by Faraaz Kazi
As everyone started complaining, I, being their mentor, took the decision of abandoning the competition. Jess was reluctant to move out and Sapna was not confident about what we would say at school. I told her to leave that matter to me and relax. After two hours of waiting, everyone was tired and we had no energy to
walk for another two miles for the solitary bus that would take them near school.
We had a quick snack at a nearby McDonalds. I could sense Seema eyeing me when I suggested that place. She might have wondered if I still remembered the importance of our first date. I went to place the order after taking the per head contribution from everyone present there. I realised I had forgotten my wallet at home, a result of the late breakfast my mom served me and the hurry I had to indulge in afterwards. Anyways, luckily I found some loose notes in my pant pocket and cleared my part of the bill.
“Rahul, please take a cab,” Jess requested.
“Rahul, I can’t walk anymore.” Sapna’s voice was
more commanding.
“Oh, come on, the station’s not that far. It’s better if you walk,”
I replied.
“Please!” Sapna and Jess requested.
“The school doesn’t provide for luxury transport,” I said.
“Seema, please tell Rahul to hail a cab. He’ll listen to you,” Jess turned to her.
“Who’s she that I will listen to her? Rules are rules,” I said gruffly. The look on Seema’s face kind of satisfied me.
When Sapna and Jess were walking a little ahead, she just turned to me with apologetic eyes which said, ‘Don’t punish them because of me.’ I hesitatingly contemplated my decision. I decided I would stop the cab for a few minutes near my home to quickly get the cab fare and then ask the others to continue ahead. It took us fifty
minutes in heavy traffic to reach the familiar area of our neighbourhood. I asked the cab driver to stop for a few minutes when we neared my home.
“Want to see my place?” I said looking at Jess, knowing fully well that she would tag along Seema with her.
We asked Sapna to wait for us in the cab itself; just in case if the cab driver had any doubts that we were going to run away. I took
them inside my building, using the elevator for my first floor flat. I told Jess about the layout of my locality and where known personalities stayed.
We reached the first floor in no time at all, and I invited them to come inside my house. My mother would be inside but I knew she wouldn’t shout at me in front of guests. Seema looked at Jess and then Jess declared that they would wait for me outside. Once inside, I made a call to Raj and asked him to come out and see the lady who was the object of our discussions. Even though I was angry with her, talking about her and showing her off still made me excited. I took the money from my wallet and came out to see Raj roaming in the corridor and the girls standing near the elevator.
“You should have showed them your house, if not your luxurious room,” Raj said a bit over audibly than intended.
“I invited Jess but some people are not bothered about how others feel,” I said sarcastically.
“I thought you were going to be late from some essay competition you had told me about yesterday,” Raj asked.
“Yes, we left early; the competition went down the drain… thanks to someone’s hurry for reaching her furnished home,”
I replied, unblinking.
I saw them off till the cab and handed over a hundred rupee note to Sapna for clearing the bill when she neared her home as she would be the last person to get down from the vehicle.
***
I did not mind my behaviour and did not entertain her near me even when we were together for some called upon work of the school council to plan for the sports day that was just a week ahead. Taunting her and criticising her gave me a sick pleasure that I never thought existed.
The final blow for Seema came when I asked one of the leading staff members to cancel a scheduled class test in their class, knowing fully well that Seema would not be coming to school the next time Rosa ma’am’s lecture was scheduled due to a traditional family ritual that our castes followed. It was one of those reasons I was sure she would bunk school for, in fact I was sure of her mother more than her. In its place, I suggested Rosa ma’am to solve some of the queries of the tenth grade concerning parallelograms.
“I’m sorry but we will have to cancel the test today, I will be holding it next week as there is an important lecture that I would have to take in the tenth class for now. You people should also start gearing up for your vital next year by now. See you next week. Good luck!” Rosa Ma’am informed them in her sing-song voice and I was just nearby their classroom door, enjoying it all.
Seema was frustrated when Rosa ma’am made that announcement. I could see it on her face and the way she was snapping at
Jess. I guess she knew I was at the bottom of this, just like
everything else.
I had been a complete schmuck without even realising it. I know during that period, my ego hurt Seema’s heart innumerable times, causing her undue mental anguish. How much could one person bear? How much could one take it? I had been testing the limits of her endurance and being human, she too had broken down more than once and finally she decided she had had enough of my attitude. I guess she resolved to display hers with an equal ferocity, both of us now taking care not to cross each other’s ways and concentrate on the upcoming sports day, preparing our houses for the oncoming battles. The house-cup was my new dream.
***
The wind softly caressed the tear swimming down Rahul’s eye and it fell down on his lap just as silent as Seema’s forbearance. Sahil’s eyes were moist but he held on to the tears. He could not hear it further, not anymore.
“And that was it? You never talked to her again?” Sahil asked softly.
“That was just the beginning of the storm, friend,” Rahul said in a whisper.
“Oh, I would’ve liked to hear more but I guess I’d better get going, it is getting dark, mate,” Sahil got up slowly.
Rahul softly nodded. He felt a motherly comfort spread in his chest, something close to peace.
“Aren’t you going back to the hostel?” Sahil asked, just before turning towards the exit.
“In some time,” Rahul replied with a shrug.
Sahil had almost stepped out of the exit when he turned again. Rahul was staring up intently at the sky.
“Hey Rahul, don’t mind but what did you do with that furry teddy bear?” he shouted.
“Buried it in the mud...”
Sahil wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and climbed on his bike. At least, Rahul had called him his friend today and that was well worth the tears.
“...alongwith my heart,” Rahul said without looking away from the silvery light that pierced the surging cover of darkness. He folded his hands to the back of his head and slumped in his seat. It was going to be a long, dark night but not quite as dark as it was in the abyss of his heart where there was nothing but hollowness, yet it felt heavy, almost as if someone still
resided there.
***
CALUMNY, CONFIDENCE AND CRICKET GALORE!
Rahul walked out of his room to take a stroll in the park. He was just about to lock the room after taking a bath and was depending on the strong breeze to dry his hair when Sahil came up rushing towards him, climbing the wooden stairs two at a time.
“Hey, we are holding a party, a guy’s night out at my place,” he informed, gasping for air.
Rahul gently pushed him aside and locked the room.
“Very few people are coming, you should come too!”
Sahil advised.
“No, thanks,” Rahul declined, slowly descending the stairs.
“Oh, come on buddy, no girls… there’s going to be a lot of fun… my neighbour Arjun has bought a new PlayStation, he will be carrying it in for all to see. You’ll love it!” Sahil exclaimed, unable to contain his adolescent excitement
.
“It’s ok, you carry on,” Rahul said softly.
“I’m not hearing a NO this time, please buddy,” Sahil appealed, getting hyper.
“I’ve some work…” Rahul began.
“Oh, I know your work. Doing nothing, lazing around on your bed and imagining things! I’m just asking you to be a part of the get together, for my sake at least,” Sahil continued.
“Listen…” Rahul tried.
“No, you listen…” Sahil said sternly, “It is rude to deny such polite invitations, you know; and that evening you called me your friend. Not everyone is invited to my party, you’re like a brother to me, hence I came to you…”
Sahil almost trembled from the effort of raising his voice at Rahul.
“Relax, I’ll come,” Rahul said, turning to continue his walk.
“Great, the party is about to start in a couple of hours. We’ve to move now. Hop on the bike!” Sahil said with glee, as they
stepped outside.
***
An hour later, Rahul found himself towards the end of Solly Avenue amongst a bunch of teenagers his age that seemed content cheering Arjun and Sahil’s virtual fight on the PlayStation which had been plugged to a huge flat display in the living room.
Sahil’s mansion resembled a mini-palace. The flat occupied the first two floors of the five-floor building. The interiors were beautifully crafted with designer wallpapers on all sides and Rahul soon lost count of the number of rooms in the vast place. Exquisite paintings hung on the walls depicting exotic sceneries. In the corner of the huge hall, he could see rare antiques including an old gramophone and polished ivory tusks which he knew would fetch a huge amount of money if sold. They were much better than the kind that he had seen in Chachamian’s corner in Chorbazar years back. There was a hint of Indian tradition in the house. He could say that such finesse was the doing of Sahil’s mother, an interior designer, who had somehow connected with her roots even from such a distant place.
“Where’s your mother?” Rahul asked, checking out the little bronze statues near the window.
“Oh, she’s off to my granny’s again. Don’t worry, she’s prepared the food in the morning itself including carrot halwa,” Sahil said, winking at him.
There was a mini Taj Mahal in the showcase along the wall. Rahul eyed it curiously. He had visited the monument in the winter vacations during his ninth grade alongwith his parents and had been spellbound by its magnificence. They had clicked a family photograph, his parents on either side of him with the beautiful monument in the background and he even had lifted the Taj Mahal happily, between his index and middle fingers, thanks to a camera trick that worked from a near distance wherein the clever photographer guided your fingers to be placed above the tip of the monument and asked you to put on a little exertion in your
smile. It had been easy and he had showed off the pic to all who cared to see.
The monument was in fact a shrine of two of the greatest lovers of all time, Emperor Shahjahan and Begum Mumtaz. He had wondered how someone could love their beloved so much that their dedication to them became one of the wonders of the world and he had been blessed by love soon enough in his life. Seema had come into his life a couple of months after his trip to the monument.
“Where can I find the bathroom?” Rahul asked Sahil over the music playing in the background.
He had to repeat the question twice before Sahil heard him.
“The one on the lower level is being repaired, you can use mine. Take the stairs, it’s the second room to the left,” Sahil shouted.
He turned his legs to the way Sahil showed him. On his way, he stopped at the top of the staircase when he caught a fleeting glimpse of a Ganpati idol on a marble slab. He noticed a picture of the pantheon of Hindu Gods in the background, some of whose names he could not even remember, something his mother would not have been very proud of him doing. He did not remember when was the last time he had bowed his head and joined his hands. For a moment, he contemplated descending the stairs to touch the feet of the one and a half feet Ganpati but then he let out a mocking smile when he noticed that the idol was eyeing him, almost expectantly!
“Is there a difference between me and you? So, why are you calling me today when you could not answer my calls,” Rahul asked the statue, placing his hand on his chest.
The Ganpati seemingly content in his half-naked attire stared at him brazenly. Standing beside the mirthful idol was a bluish Krishna playing his flute as if calling all the gopis of the world to his command. If he had a similar flute, it could have been so much different then. Rahul let out a hollow laugh that sounded like a whimper, ignoring the serial lover of a God; he turned his attention to the mighty monkey lord standing in the corner, his chest puffed up with a hand on his hip and a tail that curled upto his crown. Rahul wished he’d speak to him and answer his perpetual queries.
“Did you miss those two coconuts so much that you’d to punish me this way? Did my innocent promises fail to appease you? I remembered you in my hour of happiness… yet you deserted me in my hour of need,” he said softly, looking at the monkey God, who had a proud smile playing on his lips.
Otherwise, the stone seemed pretty much as unmoved as the stone in his chest. No flower fell down from the God’s feet near his own to assure him that all would be taken care of by the divine elements. Evidently, the deity used such tricks only in the movies back home.
“Hey Rahul, what happened? Can’t you find it? It’s that room to your left, at the corner!” Sahil shouted from below noticing him standing lost at the top of the staircase.
Rahul rushed ahead and nodded back to signal that he had found it. Sahil’s room was as unkempt as the one he had a long time ago in a place he called home. Books and action-figures lay strewn on the floor along with some of his clothes and stray tins of Pringles. He opened the door of the bathroom. It was small, but thankfully clean. Rahul washed his face and freshened himself up, he strangely felt tired in his state of ennui. It had been ages since he had been to any such social gathering. Sudden exposure to this level of juvenile company was giving him a thudding headache in the skull.
He sat down on Sahil’s bed, choosing to stay back in the room than descending the stairs again to watch the silly PlayStation being manhandled. He remembered a similar piece, an earlier version
of the one that he saw now, that his father had gifted him a
couple of years back on his birthday, lying in the confines of his room back home.
Out of curiosity, he switched on the small television kept on the table near the bed. He wanted to see what was happening back home. A trace of Indian-ness perhaps could only be brought by watching an Indian channel. He rarely got to see television and depended on the Radio for much of the events around the world. While surfing the channels, his fingers stopped on witnessing a cricket match being played between India and Pakistan. It had been so long since he held a bat and he did not remember the last time he had seen a cricket match on television. He knew the hype this kind of a match would generate back home. From the politicians to the public in both the countries, all would be on their toes, and the outcome of such an encounter could have cyclopean consequences. Cricket was almost a religion back home, here he had never seen anyone discuss, let alone play the game.
He almost smiled, when Sehwag hit a boundary on a rising delivery that would have taken any other batsmen’s head off and made his displeasure known to no one in particular when the new opening batsman he did not recognise, played an away going delivery onto the stumps. Suddenly, he found himself enjoying the game he had been so good at. He expressed his disappointment loudly to himself when Sehwag chased a delivery outside the off stump and edged it to the keeper. He clapped for Yuvraj when he hit Afridi out of the park for a mammoth six. He was watching the game intently as the pressure began to set in. He enjoyed the feel of the pressure, the rush of the blood in his veins. He connected well with it and then he saw himself in the game, a familiar feeling
, a long gone memory came back to him as he blinked for one last time before disappearing in his own thoughts and on the field.
“Young men’s love then lies, Not truly in their hearts,
But in their eyes”
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare.
The sports day of the school was always a grand affair, as it would provide the maximum output of points for the four houses that competed for the ultimate house-cup. Seema’s Green house would have been looking to retain the trophy from last year, but this year Rahul vowed to change the past history. Blue house had lost out to Yellow and Green on the two hundred metre relay race, hundred metre one leg race and the short put event but had managed to win the Cycling and Spoon races.
The deciding factor however, would have been the inter-house cricket tournament which was introduced from that year itself. It was known by all that the Green and Red houses had a
couple of state level players each, whereas the Blue house
had no stand out players and even Rahul never played for the
State or District but he was a persistent and determined all-rounder who played the game from the heart. He used to attend cricket coaching a couple of years back but that was it, he had to quit as he could not adjust to the academy’s timings due to his
morning school.
Rahul started shortlisting the candidates from his house by overseeing their practice in a small playground near the school in the evenings. He was particularly pleased with two of the boys from his class; Samiullah and Wahid, the former, a short powerhouse and the latter, a sturdy pinch-hitter, whom he also named as his deputy for the tournament. He submitted the list of fourteen players to Dorothy ma’am, their house mentor.
Rahul meanwhile, practised his batting strokes with Raj on an ugly wicket in their colony’s playground. Raj had been coached at Shivaji Park’s best academy. He was a sharp bowler, whose balls zipped and zoomed just when they were near the bat. If Rahul could play him well, he was sure he could just about manage any bowler from the opposite teams.
“I wish I could take you to play in my team,” Rahul sighed, a day prior to the match.