Haan chal tata...

Rajeev called me yesterday from Jamshedpur, his home, where he had gone to celebrate holi.
“Achcha sun… hum vapas nahin aa rahen hai... Tumhari mumbai nahin pasand ayi humein… ghar pe aaram se rahenge…”
For a good amount of time, I couldn’t believe him. I mean Rajeev being Rajeev; you can’t afford to believe everything he says the first time. He just loves to kid around. Then, when he finally managed to convince me, I was actually speechless. And me being speechless is a big thing, for I always have something to say, whatever the situation. What hit me the most, was not that I’d not be seeing Rajeev for a long long time, maybe never, but that this is life.
Uncertain.
Sudden.
Unpredictable.
You are going about your normal routine, believing that everything is going to happen the way it’s supposed to, and suddenly in one instant everything changes. One phone call, one e-mail, one sms, one anything is enough to change everything. And you can’t do anything about it. You are just informed of the change, and you have to adjust your entire life according to it. Here I was, expecting him back in a week, thinking that once he’s back we’d meet up and chill for we hadn’t done that in a long time, and suddenly, he calls and says he’s not coming back.
Ever.
Agreed that even though we were in the same city, we hardly met up and all, and were in touch via phone only. But now that I know he’s not here, and not coming back, it feels like somehow something is amiss. What, I don’t know.
I know I’m sounding highly senti and all, and that we will keep in touch via email or phone, but I still can’t adjust to the fact that I’m mostly never ever going to get to see him again.
He taught me lot of things, some deeply philosophical, and most highly stupid. The maximum I picked up from him was his way of speaking. Highly Bihari, is how he refers to it.
“Arre load nahin hai…” in Bombay language means ‘just chill!’
“Sahi hai…” means ‘you are talking utter rubbish!’
“Highly…” is used to stress on whatever follows it. You know, like damn cold or damn funny…he would say highly cold or highly funny.
“Hum bolne se authoritative sound karta hai…” he would say when I would tell him that hum refers to more than one person.
“Angrezi mein na bolo bhai… identity crisis ho jati hai!” when I would start blabbering in English, which he knows very well but for some odd reason does not like to use.
There were many more such fundaas of his that I will never forget.
“Apne aap ka bohat high opinion hai humara…kisi aur ko ho na ho… samjhe?”
And “Bah! Kardi na choti baat…” is my absolute favorite.

Rajeev, you may not miss Mumbai, but Mumbai will definitely miss you. You are one of my favorite brothers, from all those that I have made.

“Haan chal tata…phone-vone kardena galti se kabhi…”

untill next time…