This
piece comprises of some happy moments with a childish and yet intriguing
girl. I present to you a garland of such episodes that has given me
immense pleasure and amusement.
The Angel with the Pasta
The
first drops of tenderness came from the Pasta, the live saving elixir
to our hungry souls. It was rush hour on the morning of the first day of
FIRE. The people who stayed at ISI guest house haven't had a chance to
have their breakfast. She came directly from home and had cooked Pasta
for all of us. She is such an angel ! My heart bubbled with gratitude at
this incarnation of devi Annapurna.
The nervous presentation
Then came
the trembling presentation! I was supposed to trim the speakers to their
stipulated duration. I had to remind them about the amount of time left
during the last 5 mins. But as the shivering frame crept to the podium,
I could see the nerve on her face. So, I decided not to intimidate her
with my usual reminders. Instead, I wondered at the delectable shudders
on her face. She was timid, fragile as a little deer, scared to lift her
eyes to the audience. But it was a good talk - short and sweet. I
disallowed questions from the audience, due to shortage of time. It
seemed to relieve the nervous speaker.
The Steering committee meeting
The
most memorable moment was yet to come. The steering committee meeting
was about to start. Mandar sir was looking for her as the sole
representative of the track. We heard that she had left. Parth was
asked to call her. In a while, Parth called me out of the seminar room.
Parth handed over the phone to me with the remark - "She doesn't believe
that there is a meeting ! Can you convince her?" I was astonished ! Why
on earth would she not believe? She was on the line. I tried to ensure
her that there was a meeting in place and she should be coming back
immediately. But to my utter disbelief she answered, "No, I don't
believe it! You are with Parth bhaiya and playing tricks with me!!" I
was infuriated! A little girl calling me a liar! And she didn't even
know me! I handed back the phone to Parth and exasperated as I was, went
back to the seminar room. I reported to Mandar sir, there is some
problem; I don't know if she was coming back! Parth had also come back.
Mandar sir insisted that she must come and was bemused by the whole
incident. Eventually, she came back! I learned later on that she was
finally convinced by Nitin. I looked at her with spite! But not for
long. Her looks told a sorry tale. She looked shell-shocked ! She
quietly sat on a chair. She looked at me timidly. She was blushing like a
bride. She had a feeble smile on her face. She looked like a child
caught by her mother doing mischief and trying to vouch for her
innocence. All my anger instantly melted into amusement and pity. I
smiled back at her softly.
The meeting was over. Then it was time to gherao the
girl. She was a piece of embarrassment apologizing to everyone. She
helplessly recounted to me how she was duped several times by the
notorious bunch of DAIICTians. I took pity on her. Poor baby! So I
decided to protect her from further embarrassment. She had the notion
that she had talked with Mandar sir over the phone and disbelieved him!
That part was impersonated by Anirban! She was about to apologize to
sir. I unwrapped the truth. She looked relieved a lot. Her docile looks
said it all.
Banquet
Next I saw her in urchin spirit making horns with her
hands around the heads of people during photo sessions. I was taken
aback by her radicaI change in mood in such short time. I was also a
victim of her childish pranks! Then she was visible in the banquet
flaunting a little stick. Although I acted as if I was scared, I knew
she could hurt none. It looked like a toy and a baby with it! Then came
the silly moment for me! I asked her "Are you staying with me tonight?"
The was an instant naughty spark in Anirban, Madhu and a few others. I
quickly amended, "Are you staying with Madhu tonight?" Fortunately,
she didn't observe the nuances of the questions! She caught the latest
version only. She said she would. But it made me the butt of jokes among
my colleagues for the night!
Morning Rose
Next morning I had
to rush up the inmates for FIRE. I had knocked at every door before.
Madhu had responded earlier. It was the second time, as we were getting
behind the schedule. I knocked at their door. She came out dressed all
in red. She looked like a just-blossomed rose, drenched in morning dew,
reluctant to see the sun! The lips were living rose petals as she talked
restlessly. The eyes looked enchanting in the kajal. How dark are
these? Like a new moon night? How deep are these eyes? Those dreamy
looks were so captivating. I could have waited there for eternity! They
were affluent with the utter reluctance of a child to get out of the bed
in a cozy winter morning! I had to be a sinner ! May be I was! But I
had no choice!
Participants' speech
As
the first session was about to begin, she came running and in her
characteristic haste informed about the number of participants present.
She made an exaggeration of a simple point with her kiddish
gesticulations. I wanted but didn't have the time to pull her leg.
Mughal University
The next blockbuster was about to come.
Madhu and she were talking to Paulo, one of our foreign speakers, about
the Taj Mahal trip. I was passing by. They called me and inquired if I
had any knowledge of this. I began to describe the evens and odds of the
journey. In the meantime, she began to trace the roots of the mausoleum
of love. She said, "It was built by the Mughal University". She quickly
corrected - "No...No..It's the Mughal Dynasty...What am I taking??" But
the damage was done already! All us were amused. The news spread like
wild-fire! Everyone was so excited as it was another golden opportunity
to tease her. An opportunity dished out by herself! I was the first one
to react. I asked, "So, who is the last PHD of the Mughal University?"
Everyone broke into peals of laughter. So, did she. But she realized
that there was no escape route and gave a smart answer "Aurangzeb I
guess?" It amused us even more! The tease session took over and it was
fun all the way!
Birthday Celebration
We had a special occasion that night. It was my sister's
birthday. My sister was in Kolkata. It was Nitin's idea to celebrate and
give her a surprise. Anirban had brought a cake. I invited the whole
FIRE group staying in ISI guest house to my room. Plus there was Sourish
da. There were about 18 people! Just after 12 midnight, I called my
sister over the phone. As she received it, I put the phone to the
loudspeaker and the whole team sang "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...HAPPY
BIRTHDAY TO YOU..HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU DEAR SRIRUPA..HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO
YOU !!!" Srirupa is my sister. Everyone wished her. She surely had the
one of her best gifts on her birthday! Next the cake was cut by me.
Parth put some of it on my face. There were some more fearsome plans,
but I resisted them successfully. Everyone had the cake.
Sourish da vs She
Followed next, yet another tease session. It was
initiated and conducted by our special guest - Sourish da. It was about
why she had chosen Sourish da's course. She was asked to say the reason
in public. The reason was that, she felt that Sourish da was soooo
cuuute! She blushed and made nervous attempts to defend herself. She
accused Sourish da that it was private and he should have respected the
privacy. But, no one would pay heed to her pleadings. The baby in her
stole the scene. It was sulky and close to weeping. Everyone was
enjoying the scene. Parth and others added fuel to it. Finally she was
let go.
Next we played dumb-charade for sometime. It was lots of
fun! All of them finally left as I insisted that we need to wake up next
morning early. She looked disappointed and left with a bleak "thank
you" for the cake.
Certificate delivery
This was the
last day of FIRE. I left earlier. The rest followed in the other car.
Ofcourse, the lazybones were in the other car! For obvious reasons, she
was in the next car! After the first session she created a silly scene
again. It was about the certificates to be given away. She babbled, "How
should I give these to the participants? Should I ask all of them to
come to me? Or should I give it to each one individually? Or...." I
stopped her. I said, "I am announcing that anyone one interested should
come to the registration desk, Ok?" I added looking straight at her eyes
"Happy?" I giggled. An innocent grin sparkled on her face. Later on, as
I came out of the seminar room I found that she was loitering around
and chatting gibberish! Madhu asked me to scold her playfully. I had
similar ideas too! I needed no second invitation to tease her. I softly
scolded her and said, "What are you doing here? You were supposed to be
with the certificates!" She was caught off balance a bit. But she
recovered quickly. She remarked sharply, "Look Madhu and Anirban are
doing things so efficiently, I thought I am not needed" I answered, "But
you are the most efficient one. No one can do it better" I smiled
gleefully. She caught the naughtiness in my eyes. She smiled back
mellifluously and said, "Really?" I winked and went inside the seminar
room leaving her in smiles.
End of FIRE
FIRE
has ended successfully. There was a photo session at the end. Plenty of
group photos were taken. She shone with soft radiance in the photos.
Late night I went to their room enquiring about their next
day's plans. She remarked with her distinctive animated ways about how
Aksar Dham was beeeutifuuul !!! I really got the feeling that missing
that place would mean one is deprived of Nirvana!
Day After FIRE
Day
after FIRE. It was a lazy day. We went out loitering. She had gone to
Chandni Chowk with the DAIICT group. The ISI group, Prasenjit da and
Sourish da were in Palika Bazar in the evening and did some shopping .
We met her at the afternoon. She fed me with a kiddish abuse! That how
the hell I missed the parathas at Paranthe Wali Gali! They tasted
aweeeeeesoooomeee ! I could see the divine ecstasy on her face. It was
like a child who had tasted the most delicious food in the world! I
cursed myself! I wished I had been with her! Those expressions of taste
would have been more delicious than the parathas!
Finally, we went into the metro. Delhi metro was special,
much better than that in Kolkata. I saw her standing in the ticket
queue. I asked her if she were buying your own ticket only. She
retorted, "Do you think I am so selfish?" I was dumbfounded. I didn't
mean to hurt her! Smile returned to her face. She was teasing me back!
You little prankster! I smiled as well.
We went near the terminal. She bought all the tickets.
The DAIICTians were in a craze of learning Bengali. The had asked me at
the Palika Bazar how to say a woman "You are beautiful" I answered them.
But now I thought of a different way of addressing the situation. I
told her, "You may say the lady, can you see the moon? It's behind the
clouds! You know why? Because its ashamed of you!" It seemed to impress
her. She asked, "Have you tried this on anyone?" I said "No". She
answered in her usual dynamics, "The first thing you must do when you
return Kolkata is to look for a gorgeous lady and say these words to
her!" I asked, "What kind of a lady is suitable for me, you think?" She
looked confused looked up inquisitively and answered, "Mmmm..I don't
know!..A Bengali" I answered, "Not necessarily" She answered with
astonishment, "Really?..Ok someone who can cook non-veg?" I answered
smilingly, "Not necessarily. I an not a big fan of non-veg" She got more
and more perplexed, "Seriously??..Well then someone who is
intellectually rich?..As you are doing PHD you see.." I smiled even more
and answered, "Not necessarily. Anyone simple would do.." This really
stole the words from her lips. The metro had arrived. We all went into
the metro. She was chatting constantly in the metro. In the middle, she
gracefully thanked me because I disallowed questions after her talk, due
to lack of time. I acknowledged it gleefully.
We came out of the metro and took autos. We reached the
guest house. She went in a different auto. That reached before us. I
came out of my auto. I could see her far away, chatting with relentless
fervour. I wanted to talk with her more. She went into the guest house
and disappeared somewhere! She did not wait. May be she did not care! I
did not know if I could see her again. She had told that she would leave
the next day very early!
Sayonara
It
was the last morning in Delhi. She was supposed to leave soon. The
cruel thought that I will never see her again ailed me. If she had left
without saying a goodbye, I would have never forgiven her ! But, that
didn't happen. She came. She gently said a goodbye and thanked for the
support. She left quietly. It left a gaping vacuum in me. In the last
few days she had captivated my fascination to an unfathomable depth. The
baby spirit emanating from the young lady was etched in my heart for
the rest of my life. It would haunt my solitude for times to come. It
would smile with me in my happiness and caress me in my troubled times.
Perhaps the child in me longed for her childness in an eternal
kindergarten. It was the effervescent baby in her that would take me
away from the cruel world to a fairy-land bereft of worries and pain. I
pray that the tenderness and innocence survive for ever. Let the divine
child smile in her for ever.
