Prerna narrowed her eyes towards Nandini, "Manik!?"
But suddenly Mohini Basu's voice came from nowhere.
"Anurag Basu, write the full name" Everyone looked at her elegant figure and authoritative voice, "Basu Publications ka aanewala owner hai, so poora naam likhna zaroori hai na"
Shivani rolled her eyes and everyone quietly continued their work. But Nandini went into another zone when she heard the name Anurag Basu. Prerna leaned towards her, "Vaise Nandu, yehhh Manik, kaun hai? Aur main tumse bahut naraaz hu, tune kyu nahi bataya?!! Main toh sab kuch share ki aur tum ho ki" Prerna stopped her complaints seeing a zoned out Nandini.
"Anurag BASU... yeh naam toh maine kahi suna hai..mmmmm" Nandini's thoughts
Prerna nudged her. Nandini suddenly asked Prerna, "Pari, tumhari fiancee Anurag BASU hai?"
"Waah!!, kya baat hai?!! matlab! seriously tum yeh puch rahi ho?!! Ramayan pura sun liya aur puch rahi hai ki Ram Seeta ki kaun hai.......... ofcourse Anurag Basu. Iss ek hafte mein tumhe pata chal gayi na ki meri rishta Basu family ke saath ho rahi hai and meri fiancee ka naam Anurag hai, so obviously voh bhi Basu hi hoga na, buddhu" Prerna tapped Nandini's forehead
"Yaaa, voh pura naam main abhi suni na, pehle kabhi dhyaan nahi diya....... Main abhi aati hu"
Nandini ran upstairs leaving a confused Prerna.
....................
Nandini picked up her phone and called Sid
"Hello Bhaayi"
"Nannii, kaise ho? "
"Pehle aap mujhe yeh bataao ki, aapka pura naam Anurag Basu hai?"
Sid got tensed because of this sudden interrogation
"Nanni, kya hua? Ese achanak kyu!!"
"Bhaayi bataona"
"Haa, Anurag Basu hai"
"Aur aapki dad ka koyi publication hai kya?"
"Yaa, Basu Publications ki owner hai voh. Par Nandu kyu puch rahi ho tum. Dekh Nandu mujhe pata hai ki tum ab Kolkata main hai, par main keh raha hu, tum meri past ko doondne ki koshish mat karo, ok"
"But bhaayi"
"Nahi Nanni, mujhe kuch nahi sun na"
Sid got called for a meeting at that moment
"Nanni, meri meeting hai. Tum please yeh sab baato mein mat pado, theek hai bye"
"Par Bhayi"
Phone got disconnected.
"Kuch toh gadbad hai, matlab Basu Publications ka owner, matlab bhaayi ka dad. Aur Bhaayi ka asli naam Anurag Basu, toh phir yeh Basu kaun hai?!"
Nandini started walking to and fro thinking about all possibilities
"Kahi meri Bhaayi ki jaane ke baad ek aur bacha ho gaya ho, aur inn logon ne uska naam wahi rakh diya ho....?!"
"Nandu"
Nandini turned back and saw Prerna standing there with confusion all over her face.
Prerna walked towards Nandini and held her hand, "Nandu, tu theek hai na?! kya hua? ese achanak kyu chali aayi?!"
"Hmm.. kuch nahi voh... mujhe... washroom use karni thi"
"Nahi tu jhoot mat bol, kuch toh baat hai, bata"
Nandini exhaled and held Prerna's hand, "Pari, yeh Basu family mein kitne log hai?"
"Sab ko toh maine tumhe introduce ki thi na"
"So Anurag aur Nivedita ke alawa unke koi bache nahi hai?"
"Nahi. Tu kya puch rahi hai?!!"
"Nahi voh,...hmm...matlab Anurag ke alawa koi beta hai jo aaj yaha nahi tha?!"
"Anurag hi kitne saal baad aaya hai, ab aur kisko aana hai?! Tum kiski baat kar rahi ho?"
"Ek minute Anurag kitne saal baad aaya matlab? voh pehle se yaha nahi tha?"
"Nahi, voh 14 saal baad laut aaya hai" Prerna smiled
"What?! Matlab mera shak sahi hai, yeh jo hai, duplicate Anurag hai aur meri bhaai ki jaga lene ka soch raha hai! How dare he?" Nandini's thought
"Nandu , kaha kho gayi phir se?"
"Hmm... mujhe samaj nahi aa raha! Detail main bataao"
"Hmmm... ab samji main. Tu meri question se bhaagne ke liye Anurag ki topic le kar beti ho, hai na? So first tell me, yeh Manik kaun hai?" Prerna held Nandini's mehndi cladded hand and spotted the name Manik
"Pari, pehle tum Anurag ke baare mein bataao na, phir pakka main Manik ke baare mein bataaungi"
"Okay....... hmmm... 14 saal pehle ki baat hai. Main aur Anurag khel rahe the aur achanak beech mein se Anurag kahi kho gaya. Sab ne saari jagah doond li but nahi mila. Phir police case, investigation sab ho raha tha bahut saalo tak. Phir 4 saal pehle Basu Publications ki ek meeting mein Baaba ko ek graphics expert mila. Voh time ke hisab se logon ka physic ek computer app ki zariye draw kar sakte the. Phir Baaba ne Anurag ki bachpan ki pictures unhe de diya. Unhone 12 saal ki Anurag ko 22 saal ka bana diya. Voh picture Baaba ne Kaaka baabu ko bheja jo uss vakt Mumbai mein tha. And tumhe pata hai, ussi din, theek ussi din Kaaka baabu ki Car ke saamne ek insaan pada hua mila, aur voh Anurag tha"
"Phir usse yaha lekar aaya?!"
"Nahi, uss time, voh bahut injured the, hospital se pata chala ki head mein internal bleeding ho chuka hai aur voh coma mein chala gaya. Phir Kaaka baabu ne unhe le kar London chale gaye treatment ke liye. 2 saal baad unko hosh aaya and then he realized that he don't know anything about himself. Voh apne past sab kuch bhool chuke the. Khud ka naam tak. Phir 2 saal treatment aur karne ke baad yaha, kolkata aa gaya. Aaj bhi unhe apna past yaad nahi hai, par voh hum sab ko apna maan liya"
Nandini confirmed that her doubt was correct, "Ab iss duplicate Anurag ko toh dekh na hi padega. Mujhe toh lagta hai ki voh inn sabko bewakoof bana raha hai. Bhaayi ko bata ke koi faayada nahi hai, voh puri baat kaha sunte hai. Is liye mujhe hi iss baat ko handle karna padega. Mera bhaayi hi Anurag Basu hai, aur meri Pari ki bhi zindagi ka sawaal hai" Nandini's thoughts.
"Nandu tu phir se kya soch rahi hai?"
"Kuch nahi"
"Achaa maine toh bata diya ab tumhari baari. Jaldi se bataao yeh Manik kaun hai?"
"My soul......."
/..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................