Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Entry #42

The Rendezvous
by Bhaswati Ghosh


You never approved of it as a meeting point; I always found it interesting.

After all, the whole city's lovers would converge in Victoria Memorial, Nicco Park, or even the not-one-bit romance inspiring Moidan. I found my intensive coaching for the IIT entrance test to be a boon. Stealing those few minutes by the graying walls meant we weren't thrown amid that snuggling, juvenile mass of couples in public places. For me, this secret (or was it, with the housewives peeking out of their first and second floor windows?) meeting with you every alternate evening worked perfectly. Until Baba appeared on the scene, that is. Not in my wildest dreams would I have imagined him passing by this stretch, catching a glimpse of me tapping on books, waiting for you.

"What were you doing in that neighborhood?" He asked me at dinner that night.

"Umm, where, Baba?" I looked as startled as I felt.

"In that lowly North Calcutta area. What took you there?"

"A friend lives there," I muttered.

His caustic glare didn't escape my eyes. The son of a sugar magnate, I wasn't supposed to step into a North Calcutta ghetto. His look scared me he would find out. He did. For three months, we didn't talk.

One evening, while trotting toward the gray walls, I saw Baba talking to some people. He had met your parents afterwards. A month later, he blessed us. At our wedding.

I still love those leaking pipes lining our gray, you know.

12 comments:

Joni said...

I love the way you used the picture and turned it into something to remember fondly. Ver nice.

Anonymous said...

An interesting and engaging twist. Enjoyed it.

Scott said...

I like the nice message too Bhaswati. Very sweet. Good to see you here!

Jeff said...

I enjoyed this story. Very nice!

Anonymous said...

A poetic & ethereal quality to your story, Bhas.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful story, deftly written.
Atyllah

Anonymous said...

I liked the way that I thought it would be a bad ending, but it turned out to have a satisying resolution. I enjoyed it.

Anonymous said...

Few people who used the prompt as a setting made it positive. Original, good.

Anonymous said...

Very sweet twist to end it on a high note.

s.w. vaughn said...

Nice! Has a literary feel to it, and a grin ending!

Anonymous said...

Thank you everyone. It's always a joy to take part in these contests, not in the least because of the opportunity they provide for reading so many wonderful stories. What a great learning experience.

Anonymous said...

Loved the unexpected ending. The feeling of relief and happiness shines through!