Mahi and Barbie...

after all that ruckus about how hard it was to be single, i had a volley of comebacks... the folks whose weddings i had missed were mad as hatters... the singles were supportive but out-numbered, so not much help either...

but happenings did happen which did season me up for the whole 'settling down' and getting 'committed'... i still can not think of that latter word without the phrase 'to the asylum'... it's just a thing my uncontrollably imaginative mind does... my mind has a mind of its own... wonder if i can copyright that... or some schizophrenic clinic already has...

ok, there was this interview i had to attend and with no place else to go to, a mutual friend recommended a  friend's house for staying a couple of days... it was a couple of guys with their own place in pune... i travelled by bus and they picked me up... it was a little awkward at first... i'm not too good with new people... but these two, they were amazing... tried their best to make me feel comfortable... Mahi, the lean lanky one and Barbie, the plump one... yeah, i know Barbie's 'generally' a girl's name, but apparently, there was some old story and he was nicknamed 'Barbie'... they joked about stuff that went over my head all the way... the few grins i did manage were so fake i could only count on the shiny braces on my teeth to distract them...,

for a quick intro, Mahi's lean, with long, curly hair, and had more shampoos, deos and other similar paraphernelia than i'd be needing in a couple of lifetimes... we used to have long conversations on frizzy hair, straightening them, coloring them - the pros and cons,etc...
Barbie's chubbier... loves pattering about in the kitchen and scrubbing things clean... has a quaint charming quality...  like that milk-maid from some Thomas Hardy novel and even goes 'tra la la' every now and then...

they were so good together... while i was there, i envied the relationship between Mahi and Barbie...
they would stand together on their huge balcony and gaze at the night sky and stars...  Barbie would take Mahi for the latter's eye appointments and wish him luck...  when at dinner, many a time, they  shared the same plate... Mahi lamented on how he missed Barbie coz he'd messaged to say he was going to be late... and similarly, Barbie would make such a fuss when i took Mahi along for some shopping... and they even played their guitars and sang soulful music late into the night...

everyday, when Barbie came back home, Mahi would ask him how his day went though the answer varied little...
"hectic as usual" Barbie would say before coming in and sitting down with Mahi... on days when things hadn't been so good, all Barbie needed was a long hug from Mahi and he would cheer up just like that!

they were "oh-so-cute" together...  and it wasn't as though they'd just met... they'd been together for four years! and still, they were like newly-weds!

looks and sounds like some mushy stuff from a 'love actually' or '10 things i hate about you'... but seeing them made me realise it couldnt be that bad... tying the knot, i mean... though in their case though, i'm not sure if india's as liberal as to allow them to tie the knot... does the amended art.377 allow same-sex marriages too??

but when it was time for me to leave their place, i thanked them for their generous hospitality.... and as i walked out the door, i knew my whole apathy towards the institution of marriage had mellowed down... love can be found in the unlikeliest of places, in the unlikeliest of persons...

"oh, thank you so much" i gushed to my friend, for introducing me to such gentle, loving souls that seem almost wiped off the face of earth...  and explained the effect they'd had on me...

"What the hell are you talking about??" the outburst was the last thing i'd expected...

"well... what's wrong!! i can be liberal too... i'm cool with LGB or any other variations...if they're good enough for god, they're good enough for me!!" i declared my support strongly...

"can you stop?? they-are-not-gay" he said, real slo-w-ly...

"oh! oh! are you sure?? i mean, a girl's not wrong about such things, you know..." i ventured...

"one of them's getting married next month...to his 'girl'friend of four years...  he'd asked me if he should invite you... but i think he'll reconsider the idea once he's heard your story..."

"oh!!! oh!! oh, oh!"...  words had always failed me when i needed them the most...

and somewhere in the background, the words echoed...
"somebody's gonna get hurt today... "
:) :)

re-discovering old friends...

what does one say to a good-friend one hasn't talked to in say five years???
'hi, howzit going??'
'howz the work?'
'all well?'

with my communication skills, i was glad i had a reason to run within a couple of hours of meeting J... it all happened this saturday, when i came to blore for my first walk-in... that experience will require a half/full blog by itself, but suffice it to say it didnt go too well and i snapped at everyone who asked me how it went...

around noon i note that i have a missed call from J i can't ignore... i call back...
'come over... near ashoka pillar... ' J's bad at dispensing directions... columbus could've been a victim...
i catch a bus, and then an auto and then walk some more... walking in 2inch high heels over broken pavements isn't my idea of fun... i finally reach...

i cant recollect if there were any awkward silences, but before i knew, we were catching up on old classmates... telling each other we looked the same... and then i was hungry... so we had a quick lunch at a nearby darshini... decided to do some window shopping on the way back... bought stuff we probably wouldnt wear anywhere... you know, those "i could wear them in the bahamas" or "the next time i stroll through streets in istanbul" kinds...

J has a sister who'd left the keys behind so we raided her house... you'd imagine one would run out of things to say... i was chided for my choice of channels... i'm back to my choicest mode of self-abuse... reality shows... a recent switch from the k-serials... while splitsvilla-3 droned in the background, we compared notes... parents, brothers, colleagues, classmates, and more interestingly, the past and present crushes...

it was soon evening... and sandwich was voted for dinner... we got out to get some cheese... J drives the bike like a maniac.... i clenched my teeth and held on for dear life... so much so that i sorely missed that comforting feeling one gets when the giant wheel swoops down... we considered chocolate ice-cream but it was harder finding it than you'd imagine... we settled for some street chats... ate till our eyes teared up and our noses ran... followed it up with a trip to the KC Das (the bengali sweet shop)...

skipped the ice-cream, went home... looked for a bad movie... settled for 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'... i might have fallen asleep a couple of times... i remember eating a good sandwich sometime when i woke up... and then the movie was over.... and i fell asleep to strains of music from J's pearly macbook... under a thick, oversized comforter...

i fell asleep making a mental note to catch up with more friends!!