Dedicated to Ishita Datta and Tuhina Agarwal , who insisted that endings should always be happy.

THE STORY SO FAR

Prakarsh Tiwari is doing his MBA at the Indian Institute of Welfare and Management . He is the events co-ordinator of his batch , has got a cool gang Badmaash Company which has Preety , Vibha , Nitu , Ankita as its other members . Life is almost perfect . Only trouble is that he is in love with a Brahmin girl who studied with him in Class 12. He doesn’t realize this till the third year of his graduation when he has a chance meet with Rishika who was here to do a project at ISI . When she was leaving for Delhi after completing the project, she left with two things , her project report , and Prakarsh’s heart . Prakarsh gets a job at a market research company but on the same day he is informed that Rishika’s parents have found a boy for her.

OF SOMETHING CALLED LOVE

The love story of a Brahmin boy … its complicated.

THE END …. and THE BEGINNING…..

As I stepped down the train, I felt a strange pain in my torso . I had just travelled 389 kilometers in a general compartment to arrive at Varansi Junction . A coolie started chasing me . I just had my laptop bag with me. The moment he saw that I was not a prospective client, he got busy looking for greener pastures. I came outside the main station building and started looking for an auto. The last 48 hours had been unreal to say the least . The euphoria of getting a job had been diluted by the news that Rihsika’s parents had found a boy for her . I had decided to do something crazy . Go to Varanasi and tell her what I felt for her . Preeti , Vibha , Ankita had come to see me off at Kolkata . “Just tell her what you feel “, Ankita said. As my train started to leave , a thought pricked me somewhere in my heart . I had told mother that I was going for a trip to Sunderbans . “But your classes are still on .” she protested . “Please ma , this is the what I had wanted to do all my life .” I did not tell her what the real thing was . Grandfather always said that if a Brahmin lied , he would rot in hell after death . I imagined what life would be on earth without Rishika … Naaaaah , I decided to take the chance .

The auto driver broke almost every traffic rule on the planet to arrive at the BHU entrance . Rishika was doing her post graduation in Electronics . One of my other friends at BHU had given me a vague idea of where she stayed . I walked about 2 kilometres to arrive at the Department for Electronic Engineering , which was just near the Annapurna Seva Bhojanalaya . I had expected the guard at the entrance to question me but almost immediately he said , “Auditorium mein chal raha hai . Itna late kyu kiye ?” I had no clue what he was talking about . Was she already getting married . But then how did he know I was too late . I shrugged my shoulders in desperation and ran towards the Audi . As I ran , I said a silent prayer . Infront of the auditorium door was a huge banner , “ DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONCIS WELCOMES TEXAS INSTRUMENTS FOR CAMPUS PLACEMENTS AT BHU .” There was a lot of commotion. As I saw all students dressed in formals , I felt a little out of place . But then I was out of place. I saw a guy wearing a volunteer badge . “Can you please call Rishika Bhardwaj ?”
……………..

She stared at me as if I was an enemy. “Prakarsh … my interview starts in ten minutes . What are you doing here? ?”
I knew it had to be done today. For many years I had kept my mouth shut , looking for the right chance . I did not know if this was the right chance but I knew it had to be now.
“ I just want to say …”
“yes……. ?”
“That I love you.”
For a moment, everything froze . I could see some boys staring at me and talking in hushed voices . Just a few meters away from her stood a man who was talking with a group of overzealous students. But my eyes were just looking at her .
“You came all the way to say this? ”
I did not know what to say. For me it was not just ‘this’. It meant my life to me.
“ It is too late Prakarsh . I … I love someone already.”
Someone had just thrust 100 needles in my butt , that’s how the pain felt . I could hear her talking , but I didn’t want to . Somehow it didn’t mean anything. Finally put my attention back to her .
“Prakarsh , I am sorry . Really am. “
“No. its ok.”
“Prakarsh , you know that guy . “
Just tell me the name , and I will break his head . I didn’t respond.
“The boy who won the state level elocution competition in our class that year .”
I paid no attention in recollecting who that lucky guy was. It didn’t matter.
……………….

It was only when I was at the station waiting for the train that I realized that I had not behaved properly with Rishika. My behavior was rude. I checked my cell phone balance. 4 rupees. I decided against making a call now. Meanwhile my parents called me twice and I told them I had seen 7 Royal Bengal tigers. I was not sure even if Sunderban’s native people had seen so many tigers in two days. I opened my bag to see if something edible was there .All I saw was a folder that carried my certificates. I started going through my certificates . I always believed that talent could get you everything in life . Perhaps every rule failed when it came to love . I stared at all my extra cullicular certificates. My first prize in debate … that was a piece of cake . My second prize in extempore , And yes , my first prize in State Level Elocution competition in my school . I looked proudly at the certificate .

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT PRAKARSH TIWARI HAS PARTICIPATED IN THE STATE LEVEL……

A thought came to my mind . The boy Rishika loved also had come first in the competition . How strange that we both should be first in the same competition …….. unless….. unless…. Unless….
I started running back.
………………….
“ You don’t pick up calls do you .” she said as she came out of the girl’s dorm . A mischievous smile was there on her face .
I took out my cell from my bag . 12 missed called from Rishika .
“Did you say the boy had won the state level elocution competition . “
She smiled .
At that moment I felt myself to be the happiest person on earth . All these years , I had waited just for this . I had waited . Now the wait was over. I wanted to hug her , but decided against it . Grandfather always said if a boy hugged or kissed a girl before marriage he would turn bald before his first child was born . I decided that my first child should atleast see me with hairs .
We both sipped tea at the near by canteen . Both of us didn’t talk for a while . I didn’t know what to say . I just felt so happy that she was with me .
“ Why did it take you so much time ? College mein toh bahut stud bante ho ?” she asked .
I just smiled .
“ Arrey darr lagta tha ki tum kaise react karogi ? But when Sangeeta told me that your parents had found a boy for you . I knew it was time .”
I saw her smiling . I understood.
“Wait a minute …. You asked her to tell that to me ?”
She stood up . “ Thank me for that . Otherwise tum jaise buddhu se confession nikalwaana impossible tha .”
Then she winked .
…………………………………..
EPILOGUE

4 years later …

I didn’t know how they did it , but when I saw Vibha , Nitu , Arobindo , Preeti , Nikunj , Ankita stare at me through five different Skype windows , I knew that Preeti and Ankita were behind it . They knew well before that I had a Ipad , but still when the DHL man arrived with the Samsung Tablet I didn’t realize that I would get such a surprise the moment I would press the start button.
“HAPPY MARRIED LIFE .. “ , they remarked in chorus .

I was so happy to see them all . After MBA we had all met only once . Everyone had settled in their own lives . Preeti worked as a Assistant Manager in the Bhubaneshwar branch of UCO bank . Vibha worked as the finance supervisor of the Eastern Region of Tulip Telecom . Ankita worked as a business analyst for Nvidia , in Hyderabad . Nitu , now a mother of three , ( don’t be shocked , she gave birth to triplets last year ) lived in US , the only one in our group who handled the much coveted investment Banking at Merrly Lynch . Arobindo and Nikunj had their own firm , Wasooli. Com , an online recovery portal that helped banks like ICIUCMe recover their bad debts using threats and coercion. I think they really enjoyed the job . I didn’t know how I would have survived my MBA without any of them .

I talked with them for another 10 minutes . It was Preeti who reminded me that Rishika must be waiting for me .
I was not used to knocking at the door of my own room but I guess marriage changes everything . She was taking off her earring . She smiled when she saw me . I approached her .
She looked beautiful in the red saree . There was something that I wanted to do all this while . Today I would do it .
“Rishika , why are you taking off the earring . it looks so nice .”
“ Well , you cannot wear such a heavy thing when you are sleeping , can you ?”
“So you plan to to sleep ? “ . I said , impishly .
“ Ofcourse .” she replied .
And there as she stood before me , for the first time , I had the courage to do it .
“Rishika , “ I said … she turned towards me .
I hugged her .
“ I love you. ”
She smiled . I moved closer to her . I could smell her now . For the first time I was so near to her . I looked at her . She was a tad nervous . So was I . As I moved a few notches closer , I remarked . “ I guess you may have to postpone the sleep plan . “
She put her arms around me and said , “I guess I can manage that .”
And then we kissed . The rest as they say ….. is gravity.
…….
A STORY BY PRANAY TIWARI

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COMING NEXT….

Prabal Ganguly , Ishita Dutta ,Abhrajit Khan , Vineeta Abhani , VIbha Keshri , Shahid Pervej , Akshita Chamaria , and Anushka Chaturvedi had two things in common with him….

All of them were alumni of IISWBM ….

All of them were attending PARADIGM 2015….

But unlike him …… they were not losers …
This season …
One man will risk everything he had …to get the only thing he deserved .. as he tries to win a bet that he thought he had all but lost ..
This season . he will have to take the girl of his life to bed .. only problem is she hates him .. and he has 48 hours to do it …
The Casanova will realize that the most important woman in your life is not the one who sleeps with you , but who manages to wake up with you …
This season prepare yourself for a journey of a man as he finds out that there is a place in a woman’s body that if you touch can make her go crazy …… HER HEART…
This season prepare yourself for …
THE WAGER FOR PRICELESS…
A story by Pranay Tiwari..