Sunday, April 11, 2010

Solitude or Love Intoxicating

My house was slowly getting set. The sofa-set had finally arrived, so did a new dining table shining with a glass top. The bedroom was complete with a bed and the cupboard. Well, that was almost … what more could be a requirement for the decent living? Still the house felt empty, may be it wanted a few living soul to live in or it was just for her.

She had wanted to come but got stuck with work.

Poor me! I sometimes feel that way. She could have had work some other day, why did this have to happen to my dear weekend?

The setup for a new house couldn’t do a trick. How could they be the constant companion for a lonely man on a dry weekend? There was a shower the last evening, after around two months or more. Roads were wet. I had gone for an office outing the day before … to a resort on NH4, a day filled with fun, activities and so much more.

She had come too, how couldn’t she? And that’s where she promised to visit me during the weekend. She wanted to talk …

But she did not turn up. Though she called a few times from work, appearing disappointed for not being able to turn up. Still I have this habit of not trusting feminine assurances, they appear too decorative, a bit fashionable at times.

During the afternoon my folks called me at Parihar Chowk. A session with drinks and dinner was indeed inviting. I decided to take the invite.

Smell of vodka came back to me after months, haunting amidst the smell of the wet sand on the chowk. Water from the rains hadn’t seeped too much into the sand. The session appeared entertaining, yet the discussions were mostly on friends, family and frugal matters of life. These days even guys have become smart, they don’t open their minds up with drinks.

I had to finally take a bus back to my home. They wanted to drop me at home, I refused. This mind wanted some time to relax on my way back.

When I reached Hadapsar, the time by my watch was around fifteen minutes past midnight. I could have also taken a rickshaw. One such rickshaw was parked just opposite to this pub at Parihar Chowk. In this city, an auto-rickshaw is less an ‘auto’ more a rickshaw.

Reminded me of a German colleague my father met who wanted to buy a cycle rickshaw for his family back in Berlin … just so that he could have an entire family with less pollution.

I never saw a reason for this German thought! Guess China had rickshaws even before independent India had them. Why couldn’t he buy these pedal-wheeled vehicles from China? My reasoning had critical political overtones from the early seventies. Cold war across the borders, Berlin was more than a companion to the Soviets, so were the Chinese.

This bus had another drunken person as a passenger. He spoke his language, I spoke mine. The conductor asked for the ticket. A ticket is so universal, so is the money. Where does the language come in between? I got one without a hitch, but the other passenger kept questioning the fare. The conductor appeared to give up after a while, he had to appear sober.

Forty five minutes past midnight, the medical college of the armed forces was the only building that had lights on. The classes may have concluded hours back. I kept looking for my stop … for now there were only two more people inside the bus - the driver and the conductor.

The drunken passenger had got down somewhere, I wasn’t attentive then.

My stop came, and the conductor indicated me to get down. Not that I would have preferred staying back, but he thought it was his duty to help a man who seemed indifferent.

From the stop to my apartment, it’s a walk of seven minutes. May be the vodka had started the trick! I tried to keep a count on my watch. There were a few people on the road. A lady sped with her face covered riding a scooty, the mini version of the scooter. It looked as if her deadline to be at home had passed. In India, women must be on time … it’s the prerogative of men to stay away for long. She did notice me, I was briskly walking though. May be her scooty got a feeling of the Indian woman rushing back.

Are scootys in this part of the world feminine too? Even she rode one. May be she was back at home by now. I decided to call her, talking the walk back from the bus stop.

‘lemme know when u r bck’ was the small message appearing on the screen of my cell phone. She may have typed it a while back. It was I who missed it at the pub. Now I should let her know. She may have already retired to bed, after a tired day at work.

Interestingly, the call lasted an hour or even more. We talked, just like two children who are lost in their worlds but can’t get to play with themselves. This fanatic world of work, where we honour our ‘professional obligations’ by the clock, or may be these odd ‘commitments’ to be with the team for the occasional session or two by the bottle. A work life gets so boring at times.

She had known by that time that I was drunk. My words were incoherent. The vodka had finally played the trick. I wanted to speak less, but she understood.

‘You know’ she said, ‘if I could be with you tonight, it would be even more intoxicating’. I was thrilled for a moment, may be, since the very thought of her with me was so filled with love.

And love is indeed intoxicating, more than the vodka.

12 comments:

simply me said...

love truly is intoxicating :)

Chhaya said...

U will always remain that awesome romantic ;)

PS: i prefer the wooden dining tables :P

itsyvitsy said...

Well well. Where had you hidden this all this while? Or was this thought forming shape in your mind only to find a way out in words now? ;-)

I see the hesitation and the longing. And, also these shy exchange of words that have obvious meanings thought not explicitly made obvious. A whole phenomenon has been lived here and I enjoyed envisioning it in my mind. Cheers my friend, this is so beautiful.

IdleMind said...

@ simply me - thanks a ton!

@ Chhaya - you know me on this, don't you? I prefer wooden ones too ... just that the trend is to go for the glass ones. At least they (sellers) are transparent. :)

@ Vittaldas Prabhu - You can always provoke me for a romantic expression. I never felt lazy that way, but these are nothing as compared to what I visualized even a few years back. Chhaya may know a few of my better works from those times! thanks yaar, the accolades are always sweet.

swapnanjali said...

First thing...how can Idle mind be lonely ...as i know mind cann't be emty any time...
Mind is always busy in this and that...see how beautifully you've expressed the set of new house...
hey Dost i really enjoyed your bus journey i used to go by bus while i'm returning home after office only to enjoy the bus journey...

and most important thing here i noted down is your excitement towards the moment...actually this is the reality of human nature

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, its show time now!
Means its cmt time now!

Kabhi kabhi sochta hu, aap sabka weekend, aur hamara weekend kitna different hota he!

Jagah badal jaati hai, interest badale huwe hote hai, uf tomoro mnday, ye b dimaag kha jata he, aur upar se pappa ne sirf 50 rs. Diye hai, yaar me movie dekhne nai aaunga-thik hai to hum b nai jaate, han, gujju ladkiya bhot bhav khati hai, to romantic nai, antique khayal hi jyada aate hai ;-)

IdleMind said...

@ swapnanjali - idle minds aren't lonely, just that they don't have anything to think ... so it thinks devil!

Every moment enjoyed is exciting, just that such moments need to come.

@ cKrAzYy..! ;) - aapko gujju ladkiya hi kyon dikhti hain, weekend mood mein kabhi kabhi doosre ladkiyon ko bhi dekh liya kijiye! kya khayal hain?

Koyi romantic hain to koyi antique, milne waale ko inme se hi mil jaate hain ji ... koshish jaari rakhiye! :D

Maya said...

nicely written, and i think i dont have to tell that,, ur talent is well known...

it was a pleasure reading

Chhaya said...

Kothay aachho?

IdleMind said...

@ Uncommon Sense - thanks yaar, it's a pleasure getting such accolades from reputed writers!

@ Chhaya - Magarpatta City ekhon amaar thikana ... ektu busy nowadays. :(

vicious said...

finding something in absolute nothings is what makes life interesting a s well as sweeter ..keep the romance in u burning :)

IdleMind said...

@ vicious - thanks for ur blessings, they are sweet too :)