Part-2 Silent Love
Note - You have read till now that both Manish and Soniya were studying together .Manish had to miss his entire semester due to some tragedy , now read further ….
I came to know subsequently that he had left the college with most of his belongings and most likely he would miss his semester. I felt sorry for him and missed him. Manish used to talk to three or four people only including me , Sood and Sarita . Sarita also felt sorry for him but at the same time she was angry with him . She told me “ I failed to understand what type of guy this man is ? I liked him and wanted to share our feelings but he ignored me . “
In a couple of months my second semester was over and I left for Patna with Sarita . I had a break of almost two months before next semester and my second year . During this vacation an unexpected thing happened . I got a call from Sarita , she said “ I am getting married next week . I will send you an invitation and you must come here at least for a week .”
“ But how did this happen suddenly ? “ I asked
“ I will tell you when you come here , no more words now .”
I thought Sarita to be a crazy girl as she was getting married so early and that too in the midst of her studies. Her marriage was taking place from her father’s village which was situated at about 40 km from the main city . My father dropped me at the venue and Sarita promised to drop me back before she left her parent’s home with her newly wed hubby. I was terribly surprised how Sarita could get married so early in life and what would happen to her studies , whether she would continue or drop . It will be very unfortunate if a bright engineering student drops out midway . Apparently I didn’t see any reason for this sudden happening.
Anyway I was at Sarita’s village a day before her wedding. It was Ladies Sangeet day . Before the function started I was alone with Sarita for quite some time and I was curious to know why she was getting married so early. Even before I could ask her, Sarita asked me to sit close to her and started talking in a low voice “ You know I was also taken aback when papa said to me he has got a very good offer from the groom's side . He is a NRI well settled in the USA . His father hasn’t asked for any dowry . Above all he is a US citizen and after marriage I can get a green card and US citizenship easily. He has told me to continue my studies and as soon as I get my degree , he will get me a job there . “
“ Sounds good . “
“ In fact I was not interested in marriage but the groom's side is not ready to wait for two years for my degree . Actually I had gone to attend a marriage function with my parents . There the NRI boy had also come and his parents offered on the spot to my papa for marriage .
“ Ya , I can understand . Your in-laws didn’t want to miss a beautiful daughter in law like you .”
“ No , you are just kidding . Anyway, did you hear any news about Manish ? I tried his cell but every time it’s not reachable. I asked Sood also , he too has no idea . There must be something serious otherwise Manish would not have missed his semester .” Sarita said
After Sarita’s marriage her brother dropped me back at Patna . After vacation I was back in college. Sarita was also back . She had tried to hide a small Bindi of Sindoor in a corner of her hair. I smiled at her and said “ You have tried your best to hide your marriage certificate but couldn’t. Anyway , welcome back . “
Manish also joined us but late . His face reflected his sorrowness . We asked him “ How are you and why did you miss the semester?”
He simply said “ My family needed me more and that is more important than my degree . I can get the degree a year later also .“
We didn’t know much about his family but felt extremely sorry about him .
Sarita had moved to third year but as Manish missed his semester , now I was his classmate. Sarita was also more busy with her husband and I was closer to Mnaish . I tried to know more about his family but he avoided talking about his personal life . I noticed that he used to visit his village frequently, almost once every month .
Towards the end of third year we were having campus selection. Sarita had already got an offer from one US based company , possibly her husband was behind her . Both I and Manish congratulated her. Manish got an offer from a Mumbai based multinational and I got one from Pune based multinational company . After a few days we left campus due to summer vacation . Both I and Manish traveled together to Patna in the same coach . From there he was supposed to board another train for north Bihar . This time I could gather courage to say “ I will miss you . Can’t we talk during vacation ? “
“ Sure why not , we must remain in touch with each other . “
I was happy to note this change in Manish’s attitude, otherwise he never talked to anyone while on vacation in his village. Sarita was flying to the USA with her husband next month . We all , Sood, Manish and myself were at Patna to bid her farewell at Patna airport .
Just after two weeks I got Sood’s call . He was also leaving London in connection with his final job interview for which he was already shortlisted in campus interview. He said “ Did you hear from Manish ? “
“ No but we did talk last week . He didn’t say anything about his troubles .“ I said
“ He will never say . Manish is in deep trouble . He lost his mom and …. “
“ Oh, so bad . “
“ That’s not all .He lost his wife also . His wife died after delivering a baby girl . “
“ O my God . He was married ! ”
“ Yes , I too didn’t know this . This is the first time when Manish described his story crying . All this happened due to flash floods caused by rains and release of water from Nepal . Now I am leaving shortly . Try to be in touch with him and you can comfort her emotionally .”
I called back Manish immediately and said “ Manish , I am so sorry to learn about the tragedy you are facing . But this I came to know from Sood . You didn’t consider me fit to share these with me . “
“ No , Soniya . I was about to call you but due to so many happenings here and poor connectivity , I could not contact you . Anyway , that was destiny . Though water is receding fast in my village it is still flooded and communication is not easy .Hope to be normal in a week or so . I don’t know if I can join campus on time .“
After summer vacation I was back in college and Manish came a week after . When I met him I could easily see his wet eyes . I tapped his soldiers and said “ What is in our destiny , is bound to happen . Sure it's a matter of deep sorrow . But you need to move on . I know you can handle it. Your first goal is to finish your studies . “
He kept sobbing virtually . I held his hand and said “ After all , how did all this happen ? I didn’t know you were married .“
For the first time he rested his head on my shoulder and said “ I got married against my will soon after finishing my plus two schooling . My mother was a widow and handicapped . Before I left for my college she needed someone to look after her. I belong to a lower middle class family , nearly poor you can say. We could not afford any full time nurse or domestic help. I had to get married . In fact my in-laws helped by providing all household amenities. My wife was also good natured and used to take care of my mother . She could not survive after delivering the baby. But this sudden flooding ruined my life . “
“ Where is your daughter now ? “
“ She is with her grandparents , Nanu and Nani . But that’s not a permanent solution. “ I miss her . I will take her as soon as I stand on my legs . “
“ Okay , till then you have patience and focus on your studies. Your Baby is safe with her grandparents .”
After that Mnaish and I used to meet frequently. He used to share his past with me and I used to comfort him . I felt sympathy for him and his daughter . Our frequent meeting and closeness became a matter of gossip in college . My friends used to ask if I loved him and his friends used to ask him if he was in love with me. Though some emotional attachment was there between both of us but so far both never felt what they called it , love between us . “
I used to tell them “ I like Manish and do have sympathy for him for whatever tragedy he had to face in his life . “
“ Really only like and sympathy . Nothing beyond that ? “ friends teased
“ Nothing beyond that , at least so far . “
On the other hand Manish also told them “ Yes , I do like Soniya . She cares for me and so do I . But nothing more between us .”
I had heard that if you hear something lie a thousand times , it might appear to be true subsequently . Same thing happened to me . My liking and sympathy for Manish was getting transformed into love .It was a silent love , I was unable to express my love to him for reasons may be shyness or fear of losing my best friend .
Our last semester was coming to an end . We were all packing our stuff to bid goodbye to the campus. I asked Manish “ Now you will be joining your job in Mumbai and I in Pune . Be in regular contact . I will miss you badly . Pune is not so far from Mumbai . We can also meet in person . “
“ I too will miss you . Yes we can meet also and we must . “ said Manish
Cotnd. in Last Part 3
