Abhi Drabble Diaries - Completed - Page 7

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Wow ten years have passed! Can't wait to find out how Pragya's life has played out! And Mina's right, I can really see a change in voice for this grown up Abhi - great job on showing that difference! 👏 I just love this fic Aafrah, your writing is so simple yet so evocative.

Aafrah I hate you!!(well really I love you but I hate you for leaving it there)

Originally posted by: -mina-

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ummm

😭

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ok sorry if i've jumped the gun again i know it's annoying :P

anyway the tears were because i saw the "10 years later" on my way to res-ing this post.

but i guess ultimately i'm glad for the time jump. maybe their college tale went as far as it could go. and hopefully the time is now right for their happy ending. i like the idea that they both got a chance to grow up.

your abhi is still too adorable for words, but here actually sounds like a grown up too. the whole thing continues to be utterly awesome. thank you :)

12. - 1

7th October 2014. - PART 1

I had no idea where life was leading me, when I agreed to be a visiting guest for a TedX Talk in the University of Warwick. It was a talk show bringing a confluence of diverse fields. Accomplished professionals from each of these fields were coming to speak to students, encouraging them. Each speaker had a twenty minutes slot, and I was mailed a list of speakers who were coming, but me being me, I never bothered to go through the list of boring speakers. I just checked out the people from the entertainment background - there was Tom Hanks from movies and me for Music. We had slot one after the other.

I reached their plush green campus yesterday, which was the most beautiful campus among all the ones I have visited in UK. There was a cocktail dinner in the evening for networking and warming up with the other speakers, but I didn't attend that one. Instead I sent my secretary to attend it - I think it was a bit rude of me, but I quoted I was unwell. The real reason be told, I was conscious to go in a dinner so formal. Being a rockstar I don't remember the last time I dressed up formally and idea of going to a banquet full of knowledgeable men exchanging words that escaped my intelligence wasn't exactly my idea of gelling up. I decided I would let my talk do all the gelling up before tomorrows closure banquet.

My secretary returned after the dinner and informed me I was right, the dinner was extraordinarily boring and full of know-it-all's trying to impress each other. But the highlight of the dinner was this surreal woman in black. She was definitely Indian and too young an achiever in the field of academics, she was always crowded around by old corporate speakers trying to coze up to her, and what made her surreal was the chic and sophisticated way she carried herself. My secretary asked me to watch out for the wonder woman tomorrow. He joked that if something worked out between us, at least the world would know I was looking for brains, hence I ditched Tanu - I laughed at that one - Little did Manas, my secretary know, I have already pledged my heart to a possible mother to two - my chashmish.

It was today when I went for the show, that my world turned topsy-turvy after ten years. As I went and made my self comfortable in the guests couch, I saw about five other guests there. One I recognized to me the legendary Tom Hanks and the rest I assumed where the insufferable know it all's that Manas was talking about. However they all seemed very friendly with me and spoke to me amicably. I liked Tom, I told him I was a fan of his and to my surprise he complimented me back saying he liked my music too! Then my eyes fell on the last couch which was vacant. Tom's eyes followed my gaze - she is a stunner, that one. An Indian Goddess with brains. I guess, today her talk is slotted to be the first. I enquired what her name was, remembering Manas's words.

"You know these Asian names, sorry I couldn't catch it, I think it Yara or something, but she is an academic researcher from NYU"

***

The lights dimmed in the auditorium and slowly the stage light illuminated the place. TedX 2014 Warwick Chapter had officially begun. After an elaborate opening ceremony arranged by the students, they called for the first speaker, Dr. Arora, from NYU.

In the dim white light that flooded the stage, entered a vision clad in a peach formal dress and teamed with it was black short blazer contouring her curves in the most alluring ways. I would never have recognized her even if she was standing a foot away from me, had she not folded her hand in a namaste' (exactly the same way she greeted my daadi all those years back) and introduced herself as Dr. Pragya Arora.

I stared at her with an open mouth, and in that one moment I felt I was in a time warp. I was back in the train station in Mumbai, only this time I saw the train coming to a hault in the station and from the compartment door wearing a dress in the shade of peach with a black blazer on, she was standing and waving at me cheerfully and saying, "See Abhi, I am back!"

I heard Tom chuckling from next to me. "Abhi, the camera is on closeup recording your expression, close your mouth boy!"

I regained my posture but couldn't take my eyes off the current day chashmish who was diametrically opposite from the image of hers I had in mind. Once broken from the trance, I looked back at the brochure we were given. I hunted down the list of speakers until I found her name there. I wanted to know more about her. The brochure said she is currently a professor at NYU teaching anthropology. She is a doctorate in anthropology and has authored many renowned books in her domain. In fact, one of her books', is known to be the most commonly followed anthropology text books in Universities globally.

"Woah" I thought to myself, and here I thought chashmish wasn't a celebrity? Well she was very much a celebrity by her own rights, just that I am to nave to recognize her stardom.

I rechecked my slot for the talk, as I requested for the last slot (since it was music, evening would provide good ambience for the talk and who knows? Maybe even a little bit of music?) I was given that. Which meant from now until late evening I and Pragya both were free.

I looked back at her just in time to see her melodious voice stop with a "Thank-you" I realized her speech was over. Too bad I didn't follow one word of her talk. If she really is the old chashmish, she is bound to ask me trivia questions from her talk, much like the way she use to ask me, after coaching me for all those subjects I had flunked and resat for.

***

wow another amazing update, Abhi really should have looked at the list of the speakers, I like how you put Tom in the story.

aieee awesome!!!! glamorous pragya and superstar abhi. and tom hanks. and TED!! aieee never thought of sending abhigya to somewhere like this but it is utter perfection. this is marvelous. and so well written. thank you thank you!

12 - 2

Part 2

She came to sit next to us in the empty couch. And no sooner did she arrive her secretary came rushing to her with her phone. He spoke to her softly in her ears and she smiled a little. I didn't like they way he could make her smile, I tried to ignore it thinking she would see me anytime now. But she just took the phone from her sec and left the auditorium to take the call. She didn't return for about twenty minutes and I was having a fleeting feeling that what if she had urgent work and she left? Now that I knew about her whereabouts, maybe I still could get in touch with her, but still something about this moment clung to me. I had to show this to Tom and the rest, that this Asian Goddess with brains was all mine.

I decided to walk out of the auditorium and find out if she was still around. The auditorium was in the uni's Arts and Science building, so I walked out of Copper Room (I have no idea why they call their auditorium that - you may ask Aafrah, she did her MSc. Marketing from this uni) and saw there were two exits from the building, one gate opened towards the path that led to the students accommodations and the other towards the Uni Senate and parking. I did a small calculation and decided to go towards the accommodations. One may wonder why accommodation, because if chashmish was planning to leave, she would inevitably choose the parking exit. But I knew better, because my heart told me she would have taken the other path.

I walked out of the gate to see a narrow walking track going up on a slightly elevated plain. To oneside was a compound on which one could see the mighty building of Warwick Business School, its parking, an artificial lake and a little ahead, a crossroad showing directions to the Library building to the right and University House to the left. On the otherside of the path was a dense forest of trees, but walking ahead I saw a typical British wooden low-gate and a clearing admist the trees where there were cottages built. The board on the gate read "Brookefield Cottages". My instinct told me to follow this narrow path ahead. Once I reached the top of the elevated plain, I saw this narrow path meandered for another kilometre downhill with open fields on both sides, at the end of the road was the students accommodation centres. I could now see students walking up and down busily through the path. Some talking, some running with a bag, some chatting in the shades of the tree, that shadowed the path at uniform distances. I walked ahead and reached closer to the first accommodation building, there was a sign board saying "Heronbank North" and to the right I saw an artificial lake with a cute wooden bridge on top of it. On the other bank was another accommodation hall named Lakeside residences.

But what made this postcard picture of lush green landscape with such props more beautiful was the lady in peach standing on the small bridge and intensely gazing at the swan swimming below. She had taken off her blazer, and was holding the neatly folded pile in her hand.

***

"The Ugly Duckling isn't the story of your life chashmish!" I piped in gently in hers ears from behind. She smiled a little. "How did you know, I was thinking exactly on those lines right now, Arjun?" she turned around to face the so-called Arjun.

Her smile faltered for a second and then it cemented in that half smiling expression for another few seconds before she recovered from the initial shock of seeing me after ten whole years.

As I said the next few words, I knew it myself that no matured man in their thirties would say this. But seeing chashmish before me, I couldn't help feeling like the twenty year old Abhi again.

"So are so glad or upset that I am not Arjun?"

She stared at me blankly and I could see that she hadn't still recovered from her shock, but she replied all the same, "Arjun is my secretary"

"And I am?" I asked curiously.

"Rockstar Abhi" she replied., still very numb and blank.

I didn't like hearing that, somehow Rockstar Abhi' was a measure of my success, it showed how much I have risen in life and how far the crowd is from me. But I didn't want to feel the impersonal distance from chashmish.

"Chashmish, I will remain just Abhi for you always" I said.

Even as I write this now, I don't know what made me do the next thing, but I couldn't stop myself. I just hugged her tight, much the same way I had hugged her the last time in the train station ten years ago. But something had changed. She didn't reciprocate to the hug. Had chashmish changed? I released her and saw her finally breaking from her trance. She finally spoke, "Abhi, this is really you?"

oooh!!! lovely update aafrah! and so cool about your MSc. yes do tell us why it's called copper room? ahhh i loved this reunion!! pragya in shock a bit eh, never dreamed (lies, always dreamed but never believed) this moment could happen...oooh i'm so so happy! i was sad when you skipped ahead from the college years but this is just so...suggestive and fulfilling and excellent. thank you!

I love love love and love your story it's amazing ;awesome and fab ...I am a 5 year old when I read your update ...your written is wonderful...I can't wait to read more ...pls update soon