Can Love Happen Twice? (3 page)

‘Okay, let me ask Manpreet now. Tell me, Manpreet, when did you guys get to know that you were going to be a part of this book? And how did you react when you got to know that this story begins with you guys?’

Manpreet took a breath or two before he spoke. He almost began his answer with a dragging ‘Hmmm …’ But then he paused, thinking deeply, after which he got going with his reply. ‘Well, interestingly, I got to know about it once the book was in the market,’ he said, and smiled. His smile initiated Shambhavi’s smile.

‘You mean Ravin didn’t tell you while he was writing?’

‘No, he didn’t. And had he done that I would have got my character portrayed in a better way.’ Manpreet chuckled, and then added, ‘Actually, I was in the US while Ravin wrote this book and got it published.’

‘How about you, Amardeep?’ Shambhavi turned her head to probe Raamji.

Amardeep continued smiling and clarified the picture, saying, ‘Only Happy knew about it. For the rest of us it was a sweet surprise.’ Giving a naughty look to Manpreet, he added playfully, ‘And I believe Ravin has already projected MP’s character in a much better way.’

Everyone laughed.

‘All right, folks. We have just begun, and we will continue to chat more with our guests on their lives, Ravin’s life and the novel
I Too Had a Love Story
. And yes, if you want to ask them your questions, call us at 9892792792. Our lines have just opened. So, Chandigarh, keep alive the spirit of Valentine’s Day as we catch the first caller among you, right after this romantic song!’

Shambhavi pushed the scroller on the console, playing a new song, and muted the microphone.

‘It’s going well, guys,’ she announced, congratulating them with a thumbs-up sign. They smiled back with hoots of ‘Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!’

Shambhavi then pulled out a cigarette case from the drawer underneath the desk and offered it to the others; they declined politely.

‘Excuse me, then,’ she said as she made her way out of the room for a quick smoke. ‘I’ll be back in two minutes before the song gets over. But guys, please ask Ravin to turn up in the next fifteen minutes. The show is turning out to be bigger than what we expected.’

Amardeep wanted to say something, but Happy placed a hand on his thigh and stopped him.

In Shambhavi’s absence Manpreet was the first to admire her.

‘She is hot!’

Happy looked at Manpreet before turning to catch Amardeep’s eye. Smiling indulgently, both gave Manpreet a look that seemed to say ‘dude, you won’t change’.

‘Asshole,’ Happy murmured.

Manpreet cautiously verified that the mute button had actually been turned on.

‘What? Isn’t she?’ he said, trying to lighten the moment.

In a few moments Shambhavi got back in the room. She was talking on her cellphone. She was still in a euphoric mood about that evening’s show being a hit. ‘You guys tried to reach Ravin, na?’ she asked, putting a hand over the mouthpiece of her phone before promptly resuming her conversation without bothering to wait for the answer.

No one answered but Happy gave a wry smile to his buddies, knowing that Shambhavi wasn’t looking at them.

The song was about to end when Shambhavi lined up some ads to be played in tandem.

‘Hey! There is our first caller,’ Shambhavi announced in excitement seeing the green light blinking on the bottom right of her monitor screen.

She waited for an insurance ad to end and then proceeded to receive the call. Quickly turning off the mute button, she connected the radio station to Chandigarh. She made every listener hear that one ring before she pushed the receive button.

‘Hello,’ she wished the caller.

No response came from the other side.

‘Hello-o-o-o. Who is this?’ she asked.

This time a sweet voice replied, ‘Hi Shambhavi. I am Ritika.’

‘Hi Ritika, how are you doing tonight?’ Shambhavi was very sweet to her, very unlike the way she was to Shantanu.

‘I am doing very good, Shambhavi. I am so excited that my call got connected. I had been trying every second, since the time you said your lines are opening.’ She giggled excitedly, indicating how unbelievable this experience was for her.

‘So, Ritika, tell us what you do?’

‘Shambhavi, I am pursuing BSc from Punjab University.’

‘That’s nice. So are you celebrating Valentine’s Day today?’

‘Yes, I am,’ came the shy reply. One could sense her shy smile too.

‘My boyfriend and I have been together all evening, and now we’re going to have dinner together.’

‘That’s so nice to hear, Ritika. Okay, so quickly ask your question. Before that, tell me who you want to ask this question to.’

‘Shambhavi, I would have loved to ask this question to Ravin himself but even though he is not present at this moment, I can’t help myself from asking this question to Ravin’s friends … I have read
I Too Had a Love Story
scores of times and it has become my favourite book. I have even gifted it to so many people. But every time I complete reading the book there is a sudden curiosity that takes hold of me. There is this question which hovers in my mind—but then what happened to Ravin?… I mean, did he ever come out of the tragedy? Where is he now, what is he doing, etc.? I want to know from Happy, Manpreet and Amardeep how their friend Ravin is doing now. I hope he is doing well.’

As soon as she completed her question the line was deliberately disconnected as per usual practice.

As the guest’s question ended, Shambhavi looked up at the three friends and raised her eyebrows expectantly, with a smile on her lips.

A strange emptiness followed thereafter. Shambhavi raised her hand and moved her lips to mutely pronounce ‘speak up’. She fixed her gaze at Happy, who signalled Amardeep to do the needful.

Amardeep came closer to the microphone.

‘Hi Ritika. Thanks for your kind words on
I Too Had a Love Story
.’ Amardeep’s voice became softer as he considered what he had to say next. He continued, ‘And I am sorry that I am going to give you some sad news as the answer to your question … Ravin … um … er … ah …’ Amardeep’s voice faltered.

Manpreet held Amardeep’s hand supportively.

Happy lowered his eyes to the ground, facing no one. Shambhavi stared, agape. All of a sudden she had her full attention on the three friends present in her radio station and talking to Chandigarh. Amardeep’s statement triggered an alarm in her mind about where her show was heading.

Taking a deep breath, Amardeep went ahead.

‘It’s sad news. Our Ravin … is not what he once used to be. He is in an unstable state of mind and not doing well. He is suffering from MDD—Major Depressive Disorder. He has been admitted into a rehabilitation centre.’

‘RAVIN!! … RAVIN!!!!! … WHY DID YOU COME OUT? WHY DO YOU DO THIS EVERY TIME? … WARD BOY!!!!!! … WARD BOY!!!!!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?’

The voice shatters the silence. The nurse continues to shout as she runs towards ward no. 4.

‘Come, get up, child … Ravin, get up, my boy …’

She helps him get up and takes him to his bed. All this time he is silent and calm.

He opens his fist and gazes one more time at those few spoiled feathers that he has been holding in his hands for so long.

He slips them under his cushion, squeezes his hands in between his legs and sleeps.

Outside the radio station, Amardeep’s last statement raced across the airwaves. It was breaking news! The listeners of the show who had read Ravin’s love story were in a state of shock. They chatted among themselves to reconfirm if what they heard was correct and if others were aware of this.

The traffic on the fog-smothered roads of Chandigarh almost halted. The news which emerged from Superhits 93.5 RED FM now travelled through various mobile phones as well. The flurry of phone calls and messages flying from phone to phone had surged to a level never witnessed in the past. More people tuned in, wondering what happened to Ravin. The TRP ratings for the show skyrocketed, breaking every record that any radio station would have set in Chandigarh.

There was pin-drop silence in the cars, homes and surroundings of the radio listeners. There were shocked listeners, heartbroken readers and a mass of curious people desperately waiting to listen to Amardeep’s voice again.

Back in the radio room, the scene was complicated. The self-confident Shambhavi was now stunned, unable to believe what she had just heard. She simply muted the speaker and held her hand on her forehead in wonder, looking at her guests. She was angry and, at the same time, clueless.

It was unusual for any radio channel to have complete silence when the RJ and guests were present in the station. No talks, no songs, no ads—just a chaotic emptiness. The listeners were already anxious to know what had actually happened.

‘Shantanu was trying to tell you this when you ignored him,’ said Happy politely to Shambhavi.

Shambhavi quickly regained her feet on the ground and yelled, ‘But you guys could have still revealed this to me! My entire script for this show has turned obsolete.’

Visibly angry, she lashed out at everyone in the room.

‘Don’t worry, we have the script with us,’ said Manpreet placatingly.

‘What do you mean you have the script?’ she retorted.

‘Allow us to speak to the listeners and you will find out,’ said Happy.

Considering the current situation, Shambhavi knew she didn’t have much choice. Amardeep went live again. And that was a relief to the listeners who, by now, had assumed that long break in the broadcast to be a technical glitch.

Amardeep resumed his part of the speech. He spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully. ‘Certainly …’ he said and stopped for a while.

This single word was sufficient to alleviate the listeners’ anxiety and hook them back to the show.

He continued: ‘Certainly life hasn’t been good to him, else the guy who taught many of us what love is wouldn’t have lost his battle of life because of his loss in love.’

‘You mean he could not bear the loss of his girlfriend?’ Shambhavi asked that question live on radio. Everyone—both inside the radio station and outside—listened with bated breath.

‘Yes,’ came Amardeep’s reply.

‘But we thought that after penning down his tribute to his girlfriend, Ravin was successfully able to bring himself back to life.’

‘Yes, he was,’ Happy repeated.

‘Then? What happened then?’ Shambhavi demanded in an interrogative tone, as though she hoped that whatever she had heard a few minutes back wasn’t true.

‘He failed to do so when something similar happened for the second time.’

There was a momentary silence. Clearing her throat, Shambhavi asked, ‘Second time?’

Amardeep didn’t look at her but kept his eyes glued to the microphone. He inhaled and exhaled deeply before he slowly spoke again.

‘Yes … the second time. Not many people know this. Years after Khushi was gone, love knocked at Ravin’s door … for the second time,’ revealed Amardeep.

Hearing this, Shambhavi smartly anounced the next songs to be played on the show and proceeded with the same. She utilized this time in understanding what was on Amardeep’s mind. The four of them had a round of quick talks to answer Shambhavi’s queries.

Learning what was on their agenda Shambhavi underwent a state of metamorphosis. All of a sudden she discovered a great show ahead and scribbled some ideas on to a piece of paper in front of the others. She shared how she wanted to choreograph the remaining part of the show and extracted a promise from everyone that there would be no more surprises for her. Having prepared herself, the next time they went on air, she said:

‘Ravin … To me this is the name of a brave man. A man who fell in love with the utmost commitment to his beloved. A man who, with his pious tribute to his dead girlfriend, brought her back in this world. A man who had been brave enough to yet again allow love to make its way into his life. Though the truth of the moment is brutal, there is an untouched subject which, on this V-Day’s night, we want to touch base with. Apart from Ravin’s friends here on the show, no one knew that Ravin was writing his second book. A story about himself which he has unfortunately not been able to complete. And I am glad to state that our guests here on this show have got that incomplete book of Ravin’s with them. Yes! For the very first time, we are going to hold a reading of Ravin’s most awaited second novel—
Can Love Happen Twice?
Perhaps something like this is happening for the first time in the history of radio! So all you listeners, stay tuned to listen to this first-ever live reading of an unpublished book when we return. Till then here goes the next song for you.’

The next song occupied listeners for a couple of minutes, which made the listeners more anxious.

Outside the audio room, staff members of the radio station could be seen pressed against the glass window of the wooden door, making frantic gestures that seemed to ask: ‘What the hell is going on?’ Shambhavi simply smiled back and made some crazy gestures with her hands, assuring the staff members that she would handle the situation. But the crowd still remained, giving back counter-gestures.

It was a chaotic situation for the listeners of radio as well. Many of them were emotional, many had no clue of what was happening. But, overall, everyone wanted to know exactly what had happened to Ravin after Khushi and, more importantly, what series of events made him land up in a rehabilitation centre.

A lot of action followed in the next few minutes. Everything that ran in the radio station ran fast. Time was limited and a lot was needed to be done. The focus had now shifted from Ravin’s first book to his second. Shambhavi picked her extension phone only to give brisk commands like: ‘Come in ASAP!’

Interrupting the mutual discussion between Happy, Manpreet and Amardeep, she buzzed the bell. ‘Guys! Where is the book?’

Happy picked up his bag which he had placed on the floor beside his chair and answered, ‘Here.’

‘All right. Who is going to read it?’ Shambhavi raced with her next question.

‘Hmm … Anyone among us,’ Manpreet answered.