Hisab Kitaab aur Dil Ki Baat

Simran Kaur ko maths se pyaar tha, aisa bolna thoda jhooth hota. Maths se uska rishta zyada tar “kaam ka” type tha. Class 10 mein good student image maintain karni thi, teachers ko khush rakhna tha, aur ghar pe bhi kisi ko yeh na lage ki Simran bas marks ke liye padh rahi hai. But andar hi andar usko lagta tha ki itne saare formulas, percentages, aur interest ke questions ka real life mein kya use hai, bas exam pass karne ke alawa?

Us din school mein Harpal Sir ne project announce kiya. Class 10 maths ka project tha: “Real-life application of percentages, interest, and budgeting.” Jaise hi unhone board pe likha, class mein ek collective sigh nikal gaya. Mandeep ne side mein Simran ko elbow maara aur whisper kiya, “Bas yaar, ab next two weeks boring spreadsheet aur chart paper ka torture.” Simran ne usko ignore kiya, but sach yeh tha ki uske mann mein bhi wahi thought tha.

Harpal Sir waise class mein strict lagte the. Neat shirt, calm voice, aur aise dekhte the jaise ek nazar mein samajh jaate hon ki kisne homework kiya hai aur kisne copy-paste. Lekin unka style alag tha. Woh textbook se zyada real life ko maths se jodna pasand karte the. Unhone bola, “Sirf formulas likh dene se project complete nahi hota. Try karo ki maths ko kisi real situation mein use karo. Jo cheez aas paas ho, usko dekho. Numbers ko zinda karo.”

Class mein kuch bachche neend mein the, kuch pretend kar rahe the ki note kar rahe hain, aur Mandeep jaise log openly bore ho rahe the. Simran ne bas pen ghumaaya aur socha, “Great. Ab ek aur project.” Uska group leader hona bhi ek alag pressure tha. Teachers usse serious student samajhte the, aur woh image todna nahi chahti thi.

Ghar ka routine simple tha. Subah school, phir tiffin, phir homework, aur shaam ko nani-type family talks, chai, aur kabhi-kabhi grandpa Gurmeet Singh ki chup-chup si maujoodgi. Gurmeet Singh retired farmer the. Bahut kam bolte the, par jab bolte the, seedha point pe. Unka favourite kaam tha verandah mein baith ke newspaper dekhna aur kabhi-kabhi khet ya purane zamane ki baatein kar dena. Simran ko lagta tha woh bas old-school hain, thode distant, thode alag.

Pados mein Ranjit Bhai rehte the. 46 saal ke, thode thake hue, aur har waqt busy ya tense lagte the. Unki awaaz mein ek aisi defensive si thakaan thi jo tab aati hai jab aadmi bahut der se apni problem akela uthaa raha ho. Sabko lagta tha ki Ranjit Bhai theek chal rahe hain, lekin ghar ke andar kya chal raha hai, kisi ko pata nahi tha.

Do din baad, school ke corridor mein Simran ne accidentally do teachers ki baat sun li. Unmein se ek keh rahi thi, “Ranjit Singh ka loan phir se due ho gaya hai. Interest badhta ja raha hai, aur crop income this season stable nahi hai.” Simran ruk gayi. Loan, interest, crop income — yeh sab words uske project ke topic se directly connected the. Uske dimaag mein grandpa ka ek purana sentence flash hua: “Karza sirf paisa nahi hunda, timing da khel vi hunda ae.”

Shaam ko usne pehli baar Gurmeet Singh se seedha poocha, “Dadaji, aapne kabhi loan ya repayment kaise manage kiya tha? I mean, farming mein?”

Gurmeet Singh ne pehle bas uski taraf dekha, phir chai ka cup side mein rakha. “Kyun? School da project hai?”

Simran thoda embarrassed hui. “Haan… par honestly, mujhe samajhna hai. Real life mein kaise kaam karta hai.”

Gurmeet Singh ne ek lambi saans li. “Pehle ke time mein kisaan log hisaab kitab sirf notebook mein nahi, season ke hisaab se karte si. Kab paisa aayega, kab beej lena hai, kab khad, kab mandi jaana hai — sab timing te depend karda si. Loan lena galat nahi, par repayment da plan crop cycle de naal match hona chahida.”

Simran chup chaap sun rahi thi. Grandpa pehli baar itne detail mein bol rahe the. “Aur agar payment date galat ho?” usne poocha.

“Phir aadmi bina wajah pressure vich aa janda,” Gurmeet Singh bole. “Karza badha lagda hai, par kai vaar problem amount nahi hundi. Problem hoti ae galat timing, ya phir bolne di himmat na hona.”

Us raat Simran ne notebook khola aur numbers likhne lagi. Mandeep ko next day school mein pakda. “Mandeep, project sirf chart pe make-up nahi hoga. Kuch real banana padega.”

Mandeep ne dramatic face bana ke bola, “Madam, mere paas real life mein already enough problems hain. Math project mein aur interest mat add karo.”

“Chup kar,” Simran ne kaha, but uski tone mein pehli baar excitement thi. “Ranjit Bhai ka loan issue hai. Agar hum simple repayment plan bana dein, maybe project bhi useful ho sakta hai.”

Mandeep ne aankhen chhoti karke bola, “Wait, tu serious hai? Matlab hum kisi ka loan solve karenge?”

“Solve nahi,” Simran ne samjhaya. “Understand karenge. Aur maybe help karenge.”

Mandeep ne pehle joke maara, “Aaj kal ke school kids financial advisors ban gaye hain.” But phir usne Simran ki notebook dekhi, aur uska tone thoda soft hua. “Theek hai. Main info collect karunga. Tu maths sambhal.”

Project ka kaam shuru hua. Simran ne interest calculate kiya, simple aur compound interest ka farq likha, aur ek rough timeline banayi. Mandeep ne pados aur market se info lena start kiya — kab payment possible hoti hai, local cooperative ka kya system hai, aur kis tarah small instalments possible ho sakte hain. Surprisingly, jo banda class mein sabse zyada mazaak karta tha, woh kaafi fast-talker nikla. Woh logon se bina awkward hue baat kar leta tha.

Par jab Simran aur Mandeep ne Ranjit Bhai ko approach kiya, scene thoda ulta ho gaya.

Ranjit Bhai ne gate pe hi unhe dekh ke eyebrows raise ki. “Haan, bolo?”

Simran ne politely kaha, “Bhaiya, hum school project ke liye… actually aapke loan repayment ke baare mein samajhna chahte the. Maybe hum ek simple plan bana sakte hain—”