Chapter 6

It was an early winter morning. Shvetha and I had planned to travel to Pondicherry, for a getaway. The Ashram was something I always wanted to visit, but never actually had gone to. I thought in the process, I could catch up on some cheap booze too. Though Shvetha wouldn't have been very approving, I would have convinced her.

On that day, life seemed perfect. The bike ride to Pondy was something I could never forget in the years to come. Al Pacino talks in "The Scent of a Woman" about how it is something that is very difficult to forget. Even today, I could cleanly make out and separate the scents of the cologne she wore, and her hair, and if given an option, I'd have chosen that of her hair. The trip to Pondicherry along the East Coast Road was the gateway to heaven.

After the serene Ashram atmosphere, and the booze getting trip I embarked upon after plenty of cajoling, we got going back to Chennai. On the way, she gave me a hug and said she felt like this would be the last time. I wasn't exactly the man for superstitions, but you don't do much other than respond when your girlfriend hugs you. So, I hugged back and told her this would not be the last time. Little did I know that Shvetha was going to be correct once again, as always. As we were driving back to Chennai, her cellphone rang, and she was greeted with some terrible news!