INNER VOICE - SEASON - 2 STORY #2 - 'RELATION'

TITLE CREDIT - ITISHA

“RELATION”

TWENTY FIVE YEARS BACK!

It was the coldest day. Winters ruled the city. Amid all the chaos outside, a car was roaming on the clear road tearing the layers of fog that was settled in the air. The bright headlights of the car made sure that, the one driving the car could see through the thick fog. A man wearing a leather brown hat, white cotton shirt and a brown journalist jacket over it was busy driving the car and humming a Mohd. Rafi song that played in the car, “Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chalata gaya, har fikr ko dhuwe main udata chala gaya” He was just 40 years , but his thick moustache and dense beard made him look like a more matured and more than his age. His car had his ID placed on the dashboard of the car, just near the Ganesha idol that was planted on the same desk. The id had his name on it – “SATYA” – Sr. Research Analyst.

He was busy humming a song, when suddenly he saw a spark of light approaching his car from behind. The fog was thick, and so he couldn’t make out what vehicle was coming from behind. In a while, he could see a car like figure chasing his car. The rear view of side mirror of his car made clear that the other vehicle was approaching in speed. His left hand moved towards the volume button to lower it down in the meantime his left toe pressed a little clutch that lay beneath it and just before he applied the car brake, he shifted his gaze from the side mirror to the head mirror of the car and simultaneously his left hand changed the gear from 3 to 2 as the car slowed down a bit.

By now, the car, with a maximum speed by passed his car and skids in front of his eyes at a distance. In a reflex, he applies the brakes hurriedly and his car comes to a halt. With an amazed expression, he watches the car skidding ahead in speed and hits a tree. It was a major accident that he just witnessed. He was in a shock! But what happened the next moment was even much scary.

Two boys came out of the car. They struggled to walk straight, it seemed they were drunk. They opened the car’s dickey and pulled off a girl forcibly out of it. The girl’s hands were tied up with a cloth. A cloth was tucked in her mouth. She was crying. She looked helpless. She looked miserably in pain. The two boys placed her on the road, abused her, looked here and there and got inside the car leaving her as on the road.

Satya was completely shocked to watch all this from a distance. He picked up his mobile. Switched the engine of the car off and got off the car swiftly. It was chilled outside. He locked the car and crossed the road. He could see the girl struggling on the road. As he moved a little near, he was frozen. The girl had a severe head injury. Slowly as his gaze went down near her hands, he was shattered to see that the girl lying in front of him crying, and begging to him – was pregnant. Looking at the size of her swollen stomach, he could immediately sense that she was in her last trimester of her pregnancy term. He was completely lost for a moment, when he heard the broken cry from the girl lying on the road. 

Without wasting any further time, he bent forward and took off the cloth tucked in her mouth. As the cloth came out, the cry was audible louder now. Satya shivered. He could just imagine what this girl must be going through. He leant a little and tried opening the knot of the dupatta that was tied around her wrist. There was a sweat around his forehead; he could no more sense the chilly breeze around him. As he untied the entangled the knot, he could see the brutal marks imprinted around the slender wrists. There were dark maroon patches around her fair wrists. The girl had a sigh of relief, but the tears still kept flowing from her eyes. She struggled to bring both her hands together and begged before him. Satya looked at her in mercy and held her begging hands with his one hand, while his other hand was busy dialling a number. And just in a few minutes, there was sound of an alarming ambulance approaching them.

The ambulance halted at a close by hospital and the patient is taken on a stretcher straight to the operation theatre. The girl looked at him with hope as she was taken to the operation theatre. As the stretcher progressed through the hospital ward area towards the operation theatre, Satya, who was running along the stretcher, just prayed to God that everything be fine with the girl. As the operation theatre was seen clearly, the ward boy asked Satya to wait outside. The stretcher moves inside. The door closes and the red light just above the door where O.T. was written – was glowing.

Satya was standing opposite the O.T. shattered. There were so many thoughts coming up in his mind at that moment – as if the whole scenario just floated again in front of her eyes. He was returning from a party. He was happy. The next day it was Sanjeevini’s birthday. Sanjeevini was his childhood friend whom he loved the most. They planned to celebrate her birthday the next day and get married in the coming months.

Soon the happy images were now replaced by the cruel images. The entire picture of what happened in front of him on the road side started to play. He was lost in trauma, when he heard someone calling for him, sir...sirr....sirrr... this time a tap on his shoulder and his trance was broken. It was a ward boy. “Sir aap Dr. Shashank ko ek baar mil lijiye please” he said pointing out at the doctor’s cabin. Satya nodded and walked towards the cabin. He enters the doctor’s cabin. The silence there was scary. Satya was emotionless for a moment. The doctor looked at him and gestured him to take a seat in front of him. Satya sits. His legs nervously tapped the floor. He looked tensed and stressed both at the same time. Tiny sweat bubbles arose on his forehead.

Dr. Shashank places a formality form in front of him, misunderstanding him to be the patient’s relative. Handing over a pen to Satya, he said, “Sir her condition is too critical, we need to operate her immediately, a lot of blood has been oozed already, I am scared if we have to choose between anyone of the two – so there is hardly any time left, please hurry up!

“Please save the child – doc!” .... came the answer spontaneously. Satya still didn’t have any clue why did he say so in the first place – but it seemed that this was destined too!

After a few nervous moments sitting and looking into void, Satya’s silence was broken. His phone vibrated. It was Sanjeevani’s call. He rubbed his eyes, cleared his throat and was about to pick up the call, when a nurse came around and said “sirrrr... Dr. Shashank is waiting for you in his cabin.

Satya stands up from the chair he was sitting on, looks at the vibrating phone and keeps it in his front pocket without answering and moves towards the doctor’s cabin. He enters into the cabin. This time it was not silent... the room was filled with a cute cry of a little baby. The baby was wrapped up neatly in a clean towel. Dr. Shashank handed the newly born baby to Satya.

For a moment Satya was speechless, the small eyes of the baby were still closed; the skin was so soft and delicate that the blood vessels were clearly seen as the baby cried loudly. As the baby cried, his small arms waved in the air and the tiny fingers that formed a fist as it fastened in reflex.

“Congratulations! Beti huyi hain apko; lekin I am sorry – hum apki wife ko bacha nahi paaye!” Before Satya could respond to this, the baby’s tiny fingers caught hold of his shirt button. This was the moment that melted Satya deeply. Tears came out of his eyes as he saw that innocent baby clinching his tiny fingers to find the secured touch and a warm hug.  He took the little baby closer and hugged her tight in his arms. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he kissed on the baby’s forehead. It was truly an emotional sight to watch.

“Doctor!” he said. I would like to see the baby’s mother. Dr. Shashank nods and indicates the sister to take him to the ward where she was shifted to after the operation. Satya walks inside the ward, with the baby in his arms. The girl, whom he brought from the road, lay in front of him motionless, wrapped up in a white bed sheet of the hospital. He felt helpless and disheartened. He cursed the fate to be so cruel with these two unknown strangers – whom he didn’t know till date, but the destiny chose him to save one of these two less fortunate souls. He moved a bit backwards and looked at the sister – indicating her to start the formalities of discharge soon. As he was about to leave the ward room, the sister came near him with a gold chain in her hand. “Sir, ye patient ke gale main tha when she was brought to the hospital, now this is your responsibility” she says and hands over the gold chain to Satya. Satya extends his one hand and looks at the chain. It had a golden pendent in it. There was a name written on that pendent. “Mitali” was embossed in a cursive Lippi.

Satya moved out of the ward holding the baby in his arms. He comes of the hospital and looks at the baby, who had fallen asleep by now. He looked at her, takes her tiny hand in his and plants a kiss on her wrist and whispers slowly in her ears, “Beta aapka naam apki mumma ne “Mitali” rakha hain...pata hain apko!” and he kisses her.

The next day Satya calls up Sanjeevani and narrates everything that had happened. She understands the situation but she is helpless; Satya was asked to make a choice between her and the baby. Destiny tossed its coin again and this time Satya was too sure – he chose Mitali in his life.

Years passed. Satya enjoyed each and every moment of little Mitali over the years as she grew up. Her first school, her first degree, her first judo completion, her first job and her first encounter towards being a woman from a girl – in all these transformations, Satya stood by her like a strong pillar, a friend, a mentor, a guide and probably everything; it’s not easy for a male to play the role of a versatile mother – but he had mastered himself in the skill of motherhood too!

Mitali was a bright student throughout. Very confident and bold and goes without saying – that she was an independent lady. She was very much fond of Satya and his research projects. As a child she loved travelling to various places with Satya for his research projects. Now that she has just been graduated and got her job, it’s now time for a father like figure to be her best friend. There was a cute bonding between the two. They cherished each other’s company that they didn’t need any other people around. As she grew up, she made a few good friends too, whom she considered as her cousins and close buddies.

One day Mitali came with news – important news of her life. She loved a boy in her office. The moment she accepted his proposal of marriage, she asked him to come and meet Satya – her everything. She used to call him “Sattu” pyaar se.

Satya was happy to know about the boy in her life. Mitali was very focused in her life, she will choose wise for herself- he knew in the heart of heart; hence he accepted their relationship. But suddenly that day a father was shaken – till now – there was just one man in her life but now there will be two; priorities change in every woman’s life the moment she lets a man in her life for the lifetime as her soul mate. But this time Satya was happy to accept the fate and destiny with a smiling face. But somehow he was a bit hesitant to face the situation when Mitali would walk away from his house with the man of her choice. He was shattered and hence decided not to attend her wedding. So he decided to let his neighbours perform all the rituals and ceremonies of her marriage and he would stay away from the marriage.

Present Day!

It was Mitali’s wedding today. The house was decorated with fresh lily flowers. A huge shamiana stood ahead of the gate. Small candles were placed across the pathway of the staircase. ‘Gende ke phool’ looked too beautiful on the white marble flooring in form of a floral rangoli. Mitali loved the floral rangolis. The entire arrangements were made especially for her by Satya.

Mitali enters the living room, takes her phone, places on her ear and is busy instructing someone over call, “see I am not gonna marry without you... so now I leave it to you, if you want to see me happily getting married, you have to come.” and she disconnects the call angrily. Dekho main kuch nahi jaanti, tumhe aana hi hoga mujhse milne. Koi aur mujhe dulhan bana dekhe, isse pehle main chahti hu kit um mujhe dulhan bana dekho bas! Yeh zidd hain meri! And she disconnects the call.

And then looks for Satya in the entire house – but Satya was not found. Later, as she enters the open area where the shamiana was planted, she found a havan kund where the panditji was busy chanting the marriage shlokas and the couple who was sitting across the havan kund was Mrs and Mr. Gupta – her neighbours. They look at her and points out at her to come and join her in the vidhi, but she angrily walked in her room without saying a word.

The very next moment there is a knock on the door! Someone from her cousin screamed, “Yaar Mitali, tera dulha toh bada hot lag raha hain aaj, chal ek nazar bahar aakar dekh toh le usse!”

Mitali was in no mood to respond, she walks towards the closed door and replies in anger, “Tum log jaao, main nahi aaungi bahar”

She leans on the door frozen. Tears cornered her eyes, but she was reluctant to cry, as she knew that he doesn’t like tears in her eyes. She was about to move away from the door, when suddenly there was a 2^nd knock on the door!

A familiar male voice came from the other end! “Iss darwaje ki ek chabbi mere pass bhi hain, shayad tum bhul gayi ho”

Finally, she opens the door – It was Satya who was standing at the door. He wore a white sherwani gifted by Mitali to him. She rushes towards him and hugs him. Thank you Sattu! she says and hugs him tight. Mujhe toh aana hi tha – “meri beti ki zidd puri jo karni thi; looking beautiful my princess! He said planting a kiss on her forehead. 

They both then walk towards the shamiana where her better half was waiting for her to take vows of marriage!

“And this is how, every girl looks upon her father as her BEST man of her life, the relation of a father and a daughter is indeed the best one”