Pagli
“What do I look like?” Aman asked while sitting in front
of her.
She looked at him with charm, took some wet soil and
applied it on his cheek. He was completely embarrassed and she giggled.
“You are looking good now.” She said with a laugh.
And Aman started wiping soil with a handkerchief. He did
not show that he did not like this act of Lubna... He turned his face and
started looking at the other side.
“My dear, look here,” Lubna said teasing him.
“Let it be.” He said without looking at her. He knew that
if he would see her, he would not be able to show even the slightest anger that
he was trying to show.
“Okay... Tell me what do I look like.” She said turning
Aman's face towards her with one hand.
As Aman saw her, she rubbed the same wet clay on her
cheek and started to look at him with a little mischief, and Aman could not
resist laughing.
“Really... you are crazy.” While saying this, he started
cleaning her face with a handkerchief.
“Yes, I am. That is why I liked you instead of people of
my cast.”
“Oh, it means if I were a Muslim, you would not have
liked me.”
“Even then, I might have.” Lubna said winking and hugged
him.
“Oh, be patient, everyone is watching.” He spoke while
trying to stop her.
Lubna looked around innocently... They were in the park
but people around them were not looking at them.
“You are a mouse Aman... Nowadays, boys grab their
girlfriends as soon as they meet them and you...” She punched him in the back
while showing fake anger.
“Their intention would be to do what you want to do
quickly, you might not get the chance later.” Aman smiled in a naughty way,
looking into her eyes.
“And you do not want to do the same?”
“No... I have to spend my life with you, then why hurry.
Whatever is there is my own.”
“Are you sure... you are in no hurry. Then what kind of a
true Hindu you are my dear... You are letting the opportunity of reverse love
jihad go.”
“To hell with love jihad and reverse love jihad. I don't
know the true or false Hindu, I just know that I am a human being and I love a
human being.”
Lubna held his hand in hers, kissed it and put it on her
cheek, and the warmth of his palm started absorbing in her existence.
“Why do people have a problem with love, Aman?”
“Everyone understands love but their hatred dominates
their humanity. They are bound by their faiths, they are victims of deceptive
and hateful propaganda on social media. People of your caste believe that the
whole world should follow Islam and those of my caste feel that Muslims should
be eradicated from the whole world. Now, how many people like us, are suffering
because of their hatred.”
“Will these people let us live?”
“What can I say... now even politics is religion-based.
People now do not consider others as human beings rather they discriminate them
as Hindus and Muslims. Muslims will think that I am doing something like
reverse love jihad and Hindus will think that with the help of girls, the Hindu
boys are being trapped by the Muslims. But surely no one will understand that
two humans are loving each other from the depth of their hearts.”
Then they became quiet for some time.
“What happened in your interview?” After a while, she
asked.
“Consider that I am in.”
“Oh, wow... thank God.” Saying this, her eyes got teary.
Aman took out two chocolates from the other hand and put
it in front of her.
“Let’s celebrate on this happy occasion."
Both of them rested their backs on the backrest of the
bench and Lubna rested her head on his shoulder. Both of them had pulled the
chocolates from the wrappers and they started taking bites from each other's
chocolate.
“Do you think Aman that your family will accept me?”
Lubna said in a sad tone.
“I don't know. Though they all are atheists, they are
associated with political people so I do not know how they will react.”
“Sometimes I feel very scared thinking that if they also
become our enemies then?”
“Well, I don't think... If I were a girl and you were a
boy, then there would have been opposition surely, then the political people
would have made our lives difficult, but in this situation, they might not
protest when they don't have to give a girl, rather they have to bring a girl
into their community.”
“God... May they understand our love.”
“But your family may not understand... First quitting
Islam and then marrying a Hindu boy. God bless us.”
“I know they will not understand our love and will break
all relations with me.”
“Or perhaps they can. There might be an influence of
staying in a metro city like Delhi on them and they can think rationally and
accept our love.”
“Okay Aman.... will you change your religion after
marriage or make me change mine?”
“What do you want?”
Saying “whatever you like”... she bit on Aman's cheek.
“First, let the stakeholders of this society accept our
relation.” Otherwise, Islam can be endangered or Hindutva can be in danger.
“These spectacles are more in small cities, towns and
villages. We live in Delhi... There is a hope that people may prefer human
relationship over religion.”
“Yes, we can hope but politics over these issues are
prevalent. Nowadays the atmosphere everywhere is bad.”
“Then? If this situation arises then.”
“I have thought of an idea because, in the current
situation in today's era, it is not easy for a Hindu boy to get married to a
Muslim girl, your family might not oppose you, but the community will
definitely do it.”
“So... what will you do?”
“When I will settle properly and our wedding time will
come, then you will change your religion and at the same time, I will read
Kalma and will convert to Islam... and after that, we will do the court
marriage.”
“What will happen to this?” She began to see him
curiously.
“Then there will be no ground to oppose. Those in your
family or community can object to Hindu son-in-law, but how can they object to
Muslim son-in-law?”
“And in the same way your family can object to Muslim
daughter-in-law, but how will they not accept a Hindu daughter-in-law...? Wow.”
She clung to him overwhelmingly and Aman also hugged her
tightly.
“Well, tell me one thing,” Lubna asked while separating
from him. After marriage, I might be isolated from all my family, relatives and
society... then will you always support me? I will have no one except you.”
“Always... till my last breath.”
He held Lubna's face in both hands and started looking
into her eyes, which had an excessive love for him. They both got absorbed
looking at each other.
For how long they kept looking at each other like this,
they did not know... Then suddenly Aman's eyes started bleeding and she became
very nervous.
“What happened... what happened Aman...Aman.” She started
shaking him.
Aman's face was stained with blood... Lubna shouted and
pleaded for help from the people, but nobody responded. She was constantly
shaking Aman and he was unable to speak even after trying to speak.
Then he toppled to the ground, Lubna tried to handle him
but she could not hold him. His body was slowly getting soaked in blood and
blood started coming out from his mouth in an attempt to speak.
Lubna was screaming like crazy.
A man passing nearby started looking at her with
curiosity. Then he asked the park staff watering plants—
“Who is this girl and why is she behaving like this?”
“She is mad sir... We chase her away but she manages to enter by fighting.” The employee said making a face.
“Okay but why in the park itself— Does she have any
special attachment to the park?”
“Yes... she always used to meet him in this park.”
“Him.” The passenger started looking at the employee with
questioning eyes.
“Sir— she is a Muslim, she loved a Hindu boy. Both often
used to come here and spend time, but as you know who would have tolerated
this... One day her father and brother caught the boy with her and stabbed him
with knives in front of her eyes. They themselves went to jail— Her mother and
sister who were left at home, thrown her out of the home. She went mad with
this shock... Since then she keeps wandering like this.”
The passenger turned back in regret and started looking at the mad girl who was now crying, holding the bench.
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