An Alternate Ending To Revolution 2020

On March 1, I worked a lot harder than I normally do. I went through the mid-term results that Dean Srivastava brought over. I met with Bedi to discuss plans for the institution moving into engineering and MBA. I met with every student, every staff member who knocked on my door. I did everything to not look at that one card that Raghav had sent through in my mail a week back.

But I couldn’t avoid it. Every 10 minutes, my eyes automatically glanced at it. And none of what anyone said registered in my head. The message on the card just kept coming back to me

'Mrs and Mr Anil Kashyap
Invite the pleasure of your company
For the wedding of their beloved son
Raghav
With
Aarti
(D/O Mrs and Mr Pratap Brij Pradhan, DM)
At 8 p.m.
On March 1, 2010
Poolside Lawns
Taj Ganga, Varanasi'

I scheduled a visit to Shuklaji that evening. It was my way of ensuring that I wouldn’t be tempted to land up at the Taj Ganga. God knows I did!! I wanted to run in, catch Aarti in her room and confess to her. Tell her I made everything right; including giving Raghav his life back. Tell her I wasn’t the bad man I made myself out to be. Tell her that even after all this, I did deserve her.

But this really wasn’t the truth. I was the egotistical bastard – the bad guy in this story. And I told myself – let this evening go by and then Aarti will be a closed chapter.

I’d switched my cell phone off. I didn't want Raghav to try and get me to attend the wedding, which he definitely would. And I didn’t want to hear from Aarti. It would complicate this further.

And so at the dot of 7:30 pm, I began the walk towards my car. And just as I was about to move, Dean Srivastava called out “Gopal Sir, wait! It’s urgent.”

He walked over and handed me his mobile. I asked him who it was and he said nothing – just walked away. And I instantly knew.

“Gopal”….I hadn’t heard her voice in two months. I choked “You cheat”.
I guess I deserved this. She was in her right to speak her mind before she got married. It was fair for her to demand a closure to our chapter. So I quietly listened.

“How could you do this to me?”…and she broke down.
I had tears in my eyes but made a genuine effort to keep my voice firm “Aarti, I’m really sorry. Only I know what I’ve lost”. She went silent at the other end.

“But in a sense; it’s the right thing. Raghav loves you like crazy. You’ll be happy-er”. The “er” took a while to come out. Because that’s the one bit that I knew I was lying about.

“I can never forgive you. But I want you to pay for what you did. You are going to come to the Taj and be the one standing closest to the mandap while I take the pheras with Raghav. It won’t make up for what you did but I want you to live with the regret. So be there in half an hour”…and she cut the call.

She was right. I probably wouldn't be able to take that moment. I couldn’t watch her get married to Raghav. But I needed to….she wanted me to. And in a funny, tragic way, it would put this whole thing to rest.

Half shivering, I asked the driver to divert the car to the Taj Ganga.
It takes about 20 minutes to get there from my college. It’s a soothing drive, one can take in the sights and scenes of Varanasi – and at 7:30 pm, with the aarti lights glowing, it makes for a particularly calming experience.

But this wasn’t a normal evening. I was anything but calm – I felt a deep gash in my chest, like a person suffering from a cardiac arrest. I just closed my eyes and thought of all the times Aarti and I had spent together. It was probably the worst thing to do at the time but there really wasn’t much I could get myself to do.

I woke up when the driver tapped me – at the gates of the Taj Ganga. I got off my car & saw – NOTHING.

No decorations; no flower arrangements. No line up of cars. Whenever there was a wedding at the Taj; the decorations would not cover the hotel; they’d cover the entire street. But now – NOTHING.

Could it be…..?
I walked into the property and the lawns were empty. There clearly wasn’t a wedding here. I thought of calling Aarti but held back; not knowing what to expect.

I walked to the front desk; where Aarti would be; on a normal work day. But it was unlikely that she’d be here now because her shift ended at 6. And because she should ideally be somewhere getting married!!

Before I could say anything to the lady at the front desk, she just pointed to her right and said “Coffee shop”.

Was she there? Was Raghav with her? Did they find out about how I treated Raghav? Did they hear about the dirty side of GangaTech? …Before I could even process any of this in my head, I was at the coffee shop.

EMPTY…expect one table. At the very end of what was a long rectangular coffee shop; was a table occupied by…Aarti.

Clearly the wedding wasn’t happening…today. But why? What happened? Did she ….?
“You lied”….her voice cut my thoughts short. I found myself standing right next to her…at the table.

“You planned it all, you’ve brought it to this” said Aarti, rather coldly, looking straight at me with eyes that showcased a feeling of being let down.

All I could think of was how beautiful she looked, even now. In her work saree, with her hair all tied back, she looked like the Aarti I longed for, for the last 15 years.

I composed myself and begun to say “I know Aarti, I shouldn’t have….”
But I couldn’t say more. Aarti had just flung herself at me and was clinging to me – in a tight hug.

But the wedding, Raghav….my thoughts started flowing in at the rates of knots. And then I looked down at Aarti, sobbing away on my chest.

And what had happened before this moment – really didn’t matter.
This felt right.
Aarti just looked up at me and said “Whores? That was your idea to get me to leave you?”
And with that….we kissed, for the longest time ever.