Short story.

My friend Jagdish Mittar

Dalip Singh Wasan, Advocate.

Today in the year 2010 I met an old friend of mine Jagdish Mittar who had been with me from 8th to 10th . I know that he was very expert in cramming and because of this habit he got first division in matriculation examination.  I saw him doing F.A. and then B.A. from the college.  One day we both were sitting in cinema hall and I noticed that one girl sitting by his side stood up and went out of the cinema hall and within minutes Mittal too left the hall.  I could not make out what had happened and I was not in a mood to leave cinema hall because we had spent money and had purchased tickets of higher standard because tickets of lower sides were not available.

Jagdish Mittar had returned within half an hour and then we had been together till the end of the film.  When we were returning home, he told me that they had some touches and because of these touches, she invited him outside and without thinking over the subject, he left the house and then had been following her till she entered her house near Sunaami Gate, Patiala.  I laughed over this story.

I had the information that Jagdish Mitgtar had been taking part in competitions and ultimately he got job in the IAS cadre and joined in Jammu and Kashmir.  After that he never met me nor I ever tried to meet him in Kashmir. He had been in service and often I had been reading news papers about his transfers and his promotions.  I was happy that one of my friend could reach such a high position.  I wanted to meet him, but at the same time I was angry with him that he never dropped me a letter when he had been having my address with him and he had collected my address when he was leaving for Kashmir.

And today when we met, we took some time to identify and recognize each other.  We both had retired from service and here we had collected on the last ceremonies of one of our common friend.  I was surprised to note that this Mittar who had been ignoring us all had come to attend these last ceremonies of a friend.  On enquiry I could collect that this man had been his relative also.

After the performance of ceremonies, I took him to my house, because I could persuade him that he should stay with me for at least one night so that we could exchange our views and could share our ups and downs of life.

When we reached home, he wanted that we should go out and visit Sunami Gate where that girl was residing.  I accompanied him and on enquiry we found that the girl had married with a man who was a commercial agent and she gave birth to four sons, but now that woman has died a year back. Jagdish Mittar heard this news with a sad heart and could not have sound sleep.  He remained silent and I was talking all alone without any response from him.  He had been uttering some words in response and those were—I had lost my first love—I have lost my first love  and I could not understand the psychology of this love.  This man had not talked to that girl and only they could exchange some touches while sitting in the cinema hall.  He had told me that they had been on cycles till Sunaami gate and they did not have further talks in the way. But still this man could not forget these first touches.

On the next day Mittar left my house and I noticed that he was still in sad mood and was not talking with me in the same spirit in which we had been talking when we were class mates.  This girl had entered the life of this man and because of this entry, he had forgotten me too.

101-C Vikas Colony, Patiala

Punjab-India-147003