Abhay pensively looked up at the glittering firmament. He loved gazing at the sky till late in the night. The stars were like his friends. So what if the moon was not there? The stars never betrayed him, although starlight intensity is lesser than the moon’s. But, in no way was he belittling the moon that fought with the clouds to emerge and shine upon the universe. The conversation Abhay had had with Kavyaanjalee was echoing in his ears. What strange conditions she had placed before him. He couldn’t believe his ears. He had expected many different answers, many reactions, but not this.
Abhay was a third semester student of Malviya Engineering College. A loner by nature, his few friends were Abha, Anjali, Kavita and Imran. But his best friends were the stars. And as a child he had considered the moon as his lady love. More than studies he was into football, and he was the captain of the college football team. Being a Rajput (an ancient warrior clan of India), he was naturally tall. He was dark with deep set, brown eyes in which many girls dreamt of drowning in. And he was clean shaven. Well, Malviya never allowed any other style, especially any style resembling tramps and drunkards.
Ever since the Freshmen Social, Abhay could barely think of anything else. Or anyone else. It was nothing tough to grasp like Microwave Engineering (but, equally difficult to attain): Abhay was smitten by Kavya. Kavya was the runner-up in the Freshmen Social’s Miss Fresher’s Competition. She was the kind of beauty that reminded you of a dove; she was fair, lovely and innocent-looking with doe eyes, for which Abhay fell hard and fast. Like a football right into the goalpost. Abhay had seen many pretty girls. But Kavya stood out because of her innocence, wit and intelligence. Her answers during the competition were witty. During the theme round, she was dressed as Lady Jack Sparrow, complete with kohl-laden eyes, mole on the cheek, swinging a sword and most importantly, a swagger. The sword was a real one, thanks to her Rajput lineage. When asked, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” she had replied nonchalantly, “I care about neither, as long as I get the omelette.”
Another question she was asked was, “If one morning you discover that the world has come to an end, and you are the sole survivor, what would you do?” Prompt came the answer, “I would go wash my face first.” Again, she was tossed a googly by a senior, “If I ran away with your sister, what would you do?” Kavya laughed, “Maybe I can find no better match than you for my sister.”
No wonder Abhay was clean-bowled by her. He had decided to propose to her after the mid-semester examinations. There would be no problem, Abhay thought happily, as both he and Kavya belonged to Rajput families. It was an unwritten rule in Malviya that people from the same caste and creed, especially Rajputs and Jats, approached each other in matters of love. What could possibly come in Abhay’s way?
After the last examination, Abhay was waiting in the balcony, outside Kavya’s class. As she walked out, like a graceful swan, Abhay went up to her and introduced himself (he also did not forget to add the important fact that he was the college football captain).
“Kavyaanjalee, I will not say that I came up to offer you my friendship. Since I have feelings for you, I want to know if you feel the same. You can take your time.” Abhay was straight-forward as usual, wasting no time in making bones about his romantic feelings. Kavya was quick in replying, as Abhay had expected. “Listen, Abhay, I don’t know you. So I have never loved you. If you wish you can send this proposal to my parents. But I can’t help you here. You’ll have to tell them yourself. And, yes, I have a condition. I have always dreamt of being the better half of someone who had cleared the Indian Engineering Services Examination. So, wish you all the best.”
Abhay was thunder-struck. IES? The toughest exam. The IAS equivalent of engineering. He was an average student. A simple guy whose sole passion was football. How could he clear this hurdle? And what had love got to do with it? How could a woman judge a man’s depth of love by an engineering entrance examination? But then Abhay looked at Kavya’s beautiful doe eyes and took a decision that would change his destiny forever. “Alright, Kavyaanjalee, done. But till then can I spend some time with you sometimes?” “Look, Abhay, I come from a very conservative family. Moreover, I don’t really believe in love. So I don’t think it’s a great idea to spend time together.” Abhay did not know what to say. He smiled sadly. “Okay, then, take care. I accept your challenge. One day we will definitely be together. One day your conservative values will not come in the way of my true love.”
With that, Abhay turned and walked away. Kavya looked after him regretfully. She had promised her mother to never befriend a guy. Abhay’s resolve was one of steel. His demeanour had changed completely. He quit his football captaincy. He was found more in the library than in the football field. He hardly took part in addas (chats) with his gang. Always setting the alarm at five in the morning, his room-mates cursed him. But Abhay was busy juggling Circuits, Electromagnetic Theory and C++. Not surprisingly, he topped the end-semester exams, beating the usual topper.
Soon Abhay was deeply immersed in studies from day one of the fourth semester. His one distraction or inspiration was Kavyaanjalee. He would gaze at her from a distance, like people loved the moon. Sometimes, some dreams are so beautiful, that even if their possibility of turning into reality is bleak, people love them even more. As much as Abhay loved Kavya, he loved his dream of becoming an IES officer even more. Abhay once again topped the mid-semester examination. Still, he would spend endless hours in the library, preparing for the three-day IES examination. If anyone needed to understand any tough topic, they would make a bee-line for Abhay. Abhay rewarded himself by buying some beautiful silver bangles for Kavya, using up all his pocket money.
Being the early eighties, there was no Amazon or Flipkart to deliver the message of love. Abhay doubted if Kavya would accept his gift. But he had a brilliant idea. After the last examination of the second semester, Kavya came out of her class and collected her bag. She heard a beep and hurriedly searched her bag and took out her pager. The message was short, “Delivery for you, madam.” As she looked up, she saw the peon at the other end of the corridor, carrying a parcel. He came towards her and handed her the parcel.
When Kavya reached her hostel room, she rushed to open the parcel. Inside was the loveliest set of bangles, looking resplendent in silver. The bangles won her over. How lovely they looked! As she wore them, they sparkled like a million stars. Inside was a small note. “If you accept this, I will be overjoyed. If you wear them, maybe you will transform from a girl to a woman. They will go well with your sparkling bindi (a dot Indian women wear on the forehead), which doubled your beauty at the farewell party that day. Love, Abhay.”
Kavya couldn’t help smiling. Oh, my God! The bindi! It was all Abha didi’s (sister) idea. At the last moment, she hadn’t been able to find her bindis. So sweet Abha didi, always ready with a solution, had applied a bit of white toothpaste on Kavya’s forehead, in a way that it resembled a dew-drop. And then, cleverly she had smeared a bit of turmeric at the bottom part of the bindi!
A few days later, Kavya saw Abhay walking in the opposite direction. Their eyes met, and she smiled shyly and looked away. “Thank you,” she whispered softly. Abhay smiled and walked past her. That evening, Abhay found that his carefully-ironed clothes (for the next day) were missing. This had happened yesterday also. Later he had found his clothes hung on his chair, crumpled and sweaty. Today, he was determined to find the culprit.
Soon, Imran walked in, wearing Abhay’s clothes, and a wide, friendly smile. “Sorry, dost (friend),” Imran said, looking sheepish and apologetic. “Actually, I had a date with Kashaf and your clothes are the finest. Thanks.” Abhay threw his pillow at Imran in mock anger. “So it was you.”
“Oi, got some time for adda (a chat)? I am meeting Abha, Anjali and Kavita in the canteen,” Imran asked him. Abhay’s gang knew the story behind him becoming an IES aspirant. Kavita had even confronted Kavya and got hold of a lot of information for Abhay (like, Kavya’s promise to her mother). Abhay accepted Imran’s offer for a change. Imran asked him, “I’m fed up of my height, yaar (friend). Don’t know what to do!” This was Imran’s common complaint.
“Why don’t you try something….”
“Don’t ask me to hang from a beam like the Horlicks ad, okay?”
“No, I’ve thought of something. If you ask your tailor or buy cloth with vertical stripes for your trousers and shirt, I think it will make you look taller.”
The next day was Shivratri (an Indian festival celebrating the God, Shiva). Kavya got a message on her pager, “Don’t eat the ladoos (sweets) offered to you by anyone. Be careful. Abhay.” During the adda session, Imran had told everyone how Pratap, a rich, spoilt brat always sent ladoos full of bhang (hemp) to the girls’ hostel by bribing the chowkidar (watchman). Pratap even had a refrigerator and a cooler in his hostel room.
Very soon, Abhay had completed his eighth semester examinations. It was time to bid Malviya farewell. After the last exam, Abhay met Kavya.
“Kavya, I am preparing hard for the IES exam. I know I will become an IES officer. In my very first attempt. But till today I have no clue about your feelings. Very soon, I will be leaving this college. I’ll miss you. Will you miss me?”
“My answer remains the same, Abhay. I can’t offer you any commitment. You’ll have to approach my family. Bye. All the best.” With this, Kavya walked away. Abhay was aghast. He found himself in the depths of despair. It had been three years. How cold could a girl be? Was Kavya made of stone? At the very least, she could have dropped a subtle hint with which he could survive this ordeal.
Soon it was farewell night. Imran, surprisingly looked taller. Abhay’s brainwave had worked. There were vertical stripes on his trousers and shirt in a fashionable design. During the passing the parcel session, every eighth semester student performed something. When Abhay’s turn came, he sang ‘Patthar ke sanam’, being a fan of old Hindi film songs (gazing at Kavya often). Although he was off-tune, the audience applauded hard and cheered for him.
After a few months, the IES exam results were declared. And quite predictably, Abhay had qualified. Soon he was to leave for Delhi to join his services. When Abhay met his gang in college, the football team lifted him up. They were overjoyed at his success. Later his gang took him aside. Kavita was bursting with excitement. She asked him, “So now you will meet Kavya’s parents, right? To ask for her hand in marriage? Won’t you? Oh, my God!!!” Abhay had a distant look in his eyes. “No,” he said at last.
“What!?” his gang chorused. “Why? What happened?”
“You don’t like her anymore?” Kavita questioned him.
“No, it’s not that,” Abhay said with a hint of sorrow. “It’s just that I’ve come so far. Too far. I’ve come so far that now I don’t believe in looking back. From now on, I’ll only look ahead, never behind. I only have to move ahead. I think I have many more dreams to fulfil.”
Abhay never married. He devoted his entire life to the Indian Engineering Services.
