SOMETIMES, CONSUMING ALCHOHOL IS GOOD
(DEDICATED TO ABBAS ABDULALI VASI ‘MAREEZ’),
‘MUJH PAR SITAM KAR GAYE MERI GHAZAL KE SHER,
PADHKAR WOH REHTE HAI DUSRO KE KHAYALO ME’
Abbas Abdulali Vasi ‘MAREEZ.'
February 22, 1917 – October 19, 1983
I would like to dedicate this particular chapter to my favorite Gujarati Poet and Ghazal Writer Shri Abbas Abdulali Vasi, aka ‘MAREEZ ’.
In this chapter, I have tried to contain all his ghazals and shayaris at places where they best fit in.
I apologize in advance, in case there has been any mistake while writing his Ghazals. I solely intent to keep him alive in the hearts of my readers.
Furthermore, I have written almost all the shayaris and Ghazals in the Hinglish language.
Special Thanks to Mr. Mohsin Vasi (Son of Late Shri Abbas Vasi ‘Mareez’) for reviewing the chapter and for his blessings.
February 2, 2015.
GOA.
Sunny, Arpit, Neelay, Keval and I felt we had achieved the primary goal of our life; the most awaited Goa trip. We reached at Goa in the morning, as was planned. We spent the entire day on two beaches. Candolim beach was the place in the morning, which was near to our hotel and Baga beach in the evening after we had had lunch. At night, we had our dinner at one of the shacks on the beach and that was followed by an alcohol party.
The next day, we decided to give the beaches a skip and instead explore the city areas. We had started with Aguada fort and Chapora fort, which become famous after the Bollywood movie ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. Then we left for Old Goa and Panjim to visit the church of St. Francis Xavier, aka Basilica of Bom Jesus, Dona Paula, Mary Immaculate Conception Church and lastly INOX to catch ‘BABY’ – a Bollywood movie having Akshay Kumar in the leading act. The only thing we could think of next was dinner and so we found a restaurant in Panjim where we boozed. I wanted to play a prank on my friends, and so I put up an act of being sloshed to the gills!
My drunken state scared the rest and they decided to leave with me for our hotel room. However, I did not stop the act and kept on giving them the scare with my drunken antics.
‘Bhailog, let’s go back to the hotel. His wicket is down.’ Arpit announced.
‘Hudd be! We will go the beach again. You scrap the idiot at the hotel and join us later.’ Sunny suggested.
‘No yaar. I am tired too. Let’s go the room’ Keval said.
‘Then what about our daru party?’ Neelay asked
‘Muh me lele daru ko’ Arpit snapped in frustration.
Everyone laughed. I laughed more dramatically.
‘Muh me hi leni hai Kamine, gutter me nahi dalni’ Neelay said he could only drink the liquor, not pour the stuff in his ass.
‘Guys, I have an idea! Let’s buy a stock of alcohol and we’ll drink at our room the whole night, what say?’ Keval suggested.
‘Great idea. Utha iss ko (get him up). Kick his ass’ Arpit asked Sunny to kick me and wake me up.
I was alert to everything.
‘From where are we gonna buy those bottles?’ Sunny asked.
‘Any wine shop or the supermarket. Don’t worry about that’ Neelay replied.
Sunny landed a few slaps on my cheeks to get me to my senses. Arpit pulled me up and whispered in my ear that there would a special ‘daru’ party arranged at our hotel room.
‘Zahid rehva de mane tabahi bharya gharma, Masjid thi vdhare ahin aave chhe Khuda yaad’ I recited a famous ghazal of the Gujarati Poet ‘Mareez' in answer to that.
‘Matlab?’ Arpit was clueless and turned to Keval for the meaning of the line. Arpit was living in Ahmedabad for the past nine years, even though he was essentially a Delhi lad. Sunny too failed miserably in understanding the heavy Gujarati dialect and asked Keval the meaning of the Shayari.
‘Rehne de usko tabahi bhare ghar me, matlab beer bar me, masjid se zyada usko idhar Khuda yaad aate hai’ Keval translated for him.
‘Wah bhaila’ Neelay praised my shayari recital.
‘Chup reh na, Gandu’ Ankit scolded him.
I stood up, hugged the waiter and told him ‘Dua me yaad rakhna.'
I sat behind Sunny’s Activa during the Panjim road trip to our hotel.
‘Mujhko yaaro Maaf Karna, main nashe me hun’ I started singing loudly on the road. Sunny laughed.
‘Kya?’ I asked Sunny
‘Chup bey’ Sunny asked me to keep quiet.
‘Main Nashe me hun’ I continued the song.
Arpit’s scooter caught up with ours and he told Sunny that I was not in my senses.
‘Jiska Badha bhai ho sharabi, chhota peeye to kya hai kharabi?’ I pointed my finger to Arpit and sang another line of the same song.
‘Shut your mouth’ Arpit shouted at me.
We all stopped at Tito’s supermarket from where we decided to purchase all the alcohol in the world. Keval bought ten bottles of his favorite Kingfisher Strong beer; Sunny picked a bottle of Smirnoff vodka. I chose a bottle of Imperial Blue whiskey and uttered the tagline of the brand ‘Men will be men’ at Neelay. Neelay and I decided to share the whiskey. Arpit was the only non-alcoholic person our group. But, he was interested in tasting the alcohol in Goa. I noticed that he was discussing something with Sunny. I guess the first timer was asking for his advice on choosing his very first drink.
‘Abey, Make it fast’ Keval shouted.
One by one, everyone lined up with their bottles on the cash counter. I noticed six bottles of ‘Bacardi Breezer’ Orange and Watermelon flavor.
‘Dude, are you going to drink this water? Are you kidding me?’ Neelay asked Sunny.
‘Kamine, it’s not for me. It’s for Arpit’ Sunny replied.
‘Neelay, ek sher yaad aayo’ I said the occasion reminded me of a ghazal.
Everyone went ‘Irshad’.
‘Thayo rakash prem no, vafa ni aabru gayi, Peeta badha thayi gaya, shura ni aabru gayi’ I recited a line for a ghazal that precisely meant how everyone started drinking and lost their pride in the course.
‘Super bro super!’ Neelay hugged me.
We reached our room. Arpit and Sunny were talking to each other and planning for the next day’s trip. I was the first one to quickly change clothes, arrange all the bottles with the packet of snacks, which we bought earlier along with disposables. Keval and Neelay came back to our room after freshening up. I revealed to everyone how I was simply pulling off an act at Panjim.
‘Bey toppa, take a breath. Why are you always in a hurry?’ Keval asked me when Sunny told him that I arranged everything within ten minutes.
‘Zindgi na rass ne peevama jaldi karo ‘Mareez’ ek toh occhi madira chhe ane galtu jaam chhe’ I said.
‘Bhai, you have turned into ‘Mareez’ now.’ Neelay said.
‘Who Mareez?’ Arpit asked.
‘You don’t know Mareez Saheb? He was a renowned poet of Gujarat. He was even called the ‘Ghalib of Gujarat’. You people will have to bear with my shayaris by Mareez tonight!
‘Haan bhai, but please translate it into Hindi for us general folks. Mane Gujarati nathi fave chhe Arpit said in his weird Gujarati accent.
Sunny and Arpit also changed their clothes. All five of us sat in a circle with drinks and snacks in the center.
‘Bhailog, you guys are my best buddies in the world. I am worried we might not have as much fun ever again.’ Arpit said. Arpit started feeling tipsy after downing two bottles of breezer.
‘We will enjoy kutte!’ Sunny said.
‘I want to recite another shayari of Mareez Saheb’, I said
‘Irshad’ Neelay encouraged.
‘Irshad. But in Hindi please’ Arpit said.
‘Suno, Especially for Arpit’ I said.
Arpit tossed his breezer in the air.
‘Zindgi jeene ka falsafa samaj liya, Jo khushi aayi zindgi me usko aakhri samaj liya’, I said.
‘Waah bhai Waah, jeeyo jeeyo’ Arpit cheered and then gulped down half a bottle of Breezer.
‘What are you drinking, fuckers? Taste this. This one’s a real drink’ Arpit said to all of us after finishing his third bottle.
‘Siddhant, go ahead’ Neelay urged me to recite another of Mareez’s shayaris
‘Kalyug me bhi madira ki izzat karo ‘Mareez’ ke satyug ke anth ki aakhri nishani hai’ I said.
To this, Arpit folded his hands and bowed his head to me. ‘You are great.’
‘Kamino, is it just me who must say all the shayaris? Come on, you guys must say something as well.’ I said.
‘We don’t know any’, Sunny replied.
‘Everyone must at least recite one shayari while drinking’ I said.
‘Yes, bro. You are right’ Arpit spoke in his woozy state.
‘Haan. Arpit, we start with you.’ I said
‘Mmmm. Suno’ Arpit said
‘Irshad’ I said
‘Usne Jahan Jahan kadam rakhe, maine woh jagah chum li…’ Arpit attempted sincerely.
‘Wah wah karo, salo!’ I said
‘Waaah waaaaah.' shouted all.
‘Usne jahan jahan kadam rakhe, maine woh jagah chum li, aur woh bewafa jaake meri maa ko boli ke aunty aapka beta mitti khata hai.'
We all laughed fiercely till the next fifteen minutes. It was Keval’s turn next. From our knowledge of him, we were pretty much expecting a despondent shayari from him.
‘Siddhant, even I know a shayari of Mareez Saheb’ Keval said.
‘Thoko!’ I said
‘Shu dard chhe, shu karan chhe.’ Keval started
‘Be nabda, speak in Hindi’
‘Kya dard hai, kya kaaran hai, kuch pata nahi, fir bhi dekho ‘Mareez’ ko ilaj chahie’, Keval said.
‘Shu vaat chhe nabda, excellent’ I hugged him.
‘Neelay, your turn’ Sunny quipped.
‘Listen fuckers! Kya batau ke meri premika kya padh rahi hai’ Neelay began.
‘Dofa, School girl? Shame on you!’ I said.
‘Shut the fuck up and listen’ Neelay replied.
‘Continue’ Arpit nodded.
‘Kya batau ke meri premika kya padhti hai, pyar ka maths mere se Sikh ke woh algebra kisi aur ke sath solve karti hai’ Neelay finished.
‘Wait! I will tell your wife about your love affair with a school girl’ Sunny pretended to send a text message to Neelay’s wife.
‘Abey nai bhai, It was just a shayari. I read it on WhatsApp. Please don’t call my wife.'
Neelay got up to his feet and lumbered to Sunny to stop him from calling his wife. He nudged past me and accidentally elbowed the glass of whiskey on my hand. The glass titled and the drink splattered on the floor.
‘What the fuck! I will kill you’ I said to Neelay
‘Sorry sorry’ Neelay apologized.
‘Make a new peg’ Sunny said.
‘Dost peete peete mujhse kuch zamin par gir jaata hai saki, mujhe usme hazaro ki pyaas nazar aati hai saki, said the great Mareez saheb’ I said.
‘Done! Now the whole night he will be paying shraddhanjali to Mareez Saheb’ Keval said.
‘With pleasure, bro’ I said.
‘Sunny, it’s your turn’ said Arpit who was now in a jolly mood.
‘I don’t know any shayari vayri’ Sunny replied.
‘Translate any Mallu song in Hindi.’ Neelay suggested
‘Haan, or else recite any WhatsApp messages like these two kaminas’ I pointed at Arpit and Neelay.
Sunny unlocked his phone and started searching for any forwarded message.
‘Haan suno’ Sunny said
‘Irshad bhai’ Keval said
‘Aap humse keh ke gaye ki so jayie hum aapke khwabo me aaenge’ Sunny started
‘Waaaaaaaah’ Arpit screamed.
‘Sun na waghri and you too Sunny. I don’t need any disturbances. I need some serious ending’ I said.
‘Sun le pehle. Woh Hum se kehke gaye ke aap so jayie hum aapke khwabo me aaenge. Par jabse unhone Yeh kaha Hai tabse naa neend aati hai, naa khwab aate Hai aur naahi woh. Good Night Sweet Dreams’ Sunny finished reading the message.
The message caught us off guard. We asked Sunny about the person who had sent him the text with the good night message. He told us that a school friend had sent him. They both liked each other a lot during school days. It had been eight to nine years since, and they have lost touch after they left school.
‘Love shove hua?’ I asked.
‘Yes. But we didn’t profess our love for each other.'
‘Iss Jahan main aise premi bhi aa jate hai’ I could not resist another shayari of Mareez Saheb, at the situation.
‘Kaise?’ Neelay asked.
‘Aise’ I pointed my finger at Sunny.
‘ha-ha-ha.'
‘Iss Jahan main aise premi bhi aa jate hai, Jo vade nahi karte ek dusre se fir bhi nibha jaate hai’.
Sunny touched my feet after I finished reciting the shayari.
‘Kamino, you both went to Mumbai to meet Ruchi and never even bothered to tell us the complete story in detail? Arpit said to Sunny and me.
‘Leave it, man.’ I sipped on my third peg of whiskey.
‘Hatt be! Come on, now tell us everything that has happened between the two of you’ Neelay felt more excited than ever.
‘Woh kya karegi pyaar ki baat, jisko har baat par niyam yaad aaye, rasme yaad aaye’ I said
‘Oh, Devdas. Speak up. You will feel better’ Arpit played counselor.
‘Maine usko chaha tha Ek dum sadgi se, pata nahi tha muje ke pyaar karne me bhi koi kala honi chahie.' I said. An air of despondency was spreading in the air and I could feel it.
‘Mareez saheb. Please tell the story’ Neelay insisted.
‘Unki bhi koi majbooriya rahi hogi, koi yun hi bewafa nahi ho jaata.'
I was continuously reciting ghazals and shayaris of Mareez.
‘Sunny, forget the idiot. Tell us Ruchi-Siddhant Ki story, Tuje woh school wali ki Kasam’ Keval said.
‘Nothing much really happened on that front. She was simply confused whether to settle for Siddhant or her best friend’ Sunny said.
‘Ohh. So here too brother, you bit the dust!’ Arpit spoke as he laughed.
‘Muh me le le’ I jibed.
Everyone laughed.
‘Hogi Koi kala jo pyaar me jaan dal deti hai, varna sirf bansuri ki aawaz sunke Radha nahi rizati’ I said.
‘Sahi bola bhai ekdum tu’ Arpit founds words even in his drunken state.
‘Aur suno…’ I could not have enough of the evening that was unfolding before me.
Everyone involuntarily went ‘irshad’ once again.
‘Rehta tha kabhi uske zulfo ki chhaon main, mere naseeb se woh andhera bhi gaya, kitni maze ki deewangi hogi pyaar me yaaro ke jisme ‘Mareez’ jaisa samazdar bhi kaam se gaya’, I relished on every tiny bit of the lines that escaped my mouth.
‘Yaar. Now I have got the hang of Mareez’s Ghazals. I want to read more ghazals of Mareez’ Arpit said.
‘Don’t worry. I have his book in Dubai. You know what? I am gonna send you a ghazal every day with its Hindi translation.’ I said
‘Better still, post them in our WhatsApp group’ Neelay said.
‘Okays. Now that all of you know about Ruchi and me, this one last shayari is dedicated to Ruchi and our unrecruited love.’ I smiled and tilted my head back.
‘Speak up’ Sunny said.
‘Haan Jab tak thi tab tak hum dono ke bich me thi, Par ‘Naa’ ki baat Kyun Har jagah fel gayi?’ My head was tipsy, but my heart was curious.
‘Bhai, you are a pure devotee of Mareez Saheb.'
‘Thank you, bhai.’ I said.
‘Hmm. Maybe God has got other plans for you’ Keval said.
‘Nahi reh. Lady Luck is not in my favor.'
‘Maybe.'
‘Ohh Sitamgar, daad toh de Meri tadbeer ko? Izzat rakh leta hun teri, dosh deke meri takdeer ko’ I said for God.
Five bottles of breezer had got Arpit under a sea of intoxication. However, that did not stop us from provoking him. He was initially apprehensive of downing the last bottle but eventually gave in. Arpit picked up the last bottle and but could not gather the courage to guzzle all its contents even after five attempts. He was confused.
‘Maza nai hai fir bhi bina piye nahi chalega, pyaas badha di hai humne sharab ko dekar’ I said.
‘Waaaaah’ Arpit shouted and gulped down all the liquor in the bottle in a single go.
We were surprised on seeing variance gradually overpower the harmless guy. The words that left his mouth made no sense at all and we could only hear him praise all of us. Arpit was drunk as a fish.
‘Guys, see I found an excellent shayari of Mareez saheb from Google.’ Neelay said.
‘Bol Bol’ The name of ‘Mareez sahib’ brought alive my willingness.
‘Asar aisa nahi dekha hai mene barso ki ibaadat me saki, sirf do jaam main jeevan badal Gaya saki. Dedicated to Arpit who praised us after a long time’ Neelay said.
It was already 2:30 AM. Keval excused himself and went back to him room to catch some sleep. Now, only me, Sunny and Neelay were awake. We were half-drunk and half-sleepy. We decided not to drink anymore and chucked away the empty bottles into the garbage. Sunny kept the unopened bottle into the fridge.
‘Let's sleep’ Neelay said.
‘I am not sleepy’ Sunny retorted.
‘I am half sleepy’ I said.
‘Let’s go to the Candolim beach. It’s walking distance’ Neelay suggested.
We put on our sleepers and headed towards the Candolim beach. It was almost 3:00 AM in the morning, but Goa had more life than life itself. We noticed several foreigners, hippies and Indian couples who had come for either honeymooning or for celebrating their stag parties on the beach.
‘Guys, we will have to come to Goa once again, but this time with our spouses.’ I suggested.
Sunny and Neelay agreed.
My phone rang. ‘Hritisha Calling’ was displayed on my mobile screen. I picked up the call after a single ring.
‘Hey, Good morning!’ I said to Hritisha
‘Hain? Still awake? I only tried to give you missed call’ Hritisha said.
‘I am in Goa, Habibi. I am not here to sleep’ I said.
‘Hmmm. Where are you now? She asked
‘In a pub with Sunny and Neelay’
‘What the fuck? It’s almost half past three in the morning Siddhant. Go to your room and sleep.'
‘Peetha Ma Maru maan satat hajri thi chhe, masjid ma roj jaau, kaun aavkar de?’ I said
‘What? What? What?’ She went.
‘Nothing, It’s a Gujarati shayari of the great Mareez.’ I said
‘Hmm. What does it mean?’
‘It means, No one care if I go to mosque every day since I get more respect in a beer bar than in a mosque. I said.
‘Nice. Ghazal always sounds pretty in our own languages’ she said
‘Ho Gujarati ki ya Urdu ki Mareez, Ghazalein likhi jati hai sirf dil ki zuban me’ I followed it up with another shayari of Mareez Sahab.
‘Subhanallah, Mashaallah, Al Humduliilah’ she said.
‘Shukran Habibi’ I said.
‘Achha, I am going to take a shower; I will buzz you once I get ready.'
‘Okay boss!'
Sunny asked me to whom I was talking too early in the morning. I said she was Hritisha, one of my friends from Dubai who live in Delhi Now.
‘Why did she wake up so early in the morning?’ Neelay asked
‘She works in GENPACT, Delhi. Her job timing was from morning 5 to afternoon 2’ I said
They started insisting me to show them a photo of Hritisha. I show them her WhatsApp profile picture in which she was standing near the sleeping sculpture of Lord Buddha at ‘Kingdome of Dream’ in Gurgaon, wearing a brown jacket and sunglass. Sunny and Neelay liked her WhatsApp DP, and they got interested to know more about Hritisha.
I told them how we met at the institute in Dubai. I almost fell in love with her after hearing her voice over the phone. Our first fight, our first patch up, and growing friendship. Also, how sad I had become once she left Dubai and finally, my realizing that it was nothing more than a realization. We had been the best friends since the last ten years. I also told them about the time when Hritisha got upset when I had fallen for Ruchi and when I went to meet Reema for marriage.
‘Dude, I guess she loves you’ Sunny said.
‘Kuch bhi? We are just best buddies’ I said.
‘Then go and fall in love with her, dude. I saw the sparks in your eyes while you were talking to her and while you were describing her to us,’ Neelay said
‘No bro. I don’t want to ruin our friendship wala relation’ I turned away.
‘Keep your friendship wala thought in your ass’ Neelay said
Sunny and Neelay could not stop praising Hritisha and tried to convince me how she was the just the best person for me.
‘Please, guys! Just shut the fuck up. You said the very same things for Ruchi too’ I said to Sunny.
‘I did not tell you because I did not want to hurt you. I did not like her much’, Sunny said.
‘You should have told me back then. now I have doubts about what you are saying about Hritisha’ I said.
‘Fuck you asshole! ’ Sunny’s annoyance showed.
Sunny and Neelay went half way into convincing me that Hritisha loves me. I was desperately looking at my mobile screen to see ‘Hritisha Calling’ flash one more time.
She called me again at 4:10 AM
‘Raat ko khoyi Hui yaad aayii, jaise virane me chupke se Bahar aayi’ I said.
‘Abey, don’t you want to sleep?’ Hritisha asked.
‘No. I was waiting for your call’ I said.
‘Really?’ She asked.
‘woh Aa gaye uss baat ki parwah nahi hai, par woh maan nahi rahe hai ke me unke intezar me tha’ I said to Sunny.
‘Shut up!’ She asked.
‘I am talking to Sunny’ I said to Hritisha.
‘Hey, Bhaggu!’ She said.
Neelay and Sunny were listening to our conversation while playing with the beach sand.
‘By the way, what are you doing on the beach? She asked.
‘Nothing. Just talking to you and hanging out with this two bheekharis’ I said.
Neelay showed me a middle finger when I introduced him as a beggar to Hritisha.
‘Chup! You have so much spare time na?’ She asked me.
‘Chize bina kaam ki achhi lagti Hai Teri yaad Main, Vyarth samay ka Naam bhi pyaar me Interzaar hai’ Mareez’s shayaries were not ceased to be recited.
‘Siddhant? What happened to you? Suddenly Ghazal shayariya for me?’ She asked
‘I think I am in love with you Hritisha’ I spoke in one breath.
I looked at Sunny. He was giving me a ‘thumbs up’. I winked back.
‘Shut up. You are drunk’ she said.
‘You know? A person never lies when he is drunk or sleepy. I am half-drunk and half-sleepy. So I am speaking the truth’ I said.
She giggled.
‘Stop laughing. Answer me. Do you love me?’ I asked.
‘Keep quiet’ she said.
‘Pyaar Ki jaan ban gayi hai yeh lachari, ke tere muh se muje spasht Naa bhi nahi Mil rahi’ I said.
‘Siddhhhaaaaaaannnntttt!’ her hesitance sounded itself.
‘Whaaaaaaaaatttt?’ I said.
‘Nothing’ she giggled again.
Sunny and Neelay were enjoying our conversation.
‘Shu thayu la (what has happened to you)?’ Neelay asked me.
‘Yeh aksar thukrana unki mehrbani hai Mareez, dhire dhire woh kar denge beparwah mujhe’ I said to Neelay.
‘Ha ha ha ha ha. Laayo baaki’ Neelay said.
‘Oh Oh oh oh oh bhai saaab, control haan?’ Hritisha laughed and said to me.
‘Yeh kya ki pure dil me bas aapka hi Dard ho, Thodi si jagah karo ke puri duniya ka ghum Sama lun isme’ I said.
‘Chup Ho ja kabadi.'
‘Say ‘I love you too Siddhant’.'
‘I hate you Siddhant’ she giggled.
‘Sanjog se majboor ho yeh achha bahana hai, chalo muje Kabul hai ki aap bewafa to nahi ho’ I said
‘Oh hello. I am not bewafa okay?’ Hritisha retorted.
‘I know. Then say ‘I love you too’.'
‘Bhool ja muje, forget me’ She laughed.
‘Neelay listen’, I said
‘Irshaad’ He jibed.
‘Nahhhhiiiiiiii’ Hritisha whispered. I ignored her.
‘Iss se bada pyaar Ka badla Koi nahi hai Mareez, ke unn ko bhulne me unki hi izazat mil gayi’ I said to Neelay.
Neelay touched my feet to tease me.
‘Ho gaya? Anything else?’ Hritisha asked.
‘Aap kal kaise the aur aaj kaise ho gaye, aapke sath me khud aapko compare nahi kar sakta’ I said to her
‘Ha ha ha ha ha. Compare? English word in pure Urdu shayari?’ She said
‘I couldn’t find the exact translation of ‘compare’ in Hindi. So I used an English word’ I said.
‘Nautanki’ she mocked.
‘Say ‘I love you too’.'
‘No-No-No-No-No’ she said.
‘Yes-Yes-Yes-Yes-Yes’ I said.
Sunny got irritated with our childish behavior.
‘I told you right? No means No?’ She giggled.
‘Reason being?’ I asked
‘I don’t have any reason. But it’s a ‘No’’ She said sternly.
‘Me kahan keh raha Hun aapki Haan Ho, par Naa keh rahe ho usme bhi koi majboori honi chaie’ I said.
‘Enough haan, Mr. Ghalib.'
‘Ha Ha Ha. All these are the shyaris of Mareez sahab, a Gujarati poet who is also known as the Ghalib of Gujarat’ I said.
‘Cool.'
‘Yo babes.'
‘Siddhant, how many pegs are you down by?’ She asked
‘Almost 7’ I said.
‘Wow. Proud of you. Huh! Kam to nahi padi na sharab?’ She taunted me.
‘Dost raat ko to kya subhah Ko bhi Pee gaya hun main, samay sanjog ke isharo se pee gaya hun main, kabhi kisi din sharab kam mile uski kya shikayat? Kahi baar toh hadd se zayada pee gaya hun main.''
‘Stop your shayariya. This is the last and the final time I am allowing you to drink so heavily. You got to drink within a limit, not more than two pegs, okay?’ she said.
‘Okay madam, anything else?’ I asked.
‘Not now. I will give you orders slowly slowly’ she said.
‘I will obey them.'
‘You will have to. Achha listen, it’s half past four. My cab would be arriving anytime soon. You go to your room and sleep’ she said.
‘Okay, jaan. Have a great day, love you.'
‘Shut up! Bye.’ she laughed.
‘bye.'
‘Awesome bro. Mareez saheb really helped you a lot to confess your feelings to Hritisha’ Neelay said.
‘Yeah, finally’ Sunny added.
‘Iss kadar chha gayi hai mere khayalo main, Avesh ko le liya hai mene pyaar main, wo Naa kehkar thodeme nikal lie Mareez, karni nahi chaie thi jaldi saval main’ I said.
‘Abbey. Why are you sad?’ Sunny asked.
‘I guess she was hurt by my ‘I love you’.'
‘No way. I don’t think so’, Neelay said.
‘Fuck this alcohol’ I said.
‘Hahahaha. Consuming alcohol is good, sometimes’ Sunny said.
‘Thi paymane me kitni sidhi madeera, gale se utei Sali bekabu ban gayi’ I said.
‘Bhai, hats off to your Mareez saheb’ Neelay said.
‘Yes. He is’ I said.
We spent another half an hour at the Candolim beach. We discussed everything from the next trip, to girl gossip, to the different lifestyles seen in Dubai and Ahmedabad.
‘Reached’ A WhatsApp message from Hritisha flashed on my mobile screen.
‘Great. Have a good day’ I replied with a heart emoticon.
‘You too’ her message appeared with angel smiley emoticon.
‘Send me your selfie’ I sent a text to Hritisha.
‘What?’ She asked.
‘Don’t ask questions; just send me one, please.'
‘Okay. Waito!’
She sent me her mirror selfie on my WhatsApp number from the washroom of GENPACT using her Micromax mobile. She looked stunning in a pink top. Her untied hair, her fair skin and fresh-as-a-dew face, half-sleepy eyes, and an honest smile forced me to fall in love with her, At last.
For the first time, I realized what love felt like. I was not infatuation. It was simply loved. Love that was gradually spreading its wings and preparing to fly. There were waves in my heart that no waves on the Goa beach could match!
( To Be Continued... )
