The 23rd of last month of '09, the day of nine evils' meeting
The superstitious belief in the goodness of meeting new people engulfed the mind
Absolute chill filled the atmosphere, paining the bones even,
Unfathomable patience in waiting I practiced that night
And then appeared 'she' clad in dotted fair wonju, like an angel,
Tall, slim, fair and stunningly beautiful, omigosh!
As we trod towards the 'dhaba,' poor she! Bore the cold in silence
Uneasiness pervaded my thoughts, pathetic without a car, poor me,
As we crossed the dhaba’s threshold, its warmth gladdened us
The pamphlet menu greeted us upstairs, I pushed one by her side nervously
Did I bring her to the right place? Will she like the order?
“Hot coffee and 'naan'” we said in sync, and laughed off the coincidence
In between the eating ritual, three men attired in red robes followed,
The urge made me light a cigarette, seeked their pardon, they consented
So I smoked and hot water she drank,
I tried coming up with a topic to converse, but in vain, nervous was I
My futility at conversation did not spare me on the occasion as well,
So she smiled, chuckled, and made sweet gestures.
The men in robes' conversation was overheard, one was a Trulku,
An enlightened being, I knew not, my head dropped in shame, squashed the light
And glanced at him with loaded guilt, he was fine, busy conversing,
I signaled at her to abscond the situation, the beautiful complied
Paid the bill, tipped the waiter and disappeared in to the cold night
We laughed again and I was beginning to like her gracious presence.
But we never asked why we laughed, while her's made a pretty sound,
Mine's was like a hyena, too loud and unpleasant for any ear
We trod further, more cold, a step seemed a mile, I suggested a cab, she refused
We reached her place and off I went humming a song, "I don't know why she makes me crazy...”
It appeared to me as though she liked me;
I treated her a memorable cold dinner after all!
