And This Is How It Went...

Sab ka khushi se faasla ek kadam hai, har ghar mein bas ek hi kamra kam hai...

Early teen age is not a good time to take important calls in life. Added to that, a bunch of crazy morons surrounding you with all sorts of inputs. To this mix, you add doting parents. And then a critical phase of studies. In between all these, the ever increasing love for the newly arrived MP3s n video games. With the freedom of getting into college and getting rid of the regular uniforms, the heart was pumping than the required speed. This early teen age you know! Now leave all these. Enters a damsel!

Year 1 and 2...

Kya kehke gaya tha shayar woh sayana, aag ka dariya doobke jaana...

Now what... Nothing, the game's over! They say enter a girl and your life will never be the same again. The guy never believed it, still don't too. But his results for next couple of years supported the argument. Studies were at an all time low, parents were big time upset, neighbors were at their spying peak and life was at its most beautiful phase in the weirdest way! Seeing her was a task and how he loved it.  Life was so colourful. It seemed (atleast to the boy) that there is just one world. The feeling of being in love never sunk in. Every night he went to bed, he thought the world might end the very next morning. Those salwar suits she used to wear, those staring for hours, gifts they chose for each other, meetings (don't read dating). Boy, those were days and how it went...

The Next Couple of Years

Mitti jaise sapne yeh, kitna bhi palko se jhado,  phir aa jaate hain...

The next two years were of consolidation. Mistakes were corrected, letter writings were improved (both the language and the content!), call durations increased, SMSs were introduced, meetings took place in locations which can be called as dating sites. The fear within was less, mind started going back to more normal things (read studies, people around). Life started showing its actual colours. Field of study went from Newton's Law to Shakespearan era, started understanding the language of moon and stars, college elections with first glass of beer. It was all happening.

That boundary of McGrath in the first over followed by an unforgettable match against Pakis with Little Master’s gem of an innings was running high in the veins. Then came the long distance romance. The first step. The lady goes to pursue 'higher' studies! And next year her family moves out. It was a difficult phase to the tender hearts. How can the moron stay back, he also made a successful persuasion to move to the same city. And so it happened, the happy years continued. The dating venues redefined. The lifestyles has taken a leap. New city, new people, new aspirations. The long distance has shortened. The first meeting with her parents. Quite a nervous moment. But the boy shouldn't have underplayed like Farhan Akhtar ;) But it worked, again like Farhan :-P. The first four years. Over in a flash like Rahul's trademark back-foot punch. 

The 5^th and 6^th

The 5^th year begun with the downfall of BJP as they tried shining India but were outshined by Congress. ‘Love’ was being taken over by a lot of ‘reasoning’. The guy was just done with a degree in ‘literature’ and the senorita was a graduate in ‘electrical engineering’. The guy's preparation for getting into a good managemet school crossed all boundaries including his sweetheart's home. The co-prep at home was in full swing. Her mother was keen in feeding the guy looking at his physique. And her dad has confined himself into Sudoku and reading newspapers.  

They kind of liked the guy. They always did. The situation was the reverse at the guy's end. His parents never quite found the girl good enough. He never was explained why. But by now their resistance was far less than it was in the initial years. The 5^th year was different; it wasn't as happening as the other years. Yet it was more satisfying than ever before. No more explanations were required to give, less pressure for the career; the questions were less from relatives regarding life. At the same time, friends started moving outside the city for 'growth', the boy could never understand what this growth meant. Was it a practical thing! 

The year no. 6 was the year when many things started again. Déjà Vu. The guy had to move to a different city for his management degree. Bigger, more noise, more aspirations, more opportunity. But he realized by now, that a long distance romance comes with its own share of complications. And tell you what, her highness was quick to do what the guy did 3 years back. She persuaded her parents to move to a nearer city for doing a short study and find a job. Two same people. Two different cities. Two really big cities. Glittering. Dazzling. The guy always preached a thought - men don't cry. It all fell apart when he left home and started staying in a hostel 1935 KMs away from it. He missed his home more than anyone else. She was kind enough to come to visit him once in a month. The boy could never manage to go her city. She balanced it out. This year also marked the lonely celebrations of birthdays and anniversaries. Less calls, least meetings, fewer moments together. The management classes were a different world experience for the guy. She starts her job hunt. He starts exploring new horizons in the field of human resources. She found few new friends. He found plenty of them. The experience of meeting new people in life is an enriching and fulfilling experience in some ways. The people around you completes you.

The Year No. 7

The seventh year started with a lot of promise. The World Cup was due. The guy did better in Accounting papers. Atleast he cleared it. That Winter had set the tone for the whole year. He gets a call that she's through a job. She was happy. So was he, almost. She asked for his view, he just said to go ahead. She moves to a city far away. The long distance thing was back in action. But this time she was pretty ecstatic. He spent the Summer doing his internship. He tried hard to do it in his hometown, so that he could meet her if she comes on a vacation. And the meeting was anticipated. She was about to tell her parents that the moron is the one she'd like to marry. 

She came. She met him. She left. He was told to inform his parents too. He requested her wait till next Winter. It was just the Monsoon in between that she had to wait. Both met again and the first trip outside the city. Hill station. It was just 3 months before his college placements. She goes back.  She goes back with a small fight with him. He saw her off with a positive intent. Monsoon was getting over. Imtiyaz Ali just delivered his first commercial hit & Mohit Chauhan got a second lease of life thanks to Pritam. The movie was a hit, but the lead actors got separated. India was ousted of the World Cup that year. They had a dream run 4 years back.

The placements kicked off. 

He received a call before that winter. 

His first two outings in placement did not click. 

He said he needs a bit more time. 

He was not at all worried. 

She was sounding indifferent. 

Winter has kicked in. People around were getting placed. He was missing her the most.

She said the relationship did not have any more 'life' left in it. He was not convinced. He tried. She made up her mind. He was clueless. She was pretty sure. 

December is a month he celebrates. He went to home for break. Wanted to come back with a stronger self-belief. But he could not. 

That was it. She never called back. He begged for another chance to bring back some ‘life’.

He thought he can turn things around. Then he realized there was this guy who made inroads into her life many a months back. 

She was composed. He was disturbed. He behaved terribly.

And he got placed. Better than many of his mates. But deep down inside he has lost everything.

The next 5 years

Iss ka rona nahin ki tum nay kiya dil barbaad, iss ka gham hai ke bahut der mein barbaad kiya.

He moved on. Atleast tried to. She moved on too. He kept remembering their last meet. But it kept on becoming hazy with each passing day. She planned her new life. People around the guy were always more concerned about him than he himself was and perplexed too as he never seemed to be taken aback by all such incidents. Sarcasm was also there in few statements while giving example of a 7-year courtship time & again. She successfully convinced her parents and happily married today while living in a close vicinity to him.

-------

Kabhi tto meri bhi sunwaaee hogi mehfil mein, maen yeh umeed liye bar bar jata rahaa…

He just got into the mad race where each hour had an objective attached to it. Weekly achievement in grocery shopping, fortnightly achievement in keeping jerks around happy, month end achievement in salary, quarterly achievement in telling his recruits how their life is going to change if they join the organization he works, half yearly achievements in doing training programs on leadership skills and change management and yearly achievement in updating his CV and getting a good hike.

In the transition, he came across few women who came close to him, each of them has their unique identities. Each of them shared a beautiful relationship. He found some peace. He always had his friends who were there for him. Through all his phases. They were his cheerleaders! They were his strength. But when he watches the moon on the second day post a full-moon, he thinks of her. When he visits all those places where he has spent countless hours with her, he thinks of her. And when that Christmas time comes and everyone is in a holiday mood, he thinks of her. 

--------

The guy still lives in that huge city with millions around him, calls it the city of dreams. She still is in that city two hours from him. The guy finally started visiting her city. He calls it official visits. I meet him sometimes. In a local train. In an auto-rickshaw. Chasing his employees to be loyal to the company, to return empty handed most of the time.

--------

It all started on a chilly winter evening on 25th December. He said I Like You. She said I am sure this is not what you want to say. The year was 2000. He could not pay the PCO guy the full amount. It was a long 'call'. But it was a 'call to remember'.

Kaunsa sher sunaoo mein tumhe, sochta hoon.... Naya uljhaa hua hai bahut, aur purana mushkil...

(This is my first piece which I have written in local trains, inside auto-rickshaws, next to parking lots, before going to sleep, inside restaurants, during lunch breaks and listening to songs that moves me from my Cell phone. Bringing all of those thoughts together was a task. And had to cut it down to small write-up, so that one won’t get bored with it. But more than anything else, the experience of writing it was quite fulfilling for me. The lines used in Hindi were mostly written by Javed Sa'ab.)