by Anil Chawla
In her surprise, Kalpu forgot her reservations and answered, ‘Yes, I studied engineering there. 1984-88.’
Meenakshi’s next question astonished her even more. ‘Do you know Sridhar Nagaraju?’
Seeing Kalpu’s baffled silence, Meenakshi said, ‘I did my Ph.D. at LEC Trichy. Sri sir showed me a picture of the Pandavas.’ The last word struck Kalpu like lightning. Scenes from her journey at LEC, from the day she had boarded the auto with Goky and Pantu, passed before her eyes in rapid succession. And then the frame froze—it was Surat railway station.
***
The Pandavas, with their backpacks on their shoulders, were wading through a thick crowd to catch their train to Vadodara. It was a Saturday, and the following Monday was a holiday at LEC, so they had a three-day break ahead of them. Goky, Pantu, Sri, and Sammy had been pestering Kalpu to take them to her place at least once so they could enjoy home-cooked Gujarati delicacies. Kalpu’s parents were very keen, but she herself had been evasive. She feared that once her friends saw her family background, some distance would crop up in their friendship. Kalpu’s family was very wealthy, but she hadn’t said anything about it. Eventually, she’d given in to her friends’ pleading.
They didn’t have reservations, but Kalpu led them to a reserved compartment anyway. Sammy and Sri were reluctant, but she reminded them of the thousands of daily commuters who did this without censure. Goky was a silent spectator whereas Pantu went one step further and urged them to find a first-class coach. The train was packed but, after some time, one of the passengers offered Kalpu a seat, and one-by-one all five of them squeezed themselves in. After a noisy but pleasant three-hour train journey, they made a short half-hour journey in two autos. And found themselves in front of a huge bungalow bearing the name ‘Kapadia Niwas’. A watchman promptly opened the gate, happily announcing the arrival of Kalpu, the daughter of the house. A couple of servants came out to help with luggage, but the Pandavas hadn’t brought much. As they entered the hall, the Kapadias’ opulence showed in everything— the carved furniture, the plush upholstery and matching curtains, the crystal chandeliers, the exquisite wall art. Kalpu’s mother Sadhanaben welcomed them warmly, made them comfortable, and immediately fulfilled their dream of gorging on home-made Gujarati food. Servants kept bringing seemingly endless plates of gaathia, fafda, dhokla, khakhra, and other snacks they hadn’t even heard of, and Sadhanaben kept insisting they eat at least three helpings of each.
Kalpu’s father came back from work a couple of hours later and was delighted to meet his daughter’s college friends. When they sat down for dinner at half-past nine, they were still quite full from the snacks, but had no choice other than to eat more. The lip-smacking multi-course dinner was concluded by huge helpings of basundi. The Pandavas could barely move, so stuffed were their bellies. Nevertheless, after half an hour’s rest, they went for a walk.
Vadodara remained quite alive even late into the night. As they strolled down the city’s roads, many people greeted Kalpu, and some kids came over to meet their favourite didi. She appeared to be quite popular in her locality. When they returned, Sri noticed a motorcycle in a corner of the garage. Without thinking, he asked Kalpu, ‘Does that belong to your dad or your brother?’
Kalpu pounced on the gender bias in his statement. ‘Can’t it belong to me or my mother?’ she fumed. ‘Or do you think girls can’t ride a bike?’ Sri sputtered incoherently, trying to defend himself. Kalpu didn’t wait; she went inside the house and emerged with the keys. She yelled for one of the servants who quickly cleaned the bike. And there she was, on her Bullet. One smooth kick and the machine roared like a tiger. She hit the accelerator a few times, brought the bike out of the garage and stopped where her friends were standing. Sri was still trying to think of an excuse for what he’d said.
The bike’s noise had brought Kalpu’s parents out of the house, and they asked where she was going. She casually said, ‘Oh, Sri wanted a ride on the bike. I’ll just take him for a round.’ Sri’s reply was lost in the bike’s roars. The other three were grinning from ear to ear. Her father laughed and wished them good night, but her mother rattled off instructions about how Kalpu should take a short round and be back in five minutes. Only pretending to listen, Kalpu was busy prodding Sri to get on the bike. Goky, Sammy, and Pantu added fuel to the fire by announcing loudly that Sri didn’t know how to ride.
‘Never mind, he can ride pillion!’ Kalpu added wickedly and prompted, ‘One of you guys can come too.’ Vinodbhai shot down the triple riding proposal immediately and firmly. With trepidation, Sri climbed onto the pillion seat, and she took off without warning. Sri was almost thrown off the bike but grabbed the seat in time to steady himself. Sadhanaben kept shouting warnings about riding slowly. They exited the house and Kalpu accelerated abruptly. Sri almost fell off again.
‘Why don’t you hold on?’ she shouted at him.
‘Hold on to what?’ he asked.
‘Me, stupid,’ she shouted back.
Reluctantly, he placed his hands on her shoulders. But her speed and sharp turns soon compelled him to hold her more tightly. After a couple of minutes, Sri nervously reminded her of her mother’s instructions to come back in five minutes. Kalpu ignored him and rode on.
Some of his anxiety was still with him, but Sri was beginning to enjoy the ride. The cool, Intimate-scented breeze blowing across his face made him loosen up. As they rode through the streets of Vadodara, they got a few stares from people unused to seeing a girl riding a Bullet with a boy on her pillion. Sri was oblivious to all this. They were now sitting pretty close. He was holding her softly but firmly and he liked it. After some time, Kalpu asked, ‘So Professor, shall we go back home?’ Unexpectedly, Sri asked if they could roam around a little more, and Kalpu obliged. After some time, she asked him if he wanted to taste the famous Patel ice cream. Patel made a fat-rich, sugar-laden, high-calorie ice cream popular in some parts of Gujarat. It was certainly not for the health-conscious. They stopped at a Patel parlour, sat down and ordered two ice creams.
Suddenly, Kalpu asked, ‘What if you’d fallen off the bike when I first accelerated? It’s common sense that if there’s nothing to hold on to, the pillion-rider holds the person who’s driving!’ Sri looked sheepish and then looked away. Kalpu went on, mercilessly, ‘Oh! Oh! You hesitated because I’m a girl.’ And she burst into laughter, so loud and long that several people around them turned to stare. While Kalpu was unfazed, Sri went red in the face. But Kalpu didn’t let up and teased him further, this time with a challenging smile on her face, ‘You know, lots of boys would die to be my pillion and to hold me. And here is Prof Sri, so reluctant to do so that he almost fell off.’ By this time Sri’s face closely resembled a tomato. Kalpu laughed some more, then winked and said, ‘You look so cute when you blush! I’m seriously thinking of kidnapping you.’ The one-sided ribbing continued till they had finished their ice creams. She didn’t let Sri pay.
They returned home a good hour later to find Sadhanaben pacing the front garden uneasily. She gave Kalpu a piece of her mind, and was conveniently ignored. Vinodbhai was fast asleep. Kalpu and Sri joined the other three who were busy gossiping in a room. Her mother informed them that their rooms were ready and they could go to bed whenever they wanted to. No one was sleepy, and they kept chatting. After some time, Sadhanaben came again and asked, ‘Now, if you people don’t want to sleep, should I get some tea or coffee for you?’ Everyone said yes. She soon returned with a tray of teacups and snacks. Out of courtesy, Goky asked her to join them, and she readily agreed. For some time, there was silence in the room. Sensing their awkwardness, she offered to leave. All of them, except Kalpu, protested and said they were happy to have her there. Encouraged, she started chatting with them about their families and interests. Kalpu interrupted her mother. ‘Mummy, why are you asking all this? Are you going to their parents with a marriage proposal?’
‘You never know; I may. After all, they are smart-looking educated boys.’
> Kalpu was surprised at her mother’s statement, but not to be left behind, exclaimed, ‘But Mummy! You always wanted me to marry a Gujarati businessman. None of them is Gujarati.’
‘Would you have agreed to that?’ asked Sadhanaben shrewdly and then went on to add that she had changed her views on the subject.
‘Then, Mummy, I can certainly help you. Let’s do a swayamvar. Get me a garland, line these guys up and have them prove their worthiness. I will then choose whom to garland,’ Kalpu proclaimed grandly.
The five friends looked at each other the exact same instant, recalling as one the play in which they had taken part in their first year.
All of a sudden, Pantu said, ‘How are you so sure I’m in the race to be your var?’
Sammy added, ‘I don’t want to be garlanded by a tomboy.’ The room filled with guffaws. Kalpu was now on her feet, threatening to beat both of them up. Pantu and Sammy started running around the room, with Kalpu in pursuit. As soon as they reached her mother, they hid behind her.
Kalpu gave up but said, ‘Sooner or later, you’re going to have to return to the institute. I’ll see you there.’
Both boys jokingly complained to Sadhanaben, ‘See Aunty, this is how she threatens us even on campus.’
Kalpu turned to Goky and Sri. ‘At least one of you should agree to be garlanded by me.’ This time, Goky backed out determinedly, saying that he had no such plans.
Sri was the only one left. As she looked at him imploringly, Sri said, ‘Okay! If you’re so desperate and no one else is ready, I’ll sacrifice myself at the altar.’ With this, it was Sri’s turn to run around the room with Kalpu chasing him. And then everybody started laughing uproariously.
Catching her breath, Sadhanaben said with a serious face, ‘Kalpu, I approve of Sri. He’ll turn out to be a good groom for you.’
Kalpu and Sri blushed. Then mother and daughter exchanged a few words in Gujarati, after which Sadhanaben wished them goodnight and left.
From that day onwards, Kalpu and Sri became the butt of endless swayamvar jokes. At least once a week, their friends made it a point to ask when the swayamvar was going to happen.
***
‘Mommy?’ Neel brought her back from her trip down memory lane. She introduced him to Meenakshi and her husband.
Meenakshi repeated her question, which had still not been answered.
Kalpu said, ‘Yes. Yes, I know Sri. I’m one of the Pandavas.’ Nostalgia flooded her heart as she recounted her days at LEC. She vividly described humorous incidents relating to the Pandavas and how other students envied their gang. She talked about the pledge they had taken in their last days of college: to be friends forever, to meet regularly, and to be with one another in good and bad times. And with a twinge of regret, she told them how they’d all become busy with their jobs and personal lives, and slowly drifted apart. Their periodic meetings shone like bright spots over the years.
Homecoming
Neel had been listening intently to his mother talk about her college days. She was lost in thought, and he startled her into attention with a question, ‘Mommy, who was your best friend?’ It was a tough one. Kalpu tried to evade the question but Neel was persistent. She finally came back with a diplomatic answer saying that all four were equally close to her. But her mind was furiously at work, wondering if she had ever thought of this question earlier. Episode after episode replayed in her mind. There were many, but one stood out.
***
They had finished all but one of their semester exams and there was a three-day gap before the last one. They were tired and desperate for some rest. Many boys from their class had planned a trip to Daman, a favoured haunt of boozers stuck in dry Gujarat. Pantu, Sammy, and Goky were all geared up to go with their classmates. Sri didn’t drink, but had caved under peer pressure. When Kalpu found out about this trip, she blew her top. ‘How can you leave me behind and go on a pleasure trip? You selfish yobs!’
Pleas, bribes, and many other forms of appeasement were tried, but Kalpu refused to relent. Finally, she agreed— on the condition that two of them would stay back. Sri, seeing a chance to get out of the trip, immediately offered to stay. Kalpu also persuaded Sammy to stay back. Their batchmates made silly jokes about a bully Draupadi who had Yudhishthir and Nakul–Sahdev under her thumb, but Kalpu ignored everyone haughtily and assured Sammy and Sri that they’d enjoy the holiday without the hassle of travel.
That afternoon, they decided to go out for a film. Sri and Sammy weren’t particularly excited at the prospect, but they agreed because they didn’t want to hurt Kalpu’s feelings. They went to a theatre hoping to see the comedy Angoor, only to be greeted by a ‘House Full’ board. Sammy suggested buying the tickets in black, but Kalpu and Sri vetoed this idea. They tried a few other theatres, but with the same results. Near one of the smaller ones, Sammy pointed to a shady-looking poster for an English film, Blow Hot, Blow Cold, and told them that the cinema hall showing it was just behind the road they were on. Having done this, he turned away, shamefaced. It was one of those English films marketed through provocative posters in trade and business-dominated cinema halls, and typically had an all-male audience. After a few uncomfortable moments, Kalpu said to Sammy blandly, ‘It seems that you go there quite often.’
Sammy said, ‘No, but Pantu does. He brought me along a couple of times.’ Everyone was silent for a few minutes, then Sri proposed dinner at a nice restaurant. Sammy asked, ‘Why can’t we go and watch that film?’
Sri tried to speak on behalf of Kalpu, mumbling something along the lines of ‘Girls don’t watch such films.’ But Kalpu sprung a surprise by saying, ‘Why not? I have no problem if you guys want to.’ She even offered to go and buy the tickets.
After a few minutes of debate, Sammy went ahead and got three tickets. As anticipated, the audience was all male. As they walked to their seats, many eyes were on Kalpu, who was the only girl in the hall. Luckily for them, the balcony was almost empty. As Kalpu sat down, Sammy prompted Sri to sit next to her and occupied the seat next to Sri. Suddenly, the lights were switched off and the mandatory documentary started, followed by a few ad films. Then came the interval, surprising Kalpu and Sri. Sammy explained that these English films were short and were screened without a break. During the interval, Kalpu faced many stares from the vendors who had come in to sell tea, cold drinks, chips, popcorn and the like. She heaved a sigh of relief when the lights were switched off again and the film started. It was the first time Kalpu was watching a film with overtly sexual content, and that too with boys. She gave Sri a sidelong glance and had to suppress a chuckle: sandwiched between her and Sammy, he was sitting up rigidly.
Then she whispered in his ear, ‘You don’t need to sit like a statue. Rest assured, I’m not going to try anything funny.’ Even in the darkness of the hall, one could make out that Sri was blushing. However, he did not relax his posture. Kalpu was irritated by this. She grabbed his hand and held it tightly. Sri tried his best to pull away but her grip was too strong. He started to sweat profusely, and she released his hand. She heard a sigh of relief from Sri. She stretched and reclined her chair as far back as she could.
As she turned her head towards Sri, a new feeling came over her. She looked at him intently, his silhouette, and particularly the outline of his face in the darkness. They had been friends for quite some time, but she had never paid attention to him like she was doing today. He was a handsome boy with sharp features and a determined jawline. In the pale light of the screen, he resembled a statue of Adonis she had once seen. Kalpu had the sudden urge to draw him close and kiss him. She was totally oblivious to the fact that they were in a cinema hall, and there were many more people, including another close friend who was perhaps pretending to be unaware of the latent emotions around him.
The film ended.
Lights were switched on and the national anthem started to play. While many people began to leave, the three remained standing till the end. Kalpu felt an odd weakness in her legs a
nd instinctively put her hand on Sri’s shoulder, leaning on him. Sri did not withdraw or react. He stood still.
As the national anthem ended, they slowly walked out of the hall. Kalpu felt more eyes on her than she had while going inside. She did not feel as bold as she had when they entered the theatre.
The return journey was unusually quiet. They went back to the institute and to their rooms. They met again at dinnertime, but the silence continued. Normally, they went for a short walk after dinner, but Kalpu excused herself and went to her room.
She lay in bed thinking about the day. Sri’s silhouette in the hall reappeared before her eyes again and again. It was pretty late when sleep finally came to her. It was a disturbed sleep. Vague incidents in her dreams kept waking her up. The common factor in all those incidents was Sri’s presence.
When she got up in the morning, her body felt sore, and she had a headache as well. She had never thought of her friends as boys or herself as a girl, and had connected and competed with everyone in the same way. But today, she felt different from them. Something didn’t feel the same as before, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
***
‘You seem a little sad,’ Meenakshi’s observation broke into her thoughts as they were leaving. ‘I’m sorry if my questions hurt you in any way.’
To her own surprise, Kalpu found herself explaining, ‘No, not at all. I was lost in remembrances.’ She gave Meenakshi her business card. ‘And you and I do look very much alike.’
Kalpu, too, left the party soon after. Neel kept asking innocent questions; Kalpu was deep in her own thoughts. When they got home, they sat down together as Neel needed some help with homework. Then he got busy with his toys and Kalpu sat in the lawn reliving the day’s happenings. A brief but important spell of her life, which was known to nobody except Sri and her, had resurfaced.
***
Before the last exam, Kalpu found it hard to focus on studies and in fact, did not do well in that test. She met Sri a couple of times, but they didn’t talk much. She realized that her feelings for him were different from her feelings for her other friends. He made no outward show of any such special soft spot, but it didn’t matter to her.