CHAPTER - 6

[ Vijaygarh ]

Next morning,Akash decided to go on a road trip as he had to know about the geography of the place and so after taking breakfast,he took his camera,binocular and sunglass and came out of the guest house.He was walking along the road and his eyes fall on the mosque and he decided to go inside and take blessings.He put off his shoes,tied his head with his handkerchief and entered inside.The moment he put his step inside the mosque,the peer baba who was chanting God’s name with his beads,opened his eyes and and smiled.Akash went inside and prayed to God so that he is successful in his mission.He,said,in his mind,”Meri ma kehti hai ke jab bhi koi kaam karne jaao to bhagwaan ka naam le lete hai.Meri ma shivji ki bohot bari bhakt hai.Vaise mere liye shivji aur aapme koi fark nehi hai,baat to ek hi hai sirf aap roop badalte ho aur kuch nehi.Vaise to main kabhi bhi mission mein jaane se pehle bhagwaan ka naam leta nehi hu kyuki agar goli chali to upar se aap to aaoge nehi mujhe bachaane uswaqt to mujhe hi apne aap ko bachaana hoga but yaha baat thori alag,yaha to churail ka maamla vo actually mere jurisdiction ke bahaar hai so isiliye main keh raha tha ke kuch ulta seedha ho jaaye na to sambhaal lena boss.Meri abhitak shaadi bhi nehi hui hai.Kamsekam mere aane waale bachcho ke liye hi meri raksha kar lena.”He took the God’s blessings and then when he was coming out,the peer baba stopped him and asked,”Maang li dua allah se?”Akash was surprised at his voice and turned towards that direction and found him.On seeing him,he gave a fed up look and walked upto him and said,”Please aap kal raat waali ramayan phir se mat shuru kijiyega.Main aisa kuch nehi hu jaisa aap mujhe samajhte hai.Ok!!Main yaha sirf ghumne aaya hu aur main ek journalist hu,yaha ke baare mein ek article likhna hai mujhe.”Akash turned to leave and the peer baba smiled and said,”Tere paida hone ke waqt teri aur teri ma ki jaan khatre mein thi.Tu kismat ki lakeero se ladhkar janma hai pata hai kyu?Kyuki tujhe shaitaan ki kheechi hui Vijaygarh aur mahal ke kismato ki lakeero se larna hai aur usey badalna bhi hai.”Akash was stunned on hearing that because it was only known by his family that Mrs Saluja had severe complications during Akash’s birth and he was about to die but was saved miraculously when even the doctors lost hope.He slowly turned towards that peer baba and asked,”Aapko???Aapko kaise pata hai ye sab?”The peer baba replied,”Us allah ne thori bohot taaqat di hai apne is bande ko jisse vo ye saari choti choti baatein jaan sakey.Main to ye bhi keh sakta hu ke tu jo hai vo tu kisiko bataana nehi chahta kyuki tu yaha ek maqsad se aaya hai.Tu asal mein koi aur hai aur sabko dikha kuch aur raha hai.”That one thing,left Akash completely boggled and he really doubted that peer baba now and Akash then looked everywhere and pulled the peer baba into a corner and in a low voice asked,”Mujhe aap par shaq ho raha hai,aapne kahi mere peeche jasoos to nehi laga kar rakkha hai na?Dekhiye aap mujhe jaante nehi hai,main bohot khatarnaak aadmi hu.Aatankwaadiyo ko na apne pero ke neeche masla hai maine.Aap jo jaante hai mujhe saaf saaf bataiye.”The peer baba laughed aloud as if he was enjoying Akash’s activities and said,”Mujhe bas utna hi pata hai jitna mujhe mere allah ne bataya hai.”Akash taunted and asked,”Ye sab bekaar ki baate mujhse mat kijiye,main aap jaise logo ko bohot achche se jaanta hu.”The peer baba smiled and replied,”Thik hai ek waqt ke liye main maan leta hu ke maine tere peeche jasoos lagaya par tere janam waali baat koi jasoos mujhe kaise bataayega?”Akash was offended since he didn’t tink about it and thought that man might be not what Akash was thinking about him.So he finally gave up as he was in no mood for any argument and replied,”Ok fine!!But aapko mujhe ye waada karna hoga ke aap ye saari baate kisiko nehi bataayenge aur main aapse ek baat kehdu,koi bhi kaam karne ke liye ek vajah hoti hai aur main social work nehi karne aaya hu yahapar.Waha Delhi mein meri ek family hai,jo mera intezaar kar raha hai.Meri kuch zimmedaariyaan hai unke taraf.Bina vajah main apni jaan jokhim mein daal kar yaha ke logo ki madat kyu karunga mujhe bataiye?Mujhe koi shaukh nehi hai,main bhootnashak nehi hu.”The peer baba looked into his eyes and asked,”Tu vajah janna chahta hai??”He raised his finger on Akash’s face and said,”To sun teri vajah tujhe bohot jald milne waali hai.Is mahal mein sadiyo pehle ek masoom ki jaan gayi thi jiski sazaa is purey rajgharaane ko mili hai aur itihaas apne aap ko dubaara dohraane ja raha hai aur ek masoom ki zindagi par dubaara se khatro ka kaala baadal chaane waala hai.Jiski jaan gayi vo bhi begunaah thi aur jiski jaan ko khatra hai vo bhi begunaah hai.Tere saamne ek din aisa waqt aayega jab tera dil uske dard ko mehsus karega,teri aakhe uski taklif ke vajah se bheeg jaayengi.Yehi dard tujhe usey dard se nijaad dilaane par majboor kar degi.Jisdin uske dard se tera dard mil jaayega vo din is Vijaygarh aur ye mahal is shraap se hamesha ke liye azaad ho jaayega.”Akash was so confused at his words and said,”Kaisa shraap??Kiski jaan gayi thi?Dekhiye main in sab baato par yakeen nehi karta hu.”The peer baba smiled and replied,”Tum hinduo ke bhagwaan Krishna ne apni Geeta mein ek baat kahi thi,ke apna karm kiye ja fal ki chinta na kar.Thik vaise hi tu apne kaam karta ja vo allah tujhe raah dikhaayega aur rahi baat us shraap ki to vo tujhe dheere dheere sab pata chal jaayega.”Akash realized that each and every words of that peer baba was going over his head and so he decided not to think about it and he would face whatever happens and said,”Mera ek bhatija hai vo sahi kehta hai ye sab na ek boring aur sleezy bollywood horror film ka script lag raha hai.By the way main in sabke baare mein sochna bhi nehi chahta hu,jo hoga dekha jaayega.Filhaal main chalta hu mujhe dhero kaam hai.Namaste!!”He joined his hands and greeted the old man and then left from there giving a sigh of relief that he ultimately got rid of that man.

[ London ]

Vijay booked all their tickets for Delhi and even booked a hotel and confirmed everyone about that.At night,she was chatting over with Natasha on skype.The convo :-

N :- “Thank you thank you thank you so much Ananya jo tumne hamaari itni choti si request maan li aur hamaari shaadi ko itna special bana diya.”

A :- (she teased Natasha)“Ab zindagi bhar ke liye bala talne waali hai to hum itna to karenge hi na.”

N :- “Haww!!Tum itni gandi ho Ananya ye humne socha bhi nehi tha.Kuch dino baad hum chale jaayenge aur tum ye sab keh rahi ho hume?Jaao hum tumse baat nehi karenge.”

A :- (laughed out) “Tumhaari ye draamebaazi abhitak nehi gayi Natasha!!Vaise papa ne kaha hai ke mahal ki saaf safaai honi bohot zaruri hai,itne saalo se bandh jo pari thi.Par tum to jaanti ho ke Vijaygarh mein koi bhi mahal ki saaf safaai ke liye raazi nehi hoga chahe jitney paise bhi dedo.Isliye papa ne Delhi ke kisi company ko contract diya hai,mahal ke exterior ko thik karne ka aur uski saaf safaai karwaane ke liye bhi vohi se kuch log jaayenge.”

N :- “Ha hum jaante hai,dad bhi bol rahe the isiliye maine bhi Rohit se kaha hai ke is month ke end mein hi jaaye,I hope tabtak saare kaam khatam ho jaayenge.”

A :- “Ya hum log kuch hi dino mein Delhi ke liye nikalne waale hai.Hamaara waha janam hua tha aur ab 25 saalo baad waha ja rahe hai.Hamaare aur larke waalo ke rishtedaaro ke liye saara arrangement mahal mein hi hoga aur baakiyo ke liye vo jo ek dusra mahal hai na jisey guest house bana diya hai,waha unka intezaam kar diya jaayega.”

N :- “Kitne saalo baad saari family ek saath hogi na.Iam so thrilled about it.Jab bhi sochte hai to itna excited ho rahe hai na ke kya kahe.”

A :- “Vaise choti rajkunwari Shefaliji kaisi hai?Unke to koi khabar nehi milte hai.”

Shefali was the daughter of Uday’s youngest brother Niranjan Pratap Singh Rathore and his wife Padmini.They had a son,who was the eldest among the cousins Aditya Pratap Singh Rathore with his wife Damini and they were expecting their first child.

N :- “Ha vo achchi hi hai aur vo bhi to aa hi rahi hai par shaayad Bhaisa nehi aayenge,pehli baat to isliye kyuki bhabhisa pregnant hai aur dusri baat hamaare mahal ka jo reputation hai vo dekh kar bhabhisa nehi chahti hai ke vo yaha aaye aur chachisa bhi nehi.Un dono ne milkar hi to bhaisa se manwaaya hai ke vo rajgaddi na sambhaale.”

A :- “Ha pata hai tabhi to bare hone ke naate aur koi beta na hone ke naate,hume gaddi mil rahi hai.But seriously hume in sab mein koi dilchaspi nehi hai par kya kare parampara hai nibhaani paregi.Par tum to jaanti ho na hum bimaar hai aur upar se vo shraap...”

N :- “God Ananya please,tum bimaar ho medicines lo thik ho jaaogi.Sleepwalking and all ye sab koi bari bimaari nehi hai...Waha akeli rehti ho aur ye sab sochti ho isiliye tumhaari aisi haalat ho rahi hai.Yaha aaogi sabke saath rahogi to tumhe ye sab yaad bhi nehi rahega and thats what will be better for you.Vaise tumhe pata hai hamaari ek lauti buasa aur phuphaji bhi aa rahe hai aur unke bachche bhi.You know what sometimes I really feel very bad for buasa jo unko aisa pati aur aisa beta mila hai.Dono ek jaise hai par thank God bhabhisa aur Nandini aisi nehi hai.”

Uday had a foster sister named Kalyani who was the daughter of Uday’s father’s best friend and so after his death,he adopted his daughter and raised her as his own.She was married in a very big family but she often had to hear the taunts of being an orphan and for which her husband never respected her.Kalyani’s husband also belonged to a royal family and his name was Ratan Singh Chauhan and he was damn characterless man.In fornt of everyone,he used to be very good but away from all,he is an womanizer.They have two kids named Dheeraj and Nandini.Dheeraj was married to a girl named Gayatri and he too was the replica of his father.

A :- “Bhagwaan jaane kyu buasa ki shaadi aise aadmi se karwaayi thi?”

N :- “Maine apni life mein aisa sleezy aur characterless aadmi apni life mein nehi dekha.Kabhi kabhi na pata hai dil karta hai ke kaash vo mahal ki so called churail na is aadmi aur uske bete ko kha jaaye par hamaari buasa aur bhabhisa ke baare mein sochne par hi bura lag jaata hai.”

A :- “Chahe kuch bhi ho Natasha par vo hamaare phuphaji hai isliye hume unke baare mein aise baate nehi karni chahiye.After all we are royal aur hume aise sanskaar nehi miley hai.”

N :- “Ya right!!Ok bye Vijaygarh mein milenge.”

A :- “Ya bye goodnight!!”

Ananya and Natasha both ended the call.

[ Vijaygarh ]

Akash investigated in his own way like moving around the place upto where it was possible for one day and then returned at the guest house during the evening.He had his lunch at a local dhaba and then decided that next day,he would visit the local police station to know the insight about the murder case of the scholar.When he returned in the guest house,he found that the staffs were very busy and moving here and there.He was quite surprised and thought that some foreign tourists might have been coming to visit Vijaygarh.So he went to the manager and asked,”Kya baat hai manager sahaab lagta hai koi tayyari chal rahi hai kisike welcome ki,koi tourist party aa rahi hai kya?”The manager gave a broad smile and then replied,”Arey nehi nehi sir vo kya hai na hamaare Ranaji ke manjle bhai unki ek lauti beti ki shaadi hai mahal mein to bas usi vajah se pura khaandaan aaj barso baad yaha Vijaygarh aa rahe hai to ab shaadi hai to bare mahal ke saath saath ye mahal bhi to saaf sutra karna parega na.Ab bare mahal ki saaf safaai aur marammat karne ke liye bahaar se log aayenge kyuki yaha se koi mahal mein nehi jaayega aur yaha shaadi hone tak Ranaji ne kaha hai ke koi booking na ho,kyuki dur ke mehmaan isi guest house mein rahenge.”Akash was shocked and he made a face and asked,”Matlab mera samaan aap log bahaar phekne waale ho?”The manager made a helpless face and replied,”Ab kya kar sakte hai sir vo maalik hai,ab maalik ka hukum to hum nazarandaaz nehi kar sakte hai na,par fikar mat kijiye vo log agle hafte se pehle nehi aayenge.Tabtak aap yaha reh sakte hai.”Akash thought of making investigation in the guest house earlier but on hearing to the manager now,he thought that he had to investigate as soon as possible.Akash had already searched his room but he didn’t find anything and so he thought to find out the servant and interrogate him.So,he said to the manager,”Achcha thik hai koi baat nehi,yaha Vijaygarh mein mere papa ke dost rehte hai,maine socha tha yaha rahunga aur unko koi taklif nehi dunga par ab lagta hai unhike paas chala jaaunga.”The manager was shocked hearing that and asked Akash,”Aapke pehchaan waale yaha rehte hai??Kaun hai vo?”Akash replied,”Vo hai na Professor Vinay Kumar Shekhawat,vohi.Vo Delhi University mein mere papa ke saath paraate the.”The manager raised his brows and widened his eyes and said,”Professor sahaab aapke pehchaan waale hai??Arey pata hai unke purkhone to mahal ke munshi ka kaam kiya hai aur us khan daan ki aurte har raanisaao ke saath hua karti thi.Phir vo aur hamaare Ranaji to bachpan ke bohot achche dost hai.”Now that news was a quite shocking for him and he said,”Really???Ye baat mujhe nehi pata thi.Achcha aap ek kaam kijiye,mera dinner kamre mein bhijwa dijiye please ha.Main apne room mein ja raha hu.”Saying he went to his room and took a shower at first.After having shower,when he came out of the washroom,he found that a servant had already brought Akash’s dinner and seeing that Akash said,”Yaar tum log na bara meerchi daalte ho sabziyo mein,thora kam daala karo mere liye.”The servant smiled and was about to leave,when something came into Akash’s mind and he asked the servant to stop and said,”Achcha maine manager sahaab se suna hai key aha mujhse pehle ek aur sahaab raha karte the jinki maut ho gayi thi na kuch dino pehle.Vo kaise aadmi the?Aur yaha is kamre mein unko serve kaun karta tha?”The servant gave a big smile and replied,”Bohot achche aadmi the sahaab aur main hi yaha unke liye tha aur mare ko na har din 50 rupiye dete the bakshish aur main unke saare kaam kar diya karta tha.”Akash gave the servant a 100 rupees note and seeing that the servan’t eyes glittered with greed.Seeing that,Akash said,”Ye lo mere taraf se bakshish,ab ye batao vo sahaab ke marne ke baad tumne is kamre ki achche se safaai ki hogi na to tumhe kuch mila unke saamaan mein se?”The servant was scared and he was looking here and there and even started sweating out of fear and Akash,from the man’s expressions,guessed that he might have taken something.Akash went to the man and put his hand on the man’s shoulder and said,”Mujhe pata hai shaayad tumhaare paas unka kuch saamaan hai.Agar tum mujhe vo doge to main tumse waada karta hu ke main kisiko kuch nehi bataaunga aur yaha se jaane se pehle tumhe moti bakshish bhi dunga.”The servant almost cried out and pleaded,”Sahaab manne maaf kar do,vo na sahaab ke paas ek chota sa bag tha jiske andar se vo mare ko paise nikaal kar dete the.Jab unki maut hui to police ke aane se pehle maine vo bag chura liya ye soch kar ke vo saare paise main rakh lunga,par maine jab baad mein dekha to usme kuch bhi na tha sivaay ek kitaab ke par phir bhi main isko waapas na kar paaya kyuki mane dar lag gaya ke agar police ko pata chal gaya to vo mane andar daal denge.Maare se bohot bari galti ho gayi saab,mane maaf kardo.”Akash thought that the book which was kept in the bag might come in handy and so he assured the man and said,”Tumne mujhse sach kaha hai na to main tumhaari shikaayat police mein nehi karunga bas tum mujhe vo bag laakar dedo aur vo bhi uske purey samaan ke saath thik hai.Abhi tum jaao aadhe ghante baad aana par vo diary lekar.”The servant nodded his head and then left from there.After exactly half an hour,the servant returned to take the dishes and then gave the bag and said,”Sahaab iske andar sab kuch hai maine waapas se dekh liya hai.”Akash smiled and thanked the man and when he left,Akash closed the door from inside and then took the bag and sat on his bed.

                                                                                           At first,he searched the bag and found nothing very important but while he just opened the diary,he remembered about giving the daily update to Neil and so he called him and they had a conversation for quite some time.The night was gradually going darker as Akash didn’t realize the time.After finishing the call,Akash again opened the diary to read.But as soon as he just started to read the diary –

Ae meri zindagi tu mere paas hai...

Ae meri zindagi tu mere paas hai...

Ab mujhe is zamaane ki parvaah nehi...

Akash was startled with that voice as he surprised at someone singing so late at night.He closed the diary and came to the window quickly and looked curiously outside but found no one there.

Jaan de du bhi,jaan le lu bhi main...

Jaan de du bhi,jaan le lu bhi main...

Koi keemat chukaane ki parvaah nehi...

Ae meri zindagi tu mere paas hai...

Akash listened to the voice closely and understood that it was coming from the forest.He was so confused thinking who might have gone to the forest when all knew how much dangerous was that and especially when they were so much scared.He said to himself,”Itni raat gaye jungle mein??Awaaz se to lagta hai ke koi larki hai.Par itni raat ko vo jungle mein kyu jaayegi aur gayi to gayi gaana kyu ga rahi hai?”He suddenly remembered about the ghost about whom the people of Vijaygarh said and so he said,”Achcha to ye hai vo maharani jisne us bichaare scholar ki jaan li.Achcha mauka hai,aaj is insaani churail ko main range haatho pakrunga aur in bichaaro ko unki galatfaimi se bahaar nikaalunga.Lagta hai vo baba isi ke baare mein baat kar rahe the ke main isike qahar se sabko azaad karunga.Main aa raha hu,theher ja churail ki bachchi.”He immediately put his T shirt on and took his gun with him and a torch and came out hurriedly of his room.When he reached downstairs,he found there were no one and he understood all were resting in their rooms,even the servants were also resting and so he decided to move very silently upto the main door to go out.When he reached to the door,he slowly opened it and then went out and walked towards the forest.

                                                                                            He closed the main gate and started walking towards the forest.While waling for a long time,he reached the temple behind which the forest was situated.

Tu khuda hai mera,mera imaan hai...

Ishq karna tera mujhpe ehsaan hai...

Akash stepped into the forest and as soon as he stepped inside,there was a slight change in the weather.It was a complete full moon night and so he could easily hear the howling of wolves.Akash walked following the direction of the voice and said,”Pata nehi itna ajeeb kyu lag raha hai.Itna Ghana jungle upar se ye kohra iske vajah se to kuch bhi dikhaai nehi de raha hai.”He was walking very cautiously putting on his torch,but suddenly shocking him,the torch went off.He was very confused since he remembered very clearly he put new batteries inside it.Due to the light being off,such a rough and tough cop like Akash was also a bit taken back since the environment there was very strange,very mysterious and that environment could easily raise the pulse bits of any normal person.

Tu subha ka ujaala,mera vaaste...

Tu mere vaaste,dilnasheen shaam hai...

On his way,he noticed a very thin ray of light and he thought that some anti-social works were being done there.He followed that trail of light and gradually the fog cleared on his way of approach.When he reached the end,he found a beautiful thin river was flowing and he was a bit surprised seeing such a beautiful river which was decorated with beautiful glowing lotus as if one lover had decorated the whole river for his/her lover’s welcome.Suddenly...suddenly something happened which really shattered Akash’s logical faiths,shattered his beliefs and shook the earth under his feet.Suddenly something unfolded in front of his eyes due to which all he used to believe was proven wrong.Whatever unfolded in front of his eyes,would make any normal person suffer from cardiac arrest or turn completely mad.Akash was looking at the scene in such a way as if he really could not believe whatever he was seeing was actually he was seeing with his naked eyes or that was just a dream...dream would be a mistake,a nightmare.He was watching without blinking his eyes...

A girl in a complete white outfit was singing and walking over the surface of the water and her feet was not touching the water...