Kyun Utthe Dil Chhod Aaye

2. Bondita or Heer?

"Maa,maa!" I practically screamed to call my mother into my room.

"Oye kudiye, ki hogaya tenu? Main toh darr hi gayi!" My mother was panting for air due to the run she had to make because of me.

"Ye dekho!" I raised my hand and showed her the kurta which was burnt on the side.

"Ye toh vahin joda hai na jo tune Makar Sankranti de vaaste banwaya tha?" She asked me, to which I nodded in response.

"Haan ji! Dekho na, master ji ne jala diya! Ab main naye kapde nahi pehen paaungi Makar Sankranti ke din!" I said pouting my face to show that I was sad when in reality I was the one who burnt it intentionally.

"Arey aise kaise! Tu ruk, aaj hi mai uss master ko ghar bulati hun aur uski khabar leti hun. Saadi kudi da joda jala diya aur poore paise bhi le liya!" My mom said in anger and was about to leave when I held her hand.

"Nahi maa, ek kaam karti hun. Main na  thodi der baad Vashma ke saath jaake kapde kharid ke uss master ko de aati hun silne par uske paise nahi dungi tab usse samajh aayega beimaani ka nateeja!" I said trying to convince her to let me go. She thought about it for a while before replying.

"Ek kaam kar tu na Uday ke saath chali jaa. Ab Vashma ko iss chhote se kaam ke liye pareshan kyun karna, hai na?"

"Nahi maa, Uday veerji toh sab ke naal ladne lagte hain. Pichle vaari aapke kehne par kapde waale ke paas leke gai thi toh unhone hockey se uski pitai kar di. Unhe jab pata chalega ki master ji ne mera joda jala diya toh vo bohot gussa karenge uss par isliye main Vashma ke saath chali jaati hun. Theek hai?"

"Accha theek hai, chali jaa par sun jaldi vapas aa jaayin! Jaanti hai na tere Bauji ko ghar aate hi tujhe dekhna hota hai!"

"Ji maa!"

I quickly changed my outfit to wear a light pink Anarkali suit and went to Vashma's house. Vashma was our next door neighbour and my childhood best friend. Ever since I came to live in Om Nivas, we've been friends. Even our families are really good friends. There was no animosity between the two families even while being of different religions. We were all like a big family. We celebrated all the festivals together. Her family consisted of her Ammi, Salma Baig who I called ammi too. She was like a second mother to me. Her father Rehman Baig was a doctor. He was like a father figure to me and her brother Abrar Baig who loved me just like his little sister. Although he was a little sceptical about Hindu and Muslim being friends yet when it came to our family, he was always full of love. The two families were friends even before I came. Babuji had helped Baig chacha in a really difficult situation. When ammi was sick while giving birth to Vashma, it was maa who took care of Abrar Bhaijaan and Baig chacha along with her own family. And one time when Babuji had fallen sick, all the doctors had given up on him but Baig chacha with all his love and dedication took care of Babuji and saved him. The two families were each other's support system therefore no religious riots affected their friendship. And when I came here, each one of them welcomed me with all their hearts and loved me like they had known me forever. Love is that one thing that overshadows everything else. Both Vashma and I grew up more like sisters than friends.

"Vashma, Vashma! Where are you?" I barged into the Baig house and started calling out her name loudly.

"Arey Bondita, what happened?" Abrar Bhaijaan asked me.

"Have you seen Vashma? I asked her to get ready in 15 minutes and it's already been 17 minutes but she hasn't come out!" I said looking at the watch on my wrist.

"Where are you both going?"

"To the market! I need to give cloth material to Masterji to sew my joda for Makar Sankranti." I lied to him. We weren't going to Masterji. We were going to the Azad Hind newspaper's publishing house.