First Luv ? Part I

My friend asked me to write about pahilo prem... so here goes my story!

I fell in love for the very first time when I was 14. Before that I was busy playing marbles and trying to hypnotize ladies with my eyes. Well, playing marbles didn't get me any further and I guess I didn't grasp my reading of hypnosis theory.

Then I met this girl. She was 16... she went to some school in the 76th district!

Every winter when she came back home for her vacation, all the neighborhood wise guys would be on the street, dressed like @#$!ing cowboys. Well, Dingos boots were the craze in those days and I was the only bloke without one.

My choice of footwear was just plain flip flops. I liked wearing my Dad's old shirts. No, not the Rajesh Khanna types.... I think it was from Marks & Spencer but it wasn't fashionable to dress up like a preppy then!

This girl was really cool. Part of her coolness was that she only spoke Angrezi, drove her father's Japanese Gaadi and she dressed like she was going to the debutante's ball... everyday! And she was already in love with the local gang leader.

In those days, gangs were cool. You didn't fight with khukhuris, guns or rods or Chains. I think chains were used sometimes... especially after that Hindi flick 'Shiva' was released.

Even though she was dating a local guy, all of us were always trying to impress her with crazy antics. Some would climb her walls and try to throw love letters and flowers and what not. I didn't know where to begin.

Finally a group of wise guys decided that I would be the finalist in this 'who can really hook up with this girl' contest. My opponent was a slick guy, who dressed like James Dean and really was a MetroSexual even before they ever came up with that term.

I was just a skinny guy, dressed in my Dad's old clothes , wearing slippers and learning to fill my lungs with nicotine. How was I supposed to beat this guy? After days of brainstorming with my crew, I finally decided to hire a surveillance crew... a bunch of primary school boys, playing marbles all day!

They were paid in orange balls and cheap biscuits... but it finally paid off. The only routine thing about her schedule was that she liked to visit the local restaurant for afternoon snacks. I decided to have my afternoon khaja @ this joint which turned out to be a cool place.

The owners were from Darjeeling. They were very friendly... like all Dazz folks and since they figured out why I was suddenly making special guest appearances, they decided to help me as well!

After a week of seating at the next table and seriously following 'the law of proximity'... it finally clicked one day. On the eighth day, I ordered a cup of tea (as usual) and instead of sugar... someone decided to put salt. I drank it without complaining... I didn't want to sound like a whiner in front of the lady I was trying to impress!

After finishing my tea, she finally smiled and asked me about my drink. Then there was a small earthquake...not but it felt like one. I just stared at her... couldn't come up with a mind blowing reply. She drove off. I don't think it would take a PhD in pharmacology to figure out who made that 'salty' tea!

Then Archies card shop started to make tons of money. The restaurant became a post office. The owner didn't look happy. Cards, sweets, titauras and flowers and what not. A week of gifts followed and then she finally asked me if I needed something from Dazzworld.

I requested for 'Churpi' and the next week a big bag of Churpi landed on my house. It took me a week to finish it off. Well, the whole neighborhood got a piece and everybody seemed to be walking around the neighborhood as if they had swollen cheeks!

To be continued...