Part 4
“Hey Minni! I have been waiting for you since half n hour.” An excited Neil stood up to greet Minni when he heard her voice. He turned back to see her and was quite surprised as she was standing too close to him. They had an eyelock then Neil lowered his gaze and took few steps back.
“I am sorry I didn’t realize you were standing this close. I...I didn’t hear your foot steps.” Neil clarified as he saw towards her feet which were not visible due to her long skirt.
“Its ok, I must say you are here before time.” Minni said.
“Yes, I was excited to listen to your story. I couldn’t even sleep whole night.” Neil confessed.
Minni noticed Neil has brought his canvas and colours. “Why you have brought all this? Are you going to draw painting of this haveli?” she asked.
“No, not this haveli in particular...actually I dont know...I felt like carrying all these things so I brought it. May be I can find something to inspire me while listening to your stories.” Neil answered.
Minni smiled at him but didn’t say anything. Neil felt there was some meaning in her silence but he didn’t ask anything as he was more interested in the story.
Minni sat on the swing in the garden and start telling him the story. “You know the story already. Its the same villagers had told you but as they say words doesn’t matter, perspective matters. So I am telling it to you from my perspective. At the end I will leave it upto you to decide which one you believed, which touched your heart.
“Once upon a time there was a girl; she used to live in her own bubble. The country was going through instable socio political scenario with British company trying to dominate the freedom struggle and revolutionaries growing violent every day. Her family was one among the revolutionaries. But this girl had nothing to do with any of those. Her dreams were little, innocent and naive. She was foolishly romantic and dream of her happily ever after with her prince charming.”
Neil interrupted Minni in between, “What was the name of the girl?”
“Whats in the name? It doesn’t matter. It can be any innocent girl.” Minni replied irritated at the disturbance.
“Yes but still...everyone has a name.” Neil insisted.
“Agar koi naam dena hi hai toh...yes lets give her my name, Manreet.” Minni replied.
“Why only Manreet?” Neil questioned.
“Because it fits perfectly on her. Manreet...meaning way of heart...apni dil ki sunne wali.” Minni explained and Neil nodded in yes.
Minni continued the story, “Manreet, like the name suggest believed in following her heart. She didn’t take decisions with her mind but from her heart. She didn’t judge anyone based on their social status, position, culture but she sensed them through their aura, the purity of their heart, their transparency and simplicity. But she didn’t know that there are some people who are so cunning and so skilful to mask their original intentions that they can fool anyone in the world. And she had to pay a huge price for her naivety.”
Neil was now totally engrossed in her story. “Manreet had just stepped into youth. People used to praise her beauty. Her heart was filled with all pink and purple dreams of her prince charming who will swept her off her feet. She used to discuss about her girly feelings with her friends. One day a friend told her that a new British officer named Brian George has come in their village as an incharge of army camp. He lives in this haveli. He is very handsome and kind to the villagers unlike other tyrant officers who used to trouble them. Manreet felt a sudden urge to see that officer. Partly because of the praises she heard about his physical beauty and partly because she wanted to see herself whether any company officer can be really good to the villagers?”
“She went with few of her friends near the haveli and saw him for the first time. Everything about him attracted her, his handsome features, his way of talking and carrying himself, his way of handling villagers with humanity. When she was about to return, Brian caught her hand. He also noticed her for the first time and was immediately blown away by her beauty. The attraction was mutual. They started meeting again and again, finding excuses, hiding from the world. They fell in love or at least Manreet fell in love and she thought the feeling was mutual.”
“What? Brian didn’t love Manreet?” Neil asked.
“No, he was just playing with her feelings. He just wanted to take advantage of her, use her for physical pleasure at first but when he came to know that her father was the most dreaded revolutionary, Hanuman Singh. He cooked up a plan. He wanted to use her as bait to catch her father. His posting in this place was only done with the objective to catch Manreet’s father only. He had pretended to be good to the villagers so that they will give information to him about Hanuman Singh’s activities. And Manreet was too naive to see his true face. She was head over heels in love with him.”
“Poor girl.” Neil uttered. He felt sorry for the girl. Who will not? But when he looked at Minni he saw her tensed, worried as if she was living Manreet’s pain, her dilemma. Either she was a great story teller or she must have suffered from the same kind of situation. He didn’t disturb her and asked her to continue.
“When villagers came to know about their affair, they informed at Manreet’s home. Her family tried to convince her against Brian but she chose to trust her heart. In the darkness of the night she left her home and came to Brian in this haveli. Without letting her know he spreaded the message in the village that Manreet is arrested by him and if they want her back, her father Hanuman Singh should surrender first. He gave only a night’s time to him. During this time he not only took advantage of Manreet but when her father Hanuman Singh came for surrender, he killed him in cold blood instead of arresting and threw away Manreet like a trash from his life. She couldn’t take it. Coudlnt bear the pain and committed suicide in the well of this haveli.”
Minni finished the story and she was crying continuously as if Manreet was someone her own...like she knew her.Neil couldn’t see her in that state and hugged her.
“Its ok, you are fine. Relax.” He whispered in her ears. Minni calmed down after few minutes and looked at him. She could see same pain and emotions in his eyes which were in hers. How a stranger can feel for an unknown girl? Is he also one of those guys who show you sympathy just to come close to you or he was genuinely a nice person? She wanted to believe her brain this time and push him away from herself but again her heart told her to trust him.
Neil wiped her tears and Minni didn’t stop him. “You know Manreet punished herself for trusting the wrong person but even after that this cruel world only blamed her. They called her names, questioned her character but all she did was true love. She blindly trusted her love and she didn’t deserve that kind of end for it. And even after her death this society didn’t let her rest in peace, they still call her chudail and put all kinds of accusations on her. She couldnt even harm an ant in her human life then killing someone as a ghost is just out of question.”
“But then those stories? I mean villagers say that many people died here and the recent case was the death of two kids who were found dead in that same well.” Neil asked in confusion.
Minni stood up and held Neil’s hand. She took him to the well. “Look there is a fungus near the well.It has become slippery. You know kids na. May be they must have tried to look down in the well and fell down. And the other people...I can guarantee you none of them were respected citizen of society. Some were thieves, some gambler or drunkards, some horny couple...all died due to different reasons like accidents, gangwar, even police encounter but villagers themselves spread the rumour that ‘chudail’ killed them.”
“Oh hell! These people I tell you. Koi jawab nahi inka kahaniya banana mein. Achhi khasi jagah ko badnaam kar rakha hai aur bholi bhali ladki ko chudail bolte phirte hain.” Neil replied.
“That means you believe in my version of story and not others?” Minni asked. Neil could not miss the hope in her eyes. Why it was important to her whom he believed?
,
“Whats there not to believe? As you said earlier, its all about perspective. I felt that girl’s pain so its my perspective. She had been wronged and also punished herself then also she didn’t get sympathy from anyone just because she followed her heart. She broke society’s rules thats what matters to most of the people. They dont call that disgrace in the name of human, Brian, with many names but they target the pure hearted girl. I wish she had not committed suicide and got her true love in her life.” Neil expressed his views.
Minni looked at him intensely as if trying to read his mind. He is gem of a person. Only if she had met him earlier.
“So Neil now you tell me your story. What brought you here?” Minni asked and Neil was about to reply when she stopped him.
“Aaj nahi, kal. Mere jaane ka samay ho gaya. Can you please bring my purse from the backyard? I think I forgot it there.” Minni asked him.
Neil nodded in yes and went to the backyard. He didn’t find anything there. When he came back Minni had already left.
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to be continued....
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