Unsung song...
I first met this guy on my first day to work . We were campus recruits from reputed colleges about to work for a reputed IT firm in Chennai. He was amiable and we immediately felt at ease with each other’s company. Both of us were trying to find an accommodation in Chennai at that time. And we ended up as roomies in an apartment. Initial days were hectic with work and evenings were spent buying odds and ends for our appt. Nothing was amiss about this guy until the time we got the telephone connection to our apartment.
The telephone started ringing at unearthly hours and what I hear next would be the hushed voice of my roomie , giggles ( well guys do giggle sometimes ! ). It has to be a gal , his special one maybe I thought . It didn’t take long to get the picture…..in every conversation with him, some info trickled about the gal. She was his classmate in College….(oh..thats where it started ). From a orthodox tambram family (which explains him not taking NV….her likes over his maybe)……now in US for MS (hmmm....the late night telephone calls ).
This continued for a while. I didn’t poke my nose too much into his personal matters but nevertheless listened to him talk about her, trying to comprehend why silly things that happen between them makes him so happy or so sad. Times spent laughing with him, kidding him and consoling him made our friendship grow stronger, fonder.
Time flew….more phone calls….more rants ! It was time for her to visit her family in Chennai and as expected my roomie was very happy at that. They met up, talked a lot over coffee and mobile , roamed a bit . My friend’s cheeks would crimson with blushing, when asked about his sudden disappearances from the appt and office. I’m not a guy who jumps to conclusions …. But then the signs were clearly painting a rosy luv affair in full bloom.
Time flew faster. Our lives found its steady state in monotony. Miasma of the monochrome software profession engulfed us completely. He made occasional references about the gal , about her life in US , about her internship, about other trivialities. He would sit late nights in office to finish her assignments. She would ‘courier’ presents through her friends traveling back and he would reciprocate with Music CDs and books .All is well with them I had thought .
One fine day, he told me that she is getting married. I was shocked with the usage of ‘she’ in the sentence. The nonchalance with which he told the news was all the more shocking. He continued that it was a luv marriage and the groom, her MS classmate. The things had changed too fast for me to comprehend. Maybe I had completely misread the bonding between the two. Instinctively my mind began to pick incidents , which made me to jump to that conclusion. All that can’t be false. Or can they ?!?! The confusion lasted for a couple of days and died a natural death.
Two years have passed since then. Thoughts and talks about his so-called-affair had faded into oblivion. We were on our way to Bangalore to spend that weekend. Opposite to our seats , sat a beautiful pair , with love shining in their eyes , sharing a dream between them , talking a wordless language. I heard my friend sigh,"Wish I had been bolder and proposed her!"
