Chapter 3 : City of an angel

I asked her on Wednesday. This time I would travel to Los Angeles. She loved the plan. She said she will tour the city with me. I had seen LA before. Clicked pictures of hollywood sign from the kodak theatre balcony. Seen the hollywood star homes. Shot a video which noone watched. Seen the beaches. Clicked pictures with the sun, sea, sand, inanimate idols, equally inanimate but living beauties. I had seen Universal studios and Disneyland...So, ideally when Devi offered to tour me through the city, I had to say no in as charming and fake way as possible.

"Lets rather go to a movie and lunch and then we will just spend some time on hollywood boulevard or some beach and then I will have to go back. I will need to leave early. You know how crowded 101 is in the evenings."

"Ok. Stop. You are not going back on Saturday evening. You are going back on Saturday night at around 11 p.m. 101 wont be crowded, so u will reach in 2 hours exact. I know you dont sleep until 1.30.a.m. So, dont give me false reasons."

"You have already seen the city, why do you want me to chaperone around??"

"I have. But I want to show it to you."

I did not think she was so dim.

"Devi. I have seen the city."

"I dont think so."

"I can send you my photographs at every location in LA."

"Ok. Send me one inside the city hall."

"Nobody goes inside city hall."

"They do. Do you have one on outside??"

"Devi, I really have seen it all. I did not go to city hall, but I have seen everything else."

"I will show you El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de la Porciúncula."

El poobla what???

"What???"

"El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de la Porciúncula."

"Whats that??"

I was sure she said something un-English.

"You will know when you see it. Please, come over. The moment you get bored you can go back."

I could not refuse.

"Okay."

"Great. See you at 7 am on Saturday. You will have to be up at 4.30. Start early, at around 5, so that you miss the traffic. I will do all the planning. We will share the driving and the gas."

Start at 5??? Ha!!!

"Bye."

"Bye."

This is what I hate about girls. The moment they think that a guy likes them, they start planning out his life. I had thought that Devi was different. But maybe I was wrong.

I had really hated LA. It was all a commercial facade of places you have to say you enjoyed. Its like the emporer's new clothes. I was fuming internally. Why could I not put my foot down? I wont go at 7. I wont start at 5. I wont wake up at 4.30. Wont!! Wont!! WONT!!

Have you ever noticed that only on a day when you are determined to wake up late, something happens that spoils your sleep so much that you cant?? This Saturday, I got the same dream. Wide, mad, tearful eyes of a guy trying to kill me. I was up at 4o'clock in the morning. And I was feeling so much awake that I could not even get back to bed. I was feeling as shaken as I had at first.

Today, I could not dare to call up Devi. I had not called her on Thursday and Friday. I was too angry with her. I was also feeling an odd feeling of guilt for not calling. Also, part of me was waiting for her to call me and ask me what was wrong.

She did call me. On Saturday. At 4.30.a.m.!!! I feigned sleepiness.

"Hullo??" I mumbled.

"Hey!! you are up!! I thought you forgot about our tete-a-tete."

Did I not sound sleepy??

"I was sleeping."

"No, you were not. Get ready and come over. I am waiting."

Hmm. Guys have weaknesses. You cannot resist the enthusiasm of the only interesting girl you have ever met. And I was anyway up. And I was anyway thinking of her. So, I showered, dressed and wrote my room-mate a note that I will be back by night, and
started.

I reached her house at around 6.30. It was still dusk. I called her from the main entrance. She asked me to park my car while she would come down. Then why park the car??

"I have rented a car for us."

Within minutes, she came to where I had parked my car. With a smile on her face and twinkle in her eyes, she waved at me. She was up and fresh like a morning glory. She had a pink glow on her cheeks. Just looking at her intoxicated me.

She had come out with a huge backpack.

"Whats all this??"

"You will see."

Ok. I was not feeling extremely curious. I was rather hoping for a cup of coffee.

"Can we go to starbucks first??"

"Nope. We are starting our tour immediately. Our first stop will be after half an hour. I want you to sleep while I drive."

One second. I dont get my coffee?? I have to start immediately?? And I have to sleep when a lady is driving?? Any fair minded guy will know what was going through my mind. I needed my coffee. I wanted to sit for a while. And it would be unchivalrous and moreover reckless to sleep while a lady is driving.

"Devi, You may have just woken, but I am up since four. I really need my caffeine."

"When I called you at 4.30, I was showered and ready. And you will get everything you need in due time."

I used the best male defensive technique. I decided to sulk and make her apologize.

I think by now you will be used to the idea that Devi surprised me in everything she did and of course everything she did not do. For example, somehow she just did not know how to complain. Even when things went wrong. I was to find this later. I guess, you know by now that I did have the best Saturday of my life. LA was never this beautiful. And I never felt so special.

Moving on, thrashing out my old belief, Devi drove like an expert. No sharp turns, no clumsy parkings. No oops and no it-was-all-his-fault-s. Within first few minutes of our journey, I dozed off.

"Ajay."

"Hmm??"

I blinked to see who was calling me. Her brilliant eyes were animated with excitement.

"Ajay, wake up!!!"

"Devi??"

"Who else??"

I jerked awake.

"I am sorry. I was fast asleep." I looked around. I did not know where was I. It looked like an isolated road. "Do you want me to drive??"

"No. I want you to look outside and I want you to have this."

'Outside' was at the top of a mountain with rising sun and 'this' was a home-made warm cup of tea.

"Is this real??"

"Are you awake?? Here!! Have some water first. Wash your face."

I took the water obediently. I was overwhelmed. I was wide awake.

"You made this???"

"Yep. Thats what I was doing when you were driving down from san diego, my dear."

"For me??"

"For us. How do you like it?"

"Beautiful. I feel like I am at the top of the world."

She easily jumped on the bonnet of the car. We were overlooking the entire valley. She pointed out landmarks to me.

"Where are we??"

"Well, if you are in Los Angeles, you have to start your day from - Hollywood"

We sat in silence for some time.

"Are you too sleepy for a hike??"

"I am not at all sleepy."

There was a small trail in the mountain. We locked the car and took that trail. The city of Los Angeles was visible on my left. We walked for some time and came to an opening.

"Is your camera ready??", she asked laughing.

I had completely forgotten everything about taking pictures. I had not even carried my camera from the car. I cursed myself.

With a mischievous laughter she gave me her camera. I immediately started clicking.

"You cant even wait, huh!!" She teased me.

In couple of minutes, she entered a parking. There was a small staircase going to the top of this peak. I just followed her. It took me some time to realise that I had been here before. It was the closest mountain opposite to the hollywood sign.

There was nobody there at this time of the day.

"Take pictures. Then we will have our breakfast."

She had fresh home-made pohe* and some more tea in her backpack. There were some benches. We sat there and had the best breakfast of my life. Then we went back by the same route.

"Whats next??"

"You'll see."

"Come on. Give me some idea."

"Well, if you like it, you owe me two hundred dollars."

She would not tell me anything more than that. She changed the topic to history of Los angeles and in general landmarks. She was driving all this time. At around quarter to ten we entered the parking lot of - Warner Bros. studios.

"Warner Brothers??"

"Universal studios is not the only studio in LA, you know?? There are Paramount studios, Sony or MGM studios and of course, the Warner brothers studio. Warner is the most interesting one according to me. You can have your own judgement. This one is not normally open on Saturdays. This is a special weekend. Its their birthday or something. We will be having a deluxe tour."

She had the entry tickets. It was the most unique experience of my life. I was entirely in a different world. World of movies. It was a five-hour tour. It included a delicious lunch with some of the soap stars. Video shooting was not permitted.
I saw the stage for F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and "Everybody loves Raymond". Best part was the stage dedicated for Harry Potter series. In short, it was an intriguing tour and true to what Devi said, something that neither me nor any of my friends had seen.

Devi was fascinated by everything in there. It was hard to believe that she had seen this before. She had a child-like curiosity, amazement and glee at every aspect. Enthusiasm is very contagious. I was also enjoying everything today, like I had never enjoyed before.

After the tour was over, we went to Hollywood Blvd. I did the driving. She did a lot of shopping for her folks back in India.

She also bought me a Hollywood T-shirt as a memento. She took me to a confectionary shop in Kodak theatre.

"Have you been here before?"

"I have seen the Kodak theatre."

"Have you tried the custard cookies here??"

"Nope. Not a big fan of sweets"

"Those are not sweets. Those are pieces of heaven which angels left on earth. Pure Ambrosia."

"I'll have half."

"You can't have half. Either you have one or none."

I had faith in her.

"Ok. One then."

When I took it, I was not prepared for it. Those are warm crispy cookies filled with delicious melted cool custard. Not too sweet. No Cinnamon. And as Devi said, it was pure ambrosia. But here is a warning for first-timer - DO NOT EAT IN PUBLIC OR WHEN YOU ARE WITH A GIRL. The custard sticks to your nose, different parts of face, falls on your pants and you cant resist licking whatever is on your hands. And unlike in Manhattan, in LA, everyone looks, kids point out and girls laugh. And Devi was bubbling with merriment.

Moving on. On the walk of fame there are many performers. Some play music, some do magic, some mascquerade as different characters. Devi watched all the shows, took my pictures with many characters. She actually paid them for all this. Music, Magic, Dance, everything. I was chagrined.

"Dont do that. Why are you wasting money?"

"Do you see the stars on walk of fame??"

"What do you mean??"

"Ajay, do you know that only if they had a little bit of luck, instead of performing, all these people would have their names in stars kicked on the walk of fame??"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you enjoy the dance we saw??"

"Yes."

"Did you enjoy the magic show?"

"Yes, I did. But thats not the point. There are lot of unlucky people in this world. You cant keep on giving away money."

"I have spent about thirty dollars. If I would have gone to watch shows of any of their contemporaries, I would have paid at least hundred and fifty dollars for this much entertainment. Each of them has what it takes to be a star in him or her."

I felt sad for the performers. I know that I would still not spend money on street-entertainers. But I would not stop anyone in future from doing so.

It was nearing evening when we started from there.

"When do we have dinner?"

"All in good time!! Right now we are going for a drive."

"Where??"

"Hollywood homes."

"No no no no." I protested.

She gave me a map and a small torch.

"You dont have a choice. This map shows who stays where. I like the feel of that area in the evenings."

"I have to look at a map?? Whats the use of my guide??"

She smiled.

"Your guide does not know or care. I can tell you random names. But I know only Frank Sinatra's home for sure. By the way, this is the best time to see the stars as well."

I suddenly was curious. I was looking outside hoping for a glimpse of a star.

"You should not have told me. Now I am looking at every normal person hoping that he is a star."

"In his own life, he probably is. And believe it or not, all stars are pretty normal people."

Lady Socrates, eh??

"That was philosophical??"

"Yep and intelligent too!!"

"Ha ha."

I know I should tell the next thing that happened in a suspenseful manner, but I just need to get it out first. That day I saw Leonardo Dicaprio and had my first little confrontation with Devi. And no. She did not even stop the car, let alone take a picture or autograph.

"Its Leonardo Dicaprio. I wanted a picture with him."

She snapped, "He is not some inanimate monument that you want a picture with him. Please try to respect his privacy."

I was angry, though I knew she was right.

"Dont get angry. Look around. I am taking you through the richest and most historical area of LA. Look at the houses. You can check the names of the owners in the map. Everyone of them who is present in this area has come back after long shifts of being someone else. It is the toughest thing to do in life. They deserve their few quiet moments in their homes. It is not fair to disturb them."

"Hmm. You are right. I am not angry."

I changed the topic.

"I am hungry."

"Ok."

We drove some more and came to a place named Trader's Vic. It looked like a good upscale restaurant. It had a nice homely feel. And yeah, we had an extremely tasty dinner there. It was not as expensive as it felt. The service was prompt. Overall, a perfect end to a perfect day.

Devi suddenly asked, "Ready to go back??"

"Not really."

"Want to take a walk on the beach??"

"Yeah. That will be good."

We went to Santa Monica beach. After strolling a bit, we easily found a relatively isolated place. We sat down on the sands.

"Thanks Devi. It really was the best day of my life. And I had never thought that LA is this pretty."

She smiled.

"You are welcome. LA is really a very beautiful place."

"Yesterday you said you will show me something french or latin. I guess we were short on time. But next time, I do want to see it."

"What are you saying?? Also there wont be a next time. I am going back."

"I wish we had met before. Weren't you saying el poobelo something something los angeles something something??"

She laughed out loud.

"That was Spanish. Los Angeles is actually short for El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula. It means the city of our lady, the queen of angels of Porciuncula. People think it is just the city of angels."

She started telling me the history of Los Angeles. The Mexican struggle etc. We wanted to unwind for 15-20 minutes. We sat there talking about history, geography, politics, philosophy till four o'clock in the morning. After which she took me back.

She asked me to come in for a coffee. I was already dreading the task of driving back. I knew I would feel drowsy. That cup of coffee was most welcome. Her apartment was simply furnished and tidy. We sat in the balcony with our coffee.

"Ajay, we have talked about a lot of things today. I mean I talked a lot, you talked a little. But you have not told me what you thought of me. I dont want to meet your parents before knowing that."

"Devi, do you really need me to tell you that? Dont you know already?? You are the most gorgeous girl I have ever met. The time I have spent with you is the most memorable time of my life. There are two kinds of approvals in arranged marriages. One is where you agree to marry someone because there is nothing to disagree about. You dont know what are the negative traits of that person.You hope that you will fall in love with that person. And even if you dont, you will live with it for your whole life. I belong to the second category. I do want to marry you and not because I cant see whats wrong with you.I know you are pushy, short-tempered and a little blatant. But I also know that you are honest and wonderful. I will never marry against my parent's wishes. But you are one person, I am hoping they will like. If this does not work out, I will take time to get over you."

She blushed. And I mean literally. She lowered her eye-lashes and looked at the horizon. She had traces of smile lingering on her face. My heart was swelling. There was something sweet brimming in my mind. I left for San Diego. I was not sleepy. I was smiling. I had fallen for LA - the City of Angels - no, no!! City of my lady, my queen of angels!!!


*pohe - a snack made from rice flakes

Chapter 2: The dream

I was wrong. There was something more in store which actually can be treated as the real beginning for this story. That night I had a dream. As a rule, I dont get too many dreams; very few of them are nightmares and I remember even fewer. This one felt so real, I could almost feel my opponent.

He was standing in front of me with sword in his hand and murder in his eyes. A girl in veil was standing and watching. We were having a sword-fight. I felt the blood rush my head as well. I hated him. I dont know why but I wanted to kill him as badly as he wanted to kill me. Thats when she moved a little. He looked at her. And in that moment of disturbed concentration, I forced his sword away from him and lunged at him. In a flash, the girl was between my sword and him. She died in his arms. I felt jealous but I was immobile with shock. My weapon fell from my hands. I went a little closer to them. I wanted to see her face. More than anything else. I had barely touched her veil. Before anything could register, he pulled out a dagger and he stabbed me over and over. As I was breathing my last few breaths I noticed her veil was off her face. The girl was Devyani.

I woke up in perspiration. It was 5.30.a.m. in the morning. I never felt this scared before. I badly wanted to talk to someone. I thought of waking up my room-mate. But it was not a good idea to get beaten up so early in morning. Then I thought of calling my mom. Again I could picture it. She would get anxious about the dream and angry that I did not call her at night. And it would end up being my fault. No. I did not want to talk to her yet.
Then I thought of Devyani. Could I call her?? How would she react? There was only one way of finding out.

"Devi??", I asked tentatively after dialling her number.

"Hello", a sleepy voice answered.

Me : "Good Morning!! Are you too sleepy to talk?"

Devi: "Yes. But I dont mind listening. Why are you up so early??"

Me : "What do you think??"

Devi: "Bad habit or bad dream. One of the two."

Me : "Right. I had a nightmare."

Devi: "So, you are dreaming of me already??"

Me : "Actually, yes."

Devi: "Really??"

Me : "Yes."

Devi: "I am all ears. Tell me."

I felt stupid. I was calling a girl and a girl i barely knew, because I was scared. Still I told her all. Conversation with her was the easiest thing for me. She did not mock me. She listened. Most importantly, she did not say a word about calling her too early. But I had to apologise.

"I am sorry I woke you so early. Now it feels so stupid and crazy. It was just a stupid dream. I would feel guilty about this forever."

She laughed.

"Its ok. I forgive you. I am anyway up by six."

"Oh my god!!! Why??"

"Did not lose those twenty pounds by sleeping and waking late. I exercise in the mornings."

She told me that she had a very tight schedule. She woke up early in the morning. Did her exercise for an hour. Then cooked her lunch for the day. Prayed for fifteen minutes and then went to office walking. Her office was close to her home. In the evenings she went for a swim. Had light snacks. Chatted with people at home and sleep at 10.30.p.m.

It was getting close to 7.30 by the time I was ready to hang up. There is something to be said about relativity. I did not realise that I had talked to her for two hours.

"Did I mess your schedule?"

"Yes. You messed my exercise and my lunch. But I dont mind."

"I should not have called you."

"Its really all right. I get some wierd dreams too. As a matter of fact -"

She broke off.

"What??"

"I just looked at the watch. I am getting late."

"I am sorry. You go on. Will call you later."

"Yeah. Bye. Just one thing. Call it a coincidence. I often dream of a village too. Anyway, we will talk later. Bbye."

"Ciao."

Wow. She talked to me. It felt so good. She missed her schedule for me. It felt even better. I was smiling when I came out of my room, when I was having bath, when I got ready, when I had breakfast and when I noticed my roommate looking at me in that irritating suggestive way. I did not want to care. But I wiped off the smirk off my face. And I started thinking.

What village did she dream of? What did she see? Why did I call her? Why did she not get mad at me? Why was I thinking of her? What should I tell my mom? More important, what should I not tell her??

I went to office and decided to go through the ordeal. I called up my mom.

"Mom?? Yesterday night...."

"Ooohhhhh....I knew you must have called. My cell phone died and I was at Mira aunty's place and your father had to go to Delhi and there was noone at home. I talked to Devyani's mom some time ago and she told me all that happened..."

Cool. I did not have to give any explanation. Apparently, Devyani had called her mom and she had told her mom everything. Mom was glad with the way I handled the meeting. She was sure we were going to be married. She already loved Devyani. I lost the track somewhere. Some part of my brain was chagrined that my mom never actually asked me what did I think. In normal circumstances I would have put down my foot and told her that. But this one time I let it go. Because this one time, both me and my mom were on the same track. We were both thinking of Devyani. And this one time, I did not want to think of anything else. I was not even worried about the gist. I was waiting for evening, when I could call her again. Make her laugh with me or at me. Hear her sarcastic remarks. Hear her talk. I wanted to meet her. I would ask her out on weekend.

"...Take her out again on this weekend. Dont force her. Just allude to it. It is seeming to work. Dont ruin it. Are you listening??"

Mom's voice was echoing my thoughts!! I jerked out of my daydreams.

"Yes mom. I will ask her out and if it is meant to work it will. And I will definitely not ruin it."

It was funny. I mean the synchronisation of my mater's and my thoughts. I actually was on the same frequency. And I really meant it. I was definitely not going to ruin it. I wanted this to work out too.

Chapter 1: The first meeting

"I am trying to get this marriage fixed. They are distantly related to us. Wear good clothes. Meet her properly. Be nice. I dont want to hear one more person telling me how taciturn u r..."

My mother was telling me on the call. I dont know where exactly I lost the thread. Normally me and my mother get along perfectly. But these days if the topic turns to marriage, I tend to ignore the finer details and pick up the gist. The gist was that my mom was trying to arrange my marriage with a distant relative's daughter. I had to wear good clothes. I had to meet her properly. Be nice to her. And not let her feel -- rather not let her tell anyone --- that I was taciturn.

By the way, I am not. You can ask my friends. I am the life and soul of all the parties. I have an excellent sense of humour and I have numerous hobbies. But like all normal guys I get tongue-tied on such occasions. How can you talk freely with a girl you might end up marrying??

I have seen her photograph. She is "healthy"; yeah...a better word for fat. Sometimes I dont understand mother. Actually many times I dont. Why will I go and get married to a girl I dont know, who is fat!! I cant imagine falling in love with a fat girl. I mean all about beauty being skin-deep is fine. Call me shallow, but I like beautiful girls. I am not on look-out for models or Miss Universes. Actually, I dont even dig for very skinny ones. But obese ones are a definite no-no. Anyway, so this girl is fat and looks forty. She is wearing a lot of make-up; so, I cant tell you how she really looks. In the photograph she is wearing a shocking pink traditional sari. Why do girls take such pictures and expect guys to like them enough to agree to marry them!! Maybe they know how the mothers think...Anyway, my mother wanted me to marry this girl.

She was going to come over to Union station. She was also a consultant working with a major software giant back in India. She had sent me an e-mail telling me where she would come and when. She had avoided calling me. She had flatly refused to give me her number before meeting. So, we were chatting. I was not sure if I could recognise her. To ask that I would have to strike a conversation. To strike a conversation, I had asked her what were her hobbies. She said that she had attached her matrimonial resume , which I already had, along with her -- professional resume!! Professional resume!! Huh!! I left it at that!!! She decided the meeting time and she said she will recognise me from my car. She had seen a picture of me with my car. And she thought she will definitely remember the car and number plate. She also thought that she found photographs deceptive. And she thought that I looked different in my every picture. Well you can imagine my apprehension to meet a girl who thought my car has a better personality than me. I definitely did not want to marry her.

For all those who have not been here, San Diego is a very beautiful place. This particular sunday was even better. On such a lovely day, what I would have done is, I would have packed my backpack and gone trekking to Yosemite. But, what I did do was that I dressed up in formals and went to the union station to meet her "properly" wondering how could I refuse this marriage without sounding taciturn or rude or anything that would make my mum want to talk to me for a couple of hours!!!

She had asked me to wait in the parking lot inside my car and thats what I had done. I was prepared for a 30 min to 1 hour long wait. I had barely parked my car. And before I could switch off the ignition, she was at my car window.

"Ajay??"

"Yeah"

"Hi. You are five minutes late."

"Oh. When I have to meet a girl I generally go a little late so I dont have to wait longer", I said. My feeble attempt at humor.

She looked puzzled. No smile.

"Ok."

Ok????

She sat in the car.

"Where should we go?", I asked conversationally.

"Its eleven. I need to freshen up. We will first go to your home. Then we will go to a Thai restaurant for lunch."

Uh-oh!!! Should I remind her that we are still strangers??

"Actually its sunday and I am not sure if my home will be in a condition for you to enter."

"Its ok. It will help me guage how will it be when we are married."

When we are married???????????????????????

"Ha ha. Dont say later that I did not warn you."

"I wont."

My sense of humor was dying a slow and painful death. We went to my home.

She said, "I will wait outside for five minutes. You can go in and clear up everything you dont want me to see. I will be using just the restroom."

Well, that was nice of you ma'm.

"I was just kidding. You can come in."

I forgot to mention that she was wearing a scarf and goggles and gloves and a jacket along with everything else. So, I had still not seen her. I was willing to postpone that moment forever.

My house is generally quite tidy and that day was no exception. So, I was not really worried. It was a one bedroom house. My roommate was not home. I pointed out the bathroom to her. I started to browse thru channels on the television. Assuming that she will be putting on some make-up and dressing up for the occasion, I had given myself a complete half an hour. Again she surprised me.

I was still surfing the sports channels when she came out. She took barely five min. I was not prepared for what I saw. The goggles, scarf, gloves and jacket was off. Contrary to the picture, she really was pleasantly chubby and thankfully, not fat. She was tall, fair and very well-endowed. She was not dressed nor made up for the occasion.She was just the opposite. She had come in simple jeans and a T-shirt.She had beautiful waist-length curls. She had tied them up in a pony-tail. Some stray hair were fallen on her face, She looked about ten years younger than me. And all this was completely lost in the sparkle of her eyes. She was not a conventional beauty but she had a very pleasant honest face with eyes sparkling with energy.

"You keep your house well". She said with a smile.

Ok. forget everything I said before. Her best feature was definitely her smile. When she smiled her eyes sparkled like diamonds. I wish she would keep smiling forever.

"You look different from your picture."

"Which one did my parents send you?"

"The one in which you are wearing that pink saree."

"Oh yeah. Its magenta actually. I was around twenty pounds extra when we took that picture. But thats the only one in traditional sari."

That explains.

"Umhmm"

"And yeah I am wearing that horrid make-up in that picture. Of course I know guys like it. But I am not too good with it. But dont worry, I am learning how to do it from a professional and if we are married, I will wear it everyday."

Now I am worried.

"You look good without makeup."

"Really?". I was sure she was taunting me.

"Yeah. And in that picture you look fa...I mean a little healthy. You really look good after losing weight. "

"Thanks". She deliberated.

Silence.

"Do you prefer girls wearing sari?", she asked.

"No. I mean, whatever looks good. You look better in western wear." I said last line very carefully.

"So, basically, you did not like my makeup or my sari. You thought I was looking fat which you obviously mind. I dont think you read my resume. Why did you agree to meet with me???"

Oh my God!!! I did not know we were going in that direction!!

"Well, I did read your resume." I said defensively.

"Which one?"

"Huh??"

"Matrimonial or professional?"

"Both"

"Really??". A smile had started to linger in her eyes. I was torn in a desire to see that smile and a desire to not make a complete fool of myself.

"Yeah. Of course. Why else did u think we are meeting?"

"Ok. Whats my name?"

"Er....I did not read it from front to back. I know ur name starts from D. Is it Deepika?"

"Devyani. Friends call me Devi. Where did I do my engineering from?"

Oops. What was going on?

"Pune"

"Pune has 35 engineering colleges. Where did I graduate from?"

"I did not memorize your resume. I barely glanced through the professional one."

She was grinning.

"Ok. What are my hobbies?"

A fleeting thought entered my mind that the conversation should have had a questionnaire from my end about her. I was also wondering where did I actually lose it.

"Ummm...Reading??"

I hesitated.

"Really??"

"I mean music...."

She was bubbling with merriment.

"Are u sure??"

"I think cooking..."

I had started stammering.

Starting with a small giggle, she started laughing. I was half-embarassed and half-spellbound. At this point I was actually congratulating my mother for her choice. I know I was looking like a fool. But it was still worth knowing Devyani.

"Lets have a shot at honesty. Your parents made you meet me, right??"

"Yes. Well, no. Just my mom. My dad is pretty cool."

"Do you know any good Thai restaurant? I am getting a bad craving for it."

"Yeah sure. Lets go."

She put back her shades and kept the rest of her adornments in my backseat.

"So, what are your hobbies??", I asked while driving.

"Ha ha. I am not answering anything from the resume. Before you do decide to marry me, you will have to go through the complete resume. I had to tell you my name. Thats the only bonus you get."

"Ok. So, do you cook?"

"Wrong question again. This is present in the FAQs attached to the matrimonial resume."

"FAQ??"

"Frequently asked questions. You did not even glance through my data. Hmmpfff."

FAQ????

"Well, what do we talk about then??"

"I think that these meetings should be more pertaining to what is not there in the bio-data. e.g. I know you are tidy and you keep your house clean. You did not read my info before meeting me so, you are not thorough. Your mom can force you from thousands of miles, so you can be brain-washed and you cannot find topics to discuss, so, you are not creative. And yeah, you lie, but you are a bad liar."

"Are you maintaining a check-list?" I asked with chagrin.

"No.But if it does not work out between us, I will keep one for the next candidate. But lets not be too optimistic. So tell me about yourself."

"Well, my name is Ajay. I am from Pune.."

"No no no. Looks like you haven't read your own resume either. Tell me something that is not there in your resume."

"Like what?"

"Like....you say that trekking is your hobby. Have you tried bungy-jumping or sky-diving?? What other things have you done?"

I wont get into details of what happened next. I told her my hobbies. I told her of my fears. I told her about what I really liked. I told her about my cooking, driving. We discussed our childhoods. I did find out her hobbies. She was an excellent singer. She loved painting, travelling and cooking. She was an avid reader. She talked a lot. But the strange thing was I was also talking a lot. I told her about girls I had coveted, I had gone out with and I had lost. She told me about guys in her life - accepted and rejected. I have never talked to any girl as much as I talked to Devyani. Neither have I been this comfortable. After lunch, we watched a movie. We discussed movies. We went to a beach. Finally at sunset she said she had to leave.

"Ajay, I really had a great day. With all your faults, you are a nice person. I will be lying if I said that I am in love with you, but I wont mind marrying you. That is the best evaluation I can give. The ball is in your court. I will be leaving for India in two weeks. After that our parents will meet. I will like to have your honest answer before that. Please dont say yes or no unless you are definitely sure. If you wish, we can meet again. Dont answer right away. I know my faults and I am sure you did not get a shot of those in these 8-9 hours. But if you decide to say yes, you should know them. That is the reason I sent you a separate resume right at the beginning. The FAQ contain my faults also. Please go thru them. Au Revoir."

She drove away with a smile.I was smiling myself. I was satisfied with the day. I knew that today one person in this world will definitely not call me taciturn. And yes, as soon as I went home I downloaded the two documents and started reading the resume.

I really did not feel like doing anything that evening. I had just met a girl with whom I got along very well. And in her own words, I did not mind marrying her. I was talking about her to my roommate till late night. My roommate thought that I was love-struck. I would have loved to be, but I was not. And I would have loved to be in love with Devyani. But I was not. But I did want to see her again. Her resume was a total riot. FAQs were mind-blowing. She is so funny. Sarcastic, boys kind of funny. She was easy on the eyes too. Not the usual tel-kadhai model my mom would have wanted.That night I could not lie. Not to myself. Not to my mom. I did not call my mom. I thought that only so much excitement was ok for one day. I went off to sleep smiling.