Azadi --- Do Fitoori Krantikariyon ki Kahani

Nah, I Won't Tell Anyone about You

Anirudh is on his way to the Court, driving his car. But he is then struck on the middle of an unusually crowded road, which compels him to stop. Faded sounds of some announcement comes to his ears. A middle-aged white (Britisher) policeman, dressed up in their usual khaki uniform, with a mic in his hand is announcing something. He is standing on the middle of the road, with a huge crowd of pedestrians (mostly Indians) surrounding him.

All the people walking along the road, leaving their works, their destinations-- without caring about their precious time, gathered in the middle of the road, just to hear an announcement made by an English Inspector. No wonder, Indians have always been obsessed with the 'White-Skinned' ('White' indicates British-related things) people.

But the same is not with the case of Anirudh. For him, it is like: "Yeh desh humara hai, jis mitti pe khade hokar yeh firangi kisi cheez ki ghoshna kar rahe hai, woh mitti humare desh ki hai. Jo raah-chalti log yahan yun bheed jama karke inn officers ki ghoshna sun rahe hai, woh log humare desh ke hai. Inn sab mein kuch bhi hai kya inn angrezo ka? Agar nahi, toh hum Bharatiya kyun inn atyachari baharwalo ko itna mahatva de rahe hai? Kyun maan rahe hai inke huqoom?" Anirudh ka manna hai ki bina Indians ke India mein Britishers ki naa koi importance (mahatva) hai, yahan tak ki naa hi koi existence (wajood) hai. The more attention we Indians pay to the Britishers, the more power do they gain in their hands. Agar hum unke huqoomo ko bhau hi nahi denge, toh woh humpe raaj bhi nahi kar payenge. 

But something else attracts Anirudh towards the announcement. Most probably, a picture.

Anirudh slowly walks towards the crowd, and consequently the announcement slowly comes clearer to his ears. 

Announcer:- Tasveer mein dikhaye gaye iss pagri pehne huye aatanki ko achhe se dekh lijiye aaplog. Humein shaq hai ki isi pagri pehne huye aatanki ne hi ki hai Viceroy ke party se hathiyaro ki chori. Isiliye isko dhundne ki koshish chal rahi hai humari. Agar aap mein se kisine iss aatanki ko kahin dekha hai, ya agar koi iske baarein mein humein koi information laake de sakta hai, toh sarkar ki taraf se use 400/- rupay ka inaam diya jayega. Isiliye achhe se dekh lijiye iss tasveer ko.

Hearing all this, a rush of adrenaline gets discharged from the adrenal glands of Anirudh. He is afraid, he doesn't want her to get caught, moreover he cares for her. He pushes the crowd and moves forward, in order to see the image more clearly.

He sees the image. Yes, it is the same girl whom he met in the party! The same eyes, the same dress, same turban, same figure, and the same dream in her eyes. He knows her!

Anirudh becomes stressful. But why so much concern for the girl whom he met just once before? He keeps looking at the image. Then he hears some other people saying:

"400/- rupay! 400/- rupay kamane mein toh humein na jaane kitni mehnat karni padti hai, kitne din lag jaate hai 400/- rupay kamane mein humein sahib! Agar humein iss chor ke baarein mein kuch bhi pata hota, toh hum aapko zaroor batate sahib. Par humne nahi dekha isko kabhi."

The Policeman:- (rudely) Niklo!

Slowly the whole crowd confesses that they have never seen the thief, and the crowd subsides. Just Anirudh keeps standing there, carefully staring at the image as if the girl in it had some 'alag nasha' in herself -- ek baar agar koi usmein doob jaaye, toh bahar nikal paana mushkil hai. He just continues to stare at the picture, with deep anonymous thoughts going on in his mind. Then his thoughts get disturbed by the policeman.

Policeman:- Aapne dekha hai iss aatanki ko kahin? Ya iske baarein mein koi jaankari de sakte hai kya aap humein? Agar haan, toh 400/- rupay inaam milega.

Anirudh:- Nahi, kabhi nahi!!.

Saying this much, he leaves the place.

Par jis 400/- rupay ko kamane mein itne saare logo ko na jaane kitne din lag jaate hai, uss 400/- rupay se bhi zyada keemti thi woh ladki Anirudh ke liye.-- Haan wahi ladki jisse woh ajtak ekbaar se zyada kabhi mila bhi nahi hai. Kyun?