Part 1
*Aditya Sharma*
Finally! I am finally going home after 8 long, harsh years in the United States. It's not
like I didn't like being in the United States. No, no I loved being there, it's a great place
especially because that was where I met HER. I just think that living the United States
doesn't compare to the feeling you get when you are in your own country with people
you can call your own. Thinking about all of this, I fell asleep, only to be awoken to
the voice of the pilot stating that we were landing in Mumbai. Once I was off the plane
and in the airport, it took me a little while to realize that so much had changed in this
place since the day I had left for the U.S. When I had noticed this, I kind of put it off to
the side and went to the baggage area to pick up my suitcases. When I reached the
main door of the airport, I looked around for my parents who were coming to me up. I
spotted them after a full 5 minutes because there was such a big crowd there. I was
very happy to see them but I also noticed that there was a girl standing next to them.
She was about my age but she was really pretty. She had long, black, lucious hair. Her
eyes were brown and her smile was a smile that could make even a homeless person
feel loved. For a second, I forgot about everything around me and where I was and just
stood there staring at her. When I realized where I was, I slowly and casually walked up
to my parents. When i saw my mom stand there smiling I momentarily forgot about the
girl standing next to her.
"Maa! Kaisi ho? Tum nahin janti maine tumhare haath ka bana hua khana kitna
miss kiya hai," I say.
"Acha? Mere haath ka bana hua khana tujhe bahut yaad aaya tha? Toh phir
yahan pe itne nakhre kyun karta tha?" Mom asks.
"Arre Aarti, woh yahan pe tha. Wahan jaake thodi roz itna acha khana khane ko
milta tha," Dad says, supporting me.
"Aacha. Toh baap aur beta dono milke meri taang kheech rahe ho? Kher jaane
do. Ab tu aagaya hai na, toh tujhe har din mein aapne haath ka bana hua khana
khilanoogi. Dekho toh, kitna doobla ho gaya hai mera bacha," mom says, "chal ab ghar
chalte hain. Sab log tera wait kar rahe hai aur tu bhi toh thak gaya hoga na."
She turns around to go towards the car with dad following her. After about 4 steps they
realize that I'm not following them. They turn around to see where I went off to and
notice me staring at the girl that had been standing next to them earlier. Mom and dad
both start smiling when they see me staring and wondering who that girl is.
"Aditya, tu jaanta hai ki woh kaun hai?, Dad asks me.
When I shake my head to answer no, he says "Toh mein baata ta hoon. Tu jis ladki ke
saamni ghoor raha hai, uss ladki ka naam Simran Malhotra hai."
"Acha. Nice name."
When I say this I'm thinking that I've heard that name before somewhere but I couldn't
exactly pinpoint as to where I had heard it. After about a minute or so I realized exactly
where I had heard that name.
"Wait apne SIMRAN MALHOTRA kaha? As in humari Simran? As in Rajeev
uncle aur Aamna aunty ki beti Simran? As in meri best friend Simran?," I ask both of
them.
"Haan. Yeh wahi Simran hai. Rajeeve aur Aamna ki beti aur teri best friend," Dad
says.
The minute those words come out of dad's mouth I turn around and give Simran a big
bear hug.
"SIMI!! Kaisi hai tu? Tu kitni badal gayi hai. Bachpan ki Simi aur aaj ki Simi mein
kitna farak hai. Maine kabhi nahin socha tha ki tu itni pretty lagegi." I say, practically
shouting. "Adi, calm down. Haan mein Simi hoon aur main jaanti hoon ki tu bahut
khush hai mujhe dekh kar par poore Mumbai ko batane ki zaarorat nahin haina? Hum
ghar chalke baat karte hain Tikhai?," Simi says.
I was reluctant at first to say yes because I really wanted to talk to her. I mean it had
been 8 years since I had seen her or talked to her so I really didn't want to wait another
moment but I understand why she is saying this. I didn't want the entire Mumbai city to
know about our lives, even though most of the city probably does know since mine and
Simi's dads run the biggest hospital in Mumbai. So I agreed and we went home where I
saw a bunch of people sitting on the couches talking. The minute they saw me they all
got up and came to greet me. The first people I noticed were Rajeev uncle and Aamna
aunty.
"Uncle, Aunty! Kaise hai aap? Thankfully I am still able to recognize you two,
unlike your daughter over there who is unrecognizable," I say.
Everyone but Simi, who is blushing, starts to laugh.
"Beta, time ke saath toh sab change hote hi haina? Simi mein change itna dikhai
deta hai kyunki tumne uss akahari bar ek choti bachi ki tara dikha tha aur ab woh badi
hogayi hai. Dekhna tu bhi toh kitna bada ho gaya hai. Hum mein itna change nahin
dikhai deta hai kyunki hum sirf buddhe ho gaye hai," Rajeev uncle states.
Dad, mom and aunty start to laugh and I just smile. Soon they all leave the room to
let us "kids" talk. I turn around and see bhai and Ranvir bhai. I go up and hug both
of them. Armaan Sharma, as in bhai, is a couple years older than me. He is a doctor
at Sanjeevni, the family hospital, just like dad is. Ranvir Malhotra is the same age as
Armaan bhai and also a doctor at Sanjeevni. Armaan bhai and Ranvir bhai are best
friends just like me and Simran are.
"Bhai! Kaise ho aap dono? Pata hai? Jab bhi mein America mein basketball
khelta tha toh hamesha aap dono ko yaad karta tha," I say.
"Oh really? Kya baat hai? Ranvir, suna tune? Aditya Sharma hume yaad karta
tha, " bhai teases me.
"Bhai aisa nahin hai. Aap ko to pata hai na ki aap dono ko bahut yaad karta
tha par aap dono ki shaadi mein nahin aasaka kyunki meri exams thi uss waqt," I
complain,"anyways, dono maharaniyan dikhai nahi de rahi. Kahan hai?"
Bhai starts snickering the moment I say this but he was later hushed by Shilpa bhabhi.
"Humne woh suna Adi. Hum dono maharaniyan nahi hai. Aur hum late sirf is liye
hai kyunki hume ek urgent operation aagaya tha." Anjali di says.
Oops. I had completely forgotten that Anjali Sharma urf Nanda and Juhi Malhotra urf
Mehra are both doctors at Sanjeevni. Actually, I should tell you that mine and Simi's
entire family are doctors. Entire family includes: our dads, our brothers and bhabhis,
and our sisters and jeejus. Only Mom and aunty are different. I plan on being a doctor
as well. I have finished studying and have my degree and everything and I plan on
starting work at Sanjeevni soon. I still don't know what direction Simi plans on going to.
And another thing is that Anjali di and Juhi di are best friends just like me and Simi and
bhai and Ranvir bhai. I guess it runs in the family, because our dads were best friends
before any of us were.
"Okay. I'm sorry ki maine aap dono ko maharaniyan kaha. Mujhe shaama kardi
jiye," I say.
"Tikhai. Tumhe hum maaf karte hain," Juhi di says.
"Acha mujhe lagta hai ki hume Adi ko upar kamre mein jaake aram karne dena
chahiye. Woh bechara lambe safar se aaya hai aur woh bahut thak gaya hoga," Shilpa
bhabhi says.
"Haan, tum upar jao aur aram karo. Aur hum sab family room mein jaake baatein
karte hain." Ragini bhabhi says.
With that everyone leaves to go to the family room, leaving me and Simi alone. We
both keep quiet for a couple minutes and then Simi says,"Tum jao aur fresh ho jao.
Tab tak mein kitchen mein jaati hoon. Aarti aunty chahti hai ki aaj raat ka saari khana
tumhari pasand ka ho. Isiliye maine malai kofta aur aloo ki sabzi bane ko kaha hai. Aur
desert mein gulab jamun banenge. Agar tumhe aur kuch chahiye to bata dena, mein
banvadoongi," Simi says.
"Nahin inta saara khana kafi hai mere stomach ke liye," I say heading towards
my room.
When I open my door, I expect everything to be different. I was kind of right except for
the fact that everything was the same except for the pictures of me on the wall. When I
had left, I had pictures of me when I was small and now there are pictures of me now.
It's literally like looking into a mirror. I quickly unpack all my stuff and take a shower.
While I am sitting on my bed I think about life and how much Mumbai has changed and
I think about how great it will be to talk to Simi tonight and learn about everything that
happened in the past 8 years. As I think about all of this stuff, I fall asleep and wake up
nearly an hour later at 7:30. I go downstairs and see everyone coming from the family
room and into the dining area which meant that it was time for dinner.
"Uth gaya? Aaja khana taiyar hai aur tujhe bahut bhookh lagi hogi. Aa baith," Dad
says. We all sit down and I notice that the food is exactly what Simi said it would be. I
was starved so i just dove into the food and the minute I tasted the malai kofta I felt like I
was in heaven.
"WOW! Itna acha khana maine saalo mein nahi khaya hai. Mom, kya khana
banaya hai aapne," I say.
" Yeh khana maine nahi bana yeh," Mom replies. I just stare at her,
confused. "Aunty, aapne?" Aunty also shakes her head. " Shilpa bhabi, Ragini bhabi,
Anjali di, Juhi di, aap mein se kisi ne?" They all also shake their heads. Now I am
definitely confused. If none of these ladies have made the food then who made it?
"Abhi tak nahin jaan paya ke kisne yeh khana banaya hai?" Mom asks. When I
shake my head to say no, she says,"Duffer. Yeh khana Simi ne banaya hai."
I stare at Simi when mom says that this food was made by her. I didn't know that she
could cook let alone make such delicious food. Well, then again, I haven't talked to her
for a really long time. That's why I couldn't wait until after dinner when I could finally
have some time to talk with her about life and everything. I stared to daydream about
everything we could talk about. The only thing that brought me out my zone was the
voice of Juhi di talking to Simi.
"Simi, aa baith aur khana khale. Sab ne le liya hai sab kuch aur bether hoga ki tu
bhi aakar baith jaaye."
"Actually di, mein khane ke liye nahin ruk sakti. Mein aapne doston ke saath
movie dekhne jaa rahi hoon aur humne plan kiya tha ki hum wahi khana kha lenge,"
Simi says.
As soon as Simi says that she was leaving I got very upset. I tried to not show that
emotion to anyone but I was really upset that I wouldn't get time to talk to her. But in
order to console myself I said that there was always tomorrow to talk to her, so I guess
its okay.
"Acha tikhai. Kitne baje jaana hai? Aur Adi ko bhi saath mein lekar jaana." Di
says.
"Nahin di, its okay. Mujhe aap sab ke saath thoda time spend karna hai, aur
waise bhi, mera abhi bahar ghoomne ka mann nahin hai," I say.
"Acha tikhai. Simi tu jaa, beta. Tujhe der ho rahi hogi. Aur haan, kal tu chuti le
lena. Adi ko Mumbai dikha dene ke liye," Dad says.
"Ji, uncle. Mein kal subha jaldi yahan aajaoongi aur mein Adi ko Mumbai dikha
doongi. Bye everyone!" Simi replies before turning around to leave.
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
Bindi
270