Maya.

Na Aaye Ho, Na Aaoge, Na Phone Pe Bulaoge
Na Shaam Ki Karaari Chai, Labo'n Se Yun Pilaoge
Na Aaye Ho, Na Aaoge, Na Din Dhale Sataoge
Na Raat Ki Nashili Bye Se Neendh Mein Jagaoge
Gaye Tum Gaye Ho Kyun, Yeh Raat Baaki Hai
Gaye Tum Gaye Ho Kyun, Saath Baaki Hai
Gaye Tum Gaye Hum Tham Gaye Har Baat Baaki Hai
Gaye Kyun Toh Jiyein Kyun

~ Jaideep Sahni
~~ Dum Maro Dum

If there was one word to describe Maya, it would be boisterous. She was cheerful, noisy and always wanted to do something. Sitting at ease was never really her thing. Her father was in the Army and a General now. She had grown up in the Armed forces. And loved that life, that discipline, that honor, that pride, that came out of serving one's nation was unmatchable to anything else in the world. And Maya was proud to be a part (well semi-part) of that legacy. She grew up like any other army daughter, with loads of love and pampering. The fact that she was the only child added to the pampering. She always got her way. But not in the bad sense of the phrase. People were so charmed by her, that they eventually gave in. She would use that nature of hers to her advantage sometimes. But advantage included: being allowed to keep the library book an extra week. She was kiddish in that way. She grew up thinking life was like the Army. Everything ran in perfect unison. Things automatically fell in place. People could invariably be trusted. In certain stations where her parents were posted, they never even locked the front doors, because there was nothing or no one to be afraid of. That was the Army life in the 90s. She had innumerable friends, like all army kids do.

They were once posted in Mhow in Madhya Pradesh and life there couldn't get simpler. Her friends and she would go out on early morning bike rides, would to ride to the highest hill in the cantt and go to a small old temple on the hill, park their bikes and sit there to watch the sun rise. Open their packed sandwichs and chatter away until it became unbearable to sit there when the sun was overhead. They would cycle down, take a shower and then assemble again at one house and spend the day just chilling during their summer vacations. They spent life literally together.

But this togetherness (at least physical) would last until their fathers were posted in the same station. Once posted out,they would follow their fathers to the next station to make new friends and to explore new paths on their Ladybirds. But they always kept in touch. When they were grown up and in college, one knew what the others were doing. Keeping in touch was never difficult, in the small world that their parents still inhabited, but the world they were too grown up to be a part of. But those memories never left Maya, those principles, that discipline, those values always stayed with her.

Maya was intelligent, smart, hardworking: everything an employer wanted. She landed a job in a very good organisation. Life went on, she drifted away from the charm that the Army life was. But she visited her parents once a while and used to fall into the same old routine that life used to be when she was young. Her vacations used to be short and she would have to return to the actual life that was out there.

The corporate world was fascinating at first and then it started showing her the ugliness that life out there really was. She hated it sometimes and would eventually end up comparing it to the charm of the Army life. People would make fun of her saying "Maya, you are not a part of the Army anymore, so dont throw your weight around here"

Very few understood her want for perfection, her steadfast morals and ethics. And mostly, her principles when it came to friendship. She would die for her friends. If you hurt someone Maya considers to be a part of her close circle, you've hurt Maya. She would never forgive you for it. And with Maya there were no second chances. She was picky about the kind of people she liked, would judge instantly and her opinions were amusing!

She would accept her mistake if her judgement didn't live up and the person she despised on seeing, actually turned out to be pretty sweet. But that rarely happened. Maya's intuition was very strong. She instantly knew how people were by looking at them. People would ask her "How can you say that? how do you know that?" and she would reply saying "But isn't it very obvious, look at her face!" Being diplomatic was something Maya wasn't and couldn't stand. She was always at the extreme. She either liked you or disliked you. There was never a "He's ok" or "She's fine". People didn't understand that about her. How could one have such fixed rigid opinions and why wouldn't she bend them. What if she was wrong. But there were certain things, Maya would not bend: her rules in friendship, love, loyalty and trust.

People told her you'll get into trouble with this attitude, your ego will kill you, how do you think you're going to manage a marriage if this is your outlook towards life. Everyone has to be a little diplomatic. But Maya never listened. Emotions for Maya were always extremes. Compromise was the other thing Maya would not do. If she wanted a certain thing to work out a certain way, it just had to. But if someone explained to her in a calm and logical manner why her process was not the right one and how it could be better, she would invariably understand and change. But when she knew she was right and people were trying to bend her and make her compromise for the wrong things, she never gave up. But little did she know that life is not a library, where the librarian would allow her a late return if Maya smiled at her.

Life taught Maya tiny small lessons. She learnt that life was not all the rosy as it had seemed to her, that she would have to compromise in certain areas. But she still held onto her extreme emotions, her morals, her ethics, the kind of people she liked or disliked. All remained the same. After all that was what made a person, did it not?

Maya fell in love. It was another learning experience for her. Fortunately the man she loved was patient, kind, caring and most importantly understood her and her emotions. When she got angry, he would with extreme care explain the situation to her, make her understand. She would eventually calm down. Her temper was short and she would even calm down as quickly as she got angry. And Rahul knew how to handle her when she was angry. Sometimes, when it went beyond control, he got angry himself and said a few things. That would quieten Maya. And they would be fine then. Until one day, Maya and Rahul had a big fight about someone who Maya disliked and Rahul liked. Maya had her reasons on why she would the man wrong. But Rahul, being the mature one, held onto his "let's not judge" position and defended the man. Now, telling Maya not to judge was like telling her not to breathe. And this time she was not wrong, her reasons were right, but Rahul being himself, didn't agree. What made the matter worse was he wasn't in front of her to control her anger. And at the end of it, he texted her saying "It's high time you understood, you cant have everything in life your way. Accept that fact"

Maya stared at that text for the longest time ever, and it hit her. She has always had her way. Maya Khanna was, for the first time in her life, told that she could not have her way. It broke her.

She closed her eyes tightly, shut back the tears, and thought about whether she was right or wrong. Her heart told her she was right. Maybe this is what they call "ego", she thought to herself. Am I wrong? The realisation hit her. Was she wrong? Were her ways wrong? Was she that far away from reality?

While, those million thoughts crept into Maya's fragile mind, the Gods above smiled at her sadly and shook their heads. There goes one more, they said, from being pure and true to just being human.


Na Aaye Ho, Na Aaoge, Na Dooriyaan Dhikhaoge
Na Thaam Ke Woh Josh Mein Yun Hosh Se Udaoge
Na Aaye Ho, Na Aaoge, Na Jhoot Se Sunaoge
Na Rooth Ke Sirhane Mein, Remote Ko Chhupaoge
Gaye Tum Gaye Ho Kyun, Yeh Raat Baaki Hai
Gaye Tum Gaye Ho Kyun, Saath Baaki Hai
Gaye Tum Gaye Hum Tham Gaye Har Baat Baaki Hai
Gaye Kyun Toh Jiyein Kyun