Can Love Happen Twice? (20 page)

‘I will never forget what he had said in the end.

‘“… I have two pasts. I don’t know which one I should cry more for.”

‘He laughed.

‘I cried and left the place.’

That night the
Raat Baaki, Baat Baaki
show ended just before dawn. It was probably the most successful show that any radio channel in the country had had so far. But that’s not the only reason the programme would be remembered for. It would be remembered for a heart-touching tale of love narrated live to its audience. for the show itself was a tribute to love and would be fondly remembered for being a wake-up call to the modern-day lovers who have made it a fashion statement to love, break up and quickly move on to find what’s next!

For many of us love isn’t a commercial commodity. When you say ‘I love you’ you mean it from the bottom of your soul. When you are promising your love to someone you are promising an entire life to that person. You have got to take all your time and be wise enough before you arrive and commit. You might just be ruining someone’s life by breaking your commitment later.

True love is unconditional. And if it is a ‘Conditions Apply’ scenario, then it isn’t true love. It is as good as a mutual fund. And if that is the case then investment in love is subject to market risks and therefore one must please read the offer document carefully. If Ravin could have known Simar’s views on marriage in the initial days of his interaction his life would have been different now. Things didn’t work between the two of them, because they both loved the same person. He loved her and she loved herself.

As Shambhavi said, it was the best show she’d ever anchored or would ever anchor in the future. For Shambhavi and all the listeners, Ravin’s story ended there.

But something else happened after that show in the early hours of the next day. And it was only for Happy, Manpreet and Amardeep that Ravin’s story didn’t end there.

As the three of them walked out of the radio station, the fog had settled down. But it was still cold. None of them had any sleep in their eyes. They had just relived their beloved friend’s life. As per their plan they were to leave for Shimla in the morning to visit Ravin at the rehabilitation centre he was admitted in. They wanted to travel after breakfast and they still had plenty of time on their hands.

Happy suggested freshening up and paying a visit to the gurdwara for the early morning prayers. Amardeep and Manpreet were glad to listen to Happy. The three of them felt the need to visit the gurdwara themselves. As they walked towards their car, they kept thinking about the entire show and all that had happened in the past few hours. They carried a deep satisfaction of having been able to share Ravin’s story with the world. They felt strong and united just like they had always been.

The car stopped in the parking lot in the basement. As they entered the courtyard of the gurdwara, they felt heavenly. The sun was yet to rise. The chilly early morning air was beginning to become more pleasant by then. They could sense a divine presence there. As they passed by the sarovar—the sacred waterbody in which a few devotees were immersing themselves as part of the ritual holy dip—they felt at peace, as if everything would be well. They were not talking to each other as they walked inside the courtyard. From inside the sanctum sanctorum the chants and prayers of the devotees took away all their inhibitions and comforted them. They realized that in spite of the low temperature, they were not feeling cold. No one seemed to be feeling the cold, rather—neither the devotees taking the holy dip in the early hours of the day, nor the people walking barefoot in the courtyard.

Once inside, the three of them offered their prayers after which they came out and sat beside the holy sarovar. For a while they kept looking at the holy waters in front of them.

Exactly at that very moment Happy’s phone rang. It was placed next to him. Manpreet and Amardeep were shocked to see the name.

It read: ‘Simar calling’.

Happy waited for a while and prepared himself to receive the call.

It was a brief call and all he answered in detail was the address of Ravin’s rehabilitation centre in Shimla. Happy held the phone for a little while and answered a few questions with a curt ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

The moment he kept down the phone he held his hands together and looked up in the sky. Manpreet and Amardeep, eager to know what had happened, looked at him expectantly. Happy was only too happy to reveal all.

‘Last night before we went to the show I had insisted on stopping by at an Internet cafe. And we did stop.’

Manpreet and Amardeep nodded.

‘I had emailed Simar the online link of the radio station wherein she could hear us.’

‘You mean she heard us?’ asked Manpreet.

‘She did,’ Happy said, nodding.

‘I can’t believe this!’ Amardeep said and jumped with joy.

‘It was important to make her put herself in Ravin’s shoes so that she could see the situation differently—so that she could see it through Ravin’s eyes. Apparently, she wasn’t aware of what all had happened to Ravin after they broke up,’ Happy explained to Manpreet and Amardeep.

‘Indeed, it was important to show her Ravin’s part of the story too,’ acknowledged Manpreet.

The last thing Happy said was, ‘She was hardly able to speak. She took Ravin’s address and she kept crying.’

‘Hmm …’ Amardeep acknowledged.

No one said anything after that.

That very moment Simar left for Shimla. She drove back to Ravin …

My sincere thanks to the following people who played an important role in the journey of writing and publishing this book.

Vaishali Mathur, my commissioning editor at Penguin India, for offering me this opportunity. For taking immense interest in this book and being only a call away whenever I needed her. For helping me finalize the title of this book and, most importantly, for accommodating my rigorous schedule at ISB and allowing me reprieve on the submission deadlines. Vaishali, I will always remember our first meeting to discuss this book, when you took me to the CCD in Green Park, New Delhi, because it is blessed with special people who serve there. I was half game to accept your proposal just because of your choice of that place, even though it might have been random.

The very special Khushboo Chauhan, for always being concerned about this book and asking me plenty of questions. For cheering me up while I wrote some of the key chapters and being ever ready when it came to discussing the ideas of online promotion. You have been my backbone to complete this project.

Dhruv Vatsal, my batchmate and friend at ISB, for capturing, with his camera, the entire phase of my writing this book at ISB, and helping me start my online campaign. The tremendous response that your clicks have garnered over Facebook only further underlines the well-known fact that you are a fabulous photographer.

Shruti Sahni, my fabulous and ever-excited reader, for contributing some of the best lines in this book. For starting various fan pages on Facebook and managing them so well. Shruti, as of today, the fan pages you’ve created have been ‘liked’ more than my own! Hats off, girl!

Ambar Sahil Chatterjee, my editor at Penguin India, for cleaning up the mess in my manuscript in the best possible way and, more importantly, for doing it super fast. Ambar, the final manuscript you showed me the other day in the office looked really good.

PENGUIN METRO READS

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First published in Penguin Metro Reads by Penguin Books India 2011

Copyright © Ravinder Singh 2011

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-01-4341-723-1

This digital edition published in 2012.
e-ISBN: 978-81-8475-485-8

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual person, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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