Melancholy Boulevard

Spread over 2500 square feet of mellow ultra modern penthouse ambience on the seventh and eighth floor of Isle Heights adjoining the sea face is where the Shenoys stay. The wheatish-golden rays of the sun filter through the Paithani drapes adoring the windows in their bedroom. The light filtering through the magenta of the curtains fills the room with a hue of sorts and it could happen only when Nature plays artist. The alarm begins to sound and Krith fidgets and finally manages to put in to its silence. Kaavya looks a lot more beautiful, the pale innocence does not leave her face even as she sleeps; and Krith is even luckier to have a partner as her. It was during their formative years, did Krith and Kaavya find that they had become the inseparable of friends. Marriage happened and Kaavya became a part of the Shenoy family.

Krith is the creative director in one of the largest advertising agencies of South Mumbai, The CultureBind Company. Interestingly, Kaavya is the lead visualiser in the creative department.

It has been a great week at CultureBind which has been pitching for a big account and actually won the pitch. Going by CultureBind’s legacy, the event would be celebrated. The notice goes up and it is party time. Dance, booze and great food. All this, at the most happening place in the town.

Krith prefers to stay at home due a head splitting headache. He presses Kaavya to go ahead. Kaavya dons on her best party gear and drives off to the scene. Krith is conspicuous by his absence. But the party has to go on.

Denzil asks Kaavya to drop him at his place. Denzil has been working as a copy supervisor with CultureBind. Known for his inane ways, he was always a ‘lady’s man’. Known as the stud, he was a charmer.

Kaavya obliges. He invites her to his apartment over a cup of coffee and she reluctantly agrees. Denzil plays one of the instrumentals of Kenny G. Soft music and coffee together are known as the best aphrodisiacs; and I have a feeling that this story should have an untimely twist.

Coffee and some conversation revolving around the party and this is a great situation to have a twist. The conversation seems to gradually lessening to a whisper and except for the music, I can hear nothing. This is something so tender to be out of human comprehension. Denzil suddenly moves over to her and softly kisses her and she reciprocates. Seduction wins again in this unfair game of love. They end up making love.

Caught in a thin line between guilt and incidence, Kaavya just wants to term the episode as passé. She shops for the pill and everything is forgotten.

Not many months after, things aren’t the same when one day he chances upon to accidentally eavesdrop Kaavya calling Denzil over her cell phone asking Denzil to forget the whole episode. There’s a sharp negative when Krith confronts her. The whole situation is very unfamiliar for Krith. Kaavya was never like this before.

There is a realm of uneasy flavour floating around and Kaavya seems to be confused about her life. She still loves Krith and that fling with Denzil happened in a flash. And Krith knows something is amiss. Kaavya is not his same old Kaavya anymore. He can see her turn in to an inexplicable uneasy qualm every time there’s a call from Denzil or for that matter every time there is the slightest mention of his name. But I know, the character Kaavya, that I created shall die rather than spill out the beans.

And true to this date, she is worth her tag. Krith does not know the missing link. He has tried talking to Denzil but help did not arrive in any form. Denzil would never say to him that he actually slept with Kaavya. And as of Kaavya, she is silent as ever.

She still walks the Melancholy Boulevard.