It was almost a year after Arpit had moved to Chennai. He still cherishes the memories of the day he got his very first job offer. His whole family was ecstatic . Why wouldn't they be joyous?? After all, he was going to be the village's first software engineer. The only not so happy part of all this was that his initial posting would be in Chennai, a city people from north normally don't like to dwell in, just because you can't manage without learning Tamil . After becoming a Madarasi, Arpit got adjusted to the lifestyle of the city . He loved the city for the early morning stroll in the wonderful beaches, the aroma of the morning coffee, the pleasant devotional music played in the nearby temples, the joy of watching movies at the famous Sathyam cineplex, the hyperactive people and so on . In spite of all these, Arpit wanted to move out of Chennai to some office in his state to stay close to his near and dear. He had requested a transfer in his office.
After taking his last sip of his morning tea, Arpit started to his office on a humid Monday morning. Like every other day, he removed his shoe in front of the Ganesh temple, offered a quick prayer to make the day a memorable one. What Arpit didn't realize was that the Lord had already decided to make the day a memorable one.
He walked swiftly to the bus station in the sweltering heat and boarded a bus to his office. The bus got full in no time and moved at a snail's pace in the city traffic. Sitting at the window seat, Arpit was staring aimlessly at the passing vehicles and buildings. There was some commotion in the bus with few ladies quarreling over a seat and the conductor scolding the footboarders. Arpit was used to all this and acted as if he were somewhere else by not paying any attention to the hue and cry. He was lost in his own world, enjoying the hustle and bustle outside the bus and the beauty of the majestic buildings getting baked by the Sun God .
Suddenly he was hit very strong in the back of his head. The hit woke him up from his dreamworld. With a mix of shock and anger, he instinctively turned to his left. There he saw a veiled face telling something in a low voice at him. Though could not hear anything properly, he stared blankly at the person out of fear. It was a lady with a long shiny hair, wearing a green salwar with a matching green cloth tied over her mouth and nose . It is common in Chennai to find most of the young ladies wearing gloves and scarves to shield them from the raging sun.He noticed that she was telling 'sorry sir. En bag!' and showed her backpack. It was this bag of hers which hit him while she was squeezing her way to the seat beside him. He looked at her face and realized that she looked concerned . He nodded his head accepting her apology and signalled her to take the seat beside him.
Arpit shifted back to his routine of enjoying the scenes outside the window. But all of a sudden, nothing interested him. His mind was probably staging a dharna by not allowing him to focus on anything. It demanded a glimpse at those peerless eyes of her once again. He glanced at his left to take a look at her while she was settling down with her bag in the seat beside him. He was mesmerized by her shapely eyes bordered by a dark eyeliner . Suddenly he felt some breeze blowing through the windows which caused her unkempt hair to fall over her forehead. On seeing this, Arpit thought as
'At last, I too saw the Lunar eclipse!
When the black shiny hair fell on her moon like face,
I too saw the Lunar eclipse!!'
She finally sat beside him and started checking her phone. Arpit had forgot where he was and was simply hypnotized by the fragrance from the jasmine flowers she was wearing. Then it happened . She pressed him against her lips. She made him kiss over the scarf on her cheeks. She made him to feel her beautiful hair. 'Hmmm! How lucky he is?', Arpit thought seeing her talking on her phone. "Wish I had been that phone, I would have been blessed!", sighed Arpit.
The bus had slowly gathered pace and people started getting down at different stops. She was seen checking her watch every now and again. She was probably late to office. She was tensed which her arched eyebrows and the fluttering eyelashes showed. After some time, she rose up from the seat with her backpack on one side and moved towards the door. It looked as if it was Goddess Mohini, the feminine form of Vishnu carrying the pot of nectar on her side, on seeing her walk with the backpack . She then got down from the bus at the next stop. Arpit's heart skipped a beat when he realized that he might never get a chance to even see her, let alone pop the question to her. Just then his parents called him to check on the status of his transfer to his hometown. He told them that he wanted to be in Chennai for some more time. Humans are known for their fickle-mindedness. Arpit was no different to this. He just liked the prospect of meeting her again in the same bus some day and ask " Can you pls be my heroine until the Almighty calls for a cut??".
After taking his last sip of his morning tea, Arpit started to his office on a humid Monday morning. Like every other day, he removed his shoe in front of the Ganesh temple, offered a quick prayer to make the day a memorable one. What Arpit didn't realize was that the Lord had already decided to make the day a memorable one.
He walked swiftly to the bus station in the sweltering heat and boarded a bus to his office. The bus got full in no time and moved at a snail's pace in the city traffic. Sitting at the window seat, Arpit was staring aimlessly at the passing vehicles and buildings. There was some commotion in the bus with few ladies quarreling over a seat and the conductor scolding the footboarders. Arpit was used to all this and acted as if he were somewhere else by not paying any attention to the hue and cry. He was lost in his own world, enjoying the hustle and bustle outside the bus and the beauty of the majestic buildings getting baked by the Sun God .
Suddenly he was hit very strong in the back of his head. The hit woke him up from his dreamworld. With a mix of shock and anger, he instinctively turned to his left. There he saw a veiled face telling something in a low voice at him. Though could not hear anything properly, he stared blankly at the person out of fear. It was a lady with a long shiny hair, wearing a green salwar with a matching green cloth tied over her mouth and nose . It is common in Chennai to find most of the young ladies wearing gloves and scarves to shield them from the raging sun.He noticed that she was telling 'sorry sir. En bag!' and showed her backpack. It was this bag of hers which hit him while she was squeezing her way to the seat beside him. He looked at her face and realized that she looked concerned . He nodded his head accepting her apology and signalled her to take the seat beside him.
Arpit shifted back to his routine of enjoying the scenes outside the window. But all of a sudden, nothing interested him. His mind was probably staging a dharna by not allowing him to focus on anything. It demanded a glimpse at those peerless eyes of her once again. He glanced at his left to take a look at her while she was settling down with her bag in the seat beside him. He was mesmerized by her shapely eyes bordered by a dark eyeliner . Suddenly he felt some breeze blowing through the windows which caused her unkempt hair to fall over her forehead. On seeing this, Arpit thought as
'At last, I too saw the Lunar eclipse!
When the black shiny hair fell on her moon like face,
I too saw the Lunar eclipse!!'
She finally sat beside him and started checking her phone. Arpit had forgot where he was and was simply hypnotized by the fragrance from the jasmine flowers she was wearing. Then it happened . She pressed him against her lips. She made him kiss over the scarf on her cheeks. She made him to feel her beautiful hair. 'Hmmm! How lucky he is?', Arpit thought seeing her talking on her phone. "Wish I had been that phone, I would have been blessed!", sighed Arpit.
The bus had slowly gathered pace and people started getting down at different stops. She was seen checking her watch every now and again. She was probably late to office. She was tensed which her arched eyebrows and the fluttering eyelashes showed. After some time, she rose up from the seat with her backpack on one side and moved towards the door. It looked as if it was Goddess Mohini, the feminine form of Vishnu carrying the pot of nectar on her side, on seeing her walk with the backpack . She then got down from the bus at the next stop. Arpit's heart skipped a beat when he realized that he might never get a chance to even see her, let alone pop the question to her. Just then his parents called him to check on the status of his transfer to his hometown. He told them that he wanted to be in Chennai for some more time. Humans are known for their fickle-mindedness. Arpit was no different to this. He just liked the prospect of meeting her again in the same bus some day and ask " Can you pls be my heroine until the Almighty calls for a cut??".
