Yes, 'tis I, back with an update! There's a bit of guilt to be had by brother dearest and mom is not hesitant to pile it on. you go mom!
The phone rang in the living room, breaking the silence of the warm day.
"Khambbagani maa!" Swayam's voice came filtering through.
"Swayam beta! Ghanikhamba! Kaisa hai? Aaj kal tu to humein bhool hi gaya hai! Na phone karta hai aur nahi ghar aata hai. Tu theher. Ghar aa, phir batati hoon."
"Arrey ma! Pehle sun to lijiye, maine call kyun kiya hai! Mere dost aur main kuch dinon ke liye Jodhpur aa rahe hain. Ek event hai, Taa-...wahan ke college mein aur humein perform karne ke liye hire kiya hai"
"Sach? Kya khayga? Tere liye paneer ki sabzi banaun? Tujhe bahut pasand hai na? Tere dost khaate hain?" his mom spoke up, excited that her son was coming for a visit
"Ma...woh paneer. Iss baar paneer chhod dete hain. Agli baar shayad. Rey aur maine paneer khana chhod diya hai, lekin baaki sab ka pata nahin" Swayam spoke, with a hitch in his voice.
"Chhod diya? Aise kaise chhod diya? Paneer to tumhari manpasand sabzi thi na! Bachpan mein tum aur Taani to khoob jamkar khaate the. Kabhi iss mein paneer daalo to kabhi kuch ajeeb paneer ki sabzi bana do. Ab paneer se itni kya nafrat ke chhod hi diya?" came the scolding questions.
"Woh ma, baat yeh hai ki Rey aur maine ek dusre ko promise kiya tha, ki since paneer Taani ki favorite dish thi, to hum agli baar paneer tab hi khaaenge jab Taani humaare saath baithkar khaayegi."
"Ek tum ho aur ek Taani hai. Jang chhidi hui hai lekin ghar ke badon ko kuchh bhi nahi bataoge. Paanch saal ho gaye hain, na usne apna mooh khola, aur na tumne. Par mujhe pata hai ki tumne hi kuch kiya hoga meri bacchi ko. Us baat ki khabar to main tumse baad mein loongi. Abhi mujhe saari flight ki details batao." she scolded him.
A voice carried down the stairs, followed by two sets of shoes, during the conversation, "Aunty, hum dono office ke liye nikal rahe hain! Uncle 30 minutes pehle hi chale gaye aur humein bola ki 12 pm tak pahaunch jaayein." She glanced at the clock, which showed half-past eleven. "Aap jaldi se iss laadli ko aashirwaad dijiye taaki hum niklein. Warna ye ladki humko marwaegi. Iske tauji humein chhodenge nahin."
"Arre, Rishi kuch nahin karenge. Agar unhone kuch bhi kaha to main aur ma unhe nahin chhodenge. Jug-jug-jiyo mere bacchon. Jao, tumhari gaadi wait kar rahi hogi."
"Accha taiji, shaam ko milte hain. Agar late ho gaya to hum phone karke bata denge. Aap aur dadi-sa khaana khaakar so jaayega. Humaari wait karte karte puri raat guzar jaayegi" Taani touched her taiji's feet and walked towards the door.
Hearing an extremely familiar voice, the phone slipped from his fingers to clatter onto the floor. He bent over and scooped it up a second later.
"Maa, Taani-?" He choked out. "Wo Taani ki awaaz thi na?"
Knowing that Swayam was responsible, at least partly for her surrogate daughter's hurt, she thought it best to deny her presence to him, if only to spare the hurt. "Arre nahin. Tumhe Mehta uncle yaad hain? Wo unki beti hai. Mehta sahab kuch saal pehele chal base aur unki beti kuch time ke liye yahan reh rahi hai. Ghar ka ek hissa hi ban gayi ho maane. Mujhe humesha taiji bulati hai, bilkul Taani ki tarah. 2 din pehle hi America se lauti hai. Aur Taani to na ghar aayi aur inn 5 saalon mein na ghar par uska phone aaya. Pata nahin meri bacchi kahan hai aur kis haal mein hai. Zinda bhi hai ya nahin?" Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of the years passed that Taani had spent without the support of family near her. She couldn't help but send a prayer up for friends like Rithvik and Asha that Taani had been blessed with. Without them, she might have never laid eyes on the girl again. A pensive silence descended over the two.
Hearing footsteps and Asha's voice echoing down the steps, she wiped her eyes and spoke once again, "Accha beta, tu saari details mujhe dede. Main tum logon ke liye gaadi bhej dungi. Tumhari team ke rehene ka intezaam kahan ka hai? Unko bolo ki kahin ka bhi ho, wo haveli mein reh sakte hain. Unhi ka to ghar hai."
"Maa, hum log kal raat wahan pahuanchenge. Aapko gaadi bhejne ki zaroorat nahin hai, hum manage kar lenge. Hum soch rahe the ki Mumbai se drive karke wahan aayein, to shayad parson subah bhi ho sakti hai. Aap fikr mat karo. Jaise hi niklenge, aap ko ek call kar denge. Aur beech beech mein jahan par bhi reception mila, wahan se call kar lenge. Hum kal subah subah niklenge. Abhi ke liye main rakhta hoon, sab ko yaad dilana hai apna apna alarm lagaane ke liye. Agar iss baar Vicky nahin utha na, to Neha uska sar kha jaayegi."
"Seedha ghar aana hai. Main kaka se kehkar guest rooms tayyar karva doongi. Kitne log aa rahe ho?"
"Waise to main, Rey, Vicky, Bharat, Nil, Neha, Simmi, Amar, aur Rinni aa rahe hain. Shayad Sharon humein wahin milegi. Woh delhi gayi hui hai apni mom ke saath ek function ke liye. Baad mein bataayegi. Wo to waise bhi team manager hai, so it's not as important for her to arrive before the start. She's only performing in the group dance that's the finale. Chalo maa, main rakhta hun. Kal milte hain."
"Accha beta. Apna khayal rakhna aur niklne se pehle apne papa ya mujhe ko ek baar message kar dena taaki humein andaaza rahe."