Sunday, May 25, 2008

A Lot Can Happen Over Coffee And Music

Hey All, I am back with a new story in my life and that too after a brief hiatus. Well, the last one month just whizzed by leaving me in a trance. I had to go back to India and after a month, was packed off to the US again (Oh ya....so freakin bad right!!!).....Lots happened this one month. There was a person whom I had proposed in the past and had rejected me then...this person suddenly felt I was THE GUY for her after 5 years.....unfortunately for her, I had moved on. Currently, I am enjoying my single status and have made up my mind for an arranged marriage. Till then, I have my cricket, Shreya Ghoshal's music and of course coffee for company ;-).

I spent this month honing my cooking skills and now am a master chef...OH YA I can give all the girls out there a run for their money ;)....anyways sorry for digressing. I had to leave my homeland in a hurry as I was given just a days notice to pack. I landed at the airport waiting for the boarding call. My flight was delayed by an hour. Irritated, I was walking aimlessly around when I saw a group of airhostesses walking by. Mostly firangs and I am NOT attracted to firang women....it was then I noticed an Indian face among them. And I thought she was really cute...actually, her smile was amazing. I stood as if I was struck by lightning and was shamelessly looking at her for a long time. She met my gaze as if she knew I was looking (whats with these girls man...how do they come to know when a guy looks at them???I get caught everytime...grrrrrr)..A small frown followed as she was whisked away by her colleagues. I made a silent prayer that she should be in my flight as I proceeded to board.

As soon as I entered my flight, she was the first person to greet me inside....I couldnt help smiling(THANK YOU GOD!!!!!) and she smiled back knowingly (I think so)... and as luck would have it, she was the one who attended to me in the flight. I did not take undue advantage of that and tried not to look whenever she passed by but couldnt...heheh all the guys put there would understand. And I would get caught everytime too :D.

Almost all the passengers were fast asleep while I was struggling to get some (which is a prob for me...I dont get sleep in flights usually...the beautiful miss doesnt have anything to do with this...or maybe she did ;D). I switched on my N73m to listen to some good music. I was listening to the number Lambi Judaai from the movie Jannat and as luck would have it, she passed by. In excitement, my hands pulled off the headphone from the phone. She stopped by as I sheepishly plugged the headphones back. I thought she would just frown at me for being a nuisance but yet again...lady luck was by my side. We had our first informal conversation and it went like this....

Me: Heheh sorry, guess the headphones slipped. I will take care next time.
She: thats ok and by the way, thats a nice song. WHich movie is it from?
Me: Oh, its from the movie Jannat.....so you havent heard this before?
She: Oh no...we dont get time though music is my hobby too. frequent air travels do not allow me to keep in touch.
Me: I can understand. But the job must be kinda exciting right....a new place every day and new people....
She: Of course!! I love my job and yes, meeting new people everyday and handling them is not as easy as it sounds.
Me: I know...so many might have tried to hit on you I guess ;) Putting them in their face without offending them would be tough :)
She: Oh...maybe (with a surprised look)....
Me: (interrupting her) but I guess some good people like me do not mind a frown too ;)
She: (Laughing)...You guys are all the same....so you admit hitting on me...
Me: (Laughing too)...Well...was just trying my luck and ya are you a Punjabi?
She: Thats perfectly right....how did you know that?
Me: Typical Soni Kudi I guess ;) And I love Punjabi food a lot :D
She: Too much :) You know what, people might get disturbed. Why dont we talk somewhere else if you dont mind?
Me: Sure...

We walked all the way to the back where these airhostesses usually stand. All had gone to sleep leaving just the two of us. A perfect romantic setting...all alone with a beautiful girl and....sigh anyways back to the story...

She: So you listen to a lot of music huh...whom do you listen to?
Me: Usually Shreya Ghoshal, Mohd Rafi and Dire Straits...I do listen to lots of country music too.
She: I love country music......not many takers these days and Shreya Ghoshal is amazing too...at such a young age, she has achieved so much...so what else you do other than music?
ME: Talk to a beautiful stranger in a flight ;) to pass time
She (blushing):....well...I guess its getting late now...it was fun talking to you...I had not interacted with passengers like this....thanks for that
Me: Hey, this conversation is definitely incomplete without a cup of coffee :D...it would be perfect to end it with that....cmon.
She (Thinking)...: hmm....trusting a stranger is dangerous but I will do it for the coffee (smiling)...hey one more thing, sing a song for me a good old one....
Me (wondering why ): Well....I hope the coffee stands because I am really bad at that :D...anyways this one is just for you.....Sang Abhi Na Jaao Chodkar (Surprisingly sureela)
She: Oh My, that was wonderful....you never told me you could sing....alrite....the coffee is on me....how about the coffee shop in the airport if you have the time?
Me (Thanking my stars): wouldnt mind missing the flight too ;)

We called it quits for the day and ya, she did mention that she will not ask for my number nor I should for hers....this will strictly be a one off meeting only (for the time being and no pics...SIGH!!!!!!)

I slowly drifted off to sleep not knowing when and ya...she was in my mind throughout and when I woke up, she greeted me with a smile (I didnt mention that she had a beautiful smile and that forced me to look for her always)....and that smile was for a lil baby in the row ahead of me...that suited me perfectly...saw her best smile so far and ya, got caught again...:D Hum Nahi Sudhrenge (Thirundave Maatom!!!)

She opened the window to let the sunlight embrace her adding a glow to her face. I was waiting for the flight to land and when it finally did, I rushed to the door so that I wouldnt miss her. She came out with her colleagues and as soon as she saw me, she whispered something in their ears and bade them goodbye. They gave me a knowing smile and left, giving us the much needed privacy :D.

I asked her whether it was ok with her. She responded by placing my arm in hers leading me to the cafe. We spoke for 2 hours about everything...my first crush, her first crush, all the dark secrets and what not....Guess it was the coffee but what the heck!!These two hours saw us become friends from strangers (wish I could have taken this further) and I could feel a strange connection between us.

Sadly, the time came for us to leave. Both of us sat there not wanting to go but life goes on.

She: This cup of coffee was the best I ever had. Thanks for everything.
Me: You must have meant it because you didnt frown at me even a single time :D
She (smiling): That what you get for being such a bad boy but you know what, deep down, I think I like the bad boy more....
Me: So can this bad boy break his promise and ask your number/contact details?? Heheh
She: That still stands. But unlike most of the guys, you stuck to your word. Not even once did you ask for my number or tried to take my pic without my permission...I think I am going to miss you. Thanks a lot for everything and I hope we meet again.....for coffee

I was sure I heard her choke but chose not to reply. She gave me a hug followed by a peck on the cheek and just left. I didnt ask her why we shouldnt exchange numbers or not keep in touch though I was curious. She might have had extremely personal reasons for the same and I didnt want to interfere. For the first time, I looked up to catch her staring at me....and she didnt move her glance.

I boarded my next flight with a heavy heart but as I said, life goes on. Maybe Lufthansa will be kind enough to depute her in my flight again :D...That one cup of coffee made a huge difference to my life. The aroma of both, our little rendezvouz and the coffee is still fresh and will always be....who knows, we might meet for another cup pretty soon :)...pray for me folks!!!