Horrendous
blare of alarm clock shattered Arpit’s slumber, he glared the clock with his
snoozy eyes and jumped from the bed. After having bath, he put on his white and
black striped Van Heusen shirt and Springo black-gray striped trousers. Now, he
was all set to leave for office where he was doing his summer internship.
It
was the month of June, the mysterious monsoon had reached Mumbai, rain was
splashing on the road and Mumbai’s byways had become mire. In rainy season,
some places in Mumbai become hell. In spite of all these, today Arpit was
brimming with euphoria and elation. The only reason for his happiness was groovy
Friday, he has not to go to office for next 2 days and as a byproduct he could visit
his elder brother Anjan who was a software engineer in Pune.
He
reached his 5-star office early and started work with full exhilaration in his
cubicle, not that he liked to work but because he could be off early for Pune.
He adored only two things in his office, coffee break and Junior HR Shweta. She
was dusky cute girl with adorable
face and delightful eyes. He loved to flirt with Shweta during
coffee breaks but on Friday he worked so heedfully that he forgot to take a
break. After completing his work early, he was all set to leave but he was
slapped by more work which he completed half-heartily and left the office with
morbid mind.
After
an hour crawling in Mumbai traffic, he reached Vashi which is the epitome of
urban mess, flooded with skyscrapers, corporate offices, retail food chain,
shopping malls and lounge bars. He had to take the Volvo bus for Pune so he was
waiting for bus at Vashi bus stop which is the starting of Mumbai Pune expressway.
There is nothing much unproductive than waiting for bus and train, so Arpit was
utilizing his time by reading book in his kindle fire. He was fed up with bus
waiting and book reading then he decided to visit nearby Inorbit mall but he
saw a Phantom Black Audi A8 was coming his way so
he decided to take a chance. He showed his hand in order to stop the car,
luckily, car stopped and a hot gal with
luscious lips and alluring eyes stepped out from the car. Her figure-hugging
red top and skin-fit black jeans were flaunting her flat stomach and gorgeous
legs. Her frizzy brown hair was neatly tied in a ponytail behind her back which
was barely reaching her shoulders.
Arpit
was staring the girl while she asked, “What happened?”
He
uttered anxiously,” I was waiting for the bus since long time but I don’t think
any bus will come in next half an hour. Can I get a lift Pune if you are going
the same way?”
She
thought for a moment and told him, “I am going to Pune, you can join me.”
Arpit
sat adjacent to girl on the front seat, girl sat on driving seat, she put her foot
on accelerator and the car sped up.
Mumbai-Pune
highway, drizzling and thundering rain and a young boy with sensuous girl in a swanky
car, a perfect ravishing condition that one could fantasize. Arpit’s anger,
anguish, frustration and sadness were vanished by the gratifying milieu. He was
in between mixed feeling of chirpiness and discomfort, his Friday feeling had
comeback. He collected his courage and asked, “What’s your name”.
She
smiled and quipped coquettishly, “Is it necessary to know my name to travel
with me”.
He
blushed and said, “We are together for next 3 hour or may be bit more so it
would be convenient for me to call you by your name”.
“I am
Priya Roy”, she said.
“I am
Arpit Agrawal”, he said.
“What
do you do?” she asked.
“I am doing M.S in chemical science from IISER”,
he replied and asked the same,” what do you do?”
“Actually,
I do nothing just travel a lot from Mumbai to Pune and give lift to strangers”,
she said with a cute wink.
Conversation
instantly attached them and after some quotidian conversation, Priya asked, “Do
you have girlfriend”?
The poignant
question flabbergasted him, all his disquiet, grief, pang and twinge reemerged and
his consciousness wavered back to the 3 days old calamitous break-up with his
sweet girlfriend. They broke up not because his girlfriend had become more
possessive or the relationship was affecting his study. Neither had he become
any less caring nor was she attracted towards someone else. They were lovely
couple with in deep love of each other. The only preposterous reason for their
break up was that they were from different religion which might not be
acceptable by their families and societies.
He hid
his grievous feeling because he didn’t want to defile pleasurable aura which
was healing his catastrophic condition. He wanted to feel and relish sharp
steep valley, narrow tunnel and craggy mountain of Mumbai-Pune expressway with
beautiful girl.
He
replied with fake smile, “No, I am perfectly single."
Priya
stared him as he had done some heinous crime and said, “What! Please don’t lie,
how it could be possible that you don’t have girl friend.”
“Why
do you think I am lying?” he uttered.
“It’s
very rare that handsome and urbane guy like you doesn’t have girlfriend”, she
said.
“I
tried a lot but no girl found boyfriend material in me”, he lied.
“Ooh! That
is so unfair”, she said sympathetically.
Drizzle
had converted into raucous rain, clouds have come up all the way and
mesmerizing valley had become more alluring. As speed of car was slashing
relentless rain so some drops were coming inside and splashing on Priya’s cheek.
Dainty rain drop on her face, her Shy
smile and
drop -dead gorgeous eyes were making her breathtakingly beautiful. Arpit
was gazing her with his corner of the eyes. He was really enjoying the full
ambience.
“Tell
me something interesting about you”, Priya asked casually.
Arpit
thought, it’s a perfect moment to impress Priya. He was pondering which fact will
impress Priya when she said, “Don’t try to impress me, genuinely, tell me some real
facts about you.”
“I
have a qualm and only girls could answer it, can I ask this to you?”
“Ya,
you can ask me anything but not here, Macdonald’s restaurant is nearby. We will
sit there, grab a bite and try to find some answers for your qualm”, Priya replied.
They
reached Macdonald’s restaurant and parked their car and went inside. Priya
asked Arpit, “what will you take” and after his reply she ordered one BigSpicy
Chicken Wrap and regular Iced Tea for herself and one Veg Pizza Mapuff and Café
Mocha for Arpit.
They
collected their order and looked around for the table but they didn’t find a single
table vacant on ground floor so they went on upstairs and sit at the corner
table comfortably.
“So
tell me your doubt which I can answer”, Priya asked with little smile.
“I
never understand girl’s heterogeneous behavior. Are they evolutionary
serpentine or is it a framed madness to just bewilder the mankind?” Arpit
babbled.
Priya
grinned and said quizzically, “Aah, I can’t answer this. It’s a cloak and
dagger for girls so I can’t comment on this.”
“You
told me that you will answer my doubt and now you are unsaying. It’s unfair!”
Arpit uttered.
“The
girls are not that simple dear”, she quipped.
Arpit
reckoned she is same as other girls, it’s better to step back off and
concentrate on Pizza Mapuff.
As the
weather was becoming more tantalizing and Arpit was enthralling towards Priya.
He had obliterated all his blue devils, and was soaring with immense zest.
They
finished their tidbit and stepped in the car. Priya seemed brisker
now. Perhaps, morsel had provided her new spice. She drove few kilometers in
complete silence. She broke the
silence with investigating tone, “What first comes in your mind when you see a
pretty girl?”
“What
kind of question it is”, Arpit said with little unease.
“A
simple one”, she quipped.
“But
the answer isn’t simple”, he said.
“Tell
me the truth, what exactly you think, isn’t it very simple” she said
graciously.
“I
think about many stuff, depend upon the situation. What
exactly you want to know?” Arpit said sincerely.
“Guys
generally infatuate towards pretty girls at first sight and they call it love.
Do you feel the same?” she asked.
“When
I was teenager I fell in love with every pretty girl at first sight but now
lust comes first then love takes over”, he divulged his secret.
She saw him with smirk and said, “It happens, it’s not your fault it’s
your age. There is nothing you can do for this so just enjoy every bit of it.”
“Now
you tell me what you think when you see a charming guy?” Arpit put same screw
to her.
“It’s
plagiarism, ask some original question”, she said with cute wink.
“There
is nothing original in this world, some cases we don’t find the source and some
we find”, he countered.
“My
god, you are so philosophical. Anyway I don’t care about any charming guy until
he does starts talking to me. For girls, love or lust rarely occur at first
sight”, she said.
They
have reached Pune so Priya asked him,” Where shall I drop you?”
The
trip of Pune had always pleased Arpit, but this time he didn’t seem happy after
reaching Pune. He had a feeling of anguish and anxiety. Priya’s question had taken
all his euphoria and exhilaration. During the lovely journey with Priya, he had
flourished many hopes but now it all seemed vain. He didn’t flaunt his distress in front of
Priya and said, “Drop me at Pune Central.”
They
reached Pune Central and Arpit stepped out from the car. She was ready to leave
so Arpit spelled out his number avoiding the
probability of being embarrassed. Alas! She still left him in - and a bit of
embarrassment all he recollected was the cute wink and her heart shattering
words “I am a call girl and I work for an escort agency so it won’t be worth to
take my number.”
With hurting heart and fake smile Arpit entered in his brother’s flat.
During our evening chitchat I said to
Jay, “Current Gujarat government has Rs 1.45 lakh crore of public debt it means
6 crore Guajarati have to contend with an individual debt of Rs 20000 approx.”It
was just one of the counter arguments made by me against “Vibrant Gujarat” as a
role model of economic growth. Jay
countered me with an amusing argument, “You don’t want Narendra Modi as next
prime minister that’s why you are saying these rubbish things.” I just smiled and said, “of course, I don’t but
I have thousands other reasons not this one.” Jay quipped, “Will you vote for Rahul Gandhi
then!” 
