The telephone was beside Babuji so he immediately picked up the receiver.
"Hello" Babuji had a habit of speaking loudly on the phone so his booming hello resonated in the whole room. I was wondering who it could be, my heart beating a little faster than normal. But why was I excited? What did I expect? Was I dense enough to think it would be Anita? There was no greater fool than a fool in love.
" May I know who is calling"? Babuji asked.
" Just hold on for a moment" Babuji said and looked at me. " It's for you, Bittuji.
"Who is it?"
What do I know? Some girl who refuses to give her name and wants to talk to you only" Babuji seemed to be irritated.
I got up and went towards the phone. Who could it be? Could it be Anita? But why would she call? She had already given up on me.
" Hello" There was a slight trepidation in my voice.
" It;s me" My heart started pounding against my chest. It was she.
" Anita? Why did you call? Why now, when everything is over?" I was conscious of both Babuji and Amma looking at me. Suddenly Babuji got up and left the room. Was it in anger or did he want ne to talk freely? It seemed to be the latter as he asked Amma also to follow him. Babuji may have belonged to a generation which was very orthodox but he was a man of modern outlook, had always been so. Perhaps because he was very well read. With both my grandparents out of the room, I could now afford to talk with freedom. I desperately needed to do so.
" Who said everything is over, my dear Bittu? What makes you think so?"
" What else do you expect me to think? You came to Srinagar and left without even meeting me, If you were not interested in meeting me, what was the point in coming here at all?"
" Bittu, I came to you, I left my parents because you made a promise to me. What made you break that promise?"
" My darling, my sweetheart, I did not break any promise."
" Then why didn't you come to the hotel?' I was waiting for you. You broke my heart, Bittu. Do you think it was easy for me to come to Srinagar? If Prakash had not helped me, I wouldn't have been able to leave Chandigarh but now I feel trusting you was a huge mistake"
" Anita, when Prakash called me and asked me to come to the hotel, I immediately did so but something happened and I was unable to reach you"
" What could have happened to stop you from coming to me?"
I wanted to tell her about the army holding me prisoner but that would have sounded farfetch'd and she would have never believed me. So what could I tel her? What excuse could I give? I wanted to tell her the truth but the truth could have landed me deeper into trouble.
" I met with an accident on the way to the hotel and had to be taken to the hospital. No serious injuries but how could my grandparents have allowed me to leave, Naturally, they refused to let out of their sight.."
" You were never good at telling lies, Bittu. I know you are lying but why?'
" Anita believe me. whatever I am saying is the truth. And I went to the hotel the very next day but you had checked out, you had already left for Delhi.I was devastated.'"
" Anita, do you know, the day I was supposed to come to the hotel, Prakash called Babuji and told him I was with you people and would be staying for the night. Why did he lie, Anita, why?'
" Don't blame Prakash. He would never do that. Come on, Bittu, he is your best friend, he loves you, he helped me only because of you and you are accusing him of God knows what. If you didn't want to meet me, you could have said so. I left everything and came to Srinagar and look what I got in return?"
"My dearest darling, there has been a terrible misunderstanding. Somebody has made a deliberate attempt to keep us apart"
" And why would anyone try to do that? My parents could have done it but they were in no position to do so. You were the one who chickened out at the last moment and now you want to lay the blame of your cowardice on someone else. What a shame, Bittu, what a shame! I had come with big dreams and expectations, I had started believing I would be your wife soon after reaching Srinagar but little did I know, my darling Bittu would shatter all my hopes. Oh, Bittu, I had thought of landing up in your arms, I had dreamt of you holding me tight and look what happened, instead I fell down straight on to a bed of thorns. I shall never forgive you, Bittu, never"
" Anita, please listen to me. I love you to distraction. You are and will always be my love. You are the only love of my life. Why don't you believe me?'
" How can I , Bittu, how can I? I can neither believe you nor forgive you"
I wanted to tell her more about Prakash but I knew she would't believe me. I could have made her see the truth had we been talking face to face but how could I convince her over the phone, particularly when she was determined not to hear a single word against Prakash.
"Anita, tell me one thing. You had told me you would be coming on Wednesday, I went to the airport to receive you, I didn't see you there. Then I came to know, you had come on Tuesday. Why did you change your programme and didn't even bother to inform me?"
" Yes, you are right, we had to change our programme because Prakash got some inside information from his army contacts that all flights to Srinagar would be cancelled on Wednesday because of some security reasons. So we came a day earlier, what was wrong with that?"
"You could have, at least informed me'
" I tried to but your phone seemed to be out of order"
" Did you call yourself or did Prakash make the call?"
" What does it matter who made the call , the call was made but somehow couldn't get through?"
" Why did you have return tickets to Delhi? When you knew you were coming here to stay for good, why book a return ticket?"
" That was a precautionary measure, Bittu. We were going to a highly disturbed area, anything could have happened. The return tickets were a safety measure. Wait a moment, Did you say, tickets for Delhi, why would I go to Delhi? I came back to Chandigarh"
I wanted to tell her what the receptionist had told me but there was no point. She wouldn't have believed me.How did she have the courage to go back to Chandigarh? She had left her home, just a day before her marriage, her parents must have been furious, so what made her go back?
" Are you seriously telling me, you went back to your parents after all that had happened?"
"Yes, Bittu, I did. I realised my fault and I knew my parents would forgive me, after all I am their favourite daughter. And I was right. They did forgive me."
" What about your marriage?"
"My marriage is going to take place in ten days time. Didn't I tell you the date of my marriage?"
" Yes, you told me you were getting married in two days time when you called me up last time. Did you lie to me then or are you lying to me now?"
" I never lied to you. You seem to be confused. Maybe, you were not listening to me. Anyway, although I find it difficult to forgive you, I don't want to lose you. I still love you. The very thought of getting married to anyone else is anathema to me. I want you, Bittu, only you and if you still love me, come to Chandigarh and talk to my parents. They are prepared to listen to you. I have told my father to give you a chance. He has agreed, Now the ball is in your court, If you really love me, come and meet my parents. I am confident, they will agree. So are you going to come or not ?" These words came as a huge relief to me. I felt like a drowning man, who had just been pulled out of water, I thought I had lost her but she was mine would always be so.
" Oh, my sweetest of sweethearts, of course I will come. Oh, darling we will soon be in each other's arms. How happy I am!"
" Enough for now, my father will lash out at me if I talk more. I will keep in touch and remember you are coming to Chandigarh otherwise all will be lost" With these words , she hung up.
It was like rising from the dead. A short while ago, I had felt the world crashing around me, there seemed to be no hope but now the world was back on its feet and my heart was racing with joy. I knew it had been foolish of me to ask her to come to Srinagar, I knew I had been selfish in expecting my grandparents to get me married in such a secret manner, I had been nothing but trouble to them since I came here. But no more of this now. I would meet her parents and we would have a proper marriage. Oh, what supreme bliss!
" What did your Anita want now, why did she call?' I was so lost in myself that I did not notice Babuji entering the room.
" Babuji, there is some good news. Anita is not married. Her marriage will take place after sometime. I had been confused with the dates. She says she has talked to her parents and they have agreed to meet me. They want me come to Chandigarh"
" I see. First you called her to Srinagar , now she wants you to go to Chandigarh, what is this , some kind of a game?"
" No, Babuji, this is serious. She was angry, I didn't meet her here but now her anger has dissipated, her parents have forgiven her and agreed to give me a chance"
"And you believe her?"
Of course, I do" I said, with great emphasis.
" Bittu, I have never trusted your judgement. Your Amma has great faith in you but I don't. I feel you are very gullible. Anyone can make a fool of you. Didn't Prakash make a fool of you and who knows, Anita may have been in cohorts with him. Every chance of that, if you ask me."
In all this excitement, I had forgotten about the lies Prakash had told me, had told Babuji, I had forgotten the role he had played in having me picked up by the army. But, at the same time, I was sure Anita had no role to play in this.
" Bittu, listen to me and listen carefully. You lured Mr. Suri's daughter to this place. During my conversation with him, I felt he was a very vindictive man. I seriously doubt , he will forgive you. What if this is just a ploy to get you to Chandigarh ? What if there is some ulterior motive behind all this? No, we will not let you go to Chandigarh. I am not going to risk it. If your marriage to Anita has to be discussed, let Lalaji meet her father and talk about it. Understand?"
I didn't believe a word of what Babuji had said. He seemed to have formed his own prejudices. I would go to Chandigarh, no matter what happened.
"Hello" Babuji had a habit of speaking loudly on the phone so his booming hello resonated in the whole room. I was wondering who it could be, my heart beating a little faster than normal. But why was I excited? What did I expect? Was I dense enough to think it would be Anita? There was no greater fool than a fool in love.
" May I know who is calling"? Babuji asked.
" Just hold on for a moment" Babuji said and looked at me. " It's for you, Bittuji.
"Who is it?"
What do I know? Some girl who refuses to give her name and wants to talk to you only" Babuji seemed to be irritated.
I got up and went towards the phone. Who could it be? Could it be Anita? But why would she call? She had already given up on me.
" Hello" There was a slight trepidation in my voice.
" It;s me" My heart started pounding against my chest. It was she.
" Anita? Why did you call? Why now, when everything is over?" I was conscious of both Babuji and Amma looking at me. Suddenly Babuji got up and left the room. Was it in anger or did he want ne to talk freely? It seemed to be the latter as he asked Amma also to follow him. Babuji may have belonged to a generation which was very orthodox but he was a man of modern outlook, had always been so. Perhaps because he was very well read. With both my grandparents out of the room, I could now afford to talk with freedom. I desperately needed to do so.
" Who said everything is over, my dear Bittu? What makes you think so?"
" What else do you expect me to think? You came to Srinagar and left without even meeting me, If you were not interested in meeting me, what was the point in coming here at all?"
" Bittu, I came to you, I left my parents because you made a promise to me. What made you break that promise?"
" My darling, my sweetheart, I did not break any promise."
" Then why didn't you come to the hotel?' I was waiting for you. You broke my heart, Bittu. Do you think it was easy for me to come to Srinagar? If Prakash had not helped me, I wouldn't have been able to leave Chandigarh but now I feel trusting you was a huge mistake"
" Anita, when Prakash called me and asked me to come to the hotel, I immediately did so but something happened and I was unable to reach you"
" What could have happened to stop you from coming to me?"
I wanted to tell her about the army holding me prisoner but that would have sounded farfetch'd and she would have never believed me. So what could I tel her? What excuse could I give? I wanted to tell her the truth but the truth could have landed me deeper into trouble.
" I met with an accident on the way to the hotel and had to be taken to the hospital. No serious injuries but how could my grandparents have allowed me to leave, Naturally, they refused to let out of their sight.."
" You were never good at telling lies, Bittu. I know you are lying but why?'
" Anita believe me. whatever I am saying is the truth. And I went to the hotel the very next day but you had checked out, you had already left for Delhi.I was devastated.'"
" Anita, do you know, the day I was supposed to come to the hotel, Prakash called Babuji and told him I was with you people and would be staying for the night. Why did he lie, Anita, why?'
" Don't blame Prakash. He would never do that. Come on, Bittu, he is your best friend, he loves you, he helped me only because of you and you are accusing him of God knows what. If you didn't want to meet me, you could have said so. I left everything and came to Srinagar and look what I got in return?"
"My dearest darling, there has been a terrible misunderstanding. Somebody has made a deliberate attempt to keep us apart"
" And why would anyone try to do that? My parents could have done it but they were in no position to do so. You were the one who chickened out at the last moment and now you want to lay the blame of your cowardice on someone else. What a shame, Bittu, what a shame! I had come with big dreams and expectations, I had started believing I would be your wife soon after reaching Srinagar but little did I know, my darling Bittu would shatter all my hopes. Oh, Bittu, I had thought of landing up in your arms, I had dreamt of you holding me tight and look what happened, instead I fell down straight on to a bed of thorns. I shall never forgive you, Bittu, never"
" Anita, please listen to me. I love you to distraction. You are and will always be my love. You are the only love of my life. Why don't you believe me?'
" How can I , Bittu, how can I? I can neither believe you nor forgive you"
I wanted to tell her more about Prakash but I knew she would't believe me. I could have made her see the truth had we been talking face to face but how could I convince her over the phone, particularly when she was determined not to hear a single word against Prakash.
"Anita, tell me one thing. You had told me you would be coming on Wednesday, I went to the airport to receive you, I didn't see you there. Then I came to know, you had come on Tuesday. Why did you change your programme and didn't even bother to inform me?"
" Yes, you are right, we had to change our programme because Prakash got some inside information from his army contacts that all flights to Srinagar would be cancelled on Wednesday because of some security reasons. So we came a day earlier, what was wrong with that?"
"You could have, at least informed me'
" I tried to but your phone seemed to be out of order"
" Did you call yourself or did Prakash make the call?"
" What does it matter who made the call , the call was made but somehow couldn't get through?"
" Why did you have return tickets to Delhi? When you knew you were coming here to stay for good, why book a return ticket?"
" That was a precautionary measure, Bittu. We were going to a highly disturbed area, anything could have happened. The return tickets were a safety measure. Wait a moment, Did you say, tickets for Delhi, why would I go to Delhi? I came back to Chandigarh"
I wanted to tell her what the receptionist had told me but there was no point. She wouldn't have believed me.How did she have the courage to go back to Chandigarh? She had left her home, just a day before her marriage, her parents must have been furious, so what made her go back?
" Are you seriously telling me, you went back to your parents after all that had happened?"
"Yes, Bittu, I did. I realised my fault and I knew my parents would forgive me, after all I am their favourite daughter. And I was right. They did forgive me."
" What about your marriage?"
"My marriage is going to take place in ten days time. Didn't I tell you the date of my marriage?"
" Yes, you told me you were getting married in two days time when you called me up last time. Did you lie to me then or are you lying to me now?"
" I never lied to you. You seem to be confused. Maybe, you were not listening to me. Anyway, although I find it difficult to forgive you, I don't want to lose you. I still love you. The very thought of getting married to anyone else is anathema to me. I want you, Bittu, only you and if you still love me, come to Chandigarh and talk to my parents. They are prepared to listen to you. I have told my father to give you a chance. He has agreed, Now the ball is in your court, If you really love me, come and meet my parents. I am confident, they will agree. So are you going to come or not ?" These words came as a huge relief to me. I felt like a drowning man, who had just been pulled out of water, I thought I had lost her but she was mine would always be so.
" Oh, my sweetest of sweethearts, of course I will come. Oh, darling we will soon be in each other's arms. How happy I am!"
" Enough for now, my father will lash out at me if I talk more. I will keep in touch and remember you are coming to Chandigarh otherwise all will be lost" With these words , she hung up.
It was like rising from the dead. A short while ago, I had felt the world crashing around me, there seemed to be no hope but now the world was back on its feet and my heart was racing with joy. I knew it had been foolish of me to ask her to come to Srinagar, I knew I had been selfish in expecting my grandparents to get me married in such a secret manner, I had been nothing but trouble to them since I came here. But no more of this now. I would meet her parents and we would have a proper marriage. Oh, what supreme bliss!
" What did your Anita want now, why did she call?' I was so lost in myself that I did not notice Babuji entering the room.
" Babuji, there is some good news. Anita is not married. Her marriage will take place after sometime. I had been confused with the dates. She says she has talked to her parents and they have agreed to meet me. They want me come to Chandigarh"
" I see. First you called her to Srinagar , now she wants you to go to Chandigarh, what is this , some kind of a game?"
" No, Babuji, this is serious. She was angry, I didn't meet her here but now her anger has dissipated, her parents have forgiven her and agreed to give me a chance"
"And you believe her?"
Of course, I do" I said, with great emphasis.
" Bittu, I have never trusted your judgement. Your Amma has great faith in you but I don't. I feel you are very gullible. Anyone can make a fool of you. Didn't Prakash make a fool of you and who knows, Anita may have been in cohorts with him. Every chance of that, if you ask me."
In all this excitement, I had forgotten about the lies Prakash had told me, had told Babuji, I had forgotten the role he had played in having me picked up by the army. But, at the same time, I was sure Anita had no role to play in this.
" Bittu, listen to me and listen carefully. You lured Mr. Suri's daughter to this place. During my conversation with him, I felt he was a very vindictive man. I seriously doubt , he will forgive you. What if this is just a ploy to get you to Chandigarh ? What if there is some ulterior motive behind all this? No, we will not let you go to Chandigarh. I am not going to risk it. If your marriage to Anita has to be discussed, let Lalaji meet her father and talk about it. Understand?"
I didn't believe a word of what Babuji had said. He seemed to have formed his own prejudices. I would go to Chandigarh, no matter what happened.
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