Randhir was startled by the presence of the teenage Sanyukta desperately hanging off the mango tree just outside his bedroom balcony. "Who is it, son? It must be those infernal kids after the fruit in the garden!'' His mother Renuka called out to h...
"Penny for your thoughts, Mowgli!" Randhir grinned at her when she stayed quiet for a long time. "So, what were you thinking of?" He prodded. "Nothing, really! She said evasively. "Oh come on, I know you too well by now, out with it!" It was not usual for her to be so lost. "Well, I was kind of wondering if you have any flaw at all, everything thing about you is so picture perfect!"She said softly and he laughed aloud.
"That's only because I am good at concealing my flaws. Parth is everything that I am not, which explains why he has a girlfriend, unlike me. Let's see, I am not very gregarious, don't have many friends, I prefer brooding over a balance sheet rather than having fun with the gang. Girls get bored with me easily and decide to move on. I could ramble on but that would be revealing too much!" He laughed again. He wondered why he was feeling so relaxed today, maybe it was because he could be himself around Sanyukta.
"I don't think girls find you boring at all. Just that you are too focused on your goals and they have to compete with them for your time and attention. I am sure you'll find yourself a keeper when you are ready for one!" She had spoken her mind. Just then his phone buzzed and when he noticed who was calling his expression changed. The phone went on vibrating but remained unanswered. There was silence in the car for a couple of minutes and the phone vibrated again, it was the same caller.
"You should answer, Randhir!" Sanyukta almost whispered. They went a short distance when the caller tried again and this time he parked the car before answering. "Hello Nour! Sorry, I was driving!" He excused himself and stepped out of the car before continuing the conversation. As he talked to Nour he had his back to Sanyukta, she could neither see his expression nor hear him. She tried hard not to feel envious but after Randhir had told her about his history with Nour, even when she knew the two had broken up she was uncomfortable with the idea of them conversing.
Get a grip Sanyukta, he is not your boyfriend, and she probably called just to wish him on his birthday, stop acting possessive for no reason, she scolded herself. In a couple of minutes Randhir was back in the car and they were once more on the road. They had nearly reached Belgaum and Sanyukta could not take the suspense anymore. "All ok, Randhir?" She asked. "Of course it is, why should it not be?" He rebounded, sounding normal. She did not know how to respond, so she did not. "After I met Nour recently she texted me a couple of times. She called today because she remembered my birthday!" He clarified to Sanyukta.
It began to rain and Randhir concentrated on his driving. The mood in the car changed with the weather and Sanyukta leaned against the window where the raindrops pattered steadily. Soon they reached the site in Belgaum. Randhir parked the car and they went forth to meet the person who was waiting for them. "Hello, Mr Joshi, this is Sanyukta, a summer intern and my assistant." Randhir introduced her and got down to discussing business with the client. Sanyukta listened attentively and passed Randhir some documents occasionally while the men talked. They inspect the premises, with Randhir stopping to taking some pictures and jotting down some notes.
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The discussion continued, and Randhir showed Mr Joshi his modified proposal on his laptop, after making some vital changes. By the time they finished it has nearly noon. They left Mr Joshi's premises and Randhir drove into town to pick up huge quantities of the delicious local milk fudge called kunda. "That's a lot of kunda!" Sanyukta remarked and Randhir merely smiled as the shop assistant helped load the boxes into the car. "Hungry?" Randhir asked Sanyukta. "Not really!" She replied. "We will stop for lunch on our way back!" He said.
Sanyukta wondered what he had planned for, he definitely looked like he was up to something. Her question was answered in a few minutes as he drove back to the orphanage they had stopped by at earlier during the day. "We are sharing the kid's lunch, I hope you don't mind!" He told her. "Not at all Randhir, I was not expecting this, but this sure is a great way to celebrate a birthday!" She remarked. In the mess the children were sitting down to their favourite Chinese meal and Randhir and Sanyukta stood in the serving line to help, also offering the dessert they had picked up in Belgaum.
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They ate their lunch with the staff after the children had finished. Later the kids gathered around them and they had a spontaneous bout of Antakshari with the girl's team headed by Sanyukta and the boy's led by Randhir. Soon the boys began losing and a cute fight broke out between the two teams. In order to distract the children the staff played some dance music and the place turned into a party hall. Randhir and Sanyukta were pulled inside the circle and were cheered on until they joined in the dancing. "I can hardly believe I am doing this!" Randhir shouted out to Sanyukta and she responded by throwing her arms around his neck. "Dance with me, birthday boy!" She called out to him and he happily obliged, holding her by the waist.
Sanyukta nearly went into a trance as she danced with Randhir, free of any inhibitions. "Is she your girlfriend?" A little girl asked Randhir about Sanyukta, who wanted the moment to last forever. "No, she is just a good friend of mine, but you can be my girlfriend when you grow up!" Randhir replied to the girl who grinned mischievously at him. When the song ended someone switched off the music as it was time to close the mess hall and the kids said goodbye to Randhir and Sanyukta before returning to their dorms.
When they were finally on their way to Goa Randhir was once again in a cheerful mood. "Mowgli, you are a dance better when you are drunk!" He taunted her. "Does it mean you are inviting me to the party tonight?" She retorted. "You are welcome to attend, but I won't let you drink there, I'll get into trouble for encouraging a minor to imbibe alcohol!" He laughed to see her expression. "As if I consented to come!" She snapped. "Be good now, Mowgli!" He said. It was nearly 4 pm when they reached Goa. "Here, this is for your Mom!" Randhir passed her a box of kunda. "I had a great time Randhir, enjoy your party in the evening!" She told him before he drove away.
As Anju made tea Sanyukta narrated to her how her day was spent. "Randhir is almost a replica of his father, only Harsh was more reckless at this age while Randhir is mature and sensible like his mother!" Anju said with a smile on her face. Sanyukta wondered what made Anju say nice things about Renuka when in reality that woman was responsible for her break up with Harsh. To take her mind off such thoughts Sanyukta spent the evening revising Math and Chemistry until Anju gave her dinner and put her to bed. I am going to have a sleepless night now, Sanyukta said to herself, and right enough, she lay awake in bed quite late, thinking how nice it had felt to spend the day with Randhir Singh Shekhawat.
