New perspective: A Retelling of D3 Dil Dosti Dance

Captain K

[8.30 pm. New York.
Kriya watching her laptop screen, a wide grin etched onto her face]

'May se, meena se, na saaki se'
*sounds of shoes stomping exaggeratedly*

' May se, meena se, na saaki se, Na paimaane se '

With a dramatic toss of his head backwards, Swayam puts his hand on his chest. He makes sure to put it on the wrong side, though, since comedic integrity is the bane of their friendship.

' Dil behelta hai mera, aap ke aa jaane se '
Pointing towards her, he looks at her with as much sincerity as he can muster, while pretending to be a young Govinda. He's confident he'll pull off the the whole song, this time.

' Aap ke aa jaane se, aap ke aa jaane se-'

Of course, he falters instantly

They burst out laughing at the same time. For the first time this week, Kriya's ringing laughter fills her room and bounces off the walls.

Looking at him, she wishes for nothing more than to click her heels and teleport to the other end of her computer screen, so she could dance and jump around with her best friend.

Kriya takes a childish sense of pride in the fact that only she knows this side of him.
Sure, he can be silly around his other friends as well. But with her, he is truly free- the way only children are.

Theirs wasn't an instant connection. It had developed slowly over time. They were similar in a lot of ways, and one of those was their reluctance to voluntarily seek out friendships. He called it introversion, she called it cynicism. He found most people rather drab, and she believed lasting friendships were few and far between. Neither of them were too sure they would have become friends at all, if not for the 'dance team situation', as they liked to call it. They both agreed, in fact, that their entire friendship must be credited to Sharon, and her 'God-complex Era' (one of her several phases; his girlfriend's evolution was a fond subject of discussion among the two). Then again, they agreed on most things; like how, for instance, chai should only be had in a 'cutting waali glass', and only when in good company; Or how first impressions of people were to be both deeply trusted, and then completely discarded; Or how Kriya's mother would make an incredible lawyer, and should seriously consider switching careers. The latter used to be quite the animated discussion, whenever Swayam would stay over at Kriya's house after rehearsals(They would rotate between the college hall, and their houses, depending on availability and, more importantly, what kind of ambience they were in the mood for. Of course, at kriya's house, these would have to be disguised as study groups, with sessions concluding right as her mother would get home from work). Chai,and snacks would be passed out and her nother would join in. One conversation would branch into so many more, often going on quite late into the night. On all those occasions, Kriya's mother would make him call up to let them know he reached home safe. Swayam, although embarrassed, would always smile after putting the phone down.

"I really like that boy", she would say to Kriya, and Kriya would feel that same childish sense of pride. Her mother liking her friends had always been very important to her.

Now as she looks at her friend on the screen, he feels more far away than he was a minute ago, as though the world had just decided to expand a little more, on a whim.

"Captain K!" she hears Swayam say."Noo! You're tearing up."

She brushes her hands across her face and chuckles.

"Hey," he says, gently. "All okay?"

She laughs weakly in response, a gnawing feeling in her stomach, which, over the years, she has come to realise, is a deep home-sickness. It isn't tied as much to a place as it is to a feeling- a sense of belonging.

He raises his eyebrows at her.

"Tum yeh filmy, cartoon jaisi harkatein ab bhi sirf mere saamne hi kar paate ho, or have you, you know, embraced every part of yourself and become completely confident and-" she starts, ready to launch into a silly monologue.

"Oh, absolutely not" he cuts her off. "The world is not ready", he says, half playful, half dead-serious. "Besides, it's our thing."