Is love blind? .......Oh yes it is!! - Episode 8

Days rolled into weeks and weeks into a month but the rumor didn’t die out….instead it spread like forest fire….The rumor mills worked over time and cooked up fresh stories about their non-existent love affair (it was non-existent at least for Anjali) and their virtual dates…..

Now, wherever Anjali went, she was referred as Sid’s girl friend…..”GIRL FRIEND” my foot….she would say…..She was tired of clarifying and explaining…..nowadays she didn’t bother and ignored such gossips…..

All this acted as catalyst and added oil to the burning misunderstanding between friends…..Anjali was quite worried that even her best friend didn’t believe her….

Aashu didn’t behave the same with Anjali….It was a greater tiff that all had imagined…..They talk with each other but there is still a emotional wall between them…..After some trials, Anjali felt it is pointless to even try…..She thought that giving time is the best way to solve the differences…she waited patiently for the right opportunity to win Aashu back….

Meanwhile, let’s see what happened in Kripa’s life??

<<Rewind to the day when Kripa went to Deepak’s house
Kripa’s POV:
What I heard from Deepak shattered me to pieces…..I was feeling awful and the mud beneath me swept away…..Anjali and Deepak saw and called me in but I was in no mood for a chat with them…I just gave a false smile and left……I know they would be wondering why I came there and why I left without a word……I returned home and locked myself in my room….My hunger and thirst had died down……

"Rabba Mere Ishq Kisi Ko
Aise Na Tadpaye... Hoy
Dil Ki Baat Rahe Is Dil Mein,
Hothon Tak Na Aaye, Na Aaye..."

When I didn’t turn up for dinner, Amma came to call me….But I wasn’t feeling hungry….So I told her that I had some heavy snacks from my friend’s home and so I wasn’t hungry……Poor amma, believes whatever I told her…..She was used to being confined within the four walls of the house and her entire life spent on obeying my baba and upbringing me and my sister……her world revolved around us…..an obedient wife and a loving mother, that’s what she is…….She wasn’t aware of the world outside the house….but she was a strong person and wanted me and my sister to study well and become independent….

[Her little sister Kavya….she is doing her 10th….She is a naughty prankster….Kripa and Kavya love to be in each other company…..Kavya used to be Kripa’s only close companion before Kripa joined college…..Kavya finds out whatever Kripa has in mind..So her love for Deepak was known to Kavya…..]

Having told her a lie, I was feeling very guilty….but I can’t tell her the truth as well…I can’t say that I loved a guy but he loves someone else…..sounds filmy…..moreover love was a forbidden thing in my family…..my amma would freak out if she knows this……"mera dil ka haal woh kabhi nahi samajhegi"…..Anyways, it was all over now….So I was better off hiding it…..

After a while, I decided that I won’t make my grief known to anyone around me…..So I wiped my tears….and got up…..I was determined to wipe out him and his memories as well…..
I took my diary and my scrap book……tore all the pages where I wrote about Deepak…..my day wouldn’t get complete without writing about him and my chats with him…… hmmmm so all the pages I wrote after meeting him had his name on it…..

I took the pages in my hand and looked at them for one last time…..I tore it into 2 and was about to put it in the dust bin……but I couldn’t…....So I pushed them into an unused corner of my shelf……

Once while browsing through his b’day party album, I had sneaked one of his photos quietly from it.....I treasured it inside my personal diary…..

Now that treasure had become a past thing to me…..I took it out from the diary and started tearing it to pieces but stopped…..After all Deepak didn’t do anything wrong to me....I had loved him and he isn’t even aware of it…..I took a look at his face…..He looked cute…..”I love you” I said before throwing it to a corner….

"Khata Ho Gayi Mujhse
Kaha Kuch Nahin Tumse
Ikrar Jo Tum Kar Paate
To Dhoor Kabhi Na Jaate
Koi Samjhe Na Peer Parayee
Koi Samjhe Na Peer Parayee
Kisi Se Ab Kya Kehna"

All these actions were to put a full stop to my failed love……But will these move him away from my heart?? Never…..woh mera pehla pyar hai….adhura hai toh kya hua….woh kabhi nahi mitega!!

I will bury it in the darkest corner of my mind…….and will never allow it to come out from there…..

"Tujhe Yaad Na Meri Aayee
Kisi Se Ab Kya Kehna
Dil Roya Ki Ankh Bhar Aayee Dil Roya Ki Ankh Bhar Aayee
Kisi Se Ab Kya Kehna"

As a step towards it, I will have to refrain myself from my friends….till the wound and pain within me healed…….else they will sense it from my eyes and read it from my face……
So that was the reason why Kripa curled back into her shell and avoided Anjali, Aashu, Sheetal and Deepak…..She was afraid that they would find it out…..

Present day……

Kripa’s POV regarding Anjali-Sid matter…..

Today I heard a rumor about Anjali….I wonder if its true….She and Sid….No way…..But how can I be so sure? Love changes everything….then why not Anjali and Sid??

Only time can answer this..

Anjali’s POV:

We sat together always, during free hours, during lunch…….but we never spoke whole heartedly….

Sheetal, regardless of the situation, used to entertain or rather irritate us with her lovey dovey stories…..but one day she started talking about a new guy in her life…we were all quite surprised…...All day she used to tell about him….

Some Jeeth or something like that….Never did she tell about his identity clearly…We didn’t know who he was or where he was……She told that he didn’t propose her yet and as of now he was just a friend…..But I felt that she was slowly falling for him…..and somewhere down the lane, I felt that I was the reason for the growing closeness…..because after that day’s incident, my advises used to fall into deaf ears……

Previously my scolding and advises scared her enough that she restricted herself to an extend…Also she used to be in our company most of the time…..and she didn’t have the time to meet anyone else but now she had lots of time and had the license too…the license to love…..

She behaved like a kid who got the forbidden fruit all at once…..Aashu tried to stop her but it went vain…..the point was that she wasn’t scared of anyone else except me…..and now, it was as though I set an example for her……

The other day, during lunch…..

Sheetal: He said “I am too sweet”

Anjali: HE!!! Who???

Sheetal: Jithu……who else?

[Sheetal usse pyar se Jithu bulaathi thi]

Aashu: you met him again, huh??

Sheetal: [little hesitation] hmmm….kal….

Anjali: hum ne manaa kiya na….phir bhi….

[At this, Deepak and Aashu gave me a glare meaning “yeh tum keh rahe ho”….I fell silent while they continued to drill Sheetal]

Deepak: Sheetal, tum kabhi nahi sudharoge……accha bataao woh kaun hai?

Sheetal: [dreamily] Jeeth….mere Jithu…..

Aashu: woh hum jaante hai…..uske baare meh aur kuch bataao….kaun hai? Kahaan hai? Kya kartha hai??? 

[Aashu went on piling questions one after another…I was a silent listener…..Sheetal replied dreamily]

Sheetal: woh Jeeth hai.…..mere dil mein hai aur mujhe pyar kartha hai…

Deepak: [irritated] sab bakwaas!!!!

[Sheetal was undeterred and went on and on….]

Sheetal: mere dil ko jeeth kar mujhe apna banaakar……..

Aashu: shut up you idiot….

Deepak: no use asking her……

[Sheetal closed her eyes and put her head down on the table……]

Anjali: [I had to open my mouth now] humme hi kuch karna padega…..Jeeth keh baare mein hum pathaa karenge…..

[I don’t know if they listened to me but both Aashu and Deepak nodded silently……I was happy that something I told made sense to them……I wished that they hear what I had to say about Sid too the same way….but anyways something was better than nothing…..

The first step towards patch up was done……but the day for the final step was coming soon]

Sid’s POV:
I had already done enough damage that I didn’t dare to aggravate it further……So I opted not to try and talk to her for a few days……But I couldn’t resist the urge to see her, of course from a distance…..

I spent all my free hours waiting in places where she frequented…..I wouldn’t say that she never noticed me…She should be blind not to notice me….…but I didn’t try to catch her attention even once…….

She would turn to my direction at times but when our eyes met, she would turn away in an unfriendly manner….Days passed by like seconds….. 

There was a whole lot of changes in me….I wasn’t bad in academics but I used to bunk a lot of classes……but now, I attended classes regularly…..I didn’t venture into fights…after all I had to repair my image and get into her good books….…

My friends didn’t fail to notice it…They kept pestering me always…..

One day I was waiting for her near the college canteen……It was a break time…..so I knew she would come surely…..My friends were with me…..

They were making fun of me and my one sided love……Sam was the leader of the fun making team….She came and that brought a smile to my face finally….

She wore a white salwar with golden embroidery done all over….she looked cute in it...like an angel who had just landed from heaven!….

The fact is that all dresses and all colors suited her……She wore high heeled sandals which matched her dress…..long earrings and a simple chain with a pearl studded pendant……her long straight hair was let loose…it reached till her waist….

Oh god, this girl makes me crazy each time I see her…..I have never observed and noticed a girl so closely…..I couldn’t take my eyes off her…… 

Sam: [grinning at Sid’s impatient look] kisse dekh rahe ho??

Sid: [without moving the eyes off her] usse aur kisse…..

Sam: usse matlab kaun???

Tushar: Anjali….yeh bhi koyi poochne ki baat hai!!

Sam: boss, yeh aap ko kya hogaya hai? Uss ladki ne aapko paagal banadiya hai!!

Sid: pehle paagal tha….ab uska deewana hoom… [Winks at them…..and then a slight grin]

Tushar: [smiling] u know what Siddharth….we always used to think that you and Shweta will make a good couple….

Sam: wahi tho……

Sid: [irritated]kya wahi tho???

Sam: Shweta is the most sought after girl in the college….she is the dream girl of every guy….all want to make her their girl friend…..and she is the most beautiful too…..

Sid: So what??

Tushar: and she is crazy about you and would do anything to make you her boy friend……but the tragedy is that you reject her and cling on to a girl who is least interested in you….she doesn’t even look at you yaar…..

Sam: look at her….. [Sid stares at him…so he pauses and changes his statement] I mean she is cute but doesn’t reach anywhere near Shweta’s beauty…..

Sid: Come on guys, give me a break….What does physical beauty got to do with love?? waise bhi, mujhe usse apni girl friend banaani hai…koyi model ya bollywood mein heroine nahi!!For me, she is the most beautiful girl in this world…..usse accha koyi nahi hai!!

Sam: O Oh Sid,woh tumme mind nahi karti yaar…..phir tum kyun uski peeche peeche jaa rahe ho…

Sid: wahi baat usko khaas aur sabse alag banaati hai….tum log nahi samjoge…

Sam: humme samajna bhi nahi…..

Sid: [sternly] one more thing.....don't ever link my name to any other girl!! I don't like it...

[In between all this conversation, Sid takes out his mobile and secretly takes a snap of his girl….]

Sam: teek hai teek hai....par ek baat sun lo....woh hamaari junior hai....hum usse bhabi nahi bulaayenge!!!

Tushar: haan....woh toh hai!!! [Hi5s Sam!]

[Sid looks at them and starts smiling.....then all 3 start laughing at the comment!!!]

[To be continued.........]