Everyone Hope u r enjoying Do Dil; For ur convenience I have consolidated the
chapters 1 to 8 on page 4 and chapters 9 to 16 on page 13...
Thanz for reading and plz contiue to post ur valuable comments😃
Chapter 9
Thara who was sitting at Shravan's office waiting for him was fidegting her fingers and glancing around the small room; noting the carton boxes piled hapazardly on one side,the files and papers all over the desk,the artificial flower pots lying in a heap on one side, she cldnt help suppressing a suffocating feeling...
Shravan breezed in hurriedly and stoppped in his tracks seeing Thara..." hello, what are you doing here early inthe mornin? office nahi hai kya?he asked..."Hello Shravan😃... long time no see... khahan kho gaya tha... Patha hai mujhe bahut mehsoos hagaya.. 😭.. no phone calls , no hai..so isiliye mein aaj office se chutti lekhar yahan aagayi..kush nahi hai kya😒"
plastering a false smile on his face Shravan said " thara yeisa koi baat nahi hai; kaam me busy tha; mein kyo thum ko avoid karun.. waise bhi thumara office jane ka sawalhi nahi hai.. thumara Baap retd merchant navy officer tha.. paisawallah hai thum kyon ek computer co. mein kaam karthi hai?
Thara replied "what you say is true, par mera Baap bahut strict hai, isiliye mein ziddhi karke yeh kaam kaarrahi hoon.. Jab thum mujhse shaadhi karonge na thab mein yeh sab choddoongi😳mein bhi kush ;Papa bhi kush..."
"Dekho thara kithni baar thumhe kaha mein thumse shaadi nahi karsaktha..thumare liye kaam ek timepass hai; par mere liye mera zindhagi hai.. understand this plz.." ..... "Par shravan mein thumse pyaar kartha hun; shaadhi kar chatha hun"she pouted😆
"Thara mein kabhi yisa nahi socha tha aur yeh baat thume patha bhi hai.. Ek saal se mera peeche padi hai.. is baat kho patha bhi nahi kya? 😔 .. Hamesha mujhe is baat se thang karthi hai..".... "thume mujhse pyaar nahi tho kya hua Shravan.. mera pyaar hum donokeliye kaafi hai😃 Dekho mein hamara pyaar ke baare mein ek poem bhi likha...
Our love is Key Board;
Insert our happiness we will cntrl of life;
Press esc and w'll be free from home
pgup and pgdown w'll scroll our life;
dont shift ur loyalty,
dont del my love
enter my heart;
our love will never end
"thara very nice poem.. but Iam sorry I dont love you"..Shravan then felt sorry for her and just to cheer her smiled wickedly and said " do you know Thara;
My love will be dressed in white,dancing and coming out of white mist,with flowers welcoming & showering on her and then pop a sound that triggers my heart will be heard😆🤣;.... This is how it shld be only then I will think abt love.. okay .. ab jao ghar aur mujhe kaam karne de..
Thara gave up her attempts to entice him walked out like a hurt puppy, thinking one day or other she will make him fall in love with her..
Viren entered the cabin hearing shravan words and said" bechari why r u hurting her, u cld marry her & settle; and all this bakwas abt ur love";..".Arre yeisa kaisa ho sakth hai" interjected Shravan" yeh sab filmo mein hotha hai.. I wanted her to leave and so said the first thing that came into my mind.. chal ja kaam karthen hein"
Little did Shravan know that his vision of love will come true shortly.......
Chapter 10
Saachi was riding to school the next mornin, her spirits bright and sunny like the glorious sun that was beaming on its earthly subjects... she was thinking abt the fairy tale ballet.. all the children were very enthusiastic and willing and eager to learn their parts.. this feeling rubbed on her and she felt the show wld be a success ...
She didnt notice the black clad rider on the bike following her at a discreet distance.. today he had purloined a black bike and had even smeared mud on the lisc.plate so that noone can decipher it easily... He was adept at stealing..no he wont call it that way he was good at loaning diff bikes from diff people.. after all he chose his vehicles carefully from the parking lots.. after seein off saachi at the school he rode back to set in motion his next plan...the mere thought gave him happiness.. if he cld achieve what he had aimed for then ...he cld help feeling his loins tighten with pleasure...mmmmmmm
The whole mornin went in a whirlwind;saachi rehearsing with her wards,fine tuning the musical ensemble,the costume designs.. all took her breath and time.. her assistants were helpful but she was the deciding authority as far as the ballet was concerned.. Mr. shastri had reposed so much faith in her and she had to live up to his expectations...
Just before lunch(for which she sat down late)she received a phone call.. without checking for the number she picked up and answered"hello whos this"
There was silence on the other side."hello aap khon hai, kya number chahiye"
still no answer.. after a lenghty silence there was a heavy breathing...
saachi's hands went cold, her forehead filled with sweat and her heart missed a beat...
With shaking fingers she disconnected the line and shook herself with fear...her appetite killed she closed her lunch box and just sat there starring a sightless scene... she was oblivious to the sounds of children back from lunch or their continuation of rehearsals...
Her phone rang again.. with trembling fingers and racing heart she checked the number and heaved a sigh of relief.. it was rajshri her friend calling.. in a small voice she answered her.. sensing something amiss Rajshri enquired.."hello saachi kya sab teek hai.. You sound hollow, kuch parishani hai?".. "Rajishri mein kya baataun..mujhe bahut daar lagraha hai.. mera last period free hai ..permission leke thumara pass aaungi..will you meet me at you campus".. "teek hai chintha mat karo.. I'll help you".. saachi was biding her time just to get away and meet her friend... her interest and enthu had dampened very much.. and she cld hardly concentrate in her work.. with permission from the dean she asked her assistant to take over and rode... with a determination to do something she rode to rajshri's campus..
Chapter 11
Shravan received a call from the alumini office of the IAS training academy mussorie.. They had wanted him to organise their reunion function.. Taking Viren with him,as Bunty was sick and preferred to stay at the office, He dashed off in his bike unmindful of the evening traffic.. he had wanted to finish this meeting soon and head for a movie with his bro Rajat and bhabhi neetha..
The Lal Bahadhur Shastri National Academy Of Administration(LBSNNA) is where the future Babhus, the IAS,IPS ,IFS aspirants who have cleared the prilms and main exams are trained, It is an imposing building and students of varied ages and walks of life and from all over India come here for their final training before being released into the Bureaucratic world of Indian Administration,either inland or foreign...
Into this edifice saachi rode in to meet Rajshri who was training for her IAS... They met in the lush green lawns of the college..Rajshris two other friends were there to greet Saachi.."this is my friend Uma shekhar and this is Amit vohra' introduced Rajshri.. 'I had already briefed them abt your prob.. so tell me what happened t'day?' she enquired... Saachi relived those terrible moments and narrated her plight... All three put their heads together to come up with an idea to tackle the situation... Saachi teary eyed and with a bleek expression was alternating betwn hearing them and pondering herself...
Shravan zoomed into this campus with Viren intow... stopping near the main bldg he asked Viren to park the bike at the parking lot... Glancing at the wide expanse of the campus his eyes suddenly riveted on the girl...Dressed in a sky blue salwar she painted a picture of crying Madonna..though she was far away on the lawns and her face not so clear, shravan cld make out she was sad and in some problem as her shoulders was drooped and her body was occasionaly shaking....
" Sharavan chal lets go inside" said Viren.. "Dekho Viren woh ice cream waalli; aaj woh bahut parishan mein hai".... Viren busy checking his papers didnt notice anything and asked " kya ice cream, you want one now, lets finish this businss and treat ourselves to one😆"..." nein nein.. woh woh bechari.. kya hua unko?... Dekho na"... still head down Viren asked "arre what r u sayin? khon bechari aur kya parishani?"😕
shravan practically had to lift Viren's head up; but lo the small group had already turned their backs and were walking towards the exit gate... " Shravan lagtha hai you have got Bunty's illness..you are blabbering.. lets go"
Shravan's mind was riverted on the girl.. poor miss bechari... He cldnt help comparing the contrast she painted...the childish delight in eating the ice cream and now all grown up and burdened with some problem...
wondering abt this and shaking his head he went inside with Viren.....
Chapter 12
Saachi was home relaxing with a cup of tea after a long day at school..The other day she and her friends had settled that rajshri and uma will consult a pvt. detective, while Amit vohra will make discreet enquiries with some police friends.. But today Rajshri had called up saying that the number on her cell was an unmanned PCO and there was no way of Identifying who the caller was.Though they had hit a dead end the detective was hopeful of making a breakthrough soon...
feeling slightly better she closed her eyes to savour her tea , when nannu enterd the room.." Beta thakgai kya? bahar aavo hum sab thumse baatein karne hain..
seeing her whole family she wondered what cld it be now.. her mammi started the topic "Saachi, you remember abt the family nanna & nanni was tellin abt.. It seems they are interested in seeing you next week".... " haan beta, The Mishras r very good family...they were with us thr'out the safar.. so we know abt them well and we were pretty impressed abt their son Ranjan, who joined them half way..he in the states earning well and they are well to do also".. said nanna..
"We r all eager and hopeful this alliance comes thro.. And I promise you, u will not be hurt this time" said Inder " arre theres no ques of rejection; samjho baat pakki ho gayi' said nanna confidently, at which all other expressed their endorsement with their nods....
" teek hai mama ji.. mein iskeliye raazi hoon.. par ek sharth hai..all the previous times the prospective groom hardly spoke to me..and later their family rejected me without giving any valid reason..This time I ald like to speak to the boy before accepting his hand.. okay" she spoke bravely gathering her resourses..
" jaan jaye par lachan na jaye...yeh kya bakwas hai.. hamare zamane mein our parents decided whom we shld marry and we respected their judgement and married without even seeing each other.. phir aaya naya zamana ; thumhara mama aur mammi only saw each other in our presence and they were married with our approval...
ab yeh kaliyug mein sab kuch hota hai... how can we allow you to speak with the boy alone.. log kya kahenge?..retorted nanni angrily..
"SHanthi devi zara shaanth ho jayiye.. saachi is not asking anything new.. this is what happens these days.. thres nothing wrong in it.. go ahead beta have ur way this time" consoled her grandfather understandingly.. so with consensus it was decided that there will be a ladki dekna next week...
Meanwhile at the Jaiswhal's house shravan was playing with his nephew, baby Apurva.. A sweet little bubbly wonder he was piggybacking on Shravan, drooling and laughing at his uncle's antics...the sight brought contentment in dadhi's and Madhura's mind.. How much Shravan has changed from his wayward days..
At the dinner table Pratap broached on the subject of shravan's marriage..All except shravan were pleased abt it.." toh baataon beta shall I start the ball rolling"... " nahi papa...mujhe shaadhi waadhi nahi karna..I want to concentrate and succeed in my venture..probabaly next yr I'll think abt it"Shravan replied...
" par bittu u have established urself well, earning decently, why not marry now and together with ur wife achieve what u aim in life"..dadhi asked...
"Hey Shravan koi ladki wadki hai kya, agar hai toh bhol hum pyar ke kilaf nahi hain.. ur r welcome to go ahead with love marriage".. said savrav..
Shravan gritted his teeth and mumbled to himself "Yahan ghar mein Hitler aur sab log want me to marry.. aur wahan bahar, Thara mere peeche padi hein, wanting to marry me...How can I love, or marry when Iam not even intersted in girls😉"...." what r u saying Shravan"..." Ji papa kuch nahi, was reciting Hanuman Chalisa😆"..
On that note they retired for the night..How wrong you are Shravan.. Your Bachelor Days are not going last for long!!!.....
Chapter 13
The cool, breezy, burnished, rusty colour of the Autumn season was blanketing the sleepy hill town of Mussorie.The Shardostav conducted by Untharanchal Govt. every october, for a week was in full swing.Its a melting pot of Art, atisans displaying their wares; Of Music and dance and theatre groups entertaining people...the whole atmosphere of Mussorie is filled with vibrant colours and the air so resonant with sweet music..
During one such day, Saachi enterd her school,determined to forget her worries abt the stalker or her impending ladki dekhna..,With spirits so bright, smile on her face and song on her lips she greeted her class...the children felt this enthusiasm rubbing on them.." Baccho, today we'll practice at the Auditorium to get a feel of the stage, okay"... she heralded them towards the hall.. calling out to her assistant she said " if the Lights, camera,Action people come guide them to me I have some changes to be implemented"...The rehersals started in full swing...
Shravan breezed into his office as usual..he was always on the move, restless, impulsive and a man of action, a man of untapped energy waiting to be channelised..."Bunty aaj thum IAS training college javo aur us Alumini party function ko finalise karo".... Viren greeted him and said " Shravan Doon school se phone aaya tha... Woh MS.Sharma wants to discuss some finer points of the programme with you.. You proceed there now.. I'll hold fort here"
Shravan rode into Doon school and met the Dean's secty.. Along with another admin staff member, he was taken around the premises.. they discussed where the stalls, the food court,the games parlour, the welcome arches and other decorations were to be put up...Finally after the secty excused himself,Shravan and the staff headed towards the Auditorium where they were to meet Ms.Shrama...
The first thing Shravan heard through the open doors was a taped song flowing out of the loudspeakers... the mellifluous voice was singing a longing tune for its lover.. It was so soul stirring, that Shravan just closed his eyes and felt that aching, pining agony for a second... Both walked in to find the curtain down, behind which some dancing to this music was going on...the staff said "sir let me draw up the curtains for you, you will get an idea of the stage for ur lighting purposes and you can also meet Ms. Sharma".. Shravan slowly walked towards the stage and knelt down to look at the consoles of PAS(public address system) and the Lights; which r usually placed in the pit just below the stage..
His ears was still ringing with the divine musical voice, when the curtains drew up....
He saw two feet, dainty and small; pretty and pinkish white in colour adorned with ghunghroos..The bells of the anklet was ringing in tune with the steps of the feet that was dancing... He slowly lifted his eyes and saw a Skyblue and lemon yellow salwar dress filled with motifs of flowers..Either the simple dress was adding more beauty to the wearer or it was being honoured by its wearer..
Her hands were posed in the classical anjali mudra of katak style, as though welcoming him... He looked to see her chest heaving from the vigorous steps she had danced....He still looked up further to see her lips quivering, cheeks flushed and her fore head filled with beads of sweat...Strands of her hair had slipped from the knot on her head and blew about her face in an abandoned fashion...
He was fascinated by the long sweep of her lashes, arrested by the smile and twinkling in her eyes...Khol lined deep black eyes inviting him to swim in them...Lustrous eyes that trapped his gaze so that he cld not look away...
He slowly straightened up without breaking the eye contact and looked at her on and on....
She saw him slowly erect himself as the curtain drew up...Arrested midstride in her steps, she saw him in faded jeans and a red and white checked flannels.. Feet wide, hands on his hips he posed a typical male picture..His face bright, His smile wide with laugh lines and curve at his lips end was so endearing...His hair messy as though someone had tousled it,gave him a boyish look; He portrayed a picture of a delighted child.
His eyes twinkling,smiling ,enticing her was so magnetic she cldnt avert her gaze..Black dark radiant eyes captured hers, so that she cldnt look away...
They gazed into each other.... the back ground of children on the stage rehearsing faded away.. The staff and other members in the auditorium faded away... the seats in the hall faded away... there was only the music from the CD and the two of them dancing to it with their eyes..
Time stopped.... An Eternity passed....A lifetime lived...
There was nothing else in this world except the Two of them.......
Chapter 14
Time stopped... An eternity passed.... A lifetime lived....
Both of them cldnt avert their eyes.... It was a magnetic attraction difficult to break..All this appraisal of each other took only a min; but it seemed like an infinity...
The admin staff cleared his throat..er..hhhmmm...the magic spell broke.. and both were suddenly aware of their surroundings..
" Miss. Icecream walli bechari" Shravan mouth blurted out involuntarily...
"excuse me" retorted saachi..with a jump shravan climbed on to the stage and stood before her.. The admin staff introduced them.. "Ms. Saachi sharma; our music and dance dept head..... Mr. Shravan Jaiswhal; the event management co. head... Ms. sharma, Mr. Jaiswhal I'll leave you two to discuss abt the show and the arrangements..." saying this he left them...
Shravan cldnt believe his eyes,this person who had earlier presented such a contrast of emotions was standing before him at such a close range...
"Ms. Sharma or can I call you saachi ji.. tell me what you want me to do..Iam here to oblige your every wish" with a serious face betraying a smiling and twinkling eyes Shravan was all sincere..
"Mr. Jaiswhal, this annual day is a medely of song and dance, drama and ballet.. The older children will enact a drama and some others will do hip hop, contemporary,and other styles of dances..all under the direction and supervision of my assistants and visiting dance teachers..
Iam incharge of this Fairy tale ballet Rapunzel, which will be presented in an Indianised version, as a medely of classical dance forms like Kathak, Odissi, Bharthnatyam and Mohini attam.. I have written the music scores,composed and choreographed this ballet personally... this will be the hightlight of the function and the whole school and the public in general are eagerly awaiting it..
leave no stoned unturned and coordinate with the Art and Production dept and help me in making this show a success"
Shravan heard her voice droning on, half registering what she said, but his eyes were taking in the sight before him.. so much happiness and enthusiasm, but why was she so sad to the point of tears the other day , he thought... Hmm one day or other I will get to know , he was sure of it..
Chapter 15
Saachi saw Shravan so intentely seeing her without blinking his eyelids, for a moment she doubted whether he was sleeping with his eyes open..
" Mr. Jaiswhal are u listening.. you do know abt this fairy tale Rapunzel rt... Its important for you to know the story well so that this ballet can be executed well..."
" Pari; I know a pari standing before me😳... Tail; I used to wear a tail for the Hanuman part I played in school😆" he mumbled to himself.." Saachi ji I dont remember the story can you plz refresh my memory.."Okay here it goes" started Saachi
A long time back a childless couple live in a house overlooking a beautiful garden full of fruits and flowers bounded by a high wall and guarded by a witch..
One day bowing to his wife's wish a fruit named rapunzel was stolen by the man and eaten by both..The witch punished them by taking away their new born baby girl and named her rapunzel and imprisoned her in a high tower, devoid of any staircase and doors but only a window... Years passed and both rapunzel and her hair grew...the witch always visited her by asking her to untie her hair and throw it over the window, thro' which she climbed in..
One day a neighbouring Prince was passing by and heard Rapunzel sing a pining aching song.. Curious enough, he saw no way to reach the tower and waited in shadows. With the witch's secrect out he climed into the tower to see a beauty before him and fell in love with her and wanted to marry her..soon the lovers secret was out and the witch cut rupenzel's hair and left her in deep woods.the prince who realised his love was gone was punished blind by the witch..Later in his wanderings around the forest he came across the divine voice and knew it was his love.. Rapunzel's tears fell on his eyes and lo and behold he was able to see..
Both were married and lived happily ever after"'.... narrated Saachi
Shravan was spell bound both by the narration and the by the narrator.... He watched the play of all varied emotions on her face... he felt as though he was the prince and she was rapunzel.. he cld visualise the tower, her long tresses and him climbing on it just to be with her..he cld mentally picturise were the spot lights shld be focussed, were the props need to plased etc.. etc..
A professional he was he cld see this ballet becoming a success.. His impression of Saachi was changing fast and he started respecting her..
Thanking her for her time and narration and promising to give all help he started for his office...
Shravan walked towrds the exit thinking abt saachi... what a person, what a package.. with a dreamy look and crooked smile he was recalling the sight of her,When a small voice spoke to him.. "shravan , hey shravan".... "khon hai.. yeh aawaz kahanse aaya"...he looked around and finding no one shrugged his shoulders and stepped forward...
"Arre Shravan.. suno toh... mein thumhara anthar aathma hun"... "khon anthar yaami" blurted shravan... " arre mein anthar yaami nahi.. anthar aathma, your inner soul; your conscience speaking... "Ho ho where were u all this time, why speak suddenly"..."I was dormant ,sleeping inside you; but the time has come for me to wake up; and if necessary I will errupt also".... "accha teek hai teek hai"he said..not wanting to be disturbed from his reverie..
" shravan kya horaha hai.. pehele baar ek ladki ki chintha...us din thumne kya kaha tha ; not interested in girls"... "nein nein this is not a ladki , this is a lady... note this diff...thum khon bhai; daal mein kaala.. jaavo chup chaap sojaun.. aur mujhe akhela chod do". All this while he was talking and gesticulating to himself, people around him were giving him stares and smirking and smiling to themselves.. paagal ladka...
Shravan oblivious to all this and obvious only to the vision of Saachi walked all the way to his office leaving behind his bike at the school!!
Chapter 16
Shravan slowly entered his office, a first occurance in a long time...Without seeing who was in front of him, he said "Viren, patha hai, woh Icecream walli bechari khon tha?; Woh Ms. Sharma hai" All this with a dreamy look and a sighing voice ... Bunty who was in front of him was slightly taken aback...
" Arre what icecream , whos bechari and which Ms. Sharma...Aur thum andha hai kya.. mein bunty hoon, Viren nahi.. Achanak kya hogaya thum ko? you were perfectly alright in the morning"... Saying this he shook Shravan, who took a moment to realise and be aware of his surroundings.....
He opened his mouth to explain, when in came Thara greeting him."Hai Shravan, how r u? shall we go out for lunch?......Shravan came crashing down fully into reality...Changing his demeanour and shaking his head; and with a false smile he said forcefully " hello Thara, kaisi ho? Mein aaj thoda busy hun, phir kabhi,... you just carry on with ur work ,bye, thanz"...he wanted to get rid of her..
But Thara stood firm and asked " Patha hai shravan , Parson kya din hai?"
"Kyon nahi aaj thursday hai, toh parson saturday hi hoga na"..said Shravan
"woh baat nahi hai, parson kya date hai, yaad hai?...
" haan 7th oct, toh kya?"
" thum bool gaya, kya khaas hai us din mein.."
"how will I forget, I've already made a note of it in my diary"
" Shravan, u remember the day& date and its importance and still tease me like this"
"Arre how will I forget my saloon appointment for a haircut😆🤣.. I get it done once in 2 months, so this sat I've fixed it up..But why are so interested in my haircut?" he asked innocently😳
" urrrgh😡 shravan how can u b like this and forget my Birthday; Papa has arranged for a lunch party at home. plz come with ur other idiots also.. But now lets go out, so that u can buy me a gift"
"Oh ho, sorry sorry Thara, totally forgot; But listen if I come with you now to shop for a gift, it will not be nice"
" why so."...
"Thara B'day mein surprise gifts hona chahiye.. But if we shop for one now you will buy what you want, and not what I want to give you..so its better if you leave me now, so that I can shop in peace.. teek hai😃"...
" teek hai Shravan I'll go now... But let me see how long you are goin to play this cat and mouse game with me".....pouting, half angry, half sad thara went away😒...
"Thank God, bach gaya is baar"..his mouth blurted out😆..
Bunty who was watching the whole scene before him with avid interest, shook his head and asked "Shravan..You were not yourself,when you came in.. suddenly Thara's entry showed your old self... Kya hora hai bhai... yeh kaisa transformation hai.. something happened?ur alright?"....
"Aree Kuch Khaas nahi yaar chalo, we'll buy something for Thara before I forget... lets go"
Bunty shook his head said " I cant come... those IAS people are to come here for further meeting.. you carry on"
"Teek hai"... Shravan went to the bike stand and found it was not there....
Realising he had left it behind at the school, he smiled inwardly,he chaffed his hands and started towards the school forgetting his lunch.. The prospect of meeting the beautiful Ms. Sharma again the same day, was enough to put a new rhythm to his stride and a happy tune to his lips...Whistling and hands inside his pockets, he hardly listed to the voice calling out to him...
"Hey Shravan, stop stop where r u going".. his anthar Aathma asked him..
( from here onwards Shravan's Anthar AathMa will be called as -SHAM,with all the pun intended )
"Sham, how are you buddy, long time no voice"....
" woh sab teek hai but why r you walking again, cant u just take an auto to school and take ur bike back,?"
"Sham, how stupid you can be!!.. If I do all that how will I see Saachi ji now?..., She'll be busy and what will she think of me?.. Good impression hona chahiye na...If I walk I'll reach school by eve and as she leaves for the day,she will meet me at the exit gate when Am on my bike on the way out.. got it... everthing is to be planned well and executed as casually as possible...thum chup chap dekhthe raho"...
Sham was silently smirking and happy at the same time.. Shravan watch out;....
This is only the beginning.. You have a long and difficult road ahead... but trust me;... you are both destined to come together; thats GODs will; You both will succeed as SAAVAN.....
comment:
p_commentcount