by Savi Sharma
‘I’ll see you soon,’ I said and hung up.
An hour later, we gathered at the table. Even Kabir, who often took his meals where he could be comfortable in the living room, insisted on coming to the table to eat. I wondered if Nisha had clued him into the serious tone of my voice when I spoke to her.
I didn’t have long to wonder. We had barely started eating when Kabir looked at me pointedly. ‘Something is wrong,’ he said bluntly.
I sighed and pushed the plate away from me. I had no appetite anyway, so there was no sense putting off what I had to tell them.
‘The investors turned down Musafir,’ I started, and looked around the table at my dear friends, watching the emotions playing over their faces, like ripples in a lake. There was shock and sadness. But then I saw determination.
‘Maybe you can start on a smaller scale,’ Kabir suggested. ‘Create a small tour group, keep your own payment down, maybe as an introductory rate.’
Nisha nodded. ‘Small steps,’ she said. ‘Create a following with a small number of people. Capture their experiences, and use them in your marketing plan.’
‘Test your success,’ Kabir continued. ‘We all know it’s going to be a success; you just need to prove it.’
‘Can you go back to your investors, once you’re established?’ Meera asked.
I thought about it, mentally going through the list. I wouldn’t crawl back to the people who outright laughed at me, but there were a handful of others, like Mr Chandran, who expressed true regret in having to turn down the investment opportunity. If I could come back with a successful pilot programme, perhaps they would be more willing to listen a second time.
‘I think it’s a good idea,’ I agreed. ‘There are some that would be keen to invest if I could prove the success. I didn’t really think to start small, but it’s a good idea, Kabir.’
The four of us spoke at length about how to best revamp the plan I had to scale it down to a more local group for now. There were plenty of areas that I could take people at a reasonable rate as the test groups. As we spoke, I began to get extremely excited and even started eating again. The food was getting cold, but I didn’t care.
‘Where will you get your finances though?’ Nisha asked, frowning with her concern.
‘I have about five lakh rupees saved from my share of the profits from Kafe Kabir,’ I said, wincing as I said the name. Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned the name of Kabir’s beloved coffee shop. But it was important because I had another subject to bring up.
Nisha brightened when she heard the figure. It was a modest sum, but she had a good head for figures and as a young mother, she thrived in opportunities to make something out of nothing.
‘I did have another thought I wanted to speak to you three about, though,’ I started again, looking directly at Kabir. This next question was for everyone, but it probably concerned him the most.
‘Yes?’ Kabir said. He sat back, and I could tell he was starting to get uncomfortable from sitting at the table for so long. I suggested we take the conversation into the living room, where we could all sit comfortably.
Nisha and Meera took care of the dishes, and I slowly walked Kabir into the living room, carefully helping him to settle in his most comfortable chair. It was a drawn-out process and by the time we were ready to resume the conversation, Nisha and Meera rejoined us, after checking on Jianna, who was sleeping peacefully in her cot.
I didn’t really know where to start, even though I was trying to collect my thoughts in the few minutes since we had left the table.
They waited patiently for me to find my starting point, although I could tell on all their faces that they were curious to hear what I had to say.
‘I have five lakh rupees,’ I started again. ‘But I’m not sure if it is the best idea to use that to start Musafir.’
Meera gasped. ‘Why? Vivaan, this is your dream!’
‘But there are other dreams and there is another story that needs to continue.’ I looked at Kabir and took a deep breath. ‘Maybe we should use the money to rebuild Kafe Kabir instead.’
Kabir let out a little cry. ‘Oh Vivaan, no.’
‘No?’ I repeated, surprised. Perhaps I had been reading him wrong all these weeks. Maybe he spoke about rebuilding, but didn’t really want to return to the café life.
He quickly dispelled that thought, leaning forward urgently in his chair. ‘Kafe Kabir will be rebuilt, but it can wait,’ he said, looking at Nisha, who nodded her agreement. ‘I think,’ he continued, ‘that the most urgent need is to start Musafir.’
‘But. . .’
‘It’s final,’ Kabir said firmly.
I smiled, feeling a tingle of pleasure run through down my arms. These friends, they meant so much to me. But to hear Kabir’s determination in supporting my company, and to see Nisha and Meera’s glistening eyes as they emphatically agreed. . . it was overwhelming.
I thought fleetingly at my urgency only a few hours ago, to flee to some dark caves, and I felt foolish. This was what I needed. Not some cold cave somewhere, that wouldn’t fix me. I needed the warm, bright encouragement of these three people. When is a friendship formed? I wondered fleetingly. Just like falling in love, there is never an actual starting point; it just is, filling your heart with minute moments.
I saw an amazing sight. It was that look you share with a friend that shows you that they truly understand you. They all had that same strong, steady gaze.
I wanted to say something but some emotions cannot be put into words. If you try, you take away their power. I knew this though. Friends more valuable than gold. They know us in a way that we don’t even know ourselves, laughing during our celebrations and crying in our disappointments.
I’m not much for crying, but I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. ‘Thank you,’ I whispered, unable to speak any louder. ‘I can’t tell you how much I appreciate each and every one of you.’ I realised then how much people need people. Nobody can know anything or do anything all by themselves. If you want to truly succeed, you need the support of many.
They understood what I needed like daytime understands the night.
‘When the time is right,’ Meera suggested, ‘we can use some of the profits from Musafir to rebuild Kafe Kabir.’
I agreed. ‘That is a very good idea.’
‘Now it’s my turn to say something,’ Meera continued. Everyone turned to her and for the first time this evening, I noticed a satisfied smile playing around her lips. ‘I’ve been in negotiations with my publishers, as you know. We are almost ready to close the deal.’
‘That is terrific,’ Nisha breathed. ‘Judging from the look on your face, the negotiations are going very well!’
Meera nodded happily. ‘Better than I could have ever dreamed!’
‘Do you have a figure yet?’
She shook her head. ‘We haven’t agreed on a final price yet, but I can tell you that it is already much greater than my other books.’
‘That is fantastic!’ I said, leaning over and wrapping my arms around her. ‘I am not surprised, though. You are a very talented woman and, of course, your publishers want to keep you happy.’
‘As long as things continue to go well—and I have every confidence that they will—I should be getting the advance within a month or two. We can use that money to help boost Musafir and rebuild Kafe Kabir!’
I stood up quickly and pulled Meera to her feet. ‘Vivaan!’ she cried happily. I wrapped my arms around her and picked her up, spinning her around as she laughed. I closed my eyes and buried my face in her hair.
Before the night was over, we agreed that I would move forward as soon as possible with my limited funds to start organising my startup, and then Meera—now the co-owner of Musafir—would contribute part of her advance when it was time to launch the company.
After so many rough weeks, I was starting to believe that fate was starting to smile at us once more.
14
VIVAAN
/> One month later
Sitting in Kabir and Nisha’s living room a month ago, I knew good things were just beginning. After that night, I threw myself into launching my tour company.
Everyone was so incredibly supportive, especially Kabir, who had a scary setback a few weeks ago when an infection took root in his body. One minute, he was fine; the next, Nisha called me, frantic, because his fever had spiked once again.
Fortunately, a night in the hospital and some strong antibiotics took care of the infection, but they set him back a few steps. In typical Kabir fashion, though, he shifted his energy into helping me with some of the details only an experienced small business owner would think about. His insights were priceless and each day we came closer to the first tour, excitement surrounded all of us like an unexpectedly warm day after a series of chilly weeks.
‘Tell me a little more about yourself,’ I said to the man sitting in front of me. He was the tenth interviewee that day and what felt like the hundredth that week. When she could, Meera sat in on the interviews with me, but I suggested she stay home today, knowing that she was having trouble with the pace of her writing. I saw it in each random frown when she was lost in her thoughts.
The older man sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. ‘I used to be a truck driver many moons ago,’ he started. ‘It was a good job but there was a lot of pressure to get loads in on time, to make sure the trucks were full but never too full. It wore me down.’
I wrinkled my nose in sympathy. ‘I can imagine,’ I said.
‘But I love to drive, and I’m very comfortable driving buses. I’m pretty sure I was born with a steering wheel in my hands! I love seeing new places so when I saw this ad, I thought it was the perfect solution for me. After all, since I retired, I’m driving my beloved wife crazy. I think it’s either get a job or get a divorce,’ he said, with a twinkle in his eye.
I laughed and knew he would be the perfect addition to the staff members I already hired, thanks to the savings Meera had invested.
My staff would help organise the next tour, so I could focus my energies on taking care of my customers when the first tour was going on. I was amazed at how many people had already signed up for more tours. With Meera’s social media connections, I had even been contacted by a small, but very successful business that wanted to use Musafir’s services to take their top staff members on a business retreat of sorts.
Every now and then, I’d think about the investors that turned me down. I thought everything was falling apart but it wasn’t. I realised that our path may change and events may settle in like obstacles, but if we continue to move forward, we will be ultimately successful.
After the interview was over, I walked him to the door. Turning around to look at the office, I felt myself nod approvingly at how much we had accomplished in such a short time. The hard work had been so worth it to get to this point.
Those dark days when I listened to the investor after investor turn me down, I felt like such a failure. But failure is not the end—it’s the beginning of a new chance to make your life even better. We cannot avoid the fate that is ours, but we can choose to walk that path with a positive step.
As the pieces came together with Musafir, things didn’t always happen smoothly. But those challenges strengthened my resolve to continue.
There are wins in our lives every day. They might be big, like getting a new job, or they might be as small as getting out of bed in the morning when we really want to pull the blankets over our head. No matter the size, these successes should be embraced. Right now, they came in small steps, but steps closer to opening the business.
We decided that the first tour should be to Rajasthan because it was relatively close but far enough to be a great adventure for our clients. I couldn’t wait to see the look on their faces when visiting the Ranakpur Jain Temple, seeing for themselves the 1,444 intricate carved columns.
We would also be visiting Kumbalgarh, also known as India’s Great Wall, the Meera Temple and Chittorgarh Fort.
I rented a tour bus to take our twenty-eight clients. This would help keep costs low, and I could take the time over the fifteen-hour trip to Udaipur to clarify the rules and fill our clients in on the people and places where we would be visiting. After all, even though we were compensating people for opening up their homes to our guests, we wanted to ensure that they had a good experience as well.
It would also give me time to brainstorm about other trips. The next one, I hoped, would be even better than this first one, because Meera would be with me. For this trip, we had decided that she would stay behind in Pune. That way, she could help Nisha with the baby and help Kabir, who was still weak after his most recent infection.
Nisha and I both made a list of friends who lived in or near Chittorgarh, Udaipur, and other cities along the route, and we were quickly able to convince them to host the tour group while we were in these areas. Those who were unable to accommodate such a large group were more than happy to provide my staff with a list of popular local restaurants and other events that might otherwise not capture the attention of larger tour groups.
Soon enough, all was set. I bid goodbye to Nisha and Kabir, who gave me one last surprise. Without my knowledge, Kabir had reached out to one of his former employees to go to my apartment. Meera gave the woman, Yamini, the spare key that she had for my apartment. When we arrived there, I was delighted to find a beautiful, intimate dinner had been prepared for us.
Candles were lit on the table, and two places were set for us.
I couldn’t believe it. I was so touched by our friends’ thoughtfulness. I quickly called Kabir before sitting down. ‘Thank you for this, Kabir!’ I said as soon as he picked up the phone.
It was good to hear him laugh uncontrollably for the first time in a long time. ‘You are welcome, Vivaan! You and Meera have been so good to us, so we wanted you to have one last quiet evening with Meera before you leave.’
I shook my head, overwhelmed. ‘This is perfect . . .’ I started before Kabir interrupted me.
‘Stop talking and go enjoy your evening!’
I laughed. ‘Yes sir,’ I said in mock seriousness. ‘Thank you aga—’ But I never had a chance to finish the sentence because Kabir hung up on me.
In the meantime, Meera had opened a cola bottle and poured us two glasses. I took a sip as Yamini served our meal. ‘There is more on the counter if you want,’ she said, slipping her jacket on. ‘I’ll leave you two alone, but can come back tomorrow to clean up, so you don’t have to worry about it.’
With that, she left. Meera and I dove into the deliciously spiced meal, shovelling in forkfuls between going over last-minute questions and concerns about tomorrow’s trip. After dinner, we abandoned our empty plates and curled up together on my sofa. Meera pulled her hair out of her ponytail, knowing how much I loved playing with her soft locks.
Running my fingers through her hair, we talked about the future, both our future and the future of Musafir. Curious as I was to know if Meera had decided to marry me, we avoided the subject. I didn’t want to ruin the night by making her uncomfortable again. Life needs compromise. In goals, in love, and in your dreams. But in the end, I knew waiting for Meera to marry me would be so very worth it.
I leaned over and kissed Meera, gently at first, and then with a passion that exploded as she matched my enthusiasm. We kissed in a way that we never had before and the power of it conjured happiness I had never felt until that very moment.
My hands were tangled in her hair as our kisses deepened. I could feel her heart pounding against my chest as we pressed together, running our hands over each other, pulling even closer.
Our love was so intense, it amazed me. We journey the path to love with another, never alone, and I was certainly thriving in that love on this night.
I was awake before the sun rose the next morning, excitement and anticipation surging through my veins. In a few short hours, I would be greeting our guests for our maiden voyage for
Musafir. I had checked, double checked, and triple checked all of the details, and I knew I had driven my staff half-crazy making sure they did the same.
The rational part of me knew there would be mistakes and unforeseen circumstances. Problems were sure to arise, and I wished again that Meera had been able to come with me because she was a fantastic problem solver. However, she was only a phone call away, and the effort that we all went into planning this first tour was going to keep those issues to a minimum.
And, any issues that arose? I smiled as I looked through all the appropriate documents once more, knowing that those challenges would be solved, and would be important to remember for future trips.
Yes, Musafir was ready to launch!
The sun caressed my face as I climbed out of the cab and strode to our locked office door with determined purpose. There, once more, I went through the necessary paperwork, making sure I had all the contact information for the people who would be hosting our trip.
‘Vivaan!’ Meera’s buoyant voice broke through my thoughts and I looked up from my files, smiling broadly. ‘Are you ready for your big day?’
‘Aw, Meera,’ I said, grateful to see her beautiful face once more before I left. ‘I thought we said our goodbyes last night. You were sleeping so peacefully when I left, I didn’t want to wake you. I didn’t expect to see you here!’
‘I couldn’t let you leave without being here to wave to your bus as it leaves!’ she laughed, crossing back to the window to peer out of the glass. ‘When will the bus be here?’
I walked around the office and looked out the window, wrapping my arms around her and resting my chin on the top of her head. Her hair was still damp from her shower, and the flowery scent of her shampoo even stronger than usual.
‘Any minute,’ I responded. ‘I asked him to come about an hour before we leave so I can give the driver some last-minute instructions. I figure we should have a solid half hour to go through the details yet again before the customers start to arrive. I asked them to come about thirty minutes before we leave.’ I pressed my lips on the top of her head and gave her a loud, exaggerated kiss.