Prithvi... [Vol 1] (Ongoing) (Winner of Wattpad India Awards 2019)

Chapter 13

“What are you taking upstairs, Nandini?”
 
Nandini, who had been distractedly walking upstairs, all of a sudden realized what she was doing and turned around and came down hastily. Her grandfather had been sitting on his armchair and had watched in bewilderment as she came inside in a daze and walked upstairs with a big cardboard box.
 
“What is in the box? Oh! Is it what you found in Ayodhya?” he asked as she came towards him.
 
“Yes grandpa”
 
“Why didn’t you ask Prakash to help, Nandini?” grandfather scolded. “You should not have carried that heavy box yourself.”
 
“It’s not heavy, grandpa,” Nandini smiled as she set it down near his chair.
 
“Yes it is,” grandpa insisted, “See how red your face has become because of the exertion.”
 
“I’ll just go and wash my hands, grandpa, they’ve become dirty,” Nandini murmured, lowering her eyes, and escaped into the kitchen. She walked up to the sink, willing her thoughts and her heartbeats to stop racing.

Why had Prithvi asked her that, she thought uneasily.

And the worst part was that she had had no answer to his question…

In her indignation at his trick, she had never thought about that part of the evening. Why had she been so distressed at the thought that he was going to go away…why had it seemed so unbearable…

And how would she be able to meet him again calmly…what if he asked her the same question…what would she do…

“Nandini, bring a cleaning cloth when you are coming from the kitchen,” grandpa called from the living room, startling her. “All these things have become very grimy.”
 
Nandini closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and resolutely pushed away all troubling thoughts.  Then she opened the tap, washed the dust off her hands and went into the tiny storeroom by the side of the kitchen for a cloth to clean the toys and other items. When she came back to the room, her grandfather was peering into the box excitedly, looking so much like a little boy.
 
Nandini grinned and walked over to the box, sat down on the floor, and began taking out the toys one by one. She wiped each thoroughly and then kept them to a side, from where grandpa would pick up them to scrutinize.
 
“Where is ma, grandpa? And Prakash?”
 
“Your mother is on the terrace to take down the dry clothes,” grandpa replied. “And your brother out is playing cricket with his friends, when he should actually be studying,” he added disapprovingly.
 
“He had a test today grandpa, let him play for some time,” Nandini smiled. Grandpa only snorted, and then took a couple of freshly-cleaned toys into his hand.
 
“These toys….they were yours and Prakash’s. And this horse…it was your father’s, Nandini,” he said softly, holding up a small wooden horse painted in colours that must have been very bright once, but were now dull and faded with age. He looked at it for a long moment, and then held it out to Nandini, who took it reverently. She had guessed that a couple of the toys must have belonged to her father, but had not known which.

Feeling a familiar prickling in her eyes, Nandini pressed her lips to the lifeless toy that had once known her father’s touch. Neither of them spoke for some time. Then she stood up, walked up to the small glass case on the wall that exhibited a small number of pretty items and placed it there in prominent display. When she turned around, her grandpa was sitting with a very somber expression on his wrinkly face, very subdued.
 
Nandini compelled herself to come to the present, so she could cheer him up too, and smiling, she walked over to him.
 
“Grandpa, I was thinking we should give these toys to Roshan and Jhanvi…they hardly have any toys at all.”
 
Her grandfather looked up at her and smiled. “Yes…that would be the right thing to do.”
 
“Now let’s see what else is there inside this magic box,” Nandini said, putting on an air of mystery that made her grandfather laugh.
 
Giggling, she took out the diaries, wiped them clean and handed them over to her grandfather.
 
“I think these diaries are yours, grandpa. I thought you would like to see them again.”
 
Her grandfather gingerly went through the diaries. “These three are mine,” he said after going through the ones that held the accounts. “But this one…its not mine…I don’t know whose it is.”
 
He gave back the one that had many blank pages. Just as Nandini took the book, the door bell rang, and forestalling her, grandfather got up to open the door. Nandini was flipping through the book again, wondering whose it was, when a photograph fell out of the pages and fluttered to the floor face down.
 
“I am sorry to disturb you again today, Bhootnathji.”
 
Nandini looked up to see Sumer Singh at the door, smiling apologetically at her grandfather. She picked up the photograph, and kept it back in the book, and got to her feet, smiling at him, even as Sarojini came down the steps with a neatly folded stack of dried clothes. Nandini gathered all the toys and diaries and kept them in the box again.
 
“Please do not say such things. We are like a family, aren’t we?” her grandfather said graciously.
 
 “Please come in and have a seat, Sumer Singhji” Sarojini said. She gave the clothes to Nandini. “Keep these in your grandfather’s room,” she whispered.
 
On returning to the living room after keeping the clothes in her grandfather’s cupboard, Nandini picked up the box and kept it on the table and then went into the kitchen to help her mother prepare tea and snacks.
 
“I have to leave for a few days for some urgent work,” Sumer Singh was saying when she returned to the drawing room with two cups of the hot beverage. Sarojini followed with a plate of biscuits.
 
“We only learnt of it yesterday and it is very necessary for either Prithvi or me to leave immediately. Prithvi only has to go to college two times a week, but he has just started with his course, so I don’t want him to go. The task shouldn’t take me more than a week. But in the meantime…” he hesitated.
 
“You don’t have to worry about Prithvi at all, Sumer Singhji,” Sarojini smiled reassuringly. “We will take care of him the same way we look after Nandini and Prakash.”
 
“Absolutely,” her grandfather nodded. “You can go on the trip without any fears or worries. Until you return, Prithvi’s well being is our responsibility.”
 
 
 
 
 
********************
 
Sumer Singh stopped for a minute to mop his face with the handkerchief, and catch his breath. It was an unusually hot day, and although it was nearing evening, the sunlight was still quite intense. A little bell tinkled somewhere behind him and he turned around to see Nandini getting off her cycle and walking towards him.
 
“Good evening, uncle,” she smiled.
 
“It wasn’t a very good evening so far, but you’ve changed that with your smile,” Sumer Singh said affectionately and Nandini smiled in pleasure at the sweet compliment. She fell in step with the old man and they began making their way towards the houses.
 
“So how was college today, Nandini?”
 
“It was alright. But there was an extra lecture, that’s why I’m late, and I had to cancel tuitions too,” she said remorsefully.
 
“I saw the children yesterday. I think this must be the only tuition class which the children will be more than happy to attend everyday.”
 
“That’s only because I let them play as much as they want and join them myself,” Nandini chuckled.
 
“Yes, I saw that also yesterday,” he laughed.
 
They walked a few steps in friendly silence.
 
“Nandini, I need a favour from you,” Sumer Singh said tentatively after some minutes of quiet.
 
“Yes, of course, uncle.”
 
“You know I may be away for a week. And I know your grandfather and mother will take as much care of Prithvi as possible. But Prithvi…he will not let them…he’ll insist on being alone and managing on his own. When he does that, will you somehow persuade him to…I mean, I’m sure you will..”

Nandini felt torn. Here she was, planning to steer clear of Prithvi for some days and now…She looked at Sumer Singh’s hopeful face. She couldn’t tell him anything…

Finally, she smiled and nodded.
 
“Thank you so much, Nandini,” he said with a wide smile, “I know you are going to be very busy with college in the next few days, but -”
 
“Busy with college?” Nandini asked, puzzled.
 
“Yes, that’s what Prithvi told me. Actually I wanted to sow some seeds of flowering plants in the courtyard and I was going to come over and ask you for help. But Prithvi said I shouldn’t call you because you are very busy and I must not expect you to come over for some days. And so I assumed you must be occupied with some college work.”
 
Nandini felt bewildered. It was true that she was feeling too embarrassed and conscious to face Prithvi again confidently after yesterday, and had secretly planned to avoid going to Ayodhya as much as possible. But she hadn’t told him anything to the effect that she would be busy. So why had he told Sumer uncle that…why had he been so confident that she wouldn’t be coming to Ayodhya for some days…
 
Unless…
 
What if everything he had asked and said yesterday was just another attempt to make her go away and not return soon, she thought with a sinking feeling. Yes…that was the only plausible explanation for the sudden change in his attitude towards her…and she had been so foolish…she hadn’t understood it at all…
 
He still couldn’t stand her…still didn’t want her anywhere near him…
 
She should have felt upset with the cavalier way in which he had once again played with her feelings. But the knowledge that his questions had not been anything more than a prank after all only left her with a feeling of mild relief and an inexplicable disappointment…
 
Nandini abruptly realized that she hadn’t said anything for some time and Sumer Singh was looking at her inquisitively. “I had forgotten, uncle,” she lied, forcing a smile onto her face, “I had told him about some project work I had.”
 
“That must be why he said that. So you both are talking like friends, Nandini,” Sumer Singh said joyfully, “I cannot tell you how happy that makes me.”
 
 
******************
 
Sumer Singh carefully placed a bundle of ironed clothes into the suitcase and then made his way to the cupboard again. He turned around with another stack of clothes to see Prithvi keeping a small plastic bag in the suitcase.
 
“What is that, my lord.”
 
“Your medicines…which you like to forget.”
 
“I had not forgotten, my lord,” Sumer Singh objected. “I was just going to keep them after arranging everything else in the bag.”
 
“That’s how you manage to leave them behind every time, Baba,” Prithvi said dryly and Sumer Singh smiled guiltily.
 
Prithvi went up to the table to pick up the elderly man’s reading glasses, and idly gazed out the window. He started to turn around, then stopped and looked out with heightened interest.
 
When Sumer Singh looked up from his packing, he noticed Prithvi looking beyond with a slight frown and walked up to him to look outside himself.
 
At a great distance away, near the temple, a few people were milling around. Some were selling fruits and vegetables, while others had baskets of flowers. It was the usual scene at this time of the day.
 
“I’ll just be back, Baba,” Prithvi said suddenly, and headed towards the door.
 
“Where are you going, my lord.”
 
Prithvi swung around. “You like roasted peanuts, don’t you. There is a man selling them near the temple. I’ll get some for you, Baba.”
 
He didn’t wait for Sumer Singh to say anything and walked out of the house and across the square. All those strolling around in the area stared at the striking young man. Prithvi walked past everyone without returning their looks or smiles, with eyes fixed on the man with the straw basket, who was standing under a tree.
 
The man, who had a bushy mustache and beard, had been confidently making sales to everyone for a long time, but the closer Prithvi came, the more agitated his movements became. There were no customers around him now, and for a minute, it looked as though he was about to pack up and leave. But then he seemed to decide against it, though he was determinedly looking anywhere except at the approaching stranger.
 
When Prithvi was just a few feet away, the man finally gave up the charade and looked at him with some kind of terrified defiance.
 
Prithvi came to a halt right in front of him. “You’ve been standing in the sun for a long time, Jiva,” he said with concern. “Don’t you know that’s not a good thing at your age? It could shorten your already limited life span.”
 
“I’m not Jiva,” the man said in an uneven voice, a sheen of sweat on his face. “You have mistaken me for someone else.”
 
“I doubt that…only you would be stupid enough to come here with such a ridiculous disguise.”
 
The man’s final pretense also dropped, and he seemed to shrivel a little.
 
“I am only doing this on his orders, your highness,” Jiva mumbled, bowing as low as he could with the basket strapped around his neck, and without rousing any curiosity among the bystanders
 
“I know. That’s the only reason you are still standing safe and sound,” Prithvi said grimly.
 
“And now I want you to take a message to Indrajit,” he continued in an icy voice. “Sumer Baba will leave tomorrow evening. After that, Indrajit can meet me whenever he likes.”
 
“If he can’t wait for that long, and if he tries anything while Sumer Baba is around and Baba is injured in any way, or if anything happens to Baba while he is away, Indrajit will not live long enough to regret it.  And before I deal with him, I’ll deal with you.”
 
Jiva swallowed in fear and nodded vigorously, profoundly thankful that he would be able to walk away without having any bones broken.
 
Prithvi turned to walk away. Then he came to a halt and swiveled.
 
“And let him know that he is not to come here either, the way he did the last time,” he added coldly. “I’m sure there is no dearth of places where he can get rid of me and burn all the evidence.”
 
 “I’ll convey everything you’ve said, your highness,” Jiva swore.
 
“And yes…I almost forgot.”
 
“Yes, your highness?” Jiva waited fearfully.
 
“I’d like to buy some of those peanuts for Baba.”
 
 
*************************
   
“So did you talk to him again yesterday, Nandini?”
 
“Errr….no,” Nandini said uncomfortably, “but I spoke to Sumer uncle.”
 
“You spoke to the uncle!” Vrinda said, aggravated. “What use is that? Speak to the nephew, Nandini, speak to the nephew! Did you forget everything I said the day before yesterday?”
 
“I had some other things to do, Vrinda. And I told you,” Nandini said sadly, “He still doesn’t like me.”
 
 “Leave her alone, Vrinda,” Nishi reprimanded. “The day she becomes friendly with him, the first thing we’ll do is arrange his date with you.”
 
“Oooohhhhh” Vrinda squealed and lapsed into dreamy silence. Nandini and Nishi sighed in relief.
 
They were sitting in the canteen during one of their breaks and Vrinda had been cross-examining her earnestly for the past 15 minutes about Prithvi. Nandini had not known the answers to most of her questions and was made to feel terribly guilty about her unforgivable ignorance. The only solace was that the news that he was her neighbour had not spread across the college as yet. Nandini could imagine the grilling she would face from the girls in the college once that happened….what would she do then…
 
Nandini sighed again despondently and looked out the canteen’s entrance, wondering if he had come to college today. Sumer Singh had said he only had to come twice a week…
 
Nandini suddenly sat up straighter. Rishabh had just walked past…and was that a plaster on his face…
 
 She jumped to her feet, and pushed back her chair to make her way towards the corridor.
 
“What is it, Nandini,” Vrinda asked, surprised.
 
“I just saw Rishabh walking by,” Nandini said worriedly.  “And I think I saw a bandage on his face.” She looked at Nishi and Vrinda, both of whom looked as anxious as she felt and all three of them rushed into the corridor.
 
“Rishabh!” Nandini called out.
 
Rishabh, who was a little way ahead, turned around and grinned at the three girls who were advancing towards him with concern writ all over their faces. There was a white plaster on his cheek, a cut near his mouth and the left lens of his spectacles had a big scratch.
 
“How did you get hurt?” Nandini asked, horrified at the bruises.
 
“And what happened to your glasses?” Nishi asked.
 
“It’s nothing to worry about,” he said lightly.
 
Nandini glared at him, undeceived by his attempt to play down the issue. “That’s what you said on Tuesday, Rishabh,” she reminded him severely. “I am not going to fall for that again.”
 
Rishabh fidgeted for some moments, and then accepted defeat.
 
“Well…on Tuesday…some senior boys picked on me again,” he admitted, “Dhiren and his gang.”
 
“Why do they do this,” Nandini asked distraughtly. “Why can’t they leave you alone…”
 
“Did you complain to the authorities?” Nishi demanded.
 
Rishabh shook his head.
           
“If you won’t complain, then I will,” Nandini said angrily and started to walk around him to go upstairs to the principal’s office.
 
“No, you don’t need to, Nandini,” Rishabh stopped her hastily. “Dhiren and his friends have already got what they deserved,” he said with a grin.
 
“What do you mean,” Vrinda asked as Nandini and Nishi exchanged perplexed expressions.
 
“Someone helped me. You should have seen it, girls. He frightened all of them so badly,” Rishabh said enthusiastically. “Dhiren’s hand is still in bad shape and that boy made them pay money for my glasses also. My new lens will be ready by this weekend.”
 
“But who was it?” Nandini enquired, intending to go and thank whoever it was for helping her friend.
 
 “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before,” Rishabh frowned in concentration. “I don’t think he is a new student, he didn’t look like one. Maybe he is in some other stream. He just left after helping me. I couldn’t even thank him or ask him his name. ”
 
“We need to hear this story in detail,” Vrinda declared. “So you are coming with us into the canteen, where we left our bags in our hurry to meet you, and which I hope are still there and have not been stolen.”
 
And she and Nishi caught either of his arms and marched a laughing Rishabh into the canteen.
 
Nandini chuckled and was following her friends inside, when on an impulse she looked to her right and saw Prithvi striding down the corridor. The corridor was quite crowded, and she was blocked from his view by a large group of students. He seemed to be heading towards the huge doors at the entrance of the college.
 
Just for a second or two, she thought of calling out to him. All her friends were in the canteen, and they were really keen to meet him.
 
But then, he detested her so much, maybe it would be better for Nishi, Vrinda and Rishabh if he met them without knowing that they were her friends, Nandini thought miserably. That way they would have a better chance of being liked by him….
 
Prithvi strode out of the college, and she slowly walked into the canteen to rejoin the little group…
 
*************************
 
Sumer Singh was sitting on the sofa with a checklist in hand, ticking off the items one at a time after ensuring that he had packed them. He would be leaving in around 4 hours, and had arranged a car for the long journey.
 
He was nearing the end of the list when his cell phone, which was lying next to him, began ringing. He picked it up, looked at the number, and then answered with a very brusque, “What is it?”
 
As he listened to the person on the other side, the look of distaste on his face gradually turned to that of dread.
 
“Are you sure about this?” he asked, clenching the phone tightly with a stone cold hand. What he heard apparently convinced him, and he cut the call without saying anything else. With slightly shaking hands, he began dialing a number from his cell, but he couldn’t get through after repeated attempts. He then called up the car rental agency and asked for a vehicle to be sent as soon as possible.
 
He got to his feet and swiftly went through the gate into Vrindavan and rang the bell. Prakash opened the door and grinned at him.
 
“Hello uncle, come in,” he said jauntily.
 
“Hello Prakash,” he said with a strained smile. “Are your grandfather or mother at home?”
 
“No, they’ve both gone outside.”
 
“Then I need your help, Prakash. I have to get in touch with Prithvi right away...but I keep getting the message that network is unavailable. I know Nandini does not have a mobile, but is there any way I can contact her…and maybe she could give Prithvi the message.”
 
Proud at being asked for his help by an adult, Prakash eagerly said, “Di’s friend Nishi has a phone. I’ll give you her number.”
 
He ran to the telephone, took out a diary from underneath it, and came running back to the door. He dictated the number to Sumer Singh, who dialed and started to walk back towards Ayodhya without saying anything more, leaving behind a mystified Prakash.
 
 
*****************************
 
“And you girls won’t believe this, Dhiren couldn’t free his hand no matter what he did.” Rishabh told his fascinated audience gleefully. “It was only after they put my books back into my bag and gave me the money for -”
 
Nishi’s phone began to ring loudly and many heads turned in the direction of their table. She swiftly took it out of her bag and answered it.
 
“Hello…who is this…yes, just a minute.”
 
“It’s for you, Nandini,” she said, holding out the phone.
 
“For me? Is it my mother?”
 
“No,” Nishi shook her head, ““Its some man…asking for you,”
 
Which man was calling to talk to her on her friend’s phone? Bemused, Nandini took the phone.
 
“Hello”
 
“Nandini, this is Sumer Singh here. Can I to talk you right now?”
 
“Sumer uncle,” Nandini smiled, “I was wondering who...Yes of course, uncle. What -”
 
“Did you see Prithvi in college today?” he cut in tensely.
 
Nandini was rather taken aback at his tone….she had never heard him sound so stressed and brusque before, and the urgency in his voice was a little frightening.
 
“Prithvi…I…I saw him leaving some time ago, uncle,” she replied apprehensively.   
 
“Don’t let him go out of the campus, Nandini,” he said immediately, “I’ve been trying to call him but I’m not able to get through to him. I’ll keep trying his number, but if possible don’t let him leave the campus.”

“But uncle, why - has something happened,” she asked desperately, getting more and more frightened with each passing moment.
 
“I’m on my way, and the network can get cut anytime...”
 
“I’ll try and stop him from leaving...But please uncle, tell me” she pleaded, “What’s wrong.”
 
“His life is in danger, Nandini. You have to stop him. Somehow. Anyhow. I’ll expl-”
 
The line went dead.
 
*****************************