The Love Theme in Ritigowla - The Conclusion

The thermometer reads 101, but my dedication to this blog is astounding. Click here for previous parts in reverse order. Mail me for the entire file.
***
To this day, Anna reflects on those few hours between when the concert ended and when Ni said those magical words, "I like you. I'd like you better if you shaved more often." He remembers even the most insignificant details from the scene - this green, glowing Laughing Buddha on a shelf mocking the scene with his full-hearted laugh, the television playing some business news, the dimness of the lights in DG's drawing room, the wrinkles on the sari Ni had worn to the kacheri, the exact shape of the curl that fell on her forehead, the exact shade of her lipstick.

But I revisit those times more often.
***

The Love Theme ended. People aww-ed away. I ended the call. The noise in the car didn't die down for a whole five minutes. When it did, someone pointed brought our attention to a milestone that read, "Bangalore - 100 km". The noise started again, when another call came. The ringing was received with much catcalling, but when announced that Anna was the caller, it died down. I put the phone on speaker and held it against the steering wheel.

"Hello?" There was silence. "Anna?" We distinctly hear a sob at the other end. "Anna?" I asked again.
"Anil?" Amma's voice came, instead.
"Tell me, ma?"
"Stop driving," she said.
The concern in her voice made me obey her. The car stopped on the side of the highway, the emergency lights blinking away to glory.
Amma collected herself, and said, "Mridangam Sir passed away."
I dropped the phone. "Anil?" her voice came through the speaker, "Kanna, are you there?"
I managed to pick up the phone and mumble something.
She said, "Come back to Madras. I'm going to call Nikhila's parents and tell her that the wedding will have to be postponed."

The next three-and-a-half hours were nothing like the previous three-and-a-half.
***

The thirteenth day ceremony was much more lively than the first. The shock wanes, a little. People are able to bring themselves to have conversations about subjects other than the deceased, they manage to laugh, they reminisce, but not with sadness, and most importantly, they come to terms with the loss. And they do it in the pleasantest of ways - by participating in a social gathering followed by a heavy lunch.

Anna hadn't yet recovered from his depression, but it wasn't surprising. Sir had always been more dear to him than anyone else. Sir always told people that Anna was his son, and Anna took it to heart. He still sat in a corner and looked on cluelessly.

A mama in a sparkling white veshti and light blue shirt stared at me suspiciously. I stared back. Then, he walked up to me and said, "Have I seen you somewhere?"
"I play the mridangam - maybe some concert," I explained.
"Hmmm."
Just then, Ni arrived. The mama recognised us suddenly, "Oh! You're that boy who wanted to marry that girl!"
When I recognised the mama, we laughed. Ni smiled at me, and then noticed Anna. Ni walked to Anna and put her arm around him.
***

The Dhanyasi was followed by Bhogindra Shayinam in Kuntalavarali. She barely started this song when Watermelon walked in again. She noticed him almost immediately - large targets are very hard to miss. He seated himself beside Anna. Irritation creeped into her music, but Anna, oblivious to this, kept his talam going. She summarily finished off the concert after this - playing a vague song in Kalyanavasantam before proceeding towards Madhyamavati and the Mangalam.

I had a plan. I'd somehow smuggle her away from Anna. It was a vague plan - it involved improbables like her agreeing to be smuggled, getting an auto on KR Road immediately, and Anna and Watermelon not giving us major chase.

The final notes of the Mangalam were followed by a sudden rush of activity. She packed her violin with shattering speed, and rushed backstage. Anna and Watermelon walked towards the stage, but she beat them. Anna smiled at me, but I bolted. My mridangam bag slung across my back, I ran backstage where Ni stood. I ran up to her, held her hand, and said, "Run!"

We ran through the backstage entrance where Anna waited with Watermelon. They were so stunned to see us running hand in hand, that they took too long to react. We reached the main road, and flagged down an auto. I got in, and immediately said, "Koramangala!"
"Why?!" she asked.
"Why what?"
"Why are we going to Koramangala?"
"My friend's place. That's where I'm staying."
"Actually," she paused, and continued, "Why are you running?"
"Um..."
"From your brother!"
"Why are you running?"
"From Anand. He's too irritating. Your turn to answer the question."
"I have a question of my own."
"I wont answer it unless you answer my question first."
"You don' t know what my brother is doing in Bangalore?"
"No."
"See, I asked you the question, and you answered it. Ha!"
"What is he doing in Bangalore?"
"I'm not going to tell you."
Suddenly, the auto driver asked, "Saar, shall I take the left here or go on the flyover?"
I had no clue, "Flyover!"
She interrupted, "Saar, left! Why do you direct him when you don't know the road?"
"The flyover looked pretty - the view of Bangalore from the top and all that."
Anna called. I cut the call.
She didn't say a thing. After a while, she asked again, "What is your brother doing in Bangalore?"
"I said, I'm not telling you!"
She summed up the situation in her head, and said, "Ok. Your brother is up to something shady in Bangalore, and you're running away from him. So, I'm being dragged to your friend's house for no reason." She turned to the auto driver and said, "Saar, auto nillsi."
The bewildered driver stopped. She got off. I got off after her. She began walking in the opposite direction. I followed her, screaming, "Ni! Wait!" The auto driver followed both of us. He caught up with me and demanded a hundred bucks. I gave it to him. Anna called again. I cut the call again. The auto driver muttered some choice curses about my family before walking back to his auto.
I stopped Ni, and said, "My Anna's marriage is being fixed. With you."
***

Watermelon sat with his notepad in a room, talking to various senior musicians. He was writing a long piece about Sir's contribution to music for Sruti and had made the trip to Madras specially for this. He noticed Ni sitting with Anna, left an interview mid-way and went to her.

"I hear you're getting married?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said.
"When?"
"Its been postponed. All this happened two days before the wedding day."
"I'm also getting married," he said.
"Oh! Congrats! Who is the girl?"
"Some girl called Aparna. Software. Lives in the US. I'm going there to study history."
"That's wonderful."
They looked at each other uncomfortably for a few seconds, before Watermelon said, "Okay, I have to get going!"
"Good luck, and congrats!" she said.
"You too."
***

So, there we were - in a silk sari and jubba-veshti, with musical instruments in our hands - looking ridiculous on Hosur Road.
"Can we sit somewhere quiet and think things over?" she asked.
"My friend's house."
"Any other place?"
"I cant think of any. You're the Bangalorean!"

DG opened the door. His house was just the same. Business news played on TV. He stood in boxers and T-shirt with a mug of hot chocolate in his hand.
Ni exclaimed, "God! DG!"
"Babe! You look even better in this sari." All the running had made it lose some of its neatly ironed nature.
I intervened, "Dude, please. I don't need this new complication now."
Both of them laughed.
"Complication is on its way," he said, "Your brother knows you live here."
***

Anna made desperate phone calls to everyone in the world, trying to find out where I was going. He was joined in his hunt by Watermelon, for some reason - it was Anna's seriousness, I was convinced. He would have told Watermelon sketchy details of the matter, and Watermelon would have assumed that one of us had blood cancer and we were going to die.

Finally, Anna called Amma, who called another Mami, who called DG's mother, who called DG and found out where I was staying. Watermelon raced down to Koramangala, constantly assuring Anna that he knew the best routes and shortcuts.
***

"Who is that girl?" I asked, looking at the newsreader on TV.
"Hot, isn't she? You remember the guy who lived above my paati's house in Madras?" DG replied.
"Vinod?"
"Yeah. He's doing her, apparently."
***

Watermelon led Anna from traffic jam to traffic jam, and kept cursing Bangalore roads and trying newer routes. Twice, they came across Bangalore's famous one-ways - the traffic-regulation innovations that mock your sense of direction. Yet, Watermelon strived on, making extraordinary judgments of the size of his car and the gaps between buses, driving through petrol bunks to avoid signals, making u-turns where they weren't allowed, all to the background music of MS' Kharaharapriya.

He hummed along, and Anna played the mridangam nervously on the dashboard.
***

"See, if you want to marry my Anna, its fine," I said.
"What?!"
"I mean, you like him and all."
"Yeah, but marrying him is a different ballgame."
"Ballgame - you choose your words well," DG said.
"A little privacy, Deej?" I asked.
He smirked and walked into the kitchen with his mug of hot chocolate.
***

Sharanya's mother attended the ceremony, she learnt music from Sir for a while many years ago. Sharanya came with her.

I went to her immediately and tapped her on the head from the back. It was a habit.
"Hey!" she said, "How are you?"
"Coping. Anna's still a bit down. What's up with you?"
"Nothing much. My novel's been accepted by some publisher."
"The one you were writing long ago?"
"No. I shelved that. This is sort of, um, autobiographical. With copious amounts of masala."
"Do I figure?"
"You really think you're that important?" she asked. I didn't answer the question, and she didn't offer any information. I guessed I had to wait till it released to find out.
***

"Ok, lets channelise this conversation. Do you like me?"
"Hmmm. That's a tough one. I hardly know you."
"From whatever you know."
"Its like asking me if I like Ritigowla."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"I hardly know Ritigowla."
"What?!"
"I mean, I played it today solo for the first time and all. But I never feel like I've gotten the hang of it. You know, even when I'm accompanying someone, I'm very curt in my replies in Ritigowla."
"But you played really well today!"
"I surprised myself."

Both of us went quiet suddenly. She was sitting on a bean bag, and me, on the floor by her. She looked at me, smiled and patted me on the head.

"What was that?" I asked.
"Affectionate pat on the head. You are a crazy guy, you know."
"I think you should listen to this," I said, hit by the craziest of ideas.
I fished out my iPod, and played the Love Theme in Ritigowla. "I composed it the day I met you," I said.
"I can tell when guys lie."
"How do you do that?"
"Actually, I know this one because your Anna told me of the porn movie!"
We laughed, as the Theme played in her ear. "Ritigowla?" she asked me. I nodded. I watched her eyes widen as the Theme intensified. I only heard it whisper

When it ended, she said, "Lovely! Pity it ended up where it did."
"I still haven't come to terms with it!"
She patted me on the head again, affectionately. "You're a really cute guy," she said, "Not looks-wise. Your look needs some makeover. But as a concept, you're very cute." She proceeded to kiss me on the cheek.
I was shocked.
Just then, the door was thrown open and a large figure seemed to fill almost the entire frame. Another figure pushed this large one aside, and barged into the room. Ni, oblivious to this, said, "I like you. I'd like you better if you shaved more often."

I saw Anna and panicked. "Lets make a dash for it?" I asked Ni, who just noticed Anna and Watermelon.
"Wait!" Anna said.
"Anna, let us go. Or you'll have to fight us," I said, in my firmest voice.
DG entered the room and said, "Looks like the gang's all here."
"Dude. I wanted to tell Ni that I liked someone else. Which is why I came today."

DG dropped his mug of hot chocolate. Watermelon realised what a waste of effort all this had been. I realised what a waste of effort all this had been.

"Anna? Who?" I asked.
"You don't know her."
***

The lunch was sumptuous. The who's who of Carnatic Music munched away, their teeth chewing rhythmically, trying out their latest musical mathematics. Large streams of payasam flowed on the plate, and they were scooped up in one swooshing movement of the hand and consumed. Not a drop was spilt. It isn't a very pretty sight for those who haven't experienced it all their lives, but it alleviated Anna's mood. He complimented the cook on the payasam as he scooped and swooshed away.
***

I never found out who this other girl was. Anna merely told me that she'd "rejected his proposal". I wondered if he'd made all this up, if this was his big sacrifice. BUt again, it was Anna. You never knew anything with him.

Anna fell in love again, on stage, and married that vocalist. Possessively, he played for each one of her concerts for the next nine years!
***

I got a phone call from a producer asking me if I'd compose for his film. He described his film as a thriller-romance. I was super excited.
***

After the lunch, Ni came and gave me a hug.
"When are we finally getting married?" I asked her.
"A month from now?" she said.
"Yeah, that seems likely."

The last batch of eaters finished their meal and got up. Old mamas and mamis, chattering away, left in droves. The crowd thinned, till there were only the closest left. His immediate family, and his students. Soon, even I left. For the first time in those thirteen days, did I fathom the extent of Sir's contribution to my life.
***

See, Francis, I believe in happy endings!
Thanks to all the great musicians who have provided background music for writing this!