It was a raw, misty morning. Dressed in a orange shirt, upon a white pullover and brown trousers, I walked down the stairs. Neero Bhaiya was alone in the kitchen.
'Good Moring Neero Bhaiya!', I greeted him.
'Good Morning Randheer baba!', he greeted with a smile.
'Uh Mummyji? Bauji?'
'Babuji daftar ke liye nikal gaye , aur Bibiji chatt par hai !', he said happily, going about his work.
'Par abhi toh aath hi baje hai ?' I said looking above at the wall-clock behind him. 'Bauji itni subah subah nikal gaye?'
'Ji vo Niketji ka phone aaya tha daftar se. Isiliye vo jaldi nikal gaye. Aapka naashta lagaa du?'
'Nahi nahi teheriye ! Pehle aap meri zaraa si madad kar dijiye!', I said with a twinkle in my eyes.

                                                        *

Mummyji was standing near the handrail, a light shawl draped around in her shoulders. I tiptoed to her side and greeted her, 'Good Morning Beautiful!'
'Good Morning Handsome!', she replied with a bright smile.
'Kya aap mere saath ek breakfast date chalna pasand karengi ?', I said forwarding my hand.
'Itne charming young man ko koi mana kaise kar sakta hai?!', she said with an endearing smile and took my hand. 'Par mausam itna suhaavna hai ! Kuch der yahin rukte hai, fir neeche chalenge.'
'Aap ek baar palat ke dekhiye to sahi!', I said softly
She looked at me with furrowed eyebrows and then turned. The table set on the terrace had already laid out for breakfast! A white tablecloth had been spread out on the dark-brown wooden patio table and it was neatly set with porcelain crockery and a small white vase with pretty yellow flowers.
Mummyji smiled radiantly.
I led her to the table, pulled the chair out for her and seated her down.
'Ye sab tune tune khud kiya?', she questioned.
'Umm... akele toh nahi. In cheezon ko upar laane mein Neero Bhaiya ne madad ki meri. Haan par baaki sab maine kiya', I said with a triumphant smile. 'For my ladylove!'
'I'm impressed!', she said with a pleased smile. I returned the smile.
'Aapko ehsaas nahi hua jab hum yahan table laga rahe the?'
'Ehsaas to hua hi lekin maine socha tujhe apne mann ki karlene dete hai !', she said with a smirk. 'Allow me', I said warmly and poured out tea in a cup for her. She was about to say something when I interrupted, 'Mujhe yaad hai Mummyji , aap shakkar nahi leti hain !' She smiled tenderly.
Handing her the cup, I sat down on the chair opposite to hers and poured myself another cup.
'Uh baked beans?', I asked
She nodded a yes.
'Bharat-Pakistan ke beech jo vyaapaar karaar hua tha pichle mahine, uspar kuch baat aage badhi ?', she asked as I prepared a slice of baked bean toast for her.

'Ji mummyji, dono sarkaron ne Bharat se koyle ke export ki keemat bhi tay kar di hai Calcutta mein. Pehla consignment 10,000 ton ka hai -agle hafte East Pakistan bhijwaya jayega. Kal hi khabar aayi thi. Aaj chhapa hai akhbaar mein', I replied, handing her the plate.
'Chalo achi baat hai ! Umeed hai baaki cheezon ke samjhaute jald hi ho jaaye. Dono desh tarrakki karein, aur aapas mein bhaichaare se rahe – isse achi baat kya hogi!', she said taking a bite. 'Hmm... This is nice! Bas thodi aur practice ki zaroorat hai tujhe, fir bilkul pehle wala swaad laut aayega!', she said with a smile.
'Thank you!', I said, hand over heart and rested my chin on my hand.
'Kya?', she asked furrowing her eyebrows.
'Kuch nahi ! Sirf apni gorgeous mummyji ko nihaar raha hoon!', I replied with sparkle in my eye. She brushed me off with a smile.
'Aap farz kijiye, main ... aur aap... Kashmir ki waadiyon mein!', I said dreamily.
'Aur Amrit ?!', she asked with raised eyebrows. I straightened at her name. 'Unhe bhi saath le chalenge!', I said looking down, with an embarrassed grin.
'Ek din toh mann nahi lagega Amrit ke bina aur mere saath ghoomne jaana hai tujhe!' I turned pink in embarrassment. 'Aur tere Bauji ?!'
'Umm... unhe nahi leke jayenge! Sirf hum teeno!', I said haughtily.
'Aur tere Bauji hum-mein se kisiko ghar se bahar nahi nikalne denge ! Fir ghoomte rehna - Kashmir!', I chuckled.
'Waise, kitni ajeeb baat hai na Mummyji. Desh-Videsh sab ghoom aaye hum aur Kashmir jaana hi reh gaya!'
'Hmm yeh to hai! Par ab jaana mumkin bhi nahi kuch waqt toh. Haalat theek nahi hai wahaan'
'Hmm', I replied thoughtfully 'Aap yeh bataiye, meri gair-maujoodgi mein Bauji aapko date par lekar gaye ya nahi ?!'
'Umm... Vo toh mujhe kai baar lekar gaye mera mann behlaane ke liye par mere bete jaisa charm kisi aur mein kahan!', she said with a proud smile. I grinned.

After we were done with the breakfast, I walked over to her seat and extending my hand. I asked, 'May I have a dance, my lady?'
She took my hand with a pleased smile and got up.
I had even got the gramophone upstairs. I turned the hand crank numerous times. Once record started rotating, I carefully placed the spindle on the record.
We waltzed around the terrace on 'The Blue Danube' for quite some time. Mummyji was in such a buoyant mood, it made me all the more happy. A beautiful morning it had been.

*

I was heading to Prem Niwas. As I walked out of the main door into the porch, my eyes travelled up towards Amrit's balcony.
She walked in there with a gentle smile adorning her face. She was dressed in a yellow salwar-kameez with a shaded white-yellow-light blue dupatta. I crossed my arms and leaned against the pillar. She peeped into my balcony for a while and rubbed her palms for some warmth. She stood there, bathed in soft sunshine and I stood here, gazing at her.
After a while she looked down at me and blushed realizing that I had been standing there for quite a while now. I waved at her and she waved back with a delight, the reason of which was unknown to me. There was a bit more to her smile today. I smiled even more brightly. Ab Amrit muskura rahi hain, mujhe aur kya chahiye! Wajah chaahe job hi ho.

Just then I noticed Radhaji come out of the house and stand at the door, with a worried expression. She was looking around the street as if searching for someone. I walked down to her. 'Ji aap pareshaan dikh rahi hai?'
'Ohji Ye suvere suvere pata nahi kitthe chale gaye!', she said worriedly. 'Bata ki vi nai gaye!'
'Ye? Matlab?'
'Ye!!', she stressed on the word.
'Kaun ??', I asked in confusion.
'Aapke dost!', she emphasized yet again.
'Oh Mukund! Acha!', I replied, feeling stupid. 'Voh aapke ghar toh nahi chala gaya?'
'Ohji maine ghar bhi phone kiya, daftar bhi. Wahan nahi hai. Main aapke hi ghar aa rahi thi, poochne ke liye. Otthe vi nai hain?'
'Nahi', I replied. 'Aap fikr mat kijiye, kisi kaam se gaya hoga. Aa jaayega thodi der mein.'
'Par bata ke toh jaana chahiye! Ae vi koi gal hui?!', she babbled with furrowed eyebrows.
For the first time, I was seeing her getting angry on someone. And it felt so good seeing this – that she felt entitled to get angry on Mukund because he didn't inform her before leaving.
'Bhabhi!', I probably for the first time addressed her with this term, but it felt so right – like it was meant to be.
'Mukund kabhi kabhi thodi bewakoofiyan kar deta hai. Abhi jaane dijiye. Yahin kahin kisi kaam mein hoga', I said with a smile.
'Hmmm!', she said with a sigh. 'Waise tussi ghar aa rahe the?', she asked.
'Uh.. ji!', I said a restrained smile. 'Chalo chalo ji, andar chalo!', she said with a bright smile an led me inside.
In the drawing room, a few workers were mounted on stools, were putting up festoons of flowers. Uday stood beside one of them near the door leading to the dining area, hands on hips. Then suddenly he exclaimed at that worker, 'Oh! Aise nahi. Aap utro neeche!'. He helped him get down and then climbed on the stool himself and put up the garland properly. That's when he noticed me, 'Satsriakal Rai Sahab!' he greeted me with a bright smile.
'Satsrikal Uday!'

'Amrit aaj college nahi gayi?', I asked them both.
'Aapko kaise pata ??', both of them looked at me, surprised.
'Vo maine unhe abhi balcony mein dekha tha', I clarified.
'Ohh!', Radhaji said.
Getting down from the stool, Uday saId, 'Ohji vyaah sarpe hai to bas dono ki chhutiyaan shuru aajse. Bas aaj ek din daftar jaana hai usnu, keh rahi thi agle 5-6 din jo vi kahaaniyan chhapni hai unki taiyaari karni hai.'
'Hmm', I replied.
'Tussi vi te aaj jaoge na daftar?', Radhaji asked.
'Ji! Uh... main zaraa upar jaake aau?.', I asked uneasily.
'Oh ji pooch kyun rahe ho? Jaoji aapka hi ghar hai!', Radhaji replied. 'Vashma te Amrit nu vi neeche hi le aana!'

I gave her a warm smile and moved towards the stairs. I could hear Amrit and Vashma's voices. They were probably coming downstairs, chattering noisily. I hurried climbed the stairs and encountered them on the halfway landing. Both of them had stopped a couple of steps above the landing – Vashma one step ahead of Amrit. As soon as she saw me, Vashma stepped in front of Amrit, obscuring her.
'Vashma kya kar rahi hai!', Amrit muttered and shifted to the other side. But Vashma swiftly moved in front of her again. If Amrit tried to come forward, Vashma blocked her way by extending her arm. She was not even letting Amrit cross her by stooping down.
'Vashma!', Amrit mumbled yet again, getting all worked up. And I was enjoying yet not enjoying this tussle because Vashma was successfully keeping her out of my sight.

'Uh Vashma! Mujhse koi khata ho gayi hai to bata do!', I said gently. 'Aise tang mat karo inhe!'
'Haan Vashma!', Amrit exclaimed from behind her.
'Koi khata-shata nahi hui hai. Aur aap maza mat kharab kijiye mera!', she complained.

Clasping my hands behind my back , I said with a sparkle in my eyes, 'Meri Raanjhan ne ek baat kahi hai!'
'Oh!', Vashma said, folding her arms. 'Kaunsi baat ?!'
Amrit placed her hands on Vashma's shoulder and peeked out from behind, listening intently.
'Yahi ki... pyaar karne waale ko milne se nahi rokna chaiye!'. I clasped Amrit's hand and pulled her with a slight jerk. Taken by surprise, she half-turned almost fell. I caught her in both my arms and the process, I too somewhat turned, bent over her. She looked at me, with wide-eyes and an astonished smile.

Lae akhaan rakhle girvi
deewaani hai ye teri
chura ke tujhse nazrein
tujhe dekha karengi

ye kya deewangi hai ?
kyun mera dil shor paaye?
ye kya mujhko hua hai?
Kyun utthe dil chhod aaye?!

'Ahem Ahem!', Vashma intervened. How amazing it would have been if instead of interrupting us, she would have silently made an exit. Huh, nevermind! We straightened up.
'Ye jaalsaazi hai!', Vashma complained. 'Kab kahi raanjhan ne ye baat?!'
' "Barsaat wala prem" mein!', I and Amrit said together and exchanged a smile.

Vashma pulled Amrit towards herself and angrily muttered, 'Oye tu meri taraf se nahi bol paa rahi thi?!' Amrit looked at her with raised eyebrows.
'Ab ye jaalsaazi nahi hai mere khilaaf ?!', I asked with furrowed eyebrows.

Just then Kabir came running downstairs, 'Maine pi liya doodh!'
'Acha? Toh glass kahan hai?', Vashma asked him.
'Arey', he said, clapping his hand to his head. 'Voh te main upar hi bhool gaya. Main abhi leke aaya!', he exclaimed and ran back upstairs.
'Saari baatein utthe seedhiyon pe hi karoge kya tussi saare!', Radhaji called out in a complaining tone from the bottom of the stairs. 'Neeche aa jao!!'

I stepped aside, making way for them and went down the stairs behind them.

As we seated ourselves on the takhts, Kabir came running downstairs.
'Mainu glass mil hi nahi raha!', he said worriedly.
'Oye doodh ke saath glass bhi kha gaya kya ?!', Vashma exclaimed.
'Ammi! Glass vi koi kha sakta hai kya?!', he replied noisily.
'Tune dhoonda ache se sab jagah?', Amrit asked.
'Haan mummy. Sab jagah dhoonda dono-teeno kamre mein bhi khoja par mainu mila hi nai!'
'Ab toh mainu lag raha hai, tu doodh ke saath glass bhi kha gaya.', Amrit said pretentiously. I looked at all three of them in surprise.
'Mummy!', he complained 'Maine nahi khaaya glass. Sacchi!! Tussi maano meri baat', he pleaded. I was having a hard time controlling my laughter.
'Ab glass agar mil gaya toh achi baat hai, warna tune hi khaaya hai pakka.', Vashma remarked again.
'Bauji!', Kabir looked pleadingly towards Uday, who was busy supervising the workers.
'Vashma! Amru!', Uday called out from that corner. 'Kuch bhi mat bolo dono!'
Radhaji caressed Kabir's face and said, 'Bacche tu fikar na kar, mil jaana hai tera glass.'
Amrit and Vashma looked at each other and suppressed a giggle.
With furrowed eyebrows, Kabir went and sat on Amrit's lap, crossing his arms with a humph. Amrit brought her arms around him and nuzzled up against his face. Vashma too held her ears. He smiled a bit.

Just then Mukund walked in with a bag in his hand. Radhaji rushed to him, 'Ohji kitthe gaye the tussi savere savere?'
'Ek kaam tha bohot zaroori', then he looked at me and stopped. 'Uh...Channa, main tuhaanu thodi der mein bataata hoon.'
Amrit and Vashma hurried to his side. He handed the bag to Amrit. Amrit peeked in the bag and showed the contents to Vashma as well. Both of them exchanged approving smiles and beamed at Mukund. He too smiled brightly, Then, carefully avoiding my eyes, Amrit rushed with the bag upstairs. Can someone tell me what was going on?
Uday was too busy in the task in his hand. And Radhaji clearly had no idea about anything.
Mukund placed his hand on my shoulder, 'Tu chal mere saath. Raizada sadan bhi sajwaana hai. Yahaan sab abhi vyast hai.' But I had just come here! 

Vashma whispered something to Radhaji.
'Haan, Amrit nu rasmon ke layi kapde pehenkar dekhne hai. Hume bhi dekhne hai', Radhaji said, looking at us and then towards Vashma. 'Toh hum chalte hain upar', Both Radhaji and Vashma hastened upstairs with Kabir tailing behind them. And here Mukund pulled me along with him, out of the house. Why were they being so secretive?

*

I walked in office after three days. All my colleagues greeted me happily. As I settled in my cabin, Imraan entered the cabin
'Adaab Imraan!', I greeted him.
'Adaab RaiSahab. Chaudhary Sahab se manzoori lekar kal Ali Sahab ne aapke 'Sampaadak ke naam patra' wale column ke liye ishtehaar chhaap diya tha. Kuch chitthiyaan aayi hai. Aapki roz-marra ki editing ke baad mujhe bata dijiyega, main vo chitthiyaan le aaunga.'
'Thik hai! Shukriya!', I replied with a smile.
'Agar ishtehaar mein bhi koi fer-badal karni ho to aap mujhe keh dijiyega', Ali Sahab stated, coming in.
'Adaab Ali Miyan!', I greeted him.
'Adaab! Umeed hai aapka safar thik raha hoga!'
'Ji ji! Acha raha! Kaafi kuch naya dekha. Naye logon se mulaakat hui!'
'Achi baat hai! Press club ki har meeting mein aisa hi hota hai. Main bhi ek baar jaa chuka hoon – Lucknow mein!', he said eagerly.
'Pichle saal?' , I questioned.
'Ji! Acha main chalta hoon. Kaafi kaam baaki hai.!', he said and left with a smile.
I turned to Imraan. 'Tum jab vo chitthiyaan laaoge to Amrit ko bhi iktilaah kar dena. Vo is column par mere saath kaam karne waali hai!'
'Ji, thik hai!', he replied and left.

As I went back to my lot of articles. As usual it had Amrit's story on the top of the pile with a note.

'Kuch khaas hone ki taiyaari hai. Par poochiyega mat mujhse. Aapko khud hi pata chal jayega'

Okay, my heart was already aflutter. What was she planning?!


*

It was about four in the evening. I was done with the everyday articles and reports. Imraan had brought in the letters a while ago. I was going through a few of them when Amrit came in. The first thing that came to my mind was that note. But no – she had specifically requested me not to ask her anything about it. This is difficult now. I tried to engage my mind elsewhere.

'Aapna bataya nahi mainu ki aapne Chaudhary Sahab se poochliya tha mere layi?', she asked with a smile.
'Ji mujhe dhyaan hi nahi raha. Aur mujhe nahi laga tha ki itni jaldi kaam shuru ho jayega.', I replied. 'Aap karengi is par kaam?'
'Ji zaroor!', she exclaimed. She picked up a few letters from the lot. 'Hum dono chitthiyaan padhte hai. Jo mainu dilchasp lagegi, main aapko padhke sunaungi. Aapko jo pasand aaye aap mainu padhke sunaana. Thik hai ?', she asked eagerly.
'Ji, thik hai!'
Each of us tore open letters one by one with our brass letter openers . I was seated on my chair while she was walking around the room, reading the letters.
'Ye dekhiye Amrit.', I said, reading out-

                                                                
"Manyavar,
Humare kayi chhaatra-chhtrayein hain jo 35-40 meel door se Rashtrabhasha imtihaan main baithne aaye the. Ye imtihaan 13 March ko ayojit tha. Imtihaan ka parcha, fees ke saath waqt par bharne ke bawajood, inhe bine pariksha mein baithaane diye unhe lauta diya gaya.
M. Chawla"

'Ye baat imtihaan pradhikaariyon tak pahonchni chaahiye. Mere hisaab se ise chhaapna chahiye', she replied thoughtfully. 
I nodded and we continued.
After a while Amrit turned towards me and said,
'Ye dekhiye-
                                                                        
'Manyavar,
Angrezon ke waqt mein vipatti ye thi ki sarkar mein prashaasak kayi the. Par ab, humari 'loktantravaadi' kahe jaane waali Congress sarkar mein hum kya dekhte hain ? 16-se-17 sa-vetan mantri jo 4-5 salaahkaaro ka kaam karte hain aur janta ki sampatti se desh bhar mein daure karte hain, bhaashan dene ke liye? Madras ke maan-neeya Rajyapaal ne apni icha se apni tankhwaah se 15 prateeshat ghataayi hai. Maan-neeya pradhaan mantri ji in dauron par kam-se-kam kharch karte hain. Aur Swargeey Sardar Patel kabhi bhi janta ke paise se yatra nahi karte the. Kya sabhi mantriyon ko inka anugaman nahi karna chahiye ?
K. Garg"

'Kitni sateek baat kahi hai inhone!', I remarked. 'Isse bhi rakh dijiye. Isse bhi chhaapna chahiye!'
'Ji!' , she said, keeping it with the finalized letters.

'Ye dekhiye Randheer – Ye hai Mr....Bakshi ka khat.
Vo likhte hain -
'Manyavar.
Angrezi akhbaaron mein 'Letters to the Editor' column ke column bade dekhe humne. Aapko badhaai ki aapne humari jan-bhasha mein aapne iski shuruwat ki. Is nayepan ki hum saraahna karte hain." She read out proudly.
I smiled and proceeded with the letters.

I read one letter silently.
"Manyavar,
Humare ilaake mein Dashmesh Vidya Bhawan hai jisse haal-hi mein ladkiyon ke daakhile ke liye khol diye jaane ki baat ho rahi hai. Humare mutaabik iski zaroorat nahi hai. Ladko-ladkiyon ka saath padhna sahi nahi hoga. Hum iski kade shabdon mein ninda karte hain.
J. Bhatt.
I flinched a bit, keeping it in aside. I'd need to something about this.

'Kya hua ?', she asked softly.
'Kuch nahi Amrit. Bas kuch logon ki soch par hairaani hoti hai.'

'Vo khat mainu dikhao tussi.'
I extended my arm and handed her the letter. She ran her eyes over it and said. 'Ye aap mujhpar chhod do. Iska jawaab main likhke bhejungi inhe.', she said with a sigh and kept it aside.
And I looked at her admiration. This passion to make a point to the society, which I shared with her, always stirred me. 

We went through all the letters and selected a few more. We kept the selected ones aside in a neat pile and put the unselected but good ones back in the envelopes - in case they'd be required for printing tomorrow.

She reclined a bit against my desk, facing me. 'Aur kuch ?', she asked softly.
'Chaliye aaj aapko apne ek dost se milwaatein hain', I said with a glint in his eyes.

'Ji?'
'Ji! Mere dost George ki chitthi aayi hai aaj, London se!', I said, producing an light blue aerogram from the desk's drawer. An aerogram is a letter card which has three thin flaps on its top side. It is folded thrice and the flaps are gummed on three sides, thus turning it into a sealed envelope in itself. It could not be opened with a letter opener.

'Aapne ohnu chitthi likhi thi?', she asked as she offering me a pair of scissors from my desk.

'Ji, aur aaj jawab aaya hai uska', I said, 'Shukriya'

I took the scissors from her and snipped off extremely thin strips from the three sides of the aerogram. Unfolding it, I read it out aloud.

"Dear Randheer,

It fills my heart with a feeling of happiness and relief as I pick up my pen to write to you. I hope this letter finds you in the pink of your health.

I was astonished and overjoyed to hear from you after all these years. It seems like ages ago that you were to attend my coming-of-age celebrations but there was no correspondence from you after the acceptance of my invitation. I had sent some letters but perhaps none of them reached you. Who would have known such a tragedy would befall you and your family? I hope all your near and dear ones are safe and sound. I'm very well here. Presently, I'm in employment with 'The Observer' as an Investigative Journalist. All our friends here too are doing good. They are all glad to hear about your wellbeing.

Due to some prior commitments, I would not be able to attend your marriage, but heartiest congratulations to you and your betrothed. Keeping up with our tradition, I have posted a book of my liking along with this letter. This time it is 'To the lighthouse' by Virginia Woolf. Do write to me about how you like it.

I would like to hear more often from you now on.

Yours affectionately

George"

'Ohne tuhaanu ek kitaab bheji hai? Iske peechhe koi gal hai?', She asked uncertainly.

'Ji vo Hindustan lautne ke baad ek-do baar aisa hua, maine yahan ek kitaab dhoondi aur mujhe mili nahi. Aur mujhe hardcover waali kitaabein zyaada pasand hai. George se khat-o-kitabat chal hi rahi thi. Main usi ko bata deta ki mujhe kaunsi kitaab chahiye aur vo uski ek hardcover copy mujhe daak se bhijwa deta. Dheere dheere ye ek riwayat ban gayi humaari. Har mahine ek khat ke saath ek kitaab bhi vo bhej hi deta - Kabhi meri pasand ki aur kabhi apne pasand ki.', I explained.

'Kinni changi hai ye riwaayat!', She said with a bright smile.

'Aur "Coming-of-age"?', she asked unsurely. 'Main kuch samjhi nahi?'

'Ji! Darasal England mein ek riwayat hai. Sabke ke ikkeeswe janamdin par ek bohot badi party di jaati hai. Bada maante hai sab ikeeswa janamdin. George bhi ussi party ki baat kar raha hai. October mein uska jamndin aata hai aur 1947 mein meri hi tarah vo bhi ikkees saal ka hone waala tha. Zaahir si baat hai usne mujhe bhi bulaaya tha aur maine vo nyota kubool kiya tha. Maine toh ye tak likhke bheja tha ki main apni biwi ke saath aaunga. Par... khair. Aap jaanti hai, mere khat ke jawaab par usne badi hairaani jataayi thi', I said with a chuckle. 'Usne poocha tha ki main itni jaldi vyaah kyun kar raha hoon. Maine bataaya tha use ki humaare yahan shaadiyan jaldi ho jaati hai.'

Something got her thinking. She didn't reply for a while.

'Aap kis soch mein pad gayi ?'

'Aapne toh apne teen janmdin salaakhon ke peeche kaate', She said sadly. 'Main kayi baar sochti hoon, ek azaad parinde si thi aapki zindagi.... Jail ki un chaar diwaaron mein kaise rahe honge aap? Akele, hum sab se door?'

'Pata nahi Amrit', I replied thoughtfully. 'Agar sochne jao to sab ek gehre andhere jaisa lagta hai Amrit, par us waqt jaise aapne kaha - sabr aur himmat ne apna kaam kiya. Aur humari mohabbat ke wajah se main kabhi na-umeed nahi hua. Agar umeed mar jaati toh shayad... main bhi mar jaata.'

With pained eyes, she shook her head slowly.

'Rab bhi apne sabse change bandon ke hi imtehaan lete hain. Mainu kayi baar mann kiya ki aapko poochhu par aap itne khush rehte hai, mainu firse aapko vo sab yaad nahi dilaana tha', She said. 'Shayad aisi hi hoti hai mohabbat. Aapke paas kuch na hokar bhi sirf pyaar tha. Aur mere paas, sabkuch kuch hokar bhi jaise kuch nahi, sirf pyaar.'
I gently took her hand. She clutched my hand with her other hand too, and tenderly tugged them close to herself.

O maahi ve
O maahi ve
maahi mainu chhaddeyon na
ki tere bin dil naiyo lagna
jitthe vi tu chalna-ae
maahi main tere peeche peeche chalna

tu jee sakdi nahi
main jee sakda nahi
koi dusri main shartaan vi rakhda nahi
kya tere baajo mera?

sacchiyaan mohabbataan ve
o maahi kitthe hor naiyo milna
jitthe vi tu chalna haan
maahi main tere peeche peeche chalna