Sweet Ogre

" Dimple is fair , but not beautiful"
"hey whats that on your face..freckles!!!...theek nahi hota kya ye....is it infectious?? "
I spent my entire childhood in answering these questions. Everytime I would run to my mom with a broken heart and ask her if I could do a plastic surgery of my face. To which my mom would say "They are just jealous of you". Jealous???? Poor mom was just too sweet to break my heart. I grew with this complex and hence never talked to any boy. In my office also I was a very quite girl.
Things changed for me when I shifted to a different office on a temporary deputation.
It was Feb .We were five girls on training. I would only talk with them and not much with others.
One day after a very bugging day..while waiting for the lift, we were joined by a good looking , tall guy

Guy : "We haven't met right".
I looked behind to see whether he was asking me or somebody else. When I was quite sure there was nobody behind me, I said " ya"
Boy : I am Vikram ...Vikram Verma.
Me : Dimple
Ground floor ..everybody got down. When he was gone , my friends started talking about him
" ohh !!! Do you know he is a M-I...he doesn't talk much with girls ..I mean atleast I have never seen him talk..haan vaise aaj you are looking pretty in this dress ..may be that's why he asked your name ".
Was I looking pretty ..I forgot all about Vikram ..the focus was my dress..may be I should wear it more often !!!!
Next day while waiting for my friends, he again came to me .

Vikram : Waiting for some body??
Me : ya..my friend's are coming.
Vikram : ok..want to have tea..I mean while waiting
Me : No thanks.. as it is I don't like tea
Vikram : coffee??
Me : no ...
Vikram : ohh milk...hahahah
(What was so funny in that ...'coz I really drink milk..but in front of him )
Me: hahahhaha..very funny ..milk ..no..no ...only juice..
(Come on he was a M-I..I didn't want to show him I was a kid!!!)

Our friendship had started .He was sweet, good looking , cool..there was a time when I was non existent..and now the coolest boy was my friend. I felt honored. He had a way with words, he would crack deadly jokes and had a perfect listener in me.Every day he would meet me in the morning, spend atleast 15 min with me.In less than 10 days from 'Just friends' we had become 'Very Good friends '.

14 Feb: It was Valentines day. He asked me out.He said it would be a friendly date. But I had my plans ,I had already fixed a meeting with one of my friends. He was disappointed ,but I couldn't break an already made promise. He was just too late...(As it is ..I was not ready to face the "AFTER DATE " consequences ..my parents would have killed me..;) )
In the evening a promise was broken. My friend got very busy , his boss made him sit late. I was furious..how could he do that, if there was some change in plan he should have atleast informed. This time Vikram came to my rescue.
Viram :" I haven't eaten any thing..the whole day I was busy in meetings..come with me to the canteen..please"
Me :"no I will be late.."
Vikram:"dont worry I will drop you to your stop...now come"

That day he made me laugh like anything..I forgot everything. In the car he switched on his music system .He seemed to know all the songs by heart.There was this very stupid song in his collection :
" January mei nazrein mili
February mei baatein hui
March mei izhaar hua
Dheere se fir Pyaar hua ..blah blah.."
I guess it was amongst those cheap B grade movies...He was mad.

Suddenly he asked " Dimple do you sing , If yes then sing; If no ..then also sing". After doing a lot of No no I cant sing types..I had to sing.
My favourite song was his favourite too

"Strangers in the night, two lonely people
We were strangers in the night
Up to the moment
When we said our first hello.
Little did we know
Love was just a glance away,
A warm embracing dance away..."

Once I had started..we both sang so many songs..there was just nothing that could stop us.
" Dimple do you know you have a very beautiful smile and I find you quite good looking. "
BLUSH BLUSH from my side.I tried so hard not to smile in front of him , but my teeth liked the publicity and they just wouldn't go inside.
" are you drunk ..haven't you seen my face properly..I have got freckles !!!"
"Yes Freckles on your face but not on your soul ..you are a very decent girl..thats what I like about you "...ohhhh he was so sweet.If he was trying to impress me , he had got an A Grade from me.That day I realized he was a total filmy guy.. and I really enjoyed his company...

But then things changed ..I still remember ..we had decided to have a group lunch (his friends as well as my friends).His friends were quite funny and were cracking one joke after another.Every one was laughing properly except for him .. he was grunting like a pig ( which was very embarrassing and that made me realize , he had never laughed in front of me..may be 'coz we discussed quite boring things ) . After every grunt I would find my friends looking at me ( now don't ask me why !!! ). Forget about that , when lunch was over, he licked his fingers and put his hand in my plate " Dimple I like this vegetable so much "...I was half dead. What was he doing (that also made me realize that I had never had lunch with him ). When it was over and everyone had gone to wash there hands..he started making stupid excuses " ohh!! no need to wash my hands..I have a natural hand washer ..and he winked looking at me "
eeeeeeeeeeeewwwww......that was horrible.. my friends began to gossip
Friend 1 :" Shit did you see how he laughs and the way he eats!!!!"
Friend 2 :" Ya like an Ogre "
ooops !!! ogre..that was bad and now the topic of discussion was ME.
Friend :" dimple ..how can you tolerate him "
Me :"What??? ...we are just friends..nothing between us.."
Friend :"please..as if you dont know !!!.. he likes you ..I will tell you something..if you are not serious about him...stop behaving so friendly with him "
My irritation level was increasing . He was just not my types. What if he really was getting serious . From now on MISSION AVOIDING had to be started ( I am quite good in doing that;) ).
From the next day a :
1)wide smile from him : A grin from my side.
2) When ever he would come to talk to me ..I would act as if all work had been given to me.." I am very busy can we talk later".
Suddenly one day he came to me " aap aaj kal humse baat nahi karte...did I do something wrong or is it that some body told you something about me "
" Even if somebody tells me something .. why will I stop talking to you??...its just that I have a lot of work"
"I am going for snacks ..will you give me company "
" company !!! what company..don't I have any other work ..do you think I am here to give people company "
"Girl whats your problem ..I think you have hang ups about yourself...and attitude problem . You dont want to talk ..fine...don't !!!! "
Mission was successful ..but over acting on my part..
Weeks we didn't talk . My friends were boring. I was missing his stupid jokes. During meetings he would have the best points , best suggestions... I had lost such a smart friend. I was sorry for behaving in that way. But how could I go to him and suddenly say sorry..naah!!! not me ..ego was stopping me. I would keep an eye on all his friends, to see whether he talked to any other girl after me...( I was quite relieved ..he never did )
Day came when I had to got to my old office . Last day in this office... I was in a fix.. whether to say a bye to him or not. I decided not to do so.
While in train I got a call from him
" You left ..It was your last day. We will never meet again ..you met every one..you did not even say bye to me..what do you think of yourself ..Dimple you are just not the person I thought.Now if you want to say anything say it right now..coz after this I am never going to call you "
I wanted to say sorry..but my friends were there..(peer pressure)..I said " nothing"
Phone was cut. I deleted his number. Chapter closed.
Vikram was a sweet person.. he taught me a lot of things about myself...why he was the one who said .." Freckles on your face but not on your soul .."
Quite an "ogrish" statement ...but from a sweet ogre..:)

(P.s : This post contained 10 % truth and 90% a cooked up story based on the writers imagination ;).Now even after this declaration if I find you coming upto me and asking with tears in your eyes.."DImple Where is vikram now..??"...then "Ehm! Ehm!! ..dont worry it's not the end of the world..my pigeon headed friend...you moron never read my blogs again!!!!". But seriously do tell me whether what I did ( in this "imaginary story " was right or not..atleast your view point..wt would you do :))

Frustration Unlimited

Day : Saturday evening
Time : 6:30 Pm

Silence every where..and then there was a sudden havoc in my bank,especially amongst my colleagues..I heard them whisper "arre Taj Iyer is here !!!...u handle him ..u handle him"..pointing towards each other...I was sure this saturday would be a tough one , coz Mr Taj Iyer in bank would not leave without meeting me.

Flashback :

I still remember..my initial days in office ; the same havoc , same whispers , before I could just lean and satisfy my curiosity of seeing him , somebody from the other side said :" Excuse me madam !Do you look after fixed deposits"

Me : ya
Person : ahhh !! dont you know how to calculate simple interest also??
Me : simple interest??
Person : ya you have given me 8 Rs less than what i should have got ..whaaat is the problem ..I dont get it ..why did you give me less money..half money you put in your pocket or what!!
Me : It is the system sir ..system calculates the interest..not me..
Person : My dear girl you have made the system.. .now you have to give me the money..otherwise I will have to talk to your branch manager..she knows me very
well Ms Mamo Rani is a great person ... She will surely help me.

And off he went.From that day till now , I have been the lucky girl to get his special attention and all his "adulations".

Not that I have a problem with all elderly people or should I put it this way that all elderly people don't have a problem with me. I remember this very sweet old man who always used to come to me and then one day he told me how he was looking for a bride for his grandson and that I was perfect for it. I thought he was quite sweet ( obviously it would have been sweeter if his grandson would have told me the same thing ..;) )
But this Taj Iyer seemed to have all the qualities of becoming a modern time Hitler.All his visits to the bank involved a special visit to me and my Branch manager Mammo Rani ( Name changed ..you never know ..may be my boss and the old man have spy's in blog world too!!!).

From that day.. till now.. my story with him has been more like a block buster movie..and has had every thing .. suspense,romance,trauma, tragedy,emotion...you ask for it and you will get it..

Return from flashback

This time as expected he came to me said " Excuse me " . I tried not to see him , to act as if I had become deaf in one day...but then ..
" Ms Dimble.. Dimble ..I am talking to you..I have a very important assignment for you"
When I looked at him and 100 fixed deposit slips in his hand, I was sure trouble was not far away.

Taj Iyer : I want you to make 100 fixed deposits with my grandson Naaj as the nominee

I checked his account and saw already existing nominee Baaj .

Me : Theres an existing nominee in your account...some Mr Baaj..
Taj Iyer : Dont take his name.. Baaj is not a good person ..wo baaj nahi aata..he is a cheat..I
will put Naaj as the nominee uspe mujhe Naaj hai..!!!
Me : oh I see... so you want to remove Baaj from nomination ..
Taj Iyer : what are you saying ..whaat is your problem ..just put Naaj's name ..no need to delete Baaj..dont put your nose in my family matters ..I can solve them myself!!!!

I thought it was better that before proceeding with any further discussion .. I talk to my branch Operation's Manager ..Mr Yoku..
Oblivious to what was going on he was having a long discussion on phone. .He sits just behind my work place. I whispered " Yoku ..Yoku "

Yoku : haalllo haan boliye
Me : yoku its me ..aap phone pe nahi ho
Yoku : haan dimpaal boliye

I hid my face behind the fixed deposit ( fd ) slip and showed him the name written on it ..
"SIR... TAJ IYER AAYA HAI "

Mr Yoku is a very friendly and helping person. He hid his face too with that fd slip and said "Mamo Rani ke paas bhejo...budde ko "

Drat!!! now I was gone.

I have always felt Taj Iyer has a special liking for Mamo Rani. Why else will a old man of his age (100 or may be 110 yrs old ..) come to bank for small small things. I even overheard him telling her how his wife was planning to give him a divorce..hmmmmmmm dont know what's cooking..but as Taj iyer said I shouldn't put my nose into his personal matters....per kya karein control nahi hota..;) .
There was a long discussion between Mamo and Taj followed by false commitments from her to him, and suddenly from no where he again came to me.
" See you said this cannot be done..Mamoji says this will be done..and tomorrow my 100 fds will be made "
Damn it ..who is going to do that..I tried to explain it to him.."Tomorrow!!..there are 100 fds..it will take atleast 3 days".
"You know what I think you are trying to be the BM of this branch...but let me tell you some thing ..U ARE NOT MAMOJI ".
Shit !!! did he really think I was trying to be Mamo Rani......why would I try that..I am not ugly , I am not disfigured, I don't have a bad dressing sense ( Multi color shirt and cheap cargo pants..having 6 pockets in office!!!) . Pissing me off , he went away from the bank. I went to my BM thinking she would help me, but I was wrong .She acted as if she was not responsible for anything..as if Taj was my personal issue. Usually I am a very patient person , hardly get angry..but that day even I came to know my limits ; Taj Iyer had easily played with my emotions. One of my colleagues came to me and asked " you look sad..are you ok ". I tried to answer but don't know what happened , a sudden leakage started from my eyes and before I knew the leakage had started from my nose also..and I was quite relieved that I had a hanky with me ( which i usually forget at home ). It was very embarrassing for me , I tried to control my emotions but the result was bad... I was smiling and crying at the same time. I can never forget that day!!!!!!

The next day he came again and went directly to Mamo Madam , the fd was not made yet (because it really takes 3 days for that to get activated). Then he came to me and for the first time he was smiling ..he said " Dimble you were right , the FD cannot be made in 1 day , today even your boss said the same thing..she doe not know anything...she changes her answer everytime...dont know who made her the BM...This Mammo Rani or Shabbo Rani ..or what ever is her name was saying it will be made after 3 days..she should have told this yesterday only ..I dont have energy to come here every day.From now on I will approach you only , she does not know anything ".
I pinched myself to check whether this was a dream .
owwww!!!!...guess I pinched too hard. It was reality ..yeepeeeee!!!! ..I was so happy and surprised .Come on he wasn't that bad afterall. A grandfather like figure. :)
I saw my BM peeping from her workplace and once Taj was gone , she began interrogating me

BM : what did he say ..was he talking about me
Me : errr ..no just a thing here and there
I didnt have the heart to tell her that her only fan was now no longer her admirer.
I was too happy that atlast the nightmare was over , atlast Mr Taj was my friend .
Wednesday morning ,
" Dimble..Dimble my name is not written on the FD certificate...do you have anything against me????????? "
Return of Mr Taj Iyer....Here I go again...