Summer of 99-Part 1
Disclaimer: this is not my work..
March 5th was when i saw her first. There was a complete turn around of things on that particular day...i had just completed my final exams in the morning and a most yearned summer vacation in coorg was beckoning me....some nerds in the corridor were still brooding over the mistakes they did in answering the questions......true....that was one helluva paper...who the heck cares.....Hey Coorg! here i come.....
It was well past 1 when i reached home........mom didnt ask this question "How did u fare on today's paper ?" for she respects my sentiments and
knows asking such a darn question would bring bad luck on me......i threw my bag down....."Mommy no lunch now.....wake up me up at 3:30......i gotta go sleep now"
I screamed as i climbed up stairs........i heard a big thud on the door......gosh had I overslept? The clock was just showing 2:35.....
It was mom with a worried look on her face......"Trip Cancelled ......dad is having some important work next week and he can't........"
"ENOUGH!" I screamed and slammed the door. I was totally upset.......there was a knock again on the door......it was she again ...."Dad wants you to go and cancel the tickets, said he'll book the tickets next week again"
Maa ...Coffee.....i sank in the sofa and channel surfed languidly ...gnawed few potato wafers .........Murphy's Laws always hold good!
I was up again in a few minutes and was on my way to the railway station...the queue was measuring a mile....."Misfortunes don't come single...they come in battalions" how true! I was now the tail-ender in the queue.....gosh i hated that position......
It was then i saw her....a couple of reservation forms tucked under her arm.....she looked completely lost and yeah .......she was beautiful!
She strode past me in the queue... "Excuse Me.....Can't you see therez a queue out here ? " i blurted out.....my blasphemy was completely ignored
...she handed over the forms to a middle aged man in the queue....must be her dad i guess ...she then turned back and gave me a curious
look........i was gaping at her and managed a wry smile......
The queue inched forward slowly.....i was looking at her constantly now......"Palat....Palat" She didn't! Damn....how does the magic work only for SRK all the time ?
She was done with her stuff and was heading out.........It was my turn in the counter......i managed to get the tickets cancelled....she was still there in the Parking Lot.....few meters ahead of me......the day's effect was still playing on me......i was very anxious and till-date have no idea why i walked the other way when all the while I had my bike next to hers...now won't she think i'm a weirdo if i turn back? Dropping the pen down was the only way out.....when i finally managed to turn back....the old man was well speeding past the gate...
I was informed during dinner that the trip to coorg next week is a no-go....Perfect ending for a Terrific Day!
I had to spend the vacation in the city......i bugged few friends that night over phone...fixed up a cricket match and a movie for the next day.....it
was then i saw the advertisement on the paper....Guitar/Key Board Classes.....Guitar Classes!! The very thought made me sit up and think....why don't i do something useful this time... I instantly turned on my comp and played Summer of '69....couldn't help that wry smile again...this summer for me...Has started on a terrible note.....
The next morning was uneventful. Steaming kaapi...the usual long rigmaroles in the news paper...raucous calls of crows....myriad thoughts....i dialled the number that was listed in the paper and fixed up an appointment with the guitar folks late in the afternoon...and then i thought of her....will i be ever able to see her again...Bach's "The Bridge across forever" was out there..And was inviting me to read...an old friend of mine had gifed it ages back. Tricky book...it always made me feel that i'm lonely out there without a soul-mate....i hadn't touched that book in months.....and i was more resolute not to touch it again.
I saw her again that evening in the Guitar class...Hail the glorious uncertainties of life! Needless to say; I opted to join the batch that she was in...The classes had begun before a week ...i didn't jell into the batch......i was sans guitar ...day 1 was awry...i waited for the class to end...gathered some courage ...went up to her and said
"Hi... Ummm...look i'm really sorry about yesterday....i didnt know you were with your Dad"
"... Uncle!" she corrected me.....and said "Itz okie..no apologies"
So..."What are you doing out here ?"...i knew it was stupid question....but then... i had to start a conversation!
"How does it look like.... ?" she laughed pointing to her guitar ....."Listen! It was nice meeting you....i gotta go...excuse me!" she was off in a flash.
I stood there all alone....cursing myself....and then i remembered ....i forgot to ask her name....."Congratz dude.....Terrific!"
I spent the next day in buying a guitar....it wasn't a busy day for the old man at the music store...for i was the lone customer that day.....I could
see he was trying to begin a conversation with me...i stayed away from him...."Young man....Can i ask u something ? "He began......."Are you gonna gift it for some one ....or you are gonna buy one for yourself?" I knew what he was arriving at....
"Sir, do u mind helping me to select a guitar?" i finally asked....
"Sure...come along" he took me to a section.....picked up a guitar.....
Then he started.....Tuning a guitar to 440........the intricacies in standard tuning....Playing the E string...turning the tuning peg for A String...G String......D, B, E Strings.........and why is it important to always Tune up and not down.....The Major chords....Minor chords.....the power chord and its beauty "a root, the fifth and the octave.." ....The lead techniques......and then he looked up ...........
"Why do u want to learn guitar?" jeez....he still isn't finished....
He continued......... "I feel like I can never get enough of playing guitar, and making and exploring music...You know the feeling I mean....That sense
of timelessness you get when you become fully absorbed, body and soul, in playing guitar. No food you could eat or movie you could see would compare to the feeling you get when you play"...
"So...have u made your choice young man...?" he asked.........
"Yeah ....i think ..I will settle for the one with the Maroon color case".... I actually was glad that he gave me a chance to speak at last.....i was in no mood to take the conversation further.....i quickly paid the bills and hurried away.
I left home very early for the guitar classes that day..... i splooshed big time on the first attempt ...i was more determined not to miss out on the
second....She came at last.......didnt bother turning my side...she went straight into the class....heck......therez still lot of time for the
Classes to begin....what is she gonna do in there?
I followed her..."Hi....could you just tune this for me......?"
"Oh..Hi....sure ..." she took the six-string from me......"Nice Piece......How long did u take select this?"
"Not much actually ....i found the guitar's case appealing.....didnt take much......infact no time selecting this".......she laughed heartily and tried
Tuning the guitar.......
She is doing a mistake....from what the old man at the music store said....guitars are always to be tuned up.....she is exactly doing the
opposite....
"Hey......i thought guitars are always supposed to be tuned up?" She was startled by my suggestion.......i wasn't rude anyways.....
"You seem to know a lot about guitars...don't u?" her eye brows crossed when she said this.......she was looking pretty.......
"Hey....u didnt answer my question.........You seem to know a lot about guitars...don't u?" she said
"Uh....not exactly I'll attribute this piece of wisdom to the old store keeper" I narrated the whole stuff to her.........she laughed again......
"Chalo....i gotta go now....see you later" she walked away...
"But...hey u still haven't said your name.....how am i supposed to call u?" i said
"Bond.......James Bond........." she smiled as she said this.......
"Tough nut to crack.......she stands tall from the rest ...." Not a good news dude....u r increasingly getting attracted to her......!
March 5th was when i saw her first. There was a complete turn around of things on that particular day...i had just completed my final exams in the morning and a most yearned summer vacation in coorg was beckoning me....some nerds in the corridor were still brooding over the mistakes they did in answering the questions......true....that was one helluva paper...who the heck cares.....Hey Coorg! here i come.....
It was well past 1 when i reached home........mom didnt ask this question "How did u fare on today's paper ?" for she respects my sentiments and
knows asking such a darn question would bring bad luck on me......i threw my bag down....."Mommy no lunch now.....wake up me up at 3:30......i gotta go sleep now"
I screamed as i climbed up stairs........i heard a big thud on the door......gosh had I overslept? The clock was just showing 2:35.....
It was mom with a worried look on her face......"Trip Cancelled ......dad is having some important work next week and he can't........"
"ENOUGH!" I screamed and slammed the door. I was totally upset.......there was a knock again on the door......it was she again ...."Dad wants you to go and cancel the tickets, said he'll book the tickets next week again"
Maa ...Coffee.....i sank in the sofa and channel surfed languidly ...gnawed few potato wafers .........Murphy's Laws always hold good!
I was up again in a few minutes and was on my way to the railway station...the queue was measuring a mile....."Misfortunes don't come single...they come in battalions" how true! I was now the tail-ender in the queue.....gosh i hated that position......
It was then i saw her....a couple of reservation forms tucked under her arm.....she looked completely lost and yeah .......she was beautiful!
She strode past me in the queue... "Excuse Me.....Can't you see therez a queue out here ? " i blurted out.....my blasphemy was completely ignored
...she handed over the forms to a middle aged man in the queue....must be her dad i guess ...she then turned back and gave me a curious
look........i was gaping at her and managed a wry smile......
The queue inched forward slowly.....i was looking at her constantly now......"Palat....Palat" She didn't! Damn....how does the magic work only for SRK all the time ?
She was done with her stuff and was heading out.........It was my turn in the counter......i managed to get the tickets cancelled....she was still there in the Parking Lot.....few meters ahead of me......the day's effect was still playing on me......i was very anxious and till-date have no idea why i walked the other way when all the while I had my bike next to hers...now won't she think i'm a weirdo if i turn back? Dropping the pen down was the only way out.....when i finally managed to turn back....the old man was well speeding past the gate...
I was informed during dinner that the trip to coorg next week is a no-go....Perfect ending for a Terrific Day!
I had to spend the vacation in the city......i bugged few friends that night over phone...fixed up a cricket match and a movie for the next day.....it
was then i saw the advertisement on the paper....Guitar/Key Board Classes.....Guitar Classes!! The very thought made me sit up and think....why don't i do something useful this time... I instantly turned on my comp and played Summer of '69....couldn't help that wry smile again...this summer for me...Has started on a terrible note.....
The next morning was uneventful. Steaming kaapi...the usual long rigmaroles in the news paper...raucous calls of crows....myriad thoughts....i dialled the number that was listed in the paper and fixed up an appointment with the guitar folks late in the afternoon...and then i thought of her....will i be ever able to see her again...Bach's "The Bridge across forever" was out there..And was inviting me to read...an old friend of mine had gifed it ages back. Tricky book...it always made me feel that i'm lonely out there without a soul-mate....i hadn't touched that book in months.....and i was more resolute not to touch it again.
I saw her again that evening in the Guitar class...Hail the glorious uncertainties of life! Needless to say; I opted to join the batch that she was in...The classes had begun before a week ...i didn't jell into the batch......i was sans guitar ...day 1 was awry...i waited for the class to end...gathered some courage ...went up to her and said
"Hi... Ummm...look i'm really sorry about yesterday....i didnt know you were with your Dad"
"... Uncle!" she corrected me.....and said "Itz okie..no apologies"
So..."What are you doing out here ?"...i knew it was stupid question....but then... i had to start a conversation!
"How does it look like.... ?" she laughed pointing to her guitar ....."Listen! It was nice meeting you....i gotta go...excuse me!" she was off in a flash.
I stood there all alone....cursing myself....and then i remembered ....i forgot to ask her name....."Congratz dude.....Terrific!"
I spent the next day in buying a guitar....it wasn't a busy day for the old man at the music store...for i was the lone customer that day.....I could
see he was trying to begin a conversation with me...i stayed away from him...."Young man....Can i ask u something ? "He began......."Are you gonna gift it for some one ....or you are gonna buy one for yourself?" I knew what he was arriving at....
"Sir, do u mind helping me to select a guitar?" i finally asked....
"Sure...come along" he took me to a section.....picked up a guitar.....
Then he started.....Tuning a guitar to 440........the intricacies in standard tuning....Playing the E string...turning the tuning peg for A String...G String......D, B, E Strings.........and why is it important to always Tune up and not down.....The Major chords....Minor chords.....the power chord and its beauty "a root, the fifth and the octave.." ....The lead techniques......and then he looked up ...........
"Why do u want to learn guitar?" jeez....he still isn't finished....
He continued......... "I feel like I can never get enough of playing guitar, and making and exploring music...You know the feeling I mean....That sense
of timelessness you get when you become fully absorbed, body and soul, in playing guitar. No food you could eat or movie you could see would compare to the feeling you get when you play"...
"So...have u made your choice young man...?" he asked.........
"Yeah ....i think ..I will settle for the one with the Maroon color case".... I actually was glad that he gave me a chance to speak at last.....i was in no mood to take the conversation further.....i quickly paid the bills and hurried away.
I left home very early for the guitar classes that day..... i splooshed big time on the first attempt ...i was more determined not to miss out on the
second....She came at last.......didnt bother turning my side...she went straight into the class....heck......therez still lot of time for the
Classes to begin....what is she gonna do in there?
I followed her..."Hi....could you just tune this for me......?"
"Oh..Hi....sure ..." she took the six-string from me......"Nice Piece......How long did u take select this?"
"Not much actually ....i found the guitar's case appealing.....didnt take much......infact no time selecting this".......she laughed heartily and tried
Tuning the guitar.......
She is doing a mistake....from what the old man at the music store said....guitars are always to be tuned up.....she is exactly doing the
opposite....
"Hey......i thought guitars are always supposed to be tuned up?" She was startled by my suggestion.......i wasn't rude anyways.....
"You seem to know a lot about guitars...don't u?" her eye brows crossed when she said this.......she was looking pretty.......
"Hey....u didnt answer my question.........You seem to know a lot about guitars...don't u?" she said
"Uh....not exactly I'll attribute this piece of wisdom to the old store keeper" I narrated the whole stuff to her.........she laughed again......
"Chalo....i gotta go now....see you later" she walked away...
"But...hey u still haven't said your name.....how am i supposed to call u?" i said
"Bond.......James Bond........." she smiled as she said this.......
"Tough nut to crack.......she stands tall from the rest ...." Not a good news dude....u r increasingly getting attracted to her......!
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