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Part I
Week 2: Saturday
Gazal: What's wrong with you two? Why are you trying to kill each other? There's only one thing I asked for, you two to be friends. Why can't you do that for me? One small favour. That's it.
Week 2: Saturday
Gazal: What's wrong with you two? Why are you trying to kill each other? There's only one thing I asked for, you two to be friends. Why can't you do that for me? One small favour. That's it.
Kavya: It's not my fault always. Don't blame me for everything. I tried really very hard.
Gazal: Is what you think. You could have done better. You know Kabir is cool. He hears these things all the time and they don't bother him. Then why do you have to make a scene out of it? Couldn't you just let go?
Kavya: Just because he hears these things all the time doesn't mean he should hear them or he's used to these remarks. Somebody needs to tell people that others have a heart too which is broken, just like theirs, every time people say something bad about them.
Gazal: And who are you to do that? A social worker? Or a psychology student doing research on people's hopes, aspirations, dreams and feelings?"
Kavya: Why do you think it's always my fault? Why don't you teach your 'over sophisticated', 'the very intelligent' and 'in demand' investment banker boyfriend some manners? Like how and what to talk to people you've just met?
Gazal: I can't believe you just said that.
Kavya: And I can't believe you are still advocating for him.
Gazal: He's just nervous Kavya! This is a first time for him, to meet anyone from my family.
Kavya: As if I've met numerous boyfriends of yours!
Gazal: Just try being nice to him.
Kavya: I'm always nice to everyone. I've never faced such a situation in my entire life, I'm never rude to anyone.
Gazal: He said the same thing.
Kavya: Anyhow, I'm not up at this godly hour to hear you rumble about your boyfriend. I have work to do.
Gazal: Really?! Since when? Since when did you start working this seriously, that too on a Saturday night?
Kavya: ha ha ha... you are so funny.
ha ha ha
Gazal: I'm serious.
Kavya: ha ha ha... yes you are so serious that I can't stop laughing at your seriousness.
ha ha ha
ha ha ha
Gazal: Please listen to me.
Kavya: ha ha ha
ha ha ha
ha ha ha
Gazal: Okay, you may leave. Go do your work.
Kavya: ha ha ha...
okay bye.
She must really hate Rishi, Gazal thought to herself. She is just not ready to hear a word about him. But how many times should I ask Rishi to try again and why should he always be the one to let go. No, enough is enough, this time I won't push him, I'll take a back seat, I'll just wait and watch. Let's see what happens next. "But before I take that back seat, let me do this one last thing" saying this to herself, Gazal dialed Kavya's number.
"What now? I'm seriously trying to work here Gazal! Please!" replied an irritated Kavya.
"I don't understand, why don't you like Rishi?" Gazal frowned
"We've been through this a million times Gazal. You cannot like someone forcibly. Sorry." Kavya replied, Gazal could easily make out that Kavya was only half aware of what she was saying, her mind was somewhere else.
"Well then at least don't hate him. Please, for me." Gazal pleaded.
"You don't have to beg like this... you are making me uncomfortable. Plus I don't understand what's the fuss, why does it matter to you so much whether or not I and Rishi talk." Kavya sounded uninterested, she could imagine her sister making puppy dog eyes.
"I'm not begging. I'm just requesting. It means the world to me for you two to be friends." she told matter-of-factly. "And why it matters to me, you'll understand that the day you'll introduce me to your boyfriend." she continued.
"I'll try. Okay bye now." Kavya gave a terse reply and hung up the phone.
Week 2: Sunday.
1 Text message
"Hi! Can we meet in the evening?"
"Sorry can't make it, already have plans. Later maybe." Kavya hit the send button.
Week 2: Saturday
Sitting in front of the window, Kavya appreciated the beauty of the moment, deep blue sea, hitting the golden sand beach with it's high tide, life is wonderful, she thought to herself, there was nothing more I want right now.
"Hi is this chair taken?" Kavya heard a familiar voice.
"No, but if I were you, I wouldn't have taken the chair." Kavya replied without even looking up.
"Why?" the voice asked.
"Because there's a reason why the chair is not taken and it's surely not because I don't have company." Kavya replied giving a cunning smile to Rishi.
"Hmmm... and I wonder what that might be." Rishi asked thoughtfully.
"May be that I like having my lunch peacefully, reading a book, admiring the sea waves and the sun-kissed sand." Kavya replied yet again admiring the view in front of her.
"Well, don't worry, I won't disturb you. You can admire the view while I savour a dessert sitting next to you, doing the same." Rishi started pulling the chair.
"Well in that case there are many empty tables in the restaurant. Why not try one of those?" Kavya pointed out to the few empty tables.
"That's because I don't like eating alone." Rishi frowned.
"Your problem, not mine." Kavya shrugged while digging into her tiramisu.
"Common don't be so rude, I even got you flowers." Rishi gave her a bunch of pink carnations.
"Lovely! What are these for?" Kavya wondered.
"I thought let's burry the past, let's have a fresh start. Let's be friends." Rishi said advancing the flowers even further.
"Great! But what's with pink? Is it 'you are a girl and let's play safe by getting you pink flowers' pink?" Kavya chanted.
"No no, actually, pink as you know is a combination of red and white" Rishi started telling her.
"Mm-hmm" Kavya nodded in affermative.
"They say white is the colour of peace and red the colour of love." Rishi continued.
"So?" Kavya raised her eyebrow.
"So white is to find peace in our relationship and red is, well you know..." Rishi hesitated a bit.
"What?" Kavya teased.
"You know what they say about girlfriend's sister..." Rishi tried to prevail the suspense.
"No! What about her?" Kavya asked desperately.
"They say that wife's sister is half your wife or something like that, so I assumed the same logic persists with girlfriend's sister." Rishi replied cautiously.
Kavya couldn't stop laughing. "This is one of the craziest thing I've heard in my life." After she calmed down she said, "But I thought we were becoming friends. Then shouldn't you be brining yellow flowers?" She inquired.
"I got orange gerbera, using the same logic." Rishi smiled giving her the flowers.
"Thanks." Kavya smiled back.
After having a round of desserts, Kavya asked Rishi, "How did you know that I'm here?"
"Find my friend." Rishi replied rather obviously.
"But I've not added you in my account." Kavya was surprised. "Gazal!!" she shrieked. "That sneaky little girl!"
"I just wanted to meet you, it's been long that we've met." Rishi shrugged. "So where were you last Sunday? It was very rude of you to turn me down. Another of one those secret business trips?"
"No, I was busy watching the match" Kavya gave a brief reply.
"Wimbledon?" Inquired Rishi. "You play?"
"Yep Wimbledon." she said "I do play tennis not at Wimbledon though." Kavya replied with a naughty smile, Rishi smiled back.
"Is this your favourite place in Mumbai?" Rishi asked her absorbing the serenity of the view.
"No it's not." Kavya said. "Whenever I'm bored of the hustle and bustle of the city, I come here to find peace. It's so peaceful here, it kind of heals my soul. Besides I like the food here."
"Indeed. So what's you favourite place in the city?" Rishi asked.
"Come, I'll show you." Kavya said putting the credit card back in her purse.
"I've got the car, just direct me and we'll reach there in no time." Rishi said as they walked down the hall.
"Is what you think. I know a faster mode." Kavya said fastening the seat belt.
They parked the car at Kavya's building and walked down to the station. "But I've never travelled by a local." Rishi tried to persuade Kavya.
"There's always a first time." Kavya grinned.
"I still don't understand why we couldn't drive to where ever you are taking me." Rishi was stunned to see the rush on the station.
"Shh shh... As soon as the train pulls in, get inside the compartment. Try not to fall down and take care of all your expensive items, and in case you die in the process, I'll tell Gazal that you love her and our last words were not another quarrel." Kavya directed Rishi
"Relax, see everything is alright. Now listen to me, some people will get down at Andheri, and lot of them would rush in, grab a seat as soon as you find one. We've a long way to go." Kavya instructed Rishi.
After a while when both of them were seated they started chatting again. "Ladies compartment is much more fun, it's just entertaining." Kavya declared, looking around.
"Why? What's so entertaining?" Rishi inquired.
"Oh, to start with people are always selling something, it's good to see even if you are not interested in buying, you see people bargain, demand variety, and you know even if two vendors are selling the same thing, say ear rings, the ladies browse through both the lots. As if it's their duty to do so." Kavya chuckled.
"Interesting. But why did you chuck my very convenient offer to have a car ride?" Rishi asked yet again.
"Lose the chip on your shoulder, it's Sunday evening, every damn person in the city is trying to reach town so if we start now we'll take 2 hours to reach our destination."
"And now?" Rishi wondered.
"30-45 minutes." Kavya estimated.
"Wow that's fast." Rishi was excited.
They got down at the station, took a cab and reached the destination, minutes before the sunset.
"Wow! The setting Sun is looking so beautiful!" Rishi exclaimed praising the view.
"And this, my friend is the best place in the city." Kavya gave an animated reply.
"Sea has always been special for Bombay, right?" Rishi said his eyes fixed on the sea.
Kavya made a poker face.
"What?" Rishi asked.
"You think I brought you here to show you the sea? Are you crazy? If I had to show you the setting Sun in the sea I wouldn't have dragged you from Aksa beach to Worli Sea Face." Kavya howled. "And where are you going?" Kavya was shocked to see Rishi get up and get ready to leave.
"Then what? I thought now that the sun has set we should leave." Rishi said patently.
"Sit down. The best part is yet to begin." Kavya assured, while giving him some bhel and coconut water she just purchased from a street hawker.
"Is it hygienic?" Rishi examined the bhel.
"Dude!" Kavya was irritated.
"What? Nothing! I was just wondering whether the guy washed his hands before mixing this stuff." Rishi was still concerned.
"Just sit down and eat the damn thing. Live in the moment. Enjoy. Let go of your fear and doubts." Kavya said enjoying the sea breeze. "Just breathe, okay?"
Seeing the sea breeze moving through Kavya's hair and the content on her face, Rishi decided to follow her lead. Silence followed. Though he could hear the kids playing around, the honking cars, the street hawkers calling out, but he could feel the tranquility of the scenery. It was bizarre, being at peace when actually sitting at a loud and noisy place, he didn't know how or what he truly felt but whatever it was, it was delightful.
"How about now" Kavya murmured and turned to her right and he followed her gaze and saw the Worli-Bandra sea link enlighten, "sheer beauty" he thought to himself. The dark night-sky, wisps of clouds and the bright sea link, the charm of the moment and magic of the scene was beyond words. It was an experience.
"The tall enlightened skyscrapers, the illuminated sea link, the dark sky, the sound of waves, all this is a fascinating combination, it cannot be described in words, it's supposed to be lived, it should be experienced." Kavya said calmly, closing her eyes and Rishi smiled, thinking how two people with so many differences had the exact same thought at the exact same moment.
"You should come here when it's raining! It's so beautiful, you just won't feel like leaving." Kavya added, appreciating the place further.
They had dinner together and did not realize where the whole evening went.
"I had a wonderful time with you. Thank you!" Kavya said hugging Rishi at the parking lot of her apartment.
"Don't thank me, in fact I should thank you, for the beautiful evening. It was one of the bests I ever had." he praised Kavya hugging her back. "I'll see you around"
Week 3: Saturday
The living room was dimly lit, mostly comprising of candles, the room was fragrant with a hint of mild scent and a few wafts from the kitchen entered the room, just when Kavya heard the door bell ring. She wondered who it might be and opened the door. Rishi was standing before her with a bottle in his hand, "Surprise" he said with a smile on his face. Kavya looked over his shoulder and found the guard behind him, "Oh he wouldn't let me come to your place. He thought I was some murderer or something, he said that your safety is his responsibility, so I asked him to accompany me to your apartment I did not want him to call you, because I was willing to surprise you. So 'surprise' again" Rishi grinned at Kavya.
Kavya was still confused with what was happening. She stood still at the door looking out at Rishi in a shock rather than surprise. Rishi looked at her, she had an aqua coloured dress with vines of flowers put on, he could see the dimly lit living room and the sound of music reached his ears.
"Is it a bad time? Should I come back later?" Rishi asked.
"No no... it's fine. Come in." Kavya sighed. "Thank you bhaiyya ji!" Kavya said to the guard while shutting the door behind him.
"Wow! This looks nice! Do you have plans for the evening? Someone visiting you?" Rishi asked impressed by the arrangements.
"No! I was just spending some quality time with myself" Kavya explained.
"Oh, okay! So we are good if I stay?" Rishi asked, giving Kavya the bottle.
"Yeah, it's... it's just fine." Kavya replied. "Thanks. What's this?" she asked.
"Not wine of course, knowing how much you despise alcohol." Rishi narrowed his eyes. "It's some sort of sparkling fruit drink. I call it réplique de champagne, meaning replica of champagne in French. Because it's a kind of champagne only without alcohol, plus it's not fruit soda or anything. It's an experience, you've to live it." Rishi winked at Kavya. I found it in the super-market close to my place and thought it would be fun sharing with you."
"Interesting. By the way, a drink was the only thing that was missing on tonight's menu. Thanks to you, it's ticked off." Kavya smiled back making an imaginary tick in the air. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll join you in a bit." Kavya directed Rishi towards the couch and entered the kitchen adjusting her apron.
Rishi heard Priscillia Ahn singing Dream in the background, he noticed the book Where The Rainbows End, lying on the coffee table and a table laid in the balcony which was lit by a lighting series.
"Do I smell bread?" saying that Rishi entered the kitchen.
"Sticks. You smell bread sticks." Kavya smiled at Rishi while taking the baking tray out of the oven.
Rishi could see numerous dishes prepared and presented on the kitchen counter. He wondered for whom all these preparations were being done. "Are you sure no one's coming? I mean the arrangements look majestic."
"No, just stop bothering me with the same question! It's my usual chore. My flatmate, Rupal is not in town, plus it was raining the whole day so I didn't get to go anywhere, so I decided to make the best out of the day. Some nice background music to match the beats of the falling raindrops and a good book to read, an afternoon well spent. Later in the evening, a nice spread of food and things to ponder upon... sometimes that's all you need. A day well spent." Kavya beamed. "Dolce far niente pleasant idleness, or the sweetness of doing nothing is what they called it in the movie 'Eat pray love'" she continued.
"Sounds interesting. Let's do it together then." Rishi chuckled.
Within minutes they arranged the whole spread on the table and poured the réplique de champagne in the glasses, "Dolce far niente" they chanted while clinking the glasses.
"This is nice! I like how the taste lingers even after you have gulped down the drink. Fascinating!" Kavya appreciated the drink.
"Thanks! I was not sure whether or not you'll like it. Anyhow, I thought you had a date or something." Rishi teased Kavya, munching down the starters.
"No. I'm not seeing anyone." Kavya said.
"Why?" Rishi asked.
"Didn't find the right guy yet." she shrugged.
"Who's the right guy for you?" Rishi asked further
"There's no definition for the right guy. You just know when it's right." Kavya replied sipping the drink.
"Still, you might be having an idea." Rishi insisted.
"No. Can you define the right girl for me?" Kavya mocked him.
"Of course, she should be smart, intelligent, funny, cute, she should have a balance between her personal and professional life, loving, caring. That's it I guess." Rishi replied confidently.
"Is it?" Kavya asked to which Rishi nodded in affirmation. "Don't you think you've mentioned the qualities of more than half the girls in the world. Why Gazal then, it can be anyone?" Kavya counter questioned.
"Yeah, but with Gazal, things are different, you know... we have that spark, the chemistry is... it's just hard to explain why." Rishi sounded perplexed.
"Exactly my point." Kavya folded her hands and threw him attitude.
"You cannot explain love to anyone, it's like explaining rainbow to the blind or symphony to the deaf." Rishi continued.
"Hey hey! Insensitive to both the blind and the deaf. You can say, it's like explaining life to an i-banker." Kavya joked.
"Ouch!" Rishi gave an animated reply to which both laughed.
"Why are you always alone?" Rishi sounded a little concerned.
"What do you mean?" Kavya asked.
"Well you were alone last Saturday, at Aksa beach and you are alone today." Rishi shed light on his observation.
"That's only 'two' by the way, doesn't count as a fair sample size for your 'always' distribution. Plus I was not alone at Aksa beach last Saturday. I was with a friend who just left before you came. She had some urgent work to do. Did you see the bill? It was way too much for a single person to eat." Kavya explained.
"No. Why would I see your bill?" Rishi exclaimed.
"Plus I've all these trips to weekends which are full of people. So every once in a while I like to have some 'me time'. Kavya explained further.
"Okay... I see. So, you have cooked a delicious meal. You are a damn good cook. Gazal told me that you are an engineer, why did you waste your talent in becoming an engineer when you could have been a chef?" Rishi questioned.
"Because I was good at Maths." Kavya grinned.
"Meaning?" Rishi was confused.
"Meaning, life is always very easy for people who are good at Maths, their parents and teachers never worry what they will do after school nor do they themselves worry, their life's goal is clear- become an engineer and then think what to do next." Rishi laughed at her reply "And most of the times either become a programmer or do jobs those need absolutely no knowledge of engineering and should be given to people who are actually working hard for years like marketing or HR or even finance. I mean those commerce grads are working hard and preparing those Balance Sheets and other Financial Statements when we were busy mixing chemicals resulting into mini blasts in school labs, they deserve these jobs more than we do. Though no offence to engineers."
Rishi couldn't suppress his laughter.
"No I'm serious. My parents and teachers never worried about my future, everyone was worried about what would become of Gazal, she was brilliant with arts, especially fine arts. But no one earns a dime by being good with colours, if you have to succeed in life-which is clearly measured by the amount of money you earn-you should be good at Maths, you should be able to solve differential, integral, vectors and 3-D Geometry problems in minutes if not seconds. And where does that take us in real life I wonder. I'm still waiting for the day when I can implement all the knowledge I gained in school and college." Kavya said thoughtfully.
"So what do you do for a living?" Rishi asked still laughing.
"Don't ask! I'm one of those engineers who was supposed to make a difference in technical world but instead I decided to make a difference in the bottom lines of my clients. I'm an investment banker." Kavya sighed.
"What?" Rishi was surprised. "With all you hatred towards investment bankers, I never ever thought that you would be one."
"I'm one, that's one of the main reasons I hate them." Kavya said grimly. "I mean I don't hate my job, I hate the snobs, who think they are very cool and awesome because they are i-bankers! Morons! Plus I'm not following what I preach." Kavya sounded disgusted and sad.
"Then why be one of them?" Rishi wondered.
"I'm not! I'm much different from them. But yes, if I had known I would become an investment banker, I would have opted out of engineering. I mean a commerce grad cannot work as an engineer, so that's injustice I think." Kavya snapped.
"True" Rishi replied. "So what do you do apart from cooking and hating investment bankers?"
"A lot of things, read books, go on treks or hiking, scuba diving... the list is endless actually." she replied.
"No interest in arts, like Gazal?" Rishi inquired.
"Not much. Sometimes I wonder, we are twin sisters but we have very less in common, like I think I'm colour blind, because I put green and blue together and I try to pair up red and brown where as Gazal knows exactly what to pair up with what, you know, Gazal does most of my cloth and accessories shopping, she knows what I like and what suits me, she is just amazing with colours." Kavya beamed at her sister's talent.
"What else, tell me more about her." Rishi was interested in digging further.
"I thought you were her boyfriend. You must know her well." Kavya shrugged with a tone of sophistication.
"Yeah, But I've barely known her for a few months. Plus siblings always have fascinating facts to share." Rishi pressed on the topic.
"Well, she is a simple girl. Small things in life make her happy. She won't say that she wants you to drop her home or pick her up from the airport but she'd love it if you do that for her. She doesn't expect fancy gifts every time, but a small gift or may be a bunch of flowers sometimes make her day. She prefers walks over bike rides, an ice cream over a fancy meal, long drives over long vacations." Kavya replied dreamily. "So basically you get the point." she said, coming out of her reverie.
"Thanks for the tips." Rishi thanked Kavya.
"Any time. So when are you planning to propose her?" Kavya was excited.
"I don't know. I'm not sure yet." Rishi was a little scared.
"What do you mean you don't know? I thought you were planning to marry my sister." Kavya said in a stern voice, narrowing her eyes.
"Well I am, but I thought how about I try my luck with you as well, and see which one suits me better. Now I even know you better and surprisingly we don't fight anymore!" Rishi flirted with Kavya.
"Let me warn you, Gazal will never ever propose you, she thinks that guys are supposed to propose, not girls. So she'll wait for you do go down on your knee. And yes, she wants a memorable proposal." Kavya told Rishi seriously, waving his flirtatious attempts away.
"And what do you think about proposals?" Rishi teased Kavya.
"I think anyone who is in love should propose, despite being a guy or girl. I believe in gender equality." Kavya replied.
"It's good to know." Rishi sounded happy.
"What?" Kavya asked because she thought Rishi didn't mean what he said.
"Nothing." Rishi tried to wave off the topic. "I was just wondering, what took us so long to be such good friends? Why things were the way they were in the first two meetings." Rishi thought aloud.
"I think it's the relation we two are going to enter. You are entering my sister's, my best friend's life. I never shared her with anyone and now suddenly you enter in her life and everything changes. Besides you are a guy so it made the conversation even more difficult. I mean it's not that I've never talked to guys before or you have never talked to girls before, but then we never bothered what others will think of us, now we do, we are conscious because we don't want things to ruin at least because of silly mistakes, we want to maintain the balance... so I guess that's that." Kavya smiled.
Both of them share a moment's silence. By this time Augustana had started singing Boston in the background when Rishi asked, "What's your favourite song?"
"There's not any one particular song that is my favourite. I've a long list." Kavya shrugged.
"Still... if you could think of one song that's on this play list and you want to listen to that song right now, which would that be. What's your favourite song?" Rishi demanded passionately.
"You are my favourite song." Kavya replied just as Rishi finished his question.
"Huh?" Was all he could say because he didn't understand what she said.
"I want to listen to 'You are my favourite song' right now. It's been long I heard that song." Kavya was excited.
"Okay... let's play the song then." He handed her the iPod.
Kavya looked up for the song and played it. Rishi found it catchy and started tapping his feet. A few seconds later he asked Kavya, "Would you like to have a dance with me, my lady?"
Kavya giggled and said "Yes" grabbing his hand, they entered the living room and started dancing.
After dancing to the tunes of their favourite songs for some time, Rishi asked her, "Remember that night, at the pub, you said that you'll never fall for a guy like me. What did you mean?"
"Back then, I thought you were like other snob and jerk investment bankers, that's why I said that." Kavya told looking outside the window.
"And now?" Rishi inquired further.
"Now what? Now nothing. You want me to fall for you? Seriously dude! Stop flirting with me. Go and plan a grand proposal for my sister." Kavya mocked Rishi.
"Okay... so we are still up for the trek tomorrow, right?" Rishi tried to confirm.
"Yes we are." Kavya assured.
Week 3: Sunday
"I hear you are going on a lot of dates with my guy." Gazal sounded excited.
"I would never date your guy. You know that." Kavya snapped
"You know what I mean." Gazal teased. "Last two weekends you guys were together, heard you people have plans for next Saturday as well. Rishi told me, you are going to Kashid, to try some adventure sports."
"Man! Rishi tells you every-single-thing. I'm worried about the ISD bill he'll be getting. Besides how don't you get bored with all these unnecessary details?" Kavya sighed.
"Don't worry, he's an i-banker." Gazal boasted.
"Snob, jerk girlfriend of a snob jerk i-banker." Kavya replied sarcastically.
"So this is where you go on your weekends, adventure sports, trek, your 'weekend business trips'" Gazal inquired now that she knew everything. "But thanks anyhow. I'm glad that you guys are finally gelling up together. That's what I really wanted. It's good that you are taking him out and keeping him busy with your activities. He likes these things, and you know me, I'm not much into these things."
"I'm happy to know that you are happy." Kavya said. "So how's work?"
"Work's good. Giving the finishing touches. Will be back soon." Gazal replied.
"Yeah, I'm waiting to see you around. I miss you a lot." Kavya murmured sadly.
"I miss you too, I got to go right now. See ya. Bye."
Week 4: Sunday
"Yesterday was great right? I had the time of my life! Never thought water sports would be so much fun!" Rishi was sounding very excited.
"Right? I told you, you'll love it. I'm telling you, you should go to Andaman. It's a heaven for water sports. Just amazing! But where are we headed to right now?" Kavya asked him.
"Patience my friend, you'll know soon. Till then enjoy the ride." Rishi tried to comfort Kavya.
Kavya was indeed enjoying the ride, a drizzle of rains, the cool weather, the traffic on the road, good music in the background. It was all nice and cozy. Besides she was happy that finally she and Rishi are reaching a point where Gazal had always wanted them to be.
A while later, they reached their destination. It was early evening and it had stopped raining by now, the clouds covered the sky and were spreading different shades of colour all around. Rishi had taken her to a roof top restaurant on a 40th floor of the building. She could hear the high tides of the sea, the various shades in the sky, due to the Sun setting in the ocean, she could feel the gentle wind on her arms, and even the restaurant ambience was great, pastel coloured couches on the roof top, the curtains flowing with the wind, everything around was just magnificent and just when she turned around to show her excitement to Rishi, he joined her with two tall champagne glasses, containing the same drink: réplique de champagne that she had admired over the dinner at her home.
They settled down on their couch absorbing the overall beauty of the surrounding while sipping from their glasses, when Kavya felt something had slipped through her glass and was stuck between her lips, she pulled it out and found out that it was a ring. When she looked up, she found Rishi was on his knees holding her her hand with a smile on his lips, he asked her confidently, "Will you marry me?"
To be continued...
Kavya: Anyhow, I'm not up at this godly hour to hear you rumble about your boyfriend. I have work to do.
Gazal: Really?! Since when? Since when did you start working this seriously, that too on a Saturday night?
Kavya: ha ha ha... you are so funny.
ha ha ha
Gazal: I'm serious.
Kavya: ha ha ha... yes you are so serious that I can't stop laughing at your seriousness.
ha ha ha
ha ha ha
Gazal: Please listen to me.
Kavya: ha ha ha
ha ha ha
ha ha ha
Gazal: Okay, you may leave. Go do your work.
Kavya: ha ha ha...
okay bye.
She must really hate Rishi, Gazal thought to herself. She is just not ready to hear a word about him. But how many times should I ask Rishi to try again and why should he always be the one to let go. No, enough is enough, this time I won't push him, I'll take a back seat, I'll just wait and watch. Let's see what happens next. "But before I take that back seat, let me do this one last thing" saying this to herself, Gazal dialed Kavya's number.
"What now? I'm seriously trying to work here Gazal! Please!" replied an irritated Kavya.
"I don't understand, why don't you like Rishi?" Gazal frowned
"We've been through this a million times Gazal. You cannot like someone forcibly. Sorry." Kavya replied, Gazal could easily make out that Kavya was only half aware of what she was saying, her mind was somewhere else.
"Well then at least don't hate him. Please, for me." Gazal pleaded.
"You don't have to beg like this... you are making me uncomfortable. Plus I don't understand what's the fuss, why does it matter to you so much whether or not I and Rishi talk." Kavya sounded uninterested, she could imagine her sister making puppy dog eyes.
"I'm not begging. I'm just requesting. It means the world to me for you two to be friends." she told matter-of-factly. "And why it matters to me, you'll understand that the day you'll introduce me to your boyfriend." she continued.
"I'll try. Okay bye now." Kavya gave a terse reply and hung up the phone.
Week 2: Sunday.
1 Text message
"Hi! Can we meet in the evening?"
"Sorry can't make it, already have plans. Later maybe." Kavya hit the send button.
Week 2: Saturday
Sitting in front of the window, Kavya appreciated the beauty of the moment, deep blue sea, hitting the golden sand beach with it's high tide, life is wonderful, she thought to herself, there was nothing more I want right now.
"Hi is this chair taken?" Kavya heard a familiar voice.
"No, but if I were you, I wouldn't have taken the chair." Kavya replied without even looking up.
"Why?" the voice asked.
"Because there's a reason why the chair is not taken and it's surely not because I don't have company." Kavya replied giving a cunning smile to Rishi.
"Hmmm... and I wonder what that might be." Rishi asked thoughtfully.
"May be that I like having my lunch peacefully, reading a book, admiring the sea waves and the sun-kissed sand." Kavya replied yet again admiring the view in front of her."Well, don't worry, I won't disturb you. You can admire the view while I savour a dessert sitting next to you, doing the same." Rishi started pulling the chair.
"Well in that case there are many empty tables in the restaurant. Why not try one of those?" Kavya pointed out to the few empty tables.
"That's because I don't like eating alone." Rishi frowned.
"Your problem, not mine." Kavya shrugged while digging into her tiramisu.
"Common don't be so rude, I even got you flowers." Rishi gave her a bunch of pink carnations.
"Lovely! What are these for?" Kavya wondered.
"I thought let's burry the past, let's have a fresh start. Let's be friends." Rishi said advancing the flowers even further.
"Great! But what's with pink? Is it 'you are a girl and let's play safe by getting you pink flowers' pink?" Kavya chanted.
"No no, actually, pink as you know is a combination of red and white" Rishi started telling her.
"Mm-hmm" Kavya nodded in affermative.
"They say white is the colour of peace and red the colour of love." Rishi continued.
"So?" Kavya raised her eyebrow.
"So white is to find peace in our relationship and red is, well you know..." Rishi hesitated a bit.
"What?" Kavya teased.
"You know what they say about girlfriend's sister..." Rishi tried to prevail the suspense.
"No! What about her?" Kavya asked desperately.
"They say that wife's sister is half your wife or something like that, so I assumed the same logic persists with girlfriend's sister." Rishi replied cautiously.
Kavya couldn't stop laughing. "This is one of the craziest thing I've heard in my life." After she calmed down she said, "But I thought we were becoming friends. Then shouldn't you be brining yellow flowers?" She inquired.
"I got orange gerbera, using the same logic." Rishi smiled giving her the flowers.
"Thanks." Kavya smiled back.
After having a round of desserts, Kavya asked Rishi, "How did you know that I'm here?"
"Find my friend." Rishi replied rather obviously.
"But I've not added you in my account." Kavya was surprised. "Gazal!!" she shrieked. "That sneaky little girl!"
"I just wanted to meet you, it's been long that we've met." Rishi shrugged. "So where were you last Sunday? It was very rude of you to turn me down. Another of one those secret business trips?"
"No, I was busy watching the match" Kavya gave a brief reply.
"Wimbledon?" Inquired Rishi. "You play?"
"Yep Wimbledon." she said "I do play tennis not at Wimbledon though." Kavya replied with a naughty smile, Rishi smiled back.
"Is this your favourite place in Mumbai?" Rishi asked her absorbing the serenity of the view.
"No it's not." Kavya said. "Whenever I'm bored of the hustle and bustle of the city, I come here to find peace. It's so peaceful here, it kind of heals my soul. Besides I like the food here."
"Indeed. So what's you favourite place in the city?" Rishi asked.
"Come, I'll show you." Kavya said putting the credit card back in her purse.
"I've got the car, just direct me and we'll reach there in no time." Rishi said as they walked down the hall.
"Is what you think. I know a faster mode." Kavya said fastening the seat belt.
They parked the car at Kavya's building and walked down to the station. "But I've never travelled by a local." Rishi tried to persuade Kavya.
"There's always a first time." Kavya grinned.
"I still don't understand why we couldn't drive to where ever you are taking me." Rishi was stunned to see the rush on the station.
"Shh shh... As soon as the train pulls in, get inside the compartment. Try not to fall down and take care of all your expensive items, and in case you die in the process, I'll tell Gazal that you love her and our last words were not another quarrel." Kavya directed Rishi
"Relax, see everything is alright. Now listen to me, some people will get down at Andheri, and lot of them would rush in, grab a seat as soon as you find one. We've a long way to go." Kavya instructed Rishi.
After a while when both of them were seated they started chatting again. "Ladies compartment is much more fun, it's just entertaining." Kavya declared, looking around.
"Why? What's so entertaining?" Rishi inquired.
"Oh, to start with people are always selling something, it's good to see even if you are not interested in buying, you see people bargain, demand variety, and you know even if two vendors are selling the same thing, say ear rings, the ladies browse through both the lots. As if it's their duty to do so." Kavya chuckled.
"Interesting. But why did you chuck my very convenient offer to have a car ride?" Rishi asked yet again.
"Lose the chip on your shoulder, it's Sunday evening, every damn person in the city is trying to reach town so if we start now we'll take 2 hours to reach our destination."
"And now?" Rishi wondered.
"30-45 minutes." Kavya estimated.
"Wow that's fast." Rishi was excited.
They got down at the station, took a cab and reached the destination, minutes before the sunset.
"Wow! The setting Sun is looking so beautiful!" Rishi exclaimed praising the view.
"And this, my friend is the best place in the city." Kavya gave an animated reply.
"Sea has always been special for Bombay, right?" Rishi said his eyes fixed on the sea.
Kavya made a poker face.
"What?" Rishi asked.
"You think I brought you here to show you the sea? Are you crazy? If I had to show you the setting Sun in the sea I wouldn't have dragged you from Aksa beach to Worli Sea Face." Kavya howled. "And where are you going?" Kavya was shocked to see Rishi get up and get ready to leave.
"Then what? I thought now that the sun has set we should leave." Rishi said patently.
"Sit down. The best part is yet to begin." Kavya assured, while giving him some bhel and coconut water she just purchased from a street hawker.
"Is it hygienic?" Rishi examined the bhel.
"Dude!" Kavya was irritated.
"What? Nothing! I was just wondering whether the guy washed his hands before mixing this stuff." Rishi was still concerned.
"Just sit down and eat the damn thing. Live in the moment. Enjoy. Let go of your fear and doubts." Kavya said enjoying the sea breeze. "Just breathe, okay?"
Seeing the sea breeze moving through Kavya's hair and the content on her face, Rishi decided to follow her lead. Silence followed. Though he could hear the kids playing around, the honking cars, the street hawkers calling out, but he could feel the tranquility of the scenery. It was bizarre, being at peace when actually sitting at a loud and noisy place, he didn't know how or what he truly felt but whatever it was, it was delightful.
"How about now" Kavya murmured and turned to her right and he followed her gaze and saw the Worli-Bandra sea link enlighten, "sheer beauty" he thought to himself. The dark night-sky, wisps of clouds and the bright sea link, the charm of the moment and magic of the scene was beyond words. It was an experience.
"The tall enlightened skyscrapers, the illuminated sea link, the dark sky, the sound of waves, all this is a fascinating combination, it cannot be described in words, it's supposed to be lived, it should be experienced." Kavya said calmly, closing her eyes and Rishi smiled, thinking how two people with so many differences had the exact same thought at the exact same moment.
"You should come here when it's raining! It's so beautiful, you just won't feel like leaving." Kavya added, appreciating the place further.
They had dinner together and did not realize where the whole evening went.
"I had a wonderful time with you. Thank you!" Kavya said hugging Rishi at the parking lot of her apartment.
"Don't thank me, in fact I should thank you, for the beautiful evening. It was one of the bests I ever had." he praised Kavya hugging her back. "I'll see you around"
Week 3: Saturday
The living room was dimly lit, mostly comprising of candles, the room was fragrant with a hint of mild scent and a few wafts from the kitchen entered the room, just when Kavya heard the door bell ring. She wondered who it might be and opened the door. Rishi was standing before her with a bottle in his hand, "Surprise" he said with a smile on his face. Kavya looked over his shoulder and found the guard behind him, "Oh he wouldn't let me come to your place. He thought I was some murderer or something, he said that your safety is his responsibility, so I asked him to accompany me to your apartment I did not want him to call you, because I was willing to surprise you. So 'surprise' again" Rishi grinned at Kavya.
Kavya was still confused with what was happening. She stood still at the door looking out at Rishi in a shock rather than surprise. Rishi looked at her, she had an aqua coloured dress with vines of flowers put on, he could see the dimly lit living room and the sound of music reached his ears.
"Is it a bad time? Should I come back later?" Rishi asked.
"No no... it's fine. Come in." Kavya sighed. "Thank you bhaiyya ji!" Kavya said to the guard while shutting the door behind him.
"Wow! This looks nice! Do you have plans for the evening? Someone visiting you?" Rishi asked impressed by the arrangements.
"No! I was just spending some quality time with myself" Kavya explained.
"Oh, okay! So we are good if I stay?" Rishi asked, giving Kavya the bottle.
"Yeah, it's... it's just fine." Kavya replied. "Thanks. What's this?" she asked.
"Not wine of course, knowing how much you despise alcohol." Rishi narrowed his eyes. "It's some sort of sparkling fruit drink. I call it réplique de champagne, meaning replica of champagne in French. Because it's a kind of champagne only without alcohol, plus it's not fruit soda or anything. It's an experience, you've to live it." Rishi winked at Kavya. I found it in the super-market close to my place and thought it would be fun sharing with you."
"Interesting. By the way, a drink was the only thing that was missing on tonight's menu. Thanks to you, it's ticked off." Kavya smiled back making an imaginary tick in the air. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll join you in a bit." Kavya directed Rishi towards the couch and entered the kitchen adjusting her apron.
Rishi heard Priscillia Ahn singing Dream in the background, he noticed the book Where The Rainbows End, lying on the coffee table and a table laid in the balcony which was lit by a lighting series."Do I smell bread?" saying that Rishi entered the kitchen.
"Sticks. You smell bread sticks." Kavya smiled at Rishi while taking the baking tray out of the oven.
Rishi could see numerous dishes prepared and presented on the kitchen counter. He wondered for whom all these preparations were being done. "Are you sure no one's coming? I mean the arrangements look majestic."
"No, just stop bothering me with the same question! It's my usual chore. My flatmate, Rupal is not in town, plus it was raining the whole day so I didn't get to go anywhere, so I decided to make the best out of the day. Some nice background music to match the beats of the falling raindrops and a good book to read, an afternoon well spent. Later in the evening, a nice spread of food and things to ponder upon... sometimes that's all you need. A day well spent." Kavya beamed. "Dolce far niente pleasant idleness, or the sweetness of doing nothing is what they called it in the movie 'Eat pray love'" she continued.
"Sounds interesting. Let's do it together then." Rishi chuckled.
Within minutes they arranged the whole spread on the table and poured the réplique de champagne in the glasses, "Dolce far niente" they chanted while clinking the glasses.
"This is nice! I like how the taste lingers even after you have gulped down the drink. Fascinating!" Kavya appreciated the drink.
"Thanks! I was not sure whether or not you'll like it. Anyhow, I thought you had a date or something." Rishi teased Kavya, munching down the starters.
"No. I'm not seeing anyone." Kavya said.
"Why?" Rishi asked.
"Didn't find the right guy yet." she shrugged.
"Who's the right guy for you?" Rishi asked further
"There's no definition for the right guy. You just know when it's right." Kavya replied sipping the drink.
"Still, you might be having an idea." Rishi insisted.
"No. Can you define the right girl for me?" Kavya mocked him.
"Of course, she should be smart, intelligent, funny, cute, she should have a balance between her personal and professional life, loving, caring. That's it I guess." Rishi replied confidently.
"Is it?" Kavya asked to which Rishi nodded in affirmation. "Don't you think you've mentioned the qualities of more than half the girls in the world. Why Gazal then, it can be anyone?" Kavya counter questioned.
"Yeah, but with Gazal, things are different, you know... we have that spark, the chemistry is... it's just hard to explain why." Rishi sounded perplexed.
"Exactly my point." Kavya folded her hands and threw him attitude.
"You cannot explain love to anyone, it's like explaining rainbow to the blind or symphony to the deaf." Rishi continued.
"Hey hey! Insensitive to both the blind and the deaf. You can say, it's like explaining life to an i-banker." Kavya joked.
"Ouch!" Rishi gave an animated reply to which both laughed.
"Why are you always alone?" Rishi sounded a little concerned.
"What do you mean?" Kavya asked.
"Well you were alone last Saturday, at Aksa beach and you are alone today." Rishi shed light on his observation.
"That's only 'two' by the way, doesn't count as a fair sample size for your 'always' distribution. Plus I was not alone at Aksa beach last Saturday. I was with a friend who just left before you came. She had some urgent work to do. Did you see the bill? It was way too much for a single person to eat." Kavya explained.
"No. Why would I see your bill?" Rishi exclaimed.
"Plus I've all these trips to weekends which are full of people. So every once in a while I like to have some 'me time'. Kavya explained further.
"Okay... I see. So, you have cooked a delicious meal. You are a damn good cook. Gazal told me that you are an engineer, why did you waste your talent in becoming an engineer when you could have been a chef?" Rishi questioned.
"Because I was good at Maths." Kavya grinned.
"Meaning?" Rishi was confused.
"Meaning, life is always very easy for people who are good at Maths, their parents and teachers never worry what they will do after school nor do they themselves worry, their life's goal is clear- become an engineer and then think what to do next." Rishi laughed at her reply "And most of the times either become a programmer or do jobs those need absolutely no knowledge of engineering and should be given to people who are actually working hard for years like marketing or HR or even finance. I mean those commerce grads are working hard and preparing those Balance Sheets and other Financial Statements when we were busy mixing chemicals resulting into mini blasts in school labs, they deserve these jobs more than we do. Though no offence to engineers."
Rishi couldn't suppress his laughter.
"No I'm serious. My parents and teachers never worried about my future, everyone was worried about what would become of Gazal, she was brilliant with arts, especially fine arts. But no one earns a dime by being good with colours, if you have to succeed in life-which is clearly measured by the amount of money you earn-you should be good at Maths, you should be able to solve differential, integral, vectors and 3-D Geometry problems in minutes if not seconds. And where does that take us in real life I wonder. I'm still waiting for the day when I can implement all the knowledge I gained in school and college." Kavya said thoughtfully.
"So what do you do for a living?" Rishi asked still laughing.
"Don't ask! I'm one of those engineers who was supposed to make a difference in technical world but instead I decided to make a difference in the bottom lines of my clients. I'm an investment banker." Kavya sighed.
"What?" Rishi was surprised. "With all you hatred towards investment bankers, I never ever thought that you would be one."
"I'm one, that's one of the main reasons I hate them." Kavya said grimly. "I mean I don't hate my job, I hate the snobs, who think they are very cool and awesome because they are i-bankers! Morons! Plus I'm not following what I preach." Kavya sounded disgusted and sad.
"Then why be one of them?" Rishi wondered.
"I'm not! I'm much different from them. But yes, if I had known I would become an investment banker, I would have opted out of engineering. I mean a commerce grad cannot work as an engineer, so that's injustice I think." Kavya snapped.
"True" Rishi replied. "So what do you do apart from cooking and hating investment bankers?"
"A lot of things, read books, go on treks or hiking, scuba diving... the list is endless actually." she replied.
"No interest in arts, like Gazal?" Rishi inquired.
"Not much. Sometimes I wonder, we are twin sisters but we have very less in common, like I think I'm colour blind, because I put green and blue together and I try to pair up red and brown where as Gazal knows exactly what to pair up with what, you know, Gazal does most of my cloth and accessories shopping, she knows what I like and what suits me, she is just amazing with colours." Kavya beamed at her sister's talent.
"What else, tell me more about her." Rishi was interested in digging further.
"I thought you were her boyfriend. You must know her well." Kavya shrugged with a tone of sophistication.
"Yeah, But I've barely known her for a few months. Plus siblings always have fascinating facts to share." Rishi pressed on the topic.
"Well, she is a simple girl. Small things in life make her happy. She won't say that she wants you to drop her home or pick her up from the airport but she'd love it if you do that for her. She doesn't expect fancy gifts every time, but a small gift or may be a bunch of flowers sometimes make her day. She prefers walks over bike rides, an ice cream over a fancy meal, long drives over long vacations." Kavya replied dreamily. "So basically you get the point." she said, coming out of her reverie.
"Thanks for the tips." Rishi thanked Kavya.
"Any time. So when are you planning to propose her?" Kavya was excited.
"I don't know. I'm not sure yet." Rishi was a little scared.
"What do you mean you don't know? I thought you were planning to marry my sister." Kavya said in a stern voice, narrowing her eyes.
"Well I am, but I thought how about I try my luck with you as well, and see which one suits me better. Now I even know you better and surprisingly we don't fight anymore!" Rishi flirted with Kavya.
"Let me warn you, Gazal will never ever propose you, she thinks that guys are supposed to propose, not girls. So she'll wait for you do go down on your knee. And yes, she wants a memorable proposal." Kavya told Rishi seriously, waving his flirtatious attempts away.
"And what do you think about proposals?" Rishi teased Kavya.
"I think anyone who is in love should propose, despite being a guy or girl. I believe in gender equality." Kavya replied.
"It's good to know." Rishi sounded happy.
"What?" Kavya asked because she thought Rishi didn't mean what he said.
"Nothing." Rishi tried to wave off the topic. "I was just wondering, what took us so long to be such good friends? Why things were the way they were in the first two meetings." Rishi thought aloud.
"I think it's the relation we two are going to enter. You are entering my sister's, my best friend's life. I never shared her with anyone and now suddenly you enter in her life and everything changes. Besides you are a guy so it made the conversation even more difficult. I mean it's not that I've never talked to guys before or you have never talked to girls before, but then we never bothered what others will think of us, now we do, we are conscious because we don't want things to ruin at least because of silly mistakes, we want to maintain the balance... so I guess that's that." Kavya smiled.
Both of them share a moment's silence. By this time Augustana had started singing Boston in the background when Rishi asked, "What's your favourite song?"
"There's not any one particular song that is my favourite. I've a long list." Kavya shrugged.
"Still... if you could think of one song that's on this play list and you want to listen to that song right now, which would that be. What's your favourite song?" Rishi demanded passionately.
"You are my favourite song." Kavya replied just as Rishi finished his question.
"Huh?" Was all he could say because he didn't understand what she said.
"I want to listen to 'You are my favourite song' right now. It's been long I heard that song." Kavya was excited.
"Okay... let's play the song then." He handed her the iPod.
Kavya looked up for the song and played it. Rishi found it catchy and started tapping his feet. A few seconds later he asked Kavya, "Would you like to have a dance with me, my lady?"
Kavya giggled and said "Yes" grabbing his hand, they entered the living room and started dancing.
After dancing to the tunes of their favourite songs for some time, Rishi asked her, "Remember that night, at the pub, you said that you'll never fall for a guy like me. What did you mean?"
"Back then, I thought you were like other snob and jerk investment bankers, that's why I said that." Kavya told looking outside the window.
"And now?" Rishi inquired further.
"Now what? Now nothing. You want me to fall for you? Seriously dude! Stop flirting with me. Go and plan a grand proposal for my sister." Kavya mocked Rishi.
"Okay... so we are still up for the trek tomorrow, right?" Rishi tried to confirm.
"Yes we are." Kavya assured.
Week 3: Sunday
"I hear you are going on a lot of dates with my guy." Gazal sounded excited.
"I would never date your guy. You know that." Kavya snapped
"You know what I mean." Gazal teased. "Last two weekends you guys were together, heard you people have plans for next Saturday as well. Rishi told me, you are going to Kashid, to try some adventure sports."
"Man! Rishi tells you every-single-thing. I'm worried about the ISD bill he'll be getting. Besides how don't you get bored with all these unnecessary details?" Kavya sighed.
"Don't worry, he's an i-banker." Gazal boasted.
"Snob, jerk girlfriend of a snob jerk i-banker." Kavya replied sarcastically.
"So this is where you go on your weekends, adventure sports, trek, your 'weekend business trips'" Gazal inquired now that she knew everything. "But thanks anyhow. I'm glad that you guys are finally gelling up together. That's what I really wanted. It's good that you are taking him out and keeping him busy with your activities. He likes these things, and you know me, I'm not much into these things."
"I'm happy to know that you are happy." Kavya said. "So how's work?"
"Work's good. Giving the finishing touches. Will be back soon." Gazal replied.
"Yeah, I'm waiting to see you around. I miss you a lot." Kavya murmured sadly.
"I miss you too, I got to go right now. See ya. Bye."
Week 4: Sunday
"Yesterday was great right? I had the time of my life! Never thought water sports would be so much fun!" Rishi was sounding very excited.
"Right? I told you, you'll love it. I'm telling you, you should go to Andaman. It's a heaven for water sports. Just amazing! But where are we headed to right now?" Kavya asked him.
"Patience my friend, you'll know soon. Till then enjoy the ride." Rishi tried to comfort Kavya.
Kavya was indeed enjoying the ride, a drizzle of rains, the cool weather, the traffic on the road, good music in the background. It was all nice and cozy. Besides she was happy that finally she and Rishi are reaching a point where Gazal had always wanted them to be.
A while later, they reached their destination. It was early evening and it had stopped raining by now, the clouds covered the sky and were spreading different shades of colour all around. Rishi had taken her to a roof top restaurant on a 40th floor of the building. She could hear the high tides of the sea, the various shades in the sky, due to the Sun setting in the ocean, she could feel the gentle wind on her arms, and even the restaurant ambience was great, pastel coloured couches on the roof top, the curtains flowing with the wind, everything around was just magnificent and just when she turned around to show her excitement to Rishi, he joined her with two tall champagne glasses, containing the same drink: réplique de champagne that she had admired over the dinner at her home.They settled down on their couch absorbing the overall beauty of the surrounding while sipping from their glasses, when Kavya felt something had slipped through her glass and was stuck between her lips, she pulled it out and found out that it was a ring. When she looked up, she found Rishi was on his knees holding her her hand with a smile on his lips, he asked her confidently, "Will you marry me?"
To be continued...