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Hi Anjani...Jayasreeji both of you are here. great. Now check the first page and I will update the story in the mean time.
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<div><font color="#6600cc">Exactly...Rules in office...rules at home...pity those 2 boys...😡</font>
The golden rays barely had appeared in the sky that morning. There was still more than hour before the peeking sun changed his colour from dark orange to dark yellow and began his work of heating up the earth. But Lucknow's KGH was already bustling with activity.
Dr Ranganath was almost running to keep up with the ground eating strides of his dean and boss, Dr Ashutosh. At 45, he seemed to have gained his second youth with his energy levels equalling that of his interns and juniors younger to him by more than a decade. The crowded hospital corridors that lead to his cabin were as familiar to him as the back of his hand. He strode through them effectively dodging the staff and patients alike. Many stopped to greet the surgeon in deference. He nodded in a distracted manner but didn't stop or slow his pace. Interns took one look at that stern face and scattered around like mice in search of the nearest hole. Dr Ranganath continued to flip through the pages of the file ticking each point off before rattling the summary to his dean.
"Sir, the conference hall has been arranged as per your specifications."
The deep voice rumbled out. "And the broken chairs I mentioned about? Where they replaced?"
Dr Ranganath barely controlled rolling his eyes. Dr Ashutosh didn't mention anything about broken chairs. He picked them up and threw them out of the room. He didn't say a word. He didn't need to. The attender was still being treated for high temperature. Net result of trying to withstand the force of that glare during the final inspection. Nevertheless, he cleared his throat and answered, "Yes sir. I personally replaced them and told Aslam to check on the rest of furniture."
"And the ID cards and badges for the members? There are going to be more than 1000 doctors attending this year." Pride peeked out of his eyes and resonated in his deep voice.
"Taken care of, sir. Our interns will be at all the entrance points. The badges will be handed over as soon as the doctors register for the conference."
"The Chief Guest has been reminded again?"
"Uh..yes sir."
Both of them entered the cabin that was considered as the personal domain of Dr Ashutosh in KGH. A strictly functional room with zero personal touches of any kind. After sitting down in his comfortable revolving chair, he gestured Dr Ranganath to take a seat.
"I hope so, Dr Ranganth. Conference will be inaugurated at 9 AM sharp..with or without our esteemed Chief Guest."
"Uh sir..you do know he is.."
"I don't care if he is the PM himself. I expect him to stick to the specified time."
"You haven't changed at all, have you Ashutosh?"
Both men looked up at the new familiar voice from the doorway. After the initial silence of stunned surprise, Ashutosh blinked and gave his usual lop sided smile. Ranganath smiled and got up.
"Hello Dr Mallika. After a long time. How are you?"
With a tentative smile she came into the cabin. Years hadn't changed her much and the atmosphere of the foreign country had made her fair complexion even fairer. "Hello Ranganath. I'm good. How are you?"
"Fine ma'am. I didn't know that you were back from Australia."
"I came to take care of some stuff and got to know that the conference is at KGH this year. Socha issi bahaane sabse milna bhi hojayega." Her reply was neutral enough but she never looked away from Ashutosh. It was as if her eyes had a mind of their own and trying to make up for all the lost time.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Ranganath gathered up his papers and got up. "I'll make a move sir."
Ashutosh nodded. "Let me know if there are any issues. I'll see you at the auditorium in.." with a quick glance at his watch, "15 minutes."
"Sure sir. Bye Dr Mallika."
"See you Dr Ranganath." The door closed softly behind him. "How are you, Ashutosh?"
He nodded. "Good. And you?"
"I'm fine."
"Son or daughter?"
"Daughter."
That drew another smile from him. This one more natural. "That's great. Congratulations."
"Thank you. Tum bilkul bhi nahi badle Ashutosh." Her smile was tremulous as her wide eyes devoured him.
Ashutosh's shrug was a combination of awkwardness and nonchalance. "Change is the one constant thing in our lives, Mallika. Time changes and people change along with the time."
"But people's feelings don't change with time. Not always." And mine didn't change either, Ashutosh. I still love you. Love you more if possible.
That drew a grin from him. "True that."
Silence reigned in the cabin until it became oppressive to her. It was as if he didn't know what to say after that. The soft ping from his iPad distracted him..or may be saved him. He glanced at it and started tapping away a reply and she continued to look at him. Except the slightly greying hair, he hadn't changed either. Did she really at one point think that she could forget him? What had turned her into such a self-sacrificing person? All that speech about wanting him to forget her etc..did she really mean any of it? On hindsight, no. She didn't want him to forget her even for a moment. She couldn't forget him for a moment. All these years and even with a child of her own, her thoughts inevitably strayed back to him. Did he think about her at all? Did he miss her friendship? Those long hours of conversations..
Her eyes searched the cabin. No personal memento of any kind. Why? Where was his darling wife? The love of his life? Nidhi! Were they divorced already? A spark of hope lit in her. Was that why he was not meeting her eyes? Did he not want her to see his failure to hold on to his young wife? He should know that she would never hold it against him. After all, it wasn't his fault that Nidhi continued to be so immature, was it? On that long ago day when he had given her a lift in his car, she had told him to give Nidhi some time..that she was young and had her whole life in front of her. She tried to show him that she was a changed person.
A small smile played on her lips. He had tried to hide it but she had seen his disappointment with his wife. She bit her lip in contemplation. She should've thought through properly before walking out of KGH, Lucknow and this country. If she had stayed, she was sure he would've got attached to her child and then to her. No point in crying over spilt milk so to speak. First she needed to know what his life had been like the last couple of years. Then she would decide how to go about reassuring him that she always had and always would love him and would love to have him in her life.
"Can you send Dr Ahana into my cabin please?"
Ashutosh's voice jerked her out of her thoughts. He was speaking to someone on the intercom..the receptionist probably. Who was this Ahana? Another intern? No doubt she would be slayed by this Dr Heartstone for whatever brought that frown on his face. Within a few moments, there was a soft knock on the cabin door before it opened to reveal a young short girl with a chirpy look and laughter spilling out of her eyes.
"Good morning Dr Ashutosh!"
He turned and behind the eye glasses his dark eyes smiled. "Come in Dr Ahana. How is everything?"
The girl actually bounced like a spring. "Good sir. But you know what? I'm so nervous. Itni badi conference hain and you made me the in-charge of the reception committee..I couldn't even sleep last night."
A grin adorned his face again making Mallika blink in shock. He was grinning at that statement? The Ashutosh she remembered would've slayed this girl with a few well-chosen words. Who was this guy?
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll excel at it. And I gave you the responsibility because I have confidence in your ability to handle it."
The girl was in raptures at that. "Yes sir. Thank you sir. I promise I won't let you and KGH down in any way."
He nodded briskly. "Good. This is Dr Mallika. Until a few years back she used to work in KGH as one of the senior doctors." He gestured towards Mallika but his eyes remained on Ahana, who was nodding and smiling.
"Hello Dr Mallika. I'm Ahana." After a quick glance at his raised eyebrow, she bit her lip and corrected herself. "Dr Ahana. I did my internship here and later on my PG in ENT. Just gave my finals."
Mallika nodded and smiled. A small frown gathered on her face. What was going on? Was he not going to talk to her? Before she left, he was all set to forgive and forget. What happened now? Why did he call this girl? She got her answer with his next words.
"Dr Mallika is a last minute entry to our conference. She has just landed from Australia. So.."
Ahana didn't allow him to complete the sentence. "Sure sir. Not a problem. I'll take care of the process right away. Ma'am, please come with me."
"Dr Ahana?" Unbelievably a streak of mischief peeked out of his eyes as Ashutosh called her back.
"Yes sir?"
"I presume Dr Aditi is ready with the dresses for the dinner tonight?"
Ahana giggled and nodded. "Yes sir. I'm sure the one she designed for you is going to be the best."
He gave a mock sigh of exasperation that drew another bout of laughter from Ahana before holding the door open for Mallika with an expectant look on her face. Left with little choice, Mallika got up and followed her. Ahana and one of her colleagues, one Dr Aditi, kept up a running conversation for the next one hour and even dragged her to the scrumptious breakfast buffet. She met and greeted her old colleagues and even a few of her classmates. But all through, her eyes continued to search for the one person who was the sole reason behind her impromptu visit to Lucknow and KGH. She checked her watch for the nth time. Impatience ate away at her. Another twenty minutes and the conference would begin. That would put an end to her expectation of talking to her Ashutosh. And it was imperative that she talked to him. That very day. She made herself wait for two long lonely years. She couldn't..wouldn't wait for another day. With a resolute air, she walked briskly towards the KGH main building and Ashutosh's cabin; impatience nipping at her heels.
****
After glancing at his wrist watch, Ashutosh closed his iPad and adjusted his tie one last time before picking up his coat; his mind already on his welcoming speech and the topic that he was going to present later on. Just as he turned to go, the door opened and Mallika stood before him.
"Mallika? What happened? Any problem?"
"That's what I want to know Ashutosh. Is there any problem?"
A frown marred his forehead. "Mein samjha nahi."
"Why are you behaving like this? You haven't even talked to me properly and sent me off to.."
"But isn't that why you have come? To the conference and to meet and greet everyone?" There was genuine confusion on his face.
"Ashutosh, tum achchi tarah jaante ho mein yaha logon se milne nahi.tumse milne aayi hu. Humari dosti barah..nahi pandrah saal purani hain Ashutosh."
A wry smile broke out on his lips. "Nahi Mallika. I was your friend for twelve years not the other way around."
Mallika's entire body jerked as if electrocuted. "Wh..what?"
Ashutosh nodded. "Dosti meri taraf se thi Mallika. But your feelings crossed that boundary a long time back."
"But I was still your true friend. When the whole world left you, I was there with you."
"And I'm not denying it." His calm eyes looked into hers. "But it is also true that you tried your level best to make sure I always had you and only you in my life. Isn't that true?"
"Na..nahi Ashutosh."
He continued as if she didn't speak. "Nidhi ke unfair dismissal se leke uske jaan lene tak. Even your attempt to kill yourself by slashing your wrists..was that not your way to force me to push the rest of the world away? A world that included Nidhi?"
She whirled away from him in anger. "Toh aur mein kya karti? Meine itne saal tumhaara intezaar kiya aur badle mein mujhe kya mila? A girl younger to me by a whole generation comes and snatches you away from right under my nose?"
"Mein tumhaara tha hi kab Mallika jo koi aur mujhe tumse cheenle? I never loved you."
She faced him with fury spewing out of her. "But you knew! You knew that I loved you. You kept saying you didn't love me but you continued our friendship. You talked to me, spent time with me.."
"And I would forever be guilty of that crime Mallika. I won't conveniently absolve myself. I should've nipped the bud of our friendship the moment you told me about your feelings. Once love enters the equation..and when it is one sided, friendship is lost forever. I realized that too late."
He sighed as he remembered Armaan's wise statement. It's not good to trust such hyper women. Wish he had listened. Instead he always put her on a pedestal and backed her up. He winced as pictures of some of his past deeds flashed before him. He was guilty of more than passively encouraging Mallika and he knew it. More angry with himself, he tried to back down. "Anyway, all that is water under the bridge. No point digging it up again. Both of us have moved on and.."
Mallika shook her head and took a step closer to him. "That's where you're wrong Ashutosh. I haven't moved on. I'm still standing in the same place and still saying the same thing. I love.."
The ticking muscle of his jaw was the only indication of his rising fury. "You better stop right there Mallika. Don't lose what little self-respect you've managed to earn the past few years."
"What do you mean by that Ashutosh?"
His eyes hardened. "You really need to ask that question? Yeh sawal apne aap se poocho. A person who was sworn to protect the lives for people to the best of her ability tried to actually plot and kill another person."
"But you forgave me for that Ashutosh. Before I left for Australia, you wanted me and my friendship."
He shook his head. "Jahaa aitbaar nahi waha kaisi dosti Mallika? When Jagan came to KGH and made his threats I refused to even look for you. But Nidhi pushed me to it. And once I realized that you were pregnant, I shoved away my anger and tried to help you. Baba didn't like it and warned me about it. But I still went ahead and did it. Nidhi didn't like it either. It made her insecure. But I still did my best to help you. The thought of an innocent child's life in danger was enough motivation for me."
"Aur mein? Mein kuch nahi?"
"You were just another human being..an ex-colleague of mine who needed my help." His eyes never wavered from her face as he said that.
She caught hold of his arm in desperation. "Ashutosh, nahi..meri baat suno.."
He continued to look at her fingers gripping his arm until she released it and stepped back. "Nidhi might be magnanimous enough to forgive you for your attempt in poisoning her Mallika. But I'm not. What little friendship we had and what little gratitude I felt for you died that day. You poisoned it and killed it with your own hands."
Mallika looked at the unmovable expression on his face. Light dimmed, flickered and extinguished in her eyes and face lost its colour. "Ashutosh, please.." She made a last ditch attempt.
"Excuse me, Mallika. I need to go. Have a safe trip and my blessings to your daughter."
****
"Dr Mallika! Excuse me, Dr Mallika!" Mallika's dazed eyes turned to look at Ahana. "Aap jaarahi hain Dr Mallika? But the inaugural function is just about to begin."
Aditi came running to pull Ahana. "Yaar, chalo na. You know Nidhi is going to speak first and I don't want to miss it."
"Yaar hope she gets her kiddos too. Sachchi mein. I never saw such cute twins in my life. Muah!"
Aditi rolled her eyes. "Aryan and Anisha are the reason you didn't get the seat in OBG like Nidhi. You were too busy changing their nappies instead of studying."
Ahana didn't look the least bothered. "Toh kya hua? They were worth it I tell you! Are they..?"
"No. They are not coming. Baba and Verma uncle are going to take care of them. Now move."
"Uh yeah..I'm coming." She started to run but turned back. "Aap bhi aayiye Dr Mallika. You need to hear Dr Nidhi Mathur speak on stage."
"Nidhi is one of the speakers? What is the topic?" Was it her own voice, Mallika wondered? Why did it sound so low?
Ahana grinned. "Waise toh she did her DGO. But today she is going to give the welcoming speech to the delegates on behalf of KGH. Sir will take over after that."
Aditi pulled making Ahana stumble and curse her friend as both of them ran towards the entrance of the huge auditorium. Mallika turned back towards the main gate that would once again take her out of KGH. This time, forever.
To love..is nothing
To be loved..is something
To love and be loved..is everything.
****
Originally posted by: jayasree.rao
Did you think that all will be obedient readers like me?
🤣 Jayasree ji...u urself r not following the rule 😆
BTW hi..how r u...long time.. huh seems its gonna be Suvikians ka maha milan 😆
Word Count: 0
Originally posted by: jayasree.rao
Our great Siddhuji Said that rules and eggs are there to be broken.Still my comment is on page 2.
Originally posted by: jayasree.rao
Our great Siddhuji Said that rules and eggs are there to be broken.Still my comment is on page 2.
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