Anidita: Kuch Toh Hai Tere Mere Darmiyaan

Chapter 24

"Awaaz pasand aaya?" Bondita asked caressing the cowbells around jamuna's neck to which she replied with a moo. Bondita chuckled while patting her back. "Jaanti ho kon leke aaya hai yeh tumhare liye?...huh...maa ke jamai babu."

Bondita remembered, once Anirudh wrote in a letter when she was in London how Jamuna lost her way back home while he was visiting her mother and had to roam in bushes till dusk to bring her back.

"Unki pasand tumhe pasand aayi na. Vese sirf tumhe nahi mujhe bhi gift mila tha..." soft tinkling sound of glass bangles came from Bondita's tender ivory like hands. Her heart longed for him more and more with every day that passed.

"Jaanti ho, abhi tak subhe nahi hui hongi unki, phir daat khani padegi kaka sasurji se. Raat ko der tak padhne ki aadat jo hai. Uthte hi kahenge 'Bondita coffee lana.' Aur phir.." Bondita turned towards jamuna and fed her who was attentively listening to her.

"Tum soch rahi hogi, itni hi chinta hai toh uss din unke saath chali kyu nahi gayi ghar vapas? Maa puchhti nahi hai par sochti zarur hogi.." pouring water in the trough, bondita slumped down beside her. "Lekin kya batau sabko? Mein nahi chahti ki woh mere bulane se aaye, mein chahti hu ki woh reh na paye aur bahane se aaye."

"Chai" Sumati announced her presence. Even though eavesdropping was not something she meant to do, her curiosity piqued.

"Bondita, tune aage ka kya socha hai?" fake smile weardoff bondita's face. All these years she weaved dreams of her future with Anirudh again she carried with her the knowledge that the chapter of her marriage might have came to an end. But a part of her longed for his love.

Sumati knew the reality of Bondita's fractured relationship loomed before her daughter's future like an insurmountable obstacle.

Taking the clue of Bondita's confusion Sumati spoke again handing her the cup "Itni lambi zindagi hai tere aage Bondita, kese akele kategi? Huh aur yeh samajh. Zarur saalo beet gaye hai par inki soch wahi choti. Tujhe chen se jeene nahi denge."

"Maa, kuch toh log kahenge, log ka toh kaam hi hai kehna." Bondita replied, her Pati Babu's words indeed. "Unke daar se zindagi guzarna toh nahi na chod sakti."

"Meine esa kab kaha beta mein toh chahti hu ki tu sirf guzare nahi balki zindagi ko jeeye woh bhi apni sharto par." Bondita looked up from the cup in her mother's eyes. "Meine soch liya hai, tu vapis London chali jaa. Ye hi tere liye behtar hoga."

"MAA!" Bondita almost screamed in disbelief. No matter how kiddish it sounded, she didn't want to leave cause he was here far but much closer than being in a foreign country.

"Tujhe akele chod kar chali jau...tu reh payegi mere bina?" Bondita questioned making an eye contact "Meri aakhon mein dekh ke bata."

No mother could bear distance between her and her child but to her dismay sumati's determination startled her to the core. "Ha, agar baat tere hifajat ki ho toh yeh kadva ghut peene ko taiyar hai teri maa."

"Maa mein kahi nahi jaaungi aur yeh mera faisla hai." slamming the cup Bondita started making her way inside frustrated.

"Roy Chaudhary yeh naam tere liye lakshman rekha ka kaam karta hai Bondita. Aaj jo log teri ji huzuri kar rahe hai wahi log kal tujhe dosh dene mein rakhti bhar ki kasar nahi chodenge. " Bondita stopped still in her track.

"Chodi hui aurat ka taj pehna kar tujhe heeramandi pocha diya tha ek baar pehle." just the thought of that very place sent shiver down her spine.

"Agar tujhe kuch ho gaya toh seh nahi paungi mein." Her voice cracked. "Isliye beta meri baat maan ja aur chali jaa London." Her pleas calmed Bondita and to think otherwise.