We Are Not 'Just Friends'

1. 'Just Friends'

HELLO, I am Vinay Kumar, a Chartered Accountant staying in Mysore... Through this story I will take you to a small journey of my life.

I was born in the Heritage City, Mysore on 20th Jan. Shankaranarayan and Prabhavathi are my lovely parents. As I am the only child my parents and my grand- parents took utter care of me as I was the apple of their eyes.

As years passed, I was nearly 2 and half years when we got Raghav uncle and Family, as our new neighbor in the street for the old house opposite to mine, which was not occupied for past 5 years due to some case of the landlord. They were a very traditional family similar to mine.

As days passed, our family started to get to know each other well, my dad and Raghav uncle were working in same factory. Both the grand-fathers got a companion for their evening walk. Both grandmas also got companion to chit chat about the house matters, even my mom and Srivalli aunty became very good friends. But for me still I don't have any friends in this street, I don't know why this street have only aunties and uncles. This is the problem being a single child you have nobody to play with.

Nearly a year later the aunty Srivalli gave birth to a baby girl Avantika, on the eve of Navaratri. Everyone in their family were so delighted as she was the only girl child, and welcomed her as if she was a direct gift from the Goddess herself.

After 5 Months when aunty was back from her parent's house, I and my Amma went to see the baby who is now the center of attraction. What I saw was a cute baby with pink frock who was smiling at me. I was just 4 yrs old but I felt as if I had some long time connection between me and that baby.

Months passed so soon and I started going to school. Meanwhile my Rajkumari had started crawling. Yes my Rajkumari, for me she was the precious one and I was the only one allowed to call her by that name. I used wait for evening just to go to her home and tell her what all I did in school even though she never understood anything.

Years passed, she also got admission to one of the best school in Mysore. But our bond remained the same. Every evening I and Rajkumari used to play together. Sometimes I used to help her in her homework. The best time was whenever there was a power cut. We used to sit in the veranda of her house where both our Ammas' used to make us recite the shlokas, followed by tables.

Soon I entered my high school and started spending less time with her on the other hand she also became busy as aunty joined her for the violin classes and bharathanatyam classes. She left the violin classes within a year itself due to her grandpa's death.

I was in 10th std when the factory where my dad and Raghav uncle used to work was shut down due to some government issues. My dad somehow managed because my parents were running a paying guest accommodation for working women in our house from past 2 years. And Appa also got job in a Small firm as a Manager. On the other hand Raghav uncle decided to search job outside Mysore. He got placed in one of the biggest steel industry in Bellary, the city of mines in Karnataka. Soon their whole family shifted to Bellary. 

2 years later I finished my 12th std in commerce with distinction and wanted to pursue CA. So for the best coaching my parents sent me to Chennai. Mean while Rajkumari was about to enter her high school and so uncle didn't want to take any risks so they sent her back to Mysore for a quality education. She used to stay with her maternal grandparents. We couldn't talk much but every week I used to call my parents and her house in Bellary. But after she was shifted back I couldn't talk to her much.

By the time she entered her 10th std I qualified my IPCC in the 1st attempt with All India Rank and joined for article ship in one of a BIG 4's in Bangalore. Meanwhile my Rajkumari started saying, "I want to be a journalist". Everyone in her family started to scare her by telling that if she becomes a journalist she has to fight with the corrupted people and they might harm her. And her dad made sure she joins for commerce as she didn't want to take science.