Broken Star

The lunch hour never seemed longer, as the sounds of chattering students drifted in through the windows, and Lochan sir instructed her to pay more attention to the meaning of words. Naina stood, listening attentively, all the while feeling utterly confused as to how that was possible. She understood the meaning of words, didn’t she? In fact, she was the only one who even understood Romeo-Juliet, and pronounce the name of the author correctly. Yet, here Lochan Sir was telling her that she needed to work upon her dialogue delivery. She just wished to go back to the canteen and the yummy aloo paratha in her tiffin box.

She wanted to ask him what he exactly meant. She could understand English dialogues and translate them to Hindi; she could understand Hindi dialogues and remember them word for word. What more was needed? Perplexed she tried once more, “lekin sir maine to saare lines bol diye. Aur bolu? Mohabbat ki aarzu me aag ka dariya hai aur…”

“Naina, naina bas…”, Lochan sir interrupted, “Juliet me memory nahi, mohabbat honi chahiye.” And again he told her to understand the emotions, meaning and depth of the dialogues.

Naina left from the staff room, scratching her head. What in the world was Lochan sir talking about? She sighed. Maybe Swati would know. Thinking so, she increased her speed and reached the canteen. However, every confusion and question drained from her mind as soon as she reached the canteen. Her half-eaten aloo paratha was missing! When she confronted Swati, she swore on Madhuri Dixit that she had never touched her paratha. Naina was convinced. Swati would never swear falsely on Madhuri.

Soon she also forgot the parathas as Swati asked her about her audition. She frowned mentioning that all was well, but sir had asked her to prepare more, “kehte hai har shabd ka arth samjho, aur fir unka bhaavarth samjho.”

Swati also had a confused expression, “bhaavarth?”

“Lekin ab main har shabd ka arth aur bhaavarth kaise samjhu?”, Naina cupped her face in her hands, thinking.

Swati was more interested in food rather her friend’s complicated questions, “jaane de na. mujhe na aur bhuk lagi hai. Main cream roll leke aati hun.”

Naina nodded and started eating the remaining piece of aloo paratha as soon as she left. However at the same time, a melodious male voice drifted into her ears.

Yeh deewani shaam, yeh toofani shaam

Aag barasti hai sawan mein pani ka hai naam

Yeh deewani shaam, yeh toofani shaam

Aag barasti hai sawan mein pani ka hai naam

Bas kuchh bhi ho sakta hai

Arre bas kuchh bhi ho sakta hai

Dar kuchh aisa lagta hai

The aloo paratha was forgotten. As if in a trance, intrigued, she stood up from her place and started to go towards the source of the voice. She couldn’t see the face of the boy, yet she felt as if she had met him before. The feeling of familiarity was strong, like a gust of wind blowing across her face bringing in a wave of awareness. In some part of her brain, she thought what was this feeling? She had never experienced this before except for a few times very recently. She would feel as if someone known and familiar had walked by her, but when she would turn around there was no one. But this time it was different, the boy was right before her eyes, if only she could see his face. If only…

Her thought process was interrupted by Swati who suddenly appeared in front of her, “kahan jaa rahi hai? Kumud teacher ki class hai, chal.”

Naina peered over her shoulder still trying to see the boy. “Chal na”, saying so Swati grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door.

But Naina stopped her, “sunn toh… aag barasti hai sawan mein, paani ka hai naam… iska kya matlab hai?”

“Aag barasti hai sawan mein… aree mujhe kaise pata hoga?”, Swati scoffed, “aur waise bhi tu abhi bhi Lochan sir ki baato me uljhi hui hai. Aree yaar, itna toh Juliet ne bhi nahi socha hoga.”

Naina propped her hands on her hips, “aree sochungi nahi, puchungi nahi toh bhaavarth kaise samjhungi.”

Slightly annoyed, Swati folded her hands, “tu samajh bhaavarth, mujhe maaf kar, insaaf kar. Abhi class ke liye late ho rahe hai, chal na.” She pulled her again, and Naina followed her, however she couldn’t help but turn to look at the boy in black polo t-shirt and jeans. Her eyes savored his tall frame, the flyaway hair, and unknown to her a small smile bloomed on her face. She kept turning again and again, hoping to catch a glimpse of his face, but he stood laughing with a few other boys oblivious to the adoring eyes fixed on him.

As soon as they exited the canteen, Naina suddenly remembered that she had forgotten her tiffin box in the canteen. She asked Swati to go ahead, and she dashed back inside, side-stepping a couple of boys on her way in. In her haste, she almost collided with someone else too, but didn’t pay much attention until she was closing her tiffin box, and suddenly felt the same gust of wind blow across her. She stood still, lost, but again when she turned around looking here and there, she found no one. Her heart beat faster, and for a moment she felt as if she had lost an opportunity. But then she smiled slightly shaking her head at her own silliness and left for her next class.

Outside near the water tap, Sameer stood and pondered over his day till now. Ever since he had left Nainital this was the first day that he had enjoyed, all courtesy Munna who had suggested that he come visit this school. After getting permission to stay with Nanu, he had felt happy, feeling as if finally he could gain some peace. Visiting this place had also been a good decision. He recalled how the boys were so astounded on knowing that he was well versed in English, and then they had been appreciative of his style and looks. Munna and his friend Pandit had almost declared him Salman Khan. He grinned, running his hands through his hair, thinking that they weren’t much off the mark. He did look like Salman for sure; so many girls had said so to him in Nainital. Here too, he had seen the dreamy look in the eyes of many girls in canteen. He might have been busy in laughing and singing, but he always paid attention around him. It wasn’t as if he was not used to the kind of appreciation or attention that he had received here, the way he looked it was almost common for him to be the center of attention. However, the degree of attention had increased much more than what he had received in Nainital – maybe because this was such a small town, and the people were so simple.

Not exactly interested, but he had surreptitiously checked out the girls too, and none had captured his attention. Except one. And that was because she hadn’t paid any attention to him. He frowned wondering who she might be. He had almost collided with her in the canteen, and had stopped hoping she would look back at him and apologize, and then he would also get to see the starry-eyed dream-struck look in her eyes. But she had been completely oblivious of him. He had waited and waited, trying to look at her face, but only being able to see her side profile. He kept wondering how could she not notice him. And then had shrugged, letting go of the matter and left from there. Was that his ego talking? No, not really. But pride, yes. He had always felt proud of his good looks that had never failed to garner attention. But this girl seemed to be immune.

It was really amusing the way almost all girls had tied up their hair in two pigtails. He had never seen any girl do that. In his school in Nainital, girls would pull up their hair in pony tails, and during sports time and break they would sometimes leave them open, trying to look their best. The hemline of the skirts were knee length in both school, but the girls in Nainital would roll their socks down to the edge of their shoes to keep their legs bare, while here the girls had pulled up their socks as much as they could so that very less portion of their legs was visible. The girls in Nainital openly flirted, while here they just stared.

He wondered how his new school would be. Just this morning Nanu had said he would get him admission to the best English medium school in Ahmedabad. Would he get as much attention there as he was getting here? Would the girls in that school also be as simple as the ones here? Would they also have pigtails and socks pulled up to their knees? Munna won’t be there. But would he be able to make new friends? And what kind of friends? Would they share his ideology of nothing is more important than friendship? Or would they just bond with him because of his money and popularity?

He walked around the wide open courtyard, where stapu blocks were drawn. Feeling impulsive, he kicked at the small stone, and it landed on the third block. His thoughts wandered back to the girl who seemed immune to his good looks. Who was she? He tilted his head staring at the stapu stone. Did she also play here? And why was he even thinking of her? Grinning to himself, he tried to play the game of hopscotch, but unfortunately he wasn’t used to hopping around on one leg. He stumbled, losing balance mid-way and fell down. Embarrassed, he looked around and sighed in relief on seeing that the surroundings were empty. But the next moment, he heard a small giggle. Someone was there, behind that far away pillar.

He stood up, patting his jeans to remove any dust, “kaun hai waha?”

A girl in two pigtails peeked out, and then again clamped a hand over her mouth giggling. She seemed familiar. He frowned, “has kyun rahi ho?”

Suddenly she sprinted back towards the classrooms, and he immediately rushed to stop her without even thinking why he was doing it. He gauged the direction in which she was running and took a short cut cutting through the courtyard intending to block her way. However, both of them were running fast, and when they saw each other, they realized at the same time that they might not be able to stop. She tried to slow down, while Sameer skidded hoping to stop. The distance between them reduced every second, he saw her eyes widen, and tried to gain his balance. Just a fraction of an inch away from each other, they twirled trying to control the momentum of their bodies. However, as soon as they looked into each other’s eyes they were lost.

Naina had come over to drink water, and seen him trying to play stapu. She hadn’t intended to make herself visible to him, but she had been unable to control her giggles when he had fallen down. It amused her to see a boy of her age try and play stapu, and then lose balance. She had realized it was the same boy who was singing in the canteen, yet she hadn’t been able to see his face clearly from the distance. The angle from which she could see him, she only had a partial view of his profile, and plus she had been more focused on hiding herself. When he had called out to her, she had suddenly realized that he might not like the fact that she was laughing on his fall. So she had tried to escape. But he had blocked her way. And now, twirling on the spot with him, gazing into his eyes, she didn’t even realize that she was literally drinking in his sight. He was handsome. That was her first and last coherent thought, before she lost herself and her heart to him.

Sameer hadn’t intended to be this close to her, and he didn’t even know why he was so intent on stopping her. He had just known that he could see a familiar looking girl who was laughing at him, and he had this sudden urge to look at her properly. When he had realized that he might collide with her, he had tried to stop, gain purchase on the slippery tile floor. For a moment he had wondered if he should hold her, just in case they both fell. But, then he had looked straight into her eyes, and without even realizing his lips had parted, in surprise or wonder, he couldn’t know. Twirling around with her, being able to see her up close, he inadvertently noticed the soft brown color of her eyes. Her pigtails lifted as she twirled and strangely enough he found it cute. His hands almost touched hers, yet they didn’t, and he felt an urge to close the gap, feel her fingers filling in the space between his own. He just had a second to certify himself crazy, before recognition dawned – this was the same girl from the market that day, on whose hair he had unknowingly spit his chewing gum.

They stopped twirling, but still looked at each other. Naina kept staring at his face; she couldn’t believe that she was seeing a boy who was so handsome that he looked like he had come out straight from the movies. His hair was long, dark and looked silky. She felt a strange longing to run her fingers through them. She couldn’t understand what was happening to her. Why was her heart beating so fast? Why despite the fast pace of her heart she felt as if she couldn’t breathe? What was that tingling sensation running in every pore of her skin?

Sameer also kept staring at her; it seemed as if his eyes weren’t ready to shift from her face. She had cut her hair, maybe because of the chewing gum. But wow, she looked so much better than that day. This new hairstyle suited her. He couldn’t understand why he wanted to keep looking at her? But something about her intrigued him.

A sudden sound from a nearby classroom brought them out of trance. Naina jerked, realizing she had been staring at him. Blushing at her own thoughts, she looked away from him. Her head was turned sideways, the sunlight coming from the corner shone on her face lending it a glow that distracted Sameer. He felt an unknown sensation in his heart. Wow again! And then he recognized her again… it was the same girl with whom he had collided in canteen. The girl who hadn’t looked back at him; the one who had been immune to his good looks. But was she really immune? Even in his own dazed state he had noticed that she was also staring at him. And now she was blushing. Why? Did she think he was handsome? Well, of course she did. Who doesn’t? Smirking, he ran his fingers through his hair.

Suddenly she turned to leave, but he again blocked her path, “ruko. Hasi kyun mujhpe tum?” She didn’t reply, just kept looking down, he cheeks a shade of scarlet. He didn’t know why he found the sight almost irresistible. But it irked him that she wasn’t bothering to reply, to pay attention to him, so he continued, “badi badtameez ladki ho. Mere girne pe hasti ho. Ab jawab bhi nahi de rahi. Aur to aur canteen me takrane wale the toh uske baad bhi sorry nahi bola.”

Her heart missed a beat on hearing his statement, and she looked up immediately, “woh tum the?”

He frowned, “aur nahi toh kya. Chalo ab sorry bolo… do baar. Nahi nahi… teen baar.”

“Teen baar kyun?”, she queried puzzled.

He smirked, “aree… akhri wala sorry isiliye kyunki main wahan khada raha yeh sochke ke tum mudke dekhogi, par tumne to dekha hi nahi. Kitni akdu ho tum.”

Furious now, she propped her hands on her hips, “badtameez aur akdu tum ho… main nahi.”

He loved to see the fire in her eyes. At least she wasn’t a doormat who would stay quiet and listen to everything. Plus at least she was now looking at him. He crossed his arms, and saw her eyes drift towards his biceps, “achcha, woh kaise madam?”

She narrowed her eyes, “pehle to mera raasta roka, fir mujhe utle-sidhe naam se bula rahe ho… badtameez, akdu… Aur usse pehle canteen me agar maine sorry nahi kaha turant toh tum bhi toh bol sakte the na. Takrane toh tum bhi wale the mujhse.”

He thought for a moment, “main toh sorry nahi bolne wala. Aur mere diye hue naam pasand nahi toh tumhara asli naam hi bata do.”

“Mujhe kuch nahi batana tumhe”, she replied furiously, “hato yahan se. Mujhe class me wapas jaana hai.”

He didn’t know why but he was absolutely enjoying the banter with her, and he didn’t wish to let her go so soon. So, using his hand, he again blocked her path, “aise nahi. Pehle apna naam batao aur sorry bolo.”

She crossed her arms, muttering under her breath but Sameer was so close to her that he could hear her clearly, “sorry bole meri juti. Aaj ka toh din hi kharab hai. Pehle aloo paratha chori ho gaya aur ab yeh peecha nahi chod raha.”

Astounded he blurted, “woh aloo paratha tumhara tha?”

She looked up surprised, wide eyed, “tumne mera adha aloo paratha churaya?”

He looked annoyed, “oye akdu… churaya nahi. Ab tiffin aisa khula rakhke jaogi to koi bhi kha lega na. Mujhe bhuk lagi thi isiliye main kha gaya.”

“Puchke nahi le sakte the?”, she admonished.

He looked around as if searching for someone, “kisse puchta? Tum thi wahan?”

She frowned, “nahi. Lekin meri saheli thi, Swati.”

“Kon Swati?”, he asked, “main kisi Swati ko nahi jaanta. Aur agar woh tumhari saheli hai to usko mujhe rokna chahiye tha tumhara tiffin khane se. Kamaal ki ladki ho yaar. Adhe aloo parathe ke liye itna gussa. Rehne do, kal mummy dobara banayegi toh main…” He trailed off realizing what he was uttering. It infuriated him and saddened him the way his mother had scolded him, saying he had brought shame to her and Mr. Somani. At first he had been extremely happy on seeing that she had cooked aloo paratha for him, but as soon as he had sat to eat, she had started telling him off, first about how he ate and then about running away from hostel.

Naina noticed the way he suddenly stopped speaking, and wondered about the sudden sadness in his eyes. She didn’t know what exactly he had recalled, but whatever it was, it had caused him pain and she didn’t know why she wanted to soothe it. Her posture relaxed, and voice softened, “jaane do. Main waise bhi do aloo parathe nahi kha paati. Aaj dabba khali hua dekhke Chachiji khush ho jayegi. Aur haan… sorry. Uss waqt canteen me maine mudke dekha tha par tab tak tum jaa chuke the.”

Involuntarily he smiled, but didn’t fail to observe that she had said Chachiji instead of mummy. At the same time, he was bit surprised at her sweetness and soft tone. It was almost as if she understood that he was sad. Slightly embarrassed now at the way he had called her names, he rubbed the back of his neck, “umm… meri taraf se bhi sorry. Akdu nahi bulana chahiye tha.”

She laughed, “achcha. Aur badtameez chalega?”

He grinned, “waise mera naam Sameer Maheshwari hai. Ahmedabad me naya aaya hun.”

She nodded, “aur main Naina Agarwal. Hamesha Ahmedabad me hi rahi hun.” He laughed at her wit, and was again surprised, but this time at himself. He had never talked to any girl for such a long time. And if he had, the girl had always been looking at him weirdly. While he had appreciated and felt proud of the dreamy looks he could garner, at the same time he had also wished that the girl would have been at least smart enough to carry on a conversation with him. That was the reason he had never felt an iota of interest in any of them. But in just these few minutes, he had realized that Naina was different. She had temper and compassion both, and to top that he really thought she was cute to look at. Not pretty or beautiful, but there was something about her that was certainly striking.

Naina saw him staring at her openly, and she again blushed, starting to shift her foot. She couldn’t believe that she was missing her class, standing in the corridor, and talking to an extremely good-looking boy. Naina Agarwal never did that. Studies were her top priority. But today she was not regretting that she was missing a lecture. But why was he staring at her? And why did she feel so uneasy when he looked at her? She had never felt like this before. But suddenly, finding him gazing at her so attentively, she recalled how the Romeo-Juliet play described Romeo staring at Juliet. Even she hadn’t been able to take her eyes off him, just like Juliet always kept looking at Romeo. Was it love then? She frowned mentally. What was she thinking? She had just met him. It could not be love.

Wanting to come out of the spell he was spinning on her, she snapped her fingers in front of his face. He shook himself, and scowled at her, not liking to be disturbed, “kya kar rahi ho?”

She shrugged, “tum kahin kho gaye the. Waise tum yahan kya kar rahe ho? Admission lene aaye ho?”

He laughed, “admission aur yahan? Main convent me padhta tha. English medium school. Yeh toh sirf ek chota sa Hindi medium school hai. Mere Nanu, Jaiprakash Maheshwari, mera admission iss sheher ke sabse bade school me karvayenge.”

She again became furious, “ek minute. Chota sa Hindi medium school se kya matlab tumhara? Yeh Ahmedabad ka sabse prakhyaat Hindi medium school hai. Hamare school se har saal do-teen vidhyarthi ko Bharat ke bade bade schools me jaane ke liye scholarship milti hai.”

He couldn’t help but admire the way her eyes sparkled when she was angry. He wondered how had he not noticed such things in any other girl ever. He scratched his head, “parkhat kya hota hai? Naina… Hindi me bolo na.”

She smirked, “parkhat nahi prakhyaat. Aur yeh Hindi hi hai. English me iska matlab famous ya popular. Aur haan… ek aur baat. Agar tumhe pata nahi toh main batadu ke tumhare Nanu, Jaiprakash ji, hamare school ke trustee hai. Isiliye bolne se pehle soch lena chahiye. Agar maine tumhare school ko kharab kaha hota toh? Bura lagta na tumhe? Aur agar nahi lagta toh iska matlab tumhe zara bhi lagaav nahi tha apne school se aur naa hi wahan tumhare koi dost the.”

He was bit surprised at her clear English pronunciations, even more surprised to know that his Nanu was the trustee of this school, and extremely astonished by how she was defending her school. At the same time, he also realized that he had never felt any kind of affection for his own school; maybe that was why it had been so easy for him to leave. Plus maybe she was right, he really didn’t have any friends there as the two boys for whom he had stayed mum even after being rusticated, they hadn’t even asked him how he was. Instead they had been just relieved that they were saved. He had done it for friendship, but they hadn’t reciprocated it. Additionally, that place just reminded him of how his mother had dumped him in the hostel, as if he was a burden that would affect her newly married life.

Naina observed that he was again sad about something, and all her anger about what he had said for her school evaporated in thin air. She scanned her brain for some topic that could bring him out of the gloom, and her mind landed on the song he was singing.

“Achcha suno”, her voice brought him back to reality and he looked down at her, “tum jo woh gaana gaa rahe the, uska matlab kya hai?”

He was confused, “maine toh bahot saare gaane gaaye canteen me. Konse gaane ka matlab puch rahi ho?”

“Aree woh… aag barasti hai sawan mein paani ka hai naam”, she enquired innocently.

Sameer’s eyes widened and he coughed, his cheeks turning red at her question. Did she even know what she was asking? Hang on a minute. Was she flirting with him? Or was she really so innocent? Still coughing, he looked at her. She was frowning, a look of concern on her face on hearing him cough. But there was no craftiness or flirty expressions. It dawned on him that the girl standing in front of him was really innocent. She truly didn’t know what she was asking to him?

“Tum thik toh ho na? Paani pee lo, chalo”, she voiced in a soothing tone.

He followed her to the water tap, still thinking how anyone could be so innocent. As he drank water, he suddenly had a thought that what would have happened if she had asked this question to some other boy. Maybe Munna or Pandit, or those several other boys in canteen. They would have teased her mercilessly, or they would have assumed that she was giving hints to them. But, after talking to her he knew for certain that she wasn’t playing any games with him, in fact he doubted Naina even knew how to play games. Inadvertently, he thought that with her a boy would always know where he stands. He wouldn’t have to flounder about trying to gauge her mood or know what she was thinking. There was no pretense in her. He wondered what to tell her, how to answer her question.

She was still looking at him concerned, “kya hua tumhe?”

He wiped his mouth, “umm… kuch nahi. Tum iss gaane ka matlab kyun puch rahi ho?”

She almost rolled her eyes, “kyunki mujhe samajh nahi aaya. Aur Lochan sir keh rahe the ke mujhe shabdo ke bhaavarth samajhna hoga Juliet banne ke liye.”

He leaned on the edge of the tap stand, “pehle to hindi me samjhao. Yeh konse bhasha ke shabd istemaal karti ho tum?”

She laughed, “Hindi me hi bol rahi hun main Sameer. Bhavaarth matlab shabdo ke peeche ka matlab. English me kahu to emotions… nahi spirit.”

“Toh aisa bolona”, he smiled, finding the sound of his name from her mouth much too pleasant, “aur Lochan sir kaun hai? Aur agar woh teacher hai toh tumhe iss gaane ka matlab samajhne ko kyun bolenge?”

“Aree baba. Sir ne nahi kaha iss gaane ka matlab janne ko”, she answered, and then explained the whole scenario of Romeo-Juliet drama, and how she had given audition, remembering every dialogue perfectly. Then she frowned, “lekin sir ne kaha ke Juliet me memory nahi, mohabbat honi chahiye.”

Sameer was also tempted to laugh. He was sure he had never met any girl who was so innocent and cute. And it amazed him that since almost last twenty minutes she was giving him her undivided attention. He grinned, “thik keh rahe the tumhare sir. Tum ratke dialogues bologi toh aisa hi hoga na. Romeo-Juliet prem kahani hai. Tumhe unke pyaar ko samajhna hoga.”

She blushed at the mention of love, and again wondered what was happening to her. She had never felt like this for any boy. Then why now? Why him? She tried to divert the topic, “par woh gaana…”

“Naina”, he interrupted, “main woh gaane ka matlab tumhe nahi samjha sakta. Kisi din tumko kisise pyaar hoga na, toh usko puchna iska matlab.” He frowned at his own statement. What was he talking about? And why did he feel as if his something was squeezing his heart, at the thought of Naina falling in love with someone else? He must have gone mad. Or maybe the half aloo paratha was not enough to satisfy his hunger pang and he was now feeling the effect in his chest.

He stared at her blushing face, and it again struck him that she was indeed pleasing to look at. He couldn’t explain the meaning of the song to her, but he wanted to help her. So, he took a deep breath and explained, “dekho, Juliet ke pyaar ko samajhne ke liye iss gaane ki zarurat nahi hai tumhe. Tum jab woh kahaani padho toh uski bhavnaao ko samajhne ki koshish karo. Bas aisa socho ke agar tumne kabhi kisise sachcha pyaar kiya hota aur tumhe pata hota ke shayad tum kabhi apni puri zindagi uske saath nahi beeta paogi toh tumko kaisa lagta.”

She looked up at him, surprised at his explanation. Why hadn’t she thought of it that way? And how could he understand it so well? Does that mean he understood love? And she didn’t? And why couldn’t he explain that song to her? He had said to ask the meaning to someone she would fall in love with. But she hadn’t felt anything for any boy ever. Except him. She trembled slightly as she gazed at his handsome face. Was she in love? With Sameer? Was this love at first sight that she had so often read in books and seen in movies?

The bell rang disrupting her thoughts. Students filed out of classrooms heading towards the playground or water tap. Sameer realized his time with her was up. He wanted to talk more, but it was not right. People would see and talk; and he didn’t want her name to be spoiled. Plus, she had already missed one period for him, he didn’t want her to bunk another class. She seemed to be an intelligent student.

“Main chalta hun”, he said softly, “sorry, meri wajah se tumhara class miss ho gaya.” She didn’t say anything, just kept looking at him as if she was searching for some answers. He didn’t know what was going through her mind. But if possible, he would have liked to give all the answers to her questions. Unable to resist he did something he had never done before – “main firse milne zarur aaunga tumse”, he promised and turned to leave.

Naina kept staring at his retreating back, still trying to come to terms with the fact that she had fallen in love. But it was true. She had indeed fallen in love with Sameer Maheshwari. When Swati came over to her enquiring as to where she was and how she could miss Kumud teacher’s class, Naina hugged her friend and twirled around in happiness. She stayed in a happy daze for some time before his words echoed in her ears.

Agar tumne kabhi kisise sachcha pyaar kiya hota aur tumhe pata hota ke shayad tum kabhi apni puri zindagi uske saath nahi beeta paogi toh tumko kaisa lagta.

She became sad. He was the grandson of their trustee, convent educated, definitely rich, and so handsome. How would he ever love someone like her? Forget love, he probably hadn’t even liked to look at her. But then why did he promise her that he would come to meet her again? Did this mean he too felt something for her? Could she dare to hope? Now she understood exactly how Juliet must have felt. But, she at least had the solace of knowing that her Romeo loved her. On the other hand she would probably never know if Sameer even liked her. She would most likely not even see him again.

Outside the school, while riding on his bike, Sameer was also thinking about the promise he had made to her. Why did he do that? What was it about that girl that pulled him to her? He had liked talking to her which in itself was unnatural. Add to that the way she understood him and his mood changes, he should be freaked out. But, instead he had enjoyed the attention she gave him, her concern had soothed him. Somewhere in those thirty minutes she had made him forget the pain his own mother had given him. His heart that had been inflicted with loneliness had somehow started to breathe and beat again. But he couldn’t understand why he had worried about her reputation, or had felt the need to protect her innocence when she had asked the meaning of that song to him. And what was that thing that he had felt when he had voiced about her loving someone else? He had felt uneasy at that thought. It was crazy. He had just met her today and that too for such a short time. This was nothing. It didn’t mean anything.

The whole day Naina kept thinking about him, and Sameer kept thinking about her. While Naina could fathom what her restlessness meant, Sameer failed to understand the cause of his anxiousness. He kept having this urge to see her again, talk to her again, and it was making him feel as if he had lost some part of his brain. That’s why when Munna and Pandit invited him to visit Law Garden that evening to try some famous Gujarati dishes he quickly accepted, thinking that it would rid him of Naina’s thoughts, but unknown to the twist destiny was bringing in his life.

He thoroughly enjoyed gorging on several delicious dishes like dhokla, khaman, sev-usal, but totally hated the dry-fruit pizza. However, quite opposite to his expectation, he was simply unable to stop thinking about Naina. It frustrated him that when he sampled dhokla for the first time, he thought if Naina also liked this dish or not. It annoyed him that he wished that Naina also hated dry-fruit pizza just like him.

His thoughts shifted from Naina to himself, as a song blared from a stall, which Sameer felt perfectly described him.

Ajab hai deewana, Naa dar naa thikana

Zameen se begana, Falak se juda

Ajab hai deewana, Naa dar naa thikana

Zameen se begana, Falak se juda

Yeh ik toota hua taara, Naa jaane kis pe aayega

Hai apna dil toh awara, Naa jaane kis pe aayega

Wasn’t he just like that? No home, no permanent address. His own mother didn’t care for him. Yes, he was just like a broken falling star. No one knew where he would go next. He was lost in his own thoughts, when Munna suddenly announced, “aree yaar, aaj toh Maniben ne kamaal hi kar diya. Pura ek period class me se gayab.”

“Haan yaar, mereko toh samajh nahi aa raha ke woh behenji aisa kaise kar sakti hai”, Pandit voiced confused.

Sameer was also perplexed, “kiski baat kar rahe ho tum log? Aur yeh Maniben, behenji… yeh sab kaise naam hai.”

Pandit laughed, “bhai tu use dekhega to tu bhi yahi kahega. Padhaku hai ek number ki. Poori ke poori teacher ki chamchi. Aur shakal ekdum behenji jaisi.”

“Haan bilkul, Madhuri aur Juhi ke zamaane me roti hui shakal wali Mina Kumari”, Munna affirmed.

Sameer visualized an oily-headed, plump girl with thick round spectacles and probably a few pimples on her face, who must be so boring that anyone talking to her would drop dead just from lack of interest. Intrigued, he asked,”lekin uska koi asli naam toh hoga na? Maine dekha kya aaj use?”

Munna thought for a moment, “shayad woh canteen me nahi thi jab tu aaya tha. Romeo-Juliet ke natak me behenji ko Juliet banna hai. P se sirf padhai aati hai aur prem kahani me hissa lene chali.”

“Naam kya hai?”, Sameer asked again.

Pandit finished his last sip of goldspot, “Naina Agarwal. Hamare khadoos librarian ki beti.”

Stunned beyond words, the cola bottle slipped from Sameer’s hands and fell on the ground, shattering to pieces. They were calling those rude names for his Naina? The girl he had met this afternoon was nowhere close to the descriptions his friends were giving. The Naina he knew was innocent, honest, caring, and most importantly she was definitely not a behenji. In fact, he found her rather cute to look at.

Munna’s voice again broke in his thoughts, “aree yeh kya kiya. Bottle tod di. Ab iske rupaye alag se dene padenge.”

“Koi baat nahi, main deke aata hun”, Sameer declared and hurriedly escaped from there. He had just realized how in his thoughts he had labelled her as “His Naina.” What was all that about? Had he gone mad? Why did it affect him that Munna and Pandit were saying those things about her?

Suddenly he heard a tinkling familiar voice, “Preeti, woh dekh toot ta tara.” He whirled around, and immediately felt a sense of peace and warmth creep in his heart as his eyes landed on Naina. What was she doing here?

The girl with her scowled, “tu dekh yeh sab, aur kar wish. Main chali khane”, and she left from there.

Naina just smiled and shook her head, then looked up at the sky. Sameer followed her gaze and saw a shooting star rushing down towards the earth. For a second he recalled the lyrics of the song he had just heard, and how he had compared himself to a broken star. Curious and unable to stop himself he inched closer to Naina, hoping she wouldn’t spot him, and at the same time wanting to know what her heart wished for so much that she was standing in the middle of a food market to wish for it.

Naina stood closing her eyes, and hands folded, a small smile on her face, and whispered just one word – Sameer. And at the same time she felt the same wave of awareness, and her heart started to beat heavily. Was he here? Opening her eyes, she quickly turned around, scanning the place but was disheartened when she couldn’t see him. She looked up at the sky once more, then left to join her family.

Just a little away from where she was standing, Sameer emerged from behind the table he had hidden. He had sensed that she would turn, so quick as a flash he had dashed to hide. But he hadn’t missed her wish. She had uttered his name. Just his name. Astounded he looked up at the sky, still finding it difficult to believe that she had wished for him. And she had sensed his presence, hadn’t she? Isn’t that why she had suddenly turned? He had observed how eagerly she had looked around, and then how the hope in her eyes had faded and the way her lips had curved downward in sadness. His hands trembled, and he couldn’t understand why but he didn’t like to see her sad. He wanted her to smile, giggle and laugh just like she had this afternoon. Still amazed at her wish, a feeling of pure happiness shot through him. Naina had wished for him! It meant that she had also been thinking about him. Just like he had been unable to stop thinking about her, she had also been in the same condition. Only, he had tried to think of ways to stop thinking about her, while she had wished for him. Could he fulfill her wish?

One day later, Shanti teacher noted down a maths problem on the board, asking the students to solve it. Naina devoted herself to the task, always competitive to answer first. She didn’t notice the voice that asked for permission to enter, she also didn’t look up as the person entered the class, and she paid no attention when from beside her Swati murmured dreamily, “ekdum hero hai. Mayapuri magazine ke first page wala.”

Sameer entered the classroom of eleventh standard in Pragati Vidya Ka Mandir, and looked around, his eyes landing on Naina first who was engrossed in her notebook, and then he smiled at Munna and Pandit who were extremely surprised to see him. He also noticed how the other girls were staring at him, with the same dreamy-eyed look that he was used to, but for the first time he only focused on one girl who as expected was not looking at him. He mentally facepalmed, thinking if Naina would ever be affected by his charm and good looks. As soon as the teacher introduced him to the class, Naina stood up and blurted, “mujhe mil gaya jawaab.”

He looked back at her, and saw her stand still in surprise, and… there it was… the dreamy appreciation that he wanted to see in her eyes. He bit his lips to control his grin, as he walked towards her relishing the sight of the small smile on her face. As he passed her desk, he inconspicuously whispered, “hi akdu”, and then took the seat beside Munna. Naina was still lost, staring at him, and he rather enjoyed her condition. But soon her trance broke as the teacher appreciated her for solving the maths problem, and Pandit teased, “teacher, zindagi me problem aai toh, guide mile na mile, Naina toh mil jayegi na?”

The other students laughed, as Naina took her seat. For the entire class he kept stealing glances at her, and quite a few times noticed that she too was looking his way. Later, Shanti teacher talked to Naina, and then called him over to inform that Naina would help him with the book list for his class. He flashed her a smile as Shanti teacher introduced Naina to him, and was amazed at the way she was still lost. He almost laughed.

Naina couldn’t believe that Sameer was in her class, sitting on the adjacent bench. He was looking at her, smiling at her. He had again called her akdu, but she couldn’t muster any anger for him. What was he doing here? Was she dreaming? But no, it couldn’t be a dream. Shanti teacher also took his name. So that meant he was truly here. But why? Why would a convent educated boy come to this Hindi medium school? She was writing down the names of the books for him, when she heard him saying to his friends, “main zara paani pike aata hun.”

She saw him leaving, but at the door he turned and looked straight at her. She dropped the pen. Was he asking her to come with him? She swallowed, nervousness spreading through her veins. She watched him as he passed the window of the classroom, still staring at her. Half a minute later, she mustered some courage, and turned to Swati, “main abhi aai.”

Swati warned, “wapas Kumud teacher ki class miss mat karna parso ki tarah.”

Naina rushed to the water tap, still clutching the sheet of paper with names of books in her hand, and immediately saw him leaning against the tap stand. His eyes were fixated on her, as he observed her taking one step at a time, coming closer and closer. He grinned, tilting his head to look at the paper in her hand.

“Yeh kya hai?”, he asked.

She cleared her throat, feeling a strange dryness in her mouth, “umm… woh tumhare liye.”

He took it from her, and frowned in confusion, “jeev vigyaan, rasayan vigyaan, bhautik vigyaan… yeh kya koi Sanskrit ka shlok hai?”

She couldn’t help but laugh, “nahi nahi… yeh kitaabo ke naam hai. Jeev vigyaan matlab Biology, rasayan vigyaan matlab…”

“Okay, okay”, he interrupted, “yeh sab baad me samjhana. Waise bhi ab toh yahin padhunga main.”

“Tum yahan kya kar rahe ho?”, she asked puzzled, “convent se iss school me? Tumhara admission toh kisi bade school me hone wala tha na?.”

He grinned, “haan. Par kya karu. Kisine bahot lamba-chauda lecture diya tha mujhe iss school ko leke. Aur fir maine kisise waada bhi kiya tha wapas milne ka. Aur…”

“Aur?”, she asked as he trailed off.

His eyes sparkled as he leaned towards her, “aur kisine wish bhi maangi thi toot te hue taare se.” She looked at him in shock, wide-eyed, lips parted and he smirked. “Maangi thi na?”, he asked.

She stammered, “t…tum…tumko kaise pata yeh? Tum toh wahan nahi the.”

“Achcha”, he raised his brows, “matlab tum mujhe dhund rahi thi. Milna tha?”

“Haan”, she blurted, then realizing what she said, “matlab… nahi… mera matlab… woh…”

He laughed at her confusion, and took a step towards her. She immediately stepped back. He held her eyes captive, “milna tha ya nahi?”

Her lips trembled in nervousness, as she confessed, “h…haan”

He smiled in satisfaction, again bending and leaning towards her, “toh…”

Naina shook her head, wanting to escape from him, yet wanting to stay with him. Her breathing increased without her knowing the reason for it. She blushed, “toh… toh kuch nahi”, and turned to leave.

He laughed, then called out to her, “Naina suno… woh gaane ka matlab kab samjhau?”

She also laughed, looking back at him, “jis din firse taara tutega uss din bata dungi.”

Sameer kept standing in the middle of the courtyard, a wide grin on his face, sighing in satisfaction. He looked up at the bright sunshine in the sky, and felt at peace. There was no shooting star rushing to the earth, there was no need for one anymore. He understood that he hadn’t lost a piece of his brain that day in this same courtyard, but rather he had lost his whole heart to Naina. The broken falling star had found a destination, all because a girl had made a wish with all her heart.