“Hey Neha!I was joking..Dun take me serious ok?You need
rest..so tc!” I looked at this whatsapp message and smiled. This was from
Divya..We just had our usual bout of banter before I retired into the night.Divya..is my
BFF..no my sister..no..we have a complicated relationship.
We started off as a Senior-Junior relationship in college,
moving on to friends by the time she passed out. I still had two more years
after that before I found my exit from college. She travelled off to Dubai to
be with her parents and got herself a job. We kept in touch through the then
trending gmail. I used to wait for my breaks during college to rush off to the
computer lab to check my mails or rather to check if she had sent one. We
rarely ever talked on phone but I couldn’t complain since ISD calls were actually
quite expensive that time. We weren’t close back then. I was simply smitten by
her talent and her fierce independence, something which was common in us. I didn’t
know a thing about her other than what she showed and I never knew how much she
knew about me. One thing was common and that was we enjoyed each other’s
company and we wanted to retain that. And there was something in her which I
missed the most in my life..the love and care of an elder sister.
She married Rahul, a handsome young software engineer when I
was in my last year of Btech something which I was looking forward to since I
could catch a glimpse of her and I was anxious to see my Jiju(not technically
though). BUT, it was right when I had my 7th semester exams and that’s
that, I couldn’t attend her biggest event in life. Life moved on, and I passed
out with a job at Pune.She..at Bangalore. We messaged and emailed and rarely
called. She was busy with her new life and me, caught up with the inhumane
world of IT corporate and my then fiancée Shiv.
Shiv became the reason I met Divya after a gap of two
years..at my marriage. Even though I met her amidst the rush of relatives
clogging around us and the photographers, I could see she was really happy to
see me and I…I was elated.. and that was the last to meet her for many years to
come..
Marriage to Shiv brought me to Bangalore along with a new
job. One thing which made me closer to meeting her. Even though we contacted
each other somehow we had the excuse of never meeting.She was busy with Rahul’s
and her Master study plans in Germany and I was busy with my job and my new
found love of my life , Shiv.
Down the lane when I settled down with my life at Bangalore,
I got a call one fine day from Divya saying she was leaving to Germany. I held
the phone for a long time . Her words pricked right at me with the fact, I was
never going to see her any time near future. I regretted every minute of not
seeing her when we right next to each other at the same city and when she was
leaving I was reeling in guilt and most of all , immense sadness.
Thanks to technology and with the android devices making a
rave in the market with their wide set of apps for internet messaging and free
calls , I kept in touch with Divya. We were in two different worlds altogether,
she reliving her student life with Rahul and me turning into an absolute
corporate material. We messaged each other almost every day , getting closer
and closer. She became a part of my life and I saw in her an elder sister.
With the time difference of almost 4 hours., we hardly video
called and rather made use of whatsapp to the fullest. Gradually whatsapping
her made it part of routine and we shared a lot of views on many different
matters, each learning a new thing from each other. I messaged her pics, videos
of things connected to my life and she did the same too. We always made plans
to meet but our life situations and this distance made it almost impractical.
In fact I had even reached Germany along with Shiv and was
hoping to meet her this time. But, it turned out she was held up with her exams
and couldn’t make it for me. Well I had my exams on her important day and she
made it to mine. So I guess that called for a tit for tat from life itself. I
left Germany heavy hearted.
Time flew down, Shiv and I relocated to the US. There we
were gifted with Dhruv, our son . My job at the US required most of my time,
with meetings and calls and ofcourse the time with Dhruv. I personally traced
every life step of Dhruv and all that took a toll on me. I had no time for
friends or any kind of entertainment. But my whatsapp messages to Divya never
stopped. I looked forward to that time when I could finish all my work , sit
down on the sofa with a hot cup of light green tea and type away my days
history to Divya. She would send me pics of her daughter Maya. She is an angel
and both their tactics and tantrums were hilarious. Maya is a photocopy of
Divya and extremely talented just like her mother. I was never left out of her
life and she would sweetly call me her chitta or little mother as we call in
our mother tongue.
One thing remained..for years together..we had never met
..yet.
I had a passion for writing and I always wanted to release a
book of my own. Divya used to tease me about me releasing a book and getting
rich and famous..that I should write one and I used to never take that
seriously. I used to write small stories and publish on my blog and Divya used
to paint whenever she could and we reviewed each other’s work. Infact, I have
even have some stories written with her painting as the cover and theme. We
were hardcore critics LOL.
Out of the blue, I started
writing, when Dhruv had started going to school. It took years, but I did
complete one and sent off to my friend who worked in a publishing house. They
liked it immensely and decided to roll it off.
I had kept this as a secret from Divya and wanted to surprise her with
my first copy.
I received the first copy , in which I wrote a message and
couriered it off to Divya..
March 6, is my mother’s birthday and I wanted my book to hit
the stands on that day. I flew in Shiv’s and my parents for the grand book
launch. A small party was organized by Shiv along with the press conference. A
premier launch of the books was done beforehand itself and I had received good
reviews from the critics. Now I was ready to bring it out to the audience. I
was nervous and excited.
Something or rather someone was amiss in this excitement.
Divya. She would’ve been the happiest. But as I said, it wasn’t possible. Her
being here..but I wished some miracle could happen. And it did..
Among the people lined up for the book signing, I saw a girl
dressed in a pink frock , neat and spotless. She caught my eyes . She had her
head turned sideways but seeing that girl, my heart raced off again and I was
having this electric feeling going on inside. I knew her..she looked very familiar..
Maya. No cant be.No no..Maybe she looked like her..then she turned and she
smiled and said..Chitta..I got up from my chair and ran to her. I hugged her
tightly as if she was my own little daughter. Shiv came to my side smiling
along with Rahul. I hugged Rahul too, God knew what I was
thinking..AWKWARD..but I was crazy..excited..happy..because finally she
came..to meet .We could meet.
I searched the entire hall and there she stood staring at a
huge banner of the book cover. I quietly went and stood next to her. ‘Hmm..’
she murmured. ‘You released a book with my painting as your cover.’ I looked at
her. ‘So?’ I asked smiling. She outstretched her palms and said ‘My credits
please.’ We cracked up laughing. At that moment I realized, I was standing with
someone whom I was seeing after long long years and yet I felt as though it was
just the day before we had parted. I thought I had a 100 things to say to her
when we met, but apparently we knew each other so well that there was nothing
to say. I hugged her tightly for a long time. For me , just that faint green
screen of whatsapp was not enough. I wanted her with me , by my side , as my
buddy and sister throughout my life.
That was not possible and after a week they flew back. But
that week was the most incredible week I had in my life. Maya and Rahul bonded
well so did Rahul and Shiv. I was stuck to Dhivs as a leech never letting her
out of my sight. Maya was an incredible girl very matured for her age and we
had our moments too.
The last day was a heavy day for me and Dhruv , both not
wanting our friends to go. I asked Divya, ‘Why did you come down now?’ She
smiled and said ‘You sent me the first copy of that book even before you send
one to your mother. In that note you wished my presence. You published my work
without my consent. And I missed you long enough. Are these reasons enough? Or u
need me to lie more?’
So that was that and we continued with our life again..only
difference I had a three book deal also , with the first one being a hit. With
my biggest critic Divya..its a piece of cake . Is it?hmm..satisfying her would
be more challenging than a 1000 readers..
I typed just a ‘Gn’ and pressed the send button on my
whatsapp to Divya…
