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Priya was staying at Vijay’s house only for last couple of days. She again had a fight with herfather on the same old reason.

Today she got up a little late. Though she was an early riser but when she woke up today, sun was already up on the sky. Priya scanned her room. Vijay’s mother had already started doing her routine activities. Vijay’s sister also was not on her bed.

Actually Vijay’s sister did not have a set routine of getting up or sleeping. She behaved as per her whims. Unlike usual, Priya was feeling very fresh today.

Probably she had got a sound sleep after a very long time. She stretched her limbs and got out of the bed. She stood by the window and was staring outside. She kept standing there for a while. Suddenly someone caught her attention. A man with long beard was coming in her direction only. He did not seem absolutely stranger to her. Priya kept looking at him, trying to make out. But as he kept coming closer to her, she recognized him and glimpse of happiness flashed on her face. She confirmed once again whether she was in her senses or not.

She was ecstatic to find the person in reality. He was none other than Vijay himself. He looked unfamiliar in long beard and moustaches, but she could still recognize him by his gestures and movements. As he approached even closer, Priya was sure that it was Vijay for sure who had come back to her. The person reached the house, opened the main gate and came inside. Now he was standing right in front of Priya.

“Vijay…” Priya almost screamed.

She hugged him tightly and said, “I knew that you are alive and will come back one day. God can’t be so cruel to me…. I know, that day, they got someone else’s dead body… and it was so badly smashed that nobody could recognize it. I knew… I knew god can’t be so cruel to me…”

“Your love kept me alive Priya.” Vijay released himself from her embrace and said holding her face in his hands.

Then they kept talking for a very long time after that. Meanwhile, Vijay’s mother heard some noise and came outside.

“Vijay… where were you all these days? You have lost so much of weight…” Priya was speaking.

Vijay’s mother saw Priya and got a shock of her life… because… Priya was speaking to herself.

“Oh god… my daughter… then my son… and now … Priya also… don’t be so cruel to me god… I can’t bear this anymore…” Vijay’s mother was praying hard.

Priya was unaware about Vijay’s mother’s reaction. She slowly headed to the main gate. While walking, she gestured as if someone is holding her hand and they were walking together. Vijay’s mother followed her. As Priya was waking ahead, her shadow was also following her. Vijay’s mother glanced at her shadow… and she was shaken… she could see another shadow
accompanying her. Vijay’s mother was boggled and frightened. Now she had to believe that Priya was not speaking to herself, but Vijay was there with her, holding her hand.

When Vijay’s mother recovered a little bit, she found that Priya had reached far ahead of her. Now she almost ran to catch them. Vijay’s sister, who was standing in the lawn, followed her mother. She was actually in a very shabby state.

“Wait... Priya…” Vijay’s mother called her out.

Priya stopped. And so did Vijay’s shadow. Vijay’s mother went near Priya. She was very happy to see her son… though his mere shadow. She knelt down to touch her son’s shadow and started caressing it. Vijay’s sister saw her mother kneeling down and she jumped on her to sit on her back. The next moment, she was fondling with her mother’s hair like a child....

....There was a huge crowd gathered in front of Vijay’s house. Everyone was astonished to see what was going on in the crowd. Vijay’s father, who had just returned from the bar, saw this crowd. He joined the crowd to check the chaos. He saw Priya in middle of the crowd… talking to herself. His wife was sitting down and was stroking on the ground. And his daughter was sitting on her mother’s back and was fondling with her hair.

And there were only THREE shadows on the ground… Priya’s, Vijay’s mother’s and his sister’s…..

THE END

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

Please do write Your Comments about this Novel !

Her Life - Chapter 49 - Novel Illusion

2011-07-01T09:31:00.000+05:30

A long time passed in between. Priya was regularly visiting Vijay’s house. She had decided to proffer her whole life for Vijay’s family. And this very thing was daunting Priya’s father. It was indeed unwelcome for any father.

He tried to turn her away from her thoughts, at times with love and sometimes with admonishment, but she was steadfast on her decision. On the contrary, when she used to see her father opposing her anyway, she ensured not to come back home and stay at Vijay’s place only for next two or three days.

She again resumed her practice also and whatever she earned, she used to spend on serving Vijay’s family. It was not the money which bothered Priya’s father, but he was worried about her entire life ahead. He thought that Vijay came like a hurricane in Priya’s life which destroyed her to the core.

Despite all this, his father did not lose hopes. Whatever damage she had done to herself was enough, and she needed to come out of it now. But Priya was, as if against her father. At last her father decided to be a silent spectator to whatever happens in her life. As it is, she was a mature and was legally permitted to take her own decisions. He was now depending more on destiny. He had accepted completely that whatever is destined to happen, will happen. He could not have changed destiny’s decision.

One day Vijay’s father, drunk to the core, was taking a nap on a cot in the lawn. Vijay’s sister was sitting beside him in shabby state and was blabbering looking at the fence of the house. After Vijay died, she was waning. Vijay used to take care of her medicines and some or the other way followed the course strictly. Though Vijay was younger to her, but he was the only

person in house whom his sister used to listen to.

After Vijay’s demise, she had developed inconsistency in her behaviour. Sometimes she used to be fatally violent. Not only medicines, but she was irregular in eating also. Vijay’s mother, perhaps, had lost all the hopes and thus, was in her own world. Seeing this, Priya had taken all the responsibility of dealing with Vijay’s sister herself. But she had a long way to be successful in this.

Vijay’s mother was occupied with some thoughts and was mechanically cleaning vegetables. Suddenly she heard someone opening the main gate and entering their house. She turned to check and as expected it was Priya. Priya took vegetables from Vijay’s mother’s hand and she started doing that.

“How much will you do for us.. dear?... Vijay left us... alone… to suffer… but we have to face our sufferings ourselves only… why are you pulling yourself in this blaze.” Vijay’s mother was concerned about Priya.

Priya had guessed by the time that her father had come here and he must have berated Vijay’s mother. Her father had recently started this, thinking that this act of his could prompt Vijay’s mother to prohibit Priya from visiting their house. Priya knew this very well and hence she never reacted on Vijay’s mother’s such unusual behaviour at times. “Mom… I don’t know whether Vijay told you or not… When Vijay left for his tour for a month… after a couple of days I also went to meet him there…” Priya said cleaning the vegetables. “What?” Vijay’s mother was astonished.

“How is it possible?”

Vijay’s mother was surprised with her eyes wide open.

Priya continued, “We went to an old Shiva temple also and I prayed for something there… do you know what it was?”

Vijay’s mother was still staring at her.

Priya rested for a moment and then continued, “I prayed to get Vijay as husband forever.” Vijay’s mother got sad recollecting her son’s memories.

Then Priya sighed and continued, “I couldn’t marry him in this life… but I am quite sure that… I will get him as husband in my next life.”

Vijay’s mother denied believing Priya.

“There we roamed all around… waterfall… vrindavan garden… we enjoyed for entire 15 days… I can’t forget those moments for my entire life.”

Vijay’s mother was still in a denial state. Vijay also told the same thing after he returned from his tour.

“But how is this possible?”

Just after a couple of days when Vijay left for the tour, Priya met with an accident and she was in coma for next 15 days.

Then how was it possible. Her mind was busy solving the mystery.

“Hence… you do not take any tension… this is my responsibility … and I am doing the same.” Priya said.

Priya’s last word brought Vijay’s mother back to her senses.

Continued...

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

Grim silence - Chapter 48 - Novel Illusion

2011-06-30T12:50:00.012+05:30

A couple of months had passed after that life devastating incident. Vijay’s mother used to be in her own world after that. She had covered herself in grim silence. On the other hand, Vijay’s sister and father were behaving as if nothing had happened. It did not affect their lives at all. When Vijay was there, their house used to be lively, but now he stole the soul from their house and departed for ever.

Everyone was living in his own world and there was nothing which connected them. They were physically together but were leading their lives like two parallel banks of a river. Vijay’s mother was the only one who could feel the absence of Vijay and hence, she was suffering… alone. But despite her shattered state, she had to take care of her household routine. Activities like cooking, shopping etc. were her responsibility and now Vijay was also not there to support her any way.

Probably this was the only thing she could do to momentarily forget the sorrow. She used to keep herself busy in minutest of the chores, so as to remain away from those bitter reminiscences. Priya had returned from her granny’s place. Since the time she was back, she was desperate to meet Vijay. But she was not allowed to go anywhere… not even outside for a walk. Though she had recovered almost completely and she could move. She had already started going out on her own while she was at her granny’s place. But after coming back, she had found drastic change in her father’s behaviour.

Her father was always after her with some or the other marriage proposals. When she initiated the topic of her clinic and resuming on her practice, her father always used to divert her and suggest her to continue her practice only after getting married.

At last one day she managed to leave from her house without her father knowing about this. She straight away went to Rajesh’s house. There only she got this shocking news of Vijay’s accident and death thereafter. Rajesh was telling her about the whole incidence but she was as if in comatose.

“How is it possible?” she could not believe.

Why such disastrous thing happened with her. Why is god so cruel to her?

She was angry not only with god but with everyone around her. She lost interest in everything. Her father could identify this change in her. He guessed that she had come to know about Vijay’s death. He was quite sure that something so grim about Vijay only could shove her from her life.

It was sure that she would come to know about this news some or the other day. But her father was content that she got the news from somewhere outside and he did not have to tell her about this.

Continued...

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

Stretcher - Chapter – 47 – Novel Illusion

2011-06-28T09:22:00.002+05:30

It should have taken maximum three days for Vijay to visit Priya’s house and come back. But today it was fifth day after he had left. He neither had called nor was there any message from his side. Vijay’s mother was desperately waiting for his arrival. On the other hand Vijay’s father, who used to leave early morning to go to bar and then office as per the routine, was strictly following that.

Today also Vijay’ s father was about to leave as per his routine. Vijay’s mother stopped him and asked, “Any phone or message from Vijay?”

“no.” he didn’t even bother to stop and answer.

“Today its fifth day when there is no news from him…. Where he would be?... please do something to find him.” Vijay’s mother was irritated.

Vijay’s father stopped for a while and said, “where would he go… he will come himself.” And he left immediately…. because he was getting late. His body was demanding for liquor as it was addicted. The mechanical clock may be late but needless to say about biological clock. It is always on time.

It was afternoon and there was no sign of Vijay. His mother was now worried. She stood in the door and hoped that she could see Vijay coming. She was getting worried.

“What to do?… whom should I ask for help now?” She was quite worried.

She was concerned. Apart from her, there was her daughter in the house. But she was not of any help to her mother. At last she decided something and locked the door and left… to Rajesh’s house.

It was evening when she came back from Rajesh’s house. When she went there she found a lock on Rajesh’s house. She got to know from neighbors that the entire family has gone to their holy place as Rajesh and his wife got a baby boy.

Suddenly Vijay’s mother saw a crowd coming to her direction only.

“What’s the matter?”

Vijay’s father must have done something… he is never in his senses.

As the crowd approached her, she could clearly see a stretcher which four of them were carrying. And they were coming to her house only.

Is her husband on the stretcher? He must have fallen somewhere.

Or is it Vijay who is there on the stretcher?

Thinking something, she ran towards the door. Her heart was pounding with fear. The crowd had reached their house and they had placed the stretcher on the ground. There was a corpse which was covered with a white sheet. But she could not dare to remove that cloth in order to check the corpse.

“Is he alive or…?”

This thought struck her. She could not understand what to do next. She was looking at each one of them hoping that someone will tell something about the incident. Meanwhile one of them came ahead and opened a bag before her.

“This is of your son’s… right?”

Vijay’s mother looked at that bag and then at her son and asked, “what… happened to my son?”
Everybody was silent. She went ahead and tried removing the cloth from corpse’s face. One of them came ahead and said, “sorry… he died in an accident… and we got this address from his belongings.”

Vijay’s mother collapsed. Everything was so shocking that her senses stopped responding. She was expressionless. Neither could she cry, nor could she speak. After a while, when she got into senses, she tried removing the cloth from the corpse’s face.

Someone from the crowd stopped her and said, “please don’t remove the cloth… face is completely smashed… you can’t recognize the face.”

“My son….” She cried.

Probably Vijay’s sister heard her mother’s voice and came running outside. Everyone in the crowd was looking at her and perhaps waiting for her reaction on this scene. But unlike normal, she came out, slowly went to the corpse, looked once at her mother and sat down beside the body. She started caressing the body. Perhaps she also was under great shock as she came to know what had happened. But probably her brain was not able to respond to that.

Continued..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

where are you going? - Chapter – 46 – Novel - Illusion

2011-06-26T09:40:00.000+05:30

Since the time Vijay had returned from Priya’s house, he was desperate to see her once. When Vijay was in difficulty, it was Priya who became her savior. But now when she needs him, he is away from her. This thought was very painful.

“How did she fall from the cliff? She was there with me…” Vijay was not able to juxtapose these two contradictory things. But this visit to Priya’s house forced him to accept the reality.

“She was in coma for 15 days… means the accident must have been terrible.”

“If I go and meet her once, it will be perhaps relaxing for… No one told me about this when I was on tour.…. If mother didn’t, at least Rajesh must have informed me.

But there was no point chewing things bygone. He was worried about Priya.

She had already lost her mother and his father also was not supportive… He sent him to her granny’s place.

Vijay hated Priya’s father. Previously her father used to behave very normal with Vijay, but as soon as he came to know about Priya’s feelings for him, he started hating him. And on top of it, Vijay was now suffering from mental illness and he was jobless also.

“Nothing doing… I need to ignore him now. I have to go to her granny’s place and meet her.”

But his mother would not have allowed him to go alone.

“Should I go to Rajesh once… But how will it help me? … He did not even bother to tell me about Priya’s accident.” Vijay was angry with Rajesh.

He needed to decide now about his further course of action. Meeting Rajesh would not have solved his purpose.

“It’s true that… people change with circumstances… except few of them… like Priya.”

A couple of days passed like this only. He kept thinking about Priya and happenings around. He was feeling suffocated with loads of thoughts. He did not want to go to office also. He just kept pondering on all the things that happened so far.

“What will I attain sitting here idle?” At last he decide to go to Priya’s granny’s place and started getting ready for the journey.

Suddenly his mother reached there, “where are you going now?”

“To meet Priya… to her granny’s place.” Vijay locked his bag and said.

“In this condition?” Mother asked.

Vijay did not say anything. But it was evident that he was quite determined to go.

“look… you are already unwell…” first she sounded irritated. Then she controlled herself and uttered in softer voice, “son… It’s not suitable for you to travel in such a condition.”

“Don’t worry mother… I am taking my medicines with me.” He said.

“Medicines… you took them when you went on tour also.” Mother was furious.

“No mother… I will take care of myself now. Didn’t you notice… I am regularly taking medicine after I came here.” Vijay picked up his bag and headed to go.

His mother was sure that no one could stop him from going.

“Wait…” his mother stopped him for a while and went inside to bring something.

Vijay stood in the door only. After a while his mother came and gave him a locket.

“Son… take this holy locket and wear it.” She helped him wear that locket.

Vijay did not believe on such things but for his mother’s satisfaction, he wore that.

“This holy locket will save you”, she tied a knot in the locket.

Poor lady could now rely on these things only. Her husband was never there to support her. And if she wanted to save this house, she had to play a vital and strong role in keeping everyone together. And if she was carrying out such a big responsibility, then she also needed a support system for herself.

Vijay did not utter a word.

“Should I leave?” Vijay asked.

“Take care of yourself... be regular in your medicines… take care of your food… if you don’t get anything hygienic, eat fruits only… be cautious of the water you drink… keep sufficient money with you.”

“Why do you repeat these things so many times… last time also you said this…” he was frustrated.

“yes.. I told you the same things… but what’s the use?” His mother again pointed towards his negligence in taking medicines.

Vijay wanted to avoid further argument on this issue. He lifted his bag and rushed to leave.

“just intimate in your father’s office…. once you reach there” She called in order to remind him.

“yes mother…” he answered and rushed. Though he agreed, but he knew that there was no point calling in his father’s office because he was never present there.

His mother was worried about him and she kept staring him go away from her.

Continued..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

How is Priya ? - Chapter – 45 – Novel Illusion

2011-06-25T07:32:00.001+05:30

Vijay’s mother was still holding his hand and was hurriedly dragging him. She was taking him to Priya’s house. She was rushing so fast that Vijay was finding it difficult to keep pace with her. They walked so for about 15 minutes and Vijay was still unable to follow anything. Vijay’s mother was silent, she just wanted to reach Priya’s house as soon as possible. Vijay was also numb. He was gradually realizing that something is terribly wrong.

He was restless after knowing two contradictory things. He was not able to understand whatever was going on with him.

On the other hand, Vijay’s mother was analyzing Vijay’s mental dilemma. She told him about this mishap today, but he was already behaving like this… did he know this beforehand and thus he was behaving in such a manner. Was he already in a shocked state? Probably he came to know there only and thus he was reacting in such a manner.

But whatever it is… now he ought to be strong… and he should face the situation with a strong soul.

They reached Priya’s house. They found Priya’s father standing outside in the premises. When he saw Vijay and his mother approaching, he got angry and came ahead. Priya’s father did not like Priya and Vijay’s relationship.

In normal circumstances, he would have said yes to this, though unwillingly… but now that Vijay was jobless, it looked even more difficult for him to accept it. Further, he held Vijay and his family responsible for Priya’s suffering. Logically it was fair enough that a father opposed her daughter’s involvement in a person with mental instability.

As Priya’s father came ahead, Vijay’s mother left Vijay’s hand and stood in front of him. All of them were silent for a while.

“How is Priya?” Vijay’s mother dared to ask.

“She is alive.” Priya’s father answered rudely.

Vijay’s mother understood that there is nothing more to speak to Priya’s father, hence, she left him there and headed to go in with Vijay.

“She is not here…” Priya’s father informed them.

“Then where is she?” Vijay’s mother asked.

“We have sent her out of town… far away from you people.” Priya’s father was getting more and more bitter in his voice. He immediately turned and went inside.

Watching him leave from that place, Vijay’s mother looked at their servant, who was standing nearby when all this was going on. She asked him, “Where is Priya?”

First the servant turned to confirm that his master was not there. When he was assured, he fumbled in bleak voice, “why have…. you come here… you know… master doesn’t like you people coming here.”

“yes… I agree with you… but who will tell this crazy boy? What all he is rattling on… he says that Priya was with him for last 15 days… now how should I tell him that after he left from here, Priya met with a terrible accident and thereafter for 15 days, she was in coma… then how is it possible that she accompanied him for those 15 days. you only try and tell him.” Vijay’s mother was irritated to the core.

The servant glanced at Vijay with perplexed looks. He could not understand how to react to this situation, hence, he kept mum. Vijay was now gradually getting convinced about the truth.

“how is she now?” Vijay only asked further.

“She came in consciousness 8 days ago… and yesterday master sent her to her granny’s place… for a place change.” Servant informed them.

Vijay was now desperate to meet Priya once. But she was at her granny’s place.

Vijay knew where her granny lived. But it was far away from his town. He was thinking of some way out to this problem.

Continued..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

How was the trip? Chapter – 44 – Novel Illusion

2011-06-24T10:07:00.001+05:30

Vijay was taking rest after lunch. His mother was sitting on the floor, alongside the bed, and was busy in some regular household chores. She was still not able to recover from morning’s shock. But she knew that it’s time to be strong as she was the only person in the house who could help others lead their lives. Everyone else was in his or her own world and she was the common link between all of them who would keep them together… at least as a family. Doing her work, she sneaked at Vijay. He was lying on the bed and was staring at the roof, as if there is a storm of thoughts blowing through his mind.

She wanted to speak to her son, especially about Priya. There were lot of things which happened within the last one month, and she wanted to share them all with her son. But was it the right time to talk?

Vijay looked more boggled and unstable. Will it be right to let him know about everything now… in such a condition. She tried to weigh up the situation.

Finally she broke the silence and asked Vijay, “Is everything going alright in your office? Was your trip successful?”

He didn’t respond. He was still immersed in his thoughts. To bring him back, mother patted on his hand and called him again, “Vijay…”

“Yes… mother”, Vijay abruptly woke up and responded.

“I asked… is everything alright in your office?” Mother asked again.

“Yes… everything is alright… I went and then after two days Priya came there to accompany me… hence, everything went well.” Vijay answered.

Vijay’s mother was shocked to hear this. She left her work and stared at Vijay. She impulsively stood up and shook Vijay and almost shouted on him, “what’s wrong with you Vijay… do you know what you are saying?”

“Why?... What happened mother?...” Vijay was not expecting such a reaction from his mother. Surprised to the core, he got up immediately and leaned ahead.

“I tried telling you since you arrived here… but you started some weird things regarding Nayana… hence, I kept mum…. I still do not know whether I should tell you or not?” Vijay’s mother was again assessing his condition.

“Will you tell me what has happened?” Vijay demanded.

“You left from here and very next day Priya met with an accident. She fell from the cliff… she is seriously injured… and since then she is in coma.” Vijay’s mother fumbled.

Vijay abruptly got up from the bed, “how is it possible mother… are you in senses? I left from here and the very next day she came there to accompany me. We were together for almost 15 good days… then how can she fall from the cliff here? How should I tell you mother.. we stayed together… we roamed around.. we went there in an old temple of Lord Shiva.” Vijay was trying to convince his mother.

Vijay’s mother broke into tears.

She was blabbering, “Oh my god… why are you doing this to me… save my child from this hell… if we have committed any sin… punish me… but spare my child.” She was constantly crying.

While crying, she saw Vijay’s bag, lying under the bed. She stopped crying and pulled the bag. She was out of her control. She opened the bag and started throwing all the clothes and things out. Suddenly she found Vijay’s medicines. The bottle was still sealed. She saw and asked him furiously, “these medicines are kept as it is. You didn’t take even one pill of it.”

Vijay’s mother took out the pills from the bottle and threw them at Vijay. She started crying again. She shouted, “Why are you torturing me like this?”

“Mother… why don’t you trust me… ask Priya.. whether we went to Vrindavan Garden or not?”

Now Vijay’s mother blew up. She stopped crying. She wiped her tears and grabbed her son’s hand. She more or less dragged him to the door and said, “Let’s go …. Let me show you today…”

Continued..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

Return From Duty – Chapter – 43 – Novel – Illusion

2011-06-23T14:54:00.001+05:30

Vijay returned after about a month. He was walking briskly to his home with his bag in one hand.
Truly we are so attached to our people and home. And moreover, those of us who have such
relations to cherish are really fortunate.

As he reached the main gate, he saw door of the house open.

Who must have come at this time? It must be Priya….

But she didn’t know when I am returning. Such a nice coincidence, it is.

He opened the main gate and entered the premises of his house. While entering, he called his
mother loudly.

Nobody responded from inside. Probably she must be busy in cooking.

But she knew that I am coming. He again called, “Mom…”

But nothing happened. He thought of checking inside. As soon as he entered the house, he
turned furious to find someone sitting on the chair. It was Nayana who was waiting for him
only.

As she saw Vijay entering, she stood up. Before she could speak, Vijay exclaimed, “you?”

“Vijay… I was waiting for you only.” She said.

“Why? You want to see my miserable life…. Or you want to confirm whether I am recovered or
not… and you want to spoil it again.”

“No.. Vijay… don’t say like this.” She sobbed.

“What should I say then… should I thank you for what you did to me?” Vijay was almost
shouting.

“Vijay please… don’t speak to me like this...” Nayana was almost begging in front of Vijay.

“then why did you come here?” Vijay asked rudely.

“Can’t I even come and meet you? Have I lost that right?” she asked.

“huh…. right?” Vijay laughed.

“I have come to apologise. Vijay… I did a mess of my life... We don’t realize what person means
to you when he is with you. Once he goes far away, then only we realize his importance in our
life.”

“So it’s little early Nayana. Let me go even farther away… to hell.” Vijay said.

“Vijay… please… don’t be rude to me… please forgive me… I was wrong.” Nayana was pleading.

“You were wrong… and I spoiled my entire life because of you… do you realize that?” Vijay was
yelling.

“It’s not that late Vijay… My dad will withdraw your termination and everything will be
alright.” Nayana was reassuring him.

“Your Dad... will he now play with my life as per his whims… one day he will spoil my career and
throw me out and the next day he will be kind enough to withdraw my termination… Is he some
god to do so.” Vijay was in anger.

Vijay’s mother reached the main gate and almost ran inside. Her son was returning after a
month. She was very happy.

But as soon as she reached the gate, she stopped there.

She had heard the noise inside. She was trying to speculate what must have happened inside…
why her son is shouting at top of his voice.

Probably his father and he must have had argument on something.

But it doesn’t seem so.

Then is it with Priya and Rajesh. But argument with Priya is also not possible.

Then it must be Rajesh only. Now-a-days they seem to be always fighting on some or the other
thing.

She silently entered the house. Vijay was in the hall only and was still yelling.

“When I needed you the most… where were you that time? And now... when I have recovered
with the help of Priya... you again came here to spoil all this. I know… you are jealous of Priya….
and… above all….. you should have thought of your marriage at least. I can’t believe you are not
bothered about that also.”

“Yes… now I understand…. I heard something about this earlier also… One who you married...
he ditched you... right? He was already married… isn’t it… you wanted someone working
abroad… you and your rude father… you got a good lesson… selfish people… I don’t have any
sympathy for you now.”

Vijay was waving his hands looking at the chair. Vijay’s mother looked for that another person
in the hall. But she was shocked to find no one around. She collapsed on the ground. She did
not have energy to speak anything.

“You bitch… get out from here. And don’t ever come here again.” Vijay was still shouting.
He was fuming with anger. He did not even realize that his mother had arrived. Vijay’s mother
again and again wanted to confirm whether there is someone around or Vijay was blabbering
with himself only. At this moment she hoped that Nayana was here.

Vijay’s mother controlled herself and got up. Still Vijay did not acknowledge her presence.
Now she deliberately called her son to wake him up from his day-dreaming. She called, “Son...
when did you come?”

Vijay turned and looked at his mother. But he didn’t look happy to see his mother after a
month.

“Look.. who has come… this bitch... she has come here again to spoil our lives.” Vijay shouted.

Now his mother could not control herself. She ran to the chair and kicked it hard to show him
that no one was sitting on it. She screamed, “Look here... do you see someone sitting?” “This is
empty… no one is sitting here.” She said.

Still Vijay was looking at his mother with a question mark on his face. Vijay’s mother collapsed
near the chair and burst into tears.

Continued…

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

Significant difference –Chapter – 42 – Novel Illusion

2011-06-22T15:26:00.000+05:30

Vijay’s mother was cooking. Suddenly she saw Priya coming from the gate. Now-a-days Priya came to Vijay’s house with a free mind as his behavior for her was totally changed. On the contrary, he used to be waiting for Priya. It was quite obvious that Priya also liked that. Vijay had now realized the strength of their relationship.

“come… my child…” Vijay’s mother welcomed her.

Priya was happy to see satisfaction and happiness on Vijay’s mother’s face after a very long time. There was certainly a reason behind this happiness and it was sufficient for all of them. But unfortunately there was no one with Vijay’s mother who could celebrate it. Vijay’s sister was not in her senses and his father behaved as if the nothing mattered for him.

“Where is Vijay?” Priya asked.

“dear… I am very happy today.” mother said.

“Yes… anyone can guess it aunty…. Your expressions are speaking more than your words… and I am happy to see that.” Priya said.

“Today Vijay has stepped out of the house after a long time…. It’s your magic Priya… he behaves very normal now-a-days… he takes all the medicines also regularly.” Vijay’s mother was delighted.

Priya also could identify significant difference in Vijay’s behavior. Probably medicines were working well on him. And this positive effect only motivated him to be regular in his treatment. And now it was difficult to say whether it was medicine or his realization only which was helping him overcome the situation. Whatever it may be… Vijay was responding well to the treatment and was cooperating with the Doctor also.

“If he takes medicines regularly like this…. he will be cured very soon.” Priya chirped.

“May god bless you my child…” Vijay’s mother sounded grateful. She had seen something positive in her house after a very long time. Otherwise everything was going negative. And she wanted to celebrate this little thing also in her life.

Priya was busy with a patient in her clinic. But her entire attention was at the main door. The clock showed the time when Vijay used to come to her clinic every day. Now-a-days, he regularly visited her at her clinic. Suddenly she saw Vijay coming inside hurriedly.

“Priya … guess what… I am very happy today..” Vijay lifted Priya in joy.

“hey hey… Vijay … what happened… let me complete my work.” Priya sneaked at the patient and blushed.

“You don’t know Priya… how happy I am today.” He rested her down and said.

“Any blind also can make that out.. but let me know at least … what happened.”Priya asked.

“See this.” He handed over a letter to Priya and continued, “I have got a job.”

“Amazing… Congratulations! Show me…” Priya took the letter and said.

Actually it was Priya only who was behind Vijay’s success in getting a job… not directly but indirectly. Though medicines were helping him recover from the instability, but still Vijay was clueless about his future. Looking at the circumstances he had lost the last job in, it was absolutely impossible to get back into that. Priya had met Vijay’s boss and requested him to take Vijay back, but he was quite firm on his decision. In fact, now Nayana was married and besides she was not there in the office. It was not very difficult for him to take Vijay back. But revoking the termination order was now against his ego. And perhaps he did not want any grapevine regarding this; hence he did not take this chance.

Realizing this, Priya was contemplating option of searching for some other job. Vijay was adamant to work in the same town as it could have enabled him to stay with his family. But getting a job suiting his caliber was little difficult in that town. Hence, it was quite evident that he had to look for some relocation option. And Priya succeeded in convincing him the same and making him apply for other jobs.

She succeeded in driving away his insistence on staying in the same town and try for jobs outside. But he would have required a clean experience certificate for that. She tried for that also. She again met Vijay’s boss and requested him to give a clear experience certificate. She had to really persuade him for that. But she proved that if one is determined, the success comes his way. Moreover she had to manage everything without letting Vijay know this, as she wanted him to be away from these tensions.

Finally she was happy that what she had fought for, she achieved that. Vijay had to rise like a phoenix and start his life with a new beginning. And the best part was that he had got a suitable job in this town only… just he had to occasionally go on business tours.

Vijay was waiting for the bus at the stand. His bag was kept on his left, and on his right Priya was standing with a gloomy face. Vijay also looked little upset.

“It’s matter of just one month Priya… I can’t help… it’s my duty…” Vijay was consoling Priya.

“One Month…” Priya emphasized on one.. “You would not mind it… but I do.” Priya said.

Suddenly Vijay got an idea. “If you also accompany me….”, Vijay groped.

“No… Vijay… do you think my dad will allow me to come with you. He is already upset with our relationship.. and…..” Priya paused.

“He is also right… Priya…. Which father will let his daughter waste her entire life for a mentally unstable man like me…. Can you give him some fake reason and come?” Vijay was stuck to his request.

“Ok…. Do one thing… you go ahead. I will think of something. Further I have to make some alternate arrangement for my clinic also.” Priya chuckled.

Suddenly they saw bus arriving. Vijay lifted his bag and confirmed, “Sure…?”
Both of them headed to the bus.

“I can’t promise… because it all depends on how I can make arrangement for my clinic.. But I will try my best.” Priya said while accompanying him to the bus gate.

“Nothing doing…. You have to come. I will wait for you.” Vijay said, boarding the bus.

Bus departed. Vijay waived his hand out of the window and shouted, “I will wait for you.”

“Take your medicines regularly.” Priya reminded.

Vijay was leaving him and Priya stood there for quite a long time watching him go away from her.

Continued…

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

Suffer - Chapter 41 – Novel Illusion

2011-06-21T09:55:00.000+05:30

Priya regularly visited Vijay’s house but they didn’t speak to each other. She sometimes pretended everything to be normal and attempted speaking to him, but Vijay was adamant on his silence. Actually, he was quite stubborn about his recently developed opinion about Priya. Moreover whenever Priya tried speaking to him, he insulted her. Lately, her mere visit was enough for him to insult her.

To avoid this, Priya had started visiting Vijay’s mother mostly in evenings when he used to sleep. At times when she used to find Vijay awake, she tried returning as soon as possible.
One day when Vijay was sleeping, Priya reached his house. She was sitting on a wooden chair. Suddenly she saw Vijay coming from inside, which was quite unexpected for her. She got scared to see Vijay because now-a-days his behaviour was quite offensive. He suddenly used to insult her without any reason. Hence, she avoided confronting Vijay.

But today confrontation looked inescapable. She could not even leave abruptly. Finally she decided to confront Vijay, but deliberately avoided looking at him. She was gazing at the gate.
Priya was quite surprised to find that unlike usual, Vijay did not offend her or avoid speaking to her today; rather he came and stood nearby.

Today, perhaps she had to face something even worse. Priya was alarmed. She looked for someone who could save her from this situation. Normally if Vijay’s mother was around, she could have avoided this unwelcome moment.

“Priya…”, she heard a feeble voice of Vijay.

She could not believe, hence to confirm, she turned her head a bit and sneaked at Vijay.
To her surprise, it was Vijay only, who was calling her.
She heard such a mild tone after quite a long time. Still Priya could not dare to look at Vijay. She was tired of Vijay’s hatred for her. She could face anything but not Vijay’s hatred.
Vijay pulled another chair and sat beside her.

What is he going to talk? He was insulting me for these many days…. at times through his eyes or by his words. Today he seemed to say something even worse… probably he will ask me to stop visiting his house. Priya was trying to evaluate his stance.

But how so ever insulting he behaves, she could not have stopped coming to his house. Because she was aware that he is not in senses to realize what he speaks. And she needed to give him a patient ear.

She decided to be strong and kept sitting on the chair.
Vijay pulled her chair nearer to Priya.

Priya got goose bumps. It was ages when Vijay sat so close to her last. But previously, she was just thrilled to find him so close… and today it was a spine-chilling experience.

“How much will you suffer for us?” he started.

Priya was unable to understand what he meant. Was he sarcastic in his voice?

“Its matter of you entire life…. why do you want to waste your life for us… for a mentally unstable person like me.” he continued.

He was certainly not sarcastic.

But still she could not understand what he wants to say. Hence, she avoided looking at him.

“Truly we behave stupid…. we keep on searching for true love outside, while it is always very close to us only.” He said in his philosophical way.

Priya was still looking around. But it was not for avoiding confrontation with Vijay, now it was to hide her tears. She could clearly identify streak of repentance in his voice. He was speaking with her after so many days… in his old good philosophical way. Priya was still trying hard to hide her tears.

“I do not deserve a let off.” He said.

Now Priya could not stop herself.

“I have tortured you a lot… Please forgive….”

Priya at once got up from her chair. Vijay also stood up. Priya quickly kept her hand on Vijay’s mouth. She was all tears.

Vijay’s eyes were also flooded with tears. He was not able to speak.

“Will you forgive me?....” he tried to remove Priya’s hand and asked her.

Both of them felt as if they are meeting after a very long time… and they burst out into tears in each other’s embrace.

Continued..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

I am not insane- Chapter – 40- Novel

2011-06-20T09:54:00.000+05:30

Priya and Rajesh made sure that they meet Vijay’s mother once in every three or four days, so that they could convince her about the treatment and its benefits. This was one point agenda of their lives now-a-days. As a result of their persistent efforts, Vijay’s mother got ready to support them and convince Vijay to go for treatment. Actually she also needed some time to recover from the shock. And such frequent meetings with Priya and Rajesh helped her all the more to do so. When she was fully convinced about the solution to this problem, she became keen to help both of them.

Vijay’s mother proved to be a strong catalyst for him to go for sittings with Dr. Nadkarni. First Vijay was reluctant to accommodate. Doctor suggested some medicines for him, but exercising the medication was a trouble, as he denied the gravity of the problem. Vijay’s mother only could do that by giving it through some drinks or in food etc.

Medicines were very important as they showed quick results as soon as the dose was started. Gradually Vijay’s aggression and impulsive behavior came very much under control. He could prevent himself from becoming violent. Previously, he frequently used to be irritated or anxious without any reason. But now his behavior was quite controlled and predictable. Now he used to sleep or sit silent for a maximum time in a day. Probably it was spell of the medicines.

One day, Vijay was engrossed in his thoughts, sitting in his house. At the same time, Rajesh entered and handed over an envelope to Vijay. Then immediately he turned and headed to go.

Vijay, trying to stop him, called him, “What’s this?”

“You only open that.” Rajesh answered and left.

Probably Rajesh wanted to avoid speaking to Vijay, as this could have led to argument between them. Now-a-days Rajesh used to come to Vijay’s house, but he made sure to avoid speaking with Vijay, as their normal chatting also led to a quarrel. Today Rajesh was perhaps quite sure of an argument; hence, he opted to be silent. Vijay looked at that envelope.

What was there in the envelope? Vijay was thinking.

Probably it must be a call letter for some interview. But how did Rajesh get it? Possibly he must have referred me somewhere. Or Priya must have given this to Rajesh. I am, any which ways, not speaking to her.

He slowly opened the envelope. It was someone’s marriage invitation card.

“Whose invitation it would be?” Vijay was anxious. He started reading the card without wasting more time. Suddenly his mother came from inside.

“Whose invitation card is this?” Vijay’s mother asked.

Vijay did not speak anything; he just gave the card to his mother.

“Whose card is this? Please read that out to me.” Vijay’s mother requested.

Vijay looked dejected. He tried to hide it and said, “Its Nayana’s marriage invitation card.”

“I told you…. now wake up. Get rid of your feelings for that girl…. We are nowhere close to them… We should know our limits…. You overlooked Priya’s feelings, who is madly in love with you. Had it been some other girl, she would have left such an insane boy like you.” Vijay’s mother went on speaking.

Vijay was already in a shock. Over that his mother also taunted him like this.

“Mother… I am not insane… at least you trust me.” Vijay could not control his tears.

Vijay’s mother realized that she has been very brutal to her child.

She went near Vijay and kept her hand on his head. She said, “My child… it’s bitter but it’s true. We can’t ignore the truth… What have you done to yourself… just look at you. Your father is always drunk… all the day… your sister is mentally disturbed… and now you… if you also behave like this… who should I look up to?” Vijay’s mother was weeping.

Today Vijay also vented out and he rested on his mother’s shoulder. He remembered the day, when he was in sixth standard and one day his father had beaten him up without any reason. That day also he cried like this. Vijay’s mother was caressing him like a child and she was also into tears.

She remembered her old days… when Vijay was born… after which her miseries came to an end.

She got married and later she gave birth to her first child… a girl child. Her mother-in-law wanted a boy… and hence, she started harassing Vijay’s mother. As if this harassment will make her give birth to a boy. She looked up to her husband for support. But her husband was also not at all compassionate. Though he did not drink previously, but he was not a caring husband. He used to spend his entire day outside. When Vijay’s mother was pregnant the second time, she feared whether the baby was a girl or a boy. However, her husband was not at all bothered about this.

But when Vijay was born… his mother could breathe freely. That day the hell came to an end. Her mother-in-law also changed her behavior completely. She was not the same lady, as she seemed after the daughter’s birth.

Suddenly Vijay’s mother came out of her trance. Someone was there at the main gate.
“Go… go in… freshen up a little bit.. I will check who’s there.” Saying this, Vijay’s mother came outside. Vijay wiped his eyes. He felt light after a long while. For all these days, he was feeling trapped and suffocated, and today he felt like before.

Probably I am changed… I was not this weak before… and I could not be so fragile to cry like a child.

Then what’s wrong with me? It feels as if I am getting more and more entangled in a trap. But I should accept that something is wrong somewhere.

And I should do something to get back to normal… as in my old days… I should set myself free.

And now… he had truly decided.

Continued…

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

Wreckage – Chapter – 39 – Novel - Illusion

2011-06-16T23:14:00.000+05:30

Priya tried taking Vijay to Dr. Nadkarni’s clinic for treatment, but that attempt was a total failure. Dr. Nadkarni had called him second time for the course of treatment. But Vijay was not at all ready to go and see him. Moreover, he had reprimanded Priya and accused her of such harsh allegations. Priya had to listen to all his bitter talks. Vijay was not at all ready to accept that he has some psychiatric problem and that he badly needs doctor’s assistance. On the other hand, Priya was determined to help him and his family. However, she was unable to find any way out to arrange Vijay’s another sitting with Dr. Nadkarni.
But Priya was hopeful. She continued her own practice as she knew that she needs that money desperately. She needs it to save Vijay from wreckage. But could money only help?

One day Priya was busy with her patients in her clinic. Rajesh and his wife came there for a regular course of check-up.

“Please come in….. Rajesh… Kamal… please come.” Priya got up to welcome them.

Rajesh and his wife were sitting in front of Priya at her clinic. Changes in Kamal were quite apparent as pregnancy hormones took over her entire body.

“How are you? And how’s our sweet little baby…. he must not be bothering you as of now.” Priya observed Kamal’s belly and inquired.

“Bothering her? He doesn’t spare his father also…he kicks me some times.” Rajesh jumped in the conversation. This made Kamal go red in the face.

“Ok… come… let me check you once.” Priya indicated Kamal to go behind the curtain.

While the checkup was going on, Rajesh was observing Priya’s cabin. Last time when he came here, he took out an adorable picture of small kids from the wall… and that place was still vacant. Probably Priya must not have got time to replace it.

Truly, she couldn’t have been thinking about such meager things, when her entire life is shattered.
Vijay’s termination…. his mental status…. whatever was going on with Vijay was ruining Priya’s life also…. probably with greater intensity. This was because Priya loved Vijay. Even if Vijay didn’t know that, Rajesh was well aware about this fact.

While Rajesh was in these thoughts, Kamal and Priya came out and it broke his string.

“Nothing to worry…. but it’s unavoidable for you to come for a regular checkup. This way, we can take care of every small development happening inside you.” Priya said.

Kamal understood what Priya was pointing to. She clarified that she had gone to her mother’s place for few days in between, and thus she could not come for a checkup meanwhile.

“But you should have gone to some other doctor there.” Priya asked.

“Absolutely. We went to other doctor there and he also said that everything is normal.” Rajesh clarified.

“Then… its fine. I will prescribe some medicines. Take them regularly and come for checkups without fail. One more thing… you need to be happy always… avoid tensions. In fact, I should not be telling you all this specially.” Priya said.

“By the way, I always keep her happy and content… isn’t it?” Rajesh winked at his wife.
Kamal also responded with a cute blushing smile.

“Did you meet Vijay recently?” Priya asked Rajesh while writing the prescription.

No-one spoke for a while after Priya asked this. Suddenly a gloomy streak got into the air. Rajesh could not understand how to answer this question.

“Yes… I met him once…. but now-a-days he does not seem to be in his senses. God only knows what he means to say. He says that Priya is taking revenge on me….. I almost scolded him for that and clearly said that if he thinks so… I am not interested speaking to him anymore.” Rajesh said.

“Rajesh… after all he is our friend. Currently his mental health is not sound…. And we are the ones who need to understand his condition and help him. Priya tried to simplify things for Rajesh. Rajesh also accepted his mistake.

“Yes … I was rude with him… but frankly speaking, I can’t see his condition…. He is such an intelligent boy and he has to face such a disaster. Actually I was upset with his fate… but I vented on him only.” Rajesh snuffled.
Priya also got tears in her eyes, but she controlled herself. She pretended to have forgotten something behind the curtain but Rajesh knew that she is pacifying herself.

But soon Priya came out and said, “I am worried for a fact that though we know his condition and its cure, yet we are helpless. How should I take him in confidence and make him ready for the treatment?”

“I also tried to suggest him about the treatment…. But when I saw that he is not listening to me, I lost my control.” Rajesh said.

“At least he speaks to you…. but he has totally cut me…. Still I go to his house like a shameless.” Priya sighed.

“Then why don’t you take his mother into confidence… probably he will listen to his mother.” Rajesh’s wife, who was quiet for all this while, suggested.
Rajesh and Priya both first looked at her and then at each other.

“When Vijay started his sister’s treatment, he took his mother only into confidence. But now she also doesn’t seem to be of any help…” Priya was disheartened.

“At least we can meet her once and speak to her about this.” Rajesh suggested Priya.

As decided, the next day itself, Priya and Rajesh went to Vijay’s house in his absence. Both of them explained Vijay’s mother about his problem and its treatment. Vijay’s mother listened to them for a while, but after some time, suddenly she broke into tears. Perhaps, it was an end of her endurance.

“Dear… I understand what you are trying to say…. but my second child is also mentally ill. You can’t even think of what I am going through.” Vijay’s mother tried controlling herself.

“But Aunty… we need to face the situation.” Rajesh consoled her. “If he takes medicines regularly… he can be cured. Dr. Nadkarni has said so.”

“But dear…. look at his father…. he squanders all the money in liquor…. rest of the money goes in my daughter’s treatment… Vijay is also jobless now… I don’t understand what to do… What all I have to see now…. I don’t understand.” Vijay’s mother was sobbing.

“Aunty… don’t worry about money… leave that to me… I will manage… you just make Vijay ready for the treatment.” Priya patted on aunt’s hand and consoled her.

Continued…

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

I didn’t expect this from you - Chapter-38 – Novel Illusion

2011-06-15T20:57:00.000+05:30

Now Priya was desperate to meet Vijay. So she came to Vijay’s house. She saw him engrossed into some thoughts.

“Hello Vijay…. What are you thinking?” asked Priya.

“Oh Priya…No…nothing”, Vijay came out from his trance and answered.

“No…there is something going on in your mind….usually I haven’t seen you so immersed into your thoughts…. you didn’t even notice me coming here.” Priya.

“Nothing Priya… Today I am feeling little unusual.” Vijay.

“Unusual…means?” Priya.

“Don’t know… I am not able to understand… but there is something different today.” Vijay.

Priya found this as the best time to talk about this.

“Recently you often feel like that …right?”

“Yes…Many a times? Almost every day……” Vijay.

“Means you feel scared or irritated, without any reason…. right?” Priya

“Yes, you are right… but how do you know?” Vijay

“Vijay…do I know you today…. Even if you miss one heart beat, I come to know.” Priya imparted her emotions innocently. And she eagerly waited for Vijay’s reaction on this.

But Vijay was in his daze only. He said, “I think it’s because I am jobless now a days…. totally idle”

“I have an idea.” Priya tried to strike the topic.

“Idea? What idea?” Vijay.

“I can’t tell you here… let’s go out somewhere…for a walk…. we will be able to chat there freely.” Priya.

“Out? For a walk? …..Ok let’s go.” Vijay got up and headed to the door.

Priya ployed for a walk but she got him to Dr. Nadkarni’s clinic.

“Hey Vijay… this is our Dr. Nadkarni…. and trust me…he is a genius…” Priya pointed to Dr. Nadkarni’s board.

“I see… but I don’t think that anyone else is more talented and genius than you are.” Vijay teased.

“Oh is it? How do you know that I am talented..…and by the way….. I am a gynecologist… you cannot have that experience.” Priya also grinned.

“Oh ya…that’s right” Vijay laughed. “But to be sure of one’s talent, it’s not compulsory to experience it.”

“Then?” Priya.

“Priya…one has to just look at you …and he will know that you are a genius.” Vijay was constantly pulling her leg.

“Vijay…no one can beat you in talking… I swear…” Priya said.

Suddenly Vijay remembered Nayana because he too always praised her like this.
Vijay was immersed deep into his thoughts. And Priya did not want to lose this chance.

“Ok common…let’s go in.” Priya changed the topic. She anyhow wanted to take Vijay to Dr. Nadkarni.

“Inside?” Vijay was astonished. “Is it important to go in?”

“Oh no… nothing important as such… Just a casual visit………let’s go and meet him once.” Priya said.

Vijay went in unwillingly. Dr. Nadkarni saw them coming. He wore a pleasant smile on his face and got up to welcome them, “Please come in.”

Both of them entered the cabin. Dr. Nadkarni asked Priya to wait outside.

“Yes Sir…” Priya answered with respect. She turned to the reception area and sat on the sofa kept there.

Vijay could not understand what was going on. He apprehensively stared at Priya.

“Just go in...” Priya pacified him.

Vijay reluctantly went inside and the door of the cabin got closed.

Vijay was in for quite a long time. And Priya was waiting outside.
She wanted Vijay to spend more and more time inside with Dr. Nadkarni. She was sure that it would be for his betterment only. They will get good opportunity to discuss the problem.

Vijay came out after about an hour and a half. He gestured Priya to get up and walk out with him.

“Let me say him goodbye.” Priya said heading towards the cabin.

Vijay obstructed him and said, “No need to do that.”

Priya was little shocked to see Vijay reacting in such a manner. She followed him without uttering a word. Her heart was pounding. What would have happened inside…. with the doctor?…how will she come to know about it?

Vijay was walking very fast and after a while, he reached far ahead of Priya. Realizing this, he stopped and waited for her. This gesture made her a little relaxed. Probably he would have calmed a little bit.

But as soon as Priya joined him, he started walking again silently. For a long time, they kept mum. Priya found him disturbed and hence, she also decided to keep quiet. But in between she was sneaking at him with a hope that he would say something.

Suddenly Vijay broke out with anger, “What does he think of himself?”

“Why?....What happened?” Priya groped.

“This is how he is utilizing his so called Doctor degree?” he again frowned.

“But what happened…can you please be clear? Priya asked him.

“Priya…he wanted to prove me mentally ill…..he did not find anyone else since morning I think.” Vijay shouted.

“Vijay…. A doctor has to evaluate each and every aspect of the case…it’s his duty to diagnose fully before starting the treatment on the patients.” Priya explained.

“Treatment? You too?” Vijay stopped and stared at Priya as she defended the Doctor.
Priya could feel Vijay’s skeptical looks.

“Oh Vijay…. Not like that. We ourselves are unaware of few things that happen to us...But you need to agree that you need psychiatric treatment badly.” Priya said further.

“What?...I need a psychiatric treatment?”Vijay was fuming. But the next moment, he controlled himself and said, “I didn’t expect this from you.”

Vijay was frowning with anger. Priya followed him silently.
After a while Vijay again stopped as if he remembered something. He turned and said, “Now I understand everything….”

He again started walking. Priya found it hard to catch him, she almost screamed, “Please stop Vijay.”

Suddenly he stopped ahead and turned. He said, “Now I know everything….You are jealous….I love Nayana and not you…you can’t digest this….and hence you are trying to prove me mentally ill….Oh god…how you can go to this level…I can’t believe….” Vijay was blabbering in anger.

Priya was getting hurt with each word of Vijay. She was being accused of such a serious allegation….and that too by someone whom she loved so much.

Priya couldn’t control and she burst into tears.

Continued…

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Mugdha Apte

Hallucinations – Chapter – 37 – Novel - Illusion

2011-06-13T22:27:00.002+05:30

Priya narrated all the happenings till now to Dr. Nadkarni. She was feeling very despondent …. very low.

“I see”, Dr. Nadkarni thought for a while and responded.

“But whatever he blabbers, there should be some way to find what is wrong and what is right out of it? Priya asked.

“Priya….That’s next to impossible…because these patients are in delusion state … where reality and imagination is muddled up…. they believe that whatever they imagine is real…and hence, they themselves are not able to differentiate between real and imaginary.” explained Dr. Nadkarni.

“it means, whatever he tells about Nayana is his imagination.” Priya asked.

“Quite possible…but some things can be real also.” Dr. Nadkarni answered.

“But why does it happen Dr. Nadkarni…and its tragic that it has happened with Vijay…. He is very talented …he cares for his family…and his family needs him…. Why should it happen with him only?..” Priya was depressed.

“Not only Vijay, but anyone who faces this, is under great pressure. It’s tragic.” Dr. Nadkarni consoled her.

“But there should be some reason behind this disorder.” Priya asked.

“Yes…there may be ample of reasons…huge stress, pressure….weak physical and mental status of the person….anything….anything may be the reason..”

None of them spoke for a while.

“Yes…and addition to it, it might be hereditary also.” Dr. Nadkarni continued.
“True doctor… Vijay’s case is hereditary only, as his sister is also facing some psychiatric disorder.” Priya jumped with this information.

Priya was getting more and more concerned about Vijay.

“Oh…it means his sister is also having the same problem…” Dr. Nadkarni was staring in void and was occupied with some thought.

“What’s her exact problem…and since when this problem persists.” Dr. Nadkarni asked.

“Almost the same problem doctor….and it’s been there for past…. at least….7 to 8 years….and it’s aggravating in recent times…” Priya said.

“Did Vijay show any such signs, before also sometime? I mean any maniac attack or hallucinations…any history?” Dr Nadkarni asked.

“Not to the best of my knowledge…I think it’s the first time he is exhibiting all this.” Priya informed.

Dr. Nadkarni thought something and said, “I think it’s a clear case of schizophrenia… it is beginning of that….when patients react in similar manner…hallucinating etc…..”

“It means that surely it is a hereditary problem.” Priya gasped.

“yes….it seems so.” Dr. Nadkarni.

“But can we do anything about it… any cure…?” Priya tried to sound hopeful.

“Don’t worry Priya… Medical Science has progressed a lot… Even if it is a hereditary problem …. there is surely a cure available to this disorder…. But there is a problem with these patients.” Dr. Nadkarni.

“Probem? Is it financial Doctor?”

“No…not financial…”

“Then”

“Priya…it’s very important that we take patients into confidence and then start the treatment. They need to know that they are suffering from some disorder. They should be ready for this treatment and should make an effort to get cured.” Dr. Nadkarni explained.

“What so ever it takes doctor…I will take him into confidence. I will make him ready for this treatment.” Priya was hopeful.

“Yes.. I think… even if it is difficult.. you should not find any difficulty…because you yourself are a doctor…and our patient is also educated and intelligent.” Dr. Nadkarni was constantly encouraging Priya.

Again it was silent for quite a while.

“Ok… how is his sister now…means is there any treatment going on… and she is responding to that treatment?” Dr. Nadkarni.

“It’s not as expected doctor…but still much satisfactory…Actually…. Vijay took the responsibility of his sister’s treatment, after he got the job…. Probably, she would have taken some time to recover, as the treatment in her case was delayed. But now god only knows what will happen to her. Vijay was the only earning member in their family…everything was depended on him ….and Vijay has lost his job recently…. And you know his mental status now.” Priya was boggled with all these problems.

“Dr. Nadkarni was worried hearing this.

“But doctor.. there is nothing to worry… now I am there… I will take care of everything.. I will help them.” Priya said.

“Yes, that’s better.” said doctor.

Continued…

Original Novel – Sunil Doiphode
English Version – Mugdha Apte

Chapter 36 – Ashok Park – Novel – Illusion

2011-06-12T09:43:00.000+05:30

When Priya left Nayana’s house, she was all the more confused. She had epitomized Nayana on the basis of Vijay’s conversation, but she did not match with that image at all. Priya doubted that even if this relationship went further, would it sustain for a longer time?

Was Vijay at fault by selecting Nayana as her life partner? Probably he wanted to be associated with a high class family….perhaps from point of view of his career… or family’s future….but ……. he was surely doing a blunder. Even if this reason is justified, was Vijay sure of benefitting out of this association or he would have been hurled far away from his family.

Or as Vijay said, were those people pretending of disapproval in front of me.

Surely, they must be pretending only. And moreover, it was quite conflicting with what Vijay had described about them, it is obvious that they are pretending to be so. Priya was juggling with her positive and negative thoughts.
But she was still not convinced about the reason behind this pretention. In short, she was boggled to the core. Hence, she decided to involve Rajesh to clear this chaos.

Priya had deliberately called Rajesh and Vijay both in Ashok Park today. Priya and Rajesh both reached early so as to discuss the happenings beforehand, which could have not been possible in Vijay’s presence.

Vijay had still not arrived. Priya stated the entire story to Rajesh.

“Look Rajesh, I have heard both the sides and also have understood them well. But still…. I am not able to conclude anything out of it. They don’t match each other.” Priya summed up the confusion.

“Ok, it means… according to Nayana, Vijay is lying” deduced Rajesh.

“Vijay won’t lie for sure. I am sure about it.” Priya said and Rajesh also agreed with her.

“Then why Nayana is lying” was Priya’s question.

Rajesh was packed with thoughts - If Nayana and Vijay undergo a breakup, it would be good only. At least Priya will have a chance to be close to Vijay.

Actually he was very happy with the situation but he could not have been verbose about it.

“As you described about Nayana, it’s better for both of them to break up.”Rajesh worded his opinion.

“What? How can you say this? …Today Vijay has lost his love and job also. You should be thinking of some way-out and on the contrary you are happy about events.” Priya was angry.

“Then you tell me what I should say... Vijay has completely changed since he has got the job...He is not ready to understand who is friend and who is foe.” Rajesh also got angry.

“But Rajesh, please understand, this time is not to fight over these issues.” , Priya requested him.

Rajesh kept quiet. And both of them waited for Vijay. This was the first time when Priya and

Rajesh were discussing something about Vijay. On the contrary, Vijay was the one who sorted

out these people’s problems. He was a guide and guru to both of them. And today he needed guidance...Priya was comparing the situations.

“She should be under her father’s pressure” concluded Priya and Rajesh.

“Yes you are right..... I could clearly see her stressed face.” Priya said.

“Or she must be having some restraints due to which she was lying.”Rajesh added.

“What restraints you are talking about?” Priya.

“Or they must be giving themselves some time before they come to some conclusion.” Rajesh.

“But why so?” Priya

“Because she might get someone else ... probably better than Vijay.” Rajesh.

“But how can she behave like that?” Priya.

“Priya … these high class people are very indifferent...they keep all the options open... and once they get the best choice, they don’t hesitate to leave the earlier ones.” Rajesh.

“Yes... I also felt that they are unemotional. It was clear when I entered their house. But still they can go to this level, I can’t believe.” Priya.

Suddenly they saw Vijay coming from the front gate.

“What is this...So late?” Rajesh looked at his watch.

“Excuse me...I am not late.. I came well in time...exact IST...you people came early...as usual.” Vijay laughed.

Priya looked at her watch. Vijay was late by half an hour. Usually he was not late. And even if he was, he used to apologize. But today, he was very casual in his attitude. It’s probably love which has made him so indifferent. Priya was occupied with ifs and buts.

They all sat on a bench nearby.

Everyone was quite. Vijay broke the silence and asked, “What’s special then... why did you call me here? Rajesh is also here, it means it’s serious.”

“Ok … it means that I am there only when something serious happens”, Rajesh was irritated by this comment.

“Why do you get angry buddy?...even if it is correct...still it’s better than going to someone’s funeral...right? Vijay was sarcastic.

Rajesh was irritated to the core and he could not think of any answer.

“Why do you talk of such murky things Vijay?” Priya also joined Rajesh.
“Everyone has to die some day...so why to get worried of death?” Vijay.

Priya was happy to see Vijay in his same old philosophical mood again.

Priya hid those expressions and hitting the target she continued, “ I went to Nayana’s house”.

“Oh! Nayani’s house? …. What did she say?” Vijay asked.

‘Nayani’ . This showed Vijay’s acute feelings for Nayana.

Rajesh did not like Vijay addressing Nayana as Nayani.

“Her side of story is totally different.” Priya fumbled.

“What does she say? We don’t support dowry and all.” Vijay was trying to be humorous.

“Vijay, be serious…. Please. It’s not as simple as it looks to be.” Priya stopped him.

Rajesh avoided talking in between. He thought that this could have led the topic astray.

“Then what does she say?” Vijay asked again.

“She says that …. She doesn’t love you… I asked her directly….on the contrary she says that she doesn’t believe in such feelings. These are useless and cheap emotions according to her.” Priya insisted on ‘cheap’.

“Vijay suddenly laughed and said, “exactly…that’s what I am trying to explain you…she is also involved with her father in this drama. They are pretending…. Many a times they start behaving such in office also and you should see the boggled reactions of my colleagues.”

“And they have not stopped here only. They have engaged one spy on me. He spies me all the time….and he observes me the whole day… where do I go … who do I meet…. What do I do…. Everything he observes.” Vijay said.

Priya and Rajesh were confused. Vijay further said, “it seems you don’t trust me…anyways… you are not at fault. Ok.. come…come with me for a minute.”

Vijay made them get up from that place and asked them to stand behind a tree.

“Stand here only and look … Outside the compound wall… can you see a car parked outside… its one of our colleague’s car… and he is still spying on me… look at him.” Vijay was telling.

Priya and Rajesh saw in the direction indicated by Vijay. But they could neither see any car or any person standing there and spying on Vijay. They both uttered out of curiosity, “Where?”

Priya was concerned about Vijay and Rajesh was not able to understand anything.

“Oh look outside.. you will see that car…Ok…. let it be.”

“Oh..ho”, exclaimed Vijay with joy. “Look, Nayana herself is here. Ask her here in my presence whether she loves me or not.” Vijay indicated at the lawn’s gate.

Rajesh and Priya tried again to locate her, but they couldn’t.

“Nayana??? Where is she?” Rajesh had never seen Nayana, so he was curious to see her.

But Priya had met Nayana once. However, she also was not able to trace Nayana near the gate.
And to their surprise, there was not a single person near the gate.

“You people are blind or what? Can’t you see Nayana there”, Vijay again pointed in the same direction.

Rajesh was totally confused. He was just staring at Vijay, Priya and that gate.

Unlike Rajesh, Priya was quick enough to understand the entire chaos. She was shocked. Now everything was clear before her. All the past memories ran through her mind. Vijay…. Rajesh’s party…. Vijay’s schizophrenic sister…. her hallucinations….her cries….her horrifying face … everything. Priya was horrified.

She recollected Vijay giving description of his sister, “My sister was alright till she was 21. Then god knows what happened, she became paranoid.”

“My God!” Priya cried.

“What happened?” Rajesh shouted.

Probably Priya was convinced of what Nayana said to her.

Continued..

Original Novel – Sunil Doiphode
English Version – Mugdha Apte

Chapter - 35 - Don’t you think you are at fault? - Novel - Illusion

2011-06-10T20:15:00.002+05:30

Priya entered the bungalow and headed straight to the main door. The door was still closed and despite an intimation, there was nobody to receive her. It was little unsolicited for her. She expected someone, probably Nayana herself, as she had already introduced herself to be Vijay’s friend. But there was no sign of acknowledgement. She halted at the closed door.
Probably Nayana must be busy in some work. For that reason, she is taking time to come. Priya presumed.
She had waited for a long time, but nobody came out. So Priya had to press the bell and wait for the door to open. Meanwhile she took a glance at the verandah wherein she was standing. Here also she could find expensive furniture and fixtures…evidently matching with a manager’s status and life style. After a while, she could hear someone opening the door. A beautiful lady was standing in the door. It must be Nayana. Her beauty was charming enough to fascinate someone. Priya felt little jealous. Though she was also good looking, but Nayana’s beauty was even more adorned by her life style and standard. On the other hand Priya was so busy that she was not able to pamper herself.
“Hi…This is Priya….Vijay’s friend.” Priya introduced herself. “And I guess you are Nayana… right?” she continued.
“Yes… I am Nayana.” Nayana confirmed. “Please come in.” There was a subtle humbleness in her voice.
Everything inside was demonstrating the high class status of Nayana. There was a middle aged person reading newspaper in the drawing room. He must be Nayana’s father.
Nayana gestured her to sit. Priya was feeling awkward in front of that person. Nayana guessed that and whispered, “He is my father.”
Priya could easily observe a discomfort on Nayana’s face due to her father’s presence. Her father probably guessed that, bunched up the newspaper and went in. Priya was sitting on the sofa and Nayana was sitting next to her.
Priya was little hesitant to start. At last she broke the silence and asked, “How are you Nayana?”
Nayana also answered with a smile, “I am fine, thanks.”
Priya continued, “I am coming from Vijay’s house.”
Nayana was just listening to her.
Priya expected that Nayana will take the conversation further by asking about Vijay and show her concern. But she was wrong. Nayana was very cool as if nothing had happened. Priya was confused whether it’s the same Nayana she wanted to meet and whom Vijay loved so much. She also doubted whether she is at the right place. Nothing was going as Priya expected.
Priya was very restless, but she suppressed her emotions. She knew that they are high class people. And loud emotions do not suit them. Yes, it should be the case. Priya was quite uncomfortable with Nayana, but she started the topic straightaway.
“Can I ask you something?” asked Priya.
“Yes please.” Nayana replied calmly.
“I will be very honest and straight forward… do you love Vijay?” Priya hit the bull’s eye.
Nayana waited for a moment. She made herself comfortable and answered to Priya’s question in very subtle manner. She said, “Look Priya, Vijay is very nice and talented guy…We used to work on same project…I always saw him as a good friend of mine. But I think he misunderstood.”
Priya was shocked. As if it was Vijay’s reaction. She could not understand what to say next. But she wanted to leave no doubt hence she continued, “It means, you don’t love him?”. Priya was firm in her voice.
“Frankly, I do not love him…On the contrary…I do not believe in love”. Nayana was frank enough.
Priya was more and more confused. Priya came here to sort any misunderstandings. But the truth was something else. Still Priya wanted to give it a try.
“But Vijay says that you love him….means…he heard you telling this to your friends. And your father also knows about it. He had approved of this.” Priya defended Vijay.
Nayana looked in void and she said firmly, “He is lying.”
“Vijay can’t lie.” Priya immediately responded. “It is not true. He never lies… not even in dreams….how can he lie on such a serious issue?”
Priya found no meaning in further probing Nayana as she was sure that something is wrong somewhere. She was absolutely sure that Vijay won’t lie. On the contrary Nayana looked little boggled as if she is under pressure of her father. Probably because of this, she must be lying. But Nayana’s father also was ready for this marriage. Then what made her disapprove of the fact which Vijay told. Priya was tired of thinking.
“But why is Vijay lying?” Priya again probed Nayana.
“How do I know this?” Nayana was very casual. Now Priya was irritated of this casual attitude. She wanted to grill her with tons of questions. She wanted to ask why Nayana played with Vijay’s emotions. If she never had any feeling for Vijay, why did she provoke him? Why didn’t she stop Vijay when she got first hint of it? Or she wanted to see Vijay hurt and broken.
Priya controlled herself and as there was nothing more to talk, she concluded, “Ok then, I should make a move.”
Nayana also escorted her to the door. Still Priya had a streak of hope. She stopped for a while and said, “Look Nayana… Vijay is very nice fellow and….. you yourself have admitted that. Then why do you want to spoil the relationship? Vijay is a perfect match for you and you will loose him.”
She waited for Nayana’s response on that, but all in vain. She continued, “Don’t you think you are at fault?”
Nayana opted to be silent with a straight face.

Continued …

Original Novel by – Sunil Doiphode
English Version by – Mugdha Apte

A Friend - Chapter-34- Novel - Illusion

2011-06-08T14:07:00.000+05:30

Though Priya left Vijay’s home, yet she certainly was not convinced with Vijay’s justification on his termination. Vijay tried very hard to convince her about the happenings. Generally she was quite sure about Vijay’s convincing power. It was Vijay only who persuaded her to do her post graduation. But today, he did not sound strong enough. Something was wrong somewhere. But she avoided probing it further as Vijay was not at all receptive today. He was hiding something from her.
Priya knew Vijay. He was like an open book to her. But today he was different…was deliberately hiding something from her … probably something not to be shared.
Priya cherished the bond between Vijay and hers. It was something she was proud of. But today it seemed frail. It may be because Vijay was not as open as he used to be. And hence, Priya was not able to connect with him today.

It was probably because Vijay was in love with Nayana and not Priya. But she was aware of this for some time now… so what went wrong today. She was pondering over these thoughts and decided to meet Nayana at her house. But was it correct for her to go to Nayana’s house especially in this situation when Vijay was unaware about this. If he comes to know, he will certainly not let her go to Nayana’s house.

But even if she goes, what is she going to ask her. She doesn’t know Nayana. And if she asks Nayana about the episode, will Nayana tell her the truth…

But Vijay loved Nayana, and Priya was confident of Vijay’s choice. Nayana should be a very mature girl. And it was very important to go and meet Nayana in order to know the fact and truth behind this entire episode.

Priya was in two minds and was not able to decide anything. At one hand she wanted to know everything. For this she was ready to meet Nayana and directly ask her about it. But on the other hand she was scared of its repercussions. If Nayana misconstrues about Vijay and Priya’s relationship.. their mutual relationship could break.

Priya was boggled. She knew Nayana out of Vijay’s conversation only. She did not know her personally.

Probably it was out of jealousy that she wanted to see her once. She verified her feelings, and she was sure that this was not the case. Now everything is beyond jealousy and callousness.
But Priya was still desperate to meet Nayana once, as she was worried for her friend Vijay.
And this proved that Priya still loved Vijay…unconditionally. And Priya herself also could not erase this from her life.
But this would lead to scraping the old wounds. She was sure that those would bleed. She was getting more and more confused.
Finally she decided to stick to her very first thought of going and meeting Nayana once. She headed to go to Nayana’s residence. She took an auto rickshaw to cover that distance.
She directed auto driver about the address which she knew while speaking to Vijay. When she reached the bungalow, she was amazed to see the grandeur of the place. Lush green lawns, pruned shrubs, expensive and ostentatious show pieces…everything seemed to be strikingly picturesque. Unknowingly Priya started to imagine about Nayana’s father and she figured him like a perfect mechanical human being without any emotions…and feelings.
While observing the bungalow, she suddenly recollected that when Vijay called at Nayana’s residence, he was told that Nayana was out of town for few days. Would she have come back till now?
Priya was guessing. But Vijay called some 7 to 8 days ago. She would have come back.
Setting all these thoughts aside, Priya decided to enter the bungalow and confirm whether Nayana is in or not.

When Priya reached the entrance gate, she found a watchman at his duty.

He asked, “Who do you want to meet?” The watchman was rude in his conversation.

“Nayana” Priya was crisp.

“What for?” he again questioned.

Priya knew that one has to be stern while dealing with these people otherwise they take disadvantage of that. And it’s not their fault as they are used to this treatment.

“I need to meet her…for some personal work… I can’t tell you”, replied Priya with stern looks.

Now the watchman softened his attitude and asked, “Madam, what’s your name?”

“Priya”.

The gatekeeper immediately picked the intercom and dialed a number and waited for the answer.

“Madam…there is some Ms. Priya who wants to meet you..” The watchman informed over the phone.

“He listened to the instructions given over the phone and asked Priya further, “Priya….what’s your surname madam?”

“Vijay’s friend… tell her” Priya replied.

After hearing Vijay’s name, the watchman looked at Priya for a moment, and then spoke over the phone, “Madam, she says she is Vijay’s friend.”

After some time he disconnected the call and let Priya in. Priya understood that he knew something about Vijay. Or else he was directed about Vijay. Because when he heard Vijay’s name, a grave streak crept over his face. And Priya did not miss that.

Continued …

Original Novel by – Sunil Doiphode
English Version by – Mugdha Apte

Rich people act different - Chapter-33- Novel Illusion

2011-06-06T23:39:00.002+05:30

Vijay told the story and just kept staring at Priya’s face. But he was actually in trance. Priya was waiting for Vijay to speak ahead.
But Vijay kept quiet. To make him speak, Priya asked, “What happened there after?”

“What next? I told you everything what happened.” Vijay responded.
"No… but why did he terminate you? There must be something which made him take such a disastrous step..something happened in between..” Priya asked.
“then what... it was a holiday the next day. Everybody was fatigued with yester night’s party. I was also relaxing the whole day. And when I went to office the third day, a termination letter was waiting for me at the desk.” Vijay grinned.
“What?… a sudden termination order”
“That’s what… I was also shocked.”
“Without any notice? They must have mentioned something in the letter.” Priya interrogated.
Vijay replied, “They did mention...due to some unavoidable reasons...we have no other option than to terminate you...so as per the rules, we are attaching three months salary cheque with this letter. And a cheque was attached to the letter.”
“Unavoidable reasons? Is there anyone else who is terminated along with?” probed Priya.
No, I tried to investigate. Only I am terminated.”Vijay said.
“Did you try investigating further?” Priya asked.
“Yes...I did..I searched for Nayana... And I came to know that Nayana is on leave for next one week. When I tried to meet Nayana’s father, his secretary told that his calendar for the next one week is booked.. hence I cannot meet him...my colleagues also didn’t know anything about it. I called Nayana’s residence...but I was told that she is not in town and no-one at home knows where she is.” Vijay replied.
“Perhaps they are directed to say so.” Priya said.
“Yes, I also think so.” Vijay nodded.

“Its crystal clear …. That they didn’t like you proposing to Nayana and hence you were terminated.” Priya concluded.
Vijay was speechless.
“When you proposed to Nayana, were you drunk?” Priya asked.
“Priya… I was fully in my senses. I took only three pegs and that too of beer.” Vijay said.
“Despite being aware of your father’s condition, you drink… that’s only unexplainable.” Priya was fuming.
“Priya you are going astray.. is there any connection between the happenings now and my father?” Vijay was frustrated.
“I am saying this because I strongly feel that you should not follow your father.... that’s it.”
“Priya please….that we will talk later”
Thereafter both of them kept silence for a long time.
Priya broke the silence by concluding everything, “that means they didn’t like you proposing Priya this way.”
Vijay pounced at her, “now you will blame me for everything… according to you I should not have done that…but everything is fair in love and war Priya…but it’s no use telling you…you need to be in love to understand this.”
Priya was hurt. She felt tears to the brim of her eyes, but perhaps Vijay could not see it as it was little dark.
Again it was grim silence. Priya avoided talking as she did not want to vent her feeling out right now and it was quite possible while consoling Vijay.
Priya controlled herself and continued.
“But even if your way of admitting your love was wrong, they could have spoken to you. I can understand them blasting on you for this…but termination is something I am not able to digest. I think there is something hidden underneath.” Priya said.
“No Priya… it’s not that. I know him, he is little different than others. He is a thrill loving person. And he did not want everyone to know this exciting news so easily. Hence, he was little disturbed.” Defended Vijay.
“What do you mean…he doesn’t want it happen so easily…and why?”, Priya emphasized on easily.
“Because he wants to be sure of my capability, my competence. It’s quite obvious Priya. What’s wrong if a father wants to assess a boy, if his only daughter wants to get married to that person?”
“But Vijay…you have been selected and you have been working there for so long… under him… he should be totally confident and aware of your capability.”
“Oh.. Priya… by capability I do not mean technical talent… I mean how I react when odds are against me. And I will also prove to him that I am the best match for Nayana.”
“But this is not justified and acceptable at all… How could he treat you with this deadly assessment…and ….on top of that….you agree with him?”
Vijay laughed and said, “Oh Priya… rich people act different.”
Priya was not convinced at all.

Continuedd …

Original Novel by – Sunil Doiphode
English Version by – Mugdha Apte

Proposal – Chapter 32 – Novel Illusion

2011-06-05T21:41:00.001+05:30

Perhaps Nayana’s father also wanted him to be his daughter’s life partner. Vijay was at top of the world. This development was too fast and unexpected to believe. He had struck gold, and that too without much of efforts.
He suspected Nayana’s ploy in this, especially to get her father’s approval.
Perhaps they are very close to each other…..far informal than any other daughter and father. He silently commended the relationship and unknowingly compared it with that of his father’s and his. He had reminiscence of his father as one ever smashed with liquor. Even his parents also didn’t have any bonding amongst themselves, then there was no question about parents and children…
Vijay was delved deep into his thoughts.
Suddenly he pulled himself to present. He got green signal from both Nayana and her father…and this was the best time to drive the situation ahead. The most important thing was Nayana’s father’s approval to their relationship and they have received that.
His mind was at work. He wanted to do something which could help him achieve his aim. He postponed the thought of telling this to his friends.
The orchestra was playing enthralling music. People, who Vijay never expected to dance, were also swaying to its beats. All thanks to the liquor. Gradually the music started responding to people’s vigor and had started catching the pace. Now it was playing fast numbers….even a couple of items songs also.
People were whooping it up. A couple of them even went on the stage to sing. Few of them, who normally feared the Boss and spoke quite seldom with him, were freely chatting today. The atmosphere took complete hold of Vijay’s emotions and he could find no reason to hold himself back.
“Should I also go and speak with the Boss…..but …..but what will I speak and how should I ask him… or I should speak straight away to Nayana….and confess his love for her”. Vijay was confused.
But there was something else also going in his mind. The party environment was contributing to his creepy thoughts. He saw one of his colleagues going on stage and singing a song... perhaps he neatly made use of the song to open up to the people. People cheered him so much.
This was enough to trigger Vijay and he ran to the stage. He almost snatched the microphone from his colleague. People started guessing the next song. He glanced at the people, perhaps looking for someone. At once he found her… Nayana… Vijay was happy to see that she was also looking at him with a sweet smile and was encouraging him to go ahead.
“Friends…” Vijay managed to speak.
The Orchestra Manager came near Vijay and muttered asking for the song he wanted to sing. Vijay gestured him to stop.
“Friends…I am here not to sing today” revealed Vijay.
“Then what makes you stand here” someone asked.
“I am here to say something” answered Vijay.
“Please stop if it’s official” people hooted at him.
“Yes… we are enjoying the dance and music…please don’t spoil it”
Vijay justified, “no, it’s not official”
“Then you can proceed” the crowd permitted him.
Vijay proceeded, “today I am very happy…and on this happy occasion…. I have to say something…”
“And what is that?” questioned someone from the crowd.
“Little patience please” Vijay wanted to stretch their curiosity.
“No...No...”everyone was impatient and unanimously shouting.
“What I want to say is that.... I am in love” Vijay saw Nayana and said.
“Ho...” applauded everyone...
“Who is that lucky girl?”asked someone.
Vijay saw Nayana and said, “That girl is....Nayana....and I take this opportunity to propose her...Nayana..... will you marry me?”
Nayana was shocked to hear that.
Vijay thought that she was not ready for this and hence she looked a little scared.
Everyone was stunned, hearing that. There was a graveyard silence around as if something bashed them off the hangover.
Vijay observed everyone and thought that people did not expect this and hence they looked confused.
Vijay sneaked at Nayana’s father. He was fuming with anger. Now Vijay was taken aback. He understood that there was something wrong. At least this very reaction of the Boss was unexpected.
“Has he goofed up? What is his fault?”Vijay tried to weigh the situation. He checked himself whether he was drunk and was sure that he was not high.
“Then what’s wrong? Perhaps the place and time was not appropriate....”Vijay was still thinking.

Continued …

Original Novel by – Sunil Doiphode
English Version by – Mugdha Apte

Late night Party –Chapter – 31 – Novel Illusion

2011-06-02T16:47:00.000+05:30

But he pondered, “Is it right to eavesdrop on someone and that too on a group of girls? No… it looks indecent….”
But Vijay could not averse himself. He wanted to confirm whether the group was talking about him only.
He was not at all interested in anything else but the group of girls. Nayana’s and other girls’ gestures clearly indicated that they were talking about none other than Vijay. He decided to hide himself behind a pillar and overhear them. But he was little scared of getting caught…
At once a basket of wafers, which was hung high on the pillar, caught his attention. He pretended to take wafers from the basket and grabbed some moments to hear the talks. He was happy as it helped him to loiter around and spend some time to complete his mission.
He wanted to pay attention to the talks and nothing else.
“Hey Nayana… you are glowing today.” admired one of her friends.
Another added to it, “there must be something special today… that’s the reason she is blushing, otherwise have you ever seen her glowing so much?”
One more added, “yes… for such a serious person like Nayana, this change is absolutely unexpected.”
Vijay, bloated with ecstasy, thought, “How could I miss this change in her? She is always chirpy now-a-days. Drastic change in her….”
“This could happen in one situation only” giggled one of them.
Another one didn’t miss the opportunity to tease and said, “Love….L…O….V….E… what else?”
“yes, you are right… she is in love…. Nayana is in love with someone….”
“You know girls….lately you can find Nayana with her partner Vijay…everywhere…anytime…” One of them revealed.
Vijay was hearing all this and he was happy that whatever he thought was right.
“Anytime? What’s going on?”Questioned her friends and pinched Nayana hard.
“Ouch…” she shrieked. “damn…what are you doing”
Everyone was teasing Nayana and forcing her to reveal the secret, they were trying to know.
“ What’s going… Nothing… Just that … I like him” fumbled Nayana but revealed the secret.
“Shucks…. Like …Only Like… Or more than that?” she was again interrogated.
“yes… I love him too….Is that enough… this is what you wanted to hear from me, isn’t it?” She answered.
Vijay couldn’t believe that Nayana could confess her love so boldly. He was on top of the world. He took his glass of beer and headed towards the wine counter. Everything was clear. Nayana had admitted of being in love.
“Yes… I love him too…” these words kept echoing in Vijay’s mind. He did an indecency of over hearing girls’ talks, but was content to do that.
He wanted to confess his love before Nayana, but he was not sure of her feelings for him.
He was happy …rather ecstatic… hence he gulped the entire glass of wine made by the bar tender.
“Yes…this is the time to celebrate” but immediately he stopped himself from drinking more.
Suddenly everything changed. After knowing Nayana’s feelings, Vijay started to enjoy each and every moment in the party. The people around, whom he was not very comfortable with, suddenly looked very amiable. Party was at peak of its charm.
Vijay was desperate to share such great news with someone. He could not stop himself. Everyone seemed to be sharing his joy. He thought of his friend’s group which was still busy chatting at the same place. He thought of sharing this with them. He was unsure of their reaction on it and was afraid that they will not take him seriously. But he was least bothered about it.
He tried reaching his friends but he was obstructed by a group in between. He was little uncomfortable to see that his boss led the group and fortunately or unfortunately he was Nayana’s father. How couldn’t Vijay notice that his boss is standing so close to him.
He decided not to pass the Boss’s group and stand there only. He was trying to find some other way to reach his friends’ group. Suddenly he could hear some talks from Boss’s group also.
“You know, at last, my search is completed. I have found a perfect match for my daughter Nayana.” Commented Nayana’s father.
Vijay was little apprehensive of some unfavorable decision of the Boss.
One in the group asked taking a swig of whisky, “ So…who is that lucky guy?”
Nayana’s father chuckled, took a swig and said, “Guess who that fellow is.”
“How could we know Sir?”
“Does he work in our office?” speculated one of them.
Nayana’s father sneaked assertively and answered, “yes..you are right.”
“But still I can’t” The fellow pretended to be still clueless about that…perhaps by this, he wanted to flatter the boss. He was cunning enough to know that overriding the Boss is not going to help him. It’s better to keep him happy .
“you quit?”, asked Nayana’s father.
“Yes… I quit.” The fellow surrendered. He knew that every ass likes to hear himself bray.
Nayana’s father perhaps liked the attitude of the fellow and blessed him with one more chance, “OK…one more clue…”
He took a snooping pause and said, “he works with my daughter….now guess”
Vijay was exhilarated to hear all this. He was now anxious to know the name as he had a tough competition from other same aged guys in his office.
The fellow chuckled and answered, “Vijay…am I right?” He had to be right this time.
“Yes, you are absolutely right”
Vijay was all ears to hear this and now he was content with the answer. He was so delighted and celebrated the moment with one more glass of beer.

Continued…

Original Novel by – Sunil Doiphode
English Version by – Mugdha Apte

An Annual Day - Chapter 30 – Novel Illusion

2011-05-23T15:10:00.001+05:30

Today was the ‘Annual Day’ to be celebrated in Vijay’s company. Annual Day was a day of lavish fun and frolic for all the employees of the company which would be celebrated on a very grand scale. Actually every ‘Annual Day’ is joyously celebrated in a lavish manner throughout all the companies. All the employees would set aside the stress of their routine work and spend time in thoroughly enjoying the day. They would remain occupied with variety of outdoor and indoor games like football, cricket, table-tennis, badminton throughout the day followed by an entertainment cultural program in the evening to refresh oneself from the day-long tiredness in which a dance on orchestra would be often played. Along with the company employees even the other outside guests invited there would quench their zest for dancing and singing. After the end of that dance and singing orchestra would be the lavish dinner at 9 pm but experience was that nobody would be able to begin the dinner party sharp at 9 pm and everybody was allowed to stay doing all the fun as much as possible till one can remain in the party at night which means there was no end to the fun and frolic. Besides, the next day would be a holiday which means everybody could afford to relish the fun till late in the night even up to 3 AM.

Actually speaking, this ‘Annual Day’ in the company was Vijay’s first to be experienced of its kind. He had heard a lot about it so far. Therefore, today he had lavishly enjoyed all the indoor as well as outdoor games such as Cricket, Table Tennis, and Carom and all other possible play activities till the time his thirst for joy was fully quenched. Besides that, while participating in each of these activities, Nayana was inducing him constantly, to double his enthusiasm. As a result, he did not feel much tired as such. In fact, in the evening he even abundantly enjoyed the fun of playing ‘Musical Chair’ in the cultural programs by constantly occupying every other chair adjacent to Nayana. And now the moment of enjoying the peak of that day’s fun and joy had arrived finally – the evening party had started. Today, no one had any restrictions of eating and drinking anything up to any quantity he or she may want to relish. All types of liquor, such as Beer; Rum; Vodka; Whisky and even Red Wine were made available to all the employees and guests equally alike. The hard core liquor fans were bound to jump at this golden opportunity but those who would remain aloof from consuming liquor too would feel tempted by the lure of this unique freedom of its own kind – available only once in a year.

So the games were played abundantly followed by the cultural program and now the liquor party and dinner was scheduled. All the employees arrived at the venue little before the scheduled time and were whiling away their time by standing in small groups. Obviously, the topic of the entire talk was how lavishly they had enjoyed the day while playing variety of games. The evening party was organized on a fresh green lawn outside the hotel venue and there four counters organized in the four corners of the lawn to serve liquor and cold drinks. All the counters were attended by the catering staff in their formal ironed white clothes with white gloves in their palms. The whole atmosphere was appearing out to resemble with the grand ball room or a dinner banquet hall of a five star hotel. While chatting among themselves everybody’s sight would time and again settle on the four wine and liquor counters set up there but no one had any courage to go and fill his or her glasses because the boss was yet to arrive and therefore no one had any guts to begin the party before the boss had arrived. Without boss’s arrival no one would think of touching the liquor or even fill the glass with plain chilled water. What if the boss arrives and he unnecessarily doubts the plain water glass to be that of Vodka causing a grave misunderstanding in his crocodile mind. It is for this reason, throughout all the annual day parties, an unwritten rule, that no activity should begin without boss’s arrival would be strictly adhered with. Therefore, although all of them were pretending to be busy in the chats among themselves, all of them were curiously awaiting for the arrival of the ‘Big Boss’. All of them were too eager to see the boss present there so that they would fill their glasses and quench their annual thirst and feel the thrust.

Suddenly the whole atmosphere was electrified when a hustle-bustle was noticed at the main entrance of the lawn and that wave of excitement reached and spread among all the invitees……..Ah! Finally the boss had arrived. Complete silence spread in the lawn and everybody’s attention turned at the entrance.

‘Yes! Quite right! The boss had arrived!’.

Immediately after stepping on the lawn, the boss had greeted all of them either by a smile, pat on a shoulder or a greeting expression with palms together – especially for the women. Boss was followed by his wife and daughter Nayana too. Finding that the boss had arrived with family the cunning employees, master at the art of appeasing the ego of every boss, had started lavishly demonstrating their skill.

‘Hello everybody! Today is our party and it is a special annual party! Then why are your hands empty! And why are you looking so pale and quiet?’, boss tried to make everybody’s fun.

In fact, if the boss was to have noticed anybody drinking a glass of liquor before his arrival then he would have made a serious note of it and instantly thought of a cruel idea to teach a memorable lesson to him. But everybody knew that when it comes to talking to a boss one needs to follow double standards. Therefore some of them started laughing at the mischievous gesture of the boss whereas others started forcibly smiling at the remarks passed by the boss. Vijay always hated all such appease-masters because he knew that they were the same people who lacked any talent. In fact, Vijay also hated his boss because of his attitude of feeling joyous at the unworthy appreciation. But the position of his boss being different and delicate he could never express his real feelings toward him. However, he was going to one day reveal his thoughts to the boss because these were indeed the same people who, in spite of being inefficient and relatively unproductive, were managing to rise in the company as compared to the other meritorious employees who were being treated in an unjust manner. This was indeed the crux of the reason why the real life atmosphere in the company was being highly polluted. Although, apparently the atmosphere in the company was appearing to be fine this infection in the minds of the people was bound to prove harmful for the future growth of the company.

After the boss entered there the whole atmosphere had changed radically. One of the pawns of boss prepared the glass of liquor for the boss and offered it to him. Only after the boss galloped a first sip of the liquor that everybody rushed to the wine and liquor counters. Soon from all corners of the lawn the noise of glasses and bottles started echoing. During the college days Vijay had tasted the beer with friends after being pressed by them and he also knew that in a corporate atmosphere one needs to taste it again because of the formal pressures but on the whole he had never liked the taste of a beer. But he had very firmly resolved not to ever go beyond drinking the beer given the kind of pathetic state his father had reduced himself up to. Although many of his colleagues and friends had tried persuading him to go for hard drinks but Vijay was not going to succumb to their demands. He would rarely break a rule he would have bound himself with.

Soon Vijay started enjoying the state everybody else had brought himself down to because everybody was revealing his or her mindset and thus it was a golden opportunity to learn the true feelings of what the other colleagues might be otherwise thinking of. But very soon Vijay realized the futility involved in it after noticing many of his colleagues were only repeating what they had said earlier. On the contrary, Vijay’s first glass of beer too was not yet empty and therefore he glanced throughout the crowd gathered in the lawn. His eyes were now searching for Nayana. One of the corners of the lawn was fully occupied by women and there among them he saw Nayana standing beyond a pole. She was having a glass of soft drinks in her hands and she was deeply engrossed in the chat with her girl friends. Holding the liquor glass he strolled in front of her under the pretext of going to the serving counter and both Nayana and Vijay saw each other and she gave a pleasant smile to him. After reaching that serving counter he thought of moving away from there because as such he was not going to consume any liquor. So he paid a glance at the group of all the girls with whom Nayana was standing and he could only hear the sound of their discussion. But the sound alone was not sufficient to understand what they were talking about.

Once again Vijay looked at the surroundings carefully and thought, ‘What if I stand before that curtain close to Nayana and try to hear what these girls are talking with Nayana?’.

Continued ...

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Termination - Chapter 29 – Novel Illusion

2011-05-19T14:23:00.000+05:30

Priya was busy writing her prescription and some time passed in silence. During that time Rajesh kept himself occupied in watching different pictures hanging into Priya’s clinic and he soon suggested his wife too to look at the picture of a beautiful infant child.

Priya sensed their communication and she smilingly asked, ‘Do you want to take that picture with you?’.

‘No…..What for?’, Rajesh replied.

‘If that picture keeps hanging in front of your wife’s eyes then even her child too will be beautiful like that child’, Priya explained.

‘How is that possible?’, Rajesh asked.

‘It may not happen completely but the mother’s psychological state of mind does bear a strong influence on the health of the fetus indeed and your wife will continue to feel pleasant if the picture of that child remains constantly before her which is bound to influence the child to be born’, Priya explained.

‘But…….’, Rajesh tried to argue.

‘Don’t worry about that. The Medical Representatives of several pharmaceutical companies keep regularly visiting my clinic and they do keep giving me several such pictures every time’, Priya explained.

Rajesh rose from his chair and pulled out that picture from the wall and while rolling it he came back and asked something he was not sure whether to ask or not, ‘Did you meet Vijay anytime in last weeks?’.

‘No! I have not…….Why?’, Priya answered without lifting her head while busy writing the prescription thus avoiding to reveal her expressions on face.

‘Then you must be aware that Vijay………’, Rajesh was about to tell and Priya interrupted him, ‘Why?, What happened to Vijay?’.

‘I thought you must be aware of……..’, Rajesh tried to explain.

‘Will you please tell me what has happened?’, Priya angrily said to Rajesh.

‘I heard that his company has terminated him from his job’, Rajesh answered.

‘What? Terminate? But why?’, Priya exclaimed in surprise.

‘Something happened between him and the daughter of his boss!’, Rajesh explained.

‘ That means you still did not meet him’ Priya asked.

‘Of course I did meet him but he is not revealing anything. In fact, what I told you just now is too something I learnt from others!’, Rajesh revealed.

‘But he is love with that daughter of his boss!’, Priya explained.

‘What? In love with her? But you…….’, Rajesh exclaimed and sensing what he was about to say further, Priya instantly interrupted to say, ‘And you are disclosing this to me now after so much time?’. Priya quickly got up from her chair and rushed to the door of her clinic while saying, ‘Don’t you know how important his job was for his family and sister? I must go to meet him immediately’.

Priya started from her clinic and stopped only after reaching at Vijay’s home. from across the gate of his bungalow he peeped inside and it reminded her how during their days of college life she would come the same way at his home and her eyes would keep searching for Vijay while looking all over from the gate. But today everywhere there was complete silence as though nobody was staying in that house. Unrepaired for several years now, that old structure of that house was adding to the tranquility spread over there. Instantly then, Priya sensed some movement in some corner of that open space in front of that house and she carefully looked over there to discover it was Vijay sitting alone there in a chair deeply engrossed in his thoughts. He did not notice her even after Priya opened the gate and entered inside. With beard overgrown on his face he was sitting alone deep in his thoughts.

‘Vijay! What poor state you have reduced yourself to?’, Priya asked him.

For the first time, while stepping out of the world of his thoughts, Vijay looked in front and gave a welcome smile to Priya. His face was gleaming yet with the same formidable confidence in his mind.

While sitting over the chair kept next to him, Priya asked to Vijay, ‘Rajesh had come to meet me and he was telling that your company has……’.

Vijay interrupted her to complete her sentence himself, ‘Terminated me!’.

There was not an iota of worry or anxiety visible on his face.

‘But Why? What happened that you should be terminated?’, Priya expressed her concern toward him.

‘Not anything serious!’, Vijay replied.

‘And you did not find it necessary to even take the trouble of informing me about it’, Priya said to express her agony.

‘If it was to be anything special I would have told you but I did not find it necessary!’, Vijay replied.

‘Oh! That means only when there will be any necessity will you tell me anything?’, Priya expressed her anger.

‘I really mean it. There is noting great about it!’, Vijay lifted his legs spread over the chair next and clarified himself while positioning himself well in the chair again.

‘And what about this overgrown beard like any sad lover?’, Priya was not yet willing to leave him from disclosing the reality.

‘No! I have avoided shaving for long just because there is no more any formal life of going to office everyday’, Vijay explained.

‘Anyway……..you cannot escape from explaining everything to me about what exactly happened’, Priya was now determined to find out the truth.

‘Ok fine! I will tell you what happened’, Vijay said and started his story.

Continued ...

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Hospital Visit – Chapter 28 – Novel - Illusion

2011-05-18T17:27:00.001+05:30

Priya had not got the opportunity to come back in the same town of her own when Priya was of the desire to work where her father and Vijay were staying. But now, thanks to her father’s efforts, it was now she had got the opportunity to come back in the same town when Vijay was no more a goal to be achieved for her and when her earnest desire to come back had vanished. But now she was of the keen desire not to be in the close proximity with Vijay and was trying to be as much away from him as possible although she had not been able to overpower her father’s desires. Besides that her father’s health too was not keeping well because of his old age. At such a critical age of his life, when Priya was his only child, it was her moral duty to be in his close company. She had requested her father to get herself transferred to some other town but her father was not completely accustomed to this town only and therefore he had opposed this idea which naturally meant that even Priya was destined to begin her medical practice in the same town and get settled there itself. Moreover, Priya too was unable to discuss about her state of mind with her father and was therefore being forced to accept whatever that was happening in her destiny against her willful desires as though giving her a feeling that she was only a puppet stung to the strings of the fate. Probably, this is what people must be calling it as luck. Priya would curse all such people who would put the blame on their fate whenever anything wrong may happen but now she could see the destiny’s hand in anything happening. In fact, now if anybody would behave wrong, she would not get angry as might have she been angered before because now she had come to believe the role of her destiny in any such untoward happening and would accept it willingly as somebody’s way of behavior.

Till such time her practice had not settled, Priya continued working for a brief period at Dr. Nadkarni’s clinic itself. Even while working there the thoughts about Vijay would keep coming to her mind but they would never trouble her as much as they were troubling earlier. But she was finding it difficult to control them since Vijay too was staying in the same town. One she had sensed a very strong desire to meet him but somehow she had managed to curb them and had avoided meeting Vijay. The only remedy she could see to eliminate this troubling thought process was to get herself deeply engrossed in her work. Therefore eventually she buried herself so deeply in the work that it was as though the time had stopped for her and she could never know how many days, weeks or even months were passing by. She was thus deep with her work, work and work alone.

Several such days passed without any knowledge of Vijay’s whereabouts. It was actually the fact that Priya had herself not bothered to find anything about Vijay. Not that she had any anger against him hidden in her mind but all she wanted was to never interfere between him and Nayana. She avoided meeting him because unknowingly she would reveal her feelings after having gone to meet him under some or the other pretext. She was exactly afraid of this particularly because that day when he had exposed his true feelings about Nayana before her even she had felt tempted, at a point of time, to reveal her dreams in front of him in the stroke of overwhelming emotions but only she was aware of how defiantly she had restrained herself even at that critical moment. On the other hand equally true that neither Vijay had ever looked upon her anything more than a good friend nor did he ever have any selfish interest in their mutual friendship and therefore there was no point in blaming him for anything.

Then what went wrong on her part?
But one day all those thoughts did explode in her mind at least.
Was she suppose to have clearly express her feelings before him vividly much earlier?
But was she not behaving in the same manner sufficiently indicative?
How much clearer expression was necessary on her part?
Or had she fallen anything short in her intimate feelings toward Vijay?
Neither was there any element of truth in this question too!.

Finally she had reached a conclusion to settle all the blame on her fate and continue living the harsh realities of everyday life. But unfortunately the ill shadows of the bad past were not willing to get out of her mind completely and she had done everything necessary to forget the past. She had severed contacts with all her old friends especially because after meeting them the topic of Vijay would invariably emerge but even then her emotions were not stabilizing much. She thought that perhaps time will prove to be a best medicine for all her wounds to get healed but unfortunately with each passing day her emotions were becoming all the more intense and the shadows of Vijay’s image were getting more and more thick.

After a long spell Priya happened to meet Rajesh. Of course, even he had not come to meet her with any specific purpose but rather only to get the medical check-up of his wife done from Priya on her clinic.

‘How nice to see both of you together after such a long time!’, Priya welcomed Rajesh and his wife.

‘Actually it was impossible for us to come at your clinic any time before?’, Rajesh cunningly said.

‘What do you mean?’, Priya asked.

‘If we were to have come to meet you much earlier than today we would have had to get married much before!’, Rajesh mischievously remarked looking at his wife making that poor lady feel blushed.

‘Oh! Is it? That means the development is serious! Congratulations anyway!’, Priya endorsed.
By this time, Rajesh and his wife had settled down in both the chairs kept in front of Priya.

‘How is everything else?’, Priya asked in an enquiring tone.

‘We are doing fine. How about you?’, Rajesh asked Priya.

‘Of course I am fine!. I am so busy with all my ongoing work!’, Priya pretended to be happy with her life.

‘But after my wedding none of you seem to be visible anywhere!. It was me who got married but you all have vanished!’, Rajesh pretended to be angry.

‘It is not that Rajesh but don’t you know a newly married couple is not to be disturbed!’, Priya stood up from her chair holding her stethoscope in her hand.

While requesting Kamal, Rajesh’s wife to come along for the sake of check-up, Priya said, ‘Kamal! Please come here!’.

Rajesh’s wife got up and even he too started following her as though he was so happy for his wife turning pregnant. His wife signaled him with big eyes but it did not even occur to him and he continued following her. Then Priya laughed at Rajesh and instructed him, ‘Please wait here only!’.

Suddenly Rajesh realized his mistake and he felt extremely awkward to say, ‘Quite right! What am I to do inside?’. He sat down on the chair again.

‘Are you facing any trouble?’, Priya asked Rajesh’s wife while going behind the curtain of the partition.

Without uttering a word Kamal, Rajesh’s wife started going behind which made Priya aware that she probably wanted to say something but was finding it awkward to disclose in front of Rajesh. During the course of the medical check-up Rajesh was getting hear a whispering sound of both the women talking but was unable to understand what was going on and hence he had to wait sitting there for a long time.

After the check-up was over Priya came out with Rajesh’s wife, Kamal and assured her by saying, ‘Just like we the women feel anxious whenever any new guest is to come, the same way a woman’s body too needs time to get adjusted with the new entrant in her family and the whole of her body starts preparing itself to meet the challenges of the new situation since that new member of the family is to first blossom in her womb only and therefore many harmonic changes keep taking place in a woman’s body because of which such small troubles can possibly take place unavoidably’.

Rajesh was listening to all this intently and was feeling proud of his erstwhile college-time friend Priya having become a full-fledged medical professional.

In the meantime even Kamal had settled in the chair kept next to Rajesh and Rajesh said, ‘In fact we both were tremendously worried because sometimes Kamal behaves as though she is tremendously frightened and worried’.

‘There is nothing to be anxious or worried about’, Priya assured saying, ‘During this phase of a woman’s life not only physical but emotional changes too take place through the harmonic changes’.

‘Did I not tell you there is nothing to be worried about!’, Rajesh assured Kamal and said, ‘Don’t you think my friend like any other doctor!. She is really an expert now!’.

‘I am not any prominent doctor or like that’, Priya replied courteously, ‘but it is necessary that certain things be told to a woman undergoing pregnancy for the first time since they are completely ignorant about them’.

‘I will just prescribe you some Vitamin and Calcium tablets’, Priya whispered while opening her writing pad, ‘which you need to be consuming regularly’.

Continued …

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Date? - Chapter 27 – Novel - Illusion

2011-05-17T17:05:00.001+05:30

Vijay and Nayana were watching the movie and Nayana realized that Vijay’s popcorns were finished.

‘Finished?,……So quickly?’, Nayana whispered to Vijay, ‘Look here! I have not yet eaten even a single piece!’.

‘You know, I am so quick in eating!’, Vijay replied, ‘And the men’s speed of eating is always more than the women’s speed of eating. It is the women alone who waste their more time in eating!’.

‘It is the speed of your eating that reflects your state of mind and your nature!’, Nayana replied.

‘Is it?. Then why don’t you tell me something about my nature and also about the state of my mind just now?’, Vijay asked her.

‘You seem to be……..confused!’, Nayana replied.

‘Fine! Then how is the nature of the people who eat at a lesser speed?’, Vijay curiously asked.

‘Such people are very strong mentally and they do not usually get depressed even amid negative circumstances. They are always very crystal clear and never confused about anything!’, Nayana remarked.

‘Oh! I see!’, Vijay replied.

Holding her popcorn in front of him she said, “ But remember .. when you are with some lady … these are not good manners”

“ Who cares...” Vijay said shrugging his shoulders.

‘That’s also true……..When you will be in love with somebody……You will care……or to put it the other way to say it……When you care for somebody……Probably you are in love with her!’, Nayana said seriously.

‘Love?.......No chance!’, Vijay remarked again.

‘Let us see!’, Nayana argued.

For some time they again lost in the movie.

‘Once myself and my cousin sister had gone to watch a horror movie’, Nayana continued he Rajesh thoughts with the same thread, ‘her speed of eating would increase with every horror scene appearing on screen such that throughout the film she finished five packs of popcorns!’.

‘You know it proves something!’, Vijay replied.

‘What can it prove?’, Nayana asked.

‘That you are too slow……..rather dead slow’, Vijay replied.

‘Is it?’, Nayana replied mischievously and pulled away her popcorn pack from in front of Vijay.

Vijay only smiled at her after hearing this remark.

Again a lot of time was spent between themselves. Vijay seemed to be intensely watching the movie in front of him and appeared to like the story of the film. While watching the movie he sensed as though his shoulder was heavy and he looked at his side to discover that Nayana was fast asleep with her head rested on his left shoulder. Vijay softly glanced at her and how innocent and loving her face was looking.

After the movie was over, Vijay and Nayana were coming out of the cinema theatre amid the crowd of the people coming out of there. While walking through the crowd, Vijay glanced at Nayana’s face and she was still looking fresh and attractive, probably because she had woken up from an intense sleep just recently.

‘Indeed, there must not be any other better break than this one!’, Vijay said to Nayana.

Nayana just smiled at him.

‘No! I am only talking about the idea of sleeping in a cinema hall under the pretext of watching a movie!’, Vijay mischievously said to her.

Nayana patted on his arm and said, ‘What is so wrong about me sleeping after feeling necessary to sleep even after coming into a cinema hall?. I don’t agree with the notion that one should restrain oneself from sleeping just because one has paid for watching a film. We just came here for a short break and a little enjoyment and that’s it!’.

‘You seem to be very clear about everything!’, Vijay remarked.

‘Of course Yes!, not only just clear but I am in fact crystal clear!’, Nayana replied, ‘And I like to be that way about everything in life!’.

‘Then how do you find me?’, Vijay suddenly asked.

‘What exactly about are you asking?’, Nayana was startled to hear that.

‘What I mean is that whether you find me a man of clarity or confusion?’, Vijay explained himself.

‘Oh! You are asking about your attitude? I have already told you that!’, Nayana replied.

‘What is that?’, Vijay sought to know.

‘You seem to be a bit confused!. Am I right?’, Nayana replied.

‘How can I say that? That too about myself!. Now that you are saying it so confidently then it must be true!’, Vijay replied.

‘No! You should have your own conviction. That is also one symptom of being confused. Just because somebody says does not necessarily mean that it must be true!’, Nayana replied with conviction.

‘Really! It is really true that one cannot win an argument with you!’, Vijay remarked.

‘Is it?’, Nayana asked.

‘For the first time in life I am confronting somebody such with whom I am unable to win an argument!’, Vijay remarked.

‘Sometimes we come across some such individual with whom we like to get defeated. Is it happening anything that way?’, Nayana asked.

‘What do you mean?’, Vijay asked.

‘I mean in this world, you come across two types of individuals. The first are such who you like them to be your followers and the second are such whose leadership you like more and you accept to be their followers!’, Nayana replied.

‘Oh! All this is becoming too philosophical!. When I was in college all my friends used to call me a philosopher! But it seems now this philosopher too has come across one philosopher!’, Vijay said seriously.

‘Philosopher?. For the first time in life I am being addressed this way!’, Nayana replied.

‘And to be really frank with you!’, Vijay continued saying, ‘What you call me as confused was not really the state of my mind few years ago but I fail to understand what has happened in the recent times that indeed makes me feel that way!’.

‘It happens like this sometimes in life especially when you are on the verge of facing a new turn to your life!’, Nayana replied.

After watching the film, it was already decided, that both of them would go for a lavish dinner in some quality restaurant.

While eating the dinner Vijay continued with the discussion and said, ‘Yes! But I really enjoyed it!’.

‘What? Are you talking about the movie? It was a bullshit film! That is why I felt asleep!’, Nayana replied.

‘I am not talking about the movie but rather about your head continuously resting on my shoulder!’, Vijay replied.

‘You naughty boy!’, Nayana blushed.

‘See for yourself! My left shoulder has not yet lost that heavy sensation!’, Vijay replied.

‘Then you must see your doctor!’, Nayana replied.

‘Why?’, Vijay asked.

‘Because it is one of the symptoms of your heart problem!’, Nayana explained.

‘Yes! It seems indeed a heart related problem!’, Vijay remarked mischievously.

Nayana felt blushing again and she looked below with her neck bowing down.

Continued …

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

An Evening Plan – Chapter – 26 – Novel – Illusion.

2011-05-16T17:02:00.000+05:30

In their office, Nayana was using one computer and Vijay, while sitting right next to her, was using the second. Looking at a diagram being displayed on the monitor of his computer, Vijay banged his fist angrily and said, ‘Bloody Shit!’.

‘What happened?’, Nayana asked.

‘Look at this! Howsoever I may try, this task is always crossing the deadline of the project!’, Vijay angrily exclaimed while drawing Nayana’s attention to his computer’s screen. On his computer screen, there was a ‘Task Graph’ being displayed and one of the tasks was being displayed in a red highlighted color.

‘By the time we achieve the deadline of this project, I wonder whether we ourselves may go dead!’, Vijay vented out his frustration.

‘Just relax!’ Nayana tried to pacify him by saying, ‘Keep your head cool!’.

‘I really wonder how can you maintain your calm even while being under such a stressful situation!’, Vijay replied.

‘Just tell me one thing Vijay! Is there any point in brooding over the problem? That only worsens the gravity of the situation!’, Nayana tried to explain.

Finding that, even after giving this advice Vijay’s mood was not being restored, Nayana gave him a tip, ‘Whenever you come across a situation like this that a given task is crossing the deadline then better divide it in smaller sub-tasks! Then see it for yourself how a problem is crossed within seconds!’.

‘Do you think I must not have tried with all of these options?’, Vijay angrily asked.

Noticing that Nayana was calmly engrossed in her work by probably ignoring Vijay’s agony, he argued, ‘Now tell me what shall I do?’.

‘Just wait! Let me first complete with what I am a doing and then I will see how your problem can be addressed!’, Nayana calmly replied.

Noticing her calm attitude Vijay got up from his seat and angrily said, ‘Now I know why you can manage to keep your calm even while confronting a serious problem!’.

‘Tell me! Why can I keep my balance?’, Nayana curiously asked.

‘That’s because you are the daughter of the boss!. Why should you be afraid of anybody! After all, who is going to hold you responsible here?’, Vijay argued.

‘Vijay, don’t mix business with our relations at home! Here he is just my boss and father at home!’, Nayana now appeared to be serious.

‘Saying this theoretically is very easy!’, Vijay replied, ‘but tell me will really dare to say anything to you here?’.

‘But remember, true that my father is my boss but he is not the ultimate owner of the company, even he is answerable to somebody!’, Nayana argued.

Noticing that Nayana had taken all this talk very seriously, Vijay decided to retreat because otherwise all this conversation would have taken a different turn altogether. Contrary his expression, instead of agreeing with Vijay, Nayana had taken this remark far too seriously.

‘This is what happens when one gets angry!’, Vijay suddenly changed the tone of his argument and said, ‘I know your father is accountable to somebody above him but I am sorry because we were talking about this overshooting task and where have our course of talk digressed. I am really very sorry!’.

Even Nayana too did not feel it necessary to drag the conversation further after finding that Vijay too had withdrawn.

‘That is all right!’, Nayana replied.

‘But how shall we deal with this task?’, Vijay brought back the original topic.

But Nayana calmly continued to work with her agenda without replying to Vijay and therefore he angrily left out of the cabin.

All the company employees had gathered in the cafeteria, probably because it was a tea-break time. There in some corner, Vijay was sipping his coffee calmly sitting over to think about the problem at hand. At the same time, even Nayana came there and started searching for a suitable place, holding her cup of coffee and there she saw Vijay sitting in a corner so she also joined him there.

‘So? Haven’t you calmed down now?’, Nayana asked.

Vijay gave her a silent glance only.

‘Don’t worry! I also share the equal responsibility of this project!’, Nayana replied.

‘That is fine! But there has to be some way out of this mess!’, Vijay said.

‘Yes! Certainly there will be a way out! Be positive!’, Nayana said.

Vijay again started quietly sipping his cup of coffee with his ongoing thoughts.

‘Just go and see for yourself in the mirror!. What dirty looks you have reduced yourself to!’, Nayana funnily said.

‘Why? What happened?’, Vijay said after moving his palm over his own face.

‘Not your face! Look at your hairs! They are standing up erect like a devil’s enemy!’, Nayana funnily replied.

Vijay quickly tried to resettle his hairs now.

‘I think you need a break!’, Nayana said after seeing his state of looks.

Finding that Vijay was not reacting even then, Nayana said further, ‘What is your program for the evening?’.

‘No! Nothing special! Nowadays after returning home I am so tired that no desire is left to do anything!’, Vijay replied.

‘Then it means you desperately need a break!’, Nayana said.

‘What exactly do you mean? Are you planning to tell your father and give me a break from the job itself!’, Vijay now returned to being normal and cracked a joke.

‘Oh! No! Do you feel that even if I may suggest him any thing like this, he will accept it?’, Nayana replied.

‘No! What is called as ‘Temptation to abide by son’s desires’, in your case ‘daughter’s desires’, Vijay replied, ‘Don’t you know the story of Dhrutarashtra from the epic of Mahabharata!’.

‘Dhrutarashtra? You think my father as Dhrutarashtra?’, Nayana asked.

‘Oh! No! I just cited an example!’, Vijay said.

‘Is it? You can feel free to give any example about him here but probably you may not be knowing that you are his favourite!’, Nayana said and smiled.

‘Hope you are telling the truth!’, Vijay questioned.

‘I mean it! Why should I tell you lies?’, Nayana replied.

‘Then what do you say?’, Vijay brought back the topic of their discussion.

‘What?’, Nayana asked.

‘You were telling something about your program for the evening!’, Vijay said.

‘Let us go for some movie! How is the idea?’, Nayana proposed.

Vijay’s eyes were glistening with joy now and he said, ‘Yes, that will be a nice break and with your company that will be even more nice! Isn’t it?’.

Nayana only gave a pleasant smile upon hearing this.

‘Who else should we take along with us?’, Vijay intentionally asked.

‘Vijay! Sometimes you really behave like a backward guy! Do you think I am going to bring my mom or dad with me?’, Nayana angrily asked.

‘No! No! I don’t mean that! I thought you would ask any of your other friends!’, Vijay replied.

‘No! Just you and me!’, Nayana replied.

‘Yes! That will be a fantastic idea!’, Vijay joyously said.

Continued …

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Back to Present – Novel Illusion - Chapter 25

2011-05-12T12:47:00.000+05:30

…..When Priya came back to her senses after the deep thought process of all of these old memories did she realize that Vijay had not yet arrived. So she glanced here and there for a while and then checked her wrist-watch to discover that the appointed time was not yet reached, that she had arrived far too early at the Ashok Park.

Time and again she was recalling the incident that had occurred at the wedding reception of Rajesh. From the entire body language of Vijay it was appearing that he wanted to share some long preserved secret while standing in front of each other. Just when he was about to express himself, did Vijay notice that his mother was approaching both of them which had left him utterly confused thus forcing him to quickly say, ‘Do one thing! Can you meet me tomorrow evening at 6 o’clock? Where can we meet? Where?’, he had whispered.

‘At our usual spot!’, Priya had suggested.

‘Yes! Quite right! Our usual spot! Ashok Park!’, Vijay had responded and noticing that his mother was coming closer, he had quit from the scene by quickly saying, ‘I will wait for you there at 6!’.

‘Frankly speaking, it was really good that Vijay did not get an opportunity to share his secret thoughts’, Priya thought, ‘because such intimate issues are not worth speaking about at such over crowded places like a wedding reception’. One more thing Priya had glaringly noticed in Vijay’s behaviour, a radical change had occurred in his approach toward her, in the sense, he was appearing to be increasingly restless and was constantly glancing at her clandestinely and how he was full of eager to meet her in person. Indeed, there had occurred a major change in his overall behaviour that was erstwhile always calm and quiet.

But how has this profound change developed in him so suddenly?.

Probably because, finding that his closest friend, Rajesh, getting married had induced Vijay to express his intimate feelings.

She was deeply engrossed in her own thoughts and suddenly sensed that somebody was standing near her. She looked in front and discovered that it was Vijay standing in front of her.

‘How long? I have been waiting here for such a long time here?’, Priya complained.

‘Look at the watch! I have arrived sharp at 6 o’clock! Right at the appointed time!’, Vijay argued in self-defense.

In fact, it was Priya alone who had arrived far too early being eager to know what Vijay wanted to share but Vijay was not at fault as far as keeping the appointed hour as usual he would never miss it.

‘Anyway! Forget it! What was it that you wanted to tell?’, Priya said hiding her eagerness and she did not want to waste her time by casually talking about anything else since she was all the more curious to know what Vijay intended to communicate so secretly.

‘Today I desire to share with you something that has been going on in my mind for over a long time now!’, Vijay directly touched the topic he wanted to communicate as if even he did not desire to waste time in talking about casual topics or any other trivial issues.

Priya’s heartbeats were fast soaring and she was now all the more eager to hear what she had been longing for across so many years now. It was appearing as if her dreams were coming true at last.

‘How shall I say it?’, Vijay was perhaps trying to find the right words making Priya all the more restless.

‘Frankly speaking, I am in love!’, Vijay uttered by gathering some courage.

He was staring straight at her that made Priya blush and she started looking down. She had no more courage left in her to endorse Vijay’s staring looks.

But Vijay continued talking incessantly, ‘You know I have never felt afraid of anything in life but this time I am somehow unable to gather the courage to disclose this to her!’.

The moment Vijay pronounced the word ‘her’, Priya felt as if a devastating blow was being made on her heartfelt emotions and all her dreams were being shattered mercilessly. Right in front of her, the long cherished palace of her aspirations, was collapsing with those thundering words of Vijay.

But Vijay was completely ignorant of Priya’s thought process and therefore he said, ‘That is the whole reason why I decided to seek your help because, you being my best friend, I am confident that you will definitely help me!’.

Vijay was continuously talking about his aspirations as though never before he had speared himself for such an overwhelming outburst of his emotions. But each of his word was like a disastrous blow to her heart and he was totally ignorant of it. Priya was unable to hear his words and all her senses were going paralyzed. Conflicting thoughts were raging in her mind and she was feeling as though there was complete darkness in front of her now. She tried her level best to gain control over her balance because under no circumstances she wanted to spoil Vijay’s joyous mood to have finally sought some relief from that unbearable burden. But for the first time in her life, Priya was finding it difficult to care for herself because she was feeling as though the entire purpose of her living was brutally crushed under the shock she had just suffered. And only then, did she remember the words of Vijay, the beloved guide of her life had once uttered, ‘When you feel that everything has ended, the life actually begins from that point only!’.

Those words had at last had offered her some solace because she had not taken these words much too seriously, the day Vijay had pronounced them but it was only now she was realizing the significance of that advice. Unknowingly, it was these words alone that were coming to her rescue and appearing out to be the source of energy she could rely upon.

Priya was now engrossed in persuading herself. She thought, ‘I constantly tried communicating my feelings to him but he never took those indications seriously!’.

Priya’s thoughts wandered further, ‘But that means he was never in love with her!. But perhaps he avoided hurting her by being explicit about it. It was I who made a mistake by misinterpreting friendship as love!’.

Priya’s mind argued again, ‘What misinterpretation? You loved him genuinely!’.

But Priya’s conscience argued, ‘But it is true that Vijay had never allowed his mind to commit the same mistake of mixing friendship and love. That way, he had never allowed himself to commit any error about his own emotions and he was right in his position. It is wrong to expect Vijay to love you just because you were in intense love with him!’, Priya’s wisdom concluded.

Vijay’s next question broke the chain of thoughts raging in Priya’s mind, ‘Are you not going ask me who is she? What is her name?’.

‘Well! I will tell you now!’, Vijay clarified, ‘Her name is Nayana!. I fondly call her as ‘Nayani’, she works in the office of her father alone!. She is the daughter of my boss! We both work on the same project’.

Vijay now took a sigh of relief.

Continued …

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

True Friendship - Chapter 24 – Novel - Illusion

2011-05-11T07:04:00.003+05:30

In the meantime Priya’s post-graduation diploma was going on and even Vijay was doing well in his job. The first thing he did after receiving his first salary was to arrange for a good medical treatment for his sister, Shalini. The main question he confronted at that time was to which doctor should he approach so that he will get a proper medical treatment for his sister and that too at an affordable price mainly because neither there was any psychiatrist in his hometown nor did he want to approach any other general medical practitioner and waste both his money and time since his overall experience so far in dealing with the general practitioners was much the same. Therefore, it became necessary to look for a competent psychiatrist from the nearby towns because he himself did not know any. Therefore he followed the advice of Priya and Priya too suggested him the name of a good psychiatrist known to one of her medical college professor. Vijay sought to approach this psychiatrist and he too dealt with Vijay in a gentlemanly manner and tried to make a proper diagnosis of Shalini’s psychological health given the fact that Vijay had contacted him through one of his personal friend. After spending almost two hours with Vijay and Shalini, this psychiatrist prescribed him some medicines for her. After paying the fees of this psychiatrist and after obtaining the medicines Vijay realized that arranging all this was impossible for his father in his insufficient salary. It was only then did he sense the significance of the salary he was earning but he was happy that the psychiatrist had assured him that Shalini was recoverable and his salary was being instrumental in achieving this and even in the future also his earnings were to be used for this sacred purpose. After toiling so hard in life Vijay had got this job he truly deserved to get and therefore it was really important that his earnings would be used for a proper purpose and above all this was the most significant use of the earnings he was making than spending the money for any other objectives.

During this phase of life there was a lot of correspondence taking place between Vijay and Priya. It was because of Vijay’s advice alone that Priya had ventured to continue with her education further even though she was disinclined for it. Frankly speaking, it was indeed going very difficult for Priya to stay away from Vijay under the pretext of continuing with her additional medical education but even then she was also not in a position to avoid pursuing a post-graduation diploma as advised by Vijay because she had, long ago, assumed Vijay to be the guide of her life and she had also long ago started filling colors into her picture of life with an aspiration of being into Vijay’s constant company. Going by the way the things were happening Priya did not see any obstacle in her desires being fulfilled but at the same time she was feeling sad why was Vijay ignoring her emotional desires. But then, she would counsel herself that this was happening because Vijay was paying all his attention at the moment to restoring the order of his home first.

Besides all this, Priya was finding it extremely necessary to address and possibly solve one more intriguing question of the distancing of Rajesh with both Priya and Vijay, apparently for no sound reason. One day, Priya received a very long letter from Vijay in which Vijay had narrated a long story of how he had personally been to Rajesh’s home, as per the advice of Priya, to discuss this issue of why their thick friendship had eventually become so dry and why Rajesh had started distancing himself from both of them. At first, the participation of Rajesh in this discussion was very superficial but in the course of time even he did not realize how deeply he got involved in that discussion such that both, neither Rajesh nor Vijay realized how the whole night passed away. Through the course of talks all old memories were revitalized and even it dawned upon Vijay that although Rajesh was apparently maintaining distance, he was nevertheless the same old friend of Vijay during his college days and Rajesh was still the same old friend just like a coconut appears to be hard and impenetrable on its skin but soft inside. Perhaps he had acquired the hardness superficially because of the circumstances and challenges of life he had had to endure after leaving behind the protected days of college life and this entire distance had perpetuated to grow for no reason sheer because of the misunderstandings remaining unresolved over a longer duration of time. On the contrary, the very moment if such a round of long discussion was to have occurred right at the moment when this distance started developing then perhaps their friendship would not have been reduced to such a dryness between all of them. Sometimes during the talks, with their old memories being aroused again, their eyes were turning wet such that both of them were realizing that it is the friendship during the school or college days is indeed the true friendship because during those days no selfish interests govern the relationships being formed then and no one expects anything else but a pure joy of companionship from such a friendship. Getting such intense friends during the remaining course of life is indeed rare because by that time, individual aspirations, selfish interests, and other expectations tend to have entered into our lives.

Only when did Vijay get up after finishing the discussion to go back home that he realized how the whole night had passed and a new day had already begun. When Vijay took a few steps and approached the door, Rajesh called him from behind, ‘Vijay’. Vijay now stopped for a brief while and looked back at Rajesh only to witness a pleasant surprise.

Rajesh got up from his chair and coming forward he hugged Vijay with overwhelming emotions. That was one such divine moment between them that for few seconds they were speechless and a serene exchange of many emotions, which were perhaps beyond their ability to express, were being expressed between both of them. All said and done, every human being needs an outlet for expressing his or her emotions and their ways to achieve this can vary from individual to individual. Throughout their talks spread over the whole night, may be, Rajesh may not have even spoken as much as Vijay had because Rajesh’s oratory and talking skills were no match to that of Vijay but now this emotions filled action he had spoken far too more than what he might not have done verbally. Your friendship does not depend upon how much and how frequently you talk with your friends but it entirely depends on how much of an exchange of emotions is there between both of you and to what extent you are capable of understanding each other.

Priya felt extremely delighted when Vijay informed her about this latest exciting development through a sufficiently long letter and she even felt slightly disappointed to have missed the opportunity to attend that meeting between both, Vijay and Rajesh because even she wanted to recall those beautiful moments of their strong friendship. As much right Rajesh and Vijay had over those memories equally deserving right did belong to Priya also since majority of the times all three of them were always together and in the absence of Priya through that night along with both of them, Priya felt, that meeting was essentially incomplete. But at the same time Priya was happy that finally the misunderstandings between both, Vijay and Rajesh, have finally been overcome and eventually all the three have come together. It would have been difficult to judge whether the situation then, when this distancing started actually taking place between them, was sufficiently in favour of thinking for such a mediation but it is equally true that for certain wounds to get healed, time is the only perfect medicine and one needs to wait for it to happen.

Now the letters Priya had started receiving also included letters being sent by Rajesh. Sometimes she would even receive letters sent by Rajesh much before the letters written by Vijay as though he was trying to satiate the unfilled hunger of sending letters earlier. Priya was, in fact, writing to Rajesh but looking at his reluctance to respond, even Priya had curtailed her frequency of being in touch with Rajesh. This was as if a water streamed clogged in the form of a pond after coming across some hindrance had started flowing again after that obstacle was removed. But there was no difference in the overall style and tone of the letters being written by Vijay. On the contrary, his letters were no more full of emotions as it were earlier and nowadays his letters were typically impartial. Priya had even questioned him once about this and his reply was as calm as a philosopher, ‘During those days were childish students stepped into the outer world just recently but now having endured the real life for such a long spell we ought to have become impartial and mentally strong’.

After listening to this grossly philosophical and utterly practical answer, Priya dared not to counter it nor did she have any desire to discuss it any further.

Priya’s post-graduate diploma had now been completed and again she was confronting the same question, ‘What next?’. Priya had by now got so full of boredom of acquiring any more education that if anybody was to advice her to pursue any further education, she would have hammered his head in a feat of rage. But that too would not have solved her problem. Therefore, once again she turned back to her guide, Vijay, and sought his advice. Even Vijay happily played that role to offer her further guidance. Vijay was so articulately excellent at his art of persuasive skills and offering advices that often it would so happen that Priya would refuse to accept certain advice offered by her father, but immediately concede to it if the same was to be explained by Vijay alone. once again, Priya started working at a private clinic of a prominent doctor in the same town even though she was of the desire to return to her hometown so that she could be in the company of Vijay but she once again accepted the advice of Vijay that she can return to her hometown anytime in the future as and when she may get the right opportunity.

A lot of time was spent in this and Priya had not been able to get a right opportunity to return to her hometown and she had had to continue there in the same alien town against her will. Moreover, she was even got over-occupied with her daily routine so that she could not spare sufficient time to write a letter to Vijay and similarly Vijay’s volume of correspondence too had reduce probably because even he was occupied with his work schedule.

Once, after returning home after a tiring day, Priya first browsed through all the postal envelopes she had received that day and there she saw the wedding invitation card of Rajesh, which left her aptly convinced of the reason why even Rajesh had not corresponded across last couple of months. She looked for the wedding date which was yet 8-10 days away and it was a Saturday, the day of her weekly holiday. Vijay too was going to attend the wedding since he was already there in the same town and therefore Priya instantly took the decision of attending the wedding and not to lose the opportunity of meeting Vijay.

Continued …

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Serial Novel – Illusion Chapter 23

2011-05-10T09:24:00.000+05:30

After completing the engineering course, Vijay’s day had become completely empty. He had nothing left to do and applying for jobs alone became the activity he soon got extremely busy with. If he would be willing to leave his hometown and go somewhere else, it was not difficult for an engineer of an excellent grade and qualification like him to secure a job. But it was not possible for him to leave behind his house or even seek employment even in any town nearby because although he was the youngest in his family yet the entire responsibility of his family was resting on his shoulders only and if he was to go leave the family behind it would have lost its balance all the more easily. The entire hope being rested upon him alone, going to any other town was equivalent to leaving the family in lurch since he was the backbone of the other members of his family viz. his father, mother and an ailing sister.

A lot of time was spent in searching for a job or applying for the newspaper advertisements. Even Priya was trying hard for him to secure a job and using her father’s contacts she was trying her best to help Vijay get a job. There was no hope that Vijay’s father would be of any help to him because being an alcoholic he would spend entire his day so deeply under the effect of his vice that there prevailed a doubt whether he was even aware that his son had now completed his education of engineering. All said and done, the harsh reality was such that, everybody’s efforts were not yielding any success.

Now even Priya’s internship was over and she too was facing a blunt question what to do next?. Starting an independent practice of her own was not possible without a separate setup of her own and finally when even she started feeling bored and was unable to decide how she should kill her time, she decided to take up a post-graduation diploma course based on the advice Vijay offered her. Joining a post-graduation diploma course was like postponing the problem she was confronting but she was also aware that this way either the problems get solved or one gets so much accustomed to live with them that they no more cause the stress of being a problem.

It was now a daily routine for Vijay to browse through the ‘Employment News’ newspaper, marking the advertisements suitable to his qualifications, collecting all the requisite documents, preparing a demand draft by paying a visit to the bank if necessary and after complying with all the conditions arranging for sending his application for the advertisement. He might have sent scores of such applications and he had received immediate responses for an interview, thanks to his excellent grade and high rank throughout the course of engineering but finally he was falling short of using some strong influence and hence was unable to get a job this far. He was increasingly losing hope so much so that he had now started applying for non-engineering jobs also and there too he was being rejected after being rated as an ‘overqualified’ and wherever he was invited for an interview, people would make a mockery of him by saying that now the engineers too have started applying for the jobs of clerks. In the due course of time he had to take the decision to start applying for the jobs located far away from his hometown.

Nowadays, most of Vijay’s time after lunch, was being spent in waiting for the postman. Given the number of applications he had sent, everyday he was receiving interview call letters from at least two to three employers. Some such day, after finishing the lunch he was sitting in the front room of his house busy in the same thought process and suddenly he sensed as though the postman was standing at his doorsteps.

By the time he reached up to the door, he saw an envelope being inserted from below the door. He lifted and checked the address over it. He was delighted to see that his residential address alone. Vijay hastily opened the envelope and started reading the letter inside with the opening text as,

‘We are happy to inform you that you are selected……..’

With each word he was reading his heartbeats were increasing because the text was,

‘We are happy to inform you that you are selected as an engineer……..’.

Vijay read that letter again. He read the designation ‘engineer’ again and again. He was unable to believe his own eyes.

He once again read the letter completely and, overjoyed as he was, he shouted for his mother, ‘Mummy!’.

Mother was busy cleaning the utensils after lunch and she asked, ‘What is it my son?’.

I have got the job and not any simple one’, Vijay yelled joyously, ‘but that of an engineer only. I have achieved what I always craved for’.

‘What? Finally the God has showered his blessings over you son!’, mother endorsed with her joy and moved her palms, full of soap, over his cheeks to bless without realizing that now Vijay’s face was covered with bubbles.

‘Go and get some sweets!’, she said while hastily going to offer her prayers.

By that time, Shalini, Vijay’s sister too had come there and was staring at him with her expressionless face. Vijay felt tempted to share the good news with her but knowing fully well that her emotions were completely frozen, he restrained himself and went behind his mother inside the home.

Continued …

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Caliber Vs Destiny Story – Novel Illusion - Chapter 22

2011-05-09T05:09:00.003+05:30

Both, Priya and Vijay spent a lot of time there in the café, while continuously discussing about the attitudinal changes that had occurred in Rajesh and why he must have suddenly started distancing himself from both of them or whether anybody must have instigated him to behave this way. Vijay was increasingly feeling bored to discuss this topic anymore but Priya was sticking to that subject all the while.

Finally Vijay angrily said to her, ‘Enough of it Priya! Let us talk about something else now!’.

‘How can you say something like this?’, Priya exclaimed, ‘He was such a good friend of ours, in fact, he is a good friend of us even today!’.

‘That is what I am saying!. He is indeed a good friend of both of us even today but what about the fact that he does not look at it that way!. Friendship is always mutual, Priya and it cannot ever be a one way traffic!’, Vijay explained.

‘That is quite right! But even today I find it hard to accept that something like this can happen in the case of an erstwhile intensely good friend of both of us!’, Priya said and gave a sigh of sadness.

‘Listen to me! With changing times and circumstances even the attitudes of people do witness a profound change!’, Vijay tried to explain.

Priya did not say anything on this and continued sitting there calmly. Both of them were quiet for a long time as though they were having a dialogue with their own minds. The cups of coffee kept before them had long been emptied. Finally Priya, as though she had come out of that engrossed state of mind, said, ‘So? What next now?’.

‘What do you mean?’, Vijay asked having not understood the context of Priya’s question.

‘What I mean is, now we have secured our degrees!. So what next?’, Priya explained.

‘What next?’, Vijay answered, ‘Now I will take up a job. You know, even if an individual may be extraordinary but if he has born in an ordinary family, then the pattern of his life is predetermined!’.

‘Do you mean to say that I am born in some extraordinary family?’, Priya funnily remarked.

‘Compared to me, Yes! You are born in an extraordinary family!’, Vijay said.

‘This is going just too much Vijay! You call me a girl born in an extraordinary family! How foolish!’, Priya laughed at Vijay.

‘That destiny etc. is often talked about is precisely this!’, Vijay replied.

‘But Vijay, today one thing I am strongly noticing in you is that you have suddenly started talking about issues like destiny, luck etc. which you had never been even thinking about till now!’, Priya asked.

‘Now you tell me, I have not born in a family with the negative background of an alcoholic father, insane sister and an illiterate mother, by my own choice but they are inseparably related with my destiny then, you alone decide and tell me whether does my merit or intellect carry any significance?’, Vijay explained.

‘Fine! But it was you alone who used to repeatedly assert that an individual should not blame the circumstances and must think of how he can confront the adversities of life and manage to go ahead in life!’, Priya recalled.

‘Certain concepts are very easy to talk about but one realizes the true pains of the circumstances only when one actually starts suffering from them. now, given the life you are leading, perhaps you can definitely understand my sufferings but you cannot for sure experience them’, Vijay concluded.

Suddenly changed topic of their discussion and the sharply harsh feelings of Vijay about his circumstances left Priya confused about what she should talk next and therefore she opted to keep quiet for some time.

Then Vijay himself took the lead to normalize the atmosphere, perhaps after sensing the unnecessary harshness of their discussion and asked Priya, ‘What are you going to do now?’.

‘Now the medical education is over!. Now the final examination followed by the internship of one year!’, Priya answered.

‘After that what do you intend to do?’, Vijay asked.

‘I don’t know!’, Priya replied.

‘You are talking as though you are not happy even after doing a course of education that is going to open the doors of such an excellent career!’, Vijay replied.

‘Happy?, frankly speaking I had never given a thought about what to do next and for what purpose!. All I always preferred is that we should continue to live together just the way we were enjoying during HSC!’, Priya replied.

‘Indeed Priya! You are still the same just like what you were during HSC!, childish and immature!’, Vijay laughed at Priya.

‘Then do you want me to change?’, Priya asked.

‘Just look around the surrounding world and see where it is going! You ought to change your outlook toward these ever changing times because very soon you are headed to be a renowned doctor!’, Vijay tried to convince Priya.

‘You know Vijay! Nowadays becoming a doctor alone too is not enough!. I feel it even today that I should have taken Mathematics so that I could have continued staying together with you and by now even my education would have got completed. I have started feeling so much bored with this continuously education now!’, Priya sought to explain her desires.

‘Bored about education? How can you even say that? Do some post-graduation so that you will have some specialty at least!’, Vijay advised.

‘These five years of medical education alone is too much and you are asking me to add two more years of post-graduation which is simply unbearable!’, Priya remarked.

‘Then go for some diploma course which is shorter in terms of duration!’, Vijay suggested.

‘Let us see that later!’, Priya replied.

Again some more moments were spent in silence.

Now it was Priya to ask Vijay, ‘What is your idea of life after securing a job?’.

‘After securing a job, as I have explained to you, my first priority is to restore the overall order of my family. Then I want to get the medical treatment done for Shalini, my sister. That way, there are many things pending to be done!’, Vijay answered.

‘After doing all that, what do you intend to do?’, Priya asked a question so that she could bring Vijay on the right track.

‘No! I have not given any thought about that so far!’, Vijay calmly replied.

‘How surprising! You have not given any thought to that so far! On the contrary you are a man of an excellent planning of everything!’, Priya made an indicative statement thinking Vijay will sense something about why Priya intended.

‘Excellent planning! Which fool told you this about me?’, Vijay tossed her query.

‘Is there anything to tell me by somebody else in this?. I know everything about your immediate surrounding, I mean, I know you well to that extent just like you too know me well!’, Priya was getting restless while attempting to indicate her emotions to Vijay.

‘I know you well and I understand you?. Not the least, I don’t think I know you well!’, Vijay replied.

‘Is it?’, Priya angrily asked.

‘in fact, people say that even a supreme Almighty God also cannot comprehend the mind of a woman!’, Vijay laughed.

‘I am not talking about God but I am talking about you!’, Priya shouted at Vijay.

Priya was now completely fuming with anger but she did not express it outwardly. Vijay ignored her remarks and looking at his wrist watch said after giving a big yawn, ‘Oh! My God! Look how much time we are sitting here! I must leave now before the café owner may himself ask us to leave!’, Vijay jokingly said and laughed.

Now Priya was sensing that either he was unaware of her feelings or he was hiding his own approach toward her.

In the same shot of fury, Priya got up and said, ‘Fine! We will leave now!’, and came out of the exit door of the café before even Vijay may come out from there. Initially she felt so hostile toward him that she thought of leaving from there alone without telling it to Vijay but she restrained herself from behaving rudely and preferred to wait for him to come out of the café.

Continued …

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Must read – Novel – Illusion Chapter 21

2011-05-06T16:03:00.000+05:30

For a very long time both, Vijay and Priya, continued sitting there on the steps of the college staircase. Priya had not spoken a single word about the decision Vijay had taken. But even then she did not appear to have been convinced about it.

‘Priya’, Vijay called her, finding that she is so completely engrossed in her thoughts.

‘What?’, she responded even after being engulfed in the thoughts.

‘Today I am going to tell you something that I have avoided telling you so far and you too have avoided asking me those questions!’, Vijay said to Priya.

‘What are those things you intend to disclose?’, Priya said.

‘Almost four years must have passed for that misfortune to have taken place in my family. I was probably studying in the SSC that time. Our family of four was leading a very happy life then. My father loved my sister, Shalini, a lot even though he never disclosed it apparently. Of course, he loves her even today also. In those days, he would drink liquor very rarely, perhaps only when he would be too happy or sometimes casually while being with friends!’, Vijay took a long breath and started telling further.

‘My sister’s formal education was over and she aspired to appear for the MPSC examination. She had successfully passed through the MPSC examination right in her first attempt itself and now she was headed for her interview. She had made very strong preparation for the interview but after reaching the location of that crucial interview she realized that she had lost all her original documents necessary to prove her identity. In the absence of proper documents, the authorities refused to conduct her interview. This mishap left such a strong negative impact on her mind that by the time she came back home she was no more the same woman. In spite of we, the family members, attempting to convince her several times that she can still aspire to face the interview by obtaining the duplicate copies of the papers or she can even reappear for the MPSC examination again next year or she can even look for other opportunities life could offer her but she was not responding to any of our suggestions and advices. On the contrary, this psychological ailment she was suffering from continued to deteriorate further after each passing day. In the absence of good doctors in this small town and also account of lack of sufficient financial backing, my father too was helpless to arrange for a proper medical treatment of my sister. This affected my father’s self-confidence to such an extent that he increasingly took it to consuming more and more liquor because he was never able to withstand my sister’s state of health after returning home. He then started staying more and more away from home and became an alcoholic. In the due course of time he also wasting money in gambling so much so that, forget about the medical treatment of my sister, we even started suffering from scarcity of food and diet on account of least monetary contribution from my father.

Vijay took a brief pause and started describing his troubles further, ‘At one point of time in my life, the situation at home had worsened to such a pathetic extent, that I was even feeling tempted to give up my education and contribute at home by working as a daily wages labor but soon ignored that thought because earnings made through that kind of a source would not have filled the requirement. Finally, it was my mother who showed the courage to work at home to produce and sell household kitchen-made products like pickles etc and I also contributed whatever little I could by distributing newspapers every morning etc along with managing my education. But that too was proving highly insufficient and that is why I had made up my mind that I will strive to complete my education and choose one such stream of education, after completing HSC, that will give me a job and a fixed monthly income as soon as possible and help restore the financial health of my family’.

After Vijay’s monologue was over, Priya said, ‘I can very well understand and appreciate what troubles you must have suffered from in your life. I think, in the present circumstances, your decision to choose engineering as an option of a career instead of medical is perfectly correct and fully justifiable’.

Vijay looked at Priya with complete satisfaction over this unexpected reply because so far he had thought of her as a childish girl but unexpectedly she had expressed a completely matured reaction over Vijay’s explanation.

Vijay secured an admission for engineering and Priya, having left with no choice with certain element of reluctance, opted for medical as the career since she was undeserving to seek an admission for engineering having avoided taking Mathematics as one of the subjects for HSC. Moreover, she did not even make any further efforts to persuade Vijay because she was aware how firm he was about any decision he usually takes. Besides all this, the reasoning provided by Vijay was perfectly apt and Priya would never want to create a trouble between him and his family through her presence. So, eventually, the triumphant gallop of both of them began in the respective domains of career they had chosen.

With the passage of time flowing rapidly, communication between both of them continued through letters and they would occasionally meet also whenever they would return to their native town during vacations.

Passing days got converted into passing months and both of them did not even realize how quickly the duration of four years went by. Hardly a few days were remaining now for Vijay to secure engineering degree and although Priya had spent four years in acquiring medical education, yet there was one more year of internship remaining, to secure her medical degree.

Today was the happiest day of Vijay’s life because he has succeeded in securing most cherished degree in engineering and a boon to that joy was that Priya was to come to meet him the same day. He was waiting for her on the railway station and a train came and stopped on the station.

‘This is the same train using which Priya was to come and meet me’, Vijay thought, ‘Yes, this is the train she was to travel into!’. His excitement reached to its peak. His eyes started searching for in the huge crowd of people alighting from the train and nowhere she could be seen because a massive flood of passengers was moving toward the exit door of the station and he felt as if it was really difficult to search for a single individual amid this big a throng of the people. ‘I have indeed come to receive her here on the station but the possibility of being able to locate her is indeed very little!’, Vijay thought.

The size of the crowd getting off from the train had reduced by now and hardly one or two passengers were seeming to be hiring a coolie to move their heavy luggage when he saw Priya coming toward him and he exclaimed, ‘Yes! That is none other than Priya!’. His depressed face suddenly glowed up with ample joy and he started hastily moving toward her.

Within moments even Priya saw him and reacted in the same fashion, all her tiredness vanished and her face, exhausted so far suddenly beamed with joy. Now even she started moving toward him hastily but was unable to do that because of her luggage. But within moments Vijay reached up to her and they both hugged each other out of excitement.

Vijay and Priya were sitting in a café for a cup of coffee and their talk started.

‘Indeed, after such a long spell have we come here in this café?’, Priya said.

‘You are saying this as if we were coming regularly here to drink coffee!’, Vijay replied.

‘Not too frequently but quite regularly we would come here!’, Priya said.

‘And whenever we came, it was you alone who always paid the bill!’, Vijay replied.

‘When is Rajesh coming?’, Priya glanced at the door and asked.

‘He will come only if he is aware of your arrival and even if he was to be aware of your arrival, the possibility of he coming to meet you is very less’, Vijay replied.

‘Did you not inform him about my arrival?’, Priya asked.

‘No!’, Vijay replied.

‘Why is that so?’, Priya asked.

‘How shall I tell you that now? In fact, it is a big story!’, Vijay replied.

‘What? Have you had a quarrel with him?’, Priya curiously asked.

‘Are we any kids to quarrel between us?’, Vijay said, ‘to be really frank with you our ways parted with the HSC result itself!’.

‘The how do we tend to meet when even our ways are different?’, Priya asked.

‘We meet because we have a strong desire to meet each other!’, Vijay replied.

‘Does it mean he does not have a desire to meet either you or me?’, Priya asked.

‘You can say that!’, Vijay said, ‘with the results being declared, he went out of the college and started slowly distancing himself from us. I tried to reduce that gap between us and even gave a sympathetic thought to his state of mind but it was of hardly any use!. He had no desire left to come closer again!’.

‘Does it mean he never meets you now?’, Priya asked.

‘He does meet me sometimes but very rarely and he is never intense during such encounters. He behaves like a complete stranger!’, Vijay replied.

Continued …

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Sacrifice Story – Novel Illusion - Chapter 20

2011-05-05T13:42:00.000+05:30

After Rajesh went away from there, Vijay and Priya continued sitting there on the steps of the college staircase for a long time completely engrossed in their thoughts.

‘But how did he so pitiably low marks?’, Priya broke the silence and asked.

Vijay did not utter a word.

‘We both secured so nice marks and that poor fellow who studied equally with both of us got so low a score!. How can that happen?’, Priya exclaimed sadly.

Even then Vijay continued to maintain the silence.

‘I think there is some mistake in the checking of his answer sheets. His marks must have been allotted to somebody else by mistake and somebody else’s marks must have been recorded against his name. it happens like this sometimes, my father was telling me once!’, Priya was not willing to accept.

Vijay was maintaining the silence completely.

‘I think he should apply for revaluation of his answer sheets. It may bring about some difference!’, Priya suggested.

‘Listen to me Priya! How many marks do you score does not just depend on how much study have you done!’, Vijay remarked.

‘Then what else does matter?’, asked Priya surprisingly.

‘Your ability and intellectual merit also plays a lot of role. Why do you ignore the fact that all throughout he was getting similar range of marks even during the practice mock examinations too. Then why should he expect some miracle to take place even in this real examination?’, Vijay concluded.

‘But all the while he was claiming that he had not faced any problem throughout all the papers of the whole examination. That is what he was always claiming!’, Priya surprisingly asked.

‘Even during the mock examinations he was talking the same. What this only means that compared to his ability and merit he was giving good performance!’, Vijay explained.

‘You are quite right Vijay! But it is really saddening to discover that the one who studied so hard equally well with us ended up obtaining such a poor result and that is bound to make us feel sad slightly!’, Priya agreed.

‘Yes! Feeling sad is quite justified and even he deserves to feel it that way but I am sure he will recover soon and that is why there is no reason for us to feel worried or anxious about him!’, Vijay explained again.

At least now Priya felt fine because she would feel convinced only after Vijay would explain her properly and Vijay too would explain every such thing in a proper analytical manner suitable for her to understand. Furthermore time passed in complete silence.

‘Oh! Yah!’, Priya murmured as though she was coming out of deep thoughts.

Vijay looked at her with a questioning face.

‘Our topic of discussion that we were talking about is not yet completed!’, Priya exclaimed.

‘What about?’, Vijay asked.

‘About our admissions to a common medical college!’, Priya answered.

‘There is ample time for that!’, Vijay replied in order to avoid that issue.

‘What ample time? We have hardly eight days in hand to decide where we need to secure our next admission!’, Priya explained.

Vijay again sought to remain silent over this.

‘Yes! Now tell me please which medical college should we seek our admissions into?’, Priya again raised the same topic.

Vijay only glanced at her and again got engrossed in his deep thoughts while watching the Asoka trees and their waving branches in front of him with the flowing wind as though he was unwilling to discuss this topic.

‘Indeed! By staying constantly together with both of you a nice group of we trio was formed and now I cannot even imagine of leading a life in the absence of both of you!’, Priya whispered.

‘But it appears that Rajesh won’t ever be able to stay with us together!’, Vijay expressed himself sadly.

‘But at least he can secure an admission in the same village where we may take our admissions!’, Priya sought to find an answer.

‘Who knows? Not everything happens by our desires and priorities!’, Vijay said.

‘But now I do not think that even that is possible anymore!’, Vijay finally gave the right reply he was avoiding to talk about and even now he avoided looking straight into Priya’s eyes.

‘Why do you say that? In fact, is it not that you alone always insist for positive thinking?’, Priya annoyingly asked.

‘That is because I am going to seek an admission not in medical stream but in the engineering!’, Vijay replied with a resolved tone.

A deep sense of melancholy spread over Priya’s face instantly to hear that.

‘What? You never spoke this so far!’, Priya exclaimed as though she was bitterly shocked.

Vijay was maintaining his calm after being deeply engrossed in his thoughts.

‘But why? You can easily get an admission in medical? And besides that only a fool can think of going for engineering when he can easily get an admission to the medical stream?’, Priya spoke angrily.

‘You call it irrationality or foolishness or anything else you may like but I am going to seek an admission into engineering only!’, Vijay declared his resolve.

‘But why? Will you please at least tell me that?’, Priya argued.

‘There is a reason for that!’, Vijay replied.

‘What is that?’, Priya reiterated herself.

‘I wonder whether you will fell convinced by it or…..!’, Vijay doubted.

‘Will you please disclose that as early as possible now?’, Priya was about to explode by this never-ending sequel of fruitless questions and answers.

‘It is high time for me to secure a job as early as possible. It is my topmost priority to restore the pride of my home and if I am to secure a job as early as possible then I do not see any other alternative than engineering!’, Vijay briefly replied his problem.

Priya was now appearing to be sufficiently calm and quiet. She was not uttering a word now because probably she was convinced by the reasoning given by Vijay but the shadow of grief was glaringly visible on her face even now.

While thinking about this subsequently she again angrily said to Vijay, ‘And you are telling me this now. If you were to have told me this earlier would not I have taken the Mathematics in my HSC course?. I definitely think that you had long ago decided to distance yourself from me!’.

‘Priya you are really crazy!. What one should do for something always carries its own limitations. I knew this very well right since early days and that is why I did not tell you because it could not have ever been acceptable to me that you should destroy your own life like a fool for my sake!’, Vijay calmly replied.

Vijay said this and all of Priya’s emotions started flooding through her eyes overwhelmingly, ‘Is this what you recognize my worth for?’, Priya started attempting to restrain her sorrow and tears.

‘Are you crazy?’, Vijay got up and went near her to console her, ‘Wherever we may go our friendship will remain the same!’.

‘Listen to me Vijay! Till the time you came in my life there was no direction to my life! There was no meaning to my life and I was only living the life just because I was supposed to live it!. You came in my life as a true guide and altered the entire course of my life!. Only because of you I could secure so many marks!. If you were not to be there in my life I wonder whether I would have been able to even pass in this examination!. You gave a purpose for my life and taught me to live and now if you are to leave me alone how am I to survive in this journey of life?’, Priya argued and started crying vociferously.

Vijay could only pull her near him and kept patting on her back. He was aware that howsoever effort he was to take to convince her it would not yield any result so he only continued patting on her back calmly.

Continued …

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

College Novel – Illusion Chapter 19

2011-05-03T19:17:00.000+05:30

Vijay, Rajesh and Priya had, by now, started spending time for studies intensely because there were hardly eight days remaining for the examinations to begin. Through these last eight days doing one last revision was necessary and above all doing it properly was extremely important. Examination started after the eight days passed. Everyday they were supposed to appear for one paper. Now all of them started studying independently at their respective homes since each and every moment was important. Everyday the examination was scheduled at 10 o’clock in the morning and after finishing it at 1 o’clock in the noon, they would return home for lunch and take-up the preparations for the next day’s subject. After each examination, the only brief time they would stay together to enquire, ‘how was the examination for that respective subject?’, and then separate for going home on bicycle together.

Almost all the examinations were through now, as per the schedule of per day one subject, except the last today. The subjects that were significant for shaping their future were already over and today was the last examination of the language paper. It was only a formality remaining to be completed for ending the schedule of examinations. After that paper was over all the students started coming out of the examination hall. Everybody’s face was flooded overwhelmingly with joy at last as though the faces that were appearing grim and tense under the fear of examinations had now suddenly changed into a blossom of joy and happiness. A huge crowd of students gathered outside the examination hall and everybody was craving to talk such that the scene was appearing funny because there was no one to listen except that everybody was talking. All of them started toward their respective homes holding their bicycles in hand and even though it was a time for lunch no one seemed eager for it or even appeared to burning with hunger. After the discussion pertaining to how each of the went through each of the examinations, the focal point of overall discussion now turned to how they were to celebrate the thrill of having finished with the examinations. Not with much debate all the groups of students unanimously passed a resolution that they should go and watch a movie after first having finished with lunch. It was impossible to attend the 3 o’clock cinema show since none of them could sense that it was already 2:30 pm while being thoroughly engrossed with chatting and therefore they decided to gather outside the Sandeep talkies at 6 o’clock in the evening. It was only then all of them paced toward their individual homes.

Right since 5 o’clock the groups of boys and girls of HSC started gathering in the lounge of the cinema theatre. Although there was a lot of time yet for the next show to begin, the queue for the tickets was already increasing because the movie was recently launched. All the groups of students appointed a leader of them and handed over necessary amount of money to him or her asking them to stand in the queue so that the remaining of them would be free to continue chatting.

While the flow of their chat was on, one of the boys, paid a clandestine glance at the group of girls and said, ‘How aged are the girls from our class appearing to be?’.

‘What do you mean by ‘Aged’?’, another of them intentionally rounded him with a cross-question.

‘What I mean by ‘aged’ is that till yesterday all of these girls were appearing to be like children in frocks and blouses and now all of a sudden look how grown-up they are looking!’, the first chap tried to save himself.

‘All of their tiny frocks and blouses are a part of a history long ago!, Where do you keep paying your attention man?’, another chap among them replied.

‘Throughout so many days when did he any time left to look at girls after paying all his attention to the books?’, another boy among them taunted.

‘Is that the reason why now he is looking at them like a hungry dog since he has got ample time?’, the first boy pinched.

‘Hey! You rascal!’, the first felt mischievously angry and all of them laughed.

Rajesh, Vijay and Priya with few other boys were chatting in another corner and yet another group of students started a round of discussion about them there.

‘Why do this girl continuously keeps herself in the company of Vijay instead of mingling with the group of those girls there?’, one of them asked.

‘My dear friend, she has arrived here from Mumbai!’, another replied.

‘So what? If she is from Mumbai!. Are all the girls from Mumbai behave this way?’, the third boy remarked.

‘That Vijay too is a shrewd guy!. Under the pretext of studying he entered her home and now……!’, one more of them contributed.

‘Now what?’, one of them asked.

‘What? You don’t know anything?’, the second boy replied in surprise.

‘No! Not at all!’, again came the same reply.

‘Not just now! I will tell you some other time!’, the second boy calmly said.

On the other hand there was a different discussion going on in the group of Vijay and his friends standing in a corner.

‘The movie appears to be a good one!’, Priya said, looking at the different posters placed in the showcases and hanging on the walls there.

‘Nothing can be told about a film going by what is displayed on posters!’, Vijay replied.

‘The movie has been launched just yesterday otherwise by now we would have easily come to know about how good or bad it is!’, another boy remarked.

‘Our neighbour Ram was telling that it is not so really good but only slightly better than the one on display at the Subhash talkies!’, the second boy contributed.

‘That means we don’t have any other alternative!’, Rajesh said.

‘Why not? We do have another alternative!’, Vijay replied.

‘What is that?’, Priya curiously asked.

‘Wait for the right movie to arrive and watch it only when it is approved by others!’, Vijay remarked.

‘What rubbish! Will it ever happen that the examination got over today and we should not watch a movie immediately thereafter!’, Rajesh reacted.

‘That is the precise mistake we often do!’, Vijay said.

Right at the same moment the first bell rang.

One more queue was shaped outside the entrance of the cinema hall. All the boys who had stood in the queue to buy tickets came and handed over the tickets to their friends and then they too joined the queue to enter the hall.

Exactly at 9:30 PM the cinema was over and all the boys and girls started coming out of the theatre with their confused faces. Their expressions alone were sufficiently proving that the film was not any good worth watching.

‘The whole of our nice time was utterly wasted!’, Rajesh said irritatingly after coming out of the theatre.

‘How can you say it was wasted!. Even from this bad experience we have learnt a good lesson indeed!’, Vijay replied.

‘Great! Great! You are truly a philosopher!’, Rajesh admitted holding his both palms like a Namaskar in front of Vijay.

‘I remember a joke now, but not now! I will tell you sometime later!’, !’, Rajesh said after glancing at Priya coming from behind both of them.

‘Why not now?’, Vijay asked.

‘You fool! It is not worth telling in the presence of girls!’, Rajesh whispered into Vijay’s ears with appropriate expressions on his face.

Once again while returning from the theatre the students were chatting among themselves overwhelmingly except for the fact that the topic of discussion was revolving not around the examination but about the film they had watched.

‘What a boring film it was!’, one of them said.

‘There was hardly any story for the film!’, another of them said.

‘But the heroine was showed beautifully from all angles!’, another boy mischievously said.

‘It is only because of these rascals the films such as this one that lay all its focus on body exposing even with a bullshit story run well on the theatres!’, another guy remarked sharply.

‘What is bullshit about it? And body-exposure is also an excellent art!’, the same boy argued in self-defense.

‘What nonsense art are you talking about?’, another guy remarked.

‘Of course it is an art!. Reaching an exact balance between an actress’s body fully covered with clothes and the one exposed with all her feminine beauty is not an easy task to achieve. This is so because when a body gets covered more and more the film turns boring and when it is exposed beyond a limit then the film becomes very nauseating. Making a film that does not appear to be boring and yet not even nauseating is indeed one of the definitions of art itself!’.

‘Wow! What an excellent analysis! You deserve to be a great analyst!’, another boy complemented.

‘Yes! Quite right! He is excellent at making an analysis……of bullshit concepts!’, the same critic opened his mouth again.

After cutting some distance from the cinema hall, the big group got split into smaller ones while approaching their homes.

With the passage of time passing swiftly nobody even realized how the examination approached and was even finished. After the examination got over all of them spread from their village to all their relatives to enjoy the holidays. The day of examination being over was a day of full joys and overwhelming happiness because they were feeling to have finally broken their chains and freed themselves to taste the spirit of independence. Now there was no tension and no worries at all. They were now completely free to do anything except studies. Not only had they been freed from the awesome responsibility of studies but anybody who continues to do the studies even after the exam was over should necessarily be deemed as a fool only. But the human nature is also a very weird phenomenon. After finishing the examinations all of these boys and girls tried venturing into all forms of entertainment such as chatting, playing, watching films and simply relaxing or loitering here and there but soon they realized what limitations each of these methods had or perhaps because all their money to be spent for enjoyment too was exhausted by now. Sometimes they were even feeling that the times of studies were at least better because they were not feeling stressed to think of what to do next anytime. The mind that was constantly busy in studies was now feeling absolutely free and therefore sad too. An individual who is constantly overburdened with work if let free absolutely then he does enjoy the freedom but only temporarily because later, especially after the first stroke of joy is over, a mysterious sadness grips his or her mind. That is the precise reason why each of them were quite literally running away from their village to variety of their relatives either under the pretext of holidays or even under the trivial excuses like a wedding etc. Even Priya went to meet her grandfather and Rajesh too went to meet his sister. But Vijay had no such options and there was also a problem of money. Therefore he stopped at his home only and started spending time at the library. During this phase of his life his reading habit flourished and he read biographies of many prominent people. He also read the fiction stories written by prominent freedom fighter Sane, the veteran teacher. And while reading the stories of his mother, tears often came into the eyes of Vijay because he got a glimpse of different side of the life, that narrate the bonds between a mother and her son. Later he also read the humorous literature of renowned leaders like P.K. Atre or distinguished authors like P.L. Deshpande. Slowly, Vijay was enjoying the company of books and above all what was more important that the books were successfully keeping him sufficiently occupied also.

But when the date of the result started approaching near and near, all the students who had gone out started returning back. Now none of them was facing the problem of spending time because now most of their time was being spent in thinking about the probable result. Finally that very day that was to decide their fate dawned soon.

Priya, Vijay and Rajesh were sitting on the steps of the college looking at their mark-sheet.

‘Now I don’t see much of a problem for both of us to secure an admission in a single medical college!’, Priya said enthusiastically looking at her result sheet.

‘You both can dream of going for the medical but what the hell is my future?’, Rajesh angrily got up and reacted sharply.

‘Why do you bother so much? Even you will get an admission at some good college!’, Vijay tried to pacify him.

‘Finally the same fate I have!’, Rajesh annoyingly said, ‘to become a teacher!’ and he started going away from there.

‘Listen! Wait for a moment!’, Priya got up and tried going behind him.
But Vijay signaled her indicating that let Rajesh go from there alone. Priya stopped but after returning back to Vijay she curiously asked him, ‘Vijay! He is our friend!. He needs our company utmost today at such a grim moment of his life and you are stopping me from consoling him?’.

‘No! At this point of time, he does not need us but he needs to be alone with himself in seclusion! And certain problems or calamities in life can be solved, not by using any other medicine but only after allowing the wounds to heal naturally after a passage of time and that is what Rajesh needs most at this point of time in his life!’, Vijay calmly replied.

Continued …

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Read at home – Novel – Illusion- Chapter 17

2011-04-13T10:35:00.000+05:30

Vijay came in front of the door and waited for a while there, even though Rajesh was continuously knocking on the door. First he restored his breath and reset his hairs back to as usual and then opened the door.

After the door was opened, Rajesh angrily asked, ‘Why do you take such a long time to open the door?’.

Vijay replied, ‘No! The power supply is cut!’.

‘Even I can see that!. There are no lights glowing on the street. I just missed from colliding with somebody on the road!’, Rajesh replied while entering from the door.

Vijay remained silent on this.

‘Where has Priya gone?’, Rajesh asked.

‘She has gone inside to get a candle!’, Vijay replied.

Rajesh could notice that Vijay was replying only what was necessary. But he did not show that. In the mean time, Priya fetched the candle from inside and came there with it.

‘The electricity supply has stopped for a long time now!. Did it went off here just recently?’, Rajesh asked to Priya.

Priya could easily diagnose the intent of Rajesh behind this question.

‘No! Not that!. Even here also the electricity supply was cut long time ago but for a long time I was unable to fetch a candle due to the darkness!’, Priya replied.

Even Priya was replying what was necessary and he was feeling surprised why none of them seemed to be curious about why Rajesh reached there so late. Moreover, Rajesh could also notice that the entire dialogue between them was not happening in the same normal and free style as usually it would happen. He could even a mysterious tension there among them. But even this he avoided being over-inquisitive about it.

‘How shall we study now?’, Rajesh asked.

‘Of course, by using the candle only! What else is the alternative?’, Vijay replied as though he was now trying to get relaxed and free.

Rajesh could even sense Vijay’s conscious effort to make himself feel relaxed.

‘Why are you talking today like the memorized dialogues in a play?’, finally Rajesh could not restrain from asking a sensitive question.

‘Don’t talk like a fool!’, Vijay had now truly turned angry.

‘Fine! Fine! If not like a theatrical play but like the dialogues in a film! But what is there in this to be so much angry about? Isn’t it Priya?’, Rajesh asked.

‘What rubbish are you talking?. If at all I am angry then that is because of this damn electric failure!. Why should you feel any hurt about it?’, Vijay asked.

‘Why should I feel hurt?. All I am just trying to put is that your behavior today is appearing to be rather different than normal everyday behavior. If you don’t believe in me then you can ask Priya whether am I not right?’, Rajesh replied.

Vijay avoided passing any comment about this and lifted his book to begin trying to study in the dim candle light. Thinking slightly afraid that Rajesh might now turn his attention to Priya and start asking questions to her, especially now since Vijay was keeping quiet, Priya started going inside.

‘Now where are you going?’, Rajesh asked her as expected.

‘No! I will just check whether I can fetch one more candle or at least an oil lamp because probably only one candle will not be sufficient for us!’, Priya said.

‘I think, till such time the electricity supply is not restored, shall we do chatting instead of trying to do studies?’, Rajesh proposed.

Priya stopped there as though she was confused what to say over this.

‘Examination is scheduled and there is hardly any time left for us to prepare but this gentleman is proposing to chat!’, Vijay passed a taunt.

‘Chatting means only pertaining to our studies. It may help us clarify our doubts’, Rajesh argued.

‘Doubts?’, Vijay remarked to crack a joke in order to fill some jovial mood in the atmosphere, ‘Doubts exist only when there is any study done!. One thing is quite right that no study means no doubts!’.

Rajesh had even sensed that also. Vijay was desperately trying to normalize the atmosphere because all his efforts in this context were appearing to be very artificial. And instantly then, electricity supply was restored.

Light spread everywhere, inside homes and through the streets also and the cheerful voices of people for this positive happening were being heard.

‘Yes! Yes! The power supply has started again!’, Rajesh joyously shouted but neither Vijay nor Priya expressed any remark over this.

‘Have you quarreled before I came?’, Rajesh could not restrain himself from asking this question.

‘No! Not the least!’, Priya replied without staring straight at Rajesh and appeared eager to get inside the home.

‘Are we any tiny kids to quarrel between ourselves?. In fact, we felt that you yourself quarreled with your brother and got late to reach here!’, Vijay replied.

‘But one minute! Priya, can you look at me?’, Rajesh stopped Priya and asked, ‘Why is your face looking so much full of red?’.

Now Vijay was feeling extremely angry toward Rajesh but he was helpless from divulging it to him frankly.

‘You know, she fell down in the kitchen while searching for the candle!’, Vijay clarified and immediately Priya took the opportunity to get inside the home.

‘But how is falling and face turning red…….?’, Rajesh suddenly stopped, because given the quickness with which Priya had preferred to vanish from there, had convinced Rajesh of what must have happened there.

Vijay went into a corner of the room and started reading his study book. Now Rajesh went near him and mischievously asked, ‘And why even your face is looking so much red?’.

‘What are you asking me?’, Vijay pretended to be confused.

‘What I mean is that have even you fallen somewhere here?’, Rajesh was not willing to give up. Now he had become all the more curious.

‘Enough of your curiosities!. Keep quiet and start studying. Examination has approached and not too many days are remaining now in our hand!’, Vijay continued pretending being angry.

‘All I just wanted to know whether did I come here at a wrong time?’, Rajesh now thought of cornering Vijay fully.

‘Are you not going to keep quiet now? Enough of your mischief!’, Vijay lifted his book as though he was to hit it on Rajesh while smiling at Rajesh’s question.

‘How nice to hear this! It is you who commits a mischief in my absence and blame me for the same!’, Rajesh retorted.

Now Priya came out of the room and she appeared much more calm and steady. She had even had a wash and cleaned her face using water.

‘Shall we have a cup of tea?’, Priya asked.

‘I have no issues!. Ask Vijay whether he wants!’, Rajesh said.

Priya looked at Vijay and for a moment both of them stared at each other. Instantly they turned their faces elsewhere.

‘No! I don’t want it!’, Vijay immediately said and got deeply engrossed in the book or at least started pretending like that.

Continued …

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Romantic Novel - Illusion - Chapter-16

2011-04-11T16:36:00.000+05:30

Vijay, Rajesh and Priya did not even realize how the days passed in meeting, discussing and studying together at Priya’s home. But now the examination time had come. Nevertheless, they were not worried at all because their studies had been completed and to the sufficient depth too. It was only now they were realizing the benefit of conducting discussions while studying. Throughout that fun and frolic Vijay had carefully avoided one thing i.e. he did not hurt Priya ever. Vijay was fully aware that Priya used to frequently look at him intensely or at times even clandestinely while studying or chatting but continued pretending as though he was completely ignorant about it or sometimes he would simply smile at her mildly. Through all these experiences he had learnt one very significant lesson that as more and more you may confront something from entering your sphere with equal strength it rebounds further back to you whereas the more you firmly oppose it from happening equally fast does the intensity of it wanes and eventually it loses its sharpness. If he was to have opposed or even react against Priya’s sentiments probably even he could have got involved in the maze of those emotions in the future but given the firmness and impartiality with which he was continuing to handle the situation, equally least was the possibility of he being involved or trapped in that mess and that is what he wanted to achieve, at least until, he would attain his goal of life.

During those days, whenever Vijay would notice Priya staring at him like this, he would think, ‘What crazy girl is she?, really immature and idiot indeed!’ whereas after noticing him to be smiling mildly, Priya would think, ‘What a crazy boy is he?, how does he fail to understand what I think of him?’. Looking at this staring and smiling episode constantly going on before him, even Rajesh would think, ‘How idiot these children are!. How are they going to deal with their emotions in future?’.

Once Vijay arrived at Priya’s home little early than usual and both of them began studying while waiting for Rajesh. Priya’s father too was to arrive late because he was on tour with some office work. It must be about 8 o’clock at night and yet Rajesh had not arrived. Usually he would not be so late. Vijay thought, ‘What must have happened? Why is he so late? Has he once again entered into some conflict with his brother?’. Vijay thought this way because nowadays he had heard that Rajesh was facing many troubles from his brother especially because having been married now, for Rajesh’s brother, everybody else in the family such as his parents or brother had become family members of least priority, compared to his wife.

‘Shall I pay a visit to his home?’, Vijay said.

‘No need to do that!. He must have come across some work to do! He will come soon!’, Priya opposed.

Instantly, at that moment itself, the electricity supply went off and a thick blanket of darkness spread everywhere, both, at home and on the roads outside. The sudden confused noise of the people could become all the more audible probably because now all the electrical equipments like television, fan etc. had stopped functioning.

‘Nowadays this frequency of electricity supply being cut off has sharply increased, isn’t it?’, Vijay said while trying to look at Priya through darkness.

‘And midst of that this examination of ours is coming!. Sometimes I doubt, whether is anybody intentionally doing this since our exams are approaching!’, Priya expressed herself.

‘No! No!, Why would anybody do this intentionally?. Even otherwise also, when we don’t have examinations the electricity supply does vanish!. We tend to feel that way because we sense its absence so glaringly thinking the need of it on account of the approaching examinations!’, Vijay replied.

‘I will get a candle!’, Priya said and got up to go inside her home.

Vijay sensed Priya’s movements of going inside the house to fetch a candle and he continued sitting there in the same position but soon he started feeling very hot, the prevailing season being the summer, and especially because the fans had stopped functioning. Therefore, after some time, he got up from his chair and went to stand near the window where the cool breeze was flowing. Very soon he heard a loud noise of somebody falling down strongly and wailing out of severe pain fallowed by the sound of falling untensils.

‘Oh! My God!’, Vijay thought, ‘has Priya fallen down due to darkness!’.

Vijay hurriedly went inside the home but could not locate Priya on account of thick darkness.

‘Priya!’, he called.

‘Oh! My God!’, he heard the sound of Priya wailing out of pain.

‘What happened Priya? Did you fall?’, Vijay repeated his question and moved toward the direction from where he heard Priya’s wails.

While searching for her in that thick darkness he suddenly happened to touch Priya’s body and he instantly withdrew his hand as if he had suffered an electrical shock.

‘I had fallen down after my feet was twisted!’, Priya said while trying to get up from there holding on the grip of Vijay’s shoulders.

Vijay’s heartbeats started increasing sharply with that soft touch of her hand and such a close proximity so much so that he could sense each single breath of her. The sweet beautiful fragrance of her body started making him all the more restless because he too was sensing the increasing speed of her heartbeats responding equally passionately. Even his body temperature started rising fast and soon he also kept his hand on Priya’s shoulder under the pretext of enquiring, ‘Hope it is not paining too severely!’.

‘No! No!, not that much!’, Priya leant on his arms and tried to walk while saying, ‘But sudden strokes of pain are coming!’.

Thereafter all the subsequent actions took place with a couple of seconds. Vijay wrested his arm around her shoulder and pulled her instantly near himself. Even she hugged him instantly without making any opposition whatsoever. The speed of breath of both of them had increased sharply and both were sensing it fast. Vijay softly raised his head over her chest and gently moved his palm across her face and soft lips. He was seeing her everyday but this was the first time he was experiencing her sensual presence from such a close proximity. Even she raised her hands and inserted her palms through his thick hairs on his head such that the excitement would grow further. Instantly, both of them stopped for a moment because now a conflicting battle of thoughts was raging in their respective minds. That conflicting battle was to eventually culminate into the final triumph of some or the other thought only and that is what happened soon. Vijay soon passionately drew her all the more closer and touched her lips with his own and kissed her intensely. Even Priya responded in an equal zest and her lips too soon tasted the charm of being wet with Vijay’s restlessness such that both of them were only short of being blended into each other’s wave of sensual pleasure.

Suddenly, both of them heard a loud shout from outside, ‘Vijay’.

Instantly both of them separated from each other because it was the voice of Rajesh.

‘You go ahead in front and I will search for the candle to light it!’, Priya advised to Vijay.

Vijay too stood there in the confused state of mind and finally went ahead to open the door without being able to arrive at any conclusion about what he should say to Priya on what had happened between them.

Contd..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

An Experiment - Chapter - 15 - Novel Illusion

2011-04-10T09:43:00.000+05:30

Today when Vijay arrived for the studies he had brought one circular-shaped card and two-three long iron nails with him.
After seeing that Priya curiously asked, ‘What is this have you brought with yourself?’.

‘Even I have been asking him the same question for quite some time’, Rajesh replied, and he is only saying that he is going to show us some experiment.

‘That’s really nice! Go ahead and show it quickly!’, Priya curiously said.

‘First of all, you at least occupy your seats friends!’, Vijay insisted.

Both of them occupied their seats but still they were unable to trace what experiment Vijay was intending to show. Rajesh was aware that Vijay was purposely delaying so that everybody’s curiosity may reach to its peak but he too was cunning enough not to ask even a single question to defeat the very purpose of Vijay’s delay.

But how was Priya to restrain herself from asking and that is what she did by saying, ‘Yes! We have taken our seats and now show us what experiment you have decided!’.

‘Yes! Yes! Certainly!’, Vijay replied, ‘will you please wait and watch. You are always so impatient about everything!’.

Priya got annoyed with remark, and just like yesterday, felt angry too. Immediately, she opened the book and began her studies because she had realized that since yesterday, Vijay was intentionally maintaining some distance between she and himself. Now she had made-up her mind not to talk with him on her own unless and until he would not open some dialogue.

Vijay was going to say something to Priya but sensing the changed mood of Priya he said to Rajesh, while clandestinely giving an intentional gesture at Priya, ‘Yes! Rajesh, you were saying yesterday that anybody who has fallen love starts feeling as though he or she is seeing his or her fiancé or fiancée everywhere’.

Hearing this sentence, Priya too was tempted to glance at Vijay but she focused her attention back to the book after Vijay saw at her at the same instance.

‘Yes! Quite right!, what new have you said?’, Rajesh replied.

‘No, what I mean is that, you assume that you get to see that fatty, sorry, that queen of yours, everywhere!’, Vijay asked.

‘Why to assume! Of course, yes, I experience seeing her everywhere!’, Rajesh committed himself with pride having been able to join Priya’s camp.

‘Fine! I accept it that you see her everywhere! But do you know what is this called as in the scientific terminology?’, Vijay asked by first looking at Rajesh and then after glancing at Priya.

Once again Priya glanced at Vijay clandestinely because it appeared that her curiosity was now aroused after what Vijay was telling.

‘What do they call it?’, both, Rajesh and Priya instantly asked as though all her anger had vanished instantly within a fraction of a second.

‘That is called hallucination!’, Vijay now looked straight into Priya’s eyes.

‘It is also called as Illusion!’, Rajesh contributed.

‘Quite right!’, Vijay endorsed.

‘It is about that concept itself I am going to demonstrate one experiment today!’, Vijay said, while lifting the cardboard and the nail, the instruments of the same.

Rajesh and Priya glanced at each other and they started carefully observing the cardboard Vijay had held in his hand. The surface of that board was white and there were many circles drawn on it with a same centre, one circle, drawn outside the other thus giving it a look of a coil. Then Vijay pierced a hole at the centre of the board and inserted the nail there. Now holding that nail Vijay started revolving the board around that nail.

‘What is this new idiotism?’, Rajesh exclaimed.

‘Now both of you start staring at this board for two minutes without even blinking your eyelids and immediately thereafter you look at your fingers’, Vijay asked, and started revolving the board at a much faster speed

Accordingly both, Rajesh and Priya, stared at the board, consistently for two minutes without even blinking their eyelids. After the completion of two minutes, Vijay signaled them to look at their own fingers.

Instantly Priya shouted, ‘Fantastic! My fingers are appearing to be bending!’. ‘Even mine!’, Rajesh endorsed with equal surprise.

Vijay was only smiling mysteriously.

‘Now they are straightening up!’, Priya said soon.

‘Yes! Mine too!’, Rajesh endorsed again.

‘Do you know this is called?’, Vijay asked with a smile.

Both of them looked at him with the same question on their face.

‘This is called hallucination’, Vijay replied with the same smile, ‘or even an optical illusion!’.

Their curiosity fully aroused, both Priya and Rajesh, lifted that cardboard and started revolving it themselves to look at other objects in the room and soon discovered that even those objects were appearing to be bending at first and then straightening up. Both of them were enjoying the fun and Vijay was watching them silently with a smile on his face.

After giving them some to enjoy with their new discovery, Vijay gave a thought for a while, and he said to Priya, ‘Anyway, now let us turn to the prologue of this experiment. Let me ask you the answer of a riddle!’.

Priya curiously smiled at Vijay as if all her anger had vanished within no time.

‘It seems you guys are not interested in studies today’, Rajesh questioned.

‘Just wait! After solving this riddle we will get back to the studies!’, Vijay requested.

‘Of course, while studying some short break of relaxation is a must!’, Priya commented.

‘That is quite right but ever since we have come only relaxation is going on and nobody is even making a mention of studies!’, Rajesh protested.

‘No! No!’, Vijay argued, ‘after this riddle we shall definitely get back to studies.

Rajesh offered his silent consent and he started listening to Vijay carefully.

Vijay purposely took a big pause before disclosing the riddle.

‘Are you telling the riddle or just whiling away the time?’, Rajesh angrily asked.

‘Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Some mood needs to be created before disclosing the riddle!’, Vijay replied.

‘Oh Yes! The mood is already created!’, Priya insisted, ‘Now tell us the riddle!’.

‘There was a pond with a small island exactly at its centre’, Vijay started explaining the riddle, ‘the distance from the banks of that pond to that island was 23 feet. Also, there was a wooden plank kept nearby whose length is 20 feet. Now a man wants reach up to the island from the banks of the pond. So, how will he manage to reach?’.

Priya and Rajesh delved into their thoughts for a while and Rajesh exclaimed, ‘It is very easy!’. Priya too endorsed saying, ‘Indeed! This is very easy to answer!’.

Priya started telling the answer, ‘That man use that wooden plank to walk the distance of 20 feet and thereafter he will jump on the island which would then be only three feet away!’.

Vijay laughed loudly to hear that.

‘Yes! Quite right’, Rajesh replied, ‘That is the answer even I was to tell. Why are you laughing! Priya’s answer is correct!’.

Vijay again laughed loudly and said, ‘Friends! There was no water in the pond!’.

‘But you had not told this earlier!’, Priya argued as though she wanted to assert that Vijay cannot fool them so easily.
‘Yes! Absolutely! You should have told this to us before!’, Rajesh endorsed.

‘That is the whole fun of this riddle!’, Vijay continued laughing before offering his explanation, ‘when I said ‘Pond’ you guys assumed that there was water in it!’.

‘The fun is that’, Vijay continued explaining, ‘there is one specialty of human brain to assume concepts or call it a habit of filling the gaps with pre-set notions or assumptions. If the human brain tends to use this facility excessively then the concerned individual suffers from hallucinations or, as Rajesh rightly called it, illusions. Not only that if a human being loses his or her control over this specialty then several variety of hallucinations start taking place which can even culminate into being insane’. After completing this explanation, Vijay laughed loudly as though he was making a mockery of Priya.

But right at the next moment a grave sadness spread over his face probably because he realized that his own sister herself was an insane woman.

Contd..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Read enovel - Illusion - Chapter - 14

2011-04-08T09:43:00.000+05:30

Priya, who had vanished from the scene angrily, soon brought with her three cups of tea for all of them. Now there was no anger apparent on her face. She kept one cup of tea each in front of them, but they knew it well, that usually she would personally give each cup into their hands. Instead, she had just kept it today in front of them. Then holding her own cup in her hands, she started sipping the tea slowly with continuing the studies further. Rajesh and Vijay glanced at each other. Vijay was feeling sorry for unnecessarily hurting her.

‘Yes! Do you know what is it called to that you were saying before going for tea?’, Vijay asked her. Frankly speaking he was only trying to restore her normal mood by talking with her again.

‘Before going for tea, what was I saying?’, Priya suddenly asked unknowingly.

‘That’s what, that you get to see me in your front every now and then or throughout day and night!’, Vijay explained.

‘I was only joking. Does anything like this happen ever?’, Priya remarked, ‘I was bored of studying so I just thought it better to change the topic for initiating some relaxation and entertainment! Isn’t it Rajesh?. Wasn’t it a good relaxation and entertainment!’.

Rajesh did not utter a word because he could understand how deeply Priya must have felt hurt which was why she was casually turning the leaf of any discussion to that topic away. Finding that Rajesh was keeping quiet, Priya once again got engrossed with her reading or, at least, started pretending the same.

‘Anyway, that apart!’, Vijay now turned his attention to Rajesh, ‘I will tell you what I was about to say!’.

But from the corners of his eyes he was carefully attentive of Priya.

‘What are you going to tell me now?’, Rajesh was reluctant to hear because he was hesitant to insert his hand in the ‘Cold War’ between Vijay and Priya to avoid inviting the wrath of any one of them since he had had his fingers burnt several times before by doing that which is why he was alert about it now.

‘Please! I am studying now! Don’t disturb me with your casual talks!’, Priya intervened.

‘How nice of you! Last time did we utter a word against you when you were chatting with us after feeling bored?’, Vijay angrily asked her.

Priya continued delving in her book and studies by ignoring Vijay’s angry assertion forcing Vijay to continue saying, ‘and now you are feeling disturbed by our talks. It is our turn now to feel bored and hence we are going to change the topic’. Vijay sarcastically stressed the mention of his phrase, ‘change the topic’.

‘We are going to change the topic?’, Rajesh pinched, ‘If you both want to continue quarrelling you both may very well continue with it. But don’t unnecessarily pull me in between’. It is often said that a wise is the one who doesn’t interfere in a street-quarrel or between the dispute going on among a husband and wife’.

‘What?’, both Vijay and Priya startlingly asked.

‘No! What I meant is that I was only comparing dispute between you both with a street-quarrel!’, Rajesh quickly sought to clarify himself.

‘That is what even I say, how could you dare to pass such a nasty remark!’, Vijay reacted.

‘But why did you not ask one should not interfere in a street-quarrel and also in a dispute between husband and wife?’, Rajesh asked.

‘Why should one not interfere?’, Priya curiously asked.

‘First I will tell you about the dispute between husband and wife!. One should not try to reconcile between a husband and a wife is that there is never any guarantee when both of them may shake hands and start quarreling with you itself’, Rajesh explained.

‘And why should one not interfere between a street-quarrel!’, Vijay curiously asked.

‘One should never interfere in a street-quarrel because’, Rajesh quietly got up from his chair and started moving toward the door and before running away, he cunningly replied, ‘you never know when the parties involved in a street-quarrel appear out to be a husband and wife!’.

Realizing that Rajesh has again pointed out the whole story back to the phrase ‘husband and wife’ and thereby sought to pair them up again, Vijay angrily shouted, ‘You bloody scoundrel’ and ran after Rajesh.

As soon as Vijay got up to catch him, Rajesh quickly ran away from the door he had intentionally opened carefully before passing that mischievous remark but Vijay also started running after him to catch him outside. Now even Priya was induced to come out of the house and watch, for a long time, their running episode full of fun where Vijay was vigorously attempting to get hold of Rajesh and Rajesh in turn was trying to repeatedly dodge Vijay.

Contd..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode

English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Based on true story - Novel - Illusion - Chapter 13

2011-04-06T10:18:00.000+05:30

As usual, Vijay, Rajesh, and Priya were studying together at Priya’s home. But it seemed that Priya was not paying any attention to studies at all. From the corners of her eyes she was, time and again, glancing at Vijay. At first Vijay did not realize this since he was deeply engrossed in his study but after a long time he sensed something different happening and soon he discovered Priya constantly glancing at him. Vijay tried to ignore it or at first he even pretended to have noticed it but soon he too was unable to concentrate since Priya continued to glance at him repeatedly.

Now Vijay too could not focus on his studies and once he caught Priya red-handed, as though she was stealing something, and asked, ‘Priya, what is this happening today?’.

‘What? Nothing!’, Priya shrugged her shoulders and started reading her notes as if nothing was happening.

Now even Rajesh’s attention was disturbed and he asked, ‘What happened?’.

Finding that nobody was answering his question, Rajesh continued studying again but when Vijay discovered that still Priya had continued glancing at him clandestinely he warned Priya, ‘It seems your mind has gone helter-skelter today and you are unable to control it!’.

‘Oh! That means you do sense my feelings!’, Priya passed a taunt to Vijay.

‘Why? Why can’t I sense your emotions? Am I any mechanical device like a senseless machine?’, Vijay hit back at Priya.

‘No! But I thought that you are indeed a machine, with the only difference of, a machine made of bones and flesh!’, Priya retorted.

Rajesh’s concentration was completely disturbed by this intriguing talk between Vijay and Priya. He annoyingly sought to know, ‘May I know what is this going on between both of you?’.

‘Rajesh! Do you know what happened yesterday night?’, Priya seized the opportunity to disclose.

‘How will I get to know what happened yesterday unless you tell me that?’, Rajesh made a fun of Priya.

Priya ignored his jocular remark and continued telling, ‘Yesterday night I heard the noise of our gate being opened while I was busy studying!’.

‘Some thieves must have tried to enter!’, Rajesh interrupted Priya.

‘Will you please listen to me completely!’, Priya argued.

‘Fine! Fine! You complete your story without my interruption!’, Rajesh conceded.

‘So what was I telling?, Yes, yesterday night when I was studying, I heard the sound of our gate being opened. So I saw from the window that Vijay was coming’, Priya said.

‘What?, There you are! My dear friend, Vijay! Yesterday evening when I enquired whether you are interested to join me for watching a movie, you refused under the pretext of studying and now I know why you refused!’, Rajesh pinched at Vijay.

‘Yesterday night I had come at your home! What nonsense!’, Vijay said surprisingly.

‘Will you please listen to me what happened next? Will you both please remain quiet?’, Priya pleaded before them.

‘I came out to receive Vijay since I saw him coming but after coming out I was astonished to see the gate was closed and above all there was nobody there!’, Priya explained.

‘Hey! Wait! I will tell you what is all this!’, Rajesh quickly tried to interrupt.

‘What?’, Priya replied.

‘It must the ghost of Vijay’, Rajesh taunted by laughing at both of them, ‘that you got to see from window!’.

‘Rajesh! Don’t talk foolish! I am serious about I told you now!’, Priya angrily said.

‘It happens this way sometimes’, Rajesh tried to get serious with Priya, ‘while studying you must have felt dizzy and you must have seen this dream!’.

‘No! No! It was definitely not a dream at all!. I myself feel surprised nowadays but this is what is happening with me every now and then!. Day and night Vijay keeps appearing before my eyes!’, Priya replied.

‘But does this keep happening only about Vijay?’, Rajesh mischievously asked.

‘Yes! You are right! This happens only about Vijay!’, Priya confirmed.

‘Do you know when does this happen?’, Rajesh smiled and asked.

‘When does it happen?’, Vijay joined the discussion.

‘When……Somebody falls in love!’, Rajesh smiled and concluded.

Priya felt blushed and she started looking down.

‘Nonsense! There is nothing call ‘Love’ etc!. It is, but, a one type of mental weakness!, and sickness also!’, Vijay analyzed.

Priya raised her head and looked angrily at Vijay.

‘Hey! Why are you looking at me like this? Are you going to butcher and eat me!’, Vijay taunted in a tone of mischief.

Priya once again started looking down.

Rajesh once again opened his mouth to tease Priya but seeing sorry feelings on Priya’s face he restrained himself and said to Vijay, ‘When one does not understand certain emotions, one must not at least ridicule them’.

‘Master Rajesh, bloody you keep running behind the shadow of that fatty? Now you tell me honestly whether you have a genuine love for her in your mind or it is only a physical attraction?’, Vijay angrily asked.

Priya started going from there angrily banging her steps on floor and both, Vijay and Rajesh kept looking at her in a surprised manner.

Therefore, Priya herself, turned back and said, ‘I am going to get a cup of tea!’.

‘First of all I have told you several times not to call her fatty!’, Rajesh angrily warned Vijay, ‘It hurts me severely!’.

‘It hurts me!’, Vijay sarcastically repeated Rajesh’s words and said, ‘Show me where does it exactly hurt you friend!’.

‘Vijay please! Stop it!’, Rajesh replied.

‘Ok! I’m sorry!, but at least answer my question honestly! You genuinely love her or is it only a physical attraction!’, Vijay was not going to spare Rajesh without obtaining the answer of this root question.

‘I cannot say it so clearly!. There is some love mixed with some physical attraction or even some casual feelings!. But all said and done everything sounds really nice and worth craving for!’, Rajesh replied.

‘That means you can call it an utter confusion of emotions!’, Vijay asserted.

‘You won’t understand these emotions! Perhaps, only when you too will fall in love that you will get to experience this!’, Rajesh calmly said.

‘I don’t think that this is possible in my whole life!’, Vijay said.

‘Let us see what happens in future!’, Rajesh challenged.

Then, peeping inside the house, Rajesh said in a low voice, ‘You are really a fool! How the hell you fail to understand that Priya is in love with you!’.

‘She is crazy and is also little talkative! That’s why she keeps churning out words like this!’, Vijay ridiculed Rajesh.

‘Bear one thing in mind Vijay! If you are unable to understand her emotions then you have no right to ridicule her emotions!’, Rajesh warned.

‘Then what do you think am I suppose to do?’, Vijay asked.

Rajesh kept mum over this.

‘Shall I induce her further and deviate from my goal! Is even she not going to suffer then in all this mess?’, Vijay ruthlessly asked.

‘This means you too understand her emotions to some extent!’, Rajesh smilingly asked.

‘They are not emotions but only a confusion of feelings!. And above all nobody can deviate me from my aims!’, Vijay once again confidently replied.

‘Do whatever you want man! But at least don’t hurt her!. That is all I want to say for the time being!’, Rajesh sought to finally advice Vijay.

Contd..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

A different Love Story - Novel - Illusion - Chapter 12

2011-04-02T19:44:00.000+05:30

Slowly the friendship between Priya, Vijay and Rajesh started growing. Discussing on many subjects together, sharing jokes, and chatting together became routine activities. Rajesh too was accompanying them since he would be usually with Vijay constantly. They used to chat together so frequently but Priya never spoke again about Vijay’s troublesome family background like his sister or the way she had confronted for the first time with his father. Frankly speaking she never dared to raise those topics and nor Vijay volunteered to describe anything further about it. But after witnessing all of those troubles constantly present in his life, Priya had started respecting Vijay for his determination to move ahead in life.

‘What an inspiring will!’, she always felt curious and surprise toward Vijay for this.

Vijay was already going at Rajesh’s residence for studies since it was not possible to do it at his home given the kind of limitations he constantly faced. But ever since Rajesh’s elder brother got married, even their righteous occupation of that room was annulled and now they both faced the same problem. This problem was easily solved by Priya because at her home only she and her father were living, particularly because, her mother had expired during pregnancy while she was studying in the fourth standard and her father had avoided going for a second marriage after her death. Now he was playing the duel role of Priya’s mother and that of being her father. Priya’s residence was a nice State Bank of India quarters of three room’s house. Therefore, she decided to invite Vijay and Rajesh at her home for studies sitting there in the dining hall of her home.

Once Rajesh, Vijay and Priya were studying at home in the dining room and Priya’s father came out there. He glanced at all of them but they were so deeply engrossed in their studies that they did not notice him at all. Priya’s father, was holding one carry-bag in his hand and it appeared that he was going out for some work. He went up to the door and wore sandals and again glanced at three of them. Even then they did not notice him at all.

So he called at his daughter, ‘Priya’.

Startled by his voice, Priya looked at him and got up to say, ‘Papa, where are you going?’.

Both, Vijay and Rajesh got aware of his presence and they too started getting up. But he generously said to both of them, ‘No need to get up! You carry on with your studies! I am just going for purchasing some commodities from market! Please look after the home!’.

‘Don’t you worry uncle! We are there to take care!’, Rajesh assured.

‘Yes! I could see that how attentive you are’, Priya’s father said mischievously.

‘I was going out and yet you did not notice me. A thief won’t have to strive hard to steal anything after entering from outside’, he replied.

‘Papa, you are worrying unnecessarily! What is there precious in our house to steal from?’, Priya retorted at her father.

‘Anyway, I am getting late’, Priya’s father said while stepping out.

Suddenly Priya remembered something and she loudly yelled at him, ‘Papa!’.

‘What is that?’, he answered from outside.

‘Please get few more essential commodities while returning home’, Priya answered.

‘What are that?’, father replied.

‘Get some tea powder, milk and a toothpaste’, Priya replied in turn.

‘Anything more?’, Priya’s father replied sarcastically.

Realizing his sarcasm, both Vijay and Rajesh smiled at Priya.

But Priya replied, ‘No! That’s all! But don’t forget to get it!’.

‘Sure my child!’, father replied and immediately thereafter was heard the sound of his two-wheeler being started.

‘Bye Papa’, Priya yelled again.

‘Bye for now!’, came the reply and then came the sound of that two-wheeler moving out of the premises.

‘But Priya, your papa is really great!’, Rajesh said.

‘Yes indeed! My papa is really great!’, Priya replied with pride.

‘But won’t you like to know why was he calling your father great?’, Vijay asked.

‘Yes! Quite right! Why did you call my father great?’, Priya asked to Rajesh.

‘Just casually! I felt like that and hence I called him great!’, Vijay replied.

‘Here in our town any naïve man is called as ‘Great’, Vijay clipped.

‘Rajesh?’, Priya asked with eyes filled with surprise and anger, ‘did you mean my father is naïve?’.

‘Oh No!, Vijay is only inflaming the fire by pouring oil in it!’, Rajesh replied.

‘Then why don’t you disclose why you feel he is great?’, Priya was not going to let him go without an explanation.

‘Frankly speaking, your mother died when you were studying in the fourth standard and yet your father did not marry again is the reason why I feel your father is truly great!’, Rajesh replied.

‘My father loved my mother intensely, even today his passions for my mother are the same’, Priya whispered as though her memories were awakened.

‘Do you know, it was my father’s love-marriage!’, Priya said.

‘Love-marriage, and that too in those orthodox days?’, both, Rajesh and Vijay exclaimed with surprise.

‘What a foolish question! Does love-marriage is subject to any times? It only takes love between a woman and a man and there is no guarantee when that bond may flourish between the two. But once formed, it happens irrespective of any hindrances like caste, creed, community or even religion!’, Priya asserted.

‘You are quite right!’, Rajesh agreed.

‘Of course, anything told about ‘Love’ will appear true to you’, Vijay remarked mischievously to Rajesh.

‘And do you know how the love story between them blossomed?’, Priya asked by ignoring Vijay’s remark.

‘How did it happen?’, both, Vijay and Rajesh curiously asked.

‘You know how it happened……’, Priya started narrating the story, ‘My mother must be hardly in her early twenties that time, perhaps 22-23 years old. She suddenly developed apathy for this material life and sought to retire at Mount Abu by renouncing all the material pleasures’.

‘What for did she go there?’, Rajesh asked.

‘What do you mean what for? Of course for leading a saintly life!’, Priya replied.

‘The could she achieve her goal?’, Rajesh asked curiously.

‘Are you a fool?. If she was to have really become a saint could we have get to see Priya sitting before us today?’, Vijay annoyingly remarked for such an ignorant and naïve question by Rajesh.

‘No! What I mean to ask is that then how did the love between the two occur?’, Rajesh was appropriate to ask.

‘Actually what happened! My father was distantly related to her and he took the initiative’, Priya started explaining, ‘to persuade and bring her back from there’.

‘Then what happened next?’, Rajesh asked.

‘Then what? He went and succeeded in his mission. In the meantime, the love blossomed between the two’, Priya plainly answered.

‘What a fascinating love story it is’, Rajesh exclaimed.

‘It is a new concept altogether! Worth making a film on it!’, Vijay opined.

‘What happened thereafter?’, Rajesh’s curiosity was not quenched.

‘What next?, you idiot!’, Vijay shouted again, ‘Next they both got married and Priya was born! What else do you want to happen?’.

‘But their love between the two was indeed an ideal love’, Priya was still lost in her memoires, ‘anybody would feel envious of it’.

Contd..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

English literature on net - Novel - Illusion - Chapter - 11

2011-03-28T07:54:00.000+05:30

‘What for has he gone, to fetch the notes of P-1, or for something else?’, Priya was thinking about Vijay, sitting in the open space outside his home, since a lot of time had passed away after he went.

Suddenly, Priya sensed somebody standing behind her. She turned back and was startled instantly, so much so that, feeling afraid she was about to scream for seeing a 21-22 years old insane girl with hairs freely flowing from her head, was holding Priya’s chair looking straight at her and was mysteriously smiling at Priya. Right at the same moment, Vijay came out of his home holding the notes in his hand, and finding Priya completely afraid, he laughed at her and said, ‘This is my elder sister Shalini’.

Feeling relieved, Priya offered her greetings to Shalini by saying, ‘Namaskar’ to Shalini but she did not respond and went away inside the home.

Priya slowly sat down on the chair and Vijay too occupied a chair in front of her and explained, ‘ She is suffering from, you know, some psychiatric ailment’.

‘I can understand it!. I am sorry!’, Priya replied.

‘You need not feel sorry about it! We are very much habituated of it by now’, Vijay replied while giving the notes to her.

Priya flipped through the pages of those notes and spontaneously said, ‘Your handwriting is really very beautiful’.

‘Even you have been endowed with one beautiful gift’, Vijay responded.

‘What is that?’, Priya curiously asked.

‘Your teeth are marvelous’, Vijay explained.

‘Is it?’, Priya blushed with all pink colour being spread on her face with eyes looking down.

‘Thanks that you came to my home, at least under the pretext of notes. I am delighted’, Vijay said.

Priya felt confused what to say on this.

‘No! Usually no one comes to us!’, Vijay said further probably because of his insane sister.

Priya sat there in silence for few moments and then got up to leave. She then assured, ‘I will definitely return your notes within two days. Precisely within two days!’.

‘I know you will!. Not an issue at all!’, Vijay too got up and came as a courtesy to drop her up to the gate.

Right at the same moment one man, in his late fifties, entered the wooden gate holding his old bicycle. His face was full of sweat, unshaven as he was, and his clothes too were crumpled. Besides all of these discourteous looks, when he came and stood near Priya, she was bitterly irritated since his mouth smelled disgustingly foul with liquor.

‘Who is this drunkard man? And where is he going here in decent family’s house?’, she thought, ‘probably he must have entered by mistake’.

Priya thought like this and glanced at Vijay but he was standing calmly.

That man gave an unrecognizing glance to Priya and pulled out a pack of cigarettes of some utterly cheap brand. After opening it when he realized that it was empty, he annoyingly threw it in some corner of that open space outside Vijay’s house and pulled out a Rs. 50/- currency note from his pocket and order to Vijay, ‘Go and get one pack of cigarettes!’.

Priya thought that Vijay might react against that discourteous behaviour but on the contrary he calmly inserted that money in his pocket. That drunken man, in turn, moved ahead and disappeared toward the backyard of Vijay’s house to keep the bicycle he was holding. Vijay glanced at Priya’s confused face and explained, ‘He is my father!’.

Failing to comprehend what to say on this, Priya brought her bicycle out of the gate and said to Vijay, ‘Bye for now!’. While she was ready to move ahead Vijay stood there to bid a farewell to her and responded equally.

For a long time Vijay continued standing there in the gate looking at Priya till the time she moved away from his sight.

Contd..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Favorited Novel - Illusion - Chapter 10

2011-03-24T19:52:00.000+05:30

It was the evening time but still there was lot of time for the darkness to spread. The atmosphere was very pleasant. Those who wanted to go for an evening stroll were slowly coming out of their houses. Even Priya was riding on her bicycle through the road. While riding the bicycle her hairs, styled as bob-cut, were flying on her forehead, and her manner of removing them back from there using one hand while riding the bicycle was appearing very attractive. Moreover, after every brief spell she was also resetting her skirt blowing up on the air and even that action was quite pleasant. After covering some distance she moved on one edge of the road and stopped it near the compound with a wooden gate on it. After putting the bicycle on its side-stand she locked it first and then approached the gate of that home. All her actions, such as stopping the bicycle and resting it on the side-stand were following some beautiful captivating rhythm. The gate she had approached was of Vijay’s home. While peeping over the gate and opening it, she glanced over the open space in front of the main door to see whether anybody was sitting there. Since it being an evening time she hoped to see somebody from Vijay’s family sitting there in the open space or at least Vijay could be there. Contrary to her expectation of the evening time, the main door too was closed.

Have all the people gone out, Priya thought.

She first opened the gate and stepped inside the open space. Then she glanced here and there since she was coming at Vijay’s home for the first time. Similarly, not a single window of Vijay’s home seem to be open. All the windows were closed from inside. She approached the main door of that house. Fortunately, there was no lock hanging on the door which, Priya was assured, there must be somebody inside the home.

Perhaps, Vijay’s mother must be alone at home or it could also be that Vijay must be alone at home and he must be engrossed in his studies inside his room.

She gave a thought to all this, came near the main door of the house and raised her hand to ring the doorbell. Her arm, raised above to ring the doorbell, came down automatically after realizing there was no switch to ring the bell. Then she was forced to knock on the door and wait for someone to open it. But she could not sense any movement inside the house and therefore she knocked on the door once again. Even then there was absolutely no movement being felt inside the house.

Now she genuinely wondered whether all the family members had gone out. She also felt tempted to go at the backyard of the house to check whether the backdoor was locked since she had, by now, come to know that in order to prevent thefts taking place the people of this town had a regular practice of locking the backdoor from outside while going out.

For a couple of moments, Priya even felt tempted to visit the backyard of the house but she avoided going there because firstly she was coming to that home for the first time and secondly she was not even knowing the exact layout of the backyard of that home.

Finally, she turned back and started going toward the wooden gate of that house but suddenly she heard the noise of the door being opened. Therefore she turned back only to see Vijay standing in the door.

Then Priya said, ‘I thought there is nobody at home?’.

Hoping that he might her call inside his home, she stood near him. But Vijay came out himself and pulled one of the chairs kept in the open space and invited her to sit on the other.

‘Come! Let us sit outside only!’, he said, ‘Sit on that chair!’.

‘I had come to you to borrow your notes of P-1’, Priya said to Vijay, ‘unless you don’t need them now!’.

‘No! I don’t need them immediately for next two-three days!’, Vijay replied, ‘because currently I am studying the M-1 and M-2 whose test is expected tomorrow and the day after. But after three days I will need them back since Prof. Patil’s test is coming immediately thereafter’.

‘I will definitely return it to you within two days’, Priya assured while removing the hairs blowing over her forehead with the wind.

Vijay was secretly watchful of her hairs appearing on her forehead with the flow of the wind and her typical pleasant style of removing them back. Suddenly, one middle-aged woman came there out of the house. She was combing her hairs.

‘Meet my mother’, Vijay introduced Priya to his mother, ‘Mother! This is Priya! My classmate!’.

‘Good evening aunty’, Priya welcomed Vijay’s mother and she in turn gave a smile of acceptance.

‘Whose daughter are you?’, Vijay’s mother affectionately enquired.

Experiencing the warmth in her voice, Priya invariably remembered her mother.

‘My father’s name is Mr. Ulhas Kulkarni’, Priya promptly replied, ‘probably you may not be knowing him because he was located earlier in Mumbai and we have recently shifted here after he was transferred’.

‘Where does your father work?’, Vijay’s mother asked.

‘He is in State Bank!’, Priya replied.

‘Is it? Your father must be knowing him?’, Vijay’s mother said to him.

‘No mother!, Father works far off in the forest department! Her father is in the bank!’, Vijay replied.

‘But he must be going into the bank sometimes!’, Vijay’s mother said.

‘But how can her father be knowing every visitor to the bank?’, Vijay questioned.

‘Yes! Even you are right to say that!’, Vijay’s mother replied.

‘But now probably he may come to know!’, Priya said.

Suddenly, some noise was heard from the kitchen of that house and Vijay’s mother turned back and yelled, ‘Coming! Coming! Baby!’ and she went inside again.

After Vijay’s mother went inside again, for a couple of moments both, Vijay and Priya spent in silence. Perhaps they were thinking what to talk next.

‘Can you give me those notes?’, Priya reminded Vijay.

‘Just a minute!’, Vijay said and he went inside home to get them.

Contd..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Ongoing Novel - Illusion- Chapter 9

2011-03-23T23:12:00.000+05:30

College was over. A big flood of bicycles and motorcycles started coming out together. The faces of some of the students were brightly glowing with the feeling of college being over while those of few others were bearing the expressions of being utterly tired and burning with hunger. Generally the last lecture of Vijay would always be of chemistry, biology or physics laboratory practical only. In the morning, started for college after a sufficient breakfast, first few lectures of different subjects would take place followed by a short recess. Then during the second session, generally, languages lectures would get over again followed by a recess. Finally in the third session at the end when all the students would be usually tired, they would be engaged with the chemistry, physics or biology laboratory works. Thus the students of the science stream would hardly get a moment of leisure whereas the students of arts and commerce streams would truly relish the charm of living the college life. If there is any mood to attend the classes they would go for the lectures or would straightaway while away time chatting either in the college canteen or while sitting on the compound walls of the college premises. Just like the science students were occupied even their professors would be equally busy with work. After completing the lectures in the college till the afternoon, they would be required to begin their personal tuitions immediately after the lunch which would continue right up to 10 pm at night. Some of them even would not spare an opportunity of conducting single hour tuition between 6 am to 7 am i.e. before the college would begin. The professors of the arts and commerce stream were, however, very lucky as far as the busy schedule of conducting lectures at college and followed by the tuitions. What it means is that, for the teachers staff of the arts and commerce faculties, the classes in college would take place only if the students would be interested to attend them and there would not be any activity of tuitions after the college getting over. At times, then, the professors of these two faculties would bored not to conduct lectures at college and then they would develop a sharp desire to conduct one lecture but after visiting the classroom if they would find it empty, they would summon a peon and dispatch him straightaway at the college canteen to fetch the students. During such times whatever a few number of students they would find in the canteen would be forced to attend a lecture irrespective of their will.

Therefore, the students whose faces would appear to be utterly tired and exhausted would be belonging to the science stream and the others whose faces would be full of joy and cheer would be of the commerce and arts faculties, sent to college forcibly by their parents. Another reason why these arts and commerce students would be so joyous was never the college being over, at least for the day, but it was the opportune time for them, to see the beautiful girls of the science faculty, appearing to be more and more charming, thanks to the strain they would have endured during their college schedule. Vijay and Rajesh found their way through that outpouring flood of students and started pedaling their bicycles toward home through the main street of their town. Usually while going home they would hardly talk with each other for being tired and exhausted, they would be very eager to reach home fast and eat lunch before commencing the next equally stressful schedule of attending the tuitions. The science students were thus were deprived of looking at the beautiful girls, not because they were disinclined for it but because they would hardly have any time to while away like this. After joining the main street, both, Rajesh and Vijay peddled their bicycles hard as fast as they could and at one turning their roads would bifurcate.

‘Ok! Bye for now! See you soon at the tuitions!’, Rajesh said to Vijay.

‘Bye! Bye!’, Vijay replied without even looking at Rajesh and started riding ahead.

After covering some more distance, a turn to the road would lead Vijay to his home. While taking a turn, Vijay suddenly felt that somebody was coming from behind him. If it was somebody from his college itself, he would have easily ignored but he also sensed that it was some beautiful girl, perhaps he knew her, and therefore he turned back to have a look at her only to realize that it was Priya. Her home too was in the same direction but Vijay knew that she could never follow him since he and Rajesh would rush ahead fast after moving out of the college premises with burning hunger in their bellies. Vijay realized that since she has followed him today necessarily means she too had driven her bicycle equally fast today, perhaps because she too had some necessity to reach home faster. But, while engrossed in these thoughts, Vijay observed that not only had his speed reduced but immediately thereafter Priya too had reduced the speed of her bicycle. This created a doubt in his mind whether she was following him intentionally.

While Vijay was engrossed in this thinking process, suddenly he heard a call from Priya,

‘Vijay’,

For the first time Vijay sensed that he had heard his name being pronounced by a girl of his age, whom he liked, and that too with sincere intensity. He sensed that his heartbeats had increased suddenly and he reduced the speed of his bicycle further. By this time, even Priya had reached up to him and was riding parallel to him. Vijay was confused about what he should talk and so for a moment he stared at her but instantly, as though, he was looking straight at sun, he turned his eyes back to the road ahead.

‘Wasn’t today’s chemistry lecture slightly difficult?’, finally Priya herself took the initiative to talk.

‘Difficult?, Yah! It was difficult’, Vijay replied.

‘Of course, you must be finding it very easy!’, Priya said.

‘No, no, nothing of that sort!’, Vijay blushed to hear that flattery.

‘No! What I mean is’, Priya replied, ‘Usually I find it difficult to comprehend the chemical reactions of the Chemistry-2 and even if I understand them, I tend to forget them 2 or 3 days later’.

‘Yes, you are right! And that is why perhaps Chemistry-2 is called as ‘Volatile’, Vijay funnily replied.

‘Volatile?, yes, you are right! It indeed deserves to be called that’, Priya laughed heartily.

Vijay was seeing her from such a close distance laughing so heartily and his sight could not escape from looking at the twist appearing on her cheeks and those equally beautiful white teeth glittering like white pearls.

‘But in order to being able to remember the reactions one must first be able to understand them. Isn’t it?’, Priya asked.

‘Yes! You are perfectly right!’, Vijay replied.

‘Then have you understood all the reactions taught so far in the class?’, Priya sought to know.

‘Yes!’, Vijay replied.

‘I have been able to understand some of them and the rest are not understood. Will you be able to explain to me those which I have not grasped?’, Priya asked.

‘Of course! Yes! I will!’, Vijay replied affirmatively.

‘Ok then, Bye for now! I will ask them from you some other day!’, Priya thanked him and turned toward home since the road to her home had arrived.

‘Bye’, Vijay replied.

She had gone and he had realized that he had stopped his bicycle on that turn and he was looking at her till such time she went beyond his sight. Even she was smiling at him.

Now Vijay shook head as though he was discarding something and he started toward his home.

‘No! No ! This must not happen! My goal is of supreme importance!’, he warned himself to achieve that first and only then think of the rest.

Deeply involved in these thoughts he was moving toward his house but even then he was feeling better for the barely few moments he had spent with her.

Again he warned himself to control his emotions and must let this happen again. Deeply engrossed in these conflicting thoughts, he did not even realize when he reached at his home.

Contd..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)

Fiction Book - Illusion - Chapter - 8

2011-03-22T23:48:00.000+05:30

Chemistry – 2 class was going on. Professor was busy writing variety of different chemical reaction formulae and the students were busy in writing them down in their notebooks quickly before the teacher would erase them from the blackboard. Vijay was completely engrossed in writing them down and Rajesh too was doing the same. But Priya was, time and again, turning to look at Vijay while being busy in writing her notes.

‘Do you notice any difference between this formula and the one previous to it?’, Rajesh suddenly asked Vijay while taking the notes.

‘Of course, there is a difference’, Vijay replied.

‘I don’t see any! In fact, I find all the chemistry-2 formulae one and the same!’, Rajesh said.

‘All formulae one and the same?’, Vijay surprisingly asked.

‘Yes! Just like Chinese men standing in a row with their tiny eyes’, Rajesh replied.

‘You crazy guy! Sometimes you come out with amazing analogies!’, Vijay remarked.

‘You know! One of my friends uncle had been to China for his corporate work and had been there for long time! He told that it took him three months to learn to differentiate between them and identify each of his surrounding Chinese employee separately!’, Rajesh replied.

Without pay much heed to what Rajesh was talking about, Vijay started taking notes rapidly and thus Rajesh too was forced to pay attention to what professor was teaching. Suddenly while writing notes Vijay soon realized that somebody was time again turning backward and glancing fat him from his right side. Now he turned to check who it was and he saw Priya. For a moment Vijay and Priya looked at each other and realizing that Vijay has come to know about it Priya quickly turned her eyes back to the blackboard.

During the 20 minutes recess all the students were standing in the corridor outside their class in small groups and whiling away their time. Vijay was standing against a pole and Rajesh was in front of him. Vijay clandestinely looked at Priya’s group of girls. Although even Priya was standing among all her girl-friends all her attention was focused on Vijay only. She also clandestinely looked at Vijay and both of them looked at each other for a moment and Vijay said to Rajesh, ‘fifty’.

‘Fifty?, What fifty?’, Rajesh asked.

Vijay again got engrossed in looking at the girls group.

‘This ‘fifty’, what you said just now, is like that mad man standing on a bridge’, Rajesh replied.

‘What mad man on a bridge?’, Vijay asked although he was not much attentive about Rajesh.

‘Once a mad man was standing on a bridge uttering loudly ‘fifty’, ‘fifty’!. A man passing from near him asked, ‘What fifty, fifty?’, then the mad man pushed him down in the river and started reciting, ‘fifty-one, fifty-one!’, Rajesh told a joke and started laughing.

But Vijay being inattentive about him there was no chance of why he would reciprocate the laughter.

‘Raja! I will share one fun with you!’, Vijay mysteriously smiled and said to Rajesh.

‘Fun! What fun?’, Rajesh replied.

‘Look around! In that group of girls!’, Vijay asked him.

Rajesh turned his sight and started looking at the group of girls.

‘You fool! When I asked you to look at the girls, why do you always look at that fat lady?’, Vijay annoyingly asked.

‘She is not a fatty girl as you call it! She is only slightly stout!’, Rajesh explained.

‘Oh is it?, anyway, forget it, look at that new girl who has joined our class!’, Vijay said.

Looking in that direction, Rajesh said, ‘Oh! So you are talking about ‘Priya’!’.

‘Great! So by now you have come to know her name also!’, Vijay pinched.

‘What is so great about it?. The whole class knows her name! Even you must be knowing it but you are only pretending innocence!’, Rajesh replied.

‘No! Really! I did not indeed know her name!’, Vijay clarified himself.

‘Anyway, coming back to what you were telling? What is the fun?’, Rajesh asked.

‘What was the subject of our first lecture?’, Vijay asked.

‘It was of Chemistry! Why?’, Rajesh asked.

‘Right since the chemistry lecture, I am counting’, Vijay started telling, ‘She has looked at me exactly fifty times so far and now see for yourself, this is the fifty-oneth time she has glanced at me!’, Vijay replied.

‘Oh! So this is the fun you are talking about?’, Rajesh mischievously asked.

‘Now I will tell you one more fun!’, Rajesh said to Vijay.

‘What fun?’, Vijay asked.

‘Just tell me one thing! She looked at you fifty-one times! How did you come to know about it?’, Rajesh asked.

‘Of course, I have counted it’, Vijay replied unknowingly the wit of Rajesh.

‘You counted! This means you came to know only when you too looked at her at least that many times, in fact more than that!’, Rajesh trapped him.

‘Which means even she can accuse at you that you have been looking at her fifty-one times’, Rajesh caught the point.

Vijay was completely cornered and was tight-lipped about this.

‘You are talking on my behalf or her’s?’, Vijay angrily asked.

‘I am not talking on anybody’s behalf. Only explaining the facts!’, Rajesh shrugged his shoulders.

‘What do you mean?’, Vijay asked.

‘This means my dear friend! You have become habituated to calculate everything using the mathematical terminologies only. But always bear it in mind that there are certain issues which never fit into the mathematical jargon’, Rajesh explained to Vijay as though he was explaining the gist of something.

‘Now I understand what you are explaining’, Vijay replied.

‘What have you understood?’, Rajesh asked.

‘That this is an excellent excuse for ignoring the physical weight of that fatty in numerical and mathematical terms’, Vijay hit back.

‘Why the hell, you time and again come back to that girl?’, Rajesh annoyingly asked.

‘Oh! Sorry! Sorry!’, Vijay apologized.

Contd..

Original Novel by Sunil Doiphode
English Version by Girish Katre (GirishKatre@gmail.com)