Cable சங்கர்

PART 7 It had been raining incessantly all day. It was Meera’s birthday. We had already made plans for a movie and dinner. It was midnight and it was pouring. By the time I dropped Shraddha at her apartment, we were soaked to the bones. That was the first time she’d ever asked me to come home. It was a tastefully done up two-bedroomed apartment. She quickly changed into pyjamas and a casual T-shirt. The few droplets of water that still remained in her hair gleamed as they caught the lights in the room. She disappeared into one of the rooms and came back with a towel and some clothes. “Go, change. They are my brother’s clothes. He stays here when he comes to India.” I kept looking at her without moving. As if to stop me from saying anything more, she pressed the clothes into my hands and nudged me into a room nearby, “C’mon, go,” she said. By the time I changed and got back, the living-room was filled with the most pleasant aroma of coffee. The coffee was comforting in the heavy...

Déjà vu - Part 6 Translated By Priya Arun  from the Original Tamil Novella, Meendum Oru Kaadhal Kadhai by  Cable Sankar PART 6 I couldn’t get a wink of sleep all that night. I kept touching my cheek all the time. Something told me she might be in love with me too. But I wasn’t sure. She comes from a country where even a kiss on the lips is no big deal. What’s a little peck on the cheek? Who knows if she were to tell me the next day that I reminded her of her brother! I was very confused.

Déjà vu Translated By Priya Arun  from the Original Tamil Novella, Meendum Oru Kaadhal Kadhai by  Cable Sankar Part 5 The name displayed on my phone was enough to wipe away the slightest hint of sleep in my eyes. I grabbed the phone, sat up in a hurry but answered the phone with a pretense of coolness, “Yes Shraddha!” “Are you in love with me?” Now, that was something I hadn’t expected from her. I didn’t know what to say. Before I could realise, I had blurted out a ‘yes’. Woah! That was quite fast. There wasn’t any response. I kept calling out, there was complete silence. I knew she hadn’t hung up. I then heard a crackly voice, “Let’s meet tomorrow evening at Nungambakkam... Coffee  Day,” she said before hanging up. I was thrilled to bits. My heart was in my mouth. Tomorrow evening...that was a good fifteen-plus hours away. What would I do until then? I couldn’t go back to sleep after the phone call. I did go to work but c...

Déjà vu Translated By Priya Arun  from the Original Tamil Novella, Meendum Oru Kaadhal Kadhai by Cable Sankar PART 4 Why was I falling in love with her? Was it the beauty? If it was just looks, I should have been in love with Meera instead. Was it her mesmerizing curls? Or was it her boyish gait? Until today, I don’t know what it was about her that drove me crazy. Try as I might, I couldn’t take my mind off her. Her thoughts didn't leave me in my sleep too. Funnily, I'd been dreaming of her prancing around like a gaudily dressed Telugu film actress! No one had ever bothered me so much until that time. "Dude, she isn't the regular type. Theirs is not just a loaded but a reputed family. You'd better watch out," warned Meera the next day. I didn't make a big deal out of these new feelings even at that point. But then, I couldn't get even one item off my ‘To Do List’ for that day. I was distracted out of my wits. All I wanted to do was to...

Déjà vu Translated By Priya Arun  from the Original Tamil Novella, Meendum Oru Kaadhal Kadhai by Cable Sankar PART 2  “Don’t you touch my hair!” I yelled out, rather angrily. With their mirthful peals of laughter abruptly cut short, they stared at me looking shocked. I enjoyed the look on Shraddha’s face for a few moments before bursting into a hearty Ha Ha Ha. They saw my laughter and joined in, nervously. “Come on, what’s a man to do?” I said, mildly.   That was it. She threw the half-eaten sandwich on my face and erupted like a volcano, “Idiot! Can’t you take a joke? Is this the way you scream at people? Don’t you know how to behave with women? I wonder who hired you for a Marketing job! Nee ellam enna kizhikke poraai ?” With a quick “sorry” muttered at Meera, she left in a huff. I watched her storm out. Man, such spite! This was the first time a woman had spoken to me so harshly, the first time my own “yelling” tactic had backfired so bad...