"Mutual concern and emotional understanding"-Those were the words in verbatim,uttered on his collegeday stage by Sreeni to describe his relationship with Subadra,when questioned by his collegemates, which went down as the hapax legomenon(Golden words)of IIM-C history!After that incident,nobody dared to question the closeness between the two,which was well-evident when Sreeni freely addressed her passionately in public as 'chellam','chamathu' and 'daa' as if she was a 3 year old boy.Subadra cherished every second of Sreeni's company and reciprocated with the same warmth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Cheenu dai..what are you listening to daa..so long?" Subadra asked as she couldn't help noticing Sreeni play Laxmi's cassette again and again.
"Nothing daa Subha..Just some new rock music,which you girls don't like" quipped Sreeni as he adeptly slid the cassette into his bag.
Subadra gave a smile and a small tinge of pain went through her mind as she realised that her best friend had lied to her.Then she tried to change the topic and blurted..
"Dai..I had told you in yahoochat last week right?that my parents started looking for alliance for me?"
Sreeni came out of his world of worries and shouted excitedly..
"Hey..Subha..cool daa..U seem to be blushing!!Whos the unlucky guy??"
Subadra frowned and started explaining how she had put up a fight against her parents' idea of arranged marraige with someone she did not know.
As Sreeni seemed uninterested and started climbling to his berth,Subadra reluctantly whispered..
"Cheenu,After we go to college,pls remind me da..I have something important to tell you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Bannerji Netcafe" was the only internet centre which was open 24 hrs a day and it was almost always crowded,thanks to the chat savvy students of IIM-C,who sneaked out of their hostels at night.That night at around 4.00 a.m,Sreeni couldn't sleep and startled his roommate when he said he was sneaking out of their hostel to get some air!
As he watched the watchglass of his yahoomail's netscape navigator window,he could feel his heartbeat rising and his head becoming heavy,unable to bear the suspense of his life.
As he clicked the icon next to "You have 1 unread message",he got the inevitable shock of his life..The mail started with Laxmi addressing him as Sreeni and not Chickoo,which immediately gave him an idea of what was in store.Sreeni madly read through the lines as he covered covered his eyes and silently wept..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Sreeni,
Read your email which shocked me to death..I'd never imagined you in that fashion earlier but ur sweet mail,did put me in an emotional turmoil.The rush of blood made me talk about you to my appa and anna but the initial euphoria did not last long as they vehemently opposed my intentions and stubbornly asked me to concentrate on my ambition to do my PhD.
I am still crying as I write this..Please forgive me and do not ask anymore questions.
Yours friendly(pls be my friend da as always!)
-Laxmi
Sreeni dashed out of the cube to the telephone on the counter and dialed Laxmi's number without even considering that it was 4 a.m in the morning.
"Marakamudiyala daa cutecho!! (Can't forget you daa..so-cute!!)Sreeni thundered at the top of his voice,catching everyone's attention in the netcafe.After a verbal dual which lasted for about 30 minutes,Sreeni headed back to his hostel with a shattered mind.
He couldn't digest the basis for his rejection at Laxmi's household which was a trivial issue of him being an Iyer and not an Iyengar!He entered his room and madly threw himself onto the bed as he ripped out his Poonal thread and shouted-"Stupid Brahmins!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not a single day in the 2 years she knew Sreeni,Subadra had noticed him unshaven with a beard.Seeing him suddenly keep a low profile and lost in his world of sorrows,made her sad as she imagined what could have transpired.As a few days passed,it was time for Kaybee to leave for Germany.He was surprised that he was unable to get hold of Sreeni for the past few days and what was even more surprising was the sudden change that he had noticed in Laxmi when she didn't even wave at him as she passed through his floor in the flat.
Finally,when he spoke to Sreeni,he was flabbergasted to hear about what had happened and started yelling at him..
"deii..cheeni..This is nonsense daa..These girls!!Oh ..they are so deceiving..In the beginning itself I warned you,U remember?"
In the past few days,Sreeni's anger had mellowed down and he replied politely....
"deii..what I did was nothing wrong da!I dont know if I have told you before.She was the inspiration of my life.It was her encouragement during our REC final year that motivated me into getting into IIM-C.Now I ve almost gained my MBA but have totally lost her..."
As Kaybee continuously poured his one-sided abuses on Laxmi,Sreeni interrupted him saying..
"Deii..Cmon Pls Stop it..Da..Don't scold her..Unakenna theryum avala pathi?Really what do you know abt her?If at all,I am something today,it is all because of her.I have no grudges against her and you wouldn't be surprised if you were to find her photo in my Pooja room!She was the nicest thing ever to happen to me!"
To be concluded..
-Raapi
Posted by rajesh | 
Add a comment: