Technicolour - Part 3

She stood there waiting outside the complex looking around like a lost person. I had to pinch myself to even realize that she was actually there in person.

To give you a background, sujatha and me had been a couple once upon a time. Our relationship had started out as pretty strong and comforting and had gently petered out until it felt like a huge load on my back. I had lost the affinity that i felt for her and had eventually found the courage to tell her the same. It had been a huge shock to her and for at least two months after that, my life had become hell. She constantly called me and cried. Found me in public and cried more. She even went and cried before my parents. It was all very sad, but i wasnt going to let sentimentality come in the way of what was correct and had to be done.

And yet, in spite of running away from it all, coming to this far away land in hope of leaving it all behind, there she stood in front of me. us rather. Farrah had noted the distinct change in my demeanor and was quizzically looking at sujatha.

"Hi neel. Good to see you again."

Something had changed in her. She wasnt projecting the vulnerable image that I had seen her in the last i remembered of her. There was a new confidence. Something else was also there that i quite could not put my mind on at that moment.

"Hi sujatha. this is quite a surprise."

"i see that you have lost quite a lot of weight. you didnt feed him well enough, eh farrah?"

"Wha!!? You both know each other?"

and then suddenly it all came swimmingly well into my head. No wonder that farrah had smiled at me and spoken to me in the bus. No wonder she had invited me to dinner and cooked most of my favorite dishes (albeit not well). and no wonder she had agreed to come on the walk with me. It all led up to this moment. I had been setup. This was the fatal flaw in logic that i had been pondering all day long.

" yea neel, suji and I are distant relatives. why do you look like you ve just seen a ghost?"

"erm, i was just thinking abut something, never mind."

"so yea, suji, how come you are here? and how do you know neel?"

me: "what!!??"

she didnt know about us?? this roller coaster of a ride was becoming too much for me to take. I felt me knees going a bit weak and had to sit down some place. I just about managed to give a weak smile as sujatha described me as an 'old friend' and explained that she had taken up a course here in management and had just about landed up.

"you should stay with me!"

"no fara, i couldnt.. i already have a room booked."

"nonsense. i ll speak to the accommodations office. the spare room in my apartment is free. we must stay together."

"ok, if you insist so."

And thus, my evening that had started out harmlessly with me finishing off an experiment at lab, had ended in a rather topsy-turvy manner. as i lay on my bed looking up at the ceiling and thinking about what had happened, i only had questions forming within me. Why did sujatha come all the way here to my university? Would she tell farrah about me? Did I even have a future with farrah?

The music switched to-

'yaar andha vilavu,
yaen indha kanavu,
yaaro solla, yaaro endru,
yaaro vandha uravu,
kaalam seidha kolam,
inga naan vandha varavu..'

as i drifted off to a rather uneasy sleep

to be continued..

Technicolour - Part 2

"I was going to have some milo. You want some?"

She just smiled, gave a look that can be termed quizzical and said, "maybe later" and just kept on walking towards the building. I was a little dazed at the entire experience and found that there was nothing i could do to salvage the situation. i just walked on behind her feeling a little deflated. This entire situation was a little odd to me as all I had had was a passing infatuation that had somehow looked me in the eye almost as though to pose a challenge to me. I decided to show it who was boss and ventured,

"ofcourse, If you can stand it, we could also go to the chinese deli around the block."

She looked around smiling and at that moment, and i knew the situation had defeated me hands down. I had acted desperate without wanting to. I now imagined that her look was more like a condescending expression taking pity on me for what i was going through. But then,

"Actually, i was going to cook and wondered if you would like to join me for dinner?"

This girl had the ability to knock me off my senses and i was beginning to like it. Not that i actually got hold of it (Up yours, awkward situation!), but it was awesome nonetheless. I said, "What time would your honour like me to be present at you place?"

"(laughter), you are quite a dramatist, 'honour' and all, be present at 7.30,7th floor, house C. And if you are late, I might start eating without waiting for you."

"Sure, See you then."

And like this 15 of the most entertaining minutes of my life passed through. I went up to my room and typed out every line that we had spoken. I read the page over and over again looking for hidden sarcasm or any other point that i may have missed in my general sense of jubilation. Nothing seemed out of order. I had really spoken to a good looking girl whom i had previously had a passing crush on. Without really making too much of an effort.

The dinner went off wonderfully. She was a terrible cook, but her earnest effort made my heart warm enough to feel proud of her. Post dinner, i asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. She agreed to this. We were best chums at this point.

We had a nice walk through the park around the complex without talking much. I had hummed a tune to my favorite song and she almost squealed in delight at knowing the song. One of of the few advantages of Srilanka being this close to Tamilnadu i suppose. We sang a few lines together:

Koadai kaalak kaatrae
kulir thenral paadum paattae
manam thaedum, suvaiyoadu
dhinam dhoarum isai paadu
idhai kaetkum nenjamae
sugam koadi kaanattum
ivaigal ilamaalai pookkalae
pudhu choalai pookkalae

All this makes us sound like a couple headed towards a breezy romance, right? A few days of songs, some more dinners, maybe a movie date, until the eventual proposal, right?

At this point, sujatha walked into my life. again.

to be continued..

Technicolour

There was no inkling that I was going to meet her that day. I had finished off my stuff at the lab and left the uni to catch a bus home. By home, I refer to a single room unit in a concrete mega complex which at-least 80 other souls called home.

Anyways, I got into the bus and found an empty seat. My biggest worry for the evening was the lack of food at home. I had to decide if i was going to have more Milo or find something to eat at the chinese restaurant nearby. i was bored of the chinese place. i was bored of milo. And then she got in at the uni's third gate's bus stop. And finding the seat next to me empty, came and sat there.

I had seen her before. Fleeting glimpses, a peek between the mass of people usually between us. I was attracted to her and generally looked out for her in the bus on other normal days, but this was something else altogether. I noticed that she had dark wavy hair and had pierced her ears with two studs. You can call it coincidence, I call it divine intervention, but this song started to play on my I Pod:

yen kanmani...
unn kaadhali...
ila maangani...
unaip paarththadhum
sirikkindradhe...
sirikkindradhe...
naan sonna jokkai kettu naanamo
nee nahaichchuvai mannan illaiyo...

yen mannavan...
unn kaadhalan
yenaip paarththadhum
oraayiram...
kadhai solgiraan...
kadhai solgiraan...
ammammaa innum ketka thoondumo
nee rasikkindra kanni illaiyo...

Of-course, as in the song, I assumed for my own sake that she was humming the female part. I was super content with the way my evening was turning out and hoped that the bus would go in a round about way before dropping us off. Oh, I ve forgotten to mention, she lived in the same mega complex that i did. I just didnt know where exactly within the complex.

At this moment, she turned to ask, "you are from India, arent you?"
I was shocked that she was speaking to me and my shock must have been apparent cos she then asked, "no? Oh i thought you looked Indian. I m from sri-lanka by the way. Farrah. Nice to meet you." My brain was pouring out purple prose and my heart was singing paeans to her. but my mouth remained shut. Finally, I found some courage, took a swig of water and answered her, "I am from India. Chennai. Neel. Sorry, i was a bit tongue tied, but i never thought you would speak to me."
"Why?"
"When was the last time you saw the mirror?"
(Blush) "Is that a compliment?"
Stare...
"hey"
"Sorry for staring, but you truly look gorgeous. and no i dont get spoken to at all by beautiful strangers" my mind at this point was racing around in circles trying to remember every word of the conversation. Every expression, every action, every look for future analysis and reference.

Our stop had arrived and she got up, me following her out of the bus. She turned around at the stop and asked, "so, what are you doing for dinner?"

To be continued..