You Are Mine & Mine Only (1)

"Chudi lelo, Bindi lelo

Bahu betiyon shingar

ke liye jhumke kumkum lelo"

Rohit, the hawker screamed at top of his voice through the village kaccha road paddling his cart .

" Mumma, mumma, the bangle man has come, please get me some bangles ", requested Pihu to her mom.

" Okay, okay, just stop him before he leaves this street", said her mother

Pihu ran out of her house shouting, " stop stop, Oye bangle man, stop."

The voice is familiar for me because for past 6 years she has been a regular customer of mine and I knowingly take a lot of time near her house screaming because I knew she is fond of cosmetic and bangles. How shall I let this opportunity of selling my products at one of my premium customers doorstep. I turned around and paddled my cart till her gate front.

" What do you want Pihu ji, I thought today I have to go empty handed from your doorstep. It looks like you forgot me and wanted someone else ."

Pihu blushed and said, " No no, I heard you late because I was washing clothes. Show me some good bangles, I have to attend a marriage party next week. "

" Wait I ll give you the best one, after all you are the most beautiful girl of our village, you gonna kill everyone with your beauty in that function."

" You never leave a chance to praise me"

" You don't know how beautiful you are, a goldsmith only knows the value of a gem. See these bangles, they ll look beautiful in your hands."

Saying that, I took her soft butter like hands in mine and slide a bunch of bangles into it. She was overjoyed to find those bangles, those looked beautiful on her hands. She cried out for her mom, "mumma mumma, where did you go, come quickly, see how beautiful are these bangles."

"Wait wait I'm coming, " shouted her mom from inside and came out.

" Mumma aren't these looking beautiful."

" Pihu ji, everything looks beautiful on you. Why don't you take this lipstick and eyeliners, they will enhance your beauty and you will look like an angel."I said looking at Pihu.

" You have spoiled her, everytime giving her information about new new cosmetics. Nowadays her mind is functioning more towards fashion rather than on studies."

" No madam, it's her age only, if she won't do now then when is she going to do?"

I took out a lipstick from a packet and gave it in Pihu's hand, she tried to open it but couldn't. I said, " wait, I'll do it, I'm sure you will like it on Ur lips" Taking the lipstick from her, I moved close to her and applied it carefully on her rose soft petaled shaped lips and used the eye liner and showed her face in the mirror and she sprang up in joy while her sexy legs revealed her naked thighs underneath her short skirt while her mom stared at her in displeasure and she sat down silently.

Her mom said, " this must be costly, I guess?"

I replied, " No madam just rupees hundred and fifty for both lipstick and eyeliner."

" So costly, do anyone in this village buy these all. Why do you waste your money. No one going to buy it and it will get spoil lying in your cart only."said pihu's mother.

" No one is as pretty as your daughter madam.I shall go to Haweli, thakurayan may like it but before that I thought it will suit more on Pihu because she is prettier than thakurayan. Don't worry about money, you can give it to me later madam ji"

" No, no, you don't know her father, how strict he is . If he comes to know about the lipstick and eyeliner he gonna turn everything upside down, I take the risk"

" But Mumma, I want it for the wedding of Prachiii di, please Mumma, plz"

" I said No, means no, behave Pihu, you are no longer kid now. You are no longer a school kid, next year you will be going to city for higher studies, learn to behave."

" But Mumma . He will take money later."

" Yes madam ji, Pihu ji is right. You can pay me later."

" No, we can't . Her father will be very angry, tell me how much shall I pay for the bangles."

" I don't need these bangles and I don't need anything", saying this Pihu threw the bangles back on the cart and ran into the house with a pale crying face.

" Madam ji, you broke her heart. You take this, when you get money . You can pay."

" Sorry but I can't. She will understand. You just say how much shall I pay for these bangles."

" Madam ji, just rupees 60."

" I will give you 50, not more than that"

"Have I ever taken more than the actual price, okay still if you are saying, give me 55."

" No, I won't give a paise more than 50."

" Okay madam ji, what you wish, you are my regular customer . I can't make profit out of you. God will curse me if I think of cheating you but madam ji you shouldn't have broken Pihu ji's heart, take the lipstick and eyeliner."

Pihu's mom handed me Rs 50 and taking the bangles only went inside the house and I went on my way.

Hardly had I gone few steps away from pihu's house when a guy of about the age of 28-29 stopped me. I have seen this guy, he has joined our village bank only few months back but why did he stopped me. He stay there alone, what do he want from me.

I looked at him and said, " Sir ji you are married ? But you look so young and I haven't seen anyone else living with you here.?"

Before I can say anything he pushed a hundred rupees note into my pocket and I asked, " what sir ji, you didn't buy anything, still giving me money. Your intention seems to be suspicious?"

" Why did that girl became angry ?"

" Who sir ji ?about whom are you saying? I'm not getting your point."

" From where you just came from, that girl the one who bought those bangles from you just now"

" Sorry sir ji I don't reveal anyone's information to anyone else and Shiv shiv shiv, it's not good to stalk into others house "

He pushed another hundred rupees note into my pocket.

"Sir ji, it looks as if you have robbed the bank locker and in a mood to spend all today", I said laughingly.

" Just answer me what I'm asking ?"

 "She wanted the lipstick and eye liner but her mother didn't buy those for her, so she became disappointed and went in. But sir ji why are you interested in their matters?"

" You ask a lot of questions. You are getting money for giving me those information. Just stop questioning me.", replied Ghose babu, yes he is Chittaranjan Ghose, working in clerical post in our village bank and he belongs to kolkota.

" Okay then, I'm leaving", I said and began to walk off

But as I started to leave, Ghose babu caught hold my hand and said, " Wait, you get angry so fast. Actually from the day I saw that girl. I fell in love with her. She always have a smiling face and I forget everything when I see her but today when I saw her smiling face turning into pale, I couldn't tolerate so asked you. What is her name?"

" So it's a matter of love but Why shall I tell you her name?"

" Because I am paying you for this", saying this he again pushed another hundred rupees note into my pocket. I took it out to check, aren't those rupees fake ones and then smiling at him said, " I generally don't reveal someone's personal information and don't think that I'm greedy for money but since it's a matter of love so I'm saying. Her name is Pihu."

" Tell me something more about her."

" What I got, I gave you information according to that but if you want more, you need to think about me too"

Just then his phone rang and after the call he said to me, " I got to go now, you take this hundred and fifty rupees and give her that lipstick n eyeliner out of free you know how to do that. You look interesting, Will like to have more information about her, meet me in the evening" Saying this he went inside the house and I started my howling.

"Chudi lelo, Bindi lelo

Bahu betiyon shingar

ke liye jhumke kumkum lelo"

I didn't meet him in the evening, the next day again I came to pihu's house and knocked at the door. Pihu's mom came out and told me, " we don't need anything, yesterday we had it, do you expect us to buys these things everyday."

I said to her, " Madam ji actually my master told that those who are my regular customers they will be getting a gift from him and here are your gifts."saying this I forwarded her the lipstick and the eyeliners. She looked shocked and said, " you too got a master over you and why is he being so generous towards us?"

"Yes madam ji he is the one from whom I get all these things from city. He got a baby boy born in his house after two girls and out of joy he is distributing gifts to all his good customers and for me you and Pihu ji are my regular and premium customers"

I don't know how cunningly I lied her. Pihu came out and learning about the gifts became jubilant and joyously went in taking them in her hands. She looked like a perfect doll with two braid of hairs and the pink frock.

As soon as Pihu and her mother went in and I left their gate Ghose babu sprang out of his house . Seeing him I asked, " Don't you have office today or just left your job to keep a watch on me and Pihu."

" You fool, today is Sunday, holiday. You didn't come yesterday evening."

" Sir ji I got other works too. If I always sit with you, how will I earn money. I need money to get married and have a family . I'm not son in law of government who will give me money without working and peeping into others house."

" Hey, silent, somebody will hear you. Come in, I ll give you what you don't even earn in a day.", Saying that he took me in and as I sat on the floor, he sat on the chair and said, " Did you give her those lipstick and eyeliner?"

" Yes, I did but don't tell me to do anything else. I lied to them. God is watching me. He will punish me for my sins. I can't do anymore ."

" God won't punish you, you lied for some good reason. Won't you think Pihu will be a good match to me. After all I'm a government employee, earns enough what else will she or her parents wish for. Okay tell me what all you know about her. What she is doing, what she likes and dislikes, everything that you know."

" Sir ji my eyes are so notorious you know, unless my eyes see gandhi ji's papers it won't direct my tongue to speak." I told with a crooked smile on my face. Ghose babu immediately took out a bundle of 100 rupees note and as I kept on giving her information about where and what she studies, what her father does, how soft is her skin because I use to make her wear those bengals holding her hands . I collected a lot of money probably I won't have been able to earn in a month at all.

Now Ghose Babu's house became a regular visit place for me in the evening, I was clever but now became cunning too, lied a lot to him just to get money from him. He had also told me to give what Pihu wants from me at the cheapest rate so that no one would doubt me and the rest amount will be paid to me by him. Also to disseminate whatever information I get to know about her. My greediness kept on increasing day by day and I made good amount from him. Most evening we sat together, now no more sitting on the ground but sat on a chair next to him and sharing wishkey and sometimes rum from the same bottle. One day as I was standing near pihu's school with my cart, I saw a boy came running from pihu's back and hold Pihu's hand giving her an envelope and a rose. Pihu freed her hand from his grip and tore that envelope and threw that on the boy's face. All the boys and girls standing there just kept laughing at the boy.

In the evening while we were drinking I told about the incident to Ghose babu and told him how Pihu cried and left for home.

How much humiliation must she have faced by that incident . Ghose Babu became furious shouting he won't spare that guy, will kill him. He was so much drunked that day, I left him and went away. Next day everywhere the news spread that somebody had chopped off that guys fingers when he was returning from tution late in the evening. I ran to Ghose Babu's house to give him the news but found him lying on the bed with blood stains on his dress. I woke him up and said, " Sir ji what you did, you did such heinous crime, you chopped off that boy's finger in anger."

" What are you saying, I didn't do anything."

" It was my fault, I shouldn't have told you. I didn't know. In the feet of rage you gonna do that. I thought you are just saying those things under the influence of liquor that you will kill him."

" Seriously I don't know how it happened. May be I drank a lot, so I don't remember what happened after that."

" Okay, before anyone can see you in this condition, give me your clothes. I shall dump them in the nearby forest"

He packed them in a bag and gave me. I told him to clean himself up and clean all the places where there are stains of blood. I took his clothes to burn in the forest before anyone can find it out. How can I let my credit card go invalid, he gave me money whenever I wanted, so I didn't mind being a partner in his crime because he paid me handsomely for that too.

Time passed on, gift for Pihu kept on pouring in numbers, lipstick, eyeliner, ...........and my visit to Ghose Babu's house became frequent with my number of lies increasing a lot and suspecious incidents began to rise in the village too. Like once a guy from our village gave Pihu lift in her bike and the next day that bike was found burnt to ashes in front of his house. My fear for Ghose babu was deepening, how could one do such things. Then I thought let it be why should I care as long as I am getting money from him.

The dog of pihu's tution teacher was found dead under suspicious condition and it took place just the next night when it bite Pihu making her feel the pain of needle prick for the antirabies vaccine.

Than one day as I went to pihu's house and shouted near her house, her mother came out alone and when I didn't see Pihu coming out for a long time. I asked her mother, " madam ji, Pihu ji isn't at home, today is Sunday, I don't think she would have gone to school today, is everything fine with her?"

" No, she went to city, she got admission in an engineering college. So hardly will she be seen here from now only on holidays she will come."

That came as a real shock for me. I immediately left the place pretending that I'm not feeling well. Went to Ghose Babu's house gave him the news. He was shattered and fell on the chair with his eyes filled with tears.That day we drank till midnight.

My eyes also got fill with tears, when Ghose babu asked me why am I crying. I replied, " Sir ji I'm crying for you. I can understand the pain of separation . It's too painful." Ghose babu holding me cried a lot, like a child cries holding his parents and told me to find out into which college she got admission .

I tried a lot of tricks on pihu's mother, so that she will reveal me the address but she was illiterate so she couldn't say the college name properly and it's not easy to guess because city got a lot of engineering colleges, where shall I look for her . We didn't have any other option then to wait till Pihu come home and from her only the exact college name came be known .

After few months, when I was passing by pihu's house, pihu's mother called out for me and when I got in front of her house. She came out and shouted for Pihu to come out.

P

ihu came out, she looked grown up, in these three months, she turned more sexy and Beautiful than before. It's rightly said that the atmosphere of the city changes people and here it has touched Pihu beautifully blooming her into a beautiful flower. Seeing Pihu I said, " Pihu ji it feels so nice to see you after so many days, I got lipstick for you for so many days but you were not available here. I was worried how will you get all you want there in that big city, see this is a new lipstick with a better colour, come I will put it on your lips, your lip will glow like a queen"

Pihu replied, " which brand do you have. Lakme, Loreal Paris, Revlon or Elle 18 . I no more use none brand ones, it will turn my lips black due to lead in those cheap varieties. Its city Rohit, I can get alot of varieties from city not what you sell here. "

" Okay, see these bangles, these will look beautiful on you. "

" No no I have enough, I can buy from city now."

" After going to city, you almost forgot me. In which college did you got admission."

" You can't pronounce that, let it be it's not your cup of tea to utter that name"

Saying this Pihu went in as her mobile rang.

Pihu's changed behaviour hurt me a lot. She was regular customer for me, more than that I was tensed that Ghose babu won't pay me if I don't sell anything to her and extract money from him. I was broken from inside, I lied Ghose babu saying I sold her this and that but couldn't find in which college she is reading as she didn't reveal it. Ghose babu said to me to keep a watch on her and to follow her upto city and get her full information and he gave he lot of money for that. I did follow her, I took the bus which she took for the city without letting her know that I'm also traveling in that same bus and following her but to my shock, Pihu took the bus from the village but instead of going to city, after the bus just crossed the village and before I could understand anything she left her seat and got down from the bus and she left....

( To be continued.....)