Missed Call - Home Sweet Home

Story Board - Series 1 Series 2 Series 3 Series 4 Series 5

Series 6

She guessed it to be an early birthday wish from Priya in New York.
He kept watching how she had hold on to the hot burnt maize between her thin lips with a desperate attempt to open her leather bag and pull out her mobile. Her gestures were making his adrenal run faster than ever.

Sharmilee was awestruck. Her mobile display screen showed ‘Anurag Calling’ ….This contact detail was dormant for so long that it took a while to believe. She accepted the call and softly lifted the handset to her ear length. ….

- “Hi” – her greetings was as short as the first day. Anurag lost no time.
- “Can I have the pleasure of having you in my car? I am right here in-fornt of you.” – saying so he opened up the door of the chilled car.

Sharmilee slowly walked down - very unlike her hopping style that Anurag could recall. She peeped in once to see the man in the car. She couldn’t have expected destiny to offer any better a birthday gift. Only eyes can express what one feels to meet a special friend in an alien city.

It was more than marine breeze. They exchanged two years in twenty minutes. Anurag had more to say and unassumingly Sharmilee spoke less. Her belonging-ness with Mumbai was in a semi-baked state and hence she openly let Anurag steer the reunion. The car parked in-front of Apex apartment.

The ambiance was too new for her and so known to him. He wanted to make her feel at ease. It was still evening. Anurag was trying to kick off a communication which would make things easy to out-break. He slowly turned the audio system on. The two bedroom furnished apartment started reverberating the soft melody.

- “How did you like Mumbai?” – Anurag threw a wild card.
- “Lonely”
- “That is because you didn’t meet me.” Arurag sounded very romantic. He paused to reorganize with more vigour . Sharmilee was unprepared but didn't feel unpleasant. Some dark evenings are more promising than bright mornings!

“You must be tired after day long training”, saying so he pulled her to his casually laid bed room. “This is all yours!” - Anurag boldly offered.

Sharmilee’s confidence was building. The city was new but the man seemed the same old one. She gathered courage to be herself the one that Anurag may comprehend better.

With mystic gesture she became vocal - “Two years back you dared to close the door with me in the living room and here you say that your bedroom is mine?” - Sharmilee looked deep into his eyes.
- “I am grown-up!” - Anurag confessed.
- “Really?” - Sharmilee threw catalytic look.

Anurag stepped closer; it was centis, then milis and then nanos and finally it was the cork that busted off the bottle of too hot an emotion to handle. The sun was setting with a relief to have set free two hearts in divine pleasure.

That night she didn’t return to guest house. Even she didn’t return by train the next day. It was a remarkable birthday that Sharmilee celebrated in Mumbai with everything around her too special.

...Mumbai in some years became the best city in the country for her. Today this is the city which she calls her home, where she leaves with Anurag Gupta, Director of “Or Ek Peg” group of companies and Vasundhara - her two years old daughter who keeps busy playing with papa’s laptop and moves lips in faint attempts to whistle like mummum.

Yesterday, she curiously pressed Sharmilee’s mobile buttons and unknowingly made a call to Mr. Agnihotri – Anurag’s business partner. Agnihotri noticed this as a missed call, later in the day. It was only the next day morning when Sharmilee was lazily buttering the bread slice on the breakfast table that the door bell buzzed. She opened the door to see Agnihotri. Greeted him with a smile. In no time, Vasundhara came rushing from the dining room to join her mother.

Agnihotri gave a humorous look and lifted the toddler to say - "I received a missed call from your mother's phone yesterday . I thought you must be looking for me.." saying so he offered a box of chocolates ..and continued with a childish romanticism - "Do you need a mobile to call me ?"
Vasundhara nodded with innocence smudged on her face.

Sharmilee gave an embarrassed look being aware of what must have happened all in mischief. She invited her guest to join Anurag for a cup of tea over breakfast....

Delhi Kolkata Mumbai ..... Many more cities meet courtesy Sharmilees and Anurags of the world , breaking barriers and bias .. Missed Call - an ode to countless such home-makers..