𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝑶𝒇 𝑨𝒓𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒆

•𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹-26•

तेरी झील सी आँखों में डूब जाने का दिल चाहता है,
वफ़ा पर तेरी बर्बाद हो जाने का दिल चाहता है,
कोई सम्भाले हमे, बहक रहे हैं कदम,
तेरे इश्क में मर जाने का दिल चाहता है।

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KHUSHI AVIRAJ SINGH RATHOR'S POV

Today we are going back home, so I thought that I should spend some time with Nani ji because don't know when I will get time and able to meet her again. So I went to her room and saw that Nani ji was sitting with a photo in her hands. I thought of not disturbing her and turned to go back but Nani ji saw me and called me inside. When I went further, she made me sit next to her and asked

"Ja rhe ho sab." (Everyone is going.) I nodded my head in the affirmative and from Nani ji's words it seemed that she wanted to say something else. When I looked at that photo, it was a very old photo, of which Naniji and Nanaji and mom, mamaji and a girl around their age, I was just staring at her because somehow she look familiar just not able to remember where I have seen her.

"Yeh mere badi beti hai. 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐲𝐚 𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐡 tum isse anasuya ma bulana." (This is my elder daughter. Anasuya rajwansh , you call her Anasuya Ma) she said this and had tears in her eyes. Daughter, I thought she had only two children, mom and mamaji.

"Hum ma baap sirf bacho ko hee kyu khte hai kee unhone ache beta beti hone ka farj nhi nibhaya, jab kee hum ma baap yeh nhi dekh paate kee hum bhe apna farj nibhane se kahi na kahi to chuk gye hai." (Why do we parents only tell our children that they have not fulfilled the duty of being a son and a daughter, whereas we parents are unable to see that we too have somehow failed in fulfilling our duty?) Nani ji said while caressing the girl's photo lovingly, I kept sitting there and listening to her because perhaps I had nothing to say.

"Pata hai beti, log khte hai ke pyaar insaan ko kamjor bana deta hai. Par mujhe lagta hai kee uss insaan ko khone ka daar hume kamjor banata hai. Kabhi kissi se itna bhe pyaar mat karna kee tumhara pyaar kissi tesre kee jaan lele. Humara pyaar ek taraf hai aur insaaf dusri taraf. Inn dono me humesha insaaf chunna chaheye." (You know daughter, people say that love makes a person weak. But I think the fear of losing that person makes us weak. Never love someone so much that your love takes the life of a third person. Our love is on one side and justice is on the other. We should choose justice between these two.)

"Mene apne hee hatho se apni hee beti ke jindgi barbad kardi. Agar thodi se himmat ke honi na mene to aaj shayad yeh jinda hoti." (I ruined my own daughter's life with my own hands. If I had had a little courage, perhaps she would have been alive today.) Saying this she started crying. I hushed her and said

"Naniji jo ho chukka hai hum usse nhi badal skte par hum apne aane wali kal ko to badal skte hai na, aap inke liye kuch nhi karskti par aage esa na ho yeh to karskte hai na. bohot se baate humare kabu se bahar hoti hai, jese yeh wali aapke the." (Naniji, we cannot change what has happened, but we can change our future, you cannot do anything for her, but we can change our self so that something like this does not happen in the future. Many things are beyond our control, this one was from you.) I said lovingly and gave her water to drink. After some time she calmed down and told me

"Mere pass tumhare liye kuch hai ." (I have something for you.) Take out a dark brown saree from the cupboard. They were old style but beautiful, whoever chooses it has a great taste in fashion. And said that