"Unhe pata nahi chalega. Parthav ne sab sambhal liya hai." Murtasim informed Anwar as he moved closer and patted his shoulder. He knew that Anwar gets panic stricken in every minute situation. (He won't get to know. Parthav took care of everything)
Murtasim handed over the Potli Bag to Anwar. He was surprised with the rupee coins struck in gold. There was no formal currency introduced yet but planning regarding the same was on board. As the normal crowd in British Raaj was still using Rupee coins struck in silver. The gold ones were used only by the Aristocratic privileged elite class.
It was clear that some big powerful name was funding Shabnam. It was a worrying state of affairs for Khans owing to the disturbance in the district due to Partition and the future power play of new government. And a personal affair for Khan Murtasim too - Nandani 's handwritten legal draft.
Parthav managed to remove the dead body and Mai cleaned the whole place before it dawned.
Anwar Khan had sat down Khan Murtasim and made him understand the need to control his ruthless characteristics before it outshined all his good deeds. Anwar informed him regarding the new development in government front. The representative of Britishers will be working closely with them till the laws and rules were not established in the land. Murtasim needed to get his anger managed before it gets too late.
All the 3 of them dispersed to their allocated areas of duty as the day had finally arrived. Before moving Murtasim asked Mai to close all the gates of Bazaar and to not send any woman out as women were the most targeted audience when violence erupt.
The guards took the iron trunk from Shabnam's room to be transferred to Khans as an evidence for further investigation.
Parthav and Murtasim moved towards the Lahore Central Railway Station as had been designated by Dilawar Khan. There were legions of people moving towards the station. They were leaving Lahore. Murtasim's heart sank. Murtasim looked at Parthav who was trying to get them out of the crowd.
"Tum chaho toh jaa sakte ho. Waha tumhare log honge. Yaha tumhari taadaat bohot kam reh jayegi batware ke baad." Murtasim voiced his thoughts to Parthav without mincing. ( If you want you may leave for the other side. There you will have your people. Here there will be very less people from your community)
" Mera ghar wahi hai, Jahan mere Sardar Khan hai. Jis tarah mere Baba ne kabhi Bade Sahab Shahnawaz Khan ka sath nahi choda, main bhi aapka sath dunga. Main aapke sath tabse hun jab mujhe kisi cheez ki samjh nahi thi Sardar. Aur aap ye na bhule , aapne baba se wada kia tha ki aap mujhe humesha apne sath rakhenge." Parthav held Murtasim's hand while speaking, " Weare each other's Musketeers " he said smiling. Murtasim nodded as he couldn't deny Parthav's contribution in his life and the emotional bonding and brotherhood they shared.
(My Sardar Khan is my home. Just like how Baba never left Bade Sahab Shahnawaz Khan, i will never leave you alone. I have been with you from the time when i had no knowledge about anything Sardar. And you should not forget that you had promised my father to keep me by your side forever.)
It was 4 A.M. and the dawn had started to break. Parthav stopped the Jeep in front of the back gate of the station near the Rehman Chacha Tea Stall. It was a windy morning. Near the tea stall was a peepal tree, under which was a young boy selling Aam Panna. Khan Murtasim stepped out of the Jeep and went near the boy as Parthav ordered 2 glasses of tea.
"Ye aam panna kese diye..?" Asked Murtasim. (What is the cost of aam panna)
"Arey Sardar Khan Salaam.. aapse kya paise lena, ye dukaan hi aapki hai. Jo chahiye le lijiye." The boy replied blinking his eyes. ( Salaam Sardar Khan, i can't take money from you. This shop itself belongs to you. Take whatever you want.)
"Agar kitne ki hai nahi batayega, toh jitne paise hum denge lena padega." Averred Murtasim putting hand in his pocket. (If you don't tell me the cost, then you will have to take the amount i offer)
As Murtasim searched for the wallet the creased piece of paper fell on the already wet soil. He immediately bent down and picked the already half wet paper with little blood stains on it. It was her draft with her signature. Smile crept on his dry lips. - So this is your signature. You are registered in Punjab, both in Eastern and Western Punjab. You still write M is such crooked way. Your handwriting is still indecipherable. Do you still get annoyed, when people complain about your bad handwriting. Or, you have developed a thick skin to it.. you lefty lad.
Lahore Central Railway Station Announcement : Railway Junction 521 carrying passengers from Lahore to Delhi via Amritsar will be leaving the station by 6 A.M. All the passengers are requested to maintain discipline and decorum and be seated in their respective allocated seat numbers.
Parthav handed Murtasim his glass of tea. It was clear that Lahore Junction will depart at 6 in the morning and reach Delhi by night. And might leave Delhi in night itself, but the arrival time to Lahore is still debatable as tomorrow would be 15th August 1947, the big day for the other side. As Parthav and Murtasim calculated the time and date they realised that the are stuck there for 3 days straight.
At Wagha Border city camp, the news of blast reached Anwar Khan. Their men were killed. The iron trunk was missing so was the potli bag. Anwar sat inside his white cotton-polyester mixed tent lighting his cabanas cigar and contemplating the seriousness of the matter. Khans were known as fighters. They never step back. But what if, they have a masked enemy. Whome should they attack or trust. He decided to keep the news to himself for the time being as the Partition will be a game changer for the Khans political well beings.
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*Back gate of Lahore Railway station in 1946*
Khan Murtasim, stood at the Lahore Central Railway station, waiting for the arrival of Last Lahore Junction.... Unaware of the fate the last train will bring with it...
••••••••••••••••••••
SOME 31 MILES FROM LAHORE...
She was sitting in her study. Scribbling her latest drafts under the pile of law books. She was supposed to submit it before the draft committee on August 16, 1947. She can't miss the deadline. Occasionally gulping the Aam Panna while re-reading her already drafted samples.
"Nandani didi.. aapka khat aa gaya hai.." said Feena the house help, breaking her flow of work.
Nandani turned and looked at the brown envelope. It was the last letter from that side. She had no courage to open it...
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AUTHOR NOTE :
Hey my lovely Readers,
First of all thank you so much for all the appreciation and encouragement.
I hope you are liking the story and plot. I would love to know your feedback.
This chapter was solely dedicated to Murtasim and his boys Anwar and Parthav. I always felt in original show Murtasim and Anwar had great potential bond but they didn't explore that instead they gave us Bakhtu and Murtasim. It could be my personal opinion but i couldn't vibe with them. For me Anwar and Murtasim gave a certain bratty bad boys vibes and i choose to explore that here. What do you all think? Also let me know your opinions about the foreshadowing part in this chapter.
I don't know how Wattpad algorithm works. Honestly, i mostly care what readers feel about my story. If you like it .. do recommend your people who read Wattpad to check it out.
