SEPTEMBER 12
Pages
from the Diary of My Life
Short
Fiction - a Love Story
By
VIKRAM KARVE
This story is a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
NB:
No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.
Copyright © Vikram Karve - all rights reserved
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
SEPTEMBER 12 - a love story by Vikram Karve
12 September 1977
Shivalik Hostel IIT Delhi
VIJAY and ME
It is our
21st Birthday.
Yes, we
are both 21 years old today.
Vijay and
I were born on the same day.
Our
hostel-mates brought a specially ordered birthday cake all the way from CP from
the famous Wenger’s Bakery for Vijay and me, and we celebrated our birthday in
our hostel canteen at tea time.
We have
been celebrating our birthday together for the last 12 years – for 7 years in
our boarding school at Lovedale near Ooty and then for 5 years here at IIT
Delhi.
But this
is a special occasion for two reasons.
We are 21
years old.
And this
may be our last birthday together as who knows where we will be next year,
after we finish our B. Tech. engineering course and each of us go our own ways
pursuing our own careers in the journey of our lives.
To
celebrate this special occasion we decide to booze – for the first time in our
lives.
So we get
a bottle of Whisky from the booze shop in Green Park and lots of Tandoori
Chicken and Kababs from Essex Farms in Hauz Khas.
Then we
sit on the terrace and drink and talk, reminisce about our childhood and the
good times we had together.
By the
time we kill the bottle of whisky, we are gloriously drunk.
In that
glorious drunken state we make a promise to each other - we promise each other
that we will meet every year on the 12th of September to celebrate
our birthdays together.
12 September 1978
Bangalore
VIJAY and ME
As
promised we meet on our birthday.
This is
our first birthday after we passed out with our B. Tech. degrees.
Vijay
comes down from Ahmedabad where he is doing his Management at the elite IIM.
I pick him
up from the station and we drive down on my scooter to my room in the trainee
hostel.
In the
morning I show him my workplace – my impressive factory – and then my boss
gives me the day off to celebrate my birthday.
We scooter
down to heart of town and spend a few hours loafing, window-shopping and ogling
at the PYTs strolling on Brigade Road and MG Road, and later, after a few
beers, we enjoy a “Cabaret” (our first) at a restaurant called “Three Aces”.
Emboldened
by “Dutch Courage” fuelled by the alcohol in our veins we want to do something
more “adventurous”.
But I
chicken out once I see those “sexy females”.
To Vijay,
I do not admit that I am scared, but I say that I have pangs of conscience in
doing such “sinful” things.
Vijay
instantly agrees. He looks relieved. I think he too is feeling anxious about
the whole sordid thing.
So we beat
a hasty retreat and end our 22nd Birthday with our virtue unspoiled
and our virginity intact.
12 September 1982
Visakhapatnam (Vizag)
VIJAY USHA and ME
I really
like Usha, Vijay’s brand new wife.
She is a
plump, graceful girl with a very pretty face and a sincere, friendly smile
which radiates a charming innocence.
They were
married just a month ago and I couldn’t attend their wedding as I was abroad
for over three years.
That is
why I am so happy that I could keep our 12th September birthday date
after a gap of four years (we met last on 12 September 1978 in Bangalore,
remember!)
They say
that when a woman finds her way into a group of men friends, especially two
close friends like Vijay and me, the friendship among men sometimes
disintegrates.
But after
meeting Usha, I know that is not going to happen.
Usha is a
“back-home-type” small town girl and has a certain innocent charm about her.
She
welcomes me into her home with such honest warmth and genuine affection that I
know we are going to get along very well and the bonds of my friendship with
Vijay are going to be strengthened.
“How come
you landed up in Vizag?” I ask Vijay.
“You have
to prove yourself in the field before they take you to the company headquarters
in Mumbai,” Vijay says.
Vijay has
specialized in Marketing at IIM and has landed up a lucrative job at a famous
FMCG company and has been given the most challenging assignment.
Vijay
cribs about Vizag being quite a boring place.
But his
wife Usha says, “I wish we stay here. I love Visakhapatnam. It is such a nice
place, the people are so good here and we are very happy here. I don’t want to
go to big city like Mumbai.”
Vijay has
taken the day off so we drive down the east coast road to Rishikonda Beach and
swim in the sea.
Vijay
keeps calling Usha to join us in the water for a swim but she seems quite shy.
Usha sits
on the beach in her sari and watches us enjoy ourselves frolicking in the cool
blue water of the Bay of Bengal.
In the
evening, Vijay and I sip chilled beer on the lush green lawns of the Waltair
Club.
We both
insist to Usha that she come along with us to the club, but Usha remains at
home.
Usha tells
us to enjoy ourselves but she insists that we come home for dinner as she will
be cooking something special for the occasion.
Vijay
starts talking about his newly wedded wife, “Sorry about Usha, yaar, she is quite a prudish type. She
just doesn’t want to go out anywhere. You saw how shy she was at the beach.”
“Hey,
don’t say that. She is the best thing that happened to you. You are lucky to
get such a good wife,” I say.
When we
get home I am impressed by the awesome way in which Usha has decorated the
house for our birthday.
Usha has
baked a birthday cake for both of us.
We cut the
freshly baked birthday cake and then all of us enjoy a sumptuous dinner.
For both
of us, Vijay and I, it was a memorable birthday indeed.
Early next
morning I say goodbye, we promise to meet next year, and then I catch the
morning flight out of Vizag.
12 September 1984
Mumbai
VIJAY USHA NISHA and ME
Well, I
could not make it last year, on the 12th of September 1983, as I was
abroad on a project, so we meet after a gap of 2 years.
Vijay has
moved up the ladder pretty fast.
Just
recently, he has been posted to the Head Office of his FMCG Company.
That is
the beauty of being an IIM graduate – you move up very fast.
I wish I
too had had taken the IIM route instead of deciding to be a hard-core engineer
where you have to slog it out in the field, especially if you land up in
“projects”.
I sit with
Vijay’s wife Usha sipping tea in the balcony of their 3rd floor sea
facing company flat on Marine Drive.
We watch
the sunset – it is a spectacular sight – the interplay of colours in the sky
and the sun is being swallowed by the placid blue waters of the Arabian Sea.
After the
sun sets, the lights on the Queen’s Necklace come on – it looks fascinating.
The phone
rings and Usha goes inside to pick it up.
“You have
a shower and get ready,” Usha says, “I’ll get ready too. Vijay said he’ll be
here in half an hour and we will go straightaway to the club.”
“Club? Why
club? Let’s sit at home. You cook something simple. We’ll just sit and chat,” I
say.
“Vijay
said we’ll all go to the club,” Usha says with finality.
When Vijay
arrives, there is a woman with him.
She looks
beautiful, chic and very elegant.
Vijay
introduces us to each other.
The woman’s
name is Nisha and she is Vijay’s colleague in his office. She has an MBA in
finance, was working abroad for some years, and has now joined his company as finance
manager.
But my
sixth sense tells me that this woman Nisha is much more than a mere colleague.
Nisha goes
in to freshen up.
“I hope you
don’t mind if Nisha comes with us,” Vijay says to me.
“Of course
I mind,” I say, “we don’t want outsiders in our get-together, do we?”
“Let her
come,” Usha pleads with me, “Poor thing. Nisha has just come back to India
after getting out of a bad marriage. She has no one else in Mumbai and Vijay is
helping her settle down.”
“She’ll be
good company,” Vijay says.
“I hope
you are not trying to set me up with her?” I ask, tongue-in-cheek.
We start
laughing, but suddenly Nisha comes in.
We drive
to the club.
Usha sits
beside Vijay in front, and Nisha sits with me in the rear of Vijay’s new Maruti
800 car – a prized possession, as he is one of the lucky guys to get a much
sought after Maruti Car from the first lot.
The
smallness of the car creates a forced intimacy between Nisha and me.
Nisha sits
close to me, the aroma of her perfume is enticing, our bodies touch and I feel
aroused by her tantalizing sensuousness. Nisha is indeed a very alluring woman.
We sit by
the sea, watching lights of ships at a distance in the darkness, and enjoy our
drinks in a most pleasant ambience.
We, Vijay
and I, drink Scotch Whisky; Nisha gets high on Martini, while Usha has fruit
juice.
It is a
lovely evening.
On the way
back, we drop Nisha at the working women’s hostel in Colaba, her temporary home
till she finds a good apartment.
“Poor
thing – it must be tough for her to live in a hostel. Vijay, you must find her
a good place fast,” Usha says as we drive towards Marine Drive.
“I’m
trying to get her a flat near our office in Churchgate,” Vijay says.
We drive
down to Chowpatty and walk on the sands by the sea eating ice cream – a delightful
end to a pleasurable evening.
12 September 1987
New Delhi
VIJAY NISHA and ME
Last time
it was Vijay Usha Nisha and Me.
Now Usha
is missing and it is Vijay Nisha and Me.
Yes, now
Usha has gone and in her place there is Nisha.
Vijay
divorced Usha and married Nisha.
Then both
of them, Nisha and Vijay, relocated abroad and they now work in New York.
And me,
after slogging for years in the field, I have finally been posted to our Delhi
office.
It is
great to be back in Delhi, after so many years.
We spend a
nostalgic day visiting all our haunts in IIT – our hostel rooms, the canteens,
the classrooms – walk round the campus.
Then, we
spend the evening in my bungalow in Saket, drinking late into the night.
Later,
when we are alone, Vijay says to me, “I have looked after Usha well. I have
bought her a flat in Pune and given her plenty of money …”
“Hey,
Vijay, why are you telling me all this? It is your personal matter. Are you
feeling guilty? Don’t – just forget it – what happened, has happened, it’s past
history now. So don’t feel sorry. Come on – it’s well past midnight. You have a
flight to catch tomorrow. Let’s go to sleep.” I say, and we go to sleep.
12 September 1989
Pune
USHA and ME
“Are you
sure they are not coming?” Usha, my wife, asks me.
“No. I
rang up Vijay twice today but he is making all sorts of excuses,” I say.
“Last
year, he was abroad on the 12th of September, but this time he is in
Mumbai on work and he can surely make it – it’s just a 3 hour drive to Pune,”
Usha says.
“Well, I
really don’t know. Maybe he’s got a guilty conscience for ditching you. Maybe he
can’t bear to see us together. Or maybe Nisha has told him not to come,” I say.
“Okay, let’s
celebrate your birthday – just you and me,” Usha says, and we go out for
dinner.
12 September 2012
Khadakwasla
USHA ME and VIJAY
Vijay and I
sit on the lawns of my farmhouse sipping our sundowners as we watch the sun set
behind the hills across the lake.
We meet
after a gap of 25 years.
Like me, I
am sure he is thinking about the twists and turns in the journey of our lives.
I think of
the birthdays, the 12th of September, we have spent together.
First it
was VIJAY and ME.
Then, it
was VIJAY USHA and ME.
After that
it was VIJAY USHA NISHA and ME.
Later, it
was VIJAY NISHA and ME.
Even later,
it was USHA and ME.
Now, it is
USHA ME and VIJAY.
Yes, you
guessed right – Nisha divorced Vijay and he is all alone.
Next
morning I drop Vijay to the Mumbai airport and he catches the flight back home
to America.
12 September 2013
Pune
USHA ME and ?
I hope Vijay will come.
But I know he will not come.
I could see it in his eyes last
time.
Maybe Vijay will never come.
Maybe Vijay and I will never
meet again.
So, maybe this birthday, the 12th
of September 2013, and all my future birthdays, all the 12th’s of
September, I will have to celebrate with my much married wife, Usha.
But on every 12th of
September I will always wait for Vijay, who was born on the exact date as me.
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
Disclaimer:
All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
NB:
No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.
Copyright © Vikram Karve - all rights reserved
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About Vikram Karve
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@hotmail.com and vikramwamankarve@gmail.com
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9
About Vikram Karve
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@hotmail.com and vikramwamankarve@gmail.com
Twitter: @vikramkarve
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
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