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And then the door opened and she stepped into the hall. A beautiful Sheetal made her way to the stage clad in her favourite Nauvari saree with a chandrakor bindi on her forehead. Everyone was in awe, not coz she looked very cute, but coz her giggles just wouldn’t stop! Instead of the shy bride that everyone thought she would be, she seemed to be in her own world today! It was her biggest day, and she was getting married to….
Dhudd! Again the door opened, with much more force, one more time. And Manas almost tripped and was staring at the floor!!! Somehow he managed to pick himself up, put the tilak cap back on his head , adjusted his dhoti and reconfirmed that it wasn’t loose , esp after the impact upon his stylish entry! In contrast to the first entry, the guests were all giggles this time! Soon he was up on the stage too, sitting next to her! Both the eyes met, albeit for a lil stare and soon were hovering around, the guests in their vibrant attires and loads of enthusiasm made it an evening that they would always remember!
He looked at her pretty green bangles and put the mangalsutra around her neck! A dream was realized today! A wish fulfilled! She was so happy.. and her face glowed with happiness!
Both were reminded of the first time their eyes met… woh pehli baar, jab hum mile!
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He was travelling to Mangalore. He got into the B2 compartment, Seat no 22, upper berth.. he put his bag on the seat and kept his shoes underneath the lower seat in the luggage space provided. Took out his novel- EVERY SECOND COUNTS! He was gonna read this one, bout the worlds first heart transplant, on this journey! As Nethravathi express made its way through the scenic konkan railway route, he couldn’t help looking out and admire the beauty of nature , esp during the monsoons! Lush green fields, sparkling river water, waterfalls gushing out of nowhere and drenching the train as it passed in and out of the innumerable tunnels on the route.. this was a fine lil journey! He was going to take up an assignment as a doctor in a newly set up institute. A new place awaited him.
As the evening made its way into a dark night, he finished his dinner [ rotis, rice, dal, matar paneer, matka kulfi..yum yum it was!] , set up his bedding and slid off to sleep.
“Psst ..psst.. thak thak thak”
Someone was tapping his berth! He didn’t open his eyes, thinking that it was a dream.
“Hey , can you hear me? Thak.. thak..thak”
He slowly opened his eyes.. a humanoid form greeted him in the darkness! OMG! Ghost!
He quickly wriggled out of his bedsheet! A girl in her teens was talking to him! Everyone else was fast asleep! She was muttering something .. he couldn’t understand ..
“What are you speaking mam, I cant follow you…”
She put her feet on the lower berth and climbed up and whispered in his ears…
“Can you help me?”
“What is wrong?” He whispered back..
“See , my seat is in the next cubicle, upper berth just like yours. All the rest are occupied by these college guys. They are a group of four and are constantly pestering me. Asking me whats your whatsapp no... lets be FB friends.. I am scared to sleep in my berth with these guys around! Can you please switch seats with me. I can see that there s a family here. I will be more comfortable here!”
He got down. “Ok” . he said and made his way to the next cubicle.
Trring ! the alarm rang at 6am! 6.30am and Mangalore junction would arrive. As he climbed down , there she was. Already ready , pulling her luggage out into the alley!
“Hey hi.. getting down ?” he asked. He could see her face now, a cute lil smile on her lips.
“Yup, I am getting down at Mangalore” ,she said!
“But there s still 30 mins right , and I think the train s delayed by 20 mins .. so make it 50” , Manas replied!
“Oh! is it?, I had no clue! Do you stay at mangalore?”
“Nopes, I am going there for a job. And what bout you? Do you work there?”
“No I am in my final year of postgraduation at Father Muller s medical college.”
Ahh , so she was a doctor too! Cool!
Before they could go on with the conversation, the train pulled itself into the station. It was time to get down.
“It was nice talking to you, and thanks for the help last night.” She gave him a sweet smile and walked away, to the pre paid auto stand and faded away from his sight!
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He was really hungry today. A heavy evening OPD meant a lot of talking to do. And that just fuelled his hunger. He made his way to this new restaurant that people had suggested- TRATTORIA. He was gonna have the nice and spicy Manglorean fish with Chicken Schintzels and rice. Yummy!
So as he sat and ordered his food, a familiar laughter greeted his ears, to be followed immediately by the sound of shattered glass. In her carefree style the lady had waved her hand and had hit the glass on the table which had crashed to the floor. The waiter rushed to pick up the pieces.
“Im sooo soryyyyy!” Squealed a familiar voice…
His eyes met hers, one more time! ! ! (‘’,)
She looked as confused as she did that night, in the train.. “im really sorry , I will pay for the glass that I just broke!” She hadn’t yet noticed him staring at her, since almost everyone was.. at the commotion! Soon the dust settled, and she looked around and spotted him! Her eyes acknowledged his presence! As her group finished the dinner, she saw him step out to wash his hands. She quietly got up and made her way too..
“Hey hi, how are you doing? Im sorry I couldn’t converse after getting down from the train that day. I had a class at 8am and had to keep all my stuff in the hostel and then get there. I am Sheetal, what about you?” A gentle nudge from her elbow and he knew it was his turn to speak!
“Hi Sheetal, this is Manas here! Nice to see you again. Do you come here often? This place is quite close to your medical college right?”
Yup, she nodded… and then SHEETAL SHEETAL SHEEETALLLLL,kahaan gayi yeh ladki?!, she could hear her friends cry aloud in the background.
“Oops , gotta go now. You TC and hope that you have a pleasant stay in this new city!”
And as the soft duppatta moved over his hand as she rushed out, his mind wandered into the wilderness of imagination! He could see the shadow move out of the exit door, quickly it turned and waved back at him , before he lost it again…!!
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Six months had passed since he had taken up this assignment. His parents had come down to be with him. Mom wanted to shop and he decided to take her to Janata stores at Hampankatta, the shopping hub at Mangalore! As she strolled and handed over things to be put in the trolley… she told him to get the cooking oil from the first rack . she had forgotten to pick it up from there. Manas went to get it. When he came back, Mom was not to be seen!
Where did mom go, I am sure she must be somewhere in the store. He started looking around and what did he see!!! Lol, mom was happily chatting with another person at the far end of the store. As he moved towards them, a familiar silhouette greeted him! Omg! Mom was talking to… Sheetal!!!… how on earth did this happen?
Manas , idhar aa.. you didn’t tell me that you have a friend in this city who s also from Mumbai? Sheetal was staring at him too. Running away wasn’t an option here. He just managed to say.. Ya MA, I was gonna tell you but looks like she told it before I did. Sheetal bit her lip, and quickly explained that she was in the store when she saw them enter. And when he had gone to get the cooking oil, aunty was standing alone and she introduced herself as his friend. Aunty was happy and wanted to know more about the shopping stores,in the new city, and so she took Sheetal s number!
That night he copied her number from his mom s phone into his phonebook! He was happy for a reason, and he didn’t know why?
10pm -hi , this is my no.. Manas here
10.01pm- hey, so who gave you my no? hehe.. shud I tell aunty that u stole it from her cell ..ha ha
10.01pm- shut up, you almost killed me there.. out of the blue , u pop up and mom s there too!
10.02pm- hehe, I saw ur face then..worth taking a pic.. blushing like crazy!
Well well WELL, that’s how Manas and Sheetal started whatsapping and this continued till next February…
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Not all stories have fairytale endings, but GOD had written a good one here!
They both were madly in love . It had been a year and half since they first met on the train. She had completed her PG training by now. And it was her time to return back to Mumbai. And that made him a tad uncomfortable. Everytime he thought of it, his heart skipped a beat! He had, yet, not proposed to her ! and the fact that she wouldn’t be there in the city made him really uneasy!
What he didn’t know was that all this while his mom too was texting her. She liked Sheetal and had asked her if she would like to marry Manas in the near future , to which she had replied YES! They decided to keep this a secret and surprise Manas later. Mom had communicated with her parents when they went to Mumbai for a week. As luck would have had it, her parents studied in the same college as mom had and since they had a love marriage themselves, were quite happy to let their daughter have it her way!
With this they had fixed up a surprise..
On 14th February Sheetal asked him to take her out on a long road drive along the romantic coastal road..
Enroute was the famous Shri Krishna temple at Udipi . They visited the deity and offered their pranaam. Outside the temple complex, in the courtyard, she made him sit down for a moment and told him that she would get the prasadam, and then they would proceed with the drive along the coast to Honnavar. And then she slid away..and our boy Manas had no clue what was to happen next..
….another elderly couple , a few years younger to his parents , came and sat across him. A young priest and his lad put two wooden stools and a few puja things and flowers around! He was gonna get up, thinking that some small puja probably was on the way , when he saw Sheetal coming back with 2 boxes in her hand. And out of nowhere, accompanying her were his parents. He was surprised! And then when his mom spoke to the other couple, he knew that they were her parents. No wonder, they looked similar to Sheetal.. rather it was the other way around..haha! and out of those 2 boxes came out 2 rings.. and before he knew of it, she had slid one in his fingers and he followed suit.. a surprise but extremely memorable and sweet ENGAGEMENT had just taken place!!!
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Another nudge from her, jolted him back to reality.
Hey, what are you thinking.. tie my mangalsutra tightly.. looks like you just had a recap of JAB WE MET , na Manas???
Yup, he meekly said.. with butterflies in his belly!!
Man and Wife.. a new journey had just begun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
