Leave it to destiny

Chapter seven/ finally all is out

Tum khwaab si aae ho zindagi mein meri
saare ehsaason ko jaga diya hai
Band ankhon se bhi tum nazar aati ho
Jaise khwaishon ko tabeer mil gayi hai
Tujhe na chahana mere bas mein nahi
Mere dil ne mujhe yeh sikha diya hai

He knocked on the door of the study, before pushing the handle and stepping in. It was a beautiful room, very warm and it spoke a lot of it's occupant. It wasn't a very big room, rectangular in shape, as you entered you were greeted by a long wall to wall book case, with tons of books in it. On the right next to the door, a beautiful marble fire place warmed your eyes. After the fire place, a massive study table took up almost the entire right side wall. With big french window behind the table, allowing the reader to make full use of the daylight. There were two chairs in front of the table and on the left side of the room there was a tan leather bound high back lounging chair. The room was the same, like it had been for years. He smiled as he thought of all the moments he had spent here, mostly they were all with Dadu Sa. Of sitting in Dadu's sa lap and looking at the ledgers. Today too, Dadu sa was sitting in the same old chair, pouring over some book. He did love to read, the collection in this room spoke for it.
"Ah! Abhi! Come son. I have been waiting for you, come sit. I want to discuss something very important with."
He looked at Dadusa's face, he was finding it difficult to gage, what was troubling him.
"You must be wondering why I called you here to Mandhara, so urgently. Well! It is Maira!"
Ahhh! Maira! He had been wondering, about why Dadusa had called him so suddenly here to Mandhara. He was in Delhi when Dadusa had called and told him to come to Mandhara. He had given no explanations. It had been unlike Dadu Sa. Funny!!
"Abhi! My son, you must be wondering about all this secrecy. It is concerning Maira. You must be wondering, why now. Maira has been here for over a month. Why now and why this secrecy. I will tell about the secrecy later, but first I want to tell you about someone. You have heard about my friend ShyamCharan. He is Maira's mother's father, her maternal grandfather. Well! You however don't know my history with ShyamCharan."
Abhimanyu simply nodded, ShyamCharanji was a very old friend of Dadusa. He just knew that he lived in Bombay, and he was an absolute recluse.
" For all you know ShyamCharan and I are very old friends, but there is more, that you don't know. If you are to understand, why I am asking you to do what I need you to do."
Why was Dadusa, twisting and stretching words. That was so unlike him.
"I..this is many years back. Well! ShyamCharan and I became friends in school. Both of us stayed the closest of friends even in college, we even joined St Stephens together. We developed a very close bond with each other, a connect, you could say. We left college, joined our respective businesses and got married, our wives were also friends with each other. Then I had a huge business loss. It was July of the year, 1915, the market was very bad. Things were getting from bad to worse. The world war I had shaken the whole world. I tried, everything I could but I just couldn't make thing work. I started incurring losses, which I was unable to recover. I had fallen in a pile of debts, and it was pulling me deeper into it. ShyamCharan came to know. He payed off all my debts, incurring losses himself, and partnered me further in my businesses, so I could revive. We worked like crazy till we were not just debt free, but standing on firm ground. Today all that you see, it wouldn't have been with us, if not for ShyamCharan. And after all that he did for me, he never asked for anything in return, never took back a penny of what he gave me. I tried I did..I tried to convince him to at least take back what he had given me, if not the interest, but he refused. Made me .....Abhimanyu my child..If I am in debt to anyone in this world, it is him. I can never pay him, for all that he has done for me."
Abhimanyu sat there, shocked. His head ringing from all that his grandfather had just told him.
"It has been a burden on me that, I have never, been able to do anything for him. And he has never wanted anything from me besides my friendship. But now I have a way of returning it all, in a small manner, but I do.
Abhimanyu looked at his grandfather's face. Pay back? How? He sat there, listening quietly to Dadusa.
"Maira's father is missing. I don't know, exactly what happened. But Bhawani Singh is missing."
"Bhawani Singh." Had he heard right?
"Hmmmnn.." Dadusa seemed to be lost somewhere. "What?"
"Dadusa, you just mentioned Bhawani Singh."
"Yes! I did. He is Maira's father." Looked at the questioning look on Abhimanyu's face, he realised Abhimanyu did not know.
"You've met Bhawani Singh. Rana Udaybhaan's financial advisor. You have even admired his business acumen for for a while now." Abhimanyu sat there stunned, he couldn't believe, all that was unfolding before him. Gauri was not a simple village girl. She was the daughter of the man he respected highly. The granddaughter of his Dadusa's closest friend. And he had, he...he had taken..her....He had! Shit! They had....
His mind was running a race, and he was stumbling. He was loosing it! How had things gotten so messed up. How do I look at Dadusa, without showing my guilt. He will come to know. He will see that something is wrong.
Just then there was a knock on the door and Ramu kaka entered with a tray. Placing the tea tray on the study table, he turned to leave.
"Ramu. Send Maira Baisa. Tell her I want to talk to her."
"Ji, Hukum." So saying he left as quietly as he had come.
"Wh.what do you mean he is missing Dadusa?"
"I will tell you all, just wait for Maira to come.
They picked up the piping hot cups of tea, and took a sip. There was a lot to absorb, a lot. Gauri was actually Maira and she was definitely not a village girl. What the fuck! There seem to be a different woman evolving from the one he had envisioned.
A woman it seems he had thought he had chalked out, but it looked as though he hadn't even marked the surface. Did he sound shallow. Damn! He did. And he was not liking it.
He turned as he heard a knock. Maira stepped in. He stood up and looked at her, and couldn't take his eyes off her. He drew in a deep breath, how did she do that? Steal his breath away just by being there.
"Maira! Betiya. Come we were waiting just for you. Here sit. So I was just briefing Abhimanyu, about your grandfather and my friendship. ShyamCharan is my closest and dearest friend, and you are as dear to me as Abhimanyu. Now I know you don't want to take my help. You feel you will be troubling me, but I have a solution for your problems. Now Abhimanyu let us start with all that conspired a few months back, when according to Maira Bhawani seems to have disappeared." He looked at Maira......
"I was in London at the time, finishing my studies. Baba had promised me a tour of the Americas after I finished my studies. But I was tired of foreign lands and stranger. I wanted to come back to India, to my home and friends and but for Baba's sake since he was adamant about me staying in Britain, I decided to extend my stay for a few weeks in London before flying back to Delhi. This is in June, I was in London. We have fixed days when he calls me up and talks to me. It was friday and I kept waiting for his call. Baba didn't call that day and I haven't received any call from him since then. And that is not usual, because Baba never misses our calls, however busy he may be. . And he knows I worry about him, so he makes a call every week every Sunday morning. But this time there was no call, no letter for more than three weeks. I started worrying, so I booked a call to Delhi but no one knew where he was. I could feel it, I realised something was wrong. So I flew down to Delhi and tried to find out about Baba. His last known destinaton lead me to Suratgargh. I went to Suratgarh, hoping I would be able to find out more about his whereabouts."
Suddenly she went silent, she sat there looking down, her fingers were rubbing together. Abhimanyu had been looking at her since she had entered the room, his gaze glued to her face. Had he really thought her a village girl, actually it was her simplicity. She was not like the other girls. He had watched her as she started speaking, mesmerised by the emotions playing on her face. Her eyes would light up every time she would mention her Baba, the worry when she couldn't find him. Her eyes they were so beautiful. They spoke for her....
"So what happened in Suratgarh?" He asked.
Maira had been trying not to look at him, she knew she would forget what she was saying, he had that effect on her. She became tongue-tied, her eyes only wanted to keep looking at him. She slowly dragged her eyes from Dadusa and looked at Abhimanyu, the distance between them suddenly closed. His eyes, they drew her like magnets. Her mouth dried up, she knew not what to say. God! Why did that happen to her every time he was near her. She could smell his cologne, that woody earthy fragrance, it.it..
"Maira, what happened child. Tell me." Seeing the worry on his dear old face,Maira continued.
"T.th.the Rana was very nice. He seemed at first genuinely worried for Baba, he said that he too was searching for him. But then he started talking weirdly. He told me that my father and he had arranged an alliance between his son kuwar Jaswant and me."
"What!" Abhimanyu, yelled out as he stood up in astonishment. He couldn't believe what she had just told him. Her marrying someone else! Jaswant of all people. Then another thought stepped in, the irony of it all. He had been going that night for her wedding when he had come across her fallen on the road.
"I.I.he said Baba had gone somewhere, which was very dangerous and before going he had asked the Rana to marry kuwar Jaswant and me as soon as possible. I found that fishy. Something was not right, I mean Baba had been telling me that after my return, he wanted me to marrying, and he had seen a few boys, but the final decision would be mine. Abhi felt his heart thudding at that..Maira seeing other men..Maira being with some one else?? He swolloed hard as he turned his face away... And he never once mentioned that he wanted me to marry Kuwar Jaswant Singh. He, the Rana, is a typical man, who thinks all women are stupid. That they need a man to lean on. He thought I would never doubt him, so I simply played along. I acted like a giggly teenage girl, all excited at marry a prince. But inside I knew, I felt something was off. I wanted to buy time to find out what was happening, where my father was. So I told him that I would like a few days to get to know kuwar Jaswant. They thought they had me, and they agreed. I bid my time and sure enough, I found them talking, one evening. They were in the Rana's personal lounge. I was walking past, when I heard the talking. I don't know what made me stop. The door was ajar, and although I couldn't see them I could hear them very clearly. I hid behind a planter and heard them." She looked at Dadusa, then at Abhi, taking a deep calming breath she continued....
"They were talking of father. They did not know where father was, and they were very angry about it. It seems that the Rana is in debt, badly in debt, he owes a huge sum of money to someone. Some loan shark! I don't know who. And they had kept it hidden from Baba somehow. And they needed Baba to pull them out. Aparently Baba had come to Suratgarh a few day before his disappearance. He must have found out about the Rana's nefarious business. I don't know why he ran, but he ran from there. And he has not been seen since then."
She looked at Abhimanyu, he had let out a deep gasp. There was something in his eyes. He turned to look at Dadusa, they both shared a look. They knew something.
"What?" She asked. "You know something?"
"I think I do. The Rana had been convincing father with a business offer in which he said we all would be making a lot of money. But somehow father did not have confidence in the Rana and the sum of money the Rana wanted us to invest, was a huge amount. But then the Rana brought Bhawani Singh ji in for the deal, he is highly respected in the business circle. So we decided to go ahead with the deal with Rana Udaybhaan only because of your father. We trusted him and believed in him. We are going to sign in the deal in two weeks. But tell us what happened."
"I don't know their reason for wanting Kuwar Jaswant and me married, could be, it was their way of controlling Baba."
Abhimanyu looked at Maira with respect. For someone so young she was so mature. She was also so perceptive. How did she constantly keep amazing him.
"I was just about to leave, when I heard them say that the wedding was planned for the weekend. I was shocked. I thought I had managed to buy time, but they had gone behind my back and were planning my marriage, without Baba, without telling me. That was not just strange but very suspicious. Thank God! Kaka was there with me. I knew they would never let me leave of my own free will, so I planned and fled on the night of the wedding."
Abhimanyu and Maira looked at each other, both remembering the night he had found her unconscious on the road. The magical moments they had spent together. She looked down trying to hide her burning cheeks.
"Don't fear my child. I know it must have all being too much for you, but you are safe now."
Abhi took a deep breath, as he tried to turn away slightly. All he could think of was that night. The feel of her in his arms, as he had held her close to him. Her sweet fragrance, roses. It felt so different on her. Her arms had been rubbing against his, creating a sweet friction, that had him burning like crazy. Shit! Not here, not in front of Dadusa...Think something else Abhimanyu..think of some other bloody thing! Damnit!!!
"I will not leave the Rana for this. He will pay for what he has done. Don't you worry, Maira dear! We will keep you safe." Seeing the dear old man, looking at her with such love and concern. She felt blessed, to have someone there who cared so much for her. He was just like KakuSa no wonder they were such good friends.
"Thank you Dadusa, if not for you, I don't know what I would have done." She looked adoringly at the dear old man...
"Child, it is nothing compared to what your Kaku has done for me. And you have become so so dear to me, whatever we do it is only because we care for you. At the moment your safety is the most important."
"Maira! Do you have any clue, where your father could be."
"I don't know, DaduSa, but when I arrived in Delhi, I went into Baba's office. He has a locked drawer in his study. I felt maybe he had left a message there for me. Most of the papers were business deals or transaction. I mean just regular business papers. I found a box, too, it had his diary. He kept mentioning Suratgarh, in the diary. That is why I went to Suratgarh in the first place."
"What about Kaka, did your father tell him anything? And where is he?" Abhimanyu looked at Maira, directly into her eyes. The thudding just wouldn't stop.
"No! If Baba mentioned anything to Kaka he would have told me immediately, but Kaka has been with me. Baba sent Kaka as my guardian when I left for the tour. He was with me and we came together back to India. He came here with me to Mandhara. You met him. ( Dadusa nodded in acknowledgment) I sent him to Delhi. All Baba's important paper are there. I told him to take them to safety. The Rana's goons were already there, keeping a close watch, on the house." She felt her cheeks burn as she replied back
"How is he keeping in touch with you?" He couldn't stop the smile creeping in on his face.
"He has called me twice from someone else's phone. A neighbour, an old man, who shares a boundary wall with our house."
"What has he reported? Anything unusual?"
"Rana's men have been keeping a tight watch on our house, so he hasn't been able to go anywhere. He has been avoiding calls also because he feels that someone in the house is spying on him."
"Shivangi! Think, anyone your father was close to? That he talks to, confided in?"
"I have been trying to get in touch with Natwar Uncle. He is Baba's closest friend, he will know something."
"Where is he? Why haven't you called him up yet. I mean you have already been here a month." Abhimanyu looked questioningly at Maira.
"We have been trying to get in touch with him. He lives in Bombay! They told us at his house that he is travelling. I haven't been able to make any contact with him because of that. And no one in his house knows when he will be back. I wanted to send Kaka to Bombay to call on him. But well! he is under watch, and I cannot involve kakuSa in this, he has not been keeping too well lately. He is the reason I wanted to come back home rather than travel the world."
"Then what do you want to do now?"
"I want to go to Bombay and check out myself. I have a feeling that Baba is in Mumbai and that Natwar uncle knows his where about. But for that I need to go to Delhi. And the Rana will find me easily in Delhi, he has his men all around."
"Not if you go with Abhimanyu. I called Abhimanyu for this. He will take you to Bombay. I would never let you go alone. What will I tell ShyamCharan."
"Of course Dadusa. That is a good idea. I will see to everything."
Maira looked at Dadusa with relief. She gave a soft smile, getting up she thanked Dadusa and took his leave. Her eyes simply refused to meet Abhi, looking at him sideways she ducked her face, smiling shyly she left the room. Abhi had been watching her, as she walked out of the room. A smile to match hers. His eyes looking at her with a new intensity.
"Abhi!" The quiet voice broke his happy contemplation. He immediately sobered up and turned to look at the stern
expression on his grandfather's face.
"Yes! Dadusa?"
"How do you know about Maira's Kaka."
He stared blankly at him. Shit! Now what! He could definitely not tell Dadusa that they had already met before. That they..that th.they......
"Sh.sh.She had mentioned about him, she..I..wh..when we went for the ride. I.I asked her how she had come here..to.Mandhara. I mean it is secluded. Isn't it..." he took a deep breath.
"Hmmm. She is like Nandini to me. Very very dear. Maybe more precious because she is ShyamCharan's granddaughter. I have to look after her till she is safely back with her father. Till then I am her guardian."
"O.of course Dadusa. Now I will take your leave. Kash will be wondering where I am."
Thakur RamChandra Pratap Chauhan kept a straight face as he saw the young buck, making a run for the door. He had seen, how the two young birds kept looking at each other. Oh! there was something between them. He could see that Maira was perfect for his Abhi. Abhimanyu deserved someone just like her. He chuckled as he thought of the way Abhi had been behaving since he had arrived. His plan was working. That girl Kamini, Hah! His Abhi was not going to marrying her. ShyamCharan was only seeing to his own ends, Abhimanyu will be miserable with that woman. A person like Kamini could think only about herself. ShyamCharan was more interested in the merger between the two businesses. Well! Abhimanyu had agreed only because of ShyamCharan, but I am not going to let that happen. My Abhi will find the same happiness that I have found in my married life. A smile lit his face as he thought of his wife, Savitri. The love of his life. He knew what true happiness meant because of her......