Nikhil, the guy who used to live in every moment, one who used to create a great atmosphere wherever he used to go, who was the star among his friends...; was in a completely engrossed mood today, way different than his normal self.
To Arun and Vyomkesh’s surprise, Nikhil got up very early today and was the first to catch the office bus, the same bus which he either used to miss or used to come running to catch it at the very last moment. Usually the atmosphere at home also was full of music…loud music and lots of crazy hullabaloo, courtesy Nikhil; but today, there was pin drop silence coz the one who used to be the trouble and laughter creator was in a different world altogether…
Riya, the girl who sits next to him in office waved in the normal chirpy style, “HI NNikheeeel…wasssssssup dude?”, but Nikhil was staring his computer screen deeply engrossed in his own thoughts with three lines of tension clearly visible on his forehead. Having felt unnoticed, something which a beautiful girl can never stand. Riya puffed Nikhil hard on his shoulder…”Kya bi…where are you?” Khair leave all that. Tell me, “Kaisi lag ri hoon?” “Look! I have got this new shade on my hair…don’t u think it’s awesome…””Also, what about the new sexy pair of sandals…don’t u think they rockkk?”
Perturbed enough and moving his eyes wherever Riya was forcing them to, he just could say, “Wonderful Riya!” in the end and he got back to his screen again. By this time, chirpy Riya was already mad, she threw her dazzling bag and went straight to the canteen to fetch her daily dose of Sugar Free Black Coffee, and yes, she obviously didn’t ask Nikhil to tag along.
Nikhil realized he had committed a big mistake; this is not the way he should behave with his good friend, Riya. Though he didn’t want to engross his mind anywhere else but at the same time he even didn’t want to hurt Riya. He went to the cafeteria where Riya was sitting already facing the window sipping her hot cuppa coffee. Nikhil took a glass of water and sat in front of her, with the same long face.
“SORRRY RI…I’m sorry!” just those words and Riya burst out with laughter, “Baj gai naa! Aage se never behave like that with mighty RIYA!!! Chal bachhha Nik, now quickly tell me Mai kaisi lag rahi hoon? And then tell me your Love story.”
Nikhil was surprised and a thought again crossed his brainy neurons, “Why and how is it that true friends understand the entire situation so quickly without even your saying a single word. And when the friend is of the opposite sex, the understanding is always Bang On…!”
Before he could say, “How do you know?” Riya said, “I know mahn, don’t I know you?..Well, that’s the only reason I have spared you for your misbehavior today. And by the way, even I haven’t heard annnneeeeething interesting from a long time now”...She winked with a cheeky smile.
It took only a few moments for Nikhil to narrate the entire night’s happening to Riya and he ended the scene-by-scene account by just saying, “Riya!!! Dammit….I don’t know what’s happening to me, but I really..truly..madly..deeply have fallen in love with her.”
Listening to the entire account like a sweet small kid, Riya gave her typical big-time consultant look and popped out her suggestion, “Look my dear Nik, why are you so tensed???...DUDE!!! You have her number…right? Call her and ask her, how does she know you?”
Nikhil thought, “Goddamn! Riya is great as a friend but I hate her when she becomes a consultant friend…OH!” Grasping his emotions and controlling the same for that moment, Nikhil could only show a smile.
Whatever Riya would have suggested, Nikhil liked the idea of at least calling Bhargavi to meet her somewhere because at this time, He couldn’t concentrate on work; in fact he was not able to concentrate on anything. Wherever he was seeing, whatever he was doing, wherever he was going, he could see only those beautiful eyelashes and those curled hair...
Since, his thoughts were going nowhere, he picked up his phone and dialed in the number…
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4 years ago
4 comments:
Ring 1…ring 2…ring 3..
Man..why isn’t she taking the call…
Ring 4..
“hello”
Nikhil was awestruck..he knew she was the girl..and after listening to her voice..he forgot all of that confusion..and he knew..he had to get her..get her to like him…
This time he decided that no matter how much he had fallen for her..he wouldn’t let himself be weak..
“hello…do u want to speak”Bhargavi’s voice had a sternness he couldn’t understand.
“Hi Bhargavi..Good morning”
“Hi Nikhil…how are you?”
“Well…have been good…and you?”
“Couldn’t be better!”
“Why the heck is she so happy..i haven’t slept in ages it seems..im all turmoiled..and shes beaming like she jus came back from a vacation…”Nikhil was surely irritated as he thought that ..anyways..he decided to march ahead with his planned conversation..
“That’s great..ummm”
“So u have been thinking a lot about what I told you..havent you?She interrupted…
“Well..i think its kinda obvious..right”he had to be stern n confident here..she was way smarter than he had thought her to be..
“So I have been thinking a lot..and I guess..its important that we should get to a consensus”Nikhil was talking his B school lingo..
“Consensus..goodness..you plan to sign some business deal with me..Mr MBA”she chided
“What the heck…shes just cutting on to everything im saying…”he thought..but he couldn’t give up..so he continued..
“Well..Im not talking about any business deal here…but yeah..we could keep that for the future,,something like a joint venture,,but as of now..its gotta do with you..and me..”
“Hmmm…ok”Bhargavi was trying to listen now
“well..i tried hard..and I don’t think we have met before..infact im sure of it..coz if I had..i would have surely known...I really don’t know how you know me..and if it is for the good or the bad…and frankly speaking..im not thinking all of it..all im thinking of is..getting to know you..better..and not like a mystery book im trying hard to read”Nikhil was almost gasping for breath as he finished that
“oops..that was heavy..so I didn’t know you were a serious person..so if I shorten your statement..u r planning to fool around with me too huh”she was getting cheekier.
“play around!!!!!what are you saying?”nikhil was surely shocked..
“I just want to know a few things Bhargavi..and I do not want this hide and seek business too..why don’t we just talk about things in detail..nothing more..and nothing less” he was trying hard to control his agitation..
“Well Nikhil..if you want to know me..im not telling you..u need to guess,,but if you are trying to insist for a meeting..so you could discuss like you said..u could try and put it directly..coz im really really surprised that you have to use so many alternatively heavy words to ask me out!!!”
Nikhil..he was dazed beyond words..she could hold all his nerves..and he wouldn’t even know..but the challenge was getting better..and now he seemed to be liking it..
“Hmm..so if you have already guessed..do you think u would wanna meet me and just talk about it all..nothing more and nothing less..”
“and what makes you think I will agree?”
“I am just hoping..thats all”
“hmmm..i’d have to think..anyways..when have u planned it?”
“today evening..same place?”
“aren’t you working..its a Monday”
“I can leave early..can you?”
“Hmm..i guess I can..but only for a while..”
“ok..then I’ll wait for you at 630?
“hang on..i didn’t say I was coming”
“ohh…”
“jus kidding…will be there…c ya…”
“okay!!”
Nikhil breathed a sigh of relief..and checked out the time..”Jesus..its just 11”
He spent most of his day waiting..and by 5 he called it quits..he couldn’t wait any longer..and since he hadn’t done anything substantial at work..he called his manager..and asked for an early leave…His Manager Jerry had sensed since morning that Nikhil didn seem okay..so he let him go…
Nikhil was out and he was already thinking on what he could buy for her..afterall he was gonna meet her the first time..and this time..she would be right in front of him..He was going crazy with excitement as he picked up the bunch of daisies for the pretty lady..
He landed there at 6..half an hour earlier than the scheduled time…which was totally unlikely of him..but hell..life was unlikely for him for the last 2 days..
So he stopped by at one store and picked up 3 big boxes of chocolates..
“I cant give her something big…shes a different girl” he thought as he smiled to himself..
And at 615…he was there…sitting on the same table..where he had seen her first…and lost it all…
Be it his friends, his girlfriends, his relatives, or anyone, Nikhil was known for making people wait. Everyone knew him as Mr. Late, but he used to fancy it as his style-statement… “Sorry girl…Damn the traffic!!! By the way, you’re looking wonderful today, n hey, jo punishment dogi…haske sahenge…”, This was his punchline and girls used to feel flattered…
But this was the first time Nikhil had come out a full HALF-an-hour early for someone…and this was one time where Nikhil was really waiting with a lot of anticipation…
It was 6:35 PM in his watch and he was looking at the escalator with longing eyes and he saw beautiful curly hair appear on the floor, he gasped “Wow, she is on time…how nice…”
But as the girl turned, to his dismay, he realized she was not Bhargavi, the one for whom he was yearning. Morose…he kept waiting…
His Swatch turned 7:30 PM and while every second was passing so slowly, Nikhil finally decided to give her a call…he felt perturbed…she might be stuck in the traffic, or oh…has something wrong happened to her…?
A sheer thought struck Nikhil’s brainy neurons, “How come I have not even met this girl properly ever and still I have started caring about her well being, how strange this feeling was to him, he couldn’t realize…”, he gave a dumb smile to himself which he could see on the empty glass kept on his table…
The watch turned 8 and he was getting restless with all sort of weird thoughts now crossing his mind, restless...aghast...confused…he dialed in Bhargavi’s number…
Ring1…Ring2…Ring3….
Ring4…Ring5…call dropped…
He dials in again…“All routes in this network are busy; please dial after some t…” Holy shit...he gasped, dials again…same result…dials yet again…and again busy network…Nikhil started to perspire…“Where is she, what has happened to her”…is she safe…its 8 PM already, even if she was not coming, she could have given a call…But nopes, there was no call, not even a message…
Nikhil’s life was on a standstill, “What should I do, I don’t know where she works, where she lives, what’s her office number, what’s her home number, I knows nothing…and she is nowhere…”
Suddenly his eyes went on to the AV screen right in the centre of the food court…as-usual there was a news channel smitten by BREAKING NEWS, but what struck him were some gory pictures on the screen…
“Serial blasts in Delhi, Terror strikes the capital again”, Nikhil was out of his senses, there was nothing he could do, maybe he was thinking too much…a tear strolled down his eyes and he thought, “Mahn…I haven’t cried for ages and where and why the hell This tear comes from my eyes…
He dials Bhargavi’s number again, still network congestion. News analyst on screen was showing 9 blasts that had hit the heart of Delhi two hours back, all the major market places being hit by terror attacks. But, there was nothing he could do…”My Gawwd, please save her…I wish she is fine…such a sweet beauty, why would some terrorists would like to take her life…”
And his heart started pounding seeing those images on the screen, why the hell they kill the innocent…what harm are normal people doing to them that they are killing common men…someone’s son, someone’s wife, someone’s father…, sometimes in Mumbai, sometimes Ahemdabad, sometimes Jaipur and this time in delhi...why the heck???
It turned 9:30 and Nikhil was all lost…he was hysterically dialing Bhargavi’s number…lost by his senses, he came down to the ground floor to check the streetsl…still dialing the only number that was making him mad today…what if her office is located somewhere on the site of blasts, what if she was crossing the same streets while coming to meet him, “Why only such grave thoughts are coming to my mad mind…I m all puzzled”, he shrugged…
There was police everywhere as he stepped outside the mall area, checking every passerby…, traffic was jammed on the roads, there was no place to go. His home being close by his place, he preferred to walk coz that might give him some more time to find his ladylove. Holding the chocolate boxes, the daisies, against his body with the help of one hand and holding the mobile phone in his other hand, Nikhil started walking up. “I want to kill those bloddy terrorists”, he thought. “I wanna see Bhargavi, God just make me meet her once. Just once.”
It was 10:15PM, and he heard his phone ringing…
Dropping all the bags in his hands on the side-lane, he saw the screen…
‘Bhargavi Calling…’ flashed the screen…
Nikhil looked up the sky…a sweet smile on his face and he clicked the green button on his phone…
“What the hell…where are you…dammmit…you could not inform me once…ditcher...” the words were still pouring out of Nikhil’s mouth…
“Hold it…hold it…dude, what has happened to you, do you know there are blasts in the city and I’m not so mad that in such a situation I would come and meet you…I still have an aspiration to live…and I know you don’t sponsor any bravery awards…and even if you do, I’m not interested…”
The tears had faded away from Nikhil’s face but the sweet chuckle was growing unbelievable…“You know I can’t explain what I went through during the past 5 hours of waiting in the mall…I have never waited for anyone for so long…I was out of my mind...might have called u a zillion times already…”
“So Mr…What do you think? Have I not tried your number? I was trying to call you every now and then to inform that the situation in the city is bad and it’s not at all a good time to meet. And here you are, must be dating some girl over there…hmmmm???”
Though she was being crazy, though she didn’t know what Nikhil had gone through...Nikhil was smiling and strolling faster towards his destination now…listening to the blabber…which he was almost loving now…his smile was growing bigger with every damn cute word she was uttering… and every step he was moving…
He was relieved..and yet totally aghast by what had been happening all over the country for all this while..
Why are we so hell bent on killing each other…why cant these terrorists just simply let the common man be..why are innocent people targeted for their ghostly ideas…
Lost in all of this thought..he didn’t realize that he was still on call..
“hello..are u psyched out or something..whats with the long pauses you take..iam hanging up now..”Bhargavi was clearly irritated..
“Ohh..I am so sorry..I have just been thinking on all the crap happening ya…its very disturbing..”Nikhil sounded shaken
“Jesus..you..and disturbed…since when have u developed this sensitive side to yourself Mr Nikhil…it sure is hilarious and unbelievable”she was laughing already
“What do you mean..you think I love it when all of this happens”Nikhil was surprised
“No..i never said that you love it..but iam sure u don’t even care”she chuckled..
“Okay..so per Miss Bhargavi..I am the biggest villain roaming about loose in the city..right!”Nikhil tried to joke back..
“Well..did I say that..but its ok as long as u believe in it”she wasn’t giving up…
“hmm..ok..so since we didn’t meet today…do you think we should plan it again”Nikhil was back on track
“Well..the first plan of meeting u caused bomb blasts in the city…the second just might turn out to be deadlier..do you think I’d be interested in taking the risk”she said
“Hmm..so should I take it as a no”
“I guess you should take it as an I don’t know”(Bhargavi was surprised at her own answer,,,she had to say a clear no..in any case she wasn’t turning up today to meet him…then why this,,)
“Hmm…but I will wait for you tomorrow..same place…same time”
“You don’t have a job?or just got fired”
“None of the above..but I can do that much to see you…”
“Persuasive that you are…keep waiting..i don’t know if im gonna turn up or not”
“Never mind..I will eat one more serving of the noodles they make…but I’ll wait..”Nikhil was gaining confidence,,since atleast she was keeping the conversation going..
“Alright Nikhil..happy eating then..i gotta go…byee”she rushed
“Bye..”
After the call,,,there were two sides to the story..
Nikhil was smiling..he was content..even if this girl didn’t like him..he was sure he would make her do that,,,
He was sure that she was the girl for him..and for the very first time..Nikhil was ready to wait for her…forever…
Bhargavi..she was surprised..Nikhil wasn’t turning out to be like what she had heard of him..He was nice..and caring..and subtle..and so far a no nonsense guy…
And she did not like that..
She was talking to him more than she was supposed to
She was smiling on his comments..laughing with him..
And already confused about tomorrow..she wasn’t supposed to go…but she was confused..
And she wasn’t liking it..coz she wasn’t supposed to like him…!
Lost in her thoughts,,she decided to make a call….
@ Richa:
Things r interesting...good twist...
But the task is getting more n more challenging to keep our Nikhil's story catchy...
Need to work on somethin really sollid...m kinda out of ideas at this moment...but will get somethin soon...
WAIT n WATCH till thn :)
Hamari pyaari Janta...hai koi idea...:)
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