An evening in Bhubaneswar !!!

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It was a late gloomy evening on a Friday. The sun had set long ago & the moon had got prominent surrounded by a billion tiny stars. The imminent spring rains had left its impression all over. The smell of wet earth was getting addictive. Aadarsh was on one of his methodical patrolling visits to the VVIP area of AG Square in Bhubaneswar. Though it was not something, his job outline demanded him to do still, his moral obligations & communal responsibilities compelled him to put the engine of his Classic desert Storm 500 to test every now or then. His bullet was waiting for the signal to go green at the main traffic post of the square. Traffic signal is a place where you get to see different emotions pouring out simultaneously, yet none of them gets any response. Excitement, Exuberance, Wretchedness, Glee, Amazement, Eagerness, Repugnance, Annoyance, Indignity, Self-assurance, Bravery, Conceit, Endurance, Greed, Relaxation. On his left, He could notice the unresponsive look on the father’s face after the humdrum activities of yet another dismal day while somehow managing to push the breaks & being able to make his Priya Scooter come to a last minute halt. His wife, the mother of two children (boy standing on the footstool between the seat & visor and the girl, probably two three years elder someway had succeeded in finding a place to sit between her parents), was scanning through her bag of freshly bought vegetables to find out if she had missed out on something. The boy had displeasure on his face as the pointer in the speedometer had hit zero. The girl was quite animated to see all the dazzling twinkling lights & wished her house glittered equally. The multiplicity of emotions was dazing Aadarsh, when a new Honda City stopped by on his right. It had a newly married couple in it, apparently animated, probably finalizing their weekend plans. The car was yet to get a registered number & its vibrant red color flawlessly harmonized the couple profoundly gripped in love. This was the biggest advantage of being in a uniform with IPS & Odisha Police’s labels on your sleeves. Nobody would be giving you a second look whereas you could virtually scan him or her through. The countdown for the signal to go green had come down below 20 when all of a sudden the traffic inspector took manual control & stopped vehicles coming from all three directions including Aadarsh’s & let go a speeding Ambassador from the Secretariat road to rush through.

Something immediately coerced him to follow it & his bullet took a left turn with its usual thunderous noise. He had to upsurge his speed valiantly in order to be in close distance from the hurtling car. He had a look on the number plate. The sign beside, grabbed his attention, which had “District Magistrate-cum-Collector, Puri” written on it. He did not know why was he following the car, but kept on doing it till the International Terminal 1C of Biju Pattanaik airport. He parked his bike in front of the car & went ahead to put forward a word-of-concern for over-speeding & using illegitimate powers in order to get a speedy pass to the airport while disturbing the city traffic. He had merely taken a few steps towards the car when the first glance at the collector coming out of the car stopped him there itself. He knew boys were being out-shined by girls in civil services exams, still his patriarchal mindset did not expect a lady in her late 20s to come out. She was in a dark spring green saree while her endearing milkmaid braids, double winged airliner paired with a soft pink lipstick were arresting for sure. She was seemingly bothered, removed her brown Valentino sunglasses & came closer, probably in an attempt to show her disgust. They had a good look at each other & to everyone’s astonishment present at the terminal including theirs, hugged each other promptly. Even a random dream of meeting “Parul” seemed inconceivable to him, and there she was, right before his eyes, in his secured arms. They were totally immersed in each other till someone called out her name & reminded her that they must rush. She loosened her grip. Aadarsh could feel the warmth of her breath slowly shying away from the back of his earlobes. She hastily asked for a minute & hauled him near his bike. She was showing complete authority over Aadarsh. She wanted to own the moment, but very well knew Aadarsh had commandeered that influence of her. Her eyes were getting bluer, yet she talked ostentatiously all the while. Frankly, Aadarsh was in no mood to listen to her, He had got into some other world. All those past days were manifesting right before his eyes all over again.

Parul was 19 when she first met Aadarsh in her Political Science class. He was 25. Being a typical teenager, she did not know how to differentiate between priorities & non-priorities. The rebel in her continually made her recoil adversely from anything her well-wishers expected from her; even if it made sense. Aadarsh, on the other hand was peaceful, composed & stress-free by nature. He anticipated, considered, and scrutinized each & every possibility before arriving at the course-of-action while Parul took life as it came. They were radically contrasting & fell for each other precisely for the same reason. Parul, still relatively new to the idea of dating was quite keen on being in a relationship with the sweetest, most caring & considerate guy she had ever come across. Aadarsh loved everything about Parul; the way she would innocently show her immaturity & later laugh at it, the manner in which she would act the subservient one in the relationship yet would want Aadarsh to make her feel special, the routine in which she would ask for a “bye-bye-love-you” each time they end a conversation.

Reality is not as rosy as it seems though. Deep down, Aadarsh was cursing himself for getting into a relationship that he felt he would not be able to do justice with. Besides the long age gap, they belonged to different states, had diverse upbringings, and pursued distinctive beliefs. Finally, the day arrived, when his guilt feeling overpowered his love. He called up Parul for one last time & expressed his request for not meeting again. Parul was too shaken even to ask for an explanation. She gave him a hug & before leaving said only this, “Whatever it is, I don’t want to know. I knew this day would come. I just want you to understand one thing, I will never forget my first love.”

That was then; 8 years back. Aadarsh never got to see or talk to Parul again. Parul had not changed a single bit till then. She still was the chatty, opinionated girl except the fact that, now her opinions mattered to a lot of people. Aadarsh learnt that Parul had opted for Odisha Cadre in the quest of meeting him some day. He, without a delay, asked Parul if the guy asking her to hurry was her husband. Parul, with a wayward smile on her face denied it. She did not bother asking Aadarsh the same question; He being 33, she must have thought of the obvious. What she did not know was, the shame of not being able to stand up for his love, made Aadarsh unresponsive to love. Aadarsh wanted to let her know that he was still single, that he still wanted her back in his life, that given a chance, he would never allow himself to repeat his indescribable mistake, but he could not say a word.

Parul left for the flight with her colleagues & Aadarsh stood there motionless & despondent.  History echoed itself. Only difference though was, 8 years back, Aadarsh wanted to leave as he knew things would get worse if he stayed. Parul felt the same this time around. None of them had selfish reasons still fate obligated them to separate.

NB: Early morning dreams sometimes become one of your stories. This one is an example. :) , Parul, if you are reading this, I want you to understand & appreciate my parting. As i said, things will get worse, if I stay.