November 27, 2012

Me and My Darling - 3

Please click here for Part 1 and Part 2

Suddenly feeling the lightness on the back of my cycle, I turn to find my friend jump and gape at me with mouth wide open. I stop and ask her, "What's the matter?". She said, "Nothing. I don't want to come back. I'm tired of traveling". I replied, "Okay dear. You won't. I just felt so". I bid farewell with a heavy heart promising to write letters frequently & be in touch with each other; I waited till she got into the bus and rode almost as fast as the bus till the bus caught up speed.


There is a saying in Telugu. If you wish for something, God wishes for something else. We plan something for ourselves, but God already has his own plans for us. That was true in our case. Though she had taken a TC in the frustration of commuting daily, she never thought about the admission in another college or if it was the right time to take a TC.



Being a friend, I could totally understand her frustration of traveling three hours every day. Waiting in the bus stand for hours, listening to the nasty comments of the passers-by; bearing their horrible looks, it was testing her patience. Some people would go ahead and say, You are Sanjana right? I saw you earlier somewhere; you look like my sister's friend..blah blah. I think they should have been in the AMWAY business, they would have made it big. In the journey of an hour and a half, she never knew what surprises could await her on the bus. By the way, there was a different category. They would offer, I wanted to be your friend, I have been observing you for several days; You know I think I like you; maybe I love you.. Bull shit! As the saturation point crossed, she had taken this decision.

After going home, she coolly takes out the TC and shows it to her parents; as if she has won a scholarship. There was an earthquake hidden, because of the unusual action of my friend. For the moment, everyone kept quiet as none of them knew what to do.


From the next day, her search for a new college begins. Initially, her father has taken her to a college owned by their relatives. She had to follow the dad's footsteps for the thoughtless deed she has done; though she despised joining there. Fortunately or unfortunately, she wasn't admitted as their strength was overflowing and students had to stand and listen to the classes if they came late. 


The next option. Here comes my friend's favorite college. She enters the office room and waits for someone to look at her. Finally the call from LDC. With the sweetest voice she has ever heard, she couldn't believe what she heard. He says, "Ohh!! The last date for admissions was Sep 30th". They went there on the 1st of Oct.


Now comes the time for the hidden earthquake to explode and show its consequences. Mom starts to feel bad. Dad kept quiet. Neighbors started giving advice that is available in plenty at free of cost. No one has the clue about her situation. She being on the listening mode now, kept quiet. She called the principal of our college. She was told she could join back if the TC was taken less than 15 days back. With trembling hands, she opens the TC only to find out that it was exactly 14 days. Lucky who???

Duessara holidays followed. College opened after the break and we fell back into a routine. After a couple of days, while we were noisily chatting and having our lunch; one of my friends tapped on my shoulder. As I lifted my head and asked her what it was, she pointed towards the door. I couldn't believe my eyes. Before I could utter a word, there she comes with a bang at me, "Is that a mouth or a dustbin?" Before I could know how and from where she came; whilst hiding my secret happiness, she almost pounced on me. We all burst into a fit of laughter.



To be continued...

37 comments:

  1. A pleasant surprise indeed!
    I can imagine how thrilled you must have been.

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    1. Indeed it was. A surprisingly shocking thrill. That scene is still fresh in my memory as it happened only a few years back. :) Thank you for patiently waiting and reading it.

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    1. Umm..this time it may take time again..as we are not recollecting the sequence of events..:)

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  3. You have an excellent way of narrating scenes--it makes the whole thing so interesting.

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    1. Thank you so much, Indu. Again, the entire credit goes to my darling. She's the narrator :)

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  4. ah ha .. friends meet up again :)


    so then what happened

    Bikram's

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    1. hehe..yeah we did..nothing much Bikram..hours n hours of chatting...:) will write the entire story.

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    2. I know that feeling chatting , each time i go back home to india me and friends spend hours and hours talking ..

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    3. :) True...and when you think at the end, what did you talk, you won't remember one thing, right? :)

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  5. Lucky it was only 14 days as otherwise she would have missed by a whisker as in the favourite college.
    A happy reunion indeed

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    1. I know.. isn't that sheer luck? :) thank you so much KP sir.

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  6. So sweeeet...so God indeed did have other plans for her . Imagine seeing the notice on the fourteenth day :) Childhood friendships last the longest and as everyone out here out is saying when is the next installment coming up ??

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    1. Hahaha...I should have written drafts long time back so that now I don't have to worry about the next part. Seriously, thinking about it. emi jarigindo malla ela meet ayyamo asalu gurtu ratalledandi.. :)

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  7. aha.. she came back :D

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  8. Thank god, she was lucky to get back...

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  9. yayay!..happy story..waiting to read the end..:-)

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    1. Thank you so much Uma..:) Btw, end is very faaar away...do you think you have the patience to wait ? :)

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  10. Seems like God favours you and sent your friend back.

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  11. Latha, you are a born story teller. The style of narration is superb. Waiting to read the next part. Bye Take care.

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    1. Do you really think so? :) Then thanks a ton. Again, the credit goes to my darling. If not for her, who would have done such a beautiful narration? Thank you sooo much for your interest in taking time to read the story.

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  12. Latha , read all your old posts in one go and it was such a lovely piece of writing!Traveling and other engagements came in the way to read this lovely blog of yours:)

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    1. Aww..that's so really sweet of you. To take time and read everything at once. It made me really very happy on knowing that :) Thank you for all your words of love and encouragement. Blessed to have readers like you.

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  13. Reunions are always great. Did you cry? :)

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    1. Amit, you talk like my son. He always looks into my face and asks, are you crying?
      Hehe..btw, I didn't cry. But almost got a beating from her; for you know what...the power of my tongue..haha

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  14. Wow! You met your friend again!! Super cool! :)

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    1. yep..met her..parted..again met her...again parted...the story goes on :)

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  15. you portrayed the emotions so beautifully!! 'riding as fast as the bus' 'showing the TC to her parents' this is a special post. and even though i am not a girl but i understand how it feels when you get those nasty glares. moving onto next part :)

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    1. Thank you dearest Deb, for understanding and for being able to feel what I was saying. Many thanks to you for your wonderful comment. Glad you liked it.

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  16. He definitely did. I did not pray him much for meeting her, but wished strongly :)

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  17. I already read this part before but hadn't commented earlier. Now I am glad I didn't because I got to read it once again. And it is such a sweet episode.

    I totally understand how difficult it is to travel for such a long time and that too in a bus; it is horrendous.

    And I can totally relate to how you felt when you saw her again. That must have been such a pleasant surprise. :) And you have written it so beautifully. :)

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    1. Better late, than Never.. :)Thank you, Raj. It was really hard on her to do the travelling and all. In spite of traveling for an year like that, she got an University rank. Isn't that awesome?

      Btw, most of the credit goes to her for her narration style. I am just the translator here. :)

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  18. See, Latha--I see how you have weaved in our everyday experience with sexual harassment into this tale...this is how waiting for college buses was... your story has a nice sweet flow...very sunshine

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    1. I didn't realise it carried an inner meaning like you said...I just wrote the everyday incidents...thank you so much, Bhavna..

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