Part VII
26 August 2010
12 noon
Tarun came and informed Jai that he would depart for Mumbai by the late night flight since he had not been able to get any ticket for the same flight as Pia's. It meant that he was free for a few more hours and had thus decided to spend some more time with his friend. Jai was happy and both of them went down to the Hotel Lounge. They were in the Palladin when Tarun bumped into another of his college friend, Ankit. Ankit was overjoyed to see him after so many years. He had actually come to Taj to attend a Seminar as a delegate and since the Programme was over, he was plain ambling around.
The three of them sat down and shared childhood stories, especially of their college days. Tarun told Jai about how Ankit and he would team up to raise the living hell of their house owner where they stayed as PGs and also how they would bunk classes to follow their friends and class-mates who went on amorous missions and with monkeys following them, their dates were often cancelled. Jai smiled good naturedly at the easy banter between the two and realized how he also missed his carefree college days and university days at Chicago where he went to complete his MBA. Returning to the country, he had to take up the reins of his family business and since then, till date, he had not been able to find some time off for himself, except the time he spent with Bani, those priceless occasions etched deep in his mind and soul. Once again, the feeling of desperation returned and Jai found his mind wandering away even though he was very much physically present with Tarun and Ankit.
He suddenly found himself drawn into the well of their discussions where they were animatedly discussing about how fun it would be to visit their old landlord, who has now shifted to a posh locality after selling off their house. Their son was settled in the States they did not need so much space for themselves. They knew that he would never come back to India, maybe visit once in a while, so with great difficulty and self-persuasion they decided to sell off their house, located in a prime spot in Kolkata and was now conformably settled in a quiet neighborhood in one of Kolkata's posh locations.
Jai didn't want to go since he didn't know the couple but Tarun and Ankit convinced him otherwise. After about an hour later, the trio was headed towards the Banerjees who had already been informed by Ankit about their arrival.
3.40 p.m.
The car halted in front of a huge Apartment Complex rising out of the Earth and extending to the Heaven above. Ankit had already visited the Banerjees earlier and he led them to their appropriate destination. On the 15th Floor of the Complex, the lift halted and Ankit went ahead and pushed the doorbell of an Apartment. The door opened to reveal the smiling face of Shefali Banerjee.
'Arrey Tarun, Arrey Ankit, welcome welcome. We were waiting for you all so long' she said. Then she turned towards Jai and said 'Welcome Mr. ..'
'Walia', Jai prompted her 'It's great being here with these two', he smiled warmly towards Mrs. Banerjee. He noticed a fleeting glimpse of bafflement in Mrs. Banerjee's face which immediately evaporated as fast as it had surfaced. He entered the Apartment along with Ankit and Tarun and soon found himself over flooded with the Banerjee Hospitality.
……….
Edited by sangitadas - 19 years ago
Cricket
Anupamaa
