Originally posted by: barrister
Oh wow. I had no idea. Sorry, I misunderstood your question!
My knowledge about it is pretty limited 😊
arre hum sabko sirf apne aas pass ke jagaon ki thodi bahut jankari hai.
I this world there are handful exceptions like Nisha.
A divorced reception
“I have two interviews lined up this week, next week I have none” he exclaimed on the phone,
His Amma Pramila Rao worked in a BPO as a Office Manager, his Dad Somesh worked as a Director in BESCOM.
“Neevi mun dina vaara bharteera?”
“No Amma Nanu Maanik manege hogteedane”
Tch”
“Sorry Ma” he begged
“Adu chennagide” she sighed
“Bye Ma?”
“Bye putta”
He hung up and walked to the window in Mendy’s flat
And stared out
He wanted a job in Bangalore, but that would mean staying with his parents, his father was very very strict
Strict to the point, he didn’t really like it at all that, his son married and divorced within twoish years,
very orthodox and simple though landed and propertied he was uncompromising when it came to values
Deeply disappointed by Aatreya’s hasty marriage and divorce
His mother supported him
They both had different goals in life, he wanted to return to India
His Dad had suffered a Heart attack at 40, at 55 now he was doing OK
But he did not want to live overseas permanently
His Amma was supportive
Thought she wanted a grandkid from her son really badly as well
His sister Apurva was married to a Mihir Bhat, they wanted to “wait” so no grandkids over there either
In fact, his mother’s only worry now was not even her husband’s health but why couldn’t she have any grandkids
Mendy saw him staring out at 6 AM
“Soya nai?”
“I have an interview-ish”
“Do hai na?”
“I have somewhat of one today
“Who?”
“Someguy I met when we were hanging out in Wadala”
“Who Linked In waala?”
“Hmm”
“Good lead?”
“U know” Aatreya shrugged
“What does he do?”
“He is the head of some telecom engineering company, the Linked In guy”
“At his company?”
“No I think he said his ex boss is looking to hire”
“Linked In waala sent u on a wild goose chase behind ur blue eye beauty haan? Jyaada senti mat ho rey”
“Hahaha”
“Job bhi aisa koi time paas hoyega”
“I just want to meet him for 30”
“Kidhar hey?”
“Bandra…”
“Abhi itta door jaayega?”
“I am unemployed remember” Aatreya laughed
Mendy looked at his friend fondly
His heart wanted to be in India but his mind missed wall st
He was good at what he did, he was VP of a large mutual fund company, gave it up after divorce and headed back to Bangalore
Lick ur wounds and go back dude! Mendy urged
“My parents didn’t go to my wedding, they wanted me to return for a big reception, I returned with a divorce instead” he laughed self disparagingly
“Abhi ek aur se banane ka na” he patted his friend on the back
“Divorce?” Aatreya laughed picking up Iris and swinging her up high in his arms
“Atty chachu….” She was holding a toy pink remote from the car Aatreya had bought for her
“Chachu MAIN hai… Atty kya bole who?”
“I know in Kannada” Aatreya smiled mischievously
“You are making me old man”
Lyn was ready to go take a shower
“Banayega omelette Mendy?”
“Jee madam, he went in to the tiny kitchen in the two bedroom apartment
Aatreya was a block from Amaltas to meet with a Soham Patil, he got off the black/yellow cab and checked his phone
Mumbai rush hour was worse than Bangalore he felt
He looked up from his phone wondering how to cross the road dodging cars and buses
Right BY him… in a blue Honda Civic… Mrunalini Ghatge drove by looking straight up not paying him any attention
Why the hit and miss Nisha? 😭
You are tickling our curiosity and how?!
Mrunalini…
What the heck! He cringed in shame standing in Mendy’s terrace
He had almost begun to run after the car
He was there TWO days ago…
“This doesn’t mean anything… I am not sure why I want to meet her” he told Mendy and a couple other friends that night
“That’s right its not like you pursued her right after hooking up, 19 years ago”
“No I didn’t… I have been to Mumbai like? Three? 4 times? Since?”
“Uve lost ur mind” Maanik laughed as they sipped wine upstairs on Mendy’s terrace
The little girls played on a bouncy house like contraption with Maanik’s 5 year old
“This must be an introvert’s way of dating” Mendy laughed
“Introvert who turns into a f---boi when he sees the right person” Maanik laughed
“that’s not true, I can have a decent conversation”
“Lets get back to the thing at hand” Mendy reminded
“OK I had a great meeting with this guy, it’s the intersection of SW and stock market”
“Great good, you can buy the house Lynn wants you to buy so desperately”
“That’s real slow” Aatreya shook his head running his fingers thru his hair
“If you want to know what happened to her, give it another shot, if not, get those go---mn interviews done and go home” Mendy advised
“Am I being stalkerish?”
“Too late now” Maanik laughed
Food had been ordered out, they sat on dhurries on the terrace and enjoyed it under the stars and battery operated lamps
They all talked about how the women would feel if some guy from 10 years ago showed up
“I would be like… is he hot?” Lyn tapped her chin
Vibha Maanik’s wife “I would be like does he have a disease is that why he is here? to let me know?”
Aatreya shook his head in disbelief though laughing
“I mean dude… think about it… why would anyone want to meet me NOW?” Vibha was sure
“What if you had a thing?”
“10 saal main wait karegi kya Mendy?” Lyn was brutal
“Mere waste wait nei karegi tu?”
“I will shack up with someone as soon as the space shuttle lifts off” Lynn joked
They all started talking about who would be Elon’s next passenger
“What if I come back?” Mendy wanted to know
“Ooopsie bolke, tere paas return aa jaayegi” Lyn reminded him of Iris’s fave word
“Dekh” Mendy laughed flinging a spare place mat at her
“It does sound ridiculous” Aatreya murmured
“Chill maar dude, you are not writing to her or waiting in her building bhai”
“Agree”
Aatreya sighed as his shoulders slumped
He had no defensible argument, he couldn’t even recall why he started thinking about Nalini? But the night was sure unforgettable
He remembered every inch of her body, every crevice every mole.
“Well nobody’s quizzing you about it… so you might as well dump that memory” his mind voice urged
“I could be exchanging hot girl notes… u never know” he responded
“Mendy Manik, Faisal, have all heard it dude”
“Fiiine” he agreed nodding inadvertently
Fate had other plans…
He waited a couple days before his next F2F interview.
He completed the interview at the coffee shop of a large hotel & resort in Juhu and made his way from the poolside coffee shop towards the lobby.
The silk turbaned doorman opened the door and held it open as, Mrunalini Ghatge wheeled a crate containing some old customer bills and other documents for a dispute through the front lobby
Staff was advised to be “discreet” and always use the Operations entrance 3 floors below to the South West of the main Lobby
She was meeting the legal reps of the hotel along with her boss Mr Sen.
She wheeled one crate in and then another, and waited for Roshan as he paid a cabbie
Aatreya came inches from her, he read the name on her badge on the silk? Crepe peacock green blue geometric pattern staff uniform saree she wore.
“Mrunalini”
She looked even more stunning than he could remember, the puppy fat on her cheeks gone, she was wiry thin, high cheek bones and… had DARK eyes… DARK EYES… why? But it was HER… yep!
They didn’t reveal last names on badges, to protect female staffers from harassment
She looked up at him for a second, and a young couple who were paused by the door for courtesy for her to wheel her docs in….. wondering if Aatreya was going to wait or pass through the open door so she could drag the other crate back in
A bunch of Asian tourists flocked the other door
“Inko jaane do” she nodded to the doorman
Aatreya Rao walked out in a daze
“I just found HER” he gasped
She didn't recognize him, did she?? 😲
When would they meet f2f? I mean, finally recognize each other.. and how soon would he find out about the kid? And how?
Originally posted by: barrister
She didn't recognize him, did she?? 😲
When would they meet f2f? I mean, finally recognize each other.. and how soon would he find out about the kid? And how?
Ditto
Nisha waiting ….
Sorry for your loss and bugging you despite that. Take your time. We are here.
Meet & Greet
Fast forward… two days, beginning with bribing the doorman with TWO Rs.1,000 bills got him the department she worked in but no luck with last name
after somehow finishing up the other interview and scheduling a follow up interview for the first one at the Juhu hotel, he burned midnight candle to find a connection at the hotel
He slept on the terrace at Mendy’s chembur flat
He stayed up watching the clouds, making progress bit by bit, running inside when showers took over and then coming back out when the sky cleared
He loved Mumbai…
I do… he spoke out loud
He even wondered if he should ask the Hiring Manager of the first prospective employer if they had a connection
But eventually after digging deep he was able to connect with a West Region Reservations Head for the hotel chain
An acquaintance on Wall St was related to this person
Mrunalini Ghatge… he was told
He immediately Googled her
She had no internet presence
A girl as gorgeous as her had no digital footprint!!
Woww!
Finding her address was going to take a while
Every now and then he wondered WHY he was on this mission
But finding her had energized him
Finding her happily married with two kids like Mendy’s was going to help him wrap it all up and set it afloat on the Arabian Sea
Silly really! He shook his head
He didn’t believe in premonition or gut or destiny
The divorce had sent him on a path of self reflection… NO NOT that Kind of self reflection 😊!
made him realize of all the women he had hooked up with in life… she was the most memorable.
This was exciting, this was giving him “something to think about”
Mendy had heard him downstairs and came up at 3 AM ish
“Neeche so ja man!!”
“Nah I am good he lay back down
Mendy leaned on the waist high peeling dimpling cement wall
Atty sat up
“U know her name you know what she does… now what?”
“Nothing… it makes me happy” Aatreya lied
“C’mon mann!!” Mendy mimicked a famous actor
“Fiine… I am going to ask to speak with her”
“Then what?”
“Ask her if she is married…”Mendy was laughing out loud
“Like I said a week ago I could find you many women with blue eyes”
“Speaking of which she didn’t have blue eyes two days ago”
“So you have been in love with a fantasy then?” Mendy yawned
“That can’t be right”
“Course not…” Mendy rolled his eyes
“I asked her multiple times if it was contacts”
“U didn’t”
“No not in so many words…”
“Ha”
“she said she has her Dad’s eyes? Or Mum’s?” Aatreya was confused
“she must be sick of random dudes hitting on her”
“Probably” Aatreya yawned
“Go down man”
“Nah… I am good” Aatreya rolled over and fell back asleep
Spoke to his mother, and sister, and went off to meet a lead
He was excited about the second interview at the Swiss bank… the chances were low as they were very very selective, and he had voluntarily resigned a VP level role on Wall St to return to India, banks like to poach he thought, not interview people at the level he was applying for
Nevertheless he was stoked
Half way through to the job lead’s office in Dadar, he asked the cabbie to drive to the hotel in Juhu
And went up to the lobby and asked for Mrunalini Ghatge
After answering 50 questions he was asked for a name
“Atty Rao” he said
The guy took it as AT Rao”
20ish minutes later
Mrunalini Ghatge appeared like she did in his dream… knocked his breath out as he stood staring
She looked preoccupied
She was wearing a “IT type” badge on a lanyard today no pin up badge
She yanked and fiddled with it as she approached the guest relations desk
“Hey?” “Who is here?” “From the lawyers or what?” she asked confused crinkling her eyes to scan the gleaming sprakling lobby with his crystal showers like waterfalls and other water features
He noticed she rubbed her fore arms to warm herself, just like she had done that night…
“Its her” he nodded to himself
The guest relations guy was on the phone, he pointed to Aatreya
She approached him
“Hi!... Mrunalini?”
“Yeah?”
“Aatreya Rao” he said with a warm smile
She looked at him like she had just seen a ghost🤣
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