The one that I am narrating today has never been heard before... it's never been told before... it might have been witnessed by the people of Sheecha village. But, they did not disclose it to anyone except me.
This is the story of two friends—Haggu and Guggu (original names - Haggarjeet and Gughneetham).
They watched Sholay 39 times... together! Isn't that enough to speak of their friendship?
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The Usual Scene:
... yehhhh dostiiiii, hum nahiiiii chhhodenge.... chhhhoddengeee... hummmm magarrrr....
teraaa.... laaaaaaaa.... lalalalaaaaaa..... lalalalalalala....
They both wear similar clothes and always predecide the color combination over the phone.
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One Day:
Guggu's hands were on Haggu's waist. They were riding... singing... enjoying ...all usual stuff!
Haggu: Guggu, had you not been there, this life would have been boring.
Guggu (smiles and sheds tears simultaneously): Haggu.... ummmmm... ummmmmm... (sob) (sob)... same to you Haggu (Guggu hugs him tightER).
After a lengthy discussion on 'what-ifs' and 'what-nots', the two decided to travel around the Sheecha village.
On one of the turns, the bike lost balance and the two friends had a major fall. Bhadhaaaaaaaam. While Haggu hurt himself on the knees, Guggu hit his body against a wall next to the sidewalk. The bike was damaged too.
Haggu got himself up; he was desperate to check on Guggu.
The site was horrific. Guggu was lying in a pool of blood. He seemed extremely critical... and even maybe a 'gonner'. His moans could be heard in the 20 meter radius.
Haggu: Guggu, my friend, are you ok?
Guggu: Aaaah... f...f...ff....ffreand... Hag g g g gooo... aaaah...
Haggu: O no... nahiiiiii... yeh kya ho gaya Guggu? Hey bhagwaan... Gugguuu, mai abhi ambulance ko bula kar aata hoon.
Guggu: Nahi... mere dost... iss gao mei ambulance nahi aati... aur vaise bhi mera waqt aa gaya hai. Tuu mujh chhod ke mat jaa... mujhe kahi hospital vospital nahi jana... mujhe bas apni lap mei leta de...
[Haggu did not worry about the blood stains and did as Guggu asked.]
Haggu: Mujhe chhhod ke mat jaa Guggu. Mai kya karunga iss gaon mei?
Guggu: Hag hag haggu... guu... mai khush hoon tere saamne marte hue. Khush rehna mere dost.
[Haggu is crying so bad that he's hardly able to utter a word.]
[Meanwhile, some villagers have circled these guys.]
A Villager: Arey... eee kaaah hua... chalo chalo inko hospitalva le chalte hai...
Haggu: Nahi... Koi haath nahi lagayega mere dost ko...
Guggu: Thanks mere dost. Ab mai mar sakta hoon.
Both of them have been staring at each other. No one is uttering a word. The time passes by... as both of them wait for Guggu to die. The villagers have circled... some waiting for the tragedy... some thinking of taking them to the hospital... and some, just for the fun of it.
Ten minutes have passed... both friends are still staring at each other. Haggu manages to smile... and Guggu manages to return it. Some of the villagers are starting to get impatient. One of them offers to carry Guggu to the village hospital but Haggu stares him away.
Fifteen minutes have passed... and Haggu is starting to get a little annoyed... sitting like that. His knees are paining. He still holds Guggu closer. Guggu is half asleep... but breathing. A couple of villagers started to hold Guggu' body but Haggu went mad. They had to step back.
Twenty minutes have passed... Haggu is in pain. Villagers keep expressing their desire to help... only to be shooed away by Haggu.
Twenty-five minutes have passed... Guggu is half awake.. Haggu is staring... he wants to throw Guggu away... but friendship prevails... The looks on his face suggest that he wants to say, "Ab mar naaa... Marta kyon nahi hai?"
Thirty minutes have passed... Guggu is still alive... Haggu is even more frustrated... Most of the villagers have gotten bored of this non-activity and left. Some of them have preferred to stay till the end.
Forty minutes have passed... Guggu is wide awake now... He's realized he's not dying. There are some injuries... but nothing life-threatening as such. Not knowing what to do... and how to confront Haggu who must be so sad in the heart... and even the villagers... Guggu gets up and starts walking toward home—while Haggu and the villagers stare.
Two minutes later, the villagers make a huge laughing stock of Haggu.
Embarassed to the core, Haggu gets up and walks for home. He does not know what to do. To be happy? To be sad? To be embarassed?
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Both of them... don't know how to react. They don't know how to confront each other... or even the villagers....
Still, they think of each other all the time.
