Graphics

Papa, where are you going?? My little girl asks me 

To attend a marriage dear. I told her

It is a Sunday and she expects I will take her to the park like I promised.  I waited for an array of questions from her, and she doesn’t disappoint me.

 "Are we not going to the park today?"

" No dear, I have to go. We will go later."

“Why aren't you taking us? Who is getting married? ”

Rishin uncle is getting married 

"Chathan uncle” she corrected me with enough conviction which made me feel that it was me who made the mistake. She caught hold of that name recently and since then I didn’t hear her calling him anything other than that. But she never calls him Chathan in public; they have made a pact it seems.  She started circling around me doing her tiny little steps.

She doesn’t look surprised by the news; I was practically taken aback when he told me.

It was late last night, he called me and declared.

"I am going to get married"

"Oh really... When tonight??" being little sarcastic.

"Tomorrow”.  

 "Ha Ha Ha"

 "I am not joking"

"What??”

“Yeah” 

I don’t know why his marriage got delayed like this, we raised the topic every now and then and he gets irritated. He had his reasons, building a firm and taking it into glory was his prime concern. 

"Can I come??”  She asks.

 It took me back from my thoughts. I find her eagerly looking at me waiting for a response.

“Don't bring your wife and kid” Rishin had insisted.

"No Aimee, I can’t take you. We will go to the park in the evening. I will bring chocolates when I come back" 

She stood there for a while wearing a sad face then suddenly it had a spark. She saw an opportunity.

"And Ice-cream” She says. 

OK dear. I lifted her and placed a peck on her cheeks.

Lot many memory frames passed before my eyes while I was speeding through the highway. It’s really wonderful where your destiny takes you. His dream of marrying a rich 18 year old Christian girl, whose father owns a rubber estate, is coming true.

I don’t really believe his version of how he met her. 

He says, this is how it happened.  A season, an exam season, it was.

He still got one hurdle to cross: graphics. Owing to the experience of umpteen seasons under his belt, he has become highly proficient in graphics.

Though the exam was in the afternoon session, he reached the exam centre in the morning.  He found a girl sitting alone head buried in her lap crying on the colossal steps leading to the college. Normally he would have let it go, he was never a curious person. 

But may be it was destiny. He sat next to her and gently asked. 

"What happened??"

She didn’t lift her face but went on crying.

He thought about leaving her on her own, he wasn’t curious to know why she was crying (Like I said earlier he was never a curious type) but didn’t like leaving a girl in distress.

Why are you crying? What is it? Tell me.

I didn’t study anything, had fever for last few days. I will certainly fail. 

She couldn’t control her tears.

Normally he would have said "what’s in that, clear it next time"

"When a woman cries, when a woman cries

She can wash your world away

When storms fill her eyes, when storms fill her eyes

You never know just what to say"

He just said “See I can teach you, it is really simple. Please stop crying."

In a matter of few hours he taught her tricks to clear the paper. He wrote the exam, he was confident for the first time that he will clear it and when he got out of the exam hall he saw her rushing to him. He later told me, it was the smile which she gave him then that made him fall for her.  

I never thought he could fall for something other than food. Well what can I say, may be it was destined. It just happened.

Their meetings became frequent. She admired the person who saved her from humiliation and the admiration gave way for love. There was no turning back for their love story. And now they are getting married. I never asked him if she knows about Roger Federer. But I bet she does.

I told Rohan  "This is how Rishin is going to get married.."

"I don't think he is ever going to write graphics, I guess he will probably meet his wife in a restaurant"

"Yeah. But do you really think something could grab his attention from food?"

“Heehehe.. Neh”

We heard Rishin shout across the hall

“Dont I have a say, this is my marriage you are talking about??”

The Reply was unanimous.

Neh...

Then we went on making plans for his marriage for the rest of the night.

PS: My roommate Rishin always dreamed of marrying an 18 year old girl when he turns 40. The girl should meet certain criteria to be considered worthy. She should be from Kottayam.  Her father should own a rubber estate. Even if she fails to meet the above conditions she should be a Roger Federer follower. 

Special thanks to Rohan