You and I, plus 2 years of marriage!

When time stood still!

{4}

Have you ever woken up by a sudden whiff of love? I have. Even though a year has passed since my break-up with Asmi, I have been shaken out of sleep by her fragrance. If ever love had a scent, it smelled like her. Today is one such morning. One moment, I was sound asleep and the next moment, I am up on my bed panting for breath. For a brief second, I could only smell her, a strong scent of roses. The wall clock showed ten minutes past six in the morning. There was no going back to sleep. I decided to take a shower and reach office early. Unlocking the screen on my phone, I realized that it was a Sunday. God cannot be crueller than this! The days I visit the office are much bearable compared to holidays. But looking back to the initial few months, I am much saner now. The heartache was a savage pain that consumed me. I never let my mind dwell over her. The moment, I was drawn towards her memories, I crowded my mind with more work. Those were also the times when I fiercely took to cartooning as if my survival depended on it. Only a beautifully sketched cartoon gave me some respite from the pain. Tara was a great deal of support at office. She did not even once bring up Asmi’s name between us. In fact, she covered up for my missed days of work. If not for her, I could not have taken that trip to Rajasthan. Yes, indeed a very unusual choice for a break after a heart wrenching break-up. But the vast expanse of Sam desert, the Junagarh fort at Bikaner and the life inside the Golden fort of Jaisalmer indeed gave me a whole new perspective to life. I returned transformed and stronger from that solo journey of seven days and six nights.

After a leisurely shower in cold water, I set out to prepare my breakfast. I prepared egg sandwiches which tasted amazing when teamed with mayo. It was half past ten when I received a call from Jenny. She did not have to put any effort in convincing me to visit her. Jane Wilson and Kunal Iyer have been my best friends since childhood. We were neighbours and we literally grew up together. Kunal moved to Mumbai after securing a job as a software developer, while Jenny is a psychiatrist. I reached her home well in time for lunch. I could almost hear the musical cry of her toddler as I parked my bike inside the compound of her house. When the door opened, an involuntary smile spread across my face.

‘Hey Rudra!’ beamed Kunal at the doorstep.

‘Kunal! Bloody loser! When did you come to Delhi? You did not even tell me when we spoke a couple of days ago,’ I complained giving my friend a bear hug.

Together we stepped into the house. Angel almost ran to me as I bent down to scoop her into my arms. She was the most adorable kid that I had ever been so comfortable with.

‘Unky Roo,’ she squeaked and planted a wet kiss on my cheek.

Jenny walked into the living room holding a feeding bottle in her hand.

‘Finally, the losers are back together,’ she said with a snigger.

Shifting Angel to my right hand, I gave Jenny a one-arm hug. In return, she thrust the feeding bottle in my hand.

‘Where is Andy?’

‘My husband has transformed into Chef Andrew for the day. Let me go and check on the biryani before he turns it into black carbon,’ she replied rolling her eyes.

Jane and Andrew were a match made in heaven. Initially, Kunal and I had our own apprehensions about him because he was quite an introvert during our first meeting. We had almost concluded that her marriage was certainly going to put an end to our friendship. But we were proven wrong when he personally invited us home for lunch, a week after their wedding. We bonded as if we were some long lost friends. Their home in Vasant Kunj became out regular hangout spot. I sat on the sofa with Kunal and put the feeding bottle to Angel’s mouth. She began drinking it hungrily.

‘So what brings you to Delhi?’

‘You will not believe it! I am getting married,’ he said shrugging his shoulder.

I was left speechless for a couple of minutes. My best friend was getting married! It is not something that you can accept so easily. My immediate thought was that I was going to miss our Saturday night beers. But who am I fooling? Ever since he went to Mumbai, we barely meet only once in a few months. So technically, him getting married now, was not going to make a big difference to his physical presence around me. Yet, it was that emotional presence which I was going to forego to his wife. The very fact that he would belong to someone else, was indeed overwhelming. I felt as if, a part of me was going to be relinquished at the altar of his marriage. Despite all this grief of missing my best friend, I was still happy for him. I only prayed that his wife turned out to be a female version of Andrew, who never snatched away Jenny from us.

‘Congratulaions bro!’ I said slapping his back.

‘Thanks man. I still cannot believe that I am getting married. It all happened too fast. Next month 20^th is the wedding,’ he said grinning.

‘What is her name?’

‘Nisha. She is an architect. Presently, even she is working in Mumbai but her family is from Delhi. She is in fact, my mother’s friend’s daughter. Our parents insisted that we meet and then decide if we wanted to share a future together. Initially, I was very apprehensive about this whole idea of an arranged marriage. But when I met Nisha, we just connected. I was comfortable being with her. She is talented, beautiful and very charming. There is no reason why I should not marry her.’

I observed his eyes while he spoke about his future wife. His eyes were literally dancing with happiness. That moment I knew that he had indeed found the woman of his life. Angel began noisily slurping at the nipple of the feeding bottle. I took it out from her mouth and lifted her to slightly pat her back. She let out a soft burp indicating that the milk had made its way into her stomach.

‘By the way, where are you getting married?’

‘In my grandmother’s village. I have always wanted to get married in the serene atmosphere of the coutryside. And you all are staying with me for a week during my wedding. No excuses Rudra!’

There was a clear threat in his last sentence. I would not miss his wedding for anything in this world.

‘Of course, I will be with until I see you off to your honeymoon.’

‘You better,’ he said and walked into the kitchen carrying the empty feeding bottle. I began pacing around in the living room, gently patting Angel’s back. Slowly, she was lulled to sleep.

Andrew carefully gave a stir to the biryani and closed the lid to let it cook. Jane was chopping the cucumber for the raita.

‘Did you tell him?’ she asked without looking up.

‘I told him only about the wedding,’ Kunal said letting out a sigh.

She stopped moving the knife and glared at him.

‘Why? He is going to know about it the moment he reaches the venue. It is better that he be prepared.’

‘He will certainly not come to the wedding if I tell him now.’

‘But don’t you-’

‘He is right, Jenny,’ interrupted Andrew.

She turned around to shoot a look of disbelief at him.

‘Let him come to the wedding. Later, we can talk to him,’ reassured her husband.

But Jane was not convinced. She dreaded to even think how Rudra would react when the secret would be revealed to him. She only hoped that they would be able to handle his break down.

‘Nisha is Asmi’s cousin. How do you think Rudra is going to react on seeing her?’ she asked crossing her arms.

Kunal and Andrew glanced at each other uneasily.

***

I was glad that I had boarded the train. Usually, I am not that grateful for boarding a train. But that night, I was. Although, I realized it only later. I was assigned a side lower berth for my journey from Bengaluru to Chennai. The gentleman who was seated on the berth above me, seemed a little restless. It was 11.30 PM and the train was scheduled to leave by 11.45 PM. After placing my luggage under my berth, I sat with headphones over my ears.

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo…

The breeze from the window slowly brushed over my face. The air was heavy with a promise of rain. Closing my eyes, I let Rahman’s voice transport me to somewhere out of this world. My eyes opened when I felt the luggage being moved under my seat.

Tum hi socho zaraa, kyu na roke tumhe? Jaan jaati hai jab uthke jaate to tum.  

Right when these words were playing, I saw her for the first time in my life. She was dressed in a loose white cotton kurta and a pair of grey cotton pants. A pair of white pearls adorned her ears with her hair bunched up on her head in a messy bun. A few curly tendrils had escaped her bun which grazed her shoulder. The man profusely thanked her while she accepted it with a polite smile on her face. Soon, the man left with his baggage and she placed her trolley next to my bag under my seat. I folded my outstretched legs and sat up straight.

‘May I help you?’ I asked removing the headphones from my ears. My voice sounded like one of those customer care executives who receive your call after several minutes of annoying music asking you to wait.

‘No, thank you. I can manage.’

It was a very simple response, yet the way she told it made my hormones jump. She looked up straight into my eyes with a warm smile and mouthed those words in her husky voice. She had a voice which was effortlessly seductive. Later, she picked up her sling bag and climbed up to the upper birth. All the berths in my compartment were occupied in the next few minutes and the train began to move leisurely. I had kept the window open while it began to rain outside.

‘Excuse me,’ she called from above.

Quickly I moved my head out and looked up.

‘Are you going to sleep?’

‘Err… not really,’ I blurted out the truth.

‘Would you mind if I sit down on your berth?’

My throat went dry hearing her words.

                         To be continued...