Last night we had dinner at this roof-top restaurant called Koyla in Colaba. This place is so discreet that it had no boards advertising it at the entrance and from the road you would definitely miss it. Thanks to our friend's directions we reached there after hunting around a bit. All the tables were occupied and the attendants had an attitude that reminded me of the New York pub scene that I have seen in movies. Finally when we were on the verge of leaving we were given a table. The place has a lovely ambience - sand covered floor, little tent like structures with cosy bamboo furniture inside, soothing music and candle lit tables. We had a great time.

I was in a talkative mood and I went on and on about the several people who had been infatuated with me. Now, I am no beauty or Miss World, but in my younger days I always attracted people. They either really really hated me or loved me, but just couldn't ignore the loud, sometimes obnoxious me. One story stands out because of it's unusual twists and turns.

At the age of 18 I started working at a computer training institute. On the first day I was introduced to everybody and was told that the Marketing Manager of the company was out and I could meet him in the evening. They kept raving about how smart, intelligent, funny and good looking he was that I was not surprised when I saw this tall, dark, handsome and curly haired young man walk in the door in the evening. I was introduced, he said hello and walked into his cabin and shut the door. Then later in the evening, he called me to his cabin and asked, "Do you know me?". I said, "Of course, you are the Marketing Manager of this company". "No", he said, "Do you know me before this?". I was confused and I said that I had never seen him in my life before. I had just completed my twelfth standard and I was studying for a Diploma in another college. He said that he had been a student of the same college where I completed my twelfth standard. He also said that he had been really popular and had won the personality contest there. Obviously I wasn't part of the group that revered this guy enough for him to think that he was God and so I continued to show my ignorance of the fact that God was walking this earth in the form of this pompous dude.

That was the first and last time I spoke to this fellow in my one and half year tenure in that organisation. After that day he ignored me and I saw through him. Then, one day he announced that he had been selected into the Air-Force and that he was leaving for the two year training course. He gave out his address to everyone and asked them to write to him (those days email wasn't so popular). On reaching there he sent a letter addressed to the entire team and everyone decided to write him one long letter with little notes from the entire team. I was forced to write something too and I wrote something funny and left it at that. A couple of weeks later a letter arrived at the office addressed only to me. Mr. Dude liked what I wrote and wanted to correspond with me further and asked for my residential address. Since his letter was funny and since I had nothing better to do, I wrote back with my address.

And so began a two year pen-friendship. Our letters were funny, light, much anticipated and a great way to communicate without any promise of a commitment or any ulterior motives. Meanwhile, some people in the organisation also informed me that Mr. Dude had been my admirer from college. He was in his final year and I was in the eleventh. However our classrooms were the same. When his class ended, ours started. Usually I would arrive a little early and wait outside the class for the professor to leave. As soon as the bell rang, I would rush in without waiting for the class to empty out and put my books on the last bench (my favourite). Apparently Mr.Dude sat at the very same bench and saw me everyday (I never ever noticed him). He would scribble some messages for me on the desk which I always thought were for my partner (a green eyed little pip-squeak). So, that explained the "Do-you-know-me" on the first day. Eventually after corresponding for two years, we met. We had great expectations for the meeting since now we had become friends (although we never spoke - not even on the phone).

The meeting was a disaster. I couldn't talk at all and this fellow kept talking about how well he did at the training and how he was the almighty's gift to humans. Although we were together for about 2-3 hours, I hardly spoke and was extremely bored. We broke communication after that and for a long time there was no news of him.

Then one day he called up and asked me my email ID. The communication lines were open again. We wrote to each other - although not that frequently. Then one day I received a very malicious mail from his ID written by some girl who knew the both of us. Apparently he had been going around with her and had cheated on her with some other girl in Hyderabad and some nonsense. I couldn't understand where I figured in all this mess and I told the both of them to resolve their differences with each other and not drag me into it. I stopped writing again. A few weeks after this incident I received a call from him at home. I picked up and before he could say anything I told him that I was not in a state to talk since my father had just expired that day. People were making preparations for the funeral all around and that was the day he called.

A couple of years later I received an email from him again. He had seen me at a railway station. He wrote that I had changed a lot - had started wearing "tank tops" - and he found me very attractive. He said that when we were "seeing" each other, I had been a plain jane. I was shocked at this mail. I gave him a fitting reply and blasted him for believing that I was ever "seeing" him. Plus I was NEVER plain jane. He called up to apologise. I was so angry that I ordered him never ever to call me again.

Life has moved on and Mr. Dude has contacted me again through one of the networking sites. He is married and has a kid now. I don't see any harm in adding him to my friends list, but am still apprehensive of what unexpected things might happen now.