He was foodie.Or rather should we say a gourmet, since he does not take interest in the preparation of food, if it is already available in ready-to-eat form.He can travel any great distance, if he gets a whiff of tasty and yummy food - be it vegetarian or non-vegetarian,South Indian or north Indian.He loved momos and noodles (chowmein) too. He is ever-ready to try out any new cuisine. And thankfully his gang of friends were also as foodie as him. If let loose, they can devour a restaurant's food clean to the last bone of chicken.May be,to be his friend, being a foodie is a necessary qualification. He is good at cooking too, which he does only if there is no other easy option available. He has the menu cards of almost all the restaurants, which provide door delivery service or have a Take-Away facility. He has the phone numbers of all the restaurants which serve his favorite food, stored in his mobile, so that he could book a table whenever he chooses to. Such a gourmet he was, he can go to the extent - of having soup and appetizers in a restaurant, the main course in another and dessert in a third one. He would like to complete the meal with the Banarasi paan. The travel required for travel to four different locations does not dishearten him at all. He would use any mode of transport - bus, train, auto- rickshaw or his own bike. He makes it a point to attend the marriages of all his friends, so that, he could enjoy the wedding delicacies. And that is Arya to you.
The first thing you notice about him is his boyish features and beautiful eyes. Yes, he was handsome too.And reserved. You can be sure - he will not be the one to start a conversation on first meet. And when he does speaks, it looks like he is on a ration on the number of words.He maintained an air of superiority about himself and stayed mostly aloof, even among friends, speaking only if addressed to personally. But he was a great listener. He could listen to any boring lecture with apt attention, as if it was some gossip story involving a movie star. This was a reason that all the talkative people found a great friend in him.His silence did not mean that he was not knowledgeable.He could give you a opinion - only when asked - on any topic under the sun(or the moon for that matter), which could last for half an hour.
Arya and Ghazal met each other at a 15 day conference on Environmental conservation, which they were forced to attend by their respective organisations.Ghazal was very much outspoken and could lighten up the place she is in with the non-stop chatter and witty comments. She would enter the room like a tornado, managing to speak to everyone in the room, noticing every new thing about everyone and passing her comments and judgement on the same.
Just a glimpse of her five minute presence in the room - there were five people in the library reading room that day, including the librarian's shy assistant Jitu. Ghazal entered the reading room to collect her ipod from Prita. This was how it went. She entered like a whirlwind - her duppata flying, heels clicking, bangles jingling, long earrings swaying, and continuously pulling up her handbag.First to fall prey to her all noticing eyes was Joy - " Hi Joy, kya baat hai?!! :-), you are dazzling like anything? white shirt, blue jeans. Which girl are you trying to impress? Dressed like a Bollywood hero, haan? Or did you already get a girl friend, who is it,who is it?? I will not tell any one.Tell me." All the while, poor Joy was opening and closing his mouth like a fish, looking for a chance when Ghazal would stop talking, so that he can say that it was his birthday. Alas, he dint get one.Very much contradicting her name, her voice is high pitched and shrill. The entire floor could hear her even if she is talking to one person at a time. Next, her eyes fell on Gayathri, who was struggling to solve a Sudoku puzzle, which was her favorite pastime. "Hey Gayathri, I saw your brother yesterday with a girl. He has a girl friend or what? She was not that great looking though, oh, you don't know? then you should give me a treat, I am the one to give you the news, you see; now you can blackmail your brother". Next was Jitu. Jitu was short and fair with exceptionally yellow and zigzag teeth. It looked like each of his tooth pointed to one different angle. And he wore exceptionally white shirts. He can star in any detergent ad, as long as he does not open his mouth. "Hello Jitu sir; what washing powder you use. Are you married? No? You have to try the new tolgate toothpaste. They say in the advertisement that it will give super white teeth. Then it will be matching matching with your dress.Hahaha. Only then you will get married''. Jitu moved away embarrassed. She stopped near Prita, collected her ipod. "have you uploaded all the new movie songs? that is the price for letting you use my ipod once in a while''.And she took an about- turn and started to walk away, stopped mid way and noticed, satish. Hey Satish, here, take this, I need to give you two rupees, fifty paisa. You paid my bus charge while we were going to zoo, know.'' And she banged the change on the table and left. All this happened in a span of 5 minutes. Only after she left, you will notice how silent the place is. Yes, after Ghazal leaves, it looks like calm after storm.
Their friendship started at the end of conference, when Ghazal as was expected out of her, commented on Arya saying that in the 15 day duration Arya would hardly have spoken 150 words. May be, Arya liked Ghazal's non-stop chatter.Ghazal liked some one who could listen to her, without interruption. She lured him further, saying that she could make yummy noodles and cook mouth watering and finger-licking non-veg dishes.And as if to further enhance the friendship, Arya's friend, Atul, lived near to Ghazal's hostel. And whenever Arya, went to Atul, he made it a point to meet Ghazal as well. Sometimes, when Arya would be waiting in the bus stop for Atul to come, he would call Ghazal to the bus stop, where they would sit and chat (Arya sitting and Ghazal chatting), till Atul turned up. Ghazal became a pastime to Arya, to kill time waiting for Atul. And he was waiting for a day when Ghazal would rent up a house(she was staying in a hostel,remember), and invite him to taste for all the goodies which she claimed she could cook.Ghazal, who, never had a person listening to her chatter so keenly, mistook it as love. But she did not want to raise it to Arya and get rejected. She was afraid of on-the-face rejection. That is the reason she introduced Kathy to Arya. Kathy is short for Katyayini. She wanted kathy to befriend Arya and find out if he really was in love with her.
Kathy, who wanted the best for her friend, did as she was told and with passage of time became good friends with Arya. Reserved that he was, she was unable to get anything out of Arya for Ghazal. Having lost patience, she straightaway asked him if he was in love with Ghazal. Arya's surprised and baffled expression gave her the answer that he never had such thoughts towards her friend. She felt sorry for Ghazal, who was expecting that she would be successful in making Arya, profess love for her. She did not want to disappoint Ghazal and kept on saying she did not ask him yet.
In the meanwhile, Ravi, who had also attended the conferance, proposed to Ghazal. And Ghazal without really thinking much accepted. Kathy was looking for a house to rent, which she planned to share with Ghazal. Arya, helped her in searching for a house, with the hope that, once Ghazal and Kathy moved to a house, Ghazal would prepare noodles and invite him over. Ghazal, on the other hand was reluctant to share the house with Kathy, as Kathy did not get along that well with Ravi. Kathy was happy for Ghazal that she found her love in Ravi, and she rented a house on her own, while Ghazal continued staying in the hostel. She invited Ghazal and Arya to her new home for lunch, one day and prepared the dishes, which she was good at. Though she failed to satisfy Ghazal, Arya was impressed. Kathy loved it if someone appreciated her culinary skills. And though Arya did not say it verbally, he gave her the message by completing the food and asking when the next invitation would be. And thats how it began.. The saga of home cooked meals at Kathy's home, which all started with Arya's yearning for noodles. And as it is said a man's heart is through his stomach, eventually Arya fell in love with Kathy and proposed to her.
Their friendship started at the end of conference, when Ghazal as was expected out of her, commented on Arya saying that in the 15 day duration Arya would hardly have spoken 150 words. May be, Arya liked Ghazal's non-stop chatter.Ghazal liked some one who could listen to her, without interruption. She lured him further, saying that she could make yummy noodles and cook mouth watering and finger-licking non-veg dishes.And as if to further enhance the friendship, Arya's friend, Atul, lived near to Ghazal's hostel. And whenever Arya, went to Atul, he made it a point to meet Ghazal as well. Sometimes, when Arya would be waiting in the bus stop for Atul to come, he would call Ghazal to the bus stop, where they would sit and chat (Arya sitting and Ghazal chatting), till Atul turned up. Ghazal became a pastime to Arya, to kill time waiting for Atul. And he was waiting for a day when Ghazal would rent up a house(she was staying in a hostel,remember), and invite him to taste for all the goodies which she claimed she could cook.Ghazal, who, never had a person listening to her chatter so keenly, mistook it as love. But she did not want to raise it to Arya and get rejected. She was afraid of on-the-face rejection. That is the reason she introduced Kathy to Arya. Kathy is short for Katyayini. She wanted kathy to befriend Arya and find out if he really was in love with her.
Kathy, who wanted the best for her friend, did as she was told and with passage of time became good friends with Arya. Reserved that he was, she was unable to get anything out of Arya for Ghazal. Having lost patience, she straightaway asked him if he was in love with Ghazal. Arya's surprised and baffled expression gave her the answer that he never had such thoughts towards her friend. She felt sorry for Ghazal, who was expecting that she would be successful in making Arya, profess love for her. She did not want to disappoint Ghazal and kept on saying she did not ask him yet.
In the meanwhile, Ravi, who had also attended the conferance, proposed to Ghazal. And Ghazal without really thinking much accepted. Kathy was looking for a house to rent, which she planned to share with Ghazal. Arya, helped her in searching for a house, with the hope that, once Ghazal and Kathy moved to a house, Ghazal would prepare noodles and invite him over. Ghazal, on the other hand was reluctant to share the house with Kathy, as Kathy did not get along that well with Ravi. Kathy was happy for Ghazal that she found her love in Ravi, and she rented a house on her own, while Ghazal continued staying in the hostel. She invited Ghazal and Arya to her new home for lunch, one day and prepared the dishes, which she was good at. Though she failed to satisfy Ghazal, Arya was impressed. Kathy loved it if someone appreciated her culinary skills. And though Arya did not say it verbally, he gave her the message by completing the food and asking when the next invitation would be. And thats how it began.. The saga of home cooked meals at Kathy's home, which all started with Arya's yearning for noodles. And as it is said a man's heart is through his stomach, eventually Arya fell in love with Kathy and proposed to her.
Hey, Monica, u r such a Good writer, Awesome, Mesmerizing, Nice Story, U write like a Professional Writer. I am an Amateur! I am Good, Means U "THE BEST" Good, Good, Good, Superb! Nice Love story!
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