to my internship. He also told me that work hours would be from 9 to
5, with a lunch break in between.
‘First time in New York?’ Olara said.
‘Yes.’
‘Good, I will take you out for a drink after work.’ : ‘Sure,’ I said.
‘Any preferences?’
‘Any place with live music,’ I said.
- One month later
‘Dude, no. Please. I can’t take this,’ Shailesh said. He pushed the
envelope back towards me.
I had placed a thousand dollars inside.
‘It’s been a month, Shailesh. I feel obligated,’ I said.
‘Would I pay you rent if I came to Dumraon?’ he said.
‘No, but you are paying rent here. So let me contribute.’
‘Don’t be stupid. You are hardly here. You come home at 3 every
night.You leave at 8. We barely feel your presence.’
Shailesh was right. We had not met the entire week, even though
we lived in the same house.
‘How’s work?’ he said. ‘What exactly is your project?’
‘Tracking the progress of AIDS awareness initiatives in Botswana.’
‘Sounds noble.’
‘I don’t know about noble. All I know is I only have two months
left and there’s still no sign of Riya.’
Shailesh tilted his box of cereal. The box label said ‘Cinnamon
Toast Crunch’. Little sugar-coated squares fell into his milk.
‘You are chasing an illusion,’ he said.
‘Maybe.’
‘How many bars have you visited in the last month?’
I flipped through my notebook where I kept track of all my visits.
‘Hundred-plus. Close to two hundred,’ I said.
Apart from actual visits, I had also called up five hundred other
music venues. Nobody had heard of a singer called Riya.