The Sound Of The Gong- By Ramanpreet Kohli


Chapter 1 :

Startled, Shai wakes up again in the middle of the night.

The same dream, The same sound. The Sound of The Gong....

'Wake Up Kay....Your loud snoring is now sounding like a gong in my dreams." she laments to her husband sleeping peacefully by her side.

"Only if...." she mutters beneath her breath and walks away to the window overlooking the mountains in the sleepy town of Solan

Shai aka Shailaja and Kay aka Kamal met during their college days in Pune. As different as chalk and cheese they hailed from different cultures and cities. She, a Mumbai girl & He a Delhi boy. Their craziness and zest for life bound them together. They married and settled in Mumbai. The daily big city commute was strenuous but love prevailed during those early carefree years.

"Go to sleep, Shai" Kay gently pleads placing his hand on her frail tense shoulders.

"Did you see him, Kay?"

"No." His heart was aching within...

"The mountains look so bleak in the darkness of the night." Shai sighs and moves away

Chapter 2:

"When it rains, it pours. Yeh hai Mumbai Meri Jaan".. Shai croons playfully..With just 4 more weeks remaining there's excitement in the air.."Why can't you just stay at home, enjoy the rains and eat kanda bhaji?"

"I must go today. There's an important meeting. I'll see you soon.Take Care"

The door shuts behind and Kay's voice fades away..

Chapter 3:

"Didi,aapne Shahrukh Khan ko dekhaa hai?" quizzes Nairmla, the local domestic help.

Shai smiles and replies in negative.

" Aap Mumbai se Solan kyoon aaye?"

" Bhaiya ki acchee naukree  HPPWD main lag gayee ,toh aa gaye yahan."

"aapko yahan accha lagta hai?"

"Shaayad Haan.."

Shaayad Naa

Chapter 4:

Grief had taken them apart. 

As Kay lay in bed each night he yearned for his lost child…He was as weak as Shai was. His shoulders were as frail as hers, aching under the burden of sorrow.  

 When the door opened, the doctor informed his baby was alive with very little life left. He held his child ALIVE  clinging on to every tiny speck of hope

"Did you see him, Kay?"

"No." His heart was aching within...

 But how could he tell her??????? She was the MOTHER who gave him life... He was just the father who held her dead child and cried silently……….



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