A Journey To Remember - Episode 12

Here is the next episode of the story. To read the previous part Click here

Prologue:

A conversation from 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'

Charlie: Why do nice people choose the wrong people to date?

Bill: We accept the love we think we deserve.

Charlie: Can we make them know they deserve more?

Bill: We can try.

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You are the only one i ever wanted!

I took a long bath,wore my favorite clothes, stuffed few things in my travel bag,borrowed some money from my friend and started towards the girls hostel. I knew, this wasn't a date but I ensured that I was going to make Shreya happy. I wanted to make every single moment count.

"At ur hostel entrance.... come fast" - I texted her.

She rushed to the entrance and said,"Hi. Lets go!"

I told her,"We'll have breakfast and then leave"

She asked, "Ok. We'll have food at Bites. But where are we going after that?"

I replied,"You'll get to know."

Bites was a restaurant in the outskirts of the city which served the best bread pakodas in the world. Obviously, we had bread pakoda for the breakfast.

There wasn't much talk happening. It still felt like we were in the hangover of that incident.

"How did your exams go?", she broke the silence.

"Not bad." I replied.

It isn't the best choice to deliver emotional dialogues while you are riding a bike at 80Km/hr. So i kept quiet.

We were infront of Devil's canyon trekking camp.

"We are going to trek and spend sometime near a waterfalls.", I parked the vehicle near the checkpost. 

"Ok.", she was confused.

I know, it was totally stupid of me to trek with a girl. It was neither romantic nor endearing. But Shreya loved trekking and that is what mattered the most.

"Shreya,I'm so sorry!", I said in a faint tone.

"You need not ask me sorry. I know, something very disturbing has happened. Everything will be fine. Can't we just stop talking about that for a while.", she pleaded me.

After an hour of hiking we were in front of a beautiful water falls. It was a visual treat, but my heart wasn't willing to agree with my eyes. I wasn't happy, deep inside.

"Shreya, so what are your future plans?" I questioned her. 

"I'm not sure. Probably I'll start working in Sid's company till my parents talk about my marriage. Once the marriage issue comes up, I'll fight and try to convince them about Sid. If not possible, I'll elope with him", she giggled. 

"Hmmm. That makes sense", I said.

Next was Shreya's choice and she took me to a theater. Unlike the theaters near our college which played a movie after an year of its release, Jab We Met was being shown here. I liked Kareena and she loved Shahid. 

"I booked the tickets yesterday. Show starts at 2:30. We'll roam the mall and have lunch at the food court, by the show starts", she ordered.

" Don't hurt yourself anymore. I care for you but I don't love you, i mean, the way you want me to.", she stuffed the parathas and was enjoying the food.

I nodded.

"You deserve the best in this world. And I'm certainly not the best", she explained.

"Not everytime you want the best in this world. That's the problem", I replied.

"Don't be stupid.Try to be pragmatic and move on with your life", she advised.

Jab We Met was truly an awesome movie. The movie just showed what was happening in our lives though we weren't sure about our climax.

"Awesome movie. Kareena was so dumb. I wish, girls were more sensible in making decisions", I giggled.

"Stop being super funny. You aren't Shahid Kapoor and I'm not Kareena. It was just a MOVIE", she was pissed off.

I took her to the Chat street, where we have too many stalls serving the best chats. We had Dhai Poori, Pav Bhaaji and Kachori. 

It was coffee-time (She called it Tea-time). Shreya was sipping from a hot cup of tea when i said, "I wish, we were just friends. I could hang out with you, tell stories, do stupid things, listen to you and be happy."

"We haven't died yet. Nothing really has happened, actually. We can still be the same.", she (tried to) convinced me.


"I guess, NO", I replied.

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Life Is Beautiful (A Tribute to Khushwant Singh)

I completed my schooling in a residential school from 6th to 12th(You can call it PUC or +2). I had bought a new slam book so that I could have the memories of my seniors who were leaving the institution after 12th. "Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh" was repeating as "My Favorite Book" in many pages. 

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Our first chapter in 11th Grade (CBSE) English was "Portrait of a Lady by Khushwant Singh". I was awed by the way Khushwant Singh explained his Grandmother and his relationship with her.  

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I read the Kannada translation of "The Coincidence Of The Mumbai Meeting" by Vishweshar Bhat and was forced to read it in English. The author was again Khushwant Singh.

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All the write-ups,articles and short-stories I have read and heard made me feel happy and inspired me to write something.
I am not a great critic to review Khuswanth Singh but here is a tribute to him. 

Warning: This is a rubbish piece which i had no idea of publishing. As soon as my eyes read "Khushwanth Singh Passes away at 99", my heart wished to publish this. So if you find it boring or unable to understand, just stop reading and drop a comment. But if you enjoy this please drop a comment and share this article. Thank you!

Life Is Beautiful

Let me tell you few of my real life incidents and make you realize one of the most overwhelming, wonderful truths of life.

Incident 1
After his marriage, my father started his career at JNV Balehonnur (Chikmagalur) as a SUPW teacher in 1990. ( Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya is a Central government, affiliated to CBSE, residential school which is located in every district of the country. Every year 80 students are selected from each district through an entrance exam and given quality education for free.) My parents couldn’t tolerate the heavy rains and abnormal weather. People from dry zones find it difficult in a place where it rains heavily for more than 4 months in a year. So my father completed his 1 year of service and returned back to our native.

In 2001, I wrote the entrance exam for JNV. And miraculously I was selected. The notice board in the Taluk BEO office had the first name as “ HARISH.G.P.   A0402”. I was selected from the taluk having the highest number of aspirants in my district. How often does this happen??? My father worked for one of the most reputed educational institute in the country and left the place just because of the extreme weather. Surprisingly, I was selected to the same institute which has the toughest entrance exam and where luck plays a vital role.

PS1:I completed my 7 years of education in JNV, Balehonnur.

Incident 2
I had been to my uncle’s place for summer holidays. It was evening coffee time. "Which is supreme, Chikmagalur or Hassan??" was the debate going on between me and my cousins. Later my uncle joined us. I was the lone supporter for Chikmagalur. But I was going well.
At some point, my uncle said, ”Whatever it may be you’ll come to Hassan to do your engineering. Wait and watch.”  My cousins all supported him.
“No way. I am not gonna come to Hassan at any cost. I would better opt for another college or may be another course”, I replied. That was the first time I had discussed anything about my career so publicly. 

And I completed my engineering at MCE, Hassan. My uncle and cousins still remind me the incident. How often does this happen??? Out of innumerable career options, I chose B.E. and out of 160+ colleges in Karnataka, I chose the college which we had discussed well before I knew much about my future.

PS2: MCE gave my life a new turn. Hassan is a city of bliss. My best friendships have happened at this place.

Incident 3
Me and my friends had been to  The Regional Cultural Meet at Vishakapatnam. After performing the act , we were returning back. As per the reservations, except 3 seats , all the others were in the same compartment. Our teacher sent me and two other friends, to occupy those 3 seats as we were considered to be the most responsible in the group. We were having a great time being secluded from the rest. A girl was sitting in front of us with her parents. To kill the time we started observing the acts of the family and that girl in particular. We had been blessed to get out of the train at each stop,a nice girl sitting infront,3 friends and all the nonsense and nobody to disturb us. By the time our lecturer shifted us we had scanned a picture of her in my mind.

During the 5th semester of my engineering I had gone to Wonderla, Bangalore with my friends. After a daylong of ultimate joy, we were planning to leave. At last, my friends headed towards the giant wheel and I did not join them in spite of all the requests. I’m afraid of heights. I was having coffee alone in the coffee bar and I saw this girl i had met in Vizag. I checked to verify whether it was the same girl. Yes!!! She was the same girl. Well, I wasn't that brave to clarify and confirm with her. How often does this happen???

PS3: Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous. 

Life offers infinite number of things to relish, most of which we discard. It’s all magical. Everything is beautiful, interesting and divine in itself. What it needs is to catch these moments is an open mind and a humble heart. Stop complaining that it’s boring and nothing is new. Enjoy every single second of your life. The above set of incidents just shows the unexpected coincidences, and ultimate miracles of life. Few may discard it, few say “just an accident”, few say “it’s destiny”, few say “whatever!!!”.  But I say it to myself that ,“LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!”

PS: RIP Khuswant Singh.

Inspired from an article by Khushwant Singh "The Coincidence Of The Mumbai Meeting"

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A Journey To Remember - Episode 11

Here is the next episode of the story. To read the previous part Click Here

Life is Tough

Days were tough. Nights were horrible. I had to live through the tough times of my life. Before I could digest this incident, our final exams started. I was totally messed up. I was lost in an unknown world. Every single thing in life looked unfair,uninteresting and uncertain.I was unable to do well in the exams.We had a long break of 5 days before our last exam. I couldn't go through that phase. I was unable to control my emotions.It was a dreadful night.Twinkling stars were making way for the sun but I couldn't close my eyes. I took my laptop and sent a mail to Shreya. 

Hi Shreya,
I hope you are doing fine. I know, you are avoiding me and probably be totally pissed off from what I did that day. Let me tell you something, there are few things in life that are out of our control. I feel terrible for acting like a friend with you inspite of having other intentions.

I feel suffocated, at times. I think, one of the prime reasons to live my life has been lost. Every time I make a sincere effort to get away from you, actually I am moving closer to you. I know, this will create more troubles to both of us but I can't help. 

I wish, you had some time for me. It's totally unfair of you to ignore me. How on this earth, can you deliberately avoid me? I guess, you should be the one comforting me and consoling me. But you left me all alone in this sorrow. You made it terrible for me. 

I want to tell a hell lot of things to you, unfortunately you don't have time, patience and concern to listen to me.Hope to meet you soon.

PS: I have a gut feeling that one day you'll be mine and I'll be waiting for you!


I was stupid. I was desperate. I was weird. I was lost. I was in pain.
In short, I was in LOVE!

Somehow, I completed my final exam and it was time to say Good Bye,Goa! I thought of completing all the formalities in the college for the next 2 days and bid adieu. It was getting very tough to deal with memories.We had a small party in our hostel that night. Few of the junior guys had exams,few had already left for their hometowns and most of the Final year guys were busy with packing and other things. So it was a brief and an emotional party.I came back to my room to pack things. I had the old bus tickets,restaurant bills, theatre tickets, photocopies and gifts (mostly from Shreya) and few slam books piled infront of me. I used to write a diary as well. Every single page and every single thing had a story to tell. Memories are such awful things which can give you utmost pleasure and even terrible pain.

I just went through few pages of my diary and opened my laptop to look at the old photos and videos. The wallclock in my room showed 3:00AM (actually it was kept 90 minutes fast to avoid blunders at college). I felt so lonely and was in vain.
 My cellphone started ringing, and it was Shreya!
"I saw your mail now. Oh my god! You are such an idiot! You could have called me and talked to me. Well, chuck that. I want to spend a day with you. So you free for today?"

I took a deep breath and said," Yup. I'll be leaving to my hometown tomorrow evening. I'm totally free for today."

Shreya replied, "Cool. Get some sleep and catch me up by 9 in the morning"

"Perfect. But, are you sure?",I was thrilled as well as confused.

"Well...I dont know.. see you soon",She hung up the phone.

I went to my friend's room and got his bike keys. I spent rest of the night browsing, "First date" "Romantic spots" "Lounges & Restaurants in goa" "A day with girlfriend" and a lot many. 


I wanted to make every single moment count.

Thanks for your time. Drop a comment and let me know how you felt.

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A Journey To Remember - Episode 10

Here is the next episode of the story. To read the previous part Click Here. Thanks a lot for all the reviews, comments, concerns and taunts. Sorry for the delay!

I LOVE YOU !!

Open skies, full moon, twinkling stars, dead silence, cool breeze, pale-yellow background from the nearest street-light, me and Shreya. 

Me: I need to tell you something.

Shreya: Why do you ask me?

Me: Just like that.

Shreya: Come on. Tell me.

Me: I don't know why I'm doing this. But today, I just want to tell you, a few things. I'm not even expecting a reply from you. I want you to know something that I've always hidden from you. Uffff!!!

Shreya: Hmmm.

Me: Shreya, nobody has ever made me feel the way you do. The day I saw you at the Fresher's party, I was convinced that you are the girl I want to spend my entire life with. All the time spent with you made me admire you, fantasize you and want you more. Till date, I believe you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.

You are beautiful. You are sensitive. You are interesting. You are so unlike me that I want to spend time with you. Time spent with you during the Lab hours, at the parking lot, library, canteen, theatre, restaurant, outings and where-ever, I’ll cherish each and every moment for the rest of my life. Shreya, I can’t explain how good you are and how much I want you in my life. But all I can tell you is that, I love you. I’ll take care of you. You’ll be very happy with me. Trust me, I won’t let you down. Would you like to be my life partner?

I know, you are in a relationship from past one and a half years. I guess, there isn't any single reason to choose me over him. But, my convictions tell me that you are meant to be mine. At this moment, you might think the other way round. All I am asking you is to spend some time with me and make a move. Give a thought and decide. Hurting you and breaking your relationship isn't what I'm craving for. I want you to be happy and I know, it's only possible if you are with me. Shreya, I love You!

I’ll wait for you. I’ll keep waiting till the day you get married. I’ll keep waiting till the day you realize that all you need is Me. I’ll be waiting.


She didn't utter a single word. There was a dead silence. 

She came nearer to me. I didn’t move.Shreya hugged me tight and stamped a kiss on my cheeks. She kept looking at me. I can't forget that look on her face. I didn't move. I could feel my heart sprinting.

I wish, I could spend my life with her.

I didn’t know what to speak. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t even look at Shreya properly. I didn’t know whether I was doing the right thing. But life had changed drastically with this incident. Me and Shreya were not the same people again. I was relieved. I had no regrets. I was happy as well as worried. I just wanted to escape from the reality and be with Shreya in a wonderland, far from reality.

I started running towards the hostel.


If you love someone, you tell them. Even if you’re scared that it’s not the right thing. Even if you’re scared that it’ll cause problems. Even if you’re scared that it will burn your life to the ground, you say it, and you say it loud and you go from there.

Thanks for your time. Drop a comment and let me know how you felt.

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