TWENTY years after they had parted, she spotted his dark frame in the fierce glow of the sun in Mumbai. After the initial sense of befuddlement, she said, “Let's go to Mondegar Café.“
Surprisingly, her lost lover looked younger by 20 years. His sprightly self appeared almost magically, like an oasis to quench the thirst of a weary traveller.
Summer had brought back her lost passion and she felt exhilarated; was eager to enclose the elusive realty in a time warp and stay suspended in her own zone.
The aroma of barbecued meat, chello kebab mingled with the Mughlai flavours of her hometown Delhi wafted through the burning inferno. In strident white sparks, she saw a vivid face, loving gestures and longing heart, looking into her eyes.
Surprisingly, her lost lover looked younger by 20 years. His sprightly self appeared almost magically, like an oasis to quench the thirst of a weary traveller.
Summer had brought back her lost passion and she felt exhilarated; was eager to enclose the elusive realty in a time warp and stay suspended in her own zone.
She thought, “Is he married?“ But, did it matter if he was married? She sensed the approaching loo, the hot summer storm blowing off the dust from memories of yore. She felt content and happy.
As they walked through the crowded thoroughfare, the sun beat fiercely on the charred road. She saw beads of sweat on his temple, wrinkled eyes, twitched nose and sensuous lips. The intense heat, dust and the scorched earth seemed to ignite the desires of the young and the old hearts.
Mondegar Café lane was populated with sweating people, speeding up and down the road, brushing against each other as they yelled maniacally.
The aroma of barbecued meat, chello kebab mingled with the Mughlai flavours of her hometown Delhi wafted through the burning inferno. In strident white sparks, she saw a vivid face, loving gestures and longing heart, looking into her eyes.
She was tempted to hide inside the icy-cool roadside inn. She saw him slowly merge with the white glow of the sun, leaving only remnants of him in the occasional breeze from gulmohar and neem trees.
Then, perhaps, roused by the sadness in her eyes, a band of pigeons fell out of the sheltered nest, tumbled frantically in the still, sizzling area, sorted out their way and streaked away across the white sky.
Then, perhaps, roused by the sadness in her eyes, a band of pigeons fell out of the sheltered nest, tumbled frantically in the still, sizzling area, sorted out their way and streaked away across the white sky.
She walked into the café and immersed her divine nostalgia in slow sips of chilled beer. Outside, Mumbai in the afternoon turned into a vast abyss, an infernal city full of secret fire.
Meghna Maiti
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