When Hari met Sally

by Subhajit Ghosh



Tonight Sally has decided to visit the site. Just the previous day she had received an email from the webmaster of indiacalling.com requesting her to try out his site.

Sally is now at indiacalling. She found the site mainly about Indians quite interesting. There were numerous articles, poems and stories and many other features written by budding writers. She decided to read a few of them.

One of the poem she read was Life without Grandpa by a young Indian writer Hari. The poem had a deep impact upon Sally. She was moved to tears because she was herself deeply attached to her Grandma.

She decided to send the writer an email expressing her consolation. And so she wrote a beautiful letter wherein she harped upon the fact that the Almighty would definitely arrange for a reunion between the writer and his departed Grandpa some day.

The next day when Hari checked his mail box, he found the mail from Sally. After he finished reading its content, he felt he should send Sally a 'thank you' reply. In that mail, he also expressed a desire that he would like to become a friend of hers.

Soon another mail came from Sally. Hari was happy because Sally had written that she would love to be his friend. It was the beginning.

They began regularly exchanging mails. Slowly they began knowing facts about each other. Hari was senior to Sally by a couple of years. Hari was a bachelor, whereas Sally was married with a tiny daughter. Hari worked as a computer engineer in a firm, whereas Sally had a small business of her own. They soon became fast friends.

In their confabulation over Internet, Hari and Sally exchanged details about their life to each other. Sally found that Hari was hard-working, sincere and keen on coming to the United States, the country where she lived. Hari discovered that Sally loved the beach, fishing, skiing and her grandma. Sally's hubby was an workaholic, and hardly ever had time for his family. He hardly evinced any interest in the things Sally loved so much.

And friendship blossomed!! A year drifted by, but their bond seemed to grow stronger and stronger with every passing day.



"I have arranged for your fellowship, Hari. Mr Roundtree of New York State University has agreed to take you in his AI and Robotics group on a fellowship for a tenure of two years," Sally spoke over the phone.

"Oh, thank you so much. I'm coming. I will try to arrange and get my visa done as soon as possible, and then I will be able to meet you Sally," Hari said.

And expectedly, Hari went to America.

When the plane touched JFK airport, it was mid-day. It was hot and sweltering. It was also very crowded. Hari emerged out of the plane, and proceeded in the direction where his co-passengers were heading. He knew that Sally would come to receive him at the airport, but was wondering whether he will be able to recognise her amidst this sea of humanity. He had just seen a couple of her photographs, which she had sent over the internet.

He was proved wrong. There's his Sally!! Yeah, it's got to be her. That girl standing over there and anxiously eyeing all the passengers coming out.

"Sally?," said Hari.

"Hayree?"

Hari looked at Sally and nodded. She was looking gorgeous! He inched forward and embraced Sally longingly.

"Let's go. We'll have to drive two hours to reach my house. You stay with me for a week. Meanwhile, you try to arrange for your accomodation. Then you can move out there," Sally said.

"Is your granny at home today?," Hari asked.

Sally burst out laughing. After a while, she said, "It is hilarious that you call my grandmother granny. If she ever heard anyone say that, they would defiantly be on her "you know what" list. She has never in her whole life ever been even called grandma. This is the biggest no no. She has always been called Gran, and I actually thought this was her name. Until my teens, when I found out different. I remember being very disappointed for some reason. If you ever met her you would never think of her as grandma. She just sent me a newspaper clipping that has a picture of her and a younger gentleman, Ice sailing. And need I remind you of her age -- just ninety-six."



Hari joined the Project team of Mr Roundtree and began his work in earnest.

Sally lived in Hartford, a two hour drive from New York city. It's a small, wealthy town in Connecticut. Sally told Hari "Our place is 45 minutes from the shore. We have nice walking trails, a pond with a beach, many pools, tennis courts, golf clubs with a mile long waiting list, indoor soccer clubs, and numerous fitness facilities. And the town is getting bigger and bigger as I speak. We also have a wonderful library. "

Sally introduced Hari to her husband as a promising young Indian writer. "He's also a good friend of mine," she said.

Sally's husband was a Kenyan. A very hard working man, he remained extremely busy throughout the day and even on weekends he had no time to spare.



After a few months passed, one day Sally asked "Would you return back to India, or stay here?"

"I don't know. It all depends on whether I can manage a good job here," said Hari.

"Don't you worry about that. I'll help you get a good job. I know many people working in the computer industry" said Sally.

Sally continued "And if you settle here, choose the East Coast. The East Coast is the best place to raise a family, feel safe and make a good living. You can experience all four seasons. There are many quaint New England towns, and if that doesn't do anything for you there is always the big apple, New York city! It's a great place to live if you're single, and don't mind watching your back."

"Thanks for your advice," Hari said.

Sally carried on "Last night I had a dream about you. We were in this huge open area of very dry land. There were a lot of people, and everyone was holding hands and dancing around in a circle very fast. I was hugging you very tight, and I felt you were a little embarrassed. After that the circle broke up, and everyone started playing some sort of hiding game. I don't think I saw you for the duration of the game. You must have crossed my thoughts before I went to bed, but I don't remember."

Hari heard in silence.



On most weekends, Sally and Hari would visit and see some beautiful spots in the vicinity. During such trips, Sally kept her daughter with her Gran.

Sally was playful by nature, and loved pulling Hari's legs occasionally. Once she said, "It's funny I don't know why, but I can't picture Indian people working out to stay in shape. I hope that doesn't sound terribly westernised, and stupid." At this, Hari just give her a sneaky smile.

On one such outing, they had to halt for a night at a small hotel owing to a stormy weather. Only one room was found available, and they had to share the double-bedded room that night.

A mini-cyclonic gale engulfed the surroundings. And then the thunder became quite frightening. And it showed no signs of abatement.

"Haaree," Sally called out "I'm so scared." She inched towards Hari's bed.

She entered and slipped her almost naked body within the blanket. She held Hari tightly, and kissed him gently. Hari held her firmly. And then ...

Exhausted they fell on the bed and soon went off to sleep.

The first rays of the sun woke them up. Hari had barely opened his eyes, when he saw Sally lift her bare body and gently pull a shirt over herself and slid within a pair of jeans.

On that day they explored the area leisurely. And in the evening, they returned to Hartford. Hari had to go back to New York the next morning.



Hari has managed a job in a software firm in New York and works there. In fact, he has entrenched himself in NY. In a few years, he has worked up the ladder in his company and has bought a three-room apartment. And Sally has moved into this apartment.

14/5/2001