Yakshagni - An odyssey of unbroken devotion - II

 15) The Savage Attraction

Dharma was taken aback by Chaitanya's presence.

"Hi Dharma," Chaitanya greeted, his gaze roaming over her face.

"What are you doing here?" Dharma asked, her distaste evident on her face.

"Ah, Dharma! What would I be doing here other than following you?" his words revolted her and she fumed at his nerve.

"Have you brought your wife too?"

Chaitanya angled his face to one side, "Dharma, don't you get it? It is this supercilious attitude of yours that I fell in love with. I love your snide remarks."

"Really? Then, you must hear me out; I wish you get this in your fat head that I have no interest in a contemptible man like you."

Infuriated at her disdain, he caught her hand. Disgusted, Dharma shoved his hand away and snarled, "Don't you dare touch me!"

Suddenly, the powerful headlights of a car flooded the dark road and its bright glare quivered over Dharma and Chaitanya. Dharma squinted her eyes, trying to evade the direct gleam of light on her face. The car drew to a halt in front of the hostel and the illumination dimmed as the ignition was switched off. Dharma's eyes widened in surprise as Maurya slid out of the car. His eyes glided over Dharma's face searchingly and then shifted to Chaitanya.

"Any problem Dharma?" he asked, his glance running over Chaitanya in derision.

"Who the hell are you?" Chaitanya asked, thrown off balance by the man's arrival.

Dharma was disconcerted by Maurya's arrival. Why did he come back? But neither Maurya nor Dharma felt it necessary to answer Chaitanya's question.

"You forgot something?" Dharma inquired.

"No, I thought I saw a glimpse of a potboiler through the rear-view mirror and got unusually excited. So, I decided to contribute my bit," Maurya's words unsettled Chaitanya.

 He raged at Maurya, "Hey, whoever you are, this is between me and her. Don't try to butt your nose into others’ affairs."

Maurya's brows went a notch higher and he turned to Dharma, "What have you landed yourself with, Dharma? An extremely unpleasant toad with a depraved attitude?"

Had Dharma been alone with Maurya, she would have burst out laughing, however, at that moment she chose restraint. With a straight face, she added, "And an ailing wife, recuperating in a hospital..."

"Amazing! So, how do we bring this play to an end? Any suggestion for the climax?"

Chaitanya's leery eyes spied on Dharma and Maurya. He bristled at the sarcasm and regarded Maurya with loathing.

"Hey, you think you are a smart ass? With that bloody car and suit, you look like a joker to me. Now, if you don't buzz off, I will smash your face, mind it!"

"Maybe, I should slap your face first, but I don't want to dirty my hands," Dharma's unconcerned answer peeved Chaitanya more.

Maurya, in response to Chaitanya's threat, stretched his arms, folded his shirt cuff, and loosened his tie. He got rid of his jacket and flung it on the car's bonnet.

"I won't mind slamming you to the ground. It will give me great pleasure..." Maurya's answer made Dharma realize that she had been too glib about the situation. She placed her hand lightly on Maurya's, holding him back.

"I think this has gone too far," she focussed her gaze on Chaitanya and spoke with a graveness that jolted Chaitanya, "Listen to me carefully, and this is the last time I am telling you; I have no interest in you and if I see you near me again, I will get a restraining order for you from the police," Pointing at Maurya, she added, "He is the witness here. He will testify if I must report you. And if you still don't accept it, then I will make sure that the world knows how a married creep like you stalks a woman and follows her to another city and her hostel. I will splash your picture on all the social media handles and let everyone in Bilaspur and Parijatpur know that you dumped your mother in an old age home for her property and how you instigated your wife to devise an accident to harm Kamya."

Chaitanya's eyes widened in shock and dismay. He balked from the wrath and determination on Dharma's face. She tapped something on her phone and showed it to him. Blanching at the images, he perused his pictures; sitting in the park in a hood waiting for the bus, lingering behind the tree with a cigarette in his mouth, and the final image, of his wife, Seema driving the car in front of Mohandham.

"Don't you think this is enough to file a complaint against you?" Dharma asked grimly. She did not see the flare of respect and admiration in Maurya's eyes.

Chaitanya took stock of the situation and backed away slowly. His mind furiously calculating the risk he had taken by accosting her on the road.

"A simple sorry to her will not disgrace you..." Maurya's suggestion drew an irked glance from Dharma.

Chaitanya, however, did not apologise to Dharma. He stomped away, his head held high without any repentance, causing Maurya to state contemptuously, "What a retard!"

"Thanks for being here but I can take care of myself..." Dharma wished none of it happened in front of Maurya. She did not want to be obligated to him.

"True, you will put Hercules to shame!"

Dharma glared at him, her gaze spurning his mockery.

Taking note of her expression, he proclaimed, "I swear!"

She rolled her eyes in exasperation and snapped, "Goodnight!"

A slow smile lit Maurya's face, its radiance filling her heart with a glow that refused to be doused even after he left.

"Goodnight, Dharma!"

He grabbed his jacket, and got inside the car, slamming the door. He gestured her to go inside the hostel and when she went in, she heard him drive away.

For Dharma, the night had turned from dark and chilly to a delightfully vibrant one. She recollected each word of Maurya and treasured them close to her heart. Maurya's incorrigible sense of humour, his subtle gallantry, and his readiness to fight for her, wrapped Dharma in a glorious world of make-believe where, for an infinitesimal moment, she considered herself worthy of his love and yearned to be surrounded by Maurya's vital presence forever. But, like water that evaporates during summer, her spring dreams dissipated in cognizance of the reality of her life. She berated herself for even considering that she should be worthy of his love. In truth, he should be worthy of her love because, Dharma knew that if and when she fell in love with someone, it would be unshakeable; she would stand by it even if her very life depended on it. She was aware of the intensity of emotions that she was capable of and to earn that love, a man had to rise above the ordinary, in her esteem. No one, not even Maurya had risen to that expectation yet. She was a lone warrior and has been one through the years. To fight along with her, her man has to be her prince or the warlord.

*********

Maurya was sprawled on the sun deck chair on the balcony of his apartment and gazed fixedly at the flimsy night that encompassed him. The sky was barely visible through the haze and no star gleamed at him. With a glass in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth, his thoughts did not wander away from Dharma. They were stuck on her like a stranded ship on a remote island. There had been women who had approached him when he was in college and the university. He had also hooked up with a few, but no one had made an impact on him as Dharma had; right from the day, he saw her on stage in Mohandham. He had presumed that the attraction had been a fleeting one but this evening when she faced that creep dauntlessly, and gave a piece of her mind, he had been strangely aroused by her stance. She made it abundantly clear to Maurya that she could take care of herself. It was apparent that she was not some damsel in distress who needed a knight in shining armour.

And yet, Maurya wanted to protect her. He wanted to shield her from creeps like Chaitanya and bores like Akhil. At Tapan's party, Akhil had not left Dharma's side and Maurya had recognized from her tiresome expression that she found Akhil's presence tedious. Hence, he rescued her by sending Akhil on an errand. Dharma had neither thanked him nor had she been happy to see him. It made him speculate if she had a man tucked away in some corner of the world. He didn't think so...He didn't know what made him so sure.

Deep in his heart, he perceived that when Dharma loved a man, she would surrender unconditionally to her love. She would not tuck him away in some corner, instead, she would brandish him as her property and flaunt him to the world. He felt that Dharma would love a man with a profoundness that would overwhelm her.

He sighed, feeling jealous of the unknown man. The screeching halt of a speeding car put a brake on his vehement thoughts. It dawned on him at once...

He wanted to be that man!

The tip of the smouldering cigarette seared the skin on his finger and he winced at the burn, flinging the butt across. Swearing at his carelessness, he marched to the kitchen and showed the scalded finger under the running tap water.

He tried to convince himself that Dharma needed him and that she had been the one who had approached him for the job. He deduced that it was a pointless exercise.

Men fluttered around her, helplessly drawn to her. There was Akhil, then that jerk Chaitanya, and Vishu Marco who had made a stunning painting of her. Reminded of the painting, Maurya dashed to his study and extracted an encased canvas. He removed the layers and gazed at the painting that had been titled, "A Guiding Spirit". He had bought the painting on impulse. To this day, he did not know what made him squander the money on something like that painting. It had been the most expensive one in the exhibition and he had not thought twice before he had made a bid for it. Dwelling upon the purchase, his eyes roved over Dharma's face in the painting.

Dharma was like the princess of the painted jungle; savage, loyal, and unattainable; soaring beyond the realms of ordinary men like him. Men, who were not worthy of her love. Her loyalty to her friends was something he had seen.

Nevertheless, here was the twist in the story! Irrespective of his belief that he did not love or deserve Dharma; and certain that he would not let her govern his state of mind, Maurya was driven stubbornly to seek her passion for none other than himself. It was insolent of him to assume that she would fall for him. He figured that he was not different from the jerk who stalked Dharma.

Dharma was a challenge to Maurya that he could not refuse even if he tried. He was eager to be the one that she loved unconditionally, for whom her heart pulsed with an all-powerful devotedness. He let it slip from his mind that she had a childhood similar to his, and that like him, she was haunted by images from her past.

Right from the start, Dharma had, slowly and steadily, made a forceful impression on him that he was unable to shake off. She had sealed it finally with her face-off with Chaitanya. Now, Maurya was persuaded unwittingly to make a similar impression on her.

The first step to catch her attention would be to make her feel obligated to him. With that thought in his mind, he called an old friend from school the next morning.

"Good morning, Navin!"

"Hey Maurya, long time man!"

"Yes, I was caught up with too many things."

"Never saw you after your engagement party."

"True, how about catching up tonight?"

"Not tonight. I am flying to Bangalore on a work assignment."

"Oh, never mind! Actually, I wanted a favour from you."

"Spill it out. I am happy to oblige."

"Navin, can you engage someone to spy on a man? His name is Chaitanya. I will send his photo and details. I want someone to keep an eye on him all the time. He stays in Bilaspur and if he is seen anywhere near Delhi, I want the bully to be taken into custody."

"Woah! Slow down man...Never seen you so worked up. Is the creep harassing Rashika?"

"What?" Maurya asked, blinking at the question.

"I mean, are you stressed out because this fellow is troubling your fiancée? Don't worry, we will do something about it Maurya. I will get someone to trail this fellow. Send his photo and details at once."

With his mission accomplished, Maurya deliberated over Navin's question. Howsoever, he was surprised by the purr of excitement at the thought of going after Dharma. With renewed enthusiasm, he called Mitali to his office.