Amour Vibes - Teaser post

Having the usual breakfast, he was waiting for his colleague to join in anytime soon. That is when he saw her for the first time. It wasn't a slow-mo hair flickering moment because everybody at the cafeteria was staring at her. The server boy was startled at the peak voice of her yelling. Apparently she had been waiting on her dosa there for a long time. Sathya was quite impressed by her courage to stand up for herself and flattered by the simplicity in which she showed her beauty. A mild line over the eyelids, a thin mascara covering her eyebrows, a soft brush of pink on the lips and a long ponytail juggling at her every move. As she received her dosa finally, she walked to a corner sofa and the noisy cafeteria resumed its muttering. Sathya continued looking in her direction. She was having her breakfast alone, browsing her mobile and smiling, probably at some silly memes. Her dress doesn't catch your eye, but her smile doesn't let you take your eye off.

Amour Vibes - First Look

So, after a long time, I'm writing a short story. This will be the final short story on the LOVE series. I dedicate this to my dear wife and partner, Sindhu.

I'll release the story in small parts intermittently. Hope you enjoy reading the story as much as I enjoy writing it.


Here is the FIRST LOOK for the story.

BLUE ARROW OF INDIAN FOOTBALL

Once, there was a man who lived in a small village from Mizoram who was very passionate about playing football. His brother also shared the same passion and once represented Mizoram in the Santosh trophy. This man understood that the skill for playing football was in their blood when he noticed his two sons outshine them. Four months after his retirement, his younger son debuted for the Model Sporting Club and that’s where it all began.

            He became one of the best football players India has produced, celebrating his birthday today (7^th January) after 3 consecutive titles in the year 2015. Jeje Lalpekhlua (son of Jeje Sr.) had an early and steady growth. At the age of 16, he was roped in by Pune club after which he was loaned out to Palian Arrows where he scored 13 goals in 15 games in 2010-11. In 2011, Jeje Lalpekhlua was awarded the FPAI Young Player of the Year. Later he shifted to Dempo. Soon after he moved to Mohun Baga, he helped them win the I-League 2014-15. Jeje was then loaned out to our Chennaiyin FC where the rest is history.

Jeje Lalpekhlua had a brilliant first season of the Hero ISL. He scored four goals in the league, thereby becoming the top scoring Indian player of the first season. He easily generated fans by his swiftness, agility and of course celebration style. Now who wouldn’t love this pose?

ISL 2015 was probably Jeje’s best in his career. He began striving harder than the previous season and got 14 shots on goal, of which 6 found the back of the net. His goal against Pune City FC (only goal of the match) pushed Chennaiyin FC into the top 4 and a spot in the semifinal. His conversion rate through assists soared up and sure enough, every fan noticed that when he became one of the trio who gave us a headstart in the “Home away from home” semifinal leg in Pune.

No wonder, he was given the title as “Indian Player of the season 2015”. 

His success streak did not end in ISL as he carry forwarded it to help India retain the South Asian Football Federation or the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2015. Jeje scored two crucial goals against the Maldives in a victorious and thrilling semifinal. Again, he converted a header from Sunil Chhetri to score the first goal of the final match against Afghanistan and assisted in winning the SAFF cup for the 7^th time.

            From leading the Indian Under 19 football team to helping the Senior Indian football team to win the SAFF cup, Jeje Lalpekhlua has shown his might and will probably continue shooting the arrows to the sky after sending the ball to the back of the net. I, on behalf of all the SuperMachans, wish our young chap a happy birthday and the best in the forthcoming years.

ISL scores two in a row!

From gaming FIFA or PES on screen, to playing on the ground with my friends, football has been a part of me ever since I started to kick a ball. I’m not an avid follower of the premier leagues, but my favourite club is Liverpool FC, my favourite player being Steven Gerrard. Cheering for clubs and players of other countries, often made me think, how wonderful it would be to actually cheer for a club in India. Of course there are clubs like Bengaluru FC, Mumbai Tigers FC, Delhi United FC, Sporting Clube de Goa, etc., that belong to other football leagues in India. But they are not that popular and some people aren’t even aware that these football teams exist. They could not create an impact on football like that of IPL on cricket. In fact, football was not even as famous as hockey in India.

This was the story before 2014, before Indian Super League, popularly known as ISL, stepped into the field. An excellent initiative by Mrs. Nita Ambani with the undeterred support of HERO Motocorp, ISL was an immediate hit among the football fans of India. ISL was the 4th most watched football league in the world in 2014. That’s not just it; ISL became the 3rd most watched league in the year 2015. That surely is a ‘WOW’ factor.

ISL brought in 8 teams namely Chennaiyin FC, Kerala blasters FC, FC Goa, Mumbai City FC, Pune City FC, Delhi Dynamos FC, Atletico de Kolkata FC and North East United FC. Every match of ISL was filled in by the fans irrespective of who they supported for, because for many, it was the first time they were witnessing a ‘live’ football match in a stadium. I was one of them. I was pretty much excited as my friends who joined me for the first match in Chennai on 21st October, 2014 (Chennaiyin FC vs. Kerala Blasters FC; Result 2-1; Cheers CFC :D)

ISL has made a big difference, not only to the hungry fans but also majorly for the players. It gave them an opportunity to play alongside world class players like Elano Blumer, Del Piero, Nesta, Helder Postiga, Luis Garcia, Riise etc., and be trained by outstanding football legends like Roberto Carlos, Marco Materazzi, Zico, Nicolas Anelka, etc. Such exposure was vital for our Indian players who thrive to qualify for the FIFA world cup every time. Recently, in the SAFF tournament 2015, India beat Sri Lanka by 2 goals, both scored by Robin Singh, a talented striker of Delhi Dynamos FC. India put up an enormous battle led by Robin Singh, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Sunil Chhetri in the front, forcing Sri Lanka to be the defensive team throughout the match. Later, India thrashed Nepal 4-1, to enter the semi finals. Mumbai City FC player Rowlin Borges registered the first goal to equalize the goal scored by Nepal in the 3rd minute. Early in the second half, Sunil Chhetri (Mumbai City FC) put us on the lead. The sensation of the evening was Lallianzuala Chhangte (age 18) who became the youngest ever player to score for India, breaking the record held by Baichung Bhutia. He sent the ball to the back of the net twice and confirming our place in the semi finals of the SAFF Suzuki Cup. Holicharan Narzary and Sanju Pradhan (both from NorthEast United FC) played crucial roles in assisting and creating a lot of goal-scoring opportunities. I would say that the effect of ISL could be seen during these matches.

Rome wasn’t built in one day. So it might take four to five seasons of ISL to strengthen the necessary skills. But, as fans, we should continue to provide the same ‘enthusiastic’ support and keep cheering for our players. ISL version 3.0 in 2016, is bound to come back to score the hat-trick, bigger than before, with more energy from the players and a lot more to offer for the exuberant football fanatics.

Short Story #4 - LOVE DETERMINED

Deepti was on cloud nine. She was jumping and twirling around happily, waiting for Anjan to show up at her place. Her parents had finally consented to her decision and agreed to meet Anjan.

Her phone began vibrating. She picked up her phone and saw Anjan's face smiling at her. That smile made her day, as always. Today there was an add-on joy that she was awaiting to see on his face.

"Hey Anju! Where are you? I can wait no more to see you today"! She has never been more desperate to see him before. "I just reached. Can you come down to the gate? I'll wait". Anjan said in a calm tone. "It's okay, don't wait. Come on in".

"Okay". Anjan cut the call, opened the gate and walked towards the door.

Deepti clenched her phone and smiled. "Finally the time has come". She felt incredibly happy. They were together ever since she set eyes on him on the first day of college. It has been six years now. Two years from now she could picture herself with a cute little girl, (Yeah! He wants a girl baby to show, how much he can love another girl more than me), Anjan holding their baby and smiling at her while she laughed happily, waving her hand like she was flying.

But, 2 years later, here she was staring at a picture the same way she had imagined, only that the baby wasn't hers.

Her heart started racing. Tears were beginning to well up. "Damn you Facebook, for showing me this picture in my Newsfeed", she cursed. But it was posted by Rohit, Anjan's younger brother. She removed Anjan from her Friends list on the same day he broke her heart, her dreams and happiness. While she waited to tell him the good news, he had come to tell her the bad news. The picture had no caption. She clicked on the next picture and saw both Rohit and Anjan along with two kids Anjan was holding a baby girl, hardly a year old and another girl around 2-3years old, hugging his leg. This picture had a caption “Me, my brother and our angels”. “Our angels!? Does it mean that one of the girls is Anjan’s”? She was asking herself. “Or both of them could be Rohit’s...! No, it can’t be. Rohit got married only a year or two ago”. To double check she dug through his profile and found that he got married about a year and half back.

“So the elder girl couldn’t be his. But it couldn’t be Anjan’s either. There is only one woman in the pictures, who is Rohit’s wife”. But she wasn’t convinced. She browsed through Anjan’s profile to find any trace of his wife but since he wasn’t in her friends list, she wasn’t able to find any pictures.

She wanted to know very badly. She still loved him even after he unreasonably threw her away. Her parents and friends insisted her to move on but she was not giving up. She had tried talking to him continually in the past two years. But he just kept ignoring her. A few months back he finally responded. “Please move on! I have moved on! Leave me at peace”. That was the last time she contacted him. She let him be.

“And now this! How”? She paused to think, while taking her phone out. She scrolled down to Anjan’s contact in Whatsapp. There was no profile picture or it was not visible to her. She resisted the urge to call him but she knew it would haunt her later. She tried calling him. Obviously he didn’t answer her call. She kept calling him. No response. Finally she dropped in a message.

“Hi! I just want to know something. Did you get married? And do you have a daughter”?

            She willed herself to not check her phone to see if he had replied. It had been about three days now. She hated that she was constantly checking his 'last seen at' status and yes, he had logged in just five minutes ago. Yet she couldn't stop herself. This sinking feeling to find absolutely no communication from him was becoming unbearable, almost torturous.

And then, just as she sat down in her chair, her phone vibrated. With her heart thudding in her ear, she unlocked her phone and stared at the screen. Finally! It was his message.

But when she opened it and read it, she nearly stopped breathing. She didn't know if he was joking or not. What was this? There were 3 messages.

“No!”

“Yes!”

And a picture of the older baby girl hugging Anjan and kissing him on the cheek, with a caption “She is mine”.

Deepti sat frozen, holding the phone, looking at the picture and the three words ‘She is mine’.

She locked the screen and put away her phone. She could no more control her tears as they broke out along with a throbbing pain in her heart. She cried for what seemed like hours until she fell asleep.

When she woke up and took her phone, she saw one more message from him. She opened the message which said, “I’m happy with my girl. It’s high time you move on with your life. You deserve to be happy. Good bye”. When she read the words, ‘You deserve to be happy’, she became furious. “Yes idiot! I deserved to be happy, with you, and that should have been our daughter. But now…” She was yelling and crying at the same time. “But now… You are happy with someone else. I hate you”. Saying she dialed his number, only to get rejected. This happened numerous times the same day.

At night she took her phone and dialed again. But this time she called Rohit.

“Hello Rohit. This is Deepti”.

“Deepti? Oh yeah. How are ..”

“Glad you recognized me. I need your help Rohit”. She cut him off.

“Oh sure. What can I do for you”?

She told everything that happened till now and said, “I’m sure you’ll know why he left me. Why did he marry someone else”?

“Marry someone else? He didn’t tell you the real reason”?

“Real reason? What is it”? Deepti was getting confused.

“Sorry Deepti! I’m not the right person to tell you that. But, you know what, why don’t you drop by tomorrow. We are celebrating my daughter’s first birthday. You can ask Anjan yourself”.

“Thank you so much Rohit”.

“No problem. Be here by 6pm. Good night Deepti”.

“Good night Rohit”.

Knowing that there was actually a different reason to Anjan’s departure from her life, she was not able to sleep that night as she kept pondering over the possible reasons.

Next day, after the party, Rohit dragged Anjan away from the rest and was trying to throw him on the terrace where Deepti was waiting.

“What are you doing Rohit? Let me go”, struggling to get off his clutches, but he was just too strong.

“Tell her! She deserves to know”, pushing him through the door and closed it. Anjan banged on the door asking him to open it. Deepti who was watching the whole scene from a distance at the terrace, blurted out, “You know you cannot overpower someone who is stronger than you”. She smirked. He gave a half smile and said, “Sometimes it’s okay to yield to the ones you love”.

“That is not going to let me give up on you Anjan”, saying she moved closer to him. Anjan moved away, towards the wall. “You want to know why I really left you”?

“Yes”.

“I’m telling you again, for the last time, please leave. Some truths are better left unsaid, Deepti. Marry the person your parents choose for you, have kids and be happy”. He looked away from her, at the star-studded sky. She advanced towards him, turned him around and took hold of the collar of his shirt. “You better tell me now or I throw you off the roof”. She sounded genuine.

“Okay! Okay!” releasing himself from her grip. “I had an affair. I got her pregnant. She died giving birth to my baby girl. I had to leave you. You deserved someone better. Someone who didn’t cheat on you”. As he walked saying that, she could see tears running down his eyes.

“No. No. I…. I refuse to believe that”. She ran towards him, crying. “Why are you lying to me, Anjan”?

“I AM NOT LYING”. He yelled, turning to look at her. She stopped. In a composed tone he said, “You deserve someone better, Deepti. You deserve someone better”. Now Anjan couldn’t control anymore. He broke down. She took hold of him and started pestering him. “No Anjan! I deserve you. I’m not letting you go. Tell me the truth, Anju. Tell me. Why did you leave me? Tell me”!

“HOW CAN I TELL YOU THE TRUTH? How can I tell you that I cannot have children with you? How can I crush all the dreams you have for your kids? How can I? I love you so much! I had to let you go, for your own good”.

Deepti’s heart skipped a few beats. She didn’t know what to say or how to react. Silence filled the air. She sat down beside Anjan. It took a while for the whole truth to sink in.

She took his face by his cheeks and made him look at her. “If you thought I will be happy with someone else, having kids with him, then you didn’t know me at all. But you knew me well, that’s why you tried to push me away with a reason that’ll make me hate you. Don’t you ever do that”. They hugged each other, with tears that were mutual.

“And who is the girl then”? She asked, releasing him. Anjan stood up and said, “I adopted her”. Deepti was all the way surprised. “Well! My family adopted her because I wanted to. They tried finding me a bride and obviously no one was ready after they knew about, you know, my condition, and..” He looked at her, who stood up and walked towards him.

“And”? She asked.

“And I am still in love with...” She kissed him before he could complete. Suddenly the door opened and they broke free.

“Daddy”? A little girl walked through the open door.

“Hey sweetie I’m here”. Anjan called out to her. She turned to her left and spotting her father, she ran to him.

“Daddyyyy”!

He caught her little girl and gave a peck on her cheek.

“Who is this, daddy”? She asked.

“I’ll tell you who I am”, saying Deepti took her in her arms and asked, “What’s your name, sweetheart”?

“My name is Kavya. What is your name”? Kavya said smiling at Deepti.

“My name is Deepti. I am going to be your mommy”. Deepti kissed her on her forehead while Anjan kissed Deepti’s.

*************

SHORT STORY #2 - LOVE REDEFINED

Knock knock.

Someone knocked at the door. My mom looked at me, beckoning me to check who was at the door. I wiped my tears, stood up and walked to the door at snail's pace. I was, obviously, trembling.

Anyways I looked through the peep hole on the door.

"Who is it"? My mom demanded.

"It’s Pragathi, ma"! I said, in a surprised tone.

Pragathi is my friend ever since we started schooling. But she had shifted to Trichy for her UG and PG, while I did mine in Chennai itself. We were always in touch through Facebook and mobile phone. So, after 6 long years, she is here at my doorstep to see me.

"Oh! Pragathi"! Saying, my mom smiled. "But, does she know about what is happening here"? She asked, her smile fading away.

"You confiscated my mobile and I didn't have any contact with the external world for the past 3 months. So, No"! I said sarcastically.

"Mind your tongue, Anjali". My mom said.

Knock. Knock. "Anjali"?? Pragathi called out to me.

"Can I open the door"? I asked my mom, without leaving the sarcasm.

"Yes"! She said, staring at me, but continuing to cut the vegetables with some skill.

I opened the door.

"Anjaliiiii"! Pragathi dragged my name as usual and hugged me.

“Oh my God! Pragathiiii! So happy to see you"! Which I was indeed. I hugged her back.

"So how are you? It's been such a long time, right"? She released me from her clutches. "Yeah! I'm good! How have you been"? I asked, shoving her in.

"Not bad, Anju"! Saying, she smiled. Then, seeing my mom, she said

"Hi Aunty! I don't think I should ask 'How are you' because you look as charming as ever"! She winked. My mom turned all pink at the compliment.

"Oh! You, Pragathi have not changed a bit. Come sit. I'll bring you, your favorite coffee". My mom stood up from the table, took the vegetables and moved to the kitchen.

"Sure Aunty! And I can't wait to taste your Sambhar rice again"! Pragathi was mad about my mom's Sambhar rice. Actually, it's not just her. Every one of my friends, who had my mom's Sambhar rice, would all drop by my home just for the sake of eating it. My mom loved serving them all too. "Definitely Pragathi. You'll get it for dinner". My mom was already done with the coffee. She brought a cup for me and one for her and then went back to the kitchen to prepare dinner. We settled down in my room with the coffee.

"Anju! Why is your mobile phone always switched off? What’s happening"?

"Oh! Wait". I closed the door and started telling about how I told my parents that I wanted to marry Shiva, my college mate and how my parents reacted to it by putting me in 'house arrest' and seizing my mobile and cutting my contact with the outside world.

"Oh my God! Am so sorry, Anju".

"Don't be! I knew this would happen anyway". I said wiping my tears off.

"If you knew that this would happen, then why fall in love at the first place"?

"I don't have an answer for that, Pragathi. I guess, I was just too blinded by his love for me".

She smirked and said “I guess, at some point every girl is blinded by her guy's love".

I looked at her puzzled. "What happened between you and Rithesh? Did you guys stop fighting or what"?

"Fighting is not the problem. That happens in every relationship right"?

"Hmmm yeah! So you guys back to normal uh"? I enquired her. That's when I realised that she was weeping. I went near her and took her hand. "What happened, Pragathi"?

She started crying now. I took her into a hug and said, "It’s going to be okay. Pour it out to me. You'll feel better".

"No. I will never feel better. I ended my relationship with him. ‘I’ ended it". She continued crying.

"Oh my God! But why? You love him so much"!

"I do! But unlike you, I realized I can't go against my parent's wishes. I know that you'll ask me the same question that I asked you 'Why fall in love at the first place'? Even I don't have an answer for that".

"But initially you said you'll be able to convince them right"?

"Yeah! But the ambience at home changed. Suddenly my parents seem to be stricter. If I tell about Rithesh, then I would also wind up like you at home. I don't want that".

I was shocked listening to her last few words.

"Wrong, Pragathi! First of all, I'm not going against my parent's wishes. I'm still here, waiting for them to accept the guy whom I chose for myself. Is that too much to ask for"?

"I can understand that, Anjali. But why at the cost of your freedom? Look at you. Disconnected from all your friends. Is that worth it"?

"Friends will always be there, Pragathi. I might be missing the fun time with them, but by sacrificing this, am making sure that I don't regret the whole rest of my life. I hope you understand what I’m trying to say".

I made it clear to her that since I know I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Shiva, I was ready to give up few days of fun with my friends. When you fall in love, I guess, 'Struggle' accompanies it.

"Okay! What if your parents don't accept at all? No matter how hard you struggle, what will you do if they don't budge at all"?

"They will accept! I have that confidence". I said.

"What if they don't, Anju"? She kept asking the same question again.

"Is this why you ended your relationship with Rithesh, Pragathi"?

"Yes! I didn't want to drag it till the day my parents say 'no'. It's just, better off now than after two years. I'm just saving myself and Rithesh from a more, worse break up".

"You are just giving up without even trying"?

"I know what their response would be, Anjali. Moreover, Rithesh is trying to be more dominant and restricting me from doing things I like to do".

"You have no idea what I've been through. I gave up my job, because his mom doesn't support it. I gave up dressing up modern because he doesn’t like it.”

"And still you are struggling with your parents to get married to this guy? You are an idiot, Anjali". She was looking at me angrily.

"Wait! Later I made him understand that what he did was wrong. It's not necessary that you have to retaliate all the time. You have told me that Rithesh is the understanding type. I'm sure he will not be dominant if he knows that it affects the relationship. Btw don't be too judgemental". I made her understand.

"Hmmm! Well, that is true. Anyways, what are your parents saying"?

“They are stubborn. Since I'm their daughter, I'm stubborn too. I'm not giving up. I'll never give up. If I give up, I'll be cheating on Shiva. They did not raise me that way. I don't cheat people. Especially the ones I love. So I got to fight for it".

Knock knock.

"Pragathi, Anjali! Dinner is ready".

Pragathi looked at me and smiled. I smiled back and said, "Let’s go and devour your favorite Sambhar rice".

Pragathi grinned.

6 months later.

"Anjaliiiii"!

I know who that is. I saw her climb up the reception stage and then grab me into a hug. Photos were being clicked continuously. "I'm sooo happy for you"! She said, releasing me. I was just blushing.

"Congratulations, Mr. Shiva"! She said, shaking his hand.

"Thank you, Pragathi"! Shiva was blushing too.

"Congrats, Anjali"! I heard someone say beside me. He gave me a bouquet. I thanked him and was about to ask who he was, when Pragathi interrupted.

"Anjali and Shiva! Meet my fiancé, Mr. Rithesh". Pragathi was all smiles.

                    *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Chapter 1 Part II

                        Like any other evening, I was pedaling back home on my bicycle, in a pace such that even the turtles seem to be faster. Speaking of turtles, people have a misconception that turtles and tortoises are really the slowest (Of course next to snails.). It’s the conclusion people derived from “The Hare and the Tortoise” story, though only few understood the real moral of the story. Crash! A two-wheeler vehicle hit me as I turned across the T-junction. Considering the amount of damage to me and my bicycle anybody could guess the speed at which she was coming. Yeah! It was a girl who injured my right elbow.

            “Oh my God! Are you alright? Am so sorry”! She rushed to me after carefully parking her vehicle, by which time some people had already helped me up.

            She picked up my bag that has fallen and was consistently apologizing in the local language with an odd accent. The people around started scolding her for driving so fast in a small street, for which she paid no heed.

            “I’m okay! I’m okay”! I said dusting my arms. “Ouch”! I let out a cry of pain. “Oh God! You are hurt”. As she came near and looked at my wound, I was able to have a close look at her. She wasn’t very tall. Actually, she was not even as tall as I was. She was fair and looked like a north-Indian. Probably, a Bengali. I could not look at her for long, lest people get a wrong message about me.

            “Just come with me”. She walked towards the pharmacy that was right across the street. I followed her like a servant. She got some cotton and two band-aids and said, “Show me your arm”.

            “Huh?... No no. I can do it myself”. I was completely taken aback by such an offer.

            “No. It’s nothing. Just show” and before I could say anything she took my hand. I mean she held my hand very gently and started wiping the blood off. Her touch sent tingles down my stomach. It’s not very usual for a girl to touch a boy like that unless you are related by blood. She then put a band-aid on it while I let out low sounded cries of pain. The wound was pretty much bad but her touch seemed to be soothing and healing it already. As I came back to my senses, I took my hand from her and said, “Thanks”! She smiled and that is when I noticed her nose ring. She looked more beautiful now. I smiled back. I personally feel that girls look charming with a nose ring.

            “There are some extra cotton and band-aid. I’ll just put it in your bag”. She opened the bag and kept it inside. “Use it in case the clotting doesn’t stop”.

            “Yes! Thank you. I think you should get going. You seemed to be in a hurry”. I said as we walked towards our vehicles.

            “Oh my God! Yeah! I’m late for my class”. She squeaked anxiously holding her head and then hurried to her Scooty.

            “Sorry, I came in your way”. I picked up my bicycle and placed my bag on it.

            “It’s not your fault, . . . . Hey your name”?

            “Sathya. And you”?

            “Akshyah. Not a nice way to meet but still nice to meet you”. She smiled again. “See you around. Bye”, saying she sped off.

            “Bye”. I said staring at her wavering hair.

            As I walked back home pushing my bicycle, I illusionised her face in my mind. Wow! Cute! I smiled. It was really too late to realize the fact that I can’t “intentionally see her again. She just blankly left saying “See you around”.

            “That’s what happened yesterday evening”. I said.

          “Ah ah! Off with a good start man”, Aakash said sheepishly. “So you met her again today morning didn’t you”?

            “Oh yeah! Lucky me”! I winked.

(to be continued)

*****