Memories of the Good Old Mango Shake of Saket with The Dark Knight

Sometimes the butterfly effect causes the beautiful memories to unleash doesn’t it? So one of my friends was talking on a video call with a group of her friends, who were kind of acquaintances to me but not that close. In that group, there was one person, who reminded me of my little meeting with him around 4 years back at a juice corner near Saket Metro Station in Delhi. It triggered beautiful memories of THAT day.

This article is NOT about that person.

Throwback 2016

There came a time in my life in 2016 where I made silly career moves. I can’t write everything over here, but let’s just say I was broke and clueless and anxious. It was a phase when I didn’t really feel like eating most of the times. I missed old times. I had been friends with Asad since 2010, and he had always been a constant. At the start of 2016, when I was not anxious, I had visited Delhi from Bangalore and stayed at Asad’s room in Lado Sarai, Saket. I hadn’t really been in Delhi for much long ever before. Asad who was fond of the all season mango shake sold near Saket Metro at a juice shop, made me try it, and I really liked it. I liked going to that place and having mango-cheeku-banana all kinds of shakes.

But times changed quickly for me till August, I wasn’t the same. Anxiety took toll on my behaviour. Asad had actually really fixed a big part of my worries single handedly by the time I met him that day, but I was waiting for a few things to happen, and trying to push my limbs as much as I could.

That day I was in Noida, for some work, and realizing Asad could be nearby, called him up, as soon as I got free. It has been an old story that my dark knight has always arrived in a bat mobile on my demand. Time didn’t change him one bit. He was there in a flash, and I hopped on to his Yamaha FZ. Asad is a compulsive fast biking enthusiast. I don’t call it bat mobile for anything, on one occasion he has actually saved someone from missing his flight when he was biking on NH48, by pulling him out of the car and dropping him to IGI in the mid of traffic. For me his hopping on behind him was a stress buster.

We crossed DND and reached CR Park, where Asad had to pick up his camera from his friend, which meant I met more people. Given how lonely and anxious I was in Gurgaon since last few days, that day was really amazing. When we were done with the folks at CR Park, I don’t know why, the anxious part of my heart wanted to go to Saket to that juice shop. Asad didn’t live there anymore, and times had changed for me as well. I hadn’t even really feeling the taste of even the best of the foods. Asad didn’t take time to reach Saket Metro and there we were, sipping on the good ol mango shake.

I found it equally delicious, I found my lost taste which was missing since months. It was about the company, it was about assurance. When I was with him, I felt hope, I felt that we can still make things just like the old days. That is how I have always felt with him. Since LadoSarai has those coachings, it was a student hub, and I remember meeting Ashutosh from college at the same juice shop. Yesterday when Ashutosh was on that video call, with my friend, he reminded me that we last met at Saket. The butterfly flap really triggered the memories of “THAT” day. But in reality, it was the butterfly THAT day which flapped its little wings of happiness and made me slightly happier person that day and eventually much more cheerful today.

When I met him in coaching classes in 2010 for the first time, strangely I didn’t even know his name, and we were already talking and had become friends. I remember him mentioning he is fasting on Ramadan. He used to take a big detour on his scooter only to pick and drop me. It’s 2020, and the same old Ramadan, and nothing has changed. He is always there waiting for me in the bat mobile, whenever I need him. For some people, gratitude is an understatement.