Chapter 09

MURALI

Murali took a hot bath and wiped himself with a purple Turkish towel. The bath comforted and refreshed him after a good night’s sleep. He wrapped the towel around his waist and sauntered towards his bedroom.

The shopkeeper delivered the furniture late the previous night. Murali liked the intricate mahogany decorator with a square mirror encased in it. The new equipment – a cot, a dining table, and two couches with a coffee stand and a study desk enhanced the appearance of his house. He appreciated Prakash for joining him and bargaining with the shopkeeper.

He stood in front of the wardrobe and glanced at his clothes, which were still hung on the steel bar. He was bored wearing formal clothes and he wished to don a green striped T-shirt and corduroy khaki pants.

He pulled the clothes out of the closet and put them on. Standing in front of the dresser, he combed his hair and made sure the attire was in order before he went to the kitchen.

As he put the bread into the toaster, his cell phone rang.

It was Prakash. Why has he called now? Maybe, Prakash would like to know about his life in the new flat. He had been apprehensive of Murali’s lonely stay.

Murali swiped the green button and answered the call. “Hello, Prakash.”

“Good morning.”

“You are calling early,” Murali said.

“I wanted to know how your sleep was.”

“It's a new place," he said. "I need a few more days to get adjusted.”

“I hope you started taking medicines.”

“Yes, from the previous night.” Murali heard the toaster pop the bread up. He walked back and took out the pieces.

 “Good to know,” Prakash said. “I wish you the best on your new project. I know you’ll make this also a success.”

“Thanks.” Murali heaved a sigh of relief. “I’m confident that everything will be all right." He paused and then said, "How is your son?”

“He is doing well,” Prakash said. “His caretaker has taken him to his school.”

"You have made a good decision to hire a housemaid. She has been very helpful in taking care of your son."

"I agree with you," Prakash said. “Alright. We’ll try to meet in the evening.” He ended the call.

A sense of empathy coursed through Murali’s heart. Even though Prakash struggled in his life without his wife, he liked to see Murali happier. He helped Murali to whatever extent was possible. He was the one who encouraged his relationship with Falguni since the beginning. Murali was unfortunate to lose her in an accident.

He went to school with Prakash until he received his engineering degree. They prepared together for their exams and went to the tuition classes on Murali’s bike. Prakash married early, soon after he started his job. Even though he wanted to delay the marriage, his parents suggested he marry soon. His fate disfavored him as he lost his wife when his son was only two years old.

Murali placed the bread sandwich on a plate and sauntered to the dining table. He sat on a chair, realizing he needed to finish eating soon in order to reach the office in time. He finished eating breakfast and then left his home.

At the parking premises of his apartment building, he pressed the car remotely and unlocked its doors. He slid behind the wheel and steered his car out of the parking lot. He waited for the security guard to open the main gate.

His glance shifted to two young ladies, standing beside the road in front of the apartment entrance. They appeared pretty in their business suites. And to his surprise, one of them almost looked like Falguni. He continued to stare at them until the guard whistled and alerted him.

He eased his vehicle past the iron Gate and stopped beside the young ladies, waiting for the traffic on the main road to lessen. He eavesdropped on them talking about their cab arriving late.

Murali remembered seeing one of them, who looked like Falguni, on the balcony the previous evening. She appeared beautiful in her orange mixed red T-shirt and dark blue jeans. Her thin and open lips were smeared with a dark red lip gloss; her not so long straight nose and dark almond-shaped eyes stood out on her round face. She often stole glances at Murali while she spoke with her friend.

The other girl continued staring Murali without appearing shy. Murali’s heart missed a beat when she approached his car and stood near the window.

“Excuse me,” she said, plastering a smile on her face.

She wore a cream V neck shirt and dark blue corduroy pants. She appeared beautiful with her fair face rubbed with talcum powder. Do they work in Hi-Tech city as software engineers?

“Hello,” the woman alerted Murali.

“Oh, yeah. I’m sorry-” Murali mumbled. Guilt coursed through his mind because he had been watching.

“Can you please give us a lift?”

“Well,” Murali drew in a heavy breath. “Where you guys going?”

“Hi-Tech City.” She sounded upset. “Can you drop us, please?” She repeated.

“Sure, why not?”

Murali guessed correct. They worked in Hi-Tech City as software engineers.  He opened the passenger’s side door for her. She looked back at her friend and gestured her to take a seat before she sat in the front.

“I’m Simran.” She looked back at the lady in the rear seat. “She is Pratibha, my flat-mate.”

Murali’s chest lightened. “Simran and Pratibha; very interesting names.” He smiled. “I’m Murali; working for Infosys. Where do you work?” Murali asked.

“Tech-Soft Solutions,” Simran said, staring ahead at the door.

Murali’s gaze shifted to Simran who drummed her fingers on her lap. A gold ring with a shiny, white pearl caught his attention. Is she engaged?

    He controlled his urge to ask her. He soon remembered Pratibha standing on the balcony, talking over the phone. She didn’t seem to be either engaged or married. Murali was astonished because Pratibha’s features almost matched his girlfriend Falguni’s. They both appeared like twins.

“Where you both are from?” Murali couldn’t control his urge to inquire.

He expected Pratibha would answer him. Instead, Simran cleared her throat. “I’m from Mumbai. And Pratibha belongs to Bangalore.”

“How come you’re working at Hyderabad?” Murali asked.

“But we don’t have any assignments to work there,” Simran said. “Hyderabad office has begun a new project and they needed a couple of skilled programmers.”

Murali wished to make Pratibha speak as she remained silent. He cleared his throat. “Pratibha, are your parents staying in Bangalore?”

There was silence for a moment. Murali waited, his pulse quickened to hear from Pratibha.

“Yes. It's my native place.” Pratibha had the voice of an angel. Her voice was more feminine than that of Simran’s. She even looked more beautiful than her. Though Pratibha stood a few inches shorter than Simran, her face was round and fair compared to Simran’s oval face. Murali liked Pratibha’s complexion and her dark almond eyes. Her flat cheeks and prominent chin made her face look even prettier.

“You may find it difficult living away from home.” Murali looked at Pratibha over his shoulder before he quickly stared at the road ahead.

“We don’t have any choice but to accept the transfer order,” Pratibha said. “Hope the project will end in six months as per the schedule and we will return home.”

“How is Infosys doing?” Simran asked.

“Some mass layoffs in the recent past," Pratibha said. "But I too am assigned a new project to lead.”

“Oh, congratulations,” Simran said. “My fiancé also works as a team leader for Cognizant. They are also facing some hardship because of the slowdown in the American economy.”

A wave of disappointment constricted Murali’s chest. He guessed correctly that Simran was engaged. Was Pratibha too engaged? He remained silent instead of enquiring. He guessed she wasn’t. But did she have any boyfriend? It was too early to talk about the matter. He needed to build a good friendship with them before he asked the details.

Murali was attracted to Pratibha because she resembled Falguni and appeared more serious and less flirtatious than Simran.

“Do you have any siblings?” Murali broke the silence.

“I have a brother,” Simran said, her voice loud.

“What about you, Pratibha?” Murali couldn’t keep himself from asking.

“I have a younger sister, studying an engineering course.”

“What do your fathers do?”

Both Pratibha and Simran told him about their parents. They both came from upper-middle-class family background. Pratibha seemed to belong to a more orthodox and cultured family than Simran. Pratibha indeed appeared like a typical south Indian girl.

Murali enquired about their manager and the skills being used for their new project until they arrived at the Hi-Tech City. He parked his car near the curb.

“Thank you so much,” Simran said as she got down.

Murali smiled and turned his gaze to Pratibha. She adjusted her backpack on her shoulder and smiled at him. A dimple appeared on her right cheek that caught Murali’s attention. He waved goodbye to them before he drove towards his office premises.

*****

Murali checked the office emails. Vikram had convened a meeting at eleven and had mentioned the agenda about the upcoming project.

At eleven sharp, Murali went to the conference hall and opened its door. Four of his team members were seated at the table. He smiled and conveyed the morning greetings before he sat beside them. He answered a few questions posed by his team members until Vikram arrived.

Vikram in his semi-dark pants and white striped shirt appeared handsome. He placed his laptop and greeted everyone. He told all his members to work hard to make the project a success as before.

Murali’s chest lightened when Vikram reiterated his faith in him and his team members. Murali too spoke to his group and motivated them to be diligent to impress the management. The meeting lasted for just about an hour before Murali took his members to the cafeteria for a coffee break.

*****

It was semi-dark. Murali eased his car out of the parking lot of his office and headed towards the main street. He was more contented with ending the day in a jovial mood. Always, he found himself happy after working hard on the project. But that day was special for him.

He met two interesting girls in the morning. Even though he wasn’t intended to speak with them, Simran voluntarily asked Murali to drop them to the High-Tech City. He was impressed by their open and friendly nature. Simran appeared gregarious. Maybe, she behaved so because she was engaged.

Murali’s mind was filled with Pratibha. Even though she behaved a bit conservatively, she got acquainted during their brief journey. Murali was attracted to her as she almost looked like Falguni. In his mind, Falguni’s image was replaced by Pratibha’s. Am I getting carried away? He would try to become close to her only if she behaved friendly with him.

*****

After he arrived at his flat, he placed his backpack on the table. An image of Pratibha flashing in his mind, he opened the balcony door to see if she was there. An empty recliner sat there and the window was partially opened. Pratibha has returned from the office. I’ll greet her if she comes out to the balcony.