This made her come face to face with melancholy. The tension about the future made her morose. When she was returning home in a taxi after meeting Asrar, tears flowed down her eyes. A wave of delusion was rising within her. The grief of the soul that she had managed to suppress a long time back had now miraculously become a dark spot within her. She felt satisfaction filling up her mind and heart because of the initiated feeling of love. But the memory of what Wardatul Sa’adat had said changed that satisfaction into wretchedness and despair. She was unable to decipher the situation. The handkerchief she had placed over her mouth while crying had made her throat ache. She had never wailed like that before.

6

This Routine Journey Desires an Adventurous Accident

(Ajab Sapat Safar Hai Ke Hadsa Chahun)

Hina took admission in KCP College.

The college was near Churchgate railway station. Yusuf accompanied Hina to the college on the day the merit list was to come out. He was happy to see her name on the list, and for that reason he took Hina to the famous Chinese restaurant opposite Regal Cinema to have a chicken sizzler. Hina got scared when the waiter brought the sizzling chicken to the table. Yusuf had smiled and said that this was the specialty of the dish. Hina liked the food. After lunch, they went for a walk on the seaside. She had been to the seaside near the Gateway of India many times but had never sat on the walls beside the sea. It was a July afternoon. The sunshine was bearable. There were people sitting on the wall till where your eyes could see. A girl was lying in her lover’s arms. Between the road and the sea wall, there was a lot of space to walk where bhelpuri, chana and moong vendors sold their wares. The father–daughter duo also sat on the sea wall. From here, one was able to see the very unique landscape of Mumbai. It looked even more beautiful in the night. Yusuf pointed his finger and showed Hina the location of places like the Raj Bhawan, Teen Batti, Walkeshwar, Malabar Hill, Girgaon, and Charni Road till Marine Drive and Colaba. Hina turned her head to see the breathtaking view of what was called the Queen’s Necklace because of its shape. The skyscrapers from Walkeshwar till Nariman Point added to Mumbai’s glamour. The glass panes of the buildings shone bright in the sun. Hina looked at the sea. The surface of the water was glistening with the play of the sunrays. Hina’s hair flew in the strong wind. She had put a clip on one side.

Yusuf said, ‘This area of Mumbai looks like a question mark on the map.’

Hina immediately asked, ‘A question mark for what?’