First of all I got this idea many months ago. I had mentioned this to someone who said it's a pathetic idea. So I left it. After reading a few stories related to Stolen Dynamite (mainly by GD) I decided to give it a try.
Scene : Restaurant
The whole team minus ACP were out for dinner on New Year's eve. They were waiting for ACP to arrive.
Freddie: Abhijeet sir, ACP sir ke aane mein itni der kyon ho rahi hai?
Abhijeet: Main phone karta hoon. (phones ACP) Ok sir...Nahi sir, koi baat nahi...hum intezaar karenge.
Freddie gives a frustrated look.
Abhijeet(disconnects): ACP sir ko Chitroley saab ne rok liya hai. Agar is waqt ACP saab niklenge to Chitroley saab bhi saath mein aayenge. Kya tum Chitroley saab ke saath dinner karna chahtey ho?
Freddie: Nahi sir!!!!!
Abhijeet: Toh intezaar karo.
Daya: Jab tak ACP saab nahi aate hum kuch starters order kar lein?
Abhijeet: Seedha kaho na tumhe bhi bhook lagi hai.
Daya: Haan boss, mujhe bhook lagi hai. Chalo starters order karte hain.
Abhijeet: Theek hai order kar lo.
Abhijeet and Sachin started looking at one menu card and started deciding what to order.
Daya: Freddie, menu card dikhao.
Freddie didn't seem to hear. He looked too serious. He was looking at a couple seated some distance away.
Purvi who was seated beside Freddie shook him. 'sir, kya hua?'
Freddie only looked at Daya and pointed towards the couple with his eyes. Daya followed Freddie's eyes and saw the couple. He too seemed uncomfortable. He looked at Abhijeet, who was busy discussing the menu with Sachin. He had not noticed the couple, especially the guy. Daya signalled to Freddie not to mention anything. He knew that if Abhijeet and the guy there saw each other, there would be fireworks and the evening would turn into an unpleasant one.
Purvi, Shreya and Nikhil noticed the silent communication between Daya and Freddie.
Nikhil finally asked 'kya hua sir, aap unhe jaante hain?'
Abhijeet and Sachin looked up. Daya almost slapped his head in frustration.
Abhijeet: Kise jaante hain Nikhil?
Nikhil: kuch nahi sir. Daya sir aur Freddie sir us table par baithe couple ki ore dekh rahe the jaise unhe jaante hain.
Abhijeet turned back and saw the couple. He didn't know the lady. But he remembered having seen the man long ago - 14 years back. Abhijeet had come a long way after the accident which destroyed his memory but there were a few raw wounds remaining. Daya and Freddie noticed it.
Abhijeet: Daya, tum log dinner karo, main ghar chalta hoon. Sorry and good night.
Daya: Lekin ACP saab...
Abhijeet: ACP saab ko meri ore se sorry kehna. Bye.
Abhijeet got up and walked out of the restaurant. Once outside, he didn't immediately go to catch a taxi. (They all had come in the CID vehicle. He alone couldn't take it and go home since the others needed to be dropped off at their homes)
There was a small garden and a fountain in front of the restaurant. He went towards the fountain and sat on its edge, recollecting the last time he had met Anirudh.
Back at the table...
Purvi: Daya sir, Abhijeet sir ko achanak kya hua? Aur woh kaun hai?
Daya: Woh...Abhijeet ka bhai Anirudh hai.
Everyone was shocked.
Nikhil: Abhijeeet sir ke koi bhai bhi hain? Unhone kabhi unka zikr nahi kiya...
Daya: Haan...un dono ka jhagda hua tha. 14 saal pehle.
Shreya: Kis baat par sir?
Daya: Batata hoon.
At the fountain, the same scene was going through Abhijeet's mind's eye.
Flashback (1997):
Abhijeet was brought into the room where an elderly lady was waiting. She was in tears and Daya was telling her maaji, hum log hai na, aap royiye mat'.
As soon as she saw him, she rushed towards him and said Abhijeet, tu theek hai? bhagwaan ka lakh lakh shukr hai tu bach gaya'. But Abhijeet didn't remember her. He didn't remember anyone in the room. Everyone seemed like a stranger. The man who called himself ACP Pradyuman tried showing him photos of his past but trying to remember gave Abhijeet a severe headache. Finally the doctor asked everyone to leave Abhijeet alone and allow time to take its course.
That evening the tall guy who called himself Sub-Inspector Daya brought him to a house. The old lady who was at the hospital was waiting for him at the door.
Abhijeet: Yeh kiska ghar hai?
Daya: Sir yeh aapka ghar hai.
Abhijeet; Aap mujhe sir kyon keh rahe hain?
Daya: Sir, main CID mein aapka junior hoon. Aap mujhe aap' mat kahiye.
Abhijeet: Hmmm...(thinks for 2 seconds)...Daya...yehi tumhara naam hai na.
Daya: Sir, aapko yaad hai?
Abhijeet: Haan, hospital mein woh...ACP (thinks again) Pradyuman...tumhe isi naam se pukar rahe the.
Daya; Ohhh...
Abhijeet: Anyway... Thanks Daya.
Daya: Thanks kisliye sir...yeh sab meri wajah se hui hai...
Abhijeet's mom(comes in with a cup of tea and offers it to Daya): Chai piyo bete.
Daya: Nahi maaji, main chalta hoon. ACP saab ne ek case ke silsile mein mujhe bulaya hai.
...and walks off, feeling guilty about his own role in the whole incident.
Several weeks passed, Abhijeet couldn't recollect the old lady. She kept showing him pictures of him with her, mostly childhood photos. Unfortunately there was no recent picture of Abhijeet and his mother, which might have helped Abhijeet remember her better. Abhijeet had left home after 12th. He stayed in a hostel during college days and then had gone into police training. He had visited home once a year, but it never occurred to anyone to take a photo together.
Abhijeet started getting frustrated. He started going out, trying to remember the places he might have visited and people he might have met in the recent past. His mother's' presence at home was actually depressing him. He respected her and appreciated her for being nice to him, but he wanted to find his bearings on his own. She seemed to be in tears most of the time. He didn't have the heart to ask her to leave, so he started staying out of home most of the time.
One day when he returned home, there was another guy standing at the door - Abhijeet's brother Anirudh. He was studying in the US. His mother had initially avoided telling him about Abhijeet's accident. Finally one day Anirudh phoned her and found something amiss. He pressed her to tell what was wrong and his mother told him everything - about Abhijeet's accident and memory loss. He hopped on to the next flight and reached Mumbai.
Anirudh: Aa gaye aap?
Abhijeet: Aap kaun hain?
Anirudh: Main aapka bhai Anirudh.
Abhijeet: Dekho Anirudh, mujhe kuch yaad nahi aa raha hai. Dimaag par zyada zor diya toh sar dard hone lagta hai. Meri baat mano...maa ji ko yahan se le jaao. Main kuch din akele rehna chahta hoon.
Anirudh: bhaiya main US mein padhai kar raha hoon. maa ko nahi le jaa sakta.
Hearing the conversation, Abhijeet's mother comes out with her suitcase.
Anirudh: Maa, aap kahan jaa rahi hain?
Mother: Abhijeet nahi chahta ki main yahan rahoon. mujhe gaaon mein Kishan mama ke ghar chod do.
Anirudh: Lekin...
Mother: Tum apni padhayi poori karo. Uske baad mujhe le jaana.
Abhijeet, bhagwaan tumhe khush rakhein.
And she left towards the gate. Anirudh gave Abhijeet an angry glare and followed her.
Abhijeet was not sure how to react. In a way he was happy to be free. He thought if he was left alone for a few days, he might be able to remember something...and maybe bring her back if she was indeed his mom. At the same time, he was sad to see her go. Mother or not, she was a very affectionate lady.
A year passed. Abhijeet couldn't remember anything about his past, but he enjoyed the company of ACP Pradyuman, Daya, Asha, Fredricks and Sudhakar. They often came over to his house. Instead of trying to make him remember his past, they chatted about various crime cases and how they solved them. Abhijeet found this discussion interesting. It gave him happiness and peace of mind.
One day he had gone out for dinner with Daya and when he came back, he saw a furious Anirudh standing at his doorstep.
Abhijeet: Hello Anirudh...kaise ho? US se kab aaye?
Anirudh: Pichle hafte.
Abhijeet: Aur...maa ji kaisi hai?
Anirudh: Woh ab is duniya mein nahi hai!
Abhijeet: Kya!! Yeh kaise hua?
Anirudh: Woh har pal aapke baare mein sochti thi...aapne unhe na phone kiya, na gaaon mein Kishan mama ke ghar jaakar unse milne ki koshish ki! Kaise bete hain aap!
Abhijeet felt a pang of guilt...he really hadn't tried to contact her. he was living in his own world, trying to discover himself.
Anirudh continued: sharm aat hai aapko apna bhai kehte hue.. Aaj ke baad mera aapse koi sambandh nahi. Main jaa raha hoon!
...and walked off angrily.
Abhijeet stared blankly after him. Daya who was witness to the whole scene said, sir, aap theek hain?'
Abhijeet; Daya, is waqt mujhe akele chod do. bye.
...and walked into his house.
Later Abhijeet joined CID and made a successful career for himself. ACP taught him not to waste time thinking about his past...and this worked well for him. Abhijeet pushed Anirudh away from his mind and moved on in life.
Back to present:
Daya concluded the story. Everyone was silent.
Freddie: Daya sir, mujhe lagta hai Abhijeet sir ko ek baar Anirudh se mil leni chahiye.
Daya: Tum jaante ho na Abhijeet ko...woh kisi ki baat nahi maanta...uska bhai bhi waisa hi ziddi hai.
By then Anirudh and his wife had finished dinner. They got up and left.
Freddie: sir, aap jaakar Anirudh ka phone number lijiye...kisi tarah Abhijeet sir ko manaakar phone karvate hain.
Daya: Theek hai...
Daya gets up and goes out hoping that Anirudh had not gone too far off. When he reached the entrance, he was surprised to see Anirudh walking towards Abhijeet who was seated near the fountain. Abhijeet had wanted to talk to Anirudh after all!
Anirudh shook hands with him and gave him a card. He then got into an airport cab and left.
Daya walked towards Abhijeet and asked, kya boss, tum ghar nahi gaye?'
Abhijeet: Nahi, main...
Daya (smiled understandingly): Kya kaha Anirudh ne?
Abhijeet: Kuch khas nahi...woh waapas US jaa raha hai. Usne apna phone number diya aur kaha ki touch mein rehna.
Daya: Chalo ab mood theek karo aur andar aa jaao dinner karne. ACP saab aate hi honge.
Abhijeet smiled and went back into the restaurant with Daya.
*** THE END ***
