'First' ride on the last day. Thank you, Pune. (Hey, that rhymed!)
Facebook notified me of a memory just a little while ago. Looks like seven years ago, on this very day, I had left Hyderabad to go to Pune for my first job. Boy, I simply love Pune (and Bangalore too). I've had some wonderful memories there - My first job, my first time leaving home, my first love, my first heart break too and a whole bunch of other firsts. The most interesting bit is, today, seven years later, on the same exact day, I am slated to leave to Pune, yet again. Now, what are the odds of that happening, eh? Destiny?
Or plain coincidence?
Alright, alright, my post here is not about my journey or Pune. It is only about how Pune brought me close to Ms. N. Remember Ms. N?! It's the same girl from this post who makes my name sound like a melting chocolate every time she utters it. I shall call her Ms. N, going forward (Well, she says 'No' a lot, you know. Very rudely). She is brutally honest but a sweet person and our friendship has evolved over the last two days from those small talks that I talked about to something... meaningful. From the past two days she has been teasing me, talking to me. We both chat using the communicator when I am not busy (simply because she can multitask while I cannot) and I enjoy those chats. I think, chats are something I am good at. :)
My colleagues, along with my manager, know that I have the hots for her (well, the humorous way, only). I have always been open about my feelings towards others with the people around me. I'm never in the fear of being judged. One of the colleagues, a woman, is even married and yet is more than glad to help me in my quest (May be, I do it in a genuinely, adorable way :P). And so, they do all these silly things like leaving the chair next to Ms. N for me to occupy. And when I don't, out of shyness, they compel me to take the seat (Yes, right in front of Ms. N!). It's like I'm back in collage again. Their giggles, 'awws' and telepathic eye-talks have all landed me in trouble, quite a lot of times, with Ms. N. She keeps asking me why they behave in such a way. I am pretty sure she knows why, but she just asks me anyway. My colleagues have talked me into (some have forced me into) asking her to come join us for a coffee today because I'd be leaving soon to Pune. As much as I was scared of rejection, I wanted her to join us and so I did what I have always done since watching 'We bought a zoo' in 2011 - I took Matt's advice about the 20 seconds of insane courage (Something I have been telling Maddy to follow ever since, only in vain)
And to my surprise, she said 'yes'. I was very pleased with the way she reacted. Remember, I talked about how she never seemed interested? I even thought that she was committed. You, sometimes, get that vibe. Don't you? I guess, I was wrong this time. We all went in for a cup of coffee and ended up drinking dry fruit Faludas. We all had a nice time. I had already warned her to finish all her work because I would not allow her to leave unless her bus was seconds away from leaving. So, she sat with us patiently, staring at her watch a couple of times, scared that she'd miss her bus. I still made her sit. She usually catches her bus at 5:30pm every evening. But she was with us and we all returned back to our desks only at 5:40pm, today. She hurriedly started to leave when she got a call and she left while answering it. Meanwhile, I was in a group chat with... who else would it be with but my colleagues and what else would we be discussing but how Ms. N was "totally into me" this evening. Friends.
They joked about Ms.N missing her bus and just then Ms. N returned to her desk. Every one was excited in the group chat. She was speaking to her friend on the phone, explaining some address and telling them to let her know once they reach that point. She told the person on the phone that she'd take a cab or an auto-rickshaw till that point and board the bus. People in the group chat just went crazy! Like they've won a freaking lottery! Even me (understandably so). :) She sat right in front of me (remember our desks?), looked at me and smiled. She did not blame me for this, but smiled.
One of my colleagues, he stood and enquired about the stop where she needed to be while this other colleague, the married lady, straight away told Ms. N that I would drop her. Before Ms. N could even utter a singe syllable, I said, "I would have if I could have. But I have work and I have no intentions of leaving home any time soon. Sorry." fearing she'd say no. However, she smiled helplessly and said it's okay. And the group-chat just erupted - "Are you crazy!, Nobody can help you!, You are just unbelievable, brother." were only a few messages that I could read for I was least interested in them. I mentally nudged myself for this cowardly behavior of mine. The group chat read messages asking me to ping Ms. N and lend a helping hand. But I thought I should do it in front of every one and not on chat. And so, I leaned from my chair towards her and asked "Hey, you'd get delayed if you take an auto-rickshaw or cab at this hour. So... let me drop you and I will complete my work upon my return". She immediately said yes (not that she had much of a choice), and asked me not to delay.
Boy! To maintain a straight face when you are elated, especially when you watch your friends in the group-chat go crazy with some seriously stupid ideas, is a very difficult task. As soon as Ms. N looked down at her desktop, I couldn't stop blushing and smiling. After all, this was going to be the first time, since I bought my bike, that a girl was going to sit on as a pillion. I was super excited! My colleagues had some interesting ideas, you know, one of which I was very keen on implementing where I had to delay dropping Ms. N at her stop and make her miss her bus yet again. This will, in turn, give me a chance to drop her at her home, Uppal, which will easily take 2 hours to reach. That way, I'd get to spend time with her.
It did not take us long before we walked towards the parking lot. She was scared and hesitant to get on my bike as she found it very difficult to get on the seat. After a real struggle and with a little help from me, she finally got on. Once she adjusted her dhupatta and handbag properly, I swear she just couldn't take her hand off from my shoulder (Purely out of fear and nothing more but who cares I liked it ;)). Thanks a million, KTM, for such an insanely quick and smooth power delivery! I, honestly, didn't even had to twist the throttle fully and every time, she'd slid back and held my shoulder even tighter, out of fear, of course. We did not even get out of the parking lot yet and I was already loving it. Every bit of it!
"How can a girl even sit on this bike of yours? How does your mom or sister manage?", she asked. Not a single girl has sat on it, not even them. "You are the first", I said, smiling and twisted the throttle jokingly. "Whaaattt!" she said, sliding back again, in fear.
We later talked about how Ms. N and few other girls had planned a traditional day on April 7th on the occasion of Ugadhi. Yes, she organizes all such events at work. She informed me that all the girls would wear saree on that day - including her! And she said that this time she would participate in all the games that'd be held (I'd always complain with her that she'd only organize them and never participate, you know). I told her how disappointed I was to learn that because I would not be in Hyderabad then. "Couldn't you have planned something like this before?", I asked sulkily. Then I joked that I'd come to Hyderabad only to watch them girls in the traditional wear. And soon we reached the first signal. Now, finally, she could listen to my voice properly, for it was little unclear until then with the helmet on while riding. She curiously asked if I had purchased this bike of mine for my girl friend or to impress a girl. I answered, "I don't think people do that. We don't buy things for someone else or to impress someone with". I think everyone's selfish and we all do things only for ourselves, even though we might not say so. Of course, I did not say this out loud. Instead, I said - "I bought it for myself, because I love it". She was ready with another question for me, "So, you do have a girl friend, huh?!", she asked. And I was more than quick to answer "No! I am... single".
It was my turn now. I had been wanting to know this for a very long time now. So, I asked her what her status was, if she was committed. And she instantaneously responded saying... "Yes" with her beautiful smile! (That brutal honesty there again!)
And just like that... my heart broke! INTO A MILLION LITTLE PIECES!
She started to tell me all about him when in fact, I did NOT even ask. Him being a doctor, his name, how both families knew about it! How they were planning a wedding next year! (So, after all, that vibe I got... wasn't wrong in any freaking way). "Man! Enough with the show-off! You have a boy friend, we get it! God!" - This is what I had on my mind. I quickly dropped her at her stop putting aside all the ideas of "spending more time" with her while the topic slowly changed back to my bike. (May be she figured I wasn't interested one bit in her love story.. Her love story? God! It's so painful to just say that mentally)
As much as I was disinterested in that topic, I still offered to wait till her bus arrived. It is quite amazing how I lost my complete interest in her so quickly. As a matter of fact, I wasn't even interested in waiting for her to board her bus but then again I couldn't leave her alone like that. A gentleman never leaves a lady behind (Wouldn't you agree?). So, I stayed. I just had no more questions for her. She then, out of the blue, asked me to try and come to Hyderabad on 7th April too (the day when she'd drape a saree on the occasion of Ugadhi) as if it meant something to her. "No, thanks!" I mumbled mentally within. "You aren't that special, now" (Again mentally). And this time, I was seriously sulking! But she kept talking in that adorable way she does always, smiling innocently and before her bus had arrived she slowly made me realize how special her smile was and how special this bike ride had been for the both of us (That is exactly how she reacted, at times, as if this bike ride meant something to her. So, I am gonna say 'us'. Go on call me a loser or dreamer! I don't care, frankly).
There will always be people around you, you cannot be mad at, for long. I guess she is one of those people. In no time, her bus had arrived and just before she left, she smiled at me and said, "All the best for your trip, Arjun. Be back soon. We'll miss you"
Boy! The way she said it... Phew! Had she been single, I guess, I would have fallen for her all over again. Pune had brought me close to yet another person, albeit just for a day. She got in and the bus took off. I then vroomed past the bus for I had to take a U-turn (Yeah, you got me. It was just to show-off. No, not for Ms. N. It was for those few of her friends looking out of their windows). I reached the U-turn in no time, took it and kept riding back to work, aimlessly...
All the while, still wondering, "Where art thou, oh Valentine?"
See you on the other side,
K
Facebook notified me of a memory just a little while ago. Looks like seven years ago, on this very day, I had left Hyderabad to go to Pune for my first job. Boy, I simply love Pune (and Bangalore too). I've had some wonderful memories there - My first job, my first time leaving home, my first love, my first heart break too and a whole bunch of other firsts. The most interesting bit is, today, seven years later, on the same exact day, I am slated to leave to Pune, yet again. Now, what are the odds of that happening, eh? Destiny?
Or plain coincidence?
Alright, alright, my post here is not about my journey or Pune. It is only about how Pune brought me close to Ms. N. Remember Ms. N?! It's the same girl from this post who makes my name sound like a melting chocolate every time she utters it. I shall call her Ms. N, going forward (Well, she says 'No' a lot, you know. Very rudely). She is brutally honest but a sweet person and our friendship has evolved over the last two days from those small talks that I talked about to something... meaningful. From the past two days she has been teasing me, talking to me. We both chat using the communicator when I am not busy (simply because she can multitask while I cannot) and I enjoy those chats. I think, chats are something I am good at. :)
My colleagues, along with my manager, know that I have the hots for her (well, the humorous way, only). I have always been open about my feelings towards others with the people around me. I'm never in the fear of being judged. One of the colleagues, a woman, is even married and yet is more than glad to help me in my quest (May be, I do it in a genuinely, adorable way :P). And so, they do all these silly things like leaving the chair next to Ms. N for me to occupy. And when I don't, out of shyness, they compel me to take the seat (Yes, right in front of Ms. N!). It's like I'm back in collage again. Their giggles, 'awws' and telepathic eye-talks have all landed me in trouble, quite a lot of times, with Ms. N. She keeps asking me why they behave in such a way. I am pretty sure she knows why, but she just asks me anyway. My colleagues have talked me into (some have forced me into) asking her to come join us for a coffee today because I'd be leaving soon to Pune. As much as I was scared of rejection, I wanted her to join us and so I did what I have always done since watching 'We bought a zoo' in 2011 - I took Matt's advice about the 20 seconds of insane courage (Something I have been telling Maddy to follow ever since, only in vain)
And to my surprise, she said 'yes'. I was very pleased with the way she reacted. Remember, I talked about how she never seemed interested? I even thought that she was committed. You, sometimes, get that vibe. Don't you? I guess, I was wrong this time. We all went in for a cup of coffee and ended up drinking dry fruit Faludas. We all had a nice time. I had already warned her to finish all her work because I would not allow her to leave unless her bus was seconds away from leaving. So, she sat with us patiently, staring at her watch a couple of times, scared that she'd miss her bus. I still made her sit. She usually catches her bus at 5:30pm every evening. But she was with us and we all returned back to our desks only at 5:40pm, today. She hurriedly started to leave when she got a call and she left while answering it. Meanwhile, I was in a group chat with... who else would it be with but my colleagues and what else would we be discussing but how Ms. N was "totally into me" this evening. Friends.
They joked about Ms.N missing her bus and just then Ms. N returned to her desk. Every one was excited in the group chat. She was speaking to her friend on the phone, explaining some address and telling them to let her know once they reach that point. She told the person on the phone that she'd take a cab or an auto-rickshaw till that point and board the bus. People in the group chat just went crazy! Like they've won a freaking lottery! Even me (understandably so). :) She sat right in front of me (remember our desks?), looked at me and smiled. She did not blame me for this, but smiled.
One of my colleagues, he stood and enquired about the stop where she needed to be while this other colleague, the married lady, straight away told Ms. N that I would drop her. Before Ms. N could even utter a singe syllable, I said, "I would have if I could have. But I have work and I have no intentions of leaving home any time soon. Sorry." fearing she'd say no. However, she smiled helplessly and said it's okay. And the group-chat just erupted - "Are you crazy!, Nobody can help you!, You are just unbelievable, brother." were only a few messages that I could read for I was least interested in them. I mentally nudged myself for this cowardly behavior of mine. The group chat read messages asking me to ping Ms. N and lend a helping hand. But I thought I should do it in front of every one and not on chat. And so, I leaned from my chair towards her and asked "Hey, you'd get delayed if you take an auto-rickshaw or cab at this hour. So... let me drop you and I will complete my work upon my return". She immediately said yes (not that she had much of a choice), and asked me not to delay.
Boy! To maintain a straight face when you are elated, especially when you watch your friends in the group-chat go crazy with some seriously stupid ideas, is a very difficult task. As soon as Ms. N looked down at her desktop, I couldn't stop blushing and smiling. After all, this was going to be the first time, since I bought my bike, that a girl was going to sit on as a pillion. I was super excited! My colleagues had some interesting ideas, you know, one of which I was very keen on implementing where I had to delay dropping Ms. N at her stop and make her miss her bus yet again. This will, in turn, give me a chance to drop her at her home, Uppal, which will easily take 2 hours to reach. That way, I'd get to spend time with her.
It did not take us long before we walked towards the parking lot. She was scared and hesitant to get on my bike as she found it very difficult to get on the seat. After a real struggle and with a little help from me, she finally got on. Once she adjusted her dhupatta and handbag properly, I swear she just couldn't take her hand off from my shoulder (Purely out of fear and nothing more but who cares I liked it ;)). Thanks a million, KTM, for such an insanely quick and smooth power delivery! I, honestly, didn't even had to twist the throttle fully and every time, she'd slid back and held my shoulder even tighter, out of fear, of course. We did not even get out of the parking lot yet and I was already loving it. Every bit of it!
"How can a girl even sit on this bike of yours? How does your mom or sister manage?", she asked. Not a single girl has sat on it, not even them. "You are the first", I said, smiling and twisted the throttle jokingly. "Whaaattt!" she said, sliding back again, in fear.
We later talked about how Ms. N and few other girls had planned a traditional day on April 7th on the occasion of Ugadhi. Yes, she organizes all such events at work. She informed me that all the girls would wear saree on that day - including her! And she said that this time she would participate in all the games that'd be held (I'd always complain with her that she'd only organize them and never participate, you know). I told her how disappointed I was to learn that because I would not be in Hyderabad then. "Couldn't you have planned something like this before?", I asked sulkily. Then I joked that I'd come to Hyderabad only to watch them girls in the traditional wear. And soon we reached the first signal. Now, finally, she could listen to my voice properly, for it was little unclear until then with the helmet on while riding. She curiously asked if I had purchased this bike of mine for my girl friend or to impress a girl. I answered, "I don't think people do that. We don't buy things for someone else or to impress someone with". I think everyone's selfish and we all do things only for ourselves, even though we might not say so. Of course, I did not say this out loud. Instead, I said - "I bought it for myself, because I love it". She was ready with another question for me, "So, you do have a girl friend, huh?!", she asked. And I was more than quick to answer "No! I am... single".
It was my turn now. I had been wanting to know this for a very long time now. So, I asked her what her status was, if she was committed. And she instantaneously responded saying... "Yes" with her beautiful smile! (That brutal honesty there again!)
And just like that... my heart broke! INTO A MILLION LITTLE PIECES!
She started to tell me all about him when in fact, I did NOT even ask. Him being a doctor, his name, how both families knew about it! How they were planning a wedding next year! (So, after all, that vibe I got... wasn't wrong in any freaking way). "Man! Enough with the show-off! You have a boy friend, we get it! God!" - This is what I had on my mind. I quickly dropped her at her stop putting aside all the ideas of "spending more time" with her while the topic slowly changed back to my bike. (May be she figured I wasn't interested one bit in her love story.. Her love story? God! It's so painful to just say that mentally)
As much as I was disinterested in that topic, I still offered to wait till her bus arrived. It is quite amazing how I lost my complete interest in her so quickly. As a matter of fact, I wasn't even interested in waiting for her to board her bus but then again I couldn't leave her alone like that. A gentleman never leaves a lady behind (Wouldn't you agree?). So, I stayed. I just had no more questions for her. She then, out of the blue, asked me to try and come to Hyderabad on 7th April too (the day when she'd drape a saree on the occasion of Ugadhi) as if it meant something to her. "No, thanks!" I mumbled mentally within. "You aren't that special, now" (Again mentally). And this time, I was seriously sulking! But she kept talking in that adorable way she does always, smiling innocently and before her bus had arrived she slowly made me realize how special her smile was and how special this bike ride had been for the both of us (That is exactly how she reacted, at times, as if this bike ride meant something to her. So, I am gonna say 'us'. Go on call me a loser or dreamer! I don't care, frankly).
There will always be people around you, you cannot be mad at, for long. I guess she is one of those people. In no time, her bus had arrived and just before she left, she smiled at me and said, "All the best for your trip, Arjun. Be back soon. We'll miss you"
Boy! The way she said it... Phew! Had she been single, I guess, I would have fallen for her all over again. Pune had brought me close to yet another person, albeit just for a day. She got in and the bus took off. I then vroomed past the bus for I had to take a U-turn (Yeah, you got me. It was just to show-off. No, not for Ms. N. It was for those few of her friends looking out of their windows). I reached the U-turn in no time, took it and kept riding back to work, aimlessly...
All the while, still wondering, "Where art thou, oh Valentine?"
See you on the other side,
K
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