Sunday, January 23, 2011

Were that you?





Do not trust your memory; it is a net full of holes; the most beautiful prizes slip through it.

                                                                                                                Georges Duhamel
                                                                                              
                                                       ************

“Heyyyyy!!!!”
“Whaaaa….! Who?”
“Hiii! Is that you?”
“What?”
“Look at you! Yes, it is you.”
“….!!!!!??? Of course, it’s me. Who else?” I mean, it is to be me. I suppose, to say the least.
“Whoaaaa!! I am just meeting Dhawal.” Indeed you are, but what gets you those extra a’s in that?
“Yes! That is my name but how do you know me?” I don’t do TV commercials yet. Do I?
“……!!......!!.....??.....!!” What? Say something!! For Christ sake!
“Hey! Why are you staring at me? How do you know me (repeat)? Have we met earlier?” Staring!!! Are you the last hunk over the earth? A girl ogling at you! You gone nuts?
“Don’t say that.” The voice got real low. Seen a pressure cooker nozzle? DITTO!
“But! Really? Yes.. I mean no..I could not recall. May be I have a poor memory. Could you please help me with this?” Ehh! Not many girls I know, fewer I’ve ever met. How the damn could I miss the name of any of them? And just to add, she is stunningly gorgeous!!!

                                                         ************

Oh! By the way, did I tell you how it all started?
OK, here you go.

Same day, 7 hours back.

“Hi! Puneet.”
“Hey Dhawal, is that you over the line?”
“Yes, you bet.”
“Where? At home? In the town?”
“Answer to both of your questions is yes, affirmative.”
“O dear lord of donkeys! What would it take you to show up?” Shut up you crap.
“At your wish, anytime. I’m game.” I’m not good at meeting-goofing-hanging out. Your call.
“No! You decide boss.”
“Are you sure? I tell you, you’d regret, hugely.”
“Go ahead fella.”
“OK, then. Let’s fix it on your funeral. What say?” Not only you suck mate, not only you.
“Sure dead man! Certainly!”
“OK enough! 6 PM in the evening. Is that alright?”
“Sounds like a plan. Yes, that would do. Anything before 11PM is cool with me.”
“And after that?”
“Stuffs you know…”
“Reliance?”
“You cold hearted can say that.”
“Got ya Romeo. It’s OK.” Both men laugh. Humongous!!

                                                        **********

“Don’t you remember me?” silence. “Smriti!!!” She herself broke in.
Ehh!! That can break the window panes for sure.
“Aanhh, haan…. aan? Smri…ti..? Who..?” Bad, damn bad boy!!
Avantika, Anamika, Priya, Niti, Geetika, Reena, Yogita…Smriti?? What?? No! Not in my database.

“You sure, you are Dhawal.” What? Was that a question? I never expected that. OK, at this point of time, I did.
“To the best of my knowledge, yes. I suppose so.” I got the same word incarnated over my passport to say the least. My PAN agrees too. Yes, Yes, Yes, I am Dhawal. Hence, proved.
I tried to lift the moment by being a bit chirpy and casual. Not to mention, I failed… miserably. Have you seen overloaded carts uprooted from the front, yeah, I looked similar.
“The same one from Bhartee Vidyala school?”
“Yes!!” Woila! How’s that? She knows my history.
“Then I suppose you can recall me. Cannot you?” Think hard you frog eyed fool!!
Her smile was dazzling.

                                                ************

I went over the place Puneet and I had decided to meet at around 6 in the evening.
OK, 5:40 to be precise.
By the way, I over do myself in punctuality and I am quite punctual in doing this.

After waiting for some 10 odd minutes over a place in a lively and crowded market, I was bored and irritated. Bored in 10 minutes, seriously!!
These are social offenses and must not be committed so often.
And I totally agree to it, though unhappily.
Following and agreeing go hand in hand, did anyone say that? I’m glad no one did.
BRAVO!!!

I started to take a little walk. You understand road side window shopping, don’t you?
Happily for you, even if you don’t, it hardly matters. Cheer!
I was somewhere in the front of a ladies suit shop when she screamed from the back.

Yuck!
You are awful man! A LADIES SUIT SHOP!!
And add to it, you cannot recall her. This evening cannot get worse. You swear.

                                                    ************

“CANNOT YOU!!” Get up you lagging behind sleeping fool.
“Umm!! I really wish I could. I may, I mean…I will..hmm..umm…”
“That should help.” And I noticed her beautiful smile for the very first time. That was awesome.
I know, I’m silly and that is now CERTIFIED by MYSELF, Period.
“My deepest regrets but it would really help if you can give me a hint or so.” I give up, to be honest. I never felt begging like this before. And I console myself with this statement every time I beg.
“In that street over the Ganges…. ”

“HI MAN!!!!!, where are you? We decided to meet at the T-point. And then your phone? Why aren’t you answering any of them?” Enter Puneet unnoticing Smriti.
Un-noticing!!
How dare he? But eventually, it makes me happy. Not his coming, his un-noticing her does.

“Hey Puneet! Hi mate! Thanks for turning up. I just got to meet an old friend of mine, Smriti. Meet her. And Smriti, he is Puneet. We have been long time school buddies.” Thanks for turning up, huh! What timing, what a brutal timing. I can surly kill you for this.

“Hi Smriti! How do you do?” Puneet displayed his gentleman behavior.
“Fine, thank you. How are you?” 
How is he? He is fine, flabby, rich and lazy. Uhhh.
“Um going great. Nice dress haan! What do you do?” What? Dumb head!!
I didn’t ask a thing till time and now Puneet knows more than me. I am a complete crap. Oh! I said it twelfth time, I better put it as a permanent tattoo over my forehead.

Not that I had any business with her but then there is something called courtesy. I am in a complete mess, really.

“MCom. about to finish this March.”
“That is cool. I am a doctor, a bad one you know.” Acting smart boy!
“Hahaha! And he must be a bad engineering.” What? She knows that much about me. Hey!! What is my blood group lady?
“By the way, aren’t we gathered here for a job treat due on Dhawal?” Puneet never misses over food.
“Hey! Wow Dhawal! Congratulations!! Where man? Calls for a grand party buddy.”
Buddy!! Hmm.
I can reciprocate at least; my words however would be MYSTERIOUS STRANGER!!

“OK folks! As you order. Decide where to go.” Not that I’m so generous and eat out-spend bucks kind of person but I wanted to know more of her. I was trying really hard to recall her.
And yes, I had to keep my promise to Puneet as well.

But, when you press things too hard, they don’t come your way. Isn’t it right?

They just talked and talked over the dining table and I? I was eating-staring-eating-listening-eating-drinking-eating-staring and then we came off.

We three took a walk and again talked a bit before taking leave. I don’t remember what I said or heard.
 She took my contact number (and of course Puneet’s) and as I more often do, I didn’t took her.

I don’t know her, I barely talked to her, neither had I taken her number. All I know is her name.
Fantastic!!
Bull shit!!
I am totally bullshit!!


                                                          ************

It has been 5 months since then today I read this article about huge Indian bullocks.
Suddenly this spurred in my mind.
There was a similar one, a rather bigger one; or maybe I was so small to sense it’s hugeness. Size do not matter, the incident might do.
It was some 16 years back.
In those congested streets on my way back to school, I grabbed a little girl’s hand by my little palms and ran for our lives.
I doubt over my heroics, neither do I remember the exact proceedings but I got numerous bruises all over and won sympathy/acclaims from her parents.
OK, that was more of sympathy to be honest but come on! I think that much is allowed at an age of say 7-8 years.

I never asked her name, what else do you expect me to do in that pain?
I am not sure if they asked mine.
I never met her again.
I had never known her.
She was not in my school either.
16 years is some time, definitely when you are growing biologically. Appearance changes hugely.

Were that you?

Were that you, Smriti?

Oh! I wish Puneet was a few seconds late that day.
I wish I had your number.
I wish you had called me once.
I wish the paper you had noted my name is still intact.
I wish you read this.
I wish someone who knows you might be reading this.

But anyway, if none of these wishes come true, I wish you stay safe and blessed. May be we can cross each other some other day.

All said and done, I strongly believe in the following said by Friedrich Nietzsche:

The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good thing for the first time.

Someday, I would directly ask…………… Were that you? Smriti?? The world is not that big.
See ya!!