Foreign Affairs - Chapter 2

 

Chapter - 2

 

Bengaluru! 

Finally, I was there! 

Away from my home, in a totally new place, away from my parents and all the other familiar faces. 

I had been waiting my entire life to experience this feeling of freedom and I have been imagining how awesome it would feel all along. 

But in reality, it was nothing like how I thought it to be. 

To be embarrassingly honest, it was terrible and scary. 

 

Just as I reached Bengaluru and got out of the train, I felt clueless and lost amongst the crowd. 

Where have I come? What am I doing here all alone? Was it a mistake to leave the comfort of my hometown and come to a strange place to start a living? I don't even have any friends here? What will I do? How am I going to survive here? 

My mind reeled with numerous questions. 

I just wanted to climb onto the train again and go back to my place. 

Maybe I was not ready for this big change in my life.

And then again, that picture of me going to office with my dad was even more horrifying.

I let out a deep breath and somehow managed to pick my luggage and get out of the station. 

 

I struggled to even talk to an auto driver and take an auto to reach the place where I had to go. Language was bit of an issue but it could somehow be managed. But what could not be managed was my own doubts and fears. 

Doubts about myself, if I would be able to survive all these changes. And fears of how I was going to do that.

 

I had gone there a week before my date of joining so that I could get familiar with the place before I joined my office. But rather than getting accustomed, I was only finding fault at everything.

I had taken a PG accommodation close to my office to avoid all the traffic. But I did not like the place. It was old and dingy yet costly. I could not even compare it with the comfort of my own room at my home.

I also hated the food there. It was nothing compared to my mom’s food. And to top it all I hated my roommate. He was a sales executive working with some company. He used to come back from his office at around 9 pm and after having his dinner he would start talking with his girlfriend on phone and the call would continue till midnight or sometimes even till dawn. Their nonstop chatter sounds of sweet nothings gave me a headache and a disturbed sleep.

I hated the pollution and the traffic in the city. Though the weather was very similar to Coimbatore’s and the people were also simple and not pompous. Except for the rent, the cost of living was manageable. The city had well connected metro lines and bus transport. In fact, many things about the city were likeable, yet I hated being there.

I know I was being a baby. I had wanted to live outside my comfort circle and once I have got there, I was complaining about it. Maybe I was not cut out for this, I thought. I know I felt intimidated and lacked confidence.

Maybe I would be better off at my own place. I was feeling homesick already and even my parents cried on the other end of the phone that how much they missed me and asked me to come back. I thought maybe that was the best thing to do too. It was better to cry at my hometown than whining about my life somewhere else.

 

So, the first day of the office, I went with a resignation letter in my hand.

We had an orientation program for the first half of the day and later they had said that we would be assigned teams. There were about 20 new recruits including me. They had all seemed to have come from different parts of the country. None seemed to be from Tamil Nadu. Or maybe there were some but I was not interested to identify and talk to them.

At the end of the orientation, I headed to the HR to handover the resignation letter.

The HR person seemed to be busy with someone else. So, I waited outside his cabin seated on a chair, looking at the floor.

Right then, someone came and sat beside me. Initially seeing the trousers, I thought it was a guy but then when I looked at the feet, I could say it was a girl. I continued to wait there, still looking down.

“So, you are also a new joinee?” she asked.

I did not even bother to look at her. I just nodded my head.

"Hey, what is your name?"

That’s when I looked at her.

She smiled at me. I did not smile back.

“You are…”, she tried to read my name from the tag which was hanging from my neck. 

"Sachin, is it?" she asked with a wide smile.

I just gave her a questioning look.

"Like the cricketer, Sachin," she said and smiled even brighter.

I just remained silent with no expression on my face. 

"I like cricket," she said.

"I do play cricket, " I said.

"Of course you have to, at least for your name," she said. 

"My name is Sachidha...," I started. 

She just interrupted and said, "Sachin." 

Who is she? I wondered.

"I am Arura,” she said, as if she could read the question in my mind.

“Aruna?”

“No. Arura. I am from Dubai. Ah. Palakad."

"There is a Palakad in Dubai?" I asked.

She laughed loudly and said, "You are so witty."

I asked that question with all seriousness. I know. I was dumb. But I was glad that she thought of it as a joke.

"I am basically from Palakkad. But my parents have settled down in Dubai."

I nodded.

"And I did my college from DIT, Coimbatore," she said.

My face brightened up instantly.

Looking at that, she asked, "You are also from Coimbatore?"

"Yes!" I almost shouted in excitement. "I did my engineering from RSG College of Technology"

"Oh, that's exciting. We are like next door neighbours, then,” she said.

DIT college was located just opposite to RSG. 

Suddenly I felt so happy and elated to know that someone from my place was there. I got into a better mood. 

"I have never seen you around though," she said.

"Both are such big colleges with thousands of people studying. What's the probability of seeing each other there?” I asked.

"Your college guys are always around our college. Trust me, I had seen most of the guys. And I would have not forgotten a handsome face like yours," she said. 

What!? Did she just call me handsome. It felt good but I did not know how to react. So, I continued to remain with my same stone face. 

She went on to say many things. About her parents, her life at Dubai, her college life, her friends, etc. She also asked about mine. And I gave my answers in brief.

“So, all your life you had been a day scholar, right?”

I nodded yes.

“So, it must be pretty exciting to be here all on your own, right? Especially in a city like Bengaluru where you have all fun stuffs to do and you can go all crazy,” she said in excitement.

Actually, I had being going crazy without doing the fun stuffs, I realised.

She continued, “Yesterday I had gone to this amazing pub called the ‘The Big Bang’ and I tried hookah for the first time. Man, it was so wild and fun!”, she said.

Why had I not been doing these things and am just chickening out already? I questioned myself silently. The whole purpose of me coming to Bengaluru was to try everything I did not get to do all these years, like, hangout with friends, go for shopping or a late-night movie, talk about girls, talk to girls, go to pub and occasionally have a smoke or a sip of booze. I never got to do anything and I was already ready to go back!? All I needed was some good company, maybe someone like this girl who can show me how to have fun, I thought.

“Aruna, right?” I asked.

“A-Ru-Ra,” she said, emphasizing each syllable.

“Ok. Arura,” I said, “so you already have a huge gang of friends to hangout with?”

“No. I had gone all alone yesterday. I am yet to start my squad. Maybe I can start it with you,” she said.

I smiled at her, for the first time. 

"You have a great smile”, she said.

I nodded and said, “I know.”

“I like your attitude too. You have a very cool and I don't care vibes. That’s very hot nowadays, you know?”, she said.

I just nodded again with a slight smile at the corner of my lips which popped out involuntarily.

Yeah, I was trying to act cool and collected, but a part of me was really jumping inside with all the excitement.

I was just so glad that I met this girl. Maybe she was God sent, to remind me why I had come there and to show me how to chill.

“So why are you here to meet the HR?” she asked.

Oh yeah! I had actually forgotten all about it. By then, I did not even have the need to meet the HR. I had made already made my decision to stay back. Anyway, I had to come up with some reason to tell her something.

"Huh…I was having trouble with my stay. So, I wanted to ask if I could get company accommodation till the time, I find a better place to live,” I said.

“Really? You won’t believe this but I had come here to ask them where I can post my requirement for a roommate? I have this beautiful two-bedroom apartment which I have taken on rent and I was looking for a flatmate to share it with. I guess both our problems can be easily solved without the HR's help,” she said with a smile.

"How?" I asked.

"Look, you need a place to stay. And I need a roommate. So…”, she dragged.

“Oh! So, you are asking me to shift to your place?” I asked.

“Yeah maybe, if you want to. You need not decide it right now. Maybe you can check out the place and then decide. What do you say?” she asked.

Oh my! Just few minutes before I decided to take a leap and stay there and now life is offering me another chance to take a plunge! What should I do?

Maybe this could be the first ever thing I would try out in Bengaluru. To stay with a girl.

With some blind courage, I decided to go for it.

I made my mind to move in with her.

Yet I said, “Yeah. Let me check out in the evening and decide," maintaining the same cool attitude which she seemed to like.

“Cool. Shall we go for lunch now? I am starving,” she stood up and I followed her lead and we both headed for lunch to the office cafeteria.

 

And that evening itself I shifted my things from my PG to her flat.

Yeah. I knew I was going to move out of my PG that day. But did not think that I would end up in a flat with a girl for a roommate.

What a turn of events!?

I just could not wait to call up my friends Mahender and Kapil and tell them what I was upto. They are not going to believe that.

“Are you crazy?” Both Mahender and Kapil shouted. We were on a conference call where I updated about me staying with Arura.

“What…? Why are you both even shouting? Wasn’t this my plan? To try out everything new?”

“Yeah, we thought that maybe you will get to go to your office on your own bike. Or you will learn to cook your own food or maybe even get to talk to a girl but not live with one!?” Kapil said.

“Dude, you know that your parents will kill you if they get to know about this, right?” Mahender asked.

“I can handle that. Don’t worry,” I said but I was literally shaking inside at the mere thought of my parents.

“Ok. Fine. Maybe you can handle that. But what about your emotions. Can you handle that? You are staying with a girl, for God sakes,” Kapil said.

“Hey, it is not that I am going to fall in love with this girl or anything. She is just a roommate,” I said in my defence.

“Hey buddy, it might start like that but you never know how it would end,” Mahender warned me.

Just then Arura knocked at my door, opened it and peeped in to say, “Good night, Sachin.”

“Sachin!?” both Kapil and Mahender exclaimed.

And that’s when I noticed how beautiful Arura looked, as she turned back to go.

I just closed my eyes and shook my head as if to shake that image off my head.

…………………………………………………….

I opened my eyes and looked at Mia, who was seated next to me. She was fast asleep.

My friends had gone bonkers when they had heard about Arura and I just can’t imagine what would their reaction be when they get to see Mia and my daughter Inla.

It’s been 5 years since I had met them last and I couldn’t wait to meet them as soon as we land in Coimbatore.

And Arura. Oh Man! I still missed her.

If only she had stayed in my life, my life would have been a lot different and if she hadn’t even come into my life that would have been a different story altogether!

Either way, I would have not been in this position where I would have to make my 4-year-old daughter convince my parents to get me married to her mother!

 

 (to be continued...)