Bayaan Café | Tape #29 –
Tagline:
“Kabhi-kabhi kisi ki chuppi,
kisi aur ke liye darwaaza khol deti hai.”
“Sometimes someone’s silence
opens a door for someone else.”
Slow evening
Baarish tham chuki thi,
The rain had stopped,
lekin Café ki hawa mein
bheege kaagaz aur coffee ki khushboo ab bhi ghuli hui thi.
but in the air of the Café,
the smell of wet paper and coffee was still mixed.
Zaria counter ke paas baithi
Zaria sat near the counter
‘Rasta’ ki pehli pandulipi palat rahi thi.
flipping through the first manuscript of ‘Rasta’.
Nilofar coffee machine band kar rahi thi.
Nilofar was turning off the coffee machine.
Deewar ki taraf dekhte hue
Nilofar ne dheere se kaha—
Looking toward the wall
Nilofar said softly—
“Aaj ki shaam ajeeb khaamosh hai na?”
“Tonight’s evening feels strangely quiet, doesn’t it?”
Zaria muskurai—
Zaria smiled—
“Kabhi-kabhi khaamoshi bhi
sabse oonchi awaaz hoti hai.”
“Sometimes silence
is the loudest sound.”
A new paper
Ussi waqt
darwaaza dheere se khula.
At that very moment
the door opened slowly.
Ek bahut chhoti-si ladki—
shayad 13–14 saal ki—
bheege baal aur badi-si jacket mein andar aayi.
A very young girl—
maybe 13–14 years old—
entered with wet hair and an oversized jacket.
Haath mein bas ek kaagaz tha,
jo poori tarah geela ho chuka tha.
She had only one paper in her hand,
which had become completely wet.
Nilofar jhat se aage badhi.
Nilofar quickly stepped forward.
“Arey! Itni bheeg gayi?
Coffee chahiye?”
“Oh! You got so wet?
Want some coffee?”
Ladki ne sir hilaaya—
“Nahi… bas ye yahan chhodna tha.”
The girl shook her head—
“No… I just had to leave this here.”
Zaria’s question
Zaria uske paas aayi.
Zaria came near her.
Aawaaz behad narm thi—
Her voice was extremely gentle—
“Tum chaho to yahan baith bhi sakti ho.”
“If you want, you can sit here too.”
Ladki ne kaha—
“Baithne ka waqt nahi hai.
Bas ye padh lena.
Shayad meri maa bhi ise padh le,
kabhi…”
The girl said—
“I don’t have time to sit.
Just read this.
Maybe my mother will read it too,
someday…”
That paper
Zaria ne kaagaz ko kholne ki koshish ki,
Zaria tried to open the paper,
lekin geelepan mein akshar phail gaye the.
but the letters had spread because of the dampness.
Phir bhi
beech ki do lines saaf padhi ja sakti thi:
Still,
two lines in the middle were clearly readable:
“Maa, tumne kaha tha
koi jagah hogi jahan dar nahi hoga.
Shayad yahi jagah hai.”
“Mom, you said
there must be a place where fear wouldn’t exist.
Maybe this is that place.”
Zaria ne nazrein uthaaeen—
ladki ja chuki thi.
Zaria lifted her eyes—
the girl had already left.
Darwaaza bas halke se hil raha tha.
The door was gently swinging.
A new corner on the wall
Us geele kaagaz ko
Zaria ne bahut sambhaal kar
deewar ke ek khaali kone mein laga diya.
Zaria very carefully
placed that wet paper
on an empty corner of the wall.
Dheere se fusfusai—
She whispered softly—
“Tumhari maa agar kabhi aayi,
to yaqeen mano,
unhe yahi kona sabse pehle dikhega.”
“If your mother ever comes,
believe me,
this corner will be the first thing she sees.”
Nilofar’s realisation
Nilofar ne rukkar kaha—
Nilofar paused and said—
“Kitne log hain,
jo is Café ko apna ghar samajhne lage hain।”
“So many people
have started considering this Café their home.”
Zaria boli—
Zaria said—
“Kyunki shayad,
har kisi ko bas ek jagah chahiye
jahan unka dar
kaagaz mein badal sake।”
“Because maybe,
everyone just needs a place
where their fear
can turn into paper.”
Night at the Café
Us raat Café band hone ke baad,
That night, after the Café closed,
Nilofar ne pehli baar
us pandulipi ‘Rasta’ ke paas
ek chhota-sa post-it laga diya—
Nilofar, for the first time,
placed a small post-it
beside the manuscript ‘Rasta’—
“Aaj ek bacchi ne humein yaad dilaya
ki ye Café sirf coffee ke liye nahi,
kisi ko dhoondhne ke liye bhi hai।”
“Today a little girl reminded us
that this Café isn’t only for coffee,
but also for finding someone.”
Zaria ne aakhri panna palatte hue
copy mein likha—
Turning the last page,
Zaria wrote in her notebook—
“Kabhi-kabhi log
bas ek kaagaz chhodne aate hain,
aur apni poori duniya
yahin chhod jaate hain।”
“Sometimes people
come only to leave one paper,
and end up leaving
their whole world here.”
Bayaan Café | Tape #29 –
Dear Readers,
If these tapes from Bayaan Café touch your heart even a little,
please let me know in the comments.
Every message you write becomes a small light on this Café’s wall—
and helps this story travel further.
Tell me which country or city you are reading from,
because every reader becomes a part of this Café’s journey.
Your support, your words, your presence…
they all matter more than you think.
– Afsana Wahid
https://afsanawahidwrites.blogspot.com/2025/11/zille-huma-ki-khoobsurati-ka-raaz-hidden-truth-story.html
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