Kiska Hai Tumko Intezaar

Jisey dekho Naina Naina karte hain

Dadaji smiled at her bewildered expression, 'Arey beta itna kya dar rahi ho. Sagai toh karni hi padegi. Ya tum log seedha shaadi karne ka soch rahe ho?'

'Ji... ji... main...' Naina was even more flustered and lowered her eyes at the mention of marriage.

Dadaji leaned ahead and affectionately placed a hand on her head, 'Mujhe pata hai tum sharma rahi ho. Lekin beta, zindagi ka itna bada faisla lene ke liye sharm se nazren jhuka kar nahi dil aur dimag ki aankhen khol kar batana padega. Mujhe apne dada jaisa hi samjho. Maine tumhe akele yahan isliye bulaya hai jisse tum khul ke baat kar sako. Toh batao, kya tum meri baaton ka jawab dogi?'

Unable to utter anything, Naina just nodded, clutching her bag tight to stop the slight shiver that kept coursing through her.

Dadaji relaxed in his chair, 'Kya tumne aur Sameer ne shaadi ke baare mein baat ki hai?'

'Shaadi ke... baare mein... ?' Naina had a hint of panic in her voice. Wasn't he talking about engagement a moment back? Is this how fast things were supposed to move in a relationship?

'Oho shaadi toh karni hai na tum dono ko? Sameer ne tumhe bataya ki uski shaadi uske teesven janmdin se pehle honi zaruri hai?' Dadaji asked incredulously.

All Naina could do was nod.

A sense of relief spread on Dadaji's face as he explained, 'Fir toh tumhe sab pata hai. Isliye humne sagai abhi karne ka socha jisse papers banwane shuru kar dein. Do teen mahine baad shaadi ki tareekh nikalwa lenge. Hum sab toh raazi hain lekin tumhare parivar ki sehemati bhi toh chahiye. Tumhare bhai se main baad mein puch lunga, abhi tum hi bata do ki aur kisse baat karni hai. Ahmedabad mein tumhari family ke bade log, rishtedar wagerah jo hain unka mujhe address de do. Hum log unse milne chale jayenge.'

The panic inside Naina was snowballing into a full blown alarm. And again, she was completely alone to deal with this predicament. A simple acting task shouldn't have been this arduous and complicated. Well, if it had to be this way then she only had to do something to make it less challenging for herself.

Her voice trembled slightly with emotion as she pushed back a strand of hair, 'Papa mummy ke jaane ke baad kisi relative ke saath aisa koi rishta nahi hai. Papa ke sirf ek bade bhai the jo US mein settled hain. Unhe saalon se nahi dekha humne. Papa ki death par bhi nahi aaye the. Mummy ki family ke saath har connection khatm hue bhi lamba waqt ho gaya hai. Family ke naam par main...' She hesitated to take their name as Anuj and Tina did not consider her a family either, but she had to continue the lie, '... aur bhaiya bhabhi hain bas.'

These facts were truth as far as other relatives were concerned. She had grown up with the knowledge that her grandparents passed away long back, and rest of her father's family didn't want to associate with him due to his resentful and sullen behaviour. Naina had no place to go to during her vacations, unlike other children around her. As a child, she sometimes asked about relatives but the only answer she got from her father a couple of times was that no one wanted her to visit them.

Dadaji's face turned softer, 'Oh! Toh fir bade faisle lene mein tum logon ki madad kaun karta hai?'

'Apna har faisla humne khud hi liya hai, uncle.' Naina replied, not meeting his eyes.

After a silent pause in the room, that weighed on both of them for different reason, Dadaji let out a long exhale before addressing her with a smile, 'Aaj se tumhari family mein hum sab hain. Tum jab chaho mujhse baat kar sakti ho. Main yeh nahi keh raha ki tumhe mere kehne par chalna hai ya main tumhare liye faisle lunga, par kabhi kisi bhi baat ke liye guidance ya help chhaiye toh puch sakti ho. Aajkal ke bachhon jaisi knowledge na sahi par umr ka tajurba hai mujhe.'