by Durjoy Datta
Tanmay and Vernita got married, too, after Vernita got pregnant. Vernita still works in that investment bank and earns a fortune. Tanmay, meanwhile, got through the IIMs and is travelling around the world on internships. Vernita talks to me now, occasionally. We never discuss the kiss. No matter how much I try to. She acts as if it never happened.
Viru and Yogi worked their way up right to the top before they were fired. For sleeping with their boss’s wife. Together. It was her birthday party that got a little out of hand. They are now setting up their own auto-manufacturing unit. Together. The treat for that is still due but I don’t foresee it coming any time soon.
And my best buddy now, Amit, has just shifted to the Middle East with Astha and their one-year-old son, Dev. His kid is already doing math sums. They are doing quite well, too. We mail each other every day. In his last mail, he sent me the snap of his latest asset. An Audi.
And yes, Neeti. She got married to Kumar last year. Shawar is out of prison now and being a good boy. Paritosh is still rotting.
And as for me—Avantika and I are still together. Avantika got me a job at her office and I am doing well. As her junior. The last place we made out was our boss’s cabin. It was her idea. Though Avantika now complains that I spend way too much time with my friends. Now that her Bengali classes are over, I am taking her to meet my mom soon.
My book did hit the stands and sank without a trace.
And of course I love you!
Imagination seldom runs wild, but when it does, you have a book.
Acknowledgements
Were it not for these people whom we thank below (and an active God), this book would still be languishing in the My Documents folder of our computers. These people might not be literary superpowers, but they always made us feel that our book was Booker material, often without reading the manuscript. Needless to say, we took them seriously.
To start the list with somebody who was dying to see his name in print just as we were, we would like to thank Sachin Garg, first and last, for thinking that we are small Rushdies in the making.
Stuti and Mayank, who are still in a state of shock upon hearing that we can write and, worse, get published! There are others, most of whom have led strange lives and ended up, willingly or unwillingly, contributing to the book:
Megha Sharma, Kanika Suri, Deepika Kapur and Sheetal Shishodia—the four of them who thought it was a long joke until they realized we were not actually rolling on the floor laughing, or, as they say, ROFLing.
Nishit Bhatnagar, Neeti Rustagi, Archit Garg, Abhishek Sachdev (Thanks! You rock!), Nitin Verma, Nikita Singh, Naman Kapur, DVYRAS (partly)—who put up with our strange ways, and all of whom wanted a free copy until they knew they would be on the opening page. Now they want two.
All our fellow bloggers, and the people on Facebook for all the appreciation they showered on us—and still do—despite hating us for the mindless things we write.
Our batchmates at our alma mater(s) who unflinchingly provided us with proxy attendances whenever and wherever needed.
Our families, and especially our parents, who constantly supported and encouraged us, even as they grappled with nightmares of the two of us leaving all material pursuits (read careers) and ending up as intellectual paupers. That is, until they read the book and realized we were up to no good.
And finally our sisters, Rituparna Datta and Tanvi Ahuja, who have inspired us and made us believe that this is our calling in life—besides finding ourselves jobs, pursuing management degrees, having kids, taking out the garbage among others—and this is what we should continue doing.
We also thank Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, whose blessings were always with us.
We are glad to have come out of this ordeal of writing a book together, with just a few bruises here and there. We thank ourselves.
THE BEGINNING
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First published by Grapevine India Publishers 2012
Published in Penguin Metro Reads by Penguin Books India 2013
Copyright © Durjoy Datta 2013
Cover photographs © iStock Photo
All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-0-143-42160-3
This digital edition published in 2013.
e-ISBN: 978-9-351-18392-1
