask Gitanjali to find out.

 

Seeing Poonam lost in her thoughts Mamisa was worried and decided to give more assurance to her about her “so called daughter” , “ Don’t worry Poonam-sa. Rudra will love your daughter and will take care of her always. You do not have anything to be concerned of.”

 

If only Mamisa was shrewd and smart like Gitanjali or Mohini – she would have been able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and arrive at her own conclusions. But was a Seedhi Saadhi woman – not one to over think about anything. One who always believed what her heart told her. And she let that conversation go.

 

Poonam could not hold onto her worries and sorrow any longer. She went in search of Gitanjali to have a heart to heart talk.

 

*****

In the mean time VK Singh wanted to have a conversation with Rajeev. He and Rudra knew that Myrah did look like Paro. That she too had an accident 7 years back. What they did not know was how Paro and Myrah got switched. And how Paro ended up in Mehra’s house. As per Rudra the Mehras had no idea that who they think as Myrah is actually Paro. Rudra feels that the switch was done by a third party. For what , when and how – he also did not know. But one thing he was sure was that Mehras had no involvement in the whole process.

 

But VK Sir was not that convinced.

 

How can parents not know that it is not their daughter ? How did Paro talk when she regained consciousness ? Her peculiar Hindi accent, her no knowledge of English , her traditional values as opposed to Myrah’s western views – all should have alerted the Mehras. Why did they not respond to that ? More importantly where was Myrah treated in India ? Since all the records in the BSD hospital were lost in the fire they (Rudra and Aman) had reached a dead end there.

 

Yes VK Singh also was of the opinion that the Mehras did sound and act innocent. But he had found a trace of unhappiness on both their faces which a common man could not have found. The reason for the same was unknown. Being a BSD officer he was bound to doubt a person by default. Rudra also would have done the same thing had he not had such long conversations with the Mehras.

 

Yes VK Singh also knew that Poonam is very close to Gitanjali. Over the years he had heard his wife talk so much about her best friend from college. But that does not mean Poonam is as innocent as she appears to be. In the face of fear and insecurity people can do any thing.

 

Or the other possibility is that they still do not know that Myrah is Paro. Then why the trace of sadness on their faces ? He has to find out from his wife. He was sure Gitanjali knows some secret which she is not ready to share.

 

It took VK Sir quite some time to reach the topic of Myrah’s accident in his conversation with Rajeev.

 

*****

Coming back to the present.  The man wished Paro. And both Paro and Rudra looked back.

Paro with lots of happiness spread out her hands , “ Murtygaaru, Aap Aa Gaye ? You came finally ? I had given up hope that you will make it.”

 

“What can I do Beti ? I wanted to come earlier. But Preeti wanted to join me for sure. And I could not refuse her. You know how adamant she can be. “ he replied looking fondly at the woman next to him.

 

Rudra’s eyes were fixed on the so called Preeti. And she in turn was staring at Myrah.

 

“Preeti Tum ? Oh finally we meet.” Paro exclaimed and hugged Preeti with all her heart.

 

“Yeah we meet........” and she became quiet. As if she was at a loss as to what to say.

 

“ Why are you quiet ? Usually in our talks you are so unstoppable. Just like me. Today you are so quiet. And why did you make Murtygaaru late ? Why did you not come for the wedding itself ? “

 

Preeti continued to be quiet. It was Murty who answered, “ She was busy at the border near Bangladesh . She came back only today afternoon. So I cannot blame her. But I can blame her for making me miss the wedding. “

 

“Ah that you can. It was such a great wedding you know. Rudra has arranged surprise for me. You should.......” Suddenly Paro remembered that she forgot to even introduce the two guests to Rudra.

 

“Rudra , this is Murty. My dear friend who worked with me in many abuse cases in the US. I have immense respect for him. He has helped many a woman to take care of herself. Is a strong supported of girl’s education. And rehabilitation of women who have been pushed into wrong professions  by fate. He is a frequent flyer. Half the time in the west and the other half here. He is from Andhra. Remember, I told you I have friends in the South. I was referring to him. And this is Ms Preeti. Another of my close friends. And MurtyGaaru and Preeti, this is Rudra. My 8 hours old husband. “ The happiness in Paro’s voice in seeing these two was so audible. As visible as it was in her face.

 

“Namaste.” Rudra was brief always when it came to conversations with strangers. But this time he was even more so – his eyes not yet leaving the face of the lady.

 

His voice made Ms Preeti turn and look at him. And it registered shock followed by a not so discernible expression. Both were staring at each other without acknowledging the other one. But Paro was on her introduction speech.

 

“Her name is not actually Preeti. We call her that because she believes on love. “

 

Rudra said immediately without thinking, “ I know”

 

“You know? How ? Do you guys know each other ?” Paro was very curious now.

 

“Yes. I have ...er met.....your friend before “ he was very reluctant to part with this info.

 

“Ah yes. We had met as part of our work a few years back when he was in BSD. But I did not know you were marrying him“ She gave as vague an explanation as was possible. Looked like Preeti was equally reluctant to discuss further.

 

Paro was satisified with the answer. And soon the conversation drifted  to other safer topics – like about common friends and recent travels etc. And then a few more friends of Rudra came.

 

With great effort Rudra smiled and talked as if he has no worry in the world. After about an hour they all proceeded for dinner.

 

It was time for all to go to sleep. People started going back to their rooms. Rudra dreaded this moment. He had to clear his mind. The unexpected guest had affected him so much.

 

Rudra excused himself to talk to Mamisa who was sitting alone. And he sat next to her. She did most of the talking. But he was not listening. His mind was still on Paro’s friend from the past. From Mamisa he went to Aman but he did not voice his worries. Then he was talking to Poonam , then Rajeev. He kept on drifting from one person to another aimlessly. Without listening to even one single person.

 

Paro was watching Rudra’s movement. It was almost half an hour now that she is in the midst of her friends and he away from her.

 

Why is he not in a hurry to take her to their room ? She knows she is dying to be with him again. This time without any fear of somebody knocking on the door. Without any apprehension of getting caught.

 

She bid good night to Dhruv ruffling his hair affectionately and kissing him on the cheek. And slowly went to Rudra and asked him, “ I am quite tired. Can we also go now ? “

 

“Yeah I am coming. Just have to say thanks to a few of my friends. You proceed. I will be there soon. “ Rudra said with a smile that did not touch his eyes.

 

He found his situation very ironic. After a dream wedding to his beloved – just before the moment when he should be carrying  her to their room - he is sitting here and thinking of another woman.

 

A woman who believed in love. Yes he had seen that in her when he met her years back.

 

She was the one who was ready to believe that their story – Rudra’s and Paro’s is of love.

She was the one who was impressed when Rudra sang “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” for his Paro. 

 

She was the one who was bursting with happiness when both Paro and Rudra  selected  a rose in their post wedding ritual.

 

She was the one who tried to convince her elder colleague to believe in the love of Paro and Rudra.

 

Why then is he worried after seeing her ?

Why is he bothered about the connection between her and Paro ?

Why is he having this feeling of being choked ?

Why is he curious to know about how long have they known each other ?

Why does he want to know what all have been shared between the two ?

Why is his mind playing tricks on him ?

Why is he listening at all to his BSD brain at this moment ?

Why in the world is he scared now ?

 

Kahin Aisa Na Ho Ki ...................

 

 

 

 If you reached till here I am assuming you read the chapter fully. Please leave your comments, thoughts and feedback. If you are facing issues in posting comments please send a mail to jjkkliftkaradey@gmail.com We would like to here from you.