The Christmas Gift (Prologue)

The Christmas Gift

I am still not sure why I am here. I wasn't supposed to exist anymore and this definitely goes against all laws of science. But before that, let me tell you the chain of events that led me here.

Life was perfectly fine till one mistake changed everything. Well, it wasn't just mine but yeah I had a teeny part to play in it.

It was one of those pre-Christmas parties that my office hosted. I have never understood why the hell people start celebrating Christmas so early. There were still 5 more days to go. I tried my best to get out of it but it was my boss' order, and I had to go.

I hate parties. More specifically the individuals who attend them. I find it really hard to smile and act as if I am interested in their perfect little lives. Who cares if your cat just had triplets. I hell don't care if your son learnt to walk or more so if your soon getting married with the love of your life.

To be honest, I am not mean but I find it hard to buy that lives can be happy and perfect. Look at me. I was living far away from home. I have never had a girl friend. People think I am dull, weird and boring. I always have excuses to ditch social outings. And the funniest part is that the one individual that I love the most, is getting married in a few days time with her perfect little lover boy. Lately, I have tried avoiding her, afraid she might read my eyes and guess the pain in my heart. And to add cherry on top of the pudding of my wonderful misery, she is absolutely certain that I dislike her. Who runs away seeing someone, saying hello to you? Well I do.

I am not really a people person. I wouldn't mind living all by myself. How different would it be from this. Who needs people anyway. I wish I could live in a world, all by myself.

Anyways, back in the party, thinking over my worthless and miserable life, I never realised my words would come back and haunt me one day.
I decided to call it a day. I bid everyone goodbye, in pretext of my impending bowel issues and quickly called up my travel agent.

"Meena, I need a ticket to India asap. Make it 23rd December night. I am flying home"
"Sir, 23rd seems to be all booked. Will any other day do.", Meena asked.

"C'mon, I will pay you 10% more. Get me a seat on that plane".

" Just 'cos you are our best customer, I will try my best. It's so hard to get tickets in this festive season. People..", Meena continued.

"Great! Thanks Meena. I will mail you the check with the 10% for the great service. Bye", I quickly interrupted Meena.

"Thanks Sir, always a pleasure to serve you".

Well, that was my mistake. On that fateful night of 23rd December, the pilot lost control and our plane crashed into the Indian Ocean, with it, bringing an end to the 250 lives boarding it. Well, 249 and a half to be precise.

To be continued..

The Greatest Show on TV - Epilogue (final)

In the week that followed, Dev and Gia got married, Amay went back to his usual life and Pia went to chase her dreams.
Alongside, as promised, Amay sent me the tapes of the hidden camera placed in his drawing room, where Amay and Dev had planned the entire thing. You could actually see him purposefully posing with a gleaming smile in a couple of scenes. What a show off.

The more interesting footage came right from Jigar Sinha's house, and Gia and Pia's room. We had bribed the decorators and had placed hidden cameras in various locations in Jigar Sinha's house.

Folks love drama, suspense and mostly romance. Who do you think replaced Amay's bike ;). Must have really spooked the poor guy. Everything had worked perfectly.

This was a directorial wonder. Be it the in-house scenes, the helicopter shots of the romantic horse ride or the suspenseful car chase, or the candid and flirtatious airport scene.

I personally edited all the tapes and produced the pilot episodes of action/adventure/reality drama. I sent it to the gang for their permission and aired it on television. It was an instant hit. Overnight Dev, Pia, Gia and Amay became youth icons.

It's been a year since then. Dev and Gia are happily married, and as for Amay and Pia.. well, it's a bit "complicated", that's what they would say.

As for me, my new reality show is a huge success. Some call it the "Greatest Show" ever. With each week, a new story, a new set of people, and a great real adventure with love, romance, friendship and action.

Some said I had lost the edge, some wrote me off. Now, K is back baby and the small screen magic weaves on.

Based on a true story that might happen in a few years from now ;)

The Greatest Show on TV - The plan

Patna, India 22 nov, 2010

The Vivah mandal (marriage hall) was buzzing with excitement. The Sinha twins were getting married and it was the talk of the town. They were the nieces of Jigar Sinha, the big politician. He had left no stones unturned to make it the biggest event of the year. The best cooks, decorators, musicians. Amidst this fanfare, he had instructed a dedicated team of bodyguards for lookout of any possible surprises. It had to be perfect. After all it was a family affair.

The Sinha daughters were getting married to a brother duo of a local industrialist.

"Gia, do you really want to go ahead with this. After years of courting Dev, can you live with someone else", Pia asked her sis.
"Do i have a choice? You know Mama. He will kill Dev. I think this the best for both of us", Gia replied.

"Memsaab (Ma'm), the make up specialist is here", announced the maid servant who was entrusted the task of getting them ready for the wedding downstairs.

"Hi I am Kaajal. You can call me K. Both of you look wonderful today.
Can i request all the helpers to vacate the room? I like a bit of privacy to focus", I introduced myself to Pia and Gia.

"But mem..", the maid-servant responded.
"No buts. I have already asked Jigar for permission and he has given me his word. Now please leave me to my work", I ordered.

I waited for the helpers to leave and spoke gently to Gia.

"Gia, I am here to help you. Ssh.. Got to be discreet here. Listen carefully, Dev is waiting for you at the backyard. You should move fast. Amay will create a diversion and we will make a quick exit.Can you dress down a bit. Will be easier to move unnoticed".

"But..", Gia was about to speak when I cut her.
"Do you love him? ".
"Yes with all my heart".
"Then.. do it for him then".

"But Pia..I don't want to leave her behind. Don't know how mama will react", Gia asked concerned.

"I will manage sis. You leave. He is waiting. Hurry ", Pia replied.
Gia quickly changed into a pink t and jeans. Washed away all the makeup and wore her glasses.

"I am ready. But the guards are still outside. How do we leave?", Gia asked.
"Just wait for Amay's signal", I replied.

"Who is the in-charge here", a strong voice boomed from outside.
"Hum hain saab (It's me)", replied the head-chief.

"Jigar wants all of you down. Something urgent. Fast. And he is angry, really angry", the voice spoke sternly.

The 3 guards, including the chief rushed downstairs.

That was the signal. I took Gia's hands and rushed down. Luckily Gia looked indistinguishable in her casual outfit. We cautiously reached the courtyard where Dev was waiting.

Gia embraced Dev, and unfortunately I had to break their union.
"Guys, we have to move. It's too risky here. Amay will make his way later to the rendezvous point"

All 3 of us got into the car parked outside the courtyard and made our way to the rendezvous point.

Meanwhile, things were getting complicated near Gia's room.

"Hey Aman or whatever your name is. I have changed my mind. I want to run too. I don't want to get married to a total stranger and waste away the best years of my life. Please take me with you", Pia requested.

"Oh shit. The guards are back. By the way it's Amay not Aman. Well fine, let me think of something", Amay replied.
"Hurry, they are coming upstairs", Pia shouted.

"Relax, Time for Plan B now. Act scared and start rolling some tears", Amay replied pulling out a gun from his coat pocket.

"Guys, guys, guys. She is my hostage now. You shout, she's dead. I have killed many before and I will do it again. Don't make me do this", Amay said sternly to the guards.

"Do what he says. Thats an order. I am too young to die. Please. If something happens to me, Jigar Mama's going to kill you all", Pia shouted, looking at the guards.

"Now you will move in a line and lead us out. No word, no movement. Wear this girl", Amay removed his coat and glasses, and threw it to Pia.

As soon as they reached the entrance of the backyard, Amay locked the gate and instructed the guards not to sound the alarm or call the cops. He obviously knew, it won't work but just in case.

Dev, K and Gia had already left as planned but surprisingly Amay's getaway vehicle, a 100cc Bajaj bike was missing.

"Oh we are fked. Where the hell did the bike go", Amay shouted angrily.
"Why don't we use that", Pia asked pointing at a white horse tied to the nearby fence.

"I have never driven that before. Does it even have breaks?", Amay asked.
"Fret not, I was a champion rider in my college. You are so lucky today man", Pia chuckled at Amay.

So Pia and Amay rode that shaadi ka ghoda(horse) and soon they reached the rendezvous point where everyone was waiting.

"Pia, I was so worried about you. I am so glad you decided to come along", Gia said embracing her younger sister.

"Guys we've got to move. Think we are being followed.Those guards must have sounded the alarm", Amay interrupted.

As soon as Amay said that, dozens of jeeps entered the scene. All of us got into the car and Dev stepped on the gas, maneuvering it through the dark jungle, the rough village roads and muddy fields.

For 40 mins the cat and mouse game continued till we finally reached the airport.
We rushed inside the airport where my assistant was waiting for us.

"Kumar, are the tickets ready?", I asked.
"Yeah ma'm. A ticket to Mumbai for you and 3 to Singapore". The flights are ready for take-off. Please start checking-in"

In the distance, Amay and Pia were bidding their goodbyes.

"You were good, really good today. Thanks to you and K, Gia is happy again", Pia said.
"And you weren't bad either. I didn't know girls could ride horses", Amay replied and
both of them chuckled in union.

"So where to next? Why don't you come and stay with us in Singapore for a while, till things settle down here", Amay asked.

"Nah, I am going back to Bangalore. Have some hotels to renovate, malls to design and hopefully someday I might have my own architectural firms", Pia replied.

"Ma'm we have arranged your travel and stay in Bangalore. Your flight also leaves in 10 mins. Please rush to the check-in counter", Kumar interjected.

"Man Kumar! you always know how to spoil the moments", Amay remarked.
"Thanks Kumar. That was really fast. Really appreciate that", Pia said, thanking Kumar.

"You're welcome ma'm and sorry sir. I will get going", Kumar rushed out of the scene.

"So I guess, it's goodbye then. Will I see you again?", asked Amay.
"Well, of course yes. Do tell Dev to take good care of my sis. Or I am gonna come after you guys and make your lives a living hell. You got that right", Pia remarked with a sly smile.

And our great adventured ended with Pia leaving for Bangalore and the rest to Singapore. I still had some things to finish.

It was about time to stop rolling and in the corner I gently shouted "Cut!".

Read the Final Chapter

The Greatest Show on TV (The premise)

Singapore, 15 nov 2010

"It ain't fair dude. He has always known about us and still he did this to us", Dev shouted as he passed the yellow envelope to Amay.

"what the hell happened mate!
It reads Mr & Mrs Sinha invite you to the auspicious occasion of their daughters....What the fish man, it doesn't Look good. This is serious. What do you plan to do now?" Amay asked.

"I don't know yaar. I cant reach her anywhere. I just hope she hasn't given up on me. You know I cant live without her."

"Dude!", Amay said excitedly. "Are you also thinking what I am thinking".

"Well what?"

"Let us crash the wedding and steal away the bride", Amay said with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Are you serious?", Dev asked.

"Yup and i think i have the perfect plan for you. We just have 5 days to pull this one off. So listen carefully."

Prev Chapter - Prologue

Next Chapter - the Plan

The Greatest Show on TV (prologue)

"K, our TRP is an all time low, this month. People want something new, refreshing and different. Something which they can relate too. I know you have delivered a lot of winning formulas in the past but this is the last chance I can offer. Else I will have to pull the plug on K studios", Mr Sharma announced.

Things hadn't been going that well for my production house recently. There was a time when our shows were all over the network but the recent wave of slapstick comedies had replaced the dramas. People all over the country were still recovering from the Dalal street crash of 2011, and they just needed no-brainer shows to bring in humor and satire to keep them alive.

I was running out of time. Within 3 weeks I had to produce the pilot episode of a new show that would decide the fate of my studio and the people working in it. And things were looking bad. That's when I received a call from an old friend of mine.

"K! How are you gal, haven't seen you for ages. Care for some coffee in 1600 hours, in our usual place?"
"sure, see you there", i replied.

It had been ages since we last met. Sharp 4 pm, I reached our favorite coffee house and found Amay waiting.

"What's the matter, he asked. You look so pale. Is everything fine?", he asked.
I told him what had happened a while back.

"Hmm, something new, something fresh. I think I have exactly the thing you are looking for. Listen, here is the plan for the Greatest Show Ever on TV".

And this is how our story begins.

The Perfect Wedding (part3)

I took the note from her and gave it a glance.
Dear mom & dad,
Please forgive me. I love Raj and I am going with him. We always intended to get married but i know how much you dislike him and his family. This was last resort. Hope you will forgive us and accept us back one day. Till then good bye
Priya

I immediately signaled mom, dad and the Kumars, and asked them to wait for me in the changing room. I explained the entire situation and asked them to calm down. Then I signaled the panditji, gave him a thousand rupee note and some instructions. 5 mins later accompanied by panditji, i addressed the crowd "ladies and gentleman, there has been a slight miscalculation. The rahus and ketus have changed the path and Panditji has adviced us to push the ceremony to a later date. Its rather unfortunate but who can change gods will". Panditji nodded his head in aknowledgement.

After seeing off the crowd I joined the parents. "So what should we do next, call the police?" Mr Kumar asked. "She couldn't have gone far with that rascal Raja. Always knew he was bad company", Mrs Kumar echoed in

"Mr and Mrs. Kumar, you understand she just followed her heart, right? They were in love and were meant to be together."


"So what will you do now?", mom asked
"I don't think I can stay here any lonter. I am a bit shaken. Thats why I resented the entire idea in the first place. I am going to Hong Kong, will chill out for a few days there and then return to work."

" It's all my fault. I should have never pushed you so hard. Go son, I wont stop you today. I know it must be so hard," mom replied.

"Don't you want to change before you leave. How will you even get a ticket so fast", Dad asked, still upset with everything that had been happening around us.

I gave a quick secretive glance towards my watch and replied "It's just fine, will manage somehow".

I hugged them and rushed to the airport. I could still make it on time.

"Sir your Tickets?", asked the flight attendant in the check-in counter. I opened my bag and produced the ticket.

SG IN 3 Dec/10 8AM SST 10AM IST
IN HK 3 Dec/10 3PM IST 10PM HKT
HK SG 6 Dec/10 4AM HKT 7AM SST

"Thanks Sir. Hope you have a great trip"
In a few metres away, a beautiful couple waved at me from the distance. I waved back at them, and with a great sense of satisfaction, I boarded the plane to HK.

It was a perfectly planned, picture perfect ending.

Prev chapter >

The Perfect Wedding (part2)

The next 2 months were challenging but wonderful. We completed the project on time and it was a huge success. And Mom, as agreed, stayed true to her word.
And then, one fine Friday evening, i received a call that would change my entire life.
"Hi, this is Priya. We have never met before but you mom must have mentioned me to you. We are getting married in 2 weeks, and i thought it would be best to have a conversation with you, before its too late. I have something really important to tell you..."

The next 15 mins I listened to her, and i smiled and finally said, "ready when you are. Lets get it done".

A few days later, mom sent me the entire itinerary, first the engagement ceremony and a week later, the wedding.

A week later, I got down at the Chennai international airport at 7 am. The flight surprisingly reached on time. At the airport I was greeted by a small delegation from the bride's side. Sneha, my future sis in law was leading it.
"Hi jiju, welcome to india". Jiju refers to brother-in-law, and i just smiled and thanked everyone for the warm welcome.

We rushed our way to the 4 star hotel, where the ceremony was planned. I was greeted by mom and dad at the entrance, who were smiling gleefully with pride. Along with them stood Priya's mom and dad, the Kumars . As instructed earlier by mom, i touched their feet and asked for their blessings. Everything seemed so funny, out of a Hindi family drama but i decided to play along. I asked them where Priya was. They informed me, she was getting ready and I should also do the same before the mahurat (auspicious hour) was over.

My mom lead me to the changing room where a group of hair dressers and make up specialists were waiting for me. This was so cool, I thought.

15 mins later, dressed in a cream sherwani suit, i walked down to the ceremony hall, where a reasonable crowd had gathered. I waved to my nephews and nieces, and smiled back at the guests. The stage was set for the engagement but Priya was nowhere to be seen. I kept thinking what I would say her. I could begin with a "Hi, I am Ajay, great to meet you" Or how about, "damn, you look so pretty today, and god am I so lucky to spend the rest of my life with you"..

I was still thinking on those lines when I noticed the uneasiness on Mrs Kumar's face. She had gone to fetch Priya but she had returned alone.

I walked up to her and asked her, "whats the matter aunty, where is Priya? And why do you look so shaken. Please tell me whats the matter".

"Beta, i can't seem to find Priya anywhere. I found this note on her table"..

Prev chapter >

Next chapter >

The Perfect Wedding (part1)

"This is Priya. 5 '8, smart and pretty, holds an MBA in HR. I am sending her photo now. Tell me if you like her. Leave the rest to me".
"Oh mom!, I really don't have time for all this. How many times do I need to say that I have lot more things to worry about now, apart from stupid girls and marriage proposals. I am disconnecting Skype now, if you don't have anything else to talk about."

"Work!, work and work!. Don't you have anything else in life. Look at you. You are entering your 30s, already graying by each day. Who will marry you when you are bald. I am giving you an ultimatum now. If you don't get married withing this year, I am disowning you. Then don't come back saying Mom, I am sorry. Good night".
And mom disconnected the internet call, and peace returned back to my life.

Hi, I am Ajay, and like every smart, intelligent professional, I hate marriage. Marriage is a long term commitment, a risky investment with no guaranteed returns, and an instant end to all the freedom, adventure and excitement, that being single bestows upon the few lucky ones.

What I hate even more are kids. Those round, tiny, messy lot, always crying and wailing anywhere they go and never failing to embarrass their parents in public. Shucks, I hate them so much.

Like every middle class Indian, my parents wanted me to have a world class education and join a high paying MNC. After completing my bachelors, they wanted me to pursue an MBA, which I recently did. Now, finally they thought I was settled enough to start a family life. My mom, especially, had been pressuring me for a year or so, and I had dodged the topic, many a times now. This last warning seemed a bit more serious. Hmm, Priya, the name sounded ok. Qualifications seemed fine. She was a high achiever, an IIM HR grad, a classical dancer, who also loved playing the guitar, and enjoys to do charity work. Her bio-data was perfect. Soon, the picture attachment reached my inbox. I clicked on the file, and browsed through some of the pictures.
Picture seemed to have been shot by a pro, with the perfect light balance, saturation and color contours. C'mon, with a few photoshop tweaks, all the girls in this world would look like Aishwariya Rai. Anyways, Priya had above average looks.

Mrs Priya Ajay Subramanium, would sound just fine, I thought. I dropped a mail to mom saying I would consider and asked her to find out more.

The next evening, Mom called me with a surprise.
"Priya's Mom and Dad have agreed. The Marriage will be in December. They would wish to see you once before that. Can you make it next week? We can start the preparations immediately".

"What! Mom, when did I agree to all this. All I said was I would think and let you know. And anyways, I have only 4 holidays left this year. Sorry, cannot make it."

"Then how will I ever find a girl for you, If you yourself aren't interested."

"Ok, that's it. I have had enough of this. I have an important deliverable in Nobember, and I just have a couple of months left. How about this. Let us have a deal. You chose whichever girl you want me to marry. No questions asked, no forwarding me resumes, no photographs. I don't care how she looks like, what she does or what her favorite tv shows her. You promise not to bother me with any of this stuff till November end. December, I will take a week off for marriage and get married. Will that make you happy?"

"Deal. This is the happiest day of life. Love you", and mom smiled happily and dropped the call.
I knew I might have to regret this, all my life, but it would at least buy me enough time to concentrate on my work. Moreover, which girl would agree to get married with someone, without talking or meeting him in person. I am good, really good as I smiled to myself.

Next chapter >

Author's note: Why do all my stories end at airports?

Airports are amazing places to conclude stories. Look at Hollywood movies for instance - Wedding singer, Liar Liar, Meet the Parents, and so on. Even Bollywood movies are no different. A recent flick called "Jaane Tu Ya Jaane na" again portrays the importance of Airports in a modern love story.

All these ended with the Guy getting the girl in end, but my stories always end differently. Real life is far more complicated and driven more often by rational choices than emotions. If you wished they ended differently, do give your feedback.

Enjoy your life, and keep smiling, after all it's just life and there is Nothin' Serious about it ;)

Lost in Time: Chapter 3

Next day, 5 am
I was late. I had less than an hour to catch the morning flight to Kolkata. Emaan had forgotten to give me a wakeup call. I flagged a taxi and rushed to the airport. If there was no traffic, I thought I could still make it.
I reached 5 mins late but to my surprise, all flights had been delayed due to bad weather. I checked in my baggage and walked over to the executive lounge.
I was delighted that kingfisher had upgraded me to the executive class and the lounge was amazing. I sat down and took out a book that I was trying to finish for weeks now.
That's when I heard a voice, " Hey, I have read this book. The dog dies in the end, the mom is the murderer, the girl marries someone else and lives happily ever after". I looked up sternly to see who it was.
"Spoiler Alert! Thanks for ruining my week long effort", I shot back.

He was a tall and lanky guy, in his mid 20s, short hair, bespectacled, sporting a semi casual attire and a gleaming smile.
"Haha just chill. Sorry for that, I was just kidding. These days, by just looking at the cover, one can guess half the story. You know if I were you, I wouldn't waste my time on 500 pages of uninspiring fiction." , he remarked slyly.
"So what would you waste your time on, mister", by this time I had forgotten the anger and I calmly asked.
"I would rather waste my time talking to pretty young ladies and finding more about the current affairs in India".

"By the way I am Anil and it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss ?", he added. Obviously, I knew he was flirting and his pick up lines were definetly not working here.
" Mrs Arin Banerjee", I replied back with a straight face. I was hoping to see a startled reaction but he kept going.

I am usually not that fond of strangers and on any other day, I would have just ignored him and walked away. But today, I wanted to stay, talk and listen to this complete stranger, who I had just met. I knew in a week's time, things were going to change. Marriage was a good idea, but along with it comes restrictions and formalities. But then just for Emaan, it was well worth it.

"So Anil, what do you really do apart from flirting around with ladies in airports", I asked smiling.
"Woah, me a flirt ? Really? Anyways, I am located in Korea. I was here on an official trip. Now I am flying to Delhi to meet my parents. So that's something about me. So Arin, how long have you been married "

" I guess around 2 years now. We recently celebrated our anniversary", I replied trying to not to give away my fictional marriage.

"Hmm, Arin , If you don't mind, let me tell you what I have deduced about you, with just our 5 mins of chat. Firstly, you are not married, not yet. But very soon, you will be. You graduated from college two years back and you now work for an IT firm. You are most probably meeting someone from your family, Dad and Mom, I guess. And finally, you are learning to play guitar, you love rock, especially punk - Avril Lavigne style."

I listened in awe, as he nailed each and every fact with accuracy.
"That was amazing, Anil. How did you know so much? ", I asked really impressed by the deduction.

"Elementary, my dear Watson. An engagement ring, without a Mangal sutra, blisters on your left hand fingers, mehendi on your hands, the song playing in your iPod, and the fact that 60% of the university students in the country, join one of the big IT firms. That was really simple", Anil replied with a laugh.

Was it how, Rhea managed to find so much about me, I wondered, recalling the incident that had happened the previous day.

"So if we have broken the ice between us, can we start all over again? ", Anil asked and I nodded gently.
"Hi, I am Anil, I work in an investment Bank, recently posted to Korea. Did my schooling in Delhi and my undergrad in Singapore. Mom and Dad live in Noida, and a younger bro who is still in college. Work is long but interesting. Not many friends. Not a big party animal. Single and no plans to get married soon. Live and Fly solo, that's been my motto. And yeah, I love to travel and meet new people in Airports. Phew, That sums up me.", Anil finished reciting his classic "About me" and shook my hands.

"Wow, that was a pile load of stuff. Hmm, about me? Well, I am Arin, did my college in Jaipur, currently working in an IT firm in Bangalore. Strangely, my Mom and Dad also live in Noida, but are currently in Kolkata, planning for the wedding. I have an elder sister, who is married and has a really cute kid. I guess thats it. And yeah, I am getting married in a week's time", I replied introducing myself.

"Great to meet you again, Arin. Now as we are clear, I have something for you", Anil said.
" What is it?", I asked curiously.

Anil passed me the book he was reading.
"This book. I just finished reading it. It is amazing and I bet you will definitely love it", Anil replied passing me the book.

"I can't possibly take it, Anil. I barely know you", I replied.
"I insist, please. Anyways, I can't read a book more than once. It will end up in trash or in recycling bin", Anil said.

"Ok, if you say so. Thanks for it", I replied.

Just then the the airport attendant announced, "Flight AI642 to Delhi, ready for departure. Passengers please board the flight".

"Well, time to bid goodbye Arin. It was fun meeting you. You remind me of a very old friend of mine, who I haven't met for ages now. Anyways, best of luck with the marriage, and have a great life".

I took out my Business card and was about to pass it to him but he gently refused.
"I think we better not. Trust me. You will thank me later.", Anil replied with a smile.

"So will we meet again?", I asked.
"Life is long and the world really small. One day, we will, I promise you", Anil replied.

I thought I just saw a tear trickle down Anil's eyes but he quickly turned back, waved his hands and he was soon gone.

Later, on the flight trip to Kolkata, I kept thinking why Anil refused to exchange our contacts. I opened the book that Anil had passed me. On the last page, there was a hand written message. It read, " Dear Lipi, thanks for all the wonderful memories. Hope you have all the happiness in life. My search has finally ended now, signed An**".

Based on Project Lipi - A mystery

< prev

Intro >

Lost in Time: Chapter 2

"Project Arin, a mystery". It was a blog about a search for an old friend, which the author had undertaken, leaving intricate details of the process in her blog. The author had detailed the painstaking effort of trying to locate me from the minimalistic of information available to her and she had succeeded.
She knew almost everything about me, my family, my friends, my university, my home address, my likes and dislikes.. and even about Emaan.
Kind of private information like this can give anyone creeps of their lives. My very first reaction was to delete my orkut profile, which had been the initial source of leak. But I knew it was a bit late.
I rushed back home and went back to reading the blog and surprisingly, enjoyed it a lot.

Who doesn't love a story featuring oneself. The blog also mentioned a friend of hers, who had been trying to track me since early 1994 and had asked the author to help him out in the search. The plot thickened by every passing post. Finally, when I almost reached the end of the story, It abruptly ended. Mr X, my so called reminiscent lover chose to move on and retreat from my life. So close and yet so far, and the project Arin closed. That was exactly 2 years from now, when the post was written.

Imagine when you read about a boy deeply in love 17 years from now, you initially reject it as mere infatuation but what amazed me was his persistence that kept his search alive for the next 14 years before he finally gave up.

My life had always been the normal, nothing-so-greatly exciting ordinary type. My dad worked for a major oil PSU and he would keep on shuffling cities and me and my family would follow. Each new place came with its own set of people, friends and experience. I tried hard to recollect who the boy in the story was. I kept reading back the "Barauni experience" that he mentions but 17 years is a really long time to remember. I soon gave up and c'mon one shouldn't blame me for being insensitive. That comes with the ageing process and well, one really can't help it. Right?

However, I did remember the limited correspondence that I had with a some Rhea Kapoor, who buzzed me more than once on orkut. I didn't reply back as I felt she was a joke being played on me by my college friends. Now things seemed clearer. As I started connecting the lose ends, I also had a concern at the back of my mind.

I was getting married next week.What if Emaan or someone else had also read the blog. What would people think? How would Emaan react? What would the society say?

Just as I juggled through these questions, I remembered, I had to catch a flight the next day to Kolkata where the marriage preparations had started. I quickly turned off my computer and went to sleep.

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Next chapter >

Lost in Time: Chapter 1

Jaipur, June 2010

I was really excited and nervous thinking of the wonderful days ahead. Emaan had proposed on the eve of my 24th birthday and I instantaneously said yes. Our family knew each other well, and had known about us since our college times. It was a perfect story.

Emaan had just called up, as he always does, at 1 PM sharp, when he gets free for his lunch break. Later, around 11PM, he will call again to make sure, I go to sleep on time.

Emaan was the perfect lovable, caring guy, a girl could ever ask for. Even though he was really busy with his software engineering job with a leading IT firm, he never forgets to call.

Ever since I graduated, I had been living with my bestest friends - Kriti and Neha in Bangalore, the IT city of India. I had a nice job as a consultant in a leading IT firm and they had agreed to transfer me to Pune, where Emaan worked. I would soon be leaving my friends and this nice little place of ours, to a strange new city. But becoming Mrs Emaan would always be worth it. I blushed at the thought and went on to my office desk to check out the status reports of the new automation system that we were developing for a leading foreign MNC.

Convinced with the progress, I decided to take a break. I am not sure how it came to me but I had this wildest idea, of checking my name on google. I typed in Arin Banerji on google and was greeted with thousands of hits. I knew none of them were about me but still glanced through the hits. That's when I stumbled across "Project Arin".

What struck me immediately was the title. It seemed like a mystery story about a person who shared the same name as me. I clicked on it to read the blog and that's when I got the biggest surprise of my life. To be continued..

< intro

Next chapter >

Introduction: "Lost in Time"

Arin, just a week before her wedding stumbles across a blog about herself, written 3 years back, when she was still in college. It also mentions a man's struggle to keep his love alive for the past 14 years and his painstaking efforts to locate her. She is overwhelmed by the entire incident. She really wants to meet him but she is running out of time. "Lost in Time" is a story of a long journey and a deep mystery about love, relationships and friendship..

Coming soon...

First chapter >

[Based on Project Lipi - On A, E and X's story]

Just friends - The Endless Journey

" Mr Alan P'smith, this way please. Your transit lounge is on the third floor. The connecting flight to Moscow will fly at 23:00 hours.", the attendant announced.

Waiting at the London Heathrow airport seemed liked eternity with hoards of people rushing for their destinations and dozens of planes zooming past us, every minute. Four more hours, I sighed. The transit lounge was already overflowing with people and I was running out of ideas to kill time. I was never a music person and the laptop was out of charge. I quickly glanced through some weeklies. "The Endless Journey", was still at top of the Times best seller list. I left them aside and decided to take a nap.

"Is the seat taken", interjected a female voice, waking me up from my sweet slumber. I shook my head, and offered the vacant seat next to me. I didn't care to look at the voice bearer and I went back to my sleep.

"Hi, have we met before. I have seen you somewhere but can't really place you", remarked the voice again. "Oh it's not your fault, I have that familiar face. A lot of people are mistaken", I remarked, without even opening my eyes.

"Psmithie from Wisconsin, the tall boring guy next door, extrovert yet lonesome and the last person on earth, a girl would ever go out with. You never change".

I woke up startled. I hadn't heard the voice in the past ten years and immediately recognised her.
"Heya Karen, still the thin, lanky, bossy and arrogant as you always were. Even you haven't changed at all. What a surprise, meeting you here."

"Likewise, old pal. What you upto these days. You completely disappeared after graduation. No mails, no calls. Everyone was looking for you. We were all so worried", Karen asked.

"Nothing serious. I just wanted some time out to regroup and focus on my career. Anyways leaving me aside, So how are you and Keith doing. I read about Keith in the ACM journal. Always knew he would do something great. He was always into research n stuff. And where you guys staying."

"Man, you always asked too many questions. I am doing swell. Haven't seen Keith for ages. He must be somewhere working on his dumb robots. I relocated to Florida, few years back. I am an investment Banker now. All work and loads of money", she remarked slyly.

"I thought you and Keith..",
"It was complicated. Different lives. Different interests and different goals. We finally agreed to move on".

I felt sad for them. I had always felt they were so perfect for each other.

I recollected my old days, Stanford life was so much fun. The sororities, the dorm life, the backpacking trips to the countryside.. such a wonderful time.

It wouldn't have been the same had I not found these amazing bunch of pals - Nick, Karen, Sarah, James and Elliot. People would always find us together and I really liked the bunch, a lot.

An interesting bit of information about Karen. She was the Cheerleading squad captain, and the most popular girl in the batch. Every other guy wanted to ask her out but she was already seeing Keith then.
Now, don't assume Karen wasn't smart. She topped her cohort without a miss, year after year.

Keith was the local prodigy. Exceptional in computer science, track athlete, dancer, lead singer of a popular band, president's scholar..etc. He was good at everything. And It wasn't a surprise that Karen and Keith won the best student award each year.

Keith and Karen had this love-hate relationship. Both were highly ambitious and driven. They were always right, no matter what. And this was so much fun to watch, when their arguments would go on forever and finally Keith would succumb to her arguments.

I was always the geeky yet cool guy of the group. Never serious about anything in life. Always ready to party and get drunk outrageously anywhere.

When I wasn't partying, I would always be found immersed in my cyber world. I was Zirkin, lord of eternal damnation in the World of Warcraft. I was the nice coder-next-door who would develop websites for the local food joint for a years supply of free nachos. I was the model example, which all the profs referred to, of a computer science student, gone waste. I was never interested in the theory or research that Keith was so much into. I was the creative, free-spirit who realized pretty late, that he was in the wrong school, where everyone else was smarter and way better than him.

And my carefree attitude towards everything in life, didn't win me much laurels at school. Profs had given up on me. And each and every time, friendship with Karen would help me get some extra help from Keith, enabling me to pass those tough exams. I still remember how Karen would push me from sleeping off, and make sure I studied.

I have a confession to make here. The very first day I met Karen, I was so much in love with her. She was smart, lively and beautiful, always making people around her laugh. I loved her company and it added spark to my otherwise boring time at school. Karen liked the fact that unlike other guys, I never made a pass on her. For a long time she even thought I was gay. I had to ask Sarah out, just to prove her that she was wrong. Keith and Karen were going strong, and they were so perfect. And I really wanted to keep the special friendship that we shared. By the time I graduated, I was an emotional wreck and decided to take some time off and start afresh. I traveled around the world, did odd jobs to make ends meet, helped in refugee camps, climbed the tallest peaks, caught fish with local fishmonglers, discovered new worlds and kept following my dreams.

"Hey, Al, where you lost", Karen asked breaking my chain of thoughts. "My flight leaves in 5 mins, do call me once in a while. It would really mean a lot to me", Karen hugged me and slid her business card in my pocket.

"You still haven't told me what you really do", Karen asked rushing towards the departure door.
I took out a book from my bag and passed it to her. "This is for you". Karen looked puzzled but saw the name on the cover, and waved back at me from the departure point. And soon she was gone.

[Inspired from my uni days - K,K and A's story]

Author's Scrapbook: Nothin' serious

Inspired from my favorite author, P.G. Wodehouse,
"Nothin serious" is my own collection of stories about people, people and more people in funny li'l situations.

Some of these stories are inspired from real life incidents that happened in lives of close friends and people around me. And some are just made up.

Hope you enjoy it, the same way I enjoyed writing it.
And if you have any suggestions, feel free to drop a comment.