Angad
went and dropped his mother at home. When she was comfortably asleep and Aaliya
beside her, Angad thought of returning to the hospital; this time to see Kripa.
It was time for her to learn the truth. She had no right to hurt him all the
time. Although he had hurt her enough, he felt they needed a confrontation.
He was there by 1 in the morning. He hoped against
hope that she was there. He wouldn't be able to gather his courage a second
time to do this. It was more than enough for them to be apart for more than a
decade.
Angad went towards her cabin to find her nowhere
in sight. He sighed in frustration. Great, that was all he needed. He walked
back to his car disappointed. On a hunch, he turned back and walked to the
canteen. There he saw Kripa and her friends seated together. They seemed to be
having an intense discussion. Mishti and Kanan were almost in tears and he saw
them trying very hard that tears didn't slip down their cheeks. He noticed the
serious expressions on everyone's faces. It seemed like something was wrong.
Nishant spotted him first. All of a sudden, a
smile broke out on his face. 'Hey, Angad. Come here. What are you doing here?'
Kripa turned around and froze. Why did he have to
be here now when all her defenses were crumbled? There was this one particular
patient all of them were fond off. Unfortunately, things were going wrong and
he would have to operate on him as soon as possible. They wanted to operate on
him now, but unforeseen circumstances were preventing them from doing so. They
would have to wait till morning.
Angad went towards them and gave them all a smile.
They all needed a break from this case and were more than glad to be
distracted. 'Hey everyone. I hope you don't mind me coming here like this. I
was just restless and decided to come by and see you. I'm surprised though that
all of you are still here. Is everything OK?'
Mishti spoke up. 'We're just having a bad time
right now. We're at the verge of losing one of our patients. He means a lot to
us. We have to operate on him as soon as we can tomorrow. We were just
discussing about the case.'
'Oh, it seems like I have disturbed you. I
shouldn't have just come like this. You guys carry on, I'll be on my way.' This
was a bad time to confront her, Angad decided. He would have to come at a
better time.
This time it was Prithvi. 'Of course not. You're
not leaving. We were almost done anyways. It's good to see someone else's face.
I'm sick and tired of looking at all these boring faces. Wish you were a girl
though, it would surely be much more interesting!'
'Prithvi! I'll kill you! You're such a jerk! Just
go to hell.' This time Mishti burst into tears and ran to her cabin. Prithvi
looked relieved as did the others.
'Sorry,' he said to Kanan who was glaring at him.
'I had to do this. She has wanted to cry ever since the Samit incident. I
couldn't think of any other way to make her cry. I'll go to her.'
Everyone sighed. It was a very dull night. They
always felt heartbroken whenever they lost a patient or were at the verge of
losing a patient. Samit had become an important person for all of them. He had
had an accident a few days ago. It had seemed like he wouldn't need any major
surgery but all of a sudden, he was beginning to get sick.
Angad looked at Kripa who was trying to avoid his
gaze. She looked exhausted. He had never seen her looking this tired. He wanted
to gather her in his arms and kiss her tiredness away. He couldn't do that yet.
He knew a time would come when she would appreciate it.
Kripa on the other hand was puzzled at why Angad
was here. His mother was OK now. He didn't have to show up now. They all talked
for some time and Kripa mostly excluded herself from the conversation as she
felt she was in no condition to talk to him now. She would certainly lose
herself.
Angad left and sighed. This was certainly going to
be more difficult than he had expected. No matter what, he knew one thing for
sure; Kripa was going to be his.
Kripa went to bed exhausted. One thought before
she fell asleep was that it was Kunal's performance tomorrow and she never
missed any of his performances. They were operating on Samit tomorrow. She
hoped she would be back on time and get in the school auditorium on time. Why
was Kunal so stubborn? He never went to any of his performances without his
mother driving him there. He always said that his mother was his lucky charm.
Kripa woke up early and left to the hospital. She
explained to Kunal before leaving that she would be back and if she was late,
he goes ahead without her. As sleepy as he was when Kripa requested him that,
he was still stubborn. Why was she surrounded by stubborn men in her life? She
thought with a sigh.
She went to the hospital and straight went to the
operation theatre. All the doctors were there. Half of them were watching the
operation since they did not want to crowd and create complications and
confusions. Another emergency showed up and Kripa and Kanan went to sort that
out. By the end of the busy day, everything went great. Samit was fine and so
were all the emergencies they had handled. Kripa saw the time and gasped. It
was 3.50pm already! The show was supposed to begin at 4!
Kripa panicked and silently scolded Kunal for not
leaving without her. What was wrong with that idiot of hers? Why couldn't he
just have left? And top of it all, Kunal still hadn't told Kripa on what he was
going to do for the show.
Kripa drove frantically and got to their house in
ten minutes. She saw Kunal standing outside waiting for her with a furious
look. She had promised! She had promised she would be there on time! She even
knew about Kiran! He wanted to be there for her performance but he wouldn't be
able to.
Kripa ran to him and hugged him. 'I'm so sorry!
You know how bad it was with Samit. You know how many emergencies there were
today? But I'm here now right? Let's go. I'm sorry! She held her ears and
kneeled down in front of him with a puppy expression.
Kunal smiled. His mother sure knew the road to his
heart. He grabbed her and kissed her noisily on the cheek. 'It's OK. Let's make
a dash to the auditorium now or we'll be late!'
They rushed to the auditorium and Kripa noticed
that it was full. Kunal was relieved that he had not missed Kiran's performance
and his was not till half an hour late either. He went backstage and got
scolded by the coordinator. Kunal said, 'Chill ma'am. I'm here now right? You
know my mom's a doctor and you know how doctors are. I'm sorry but she got
caught up with emergencies. And anyways, my performance is the last one, so you
shouldn't have worried.'
His teacher smiled at him and ruffled his hair. No
matter how naughty he was, he had a way with everyone. If Mrs. Dave hadn't known
Kripa personally, she would have wondered where this devil with angelic looks
had come from. The angelic looks were certainly from Kripa. The devil attitude
came partly from Kripa, where did the other part come from? Kunal beat Kripa in
devilish games any time.
Kripa was seated at the back with her heart
pounding. That was a close call. If she wouldn't have got Kunal there on time,
she would have never forgiven herself. He trusted her explicitly and she almost
broke his trust. That would not do. She decided to sit back and enjoy the
performances.
She saw Kiran on stage and approved her son's
choice. She was definitely very beautiful and she had the voice of a
nightingale. She sang with such enthusiasm, dedication and love that Kripa's
heart immediately leapt out to the nine year old girl. No wonder Kunal liked
her so much.
Kunal's turn came and he walked in with
confidence. Kripa saw her son and her face beamed with a combination of pride
and pleasure. Her son was beautiful. Kunal's heart fluttered. He was nervous;
as nervous as he had ever been before. He had never done this before; he hoped
he would do well.
He went to the mike and smiled. 'Before I start
with what I had intended, I have a little poem for my Mom. This comes from the
bottom of my heart and is written by me. Mama, I love you.
Jab lori gaa gaa sunae, maa humein badi achi lagti
hai
Jab raat ko chup chup ke dekhne ae, maa humein
badi achi lagti hai
Jab manpasand khana khilae, maa humein badi achi
lagti hai
Jab dekh kar muskurae, maa humein badi achi lagti
hai
Jab daant daant kar pakae, tab bhi maa humein badi
achi lagti hai
Jab kaan khench kar rulae, tab bhi maa humein badi
achi lagti hai
Jab baatein chupa kar dil dukhae, tab bhi maa
humein badi achi lagti hai
Jab thande thande pani mein nehlae, tab bhi maa
humein badi achi lagti hai
Na jane kyun, maa humein badi achi lagti hai?'
The auditorium was silent. Kripa was in tears.
When had her son grown up so? What moment had she missed in her son's life? Was
this why he never let her see her performance before? People who were seated
around her saw her crying and realized that this was the fortunate mother of
such a boy. They patted her and smiled. Kripa recognized that this was the most
poignant moment of her life.
'Now with the performance I had in mind.
Yeh To Sach Hai Ki Bhagwan Hai,
Hai Magar Phir Bhi Anjaan Hai,
Dharti Pe Roop Maa Baap Ka,
Us Vidhaata Ki Pehchaan Hai...
Kunal smiled as he sang. He was singing this song
from his soul. He meant every word as he sang. His mother was God for him.
Janmdaata Hai Jo, Naam Jinse Mila,
Thamkar Jinki Ungli Hai Bachpan Chala,
Kaandhe Par Baithke, Jinke Dekha Jahaan,
Gyan Jinse Mila, Kya Bura Kya Bhala,
Itne Upkaar Hain Kya Kahen,
Yeh Bataana Na Aasaan Hai,
Dharti Pe Roop Maa Baap Ka,
Us Vidhaata Ki Pehchaan Hai...
Kunal shut his eyes and imagined Angad in front of
him. Tears slid down his cheeks unbeknown to him. On the other hand, Kripa
hated herself more than ever. How could she have been so selfish? She had
deprived her son of his father's son. Would God ever forgive her? She could
feel herself lower from her own esteem. She felt as small and selfish as
humanly possible.
Janam Deti Hai Jo, Maa Jise Jag Kahe,
Apni Santaan Mein, Pran Jiske Rahe,
Loriyan Hothon Par, Sapne Bunti Nazar,
Neend Jo Vaar De, Hanske Har Dukh Sahe,
Mamta Ke Roop Mein Hai Prabhu,
Aapse Paaya Vardaan Hai,
Dharti Pe Roop Maa Baap Ka,
Us Vidhaata Ki Pehchaan Hai...
Kunal opened his eyes and his eyes met with his
mother's. He smiled as he sang and thought of all the times she was there for
him. From his first crush to the point till when she had kneeled in front of
him begging to be forgiven. She was the most wonderful person. As Kripa heard
all this, she felt she didn't deserve this.
Aapke Khwab Hum, Aaj Hokar Jawaan,
Us Param Shakti Se Karte Hain Prarthna,
Unki Chhaya Rahe, Rehti Duniya Talak,
Ek Pal Reh Sake Hum Na Jinke Bina,
Aap Dono Salaamat Rahe,
Sabke Dil Mein Yeh Armaan Hai,
Dharti Pe Roop Maa Baap Ka,
Us Vidhaata Ki Pehchaan Hai,
Yeh To Sach Hai Ki Bhagwan Hai...
When the song ended, Kunal ran down the stairs and
went to his mother who had already widened her arms. He ran to her arms and
they both sobbed together. The whole auditorium burst into applause. The pair
heard nothing but the love they had for one another.
Kripa opened her eyes and saw Angad standing in
front of her looking stunned.
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