Trains,Facebook etc
Old readers of this blog would perhaps remember that the first post on this blog had exactly the same name..
Sometime in May 2013,my blog turned 3..Even though I do not scribble that often nowadays,reading what I have written over the years is as good as sitting in a time machine and going back in time...
Feels good to reminiscence over the good,the bad and the juvenile..*Ugly I won't say because my narcissistic self loves almost everything of whatever I've ever written*
The story you'll read subsequently is a big time modification on what initially went up on the blog in 2010,the intention being a selection hope for a story-writing contest...
I took down the initial post in accordance with the competition rules and now that my story didn't make the cut,it goes up on the blog.
Ah...and this is the customary anniversary post as well,even though it was written sometime in August 2012
**I'll keep coming back to you scribbling**
Trains,Facebook etc
The message read “Hey there, Lady Dexter!!...Would love
to meet you one last time before I graduate & leave the city…let me know
when you get time”…Having read & re-read it at least 10 times, weighing
all the different ways she could have construed it,I finally pressed the ‘send’
button..
It felt awkward
sending that message,considering the fact that we hadn’t had a conversation
since ‘our Birthdays’, which incidentally fall on consecutive days…
With only 2 weeks to go for my commissioning,I was desperate
to have a final brush with everything memorable that Pune had offered me during
the previous 4 & a half years..So
farewell plays had been written & enacted,farewell Quizzes had been
hosted,passing Final MBBS had been celebrated with a fervour hitherto unseen
& handwritten-heartfelt notes had been stacked neatly in my drawer(to be
given to friends who would have left around the same time)…But the feeling
that something was amiss was a little too obvious…Just that I couldn’t pinpoint
what…Hoping that ‘it’ would surface sometime soon if I gave it a break,I tried
to shift my focus to other things…Uniforms,clearances,tickets-there lay so much
abegging my attention..
----------->>----->>-----
It was on one such trip to the Lohegaon Air Base,to order my
uniform,that I ran into Vishesh…
A senior from Medical school & now an Air Force
doctor,he was someone I knew pretty well,having worked on the college Magazine
together…The senior-Junior gap notwithstanding,we treated each other as friends
& we decided to meet up once I had collected my uniform.
Gossiping over a round of drinks,Vishesh had a naughty smile
on his face as he reminded me how we had first met..
I was a fresher back then..Standing in a row of crew-cut cadets,I
had drawn attention by my audacious declaration that there wasn’t one beautiful
girl in our batch,notwithstanding the fact that it had been just a week since
the session began..We had been asked to describe ‘certain facets’ of the
beauties of our batch by a bunch of seniors…Having never engaged in dirty talk
before,I had reckoned that was the easy way out…
I was being heckled by a group of rowdy seniors for my ‘audacity’
when Vishesh had intervened & taken me aside…He seemed amused too… “Going
by the outright dismissal of your female batchmates,you either seem to be a
female heart-throb or a philosopher…Which one are you??” he asked,the
sarcasm palpable .. “neither sir” I said,visibly dismayed… “Your face
tells me you aren’t a former…& even though you do not talk like one of the
latter variety,I’d love to know what you’d consider beautiful ”he seemed
friendly & that was a big reassurance…
“sir!!..A beautiful face might often define attraction but
for many,it might not necessarily be the only factor at play...someone whose
talk cannot exude the same charm as her face would perhaps fizzle out as soon
as she walked into your heart…the ability to have meaningful conversation with
a person whose thoughts one can connect with is perhaps more important than
opting for someone just with a lovely face..for a thinking male,the most attractive
thing in a lady is perhaps confidence” I rattled out something almost like
one of the ‘investment-is-subject-to-market-risks-kindly-read-carefully-before-investing’
ads on TV.
“Guys!!we have the first philosopher of the fresher batch-a
thinking male” he shouted out with
slow claps & a sarcastic chuckle, sending scores of seniors into peals of
Laughter…
“Boy!!Considering the way you talk & the way you
think,you’d perhaps have met your girl if she makes you feel like scribbling,into
diaries,behind notebooks…a poem…or maybe a story or two” he had spoken just
as the literary secretary of the college could have spoken…
“Sir!!..but I’ve
already met someone like this-my English teacher” my writing experience
limited to the compositions & letters written in school,I let out a
wisecrack in my mind & smiled to myself…The suggestion had seemed funny back
then…
We had just finished reminiscing through the whole story
when he drew out an invitation card from his desk… He had finally found his
soulmate,she taught in an International School… “It was all magical,the way
we met & the way your ideal girl description fit her persona step by step…My
girl,your criteria…& now its become mine as well” we had laughed away…
“Hey..that reminds me,found somebody who could make you feel like writing??”
The conversation set me thinking….Had I ever met someone who
had made me want to scribble??... Was it the ‘it’ I seemed to be missing out
on??...
14th December 2009
Aboard the Pune-Howrah Azad Hind Express,I was
on my way back home after a term well spent in medical school..Aided by easier
subjects & a lesser workload,I had finally managed to strike a fine balance
between studies & extra-curriculars...& having done decently at both ,the happiness was palpable…Sitting
amidst a group of 5 others,I had been jabbering away to glory..
The first glance had been incidental..Having somehow managed
to drop my phone from the top berth,I had ventured off to the adjoining segment
looking for the SIM,the memory card & the battery which had all been sent
astray..There she was,sitting with a couple of male friends & from what I
saw she seemed to be equally talkative..Of course,I couldn’t stare any longer than
the casual glance,lest she’d notice...My phone finally assembled into one unit,I
climbed back to my berth,the occasional glance thrown in every now & then…
Taller than the average Indian girl,she looked heavenly in a
white salwar with a light pink dupatta…A radiant face & a pair of glasses
thrown in for the geeko effect,she looked too good for me…Not to mention her
tresses,trimmed till the shoulder & a perfect set of pearly white teeth,which
added to her charm.…Every look seemed to be revealing something new…
A fashionably huge
handbag,which could perhaps have doubled up as a suitcase in times of
need,partially hid a novel whose title I couldn’t gauge from there…
‘Well dressed with a keen sense for accessories & fashion!!’…Looking
for reasons as to why such a stunner would talk to me was perhaps like looking
for a camel in Antarctica…And to rub insult to injury,she already had two guys
for company,who both looked pretty rough to me…Convinced that I didn’t stand a
chance,I decided having a nap was the best option..
As time was to tell,things were to change drastically…
In hindsight,the way it all started, it appeared almost
Bollywoodish…Well,how else would you explain 3 of my friends getting down at DURG,her
ruffian friends getting down at RAIPUR,the last friend of mine
left aboard going to sleep & me deciding to watch a movie on my laptop…and
and…the laptop having no charge with the only free plug-in being bang opposite
to where she was seated..
Picture this…A winter afternoon…Two strangers sitting
opposite each other on a train that moves in spurts & jerks,surrounded by
people all engrossed amongst themselves…Ideal surroundings for things to
blossom??...I certainly didn’t think so…I was rather overwhelmed just to be
seated opposite the beauty…I plugged in my earphones again & began watching
a recording of the ‘Freshers Show’ we had done last year…Her gaze fixed
out of the window,I managed to steal glances at her quite often & all my
inspectory findings from the top berth were confirmed…
But a conversation still seemed a long shot..She seemed
almost oblivious to my presence…
However,a certain ‘toing’ sound was to
catch everyone’s attention soon…that irritating sound was my message tone… Most
people around me looked startled initially only to break out into smiles later…She
had noticed it too…*imaginary fist pump*… never had I loved
VODAFONE more…I was still checking out my Inbox when my phone ‘toing’ed again
& this time she couldn’t suppress that irresistible smile…Boy!!was I happy…
The Classic kept in front of her was very enticing,to say
the least…I did consider it as an ice-breaker,doing it the old-fashioned way,
but attempting it when I myself hadn’t even heard of the title would perhaps
have been foolhardy...
It was time for a heavenly intervention & it came soon…
She guided me out of my misery by initiating the
conversation herself…
“Are you from AFMC?” she finally asked. She seemed to
have noticed the college logo on my sweatshirt, which finally seemed to be of
some use..
Having stolen innumerable glances at her earlier I wasn’t
one to miss out on this golden opportunity.I looked straight into her eyes;I
had every reason to do so, since she was the one who had initiated the
conversation.
Still marvelling at the wonder in front of me I was woken up
from my awestruck pose by the same voice, this time accompanied by a smile “Excuse
me!...You are an AFMCite…right??”
I realized,I had been staring at her.Sheepishly,I nodded in
agreement.She knew one of my seniors at college,having studied at the same
school as him.That kickstarted our conversation.
I was more than happy,for finally I was talking to her…And
thankfully,there was more to her than just a pretty face…She made for
intelligent & engaging conversation…
And my excitement showed…my funny bone took over & we
shared quite a few laughs..At one point,I seriously wondered if I was that
funny coz the guy beside her was very
carefully dissecting me with his stares & occasional coughs…Perhaps he
couldn’t tolerate the fact that the girl sitting mum right next to him for the
past 2 hours could talk & giggle like long-lost friends with a guy she had
met only half an hour back…HAHAHA…men will be men…
Her revelation that she was a Research Scientist shocked me
for her looks and her profession were as different as chalk and cheese.
“You Doctors don’t have much scope for research. Do you?”
she asked.
“I’ll be taking up a research project next term.” I
replied,even without thinking..
“If you need my help,
come over to my institute.Our professors would be more than willing to help”
“Now, is that a hint she dropped?”..“Should I ask for her
number?” Countless questions crowded my mind, all answered by a single line
“Don’t ruin your college’s image by acting foolish”.
“Okay, I won’t” I promised myself and the chitchat
continued till it was time for her to go…
BILASPUR seemed to have arrived rather quickly
even though the train was a full hour late…Starting from Research projects & Medical exam vivas to the novel she was carrying,the conversation seemed to have
a bit of everything…Fuelled by IRCTC dip tea,we both seemed to enjoy
each other’s company,so much so that I had the bright idea of asking her name
only when she mentioned that she’d be getting down at Bilaspur…Having shared an
awkward look,we had both burst out laughing...
“Nice meeting you.” She said and after a handshake,she
moved towards the door pushing her trolley bag.
Another dilemma seemed
to cloud me then-How far should I push the ‘chivalrous armyman’ I
was supposed to be??...Paying for a teacup was okay but the idea of facing her
Dad if I helped her down with her lugguage seemed to squeeze the daylights out
of me…Perhaps,it would’ve been as uncomfortable for the girl..Come on!!now
which girl introduces a guy she’s just met on train to her Dad??…So,I came
up with a diplomatic solution..I simply asked her “need help?”..But of
course,she responded the way any upright,modern woman would have…
Now that she was leaving,I almost felt numbed by the
feeling…There was so much I wanted to say,but the time available seemed agonisingly less…
Just as the train screeched to a halt,something inside me
burst out and I shouted “Hey! How do I get in touch if I need help???”
“Take my number.”she
shouted back.That statement almost bombed my ears and I again went numb,this
time due to joy.
Some commotion brought me back to life.I saw a stream of passengers
between her and me,all ready with bag and baggage.She was looking at me,waiting
for a reply.Coolies had started entering and people started jostling for space.Still,she
held firm.She needed an answer.By now people had started giving us angry
stares.
Feeling uncomfortable I shouted“You on Facebook??”
“Yup“she replied.
“Ok,I’ll send you a friend request on Facebook”.
If I was right,she had disbelief written all over her
face.Nevertheless,she alighted and I kept staring at the door.By the time I realized
my folly,it was a bit too late.Hoping to redeem myself, I ran out of the door
only to see her leaving with her father.
And I went silent…I had a sad look on my face almost
bordering on repent…
“The story doesn’t end there..Does it??...you still wait
eagerly for your train journeys back home,your facebook friendship has spread
into real life & you probably even dragged your lazy bones to do a research
project” Vishesh had burst out laughing… “that’s how the story ended
…didn’t it??”
“How did you know??”… “been there,done that boy,but the
real question is,has she ever made you feel like you’d want to write for
her,weave stories with her in the lead role??”
My expressions changed & I had burst out laughing…. “Oh
boy!!Can’t believe you fell for it”..
“If I didn’t weave a story right now,then what do you
think I just did??..I had let out a loud chuckle…”the end you thought
of,happens in movies,books but seldom in life,you are lucky it happened in
yours” his astonishment seemed to grow with those rather serious words of
mine…
“Come on man!!I was serious when I asked you that
Question..you had been fooling me all the time??”astonished,he refused to
believe I had been bluffing for the past 10 mins..
----->>>----->>----->>----
And even though I didn’t acknowledge it,his belief was true…Yes,the story didn’t end there…
I still wait for my train journeys back home…Pleasures of a chance meeting not lost on me,someday,I hope to run into you at one of the ice-cream parlours or momo joints we frequented,or perhaps brush against you in the city bus or maybe round the corner as I’m walking down the road…Or simpler still,on a train back home-where it all started…
The train exists,as does my facebook account and so does the girl..
Love or no love…lady,if you ever read this I’d like you to know that you’ve made me put pen to paper…I have scribbled behind notebooks,a para here,a para there…diaries..blogs …I’ve rediscovered my love for writing… & It all started with you…
Ah!!...that reminds me,I need to meet her before I leave…
My phone just ‘toing’ed..
‘ Sunday at Dorabjee’s’ she just
replied back *return of the imaginary fist pump*
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