Sitting in downtown London, I sit back and think of Latika, the gorgeous Latika, who might be furiously dabbing keystrokes and editing her morning column in
New Delhi, India. London is a damp place right now, with black linings across the sky and rain coming down with it’s full fury. The wet soil and it’s earthy
fragrance is making me nostalgic. The walk in the Delhi rain with Latika is playing in my head, over and over again. flowers are on their full bloom and all
I want is her to hug me and the world to pause.
I log into Skype and seeing the green pointer beside her name, ping her. Our pings are short, always, and are devoid of much theatricals.
Me: “Editor, kya chal raha hain? (what are you up to?)”
Latika: “London theek hain? Tujhe nikaala nahin abhi London waalon ne (Is London allright? Haven’t they thrown you away?)”
Me: “Hahaha! I think they like me”
Latika: “Paise deta hoga tu unko tujhe like karne ke liye” (I think you pay them to like you)
Me: “Shush! I do not need more people to like me, the ones who should, do that already”
Latika: “Yeah, right!”
Me: “Don’t be sarcastic”
Latika: “When are you coming back?”
Me: “Can’t say. The process is getting an extended run”
(Latika goes offline)
She has been a tough woman always. Latika does not believe in an overt show of emotions nor does she crib about how long I have been in London and why am I
not coming back. It is my 16th month here, and to be honest, I cannot take it anymore, but these are the curses of being an IT Engineer. You are thrown in
far flung client offices with no information on the duration of the project.
What do I do? Latika will not say it, but I know she is gutted. We were due to marry last year but my extended stay here has pushed the event by another
year. I flip around some pages of the newspaper and it instantly struck me; send flowers to her. She has a twinkle in her eye whenever she sees a bunch of
orchids and I have been privy to her shrieks of happiness when I have gifted her one.
I sift through some portals which let you send flowers to india and after looking at the genuinity and secure shopping experience of some, I am good to go.
Let’s hope this eases things a little. She has been extremely patient all this while since I have been stationed here. The orchids should do well to make her
smile, even if it is temporal.
I want to hear those shrieks of happiness again.