The Skywalk- Part II
"Pudhila station Matunga."
"Agla station Matunga"
"Next station Matunga".
The monotonous voice repeated these lines in her head. Matunga station. The skywalk lead them to Matunga station. Over the years of their friendship, they had walked through the skywalk an infinite number of times. The skywalk was build above the broken and potholed roads of Matunga, the South Indian hub of Mumbai. So naturally, it was a favourite for the two Mallus in them. Mithun Krishnan, short, dark and athletic from Thiruvananthapuram and Tanya Mathew, lanky, tanned and pimply from Kochi. Together they had walked above the roads, where vendors offered to sell allo and bindhi at "sabse kam price". Above the streets of crispy frankies and "kadak" dosas. Above the stock of fresh fragrant flowers, waiting to be offered to the Gods. Above the strong irresistible smell of purely ground decotion coffee. Above the innumerous stores selling from Lehangas to small paper pins and every tiny thing in this world. Together they had walked above the streets of Matunga, through the skywalk from Don Bosco School to Matunga Railway Station. Together, they had created a hundred magical moments. Together, they had made a million unforgettable memories.
~
Their friendship had gradually picked up from the respectful and formal conversation they shared at the skywalk. They had become more courteous to each other, and now their conversations were much more than just a simple smile and greeting. He was now seated right ahead of her in class (thanks to his height), and this meant that they occasionally struck a conversation or two, everyday, about everything from teachers to begging each other for the other person's homework. Being a girl, Tanya had heard her fair share of gossips from her other girlfriends about Mithun and a back bencher called Anushka, but had not probed him about it. Anushka was quite friendly, and smiled at Tanya, every time they crossed their paths. But then, Anushka did the same for everyone else in the class too. Except Mithun. You didn't need to be Albert Einstein or Dr. Love to realize that, there was much more than just a smile whenever Mithun and Anushka met. But, she had kept out of it. " Who is he to me? Why should I even care? ". She kept these to herself and continued her routine walks with Mithun to the skywalk.
But she knew, that deep down, atleast as an affection to her co-mallu friend, she knew that she cared. That she probably didn't want something to go wrong. So after the mid- term exams ended, when Mithun told her to go home alone one day, and not wait for him, she didn't bother to ask why. But when, he kept telling her the same thing for a week, she sensed something was wrong. He was a lot less talkative and seemed least interested in things. She told herself, that he might have just had a bad series of examinations, and that a light consoling would do. But when she saw him wiping away tears, during recess one day, she knew that it was much more than that.
And perhaps, for once, just once, she was correct.
*To Be Continued*
"Agla station Matunga"
"Next station Matunga".
The monotonous voice repeated these lines in her head. Matunga station. The skywalk lead them to Matunga station. Over the years of their friendship, they had walked through the skywalk an infinite number of times. The skywalk was build above the broken and potholed roads of Matunga, the South Indian hub of Mumbai. So naturally, it was a favourite for the two Mallus in them. Mithun Krishnan, short, dark and athletic from Thiruvananthapuram and Tanya Mathew, lanky, tanned and pimply from Kochi. Together they had walked above the roads, where vendors offered to sell allo and bindhi at "sabse kam price". Above the streets of crispy frankies and "kadak" dosas. Above the stock of fresh fragrant flowers, waiting to be offered to the Gods. Above the strong irresistible smell of purely ground decotion coffee. Above the innumerous stores selling from Lehangas to small paper pins and every tiny thing in this world. Together they had walked above the streets of Matunga, through the skywalk from Don Bosco School to Matunga Railway Station. Together, they had created a hundred magical moments. Together, they had made a million unforgettable memories.
~
Their friendship had gradually picked up from the respectful and formal conversation they shared at the skywalk. They had become more courteous to each other, and now their conversations were much more than just a simple smile and greeting. He was now seated right ahead of her in class (thanks to his height), and this meant that they occasionally struck a conversation or two, everyday, about everything from teachers to begging each other for the other person's homework. Being a girl, Tanya had heard her fair share of gossips from her other girlfriends about Mithun and a back bencher called Anushka, but had not probed him about it. Anushka was quite friendly, and smiled at Tanya, every time they crossed their paths. But then, Anushka did the same for everyone else in the class too. Except Mithun. You didn't need to be Albert Einstein or Dr. Love to realize that, there was much more than just a smile whenever Mithun and Anushka met. But, she had kept out of it. " Who is he to me? Why should I even care? ". She kept these to herself and continued her routine walks with Mithun to the skywalk.
But she knew, that deep down, atleast as an affection to her co-mallu friend, she knew that she cared. That she probably didn't want something to go wrong. So after the mid- term exams ended, when Mithun told her to go home alone one day, and not wait for him, she didn't bother to ask why. But when, he kept telling her the same thing for a week, she sensed something was wrong. He was a lot less talkative and seemed least interested in things. She told herself, that he might have just had a bad series of examinations, and that a light consoling would do. But when she saw him wiping away tears, during recess one day, she knew that it was much more than that.
And perhaps, for once, just once, she was correct.
*To Be Continued*
Comments
Post a Comment