The Khula Saand

As the breeze ruffled his hair Ravi’s eye was set on the distancing shore. He was on a ferry. It was a trip. He was with his friends and they were all headed to the Elephanta caves, which was some distance off shore from Mumbai. Considering he was with his friends there as enough reasons for Ravi to be on his usual cheerful self… it was Sunday and he was on a break from his hectic schedule.

However somewhere in his heart something was not right. He was uneasy. He look at the surf that the boat was creating around as it rocked ahead. It was familiar. Of course it was. But as he looked around to share the joy… he loved those foams… he missed those dazzling eyes. He suddenly felt uneasy. He knew exactly what was not right.

Ravi has always loved these ferries rides. He and Neha would often take them when they went out on their weekend getaways to nearby holiday locations. Neha would often click pictures of the waters on her cell phone. Not a particular good photographer but she loved the waters as much as Ravi. Over the last couple of years they probably made fifty such trips. He looked around… never did he think the water would seem so different all of a sudden.

He suddenly realized that it was the first time he was travelling by water ever since he had arrived in the maximum city and he didn’t have Neha for company. Memories of wonderful moments flashed… and so did memories which were not so beautiful. This had gone bad over the last couple of months. And now Ravi and Neha were drawing apart just like the shore and the ferry that Ravi was travelling on. A beautifully sunny day suddenly felt too warm and uncomfortable. Ravi moved towards the shade to escape the sun and also his friends who were questioning his dry attitude.

A friend came to him. “You not well?” he asked. Ravi cleared up that he was absolutely cool. Ravi had pretty much got it into his head that what he and Neha had was over. Discomfort would be there for sometime but he will soon be over that too. “I am sure there are more fishes in the sea. And I am a guy after all. It’s cool,” he said to himself looking at water all around. He knew it was not as easy as it sounded though. But then that was how it was supposed to be. Ravi looked around, trying to be his flamboyant self. He did see a couple of girls when he was boarding the ferry… and he had one whole day to impress them. “It’s show time!” he murmured. “The Khula Saand is here!” he said to himself. That was thing he never thought he would be again… as Neha and he watching Love Aaj Kal holding hands. “But then this is probably what love aaj kal is! You win some you lose some!”  Game on!