Love, Unrequited [Thread 2 : Pg 140] - Page 43

34. Can Be Your Hero

[PAST]

‘What took you so long, Kirti? All I had asked you to get was half a dozen eggs and a packet of milk.’

‘Arrey Dadi, Mira Didi’s brother in law was there with Mira Di’s baby. The baby is so cute, Dadi. Such small hands and feet and has a head full of dark hair. And eyes, Dadi, he has such big eyes.’ Kirti walked into the kitchen and tore open the packet to boil the milk in a vessel.

‘Then, Mira Di’s brother in law - his name is Sumit ,’ she continued, ‘he was asking me about my class and school. He asked me not to call him Bhaiyya because he isn’t that old. He has just given his Intermediate exam. He said, I can and play with Lattoo -they call the kid Lattoo-  all I want.’

Putting the gas on a sim flame when Kirti turned around, the way Karuna’s lips were pursed, she perceived her grandmother was upset over something.

‘What is it, Dadi?’

‘From next time don’t talk to him.’

‘But why Dadi?’

‘Do I have to provide a reason for everything?’ Karuna snapped.

Understanding that her grandmother had misconstrued the whole exchange with Sumit and had given it a different colour, she rushed in to explain herself, ‘I did not go specifically to talk to him, Dadi. I was just playing with Lattoo.’

‘It is not you that I doubt, beta. It is boys like him. They are very wily. You are too young to see through their devices. Using a kid to lure girls to talk to them. In our times we had men rap at our doors and ask for water just to have a glimpse of the women of the house. We are living in a worse time. Only yesterday a man jumped roofs and cornered a girl. Her parents were away. She used to talk to him and he thought it was love.Began harassing her for marriage. I, ask, after all what was the reason to talk with dumb heads like these? No, no, my Nightingale. You cannot tell a man’s character from his face, can you?’

‘You are scaring me, Dadi.’

‘I am making you aware, Beta. Better safe than sorry. Be careful and vigilant.’

Kirti returned to keep vigil, on the milk, for now while playing her conversation with Sumit in her head trying to decrypt any ulterior intentions he might have displayed towards her.

XxxX

‘Khikhikhikhi...heheheheh’

‘Whispers...murmurs’

Kirti and Tejas, cozily up on bed, reclined against the wall, their heads glued together, were busy reading comic strips, a magazine spread between them. Occasionally they would burst into fits of manic laughter over very mundane, humorless pictures. It had begun to affect Nishit’s productivity. He was sitting in front of a computer, tapping away at the keyboard, writing a program for their project.

‘Why are you here?’ He asked Kirti, pinning her under his gaze. ‘If this is the contribution you were talking about, you need not come from tomorrow.

Washed in twin colours of guilt and embarrassment, Kirti immediately supplied an apology. Wrenching her attention away from the comic, she opened the practical notebook to write down the program in hand. It was a final term assignment for Java programming class. Kirti Singh, Keerti Sabharwal, Lalita and Nishit, the consecutive four roll numbers were in the same group. Nishit had on the first day, itself, read out his dictat. He’d take care of everything. The other two had been okay but Kirti, offended by his high and mighty attitude, had declared she won’t take free marks and would like to contribute to the project.

‘I don’t need your sorry. If you want to have fun, you can go out with him. I have no problem.’ To his cousin he said dismissively, ‘Leave the room.’

Tejas, wrapping his fingers around her wrist, said, ‘Chal. Let’s go. He’s a dog in the manger.’

She looked at Nishit who swirled his pen impatiently.

Peeling of his fingers from her wrist, Kirti shook her head, ‘No, I got distracted. You!! You distracted me. Now, I have to finish this. I have to leave in an hour.’

‘Chhod na. You can write it later. Or give it to him. He will write it himself. Come, I have this amazing thing, I want to show you.’

‘Umm, no. I will pass it up. Now get off my back and let me write.’

Tejas shrugged and exaggerated every movement of his limb as he covered the distance between him and the door, which took him some ten minutes. When he left, Nishit got up and bolted the door after Tejas.

Immediately looking up from the notebook, she asked, ‘Why would you close the door?’ The wheels of her mind churning hundreds of possibilities, all of them dicey.

‘So that he cannot come again and we can work peacefully.’

‘Open the door. He won’t return,’ she said, quelling the urgency in her tone.

‘I know my brother better than you. Have you prepared the dry run of the program?’

‘I am at it,’ she replied, trying to act normal. But she had begun to get panicky. Why close the door? Hadn’t her Dadi warned against being in a room with a boy alone? Sometimes when Karuna would drop her school early, she would ask not to wait in the classroom if there was no one or only boys.

Looking up, she found him staring at her, his teeth worrying his lower lip.

‘What? Why are you looking at me?!’

‘Nothing. Hasn’t it happened with you? Your eyes just get stuck in one place and you can’t look away.’ Then peeling off his gaze from her, he swiveled his chair, returning to the computer screen.

Kirti could not proceed to write a single word without agonizing over the closed door. Was Nishit trustworthy? One hour with him inside a closed room. What would others think? His parents? What does he have in his mind? Such an innocent face but who knows what he thinks. The other day Navyam was discussing hot scenes from a movie, Nishit had continued to listen, without raising an objection. Hadn’t the girls the other day talked about how Nishit was different from other boys of his age?

He is somehow more mature. Could be because he’s into athletics. Has grown up earlier in the other department as well. 

What department? Kirti had asked.

You don’t know. He’s getting it on with the junior. Someone saw him feeling her up in that secluded corridor... you know...her breasts.

What nonsense. But what has breast to do with getting it on? It is all lower business no?

Leave Kirti. She’s really Bholi

No tell me, too. I also want to know.

Ok, come here…bring your ears

Eww... stop stop...I don’t want to listen.

Mindlessly taking variables and running the program on the paper,  she wondered if she was his new target. But my breasts are only okay. Will he try to get it on with me? Even if I am not interested? Why am I sitting on bed? If I scream, will anyone hear? My brother is on the other end of the corridor. The other day he felt nothing standing without a shirt. Now that I think about it, how pervertish! What do I do? What do I do? WHAT DO I DO!!! How to be safe before the sorry part has me in its clutches? 

Her pen stuck at a point, leaving an ugly bob of ink on the paper, she did not notice him leaving his chair and leaning into her; when she did, one arm covering her chest, the other striking his cheek, she screamed her lungs out, ‘Aaaaa...Daaadiiiiiiiii’

‘WHAT THE?!’ Nishit bit out, his right arm going to rub his burning cheek. He was unable to construe the situation. What did just happen?

‘I...woh...why did you come so close? What were you going to do?’ She mewled, her hands fisting up her trousers.

‘Why did I come close? What was I going to do? WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO?!! You tell me! Clearly you seem to be more attuned to the whole environment!’

‘You bolted the door!!!’ She eyed him accusingly.

‘And gave you a valid reason!’

‘When you leaned over me...I…’  She felt sheepish to finish her previous line of thoughts. Silly and sinister, they seemed both at the same time. She flicked off the dots of cake biscuits that had fallen on the bed.

‘You had not moved your pen for the last ten minutes, I was just looking into the book to see where you were stuck.’

‘Oh…’ Kirti muttered, her tone contrite.

He was going to start a furious tirade when loud knocks on the door had him standing up and opening the door. There stood an old woman, tiny and lean but imposing and regal in appearance. She wore a chikan kurta and pyjama in peach shade. The square dupatta had intricate ambi designs all over  it.

‘Dadi!’ Nishit uttered.

‘Chiku…’ she acknowledged her grandson.Then noticing the girl in the background she asked, ‘Did you scream now?’ She asked Kirti with a piercing gaze.

‘Woh…’ Kirti found herself in a quandary.

‘Actually Dadimaa,’ Nishit hurried with the clarification, ‘She had been writing the wrong program up till now. When I pointed that out, she was so frustrated she screamed.’

‘Yes, Dadimaa. I will have to write the entire thing again.’ Kirti chimed in.

The matriarch of the house eyed both of them suspiciously. ‘Why is your cheek red, Chiku?’

‘It is?’ Nishit feigning surprise walked to the mirror that hung from his wardrobe door. ‘It is. I don’t know Dadaimaa, how it came about.’ He bluffed. Kirti stared at the condensing Roohafza glass. 

‘What are you both doing?’ She queried.

‘Computer project, Dadimaa.’

‘Accha...acchaa,’ she bobbed her head, ‘Leave the door open. The windows are all closed. Open them. Ventilate the room.’ 

Kirti immediately climbed down the bed  and got to the task, sliding open the windows, drawing the curtains.

‘I have got Litchis from the garden. I will ask Rati to send some to your room. Work hard, Chiku,’ she patted the boy and glancing at the cowering girl, walked away from the room.

‘Phew,’ Kirti breathed out. ‘See, I told you to keep the door open. It’s all because of your stupid idea of closing the door.’

‘Shut up!’ He gritted out. ‘JUST SHUT UP! You are okay being glued to Tejas all day long but I lean into to check the copy and I am raping you?!’

‘NISHIT!!! Don’t say such vile things!’

‘But you can think all sorts of vile things?’ He was truly livid and it was her first time to see a boy this angry.

‘I...Tejas and I were sitting together but the door was open, no?’

‘One time you mention the dratted door…’

‘But that’s the whole point of it. I had asked you to open it earlier itself but you denied...and I got...scared.’

‘You, Kirti Singh, better work on taming that insanely savage imagination  of yours.’

XxxX

‘What kind of boy do you like, Kirti?’ Sagarika asked. They were all assembled in the back corridor of their class. It was Biology class but their teacher was busy finishing the practical portion of 12thers, thus rendering the class free. It was also the last period so everyone retiring into their respective groups was chilling out.

‘I don’t know,’ Kirti answered.

‘Oh come on. You must have a picture in your mind. The kind of boys you find attractive. The kind you’d like to date.’ Mehek probed. Kirti looked hesitatingly at the boys who sat quietly, all their attention on her.

‘What? Shy in front of us? Is your dream man one of us?’ Navyam asked.

‘NO!!!’ She denied immediately. ‘You all don’t qualify to be called a man.’

‘Don’t be shy of them. We are all friends.’ Mehek coaxed.

‘I have not thought about it really. Aren’t we too young?’ 

‘Young? We are fifteen!!!’ Sana exclaimed. 

‘Come on, Kirti. Don’t be such a missish.’

‘Samarth. I like him.’ He was the only guy who made her feel aware of stomach flip flops.

‘Who’s Samarth?’ Tejas inquired. ‘Is he from our school?’

Kirti and Manisha’s eyes met and they exchanged knowing glances.

‘Good choice, Kirti. I love Samarth, too. And you are my friend and all that but I am going to give you a tough competition.’

‘Challenge accepted!’ Kirti grinned like a cheshire cat.

‘Who is Samarth? Can anyone fill us in, please?’ The girls were getting curious. Manisha and Kirti were enjoying their cluelessness. 

‘He is the male protagonist of Sanam Bewafa,’ Nishit drawled lazily, killing their game.

‘Dude, since when did you start watching soap operas?!’

‘Our maid watches it religiously at really high volume. It’s difficult to not know the struggles of Sanam. Yesterday, she had to draw ten pails of water from a well. Today, he will come and save her fainting form in his arms only to drench her in a pail of water later.’

Kirti, impressed with his knowledge, wanted to tell him that wasn’t the best part of the serial. He should wait for the eye locks and the banter between them

‘Arre haan...that dhumtananana...so annoying.’ Tejas agreed.

‘Sana, what’s your kind?’

‘I like mature men who can joke as well as be serious when time arrives. They have to be good looking obviously. Smoking hawt. They should have just me in their eyes. I should be their focus. They should treat me like a princess. Like Sreedhar from 12 B. Isn’t he such a hottie and he’s the topper of Bio section. I think he fancies me too. I have often seen him sending lingering glances across the assembly hall.’

‘He has to be a cradle snatcher to fancy a girl from 9th!’ Nishit remarked, earning a hi-fi from Tejas.

‘Kettle black and all that. At least he’s not salivating after my boobs’

‘He would have if you had any.’

Kirti felt very tuned out of the whole conversation. The level was higher than she could keep pace with. These people were truly more experienced than her, and the undercurrents between Sana and Nishit were so thick, you could slice it and store it away as a keepsake.

‘Tejas, your turn?’

‘I don’t know bro. I’ve never given it a thought. Miley Cyrus? Hermoine Granger? No idea!’

Kirti sent a soft smile his way. Here was a guy she could truly relate with. He was still an innocent at heart, untouched by the corruptions of the adult world.  That's why they bonded so well.

‘Mere khwabon mein jo ladki hai, sach much ho nahin sakti..Kisiko Bhi Main Khwabon Mein Basalun...Ho nahi sakta,’ he sang, raking a hand through his hair, a lopsided smile on his face.

‘Now, Nishit’s turn,’ Mehek announced.

All curious, her chin in her palm, she turned all of her attention on him. This was an interesting game. You came to know what kind of people they were all attracted to. Just when the game had started getting interesting, she was summoned by Keerti Sabharwal.

‘What is it?’

‘Devika Ma’am has called us.’

‘Me? Why though?’ She was a nobody here, no one looked or called for her.

‘I don’t know. A guy came looking for a Kirti. I asked which one. He had no clue and asked for both of us.’

‘Okay, coming,’ she said  and with a non inclination to leave the game at such crucial point, she sat up, running up to catch her namesake.

XxxX

‘Kirti, I am sorry for the other day,’ Nishit was writing his Chemistry journal and had whispered the words. 

Putting her head up on her arm, she asked, ‘Which day?’

The bench in front of them was empty. Sana and Tejas had gone to their respective house meetings. The green squad’s meeting had been cancelled and was scheduled for the next day.

‘I should have thought from your point of view. I over reacted. I mean you must have your reason to get scared...but honestly I have no evil designs over your person. I am not that kind of…’

‘I am sorry, Nishit. Like you said, I overthink.’ She cut him off, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment on being reminded of the day.

‘Glad we have sorted this out.’

‘Hmm’

‘So...will you be coming this Sunday? We need to get printouts and get the project bound. CD has to be written as well.’

‘I will. That is if you have no problem.’

‘No problem. I promise to keep the door closed.’

‘Huh?’

‘Open. I meant open.’  

‘Let’s not mention the door again.’

XxxX

‘What’s wrong?’ She asked Nishit who was busy kicking his scooter. They were on their way to get the project spiral bound, when the scooter had broken down in the middle of the road.

‘No idea. Will have to show it to a mechanic.’ He answered, wiping the hot trail of sweat running down his face. The sun crackled with a vengeance, sucking up all their energy. Could do with some Glucon D, Kirti thought.

‘Petrol toh full hai na?’ She asked.

‘Haan yaar. Got it refilled last night only.’

‘Here, water,’ she offered him from her bag.

‘Thanks,’ he said, throwing his head back and chugging down the water. His Adam apple bobbing with each swig and lowering the bottle, he wiped the lines of sweat along his forehead with the back of his hand. Her Dadi used to say, one who gets habituated to stay in side air conditioned rooms, sweat profusely when out in the sun. 

One advantage about not having air conditioners, Kirti mused, to make me sweat must be a challenge for the Sun. I am stuff legendary bets are made of. The Sun and The Wind, betting as to who would make me strip off my...I should have had a cloak, she thought, feeling a wetness in her armpits.

His ‘Kirti?’ stopped her mind from running off on tangent. He was giving her the bottle, now empty, back. Shoving the bottle back into its inbuilt shelf in the bag, she asked, ‘What do we do now?’

‘I will drag it to some mechanic’s place. There must be some around. You can catch a taxi or something and go home. You have money?'

It looked like a convenient solution. So, having handed him the printed paper, the CD, she walked the opposite direction of him, she should have been relieved to have found the taxi, now that she would reach home on time. But, uncharacteristic of her, she turned around, tracing the path her squad leader had travelled, and feeling acute joy at finding him not too far from her reach.

‘Hiii,’ she breathed, getting in step next to him.

He was bewildered to see her appear next to him, but not unhappy, Kirti inferred the way his eyes brightened before filling with unadulterated concern. ‘What happened? Did not find a taxi?’

‘I let it go,’ she answered offhandedly, not making a big deal of it.

‘Why?’

‘It would be so wrong on my part to leave you stranded alone. Had I been at your place, you wouldn’t have left me.’

‘Thanks for the faith.’

‘I don’t want to be a fair scooter friend. When your bike is working I use you to take a lift and when it stops, show you my back. But there’s one thing I need to do.’

‘What?’ He asked, guiding the vehicle along the sides of the road. ‘Bhaiyya, gadi mechanic kahan milega?’

‘Go straight. Take a turn. There should be one.’

‘Thank you.’

Kirti waited for them to finish before answering, ‘I should make a call to my Dadi. This can take time. She’ll get worried unnecessarily. You wouldn’t have a mobile phone, would you?’ 

‘As a matter of fact, I do.’ He said, pulling out a Nokia 1600 model from his pocket.

‘Why didn’t you call someone for help then?’

‘And let go of this experience? Become a person who can’t take care of his own problems?’

Once she had informed her Dadi, she felt lighter. Dadi had approved her decision of not leaving a boy alone like that on the road in the face of crisis. Her father had met Nishit and both her brother and father had good things to say about him, so Dadi trusted the name.

‘Why did your brother not accompany you today?’ 

‘He got his regular vaccine yesterday. He had a high fever last night. So he has been recuperating at home.’

XxxX

‘How much? Two hundred and fifty five rupees? I don’t have that much on me.’ Nishit said, agitated.

‘It’s okay. I have.’ Only this morning Kirti had taken out a crisp note of five hundred that she had gotten as a Raksha Bandhan gift and kept in her purse, thinking what if she needs it. Some good premonition it was.

‘No, let me call someone,’ he declined her offer of help.

‘Arrey, if we decided to take care of this crisis between us, then why call for help. Please, let me. I thought we were a team.’

‘K. Fine save the day. Be the hero,’ He conceded.

She was all smiles and beaming. ‘Okay, so you sit and supervise the repair and meanwhile I, you see that gaming zone there, I will go and ask if they do spiral binding as well. I will get the acknowledgement sheet printed out as well.’

‘Cool,’ he said.

XxxX

His gaze flitting between the entrance of the gaming zone and his watch and a few occasional glances at the man working on his scooter, he waited for her to return. 

Finally  a girl clad in a blush colored Kurta and salwar, stepped out, a bag hanging from her shoulder. There was a guy next to her as well. Amit Raj, Nishit observed from across the road. The boy slipped a paper into her hands. She gestured towards him, then waving a bye to the shaggy haired guy, she began crossing the road, coming to him. 

Turning to the mechanic who was tightening nuts and volts, and another one who filled air in a deflated tyre, he decided it was a craft that required complete attention.

‘Nishit, finally the file is bound. Acknowledgement and cover page is also done. I got a photocopy backup of the project as well. They had subsidised rates so I thought why not. And guess who I met there?’

‘Who?’ He asked nonchalantly, making space on the unstable wooden bench painted in green. ‘Careful,’ he said, moving her net dupatta out of the way. There was a nail sticking out of the desk. 

‘Oh thank you.’ She gathered her precious dupatta in her lap, away from any sharp objects. It had small rose buds sewn all along it, all in blush pink colour.

‘Amit Raj. He was playing a game or something. The world is such a small place.’

‘Hmm.’

‘How long will it take Bhaiyya?’ She asked the man.

‘Half an hour more.’

‘Accha. Nishit, this has come along nice, no?’ She pulled out the file and showed him, the bag between them.

Flipping the pages, he nodded. Satisfied, she kept it back in the bag. Then as they sat together, surrounded by the smell of grease and petrol, sounds of metals, of RJ prattlings, yesteryear songs being played , she said, ‘Nishit, don’t tell this to anyone. But Amit gave me his number.’

‘Oh,’ he uttered. 

‘See, I am not bragging or having a very high opinion of myself but do you think, he’s line marofying me? I mean why should I call him? He’s not even in my school. The way he makes a few comments, it makes me feel very awkward. I mean I am not saying I am very beautiful and have boys coming after me..’ She had talked to Amit once. Will he think it to be something more and corner her?

‘I am amazed it took so long for you to notice his intention. He has been sending you signals since Alpha.’

‘I did not notice, really. What should I do?’

‘Why are you asking me?’ He said belligerently. And then came a much calmer response, ‘Are you interested in him?’

‘NO! I don’t like all these things. It is very off putting. We are still young.’

‘That’s it then. Don’t respond.’

‘Right,’ she said, ‘Why should I get worried about it?’ She shredded the piece of paper that had Amit’s number and let it fly away.

‘Don’t litter the place,’ Nishit admonished half heartedly.

‘Sorry. Forgot,’ she answered sheepishly.

‘Since, we are talking, can I ask what you keep listening to on your Walkman.’

He did not answer, instead pulled out the device and shoving the piece in her ears, played the song.

‘Lower the volume a little. Haan, it’s okay.’ She bobbed her head to the English song that played.

‘How’s it? Beautiful no?’

‘Hanh, I like the music and the voice is very beautiful but some of the words I can’t make out. I don’t listen to English songs na. Which song is this?’ She confessed. She generally did not lower her barriers like this but something momentous had shifted between them it seemed. Them sitting together, him sitting with his legs stretched lazily, educating her on melodious English numbers.

 It felt so right that she should tell him her secrets.

‘Do you want to go eat Kulfi sewai after this? My treat!’

‘Did you come across some Kuber’s treasury? Pots of gold in the backyard?’

‘Is that a snide remark?’ She asked her hackles rising.

‘Why would I want to destroy a good moment?’ He said.

‘Well, my benevolence is because I am happy. Very happy.’ And she truly was. The day was beautiful. A good moment he had said. Yaar, he had said. 

XxxX

‘Here,’ he dropped a sheet on the desk.

‘What is it?’ She perused the paper. ‘Can Be Your Hero,’ it read.

‘The lyrics of the song from the other day.’

‘Oh. Thank you.’

XxxX

‘Manisha, the other day, Nishit, what did he say about his choice of girl?’

‘Something about a tall girl, really long hair...and I don’t remember.’ 

Kirti unconsciously smoothed her hand down the shoulder length pigtail. Not so long. 

‘Why? You have a crush on him or what?’

‘No!!! I was just curious about that junior and him. The girls are talking about all kinds of things. Getting it on and feeling up.’

‘Abey, let them talk. But be truthful, do you have a crush on him?’

‘No. I was truly only curious. Besides, my heart beats only for Samarth Raisingh.’

‘Good for you or you’d have been banished from the fan club.’

‘My offence, milord?’

‘Chasing the forbidden romance. We have sworn ourselves to the one and only Samarth Raisingh.’

‘We stan Samarth. The one and only Samarth,’ they coed in unison, giggling and bouncing towards the classroom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koJlIGDImiU