In Delhi (Part 2)

“How do I deal with this ‘abruptness’ thing?”

“Go ahead, let them know about us.”

“If I do that, I will do it my way.”

“You do have surreal ways, but then you are the writer.”

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Everyone queued up giving rise to an unnecessary commotion as the train approached Delhi. This is the funniest thing that most of us do without realizing the fact that the train will not take us further than the last stop. I, as usual was the last one to step onto the platform.

“Hello there”, said a familiar voice, but I could not locate him.

“What were you doing inside for so long? I was waiting here for almost an hour “, fired Roshan.

Before I could reason it out, a few more statements followed, each making me realize what an idiot I was. Before I go further, I would like to introduce my friend Roshan to you.

Multiple girlfriends (never two at a time).

Loud music and rash biking (never two at time).

My romance guru… I listened to his instructions carefully and made fun of him later.

In the meantime, Vishal and Preity had come to bid me goodbye. We would meet the next day at an arts exhibition and according to her it would be a grand event if I called her and set my arrival time with them. She made me promise that I would call.

She smiled, waved her hand and was out of sight within minutes.

“Who was that?” chuckled Roshan.

“My girlfriend” I smiled.

“Not presently, but can be, if you listen to me” he said like a thoughtful professor.

“Spare me your lectures for the time being, I just want some rest” I said.

But who cares, my ears went through rigorous pummeling during the half an hour auto ride that we took to reach his apartment. All his plans pivoted on the fact that I would call her and talk to her.

She called at 11 p.m.
“Hi, I’m Preity…..remember?”

“Of course, err….how is it going?” I mumbled.

“You forgot to call this evening, so I thought whether you still remember or not…” she said with a hint of sarcasm.

“Don’t be silly, I was just going to.”

“It’s already eleven now” pat came her reply.

“I thought you might be busy and call rates are lower after 11:30 for me.”

Engineers are never short of excuses and a logical counterpart always strengthens them. She would never get past me with reasoning, I thought.

“We both are Vodafone users and I am aware of all their schemes. Just be there at 7.”

She cut the line. Damn, this time you are dealing with a smarter species than yourself, I thought.

I reached there at 6:45 p.m. sharp, the sharpness being the result of her last night’s call. The hallway was full of people but lacked commotion; a murmur was all that one could hear. Inebriated by the opulent show of modern art, people perused every single work perennially. I, as naïve as one could be, found their gestures quite outlandish. As my efforts at decoding the first few works went futile, I gave up, but kept a confident countenance as I went through the rest.

I found myself looking at an oil painting that had the wreck of a ship while a gruesome sea-storm formed the backdrop. This was the only one that I fully comprehended, given that it was a simple oil painting and there was actually nothing to comprehend.

“A moon up there in the sky would have given it more depth”, I observed, accentuating my presence to the guy standing next to me. He looked at me preposterously and went ahead.

“It is not what catches the naked eye”, said another 30-something man who had overheard me.

“This represents the wrecked state of the human mind”, he showed me a small sign located at the upper-left corner of the picture which had eluded me. It was the artist’s signature of representing a human mind.

“And a moon would certainly be incongruous”, he chuckled.

I smiled like a kid at the epiphany and quickly made my way out of the hallway.

It was 8 and she had not turned up yet. I called her but she did not respond. It was foolish of me last night, I thought. She had waited the entire evening and then had called me. It was quite justified on her part to be upset with me. I looked at the hallway again only to find her coming towards me with her signature smile.

She wore a black dress that resembled a gown and I would not be able to detail further as I am bereft of the knowledge of women wear. For the first time in life, my arsenal of adjectives had failed me to perfectly portray a proper noun. As she came close with large, confident strides, I went blank. I could not hear the murmurs, could not see the people in the backdrop. She occupied the centre-stage and rest was all blurred. I was myself again as she greeted me and apologized for not corresponding. I kept quiet. She spoke some more, but all of it went over my head; my mind was not prepared yet for its usual functioning.

I composed myself and restricted my mind from going haywire.

“Where’s Vishal?” I tried to be normal.

“Oh, he has some other commitments. He will be late.”

“Okay”

“What are you doing tonight? Let’s dine together.”

“Err…”  I was taken aback.

“C’mon, you are not well prepared for an excuse right now.” She smiled.

Half an hour later we found ourselves seated in a vegan restaurant. She asked me what I would like and I replied that as it was a vegan course, it did not matter. Everything tastes the same, I reasoned, trying to get back my not-so-profound sense of humor. I relied on it badly to get me back to my usual self.

She talked about her family, her hobbies, her likes and dislikes and all that was necessary to describe her. I gave her a good audience while keeping my mouth shut.

“You are always quiet.” she stated.

“Are you always quiet?” a question this time.

“Not always, but most of the time.”

“And also very brief. Why?” she asked.

“It’s a habit. I have completed my 10^th from I.C.S.E board. Marks were deducted for not being succinct.”

 “I just love your humorous ways”, she laughed out loud. I hoped she loved me too.

Roshan’s apartment. The next morning.

I saw him digesting three newspapers one after the other….one of his more urbane interests. Last night’s episode was dictated to him with him interjecting with one or two questions here and there.

“So it was she who took you for a date?” he said wryly.

“It was not like a date. It was just…”

“Of course it was, you idiot. Hopefully you both shared the bill, right?” he was dripping sarcasm.

“Actually, she paid it. You know my theory; I never pay for vegan food…”

He threw the paper aside and launched an attack almost choking me.

“You good-for-nothing fellow……blah blah blah….You don’t deserve a girlfriend…blah blah blah… You don’t even deserve a friend like me” He burst out.

After a while he calmed down.

“How can Roshan’s best friend be so unromantic?” he asked God.

I, like a loser kept quiet. I knew, I had let him and moreover my own self down. She was due to leave for Jaipur this evening and if I didn’t act deftly, I would certainly lose her with only myself to blame. He chalked out a plan for me. Yes, he was my best friend and despite all my foolishness, wanted to help me out. I mentally prepared myself as I waited for the clock to strike five.