Just the Way You Are by Sanjeev Ranjan Read Free Book Online

sorry. I am actually going home for Diwali. It was so sudden that I couldn’t even inform you. I am in Agra and will catch the train from here.’
    ‘Oh.’
    ‘And everyone else in our flat has left for home. And it’s locked.’
    ‘So when will you be coming back?’ I asked, a bit nervous.
    ‘Not sure about it. It all depends on the availability of tickets, you see. If possible, please make some other arrangement. Once I come back, I will search for a PG for you. It’s not a big deal, trust me.’
    I had nothing more to say. ‘Okay, sure. Thanks.’ I hung up and stubbed the phone on the seat. It toppled over like my hopes. Hope. Ah! That’s surely the wrong word. Not to be found in my dictionary, at least, I thought bitterly.
    I went completely blank after that. I didn’t know what to do and whom to talk to. I could not believe that people could be so callous. He could have definitely called me once or maybe texted me. Was he lying? It’s difficult to say nowadays what kind of notions people harbour in their minds. Or maybe Delhi makes you such. Dunno! Anyway, I had to figure out the next POA now. Dad was actually right. You never know where you may end up therefore a hotel seemed to be the ideal solution for the time being. I hoped the train would reach before it turned dark. It would otherwise be difficult to navigate through the city. Plus I had no idea which way to go look out for a good, cheap hotel.
    I kept sitting by the window for a while, staring into space, and then thought of calling up Gaurav. He had once told me that in case I found myself in any trouble in Delhi, I should let him know. He knew a good number of places. Affordable ones!
    I called him. After three rings, he answered the phone.
    ‘Hello, Gaurav. Sameer here.’
    ‘Yeah, Sameer. Tell me. How are you?’
    ‘Yeah. I am fine. I am about to reach Delhi in an hour or two but due to some problem, I may have to find myself a hotel for the time being.’
    ‘Okay. No problem. Do one thing. Which station will you be reaching?’ he asked.
    ‘Hazrat Nizamuddin.’
    ‘Okay. Take an auto from there to Paharganj. And ask anyone there about Hotel Priya Palace. They know me. You can give my reference also. It’s quite affordable.’
    I felt relaxed after this.
    As expected, the train reached New Delhi at around 4 pm and with all my luggage, I somehow managed to reach Hotel Priya Palace.
    I had come to Delhi for the first time. So I was naturally very excited. I picked up my phone and soon posted on Facebook:
Back to the relic root of India, with Khan’s, parathe, Chandni, minars, and of course Sameer ... on a roll with Dilli!! Hellooooooo!’
    That week was very uncomfortable for me. First, I had to stay in the hotel and commuting was really difficult. And the HR head of my company was on leave. I had to wait till she got back and literally struggled to find the location of my office. This is exactly why I don’t put much faith in companies in this country. They could have easily mailed me or it could have been a self-generating message where they could have let me know which office centre was to be assigned to me. Morons!
    Then it was Diwali. It was the first time that I had to spend the festival alone in a hotel. I was sad and flashes of home lit with candles and diyas streamed in my head like a film. The sound of crackers filled my ears and I could once again smell the familiar gunpowder-burnt air on the night, as I did on Diwalis spent at home. How might they be spending the day this year? The faces of my parents floated up like smoke in front of me and I could see the reflection of a faraway lit lantern on the wall of my room. I had a strange urge to run out and walk down the street but I was too sad. I finally decided that the perfect solution to such situations was Facebook. I logged in and scrolled down to find a shock awaiting me.
    Satyan and his girlfriend had posted pictures on Facebook in an album titled: ‘Diwali in Noida’.
    I