This is the last part of Dharavahik Anpekshit You will find this part very vague , Sometimes it happens to human beings, they can’t explain their inner feelings and thoughts .
Sanjana came to receive cousin at railway station, lunch at Bhushan and Preeti’s house, in the evening all sit together and talked. Next day neela njana and Subeer to offer prayers to all temples harsiddhi pandharinath mangalnath Mahalakshmi next day bada Ganapati a lady said to neela jana ( Indira Gandhi ) and Preeti cooked chicken next morning left for bus stop, got bus on time, good hotel dhwj place , took rest then went to ghats and a girl took lots of photos with neelanjana , fort is very good Ahilya bai’j gadi is there , when they were waiting a girl smiled looking at Neelanjana, Neelanjana also smiled , she came near and asked “ Can I have. Photo with you ? Neelanjana said , come on , she with her daughter, and then the whole family took photo with Neelanjana and Subeer , and then the girl said “ Thank you ! Neelanjana said “ Thanks to you , you people made me VIP this was a family from Udaipur , then they went for food to guru kripa and then took rest. Next morning Subeer and Neelanjana went to the ghat. Yesterday they couldn’t find 8 passengers for Sahastradhara.only a father and a son met in the fort were also waiting for some passengers but failed. Next day Subeer neelanjana were waiting while they met a Gujarati family they were here for their son & daughter in law’s pre wedding shoot. These days it’s a fashion. Shooting was going on at the fort with permission and mom dad and two four more relatives were free. The boat could go to Sahastradhara with 8 passengers so now the number was 8 and all of them went to Sahastradhara. It was beautiful, the way towards it after getting down from boat was rocky and quite tough to walk on this path. But neelanjana and Subeer could manage and enjoyed. They ate lunch at Banshi wala bhojanalay food was good . Came took rest in the evening they again went to ghat attended Aarti and came back. They watched people swimming and donating foods to the beggars sitting there. When they came to their room they ate bread jam as dinner, suddenly a there was a spark from tv switch board the manager came and he changed the switch board from another room. Next morning theygot up early at 4.45, and got ready. They came out of the hotel and got a share battery rickshaw, there was no one in the rickshaw, the rickshaw puller took them to the bus stop. Within ten minutes bus arrived they got up and took the tickets of Barwah, from there they took another bus for Omkareshwar. There also rickshaw puller took them near the Onkareshwar temple. Neelanjana bought prasad , there were many stairs and the temple was crowded with the pilgrims,Subeer and Neelanjana also stood in the queue after about half n hour their turn came . Neelanjana gave prasad to Pundit he put some bel patr and a flower on the packet now it was pure offered prasad, both of them came down, Subeer bought a rudraksh for one of the person working in his previous office, Neelanjana also bought two pearl necklaces. They came to the bank of the river Narmada and hired a share boat. They went to Mamleshvar temple.here also they bowed their heads and arrived at the bus stand. The bus conductor said that bus will depart at one thirty. Neelanjana and Subeer arrived at the Gujarati restaurant and ordered for two thalies ,in thali one can have dal vegetable karhi and pickle with chapatis rice as much as they could eat ,the food was tasty, they enjoyed it paid and sat at the bus stop. A cow came near Neelanjana, Neelanjana remembered she had bread jam, she took it out and Subeer fed those pieces to the cow. Till that time bus arrived they got up and took the seat. After two and half hours they reached back Maheshwar to their Hotel, have bath and took some rest.Next morning Neelanjana felt pain in her legs so they came out late at about 10.30, they went towards the fort from upper way. There were stone benches under trees. Neelanjana saw a lady sitting on one of that bench. Neelanjana asked “ Do you live here? She said no, my parents’s house is in Indore.Neelanjana felt that even if a woman get married and spends all her life in a different place but she always feels she belongs to a place where she born. Neelanjana and Subeer also sat on one of the benches. Neelanjana saw the stony boundary walls broken from some places, am she said to Subeer “ Architecture must be saved by the concerned department.Then they clicked some photos and selfies.and went ahead. Subeer bought some spicy grams and ate. At the ghat they decided to go to Baneshwar Mahadev temple . It is said that Banasur prayed and did hard prayers and asked lord shiva to come and give him Darshan. So lord shiva with family came down and stayed here. It was built in fifth century In Dwapar yug . It is said that it is the centre point of the earth, also it is called Narmada Parikrama, because one can do Parikrama by boat . Subeer and Neelanjana did boating. Two young boys came there from Indore, they were studying there. Everyone enjoyed the boating. Subeer and Neelanjana came back to their hotel, in the evening they again came out and went to the Jagannath temple,suggested by the manager. Neelanjana came to know that The effigy of Jagannath ji are exactly like effigy of Jagannath puri and next day it would be Rathyatra also. Neelanjana and Subeer then went to the ghat from other way round , it was not clean but ok, Neelanjana met a man named Prashant Gore, he said he and his friends have cleaned the path, local body must take interest in cleaning. Neelanjana felt impressed with his thoughts, Neelanjana took his number, after that they came and sat at ghat, there again they met a man named Anil Sharma , he was all alone in the world has some land in Khargon and here working with Banke Bihari bhojanalay and hotel , he said “ Holkar’s successors take care of the ghats and the fort, they never allowed shauchalay here. Their successors come and live in forts too. After thAt Neelanjana and Subeer went to have dinner at Gurukrapa then they enquired about the bus timings to go back.
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Next morning they woke up early morning and had have bath, they ate the bread jam and have their medicine. They paid the remaining 1400 at the reception and called the battery rickshaw and reached at the talkies , where the bus had to stop, after fifteen to twenty minutes bus arrived, Neelanjana got up and took the seat , Subeer came after putting the bag in the boot. Bus was fast, and didn’t stop much anywhere. At a big place a ground nut seller came in the bus, he had fresh roasted ground nuts, Neelanjana loves to eat them, so she bought and both of them finished it. They reached Indore,they already had talked to Sanjana, they had have bath early in the morning, so Sanjana sent some spicy Indori special snacks for them, they properly arranged their bags, put the clothes for washing, Preeti had cooked food for them. They enjoyed and had rest. As Neelanjana had promised to her cousin to meet him his family and mother ( Neelanjana’s 94 years aunt) both went to their house which was quite near.they met and talked about their holidays, cousin’s wife chocked tasty idlis, they enjoyed the food and came back home. Next morning Sanjana and Saloni Mini’s daughters went to schools and Subeer Neelanjana went for shopping . At first they went to Ganesh cap mart , Subeer had to buy some garments for himself as he never find fine cotton garments in metropolis, after that they went to buy Homeopathic medicine. This was the road where Neelanjana spent her childhood. As the town is now under smart city plan, many shops were broken and Neelanjana couldn’t find her childhood place at most of the places. But someone said there is a homeopathic shop in front of Janta Tent house, just one floor up of this shop Neelanjana and her parents brother sister had spent many years as tenants. They found the shop and bought the medicine. Then they went to Bhushan‘a office ( Chamber ) Neelanjana felt very happy to see her little brother now a successful lawyer. They clicked photos and then Neelanjana and Subeer departed. They were walking towards the Town Hall but it started raining. Neelanjana and Subeer any how went to the temple offered prayers and hired an auto and reached back home . In the evening Neelanjana and Subeer had to go with her one of the sister-in-law, Geetanjali she lost her husband in Corona period and she herself was a hard working lady belongs to a very rich business oriented family had a big empire in the town. She herself was the only daughter and only sister of three brothers. She has only one married son living in Mumbai, that couple have a successful career too and had two flats in Mumbai and Pune. After husband’s demise she was feeling lonely, she was very fond of fun filled holidays but now she don’t have any company.Neelanjana said “ if I were here I would be the best company for you” in the evening she came and receive them, drove to South Avenue Restaurant, these three had have nice dinner and chat about each other. She said her brothers and mom are always worried about her. She had installed cctv at her house and she had two maids work for her in the morning, she always have holiday on Sunday. After dinner they went to a marka Kulfi store and enjoyed the specialty of the town and then Neelanjana booked a taxi and came back home with Subir and Geetanjali drove towards her house. Next day It was Sunday , Subeer & Neelanjana went to the famous D Mart suggested by Sanjana they bought some house hold things from there. Next morning Neelanjana and Subeer woke up early they had to go to Mandsaur and Ujjain . Taxi driver came on time at 7.30 in the morning and they set forth towards Mandsaur. Neelanjana wants to meet her young age friends Nirmala and Shakuntala ,In the midway they ate tasty sandwiches given by Sanjana. They reached Mandsaur at about 11.00 but they could find a good hotel “ Jatin Vilas “ they kept the luggage and till that time Nirmala sent her car with the driver, he took them to the Pashupatinath temple and Nalchha mata temple also took them to the the Vijay Stambh which was built by King Yashovarman. Then all of them went to Nirmala’s house at three o clock . She was unmarried and spent her life with her Parents and then brothers and sisters, she was a retired teacher, all her family members were waiting. All of them talked a lot there and had long chat with delicious food Dal bafla churma vege Aam paak etc. at about five thirty They said bye to each other, Nirmala’s driver took them to Shakuntala’s house , she was not expecting them so got surprised, she welcomed, they talked a lot about their school life and the interesting incidents, laughed a lot after about two hours they left with the promise of meeting tomorrow.When they were coming back they went to Radha Krishna Temple , Neelanjana saw a child was cleaning with the broom,when Shakuntala called and he turned around, Neelanjana saw he was a man of about fifty, Neelanjana & Subeer wished him, Shakuntala told him about Neelanjana and after a little talk they left , Shakuntala told that all the four brothers and sisters are dwarfs , but one who got married has two normal height.while coming back to the hotel Neelanjana and Subir had have light dinner and went to bed . Next morning Neelanjana and Subeer woke up early , it was drizzling, they went down stairs and asked hotel staff to open the main door. Both of them went out in a roadside tea stall , they had have three cups of tea each as the cups are these days very small , both of them enjoyed the tea in rain. Then they got ready, check out the hotel and again reached to Shakuntala’s house. Today they met her son too and talked to her daughter on phone as she was in Ratlam doing job there. Shakuntala‘s niece came there to help her, she cooked kheer puri ladyfingers and aalu with pakaude, food was tasty she gave food packed for the way, her son brought three types of sweets and some namkeens , they served and packed with the lunch too. Neelanjana & Subeer , after this breakfast ready to go. Shakuntala put a Mangal tilak on Neelanjana & Subeer’s forehead and insisted hard to take a five hundred rupees to Subeer. Both of them felt very happy and intimate feeling about Shakuntala and her son . At last they had to accept, then they again started their journey. It started raining heavy on the way, when they were near Chintamani Ganpatinthe rain stopped. They could do darshan very nicely, they came back and again started their journey towards Ujjain but again it started raining heavily. Again a miracle happened and rain stopped when they reached at the temple, and they were amazed very few people were there for darshan and so they could also do the darshan within ten to fifteen minutes. After that they bowed in Harsiddhi Shaktipith . Here there is a shraddh sansthan donated by Neelanjana’s forefathers and here anybody can come and do shraddh of their near & dear ones. They need to pay a nominal charges. Neelanjana felt proud about it , they clicked photos and came out. Their one elephant was eating cucumbers, and watermelon, bought by some pilgrims. Neelanjana bowed her head and the elephant put his trunk on her head ,she did again and the elephant tapped his trunk each time on her head , there were three sages who were the masters , Subeer gave one of them a fifty rupees note. They moved ahead and clicked another selfie in front of a lion effigy. They then came to their taxi and came back at Sanjana’s home .Next day they were at home , but decided to go and meet a neighbour from Metropolis, transferred here , working in MRF tires , Subeer and Neelanjana went there by bus and met the family, it was a nice meeting.After a long chat both of them returned back.some remained shopping was done.Subeer next day again planned to go to Patal pani .They once has been there three years ago by the special heritage train, which stopped in Corona period . Sanjana cooked paranthas and ladyfingers vege with pickle for their picnic. Both of them went to the railway station and caught a bus at 11 , got down at Mhow (Dr. Ambedkar Nagar ) from there they hired a magic ( a share taxi ) only for them and went to Patal pani . The driver said he will pick up them at 3.30 , they went and saw the waterfall. The water was very little at that time , day before yesterday it was in good quantity. They clicked some photos, went to the railway track and Tantya bheel temple , he was a great warrior, and at the time of British rule gave a great and tactical fight to British people, people were enjoying camel and horse ride also there , there were lots of black face monkeys ( langoor ) there. Subeer and Neelanjana had have their lunch and had have sugarcane juice , they then clicked photos in front of Tantya Bheel’s effigy.the taxi driver Shankar reached on time and helped them catching the bus for home, they returned back. Mini this morning asked Sanjana not to cook food as she already had ordered for different pazzas cold drinks and garlic bread , Subeer Neelanjana Sanjana Mini and her daughter , Saloni’s daughter all have had fun and went to sleep. Next day was the journey day back home towards Metropolis. preeti cooked lunch for them and packed food for them also . Everyone was there to see them off . Bhushan came earlier from court, Prakhar was also there .Children came back from school. They booked a taxi. Everyone helped putting luggage in the boot. And all waved hands. Subeer Neelanjana hired a coolie with trolly he arranged their luggage under their bearth , the cooling was at very high level, everyone was sitting there by covering themselves by the sheet. At eight’o clock they had dinner given by Preeti. And slept covering blankets and sheets too. Early in the morning they reached again they hired a coolie he also asked 300 Rs. and the Auto rickshaw 400 ,Neelanjana said to Subeer “ Now we need to spend more money for Coolie taxi etc, we should think we are giving a service charge. The auto driver was above 62 and he was quite good in economic status, he had a house in Paharganj, which he sold for 70 lacs and bought a flat in a little bit low level area. He has built a double story house there so that he could live comfortably with wife two married sons and an un married daughter grandchildren etc. Neelanjana now got busy arranging her house after a nice holiday.
घर से स्टेशन तक पहुँचने में दो घंटे का समय लगा , यह तो अच्छा हुआ कि ड्राइवर ने कई शॉर्ट कट्स लिए अन्यथा शायद ट्रेन भी छूट जाते ।three tear में टिकिट मिली , सराय रोहिल्ला से ट्रेन थी । बहुत बरसों के बाद थ्री tear में जा रही थी ! यह तो ज्ञात था कि लोकल लोग भी चलते हैं और TC उन्हें मना नहीं करता लेकिन शनिवार था और दिल्ली कैंट से इतनी भीड़ चढ़ी कि हम ही अपनी सीट पर सिमट कर रह गए । उनमे स्कूल teachers थे कुछ व्यवसाय करने वाले भी थे , ट्रेन आरम्भ से ही late हो गई थी और जो साढ़े नौ बजे रेवाड़ी पहुँचने वाली थी वह रात के साढ़े बारह बजे पहुँची ।और उसके बाद ही खाटू श्याम भक्त जनो की भीड़ ट्रेन में चढ़ गई शायद रिंगस गाँव में उनका प्रवचन वग़ैरह था । एक बजे जब वे सभी ट्रेन से उतरे तो लगा कि सैंकड़ों की संख्या में थे ।उसके बाद शायद कुछ सो पाए हों , ग़ज़ब की ठंड थी , इतनी कल्पना भी नहीं की थी ।खिड़कियाँ बंद करनी पड़ी । यह ट्रेन कुछ ज़्यादा ही हिचकोले खा रही थी , नाम चेतक express था और लग रहा था महाराणा प्रताप के चेतक पर सवार हैं ।
28. प्रातः सात बजे हम चित्तोड पहुँचे , वहाँ प्लैट्फ़ॉर्म पर ही हमने दो दो चुप चाय पी । एक अपाहिज भिखारी बैठा था याचना भरी दृष्टि से देख रहा था , उसे हमने एक कप चाय दिलवा दी । बाहर निकलते ही ढेर सारे ऑटो वाले पीछे लग गए कोई आठ सौ में कोई नौ सौ में फ़ोर्ट घुमाने की बात कर रहा था , हमने सभी को नकार दिया , मोनू शर्मा नामक एक ऑटो वाला मात्र दस दस रुपए सवारी में हमें पहुँचा गया । होटेल वाले ने हमें प्रातः एक तीन बेड वाला कमरा दिया क्यूँकि त्वरित रूप से उसके पास कोई दूसरा ख़ाली नहीं था , दोपहर बाद उसने हमें एक डबल बेड कमरा दिया ।दोनो ही कमरों में बालकनी और चूँकि दिवाली निकट थी सामने वाले होंडा शो रूम की तरह तथा अन्य व्यावसायिक प्रतिष्ठानों की तरह यहाँ भी लाइटिंग की जा चुकी थी । एकदम पास शराब की दुकान थी जो बंद थी ।नीलांजना ने देखा कि एक ठेले के पास ज़मीन पर कोई सो रहा था और अच्छी ख़ासी धूप के बाद भी सो रहा था , थोड़ी देर बाद देखा वह उठ गया ।वह अपाहिज था , उसकी नक़ली टाँग वहीं पड़ी थी । सुबीर ने कहा “वह अपनी टाँग पर सर रख कर ही सो रहा था “नीलांजना के मन में सहानुभूति उमड़ आई । प्रातः हम तैयार हो कर बाहर निकले तो रोड के पार एक बड़े ऑटो वाला व्यक्ति मात्र 500रुपए में फ़ोर्ट घुमाने को तैयार हो गया , वह प्रतिदिन बच्चों को स्कूल से लाता लेजाता है और आज रविवार होने के कारण हमें घुमाने को तैयार हो गया । यह एक बहुत ही गौरवपूर्ण अनुभव था । महाराणा प्रताप द्वारा इतने वर्षों पहले बनवाया गया यह सम्पूर्ण Asia का सर्वाधिक बड़ा क़िला , हमें दाँतो तले उँगलियां दबाने पर पर बाध्य कर देता है ।
29. हमने राणा कुम्भा महल कीर्ति स्तम्भ , विजय स्तम्भ , फ़तेह प्रकाश पैलेस , जैन टेम्पल्ज़ , रानी पद्मिनी का महल इतना घूमते हुए बहुत थक गए थे क्यूँकि सभी स्थानों पर चढ़ना उतरना हुआ । एक स्थान पर बंदर थे , काले मुँह वाले बंदर थे , वहाँ एक चने वाली बैठी थी और लोग उससे ख़रीद कर उन्हें चने खिला रहे थे , सुबीर ने भी ख़रीदे और जैसे ही आगे बढ़े ,एक बड़े से बंदर ने दो पैरों पर खड़े होकर उन्हें रोक लिया मानो यह कह रहा हो कि ( मेरे हिस्से के चने लेकर कहाँ जा रहे हो ) उन्होंने चने फेंक दिए सभी बंदर लपक कर खाने लगे । वहाँ आते हुए हमें एक भेरू मंदिर भी दिखा । जब लौट रहे थे तब हमारे रिक्शावाले (सत्यनारायण टेलर ) ने काली माता मंदिर दिखाया किंतु उसकी सीढ़ियाँ देख कर हिम्मत जवाब दे गई और हमने शिखर को नमस्कार कर क्षमा माँग ली । लौटते हुए वहाँ की प्रसिद्ध मोटी सेंव , सिंघाड़े और सीताफल ख़रीदना नहीं भूले । सत्यनारायण ने हमें लौटते हुए सेंकडों सीताफल के पेड़ दिखाए , उसनेऑटो ऐक कर एक कच्चा सीताफल भी हमेंतोड़ कर दिया उसने बताया कि सीताफल यहाँ बहुतायत से होते हैं । उसने हमें आशीर्वाद होटेल तक छोड़ छोड़ दिया । 170 रुपए प्रति थाली के हिसाब से हमने स्वादिष्ट खाना खाया और होटेल लौट आए । नीलांजना को मन किया कि कुछ सिंघाड़े उस अपाहिज को दे आए । उसने गैलरी खोल कर देखा , अब तो शराब की दुकान में रौनक़ लगी हुई थीं , उसने देखा कि कई लोग छोटे छोटे पव्वे से पी रहे हैं ,नीलांजना ने देखा अपाहिज के पास भी ज़मीन पर एक और आदमी बैठा पी रहा है , अरे यह क्या ? वह अपाहिज भी छोटी बोतल मुँह में लगाए पी रहा था ।बाद में नीलांजना ने सोचा “शायद उसका संसार में कोई न हो , उसे जीवन से मोह न हो , और उसे कोई न कोई पिला ही देता हो , शायद इसी कारण वह शराब की दुकान के सामने ही ठिया बना कर बैठा हो ।
30. एक और कारण भी था शायद उनके होटेल के पास वाली इस देशी और अंग्रेज़ी शराब की दुकान के बग़ल में एक restaurant भी था और कदाचित इस भिखारी को वहाँ से खाना भी मिल जाता हो ।कल सुबह उनका प्रोग्राम साँवरिया सेठ के मंदिर जाने का था जब वे साँवरिया सेठ के मंदिर जाने के लिए बस में बैठे तो, कंडक्टर ज़ोर ज़ोर से “ उदयपुर उदयपुर चिल्ला रहा था “ सुबीर को तो पहले से ही मन था, नीलांजना भी मन बना लिया और उन्होंने यह सोचा कि साँवरिया सेठ के मंदिर तो कल सुबह भी जा सकते हैं । बस बहुत अच्छी थी अतः उन्होंने उदयपुर की टिकिट कटा ली और डेढ़ बजे उदयपुर पहुँचे ।एक घंटे की बोटिंग की । पद्मिनी restaurant में खाना खाया और उन्हें वापसी में रोड वेज़ की बस मिली यहाँ महिलाओं की टिकिट कम लगती है ।नीलांजना का टिकिट 90 रुपए और सुबीर का 120 लगा ।
31. सबसे पहले वे दोनो सिटी पैलेस पहुँचे , पिछली बार जब वे यहाँ आए थे तब सिटी पैलेस में कुछ विशिष्ट अतिथि आए थे और इस कारण से पब्लिक के लिए बंद रखा गया था तथा प्रवेश द्वार तक पहुँच कर भी वे लोग देख नहीं पाए थे । ऑटो वाला भी चिडचिड करने लगा था क्योंकि उसे वहीं छोड़ दिया गया था ,जबकि और दर्शनीय स्थल घुमाने की बात की गई थी ।किंतु इस बार ऐसा कुछ नहीं हुआ । यह नीलांजना एवं सुबीर की वेडिंग ऐनिवर्सरी का दिन था, वे अपने एकत्व के पैंतालीस वर्ष साथ साथ व्यतीत कर चुके थे । उन्होंने कंडक्टर से ही जानकारी ले ली थी उसने बता दिया था कि पैलेस की टिकिट लेकर आप अंदर जाओगे तो आप को लेक भी अहाते में ही मिलेगी । और यही दोनो स्थान थे जो वे पहले दो बार उदयपुर आकार भी नहीं देख पाए थे । पैलेस देखने के बाद जब लेक के निकट पहुँचे तो एक बोट लगभग फ़ुल हो चुकी दिख रही थी । सुबीर जब टिकिट काउंटर पर पहुँचे तो ,तीन लोग वहाँ पहले से खड़े थे , एक पिता और उनकी एक पुत्री तथा एक पुत्र थे , दो बजे तक टिकिट 500 रुपए प्रति व्यक्ति है तथा दो बजे के बाद 800 रुपए प्रति व्यक्ति , बोट में दो ही सीट ख़ाली थीं , और अभी दो बजने में पाँच मिनिट बाक़ी थे अतः टिकिट काउंटर पर बैठे व्यक्ति ने सुबीर को प्राथमिकता दी , और बोट में बची दो ख़ाली सीट सुबीर और नीलांजना को मिल गई । एक घंटे की बोटिंग थी ।झील इतनी सुंदर थी कि वर्णन को शब्दों में किया नहीं जा सकता , पहले इसे दूर से देखा था आज निकट से । लाइफ़ सेविंग जैकेट पहन ली थी , बोट वाला जगमंदिर ले गया , यहाँ मंदिर के नाम पर एक स्थान पर गणेश प्रतिमा थी ,बाक़ी अलग अलग रेस्तराँ थे जो भिन्न भिन्न खाद्य पदार्थ बेच रहे थे । बोट्स चूँकि निरंतर आती जाती थीं अतः किसी भी बोट से आया व्यक्ति किसी अन्य बोट से भी जा सकता था । एक छोटा सा म्यूज़ीयम भी था , एक पालकी रखी थी ,सुबीर ने नीलांजना से आग्रह किया उसमें बैठने को , नीलांजना बैठी , और सुबीर ने फ़ोटो भी खींचा , नीलांजना को हास्यास्पद सा लगा , पालकी चूँकि ज़मीन पर रखी थी ,नीलांजना के जूते सहित पैर बाहर थे । बोट जब वापस ले आई, वे लोग पैलेस के अहाते में थे , पैलेस की सीढ़ियाँ चढ़ने लगी तो गार्ड चिल्लाया ओ मैडम ऊपर जाना अलाउड नहीं है , तब तक सुबीर ने फ़ोटो क्लिक कर दिया था । एक सभ्य पढ़ा लिखा दिखने वाला व्यक्ति सामने से आ रहा था , सुबीर ने उससे पूछा “ आगे क्या है ? तथा क्या आगे से मार्केट जाने का रास्ता है ? उसने कहा आगे छोटा सा म्यूज़ीयम है तथा आप वहाँ से आराम से जा सकते हैं , सुबीर ने उसे धन्यवाद दिया , मार्ग चढ़ाई वाला था , वे चढ़ कर आगे बढ़े तो पता चला कि न तो वहाँ कोई म्यूज़ीयम था और न ही वहाँ से बाहर निकलने का मार्ग था ही नहीं , सुबीर और नीलांजना वापस लौटे । एक ऑटो वाले बात की तथा उसीकी सिफ़ारिश पर पद्मिनी होटेल में खाना खाने गए। बातचीत करते हुए वह “ हम तो किलर ( clear ) बात करते हैं ।कह रहा था । पद्मिनी restaurant अच्छा था , सर्विस भी अच्छी थी , यहाँ की स्पेशल थाली 270 रुपए प्रति थाली थी । GST साथ पाँच सौ अठासी का बिल बना था । वे रास्ता पूछते हुए पैदल ही बस स्टाप पर पहुँचे । यह रोड वेज़ की बस थी , नीलांजना का टिकिट 90 रुपए तथा सुबीर का 120 रुपए , यह यहाँ की सरकार द्वारा दी गई रिआ यत थी । अलग अलग स्थानों के मनोरंजक लोग बस में चढ़ रहे थे उतर रहे थे । एक वृद्ध दम्पति ( डोकरा डोकरी ) आकर कंडक्टर की सीट पर बैठ गए और उसके लाख समझाने पर भी नहीं हटे यह बोल कर कि तुमने हमें बुलाया तो सीट तो देनी पड़ेगी । सुबीर और नीलांजना अपने होटेल करनी विलास के निकट ही उतार गए । उन्होंने ठंडा माज़ा मंगाया और थोड़े से नमकीन के साथ खाया । थके हुए थे अतः जल्दी सो गए । अगले दिन उन्हें संवलिया सेठ के मंदिर जाना था , होटेल से निकलते निकलते ही साढ़े दस बज गए थे । होटेल के ओनर ने एक स्थान बताया और कहा कि वह से share ऑटो मिल जाएगा अतः वे दोनो उस चौराहे तक पैदल ही पहुँचे उन्हें एक शेयर रिक्शा मिला , उन दोनो के बाद तीन और सवारियाँ भी चढ़ गईं । रिक्शा चल पड़ा नीलांजना के पास बैठी युवा लड़की बहुत साई सब्ज़ियाँ ले कर जा रही थी , उसने बैठे बैठे अपने स्मार्ट फ़ोन से कई कॉल कर लिए । जब रिक्शावाला गैस भरवाने गैस स्टेशन पर रुका तो सभी को नीचे उतरना पड़ा । नीलांजना ने उस लड़की की लाख की चूड़ियों की प्रशंसा की , उसने बताया कि यह उसका होलसेल का व्यवसाय है , वह तथा उसकी बहन मिल कर सम्भालते हैं । वह तथा अन्य दो सवारियाँ बीच बीच में में उतर गईं । तब रिक्शावाले ने उन्हें बताया कि मंदिर के पट तो बारह से दो बंद रहते हैं । शाम को सुबीर और नीलांजना वापसी की ट्रेन भी पकड़नी थी ।पुराना मंदिर जो कि तीन साँवलिया सेठ मूर्तियों का प्राकट्य स्थान है , सुबीर नीलांजना ने वहीं हाथ जोड़ लिए , ज्ञातव्य है कि औरंगज़ेब द्वारा मंदिरों को तोड़ने की शृंखला में यह मंदिर भी था , बाद में यहाँ के एक प्रसिद्ध भक्त के स्वप्न में साँवरिया जी ने बताया और स्थान पर खुदाई करने चार मूर्तियाँ निकली, एक खंडित थी , उसे ज़मीन के अंदर ससम्मान दबाया गया , एक प्राकट्य स्थल पर मंदिर बना , सात किलोमीटर आगे एक भव्य मंदिर बना तथा एक स्वयं उस भक्त के बासडा गाँव में बना ।नीलांजना ने पुजारी प्रसाद लिया , बाहर के ठेले से एक साँवलिया सेठ की मूर्ति ख़रीदी और वे लोग वापस रिक्शे से पहले आशीर्वाद भोजनालय गए भोजन करके मार्केट गए । वहाँ का प्रसिद्ध नमकीन श्री जी से लिया , दो चादरें, एक साड़ी , दो बैग ,( गिफ़्ट देने के लिए ) टोस्ट ख़रीदे और होटेल लौटे । थोड़ा सा विश्राम कर के ऑटो से स्टेशन आए । अभी ट्रेन आने में समय था , मच्छर बहुत थे , पास की बेंच पर दो बंगाली महिलाएँ बैठी थीं किंतु ट्रेन आने पर वे नहीं चढ़ी । नीलांजना और सुबीर की दोनो लोअर बर्थ थी । एक शिक्षक उसकी पत्नी व दो बच्चे थे , बेटा बहुत चंचल था , ऊपर की दोनो बर्थ पर एक प्रेमी युगल था , मध्यरात्री में सभी को सोया जान कर एक ही बर्थ पर प्रेमालाप कर रहे थे , नीलांजना जाग रही थी , बाद में पता नहीं कब नीलांजना की आँख लग गई प्रातः दिल्ली केंट पहुँचने पर सुबीर ने उसे उठाया , ऊपर की बर्थ के सभी लोग जा चुके थे । स्टेशन बाहर सुबीर और नीलांजना के क्षेत्र के एक सरदार जी ऑटो वाले मिल गए जो उन्हें घर तक ले आए । वे लोग बाहर जाते समय सदैव पीछे के द्वार का प्रयोग करते थे । वह द्वार तो खुल गया किंतु भीतर के कमरों तक पहुँचने का द्वार नहीं खुल रहा था सुबीर ने हैंडल पकड़ कर खींचा तो हेंडल टूट गया , सुबीर का हाथ ज़ख़्मी हो गया , पड़ौसी की मदद से आधे घंटे के कठोर परिश्रम के बाद वे अपने घर प्रवेश कर पाए , सुबीर जाकर बैंडिज करवा कर टेटनस का इंजेक्शन लगवा आए , नीलांजना धुँआ धार काम करती रही , उसे भी बुख़ार हो आया, पेरासिटमोल क़ी टैब्लेट खाने पर कुछ आराम हुआ ।
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