Authors: Manjiri Prabhu
“No, of course not,” Jatin lied. “But sooner the better…Oh, and I’m rich by two thousand rupees! A gift from Priya
didi
!”
“Wow! And I thought you said she was a nightmare!”
“Did I?” Jatin grinned, feigning ignorance.
“What do you plan to buy with it?”
“I don’t know. Something for Naina, I think. I surely don’t mean to use the money for myself. And right now I’m going to keep this envelope in your drawer. I’ll take it when I need it.”
They sipped their tea in companionable silence.
“Boss, do you need me this afternoon? I mean, we aren’t working on anything and…”
“As usual, you have a date with Naina,” Sonia completed.
Jatin grinned sheepishly. “Actually, I was planning to take Naina for a movie.
Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge
!”
“How romantic. But Jatin, you’ve already seen
DDLJ
thrice!” she reminded lightly.
“Boss, so have you!” he retaliated. “And so what! It’s a great film with loads of lovely songs. And I’ll be seeing it for the first time with Naina! And then we have to go shopping. She wants to go to Wadekar Jewellers and buy some silver for a friend’s wedding. It’s her favourite shop and Mr. Wadekar knows me personally, so I’m going to help her choose the gift. And then I’m going to take her home. I want to introduce her to my parents.”
“Oh! Introduce her, as in—this is my good-friend-cum-wife-to-be?” Sonia asked carefully, hiding her surprise. Jatin was surely taking long strides in a very short period of time
His grin widened. “Not exactly. I shall do that only after you give me the green signal. First you read the horoscopes, give me the thumbs-up, then I propose, and then I announce! Right now, she will be introduced as a special friend. But I’m sure my parents will take the hint.”
“You’ve got it all lined up in your head, haven’t you?” Somehow Sonia didn’t know why she was so surprised. Was it because of the speed with which Jatin’s love affair seemed to be rolling? Or because she never really expected him to ever get this serious about any girl?
“Go ahead,” she told him. “But Ganapati is drawing to a close. After that, you won’t have so much time courting your girl-friend,” she warned.
“I know that, Boss. That’s why I’m making the most of this time. And take my advice, you should use this holiday, too! Go out with Mohnish, go to
DDLJ
with him for the late-night show.”
“No thanks!”
“Or simply romp around town with him, the weather’s so romantic, so perfect for two souls in love to be together—”
“Hold it! Who said I’m in love with Mohnish?” Sonia exclaimed.
“You don’t have to say anything, Boss. Your eyes speak for you.” Jatin aired his opinion grandly.
“I agree with you. Sonia has the most expressive eyes I ever saw!” Mohnish remarked, entering the room with a flourish.
Sonia blushed. What perfect timing! How much had Mohnish heard? Jatin could be such an idiot at times. She scowled at her Assistant, but he was grinning from ear to ear.
“By the way, why
were
you complimenting Sonia?” the journalist asked, drawing out a chair and making himself comfortable.
“All I was saying—” Jatin began.
But his Boss cut him off neatly.
“Do you want the day off, or not, Jatin?”
she asked him, in her best blackmail tone. She felt like throttling him at times!
“I want the day off!” Whistling cheekily, he left the room.
Mohnish grinned. “You and Jatin constantly share secrets and leave me out of it.”
Sonia laughed and rolled her eyes heavenwards. “Secrets with Jatin! He’s more used to ladling out mature advice to me.”
“Has he been urging you to leave this office and spend some time out in the beautiful outdoors?”
Sonia was a little startled. Had Mohnish put ideas in her Assistant’s fertile brain? Or had he actually overheard their talk?
“More or less!”
“Good, because I was going to suggest the same. What are you doing for lunch today?”
“The usual.”
“Come on, then, let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“Don’t ask irrelevant questions on such a lovely day!”
“Don’t you have work to do?”
“I’ve followed your excellent example. No cases for you these ten days and no media work for me, too! Though that’s not strictly true, of course. I do have a coverage of the last day, the
visarjan sohla—
the procession of the immersion of Ganesh. But that is still two long days away. So why worry about it now? Are you coming or not?”
Sonia sighed. Everyone seemed to be dominating her nowadays. First her parents, her Assistant, and now Mohnish. Well, all right. She may as well be a little flexible! And accede to Jatin’s advice and have a good time!
And she did have a whale of a time. Mohnish drove her all round town, pointing out and pausing at the huge
dekhave
decorated with images out of Ramayana and Mahabharata; life-size mythological figures; a sixty-foot statue of God Hanuman; water sprouting out of the top-bun of the hair of Lord Vishnu; or just plain mountainous idols of the Lord Ganesh. Even though the
dekhave
were better appreciated during the nighttime with their dramatic lighting, the crowds still moved around them as if they were on a permanent picnic.
It was only while they took the turn from Chandanai Chowk to Mulshi that the rain began its downpour again.
“Now where are we going?” Sonia felt invigorated, excited, and heady. She couldn’t care less where they were headed, she felt so relaxed.
“We’re going to have a late lunch at a personal favourite restaurant of mine!” Mohnish announced. His hair was wet and tousled with the wind and rain and he looked disturbingly handsome in his jeans and blue denim jacket.
The drive took fifteen minutes down the serpentine road, with stretches of green trees on the right and rolling hills on the left. The rain pattered on the roof of the car. Sonia glanced at Mohnish’s profile, noting his total concentration on the slippery road. Suddenly he turned and looked at her. Their eyes locked momentarily, and for precious moments, time froze. Then he tore his gaze away and focused once again on the road. But Sonia was reeling with the impact of the look. There had been so much desire and intensity in his smileless gaze that suddenly the close confines of the car made her uncomfortable. The gaze had stoked emotions she wasn’t even aware she possessed and her heart had picked up erratic speed. She stared out of her window at the lush green hills and took slow, deep breaths.
When they had parked, they had to make a run for the restaurant so as not to get completely drenched. It was only when they were seated that Sonia realised that they were on a hill, overlooking the bloated Manas lake. Despite the rain, a weak sun shone, layering the landscape with gold.
“What a lovely view!”
“Isn’t it?” Mohnish looked pleased. “I knew that you could appreciate it.”
“I hope the food is good. I’m hungry!” Sonia admitted, smiling. “You order. I’m going to go fetch two
bhuttas
for us!”
Before he could respond, she rose and headed towards a man in kurta pyjamas and a muddy white scarf tied around his head, roasting
bhuttas
on a cart. Mohnish watched her stride gracefully to the man.
Sonia turned to flash him a quick smile. She knew he was observing her and thinking about her. But for the moment, she felt in a better frame of mind to accept the fact. Neither conscious nor ill equipped. She experienced an unrestrained thread of freedom run through her. She could cope with anything today!
The man turned the two cobs on the hot coals till they were a crusty brown, then rubbed salt, red pepper, and lime on them.
“Put lots of chili on them, please,” Sonia told him, extracting money from her handbag.
He placed the cobs on a corn cover and took the money.
Mohnish observed her as Sonia and the vendor exchanged comments. She was such a unique person, he thought. Beautiful and elegant when the occasion required it; tough and indomitable at times; and compassionate, empathetic, and concerned when the need arose. A perfect combination. And in the car, that one moment when he had looked at her—it had been a moment of truth for him and it had hit him like a jolt. He was in love with Sonia!
As she walked towards him, he decided that he had to do something about it. Today. Now. She slipped into the chair beside him.
“Lots of spice and lime. I hope you like it that way,” she said, handing him a cob.
“Thanks, I’ve ordered
Pav Bhaji
for us.”
“Good, I love it.” She bit into the cob, savouring the spicy, tangy taste.
Sonia was silent as she devoured the
bhutta.
A frown marred her pretty face.
“Do you know, Mohnish, a person is like a corncob? You think the corn is so big, and then you peel away the multiple layers and you discover that, bare and stripped of its covers, it’s almost half the size inside. Most people are like that. But you barely notice it, since it might take a lifetime to peel away the layers of self-defence, respect, greed, love, age, and God knows what else. And there’s the possibility that you may never ever get under the layers at all. In a majority of the cases.”
“Hmm…” Mohnish shrugged. “Most people
do
live with all the layers on anyway. Layers which they themselves aren’t aware exist!”
“Right.”
“What brought this on?” he asked, curious.
The waiter arrived with the
Pav Bhaji
and Sonia waited for him to leave. The rain continued to fall around them, enclosing them in misty white. Sonia watched idly as a group of youngsters arrived in a Jeep, ran into the shelter of the restaurant, laughing and giggling,
oohing
and
aahing
at the landscape.
“I guess I’m thinking about Jatin,” she remarked, spooning her
bhaji.
“What about him?” he asked, tucking into the meal.
“He seems pretty serious about Naina.”
“And does that bother you?”
“Yes and no. He’s too young to get married or even to get serious about any girl. Of course, that’s my opinion. He doesn’t seem to think so.” She grimaced. “He’s madly in love with Naina. That guy is on a mission and nothing will dissuade him. He’s simply waiting for me to read Naina’s horoscope and give him the green signal. And somehow I feel responsible. I don’t
want to
give him the green signal just yet, but I guess if all is well with the horoscope, I will have to.”
“And Naina. You do approve of her, don’t you?”
Sonia took a few seconds before she responded. “I like Naina. She’s beautiful, she’s sensitive, she’s perfect for him. There’s not a fault I can find in her.”
“So then, what’s the problem?” Mohnish asked. “I thought the two were very well suited when I met with them at your house the other day. Jatin is a lucky guy.”
“Yes, but she has a sister who is completely dominating and frightens her to death!” Sonia narrated the asthma incident. “I’m afraid Priya may continue to influence and affect Naina all her life. Basically, she doesn’t seem like a nice person.”
“You cannot choose your relatives. You just have to accept your family as it is and move on. And besides, Jatin can’t have it all. He’ll get a perfect mate in Naina.”
“I guess you’re right. But Jatin’s not perfect himself.”
“Now, that is an argument that won’t gel!” He laughed. “Worried that Jatin’s admiration will now be divided between you and Naina?”
Sonia smiled. “I’m not certain that’s a bad thing to happen! He pays far too much attention to me anyway. Always correcting me in a condescending and patronising manner, thinking he knows what’s best for me. But he’s a dear. Can’t think of a day without him!”
“Hey, now you’re making
me
jealous!”
“Jealous?” Sonia raised startled eyes and found him staring at her, a burning intensity in his brown eyes. A thick lock of hair fell attractively over his forehead and she had an urgent desire to flick it away.
He leaned forward and casually took her hand in his. A shiver ran down her spine and her throat went dry.
“Sonia, you’re a beautiful and intelligent girl and…I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while now, but somehow couldn’t muster the courage. Or the occasion wasn’t right. But I’ve decided that I’ve got to get it off my chest. I—”
“Stop!” she gasped, and snatched her hand away abruptly. “Don’t say a word more!”
“But…” He looked startled.
“No, not now. I’m not ready!” she exclaimed, desperate to put an end to the breathless thudding of her heart.
“Ready? I was going to ask you to pay the bill. I’ve forgotten my wallet!” Mohnish burst out laughing.
Sonia blushed beet-red. “You…What! You tell a girl she’s beautiful and intelligent so that she can pay the bill?”
“Sometimes.” He stopped laughing, but continued grinning. “Okay, that’s not strictly true. But you panicked. And I had to shake off that stricken look. You looked as if I were about to announce a death penalty!”
“You’re impossible!” Sonia shook her head, a mixture of contradictory emotions flitting over her. Disappointment and annoyance rolled into a dash of relief. Then her humour surfaced and she laughed. “All right. I admit I panicked. Now, have you finished? I have some important work to do and I must return to the office. Do you or don’t you have your wallet?”
“I do, ma’am!” He dug into his back pocket and extracted a black leather wallet.
“You deserve a punishment for that sick joke,” she said sternly.
“I’m all yours!” He paid the bill and rose, a wicked grin still on his lips.
Sonia averted her gaze. “Good. Because I have a busy evening lined up for you.”
“I can’t wait!”
They both raced through the rain to the warmth of his car.
The huge Banyan tree sheltered the couple from the light rain as they sat in peaceful silence on the yellow-painted wooden bench beneath it. Jatin was sitting cross-legged, humming a song from the movie they had just seen under his breath, holding a huge black umbrella in his left hand as the rain fell softly around them. He couldn’t believe that the moment was here. The moment which would change his life forever. He shot a glance at Naina, her face serene and angelic in the moonlight.