It was my last day in Delhi and I had it to myself since my buddy Prady was busy at work and Bharani wasn’t all that well.
I went out for lunch with this amazing friend, someone I’ve just met twice before. Once on Valentine’s day along with my colleague (this girl’s my colleagues best friend). I was in love with someone else back then. And then I met her again during my colleague’s wedding. I’d been hoping to see more of her. She promised to be my date whenever I visit Delhi but that hadn’t happened for a long while cuz I never had a chance to be in Delhi ever.
She was supposed to come down for New Years eve in Madras and I was supposed to take her out then. But that didn’t happen either cuz she was stuck at work.
So finally, I got to meet her after I postponed my ticket by a day (not specifically for this, if I may add). We met at Pizza Hut near her office and spoke about life in general, spoke a lil about my Korea trip, and just general conversation! And then I walked her to her office and took a rick to PVR where Bharani was supposed to join me at four. Since he called in sick, with nothing else to do I decided to watch ‘Kya Kool Hai Hum’.
I felt sorry for myself. I have never ever watched an Ektaa Kapoor serial and now here I am watching her movie?? I must be some loser to watch it alone, I thought. So that’s how bored I was when I paid a 150 bucks to watch that movie!
But guess what?? I was nearly rolling on the floor laughing. It was hilarious. It was corny. It was cheesy. It had plenty of juvenile sexual humour but I loved every bit of it! It has to be among the funniest films I’ve seen!
So after the movie, I went back to the paanwaala where I had deposited my bag, rushed to Barista since Bharani promised to meet me there by 7.30. I charged my phone and waited.
I read newspapers and found out that Qutub Minar is open for “night viewing.”
Bharani came at about nine!
So we set out to catch Qutub Minar on a rick. They frisked us before letting us in and I tried taking pictures of the Minar using my digital camera but somehow the flash would drown the image. I tried putting it on night mode but that turned out to be too sensitive to light.
At ten, they threw us out and closed the gates and turned off the lights and suddenly a tourist spot began to look like a place just right for Kaal2.
We took another rick and got back to PVR where Prady would pick us up from. Prady took us for dinner at this awesome place called Indo Spice.
We then helped Bharani get a rick and were all set to go home when Prady wanted to catch coffee. So we sat at Coffee Day, PVR for a bit. Then we came out and sipped the rest of the coffee sitting on a bench outdoor, checking out Delhi babes.
Prady had to fill fuel in his car and so we went looking for a petrol bunk. He put the window down. The breeze and the radio had an effect on Prady. He decided to take a lil detour on the way back home by a kilometre after filling fuel.
This was when I remembered I had to wish Murugan on his birthday and had forgotten to do that. It was 11.20. Prady was kind enough to go looking for a phone booth and we were near AIIMS when we asked people for directions. There was one near the emergency, casualty ward of the Safdarjung hospital, we heard.
So we got off the car there, and I picked up the phone when we saw people around wearing masks. And then it dawned on us. There was a meningitis outbreak in Delhi and people were dying everyday. Murugan didn’t pick up and I left a message on his answering machine. If you are reading this Murugan: Happy Fuckin Budday! And yeah, may God bless you! 😀
Rushed out the moment I finished the message and we got into the car soon. Soon Prady decided to show me around Delhi. He was wide awake now after a tiring day.
He drove around Chanakyapuri, showed me the best roads I’ve seen in India and I was thinking: All this eight hours before my flight… and that’s when something hit me…
I felt my pocket and I knew instantly… that I was sooo screwed!
My passport pouch was gone!
It had my passport and tickets for the next morning’s flight. It was about 2.20 a.m. And the travel agent’s office probably wont be open before 9.30 or 10. My flight was at 10.25 out of Delhi. I had to register a police case. Too many formalities.
But where did I lose it?
Flashcuts: While depositing bag to paanwala outside PVR before movie, I remember feeling my passport pouch in the side pocket of my trouser/ Inside the movie hall, no memories/ Waiting at barista, no memories of the passport pouch/ Rick to Qutub Minar, no memories/ Qutub Minar… all I remembered was lying on the ground to get a good pic of the Minar… Gawd, it could’ve fallen off then!/ Or in the Rick back to PVR//Or while waiting at PVR for Prady/ Or at the Indo Spice Restaurant/ Or at the loo in the restaurant/ Or at Coffee Day, PVR/ Or at the bench outside Barista where we were checking out the babes…
I gave up hope. I had to accept reality. There was no point putting my already tired friend through the hassles. And then I thought: Bharani… the playful ass that he is, might have taken it just to freak me out and forgotten all about it.
So I call him. He doesnt pick up. Call him 20 times before he finally picks up. He doesnt have it!
“Don’t forget to file a police case. Very important,” he says.
Prady hasn’t given up. He drives us to PVR. And miraculously, they have a 11.30 p.m. show that just got over. That was a good sign. So we plead our way and rush in. Find out way to the Audi 4 where I watched the movie. It’s not there under the seat. “But they clean it after every show,” observed Prady.
So we told them we lost important documents and they took us to the Lost and Found section. They had a register with details of things people left behind.
“20 rupees (10×2 notes) found below seat number H8” was the last entry in the register. I was impressed. “Which show was it,” asks Vipin, the guy in charge of Lost and Found at Audi 4. “The 4 O clock show. Kya Kool Hai Hum.”
“You can check in the manager’s room.”
So we meet Jatin, the manager and tell him about the passport pouch.
He calmly opens his drawer, fishes out my passport pouch like a rabbit out of the hat!
It’s a miracle!
Prady and me decide to celebrate, try getting a drink at a coupla five star hotels. Finally, get home at about four, TO A POWERCUT!!
Under normal circumstances, one would’ve bitched about life! But that night, we continued the celebrations as I pulled out one of the souvenir bottles of Absolut for him!
Cheers Prady! Cheers PVR! Cheers Life!
MADRAS INK. 