I was woken up by the Azaan in the morning. There was probably a mosque, very close by.
As I lazily opened my eyes, I saw Amrit was sitting across me, against the bed-post. I blinked my eyes twice and sat up.
'Amrit!', I exclaimed.
She just smiled.
'Kal Telephone operator ne ek ghante intezaar karwaane ke baad kaha ki line nahi mili! Badi mushkil se Raizada sadan phone laga. Mummyji ne bataya ki aap so gayi hain isiliye maine Prem Niwaas phone nahi kiya dobaara. Aap naraz toh nahi hain na mujhse ?'
She shook her head sweetly.
'Mere haath mein hota to aapko saath hi le aata! Par...khair. Umeed hai aaj telephone dhokha na de!', I sighed.
As I bent forward to take her hand, she faded away. And I stroked the back of my neck dreamily.

Na hai ye paana... na khona hi hai...
tera na hona jaane... kyun hona hi hai...

tum se hi din hota hai , surmayi shaam aati hai
tum se hi.. tum se hi...
har ghadi saans aati hai... zindagi kehlaati hai...
tum se hi.... tum se hi...

Na hai ye paana... na khona hi hai...
tera na hona jaane... kyun hona hi hai...

I got dressed in a black shirt, with a grey coat and trousers. In the mirror I could see Amrit making a ring gesture with her thumb and forefinger. I looked down with an embarrassed smile.

Aankhon mein mein aankhon teri ...
baahon mein baahon teri...
mera na mujh mein kuch raha..
hua kya?...
baaton mein baatein teri
raatein saugaatein teri...
kyun tera sab ye ho gaya?
hua kya?...

main kahin bhi jaata hoon tum se hi mil jaata hoon
tumse hi... tum se hi...
shor mein khaamoshi hai
thodi si behoshi hai
tum se hi... tum se hi...'

I walked down the stairs into the reception of the Saraay. Kaushikji, the manager stood behind the desk.
'Ram Ram ji !' He greeted me.
'Ram Ram!', I replied with a smile. 'Ji ek phone kar sakta hoon main?'
'Nai nai Sahabji. Main kal samajh gaya ji. Aap dubaara trunk call karenge. Adha ghanta to line milne mein hi gaya. Aur aap karenge phone Dilli! Dilli to bhai linein milni waise hi mushkil hai, ek ghanta maan ke chaliye. Upar se subah ka waqt hai, rush zyaada rehti hai. Kal to do ghante rakh liya phone aapne! Roz roz aise nahi chalega ji. Maaf kijiye. Telephone aise vyast nahi rakh sakte hum.', he chattered on crossly.
'Arey arey Janaab teheriye teheriye. Aapka telephone kal itni der tak humne apne kabze mein rakha iske liye maaf kar dijiye hume.', I apologized. 'Aur aap fikr mat kijiye. Kal ki galti se thodi samajh aa gayi hai mujhe. Aaj urgent trunk call karunga, to umeed hai zyaada waqt nahi lagega. Zyada se zyaada pandrah minute. Ye thik hai ?'

He looked at me suspiciously and then agreed.
Relieved, I turned the telephone towards myself and picking up the receiver, I dialed.
After a couple of rings, a telephone operator, picked up the phone.
'Hello, Ambala!'
'Hello, ji mujhe ek trunk call book karni hai. Dilli.'
'Kise karni hai? Naam aur extension number bataiye', he asked indifferently.
'Amrit Sahni. Extension number hai 9847.'
'Standard, urgent ya lightning ?'
'Urgent'
'Aap line par rahiye. Main connect karta hoon'

Bauji had taught me that Lightning call should only booked in dire circumstances. Booking urgent calls for our convienience was fine but lighting calls had limited lines. Booking them frivolously could pose a problem to someone else.

After about ten minutes of waiting, someone answered the phone. But it was not Amrit. It was Radhaji.
'Hello! Damaadji ?!', she said chirpily. 'Satsrikaal!'
'Satsrikaal! Ji aap sab thik hai?'
'Ji Damaadji, hum sab itthe ekdum change hai! Tussi vi thik ho?'
'Ji main bhi theek hoon. Uh... Amrit hai aas-paas? Baat ho payegi unse?'
'Oh ji, Amrit te Vashma to college gayi hain na! Bas abhi hi nikli das minute pehle!'
Oh no! I shut my eyes and held my head with my other hand. I was feeling stupid and disappointed at the same time.

'Maaf kijiyega. Mujhe dhyaan hi nahi raha.', I replied.
'Arey koi lod nai ji. Amrit ghar aune te main usnu bata dungi! Aaj to Amrit ne bohot der laga di! Roz ke waqt se lagbhag adhe ghante der se nikle hai ji vo dono. Tange ki jagah taxi leni padi ohnu!', she replied.
Duh! Why couldn't I come down sooner?! I missed her yet again!
'Thik hai. Main rakhta hoon. Dubaara phone karunga.', I said in a dispirited manner.
'Ji ji. Tussi khayaal rakhna ji apna!'
'Ji aap sab bhi apna khayaal rakhiyega!'
Just then it struck me that I should at least give the name and extension number of this Saraay. But as I was about to say it, she hung up.
I gently smacked my forehead a few times for not thinking of this earlier. An entire day had passed and I had not spoken to Amrit yet- let alone see her! Ugh !

I made another call to Raizada Sadan and after speaking to Mummyji-Bauji to proceeded to Chaudhary Sahab's room to check on him.

***

We had the Press Club of India, North Zone's meeting in Ambala. It is a meeting point for journalists to meet and discuss ideas, the independence of the press, professional ethics, participate in debates and other such things. Back then before Independence, this was a concept still in writing. Today I was attending one of its meets in person. It was a nice feeling to see these things actually become a reality.

The national meet was organized about twice a year in New Delhi itself. But these zonal meets were held in different locations and more regularly. People from states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Uttaranchal , West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh were present here today.

It was about three in the afternoon. We were in the middle of the meeting, having discussed on all the planned topics for the first half. There were so many of us were present in the meeting room but the divide - about thirty men and only one woman. It was not something new that I was seeing but it still hit me hard all the time. I raised this issue up.
'Aaplogon ye galat nahi lagta ki is kamre mein hum sab mard hai aur ye akeli aurat? In jaisi aur auraton ko bhi is kamre mein jagah milni chahiye !'
'Hume toh inki maujoodgi yahan ajeeb lagti hai!', one of them remarked with a snicker.
The young lady flinched.
A couple of men scoffed at the remark, but stopped, looking at the woman. I was amazed at the audacity of those men. They could even say this?! I had seen chauvinist men in Delhi too, plenty of them but atleast they would never insult a woman like this.
One of them replied, 'Arey ye ek hai yahan par, ye kya kaafi nahi hai? Hume kaam karna hai yahan ya daawat pakaani hai?!
'Aur aapke mutabik main yahaan kaam nahi kar rahi ?', the lady asked scornfully, staring him down.
'Nahi nahi Madamji', the man suddenly became defensive, trying to laugh it off. 'Humara matlab aapse nahi tha!'
'Hum sab ko pata hai ki aapka matlab kya tha Kumar Sahab!', I replied. 'Is lihaaz se aapko kisise bhi baat nahi karni chahiye!'
Kumar was about to retaliate when his colleague, Mr Varma stopped him by his hand and replied to me, 'Raizada Sahab. Aapne bhi na jaane ye kya baat utha li? Sach poochhein to hume ye behas layaak mudda lagta hi nahi hai. Jab kabhi aanewaale waqt mein hona hoga ho jayega! Kha-ma-kha is par waqt kyun barbaad karein ? Chaliye khaana kha lete hai!', he said trying to get up.
'Varmaji! Ab baat uthi hai to baat ho hi jaane dijiye!', I said, 'Waise bhi aaj agar baat nahi hogi to aane waale kal mein ye kabhi hoga bhi nahi! Hum is club mein apne desh ke patrakaaron ki, press ki numaindagi kar rahe hai. Aur is kamre ladki sirf ek hai ! Kyun ?'
'Agar humaare paas laayak auratein hongi jo pratinidhitva karne ke kaabil ho, to humne kahan roka hai unhe is baithak mein shaamil hone se!', Mr. Pandey made a cutting remark.
'Aur unka kya jinhe aap kaabil hote hue bhi uthne nahi dena chaahte ?' replied the lady sarcastically. 'Kyunki taqat aap apne paas rakhna chaahte hain! Kisi aurat ke haath mein koi bhaari auda aane hi nahi dena chaahte!',
Those men were lost for answers. It was a dead end. Either they accept it which they would certainly not or outright reject it which would again mean a huge insult to the womenfolk. And I wasn't going to tolerate another lowly, offensive remark. And neither this young lady, it seemed.
Mr Sandhu interjected, 'Acha aaplog ye bataiye aap mein se kitne log hain jinki ghar ki auratein bahar kaam karti hai ?'
Half-of-them just looked at each other's faces. Only a couple of them answered a yes.
'Dekhiye ! Yahin to maat kha gaye aap!', Mr. Sandhu replied. 'Aur aap keh rahein hai ki aapne auraton ko rok kar nahi rakha hai!'
'Haan to kya karein ? Unhe keh dein ki ghar-baar chhod kar nikal pade bahar kaam karne? Humaari ghar grihasti kaun samhaalega? Bacche? Unhe kaun samhaalega?', Mr. Negi said aggressively.
'Aapne abhi kaha 'humaari' ', the lady chimed in. 'Agar vo grihasti aapki bhi hai to kya aapka bhi farz mahi banta ki saath milkar grihasti samhaalein ? Dono mard aur aurat kandhe se kandha milakar ghar chalaayein to kya samasya ho sakti hai?!'
'Kaisi behki behki baatein kar rahi hai aap? Ye sab kaam humaara kab se ho gaya? Hum kyun karne lage ye sab? Ye auraton ki zimmedaari hai, vo samhaalein!' said Mr Bardhaan.
'Kisi din unhi auraton ne bhi yahi kaha toh ? Ki ye unki zimmedaari nahi.' said Mr. Bajwa, joining us. 'Mard jaane aur unki grihasti jaane? Tab to sab yoon dhare ke dhare reh jayenge! Jitni akad se aap aaj baat kar rahein hai, saari ek pal mein nikal jaayegi!'
'Acha agar main ye kahoon ki mere ghar ki auratein to padhi-likhi hi nahi hai, vo bhalaa kya kaam kar sakti hai ?', Mr. Sood interjected.
'To kya aapne unhe padhaane ki koshish ki? Kya aapne ye pakka kiya ki aane waali peedhi, aapki betiyaan inki taleem ache se ho?', I questioned.
'Humne to apni beti ko padhaaya hai aur uski shaadi bhi hone waali hai. Ab to uske sasuraal waale tay karenge na ki uski aage ki zindagi ke saath kya hoga!', said Mr Bansal. 'Isme hum kya kar sakte hain?'

Standing up, I continued, 'Farz kijiye ki aap... aap lagbhag bees-baaes saal ke hain. Aapne apni zindagi ke itne saal jiye hai, ek sapne ke saath. Uske liye kadi mehnat bhi ki. Jee-jaan laga di us sapne ko pura karne mein. Aur ab jab aakhirkaar vo sapna poora hone jaa raha hai, to kuch anjaan log aate hain aapke zindagi mein, aur achanak se aapse keh diya jaata hai ki aapko unke ishaaron par apni zindagi jeeni hogi, us sapne ko chhodna hoga, aapki aajtak ki saari mehnat ke koi naayne hi nahi the, aapki aajtak ki zindagi ke hi koi maayne nahi the. Asliyat to vo hai jo ye naye aaye anjaan log aapke liye tay karein. Is surat mein aap kya karenge?', I asked with raised eyebrows, cross armed.

'Ye bhi bhalaa koi baat hui ?! Kinhi anjaan logon ko hum apni zindagi kyun saaunp de bhai?! Sapna ho ya na ho, zindagi to humaari hai! Kisiko kya haq hai apni marzi humpar thopne ka?!', Mr. Pandey responded stormily.
'Janaab wahi to hum tab se samjhaane ki koshish kar rahein hai.', I said stressing on my words politely. 'Maine mehez ek misaal di aur aap is tarah bhadak gaye. Par har aurat ke saath yahi to hota aaya hai! Tab aaplogon ko ye naainsaafi nazar nahi aayi ?! Kyunki vo jataati nahi hai isliye ya kyunki aap dekhna nahi chaahte isliye ?',

'Aap mard aur aurat ko ek taraazu pe kaise tol sakte hai?!', Mr Negi said, banging his fist on the table.
'Kyunki unhe ek hi taraazu par tola jaana chaahiye!', the lady replied firmly. 'Na jaane kisiko ye baat samajh kyun nahi aati!'
'Janaab! Baatein toh aapne bohot badi badi kar li par aap apne girebaan mein jhaank kar dekhiye! Dainik Bhaskar ki numaindagi karne bhi toh do mard hi aaye hai!', Mr. Varma remarked.
'Uski fikr aap mat kijiye Varma Sahab', Chaudhary Sahab spoke up. 'Agar yahi baat hai to ye mera faisla hai ki ab se agle har Press Club ki meet par sirf auratein aayengi humaare taraf se! Humaare paas kayi kaabil 'mahila' editors aur karmchaari hain jinmein jazbaa bhi hai aur kaabiliyat bhi! Jab vo aapki soch ko galat karaar karengi tab hum dubaara baat karenge!', he said proudly.
And I looked at him admiration.

We argued for about half-an-hour more. These debates are never conclusive, because some men never agreed and some just pretended to agree. It would be an accomplishment if we would have stirred a few minds and reformed atleast a couple of them.
I can't wait to discuss this debate with Amrit!

After the debate I was outside the meeting room, in conversation with Mr. Sandhu and Mr. Baajwa.
'Raisahab kya bolein hai aap aaj! Aapki boli se hume bhi josh aa gaya aapka saath dene ka!', said Mr Baajwa.
'Ji Shukriya.', I replied courteously.
'Waise ek aur baat thi jiske baare mein humme jaan-na tha!', said Mr Sandhu.
'Ji kahiye?!'
'Asian Games ka samapan samaroh! Humne suna hai bohot bade paymaane pe vaivastha hui thi uski!', Mr Baajwa asked. 'Hum to bas apne patrakaaron se suni aur unke article mein padhi hai.'
'Ji janaab bada hi mehsoorkun tha samaapan samaroh. Lag bhag tees hazaar logon se Natinal stadium khacha khach bhara tha. Patiala ke Maharaja jo ki Federation ke president bhi hai- unhone Khelon ki samaapti ka aelaan kiya. Saari gyaarah teamein jab dubaarah chal kar stadium ke bahar gayi, tab gyarah topon ki salaami ke baad, Puraane Qile par lehraate un gyaarah jhandon ko utaara gaya. Aur fir saat din se lagaatar raat-din jalti us mashaal ko bhi utaara gaya. Chaaron or jashn ka sa hi mahaul tha! Maharaja Yadavinder Singh ne Rashtrapatiji aur aayojakon ko badhaai di. Bade hi garv se unhone kaha ki aage bhi in khelon ki wajah se in sab hi deshon ki aapsi rishte behtar ho. Awaam mein utsaah bana rahe. Aur humaare desh ko naujawaanon ko zor diya ki vo khel-kood ki ore kadam badhaayein.
Nehruji bhi wahaan maujood the.', I narrated with a bright smile.
'Jis ummeed se in khelon ki tanzeem ki gayi thi, vo sahi mayne mein poori hui. Asiaayi deshon ke aapsi naate aur bohot mazboot hue hai. Aur ye humaare mulk ki khushkismati hai ki humein in khelon ki mezbaani karne ka mauka mila!
Is baat se toh mujhe Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore ki kuch linein yaad aati hai!
'Thou has made me known to friends,
whom I knew not,
Thou hast given me seats in homes
not my own,
Thou hast brought the distant near,
and made a brother of the stranger', I added, passionately.
'Wakaayi ekdum sateek hai ye linein! Aur bade kavi mizaaj ke lagte hai aap! Aap gaye the ceremony dekhne ?', asked Mr. Sandhu.
'Arey nahi nahi Sandhu sahab. Waqt hi nahi mila. Vo toh ye article maine hi edit kiya tha isiliye mujhe jaankaari hai!'
'Janaab aapko sun ke toh aisa lag raha hai jaise aap khud wahan baithkar dekh rahe ho!'
'Shaayad humaare partakaar acha kaam karte hai isilye!', I said with a courteous smile.
Just then I saw Mr. Bansal walking away distractedly. He was preoccupied, and was about to hit the table, which was about three-to-four steps away from him.

I rushed to stop him.
'Bansalji!', I said, holding him by his shoulders and thankfully keeping him from a bad fall.
Startled, he looked at me and straightened up.
'Maaf karna beta!'
'Ji aap kyun maafi maang rahe hai?', I asked with a confused smile. 'Girne to aap-'
'Nahi beta main iski baat nahi kar raha. Tumne andar jo baatein ki, vo sab thi to badi seedhi saadhi, phir na jaane usse samajhne mein, jaan-ne mein poori umar nikal gayi. Meri beti hai Geeta, uska byaah hai do mahine baad. Sach kahoon to na byaah tay karte waqt main usse uski ichha poochhi, aur na aise kabhi jaan-ne ki koshish ki uske bhi koi sapne hai ya nahi. Aaj lag raha hai vo to chali jaayegi kuch dinon mein aur aaj agar ghar jaake maine sabse pehle usse ye nahi poochha to main shaayad khudko kabhi maaf na kar paau.'
'Bansal Sahab, sapnon ki keemat jaanta hoon main. Maine aapne saamne kisiko aapne sapnon ka galaa ghot-te dekha hai, apne apnon ke khaatir. Apne khwaabon ko zubaan par bhi laane se katraate hue dekha hai, apni tamannaon ko chhupaate hue, zamaane ki bandishon mein bandhte hue dekha hai! Apna sab kuch khote hue dekha hai. Kuch kar jaane ke jazbe ko khaak karte hue dekha hai. Aur fir ussi khaak se wapas us aag ko bhadakte hue dekha hai. Un bandishon ko tod kar apne pankh failaate hue dekha. Apne khwaabon ke aasman mein udte hue dekha hai. Apni tamannaon ... apni khwahishon ko jeete hue dekha hai. Aur ye fir ye sirf unka haq to nahi?! Ye to har ek insaan ka haq hai na?!'

'Sach kaha tumne beta. Tumne aur aap sab ne bhi-', looking at Mr. Sandhu and Mr. Bajwa. 'Aap sab ne jo bhi kuch kaha, ek-ek baat solah-aane sahi hai. Aap sabka bohot bohot shukriya mujhe aina dikhaane ke liye!', he said with a weary smile and took his leave. Mr. Sandhu and Mr. Bajwa too left.

'Basa hai kaun tere dil mein ae Jamil ?
ki boli se tere phoolon ki suvaas aati hai?!'
came a voice from behind me. Intrigued, I turned around. It was the young lady from the meet.

I replied with an amused smile.
'Ye kaise jaana aapne ki humaare dil koi basa hai ?
mumkin hai ki ye humaari hi koi khoobi ho!',

'Intezaar ka luft wahi jaanta jo intezaar karta hai
aur ek aashiq ko ek aashiq hi pehchaanta hai!', she replied with a sparkle in her eyes.

Impressive! This demands a well-thought-of reply now! After a while I answered
'Hai humaari dilbar-e-nadaan
par daanish par unke gumaan kaise na ho!

Nafaasat aur nazaakat ki malika hain
par saadgi jaise rag rag mein samaayi ho

Boli unki shehed si mithi
toh kuch asar humpar bhi kyun na ho?'

'Bohot khoob!', she said, clearly impressed.
'I'm Arundhati Dutta!', she said, extending her hand for a handshake.
'Randheer Raizada.' I replied, taking her hand. 'Pleased to meet you!'.
'Aap Dilli se hai na?', she asked, withdrawing her hand and clasping it around the clutch she held.
I nodded with a polite smile.
'Ji main Calcutta se! Humaare wahaan Urdu ka itna chalan nahi hai par mujhe ye bhasha badi dilkash lagti thi shuruwaat se hi!'
'Par aap kaafi achi Urdu bol letin hai!'
'Shukriya!', she said politely. 'I heard you quote Gurudev. Ussi baat ne mujhe thehara diya. Aur aaj aapne meeting room mein bhi jo baat uthaayi, uski main jitni taareef karu utni kam hai! Itni shiddat se auraton ke haq mein baat karte hue maine shayad hi kisiko dekha hoga!'
'Aur mujhe is baat ki behad khushi hai ki aapne apne liye awaaz uthaayi! Aapki zindagi bhi kaafi mushkil rahi hai?', I questioned.
'Arey nahi nahi! Darasal main to apne Baba ki laadli hoon. Mere ghar pe to kabhi mujhmein aur mere bhaaiyon mein koi fark nahi kiya gaya. Humein bachpan se yahi bataaya gaya ki hum baraabar hai. Apni padhaayi poori karne ke baad jab maine kaam karna shuru kiya tab maine jaana ki duniya ki soch mere Baba jaisi nahi hai. Achaanak se ek alag hi duniya mein pohonch gayi thi main - jahaan auraton ko neecha dikhaana badi aam-si baat thi. Because I was brought-up in a very sheltered environment, these things were a very tough to handle at first. Par dheere dheere is zamaane mein apni jagah banaani seekhli!', she said proudly.
I nodded approvingly. Everytime we meet a new person, we get to hear a new perspective, a new story, a new reality. And this fact is just so fascinating. We realize that how less we know of this world.

'Um.. you're married then ?', she questioned with a smile.
'Almost married!' I replied with a chuckle.
'Well, that is interesting!', she said with an amused smile. 'I'm married. Mere husband ka naam Shantanu hai - Shantanu Dutta. Par aapne apni mehbooba ka naam toh bataaya hi nahi! ', she asked with a bright smile.
'Umm... nahi!'
'Sorry ?!'
'Umeed kijiye ki dubaara mulakaat ho. Aapse rubaru milwaaenge unhe!',
'Ye bhi thik hai! Chaliye main chalti hoon!', she said with a smile and left. Meanwhile I looked for Chaudhary Sahab.

I found him near the gate, waiting.
'Main tumhaara hi intezaar kar raha tha!', he said as I walked down to him.
'Ji kahiye!'
'Mujhe tumhaara naya column waala idea bohot pasand aaya. Wapas jaate hi hum ispar kaam shuru kar sakte hain. Ab tarkeeb tumhaari hai to ye kaam bhi tumhaari zimmewaari. Par asaan nahi hoga ye- isiliye ek sakhs ki madad ki zaroorat padegi tumhe. Apna saathi chunn lo tussi aur mainu bata dena!'
I smiled in relief that he liked the idea.
'Uh... Amrit.. isme mera saath de sakteen hai?', I asked expectantly.
'Ek hi karmchaari nahi kaam karti humaare office mein! Ab agar tuhaanu kis aur ke baare mein sochna hi nahi hai to gal dusri hai.' he said plainly. Abashed, I smiled.

'Thik hai fir tay raha. Is kaam mein Amrit puttarji hi tumhaara saath degi.
Ab main tumse kuch der mein milte hoon, meeting room mein.', he said and left.

I had an one hour now. Finally I would be able to call Amrit. Excitedly, I almost ran to the lounge downstairs.