Skip to main content

LIFE AND LIES #76 | Over The Years

For a moment, I was up in the air.

And for a moment, I had travelled back in time.

Back in 2011, I was watching a movie with my friend on a Nokia 5233. Our monthly expense budget didn’t include theatre tickets. But the songs were everywhere. Not a single day went by without hearing the voice of Mohit Chauhan. I had to watch the movie.

“Did it end,” I asked as the end credits rolled out. “The Cyber Café guy must have given us a faulty mp4 file.”

“Whatever,” my friend replied. “I didn’t like the movie.”

“What are you talking about? It’s one of the best Bollywood movies I have ever seen.”

“Really,” my friend was surprised at my reaction. “This movie was about lust… and obsession.”

I was thinking of contradicting him when I noticed the chemistry textbook lying nearby. We were studying for the upcoming test when we thought of watching the movie. I picked up the book and rushed through some pages until I reached the one I needed.

“See, substrate and enzyme,” I showed it to my friend who looked confused. I explained further. “They work as lock and key. One cannot fit with another. Sometimes, the same happens with people. Two people share a unique combination. Space left vacant by a certain someone cannot be filled by someone else.”

“Woah, man,” my friend replied with enthusiasm. “You should become a writer. Chuck engineering.”

Fast forward to 2016. Another city. Another friend.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come? Mohit Chauhan is performing in our college. I know he’s your favourite.”

“No, I can’t,” I replied. “I told you. IIFT entrance test. Next Sunday.”

“It’s just a few hours.”

“I can’t. I have made a promise to myself.”

“Fine! Suit yourself. Don’t regret it later.”

The moment was over. I was no longer in the air. My friends had put me down. Back to the present. 2017.

But what I was witnessing was nothing less than a dream. As it turned out, I didn’t have to regret it like my friend had cautioned me. Mohit Chauhan was performing on stage right before my eyes, in IIFT where I was studying. I would have been out of words but my recent CAT preparation had helped me build quite a vocabulary. The word was ‘serendipity.’

And now it’s 2024. And my birthday.

I have taken leave from work. No big plans, just a movie. I no longer have to worry about the price of a movie ticket.

After 13 years, they have rereleased Rockstar in theatres.

***
Liked what you read? Leave a comment.





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

LIFE AND LIES #77 | The English Teacher

When we are young, the world is full of possibilities. We can do anything, and become anything. We antagonise anyone who even hints at thinking otherwise about us. It's probably why most of us have a story to tell where the villain was a school teacher. Even I do. I don’t remember exactly how I ended up in the Headmaster’s cabin that day. All I remember is that back then I blamed my House Master for it. It wasn’t just me who had bunked the STD XII Pre-Board exams. There were many. But he made a scapegoat out of me. And the moment, I set foot inside the cabin, I received a big slap from the Headmaster. My ears rang. But that wasn’t the worst thing that happened that day. The Headmaster instructed him to call my father. Tell him to come or his son would be rusticated. I wasn’t a notorious student. I was good in my studies and had no disciplinary complaints against me. Had this incident not occurred, I would have completed my schooling in a few months with a clean record. My fat...

LIFE AND LIES #98 | Talk To Me

*** The woods are gloomy, dark and scary. You were supposed to keep me company. Even when the roads diverged, You promised me we wouldn't split. Talk to me, man! The mountains spit fire. The rivers run acrid. I walk the barren valley All by myself. Talk to me, man! You and I had concluded long back That life is a joke and Death is the punchline. Then why am I not laughing? Talk to me, man! While I grow old and frail, You'll remain forever young. I say that out of envy Or maybe to content myself. Talk to me, man! I hope you have the answers now To all the questions that befuddle mankind: God, soul, afterlife, rebirth, heaven and hell. You can go on a rant about them if you want, But just once come and talk to me, man! ***

LIFE AND LIES #100 | The Blurred Lines

Nitin was utterly shocked when he woke up on Saturday morning with a hangover and without any recollection of what had transpired the previous night. He had been drunk before. He had lost all of his senses before. But everything always came back to him the next morning. However, that day, it didn't; complete blackout. There must have been something bizarre in that drink. Over the course of the week, though, he started remembering flashes of it and began looking for an opportunity to talk to Sandhya, sober and alone. The weather had taken a sharp turn today. A sweltering sunny day gave way to a cloudy evening with thrashing winds. As everyone raced to the office window to watch the scene unfolding outside, Nitin saw Sandhya signalling to him by pressing two fingers to her lips. He couldn’t help but smile. She knew he loved to smoke in this weather. After all, she was his smoking partner in the office. Together, they went downstairs, but as soon as they stepped out of the building, t...