Short story #6: Aloo Parantha aur chai.

“Bhai, ek mild do”, Aditya told, across the counter where chai glasses and cigarette packets were almost-neatly arranged.

As the shopkeeper handed over a Classic Ultra mild fag to him, he used the hanging lighter and lit his first cigarette of the day.

The temperature that morning had dropped to 2 degree Celsius. It was a beautiful day. Fresh snow capped the blue mountains. The cold breeze seduced him out of the cozy bed to the outdoors.

He was lost in the nothingness when he heard the shopkeeper tell him in a soft sing-tune, “O Sirji.. thoda dur jaake karoge please..ladies hain yahan pe..”, as a woman clad in a black jacket and denims standing at the counter turned to see Aditya.

The woman, who appeared to be in her late twenties, looked almost intensely beautiful. There was something about her that made him stare longer at her.

“Yes, madam?”, the shopkeeper politely asked the woman.

“Chai aur ek gudang garam”, she said, looking around at her choices, much to the bewilderment of the shopkeeper. Kind of puzzled, he handed her a cigarette and a cup of tea.

Aditya smiled and slowed his puffs down. He watched her sip her tea and smoke.

A high wavy ponytail, a face not made-up, deep stares. She was intriguing. After what seemed like a small time-lapse, he watched her walk away. As she sat on her bike, she wore her helmet and zoomed off.

Like a fire of curiosity had been aroused in his belly, Aditya felt the urge to know her. He paid the shopkeeper and rushed to his bike. He wanted to follow her, he wanted to know her better, he had to.

He rode from the mall road to the Leh-Manali Highway before he could spot her black Thunderbird. 

Watching the beautiful white Beas flow, he rode through the blue mountains from where the white snow melted and dripped down. It was a 45 minute drive, 34 kilometres up the highway to what seemed like heaven.

She pulled over on nearing a ‘shanty town’ of roadside restaurants and restrooms - Marhi.

Aditya stopped and took a deep breath, as if absorbing all the overwhelming beauty the place held. A busy little town, surrounded by the white Himalayas on all sides, it looked like a paradise of peace. The place was bustling with a lot of excited travellers from buses and cars halting for breakfast.

She parked her bike and relaxed herself on a chair outside a small restaurant. Aditya followed.

“Hey chotu.. ek aloo parantha aur chai leke aao”, she told with a smile, to the 14-year old guy who was running around serving hot food.

As Aditya neared her table, he was sure he wanted to talk to her, but hesitated to approach. He has never spoken to a random girl, never before.

He could hear his own heart beating, with tons of anxiety fluids and gases within him waiting to burst. He pulled up some courage, walked up to her and asked, “Excuse me .. Are you an NGC traveler?”

She turned around, a little startled. She gave him a knowing look and said, “I noticed you at the cigarette shop. I am not unaware of you following me all the way here. Why don’t you sit down and talk?”

Taken aback by this response, he literally mumbled a “uh..i mean..thank you” and sat down, still unsure if her reply was warm or sarcastic.

“I’m Tara..”, she said, extending her hand and offering to shake his.

“I’m Aditya”, he replied, shaking hands with her and with a broad relieved smile.

“I’m sorry… I did follow you up here, but out of sheer curiosity.. Ah, don’t mistake me.. I was just ..just curious.. I was just wanting to know you..  a girl riding a bullet, alone.. in Himalayas.. I mean..Wow”, he blushed.  His fair cheeks grew pink, definitely not because of the cold wind.

Tara just shrugged and smiled. “Yeah, huh.. I live in Delhi.. I have been wanting to do this trip since a few years. I am glad I could make it now. The mountains had been calling me”, she said, with a child-like smile that was contagious.

Aditya just sat there, absorbing her words. He looked at how her dark brown eyes bore into his, innocently, as she talked. The more she spoke about her, the more he wanted to know about her. But before he could win his own battle about what to ask her, she popped out some questions, quite comfortably, like he had not stalked her there randomly.

“So, what do you do, Aditya? How long are you here in Manali?”, she asked, munching on her parantha.

“I just completed my MBA .. from Bangalore..I have a month’s break before I join the rat race of the corporate world.. Wanted to travel a bit before I try my hand at being a responsible adult.. I am here with a few friends who I have now comfortably forgotten”, he said with a little laugh, absent-mindedly looking at his watch, also starting to get confident at the conversation that he would not have imagined until that morning.

“What about you?”, he rushed to ask.

“I am a science teacher at a school.. I also write a bit as a hobby.. I wanted to have a week or two off, take a few inspiring stories back from here.. This is the much awaited one month break, just like how it is for my students..and yeah, I do want to see more of the world before I get old.. I must be a good ten years elder to you, my hair is greying”, she said, as she beamed.

Her smile was so infectiously warm, he thought. “That is so cool”, he said, “but..how did you manage to travel alone? I mean, your family?”

“It could be challenging, but it is fun, come on, this place is heavenly..I have been living alone for a few years now, I don’t have kids, I am not married anymore, so, no big deal, this –‘’

“Oh, I am sorry”, he said, apologetically.

“Oh, no, don’t be sorry.. may be, it was me who screwed up my own life, you’ll never know”, she whispered, winking.

“Sorry.. I didn’t mean anything..I hope I didn’t upset you by talking about this”, he said.

“No no.. It has been years and I don’t hesitate to let things go, if they have to..and I am very happy with my life right now.. so, chill, I’m not offended.. And if you may now excuse me, I will have to rush back to my hotel.. I will have to write something”, she said, getting up to pay her bill.

“Oh..heading back to Manali? But..aren’t you going to Rohtang?”, he asked, wondering.

“No.. I will come back here tomorrow, or sometime this week.. a writer’s mind is a huge place, you know. When I have something in my mind to write and I don’t, it’s like I’m living another life inside my head for too long, while the characters mould. It gets overwhelming, like too many lives collide, and I have to put them down in words and bring them into life.. “

“True. I understand. I am just ecstatic I met you”, he said smiling.

“I am glad I met you too.. Take care… Good luck!”, she said, as she shook hands with him and walked towards her bike.

He watched her drive back and he realized he was still smiling. She was an epitome of confidence. She taught him that one can be happy, irrespective of any situation life can throw at.

He went there back on the next five mornings looking out for her while, some twenty two miles away, she was snuggled up in her bed, writing a story about how they met.