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Marriages are made in heaven

By Prakash Subbarao

Once upon a time, a long while ago, there was a guy name Raju (*) living in a small lane in Padmanabhanagar, Adyar.

Raju was one of those super-brilliant guys who was studying to do his Chartered Accountancy exams. A fair, good looking guy with Einsteinian long hair, he invariable trudged along from his house to the bus stop enroute to work lost in deep thought, eyes downcast, brow furrowed,

One day, on the way to the bus stop on the way to work, Raju felt a tap on his shoulder and awoke from his reverie to find his old friend Nagesh smiling at him.

"Hey Nagesh! What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise.

Nagesh replied that he had become infatuated with a particular girl and wished to talk to her about marriage. "This girl comes to this bus stop every day and takes the Number 301 bus every day at 9.45 am" Nagesh told him. "I am here to see her and try to talk to her.

"I take the same bus every day!" Raju replied in astonishment. I have never seen the girl."

"Look! Here she comes now!" said Nagesh.

Raju turned to look at the girl Nagesh was indicating. He was sure that he had never seen her before.

She was tall. At least 5 ft. 8 in. and very fair. She had a pleasant smile and radiated confidence. She had long hair, plaited in the South Indian style and was wearing a lovely blue sari. Raju took all this in with one look.

"Nagesh, I will leave you and stand a little far away so that you can talk to her" Raju said.

Nagesh looked nervous but nodded. Raju moved away and watched but Nagesh seemed paralysed. He made no move to approach the girl.

Soon Bus Number 301 arrived. The girl boarded the bus and the bus moved off.

"Shit!" Nagesh cursed in disgust. "Another opportunity gone!"

"Why didn't you talk to her?" Raju asked Nagesh.

"I don't know, Raju, I just cannot get myself to muster the courage to talk to her!" said Nagesh.

"Would you like me to talk to her on your behalf? asked Raju, trying to be helpful.

"Yes! That would be wonderful! Would you?" asked Nagesh, beaming.

"Sure!" said Raju. "I will talk to her tomorrow. I will telephone to you after I speak to her"

 The next day, Raju made sure that he reached the bus stop five minutes earlier than usual. He did not want to miss the girl since he had promised his friend that he would speak to her and didn't want to fail and disappoint Nagesh.

Soon he spotted the girl walking briskly to the bus stop.

"Excuse me, Miss, may I talk to you for a moment?" he politely asked her.

She looked at him quizzically and nodded her head but did not speak.

"I need to talk something very important to you" he told her.

"One moment" she said and turned away. He wondered what she was up to.

Just then she flagged a taxi. "If you would like to talk to me, we should do it in private. Madras is a very gossipy town and it is better to talk privately in the taxi than in the bus." Saying that she got into the taxi. He meekly followed.

"What is it that you wished to talk to me about" she asked him smiling.

"How beautiful her eyes are" he thought to himself. "How gracefully she sits!"

"What is it that you wished to talk to me about"  she repeated, a little louder, bringing him out of his reverie.

"Oh! I wanted to talk to you about my friend Nagesh. He is a very good Brahmin boy from a very good family background. He seems to have fallen in love with you and wishes to propose to you but cannot get the courage to ask you."

The girl said nothing for a while then she leaned over and told the taxi driver to change course and take them to Hotel Savera. "Let's talk over a cup of coffee." she suggested. " Is that OK? Can you go late to work today?"

Raju nodded. Although his boss would be furious, he owed it to his friend Nagesh and the matter seemed to be progressing well.

Soon they were seated at the coffee shop in Hotel Savera. Raju didn't speak. he waited politely for the girl to say something.

She seemed to be thinking about what to say.

Finally, after a few minutes, she said "Raju, I have never noticed your friend waiting for me all these days at the bus stop. And even if I had, I would not agree to marry him. However, there is one boy who stays on the road where I live, just four houses away. he walks past my house every day, deep in thought, eyes cast downwards and I fell in love with him the moment I saw him. I checked his background and it is impeccable. I would like to marry him but I haven't had the courage to approach him for fear that he will reject me. I can't take rejection easily."

Raju immediately offered to help. "Shall I talk to the boy on your behalf? Maybe that would help," he eagerly asked.

"No" she said. "That would be impossible."

"But why?" Raju persisted. "Just tell me who he is and I will talk to him. I will be happy to help you!"

"You can't, Raju, because you see, the boy is none other than yourself!"

Raju suddenly froze. He remembered what his younger brother had said to him before leaving for Singapore a few months back. "Show me you hand!" his brother had commanded and Raju had obediently shown his palm. After studying the palm intently for a few minutes his brother had exclaimed "you rascal! Your hand tells me that you will be getting married very soon! Have you been eyeing any girls?"

"No!" Raju had blustered, "There is no one."

"There soon will be!" his brother had said.

Raju suddenly became aware of his surroundings. He also noticed that the girl had covered his hand with hers.

"My name is Sree" she said. "If you are agreeable, we can ask our parents to arrange the marriage".

Raju nodded dumbly.

That was thirty five years ago. Today Raju and Sree live happily in his ancestral home in Padmanabhanagar. They have two lovely children both software engineers, and both living in the US.

Her parent's house is just four houses away from his. Amazingly, he had never noticed.

Incidentally..............you should know.............this is a true story.

(*) Name has been changed.

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