Is love blind? .......Oh yes it is!! - Episode 7

Sid’s POV:
I couldn’t take my eyes off her…..I waited to see if she turned to see me at least once……She never turned …..”woh din bhi jaldi hi aayega...wait kar dude!” **sighs**.

My thoughts were interrupted by the peon’s call……”tumaari cell phone andar thaa”. I turned to him….In one look I figured out that it was Anjali’s phone…..When the phone went dead in the morning, she put it on the table in anger with a “BANG”…..

But I took it from him…..”waise bhi yeh bhi apna hi hai” (a light naughty smile adorned his face while he said this)

I drove as quickly as possible…..My smile vanished when my mom’s angry face crossed my mind…..Neither did I call her nor did I pick her phone…..She will be real furious….I know….I have to cook up some story to convince her……I took lesser time than usual owing to the scanty traffic during the morning hours……As expected my mom was sitting in the living room with a grim face…Dad would have left for a business tour the previous night…..Thank god I escaped from his temper…..

My mom looked up at me as I entered the room but she turned away almost immediately….I went straight and hugged her…..that was my usual trick to console her…she was aware of it too but she loved my antics…...After that I rested my head on her lap and comfortably lay on the sofa……My mom tried to push my head away but as always I won or I should say my mom gave up for me.…hmm…..she loved me so much!!!She is the best…..

I took my mom’s hand and placed it on my hair……her fingers glided my hair….I loved that feel…….I had a light headache, a resultant of the night’s ordeal……The headache vanished when my mom’s hand touched my head…..

Suddenly something struck me…I realized why I started liking Anjali…..Though modern in her outlook, she was more like my mom….She was the kind of girl whom I could bring home and introduce to my parents…..

I quickly realized what I was thinking “Oh god, what am I thinking? Aren’t all these far off things?? Main bhil kul paagal ho gaya hoom!!!” 

I smiled to myself but my mom caught a glimpse of that…..After all she is my mom….she had noticed the new twinkle in my eyes

Mom: kya hua?

Sid: Kya???kuch nahi…..

Mom: [in a curious tone] SID…..main tumaari Ma hoom…..tumme dekh kar bataa sakthi hoom….kuch toh zaroor hai……ek nahi chamak dhik raha hai….. [Grins widely]

Sid: aap bhi ma….kuch bhi bolte rahete ho….maine kaha na kuch nahi…..

Mom: accha teek hai….main kuch nahi poochoongi…par yeh toh bataa…kal raat kahaa tha?

I was trying to avoid this question but she caught me right there……I told some reason for my not coming home…..I felt that she wasn’t convinced with my reply…..and she knew that I was lying but she didn’t question me further…..May be she strongly believed that I wouldn’t do anything wrong….

I took the coffee she gave me and went to my room……The first thing I did was put Anjali’s phone to get charged….Then quickly finished my coffee and proceeded to have a warm bath quite needed after the tiresome yet memorable day…..

Ten minutes later, I found myself digging into my wardrobe…..…

Afterall it was my first day in college after cupid struck me…..and I had to look the best…..

I took out various T-shirts, shirts, formals, casuals…I held each one of them in front of my mirror….various queries popped in my mind “does this suit me? Will she like this combination?” I felt all these actions strange but I chose to ignore that feeling….I was doing all these for the first time in life……

I felt a little awkward and looked around to make sure nobody was watching it…..especially my mom, at times she acted like a spy….. If she sees this, she will in a jiffy guess all that is going on in my mind……

I brushed away these thoughts and continued with the dress selection……and settled down for a purple t-shirt and black jeans……one of my favorites and hoped that Anjali will like it too…..

I wished that she was here and told me that…..
The next moment, I saw something which my eyes refused to believe….I saw her reflection on my mirror…..Was I dreaming? I knew I was but I chose not to break that sweet dream…….She started off with a cute smile…..”Missing me already huh??” 

I replied “miss you….never!! you are always near me”…..She blushed….her cheeks turned pink…….”awww so cute”……I wished to kiss her cheeks….

I called her nearer…..”paas aao na”….She obliged…..”aur paas”…………”aur paas”…..I kept calling her and she obeyed…..Just an inch separated me from her cheeks when a knock on the door disturbed us……

It was Raju khaka, our cook calling me for breakfast..….

I turned to the door and replied “ek minute main aata hoom”…….I came back to continue my dream but unfortunately the dream was over and Anjali disappeared…..I hated khaka for this!!!!

I thought “I have become crazy” and patted on my head…..when my eyes fell on her cell phone…..

I took the phone in my hand……touched the key pad….i could feel her soft fingers…..

I imagined the way she talked…..and did the same…..I could sense the smell of her lipstick on the speaker’s side……I gave a slight kiss to the phone when a beep sound startled me.......

I snapped out of my imagination and checked what it was…..it was the indication a new message…….I was tempted to see who the sender was……

I knew it was not right to check someone else’s message……I was double minded but I gave way to my curiosity…I opened the message..It was someone called “Rohit”…….
The message read……
Measured By Miles You Are Far From Me,
Measured By Thoughts You Are Closer To Me,
Measured By Closed Eyes You Are With Me, &
Measured By Heart You Are In Me...
Loads of Love
Rohit

I browsed through her inbox.....there were several messages from Rohit.....but i didn't probe further...I closed the inbox.

Several thought processes ran in my mind…..
Mind voice1: Now who is this fellow? How dare he sends her such a message? Is he her boyfriend? No no…she can’t have a boy friend!!!

Mind voice2: Why?? You don’t know anything about her….maybe she has a boy friend…..and maybe that’s Rohit

Mind voice1: A villain for my love……No way!!!!That message is just a friendly one…he must be some close friend….you are exaggerating….

Mind voice2: Exactly my point too……you are going overboard….She is not even your friend and you are already posing like a protective, possessive and obsessed lover……

Mind voice1: Just shut up, ok!!! What if she is not a friend, she will become one soon….

I cut short the debate but one point was crystal clear……I was feeling jealous…………and I felt that I was madly in love with her….
I wondered if this was sheer madness or pure love or a combination of both……….

*************************************** 

Anjali’s POV:

Mom and Aashu’s conversation saved me from a verbal war….my mom didn’t question me about it……I breathed sigh of relief and hurried to my room……My whole body was aching…..I just wanted to sleep but I was dying to meet Aashu and tell her everything…..It was too much of a burden for me to handle alone…..

“I will go in late…..maybe I will miss few sessions, but that’s ok”…… I decided to take a quick nap for 10 minutes but before that I will call Aashu and ask her to start to college……

I searched for my phone…soon I realized that I missed it somewhere…..”Oops my mobile is missing….where is it???”[After a moment of thinking, I realized] “I would have left it in the library…..God, I just hope I get it back….”

After calling Aashu from the landline and a 10 minute rest…..I took a refreshing shower, got ready, a hot toast for breakfast……and rushed off leaving no space for mom’s interrogation……

The third session had just started when I reached college…..It was Vibha maam’s class…..I didn’t want to interrupt the class and get a piece of her mind…..So I went straight to the library to search my mobile…… 

On the way, I was feeling a bit strange….Few students were looking at me as if I were from some other planet…..Few were smiling and talking at my back too…..but I didn’t understand what was going on…..I just ignored them and walked further…..The sight of the library brought me horrid memories of the previous night…….

Fortunately, there were very less students in there and they were quite absorbed into their books….I started searching but I didn’t find it anywhere there…I headed to the librarian to check…..He sported a blank look when I asked him about it.…..

I lost hope of finding it when I heard a voice “searching for this, huh??” 

I turned to find Sid standing just behind me……he held out my mobile when he asked that…..
I just nodded and tried to take the mobile from him but he withdrew his hand before that…..I was damm irritated by his action…..

Anjali: “Give that to me Sid”…


Sid: I will but not here…..


[Anjali didn’t understand what he was up to and chose to remain silent…..but her question was loud and clear on her face….so he continued further]

Sid: Canteen!!.... [After a moment’s hesitation] “Have coffee with me??”

Anjali: Have u gone nuts?? Just give back my mobile…..right now!!
[Her voice became louder even without her knowledge…..Anger and irritation was clearly visible in her voice….]

Sid: No way…You got to come with me!!

[His voice had a tinge of naughtiness…he was acting like an adamant kid yearning for chocolates]

She looked around and saw that their conversation was drawing attention…She didn’t want to create a scene…..So she decided to obey him…..but for some reason she didn’t want to walk alongside him….

Anjali: [fed up of his antics] ok fine…. [Paused for a moment] tum chalo….main thodi dher mein aati hoom….

Sid: [looks at her with a doubt] okie…..as you wish…..I will wait for you at the canteen……come soon!!


Anjali: hmmmm……..

[He proceeded to the canteen…..She looked at her watch….The next session will begin in another 5-10 minutes.....

Her mind voice: I will miss the class if I went to the canteen…...My friends would search for me too but I didn’t have an option but to do what Sid said….I needed my mobile back…..Even one percent of me was not willing to go…I had no clue as to what was in his mind…kal jaisa koyi paagal pan naa karen….

Without knowing what was in store for her, she slowly, very slowly followed Sid…


Anjali's POV:
As I neared the canteen, I saw him playing with my mobile……I just wanted to snatch the mobile and get away from there but he saw me coming and put the mobile in his pocket…..He smiled at me sweetly…..I was puzzled at his change of attitude towards me…..His actions confused me…..But I was in no mood to analyze about that fellow……

Canteen was empty except for one table….A guy and a girl, seeming to be a couple from their activities occupied that table……Both of them were digging into one ice cream cup…..That sight irritated me like hell…..”Gosh….don’t they have money to buy 2 cups?”

I turned away from them and approached Sid’s table…..he got up and offered me that chair…”Beto”…. [I thought “na jaane iss ladke ko kya hua hai??”]
He sat opposite to me….

Sid: class nahi hai???yaa phir bunk kiya hai?? [He grinned while asking this….I knew that he was making fun of me] 

Anjali: late ho gayi….iss liye….. [He cut me short...]

Sid: Oh yeah…..mera bhi wahi haal hai…. [Smiled at me]


[She wasn’t interested in his chat and that disinterest was evident in her face…..]

Sid: kya hua? Are you ok?


Anjali: kuch nahi…. [Keeping the fingers on the forehead] a slight headache…


Sid: [concerned] kuch medicine logi?? I will get you a saridon. [He stood up]

Anjali: No thanks... it’s ok….


Sid: accha teek hai….ek coffee tho le sakthi ho…..trust me…a hot coffee will give you relief….. 

Anjali: just come to the point…..Give back my…..…. [I started coughing as my throat got dried up….He offered me a class of water…….But I plainly rejected it and took the other glass of water and gulped all of it……then finished my sentence] phone….

Sid: [mind voice: that was my glass sweetheart…..I had sipped it once…..sab kismat ka khel hai…..hamaara milna toh hokar hi rahega!!!] [A smile appeared on his face on this thought]

Anjali: [mind voice: why is this fellow smiling without reason??zaroor paagal hogaya hai!!] Did I crack some joke or what????aise kyun smile kar rahe ho? Kya hua??

Anjali's POV: He didn’t utter a word…After looking at me for a moment, he brought 2 steaming coffees and offered me one……I knew there wasn’t much use arguing with him….so I started sipping the coffee…..I wanted to finish both the coffee and the conversation soon…. ….I didn’t look at him…I concentrated on the coffee mug…..

Sid: samaal ke piyo….bohat garam hai…..

[Sid was trying his best to get Anjali talking but she avoided it totally….One more sip and the coffee would be over and not one word from her…….Sid was pissed off at her silence]

Sid: fight karthe samay tumaara mooh bandh hi nahi hota tha…..ab kya hua?? [he waited for her speak for a moment but she didn't...so he added] kuch to bolo…. itni chup kyun ho??

Anjali: [slowly raising her eyes from the coffee] kya sunna chaathe ho??yeh sab kyun kar rahe ho?

Sid: [Sid placed his hand on hers and started to reply.......]Anjali.... [but before he could continue, some girls and boys entered the canteen….and they stopped to look at Sid and Anjali……That interrupted his reply]

Girl 1: woh dekho Sid uss ladki ke saath betaa hai…..


Girl 2: yeh wahi ladki hai na? Anjali….


Boy 1: haan haan wahi hai….


Girl1: jaanti ho….yeh saari raath Sid ke saath library mei thi…. 

Boy 2: [sarcastic tone] dono jagadthey rahete teh…….ab kya hua??

Girl 1: [grinning] pyar hua ikraar hua……. [Starts singing….and all around there start laughing]


[The conversation is loud enough to be heard by Anjali and Sid]

[Meanwhile, since the last class in the morning session is left free, Aashu, Deepak and Sheetal proceed to the canteen….They have also heard this news and are confused as to what happened in reality…They are concerned about Anjali and are worried where she is....They step into the canteen hearing this conversation….. They see Anjali and Sid together and flare up……They come directly to their table]

Aashu: What the hell is happening Anjali? We are all concerned for you and you are here with this guy!!

Anjali: [pulls out her hand from his] let me explain…

Deepak: is there anything else to be explained??? I guess everything is clear now…. We have seen it with our own eyes…..


Anjali: wait a minute Deepak…..[turning to Aashu] tum galat samajh rahe ho Aashu


Aashu: agar kisi aur ne bataaya hota, main vishwas nahi karthi…..par ab… [Stops in between and looks at Sid and then at Anjali]


Deepak: yahi sab karna tha tho itna badaa drama karne ki zaroorat kya thi?


[Sid is a silent listener to all this tamaasha]

Aashu: [hurt that Anjali hid this from her] tum dono ke beech kuch chal raha tha aur mujhe pataa hi nahi chala….mujhe se chupaayi!! ……..To hide this, you made me tell a lie to your mom…..

Sid: [concerned about Anjali’s state of mind] All of you are exaggerating!!! aisa kuch bhi nahi hai….[He knew that if her friends broke up with her, she would be all the more angry on him]


Deepak: Just stay out of this….. [Sid closes his mouth……quite opposite to his normal self….]


[Anjali maintains silence and just listens to them]

Aashu: I didn’t expect this from you Anjali…..


Sheetal: oh toh yeh baat hai…. That’s why you asked me to leave yesterday……isse milne ke plan thi!! Mujhe advice deh kar khud hi….. [Stops and sarcastically smiles]

Deepak: advice dhena bohat aasaan hai na…..


[Aashu leaves….Sheetal and Deepak follow her…..Anjali is fuming inside and obviously Sid is the reason for all this]


Anjali: [angry and screaming] dekh liya tumaare paagal pan ka nateeja!!! Sab mujhe hi dhosh deh rehe hai…..


Sid: suno….main sab kuch teek kardoonga….tum gussa math karo…. [Hesitates and proceeds slowly]…waise bhi college mein aisi link ups and gossips tho hote rehete hai…..itni choti baat ke liye tension math lo…..


Anjali: oh shut up….tumaare liye choti baat hogi…mere liye nahi…..main ek seeda saada simple ladki hoom…..aur mujhe yeh sab bilkul pasand nahi…..tumaare saath aur aage peeche bohat Hi-Fi ladkiyan baagti reheti hai na….yeh sab mazaag unse karna….mujhe akela chod dho….


Sid: But… [Anjali breaks in and continues further]


Anjali: Didn’t you understand what I just told?? Keep me out of such nonsense!!!!


[She leaves…..but after a few steps, she turns back to him and….]


Anjali: [sternly] Give back my mobile right now…


[Sid understands that there is no use talking to her now...since it will only worsen things.....and silently gives the mobile to her]


[To be continued]