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'Siddharth's room was almost identical to Laksh's room,' noted Swara, 'the same architectural design, the same grey curtains and the same grey fabric upholstery, the only differentiating factor being the colour of the accents; if it had been green for Laksh , here it was an ambiguous shade of russet and brick.' The corner by the window was dominated by a large terracotta pot, more like an amphora than a pot if one went by its shape, in which grew a very healthy peace lily plant, with large dark leaves and fragrant white flowers.

On the wall opposite the corner where the informal sofa setting had been done, hung a medium sized photograph. They had come in a few minutes early and while Tanisha had joined them, Siddharth had not yet made his entry. Hoping that Tanisha would not object, Swara walked across the room to have a closer look at the photograph, it focused on a new born baby swaddled in pink and though the hands holding her were blurred, Swara could make out it was a man. She presumed it to be Siddharth and was about to ask the same from Tanisha when the door to the cabin burst open.

Swara had imagined Siddharth to be a short, plump man with glasses and a perpetual grin on his face; she knew the dangers of making assumptions, but then Laksh describing him as a joker had sent her imagination on an overdrive. Siddharth was nothing like that; he was tall, over six feet, with long straight black hair which he tied to a low pony tail and was firm muscle all over. Swara almost gaped when she took in the sharp jaw and defined cheekbones, he wore no glasses and his eyes twinkled; he was a good looking man.

Unlike Laksh and Tanisha, he was dressed in casuals, a faded pair of jeans, a loose T-shirt and sneakers. The only thing Swara got right was his smile, he had a smiling face and his smile got brighter when he saw her.

"Ms Swara, did anyone tell you that you are one beautiful girl? It is going to be a pleasure talking to you."

Swara had warmed up at his words; they appeared genuine and she realised that he was a charmer, though by the time the interview came to an end, she almost had an ear ache and she added the adjective 'loquacious' to the list of words to describe Siddharth.

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As she had done last week, Swara sat in her room, reading the transcript. She did not have the strength to listen to the recordings; once was enough, for she felt he talked too much, so she simply made notes against the transcript.

Interview with Siddarth Mehrotra

Interviewed by Swara Gadodia

August 14, 2017

Kolkata, India

Interview conducted in English

SG: At the outset, I would like to thank you, for agreeing to this interview.

SM: I am the one who is grateful; after all it is not every day that I get interviewed by such a beautiful girl. If only I was not married... but then Meghna is a gem so if you develop a crush on me, my apologies, I am already taken."

SG: So, Mr Mehrotra, could you tell us a few words about yourself?

SM: I am thirty five years old, married and have a daughter. See that photograph, that is my princess and you better agree that she is beautiful, which she is, so it should not be difficult for you to say so. I have known my wife all my life, but we are not childhood sweethearts and I love her very much. My professional qualifications include an MBA degree in HR, much like Tani here. My mother passed away five years ago. I had a sister, she died in an accident eight years ago.

Swara had wanted to mouth the customary 'I am sorry' but something in his voice had stopped her, she could make out the pain in behind that casual words, so she had simply continued.

SG: Tell me about the toughest decision you had to make in the last six months.

SM: "Sending my baby to pre-school. Do you know the number of scratches she comes home with? But I told her to give it as good as she gets, which also means that the teachers complain about her beating up the other kids, but then she has to learn to stand up for herself too."

SG: Tell me how you think other people would describe you.

SM: "Depends on who you ask, some jealous people would have uncomplimentary things to say, but my friends would agree that I am a wonderful person. The most common thing is that they call me a joker, I think they got it wrong, they mean jovial."

SG: What do you do when not working?

SM: "In my childhood it was spending time with friends, then it was with my wife, now it is devoted to my daughter. She is talking a bit and it is cute hearing her lisp her words."

SG: What do you hate most about being rich and famous?

SM: "I hate not being rich and famous, what is there to hate about it?"

SG: Of the many things you do, which one makes your heart beat the fastest?

SM: "The sight of a beautiful girl."

And he had the audacity to wink at her, one that had left her a little stunned, though he did get whacked on the wrist by Tanisha for his act.

SG: Where do you see yourself in the competition?

SM: "I have competition? You must be joking, I could be the best or I could be the worst,but then there can never be another Siddharth Mehrotra, I am unique"

SG: Where do you think you will be after 25 years?

SM: "Trying my level best to get away with murdering the boys who chase my daughter."

SG: What advice would you give your younger Self?

SM: "I am hurt. Seriously, when you say younger self, it means I am old and I disagree. I am not old, just fit and fine, maturing as fine wine."

SG: What things in your life would you give up in an instant if it got you to an even better place than you are now?

SM: "I am in a good place, I do not want to give up what I have for what I could have. It is sad that we spend most of our lives running after what we think we want and ignore what is there with us. The lucky ones find it well in time, but for some, they waste their entire lives searching for reality in mirages."

Swara had been too stunned when she had heard him,she had not expected philosophy from him and noted the same in the margin 'unexpected but beautiful philosophical lines'

SG: Is there anything you would like to share about the next person I would have to interview?

SM: My friend, Sanskaar Maheshwari? If he is your friend, he has your back; if you are an enemy, he has you in his sights. But one thing you must remember, whether he has your back or has you in his sights, he will never let you go. So be very careful as to what you want to be.

This had her intrigued and bewildered, both when he had first said it and now as she read it again, she looked forward to meeting Sanskaar but there was a slight fear as well, which she simply could not explain.

SG: Finally, this is something like a rapid fire round; most can be answered in a couple of words:

What would you change your name to? "Why would I want that?"

What's your biggest pet peeve? "People do not understand me."

What's your annoying habit? "I personally do not think I have annoying habits, though everyone tells me that I talk too much. Do you think so?"

Who is your inspiration? "Let me think, we can come back to this later?"

Where would you like to visit? "Lots of places, maybe I will take a few world tours."

Who is the messiest person you know? "Define messy. Fine, I will tell you. In the kitchen it is my wife; in the house, it is my daughter, in the garden; it is me. And coming to Tani..."

Swara never found out about Tani, for Tanisha had reached over and slapped Siddharth on his wrist which had rendered him silent and Swara had to continue with the questions.

What's the most interesting thing you've read or seen this week? "The Delhi high court has said that a property purchased by the husband in the name of his wife from known sources cannot be treated as benami property. That is interesting, now if only I get a salary hike of around 200% I can buy a nice plot for Meghna. Tani, do you think I can get one?"

What would you like remembered about you? "A good friend, an adoring husband, a loving father, a nice person, a wonderful cook, a..."

Swara sighed as she read this, she had taken advantage of the pause to ask the next question,

What sports do you enjoy watching? "The WWF, which of course, is now banned in my house."

What is your biggest/weirdest fear? "That anything bad could happen to my wife or daughter, the thought itself scares me."

What pet would you love to have? "A turtle, slow and silent."

What is the best/worst purchase you've ever made? "My Bose noise cancelling headphones, a worthy buy despite the cost; mind you Bose products are not cheap but then they are fully compatible with Apple, so it is a bonus. The worst, battery operated hover board; it caught fire when the battery overheated."

What's your biggest mistake in the kitchen? "None, I am an excellent cook"

What's the most useless talent you have? "Useless talents? All my talents are useful."

Do you sing in the shower? "Oh yes, want to hear?"

Swara had hesitated on taking up that offer, and Tanisha had signed to her to continue the questions, which she did, reluctantly.

Where did you grow up? "In this city."

What were you like as a kid? "Downright mischievous."

What did you enjoy doing with your friends? "Playing pranks."

Were you a good student? "Never, I think my teachers loved it when I was absent from school."

What did you want to be when you were a kid? "An engine driver."

Were your parents strict? "Yes and no, we had rules but nothing strict."

What were your best/worst subjects in school? "all were bad; History, Geography, Civics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English, Hindi..."

What is your favourite movie? "Ice Age – all the movies in that series."

What is your favourite song? "Ek ladki to dekha toh aisa laga."

And to Swara's delight, he had actually sung the song and she admitted that he had a nice voice.

What's your favourite place to eat? "Home."

What are your favourite clothes? "Well, I really should not be telling you this,but..."

Again a flick on the wrist by Tanisha and Siddharth had stopped; Swara was then convinced that Tanisha treated Siddharth like a baby brother who had to be kept in check and she found it adorable.

What was your favourite game? "Hide and Seek, I would chase girls and they would hide from me, I never understood it when I was young. It still is my favourite, though it changed its forms over the years, currently I play 'peek-a-boo' with my daughter"

Swara had a brief flash of imagination as to how the changed form could involve Siddharth and his wife and blushed as she remembered it in the safe confines of her cabin. Unable to help herself, she scrawled 'incorrigible flirt' against his answer.

What was your favourite toy? –"you will not laugh, my sister's stuffed teddy bear."

She had not laughed, she found it cute and had said so, which had earned her a bright grateful smile. But now as she read through the transcript she realised how similar Laksh and Siddharth were, for despite Siddharth giving long winding answers she only learnt what he wanted her to know; Siddharth seemed to have perfected the art of circumvention.

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He had thought he had broken free but then the night found Siddharth with his usual penance; holding a crystal decanter full of ice and whiskey. He would not drink a drop but would hold it till the ice melted, hoping that the numbness would quench the fires of remorse in his heart.

What advice would you give your younger Self?

A group stays together and nothing breaks them up, even something as mundane as wanting a drink, to mark an early celebration. A drink is worth nothing though it could cost you everything.

If he could go back he would never ever even look at a drink, for it was a single drink that ruined them all. They should not have been out to celebrate, not when Ragini was not with them but then he had argued that one drink would not matter. One drink was what he wanted, which had made his sister, Nikita, quite upset  and she had wanted to leave. One drink was enough to delay him and make Sanskaar leave in Niki's car leaving behind his car for Laksh and him. One drink was all he wanted, so Laksh had to stay back, for he was adamant that no one drives after drinking. One drink was all it had taken to destroy their lives.

Sanskaar had volunteered to drop Niki in her car, the Honda Civic, rather than take the Mitsubishi Pajero that he owned along with Laksh, for Laksh was not comfortable driving the car with automatic transmission. All had agreed, the plan being that Sanskaar would drop off Niki and wait at her house till Sid and Laksh came back, after which Laksh and Sanskaar would drive home in their SUV. But Sanskaar had decided to drive a roundabout way, touching the highway and everything had gone wrong, horribly wrong. 

For though they did meet up as per their plan, it was in the hospital instead of their home.

Siddharth had stood as a mute spectator, unable to do anything and had simply watched his world tumble apart; Ram uncle's dying when the nurse had mumbled her mistaken report, his sister's futile battle, Laksh and Ragini's breakup, Sanskaar's desperation and his mother's unstoppable descent into mild insanity.

He had sworn off drinks; he knew that he was not responsible for anything that had happened, yet his guilt tore him from within. He had been lucky, for despite what he had lost, he had found the love of a good woman, but he could not deny that it had come at a great price.

"Do not go down that road again."

Siddharth did not turn around but when he felt her hand on his arm, he placed the glass on the table and grasped her hand. She was his love and sanity, the reason why he had been able to cope with death and loss.

"I wonder what I did to deserve you."

"I wonder too, but I love you and love is blind."

"I love you too."

He pulled her into his arms and she came willingly, as she had all those days ago.

Five years ago, his mother had finally given up. For three years, since the day of the accident, he had watched his mother slowly lose her grip on sanity and reality and all sense of time. Towards the end, his mother would be convinced that her three year old daughter would come home hungry from school and she would prepare the evening snacks while the night would find her wailing in anguish for her daughter who would never come home.

Siddharth and his father would just watch, helpless and broken, there was no way they could comfort her, till the day she had died, still crying for her daughter. Siddharth had felt relief for he knew that death had given his mother a release and hated himself for thinking that way.

That night he had sat in the darkness of his flat, as usual, holding the crystal cut glass, full of ice cold whiskey. The ice numbed his hands but he did not let go, he would not let go, till the ice had melted and his hands had frozen stiff, that was his ritual self-flagellation, a self-imposed punishment for wanting to have a drink on that fateful day. He would have held it too, if the door bell had not disturbed him; he swore at the persistent caller and would have cursed aloud if it had been anyone other than Meghna. Before he could say a word, shock at seeing her at his house in the middle of night had rendered him speechless; he stood in silence even as she stepped in and hugged him.

The contact of her soft form against his fragile hardness had shattered him. He held her tight and soon was kissing her harder. He was not sure how things had progressed to see them end in bed; all he remembered was taking everything she had, demanding it in desperate desire and she surrendering to him in fiery passion. But when he had woken up in the morning and found her sleeping in his arms, he made up his mind to marry her; not because they had spent the night together though it had been amazing, but because he wanted to wake up to finding her in his arms. He discovered that he had been too blind to realise that he loved her and there was no way he would let her go; he would love, cherish and adore her and he would waste no time telling her that.

Unfortunately, the moment she awoke and he looked into her soft brown eyes, the speech he had been preparing while caressing her bare skin was forgotten and he blurted, "We are getting married."

She had gazed in silence at his face and he felt that his soul was as bared to her as was his body. She then slowly stroked his cheek with her fingertips and teased, "Let me see if this helps. Do you not think there should be a speech, a short one at least, before we come to the marriage part?"

He gave a nervous laugh, nuzzled his stubbly chin against her jawline and mumbled into her ear, "I love you, Meghna, and this is what I want, to hold you during the nights and wake up with you in my arms, every day, for the rest of my life. So will you marry me?"

Throwing her arms round his neck, she admitted, "I have always loved you but was afraid I could be labelled a child molester, if I made the first move. But last night, I could not stop myself, I was afraid you might hurt yourself."

Pulling back he had stared into her worried eyes and replied, "I am no child and you are only three years older than me, so that makes you wiser and mature, as proven by the fact that I have been too childish and immature to even recognise what I have felt for you till now."

They had encountered the opposition they had anticipated, though it was unexpected for it came from her mother. Anu Ma had been worried that they would not be able to work around the age difference and had taken quite some time to be convinced, while his father had immediately given his blessings. They had finally been married in a quiet ceremony, one that made his happy and content, despite missing his sister and his friend.

Two years later, when their daughter had been born and Siddharth had held her, he was sure that his demons had been laid to rest.

However, tonight he realised that his demons were merely sleeping and the interview had brought back all those ugly memories; he would never stop missing his sister or his friend. And while his sister could never come back, he wondered if there was a chance of getting his friend, Ragini, back into their lives.

That is all about Siddharth and circumvention; it is a long chapter and I am apprehensive at how it would be received. Do let me know if you liked it, press the star and better still write a comment, I adore all of them, whether good or bad. 

Next is 'Concealment', and I guess it is much awaited for we finally get to meet Sanskaar Maheshwari. Excited? And how do you think his interview would be? Do tell.

love,
Nyna