The Girl in the Gym

Curios and Knick-knacks

The Kala Ghoda festival was one of the most fascinating and colourful things Jack had ever seen. And the art installations in themselves were simply fantastic. Within minutes everyone's phones were out and they went about exploring and clicking pics. "Stay close, Jack," warned Lokesh once again, when the former started straying. It was a wonderland. Jack saw a tree made up or rearview mirrors from bikes, a horse fashioned out of some green material, an abstract piece called the urban tree, seeds from various trees were used in one, and loads of art and craft works from all over India. There were performers here and there, drawing hordes of children toward them. Nearing lunchtime, they decided to head over to a restaurant to eat and then come back to see more. Dhruva suggested Café Mondegar, which was on the main street in Colaba. They took the car there, and Jack was further amazed by the vibrancy of the city. It had pockets of quiet and chaos and all the things in between.

The street in Colaba was filled with pedestrians spilling onto the road, leaving barely any space for the traffic. Jack felt almost alarmed, but when he looked around, nobody else seemed perturbed by this. They trooped in and somehow squeezed themselves into tiny booth. The place was jam-packed, according to Suma, it was like this at all times of the day. It was one of the more popular cafes in the area. They tucked in heartily and talked about the Kala Ghoda festival. They were all enthralled by it, and couldn't wait to get back to catch a few performances. Jack agreed to go for the stand-up comedy routine, although he doubted he would understand anything. But the others seemed excited, and it seemed unfair to him that they miss out on something good just for one person. They called for the cheque and made to leave. The festival area had become even more crowded if it was possible, they were all covered in sweat, but didn't notice. It was a while before the comedy show was to start, so they went to different stalls selling crafts. Suma tried her hand at pottery making and seemed extremely satisfied with her lopsided vase. They all bought small trinkets for their room Unconsciously, Jack was looking for something to get for Inaya. Whatever he had liked so far seemed too trivial, or too expensive, which would make her feel awkward. Finally, he discovered a tiny stall with curios and knick-knacks covering it all over. It was full of items made from brass – from small bikes and cars to figures of men and women. It took him a while, but he finally found something he felt was perfect. He picked up two small flowers made of brass. They were delicate but sturdy. He didn't know why he thought of her, but the flowers were extremely beautiful, and their golden-brown petals glinted fiercely in the sun. Something to remember me by, and these flowers wouldn't wilt with age, he thought. It reminded him of Inaya and thought with a pang of how much more fun it would have been had she been here with him.

He pocketed the small parcel after paying for it and turned around to rejoin his friends. And there she was, picking her way through the crowd, towards him. She looked up at the same instant that he had turned around, and everything around them muted. The colours dulled and the sounds faded, it was just her. A second later, the mirage dissolved, and Jack remembered where he was.

"You decided to come after all," he stated, smiling broadly.

Inaya looked up at him, her eyes shaded by sunglasses, "Yeah, a couple of other trainers had decided to come, so I tagged along as well. I go every year," she said.

"Oh," he said, wondering what exactly had propelled her to come. "I got something for you," he said, holding out the paper-wrapped package. Inaya frowned, "You shouldn't have, really," she said, not taking it.

"Please, I insist. It is not expensive or extravagant. Open it and see for yourself."

She hesitantly opened her palm, and he placed it there. Slowly opening the package, she felt her eyes go big in wonder. There were two, very simply made brass flowers. But they took her breath away. "These are gorgeous, Jack. Thank you," she said, not looking up at him. Jack felt his smile grow, "You're welcome. Let's go find the others, there's some standup comedy routine that's about to start which you might like."

It took them no time at all to find the others, who had met up with the other trainers. If the others found it odd that Inaya had sought out Jack personally, or that they were standing closer than usual, they did not show it.

Dusk had set in by the time they were finished. Someone had bought a round of spicy bhel for everyone. They were content to sit in silence in an empty patch and soak in the festive air.

"Does anyone want dinner?" asked Lokesh. Everyone groaned and said no, they had already eaten so much the whole day. It was decided that they would call for the car and leave in ten minutes. Thinking of the maddening traffic and the devil-may-care style of driving he had seen in Mumbai, Jack mentally sighed. "You know, in our country, there is no speed limit on certain sections of the highway. Actually, there is a speed limit, but it is set very high. Your riders from Mumbai would be heaven to be able to drive so fast. Are they not scared here?" he asked. That started a whole debate on highway safety and speed limits in general. Inaya sat there, not saying much, but she looked like she was in deep thought.

In a while, once the conversation had fallen silent, Jack got up to brush away the dust on the seat of his jeans and was about to walk towards the parking when he felt a tug on his arm.

"Meet me at the main gate of Zero Bulge at midnight tomorrow. Make sure you've had at least a couple of hours to sleep before. Bring a warm jacket and wear your boots," and with that enigmatic message, she vanished into the parking lot behind the other trainers.

Jack was nonplussed. Had Inaya really said all that? He couldn't imagine what that could be about. Was it because he had eaten so much that day that it was a food-induced hallucination? Still puzzling over it, he called the dog sitter and asked him to bring Bud back to his suite. He was too tired to make an extra trip to the playpen. The ride back was a very silent one. Suma had fallen asleep on Dhruva's shoulder. Lokesh was doing something on his cell phone and Jack was still trying to figure out the cryptic message. Actually, come to think of it, it was quite straightforward. He was supposed to meet Inaya outside the gate at midnight tomorrow. But why?

Sunday mornings at Zero Bulge were usually a lax affair once the resident had become used to the gruelling lifestyle change. Everyone woke up late, and the training sessions didn't last as long as they did on weekends. This one was no different, and on such days, people were usually found in the library or, weather permitting, the lawns. For a few weeks now, Jack had been itching to do some reading. He had spent far too much time away from his research, and although the burning need for success had gone, he was still an academician at heart. He had started feeling unmoored at the thought of cutting away the studies aspect from his life. So, that morning, he decided to go to the library and read some science journals. He reached for his phone to call Inaya but hesitated. Even though she had come to the festival yesterday, he hadn't forgotten her behaviour the day before. It was eating at him, and he didn't feel like making conversation with her. I'll meet her tonight anyway, he told himself.

Scooping up Bud, he walked to the library. Although it was a well-stocked one, it was totally lacking in his kind of reading material. Luckily, he had brought his MacBook with him, which he connected to the wifi there and downloaded the latest scientific journals. There was a lot of buzz about Micius, which he skimmed through.