FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN

Housemates

(This is the shade of Manjari's saree! I love sarees myself and I strongly believe that they can make any woman look beautiful! What do you guys think?)

Summers were making way for fall. There was a slight chill in the air. Manjari had been to NYC quite a few times and had spent quite some time at MOMA, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge. She had hated Times Square as she had found it too crowded and glitzy. She had also been to Macy's and shopped for winters. A parka, a few sweaters, warm leggings, Uggs...all in preparation for winters. She had a blast shopping for Amaira and might have even overspent. This weekend, there was a mushaira organized by the South Asian society and she had volunteered to help with the setup.

Everything was fine except the fact that she was feeling a bit bad about the way she had spoken to Neel the other day. All said and done, she should have not lost her cool like that. Almost everyone in the party had heard her calling him all those names...She was never rude, she never hurt people but this time she had...even if it was the truth it could have been framed more politely.

As she pulled out her peacock blue Banarsi saree to wear, she wondered if he would be there. She thought of ways to apologize to him as she made her way to the venue. When she reached the center, she saw Neel in front of her who was obviously steeping out. So surprised was she by this sudden encounter, that she her footing. She tried to grab the nearest thing next to her and it turned out to be his arm that had reached out to grab her before she took the fall. He pulled her to him and immediately took a step back and dropping her hand walked off without a word.

Of course, he would be here, she thought. Given his knowledge of ghazals, it made sense. Of course he would be the one to catch her. She turned around to looked at his retreating back. Dresses in cream kurta and a churidar with a rust Nehru jacket, he looked very smart.

"There you are", said Tahira, breaking Mnajari's train of thoughts. She was a scholar in the Urdu department and headed the South Asian Literary Association. She was the brainchild behind such events. She was always in a rush and talked nineteen to dozens and generally had a lot to say on everything. "thank you so much for coming and you look gorgeous. Can you please help Neel with the setup? Thanks". And then she called out for Neel. "Neel, Manjari will help you." Right. She had barely given Manjari a chance to respond. Neel had seen her and instantly turned away. Not an ideal work environment at all. Stop being a wuss, Manjari scolded herself. Apologize and get to work. Right. Apologize and work. She approached Neel and cleared her throat to get his attention. He did not even turn around. Now, this was awkward. It was clear that he did not wish to talk and Manjari wished for the guilt off her chest.

She tried again, "Neel...I wished to apol....

He turned towards her, his face shuttered, and said, "Do not apologize. I get it. You do not wish to talk to me or have any form of association with "men" like me. I remind your of your ex... If you wish to help, you can begin by arranging the chairs".

Saying this he turned around and began dragging the tables across the room again. Manjari stood still for a moment feeling a bit bereft. Neel had never spoken to her like that before. But isn't this what she wanted? She took a deep breath and begun to arrange chairs. They work solidly for the next two hours, not saying a word. It was like they did not need to. They worked in complete harmony and completely uncomfortable silence. After setting up the room, they moved towards the refreshment table. Soon, everything was all set. Tahira waltzed in at the exact moment and thanked them for their work. They accepted her thanks and went inside the room taking seats on the opposite ends of the room. Manjari dug out her phone to ask where Arjumand was who was another connoisseur of ghazals.

Neel saw that Manjari was busy on the phone and took some time to observe her. She looked breathtaking, as always. But she had hurt him so much that day...to be compared to her ex....agreed, he was a shameless flirt but he had never hurt anyone, ever. It had always been consensual. He could still clearly see the fury in her eyes and hear the disgust in her voice. He had admitted defeat that day and after a lot of thinking, had decided to respect her wishes. He wanted her but there was no way he would force himself on her if she wanted nothing to do with him. He was a fool to imagine she would want anything to do with him. She was the first woman to make him want a forever. If only she felt the same.... Somewhere in this game, he had fallen for her. And fallen hard. His friend would laugh at him if they saw him like that. He shook his head and turned to look at the performers who were coming. He had been so busy staring at Manjari that he never noticed when the room began to fill with patrons. There was barely any place to stand. That evening, Neel felt that the mushaira was organized for him. All the ghazals on broken hearts filled him with a special poignancy. There were ghazals of Ahmad Faraz

ranjish hī sahī dil hī dukhāne ke liye aa phir se mujhe chhoḌ ke jaane ke liye aa

(Let it be anguish, even to torture my heart, come
Come even if only to abandon me to torment again.)

of Bashir Badr

ujāle apnī yādoñ ke hamāre saath rahne do na jaane kis galī meñ zindagī kī shaam ho jaa.e

(Let me keep
the sweet
moments of
our meetings -
in hiding -

Who knows
which alley
is waiting for
the dusk of
my life.)

of Firaq Gorakhpuri

maiñ huuñ dil hai tanhā.ī hai tum bhī hote achchhā hotā

(No promise, surety, nor any hope was due. Yet I had little choice but to wait for you)

that made him feel things more deeply and profoundly. After the mushaira, he stayed back to clean. Manjari was also there with her friends. He sighed and maintained his distance; it was one of the hardest things he had done in his life, but it had to be done. He reached home and went straight to his bedroom. He changed his clothes and went to lie down on his bed. The only thing...his bed was wet. He looked around to see if it was somebody's idea of a joke. He called Imran who also surprised by it. Neel grumbled under his bed and began to strip his bed. It seemed like he would be sleeping on the bed for the next few days. He was gathering the wet beddings when Imran came rushing and said that his bed was wet too. They looked at each other and decided to find out the reason behind the two wet beds. It was not difficult. All they had to do was lookup. It was their ceiling that was leaking!!!!

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Manjari was in her bed speaking to Amaira when someone knocked at her front door. She looked at the time on her mobile. It was too late for visitors and she was not expecting anyone. She got out and opened the front door to find Simon and...Neel?????????? What were they doing at her house so late? Simon cleared his throat and said, "Can we come in?" Manjari apologized for her rude behavior and invited them in. She waited for Simone to speak who looked extremely uncomfortable to her. Simone cleared his throat again and said, "Manjari, if I remember, you do not have a housemate. Right?

"Right", said Manjari.

"Good. SO, the matter is that there is a leak in a couple of houses including the house of Neel and Imran and they need temporary residences. For a week or two. Not more than that. Everyone has been adjusted with fellow scholars. For the next few weeks, Neel would be staying here. With you."

"With me? Here?", Manjari said in  a shock.

"yes. Only for a week or two." Simon scratched his chin and continued, "I know the situation is a bit orthodox, but this is only temporary."

"For a week or two", she repeated after him.

"Yes." Taking that for a yes, he turned to Neel and said, " Alright then, Neel settle down. We will be in touch when your house would be livable again. Goodnight."

Saying this Simone left. It was then Manjari noticed that Neel was carrying a suitcase in his hand. She looked at him and found him staring at her. He looked as uncomfortable as she was. This was something she had never expected. Sharing her living space with a complete(almost) stranger. And that to a man? What would her parents say? She smacked her head. There was no need for them to know and make them worry. It was not that she was doing something she should not be doing. She could not kick him out in the middle of the night now, could she? And she did owe him an apology for her rude behavior. This could settle scores. She was still thinking about the situation when Neel spoke up, "look, do not worry. I will just crash at some friend's house. Let me just make a few calls". Manjari took a good look at him and said, "there is no need. We are adults and can handle this. You are tired. Please take the other bedroom. We could talk again in the morning when we both had some time to think over it". Neel slowly nodded his head in assent.