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 12th 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 12th 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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