Mudhan Mudhalagaa... PART IV

When I told my friends that I loved her, they were very happy.

Deva : All the best da. You are a perfect couple da.

Raj : You 2 are made for each other. We always want to tell you this.

Ravi : Dai, Tell her about your love soon. Don’t hesitate. All the best, da.

I was very happy and the week passed just like seconds. I felt Pooja very close to me. All the colleagues in the ODC, who came to know that she knew Tamil, were surprised. Deva , Ravi & Raj, gave a smile whenever they saw me and Pooja together. I sometimes noticed that Divya also gave a mysterious smile. But I ignored that.

The next weekend I went home. I made my mind to tell about my love to my parents. They are my first friends. My brother and sister-in-law Rekha should also know about this. When we all were together on Sunday, I decided to tell them all.

Rekha : Gautham , nee ippo ellam nee phone la romba neram irukkiye. Yaaru andha ponnu.

Even though I was about to tell them, I struggled to swallow the snack I was eating. All eyes were on me.

Mum : Ponnu paathuttiya. Enakku oru velai micham. Yaaru da andha ponnu.

Rajesh : Ivana , Love panradha , romba kashtam.

Dad : (On seeing my reaction , Dad smiled). Ponnu yaaru da. Avanga appa amma kitta pesiduvom. Vera caste a, vera religion-a , vera language-a , illa US ponappo anga paatha ponna.

Mum : (Shocked)Ennadhu foreign ponna . Adhu ellam venam. Namakku othu varadhu.

Rekha and my brother just grinned. Seeing the discussions, I gathered my strength to tell them.

Me : Ponnu peru Pooja. Ennoda team mate. Ponnu native Hyderabad. Aana naan innum ponnu kitta sollala.

Rajesh : Dei nillu. Idhu kanava? Rekha edhavadhu pannu. (My sister-in-law gave a swat on his arm playfully). Illa idhu nijam thaan. Nee eppadi da.

Dad : Telugu ponna. (Turning towards my mother) Nee ennama solre.

Mum : Foreigner-a illadha varaikkum parava illa. Aaana , nee um unga appavum mattum thaan ponnu kitta pesa mudiyum. Rajesh um rekha vum english la adjust panniduvaanga. Enakku ponnu english,telugu la pesaradhu purinjalum thirumba pesaradhu thaan kashtam.

All laughed. I was relieved. I know that my parents will agree, because they always let me and my brother do whatever we like, unless they reasoned it was not correct.

Me : Avalukku tamil nallave theriyum ma.

All of them together: Oh...

Rajesh : Innoru question. Nee andha ponnu kitta sollala ok. Aana andha ponnu kitta atleast pesi irukkiya. Illa na romba kashtam thambi. My sister-in-law gave another slap in my brother’s arm.

Rekha : Ippo konja naal-a , avan mobile inga vandha romba busy-a irundadhe, neenga gavanikkala. (Turning towards me) Nee andha ponnu kitta solriya , illa naanum, atthai um poi pesatuma.

Me : ( I prayed them) Ayyo. Venave venam thaai kulangale. Naane pesikkiren. At that moment my mobile in the table before us ringed and it was Pooja on the line. Ignoring the comments from Rajesh and Rekha, I picked up the phone.

Pooja : Hi . Enna panreenga.

Me : Naan veetula thaan irukken. Free thaan, sollu.

Pooja : Guess where am I. Me : No idea.

Pooja : Surprise. Naan-um ippo Coimbatore la thaan irukken.

Me : (Was astonished). Eppo. Eppadi. Nee sollave illa. Coimbatore varren nu.

Pooja : Appa voda friend oruthar Customs la irukkar. Inga transfer aagi irukku. Avangalukkum tamil theriyum, aana konjam kashta paduvaanga. I came here to help them get settled. Thambi-um vandhan. Everything finished. Naan varum podhu, uncle kooda vandhen. Return kku train ticket kedaikkala. Ungalukku yedhavadhu travels theriyuma.

Me : Don’t worry. Tickets vangidalaam. Ippo nee free-a.

Pooja : Free thaan, Evening varaikkum bore.

Me : Nee , enga veetukku vaayen , rendu perum saernthu evening travels la kelambalam.

Pooja : Wait, Let me ask uncle and will tell you. I will call you back in five minutes.

Rekha : Madam enna sonnaanga.

Me : Appa, naan innaikku night train la pola. Enakku travels bus la rendu ticket venum pa.

My dad had contacts with many travels. So I asked him.

Rajesh : Train la polaya. Rendu ticket-a ??? Appo Madam coimbatore la irukkangala.

My mum was excited.

Mum : Gautham ponnu inga irukkala. Veetukku koottitu varriya.

Me : Illa ma . Ava free-a illa.

My mother was disappointed. But I thought I would give her a surprise. Dad made a phone call to a travels run by his friend and got two tickets. I asked my brother to cancel my train ticket. Pooja called me and said that she was ready. I didn’t tell Mum and Dad that Pooja was coming home. I told Rajesh and Rekha. They were excited and informed Mum and Dad that we were going to get the bus ticket and cancel the train ticket.

We three went in our car and on the way we got the bus tickets. Pooja was waiting for us and I got a pleasant surprise, when I met her. She was very beautiful in a Half-saree. She introduced her family friend and I introduced my family. Rekha was very happy, when I introduced her, Rajesh whispered me, ‘Very good selection’. On our way home, Rekha asked what the special occasion was, as she was in a half-saree. She said that she went to a function with her uncle. When we reached home, my parents were surprised after seeing her. My mum was pleased and my dad gave me a meaningful look. When Pooja was busy talking with Rekha, My mum and dad came to me. Mum my hugged me and said that Pooja was very beautiful and she liked her very much. My dad said that he was happy for me and Pooja. That was one of the happiest days in my life. Everybody in my family liked Pooja and she also felt happy. That day I felt, I was the luckiest man in the world. My mother gave a peck on her forehead when we left. All of my family came to drop us for the bus. She was silent for half an hour.

Pooja : Gautham, today was the best day of my life. I like your family very much.

Gautham : They too like you Pooja and thanks for coming.

There were drops of tears in her eyes. She wiped it as quick as possible. She was too quiet and then fell asleep on my shoulders.

I was so happy to see her asleep on my shoulders. I informed my friends about the weekend after I returned. They were very happy for me. That week, my PM called me and congratulated me on the success of my module. He said that I have to goto Frankfurt for a period of 1 month for UAT support. I had no other options, because it was a new project and PM insisted me to go. Pooja was also disappointed that I have to go. She used to call me and sometimes she was silent. I tried many times to tell her my love, but I couldn’t. She came for my send-off to Frankfurt with my friends. My friends insisted to tell her atleast at the airport, but I didn’t.

The days in onsite were like ages. The time I spent with talking with her was the best moments. Then she went on for a 15 days vacation to Hyderabad. I couldn’t contact her. When I returned back, my friends received me and every time I asked about her, they changed the topic. I felt something was wrong. But my friends didn’t talk with me. I went to home for 3 day vacation and came back to office. When I came to my cubicle, I found Pooja’s cubicle was vacant and her system was also not there.

She didn’t give any numbers to contact. But I had her residential address. My college mate Sandeep was from Andhra and he was working in a company in Hyderabad. So I planned to go and stay in his room and go to her home with his help. When I said this plan to my friends, they said not go. I got angry and asked them what they were hiding from me.

Raj : When she went on vacation, she got engaged. She returned back to office after a week. She got transferred to Hyderabad. For some reason, she persuaded our PM not to inform you.

Ravi : She didn’t even stop to tell to us. Her marriage is in the next 20 days.

I was totally devastated. I always thought that she had feelings for me. But now I was totally wrong. First I thought of calling her the last time, but without her consent their parents would not have arranged the marriage. Her brothers was also loved her very much and they would not allow the marriage, if she had not approved it. So I dropped the plan. The days that came after that were like hell and I was not able to concentrate on my work. My family who were unaware of this always asked whether I told her my love or not. I didn’t have the courage to tell this to my parents. So I kept quiet and said that still I didn’t.

On one Friday Divya called me to a shop in our area. She had a card in her hand and I knew what it was. She gave me the invitation. I thanked her and tried to put up a smile.

Divya : Gautham, Pooja asked me not to say anything, but after seeing your state for a week , I am not able to hide anything.

Gautham : (Confused) What is that Divya.

Divya : Pooja loved you Gautham.

Gautham : What?? But why this Divya??

Divya : Gautham, within a week or two in the project she started to like you. She jumped with joy when she found that you had no girl friends. As you talked very little with girls, she was afraid that you might not respond her. She asked your friends whether you had any love failures in the college, because she doesn’t want her to be rejected by you. She became happier when she found out that you were just not interested in girls. Even though she learnt a little Tamil during her school days here, she started learning it fast and with more interest after she started liking you.

I remembered, that when I asked ‘when she started learning Tamil, she started something with ‘Proj’ and then changed it.

Divya : When her time with you on the phone increased , she celebrated. She gave sweets to most of friends in the hostel, the first day she sat on your bike. She didn’t sleep the night you picked her up, when she didn’t get a bus or auto to commute. She sometimes gathered her courage to tell you her love. But she didn’t. When she came to Coimbatore, she longed to come to your home. When you asked her to come to your home, she called me and she was jumping with joy. She didn’t have any function that day. She prayed, so that your family will like her. So she thought that half-saree would give a good impression after hearing about your family from you. When she returned from your home, she was very happy and practically prayed every god that you would marry her one day. When she went on vacation, her father informed that they had found her a groom for her, she told her parents that she loved you. But her father threatened that he would commit suicide and her mother begged her to accept this. She had no other way. She never want to face you, so she persuaded our PM by telling about her love for you and her sudden marriage. She persuaded our PM not to tell you. She made me promise to tell nothing about this. But I couldn’t. I am sorry.

By the time she finished, I was in tears. I thanked her and went back to my room. I told my friends about this and they tried to console me. As the project finished there was no work until the next project, so I went to my home applying leave for a week. I have never cried in my life. But after I went home, I found my mother and cried in her lap. I told my family the whole story. My father asked me her number or address, so that he can persuade their parents. But I refused. I spent 4 days in my home and couldn’t bear the distress in my family. So I returned to office. PM called me and he said that there was an onsite project and asked me to go, as the tech lead from onsite have returned offshore and is moving to another project. I accepted it. But I thought going there alone will give me more pain. Then 5 more people planned to return offshore. My friends along with 2 others were chosen.



A short span of time had turned my life upside down. Now I don’t know how am I going to face the place which brought me both happiness and ultimate distress in my life.

(to be continued...)

All the characters, incidents and situations are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.