The Day The State Split Asunder-15

Weekend or weekdays, rain or storm, Adarsh never backs out in waking up early by 04:00 to begin his daily morning chores. He strongly supports the concept that 'A man who wakes up late can never have an advantage over the man who wakes up early'. 

After brushing his teeth and grooming, he goes to the park opposite to his hostel. He is a virtuoso of taekwondo, having mastered the back-breaking jumps and spinning kicks. He practices the knotty moves daily in the park for about an hour.

He proved himself to be a fortress of the discipline of the same standard on the lines of a military soldier with impeccable resilience and mental toughness.

By six, he comes back to his room and goes to the gym on foot which is ten minutes away. On reaching there, he would change his clothes in the dressing room. He would then do the workouts for the next ninety minutes which includes running on the treadmill, lifting heavy weights, squats and pushups. 

Like everything in life, great things begin from small steps. That's the same way he started bodybuilding two years ago. 

After completing his workout at the gym he walks back to his room, takes his shower and then meditates for thirty minutes. By the time he completes his meditation, it will be nine. Then he eats his breakfast containing six boiled eggs. After completing it, he writes an agenda for the day in his notepad. Saturday and Sunday's agenda is a bit different from rest of the weekdays which includes reading books, attending toastmasters meetings and going through the advanced data science courses to ensure he keeps himself updated with changing trends.

While Adarsh accomplishes a lot by nine, Karthik is still sleeping on his bed until the loud sound of his mobile tugged him out of his dreams. It was a call from Madhu. He tapped on the answer button.

"Hello, Madhu! Good morning," he muttered while still half asleep.

"Hello Karthik, are you still sleeping?"

"Hmm… just now woke up. Thanks for calling, else I would have slept till ten, eleven or maybe the entire day."

"Oh my gosh! I can't sleep beyond eight. Anyways, push that matter aside. You wait at the auto stand opposite of the SSN shopping mall at eleven. I will come there and pick you up."

"Sure, I will be there by eleven."

"See you there bye..." and she disconnected the call.

He scrambled out of his bed and got ready in thirty minutes. He put on the new blue jeans and a black coloured t-shirt and walked into Adarsh room to say 'Hello' and exchange a few words about the dinner party.

"Good morning Arnold," Karthik said, looking at Adarsh in his reader's stance, "Bro! Every time I come to your room, I see you holding a book in your hand. I wonder how many books you complete in a month. Which book are you reading now?"

Adarsh raised his book slightly above his chest level so that Karthik can take in the title of the book 'The Autobiography of a Yogi.'

Karthik sat on Adarshs bed. "Are you planning to become a monk? What is the name of that yogi?" 

A minute passed in silence and there's no answer from Adarsh.

"What is the story about? Is it the story about a millionaire who sells his Ferrari and becomes a monk?"

"Karthik, I will talk about it later," said Adarsh in a terse, businesslike tone. His laconic reply suggested a lack of interest.

"Sorry! Looks like I am disturbing you, I will come back again later," he got up from Adarsh's bed and stepped out of the room.

Strange! He is not even caring who is around. No, I should not think like that. In Fact, I think I stepped into his room at the wrong time. 

Karthik climbed down the fleet of stairs to have his breakfast and fifteen minutes later he returned to his room and squinted at the time on his mobile. It showed ten.

Still, I have one hour. What shall I do?

"Karthik, I need your help," Adarsh said, stepping into Karthik's room with his shirt half-tucked into his trousers. "Today is the most important day of my life. Can you please come to my room and help me in selecting the best outfit."

"Sure Arnold! Let's go," Karthik followed Adarsh to his room, "Bro! can I ask you a question?" 

"Yes man, Why not?"

"Every time I enter your room, I always find a book in your hand. I haven't seen a bookworm like you in my life."

"Like Sudharshan Chakra in Lord Vishnu's hands, Like the Trident in Lord Shiva's hands, I always have a book in my hand. And I am sorry, whenever I read a book, I forget the world around me and I don't like being disturbed while reading. Please don't feel bad about it. You see, I am a straight forward person. And you asked me whether it is the story about a millionaire who sells his Ferrari and becomes a monk? That is the plot of the famous book 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari'."

"You speak wonderfully!" Karthik giggled, "You have a saint sense of humour. I didn't feel anything bad about it. I should have the common sense that I should not disturb a person who is reading. You mentioned that today is the most important day in your life. In what way? Going for a date?"

Adarsh punched slightly in his stomach grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Bro! I am not going out for a date. I will tell you everything in detail tonight, Help me in selecting the best pair. I am meeting the most important person. I have been waiting for six months to meet him and today he gave me the appointment."

"I see! You are meeting a man, not a woman."

"Stop shooting the applesauce in the air. Help me in selecting a nice dress." Adarsh walked towards his closet and took out a black jacket. "Does this black look nice on me?"

"It looks pretty and anything looks awesome upon your muscular body. But it's better you take blue as this black may give the impression of a bouncer."

"Does blue look apt upon me? Remember, we will never get a second chance to make a good first impression. It is only after surmounting a lot of obstacles I got his appointment. I faced a lot of struggles in my life. It was brutally heart-breaking, but I never let my emotions get the better of me, and maintained decorum throughout."

"Trust me, You will definitely make it and emerge victoriously and will you be available tonight?"

"Of course I am available. Do you have any work with me?"

"I got my salary yesterday. I promised I will give you a party."

"Karthik, I was kidding. I don't need any party-"

"Shh… I don't want to listen to anything. You are my only best friend. Tonight we are going to a party and that's it. I don't want to hear anything," Karthik said peremptorily. "I wish you all the best for today's meeting."

"Once you choose hope, anything is possible in this world. I only believe in one thing: learn from yesterday, live for today and hope for tomorrow," Adarsh slipped into his blue jacket, "I think you planned a secret rendezvous with someone today? Who is that girl?"

"No! Not like that. I wanted to purchase a saree for my mother. My colleague Madhu said she will help me in selecting it. That's it and nothing else. And how on earth did you know that I am going out with a girl?"

"Karthik! I just threw a stone in the dark. In the beginning, you said no and later you said the girl's name. Clear that confusion first. Always remember one thing. We should not hurry in relationships. If you proceed blindly, then it's not lesser than opening a Pandora's box."

"Madhu and I are just friends and nothing else more than it. And moreover, she is a Kannada girl and I am a Telugu boy. We can't make a perfect match."

"I only said don't hurry. Get a clear idea about the type of relationship between you. The society around has this opinion that a boy and a girl cannot be just friends. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"I understood. But I tell you again she is just only a friend."

"When there is no resonance, there will be dissonance. Figure it out on yourself." Adarsh glanced at the digital clock on his desk. "I have an appointment at 12:30. I need to go, we will catch up tonight buddy."

"Bye Arnold!" Karthik said and he walked out of the room.

Twenty minutes later he reached the auto stand opposite the SSN Shopping mall. Fifteen minutes later a yellow coloured Honda scooty stopped exactly in front of him. On it was a girl with her face fully wrapped with a black scarf and her eyes covered with black goggles. He couldn't identify it was Madhu until she told him to get on her scooty.

"Come on," said Madhu, "It is me."

He sat on the back of her scooty. "I couldn't recognize you in this scarf."

"Karthik Shall we first go to purchase a saree or a wristwatch."

"Let's purchase the wristwatch first. Then we will go with saree."

Being Saturday the traffic wasn't much denser. She pulled the vehicle to one of the biggest shopping complex HBS mall on Rangan road. Parked her scooty in the parking lot in the basement and took the elevator to the first floor.

"This is one of the biggest shopping complexes in the city," Madhu said unwrapping her scarf, "Let's first purchase the wristwatch for uncle, then we can purchase a saree for aunty."

"As you say, If you don't mind, Can I tell you one thing?"

"Of course you can, don't be too formal."

Ting!

The elevator reached the first floor.

"I will tell you later, for now, let's begin shopping," Karthik said.

They walked into one of the digital electronics showrooms on the first floor. After one hour of intense permutations and combinations, he finally purchased a digital wristwatch for his father.

"Karthik, You know, they will even courier the items on demand. Mention it while billing. They will charge the courier charges depending on the location."

"That's really good because I won't be leaving Hyderabad for the next six months. It's better to courier them today."

He approached the bill desk and requested the biller of the showroom to courier the wristwatch, paid the bill and sat on the bench outside of the restaurant.

"Now, we are done with our first mission," Madhu said, "The time is still 12:30. Before we begin with our second mission let's recharge ourselves with some food."

"Even I am feeling hungry. Today it is my turn to give you the party. Where shall we go?"

"We can have our lunch on the top floor. There are many food kiosks up on the terrace." 

Karthik and Madhu got onto the fifth floor dedicated to foodies. They sat at the table beside the window from where they can take in the better view of the road outside.

"Karthik, Do you have a photograph of your mother?"

"I think I have, but why?"

"Nothing much to get an idea about which colour suits her best."

"It's okay. I think I have one, let me see." He took out the wallet from his back pocket, picked the photograph and gave it to her.

"Wow! Your mother is looking so beautiful. But, do you have a colour photo of her?"

"No! I changed my mobile recently. My father always used to say that my mother is the most beautiful woman in his village."

"Oh! Your father knows about your mother before getting married? Is your parent's marriage love or arranged."

"It's arranged. They both are from the same village and from the same street. At the time of taking that photograph she was only twenty-two."

"Her hair looks so beautiful. I wish I too had that kind of long hair."

"Now, she is not having that long hair anymore."

"Karthik, I feel, Maroon color saree suits best for your mother. Even Purple also looks pretty."

"I am not a connoisseur of colors. I grant you all the discretionary powers in this matter. Select the best among the available," he said in an authoritative sarcasm. "Let's have something to eat, tell me what you would like to have?"

"I want chapati with paneer butter masala. What will you take?"

"I will take any rice item. Do you need anything more?"

"No, that's enough for me."

"Stay here I will be back in ten minutes."

Ten minutes later he brought two trays and placed one in front of Madhu.

He transferred the gravy from the cup onto his Biryani and began mixing it thoroughly. "Madhu, do you watch movies?"

"Do I look like species from some other planet?" She tore a piece of chapati on her plate, stuffed it with paneer and placed it in her mouth.

"Who knows?"

"What!"

"I mean, I read somewhere that women are from venus."

She sprinkled salt into her curry. "Then where did men come from? Mercury?"

"I don't know but can be from any planets except Venus."

"From which planet did you come from?"

"Guess it."

"I think you are from Neptune, because you look so calm and composed."

"I thought you would say Mars?"

"Ha... Ha… But I didn't say," she smiled softly, "Karthik, when are you planning to marry?"

"I don't know, it is not in my scope. What about you?"

"You see," her eyes crinkled at the corners, "I will tell you one thing, please don't share it to anyone?"

His eyes beamed with excitement. "I give you my word. Tell me."

"Karthik," her cheeks blushed bright pink. "My marriage was already fixed by my parents."

"Wow! Why don't you introduce your fiance to me?"

She is just my friend and nothing else more than it. Adarsh unnecessarily created a confusion in my mind. Now everything is clear.

"He doesn't stay here," said Madhu wiping her lips with the tissue.

"Is it? On which planet does he stay?"

"Ah..." She looked up for a moment. "He is from Jupiter."

"Incredible! You are from Venus and your fiance is from Jupiter. On which planet are you planning to start your new life after getting married?"

"He is planning on Uranus, I am asking for the Moon." She burst into laughter. "Pluto is too cold, Mercury is too hot." 

"Madhu it's enough. We made enough journeys through the planets. Let's land back down on the Earth."

"Who started it?" 

"I know I am the culprit. Please come back to Earth. What is your fiance's name?"

"His name is Prabhakar. He works at HP Mumbai. But in short he will be relocating to Hyderabad as his parents stay there. His father recently retired from the South Central Railway."

"Hyderabad, it's my home too. You and I can visit each other. Why don't you both walk into my home one day?"

"Yes, we can visit each other."

"Madhu, You have to give me a grand party."

"Why not? I will. Now, tell me, when are you planning to get married?"

"I will not marry until I earn a six figure salary per month."

"What! But why? What if you get it after ten years?"

"I will wait."

"May God show you the way and fulfill your desire quickly. Ten years is long."

"If it happens, I will definitely pay you half of my first salary."

"Really! If suppose you earn two lakhs per month, I will get one lakh. Then I will pray to God daily."

"So sweet of you," and later the topic of their discussion drifted towards the office matters. 

They completed their lunch.

"Madhu, Shall we proceed with the saree mission."

"Let's go."

They got down to the third floor and made their way into Mysore Silk House. After three hours of intense permutations and combinations, she has selected a red silk saree with beautiful patterns of flowers and leaves. He paid the bill and requested the biller to parcel it to his address in Hyderabad.

After completing that they once again got onto the fifth floor and back to the same seats where they had their lunch.

"It took more time than expected," Karthik said in a weak tone, "To select one saree you took three hours."

"You should get used to it. This is still less. In future after you get married and if your wife is a shopping wizard, you may need to spend the entire day."

"If that is the case it's better I will remain unmarried for the rest of my life." He smiled a perfect white smile and ran a hand through his jet black hair.

"Karthik, Let's go to eat-street present back of this mall. South, North, Thai, Japanese, what not you can get anything."

"I am not interested in it. I love only authentic Andhra snacks punugulu, onion pakodi, Mirchi Bhajji. I miss them."

"Karthik, from the place where I picked you, there's an Andhra snacks centre nearby. If you want we can go there."

"Is it! Then why are you still talking, get up. Let's go."

To be continued...