Deep's story

Index:

Episode 1NE

Episode 2WO

Episode THR3E

Episode 4OUR

Episode 5IVE

Episode 6IX

Episode SE7EN

Episode EI8HT

Episode 9I9E

Episode 10-EN
Episode E11VEN
Episode TWE12E
Episode THIR13EN

About the story:

This story has the same basic idea as YashRaj's 'Rab ne...' - For every ordinary jodi, there is an extraordinary love story! Cheesy, I know, and not the kind of stuff I usually put up on this blog. But I really wanted to do this - it's different, it's ambitious, it's personal, and I'm quite happy with the result...thus far.

It gives me great joy becuase it is almost real - just about everything that happened here has happened to people I know. It's not any one person's, or any single couple's story. I've taken interesting experiences and stories that various people have shared with me over the years, and woven them all together into one story. There is a little bit of fiction, but only very little, for continuity's sake. I hope you enjoy reading it, and hope you will let me know what you think of it in any case. Also - if you've had any memorable, interesting experiences that you'd like to share with the world - you know whom to contact ;)

One of my favorite authors is Erich Segal. His 'Love Story' is, till date, the only book I've read in one sitting. Even though he revealed in the first para that Jenny was going to die, I cried when she did at the end! I'm not suggesting that this is even a patch on his work, or that I have even a fraction of the ability and skill he does, but I'd like to mention that Segal's 'Love Story' is the inspiration for this work - in terms of the storyline, as well as the style.

   

Genesis:

This started off as a simple idea for one post, inspired in part by something my flatmate once wrote. I had an idea, and e1 was the product. By the time I finished writing e1, I felt people would want to know what happened next, and e2 was in order. So, I came up with some more ideas, and thought I'd write a full story spanning about 6 episodes.

Once I got down to writing, recalling various stories I'd heard from various people and also some experiences of my own that I wanted to share, and writing at great length as I usually do, the story just exploded. For instance, 5,6,7,8 - were supposed to be ONE episode in the original plan - I just had too much to write!

After 8, I had some more ideas for the rest of the story - but I was, for a while, unable to tie them together into one engaging story. At one time, my 'plan' was for about 17+ episodes, and I was fairly convinced every reader would lose interest. But, after a long break, I finally managed to clear things up in my own head. This story should be complete in 13 episodes - and at least 2 of the last 3 should be quite engaging.

Some people wanted 'sex and violence' - the full-blown commercial masala! It doesn't really fit in this genre. But I just might surprise you all a bit :)

Final word:

Please, PLEASE give feedback through comments. I am writing this largely for my own pleasure, and will write the whole story even if nobody likes it. But if you do like it - do let me know. I might just get inspired to develop this into a book, or a script. Or at least write more stories here.

Episode 10-EN

If you are new to this story, do not start here. Go to the Index and Introduction page.

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Warney reached Mahesh Lunch Home 10 minutes before the agreed time of 1 pm. He got an sms from Prabha-with-a-vee, informing him that she will be about 45 min late, and would have to leave soon coz she had 'a million small jobs to be done today'. Warney was a little annoyed, as he wanted to spend some quality time, and - if things went well - he would suggest going to the Coffee shop at the Marriott (which was adjacent to Mahesh) for some dessert. The sizzling brownies at the Marriott Coffee Shop are awesome, and the ambience is much more suitable for a date, than the restaurant where they'd agreed to have lunch. Mahesh was a 'functional' venue for testing waters, and Marriott a 'warmer' venue for taking things further, if they wanted. But Warney's well-thought-out plans had just been trashed, and he had to wait in the blazing sun for nearly an hour.

He messaged her back, asking her if she even had enough time for lunch in a very mildly rude manner. He'd really wanted to go way futher, and to suggest calling it off if she had any issues, but decided to play nice, for now. It didn't work. He got a long sms, which read - 'You know what, I can see you're losing patience. Let me tell you that the fact that I'm doing this is a big deal for me. Keep that in mind before you  pass any snide remarks. As for when I'll leave - we'll see during lunch. Now, if you don't mind - I can't sms any more coz I have to get ready to make it for the lunch.'

Warney had indeed lost some of his patience, and he thought that was legitimate. But he'd been trying hard to keep his cool and NOT sound nasty on the sms, so he felt the reaction was overboard and unwarranted. He tried to defuse the situation, by sending another sms that she'd read between the lines when there was nothing there. He was just asking her an honest question, and trying to be practical rather than sarcastic. And he ended it with 'see you soon.'

Prabha-with-a-vee arrived half an hour later. Warney thought he recognized her as she drove in, but did not go to receive her, staying on the phone with a friend instead. A minute later, he could see an incoming call from her, and bid adieu to his friend. He walked over to the restaurant. She was indeed hawt, though she did not look exactly like her pics. Perhaps it was because she was all smiles and joie-de-vivre in the pics. She definitely did NOT look very happy to be here right now. They shook hands and sat down, diagonally across rather than facing each other, which Warney found a little weird.  He tried to break the ice - 'OK, I'm not sure how I managed to piss you off even before you got here.' It was meant to be funny, and he hoped it'd be a conversation starter. All he got was a cold shrug and a look-away. And in that moment warney realized he had a long climb uphill , if this meeting was to be a success.

'Water - regular or mineral, sir?, queried the waiter.

Warney thought for a second. He always ordered mineral water in cheap restaurants, but trusted reputed ones like Mahesh to serve safe, purified water, and believed the expense on mineral water at such places was unnecessary.

'Regular's fine.'

'Excuse me - I'll have mineral water', said the girl across the table, to the waiter. Usually, in such situations with friends, Warney realized they always discussed the water-choice among themselves. This woman hadn't bothered with him, and spoken to the waiter directly, ordering water separately for herself. Not good.

'Damn, 0-3 down already, and it hasn't been even 5 minutes. Doesn't look like I'm gonna win with this girl - she's bowling hostile bouncers. Time to play de-fense.' And Warney decided that he was going to play the rest of this meeting out like Rahul Dravid - blocking or leaving, unless he was served something on a platter. It didn't matter how many he scored during the next two hours. But he HAD to remain unbeaten at the end of it.

The rest of the meeting was intriguing. There were long silences, but they weren't awkward as both sides were being haughty and absolutely indifferent to each other. There was also a lot of conversation - but it wasn't particularly pleasant. Neither of them smiled. They disagreed on just about everything, but didn't bother arguing because neither seemed to care about the other's opinion! However, the truly intriguing part was this - they discussed a wide variety of subjects, including some fairly serious and personal ones, like their relationships with their parents, their friends circles and who really mattered, their attitude to marriage, attituide to work and jobs, travel and lifestyle preferences - including food, and even their past romantic relationships. They could talk about anything, and be completely honest - which doesn't usually happen when people meet for the first time. There was no comfort level here, no liking or interest, little respect shown for the person across the table, and no effort to maintain a cordial or friendly atmosphere. Yet, they were discussing things that one usually discusses only with someone very, very close.

During the course, Warney also found some answers.

Prabha-with-a-vee hated the way her parents had spelt her name. It should've been Pravaah - which meant 'to flow, like a river' - but on a numerologist's recommendation, her parents had gone with the weird spelling.

Marriage was the last thing on Pravha's mind. But her parents thought the 'right time' had almost arrived, and decided to reach out to prospects. They had been assisted by her younger sister, who felt Pravha was 'ready'. And Pravha thought her sister was a little more mature, and trusted her judgment more than her own, despite being older.

She was NOT pleased that her phone number had been given to Warney. 

Warney was truly perplexed. This girl was clearly not the type to give in to any kind of pressure. She clearly didn't really want to be here, and wasn't interested in pursuing this. But, for some reason unknown to him, she was here. And now that she was here, one'd expect her to behave nicely. She wasn't doing that. But he was also certain that she was NOT here to try and put him down, and didn't mean to be rude - she actually wanted to give this a chance, because, at some level, she trusted the judgment of the people who'd put her here. Her cold manner had ensured the meeting could officially be declared a disaster, but Warney didn't think it was deliberate. What was she really trying to do and why? He just didn't get it. At all. And he genuinely believed she didn't really know either.

Warney called for the bill. 'Let's go dutch... for the food, at least.' Warney had had a fair amount of vodka to keep his head during the course of the lunch, and it accounted for about half the total bill. He thought about insisting on paying the whole thing. He always did that the first time he met any girl. Second and later meetings would only happen if both people were interested, and then it'd be fair to go dutch. This was his considered view, and standard operating principle. But in this case, it would be akin to reaching wide outside off-stump to a swinging delivery. He felt it was quite likely that his suggestion to pay the whole bill would be dismissed with some rude statement, resulting in him feeling hurt and looking silly. He wasn't going to let that happen. Also, she'd been clear that she wasn't willing to split the bill for the drinks that only he'd had. While it was fair, and he would've suggested it himself when it came down to the calculation, the manner in which it was said put him off - and not for the first time in the last 2 hours.

'You're goin to Bandra, right? Are you goin to cross Carter road, or go somewhere near it?', asked Warney. He didn't own a vehicle, because it wasn't a very practical option in Mumbai. She drove a Hyundai Getz, and had remarked earlier that she 'would never travel by the local trains. I'm spolit!'

'Yeah, I can drop you.'

Midway through the drive:

'Where on Carter road?'

'You know the CCD there?'

'Yeah. Meeting friends?'

'College seniors.'

These were the only words spoken in a 15-minute drive. When CCD emerged, she stopped to the left. Warney got out and said 'Thank you.'

And they went their own separate ways. 'What a remarkably cold end - to a remarkably frosty and intriguing meeting', thought Warney to himself. It would take him a while to figure out what happened and what to make of it.

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(Continues here)

Episode 9I9E

If you are new to this story, do not start here. Go to the Index and Introduction page.

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Preeti unlocked the door and walked in. Her flatmate, Kritika, a.k.a. K, was sitting on the carpet with scissors in hand, and a top she'd recently purchased. Kritika liked to re-design the designer clothes she bought.

'Hi'

Kritika looked up at her, then turned her gaze back to the task at hand, as she spoke. 'Your hair looks frizzled. What did you and your boyfriend do today?'

'Arjun is not my boyfriend anymore.... He called and generally talked about how things are in Chicago. And the call wasn't hair-raising - that just happened cos I was at the beach.'

'I wasn't talking about Arjun. He's history. So, you and Deep had a nice, romantic walk along the beach?'

'KAY! Deep and I are NOT an item. He's not my boyfriend, just a colleague I'm friendly with.'

'Bullshit.'

'Oh, come on. We just happen to spend a lot of time together in office, and he's a nice guy. So, sometimes we go out too. But there's nothing of the romantic sort. Please!'

'You told me he was interested in you. You said it was visible several times. And I can see you like him too. So, don't give me the friends nonsense. I know you, baby.'

'I like him, but as a friend. And yes - sometimes I thought he was showing interest, but he really isn't that kind of guy. He was probably just being nice, not trying anything. I mean, it's been six months and he hasn't tried anything. So, I know there's nothing there.'

'Bullshit.'

'Aah! Ok, whatever.'

'Did Arjun call when you were with Deep?'

'Yeah... and for some reason, I think Deep wasn't comfortable. He suddenly went all quiet and seemed far away. And we left the beach a few minutes after the call. We'd not even been there for half an hour, I think.'

'Your boyfriend was jealous!'

'Oh, come on! He knows about Arjun, and I don't think he has any such feelings for me. It'd been a long day at work, and I left him alone for 10 minutes or so, so he probably got irritated. Or maybe he was just tired. Jealous? No. That just isn't like Deep'

K put away her design experiment, and looked straight at Preeti. She looked serious.

'Baby, admit it. You know he's interested. You can see he's jealous of Arjun. He's there for you all the time. Obviously, he has feelings...

He's probably not said anything because you work in the same office, and it'd be awkward if you declined his interest. And there's also the Arjun factor.'

'I don't know, K. I really don't think he's interested. It's been six months. If he really was interested, something would've happened by now.'

'He's probably just shy. Based on what all you've told me, I think he's just waiting for a sign from you. And it's not like he doesn't have time.'

'DON'T mess my head up with shit like that. There's already Arjun to deal with, and Deep's not the type who'd try anything. For me, he's a good friend. And I'd like to keep it that way. Don't complicate it.'

'Baby, tell me something - how often do you talk to me about Arjun?'

'I don't know.  About once a week. I'm trying to get over it.'

'How often do you talk about Deep?'

'I don't know. Every other day. But I work with him, and he's there with me in office all the time.'

'You talk about Deep EVERYDAY. And it's not the same way you talk about others in the office.'

'Yeah, so? He's my best friend in office and I see him everyday. So what?'

'Face the reality, baby. You both like each other. He's just waiting for you to get over Arjun and give him a chance. And you like him too - you talk about him all the time, and I can see it.'

Preeti was silent.

'Think about it, baby. You two clearly like each other. If he isn't trying anything, give him a sign that you're interested. You guys will be a lot happier.'

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'Hullo, mum'

'Deep, mera pyara beta! Kaisa hai?'

'Theek hoon.'

'Khana kha liya?'

'Haan, ji.'

Regular mother-son talk follows.

'Acha, listen. Ek rishta aaya hai. Papa and I like the girl. Good family. You want to meet her?'

'MOM! We've talked about this. I'm not ready for marriage right now.'

'But why? You're old enough, and settled in your job and everything. And this is a very nice match.'

'Settled?! I've not even finished one year, and I'm not sure if I even will! My boss is killing me with work, and I virtually live in the office. I have no time for family right now.'

'Beta, your job is always going to be like this. There comes a time when one needs to settle down. And this is a very good rishta. Don't throw it away. Just meet her once.'

'Who is she? What's so good about her?'

'It's an Army family. Father is a Colonel. We've spoken to them - they're very nice, impressive people. It's a family just like ours.'

'Ma! I'm not marrying her dad or her family. What's the girl all about?'

'She's studied at Welham's boarding school. Then college in Bangalore. She's an MBA, and doing some marketing job. Like yours, but not IIM type. We read her profile, and I'm sure you'll like her. Smart ladki hai.'

'Does she have a name?'

'Pravha Nehra.'

'What?'

'Pravha. It's like Prabha, with a V, for victory.'

'What kind of a name is that?'

'What does it matter? Anyway, she's in Bombay only. We'll send you the profile in a few minutes. Take a look, and talk to her once.'

'I'll think about it. Send me the profile. But I'm not promising anything. I'm really not keen on this, and if I have even the slightest doubt, I'm not meeting her.'

'I'm sure you'll like the profile. Anyway, at least meet her once. We've spoken to the parents. It won't look nice.'

'PLEASE don't speak to any parents again. This is my life, and it's a huge decision. I don't want any pressure.'

'Of course. We're not going to force you to marry anyone. But at least meet her once.'

'OK, I'll think about it. Send me the profile.'

'OK'

'And PLEASE do not talk to any more parents and promise anything without asking me first.'

'OK, baba.'

The phone call went on for another 10 minutes with mom. 40 minutes in all. Deep then spoke to dad and Chhoti. He was done with them in 10 minutes.

Chhoti said she was going to forward the profile immediately after the call. Surprisingly, even she liked the girl and seemed to think this was a good idea. Now, Warney was curious.

He opened the email, and his jaw dropped. Prabha-with-a-Vee was Hawt-with-an-O! He read through the 'profile'. It was interesting. The girl was smart, and seemed to be quite fun-loving too. He looked her up on orkut. A different pic, but equally hot. This profile was far less formal, and a lot more fun, though there was a very unfriendly, almost intimidating 'about me' there. But that was understandable, given orkut is infested with 'frandship'-seeking despos.

They seemed to have the same interests in books, movies, everything... she was even a Formula 1 fan! Brilliant! Music interests - 'Anything that gets me moving'. Perfect!  Cuisines - 'Oriental. Do ice-creams count as cuisine ;)' Warney was almost in love.

He fired up 'Kundli-Lite for Windows', and entered their birth details. (He was an absolute sucker for astrology). The match scored 33/36 - which was insane! Warney wondered if he'd really found his life partner. His life seemed to have changed in half an hour.

He picked up the phone, and called her. She sounded a bit cold, but quite frank and candid. She didn't really sound like the woman of his dreams, but impressive enough. They decided to meet for lunch the next day, at the Mahesh Lunch Home, Juhu.

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Continued here