What a week!!

It was one busy week. Jam packed with trivial and not so trivial happenings.. There was office and a range of appointments with the dentist, tailor and ophthalmologist.. Like a clumsy juggling artist I missed some of the appointments..

Plus there was this Traditional Day at office. I behaved traditionally, presented myself in a sari to office despite the drizzle and the puddles in the lane near the railway station. On the same day India butchered their neighbors .. Team India thrashed the Pakis!! Traditionally dressed, I danced till my foot got swollen the next day..

I have run out of the stock of Salwar kameej suits.. Hence the visit to the tailor. He still is in a state of shock . He still cant quite get over it. I started going to this tailor when I was in school. Aai used to drag me to him, I used to sulk, droop my shoulders and go with her. He would somehow manage to take measurements, never dare to ask me about my style and patterns and neck styles.. I don’t remember the visit where things changed..and I discussed the patterns , length of the kurtas, neck styles so much so that the tailor thought I had finally found my long lost twin. That meant I was lost now in the Kumb ka mela, and my twin had taken my place..

feeling sleepy..

nothing much to write abt..sleepy..tired..traditional day in office on monday..i am thinking abt what my tradition exactly is.. and what do they expect me to do traditionally?

as of now.. me off to sleep..

-jui

Ghost in the Plot

a heartbeat away- the book is going fine. just that there is one ghost character in the plot. and I don’t like that part of the book. hehe.. lets go back in time. I was in school then. Varya the tomboy or to be precise the strong woman that she was even then, used to read books titled 1000 Mysterious Murders, 100000 Most famous Ghost Tales..Everytime I used to go to her place to play the board game, that creepy book cover used to put me at unease. Cautiously, I used to pick up the book and keep it face down.

That particular day Varya was too bored to oblige her harmonium mentor and wanted an early break from the everyday music at her Music class. She begged, pleaded and begged to me that I come along, I mean go along with her and tell the music maestro that I was her elder sibling and I needed her to leave class half an hour early. Idle as ever, I bestowed a favour on my dear friend. All smiles, and grins Varya turned the book face up and said, “ When I would be busy creating music.. lets take this book to keep you cheerful and interested. Read this one-500 Real Ghost Encounters, real experiences of Amithabh Baccahan, Rajesh Khanna, etc. etc.”

I begged, pleaded and begged that I would really like to see her play the harmonium. She insisted and I had read some of those stupid stories. As a result, I had refused to go home alone after introducing myself as Varya’s elder sibling.

Varya had called today.. I was sitting at the dentist’s. She laughed and said, “you still get scared..” I said I don’t..i am to go to her place tomorrow for ganpati.
--jui

A heartbeat away ..

Yesterday I opened that hostel gate again, after more than a year. It seemed so normal, as if just some time back I had gone out to pick a milk packet or something and come back HOME. I tiptoed straight to our territory, avoided the house owners like I had always done. I went up the stairs and peeped inside the kitchen. A pair was busy making coffee there. I sort of scared them, or rather they scared me with that expression on their faces. “ Ok. So its taken you one year to come back here.” Then the smiles said Welcome Back!!.. And, these 2 were just mere hostel mates. No deeper friendship here. Still.

I finally reached my floor. My room, Vidya’s room. Vidya, Nupur and me. All of us on this floor were like a family bound to each other by something which I cannot quite describe. This floor somehow always got people like me together. The owner would always show all the empty rooms and as if these rooms were meant for us here, our roads were destined to cross, people like me chose this floor.

This was the 3rd time I was meeting Vidya after I had left Pune. Yet, nothing has changed with her. She still cannot get herself to look into my eye for longer time. She cannot crack a joke with me like she used to when I was around. She cannot hide the hurt at all. It makes something in my throat ache. Nupur keeps the conversation going, I do it too. We laugh. Vidya just tries to.

I know too well why she cannot talk to me like she used to do. Yet I ask her. Nupur innocently ends up saying , “ You not talking to her Vidya, because you think she betrayed you, right?” Vidya argues, yet our eyes meet.

I had left Pune prematurely. The realisation hits me in my gut one more time. I was the one who never wanted to leave Pune. To ensure I get some more time with Pune and everyone here I had taken up a job even before completing my course. Yet, I left too soon.

It goes back to that day. Vidya and me were eating jelly. I was so happy. My roomie was leaving. ( She had accidentally chosen this floor and realised it soon enough.)This would mean in the 3 sitter room, Vidya could officially move in with us as my new roomie. Anyways, she always was in my room. But Vidya said No. She said she did not want to move in with us. I was hurt. She said she needed her space. I said I understood it the best. I knew her too well to invade her space. Then she had said what happens when one of us leaves.. That we would one day. But we could have the time of our life before that day, if we moved in together. She said she might leave in next 3 months. That shook me.. to an extent that I left Pune prematurely.

I mean I only reacted. I applied to my present company, just for the sake of it. Because I did not want Vidya to leave me. I did not want to be left alone..again. But things went out of hand the day I received an offer letter from the company and in a day I was forced to leave everything behind. One more time .Family said it was logical. I knew I hardly ever lived my life with any logic.

But I left pune.. Yesterday, on my way back, there came a guy who was selling some second hand books. I got the one with A heartbeat away written on its jacket.

Pune Calling!!

you will hear from me maybe only on sunday now. After a long long time, tommorrow I will be traveling in that Intercity Express.. I miss those journeys I made to pune ..

Pune calls me this time around to attend the ganpati festival. I will spend some time with my hostel buddies too. Swapna has reached home already. I will get to meet her once I reach home..

Really looking forward to boarding the train tommorrow. :)

-jui

surprise!

sorry.. couldn't talk to u yesterday.. i had gone to manna's place.. guys are born with the skill to flirt, i guess.. my kid nephew is no different.. he kept kissing me .. confused, i asked him the reason for that peck on my cheek. he blushed and said " coz you are a girl.."i was left speechless. At a boy's school they learn their gentlemanly mannerisms quite early..

sitting there like a frozen prawn in manna’s bedroom, I was listening to my kid cousin discussing philosophies of life. Snippets of the chat:

1.jui: you miss your girl? I mean do you miss her when you have fun and she’s not with you?

Cousin: I never miss anyone. Kya karega miss karke..I can have fun with her too, some other time.

2.cousin: you have seen goldfishes? They only have a second’s memory. Hence they survive in the bowl. Every time they see the glass, they are like, “ arrey ye kya hai?…arrey ye kya hai? .. arrey ye kya hai?.. arrey ye kya hai?”

Loved this philosophy chat session, in my cousin brother’s style. He thought he was fooling around like he most times does.. it is his way of discussing life.

Only when I thought the day had closed, my otherwise inactive cell phone rang.

Unidentified number. With a frown, I answered the call to realize it was Swapna. Swapna, studied with me in school for 2 years when I was in 2nd and 3rd std. After almost 12 years the long lost friend stumbled upon my orkut profile. She says she was looking for me all these years.. Last year we met in Pune for around 3-4 hours .. It did not seem as if I wasn’t in touch with her for all these years. Spilled our stories out to each other. Again parted ways. Not knowing when would we get to see each other again.

She gave a call to say the police department has posted her in Mumbai for next 3 years!!! She doesn’t have a place to stay right now and would be staying with me till the time we find a place for her..

When I was talking to Rakhee about this, she smiled and said, “When one door closes another one opens.” I smiled too…

Breakaway ..

:) have been listening to this song a little too much.

“I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes til' I touch the sky
And I'll make a wish Take a chance

Make a change And breakaway”

High points of today:

*Everyone is a writer, truly.. A friend sent a mail saying.. ‘You messed up yesterday coz of Monday Blues.. Tuesday will treat you differently’..:) it did..

*googled my name ..

can’t think of anything else under this category.. feeling sleepy..

I read another mail on how when you say goodbye, it can actually be the final farewell ..you never know.. and, you need to ensure that the farewell is bade well..i can so totally relate to this philosophy.. and, in a way I am glad life has ensured that i say my goodbyes properly..:)

life sometimes seems stuck in the moment.. at the same time feels moving too fast. seems like I cannot keep in pace with it..

--jui

My mind is one free spirit..

i had a bad day today.. Real bad.. “yes, speaking. Can you please call jui later. Her mind has gone for a walk. No, I cannot possibly tell you when the right time to call back is.” I wish I could really do that. My mind is one free spirit, which has a mind of its own!

I messed the presentation royally. And, most amazingly I knew I was going to mess it up even before beginning it. Yet, I couldn’t plead enough to cajole my mind.

It’s been some time now, life is taking my case in true sense..I happen to, in every possible method help life do that to me… My mind needs to be given some piece of mind.
--jui