Story IV - The Match Maker – I (JT)

‘Marriages are made in heaven and ‘the Matchmaker’ is the messenger from God ’

Friday 22 October 2004 – JT’s room

Our story starts in a living room of the house located in NCR, not very far from the city of Delhi. The living room was a part of a flat in one of the many new buildings that had recently sprouted up in Sector 62, Noida.

The room was bereft of saucy furniture that is common in most homes of the capital. On a gloomy day the light blue walls of the room were capable of filling any heart with sadness. The only furniture that stood in the room was a small single bed and a red swiveling chair. The cot stood against the wall facing the front door. The red chair floated around the cot depending on where Jagdish wanted it.

The room’s lone tube light shone bright against the onslaught of time, its only remaining goal being to help JT fulfill the purpose of his life.

JT sat on the red swiveling chair with his laptop propped on his legs. He was working furiously at his laptop.

Jagdish typed to no avail, worrying little about the past, present or future. He was so smitten with the purpose of his life that he bothered little about all else.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

This is a story about JT’s purpose in life and his struggles trying to achieve it.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

JT was born into a simple middle class family. He did not have means to build castles of dreams, neither were his parents rich enough to buy him gizmos that could otherwise keep him occupied. JT cherished a simple dream about a special friend with whom he could share all the secrets of his life. JT constantly dreamt about a person who would one day befriend him and go on to become his partner for life.

JT’s parents had had their hands full and pockets empty. Trying to meet the increasing needs of their three growing children had taken its toll on them. They were always held up running the family chores and were unable to spend much time with their kids. His parents inability to spend time with him had left an emptiness in JT’s mind and heart which he had filled with his simple dream……. a dream that had grown to become his purpose in life.

JT in his childhood had been constantly bullied by his elder brothers. He was usually running around doing their beckoning. The timid little JT could only speak of his pain and misery to the special friend from his dream. Though his brothers had transformed with time from being bullies to chastening mentors, it had been hard for JT forget the past.

JT had long forgotten about the pains from childhood but the bullying of his brothers had in a way strengthened his desire to find the special person in his life. His bullying brothers had convinced JT that boys made bad friends. All this had convinced JT at a very young age that his special friend would be a girl.

JT’s dream had grown along with him as he had moved from school to college and then into a job with an IT company. The dream had taken various hues and shapes but had always remained close to JT’s heart. JT continued to long for the special someone who would complete his life.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

August 1990 – JT’s school – IVth grade division ‘A’

JT had first fallen in love in his fourth standard, when he was all but 8 years old. The girl he had fallen in love with, Priya, sat next to him in the class. JT’s class teacher had in a way aided JT by making girls and boys sit in alternate seats. The teacher’s reason behind doing so had been to put a stop to the kids talking in her class. The undesirable but imminent fallout of the teachers doing had remained hidden from her.

JT had immediately known that Priya was his special friend from dreams. When Priya had gifted Jagdish her favorite pencil it had confirmed JT’s intuition. JT’s belief was strengthened when Priya started sharing her tiffin with him. Priya had even given JT all her ‘superhero cards’ which could only mean that she was in love with him.

Four months after he fell in love JT’s dream was shattered. Priya had failed to show up at school that day. Jagdish went berserk with anxiety. He refused to believe the teacher when she told him that Priya had gone and would never come to school. Jagdish had cried for weeks hoping in vain but Priya never returned.

Priya’s family had moved to different city as her dad had been transferred to a different location.

JT had remained gloomy for months after the incident. He had finally convinced himself that Priya was not the girl from his dream. JT then started his search afresh.

There had then been Vishali, Deepika, Vidhya, Radhika and a few others in school but none of them had succeeded in becoming the special person of JT’s dream.

JT’s search had continued as he moved into college.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Friday 22 October 2004 – JT’s room

JT sat on the red swiveling chair in his room, typing furiously. He was trying to simultaneously chat with 16 different people.

It had been like this ever since JT had moved to Noida. JT had turned to chat rooms and other social networking applications on the net in order to help him fulfill his dream, after all else had failed.

It had been about 24 months since JT was first introduced to the wonders of Internet in a Net Café owned by his friend, Rahul bhaiya. JT had casually shared his dream with Rahul bhaiya, who had suggested that he should try looking into the chat rooms. Rahul Bhaiya had added that incidents where people met each other and married for life time were common in countries like America and Britain.

‘Sacchi, do you really think it will work,’ asked JT awed by the information Rhaul Bhaiya shared.

‘Aree seriously baba. There are so many stories in magazines about such incidents,’

‘Do girls really reply when you ping them,’ JT wondered aloud.

‘Haan bhai, they do,’

There had been no looking back since that day. JT had spent a fortune on the internet, looking for his dream girl. JT had gone on to own a laptop and was hooked through a broadband connection at home.

(Chat transcripts from Jagdish’s machine …)

Pooja: Hi JT, how did you like my dress today

JT: Oh Pooja you looked wonderful in Pink. I think Ravi liked it a lot :-)

Pooja: Shut up :@

………

Vicky: Hey JT r u coming over 4 cricket tomm. Morning

JT: Na I am busy tomm. Don’t think I will be able to make it.

(JT hated having to wake up early in the morning, even if it was for playing cricket)

……….

Priyanka: Jagdish do you remember the movie we had gone to last month, I just spotted the dress Amrita Rao was wearing at a shop in the Mall

JT(unable to recollect the movie or the dress): Oh great, did you buy it?

……………..

Mannu: Hey JT do you think we should do an part-time MBA course

JT: Nahi. Those courses are a sham there is not of much value to them. I would prefer doing a fulltime MBA.

Mannu: Ya but I was not able to make it to an MBA college even this year.

Mannu: Chalo let us try GMAT

JT: Yes we should

(JT forgot about the conversation as soon as Mannu logged off)

……………………

UB: Hey JT when are you visiting Chennai Next?

JT: Still to decide ….

JT: How are you spending your holidays?

(UB had just returned to India for a break from his stint in America)

………..

Rahul: Hey Jagdish you are still to leave me an testimonial

JT: I am just penning one down will do it soon

(JT wondered why people even bothered about testimonials)

…………

JT: Hi Shika, how is your fever

Shika: I am feeling much better, should be able to join office on Mon

Jagdish and Shika shared a unique symbiotic relationship; they fed one another’s ego. JT thought Shika was in love with him and longed for his attention while Shika had similar thoughts for JT. Each spent hours in office trying to ignore the other while feeding his own ego. One could always spot the two exchanging conceited glances while trying to derogate the other. It was not hard to mistake these interactions between Shika and Jagdish as love. There was a group of people who felt that way about the two, Shika and JT. Their ‘love’ or ‘not love’ would probably be a topic of discussion in the next story but not this one, because this story is about something more important. This is a story about JT’s purpose in life.

………..

Ravneet: Hello ji

JT: Hi, how is paaji today

Ravneet: Shut up JT :-@

JT: Hey did you notice the new gal in office

Ravneet: Sorry Ji I don’t look at gals

JT: off course you were looking at Chandan and his tummy, were you not :P

Raveent: GTH :@

JT: Ok baba sorry, tell me did you notice the new girl in KK’s cabin? Wuts her name ….

Ravneet: Vandana ?

JT: Why are these Managers so lucky. Look at KK he gets to ogle at all the girls before any of us has a chance.

…………

Vibhor:

(JT’s screen vibrates furiously)

JT: Hold on swine, wuts got into you. I am busy

Vibhor: I love you …..

JT: Cant you ever talk sense

………..

Ravneet: ha ha ha (There is no reply from JT)

………….

UB: Yesterday we had gone to Shabri’s.

JT: Wow, I miss that place. How is Kahlil doing?

UB: Khalil is doing well. We tipped him 200 bucks yesterday

JT: Oh that is worth it, he always got us the best service and not to mention great drinks.

UB: We do pay for the drinks, but I agree, service is amazing.

JT: I do miss Shabri.

…………

Ravneet: Hey JT, rut

…………

Payal: JT got some news for u

JT: Hi, where have you been all these days

Payal: I am getting married to Sachin, our parents finally came round

JT: gr8.

…………..

Ravneet: I am logging off :-(

JT: hey hold on … there was someone I had to chat with.

JT: Ok where were we … Vandana.

JT: Did you speak to her?

JT: Is she available?

Ravneet: JT u guys are such …….

JT: Did you or did you not ?

……………

Nikki: Hiya

JT: Hey how are you?

Nikki and JT had met in a chat room about four months back. They had instantly liked each other and had continued to keep in touch through chats. It wasn’t like their relationship was destined to go anywhere but then who can say? They were yet to exchange photos. JT continued to chat hoping that Nikki would turn out to be a bombshell ticking to blow his wits off. He was waiting for the right oppurtunity to ask for a photograph or better a webcam chat.

…………….

Ravneet: I did for a short while bfr KK pulled her away.

JT: Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk :@ darn I am going to kill him one of these days.

……………

UB: So what is happening at your end?

JT: dude you won’t believe, I think I am in love.

UB: Darn there you start again …. Who is the unlucky gal this time?

JT: There is this new girl who joined our office today … Vandana

UB: Are you serious?

UB: Boy they must have had u in mind when the came up with the quotes ‘love at first sight’ and ‘love is blind’

JT: you should have seen this girl………….

……………..

Ravneet: he he he he

JT: Stop laughing …. Find out more about Vandana on Mon

JT: I think I am in love with her … I have finally found my future wife.

Ravneet: ll, JT you are mad … chal mamma is calling need to go out

(Ravneet logs off)

………………

UB: You wud fall for a buffalo if only it could wear a frock … talk about your taste.

JT: No dude Vandana is different. Forget it you won’t understand

UB: Yes I don’t want to understand.

……………….

Ravi: Hey JT, did you buy the book for me

(JT had forgotten to collect Ravi’s book from the store and selected to ignore Ravi’s message)

It was nearly 12:00 AM, Jagdish had gone invisible to avoid Ravi. Most of JT’s friends who he had been chatting with had logged off.

UB: You still there ?

JT: Yeps

UB: Y did you go invisible? Was it Ravi or Vibhor … ha ha ha

JT: They get on my nerves dude. Wish I could introduce them to you :-)

UB: Darn you must be the first person who wishes evil for his good friends

JT: Ha ha ha .. forget them, tell me how is Ranjan Sir?

X ------------------------------------------------- X

2002 at a IT company in Chennai

Ranjan sir had joined the company around the same time as JT.

Rajan sir had joined the IT Company as a Manager while JT was starting his career as a Mainframe Developer. UB had appeared into Ranjan sir’s team just as he so often did, materialize out of nothing.

It was Jagdish’s first job in IT or for that matter anywhere. JT had scrapped through college managing to keep his marks card free of reds. UB on the other hand had passed out from college in flying colors.

JT was picked by an IT company during his final year at college. Jagdish’s selection into the IT Company at the campus interview could be attributed to his sheer luck and the pigheadedness of the interviewer. Rajesh, the interviewer, had been frustrated with the management at his organization and was waiting for an opportunity to get back at them. In JT, Rajesh had seen a ray of hope. Rajesh knew that someone as dumb as JT would be of little benefit to the organization. The only purpose someone like Jagdish could solve was to fill up the vacant benches or be billed to an ignorant client. This is exactly what the management intended. Rajesh had opposed their logic but had finally subsumed to pressure. Rajesh wanted the management to learn a lesson from their mistakes. Little did Rajesh know that by selecting JT he had done just what he intended to do … teach management a lesson.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

February 1999 Engineering college

‘Hey give me the number naaaaaaaa,’ pleaded Jagdish.

‘Kya ladki hain yaar,’ what a girl added Kapil smiling with satisfaction.

‘Boss, her voice is so melodious,’ Kapil added for a good measure, ensuring that he had all the attention from the crowd of boys that had surrounded him.

‘Naam kya hain?,’ what is her name asked Jagdish, who was now anxious to find out more details.

One big pastime for students at engineering college hostel was to dial phone numbers at random using the hostel phone until it was answered by a female voice. If the student was lucky the female on the other end was receptive to idle talk. There had been instances where students had found someone to talk to and had then continued it for months. Kapil had succeeded in locating one such number. The girl on the other end was a student in her final year at school. She probably had gone on to boast to her friends about how she had spoken for hours with a boy from engineering college.

JT who had not been very successful with his attempts at finding the perfect friend was open to every avenue that was presented to him.

Kapil had finally relented to Jagdish’s plea for the number and the other details after being bribed with a hearty meal at Kareem’s, the restaurant outside the college campus and a bottle of beer.

JT had immediately put the information he had gained into use. The phone was answered by a huffy male voice. Jagdish hurriedly put the phone down, his heart beating fast. Last month a boy from third year, Prakash had been beaten up by some goons because he had fallen in love with a girl from the surrounding village. JT feared that similar fate would befall him if he was not careful.

JT tried the number again, next afternoon. Thankfully this time the phone was answered by Anupama. Jagdish immediately realized that his search was at an end.

Anupama and Jagdish had spoken to each other for weeks before they had agreed to meet outside Anupama’s school.

On the arranged day Jagdish decked himself in his best clothes and headed for the city with Kapil. They had borrowed a bike for the occasion from one of the seniors at college. JT was excited and full of anticipation. He had dreamt about the beautiful girl on the other end of the line a million times over the last few weeks. JT had all but started a family in his dreams when Anupama had agreed to meeting him.

Kapil and JT had reached St Angels School after an hour’s drive from their college. They noticed a crowd of students congregated around the school gate. They learnt from one of the students that it was the last day at school for the final year students and today was their farewell party. Kapil and JT stood at the gate waiting for Anupama while they watched the events unfolding inside the school through the recess in the gate.

They had been waiting for about twenty minutes, watching for beautiful girls among the crowd of final year students. Jagdish had even identified a few prospective Anupama’s among them. JT suddenly heard the name Anupama being called out on the stage. He looked at Kapil who seemed to have heard the name being called too. They watched towards the stage in anticipation. Jagdish’s heart beat fast as his wait finally drew to close. A girl walked on to the stage and took up the mike to start speaking. Jagdish looked at Kapil who shrugged his shoulders commiserating with JT.

JT and Kapil made their way back to the college not wanting to meet Anupama any longer. Jagdish’s dreams had taken another blow.

‘Yaar, bahut Moti thi naaaaaaaaa,’ she was fat wasn’t she, said JT as he and Kapil drove back to college

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Diwali 2002 at a IT company in Chennai

JT in his first month at the organization had surprised not only the interviewer but also his batch mates who were still at ends to understand why an IT company of such repute had picked JT above all the brilliant students at their college.

For years the IT organization Jagdish had joined, had continued to serve the client with meaningless add-ons and projects which were of little benefit. The client like all normal ignorant clients before him had continued to pump millions into the projects. JT changed all that within his first few months at the organization.

It was an IT miracle of sorts until you got down to deciphering what had happened. JT in his normal vigor to prove his superiority over others (Jagdish had always believed that he was the best, no one was sure why that was so) had recoded or rather rewired the entire software. The whole system along with the 264 servers it ran on came crashing down and stayed so for the entire week. The project team in India was away celebrating the festival of lights, also called Diwali, while the project team onsite knew no better than to hope that there were no major mishaps.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Onsite team in an IT Company constitutes of high achieving, high flying, super intelligent, carrier oriented individuals who consider it demeaning to monitor or develop code. The onsite team apart from charging the client double the amount their counterpart’s offshore charge are also busy maintaining client relationships at pubs or bars, getting drunk and abusing their Indian counterparts, all at client’s expense. On weekends they are busy exploring new opportunities for the organization at Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon or sometimes even in Las Vegas.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

It is a mystery as to what JT was doing in office over Diwali.

All hell broke loose when the project team returned after Diwali holidays. Alarms were raised and the client contacts were woken up from sleep late at night. Thankfully, because of the eight hour time difference the client was deep in sleep when the project team woke him up. The client was unable to understand half of what was being conveyed due to idiomatic inconsistencies of Indian English, while the other half he conveniently ignored. The client replied groggily to all the nervous bellowing at the Indian end before finally deciding that if the world had not stopped in the intervening week it was safe to assume that it would not do so in the next few hours. Having made the decision the client went back to bed while the Indian team continued to holler.

The offshore team waited anxiously for the seconds tick and the hours to pass. They hoped that the client would get into office sooner than usual but it was 8 PM IST when the client finally made appearance.

The whole team waited with bated breath as the senior management went into a frenzy organizing conference calls in order to ascertain the damage and to decide the next steps. Finally during wee hours of Indian morning, when the offshore team was sleepy, the onsite team was sleeping and the client after having emptied crates of beer was thinking straight that the problem was solved. The final conclusion was arrived at after crunching huge numbers. The client had left office, high from all the beers to have remembered what had transpired during the day.

The last mail from the client had read ‘None,’. It had taken hours for the offshore team to decipher the message and breathe a sigh of relief. The confusion had arisen because no one was sure if the ‘none’ was in answer to the question ‘Is there any beer left?’ or to the question ‘How much damage was done from the incident?’.

The offshore team had waited with bated breath for their onsite counterparts to get into office and confirm that there still were unopened cans of beers lying around. The unopened beer cans had confirmed that ‘None…’ in the mail had referred to the level of damage from the incident and not the beer.

The onsite team was conferred with an award recognizing their alertness, while the offshore team was fined for the slackness in their response. The management showered itself in praises harping about the efficiency with which the problem had been dealt with. The senior managers and the lead designers had hailed the superior application code and the robust architecture of the system that had come through in flying colors even when the servers were down.

It was in between these celebrations, before the servers were to be brought back online that JT asked a simple question ……‘WHY?’. JT’s question would have evaporated into nothingness but for the simple fact that it had surfaced during the conference call with the client. The client had been forced into thinking and had finally decided to defer from switching back the servers for another few weeks.

JT failed to understand the reason behind the confrontation his manager had with him following the conference call. JT continued to be perplexed during his meetings with the senior management who for no reason seemed to be annoyed with him.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

The client conference …

Jagdish had been talking with Aarti during the client conference. They had been discussing the latest episode of ‘Kyki duniya gol hain…..’ the Indian version of a very famous American series ‘Hey darling because the world is round……’ produced and directed by the famous Unity Roopak who had conveniently decided to drop ‘Hey Darling’ from the title because of his affinity for the letter ‘K’. All producers or rather all the people in the field of art are a little quirky, how else could one explain Roopak’s love for the letter ‘K’ other than for the fact that his name ended with it.

Aarti had informed JT that the Television channel was planning on taking the soap off air. JT was surprised and had retorted in alarm ’WHY?,’.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

JT between his meetings with the management, who was still fuming, was showered with praises from the client for having saved millions. Jagdish apparently did not understand, why or how he had saved millions for the client.

The client insisted that JT should be a part of their next project. The client’s demands had in a way forced the organization to defer the decision of sacking Jagdish.

Sadly for JT none of the managers were prepared to take him on their team. This was when Rajan sir had fallen prey to the management ploy.

Rajan sir had drowned himself in sorrow ever since he lost his wife. He was feeling miserable about the world. To be fair to Ranjan sir the world was not a great place and if you really got to thinking about it you always ended up feeling miserable. Jagdish had always felt miserable whenever he thought really hard about life, especially the question ‘What is meaning of life?’.

Ranjan immersed in sadness had been gullible enough to take JT on his team.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Thankfully for Ranjan sir and his team, there was little work to be done on the project front. Ever since the servers had been brought down there was practically nothing left to do. The client effectively was paying to keep the servers down and thereby avoid further mishaps till the contract with the organization ran its term.

The lack of work opened up new avenues for the team, which included bars and pubs, Shabari being one of them. Ranjan sir and his team spent hours at Shabari, drinking.

Ranjan sir drowned in sorrow drank to forget the pain while his team which had been reduced to Jagdish and UB drank because there was nothing else to do. Ranjan sir paid the bills while JT and UB took care of the tips. The Client would have been glad to tab the bills, as it was a small price to pay in lieu of the services or rather lack of services the three rendered.

Ranjan sir had developed a great bonding with UB and JT over the drinks. They had continued their drinking sprees for a year before JT had moved to Delhi. Ranjan sir had slowly recovered from his plight; it had taken him four years to do so.

Ranjan sir and UB had flown to USA on an assignment for a few years before they returned with a huge project that was to be off shored to India. During their stay in USA the two had shared an apartment which had brought them closer though this time they had spent more time working than drinking.

The chat between UB and JT had occurred a year before UB and Ranjan sir had returned to India for good. UB had come down to Chennai for a short trip home.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Saturday 23 October 2004 – JT’s room (12:00 AM)

UB: Ranjan sir is doing great, he likes the US, but misses Sonu a lot.

UB: Sonu had come down during his summer Vacation; we had a lot of fun.

JT: Great, how old is Sonu now?

UB: He is ten. He is such an adorable kid you can’t help liking him.

JT: I am sure he is, I still remember the time when Ranjan Sir used to bring him to the office.

UB: Ranjan Sir makes a great dad. It is such a pity that his wife passed away.

UB: Sonu sometimes does miss his mother but usually keeps his thoughts to himself.

JT: I wonder why Ranjan Sir never remarried.

UB: Hummmmm

UB: I had taken Sonu to Seaworld one weekend.

UB: Ranjan sir had an important meeting to attend and could not join us.

UB: Since Ranjan sir had promised Sonu that he would take him to the seaworld that weekeend he did not have the heart to refuse.

UB: We had a wonderful time until we had taken the rollercoaster.

JT: Why?

UB: You know about my fear for heights?

UB: Sonu insisted that we take the front seats on the roller coaster.

JT: Ha ha ha …… what a picture you must have painted 

UB: We were at the very top ready to hurl down when the roller coaster suddenly stopped for a good fifteen minutes.

UB: Some pig using his mobile on the roller coaster.

UB: I had been chanting prayers all the while and when the roller coaster finally started hurling down I yelled out ‘Mummy,’ loudly.

JT: Shucks man …. I can imagine what had gone through the little kids mind.

UB: Sonu had been glum for the rest of the day, even a visit to Mc Donald had failed to cheer him up.

JT: What about Ranjan Sir?

UB: That was the first time I saw tears in Sirs eyes.

UB: His eyes were wet when I told him.

JT: :( Chalo forget it … it wasn’t your fault..

UB: :(

(Long silence, no one types)

UB: so when are you coming down to Chennai.

JT: Probably next weekend. I am short of cash, you will need to loan me some money for the trip :-)

UB: don’t worry use my card :-).

UB: It is so long since we met

JT: So when are you heading back to US.

UB: Probably in two week’s time.

UB: Ranjan sir had called yesterday; he wants to come down to India next month for Sonu’s birthday.

JT: Ok

UB: Sir has sent a bag of goodies for Sonu. He wanted to know if you were coming down to collect them.

UB: Remember you will have to get them delivered to Sonu.

JT: Sure, I will.

JT: Ranjan sir had called me too.

JT: It will provide me an opportunity to go down to Pune… probably this time I will find a nice girl for myself.

UB: You are hopeless. ….. Bye for now. It is getting late.

UB: Mom wants to visit the temple tomm. morn

JT: ll hit the bunk too.

UB: See Ya, good night

JT: G n … will give you a buzz tomm.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Thursday 4th November 2004 – Mumbai Express

(Two weeks later ….)

UB flew back to USA while JT returned to Delhi from his trip to Chennai, via Pune.

JT had just taken the Mumbai Express from Chennai to Pune…….

JT sat uncomfortably on his berth on the train. UB had driven him to the railway station before heading back home to pack his bags. UB was to fly back to USA the next morning. UB and JT had stood at the platform, surrounded by the noise of porters and small vendors trying to sell what they could.

UB momentarily held JT’s hands between his palms pressing them gently and looked into Jagdish‘s eyes before turning around and leaving the station. If eyes did speak then UB and JT had spoken a years worth in that brief moment, their bond between the two friends had just gotten stronger.

Jagdish was still feeling happy as he boarded his compartment to look for the designated berth. Jagdish hated having to travel alone in trains. If given a choice he would have preferred to fly everywhere but sadly planes were very costly.

JT made his way through the rows of people who were busy getting comfortable for the long journey ahead. JT was jolted by the sudden movement of the train as it started from the station.

‘Oh! Excuse me’ said JT as his foot brushed against the person who was trying to push the big oversized black bag under the corner seat.

Jagdish breathed a sigh of relief when he finally found his berth. All the seats next to his were already taken. JT placed his dark blue duffle bag on the upper berth before pushing Ranjan sir’s bag into an empty slot under the seat. JT was surprised by the number of people in the compartment. November usually was an off season for travelers.

JT had been sitting under the small signage that read UB 27 (Upper berth – 27) browsing through the morning’s paper. It had been a little more than an hour into the journey when JT was hit by the aroma of sambar. JT slowly looked up from his paper towards the offending couple who sat next to him. JT’s stomach grumbled. JT felt a pang of hunger hit him as he recollected the warm idlis he and UB had eaten in the morning at Shravan Bhavan, on the way to the station.

JT hated people who treated trips on trains as picnics. He looked in anger at the couple who did not seem to have noticed him. JT’s thoughts were interrupted by a sound of laughter from the cubicle behind him. There was something about the sound that hit JT’s chords. He turned around to find the source of the laughter. JT’s eyes were arrested by a stunningly beautiful girl who was sitting on one of the side berths diagonally behind him.

The beautiful girl in Cyan colored salwar kameez seemed to be a part of a group of girls who were busy pulling pranks on each other. The girls were a part of the college group which had been on an educational tour to southern India. The group was probably one of the reasons why JT found the compartment crowded.

JT looked back to his news paper not wanting to be caught staring at the girl. He heard the group laughing again. JT felt an urge to glance back at the girl but realized that he could not turn around without being noticed. He had all but forgotten the smell of idlis emanating from his neighboring seats.

JT felt the back of the person sitting next to him bush against his arm as his neighbor tried to get comfortable on the seat before picking on the next Idli. JT realizing the opportunity excused himself and moved to the opposite seat which provided him better chance of stealing glances at the beautiful girl. Time passed quickly as JT turned pages between trying to catch a glimpse of girl who he was sure was the end of his search for a life partner. JT struggled to find an opportunity to speak and get involved with the group but none came forward. JT dreamt of various scenarios where he would aid the group in need and find a place in the heart of the princess sitting across him.

The girls seemed to have started their lunch which reminded JT that he had not eaten anything since the plate of idlis in the morning.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Night seems to fall rather quickly when one is traveling.

JT had a little nap in the afternoon after the lunch. The upper berth had provided him with an excellent view of the activity in the next cubicle. JT kept awake, stealing glances at the girls especially the one in cyan dress before falling asleep. He was sure the girl in Cyan, Ankita, knew that he was stealing glances at her as she had caught him in his act a few times.

Jagdish had heard Ankita’s friends calling her by that name a few times. He liked the sound of her name being called.

JT had slept for an hour before the jolt of the train stopping at the station woke him up. He had been dreaming about being in an argument with Ankita. Jagdish did not remember enough of the dream to recollect what the argument had been about but he was sure that he would have given in to Ankita’s wishes if the dream had continued.

JT looked around hoping to spot Ankita but the compartment seemed to have gone quiet. He suddenly felt a pang of fear realizing that the girls could have easily gotten down at one of the previous stations while he was sleeping. JT looked around hoping that Ankita was still on the train. A different girl was sleeping on the berth which Ankita had been sitting on. Though JT was unable to see the face clearly he was sure it was not Ankita. The girl had covered her face in sleep but that did not hide the fact that she was not JT’s dream girl from him.

JT was losing hope. He sat up and turned around to reach for his spectacles which he had hung on the iron grill that separated the berth on the next cubicle from the one he was sleeping on. JT’s heart skipped a beat as he spotted the cyan color across the grill. JT slowly turned around fearing that Ankita was awake and watching him. Thankfully for JT Ankita was fast asleep and had covered her eyes with her arm. JT sat watching the beautiful lips and the slight movement of her nose. She looked so beautiful and calm when asleep. JT watched the contour of Ankitas body as it slowly moved with her breathing. JT heart was beating faster. Jagdish knew that there was a message that god was trying to send to him through all this.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

That night JT wrote his email address and contact number on a piece of paper along with the words ‘Would you like to be my friend – JT’ scribbled on it and hung it along with the Reynolds Jotter pen to the iron grill separating him and Ankita.

JT was sure that Ankita would soon call him or drop him a mail, when he had gone to deliver Ranjan sir’s bag to Sonu. JT was a little concerned but still to loose hope when he boarded the train to Delhi. JT knew that he would have to start looking for a new life partner when Ankita had still not sent him a response after four weeks.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Tuesday 4th January 2005 – JT’s room Noida

JT had all but forgotten Ankita just as he had forgotten Priya, Vaishali, Deepika, Vidhya, Radhika and Anupama before her.

The incident with Ankita had convinced Jagdish that Vandhana was the girl of his dreams and the one whom he was going to marry.

JT: Ravvvvvvvv ?

JT: u t

Ravneet: ha bolo

JT: Where were you 2day? I did not see you in office

Ravneet: Areee baba I had to go out with Ranjit, he wanted to buy a few things for his flat

JT: Humm you are using Kk’s annual leaves for your dates :-)

Ravneet: :-) I was putting it off for a long time. Ranjit was getting annoyed with me.

Ravneet: You know how picky Ranjeet is about these things.

JT: Oh yeah …. Let us see who is picky once you get married :-)

Ravneet: :-)

JT: hummm, did you speak to that gal….. Vandana?

JT: She was looking ravishingly beautiful today.

Ravneet: :-) She is an introvert; it is so hard to get anything out of her.

Ravneet: All she wants to talk about is work.

JT: She probably needs sometime to loose her inhibitions

Ravneet: Don know, either way why don’t you talk to her directly.

JT: I tried but she was very terse.

JT: She is very reserved unlike you girls who have no qualms at all.

Ravneet: Accha ji !!

Ravneet: Forget her, I don’t like her.

JT: Come on Rav, we should give her some more time.

Ravneet: Whatever….. I tried talking to her over lunch.

JT: Wow tussi great ho paaji.

Ravneet: shut Up JT :@

JT: bolo !!! what did she tell you

Ravneet: Nothing much. Lagtha hain bahut head weight hain.

JT: :-O

Ravneet: Boy, does she have an air about her.

JT: Oh you girls are just jealous when you see a girl who is more beautiful.

Ravneet: Oh yaaaaa

JT: How old is she?

JT: Is she married?

Ravneet: No she is not married.

Ravneet: Don’t you know, you should not ask a girl about her age

JT: Shucks need to leave …need to fetch few things from the shop …byeeeeeeee

JT logs off before rushing to the store.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Friday 11th February 2005 – JT’s room Noida - 08:30 PM

It took JT four weeks to get acquainted with Vandhana. Acquainted, here is only referring to the little smile of recognition that JT received from Vandhana.

JT was filled with joy …..he was ecstatic.

JT: Hey Ravvvvvvvvv, she smiled at me today.

Ravneet: That was a terrific plan. Serves him right.

Ravneet: I can’t help breaking into giggles every time I see Ravi.

JT: Ya, it served him right.

JT: He will never leave his machine unlocked again.

Ravneet: ha ha ha ha ….

Ravneet: I am sure he is desperate to get back at you.

JT: Oh he will :-)

JT: Ravi should be looking for his back least I pull out one more prank at him.

Ravneet: :-) You should not have sent the mail to the group mail id.

Ravneet: I am not sure if Chandan sir will like it.

JT: Who gives a damn.

…………………

(UB logs on from his office in USA)

JT: Hey dude how are you?

UB: Fine, it is very cold here.

JT: Has Ranjan sir returned from his trip to India

UB: Not yet he is coming in this weekend, I need to pick him up from the airport.

……………………..

Ravneet: Haan ji, wait till it is time for appraisal.

JT: don’t remind me of appraisals

Ravneet: :-) That message you sent from Ravi’s mailbox was awesome.

JT: :-P

Ravneet: Oh boy we kept pulling his leg the whole day

JT and Ravneet were talking about the incident that had occurred that morning in the office

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Friday 11th February 2005 – JT’s office – 10:00 AM

What had happened in office that morning ……..

That morning Ravi had forgotten to lock his machine and had walked over to Chandan’s desk to clarify a few queries.

JT meanwhile, had just returned after playing Table tennis in the playroom. JT logged on to his machine to chat with his friends. Coincidently or rather unluckily for Ravi none of JT’s friends were signed on. JT looked around bored. There was little for one to do in production support other than wait for jobs to fall over. Luckily for JT nothing had fallen over today.

Ravi sat in a cubicle across where JT was sitting.

JT’s looked around listlessly trying to find someone to start a conversation with. His eyes lit up when he spotted that Ravi’s machine. The machine was unlocked and Ravi was not at his desk.

JT did not need any encouragement for what he did next. He immediately walked to Ravi’s machine and typed out ‘I am beautiful ….’ in the subject line of the mail before sending it the team mailing group.

Ravi was taken aback when he returned to his seat. Ravi had caught JT admiring the handiwork before leaving for his own seat.

‘What are you doing at my machine?,’ Ravi had snorted angrily.

Jagdish had smiled in reply before leaving for his own seat without caring to reply.

For Ravi it had all been a little too late.

The beautiful Ravi could do nothing but sit sullenly at his seat for the rest of the day.

Vandhana who had been watching the events unfold from the sidelines had smiled at Jagdish as he walked past her cubicle on the way to the cafeteria.

Things had changed between Vandhana and the team ever since the incident. She had opened up just a little and had started participating in the discussions. Vandhana had been added into Ravi’s list of enemies. Ravi for some unknown reason considered all the people who talked with JT as his enemies. Luckily for everyone Ravi made a harmless enemy, whose only way of getting back at them was to sulk every time they passed his cubicle.

JT had managed to establish Vandhana’s age. Vandhana was a few months younger to JT which in itself was a huge sign of success as far as JT was concerned. JT like most Indians believed in destiny and lines of fate. He also believed that marriages were made in heaven and irrespective of what one did they always ended up finding and marrying their better half. The fact that Vandhana was a few months younger to him and still unmarried could only mean one thing for JT. ……….

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Saturday 26th February 2005 – JT’s Room

Few weeks after the incident ……

JT sat watching a movie on his laptop and did not wish to be disturbed.

Ravneet: Hey JT what are you doing ?

JT: Nothing

JT: I am busy

Ravneet: Wut, u and busy … must be joking

JT: Stop troubling :@

……………

Vandhana logs on. The messenger intimates JT ……

JT: Hiieeeeeeeeeeeeee

Vandhana: Hello, how are you

JT: Oh I am doing great

JT: Just watching a movie on the net

Vandhana: Hey don let me stop you …. Pls continue

JT: It is nothing, just a boring movie.

JT: I was going to stop either way

Vandhana: ok

JT: What are you doing?

Vandhana: I was looking up some material for my MBA assignments.

JT: Wow you are doing an MBA

Vandhana: Yes, just something to keep me occupied :-)

JT: Ah! You are always so busy. :)

Vandhana: I have my exams coming up and with all these assignments it is very hard to find time.

JT: I understand.

Vandhana: I hate maths, it is so hard

JT: :-) I can help you if you want me to.

Vandhana: Nahi…… it is very boring and over that why would you want to spoil your weekend for me.

JT: Oh don’t worry, I love math’s.

JT had completely forgotten about his movie and off course continued to ignore Ravneet.

JT: Vandhana you still there?

Vandhana: Yes, I am clumsy with the key board :-)

JT: Send me your math’s assignments and I will do them for you

Vandhana: Are you serious ?… really thanks :-)

JT spent rest of the weekend working on Vandhana’s Math’s assignment. Thankfully for JT he was able to find most of the solutions on Google.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Tuesday 08th March 2005 – JT’s Room

few days later …….

Ravneet: Oye JT, you had lunch without me :@

JT: Sorry baba. Vandhana had a meeting at 1:00

Ravneet: So Vandhana is more important then me, is it ?

JT: Come on Ravvvvvv it is not that. Vandhana did not want to have lunch alone and you have company.

Ravneet: Is that the only reason?

JT: :-)

Ravneet: So have you told Vandhana about your love

JT: Not so fast. I am still getting to know her.

JT: Vandhana is a puzzle. I don’t understand her.

Ravneet: If you trust me, JT there is something wrong with that girl

Love does funny things to people. Love makes some people go blind. JT was blinded by his love for Vandhana.

JT ignored Ravneet’s comment and tried to steer clear from the subject

JT: Aur bolo how are things with Ranjit

Ravneet: We are getting married.

Ravneet: Ranjit’s parents have spoken to my parents.

Ravneet: We are waiting for the formalities.

JT: Congratulations :-)

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Thursday 31st March 2005 – JT’s Room

With each passing day JT’s love for Vandhana increased. All, JT wanted to do was spend time with Vandhana. He wanted to stay close to her and forget about the whole world.

UB: Hey JT wuts up. No news for a long time.

JT: Hi dude. Been busy :-)

JT: Lot happening in life.

UB: Don’t tell me it is another girl

UB: So how is the climate there?

JT: It is good

UB: I had gone to Niagara Falls this weekend.

UB: I and a group of friends had gone. Ranjan sir did not join us.

UB: It was beautiful.

JT: Great

UB: R u OK.

UB: You don sound well

JT: Nothing wrong dude. Just feeling a little down

UB: Hold on I will call you up

JT moved away from his machine as the phone started ringing ..

X ------------------------------------------------- X

Friday 22nd July 2005 – JT’s Room

Four months later …..

UB: Yeowy dude

JT: Hi

UB: Wuts up dude you sounded sad on the phone yesterday.

UB: Did your girl finally realize what an idiot you are and decide to ditch you?

JT: Yeah :-(.

JT: Boy I am really an Idiot

UB: ha ha ha you have finally come around to realize that

JT: stop joking Bhoumik I am in no mood for your wise cracks

………………..

(Ravneet logs on)

Ravneet: Oye JT ke bacche where were you for so many days.

Ah!!! For those of you who have not been in touch with Ravneet. It is not surprising that you did not care to do so the world is filled with people like you who give a damn to what happens to their neighbors and friends. Ravneet had shifted companies and was no longer in the same office as JT. JT and Ravneet relied on the chat engine to help them keep in touch. I hope you remember that Ravneet and Ranjit got married a few months earlier which was probably the reason behind Ravneet shifting companies.

Ravneet: (Buzzes JT)

JT’s screen vibrates like a vibrator

JT: Bolo

Ravneet: By god!!! What is wrong with you? It is ages since you logged on.

Ravneet: Are you married or what?

JT: :-) no just busy with work

Ravneet: Joking kya?

……………..

UB: OK, I am serious tell me what happened

JT: Vandhana is married

UB: ha ha ha ha

JT: Stop it UB I am serious

UB: Did she have a boyfriend?

UB: Was it arranged?

JT: No it is not that

UB: Did she elope with someone then?

JT: No, she is a divorcee

UB: Oops you just topped it this time ;-)

JT did not reply.

UB: How come something like this always happens to you?

UB: You should be careful when you fall in love next time :-(.

UB: Did you not realize this earlier?

JT: She never told anyone

……………

JT: No Rav I am serious. I have been working really hard.

JT: I think I need to take my carrier a little more seriously.

Ravneet: Oh I C

Ravneet after a while

Ravneet: Jagdish, just curious, has Vandhana ditched you?

JT:

……………..

UB: But that is very bad.

UB: I mean she should have at least told you on one of your dates.

JT: We never went on any dates.

JT: It was always in groups.

UB: You mean all this time you were in love but you never took her out.

JT: She always refused.

JT: I did ask her out a few times but she always found an excuse.

JT: I should have guessed

UB: Sorry for you dude

UB: Don’t worry you will soon have a new girl in your life.

JT: :-(…. I don’t want to get married

UB: you said the same last time

…………………

Ravneet: Bolo na JT what happened?

JT: It was Vandhana’s birthday last month

Ravneet: Ok, what did you gift her? I hope it was something nice :-)

JT: I thought I should surprise her.

Ravneet: and ……..

JT: I was a fool.

JT: I should have headed to your advice

Ravneet: Are baba tell me what happened

…………………….

JT: I proposed to Vandhana in front of all our friends

……………………..

Ravneet: Oh boy, so romantic

………………………

JT: You don’t understand … she is a divorcee

…………………….

UB: WHAT? You proposed to her.

JT: Yes.

UB: Boy you should have kicked yourself

…………………..

JT: Vandhna has not come to this office since

JT: I heard that she had called up our manger and requested to be shifted to a new team.

…………………….

UB: forget her

JT: don’t know. I am not sure what I should do.

UB: No question, just forget her. Take an off and go for a holiday.

UB: How can you trust a girl who did not have the courtesy to tell you that she was married?

UB: I still can’t imagine that she hid it from you all the while.

………………

Ravneet: Poor girl … it is so sad

JT:

Ravneet: Have you spoken to her after the incident?

Ravneet: Will your parents accept it?

JT: Don know?

JT: I feel like I have been taken for a ride.

Ravneet: I warned you.

JT: Darn, she should have at least told us about it.

JT: How could I have suspected anything like this?

……………..

UB: have you spoken to her after the incident

JT: No.

JT: She sits in a different building so I don’t even see her these days

UB: Good, don’t worry time will heal things.

UB: You will soon get over it.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

JT wondered why the world had been so unfair to him; Life had left him with not one but many laments. JT struggled to understand why he had been so smitten by bad luck. JT failed to see reason in his failures to find his true love.

Jagdish was at the mercy of fate, unable to fight back for what he thought was rightly his.

JT felt cornered into the corner of this small dingy room. He thought he was being targeted by the supreme power for no fault of his.

In all the years that JT had spent looking for a perfect life partner it was only with Vandhana that he thought his search had culminated. It was a horrible mistake an unforgivable twist of fate that resulted in Vandhana having married before JT found her. It was not fate alone that JT blamed. JT also blamed Vandhana for having hidden from him the truth about her marriage. It would have saved all of them a lot of trouble if only Vandhana had confronted him with the truth earlier.

JT did not think twice as to why Vandhana had refused his offers for a date. JT did not remember the times when she had tried to dissuade his advances. JT abstained himself from reasoning as to why Vandhana avoided company and had preferred to remain secluded.

It was probably love that had blinded JT. It was probably his desire to see his dream fulfilled ……………. It was probably nothing but destiny.

X ------------------------------------------------- X

The world is filled with such stories unfolding every second. Time heals some wounds while it leaves others for a little longer. It is nothing lesser that the biggest fallacy of life that makes everyone believe that he alone is in the right, who could then blame JT

End of Part I – The Matchmaker, one that arranges a match ; especially: one who tries to bring two unmarried individuals together in an attempt to promote a marriage