"Get out of the office. Knock. And wait till I ask you to come in," it was very difficult to neglect the authority in Mr. Yadav's voice.
He has been teaching physics for 14 years in Harods College of Science and Technology now; a gold medalist in his yesteryears and a force to reckon when it comes to the knowledge about his subject. Even in his thirties, he carried himself with the agility of a strongly built youngster, indicating the hours he spent in the gym and his greying sideburns only added to his authoritative persona like an old wine getting better with age.
A bit taken aback, Srishti walked out of the office and knocked the door and waited patiently for Professor to respond. A couple of minutes had passed before he responded with a calm but definite, "Come in."
She walked in quietly and stood in front of his large, oval shaped, oak desk which was covered with neatly arranged papers and files. She had newly enrolled herself into the college for her PhD and it was very much imperative to meet Professor Yadav to get an idea about how to go about and make it good, if not excel, and the college Dean had made it a customery habit to ask the newcomers to see Physics Professor before choosing their optionals.
She looked around at the brightly lit office. It was circular in shape with an array of books arranged on the right and behind Professor's seat. A fireplace with a small fire shimmered on his left. Her eyes trailed to the wooden work which adorned the room, as she craned her neck to observe the glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
"Isn't it beautiful?" He looked up for the first time since her arrival.
"Yes it is, Professer," she was barely audible.
He placed the pencil between the pages of his book and closed it, putting his hands on the desk.
"What is your name?"
"Srishti."
"Srishti what?"
"Srishti Kulkarni."
He pushed his chair back, standing and walked to the book rack on his right.
"And what brings you here Srishti Kulkarni?" he rummaged through the array of thick, brown covered
books before pausing on one and tilting it out.
"Dean asked me to come and see you, Professor,"
"Ohh a new student, are you?" he showed the first signs of interest, placing the book on his desk and looking up at Srishti.
His eyes were slightly brown, and his gaze deep and inquisitive.
"Yes Professor," she replied with a small smile and a sweet dimple formed on her right cheek.
He observed her for a moment. She was a pretty, young woman with slightly curled hair which she had braided into a casual pony.
"Have a seat," he pointed to the wooden chair and sat back.
"Do you like Physics? "
"I'm not sure professor," she shrugged, "I like it and don't like it at the same time." she replied with a small chuckle.
He did not smile.
"I see," he took his glasses off, "Stand up and fetch that box for me,"
"Sir?"
"Stand up and fetch that box for me," he repeated, pointing to a small desk kept by the fireplace.
She got up, a bit confused, and walked to the desk. It had three thick books piled up and a small wooden box at the top. She took the box placed at the top and walked back to him, but not before catching a glimpse of the dark cover of the book. It had a girl, with her hands cuffed in metallic cuffs and sitting on floor by a chair. A man sat snugly on the chair with his hand holding a leash. Her mind was boggled for a moment as her instincts urged her to take a second look, to make sure that she was not imagining things.
She felt her throat going dry for a moment as she recollected her modest demure and walked back, placing the box on his desk, "Sir," she mumbled, settling back in the chair.
"Did I ask you to sit?"
"No Sir," she immediately stood up, looking a bit embarrassed.
The sun outside the window had turned orange, throwing its last rays.
"Physics is the reason we all are enjoying our comfortable, luxurious lives with impeccable technology at our disposal," he had a nice hoarse voice with a tincture of domination, "and everything you have around, has to directly or indirectly acknowledge the contribution of physics for its existence." He opened the box and took out a pyramid shaped glass and placed it articulately on his desk against the sun rays. A rich spectrum of colors had erupted from the opposite side. His lips spread into a smile for the first time. He had a serious face with slightly hollow cheeks, a strong jaw and neatly trimmed facial hair.
"You see what happens?"
"Yes, Professor," she smiled back.
"Good. Take physics as your optional and I promise you that I will make you fall in love," he took his gaze away from the prism and looked into her eyes, "with Physics of course."
It was their first eye contact and she felt as if he was looking right into her; through her. His pupils did not touch the base of his eyes and looked as if he was drunk but his smug, calm face was one of the most assuring thing she had seen for the entire day. He effused an aura that was meddling with her conscience. It was something she had never felt before. There was something about his presence that made her nervous and excited simultaneously.
"Yes, Professor," she replied and lowered her gaze, unable to sustain the feeling of intimacy, his intimidating eyes were giving her.
"Better, Srishti," he replied, less to her affirmation to take the subject and more to the lowering of her gaze.
She could feel goosebumps across the back of her neck, as she licked her lips instinctively. She could still feel his gaze on her as she momentarily looked back at him before lowering her gaze again.
Srishti was born and brought up in a traditional, hindu family with rigid rules and mannerisms of how a girl should conduct herself. Then after her 10th standard she came to New Delhi to complete her 12th standard. It was this stint of two years in Delhi that challenged her prejudices and gave her a different perspective on how things happen. The things which were thought of as forbidden and taboo in her native city were daily practices in this new place, which was going to house her for the next two years. Almost all girls in her school had boyfriends, and the single ones were never reluctant to interact with guys in hope of finding a prospect. A slightly fuzzy notion, "If you want a job come to Delhi. If you want a girlfriend come to Delhi," was very famous among people aspiring to study in Delhi or had already graduated and were willing to come to Delhi in search of employment. She was exposed to so many new things. Many boys in school, as well as from outside, tried to approach her.
She was excited and amused with all the attention. She was introduced to expensive beauty parlors by her new, "modern" friends and her hairstyle had changed from two, long, neat, braided ponytails to shorter, casual hair. She would hear, with enthusiastic attention, the encounters of her friends with their boyfriends of how they, after bunking the classes, went to some park and spent time in the shades of a tree or did "adult things" hiding behind a bush. She earned her fair share of such encounters in later months. Her first experience of being touched, pressed, felt and squeezed by a boy happened in a dark cinema hall; she had allowed him to touch and caress her between her legs. A week later she had her first orgasm. The shy cocoon inside her had ruptured, and her long subdued, amorous desires had come to the fore. She had a series of stints with different boys from then on.
But this was something special. It was the first time that a person, this much senior to her, had aroused her not just physically but physiologically. All her previous meetings and temporary flings were with boys of her age, they were as amateur as they come with their sole purpose of somehow relieving the tension in their pants and none of them was ever able to arouse a feeling of intimacy within her. And here she stood in front of a man quite elder to her, oozing maturity from his mere existence, and her alienated and outcast feeling of being loved and cared and to subjugate to someone worthy enough got a spark of hope.
That night, her head was full of thoughts; his demeanor, his way of talking, his voice, his intimidating eyes; everything was etched in her memory. The cover of the book was flashing in her head as she turned in her bed, squeezing her thighs instinctively with a tingling sensation rising between her legs. She was anxious and excited, and felt the rush of blood to her sensitive parts. Her fingers unknowingly lingered around the tip of her breasts as her mind wandered in territories uncharted by her but not unknown. She imagined herself standing in front of him, her hands clasped behind her back, as he sits with a smug face near the fireplace. She imagines him standing up and walking to her, his strong, manly hand reaching for the back of her head and grabbing her hair in a gentle yet firm fist. "Mmmm,"
He had pulled her face up as she sees the fire sparkle in his dominating eyes. She felt her panties going damp at the thought of being so vulnerable in front of him. Without realizing, her mind was already cooking up plans of seeing him again.
And it had happened sooner than she had expected.
It was a regular cold day of December as she was dawdling around in the library when she heard the familiar assertive voice of Professor Yadav. She looked around and saw him in a conversation with a girl student in Physics alley. She thought of putting her plan into action immediately and unbuttoned two top buttons of her shirt and strolled towards the Physics section. The girl student was in an animated conversation with the Professor acting all girly with her hands moving wildly as Srishti approached them. He was standing with his composed demeanor.
"Professor, do you have a minute?"
The girl student paused with her hands in the air and they both looked at her. It was him who responded first,
"Srishti? Tell me,"
*He remembers my name!*
"I have some doubts regarding Quantum Physics. Would you mind sparing some time in the evening and explaining it to me?"
The other student's hands were down by now. He blinked and thought for a moment, and nodded in affirmation with a neutral expression.
"Yes you may come and see me at 7. Quantum physics need extra efforts to be comprehended completely." he turned to the girl student, "and you meet me in the office after your final lecture."
