The Day The State Split Asunder - 30

Ever since the day Karthik met Sanjana, his mind was completely out of sorts, not giving him the chance to forget her even for a second. 

Day by day, his interest in Sanjana is getting intensified with each passing second and his interest in her reached to such an extent that she became the last thought before going to sleep and the first when he woke up. 

A week has passed in a flash, but he couldn't spot any sign as a response to his burning question, which became a cause of his obsession. He was eager for what destiny has planned for him. 

It was Friday morning, and the zephyr of a chilly breeze drifted in from the windows. He woke up after snoozing the alarm over three times. The enchanting image and the gorgeous smile of Sanjana were still lingering in his mind.

I just don't understand why I feel something special about you. I don't know what magic spell you cast upon me... I cannot forget about you, even for a second. She completely dominated his thoughts.    

After taking his shower, he sat on his bed, slipped into his casual clothes, and completed reading the remaining ten pages of the book 'The Alchemist'. 

"Now I understand why Adarsh told me to read this book," he thought, "It's already been a week, but I didn't receive any sign from the universe. The hero of this book Santiago got the signs from the Universe whenever he asked."

His mind started racing faster than the rocket. The dilatory response from the universe incensed him. 

He closed his eyes again and asked - "Are Sanjana and I destined to be together?" He opened his eyes and looked around in anticipation, but couldn't spot anything. He punched the mattress hard to vent out his resentment.

Later he pulled out a fresh pair of formal clothing, black pant, and a sky blue shirt from the closet, put it on, and started to the office. As he stepped out of his home, the stiff wind wafted through, rattling the leaves. As he breathed slowly and deeply, his heart quieted a little. He lifted his chin to gaze at the flagrant red flowers of the Gulmohar tree lined up on either side of the street. 

The strong winds forced the flowers to fall on the road, which appeared as if nature had spread a red-carpet for him. While he was busy beholding the wonderful glimpse of the spectacular scenery, a pair of parrots flying above caught his attention. A parrot in a concrete jungle like Hyderabad is a rare thing to witness. 

What a lovely scene! Someone said everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. Let's see how this day goes...

He started on his bike and after fifty minutes of driving, he reached the office. He looked for Sanjana at her desk, but she was not present. He then looked at his watch, it was already 10:30.

"She is the brand of punctuality. Why didn't she come so far? Damn! I cannot tolerate this anymore!" he cursed himself and got back to his desk. 

The day moved as usual. The afternoon has passed. The knowledge transfer sessions continued for four hours in a stretch, and slowly the evening has arrived. He was still clueless about his darling. He wasn't happy with the day because of the absence of his angel. He squinted at the time on his laptop. It showed 07:30 PM. He packed his bag and was about to leave for home. When he was almost about to step out, Adarsh sent him a text message asking him to come to his cabin.

Karthik walked into Adarsh's cabin. "Yes, Arnold! You asked me to come?"

"Karthik!" Adarsh's face was gleaming with happiness. "Roshni and Sanjana brought our first client. It's worth two crores contract."

"Wow! This is incredible! Two crores." 

"This is a thing to celebrate. Tonight, we are going out for dinner. Roshni and Sanjana are waiting for us at the Paradise Restaurant. Let's go!" Adarsh said.

Adarsh and Karthik reached 'The Paradise' restaurant. Seated at the corner of the restaurant, Sanjana and Roshni were talking to each other. They sat facing Roshni and Sanjana.

"Sanjana and Roshni, you did an excellent job today!" Karthik cheered them.

"I don't want to take any undue credit. Throughout time, Sanjana was negotiating. I saw the effort that she has poured in to ensure we didn't miss even a single point. She is a first-class rhetorician, and I mean it," Roshni said, patting Sanjana's shoulder. "The depth and comprehensiveness of her knowledge are breathtaking."

"Good job, Sanjana," Adarsh said to Sanjana, "We are proud of having you as a part of our crew."

"Kudos Sanjana," Karthik complemented Sanjana.

"Thank You Adarsh and Karthik, I just did my job. Had you not given me the job, I wouldn't be able to prove myself. Many companies denied giving me the offer as I am a fresher," Sanjana returned. "I am lucky to work in a cordial atmosphere, which is very rare in today's corporate world."

"The people who didn't give you the offer will repent for their impertinence," Adarsh said. "But I feel happy that they rejected you, else we would have missed you."

Sanjana broke into a gentle laugh, and her eyes sparkled with contentment. Her smile was dazzlingly beautiful. Karthik throughout the time was observing her. 

"I wish I could talk to her alone, I am ready to trade anything in return to see her smiling always and forever," Karthik thought. The voices in his head started fighting.

Roshni glanced at Karthik for an instant before turning to Adarsh. Karthik was smiling to himself, lost in his world, looking at Sanjana and the table. She could sense that he was expecting the chance to talk alone with Sanjana.

"Oops!" Roshni exclaimed. "Adarsh, I forgot to tell you. My uncle invited you and me for dinner tonight. I forgot about it."

"Roshni! You are telling it now?" Adarsh said.

"We can pick up a fight later!" Roshni said. "Karthik and Sanjana, I am sorry. You both have your dinner tonight here."

"Roshni, we can have it some other time, I will also leave for my home," Sanjana said to Roshni.

"No! No! Have your dinner, that's it," Roshni said in her authoritative way.

"Karthik and Sanjana, I am so sorry for leaving you in between," Adarsh said. He took his credit card from his wallet and gave it to Karthik. "Enjoy your dinner."

Roshni and Adarsh stormed out of the restaurant in a hurry and moved to the parking lot. 

"Roshni, if you know your uncle has asked us to come, then why did you plan this dinner?" Adarsh said in an irritating tone.

Roshni slammed on his shoulder. "You still didn't understand the matter?" She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Now I understand," Adarsh said, "So where shall we go now?"

"Anywhere!" Roshni and Adarsh got into the car.

"What about going to a disco?" Adarsh asked as he started the engine.

"Let's rock," Roshni reacted with enthusiasm, and Adarsh drove the car away from the place. 

Karthik was celebrating deep inside of his heart as he has been desperately waiting to have a moment like this. And today, with the unanticipated turn of tables in favor, his heart flew fifty thousand feet above the ground, wandering in the sky in search of cloud nine. 

He looked at her face. He could sense nothing except the ambivalence with no signs of nervousness and excitement. 

"How was your day?" Karthik asked Sanjana, trying to get her attention.

"The beginning was horrible! The clients were bombarding us with lots of questions, one after the other. Roshni and I had to skip our lunch. But all's well that ends well. I am happy that they finally agreed to sign a contract with our company," Sanjana replied in a weak tone.

"Let's order something first," Karthik said, sensing the weakness in her tone. "What do you like to eat?"

"Let me see the menu," Sanjana took the menu in her hand. "I want chapati with Malai Kofta."

"That's it? What about biryani? This restaurant is famous for Hyderabadi Dum Ki Biryani," Karthik said.

"No! I am a vegetarian," Sanjana replied with an ugly, twisted expression on her face, "If you want, you order it."

"I am also a vegetarian," Karthik said.

"If you don't mind may I ask you one question?"

"Sure, make yourself comfortable."

"Are you a brahmin?"

"Yes, and you?"

"I am also a brahmin."

"Same pinch!" Karthik added with enthusiasm. "What a coincidence!"

"Your order sir," the waiter arrived at their table.

Karthik ordered Chapati along with Malai Kofta. The waiter wrote the order on his notepad and walked away from the table.

"I think Marketing is full of challenges," Karthik said after the waiter left. Relief washed over him. It seemed Sanjana was willing to communicate. "I would say it is one of the tough jobs. Marketing is the lifeblood of any organization. Without it, the company will sink."

"Well, do you want me to be frank about marketing?"

"What is that?"

"I can summarize marketing in one word, nonsense," she said, stressing on the word nonsense. "That's right. The key lies in tricking the clients, to make them believe that they're getting more value for their money. Let me give you an example. When you visit the cinema. Say you want to buy some popcorn; the small option costs 30 Rs, Standard costs 45, but Large costs just 50. Most people would prefer large at just 5 Rs more than medium, who wouldn't? But the strategy changes from one client to another. A successful marketing executive amassed a lot of tricks in his skulls repository."

"I see. This is the reason for segregating sales in three different categories?" Karthik asked.

"Yes!" She continued, "Don't think I hate this job. I love this job and I mean it."

"Hey, I don't think like that. Everyone has their own opinions. I also used to feel the same about development. But in case if I am stuck somewhere in between, I can post my problem in Stack overflow and several other online communities to my rescue. But marketing is completely a different world. Every person is unique and you need to revise your strategy for every client."

"So sweet!" Sanjana said, with a grin. "Thank you for understanding our problems."

"I learned that we should always put ourselves in someone else's shoe to understand their problems."

"Everyone should learn it because there might be just more to the story than you realize," She blinked her eyes in serenity, "for how long have you been working with Adarsh."

"Adarsh is my best friend. I knew him even before he started the company. He is a hardworking person. He sleeps for only four hours."

"Not every CEO is as cool as him," Sanjana said.

The waiter arrived and placed the chapati along with Malai Kofta on their table. Sanjana placed two of the chapatis on her plate. 

"Where do you live?" Karthik asked. 

"I live here in Lingampally."

"Do you stay in a hostel?"

"No! I stay in the room along with my friend."

"That's good. I know the problems of staying in a hostel."

"Yes, really," she said, stuffing the chapati with kofta. "But if you stay in a room. You've to do all things by yourself cooking, cleaning and washing…"

"That's correct, but if we want something, we have to lose something," Karthik said. It satisfied him as his words had brought a change in her expression.

"Tomorrow being Saturday, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"The Telangana joint action committee has organized a million march tomorrow. I am taking part in it."

"Sanjana, are you from Telangana?"

"Yes, I am," she said. "We have been fighting for a separate state for sixty years. This time we will not miss it. Our state has suffered enough under Andhra rulers."

Karthik became silent. If Sanjana gets to know that he is from Andhra, she may eventually lose interest in talking with him as the tensions between the two regions reached an all-time high. He picked up a glass of water and gulped it in one shot to reduce his tension. 

Sanjana was looking at her plate and wasn't interested in anything, except eating as she didn't have her lunch in the afternoon. Karthik is trying his best to control looking at Sanjana, but he couldn't. She is enjoying her meal while he is enjoying her presence.

In between the meal, Karthik asked her, "Sanjana! Do you have a boyfriend?"

"What!" She exclaimed in surprise, which resembled a grimace.

His pulse quickened again. "Sorry! I don't know how to talk with girls, I don't know how to switch the topic as I am not good at politics," he took a determined step forward to change the subject of the topic, fearing it may lead to further altercations.

Sanjana smiled and said, "Well! What do you think? Do I have a boyfriend?" 

"I don't think so you have a boyfriend," he said in a matter-of-fact tone, looking straight into her eyes.

"On what basis are you telling that?" 

"I know face reading! Your eyes say you are searching for someone who loves your soul, but not your beauty." 

"Oh, my God! Then I have to cover my eyes to escape from your face reading," She laughed. 

"Still, you have not answered my question?"

"To make it clear!" She paused for a minute to take a bite of the Kofta ball. Karthik was on tenterhooks and his heart began racing again. 

"Right from my childhood," she continued, "I studied only in girls' schools and colleges. I didn't get the chance to meet any guy." She said as if she is disappointed for it.

Her statement transported Karthik to delight. He was thankful for his good fortune. But he tried to act normal. Many times he tried to reach for her attention and today, it became a reality.

"What happened, What are you thinking?" Sanjana said, tapping on the table. 

"Nothing!" Karthik came back to his senses, "You see Sanjana, you're so innocent. You believed me easily. I don't know any face reading. Roshni told me you trust others easily." 

"So whatever you said so far is just a lie?"

"Yes! Sometimes we have to lie to know the truth." 

"You must be a professional in dealing with girls."

"Hey! I am not an efficient and bold conversationalist like you."

"Okay, now you had known enough about me now tell me about yourself, Do you have a girlfriend?" 

"No! Actually, in my B. Tech, I had a crush on my classmate." 

"Oh then what happened," she asked with curiosity. 

"Nothing! It was just a simple crush. In the last semester, she came up with her marriage invitation. She got married just three months ago. Relationships are not in our hand, it is under the sole discretion of destiny." 

"Did you find anyone after that?" 

"No, I didn't find anyone so far."

"Don't worry! Believe in destiny, it will find someone for you," she said, wiping her hands with the tissues.

"Thank you, madam!" Karthik said. "And do your parents stay in the village?" 

"I lost my mother when I was four and my father when I was six," her face suddenly became morose. "My uncle took care of me from that moment. He raised me like his own daughter."

"I am so sorry," Karthik said. "You know what, Even Adarsh lost his parents when he was only eleven."

"Is it?"

"Yes! And what do you do during your free time?"

"I read books," She replied.

"Same pinch again. I also read books during my free time," It was a fair lie as he hardly completed one book. "We have many things in common," he continued, "I think you are the female version of myself and I the male version of you..."

"What! Come again, I didn't get you," Sanjana said.

"Ah nothing I was just saying that we have a common interest in books," Karthik said, gulping a glass of water. 

"What is your favorite book?" she asked.

"My favorite book is 'The Alchemist'"

"Wow! The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho. The book which inspired millions around the globe to pursue their dreams…"

"Yes! Did you read that book?"

"No! Do you have it?" She completed eating the last piece on her plate. 

"I have. I will get it for you on Monday," he said, "Do you need anything?"

"It's enough!" she replied.

The waiter arrived at their desk, and Karthik requested for the bill. A minute later he came there holding a swiping machine in his hand. Karthik paid the bill with the credit card given by Adarsh.

Moments later they walked out of the restaurant and walked towards the Shilparamam road. Sanjana was adjusting her hair, holding the hairpin in her mouth. "Thank you so much Karthik, it was nice talking to you." 

"Pleasure is mine. Do you have any plans on Sunday?"

"No, I am free."

"How about going to a book exhibition at Hitex?" He crossed his fingers. 

It takes heroic courage to request a girl to come out for a rendezvous, especially with the girl you want to share your heart with.

"Why not? I don't have any problems. I don't get tired with books..."

"The same pinch," he inched closer to pinch her.

She gave him an irritated look. He was sure the peril was desperate. "I am sorry I was just joking. Please don't feel bad," he began pleading with her.

"I was just joking," she tapped on his shoulder, "anyway it was nice catching you."

"Me too! It's already late," Karthik said. "Shall I drop you?"

"No problem," She spotted a bus from the distance. "The bus is coming, see you on Sunday bye!"

The bus stopped at the point where they were standing. He was happy that he has received a sign. She stepped into the bus, waving her hands with an enchanting smile. 

Karthik stood rooted on the spot for a little while, staring at the bus until it went out of sight. His vehicle is at the office and it is near to the restaurant. He went by foot so he could make the plan to make his Sunday exciting with Sanjana.

Out of a million stars that decorate the night sky, one shines brighter. It is difficult to pull our sight away from noticing it. Until an hour before I wasn't sure about my feelings for you, but now I feel I am in love… I love you Sanjana! I can't wait till Sunday! O girl, what you did to me...

You may not plan for some things in your life, but your destiny will take you there.

To be continued...