Love is Blind

by Vijay K Kerji

   

  “Well, it’s really nice place to hang on,” Niranjan said while he looked around the shop.

   

  “Yeah, it’s really cool place to talk,” Jennifer said in a complimentary tone.

   

  Niranjan paused for few moments and said, “What is the general procedure for getting the license here?”

   

  ‘Well, it is not a difficult procedure, and you need to pass the written test which consists of a set of objective questions. Then you take a road test before you get the license,’ Jennifer replied.

   

  “Is there someone who can train me on this procedure?” Niranjan asked while he kept his hands on the table.

   

  “I know an instructor who can guide you to get the license. I will give his phone number, and you can speak with him later,” Jennifer said.

   

  “All right, thank you for your help,” Niranjan said, and looked towards the counter. He walked back to the counter and bought two medium sized coffees.

   

  “I think Honda Acura is a good car,” Niranjan said while he placed the cups on the table.

   

  “Yes, it is a powerful car to drive,” Jennifer said.

   

  “Okay, I may need you when I go to the dealer to buy it,” Niranjan said, and gulped the coffee.

   

  “All right, I will help you”.

   

  Niranjan felt happy to hear these words from Jennifer. He needed some one’s help to successfully navigate the hurdles before he get used to the new country. He had his friend Venkatesh with him few months ago but he was alone these days after Venkatesh left to India.

   

  He finished his coffee along with Jennifer and stepped outside the cafeteria. They walked towards the Princeton University campus after crossing the Nassau Street carefully amidst the traffic.

   

  The university was spread in a huge space with old buildings in it. It was spread on the both sides of the street with Nassau Hall on the right of it. Nassau hall was located in a spacious area of several acres of land with large trees around it. The manicured grass was spread in front of it in a large open space.

   

  “Wow, this university building looks great,” Niranjan said. He looked at the building with much keenness.

   

  “Yes it is called Nassau hall, a symbolic centre of the Princeton university campus,” Jennifer said.

   

  Niranjan saw the front entrance of the hall which was flanked by the two bronze tigers.

   

  “Is Nassau Hall contains University Offices in it?” Niranjan asked.

   

  “Well, it houses the office of the university president and has other administrative offices in it,” Jennifer said.

   

  “The front lawn really looks beautiful,” Niranjan said, while he walked on the lawn along with Jennifer.

   

  “Yes, this is where convocation of the university will be held during good weather conditions,” Jennifer said.

   

  Niranjan walked towards the other side of the Nassau hall and saw a Gothic architectural style building in front of him.

   

  “This old building looks like a college of the university,” Niranjan said.

   

  “Well, it is one of the six residential colleges of the Princeton University. It is called Wilson College, the first among them,” Jennifer said.

   

  “Wow, that’s good to know,” Niranjan said while he stared at Jennifer.

   

  “Yeah, and each of these colleges provide many amenities to the students such as study spaces, libraries, performance places and like that,” Jennifer said.

   

  They walked towards the other side of the Wilson College after crossing the street which divided the university campus. They reached another Gothic styled building called Forbes college.

   

  “Is it the second college of the six residential colleges of the University?” Niranjan asked.

   

  “Yes, it is. It has many excellent amenities like private bathrooms, library and a dining hall. It also has a theatre and a cafeteria within it,” she said.

   

  “Wow, lot many facilities for the students within the college campus,” Niranjan said.

   

  Later, they walked towards the Firestone Library building constructed with Gothic architecture. The whole building was constructed with stone and looked like a church from the outside.

   

  "This is the main university Library building, and houses around seven million books apart from huge number of manuscripts. It has the underground levels where these books are stored," Jennifer said.

   

  "Wow, it has seven million books in it, but the building appears small from outside," Niranjan said with a stunned voice.

   

  Soon after, they walked back to the parking space where Jennifer had parked her Beetle. Jennifer drove the car back to the Deer Creek Apartments. She dropped Niranjan at his house in the apartment premises and steered her car towards New Brunswick.

   

  She never noticed James following behind her in his car on that evening.

   

  Chapter 13 Niranjan’s Car Purchase

  The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made - Groucho Marx 

   

  Niranjan completed yet another hard workweek at General Electric along with his team members, and he proposed a new design for their project module to be implemented next month. His ideas were always accepted by his project manager Frank and his team mates, barring few changes. He was more confident in presenting new project designs to his team members with his good technical and presentation skills. He always thrived at his work, and maintained good rapport with his team mates. 

      

  On Saturday, Niranjan completed his housekeeping work and took showers. Later, he decided to speak with Jennifer about his driving license. He did remember that she suggested him to get coached from the driving instructor before the road test. He called her during the noon and obtained the driving instructor’s telephone number. 

      

  He spoke to the instructor soon after and was suggested by him to take minimum of five driving sessions, each of one hour duration. He met him on Sunday and collected a DMV manual from him, which contained the necessary details to prepare for the road test. 

      

  On the following workweek he completed the training sessions, and cleared the written test successfully. He scheduled the road test for the next week and went to the DMV along with the instructor to take the test on the scheduled date. 

  In the DMV office premises, an inspector in a uniform came to him and asked, 'Are you waiting for the test to be conducted?' 

   

  "Yes, please," Niranjan replied. 

     

  “Let’s go, and have the test’” he said. They walked together towards the car which was parked in the private test area of the DMV. Niranjan drove the car as per the direction of the inspector. He demonstrated the parallel parking successfully which was vital to pass the road test.

  Later, Niranjan was asked to collect the license inside the DMV office by the inspector. Niranjan was glad that he got the driving license.

  I can buy a new car and drive on my own! 

  ######

   

  Niranjan informed Jennifer about his driving license being issued by the DMV. He requested her to accompany him on Sunday to visit the dealer at Princeton. They decided to meet at the Deer Creek Apartment before noon, and planned to go to the dealer together. 

      

      

  On Saturday of the week, Niranjan
informed Jennifer about his driving license being issued by the DMV. He requested her to accompany him on Sunday to visit to the dealer in Princeton. They decided to meet at the Deer Creek Apartment before noon, and planned to go to the dealer together.

  ####

  Three months of winter with freezing temperatures and snowfall slowly ended while people were geared up for the warmer weather of the spring in New Jersey. The spring season had started with downpour and the occasional thunder storms. People rested their winter leather jackets and were seen moving around by wearing sweaters and normal cloths. They were excited with change in the weather and planned their trip to the nearby community parks and to the beaches in the coastal New Jersey. 

      

  Jennifer reached to the Deer Creek Apartment to take Niranjan to the nearby Honda dealer at Princeton, New Jersey. She saw Niranjan already standing in the parking area when she reached to the H block. 

      

  "Hi, shall we go?" Jennifer asked, while she raised the car window. 

  "Yes, it's already late." Niranjan sat besides her in the car. 

      

  "Should I need to carry anything else apart from the license?"

  "Well, it is enough for today. You may need your employment details later," Jennifer replied. 

      

  She drove her car to reach Lawrenceville, adjoining Princeton on Route One South, and reached the Honda dealer located on the left side of it. She parked near the main entrance in a visitors parking area. Several used cars were parked on the other side of the building. The front of the building had a glass wall which showcased the new Honda cars to the outsiders and to the visitors. 

      

  Jennifer entered into the main hall, along with Niranjan where customers were already speaking with salesmen. They waited for few minutes while a salesman wearing pink shirt with tie approached them. 

      

  "My name is Paul, how may I help you today?" he asked. He had a cheerful smile on his face. 

  "Hi, I am Jennifer and he is Niranjan from GE at Princeton. He is interested to buy a car". 

      

  "You are welcome. Please be seated," Paul dragged two chairs from nearby and pulled one for himself. Jennifer and Niranjan sat facing Paul while he picked up few Honda car manuals from the nearby table. 

      

  "All right, what kind of car are you looking at?” 

   

  "Well, I have decided to buy an Acura which I found more powerful to drive. I want it with ABS," Niranjan replied. 

  Niranjan and Jennifer discussed in detail with Paul about the features available in the different models of the Acura. They heard a detailed explanation from Paul about Acura car models and he compared the existing features along with price difference. Niranjan and Jennifer finally agreed on the Acura RL model and negotiated for the price. Once they agreed with the pricing, Niranjan signed on few loan papers and decided to take the delivery by the next weekend. 

      

  "All right, please do fax these papers to your banker requesting the loan," Paul said. 

     

  "Sure, I'll fax them on Monday itself," Niranjan said while he glanced at the papers.

      

  "Thank you very much for sparing extra time during the discussion," Jennifer said. 

  "It's my pleasure, customer is our king," Paul said.

   

  They all laughed heartily, and Jennifer walked outside the showroom along with Niranjan. 

      

  Niranjan was happy with the way he spoke with Paul during the discussion. 

      

  "You really handled the salesman very well, and finally we had a good deal," Jennifer said. She looked at him with smile on her face. 

      

     "Well, I should thank you for helping me to buy a car. You are very generous and kind person. You supported me well during my discussion with Paul," Niranjan said with emotional voice. 

      

     "It's okay, there is nothing wrong in helping a friend like you," Jennifer said. 

      

     "I am really lucky to have you as a friend in this new country," Niranjan said. 

      

  Both Niranjan and Jennifer came closer during their weekend meetings. Their friendship was built on trust and faith. Jennifer was courteous enough to help him to settle down in the new country. Niranjan respected her, always treated her with utmost dignity. Jennifer was attracted to his gentle nature. Her bad memories of the past incident with Andrew slowly got erased from her mind. Her mental injury healed ever since Niranjan came into her life. 

      

  Next week, Niranjan took the car delivery and Jennifer accompanied him to the show room. He was comfortable while driving the car and followed Jennifer while driving back to the Deer Creek Apartment.

      

  But a close watch of their friendship by James posed a real threat to their friendship to progress further. 

  Chapter 14 Visit to the Balaji Temple

  The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

   

   

  The sky was clear with the bright sunlight, and people started coming out of their homes in the Deer Creek Apartment to enjoy the pleasant weather. The quacking sound of geese was heard near the block 'H' along with the cheering sound of young children skating on the private road of the Apartment. An oriole chirped from its nest on the tree near the balcony of the H-975 home. 

      

  Niranjan was strong believer in God, and he had a great influence of his parents in him. His parents were orthodox and lived with traditional values and culture. Every morning just after his bath, he offered prayers to God. He had visited temples frequently along with his parents and friends since childhood, and was brought up in a quite traditional environment. 

      

  Niranjan had visited the nearby Indian temple with Venkatesh two weeks after he came to the USA. He had heard from Venkatesh about the famous Lord Balaji temple at Bridgewater, New Jersey, and had not been there yet. He decided to go there to offer prayers to God and get his blessings on Sunday. He was happy with and comfortable in driving his new Acura and decided to take Jennifer with him. 

      

  Niranjan completed his weekend housekeeping and decor of his house and took a shower. He prepared a sandwich for the breakfast and poured a glass of orange juice kept in the refrigerator. He wide opened the curtains hung to the glass door of the balcony. 

      

  Wow, such a nice weather outside, I should not be at home in this pleasant weather. I should visit to the Balaji Temple with Jennifer today. 

      

      

  He sat at the dining table, in front of the kitchen and had his breakfast. He called Jennifer.. 

      

  "Hi Niranjan, What's up?" Jennifer asked.

      

  "I am doing well, and I drove the Acura this morning to the nearby market. I am comfortable with it," Niranjan said while he had his breakfast.

   

  "Oh, that's good to know," Jennifer said.   

   

  "I should thank you again for your kind help. I must say, you are very helpful in nature. Without your help, it would have been difficult for me to buy a car so soon," Niranjan said and sipped the orange juice.

      

  "It's all right, Niranjan. It's my pleasure. You please drive safe, and it takes few more months to get adjusted to the new traffic rules of this country."

      

  "Thank you for your advice. What did you do this morning?" Niranjan asked. 
>
      

  "Well, I had to visit Edison City to our outlet with my brother James. We had to check with our outlet manager, Wyatt, the product stock. I came back a short while ago while James stayed there" Jennifer said. 

      

  "Oh, you had to go out in the morning itself," Niranjan said. He completed having his breakfast.

      

  "Yeah, and what are your plans today? Are you going somewhere?" Jennifer asked.

     

  Niranjan paused for few moments before he said, "Yes, I am and I need your company again today, if you don't mind". 

      

  "Um...., let me see. Where are you planning to go?" Jennifer asked.

     

  "Bridgewater. I am interested to visit an Indian temple there and offer prayers," Niranjan said. He walked towards the balcony and sat on the metallic chair.

      

  "Okay, and for me it will be a first time experience," Jennifer chuckled.

      

  "Then, you must come with me. I am sure you like the Indian Temple environment," Niranjan said while he gazed towards the distant private road.

      

  "Okay, can I call you back in half an hour?" Jennifer said. 

      

  "Sure, and I hope you join me to the Temple," Niranjan said. 

      

  "All right, bye" Jennifer said, and disconnected the phone. 

      

      

  Later, Niranjan turned on his computer to get the driving direction to reach the Bridgewater. He browsed the yahoo map site and entered the required source and destination information. He glanced at the steps listed by the Yahoo Maps and noticed the distance mentioned and time to reach there. He printed a copy of it, and turned off the computer. 

   

  Jennifer dressed herself with a maroon skirt and a gold V-neck blouse. She brushed her hair, and applied usual lip gloss. She dialled Niranjan's cell number. 

      

  "Niranjan, I will be at your apartment in the next half hour," she said while she climbed down the staircase.

      

  "All right, thanks for coming," Niranjan said. 

      

  Jennifer disconnected the call and hurried towards the entrance while her mother stopped her and asked, 

      

  "Where you are going Jennifer?"

      

  "I am going to meet my friend Mom. Will be back soon," Jennifer replied while she turned her face towards her mother.

      

   "Try to come back before James returns," Catherine advised. 

      

   "All right Mom thanks," Jennifer said. She walked towards the garage and drove the car outside the gate of the private home.