Susi Ponsins de Dernrons NISC R Pee New Dati 10019 akipubliser@yad coo i pba by Ses aber 8 Dosa 2009 4 11h pein 2005 Copyrigc © Ravinder Sing, 2009 “Spt in ACaramond 1p. by Surih Kamae Sarma Ss Pre and bound in adi A igh ese No par: of ii publiaton may be eroducd, stad areal stem, ainda any fr ory ay melon, tecnica phooeopyag ening overs, wou th pi wine Pemision of the Pblabe Not everyone in hs wold as he fate cherish the flat firm flow. Some are bor usta experience the abbresivon oiDesired ‘Theloving memory ofthe git whom [loved yer could not mary. Tee juan ark sha mah pr tujhe dbondavedboondere, maine Ud bo pais. = Anonyeneus _-Orherse, I woulda have come ars an author in meAclorledgenenes My sincere hanks the following people, fr aking me aad inthe Founey of wecing shi book, Kuss Dad for reviewing thi bool for the very fist sme and helping me withthe Rs edie work Paya Rater, my colleague, my good fiend, for being punctul athe lock evening tet UdypZin or campus, where she sed co pen down thos beautiful prose pies fo tht book. Ridhia Arora, my cutest and dats end, or being he nd oF ‘reader who can be ny writer’ delight For alway epg ny spiis up and showing me the beer way to bring this bookDayspabytemihons Bas wig ae area sigan of pin oj sya ait ime Ber ark willy romans Restos mycsmforable bed Tos end un ad ry sep cash are baking my es And beefed hag besp Tie pas fleshng tering igh hears Tarng me spars, baking me ote ams The darines of my lifes mar sen the der And ns Tam trying a ie sie, tying pea my here Reunion Tents de we Mack 2006 wn in Koh nds ach Hap ad bon Fey exis Wh co fara gltg =O rg heey Afeourenpnng. twhirl ‘Manes, Amd, Happy andere ing be phe eng ou i yin then apy a ein ie sonmaon he 4 fo ofthe Bl lng, Begone ane fos we weteaimans bt net wed nh [did ink hi pod go tec fi nd orga th rol ot ck es nies wa on Sr the hovel athe ein ote snd yar and ma al the ons ee ead ove by en want with any cote tiie dn bring Happ snare And ese i wee thing ogee and on wc bee Thode ca winon wa shale be ad brs wing wih TES fat rad ato ot poet in Loc hoe vt Doel wht fife 61's gol geal maig tk dad Happy wat abe pr ‘Mapes oc MPaswe clei evens and eli‘The remo I use te word ht is because he wl Kill met Ese the proper word - a = Fh, He was she fst among us to ge ‘omparr in the Hostel and hie machine vs mother of coundes computer games In fact, hia the ery eon Happy andl wanted to e fiends wih hin. MP wns quit sto, Ele hal even ceed the Maths Opin ais schoo! days snd was aways boning tout 1 His mative place was Madinagar bathtime ofthis ein, he as working ewe in Bangalore, Amardeep was taped ‘Raan by MP I dontknow wher he got is wed nickname or wh, baie warprobaly becuse ois simple sober mace. Unlike te tof atthe host, he was not tal sete it som light would goof presnlyat1.00 pm At times. MP. Happy ad wet and oud is oom afew seconds before 11 ane begin vo count dawn, "1, 9,8, 7,6 5.4 3s 2 sind Raamji has yone down.” The only mysterious thing about “Amaideep as tat he used to go somewhere on his bicyele every Sindy. Fe never old us where he went. Whesener we edt fallow im, somehow be would know and would digest fom is path to shake wf Bren today none of sows anything about it Thebest thing sour the gu. hough, ie hi simpicy. And ery importa, hows the copper in the fal seer of our Faginering batch, He ‘made our group sine le belonged to Barely nd wat working wth Enlueseve won he, alongwith MP lew vo Kolkata fer the reunion Aer colle all oFus wer prety michinvalved in ou stereosypia lines Oe diy wefound our tha lappy was oming bck London fortwo weeks. Frerybody wae game for + sunion “Hlapy’s place in Rolin, 4 March 2006 we decide, ‘nally onthe schedled die Iwas ling he tis to Happy’ pacnient two steps atime, Tew about 12:30 in dhe aferoon ‘nen | knocked on his dot. Hisruom opened cand welomed mein. + hin Singh > ‘As Tul often been thes, new me well or me, Happy house ever means oa maty formate | was having some water when dhe told me tha Happy was tat home and his cell was switche of Wo! And he asked me nor ro be ate" musroued to myst ‘Ail ler: there was another knockon the doe I gt fom my chiro open it as Happy’ som wasin she kcchen, [pulled it open te shouts of, “Oh... Busrraaaaahhbh.... Dude... Yeah Hansa... Oauaaaana! No ewastt Happy: MP and Amardvp ad avd ‘Secing your college ends afer thee pear isa ray and exciting tt you do even rai yo ate at someone dss place where you should show som sans aude poi. Then agin the very Purpose of this reuion was totes or loge days and his wae the perc star While wemide ures comfrable on thesoisin the dawing: som, MP asked about Happy whereabouts i nx on time in his we hore Isai looking at MP and we langhed again. Teor the ext half hour o 30, the thre of us llr, laughed and ‘nade fn of eachother while eating lnc mae by Happs mothe. Ys. we stared our meal wiht Happy. Thx might not sound decent, ‘bucwe had genine enon nobody could predict hari, so shete ‘seo point in waiting. ‘A lade lace, here wat anor knock Happy mom opened the dove “Happy weeceeer? MP shoud, geting from the ising hat “Amardeep andl taeda cach ober. escmed asi MP ws going to sh tence at e bugged Hap: We remembered how these rs ted #0 ry during their long booting sessions, when thet brains switched offand ti heuestared speaking: Amardeep and T used 0+ Hewat ‘jy out Coke, while cing them geting en. We all stood up to bug him» and 28 soon at shat wat done, we inued our lunch, Happy als joined ws ‘The fod tha day was ‘ert: Or maybe ras jst becae we were having hunch cogeter fiers Jong and hat made especial After hunch, we moved wm another at,» few Hoors above, in the same building, This wath seeand la which Happy’ uni owned, and as meant for lative and cas ke us, We were laughing at ‘one of MF’ joes while moving in and were probably sill laughing ‘efllon dhe gan couch inthe drawing om — upeide dwn-— lee jn he couch and our tres on the loam spa cross ad acing the cling; we made ounevescomforabe Nobody sid anything ora fe moments And then it seared agin, ‘wits Happy’ big laugh. gues he remembered some incident imalng Ream Tha evesing, the four of usin that Mat were having a amaring time, Tiling sbour our pase and present Abou chose ot so-god- woking gl in cllege. About the poen we uted 0 watch om our ‘compute About out experiences abosd and many ether hinge ‘So which one did you lke more, Pasope or the Sete?" Flappy sake te geting up “Europes” Ltepled, sil ying down snd looking athe xt, ‘Why Amardeep asked, He abeays nce co find out the reson bchind eveything hough he never gare any reson for nor teling here went every Sunday, during out hostel day) "Eusope has a history. The languages change when you leave ne souoery and move to anotber, The fod, the at and architecture, labo pub ansprg the sen ey ert isa wonder in Eatope Tied woo "You id noe ace all this inthe US?" Songs ik pub wasup ae nochac gpd incomparnon ‘0 Barope. Yo and your ex arth oly opsons in meso the states, [New ark being an exception. You wont hear at many languages a you oa in Europ. I mean dhe US ie damn advanced bt il | woul pele Europe othe Sees Amudep aol sn this mean his questions had ended “This the x ching about IT jobs, Amardeep. We ge 9 vist ica places which we never dreamt of ding our eallege days MP sito Amardeep Afr college ME, Heppy and ined IT Ares vile Amardeep joined the KPO indus, He had never ke he Icdcoresofeware busines, ‘Wewere gh be ope pin, ally fee he feel night in college and wekep talking ft hour hac emoon, We were planning noun fr the evening hen we eealed how tired we were and how ‘uc we needed ide ret. det remember which one of us el sale Ft deo & “Wake wp you ass. Talend 6:30." Someone wisstraggingo get ut ou rom our ropa dreams To ‘the hosel Amardeep wat the istamongusto wake up and fount the oly one ro wake ap other So we knew that i was ous ext roming Amardeep Sil how can soncbody humping your door w ty ot of bed ‘epleasan? We human being ave such weid ature— while alee, ‘we hae che pron who ising wake usp, buc once Weare ava, ‘ve ted to lve tha ume pero Because he id the right thing, Ac‘esl Amandep wassuconfilin hisendevor ews 7.00 in shceveoing, This was the fist ine Amardeep and MP hl come othe iy. 0 ‘we decided co explore che snets of Kalla, Fortunately ovr host essed mo bikes his wn Pulsar ad be younget other Splenda ‘We got ei and ple ou he bike from the garage: MP an | got on the Splendor, Happy and Asuaudeep onthe Pulse \Wecrosul heer Hoop over he Vidya Sagar Seu shouting nd talking to eachother. Speed-teakr could break our sped that ‘ring, And where were we? Oa doud number nite Being with your est dies ier such alongime it once, scien and ling ‘We went othe Vitoria Memorial and ew other places. Ar times, owe gordon to have some ice. Ar times we heed 19 enjoy olla famous stacks and sweet dines, we got down beciie ‘one of us wanted pee — which nd a chain restafos i the cron among We were at soe ple, enjoying cee in an earthen cup when MP aed, "When do we need gt ack home?” rwas alread 10:30 No worries. have the fy forthe at upstairs. We can g0 aay time we want. Hopeflly, we wll nox move in before 100," Happy ‘sid, Fithing his ice cea down wo the as bop. "And wher re we going ro bel hea" Amardeep wis concerned Amardeep and his 1,00 PM seeping tne, 1 remembered, but “di bring ito the eter? notice. Happy looked ar me and aed with «smile, “Shall we go to the sare phe” "Oh! That ne.” Before MPs diy bin clls could sare thinking something lth. ied to cleat pice °Gelmen! Wate ping ‘oa very co! place now, and Ibe both of you wl ind i,” 1 was cing to finish when MP became impatient nl a me off + deine Sigh = ‘Oh yes. heard that Chandra was om We Bengal So, ae veguysplanningeo.." His wished se snd nag eyes completed the question, ole nu” Happy a laughing os eink go nich, Ml Jas flows Vad ‘Without eval ‘or exination, Teast ye midnight when we rtched the pl. The a ere was slide colder At fis lanes cloked aif we were nthe slums Thste vasa un down gage which wi shuts Same rchs were paket out. Thai driver were probably seeping. We parked our bikes bes one oF thestucs and walled shrowgh 3 smal ct th igh ofthe garage. The place was hall and wie silent, Our voices sd fooutpsrangoxtloudh Thesound of inst added othe erness ‘of the place: MP heard pack of dogs basking somewhere neat | sloithnow ihe ally heard der, though Maybe ews us is poe ‘art eating loud: ‘SRI They wil wake up," sid Happy with «Gage om hi fips "Wh" Amardep whip “There ate people seeping on he pound shea, Watch your sep." Happy ai "People! Sleeping on the road" Amandop slowed dow, They exe loc fishermen. Some were seeping and sme were hungover fom home madeliquon Suddenly the street ended in a wooden shana: This wat atic like srucute going dawn, and we po hese dull und ike hac oF water beating aginst the shee. We steppe on this canna ving i Ina few seconds, we wre a ou destination, morse were hack nu bikes diving co the incesoundTame cay + ES Te wis he rter Hoods and we were sang a its bay Amardeep. and MPs fee tuned nt dig This icthe Launch Ghat and, ight now we rein Hoya This ‘he point fiom where the fry thet you a dhe othe side: Kolkata tiny” Happy announced, pointing cos the ie. [nour excitement, wejaped ono the worden harbo-ltke vere fmm the channel. Sarounding this arbor on thie sides was herve ‘nesperfecrslocty,Irvasabeaul nigh, with dhe moon ovethead an she sears shining eight And enc sissy the fur oF ul We st down beside one ofthe giant anchors in a comer ofthe hor Therese against he cool bez to meet the By of Beg ln the iene, he sound of wate iting ti arbor was crystal lee (Qa the othe side ofthe river was Kola, The all buildings and the tn of iy yllow lights eominde me of she New Vor ne. Be this was much bere, jse because I was with my ends noe ‘With our as wide open, wetweahed dsp slong. inbalng the Say chil sll intoxicated by the beau of his place That wa when Happy spoke up So he aed ookingat Amardep, ‘What? Amardeep asked in rx, not oodenanding Happy’: Sa "So, hows displace, damaie™ “OW This place | canor thnk of beter pce shan this Thi tren? A the gn col bere blew, embracing. We ay down she larbor, ‘hat wat when dhe discusion stared. A serous discussion: a Alscusion dat changed my fe, lessted with anor “So S02” Amardegp asked shi tme. looking a Happy "Wha? Happy asked. xing his chin, "Whats se next important thing” Amardesp ake “You mean dinner” MP jumped in No, I mean the pet inportne thing in if. Schooling ~ done ogincering done. Geting good job ~ done, Goingabroad done Bank blence—in progress. Whit the nee milestone?” ‘A! [know what ou talking abou," Happy nod, “Ask im, hess, pointing his ales ied chin toward Everyone looked ci. “dont know whats goingonin your life and amily, ba my mom and dad ae going cay. They afer me like you woulda bli, Dot make a good bacco?” Lad. The sory ste sane everywhere, We por bacelors,” MP sid eying be ina a seis, SAR" Amaro sid, ‘So, have ou ot your Family Bed something” Task him, ‘No. My try jm ie your. Bu he fic dat, ame day, wel hase to sete dow with a iparmer, How log cat We ignore ur patent” questions They wo hae expecrton.wihes and dca for knw what you mean Amadep, Bur as you sell sendy to spend your whol life with someone? mean nour four years she hose, dene ware 0 many ies when we had wo ade wih ech oer. This one wll be fra fem,” Happy sid Bur, sooner or late, we hae to do dhs, igo" Amardop sed ‘What if we just eaey on the way ae” MD sd‘Then imagine yours the age of 6 sag alone, Lie sn hat 9 my end, Iba jury: And the Bee ey co complt i with aie pares” Amardeep sid That nigh. onthe bank ofthe rer, che four of us dics dis isa seronly or the i time. Maybe earth Fraime we fee vere mature enough ro talk about i So many questions if dbus were ad and anawered been us, So nan vews were brought in and debued None of us wn again mavageb ve vated evaluate icsbenefis. Amardeep and I were quie consnced about de mariage ‘hing. And disdiscusion made Happy and MP think abou the macer quite sey. ven ied convince them. (Which reminds meof| Adogan Tread on a she jeu cantcomne jn sone he) “Bat then, oser things come inca the picture. Love mariage ot arranged matiage? Parent choice or ord” Happy sid "Noth pesonal choi Ba given hac wear independent, dot chink ou parents wall bc to our dein,” Amante sd Happy hep mam bering hie "Bur Amatdee, learns lofi ate Non ndans working in faraway sates. The chance of nga soo-mate, in thi ec quite slim. Moreover, the kinds ojos we have doa ius de time (interact with liferene people. And above dl one of would ike 10 mary agi chosen by our pres ifn not wrong.” MP sl “I dont know your lst statements valid o os, busin your ands,” Armazdeep repli “Bu MP has point. tay ease, would ike 0 mary gd of my choice, but fete tone yer was aboa anlT doit know if inthe ‘next couple of ys, willbe ia Ii, Given this fc, irs quite ard fr me 0 work on my maeige plan And for 3 psa ike me is Jmpotbeso selon ith any gi whose nian, Forget Lin, + Rede ig she bata hea Panjabi fist of al Us “How did you apply for your jb at Inns" Amardeep aed digesting fom heroic 1 ansnere. “Through some jabsebsie “And Happy how did you tar enone from London co your pens “Through my ncemetbanking eco. stein” he anon Scet'The world ie Becoming intemt-sey: And, ge the fic ‘hae weall re TT grates who are onthe net lost everday why cal we we thi or the marge ching 10" ‘Are you talking about maimonial websites like Shand com? Happy asked. ea" “Ae they ely wef donc hick” MP po orate hive Ta knoe if ih i swe oy you aver ate i st Thats ‘he only way tow ting for sure” Amardeep anoere ‘Or bere ye, aka person who has already std, Why tke 3 stan” Happy said, yng to make ws hugh ‘So Raamyj ae you a any such website?” Taske ‘Not yet, But Fm dining oF ‘When wedlénotsayanyeing. he explained, "The bes thing about «hisses isha you ang chrough so many profes without king yur de. The ler are go enought provide you table matches, ‘hcl ou cn interne the pin rT ys. ncpting issosgsemaric,Aboveall you donee co woury abou your physi Teen, Amadcep made some valid pins, which spray why wedi have mc debate abou+ Hehehe ny “Him... Wel. elo know if hie hing gong o work, but ics worth giving». Who knows.” Eea MP ws enna, [ye 1:30 AM, Ourempey stomachs reminded our bins of thet Amadesp aid, Is quiet nd in dan hungry Let get home: Ane stood up sretching bis back ct” MP asked while we all were dsing our “The fn ane fo masz? Or Bat ane co make his poe on the vebsite” Happy ake, aging. “Bosh. 1 think his guy” Happy poimed ht ing at me, I doit kaow why Twas probably 400 AM by terme we had diane and lee, And afer ong ie, we enjoyed the kindof deep we sed cay incu ost. That day became one ofthe mos memorable day in ou vs Wespeat he next dy sng some of th es: hangout in Kalla, Ad we went gain othe Launch Ghar in he evening a rid hey 1 the other side ofthe ci. And, belie you ine, beng om the fy ‘vaso less amacng shun boarding the Titanic iv 1912. Being with our esfiends ssp wondefl, Wet, dank lke aneioyed 10 the files ta pl called Some Place le ‘Thac was he last sight ofthe eunion ip, All thee of them ctme to drop me 3¢ Howth Station and, once ‘ean, the Fourof us hugged, juste we hai at Herbal Stron, on thelist day of cole = sind Sag» ‘Who’ ein cy fs” MP shod, Hara of us laughed area cupid and send question ‘Te tain ealled me with i final his: [got nc the cariage and toc! at dhe doot saving eo them ala the ela Ste lao. reali Bhubsnesva the nestnoming That ame orig, Amardeep snd MI bonded fightback oh espeive pices Soom afereds, Happy sol bac w Landen,Khushi Dace et a fe, juke on ay oer wes. ns ccnp shat MP ad shor oa ingen ip Hema ta © wa wea oking sem amy Yb! Lote sai angi th ope corne ‘eas at ada maison e—Shncom— wih bens sng ndtng her pec mach Realngour enon dco eked te yeni tia ‘choke thee Wd eal eee ele shesach Bute nd nae die, avon hee pag thy finn ik. Wo! Some song her ee da py sa vane a heck shm lot Babel ihc no prompted mrp te web, wthou which coud oe thou mor profile, The ale vas oe nd wo natch he wl ove you hao gine Your dat hoe much wok has yo aug Tepe ma soca my pole am hese” Ths vn epsyag Hap, Aran andP Whosoever The prey fn on thee aged ne wo man ony bce schedule ~ which involved projec delivery wo a cen, che wry next Ay Someone righly id “Tne things eat, womenand."vays forge the shied ne)... can make anything happen inthis wel So, finally, my profile was oa the website. I uploaded a nice phcogeph and unchecked any checkbot which seed 10 hide my ‘shcibout fom gis who mighrhe arching forme did noc forget 1 mension my profesional ipso the US and Europe cider. After a hour ors, I wat all tv che oue hove prety Face agin, Lae ny files ro check oul he Punjabi gion the webs and hehe “sate burton. “THe sesultspige displayed some 3 cgicaumber—the orl number of profiles thar marched my search rivera, This was exciting Bat T old only check ou ame By of them before my eyes grew ed Sill among thos fly or ao, there were fev whom I wanted “amc But hein could doo, hee cia hearbeaking moines Tito thos prety fies Th wo make payment the ste There io such thing a a fe anch, Daa! Tae only cose part was away co expres my interest in them by «licking aburon on their respective pages. This would seta mesa fiom ae othe ino. Bu even if they gave me an affmtdon «0 incre, Hall woulda ge theiremsil ide nls made he payment, I checked the amount ehey were aking fx 3000 buck forthe yal plan! No way” dco myselE Then though, "Twill ony py up happen to ger goad mae expanses From thot excel he, henver elie, Leould ping any tgs the website to show may ites in he profi Tis was he begining of my experince with shaadi com ~ ac che cow of my project livery, which [almost crewed up. is+ Hohe y's a Apart fiom Happy, Amardeep and ME, nobody else knew about my profile onthe se, no even my patents, Because tling them chat 1 6 thinking of geting maried meant sting 2 hornets nest. The moment they found out, they would bring inputs from their scqunatances all ver the planet and, Jes! How I hate shat! For the next few day, I got responses o my quests. Every cme I ‘pened my inbox there wa this strange excitement. But, most ofthe me. didnt last long, The best ones had desined me: In ft, moe of them had ignored me. Only a hand seceped my request but, unfortunately they dsc appear tha good. “AM This website good for nothing,” Lrold mys Asif wa Jame Bood and ll ils inthe world wuld throw hemsdverat me the moment | approached the, ‘And thisis how Shani om went rom high-privty ro the lowest- prlosy. Time passed by and I visited the ite once in wo or three weeks licking butions on profiles that inteeted me, but without much expectation, Some more ils declined me: some gis, Ldetned. ‘few wanted to interact, but thee eduation was not impesive Some ‘alled meup on any cell to some wre few SMS. A couple of hem ‘wanted me ro move abroad but | wat ao game; ome others I could ‘ot convince that Indi was beter pic oie, Dring one of my shore, oficilrps tothe US Lalo happened to boy the yey pla for a gil who badly waned ro tlle to me. Darnnt (Our of the thre shings (wealth, women and.che atone which I always forget) that could make anything happen inthis wold, the second was already making me do things. The irony being thatthe il, whom I coughed up 3000 bucks for, never goin touch, Ls all inczet in the website + hein Sh * Then, one evening, I ested an SMS on my cellphone. * Hit m Khushi received ur mage on my other cll can uplscall me now That was 20-Jul-2006 18:58:19. My cll phone inbox st the date and time. ‘When I gar this SMS, wasn aconftence cll wth a cent in he US. qui sealed the marc of the role from which Id go scceprance the week before, along with the contact mobile number wan emai iI wrote an SMS in ep: ‘Min mid of conf. shows ‘sl ing you in another ifn The very act minut, my el fased the ava of anew mesg 1 oo bv empl my cof few min ik. U emplet ws and ‘Alte ishing my all, I ile her number bu only after Thad quickly ‘noe dough er prfle- “Het sida bea vic from dhe other end Hi This Ravi.” “An 1am Khushi she lin plesng and conidene vice. "Yup, Hearn eatin your SMS. Sorry Ukep you wating but Twat Inthe idle ofan importa conference ell wth 2 cen“No proble en Id oan sto complet ‘Our comrersaton bean formally busin mo time it became quite ‘elaed snd infotmal when we ound out some amusing hig, leant tht you wetebor inthe mont of Feu, 198, "she id, “Yes. 4" February. Anything specifi” Iwondeed if as spposed ‘reall something fom fer pole. Butthe only ching remeanberedy then, was da ah looked beac in ee per You might hve novice that my yeu and month of ith se the ‘Oh yes! 224 February. ha sen dha” I id, quickly ching co sy computer and soln dough hex ple “And you were hoen ln Frida. “No. wis homin Kolas. My dad was inthe defn sevceband when was hom. be was posted in Kolkats and was staying there wih fay” “Realy..2 You wont bein thi” [showed aesctig my oo swore attention, “You ges eading rowan he sates area, whee could cello hee withoue during the oer “Doo cell me you wet aio borin, ur before she ould complete her sentence, Lahoud agai, "Yes! Buc how cme” “Thats my mother naive plc.” And { don’ know why we seresmod and laughed at this fact, Thousands of people must ave Been bom it the sme yea the ame month and the same place, given our countrys track econ. Buc he very we ested inte at Mercere asi sch, ett ca you bold dees i playing the cer" 1 si. Te Analy ell eels ob tg” Indeed. Uleaeat to ply i ForFour yeas Fe, 1 wa never sancsted, bye my dad ore me 0 ‘Well, yom aww whae? Thats che only season why 1 fle ke i'm ae ie Ender" id avy. The bobby sedan in your profile sai thar you play dhe wl Aud ourimteresinclasical maser the oni thr irate yom fon the others and made me fel ike alkng ra ou," cai So that wy it A able makes «ge wants alle wo gy? ew possible to understand gis, bu 1 fale Uke ugg my dal and ‘asking im for forcing me w lea the ble sen Tot my dee afer 4 years at Paya Universi. And boa ae inthe I indy” ae pied ot aoe things we bd in ht Ne wot lccegy aNeii ntg 1 sed, knowing hat was wrong, And how cul Ibe when her rofl wasn fro me? Vt a TN anemia Enc cnyceleny opl ce studious and god rank holders. Isha uu “Ae you exacting meta sy cath She laud, "Thae we ny Bt ever ancl with 2 gel Lldicscen yer Oa ‘tur cal we wuched base on varios hings che ase movie we had secn, our best ends, he family, my fay, cu olage day music sn other area oF acter© om ba ty + “Sols your flyin Bhabanenar co?” *No, my native place isa very small town called Bura, near Sambalpur. Mom and dad live thece, My brother and Tae in Bhubaneswar, and we bo work wid Infosys. We tay ina rented fat vith ew other tomate. andro parent onalerate weekend Buta sus nigh de fom Bhubunesnae” ‘Weta fr neat an hour cold fel my cel phone burg ny ‘xc athe cls haery wasn legs. And even cough Ianto ‘o kep talking het, Thad 03. Linten! My barry going to give ‘ap soon, But T hope we ae going stay in ouch” "Your baer” she id, laughing "mean. my mobile" Fant laughing 0. “Jose kidding, But I believe well ak agin” Them she added, ‘deny, “Bar befor you hangup, yu have sy oe god thing" (Onc god thing? Now wher on euch would | find ane good thing ‘0 sy? Buc Id watched a movie che day before and, thanking god, 1 "repeated ine from it “Ril ke sndeh Ii i a Lore eae wel put Keb pe oterg, a pation bahar Horie. ‘Then, Irooka deep beet, and waited. And she bust inc ig lave, 1 sill think ic wat a good line. Bur I dots know what made het laugh. Anyhow, 1100 joined in he aight, thar she would not “Wink me stupid or lacking rent f humor. “OK: Tim hearing the ial Beeps fromm my cel Ie was relly ice ‘aking to you, Khushi. But we wom beable to alk more. ehough I “Sameer like aking co you very much, See you "Yeah bye “Tosead of bye, you shold say tex you Ks ce Ie means well = hiner Sigh © Interac again.” she said, and touched my beat somewhere. Her Ingacence and the candid way in which she led co me ad les smaskoa my mind See you" Id, before I hung wp “Tine nigh ving on my bed, I wer oer the conversion agua snd asin. And I wondered: Could Ihave been more humorous, just 1 inapres he further? Oe wa the alae perfec, the way sul Ise heen? An wat she thinking about the conversation to, 3 dat ‘ery moment siting somewhere inher oom. 1 don now why, bu fle calling her up gsi anit was ard ‘o-carb chacurge. Bur had wo cab it because Idd at want to mess ‘things wp. igh inthe begining by becoming gay who bothers her 21:30 in he night. "No," Td 0 ysl, loly, switched of che light and jumped ico be Alone ia my room, Lassi aking o nobody and here was thi iri at Seng wi ‘vould pas, anda new day would come vhs [col hea her bess i me. T ep, ua 0 thatthe ight sie once asin he next day, Ltd he ell Though wel ot decided tha she ‘ear upposed ro call me, il bad hit gu-feling chat dhe would. By 11:00. in dhe office Twa pong else. wanted ro hear er woe but 2 the se ime, waned er oe me up Happy bad given me his sucess funda inthe mate of gies Dnt ne sheila ave going taf thom uivesoe tine and ‘hey will comes 0m ‘AC 1100, {realized hac Happy was a fol and 1 went ahead andSSMSed era “goed marnng” exe though twa line le For that ur Lcd seein anyseply tomy SMS and began wondering whe thecea foo as. ‘And, tha day | was ab ain, Should item to my heart o ‘my brain? Both of them were pointing in oppo directions. My brain was reling my ego, "What dogs she sink of herslP* Whereas, my ear sll wished oa het vic, Callicmy weaknes or my foro curb my goalie le id hac my heat told me 9 do snd id her numb Hey! Hi, how ae you" Kishi picked up the phone When wshingyou goed morning the nde by expects ily ‘esponte. am fine, Tas gig ely on the ‘You mean yout sill ac home?” v0 the office “Sen Aca w worn the afternoon sla ne have tbe in ‘ene ihour UK-boed ins Hey my ab oni," the id sing ‘nd saying “bye’o her mor. I could hea the dove being closed ane ‘er itor fitendsin he ab. Aer abe grin we rested ov tall “So whae up? asked hee “Ami di was here chs morning.” she si. I serembered her Imcerning couple of names ving oar previous ell. bu feo hardly remember who war who amnichem, “Ami di?" Lmnmued: ying o esl the sane "we chee ters and one brother: Mish di ste des an lves in Uadhiana, Shela avery neti, Dan who schng in nuery Aini tis che second, and she to i maned. She ives in Nota, an hot dive fem ou place, and work witha BPO, Deep ny broier is two yrs younger than mean is working widhan MNC in Assur ‘They dea wi oll wes and sta: And Neer is he youngest my were" she od me about ler siblings gp, wick compas ot qseston 10 ho fngoc bouche so on, Se continued. “And apare fom shi, mms an dad ave with ws And in your family i your mown and dad, you and your younger Doth. Tinka who is aoa sofvare engineer With Infos, ad his fice in he same bling a yours, excep he on the fs floor sid you om the son Right?” ‘Aan a asaslenr slap my memory. Shetemembered oenying about en Fail AULT cold do as “Hn... 10-0n 104” and laugh. Ba aughed sou Sa, La ying, Ami di wash his moening Afr completing ber igheshift se came no Faridabad, She vi us once in «week or This call was all shout her fi I came wo know about 0 mote people - Davinde Ju, Misha ds husband, and Pelhar, Ami dis Iusbaod, Pushkar and And used co work the same company and ‘ey happened to lia Tove, which wit noc a god en acorn ‘Kush cad. The hurdles they ad to ice mere no difeeis rsansy love sory in Ballpwood moves. Pusharcomes fr a Mind family whereas Ami dibelougs ra Si fui Pusha scoot with boring ‘nu noo veg wile hese hinge ae abo in Khushi family Buc the, 2s we lean ffom those same movies, Lov, inthe end, wine all he ‘ws, And, seis what happened here as wa Allee younger in Khost nly succeflly eonvincd tht dado gve his approval forthe marciage In hat al Khu lo mentioned tha she wo las er ofce around 9330 at night and each her home by 11:0, Which meant ‘har she Would be awake foe quitea while a {could il he ae a igri ease Ile the way Il the night befor,Headey + Rend Sb 3 So that was how we sated cling eck other wring meszages, eon idhingcack other gpnih. But nour inal all, we ewer touched pn the purpose for which we hud sare interacing~ macs Bute insted his, one day, when forwarded ers album: ray pctts, with my ren in Beg shout i And I mean ie” I didnt op thete but continued, “The reasoe lean do thisis because sleoho nor something am addicted {o.Arhe sare ime, dnt sini bad o boot oe in hundeed iy, just co give company to your best ends. Even then, Ihave yeeros my limi ad gor drunk completely ul f his becomes problem Berseen me and my ile partner, Iwill lly abv “Aa promise ate enc o be hep." she eitcraed. Ad, probably ‘he mild 00, “Absolutely!” The gentleman within me wats “Lovee one pi with the dsceipcon - enjoying ted win ina aking, “Buc dhe phe : ear ame Oh yes, that was one ofthe happening cvenings in Belgium. pee en ger erate ‘hh ‘beuening ening og Nese eel anneal Ti ve mea Soyou bon! ‘snot ac al «bud ease with ne, you wl have wallow mie wo have a Hina. yeah. Bus very uy Once in voor che months, o at Avok with my best ends. Bur, agai, fll nee Frc you 0 ay shat This was another landmark in ou saga at henceforth, she fe ‘much beet lking tome, And el good ut Because hele go, Was the second, ou af he ves hing (wealth, women, adsl can remember the cid) the could make anything happen fa thie ‘word, making me do shi did't know shen, and I dal now now "Theol hing bothering me wat, whar woud ay t0 Happy and MP hea wesacrogether wid eed wing, aur nest union? “Guys please bear wth meas ve sopoed booing because fa promise made w a i whom Fve ony salle eo onthe phone foe werk Yes only sek, Palestine shan the year which weal hive spe ogee.” T dds know, chen if ha promise was good or bad forme. Buc wha was defiitely good wae he tut ad understanding we gained Ad his was just epncing Fara ough cil. But then something thin me wanted her fa log, longtime... Forse ness On op sme ssn whe fm wih end and ve ins I give them company” Lanswered cls ‘Wel I donno how youre ging to at otis, but Lalvayy seaned «fe parte who abstain fom hig” ‘And [asked ysl “So she saying that she sgoing to lak somebody ele?” I was ute But the one hing Lis ue abou hat, Bay, we were dicuing muatigs. ‘Shecontnued, "Su, every pron hs rom ies ad des, Wh ‘we ale abou mara, ts shout respecting each ocho’ elings i aout rus ae compromises and much more. Aad if you ae go ro be my lfe-pariet, sincerely ange you vo choote a if wih thee” ‘She was dhe ist among us wo sy: fj are gine vo be my Uf rier Rodin ber voce those words sued dfn, 0 ‘Anu of course, was the mage of thos word which overrode my ‘consiousnest and made me, ing be my li-partney, ill wot oose ues you ae coma sa geolemris promise [FyCloser We oe tae ow ee et Wal peesitnered ode red Ig ren we ier cance: Stan i lyase sn recent teat de ee Beeps essere asec Sadie nh erage lig? (eset Ten sek rap Wailea f iit Dante. ren sen coher fest tl ak eed he soe sem. There were te diy onto; wich ca igre) Ba eee ee ee Indigo wth pon ou se cen ira cu ‘hing Ad sing nay pion ome donne Net toy wk crema od hgh ny lo woul bee iT 2% + tet igo * Inches, had never even thought of ay love {no had changed lo and ae no Tonge the person sed ‘ober some ime go oof things had change, n ead around me. 1 had sated slipping ou of sonveraions with my rend jase 0 ge er eal slope lesan lke sore. My phone bill ely von speing, hrs, evng the howe rent mk hind in thence ante noticing, cops the way they sc together in gardens, han in hands he wy 4 el holder boyfriend, on amor. I ated worrying about che ‘i do Took’ fcr. My satus on Orkut changed om sng’ to ‘asic She became the passwort to my seve otenet IDs Siting in my off alone, sed amie, alking 6 aabody Le wan thea (Ons sch a llferent story A 21" entry love sory. whose foundation yas modern-day gadgetry. Tanks ro Graham Bell for itmceuing telephones thar iped me allo bes, know hee bees and, Fallin love with her. Thnk ro he Internet the Worl Wide [Web apd sites Like Shaadcom that helped me ind her. dieaneed nysl oe ue saware engine inthis hetech-tove phase And whether this kind of ove wat good or bd, wat n one a poine 0 rnder — we were alkeady in. ae Coming back othe teson she was outing at me Trwarbecate cea promise. Na, tthe booing one, Sates the Her uy new dbour me sine our fst ll. bu de case wast the sume at my end. My family didnot know abou her yt. In it,+ La nec o> ‘hey ld ever now haut sors profle wasn some mattis se Nally, dhe was concerned abou thie station. Thar on, ae ve had Finally decided our des, Her queries about cis mater were proming evrlay, Gradually she tare feng uncomfortable sau of his very ten. Theo, Awek cares, bad pombe er that I would el to my Family 20 ‘he coming weekend, Bur unfortunatly, ould not, because of the ‘wechend exam ac IMS. (IMS, Another interesting ia berwecn ‘wes his MBA preparation enter Webath were preparing fr MBA, ud we hd joined the same crah-couse respective cite) “could no wael a Burl lat weed because I had give my cases at IMS." Laid tg to cal bet “But you promised me Shona. My outing Jy ewe no ‘emoconal one She kled me wth that ame, She loved o ell me it difeenc names and the best among them ll was Shona. And 1 loved the way sc ued say. With sch eat ad warmth “Tis wecend | wil fr sure, Ldonithavesny task mote imporant than this ne" old her. And my Shonian was happy a. Shonimon.The ame give ‘het, Panjabi fr cue and yee; he feminine counerpat 1 Shana, a “The ext weckend aie end wa panicking Afr al. Iwas going tlkto my pares abou my mariage Tie vas defnicly ping ta be holt fem the bu fo thes, 1 as smart enough fo take my younger brother, Tink, ineo confidence the night before we left for Bula, He atcady hoew ee Sig 4 omething was going on berween ane anid some gi. My late night fall had evade that ouch sea, But he ad neve icagined thar all this sated aca merimonial se. Being his elder brother, f did noe iv his aay opcionexcpe co be on msde when I alked to mom ain Since he moment we arved tout home in Bua I was doing ange things, moving here and ther, trying co bing the subject up, tying fin js the ig soment. Bu was no at allsute what the pfs moment was, 1s thinkingso0 much, Marethan my bean couldandle Should Ty ir non? Or should I wail dhe clock’ minute haod ha covered ccs more minute? Bucenen aferithad averedaundted ad ity nines, I wae il iting vey time wat sour ro spilt, ombing would happen: the Iekplae ring, somebody keocked ac de dor end, if nothing es. the sup pressure cooker’ whi dragged ary mom back ino the ihn. The one moment when no sch hing happened, jut could oc open my mouth She ging cry thie, i Jou do hie” ld ysl ‘Nict lunch, I smehow entered enough courage inne the Atel convertion. Even though I shoe it wat quite bizare tke my parees how sbey mec and mared ech oes, | could not think ofa eter way to bring up she subject "Mumma me one thing, How did you guys find each her and nlp acing Lash. ‘Mom and did looked seach the, ben a means Pens are smartand what we dat ow i tha they know what ie ging on Jot minds, They had probably red, very easly, wha the marquee ‘on my Forchesd was dplayingSill they earrated thee story, andthe moment that wat ov Mama asked, “So how ie yours ging tute" | wondered if should ide my fice inthe eashions, ors "My story. € donc have any" before my brain ang tld me, "Come on, spea up, you Fo Anu, forasately athecngall my ly-courge narrated my sory sof even showed chem herpes was expecing otf ad ‘te from my parems, but te-my surprise nothing of that sore hhppened. en Tink ad ark me more questions than oy parents sake ‘Mom was happy because, nally, her son was chinking about ‘maaiags: Dad was happy becuse the toughe pare — searching for a lof sons choice — was ones Hl was reve, though he ied to sound quit diplomatic: mas happy Because, inal Iwas ale get ‘his thing out of my heart aod plac tn fone of everybody, An Tinku he wacobvevig eaybad restos, He docu gti xi and hat something bh ike and dein him Acoupe of qucstions fom beds mom and da which Fans With cetfidenee andthe wat Lhad ever shoughe tae this coughen ofhurdes would be oer 0 quichy. Sue before we et for Bhubaweswa, on Sunday night ac dhe bus stop dad sid, "Weill anal tis, bus od that yu have become sssows about your marrige.” "Noises. understnl your poi” Isid ohm, Inside, hough 1 as hinking, “Who ces Dad ‘Monday morning, I reiched my other hone in Bhubaneswae Sueching ou 00 my be ill Khushi yp “Minion acomplishe,” Id, waking her up, Those wo wonds conveyed evemthing to her And whic getinesponse? A fuslade + Rend Sib & of kisses. The last onze wore rea pansionate Tht was he int sie she ldaed ne 00 phon: ‘Oh boy!So loud? No ones aroun, han ake. ‘She ida answer ny queton bus sad Le ike paling yo ono ‘ny bad ight nose and ising you mad ‘Wow! She was so happy, mad and comfortable, knowing har bad Fal oll my fami about he Aether milestone in oar lane ore essed Both our Faiie now koew abour our aie. And ws, Tas happy becawe my Shonimeni as happy: Burs ssey sy, “Love sa lend of ferent ‘emotes Soom an erening came when I made he ey. Aad dn tid becuse she wat eying, Te wat another weckend and Iwas in Br, siting i dhe verandi, ty wich my Reading Camnprdersion RC =sevon. wae annoy, bavng scored rather bud in myselfexam, I was about advance the nee pasa when she called He hi.” Laid a depres vote ~What my baby doing? she ke. Loved wh she all ha vay, when she ealled me “baby” in er oats: vic, fe sounded 39 caring, As ifshe had taken overall the esponsiiiy of loking fcr RCs screwing up you baby ad's ns verybad mod Then salle 6 me fora while and youll be io a good! mood "No dea, want seut «wo pose and ror ete thse. (Only dat all change my mood Can we lle anh. plese”tba bean + fone Sigh > "Mon. Ok, Sey ae But a sy oe pod hing blo hing we waned give up oxeach othe No boorog unl she was banging op.” A ‘There were 10 many things pee o Khu, dhe ile hinge tha Jeet ome) ta ey ote thing wer on my plas. And ling ro were inpovtant whe. Like dhs unique ides of fisting to one good ‘ean myn Pini wae the moat inpotans tk pom her thing before we hung up ike, most ofthe sme, unless Lat 20 plat. (Her Family spoke Hindi and she was brought up in cae fed wo think up something new and ood fo er tumor Wheres, my sb ws her he ng which Khu! Plse undead, My midst woking art hik of I wastroughe up on) None of ourexpetations wer Fd wpon each nything gpd a tht moment wl you wo god thing a ight th, though. Ie was musa understanding, an temp so do the ok ic ws could for cach ther Aral we were supposed lve iogesher “Ok You kes” fon he es of Bie. ye" That even Take he schieoualy, “Hey! Do you mind aking la sic inl a ood eg in Pars? neve endl ou ailing my expecatins. Or ayo “Oh ye. See you” and hung up sil in a bad mood pdr onlaolaas ‘Andi say Lwonit do that even ae oue mariage, wha wll you Hardly 15 minuteshad pase when {heard ny cl. phone vnging af Sr ees he he tesed ave 2d sighed | iagined he jmping of herbed MIU ester Boor eon ea ener ae “You kaw why Lealled you eae” Then 1 ke yo bad your home in and leave you there” “Oho... Why?" Iwas annoyed : |All she sald was, “Shona. F could beae the rai ling on the ean UT he Apion ee beet ete gin te sn’ ee "scope athumor ad bay fied dd nocknow bowie reat Before Kush” My oie we lou Tul sy ngching, she, “Shona, you ety on with he pasage “Ok baa in sony. Se yo ce” she sds innocent ‘See you ae.” And she hung up very quiy- something she never She wasaboucw hag up when fl had about how I bebaved nd ai, said, “Hey wai. We can tlk fora while 1 needed a beak fos his ele very uncomfortable, eecalng the way Thad raced 0 her ainned RC thing” femsing {coud nether call her up col her that dda mean what ‘Al she was happy agai, she dough mean, no could T concentrate om my RC pases, All Inaliee wil, he focus four conversation changed om in ny answers forthe nex pasage wer incre. ‘ur primis and priors. The chins we waned eo accep and the {er thac evening, around 7:00 PM, rode my bike che nearest nforable wid ic eepaing mel fo a voetaiancaironmene ateee + Aide Singh Ise my ike ofr my ome, hich hole so snany memory, os 0 Fevome yous. And you sid eit you wil eve me” im upd, Ln cei 1 really am," shouted, hing spe on vhesuce-comer, crying loudly in tha ai, noc aingiFaybedy saw me The clouds thundered. The ain ame down har and noisy, And ATM to get some cash or my tices bade wo Bhubaneswar, dialing =the sn ofthe sensor, Now {could imagine i fle when sh had called me cai. I got ct of the queue ipa ‘he APM and ised her aster Hello she sid er vice wa skng. Khalid “Ne, Sho,” she promply spond. The head a choca which was enough for anyone aie that dh was ying ‘epc hitting che poe and ering There must have been something srvong with me, fc had were id ha Wan ‘And is probably the nature ofthe Feminine heart o op others ion ying So she cid whee shoul ave doe i ie. She wpe my Teoald nor sy anything for 3 moment, dating which Jel Ree ole down furor. “Hey dea les. Pee doa ry. Tm. Fahaving stl shosrerble words She seated sobbing loudly and elk sexy shane Bae wat done wo the gel wha wane to bold my hands nd dance wi th erin fle a 1 bad comanived he greats sn ~ ana ki sete: gf on nth ho was only meant fr me, ery How Ihave done dae? be the walla front of me ery Bau. The pea the queue looked a ie. L moved dowa these to where Ca Slide Tat sor, Kuhl Lams ser: Pls dont cry bec a pid mire” shona! Shona. Pete! can hee you cping, Pete doa do that Meese. See Im aking oyu. And no ater what on yous, a ots and eer now Lam with you. And iFyou wan eo se me happy. plese don’ ry ny deat” The bran ear was corfting the heze ‘hac bad broken ic ‘hen Is “ft sory and Tr ashamed f myzelé For sting een nd ell a ie ne, ‘Sori, do you know thas, jus Hk you, cob wan 6 be wit my funy For ese. Bur beau oF he way our ace nd clei 1 Ive leave heal And fw do dae, cae Lam in lave wi ow aid dhe person nec the mos for the eso my lie rake eae ole eyo” eno thar deat. know that very well. dont know bow landed \yrsaying tha. neve Sec from mires You hae al he gh punish me Since Tato me dea Say something, Pun me but, or Good allo me," and with hae eo eared eying ‘Alle a wile she managed vo “Shoo, you haven vest eto your home yt and youre salking of sending me back.”™ eee eeael eae! Her simple, innocene quescon lft me speechless. She ws «1 seas ring she sly wa crying with ws esta raining coo you just second w sy that But am a gel. leaving my paren ny brother andl Ser, pope with whoa Yesh, Iean be anything” i "Where ae yu?” he sed, ae I fhe voice gating here cae ro get ome cash rom the ATM, ee bls a”"Ae there people athe ATM? "Yeah, here ie ong ques.” ‘Go ack tbe ATM queue wy “Jus go thee 6 par of your punishes.” "Abighn” Tid and went back. "Yes, Lam there” "Ok Now give me ives” shaw” Shona!” che sid stem, reminding me that I could or back out Thad made he ry. and now Id odo what she wanted [eed ‘ysl and, ignoring the people arouse, went ahead an ave het five loud kses over the phone, Iwas the vesond ase person i the ‘queue and [ep my eal bent 0 avoid contact with se surprise yesh were arng a me Te was embartaing to say che last, bu she ust lughed. An espe my cmbarasmen. Iwas happy ro make her Laugh again, ‘A the same dime, I understood gs sation, the secs she snakes for the man of her dreams, She leaves behind everything she posse wo far nif o embrace him and bis xi Tasked yell hw I would have ek iF was to eave my Fumi for he. Could ven think fering ny fail? How do gids doi’ And, moreimporteny, hy do only chey have co do iT dds have any answers. fn due ‘course oftime, Khushi taht me several ach eons, Gradually, she vas changing me and my minder Tha evening, I did not withdraw any cash because the next ‘moment, I ntied one of my aighbors sanding jin the que, ight stad of me His face made it clea tha ef caughe me kissing my pine + ane Sige ae set nigh the a Saturday of Anas Lancome back bom afer sings movie Kh and Tha aquaranbe afereon and cee en nd ot talib, ech nie, inking sul ah fel beter Tdi ot Ont tana lnges Lal ber pin the mide of te nigh She pk py al with gh making me ice at I oul sandy myn ri wold ate fit on tein Wharf hon as erie apes in br pesre? Wher if lang ine erin ay? Whar felipe? snd many other such though play bide and eco my mindy pi nally asked yelfche big queton, Deyo love er Ravn? ly ib GP cerca le tbe eng is, Ldo, OF cou do" Lido mye Wal tobe ones. Healy foro mao any doit know sy vas’ el apeches ie Bagel ct bd, a tl wats aryng her was my independent dein, one chat | Had rive at Without any kind of pressure from my fulo: om hee. Sato silence those weed thoughts I pulled ota nenspaper from ‘hsm al infront of my sea, Buc Tcould nor concentate on the nonpaper sider There wasadiferenind of excrement ate wbich ou sending up a lise me, shaking mea bie snes 1 dont lw wha kind fares Thenervounenanl ans meane Twat ging eo deloo every 20 wines. 1 became «peeing machine Ie happens © everyone... Or esi And vas se thr thei om the Lt sear was counting the uber of toes pase hy bit, pretende ogee him when he al whisperingis his momisest OF couric he ws tiger about Ine noice is hate pointing 3 me, eich he morn pulled bck ling, Tally at 5:00 in he evening, the plane landed a Delhi aad 1 ‘ied my mobile completely ignoring the capes command ot 1 dos before instructed. While rhe plane was aking 3 U acm $1 the runway, Hooked oat ofthe window ro soeif there wae sy ge ving towards my plane - i ould be he (Now, I wonder how 1+ hind Singh = ‘Wha dd you mis” ‘ald have bee so sil 3 expect visor onthe run) Fr leon Ceeungaell ale Ub-oh” She paused whe | kepe my jes on the conveyor bel, mse poke again, “Can ask you someching? eae Twas ing call her up but orsomereston, ny el phone ‘01 aap isl tthe oaming zone. kept ying. cure mp and the network. | hep ying ad hep ing, A few minutes later Iwas standing at de bagage chi sei ‘waking for my heap to are. But myeyes were nordic one lilt. They were looking for ssi ee, rather omen se, Hy andcher, waslooking cesery gi an pectingat the cow stand ‘tide wbich va ible hough she ase wall ‘Then sav my rd bg hiding ovants meon debt, Bat ‘could each me, she reached me “Areyoaners? ow de yo kro? Neca. even am,” she confessed Then she id, “Ol me, eae you wearing cody “olsen shi and dake jean. You? ‘Ohiny God” ‘Whac happened thought se did ike the color Twas weasing, "I tooks good on me” No, na IS not about good o ad On my phone My tl was waking now and Thea therng “Khushi cling sad Leo he al, sad The ce am aio wearing live geen an ue ean omy Coinsdeocesteened always be following us Ou ipl, the ‘So And | turned back cing the exe oh dhe yet our tee in mini, or cre. IMS, And othe a sles we wee wearing cha dy. ‘Wha "Amaring! We ar deintely made fo cach thr Hy! My lage mea, where ae youd” cong co me agin going pick twp andl eam ous a two wines. See ya nade my way through de broken queue gy bag aoa oma elle. walled toward the ert. The laptop wil hangin ‘on my shoulder She had eee semis sy and let. could almost heat hee bushing, Obviously he sate of mod was life omy mine ‘And how could it be? Two people, who wece madly in love with ech er and fad decd 10 mary each ote, were ging 1 se exch coher fx the Bec ie thee 7 “Lama he bugage claim secon," Ist. And wth that, neice ‘my bag going way fom me, "Damn! mise i” Finally aboot to seer wat anous, shivering and my hse was Ising ist very feminine oie fom he cow serned rb het ‘fcoure, wae ting behave at if a clad aco ”Rel. Ress. Relax Te adeep breath oat ching now, Ls len oud old mya And Tete were a loc of pepe fo font of me, wing For thee ones, Sone cal divers, hokling up aameplte for deirbowes. snes slot of outing nd nie from the wali ‘Then, for sme eeason stopped moving Forward and ened aR And ther she was My anges ny beau one, Her sie which i over my senses. acing hs Inher andi Her ng, ied bic Fl pom er ge with Herbeauifi fs, wich mesmern me Andi chat pen +p ad jer, here appeased so pees so yong posed, She rma [wuleableo take mye of: Rather (wad sche fom wp boon, ee doy whic {scaly did. “This he” told ssl. "She ine” “Thacsasaondrfol moment whi have reve agin and aga reling tha Bs sight q amos owrds he with stile, almost forging my ole inafow seconds, hee as eight fon of hes foe apart seco ake mye off ie. “Hey si flsng my ight ha for shake Hi dhe responded, politely and in such an elegant ay, ouch efor he ise ine with dat and shake. (Di you hear what 1 The fn tme we touched. fewse male) hat Sigh = Ara er ee, Soba There was nmeting special in them. Sointhing which did ec me lok away I wanted co ear what they vere ling me The Fling, che uth oF he moment testes doc ae arate oak, aed yes week on ye eied 0 mave ti black them, buy werestck ese Looking 300 rr Fuse youre, {That exe where your ent bany his Segoe, wo bones bail dep With inf, sme nena dad ep Finding my dream coming tue pleaded ey hier ipo ring the word had epifirgee There were many thing sy es vom none of hem all Bat dot ine wid sha, Id thingy nn And sis my siter Neer ane is Gish herb and only frend” she bro my gaze and thoughts to ingudaceme oto eter people wondered how {dc noice thet standing bride us, Was 10 lost inher? Undowbrey Las T said allo co boc of cher, crc some joker rene the sweet presnute which Khushi and I were feeling, Then we moved ‘ou ofthe ext channel towards the parking lot in search of the ab these guy ha come ro che aieport in. Khushi was too shy'co walle with me and she joined Neer and Girish in oking for the cab, I followed ata distance, with ny wolley My condition was no difzent fiom her.Irae era very dove SMS, chen, "You ae hema!” ‘The next moment [a her coming ral me fom the thera ‘eon tsa her cl phos, probably eadng ny SMS ‘When he ceched me, se sme “Tharka” she sid, ewe this, Whatever happening The cement the amen Aad sering ou." Ti Aad in hur shyness cured ayer ailing cron ere sain, Her complete atention was upon me, yet she was cing 1 cape my ge, Hey. Am making sense? Oram I being upd” T asked, ‘She nighe and mined buck wo me She hull af eth No yoube making en, scaly Ir the same with me” she sid, saitng Son, Nos andl Girish append, poaxing at the eb which was comiag cows Ibocare ler dha as expected step ince the ‘ab Fintan! becaus ofthis! panicked ‘Where should Ii I aked mye nthe ack, wth be? But ile look good if sie been the oo ses, pushing Gish co che Fonte ‘Shou sin fon thn? Or shoal sci dhe bac, buon the fe ‘with Gish inthe mide and Khuai a therighe. And he ster wih the driver? No, No, What a mess! So many permutations and ‘combinations ro be sd ima second Ie was yond the bits of my bean, Beter st up oat, thought Iwas the ees solution. ‘Andin baste and alae (goin beside he dives “You fol Whats he going thnk of ou? Why dds yousit bind besdele” my ocsalented bran showted at me dhe very nea second. Dart ‘vac screwing up things wil my apd ws iting part fom my ‘own giliend. > hai Sh = Barly a minute las, goes al on ny ell. Mom eling Shit She ate nego cll her the moment I lsnded Ia Del 1 forgo” Femur aT ook the cl "Haan Mumma, I us came of the ispon,” id boforesbeaskeme anyhiog eel new yu wl ge. Now el ne “elle? What Lass though Hew she probably bad ahunde questions forme, sour Khushi which I couldnt answer because wa ssid chem in he ca, Ptsheditademeallsoeequetions. Just one, which sommarinnd lof dem, So, ae you happy?” *Oh Mom! Lar. Lam very hap” Feplied. quiets looking use the window Good. jee wane oko dha, ow you wore wane ale vo meatchismoment Soyouguyenay and we wil ella. light” Hai Mona, hook hati al you ler Bye ® ‘We wete ow on ur way the tel, wih 1 as wo mow int for Aighly more han day before ff the US, had no idea where ‘his hotel was, nord dhe eb iver, Khushi and Girish id eey tus both were pointing in opps directions nother words 20 one had a ue. Bue we moved ahead thing wed soon ak sorocbody about he precise location. ‘Whatau evening thar wnt stg beside he diver and bebid re vis my sweeticare, wid Net inthe mille aed Gish an er fight The song slcton on headin seemed be xcesonally god thc dy -omnsie songs hat Khushi anal could elt o and so lening 6 her withoue saying anything, bur smiling within.© Dh beta siete ti ech other in whispers len Khushi These momenes of allence only added othe beauty ofthe songs, Nenu and Gish werent ach ohn whip tried Yo se he in the ceuvie eoe bat very ime i oly Gis nny face and he would ase hie eyebrow, mocking ns Soon, howcier ou armal demeanor gave way co nore cau and we cared lking sour each other ass palling eich hes leg telling some spi incidents gut of te bean spicing ‘pas we aattazed them: Khushi became n iy tage or bon Ne nd Girish and they eike her embarassment day, -ecing me. We wee shouting and prying in he cab wih the pt and she pases thay bad brought. “Yeh lad wan tafe,” Gi id fring ne the box assis, We were ia jolly mond and acing ro the delight, ta Atrzaling outside. Shouting, lnghing, eon crany co chose pep ‘numbers, ee wer ving gala ne in the eab- On afew acai secre, she pnced me fom behind, ad ut loved that, For more than an hous apd 3 hal, we hated For my hotel the sutcets of Delhi, And, more than anybody (even me), was concerned sbout this. According to he, Iwas tired from journey and needed some rst, bur | wondered why U did oe [ewas sound 7:30%n theevening when we ally rete he Qe Din hotel in he vicinity ofthe Qutb Mina. hunt a pone Well ener th hotel aa at the erption, et ut ny booking. *Rocim no, 30. Thar ways The bay wl bring sour lage ‘sida man with 2 hoge moustache, at the reeeptin counter, "Akighe" [sid and well headed towards 301, everyone ill ul someing co me, very politely an yr wal lie owe! Youve ec me bend.” Ad ie hy people ay tha ihe at move mechan 1 ara fool etic, eving her on the bls of he ab and Inthe Bono: At ere, is 1s walking aoe eng hee Ni aed packing rochrowinghow handles tions rvs yc rth time. ese the sb ofromance GPs ip me Tere anddevelerate Sh ame over 0 nt ad sid *Now yore nor alone. Youkavea in you if, So alk beside er: Theil us, Neer and Gir ied mugs fhe eve us abe for awhile {hog Bur how could Ay tearm ough? They ep ling us Weve 9 201 Fepeved the door 0 my wom ad wall went in. room wa ol i A smal bl, wih telephone and 3 lower ‘apart the rw bes. Nice beset. Tete was ep one cory anda macau beside the TV se, across from de beds A giant ron che wall n fone of us whic reflected the ese room, Juding dose no bcs and cupboard near dhe eneance, Beside to, here was a dooe 0 the wavroom, Hin. Tis gpok”Fannounced, eal, "Sup “Hlom.sthe people rounding me murmured 1, Gini ted hic asey ofthe room analyzing everthing nd lg ne th good and he bd Thanks Girly” 1 sad, when he had Rnished. “Anytime” he rege. “Wc whicht wonted tok him cove morequesin "So when yo going eae ur also ave sk?” Intend sept‘num, hoping my eyes would do the lng. And Neer fi understood tha dey should beer lee i alone for 3 while whispered o Gch and {donc know what was making the them ook atcach akc and nie Thopd she were joking "We ate going to « neatby place have womething I you sean, wecan ge something or 301" Gt sai, moving oe with Neer “No. Tim uf" Id "Wo Ata" shouphe die ren ane, Tl ell yop And ae [Neer Done er ale light?” Khushi sai opening the boule peed on the table “Yes, Ll You doit worry By the way. ee §:50 now We d leave Delhi by 9:00 so thar we an seach Faidabed by about 1 Wee already ag, yo know” Yeah Bur dost worry. we wll manage” sil Khasi “Aight See va Ana finally hey ef ce oot ad Tsao «deep breath roel e wea and lode the door while Khushi ook a las sip of water the hole She noice me doing tht and led, then she kept bot on the rable nd ny prop bigon the char. Laeppd ‘he buds aston the tone She cae in ad sat onthe ‘one, jst in font af me. We wer ogebes, just the ewo of us smiles describes eur mood, ‘That momen seemed co be» enuf dream, We waved 0 at ne chac monte foevee The peso wish om 1 was oi a + Rader Sg sd the rest of my fie ws sigh front of me could lok ito ber eal eyes sould couch he fl hee Thedaligh of tha moment Ind both wsspellbound, Words wee unaeesiy- sce at hes for Hong tne, And when she could not handle my gee, she looked at the ground her neck ig down and strands of her bea hair falling a fret her shoulder, comeing ber ight check and et ‘Aad de silence inthe oom pried, and there we were. madly in live Sill not being tha, Filly we had seen each ore. Sil nero all woaderag what. sy ‘Gathering er courage. sh looked up, fm my yes (hich were stl focused on ber) and moving her hie bender ear again, she asked, "Sapien href wc ae” Comings ft ente han ve nates of lence, hrc queston sourced tilatious, Ie reminds us both of ee ld Bollywood movies in which de heroine would ask her beloved. "Sue phe salir ncn.” anda hat Before couk io ny exon she understood wassup aed steeonpia qewion twas, and we looked a each nner and laughed sol age, ling pom our respective. Bat har qasition lo becamean Se beter and we bot axed. “Hahaha al Ye Lena, ny hj ele nahi "sae. . 1 am s0 mpd," she ald, slapping her Frchea. Nau youte not, You are. Beau,” Isc ooking xo her jes. ‘And I dat ow whacgve me the courage to as my right hand tomar seach rfc My ngs fet couced her cheek, dhe nile finger fist then she a finger andthe all of cher, being Ir air blind he That han roel was incredible Feeling my Finger he fice she closed her ees and flee breathing heavy e‘nove {watched her Her goo! looking face th ies on he fo appearing and vanlsing. Her carved elses, Her ete ose sof lips which very geal eebbed my dumb on, and she shaking, her eyes stil clos and her hands gripping ce bed ‘very tight: Meyer were the ilen observes his moment we were in. My ming vas hypooviad and ings were wl ying understand the beautiflfce Before me. Ocasionaly LF her breath beeakingon my old Fingers My consciousness asked me whathe what was hapocing wa and then it answered ise Ls aoe deaming, She was el She idk me, Deep inside, | eles aiid, o bleed hat the shen aay angel wasn Font mead ally ved. We were lov. Losin eachother, ‘onimosi,” I whispred in heres seal, geting closer sry dose She was still breathing heal and coulda ay ay “This ea wonder moment. Ica bees thie Yu ae with me 1 moved seo he bd “Shana” she aie and grabbed my hand Ina while ety slowly she opened her ees and Looked as me: smiled, She was so happy 50 dlghed to have ne cos to he she hep looking a me in thay, oe sometime, Raising her esbrows ihty and sll ming she ake me, me, how you ae Felina this sane, wth me?” [pur my ams round her ad biting heres Id, Don ash {wos be able to describe tI just wan eo say one thing...” Th ‘whispered in er ea “I am madly in lave with you." Wich rested my chia on her shoulder ove sou to" shes snd moved er ings ll he way nears. 0 the it then che pain an aly noche pc “ ae Sh © fingers. At that momen, Lessa complete. elned how jek she on sated olive dhe moment a ic should neve end, ie er in nat for some sme. Frm dhe romantic moves 1 co il chen, Heth holding sour beloved your ams shat is such a dirent ling Buc thar would beso magical ever ound and believe cri things, you hart expevence Actually i na shing [ts or more than hae We were spechls agin, just fling ach other. But who needed le Silence wae alin es ew Th shextning the lence, another thought crepe ito my’ eat of aside y hear and mind seared Should Tiss er And th ha, the bad eres eat Ye Minds No. ears Why noe Thisiesuch a perce moment. think abou Mina: Wha fhe doce Fa god abou i After al hiss nse your fit date. eae uc wil [get momen ike this agin? Tomorow, ber sie fay wl be aroua ws No tne then. And the net ay 1 hae to tae ay gh, sould take chance igh now Mina Chance Bist lookin dhe rizr anak youself ify ‘an do dis in he ia day sl act Stop that nonsense. Lam gingalvad Mind Good luck, Heart Thank. Minds Hey writ ac Heat: Now what+ fond Sigh © Je ips she wanted io answer the cal, And Before he could answer cal, he looked athe lock ‘Oh may God! Is 9! NELNC-E she sid (a0, she seremed) and yreched co reach ber el phone es Girish," she si, pressing the ans buon, ‘While she wating to Girth 1 collapsed on the bed jn eta ivy, wondering a Gite sense of timing, How could he be 50 ren ws fuming oid All eh wale, she continue wth thar al Ho bl. Mind: Are you comforable! May be you wane rouse the Ast. eps, you know Heace Shot pl "Now thiskappens 0 me more Fhe ine, Sometimes | thinks ‘noc 20 strong, mena Aad tats why my bear abnays wins ‘obo very homes, [jut love ht. Towpgene my lungs wid «deep Brest and cursed he lm 180 degrees We ow wer facing al he. My ates were sil thes her hand were on my shoulders. ooked nto her trate SOS 2 a es oe ae le i ee a pee “Gppbepee teahrererers Nos we dont want anything o 3” She looked back st me and peste ith it aie apd oak me 1 as hungry ‘es Givsh, just five move minuees yaar.” She clenched and. enced er fi. Ae knot bd, Ui nw wll manage,” and she looked 2 Aut do them nyo oy repited o feel ceeding forth wry it ime in ny ie and {wont lie~ my heartbees, ar that moment were faster th ‘Schumach nhs Ferra. eoked ino ber es 2d drew close, Igeabed ber hein the mor Looked srcgh int bers Now will yo plese hang up? Peseeee” She tuned er back ’ With wink Ira ereoe wea the itor My i sued, bs thistime nto Yeah we wl be ce in Five rns. Argh? Bye now.” And she an ome diconnecting the ell She was panicking all ofa ude. Tether Io things “ona I vet leave, Lam geting ae. Mom must be about 9 And de them in my oun ny Yes iewas going co be my fst ver ks Bue Ber... How [have the word BUT, ‘Bur fe had eo interene and Girish, plying deni called herp her ell The sngrone shared my utopia an, before feo yal beon time, Where are Neeru Gish” [veo comc br and, move impor eo engi te Be that had ust now bean bung iam “ache sesepion” she answered @"Ok And guess you guy will be going by these cb" pttng up ffom the bed aed aking sp of ver Fim che bal il boule Yes dhe same aly she sid, geving up and moving iowands sitror ago. “Then her cell-phone rang, gio snd, agin was Girish, | up the cll this ene "ly T gues you shoul huey up. cas seared raining agin sid ‘Though I hated him that moment, til sid "Yes, usa eo Weare coming down. See you ther” ‘We were about leave that rom, when she ssc one time, “Shi! 1 forgo hi” she anid, loking ac the big psc which Neer had et ar the eneance the room, She quick pike them up snd sid, “Shona thie foe youu” otha ie hi “Open ie” 1 did wha she ade, A bluestped hie with a Pak Avenue td eo es one blak wich white ene i the mide, the -secheclored. 1 wasso pleated A gid bought meting fr me, Khushi bough someting fo me. And Taudenly elle a couple manage frm my office whom used oat mes, in shops with deri who were electing shins he. 1 ood, cl all those things were happening zo me now, New things, dif ‘ings beni things. "Foc" asked be, "No Fo tht fit ab dive che ido ease me “Realy? You had anal wid ins to?" I reased hr back “Shut up she responded witha eile bur het eyes waned me « + tend Sagh> fear bez Then se reminded me, “have ro sh now Is ataced fing Oh yes Let 20” Eel, dropping the box on she bed bind me an sepping out ofthe som, This tine I made sur a walle beside Ie ata she acknowledged tha with her mischievous sl. ‘We were about otic the reception een couldnt contol myself ny mace and ated her, "Why ate you levving Khushi? Dont go Pease.” And my speech pause sere, long with my fet She sopped thes aswell adel ny hand ner and sd, Jus «couple monthe and I west have eve you this wa. wl be all ‘yours There was © mach lave in shore words sf fom now on she was going to ake care of me oer “Ueno” aid “Nov shall we go befe Gir gives anther call” “Yes Back athe ection, we met Nenu and Gli agai. They were vying to tease Khushi wih thee ces and expressions bu she was somehow, managing eveything with er simples digresng fom ha they wanted ea. Weal toed hee fora few mines before they went thee cab which wa poked cutie the hoc Te vas drealing, They got sated andthe cb reversed. They were leaving and my ey wete illoming the let window fiom which she ‘nas waving 1a me, loa an int the middle ofthe road wo cach a las glimpse of het fr the ds. The the cab ook 3 ight athe nd of the see and he disappeared. ‘Buc Oh! [loved the light rain shower and ook up a the sk thanking the heavenly femament ©co is had eaten? Al could sinc was ef, she way eave ‘That da did noe end thes thoweh ‘few minutes tes 1 asia my oom, basy performing my vcony ance and singing te ines" pele masa, poble mc” Jos: ke in ‘hc movie, place ny le oot onthe be ar jumped back on che round 1 my Fightin ow motion. The only direc being, ny landing was nor succes ant] broke the gla of war placed beside the Shaueral aco the floor And lene, Seanding aloe, a font of the sino Txcoled my clation, “See ‘uc answered, “Oh yes, was good, We gathered ee plac and lee ny 100m, ‘iy 1:30, Lal coulda elegp, hough wa dred. Las hung vee voting dec forthe first tie- aseclebrtg the spit Ping in love, Everything acne me appeaced bel bec he ny ching aang hou ny mind was beaut Sh oo was ging srough something sina, I least when she fold mea line And we ald fora long ioe andy confessing ‘what yu ave done? ers desibing the though owing ia our mind when we se ch other atthe sport, when [ato the ont st, leaving hee eh when Hock the door of my room fom inside once Neen on Gi had let when ple her ny ams ot happiness. The ety nec moment my rection snl sd marie," ‘pyaar bd aye itban” 1 was ut of contol. wondering how I could wl dhe world cha was the happlst man on the planet at tha moment. The fing within me were staining to come ou And Ida know whehec Las hia a which we wll were. T dos eamember whe ely we failing ro hance hem, or elebraing then ee be posible way ally eae my call agsn to give Re call an el he, "You are damn betuciYou aes ptf. a 6 acy." Ten on and on. and she head all har it a sie ‘She was sil thatcab ana T could hear gigling woes aroond hes Al she i was “Ad ice wea haw 9 mich sy, tut a You know a” We alla or avery shor while and hen Tondeed my dinner which ative in another 10 ruintes By 1030, [had exten and the bellboy ‘ame to my :o0m cll che dinner pla td bows, low was the foe, 5" he asked Did Lay noice the taste Forget the ste, dl Leven know what * ‘he neet morning 1 was wating for Gos. Khushi ha clled me up tell me hae Gish would be comlng co Dali for sme work and “wo pick me up om his ay back co Fahbad. Ls going vo mee easily enc or dad who ws in Pais, caking pare i some igo wen ata guraduar thee ‘While waited for him, pent yee doing some peculiar sing “Singin font ofthe mito: peed ier whic mig aver yi one offi in lifeene sinations. L wared my Facial cosions ad body angie 0 make + ood inpesion one ily. 4 ches some comanoa lines: m0 notaslaipee + Raia Sg ‘oF out rates it arabs the boy family ho went othe g's, cere, hing wee so difeten. 1 wasall alone ‘So many thoughts going cvough my mind. am al alone Darnton even ble Lam ding this pure lesitt ny in oyna ny pa have any ics fae cries on wid coef nara. In fica marrying her becae ches a ened git” (With silane se ofthe hand) “Tim nor sure well mave non 00 but, ys the phel ‘here.” (With confidence) “Oh yet, can cook. tn my work rtd rp abroad Heat you know lemight not bea delicious as whar she can prepare, seresits purpose.” (With smile) ‘And 3 on, as 10:00 AM, Tol somemortime, moved our he 1 was nenous agin as Heft my roo. The nerousnes of Fics many new people ar once. Inthe lounge, I glanced through ompaper and bad cup of we, which was ny only breast. feling bung a all but exited and tle ‘few avinutes later, ay cell phon beeped Je as aa SMS fom Gish wb dee by 10.15 Bready and Gud Luk A few 1s foes now lb among ur would bea avs) Dele elt er mathe ome mor ti tle Kosi? Than Gd her dd is ne ome hou ssund maine A repo ize, Shit Nose A eon pen il hep tr Khai ery bap forthe ret ofhe bi Wt wl er ame be ike? Bigger shen mine? Iban gong ak me my slr? Sbol ad« ec more onan fig? They ave a big cart ond Tan jie nor een Pra athe. aon! Wilt Lam thinking Shi "What happened” ask Gide ‘No, no, nothing” Id, wondering if he herd my hohe Hey Hey! Ai hte ha” be mocked my condition "Wrardo you mean, sit fet ha” ake hide een, Kinch mai he il with sie apt om ome musi, After slmoxe an bout, we reached ou destination, Ot the wa | 2 pineapple ake fr them fom a conconay in Fv which Gitih said wa one ofthe bet inthe cy. ‘As soon as I ead her meisige, 4 new number Mashed on ny sexeen, Thi ime, tse Girth eling me once, Lic ry ee, pt the newspaper baci he rack nd It he hot Soon, [wisn his Qual Obviony his dad wasa bigman sway to Fabs he hee ling me abou bedi who ha MLA some years back: He hee aking about is invesens i ‘teed in share. And kp plying wih "ok" “peal relly’ —noc ely icening wis big alk Al tac wae going my mind at that poine ws how shies ould pan ont inthe couple of hous. had never bee to ay inane ll ea! With the Here we are. Fag aap sana” sl Gish “Bop! Thies i" Laid ro my