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 The Glamourisation of Desikachari ... continued |
| The next day, Aparna called Desikachari's residence. His mother answered, and sounded both excited and surprised to hear Aparna's voice.
"Can I speak to Him?", purred Aparna, deciding not to risk the "Desi" until she got to know this lady better. There was a flurry of excitement, and frantic conversation in the background. "Rather like a whole lot of nervous pigeons at a shooting range", thought Aparna, impatiently to herself. Then Desikachari came on the line. "Hello?" "Good... at least, he has a nice deep voice not exactly Amitabh Bhachan, but not too bad", Aparna thought rapidly to herself, before clearing her throat, and answering. "Helllooo", she husked. "Yes, Yes?" enquired Desikachari, friendly, but a little puzzled. Dampened just a bit, Aparna gamely persisted. "I was wondering... well, you see, my friends are all asking about you... I mean, my friends want to meet you, and I thought, maybe you could come over and we could all get together today... or something." Aparna tapered off. "Oh." said Desikachari. "What's that supposed to mean?" thought Aparna to herself. "Okay, I'll come... but I won't be able to get away before 9 at night. Is that okay with you?" "So mean! You mean you won't cancel one teensy-weensy patient just for me?" giggled Aparna. "Hello? What? Hello?" "Never mind," Aparna snapped in her normal voice. "9 will be fine. Come home, and oh... er... I thought we could then go over to Arc." "Arc?" Aparna made a face. This was going to be tougher then she had imagined. "Yes, Arc... the Archer Club. It's usually called 'Arc'. Er... there's a dress code, so you'll have to...er..." "Oh sure, shirt with collar and formal shoes," replied Desikachari, much to Aparna's relief. So at least he knew some stuff. 9 at night. She wore a copper and gold salwar-kurta, draped a flowing coppery dupatta over both her elbows like a stole, and let her long black hair stream down her back. Her dupatta was the exact same shade as her lipstick. And then she had a horrible doubt. She'd forgotten to check if he had a car. Suppose he turned up in an auto? She couldn't possibly sweep into the long drive at the Arc in an auto... and she couldn't take her father's Honda City... it was too well known. Why the hell hadn't she thought...? At 9.30, a little red Maruti 800 drove up the driveway, halted confidently next to the parked Honda, and Desikachari alighted. She heaved a sigh of relief. "Ma, he's here", she hissed, adjusting her dupatta, and flicking back her hair. She quickly checked her lipstick and eyeliner in her mirror just as her father ushered Desikachari in. "Come in, come in, young man. All set for a nice evening? My daughter was saying you called in the morning..." Desikachari looked surprised. "Actually...", he began. Aparna rushed into the room and into speech. "Yes, we thought we'd go out, Appa. Spend some time... and besides the gang wants to meet him, so we were thinking maybe the Arc, you know." Desikachari, struck dumb by all the shimmering copper and gold, swallowed and nodded. "You're late," said Aparna, playfully tapping him on his arm. "I know... I'm sorry. I had emergency surgery." smiled Desikachari. "Ooooo, really? I can't spot any blood and bandages." giggled Aparna. "A ten-year-old girl met with a very serious accident.", he replied. "We managed to save her legs... it was a miracle." There was a small silence. Aparna's father didn't take his eyes off his future son-in-law's face. Then, with a strange smile of satisfaction, he looked at his daughter and said, " Isn't it time you left?" And so - On to the Arc. "Desi was late..." Aparna whispered to Uru. "Emergency at the hospital. Thanks to him, a little girl will walk again. The child's parents literally worship him now." Uru looked across the table where Desikachari sat quietly, smiling at the swift cut-and-thrust quips flying between Rahul, Rohan and the others. He took an occasional sip of his fresh-lime-soda. ("Desi is very particular and is totally into his work. He won't touch liquor on principle."). Aparna glanced around the table. Okay... so far, so good. Everyone was going out of his or her way to be nice to Desi. She had caught the slight look of surprise on Rohan's face when he first set eyes on Desi, a look reflected for a brief second on all the other faces at the table... but right now everything seemed to be going well. In fact, Rohan, running his fingers through his Leonardo DiCaprio hair, was making laudable attempts to talk to Desi. Desikachari dropped her home at a reasonable hour. ("We'll leave, okay, if you guys don't mind. A doctor's life, and that too for someone like Desi, is never his own", with a gentle, martyred smile. Perfect!) Desikachari saw her to her front door. They faced each other. Aparna waited. Desikachari smiled at her, and said: "That was good fun. Your friends seem very nice people." He hesitated. Tentatively, he touched her arm, said, "I'll call you later." and walked back to his car. Aparna sighed. Oh well... "How did it go?" her mother asked, pressing the mute button on the remote, and turning to her. "Great!", said Aparna. "He's really got such a naughty sense of fun. He had everyone in splits." And so the image grew, tended to lovingly by Aparna. The gang threw an engagement party for Aparna and Desikachari. There was talk of making it a theme party. Uru, who felt a nice, quiet affair would be more fitting, shot down the idea. "Let's not overdo this," she said, "It won't go." No reasons were given as to why it wouldn't "go"... but everyone understood. Aparna was thrilled. "Let's make it a costume party," she said. "No, Aparna." replied Uru firmly. "Let's... Desi loves that kind of stuff. He loves music, and is crazy about dancing." "Maybe... but let's not, okay? And let's not make it a late affair." said a determined Uru. And Desikachari liked his party. He walked around, mingled with as many of the 150 guests he could reach. It was a pity he couldn't do more than nod and smile... but the music was so devastatingly loud, he couldn't help it. He didn't dance. Just smiled awkwardly and shook his head when Aparna tried to drag him on to the floor. ("Desi's been up since 6 in the morning, poor thing. He's out on his feet, but so sweet, he didn't want to disappoint me, you know."). But Desikachari seemed to derive a great deal of silent satisfaction watching his Aparna dance and generally enjoy herself. At 11, Desikachari decided it was time to leave. He had a host of appointments next morning. The gang had planned a drive to the beach to watch the sunrise. Desikachari thought that was a fabulous idea, but gently declined. He had to be up early. Besides, his house was slowly filling up with relatives arriving for the imminent wedding. His grandparents had arrived this evening by the late train, and he wanted to spend at least a half-hour with them before the old couple turned in. Which meant he had to leave now. ("Desi's grandfather is like the zamindar in their village a real venerable old man. Desi takes his family responsibilities very seriously, you know!") So the party perforce broke up hours earlier than imagined. A large cake, with naughty sentences written on it, had been organised. It was a pity the cake cutting had to be done so hastily. And Uru watched as Desikachari, with an expressionless expression on his face, popped a piece of cake into Aparna's mouth, complying with the loud demands of the gathering. The wedding went off very well. Everyone who was Anyone, along with a few also-starring types, was there. A number of glittering members of the entertainment industry were also present... (that always adds such a touch to any gathering, don't you think?!). |
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