SMILE PLEASE...

" Lambi Judaai, Char dinaunda, pyar o rabba badi lambi judaai"

At least a dozen of my friends would identify the person attached to this song. I guess they also remember the person when the listen to this song. Some relationships in this world are already made when you are born. And some relationships you make when you grow up. You choose your own friends, and friends have classifications also; school friends, college friends, online friends, facebook friends, colleague turned friends blah blah... among them there are some people who come very close to you. The closest among them becomes your partner [ girlfriend or boyfriend ] but there are others who are also equally close to you. They become more like your brother or sister, and some best friends who are the soul friends. Unlike a typical Bong boy, I have made umpteen sisters in my 27 years of lifetime... and most of them said that I am a great brother material [ once my girlfriend also thought so]... In 27 years I have gathered at least 127 rakhis [ among those 20 came from my cousin sisters]. And I guess every year I was the most sought after brother in all my educational institutions [ What was it? my non existent jawline? my never bulging biceps? My non-macho personality? I never could figure out] and I enjoyed every bit of the attention. Among all the sisters  I made over the years, there are actually three sisters whom I really treasure... Lambi Judai reminds me of my this sister, the cutest person on earth, owner of the most beautiful smile, and the most melodious voice among the people I know... Indira, the prettiest girl in whole Imphal.

Indira was my junior in my post graduation college, and her claim to fame was her voice. On her first teacher's day, the whole college clapped for her when she sang Jaanam Samjha Karo. That's my first memory of her, and after that a dispute in a management class over her north east Indian accent. That's what I remember of her during my college days. But I recognised the real Indira, when she got a job in my company in Mumbai. During her initial days in Mumbai, she used to find it pretty hard to communicate with the people around. But with her famous 'Kya keh rahe ho' she won everyone's heart very soon and in three months she had learned the art of survival in Mumbai. 

That's when Indira came close to me. She always respected me & loved me like a big brother and always came to me whenever any advice needed and I guess I tried my best to live upto her expectations. [Wait... am I losing the  plot here? where's the song connection Vic? Oh yes... ]. Once we were working at the edit suite and one of the editors was asking her to sing a song, I also insisted as I hadn't heard her since that teacher's day. And she started this song... " Bichhde abhi to ham bas kal parson... Jioongi main kaise, is haal mein barson" It just blown me away. Never heard anything so sweet, so melodious, so content... She truly deserved a gentle pull on her plump cheeks, and I did exactly that. Since then whenever there's been a get together at my house, I made sure Indira sings this song. Every time before singing she did hazar nakhras and atlast when she sang people had the same feeling like me. The irony of life is now she's not in Mumbai and every Sunday I miss her [ every sunday she used to some to my place for home cooked food], her Manipuri style potato chicken, her shampoo ad [ she has such silky & straight hair that she used to demonstrate it like a shampoo ad], the soan papdis and mostly the gossips.

Indira was a sister and a good friend till she did something which brought her much closer to my heart. Victor, in his 27 years has never been so surprised as he was on 6th August 2009 at 7:30 am. The bell rang and to my ultimate surprise I found Indie standing there with a rakhi. I didnt even know that it was rakhi and she came in the morning without eating anything as she knew that sisters should eat after tying rakhi. For heavens sake... I must've born with the luck of a lifetime to experience this... That was my best rakhi ever... will always be till she does something else to surprise me. With Indie I can always expect a surprise...


Indie...  I know that u already know, but still felt like saying it... Whenever in life you need me, I'm there for you. Miss you dear sis... miss u a lot...