Not At First Sight..!! (Episode 6)

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Episode 6

It had been almost three weeks since the meeting with Disha’s boyfriend. So much had changed since then.

The first week I had consistently avoided her scooty ride to go to office. After that she stopped asking. I avoided going for lunch with her. And she stopped asking me out for shopping.

 I limited my talks to only work related stuffs. She stopped texting me and started to spend more time on the phone with her boyfriend. A formal ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ was all that we had left between us.

However, Disha looked happy. Why shouldn’t she be?! She was back in a relationship and was spending almost twelve hours a day on the phone. Yet, she managed to impress the people around her with her work efficiency and proficiency. She even managed to win the team’s ‘Champion of the Month’ award.

Till date, I hadn’t managed to win that award and when she did, I clapped; but I was jealous. When your best friend manages to surpass you, your back will be on fire, but when an ex-love interest does the same; your whole body will be on fire. I convinced myself she owed her success to the ‘Women Empowerment policy’.

All that I was trying to do was to keep Disha from occupying my mind. I wanted to move on very quickly. And slowly, I managed to do so or at least I believed so. I and Disha had never signed such a treaty, but we managed to become ‘just friends’ from ‘best friends’.

******************************************************************

“I hope you won’t mind if I sit next to you” Disha said. That’s the longest thing that she had said to me in past three weeks, breaking the record that she had set with her ‘Good Morning...!’-s.

The entire team was heading to Madikeri for a two day trip. We were sitting in the bus. When Disha got onto the bus, only two seats were vacant – the driver’s seat and the seat next to me.

“Yeah, I definitely mind! Why don’t you try the driver’s seat?” I suggested. I wasn’t sure whether I was trying to exhibit my sense of humor or I was showing my frustration towards her. It’s not that I was loud but those who heard it, laughed loudly.

It’s not always that people laughed at my jokes. And when I saw them laughing I felt like continuing with the same. “Why are you staring at me..!!I was just trying to empower women. You know..!! Women driving the bus, leading from front..!! This what society wants, a nation driven by women”. Only a few laughed. Those who didn’t must be feminists, I supposed.

“This is what happens if you try to act formal with your best friend” said Vinya, looking at Disha. Disha threw a threatening look at her and Vinya fell silent.

“I thought it was minimum courtesy to ask. So I asked” said Disha and sat next to me. But she made sure that she said it loud enough for half of the colleagues in the bus to hear. Those who were laughing stopped their laughter.

She, then, looked at me with a triumphant smile. I acted as if I was ignoring her and looked out of the window. And then I saw the bus driver entering the bus through the front door. He was about to sit on his seat when I signaled him to wait.

“Bhaiyya..!! Please rukiye!!”(Sir ..!! Please wait...!) I said.

“Kyaa hua saabh??” (What happened? ) he asked. Everyone in the bus looked at me with curiousity.

“Madam se ek baar permission le leejiye. Madam keh rahi hai ki bina permission liye seat pe baitna acchi baat nahi hai..!!” (Seek permission from Madam once. She is saying that it’s not decent to sit without taking permission), I shouted at the top of my voice.

Half of the people in the bus burst into laughter. Rest must be jealous of my sense of humor, I assumed. But Disha had turned completely red. She was feeling embarrassed. I gave her a triumphant smile, the way she gave me minutes ago.

The bus driver smiled.

*****************************************************************

“Guys..!! It’s so boring..!! Let us play something..!!” said Tanya. More than half of the bus was dozing.

When girls say that they want to play something in the bus, they will have only two games in mind- Antakshari and Dumb Charades.

“Let’s play Antakshari” said Disha.

“Expected..!!” I smirked.

“No one is forcing you Adi. If you are not interested, you can continue staring at Monica” she shouted back at me. The whole bus laughed.

I looked at Monica. She adjusted her dress and gave me an annoyed look.

The game of antakshari began and it went on for the next four hours. There have been certain things about this game that has always intrigued me. Whichever part of India you go and wherever you play, people would always sing ‘Dum maaro Dum’ song when they get the letter ‘D’, ‘Yaayire yaayire’-when they get ‘ya’, ‘Humma humma’-when they get ‘ha’,‘Laal laal hoton pe’-when they get ‘la’ and ‘Gore gore mukhde pe’ when they get ‘ga’.

For the first time, I was hearing Disha sing. She was a terrible singer. But she was one of those girls who would give passionate expressions while singing as if they were singing melodiously. She was bad with lyrics. But her team was winning. And she was the one leading them.

The game ended when most of them felt that they didn’t have any more songs to sing. But then, any game of antakshari should be followed with a game of dumb charades.

“You are joining the game” said Disha, looking at me.

“I am not interested” I said.

“Well, for your kind information - that was not a question. That was a statement” she replied. It was more like an order. I couldn’t muster enough courage to reply. I just looked at her. She was showing her authority on me .Yet, I felt good. Did she still care for me? Of course, she did. But it was me who was trying to shy away from her. It had taken me a great amount of effort to move on.

Teams were decided. The whole bus was divided into four teams based on quadrant concept of their seating position. Evidently, I and Disha fell into one team along with ten others.

 “You going first?” asked Disha looking at me.

I stood up.

“Well, that was not a statement. That was a question.” she smirked.

 “My actions speak better than my words. I chose to respond to your question with this” I replied. Not many understood what I meant, but those who understood laughed. And those who didn’t also joined the others in their laughter.

I went straight up to team number one, who were sitting closer to the driver’s seat. Neetu came forward and started whispering the movie’s name in my ears.

“Mere dad ke friend ke son bada naughty hai”(My dad’s friend’s son is very naughty) she whispered. My ears felt tickled. Aww..! That felt good. But what the hell..!! What am I supposed to do if that guy is naughty, I felt like asking. I threw a questioning look at her.

“That’s the name of the movie, dumbo..!!” she whispered again.

I was hearing such a mile long movie name for the first time. I wanted to ring up the film board to confirm if there existed any such movie.

But I wanted her to continue whispering in my ears. Hence, I acted as if I was not able to understand what she was trying say.

She continued whispering. Before I could continue enjoying the ‘air play’, Disha shouted from her seat, “Dumb ass..!! Make it quick”.

‘You called me dumb ass..!! I will make you repent. Just wait and watch how I am gonna make my team lose’ I spoke in my mind.

“Okay..!!”  I said and raised my nine fingers.

“Nine letters” shouted Sam in excitement. “Owwwhhh...!” people exclaimed in horror as if someone was going to cut my nine fingers off if none were able to guess the movie.

I did my thumbs down.

“Hindi!” exclaimed someone.

I nodded in agreement.

I raised my fore finger.

“First word! Ok cool..!!” said Disha.

I nodded yes. All of a sudden I recollected that I had vowed to make my team lose. I thought of making a wrong gesture. But what should I, was the question. I pointed my three fingers up in the air and rolled them. I didn’t know what it was supposed to mean. Well, who cares..!! All I wanted was my team to lose.

“Mere Dad ke Friend ke Son Bada Naughty Hai” Disha shouted, out of the blue. I stood dumbstruck. Was she some mind reader, I wondered. If so, she must know about all the bitching about her that I have done her in my mind; I was worried.

“That’s right..!!” I exclaimed, with my eyes wide open. Our colleagues sat amused and clapped in admiration.

“Cheating..!!” shouted team one. Of course she would have cheated. I felt like supporting them.

“That was an easy thing to guess..! Nine word movie..!!”  Disha jumped into the battle field. “If you can’t give a difficult movie, then it doesn’t mean that you should accuse us of cheating..!!”. When she fights, Disha resembles those typical Indian women who fight on streets for water. Only difference- she doesn’t pull hairs.

“Ah.. let’s take it the other way you loser. If you don’t have the guts to win, you shouldn’t cheat. Bloody loser..!” Neetu was proving that she could resemble those typical Indian women as well.

I knew that fighting over a stupid game of dumb charades was silly, but I wouldn’t call it silly. What guys do over a wide ball in a tennis ball cricket, girls do the same in a game of dumb charades- fighting like kids.

“One more time you call me a loser and I will ....” Disha looked annoyed and was about to say something but I stopped her.

“Come on Disha , grow up..!!” I said with authority. I sounded more like those elderly professors who would be there to stop college fights. Disha looked at me with fury. I grew wary and turned to look at Neetu.

“Neetu, you too grow up...!” I tried to repeat the dialogue with same authority. Colleagues in the bus were all silent and were admiring my bravery and courage.

“Okay..!! We will play from the beginning..!! This time Disha will enact” I said.

Everyone agreed. She went up to the team and I came back to my seat.

She did thumbs down.

“Indian??”

She nodded and signaled with two fingers.

“Two words..!!”

She smiled and raised one finger.

“Okay first word..!!”

She grinned and made actions in air as if she was holding a flag.

“Flag?”

She rolled her hands signaling that we should come up with more guesses.

“Jhansi ki rani, Lakshmi bhai?”

People laughed.

“Formula one?”

“Leader?”

“Independence day?”

“Republic day?”

She looked irritated. She saluted.

“India?” some bright mind guessed.

She rolled her hands again.

“Country?” I asked.

She signaled a thumb down.

“Rashtra?” I guessed again.

She jumped and pumped her fists in the air. I felt happy.

“Is that the first word?” I asked.

She shook her head. And she made some gestures which looked more like tying a knot.

“Imprisonment­­­­­?”

“Independence?”

“British rule?”

­­She looked disappointed.

“Marriage?”

She smiled again and rolled her hands.

“Husband?? Rashtrapati? President?”

She did thumbs up. So I was right..!! I beamed with happiness. Just that, tears of joy didn’t roll out.

Then, she signaled that we are yet to guess the first word of the movie and she protruded her fingers. It looked more like a flower.

“Flower?” I said.

Great..! She signaled. She rolled her hands again. That meant, we have to come up with more guesses and try to relate the president and flower.

“President wearing flower?” I asked.

No, she shook her heads.

“President wearing flower on his ears. Foolish president??” I asked. People burst into laughter.

“Lotus?”

“Padmashree?”

“Padmabhushan?”

“President who was a flower seller?”. Again colleagues laughed.

Disha showed her middle finger with anger. I felt embarrassed.

“Times up” said Rajesh. Disha looked frustrated. I was in danger of getting screwed.

“What was the movie?” I asked, hesitantly.

“Mughal –e –Azam” she shouted in fury. No one spoke as none could make out how Mughal-e-Azam was related to a president and his stupid flower.

“How on the earth is it related to a President selling flowers?” I asked innocently. Everyone looked pleased that I had asked the question; the answer to which people were dying to hear.

“Well, I was referring to the Mughal gardens Adi” she threw her hands up in the air.

“Is it somewhere the President plucks flowers?” I asked her again. That was a genuine doubt. Most of them had the same doubt I supposed, because no one spoke.

“What the hell..!! You don’t know what the Mughal garden is..!! It’s the garden at Rashtrapati Bhavan. You call yourself an Indian? Shame on you..!!” she yelled. There was a hint of mockery as well.

“I know about the people of India!! I know what keeps them happy and what upsets them and what benefits them. Above all, I know what should be changed in India to make it prosper” I spoke in one breath.

After that no one spoke in the bus. They didn’t even clap.

******************************************************************

It was seven in the evening when we reached the resort in Madikeri. It must have rained heavily in the evening. One could see it even in the dull lit evening. The vast resort which stood amidst the lush green coffee estates looked like heaven. Fragrance of Coffee blossoms and fresh air was everywhere. The sky looked so clear with a hint of stars.

Most of them changed their clothes and straightaway hit the dance floor. I was in no mood for the ear piercing music and went out for a walk.

I had walked for almost twenty minutes when I heard Disha calling my name.

“Adi..!!” she called me from behind, in a soft voice. I turned back.

“Hey..!!” I smiled faintly. She was wearing a sky blue top which looked more like green under the yellow lamp posts. She had tied her hair very loosely after the shower. She had no makeup on and her eyes were sparkling through her green framed eye glasses. In other words, she looked beautiful. But I am not gonna fall for her again, I reminded myself.

“Sorry” she said and plucked a leaf from a coffee plant. And she continued, “My intention was not to make you turn sentimental. I am absolutely sorry..!!” She looked sad.

“Sorry” I said and snatched the leaf from her hand. “I was just acting. But my intention was not to overact to such an extent.” I laughed.

“Shitt..!!” She buried her face into her hands. “Stupid..! I actually thought you had become emotional..!! Mr. Overactor..!” she said and laughed out loud.

We walked for five more minutes under the moon while plucking the leaves from coffee plants.

“I am surprised by the fact that you haven’t done your duty today” I winked at her. But it was quite dark for her to notice me wink.

“Duty?? What duty?” she laughed.

“You know, the duty where you start off with something like this…!! Rohan Sir..!! This is Disha, reporting for duty, sir!! I am ready to get both of us bored.” I posed a salute.

“You mean calling and texting him..!! Oh my god..!!” she laughed and continued, 

“Why do you call it a duty?”, she asked and laughed again.

“Because, it’s a duty that most of the couples have to do..!! Forcing and reminding themselves to text each other even when they don’t have anything to say..!”

“That’s called love..!!”

“That’s called bullshit..!!”.

“What the hell..!! That was rude Adi..!!”

“Sorry...!” I apologized.

I continued “I agree that even if you don’t have anything to say, you should still call the other person to know about his or her well-being. But that doesn’t mean that it becomes a rule to speak or chat for at least two hours a day. You will end up being bored” I was getting carried away.

 Clouds roared and thunder was heard. It looked as if it would rain.

Disha was silently laughing at what I was trying to prove. She controlled her laughter and spoke,“You know what..!! Adi, you have a very good sense of humor..!!”  She paused to laugh again. “But what makes you think we will get bored?”

 “Look, the conversations are more like you are lifting most of the questions from standard templates. ‘What are you doing?’, ‘Had you dinner?’” I mimicked Rohan’s voice.

“‘How was your day?’, ‘What did you do?’ ” she added.

“‘What plans for tonight?’, ‘What did you eat?’ ”, I had done enough research on this topic.

 “‘What’s the plan for tomorrow?’, ‘When are we meeting next?’ ”, she had enough experience in the topic.

“And in fact, ‘What are you doing?’- will be asked once in every three minutes. Guinness should list it as the world’s most frequently asked question”, I said.

All of a sudden, it started pouring and we went under a giant mango tree for shelter. Rain drops were slowly dripping from leaves; I felt cold. Watch read nine o’clock. Slush ran over my feet and brought about a strange feeling.

“Do you know what the most boring part of your duties is? It’s when neither of you have anything to say and you end up saying ‘What else?’ zillion times” - I resumed the conversation.

She laughed again and responded. “And a zillion times, the other person replies ‘you should say’. And sometimes you might even fight, claiming that every time it’s you who does all the talking.  None of the two will actually feel like telling that they don’t have anything else to say”.

There were no signs of the rain stopping.

“And you wait for the other to hang up the phone. And that’s why I refer to it as a duty” I finished hoping I had made my point.

“Okay..!! Advocate Adi..!! You have won the case. I am convinced” she laughed.

I took a bow.

 It was raining cats and dogs. The wind was also blowing heavily.

“So what do we do now?” she asked.

I looked at her. She was looking beautiful, as always.

“How about some good dancing?” I suggested.

“Ah..!! Let’s do it!! We have never danced together. And I want to see how good you are at dancing” she said excitedly and pulled out her cellphone. She took some forty seconds to choose a song. As expected, it was a Rahman’s composition.

Tum ho
Tum ho paas mere
Saath mere ho
Tum yun
Jitna mehsoos karoon….

The song began to play. It was romantic. I held her hands. She held my shoulders. We moved closer. Slowly, we began to dance. The music was sensuous and the rain looked beautiful under the moonlight. We were in a different world, a world with only the two of us.

She looked joyful, chuckling once every five seconds. It was the first time that I was dancing with a girl. That too, under the rain.

Kahin se kahin ko bhi
Aao bewajah chale
Poochhe bina kisi se
Hum mile…

All of a sudden, I looked into her eyes. She looked beautiful with her wet hair. I had never seen her at such proximity.

I continued looking into her eyes.

“What??” Disha asked in a soft voice. I didn’t have an answer. I didn’t know what her pair of eyes was beholding, but I couldn’t stop looking into them.

“Adi what happened?” she asked again and looked into my eyes. We stopped dancing.

I felt the pounding of my heart. ‘Have I fallen in love with her again?’ I asked myself. But the truth was that I had never stopped loving her.

I brought my face closer to hers. She closed her eyes and brought hers closer to mine.

She loves me too, I thought.

All of a sudden, she opened her eyes and moved away from me. I felt like I had been awoken from a beautiful dream. I was embarrassed and hung my head in shame.

But she didn’t look upset or angry.

“Adi..!I am leaving to Mumbai the day after tomorrow. Rohan’s parents wish to meet me” she said.

It was her birthday four days later. That meant she was not going to spend her birthday with me.

“When will you be back?”

“Next Sunday” she said and left in the heavy rain.

I watched her leaving as I stood pondering over the ‘almost kiss’ and her birthday without me being next to her.

“But a question had already made its way into my mind- ‘Had she fallen in love with me?’

-To be continued……

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