I'll See You Soon

Chashni

"Safar mein hain hum bhi, tum bhi..
Jo gar humsafar ban guzre ye safar to baat hi aur hai.."

Naina wrote these lines and put them up as a story on her page and shared the same with Vihaan with a broad smile on her face as he wanted her to start writing again.

Well she was actually traveling as was headed to Kannauj- the city of scents from ancient times, the perfume capital of India from Delhi, yes the same Dil waLon ki Dilli which was very very close to her heart for many reasons but two were dearest one's. First she learnt to love her nation the way she does all because of Dilli and the stories associated with it and second she finally received the abundance of love she sought in her life as she met Vihaan and got married their itself. She was enroute to her new residence and it was going to be a long ride of nearly six hours inclusive of short breaks to cover a distance of 418 km. Her driver Yousuf bhaiya was with her on duty and with him the journey seemed a little less tiring as his interesting talks and various stories from his past years were the one's which made the air feel much lighter. They had took the Yamuna expressway initially to cover much of distance in less time and then had plans to switch to Agra-lucknow expressway.

It had been a drive of nearly two and a half hours and they were close to Agra toll, just then Naina asked Yousuf bhaiya-"Yousuf bhai agar ek de-route lenge ek-do ghante ka to dikkat to nahi hogi udhar apne ko??"
Yousuf bhai sensed her hesitant tone but also knew what this city meant to her and said-"arey nahi madam, aap boliye kidhar chalna hai ek break kam le lenge aage..aap bataiye bas."

She had a smile back on her face and with that she replied to Yousuf bhai, "bhaiya bas wo Mankameshwar tak jaana hai, phir toh pata nahi kab aana hoga aur aaj Monday bhi hai"

"Arey to theek hai waise bhi hum office hours se pehle pahunch rahe hain toh aaram se darshan bhi mil jayenge aapko, chinta mat kariye bade aaraam se pahunch jayenge abhi 8 baje hain bas", replied Yousuf bhaiya.

Yousuf was with her since the days she got her first attachment in New Delhi and was accompanying her here too and because of this he has become a part of her family and was always like an elder brother to her.

With little to no traffic on roads they managed to reach in time, Naina quickly stepped down from car covering her head with pallu of her saree and started moving towards temple main gate and in the same time Yousuf bhaiya arranged for Prasad and Pooja ki thali. He handed over to her both the things and seemed a bit sad to Naina. So before she moved in she asked the reason of him being like this. He said "madam bhagwan ho ya allah hai to sab ek hi..yahaan tak aake bhi mai andar nahi jaa paunga kyunki inke niyam ke anusar maine kapde nahi pehen rakhe hain. Aap jaiye mai yahin wait karta hun, agli baar jab aap aayengi Agra tab zarur darshan karke jaunga inke..bahut suna hai ki yahan har manat poori hoti hai kya malum Salma ki murad bhi yahan aake poori ho jaaye, sab jagah toh ismat aazma hi chuke hain ek aulad paane ko."

Her eyes moistened after listening to him, he held god above religion even when he wasn't much educated or learned man, he was an ordinary man doing an ordinary job but his thoughts were extraordinary and all he and his wife wanted was a child to fill in the void in their lives. She wondered while climbing stairs to main shrine that how simple it is to look for light that we know as God in our lives, but we all get trapped in divisions created by humans who are in turn only one of the many creations of God.

Mankameshwar is a very old temple of lord Shiva in Agra and its history dates back to many centuries. The devotees throng at this temple abiding by the rules of the temple to have one glimpse of lord Shiva and even it's a belief that one's wishes made here with no malice in heart for anyone are granted.

It is a ritual in Mankameshwar temple that people must not wear leather items, salwaar suits, pyjamas and pants. People must wear traditional Indian attires only, that is dhoti and sari.