The Day After 1.6 Years

40…45...55….60……

Car was dashing though the highway. Time was around 07:30 AM. I felt really uncomfortable, fortified the steering once again. Finally, the day has come for me! Today I am visiting my would-be's house for the first time along with my parents and sister. After the long 1.6 years of celebrated love, our affair is finally going to be established with higher authorities! It would be like a small appraisal performance meeting eyh? Oh! Can’t imagine! I was really happy for the December Mist which I had in my life. The day when I saw her for the first time! After that, 1.6 years span of our love. Thank God for everything! I hard-pressed steering again.

Don’t know. Am I bit uncomfortable today? Of course No! Never! But something is haunting me. I had started the preparation one week prior. As a prologue I went to saloon to level my hair. I gave 8/10 compliment for the barber for his ability to read my mind. He has almost crafted my hair like how I wished it could be. Awesome :) Whatsoever we say these guys do exactly opposite and at the end they ask us, how is it??

Next step was to expertise my face to look like a hero. Hehe… I started off with my scar below the nose. No way man! You can’t do anything on it. It’s been long 8 years since it has appeared in your face. It was just a failure. I realised, I could not do anything on it. Doesn't matter! Remaining portions of my face is there for me to build a small Taj Mahal. I started my battle and looked at the shelf. Himalaya Face Wash, Denim hair gel, Gillette shaving cream (which is of no use), Cinthol perfume… I have been using Himalaya Face Wash since last two months to make my face shining and more beautiful. This is the secrete only Anoop knows. I could not hide this from him since he was staying with me. Then I started controlling my diet to some extent. A hard cord non-vegetarian has turned to be pure vegetarian at least for two days. It is only because of my pimples in my face. Later, I visited Indigo Nation hops with Arun and Manish just to catch up some new trends which ended in a great disaster! But finally the day before I leave to her house I could realise that everything was of no-use! But sometimes even these matters in everyone’s life! At least for one day. May is this has made me uncomfortable on that day!!

When the car reached a place called Kottarakkara, my dad told to everyone 'We can have breakfast from here. It’s already 09:30!'. We all went to a small restaurant which has the name board ''Potties Meals''. After having my breakfast I decided to go to loo to let me more free. I could see a small wash room over there. After a long relief I pull out my zip in pants. Oh!! Shit! Gone ………. Terribly Gone!! My pants zip got spoiled. I could not close it!! Oh!! Thanks to Indigo Nation and New trends. I was really lost. Only 12 km from there to reach her house. And dad is in hurry to visit there. What shall I do now? Should I give this to any tailoring shop to make it ok? But what will I wear in mean time? How can I find a tailoring shop there? What? How? Why? When? All the well known questioners in English language were flashing though my mind! Finally, I decided to get out from my pants. I tried my best to make the zip good enough by pulling it up and down! After a long struggle I could make it fine. Oh! Finally,…… I came out from toilet. My parents and sister were wondering outside. What this guy was doing for these long times? We reached her house by 10:15. I have already decided before that I should not speak anything in her house. This was part of my exercise to add some maturity to my character. All became so close very soon. It was like a happy occasion. I could see her sitting beside my mom and her mom. It seems like she is the only lady in this world after Florence Nightingale! Nobody was giving attention to me. What is this dude? I asked myself. Her dad and my dad along with her relatives were talking some current affairs! I opened one magazine. Though I was reading it, I was really conscious about what other people were talking about me. Nobody spoke about me! This is really pathetic man! I am the centre of contact and nobody is caring me? Cheh! I decided to speak. I recapped the things which I learnt yesterday from Quiz Master magazine. Capital city of Chhattisgarh - Bhilai. Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh - Raman Singh. Ruling party of Chhattisgarh - BJP. Great!! I have passed… I could remember everything. Now I have to wait for the right time so that I can deliver my knowledge in front of all. But. But no one was even looking at me! How can I then? I started looking eagerly at all the faces including my dad. If I get a slight chance then I can tell them. Suddenly I saw her dad looking at me for just a glance and he smiled at me. I did not wait for any time.' Raman Singh is the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh 'right? – I never spoke there since last few times and suddenly all of a hurry my sound was bitten loud! Every one became so silent soon! Even the ladies sitting in the dining table looked at me as if I had made a blunder!“Is he the chief minister?' I asked myself my recapping yesterday’s book! Yes… He is …. Her dad responded, 'Yes… He is a good democrat! 'I was so happy that my answer was widely accepted. It was a good start for me then… We all discussed many things together. Later we had a tasty lunch which kept all each other so closer. Again I felt like going toilet after that delicious lunch… NO!! Don’t GO!!

I remembered everything I did on morning inside the toilet. But I have to control now!

Dude, What a pain… Great suffering and hardship!

Suddenly like a mind reader her Dad asked 'Toilet is on right side, if you need you can go.'. Had he seen any emotions in my face? But I had a reply on very next time.' Hey ... No uncle. It’s ok!! I can manage……. I am fine! 'But something was eagerly waiting to burst out from myself!! Was it my vulnerable emotions or …. ?

A December Mist - The story from my heart

16th December 2007

That day remains truly unforgettable for me. I can still feel the gentle breeze that swept through my heart as I stepped into the IMysore campus. It felt like a dream come true when I saw the building with the name “Infosys” written in bold blue letters. I was entering one of the most reputed companies in the world, renowned for its exceptional training for fresh graduates, Infosys Mysore Campus.

All around me, I saw young, budding talents brimming with hope and ambition. It was one of those rare, precious moments in life that I wished I could CTRL + S and save in an imaginary photo album within my heart. But even in the midst of all the excitement, my heart was racing for a different reason—someone unseen, someone I was longing to meet.

I was there with Anoop and Rency. Together, we were meeting Gayathri’s parents. All of us were full of energy, stepping into this new world for the very first time. Then, my phone rang. It was her, the reason for my excitement.

“Where are you? I’m here at Building No. 1 with my parents. Soon, I’ll be shifted to Urban Oasis, where they’ve arranged our stay.”

“Oh! I thought you might get accommodation inside the campus. So, what time are you leaving? I need to see you.”

“No idea… I think we’ll be leaving shortly.”

“It’s okay… I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

I disconnected the call and looked at my friends, who were busy chatting and laughing. I said, “Hey Gayu, Rashmi’s here. She’ll be heading to a hotel outside since her stay is arranged there.”

“Is it?” Gayu asked. “We have to see her!”

“Who?” Anoop and Rency asked with excitement.

“Deepika Padukone,” I said, don’t know where that came from, but I’m pretty sure it was cheesy

As I walked along the short road from FC1 to Building No. 1, the security guards blew their whistles, reminding us to stay on the footpath. But I hardly noticed, as my mind was walking backwards through the last two months.

---

Somewhere in November (a month back)…

After quitting Sutherland, I mostly spent my time surfing the net or watching TV. I rarely went into the city, it took too long, and the traffic was crazy. Until I joined Infosys, I considered laziness a divine gift given to a special few, and I believed I was one of them.

Most of my time was spent in front of the PC. That doesn’t mean I was always reading or researching, of course. Life was kind of an adventure back then, online 24/7, despite what some so-called doctors and physicists claimed about internet addiction affecting our health. Is that even true?

One day, I happened to see a post in the Infosys 2007 Orkut community asking for help with the Campus Connect portal. I had the info, so I replied. Then I noticed a profile picture of Bollywood actress Gayathri Joshi, and below it, the name: “Rashmi Gopinath – young talented girl from Bhilai, placed in UST, Wipro, TCS, Infosys, and Tata Elxsi.”

CRAP GAL! I told myself. Who boosts themselves that much?

But then came her reply. And that’s when the race began—“On your mark… Set… Go.”

I had plenty of chat friends then, but something about this was different.

“Hi Rashmi, this is Midhun Hari. Hope you got the answer for your query. How did you get selected into Infosys? Through SHREDS or campus recruitment?”

“I got through SHREDS. What about you?”

“Same here! I’m from Narayanaguru College of Engineering under Anna University, Tamil Nadu. I’m from Trivandrum. Where are you staying? Where did you complete your engineering?”

“I’m from Bhilai and I did my engineering at Calicut University College, Kohinoor.”

That answer hit me in two ways—one part shocking, the other delightful.

I was disappointed because she said she’s from Bhilai, so I assumed she wasn’t a Malayali. I had never even heard of Bhilai before! She studied at Calicut University College, which is near my beloved St. Paul’s EM High School, where I spent my beautiful school years.

I quickly Googled where Bhilai was (thank God for Google Maps), and found it in Chhattisgarh. A new piece of knowledge for me. I resumed the chat.

“Oh Bhilai! That’s in Chhattisgarh, right? Hmm… so you’re not a Mallu. Interesting.”

“Yes, actually I’m from Kerala. But I was born and brought up in Bhilai.”

Another challenge began,I had to keep MS Word open to check meanings of difficult English words because I assumed she didn’t know Malayalam!

“Your college is close to St. Paul’s, right? I know those areas well.” I played it cool, as if I was a genius. And it worked, she was surprised and asked:

“How do you know my college?”

I told her about my school days, and it turned out we had mutual friends. That first chat lasted a while, and our conversations continued regularly after that.

Every morning around 8 AM, I found myself sitting in front of my PC, waiting for her to come online. I didn’t know why back then, but now I understand, she was the one I truly wanted to share my life with.

One day I found some chat exchanges between Jisha and Rashmi in Orkut scraps. Jisha had been asking everyone in the community about joining dates, much like an excited kid waiting for school to reopen.

She asked Rashmi:

“Why did you change your profile pic? This Aishwarya Rai one is beautiful. So do you look like Aishwarya? I think everyone resembles their profile pic. Are you beautiful in real life?”

Rashmi’s reply cracked me up:

“Hmm… What do I say? You decide after seeing me.”

It was cheeky and confident, and honestly, I liked it. Not out of arrogance, but innocence. That’s when I started calling her Deepika Padukone, just to tease her. She was annoyed, but unknowingly, I was already falling for her.

From that moment on, all I wanted was to see her. Just once.

Back now .. December 2007

“Dude, come fast. What are you thinking?” Anoop asked me. We were about to reach Building No. 1. My heart was racing, I was about to see her for the first time. Though we had great conversations, this moment made me nervous. I’ve always been self conscious and struggled with inferiority complex.

I was wearing a red T-shirt and blue jeans, instead of the black shirt I had promised to wear for our first meeting. Her unexpected hotel arrangement gave me no time to change. But it didn’t matter. In a way, I trusted destiny.

I checked my outfit,decent enough. I adjusted my black-rimmed specs, the ones she had suggested when I bought a new pair. I walked slowly towards the crowd.

My heart was racing like it was in a 100-meter sprint.

I scanned the crowd. No one stood out. Then I saw Gayu talking to someone along with her parents. Behind her stood Anoop and Rency. And there she was, the girl who made my heart race all these days. I looked into her eyes. Were they searching for someone? Maybe I imagined it.

She was beautiful. But her eyes were even more beautiful. And beyond that, her smile was utterly mesmerizing. Yet, what I liked the most was her way with words, simple, sincere, captivating.

As I was slowly slipping into a dream, reality hit me. A tall six-foot man with a long moustache stood beside her, watching everyone with a suspicious eyes. Her father! Thanks, Uncle, for waking me up from that dangerously beautiful dream.

I slowly walked up to them. She looked at me, a little confused, and smiled.

“Hi, I’m…” I introduced myself.

Her smile grew warmer.

“Hi… he’s here,” she said and turned to tell her mother about us.

Soon, she left for the hotel arranged for her stay outside the campus.

But just before boarding the bus, she turned around...... and smiled.

That smile… it’s still with me. It unlocked a door in my heart and walked right in without asking permission.

That smile became the melody of my life in Mysore.
And that misty December morning, where I saw her for the first time near Building No. 1, will forever be one of the most precious gifts life has given me.

Love doesn’t take long to recognise.
It’s a spontaneous burst of emotion straight from the heart.

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