Poetic Sensibility

11- Giggles And Smoulders

        Samay was furious for two reasons. He was late. Someone had taken his seat. As soon as Sarah had ushered him in, he saw Romi laughing at something the guy on her right was saying. The guy on her right. The one sitting in his place. What's more, the way he was lounging on the chair with an easy smile on his face annoyed him further. The fact that Kabir didn't look too happy with him made him feel slightly better. He couldn't help wondering about that, though. Kabir liked EVERYBODY. It would take a lot for Kabir to seriously dislike someone. And today, that dislike was downright glaring. Then he realized that Sarah was practically hanging on to every word this guy was saying. And why were her eyes all big and twinkly like that? And Romi was giggling now. Actually giggling. Even Kiara was giving him her smiley eyes. What on Earth was wrong with all these women? A chair had been wedged between this guy and Kabir. Samay quietly took his seat.

Sarah returned to her seat and turned to him, "This is Keshav, Romi's friend." Was that a hint of reverence in her voice and eyes? And was this guy just Romi's friend or more?

        The politeness drilled in him made him turn to Keshav and smile. He fervently hoped that it looked like a smile and not a sneer. Why was he thinking this way? Probably because he did not want a douche to become a part of their poetry gathering. He gave Keshav a once over. Dressed in dark jeans and a polo tshirt, he gave that overconfidence vibe that annoyed Samay to no end. He allowed for the fact that the guy had a decent face but there was no need for the women around him to look at him as if he was the younger, hotter looking brother of George Clooney.

Samay belatedly registered the fact that everyone had already finished reading their respective poems and were discussing 'circle as a symbol in poetry'.

"Endless possibilities." Keshav said in a voice that was between a drawl and a deep rumble. Who did the guy think he was? James Bond? "Also, a spiral moves upwards or downwards in a circle. Can show progress or any kind of regression. Life and death. Yin Yang. There really is no limit to how circular motions can be used in any art form."

        Alright, Samay admitted grudgingly. The guy knew his motifs and symbols a little bit. But he had still taken his seat.

"Really?" Sarah said, huskily. Why was she talking like that? "I have yet to see a single famous painting that has circular motifs."

Keshav laughed, "You need an eye to spot them. I have yet to see any painting without circular motifs."

"Okay, well, how about the Mona Lisa?" she challenged him. Samay noticed that all this while, Romi was gazing away at her 'friend'.

Keshav immediately brought an image of the Mona Lisa on his phone and said, "Notice the roundness in her face and her fingers."

Sarah looked closely and then asked, "But why would Da Vinci want to paint it like that?"

Keshav simply shrugged and replied, "Could be a number of reasons. If it was me, I'd probably paint it that way because the roundness softens her image. Makes her seem more... mortal. There would be a certain level of fullness to prove that not every woman has finely cut glass-like cheekbones and that is perfectly fine."

"Oh God, you're right! I thought the softening of her features was because of that hint of a smile playing at her lips. But take that away and she's still easy on the features because of the roundness," Sarah exclaimed.

        Well, if any guy was going to sweet talk the fairer sex in that manner, obviously they'll swoon and preen all over him, Samay thought. Finally, everyone had left and it was just Sarah, Kabir and Samay. He accepted a glass of orange juice from Sarah and then gave her third degree as she sat down.

"Who on earth was that?!" he asked, trying to not inject venom in his voice.

"Who? Oh Keshav," and just like that, her eyes went gooey. "He's Romi's best friend. Actually, their dads are. So they've known each other since forever."

"And what was he doing here today? I thought this is all exclusively for poets," Kabir asked with a level of indignation that was much, much softer than Samay's.

"Oh well, he is a poet. He hadn't joined the session because he couldn't be bothered to," Sarah replied.

"I will try to not take any offence to that," Samay said dryly.

"Oh well, he was groomed to take over his father's business since he was about... 13. And when he turned 20, he finally joined his company with one of those desk jobs and slowly rose in ranks. He has way too much work, he says, to come for these sessions. Romi, however, asks him every time so he just came in today. There is no need for you guys to get so worked up. He only does a guest appearance, sadly," and Sarah did look genuinely dejected.

"Honestly, you look like he's broken your favorite toy," Kabir said to her. It wasn't in a scathing tone but he knew Kabir was heated up to make a statement like that.

"Well," Sarah replied tartly, "I would like to see more of him. Apart from his smouldering good looks, he is actually a good poet."

        Kabir scoffed. Kabir actually scoffed. Samay was so grateful that he wasn't alone in his dislike for this friend of Romi's. Not for the first time, he wondered whether he was being reasonable. He hated the answer. He was being unfair to the guy. Maybe he should give the guy another sitting before deciding whether he was really that infuriating. This decision seemed fair but Samay did not like it one bit.

"Just because his poem was about his love for an unnamed woman who he praised endlessly does NOT make him a good poet!" Kabir exclaimed. Now that Samay had decided to hold back his dislike for Keshav temporarily, he passed a 'calm down, dude' look to Kabir.

"Oh please! Romantic poetry is hard! And he did pull it off quite well!" Sarah replied hotly.

        Samay knew better than to linger around for the argument to blow out of proportions. He bid them goodbye and received a grunt in response as he headed towards the door. On his way home, he mentally prepared himself for the phone call he was going to receive that night from a distressed Sarah. She would go on and on about how Kabir had been unfair to her even when she was so crazy about him. And again, like the last few million times, he would ask her to make her feelings plain to him. Saying that she had aggravated Kabir by calling Keshav "smouldering hot" would only rile her further. And as usual, she would ignore his advice. Honestly, the two NEED to tell each other how they feel. Maybe 'Mr. Romantic Poet' could help with that, Samay chuckled at the thought.

Fun fact: Romi's best friend's character is PARTIALLY based on a real person. PARTIALLY. REMEMBER, KESHAV, I SAID 'PARTIALLY'.