The Diary of Harihara

Chapter 2

4th March, 2017, Saturday

The Light House is a posh pub, the biggest one in Noipal. It is situated near Kaadal beach which is a major tourist attraction because of the presence of India's tallest lighthouse. Towering at 50 meters height, the mammoth lighthouse called 'Prakar' is a symbol of architectural marvel of the colonial period. People from all over the country come to visit Prakar. The Light House is right next to Prakar. The Light House is especially famous for its Saturday night gig 'Maritime' night. Most of the couples of Noipal would make sure they were there for this. Couples came on to the stage to sing a song of their own with karaoke played in the background. After a couple of drinks down, the entire atmosphere would turn out to be all about fun and laughter. Couples preferred this after an entire week of strenuous studies or work.

Kartik and Amit have been a couple for more than two years now. They were friends since the first year of graduation and started dating by the beginning of final year of their graduation. Kartik is an average built man with well-groomed hair. He is the kind of guy that you would see in posters outside men's salon. He is an average student, but a wonderful human. He is also an active member of an NGO called 'Rainbow' working for bettering the lives of LGBT community. Amit, on the other hand, is a whip-smart nerd. Although he is a short guy with nerdy spectacles, he is a handsome man. Being a gadget lover and a tech-savvy, he is updated with all the technological advancements of each day. He just loves computers, even more than humans on certain levels considering he talks with them more than people. Except for a bracelet around his wrist which looked out of place, everything about him was geeky.

Kartik and Amit had first met during orientation day in their undergraduate college. They were sitting next to each other. The people on the stage were blabbering about the 'rules' to be followed during their course in college. Kartik was dozing off every now and then, unable to contain the excitement of the talk. Amit was busy trying to read an article about the latest Apple iPhone that was released. Kartik completely jolting with sleep leant over Amit's shoulder and dozed off. Amit was taken aback for a while, but did not disturb the stranger sleeping over his shoulder. The speech continued for more than half an hour, by the end of which there were only a handful of people left in the auditorium. The speech ended. People started walking out but Kartik did not wake up. Everyone was looking at them. It made Amit a little conscious, he shrugged his shoulders a little after a conscious effort to keep it still for some time now. Kartik woke up with a start. He had drooled over his human pillow. There was a big patch of wet mark of Amit's shoulder.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry. Oh shit! I'm so so sorry. I'm an idiot" exclaimed Kartik with hands over head.

"Argh, that's fine. It's pretty hot outside, it'll dry out in a while" said Amit looking over at the patch.

"No no, I'm not going to make you stay in this for the rest of the day. You know what? My hostel is nearby, so if you can please come over, I will give you one of my T-shirts, which you can return later. What say?" asked Kartik.

"Hey, that's fine. I can manage. You don't need to do that for me" said Amit.

"Don't make me feel guiltier about it now. Please come and wear one of my T-shirts, it'll make me feel better" said Kartik.

"Okay" said Amit after a pause.

"Great. Let's go, my hostel is right down the end of this road" said Kartik leading Amit towards his hostel. This was how the two of them got acquainted. It was three years ago. Life had panned out beautifully for both of them, from being friends to expressing their feelings for each other. It had been a year since they got together.

On this particular day, they were celebrating their anniversary. They decided to go to the Light House. It was one of their favorite places. They booked a table early as it would get really crowded on Saturday evenings. They reached the place at around 8 p.m. The gig had already started. They occupied their corner table, at the far corner of the stage. They quickly made their order, the usual Cosmopolitan with a plate of Chicken breasts.