Encounter

Nov 1999

Anand a sentimental and emotional guy joined Lala & Lala Infotech Mumbai. It was his first job. There were some 60 odd people, who joined with him. All from different parts of the country. Anand was slowly getting used to the fast placed life of Mumbai. He was missing his friends and family very badly. Many a days in the evening he used to walk all the way from office to home(some 6 kms).
Since Anand was a trainee, he wasn’t allocated any machine. And there was a machine in the office library, which had internet access. Whenever there was a break during training, he used to rush to the library for checking/sending mails to his near and dear. And most of the time, there will be another trainee Mallika in the library. Mallika and Anand got into an agreement. Those days, internet connections weren’t that fast. So Anand and Mallika used to open 2 browser windows. In one window, Anand will open his mail box, and in another mallika will open hers. They had a good agreement that each other wont peep into others mail box.
This went on for quite some time. And one evening Mallika saw Anand avoding the company bus and walking down the road. She jumps out of the bus and joins him. Since they all were staying in company accommodation, their houses were in the same building (Different apartments). Anand looks at her smiles and says nothing. It was a lonely highway, with thorny bushes at both sides. There was a long black water pipe that was there for the entire stretch. At some places, water was leaking and gushing like a fountain. The slum children used to play around that. They keep walking for some distance. Then Mallika breaks the ice and asks him why he is dull and all. Anand says he is home sick. Mallika tries to console him saying, this is bound to happen to everyone. And what he will do if he goes abroad and all. Then they keep talking on a variety of subjects and reach home. They have dinner together that night!
And from that day onwards they were together most of the times. It didn’t take very long for Anand to propose to Mallika, and she readily accepted. Life was full of roses for Anand and Mallika for the next 2 months.
Mallika had a room mate, Sarika. Sarika was a very cheerful girl. She became the best pal for Anand. And it was to her, Anand first confessed about his feelings for Mallika.

Jan 2000

The training came to an end, and each person was posted to different locations. Mallika's location was Chennai, whereas Sarika and Anand got Mumbai. For the next days, Mallika and Anand were feeling very bad. It took sometime for Anand to regain his senses. And he tried to console Mallika by saying that, he will visit chennai once in 3 months. And this is only a temporary separation.

The first 2 weeks was like hell for Anand. Every direction he turned, he was reminded of Mallika. He called her almost daily. Slowly Mallika and Anand accepted reality and started focussing on their careers. They got e-mail access and that was a welcome relief for them. And one fine day, they both decided to break the news at home. They did and as expected met with negative response from both the houses.

Apr 2000

Days went by, months went by. Mallika was able to see some light at end of the tunnel. Her dad and mom finally agreed. But in Anand's house, there wasnt much change. In fact it became worse. Anand's dad had an heart attack, and this was attributed to the bad luck of Mallika. And to the shock of Anand, his mom fell in his legs and asked him to forget Mallika, for the sake of his dad. Anand was shattered. He hugged his mom, cried and promised that he will forget Mallika.

When Anand broke this news to Mallika, she didnt believe him first. Then she was very upset and bitter at him. She asked him very practical and logical questions like 'If you were not so sure if your parents will agree, then why did you propose to me?', 'If I say I will commit suicide, if you don’t marry me, what will you do' etc. Anand had no answer to any of her questions. Here was one guy stuck in between his parents and the girl whom he loved. He stopped talking to Mallika. Mallika was hysterical. She used to send him hate mails, call him around 10 times a day. But Anand seldom responded or did anything.

July 2000

After a while, Mallika slowly started recovering. All this while Sarika was very upset with Anand. She was under the impression, that Anand had ditched Mallika just like that. And she was so upset, she stopped talking to Anand. This was a double blow for Anand. He had enough. One fine day, he called Sarika and poured his heart out. And at the end he cried over the telephone.

August 2000

Sarika's attitude towards Anand immediately changed. She was very loving caring and affectionate. And she tried to be with him, at the given opportunity. They both became pretty close and slowly Anand was getting back to his normal self.
Sarika's parents were looking for an alliance. Anand was more thrilled than Sarika. He used to check the photographs her parents sent and tease Sarika.

One fine day Sarika met Rahul and agreed for marriage. The marriage took place in her native Jaipur, Rajasthan. Anand went some 3 to 4 days before the marriage. He voluntarily took some tasks and helped Sarika's dad in arranging for the wedding. And during the reception, Anand gifted them a package tour to goa.

September 2000

Anand's project was nearing completion. One day, his manager called him and said that he has been short listed for a trip abroad. He had to go to Germany for a 2 year assignment. That’s what the doctor had ordered for him. Back from a love break, it was like a new beginning for Anand. He grabbed the opportunity and went abroad

December 2004

Anand came back to India. He had been to india, for 2 to 3 times. But he used to go straight to his home town and get back. He was back in Mumbai after 4 years. Anand felt very nostalgic entering the mumbai office. He still hadnt completely got over Mallika. The pain had gone, but the scars were still there. He was doing his level best to evade the topic of marriage at his home.

The first thing Anand did was to look out for Sarika. They were in touch through mails initially and as days went by the frequency reduced. Anand didnt mind that. He accepted the fact that Sarika had better priorities in life, and he didnt want to disturb her. But once in Mumbai, he was very eager to meet her.

He couldnt believe his eyes, when he met Sarika. She was looking very tired. Dark circles around her eyes. The moment he saw her, he knew something was wrong. That evening, he asked her if they can go somewhere. Sarika hesitated for sometime and then agreed.

It seemed that Sarika's marriage wasnt a success. Rahul was not that much interested in her. He was career oriented, and all he wanted was money. Sarika said that many a days, he never used to come home. Stay in office and get the overtime money. Many trips abroad, leaving her alone. He didnt want to take her, because it will be costly. Sarika was very upset. She had no one to turn to. Even her in-laws were money minded. Later Sarika realized, Rahul had married her just for the sake of status symbol. Sarikas dad was a famous businessman in Rajasthan. He was a granite dealer. And Rahuls family gained a lot because of this marriage, through Sarika's dads contacts. It was more of a business deal rather than a marriage.

Anand felt really sorry for her, and didnt know what to say. He just put his hands over her shoulder and tried to console her. Sarika started crying. She cried real bad. It looked like a dam had burst. Anand was very patient and quiet. When he was in depression, it was Sarika who brought him to normalcy. Now she is suffering. And as a good friend, it was his duty to cheer up.

From them on Anand, tried to be with her during lunch and tea breaks. Slowly a smile returned to Sarika's face.

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February 14 2005

Valentines day. Sarika wanted to be with Anand that day. Rahul as usual was busy. They went to a restaurant called Namaskar in Thane. Its a beautiful restaurant facing the lake Talao Pali. Sarika very casually broke the news. She wanted to divorce Rahul. Anand was shocked. Before he could respond to it, Sarika looked at him in his eye and asked if he can marry her.
Anand was speechless. He had not expected this. He told her, he needs sometime.

Once the dinner was over, he was getting back home. The evening was too much for him. He hadnt recovered from the shock. He was not aware of what’s going on around him. He walked for a very long distance away from home. All of a sudden he heard lots of noise and people running around him. He turned and saw a guy running and 3 policemen chasing him. Anand wanted to move to the side but it was too late. The policeman fired a shot at the guy running, but the bullet landed straight in Anands heart.

Next day, there was an article in times of india. 'Software Engineer killed in Encounter'.

P.S. Ok. This is my version of the story. Now will from the **** thing, I will post different endings. Like if K Balachandar handled the climax, Ramanarayanan handled the climax, SP Muthuraman handled the climax etc etc :-D