Chapter 3
Next morning, Veera woke up with a smile on her face thinking that all her worries will be over with this new day. She came down the stairs and saw Gunjan and Ratan busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Moti Chaiji was also busy preparing lassi by pulling the rope around the phirni. She looked here and there for Ranvi and finally said in her usual teasing tone,
" Moti Chaa-i-ji. Good morning. Veerji kithe hai? " ("Good morning Moti Cha-i-ji. Where is Veerji?"
"Chichdri tu uth gayi? Tera veer subah subah daftar chala gaya. Ab to pure pind ki zimmedari hain mere chote chand ke sar pe. Teri taraf wella nahi hain, huh".(" You woke up dear. Your brother has already left for office. Now he has huge responsibility on his shoulders. Unlike you, he is not free.")
"Ohho Moti Chaiji. Main to abhi bhi aapki chichdri hoon na. mainu thodi na koi kaam karna hai".("Ohho Moti Chaiji. I am still a kid. Do I really need to do any work.")
She came and loving hugged her Chaiji from the back. Chaiji smiled and took her hand and suddenly saw the marks on her wrists and exclaimed in shock.
"Hay Chichdri yeh kaise ho gaya? Yeh gehri chot kaise lagi tenu?"("What is this? How did you get hurt so badly?")
Veera was confused as to what to say. Finally she managed to stammer something.
"Woh kuch nahi Chaiji,woh na main neend main dar gayi thi aur kaske apna haat pakar liya tha Isliye yeh chot lag gayi". ("That's nothing Chaiji. I got frightened in my dream and clutched my hands tightly and this is how I got hurt.") She quickly removed her hand and tried to hide the marks.
"Hay Chichri tu aisa kaunsa sapna dekh rahi thi ki itna dar gayi?" ("What was so frightening that you saw in your dreams?")
"Bhayanak sapna hi to tha. Woh bewakoof to sapne main bhi mera hath maroor raha tha." She mumbled under her breath. ("It was a frightening dream indeed. That stupid person had grabbed my hand even my dreams.")
"Ki bol rahi hain Chichri?" ("What are you talking about Chichri?")
"Arrey Moti Chaiji woh kya hai na. Maine dekha ki aap andhere main haath main mombatti jalake khare ho. Ab aap ko is halat main dekhungi to dar to jayunga na." Veera naughtily smiled trying to avoid the topic. (" Arrey Moti Chaiji, I just was a dream where you were standing holding a candle in your hand in the darkness. That was enough to scare me off")
"Hay Rabba Chichri. Marungi main tenu bahut joor se.Hurr..." ("I am going to beat you for this.")
"Hurr..." Veera playfully teased her Chaiji.
"Chal chor yeh sab. Malham laga lena warna chot aur gehra ho jayega. Ruk main le ke ati hoon" ("Leave it. You should put some medicine on your wound. Else it will increase your pain. Wait I will bring it for you".)
Chaiji went inside the house to bring the first aid box. Veera recollected Chaiji's words " Malham laga lena warna chot aur gehra ho jayega". Right. She needed to soothe Baldev's pain only then he will be back to his old self. But wait a second. Why was she concerned for him even? She nodded her head in disagreement and waited for Chaiji to come back and put the ointment on her wound.
"Ab bahut kar li masti Chichri, ab dheere dheere khana banana sikh le aur apni bhabhi aur Beeji ko rasoi main madad kar. Ab tu badi ho gayi hain. Abhi se sikhegi tab jaake accha bana payegi. Shaadi ke baad ki khilayegi apne pati nu." ("You have enjoyed yourself a lot. Now it is high time you learn to cook and help your mother and sister in law in the kitchen. If you start now, only then you will be able to perfect yourself. After all what are you going to feed your husband after marriage?")
"Hayo Rabba! Moti Chaiji!! Shaadi ke baad main kyun khana pakayungi. Main bahar ka kaam karungi aur Ba..." She stopped short of blurting out Baldev's name. Her eyes widened at the foolish remark she was just about to make. ("Moti Chaiji!! After marriage, why will I prepare the food? I will do the rest of the work and Ba...")
"Ki? Ki bakwaas kar rahi hain chichri. Chal cheeti cheeti tyayar ho ja. Aur ake nasta kar le". ("What are saying? Leave it and go and get ready fast and come and have breakfast.")
"Ji Moti Chaiji" Veera bit her tongue and almost ran up the stairs to her room. ("Ok")
Is she out of her mind? How can she even think of him when he was so mean to her last night? It must have been that her subconscious mind had just recollected the moment when Baldev had also expressed a similar intention as her Chaiji, and so she had just thought of him. She still must be stressed out. She banged her foot in desperation and thought out aloud, "Yeh Baldev ha bhoot mere sar se utarta kyun nahi."("Why isn't this Baldev getting out of my mind?") She needed proper rest and had to dismiss the thoughts of Baldev from her mind. She quickly took a shower and got ready to go downstairs.
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Ranvi was busy in the Sarparnch office when a postman delivered him a letter. He saw it was addressed to him and had an urgent stamp on it. Though it was his first day in the office and hence had a lot of work to do, he decided to open it first. The letter had come from the Registration office and informed him that because of some legal concerns they had to halt the process of registration of the Krishi Vidhyalaya. It had mentioned that the legal work was a bit complicated and hence it could delay the process of registration for quite some time. He could not believe his eyes. When he had thought that things were finally improving and all the family members were happy, this news broke all his hopes. After all it was his father's dream to build a Krishi Vidhyalaya for the villagers so that they may know the latest technologies to improve their crops. Veera had put in so much effort in this project to turn their father's dream into reality. She had already prepared the draft and had even started discussing with an architect about the construction because she was sure that the process of registration would be over soon. He thought he needed to discuss it with Veera urgently. After all she knew everything about the system and could surely find a solution to it.
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Ranvi entered the house panting and called out to Veera.
Veera came running down the stairs and said
"Ki hoya Veerji? Aap itni gabraya huya kyun lag rahe hoon." ("What happened, Veerji? Why are you so tensed?")
"Ek dekh Veerakdi , Registrar ke daftar se chiiti ayi hain. Woh keh rahe hain ki hamari Krishi Vidhyalaya ki resgistration rokna padega. Ab Pappaji ke sapne ka kya hoga?" ("See Veera, there is a letter from the Registrar office which says that need to stop the registration process for some time. What will happen to father's dream?")
Veera quickly snatched the letter from her brother's hand and went through it twice.
"Veerji, aap pareshaan mat ho. Koi galatfaimi huyi hogi. Chailye Registar ke office chal te hain. Wahin pe sab saaf ho jayega." ("Brother, don't worry. There must be some misunderstanding. Let's go to the Registrar office and solve it".)
"Haan Veera. Chal". ("Yes. Let's go")
"Kahan ja raho tum dono itni dhoop main. Kamse se kaam khana to kha lo. Gunjan ne inti pyar se banaya hai." Ratan called from the back. ("Where are the two of you going? Have lunch and then leave. Gunjan has prepared it with so much love")
Just then Gunjan also came out from the kitchen and expectedly looked at Ranvi.
"Beeji kuch zaroori kaam a gaya hain. Jana parega. Aap log khana kha lo hum wapas aake kha lenge". ("Mom, something urgent has turned up. We need to go. You all have lunch and we will have it when we are back.")
Ratan nodded and looked at Gunjan. Gunjan's dismay could easily been seen on her face. She had prepared the lunch with so much love especially for Ranvi, but he had more important things to do in life. Veera was much more important to him than his wife. He could have at least told her the reason for such haste. After all she was his wife and had every right to know what was troubling him. But when Veera was around, she had always felt left out. Ratan seemed to perceive what was going on in Gunjan's mind and so said,
"Koi zaroori kaam hi hoga, Isliye Ranvi itni cheeti cheeti chala gaya. Tu pareshan mat ho". ("It must have been something really important for which they have left in such a haste. Don't worry.")
Gunjan smiled feebly and nodded her head and went back into the kitchen.
Chapter 4
Veera and Ranvi reached the Registrar office and asked a worker if they could meet the Registrar. After almost an hour of waiting, the Registrar conceded to their request and they were ushered into his cabin.
" Main kya kar sakta hoon Puttar. Aab to tum khud sarparnch hoon. Tumhe to pata hai ki yeh sab mamla itna asan nahi honda. Jis zameen par tum log Krishi Vidhyalaya kholne ki soch rahe ho us zaameen ke malik ko yeh manzoor nahi hain. Isliye Registration ko kab tab ke liye rokna padega." ("What can I do, son? You are yourself the sarparnch now so now the complexities involved in these official work. The owner of the land where you are planning the Krishi Vidhyalaya has objected to it and hence we had to halt the process.")
"Par zameen to hamari hai. Koi aur kaise mana kar sakte hai. Aur aap ne to pehle sab jaach partal karke hi to bola tha na ki registration jaldi ho jayega. To ab yeh sab kaise ho sakta hai". Veera tried to reason with him. ("But the land is ours. So how can anyone else object to it? You had already verified everything and informed us that the registration will be done soon. How can this happen now?")
"Haan beti. Humne jaach partal ki thi par tab aap logon ne yeh baat chupayi ki yeh aapki nahi Balwinder Paaji ki zameen hain. Ab kal hi Balwinder Pajji ki waakil ake bataya ki woh isko leke court se stay order laye hain. Ab court kachari ka mamla hai yeh. Jab tak court se zameen ko lekar koi order nahi ata humare haath bandhe huye hain. Aap log chaho to bahar unke waakil saab hain unse baat kar sakte ho." ("Yes daughter. We had verified from our end but you all had hid the fact that the land owner is Balwinder. Yesterday Balwinder's lawyer informed me that they have obtained a stay order from the court for this. Now this is a legal matter. Till the time the court passes an order on this, we will not be able to process the registration. Our hands are tied by the system. If you want you can consult Balwinder's lawyer who is standing outside.")
Veera and Ranvi exchanged confused glances as they were not able to figure out who Balwinder was. They decided it was better to talk to his lawyer and sort out the misunderstanding.
Ranvi and Veera quickly came out of the registrar's cabin and saw a man clad in a black coat standing at a nearby desk busy talking to someone on phone. He turned around saw Ranvi and proceeded towards him and said,
"Sasriyakal. Balwinder Paaji ko mere muyakil ne sahara diya hain. Isliye main apne muyakil Surjeet Paaji ke taraf se case larne wala hoon. Surjeet Paaji khud nahi a paye Isliye mujhe bhej diya. Yeh lijiye who aapse phone pe baat karna chate hain." ("Greetings. My client is providing Balwinder support. And so on my client's insistence I will be fighting the case on his behalf. Surjeet Paaji was not able to come here himself so he sent me to you. He wants to talk to you on the phone.")
He gave the phone to Ranvi and went back to his desk.
A voice from the other end called out.
"Kaise ho Ranvi puttar? Ghar par sab thik to hai na. Aur tumhare Beeji aur Chaiji sab thik thak hain?" ("How are you son? Everything is fine at home? And your mother and Chaiji are all fine?")
Ranvi's blood began to boil but he controlled his anger and said sternly,
"Aap ko hum ne pura paisa wapas kar diye the. Phir yeh naya tamasha ki hai? Aap ko ab kya chahiye?" ("We have returned all your money. Then why are you creating such a drama. What do you want now?")
"Yeh huya na baat puttar. Mujhe kya chahiye? Yeh to tumne bahut baddi pareshani khadi kar di. Ab kaise batayo mujhe kya chahiye. Koi nahi. Ab tune hi to yeh zameen Balwinder ko bechi thi. Bechara garib hain phir bhi usne tereko pura paisa diya. Rab ka banda hoon. Rab se darta hoon. Isliye maine socha ki bechare ko is musibat main sahara de do."(What do I want? You have put me in such a difficult situation. How can I say what I want? Let it be. You have only sold the plot to Balwinder. He is a poor guy, yet he had managed to pay you full amount. I am God's child and fear only God. So I thought of helping him out.")
"Maine koi zameen nahi bechi kisi Balwinder ko. Main to unhe janta tak nahin. Aap yeh tamasha bandh kijiye."("I have not sold this plot to any Balwinder. In fact I don't even know him. Please stop this drama.")
"Ab dekh puttar. Kanoni kagaaz to yehi kehta hain. Ab yeh court main hi saabit hoga ki kon saacha aur kaun jhootha. Tab tak ke liye to sab rab ke bharose hain." ("Now see son. The legal documents say so. Only the court can decide who is saying the truth and who is lying.")
"Aap aisa kaise kar sakte hoon. Woh zameen hamari hain aur hamari hi rahegi. Aap chaho to court main yeh gal hum sabith kar ke chodenge". ("How can you do such a thing? That land is ours and will remain ours. If you want we will prove it in the court.")
"Puttarji, ab court kacheri main yeh sab sabit hone main waqt lagta hain. Mubarak ho abhi kai samay tak tumhare Krishi Vidhyalaya ka sapna gaya paani main". He laughed aloud and cut the call. ("Son, it takes time to prove all this in the court. Congratulations your dream of Krishi Vidhyalaya has gone down the drain for a while")
Ranvi stood still unable to decide the next step of action. Veera nudged him, "Ki hoya Veerji? Us raaksas ne ki kaha. Aap mainu daso main jake usko maaza chakhati hoon." ("What happened brother? What did that devil say? You tell me and I will teach him a lesson")
"Nahi Veera. Is se koi haal nikal le wala anhi hai. Hume thande dimag se soch bichar karke koi kadam uthana padega. Hum koi galat kadam uthayenge to uska faida un logo ko hi hoga." (" No Veera. It will not lead to anything. We have to find a way out keeping our calm.")
"Par Veerji yeh to sahi baat nahi hai na. Unki himmat kaise huyi humare sath aisa karne ka". (" But brother, this is not right. How dare they do this to us")
"Veera, agar hume in logon ko jawab dena hain to thande dimag se dena hoga. Chal ab ghar chalte hai." (Veera, if we want to answer them back, we need to keep your calm. Let's go home and discuss it in detail.")
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On the other hand, Surjeet Singh and Bakhtwar were celebrating their win.
"Aap ne to kamaal kar diya Surjeet Paaji". Baktwar help up the drink in his hand in his honor. ("You have done wonders, Surjeet Paaji")
Surjeet Singh smiled and began caressing his mustache.
"Raab ka banda hoon bas rab se darta hoon. Us Ranvi aur uske pure pariwar ne mujhe bahut nuksaan pouchaya hain. Aur Surjeet Singh dhande main kabhi galat nahi hota. Isliye maine pehle se hi mauka dekhke Ranvi ke dastakhat le liye the kora kagaaz pe jab woh upna zameen churwane aya tha. Taki main waqt ane par iska sahi istamal kar paun. Baldev ko lagta hain ki mujhe use hamdardi hai Isliye maine yeh sab kiya hain. Par use kya pata ismain mera ki faida hain. Ranvi aur Baldev ne milke mujhe us pind se nikala tha na, ab dono main itna dusmani paida kar dunga ki ek dusre ko khatam kar denge aur mera pind main wapas jaane ka raasta saaf ho jayega." ("I am God's child and I fear only God. I have suffered great loss due to Ranvi and his family. And I am never wrong in my business. I had managed to get hold of his signature on a blank paper when he had come to repay his money. So that I could utilize it at the opportune moment. Baldev thinks that I did it because I sympathize with him but he is not aware of my real intentions behind it. Ranvi and Baldev have forced me to leave the village. Now I will take advantage of the situation and increase their enmity so that they could kill each other. And that will pave my way to return to the village.")
"Haan Paaji. Par aap ka waada yaad rakhna. Tab mujhe hi Sarparnch banana. Waise yeh Balwinder kaun hain? Humare pind ka to nahi lagta." ("Yes, Paaji. But do remember your promise to me. You should make me the Sarparnch then. By the way, who is this Balwinder? Doesn't look like he is from our village.")
"Haan haan yaad hain mujhe. Balwinder dusre pind ka mamoli sa kisan hain. Bechara ko do waqt ka khana,ek choti si naukri aur paisa ka lalach diya to yeh sab ke liye man gaya. Agar court main yeh case hum har bhi jaate hain, to saaza to usiko hogi. Bas humara to faida hi faida hai." Both of laughed and enjoyed their drink. ("Yes I do remember your promise. Balwinder is a poor farmer of another village. I bribed him to be on our side with promise of food, a small job and money. Even if we lose the case in the court, Balwinder will be convicted and we will only benefit from this.")
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Ranvi and Veera were coming out of the registrar office when they collide with Baldev. Baldev looked at Ranvi and gave a slight smirk.
" Tainu ki laga tu mere sarparnch banne ke sapne thod ke khud aapne armanon ka udaan bharega? Aab tu dekh kaise main tujhe barbaad kar deta hoon. Ab tu tay kar apni Sarpanchi sambhal na hai ya aapne Paapaji ka sapna" ("What did you think? You will break my dreams and fulfill your own? Now see how I am going to destroy you. Now you decide whether you will save your position or your father's dream")
"Baldev". Veera shouted at him and came between him and her Veerji. "To tune kiya hai yeh sab kuch?" ("So you have done all this? ")
She looked at him with eyes filled with tears. She could not believe he could stoop to such a low to hurt her Veerji.
Baldev's eyes blazed with fury seeing her defending her brother. She had time and again proved him that after all he was right in hating her. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anger and retorted back.
"Veera, main ne tujhe pehle hi kaha hai. Mere raaste main mat a. Aur jab pind ke do mard baat kar rahe ho usmain jananiya apna sar nahi ghusaye to accha hota hai. Aur mujhe kisi ko saabit karne ki zaroorat nahi hai ki main ki kar sakta aur ki nahi. Pit picche waar karna meri adat nahi hain. Isliye mere samne se hat ja." ("Veera, I told you before. Don't come in my way. And when two men of the village are talking it is better the women don't interfere. I don't have to prove what I did and what I did not. I don't backstab. So get out of my way")
Ranvi placed a hand on his sister's shoulder and signaled her to move back. She obeyed her brother's orders but kept looking at Baldev with disapproval.
"Veera main baat kar raha hoon. Tu picche ja." ("Veera let me speak. You stand behind.")
Ranvi looked at Baldev and gave out a sigh. "Dekh Baldev, maine koi tere sapne nahi thode hain. Is pind ki logo ne jo samman mainu diya hai, maine use swikar kiya hain. Is pind waloon ka bharosa main kabhi tootne nahi dewanga. Aur rahi baat mere Paapiji ke sapna ka to woh main zaroor pura karunga. Aur mainu dono kaam acche se sambhalna aata hain. Tu apni galat faimi sudhar aur aapne josh main kuch aisa mat karna ki baad main tennu pachtana pare. Tu jo yeh sab kar raha hain yeh sab galat hain." ("See Baldev. I have not shattered any of your dreams. I have just respected the faith that the people of the village have shown in me. I will never break their trust. And coming to my father's dream, I will surely fulfill it too. And I can handle both the situations very well. So clear your doubts and don't do something which you may later regret. What you are doing is not right?")
He took Veera's hand in his and asked her to keep her calm and proceeded to go away.
"Aapna paath apne paas hi rakh. Pind walon ko bewakoof banene main kaam ayega. Yeh sarparnch ki kursi tujhse na chini to mera naam Baldev Singh nahi." ("Keep your advice to yourself. It will help you in fooling the villagers. If I don't snatch this position from you, then my name is not Baldev Singh.")
"Dekhenge Baldev" ("Let's see Baldev")
Ranvi left holding Veera's hand leaving a literally fuming Baldev behind.
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Back at home, after discussing with Ratan and Balwant, Ranvi decided to hire a good lawyer to fight the court case against Surjeet Singh. They even spoke to the lawyer and he assured them such case will not stand long as there is no proof. On the basis of mere saying of someone that this land belongs to him, this case will not hold any ground and will be dismissed outright.
"Aap pareshan mat ho Beeji. Yeh jhootha mamla jaldi hi sulajh jayega aur Papaji ka sapna zaroor pura hoga". ("Don't worry mom. This false case will soon be resolved and fathers dream will be fulfilled.")
"Haan chote chand.Tu sahi keh raha hain. Sab kuch change hi hoga. Waise bhi jo log naik honde hain na unke sath Rabji hamesha honde hain." Chaiji tried to comfort everyone. ("Yes dear. You are right. Everything will be alright. In fact God is always with the righteous people.")
Gunjan felt ashamed that she should have understood the gravity of the situation and not doubted Ranvi's love for her. She decided she will try to help Ranvi in this crisis and she knew what to do. After everybody finished their dinner with a heavy heart, everybody decided to retire early.
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How was it? Was it very boring and yawn worthy? I am sorry for the ganda hindi dialogues as I was too lazy to better them😕 Next update is urely gonna have Veeba scenes. A slight precap : Baldev will hurt Veera unintentionally.
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