Why did he lie...

With a glass of coke in my hand, I was enjoying the company of my recently-made friends at one of the hotels in the city. It was a treat of one of my well-to-do friends on his success in his business. He had invited me. We had many friends in common and so, I had agreed to go and thus possibly meet my other friends as well. I did meet them, but having found them involved in a grave discussion impertinent to me, I had isolated myself from them.

Someone called me from behind. I turned. I was struck to see Harish, a buddy of mine whom I had not heard from for a long time, at least two years after the accidental demise of his mother. We had been best friends in college, but after that, my career had got the better of our friendship. Though I occasionally met him when I had begun to work, that too became difficult when the company began assigning a lot of projects with a short deadline. I, therefore, do not recollect when I last saw him; however, I knew that they were in a huge debt after his father had agreed for the marriage of his sister that cost him much more than their cumulative savings. After many abortive tries to find a suitable bridegroom for his sister, he had to relent on the one “yes” he had heard, with the condition that all the expenses that the boy-side would do on the marriage would have to be given in the form of dowry to them. He had no choice but to accept it. The expenses were through-the-roof.

Harish, on the other hand was all shining at the party. A new suit, gleaming shoes, gelled hair, wearing what seemed to be imported goggles, and with a glass of lemonade in his hand, walked towards me and took his goggles off. It was a great feeling to see him again. My face lit up. I was stunned by his appearance to say the least.

“How are you? And your father? You seem to be doing well.” I said.

“I am just fine as you can see. Baba, well he keeps a little ill. Nothing serious, however, just the ailments that are concomitant with age. His hearing and vision have suffered. Blood pressure and stuff,” he said.

“Oh. But look at you. You look brilliant!!! These goggles, all shiny shoes, and this blackberry, how did this happen, you found a gold nugget somewhere?”I asked, smiling.

“I set up my own business, and believe me, it is doing very good. How do you like quitting your job and partnering me?” he asked.

”No thanks I am just happy with whatever I do, and business is just not for me. So it was probably eight years before I saw you last, right?” I queried.

“Yes it was. After that…” he stopped and felt the blackberry making vibrations. “Excuse me, I have to answer this.” I saw him going in the open air to answer it, and within two minutes he was back. “Aaah, these clients never give me a moment’s rest.”

We chatted our time through, reliving our most cherished moments of college we had together. We lunched together. I understood he had grown very sophisticated and urban. His way of talking, walking; everything regarding him had turned up side down. From a modest guy coming from an average family, he had brought about a sea change in him.

I never knew how time sped. “It’s time I guess I should be going. Have to settle some deals with my clients”, he said. “Hey wait here; I’ll introduce you to my other friends. It’ll only take a moment of your precious time”, I said. He agreed to wait. I gathered three of my friends and when I came back, I saw, to my utter disbelief, Harish had gone. I tried searching him in the hall, but found him nowhere. Surprised and unsettled I became. “Well, now that was strange” I asked myself. “Did he get an urgent call from his father? Was something wrong?” He had left without exchanging cards. I had no means to reach him again.

His visit had made me reminiscent of those memories that had locked themselves in the deepest corners of my heart. Those were resurfacing. Why not just drop in the college I thought. Harish’s old house was just along the way. I said goodbyes to my friends and started out.

Going along the same path that I trudged nine years ago was certainly wonderful. The eat-out that was our adda, the tea stall where we sometimes spent our time, the road that we walked, somehow everything was just as it was. While I was going to the college, I caught a glimpse of Harish’s house. They must have left that house I thought, for Harish was now a wealthy man. Just then, I saw his father coming out. I was really surprised. His father seemed ill as he had said. But what I could not believe was how come his father was still there, in that house, when his son was doing so well. I knew Harish was a responsible person; he wouldn’t leave his father and have a life of his own. I went to him. His father instantaneously recognized me, and gestured me to come in.

I was still baffled. What was going on? I told him what I did, and where I was currently put up. I then narrated what had happened at the hotel. His father smiled.

His father began, in his husky voice, “You see, Harish now works in a theatre. He is a protagonist. And he has now a role to play of a very wealthy man in one of the dramas. He must have borrowed the clothes out for a day. Yes. That must have been the case. Three years after his college, one of my relatives offered him a place in theatre. He is doing well. Six years of diligence has made him a fine actor and has brought respect for him among his peers. I am happy for him. It is because of him that I was able to clear all the debt on me. Otherwise, we would have been on the roads. Thankfully, his sister is also fine, and has two children now- a son and a daughter. They visit me every month”, he said smiling. Then he showed album of snaps of Harish in his plays. It was just amazing. He asked if I wanted something to eat; I politely refused.

Just then, I saw Harish. He was just standing outside the door and avoiding me seeing him; but when I saw him, he came in and gave me a tight hug. Tears rolled out of his eyes. Why he lied to me in the beginning? Well, I never asked him and he never told me. But the question still remained, "Why did he lie?"

Cricket + Cooking + Movie

It happened a few days back. I came home after some work. There was this thing going on. Mother was listening to the radio and a cookery program was being relayed. Father was watching cricket on the television. My sister was watching a movie in between the deliveries bowled. I was listening to all the three things at once. And the effect they created was hilarious. It went this way-

..tumhara naam kya hai.. Chakka!!!.. ab hum dekhenge iska sahitya, pehle pani uske baad.. ricky ponting.. uske baad thoda sa.. andrew symonds… tumhare maa baap.. dono crease par.. Ponting ne parson matck ke bad kaha tha.. haan haan main paagal hoon tumhare pyar mey paagal lekin shaadi nahi karsakta kyon ki.. aloo ke daam bohot badh gaye hain.. bharat main cricket ek khel hi nahi.. wo ek swadisht pakwan hai.. bhaiya mere liye kya laye.. do chammach cheeni aur garam tel..is prakar ricky ponting ko.. dheeme se oobalen aur jab wo laal ho jaye.. umpire ka nirnay bowler ke paksh mey aur symonds out.. maine apne jeevan me sirf dukh dekha hai.. ab aur thodi mirch powder daliye.. agle batsman hain Michel..Kumar, Tum pata lagao ki aakhir who chahte kya hain.. ab sirf chauke aur chakkon se match jeetne ki asha Australia ki.. agar bohot der tak oobala to sara paani chalaa jayega..

Since I had just come, I got up and got myself fresh. Had some thing and came back to my seat. This thing was still going on, albeit the movie was towards the end with the last fighting going on; in the cookery show, the chef was giving the finishing touches, and in the match, it was ishant Sharma bowling the last over

…Aur ye out aur ishant bohot hi khush. ricky ponting kuch badbade huey jaa rahe hain.. kamine main tere saare khandan to khatam kardoonga (hero to villiain).. to usko do minute ke liye thoda ghumate rahiye.. ab jo batsman aayenge unse chakkon ki gunjayish.. dishum dishum.. trrrrrrrr (sound of mixer).. Dhiskyaon dhiskyaon dhiskyaon.. aur ye match ki aakhri gend aur chahiye che run..aa dhishum, aa dhishum (hero is belting the villain).. aur isko thoda sa garnish kijiye.. aur bharat ne match jeetliya.. aaaah (the villain has had enough and hero has a revolver pointed at him) mujhe maaf karo, mujhe mat maro.. yeaaaahhhh, wooooo, yuuuhuuuu (its absolute mayhem at the stadium).. (The police arrive in the movie) hum aap ko giraftar karte hain. vijay, well done.

It is presentation ceremony in the stadium, the chef is summarizing what he has taught, and in the movie, hero and heroin are getting married…

…So the man of the match is.. chicken soup..bilkul raam sita ki Jodi hain tumhari.. and the man of the series is.. paneer butter masala, aur iske saath hi aajka show samapth.. Hope you have enjoyed watching the broadcast of the match.. Haa ha ha ha (everyone is laughing In the movie) “THE END”.

My first love letter

To,

My Unseen Unknown Dearest Love,

It was a strong drizzle and I was waiting for it to subside so that I could go home. You were there under the tree asking your mother if you could play in the rain. Your mother refused, and you had curled your face. You had stretched your hands to feel the rain. It was for the first time I had seen you clearly. Never had imagined speaking with you in class but as they say if same feelings sprout, then it becomes easy to strike up a conversation. All that was needed was an excuse. And that excuse came in the form of our physics teacher. I’ll thank three people here- firstly, the teacher for giving the assignment, secondly, you for not doing it, and thirdly, myself for doing it. And the teacher had asked you to take it from me and copy it down. You had then apprehensively come in the lunch break to me to ask the assignment. “Excuse me, can I have your physics assignment, please?” you asked. I looked around and spilled the rice in my hand. It fell on the shirt and created a stain. That shirt I did not give for a wash, and even today the stain is just as is. That was the start, pedantic nevertheless.

Then onwards I wished that every class be that way. I had then become very regular in my assignments, and always wished that you come to me and asked. We used to exchange our notes, assignments, and it took its own time for me to ask you your contact number. Well I somehow summoned the courage and under the pretext of calling you if I could not understand something, I had asked you your number. You had readily given it. In doing anything, the first time is most difficult. I remember the first time I had wanted to call you. My mind was vacillating. Should I call, should I not? What if your mother or father picks it up? Will they like it? What will they think? I still remember my first call that I had made to you. I was beginning to get edgy.

“Hello”, I said.

“Hello”, the reply, coarse. I do not know who that was ‘coz in many calls I have made to you, that voice I heard only the first time, never again.

I asked if I could speak to you.

“Who’s speaking?”

I seemed to have forgotten my name for a while.

“Hmmm…” I hummed.

“Who’s talking?”

“Sachin, Sachin.” Good lord it came right, without any more delay. You were asked to come down the stairs and answer the call.

“Hello…’. You said. I only wish that there was a word in any language to describe what I felt like.

“Hello… Hello… Who are you? Sorry, I meant how. Hi there, good morning, night, sorry afternoon. Did you not go to college today?” And I suddenly realized that it was a Sunday. (I was in home too. That was stupid of me)

“Today is Sunday right?” you asked.

“Oh yes. Sorry for that.”

“Listen, hey, could you get your English text book please?” I asked, not knowing where I was going with that conversation. Actually I had called you up with nothing of this on my mind. All those things were being cooked in my head. And I was just speaking them out. All the time I had before the call, I depleted in thinking about what would happen if someone other than you picked my call. I never thought what I will speak about when you answer it. Now that you went back again to your room, I fumbled for the text book myself in my bag.

You then brought the text book. “OK, here it is with me. Tell me what is it that you want?”

I was stuck again, “could you turn to page 47?”

“Ya. Here I am.” You said, turning to the page.

I was turning to the page but the book fell down and I said, “I had something to ask, but I seem to have forgotten. Ok… give me a second to recollect.”

I was just buying time. I collected the book and began, “Ya why did Sherlock Holmes contact Dr. Watson?” and when I turned to page 47, it was the poem- The Daffodils, of Wordsworth.

“What!! Now where did Sherlock Holmes come in Daffodils?” you asked.

Not knowing what to speak, I hung up. It was a blunder. I felt embarrassed.

The next day, I came up to you and apologized. You just smiled and said, “Next time, if you do want to call me, just do it; no need for an excuse.” You had read my mind. That much I knew. Then onwards, a call once a week. The week soon became a day. I even remember when you had told me that you were going out of town and I had asked you, “Ok, so will you call me from there?”

“Can’t wait to speak to you; I’ll call you as often as I can, and also wish you goodnight.” I had no words to speak. I just said, “Fine. I’ll be waiting,” and hung up. I was smiling, and blushing too. I had never felt any happier than this my entire life till then. I was just wondering as to how someone, whom I never knew yesterday, got so close today. It was surreal, and incredible. Someone had said that every man is a poet when he’s in love. I somehow found that very relevant to me. I had begun to write poems then. It was then that the insipid tea at the restaurant seemed all the more delicious; the once tasteless pizza was now my favorite. A popular movie title has this line with it, love makes life beautiful. Well very true indeed, I think. And me, who don’t watch movies avidly, did watch that movie a hundred times at least.

Seeing you, speaking to you, knowing you, understanding you, and allowing you so close to me- these have been and are the best things that could have happened to me in my life. I just hope that you exist for real and don’t remain only in my imagination.

Waiting, only and only for you…
With all the love in the world…

The above work is purely my imagination, and I bear no responsibility for any resemblance of this with anyone :-)

A Dinner Table Incident

If someone asks me as what time was the best in my life, I'll have just one thing to say, "It was during my engineering."

I have never had a group like this one before. Consisting of 7 members including myself, Kartikeya Bhat( i call him bhatta, someone who pretends to not hear a thing clearly and says something that sounds similar and is comical), Srinidhi (the twisterrrrrrrr, when he speaks you'll not know if he is praising you or scolding), Rohit (the uncle of our group, someone whose aeroplane needs two runways to take-off), Pramod B M, Vinayak ganiger (i call him vinny or gani at times, he pitches in with his remarks wherever possible and they are the best in that situation) and Shivaprakash ( the silent enigma, he'll always make you feel that he knows better than you with his monalisa smile).

The synergy among us is simply great and everyone of us is predictable to the other.

Dinner table has been a venue to some great things. The tag line of coffee day goes, 'A lot can occur over a coffee'.Now if this is true, imagine what can happen over an entire dinner?... Things just as awesome as the one written below. Read and enjoy....

(*&^&*)

Every one was having dinner at the dinner table and BM gets a call. He gets out to talk. Now kartikeya says to the group "Hey vinny ge huch nai kacchide anta helidre BM en helbahudu?" (What will BM say if a vinny is bitten by an insane dog?) After thinking for a short while kartikeya says "BM naan antu kacchillapa anta heltane".(BM will say that it wasn't him).

By this time BM had finished his talk and was returning to the table. Our boys decided to experiment. Soon after BM sat, kartikeya, "Ae BM, vinny ge huch nai kacchide ante." To that BM instantaeneously said, "Naan antu kacchillapa pa!!". To this all of others on the table burst into laughter. They laughed, laughed and laughed for nearly 2 to 3 hours.

(*&^&*)

I was narrated this incident the next day of its occurring, when i was back from Hubli. I laughed for an hour. And even now when i am reminded of this, i try imagining the way it would have occurred. I still laugh my heart out.

Events like these are a commonplace with my group around. These don't have an end, and so will be my writing of them on this blog spot.