Anticipation
Anticipation is a queer feeling. The thing that you are anticipating is not as relevant as the anticipation itself. It could be an object, an event or even a display of emotions. I started my journey today in anticipation of a very basic thing. Too basic to even write about it. Yes, I anticipated gorging on a plate of Masala dosa and tea at Ni4. Ni4 isn't a chip or a code, but it is a restaurant by the side of a highway. It is a humble joint unlike the roots and branches of Starbucks and McDonald’s that we can boast of having visited.
I was there a month ago and had shared the most satisfying breakfast over there with my best friend. Both of us love good food and conversation. And whenever we meet over a meal we get so transfixed to our chairs, the table and dishes between us that the whole world seems to shrink into that 4x4 square feet space. Even the waiters feel that they must stay away instead of popping up with their pleasantries. This has happened so many times and that morning at Ni4 was no different.
We were meeting after a very long time. He was in town for some work and we had decided to catch up. We managed to find for ourselves a very pretty corner and took our seats. The ambience was calm and soothing, the kind that fills you with the inspiration to write, think and create. The window by the side of our table was wide open and through it ample morning sunshine and a crisp autumn breeze was rushing in. It rustled my hair as well as the thin stalks of anthurium that were meticulously centred upon the table. In no time we were talking and laughing away. Once in a while I would look far out of the window and then back into his eyes. Those eyes were always full of warmth and wit. My friend is a gifted story teller, even a mundane day-to-day event sounds like a chapter from a beautiful storybook through his words. We complement each other very well, he loves to talk and I love to listen. When it comes to food, we have an even better chemistry. It is as if our minds and tummies are wired together. So when the waiter showed up, we almost muttered together - "Masala dosa and chai.” The waiter smiled and left us giggling at our insane habit of thinking the exact same thing, be it a situation or a conversation. We talked about our work, our travels, about our hobbies - the story that he had just finished, the portrait that I had just begun; we kept on weaving our conversation with these colourful threads losing all count of time. It made me heady - that bright and breezy morning, an awesome company and a savoury dosa to go with the conversation. What else does one need to be happy? Those moments had it all - love, laughter and contentment.
We soon parted our ways but as we did, I carried those moments with me back home; they kept flashing in front of that inner eye making me smile each time, sometimes even making me yearn to live that moment again. So on that day when I was hurriedly summoned into the boss's office and allotted the assigment to be carried out in Tezpur, all that kept flashing in my mind was Ni4. Because Ni4 stands invitingly by the side of the highway leading to Tezpur. I knew at once what I had to do. I must go there, sit by the same corner table, order a masala dosa and facetime my friend. A simple arrangement it was, but it was sure to fill my heart with loads of happiness. And in anticipation of those happy moments in Ni4 with my friend across the screen and a plate of gustatory delight I started my journey today.