Bobble Head

By Ramit Gulati

What I am about to tell you is not a story, but mere random wanderings of my soul through time and space. A story has to have a beginning, middle and an end, and a unity of plot linking the three, but life unfortunately doesn’t believe in form like that. Life is chance and chaos.

This is how I struggled through this chaos. .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ramit Gulati
• Release date: Mar 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370746279

Book preview

Bobble Head

By Ramit Gulati

COPYRIGHT © 2017 Ramit Gulati.

All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

1

2

3

About the Author

To Buffy, Willow and Tara.

1

My name is Kabir Sahni. I am 18 years old. And I feel no shame in admitting that I am somewhat lost in life as of now. What I am about to tell you is not a story, but mere random wanderings of my soul through time and space. A story has to have a beginning, middle and an end, and a unity of plot linking the three, and life unfortunately doesn’t believe in form like that. Life is chance and chaos.

But before I travel back into the past, it is important that we take stock of the present. What is the present then, present is a cold rainy night with me sitting under a bus-stop shed with some photographs in my hand. Photographs are funny by the way, challenging the ever fluid reality by holding on to the immutability of a moment is a sin which is both beautiful and brave.

Take a look at this one for example, John and I, sitting on a bench in Kashmir’s Shalimar Bagh, gleeful smiles on our faces. Who is John? John used to be my best friend through all of my school years, but then life happened and we grew apart. But in the photograph, we are still best mates, thick as thieves, untouched by the grimy hand of time.

It is a funny phrase by the way, life happened. Two words that encompass years of folly and degradation. Why did you lose the vigor of your younger days and become a passive pilgrim walking quietly towards death? Life happened! Why did you renounce the innate joy of your heart, and let it be replaced with bitterness and apathy instead? Life happened. Why did you...No No, I should stop, I am ranting, and ranting is never cool.

Since we’re talking about John, let me begin then by directing your attention back to a humid April evening some three years ago, when our boy John had love’s fingers touch the strings of his soul for the first time. Damn it, I can be really mushy in my expressions sometimes!

We had finished with our tenth board exams recently, and that evening, I was in the courtyard of my house, repeatedly throwing a tennis ball at the store-room wall and then catching it as it rebounded back, imagining myself a regular ole Jonty Rhodes, when in burst through the front door, a red and feverish looking John. He was a tall lanky boy back then, with a sweet face and ‘look I am so innocent’ side parted hair, so seeing him all sweaty and worked up like that was like seeing a gazelle doing a back-flip on a gymnastics mat. Silly simile I know, but well, let’s just say that it was certainly a bit strange, seeing John like that.

What’s gotten into you dude? I asked, looking at him all wide eyed.

She just proposed to me man.. John replied, hobbling from one foot to the other.

Calm your panties a little bit dude. Who proposed to whom now? I asked again, suddenly all curious, but at the same time I couldn’t help but tease him a bit. It is said that people get all sincere when they are curious, the strong urge to know something represses all other traits of their personality, but not I, I could be a lame bastard even in such situations.

Ria. Ria proposed to me. I was about to walk out of her room, when she grabbed my hand, said she loved me and then kissed me. He explained and then turned his face to one side, showing me his right cheek. Yups, I could see them clearly, pink lipstick marks on the pale skin.

You might be asking at this point, had this guy lost it or something? Had he walked all the way from this girl Ria’s house to mine without wiping the lipstick off from his cheek, displaying it to the whole wide world in the process? Well it isn’t as crazy as it appears to be, for Ria’s house was only two doors down from my own. Sonuvabitch must have dashed straight to my place after the kiss.

What were you doing in her room? I asked, giving him a bit of a cheeky look.

Oh, come on, stop making that face, he shook his head at me. We were watching Buffy, that’s all.. Ugh. Buffy, that silly show with that vampire slayer. It would be a euphemism if I said that Jon and Ria were fans of the show. Idiots were crazy about it, period. Batshit crazy.

Well one of these days it was bound to happen. Studying together, watching girly shows together, of course she was gonna propose to you, I shrugged and chuckled. What did you say?

What could I say? I mean, it was all so sudden, I just…

Stuttered and stammered?

Well..yeah..something like that..

So you gave her no answer then?

I said..I would think about it..

What did she say?

She looked..umm..disappointed..

You’re an idiot. Ria’s a great girl. I didn’t just say that because she was my neighbor or that we used to play house together when we were kids (embarrassing detail you should dare to share with anyone only at your own peril), she really was one heck of a girl. I mean, she was sweet, intelligent, and an awesome violin player. Yes, she had poor taste in tv shows (I would have proposed to her myself if she was into The Wire instead of Buffy), but heck,