Flight of the Shira

This is a first attempt. Comments and criticisms that are kind, courteous considerate and constructive would be encouraging.

This is a long story. It builds up slowly. There is a lot of romance. It is also a work of fiction. However references to locations, historical characters, art, music and science are as one would find in normal geography, history and science text books.

All characters indulging in sexual activities in this story are well above the age of consent. All sexual activities are consensual.

There are a number of words and phrases that are in the vernacular languages of India and they are mostly explained within the story itself. Some words have not been translated but they will not take away much from the story.

Those exposed to the customs and culture of India will understand some of the subtleties and nuances in the conversations and events better.

Neela

"Hi, good morning, I am calling with reference to your advertisement which states that you have a single room apartment to let out."

"Whom do you want this for?" The voice sounded musical.

"It is for me," I said.

"I am only letting it out to a woman." The tone was abrupt, almost rude.

"Oops, but that really wasn't clear in the advertisement. Anyway, I am really sorry to have bothered you." And with that the call came to an end.

A couple of days later, my phone buzzed. It was the same number that I had called earlier.

"Hi, I am Neela, we spoke the day before yesterday. If you are still looking for accommodation, I can consider your case, but I need to know if you are the kind of person I would like to have as a tenant."

"If you can give me your address, I could come over at a time convenient to you and we could discuss this."

"No way I am having a stranger over at my place," she laughed. "Can I meet you at 'The Delta' at three in the afternoon today? It is the coffee shop at the Phoenix Mall."

"Yes, of course. How do I recognise you?"

"Look for a lady in a canary yellow saree carrying a brown leather bound book. A rather large book.... You haven't told me your name yet?"

"Narasimha."

"Bye, see you at three." And she hung up.

The coffee shop was mostly empty, and she was there at a table next to a big glass window. She continued to watch me as I walked across smiling. I offered her my hand. She took it, a soft but firm handshake and then pointed to the chair across.

"Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes, a strong South Indian filter 'Kaapi,' I can order and bring it across, what would you like to have?"

"The same."

I walked over to the counter, picked up the order and walked back to the table.

"My previous tenant was lady," she began, "but if I do find a decent man, then why not?"

"Tell me about the place."

"It is a rather large well furnished room, with a well equipped washroom and a kitchenette, very comfortable for a single person. It also has a large balcony that overlooks a lot of greenery. It is built over a garage adjoining my place and has a separate entrance. It is air-conditioned, has its own electric meter and a phone/broadband connection that you need to pay for on actuals over and above the rent. There is a housekeeping service that will clean up your premises twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, the same service that I use."

"Sounds good, I would like to see the place though. But before that, what kind of a person are you looking for as a tenant?" I smiled, to keep the question from sounding too aggressive.

"I know where you work from your Linked-in Profile. You don't seem to have any other social media accounts, no Facebook, no Instagram, no Twitter. So you need to tell me more about yourself."

"My parents have moved on. A few uncles, aunts, cousins with whom I am in touch with, whom I sometimes visit when I travel to their cities. Otherwise, when I am not working, I watch birds during the day and gaze at the stars during the night. An amateur birdwatcher and an amateur astronomer, and professionally the head of a large customer service team in my organisation."

"You can have an occasional guest over, but no drunken parties, or noisy stuff at my place."

"Other than an occasional beer on a very hot afternoon or a glass of wine or maybe two in a year, I don't drink. Can't hold the stuff, so no rum, no whisky, no gin....I don't smoke either."

"Why do you want to move to the outskirts of the city?"

"Many reasons why your locality makes sense. One, while it is a 50 minute drive to my place of work, most of it is on the freeway, so driving is less stressful. Two, your area has much less of environmental artificial lighting, I will able to see the stars better, three, I travel a lot and the access to the airport is closer and four, the wetlands where I go to for watching birds is a shorter drive from your area."

He paused for a while, then added, "More importantly, I am a simple no nonsense guy. I can be a good friend and neighbour should you need any help anytime, and I really am a perfect gentleman. If you need any references you can talk to my HR or any of my previous employers."

"Once we are done with our coffee, you can drive me home, and take a look at the place. If you like it, I will have my lawyer draw up the lease agreement for you to sign. I will call her and ask her to meet us there. She may ask you a lot more questions, so be prepared to answer them." Her laughter was infectious, I was beginning to like this lady.

The apartment turned out to be way beyond my expectations. There was a queen sized bed, an antique study table and a chair, lots of wardrobe space, the kitchenette had piped gas, a refrigerator and a microwave, the bathroom was pretty spacious with a glass shower cubicle on one side and a washing machine in the other corner. The balcony had a couple of metal chairs and a metal table and a lot of potted plants. The price quoted turned out to be less than what I was presently paying since we were away from the centre of the city. I was beginning to like the apartment too.

Narasimha

In Hindu Mythology, Narasimha is an angry aggressive deity. He is half human, half lion, who emerges out of a pillar to kill a demon. The Narasimha before me was different. Polite, courteous, lean, dark and clean shaven, without a hint of a stubble, it was easy to make out the Tamil features in him. His English had a neutral accent, and his Hindi accent was typically North Indian. I would discover later that he was born in and lived a considerable portion of his 30 years in the northern states of India.

Suman, my lawyer, took care of the details. She quizzed him about his work, friends, habits and his way of life like a skilled interrogator. He would reply patiently with a smile, he seemed to know that Suman was being very protective of me and he wasn't going to give her an opportunity to say no. When Suman finally declared that as per the agreement, his dues must be paid by the 5th of every month, he replied,

"My company credits my salary to my account on the last working day of the month, I will place standing instructions with my bank to transfer the rent on the very next day. So the money should be in your account on the first." I think that statement floored her completely.

She took a week to get the paperwork done, using the time to discreetly do some checks on him. He was from a rather simple background, studied in one of the best educational institutes in India, was widely travelled in the country and abroad, had changed a few jobs and generally climbed up the ladder the hard way. He seemed to be well respected by his peers and superiors, his subordinates and customers seemed to adore him.

And I was beginning to like this man.

Narasimha moved in on a Wednesday, the day I normally visit the small factory I own. Otherwise I mostly work from home. The factory runs on a well perfected drill under an extremely efficient factory manager and her deputy. I have an all woman staff mostly from underprivileged families, the factory makes small auto parts for a couple of auto makers on an OEM basis. They supply the design and the moulds and all I have to do is meet their standards of quality.

The only sign that he had moved in was his car and a large carton of waste material kept neatly on one side of the driveway. Narasimha came down when he heard me driving in.

"I am really sorry, but I do not know how the garbage is disposed here, so I waited to ask you." He said.

"If there is nothing wet in there, it can wait, the housekeeping staff will take care of it on Friday. Would you like to have dinner at my place?"

He seemed delighted. "What would you like to eat?" I asked him.

"Not a foodie," he replied, "something simple and light, though I eat meat only if there are no other choices," he grinned.

"See you at 7 then," I replied and went in to get the dinner ready.

I heard Narasimha's car when he drove out and then drove back in, an hour or so later. And on the dot of 7 he was at my door, a small bunch of yellow roses and a couple of packages in his hands.

"These are for you," he said, as he stepped in, placing the packages on the centre table and then handing me the roses.

"You really didn't have to bring these for your landlady," I said.

"No, I brought them for someone I want to be friends with. And that is the champagne to go with the dinner and those are the flutes to hold the champagne."

"How did you know that I like Champagne?"

"I didn't, I just took a chance." And he started unpacking the stuff.

The flutes were good, they were certainly somewhat expensive ones, I took them to the sink to wash and dry them and came back with the cork opener and handed it to him.

He looked hesitant, rather sheepish. "Neela, I really don't know how to do this, what I do know is that if you don't do it right the gases inside are supersonic."

"Watch this," and I gently opened the bottle and poured out the champagne.

He picked up both the flutes and handed one to me. "To us being friends forever."

I nodded and smiled. "Taittinger is a good wine, why did you think of this one?"

"Not good with this stuff, so I just asked the store owner. He wanted to know what the occasion was, I said I was meeting a friend. 'A lady friend?' he enquired, and then gave me this."

We sat down at the dining table and we started talking. Easily slipping between English and Hindi, we spoke about our shared interests, English Literature, Hindi Literature, favourite writers, Hindi music, Ghazals, The Beatles, Old classic Hollywood and Bollywood movies.... By this time we were through two glasses of wine, our reserve melted.

"How did you get into astronomy and bird watching?"

"I had this wonderful Physics teacher in school. He taught me the basics, spending many nights in the school observatory that he had built. Then in college we had an observatory that was in a state of neglect. I brought it back into shape, using the college workshop facilities to fabricate some new equipment and repair broken ones, and had it up and running. The professors encouraged me to revive the astronomy club and taught us members a lot of new stuff. Five great years of observation and fun as I completed my Masters degree. When I left college and took up a job, I didn't have the resources to buy a telescope. Much later a small cheap telescope was all that I could afford and as life improved a good expensive one came about."

He continued, "Birdwatching became a hobby when as a travelling salesman, I happened to visit Bharatpur, famous for its bird sanctuary which hosts several migratory species. What I saw amazed me and I was hooked. I am mostly self taught, this country does have some very good ornithologists and their books on this subject."

"You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, Narasimha, but I am curious, you come across as an erudite person with diverse interests, then how come you don't have a girlfriend?"

"Oh, that's not a big deal, of course I can answer this. I have some friends of the opposite sex, but the one relationship I had didn't work out."

"Yes, go on..."

"She was junior to me in college, we were friends but she was serious about someone else. When that didn't work out for her, I was upgraded from a shoulder to cry on to a shoulder to rest her head on. We lost touch after I graduated, but a couple of years later she managed to locate me and said she loved me. I was glad to have her back, I definitely did love her, we were in a relationship for some time, then suddenly she opted out."

"Why was that?"

"The only reason she gave me was that she loved me, but was not in love with me. I really couldn't make out what that meant, so I surmised that what she felt was that I was good for a couple of fucks but not for a lifetime of fucks.... oooops! Did I say what I just said? I am sorry, I never was good at holding my drink......"

"Oooh, this is so hilarious....... I mean, not what happened, but how you put it." We were both laughing away.

"So that was one relationship that didn't work out. There could have been others, right?"

"I am wired differently Neela, I need a certain level of an emotional and intellectual connect with a woman before I can perform. Not that there weren't any such connects but they all fell into a forbidden zone. A colleague or the wife of a friend, or even a mother of one. I was not going to disrupt somebody's life or my own, short term flings and one night stands are not for me......"

I started thinking, "He is so simple, so frank, so trusting, is he like this with everyone or is it just me?"

"Why are you single, Neela?" he asked.

"Oh that is a very short story, my parents arranged my marriage, he was my dad's colleague's son, he seemed to check all the right boxes, very good looking, a degree in engineering, a diploma in business management, a well paying job in a foreign bank.... except that a week after the wedding I found out that what I thought was an occasional social drinking habit was actually a much deeper malaise."

"So what did you do?"

"I locked him out of the bedroom and gave him an ultimatum. He gets to touch me only if he is absolutely sober, I was not going to have a man reeking of booze next to me on the bed. Well, he seemed to prefer his whisky over his wife. Within a few months we were legally divorced."

"What happened to him?"

"Well, his liver couldn't take what his stomach could. I wasn't in town when he died, not that I would have attended the funeral anyway."

"You are a spunky woman Neela, more power to you."

"Let's get some dinner, I made pasta, an Italian soup and I have some fresh bread. And there is fruit salad for dessert"

We talked about a lot of other things during dinner, what all we do in my factory and about my lawyer and friend Suman.

"Suman is my ex husband's distant cousin. We met at the wedding and we clicked. She still feels that if she had known me before the wedding, she would have warned me and prevented the wedding from taking place. She is very protective and you must have seen that when she grilled you. She thinks very highly of you though."

We also laughed a lot. Narasimha cleared the table when we finished and insisted on doing the dishes.

"I am unable to decide which one was more amazing, your company, or the meal. You are wonderful. But I have to go now. I have a flight to catch tomorrow afternoon, and will be back from Hyderabad on Saturday evening. Can we go out for a movie or a play of your choice on Sunday, Neela?"

"Tell you what, let me do the bookings, I prefer the Sunday morning shows where they have some off-beat movies. Then you are going to treat me to some 'Paani Puri' and 'Raj Kachori Chaat' for lunch. Then when we return, you are going to show me your telescope."

"Done! And Neela......."

"Yes?"

"My work gets over every day by 7 in the evening and I will be back in my hotel room by 8. Will you talk to me some time after that for a few minutes for the next couple of days when I am in Hyderabad?"

There was this expectant look in his eyes and I did something I normally never do. I put my arms around him and hugged him. His arms went around me, and we stayed that way for quite a while. Just as I was beginning to identify the scent of his after shave, and feel the acceleration in his heartbeat against my breasts, he broke the hug, hugged me again tightly for just a second, and wished me a good night. He waved as he bounded up the steps to his apartment. As I locked my door, I was wondering if it was my imagination or I had really felt the faint stirrings of his erection against my tummy. By the time I reached my bedroom, there was a marked wetness between my thighs that I had not felt in many years.

Neela

I opened my laptop once the 'fasten seatbelt' sign went off, but I couldn't concentrate on the spreadsheet in front of me. I was still feeling the hug from last night. The scent of her perfume, the feel of her hair against my cheeks and her breasts against my chest. Neela has big breasts, but since she is taller than the average Indian woman, they don't seem big unless you look closely. And the size was camouflaged by the top portion of her saree blurring the contours. I had to break off before my cock could rise to bridge the gap between us. I was not going to let it ruin a budding friendship.

When I landed and the phone came back from flight mode, there was a message from her. "Have you reached? Don't be late, dying to talk to you. Just call me when you are ready, don't wait for me to call," followed by a smiley.

"On my way from the airport to my office," I texted, "trying to time travel 6 hours into the future but the portal evades me. Wont make you wait a moment more than necessary."

The reply was almost instantaneous. "Science fiction goes over my head, but I get the message, talk to you soon."

Things at the office went as scheduled, I then checked in to my hotel, took a quick shower, changed into a comfortable pair of jeans and a tee-shirt, propped my back on pillows, plugged in the hands free and then called her. She picked up instantly.

"Hey time traveller, I haven't let go of the phone for the last one hour, there was no way I was going to miss your call."

"You are crazy Neela and you are very good for my ego, so what's up?"

"Guess what? Suman is pregnant!"

"Whoa, that seems to be great news, she must be really happy?"

"On top of the world, she and her husband Vivek have been trying for a long while. I am so happy for them. Hey, have you eaten?"

"Well, the restaurant is open till 10 and they have 24 hour room service, so you can hold on to me till you fall asleep."

And three hours later, that is exactly what she did. I could hear her soft breathing through the open line as I smiled and disconnected the call.

"I hope you liked my lullaby," I texted a little later before turning in.

When I woke up there was a reply sent early in the morning. "That was the sweetest lullaby ever, I slept like a baby! Don't work too hard, talk to me today at the same time. I will be visiting Suman but will be back by the evening."

The day flew past, there was enough work that had to be done but soon enough, we were together on the phone. I asked her if I could get her something from Hyderabad. It is a city famous for pearls and bangles made from lac. She wasn't too keen and I left it at that. I then asked her how she ended up being an automobile engineer.

"It was just an act of rebellion, people said this is a man's job, so I opted for it just to be snarky. The family tolerated it, they knew I would have to give up working once I got married. Worked for a car maker too and then you know the 'short story.' Once I got out of that, my father helped me set up this factory, gave me the seed money and organised the bank loan. Things worked out well, and I managed to repay him, the bank and also took care of him and mom till they moved on. The business is doing well, I have inherited enough, and the rent I get pays for most of my household expenses. So I get to bank the salary I pay myself. Right in the beginning I realised managing male employees was going to be difficult, they don't easily take instructions from women, so I slowly recruited women and trained them and over a period of time, all my employees are women.There are some males, the security and the housekeeping guys, but they are outsourced from an agency."