Last night I went to a high profile wedding. I had received the invitation 16 days in advance, giving me enough time to decide whether to skip the wedding or tag along with another friend who is also invited. Actually, it was my former boss’s daughter’s wedding. I could easily understand the wedding will see the who’s who of the town. So, exposure-wise, it would do me an immense good. But then again, I am not the kind who would put on façade and hang around with people I don’t get along well with. It’s clearly not my cup of tea. And this wedding would definitely have a potpourri of personalities who may not gel with me. On the flip side, this wedding would give me an opportunity to zero in on people who would require our agency’s services. That way, attending the wedding would leverage the volume of my business. So, carefully weighing the pros and cons, I finally decided to attend it. Donned in formals with a gift tucked under my arm, I hit the wedding reception.
My jaw dropped when I saw the magnificently decorated venue with all the top brass of the city. It had everyone you would swoon over. I mean everybody who is somebody. Under the starlit sky the place dazzled with flashy designer wear, laughter and cool music. Trees were decked with incandescent lights like a bride. Soft jazz, like that of Kenny G’s, floated in the air. Men were dressed to make an impression while women were dressed to kill! Guests casually strolled delicately balancing wine glasses in their fingers. A few others were having close talks with loud guffaws in between. I saw some Telugu cine actors and actresses queuing up to hand over gifts and blessings to the couple. The whole place reeked of exquisite wealth and grandeur.
From the corner of the eye I could notice a few stars, not the ones scattered above in the black expanse of the sky, but those who light up a twinkle of recognition in the eye when you see them. And then suddenly my eyes fell on someone. I couldn’t believe my eyes that he was there. My heart stopped beating. My mind became numb for a moment. He’s someone the whole world longs to be photographed with. Cricket is the word that links him. No, not Harsha Bogle! One of the finest Indian batsmen, a man feared and revered for his batting skills. Yes, Sachin Tendulkar!
Attired in a double breasted blue suit with a dark matching tie against a white shirt, he looked elegant! I tracked him all through the evening as he greeted guests with his trade-mark shy smile. Everyone seemed jubilant at his presence! Some were taking autographs.
Finally, the crowds started thinning around midnight. Even I decided to leave after bidding goodbye to my former boss. While I was having a final chat with my boss, I suddenly felt a pat on my shoulder. I turned around to find Sachin Tendulkar smiling. He said, “Hi, how are you?” I was like zapped. I mean literally blown apart. I stammered, “I am fine, thank you. How about you, sir?” (I don’t remember whether the queen gave him “Sir” or not but I certainly remember saying sir). Then he looked at the host, smiled and said, “Do you know Daniel is a very fine cricketer?” I was like, “Huh?” I did play some cricket when I was in school and college but not in a way that would interest Sachin to watch. He added to our host, “You remember the sweep shots I play when I face spin bowling; he used to play just like me.”
I was going nuts and my mind started running helter-skelter. Trying to pick the year and the day when I played cricket while Sachin watched. Flash back. The year was 1989. I found myself driving the ball to the boundary. I only had one pad tied to my left leg. Not that it was customary then to tie one pad, but we, 15-year-olds, didn’t have the money to buy two pairs of pads for the opener and the other batsman. Even as the images of our live cricket of 80’s slowly started filling my head, I could see there was no sight of Sachin. No where.
Back to 2009. I was staring dumbfounded at Sachin. Nothing he was talking was making sense. That’s when someone scampered to us and said to the host, “Sir, there has been a small fire mishap at the back of the stage but thankfully nobody is hurt. We have informed the fire service; they would be here any moment.” Even while he was saying that we could hear the ear-piercing sirens of a fire engine. The sirens simply grew louder, louder and louder. It was like there was no stopping!
That’s when I suddenly woke up out of my sleep.
Stared at the phone from where the ear-piercing alarm sounds emanated. In a flash, everyone and everything interesting disappeared -- Sachin Tendulkar, my former boss, the wedding and the guests. I realized all this was only a dream. Ear piercing sirens were not from the fire engine but from my alarm on the phone. Last night I put an alarm on my mobile to get up early so I could go for a jog. That's what actually woke me up.
It was five-thirty in the morning. As I was putting on my jogging tracks, I thought to myself, “Sachin watching me play cricket, my foot! This could happen only in dreams.”
My jaw dropped when I saw the magnificently decorated venue with all the top brass of the city. It had everyone you would swoon over. I mean everybody who is somebody. Under the starlit sky the place dazzled with flashy designer wear, laughter and cool music. Trees were decked with incandescent lights like a bride. Soft jazz, like that of Kenny G’s, floated in the air. Men were dressed to make an impression while women were dressed to kill! Guests casually strolled delicately balancing wine glasses in their fingers. A few others were having close talks with loud guffaws in between. I saw some Telugu cine actors and actresses queuing up to hand over gifts and blessings to the couple. The whole place reeked of exquisite wealth and grandeur.
From the corner of the eye I could notice a few stars, not the ones scattered above in the black expanse of the sky, but those who light up a twinkle of recognition in the eye when you see them. And then suddenly my eyes fell on someone. I couldn’t believe my eyes that he was there. My heart stopped beating. My mind became numb for a moment. He’s someone the whole world longs to be photographed with. Cricket is the word that links him. No, not Harsha Bogle! One of the finest Indian batsmen, a man feared and revered for his batting skills. Yes, Sachin Tendulkar!
Attired in a double breasted blue suit with a dark matching tie against a white shirt, he looked elegant! I tracked him all through the evening as he greeted guests with his trade-mark shy smile. Everyone seemed jubilant at his presence! Some were taking autographs.
Finally, the crowds started thinning around midnight. Even I decided to leave after bidding goodbye to my former boss. While I was having a final chat with my boss, I suddenly felt a pat on my shoulder. I turned around to find Sachin Tendulkar smiling. He said, “Hi, how are you?” I was like zapped. I mean literally blown apart. I stammered, “I am fine, thank you. How about you, sir?” (I don’t remember whether the queen gave him “Sir” or not but I certainly remember saying sir). Then he looked at the host, smiled and said, “Do you know Daniel is a very fine cricketer?” I was like, “Huh?” I did play some cricket when I was in school and college but not in a way that would interest Sachin to watch. He added to our host, “You remember the sweep shots I play when I face spin bowling; he used to play just like me.”
I was going nuts and my mind started running helter-skelter. Trying to pick the year and the day when I played cricket while Sachin watched. Flash back. The year was 1989. I found myself driving the ball to the boundary. I only had one pad tied to my left leg. Not that it was customary then to tie one pad, but we, 15-year-olds, didn’t have the money to buy two pairs of pads for the opener and the other batsman. Even as the images of our live cricket of 80’s slowly started filling my head, I could see there was no sight of Sachin. No where.
Back to 2009. I was staring dumbfounded at Sachin. Nothing he was talking was making sense. That’s when someone scampered to us and said to the host, “Sir, there has been a small fire mishap at the back of the stage but thankfully nobody is hurt. We have informed the fire service; they would be here any moment.” Even while he was saying that we could hear the ear-piercing sirens of a fire engine. The sirens simply grew louder, louder and louder. It was like there was no stopping!
That’s when I suddenly woke up out of my sleep.
Stared at the phone from where the ear-piercing alarm sounds emanated. In a flash, everyone and everything interesting disappeared -- Sachin Tendulkar, my former boss, the wedding and the guests. I realized all this was only a dream. Ear piercing sirens were not from the fire engine but from my alarm on the phone. Last night I put an alarm on my mobile to get up early so I could go for a jog. That's what actually woke me up.
It was five-thirty in the morning. As I was putting on my jogging tracks, I thought to myself, “Sachin watching me play cricket, my foot! This could happen only in dreams.”
P.S: The wedding was real. Yes, all the high profile guests did arrive, except for Sachin Tendulkar ;). But unfortunately I had missed out on the wedding as well as the reception due to my other prior engagements. The thought I missed the party…gave me the dream. The dream gave me the post. The post gave me a high. ;)
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