cha-I-tter

"Hello?".. She screamed. And then looked on the screen. The phone had been disconnected.
Was he there already and giving her a missed call? She rushed towards her small balcony. How could she miss the thunder of his bullet..she thought. He wasn't there. She picked up her phone and called him. A tune from Dev D welcomed her, followed by "Hello," in what seemed like a mature woman's voice..
"Who's this!?" She said.. Checking her phone screen to see if she dialed the right number. She felt a strange rush of emotion down her spine. Who could this woman be?
" I am shopkeeper. Sir forgot his phone here. Yours was the last dialed number so I called," the voice said.
She confirmed again, "you are shopkeeper?" And felt a sense of relief and "i-am-so-silly" feeling. "please keep the phone with you. We will come collect it, thank you so much!" She couldn't control her massive smile as she said those words, still reeling from the tension of what she thought could be.
For that one brief moment, she had felt scared. Insecure. And in that one moment, she had realized his importance for her. Not that it was anything new for her. She had been secretly falling for him, twice every day, over chai. And several times in between.
Thud.. Thud.. She heard his bullet nearing. Happiness, she felt, all over herself. She looked into the mirror one last time and gave her best smile. Convinced with her good looks, she even took a picture of herself on her phone cam and committed to make that one, her display picture.
She surveyed the contents of her bag once more. A spare tee, comb, lip gloss, wallet, make up stuff, a few wrappers that irritated the hell out of her yet stayed there, a scarf, her Raybans, a small diary.. It was like a mini world in her bag.
She heard the horn honk and rushed down her 1st floor apartment.
He stood there. Balancing the Bullet. A tattered helmet and worn out jacket.
She looked at him and the jelly inside of her began to melt again. As much as she din want to, she smiled. In fact, beamed like an idiot. Even with the helmet on, she knew the reply to her big smile was a slant lip, that he called his original smile.
"Where's your phone dude?" She teased.
"What? Phone?" He felt his pockets and just as he was about to panic, she told him about the call.
Cribbingyet thankful to have the phone safe, they headed towards the shop. Riding pillion, she felt a little uncomfortable. She always thought that the Bullet seat made her bum look big. Soon, they were zooming through the traffic. They rode without a word. Her hands, seemingly casually, on his shoulders. His strong cologne, wafting and penetrating in to her palms.
After riding for almost twenty minutes, they were there at the store. A jewelry store.

Cha-I-tter

"Let's watch the sunrise at Udaipur," he said, sipping the last of his chai. "You are kidding me! Its almost 400kms" She uttered in disbelief.

"I did it last time wid my biker gang," he said with a casual air.

Dawns and dusks belonged to them. They met every day for chai. Their friendship had sprouted and nurtured itself in that very chai stall.

They would both be there at the same time by co-incidence. The initial courtesy glances soon converted into light chatter. The light chatter soon developed into a friendship that they cherished. The chai time was the high point of their slow monotonous days at the call center.

"Let's meet at 9?" He proposed.

She still din believe him. Yet, a part of her felt like jelly inside of her, melting with excitement. He was, after all, asking her out. Even though it was a different, and yet very romantic date.

The rest of the day passed between staring at the clock and day dreaming about the ride.

It was eight o clock and she had already changed. Thrice. Put on her most expensive perfume. Dabbed some of the coca butter lip gloss that promised to taste like chocolate. Fixed her hair twice. Fretted about footwear a zillion times. Made mental notes of going shopping and what all to buy the next time. And looked at the watch seven times. It seemed to her that the seconds hand of the clock was not budging out of some conspiracy she failed to comprehend.

At 8:50, her cell phone rang. "Main to ainvain ainvain loot gaya".. The ringtone she set for him. She held the phone in her hand but din want him to think that she had been waiting. So she let it ring. Ainvain ainvain... Ainvain ainvain.. Gud dekha.. "Hello" she said.. But was met with silence.. Hello? She raised her volume and spoke into the phone..

(to be continued..)

Her Sundays

Sundays were there favorites. The day where the alarm was forbidden to play truant, while they indulged in slumber and each other. The days, when the clocks felt ignored..who had the time to look away from each other? They'd steal glances of each other even while reading the fat, colored Sunday newspapers, sipping on one of the many cups of hot chais of the day. Even as he looked consumed by the financial pages, his toes caressed her smooth calves. And she, used to his intrusions.. continued to scan through the papers.

Just as the papers became thinner on the right, his toes would reach higher, until she no longer could help but giggle! Her giggles echoed all over the house.. on that silent Sunday morning.

Door bell rings. It's the cook-cum-maid, Asha. The two of them decide to leave her out of their romance and start a mundane conversation about the grocery. Asha, having had an experience of over a decade, smiles at their pretense and carries on with the chores.

"So, are we going to the theatres tonight Sammy?", Arnab asked.

"Which movie?"

"I dunno.. let's hit the theatres and see?" Arnab said, popping in health supplement.

"You know how maddening the traffic is going to be na.." Samyukta said, balancing the saucers and cups in her hands.

"We dun have a to-do list for today, do we? to chal na?" He insisted.

"okay, only if you get me popcorn" she smiled.

He pulled her closer.. wrapped his hands around her waist and whispered "only if you keep me company in the shower".

Just the, Asha dropped a pan in the sink, to register her presence around them.

Animatedly, Arnab cleared his throat and rushed out towards the attached bathroom in their bed room. Sammy blushed and tried to act casual.

----

The blue skies bore crimson hues of the sun bidding adieu. Arnab woke up to the aroma of caffeine. Filter coffee.. his taste buds came alive. His hands reached out for his boxers . Calling out for Sammy, he headed towards the drawing room, still rubbing his eyes. She stretched her long legs on the table, frantically checking her official email, while the coffee-maker teased and seduced the air. He looked at her and thought how content he was to have her.

"Hey tiger.." she teased.. and then went into one of her giggle fits, pointing at his boxers.

"whaaat... what is so funny"

"You, my dear, are wearing them ulta" she hushed, slipping on her flip flops.

As she poured in coffee, the phone rang.

For a moment, she stopped pouring coffee. Her senses sharpened, as Arnab went inside the room to get the phone. He looked at the phone, and contemplated for a minute.

"Hi baby", he answered, finally. "Yes, everything is fine. How's our lil one?"

Sammy stared at him. He looked everywhere else, but in her direction.

She stood there, like every Sunday, frozen. The part of Sundays she dreaded.

"Yes, my work is almost over and I'll be back home by Tuesday," he cooed in the phone.

Sammy closed her eyes for a bit, and reminded herself that it will be over soon. She meant, the phone call.

She waited patiently till he promised his wife an exotic holiday, and then lunged towards her.

"So, when do we leave for the theatre" she asked.

It was all perfect again.

Burning like a candle..

It is a rainy afternoon.Just like so many others these days! Its been pouring constantly!

Hving mentioned rains, I cant fail 2 mention how much I luv the rains!how the site of the whole envornment draped in green quilt entices me!how much I long 2 c the rain drops dripping of the greenies.neways this is not abt rains!

I was sittin in my home house arrested by my mom as south Gujarat is on flood alert( a thing tht happens every monsoon!)hvin nothing else to do..i thought of making candles!after much effort..i gathered the requisites and sat at my mission.

I made a beautiful red candle in a tiny glass bowl. It looked beautiful n I was proud of it. It took a few mints 4 it 2 dry n solidify..but those moments really did test my patience!

Just as I was getting exasperated..thr it was! My beautiful red candle!

I scrutinized it , decorated it with glitter, gave final touched to its wick..i cudnt wait to light it! To see how beautiful it wud look glowing in the dark!excited!! I took it 2 my bedroom. Darkened the room and bought my lighter almost hopping at my “constructive“way of passing time!i lit it..Just then.. my fone rang! It was Sheila aunty..my friend Madhus mom.

Madhu and m hv been frds since 1^st grade. We did our schooling together. Being the only girl child in her family, she was 1 pampered brat! All her wishes were commands to her parents and her 2 elder brother.She has always been the apple of everyones eye! Confident, pretty, smart..she was every guys dream 2! It was when v were 15 tht she met

Rahul. Rahul was in the second year of his graduation. While Madhus family was filthy rich..Rahul was just about well-off. They..for some reasons which I shall never comprehend!...fell in luv.Against all odds,she wud meet him. He wud manage funds to buy her gifts.Rahul was so simple! I duno wat she saw in him! Anyways…

Like usual…Madhus parents did not approve of their relation.but she was too much in luv 2 care abt all tht. Her relation with it kept strengthening..by the time she was 17..she was sure she wanted 2 marry him!on her 18nth birthday, she eloped and married Rahul. Her parents shocked at this step of hers..now had no choice or say. They did her “vidai” and she left with rahul. To where??nobody knows! Occasionally she wud give a call to me . I learnt they didn’t hv a job.They struggled to make ends meet. They refused taking help from her parents….again for a reason I wont understand! Anyways..eventually I learnt tht she was pregnant…(uhmm..shes my age..m in collg n shes gona b a momy!)

Shelia aunty asked me if I know how she is doing…if I met her recently…cuz she hadn’t heard from her lately n she was worried.her voice sounded low and I could feel how she longed for her daughter. Her brothers don’t talk about her.i was asked by her not 2 tell aunty abt her pregnancy and so I kept mum. She hung up as this conversation did nothing to soothe her..though I did try to console her!!!

I turned back…only to see a bit of wat was remaining of my candle. I sat beside it in my darkened room…listening to rain fall outside and got thinking abt madhu. A girls life. A daughters life. Its so much like my candle!! U take all the efforts to make it. Make it as beautiful as u can. U know u want it to light the world. To enlighten the world.but before u realize…shes not only lighting the world…but loosin herself…melting…melting in to the world. Meshing into it…loosing her self…

dhoom machale dhoom machale dhoom!!

Never hv i hated a song more than "dhoom " today. it was my xam tode..the first 1. as it is m sufferin 4m some f*n viral watever.my 1st xam 2de..poor subject..poor books....ignored thru out d year ..only 2 b scanned n rescanned n rescanned...a de..a night..few hrs...n few mints. before the xam. i kept studyin laaaaaaaate till night yest. as a result..i hv deeeeeeeep wells under my eyes.
I was pretty nervous as ppl kept pourin me wid "clearin CS in an attempt is difficult"! neways..i reached my centre where my sis-frd was waitin 4 me wid best o luck gifts..aah..some relief..she made me a lil easy..but i was still chokin on d inside...half cuz o nervousness n the rest cuz o the fu***n infection.v talked a bit while i glanced thru my books and odr complacent students ard. "sab padha?" i asked sheepishly.... "hahahaha wat a joke" .. was d reply. but d nervousness behind the hahaha was pretty obviously palpable in all their faces.
It was time..n v started to walk up d stairs ..remindin me o bhagat singh..rajguru..wat was d third guys name? (shit i hate myself 4 not rem.!) tryin 2 hold myself ...i climbed d stairs while my sis-frd payal kept sayin stuff in my ear..most of it consisted of best o luck...boy i told her i needed luck! n so was glaaaaad. v kept climbin n suddenly trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr some f* siren rung tht almost got me a cardiac arrest. v later found out tht it was som factory signal. mutterin all sorts a words under our breath ..v reached d hall.

got the question paper. was glad its contents looked familiar.took a deep breath n started 2 rite..while in my mind--karchale hum fida jaano tan saatthiyon---question 1 ..some thinkin n bingo..quest 2..business ethics...business ethics..umm ummm n suddenly ishq ishq karna hai karle! hell wat on earth was tht!??! oh nothin...the "frendly" invigilator n his f*n fone...tht ensured tht v ver all awake n kickin. it must hv rung ard a dozen times! everytime i wud think of some nice words...i wud b forrced to think of tata young dancin over Abis baby!!!

concentration test...was it??

ps; n 4 those of u caring 1s who r wonderin how my xam was....my xam was gud...but yaar xam to acha hi jaata hai..saala result hi dhoka de jaata hai...hehe .jokes apart it was gud.

Three Red Roses...

The horizon was clear and looked like the most puuuurfect painting of the lord.The clear blue hues merging into the orangish tints of the sun…struggling hard to break through the blue cascade.Pratibha luved the site of the rising sun.The fresh wind flowing through her hair felt so good! She stood leaning to her bedroom door attatched to the green terrace. Feelin the wind caress her face.. staring at the orange ball sprouting outta the glowing sky.she closed her eyes. Breathing in the freshness the new day brought to her.this was the best part of her day..while most of us would crib about getting up so early, it was an absolute delight for her! Her pale skin now glowing in the fresh breezes she enjoyed the first moments of a day.Suddenly.. her serene expression was disturbed ..just like the sudden appearance of ripples do to the peace of a lake.She opened her eyes..only to find a grey sky with lotts a clouds thundering…warning to pour! Even before she cud realize wat was happenin,it began to drizzle!!she broke into a smile and looked up wid such contentment n happiness towards the sky..The First showers!!They were always special to her …for they reminded her of him..he who had twinkle in his eyes..he, who wid his impish smile melted her! He ,whose stare wud sweep her off her feet!! The trickle of the first drops on her tender skin reminded her of his touch..Nikhil! They had met during college..the des of recklessness when everything was casual. She still remembered how they had met on a rainy de…when she was desserted alone during a storm n he had offered her a lift.Though studying in the same college, they had never shared anything before tht de..except for admiring glances.It was then tht their liaison began. Nither of them knew wat it was..but they knew it was special! She remembered riding bikes in the rain..eating icecreams..getting absolutely drenched in the rain and…aaaannnnnnnchhhhu!! Falling ill wid flu! It was all so vivid..it was asif she was transferring to the past!!
Suddenly she gained a -lighting struck-expression and ran inside..she reached to the closet and opened the drawers. There lay in her most cherished treasure boxes..three withered roses with petals barely hanging ..she smiled as she opened the note tht lay there..”three roses to say I LOVE YOU” .the letters were hardly read-able and m sure only she cud make sense and decipher tht handwriting!! Half of it had faded cuza time and the other half..cuz it was handed it to her on a rainy day by him..she smiled n it was hard to comprehend if she was cryin..cuz her face was already wet!! She was compeletly lost in her thoughts when –a knock at the door—pulled er outta the nostalgic journey.she dried her face and ran towards her bedroom door.


She pulled open n was surprised to find no one. Just as she was getting back in..she noticed the three roses sitting pretty on her enter mat andan envelope enclosed.she almost skipped a beat!! She cudnt believe wat she saw! She almost believed she was hallucinating. She stood numb on the door ,staring at wat was there but her mind was in abyss for sure! Just then.. a lil hand pulled her . “momy !! cmon.. open it!!” he mush hv had to shake her atleast a dozen times before she realized he was there. In a state of semi conscious state she kneed down so as to match heights wid her son..”momy open it!” he said. Handing it to her. She opened it . three red roses glistening in water . they were fresh!! The letter just like hers..was half washed away..she cudnt believe wat was happening!wid trembling hands she opened the letter n saw the same old words…”I luv u” she gasped!! It was 5 years since he was gone! Gone forever! Just then her lil boy hugged her n wishin- "happy moms de" he whispered faintly " it was all i managed to get due to the rains".. she held him tight wid tears flooding her and whispered "u r just like ur dad my lil son!"

From Her To Him

The memories u gave me..the ones tht r in my heart...continue 2 replenish my soul n water my heart.the intense feel is becomin more n more palpable evry second..n im loosing myself every moment.they say”getting lost” is a negative term...wonder y it doesnt seem to me.or maybe those ignorant people aint aware of the beauty of getting lost.getting lost in u...getting lost in love..in desire..in faith!
It is like living wid a soul..sharing urself wid sum1.ur in my thoughts all de ur long..its like the sun shines just 2 remind us of—us. The moon glistens just 2 remind us of our nites under iton the beach.the rains pour down only 2 bring back the taste of the icecreams to my mouth..drenching in the rain!every time the cuckoo sings, I know u hv asked him 2 serenade me. Every time the windy brezze caresses me..i know its u whisperin careless whispers..ur sweet nothings into my ears..i was ur princess and u my knight in the shining armour!

Its been 3 years now luv since v parted..but still u r so much a part of me! I luv u for all tht u r to me..for all tht u hv dunn for me..for all tht u hv been to me..for the three roses u wud alays giv 2 me n say I luv u…..for the late nite calls just 2 say I luv u calls…..for waking me early during my xams even if u had had a beatin day……and I luv u for leaving when u knew I had to gett mrrd to sumone else. I can still see ur moist eyes..my face glistening in them as v parted.luv, u hv made my life beautiful . u hv given to it a new meaning. I know wherever u r u r thinking of me as well. Thku luv 4 luvin me so unconditionally. So truly. So honestly.i luv u 4ever. --just then suddenly outa nowhere her hubby appears asking her 4 his breakfast. She wipes a tear or two..and wid a smile heads 2wards the kitchen…the whole of her de gets over juggling between kitchen..her 2 year old baby and her hubby(whose a baby himself-like most of u men?)—

Finally in the late evening she gets back 2 where she left… Luv.. sometimes I repent not doing things tht luvrs do. I repent not letting u touch me..not letting u try the one more last time to convince my parents..well..i just wish u r fine ..n tht u too ,like me ,hv a family of ur own..a wonderful kid..n.a…..spouse..
PS; i hv seen most of the indian women do this. sacrificing their teenage luv 4 their hubbies n end up being the house maid. mayb 2de d times r changing but still, u cud say this is the story of an average indian wife. wat say all u shaadi-shudaas??