That’sNewsToMe |1
Readomania
Chuckling encounters in search of a suitable groom!
NavNiit GaNdhivaruNa Khullar
58| ManjulaLal
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7The Saga of the 3 am Guy
Daysflew by and the dosage ofMom’s one-liners-aimed-at-emotional-blackmail was sustained at two-three times a day, or as
directedbyPummyAunty.One lazy Sunday afternoon, the above dosage
finally yielded results and I reluctantly agreed toonce again sift through the profiles shortlisted byMom,followingherlaboriousrummagingonshaadi-ka-laddoo.comHere was this one, given a four-star rating by
Mom: 38-year-old handsome Punjabi boy, born inDelhi, settled inLondon, loves to readand seeks asimple,homelyPunjabigirl.
Am I homely?Iwonderedforseveralminutesbutdidn’tfindananswer.SuneethadastrangeI-am-sorry-to-be-bornlook.He
hadalight,creamycomplexion,broadforehead,andarotundabdomen.Hehadpostedabouteightprofilepicturesonhisaccount:onefullsize;oneseatedonabike;onewithanM&Sshoppingbag;anotherwithhisshades. . .IwasirritatedandyetIkeptscrollingandtherewasthis lastoneinhishigh-endgymgear.
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‘Mom,Idon’thaveaverygoodfeelingaboutthisguy,Suneet,’ I triedtowarnMom.Mom, with raised eyebrows, exclaimed, ‘Why,
whatiswrongwithSuneet?Idon’tseeanyglaringdefault inhisphysicalappearanceor inhisprofile.HegoestothegymbutI thinkhemusthavetakensome package deal. Trainers don’t focus much onthosewho take some cheappackage. Perhaps, youcan help him work on his belly and recommendsome yogasanas.’She winked at me as she said the last line.
Unbelievable!‘Mom,hehasaweird,hangdoglookonhisface,’
Iprotested.‘Leena,don’tbetoodisapprovingallthetimeand
that too without even meeting the guy in person.YogiSatyaShriGurusays:“Letyourfingersalwayspointatyourself.”Now,comeon. . .getgoing!’Iacceptedtherequest toconnect.Twohourslater,Ireceivedareplyanditwasthe
beginningofanother laddoo’s saga.Suneet: ‘HeyLeena, thankyouforacceptingmy
request toconnect.Howareyou?’Me: ‘Iamfine.Howaboutyou?’Suneet: ‘Iam good. . . Do youwant to take this
chatonthecell? Itwillbeabitmoreconvenient.’
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Me: ‘Hmm. . .whynot.’Theinstantweexchangedournumbers,therewas
aWhatsAppflash.Suneet: ‘Hey, IamSuneet.Somuchnicerhere.’Me: ‘HeySuneet,Leenahere.Yes, Iknow.’Suneet: ‘Leena,guessbothofusareinsearchofa
soulmateandthishasbroughtustoshaadi-ka-laddoo.com. . . So, tellmeaboutyourself.’The next few messages we exchanged were a
repetitionofthedrill:what do I do, where was I born, what do I like. . .and blah, blah, blah from the otherendtoo.
Suneet: ‘CanIcallyou?Ifeeltalkingisthebest.’My tired fingers couldn’t agree more with his
idea!Two minutes later, we were talking on the
phone.‘HeyLeena, thankyoufor talkingwithme.’Thank you? Why is he thanking me? Hey, are you
okay?—Iwanted to ask, instead I accepted thegratitude, ‘Ofcourse.’‘So,youliveinGurgaon?Myfamilyisalsosettled
there.’‘Okay,so,doyouvisit Indiaoften?’‘Yes,onceeveryyear.Infact,thelastyearIcame
downtwice.’
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Apause followed.Hehademphasisedthewordtwice and thereafter seemed to have vanished inthoughtsfaraway. . . .‘HeySuneet,allwell?Youseemtobe lostsomewhere.’‘It may sound awkward but in this past one
year, Ivisited two times only to be fooled by agirl.Hey,donotmindbutwant to askyou ifyouaresureyouwanttosettledownandnot justpasssome time—chatting with guys?’ He was almostwhisperingnow.
Oh, no! A bruised case! I rubbed my foreheadvigorouslyandutteredadeep,longsigh!‘Ofcourse,Iknowwhat Iwant.’‘You know, these Delhi girls are just toomuch!
Of course, Ido not mean you when Irefer to thegirls from Delhi. They are not sure of what theywantinlifeorIguess,theyaresometimestoosureof what they want but we fools—the guys, canneverunderstandwhattheyreallywant.CanIsharesomethingwithyou?’Ialmostopenedmymouthtovoicemyproteston
whathehadtosayforthepetiteandinnocentgirlsfromDelhi, but then decided otherwise on secondthoughts.Why do I need to educate a man I don’t know, on the virtues and credibility of us girls from Delhi? Moreover, technically, wasn’t Gurgaon outside the boundaries of Delhi? Hence, no need to react, I toldmyself.
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Talk to Us
Dear Readers,Were you reminded of a Leena or her Mom in your neighbourhood or family? We would love to read about your similar chuckling encounters and even your feedback on the book.Write to us at: [email protected] us at: www.shaadi-ka-laddoo.comPip-pip. . .
Navniit and Varuna
