This is a fictional story about Dr. Dev and Dr. Shrishty in their college days.
16th July, 2002 at Department of Pharmacology, Seth GS Medical Colleges
“Bhai bas aaj yeh last exam achche se nikal jaaye” “Viva kaisa huya” “Anti-platelets toh maine padha hi nahi”. These were some of the prominently heard statements among the constant indistinct chatter. Young girls and boys, all would-be doctors, clad in their neatly ironed white coats, walking the corridor infront of their viva room with books in their hands, marked, highlighted, scribbled KD Tripathi and Shanbag all around.
“Next Roll No. come for your viva”, a call came from inside the room.
The buzz outside stopped for a few seconds as a girl entered the viva room after taking God's name in her mind. The rest were quick to surround their wounded batchmate who came out after giving his viva. “Kya poocha? Kaunse topic se? Kitne externals aayein hai? Daant rahe hai? Help kar rahe?”, poor fellow couldn't understand which question to answer first.
But far from this chaos, a little far from the viva room, seated on a bench was a tall, well built boy in white shirt, black pants, hair a mix of brown and black but properly combed, clean shaved, his brown eyes fixed on the page 453 of the Katzung in his hands, name written on his white coat - Dr. Dev Mehta.
And on the other end of the same bench was seated a girl, her thick black hair put in a high ponytail, her face a little tense, biting her nails and flipping the pages of her handwritten notes. Her white coat said Dr. Shrishty Aggarwal. Both the young doctors didn't talk. They didn't even look at each other. But who would actually raise their heads from their books on such a day? It was the last day of their 2nd Professional Exams - Pharmacology Practicals. It wasn't just their college sems or class assessment exams. It was serious.
So serious that even when Shrishty came and sat beside Dev, he didn't notice that. The girl for whom he had his eyes from the very first day of their college, the girl who seemed not like others, the girl whose eyes had a fierce spark, such fierce that he couldn't get the courage to go and talk to her in the last two years, she was sitting beside him. He almost always knew the answer to every question his professors would ask him but he didn't know what it was about this one specific girl that whenever he looked at her, he just kept looking.
“Bhagwan ji please mujhe aaj koi general pharma se kuch na pooch le. Baaki kuch bhi chalega - autonomic drugs, CVS, cephalosporins kuch bhi. Bas general pharma nahi please”, Shrishty folded her hands and closed her eyes tightly.
Dev looked up from his book and seeing her seated next to him, his heart skipped a beat. Shrishty looked ethereal to him at that moment. She always had this bossy vibe, always frolicking around with her group of girls but today she seemed so delicate that Dev wanted to drop the entire world and just hold her. He knew there was possible danger but his heart won't let him stay quiet that day. “Main help kar doon kya?”, he asked, a part of him, trembling, not knowing how Shrishty would react.
Shrishty opened her eyes and looked at him. She was taken aback hearing his offer. This was the first time he was actually talking to her. She wasn't stupid, she didn't miss those stolen glances. Sometimes even her heart too would write a fantasy of its own, but she wasn't so sure. Med students during their MB exams have an unspoken rule - even help your enemies, so who knows what was the actual intention behind Dev's offer, or whether there even was one.
“Okay”, Shrishty said, nodding her head. Dev slid towards her, decreasing the distance between them. He pulled out a white sheet and started drawing a diagram to explain things to her. “Ek simple sa mnemonic hai - ADME bas yeh yaad rakho. Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion that's it..”, Dev started. Shrishty listened to him intently. “Wow.. Was it really this simple this whole time.. ”, a part of her thought. And a very very tiny part of her just looked at Dev, how passionately he was talking about things, how he was turning boring things into the most interesting concept, how deeply he cared about her understanding of the topic.
“Oh bhai abhi next viva tera hai”, a boy came and called Dev. “Ohhhh.. Mera roll number aagya”, Dev stood up, adjusting his apron. Shrishty stood up too. “Suno maine jitna bola tum usiko thoda sa padhlo.. Gen pharma mein ab thoda sa hi reh gaya main viva de kar baaki ka batata hoon”, Dev said before leaving.
“All the best, Dev”, Shrishty wished her with both her thumbs up. Dev nodded and as he turned, he couldn't help but blush over the fact that this was the first time Shrishty took his name. And his name never sounded so sweeter. He entered the viva room with rosy cheeks and a big big smile.
His batchmates who saw him were perturbed. “Isse kya huya?”, one asked. From among the crowd, other voices came,“Topper hai bhai class ka. Iss baar bhi saare subject mein honours aayega iska shayad. Agar mere papa ka hospital hota na bahar mein bhi itna khushi khushi exam dene jata.”
Shrishty was still seated on the bench, going through Dev's diagrams and flowcharts. He had offered her his notes and reading those she knew that how passionate he was about becoming a doctor, and how hard he is working.
After almost half an hour, Dev returned and sat down on the bench beside her. He placed his head against the wall, unbuttoned his white coat and heaved a sigh of despair. He was visibly disturbed. “Kaisa huya?”, Shrishty asked anxiously. “Pehle sahi jaa raha tha fir bahut tough questions puch rahe hai the. Ek question ka answer nahi de paaya yaar”, Dev said, removing his white coat. "Ek question nahi bata paaye isliye tumhe itni fikr ho rahi hai.. mujhe toh lag raha hai shayad main unke sirf ek hi question ka jawab de paungi.”, Shrishty said, frustrated.
“Achcha okay okay. Shant ho jao please. Revise karte hai thoda aur chalo”, Dev said.
“Tumhara toh exam khatam ho gaya, ghar jaa sakte ho tum, main kar lungi apna”, Shrishty said, handing his book and notes back to him.
“Baap re.. Gussa toh madam ke naak pe rehta hai”, Dev thought to himself.
Dev : Jab tak tumhara exam nahi ho jata main kahin nahin jaa raha.
He put the notes in her lap and once again, he explained what from where he had left. Between sharing more mnemonics and quizzing each other, Shrishty kept thinking why he was still there. Other students fled like a free bird as soon as their exams got over. It had been nearly one month of their 2nd MB exams and finally today it was done. Why won't Dev leave? Dev, on the other hand, thought there's no other place in this entire world where he'd rather be. He didn't care if he had to study as long as he had Shrishty next to him.
Soon it was Shrishty’s turn to go for her viva. She was clutching on to the paper where Dev had explained general pharmacology. Dev was beside her holding her bag and other notes. Shrishty could see her friends returning from the viva room, disappointed. She turned towards Dev. “Mujhe bahut darr lag raha hai. Main andar jaa ke sab bhul gayi toh”, Shrishty was spiralling. Her palms were getting sweaty, her throat dried up. Dev took everything from her hands and put it aside.
“Listen, calm down, okay. Breathe, just breathe. Tumne pehle bhi MB di hai. You got this”, Dev said, holding her hands. Shrishty looked at him. His eyes made her want to believe everything he said. Her hands in his hands felt safe to her. She took deep breaths and finally was ready to go in.
Dev wished her luck. He waited outside with both their bags. He packed hers properly. “Tera exam toh kab ka khatam ho gaya.. Tu abhi tak yahan kya kar raha hai? Aur yeh dusra bag kiska hai?”, Dev's friends asked him. “Yeh yeh woh Shrishty ka hai”, Dev hesitated, knowing what was coming next. “Mmmmm Shrishty mmm.. Bhai humare liye toh kabhi nahi ruka aaj tak.. Aur Shrishty ke liye.. waah bhai waah”, his friends teased him. “Bakwaas mat kar yaar jaa yahan se. Baad mein milta hoon tumlogon se”, Dev rebuked them. “Achcha sun shyam ko kahin chale, party karte hai, exam khatam hai yaar”, his friends asked him. “Nahin nahin mujhe aaj shyam ko kuch kaam hai”, Dev was adamant. “Kya kaam hai yaar?? Tujhe kya 3rd year ki padhai start kar deni hai kya? Ek din bahar nahi nikal sakta? Kya boring hai yaar tu”, Dev's friends were upset. “Boring toh boring hi sahi.. Lekin aaj shyam ko main tum logon ke saath bahar nahi ja paunga”, Dev's decision was unchanged. His friends left.
Soon the door of the viva room opened. Dev quickly went and stood near it. He was anxious to see Shrishty's face, to know how her exams went. His heart raced. He was praying for her smile. A lot depended on her smile.
And there she was, coming out of the room swiftly, her eyes glowing, and a huge smile appearing on her face the moment she saw Dev. Dev's heart rate became normal. “Dev, thank you, thank you so much. Tumhare wajah se aaj mera viva itna achcha huya. Tumhe pata hai tumne jo kuch bhi mujhe abhi bataya tha na.. Maine unko woh sab bol diya, flowchart bhi banake dikha diya. Aur pata hai end mein woh sir bolte hai ki tumhara concept toh bahut achcha hai”, Shrishty started laughing.
Dev was looking at her, beaming with joy. This is all he ever wanted to see. He finally gathered his words. “Sirf thank you bol dene se kaam nahi chalega, Shrishty.” “Achcha ji, toh kya chahiye batao”, Shrishty asked him, as they walked towards the lift.
“Aaj shyam mere saath dinner pe chalogi?”,Dev asked. Shrishty was flabbergasted by the suddenness of his question. It wasn't like she didn't want this but she just wasn't expecting someone like Dev to ask such a question so soon. Every second of Shrishty's silence was taking a toll on Dev. His eyes eagerly searched for an answer in her eyes. They just kept looking at each other, their eyes conversing like they never could.
Ding!! The lift arrived. It broke their eye contact. Shrishty entered the elevator and kept looking down. Dev stood beside her. There were some other students in the lift as well. When the lift reached the ground floor, Shrishty was the first one to leave. Dev almost ran behind her. “Shrishty”, he called. Having not received an answer from her, he was sure that he messed up. Now he was angry at himself for escalating matters so quickly, maybe he should have given her more time, be her friend first, made her used to him.
Shrishty turned towards him. He stopped. “Aaj shyam 8 baje. Bonne Femme. Bring my favourite flowers or else I’ll leave.”, Shrishty said and walked away blushing like a teen girl, feeling proud of the little twist she added to keep him on his toes.
Dev stood there for a few more moments wondering if he really heard everything right. Was this really happening? Did Shrishty really agree to go on a date with him? And what was the last part? Favourite flowers? “Par mujhe toh pata hi nahi Shrishty ke favourite flowers Kaunse hai.. Shrishty yeh phool kaunse laun.. ruko”, he ran behind her but she was nowhere to be seen.
7:55 pm, outside Bonne Femme
Dev was striding up and down, holding a bouquet of flowers and looking at his watch, time and again. He was running the conversation he had with the florist in his mind, wondering if he had chosen the right flowers, the right colour of the flower.
Dev : Bhaiya, ladkiyon ke favourite phool Kaunse hote hai?
Florist : Kaunse ladkiyon ke? Aapko Kaunse phool chahiye woh batao na.
Dev : Wahin toh mujhe pata nahi.. Aap apne experience se batao na Kaunse phool sab se zyada beekte hai?
Florist in his mind : Areh yaar, pata nahi kahan kahan se aajate hai, malum hi nahi kya chahte hai
Florist to Dev : Yeh dekho bhaiya yeh hai orchids, yeh lilies, yeh sunflower, yeh gulaab.. Yehi sab khareedte hai log aajkal. Aap kaho toh har tarah ki phool ka bouquet banake de doon?
This seemed like a good idea but nope, Shrishty would see right through it. And she specifically asked for her favourite flower. Dev had to guess it, and guess it right. He closed his eyes, imagining Shrishty's face, her eyes, her nose, her smile, the little mole beside her lips. Her face looked similar to a flower’s but which one? He slowly opened his eyes and said “Roses”
Dev : Bhaiya, gulaab ka ek bouquet bana dijiye.
Florist : Kaunse gulaab?
Dev : Areh yaar..
He looked at the roses. There were red, pink, white, yellow, salmon pink, coral, white ones with pinkish edges. He placed his hands on his head.
Florist : Girlfriend hai kya?
Dev : Abhi tak toh nahi
Florist : Pasand karte ho toh yellow de do. Gussewali hai kya?
Dev : Bahut zyada
Florist : Tab toh safest option hai.. White waali de do. Shanti ka prateek. Bouquet Bana doon?
Yeah, that seemed right to Dev as well. He got a bouquet made and left.
Dev was still outside Bonne Femme, still contemplating if he had chosen the right colour of roses for Shrishty. He was looking at his watch. It was 8:05 pm. He looked up and there she was.
In a beautiful red dress, with minimal makeup, she was glowing. Dev's jaw dropped, seeing her in that dress. She came close to him, smiling at the bouquet of roses he was holding.
“Passed with distinction, Dr. Dev”, she whispered, still looking at the gorgeous bouquet of red roses he had got her. “I knew the colour of your soul is red”, he said, handing the bouquet to her. Shrishty smiled. “Chalein?”, she asked. “Always after you, Madam”, Dev said bowing down.
They shared a laugh as they entered the restaurant, hand in hand, the bouquet of red promising the deep love they were yet to grow for each other.
Hui Ghum Yaadein
Mahadev And Sons
Anupamaa
