ab tak 42 - Autobiography of the Promiscuous Male

[cheatermale]

Jab We Met - Riya Thuvassery

The story of meeting Riya has to go back a little than we actually got involved and had a short but torrid affair.

The story started when I and Evelyn on a Monsoon weekend were in Lonavala. Lonavala has many waterfalls but Bushy Dam during Monsoons create a waterfall because of excess water flowing out of dam and on its steps. There is a huge crowd there every weekend and some of them are rowdy. There are times when a lot of people including college going boys and girls also form part of that crowd.

Also, there are some natural waterfalls which get created in Monsoon some distance away from Bushy Dam. Some college couple find some solace in such surroundings, kissing, nibbling etc on each other in relative privacy whatever they can get.

Now, I have been into drinking habbit since my early college days. And it was usual for me like many others to fill Coke/ Thumsup bottle with whiskey/ rum depending on the weather and take them with me while driving or at such places.

With this background, I and Evelyn were on one of our many such getaways to Khandala and Lonavala in Monsoon. And in the afternoon at that Bushy Dam waterfall, I was sipping my so called cold drink with Evelyn in my arms. And we started wandering about. Another couple was also wandering in near vicinity. From the looks they looked like college goers only. We reached a place which was all thick lush green forward and not even a soul on our back. It was the time when heavens decided to open up and it started raining.

We were all very wet anyways and decided to move back but we seemed to have been momentarily lost our way. And thus we all started consulting each other and giving directions. They assumed that I and Evelyn were married and they declared themselves engaged. And when the rain stopped and we were nowhere close to finding our real way back, I pulled out the ciggirettes which were in Evelyn's handbag, properly covered with another polythene bag and lit up. Hesitantly after a few minutes, the guy asked, if he could borrow one. I gave it to him and the boy and the girl took few drags each from that ciggirette.

Anyways, soon we found our way and we found out that we were staying in hotels which were just 200 Meters away from each other. Out of courtesy, I invited them to our room for booze. They also agreed and we had some booze in our hotel room. We exchanged phone nos. purely out of courtesy and the couple departed, promising to meet up in Mumbai and assuming that we won't ever meet again. I think friendships which flourish in such meetings have no after-life. But this did.

And one evening; when I was erasing unwarranted numbers from my handset the name Riya Lonavala came. I out of instinct, dialled that number. A sweet accented voice said Hello. I asked, "Is that Riya?" The voice confirmed. I asked that voice, "Did she remember a couple, she met at Lonavala?" She said, "Oh! Hi" How is Ma'am? and so on.

She was surprised to know that we were not married and we had a breakup also she confirmed that she too had a breakup. And so on and on we talked for few minutes. Also came to know that she was working in a call center and actively looking for a job. I asked her to send me her resume, as I may help her.

On a courtesy, I told her, if she is ever in navi mumbai, she should drop in and she said, I work in navi mumbai only, though she comes by cab from the western subarbs and using Thane Route, whereas I used to use Harbour line. (People in Mumbai would know that Mumbai runs on rails and various lines). In any case; we agreed to meet up some day. Again a courtesy.

Just that I did not want it to be mere courtesy. Her resume duly arrived when I sent her an sms with my email address. And I thought it prudent to make another call to her asking some irrelevant questions under gab of working on her resume. Dig out information that she has no serious affair and I never had. Her call centre was only 5 KM from my house, but the only hitch in her staying back for coffee was that she would have to take a long train journey to reach her home.
Two days later, I promised her that I would pick her up from her office and would drop her at Mulund Railway Station thus though it would still be one and half hour journey for her, it anyways is close to that time it takes her to reach home.

And we decided to meet.