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Chapter 5
Well, that shoot was the most bizarre thing to happen anywhere in the free world! Heer was trying to work out why Fari would risk her magazine over a personal grudge. Was Fari unhinged? Did that calm business like demeanour hide a monster? Creative types always had a wild side, Heer did too. Everything was felt passionately, anger, love, loyalty, protective instinct, it's just that it was often hidden and reined in. A sense of humour being the only thing constantly visible. And a sense of humour was a must for Heer. She laughed at a lot of things. Especially herself. She took fashion seriously, but not herself. Which was why she could now wonder at what a fool she was with Prem and not feel embarassed.
Guys ogling her, trying their one liners, that was all par for the course, but she ogling Prem? Even the busiest person there would have seen that she was verging on desperate. Was she desperate? Why? Why would Heer, who had just started at a leading magazine, forget what she was aiming for and fall flat on her face? What motivated such career suicide? She couldn't see it. A physical attraction? Something more? Whatever it was, she had to work out whether to commit to it. Once committed, Heer never held back, she gave her all. It was always better to give than to receive. Both were necessary, but receiving fully isn't possible without giving fully. There has to be a constant emptying of creativity and love, so that new ideas and renewed love can be received.
Heer was walking along the platform when the train drew past and stopped, while standing aside for passengers to get off, she heard her name, 'Heeeeeeer! Heeeeeeeeeeer!"
It seemed to Heer that all the people on the platform were parting to allow this yeller to come through. It was ….Lal! "Heloooo Heer! What can't recognise me! "
Lal was her driving instructor who had miraculously got her to pass the test first time. His other job was driving tube trains. Heer didn't know whether to feel flattered or embarrassed. But her fellow travellers seemed quite impressed and slightly amused that their train driver was her friend, or who knows? Boyfriend.
"Lal! Long time no see! Of course I recognise you! Working on the Strand now. "
"Ok ! Got to go and drive the train!" Lal was running to his cab up front.
Heer smiled as she got on the train. The Northern Line, the route she took everyday and Lal was a driver on this route? Well another friendly face was always welcome. She remembered being a student in London, being part of the Russell Square set. Not exclusive, just mad. But she had always had her mind on the job. Fashion isn't something you could study and then forget over the weekend. It was a background, a canvas for the mind to visualise a new look. Always something new , something different.
Fari's philosophy of fashion was of course her own and that's how it should be. Heer found it a bit too safe sometimes. But business and fashion were not easy to mix and if Fari had been successful at it, it was because she knew what would work and threw out what was too risky to put out there on a large scale and fail. Designers did their thing. Fari decided what she would put in her magazine. A battle of wills a tussle and finally Fari always got her way. It was a good move to work for Fari. Jimmy Choos aside, the woman knew the bottom line.
