The one with Wazir, Chess & Khwaja Bhai

What an eventful week! If you asked me last Saturday how the next week would be, I'd probably go "Meh". But yesterday, I was exploring bikes to buy, rides to take, and reactivated all my Travel group pages on Facebook. It's been a long time since I rode a bike, an unexplainable rush when you run down open roads with the wind in your hair (in my case, skull), the sun shining down and glorious nature in all its splendor.

More on the travel story in a follow up post. I miss my Unicorn. Wish I had got it to Mumbai. 

In other news, Wazir was watched today. It's a really good movie, and if you're like me (and I doubt very much that you would be) then you'll find the first 15 minutes absolutely riveting, the next part kind of interesting, and the second half decent. You'll also find the actors doing a very good job, lovely music and lyrics, a thriller with a predictable ending and an ordinary script. But the best part is that there are no songs were people run around trees (as illogical as it sounds in a thriller), no comedy sections, or superstars acting 30 years younger, and that it sticks to the pace that a thriller should be, ending in a mere 1 hour 43 minutes.

But that's the ordinary part. 

As I went in to buy tickets, I was told that someone had tickets to sell. And this someone was not the cashier, but a lady and her daughter who for some reasons has booked tickets to a movie that they were currently, unwilling to watch. 

Second thoughts. 

The Cashier told me to pay them and take the tickets from them directly, and as I paid the requisite amount, the girl asked me for my number to whatsapp the ticket to me. Just like that. Now either of us could've been a stalker, a serial killer, but there we were, two total strangers sharing numbers. The very number, for which guys would think 100 times before asking at a more interesting venue like a bar or a party.

Interesting I thought to myself. What if she was a stalker?

How exciting! 

Next to us, was an interesting middle aged couple. They had the most interesting / hilarious commentary going on throughout the whole film. At this point, despite my general tolerant and gentle disposition, let me state the three kinds of people who we should be allowed to punch in the face, legally:

1. People who keep their phones on when a plane takes off, 

2. People who jump the queue,

3. And people who talk or use their phones during a movie

However, this couple was different. Well for one, the comments were interesting. Like, "where is the India Gate road open like that in Delhi?" or "Why the hell are they showing Unicef ads in Bengali in Mumbai?" and "mumble mumble ha ha ha mumble mumble cough cough mumble"

What was moving though was the way she placed her head on his shoulder.

In between the movie, what struck me was the whole chess connection that I had when I was in school. In 10th grade, I won the school chess championship, but had never competed ever in the 3 years before that. I was also the captain of the college chess team in my final year, again, never having played in the 4 years before that. 

Why did I stop playing?  

I learnt the game from my mother. As long as I remember, I've had a chess set at hand. At home, it was a 6 inch, foldable magnetic chess set that was gifted by Dad's friend, Ganesh Kundapur. I must have about 5 or 6 boards, none of which I have ever bought. The most precious is definitely the white and green marble chess set that was a gift from Dad's Pakistani friend, Khwaja Bhai. It's so heavy, that I've never used it or removed it from its casing. 

When I was in Bahrain, he used to come to our tiny apartment to make his fortnightly call to his home in Pakistan. And every time he was here, he'd tell small stories. Till date, I don't know his full name, but I remember what he always used to say - "I'm not afraid of death, but all I pray to the Almighty is that I get a honorable death, and not dying in something like a plane crash or sickness."

Sadly, he died of a heart attack in early 2000. 

I still remember our Bahrain landline number - 785 308. 

The other thing it reminds me of is the year 2000, which was the year I won the chess championship & the year I got out of school. That year was very special, because that last year of school brings a heightened sense of wanting to do everything that you possibly can. To live it. To love it. To create memories that you can hold on to forever. 

It's funny how things work. Like when they say that the universe always delivers to you not what you deserve, but more importantly what you need, and at the time where it makes perfect sense. 

It's going to be a good year.

Cheers

M