Coffee Conversations and more

It is 5 am when Gar's granny opens her bedroom door. "Are you mad girl?"
Ugh uh Gar thought... She whispered into the cell phone, "Hang on." and putting the cell phone face down looked at her granny. "Hmmm..", she muttered trying to sound sleepy, unable to open her eyes.
"Kiske saath lagi padi hai itni raat ko?"
Being dramatic is in Gar's blood. She puts up an even bigger act, "Hmmm.. kya? Phone? What are you saying?"
Gran mutters a few pata-nahi-itni-raat-ko-kiske-saath-lagi-hui-hai type sentences and leaves the room.

Gar speaks into the phone, "Phew... Stupid female!!!!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha...", came a very stifled and a hollow laughter from the other side of the phone.
"And now my gran thinks I have a boyfriend!", Gar whispered into the phone, "Chal, lets sleep now... Shit! Can you believe its 5 am!! I just din't realise man... "
"Hee hee neither did I. Yeah lets sleep.. Are we meeting tomorrow?", asked the voice.
"Yeah, we should right? Otherwise it will be another week before we can see each other.", replied Gar.
"Yeah see ya tomorrow then. Goodnight baby."
"Goodnight!"



Yet another lazy Sunday evening. Gar is with her 5 am conversation best bud Vidya sitting at a Barista scrolling through the menu, figuring out what to order.

"A skinny Mocha for me please.", says Gar to the waiter.
Vidya gives her infamous 'rolled-eyes' look and says to the waiter, "Make it two."
They sit themselves in a corner. Gar puts on her typical cafe-behaviour which is to remove her shoes and wrap her legs with her hands and rest her head sideways and close her eyes. Vidya waits until she is finished and says, "I guess I ovulated just now."
"How can you tell?"
"It's the pain... a different kind of pain. I can tell", says Vidya.
"Brilliant.. I can never remember my term dates."
"Well, you have peaceful periods anyway. You don't have to worry."
"Yeah.. :) touchwood!"
Gar is half lying on the couch. She looks away and scans the room. Her swaying vision is concentrating on nothing particular. Suddenly she recollects something she has to tell Vidya.
"You know what happened today? While I was coming to pick you up? This bloody richshaw wala bumped into me and c@#$%#! shouted at me for no reason!"

"And what was your reaction?"
"You think I won't shout back huh? I shouted back man... He he.. he was scared.. but saala richshaw mein se chilla raha tha.. bada mard ban raha tha!" Gar is upright, animated, excited and hyper. Vidya listens to her story with the same calm and composure like she is meditating on Gar's story. She has stopped flinching at Gar's swear-filled conversations. Afterall, it's been ten years since they first met.
It's Vidya's turn to pick on some other topic. She chooses Gar's latest crush, Jigar. "Did he call?"
"No and I don't think he will."
"Why?", inquired Vidya.
"Because I have a hunch he is not serious. He is just playing around. And I don't think I want to know him more."
"But if he called you after leaving the city it means he is interested doesn't it?"
The skinny mochas arrive and Gar pours one sugar into each cup, stirs and speaks at the same time.

"Well he is interested I know. But in what I don't. And I am in no mood to test my own feelings. I am pretty much settled and need a settled person to be with. Not the 'Lets see how this works types'."
"But you never know. It might just click. What's the harm in giving it a shot?", suggests Vidya.
"Give what a shot? It isn't like he has left the city and is texting me he misses me. It is nothing like what normal people to when they are beginning to fall in love. "

"But he's said he likes you.", says Vidya

"Like is a very vague word honey.", says Gar and as an afterthought adds, "I am better off being on my own."
"Right. And you have me, you definitely don't need anyone", adds Vidya
"Yes..ha ha.. my secret boyfriend", winks Gar and they both giggle away over cups of coffee.


Gar reaches home just after 9 pm. She goes to the kitchen to make rotis for her when her granny asks, "Kaun tha 5 baje raat ko?"

"Mulle ki daud mazjid tak dadi. Kaun ho sakta hai?", Gar answered while rolling out the dough on the chapati slab.

"Vidya? You silly girls. Pura din kam hota hai jo raat ko 5 baje phone par lage hote ho."Gars' dadi is beyond surprised!

"We both are busy na. And today was a sunday so we thought we could just make use of time."

"Isse to achha yehi hota ke tum dono boyfriends bana lete." Said the granny and went into the living room. Gar whispered very softly after her, "Uska to hai!" and spread some butter on her roti while she does a giggle-smile and quickly texts Vidya updating her about what just happened.

Garima

They all gawked at the TV. Jack Sparrow swaggered and ranted in his heavy accent. All but Garima stared at the TV screen. After all she was in a household that gorged on soap operas. Sensing the impatience, Garima got up to go upstairs. Her aunt shouted behind her, 'Ruk ja...' and her voice trailed off. Garima looked at her and realized the maid had just mopped the stairs. She still climbed on and heard her aunt whispering to the maid about how mindless she was. It was nothing new, Gar had known her aunt long enough to mind her back biting but this particular day it irritated. It was a Sunday and Gar was in any mood but to listen to her aunt's 'hows, what-to-do's and various other everyday rules. She switched on the tele and closed the room.

Pirates cooled off her head. She took a power nap and went downstairs to eat her lunch. She slept off again. At 5 she was woken up for chai. While sipping her cuppa, her periphery vision told her that as usual her aunt was staring at her legs. It occurred to her then, that she was wearing shorts. Ugh uh- she thought. But she had learnt to neglect stares from her aunt as well.

She was planning to go out when the mobile rang. It was some family friends who were coming over for a visit.

'Can't you change into a pajama?'

'It's very hot.'

'But you're 25! What will you do when you get married? Tabhi bhi ghar par shorts pehenkar ghumegi? Ab ladki nahi hai tu. Aurat ban chuki hai!'

'What? Aurat, Ladki what? Main 25 saal ki l-a-d-k-i hun. And whats the harm in wearing shorts?'

'Tere umar ki kaunsi ladki shorts pehenti hai?'

'Main pehenti hun. Aur kisiko dikhane ke liye nahi. I'm comfortable so I wear it. And about being an aurat.. sab dimaag mein hai.'

There was silence. The aunt gave up.. like always because she was not used to listening to things as and how they were. Garima went into a verbal diarrhea with her alter ego about the kind of people she was living with and left the room.

4th April 2010 - Adalaj ni Vav

I went to adalaj ni vav last saturday and tried capturing the place in the best possible manner. Here is a result of my attempts. Please do comment.