"Kuch safar manzil tak pahunchne ke liye shuru hote hain... aur kuch sirf ek nazar se."
Ahmedabad.
Twenty-eight years ago.
The first day of preparations for the annual cultural festival.
The college campus is buzzing with excitement. Students rush between classrooms carrying chart papers, costumes, microphones and endless cups of cutting chai. Everywhere there is laughter, arguments over performances and last-minute planning.
Among the chaos walks Anuj Kapadia, the newly elected Cultural Secretary.
Responsible.
Well-liked.
Always smiling.
He is checking participant lists when he notices a girl sitting beneath a banyan tree with another student.
One is talking nonstop.
The other is quietly listening, smiling every now and then.
He doesn't know why...
...but his eyes stop there.
The talkative girl is Devika.
The quiet one is Anupamaa Joshi.
Before he can look away, he overhears Devika teasing her.
"Anu, tu dance competition mein naam kyun nahi de rahi? Tu sabse achha dance karti hai."
Anupamaa laughs nervously.
"Mujhe stage se darr lagta hai."
"Aur tere gharwale bhi mana karenge?"
She nods with a small smile.
"Thoda sa..."
Anuj looks down at the registration sheet in his hand.
No drama.
No background music.
Just one simple thought.
"Agar itna achha dance karti hai... toh stage uska intezaar kyun kare?"
Later that afternoon, while finalizing the participant list, he quietly adds one more name.
Anupamaa Joshi.
Not because he wants to impress her.
Not because he expects her to notice him.
Simply because he believes talent deserves a stage.
He has no idea that one small decision will become the first page of the biggest story of his life.
⸻
A few days later...
The annual cultural festival begins.
The auditorium is packed.
Students whistle.
Teachers clap.
The anchor announces,
"Aur ab... agla performance hai—Anupamaa Joshi!"
Anuj casually looks toward the stage.
And then...
Time stops.
Anupamaa walks onto the stage wearing a simple ghagra-choli.
No expensive costume.
No heavy jewellery.
Just quiet grace.
The music begins.
She closes her eyes.
And dances.
Not for applause.
Not for the judges.
She dances because, for those few minutes, she forgets the world outside.
Every expression carries innocence.
Every step tells a story.
The auditorium falls silent before erupting into thunderous applause.
Everyone stands.
Everyone claps.
Everyone celebrates the performance.
Everyone...
Except one boy.
Because Anuj Kapadia has forgotten to clap.
He is simply looking at her.
As if the rest of the world has disappeared.
For the first time in his life, he understands why people write poetry.
Not because they know beautiful words.
But because sometimes...
beauty leaves them speechless.
⸻
Shayari
Ek chehra dekha tha... ya koi dua utar aayi thi,
Ek muskaan dekhi thi... ya subah muskuraayi thi.
Na usne mera naam poocha,
Na maine apni dhadkanon ka haal bataya,
Phir bhi us ek pal ne jaane kaise,
Meri poori zindagi ka rasta dikhaya.
Woh naach rahi thi apni khushi mein,
Aur main khoya tha uski har ada mein,
Jaise har taal ke saath,
Mera dil bhi uske kadmon se bandh gaya ho chupke se.
Uski payal ki chhan-chhan mein,
Mujhe apni saari khamoshiyan sunayi di,
Uski aankhon ki chamak mein,
Meri adhuri si duniya roshni se bhar gayi.
Na yeh ishq ka izhaar tha,
Na koi vaada, na koi armaan,
Bas itna sa hua...
Ki bheed se bhare us auditorium mein,
Meri nazar ko apni manzil mil gayi.
Ek chehra dekha... aur waqt thehar sa gaya,
Dil ne bina ijazat ek naya safar chuna.
Na usne mudkar dekha,
Na maine kuch kaha,
Bas uski ek muskaan ne,
Mujhe umr bhar ke liye uska bana diya.
Shayad uske liye woh bas ek dance tha...
Mere liye...
Meri zindagi ki pehli aur sabse khoobsurat nazm.
⸻
Us din Anuj Kapadia ko pyaar nahi hua tha... us din uski poori zindagi apni manzil chun chuki thi.
YOU ARE READING
Tum Tak
FanfictionAnuj Kapadia ki Ankahi Kahani "Har safar ki ek manzil hoti hai. Meri har manzil... tum thi." Before he became the man the world admired, before the Kapadia Empire, before the fame, the wealth, and the smile everyone recognized-there was simply Anuj...
