Part 17 : New York
Arnav stood outside JKF Airport clad in Cargo Pants and a T - Shirt. It was bright day with the sun shining in all its glory over the New York City sky. He looked towards the clear sky and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with copious amount of air.
What do they say about every place having its unique smell and characteristic air ?
The bright sun and hundreds of passengers shoving past him, didn't really appreciate his indulgent sky gazing. And more importantly New York air smelled same as Delhi air , if air does has some smell. The same metropolitan characteristics.
He pushed his luggage and began looking for Aman. Aman was a fellow IITian who had also secured placement in the same software firm though he was an IIT Kanpur alumnus. Aman and Arnav had got introduced through a common friend and had decided to share an apartment which Aman had managed to scout for through his relatives residing in the same city. He had arrived 5 days before Arnav and had offered to pick him up from the airport.
Arnav finally spotted Aman , who had still not seen him. He reached him in quick strides, as quick as he could manage pushing two bags and making his way through the swelling crowd and they hired a yellow cab to reach their apartment.
" How was the flight ? " Aman asked as they settled comfortably inside the cab.
" Good, though it was so long " Arnav answered and stretched a bit to dispel off the laziness and trained his eyes outside the window.The New York cityscape passed him at a fast speed in the yellow cab .
They reached their apartment , which was located on the 8th floor of Olive Highs, Uptown Manhattan. It had two bedrooms with attached bathrooms, a kitchen and a main living room.It was an economical option which had miraculously sprung up in the middle of nowhere for the two new in the city bachelors.
Aman had already occupied one room and Arnav made his way to the other bedroom , pushing his two large bags with him.The room was painted in peace green and had a large window , which was heavily curtained.He left his bags in one corner and walked towards the window. Pushing aside the curtains , a panoramic view of the city lay in front of his eyes. He stood there taking in the urban vista and closed his eyes in satisfaction.
He had finally made it.
Made it after 4 gruelling years in IIT.
He had a lucrative job with a hefty package in New York.
He couldn't ask for more.
He wanted this since long.
And now he finally had it.
The first day failure at placements came back crashing down his memory lane.
Though at hindsight it was all for good because had he not failed in that one, his package would have been lesser than it was currently.
Everything happens for good.
And things had gone pretty good for him.
He remembered how he wanted to kick anything and everything after the screwed interview. He had immediately called Khushi and asked or rather ordered her to meet at Nehru Place. They had eaten chaat which she had forcefully ordered for him and later they had gone out for a movie. Silly girl !! Arnav thought fondly. The girl bore his cranky attitude and also assured him about his success in the next interview. Had it not been for her and her careless chattering and leg pulling , he would have most probably royally screwed the interview for this firm too. But things did get royally screwed in the end.
He decided not to spoil his mood thinking about it.He wanted good memories to cherish and live with. Arnav had messaged Khushi after 3 days but neither his message was replied nor his calls were reverted back.After 4 days of messaging and giving calls he had given up. Maybe she was right, things could never be the same.
He walked away from the window and sat down near the bags to unpack his things. But his muscles refused to cooperate and the jet lag caught up. He still had 2 days for himself before he had to join the firm officially. He lay down on the bed and sleep engulfed his tired mind and body almost instantly.
****************
" Careful Beta !! " Garima shouted and ran towards Khushi, without switching off the flame lit under the Kheer pot.
Khushi was slumped on the floor, eyes tightly scrunched shut and holding her right leg with both hands. She had hit her leg badly on the side table while sprinting towards the kitchen to taste the Kheer as her over - active had nostrils caught the smell all the way through the living room, where she was doing her homework for the weekend. Work can wait but food cannot.
Garima and Khushi had moved to Manhattan, as Khushi had laid down ground condition for joining her Dad's firm - Garima had to shift with her to States. She was new to the country and wanted her mother's support to make through the new ways of the new city and most importantly her Dad and his wife. Khushi knew that she was in charge and misused the opportunity to make everyone dance on her pinky finger. And so they had shifted a month back to Manhattan.
Khushi and Garima lived in Marina Apartments as she had flatly refused to stay with her Dad in his mansion. They had a four bedroom plush apartment all to themselves. Being an heiress did have its perks.
Khushi was an English graduate and her literary skills found little use in Xenflox Media Networks which owned a network of two news and three entertainment channels. Shashi Gupta, her father had advised her to join as a trainee for gaining ground level experience about the functioning of the company and Khushi had readily accepted the idea. She was to work for each Department for some time to know the whole framework in a better manner. Under the strict orders of her Mom and God's strength, Khushi had succeeded in being civil towards her Dad and his good for nothing Irish wife.Like seriously how can her father like that pale witch ?
" K !! " a loud screeching voice was followed by opening and closing of the doors with a thud. And in walked a girl with blonde hair cascading down her shoulders , wearing shorts and a loose T- shirt . The girl in question was - Michelle.
Michelle or Mish as Khushi fondly called her was her neighbour and friend in this unknown city. She lived a floor below their apartment, which was on the 6th floor. Michelle had gone out of her way to help Khushi and Garima when they had newly shifted. From telling them from where to take a cab to making them aware of the New York customs, Michelle had done it all. She had proved to be no less than an angel for them. Her place in heaven was reserved as Garima had started including her in her prayers.
In a small span of a month the three ladies had become very close and served as each other's support system. Michelle had tried with all her will and stamina to pronounce Khushi's name correctly but in vain, so she had instead opted for ' K '. Sweet, simple and correct.
" Hurt, are you ? " Mish asked in a concerned voice bending down on her knees.
" I am fine" Khushi said and got up with Mish and Garima's help. Mish helped Khushi to sit on the sofa and Garima rushed towards the kitchen lest the kheer got burnt.
Michelle had requested Garima to cook an all Indian dinner for her whenever she was free. The Powerpuff Girls (Khushi named the trio) had decided to settle for the following weekend for their dinner party.
" Dinner is ready ? I can already smell it here " Mish sniffed a bit , with her eyes trained towards the kitchen.
Hello ? I am hurt !!
" Keep your fingers crossed. I hope the kheer is not burnt " Khushi knew her mother had kept the Kheer pot on the flame , when the table and her leg had decided to play footsie.
" What is keer ? " Mish asked scrunching her face in confusion. In the past one month she had eaten lots of items from Indian Cuisine but she was yet to taste the sweet delicacy.
" Its Kheer not keer " Khushi corrected her.
" Keer ? "
" Kheer "
" Keer ? "
Shhot me. Now.
" Khhheeerrr " Khushi stretched the word for Mish's convenience.
" Okay okay I get it Khhheeer, right ?"
" Yes Kheer "
Take a bow Khushi Kumari Gupta, you finally did it.
" When is your joining date ? " Khushi asked whilst running a soothing hand over her foot.
My poor poor little foot.
Her question was left unanswered as Garima called Mish to help her in serving. Khushi as it is was rendered useless in the walking department for some time. The Powerpuff Girls had their dinner as careless chatter flowed effortlessly on the dining table.
Life was good.
**********************
Arnav woke up after 6 hours of sleeping like a log. Well even log would be ashamed of how peacefully he slept while his room was lit by the afternoon sun blazing through the window. It was almost evening when he woke up. He rubbed his eyes and gave out a hippopotamus yawn. After few more minutes of twisting and turning he finally sat up straight and looked left, right, up and down to make some sense of his surroundings.
Where the hell am I ?
After a few seconds his brain finally completed its booting and he remembered that he was no longer in Delhi but in New York.
New York or Delhi waking up sucks !!
He laid down again on the soft mattress and closed his eyes. But unfortunately his Round - 2 of sleeping was interrupted by his flatmate's banging of his door.
Everyone hates me.
He reluctantly got up and opened the door.
" Arnav I am making omelette for my myself, should I make it for you too ? " Aman asked politely.
Arnav and Aman were acquainted with each other but not friends yet. Had Aakash been in place of Aman, he would have barged into his room and shaken him awake. Godforbid, if Arnav had still not woken up, he wouldn't have thought for a second before dumping down a bucket of water right on his face.
Great !! Not even one day has passed since I set my foot here, and I am getting bloody homesick.
" Omelette will be fine. I will help you with the dinner, give me 10 minutes to get fresh " Arnav mirrored his polite smile and shut the door as Aman walked towards the kitchen.
Get ready to cook and clean
Enjoy New York Arnav, Enjoy New York !!
Arnav rubbed his forehead in exasperation and headed towards the bathroom. Mess food was intolerable but atleast he didn't have to cook it and moreover Vaishno Dhabha was always available. He was yet to start working and was new to the city, so obviously he couldn't splurge his money on eating out. There were other expenses to be taken care of first. So, after 10 minutes of rapid round of shower, he headed towards the kitchen to make Omelette.
Devi Maiyya took out her notebook from under the pillow and noted down the date.
23 rd April 2013 - Arnav Singh Raizada sets foot in kitchen.
Thank you for the wonderful comments you guys posted on the previous part. 😃
I was wondering whether all of you are psychics or future tellers , the comments were galore with predictions about the future storyline. 😆
Please do leave in your comments and press the like button if you liked the update. 😊
Part 18 : Coffee and More Page 13
https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/81636036
Edited by harsha.. - 11 years ago
Arjun
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