Bangalore PG, Filter Coffee aur Tum

Bangalore PG, Filter Coffee aur Tum Category: Romance Labels: Bangalore Tech Life, Filter Coffee, PG Diaries, QA vs Dev, Late Night Talks ---

Chapter 1: Pehli Mulakaat

Raat ke 9:30 baje the. Main apne laptop bag ko kandhe pe latkaye, BTM Layout ki galiyon se apni PG ki taraf chal rahi thi. Bangalore ki hawa mein wohi mehsoos tha — thodi garam, thodi nam, aur poori tarah se thakavut se bhari.

Din bhar ki testing ne meri aankhen sukha di thi. Woh last bug jo resolve nahi ho raha tha... uff! QA engineer ki zindagi hi aisi hoti hai — sabki galtiyan dhoondho, phir khud thak kar so jao.

Maine apni PG ki taraf mooh kiya, tabhi woh smell aayi.

Aroma. That heavenly, earthy, soul-stirring aroma.

Filter coffee.

Meri naak ne automatically mooh mod liya. Corner pe ek chota sa stall tha — "Anna's Kaapi Corner." IT park ke bahar yeh stall roz lagta tha, aur main roz iske paas se guzar ti thi. Lekin aaj... aaj kuch alag tha.

Shayad thakavat thi. Shayad loneliness thi. Mysuru se Bangalore aaye do saal ho gaye the, lekin aaj pehli baar itna ghar ki yaad aa rahi thi.

Maine rukne ka faisla kiya.

"Anna, ek filter coffee," maine kaha, apni purse kholte hue.

"Sure, madam. Strong?"

"Ha, bilkul. Aaj toh bahut zaroorat hai."

Main stall ke paas khadi thi, jab ek awaaz aayi —

"Arre, tum bhi yahan?"

Maine mud kar dekha. Ek ladka khada tha — tall, lean, slightly messy hair, aur haath mein ek programming book. Usne hoodie pehni hui thi jispe "Git Happens" likha tha. Techie. Clearly.

"Mujhe jaante ho?" maine poocha, thoda confused.

"Nahi, lekin dekha hai. Tum bhi wohi building mein kaam karti ho na? 5th floor, QA team?"

Maine eyebrow raise ki. "Kaunse floor pe tum?"

"3rd floor. Frontend. Rohan. Hubli se."

"Priya. Mysuru se. QA."

Usne muskurate hue haath badhaya. "Toh officially mil liye. Coffee ke saath."

Maine haath milaya. Uske haath garam the, shayad usne pehle se hi coffee pi li thi.

Anna ne meri coffee di. Woh pehla sip... oh my god. Mysuru ki yaad dila di. Amma ki coffee jaisi nahi thi, lekin Bangalore ki coffee apni jagah perfect thi.

"Tum roz itni der tak kaam karte ho?" Rohan ne poocha, apni coffee sip karte hue.

"Bug tha. Resolve nahi ho raha tha. Tum?"

"Same. Deployment issues. Frontend wale hamesha backend walo ke issues solve karte hain."

"Arre wah, victim card?"

"Nahi nahi, fact hai. Dekho, tum log test karte ho, hum log fix karte hain. Dono ki zindagi mushkil hai."

Main hansi. Uske chehre pe woh genuine smile thi — woh smile jo thakavat ko bhula deti hai.

"By the way," usne kaha, "tumhari PG kaunsi hai?"

"Shanti Nivas. BTM Layout mein."

Uske chehre pe surprise aa gaya. "Seriously? Main 'Sai Residency' mein rehta hoon. Bas doosri gali mein!"

"Kya? Itne paas?"

"Haan yaar. Do saal se same area mein hain, aur aaj mile hain. Bangalore ki irony."

Hum dono hase. Anna bhi muskura raha tha — shayad usne bhi aisi meetings dekhi thi.

"Toh kal milte hain?" Rohan ne poocha. "Same time, same place? Coffee meri taraf se."

Maine socha. Kyun nahi? Akeli coffee peene se achha hai company mein peena.

"Deal. Lekin main pay karungi apni."

"Arre nahi yaar—"

"Rohan, main Mysuru se hoon. Wahan ladkiyaan independent hoti hain."

Usne haath uthaya surrender mein. "Okay okay. Mysuru ki independent ladki. Kal milte hain."

Maine coffee khatam ki, aur apni PG ki taraf chali. Raaste mein, ek ajeeb si lightness mehsoos hui. Shayad coffee thi. Shayad woh conversation thi.

Shayad dono.

---

Chapter 2: Daily Ka Routine

Agle teen hafton mein, woh "kal milte hain" roz ka routine ban gaya.

9:30 baje. Anna's Kaapi Corner. Do filter coffee. Ek lambi conversation.

Rohan se baat karna... alag tha. Bangalore ke tech scene mein sab log apne baare mein hi baat karte hain — package, promotion, onsite. Lekin Rohan... usse baat karna jaise purane dost se baat karna.

Woh Hubli ke baare mein batata — wahan ki chill zindagi, uske dada ji ki paan ki dukaan, woh choti si haveli jahan woh bada hua.

"Hubli mein time alag chalta hai," ek din usne kaha, coffee ke cup ko haathon mein ghumate hue. "Subah 8 baje sab jagah khulta hai. Shaam ko 6 baje band. Yahan... yahan toh time ka pata hi nahi chalta."

"Tumhe bhi wapas jaana hai?" maine poocha.

"Bahut. Lekin pehle thoda experience, thoda paisa. Phir... pata nahi. Shaadi, bachche, responsibilities. Phir wapas kaise jaoge?"

Maine chupke se apni coffee peeti. Woh sawaal mujhe bhi satata tha. Mysuru... woh gardens, woh slow life, woh ghar jahan Amma pooja karti thi aur Appa newspaper padhte the.

"Main bhi wapas jaana chahti hoon," maine kaha. "Lekin Ananya ki shaadi hai... meri elder sister. Uske baad ghar pe pressure hoga ki meri bari."

"Arranged marriage?"

"Semi-arranged. 'Dekh lo, pasand aaye toh baat karo' wala system."

Rohan ne kuch nahi kaha. Bas coffee peeti. Lekin uske chehre pe kuch tha... kuch jo main samajh nahi paayi.

"Kiran kaisa hai?" maine topic change kiya. Kiran uska roommate tha — ek loud, extroverted ladka jo sales mein tha.

"Uff, woh toh pagal hai. Roz koi na koi scheme batata hai. 'Bhai, crypto mein daal de,' 'Bhai, yeh startup join kar le.' Mera dimaag kha jaata hai."

Main hansi. "Mere PG mein bhi aise hi hain. Ladkiyaan hain, lekin same energy. 'Priya, yeh skincare routine try kar,' 'Priya, weekend pe club chalte hain.'"

"Club? Tum jaati ho?"

"Kabhi kabhi. Lekin dil nahi lagta. Loud music, drinks, fake conversations... main book padhna prefer karti hoon."

Rohan ki aankhen chamki. "Books? Kaunsi?"

"Anything. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry. Abhi recently Murakami padh rahi hoon."

"Norwegian Wood?"

"Ha! Tumhe bhi pasand hai?"

"Yaar, woh book ne meri zindagi badal di. Itni achhi depiction of loneliness and connection..."