Bajirao

Two best friends, one of them failed in mathematics, and other one often topped in it. One of them, often played the game of love and failed in it too often, and other one never failed in it as he never played it till date. It’s their story which gets unfold in a small village from rural Maharashtra.

Bajirao (known as Baji) was born with a golden spoon in his mouth. He was studying computer engineering (last year) in nearby engineering college. He was about six feet tall with a broad chest, chiselled jaws, dark eyes and a nose as sharp as if it is sharpened by a chisel. In few words, a man whom any women can adore and any man can envy.

Most of the girls in the village were vying for his attention, his friends often joked that Baji can book a date in those sugarcane fields whenever he want (as the saying goes in rural Maharashtra), but Baji never showed an ounce of interest in any girl. Let alone showing any attention, if any girl tried to strike a conversation with him, she often felt the wrath of his sharp sense of humour and arrogance.

Once a girl at his college said, “Baji you never talk with any girl. Are you shy?” to which Baji replied “Shy, not even by a chance, rather I am shame less. If I had any shame, I would have born wearing cloths, that too of Raymond’s”. Another girl who was junior to him once asked “I know you topped in university for Mathematics-4. Can you help me in preparing notes for Maths-4?” and she faced the same fate as Baji replied, “I too know that it is a golden chance for you for Maths-3 and you are worried about Maths-4. It is like worrying about your honeymoon trip when your marriage is in trouble”. 

Rajesh (known as Raja), after failing in Mathematics in 12^th exam he left study. He had proposed almost every single girl in village but sadly, of all the cupid arrows he shot, none of them struck the wheel of fortune. Even the shabbiest girl never responded to his carefully planned proposals. But a worst player can be a good coach and being a self proclaimed philosopher, Raja played the role of mentor to many budding Romeo’s. His advice for all those guys was, ‘Getting emotionally involved in a girl is like getting dismissed with a hit wicket. Because for all the girls, it is immaterial whether our national game is hockey or cricket, they don’t play with a hockey stick or with a cricket bat; rather they enjoy playing with the emotions of guys”. He often joked that girls don’t show any interest in him just because he doesn’t have any emotions with which they can play.

Raja often asked Baji about his indifferent attitude towards girls “Isn’t it strange? Those who have teeths have nothing to eat and those who have everything don’t have teeths. What’s your problem buddy? Why don’t you show any interest in any girl?” 

And Baji often replied “Don’t know why? Maybe I never came across such a girl, just a look at her and she should be all over your mind. You can’t think about anything else. Your system should be completely hanged. And this Bajirao doesn’t even know if his Mastani even exists”.

His Mastani was on the way to his village and subsequently on the way to his heart.

In rural Maharashtra there is a tradition of celebrating marriage, on that night bride and groom take a round around the village in a four wheeler (specially designed for the occasion) with ‘Marathi’ folk songs playing out loud. With Desh ki dhadkan’(Desi daru) running through their veins, most of the youngsters perform the dance moves which even the best of the choreographers can’t set. Most of those youngsters end up being shirtless (showcasing abs which are built in gymnasium of open farmlands) and entire town gets painted with ‘Gulal’. 

On that night, such a celebration was at its peak when Baji threw ‘Gulal’ on nearby onlookers and a guy standing there screamed “Are you fool or are you blind? Can’t you see? Shit, I have to dry-clean my suit now”. Baji ignored that guy. 

Next day, Baji was at ‘Chavadi’ (A place where most of the youngsters spent their leisure time) with few other friends. He saw a guy with long curly hairs and a pony tail; his ears were pierced with ear rings. Baji immediately recognized that guy who almost argued with him on previous night. As that guy passed from nearby, Baji said “Excuse me, you are guest here. So enjoy our hospitality and stay courteous. If you don’t want to get dirty then stay away from the dirt and learn some manners, if possible”.

That guy replied angrily “So now I have to learn manners from you villagers and where the hell is this ‘so called’ hospitality. I can’t believe how one can stay at this place in these dirty houses. I can’t survive here for more than a week; there is not a single good looking girl to date”.

Baji replied, “This place is way better than yours place. Our animals stay in bigger houses than that of yours. If someone catches acidity (gas) at your place then his neighbour could sense it while sitting in his ‘so called’ house and that neighbour will be tempted to give advice ‘Boss do something, already there is too much of pollution here, why you are adding to it?’’. Everyone else burst into laughter and the other guy with pony tail was fuming with anger but Baji was not done with it; he continued “About dating, people don’t date here; it’s just waste of time. Here formula is ‘No date, direct check and mate’. But you won’t qualify for that, one need to be a man for that”. 

Now that guy lost his cool, he grabbed Baji by his collar and started punching him in his guts. He was of almost half the size of Baji. Baji raised his arm to push him away, that’s when someone slapped Baji. He turned his face towards the person who slapped him and his eyes fell upon silky hairs which were almost dancing on her forehead. Those hairs had nearly covered her face, as they moved, her face became visible and Baji got a glimpse of her face. His hand was still in air, he was awestruck as he had never seen such a beautiful face before. He thought, god must have made her in his best of the mood with best of the instruments (if any). Now she pushed other guy away from Baji and that guy was busy punching Baji in his guts. But Baji didn’t feel anything; he didn’t listen to any sound. His only thought was how one can be so beautiful. His eyes were still fixed on her deep blue eyes. He would be happy to drown himself in those blue eyes (even with a lifesaving jacket). Both of them left but Baji was still lost, he was still unmoved. His system was completely hanged and he wished it remains ‘Hanged till death’.

It was the first time when Bajirao saw his Mastani.

Since that moment when Baji saw her, he could not take her out of his mind. She was in his thoughts whenever he was awake and even when he slept. He had never felt like this before and he could not understand what to do. But he had his best friend and the coach immediately stepped in. 

Raja used his intelligence network and gathered all the information about her. Her name was Gayatri and the guy with pony tail was her younger brother. She was there on a vacation.

Raja asked Baji to apologize to her. 

Next day, Baji saw her in the market, she looked even more beautiful. Baji felt anxious, he clenched his fists, walked over to where she was standing, bowed slightly and said “I am sorry for whatever happened yesterday”.

She glanced at him once and turned her face away as if he doesn’t exist.

On the very next day, Baji did the same thing (apologized her) and her reply was the same (No reply is also a reply).

The game was changed, the hunter was now hunted.

Feeling dejected, Baji said to Raja, “I swear if she had told me to go out and kill a thousand man before I dared to talk with her again I would have done it. I don’t know how but I am totally obsessed with her and she doesn’t even acknowledge my existence. I feel lost”.

Like a military general motivating his soldier who is low on morale, Raja said “Soldier, if a thing is really worth, then you ought to face hard times in achieving that thing. So don’t give up, never say die even if you actually die. Do whatever you can, follow her, talk to her but make her think about you. The route to a girl’s heart goes via her mind. Get ready for the operation ‘Heart via mind’. Everything is fair in love and war. For you, it is war for love. Fight till the end, fight as if your life depends on it because it actually does”.

These words coming from his best buddy cheered Baji.

Baji tightened his chest, stood straight (like a soldier ready for war) and shouted, “Yes Sir”.

Baji started following her. He waited for hours outside her house even the sun pouring heat from above didn’t budge him. Every time she came out, he captured a glimpse of her and stored it in his eyes till the next time she came out. He tried to start a conversation but all his words fell on deaf ears as she chose not to reply. Day one passed, she didn’t acknowledge his presence. Baji waited outside her house. Day three passed, she glanced once at him. Baji continued his wait outside her house. Day six passed, she turned back to have a look at him. Still, Baji continued his wait outside her house. Now, he had stalked her for almost six days.

Meanwhile she became curious about Baji and enquired about what exactly had happened on that day.

Day seven came, it was one of those hot day in summer when mercury would have spill out of thermometer if hold in open. Baji was standing outside her house with his Royal Enfield by his side.

She walked towards him, his heart started beating faster. She said, “Sorry for whatever happened on that day”.

“Don’t be, it was not your fault” Baji said firmly, enunciating each word and he continued “I must say, I never knew that such a delicate hand can deliver such a firm slap. Have you undergone any professional training for that (slapping) or was I simply lucky?”

She blushed and said “I had attended karate training once but never used it in practise, you can say, you were lucky. And by the way, are you by any chance stalking (following) me?”

“Nope, not even by a chance. I was simply doing my duty as a watchman to this bungalow” Baji replied calmly.

She could not fathom who is smarter this guy or his words. She said “Well, then you are in a wrong profession. With your personality, you are overqualified for the job. Most people will salute you before you salute them. Take my word, try being a bodyguard”.

Baji said “I will, provided that you teach me how to slap people”.

Baji realized it is the time to make his next move and he asked her, “Can you meet me somewhere (he took a long pause)....alone”.

She had a belief that she can never trust a wrong person and her instinct told her, this guy can be trusted.

Now it was her turn to take a long pause, which ended with the words “I will, provided that you take your next profession seriously”.

Baji smiled and said, “At your service ma’am. I will report to the job at 5 o’clock tomorrow”.

Completely thrilled with this achievement, Baji called Raja “Alpha one reporting, operation ‘Heart via mind’, first phase accomplished”.

“Bravo!! It’s time to booze”, came the reply.

The strategy for the next phase of operation ‘Heart via mind’ was being set and beer and ‘chakna’ were witness to it. Baji asked Raja “Should I ask her to be friend with me or should I say ‘I love you’?” Raja took a sip of beer and said “Don’t ask for friendship, nobody stalks another person for almost seven days, just for being friend. Be honest and tell her what you feel. Strictly avoid saying ‘I love you’, it’s too early, it will sound filmy”.

Raja swallowed few more pegs and the wisdom continued flowing “Be it any girl, always remember, first make her feel comfortable then make her feel special. If she cracked a joke, laugh like a crazy even if that joke is terrible. If she is serious about a thing, then however useless that thing is, listen to it as if future of universe depends on that thing”. Few more pegs down his throat, Raja lost his sense while blurting the words “Make her feel special”. Baji didn’t drink; he was already lost in those deep blue eyes.

For Baji, next set of instructions for operation ‘Heart via mind’ was ‘Be honest and make her feel special’. Baji was pleased to have his best buddy with his expert advice.

Next day, she walked in wearing a dark blue dress and golden ear rings. As she sat on his Royal Enfield (it had never felt such a delicate touch before), it spluttered out black fumes as it revved up before heading off to the outskirts of the village. They moved outwards, shepherds were bringing their sheep’s back to village. That road was surrounded by barren land and despite all those potholes on the road, now it appeared lovely, it appeared splendid to Baji. The sound of Royal Enfield came to rest outside an old castle. Baji’s family had moved out of this castle after Baji’s birth, considering it as an unfortunate place. Once a magnificent structure was now left deserted. Most of its walls were in dilapidated condition, windows were broken and it was home to few stray birds. A beautiful lady had shaded its youth and turned into an old lady with wrinkled face.

Baji often experienced an invisible bond with that castle and as they entered into the castle, that bond grew stronger. She occupied stairs of the castle and Baji stood few paces away staring at her. For a minute no one spoke then she broke the silence, “What you want to talk with me alone?” His dark eyes were still fixed on her face, he said, “Till date, I had lifetime membership of ‘Jai Hanuman group’ (Men only). So I don’t have the manners to talk to girls, if unknowingly I go wrong then forgive me”.

This honest confession brought a smile on her face. Baji continued, “Whatever I will say, I have never said it before and I will not say it again. Listen to me carefully”.

She was not new to such situation and she was aware what will be coming. But this handsome villager had an aura of exclusivity and she was eager to know, how he will put it.

Baji raised his firm voice,” I will not lie saying that I want to be friend with you. From the moment I saw you, my mind is occupied by only thing i.e. you. In last seven days, earth may have revolved around sun seven times but my universe had revolved around you a million times. You may say that it is just infatuation because love can’t happen within such short time. I don’t know what this feeling is, is it infatuation? Is it love? Or it is something else. What I know is that this feeling will last forever and ever”.

She gave a look that indicated that he could not have put it more precisely. His charm started working; she could not control her blush, she could not respond.  “Wow! That was amazing, to how many girls you have proposed before (though she knew she was the only one)” she said after a long pause. Even before he could respond with anything, she diverted the subject and started telling him funny things about her life in Mumbai and he responded with laughter. Those jokes were terrible, may be her mind was not at its place. Such jokes coming from anyone else would not have managed to move a single line on Bajis face, let alone the laughter. But she was not anyone, for him, she was the only one. He could have smiled for her, he could have fought for her and if she asked, he could have even cried for her.

She cracked another joke and again that empty castle busted into laughter, followed by its echo.

As they came out of the castle, Baji looked back at that castle and said to himself “I will rebuild this castle to glory as soon as dream in my eyes come true and that day is not far”.

Baji dropped her at walking distance from her house and said “I will pick you tomorrow at same time”. She didn’t say ‘no’.

On that night, she laid thinking about him, and then forced her mind away from him and again it came back to him. His charm was all over her and she could not help it, she could not resist it.

On the other side, strategic discussion was going on over few pegs “I almost proposed to her and she didn’t respond to it. What does it mean?” Baji asked.

“It means the signal is yellow at the moment and it can turn red or green in near future. Every relation takes its own time to flourish; you may not get that much time as she is on vacation. For time being, get close to her” replied Raja while sipping beer.

Next day as she sat on his Royal Enfield, she placed her right hand on his shoulder. He felt proud of his strong shoulders (Hercules carried the world on his shoulder and now Baji was carrying the best thing in the world). Baji enjoyed that ride along the country road; he wished this journey should not come to end.

For next few days, they met every day. Every time they entered into castle, it became alive with their laughter, with their talk. Baji talked about every possible thing, he talked about his studies, he talked about his past and he talked about his future plans. With his sharp sense of humour, he made her laugh. She often said “You can make even dead bodies laugh with your jokes” to which he replied “You don’t even need to tell them a joke. A look at you and they will be alive” and then she blushed. His mere presence made her feel special.

Initially they met for half an hour, slowly that period got extended to two to three hours and Baji didn’t do anything for that, except being himself.

Baji showed her all the interesting aspects of life in rural India. He showed her, how people do farming, how they milk the cows. As she liked crab curry, he spent hours beside the riverside to catch crabs and then cooked delicious crab curry for her. He showed her Flamingo birds which visit nearby bird sanctuary in summer and he joked about their long legs “With these Flamingos, ‘Tangadi kabab’ would be a hell of a dish”. Within those 15 days, he showed her every possible thing worth watching. It was the best time of his life.

Meanwhile, Baji changed himself considerably. He started spending time in front of the mirror. He changed his hair style, started using hair gel instead of coconut oil. He changed his dressing style, started wearing modern cloths. He tried to drop his vernacular accent. He rarely met his other friends and whenever he met them; his changed behaviour was the subject of their jokes. And Baji who was known for his instant reaction, never responded to these jokes. Love had turned a vibrant volcano into a smooth flowing river.

A discussion was going on about operation ‘Heart via mind’, a thought came to Raja’s mind ‘Everything is going smooth without any disturbance, either it is peace before the storm or Baji is really lucky’. He hoped it’s latter.

Raja said to Baji, “It’s time to take next step, let things happen”, with a naughty look on his face he continued “But don’t be mean, you know what I mean”. Baji knew what his friend mean and both of them knew, Baji can be anything but mean.

It was a wonderful evening; the canvass of sky was painted with myriad colours as sun was about to bid good bye. In castle, Baji was telling her stories about their adventurous hunting trips. She stood next to him, listening to him with her eyes, staring at him with her eyes. Those eyes had a playful look in them as if they were sending a message and being a novice, Baji was unable to decode them for some time, but not for long. He sensed her feelings and pushed her towards him by placing his strong arm around her waist. Now he was holding the most wonderful creation of god close to his heart. Sun started moving faster in the back as if he wanted to leave them alone. The only sound breaking the silence in the ambience was the sound of their breathing. She closed her eyes. His eyes were glued to those closed eyes. Their lips were few inches apart. His heart started beating faster about to spill out of his body, at the same time he listened to her heart beating faster. He moved his lips further, they were about to meet their destination when a sudden thought hit his mind like a huge tide hitting sea side rock “I love her truly and true love should overcome the test of physical attraction. It should go beyond the boundaries of physical attraction”. To control one’s feelings at such a delicate moment, one needs a pure heart. And Baji was born with it.

He moved few paces away from her, she gained her conscience. Now she started feeling uncomfortable, she desperately wanted to tell him something that Baji should know. But she could not, as if words were getting lost before coming out of her mouth. Before it’s too late, she decided to tell him everything by tomorrow.

On the way back to village, Baji was on cloud nine with dreams of a wonderful tomorrow in his eyes and she was on backseat with her hand placed over his shoulder and with a guilt in her mind.

When Baji reached his home, Anuradha was waiting for him. She was a smart, intelligent girl from his village. She was with him since childhood, after topping 12^th exam she chose nearby engineering college over best of the engineering colleges, for a reason unknown to many but she knew the one very well. Most of the boys in the vicinity often tried to impress her but she never paid any attention to them as she liked Baji since her childhood. And destiny had its own way of doing justice; Baji never paid her any attention.

She knew Baji carries a golden heart and his arrogant attitude towards girl had something to do with the fact he was brought up by his step mother who never loved him. She was studying computer engineering and she often felt, god created such a marvellous species of human being; he should have programmed their hearts in a pair, such that those hearts in a pair could only feel for each other. Then world would have been a better place to love.

(With Steve jobs in heaven, we can expect a hi-tech heart, one with a touch screen, with best of the aesthetics and advanced applications. Being user friendly, this heart will not get hurt).

Anuradha walked towards Baji and told that she wanted to tell him something. On any other day, he may not have cared to listen to her but now it was different ,he could even listen to Himesh Reshmiya singing classical songs.

Anuradha told Baji something; he could not believe his ears for a moment. He wished it’s a lie, but he knew Anuradha, she could not tell him anything unless she is sure about it. The hell broke loose, within a moment, all the castles he had built in dreams shattered into bits and pieces. Still, there was a ray of hope that everything will be alright but only thought running all over his mind was, “How she could do this to me?” For a moment he thought about calling Raja but then decided against it. His eyes never closed for a single moment on that night, as they were eagerly waiting for tomorrow (if it ever comes).

On next day, Gayatri walked in. She wore a white dress buttoned up almost to the neck that made her look as if she were on her way to a conference. The smile from her face was missing; her long fair hair was pulled back behind her ears which was giving an expression of severity. But however hard she tried she could not be other than beautiful. As she sat behind him on his Royal Enfield, her right hand was conspicuous by its absence from his shoulder. Neither of them uttered a single word until they had reached the castle.

All these omens told Baji only one thing, tomorrow will never come.

As soon as they entered into castle for the last time, she said, “I want to tell you something important that you must know. Don’t know, how I should tell you that thing? ”

Not a flicker of surprise appeared on his face.

A cold voice replied, “I will help you. Tell me, how it feels to play with the emotions of someone who loves you truly. Does it make you feel proud for being someone who can make others to dance to their tune or it brings some shame to you or it is perfectly normal for you, because that is how you are”.

Once Baji finished talking she was on the verge of breakdown. She cleared her throat, “I will tell you how it feels, it feels helpless when someone else pulls those invisible strings and like a pawn you run behind them despite knowing that it is wrong”.

Baji raised his firm voice, “Why didn’t you tell me when we meet for the first time? Tell me, why?”

She felt like crying, she said in a freckled voice, “On first day, I was about to tell you everything but your honesty bowled me completely. You have the charm which very few can survive. For some time, I felt helpless and unknowingly I became selfish. I could not garner the courage to tell you that I am already engaged to someone else. Things could have turned to worst; but you are a thorough gentleman. I have an instinct that I will never trust a wrong person. You have a golden heart, please forgive me”.

 

Hope is one of the few things that don’t leave man till his last breath. Baji thought, he could win her back.

He said, “Let the bygones be bygones. Marry me. I will do everything for you. I will bring every possible thing at your feet. Please don’t leave me”.

Now tears were clearly visible in her eyes, “We meet each other at completely wrong place and wrong time. Both of us come from different cultures, those cultural differences does not matter to me. But what matters to me is a loving person trusts me (her fiancé) and I could not break his trust. Believe me, I am not leaving happily, a crack had already appeared at the core of my heart”.

She was about to leave the castle, she turned back and said “Not all stories need a villain, sometimes circumstances play that role”.

She left with her brother who was waiting for her outside the castle. She chose to break a strong person (from inside) over someone’s trust.

Baji stared out of those broken windows of the castle, he didn’t realize it but something rolled out of his eyes (people call it as tears). A part of those tears got lost on his handsome face and the rest part which survived his charm rolled down to his neck.

She didn’t ask for it, but he cried.

(Baji never cried before. Raja often joked that Baji cried at the time of birth just because his mother left him after blessing him with the best of the features).

As Baji left, he looked back at the castle and realized that it will always remain deserted. If that old lady had a heart, it would have been broken today.

On his way back to village, the road which was looking lovely till yesterday was now appearing lonely.  Baji wished it is a nightmare, he is in sleep, he will open his eyes and everything will be alright. But it was not. He looked back with his eyes wide open, backseat was empty.

A lonely road had a lonely companion.

  

Raja was waiting at Baji’s house; when he saw Baji with tears, within moments he realized, storm had hit indeed. Baji told him everything while controlling his tears. Fuming with anger, Raja said “How can she do this to you? Let me handle that bitch”. Baji almost shouted “Don’t even dare to say a bad word about her. Leave me alone”. Baji lost his control and he did the unthinkable. He slapped his best friend.

Raja left immediately without uttering a single word. A hundred of refusals from girls never managed that thing but a slap from his best friend did it - Leave Raja with a broken heart.

For next few days, Baji cut all the ties with others, he rarely talked with anyone. All the time he stayed inside his room staring calmly into those shattered dreams. He missed his mother dearly, he wished to hug her and cry out loud till his tears dry out. He wished to call Raja and shout “Alpha one reporting, operation ‘Heart via mind’ terminated and do hell with it, let’s booze” but he felt ashamed to call. The more he tried to forget her, the more he missed her.

Like all depressed people, Baji found his solace in alcohol (Very few things accompany man in good as well as bad times, alcohol is one of them). Whenever he poured beer in glass, her face appeared in that glass and he made it disappear by emptying that glass down his throat. Again, her blue eyes appeared in that empty glass and he filled it again. He started drinking excessively; he stayed drunk for several days.

One day, as Baji ran out of beer, he walked out still under the influence of beer. His Royal Enfield headed towards beer Shoppe. His vision was blurred and he could not recall anything after that moment.  Next time he opened his eyes, he was on hospital bed with his broken arm tied to chest. Two ‘get well soon’ messages by his side grabbed his attention. One of that message read “Thank god your mother is not here to see you wasting your precious life for such foolish things. Take care, at least for those people who care for you”. Name of the sender was not mentioned as it was not needed. Baji immediately recognized that handwriting with its letters inclined to left side. Since his childhood, whenever he faced any difficulty with any subject, whenever he needed anything, she was there to help him. He often made fun of her, but that never annoyed her. Her affection was always reciprocated with ignorance. But now, He started feeling guilty for her. His guilt was further aggravated by another note which read as “Get well soon......Soldier”.

Someone told him that ‘Sometimes circumstances play the role of villain’ but he was blessed with two people who always stood by his side irrespective of those circumstances.

As soon Baji came back to home from hospital, he called Raja, he was about to say ‘Sorry buddy’ that’s when he recalled Raja’s words, ‘‘Sorry buddy’ is an oxymoron, either you need to be sorry or the next person is your buddy’. He simply said “Slap me a thousand times (took a small pause) buddy, but never leave me alone”. He waited for a reply which didn’t come; he listened to the tone of line being disconnected.

Within few minutes, Raja stood beside Baji, nothing had ever happened between them. He said” Let me tell you my experience. In life, I failed in two things, one is mathematics and other is love. But failure rate in love is much more and it is more difficult than mathematics. In maths, if A is equal to B then it means, B is equal to A. But in love, if A loves B then it does not mean that B also loves A. B can love C,D,E or anyone else. There are billions of hearts and each of them can beat for billion other hearts. So it leaves a trillion of combinations and it is really difficult to get the exact one that you want. Blessed are those who get love from the person they love. That’s how love is and we have to leave with it. If you want to do anything for it, then start loving someone who loves you truly. Even if you don’t love that person now; eventually love will find its way”, these words left Baji amazed with his best friend’s maturity. Raja continued “By the way, if a girl should cause that much of harm then I should have committed suicide a hundred times”.

A familiar grin appeared on Bajis face and he asked “Tell me one thing, how to commit suicide more than once or to be more specific, a hundred times?”

Raja replied calmly “It’s a simple task for you, keep loving someone truly who don’t love you. You will die a thousand times”. Raja raised his voice, “Remember, you can save someone from that pain. Eventually love will find its way. We often ignore much worthier things that are with us while chasing other things. Let me further simplify it, there is a saying, ‘Loha lohe ko katta hai’’’, Raja didn’t give any explanation, he left immediately as he had one more thing to do.

After some time, Anuradha called Baji and said, she want to meet him. Baji agreed to it immediately without asking any question as only words lingering in his mind were “Eventually, love will find its way”.

On next day, Anuradha was standing at the other end of the road, her long hair was dancing on her shoulder with the flowing breeze, and her face was glowing with her bright eyes eagerly noticing everything going on around her. Baji never realized it before, she was looking gorgeous. As Baji reached her, she stared into his eyes and she sensed something which was not there before. Since childhood she was with him, but still they were miles apart. Finally that distance had disappeared as he stood next to her. She had waited for years, for this moment. She wished to rest her head on his shoulder and rest for life time. She wished to tell him how she felt whenever he made fun of her; she wished to tell him how jealous she felt whenever she heard that name, ‘Gayatri’. She wished to tell him every single thing that she kept to her for all those years. But before she could say anything Baji said “Just heard in lieu of water scarcity ‘Panchyat’ is planning to arrange a felicitation program for those people who do not take bath regularly. There is a rumour that these people will be nominated for presidential bravery awards as per the saying ‘Water is life’. Heartiest congratulations”. He gave her a handshake and further added “Just kidding’, he left with a grin on his face.

Anuradha remains unperturbed, unmoved as she was not new to such behaviour. It only meant one thing,

‘Baji is back (with a broken arm)’.

Baji believed, loving someone half heartedly is a futile exercise. He always tried to love his stepmother as he desperately needed a mother but she always made him realize that he had lost his mother forever. He preferred being rude for some moments rather than leaving someone with a hope that will never come true. Those rude words may hurt that person for a moment but it saves them from further prolonged pain. For Anuradha, he had left a note while shaking her hand before leaving.

Anuradha opened that note, it was same note she had left for Baji in hospital. Below her message, Baji had written “Thanks for everything. I feel privileged to have you as a friend. But I think a wonderful person like you deserves someone who will love you truly and not someone who may not love anyone else. Forgive me, if possible”, a tear rolled out of her eyes and fell on to that note. One more heart was left broken.

Anuradha knew, ‘If a heart which loved someone truly is broken once then it remains broken forever’.

Not all stories need a villain; sometimes circumstances play that role- A tale of broken hearts.

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