It is almost 12 at night. The rain is pounding hard outside and cyclonic winds seem determined to shatter the windowpanes. Curtains are billowing, and the winds outside make ominous sounds. The atmosphere inside the Bhalla household bears the look of tragedy.
We see Ishita in a blue saree, marching across the drawing-room, continuously trying to get through to Raman. Tears roll down her cheeks, and her face looks red and swollen. Possibly, she has been crying for a while now. Toshi ji is seen sitting on the sofa, with her hand clutching her forehead, as she continues to cry inconsolably. Simmi looks on angrily at Ishita, while shaking her head and consoling her mother.
"Maa bas! Ab kitna rooge aap? Bhai ko kuch nahin hoga. Woh theek hai, bas reh gaya hoga kisi meeting mein."
"Itni raat gaye keda meeting honda hai? Mera baccha kahan hoga? Na phone, na message. Aajkal kisi se baat tak nahin karta..Kahan jata, kab aata kuch khair nahin uski...Main karun toh kya karun???Aur itna toofan hai baahar...Kahin kuch aisa waisa ho gaya toh..."
"Mummy ji, please aisa mat kahiye. Main try kar rahi hun naa..Bas yeh network hi nahin lag raha. Lagta hai mujhe bahar jaake hi dekhna padega.."
"Pagal ho gayi hai tu Ishita? Inni raat gaye tu akele use dhoondne jayegi? Main tere saath chalungi."
"Par Mummy ji..," she breaks mid-sentence as she sees her phone ringing that very moment. It's Mani. She receives the call even before the first ring is over.
"Mani-kuch-pata chala?" She goes in one breath, hurriedly.
"Nahin Ishita. Kuch pata nahin chala. Maine sab jagah dekh liya, jahan bhi ho saka. Aur main bhi kafi der se phone try kar raha hun par lag hi nahin raha. Lagta hai humen saath mein bahar jaake Raman ko dhoondna padega. Zaroorat pade, toh shayad police station bhi chalna pade..."
"Haan Mani. Mujhe bhi yahi lagta hai. Accha suno, kya tum yahan aa sake ho? Pata hai bahut der raat chuki hai par hamare paas aur koi option nai hai Mani..."
Simmi has a weird, indecipherable look on her face as Ishita talks to Mani. And just at that moment they hear a knock on the door.
"Accha Mani. Lagta hai Raman aa gaye. Main tumse baad mein baat karti hun."
Disconnecting the call, she runs to the door and wrenches it open.
All the Bhallas are gathered at the entrance. Toshi ji rushes to Raman's side and holds him by the hand.
"Kahan gaya tha tu Puttar? Pata hai, tere peeche hum sabka kya haal ho rakha tha? Kahin gaadi waadi kharaab toh nahin ho gayi thi na raste mein? Tu kahin bhi chala jaa, kabhi mana gaya tujhe? Kam-es-kam ek phone toh kar liya hota Puttar." Toshi ji breaks down. "Main toh inna darr gayi thi. Mera toh jee ghabra raha tha ki kahin tujhe kuch ho to nahin gaya."
Raman looks on, staring into the space, with a pained expression on his face. "Maa woh...
All this while", Ishita, who had been looking at him teary-eyed, cuts him. "Kahan they aap? Kitni baar aapka phone try kiya maine. Aapko pata hai ghar mein na kisi ne kuch khaya hai na piya hai. Kis-kis ko nahin kiya call maine aapke bare mein poochne ke liye...Hum sabki yeh haalat dekhke Ruhi aapke bare mein chaar dafa pooch chuki hai. Aur humne use jhooth bolke mana rakha hai. Kam se kam ek phone ke toh hakdaar hai naa hum?" she looks at him pleadingly.
For a moment we see Raman struggling with himself, a brief moment of softness and vulnerability washes over him. The entire Bhalla family is looking on, and yet, this moment seems to be intensely private as two pairs of eyes remain locked in each other. Raman, trying to gauge what lay behind those pleading, teary eyes and Ishita, questioning Raman with a pained look in her eyes. She is trying to look for an answer in his eyes. Though this moment is for a few seconds only, if feels like eternity, and then -
"Aapko pata hai...Mani tak dhoondne chala gaya tha aapko. Aapke office, saare conference halls, Mihir ka ghar..yahan tak ki Ashok ke ghar chala gaya tha woh, yeh sochke ki kahin aap usse milne na chale gaye ho.."
And then, we see the warm, fuzzy look in Raman's harden to a fiery, hard metal.
" Tum apne kaam se matlab rakho toh tumhare liya accha hoga. Ab hato mere raaste se." Saying this, he waves his hand at her dismissively and walks on purposefully towards the bedroom.
Ishita looks shocked, even more struck, humiliated and extremely hurt. More silent tears roll down her cheeks.
Toshi ji looks at all this with an unparalleled consternation on her face. "Pata nahin kiski nazar lag gayi mere parivaar ko. Mera baccha kis dal-dal mein phasa hua hai... Najaane kis dard se guzar raha hai...kehna-bolna sab chhod diya hai...rab humen yeh kaise din dikha raha hai Bhalla ji...kaise din dikha raha hai..." she falls dejectedly into Bhalla ji's arms.
"Toshi ji..thand rakho. Shant ho jao Toshi ji. Abhi Raman bahut pareshan aur thaka hua lag raha hai. Main..kal baat karta hun usse. Aap chinta na karo..rab sab sambhaal lega Toshi ji." He comforts his wife and gives her a glass of water to drink. "Mere khayaal se bahut raat chuki hai. Ishita puttar, kafi der ho gayi hai. Ab jaake thoda aaram kar le puttar. Aur Simmi tub hi jaake so jaa..Accha sun...yeh Romi kitthe hai? Shaam se dikha hi nahi hai."
"Arrey Daddy ji, main aapko batana bhool gayi..woh kab ka wapas aa chukka hai. Apne kamre mein so raha hai..keh raha tha sabko bol dun ki use koi na disturb kare." Bhalla ji nods in response. She continues, "Chalo..ab main bhi sone jaa rahi hun. Yeh bhai ke chakkar mein saari neend hi udd gayi thi."
As Simmi goes inside her room, Bhalla ji asks Ishita to go and sleep.
"Ji Daddy ji..aap bhi so jayiye...goodnight Daddy ji, goodnight Mummy ji."
With a heavy heart she walks into the bedroom and sees Raman fast asleep. The room is pitch dark, not saved by even the faintest sliver of moonlight and amplified by the thunder and rains outside. We see her walking delicately, like she's walking on glass, her feet severely injured. In a trance she switches on the light, opens the cupboard, and picks up her usual night attire of a pyjama and a kurta, stands at the foot of Raman's bed and stares at his sleeping silhouette, as tears keep rolling down her cheeks.
"Raman ko kya ho gaya hai? Woh zaroor kisi badi pareshani mein hai. Aakhir aisi kaunsi baat hai jiski wajah se woh mujhse itne naaraz hai???"
Raman tries hard to keep his eyes shut, lest Ishita find out and ask him those dreaded questions he no longer wanted to answer. A barrage of emotions flood through his mind, as he desperately tries to sleep.
"Ab kya karne aayi hai yahan? Meri zindagi barbaad karke yahan pyaar ka dhong kar rahi hai. Main itna bewakoof kaise ho sakta tha? Sab kuch mere saamne hota raha aur main kuch nahin kar paaya. Mujhe trust ka matlab sikhati phir rahi thi..aur aaj...mere vishwas, mera bharosa..mera...pyaar..sabkuch barbaad kar diya iss aurat ne. Par ab nahin Raman. Iss baar tu nahin roega. Tu nahin pachtayega na hi pyaar ki bheek mangega kisi se. Bas. Ab bahut ho gaya. Mere dil aur meri zindagi mein ab iss aurat ke liye koi jagah nahin."
After a few moments, Ishita turns on her heel and goes to the couch, prepares her bed and lies down on it, turning sides occasionally and lost in her own thoughts.
After a few hours...Raman noisily turns on his side, twitching uncomfortably. All his attempts to get to sleep have failed. So many thoughts torment his soul and rip it apart. So many flashbacks, memories he wanted to so desperately forget buy couldn't...
Ishita saying she really loves Mani, that he is her saviour, her hero, the best in the world...Ishita talking to Mani and singing his praises, Ishita tying the bracelet on Mani's wrist, Shagun in the bar with Ashok when she was supposed to be with her friends, Shagun kissing Ashok in the backseat of the car right in their complex, Shagun nowhere to be seen in the house after claiming she is cleaning the house, Shagun badmouthing him to Adi, Shagun telling Adi that Ashok is going to get him everything he needs the world, Ishita badmouthing him to Ruhi, Ishita talking to Mani while he is waiting for breakfast, Ishita laughing her heart out with Mani, Ishita out with Mani in the middle of the night, Shagun wrenching free from his grip and saying she's leaving him for Ashok...Shagun telling him he doesn't deserve anybody's love because he isn't worth it...Ishita leaving him for Mani...
And as these thoughts assailed his mind, heart and soul, he felt a deep searing pain spread through his heart, like a deep gash across the flesh...like fire melting away the skin...like coal charring his soul to black..pitch black darkness where he was all alone, defenseless and rejected
And then more of it rushed to his mind's eye-
Raman, the Raavan Kumar who didn't express himself, the monster who tried to save his sister's life by preventing her to stay with the lecherous Param, the callous insensitive bast#$% who tried to shield Adi away from the heinous situation he had unknowingly put himself into, the so-called obsessive ex-husband in Ashok's eyes who couldn't get over the cheat Shagun, a failed father who couldn't get a place in his son's heart despite doing everything for him, putting everything at stake, even pleading with him; the foolish husband who was ready to give up his most prestigious position, just to get his wife's career and smile back, the righteous fair man who was not ready to spare his brother for the way he shattered a woman's dignity and made her a laughing stock in front of everybody, the dignified honest man who showed the guts to stand up to his dictatorial mother, for a woman (Sarika) wronged by his brother; the caring sensitive man who knew the pain of being alone and fighting for oneself, accused of bribing Sarika; the romantic husband who secretly kept the Karwa Chauth vrat for his wife because in his eyes Ishita and he were one and the same...
In every situation, he was the wronged, the misunderstood, so desperately and sincerely trying to play his various roles to perfection and being blamed by everybody around. Is that what his life is all about? Everything he did for his family, his wife, children, friends, relatives, his ex-wife even...did it all have no value at all? He laughed at the irony of it all. Raman - the FOOL of the decade.
As thick drops of tears burned his insides and his cheeks, he could think only thing - " Kya sach mein main itna bada failure ban chukka hun ki koi mera saath nahin dena chahta? Mujhe samajhna hi nahin chahta? Kya main itna...akela hun? Kya kisi ka pyaar pane ke liye khud ko bechna padta hai? Har kadam pe mujhe meri kamzori ka ehsaas dilaya jaata hai...sabki nazar main bura hun. Ek khota sikka jise pyaar karne..ya pyaar paane ka koi hak nahin."
And then, a slight reminiscence of the past, of something bittersweet swept over him and he cried and smiled at the same time. Something that tugged at his heart so softly he didnt dare acknowledge it himself. "Thappad ka jawaab laaton se deti lekin mera saath nahin chhodti...gundon se bhi badtar style mein ladti mere liye...meri sherni, meri DON...Aaj tum hoti toh tum samajh paati. Aaj mujhe sabse zyada sirf tumhari zaroorat hai. Kyunki tum hoti toh shayad bin kahe bhi tum mujhe padh leti...Mita...kahan ho tum? Kahin mil bhi gayi, toh mujhe pehchanne se inkaar toh nai kar degi naa moti?" He smiled, despite the pain, anguish, feeling of defeat.
With these thoughts of this one special person, he drifts off to sleep. Jhootha hi sahi...aaj thoda toh sukoon mila ise.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Real Estate
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