Chapter 22:

Ek Katori Daal

 

After Meera had taken the clients, Maan checked his mails. The work had piled up and most of the work was not his but that of his secretary. He wanted to give her a piece of mind for wasting his precious time when he remembered that he didn't have one anymore. News had spread like fire that KC had the highest rate of fired secretaries and hence no sensible woman wanted to join. Those few brave ones usually had less interest in the job and more in MSK. Maan had repeatedly asked Adi to get some candidates even if from another city but no one could be found. He also thought about asking Geet. She was very efficient and sincere when it came to work and had one quality that was almost vital for the job: immunity to his anger. He sighed when he realised that she would never take up the responsibility as she would have to compromise with her bistro. He can still remember how she had protested working temporarily on DeMello's project.

He thought a little about Geet and wondered whether she was still sleeping. He called Nakul and inquired about her. Nakul told him that she had left shortly before lunch. Maan further questioned about her having breakfast and Nakul said he had brought her some but she was still sleeping. After she had left he had checked the plate and it was untouched. Maan cut the call and made his way to BG where he was sure to find Geet.

"Kabhi kabhi mujhe sach mein lagta hain ke is ladki ka dimaag bilkul khaali hain. Koi baat bolu is ke palle hi nahin parta." He knew she didn't have dinner last night and now not even breakfast. And just as he had expected she wasn't having lunch just like everyone else but was working and that too with her injured hand. He looked around to locate Romeo but he was nowhere to be found.

"GEET" he yelled and she got so scared as it had come totally unexpected that she dropped the tablet with someone's lunch. Unfortunately it landed directly on her foot.

"Ouch" she screamed and Maan held her as she was almost falling down. Not wanting to create a drama in front of his staff he led Geet, who was humping on one foot now, to her private room.

"Aap ko bara mazaa aata haina mujhe dard deke. Pehle kalaahi aur ab pair bhi" she scolded him.

"Geet ghalati meri nahin tumhari thi" Maan said going into the kitchen and looking for a clean towel and some ice. He came back only to see Geet looking at him in disbelief.

"MERI ghalati? Mujhpe chillaja kaun? Mujhe darraya kisne?" She asked him.

"Meri baat kisne nahin maani?" Maan asked back. He wrapped the bag with ice cubes into the towel and put in on Geet's foot which had become red and started to swell a little.

"Maine aapki kaunsi baat nahin maani?"

"Meine kaha tha na keh tum koi bhi meal skip nahin karogi. OK kal dinner time peh tum sorahin thi, lekin uthne ke baad kyun kuch nahin khaaya?"

"Woh main late uthi thin na aur mujhe kaam ke liye deri horahin thi isi liye" she said innocently. Maan sighed.

"Geet, kaam chahe kitna kyun na ho, meals skip karna acchi baat nahin hoti hain"

"Aap bhi to karte hai. Dadi ne bataya tha ke ghar pe breakfast aur dinner sirf kabhi kabhi karte ho aur lunch agar lunch meeting ho toh." Her reply shut him up. He knew he, too, did the same and he hated Dadi for telling her that. He wondered how he should explain to her and decided to leave it there. Geet was incredibly stubborn and she would find a reply to all his arguments. Moreover, she had said that even in the past she had skipped meals and she looked very healthy to him.

"Theek hain Geet jaisa tum chaho." He stood up, lifted her and made her sit on his lap.

"Ek baat batao, KC mein aane ke baad tum mujhse milni kyun nahin aae?"

"Woh Meera…" she stopped because she remembered Meera telling her once what had happened to one of her colleagues who was caught by Maan romancing with her own husband in the archive. Maan raised his brow. Geet tried to twist the truth a little and continued:

"Woh Meera koh client ke saath upar aate dekha tha na to maine socha ke uske liye lunch bana du."

"Khud apna khaane ka thikana nahin aur dusro ka dekhni chali" Maan muttered under his breath but Geet had heard him.

"Aisa kuch nahin hain. Mujhe khaana banana aur dusro ko khilana bohut pasad hain. Lekin mein khud khaane ka shaukh nahin rakti" Geet explained sweetly.

"Aisa kyun?" Maan wondered.

"Kya haina, bachpan se hi mamma aur main pakate aae hain aur humare ghar mein pehle buzurg, phir mard aur phir aurte khaatete. Mujhe to pakane ke waqt hi bhook lagtiti, lekin khaana bhook marjane ke baad hi miltata." Geet put her head on Maan's shoulder and narrated further:

"Pata hain, ek baar mamma ko meri bhook dekhi nahin gai aur unho ne mujhe chori chori thori si daal dedi ek katori mein. Daarji ne dekh liya, mamma ka haat jaladiya aur hum dono ko do din kuch khaane ko nahin diya. Tab se maine mama ko kabhi bhi nahin bola ke mujhe bhook lagi hain aur ab adat si bangae hain bhookha rehne ki."

Maan felt his shoulder getting wet and saw Geet silently shedding tears. His heart ached to hear that his love had been mistreated like this and rage filled him for her family.

He whipped her tears and gave her a loving kiss.

"Please don't cry Geet." But Geet shook her head and said:

"Mamma ki yaad aati haina to aansu rukhte nahin." He could just understand her too well. Even his heart cried remembering his mother. But if he broke down what would he do with Geet. He embraced her and let her cry some more.

Tears take away sorrow hence we should not stop them.

'Mere naseeb mein aansoo nasahin, lekin Geet ka to woh saat derahe hain.' 

He rubbed her back gently and gave Geet a moment while he remembered her scrapbook. He didn't wish to reveal that he had been snooping around in her personal book, after what he knew of Geet she might really cut of his nose, but he was curious about some points. He decided to ask her on one topic at a time.

 

"Geet, tumhari mamma kaha hain abhi?"

"Pata nahin" She cried more and this time loudly. It seemed to Maan that he had hit a very sensitive nerve of hers. Her hold on him tightened and Maan got worried.

"Geet, kya hua? I am sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"Mujhe mamma ke paas jana hain." She demanded like a small child.

"Theek hai, main leke jaunga tumhe, bolo kab jana hain."

"Mein nahin ja sakti na, mamma ne hi kasam dilwaiti mujhe." Maan didn't understand a thing. He knew Geet's mother had sent her or rather made her run away from home but why, he had no clue.

"Suno toh, please calm down and tell me what happened, or do you think it is none of my business." He had purposely added the last bit. He knew Geet very well by now or at least enough to tell she would never think this way. He added a fake sad face and Geet instantly wiped her tears and spoke up.

"Nahin sir, aisa nahin hain. Mein jab choti thin a toh ek din mein school se ghar aae. Mamma bohut tensed thi aur poocha toh pata chala ke meri shaadi pakki hogai thi." Maan gripped Geet tighter as if he feared she might be taken away from him.

"Mamma ko yeh rishta manzoor nahin tha lekin humare ghar mein naahi mamma aur naahi mujhe bolne ka haq tha. Isiliye unhone mujhe raat ko bhaga diya ghar se. Jaane se pehle mera haat unke sar pe rakha tha" Geet put Maan's hand on her own head, showing her exactly how it had been and continued:

"aur kasam dilwaiti ki main kabhi zindagi mein Hoshiarpur wapas nahin aungi. Maine maa ko kaha tha ke wo bhi mere saath aae aur unhone kaha tha ke wo jitni jaldi hogi mere paas aegi, lekin abhi tak nahin aae." Geet started to cry again. Maan understood her pain. He also understood Rano's actions. Knowing Geet she might have lied to her just to get her to go away. Maan thanked her from the bottom of his heart for having sent her away from the hell she had been living in. But this did not mean he would just sit there and see his lady love suffer. He was Maan Singh Khurana and as Geet still held Maan's hand on her head he swore something in the depths of his heart.

'Geet, I swear to you that one day you will once again have your mother by your side. She made you swear not to come looking for her, but this does not apply to me.' 

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In case there are any mistakes, please ignore them. I have tried my best to correct them all before posting but I always miss some out.