Sanyukta took the envelope Neha gave her and left the cafe. She had to go to Tilak Marg,that is where she will be living. SanCorp is in Janpath Road. "That means everyday I'll have to take a cab and pay 255 bucks! Oh man!!", thought Sanyukta. She called another cab and asked the driver to go to Tilak Marg. Clubtown Apartments flat no:D/49,that is what her new address is going to be for the next few years until her family accepts and acknowledges her potential. But she terribly missed her mom. She never stayed away from her mom ever since she was born. She loved her cooking, her pampering and her everlasting support which was the very reason why she chose to do what she had to do.
She reached Tilak Marg. There were parks and children everywhere. From what Sanyukta could tell, maybe this place would be friendly afterall. But she was curious to meet her roommate. Who knows? Maybe she is also another version of Sanyukta-running away from the rest of the world to see her dreams come alive.
At the entrance gate, the security guard stopped her and asked her her formalities. She took out a document from the envelope given by Neha which was previously given by the owners of her apartment stating that she would be staying there. The guard allowed her to enter. It was a residential complex, there was a waterbody,not a swimming pool, in front of her building, benches to sit at and have an adda and well looked after trees and bushes. She took the life to the 4th floor of block D. Normally,she preferred climbing stairs but then she did have a huge luggage and bags. The doors of the lift opened and Sanyukta stood at one end of the corridor. There were 5 doors. She found her door that said, "FL No.49". She rang the door bell because she saw the collapsible gate was open. She waited for a few minutes before a young girl,almost her age, opened. She wore big red framed glasses and was North-Eastern. She looked really pretty and was smiling at her.
"You must be my new roommate?" she asked.
"Sanyukta",and reached out her hand.
"Kaustuki Jin",she said shook Sanyukta's hand. Even though she seemed really sweet and graceful,she had a firm grip. "Come in, and let me help you with that". Kaustuki took Sanyukta's bags and brought them into the room.
The room was pretty descent. There were two separate rooms for the two tenants and one bathroom attached with the living room. A small kitchen on one end of the living room and a balcony that overlooked the water body. There was a TV and a sofa infront.
"I really like it",Kaustuki said. "Its not my home but I'll make do".
"Well,its better than what I originally had in mind",said Sanyukta.
Sanyukta's room was pleasant. It had a single bed, an almirah, a table and a shelf. She immediately unpacked her luggage and bags and got settled. "Are you hungry?" Kaustuki asked.
"Yeah,much",smiled Sanyukta.
"Well, then let me make you some famous Manipuri noodles with veggies. It is very nutritious", suggested Kaustuki.
"So you are from Manipur?"confirmed Sanyukta.
Lunch was great. Kaustuki was a great cook. The egg noodles were light and she had put in almost all sorts of colorful vegetables and made a light soup with sherry vinegar and vegetable stock.
The sun was starting to set and it was almost 5.30 pm. Sanyukta knew that she had to go back to the caf and meet Neha to brush up on other important details regarding her new job. But she enjoyed talking to Kaustuki. Sanyukta learned that Kaustuki's father is a chef and that is how she learned how to make some amazing items. Her mom owns a handicraft store and she has 2 over protective older sisters. Kaustuki told Sanyukta that it was not her childhood dream to become a lawyer but it was something that happened really quickly. She is working under the Indian attorney general and hopes that she'll learn a great deal about actual Indian jurisdiction. She has previously handled minor cases as a second chair while her seniors led the way.
"I have to meet a friend at a cafe. Do you want to come?" asked Sanyukta.
"Its alright. I am really tired and have to run some errands. You go ahead. We'll go to the caf together some other time",said Kaustuki.
Sanyukta wore a white kurti which she had bought from a store in Shimla and a light blue Patiala.
This time she took the local bus and it cost her much less than a cab.
Myara had completely changed. There were gorgeous lights outside. It was really crowded and you could hear the music from outside. Plenty of people were getting inside the caf. She somehow squeezed herself inside and could hardly see an empty table. The bar was crowded and everyone was dancing and singing on stage and having the time of their lives. Everyone was wearing fancy clothes, expensive, and really eye-catchers. Never in her life had Sanyukta felt uncomfortable regarding her clothes, but tonight, she was feeling. Some girls even looked at her with a What on earth?' expression. There was no way she could find Neha in this crowd. She was about to call Neha when she saw a text from her that said "Will be late. Meeting is still going on. Please wait."
Sanyukta sighed. She did not know anyone in the caf and there was no place that she could possibly sit and wait. Sanyukta tried to get to a corner so that she could avoid being pushed when suddenly, out of nowhere she bumped into someone and a huge cup of liquid fell o her white kurti.
"Arrey! Watch where you're going!" she shouted.
A few people looked in her direction and turned away.
"I am sorry but you were not looking where you were going either", said a well built guy, with a small goatee wearing a black shirt and white trousers. His hair was not gelled like every other guy she saw.
"Okay,so it is my fault?"asked a furious Sanyukta.
"No,that is not what I am saying but maybe you should have been careful to. Or else you would..." he began but Sanyukta crossed him and said "What is this thing? Is it alcohol? Please don't tell me its alcohol!"
"Its not, black coffee", he replied.
"Black? On my white kurti?" Sanyukta was trying to wipe off the coffee with a tissue one of the waitresses gave her which had left a heavy stain on her kurti. "What kind of a person drinks black coffee? Coffee should be made of milk and sugar. It tastes better".
"Thank you for the advice. Next time I'll surely remember that", he said with a grumpy face.
Clearly he did not mean what he said and Sanyukta had noticed that.
"Atleast say that you are sorry. No need to throw some attitude", she said.
"I did say sorry",he said.
"When?"
A few minutes ago. You were busy cleaning your kurti".
"So what am I supposed to do? You come out of nowhere and spill black' coffee on my white' kurti and I am supposed to enjoy that? Is that what you're saying?"
The guy looked at her with an expression that said "You are impossible" and turned around to go.
Sanyukta stopped him and said "I get it. You Delhi boys have big egos and it hurts when someone asks you a question that puts you in a false position."
"That is not true. Don't talk to me like that", said the guy turning around and looking angry.
"Kyun?"asked a now furious Sanyukta. "You can spill coffee and not say sorry and I can't say anything to you?"
The guy was about to point his finger at Sanyukta and tell her something really harsh but then one of the waitresses came and said,"Sir,ma'am,I understand that you two are having a personal problem,but the guests are getting disturbed. Can you please take this conversation outside in the lawn?"
"Its alright",said Sanyukta to the waitress. "We are done talking".
"No,we are NOT! You still have to answer why you talked to me like I am your servant,"said the guy and took Sanyukta's hand by her surprise and pulled her outside the caf and in the lawn.
The lawn was equally decorated with lights and a faint music was playing somewhere. How ironic to the situation.
"How dare you?" screamed Sanyukta. "Pulling me like I am your... luggage or something..."
The guy this time looked at Sanyukta with a confused expression and said,"Out of the comparisons in the world, luggage was the one you could come up with? Seriously?"
Sanyukta was very angry with the guy standing infront of him,but even she felt stupid right then. "Luggage?Oh man,I must be really tired!"
"Are you sure you're not drunk?"asked the guy.
"No!"said Sanyukta. "I don't drink...I mean not often...I mean once a year maybe..."
"You seem really confused", said the guy. "And don't worry. That stain will come off. Just give it to the laundry."
"Oh yeah?And how much will that cost me?"asked Sanyukta. "I took a cab from IGI airport to this caf the first time I came to the city this morning and it cost me 255 bucks! ?Itna toh is kurti ka bhi price nahi hain."
The guy smiled little but then said sternly, "So you're from somewhere else?"
"Shimla."
"It is a nice place. I went there when I was a kid. Randhir",said the guy reaching out his hand.
Sanyukta, at first was wondering whether she should reach out her's and shake it, but she figured that getting into a fight with a total stranger is the last thing she wanted right now. "Sanyukta". They shook hands.
"Look",said Randhir "Delhi is different from where you are from that is for sure,but once you get yourself accustomed to the lifestyle,you'll love it."
"Easy for you to say", said Sanyukta"You are from Delhi".
"Yeah,but I spent a whole lot of my life in Mumbai. So when I was moved here when I was 14,I found it a little difficult."
"Really? Wow,I would not think that a guy like you who fought with me a few moments a go would find something like a city difficult".
"We still have to talk about that", said Randhir and sat down on the manicured grass.
Sanyukta wanted to sit down for a long time and when she saw that a Delhi guy,like Randhir,who at first seemed like all the other rich and arrogant guys, sitting down on the grass without a hesitation, she followed and sat down too.
"So what are you? A business man's rich spoilt brat?"asked Sanyukta.
"Mechanical engineer. I build stuff",he said.
"Oh teri!! Same here. Actually that is why I am here. For a job."
"So a girl from Shimla came all the way down to Delhi for a job?"
"Actually",said Sanyukta "I eloped from my home".Sanyukta had no idea why she had told this Randhir this secret, but at that moment it just felt the right thing to do.
"Eloped? Why? Are you a wanted criminal? If yes, then let me tell you I know the director of CBI",said Randhir.
Sanyukta looked stunned but just then Randhir bursted out laughing.
"Hasso mat! I am serious!" said a frustrated Sanyukta. "My father and brother were forcing me to marry this rich guy in Shimla whom I hardly know. They think that girls are born so that they can marry after turning 18 years and settle down with another family and raise kids of their own".
"And what makes you think that you can change his ideology?"
"I don't want to change it, I just want to make him understand that girls are not just born to marry and give birth to children. They are much more than that. I mean, if you look at your mother, I am sure she has achieved a lot other than the titles of a wife and a mother."
Randhir's expression completely changed. That faint smile on his face that pertained while Sanyukta was talking disappeared instantly and a dark angry look was replaced.
"I don't know what my mother thinks of herself. And quite frankly I don't care".
"Kyun?"
"Coz..I haven't known her my whole life."
"Oh",said Sanyukta "I am so sorry. When did she...I mean...how..."
"She is alive", snapped Randhir "and happy. Just not with me."
Sanyukta realized that she may have carried her conversation a bit beyond the line and said, "I am sorry. I should not have said anything about your mom".
"How would you know?"asked Randhir. "How would you know about my mom? God! I haven't called her mom' for over 15 years now. One minute she is happy with us, next minute she meets another man and instantly decided that he is the love of her life and the man she was living with, the man who gave her everything, was just a pawn."
"She left you and your dad?"This was all new to Sanyukta. Even though her parents argued all the time, she could never imagine them living apart from one another.
"She asked for a divorce. On their 10th anniversary", said Randhir and smirked. "Funny isn't it? Normally, you would ask your husband for a diamond ring or a fancy dinner. She asked the one thing her heart wanted a divorce".
"And did your dad give it to her?"
"At first he was devastated and wanted to know why. Whether it was him or something he had said. But my mom made it pretty clear that she was not happy being married to him. She even had the guts to admit that she had already slept with this other man."
This was all new to Sanyukta. She really did not have anything else to say. Maybe this was what reality really was. When she was in Shimla,she never really encountered such situations in which she could not say anything.
"But why would she not keep any contact with you? I mean you are her son, her own blood?" asked Sanyukta.
"Oh she did try. But I wouldn't let her. She is the reason why we left Mumbai and came to Delhi to start fresh. She is the reason why my father became an alcoholic and lost his mind completely. I don't want such a woman to be a part of my life. So I made the first move by making sure she is the last person I want in my life."
They kept quiet. Sanyukta was trying to think how to react. If this was an old friend of hers,she would have rubbed his hand,or hugged him and given him advice to move on in life. But this was a complete stranger. And one thing she knew for sure, he was not faking it.
Randhir stared at the distant continuously without saying a word and fidgeting with a twig he found on the grass. They kept quiet. The music inside was dying down. Just then, Sanyukta's cell phone rang and they were startled a little bit.
"Sorry,I have to take this",she said,seeing that it was Neha calling her. "Hello?"
"Sanyukta am so sorry for not making it. I know I should have called you earlier but this meeting took me ages to get out from. Listen,we'll meet on Tuesday at a party where Ia m going to introduce you to Vardhan Shukla and we can discuss about your job there."
"Its okay, you go home and take care.Bye",said Sanyukta and hung up.
"So,was that your boyfriend?"asked Randhir.
"Yeah...his name is Neha",said Sanyukta and both of them burst into laughter. It was the once laugh Sanyukta shared with someone after she came to Delhi and she felt good,she felt like this city could be rewarding.
"It's already 10:30",said Randhir checking his watch.
"What?"shouted Sanyukta. She was having such a good time that she completely lost track of time. She had to get back to her home in Delhi. She did not even tell her room mate Kaustuki that she'd be returning late. Maybe she was getting really worried."Oh man! I really have to get back. Meri room mate pareshan ho rahi hain." She got up,brushed off the grass from her patiala and was about to storm out.
"Let me give you a lift",suggested Randhir.
"Tum mujhe kidnap toh nahi karonge?" asked Sanyukta.
"Please,mere pas aur bhi zyada important kam hain",said Randhir.
They both left the cafe and got into Randhir's car.
It was a long way from Myara Cafe to Tilak Marg but Randhir and Sanyukta were so busy talking that the distance seemed really short. Soon,they were in front of Clubtown.
"Thank you so much for the lift",said Sanyukta getting out of the car.
"So this is where you'll be living",said Randhir scanning the place from his car.
"Is this how you manage to impress girl you meet so that they invite you to their homes?"
"Just like you think girls are not born to marry and raise kids,guys are not born to sleep with girls",said Randhir,sternly.
"So you don't have a girlfriend?"
"Its a waste of time,I have more important things in life to take care of",said Randhir,this time,getting a bit more serious. "Goodnight". And saying this he drove away,gradually into the darkness.
Sanyukta just stood outside the gate and wondered "Ajeeb admi hain. Kabhi hasta hain,toh kabhi gussa karta hain."
But deep down Sanyukta knew that she would remember this evening for a long time. And for a second,she had a bizarre thought,"I wish I had taken his number atleast."
NOTE:Do comment and tell me what you thought of this chapter. I hope I lived upto your expectations. I am going to start developing the next chapter this weekend. So it will take some time.
Edited by _Ashy_ - 11 years ago
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