love-labour-lost and me

Life can be tough at times, it can also be very unforgiving and unsympathetic or plain sarcastic. It can also be ironic when things around you do not go as you planned them to be, but rather take their own natural route to a situation that can only be described as a catch-22 as Joseph Heller puts it.

I am a self-confessed comic book lover and my favorite comic book hero is a tie between Calvin and our very own Bankelal (remember Raj Comics). What sets Bankelal apart is his very cunning brain and coupled with a boon it leads to extremely funny moments with his King Vikram Singh (which by the way seems very gay to me, as he looks for all excuses to kiss Bankelal). The boon says even if he tries to do something bad to someone, it will only end up benefiting the person it was supposed to harm…. In Hindi we say “Kar Bura Ho Bhala”.

Well I am no Bankelal, neither do I claim to have such a great mind and, whatever limited grey cells I have, do not tend to go on his dubious lines. Not to forget the boon works in mysterious ways for me…usually the other way round.

Just the other day, I tried to be a Good Samaritan and help out a friend. He was in a mess. His girlfriend for 5 years had suddenly dumped him without even giving a proper explanation. “ This relation is heading nowhere “, she said and walked away with her long brown hair swaying both ways, pretty much like the mind it covered. The world came crumbling down upon my friend. The Devdas inside every desolate man seized upon this chance, and before I knew it I had become the object of all his monologues. “ “ “ Dude I loved her!!!!!!”
“ How can she do this to me, after all we have been through?”
…And finally the proclamation “ I can’t live without her.”

The man inside me could take no more (In fact when I look at it now it’s more like my ears revolted much before anything else did). So I decided that I would go speak to that girl and try to reason out with her to give my poor little friend one more chance. He was so pleased and declared me to be his only true friend. This is not as easy as you think it is. It’s a double-edged sword to walk on.

First of all, if that girl has broken up without putting up a decent girly fight, you are in for some real trouble. She will just burst out with her full force on the first instance she lays an eye on you because of two plain reasons.
A Girl thinks that all friends of her guy are equally to blame for her failed relationship.
She could not vent out that anger on her boyfriend so she will come all out on you, for you remind of him. Secondly she knows, you will repeat everything she said so you are the most trusted channel of communication.
Secondly, if you fail in your attempt your friend who just proclaimed you to be his long lost brother, will not only hold you responsible for it, but also will say that you also were jealous of him and never wanted his so called perfect love life to be successful.

After weighing all the pros and cons I decided my friends, that I will take do what it takes to make my friend happy.
So I gave her a call.

Now it was tricky. I had never seen her before neither had I spoken to her ever. Moreover, you do not call a girl and say that you want to talk about the guy she has just broken up with!!!

Suddenly my friend remembered that he had given her some of his GMAT preparation books, which he wanted back now, since he felt there was nothing left in India to hold him back.

We spoke and agreed to meet that Sunday in Landmark, where she would return the books but gave stern warning that if I dare bring my stupid friend with me, she would never show up.

So I went alone… I did not know her neither did I know how she looked. So I gave her a call and asked her to come to food court… that moment changed my life forever.

I saw her coming towards me, god was she beautiful… dressed in all white chudidar she painted me red with every step she took. Then those words “ Hi!!! Are you Ashu’s Friend?”

I knew I was in love.

To be continued…