Sach hote Khwaab

Restlessness

I brushed aside the curtains covering the windows. It was a lucid and golden morning.

I fell back on the bed dreamily. I pulled her payal out of my pocket and gazed at it for a while.
Ishq ki dhooni...
roz jalaaye...
uthta dhuaan to
kaise chupaayein?...

Ho.... ankhiyaan kare ji-hazuri
maange hai teri manzuri...
kajra siyaahi... din rang jaaye...
teri kastoori... rain jagaaye...

man mast magan
man mast magan
bas tera naam dohraaye!

mann mast magan
mann mast magan
bas tera naam dohraaye!

Chaahe bhi toh
bhool na paaye...

mann mast magan
mann mast magan
bas tera naam dohraaye!

mann mast magan
mann mast magan
bas tera naam dohraaye!

Finally I got up to get ready lest her miss her again.
I donned a brown suspender shirt with a white patterned cravat scarf and black trousers.
Just then there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find a Saraay worker.
'Sahabji, Amrit Sahni ka trunk call aane waala hai do minute mein, Dilli se.'
I looked at him with an astonished grin. I turned and looked at my watch. Seven-thirty a.m.
I was already feeling like a husband whose darling wife had called-up to ask after him. With a bright smile, I followed him hastily downstairs.
'Ram Ram Sahabji!', Kaushikji greeted me.
'Ram Ram!', I greeted him back.
Just then the telephone rang and I picked it up quickly.
'Hello Randheer?...', Amrit spoke softly from the other end.
'Good Morning Amrit!', I said gaily.
'Ji vo mainu college ke liye nikalna tha... is liye savere savere phone kar liya...Uh.. Aapko neend se to nai uthaaya na maine... ?', she asked cutely.
'Arey nahi nahi Amrit. Main bhi aap hi ko phone karne waala tha.'
'Oh! Phir thik hai!', she replied with a sigh of relief. Probably she would be smiling ear-to-ear right now.
'Amrit kal main aapko bataana hi bhool gaya. Hum jis meeting mein the wahan itne mardon mein ek hi aurat thi sirf. Mujhe ye baat bilkul bhi achi nahi lagi.', I said with displeasure.
'Aur aapne zaroor is baat ko uthaaya hoga ?', she said.
'Aapko kaise pata ?', I asked with furrowed eyebrows.
'Mainu pata hai. Agar koi baat aapko sahi nahi lagti to tussi saaf saaf keh dete ho. Aur phir ye to auraton ki haq ki baat hai. Ye baat aap na uthaao, aisa kaise ho sakta hai!', she said confidently.
'Hmmm', I said thoughtfully.
'Toh bataiye, kinne logon ka mann badla aapne ?'.
'Yeh toh main nahi jaanta Amrit par haan, unme ek the – Bansalji. Unki baaton se aisa lag raha tha ki unpar unsab baaton ka kaafi gehra asar hua hai. Aur aap jaanti hai. Sirf main hi nahi wahan aur bhi kuch logon ne mera saath diya. Aur sabse zyaada to mujhe ye baat achi lagi ki Miss Dutta – unhone datt kar apne taraf se aur auraton ki taraf se baat ki.'
'Jab aurat khud apni taraf se baat kare, apne haq ko samjhe – isse changi gal aur kya ho sakti hai. Hai na Randheer!', she said in a pleased manner.

'Ji! Bilkul sahi kaha aapne. Acha Amrit ek baat kehni thi aapse. Aaj main din bhar yahan nahi rahunga. Isilye aapka yahan phone karna fizool hi hoga.'
'Acha..', she said glumly.
'Main saraay pohonchte hi aapko phone karunga,', I said reassuringly.
'Aur tussi...parso wapas aa raho ?', she asked glumly.
I bit tongue and said 'Ji!'. I hope no one had told her I was returning today itself. I had the train in the afternoon and would be back with her by the evening.

Softly she said, 'Aa jao... tuhaanu akhiyaan udeek diyan...' and trailed off.
I took a deep breath in. She had really said this?! I wanted to scream but did not. My heart was aflutter. Like a fool I did not reply for a few moments. Even she did not say anything. But obviously she would have expected me to say something – still what? When I started to say something, the stupid telephone operator interrupted again, informing us that we had about half a minute to go.
After fruitlessly requesting the operator for some more time, I just said gently, 'Jald phone karunga Amrit. Khyaal rakhiye.'
'Aap bhi ...apna khyaal rakhiyega', she replied and the call got disconnected. I was still reminiscing over those few words she had said.