The TCS Girl

It was 7 in the evening and my heartbeat was raging.

With passing time, I was getting restless,

My eyes were constantly on Whatsapp.

A call or a message I was waiting for either,

But till quarter to 8, I got neither.

Then a whistle sound of notification,

“I have done it, will call you in sometime.”

Oh! My excitement from the message knew no bounds.

I was running here and there, my feet not touching ground.

She called an hour later describing the interview,

Of questions and enquiries and how she sailed through.

The programming jargons passed over my head

But her joyous voice entered my heart.

I was longing to listen to these blissful words,

Since the beginning of the placement season.

I had tried to console her earlier, when she got rejected,

But unfortunately then, I lacked sufficient reason.

As she returned from Bhubaneswar a day later,

We met in the evening at our college CCD

And had a pleasant chatter

On topics ranging from her various probable job locations

To joining a weekend classroom coaching for MBA exam preparation.

The sun had set and dusk arrived,

But her face seemed to fill the world with light.

As we proceeded on our usual journey

From college to her hostel,

A sharp thought pierced me like a nail.

Taking away my cheerfulness for some time.

Oh! But I was familiar with it.

I had anticipated this thought since long.

Now it had finally started taking form.

She sensed my sudden change of mood.

“What happened?”, she asked.

I replied, “Our time for break up is coming soon.”

The excitement in her face faded away.

And she said, “I don’t understand.”

I explained to her that it was impossible for us to be together.

“We only have a couple of months left with each other.”

She got frustrated and I calmed her down.

“You know I dream to be a researcher and teacher”, I said

“With my GATE rank, I will get into an IIT MTech.

Whereas you dream about office and jobs,

You dream about MBA in IIMs.”

“So what!”, she exclaimed.

I said, “Our aspirations are poles apart in all spheres.

We need to move ahead keeping aside all our fears.

You dream about boardrooms and I about classrooms.

You see yourself in future verifying balance sheets,

And I see myself evaluating answer scripts.

You wish to travel India and abroad visiting exciting places.

While my travel will be limited from my chamber to class

Or from classroom to lab

Or as a hostel warden solving different cases.”

My words had stung her like a scorpion

And she felt almost the same pain.

Tears started flowing down her cheeks

Which she tried to control, but in vain.

She said “This job, this life, this MBA, IIM,

I am ready to sacrifice for you.

Wherever you go and whatever you do

I will always be with you.”

I replied, “Hostel entry time is going to end,

We can talk about this later.

But as a 21st century Indian girl,

You have one important thing to remember

All relationships are a phase of life.

They have a beginning and end.

Sacrificing your desires and aims for one man,

This excuse is just so lame.”

Saying this I bid her goodbye.

Leaving her at the hostel gate.

Then I returned to my hostel in slight grief,

As I knew the time to the end is now brief.

I don’t know what circumstances lie ahead.

Maybe in future, fate unites us both again.

But in my life forever, she will be a shining pearl.

As of now she is just my TCS girl