Sorry, You're Not My Type (2 page)

‘I am not paying attention to him. I’m listening to his voice. I am sure there is a lot of pain inside him. And anyway, I was just checking out the interiors of the lounge. Quite nice, no?’ I said trying to change the topic.

‘Chuck it. Here comes peri peri chicken. Taste it. It’s one of the best dishes available here,’ she smirked.

‘Is it? Do you even understand the meaning of the name? Firstly Mia Bella and now this peri peri. This place seems funny.’

She stared at me and I knew it was time for me to keep quiet. I ate my meal in silence. The peri peri chicken was indeed delicious. We followed up the meal with a few drinks.

‘Adi, it feels so good to meet you after almost two years. I so wish that you stayed permanently in Delhi. Then you would have been just a call away whenever I needed you.’

‘I am still a call away. Anything for you. Just don’t call me too often. It will reflect in your bank statement otherwise,’ I laughed.

‘I’m not a baniya like you. Thank God you’re not my boyfriend,’ she replied.

‘I was kidding. Okay, where is my surprise? You said that you had something for me. Where is it?’ I looked here and there to tease her.

She gave me a naughty smile and looked at the manager, gesturing him to bring something in. I was curious to know what she had planned for the evening. She looked excited and nervous too.

After a few minutes, the manager came back holding a huge cake. As soon as he kept the cake on the table, the same singer whose voice had completely mesmerized me played a mellow song on his guitar. I looked at him and we exchanged smiles.

The cake had a picture of me holding a book in my hand. It was Sakshi’s favourite picture of me. She had got the cake custom-made especially for the evening. Her gesture made me feel extremely special. The cake was a chocoholic’s dream. Rich, thick, and creamy, with a layer of Oreo cookie crumble in the middle.

‘Should I take the honour of cutting it myself?’ I smiled looking at my image on the cake.

‘Yes please. Kindly go ahead. I want to eat you tonight,’ she said giving me a wicked smile.

‘Then I better cut the other part of the cake as I don’t want to spoil the night,’ I laughed.

‘You moron. You can never change.’ She hugged me as I cut the cake.

I fed the first piece of cake to Sakshi followed by the manager. The cake was then cut into smaller pieces and offered to everyone present at the pub. I took one piece of the cake and went towards the singer sitting on the stage. He was still very engrossed in singing. I went closer to him and offered him a piece of the cake. He sensed affection from me and got up to give me a big hug. His hug made me feel like he was hiding immense pain inside him. I wanted to know what was troubling him but waited for the right time to question.

‘I hope you loved the surprise,’ Sakshi asked wiping the cake from her mouth.

‘You made my day. I feel so special. I will remember this moment forever. I am so lucky to have a friend like you in my life. God has been kind to me.’

I still remember the first day we met. We were too shy to talk then, and look at us now! We’ve become the best of friends. True friendship is rare these days and I’ve been lucky to have met and made friends with people whom I can trust blindly. Sakshi was one of them. Our bond was extremely special and unique in its own way. I loved her fun personality which somehow never failed to impress me. She was always there for me whenever I felt blue. The world would definitely be a better place with more people like her.

It was almost 12 am and the pub was supposed to shut down by 1. She introduced me to the manager Anuj, who happened to be her friend. The first few minutes between us were a bit awkward but then I finally decided to break the ice.

‘Anuj, can I ask you one thing? Something’s been on my mind ever since we came to this place,’ I whispered.

‘Yes. What’s bothering you?’ he asked pulling out a chair. ‘This guy. The singer. Do you know anything about him?’ I continued.

‘Not really. But I know that he was a part of one of the most famous college bands in Delhi.’

My sixth sense was right! But why was he here? If he had been a part of one of the most famous bands in Delhi, why was he performing in a restaurant? The more I thought about it, the more I felt he was hiding something and that there was more to him than met the eye.

‘Can you introduce me to him?’ I requested.

I turned to look at Sakshi, anticipating a long speech. But to my surprise, she too looked interested in knowing who the guy really was.

‘Why not? Give me a minute. Let me go talk to him,’ said Anuj and started walking towards the singer.

We watched them talking in hushed tones from a distance. Then the guy laid down his guitar near the bar counter and started walking towards us. Sakshi nudged me to lead the introductions.

‘Hi, I am Aditya. This is my friend Sakshi. Please take a seat,’ I offered.

He took a chair and sat next to us. He looked around but didn’t utter a word. Silence filled the air. By then the music had stopped too. We were the only ones left in the pub.

‘Anuj told me that you were part of a famous college band. Must have been exciting?’

‘No,’ he replied.

‘Don’t worry. We all are friends,’ Anuj said trying to make him feel at ease.

‘May I know your band name?’ Sakshi asked him.

He stared at her for a few seconds. He seemed lost. Though he was physically with us, his mind was elsewhere. Finally, he looked me in the eye and said, ‘VAYU’.

I don’t know what came over me when he said that name but by then I had made up my mind that I had to ask him everything about the band. Every minute detail. I asked him if he felt comfortable answering my questions.

‘I don’t mind you asking me about the band even though it will bring back all the memories I’d rather keep hidden away. But I just want to know why it is of interest to you? You had nothing to do with the band.’

I ordered drinks for all of us. Considering the manager was Sakshi’s friend, he did not say no even though the pub had shut down by then. It was like a wave of curiosity had engulfed him as well.

‘Dude, everyone has a bitter past. We all go through so much in life. We should not cry over past memories but learn from them. The best thing about the worst time of your life is that you get to see the truth behind everyone you’ve ever cared for. If you think you’re okay with sharing your story with us, then please do. We’d love to hear it.’

I tried my best to convince him. Sakshi also did her part by making him understand that we were not being intrusive but were fascinated to know more. After Anuj’s repeated requests, he finally gave in.

‘Can I have a glass of water?’ he asked Anuj.

Anuj went to bring a glass of water for him. By that time, even the bar counter had shut. I had already called for drinks. I was just about to shoot my first question when the guy broke the silence.

‘I am Vikrant, the drummer of the band VAYU.’

I looked at him with curiosity. He had a slight smile on his face. His eyes spoke a thousand words.

‘We use to be one of the most promising bands on the scene. Rajhans College was proud to have a band like us. ‘We had named it VAYU.’

‘Interesting. But why are you here? Is this your part-time job? And if you were the drummer, then how were you playing the guitar so flawlessly and singing in such a mesmerizing voice?’ I asked.

‘You ask too many questions. Relax,’ he said taking a sip of the drink in his hand.

I closed my eyes and waited for him to continue. I had no idea what he had gone through and how he had landed in this situation. I had no idea about their band but I was eager to know more. Within a few minutes, he had left everyone engrossed.

‘Every person has a story to tell. Some live forever and some die young. Every dream has wings. Some fly forever and some are torn young. Life is so strange. Sometimes it gives you so much that you don’t know how to handle it and sometimes it takes away all that it gave you in the same breath. I was caught between two people. They were my best friends in college. But I liked her more than him. Not because she was beautiful but because she was brave enough to face the cruel world on her own and in her own style. She had a carefree attitude but somewhere within her, she cared for everyone she knew.’

‘What was her name?’ Sakshi couldn’t resist asking.

‘Anamika. The “A
”
of VAYU
.’

As he recalled his past, I knew I was about to hear the most thrilling story ever…

VAYU–The Wave

Rajhans College, Delhi

30th July, 2012

‘A
re you Anamika? Miss Malini wants you in the auditorium,’ informed the college peon.

‘Thanks,’ she replied and headed towards the auditorium.

Brought up in Delhi, Anamika had secured admission in Rajhans College for a BCom course through the Extracurricular Activities (ECA) Quota. She was beautiful, with a lot of style and grace. The red highlights in her hair shone in the sunlight. She had an I-don’t-care attitude about her and hated bitching, unlike the other girls in college. She never feared taking risks and could do anything when challenged. She was smoking hot and loved getting tattoos inked on her body. She had got two done so far. One was of a peacock on her lower back and the other was of a butterfly on the left side of her neck. Though she never paid attention to what others thought of her, secretly she wanted to be loved by everyone. She was a firm believer in spirituality. She always dreamt of being part of a college band and had strived hard to see her dream turn into a reality. She was fond of dancing as well and wanted to be a dancer for the band.

The first semester of college had commenced on 23rd July. Rajhans College was holding auditions for the college band and had shortlisted a few students within the first week. Anamika had high hopes of getting selected. She nervously walked towards the auditorium.

‘Hello ma’am, may I come in?’ she asked in a low tone.

‘Anamika, I’ve been waiting for you. How are you doing?’ said the teacher keeping the files in her hand on the table in front of her. Anamika gave her a warm smile trying to hide her nervousness. Without any more delay, the teacher told her that she had been shortlisted for the band along with two other guys. Her happiness knew no bounds. She screamed out loudly, forgetting she was still in the college premises and that classes were going on.

‘Thank you so much. I have no words to say. It was my dream to get shortlisted. I am on cloud nine.’

‘Your group still has to clear the final round of auditions. One more group will perform along with you. The best one wins,’ she said in a tone of authority.

‘My group? Who are the rest of the band members?’ Anamika questioned.

‘Vikrant and Yuvi. I have informed Yuvi about his selection and he’ll be here any moment now. Can you call up Vikrant and ask him by when he will reach?’ she said handing her phone to Anamika. It had Vikrant’s number displaying on the screen.

Anamika dialled Vikrant’s number and after a brief introduction, asked him about his whereabouts. Vikrant told her that he was in the metro and would reach college in an hour.

Vikrant, like Anamika, had got admission in Rajhans College through the ECA Quota. He was well-built and six feet tall. He never combed his hair and liked to wear them spiked in the front. He was smart looking and did not smoke or drink. He was, what we call, a ‘one woman’ man.

He entered a not-so crowded metro and took a seat. In front of him stood a beautiful girl dressed in a pink salwar-kameez. She had wheatish skin and lustrous black hair that she wore in a ponytail. He gazed at her for a few seconds and looked the other way to avoid embarrassment. As more and more people entered the metro with each passing station, it became difficult for him to see the girl clearly. After some time she stared back at him which made his heart beat even faster than before. It gave him the courage to look at her again. As she cast a glance at him, he stared back at her and their eyes met. It was like the world had come to a standstill. And in that split second of pure bliss, he felt like she was as attracted to him as he was to her. Their mutual attraction became stronger with each passing minute. He imagined a scenario where she would be on his side and he would be in complete ecstasy as he held her close to him. Perhaps on the beach, hearing the sounds of the waves crashing, feeling the cool water beneath their feet. She would then pull his face to her lips as he would pull her body closer to him. All of this raced through his mind as she looked at him for those three and a half seconds. Their mutual gaze made him realize this could be the start of something grand. He had already imagined a lifetime with her when suddenly a woman’s voice brought him back to reality.

‘Agla station Rajeev Chowk hai. The next station is Rajeev Chowk. Darwaaze baayi aur khulenge. Kripya darwaze se hat kar khade hoye. Doors will open on the left. Please stand clear of the door.’

He looked for her amid the crowd and saw her standing near the door. He looked at her for one final time before the door opened and she exited, disappearing from his eyesight. With every move, she enchanted his heart. He felt like she was looking back at him and that their eyes met for a fleeting second. Before he could continue dreaming about the girl, his station came and he got down from the metro. As he walked towards the exit gate, he thought about the auditions he had given earlier for their college’s lead band. Anamika had already told him that he had been shortlisted and he was excited and geared up for the final audition round.