Diary from Heaven

The First Drag

The year was 1998, the year when India, officially, joined the League of Nations with nuclear capability. Arun never liked school, so when he completed his schooling, he was relieved and was in no mood to get back to a classroom anytime sooner.

He was preparing for competitive examinations. His day usually started quite early with a short ride to the gymnasium in Mianwali Colony, close to where he lived. At the gymnasium, he would meet Mahender and Manu, his schoolmates, and pump iron for an hour or so and then do some bird watching on his LML Scooter around old Gurgaon. He would usually head back home around 09:00 AM to hand over the scooter to his dad and brother, who would need it to go to their office, the Printing Press. 

Arun, Mahender and Manu were standing next to a cigarette shop in front of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) residential complex in the Civil Lines, Gurgaon. It was a pleasant morning, so they all were enjoying the breeze. They were standing, across the road, in front of the building. Their target was the second-floor balcony of building 2A, where Mahender’s girlfriend lived.

“Quickly guys gather around, she’s about to come out in the balcony,” said Mahender, looking at his watch as Arun and Manu changed their focus from a girl walking on the road to the balcony on the second floor.

Mahender took out a cigarette, lit it up and took the first drag. He passed the cigarette to Manu as she still hadn’t come out. Manu gave the cigarette to Arun, who took his first-ever drag.

Arun visualised John Travolta holding a cigarette in the movie Broken Arrow. He simply adored John Travolta. His visualisation was interrupted by a strange sensation in his chest; this was the cigarette smoke entering his lungs. He was, as it is, nervous about holding the cigarette for the first time, and inhaled too much smoke. He coughed badly as Mahender quickly snatched the cigarette and took a second drag and exhaled the smoke with style.

There she was; standing in the balcony playing with her partly brown hair. Mahender took another drag as she smiled and blew a flying kiss towards him before walking back inside. She blushed looking back, before disappearing, as Mahender caught the kiss, and planted it on his lips.

As she disappeared, Mahender quickly got behind a tree and spat and coughed while throwing the cigarette away. Meanwhile, Arun was still coughing, and Manu was rubbing his back, trying to comfort him.

“What the hell was that?” asked Arun, barely controlling his cough.

“What do you mean? It was a cigarette,” replied Mahender, still spitting while hiding behind the tree.

“I very well know how a cigarette smells, and that wasn’t it,” shouted Arun furiously.

“How do you know the smell of a cigarette when you have never even touched one before?” said Mahender sarcastically.

“I may not have tasted it, but I hang around you imbeciles and know exactly how a cigarette smells,” said Arun.

“SO WHAT WAS IT?” he demanded an explanation.

“It was a joint,” said Mahender sounding a bit nervous.

“A WHAT?” yelled Arun.

“A joint,” said Mahender in an even lower volume and ran like hell.

“You son of a...” yelled Arun as he ran after Mahender, and so did Manu. They caught hold of Mahender, who ran towards Arun’s scooter parked behind the shops. They pushed him to the ground and gave him a few friendly blows. They laughed out loud as Arun helped Mahender get up.

“Bhabhi is beautiful, bro,” said Manu, sheepishly talking about the girl in the balcony.

Arun cleaned the dirt off Mahender’s clothes. They all did a high-five and boarded Arun’s LML scooter. All three would fit perfectly on the LML scooter’s single seat.

Today was as close to seeing live romance as Arun ever got. Arun was a shy boy and what he saw and did today was an adventure for him. He smoked a joint, well almost did, and saw a girl blow a flying kiss to a guy; now that was awesome! Mahender was the hero of the group because he managed to get a girlfriend.

The year was 1998 and Arun and party were through with twelfth standard exams, so it was a fun time. Every morning, they would go to the gymnasium and then to the bus stop next to a shopping arcade on the railway road for some bird watching.

Mahender’s father was a pharmacist while Manu’s father was a businessman. Arun hailed from a service class family, and his father retired last year from a Centre Government job. His father, Hardev, had started a printing press, something which he had wanted to do all his life.

Arun and his siblings were brought up under the strict discipline in a small city, so it took some time before they all got used to living in a big city. He missed his friends big-time from the small town, close to Ambala, and he did whatever he had to do to fit in, even if it meant smoking or drinking once a while to impress the group.

His school in Gurgaon was located on the outskirts of the city on the Sohna Road. Malibu town buildings were the only high-rise on Sohna road then. Those days Sohna road was surrounded by farms on both sides, but now it’s a happening place, full of malls and shopping centres.