It’s Not Right…but It’s Okay

by Anuj Tiwari

  ‘Don’t get mad, but I won’t. I haven’t done these things in my life.’ He gets up and adds, ‘And I have to leave early tomorrow morning as well when you both will be sleeping in bed. So I better get some rest.’

  ‘Oh, my sensitive lad,’ Anushka says cynically.

  ‘You only said, things happen for a reason. So, let our wish be the reason for you to get inside a girls’ hostel.’ Angira signs on the receipt and looks at him rather sharply.

  ‘Don’t worry, you are safe. Actually few of my friends want to meet you. We will go for some time and then we’ll come back soon,’ Anushka assures him, mischief in her eyes.

  ‘Where do they live?’

  ‘Saket.’

  ‘Anushka, it’s 11 p.m. You will drive to Saket at this hour?’ Arjun is least interested in going out with her right now.

  Though he is cool and open-minded, he can also be somewhat reserved. He is not the kind of person who can call and chat with anyone at any time. Moreover, right now he is worried about his departure.

  ‘I don’t know them and I know you are going to turn me into a showpiece in front of them,’ he says, following her footsteps.

  ‘Chill and come quietly,’ she says as she pulls his hand and they walk out the exit.

  After an alcohol-laced evening, Anushka drives to the girls’ hostel. It’s easy to guess from the clothes that are hanging on the railing of the balconies. Arjun is familiar with these hostels.

  ‘Can’t we ask him to open the gate?’ Arjun asks, as he steps out of the car and walks towards the gate while Angira follows him.

  ‘You really want to do that or what?’ Anushka teases him and continues, ‘No, wait. I know how to go inside.’

  Anushka parks the car and puts the keys in her handbag. She walks confidently to the security guard’s room.

  ‘Don’t kick him in his balls,’ Angira murmurs, and takes half a step back. ‘Now see how your friend deals with the situation.’

  Anushka wakes the guard up. The security guard rubs his eyes and looks at them irritably.

  ‘What happened?’ he asks.

  ‘Can you open the gate?’ she asks him casually.

  The guard looks at his cellphone and says, ‘It’s 12.15 a.m. I can’t open the gate at this time.’ He points towards Arjun. ‘And who is he? Boys are not allowed to enter. It is an order from Singh Sahab. Talk to him first.’

  Anushka says, ‘Uncle, actually his sister lives here and today is her birthday, and he has come from Mumbai just to give her a surprise. He will feel bad if you don’t allow him inside. And we just need to see her for an hour.’

  He stares at her. ‘But boys are not allowed. Call her sister at the gate if you want.’

  Arjun remains silent like he was instructed. Angira steps back and whispers, ‘Why are you so quiet?’

  ‘Because getting inside a girls’ hostel is a crime and I don’t want to spend my life in jail, that too for such a stupid reason,’ Arjun replies.

  ‘Chill,’ she says with a big smile.

  Angira takes her cellphone out and calls someone.

  ‘Hey, we are at your gate but it’s locked. The guard is not opening the gate.’

  The guard looks at Angira who stares back at him confidently. Everything in life can be achieved if you’re confident enough. Arjun got his job offer by giving a confident interview.

  ‘Strike while the iron is hot’ is what Anushka believes in.

  ‘Bhaiya, take it. I am going with him, you don’t worry.’

  Anushka gives him a packet of cigarettes and a sweet smile which is enough for the guard to open the gate.

  He looks around.

  ‘You smoke these till we’re back,’ Anushka assures him.

  Hiding the packet of cigarettes inside his jacket, he says, ‘Don’t make noise and go silently.’

  He does not even ask which room they have to go to. He gives a worn out register to Arjun to put his entry in it. Angira decides to sign on behalf of Arjun and scribbles some obscure name that even she cannot read and mentions a phone number with her signature. The guard opens the door and they enter.

  ‘You should experience all the colours of life,’ Angira says, pulling his hand.

  For a moment, Arjun feels nervous as he follows her inside the premises. Anushka rings the bell. Arjun is afraid of being seen and can’t wait to get inside the room.

  The door opens with shrieks of joy.

  ‘Hey!’ Charu hugs Anushka, abuses Angira jokingly and just waves at Arjun.

  Arjun responds with a courteous smile.

  Charu is Angira’s best friend and classmate. They both are planning to go to Mumbai together. Charu wants to study further just to be away from family and relatives, so that they do not force her to get married so soon. She questions the need to get married, especially when she can do something better with her life.

  ‘Hi guys, come on in,’ Mansi says, getting up from the corner of the hall. Mansi is a friend of Anushka’s. A student of Mathematics in Miranda House, her passion is photography and she has applied to the New York Institute of Photography for a course next year.

  Mansi and Charu take them to the bedroom because the hall is messy. It seems they have been partying. Arjun starts exploring the room upon entering. A girl gets up from the other corner of the room in a hurry and says hello to everyone.

  Though places are an extension of human behaviour and personality, it’s impossible for one to guess the personality of a person by looking at their hostel room. The room has pink curtains and a rust-coloured bed that is set against the backdrop of white- panelled walls. There are a few soft toys on the bed. Two red cups are placed on the stool. There’s a large table in the corner of the room and adjacent to the bed, a ping-pong table lies unused.

  ‘Looking pretty,’ Mansi says, giving a hug to Anushka.

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘You guys already know Arjun. Arjun, this is Mansi and Charu,’ Anushka introduces them with a smile.

  ‘Hi,’ Arjun says and they offer him a place to sit while Charu is clearing the mattress in the hall.

  Charu dumps the mattress on the floor so everyone can sit comfortably.

  ‘We were waiting for you,’ Charu informs Angira.

  ‘We heard about you from Angira and Anushka, so we thought of calling you for our girls’ party. I hope you are comfortable here,’ Charu says, passing him the bottle of soft drink.

  ‘He must be,’ Mansi says. ‘I have read your previous books, quite impressive. You know girls very well.’

  ‘Thank you,’ he says modestly.

  ‘Lots of new stuff for you to learn here amongst us and include in your next book,’ she says, trying to make Arjun comfortable.

  ‘Yes, sure. Tonight was such a different experience with these sisters. This opportunity to visit a girls’ hostel came out of the blue. But yes, it’s definitely exciting.’

  ‘You guys want to eat something?’ Charu asks.

  ‘No, I am stuffed,’ Arjun says.

  Mansi takes the hookah out of her cupboard and places it in the centre of the hall.

  ‘This is for all of you,’ she says.

  Anushka winks at Arjun, trying to gauge if he is comfortable. He smiles back. Arjun has never tried hookah before, not even in his college where his friends smoked bong and weed. Charu and Angira get chips and potato swirls from the kitchen.

  ‘Do you guys have these parties often?’ he asks casually.

  Mansi, Angira and Charu laugh together. Arjun notices Anushka texting someone over WhatsApp.

  ‘No, only on weekends if they are free. That’s our gang,’ Mansi says.

  ‘And it’s not injurious to health?’

  Charu jumps in, ‘Yeah, but life is more injurious.’ She gives him a funny look and passes the hookah to him.

  ‘Don’t worry, it is flavoured hookah. It doesn’t taste like tobacco at all. You must try it,’ Mansi says.

  ‘If he doesn’t want, don’t force him. He has to catch his flig
ht back to Mumbai,’ Anushka adds.

  ‘No, he has to try this for us,’ she teases him, holding the pipe in her hand and taking a long puff from it. The coal on top burns violently as she sucks it in.

  ‘I have heard somewhere that this aids the ability to think and concentrate, so people like you should really try this,’ Mansi hands over the pipe to Angira.

  Angira takes the pipe from her and at first she does not inhale the smoke. She just sucks some smoke in and holds it in her mouth before blowing it out

  ‘Nice, you are good at it,’ Arjun remarks, observing each attempt of hers.

  ‘You know what, I have a love–hate relationship with cigarettes, hookah and getting high. There’s such an intense pleasure in getting high that you can’t even get from spending time with your boyfriend in bed,’ she finishes her words and laughs aloud with the others. Having had hookah after drinks, Angira is completely out of her senses.

  The room is full of smoke. Mansi rolls her eyes and tells Angira to stop wasting the hookah. Angira passes the hookah to Arjun this time and he is willing to try it. He takes a small puff. It does not taste terrible, however it smells like household chemicals. Arjun inhales the smoke and pushes a small amount of air out of his lower throat without taking a breath and without moving his lower jaw. The first ring comes out in the air.

  ‘Hey, it’s there, it’s there!’ exclaims Angira and touches the ring with her fingers and it vanishes in the air.

  ‘I have just tried once or twice but you know confidence matters,’ Arjun winks this time.

  Angira looks jolly and happy. She tries to create smoke rings, but she can hardly make any. Few rings come out half, few others come out just as smoke. Only the few from Arjun come out in rings and go higher and higher, dancing in the air. Everyone takes turns to create these rings but no one is successful. Everyone laughs at their failure.

  Arjun says, ‘Guys, I need to leave in some time, my cab is reaching here in fifteen minutes.’

  ‘You just came an hour ago,’ Charu complains.

  ‘But I need to go, it’s important,’ he says, checking his watch.

  ‘Should I drop you?’ Anushka asks him and at the same moment Angira wants to say something but stops.

  ‘No, the cab is coming.’

  ‘Why would you go in a cab when I am here for you?’ Anushka gets up and tells Mansi to come with her.

  ‘Anushka, it’s too late, stay here. The cab is on the way.’

  ‘Don’t worry, her brother is a Senior Superintendent of Police,’ Anushka assures him.

  ‘I’ll wait for you in Mumbai. Let me know once you reach there,’ Arjun tells Angira. ‘Thanks Charu and Mansi, it was nice meeting you. See you again. Let’s go, Anushka.’

  Angira nods, smiling at him. Arjun thanks everyone for their hospitality and waves his hand. Mansi follows them to the stairs. They all come downstairs and tell the guard to open the gate while he is smoking and enjoying the cold night.

  Anushka tells the guard that he’ll have to open the gate again when she returns. Arjun calls the cab driver and cancels the ride, as he gets inside Anushka’s car. The moment Arjun leaves with Anushka and Mansi, a cab arrives from the opposite end, takes a U-turn and stops at the gate where Charu and Angira just entered. The guard has woken up again and recognizes that a cab has just arrived. He hides the cigarettes and gulps down the smoke.

  We Party All Night

  Iona waves her hand in excitement. ‘Hey girls, what’s up? What are you girls doing at the gate in the middle of the night. Someone was robbed or what?’ Iona steps out of the cab.

  ‘Hey, I thought you were not coming,’ Charu says.

  ‘I was at a family dinner, so I got late,’ Iona replies and pays the driver.

  ‘This is Angira. Angira this is Iona, your sister’s close friend,’ Charu introduces them.

  ‘Hey, hi…’

  Iona is a close friend of Anushka’s and Mansi’s. Hence, Charu too has become a good friend recently. Iona is an easy-going person. She is an engineer and a passionate traveller. She is confident, spontaneous and outgoing. She is also a couch surfer (couch surfing involves letting someone, who cannot afford an elite place, stay in your house while visiting a new place and they in turn let you stay in their house if you ever visit their city) and has travelled to thirty-two cities. Her dream is to walk the globe someday. Her family doesn’t support her. Many a times she has had arguments with them because they consider couch surfing against their culture.

  Iona is a hipster and fashion freak. Today she is wearing a funky shirt with swear words printed on it and an image showing the middle finger.

  ‘Nice tee, Iona,’ Charu says pointing out to her shirt

  ‘Yeah, this is for those guys who stare at women and make us uncomfortable,’ she laughs

  The guard stares at Iona while lighting his cigarette.

  ‘Let’s go inside.’ Angira moves back upstairs and both follow her. Charu unlocks the door.

  ‘So you guys are already having a party,’ Iona says, noticing the hookah and other stuff lying on the floor. She sits on the couch and looks outside from the sliding window. Iona takes something out from her pocket and hands it to Charu, ‘Keep it somewhere.’

  ‘That’s like a good girl,’ Charu takes the packet and keeps it under the mattress.

  ‘Is that weed? Where did you score this?’ Angira asks Iona curiously.

  Though Angira has never had weed before, she guesses correctly because she had seen her friends smoking it during their college days.

  ‘I went to Shimla last week to attend a fest in my friend’s college. I got some good stuff there,’ she winks at Charu.

  ‘Do you have cigarettes?’ Iona asks Angira.

  ‘I don’t smoke,’ she replies.

  ‘Oh! No problem.’

  Angira’s cellphone rings. It’s Anushka. She attends the call.

  ‘What happened?’ she asks.

  ‘Nothing, I am going home. Mom is alone. Don’t drink any more and don’t come at night. But be there at the breakfast table tomorrow morning. I’ll tell Mom that you are with your friends.’

  ‘Okay,’ Angira replies and continues, ‘drive safely and text me once you reach home.’

  After some time the door opens and Mansi enters.

  ‘Oh my god, look who has come!’ Mansi runs to Iona and hugs her tightly.

  ‘I came after you left,’ Iona says.

  They all start talking about their crushes. Mansi gets a packet of cigarettes and she takes one out of the box. Charu takes that small packet and gives it to Iona. Iona puts a little weed on the newspaper and starts crushing it.

  ‘Go and get the cone cool box,’ Iona asks Mansi.

  ‘What is a cone cool box?’ asks Angira and makes a guess, ‘Is that a box to make a roll?’

  ‘Smart ass you are,’ Iona replies and everyone laughs.

  Angira ignores the joke.

  ‘It’s not there. Mansi’s parents came last week so we threw it in the backyard,’ Charu says.

  Iona shoves her hand in her back pocket and gets a visiting card from her wallet. She cuts a small square of about half an inch and rolls it between her fingers.

  ‘Pass me the paper,’ she says to Mansi.

  She puts weed on the paper and rolls in gently while putting a bud at one end.

  She licks the edge of the paper and sticks it. While sticking, the entire weed comes out of the roll and Angira bursts out laughing. Angira’s sarcasm was an obvious comeback because few minutes ago Iona had laughed at her.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Mansi says while putting the weed back on the paper.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ Charu asks, sensing the tension.

  ‘We are perfectly fine,’ they both say in the same tone, as if they were trained to synchronize their voices.

  Iona does crazy things on her own and her creative ideas impress everyone who are already high on weed. Angira looks comfortable and happy in her company.

  ‘You
girls are crazy,’ Mansi says with a smile.

  Angira and Iona might have one or two mainstream interests, like yoga, but they also have some uncommon interests like bee-keeping and quilting. They enjoy this night together because Angira is moving to Mumbai and they don’t know when all of them will see each other again. The world is small. May be one day they will see each other again, but for now, tonight is all they have.

  ‘If you have never smoked anything, it might be a bit harsh to inhale,’ Iona says while lighting the roll of weed.

  ‘No, I have tried this in college once,’ Angira says with confidence

  ‘Seriously? You told me that you never did,’ Charu asks her, surprised.

  ‘Just one puff.’

  ‘Ooo! You’re a secretive one!’ Iona gives her the joint to smoke and shares her expert advice, ‘Take a slow deep puff. Then breathe it in slowly and exhale just as slowly. Take it slow and stop, then pause a second and then slowly blow it all out.’

  Time slows down and Iona and Angira begin feeling like they are old friends. The smoke brings out their sadness, wraps itself around their worries. Soon Mansi and Charu join in too and the party remains within this closed circle of friends. Mansi ends up making a thank you speech to Iona for making the party special for everyone. Angira too feels like herself again after a very long time. Her tragic break-up few weeks ago left her high and dry. Charu and Mansi are aware of Angira’s situation and have tried their best to pull her out from her past. It is difficult for her to forget, but any pain takes time to heal and today she seems to have recovered a bit more than before.

  ‘I am thinking of going home,’ Angira says, taking a long puff and handing over the remaining joint to Charu.

  ‘Are you sure, at this time?’ Iona asks and laughs aloud and carries on, ‘This shows you are out, which is nice. This is how parties begin!’ She opens the bottle of vodka and pours it into some shot glasses.

  ‘Have a shot of this, it’s no less than magic,’ Iona makes a small peg and gives to her.

  Angira checks her cellphone and messages someone. All of a sudden, she looks uncomfortable. Whenever she drinks, she becomes sentimental. She wants to enjoy her life but something always comes in the way. It feels like she has locked herself in a room and decided not to open the door for anyone.