Destiny

Destiny, however, had other plans. For why else, in the seventh

minute of the first half, would the college team captain overthrow the

ball outside the court, where it hit my head as I stood on the sidelines?

Why would I grab the ball in reflex? More than anything, why would

R come to collect it?

'Ball, please,

'she said, panting. I felt paralysed.

'I said ball, please,

'she said. I held on to the ball for an extra half

second. I wanted to look at her a bit longer. I wanted to take a

snapshot of her sweaty face and store it in my mind's camera for life.

I threw the ball at her. She caught it with ease and looked at me.

She could tell from my throw that I knew the game.

'Change your point shooter,

'I said. For some reason, I had

managed to speak in correct English this time.

'What?'she said. She surveyed me from top to bottom. I now

wished I had worn better clothes. I had not changed out of my

interview shirt and pants, both of which the tailor back home had

stitched too loose for me. I looked out of place on the basketball court.

With my folder of certificates, I resembled a hero from those Hindi

films of the seventies—the one who could not find a job. I have a

Bihar state team T-shirt, I wanted to tell her. Of course, in the middle

of a game, and as a first conversation, this was a terrible idea.

'Your shooter is useless,

'I said.

The referee whistled to commence the game. She turned away and

forgot about me faster than her throw reached her team member.

'Here, pass it to me,

'R shouted as she reached the opposition basket.

Her point shooter held the ball and looked around, confused.

'I said here'R screamed so loudly that pigeons flew off the trees in

the lawns.The point shooter passed the ball, R caught it and took a

shot from well beyond the three-point line.

Whoosh! 'The ball went through the basket. The crowd cheered.

They already had a soft spot for R anyway.

The referee announced a break at the ten-minute mark. The college

team led 12-5. R huddled with her team, figuring out their strategy for the next half. As her team meeting ended, she wiped her face and neck

with a towel.

I couldn't take my eyes off her. I forgot I had my own trial in less

than an hour. I only wanted to figure out a way to talk to her a bit

more. Maybe I could tell her she played well. I wondered how to tell

her about my state-level game without coming across as a show-off.

And, more than anything, how would I go beyond five words of

English?

She caught me staring. I wanted to kill myself. She continued to

jgnli directly at me, the towel still around her neck.Then she walked up

to me. A shiver ran down my spine.

I didn't mean to stare, I wanted to tell her. I wondered if she

would scream at me like she had done during the match.

Flunks,

'R said.

She had walked across the court, to thank me?

She was breathing hard. My eyes were glued to hers.

Look away, Madhav, I scolded myself and turned away.

'That was a good tip,

'she said to my left profile.

'Welcome... You...are...good,

'I said. Uttering each word was like

hitting a brick.

'Any other suggestions for the second half? We're losing.'

Yes,

'I said, turning to face her again. I wanted to give her more up

but couldn't in English.'You speak Hindi?'I said.

She looked baffled. Nobody in St. Stephen's had ever asked

anyone that question.