past TENSE!

I have been asked this question a couple of hundred times.. And I have always managed to get away with gibberish.. And the million dollar question has been: When I did 9yrs of schooling in Mumbai, then why, oh why, did I join an engineering college in Trichy???

Well, I believe it's about time I told the whole truth.. Not because ppl are still asking but because I want to get it off my heart.. And because, I finally know that letting the cat out of the bag won't hurt me.. or the cat..

So here is the unbelievable-but-true, the too-good-to-be-real-yet-possible, the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction sort of story, of what really happened and why I made the move from way west to way south..

It all started in my 10th std. I used to go to my school in BMTC bus which was usually a 20 min ride from Shindevadi to Ruia College stop, both in Dadar. On the way is the great Dadar circle. One fine busy day, as I was on my way to school in bus, we were stuck at the traffic at the Dadar circle. I reached school a bit late but everything was as usual (This specific reference to that incident will be clearer a bit later). That weekend, I got a call at my land line at home (Only my dad had a mobile at that time and the call rates were so costly then that if I had used a mobile then, as I do now, I would surely be one kidney short by now). The caller claimed to be Aishwarya Rai and said she wanted to meet me. I was immediately sure this was some prank call from one of my friends trying to get back at me for some mischief I would have done in school. I chuckled and said "Ya, right!" and I was about to disconnect the call when she said, "Please Vivek. Meet me once.. just once.. At Taj hotel. Today evening 6PM". Even though it sounded incredulous, something in that voice made me agree. So what if it turned out to be a prank call? I get to go to the Taj, right?

That evening, I lied to my parents about meeting some of my friends and went to Taj at around 6.30 (it was completely the traffic's fault! But then, I wasn't that keen in getting laughed at by a bunch of friends so I ll admit that I did take my own time too). When I reached Taj, I was escorted in by the smiling guard at the entrance.. I was feeling good as I walked in, until the manager came and looked at me as if I was a leper asking for some assistance in scratching my back! I told my name and said I was being expected. The effect was immediate. From disbelief evident by the raised eyebrows to astonishment and finally amusement. He smiled and led me in and gave me directions to one of the tables. From where I was walking in, I could see someone already seated at the table with their back towards me.. And I was instantly sure it was no friend of mine. She was taller than any of my friends and looked.. mature.. I just went ahead to the table and was about to sit down.. and I glanced up to see who it really was.. Bolt out of the blue - it really was ASH! The great Aishwarya Rai herself! The lady touted as the World's most beautiful woman!

I was frozen in mid seating posture. Back arched with my butt a few inches off the seat with my eyes bulging out of the sockets! She smiled and asked me to sit down. I just nodded and did as asked. Because of all the shock, I don't remember her exact words but the crux of the matter was, she saw me sitting in bus in the signal and she immediately felt this huge crush and in her words "I think I am in love!".. disbelief was replaced with panic. This can't be true.. I was half expecting someone to jump up from behind and scream BAKRA!! But a couple of mins passed with none of that happening. Just her.. looking at me expectantly.. I swallowed hard and drank a bit of water with trembling hands.. the water was just too cold.. but it helped get my head a bit straight. I looked up at her again. Smiled and with a dumb look on my face said "Excuse me?" She told me again that she thought she loved me and wanted to give it a shot.

This was getting out of hand now.. I told her that I wasn't sure of what to say.. that I was still doing my 10th.. that she was a good 10yrs elder to me.. that my parents would never agree for a love marriage.. that I couldn't even think of the status gap that we had.. (ofcourse, I didn't mention that I had always liked Sush more than her).. but she would have none of it.. she gave me the usual crap of age doesn't matter as long as two ppl love each other, that we can wait till I finish my studies, that she would convince my parents and that she didn't care about my status as long as I loved her, etc.. But I knew I was in over my head.. I didn't want my life going crazy!! or public! I said "I am sorry, but I can't" and left..

A couple of days later, right when I was starting to get back to normal, she called me again.. She said she thought about what I said, but she could just not forget me.. That her love is true.. and that I should at the least give her a chance to prove her love to me.. Hearing nothing from my end, she added that she would wait till 7pm at the Gate way of India and then jump over if I did not come.. It was weekday and I knew there wouldn't be that many ppl there.. and from her voice, it sounded as if she really meant it. So I did end up going there.. this time, on time.. but I waited some distance away.. wanting to make sure.. but there she was.. heavily dressed up so it would be hard for others to identify.. at 1 min past 7, she climbed on the railing.. and kept looking back.. as if searching for someone.. I couldn't risk it anymore.. I went to her.. she looked at me and I could see she had been crying.. and then she laughed, ran towards me and gave me a tight hug.. we went back to her car.. I set down my terms.. we would never meet in public. She would not call on my landline repeatedly, we would wait till my studies were over and we would marry only if both our parents accepted.. she eagerly nodded yes to all.. she gave me a kiss on the cheeks and dropped me near my home..

And that was the beginning of a roller coaster relationship! I came to know Sallu got pissed that she dumped him for me.. When he "chanced" to meet me, I was half dead with fear.. but he just warned me not to hurt her.. and left.. and that's when I saw that behind all that anger and muscles was indeed a man good at heart.. grossly overlooked and grossly misunderstood.. I have developed that deep respect for Sallu ever since.. even though we never met or talked after that..

Ash was a completely different thing altogether.. she was sweet, breathtakingly beautiful (at that time and at close proximity), intelligent but also possessive and a bit whimsical.. she would call me repeatedly on my landline and ask me to come and meet her near my home and threaten to come to my home if I didn't agree.. to avoid being seen by others, we would just drive around in her car talking a lot about ourselves.. I could sense a void within her.. a want to belong to something.. that in all this media glitz, she had lost who she was.. and I actually started liking her.. my parents started getting suspicious of the numerous calls I was getting.. She got me a mobile that I hid from home and used.. we spent hours on the phone.. of course, she paid the bill..

I couldn't concentrate on my studies.. my grades took a beating.. I blamed it on cable tv and video games.. I had a bit of trouble finding a good junior college but finally managed to get into one of the then lesser known junior colleges.. and then things went from bad to worse.. she started getting way too possessive.. she would somehow know of all the girls I talked to in class or in lab.. and she would question me about it.. in the beginning, it felt good to be "wanted" by someone so badly.. but with time, the relationship became a chore.. with my regular classes, coaching classes for 12th and her shooting schedule, we ended up fighting more often. By the time I was finishing my 12th, my grades were just average, my life was miserable and I felt suffocated.. I had to break free.. but I didn't know how.. I knew it wasn't the right thing to do.. but I really felt that I had no other choice..

That's when my dad unknowingly became my savior.. He took a VRS from the bank he was working in and was contemplating going back south and settle down at our house in Salem. I showed my total support to that decision. But I knew she knew about our house in Salem and that would only make it easier for her to track me. But my luck shone for once.. I hadn't written the CET and so most of the colleges were out of question.. Until I got an offer from a college in Trichy. A free management seat. I jumped at the chance and within a span of 3 days, left Mumbai and came to Trichy.

It was difficult getting used to Trichy. Not that it was bad.. just that it was very different from Mumbai. In every aspect.. I had told only my closet 3-4 friends about my moving.. so it was harder for her to track me.. but I heard from my sources that she searched a lot for me.. for months together.. she even tried contacting my friends anonymously to get any info about me..

Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore and hooked up with Vivek. Probably she wanted to spite me.. probably she thought some Vivek is better than no Vivek.. But obviously, that didn't help her get over me.. the more she was with him, the more she was reminded of me.. And ppl were starting to notice the change in her behavior.. So to get over me completely, she decided that it had to be someone with a high profile.. so that she could convince herself that she had the best.. and everyone knows that the most high profiled family in Bolly ville is the Big B family.. That's how, she finally hooked up with Small B and married him.. And I was the happiest when I heard about her marriage coz I no longer had to carry the guilt for what I had done to her..

And that is what happened.. that is how I ended up doing my schooling in Mumbai and studying BE in Trichy even though my parents were in Salem. That is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.. I know you think this is incredulous.. but other than her affinity towards younger men, here are the collaborating facts which cannot be explained by anything but what I have revealed:

1. Ash dumping Sallu
2. My grades taking a dip since 10th
3. Ash hooking up with the other Vivek
4. Ash dumping the other Vivek
5. Ash going for Small B

Now I heard she is going to have a baby. And I am really glad she moved on and recreated a world for herself where she is happy and content.. I don't regret what I did. I just wish there had been some other way to do it.. She may no longer be a part of my life, but those memories (which had remained a secret till now) will always be a part of me.. The experience with the fast lane was something that taught me a lot... And I ll always cherish them..

Ash: I am sorry I told the truth out now. But I am sure no one will believe it anyways, so you don't have to worry. All the best for your career, life and your kid. Thanks.. And sorry.. for everything...

Small B: You don't know how lucky you are. She is worth every trouble that you might face. Always cherish her and never hurt her in any way. Coz if you do, Sallu won't be the only one after you!


Sallu:  Sooner or later, ppl ll see the gem of a person that you are, behind all that machismo!