Your Dreams Are Mine Now

by Ravinder Singh

  After a brief pause she added, ‘There are moments when we conveniently ignore the logic, just because it works for us. But please understand, Saloni, I cannot do that. I cannot ignore that. That’s how I am. What do I do?’

  No one could have refuted the honesty with which Rupali spoke. Saloni didn’t know what to say. A few moments of silence were what she needed to understand and digest all that Rupali stood for. There were simply no ifs and buts in the argument. It was the plain naked truth. When you don’t fight against evil, you too are to be blamed as much as the evil itself. You have two choices. Accept it, or fight it out.

  After listening to Rupali, Saloni’s thoughts too began to change. At least Rupali thought so when she did not hear Saloni argue further. She was about to ask Saloni if she had been able to influence her thoughts when Saloni’s cellphone interrupted the brief silence.

  ‘Hi baby!’ Saloni said but not with her usual level of excitement.

  It was Imran on the phone.

  ‘No, I won’t be coming today. You guys play,’ she said. ‘Rupali isn’t feeling well, so I am with her. You guys go ahead. I will call you at night. Yeah, bye.’

  Rupali looked at Saloni and before she could ask why she wasn’t going to play, Saloni came and tightly hugged her roomie. She then kissed her forehead and sat next to her.

  ‘You are so brave!’ she said softly but with a lot of pride in her voice for her roommate.

  ‘But not as brave as you to get your boyfriend inside a girls’ hostel, that too in broad daylight!’ Rupali teased Saloni and smiled to lighten up the mood.

  Saloni too tried to smile but the red impression of Mahajan’s hand on her friend’s face stole her smile.

  By morning, Rupali had Saloni’s full support. She was convinced that her friend was doing the right thing and therefore she was going to back her in her endeavour. At the same time, Saloni continued to worry about Rupali. She had offered Rupali her father’s assistance—he was a renowned advocate in the Delhi High Court. Rupali knew that Saloni was trying to help but she said no to involving him in her fight—at least at that point of time.

  However, the more urgent thing to do now was to get dressed quickly.

  In the bright morning sun, life was again back to normal in the college block. The classes finally resumed as the elections were over. The hostel mess, where footfall during breakfast had plunged, suddenly witnessed a surge. The demand for paranthas was more than the supply. So a few students simply had the tea and opted to move out and grab a sandwich from the college canteen. The sight of students—in groups and on their own—walking towards the college block in the morning hours, after a break of a few days, appeared delightful. The noisy corridors became a treat to everyone’s ears, including those of the faculty. The entire college atmosphere was recharged with energy after the election break. The resumption of classes gave an opportunity to the hostellers and localites to interact, update each other on the news and share a few light moments with each other.

  Amid the hustle and bustle in the corridor of their hostel, Rupali and Saloni stepped out of their block to attend the first period, when Raheema bumped into them. Saloni had already seen her once, but by now, she knew of her story as well. Even though she hadn’t interacted with Raheema earlier, Saloni felt as if she knew her closely.

  Raheema looked as if she had to say something, but seemed hesitant. Rupali sensed that she was feeling shy in front of Saloni.

  ‘You don’t have to worry, didi, she’s my best friend. You can speak freely in her presence,’ she said, trying to put her at ease.

  Raheema gave a weak smile. She didn’t look very confident but spoke, ‘I want you to meet someone.’

  Meet someone? Rupali thought to herself and said, ‘Okay, but who is it?’ a bit impatiently. She looked at her watch and realized that she was getting late for her class.

  ‘Arjun bhaiya,’ replied Raheema.

  Rupali hadn’t heard this name earlier. She wondered who this person was and why Raheema wanted her to meet him. Raheema clarified that Arjun could help the two of them in their battle against Mahajan. But as she was getting late, they decided that they would meet Arjun during the break. They were to meet at Shafi’s teashop and not in the college block. She didn’t want Mahajan to see her with Rupali.

  As soon as their conversation was over, Saloni and Rupali ran towards their college, hoping that they would make it in time for the attendance.

  Saloni laughed as they ran.

  ‘What?’ Rupali asked.

  ‘Looks like Madam Raheema might be doing a bit of matchmaking here!’ she said, naughtily winking at Rupali.

  Rupali shook her head. ‘You really have a one-track mind!’

  Saloni laughed.

  Entering their class well in time as the professor was late, Rupali kept thinking about this person Raheema wanted her to meet. ‘Well, we shall see who this Robin Hood is!’ she thought and started concentrating on the class.

  Ten

  From the cool darkness of the class, Rupali stepped into the brightness of the corridors and the lawns of the college. She loved the energy of the college and counted her blessings that she was a part of it.

  As promised to Raheema, Rupali arrived at Shafi’s teashop. Saloni too had wanted to join her and meet the mysterious stranger, but Rupali had said no because if by chance she got late, Saloni could take notes for the both of them.

  Outside the college gate, from a distance, she could see Raheema at one of the tables at Shafi’s teashop. She was sitting with a guy whose back was towards Rupali. On seeing Rupali, Raheema got up from her seat and waved at her. Rupali smiled and walked towards them.

  She arrived at the table and stood behind the guy. She paused for a moment to take off her bag from her shoulder and arrange her dupatta.

  Raheema looked at the guy and said, ‘Bhaiya, Rupali didi has come.’

  The person turned back to look at Rupali.

  ‘Rupali didi, this is Arjun bhaiya.’

  Rupali recognized him immediately.

  An uncomfortable feeling took over Rupali. She had never thought that the person Raheema wanted her to meet would turn out to be the one whom she had practically hated in her mind. She had no idea how to react to the situation. Since he had been around her the few times she had been in trouble or there had been some problem, she’d started thinking of him as her ‘trouble man’!

  ‘Ah . . . hello . . . Sir,’ she greeted him shyly. She wished she had inquired more about Arjun from Raheema, before landing up in front of him. Or maybe, at the very least, she should have let Saloni accompany her. How she repented her decision.

  Arjun looked at her and smiled as if he had never met her before. ‘Please sit,’ he said. Rupali took the seat next to Raheema which meant that now she was sitting directly in front of Arjun and looking into his eyes, which made her very uncomfortable.

  When Arjun shouted and ordered tea for the ladies, they both refused. Rupali said no a couple of times. But Arjun did not bother to cancel the order. Instead, he asked her if she drank tea. When she nodded, he sat back as if he had proved a point. Shafi added his two bits, ‘No one says no to tea when it is ordered by Arjun bhaiya!’

  Rupali was very irritated with the statement. But Raheema agreed as a courtesy. Rupali agreed because she was intimidated by his strong personality.

  All this while, visions of her initial interactions with Arjun kept flashing in Rupali’s mind. She hadn’t forgotten the interrogation on her first day on campus by Arjun. To add to it was the mob attack on her music audition day, where she had seen Arjun standing outside the class while his group vandalized the set-up. Now she had a name to associate with that face—Arjun.

  It was the first time that she got an opportunity to observe him from across the table they shared. On this day too, Arjun was in front of her in his typical attire—a kurta, a pair of jeans and leather slippers. He had a stubble that suited his face. Arjun was tall and well built. His wheatish skin colour a
dded to his rough and tough looks. His body language was slow and deliberate. His voice commanded attention.

  ‘Arjun bhaiya Mahajan Sir ko achhey se jaantey hain,’ (Arjun bhaiya knows Mahajan Sir well) Raheema broke into Rupali’s silent observation of Arjun. For a second, Rupali felt embarrassed.

  ‘Didi mein baat karta hun,’ (Didi let me talk) Arjun spoke, cutting off Raheema mid-sentence and took over the conversation with Rupali.

  ‘Hi, I am from second year Arts. I am a localite, meaning I don’t live on campus. I am one of the senior members of the political party in opposition in DU,’ Arjun introduced himself. ‘I have known Raheema didi for more than a year now. I am also aware of the kind of animal Mahajan is. I have a fair idea that he has been creating problems for certain staff members in college. But I am not well versed with the exact matter. What Raheema didi told me last evening is very little for me to understand but I’m wondering why she didn’t tell me earlier. Perhaps she was scared of someone. So you give me the details and let’s continue to talk in English to save her from embarrassment.’

  As he finished, he turned towards Raheema—she was innocently trying to understand their conversation and nodding. He smiled. ‘Aapko baad mein batayenge saari baat.’ (We’ll tell you everything later.)

  She nodded. More strongly this time.

  Rupali smiled. That was sweet of Arjun. Then she began to narrate all that had occurred in the past week. At times, she struggled to choose her words. The thought of describing a woman’s molestation at the hands of a man to another man, against whom she already had her preconceived notions, bothered her. To add to her difficulty was the presence of Raheema. Just a change of language was not going to make it easier for Rupali. How could she, in her presence, paint Raheema as if she were a toy in Mahajan’s hands? How could she tell him that it wasn’t a one-off incident, but that Raheema had to fulfil Mahajan’s demands whenever he desired? She found it difficult to complete her sentences, appearing at a loss for words. Yet she didn’t stop till she finished all she had to say.

  Arjun could clearly see her discomfort, but thought it was better not to interrupt.

  Poor Raheema, even though she didn’t know what exactly they were saying about her, she knew the import of their discussion. She didn’t have the courage to look into Arjun’s eyes; the same Arjun whom she had called bhaiya all this while. She silently kept sipping the tea that had just been brought.

  On the other hand, as the dark secret of what Mahajan used to do to Raheema unfolded, Arjun became restless with anger. Rupali could clearly see Arjun’s body language transform. She could see that he had clenched his fists and his eyes had become slits, and he was staring angrily into the distance.

  She got scared and stopped.

  It took a while for Arjun to notice that Rupali wasn’t speaking. When he realized that, instead of looking at Rupali, he turned towards Raheema, who didn’t know what to say. In her own eyes, she was the culprit first and then the victim. Somewhere in her conscience she believed this ill fact. The poor lady thought she was equally responsible, as Mahajan, for her fate. She didn’t have the guts to face Arjun. She had known Arjun for a long time now. From helping her with money when her daughter had fallen ill, to facilitating her paperwork at the college premises, Arjun, on various occasions has been Raheema’s angel. On the other side, there had also been occasions when Arjun had asked Raheema to pray for him, especially during his exams. There had been times when Arjun had visited Raheema’s house to break the roza for the day at iftaar. He would eat fruits and puddings that Raheema would specially cook for him.

  But while she was wondering about how she would face Arjun now that he knew the truth, Arjun was contemplating the depths to which Mahajan had fallen to molest poor Raheema.

  He felt sorry for all that Raheema had gone through and realized that he had really not done anything for her!

  ‘Aap ne mujhe pehle kabhi ye sab kyun nahi bataaya, didi?’ (Why didn’t you tell me all this before, didi?) he asked softly. He didn’t want to scare her away.

  Raheema relaxed. Arjun’s gesture showed that he cared for her. Suddenly overwhelmed, she could not hold back her tears. In response to Arjun’s question, she only joined her hands. She wanted to say something, but she choked with tears.

  Arjun, immediately held her hands and tried to console her. Rupali too got up and reached out to Raheema to help her control her emotions. She rubbed her back and asked her not to cry, and rather face this with strength.

  Thankfully, there weren’t any other students at Shafi’s shop as by then the break was long over. The only people to notice the three of them were Shafi’s boys who worked at the teashop.

  ‘Yeh aap ki galti nahi hai, didi,’ (This is not your fault, didi) Arjun said.

  Rupali added to it by reminding her that it was a courageous move on Raheema’s part that she had taken a stand to fight against Mahajan. ‘I am so proud of you,’ she said.

  Arjun too agreed. Together they talked about how she probably had had no other choice but to sacrifice her life for the future of her daughter. Instead of letting Raheema feel guilty, the two of them tried to make her feel proud of the sacrifices she had made in her life.

  When Raheema continued to sob, Rupali went behind her and took her in her arms.

  Raheema looked up at Arjun, who was smiling. Raheema smiled through her tears.

  That brought the much-needed closure. Arjun was impressed with Rupali’s simplicity and honesty.

  Once they were more in control of their emotions they settled down to talk again. Rupali felt that it would be wiser for Arjun and her to talk in Raheema’s absence. Arjun agreed. He asked her if they could meet in the evening. Rupali thought for a bit and then agreed.

  ‘Great, so give me your cellphone number?’ he asked. ‘Uhh . . .’ Rupali hesitated. All of a sudden, the idea of sharing her mobile number with someone like Arjun bothered her. Why was he asking her to give him her mobile number? She wondered how to tackle this awkward situation. She hadn’t anticipated it. It happened so fast. She wasn’t even prepared to react to it. But how would she refuse?

  Arjun seemed to have guessed her predicament. ‘I am not asking you to share your number. Just take mine, in case you need it before we meet to discuss this,’ he said with a smile.

  How fast he had read her mind! ‘It’s not like that,’ she said embarrassedly. But Arjun didn’t respond. He dictated his number and Rupali saved it.

  ‘Shall we meet by 5.30 in the evening then?’ asked Arjun.

  ‘5.30 . . . hmm . . . alright. Shall I come here?’ Rupali asked. ‘This teashop will be closed in the evening, so we can meet somewhere else. I will see you outside your hostel.’

  ‘Oh! Where exactly outside the hostel?’

  ‘Let’s meet at the same place where you had planted that sapling.’

  Eleven

  ‘Oh, look at that! Tiny tulsi flowers have blossomed on your plant,’ Arjun said while looking at the plant with great amusement. His hands on his waist, he bent down to get a closer look.

  Rupali had never imagined such a pleasant reaction from Arjun towards her plant. More than a month and a half earlier, right at the same place, Arjun’s face had a different expression when he had first seen Rupali planting that tulsi sapling. She was delighted with this change in his attitude but did not say anything. After all, the disruption he had caused at the music club audition had painted a certain picture of Arjun in her mind. She couldn’t have changed it that quickly.

  ‘Yes, it took a while for this to happen,’ Rupali nodded. Rupali could have said more.

  Perhaps Arjun felt so too. He waited for her to say more. But she didn’t. Instead, she continued to look at her plant with great affection.

  Arjun suggested, ‘Let’s sit and talk then.’

  ‘Here on the lawns?’ she asked, raising her brows. Her hesitation was clear.

  ‘Too many people in the common room. We don’t want anyone to overhear our conversation. Right?
’ asked Arjun.

  With barely any choice left, Rupali had to agree.

  ‘Come on. It’s fine,’ Arjun insisted.

  She felt uncomfortable sitting on the open lawns, in front of her own hostel, where other girls could see her in the company of a guy like Arjun, who was neither from her batch nor from her stream. While it wasn’t uncommon for boys and girls to sit on the hostel lawns, it was generally only couples who sat there. Other times, there were mixed groups of girls and boys. In this case, they were neither. What would they think of her? ‘Will they cook up stories on seeing me with Arjun?’ she wondered and her thoughts made her uncomfortable.

  ‘Are you sure Shafi’s teashop is shut?’ she asked again. Arjun didn’t immediately answer that one. He looked at her face as if deriving some sort of pleasure out of her helplessness.

  ‘You like Shafi’s tea that much?’ he chuckled.

  Rupali first nodded and when she realized he was making fun of her, she shook her head.

  That made Arjun laugh. Rupali smiled, embarrassed by her foolishness.

  ‘Yes, it is closed. I checked on my way here. But don’t worry, if you are uncomfortable, you can invite your roommate. Raheema didi told me that she is aware of the whole thing. Maybe you will feel more secure if she is around.’

  So he knew what she was thinking about! This realization embarrassed Rupali even more. ‘Oh no, that’s not an issue!’ she blurted. But when she sat down, she texted Saloni to come and join her on the lawns.

  ‘You are a brave girl!’ Arjun complimented her as they started talking. ‘Not many boys would have had the courage to do what you have done, that too against someone like Mahajan.’