Tryst with destiny!

Kabir had been flipping thru a few interesting books at the bookstore when his eyes fell on a familiar figure. Maya, the women he loved dearly all these years was standing right across the aisle of the book shelf, scanning the non-fiction collection intently.

It had been years since he had set eyes on her. She looked as pretty as ever but her eyes. They seemed to tell a different story. The girlish exuberance that they once held had been replaced by a wise melancholic look.

Kabir felt stirred from within as he saw the same expression that was so familiar to him : she always wore a pout & chewed on her lips when she was concentrating on something.

Hi Maya! Remember me?

As she turned & looked at Kabir, her face betrayed a tinge of shocked surprise. This was the man she had fallen hopelessly in love with in her youth.

Kabir was her neighbour, Shalini aunty’s younger brother. He had come to town to pursue his doctorate. He was a serious young man always wearing a composed look. His face seldom betrayed any existence of emotions.

He was a levelheaded individual & yet when it came to religion. His views were pretty pragmatic.

The Durga puja festivities had brought them together. The late night wanderings covered as many Durga Ma darshans as possible to participate in the religiously fervent artis. It was nine days of utter madness that surrounded all as they let down their hair & revelled in the festivities that the season had brought along. This was the time of the year when the proverbial shackle was done away with replaced by much harum-scarum.

Kabir had surprised Maya one evening as she came to deliver some malpua’s that her mum had made. He asked her to meet him around 7pm that evening at the chowk in Gariahat. Maya had experienced a kind of nervous thrill ...a sense of elation & a freedom from the mundane.

Seperating from the regular group they had gone to Victoria Memorial where the various thellas sold a potpourri of chaats. Maya loved the phuchkas & the aloo tikkis & Kabir loved to see the girlish delight on her face as she gulped mouthfuls of the huge phuchkas dangerously pregnant with aloo, moong dal, imli & khajoor chatni & drowning in loads of delightful imli pani.

Kabir & Maya were like two souls caught in a timeless zone in their own euphoric world. They began stealing time away walking hand in hand on the banks of the Hoogly eating roasted pea nuts out of paper cones, witnessing the slowly sinking golden orb with the breeze licking their content faces. Once in a while they would even go to the movies. The first time Kabir had fleetingly tasted Maya’s lips was while watching Rajnigandha.

Kabir made a possessive lover who couldn’t bear the thought of anyone even remotely glancing towards Maya. Maya felt smug at his display of affections & possessiveness & knew in her heart that one day they would marry.

As Maya completed college the next practical step was marriage. Maya’s mamaji was already on the job & she once heard her parents talking about a wonderful proposal from Jamshedpur that Pranoy mama had brought.

Maya’s heart sank in despair & she couldn’t wait for the evening to approach to tell Kabir who she felt would address the problem straightaway & meet her parents to ask her hand in marriage.

Kabir was tensed on hearing the latest developments. He didn’t want to lose Maya but there was so much to do before he even thought of tying the knot. But since the situation demanded him to rise above all things, he promised Maya that he would meet her parents the very next day.

Nothing like that happened though & when Maya confronted Kabir the next evening he was brusque as he pointed out that though he loved her…they were not meant to be together. He soon left for Kanpur, his hometown. Maya was left heartbroken.

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How have you been Maya? Kabir’s question jolted her back to the present. Kabir had aged a bit, looked pleasantly plump with a dash of silver that brought character to his face.

Hello Kabir! It’s been a very long time. Maya smiled feigning her melancholia. What brings you to Delhi?

Well…I have recently come here on secondment. How about grabbing some coffee as we catch up with each other’s lives?

As they sat in the cosy confines of the coffee shop…Maya is lost in her thoughts again.

Do you live in Delhi with your family Maya?

Yes…and you?

Well…my family is in Mumbai. Have two lovely kids. Kuber is pursuing medicine & Revati is into theatre.

How about your wife? Has she not joined you here?

She is not going to join me Maya. It’s sad but we were never meant to be.

Kabir…haven’t I heard this one before? Maya inquires looking hurt.

Maya…I’m sorry about the way we split & me leaving town without any explanations. You see, I had to leave, as I could not bear seeing you married off to another person in front of me.

By this time Maya was in a flying rage. How dare he? He was the one to reject her & now he was talking about love & despair?

Looking at her aggrieved expression, Kabir tried to explain. He had wanted all along to marry her. Since they were from different communities, he had referred his case to a local astrologer to ask for guidance about their future. The astrologer went thru their kundli’s based on the dates of births given by Kabir. He had predicted they had great compatibility but a union through marriage just did not seem to be a possibility. A crestfallen Kabir had resigned to the fact that it was pointless to pursue something that didn’t promise any joy.

Maya looked astounded at what she had just heard. Her official DOB which Kabir has supplied to the astrologer was wrong! Maya was brought into this world by a dai ma. The doctor who had prepared her birth certificate later had goofed up the dates.

But even if the DOB had been right…Kabir had played with both their lives. He had in his own typical way arrived at the premise of what was right for both of them. An emblematic Kabir wani!

Maya had been distraught & heart broken for a long time. She had refused to settle down with anyone despite some very eligible squire’s suggested by Pranoy mama. No amount of cajoling had made her spell out the atom of grief that was gnawing at her very existence.

She looked a far cry from her usual resplendent self. Her love for life was slipping away in small doses. Nothing interested her anymore. The impish Maya was replaced by a boring sedate replica.

Biswajeet chachu who lived in Delhi suggested that Maya apply to the Delhi University to teach there. This came as a welcome change, obliterating the unhappiness that seemed to make its permanent abode around Maya.

Delhi was so different from Calcutta. It helped Maya fuse into its welcoming labyrinth giving her space to pick up the pieces again without questioning her existence.

Understanding human behaviour was Maya’s vocation. She was a clinical psychologist & yet she sometimes pondered how much of herself she understood at times.

The exchange program to teach in the University of California opened new doors for her. She was privy to new concepts & theories…meeting people from different school of thoughts that tickled at her perceptions of the human mind.

One day, as she stood at the crossing waiting for the traffic lights to allow the pedestrians to cross over, she sees Bappi standing on the other side. The very same, Bappi, who was her nemesis during school days. He pulled at her pigtails, banged into her bicycle head-on, robbed her tiffin & had one day put her life to danger while plucking jamuns at the Begumbadi when he had alerted the watchman to tease her.

Bappi had left Calcutta for the US of A to pursue greener pastures. He visited his family in India every once in a while. They had lost touch when Maya had shifted base to Delhi.

The pure joy on Bappi’s face to have finally met someone from the past who reminded him of his puerile days was evident as he ran across the zebra crossing & met Maya midway collecting her into his arms in a bear embrace.

Maya…tumi ki korche aikhane? I cannot believe this man! You look so beautiful & elegant. Bappi was breathless with eager ebullience. He just couldn’t contain himself as he animatedly asked about this n that & finally feel silent looking at Maya’s amused expression.

This Maya…the nut case that he knew was so different now. She had flowered into this graceful individual who looked so composed that she made him feel like a school boy!

He felt ridiculous as he realized right from the raging hormone days, how he had pursued pleasure without getting entangled into the snare of responsibilities. He had conquered & ruled. Professionally he was going great guns which attracted the nymphets who were forever looking for a great catch.

He bundled Maya into his car despite all protests of an impending lecture & headed to the first coffee shop round the corner. He realized as he drove that Maya was the women he had been looking for all his life. There was so much to catch-up about each others lives though.

Every time that he met Maya…he realized how different she was from the others & how amalgamated their thoughts were. She was the terminal junction where his search ended. She had to be his. There were no dubieties about that. But he could not spook her with his ferventia. This was one instance where he had to thread very patiently.

Maya on the other hand didn’t feel that home sick any more. Bappi didn’t allow her mind to wander anywhere close to despondency. Actually, he just didn’t give her time to think! He was either on the phone planning the evening together or sending her an sms moaning about the food that sucked in his cafeteria or sending her an email about some childhood memory that had suddenly wandered into his already overflowing but retentive memory. At other times he would bully her into grabing a quick bite together during lunch despite the fact that they were meeting the same evening for dinner.

Life had never been so content for both of them. Maya would have these fleeting unhappy memories of Kabir that would get outshined by Bappi’s loving concern. The exchange program was finally coming to a conclusion. Both dreaded to talk about the imminent & preferred to side track it with insane frivolities.

Bappi looked terribly mawkish sporting a seventy-two hour stubble as he helped Maya with her baggage at the airport. He was withdrawn & silent. This was totally uncharacteristic of him. Maya felt a funny tug at her heart as well. She had been looking forward to going back to India right from the second week of her stay in the US & now she fervently hoped that the flight would get cancelled or some technical snag occur to allow her some borrowed time with Bappi.

The long flight back added to her miseries that she couldn’t recognize. She felt confused, a bitter knot in her stomach that refrained her from eating or sleeping during the flight.

Maya had come back to a felicitous welcome by her department colleagues & settled back into her daily routine. And then she had met Kabir in the book store & all the latent memories had flooded back.

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What’s your story Maya? Tell me more about your family & life. Did you miss me after I was gone?

The bile was building inside Maya by now. Funnily until now…Kabir had always been up there on the pedestal in her love shrine. But something had made the foundations of the pedestal quiver.

I’m not married Kabir. Ma is with me after baba’s death.

Kabir looks as if he has stuck gold. The glint in his eyes betrays the fact that he’s enraptured with this piece of information. He quickly makes his move. Holding Maya’s hand, he feigns sorrow at her long standing ordeal all these years.

Maya is stiff with repulsion which surprises her. This was the moment she had waited all her life. But something was making her revulsion for Kabir very strong.

Just then, her cell rings. It’s Bappi. They had not spoken from the time she had come back which was all of thirty-three days now. His mere voice made Maya skip a beat as a radiant smile beginning at the corner of her mouth threatened to spill her joy to the gaping Kabir.

Bappi was fumbling with words about how he was alright & everything was fine. Maya was assuring him that she was well too & had settled back into her usual routine.

Do I cross your mind ever…Maya?

Bappi waited with bated breath for the answer that would make or break his life. After a long silence…an emotionally trembling voice asks…when did you ever leave my thoughts? Can you give me some space to do other things in life?

My sweet sunshine! your days are numbered. I’m calling you from the airport. See you in a few hours from now.

Copyright © BuntysBanter 2006