Notes, Noodles, और नींद
Exam ke ek din pehle — hostel room mein — teen baj rahe hain raat ke. Neend aa rahi hai, samajh nahi aa raha, aur kal subah 9 baje paper hai — Thermodynamics. Phone ring hua. Kavya. "So gayi?" maine pucha. "Agar so gayi hoti toh phone kaise uthati? Entropy samajh aa raha hai?" "Entropy — yeh woh hai na jismein sab kuch bikhar jaata hai? Jaise meri life?" "Funny. Ab sun — entropy is the measure of disorder in a system. Jaise tera room." Maine room dekha — kapde zameen par, Maggi ke packets, books ulti-seedhi. "Fair point." Hum phone par padhe — teen ghante. Woh samjhaati, main samajhta. Kabhi-kabhi woh samjhaate-samjhaate Hindi mein aa jaati — "Abe yeh simple hai, dhyan se sun" — aur mujhe samajh aa jaata. Subah 6 baje — dono ke notes complete. Par neend? Zero. "Main ek kaam karti hoon," Kavya ne kaha. "Noodles bana rahi hoon. Hostel ke gate pe milte hain." Gate par mili — haathon mein do bowls. Maggi — extra masala. "Yeh Thermodynamics nahi fix karega," maine kaha. "Par tera mood fix karega. Aur mood fix toh padhai fix." Humne gate ke bahar baith kar Maggi khayi. Subah ki thandi hawa. Birds chirping. Aur woh — messy bun, specs, aur slippers mein — duniya ki sabse sundar insaan. Paper hua. Theek-thaak gaya. Dopahar ko result nahi aaya par relief aayi. Shaam ko message — Kavya se: "Next exam kab hai?" "Parson. Fluid Mechanics." "Toh kal raat phir same time? Main noodles banake rakhti hoon." Aur yahi tha — hamara love language. Notes, noodles, aur 3 AM phone calls. Koi fancy date nahi, koi expensive gift nahi. Bas — "samajh aa raha hai?" aur "neend aa rahi hai toh so ja, main padh ke notes bhej dungi." Chaar saal — 8 semesters — 48 exams. Har exam ke pehle, wahi routine. Degree mili. Dono ko. Saath saath stage par gaye. Aur convocation ke baad — hostel gate pe — ek aakhiri bowl Maggi. "Ab kaun banayega 3 baje Maggi?" maine pucha. "Main hi. Bas ab kitchen mein, hostel gate pe nahi." "Matlab?" "Matlab — Bangalore mein dono ka office 3 km door hai. Flat share karein?" "As roommates?" "As... whatever you want to call it. Par Maggi main hi banaungi." Deal.