Chapter 2 - He came, She saw, and They conquered

PAYAL SPEAKS

I couldn't make out much of him in the first meeting. He seemed to be just another guy lost in his own world, maybe something up his sleeve, but an introvert all the same, not bothered by what people around him felt or behaved. But this opinion was soon to change a couple of days later when we came to check out our practices a couple of days later.

This time he had come all by himself, no sign of the duck-footed Arun around him. We were just having a small break between practices and he had a chat with Nitin and Ayesha, the two main 2nd year coordinators of the dance while all the first years were sitting on the ground. After a few minutes, he turned towards us and stated that he wanted to see one practice. All of us got up and stood in our formations as the music began playing. While everyone was prancing around, he moved inside the formation to take a closer look at everybody's dance moves. I felt my pulse racing as he came close to me and quietly observed my moves and those of my partner's. A small smile flickered on his face which I guessed meant that we were doing fine. After the music stopped, he made all the sweaty and panting 12 dancers sit down in a circle and he kneeled right in the middle of it.
"First let me tell you that your lot has been the best that I have seen in the last three years at MNNIT." he said. "All of you seem to be very good dancers, so I don't need to comment on your dancing abilities. But I felt that something was missing. When I see the dance from a distance, everybody is dancing good and in synchronization with one another, but that energy which makes the audience jiggle along with you wasn't there. Dancing on stage just doesn't mean that you do your steps. You have to bring in that grace, that vigor, which will make the audience feel that you are having fun out there and make them dance with you. And the best way to do that is ? Obviously, just enjoy yourself while you are dancing. There's no need to be afraid of anything or anybody when you are there. We, as seniors are not here to rag you or punish you. We are here just to guide you through the way to setting the stage on fire. And if average dancers like us have done it in the past years, then it would be a cakewalk for the amazing dancers that I see around me right now."
Throughout as he spoke, his face had a single expression, no sign of emotions anywhere. Just that determined look, the look which made you want to achieve something. His husky voice had a hidden energy that would get transferred to the others when he spoke. Soon after that talk, he received a phone call and left the hall.
A few minutes later, we were right in the middle of another practice when Arun entered the hall. Inspite of the playing music, there was an eerie silence filled inside the hall. We stopped dancing and greeted him, as was customary for juniors to do so. Arun turned around to the coordinators.
"So this is the shit you'll have been teaching them to do eh ?" he gave a small pause. "Is this dance even worth showing to the sweepers or the construction workers? Everybody thinks that this is a joke."
Everyone had their heads bowed down. Heart rates had gone up, and I could hear mine clearly in that silence.
"You!!" he pointed right at me. "Come right here."
Head still down, I slowly walked towards him.
"What the hell do you think you are doing here, jumping around like that. This is dance, not gymnastics, do you understand ? Next time I see you dancing like that, you may pack your bags and go back to your hostel. We are making a dance team here, not a circus troupe."
I was on the verge of tears. Quietly I went back to where I was standing earlier. This man seemed to be perpetually disturbed, and it felt that he was venting out some other frustrations on us. Still, there was a way of speaking, and nobody had a right to talk that way with anybody however big or small they may be.
What a starking contrast it was, on one hand a man who though silent most of the time could fill the team with a dose of energy, and on the other, who could compete equally from the other side and suck out whatever enthusiasm was left. After this experience, everybody was rather disturbed and the 2nd years seemed to have lost their usual knack for organising the dance. Arun left after several minutes and the second years then tried consoling us, desperately looking out for positive aspects in his outburst. The spirits were down, enthusiasm drained and it was decided to call it a day.
But was the day really over ?? Well, at least not for me. For me, that day just began when I exited the hall with my bag slung over my bag, and what a day it was to be..................

AMIT SPEAKS

After her initial phone call, Vidya seemed to have disappeared into oblivion. She hadn't come to the classes for a couple of days and her phone was switched off. I was beginning to get worried when suddenly that day she called me again, this time she wanted to meet in the college cafe, more popularly known as Nesci. I went down to the cafe to find her sitting at the corner table, her favorite.
"Coffee ?" I asked her. She nodded back and I got two cups for the both of us.
"So where the hell have you been for the past two days ?"
"I wasn't feeling well. Just some mild fever." she replied.
"Did your phone also have fever ? Why was it switched off ?"
"The batteries discharged, dumbo."
"Now listen to me." I told her. "I know you are hiding something from me. If you think these excuses of yours are convincing enough for me, then I am sorry to disappoint you. So let's get straight to the point. What has been bothering you?"
"I don't know. I don't know whether it is really worth bothering about. Instead of bothered, I'd rather say I am confused, confused as hell. Let's look at it this way. Consider two amazing chocolates, say one Hersheys and one Toblerone. What you personally like is the Toblerone, but to get it you have to walk a particular distance and it can require time. Now Hersheys has come right up to you and you can have it then and there. What would you do ? Would you take the Hersheys ? Or will you walk that extra mile for Toblerone ? The fact is that Hersheys is as good as Toblerone in many aspects, but you like Toblerone, and by the time you reach it, there is no guarantee that any Toblerone would be left for you. What would you choose Amit ?"
"All this chocolate talk has activated my sweet tooth. Just wait for a second, I am buying a KitKat. Would you also like one ?"
"Sure."
I went to the counter and bought two small KitKats. Didn't really have the cash with me for the bigger ones. I returned with the chocolates back to the table.
"Here is you KitKat. So where were we ?" I asked.
"Hersheys or Toblerone ?" she replied.
"Hmm. That's a tough choice really. Let me guess. Right now for you, these two brands stand for two entities, correct ?"
She nodded back.
"I get it. Now I am not sure about what or WHO Toblerone actually represents, but I think I'm pretty sure who Hersheys is."
There was a pragmatic pause before I spoke again.
"It's Ravi, isn't it ?" I asked.
She looked down and there was a nod. Ravi was another close friend of ours who had been having feelings for Vidya for over a year, but never spoke about it. It seemed like at last he had.
"So would you do the honors of telling me who Mr. Toblerone is ? Or do you want me to stretch my guessing ability to its limits?"
"I think it would be better if it remains a secret as of now. You can refer to him as Mr. Toblerone."
"What exactly do you expect me to say at this very moment?"
"I am just too confused Amit. Maybe I just want someone to tell me what to do for a change. I am not able to decide on this. Yes, I do like Mr. Toblerone a lot, but I can't find anything amiss in Ravi. Then why do I feel the need to say no to him. Toblerone may be my dream, but then, all Computer Engineers don't get placed in Microsoft and Google, do they?"
"No, they don't." I said. "But just to be fair on him, don't take a decision which you might regret. I know him, and he will definitely understand. Just tell him the reason properly if you are going to say no."
She smiled weakly at me. I understood that what she really wanted was someone to confirm what she felt she should do. I felt sorry for Ravi, the poor guy was just being honest to her. But then, one could not blame her. I wondered who that silly Mr. Toblerone was. He'd better be worth it, I thought, since Ravi was a really nice guy.
We sat there for a few more minutes and then she left for her hostel and I decided to check out on the dance practices. I wasn't that much worried about the dance part, the second years were capable enough of doing their job well. It was actually the case that I had an urge to see Payal again. And that I did manage.
While supervising the dance, I went through everybody's performance and couldn't help spending a few extra moments on Payal and her partner. The poor fellow was trying very hard to match her dance and it was quite funny the way he would glance every now and then at her to see if he was doing the correct step. On one occasion, he missed a beat and then almost fell down in his attempt to catch up. I couldn't control a smile from forming on my face.
She was as graceful as ever. Those determined eyes still burning with the fire that I had noticed earlier. I don't know what exactly was pulling me towards her, but I had to control myself from gazing continuously at that face, lest I be considered indecent.
I soon left the hall after giving one of the motivational talks. I had to be prepared to console Ravi after Vidya had talked to him. Maybe she wouldn't do it today in a haste, I thought. I went back to the hostel, thinking about Vidya and Payal alternately, about who Mr. Toblerone could be, about how I can start a casual conversation with Payal. Maybe I could approach her, talk about simple things about the dance, and then change the topic to more general one. Maybe that bloody Toblerone would surface up and show his face and Vidya would build the courage to tell him.
Now I was getting confused. Maybe it was too much thinking for one day and I should rather take it as it comes. But little did I know that life had quite some surprises in store for me, and all of them wouldn't be wasting any time in coming.................

Chapter 1 - Jab We Met

PAYAL SPEAKS

I was nervously elated, being selected after quite a strenuous procedure for the western dance team. It was a warm July evening and we were awaiting the arrival of the music system in the hall so that we could start with the choreography and the dance practices. Swagat, the fresher function was to be held in a couple of weeks and I was one of the selected 12 first years (6 girls and 6 boys) who would be dancing to the tunes of the latest hindi and english songs. The second year coordinators would be organising the whole dance and we just had to blindly follow their instructions without questions.
We were in the middle of practices that day when I first saw him. A tall, extremely thin person and seemed quite subdued to be a third year which he was. Besides him was another guy, short with long hair and a duck-foot walking style. This guy had an expression as if there was dung under his nose. It was obvious that he was a dominating person. He was later introduced to us as Arun Kumar, the seniormost member of the team, the final year.
What made me notice Amit that day was the fact that his eyes seemed to be bubbling with energy even though his mind seemed a bit distant. He was standing alone in a corner, flipping out his mobile phone every now and then, browsing through something and then shoving it back into the pocket of his jeans in frustration. It was quite evident that this frustration had nothing to do with the poor mobile phone. Those energetic black eyes which gave an appealing contrast to his fair complexion were darting continously around the huge MP Hall as if he was waiting for something or someone. I never knew what exactly it was that was bothering him until about two years later.
Other than formal introductions, we didn't really talk that day, but that night those eyes did haunt me in my dreams.

AMIT SPEAKS

It was yet another frustrating day for me. The lethargic accountants of our college were just making me run helter skelter for my scholarship cheque which had definitely arrived from the Government, but it was quite apparent that these people wanted a bribe in order to release it, and that was something I was never gonna do. Just to release all this tension, I decided to chill out at my favorite spot in the MNNIT campus, the Multi-Purpose Hall, or the MP Hall as it was more commonly known. The dance practices for Swagat had already begun and the second years had phoned me earlier that day to just drop by in the evening and give my suggestions for the dance. And to MP Hall I went, never knowing that that day was going to be such an important one in my life.
I met my senior, Arun at the stairs where he stopped me for a chit-chat. Arun was one person I loathed ever since I knew him from my first year days. He was the second year coordinator when I joined the dance team and since then, my impression of him was that of a self centered moron who always put himself first before anything else, no matter what the situation might be. That chit-chat turned into a irritating blabber about how the new team entrants should be managed, how they should be taught to respect the seniors, and most importantly how the first year guys should be prevented from becoming friendly with the girls so that they are "left" for the seniors. This narrow minded attitude always got on to my nerves and I pretended to make a very important phone call just to change the topic and avoid him for sometime.
After some time we entered the hall where the practices were going in full swing. I had by then decided that I would give the motivational talk that I was expected later when Arun had left since I usually contradicted his views and he never liked that. So I just stood aside in a corner while he blabbered on to the freshers.
Actually there was another reason why I was there. Vidya, one of my closest friends had called me there as she wanted to discuss something important. I had no idea what exactly she wanted to talk about and was quite eager to know. As I was standing all by myself, I had a look around at the fresh faces of our dance team. It was then that I first noticed Payal. She was looking in my direction, at least I thought so, most probably bored with the senior talk going on there. I checked my mobile again for any message from Vidya as she had not yet arrived and she was one of the most punctual persons I knew. None. I shoved the mobile into my pocket and looked at the bunch again. As usual, this batch had that enthusiasm which is always present in the beginning and it was left to be seen how many actually retain it later. Again Payal caught my eyes. I won't say she was gorgeous or hot, but she had a strange appeal to her. Those brown eyes had a determination I had never seen in any other person earlier. She was light skinned, her silky hair brushing her chubby cheeks every now and then. I gave her a small smile as our eyes met once again but instead of smiling back, she turned her head away. I wasn't very sure whether she had noticed me at all.
It may not have been the perfect first meeting, but that face and those eyes had got noticed. She should be a person worth knowing, I had thought to myself. Maybe I would get a chance to speak to her the next time, when I would be giving my talk to the freshies. Who knows, maybe some sparks would fly ...........

Foreword

A big hello to all those who have visited this blog. Well, the basic idea behind this blog is that it would be a story this time around. I have written mostly serious issue based stuff, or maybe some funny childhood stories. This is the first time I am trying my hand at a love story. Though I don't have any experience in this department (Yeah, at the time of writing this, I am still single and ready to mingle...so all interested gals....gals only :P .... feel free to contact me ^_^ ), this story idea came to me when I was doing that last journey from my college to home on 15-16th May 2010.

So, about the story. "Is it a Love Story???". Since this is the first time I'm trying romantic stuff, I don't know whether the outcome would be actually a love story or something else, so the onus is on the readers to decide, and do let me know at the end if it is one. So, let me get back to what I actually intend to do in this post, i.e introduce the characters and the basic idea of the story.

This is a fictional story set up in real environment. To elaborate and actually simplify the writing, I chose the environment of my college itself viz. Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad (hence forth it would be referred to as MNNIT) since I am most familiar with it. The protagonists or rather the main characters (since there isn't any antagonist as such) are Amit and Payal, two students of different batches of the Institute.

The story won't be unfolding in the usual manner. Most of it would be narrated by the characters themselves (Amit Speaks, Payal Speaks, etc ... similar to some of the portions in 5 Point Someone .... Chetan Bhagat please don't take me to the court for this... :P). If required there would be some portions which would be in third person, but I plan to keep as much as possible in first person.

The whole story would be narrated in the form of chapters, which would be coming up one by one. I can't promise how frequently it would be updated, but I would try to reduce the time gaps between subsequent chapters. So all in all, I would try to keep it as simple as possible and let the characters speak for themselves.

There might be some references to real people (especially MNNIT students) in between, that can't be avoided as this story is somewhat inspired by the life in the MNNIT campus. However I again state that this is a work of fiction, and only the environment is real.
So here I am, taking a plunge into unknown territory. Let us see how far I succeed in making this an interesting reading. Fingers crossed.

The first chapter would be coming up in the next post.... :). Hope you are eagerly waiting for it!!!!