7. TRIP TO BANGALORE

The sun was shining at fullest. My mom and I, along with my elder sister, were enjoying our breakfast. I found it the best moment to share my plan of starting a business with Kartik. They stopped chewing and raised their eyebrows in a second when I told them about my plan. It was an online business, where I challenged, I will become a millionaire in a few months. My passion paused their breathing and shut their mouth for a while and they allowed me to carry on. It was tough for Nisha to convince her family, as she used to live with her maternal uncle, but somehow, she continued in a hope to stay with me.

We were working day in day out, but even after months, we didn’t become one-tenth of a millionaire. Kartik and I were in an excellent position, but Nisha was at a distance. The negative side of the business drowned her. Some harsh words of seniors pierced every corner of her body. Regular rejections and uncomfortable zone forced her to walk through ignited roads. One day, one of our seniors slammed her in front of us. My eyes enlarged and brows raised high. Three parallel lines of anger were visible on my forehead.

 I was full of compassion from deep inside, but losing patience in anger. I wanted to kill that bloody hell, but unfortunately, the rules had bound me. She lost all her moistures and sweat made a thin layer on her face. Her nose was freaking and ears on fire. That scenario gave me a slight view of hell. After getting slammed, she hated our business. 

It was mid of August when a new partner joined our business. Tall and smart, confident with words, influencing people with a charming attitude and modern personality. A modern lifestyle impressed me a lot.

Riya. Setting ice on fire. A girl made for the corporate world. Riya Agarwal, a techy, straight from Bangalore (A City in Karnataka, India), leaving her family behind in Kolkata. She was perusing her B. Tech in IT from one of the most famous engineering colleges of Bangalore, where people love coding more than writing love letters. 

She was doing outstanding work alone in Bangalore. Her performance was extraordinary. Her entrance changed the perspective of business for Nisha. The more we admired Riya for her performance, the more Nisha hated me and the business. As you know, the same milk which provides strength to many give acidities to some. Choosing our business became the worst thing for Nisha. It became a wrong decision of her life.

Her struggles made her tough to breathe. On the other side, Riya was doing outstanding. We didn’t get time to talk from morning to evening, as she was busy in college, so we used to have a long discussion at night My long night-calls with Riya was helping her to expand our business with ease. We used to talk for hours and hours after her college ended, which was spreading poison in my relationship. 

Our business in Bangalore was going fine. It was a time when Riya needed our support. So, the management chose me to visit for a few days and help Riya and her team. 

 Nisha was completely in grief when she got to know I was about to visit Bangalore for a week. My news of separation made her face dull. Her voice fainted on calls and tears dropped from her bright eyes. Every drop of her tears was as valuable as my blood. Her silent cry left my heart bleed as if someone dragged a sharp knife on my chest. Maybe it was god’s plan because never in my entire life I imagined, to be apart from my Dilpari for so long. Distance, purpose, time, and place nothing bothered her, only a girl waiting there, hit her hard.

If I knew I had to leave my sweetheart for a week, I would never have accepted Riya as a business partner. I don’t know whether it happens in genuine love or I was getting emotional. Being in her arms, I cried like hell for a few hours before I had my train. I don’t know what were the positions of planets when I stepped in train. Things changed in seconds. I am still paying the price of that journey. A journey which took my life to a different world.

Next day, I was in Bangalore. With big dreams, a bigger plan, and the biggest ambition. It was around 3 am when I reached the station. I was breathing faster as it was my first inter-state journey, which I traveled alone. Never in my life, I went so far alone. I was roaming here and there trying to witness entire station at once. Half slept faces were all around and I was jumping in my mind while gazing the surrounding. Every little thing surprised me a lot. I enjoyed the beauty of the station for almost two hours. 

“Welcome to Bangalore.”

Riya appeared from somewhere when I was busy with my mobile, scrolling Facebook. She welcomed me with a beautiful smile on her face and a fire in her soul. I was astonished to witness her from my bare eyes. She was five feet and six inches tall with sharp eyes aiming like an eagle. Her Straight forward attitude dominated me from her first word she uttered.

She was in a skin fitting sky-blue jeans and a purple color top, dressed with a purpose to snatch my attention. I found all the stars twinkling in the dawn except the one who was shining in front of me. I loved everything about Bangalore when I stepped for the first time. 

Going out of Bengal was my dream as I went only to Bihar and Jharkhand (States in India famous for holy places) for worshiping. With fire in my eyes, excited to work in a new atmosphere with new people and with a familiar stranger, Riya. I followed her in a way a monk follows his master.

 She made sure our journey won’t trouble me anymore. We waited a while for the bus. We left one bus as it was crowded and took the second. She stepped in first, took a window seat, and shifted towards the window. They had made the seats for two people and the way she shifted towards extreme right and made space for me, I was helpless to choose another option. I was not comfortable sitting with her but I couldn’t reject her offer. 

I lost in thinking many times in Kolkata, I sit beside a female passenger or vice versa. It was normal and completely fair with Nisha. So, it’s no harm to sit with her, together. I adjusted and squeezed myself as much as possible to avoid touching her. I kept pushing myself to the extreme left. 

Every time our legs came in contact, I shifted it. She noticed my uncomfortable behavior but remained as she was. Chilled air from the window was fluttering her hair on my face. Though I was not comfortable, her hair blowing with wind, was giving a certain pleasure. I enjoyed it. She adjusted her hair, when she noticed, and her face apologized with a smile. I gave a smile back. Most of the time, she didn’t notice, and I enjoyed a beautiful moment. I don’t know whether she really didn’t notice, or she too enjoyed it. But it was destroying my hesitation and filling my journey with pleasure.