Mere paas maa hai .
Date: 1st October, 2K+4; Venue: Seminar Hall, Thadomal Shahani Engineering College, Bandra.
'What's the matter Raj? Why are you so restless?' Sneha was getting rather irritated with my constant routine of checking my watch.'Nothing, ' I muttered, 'just hope our event gets over quickly.''Arre, what's the hurry?' asked Sneha. She continued, 'I thought you told me that your tuitions are at 6. And I know that you got a sexy watch, but there's no need to look at it every thirty seconds!'
The microphone crackled, 'Will all participants for Hindi Duet singing please report immediately?' Sneha smiled at me, 'Come on Mr. Cruise, it's time to transform ourselves into Udit Narayan and Sadhana Sargam.' Now, I don't know why, but I was foolish enough to take part in a Hindi duet competition at Avalanche, the intra-college fest of TSEC. I was forced into it actually, it was the price I had to pay for Sneha to lend me her Mechanics notes.
Sneha looked at me the way a teacher eyes her students. Girls really think they can get away with anything if they are supposed to lend you notes. Anything as in, forcing you to sing for the first time in your life, and do a good job of it.'Ok Raj, I know you want to sing this song for someone in Delhi, but that does not mean you scream. We do have a mic, be calm, and we will be fine.'
'Kaho yaaron kya karoon, kya nahin .' I crooned, but my eyes were still glued to my watch. And the judges decided that we sang well, but 'that guy who has that Tom Cruise hairstyle didn't seem too interested in singing as he kept looking at his watch instead of making eye contact with the audience.'
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So why did we lose? What could be more important than singing a song which means so much to me? Well, the next day was supposed to be the birthday of the one who gave birth to me. My mom.
And here I was, stuck in a duet singing competition, with solo singing to follow, which meant that I wouldn't be free until 6 pm. Hell, I forgot - I had tuitions from 6.30 to 9.30. And all shops close by then. I removed a handkerchief and tied it around my neck as a scarf, and began singing a la Aamir of Rangeela, 'Kya karein kya na karein yeh kaisi mushkil haye.'
And then, for once, I decided to think. Well, gifting a present does not necessarily mean buying one, does it?
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Yesterday was the first time I used my printer. It was 11 pm, one hour to go before my mom turns a year older and a million times more beautiful. Since I appeared to be rather engrossed with what I was doing on the computer, my mom began to think that I had forgotten all about her birthday.
It was simple enough. On a Word document, I attached my kid brother's photograph. And attached my least scary photograph. And wrote the following words .
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Many years ago, on this very day
A tiny baby was born, not in Bombay, but far away.
She was one of twins, she had one brother
Today I call her my sweet darling mother.
She brought me into this world
Her fingers I would hold
In her lap, I slept peacefully,
Like a part of her soul.
I may be about to turn eighteen,
But to her, a child, I have always been
Spoiling me, loving me, she has put me on the road to life
As she says'Main hoon na' whenever I face any strife.
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'Raj kahan hai?' my Dad said, in an irritated tone, and his words immediately reminded of a similar dialogue from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Dad didn't know that I was waiting outside the room. My mom shrugged her shoulders, 'He is still chatting on the net, I guess. Now don't shout at him too much, he has had a hectic day today.' Dad flared up, 'But how can he forget his mother's birthday?! It's almost midnight! Let me call up on the other line.'
Dad dialled the number of the phone which is in the room where my computer is, a room which is quite separate from the rest of the bungalow. On receiving no reply, my Dad gave an irritated click and told my mom, 'He's not there, it seems.' Mom got a little startled for a moment, 'Huh, where did he go at this time of the night? Raj kahan hai?'
'Jaana dekh lo, mit gayi dooriyan, main yahan hoon, yahan hoon, yahan hoon, yahan .' Trust me to make my entry with a Shah Rukh Khan song. I crooned Veer-Zaara's Main Yahan Hoon, as I entered, printout in hand.
'And you thought I could forget?! Happy birthday, mom!'
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