MUMBAI------------ 'When Jalal's re

MUMBAI

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'When Jalal's returning from Kolkata? Do you have any idea Maham?' Ruqaiya asked Mahamanga, who herself was much ruffled with the question.

'I don't know...it never happened before that Jalal went to some official tour and stayed there for 2 more days...its very strange this time.' answered a lost Maham.

'Yaa...that wasn't even an official tour. Just a charity program. It was all about a day. He was supposed to leave for Monaco the very next morning. But he cancelled his holiday to stay in Kolkata!!! Aisa kya hai wahan!!!' Ruqaiya almost gritted her teeth with last few words.

'Have you called him?' inquired Maham.

'I called hundred times Maham...but Jalal phone uthaye tab na...' Ruqaiya uttered with disgust. She was going to vent some more of her revulsion but suddenly something popped inside her mind. 'Maham kahi Jalal...' she couldn't complete the sentence as Maham intervened in the middle.

'Kahi Jalal...kya Ruqaiya...kahi aap yeh toh nehi soch rahi ke Jalal kisise...' Maham deliberately left her sentence here to tease Ruqaiya.

'Jalal and women...is topic pe toh ab wiki me page bhi ban chuka hai Maham. I know him since childhood. Women are like nights in his life...keep changing with every new day. I am hardly bothered about them. And Maham...Jalal type ke mard na kabhie kisi ek ke nehi ho sakte. They are just...' here Maham cuts into.

'Ruqaiya aap jo keh rahi hai...kahin Jalal ne sun lia toh?' Maham asked mockingly.

'You like or not...but that's truth only.' here Ruqaiya paused for a second and then continued but this time with a frown, 'bas ek hi fikr hai...koyee Jalal ko fasa na le.'

'Yah fir koyee aisi NIGHT jo MORNING leke aye...' Maham played this with a wink. Her tease irked Ruqaiya to the core.

'I don't want to discuss this with you Maham. Aap bas shadi ki taiyari kijiye...Jalal ke laut tehi...we will finalize the wedding.' Finishing this Ruqaiya left the room, leaving a much amused Maham behind, 'as far as I know Jalal...he will never fulfill your THIS dream Ruqaiya...your wish of becoming Jalal's begum will never be successful...so get ready for a heartbreak my love.' Maham was simply delighted envisaging the shock Ruqaiya is going to get. But she was unaware of the SHOCK she herself is going to get...that too very soon.



KOLKATA

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'Bhaiyaa ek football dijiye.' Jodha placed the order before shopkeeper. It was the bigger sports shop in Kolkata G.K.Sports. There's hardly any sport played on earth, they don't sell gear of. They have separate section for sports cars also. This flattering collection already caught Rico's attention the moment he placed foot in the shop. But he knew his mother can't afford one so he never exhibit his passion in front of her...though it could hardly manage to mask the truth from Jodha. She always felt helpless...helpless for not being able to fulfill her son's wish. Her economic condition was just not apt for it and she didn't like to ask for money from Ammijan for each and every reason. Hence, she had no other way but to let her son go through this.



'Madam ordinary football or BRAZUCA?' asked the shopkeeper. Jodha was to sports like Sachin Tendulkar to engineering...simply had no idea.

'No...no...we want a football.' told Jodha as she couldn't get what BRAZUCA stands for. But that irked Rico. He couldn't hide disappointment at his mother's ignorance. But what ruffled him more was the mocking smile on shopkeepers' face. Rico decided to check his mother, 'Mom!!! BRAZUCA is also football. It's the official ball of this World Cup.' Now this made Jodha hell embarrassed. But somehow she managed to came with a decent reply to the shopkeeper, 'oh sorry... actually I have no interest in sports stuff...that's why. Anyways how much for this BRAZUCA?' asked Jodha. Shopkeepers answer sucked the air out of Jodha for a second...her wide eyes became even wider. In short...She was hell shocked!!!

'Maam we have the original World Cup collections. One BRAZUCA will cost you only 70,000 bucks'. Jodha looked at the shopkeeper with wide eyes, 'WHAT!!! 70,000!!! That too for a football!!! Are you mad!!!' The man was trying to say something but Rico intervened to handle the situation, 'Uncle, aap ek football dijiye. Not BRAZUCA, a normal one.'

'Fine.' The shopkeeper asked his assistant to get a ball. With this the BRAZUCA bizarre came to an end.



Jodha was waiting at the counter to pay. In spite of standing in the queue, she was keeping an eye on her son who was strolling near the sports car window. After few minutes her turn came. She paid and turned o leave...'let's go Ri...' But Rico was not there where he was standing a moment ago. But that was nothing new for Jodha as she was used to such hide and seek with Rico...'ab kaha sports car mil gaya ise..' an annoyed Jodha started looking for his son.



It's been almost 10 minutes Jodha was searching her boy...she looked inside all shops in the row...checked the footpath and adjacent street...asked the street hawkers...did every possible thing to get to her son but every where the answer was ... 'NO'. With every passing second a new bunch of fears was flocking to her heart...dragging her senses to standstill. Her entire body was slowly becoming stiff with fear...fear to loose her only sahara...fear to loose her life...her everything...her son. Jodha ran from one shop to another...from one person to another...but nobody knew anything about a lil boy. As if he just vanished into the air. Circumstances attested to the fact but Jodha's heart was not yet ready to believe...Rico is lost.



Suddenly Jodha felt as if the earth around her is spinning...she felt a spine inside her head as well. Everything was suddenly turning black around her. She was about to fall but at the last moment she caught the handle of the door and somehow averted her fall. A surge of cry was storming its way upwards...but Jodha pressed her hand against her mouth and tried to delay her breaking down at least for time being...'how can I waste time in crying...i need to look for my boy...but where do I...' Jodha somehow controlled her burst out, but she couldn't do anything about her tears, as it flooded her face at its will.



'Ammijan...Ammijan ko call karti hoon' Jodha quickly took out her phone and dialed a number. But just then something struck her mind. 'hey kanha!!! Ammijan to hospital mein hain...unka to phone bhi bandh hoga.' This latest addition was like stab on her heart...it crushed her last hope. 'Ammijan ke ilawa main kisse baat karoon...kaise milega mera Rico.' Jodha never felt so helpless in her life...not knowing what to do...where to go...she was all lost. 'Mera bachha...' this time Jodha couldn't stop her surge...she broke into sobs.



All of a sudden Jodha's phone rang into life. She was too immersed in her pain to talk to anyone. Hence it kept ringing for some time then the call ended...but only for few seconds. After a short break the phone again started ringing. This time a thought came in Jodha's mind...may be somebody found Rico and he is trying to contact. Jodha quickly grabbed the phone and pressed for answer, without even looking at the screen which wasn't showing any number of caller rather it had a strange phrase written on it...PRIVATE NUMBER.



'Hello', a faint ray of hope could easily be sensed in Jodha's voice. But what she got in reply was enough to knock her senses out.

'Are you looking for Jalaluddin Mohammad's son?' This question of the caller drove shiver down Jodha. The truth she kept hidden for years...was suddenly OUT and PUBLIC. This shook Jodha to the core. How can a secret, secured within two people, go out like this? 'Nobody except me and Ammijan knows about this...how can somebody else...' Jodha couldn't imagine the possible reason behind this. But this sudden spilling cracked her heart with a fear, 'where is my son? What have you done to him? Agar tumne uske sath...' Jodha couldn't finish what she began as the caller interrupted.

'Humne uske sath kuch bhi nehi kiya hai...waise bhi he is a blank check to us, how can we even allow a scratch on him. But if we don't get what we want, I can't really guaranty anything.' With this the caller burst into laughter, making Jodha almost freeze with terror, 'why you doing this to my child? woh bachha hai...'

'aaj bachha hai...humesha nehi rahega. Kuch saal baad yehi jake baithega IMPERIAL ke takht pe. Fir wohi sab karega jo iska baap karta hai. Gande khoon ka ganda katra!!! Ab apne waris ke liye kuch toh kharcha karna parega Jalal ko.' With every word the caller uttered, Jodha could feel a painful grip squeezing her heart with more power...pushing her deeper into the ocean of agony. A throbbing pain was slowly engulfing her mind. But how can she let herself succumb at this point of time!!! It was just the beginning of a brand new battle she is destined to fight.



'You are mistaking. Ja...Jalaluddin Moh...' the caller didn't let Jodha complete what she commenced.

'Go and tell Jalal to arrange 500 crores...in cash...within 24 hours...to get his son back...warna be ready to receive him in pieces.' hurling this bomb on Jodha the kidnapper snapped the call, leaving a mother with almost nothing to hold on to. Final words of the unknown caller gave Jodha perhaps the hardest task of her life.



'Tell Jalal!!! how can I?...how can I talk to him...how can I return to the cauldron, I escaped years ago...getting back to him means offering myself to his lust...no way to escape...nowhere to go...' His face...his rage...his touch...his torment - every piece of THAT memory whizzed through Jodha...tearing her heart into pieces. Getting back to those was no less than embracing death for her. Well...that's not the only worry she had in mind.



'How can I tell him Rico is his son!!! Why would he believe me!!!...why would he...' numerous thoughts riddled Jodha's mind...what to do...what not to do...she was all lost. If that was not e