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Authors: Rugved Mondkar
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and hugged me. The happy smile and the slight sway in the walk highlighted the effects of the pot that he smelled of. “Where are Raghu and Shashank?”
“Don’t know, maybe they went to the city.”
“Okay, what will you drink?”
“Beer’s fine.”
The attendant standing beside him rushed to fetch it.
“Uncle, thanks again for squeezing a room out for us. I know how hard it must have been,” I said almost mumbling the word ‘uncle’.
“Are you kidding me. I’m so happy you guys are here.” The waiter came back with my beer. “I would have vacated the entire property for you boys.”
Two hours, a delicious dinner and nine beers later, the conversation steered to girls.
“I hear someone broke you heart.”
A wave of shock cruised through my blood stream when my mind registered what he said.
“Ho… how did you know?” I asked.
“Arvind told me,” he said calmly as he took a sip of his single malt on the rocks.
“Dad?”
The wave of shock hit me with twice the force this time.
“What the fuck!” It came out louder than I wanted it to.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. It’s none of my business,” he said.
“Oh no… I didn’t mean to, I just, it’s just...” my mind struggled to fish out suitable words out of the riot that had broken out inside my head,
“How did dad come to know? Does that mean mom knew too? Who would tell them? Devika? Shashank? Raghu? Why would they tell them? Shit, shit shit.”
“It’s just painful, isn’t it? I know,” he paused and lit a joint. “Its been thirty years since I got my heart broken,” he said and pulled in a long drag.
“But no matter how much time passes, the pain and the helplessness remains,” he said as the smoke escaped out of his nose and mouth.
“I’m sorry. w hat happened?” I asked.
“It all began with her smile. Lata and her family were our tenants. I would go to collect the rent, and every time I went, a smile waited for me. I wanted to see more of her so I began to follow her to her college. I would wait outside for the whole day so that I could follow her back home. Eventually following her graduated to walking with her and the smile developed into holding hands. Life with her was bliss. We were seeing each other for three years,” he said as he emptied the contents of his glass.
“One day her father found out about us and he decided to marry her off to a Tamilian IIT engineer. I was simply rejected for being a rich, non-Tamilian arts graduate. I tried hard to convince him but in vain. What surprised me was she said nothing and instead she quietly married the engineer,” he took a gulp of the whiskey directly from the bottle.
“The picture of her marriage still makes me scream my heart out, but what’s the point. For years after that, my dad tried to get me married. Every girl more beautiful and wealthier than the previous one, but my heart belonged to the dusky Tamilian girl who now belonged to someone else,” he dabbed the tears that had filled his eyes.
“Did you ever meet her again?” I asked.
He smiled, “When life decides to play dirty, it does cruel things to you. I met her ten years back. She was here with her husband and son for a vacation. The pain resurfaced again. Her smile, her warmth, her eyes – nothing had changed. I could clearly tell from those eyes that the love for me still lived in her heart, but as I said, what’s the point.”
“Since then, she comes here every three years or so. I make her jealous by hugging and kissing younger firang girls,” he giggled.
“But when I look at her, I realise I have missed out on a whole chapter called marriage. I gave up on life after she left, but she moved on. She is a wife and a mother who takes care of her family. I’m still the same twenty-four-year- old she left. Honestly, I’m very happy with my life right now, but sometimes when the crowd goes back home, and the villas and beaches are empty, I feel the need to hold
“Don’t know, maybe they went to the city.”
“Okay, what will you drink?”
“Beer’s fine.”
The attendant standing beside him rushed to fetch it.
“Uncle, thanks again for squeezing a room out for us. I know how hard it must have been,” I said almost mumbling the word ‘uncle’.
“Are you kidding me. I’m so happy you guys are here.” The waiter came back with my beer. “I would have vacated the entire property for you boys.”
Two hours, a delicious dinner and nine beers later, the conversation steered to girls.
“I hear someone broke you heart.”
A wave of shock cruised through my blood stream when my mind registered what he said.
“Ho… how did you know?” I asked.
“Arvind told me,” he said calmly as he took a sip of his single malt on the rocks.
“Dad?”
The wave of shock hit me with twice the force this time.
“What the fuck!” It came out louder than I wanted it to.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. It’s none of my business,” he said.
“Oh no… I didn’t mean to, I just, it’s just...” my mind struggled to fish out suitable words out of the riot that had broken out inside my head,
“How did dad come to know? Does that mean mom knew too? Who would tell them? Devika? Shashank? Raghu? Why would they tell them? Shit, shit shit.”
“It’s just painful, isn’t it? I know,” he paused and lit a joint. “Its been thirty years since I got my heart broken,” he said and pulled in a long drag.
“But no matter how much time passes, the pain and the helplessness remains,” he said as the smoke escaped out of his nose and mouth.
“I’m sorry. w hat happened?” I asked.
“It all began with her smile. Lata and her family were our tenants. I would go to collect the rent, and every time I went, a smile waited for me. I wanted to see more of her so I began to follow her to her college. I would wait outside for the whole day so that I could follow her back home. Eventually following her graduated to walking with her and the smile developed into holding hands. Life with her was bliss. We were seeing each other for three years,” he said as he emptied the contents of his glass.
“One day her father found out about us and he decided to marry her off to a Tamilian IIT engineer. I was simply rejected for being a rich, non-Tamilian arts graduate. I tried hard to convince him but in vain. What surprised me was she said nothing and instead she quietly married the engineer,” he took a gulp of the whiskey directly from the bottle.
“The picture of her marriage still makes me scream my heart out, but what’s the point. For years after that, my dad tried to get me married. Every girl more beautiful and wealthier than the previous one, but my heart belonged to the dusky Tamilian girl who now belonged to someone else,” he dabbed the tears that had filled his eyes.
“Did you ever meet her again?” I asked.
He smiled, “When life decides to play dirty, it does cruel things to you. I met her ten years back. She was here with her husband and son for a vacation. The pain resurfaced again. Her smile, her warmth, her eyes – nothing had changed. I could clearly tell from those eyes that the love for me still lived in her heart, but as I said, what’s the point.”
“Since then, she comes here every three years or so. I make her jealous by hugging and kissing younger firang girls,” he giggled.
“But when I look at her, I realise I have missed out on a whole chapter called marriage. I gave up on life after she left, but she moved on. She is a wife and a mother who takes care of her family. I’m still the same twenty-four-year- old she left. Honestly, I’m very happy with my life right now, but sometimes when the crowd goes back home, and the villas and beaches are empty, I feel the need to hold
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