This is supposed to be a sequel to my earlier story The Road Not Taken. The characters are basically the same, but for Maria who is just a mentioned character here. I would like to thank all those in and around me who have contributed in a huge way to my thinking process. I’d like to thank my parents, ISI Delhi, the nurture camp, Abhimanyu, Pradeep, Don Raghav, Bharath, CS Karthik, Shailu, Dummi, the LastBenchers, the Meeters, Maneesh Thakur sir and KKA sir for inspiring me to put together various parts of the story. Though certain real life incidents have been inspirations here and there, the story is completely fictional, and does not intend to hurt anyone’s sentiments or feelings in any way or the another. It, in no way reflects anyone or me, in any form whatsoever. None of this can end without thanking, my co-author and my best man, Shre. Macha without you, anything creative in me is impossible da. Thanks a tonne.
Thank you!
Ever yours
IS Chappli.
Saturday 11 July 2009
Chapter 9
Anjali rushed to meet Rahul. Rahul asked her to come in with a smile.
Anjali: Im terribly sorry Rahul. Im very sorry. Im pretty ashamed of what I’ve done, if I’ve to be frank. I shouldn’t have been so bad to you. I was in fact scared if I’d fall for you after all that you did to me. I didn’t want that to happen. So I decided to shun you till my bachelors were over. But then Vinay was released and I did not want any harm to you because of him. I’d have never done it to you otherwise Rahul. You were so damn good a friend to me.
Saying this, she broke down. The dams that her eyes were, broke down and gave way to rivers of tears. As Rahul stretched his hand out to wipe a tear, he felt a sudden flash of pain, a gush of tear through his back. He turned. There stood Vinay, with that blade, which he once tried to kill Rahul before he went to the asylum. Sadly, Shreyas wasn’t around to warn Rahul this time. Another ghastly swipe, and Rahul lay on the floor, on his back. He slapped Anjali tight . As he could escape, Shreyas turned up with the police. Shreyas went close to Rahul. A dying Rahul smiled one last time at Anjali, and then thanked Shreyas for everything, pushing a piece of paper in his hands, saying, “Publish this! In your name! N is not 1!!” and died.
The memories still live with Shreyas, and so do the tears. He had not tried to open the piece of paper for the last 35 years. It was way too overwhelming for him to read what was in. When he opened it this time, he found the handwriting too disturbing. It was vintage Rahul, ununderstandable was an understatement. He let the piece of paper lie on the tea table, and went on to drink his cup of tea.
What he did not realise was that the paper had the solution for the P=NP, unsolved millennium problem. Rahul had solved it the night before he died, even though the combined research they did together, had not yielded anything. He could not discuss this with Shreyas, as he had been killed by then. He often joked to Shreyas, saying the solution of P=NP, yielded N=1, and hence his last words.
Thirty five years hence, the problem is unsolved otherwise yet, and the one million dollars promised by the Clay Mathematical Institute to the first correct solver of this problem, still lies devoid of its rightful owner, who fell prey to the wars of love and friendship.
Anjali: Im terribly sorry Rahul. Im very sorry. Im pretty ashamed of what I’ve done, if I’ve to be frank. I shouldn’t have been so bad to you. I was in fact scared if I’d fall for you after all that you did to me. I didn’t want that to happen. So I decided to shun you till my bachelors were over. But then Vinay was released and I did not want any harm to you because of him. I’d have never done it to you otherwise Rahul. You were so damn good a friend to me.
Saying this, she broke down. The dams that her eyes were, broke down and gave way to rivers of tears. As Rahul stretched his hand out to wipe a tear, he felt a sudden flash of pain, a gush of tear through his back. He turned. There stood Vinay, with that blade, which he once tried to kill Rahul before he went to the asylum. Sadly, Shreyas wasn’t around to warn Rahul this time. Another ghastly swipe, and Rahul lay on the floor, on his back. He slapped Anjali tight . As he could escape, Shreyas turned up with the police. Shreyas went close to Rahul. A dying Rahul smiled one last time at Anjali, and then thanked Shreyas for everything, pushing a piece of paper in his hands, saying, “Publish this! In your name! N is not 1!!” and died.
The memories still live with Shreyas, and so do the tears. He had not tried to open the piece of paper for the last 35 years. It was way too overwhelming for him to read what was in. When he opened it this time, he found the handwriting too disturbing. It was vintage Rahul, ununderstandable was an understatement. He let the piece of paper lie on the tea table, and went on to drink his cup of tea.
What he did not realise was that the paper had the solution for the P=NP, unsolved millennium problem. Rahul had solved it the night before he died, even though the combined research they did together, had not yielded anything. He could not discuss this with Shreyas, as he had been killed by then. He often joked to Shreyas, saying the solution of P=NP, yielded N=1, and hence his last words.
Thirty five years hence, the problem is unsolved otherwise yet, and the one million dollars promised by the Clay Mathematical Institute to the first correct solver of this problem, still lies devoid of its rightful owner, who fell prey to the wars of love and friendship.
Chapter 8
“Oh, stop it Shreyas! You think I did all this to Rahul on purpose? You think Rahul was not important to me? You think I was being selfish all the while? Yeah, I was being selfish for a while. I was being selfish till I finished my bachelors, as I knew Rahul had done a lot for me, and the chances of me reciprocating to his feelings were high. So, I didn’t want anything to affect my studies, and I kept my distance from Rahul. But once my bachelors were over, I wanted to reconcile. That was when I heard Vinay was free. I was scared of him. I was scared he would do something to Rahul if he got to know Rahul and I were close to each other. So I maintained my distance from Rahul. Even when I met Rahul now, I tried to show Vinay that Rahul and I were far from one another. That is why I created a scene. Now to solve all this, Im going to go to Rahul and reconcile. The problem is going to be solved, right here right now.” Said Anjali.
“Oh so that was the plan, Anju.”, said Vinay as he entered the room addressing Anjali by the name he had known her best. “You would go off with him, and let me lick the woods here eh? What bullshit. Don’t you realise, that bastard broke my leg. I can’t walk, goddammit!!”
“Oh ya, and I believed you about that. As for the fact, I checked with the asylum, and I found out that you broke your leg in the asylum, leaving it into the grinding machine, in a seething rage. How easy it is to put the blame on someone else! I’m going to Rahul now, right now!!”
“Oh ya, lets see how it all goes. You people wont be happy. Trust me, not till I’m there atleast!!” saying this, with a villainous laugh, Vinay walked out of the room.
“Oh so that was the plan, Anju.”, said Vinay as he entered the room addressing Anjali by the name he had known her best. “You would go off with him, and let me lick the woods here eh? What bullshit. Don’t you realise, that bastard broke my leg. I can’t walk, goddammit!!”
“Oh ya, and I believed you about that. As for the fact, I checked with the asylum, and I found out that you broke your leg in the asylum, leaving it into the grinding machine, in a seething rage. How easy it is to put the blame on someone else! I’m going to Rahul now, right now!!”
“Oh ya, lets see how it all goes. You people wont be happy. Trust me, not till I’m there atleast!!” saying this, with a villainous laugh, Vinay walked out of the room.
Chapter 7
She kept asking him why he had done this huge favour for her, and kept thanking him for that. He said he couldn’t be thanked. He started bursting out.
“You are such a freak. Why on earth would I do it for you after all the pain you caused Rahul? I have my friends, and I stand by them. Not the way you treated him. And to think he was with you all the while, it gives me fury and even more pain. He begged you for forgiveness, but you were in no mood to forgive him. You were in no mood to talk to me either. You couldn’t give a damn to how he was. All you cared about was that he proposed to you. You didn’t have the sense to realise that he was always with you, always, through thick and thin, through every incident that happened with you. His thoughts ever remained with you. And what did you have to offer him, abuses. He filed your application for MIT, all because he remembered you once told him it was your dream to make it there. You started off with archi, but he sensed your interest in science, and did you forget, it was him who got you a seat in IISER Pune? Did you forget, when you lost in love to Vinay, and when you experienced so much pain, it was him who stood by you and got the positive side in you outside? You had to forget all this, and dump him and his feelings for life. I don’t say you rejecting his love was a crime, but then the pain you caused him was most definitely a huge crime, accept it or not. He had true feelings, he was innocent in every aspect, and all you had to give him, your one time closest friend, was nothing but a slap on the wall
I don’t say you should have given him roses, but brickbats were definitely unnecessary. Start looking at life on a more level plane. Don’t look at people who respect you, trust you, admire you with suspicion. When people give you space, give them some space in your life. You might think I’m saying all this because he is my best friend. His feelings were true, very true, and all you had to do was bury it in deep sand. Sad, Anjali, very sad, I didn’t expect this from you. “
“You are such a freak. Why on earth would I do it for you after all the pain you caused Rahul? I have my friends, and I stand by them. Not the way you treated him. And to think he was with you all the while, it gives me fury and even more pain. He begged you for forgiveness, but you were in no mood to forgive him. You were in no mood to talk to me either. You couldn’t give a damn to how he was. All you cared about was that he proposed to you. You didn’t have the sense to realise that he was always with you, always, through thick and thin, through every incident that happened with you. His thoughts ever remained with you. And what did you have to offer him, abuses. He filed your application for MIT, all because he remembered you once told him it was your dream to make it there. You started off with archi, but he sensed your interest in science, and did you forget, it was him who got you a seat in IISER Pune? Did you forget, when you lost in love to Vinay, and when you experienced so much pain, it was him who stood by you and got the positive side in you outside? You had to forget all this, and dump him and his feelings for life. I don’t say you rejecting his love was a crime, but then the pain you caused him was most definitely a huge crime, accept it or not. He had true feelings, he was innocent in every aspect, and all you had to give him, your one time closest friend, was nothing but a slap on the wall
I don’t say you should have given him roses, but brickbats were definitely unnecessary. Start looking at life on a more level plane. Don’t look at people who respect you, trust you, admire you with suspicion. When people give you space, give them some space in your life. You might think I’m saying all this because he is my best friend. His feelings were true, very true, and all you had to do was bury it in deep sand. Sad, Anjali, very sad, I didn’t expect this from you. “
Chapter 6
Anjali stepped into ISI Delhi campus, and as she was entering, she saw someone limping at a distance. A close view revealed a face she knew very well. She had been in love with him. They had been so deeply involved with one another. Until he started behaving weirdly. Until he became a cheap ass. Until he lost his senses. She still remembered every aspect of his, his hair, always with a middle style partition, his style, he used to talk non-stop, but very sweetly, his choice of word was ever enchanting, his eyes, dark blue and captivating, but one thing was changed, hugely. The face. The clean shaven, chocolate boy face was now replaced by a face of a scary gangster. Or atleast it seemed that way. He now had a pretty long beard, and that was not how she’d known him. He once hated having beards. As she kept thinking, Vinay came closer, and closer, with that charming smile of his. How many times had that made her melt, she had lost count. It had been a long time. Five years.. She had once gone to the asylum to check his condition, and at that point of time, he wasn’t too normal. He was screaming and shouting as he was when he was admitted in there. Now he seemed much more dignified and normal, much to Anjali’s relief. As Vinay approached her, she saw Rahul standing at a distance, smiling at her, and she started screaming at him hysterically. She cursed him, abused him in all ways possible, and started crying. At this, Rahul thought he shouldn’t be paining her any more, and just walked in.
Vinay and Anjali kept talking in the ISI canteen for around twenty minutes. He had not lost the charm in his voice. She was reminded of Johnny Fontane of the Godfather, who in spite of acquiring throat cancer, maintained the same charm in his voice. As they were chatting, Shreyas walked into the canteen, and got a Pepsi. He acted as if he didn’t notice Anjali. She went up to him and tried to drag him into a chat. But he was not interested. She tried persuading him, but he wouldn’t talk. It was very evident that he was in a lot of pain. At this juncture, Vinay got a call. He left the room to attend the call. Then Anjali took out her MIT application letter. It read, in the address area,
Mr.Shreyas.S,
75, Sampige Road,
Malleswaram.
Vinay and Anjali kept talking in the ISI canteen for around twenty minutes. He had not lost the charm in his voice. She was reminded of Johnny Fontane of the Godfather, who in spite of acquiring throat cancer, maintained the same charm in his voice. As they were chatting, Shreyas walked into the canteen, and got a Pepsi. He acted as if he didn’t notice Anjali. She went up to him and tried to drag him into a chat. But he was not interested. She tried persuading him, but he wouldn’t talk. It was very evident that he was in a lot of pain. At this juncture, Vinay got a call. He left the room to attend the call. Then Anjali took out her MIT application letter. It read, in the address area,
Mr.Shreyas.S,
75, Sampige Road,
Malleswaram.
Chapter 5
Anjali was in Delhi. As successful as ever, now with ideas of doing a PhD in MIT. She had been offered that, without even applying. It had been one of the most wonderful phases of her life. She had definitely walked out of the Vinay phase. She felt sad for Rahul in her hearts of hearts, he had been so nice to her after all. But she had an ego problem. She was not ready to apologize and settle things. She wanted him to come and do the needful for the friendship to live on. He didn’t seem to be doing anything. She had sent two mails, but she hadn’t gotten replies for them. He just didn’t seem to care much about her any more. Then why did she alone have to care about him?
Around a couple of days back, Vinay had made a surprise call. He said he was coming to Delhi to attend a camp. He also told her that Rahul had run over his leg and made him one-legged, just to extract revenge. This egged her to furiousness. She hated to hear that Rahul had done something as terrible as that. She now had lost even the little space she had for Rahul within herself. Now, Vinay had come to Delhi, and she wanted to soothe him and his bitterness for have become victim to such a painful incident. So, she accepted Vinay’s offer and decided to go and meet him. Before that, she had one work. She had to find out who was responsible for her MIT scholarship. So, she sat googling the address from which her MIT application had gone.
Around a couple of days back, Vinay had made a surprise call. He said he was coming to Delhi to attend a camp. He also told her that Rahul had run over his leg and made him one-legged, just to extract revenge. This egged her to furiousness. She hated to hear that Rahul had done something as terrible as that. She now had lost even the little space she had for Rahul within herself. Now, Vinay had come to Delhi, and she wanted to soothe him and his bitterness for have become victim to such a painful incident. So, she accepted Vinay’s offer and decided to go and meet him. Before that, she had one work. She had to find out who was responsible for her MIT scholarship. So, she sat googling the address from which her MIT application had gone.
Chapter 4
Rahul and Shreyas were discussing the Poincare’ Conjucture. They were discussing about the proof a mathematician had very recently developed, but they weren’t very convinced about the proof. As they were chatting, the door opened. Rahul from the inner cabin asked, ‘Who is it?’ A very familiar voice replies, ‘This is Abhinav’s brother.’
‘Come in’
As Abhinav’s brother came in, Rahul and Shreyas got up in a state of shock. And lo, in front of them was present Vinay. A one-legged Vinay. The two of them were freaked out. They asked Vinay to sit, and started enquiring.
Rahul: How are you? How did this happen?
Vinay: I’m good. This was an accident. A car accident. A drunk lorry driver ran over me.
Shreyas: Oh shit, that sounds bad. Did you try prosthetics or something of that sort?
Vinay: I’m trying. If I get anything of that sort, I’ll definitely try them out. So how have you guys been? I’ve been reading up about you guys in the papers. Looks like you people are rocking the world of mathematics a big deal.
Shreyas: Yea
Rahul: Atleast we are trying to.
Vinay: Do you have any contacts with Anjali? How is she?
Rahul: No, I haven’t talked to her in a long time. Its been nearly 7 years.
Vinay: Ha, that’s a long time indeed.
Rahul: Trust me.
Vinay: Ok dude, see you in class tomorrow.
Rahul: Ok dude, bye.
Shreyas: Bye dude
Vinay left the room, and then made a call to a Delhi local number. On the call being picked, he said, ‘Anjali, I’ve reached Delhi. Can we meet?’
‘Come in’
As Abhinav’s brother came in, Rahul and Shreyas got up in a state of shock. And lo, in front of them was present Vinay. A one-legged Vinay. The two of them were freaked out. They asked Vinay to sit, and started enquiring.
Rahul: How are you? How did this happen?
Vinay: I’m good. This was an accident. A car accident. A drunk lorry driver ran over me.
Shreyas: Oh shit, that sounds bad. Did you try prosthetics or something of that sort?
Vinay: I’m trying. If I get anything of that sort, I’ll definitely try them out. So how have you guys been? I’ve been reading up about you guys in the papers. Looks like you people are rocking the world of mathematics a big deal.
Shreyas: Yea
Rahul: Atleast we are trying to.
Vinay: Do you have any contacts with Anjali? How is she?
Rahul: No, I haven’t talked to her in a long time. Its been nearly 7 years.
Vinay: Ha, that’s a long time indeed.
Rahul: Trust me.
Vinay: Ok dude, see you in class tomorrow.
Rahul: Ok dude, bye.
Shreyas: Bye dude
Vinay left the room, and then made a call to a Delhi local number. On the call being picked, he said, ‘Anjali, I’ve reached Delhi. Can we meet?’
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