Little Things

by DICE Media

  Dhruv got himself another beer. He felt much better, much lighter now that he wasn’t angry any more, now that his emotions weren’t overburdening him. He was loosening up, and just in time. They joined the others for a game of Taboo.

  Taboo is played with cards. The goal is to get your teammates to guess the word you are describing, but there’s a list of words you can’t use while doing so. Also, there is a time limit within which the team members have to guess the word.

  Shifa was cheered on as she brought the board game to the table. Teams were formed and Dhruv and Kavya ended up on opposite sides.

  As the game progressed, one thing was for sure: Dhruv was on a roll! He was able to guess words without much prompting. Though Kavya was on the opposite team, she was extremely happy that Dhruv was on a winning streak. She was glad that he was finally involved and happy.

  All was going great, and though some people had got very drunk and passed out, the rest of them were having fun. Then Adi threw a spanner in the works. He cheated. And he got caught immediately by Shifa.

  ‘Thanks for spoiling my evening, Adi!’ She stopped the game and stormed out of the room. There was an uncomfortable silence as everyone waited, wondering what to do.

  Kavya and Adi went to Shifa’s room to console her. As Dhruv sat waiting and sipped his beer, guests started leaving. Many of them, however, had passed out around him.

  Then he saw Kavya talk to Adi and walk towards him. ‘He said he cheated because he didn’t want to look stupid in front of Shifa’s friends.’

  ‘That’s sad.’

  ‘I know. But he’s always awkward around Shifa.’ Kavya sat next to Dhruv and put his arm around her shoulders.

  Both Dhruv and Kavya knew how lucky they were to be so comfortable with each other. They sat quietly for a while as Kavya played with her hair and Dhruv enjoyed his beer with his arm around her. When Kavya looked up, she saw Dhruv looking at the people left in the hall.

  ‘What are you thinking about, Dhruv?’

  ‘Hmm?’ He took his time to answer. He was debating with himself whether he should have a chat about relationships or to let it go and lighten up. He decided to let it go.

  ‘I was just looking around to see who here I’d like to sleep with.’

  ‘How cheap!’

  ‘What? I’m being honest. I could have come up with some deep, intellectual shit and got away with it, no? But I chose to be truthful.’

  ‘Fair enough.’ Kavya decided to play along. ‘Even I’ll check someone out now.’

  ‘Is that right?’

  ‘Of course! Do you think you alone can get away with it?

  Both of them began looking at the people around.

  ‘Who are you checking out?’ Kavya looked in the same direction as Dhruv.

  ‘See that girl in the blue skirt? She’s pretty!’

  That was as much as Kavya could take. She took one of the cushions on the couch and smacked Dhruv straight on the face with it.

  ‘Ouch!’ He laughed. They decided it was time to leave.

  The elevator seemed like the perfect place to make out. As Kavya moved closer to Dhruv and the doors closed, they stole a kiss. They moved away when another couple entered the lift on the next floor.

  The couple started talking. ‘What an episode, man! How could they let Hodor die?’

  Dhruv was shocked. The spoiler had been delivered, and how!

  ‘What the hell!’ Dhruv was frustrated. ‘I told you this was going to happen at the party!’

  ‘I’m sorry . . .’ Kavya rubbed his shoulder to comfort him. ‘But it didn’t happen at the party, did it?’ Dhruv, however, was inconsolable. He could never have imagined this was how it would end. The couple looked sheepishly at Dhruv and Kavya as if they had committed a crime. They quickly walked out of the elevator as soon as it opened on the ground floor.

  ‘Wait, I’ll just call for a cab.’ Kavya pulled out her mobile phone. Luckily, the taxi was just a minute away. But they weren’t going back home. Oh no, Kavya was not going to let such a good day end on a bad note.

  The night wasn’t done. A surprise awaited Dhruv.

  * * *

  ‘How the hell did you even find this place?’ Dhruv was puzzled.

  This was one of the things that made Mumbai so special. They were sitting in a cafe at 1 a.m., waiting for their chicken shawarma rolls to arrive. And it wasn’t even that they were alone or the city was quiet—there were people and traffic all around.

  ‘After you got the spoiler in the elevator, I knew I had to cheer you up somehow. I did not want you to go to bed annoyed. And I know there’s nothing that helps your mood like food. So, before booking a cab, I searched online for a place to eat.’

  As she spoke, the waiter placed the rolls in front of them.

  Dhruv looked dotingly at Kavya. It was so beautiful, the way she cared for him. He smiled widely. ‘Am I really that easy to please?’

  ‘Why are you worrying about it? It’s a good thing, Momo.’

  Dhruv picked up both the rolls in one go.

  ‘Hello! One of them is for me!’

  ‘But I thought you were not hungry?’

  ‘Oh my God, Dhruv! I ate eight hours ago. How long are you going to hold that against me?’

  ‘I was kidding!’ He passed one roll to her.

  Kavya watched him sink his teeth greedily into the roll. ‘Listen, I’m sorry for today. I didn’t mean to ruin your day.’

  ‘Not an issue, it’s not your fault.’ And then he added, ‘And anyway, I actually had fun at the party.’

  ‘You did? You created such a fuss before going!’

  ‘Fussing about it was justified back then. It’s just that sometimes you would want to do something, and sometimes I would like to do something else. But as long as both of us are having fun, it’s fine, no?’ he asked.

  ‘Yeah, that’s true.’

  ‘And everything can’t be planned, right?’

  ‘Exactly! Like, while coming in the cab, I saw a fair just a short walk away. So after we’re done eating, I’m taking you there!’

  Her excitement was so infectious that Dhruv was in a hurry to finish the roll and head to the fair. They wolfed down the shawarma rolls and walked away hand-in-hand. On the way, Dhruv tenderly kissed Kavya’s hand. He kept wondering what good he had done to deserve someone as caring and thoughtful as her, especially when small things got him so worked up.

  As they got closer to the fair, they could see the lights and hear the music. Their excitement grew. The fair was like entering a different dimension altogether. The sound of traffic and people outside had been muffled and replaced by repetitive techno music. All around them were a million colours and lights.

  They bought cotton candy, blew soap bubbles in the air and sat on a carousel ride till Kavya’s frizzy hair went so wild that it covered her face. Several other rides and games followed till they finally came to the one they had been saving for the end: the giant Ferris wheel.

  It was huge! Their capsule reached the highest point and both of them looked down in awe. The wind caressed their faces, leaving Kavya’s hair fluttering, even as the music below faded and gave them a moment of peace and silence. For miles around there were no tall buildings. They could see the silhouette of the hills far, far away and some of the farthest edges of Mumbai. They laughed and kissed.

  This had been one of the best decisions they had taken, the best, most romantic night they had had in a long time, all thanks to Kavya. Left to himself, Dhruv would never have thought of coming to a fair in the middle of the night. But they had each other, and where one lacked, the other made up. Kavya was the spontaneous and energetic half of the relationship while Dhruv was the more practical and passive half.

  But even if given a choice, both of them would change nothing about the other.

  HERE WE GO!

  1

  It was the earliest part of the day—the wee hours between dawn and sunrise—but Dhruv was bustling about the house like a
man on a mission. Kavya was fast asleep, cozy under her quilt, blissfully oblivious to the commotion in the house. She was in the deepest, most peaceful phase of sleep when Dhruv’s urgent voice rang through the house: ‘Kavvu, please get up and close the door!’

  ‘Hmm . . .’ Kavya turned over in her sleep.

  Dhruv called out again. ‘Kavya, please come and close the door, I have to leave!’ He waited for ten seconds, then walked into the room, kissed her on the cheek and shook her gently. ‘Kavvu, I have to eat the bhajis today. Please get up.’

  ‘All right. You wear your shoes and I’ll be up, but you come here first.’ She patted her bedside.

  But Dhruv was in no mood to delay his plans. He walked out of the room and didn’t return to give her another kiss. In fact, when she finally woke up, she couldn’t hear him. It took her groggy brain almost a minute to register his absence. When it did, her eyes popped open. She threw the quilt aside, sprung out of bed and ran towards the hall, praying Dhruv hadn’t left. She’d feel terrible if he had. Sunday was the only day they actually got to spend together—it was their day.

  As she rushed into the drawing room, she heaved a sigh of relief as she saw Dhruv sitting on the couch, tying his shoelaces. Her face broke into the widest of smiles. For some reason, Dhruv knew that she would not let him go alone.

  In his previous six attempts to have the bhajis, this temptation of cuddling with Kavya had proven to be the deal breaker. It was nicer to just hold her and go back to sleep. He knew that if he did not leave soon, there was a high chance of Kavya convincing him to come back to bed.

  A friend and he had been travelling from Pune to Mumbai when they had got caught in a terrible traffic jam. They hadn’t eaten for hours, which is why they had decided to take a detour into a village and stumbled upon a small shack by the roadside. The shack belonged to an old woman who stayed there all by herself and sold only two things: chai and corn bhajis.

  He still remembered the first bite like it was yesterday. He had instinctively closed his eyes, shut everything else out and concentrated only on the sensations on his tongue and in his nose. The bhajis were steaming hot, yet he could taste every ingredient. They were like fireworks in his mouth. He could taste a whole spectrum, an entire palette of flavours. And now that Kavya was going with him, he felt it was going to be perfect.

  He sang with happiness out of the love he had for Kavya.

  Whenever you rise, it’s dawn,

  Whenever you sleep, it’s dusk.

  My day ends and begins with you, love.

  You’re my light, my sunshine,

  the sun rises and sets with you.

  He got up and started walking towards her.

  He gave Kavya a slight push against the wall and put his hand lovingly on her cheek, looking straight into her eyes.

  ‘You’re comfort. You’re warmth. You’re everything, Kavvu.’

  She smiled giddily.

  With his right hand, he held her by the waist and pulled her closer. With his left hand he caught hold of her wild curls and tilted her head back, lifting her chin. Her breath reminded him of bubble gum. He leaned in and kissed her passionately. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. After a while he moved back, but didn’t let go. Then he softly gave her a peck on the cheek. ‘You have ninety seconds to get ready. Hurry up!’

  Kavya laughed. She tried to tempt Dhruv, but he pushed her to leave. There was a smile on her face as she went to get dressed.

  Watching her, Dhruv realized that it was the best feeling in the world to wake up to such a genuine, passionate and lovely girl each day. And now a round of hot bhajis with a glass of chai would make his day perfect!

  2

  ‘You called the cab here?’ Kavya looked around the basement of their apartment complex. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d risen before the sun; it was still dark outside.

  She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she dragged her feet across the parking lot. She was starting to feel sleepy again. Though she tried her best not to show it, because she didn’t want to dampen Dhruv’s excitement, she had one of those expressive faces that could never conceal what she was feeling.

  ‘Nope, no cab today.’ Dhruv put his hand inside his pocket and jangled what seemed to Kavya like loose change. Kavya thought this was his way of telling her that he was too broke to call for a cab.

  She panicked for a moment, then took a deep breath and spoke calmly. ‘Please let’s not take a bus or train. It’s Sunday morning, Momo, the last day before I return to that dreadful office. I am too tired, please let’s just go back to sleep. I have no energy for this.’

  Dhruv smiled and pulled out a set of car keys from his pocket, beaming as he lifted them high enough for Kavya to see.

  ‘You bought a car?’ Kavya was baffled and her brain was working really slowly. Her system needed more time to boot.

  ‘Obviously! How else will we go to eat bhajis? We can’t take the train or the bus, no?’ He had a twinkle in his eyes.

  ‘Really?’

  Kavya didn’t find it difficult to believe that Dhruv could have bought a car just for this one-day trip.

  ‘Don’t be silly! It’s Akash’s brother’s car.’

  Now that was a good idea. Kavya relaxed.

  ‘I borrowed it for a day so that we could comfortably go and eat bhajis. It’ll be a nice drive.’

  Once in the car, Kavya realized what a nice idea it was.

  ‘Yay! This means I can sleep!’ She pushed her seat all the way back.

  ‘Seriously?’ Despair was evident in Dhruv’s voice.

  Then, in an exaggerated tone of disbelief, he added, ‘Don’t you know it’s the duty of the person in the passenger seat to be the DJ so that the driver does not fall asleep?’ He then held her by the shoulders and shook her dramatically.

  ‘Do you want to get both of us killed? That too over bhajis?’

  Kavya made a face as she reluctantly pulled her chair back up.

  Little did she know that she’d soon be glad that they took off on this adventure. Even though she didn’t know it then, it was going to change her life . . . forever!

  * * *

  ‘Oh my God, Dhruv! Just look at the stars!’ Kavya squealed with delight as she pointed towards the sky. The sky was getting clearer as they drove away from the heart of the city and into the suburbs.

  It wasn’t morning yet—the sun hadn’t risen—but there was a dim glow in the sky. Kavya rested her hand on Dhruv’s as he held the gear stick. They looked at each other for a flash and smiled. They were happy to be doing this.

  Dhruv began by turning the music down and then switching it off. A beautiful silence engulfed them as they looked around eagerly. The city looked so different waking up from its slumber. The birds were just stirring, an occasional dog crossed their path, and the newspaper vendors were just getting started.

  As they drove across the city towards its borders, the buildings kept getting smaller and further apart and the trees kept getting bigger. Once they were out of the city, all that was visible was dense, abundant greenery and a rain-swept road rising and falling before them. The windows were rolled down, and the morning chill gave them a slight shiver. The fresh air whipping across their faces and filling up their lungs felt reinvigorating and rejuvenating—absolutely worth all the effort.

  The thing about living in a city is that you start believing it to be the world. You don’t get time to escape from it, and you forget that a whole world exists outside it. Accustomed to living in small, loud, sweaty confines, you forget the cool breeze, the trees, the stars and everything that is soothing about nature.

  Dhruv and Kavya made the most of the drive. They even stopped on a small bridge to take selfies and chat. There was not a single car or person in sight, it was just the trees. The sight was so mesmerizing that they had to step out of the car. They held hands and watched the river flow under them.

  That was when Kavya broke the silence with the sweetest sound Dhruv had
ever heard—the sound of her singing. She rarely sang in front of anyone and had sung to Dhruv only a few times. But when she did, she sounded like an angel. She was in complete harmony with the gushing river, the chirping birds and the swaying trees—as if they were all part of an orchestra that composed the sweetest of symphonies.

  Dhruv listened intently, shutting his eyes so that he could concentrate on her voice. When she finished singing, the only reaction he offered was a slight smile, knowing from experience that praise or applause would only set her off, make her feel awkward and reluctant to sing in front of him.

  They then took a selfie against the backdrop of the river before heading back into the car.

  As they drove, the breeze seemed to gather pace and roll off the meadows on either side of the road.

  ‘I think we’re lost.’ Dhruv could see nothing but greenery around. He had been driving for long and there was no sight of the bhaji lady yet.

  As he desperately looked around, trying to figure out where they were, Kavya asked, ‘What exactly are we looking for?’

  She was enjoying herself so much that she couldn’t understand why Dhruv had become tense.

  ‘Bhajis, Kavya! We’re looking for the woman who sells those corn bhajis! That’s the reason we left the house, remember?’ Dhruv was getting really worked up.

  ‘Calm down! Look, there are two guys up ahead. Let’s ask them.’

  Dhruv stopped the car a little distance away from the two men who were sitting under a tree. ‘Bhaiya, there’s an aunty here who sells corn bhajis. Do you know where she sits?’

  The two men instantly pointed ahead, she sure was famous here. It was well-deserved fame—Dhruv would attest to that.

  ‘How far ahead?’ Dhruv asked.

  ‘Not very far. Just keep going down this road.’

  Dhruv was excited again. As they kept driving, things began to look familiar to him. He remembered being there on that blessed day when he had those bhajis for the first time. His stomach started rumbling.

  As soon as he saw the stall, he knew it was the one. He stopped the car. And then all the excitement, the effort, and the planning came to naught. Under the makeshift tarpaulin, the stall lay cold. The tent fluttered in the breeze. There was no one around.