Tanhaiyan | neirohi

34. a place

Pushing back the hair falling on her eyes, she circled the question she was unable to answer. Months of practicing and still, something or the other was always left out. Rubbing her eyes, she decided to take a break and shut her books. Brewing cold coffee for herself, she tapped on her phone. The usual, deleting insurance offers and shopping discounts. And no Lodha, she cannot afford your flat at the moment, at least not using her own money.

Getting rid of the spam messages, she swiped and ended up at the contact list. Fingers pausing at N, they hovered there. Unsure and unclear. She set the phone aside, eyes stuck on the name from afar. Never was she this confused before.

And this, was bothersome.

Sighing, her focus drifted away to the name below. Nisha it read, making her forgetful for a minute or two. Running over the names of her colleagues, classmates, relatives and mentors she remembered no one as such. And all of a sudden, it struck her. Just like that. The ones who help without knowing that they are helping, are truly one of a kind. The scarcity of such people was not astonishing.

A struggling to survive Aarohi Goenka, a postgraduate student had come across a bunch of people by luck. The times when she was discovering that loneliness was the only constance in her life.

The twelve hour train journey which was meant to get her burnt out, had lifted up her spirits instead. In the most unlikely manner of course. The Goenka princess was learning to live, literally. Her dearest mentor had gotten her and another favorite of his registered for a Pediatric Neuro workshop held in Kota, which got them landed on the sleeper berths. Incidentally they collided with the family, a bunch of cousins who had the coach and the adjacent ones booked for themselves. Traveling back home to Jaipur after an enjoyable vacation in Mumbai. The loudness did get her irked but by the time she reached her stop, Kota, they had their numbers exchanged. Once in a blue moon a call came up, even after two years.

The meaningless jabber, the chaos they tagged along with them. That was the day when twelve hours showed her what family actually meant than her twenty-six years of existence ever did. No one had to say they loved each other, it was so evident that she herself melted in the love the Gangwals gave her. They were god-sent for her. The first ones who pushed her to give a chance to herself, as well as to those who meant something for her. The very ones who put the thought of reconciling with her sister, without even saying anything or knowing.

Sipping her cold coffee, she laughed at the coincidence of Captain Jugadu and Chamgadar Jugadu being drafted next to each other in the list.

Jugadus and her were a match made in heaven for sure.

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Manjari had tears streaming down her face as she caressed her child's hair. A day since he was back and she still couldn't believe it. Nine months was a long time. And he appeared at the doorstep, just like that. The plates dropped from her hand first, as she made sure it was not an illusion.

Abhimanyu, in the middle of an argument with his father, left the battlefield and got his younger brother closed in a hug. While his wife, Akshara got a smile stretched on her face which dropped by the slightest as she kept looking behind at the empty air. The younger ones came in front, one by one, as the reunion sweetened. The elder Birla trio carried on with their breakfast, in a hurry to leave for the meeting they had in fifteen minutes.

His slender fingers brushed away her tears as he checked the time. It was late. Ushering his mother to go and sleep, he gave her one last smile before stopping her surprisingly. His single sentence got her startled at first, which later made sense as she closed her eyes to sleep.

"Thank you Ma."

That is what it was. And she understood.

Sighing, he rubbed his eyes lightly. Thinking about the conversation he had with his bhabhi few hours ago. He had a tough time convincing her that her sister had not tagged along only because of her exams. Akshara had residual doubts on whether Aarohi was trying to distance herself from her, which he tried to put to rest. All the hardwork got him exhausted, yet he couldn't get a wink of sleep.

Tearing a piece of paratha, he stuffed it into his mouth, hands working on the phone. During the family dinner he was not feeling hungry owing to their late dining habits back home, which got him sitting alone at the dining table now. The others had retired early while few remained outside the house. That is, his brother had a surgery and Nishta was at her hostel tonight. But he knew one person who would be up late night.

Dialing straightaway, he kept aside his dilemma for the time being. The call was accepted immediately and he was not surprised.

"Chipkali ji, intezaar mein thi?"

"Bye."

"Awle baba, red nose makes a reappearance already?"

Sitting in Udaipur he could predict the eye roll which would've followed up. Shaking his head, he smiled and continued the conversation as his teeth tore into the layers of the flatbread.

"Achha, keep your coffee aside and go eat something. Your bag has the Pasta parcel package, in case you forgot."

Her eyes widened at that, reaching out for the foiled package immediately. Heating it up, she let the creamy ribbons swirl in her tongue as she asked how things were at her in-laws place. Listening to his rant, she did hand in a chuckle or two in between, immersed in the drama update she got. Birlas as usual, never changed. Yet, there were times when they weren't wrong and one wouldn't know who was to be put to blame. Perspectives were all it took for arguments to flip either ways.

On hearing him chew, she asked curious, "What's for dinner?"

"Bas, parathe aur mutter-paneer."

"Stop keeping your mutter aside and playing with it," his chewing came to a pause, eyebrow shooting up as he looked around, "—you are not the only one good at this game Mr. Chamgadar."

He laughed out loud at that and converted his laughs into muffles on realizing where he was. Birla house had family rules, no unbearable noises after twelve. What idiocy. Nevertheless, he hunched over, grip on the phone tighter as he attempted to cease his laughter at the gruff imitation she did of his brother.

And Abhimanyu Birla stood behind the door, watching his younger brother. His dil ka tukda being actually happy, someone making him happy rather than just the other way around. It warmed his heart, a lot. Even if he felt conflicted about the person on the other side of the call, it couldn't overrule the way he felt right now on seeing his Jugadu so happy. Sighing, he made his way back to his room. He had a lot of thinking to do tonight.

Meanwhile, Neil Birla lay on the blue cotton sheets. The room felt foreign as his empty hand stroked the right side of the bed. Arm under his head, he distinctly remembered the prideful, ferocious eyes. Four years, only he knew how he spent in this room without being gutted about the past happenings. He wanted to hold onto her back then, realizing gradually that she was not someone who could be held till she decided it herself. Those eyes spoke the words she didn't, very similar to the time when ran into her at the hospital.

Aarohi Goenka ek bhaar in hojaaye, toh usse out karna impossible hain.

Just the way she made a place for herself in his heart, and now refused to be kicked out.

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