The kindred

'Do you go on road trips?'

I don't know what prompted that question. I nodded but wondered how he knew. Nothing about me suggested it, save the helmet and the key that I held in my left hand.

He ordered a double whisky-and-soda and turned to me.

'I go on road trips too. But these days I drive a Scorpio. I used to ride an Enfield just like you do now.'

Perhaps is how he deduced my fancy for road trips. I nursed my second drink even as he finished his first.

'Are you from Bangalore?' I asked.

He shook his head. 'From Bombay, but I have been living here for almost five years' he said.

'Yet you came here alone?' I asked without thinking. Next moment, I silently cursed myself for not handling it sensitively.

He smiled. 'I do have friends. But today I chose to come here alone.' And added 'I am somewhat of an introvert. I can make friends with guys easily, the girls make me nervous.'

I grinned. After public speaking, a guy's next worst nightmare is a girl rejecting him. Even if it is for something as simple or inconsequential as meeting over a cup of coffee.

I somehow got the feeling he wanted to talk and probably thought of me as an interested listener. I was in no mood to talk, I just wanted sip my drink and soak in the ambience. But when he began talking, I started paying attention.

'I have always been an introvert when it came to girls. I did my schooling in a boys' school and graduated from a boys' college. I have no sisters and have very few female cousins. And they all are much older than me. So I was never in an environment with girls of my age until I started working.'

'There were many girls working in the office that I first joined. I made a lot of friends with the guys there and consciously avoided speaking to girls. There was one girl in my cubicle who thought otherwise.'

'Her name is Anusha. A native of Madras, her parents had settled in Bombay. A very beautiful girl, nice voice and pleasing manners. And her friends were the elite kind; no riff-raff would do for her. But she chose to be friendly with an ordinary guy like me.'

'Every day she would pull her chair next to mine and make small talk. I remember how I used to shy away from her in the beginning. But slowly I began to get comfortable with her. And only her. I would wish her a good morning every day, speak to her without any hesitation and even asked her out on many occasions. She seemed to like it too.'

'By then, I had gotten myself a scooter. A Kinetic Honda and we used to go out on weekends. Shopping, or having coffee or just whiling away time somewhere. I had begun to realise I had fallen in love with her. But I did not have the courage to say it. What if I spoilt a good friendship instead?'

'One evening I was returning home when I found her weeping. I pulled over and told her I was going to drop her home. She accepted quietly but would not stop crying. Later she told me she felt nice when I offered to drop her home.'

'Days went by and I still had not mustered enough courage. One day she told me she was going to get married. The guy was a software engineer, working for a European telecommunications company. I did not know what hit me, but I think I managed to keep a straight face.'

'From that day on, I withdrew slowly from her. She also began to take long leaves of absence. On her last working day, she gave me her wedding invitation and told me she expected to see me there.'

'The ceremony was on a Thursday. I did not go to work the two days before that. I could not sleep the night before. Without telling anybody, I packed a set of clothes, started my scooter and took off towards Pune. I stayed at a friends's place and returned two days later.

'It was my first road trip... from Bombay to Pune. And things just picked up from there. I bought an Enfield soon after that and began travelling to places I had never been to before. Goa, Mt. Abu, Ajmer, the Punjab, the hills in Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and Bengal...'

Having paid our bills, we walked out of the pub to the parking lot.

'That was over five years ago. She is in Europe now, a mother to two cute kids. I do not keep in touch, but I hear about her from people we both know... It is her wedding anniversary today.'

'Every time I go on a ride, I first think of her before I start. Even now.'

'I am returning to Bombay tomorrow. I will not be coming to Bangalore again. Give me a call if you happen to be in those parts.' Saying this he gave me his card and phone number.

'Take care and have a safe journey'. I bid him goodbye and walked towards my bike.

As I started my bike, the memories of why I went on my first road trip came back to me.

It is her wedding anniversary too.