The Catalogue - Part 2

‘Hello, Mom’.

‘Yes, Nishi beta. Tell me. How is it going? How are you?’

‘Aayi, I am all good.’ Aayi was the Marathi word for mother and Nishigandha had always referred to her mom using the same word.

‘I am all good, Aayi. Everything is fine here. Today is Sunday. So I and Rhea will be cooking some real good food for lunch.’ Rhea was Nishigandha’s room-mate at her flat in Kandivali, a crowded suburb in Mumbai.

‘That’s good. Eat good food beta. Don’t neglect your health at all. And how was the first week at office? How are the people?’

‘All is really good Aayi. Don’t worry. My team has many people who are very senior to me and highly experienced. I am sure I will get to learn a lot.’

‘Ok. And will they give you leaves easily?’

Nishi smiled. Her mother could sense her warm smile even on the call.

‘Yes Aayi. Don’t worry about it. I will certainly get leave whenever it is required.’ Nishi tried to explain her mother. She could feel that her mother was missing her a lot.

‘Ok Nishi. Take good care. Do well in your work. You have always been a winner in all walks of your life. Just keep it up. Don’t worry about us. I and your Baba are very proud of you. And don’t waste money in calling us every now and then. One call per week would be fine. Save money for yourself. Did you get my point?’

‘Oh yes, Aayi. Absolutely.’

The call ended. The mother had tears in her eyes. Her only daughter was far from her and staying in a big city like Mumbai. The thought had always troubled her. But she never wanted to discourage her child. The worry was not about her staying away from her daughter. The worry was about Nishi’s journey in Mumbai. In four years at Pune, Nishi was a student and there was Nishi’s aunt, her mother’s sister, to look after her. Even though Nishi stayed at girl's hostel, the aunt used to call her every now and then. But today, she is all alone in Mumbai.

When Nishi came home with some fruits she had bought from the market, she saw Rhea cooking in the kitchen.

‘Hey baby, come. Smell. I am making your favorite pizza.’ Rhea called from the kitchen. She was wearing a round-neck shirt and a half pant while Nishigandha was in a salwaar kameez, a traditional Indian wear for girls.

‘Oh god. Rhea, there was no need for it, dear.’ She spoke as she headed to the kitchen.

‘Absolutely, there is! I know how to cook pizzas. And you love pizzas. So here I am, cooking one for you. Of course, for me too!’

Nishi heard Rhea’s mobile phone ringing in her bedroom. When Rhea was back in the kitchen after attending the call, Nishi asked, ‘Rhea, if you want to go out somewhere, you please go. It’s ok. I will cook the food.’

‘Hey girl, if I want to go out I will definitely go. Don’t worry about it. Remember, we had discussed this on the very first day itself. There won’t be any formalities. We both will guard each other’s space and freedom. As simple as that!’

‘Hmm.’ Nishi smiled.

‘It was Jai. He is the one who had joined with me.’ Rhea was telling her about the call.

‘Ohk. Someone has started getting calls from office guys already.’ Nishi teased Rhea.

‘Yes. He is really hot. Greek-god looks. He is keeping a track on me since the day one.’ She winked and both started laughing and gave a high-five to each other.

Rhea was way different personality than Nishigandha. Rhea was more of a Mumbai’s girl. She was bolder and a complete extrovert. Flirting with guys was her pastime. But at the same time, she was a dominant, strong woman. She had once slapped a guy hard in her junior college when he had tried to touch her college friend in an inappropriate way. She had abused him so much that the guy was never seen in the college after that day.

She was a Christian by religion and her father, Peter D’souza stayed in Goa. Rhea had been placed at a media and event organizing firm at Andheri in Mumbai.

She had met Nishigandha through a mutual friend who was studying with Nishigandha at her Pune’s Engineering College. It was financially convenient for both the girls to share the apartment which they were currently staying at Kandivali.

Nishigandha’s professional life was speeding fast. The training was over and she had started working on a project. Her manager and the team lead had all good things to say about her. Her team had ten members out of which one was Durvesh, a guy who had joined the team with her.

The other day, while she was going through some Java code which her team lead had given her, Durvesh pinged her on their internal messenger.

Durvesh: Coffee?

Nishigandha: Sure. Two minutes.

Both were sitting in the spacious cafeteria of Sunrise Technologies Development’s Center’s wing. There were many people around. Nishi was looking out from the window at the sky.

‘It seems it would rain today.’ She said.

‘Yes, even I think so.' He said. He looked at her and asked, ‘Nishi, don’t you miss your parents?’

‘Of course, I do, Devarsh. But I am now very well used to staying away from them. Probably, my life during engineering days at Pune had taught me that. You can't always stay with your parents. Your studies or work or marriage will take you away from them some day or the other, especially if it's a girl.’ She spoke confidently as she drank all her coffee.

‘That’s good. The other girls should actually learn a thing or two from you.’

Nisha laughed. ‘Forget it. So what’s your plan for this weekend?’

‘We have a football match at a ground near my residence. It would be interesting.’

‘Oh, that’s good.’

‘What else to do? I don’t have a girlfriend to hang out with!’ Devarsh winked at Nishi. She was looking admiringly beautiful in the formal attire, he thought.

‘Oh really? Then what have you done all your life so far? Shame on you!’ She spoke and laughed and left from there.

Devarsh kept on looking at her direction.

‘True. Let’s see what’s in store for me ahead!’ He thought.

As she returned to her work desk, a surprise was waiting for her. Her team lead had dropped in a message to see him before she leaves for the day. As she went at his cubicle, she got the news from him. She was the one amongst the five-member team that would be working on a U.S. based project from the subsequent week. And that would imply frequent journeys to Denver and NYC in U.S. She was the only junior who got an opportunity to be a part of the team.

Nishi was very happy with this news. On her way back to her apartment, she got a message from Devarsh, ‘Congratulations!’

Rhea treated her with some Chinese food that night.

Before sleeping, she came to Rhea’s room to search for a novel which she had kept in her room the previous night. Rhea was watching a movie on her laptop in the living room. Nishi could not find the book on the desk. As she opened her cupboard and started searching, Rhea’s bag fell down and things inside the bag were all over the floor.

Nishi sat down to put everything inside. But, one of the things caught her attention. She was shocked. It was a pack of condoms.

She knew the fact that Rhea was way too ahead than her in many facets of life. But she had not known this aspect of Rhea. However, it is Rhea’s life, she thought. She should not interfere with it.

However, she kept on thinking about it later that night.

Nishi had a habit to write her daily dairy before sleeping. She would always make it a point to fill it every night. Even if it is a one line thing to write, she never skipped writing it. Tonight, she wrote about her new project and how happy Rhea was for her. At the end, she wrote about the new discovery which she had found, about her room-mate.

She looked out of the window. It was a full moon that night, shining. Today witnessed a small but first of the successes of her professional life. She looked back at her diary and ended the page with her signature.

Nishigandha Dixit.