10 days - canned, stored and treasured

There I was, 2 weeks of vacation ahead, and staring blankly. For once, I didn't go home. There was a reason for not going which I don't remember too well now.

Then out of the blue my friend calls and tells me to be part of a TV talk show. There was a reason for this too, I think. Maybe she didn't find anyone else.

"What do I have to do?"

"Just do what you always do. Talk, dhakkan!"

"Forget it!"

Then she happened to mention that the whole show was in Delhi, and they have booked the tickets and would take care of everything.

Why not! Just when I was lamenting that I didn't have enough money to take my own little holiday! So with another bored cutlet, I was packed and sent to Delhi where we were put up in a sprawling guest house. Well, so far so good. We were supposed to be joined by other participants from other corners of the country.

In the night, I crawled out from under the warm quilt to check the commotion that woke me up. The three others who had arrived before us were already in the living room in their pyjamas and looking dazed. The cause of the racket was, the Calcutta guys had arrived and were not happy with their rooms. The next moment someone said "hi" and I look up at the most gorgeous male I had seen in a long time. Smartly clad in jeans, brown leather boots and a beige jacket. I waved an oversized sleeve of my nightdress and looked down at my santa-red-socks clad feet. What do you expect at 2am on a winter night, I thought to myself, as I tried to smoothen my hair.

Morning dawns and at the breakfast table I realize the object of my admiration in the night looks even better in fresh daylight. We repeated names again and made polite talk. By the time we left for the studio, we knew a lot about each other. RG was Doon school product and promised to show me places I had never seen in Delhi. How exciting!

By the afternoon, we were inseparable, linked arms and all. We ate together and went everywhere together. The others made room to let us be together in the same car always. After the day's shoot we got into our press tagged cars and RG took me to cute little shops and showed me his family's locked house. At night, all of us sprawled in the cozy living room watching movies late into the night with me taking warmth under his blanket and sleeping on his arm.

Thus passed the days of rehearsals, shooting, laughter, and huge lunches on the sunny lawn. And evenings when we roamed the markets and made the long drive back to the guest house. The nights were fun. He went out in the cold looking for ice cream because I wanted to have some. I followed him and we walked on for 2 hours in the fog and silvery moonlight seeping through, without realizing it. A spark flew into my hand when I struck a match to light someone's cigarette and RG put cream from a tube and tied my whole hand in his handkerchief. And when visibility waned and walking in the dark got difficult, he picked me up and crossed the little uncertain patch. I laughed but loved him for it. The nights were freezing and beautiful. RG and I took long walks, our cheeks and noses numb with the cold, sometimes on the empty roads, sometimes on the lawns of the compound. He told me of his father's death and how it shattered the family. I held his hand and he held me close and we sat silently on a flat stone for ages.

He told me about boarding school and his dreams for the future. I told him about mine.

And suddenly it was time for us to get back to our lives. We hugged for the longest time at the airport and his eyes moistened as we waved ourselves out of sight.

I have never met RG after that. We haven't even kept in touch. There was no need to. It was one of those times that come into your life, make it richer, and pass by. Leaving you feeling special for having experienced something so beautiful. A bond formed, pure and exquisite. Without expectations, without promises. It was like a dream. It will always remain that.