Another busy day

6.30 A.M. Morning alarm goes off. I scramble out of bed after a sleepless night.

7.00 A.M. As per the family custom, I light the earthern lamp in the pooja room and offer my daily prayers.

7.15 A.M. The morning cup of coffee and 2 pieces of toast.

7.30 A.M. A quick glance at the morning headlines in the newspaper.

7.45 A.M. I begin preparations for cooking lunch.

9.00 A.M. I am ready to go to office.

9.15 A.M. I drive down to office listening to Himesh Reshammiya's cacophonous crooning on the local radio station.

9.30 A.M. I enter my office with a bright smile and a cheery wave and 'Good morning' to every one.

9.40 A.M. I switch on my laptop, check my inbox and my schedule for the day.

9.45 A.M. Meeting with Mr. Sharma in Software about the new software to be installed.

10.15 A.M. Interview with two candidates for the post of receptionist and Accounts assistant, who are going to leave the job soon.

11.00 A.M. Call the three prospective clients and schedule a meeting with them.

11.30 A.M. I meet with the executives in the Software division and brief them about the targets for the month.

12.00 noon: I send emails to the clients I am meeting with in the USA on Saturday.

12.30 P.M. Design the report about the department's performance in the last month.

2.00 P.M. I hear voices from outside my cabin. It must be time for lunch. I head towards the pantry to have lunch.

2.30 P.M. Meeting with the head of the Accounts and Marketing departments.

3.45 P.M. A cup of black coffee with colleagues.

4.00 P.M. I reply to the pending emails in my inbox.

5.15 P.M. Call up the people who had left messages, which Maria, my secretary, has so efficiently taken down.

6.00 P.M. Confirm the travel arrangements as well as the lodging for my trip to USA with Maria.

6.15 P.M. I plan out my schedule for the next day.

7.00 P.M. Time to leave for home, a place that suddenly seems empty and haunted.

7.10 P.M. Drive back home with Jagjit Singh's ghazals breaking the eerie silence in the car.

8.00 P.M. I let myself into the house and check whether the maid has done the cleaning.

8.15 P.M. I switch on the T.V. and update myself about the happenings over the world throughout the day.

8.45 P.M. I begin preparations for dinner.

9.30 P.M. Have dinner, just because it is time to do so.

9.45 P.M. Call Mom and Dad and tell them not to worry about me, that I am O.K.

10.15 P.M. Have a warm shower and slip into bed, in the hope that today, finally, sleep would fill my tired eyes so that I can be ready to face yet another busy day tomorrow.

I only wish my mind would also be as busy. So busy that I would forget everything about you. Your enchanting smile, your ringing voice, your friendly banter, your confident attitude....The memories of you, that seem to be everywhere I go. Memories that creep up in my mind at any time, without warning. I wish I could banish the love for you from my mind. The love that I felt for you once. The love that I still feel. Maybe. The love that was not reciprocated. I wish I could banish that illogical voice in my heart which tells me that you might one day realise the extent to which I loved you....