Stories

INFATUATION

---

It was the first day of our college life. The class was full of some hundred and seventy sixteen-seventeen year old boys and girls. The din was unbelievable. All, at once, were excitedly talking to each other. The air was full of expectancy. The noise subsided a bit as our Principal entered the classroom to deliver his welcome address and orientation lecture. The old professor, all of sixty years, rambled on for about half an hour, telling us about this, that and the other. I am sure no one bothered to hear him. There was a break of five minutes before the actual classes began. We were all busy getting introduced to each other, some known and lot of unknown faces. The first class was of chemistry and the name of the professor listed was Prof. Deshmukh. We were all mentally resigned to see an old, balding, bespectacled man. And she walked in.

The entire class inhaled in a big whoosh as one! It was a mass love at first sight! Oh my! She was a sight for sore eyes. She must have been in her early thirties. About five feet three in her flats, she had a small oval face, a nicely perched nose and two mesmerising eyes the shade of deep ocean blue. Her dark black hair cascaded down towards the shoulders in layers. She was wearing one of those colourful silk sarees with a matching sleeveless blouse. A small matching bindi on her forehead and a long mangalsutra nestling between her breasts was the only disheartening aspect about her.

“Good morning students”, Her voice complimented her demeanour. “I am Prabha Deshmukh, head of the chemistry faculty. I am here to teach you Inorganic chemistry.”
Later we learned that she was the youngest in the department and had a doctorate from a renowned US university. No need to say that none of the students ever missed her classes for the whole year.

I was just a shade over sixteen, five feet six and still growing, lean and wiry, with a lot of nervous energy, itching to get on with it. I was above average throughout my school years and had cleared the SSC exam with flying colours.

School is a restricted environment. A lot of control is exerted on students by both teachers and parents. College life has lot of freedom. You can easily make new friends. Time flies. There are abundant extra-curricular activities around. One can easily get distracted from academics. But I was very focussed on my studies. I never allowed grass to grow under my feet. But Prabha Deshmukh was something else.

What was I thinking? I was sixteen, a student. She was our teacher. But still! What was this? Was it attraction? Was it love? Or was it just the dance of hormones raging in my body? There were plenty of beautiful attractive girls around. But I was infatuated with Prabha Deshmukh.

We had three chemistry classes per week. But even otherwise, Prabha Deshmukh was always around in the college campus. I had no difficulty understanding the chemistry lessons. But that was the difficulty. Finally, I decided to drum up some difficulty just to go and meet Prabha Deshmukh.

During the recess I went up to her room. She was sitting at her desk in her cabin. She was writing some notes. As usual, she was looking good enough to eat.
I knocked on her semi-glass door and pushed it open. She looked up and inquired,
“Yes?”
“May I come in ma’am? I said. My heart was running at a canter by now.
“Yeah, come in.”
I went in and stood in front of her. She took her time finishing whatever that she was doing. I was standing there, thinking I am going to have a coronary. Finally, she looked up and said,
“What is it?”
“M… ma’am, I..I..have some difficulties.” Normally I am a confident talker, but I was stammering.
“You are?”
“S…Sujay Joshi, from FY class.”
“Oh, yes, I have seen you in the class. Have a seat.”
I sat down. I swallowed a bit and wiped my sweating palms on my trousers. Calming down, I explained my “difficulty”. She cleared it in a few sentences. I anyway knew the answers. I thanked her and got up.
“Good that you are taking your studies seriously. You are always welcome here.”
I came down the stairs, my feet barely touching the steps.

The time was literally flying. We had our midsem exams. I stood first in chemistry in the class. Prabha, - now for me it was just Prabha in my mind – congratulated me in the class. Did I mention I was good in other activities also? I was a pretty good singer. Naturally I enrolled myself in the music competition. And guess who was the chairperson of the jury? Prabha, of course! I won the competition and went on to represent our college in intercollegiate competition. Our college group was led by Prabha. She herself was a good singer. My interaction with Prabha kept on growing. I no longer needed to drum up “difficulties” to see her. She was sharp enough to see through my ruse, anyway. Apart from being beautiful, she was intelligent and knew her subject well. She was a good teacher and had a knack of making every student understand whatever she was teaching. By the end of the year, we knew each other quite well.

I cleared first year with distinction. A holiday of one month, before the opening of the new year felt like eternity to me. Thankfully, she again taught us inorganic chemistry in second year. My interaction with her, though only at academic level, kept on growing. But soon it was time to say goodbye. I passed the second year and got admitted to B.Tech. course in chemical engineering.

I went to her cabin for the last time. She looked the same as she had done during our first meeting, beautiful, poised and radiant. It was proving to be more difficult than I thought. She probably understood everything. Women are always more perceptive than we give them credit for. I thanked her for all her help. She congratulated me for my admission and wished me luck. I came away and cried buckets, for the first time in my life.

I had trouble concentrating on my studies during the first couple of months of my engineering. But slowly the memories started to diminish. I got engulfed by new adventures of life. During four years of engineering, I met Gayatri. We became close friends and fell in love with each other. Gayatri was studying psychology. I soon forgot all about Prabha. I got a job through campus interview in a chemical engineering company. I worked at the plant and gained valuable experience in three years. In between we got married. Gayatri started her own practice. I was looking for greener pastures after three years of labour. I started looking for new assignment. I was interviewed for the post of plant manager in Arunprabha Chemicals and was selected within a few days.

I joined the company and spent one year learning the tricks of trade. I started interacting with the top management of the company on a regular basis. Mr Arun Deshmukh was the founding member and MD of the company. He invited me for a one-on-one early morning, one day. He straightaway came to the point. A big order was coming up. But it required a huge augmentation of the plant, that too within a span of three months. He wanted my opinion as a plant manager. I said that it was doable, but needed lot of fresh investment. I outlined a plan. He gave me a go ahead and told me not to worry about finances. Within three months plant was ready. The first batch of chemicals was out in another month and the whole order was executed in a record span of five and a half months.

We had huge celebrations on the completion of orders. I received a special award from the MD.
After a week or so, my phone rang. Mr Arun Deshmukh was on the line. He invited me and Gayatri for dinner at his home the following Saturday. I was delighted at this invitation and accepted immediately.

I, along with Gayatri, reached the bungalow of Mr. Deshmukh around 7 pm. It was a single-story structure, painted white with a well-maintained garden in front. A table for four was set under the beach umbrella. Mr. Deshmukh appeared at the patio and shook hands with me and Gayatri. Gayatri handed him the bouquet of flowers.
“Let us sit outside. It’s very pleasant these days. My wife will join us in a few minutes.”
We sat at the table.
“We will have drinks as soon as my wife is here. You know women,” Arun said, smiling at Gayatri,” They will always take their own sweet time. Meanwhile let me lay down the rules. It is a strictly social affair, no office talk. So, what do you do, Gayatri?’
“I am a psychiatrist, however, no office talk, as you said.” Gayatri said, smiling at him.
“Never under estimate a woman, and a beautiful woman at that.” Said Arun. We indulged in small chitchat, waiting for Mrs. Deshmukh to join us. “Good evening, guys.” And there was Prabha, in flesh and as beautiful as ever. For the first time in my life, I was tongue tied. No words were forthcoming. Gayatri was looking at me in a bemused manner. She of course, new the whole story. No secrets between husband and wife, right?
“Hello Sujay, how are you?” Prabha asked.
“H.. Hello ma’am, I am Fine,” I stammered. “This is a surprise. This is Gayatri, my wife.”
“Oh, you are beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Gayatri said,” and you are lovely, just as Sujay described you.”
“Oh, and what else did he tell you about me?”
“Enough to write a book on you.” Gayatri and Prabha both laughed.
“I have known all about you ever since you left the college,” said Prabha, “Arun was a member of board of studies in your engineering college. You must have seen him there. He knew all about you since your college days. He had kept an eye on you and inducted you in our company at the appropriate time. You see, I am a sleeping partner, no pun intended, in Arunprabha Chemicals.”
Prabha had aged, but gracefully. The beauty and the poise were still the same. I was having difficulty keeping my eyes off her. She could sense that. Both Gayatri and Arun were enjoying my discomfort. Drinks were served, followed by, dinner and desert. I do not remember what we had. We talked about the old college days, about Arun’s career and Gayatri’s practice. I spoke very little.
“But Arun doesn’t know one small thing about Sujay.” Prabha said. I didn’t know what was coming next. “He sings well. Let us hear from him.”
Gayatri nodded and I started singing the gazal by Ghulam Ali,
Woh kabhi mil jaye to kya kijiye
And I saw Prabha blushing.
After saying goodbye, we left. I was unusually quiet, driving back. Gayatri, sensing my mood also did not break the silence.

In our bedroom, after the lights were out Gayatri said, “Sujay, no need to feel guilty about this. It happens to everyone in their life. I also had a crush on my professor. He was tall, dark handsome with a beautiful voice. But it wears out with time. You are at an age when hormones are messing your mind. One gets over it. But you know the best part of this? In your case, believe it or not, it was a two-way street.”