Thats how it is..

“Doston mein baitha main sutta pi raha

Abba ne mujhe sutta peete dekh liya

Ghar jab pahuncha to danda ho gaya
naaaaa na na naanaa..naanaaa naaaaaaaanaa”

“Chetan will ya plz shut up! I hate that cheap song!” Aditya yelled out to him while sticking the red streamers on the wall.

“What the fuck Adi, sikhaya kisne?”

“Hell! Alright maine sikhaya, but why do you keep singing it over and over again? Its cheap and I have started hating such songs!”

“Whoa Mr. Sophisticated! or shall we call it THE RIYA EFFECT??” Gaurav chuckled.

“Whatever! Now hurry up! Riya will arrive any moment and you guys have to leave before that!”

“But Adi, don’t you think you are inviting trouble? If the Warden gets to know..”

“Dude, the Warden is on leave.”

“But yet Adi, Kota, is not a metro like Mumbai or Delhi. Last Wednesday a couple was caught by the police, since they were walking hand in hand!”

“Nothing as such will happen, its in my room for God’s Sake!! How can the police catch us here? Yaar please hurry up!”

The boys busied themselves decorating the room. It was the 14th of Feb, and this time Adi, decided to try something new. Of course this Valentines Day would be different and far more magnificent than any of the previous ones. This time, Adi had a girlfriend!

Chetan and Gaurav after a lot of hesitation gave in to Adi’s request of inviting Riya to their hostel. Well to call it a hostel would be an overstatement. It was rather a small Boys PG accommodating not more than six boys. They had been in Kota for almost a year now. IIT was their dream and Bansal Classes gave shape to it.

Now Bansals, is one of the most efficient tutorials in the country. If you are ready to barter your life for IIT, then Bansals is the place to be. Anyway watching movies, playing games even going to school for that matter is difficult here. Having a girlfriend is beyond doubt, impossible. Adi had made the impossible, possible.

Well it wasn’t really love at first sight. Adi first got in touch wit Riya through her father. Weird I know, but that’s how it all started. Riya’s dad was acquainted to Aditya’s uncle. Being over-possessive about his daughter, he introduced her to Adi,

“Just in case of a problem, contact Aditya, he seems to be a nice boy.” He bid adieu to Riya and left Kota.
Little did he know that this sentence would be the root of all problems later.

Adi never dared to contact Riya, though he always wanted to. One fine day he gathered all his guts and called her up. Impressed by her outstanding persona, he proposed a meeting. That was not the end of it. The meetings continued and after about a month and a half, he realized that HE WAS IN LOVE.

“And this time I am dead serious!” Adi said trying to convince his friends.

“Adi, you are telling this for third time and for the third girl in this year!” Chetan chuckled.

“Just wait and watch!”

It took him another two months to ask her out, and it took her another three months to agree.
It was only last month that Riya approved of him and today, on Valentines Day, he decided to take her heart away.

The room dazzled in shiny red ribbons and streamers, there were red balloons scattered all over the floor. Aditya’s study table was converted into a small dining table, adorned by a floral tablecloth. A small chocolate cake was placed at the center with four red candles on each side.

“Guys done? It’s already seven! She’ll arrive any moment now!”

“Hang on, almost done!” Gaurav said sprinkling rose petals over the blades of the fan.

“Thanks, yaar I don’t know what would I’ve done without you!”

“We are always at your service sir!”

“Alright we’ve gotto leave now, all the best dude!” Giving him a hug, Chetan left along with Gaurav.

Aditya seated himself on the bed and took a deep breath. He was nervous, very nervous. He wished to precede the course every bit according to what he had planned. Just then there was a knock on the door. Adi knew who was standing behind it. He looked at his hair one last time in the mirror, before opening the door.

Yes, it was Riya, as anticipated.

“Hi.” Riya said shyly, brushing her hand through her long straight her. She looked stunning in the pink top and denim capris.

“Hi, please come in.” Adi smiled looking into her dark eyes.

As she entered, Adi switched on the fan. There was a shower of crimson petals on them. Riya looked up, and spread out her hands, feeling every petal that fell on her. In the mean time, Adi played the stereo. Soft love songs in the background supplemented the beauty of the room.

“Dance?” Adi was bold, yet subtle in his gestures.

Riya nodded and blushed.
Adi could do anything for this rosy-tint that enhanced her beauty.

He took her waist and they danced slowly to the tune of Havana. They danced together enjoying every beat. They danced as though they were in a trance. They were conscious of only each other’s presence, the rest of the world didn’t matter.
Then, he gently held her hand and took her to the table. Holding the knife together they cut the cake. She fed him a small piece. The rich chocolate turned tastier by the touch of her hands.

He lifted her up and seated her on the bed. Seating next to her, he gently brushed his hand through her silky hair. She was nervous, in fact both were. Perhaps their nervousness was the driving force. He came close and pecked her cheeks. Riya’s forever-expressive eyes radiated ecstatic emotions. She reciprocated kissing his neck. There was a knock on the door, which went unnoticed. Certainly, there was some inevitable force that pulled them closer and united them in a lip lock. This was beyond earthly sensations. They wanted to capture this moment and live it time and again.
The knock was louder this time. It ruined the breathtaking romance of the moment.

“Who’s it?” He asked aggravated.
“Open the door!” A heavy matured voice spoke.

Neither of his friends had such a low pitch. It was certainly not the Warden, Adi, could recognize his voice well. Just then he felt the vibrating cell phone in his pocket. It was Gaurav.

“Hello Gaurav?”

“Adi, this is an emergency. The cops have entered our PG. Baju wali aunty ne bulaya. Please ask Riya to hide in the washroom. I tried to stop them but..…” Aditya cut the call, he didn’t have time to hear the rest.

“Riya, please get inside the washroom! Its urgent, the cops are here!” he whispered.

Riya was flabbergasted. Somebody had pushed her down from cloud 9 all of a sudden. She stared at him in awe.

“Listen, do as I say, everything will be fine!”
She obeyed like a naïve child.

The knocking turned louder. Aditya wiped the dripping sweat from his forehead and opened the door with his trembling hands.
Three men clad in uniform entered the room.

“Yes sir?” Adi asked in a bold voice. He was a natural.

“Room ki talashi leni hai. Khabar mila hai ki yahan pe kisi ladki ko bulaya gaya.” One of the police men replied, a bit shaken by his confident tone.

“Excuse me, sir? Ladki? Aur yahan?” Aditya pointed to his room amused.

The police looked all over the place and replied.

“Par room itna sajaya hua kyun hai?”

Now Aditya wasn’t prepared for this.

“Well..actually sir, hum dost log milke celebrate kar rahe the.” He said displaying a plastic smile.

“Acha beta room me to koi nahi hai. Sorry.” The cop replied apologetically and was about to leave when…
“Yeh kiske joote hai?”

They were Riya’s, Adi was defeated. He didn’t have a reply.

“Kahan chupaya ladki ko? Bahar lao!!” The policeman’s voice thundered.

Aditya knew there wasn’t a way out now. He opened the washroom and asked Riya to come out. Riya, emerged out of the toilet, pale with fear.

They were both taken to the police station.


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Then what?

Many students who were bored of their monotonous lives, got a hot topic to discuss. There was definitely more smoke than fire. Some even spread stuff like, Aditya molested Riya and was behind the bars for a night.

Restrictions by their families forbade them to talk to each other. This was a big turn-off in their relationship.
But such meager obstacles couldn’t dwindle their love. Yet, this bitter incident had a huge impact on Riya, she isn’t the same carefree girl anymore. Now she thinks twice even before smiling. It makes her hate the place, and the people even more.
However, she has to carry on, she is a rebel. In spite of all impediments, she’ll move on, she’ll have to. After all, IITJEE is knocking at the door.


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PS: This post has been inspired by a true story, only the names of the characters changed!

--Ekata Banerjee