ETERNAL COMPANIONS

Story of Vishambhar

•Chauhan's Villa

Swar is still in his deepest thoughts; he can't stop even for a second thinking about what just happened. It's nighttime, and everybody is asleep by now. Nobody asked Swar about dinner. Lata and Pratap didn’t want to disturb him by asking him for food, while Swar's mind is still in conflict.

Swar prefers to sit beside the window on his bed whenever he is not feeling good or is upset. He keeps looking at the moon from his window, enjoying the stars and the entire world while it’s so silent and peaceful.

The cool night breeze touches Swar's face as it passes by him every now and then. He thinks — where will I find such a world where I can resonate my mind with nature? His heart and brain are not ready to accept that his dad is giving this punishment to him for his unmannered actions.

There's a knock on Swar's door, and upon hearing it, he ceases his anger and emotions and opens it. He finds his beloved Dadaji standing there.

"You don't have to knock on my door and take my permission to enter my room, Dadaji," he tells him with a dull face.

"Your room was closed from inside, dear. How could I not knock?" Vishambhar says.

"What happened? Why is your face so pale and dull, Gattu?" Vishambhar had never seen Swar in such a condition and worries for him.

"Son, I have always seen you smiling and cheerful. What happened to that handsome face?" he questions, touching Swar’s cheek.

"I'm not in the mood for fun, Dadaji. Please leave me alone. I don’t want to hurt anyone when I’m not in my senses and might say anything to anyone."

Swar again sits on his bed and continues to stare outside.

"I know there’s so much on your mind right now; I can feel that. Tell me, you can talk to me — you know that. I’ll help you." Vishambhar persisted, even though Swar had told him to leave him alone.

"Dadaji, first of all, I’m upset with Dad about his thinking toward me. Secondly, I’m surprised and disappointed that he never involved me in making decisions about my own life. Thirdly, I’m not willing to get married because I’m just 22 — I want to enjoy life at this moment. And lastly, I don’t want to spend my entire life with a girl who is unknown to me. How will I cope with all such bizarre things, Dadaji?"

He was irked when saying this. He was about to explode with his feelings but stayed strong-minded and didn’t.

"Leave all that aside, my dear boy. He has only decided that you should get married; your marriage hasn’t happened yet. Be relaxed. I’ll tell you one story to bring you out of such fretfulness."

Swar agrees and rests his head on his grandfather's lap. Vishambhar was the one who had suggested to Pratap about Swar’s marriage, but he was aware of the tremor going on in Swar’s heart.

He begins:

"It was a heavy rainy night when I was in my military campus. We boys were all ordered by the Colonel to stay inside our tents for that particular night. We were bored after the entire day’s work — guarding and keeping watch on the minister's bungalow during an event. There had been no enemy attacks that week of July, so we were recruited for this job. After taking orders from the chief Colonel to stay in our tents, we breathed a sigh of relief.

‘What should we do now?’ questioned one of the group members.

‘Let’s watch television,’ suggested another guy. We hardly got leisure time for such activities. We began to enjoy an old film.

All of a sudden, there was a call for me from outside the tent. I went to see who was there. I was surprised to see a girl standing there, holding a torch in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

I approached her and asked, ‘Why are you here, miss? Do you want some help from us?’

‘No,’ she said.

‘Then you should be in your bungalow with your family. It’s not right to come out this late, especially when the weather isn’t favorable,’ I advised her, recognizing her as the minister’s daughter to whom I was assigned for security earlier that morning.

‘It’s my birthday today, and everyone — even the Colonel and the other members of your troupe — wished me. I was wondering why only you didn’t. So, I came here to ask you.’

I was in a dilemma — why did she come to ask me this? There were so many others to pay attention to her, so why was she so bothered about me not wishing her?

‘I was busy with my duty, ma’am. I didn’t pay attention to what the event was about. And I’m not used to talking to ladies — I’m not an open person,’ I said, trying to explain.

‘You should go home, ma’am. You’re already wet; your parents must be looking for you,’ I said, observing the weather.

I hardly used to talk to anyone back in my village, Purakhpur, since I was a kid. My parents were poor, and I had to earn for them. I kept my mind focused only on what I needed to achieve and how I’d serve my parents. After completing my studies in my village, I decided to join the army and serve our nation. I initially dreamt of becoming a writer or a poet, but that wasn’t possible due to the lack of proper education.

When I was 19, I told my parents about my dream to be a Major in the army, and they supported me — it was a job of great respect. I was grateful to my neighbors, who were richer than us, for supporting my parents with enough money for my travel and fees to the Jammu and Kashmir Army Training Institute.

I was new there and felt the heavy responsibility of my parents on me. After a year of proper training, I was established as a good army officer. I even saved a few lives and gained medals for my service. We celebrated sometimes for our achievements. I used to write letters to my parents every month and send 80% of my salary to them so they wouldn’t depend on our neighbors anymore.

The girl was still standing there, maintaining direct eye contact with me. I was uncomfortable. ‘My name is Indu,’ she said. I wasn’t interested in her name — I wasn’t prepared for this move of hers. Why is she telling me her name now? The questions were constant in my mind.

She tried to be open with me, while I tried not to look into her eyes. I kept telling her to leave, but she wasn’t in the mood to listen. Instead, she grabbed my hand and placed a crumpled paper in it before quickly dashing away.

It was a great surprise to see such a gesture. I went inside my tent and began reading what was in that paper ball. Much to my dismay, she had listed all her favorite things. Why did she give me a list of what she likes and dislikes? I asked myself.

My fellow colleagues started teasing me, and I was exasperated.

The next morning was fresh, clearing the black clouds that had gathered since evening. As usual, we all woke up early. It was the day to write to my parents. I wrote a letter and went to the postbox, which was located a little away from our campus. After posting it, I turned to leave — and again, I saw Indu.

I thought she might have followed me all the way here. I didn’t ask her anything this time, nor did I fake a smile. I started walking. She called from behind, ‘Mr. Chauhan, did you read what I gave you yesterday?’ She must have read my name on the badge on my uniform during the event.

‘Yes, I did,’ I said curtly and started walking again.

‘Listen, so now you know what I like and don’t like, right?’

Her words only confused me more.

‘Yeah,’ I replied, showing disinterest and turning my face again.

I walked and walked for some distance — and suddenly, she popped up in front of me. I didn’t know where she came from. I had looked back several times, and she wasn’t following me. She might have been hiding behind the trees along the road.

I was shocked to see her.

She made direct eye contact with me again.

I was about to tell her to move when she said something completely unexpected.

‘I love you.’

That’s what she said. She giggled and dashed away while I stood there, frozen like a statue.

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