IT'S RAINING NOW HALLELUJAH!

' ' ' Just do the right thing, even if you don't want to. You'll feel better about it later ' ' '

-- Anonymous

/* They're all sitting in Kabi's living room. Aparna is glancing out the window, gauging the never-ending rain */

Aparna: Arey yaar, kab rukegi yeh baarish. Ghar bhi nahi ja pa rahe hum, 2 ghante se yahi atke hain.

Shraddha: Chale jayengee usme kya hai. Just enjoy the rain for now

Aparna: What do you mean enjoy?! It's been raining non stop since afternoon and I heard it's going to stay this way the entire night.

Shraddha (😃): Kya baat hai! You mean rain storm?

Aparna (😩): I hope not! Mujhe audit report taiyyar karni hai kal k liye.

Kabi: Phir toh ho gayi teri report taiyyar.

# Kabi walks out the kitchen with a glass of milk

Aparna: Kyun?

Kabi: Weather reports say that the rain is only going to increase in the coming hours.

Anudeep (😥): It's freezing outside!!

# Anudeep and Sid walk into the house drenched in rain

SHE: Kya tum log, umbrella nahi leke gaye the kya?

Sid (😥): That's useless! It's windy!

SHE: Close the door! jaldi jao bathroom mai! I've kept the geyser on.

# The two walk inside shivering

Aparna: Ab kya karungi mai!?

Shraddha: Toh idhar bana le report?

Aparna: My laptop's at home! 

Kabi: Calm down a little. Bahar bahut bura haal hai. I'm sure your office will understand. 

Aparna (😟): I don't think so. Yeh report ek mahine se pending hai and tomorrow is minor audit release.

SHE: Ehhh, kahan ja rahi hai?!

# Shraddha walks out the door 

Shraddha: Kuch nahi bas aise hi. Baarish ka maza lene ja rahi hun.

SHE: Tujhe pata hai kitni thand hai bahar?

Shraddha: Kitni?

SHE: Bahuut thand hai bahar!

Shraddha: I'm sure it's not as cold as you 

# Shraddha walks out

SHE: Kya bola isne?

# SHE looks at Kabi

SHE: Kya bola isne?

Kabi: Kuch nahi, kuch nahi.

# Kabi looks at Aparna

Kabi: Apan kuch rasta nikalte hain. But first I think you need tea. Mai chai banata hun tere liye.

# Kabi stands up

Aparna: No wait, I'll make tea.

SHE: Mere liye bhi 

Shraddha: Mere liye bhi!

# Shraddha yells from outside

# Kabilan switches on the TV

# SHE goes and sits in the corner and calls HIM

# HE picks up

SHE: Where are you?

HE: Stuck. There's a huge mess here, can't get out.

SHE: So you're still in office?!

HE: Yeah

SHE (😠): What's the issue?

HE: I don't know, the office compound is clogged with water. Maybe another 2 hours before the water drains out. The facility people are looking into it.

Kabi: Wow, the trains are also clogged now, people are on the streets.

Shraddha:  Phew, it's cold outside!

SHE (😠): Yeh bhi koi time hai office me baitne ka. Jaldi nahi nikal sakta tha!!

HE: I was caught up in a meeting, by the time I got out, this happened. Tension mat le, jaise hi yeh sort out hota hai mai nikal jaunga. Tum log kya kar rahe ho?

SHE: Kuch nahi, Anudeep and Sid just got home. Aparna chai bana rahi hai. 

SHE (😔): Aur mujhe cake khane ka mann ho raha hai

HE: Kitna cake khana hai tujhe!? Moti ho jayegi!

SHE (😔): Chalega.

HE: Arey.

Kabi: Aparna, terko mere pe bharosa nahi hai kya?

Aparna: Kyun? 

Kabi: Itna mai tere liye chai banane k liye utha tha.

Aparna: Haha, it's not like that. Actually mujhe apne haat ki chai zyada pasand hai.

Kabi: 😶

Shraddha: Too moody she is!

HE: Aate waqt cake laun kya?
SHE: Haan 😃

HE: Yahan par office se nikalne me dikkat ho rahi hai aur inko cake chaiye.
SHE: Shut up.

SHE: Okay, what's my favorite cake?

HE: It's not Black Forest, I know that much.

SHE: Correct, that's true.

HE: It's-. . . 

SHE: But that also doesn't mean I don't like Black Forest.

HE: 😑 I know that.

SHE: Okay, go on.

Anudeep: Mujhe chai ki khushbo aa rahi hai?

# Anudeep walks into the living room

Anudeep: Kya baat hai!

Anudeep: Kuch khane ko hai kya?

Kabi: There's a banana on the counter

# Anudeep picks it up and starts eating 

Shraddha: Hey, I didn't see the match last night. What was Barca's final score?

Anudeep: 😑 HA. HA. I don't remember.

Shraddha: Pfff, 1-0 to Espanyol 😂. Could that be any worse?

Kabi: Messi missed a penalty 😁

HE: It's definitely not Red Velvet.

SHE: You're getting closerrr

HE: It's-. . . 

HE: It's chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream.

SHE: Hmm, right.

SHE (Quizzical): How did you know that?

HE: Ab pata hai toh you're asking me, 'how do I know?', nahi pata hota toh keheti 'kaisa hai tu, itna bhi nahi pata mere bare me!'

HE: Acha, what's my favorite cake?

SHE: Yeh baarish rukne ka naam hi nahi le rahi. And I just saw on television there's a cyclone alert in the city.

HE: Yeah I heard of it as well. Hopefully I can get out before the cyclone hits.

SHE: Aur kya. . . did you eat something?

HE: Nahi thoda kaam kar raha hun abhi. Baad me dekhta hun.

SHE (😠): 4 hours back I called you, you were working!! Go eat something first! Go!!

HE: Areyy-. . . 

SHE: No, no, no. Go! First go eat something!

HE: Arey, but listen-. . . 

SHE: Just go to the vending machine and get something! Then talk to me!!

HE: Acha, tune bataya nahi mera favorite cake kaunsa hai?
SHE: Listen, Shraddha's calling me, bye!

# SHE hangs up 

# HE whispers to himself, "Ab ise kaun samjhaye vending machine down hai."

# SHE comes and sits next to Shraddha

Kabi (Thinking): Okay. . . Pandemonium.

Shraddha: Easy hai, commotion, chaos.

Kabi: Okay that was an easy one.

Shraddha: Okay insipid, no, somber.

Kabi: Somber?

Shraddha: Yeah.

Sid: Eazzy, Not drunk

Kabi: Abey sober nahi somber.

# SHE googles the meaning

SHE (Amazed): Ouh, that's what somber means

Aparna: Alright tea's ready.

# Aparna walks in  

# SHE gets up to get tea

# Aparna comes and sits next to Kabi

Kabi (Succumbing): I give up. What does it mean?

Shraddha:  Dull, dark, gloomy, grave

Kabi (Puzzled): That's what somber means!? Doesn't sound anything like it.

Anudeep: You know what, your vocabulary is as good as Janet's 

Shraddha: I don't like comparisons but. . . I'll take it. 

Sid: bas tu hi gawar rehe gaya. 

Anudeep: You don't know me, sir. You don't know how resplendent my communication is.

Sid: Chal ek word de.
Anudeep: Nincompoop

Sid (Petulant): Abey terko kabhi bhi koi word pucho tu hamesha 'nincompoop' hi bolta hai!

Anudeep: Yaar itne words aate hain lekin kabhi bhi koi puchta hai toh hamesha yehi word dimaag me aata hai 

Anudeep: Jaise ki agar koi mere se puche ki 'ek joke suna na', mere dimaag me hamesha ek hi joke aata hai

Sid: Kaunsa?

Anudeep: Arey, bahut bekar hai jane de

Sid: Arey bol na! Zyada se zyada kya hoga, I'll think you're a nincompoop.

Anudeep: 😑 

Anudeep: Arey. . . ek baari ek banda restaurant jata hai, waiter ko bulata hai aur puchta hai, "badi bhook lagi hai yaar, khane me kya hai?"

Anudeep: Toh waiter bolta hai,"fish fry, chicken tikka, malai kofta, masala dosa. . ."

Anudeep: Toh banda puchta hai,"dosa hai!?"

Anudeep: "Toh eak kaam kar, paper dosa le aa"

Anudeep: Toh waiter bolta hai,"sir ruled ya unruled?"

Sid: Acha.

Sid: Okay.

Sid: I understand.

Shraddha: Aage?

Sid: Itna hi tha joke

Shraddha: But I don't get it

SHE (Shaking her head): Jane de. It's not worth it.

# Suddenly the news reporter starts to speak and everybody looks at the television. "The entire city is flooded right now. People are on the streets, some are stranded at work. The weather forecast is that cyclone X will hit the city tomorrow so all offices, schools and services will be closed."

Aparna (Sigh of relief): Haaah, thank God.

Kabi: See, now you don't have to go to the office tomorrow. Told you everything would be alright.

# The power goes off abruptly

Sid (😑): Sure. Everything's alright. 

 # SHE turns on her camera flashlight 

SHE: Where's the candle?

Anudeep: It's in the kitchen

# SHE gets up to get the candle 

Sid: Arey kisi k paas koi achi story hai kya? Coz this is the moment. Baad me kahan time milega

Kabi: Teri sad life hai na. A story in itself.

Sid: Haan par apne ko sad nahi feel karna hai na abhi.

Aparna: I have a story.

Sid: Ek number! And we have chai to go with it!

Aparna: 😉 Exactly.

Aparna: Alright. There once was-. . . 

SHE: Eak minute ruk!! Mujhe candle lane de.

# SHE gets the candle and sits with the group

Aparna: Alright so there once was a guy, lets call him Frank. Since his childhood Frank Jr went through a lot of problems blurred vision, excessive vomiting because of stomach issues, back spasm so bad he often couldn't sit or stand. 

Sid: Itni buri halat thi uski??
Aparna: Hmm, Frank didn't have friends, wasn't great at studies either but he liked painting. He thought he was good at it, unfortunately others didn't feel the same way. Nobody bought his work and to add more misery his father a wealth businessman would constantly criticized and ridiculed him for his laziness and lack of talent as the years went by. 

Anudeep (Perplexed): How could someone be so useless??

Shraddha: Sab teri tarha talented nahi hote na

Anudeep: Haan isme bhi koi shaq nahi hai

Shraddha: 😑

Anudeep: 😛

Aparna: Meanwhile, his siblings were out there achieving new things and reaching greater heights. His dad used his connections to get him into Harvard Medical School and told him this was his last chance to salvage something. But Frank never felt at home or at peace at Harvard, he still had issues. A few years went by and Frank dropped out of Medical School.

SHE (😲): What!!

SHE: Toh karna kya chahta tha wo??

Aparna: Now, rather than facing his angry disappointed father he disappeared into the amazon forest. 

SHE (Sarcastic): Great, amazing!

Aparna: But sadly his fragile health couldn't withstand nature's brunt. In the first few weeks he contracted small pox and almost died in the jungle. Then his back spasms returned making it difficult for him to even walk. 

Kabi: Wow, that's rough!

Aparna: He had no idea where he was or how he'd get back home. He was destined to die. But somehow miraculously he got through it all and made it back greeted by an even more disappointed father. 

Sid: Hahaha

Aparna: The man was older now, 30 years old with all kinds of disabilities and illnesses with him. Despite all the advantages and opportunities given to him he had been a complete failure.

Sharddha: Poor guy.

Aparna: The only constant in his life seemed to be suffering and disappointment. 

Aparna: Frank fell into depression and-. . . tum logon ko bhook nahi lag rahi kya. 

SHE, Kabi, Sid: Tu story complete kar pehele!

Aparna: Merko Top Ramen khana hai yaar

Sid: Haan toh baad me kha lena. Frank got depressed, then?

Aparna: Banane de na!

Sid: Kya yaar tu na.

# Aparna gets up to make Top Ramen 

Shraddha: Arey, baad me kha lena na!

Aparna: Arey bas do minute lagenge!

# Aparna comes back with a cup of Top Ramen

Aparna: Haan toh kidhar thi mai

Anudeep: 😑 Frank got depressed!

Aparna: Yeah, then Frank fell into depression and started contemplating suicide. But one night he was reading a philosophical article and decided to conduct a little experiment. In his diary he wrote that he would spend one year believing that he was one hundred percent responsible for everything that occurred in his life no matter what. 

Shraddha: Really?

Aparna: Yes. During this period he would do everything in his power to change his circumstances no matter the likelihood of failure. If nothing changed that year then it would be apparent that he was truly powerless to the circumstances and that he would take his life.

# Silence

SHE: So? Did he kill himself?

Aparna: Long story short, Frank Jr. went on to become the father of American Psychology. 

Sid (Dumbstruck): What?!

Aparna: Aha, His work has been translated to 100's of languages and he is regarded as one of the most influential psychologists of his generation. 

Kabi: I don't believe this.

Aparna: He would go on to teach at Harvard and tour most of the United States and Europe giving lectures.

Shraddha: That's amazing!

Aparna: Frank Jr. is actually William James.

# All of them start googling William James

Shraddha: Hmm, seems like a learned man.

Sid: Tu kya shakal dekh k logon ko padh leti hai kya!?

SHE: I'll just make a call and come back

Kabi: Arey, kahan rehe gaya wo? Kidhar hai wo abhi?

SHE (😔): HE's still in office. HE said he'll leave in sometime but let me just check with him.

Kabi: Yeah, just ask him! Itni der kaun reheta hai yaar office me!?
SHE: Nahi actually uska office compound clog ho gaya hai, that's why he's stuck.
Kabi: Ohh, acha. I see.

# SHE calls him up

SHE: Where are you?? Did you leave yet? 

HE: I'm leaving now, just packing my stuff. The compound has been cleared for now, good thing is I can leave my car in the parking lot. Idhar safe bhi rahega.
SHE: You want us to come, ke. . . tu aa jayega?!
HE: Arey pagal hai kya! Tum log aoge toh tum bhi phas jaoge. Stay at home, mai pahunchta hun. Auto ya uber karke kaise toh bhi aata hun. I'll keep you posted okay? 

SHE: Alright. Call me once you start.

HE: Okay, bye.

# As HE's about to close his laptop HE gets a new email

      From: Rajiv, Shekaran

      Subject: Project Manager Proposition

       Hi,

       I hope this email finds you in good health.

       I only wanted to touch base with you about the Project Manager position in Dublin,

       Ireland we spoke about a month ago. We are starting to ramp up the team right now and

       wanted you to get on board sooner rather than later. Let me know as soon as possible. 

       Regards,

       Rajiv Shekaran

       Senior Consultant 

       Tel +91 (636)722-5541

        

HE (Exhales): Ahhh!

-- X --