January is usually associated with winter in the northern hemisphere. But there is no winter in Mumbai, is there? So, this story cannot begin with “On a cold January evening…”. At best, it was a pleasant evening; at worst, a humid one.
Gauri & Paulomi sat in their small apartment and browsed their phones. Aimlessly, I may add. It was still evening but they were already changed into their nightwear. Gauri was the first to budge. “Babe, what are we doing?” She flung her phone to the side.
Paulomi replied without looking up, “What do you mean what are we doing? We are doing what we do every Saturday evening. Waste time, eat dinner and sleep!”
“Exactly my point Pau! We are not wasting time; we are wasting our youth!”
“Ugh! That sounds shady but you got me there. What do you have in mind Gau?”
“Babe, do you realize we are 25-year-old? Do you not think we behave 35? I have been brooding over this for some time; I want to reclaim my youth, and, in the process, my life. It is all about work & my complicated relationship. Where is the fun? What stories will I tell my grandchildren??”
“Aah! So how are 25-year-olds supposed to behave? Okay, do not answer that; I already know! And yes, you are right. I have gotten into this inertia of not doing anything either. Just work & work. I don’t even have a relationship; forget a complicated one. So, anyway, how do we reclaim our youth?”
“Well, I do not have a ready answer for that. But clearly, there can be no reclaiming sitting in our PJs at home. We need to be up and about! Let’s step out and see what the universe has in store for us today.”
“On one condition babe! Let tonight be a night when we do not think too much. We just go with the flow.”
“Sounds like a plan!”
Gauri & Paulomi carefully selected their attires. A quick browse on a dining app threw up the name of a pub in Khar. They reserved a table and headed out.
Take a popular pub in Bandra and nearabout, throw in a Friday or Saturday evening, and you already know how vibrant the place is going to be! Just arriving into that frenzy was enough to clear the cobwebs of their mind.
Gauri chirped to the server, “Hi! Can I have a Daiquiri please?”
Paulomi added, looking up from the menu, “And a Mandarin Mojito for me please!”
As the server left them to themselves, they began to relax. Looking around the pub, they noticed smiling and laughing faces of their own age. It was easy to imagine them to be carefree but from their own lives, Gauri & Paulomi knew that nobody really was carefree.
Gauri sighed, “Sitting outside was a good decision!”
Paulomi grinned, “Yes! These mist fans are awesome!!”
The server placed their drinks in front of them & gave them a thumbs up. They clinked their glasses together and took their first sip. Both made a face instantly.
“Is yours too strong too Pau?”
“You bet babe!”
And they burst out laughing. For they remembered their pact – not to think too much! The universe wanted them to have strong drinks tonight. They did want to get sloshed but not with the concentration of alcohol, but with its quantity.
So, they took it easy. As they delicately slipped their drinks, in walked two men – one in a blue t-shirt & the other in a green one. The two pairs noticed each other instantaneously but the men carried on inside the pub.
Gauri & Paulomi soon moved on to their next drinks – sharing a bottle of Mojito. Their conversation moved to how they were leading lives that was making them unhappy.
Gauri asked, “Why are we stuck in a mentality that does not give us freedom to have some harmless fun?”
Paulomi replied with her own question, “I literally beg the universe every day to help me get rid of this ‘what would others think’ thought. Why does the damn thing hover over each of my choices?”
“I hear you babe. Why are we forbidden to lead our own lives?”
“And you know the irony? Nobody has really stopped us but the kind of environment we are living in makes it impossible for us to let our hair down.”
As Gauri & Paulomi grappled with these difficult questions, their second bottle of Mojito arrived. And with that, also arrived the two men they had noticed earlier and occupied a table for four next to them.
Gauri whispered, “It seems the inside of the pub is too hot.”
Paulomi exclaimed, “Or maybe we are babe!”
A game of stealing glances began. Gauri and Paulomi had already chosen their respective ‘types’.
After a few more tense minutes and sips, the girls exchanged a Look!
Gauri asked, “Babe, are you having the same thought as I am?”
Paulomi replied, “Is this an opportunity to do something that is crazy?”
“An opportunity to do something that is harmless and fun?”
“To do something that is 25?”
“Hell, yeah babe!”
They decided they would walk up to the men and ask them if they can join them for a drink. They got up slowly & tried to muster courage. They pulled themselves together. They almost sat down again.
Gauri beseeched, “If we do not do it now, we will be unable to do it ever!”
So, they walked up to the men.
Paulomi asked the man in the green t-shirt, “Are you guys expecting company?”
He replied, “No.”
Gauri chimed in, “Do you mind if we join you for a drink?”
The man in the blue tee answered this time, “Not at all. Most welcome.”
There! They had done it.
Gauri & Paulomi sat with the men & initiated the chat. The setting was casual. The conversation though free-flowing was strictly formal. Harmless lies about Glenfiddich that would make the girls laugh for days.
Mrigank and Nikunj turned out to be pilots. They were courteous and did not try to hit on the girls. They had a great sense of humor. They were not drinking as they had to fly in the morning; it made the dialog even better.
The quartet chatted about flying, the jobs the girls had, sports etc. There were no personal conversations. There was no attempt to exchange phone numbers. There were hints at keeping in touch later but there was no attempt at doing so.
Gauri shot a glance to Paulomi. “I am craving for a B-52. Should we end our sojourn with shots?”
Paulomi smiled. She knew what her friend really meant. “Oh sure! And then we can head home.”
As the girls downed their shots, Mrigank and Nikunj looked impressed. They complimented the girls, “We would have seen 100 faces today but we will never forget you girls. You had the guts to walk up to strangers.”
Gauri and Paulomi were pleased to hear this. They had remained casual, polite and smart in their demeanor. And that had served them well. Oh, also the fact that not all strangers were out there to exploit you.
Bidding farewell to the men, Gauri and Paulomi were off on their way home.
That night never ended. Instead, it opened a new chapter in their lives. Gauri and Paulomi realized they were only 25. They realized having fun was not really a synonym for living dangerously.
The girls realized there was more to life than nine – nine jobs, boyfriends, and family pressures. They realized not all men were jerks. That they needed to live in the present and not ruin their youth.
The young women realized they had to follow their heart. Realized that, at times, the decision to not think too much helps in creating a memory of a lifetime. Lastly, they rediscovered themselves.
Did you have the courage to do such things when you were 25?
