Babuji's words struck me like a bolt of lightening. I was stunned into speechlessness. Anita had not come to Srinagar, Prakash was accompanied by some unknown girl. All this did not make sense at all. And how on earth did Babuji come to know of all this? Who could have told him? I found it all impossible to believe, there was no logic behind all this. Anita had told me she was coming to Srinagar. I trusted her because I loved her. Trust and love go hand in hand. Why would Anita change her mind, why would she break her promise? If she had been unable to leave her house, she would have found a way of telling me so. She was bold and courageous. She was not the one to be cowed down by threats. If she made up her mind to do something, she did it. I could understand Prakash coming into the picture. I had been taken by surprise when I came to know that she had come to Srinagar with Prakash but later on I realised she must have needed help and who better than Prakash to ask for it. She knew Prakash was my best friend, she must have contacted him, told him about her problem and asked for his help. Prakash was capable of going out of his way to help me. He was the one who must have booked the tickets. Anita had full faith in him. Prakash called me from the hotel, he asked me to come and meet Anita and take her home or rather bring her to my home. If Anita was not with him, why had he bothered to call me at all? All kinds of thoughts kept swirling in my mind.
"Babuji, how do you know all this?" Babuji was looking at me with some concern.
" We live in a small place, Srinagar is not a very big city. Word gets around. Lots of people know me, they are always worried about my welfare. Since you came to the city, there has been a lot of activity in our house. Khalid's unfortunate incident, your skirmish with the army, the coming of those army officers to my house, your moving around, all this has alarmed a few of my friends. Abdul knew about Anita. He was the one who took you to the airport. He was worried about you. He is an influential man, He has contacts in high places. He managed to find out that there was no one by the name of Prakash or Anita in that plane. He told me so. He saw the army picking you up. This really raised his hackles. He came to me and asked me where you had gone. I told him about your having gone to meet Anita. He did not say anything to me at that time, he thought and rightly so that we would be worried to death. He made enquiries on his own and found out a lot of things. The owner of the hotel is a friend of his, he got all the information about Prakash and his partner from the employees of Lake View. When you left in the morning, I could have told you that your going would be futile but I wanted you to find out for yourself. You wouldn't have believed me otherwise"
" But how did he find out it was not Anita? There was a girl with Prakash, the hotel people told me so and Abdul Sahab also got the same information. What I don't understand is why that girl could not have been Anita. I am sure she was Anita, she just couldn't have been anyone else" I said the last words very forcefully.
" Your faith in Anita is very touching. I admire that but just think for a moment. Why didn't Anita herself talk to you? Why did only Prakash talk to you? If Anita had been here, wouldn't she have been the first one to contact you? There were two or three phone calls from the hotel and it was always Prakash. Why? The answer is simple. Anita did not talk to you because she was not with Prakash. Anyway, the fact is, Abdul also got the passengers' manifest of the flight which they took to to Delhi. Anita;s name was not there. So what do you make of all this?"
" Anita must have been travelling under a false name. That is the only explanation" I refused to believe that Anita had let me down. Was I clutching at straws? Maybe, I was. Although Babuji's explanation sounded perfectly logical, I found it very hard to stomach. Not for nothing has it been said that love is blind.
" The hotel receptionist told me, a couple of army officers had come to meet Prakash. Why did they go to meet him? Has Abdul sahab any information on this?"
" Well, it seems Prakash has some friends in the army. It was Prakash who arranged your being picked up by the army. He didn't want you to come to the hotel and find out the truth.He told me you were with him and would be spending the night at the hotel. Why this lies? He knew I would raise heaven and earth to find you and he didn't want any trouble. Are you satisfied now?" Babuji was speaking normally now, he was aware of my distress. His tone was full of affection and worry, Gone were the belligerence and the sarcasm.
" But there is one point we are overlooking. If Anita was not coming, what was the purpose of Prakash's coming here? He had no other work here. I thought the only reason he was in Srinagar was to help Anita and me, If he was not here to help us, why was he here at all?" This was a question which kept hammering at my mind.
" I have also been thinking on the same lines, Bittuji, but I have not been able to come up with any plausible explanation. Don't worry, the truth will be out sooner or later. For the present, you just forget Anita and take some rest. You need it" Babuji remarked ,observing me very keenly
" Yes, my son, go up to your room and sleep for a couple of hours. Abdul has gone out to meet his brother, when he comes back, I will send up a cup of tea for you" Amma had been listening to our talk patiently, had not intervened at all, obviously she had already known all this. Babuji never kept any secrets from his partner of over 50 years or more.
More than sleep or rest, it was solitude I needed . I got up and simply raced up the stairs to my room, my favourite old room.
I wanted to lie down on the bed but I knew sleep would elude me so there was no point in turning and tossing around on the bed. I went to the window and sat on my chair, the chair on which I had spent many a pleasant moment. The best sight was the view of the mountain tops but I was in no mood to enjoy scenic beauty. There was a lot I had think of, a lot of puzzles needed to be solved, a lot of mysteries were waiting to be revealed but how, how would I be able to find answers to such baffling questions but try I had to, that is all I could do.
Anita had told me she would come to me, she had even given me the flight number. She was unable to tell me more as her father was hovering around her. Maybe she would have told me about Prakash also but she didn't have the time to do so. Undoubtedly she had made up her mind to leave her parents. I knew she was one hell of a determined woman. I had seen lots of examples of her courage and resolve.
"Babuji, how do you know all this?" Babuji was looking at me with some concern.
" We live in a small place, Srinagar is not a very big city. Word gets around. Lots of people know me, they are always worried about my welfare. Since you came to the city, there has been a lot of activity in our house. Khalid's unfortunate incident, your skirmish with the army, the coming of those army officers to my house, your moving around, all this has alarmed a few of my friends. Abdul knew about Anita. He was the one who took you to the airport. He was worried about you. He is an influential man, He has contacts in high places. He managed to find out that there was no one by the name of Prakash or Anita in that plane. He told me so. He saw the army picking you up. This really raised his hackles. He came to me and asked me where you had gone. I told him about your having gone to meet Anita. He did not say anything to me at that time, he thought and rightly so that we would be worried to death. He made enquiries on his own and found out a lot of things. The owner of the hotel is a friend of his, he got all the information about Prakash and his partner from the employees of Lake View. When you left in the morning, I could have told you that your going would be futile but I wanted you to find out for yourself. You wouldn't have believed me otherwise"
" But how did he find out it was not Anita? There was a girl with Prakash, the hotel people told me so and Abdul Sahab also got the same information. What I don't understand is why that girl could not have been Anita. I am sure she was Anita, she just couldn't have been anyone else" I said the last words very forcefully.
" Your faith in Anita is very touching. I admire that but just think for a moment. Why didn't Anita herself talk to you? Why did only Prakash talk to you? If Anita had been here, wouldn't she have been the first one to contact you? There were two or three phone calls from the hotel and it was always Prakash. Why? The answer is simple. Anita did not talk to you because she was not with Prakash. Anyway, the fact is, Abdul also got the passengers' manifest of the flight which they took to to Delhi. Anita;s name was not there. So what do you make of all this?"
" Anita must have been travelling under a false name. That is the only explanation" I refused to believe that Anita had let me down. Was I clutching at straws? Maybe, I was. Although Babuji's explanation sounded perfectly logical, I found it very hard to stomach. Not for nothing has it been said that love is blind.
" The hotel receptionist told me, a couple of army officers had come to meet Prakash. Why did they go to meet him? Has Abdul sahab any information on this?"
" Well, it seems Prakash has some friends in the army. It was Prakash who arranged your being picked up by the army. He didn't want you to come to the hotel and find out the truth.He told me you were with him and would be spending the night at the hotel. Why this lies? He knew I would raise heaven and earth to find you and he didn't want any trouble. Are you satisfied now?" Babuji was speaking normally now, he was aware of my distress. His tone was full of affection and worry, Gone were the belligerence and the sarcasm.
" But there is one point we are overlooking. If Anita was not coming, what was the purpose of Prakash's coming here? He had no other work here. I thought the only reason he was in Srinagar was to help Anita and me, If he was not here to help us, why was he here at all?" This was a question which kept hammering at my mind.
" I have also been thinking on the same lines, Bittuji, but I have not been able to come up with any plausible explanation. Don't worry, the truth will be out sooner or later. For the present, you just forget Anita and take some rest. You need it" Babuji remarked ,observing me very keenly
" Yes, my son, go up to your room and sleep for a couple of hours. Abdul has gone out to meet his brother, when he comes back, I will send up a cup of tea for you" Amma had been listening to our talk patiently, had not intervened at all, obviously she had already known all this. Babuji never kept any secrets from his partner of over 50 years or more.
More than sleep or rest, it was solitude I needed . I got up and simply raced up the stairs to my room, my favourite old room.
I wanted to lie down on the bed but I knew sleep would elude me so there was no point in turning and tossing around on the bed. I went to the window and sat on my chair, the chair on which I had spent many a pleasant moment. The best sight was the view of the mountain tops but I was in no mood to enjoy scenic beauty. There was a lot I had think of, a lot of puzzles needed to be solved, a lot of mysteries were waiting to be revealed but how, how would I be able to find answers to such baffling questions but try I had to, that is all I could do.
Anita had told me she would come to me, she had even given me the flight number. She was unable to tell me more as her father was hovering around her. Maybe she would have told me about Prakash also but she didn't have the time to do so. Undoubtedly she had made up her mind to leave her parents. I knew she was one hell of a determined woman. I had seen lots of examples of her courage and resolve.
Bittu, you say she was bold and courageous. In that case why didn't she say no to her parents, why did she agree to the marriage? Have you thought of this, you love lorn fool? Why did she wait till the last moment to tell you? It seems your darling Anita was not that brave after all, she was ready to ditch you and that's what she ultimately did.
There had to be a reason for her acting the way she did. She loved me, I was sure of that. She never lied to me, never did, never would, I was sure of that.
Then why didn't she come to Srinagar, you moron. Even intelligent people like you become idiots in love, dear Bittu.
I am not an idiot. I am selfish but I am not a fool, I am not stupid. And who says Anita didn't come? I am sure she was the woman with Prakash, it couldn't have been anyone else.
Why didn't she talk to you then, why did she let Prakash do all the talking? Don't you think she would have been dying to hear your voice the moment she landed in Srinagar? And , yes, the most important question of all. Why did she leave without meeting you, Why, Bittu, why? Come on, admit it now, she made a fool of you and she must be laughing at this very moment, laughing at your expense, telling everyone how naive Bittu is, Ha Ha Ha...
Shut up, will you. Leave me alone now. I came here to my room to find some peace not to listen to your nonsense. But was it really nonsense? These were pertinent questions, questions which surely raised a lot of doubts and suspicions. Suddenly an old memory floated in front of eyes. Memory of the day when I introduced Prakash to Anita. The day they came face to face for the first time. I recalled the look in Prakash's eyes. He was staring at Anita but it was not the staring that troubled me, it was the expression in those eyes. At that time, I had not thought much of it but now I recalled that particular expression very vividly. The eyes were full of desire, maybe even lust. Was it possible Prakash wanted Anita for himself and he was deliberately keeping me away from her? But how could he do that? Anita would have never allowed herself to become a tool in his hands. I felt I was going mad. Sitting here, I would not be able to find answers to all these questions. If I wanted to find out the truth, I had to leave Srinagar.
Leave Srinagar? What a self centered and ungrateful son you are? Have you forgotten the original purpose of your visit to Srinagar? You were supposed to persuade Babuji and Amma to leave Kashmir, remember? When they refused, Bhaisahb left but you decided to stay behind to look after your beloved grandparents, didn't you? And what are you doing now,? You are only causing them pain and trouble, Oh how I hate you, Bittu, how I hate you!
I put my elbows on the table, my hands over my eyes and started sobbing, sobbing uncontrollably. Tears kept streaming down my face. The sound of my crying could be heard outside the room but who could hear poor Bittuji , so far away from the ground floor? Whatever was happening was cathartic. I had been holding myself back for a long time, I needed a big cry. Catharsis was what I needed and that's what I was having.
" Bittuji, bon Tchiy chayi praran" ( they are waiting for you for tea downstairs) It was Khalid. My back was towards the door so he could not see my face.
" Tell them I will be down in a couple of minutes." I replied, without turning around. I didn't want him to see my tear stained face.
When I entered the baithak, tea had already been laid on the sheet. I could see a plate full of katlams, no doubt Khalid had got them, got them for this ungrateful wretch. I had washed my face . I thought I looked as fresh as could be.
" Hope you had a good sleep, feeling a bit better now?"
"Yes, Babuji, I slept well and I am feeling much better now."
I sat down and started having Kahwa. I had just had the first sip when a shrill sound pierced the silence of the room. It was the ringing of the telephone.
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