Girls' Night Out-II

I
In the past 24 hours, I had the most well deserved break of my life. On Saturday morning, I woke up still trying to figure what would be my best plan of action to deal with my week ahead. Then, I did what works best: nose-dive into what comes to mind first. By the time I was through with my Microeconomics chapters, it was time to go out for a dinner at Bombay Club that we had planned almost a week ahead. There were nine of us. Seated clockwise from my left were: SG1 from BU, SS1 and SS2 from Tufts, IB and GP from MIT, SG2 from Tufts again, and RC & ADB working in PWC. It was quite a mixed crowd with different personality profiles- the kind I find interesting. The occasion was RC and ADB's visit to Boston from NYC.

You tend to talk and listen more to people seated immediately next to you. And I was having an effective range till SG1 to my left and RC to my right. And I can admit that RC has quite a big circle of influence when it comes to communication, while SS2 mostly kept quiet during the evening, except to support me once and at another time to disagree with me, to effect my reaction: Eki? Tui o party badlu? ( What! You too change parties? ) in 'Et tu, Brute?' style.

IB and GP tried to talk to me diagonally from the opposite end of the rectangular table but they were hardly audible. Anyways, it was a pleasant evening except for a li'l hassle when RC asked the spelling of IB's surname and he opined that it is not an illogical question but an indecent one. I couldn't figure out what I had missed but I could sure feel the heat. Then we got distracted when the waiter refused to serve me a glass of Chardonnay (white wine from Napa), because I wasn't carrying an age proof and he thought aloud: 'You look too young !' Damn it! I look quite my age! Why am I the only one who needs to carry an age proof to get liquor served? Come on ! SS1 (who's younger to me !) bailed me out when she ordered two glasses for herself and I knew that SG1 has now yet another reason to boss over me and say: Ae baccha, bacchar moto thaak ! (Kid, be like the kid you are) or Chup! Mukhe angool! ( Quiet! Finger on your lips!), like I were in some Kindergarten school.

We had a cozy table talk during dinner and parted at the Harvard Square red line T-station. GP requested me to sing a song (His reason: 'Bengali girls can sing well'). I promised I will. Maybe on SS1's birthday next week. Hmm. And I still don't know what to give her. Wish she would tell me!

IB and GP had to take an inbound train to Kendall/MIT and SG1 had to take the inbound to Central Square. The rest of us were taking the outbound to Davis Square. I would have taken the inbound too if I didn't happen to decide to stay at SS1's place for the night instead of going back all the way to JFK/UMASS.

SG1 and I never say goodbye without hugging each other and when he bid me a very distant goodnight with others, I felt weird. I asked SS1 and the others to go ahead towards the outbound, 'I'll join you guys in a moment' I said. But the inbound train had already arrived at the platform and SG1 was running towards it. I decided to let go and when I returned, I saw RC trying to peek below to see what was happening. I made sure I slapped him hard on the back and asked: 'Ae ! Ki dekhar chesta korchilis re?' (What were you trying to see, huh?) in a mock chiding voice.

I was unhappy too to disappoint RC but I understood why SG1 hadn't hugged me goodbye. :D

My revenge consummated when RC had to wear a backless shocking pink dress of SS1 while playing 'Truth or dare' that night. And you should have seen ADB dance to the tunes of Kajra Re. He looked like he has been subjected to some kind of medieval form of torture. ( I actually had hot iron rods in mind :D) SS1 had to do a pole dance and act like a newly hatched bird. I had to pretend that I have an upset stomach. While they applauded my natural talent at acting, I refrained from saying that I actually did suffer a lot from untimely calls from nature as a kid :D

Sunday morning rolled on to Sunday afternoon and after checking the time on my cell at 7:00 am and 9:42 am, I finally stretched myself at around 12:26 pm. We played football on the snow in the afternoon with RC and me teamed against ADB and SS1. Any guesses who won and by how much ? :)
Caught in red pajamas by RC's candid camera @ Sejuti's place, Medford, MA, when it had just begun to snow again.


II
SG2 (SS1's roommate :refer to Girls' Night Out) was watching a movie when I woke up and I decided to give her company. It was a 1971 Basu Bhattacharya movie titled 'Anubhav' where Sanjeev Kumar is an editor named Amar Sen and Tanuja plays his wife Meeta Sen. Dinesh Thakur is the ex-flame of Tanuja , who gets recruited by Sanjeev to work for the same organization. Things get ugly when Sanjeev discovers this truth about her past and finds it difficult to accept it. The beauty of the movie is the absence of redundant dialogs and the subtle change in facial expressions and body language of the actors, including A.K. Hangal, who plays the servant Hari and smiles shyly and contently when finally the husband and wife get intimate after years of a loveless marriage. A must-watch for committed couples or at least for those who intend to get committed. :D

Many a times, some of us in a relation might feel resigned to the person we have decided to spend our life with or we might find ourselves complaining that the passion that was there is ebbing. (Unlike the film, where there was no passion to begin with, they learned they were in love with each other much later.)

Why does the certainty of a relation steal its charm instead of adding grace to it? Is it because in friendship, we build on what we have - trying to make it something better, but in certain other relations, we start taking things for granted and make zero efforts to improve them ? Probably.

I saw a forward mail from the BF of a friend where he wrote : 'I am proud of you' in reply to a comment published by her in indiatimes on an article. And I wondered how long it has been since I had said something like this to my guy? Even for the most trifle of matter? That 'I am proud of you'? Or simply: 'I treasure you'?

We have been so busy with our lives lately that the subtleties have reduced considerably. For instance, I used to call him up once in the afternoon for a minute or so, just to hear his voice. Lately, I have been under too much pressure to perform even that little ceremony. Obviously, there can be innumerable ways to show that you care, as long as you are in love.

Yesterday was one such occasion when we were together, socializing as a couple. And we did well. It would be tragic to see two people who get along with other people so well, not getting along with each other. In fact, I wouldn't let it happen to us. Neither would he.

P.S. My best friend Raikishori Ganguly is getting married around 6 pm IST on 11th February, 2008. You can leave a wish for her here if you please. Thanks in advance.