Best of My Dreams - Sweetest Mistake (4)

It’s December 30, 2009. 

She meant a lot to me as a friend and she was more than a friend to me since then. I think she too would have felt the difference that night. Priya interrupted, “it’s only me who felt and not you!” in such a terrific tone.

“Dad, is it the day you proposed mom?” Aishu wondered.

“Yeah”, Priya said and “No” I said. We both smiled at each other. Still at 45, she had her own cute smile over her lips and eyes filled with love!

“Dad, you have got the courage? Great!” Abishek rolled with pride.

Priya intruded, “your dad fears a lot and he was not even proper in proposing!”

“Is it not the censored part dear?” I wore a pitiful smile and asked my wife.

I took a short journey to Madurai. My small home, my small room, my desktop and my red Xpress Music mobile which heard the first proposal! It was 11:00 PM and I was texting Priya. She was in Sivakasi that time for her holidays. I missed her much than any of her previous visits there! May be that shows the difference! I was over joyed that night and could still retrieve her voice over the phone after the proposal and confirmation through messages. It was a December night and it was chill down to earth. She was taking utmost care so that no one in her home hears her speak through the phone. She was very silent and I too was much careful. That time, she introduced me a new way of ending the phone calls. It is the first time I have heard that from a girls voice, I could still feel goosebumps after 25 long years for her ‘love you’. She has uttered that million times since then, but the first time lingers in my heart as sweet as it can!

A new year began for me – 2 days in advance!

I usually get two sweet best wishes for this day. One from my sweetheart and other, my phone signaled of a ‘new text message’ rightly. ‘Happy new year boss!’, It was my only old stupid friend since 2007 who even forgets my birthday but never this day!

Aishu seemed to be very happy and her face was as bright as it can now. She started, “Dad, I need to say you something.” She paused and my heart too. She added with utmost confidence, “I love Sanjay dad.”

“Huh… Once again a love story!!!?”

That’s all about my mistake!

P.S:- A successful Paper Anniversary!

Improved with success and Encouraged with failures! Love prevails!

We will continue with ‘Best of My Dreams’!

Best of My Dreams - Sweetest Mistake (3)

Abishek’s face was lit up and his eyes perfectly showed, “Mom knows everything!”

Nodded my head perfectly to show am ready with all my preparations! 

“Shall we start why we named our daughter as Aishu?” I kidded my wife.

Aishu was puzzled. Priya turned furious and said “You remember your aunty still?” she hated Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and mentioned her as aunty! We named our daughter as Aishu just because I was a die-hard fan of Aishwarya and Priya hate that to the core. 

“Kool Priya! We will start with December 30 then!” I winked!

“Dadddd, you can start now!” Abishek could not resist his curiosity!

Thank god Abishek was much interested about December 30 than the reason to his name! The reason behind his name was in the censored part actually! It was ultimate silence, the kids were waiting to hear and Priya was just staring at me to start when I was taken aback to my first year! Understanding that there was something wrong from my eyes; Priya started “come back yaar! Let’s start…”

Sensing the current situation, I asked the kids “Do you know that your mom was love married?”

Kids were at the ultimate sense of emotion and exclaimed, 

“Really?” Though India had developed wide and far, the culture remained the same where Indian kids still wonder for ‘Love Marriages’!

“Mom alone?” Priya was questioning and I rephrased “oh yeah, not mom alone. Your parents were love married!”

Priya smiled and Aishu was confused and had mixed emotions in her face! I felt something was wrong with her but she managed to the current situation. But Abishek is not convinced, he asked “What‘s December 30 dad?” he was repeating the same question and that’s why he is a geek!

To answer this, we need to run 25 years back and jog forward from there!

Your mom and I were studying in the same Engineering College at Madurai. We both were very best friends. We don’t share, we don’t care but still we will be missing something odd if we don’t have had a good chat.

“It was the time, internet started boring for me. Kido, I started texting a lot and that too to only your mom!” Priya interrupted with an arrogant look and said “Continue” in a fuzzy tone! I knew that the intense of that look was due to the usage of ‘only’ in my previous sentence.

Ignoring that look completely with a smile I continued, “We will be talking overnight and it was one such day! We were very best friends since 2007 and we never had felt the difference till that night.

It’s all about My Mistakes!

Best of My Dreams - Sweetest Mistake (2)

The platform was much of rush with people who came to receive. I was standing proud to pick up my kids – for me they still seemed to be kids but my instinct said they all are grown up. I silently cherished my kids first train journey 15 years ago to Madurai – the heaven, my mom is there. She is still there living peacefully expecting me for every summer vacation with my kids. It has been a three year gap as I could not get my kids out of their work. I thought my mom would be expecting us for a long time and decided to be there after this New Year as a surprise!

At last, my kids arrived and my son straight away hugged me up! I remembered my son hugging me every evening till standard five when I used to pick him up at school at Delhi Public School, Kolkata. I could sense how much he missed me with the intensity of the hug. Aishu is all well and it seemed she is enjoying her profession a lot. They both were still fresh as it was just a 3 hour journey from Chennai. 

With the wild traffic, we reached home after 1 hour and Priya seemed to be busy preparing while we all entered. The joy of mother is something special always. She is much amused to see her matured daughter and proud to see her son pursuing at one of the leading institutes. Three years ago Aishu left us for her project at Chennai and stayed there since then. We missed her a lot. But still Priya would ruin atleast 10% of my fortune in calling her daughter! We all sat in our dining table together after three long years!

Abishek could not resist asking, “Dad, Its 10 years since I have asked you about this!”

“I remember kido and is there any problem in asking once again?” I winked.

“OK. Why do we alone celebrate December 30 as our New Year while all others do it two days later?” he still had the puzzled look over me. I travelled 10 years back when he first asked me the same question. I even wondered he is same as his mother, remembering every single moment of life!

I looked at Priya and she said, “We will start discussing after our lunch!” Priya’s orders have its own weightage in our home. I usually won’t say no, Aishu will follow me and Abishek will never go against his mother!

Priya has grown far more in her cooking style from when I married her! She has made a variety this afternoon, a rice pulav, chapathi and paneer, fish curry and rice! “Awesome lunch” said Aishu. “Your mom knows Zero cooking at your age Aishu!” I said. Priya interrupted, “It’s an act of diet measure for your weight at that time darling!”

“Surrender” I said!

Abishek was not at all interested in such conversations. He wanted to know why our new year was 2 days early. Priya looked at me and asked, “Shall we start clearing Abi’s doubts?”

 

It’s all about my Mistake!

Best of My Dreams - Sweetest Mistake (1)

Whole world is set for the New Year. This year it seemed to be more splendid for no reason. Whole of Kolkata is decorated for the New Year eve. For every individual it’s going to be a beginning of something but for me it’s the end of something. 

It’s the last day of my professional life. She decided this for me long back when I was 28. I am 45 now. She is a kind who expects only words filled with love and affection and nothing else. I wonder how fast the earth rotates and it rolled over nearly half a century that soon! I experienced, 2 years love as my friend and 25 years friend as my love! She is Priya. 

Whatever my work, I have never left out this day to celebrate. This day is special – really special. My kids are flying back to Kolkata from Chennai for this special day. My elder daughter Aishu, research scholar at Chennai nuclear research center, is straight forward, simple and exactly opposite to her mom – exactly like me! My son Abishek just joined IIT Madras for his engineering and is returning home from hostel for the first time for his semester holidays. He is much of studious and sincere guy and exactly opposite to his dad – not like his mother even! But I see me in him when he was much close to his mother! 

For my children, it’s a long wait of 10 years to know their parent’s marriage story. I and Priya have prepared and censored certain areas and say the story crisp to our best friends. My children were my best friends; in fact I had all my relations as my best friends and all best friends as my relations! 

I went personally to pick up my grown up kids at the Railway junction. Kolkata’s platforms are one of the longest and I had 30 more minutes for the arrival. I left Priya in home as she would prepare something at least today! I was all alone in the busy platform and I ended up calling up my sweetheart. That was the usual practice for me as she will never let me feel alone. A little bit of romantic dialogues to start the conversation for which Priya easily fell off and said, 

“You have never changed even at 40’s!” with her sweetness filled voice and creamy shyness creeping up the cheeks. 

“I am feeling young today! I feel like 20+ still!” I replied.

“Much girls around?” she questioned.

I said, “Holiday rush. All hostellers moving back home!”

A pause which travelled years together within fractions and a silent smile prevailed at both the ends.

“Nostalgic uh?” I continued.

She smiled to herself and said “Come home soon honey!” and hung up the call.

I was smiling at those guys who were walking along the platform with water bottles and books for their girl friends’ travel. “They were making memories” I said to myself. An announcement of the much awaited Jan-Shatabhdi bullet train came and it’s the last few minutes for the arrival.

It’s all about my Mistakes!