Unlucky Oye !!!

Yesterday, i.e. on 10th of December, I attended the birthday party of my school friend who also lives in Delhi. Since he had asked me to come at 8 pm (I could sense the hidden message in the timing prescribed!) ,I thought I would leave a bit early from office(now a days I leave at 6 pm and face the traffic bottleneck at Nehru Place) but it so happened that I could leave office much later at 6:40 pm. Anyway, I reached home around 7 pm and realized that I would have to hurry in order to reach in time as my friend Mainak (urf DM) lives in Palika Nikunj (near Le Meredien ) which is at least 40 minutes drive from my home. So finally, I dressed up and left home completely oblivious of the danger that was waiting to confront me. As I walked out towards my car, I saw two kids playing badminton. I tried to walk by without disrupting their game but at that very moment one of them smashed and the shuttlecock headed straight towards me.A freak accident ,who would have thought that one can be hit by a shuttlecock in the night and that too right in the centre of the forehead. There was no time to react (now I fully realize how bogus those special effects in films are) and the girl who had inadvertently hit me said sorry(while trying hard to stop her laughter and even i would have considered the situation funny but for the fact that i was at the receiving end!) and I had to conceal my embarrassment and agony with a smile and say its “okay”. But one has to give credit where its due and that kid has a good aim and needs to be groomed properly and definitely not let loose on the streets !
I reached DM’s place and there I met his cousin Amit da and his wife and another of his school friend Nikunj. Soon, I realized that I was the only bachelor as it turned out that Nikunj also was married and also has a 7 month old kid. After the cake cutting it was time for the ‘spirits’ to soar. Black label was opened and I being a beer/wine person declined but DM pleasantly surprised me by offering me red wine. Amit da turned out be the in-house expert at opening the bottle of wine and did it with some panache.
So Amit da and Nikunj started in earnest with black label while myself and DM had a glass of wine ,mind you just to keep them company ;) . The fact that DM’s parents were in the other room made drinking a risky proposition but somehow the temptation was too much and under Amit da’s radical leadership everyone threw caution to the winds. By the time we had dinner, Nikunj and Amit da were in high spirits as was evident from their behavior. Even I was under the influence but the narrator has to have some leeway. When it was time to return and as all four of us myself,Nikunj ,Amit da and his wife were headed to south delhi ,we decided that we will go together. But Nikunj left suddenly and since Amit da had a driver I asked him that I would be following their vehicle. We started and maybe Amit da forgot to tell his driver that I would be following their car or maybe his driver thought that this was a night F1 race and over-estimated my capabilities as a driver. Very soon I realized that following Amit da’s driver was a much riskier proposition than merely losing track of one's way.So I slowed down to a speed I was comfortable with while the desi hamilton sped away in the dark of the night. All in all it was an interesting evening and under the influence of alcohol Amit da promised us a Bengali treat on 20th December but with a condition that I should not be coming alone.What luck !!!