Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow-1

Note: Story for http://weandwords.blogspot.com/2008/07/best-in-lounge-story-writing_29.html
(*All characters and situations are fictionary. They bear no resemblance to anyone living or dead. This is my entry for the short story competition at Writer's lounge. This is the first installment of the two part story)

I checked my watch. It was only 10 in the night. I had headed straight from the airport to Turquoise Cottage. It was a special night. I was returning from the States after completing an offshore project for an year.

It is tough staying away from everything you love. The smell you are so used to, the roads with their potholes, the traffic, the maddening rush, the cutting tea, hanging out with friends, those gossip sessions, and those idle moments with Richa…the spark in her eyes, the smell of Charlie which for me had become synonymous with her, her curly locks which I admired..

“Sir! Would you like to order something? You won’t be able to avail the happy hour benefits later. This is the last order”, the waiter had broken my chain of thoughts.

"Ah..ummm…huh…yaaa! Get me a Bacardi please…small….with sprite yes!" I placed the order. I glanced at my watch once again. It was 10:15! "Where the hell are these morons? What had Rashid said? Dude, you be on time! We will be there in TC(Turquoise Cottage) to welcome you. Damn! And here you go! I will be having my drink all alone!" I had asked them not to come to the airport fearing that the girls would need another session of make up before heading to this popular discotheque. My attempts at time management for my gang had failed miserably. The results were evident from the empty cushions surrounding me.

The interior design of TC had me in awe right from my MBA days in Delhi. Ultraviolet bulbs gave this place a dark and cool look. That along with flickering candles created the perfect ambience for greeting alcohol. Your eyes didn’t take long to adjust to the semi-darkness.
TC was our favorite hangout. It was here that we had celebrated the end of every dreaded trimester in our MBA days, sticking to shoestring budget. And today when our monthly earnings were much more than the amount we spent on drinks at TC back in our student days, we didn't have the precious "time" to catch up. Strange are the ways of nature. It always keeps you deprived of one or the other thing. And you continue living in the hope that one day; everything would be according to your wishes. Hoping that one day, everything would be fine. And you slog on, till the realization dawns! That too, when you are on your deathbed. And you continue hoping for a better life in your next birth! Hope…hope..hope! How much I had hoped and prayed that I would not be the one packed away for the offshore project to States. Everyone back in office wanted to go. I didn't. Because I loved it here. Because dollars never excited me. Because for me, being close to people who mattered was top priority. I wanted to be with Richa. Richa, my enemy!! She used to question my every presentation in the class. I would put in hours to research my part, fearing Richa would take me on. I never knew when that enmity turned into friendship.
Richa was a rare breed. A blend of someone who is modern yet so simple, who is cute yet headstrong, who looks dumb yet may stump you with her intelligence. I secretly admired her. I secretly wished she would be mine. That one day changed everything for me. We were crossing the road when she had pulled me back seeing a speeding truck. We stood on the divider for the next 15 mins where I was pacifying her that I was fine. She looked even cuter with the tears spoiling whatever make up she had put on. She was punching me hard and I kept holding on to her. It was that moment that gave me the courage and I proposed her in a single breath. Richa was the craziest person you would ever meet in your lifetime. She didn't take even a second to reciprocate my emotions. She slapped me! Right there…on the divider! The lucky souls who noticed this had frozen in their motions, their jaws dropped and stares fixed. The impressions of Richa's fingers were still fresh on my cheek. My face was moist with tears that had trickled unknowingly due to the impact. She was not looking at me. She had her gaze fixed on the traffic signal. It had turned red and still our feet were cemented. We didn't cross. I didn't know what to do. I later realized I never needed to! The light turned green. Richa turned and fixed her gaze on me. She pulled my hair, as hard as she could. I screamed in pain and more tears trickled. She pulled my collar. She put her arms around my neck and looked menacingly at me. "Couldn't you find a better place to confess your love you pigeon head? Now bear the consequences Mr. Sandeep." No sooner had the words escaped her lips that she pulled me closer towards her. I could feel her breath on my cheeks. I closed my eyes and prepared myself for another blow. And she didn't disappoint. The only difference being this one was far more pleasurable. The lucky spectators who had witnessed the slap and were patient enough to wait for a few more minutes would have nearly missed their first heart attack. Richa kissed me passionately and kept hugging me for the next 5 minutes right at the divider. Some started whistling wildly and clapping. There were some morons who booed. I am still grateful to them that they didn’t throw stones at us. I was lucky not to be caught by the so called guardians of Indian culture at this passionate public display of affection. The vehicles on the road had deliberately slowed down and the occupants had theirs heads stuck out of the windows…each one of them. I could neither see them nor hear them. I had turned blind. I had only the sense of touch intact. And that department in my brain was working well beyond its capacity to ensure that I felt every moment of that passionate kiss. I still feel the taste of her peach lip-gloss…the touch of her soft lips…..i still…..Aaaaaaaaaaaah! A blow landed on my face. I was caught totally unaware…

"Sandyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! Broooo!!! Man…you seriously look a US return man!! Ooooooh!! Just look at you…you have put on man!! I bet you were on meat 24 x 7…Just look at your one pack flab…or should I call it a family pack??…Don't you…don't you pull in that paunch of yours! Let it meet your gang……Hey paunchie…This is Rashid…Hello…and meet my sweetheart Alaena. Don't you stare at her paunchie…don't you! She is mine. See…sealed with a kiss…muah! And hey, this is Divya…hey, Divzz…say hiii to Sandy's paunch! He he….And hey hey hey..how can I miss TJ!! Stop smiling you moron and say hiii to Sandy's lil paunchie…and hey…this is my colleague Crystal. That's it dear…wow! You already waving! Oyeeee..Niyati Moti…will you continue being a spectator like always or will you give paunchie a hug…yaaa…that's like it…Cheers!! And now take this dear paunchieee!! Punchhhhhh!" Rashid had punched my stomach hard. I buckled with the pain. I got some more kicks on my ass. TJ, Moti and Divz joined in the assault. Putting up any resistance was futile. My gang was nuts!
There was someone missing. I could feel his absence. Hey, where was that idiot friend of mine? Where was that roomie of mine who had been like a shadow for two years? Where the hell was Adrian?

34 comments:

Comfortably Numb said...

Nice work. I wanna read it again. I will. You know what..I read the rules of the competition and I was wondering how difficult will it be for you guys to incorporate so many characters within 1000 words :P

Moving on to the post...Brilliant. Who said you cannot write romance :P
I really believe yours will be a really strong entry for the competition. Somewhere in between I saw a sentence in Hindi or maybe a word in Hindi...see if you can translate it in English and mention it in parenthesis next to that word. You have tried and you have succeeded in giving your entry a strong launching pad. I believe the second part will really take off from here :)

Cheers!

PS: I will read it again :)

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Anonymous said...

Hi Sandeep,

I am Richa from SiliconIndia. I am also an avid blogger for a while now and participating actively in Indian blogosphere. I read your blog posting and found them very interesting and informative. We would love to see a copy of your blogs posted here, whenever you are posting it on blogger.com. Here are some of the benefits of posting your blogs here:

We have a strong community of 500,000 Indian professionals
Best blogs of 2008 to be published in a book "SiliconIndia bLoG PrinT"
Best blog to be printed in SliconIndia & SmartTechie magazines each month
Chance to be featured on homepage everyday

We appreciate your community initiative here and in helping build a more powerful India! Also, if you have any ideas or want to volunteer to help for SiliconIndia, we would be more than excited to get your help. Pls mail me back at richa@siliconindia.com with your suggestions and feedback.

Richa
Blog Editor – SiliconIndia

Vinayak said...

Nice post
It is truly very difficult stay away without any body you love.
Nice post keep it up

Karmasura said...

wow.. really nice wish u all the best for the competition bro..

is there a similar competition for poets?? ;)

Ruchi Agarwal said...

Nice one dear.... nice to c you back on track...

Anonymous said...

Nice post keep it up

Unknown said...

tough call!!

Kishore said...

gud one...It wud be tuf in the competition if u cud trim still further...

anusha said...

so so so !! After Mussadi's tragic love story.. we have another!! i hope this doesnt turn dukh bhari. i have no clue abt the competiton rules.. bt i hafta say.. it kept me hooked. i wanted to read it..n i read it twice. nicely written as usual. description of teh kiss is ah well.. interesting!! hehe 5 mins on road!! impressive! hehe
and yes it made me curious and waiting for the next part!!. it doesnt seem to be a fiction though.. ifnt a reality..thn a fantasy!!

Guruji!! dhanya ho!!

Sandeep Balan said...

@choteeee aka khushal/numb

wow..that means something...coming from the master of romance...u bet yaar...it was really difficult to incorporate all those characters and still create a background...1000 words is a crime when you attempt romance, a fact which you would back. I could not afford to let Richa think over Sandy's proposal...he he..i had to make her accept it then and there!! i tried reading it again n again for that hindi word of yours...cudnt find one...which one are you talking about yaar? still to pen the second one...hoping that it takes off from here...hope..hope..hope!! he he...do read it again n dissect!!

Sandeep Balan said...

@priyanka..

wow..thats priyanka..never sees the flaw's...always showering praises...egging me to go on...n i live for that comment of urs yaar...u make me feel like a king dear...i hope i never disappoint you...i have got so used of ur praises that i will nearly get a heart attack the day you ridicule a post..he he...thanx dear!

Sandeep Balan said...

@richa

thanx

@vinayak

hey..nice to see you in the comment box dear....i completely agree with ur observation..its very very difficult

Sandeep Balan said...

@attila
he he...would let you know if i happen to come across any competition for poetry bro...n thanx for ur wishes...cheers!

@ruchi
yup yaar..back on track...tu toh aise bol rahi hain jaise main bhatak gaya thaa...yaaa, was a lil bored of the video posts which had become the flavour of last month...out of it for the time being..he he...

@tarun
thanx man...

Sandeep Balan said...

@anurag...

hey..i assume you are saying about the competition...ha ha ha...or was it tough call making sense of my post..he he!!

Sandeep Balan said...

@kishore

i tried my best yaar...i could not trim it further...its really difficult to potray so many emotions in 1000 words...this is the shortest one i could conjure up!

Sandeep Balan said...

@anusha

hmmm...i cant promise of not giving you another dukh bhari story yaar...anything tat ends tragic is for a better beginning..he he...hey..nice to know u liked it...was my first attempt at this genre...i am still not sure if i can write more romantic stuff..i suck big time when it comes to that...interesting is a nice word to use for the kiss..ha ha ha...yup..i think i prolonged it a lil bit...bt then passion u see..he he..guruji aapke liye haazir hain baalike..ha ha!

The Solitary Writer said...

hey woww..thats a good work

woww man this post rocks

good luck

The Solitary Writer said...

hey is she the same richa in ur post

hehehe ;)

Unknown said...

seriously u should think about writing a script for movies.. because u have got all kind of emotions in it..

its a really cool blog..

so are u planning for a continuation ??

Sandeep Balan said...

@stephen

thanx man...great to know that it rocks! thanx thanx thanx...abhe oye!! which richa are you talking about?? this is fiction moron!!

Sandeep Balan said...

@ani

oh my god!! movies...hmmmm...you wiling to shell out money to watch my scripts being shown on big screen...he he...dont come back with a stick later and demand your money back..am a poor soul you see...he he!! thanx for that compliment yaar...fultoo masala movie right! ha ha..cheers...keep coming back...will try to keep the blog "cool"...hope not to disappoint you ever...chao..

parth said...

amazin post dude....

seriously too good

Unknown said...

very gud work..
Nice to see ya work after a long time..

The Solitary Writer said...

lol mron


i was trying to pull ur leg man

peter said...

nice pleasant read !!!
carry on !!

alx said...

brilliant narration
jz loved richa
:)fiction suits u n if i go back 2 ur older posts those suit u as well
ur just brilliant
hats off

Sandeep Balan said...

@ parth

seriously thank you boss... ;)

@prasanth

hey...nice to have you back after a long time...great to know that i didnt disappoint you after all thist time..

Sandeep Balan said...

@stephen..

hmmmm...teri toh!! he he...

@peter

thanx man!

Sandeep Balan said...

@alex

put back your hats on buddy..he he..thanx a ton for the appreciation...i also missed writing fiction after that mussadi series last month....this one was special coz i wrote after a gap of a month since the release of the mussadi series...thanx for making me realize that fiction is my strength..cheers! keep comin back...

The Solitary Writer said...

wasaa sandy bhai

Anonymous said...

that was really nice sandeep...i'll be a reagular reader from now on:)

... said...

Hope is Intoxicating.. too much of it may be a bad advice

Nice write up!

Anonymous said...

*feels ashamed of being the 34th*

Sandeep, you know I need a frame and state of mind while writing, and specially commenting. I am glad I was the first one to read this story and cherish it. I felt it in me. maybe because it had my name in it? maybe who knows.

*looks out for Rashid* :P what a nice couple they made, alaena and Rashid, No ? hehe.

i like the story and now when i have completed the second part as well, i re read it and realize that you have a very strong narration power, you know. You can narrate a story, I cant. I can only focus on one event, one day, one minute, one phase. I cant relate One life and specially people. My men are womanish, girlish, like me. I can not narrate a man's side of the story. I cant creat characters and then make a story out of them, I can only relate things to me, I'm glad since this one has a protagonist me as well, so it was not very tough.. tough however :)

I like the start of the story, thetime and the name of the cotage, fills in blue color to the story already :)

the past and prest, his reminiscing quite nice. good for a prelude to real story. Richa's sudden introduction which tells people somethings fishy :p !!

overall very nice..