Wednesday, September 13, 2006 ||
11:22 AM ||
Sometimes I am quite amused at the way I come across someone out here. I mean, people whom I would have never ever met in my professional realms anyway, people who are busy on an altogether different existence plane, people who have very little in common with me, people whom I never knew existed, and probably would never have known either. And yet, it’s strange that we did get to meet up, and have got on like a haystack on fire.
I am at a Festival of Women Directed Films at Thrissur a few years back, and not having much of a great time, when a dear friend introduces me to a hefty fella in his mid 20’s. Apart from the filmi Kurta and a big warm smile on his face that seemed to emanate from somewhere deep within, the brief handshakes or the hastily exchanged mobile numbers, it was meant to be another acquaintance that was to be gone with the summer drizzle. Until I heard something really nice of his film a few months later, and messaged him for the first time to let him know that his efforts were being appreciated. Not long after, I get to see his film myself, and we decide that we do have quite a bit in common to talk about. We haven’t stopped yapping since.
When I used to write to SCREEN long back, I was hoping that Madhuri Dixit would take notice. Honestly. I really believed that she had nothing better to do than read my letters-to-the-editor that dealt with just her. And at last, I did get a mail. Not from Madhuri, but from another fellow admirer of the actress from across B’lore, who had read several of my crazy letters. There was always something to write about, when I was mailing him, though initially it was MD all the way. I still remember the first call on my phone, when the tsunami hit the Kerala coast. I got to meet him in real when I landed at B’lore to attend a Conference, about three years after having come across him on the internet. All the while I was roaming around on his vehicle through the traffic laden B’lore roads, all through the shopping adventures and the ISKCON temple experience and the sumptuous lunch served by his mom, when I was served the most delectable B’lorean dishes ever, I was utterly amazed at the way Madhuri can change your life! ;) :)
I am on another bus trip to B’lore, and this time around, I have got a pleasant chap on my left seat who’s worried out of his wits that it might rain during the night. He’s going back after a week’s vacation and we soon lose ourselves in the film that’s being aired. We doze off peacefully and the next morning he’s one big help when it comes to finding my place in B’lore. He leaves his mobile number with me, just in case. Thank you caring soul, take care. As I leave B’lore four days later, I message him that all went well. A few months are gone and I find a familiar someone calling out my name in my home city as I am being driven nuts by my scooter that would refuse to start. He tells me he’s gonna fly abroad in a couple of days and that he hoped that we would be in touch. We sure have been.
Ladies and Gentlemen, three very dear friends of mine, whom I did not meet the Bollywood way. :)