The shrill ringing of the mobile on a late Saturday afternoon brought Suma back to
reality. Who could that be she wondered, as she got up from her bed to pick he
mobile. "If it is one of those credit card or loan guys again they had it" she
thought as she picked up her Nokia N95. "Mummy" flashed on the screen. She had
just spoken to her mum in the morning; it was her regular practice to call home
twice a week. The call went on for a good 15 minutes. Mummy did most of the
talking and all Suma kept saying occasionally was; " Not again" "You should
have told me earlier" "Fine Fine don't start off again". Here close friend
Priya by sitting on the bed puzzling over the crossword in the magazine. She
occasionally looked up at her friend knowing very well what the topic was and
who the caller was.

"Your mum again?" she said once Suma finished the call. "Ya" replied Suma "She wants me to meet up with some Prakash on Monday"

Suma was 28, well placed in a multinational company with a fat salary package. For
various reasons none of her marriage proposals had come through for the past 4
years. Too thin, not fair, not traditional, more dowry were some of the reasons
sited. If most of the things went well horoscopes would not match. A year back
Suma pleaded with her parents to let her come to Bangalore for a change of atmosphere. She had
moved into a PG and the change of atmosphere seemed to do her a lot of good. It
was not as if she was free of "boy seeing", but at least the constant nagging
had stopped. Her parents and so called well deserving aunts always seemed to
send her photos and details of the prospective groom. She no longer looked
forward to home visits on extended weekends or festival season as it meant "boy
seeing" again.

Monday dawned and Suma was rather glum, Prakash had already called her at 9 the

previous night to confirm the place of meeting. They choose a café that was convenient
to both of them and agreed to meet at 5. Suma would have rather joined her
friends to see 'Race' then meet Prakash, but she had no choice. Prakash had
told her that he would be sitting at a table near the huge glass window; he
would be clad in blue jeans and a white shirt.

Suma intentionally left the PG at 5, as the café was just 5 minutes away from the
accommodation. She definitely did not want to reach there before him and wait.
On reaching there she saw that the time was exactly 5.06. Rather than rush in
she walked on the footpath past the café, and casually looked inside. There
were 4 tables near the glass window. One was occupied by young couple, the
second by 3 college guys and the third by family. At the fourth table she saw a
guy dressed in blue jeans and a cotton shirt. He looked well over 40, with his
huge paunch and shining bald patch. Suma felt a lump in her throat. Was this
Prakash her mother had not mentioned his age or sent a snap yet Suma had
assumed that the guy would be within 35. Suma hesitated for a while, not sure
what to do Should she enter the café or should she just go back to her PG.
Luckily for her the café was located on a busy road, and it was not obvious
that she was standing there to peep inside. The guy inside was fidgety; he had
already ordered a coffee and kept looking out often. Few minutes later Suma saw
him pick up his cell and dial a number, at the same moment Sumas mobile rang
startling her. She took a few steps away from the café towards the mobile
showroom and picked the mobile with trembling hands. "Hello" said a pleasant
voice, "Sorry to have kept you waiting it took me 10 minutes to find a parking
space, will be there in 2 minutes."  Suma
was too stunned to reply, her throat was dry and her hands cold. All she
replied was "Fine" and she heaved a sigh of relief.

Three months later Suma and Prakash were happily married much to the joy of Suma's mother.

One Friday
evening I stood at the KSRTC bus stop waiting for my bus to Mumbai. Am sure that
anyone who had to board a bus at KSRTC 'Bangalore will understand how
frustrating it can be. There are more that 60 buses waiting and honking at a
given point of time. Anyway this was not going to bother me, as I was all
excited to attend my close friend's wedding. I had come prepared with Robin
Cooks’ “Toxin” to keep me occupied on this 24 hour journey. I managed to locate
my bus and got in glad to have a window seat. I kept my bag on the luggage rack,
popped a Polo mint into my mouth and looked out at the hustle bustle around.
Everyone seemed to be so caught up in their own world. Youngsters, families,
elderly couples, business men all seemed to be rushing in every direction. I
smiled as I looked at the mad mad world outside, each one caught up in their own
busy schedules. I wondered who would take the seat near me, and hoped it would
be someone non- interfering. The bus was soon filling up with people of every
shape and size. An elderly lady entered carrying a small bag, followed by a
young guy carrying two extra large bags. Seeing this, a fellow passenger began
to grumble “Looks like the old hag has packed her whole house.” Another elderly
man kindly requested them to keep the luggage in the luggage compartment as it
was obstructing movement in the bus. The young lad who had managed to struggle
in with the luggage, picked up the bags and struggled out again followed by the
old lady. Ten minutes later the old lady came and sat down beside me, the first
thing I noticed about her was her warm smile. She was in her late fifties,
comfortable dressed in trousers and a cotton shirt and had a twinkle in her
eyes. The young man was nowhere in sight, so I assumed that he had just come to
drop her and help her board the bus.

The wheels of
time go on and it was almost 6 months since I returned from Mumbai. I was busy
juggling work, social activities, family, friends and social service. One
Saturday afternoon our social service group went to 'Sheha Bhavan', we had been
visiting that place for the past 5 months on alternate Saturdays. We would spend
time with the elderly men and women there, talking to them, helping them with
sorting out their old letters and photos, writing to their sons and daughters
who had neglected them. Most of all we were there, just to spend time with them
and listen to them talk of their good old day. It was then that I saw a vaguely
familiar person sitting on a cane chair by the window. I had been visiting this
home for few months now and had not seen her here before, yet she looked so
familiar. I racked by brains and then I remembered… why yes .she was Mrs.
Linnet Rozario!! Yes I was quite sure about it; she was none other than my
travel companion on that Mumbai bus 6 months back. I walked up to her to say
hello, she took a few minutes to recognize me and se smiled back weakly. I
noticed that she no longer had those sparkling eyes, in fact they seemed sad and
lost, and she also looked as if she had rapidly aged in these few months. What
had happened? She was supposed to settle in Mumbai with her son and family? What
was she doing in Bangalore again, and of all places in a home for the aged? So
many unanswered questions… however I did not want to ask her anything at that
moment. I could already see that see was really lost and sad and I did not want
to upset her further Perhaps one day during my regular visits to Sheha Bhavan
she would open up and let me know. The picture of the talkative, cheerful lady;
with dreams of spending relaxed days with her loved ones came flashing
back.

It was just another 'Manic Monday' I am sure everyone would
agree that getting back to work on a Monday morning after a relaxing/hectic
weekend is not so pleasant. Well this Monday was no different; it had been a
hectic day at work. I was glad when I was able to complete the assigned tasks
and leave for the day.



Home was just 10 minutes away, and I was sure that
my hubby ad daughter would be at the computer playing some of their favorite
games. As I walked down the usual route home; I felt as though a pair of eyes
was looking at me from Mr. Menon's house. The Menons had moved out about 10 days
back after a transfer, so I assumed that a new family had moved in and walked
on. We had a quick dinner and played a game Scrabble with my hubby and daughter
before retiring for the day.



The next day, as I was returning home, I saw
him again standing by the gate looking at me. Being a purely residential area,
there were just a few people walking down the street at that time, and I was
sure it was me he was looking at. This went on for the whole week, I would walk
by at almost the same time every day and he would be there as if waiting for me.
I notice that he was very handsome and had warm
expressive eyes. Soon I would myself waiting to see him every evening
as I passed the house to get back home. There was something about his expressive
eyes and warm friendly look that made me want to take the first step to
introduce myself. Unsure of what his reaction would be I kept putting it off. I
was content with just seeing him every day. A few days later as I passed that
way, I noticed that he was not standing at the gate there as usual. I was
disappointed and stood on the opposite side of the street for a few minutes
hoping that he would come out. Ten minutes later though disappointed, I realized
that I need to pick up some stationary for my daughters school project and rush
home.



The next day I was found myself eagerly waiting for 7.pm to pass so
that I could leave office for the day, hoping to see Mr.
Handsome. I was thoroughly disappointed when he was not there for a
second day in a row. It was only 3 day later that I saw him again, and this time
I decide I would go up to him and shake hands and introduce myself. I guess I
had enough of the admiration from a distance. As I walked towards the house, I
realize I was a bit nervous about his reaction- but then I thought "Its today or
never" Once I approached the gate, I realized that I was right in taking the
first step Mr. Handsome welcomed me by wagging his tail and
putting his soft brown paws on the gate. I patted him lovingly and shook hands-
or should I say paws with him. Yes you guessed right Mr. Handsome was a lovely
Labrador with soft, warm, loving eyes.