Trap or no trap, conspiracy or no conspiracy, I had made up my mind to go to Srinagar and I would not change it. If Jayesh had been speaking the truth, I had another attraction to reach Srinagar. Anita had said she would write to me on my Srinagar address and maybe she would. Why not believe Jayesh? Just because he had said something negative about Anita didn’t necessarily mean that he would always lie to me. When I had decided to send my note through him, I had thought about it a lot. To trust him or not to trust him was the paramount question in my mind. I had thought of Swarn as the best person to do the job but decided against him as I knew he would not agree. He was a close family friend; he was one of Anita’s brother’s best friends. He had clearly told me that I was wasting my time since her parents would get her married off within the year. Under the circumstances, he would have refused and also given me a sermon in the bargain. What other alternative did I have? I had no choice but to zero in on Jayesh.
I left for Srinagar the next morning, stayed in Jammu for the night and took a bus for Srinagar the day after. The journey from Jammu to Srinagar by road is a real treat, there is terrific scenic beauty on the way and it is a heavenly sight. I had always enjoyed my road trips to Srinagar but this time I seemed to have no time for admiring nature, I was completely immersed in Anita’s thoughts. I even missed my lunch. On reaching Srinagar, I forgot Anita for sometime as the joy of meeting my grandparents, my uncles and aunts was so powerful that Anita’s memories were no match for the bliss I felt. Everyone was happy to see me, I was a darling of the family and there was a lot of fuss made over me. I enjoyed every minute of it. The very thought of being back in Kashmir was a supreme pleasure in itself.
A couple of days passed in meeting my friends and relatives but from the third day itself I started looking out for the postman. It was 1985. There was no internet; there was no cell phone, no facebook-nothing. Had it been 2012, who knows what turn the events would have taken? Anyway, the postman was one of the most important persons for me. He would come every day with a bundle of letters, I would sift through them but find none addressed to me. Each day brought fresh disappointment. In the mean time, I visited Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Yusmarg and many other places, places which I had loved but this time nothing gave me pleasure. There was only one thing I craved for and that was a letter from Anita!
Finally the much awaited letter arrived twenty days after I had reached Srinagar. I held the envelope with trembling hands and rushed towards my room, which was on the third floor. I tore open the envelope and started reading. I read it once, I read it twice, and I read it thrice. I could not believe what she had written! Could this really be true? Did she really mean what she had written? It was not a long letter, it was brief and to the point. She told me she had fallen in love with me much before Lohri. She had enjoyed listening to my songs, she would always wait to catch a glimpse of me, she enjoyed watching me play cricket, and she would watch me from the balcony. She apologized for her rudeness towards me when she had scolded me. She said she had done it deliberately as it was my exam time and she did not want my studies to suffer. She ended the letter by saying that she was waiting for the day when I would be back in Amritsar. You can imagine the thrill and excitement I felt. I started jumping around in my room and would have continued doing so for God knows how long, if someone had not shouted “tea is ready”
No time for me to stay in Srinagar now. I had to leave and leave immediately.
“Babuji, I want to go back” I told my grandfather.
“But, why, Bittu? Your colleges will re open after one month. Why the hurry?”
“I have some project work to do and I have to be at the university by Monday” This was, perhaps, the first time I had lied to my beloved grandfather. Love can turn us into liars, I told myself.
“Babuji please get me an air ticket for Monday” It was Friday. I knew he would not say no, I had been quite a pampered child.
I was on my way on Monday and reached Amritsar the same evening. My parents were taken aback. They had not expected me back before the end of June and it was only the thirtieth of May.
“Did Babuji and Amma do or say anything to hurt you?”
“No, mummy, not at all. I was bored over there” I could see my mother did not believe me but she did not pursue the matter any further. I flung down my luggage and ran out.
“I will be back in half an hour” I shouted and did not wait for a response. I went straight to Jayesh’s house.
“Jayesh!!!” I shouted at the top of my voice. He came out immediately and gave me a warm hug.
“You are back so soon, I don’t believe it!” He looked genuinely happy to see me.
“Yes, Jayesh, It was Anita who called me back. She wrote to me as she had told you she would and can you believe it? She is also in love with me!”
“Really?” I could see he looked puzzled but I did not pay much attention to that.
“Jayesh, please tell Anita I am back and I would like to meet her” He looked at me and now the puzzled look was replaced by a serious one.
“Lalit, I don’t know what she wrote to you or didn’t write to you. All I can say is you cannot meet her”
“What do you mean, I can’t meet her? Why on earth can’t I meet her? Who is going to stop me from meeting her?” I knew I was on the verge of losing my temper.
“Calm down, Lalit and listen to me. Anita is not in Amritsar. She has gone to Chandigarh and I have no idea when she will be back” You will have to wait” from the look on his face and the tone of his voice I knew he was hiding something from me or at least trying to.
“Jayesh, be honest with me, tell me the truth” He stared at me for a moment looked down and said,
“Lalit, it is her engagement on Wednesday and that is why the whole family has gone to Chandigarh”
I felt my whole world collapse around me..!
I left for Srinagar the next morning, stayed in Jammu for the night and took a bus for Srinagar the day after. The journey from Jammu to Srinagar by road is a real treat, there is terrific scenic beauty on the way and it is a heavenly sight. I had always enjoyed my road trips to Srinagar but this time I seemed to have no time for admiring nature, I was completely immersed in Anita’s thoughts. I even missed my lunch. On reaching Srinagar, I forgot Anita for sometime as the joy of meeting my grandparents, my uncles and aunts was so powerful that Anita’s memories were no match for the bliss I felt. Everyone was happy to see me, I was a darling of the family and there was a lot of fuss made over me. I enjoyed every minute of it. The very thought of being back in Kashmir was a supreme pleasure in itself.
A couple of days passed in meeting my friends and relatives but from the third day itself I started looking out for the postman. It was 1985. There was no internet; there was no cell phone, no facebook-nothing. Had it been 2012, who knows what turn the events would have taken? Anyway, the postman was one of the most important persons for me. He would come every day with a bundle of letters, I would sift through them but find none addressed to me. Each day brought fresh disappointment. In the mean time, I visited Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Yusmarg and many other places, places which I had loved but this time nothing gave me pleasure. There was only one thing I craved for and that was a letter from Anita!
Finally the much awaited letter arrived twenty days after I had reached Srinagar. I held the envelope with trembling hands and rushed towards my room, which was on the third floor. I tore open the envelope and started reading. I read it once, I read it twice, and I read it thrice. I could not believe what she had written! Could this really be true? Did she really mean what she had written? It was not a long letter, it was brief and to the point. She told me she had fallen in love with me much before Lohri. She had enjoyed listening to my songs, she would always wait to catch a glimpse of me, she enjoyed watching me play cricket, and she would watch me from the balcony. She apologized for her rudeness towards me when she had scolded me. She said she had done it deliberately as it was my exam time and she did not want my studies to suffer. She ended the letter by saying that she was waiting for the day when I would be back in Amritsar. You can imagine the thrill and excitement I felt. I started jumping around in my room and would have continued doing so for God knows how long, if someone had not shouted “tea is ready”
No time for me to stay in Srinagar now. I had to leave and leave immediately.
“Babuji, I want to go back” I told my grandfather.
“But, why, Bittu? Your colleges will re open after one month. Why the hurry?”
“I have some project work to do and I have to be at the university by Monday” This was, perhaps, the first time I had lied to my beloved grandfather. Love can turn us into liars, I told myself.
“Babuji please get me an air ticket for Monday” It was Friday. I knew he would not say no, I had been quite a pampered child.
I was on my way on Monday and reached Amritsar the same evening. My parents were taken aback. They had not expected me back before the end of June and it was only the thirtieth of May.
“Did Babuji and Amma do or say anything to hurt you?”
“No, mummy, not at all. I was bored over there” I could see my mother did not believe me but she did not pursue the matter any further. I flung down my luggage and ran out.
“I will be back in half an hour” I shouted and did not wait for a response. I went straight to Jayesh’s house.
“Jayesh!!!” I shouted at the top of my voice. He came out immediately and gave me a warm hug.
“You are back so soon, I don’t believe it!” He looked genuinely happy to see me.
“Yes, Jayesh, It was Anita who called me back. She wrote to me as she had told you she would and can you believe it? She is also in love with me!”
“Really?” I could see he looked puzzled but I did not pay much attention to that.
“Jayesh, please tell Anita I am back and I would like to meet her” He looked at me and now the puzzled look was replaced by a serious one.
“Lalit, I don’t know what she wrote to you or didn’t write to you. All I can say is you cannot meet her”
“What do you mean, I can’t meet her? Why on earth can’t I meet her? Who is going to stop me from meeting her?” I knew I was on the verge of losing my temper.
“Calm down, Lalit and listen to me. Anita is not in Amritsar. She has gone to Chandigarh and I have no idea when she will be back” You will have to wait” from the look on his face and the tone of his voice I knew he was hiding something from me or at least trying to.
“Jayesh, be honest with me, tell me the truth” He stared at me for a moment looked down and said,
“Lalit, it is her engagement on Wednesday and that is why the whole family has gone to Chandigarh”
I felt my whole world collapse around me..!
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