She was unlike most women he had befriended before. He had always been taken in by strong women and she was no less - that unique mix of flamboyance tempered with the rationale of Indian abstinence, arrogance towards the ineptitude of men and society restrained nevertheless with a respect for sensitivities and acceptance of idiosyncrasies, and a fiery passion for independence was the most potent aphrodisiac that could tantalize his senses. Samir was not a complex personality and his dislike for such a representation of his self - an outcome of his inability to avoid the double entendre and express appreciation was not as evident that he would have liked it to be when he thought about it in those moments of nostalgia that he tried hard to occlude.
It was half past five and he had taken longer than his usual fifteen minutes packing. He looked around the room that had been visiting for close to three years now ever since he took up his new job as Sales Manager of South Zone. He had lived in better places than Hotel Monarch and although Madurai had better offerings, he had developed a close relationship with the Hotel Manager Shambu who had gone out of the way to make his short stays comfortable so much so, that Room 312 was permanently reserved for Samir. "Best room in Madurai Saar" he had proudly proclaimed while taking up Samir's luggage in November 2005. More than the spartan decor, it was Shambu's pride that had genuinely amused Samir as he gently offloaded the night bag and laptop on to the bed and fiddled with the dial on the old BPL TV. When Samir threw the door to the balcony open, it was not difficult to imagine why this room was special. The view of the Gopuram was spectacular, and situated at the right height and distance, it offered a fantastic view of ancient architectural splendor in all its glory. The lighting that night was spectacular and the festive spirit of the season was captivating. The drum beats and naadasvaram was mildly audible in the background and Samir started smiling involuntarily. "Best room in Madurai Saar. Marriage season favorite honeymoon room" prompted Shambu handing the remote to Samir as he took leave.
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Like so many things in his life, meeting her was inevitable and he knew it right from the word go. They were dreadfully alike which was partly explained by their similar backgrounds and they were a powerful couple when together. They did not need to compliment each other, because they possessed the same measure of everything in their personalities and they were the kind of people who could take away any gathering by storm due to the intensity of their being. What one thought, the other understood and conversation between them was minimal and restricted to a few words. To any careful observer it was a show of ethereal understanding between a couple and it was always unnerving yet captivating for Shambu to observe them from close quarters. He seized every opportunity to serve them even if it meant personally carrying water to Room 312.
"Both of us will check out tomorrow morning" said Samir entering Monarch that night at 8 p.m..
"How was the darshan Saar", enquired Shambu trying to detect if they had really enjoyed the trip into the city.
"Very good, Thank You", he said and she smiled approvingly at his choice of the place, route and driver for their evening.
"Anything else you would require for the night Saar?"
"No. I will settle all bills together tomorrow if it is ok with you" replied Samir.
"No problem. Good night to you two" beamed Shambu.
They took the stairs as usual walking side by side with many pairs of eyes following their graceful exit from the foyer, each looking to be deep in thought. They entered the room together and she immediately walked out to the balcony to watch the ceremonies. The festive season was officially coming to an end that night and celebrations had attained peak fervor. Samir followed her and they stood together for close to 30 minutes waiting for the ceremonies to end and the procession to start. The moment was an involuntary trigger for both of them and when it came, they were naturally prepared for it. He looked at her and they smiled at each other as they entered the room hand-in-hand.
It was a night that they would never forget. Never had both been so spent and when the early morning activities in the temple started again they finally closed their eyes for the day.
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"When will you be here next Saar"? quizzed Shambu as he zipped his overnight bag shut. "Should I get some breakfast packed for you?" he continued without waiting for an answer.
"Breakfast will not be required Shambu. You take care of yourself and your family. Here is my card with my personal number written on the backside. Please call me when your daughter is getting married ok?" said Samir.
"Sir, I will call you as soon as I find a suitable boy. But when will you be coming here next" asked Shambu, anxious now at the quantum of words being spoken by Samir.
"I will come here to attend your daughter's marriage Shambu", said Samir smiling at him like never before. He was done with Madurai and could never get himself to come to the city anymore. "Never again unless unavoidable" was not something he wanted to tell the Hotel Manager who had been his friend for the last three years.
He returned a smile at the Air Hostess at the Security Gate who had recognized him from the many past journeys in the same route. It was a short trip to Chennai and he hoped to get some sleep when airborne. It was a busy day tomorrow and he wanted to set some aggressive targets for the next quarter. He drifted to sleep thinking about the wonderful time spent and people he had met in Madurai over the last three years.
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The mild jerk when the pilot hit the brakes of the Embraer Jet woke up Samir. The short nap had done him more good than he had expected and he began to realize that the Madurai chapter in his life was well on its way to an end. Neither did he feel remorse or pain, nor did he feel any vestiges of anticipation at the new challenges that lay ahead in his new role and a new city. It was almost as if he was conditioned for all that had happened over the last three years and it was something he felt uneasy about.
"Would you like anything else Sir?" asked the Air Hostess, poised alongside Samir and helping an old lady with her cabin baggage.
"Not really. But thank you for offering" replied Samir before moving on to deplane leaving the Air Hostess staring at his back.
As Samir walked down the foyer of Terminal 2, he switched his mobile on and started reading the messages that he missed over the last hour of travel. He quickly replied to most of them in his traditional cursory way and instructed his staff to make bookings for his travel over the week. If there was one thing he found amusing about air-travellers it was their impatience in receiving their checked-in baggage. The fastest people to rush into the Terminal were ironically the business travelers who determinedly found their way to the front of the Baggage Belt, only to wait for the longest. As if in response to their eagerness, the first baggage to appear on the belt was the holiday travelers' big bags and to add salt to their injuries of having been ignored in-spite of appearing earlier at the Belt, the baggage suddenly stopped spewing luggage. The rhythmic motion of the empty decade old Belt unnerved a few of them and one of them started opening the flap of the Belt at the entrance and peering in to hurry the Airline Staff to process their bags faster. Frantic activity like this for retrieving luggage unnerved the rest of passengers who started hissing and cursing the Airline who charged a premium but acted low-cost. The animosity towards the Airline started brewing as minutes ticked by and the premium travelers started using the most premium of abuses vilifying the parentage of the owners, promoters and airline staff who operated the Airline as a rundown brothel.
Samir started sipping his coffee a few meters away watching the scene in amusement as the the belt next to his started humming. An announcement for the next flight followed and Samir jerked in anticipation. It was a flight he was waiting for and would have done so even if his baggage had arrived on time. He quickly finished his coffee as the travelers from the latest flight started pouring into the Terminal.
The sensation was there as he come come to realize and expect. Her presence was always obvious to him even before their eyes had met and physical proximity was no precursor for their meeting. It was a strong force that bound them together and the locus of this magnetic influence on each other was as reserved for them as it was incomprehensible and inexplicable through thought or words. It was just moments before they visually met and whenever it happened there was a rapid exchange of emotions that preceded and expended the need for words.
She walked down slowly and determinedly with each step measured and calculated, constantly looking at him and talking to the person next to her mentally processing two different streams of communication. He continued to look at her understanding most of what she was saying but missing out increasingly due to the other thoughts that were going on in his mind. He finally broke conversation with her and glanced to her right, looking at her companion from college days, the person who had helped her reach where she was - someone whose encouragement, love and maturity was paramount for the stability that had been brought to her life and she loved him like she loved no one else and never could. Samir found himself evaluating her companion and jerked himself awake - he had never done this and did not want to start thinking on those lines. He glanced back at her and looked away thinking about whatever had happened.
"Are you ready or would you like some more time to organize your conflicting thoughts and emotions"? said a voice from close by and Samir snapped back to reality, smiling in recognition.
She was unlike most women he had befriended before. He looked back to see that she was no longer there and smiled again.
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