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Thank you Rose for the annotations N the promo 👏
Oooh gosh ! Naku giri.. Poor girl
Kuch toh gadbad hai, another twist in the making ? 😛
Update monday/ tuesday, matlab tuesday 😉
Hello Rosie..many thanks for the promo.. well it looks like it's a prompt for Dutta , to come flying to where Naku is! and who knows he might even go overboard in expressing his extraordinary interest in both mother and baby's welfare .. perhaps more for the mother..
Now for the chapter 16, that which I finally managed to read. For starters the siggy is brilliant so many thanks to your sweetu...from hammie too.
Rose, I found this quite a sobering and serious piece of text. It is curious to come across the on task, yet thinking Dutta, of course you incorporated the having a drink to unwind Dutta too, which goes well with the chapter, without jarring the general mood of some form of awakening from his side.
We realise truths about ourselves in various ways.. by talking to those we trust, by hearing about others people's experiences, or by something we actually witness with our own eyes. With Dutta in this chapter it's the later. He comes across the plight of a father who plays a twin role of both parents, cannot provide care facilities for his child while he is at work , and as such in desperation brings her to his workplace endangering her life.. It moved him to realize what he saw as the duties of care and responsibility, and commitment of fatherhood.. and so Dutta examines his newly assumed paternal input to date, and comes across pitfalls both towards the unborn baby and its biological mother.
He reviews his overall conduct regarding both the women. One would bear his child and the other who will nurture it, and discovers that both women seemed clearer in their roles and responsibilities of surrogate or foster mother, in comparison to himself.
Nonetheless, the evaluation , finally banishes his defeatism and replaces it with optimism.
Thanks for a great chapter Rose, was excellently written. Please continue. much love, yours hammie.
Originally posted by: Hamlet53
Hello Rosie...Hi dear .many thanks for the promo...my pleasure 😊. well it looks like it's a prompt for Dutta , to come flying to where Naku is! and who knows he might even go overboard in expressing his extraordinary interest in both mother and baby's welfare ...hmm lets see what actually happens ..the chapter will be up soon . perhaps more for the mother..
Now for the chapter 16, that which I finally managed to read. For starters the siggy is brilliant so many thanks to your sweetu...thank God someone noticed and appreciated the effort that mimi had put in ..i am happy you liked it 😃..from hammie too.
Rose, I found this quite a sobering and serious piece of text. It is curious to come across the on task, yet thinking Dutta, of course you incorporated the having a drink to unwind Dutta too, which goes well with the chapter, without jarring the general mood of some form of awakening from his side.
We realise truths about ourselves in various ways.. by talking to those we trust,..sadly dutta is alone n has nobody to share his feelings with ..by hearing about others people's experiences,..i guess dutta is not a good listener ..lol.or by something we actually witness with our own eyes..yeah that's what happened here . With Dutta in this chapter it's the later. He comes across the plight of a father who plays a twin role of both parents, cannot provide care facilities for his child while he is at work , and as such in desperation brings her to his workplace endangering her life.. It moved him to realize what he saw as the duties of care and responsibility, and commitment of fatherhood.. and so Dutta examines his newly assumed paternal input to date, and comes across pitfalls both towards the unborn baby and its biological mother...i agree with u completely
He reviews his overall conduct regarding both the women. One would bear his child and the other who will nurture it, and discovers that both women seemed clearer in their roles and responsibilities of surrogate or foster mother, in comparison to himself...both the women are doing what is expected of them where as he is still mourning over his past.
Nonetheless, the evaluation , finally banishes his defeatism and replaces it with optimism.
Thanks for a great chapter Rose, was excellently written. ..thank u so much Please continue. much love, yours hammie.
Chapter 17
Supriya wandered her eyes over the huge shelves which were full of wool balls of different colors. She touched the balls to feel their material, pushing back the ones which were rough and might prick the skin, she concentrated only on those which were soft. She rubbed the material against her cheek, satisfied that they would not hurt, she began choosing the desired colors. Nakusha frowned seeing supriya pick black, grey and various shades of blue. Resting her hands on her protruding belly she walked up to supriya and handed her a brown color wool ball, this time supriya furrowed her brows in confusion.
" sahab …yeh rang bhi kaafi pehente hain." She reminded supriya thinking that she was picking up wool balls to knit sweaters for dutta. Ironing out her brows, supriya let out a laugh and said pointing towards nakusha's belly," pagal , main dutta ji ke liye nahin..iske liye le rahi hoon." Nakusha bit the inside of her cheek, why did she have to always end up making a fool of herself in front of supriya. Nevertheless liking the shade of brown, supriya dropped it in her shopping basket and continued," dutta ji toh waise bhi jackets pehente hain…toh unke liye kya lena?" nakusha shook her head in agreement then rolled her eyes thinking, anyways why would she bother to shop for him? She remembered supriya's words that he was happy with his four pairs of clothes. She glanced down at supriya's basket and felt that these colors wouldn't look good on a girl. She moved to the other side of the shelf and picked up red, pink, green, orange, all the possible vibrant colors that she could lay her eyes on. Supriya grinned broadly seeing her hands full and questioned," kya? Yeh saare bhi lene hain?" bubbling with excitement nakusha nodded a yes and thought that he would be so happy to see his tiny little daughter in these beautiful colors. Just the thought of him being happy made a wave of joy run through her body.
Walking to another counter, supriya bought two pairs of knitting needles and asked her," tujhe bunaayi (knitting) karni aati hai?" nakusha made a disappointing face and replied," nahin.". supriya held her hand in reassurance and said," koi baat nahin…main sikha doongi." Nakusha's face lit up, supriya wasn't bad when it came to the baby.
After paying off the bill both the ladies decided to stroll around before heading back home. The landscape was surprisingly lush, the winter rains had assisted the nature in that regard. The trees were stripped bare of their leaves and were sparsely located. On the way supriya spotted an old temple and stopped immediately to visit it.
" chal ..nakusha darshan karte hain."
Temples were not one of nakusha's favorite places to visit, a pang of discomfort always seeped through her whenever she crossed them. Gazing up the long stairs she turned her head and said," nahin…tayi, main thakh gayi hai..tum jao." Supriya blinked her eyes in understanding and started climbing up the stairs. Nakusha in the mean while made herself comfortable on one of the steps. The cold air ruffled her hair, winter was slowly making way for spring. She pulled her sweater closer to keep herself warm. Involuntarily her eyes travelled up the stairs once again and halted on the idol of Lord Ganpati. From where she was sitting she could only see His eyes. She stared into them for some time before dropping her gaze. It was dusk and the several brass bells that housed the place of worship rung loud. The aarti began and old verses in Sanskrit chanted by the priests filled the air. She knew most of those verses, her mother had taught her at a very young age. Unknowingly her lips started mouthing them softly as one of her hands rested on her stomach. Suddenly what she was reciting, hit her and her lips froze. She shifted her position in a way that now her back was facing Him. She stayed like that for a while before leaning her back against the wall behind as she recalled her mother's words that one should never turn his back to Him. Turning her neck to the right she observed the activities taking place outside the temple. Vendors lined the street, yelling out to invest in their wares. The already congested road had temporary stalls on its either sides selling small Ganpati statues, photo frames, fresh flowers and other items that could be offered to the deity. Children who were uninterested in the pooja remained outside chasing after black swallows. Their gay free spirited laughter echoed out into the evening. What did they know of tragedy? Of reality? Her mind went back to her mother's beliefs that she'd instilled in her long time back that if things happen as per your wish then its good but if they don't then its better because then its His will and lastly whatever happens, it happens for our best. Shrugging her shoulders she smirked at those nave and innocent beliefs. Her wandering eyes trying hard to ignore His presence spotted another bunch of kids who were splashing water and throwing water balloons on each other. Her forehead creased as it struck her that holi was round the corner. Her lips stretched in a smile on remembering her childhood. The child who succeeded in coloring Bappa first early in the morning of holi day would get the chance to be the leader. She would always lead the huge army of children out on the streets armed with water pistols and gulal, waiting to lay their colored hands on anyone with a clean face. The shouts of 'holi hai' , 'holi hai' and frantic drum beats still echoed in her ears.
Lost in her memories she didn't realize when supriya stood beside her. She got up and before she could protest, supriya placed a tiny little tika on her forehead and held out a ladoo for her. nakusha rolled her eyes on seeing that sweet but then stuffed it in her mouth without grumbling. Both of them were slipping their feet in their respective pair of sandals when someone hit nakusha with a colored balloon. Totally taken off guard she let out a cry seeing the yellow sari now turned orange. Clutching on to it she gazed at supriya for her reaction, after all the sari belonged to her and now it was completely ruined. Clenching her jaws, supriya turned around immediately and screamed," kisne maara?" the bunch of kids went all silent with no one owing up. Knotting her brows she asked once again, this time firmly," batao ..kisne kiya yeh."
Slowly a boy of not more than five years hiding something behind him stepped forward. Bringing his hands forward he aimed the water pistol at supriya and replied glaring back at her," maine …maara ..ab bolo." For the first time nakusha saw supriya losing her temper, fearing she might harm the boy, nakusha tugged her arm and said," jaane de..tayi..baccha hai." Both supriya and the boy were equally stubborn with neither of them moving an inch. Supriya parted her lips to speak but before that the boy emptied the pistol on her. nakusha shut her eyes and thought, now he is dead. Suddenly she heard laughter, opening her eyes she found supriya throwing her head back and laughing heartily. Picking up a laddo from her plate she gave it to the boy and said brushing her fingers through his hair," humesha aise he rehna." Turning to her left she found a wide eyed nakusha staring at her. Lifting her head she asked nakusha," kya…yeh ladka dutta ji jaisa nahin lagta?" nakusha pouted her lips and thought about it, yeah the boy kind of reminded of him.
" mujhe toh dutta ji jaisa ladka chaiye..gusse wala, ziddi..kisi se na darne wala."
Nakusha was quite appalled hearing about the characteristics she wished to have in the child, true it would be wonderful if the child resembled him but not the way supriya was expecting. And one more thing, wasn't she hoping for a boy? nakusha wanted to slap her head, could this couple ever agree on the same thing?. Looking down at her belly she thought, if he wanted a girl then she was longing for a boy. Shaking her head she believed now everything was in His hands, glancing up in His direction she began walking away slowly and wondered, would He listen to the father or the supposed mother? She prayed that this He listened to the father…but then He had stopped answering her prayers long time back. Engrossed in her thoughts she didn't realize when her foot hit a gravel and she was about to stumble but managed to lean her swaying body against a stall. Straightening herself she saw her colored hand brush over a small idol of lord Ganpati. Accidently after years today she'd put color over bappa. She was still thinking about it when supriya pulled her hand and said," chal rickshaw le kar ghar chalte hain." She didn't know when nakusha stumbled behind her.
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With the guidance of supriya, she began her knitting then let out an audible sigh, who said, knitting is easy and therapeutic ? its damn tough, she concluded as the wool was only entangling between the needles and was failing miserably in creating the desired stitches on the needle. Not that she wasn't trying, she was trying hard but it wasn't coming out correctly. Supriya gave her a reassuring look and said," aaj pehla din hai nah…seekh jayegi …dheere dheere." She pursed her lips in agreement and went back to the needles.
Supriya's cell phone started ringing, she picked it up and said," jee…dutta ji." Even before she picked up the call, nakusha knew it was him. He called up daily, sometimes even twice or thrice in a day. What he talked and what they shared, she hardly knew and cared. Either supriya would move out of the place or she would leave on her own, giving the couple their much deserved privacy. But sometimes she overheard supriya telling him about her health and the baby. Like always today also nakusha left the place and went to the kitchen. It had been more than fifteen days since they had moved out of PN and not even once did he visit them or she spoke to him. Not that she was dying to get a glimpse of him or hear his voice but still…
Feeling slightly grumpy and low she entered the kitchen and stood near the counter where subulaxmi was cooking dinner. Not knowing what to do, nakusha began peeling off the peas. Seeing her all silent, sublaxmi asked," tu yahan kya kar rahi hai?" without lifting her head, nakusha replied dryly," who bahar tayi..sahab se baat kar rahi hai." Subalxmi's heart tugged every time she thought of nakusha living without a husband, she was pregnant and didn't have anybody to share this beautiful moment with. She could well understand nakusha's loneliness, a time when a woman needs her husband so much, nakusha didn't have him around. Moreover she felt that the constant interaction between supriya and her husband reminded nakusha of her empty life. With motherly affection in her eyes she told nakusha," dekh bappa sabko sab kuch nahin deta par kuch kuch sabko deta hai." And eyed towards her bulging stomach, at least she had this baby breathing inside her womb to look forward to. Nakusha understood the deep meaning hidden behind those words, she knew that sublaxmi was right but some things are easier said than accepted. She silently a popped a few peas in her mouth. Caressing her head fondly sublaxmi added further," tu zyada din akeli nahin rahegi..yeh hai nah ..dekhiyo aate he teri zindagi khushiyon se bhar dega." Following her gaze, nakusha gave out a weak smile, little did the lady cooking before her knew that she'd already sold off the life growing inside her to have a better life for herself. Even after the baby would enter this world she'd still remain alone. Tears began to prick the corners of her eyes, she pushed them back and lifted her hand full of peas to have more. Sublaxmi slapped her hand and said," kacche matar mat kha …peth mein dard hoga." Her late mother also used to tell her the same when she was young. Attempting to push aside the negative and heavy thoughts that were occupying her mind, nakusha asked enthusiastically," aaj khaane mein kya bana hai?"
" dal aur bhare hue aloo…tujhe pasand hain?" sublaxmi replied stirring the potatoes.
After spinach soup, stuffed potatoes was the first thing that she'd cooked for him. A smile adorned her lips as she remembered clearly how much he had enjoyed eating them.
" tu banayegi?" sublaxmi asked her, she shook her in negation and shrugged her shoulders before replying," main kiske liye banayegi?"
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Pressing the back of his neck he stretched it both the sides. At the work front things were hectic but still moved speedily, just the way he'd planned. His eye lids were feeling the weight of his daily work load and threatened to drop any moment but deep down he was aware that sleep would not invade his territory till his dark pools drowned in those beautiful images. Like every night he took out that CD and inserted it in his laptop. The whole day's tiredness would dissipate just at the sight of his baby. Even though he'd watched the CD endless times still every time it managed to create that much amount of excitement and happiness within him. He slowly and carefully brushed his slender fingers over the image of the baby fearing that he might harm or hurt it in the process. The baby moved at his touch and his lips parted in surprise, he knew it was not responding to his touch still he liked to believe otherwise. Women are so fortunate that God has given them the ability to nurture life inside them, men can connect with their child only once the child opens its eyes into this world whereas women they are bonded and can feel the child even when its breathing in their womb. Pursing his lips he thought, he only had this CD to interact with his child. In these fifteen days this new life must've grown bigger and somewhere he craved to see how it looked now. Some more deadlines to meet then he would definitely go to mahabaleshwar. His eyes were glued to the monitor when the baby stopped moving. His brows drew together and his heart skipped several beats. The CD got stuck!
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Nakusha opened her drowsy eyes and glanced at her bed side table. The water jug was missing, maybe tonight mausi had forgotten to keep it. Her throat was dry, she looked down at sublaxmi who was lost in her sleep. Thinking not to disturb her, nakusha flopped her feet on the floor and decided to have water herself. Switching on the kitchen light she turned the tap of the huge water drum placed next to the sink. Washed away dishes of the night were still drying up and the area around the sink along with the floor was slightly wet. Pushing her head back nakusha was drinking the water when her foot slipped on the wet floor. She tried to hold the counter with her left hand but it was too late, the glass dropped on the floor crashing the silence and she twisted her ankle as she fell on her back. She clutched her belly and cried in pain.
Hearing the glass drop, supriya came rushing to the kitchen. She felt the wind knocked out of her on seeing nakusha lying on the floor. Supriya sat her up then slowly helped her to stand on her feet. Putting her weight on supriya, she staggered herself to the room. Supriya's blood boiled on seeing the housekeeper snoring away to glory. She assisted nakusha in getting to bed then switched on all the lights of the room.
" nakusha bahut dard ho raha hai?" she asked worriedly keeping her hand on nakusha's stomach. Nakusha shook her head and replied," woh teekh hai par ..meri peeth (back) mein bahut dard hai." Supriya nodded her head, luckily she'd fallen on her back and not stomach, otherwise the consequences would have been serious.
" tu chinta mat kar main abhi garam paani ki bottle laati hoon."
Till then subalxmi also got up rubbing her eyes and came to nakusha's side instantly," kya hua isse?" supriya narrowed her eyes and spoke through gritted teeth," mausi, tumhe kya sone ke paise milte hain?" supriya stood up angrily and walked back to kitchen. A guilty sublaxmi, followed her behind. Supriya's eyes were spitting fire as water heated on the stove.
" mujhe pata hi nahin nakusha kab uth gayi." Sublaxmi said with lowered head.
" usey uthne ki zaroorat hi padti agar tum paani rakhna nahin bhoolti." She replied taking out the hot water bottle from the shelf. Sublaxmi stepped forward to help but supriya showed her palm, indicating to back off. Glancing at the wet floor, supriya clenched her jaws and added further," aur woh kabhi girti hi nahin agar tumne farsh geela nahin choda hota." Sublaxmi had nothing to say in her defence, it was all her fault, how could she be so careless? She cursed herself. Without caring to give her second look, supriya hurriedly went to the room with the bottle.
Resting her hand on her belly, with closed eyes nakusha hoped nothing happened to the baby. Supriya took out the moov spray from the first aid box, turned nakusha slightly and then sprayed it on her back. Afterwards supriya placed the hot water bottle underneath nakusha's back. She then pulled up the blanket and tucked her securely.
Caressing nakusha's head she whispered," himmat rakh ..bas thodi der mein araam aa jayega." Nakusha gulped the pain and nodded silently. Supriya's gaze then fell on nakusha's swollen ankle, there was only one hot water bottle in the house, scratching her head she thought of something. Sublaxmi switched off all the lights except the bedside lamp and stood as a mute spectator at the end of the bed. Surpiya took a hand towel and heated it with iron then wrapped it around nakusha's ankle, who immediately pulled up her leg and protested," nahin..tayi aap mere pair (leg) ko haath mat lagao." Supriya silenced her by pressing a finger on her own lips. Nakusha opened her mouth to speak but supriya nodded a no. In the mean time sublaxmi brought one more towel and heated it, she handed supriya the fresh hot one and took the previous one that had gotten cold to re heat but not without receiving ice cold glares from her mistress. Both the ladies exchanged towels in silence, supriya noticed nakusha's deep breathing maybe she had drifted off to sleep. The swelling on nakusha's ankle had subsided. After spraying moov on the ankle supriya wrapped a crab bandage around it and began walking out of the room.
" mujhe maaf kardo..aisi galti phir nahin hogi." She heard sublaxmi speak from behind. Turning around she replied coldly," phirse galti ho uska main mauka hi nahin doongi…apna samaan bandh lena kal subha tumhra hisaab ho jayega." Shocked to hear about her dismissal, sublaxmi folded her hands in forgiveness and cried before her," aisa mat karo ..mujhe is naukri ki bahut zaroorat hai..do mahine baad meri beti ki shaadi hai..main haath jodti hai." Supriya curled her lips as the lady before her begged further," aayi shapath main nakusha ka achche se dhyan rakhegi." Not bothering to reply supriya slammed the door shut on sublaxmi's face! She decided to call a doctor at home in the morning to get nakusha checked up then glanced at the wall clock, it struck 2, she yawned lazily and thought, hopefully now she could crash on the bed. But just then her gaze fell on the cell phone, its green light was blinking. Ten missed calls from dutta ji! What was wrong with him? Before she could do anything the phone started vibrating once again.
" kahiye dutta ji."
" kahan thi tum aur mera phone kyun nahin utha rahi thi?" he roared from the other side. Resting her hand on her waist she shook her head and answered," woh main nakusha ke kamre mein thi." His breath caught in his throat, he feared something had definitely gone wrong with her.
" kyun usey kya hua ?" he asked impatiently. Supriya bit the inside of her cheek, she knew nakusha was doing fine but still she didn't wish to tell him about this accident. On knowing he would without any delay ask them to come back to PN, she was sure of that.
" nahin nahin usey kya hona hai..bus neend nahin aa rahi thi toh hum baatein kar rahe the."
Dutta lifted his hand to look at his loosely hung watch, 2 in the morning and they were happily chatting? He was finding it hard to digest.
" nakusha ka check up kab hai?"
" agle hafte." She informed. He pursed his lips and made a mental note this time he would also accompany her for the check up. He wanted to ensure that everything was fine with her because deep down he felt that something was surely going wrong somewhere.
" theekh hai."
With that he disconnected the call and stared at the frozen monitor.
Thanks for reading
Rose
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