🎵Chalte Chalte Yun Hi Koi by Lata Mangeshkar

“Dadi yaar-

“Ouch” she yelped when his elder brother smacked her head

“Oye, meri bacchi ko tang mat karo.” dadi scolded his grandson 

“Dadi is not your yaar.” Neel tells Chanda, his sister

“Okay fine, now sho sho, I wanna talk to dadi.” he gives a suspicious look but goes away anyway.

“Dadi, did you ever have a lover?” a gasp was heard and they turned around to see her dadu at the entrance of room, his eyes narrowed to his mischievous granddaughter,

“Hey bhagwan, kaise sawal puch rahi ho tum.” he walks in sitting next to his wife

“Dadu please, in the end she married you but kya pata aap se pehle koi aur ho.” chanda presses his button

“Nahi ho-

“Tha.” now two gasps echo. One chanda, one her dadu.

“Y-you had a l-l-lo.lover?” dadu asked shocked

“Chup rahiye aap, bol toh aise rahe affair tha mera. Bus mulakat hui thi pehli aur aakhiri baar. Umeed thi dobara milenge, par khair kismat ko manzoor nahi tha aur phir tumhare dadaji mil gaye.” Chanda looked in adoration and pain, she knows the feeling of losing such a person whom you meet for the first and last time. 

“Dadi batao na” she glares at her dadu who shuts up but wants to listen to the ‘lover’ whom his wife admired so much. 

He scoffs. 

For god’s sake they have been married over 45 years now and after 45, damn it FORTY FIVE his wife says she liked someone. 

Can you believe it? 

“Ram, do you remember my favourite song?” she asks her husband

“Duh, obviously. And I bet that lover doesn’t know it.” he says proudly. Dadi chuckles. 

“Play it.” He agrees and plays the cassette, the one which is almost antique now.  The music began and Chanda looked at her grandparents who had their eyes closed, humming to soft beats, her dadu tapping his feets softly as if living in the music. And with the song dadi slowly remembers the day, almost 50 years back, the day she remembers every once in a while since it was so special for her. 

She was 19 years old, a not-so-bubbly yet sunshine girl in her family. She was the eldest, most educated girl in her family

She had passed Inter (12th) with first division 79%, beating everybody in her village and nearby town. The era where guys are looked forward too, little Meena had shocked everyone and was tagged ‘coolest’ by her younger sister who was in awe. To celebrate this occasion, a small party was organised in their village for which she had gone to the market to buy vegetables. She even bargained and saved 1 rupee for herself, she could buy herself the toffee that came in Ramesh kaka’s shop. 

‘Namaste kaka’ she greeted ramesh kaka reaching there

‘Arey meri beti aagyi. Kaha thana maine sarika, humari betiyan gaon mei humra naam roshan karegi.’ Ramesh said to his wife who was setting up the shop mid-afternoon.

‘Badhai ho beta, jeeti raho.’ sarika kaki smiled at her. Meena nodded. Everybody was proud of her, she was on a cloud night today. She purchased the toffee, in-fact got 4 from Kaka who said it’s a gift from their side, and told her to share with her sister too. She thanked and left running away but soon she stopped when she looked at the sky.

‘Woah’ she looked at the changing colors. She has studied in school why sky changes colors during afternoon and evening. It was so fascinating. Looking at the sky she started walking slowly towards her house which was still 2 kms away. She crossed the market and came on the road which led to their area. She crossed paths with a guy around her age, almost stumbling as he passed by.

चलते चलते....

चलते चलते यूँ ही कोई मिल गया था..

यूँ ही कोई मिल गया था

सरे राह चलते चलते, सरे राह चलते चलते....

'Arey, dekh ke chalna chahiye dost.’ Meena said balancing herself now. The eyes met, and her world stopped. 

‘Hey ganpati, itni sundar aakhein’ 

‘Der horhi hogi aapko’ he said something but she was doomed.

‘Uh-haan… pitaji ne saman mangwaya tha aaj dawat hai.’ she rambled nervously

‘Dawat? Kiski shaadi hai?’ he asks in confusion. (Dawats/parties were rare in rural areas.)

'Humne inter 79% se paas kiya hai, aap akhbaar nahi padhte, humari photo bhi chapi hai.’ her eyes twinkled

‘Oh accha vo aap hai. Ji, phir hum shaam ko hi milte, abbu ke saath aaunga apne. Khuda hafis’ he said and without giving her a chance he went away

'Arey naam toh-’ she huffs, annoyed at him running away. 

‘Par aankhein khubsurat thi’ she concluded 

वहीं थम के रह गयी है..वहीं थम के रह गयी है

मेरी रात ढ़लते ढ़लते.

मेरी रात ढ़लते ढ़लते....

She got stuck. It was just 2 minutes in her lifetime that she had met this unknown guy, no name, no identity, no address, nothing but her day was done. With a gentle smile on her face, she turned and ran away realizing it’s getting late. 

_

It was almost evening and she was lost in thoughts. Bubbled with excitement because he will meet her in the evening. He had told her. 

She column’t believe such things existed till date. 

His eyes

His voice

Is this what the world says love at first sight? She has read in one of the english books they had at school. She has seen in movies the male character gets lost in female character’s eyes and time seems to stop. Music plays Nothing like that happened. Yes, she got lost for a second but it wasn’t that magical as shown in movies. But it surely was something she believed.

The world called it a faasana, a story, a tale. 

Was it her and unknown guy’s faasana? 

जो कही गई ना मुझ से

जो कही गई ना मुझ से

वो ज़माना कह रहा है, वो ज़माना कह रहा है….

के फ़साना….

के फ़साना बन गयी है....के फ़साना बन गयी है

मेरी बात टलते टलते… मेरी बात टलते टलते....

यूँ ही कोई मिल गया था..यूँ ही कोई मिल गया था

सरे राह चलते चलते, सरे राह चलते चलते..

यूँ ही कोई.....  मिल गया था.....

सरे रा....ह चलते चलते....

चलते चलते

सरे रा....ह

चलते चलते....

चलते चलते

चलते चलते.... चलते चलते

यूँ ही कोई मिल गया था.. यूँ ही कोई मिल गया था

Humming to one of her favourite songs she draped the green saree around herself. It was gifted by her mother, because she had made everyone super proud. Putting the bindi and chudi she ran away outside where everyone stood talking and chatting among themselves. 

शबे इंतज़ार आख़िर, शबे इंतज़ार आख़िर

कभी होगी, मुख़्तसर भी

कभी होगी, मुख़्तसर भी

She received great love, wishes, greetings and blessings but her heart raced in search of him.

He had promised

He had said he would come

Will he, right? She chanted 

She knew everyone, she looked around but he wasn’t there. 

Her heart dimmed.

‘Heartbreaks are the most devastating beautiful things in this world.’

she remember reading one of the sad romantic tales in her library. 

But no, she didn’t wanted this. She wanted to see those eyes again, she wanted to meet him once again, wanted him to congratulate her, talk and know about him

Maybe just his name. But her heart squeezed.

Shayad iss janam na sahi. 

ये चिराग़….

ये चिराग़ बुझ रहे हैं..

ये चिराग़ बुझ रहे हैं

मेरे साथ जलते जलते, मेरे साथ जलते जलते

ये चिराग़ बुझ रहे हैं….

With a hopeless sigh she smiles forcefully at the guests who were now leaving. It was indeed a faasana, but an incomplete one. 

ये चिराग़ बुझ रहे हैं....

ये चिराग़ बुझ रहे हैं

ये चिराग़, बुझ रहे हैं

ये चिराग़ बुझ रहे हैं

ये चिराग़, बुझ रहे हैं

मेरे साथ जलते जलते

मेरे साथ जलते जलते

20 days later she was bidding goodbye to her parents moving to the city for her ba.fine arts course. She had settled her luggage and smiled at her parents. Reaching the station she had submitted the ticket and moved towards her uncle who has come to receive him. She moved towards him when somebody strongly collided.

Her breathe stopped.

The same eyes

‘Hey ganpati.’ she whispered but it was too late. He had disappeared in the crowd. 

Mera faasana’ she said but it had no meaning now. 

They met, destiny didn’t wanted them together

She accepted the god’s will. 

But those eyes…

They were magical…. And will haunt her heart forever

यूँ ही कोई

मिल गया था..यूँ ही कोई

मिल गया था

सरे राह चलते चलते

सरे राह चलते चलते.... 

________

The music ended and the couple opened their eyes. Chanda hugged her dadi so tight.

‘I love you dadi’ Chanda whispered. She smiled at her granddaughter.

‘Sometimes, what you want you don’t get. But you get more better, maybe the best.’ Meena looked at her husband who smiled in tears

‘ Ram ne sab diya mujhe, khushi, izzat, samman, pyaar, ek parivar. Haan bus vo aakhein nahi hai.’ Ram grumbled at her words. Chanda broke into a wide grin

‘You guys are so adorable’ she pulled their cheeks

‘Chanda.’ her brother Neel called her

‘Don’t tell him this, or he’ll not let me live.’ the couple chuckled but nodded. 

‘Let’s go , it’s time for college.’ 

‘Ji bhai.’ kissing her grandparents Chanda walked with Neel wondering about that beautiful eyed guy whom her dadi had met.

What if they had met again?

Would things have been changed today?

She stared of the window of the moving car when she saw few words on a paper pasted

जिंदगी हर पल कुछ खास नहीं होती, फूलों की खुशबू हमेशा पास नहीं होती,

मिलना हमारी तकदीर में था , वरना इतनी प्यारी मुलाकात इत्तेफाक नहीं होती

And this answered all her questions.