Soul of a star : Chapter 4: It is Love...or is it ?? #celebrateblogging #teamwordweavers

TEAM WORDWEAVERS

Soul of a Star

Read the chapters here:

Chapter 1: Hole in a Donut

Chapter 2: Reflections 

Chapter 3: Innocent Eyes, Tough Lass

Chapter 4 : It is Love, or is it????

Tara almost choked while sipping coffee. Keeping the mug aside she read-

Tara the latest sensation is an emotionless wonder with nothing new to offer. It is her glamour quotient that is taking her forward but she is yet to start learning. All about playing the hero`s love interest , sing , dance in a movie of 3 hours, the public gets its money worth but nothing to those who want to see acting. She`ll be just another Barbie doll packaged nicely….”

“Disgusting..how someone can write like this? Does he even know me? Emotionless wonder…huh”. Tara mumbled as she stopped reading and sipped her coffee. It had gone cold – just like the words of Shekhar Dutta. Being a celebrity, criticism like these were bound to happen. But Tara was hurt more by the tone of those words. Then,  she forced to ignore it. Soon, she became busy with more advertisements and movies.

“I would never leave my 1^st love” was her reply when people used to suggest her to leave advertisements. She was an aura of seductiveness loaded with tons of oomph factor. Her next release was an instant hit and accolades poured in from every corner. She became a household name and everyman`s dream but there was one man who seemed dissatisfied. Another article by Shekhar Dutta was published with the headline : 

“Emotionless wonder strikes again”. 

Its tone was similar to the earlier one.

Tara was furious when she called the newspaper office that morning.

“ Hello, I am Tara. Can I talk to Mr. Shekhar Dutta.”

Editor: “ Hello Mam. He is busy in an assignment right now. I will ask him to call you when he is free.” The editor Mr. Pathak 
was a highly respected man who always supported his employees.

“Alright. Thanks” she said and waited for the callback.  The storm in the sea had passed for now. 

The next day , she decided to visit the office to meet Shekhar personally. Mr. Pathak received Tara with a warm handshake. With a friendly smile he asked, " Hello Tara Ma`am. How are you?" 

Tara: “ I am fine Mr. Pathak. Please call me Tara. You are 

much older than I am(smiles).”

Mr. Pathak: “ Done. So what can I do for you? ”

Tara: “ I would like to meet Shekhar Dutta.”

Mr. Pathak : “ He has gone out for an assignment today. Will be back by evening.”

Tara. “ Ok”

On the way out, she caught the name `Shekhar Dutta` at a workstation. A piece of paper on the pinboard said, “ Chalo ek baar phir se ajnabi ban jaayein hum dono” and besides it was a scenery of a path strewn with fallen leaves. “Beautiful” ..she said to herself. Taking a paper she wrote –

Costa coffee,  Juhu, 11 am. Tomorrow. Call 99654#####
“Na Main Tumse Koi Ummeed Rakhoon Dilnavaazi Ki ” 
                                                                           - Tara

keeping it under the keyboard she left.  There was no call or message from Shekhar but she decided to try the next day . “If he doesn’t turn up, I”ll have a coffee myself”, Tara reassured herself.  The Costa Coffee outlet that day was pretty much empty. Dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans she looked like a total stunner even without makeup. She saw a man at the far end corner busy with something. The store manager knew her well so after greeting her, handed her a tissue which read 

Green T shirt, Far end corner 

- Shekhar.

So that was him?? As she got closer, she went weak in the knees. “Gosh. He is so handsome. His body beckons me closer and the jawline is so perfect. I could kiss those lips right now.” She was brought back to reality by the sound of the shifting chair as Shekhar got up to shake hands with her.

Shekhar Datta was a man in the 20s. Hailing from a city in

Uttar Pradesh , he had worked in Delhi before pursuing writing and landing up a job in the current newspaper in Mumbai. His writing skills got him transferred here with a promotion. His parents had died in an accident and he had gone really quiet after that. His friends said that now only his words spoke.

Clasping her hand in a handshake, Shekhar murmered “Pari”(angel). With deep blue eyes, striking figure, perfect curves, voluptuous breasts and those pink lips which seemed like nectar, they screamed lust for a second. Her hair tied by a scarf, it was innocence. Settling down, the service guy came and took their order.

“So tell me what brings you here?” Shekhar asked

“Wanted to meet you”

“Why?” a monosyllable came from Shekhar.

“To clear any grudges you have against me.” Tara replied trying to sort out things between them..

“ Why would I have it? I only do my job. What you do is just glamour and nothing else. A big celebrity.” Shekhar replied.

“Does being 5`8” mean big??” Tara asked

“Excuse me?? ” Shekhar asked.

“This height makes me big?” and she giggled. Shekhar was taken aback by her sense of humour. “ So tell me what you don’t like about me” she continued.

“I like you..errr. I mean I have no problems with you. Its just that the roles you choose show nothing more than your beauty.” Shekhar said.

“That’s a choice I made. It has….”.Tara paused while the service guy came with their order. While he was keeping the things on the table, she noticed Shekhar writing something in a diary, deeply engrossed. 

Tara went on, “I thought that maybe we got off to a wrong start.Why don’t we call it a truce and be friends?”. He took out his white handkerchief, waved it and said, “Peace. The coffee is growing cold”.  

He remained quiet, busy writing his diary. He looked desirable to Tara but out of reach. She sensed something was wrong. After the coffee, they had small talk and left. She had atleast declared truce. Shekhar on the other hand was in thoughts of Tara.

Staring at the piece of paper she had left in his office, he took out his mobile, typed a message and pressed SEND. 

Beep….Beep… Tara checked her phone.

"Sorry…Lets call it a truce and let be friends first. Nothing personal against you. Wish to meet you tomorrow same place 

– Shekhar."

Yesssss!!!! Tara was estatic. The next day Shekhar watched Tara approach the glass door and stopped. A boy on crutches came from behind and she turned. There was a glow on her face as she hugged him tightly and began speaking to his parents. She opened the door for him, made him sit on a chair and went to the counter to place an order. The boy could not stop gushing about his `Tara Di (sister)`. She came and sat besides him,talked and laughed with him. She noticed Shekhar when she turned from the counter with the coffee. A shake of the head acknowledged his presence and Shekhar did the same – without a smile.

“Whats with him?? Why doesn’t he smile?” Tara thought.

Requesting the store manager to look after the orders of the boy, she strolled towards Shekhar. She looked astonishing in a green salwar suit.

“So whats up??” Tara asked as she took a seat.

“ Nothing…who is he??” Shekhar asked, pointing to the boy.

“Raj…my neighbour when I lived here..damn sweet boy. For the world I am Tara the celeb, but for him I am his Tara di.Why were you sorry yesterday?” Tara said. 

“I think I don’t know you well. We writers are not supposed to know celebs personally but you seemed a bit different. So it would be better if we became friends first”. Shekhar replied.

“Done”. Tara said.

“Don’t expect me to write favourable things about you. I have to do justice to my work. When I criticise,I criticise.” Shekhar said writing his diary.

It was an informal talk but it broke the ice between the two. Slowly and gradually they started meeting. Tara turned out to be a girl with a golden heart but her eyes sometimes hid a pain which she wouldn`t disclose. Shekhar could feel it in his own heart but he dare not ask. Tara in turn found Shekhar now to be more open than before.

“Whats with the diary you keep writing?” She had asked him so many times but “Nothing” was the answer everytime. She felt restless to read it, whats in it?? Once while she was sitting with him, his phone rang to the same tune of “Chalo ek baar phir se” , he attended the call.

“You have this everywhere..I mean this song. Whats so special about it?”, she asked.

“Its better if I could be strangers again with….” Shekhar paused.

“ With?”

“With you because I am falling in love…” `No one` he said finally. “ Ok listen, my friend is coming here.I`ll just go and talk with him. You stay back”. Shekhar instructed Tara.

With that he left, forgetting his diary in hurry. Sensing a golden opportunity , Tara picked it up and leafed through it. It was a diary which contained the emotions of Shekhar. There were poems, talks with his heart…everything… Then she came across 2 pages which were of a different diary. It set her heart racing..it read..

Ehsaas dabe panv chupke se meri zindagi mein aane ka
Ehsaas ek ajnabi ke baad dost se kuch zyada ban jaane ka
Ehsaas jab jab mere dil mein hulchul huyi, tumhein saamne dekh kar 
Ehsaas har lamhein mein khushiyan bhar jaane ka
Tum saamne raho to baarish mein gunguni dhoop ka ehsaas
Akelepan mein tumhaare saath hone ka ehsaas
Tumhaari hasi mein vaadiyon ke hasne ka ehsaas
Ehsaas teri khamoshi mein chupi kuch ankahi baaton ka
Ehsaas raat ki chaandni mein tumhein mehsus karne ka

Her heart skipped a beat. There was no mention for whom these beautiful lines were written. Tara wanted to know. Suddenly a gush of wind came from the window and another page slipped from the diary. Curiously she glanced at it and there was something on it too..She saw Shekhar waving to his friend.. She quickly closed the diary and kept it where it was initially, the 2 pages now in her pocket.

“Sorry Tara, Important work. Got to rush. See you later”, Shekhar said and went away minus its pages.

As soon as Shekhar left, Tara continued to sit and took out the second page and started reading it eagerly.

Walking together you`ll stop a few steps behind me and laugh,when I will realize this and look around to find you, you`ll come into my arms and give me a big reassuring hug. Even though you are looking beautiful in every dress you`ll ask me everytime the same thing- achaa batao main kaisi lag rahi thi and I will always say- tumhein dekh kar seeti bajaane ka mann kar raha hai. To see you happy i`ll pick up a fight with you deliberately and I know that you`ll go to bed all crying and in the meantime i`ll take the next available flight to you and in the morning when you`ll open in the door on hearing the bell I will be there with your favourite flowers and a box of tissues….your smile would instantly say that I have been forgiven. I`ll be the stricter of the two parents and the kids will run to their beloved mother everytime, you`ll give me a glare to leave the kids alone and all I could do but to stand there amazed smiling to myself. You`ll be there to calm me down whenever I would have had enough. I`ll make the life more beautiful for you and you`ll always remain my love !!! 

Tara had tears in her eyes by the time she finished reading this. Was this really love?? But for whom?? She wanted to know..she had to know. She knew Shekhar now, liked him…infact loved him…He never gave the hint that he liked her but then why?? Oh gosh..

“ Where are those?? Where are those?? Where did they vanish??....” Shekhar was screaming on himself as he tried in vain to find those two pages – those were his life. He almost ransacked his study  for them but failed to remember.

“I`d kept them in the diary only ?? Has Tara taken them?? No, no why would she?? Let me ask her.” Shekhar spoke to herself.

“ Hello Tara”. Shekhar said

“ Hi Shekhar”. Tara replied.

“ Tell me ,Did you see me dropping some papers in the shop today?” Shekhar asked. 

“No…what happened?? Anything lost?”, Tara asked

“Ya..actually no…I think I must have misplaced that. Ok bye.” Shekhar cut the phone in haste.

What he did not know that his beloved two pages were actually with Tara and what did Tara not know was the person for whom they were written. Time passed and they became best friends. Friendship for them was beyond social status and there was mutual respect for each other after they knew each other`s story. One day while walking in a park..

“What`s bothering you since so many days Shekhar? You`ve gone into a shell” , Tara asked.

“I have lost something Tara, something very precious to me, which is written only once in a lifetime. It’s a part of me”. Shekhar replied

“Tell me about it , I am your friend afterall.” Tara requested.

Closing his eyes, staring at the sky he said, “Walking together you`ll stop a few steps behind me and laugh,when I will realize this and look around to find you, you`ll come into my arms and give me a big reassuring hug…”

Suddenly he felt someone`s hand in his hand and on opening his eyes he saw Tara kneeling on one knee saying, “I`ll ask you everytime the same thing- achaa batao main kaisi lag rahi thi and you will always say- tumhein dekh kar seeti bajaane ka mann kar raha hai”  

Shocked, he sees both his lives in his Jean`s left pocket and Tara smiling at him…

“Tara , what is the meaning of all this?? Where did you get it??” shouted Shekhar

Read the next part of the story here:

Chapter 5 : Resonance 


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