Memories... Yaadein - 5. Memories 5

Karan had the same odd feeling, the nervousness and the same tension in his stomach he had felt the first time; as he dialled Rudra’s number with trembling hands. He waited nervously for the call to complete. He heard a click and a woman’s monotone came in saying the number he was dialling could not be reached as the person was outside coverage area. He looked down at the phone in dismay as if he expected the girl to be right there. He dialled again and again but every time it gave him the same result. He had started to lose all hope and decided that he would call one last time and then go back home. He dialled the number and this time there was a total silence on the other side. The stupid monotone also did not come through. By this time he was holding on to the last strands of patience. Rudra had told him that the reception up there was pretty bad and he would try to speak to him if Karan could get through. Obviously that was not going to happen. Suddenly there was a crackling sound and before Karan could understand what was happening, he heard Rudra’s voice.

“Hello”, rang the baritone.

“Hey Rudra, Karan. How are you?” Karan almost shouted in the phone. “I thought I would never get through to you. I had been trying for ages but in vain.”

“Hey Karan. Good to hear your voice buddy. Oh yah. The reception here is crap. Anyway…how are things with you?”

“Pretty good. Got your mail and so am calling you . So how long would you be there?” Karan was out of his initial shock by then and felt quite at ease.

“Dunno. Would be for a few more days I believe. So when would you be in Delhi? I was supposed to be in Bombay after I am done with my job here. But I do not think it would be possible now. I am stuck here indefinitely.”

“Oh.” Karan felt his heart sinking again. What if he was still in Manipur on the 17^th? He would not be able to meet him, never mind staying with him. This was his last chance of seeing him again.

“Do not change your plans because of me. When you are in Delhi give me a call and if I am there, which I think I would be, then I will definitely meet you. The rest is on our luck”, Rudra was saying.

Karan knew what Rudra was saying was right. No one can do anything if he gets stuck in Manipur and cannot come back by then. His Mumbai visit was also cancelled. Such rotten luck. There was nothing else to say. The line was extremely disturbing. Continuing their conversation was proving a real task. Anyway, Karan couldn’t think of anything more to say. So finally they hung up.

Karan went back home. He had mixed feelings. He was happy to have spoken to Rudra that night but the outcome of the phone call made him depressed. Everything seemed unreal to him. Somewhere at the back of his mind he had a feeling that he would not be able to meet Rudra. Rudra never spoke about Karan spending the night in Delhi. All Rudra spoke about was, meeting Karan in Delhi and how it may not happen. Nothing was making sense to him and again when he thought how Rudra had answered his e-mails he was sure that Rudra wanted to meet him. The more he tried to think and rationalise, the more depressed he got. So finally he stopped pondering and went to bed. He tossed and turned and finally drifted off to asleep.

Days dragged on as usual. Nothing changed. And finally it was December…. time for Karan to prepare to go to Kolkata. He was excited to meet his parents after almost seven months. Soumya’s wedding was on the 10th. He was looking forward to that too. And above all he was really looking forward to the trip to Manali. If they were lucky, they would see the snow. Karan was always attracted to mountains and its grandeur and never really liked sea. But irony of life,. he settled down in Mumbai whereas he had tried his best to get a job in the north. He even had applied in Nepal but nothing worked out. Destiny…… for sure.
His train came to a screeching halt. It was pitched dark and chilly. He pulled his shawl closer round him as he stepped out on the dimly lit platform. He still had a smile on his lips remembering what the lady had asked him when he came back from the wash room. He was wearing a black kurta and a black embroidered shawl and he knew he was a little bit over dressed. The moment he had come back to his seat, the elderly lady; his co-passenger, asked him…

” Kya aapke sasural wale aapko lene arahey hai?” ( Are your in-laws coming to pick you up?)

Karan could not help but chuckle and told her that it was not the case.

” To kya aapki girlfriend aarahi hai aapko lene?” ( Then is it your girlfriend?)

Karan was laughing by then, truly amused. He shook his head and said,” Nahi…papa aarahey hai mujhey recieve kerney.” ( No, Dad is coming to pick me up.)The lady was visibly disappointed.

He was still thinking about her and smiling when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned round and saw his father. Its always good to be back home. He handed his luggage over to the driver and started walking by his father, filling him with all the news of Bombay, his work, and other things. By the time he reached home, it was 5:30 and the sky was turning pink in the east. It was different to look up at his house in the diffused light of the early morning. It had been so many months and the memories of days when he was a kid and used to go for early morning walks with his grandfather, came flooding in. He stood looking up at his house for a long time. Then slowly went in and up the familiar stairs to the 2nd floor where he knew his mom would be waiting for him. And sure enough, as soon as he reached his floor, his Mom came out with open arms.

Karan sank down in his chair and looked around the familiar dining room. Tea was so good in Kolkata. The Bombay people do not know how to make tea. What they drink is anything but that. He was tired but he knew he had a long day ahead. He would go to Soumya’s as soon as he could. He had promised him he would be there for the morning rituals. Then he would barely have time to come back, get dressed and go with the Baraat. But that was what friend’s weddings are supposed to be. He was not complaining. After breakfast, he freshened up, and went out.

The day was as crazy as he had assumed. It was a whirl wind. He was thankful when finally the day came to an end. He was tired. He had not slept the entire night in the train and then he was up all day and was really busy with the wedding. He was happy but dog tired. When he sank in his bed finally at around 1 in the morning, he was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

The cab was waiting for them outside. There was a pandemonium in the house. So many luggage and chaos, it was hard to get one's words through to someone. Karan’s sister was already dragging the luggage down the stairs. Going to the mountains and that too in winter, was a real task. The overcoats and sweaters take so much of space in the luggage that you invariably end up with ten times more baggage than you would have normally. They would be going by train to Pathankoth…which was almost 42 hours. Just 2 days back Karan had come from Bombay…travelling for 32 hours. It started to feel as if his entire life revolved round trains.

Thankfully the train left on time and after a never ending 46 hours, they were in Pathankoth. Invariably the train was late by 4 hours. Now, it was time to haul their luggage again. They hired a taxi and stuffed all the luggage in and exhausted, they settled down and Karan lit a cigarette. Their journey from Pathankoth to Manali was another 8 hours. Karan was damn sure and so were all the rest that by the end of the journey they would all be dead. But when they started their drive up , the scenery that greeted them, was unbelievable.

What they saw on their way, could not be explained in words. They saw the most beautiful creation of God. Huge mountains covered with snow, close enough to walk over. That’s the Himachal for you. They were so beautiful, majestic and gorgeous. They stood there, silent for all to see. Karan had a funny feeling, realising that they were surrounded by the mountains which were millions of years making. Except for their car, there was not a soul in sight. Its so incredible to realise that there were millions and billions and trillions of men in this world and only a few of them get to see this. But these mountains, they don’t care about who comes and watches them or who doesn’t. Its as if they were all decked up for God and Karan’s family just happened to be there. They made him feel so small, useless, worthless but all the humility and intimidation… Karan loved every bit of it. They almost made one feel guilty for being there and intruding in their solitude. The thing that made it all so intriguing was that they were totally unaware of their grandeur and beauty. But they were there for everyone to behold, whoever cares. This is where one actually feels the presence of God.
Karan saw almost every possible colour around him. From dry blond grass stretching up to an emerald green river which went up to the middle which was snow white as it was frozen and then the lush green grass and plants which went right up to the base of the mountains. One side was brown and the other was white with tinge of blue. Everyone stared out of the windows, spellbound.

When they reached their resort, it was already dark. Karan had a quick shower and went down to have dinner with his family. They had asked everyone possible, whether there was any chance for snow the next day. They did not have much time. They were in Manali for 2 days and then they were going to Dharamshala. No one could give any positive answer. But everyone was hopeful. After dinner Karan went to bed but could not sleep although he was tired to the core. He came out and stood on the balcony. He looked up at the sky and there were clusters of clouds all over the sky. The moonlight gleamed on the mountain in front of him and turned it to silver as the light reflected on the snow. Karan desperately wanted it to rain, for the locals had told him that if it starts raining then there were more chance of snow. He wanted to take a thread and needle and sew all the small clusters of clouds together to make it one big cloud and maybe then it would rain. He stood there for a long time, and by the time he went to sleep, it was almost 2.

He woke up with the sound of water dripping from somewhere. He squinted in the light that filtered through the heavy curtains. He grimaced to think that someone must have left a tap open somewhere or the overhead tank must have overflowed. He looked at his watch, it was 6:15. He got out of bed and went to the window and pushed the curtains away and looked out. He could not believe what he saw. It was cloudy and it had been raining all night. And the mountain in front looked whiter than before and he realised that it was snowing there. He turned round and woke his sister up and went outside. It was cold but Karan did not care. He just stood on the balcony drinking in the beauty. And then he saw his dream coming true. First he did not realise what it was and thought it was rain blown in by the wind. But a closer look told him that it was not rain but snowflakes. It was snowing!!!! He could not believe it. It was the most amazing thing he had ever seen in his entire life. Within minutes everything was covered in a film of white powder. It looked as if the entire town had been whitewashed. But this change was happening in utter silence. Slowly and silently the town covered itself in a white blanket. All the pine trees looked like Christmas trees. Only here the snow was real and not cotton.

He did not realise when his parents and his sister had come and were standing next to him. They were too afraid to speak and break the rhythm of silence. So their trip was successful. They saw what they had come for. It was more beautiful than they had ever imagined. Dharamshala was equally beautiful. The place was so very small and quaint. Karan fell in love with the place instantly…for its beauty and not to mention the hot and sexy guys there. The guys of Himachal were really hot.

And then it was time for them to go back.

Karan was hopeful. The day he reached Delhi, the first thing he did was call Rudra.

“Hi Rudra. How are you?” This time Karan did not introduce himself. Why he did not, he himself did not know.

”Hi Karan. I am not fine.” Rudra recognised Karan anyway. How many times have they spoken over the telephone? Twice? Why did he say that he was not good. No one says that. What was wrong?

“What happened?”

“My Mom has been diagnosed with Cancer. She is in the last stage. I am in the hospital now to pick up her reports.”

Karan was stunned. Did not know what to say. Whatever it was, he was not expecting this.

“Where are you?” Karan heard Rudra asking him.

“I am in the Railway Guesthouse. So I suppose you would not be able to come over?”

” I do not know when I would be done with at the hospital. Maybe I can come over later.”

“Listen, do not try too hard. I would understand. I am sorry about your mom. If you cannot make it, I will call you once I am back in Bombay.”

“Call me in 2 hours time and I will be able to tell you whether I can come or not.”

“Sure” And Karan hung up. He was not disappointed. Why was he not disappointed? He knew his luck. This had to happen. He was sure more than ever now that he would not be able to meet him.

When he called Rudra after a couple of hours, he said that he would come over by 3 ‘O clock. Karan’s train was at 4:20. Karan could not wait. He was restless. He went and took a shower and told his parents that his friend was coming to meet him so he was going down to wait for him. He was pacing in front of the lodge. It was 3:15 and still there was no sign of him. Karan was not even sure whether he would be even able to recognise Rudra. His face was just a shimmer in his mind. After all he had seen him only once. He looked up and saw a guy, in a blue turtle neck sweater and black and yellow jacket coming towards him, jumping and avoiding the puddles of water on the road. There was one huge puddle in between Karan and the guy then. He stopped at the other side of the puddle and looked up at him. Karan could not still be sure whether he was Rudra or not. Although he could not recognise the face, his heart told him all that he needed to know. They stood there, at the either side of the puddle, their gaze holding on to each other…frozen in time.