Okay. It had been 2 months since my birthday and I was relaxed. I had stopped all the forwarded messages I was sending to her by then and had decided to let things be the way they were. She did tap on the like tab on a couple of my Facebook statuses.But they didn't count given I had managed a fifty plus already.

It was okayish by then. I stopped bothering. I had accepted what had happened and decided to move on.

I WAS DONE WITH HER...!!

I couldn't be a dog and wander after her like a devdas while she relentlessly ignored my feelings.

 

I was too busy at office. A series of pathetic allocations and fussy seniors , at office had already irritated the shitt out of me, but I couldn't have helped it too. I felt like a lousy old man sometimes. Deprived,burdened and accustomed to the situation.

 

We'd already had quite a lot of best friend meets by then and Ankur was part of a couple of them too. He had started to accompany me to all the places, I loved his company. Abha grew fond of him too,Sana was already too much into his jokes. These guys would gang up and start picking on me. I was liking it.

Life without a friend is like death without a witness. The feeling to have your best friends mock you is eternal. It brings joy galore. Those moments are supposed to be treasured always. The very feeling to see your friends laugh because of you brings in the maximum amount of contentment.

 

Ankur had become an indispensable part of our singles team , keeping in mind the facebook interactions between Ankur and Sana.

Abha maintained a low profile during this period , we were oblivious of the happenings in her life too. What kind of friends were we..?

Idiots.

 

It was february and all the Delhi University colleges were kicking with activity. They were ready to host their annual fests. It is one time when all these colleges reward their amicable students and their all the more amicable friends with star performances . From Kailash Kher to Vishal-Shekhar to Rakhi Sawant to Edward Maya to who not was performing. Lady Sri Ram College for women was hosting one too.

And I was upbeat about it to the core. I would get do dance like a drunk idiot with Sana , Abha. And which boy would like to miss an opportunity to eye the best girls in Delhi University. LSR was known for its sassy  crowd. Boys waited for this day with ultim capacity.

I was lucky, Sana offered me her coveted pass. Ankur sourced his pass from Manasi.

I wanted to meet Manasi too. It was time for scores to be settled. I knew I would lose given Ankur's mammoth pile already.

 

We reached there on time, before the gates closed to accommodate nomore. I and Ankur  rushed inside to search for known faces. What we saw was a sight worth dying. Sana wore a charming beige and golden dress with something black down in her feet . She had her hair open , they reached her butts. Beside her was Abha , dressed again beautifully in a white crochet dress.

Just before I could get over the fact that I was blessed with such bombs, I skipped another fall. Ankur roared in joy " Itna mat saja karo, log dekhte hi mar jayenge" and Sana hugged him in joy.

 

That was cheeky, but it had worked..

I was  amazed, dazed , shocked , perplexed and betrayed.

Yes , betrayed. Why wasn't I informed about such growing proximity..? I was supposed to know it all. It was not implied at all.

 

We went inside and met Manasi. She looked spot on too in a blue dress. How do all the LSR people manage to look so brilliant that too effortlessly..??

Ankur gave her a hug and I gave her a half  hug and a gentle hand shake, which was too much for an unknown.

But I wanted to SETTLE SCORES you know. We went inside and had the amazing Dal Makhni and Naan. Sana obviously did not have it . She had a spoonful of dal only.

 

So what is the best place to see a heterogeneous group of animals. A DJ floor.

We were at the side when we spotted many. We spotted a Dulhan on stage.She wore a red and chatak green suit with full bling make up. She came to the DJ nite with the thought that she might find a prospective groom for herself. If she found one is still a mystery.

Close to Dulhan we found the absolute bimbo. She wore an extreme micro mini skirt with a ganji. In the freezing weather. She didnot look suave , she was rather on the plump side. She danced weird too, provocative rather. Samjho naa...!!

Beside her was dancing the gabru jaat. What was funny was, that when ever a significant sentence came , he would push everybody else aside and while doing that he would open his mouth wide open as if trying to swallow a gollgappa.Abha  imitated him quite well. She won an applause from all of us.

 

We went on to the dance floor and started the show-off. Sana was good at dancing , she participated once in the same dance group I was the lead in. Ankur ,Sana and Abha tried to look high class snobs with little jigs here and there. Losers..!!

I and Manasi were a team. I was Shiela, she was Akshay Kumar. I was Silk , she was Naseeruddin. I was Chikni Chameli, she was the ultimate goon . I was Jalebi Bai , she was Arshad Warsi.I know people thought of me as chammiya.

She was superb. I loved her company. I started to like her pity jokes in the middle of conversation. Everything about her seemed perfect. She was a punjabi too. I was too much involved in her thoughts and then instantaneously Ankur and Abha started abusing and beating the Gabru Jaat.

I was so shocked , I knew Abha was a jaat , she had it hidden somewhere . She told me she longed to beat and abuse a boy.But why here..??

I didn't know how to react. I stood there for a moment and reflexively jumped in the fight. I was supporting Ankur in something about which I had no clue.

 

I got my answer in the next moment. He had pinched Sana on the butt, and Ankur noticed it. How did he notice it ..?? Why did he have his eye there..?? Later..!!

I shoved the Jaat. We were ultimately thrown out for creating a scene after the NCC intervened.

The Jaat rushed for cover. Sana was normal, but I saw a twinkle in her eyes . It wasn't for me. Every girl loves a man who could use his muscles for her.

I knew what Sana was thinking. But I was thinking about something else. I was thinking about Manasi.

She pretty much fitted my Check List which Ahaana had 70 % drafted with her qualities.

 

She was super intelligent.She managed an admission in LSR. Check

She was well spoken. From LSR.Check

She was into extra-curricular activities like me.LSR fine arts society.DJ companion. Check

She had good long hair. Beautifully rolled back that night.Check

She dressed well. Brand Freak flaunted a swanky bag after seeing which Abha and Sana roared in joy.Check

She  laughed on my silly jokes.I noticed that night. Check

She liked the same Bollywood songs as I did.Haah,UNDOUBTEDLY CHECK.

She loved Madhuri and Salman. I managed to get it out from her.Check

She was artistic.I loved the way she had applied her kohl.Check

 

So she was perfect.!! So I could go ahead and ask her out. I WAS A FATTU.Check..!!

 

I bade everybody a bye. Asked Manasi her number. Hugged Ankur and evrybody and boarded the metro at 9:30 and reached home at 11:30. My phone's battery was dead by then.

I wanted to call Sana and ask if she was fine.I rushed for my Maa's phone, which I used before I got one for myself when I entered CA.

Sana picked it up. She knew it was me. Everyone had my maa's number .

I asked how she felt and she asked me to shut up and sleep.OKAY..!!

 

I noticed the mobile had the icon of a flashing message. It meant that  the message memory was full.

I began deleting the forwarded advertisement messages. When I noticed a message from another number.

 

It read

"Happy B'day Garv, my chuddie buddie. My debating and masti partner of 16 years. May the year be as sweet for you as you are to the world. I want to see you soar high and reach the sky to achieve your dreams.Sorry I can't call you, I am inTrivandrum. Family function to attend and am surrounded by cousins.

Love Ahaana"

It was delivered at 12:01 in the night.

 

I was left wide open. My eyes were full of tears. Sweet tears. She wished me. She wished me.