STAGE

Sunlight streamed into the modest hostel room, kissing the face of the

girl sleeping next to the window. Stretching luxuriously, Sehmat woke up

and glanced around to find Mitali, her room-mate, still asleep. She

slipped into her bathroom slippers and decided to go to the hostel mess

for her morning tea. She went downstairs to find that the cook wasn’t

there yet. Sehmat decided to stroll around the hostel grounds as it was a

pleasant morning.

The air was fresh and the birds were flying about, in search of scraps

of food. A pigeon scampered in front of her, focused on something on

the ground. Impressed by the lush green surroundings, the lone bird soon

began marking his territory on the vast grassy carpet by pumping air into

his neck and going around in circles. As if on cue, more pigeons joined

in, challenging its authority and starting a beak fight in the process.

Sehmat sat on the steps and began observing nature at its best. Her

face broke into a smile, which soon turned into a loud giggle. It was not

the pigeons’ tap dance but the memory of how Aby had admitted his

love for her at the library the previous day that made her laugh. What she

could not see was the radiance on her own face, a natural glow which no

cosmetics in the world could have brought out.

Even as Sehmat was engrossed in her thoughts, the cook had come

back to the kitchen. Seeing Sehmat at peace with herself, he couldn’t

help admiring her. She was blushing, he noticed, but didn’t understand

why. But he cared for her and was pleased to see her in such great spirits.

He approached her, holding a hot cup of tea on a tray.

‘Good morning, Miss Sehmat. I heard about your excellent dance

performance yesterday. Congratulations. May you always come out withflying colours!’

Sehmat looked at the aged chef and smiled, ‘Thank you, Dheeraj

Kaka. That’s sweet of you. By the grace of God, it went off very well.

Your good wishes helped indeed.’ The cook was touched by her

humility.

Extending the tea tray towards her, he pointed to the sky and

remarked, ‘He does not make simple and warm people like you every

day. To be in Meerabai’s shoes is no mean feat. And which is why he

selects special people for special roles.’

Sehmat gracefully accepted his compliments and the tea. There was a

big lesson in his plain words, she thought. Taking a quick sip, she raised

her eyebrows in appreciation and requested another cup. The chef

obliged. Holding both cups, she began climbing the stairs to her room.

On the staircase, she bumped into a few early risers who were making a

beeline for their morning tea as well. While Anjali, a second-year

student, congratulated her, Helen, her classmate, laced her sentence with

sarcasm, ‘You seem to be the lucky one, winning two trophies in a single

day!’

Sehmat simply smiled in return and continued climbing the steps. She

pushed open the door to her private sanctuary and found her room-mate

still asleep. Mitali’s magnanimous gesture during the competition had

removed the wedge of mistrust between them and had brought the two

dancers closer than ever before.

‘Wake up, sleepyhead, it is the room service,’ she said. Getting no

response, she continued, ‘Oh, don’t you want to know all the details of

yesterday. The offer expires in ten minutes and after that no matter how

much you plead, I won’t tell you anything.’

Mitali sprang up from her bed as if jolted by an electric current.

Smiling and yawning almost at the same time, she accepted her cup. The

mischief in her eyes showed that she was ready and wide awake. ‘If love

makes you get me a cup of tea each morning, I pray you never fall out of

it.’

‘Just this morning, dear. I woke up early and decided to be nice to

you,’ quipped Sehmat. She then picked up her pillow, put it on her lapand sat down on Mitali’s bed to regale her with details of the entire

incident, ending with the comments from Helen on the staircase.

Mitali dismissed Helen’s comments with an elegant wave of her hand,

fully aware that Sehmat was capable of standing up for herself. ‘Those

girls are jealous for a reason. Both of you are stunning creatures. Aby

has been the heart-throb from the moment he joined college. Then you

walked in and many of us began to wonder when you would cross paths.

It was obvious to all that Aby was in love with you but we were never

sure about your feelings for him.’ The girls chatted for another hour

before preparing for another day. Sehmat dressed slowly and carefully as

if it were her first day in college. The woman in her had begun to take

charge.

They were greeted with both pleasant and unpleasant looks all through

the long corridor. Bemused, the girls giggled their way to the classroom.

Sehmat looked around for Aby amongst the few students who had

arrived, her eyes scanning the rear bench that he usually occupied. Mitali

was quick to notice her disappointment. ‘Oh, so from now on, the lady

would prefer to sit at the back for a panoramic view and take lessons on

love rather than attend the lecture?’

Sehmat smiled back meekly but did not respond. Holding her by the

elbow, Mitali climbed up the steps of the class and walked to the last row

of benches. The classroom began to fill up as more students arrived. The

two took the fifth bench from the rear. Mitali looked at Sehmat’s

disappointed face and said, ‘He’ll come. Men often need more time to

get ready. After all, it is his first day too!’

The first lecture on Shakespeare dragged endlessly, even though it was

Sehmat’s favourite subject. Walking up and down the stage, the professor

described Romeo’s eternal love for Juliet. He described the scene when

Juliet appears in the balcony and Romeo looks at her. ‘Thou . . .’ he

began the dialogue of Romeo. He was so engrossed that his hand went

up comically as he enacted the scene, leading to bursts of laughter from

the students. But Sehmat was not paying attention. With her head resting

on her arm, she was waiting for her Romeo to arrive. Her eyes were

closed, and she was blissfully unaware of the comic melodrama that was

taking place in the class.

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