Sunday, August 10, 2008

BUT IT RAINED...

Greetings senors and senoritas...i'm really sorry for having contributed at the last moment. T'was a bit difficult to get online in the past few days. Looking forward to your feedback on this article i hastily wrote. Thank you..adios..happy readin...

Kshitij

It had been a hell of a week, with endless assignments and truckloads of tests. Seriously, if this was the “good, old” college life, it was a nightmare for me. Music had proved an equalizer for some time, but now even the rhythm divine had given up. The weekend ahead held no respite. It was one of the times when I just pushed the entire world aside and allowed my couch-potato of a mind, whisper to me-“Yes dear, you need a break.” A cup of coffee in the nearby café was an irresistible thought.

As I flung open the door, my entire world seemed to undergo a makeover. The sweet smell of fresh coffee coupled with the cool air-conditioned breeze worked wonders for my nostrils, which had previously been tortured by the nauseating odours of uncanny, uliginous chemicals from the endless lab-sessions. Thankfully Prayag had saved us the trouble for another week in that dungeon which reeked of god-knows-what. I wonder how the lab instructor survived an entire week there. God bless Prayag for his nonpareil skill for organizing mass bunks. No wonder he’s standing for CR. Anyway, before I hive off from my train of thought again, so there I sat in the café, amongst a mélange of people. People of all kinds, students, uncles and aunties, li’l kids too, girls (obviously), office goers etc.; A crowd not usually found in café. You’ll normally expect CCD to be filled with college students (mostly girls you want to check out), or the spoilt school-going brats who have their pockets filled with enough moolah by their folks. This wasn’t like any of that. Misplaced. I couldn’t help noticing that it was unusually quiet that day, an aura of gloom hanging in the backdrop, as if everyone had something to brood about under those tufts of hair (bald pates for others). There I go again. Analyzing people, trying to figure what goes on under those thick headed skulls. Guessing at what Li’l-Miss-Pretty thinks about Mr. Striped-Shirt…

I glanced out of the window. The clouds were gathering. It looked like evening already at 11:00 am in the morning. Now that is the kind of weather I like. To put it in simple words, I have nothing against rain. Rain is the perfect setting for a cuppa in a café, especially if you have someone to talk to at the same time (No, someone more than a friend, you know what I’m talking about…:P). Rain provides the consummate setting for a classic street football match, the kind you view in those Nike commercials. I’m not exactly talkin about the kids running around, most of them in their undies, but about a rugged game, that’s more of a guy thing. Anyways, rain gives you an inner sense of warmth, leaving a tenuous cold sense on the tip of the skin, almost like miniscule goose-bumps. Be it pakoras or bhuttas, these monsoon treats aren’t much of an item without the rain gods devising the environment accordingly. Rain is what completes them all. But at one point, it gets too much. Rain leaves behind an awful mess. There’s nothing more irritating than spoiling your new pair of Converse in a sticky puddle (Ok, I’m acting like Monica Gellar, but I like those shoes like anything!!), or walking through a street which actually is more of a jumping session to avoid the icky lakes of water and tiny rivulets flowing by the side. I tell you, people in the regions with perennial rainfall may be experts enough at the act, they just might be able to jump over the Berlin Wall… Besides, the pre-conditions of a good shower are essentially perfect, be it a romantic setting or just another soul spinning dreams in the back of his mind. That’s what I prefer any day.

I’ve always loved the rain, however I wasn’t in a mood for a downpour that day. I have always loved to go out and get drenched, age no bar. Yet somehow it didn’t feel quite like that. It looked like Mr. Gloom in the backdrop had got me in his clutches too.

Then out of nowhere, she slipped in. It was as if someone had reached out and switched on the lights in the back of my mind. A fragrance as sweet as the early spring reached me and encapsulated me in its aromatic wanderings. She looked around, hoping to find an empty seat. One was on my table. Another was nowhere to be found. Wow, Lucky me!!! “Excuse me ma’am, I’m really sorry but I don’t think we have any free seat. Are you waiting for someone?” Rats! The waiter was gonna spoil everything. Who the hell asked him to intervene anyway? “No I’m alone. Are you sure there isn’t any seating. I so badly wanted a cappucinno right now.” Screw you dude, there’s a chair right in front of me. Why don’t you gather up that etiquette you just showed and ask me if I’d let her sit there too? The gods heard me, I guess. The waiter did exactly that. “Sir, are you expecting someone? This lady has no place to sit. Would you mind her sharing the table?” Thank you god!!Excellent work you guys doing up there :). “I…uh……yes…I mean no….uh…” “Sir?”. Right, I finally get what I want. Perfect timing to start stuttering. “Yeah sure”. Whew I manage to get some words out.

She orders her cappucinno. The waiter gets us our orders. I can’t help noticing the fact that she appears familiar. Definitely not the same college, would’ve seen that right away. Maybe school. We gradually get to talking. It turns out we actually were from the same school. She being in the commerce section, they don’t usually notice engineering dorks like us. We find out we have a lot in common. She likes Manchester United, I worship the Red Devils. She’s into western music, mostly rock. So is yours truly. Besides, I’ve never seen a girl wearing an Iron Maiden shirt before :). Meanwhile the clouds gather together strongly as ever. Rain seems inevitable, though I pray its prolonged for just a little while. It looked like the gods were taking care of that too. Its funny how you meet a person, who’s a total stranger. Yet you can strike up the best of friendship over a cup of coffee. “There’s a gig this evening, in the café just around the corner. Wanna go? I guess it’ll be fun.” Ok. Not a bad move, you’ve got to admit. I’m no expert at asking out, but it was worth an effort. “Sure. I’d love to. Hope it doesn’t rain. Don’t want to wet my hair. Besides what time is it, the concert?” “7. Omigosh. Its 6:30 already! Can’t believe I’ve spent over 4 hours here!!” She giggled. Tsk, Girls… They don’t want their hair wet, they giggle if you lose track of time, they hate monsoon showers for what it does to their make-up. Okay, before I freak out, we get up and get ready to leave. I can be late for classes, dental appointments, movies, dates but never ever for a gig. We step outside, onto the sidewalk, our cheeks flushing with smiles and… SPLAT! A miniscule drop. I glanced up. SPLAT! Yet another into my eye. And the rest is spontaneous. Tiny droplets of water running down my back, on my forehead, through the criss-cross alignment of my hair, sending little streams of water here and there. Rain! Just what was needed. I could feel the gods smirking, seeking malicious humour in my confused self. Their tiny little water balloons bombarding every inch of us, shattering the plan for the gig with every drop. It was there, the puddles, the rivulets, the muddy lakes, dirty converse…water, water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink and all the irony. Next thing I know, she rushes back into the café’s refuge, leaving me standing out there, getting drenched and hating it for the first time ever.

Drats!!! It rained. :(

2 comments:

Kshitij said...

DISCLAIMER: This is purely a work of fiction. Any resembelance with any person living or dead is purely co-incidental. Except for Prayag, who does have a great skil for organising mass bunks.

mayank said...

1. Girls aren't as snoot nosed about rain as you think..this comes from experience

2. A rain gig for me is the ultimate expression of rock music ...but then thats my personal opinion :)

As far as the writing is concerned, there are places where the word play and metaphors are good..But the flow is lost sometimes, and a very good line is followed by something a tad amateur at places..But then we're all amateurs here so no sweat.. :)...Nice story, the interest of the reader isn't lost anywhere in the middle...Write more often, m sure u will!