Credits

This is a dedication to all those who have played very important roles in very important parts of my life. I shall definitely like to thank Shreyas, and of course LastBenchers and Nal' N Neal as loads of inspirations for the story revolves around my interactions with them. This might seem my crappiest story to many, but to me, it is the closest to my heart. Shall continue soon.

Ever yours,

Vignesh/Chappli...

Chapter 9

"I now want to play a game. Which of you two wants to die first?"

We were aghast. This guy was playing death with us. We have lots more to see in life, damn you!! And I wasn't responsible for his daughter's murder!!

He had the two of us at gunpoint. The typical game played by all villains in movies was played by him. Two guns. One bullet in each gun. Your luck lets you live as long as you want!!

The first shot, no victim. Second shot also no victim. The same thing happened for three more shots. The sixth shots were about to come. I had an idea. As the trigger went go, I jumped and pushed Shreyas away and saved the two of us. But still there was an AAH.. I thought the two of us had been saved, but where did the sound come from? He had shot Avantika! 

He exclaimed, "I knew you would do something like that! That's why my plan was different. Die, Avantika!!"

That sent in a seething rage into Shreyas and me. We knew this guy didn't have too many people to back him and so we could fight him alone. I rushed at him like a bull charge in the annual Jallikattu. I dashed against and he went back with a snigger. Man, he was powerful! A brawny fight ensued. Repeated hitting each other continued. But suddenly, there was a bullet shot. Ramesh went to the ground, dying!! Shreyas had shot him from the back.

I rushed to Avantika. She had lost a lot of blood, and I started to take her to the hospital. She said she couldn't be saved anyways. Then she told me something I could never forget for the rest of my life.

"Velu, I did actually love you, but I didn't want anything to happen till we finished our studies. Now, I will die, but I want you to be as happy and cheerful as always." *how could I even be half of myself without you?*

"Saying this, she pressed her lips on mine, for a passionate kiss. A tear drop fell out of my eyes, into hers, and she closed her eyes on reflex. As she closed her eyes, the passion in the kiss was slowly lost, and slowly the kiss was lost. I got myself up, and then I realized, Avantika was lost. She was dead! I had not been able to save her. I sobbed uncontrollably as I gazed on to her bloodstained tee, which said, PUT PEACE.

I got up, and hugged Shre, who told whispered into my ears, "Put peace macha, put peace!!"

Chapter 8

It was class 12. We were having the time of our lives, studying and at the same time having fun. It was that time of the year when we used to go to loads of culturals, have fun everywhere, and it was a life of a kind. We were in Maitri, CV's cultural fest, augrably the city's biggest culfest for school kids. People were having fun in their own ways. Avantika, Shreyas, Rohit, Navneet, Sonali and I were having a few juices near the stalls and chatting. That was when the Light Music event began. Sonali and I were yet to finish our juices, and so we asked the others to go and have fun and we'd join them. The others went in. It was then Sonali asked me something. The first time someone asked me that.

"Velu, I want to ask you something."

"Temme di. Wassup?"

"Nothing da. Hope you don't feel different."

"Yeah, carry on!!"

"Hey, I'm in love with you. Just thought I'd propose to you."

I did feel different!! But, I had lost my heart to Avantika. I needed to reason to get this out of her mind.

"Hey, I'm very sorry but I have decided not to accept any proposals till I finish my studies. That is schooling plus college life. If there is something on even after that, come back to me. Till then, we'll just be friends."

I said that and walked back into the hall for the light music show. But, as much as I could remember, Sonali never returned to the show. She never returned to meet us either. That night, she met with a fatal accident. She was hit led by a speeding lorry while crossing the road. I felt very bad for have given her such a bad last day in her life, and never shared the incident with anyone after that. Not even Shreyas!

But why did her father have to do this to us? I always knew Ramesh uncle as a very nice, soft person who helped us in all our times of need. I could not believe he was the person orchestrating the entire kidnap drama. 

"Why are you doing this uncle?"

"Why did you do that to my daughter? Why did you instigate her death? Why did you reject her?"

I was aghast. Sonali did tell her dad about my rejection of her proposal.

"I was not responsible for her death!!"

"You were, you fool. You instigated her to commit suicide!!"

That sent me reeling. Shreyas and Avantika did not understand a thing. 

"Sonali did die of her own will. She ran out of home that night without telling me, and got herself jammed into a lorry. You killed my daughter. I wanted to kill everyone dear to you. I tried to kill Avantika, but Shalini drank the milk kept for her. I diverted your attention to Shreyas and let my guys kidnap Avantika. Now, I have brought all the three of you here. You will all die, right here, right now. Saying this he placed two guns on Shreyas' and my heads respectively.

Chapter 7

He was lying dead in front of me. In blood of a ghastly red. I was shocked. Another twist to my tale. Why did someone have to kill someone who was trying to kill my beloved? I was in a huge fix. Where would I search for my Avantika? What would I do about her?? Where was Shreyas? I had to address a lot of questions now. The lives of so many people was hugely dependent on how I acted at this juncture. I had to do something sensible and at the same time do something radical to save the most dearest people of my life, at the same time. Suddenly, as I was thinking, I stumbled upon a silver pen. It had an archiac A carved on it. It was placed on the doctor's worktable. How did it get here? I remembered this pen. Memories came gushing back.

It was class 11. The date was the 11th of April. It was a normal spring day by all standards, but was in a way special to me. It was Avantika's birthday. That morning when she entered her car, she had a surprise visitor waiting for her in it. Yeah, it was yours truly!! I had bribed her parents into it. As she entered, I wished her a happy birthday that had her off her feet. Then, I took out the most fashionable gift I'd ever presented someone for their birthday. It was a silver pen. She realized it was a pen as she unwrapped the gift covers, but she had a pleasant surprise when it was done. The pen was in silver, and was a delight to the Shakespearen fan. It had an archiac A inscribed on the front and on the back. It had her in pearls of smiles. I cherished each and every of those pearls and they made me feel so good. 

As I remembered that incident, it made me feel Avantika must have just been here, else the pen couldn't have got here. Shit! They got her out right from under my nose. She must be somewhere nearby, I needed to find her immediately. 

I rushed out of the house to find a vehicle. There was the doctor's Harley Davison. I rushed in, got the keys and started. As I got out of the house, I found Ramesh uncle crossing the road. I asked him to get on to the vehicle to help me search. He immediately joined me. 

As I went searching on the roads, Ramesh uncle asked me to try to trace the place from where the call had come last night. I felt like a fool. I had not done this for such a long time. I traced the call down to Taramani. We immediately set off. 

We moved into insti and out of it through the short cuts involved. Straight out we were through the Taramani gate. Now, we went searching for the Chakrapani Street in Thiruvanmiyur, and finally traced down the Gentleman House. It ought to be named the Goondaman House, I thought. I rushed in, searching for my Avantika. There were people all around, but I did manage to sneak in through an open window. There laid Avantika and Shreyas, unconscious. I sprinked some water on them, and slowly they regained consciousness. I signalled a thumbs up through the window to Ramesh uncle. He signalled back, and we made for our way out. I opened the door to go out, when a body turned the other way said 'You CAN'T Escape!!'

'Who the hell are you!!'

The person turned, giving me the shock of my life. It was absolutely possible, but definitely not expected!!

Chapter 6

I woke up amidst strong smells of dettol and ammonia. I knew immediately that I was in a physician's place. It gave me strong memories, those of a certain head injury sustained getting down from a running bus. Shreyas had asked me to get down from the running bus with him, and I did, to get a hard one on my head. That evening was very eventful in my life considering it was when Shreyas actually became very close to me. Remembering this, I started looking for Shreyas. He wasn't to be found. Where had he gone?

I called for company. Entered a man, slightly old, wrinked skin, but a face of benevolence. It gave me a lot of peace seeing him. He talked to me in a very soft manner, and he told me Shreyas was admitted to a nearby hospital due to more serious injuries. 

"But, how did I get here?"

"My students found the both of you hurt and lying near the Cooum river. They immediately admitted Shreyas in the hospital, and let you in here for immediate aid."

"Oh ok. So, he is fine. But, I need to find my girl. Where is she? I'm taking leave now."

"Find Avantika? Oh no. I cannot let you take leave now. I need you to take some rest. You are very badly hurt, and it is against the ethics of a doctor to let someone in this condition out. I cannot leave you go."

Saying this, he went to the door and shut it close. I was aghast. I needed to find her badly, very badly. I was leaving this place immediately. I searched for a computer. I thought if I could track down Avantika's sim somehow, I could go search for her with a direction. I found a computer in the room, and I immediately went googling for a software to track down sims.

 

Suddenly it stuck me. Hey, did he say Shreyas? But how did he know the name?? Fine, I must have told the name. Then, I went working. But then, a couple of moments later, how did he know Avantika's name? I most definitely did not tell him her name. Something was wrong. This guy wasn't good. He wasn't on my side. He definitely knew the all of us pretty well, and was acting to fool me. They were going to damned kill Avantika. My Avantika!! I would not let this happen. This man, in the guise of a physician has been cheating me all the while. I need to set scores right. In a fit of rage, I took the nearest piece of iron I found nearby, a mace, and proceeded towards the ground floor of the guy's house, to bash him and then escape the place. All that was running on my memory, was to find Avantika and Shreyas. 

I reached the guy. I was standing right behind him, without his knowledge. He was going to be relieved from the painful cycle of life, and I was going to relieve him. I wished his soul all the best, and lifted my mace, when he fell to the ground with a deep shriek!! 

Chapter 5

Where had Avantika vanished? Why? She was here just a short while ago, and suddenly she was nowhere. Shreyas and I desperately tried contacting her, but all attempts were futile. We went on with our search, when we found Ramesh uncle sitting counting the cash he had made that afternoon. We asked him if he saw Avantika leave, to which the answer was an obviously expected negative.

We immediately called her house up, but I did not get the line. It was then that I remembered that it was one and a half years since I'd last spoken to her. Her parents had relocated to Mumbai in the meanwhile. With this 'dimag ki batti', I went on my search. Shreyas and I searched all across the city to find the female, in all places she generally visited, but all attempts were in vain.

Then, we settled in despair in my room at night. I didn't know what to do. I had to find her immediately. It was the most important thing in my priority list, above my classes, above my grades, above my project, above even my love for her. I needed to find her, and that too before she could be in some huge trouble. I was getting into Ghajini mode. The only thing I didn't do was tatoo her name and FIND HER all over my body.

That was when I got a call. An anonymous number. I picked it.
"Hello."
"Hello, calling from A16 police station in Adyar, we have Avantika with us right now." *in a giantlike gruntling voice*
"What?"
"Listen to me carefully. Either get us rupees seventy lakh to free your girlfriend from this case, else she'll pay the penalty."
"She's not my girlfriend, dammit." *wish she was*
"Oh, then it makes it easier for me."
"No, no, don't do anything to her, I'll be there in ten minutes. I'm leaving right away."
"With the money."
"Wha... Ok, ok.. Ill get the money also. Please stay there.."

Shreyas and I now started pondering over how to get the money. We decided to carry an empty suitcase, and somehow manage to bail Avantika out. We got onto our Thrillers, rushed to the main gate. From there, we took my Stunners, pseud looking motorbike I know, and flew at sound's pace towards A16. At the signal of Adyar bus depot, we had to wait for the signal to clear. I remembered the signal clearance project Avantika and I had planned to do in the first year, something that never happened. Had it happened, probably I wouldn't have had to wait today. That was when Shre screamed out, "MACHA!" and fell on me. Immediately, as I turned, something hit me on the head.
Thud, that was all I remembered that night!!

Chapter 4

"Get the chapathis soon. See, people are waiting.." screamed Mr.Ramesh, our mess' head officer.
He was also the father of one of my ex-classmates Sonali. Sadly, Sonali died a couple of years ago, and ever since that incident, Avantika, Shreyas and I, the three of us who studied with his daughter, had become extremely special to him.

So, as we entered the mess, he exclaimed in delight, "Welcome my kids! How are you'll? Long time since I saw you'll last. What a pleasant surprise!!"
"Hello uncle, Avantika is into some kind of a problem. So now I don't think she would be in any kind of a mood to chat", said Shreyas.
Ramesh uncle nodded his head and went away to get the chapathis.

I took a seat by the window of the mess with Avantika getting seated opposite me. I asked her what went wrong and why Shalini died. She replied with a "How are you?"
That swept me off my feet. Man, my girl hadn't lost herself in the one and a half years I didn't know her.
"I'm doing ok. How are you?"
"I am good. Missed you all the while? I was obviously angry with you for what I did. But, you could have approached me."
*Fool, I know the number of nights I spent on Sharav lawns, trying to catch a gaze of you.* "I'm sorry! Now, let's back to the matter. Why did Shalini die? Do you have any idea?"
"I don't know. But, I'm pretty sure there is someone behind it."
"You mean to say.. "
"Yeah, she didn't die. She was killed!! Someone has planned her killing."
"Your sure? Why would someone want to kill an innocent kid like Shalini?"
"I don't know, but someone did!!"
This was when I heard Shreyas screaming for help. I rushed there, when I saw him in a marsh of water. The marsh of water behind Sharav lawns were one green place, and Shreyas had his white shirt greened.. He was supposedly pushed into it, and by whom? He didn't know. As I brought him back to the mess, Avantika was missing. I called her cellphone. It was switched off. Something was wrong!!

Chapter 3

"Macha, wake up da. It's serious!!!"
"Let me sleep for some more time da." I said rolling from end to end of the bed. Shreyas was in despair trying to wake me up.
"Macha, It's serious. Avantika's..."

That name was enough to have me woken up. I was immediately on my feet.
"What happened to Avantika?"
"Supposedly she is in some problem. Come lets go and find out."

In a couple of minutes, we were on our bikes. As the chill of the morning wind tore through us, we drove upto Sharav. Memories flooded me. My first meeting with Avantika, in class 8, our long chats on the phone, the various treats, the long walks inside IITM, the morning I proposed to her, and the evening that followed bringing rejection and anger. I was now in my 4th year. My last semester, and I hadn't spoken to Avantika for over 18 months now. I kept in touch with her day today activity thanks to Shre. He was our only common friend now. Others took sides. It had been tough times for me. I used to pine for her almost everyday, but I did get some consolation in being able to see her everyday.

As I was running through these thoughts, we were in Sharav. I was in Avantika's domain after one and a half years. That too to find out what had gone wrong with her!! On reaching there, we realized it was a serious matter after all. There was a body lying on the floor. It was that of Avantika's roommate Shalini. There were doctors and ambulances, and I definitely feared something.

My fears were confirmed when the doctor did tell us that she had died. As far as I knew, and the whole institute knew, Shalini was a very nice girl with very clean habits and was one of the most stud girls in the insti. This came as a shock to everyone. Why did this have to happen to Shalini?
The suspect was Avantika. Last night the two of them had milk together, and it had now been confirmed that Shalini's glass of milk had been poisoned.

I could see Avantika with eyes exhausted of tears, on the other side of the room. I went over to comfort her. She most definitely needed some comfort at the moment. The whole group of IITM girls were perked up on her. As I went over, I saw a stare slowly disappear and a helpless, sad look come over her face. It was then that I decided, come what may, I would get my Avantika back safe!!

Chapter 2

"I need to meet you tonight at 8."
"My pleasure, Avantika. Where?"
"How about the Amul Stall near the Shiva temple?"
"Deal!!"

I was elated. I had proposed to Avantika that morning, and she was yet to give me an answer. Amul stall meant ice creams, and ice creams meant romance. I went imagining...

That evening, we met at Amul. A couple of chocolate crunchies were ordered as we 'put gen fart' in true IITM style.. I was impatient, and so I went off, "How about my proposal?"
"Were you joking?? "
"What!! ... Why would I joke about this? I have been in love with you for 7 long years, and it took me this much time and courage to reveal it." My impatience was taking over.
" I never saw anything beyond a friend in you. You don't know how much you upset me."
That sent me reeling. I had never viewed this as upsetting potential. But we were guys after all, and everything was arbitly fine with us. For a second, I had forgotten Avantika was a girl, and a highly sensitive one at that!
"You were always a friend to me, a very dear one. This proposal left me crying all afternoon. Why are all men like this?? "
"What was there to upset you in this?"
"What wasn't there? Why did you have to propose to me of all the people?"
*Coz I liked you dumbo!!* " Chill! Why shouldn't I propose? It was a just a proposal. Say yes if you are ok with it, else say no."
"It isn't a JEE multiple choice question to be answered that easily. It is a question of priorities, of true love and so many more things."
"I will give all your priorities full time. We can set loads of stuff right. Please accept my proposal though. It's not that someone proposes to you everyday." *Given the chance, I will..*
"Shut up Velu. Enough of this nonsense. I can't put up with this crap anymore." As she said that, a tear drop rolled from her eyes, down her cheek, to disappear.
I know I'm being cruel, but she looked really really beautiful when she cried.
"I love you."
"Keep away from me." She said this and turned her back on me. Little did she realize that my eyes were 2 pi times more moist than hers were. I turned with a heavy heart and realized I had screwed up my love life big time in a few minutes. I loved her with all my heart and soul, just that she didn't like it. Funny are the ways of life, I thought!!

Chapter 1

'LAKALAKALAKALAKA' went Jothika.. We were aghast. The dialogue so amazingly rendered by the superstar a few seconds ago was sent to the dungeons by someone who was acting so well now. It was a real treat to watch. It soon ended with a dummy Rajnikant going in flames, while the original being saved. Yay! I had caught yet another superstar movie first day first show.

As I was walking back home in a mind of jeopardy. partly happy because I had got to watch Chandramukhi on the first day, and partly sad because I had to rush to insti tonight, else I'd hardly make it to classes next morning. As I was walking back with Avantika and Shreyas, someone in an autorickshaw screamed 'Velu'. I shouted back without caring to glance at the person, 'SaravanaVelu'. Ever since I'd seen Ghilli, I'd developed this artificial pseud. Something I loved to put whenever I was gifted with an opportunity to. SaravanaVelu was my name. Something I always thought lacked pseud, till Vijay surfaced with the same name in Ghilli. And I was hero overnight.

We went past Avantika's place. She went home with a goodbye. Shreyas murmured something. 'What da macha?'
'Nothing da'
'You said something'
'I said control saliva flow'
With a half-hearted blush, we proceeded. Avantika and I had known each other for 7 years. Same school for 5 years, and now done with two years at IITM. Somewhere down the line, I had developed feelings for her. I wasn't sure if she knew anything, but Shreyas most definitely did. Being my confidante', he was the one who knew my in and out. We three generally hanged out with each other ever since Shreyas joined our school in 11th. We did make a pretty decent group I guess.

As I rode into IITM, memories gushed me, and so did hopes. First, I went past the Gajendra circle, a place which was worthy of having a temple in my opinion, but the place where couples and bottles hanged out generally. Then came the central library, and then Sharav. Sharav, short for Sharavati was the ladies hostel. The place where you would find maximum number of guys at any time of the day. Sharav lawns were famous enough to appear on a newspaper article. But for me, it was Avantika's abode on weekdays (when she stayed in insti). Avantika was hot property here. For the fact, anything that didn't produce much of testerosterone was hot property. But as far as I could remember, and my memory was pretty strong, Avantika had rejected anyone who came to her with a proposal. That was something that got me even more scared. As I proceeded, I saw Tapti, Shreyas' hostel. He got down with a goodnight again, and then I proceeded to Godav on my Thriller. Yeah, you heard it right! Thriller!! IITM did not allow students to use motorbikes in the campus, so the bikes we used were our cycles. That was all I remembered about that day.

Classes were on in full flow, with students talking more about analogues to Counter Strike than analogue circuits in class. I had found this new vigour to propose to Avantika and plans were on in full flow. Shreyas came up with ideas every now and then, but I was too preoccupied with my own thoughts to listen to him. It was the time between maths and electrical engineering hours. I called Avantika outside class. I was in a hurry. She came out, and was like,' Fool, why calld me now? Class will begin.'
'I Love You.'
'What??!!' *puzzled*
'I Love You.'