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Cinema Journalism People

“Zero Percentile is a Story Which has Never been Read Before”

Interview with Neeraj Chhibba, author of ‘Zero Percentile – Missed IIT Kissed Russia‘

The beauty of literature is that it often enables our soul to live something that neither has our body experienced nor has our heart ever breathed before. Unfortunately, very little of what goes in the name of literature these days manages to do that. However, every once in a while, comes something that lifts us from our couches and transports us to an exotic or completely different life. A little bit in this manner:

My taxi arrived at the Shermetyeva Airport. It was not  really a taxi – Russia had developed a unique culture where you could  flag down any passing car and strike a deal at a mutually convenient  price to be dropped off at your destination. The system worked well in  those uncertain times when many car owners converted to drivers-for-hire  to supplement their income. I had even been fortunate enough to travel  in a huge Mercedes 600 once. The owner-turned-driver said he was an  opportunist and never missed the chance to make a quick buck.

Taken from Neeraj Chhibba”s Zero Percentile – Missed IIT Kissed Russia, the paragraph stands for all things interesting about the book. Adding to a fast burgeoning tribe of Indian writers in English, Neeraj comes up with a racy tale of the fascinating adventures of Pankaj, a less favoured son of destiny  across two completely different countries, India and Russia.

And it indeed appeals to both sides of us Indians, one that is rooted to the continuing traditions and the other that is ever so impatient to try out newer shores.

Here”s an interaction with the promising author:

ANSHUMAN RAWAT (AR): Tell us a little about “Zero Percentile – Missed IIT Kissed Russia”.

NEERAJ CHHIBBA (NC): Zero Percentile is the story of a survivor who continuously finds solutions to his problems, braving destiny along the way. Though thoroughly deserving he always finds destiny looking the other way. The story takes you through the life of the protagonist from the time he is born and till the time he finishes his education in Russia. Life in Russia is harsh, the climate is not conducive, you have to study as well as fend for yourself. Add to that the unstable political climate in the 90s and you are ready for a roller coaster experience.

AR: How much did the book evolve from its genesis to the final draft? Was it, in any manner, owing to market considerations?

NC: When I began to write the book I was clear about Phase II and III of the book (which cover the life of the protagonist in Russia) and that I had to convey a couple of messages to the readers such as – not getting into IIT is not the end of the road, there is life beyond IIT and the best one can do is to piece his life together and move ahead as fast as he can, one should be very careful with his sex life; and break the myth that Russia is a bad place to live in. So, keeping these things in mind I began to write. It was difficult initially to put all the ideas together as a story and so I had to do a lot of rewriting. But in the end it came out well. I will be honest with you. The book was indeed written with the intent that the reader should like it and like it to such an extent that he recommends it to others too.

AR: Which are the principal points of appreciation and criticism that the book has earned thus far?

NC: It may seem funny but the same thing has earned me both appreciation and criticism. Some people have liked that I have written the book in simple words and it is fast-paced but others have criticized the book for the very same reasons. Apart from that the story has been appreciated for the freshness it has brought to college stories and I have been overwhelmed with responses even from 60 year olds who have said that they liked the book immensely and saw some part of their own lives reflected in the story.

AR: In your opinion, does the book conform to the present style of Indian writing in English or does it add another dimension to it?

NC: There is no such thing as present style of writing. There are writers who are identified with different genres of writing and they have co-existed for a long time. What has happened now is that a new breed of authors (who do not have a literary background) have come out and started writing stories on subjects close to their hearts. The younger generation has taken a liking to them instantly and have made them into successful authors. I would love to be liked by the younger generation, but at the same time, I would like my works to be appreciated by people across different age-groups, and regular and not-so-regular readers. I am happy that I can see this happening with ZP.

AR: Do you believe that writing in English, which seems to be the natural expression for new-age authors like you, helps in acquiring more attention in India these days?

NC: Yes, like with everything else in this fast-paced world, you are bound to get instant attention if you have written a good story. But then, you are forgotten instantly too if you are not repeatedly able to come up with good quality writing every time.

AR: Do you look forward to Zero Percentile getting turned into a movie? And, do you fancy writing stories/scripts for films?

NC: Yes, that will be the culmination of my dream. If you read ZP it has all the ingredients to become a super-duper successful Bollywood film such as friendship, innocence, betrayal, struggle, mafia and off course love.

AR: Finally, tell our readers in one statement, why they should be buying your book. Also, how and where they can buy the book?

NC: You should read ZP because it is a unique story, something which has never been read before – like life outside the IIT, story of an Indian student in Russia etc. You can buy it online at Flipkart or Infibeam and at all the leading stores in India such as Crossword, Odyssey, Reliance and Landmark.

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About Neeraj Chhibba: Born and raised in New Delhi, Neeraj Chhibba considers the eternal memories of his school and college days to be the real inspiration behind hi maiden book. After doing his schooling in New Delhi, India, he went on to study engineering at Volgograd, Russia and is currently employed with a software company in Gurgaon, India.

Interestingly, (in his own words) his single biggest claim to literary honors as yet lies in a ‘Highly Commendable’ Certificate in Class X in an English Essay Competition organized by the Royal Commonwealth Society. He was the only one in New Delhi to have received it that year.

Though Neeraj believes that but for the pressure of earning bread he could have done more, the success of Zero Percentile has made sure that he is now ready to write more books.

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Cinema Journalism

Film Review: Road Movie

Excerpt: In, what seems to be, yet another attempt to sell ”Indian Exotica” to western audiences, ”Road, Movie” becomes a largely contrived and entirely self-indulgent cinematic exercise. If you really must go on a journey today, take some other road.

Spoiler Alert: Since the film is more about a collage of instances than a story, the review mentions a few scenes in their entirety. If you wish to not know anything except the verdict, you may leave this page now.

Review: It has become almost fashionable to have logos of many international film festivals on Indian movie posters these days. One thread, however, that binds them together is that irrespective of the cinematic quality of the ”festival appreciated” (often with “5-minute long standing ovations”), most of these films exhibit an unsaid lack of confidence with regards the box office.

In the case of ”Road, Movie”, the fear is quite understandable – for neither the ”Road” (read “the journey”) looks for real, nor the ”Movie”.

”Road, Movie” presents most things, which the western audience  (only at the festival circuit at that; rest still doesn”t care), look forward to seeing in an Indian fare – vibrant colours; poverty; a distinctly distant life and way of life et al. It even has a widow of rural Rajasthan (played by Tannishtha Chatterjee) break into an impromptu, possessed rendition of a folk song on the first night of her journey with three strangers in truck. “Oh, such an exquisite piece of Indian folk music” – someone in Berlin might have uttered. But Dev Benegal (the writer-director) would have been shattered beyond redemption, if he had witnessed the audience reaction to that portion, here in one of the major cities of India.

Maybe, the reaction was exaggerated because the film had already lost the audience by then!

Or was the audience ”exaggeration” was quite in sync with the film”s exaggerated definition of ”chic”. Sample this: Abhay Deol, driving a truck, is stopped by a dhaba kid (played by Mohammed Faizal Usmani), in the middle of nowhere. He then gives Abhay tea and biscuits. When Abhay makes a face after tasting the tea, the kid remarks – “Toh yeh STARBUCKS hai kya”!

Maybe when uneducated kids, who work at tea stalls by rural India highways, know their CCD from Starbucks, they become worthy enough to earn appreciation at film festivals! “Oh look, the kid is so poor and uneducated, but he is so intelligent and knows so much”, did we hear a western lady say that?

The above two are only a couple of an entire ”road” of contrived situations.

The biggest of them all is a sequence about a ”Mela” – right in the middle of absolute nowhere. Maybe this author is intellectually challenged, by can anyone please inform him (and the entire audience, with which he watched this film) whether the ”Mela” was for real or a dream sequence! Ideally, when one reads a statement like that, the instinct is to give up on the person who utters that. You may do so for this review. Unfortunately, however, for the makers of ”Road, Movie”, the audience too decisively gives up after that sequence.

This is not a vindictive rant, but one must add one more of illustration of how the film meanders in and out of nothingness: A ferocious leader of the water mafia (played by Yashpal Sharma), who is also mentioned to have killed the husband of the film”s heroine, hunts the ”road team” down, captures them, takes them to his work site, beats them and then lets them off in exchange of a few bottles of hair oil! Yes, you read that right. Apparently, after Abhay Deol massaged his head with the oil, combed his hair and told him of the oil adding to male virility, the water mafia don “becomes a man”. “Maine aapko mard banaya hai”, Abhay Deol tells the goon – if you must know exact dialogue!

A rural Rajasthan widow walking away with some stranger kid after traveling and making love to a truck driver, as if nothing ever happened; a water mafia man talking of corporate philosophy …

The only saving grace of the film is Satish Kaushik. Though hindered by abstracts, he delivers a seasoned performance as a mechanic-cum-showbiz passionate old man. He looks the part; talks, walks and acts the part with the ease of a master.

What however his performance does is that it tells the audience the inadequacies of others. Tannishtha Chatterjee looks and acts more like a hottie doing the ”ethnic round” on ramp than a Rajasthani widow. Mohammed Faizal Usmani does better than her, but still does not manage to convince.

That brings us to Abhay Deol. How many more movies would he do in which he plays the cool dude – irrespective of the socio-cultural roots of his character? He looks and acts precisely like the Abhay Deol that the audience came expecting. Never mind if an actor is loud or subtle, if he or she knows just one way of delivering, he would end up being predictable. We are sure that Abhay Deol is way too good to end up becoming that. Or lets say, we hope so.

Dev Benegal should take a call on the kind of films that he wants to make. Because both Split Wide Open and Road, Movie belong to the “neither here, nor there” category. He looks confused at the moment. Maybe he should just make it for festivals and not worry about box office release. Or maybe he should move around the country a little more and meet some real people.

Verdict: Wait for the DVD to come out in the market, if you must.

Categories
Cinema Journalism

Film Review: Teen Patti

Excerpt: Ever played a game of three cards, where the first card provides undefined promise; the second card makes a potentially victorious pair with the first; but the last one, just as your heart longs to hit the jackpot, lets the first two cards down, decisively?Teen Patti stands for an enticing promise that never quite delivers beyond threatening to do that.

Review: Probably bound by self-inflicted demands of plurality and morality, the writers of Teen Patti (Shivkumar Subramaniam and Leena Yadav) try to wade through an ocean of cinematic opportunities in all directions, till it becomes clear even to them that the only way to end the stylish zig-zag is to drop anchor right in the middle of deep sea.

In Teen Patti, the plurality act is played out by trendy music (by Salim-Suleiman), glitzy cinematography (by Aseem Bajaj) and the selection of often irresistibly sensuous bodies to, firstly, support Bachchan”s old and Madhavan”s ample frames and secondly to offset the often-abstract-and-aimless interaction between Bachchan and Sir Ben Kingsley. The morality act is provided at the climax via, once again, by an Amitabh Bachchan speech – probably to put all that goes earlier in the movie in perspective!

Unfortunately, neither the chic tools nor politically correct explanations work in totality.

In the end Teen Patti is a film that could have been a razor-sharp, pulsating film devoid of any reasoning or an incisively intelligent film full of cerebrum. The key phrase, however is, “could have been“. It is not.

Teen Patti is a film that is better than the majority of trash that we see everyday, but fails – by some distance – to become a film that we can watch any day.

Teen Patti is about a soon-to-retire math genius Venkat Subramaniam (Amitabh) and his research paper on probability. A simple game of ”teen patti” on Internet convinces him of the potency of his findings. When he shares his thoughts with a fellow lecturer Shantanu (Madhavan) and 4 of his students, he gets sucked into the bait of trying the theory in a real life situation – across underground gambling dens. But before anyone can utter ”mathematics”, all of them get caught in a whirlpool of greed, deceit, ransom and finally, murder.

While the premise looks fresh and interesting, it doesn”t quite pan out that way.

Some of the reasons are unconvincing acting by new actors, often verbose moral talks, sprinkling of known actors (Ajay Devgan, Jackie Shroff, Tinnu Anand, Shakti Kapoor, Ranjit etc) with characters that barely look more than annoying caricatures and, most of all, less than purposeful script and direction (by Leena Yadav).

But what makes up for the above is the freshness of story / scenario, stylish execution of frames and an impactful performance by Amitabh.

And that is the problem with this film. Even in the “impactful performance by Amitabh”, one can clearly ask – “How come he never, ever exhibits any south Indian accent?” Well, maybe because he never lived in his native state. The example is a mere illustration of how nothing fits to the ”perfect T” in the film.

Madhavan is a huge star and a very competent actor. But if it was not told clearly, and enough number of times, he would have been misunderstood for one of his own students. In fact, it might even be a “Five Years Later” portion of 3 Idiots.

Ben Kingsley is an utter waste in the film. So is the special appearance by Ajay Devgan, which does nothing to the film – except making it feel long and labourious. Jackie Shroff”s portion in the film is a disgrace to his own “Hero” legacy.

The newcomers should thank their stars for getting to work with Bachchan, Sir Ben Kingsley and Madhavan. All of them, except Vaibhav Talwar (as Abbas) look raw and need to work on their skills.

What makes the film tick at all times is some pleasing cinematography by Aseem Bajaj. But if camera were the only thing, YouTube would have long killed cinema.

As for the two most important aspects of the film, script and direction, what better illustration can sum up the confusion than the putting together of Amitabh Bachchan and Sir Ben Kingsley – for actually nothing. In fact, and this may seem an exaggeration of sort, Teen Patti can still be the same film, even if you completely remove Sir Ben and all his portions.

And if you do a similar treatment to portions like Mrs Kale”s (Mita Vashisht) scene with Venkat, along with Ajay Devgan”s and Shakti Kapoor”s portions, you might actually have a much tighter and impressive film.

Get the drift?

Verdict: Teen Patti falls short of the promise it held – but can be viewed once, for the sake of trying out a fresh and different story.

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Journalism

Let’s Not Allow Ahmedabad to Become Another Bengaluru

Life has come a full circle. An year ago, when we just about started this journey, we had talked about the need to reflect on the reasons behind Ahmedabad been left behind by Bangalore and Hyderabad.

An year later, there is not even a city by the name Bangalore! And that is not the only reason for our re-think on the subject.

Bengaluru, as Bangalore is now known as, now resembles a victim of its own success. The sleepy town of the 50s, when it was about half the size of Ahmedabad, is now realising that success is a double-edged sword. Every reward of rapid growth comes at a price. Unfortunately, the price that technological and commercial success is demanding from the city is far greater than what the city ever had prepared for. There is no contingency fund left. Even scary is the general fear of analysts that there might not be a Plan B for the present state of affairs.

This is not a doomsday theory by Nostradamus. For, as elementary understanding of civilization tells us, every society goes through a cycle of explosive growth, stable maturity and slow decline. The latter two stages of Bengaluru – as indeed of every other town or city of India – would comfortably outlast all of those living at the moment. Hence, the issue here is not whether Bengaluru would eventually be able to survive the stress at its seams. The issue is whether the citizens of Bengaluru deserved the hardships that they are presently made to endure everyday.

No one is arguing against the wonderful strides made by the city in the fields of technology and research. In fact, the success story has long moved beyond saturation coverage in all sort and arms of media. And that contributed in no less amount the exodus of young talent from all parts of country to ‘India’s silicon valley’. Yes, at least some portion of the rush towards Bengaluru had to do with the ‘perception of Bengaluru’ as a vibrant, science and technology-oriented, liberal, progressive and westernised Indian city. (We in Ahmedabad know all too well about the disdainful comments that ‘dry’ cities like ours attract from the ‘young and restless’.) Some of the aforementioned perceptions hold true for Bengaluru; but some others are just a part of a popular folklore.

Anyone who has any idea about life OUTSIDE the IT belt would tell you that Bengaluru is NOT any more progressive or liberal or westernised than any other major city of India. Which global city across the world calls for banning of English in primary schools? Which major Indian city outside Tamil Nadu sees attack on All India Radio because of transmission of Hindi programs? Which city faces a riot-like situation as a part of ‘mourning’ by the ‘fans’ of its biggest movie idol?

Even if we dismiss those aspects as that about psychology or politics, the fact of the matter is that Ahmedabad has better roads, better power situation and a better airport – apart from having just as good educational and research institutes.

Ahmedabad has been built in 500 years. The present Bengaluru was built in the last 50 years. And there in lies the difference in the foundation of the two cities. And there in lies the real reason for not emulating Bengaluru.

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Cinema Journalism

Because Cinema Can Talk with & About Society So Well …

In this issue’s column, we’ll spend the entire time discussing an issue with the help of an Urdu feature film from Pakistan, Khuda Kay Liye.

Directed by Shoaib Mansoor, Khuda Kay Liye revolves around a young Pakistani man named Mansoor who goes to the United States for higher education. During his study years, the tragic events of 9/11 turn the World Trade Center into dust. Chaotic investigations and arrests engulf the United States. Mansoor too gets arrested by the American authorities, although he is innocent of wrongdoing. The experience leaves Mansoor severly traumatized.

Meanwhile, his younger brother Sarmad is encouraged by an old friend, Shershah to cease his musical career in favour of the “straight path of God”.

Mansoor and Sarmad’s uncle arrives from the UK with their only cousin Mary (Mariam) who wanted to marry her non-Muslim boyfriend back in the UK, against her father’s wishes.

When they arrive in Pakistan, Shershah trucks them to their village in a tribal area near Afghanistan, forces Mary to marry Sarmad, and leaves her there. She tries to escape but Shershah and Sarmad follow her and bring her back to the village.

This film also stars Naseeruddin Shah in a short but powerful cameo. He plays a Muslim scholar who clarifies oft misunderstood and misinterpreted tenets of Islam during a court case.

So, why are we discussing the film here?

Well, apart from the fact that it is a well made film, the most notable feature surrounding the film is that it was made and released amidst severe criticism – often laced with threats of dire consequences – by the orthodox Islamic forces of that country.

It also amply demonstrates how media and creative arts can really do their job of highlighting issues and starting a dialogue, if supported by the rulers of the nation.

Apart from the raging dialogue about terrorism and religion, the film’s many themes include the role of music in Islam and the balance of Muslim values with moderate Western enlightenment.

While audiences and film critics loved the film, the religious clergy slammed the film for manipulating the teachings of Islam and its scholars to suit the theme of the film.

There were serious differences between the makers of the film and the religious figures, but there was no violence from either side.

So, basically, Khuda Kay Liye is an example of a situation where a film challenges the status quo of a society and helps start a dialogue by bringing all the various viewpoints. Can there ever be a greater success for any form of art?
Pakistan and its films may or may not ever mean anything to us, but what this example teaches us is that if you wish, you can have a socially-relevant film in a terrorism-infested dictatorship. But, if you don’t deserve it, you won’t get it even in the most remarkable example of democracy.

Let’s ponder over our cinema and values all over again.

Categories
Book Extracts Shorts Writing

Meander (Part 3)

The following is an extract from I Am Ahmedabad, a collection of short stories

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And I am not even allowed to talk. What the hell, I don’t agree to any conditions. I want to talk.

She looks at Akhil, who’s walking ahead, and then suddenly kicks him behind his right knee. An unsuspecting Akhil is completely thrown off-balance. His effort of holding on goes in vain and he falls down with a splash in the little stream that they were crossing. When he recoups enough to turn back to Rashi, he sees Rashi in complete ruptures. He shakes his head in mock anger as he realizes that it was only a prank by Rashi.

There were many more of those as they walked ahead. Rashi was particularly excited by the realization that the rains were so heavy that at times she just couldn’t raise her leg enough to be able to kick Akhil from behind!

If she can be this excited in my company here, why do I struggle to be even in her inner ring of friends back there? But then, even that can’t be true. Otherwise why would she share her most inner thoughts with only me? Or is it because I’m so far from her world that she thinks I’m absolutely safe?

Is she taking me as the Mr. Right-Now till she too finds someone who can give more? Am I on the same trip again?

Oh come on; don’t spoil it by getting bitter again. No one has ever managed to understand women anyway. This time, just enjoy till it lasts.

They might’ve got used to the rains, but they still had to look out for a shelter to spend the night. And after a further walk of about half an hour, their hopes seemed to be answered in the form of a dilapidated structure. It was difficult to tell if it was a temple that never got built or had something to do with hunting. But whatever it was, it looked a good place to spend the evening.

Under the shade, they take out their dry pair of clothes out of the million-layered polythene covers. And amidst incessant grins and accidental brushes, they help each other change into dry clothes.

There was only a little dry square on the ground. Akhil spreads a bed sheet on the ground. And then starts searching the rucksacks for their dinner. They still had 3 days to go and the remaining munchies resembled a serious miscalculation. Akhil gets a little concerned. But not for long. There’s always a way out for everything.

As he takes out satchels of soft-drink concentrate, he smiles at Rashi’s unusually lost look towards the continuing rains. And for once, Rashi only wanted to talk with her own self.

Whatever I might say, I have cheated mummy. It’s just that she might not ever find this out. I hope she doesn’t notice any change in me.

Hope Niki does not forget to send the e-mails to papa using my account. But what if papa and mummy have already found out that I’ve not been to the marriage of Niki’s cousin? Will they take me back?

What the hell, they don’t approve of anything that I do anyway. I’ve enjoyed every bit of it and I’m not going to be sorry for it. Who knows if I’ll get to be just as carefree with the guy they ask me to get married to!

Suddenly, she feels Akhil come from behind her and kiss her on the cheek. He then brings forward the food plate with his right hand. It was the usual two-minute noodles, a little namkeen and apple. And then the other hand carrying a glass of the usual orange juice. As she turns her face a little to thank him, she could not miss his loving smile. He looked very strange in that ever-growing beard. But then, on the only two occasions when he could have shaved, she was the one who had stopped him. He looked in a good mood as he winked and kept smiling. She had never seen him like this.

Why can’t Akhil and I get married?

She shivers at the thought. She’d thought about him earlier too. But this was different. It was no longer an idea; it seemed a realization!

She smiles, not wanting the thought to slip out from her face. But the sudden surge in love slowly starts getting better of her. And as her heart starts palpitating, she turns around and hugs Akhil hard. It was one of those mood swings that Akhil understood too well. He bends down a little to kiss Rashi on her head. He rests his chin on Rashi’s head and looks away at the magnificent rains.

In the light of a solitary torch, the severely rainy evening made even moments look like years. As, with the glass in one hand and the food plate in the other, Akhil’s shoulders start feeling the burden of his stretched out arms. But he does nothing. The solitude is finally broken when Akhil hears Rashi sobbing. Before he could react, Rashi suddenly breaks down. Initially nervous, Akhil just rubs his chin on Rashi’s head a couple of time before resting his cheek there; and allows her to cry her heart out.

Rashi kept crying for the whole evening. And kept raising her hands to apologise. Every time she would do that, Akhil would take her hands in his, kiss them and give her a smile. But she would find herself crying even more.

As Akhil fed her the dinner, she kept her hands locked behind Akhil. Almost like a little girl who worried that her father would vanish the moment she freed her hands around him. Finally, with her head on Akhil’s stretched-out right arm, she goes to sleep, hugging Akhil ever so tight.

Just a few feet away from them, it was pouring heavens on all sides. The thunderstorm was loud and the gushing wind very vocal, but nothing could shake either Rashi’s sleep or Akhil’s thoughts.

I don’t know what it is, what it will be,
But this once I’ll let it be what it will be.
What have I got that I ever prayed for?
So this once I’ll let it be what it will be.

When Akhil opens his eyes in the morning, he could see trees till some distance through the continuing rains. Must be 9. As he turns on his side to go back to sleep again, his eyes are arrested by the glimpse of Rashi’s right bosom through the undone buttons of her shirt. He pauses and admires the amazing infiniteness of a woman’s beauty. Especially, the infiniteness of its meanings! Soon, he shifts his eyes to his angel’s face. And for a moment, he struggles to find the woman he liked in the child with short hair that was sleeping by his side! He pushes back Rashi’s disheveled hair, bends down to kiss her forehead and then retires back to sleep.

As usual, he wakes Rashi up in the morning. I’ll just come; he tells her as he keeps a knife by her side before disappearing in the rains. She understood the lingo; she’d herself made use of the same words every morning.
With ruffled hair over her happy face, Rashi curls within her bed-sheet. All she could see and hear was rains.

This is so beautiful. And I thought the best thing would be to wake up in a big, round, cushioned bed with lots of pillows and silken sheets, and being served everything I wanted right there in the bed. Or is it because I’m still excited about my first time?

Come on, money is important, I can’t deny it. But then, there are so many filthy rich women who are so bored in life that they have to go for younger male keeps. Wow! That gives all the more reason for it. Now I’ll definitely marry a very rich man and have many cute and dark men as my keeps!

With a child-like grin on her face she brings the bed-sheet over her head and curls playfully on the bare floor. And soon takes her head out with a smile. Life is beautiful.

She looks towards their rucksacks. Akhil wanted to carry as little as possible. Hence they’d taken along only 2 extra pairs of clothes and an equal number of underclothing, for an eight-day long trip. But who needs them now anyway, she blushes. The rest was filled up by a million varieties of food and beverage concentrate items, medicines and navigational tools like torches and ropes. Not that she was counting the stuff while she stared the rucksack.

Is Akhil the one? How would I know? I mean what does one look for in a life partner? He’s a nice guy and he’s now proved to be a great lover too. But what about all that talk of that special vibe? Oh come one, it’s all trash. I mean so many guys give out that special vibe. What about them?

But if Akhil’s not the one, then what the hell was I thinking when I did with him? What about all those thoughts of saving it all for that special someone? Was it all bullshit?

Suddenly she could sense that last night’s edginess was returning. To compound the misery, as she looks over her shoulder towards the lashing rains, she knew that from then on, it was going to be the walk back home. Walk back to the world from where she wanted to run away. And the more she thought about it, the sicker she felt.

They walk hand in hand in the rains, with Rashi looking at the ground and Akhil far away. Soon, Rashi stops Akhil by pulling his hand. And as Akhil turns towards her, she takes a step ahead, wraps her arms around him and rests herself against him. Akhil was now getting used to that.

After a few minutes of togetherness in the splashing rains, Akhil takes hold of Rashi’s face in his hands. And as he looks straight into her eyes, he breaks their promise.

“Why are you so sure that once we reach back home, life would not be like this ever again?”

Rashi could not believe her ears. How could the man read her so well? Tears roll down her cheeks in a hurry as she too breaks her promise of a silent sojourn.

“I don’t know. I think I love you but I’m still not completely sure of you. I’m not sure if I would be taking this ahead when we return. I don’t know why. I think there’s something wrong with me. I can’t take it anymore.”

Akhil tries to say something but Rashi forces her face into his chest with great vigour and breaks down completely. Akhil doesn’t say anything. He just gives her a tight hug to reassure her.

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