half-girlfriend-chetan-bhagat

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I looked outside the staffroom. Kids sat on the floor, waiting for my mother. ‘Help me with enrolment. Villagers don’t like sending kids to school,’ my mother said. ‘But Ma, I want to teach as well,’ I said. ‘There’s lots of other work.Tarachand ji is hopeless at paperwork.’ ‘Sounds boring.’ ‘It’s important. I need someone to keep records and lobby with the authorities. I don’t have the energy.’ I took a deep breath and nodded. Like the school, my mother was turning old and weak. ‘Ma, can’t we pay for some of these repairs?’ I said. My mother looked at me. I knew the answer from her expression. ‘I try to give what I can. We hardly have money to repair the haveli. You were studying in Delhi, so I had that expense. Don’t have much.’ I felt guilty. I wondered if I could have served my mother better by accepting that HSBC job. At least I could have sent her a cheque every month. ‘We manage. Don’t worry. I’m happy you’re here,’ my mother said, reading my mind. ‘How?’ I said. ‘I take no salary. I pay the staff. If something breaks down I pay for it. Beyond that, it is difficult. The government is supposed to aid us. They don’t.’ ‘What about what we earn from the fees?’ ‘It’s nothing. The fee is five rupees a month. Even then, many students don’t pay on time. If we are lucky, the fee covers the electricity bill.’ The noise levels in the corridor increased. A cacophony of conversation, laughter and screaming drowned our conversation, ‘Look at them. Noisy monkeys. I better go,’ my mother said. She walked out.
The difference between seventy kids on their own and seventy kids with a teacher can be immense. In an instant, the class fell silent. I spent the rest of the morning reading all the files and documents related to the school. I quickly realized that running a school of seven hundred with a staff of four is no joke. ‘Okay, start counting in English,’ my mother shouted outside. ‘One, two, three...’ the kids chanted in unison. I didn’t know whether these kids from the village would ever use their knowledge of English numerals. Still, watching them learn something felt good. It felt better than watching a movie at a Delhi multiplex. It felt better than the posh party at Riya’s house. ‘From now on, these kids are my life,’ I told myself.
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Praise for the author Many writers
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First published by Rupa Publication
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For my mother For rural India For t
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expectations, Love accepts some fla
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‘Half-girlfriend,’ ‘What?’
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possible. ‘She used to like your
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‘I’d like to cancel a ticket on
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1 Where?’ I gasped, trying to cat
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‘Do you speak in full sentences?
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Piyush to translate what I had said
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‘I’ll do my best, sir.’
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passed the ball. The crowd tittered
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the next half. As her team meeting
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even Hindi. He meant: will you play
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‘Yeah. But if they do, then see y
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anymore. I wanted to fit into my ne
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We had played a half-court game; I
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iuinraon, the oldest princely state
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‘They're ditzy. Forget them,' she
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The hands-on-hips pose meant no fur
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is bothering you. And, if something
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Police guards tell you to stop and
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‘Even though you eat all my lunch
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me. ‘Madhav, please understand, I
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6 She entered my room and I slammed
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‘Good observation.’ I looked st
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'No woman has ever meant more to me
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Shailesh said. 'What?’ I said. As
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‘Shut up, fatso,’ Shailesh said
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I stepped inside. A maid gestured f
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‘So thoughtful. This will keep me
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‘It’s okay, uncle,’ Rohan sai
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‘Riya, babe, you only got guy fri
Page 69 and 70: spring rolls. 'Madhav, so many gues
Page 71 and 72: Riya raised her eyebrows from the d
Page 73 and 74: ‘You are the new exotic creature
Page 75 and 76: ‘Have you been in love before?’
Page 77 and 78: I had proposed to her. The least sh
Page 79 and 80: said in a baby voice. I took that a
Page 81 and 82: secretary must have asked a hotel i
Page 83 and 84: 11 We had practised for less than t
Page 85 and 86: I went back to my book. ‘What do
Page 87 and 88: ‘What is your problem? I’m not
Page 89 and 90: She stood up to change her seat.
Page 91 and 92: 12 Six months later After my break-
Page 93 and 94: asshole doing here? It's amazing ho
Page 95 and 96: isk steps away from me. ‘Riya,’
Page 97 and 98: 13 We walked out to her car. She ha
Page 99 and 100: Our eyes met. Maybe it was my imagi
Page 101 and 102: ‘I’m sorry.’ ‘It’s fine.
Page 103 and 104: more dignity than I thought I had.
Page 105 and 106: 14 One year and three months later
Page 107 and 108: The other interviewers cleared thei
Page 109 and 110: ‘It’s just a way they express l
Page 111 and 112: ACT II Bihar
Page 113 and 114: class, rest low class’ bullshit t
Page 115 and 116: ‘Like whom?’ ‘The over-educat
Page 117 and 118: I folded my hands to wish both men,
Page 119: ‘SMDC didn’t send anyone,’ he
Page 123 and 124: answers for us.’ ‘I am from her
Page 125 and 126: treatment,’ I said. ‘Now the vi
Page 127 and 128: not declined the ticket.’ ‘What
Page 129 and 130: 18 I reached the Raj High School pl
Page 131 and 132: tray from her. Mrs Ojha touched my
Page 133 and 134: My mother knew the political game.
Page 135 and 136: 19 I prepared a proposal for Ojha a
Page 137 and 138: I smiled. I did go to the best Engl
Page 139 and 140: ‘We are a poor school. We don’t
Page 141 and 142: 20 'Speech?’ my mother said. 'In
Page 143 and 144: ‘So what do I do?’ ‘You work
Page 145 and 146: hotel called Nest, provided I didn'
Page 147 and 148: ‘I’m Madhav,’ I said. ‘All
Page 149 and 150: 22 I returned to Dumraon after my P
Page 151 and 152: I looked around. I wondered if I sh
Page 153 and 154: lobby, my eyes fixed on the entranc
Page 155 and 156: 23 We sat at a corner table and had
Page 157 and 158: ‘Nestle. I am in sales, for their
Page 159 and 160: ‘What?’ ‘Ask me things. I wil
Page 161 and 162: famine. I bought the two-rupee tick
Page 163 and 164: ‘All the time.You should come som
Page 165 and 166: 8. Calling call centres and choosin
Page 167 and 168: ‘All we have for peace in this ci
Page 169 and 170: choosing my words with care, afraid
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inaugurated her hot plate and utens
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There isn’t much to see in Dumrao
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27 Savitri tai served us daal and s
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‘Sometimes.’ My mother didn’t
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My mother did not respond. Riya too
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28 'I have a confession to make,’
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‘Can we please not do all this ot
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the quality of the kiss, or what di
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29 'So this is the famous Dumraon R
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I moved to class IV and then to cla
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‘You are so sweet. There is no ne
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Riya had not reacted much to her fa
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‘You want to sleep here?’ No an
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indignant. Samantha had called me o
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the royal family,’ Samantha said.
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‘And in this backward Bihar is th
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Students took over the stage again.
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talk later, okay? I need to rush. I
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‘Many people are coming home for
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I asked you to stay back last night
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‘Where is that divorcee friend of
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‘Sure, sir. Sir, I will move her
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notice period.' ‘When did she res
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‘Just take them,’ I said in a f
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the gifts that arrived from London
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‘I am not comparing anything. I w
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silence. So I walked up to the beds
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'I don’t want anyone,’ I said.
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35 Chanakya Hotel, Patna Madhav con
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from her in years,’ Madhav said.
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36 After Chetan Bhagat left, I rema
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urger and a large order of French f
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‘Ah, no wonder Michael said you h
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37 'Name?’ the officer at the imm
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done an MBA from Harvard after Step
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I reached the southeast corner of t
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38 You bagged a Gates Foundation gr
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‘Everything? You thought she was
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singers are?’ ‘Too many, my fri
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39 The Gates Foundation’s head of
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Shailesh gasped. He covered his mou
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40 'No Indian singer here. I’m so
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vegetables, arrived on our table. I
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around Pylos. I used to live here e
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41 'I'm so ashamed, I can’t even
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‘Thank you, Madhav. I look forwar
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42 Of course, my visit to Union Squ
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‘I actually have to go home.’ T
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43 'Surprise!’ A crowd of people
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Saturday and Sunday. Each table had
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whispered to Shailesh, making up wh
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Where can I get a cab?’ 'Want one
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it said. ‘C’mon, Madhav. Be ama
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You're beautiful, it's true.' The b
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‘Sorry, I left because I got scar
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She unzipped a side zipper and step
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‘Tourists spend a day with our ki
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Table of Contents girlfriend My pho
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