“Please select an option!”
“Welcome to TechFair Kolkata!”
“Please enter a password!”
This is the first time I am participating in TechFair Kolkata. Every time I heard about it before, I was filled with excitement. Here, people showcase various robots, software, and apps. Altogether, it feels like a fair of technology, this is probably why it’s called TechFair. Although it is a competition, people celebrate it as a fair.
Oh! I haven’t introduced myself yet, I am Aditya Roy Chowdhury, and you guys can call me – Adi; my full name sounds a bit too formal. As I tell you stories, I’ll occasionally interact with you to ensure you pay attention to the story.
Let’s take a little tour of the TechFair now!
To my right, a participant has made a robo-car. I’ve already had a good conversation with him. His name is Apruba, and his work is just as impressive as his name. He’s quite tall, maybe around 5’11”, with a fair complexion, and he speaks very professionally, which shows he has a lot of intelligence and experience. He claims that his Lambo-Bull (his robo-car) can overcome any barrier. Not only that, but his Bull also comes in two variants, with a change of attachment, and it can even run smoothly on water, though he mentioned that the water needs to have a certain depth.
On my left-hand side sits a girl who always makes me smile whenever I see her. Her long, heavy black locks flow down her back: glossy with health, neatly arranged on her head but with some loose strands around her fragile face’s sides. Besides, she has blue-tinted cat-eye-shaped spectacles that match well with her pointed yet gentle kind of face. Behind those glasses, her eyes are large and almond-shaped, a deep, calm brown that emits warmth and curiosity. Her skin is smooth and clear, with a soft, dusky hue that adds to her natural beauty. On her left cheek, there’s a bare little dimple that appears at every smile, making her look sweeter. The faint shade of pink appears on her lips, and it fits with the light make-up she has on, so this look is neither too much nor too little. She is dressed in a simplistic but classic outfit—a light, floral-patterned kurta along with tight jeans and white sneakers worn casually, making her seem familiar and friendly. All in all, she’s very cute and this is what actual cuteness means, with an effortless charm that draws you.
I’ve never seen this before, this is my first time, it’s just like in the movies… time seemed to slow down, the wind was blowing, music was playing in the background, and she was looking at me, signaling something with her eyes. She waved and said “Hi” to me, feeling like she was signaling something with her eyes. Oh! How beautiful she looked. I too smiled lightly and waved back, like in an SRK pose. Then suddenly, I noticed she was signaling in front, and Apruba was calling me from behind—what was happening?… Oh! A judge was standing in front of me to score me, and I was lost in her thoughts…
I quickly apologized with a “Sorry ma’am” and opened my app. At that moment, a hundred thoughts were racing through my mind at 200 km/hr. Somehow, I calmed myself down and gave the presentation.
I’ve created a mood predictor; it asks you a few questions, analyses your answers, and based on that, it tells you your mood. Not only that, but my app also automatically recommends music based on your mood. Suppose you’re feeling down, it will recommend songs, movies, or comedy videos to cheer you up and make you happy. To test the app, the judge called Apruba and that girl. They were told to test the app.
I was quite nervous, especially after the embarrassing incident earlier; I couldn’t even lift my head out of shame.
“Bro, did you thoroughly check the code?” Apu asked. I lifted my head and replied, “Yes! Yes!”
His turn came, and his mood was shown as “Nervous!”. To counter it, the app recommended the song “All is well” from the movie 3 Idiots. The judge seemed impressed, as she smiled at me and then said to Apurba, “Now let Suhani try!“
Suhani… Su-hani, which means beautiful honey. As I was thinking about how sweet she looked, and how her name was just as sweet, suddenly the music started playing… “Dhadkano mein tere geet hain mile huye, kya kahun ke sharm se hai labz seele huye!“
My heart echoed with the line, “Dekha ek khwaab to ye silsile huye…”
I couldn’t understand anything, and before I could even see her mood on the screen, ma’am spoke up, “Okay! Back to your seats now. Well done, Aditya!” Hearing someone praise me so well in front of everyone made me very happy. But I was curious to know what Suhani’s mood was that led to that song being played.
Next, Ma’am asked us to check her project. I went with Apu, and Suhani had created an advisor. It very precisely tells you what to wear and how to dress up for different events. Apu entered his details, and the browser suggested an outfit for him, and boom he had already worn something very similar. It indicated that he was attending a well-reputed event and should be properly groomed accordingly, and he had just done that. I was amazed! How perfect could someone be? Apu told Suhani, “Hmm, nice suggestion, well done!” and extended his hand for a handshake. Suhani shook his hand with a slight smile but didn’t say anything- not even a Thank You! I felt a bit annoyed, wondering why she was so arrogant that she didn’t even say a word. Anyway, then it was my turn. Everything was fine, but I was wearing casual shoes, and the app recommended formal shoes for me. I smiled in embarrassment. Ma’am patted Suhani on the back and asked Apu to demonstrate his robo-car.
I went to Suhani and said, “So, you have a good dressing sense!” She nodded in agreement but didn’t speak. Still, like a desperate person, I extended my hand for a handshake and said, “Hi! I am Aditya, Aditya Roy Chowdhury, you can call me Adi”. She smiled and shook my hand but didn’t utter even a single word. We then moved towards Apu’s presentation.
Most of the participants were gathered there to see the Lambo-Bull. By the way, I still don’t know why Apu named his robo-car Lambo-Bull. Apu’s robo-car roared and moved forward, just as he had said. First, it crossed a brick barrier, and we were all amazed to see the transformation. Then, it effortlessly leaped over a lowland made of sand, as if the Bull was flying like a Pegasus, a true monster vehicle. To showcase even more, it then faced a mini wall at level 3, and, just like in the movies, it climbed over the wall by transforming itself. I cannot explain how it transformed itself, but it was damn too smooth. A guy beside me exclaimed, “What a Beast!” Then Apu detached the attachment and demonstrated it on water. We were all astonished and cheered for Apu, calling out his name with excitement.
My eyes drifted towards Suhani; she seemed like she was about to scream with joy… but not a sound came out of her mouth. This time, I was really angry and went up to her, saying, “Hey, are you mute? Everyone is so excited, and you haven’t said a single word. What do you think of yourself?” Suhani nodded sadly in agreement and walked away, her glasses clearly showing that she was hurt by my harsh words. Seeing her reaction, I was shocked, like lightning had struck me. For a moment, it felt like my heart stopped beating. Did I overreact? And to someone who is mute, couldn’t even express her pain or tell anyone about it? I felt so guilty.
Without saying anything to Apu, I left the spot, thinking that he would understand if I explained later and that there were plenty of people to appreciate his work. But apologizing to Suhani was the most important thing right now.
I approached Suhani, but I didn’t know how to call her, so I just stood quietly behind her. She turned around on her own, and I apologized, but then I wondered- Would she even understand my sorry? I picked up a piece of paper lying nearby and wrote, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. I didn’t understand, and I spoke in anger.” She wrote back, “It’s okay, you didn’t know, it’s not your fault.”
I felt a bit relieved and asked, “Then how did you understand everything I said earlier?” She wrote, “I can’t speak, but I can hear. When I was small, an accident took away my voice, but I can hear everything.” I was stunned, reading everything she wrote. Is this possible? If it were me, I would have given up and stayed locked in a room, probably dying out of despair.
I was lost in these thoughts when Suhani wrote, “Don’t worry so much, it hurts at first, but over time, you get used to it.” I took out a chocolate from my pocket, gave it to her, and said it was compensation. She smiled a little and wrote, “Your fashion sense might be lacking, but your common sense is pretty good, huh? Thanks!” I scratched my head and laughed.
Let me tell you guys, this was the first time I had spoken so much with a girl. It’s not that I never talked to girls before, but I was always too scared, and afraid that if I said something wrong, their reaction would be even more terrifying. Because of that, I never really talked much. And also, I do know a bit of sign language because I bought a book on it at a book fair once, though I can’t remember exactly when. I was thinking about whether I should try asking her something in sign language, so I thought, why not give it a try?
“Wow! You guys are chatting away without me…” Apu said from behind. His demonstration was over, and we were all sure his project would rank first. I said, “Oh come on! We were just sitting here. Come, you sit down too.” I was a bit annoyed though, for him interrupting the conversation.
Apu introduced himself, and when Suhani was about to write her introduction on paper, I quickly interrupted and said, “Suhani, you tell me, I’ll translate for you. Trust me.” She waved her hand and first indicated ‘Hi!’ then placed her hand on her chest and indicated ‘I am..’ followed by bringing her hand to her forehead and then flipping it, and using her fingers to sign the letters of her name: ‘S‘, ‘U‘, ‘H‘, ‘A‘, ‘N‘, ‘I‘. The initial ‘Hi’ was easy to understand, but I was a bit puzzled by the forehead sign. However, I patiently watched the rest of her signs and realized, “Hi! I am Suhani” I told Apu the same. He stared in surprise for a moment, then, like me, started taking it normally.
We had a long discussion, and I noted that Suhani was getting a little more comfortable with revealing things to me, with a varied frown on her face like that of musicians when they get musical instruments or artists when painting. For about thirty minutes, we shared our lives wonderfully before it was time for the outcome.
We knew Apu would win first place, and he did. The winner of the competition and my new friend, Apu, said he would treat us, and we got excited because we would meet again.
Apu said he would inform his family that he won first prize in the competition and that we would meet the next day for the treat. We didn’t say much, he gave us a goodbye hug and left.
I asked Suhani, “Shall we walk home?” She nodded in agreement. We started walking, it was still quite early, not too late at night. As we walked by ‘Surjo Da’s special fast-food corner‘, I asked her if she wanted to eat something. We got two egg chicken rolls and started eating as we walked. I asked her what she wanted to do in the future. She indicated that she wanted to pursue Web Development. She asked me what I wanted to do, and I said, “Me too!” She then asked how I learned sign language, and I told her I bought a book at a fair when I was little. I found it interesting, so I learned a bit and still remember some. She complimented my memory after hearing that.
“Guys, I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I’m a huge movie buff, I watch a lot of movies. So… what movie should we watch next? I mean not right now, maybe the next time we meet; I’m thinking I’ll ask her then. Some good new movies have come out: the horror-comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Ajay Devgn’s Singham Again, and DC’s Joker. I’m wondering if she’d be interested in going to the movies, who knows if she’d even want to go…“
I asked her how she liked the egg chicken roll. She said it was good (as far as I could understand, she was trying to say it was decent). I told her, “Okay, next time I’ll treat you to something better from a different place.” and she indicated that she would treat me next time.
“Guys, do girls treat guys as well? I mean, no offense to the sisters, but I’ve only ever seen my friends treat their girlfriends. I’ve never heard of their girlfriends treating them, but this one seems different; she’s saying she’ll treat me! How exciting!“
After a while, we reached the street near her house, and she indicated that her house was in that lane. It was getting late, and she must have sensed it from my expression, so she told me she could go home alone from here and asked me to go home safely. The lane was a bit dark, so I walked along with her till the end. I said, “It was great meeting you, Suhani. We’ll meet again tomorrow. Bye! Good Night!” Suhani smiled and suddenly hugged me.
Blackout, total blackout! What should I tell you? I…. I’m speechless now. This sudden hug caught me off guard.
Suhani held my hand and then placed a kiss on my cheek.
“Look! Another blackout! I’m going to RIP (Rest in Peace) right here, my heartbeat has become ridiculously fast, it could even beat a bullet train. Did she kiss me? My first kiss ever, and now I’m blushing like crazy. Suhani handed me a piece of paper from her pocket, then shyly indicated ‘bye’ and left.“
I stood there like a fool, watching her, as she reached her main gate, turned around, and told me to go home safely. Did she kiss me? Me? Why? Does she like me? Oh gosh, now I’m feeling really shy.
“Okay, I guess that’s enough for tonight. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. For now, I’m flying in the sky along with the stars, but I have to make sure to get home safely before I fall from the sky. Bye for now, friends.“
