"On the right hand side, just after the washroom, there's the basin" -- Sanchari replied to Sinchan's question standing face to face on the stairs. That was the first interaction between them. The day was the first day after durga puja. And as per bengali rituals we call this as "Subho Bijoya".
"Lets wrap up quickly, lots of stuffs you guys poured in into your stomach, now start the class" -- PKD, Sinchan's physics coaching teacher roared in a tone of making fun. Class started and ended in its normal course but Sinchan's mind was somewhere else. He was thinking who is this beautiful new lady joined in our coaching. By nature Sinchan was a typical shy guy from a middle class family. He was in an utter hesitation to ask her directly about her. They all went their home for that day and the image disappeared from Sinchan's mind.
Few days later he came to know that she came to Kolkata with her family due to her father`s transferable job and to pursue her higher studies from this state. A few days later they again met in Sinchan`s biology coaching class. Again there she was a new entry and again Sinchan was not dared to talk to her. But felt butterfly in the stomach. But gradually they both started feeling a strange connection between them. This was getting stronger day by day. She got a nick name `Apple` because of her reddish white complexion and innocent round shaped face. Sinchan`s friends started teasing him by calling that name and Sinchan was enjoying this but didn`t tell anyone. In both of the coaching classes they used to sit in a separate row allotted for girls and boys and in their physics coaching it was like they are sitting in opposite side of the India Pakistan border and in between the huge wooden table is the no man`s land. At the end of the table their physics teacher sitting like the US president. So no way of getting known to each other. Also the after and before coaching class time was for her typical mother, who used to come daily to drop and pick her up back home. But they both started realizing a strange feeling for each other. And that could be identified by their eye contact and smiles.
This unspoken feeling of affection and connection was getting deeper between them day by day. This continued few months and all of a sudden she disappears. Couple of days later it was found that they shifted to some other location but staying in this city Kolkata. That was not the age of mobile, SMS or Facebook. So Sinchan was unable to track her and suddenly darkness came into his soul. Within ½ months things became normal and Sinchan devoted his full soul into his studies. But somewhere in his subconscious mind she captured a small place. Sinchan was a bright student and after 1.5 years he came out with flying colors in his +2 board exams.
Life was planning something more interesting and exiting incidents for him. Sinchan was thinking of doing Engineering and for this he started preparing hard and planning to appear for the classroom exam test from a reputed institution. At the same time he was thinking to enroll himself to some college in some of the graduation program, just for a backup plan. Here comes the interesting part of his life. He met that girl Sanchari again in the college admission process, with her mother and a cousin brother. He became dumb in front of her and looked at her just like an innocent child. She was also able to feel the unspoken forgotten affectionate feeling within her. For a moment they became stiff with their thoughts and recovered themselves and crossed each other`s path. Same month they again met in the classroom exam session. And this repeated few times. But due to non matching exam timing and may be different subject they were not able to interact within themselves in spite of sitting in the same big class room and giving the exam together. Gradually she disappeared again from Sinchan`s life. But this time life gave him a signal that `she will meet you again in your life Sinchan, whatever may be the situation and circumstances`.
Time passes like a flowing river. Yes , Ten long years have passed. Things have changed in Sinchan`s life. He lost his father just before entering engineering studies. Sinchan have seen the color of true love. He also had the experience of letting go his loved one. Also seen people misjudging him, make him hurt, he started taking all these things as a learning process of his life. He took the responsibility of his family and to him his priority in life is something different from his other friends and colleagues. Now ten years later he is a senior software engineer in a reputed MNC and started planning to switch his job.
Here comes the most exiting phase of his life. Now life is cool and a bit steady for Sinchan. One day he got a call from one of the largest software MNC in the world and make up his mind to appear for the interview. Date and venue finalized, that was a Saturday morning, 9 O'clock sharp. Sinchan was there with some other guys sitting on the reception couch, waiting for the HR personnel to escort them to the proper location for the proper panel. The lift came down; a lady came out of the lift with a pleated sari and specs on her eyes grabbing a file stuffed with resumes. `Oh my god` - Sinchan uttered in a very low voice. Senior recruiting officer Miss Sanchari Mukherjee is approaching to him. Sinchan can't figured out what he was supposed to do then. He became spellbound to see Sanchari after so long just within few feet away of him. But being a professional he recovered himself and stand up. `Mr. Sinchan Banerjee please come with me, I`ll be your Recruiting officer for this interview and will process your after interview formalities, your interview panel is waiting for you.` – Sanchari said to Sinchan in a sheer professionalism. No emotional expression in her face; nothing showed in her voice also. Sinchan thought she didn`t recognize him. Might be she don`t remember him at all now. He started walking with Sanchari towards the interview room. Just before entering the room suddenly a low voice came out from his right side with a pat on his shoulder `Best of luck idiot, go get the job, I`ll be waiting for you`- he turned right and saw her lady luck is smiling at him. That same old special smile, that same feeling that same affection. Something happened to Sinchan, as if a special power was given to him at that very moment. He decided at any cost I have to get this job here. After a 2 hour long interview discussion he got selected with a fair enough pay package. Completed all the processing formalities with some junior HR guy. At that time she was busy with some other candidates in some other floor of that building. Now Sinchan is waiting to join the company and waiting for that lady luck to come into his life again.
Life is not about predicting and planning everything beforehand. Take it easy and sail with its flow. You never know what is waiting for you just after the next corner. That`s why it`s truly said
"life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
