Dude Its Complicated!

It was a beautiful autumn evening in his adopted city.  Vinay walked through the endless green lanes of the northern sectors, bathed in a golden sunlight. He was heading towards the lake that reminded him so much of the Dal that had marked his family outings in childhood. He appreciated Chandigarh for the thoughtfully planted trees that were currently adorned in yellow and orange and his thoughts went to the Chinar trees of his native land that shed leaves gracefully, covering the streets in a veritable carpet of pastel shades. He was thankful that after fleeing from their ancestral home almost two decades ago, his parents had settled here and not in a bigger metro. Coming from the town of Anantnag, about 50 Kms from the capital city of Srinagar, he had felt more at home here than in the refugee camps of Jammu or the bustling streets of Delhi. Despite being the capital of two states, Chandigarh still retained a rustic charm largely because of the greenery that was d...

It was a cool January evening.. w ell as cool as it could be in Mumbai.  The weather was pleasant, the breeze was nice and the Sun did not really make you reach for your sunglasses. You could walk on the street without the suffocating humidity that is a hallmark of any coastal city and that in itself was a big relief. Aman and Maya were walking down the road leading to Versova beach. They stayed in an apartment close by and this was a regular weekend routine for them. Fridays were meant for partying with friends and Saturdays for finishing the pending chores but Sunday evenings were meant for just the two of them. They had been married two years last December and had got into a comfortable space with each other by now. Work kept their weekdays occupied but they made sure they enjoyed the weekends to the hilt. Life was fun when you were young and earning well and did not have to think about owning a home or running around kids or any of the other worries that kept...

It was Thursday evening, and looking out of the window, she was surprised that it was already dark. She had been working on an article for the weekend edition of the daily that she used to write for, and had come home early today to finish it before dinner. But it looked like she had lost track and taken more time than she had intended to. Aman should have been back by now, she thought. He was her live-in partner, boyfriend, best friend and family all rolled into one. Both of them had moved to Mumbai from different cities, each in search of their own dream. And had ended up finding each other. She had always been a little on the wild side, running through relationships with the capriciousness of the fabled Mumbai monsoon. She had broken many hearts, and got hers broken too, but in Aman, she had found someone she could settle down with, at least for a while. With his thoughts running through her head, she dialed his number.  “Hello” he answered and then as ...

“I can not do this anymore Aman”, she said. I looked into her brown eyes that were welling up with tears but didn't respond. “I can’t live with you anymore.. this can’t go on forever” she said. I nodded silently. This was her own decision, she had to take the responsibility for it. “Will you say something at least?” she asked in an anguished voice. I looked at her pretty face that was twisted into a grimace and shook my head. “Why damn it?” she said in frustration, “why don’t you scream at me and let it out once and for all?” She was sobbing uncontrollably by now and every cell in my body was dying to run to her and comfort her. But I didn’t move; it was too late for that. Our relationship had been broken beyond repair and both of us had to accept the reality. “Please forgive me Aman,” she said in between her sobs, “I am so sorry for breaking your trust!” I nodded silently again, letting the words forming in my mind sleep in their remote confin...