serendipity

                                                        SERENDIPITY

“Bye mansi” the voice said. He was holding a deodorant in his hand when he heard the voice. Did the voice say “mansi” he pondered? His heart started beating fast and he started walking toward the other section. He peeked at the next section which was full of cosmetics. There was a couple there. The next section was full of all kinds of cookies, chips etc. three or so kids were loitering there. Towards the right was the grocery section, which seemed to be empty. He thought his mind was envisaging circumstances. He slowly turned to leave, when his eyes caught something. Someone was there, picking something from the bottom rack. He wondered if this was her. It was 1 in a million chances that of all the places he will meet her in a reliance store. Far from his place and if he was correct from her’s too.

She looked at the popcorns kept on the top rack and knew the limitation of her height would not permit her to reach there. She looked around and saw him. “Excuse me, can u please get it for me,” she said, signaling at the popcorn packets. Her voice brought him back. She, with her large eyes was looking inquisitively at him. How anyone could ever say no, if she looked with those beautiful eyes, he thought. He walked towards the rack and reached for the packets. She said “not that, that’s salted I don’t like that. I want the chilly surprise”. “Women”, he thought. And he gave her the packed. She took the packet and thanked him.

She started walking away from him. He could not let it happen. So he followed her and in a few giant steps he stood in front of her, blocking her way. Ordinarily he would not have done something as impulsive as this but this was no ordinary circumstance (he told this to himself whenever he did something like this).

 He said “I had a school fren …….” She crossed her arms and said “hold on, if u think this whole well rehearsed school fren drama is going to work with me u r absa-fucking-lutely wrong”. He simply stared at her. She pushed her trolley and moved. Was this actually happening? He wondered. She turned and he called “Mansi” she turned back. She looked at him and said “what did you say?” she looked at him suspiciously. “I called my friend’s name” he said.

 She said “Friends name uh! Does this really work? If u calls me by any random name I will be irrated and tell u that my name is not what u r calling and then will give my real name. That’s cheesy and old. Be creative.” he decided to go with the flow.

He envisaged “well, u didn’t hear me out. “I had a school fren who is in coma so I was wondering if u would like to contribute some money for her. Her family cannot afford it. I am here 4 a good cause, missy,” he added for good effect.  She looked at him and asked “seriously?”  She saw a slight smile on his face and knew the truth.

She played along too,“for good cause meaning, u r here to befriend women who can help your fren?”

He said “No, m here to polish my skills on chivalrous code of conduct when talking to beautiful women”.

 She said “Who beautiful? I think u need spectacles. I need second opinion”.

He said “Then u can ask me twice” he said. She was charmed but did not accept it.

 She continued “I take the opinion only of experts and u doesn’t look like a person I would like to take opinion from.”

“Looks r deceptive” he said. “So r u”she said. “I repeat, don’t go by my looks, its deceptive".He said.

She said “I understand deception when I am faced with it”

He said “that’s y, u hadn’t faced me till now”

She said ‘I face ur mirror images every day”

He said “u r mistaken, I carry my reflection and no one can be as good as me”

She said “u have misconception about ur looks”

He said “who talked about looks?”

She said “someone who hasn’t seen himself in the mirror”

She was walking a few paces ahead of him so He caught her by her arms and took her face in his hands, which made her look up to him. The large, beautiful eyes stared at him in utter disbelief. Their eyes interlocked. He could feel the smooth texture of her skin under his fingers.

He said “I just looked at the mirror”

She shut her eyes and pushed him. He did not want to scare her and unknowingly he had. He let go of her. Her face looked flushed.

He said “r u ok? I didn’t mean to hurt u. I just wanted to look at the mirror…’

He stopped abruptly. She was showing him her middle finger.

He said “one o’clock, suits me’

She could not help smiling at this. She had never thought of the middle finger in this way. She was amused. He is actually good, she thought. She looked over her shoulder and there he was just next to her.

He said “truce?” she nodded.

He said “under the circumstances when a man is trying to befriend a woman, what would u have said”.

She said “well, I would have said, the perfume u r wearing is intoxicating and so r u”

He said “does this work”?

She said “u try and let me know.”

He said “I would like to try other things.”

She said “u mean things, exclusive of “other things”

It was his turn to smile. To a person overhearing their conversation none of it would have made any sense. But they were just engrossed in their conversation- cum jibe.

He said “preferably”

She said “u would prefer what? Their number?    At this point she looked up at him and saw him smiling. She said “hello, I am talking about phone no. what no. r u thinking about?”

He could not stop smiling, it was after all her, he was sure of it now. They had reached the billing counter.

He said “there r so many numbers I can think about, that it is confusing”    

When the billing was done. He offered to leave her to her place in his bike. She declined saying her place was not far and she preferred walking.

So he said “walk with me to my bike, I will keep my purchases there, then we can walk back; holding hands” he added mischievously.

She looked up to him and said “I might let u hold something more....... than my hands”.

He was fiddling with his pockets, looking down. The minute she said it, the slide show began…he thought of holding her in his arms very close, holding her eyes to his, holding his breath and holding her lips. In a nano second he visualized all these.

She watched him closely and had a good idea of what he was thinking. Then she said “l would let u hold my......my....... grocery bags”. He was still looking down n he smiled at himself, his thoughts or her, he knew not.

He knew she was never going to walk with him. So he looked at her and extending his hand said “nice meeting u. I know u would not like me going forward than this.”

They shook hands and parted ways.

He started walking towards the parking lot, thinking about her. So he had finally met her. The woman he had been talking to for the last 4 years. Ok correction, he had been talking to her over yahoo, then orkut and then face book for almost two years then she had vanished. He never thought he was going to meet her in person but such is life. He kept looking back, for what, he didn’t know. Perhaps she had not recognized him. Should he have introduced himself?

She walked towards the flats. She was sure it was him. It 
could have been no one else. No one could continue such baseless conversation with such quick wit. She kept thinking about him and looking back. Perhaps he did not recognize her. Should she have introduced herself?

Engrossed in their thought they walked away from each other.

rendevouz

                                                                                                   Rendezvous II

A year later….

She could not believe it….she was doing it….she was at the metro station….going to meet him. Just the thought of it gave her goose bumps. She tried to envisage how her meeting had been almost a year ago. She silently prayed for everything to be right, this time for her sake. She contemplated if it was the right thing.

  She didn’t know if she should go. Was she taking things too far? What could she have said when he asked to meet up. The monotony of her thoughts was broken by the breeze which touched her face; she looked at the direction of the breeze and saw the metro coming. She looked at it while her mind was blank. In the hearts of heart she knew she had to meet him. When she had met him for the first time, it was curiosity, this time it was necessity. With that thought she clichéd the handbag and boarded the metro.

She tried to picture how it was a year ago, with her…..was she having the same feelings….the same thoughts? Her thoughts were broken by the blaring sound of Rajiv chowk. He had said same place, same time. As she came out of the metro she took out her goggles and put it on. Eyes always betray, she thought and smiled at her own thought. She climbed the stairs and started walking towards Mc.Donalds, without any understanding of what she was doing; but of late, things like that were frequently happening. She did things without realizing what she was doing; it was as if……as if…..it was all a nightmare.

She reached McDonalds in a daze. She hesitated a second and said a short prayer to all the Gods. He was there. She saw him the minute she entered. She led out a breath, she never knew she was holding. He was looking at her. As she went towards him, he stood up to greet her. Sweet! She thought. As she reached the table she smiled at him and said “baith jao, itna formal honey ke zaroorat nahi hai”. They sat across each other. There was an absurd silence. This can’t be it…she had to make it a memorable afternoon for her sake, she thought. She looked through her glasses  and asked casually “bhaut der se wait kar rahey the” he looked at her and said “agar der ka matlab ek ghanta hai toh…nahi, agar 20min. hai toh…. haan, aur waisey bhi larkiya der se he aati hai” she smiled and said “aur not so punctual larkey bhi der se aatey hai, jaisey ki last time” and burst out laughing. Their laughter together was musical, a music, soft and intense. After that they talked about what was happening and what had happened since they last met. He told her about his job, his family, his short trip to India, various marriage proposals, it was a de-tour, nothing much had changed in the last year just that she didn’t know. In her turn she talked about her life, her family, whatever she would have wanted him to know. While she was talking a tiny drop rolled from her eyes and for a second she was unable to speak. It was one of those moments when the heart is warmed by the flames of memories and love and the intensity of its heat reaches the eyes and makes it watery. It was then he kept his hands over hers, asking if she was ok.How she wished he would have done it when she had last met him. She just nodded at him. To divert her attention and his; she picked up a French fry to eat, which he had already nibbling.She saw a hand moving towards it out of nowhere and the fries instead of reaching her mouth were in his. He sat giggling, across her. She laughed and attacked the fries; he pretended to protect his fries while trying to attack hers. To an onlooker they would be two adults behaving like children but they were two children who had disguised as adults….two people who wanted to laugh and forget everything.

It was not long before they realized that 32 pairs of eyes were staring at them, which made them come out of their own world. She took his hand in hers and both of them walked out, hand in hand. It all felt so right, yet nothing was. She looked at both their fingers tangled together and knew that the gaps between the fingers r made to be filled by someone else. Probably she had found her someone but did not know. He tugged her hand, she looked up only to find him signaling towards the ice- creams corner. Ordinarily she would have said no but those inquisitive eyes were looking so pleadingly at her that she had no option. So both of them walked together towards the ice- cream stall and got an ice- cream, over which they fought and licked, digging into it and swallowing as much as one could get hold off.

The sun was rapidly setting or so it seemed. She had to leave. She knew she could not meet him without the goggles, it protected her from his gaze; it gave protection from the truth; from the pain. She had to leave, the decision had been made so she faced him and told him she had to leave. She wanted him to ask her to stay, she wanted him to see her pain, she wanted him to remember that day forever, she wanted him….but he did not behave out of character, and he did neither. Both of them held hands and walked towards the metro station in silence. She wondered about the silence they had shared in their last meeting.

Near the metro station they faced each other. He could not look into her eyes, the eyes he loved….the eyes he wanted to be shut but he knew it was not the time nor the place so he just hugged her long enough to remember her presence and short enough to want to do it again. As for her she closed her eyes and hugged him back. When he left her, she was nearly in tears. She almost ran down the stairs not looking up. In the queue she tucked her goggles in her bag and began to sob. She had an unexplainable desire to go back and tell him the truth.

She wanted to tell him, she was not the one. A year ago he had met his elder sister…..she wanted to tell him…that her sister was no more….she wanted to tell him, that there was one thing and only one that her sister regretted and that was not having a good time with him. She wanted him to remember her sister as she was….. beautiful, lively….. so she had to meet him. She closed her eyes and hoped that no matter where her sister was, she was happy, in the knowledge that the guy will remember her….forever….she had made sure of that. 

a- word

                                                                                                   The 'A' Word  

                                Have you ever asked a 3-4 year kid to write the first alphabet ‘A’. They draw circles; full circles, half circles or seemingly circles or they draw all sorts of lines, in all possible directions. This means it is feasible for them to write alphabets like C,E,F,H,I,L,O and T, so technically one of these should be the first alphabet and not the complicated A. But it’s not so.

                                Now, I wondered why ‘ A’; is it because the husband is called ‘A’ with utmost love, devotion, with the blood gushing in every part of the body…. evident on the cheeks. Yes, in matters of love ‘A’ is indispensible. For example, if a boy wants to ask a girl out, he can say “ ‘A’ kyu bolti tu……ghumngey, phireengey, aish karengey aur kya” (what do you say…..we will roam about, have fun what else?). Now if the girl says “NO”, the boy can always say, he was just singing the song. It will save him from embarrassment and at the same time he will know that it’s not his cup of tea.

                                When we need to buy something from the peddler, whose name is unknown; in a prolonged tone we say ‘A’….. ‘A’ is unanimously chosen as the universal name for all unknown things. Like, in mid speech if and when, we forget a particular word, that word is replaced by ‘A’. For example “areey,  waha ‘A….’ rakha than Na” (I had kept it there) “. People’s thought proceese are filled with ‘A’ “usney  kya bol raha tha…a…a…..a….ammm”. It’s the favorite alphabet of the shopkeepers too “ ‘A’ grade sari hai” (sari is ‘A’ grade). For the parents , ‘A’ grade in every subject, on the child’s report card is as important as the India- Pakistan match or jewellery matching with every sari.             

                                 In between fights ‘A’ becomes very important “ ’A’ kya bola” (what did you say) “‘A’ ek punch marunga na” and the most trendy “ ’A’pechanta nahi merey ko”. Plus, in this world of sexist abuses, where ‘mother-sister becomes one’ (Hindi translation plz) ect. Ect. ‘A’ is not gender bias, one can just say “A-HOLE” rest is understood. After all, we all need to be gender sensitive.

                                  Some people go one step ahead, when they, instead of saying “ek” say “a…ke”. Just a sample,“ ‘A…KE’ tho dena” (give only one), “’A…ke’ tho tha” (had just one).

                                The child has to learn the important ‘A’ mantra, as chances are his/her name might not have any of the alphabets like C,E,F,H,I,L,O but will have ‘A’, so how important is ‘A’  for you “ ‘A’ kya bolti tu?”

rain...again

                      It’s the rain….. again

The small drops, race through my window pane

Through the mud covered streets,

Under the rain…… even I want to be there.

The lights go off and I burn a candle

I hear the sound of the water falling on the ground

The breeze touches my face

I look outside the window

And closing my eyes… inhale the smell

The smell… which over the years has not changed.

There smell is enchanting

I open my eyes, which gets interlocked 

With the person standing at the opposite window pane.

Neither of us moves,

I guess the rain has other admirers too.

I think of love stories made

Under the impact of this weather

About how; perhaps somewhere

Two people might be taking shelter….

The couples dancing hither and thither

The kids playing without a care……

I smile at my thoughts

The man standing at the opposite window pane

He does the same

Oh! What a misunderstanding

All because of the rain.

inter vivos

Inter vivos

Can u feel the raindrops on your fingers?

Do those drops run parallel to each other

Then merge without a trace?

Walking on the grass

If your eyes fell on a butterfly

Have you ever taken time out

Just to at it, gaze?

Did you kiss your beloved as you left for work

Saying sweet things, hugging tight just before you left?

The flames from the candle

Has it let your fingers, let go through it unharmed?

When your heart breaks

Is there no sound?

When its night, has it ever happened

That you have stood, counting the stars

Looking at the moon

And thought that someone like you

Is also gazing at the sky

Someone… is waiting for you too…

Have you ever felt tiny hands clutch your fingers?

Felt a tiny heartbeat against your palm?

Have you seen the big drops of tears

Which can wet your eyes

And make your heart ache like never before…

Do you have someone to be with you?

Who will be forever by your sides?

A shoulder you can lean on

Whenever you cry

If you have missed these

Assuredly you have missed life…

THE LAST SONG

The Last Song

She stood outside his room

Why she stood there, she never understood

She looked at the closed door

Wondering, what will he say?

After a long time, she was at the place

For which her heart longed

She had always thought of him

Even when, at times, he was not around.

He was her childhood friend

They had gone to the same school,

Travelled in the same bus, shared one Tiffin,

She thought about the bygones….

She stared at the envelope and folded it

Why was this so difficult? She thought

What will he think of the card?

Will it humor him or will he laugh?

How is he going to react?

She knew she should have given it to her common friends

They would have given it to him on her behalf….

Get a grip! She chided herself

And raised her hands, to at the door, knock

It was then she heard “their song”

He was playing the guitar and humming their song

She let some time elapse

Now she could hear him singing

She did not know if what she was doing was right or wrong…

The words rang loud and clear

Tears filled her eyes; she slipped the card under the door

And ran…..

They had since time immemorial been friends

So it was hard for her to think that she would be gone

They would no longer be able to meet each other

No parties till dawn

She remembered what he had said

He had said she would look funny in a saree

And she would be like a clown

She smiled at these thoughts

She didn’t understand why her heart ached so much

When she had gone to give him, her marriage card

Till then she thought marriage was fun

Now she wished she could just run

But she knew no matter where she went

She will be followed by “ the last song….”

get lost!

FB is a screwed up place to be in.how screwed?well, to get an answer to this question you will have to try it urself or you can hear me out.

this guy poked me.na... not literally but in FB so i poked back, thinking no harm done.we playe pokey-man for a few days then started chatted. he seemed nice.nothing new considering the fact that every body who is a nobody sounds nice in FB.though there were things about him that made him different for e.g he wrote well(without exaggeration, he was awesome with the pen).he could make u all awwweeee. he was cute and with him i could be myself(so i thought)i.e a flirt.
oh!here i come in.thing with me i can flirt n i like doing it but i dont open my legs. i am one belonging to the old school.
i dunno what he liked about me but he wanted to get serious. wasnt it soon?wasnt he the one who said he likes his gal to be near him n all mushy-mushy? now he was contradicting his own self.i was confused, i dint want to say "yes" without knowing the guy, i didnt want to say "no" for fear of loosing him completely, yet i wanted his attention.
we exchanged phone no. n send msgs jz for a day. what next?
well, that every evening after as hort conversation, he called her a flirt again. now it was the 13th time in a day he had called her that.isnt it reason enough to be angry.he almost made "flirt" sound like "slut". i could tk it no longer so i asked him not to talk to me.at least for a day or so.
he kept msging, i gave no reply.he told her sweet nothings, called her lovingly.she was too upset to reply n finally the last msg siad "get lost" so here i m where i ve found myself.