Me, Myself and Priya...

bluediamond

Chapter One

What is Love? It is something everyone knows and at the same time it is something which only few understand. Though many people fail to understand what Love is, it still remains the crux of everyone’s life. What about me? Am I in the group of people who know what Love is but did not understand it or am I in the group of a lucky few who are lucky enough to understand it, feel it and appreciate it? I don’t know. I am still searching for the answer.

February 27th, 2004

The stadium is roaring with the name 'Aaryan'. The Indian flag was flying high all over the place. Its 2007 world cup and India is facing Australia in the finals. India is only inches away from the victory. It needs four runs in last over. If it scores four runs in the last over India will win the world cup after 24 years. It’s definitely a long long wait. In the last world cup in 2003, India lost the finals against Australia. After four years the same teams meet again in the finals and this time the story is different. India is winning and the credit goes to one and only one 'Aaryan'.

I looked around me. We need four runs in the last over to win the match. It’s my turn and I am standing at the crease facing Brett Lee. I can feel the expectations of millions of people on me. The first ball is a bouncer. I tried to hit it and could not make a contact with the ball. Now we need four runs in five balls. The pressure is taking toll upon me. I need two runs to score 150 and four runs to win the match. I don’t want it to take till the end. I closed my eyes and prayed to god.

The stadium is completely silent. Tension is mounting. Brett Lee is running towards me with the ball in his hand. I prepared myself to strike back. Suddenly he stopped. He came walking towards me. He came closer to me, took the bat from me and started hitting me on my head with the bat. I did not understand what's happening.

I heard some familiar voice shouting at me from somewhere inside my head.
"Get up... Get up. You sleepy head" I woke up with Priya hitting me on my head and shouting at me.
"Stop it" I said opening my eyes. "It hurts. Why do you always hit me like that?" I asked rubbing my shoulder.
"To keep you awake" she said laughing.
I looked out of the window. Its dark outside and the bus is moving at a rapid pace on the express highway.
"Where are we right now?" I asked her.
"Just passed Lonavala" she said.
"The bus is still in Lonavala!!! And you woke me from a good sleep. You know what a great dream I just had. Just a few more balls and I would have won India the world cup. You spoiled all the fun.”
"Don’t start all over again. You and your stupid dreams." she said hitting me again. "By the way what are the plans for the weekend?"

"Nothing as such" I said looking out of the window. The weather is chilling outside. The bus has just passed Lonavala. Lonavala is a well known picnic place for its scenic beauty and innumerable trekking spots. It’s located between Mumbai and Pune.

By the way, I am Aaryan working in Infosys Technologies Ltd, Pune. My parents live in Mumbai and I go to Mumbai every weekend. I am now traveling to Mumbai on a typical Friday evening. The distance between Pune and Mumbai is close to 150 Kms. Thanks to Neeta Volvo and Express highway; it takes just an hour and half to reach Mumbai. But unfortunately it takes more than two hours to reach my house in Andheri from the outskirts of Mumbai due to heavy traffic. As we have just passed Lonavala, it’s another three and a half hour journey to my home.

Now that I have given my introduction and told you something about me, let me take you through some beautiful days of my life. This is my love story. This is the story of me, myself and Priya.

Continued......................................... .....(find attachment)

me_myself_and_priya.zip