The entire day nidhi kept waiting for a call
from dr ashutosh..but it didnt come.they watched t.v n found that the minister
was stable..but still under observation.Baba seemed to be getting
restless.."ashu ka phone aaya koi"he asked nidhi.."nahi
baba".lunch was quiet..but then col verma n dadibua came..they had been
informed by armaan..dadi bua asked.."mai ruk jaaoon nidhi..teri dekh bhaal
ko"?but nidhi refused"nahi dadi bua..armaanji aur baba to
hain..zuroorat hui to bula loongi"Nidhi was pleasently surprised to see dr
ranganath n anji.dr ranganath said"dr nidhi,koi bhi baat ho,i m just a
call away..the entire k.g.h. is at your disposal.nidhi smiled n said"ye
m.d. dr ashutosh ki wife ke liye hai ya mere liye"?ranga smiled,looked at
anji n said"meri wife ki best friend ke liye..."nidhi promised that
if she needed help ,she will call.
At 8 in the night ,all t.v channels
flashedDR ASHUTOSH PERFORMS ANOTHER MIRACLE,IS DR ASHUTOSH THE BEST IN THE
WORLD...DR ASHUTOSH SAVES MINISTER FROM CERTAIN DEATH..n just as this euphoria
was on,dr ashutosh called up..nidhi said"aap to mere hero the ab to saare
country ke ho gaye.."ashu asked her how she was n she replied"mai to
theek hoon..par bava worried the,unse baat kariye.."nidhi gave the phone
to baba"ashu ,kaisa hai beta..theek hai na tu..ha main theek hu,nidhi bhi
theek hai..khati hai khaana..,nahi armaan naha raha hai..tu nidhi se baat
kar.."nidhi spoke"jee..kahiye""nidhi baba seems
tense..maybe because of his surgery..plz khayal rakhna unka..jab tak main
aaoon..i m sorry,is haalat me jab tumhe looking after ki zuroorat hai,mai bojh
daal rahaan hoon tumpe..bit plz nidhi..mere aane tak..dhyaan rakhna
unka"ashu pleaded.nidhi said"aap chinta nahi kariye..jab aap nahi
hain to baba merizimmedari hain..bahu hoon mai is ghar ki..dont worry..mai hoon
na..baba ke liye...par aap aa kab rahe hain.."?ashu spoke"tomorrow,id
conduct a few more tests n then see the progress..though motor n sensory
activity is fine..i think i shall fly back in the evening..tomorrow "
The full evening all were busy recieving
congratulatory calls n boquets..bava 's chest swelled with pride..nidhi ruminated
at this special bond between father n son..not based on blood or d.n.a. yet
stronger than anything else inthe world..the two were incomplete witout the
other..nidhi was glad she had been instrumental in reuniting the two..she
recalled the stormy nite..when after meeting dr ashutosh,baba had blessed
her"MUJHE TO MERI CHAAHAT MIL GAYEE ,AB BUS TUJHE TERI CHAAHAT MIL
JAAYE"n within 15 days she n ashutosh were engaged..all becoz of baba..her
nana..but first n foremost dr ashutosh's father...her father in law..she felt
elated to see tears of joy in his eyes..n thus made it a point that he talkex
to each person who called to congratulate..
But baba seemed restless.."ashu kab
aayega..kyun nahi chala abhi tak..nidhi"??nidhi tried to keep him busy n
distracted..but it wasnt easy.In the night armaan n baba came to settle nidhi
in her room n she held baba's hand.."baba aap chinta nahi kariye..kal woh
zuroor aa jaayenge.."baba patted n went out..The whole night baba kept
having flashes ofashutosh..the abandoned child..ashu in medical college,ashu
coming with the gold medal...
Nidhi too was restless..the baby moved
around..hurting her belly..was the baby sensing dr adhutosh's absence..?she
smiled remembering..how dr ashutosh caressed her belly n kissed the swell..as if
he could feel the baby...nidhi fell into troubled sleep ..only to wake up with
a jolt.."dr ashutosh.."n then realised it was just a bad
dream..armaan came in.,"kya hua nidhi..pain hai..dr ko phone
karoon"?nidhi said"nahi..bus darr gayee thi.."armaan asked.."mai
baith jaata hoon yahaan chair pe..tum so jaao.."n he came out only when
nidhi seemed to be asleep...
The next morning,baba kept waiting for
ashu's call..as the t.v channels praised him even more n boquets n sweets kept
flowing in..Finally at 2 in the afternoon,ashutosh called up"nidhi..sab
theek hai..i have been successful in saving the minister's life n his
faculties..."nidhi said.."aapke sound bytes air interviews dekh rahe
hain hum..baba is delighted..par ab a jaaiye..baba is not at peace..pata nahi
kyun.."ashu repeated.."nidhi mujhe kisi wajah se bhi der ho jaaye..to
baba ki zimmedari tumhari..aur apna bhi khayal rakhna,..i d come by chartered
flt.at 5 starting from delhi..to dinner saath karenge,..bas baba ko
dekhna..love you..kuch chahiye delhi se"?nidhi said simply"bas aap aa
jaaiye.."
Nidhi told baba n armaan eho were
overjoyed..baba got busy in getting the house decorated with flowers..the
boquets n cards that had come..nidhi made ashu's favourite dinner..hare
chane,gaajar halwa n paranthe..She went to freshen up..as she sat at the
dressing table..n applied sindoor..she couldnt help remember her
sindoordaan..when dr ashutosh had filled her maang..she smiled as she cleaned
the specks of sindoor on her nose..as she sat adjusting her mangalsutra..the
land line rang..n armaan picked up..
****************************
Dr ashitosh boarded the charyered flight
organised by the central govt..n relaxed ..thinking of nidhi..the
baby...baba...armaan..his inlaws..the family that his nidhi had given him..
He was rudely pulled out of his blissful
dreams as the aeroplane shook n shudderred violently barely 15 mins after take
off.the pilot announced they were in roughweather..one air bump then another n
another..ashutosh felt fear creep in..fear of losing his nidhi..his baba..his
family..he recalled his last visit to delhi n the accident n how his nidhi had
suffered,..will she be able to bear his loss..she was 6 months
pregnant..fragile..would their baby see the light of the day..will nidhi be
able to bear the wrecking pregnancy alone..n what about baba..had his
restlessness been a premonition of events to come..ashu..thought of
nidhi..again..leaving her on trip to delhi ..then on their wedding nite..n
again now...As the plane seemed to be in a freefall..dr ashutosh closed his
eyes ..bringing to his mind..the beautiful pregnant nidhi..smiling at him..the
plane plunged lower...
*************************************
Nidhi could not comprehend what armaan was
talking..so she came out..armaan seemed white.,"kya baat hai
armaanji..kiska phone tha"..baba joined in"kya hua armaan..ashu to
theek hai..bol "armaan looked from baba to nidhi nthen back to
baba.."baba..ashu ka plane missing hai..air traffic control se contact
toot gaya hai..30 mins se..they ..they...suspect ..it has crashed..due to bad
weather..."baba didnt seem to respond n just slumped ..armaan held him..n
brought him to the sofa..nidhi got some water..kaka too came out..nidhi
switched on the t.v.DR ASHUTOSH 'S PLANE GOES MISSING,another channel saidSEARCH
FOR WRECKAGE..AS CHANCES OF SURVIVAL RECEDE a hindi channel flashedZINDAGI DENE
WALA DOCTOR CHALA GAYA MAUT KE AAGOSH ME...
Baba broke down..crying'"ashu..ashu
..mera beta..ashu main kaise zinda rahoonga,..tere bina"armaan n kaka too
had tears flowing down their cheeks..But nidhi..looked
firm..steely..determined..she caught hold of baba.."aap kya keh rahe hain
baba..dekhiye ..koi wreckage nahi mili hai..woh theek honge,.vishwaas
rakhiye..dr ashutosh aayenge..unhone kaha hai mujhse..khana khaayenge saath
me..baba..baba..suniye meri baat'"she seemed to be shaking baba ..as he
wept on..Armaan phoned col verma n could hear dadi bua wailing,anji
ranganath..dr dubey n most importantly dr sudhir..All came in,shyama aunty n
solanki sahib too with col verma n dadi bua..
As dadibua ,wailing tried to hug
nidhi..nidhi almoat shouted,."band keejiye rona..kuch nahi hua hai dr
ashutosh ko..aur mujhe baba ko sambhaalne deejhiye.."she forced his
medicines down his throat with a little juice...then looking at armaan ,dhe
said"armaan ji..plz pata kariye airport se.."armaan just sat..weeping
helplessly..so nidhi got up..holding her baby bump..made the call n talked..n
then came back to baba.."baba..the plane is a boeing..it has fuel for 15
hrs..abhi 10 hrs aur reh sakta hai air me..aur koi wreckage nahi mili
hai.."t.v flashedSEARCH FOR DEAD BOFIES ON?.n baba sobbed..nidhi held
him"baba,.meri taraf dekhiye..woh mujhe keh ke gaye hain khayal rakhne ko
aapka..jab tak woh nahi aate..baba..plz..dheeraj rakhiye..nahi to bahut gussa
honge mujh pe.."then nidhi tirned to dr dubey.."plz sir..b.p le len
baba ka..give him some tranquilizer.."dr dubey..looked at nidhi with pride
n grief..but did what she said..From a corner..a broken col verma looked at his
daughter..6 months pregnant and a widow at 25 ..oh god!!
Dr sudhir got up..n held nidhi..as she
seemed to wince.."nidhi..chalo juice peeyo..baby d be needing it..nahi
topain bout ..."nidhi stopped him.."dont worry sir..main sab
khaaoongi..bas unko aane deejiye.."shyama aunty..sighed n got up ..n
followed nidhi..anji came in too..shyama held nidhi.."beta ,sach ko
pehchaan..ab kabhi nahi aayenge dr ashutosh.."nidhi shrugged her..n looked
at anji.."anji tu to thi mere saath..jab woh laapata hue the..sab keh rahe
the..ki...par woh aaye waapas..hai na..bol"anji..wiped her tears n
said.."nidhi..this is an air crash..bachne ki koi ummeed nahi.."nidhi
seemed angry..she opened ashutosh's wardrobe n said.."dekhiye ye shirts ye
suits..sab kal theek kiye hain maine..woh aayenge..pehnenge ye sab..."n
then she faced everyone.."aap log soch rahe hain mai paagal ho gayee
hoon?jee nahi..jaanti hu main ki woh zinda hain..kyunki mai zinda hoon...jab
meri saanse chal rahi hain to unki kaise ruk sakti hain..agar unhe kuch
hota..to mai khatm ho gayee hoti.."almost everyone broke down..
Nidhi did not give up..she came to where
baba was..n said.."aap thoda aaraam kar leejiye..dekhiyega..jab uthenge to
aagaye honge dr ashutosh.."baba did not respond...
Suddenly the landline rang n armaan picked
up..he said"bus,mai abhi aaya..n rushed out..nodhi shouted"mujhe bhi
le chaliye.."but armaan was gone..
All looked at each other..probably the
bodies had been found..no one dared to on the t.v..baba rested as nidhi sat by
him..he said in delirium"ashu aa gaya beta..ashu.."n nidhi held his
hand n murmured"ab aa bhi jaayie ..aur der nahi kariye.."n she
clutched her abdomen..
Suddenly armaan's car came to a screeching
halt..n to every ones shock n disbelief..in walked arman withDR ASHUTOSH..SAFE
N SOUND..nidhi almost shook baba violently.."uthiye baba..dekhiye woh aa
gaye..maine kahaa tha na..woh zuroor aauenge..aankhe
kholiye.."ashu..walked through all n came to baba..sitting on his knees he
said"baba..dekhiye ..mai hoon aapka ashutosh.."n baba opened his
eyes..looked mesmerised.."ashu ..tu aa gaya..suchmuch..."he touched
him n tears flowed freely..baba sat up with ashu n ranga's help..ranga
explained he had been administered valium..ashu understood..baba
said"humsab ne himmat chod di thi..bus nidhi..nidhi ko vishwaas tha.."
Ashutosh looked for nidhi..who had moved
back as ashutosh sat next to baba..she stood leaning against a wall..clutching
her baby bump..trying to absorb what was happening.ashutosh moved towards
her..n touched her face gently..as he said "nidhi..."the steely
resolve,the composure ,the brave front that nidhi had maintained so
far..dissolved..n the floodgate to tears opened..ashu pulled her to his
chest,..n kept caressing her back..as she v slowly broke into slow helpless
sobs..miserable tears..n hicupps..ashu jist let her cry holding her really
close..
Sudenly he felt her clutching her
abdomen"ooouuuchhh"ashu tried to see ..dr sudhir ran n
said..a"ashutosh ,give her juice,..she hasnt eaten..the baby is
hungry.."ashu pressed the frooti pack that anji gave him..n slowly nidhi
drank...
Ashu described how the pilot had saved the
day..by changing the roure n then landing at airforce base near lucknow
Ashu touched all elders feet as they
left..n then the four of them sat for dinner..the dinner that ashu had
promised..
After dinner he told nidhi.."abhi
aaya.."n took baba to his room..as he settled baba..he held ashu n
said.."aaj nidhi ke vishwaas ne tujhe bacha liya..."n kissed his
hair..
Finally dr ashutosh took nidhi to their
room..n just looked at her..her big eyes having tears of pain..that she had
faced..of fear of losing him n now of relief..of having him back..ashu kissed
her eyes dry..Nidhi spoke.."nursery me chaliye.."as they entered,the
room seemed to be vibrant n live once again..what had seemed lonely n desolate yesterday
was full of cheer..as ashu caressed her baby bump..nidhi covered his hand n
said.."baby dekho..papa aa gaye..tumhaare.."n ashu kissed her..a long
..deep kiss..that touched her soul...she just held on to him..as somewhere in
the background played the song
GHAR AAYAA MERA PARDESI..PYAAS BUJHI MERI
ANKHIYON KI
AB DIL TOD KE MAT JAANA,ROTI CHOD KE MAT
JAANA,
KASAM TUJHE MERE ANSOOAN KI..
GHAR AAYA MERA PARDESI
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