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 ...........
